18 Weeks

We had such fun sharing our gender news with family.  I've been trying to decide on a name all week but David and I haven't been able to sit down ANY this week to talk about it - though K has decided that she's going to call him "Boogie."  :-)  I feel like our time is just gone.  I never have time to do what I need to do or want to do.  And I really just want to take a nap but need to get other things done!  Oh well! 

I think I'm about to the point of wearing maternity clothes.  I went to Old Navy and got some cute maxi skirts that I LOVE!  I definitely look pregnant in this.  I've also been trying on the clothes that my friend let me borrow and they are working better than the first time I tried them on.  Yay!  I'm kind of ready to actually look pregnant!

Due Date: September 25, 2014
How Far Along: 18 weeks (and 1 day)
Fruit/Veggie: Sweet Potato/Bell Pepper about 5-6 inches long, 5-7 ounces
Gender: It's a BOY!
 Exercise: Still exercising almost daily.  Definitely doing some modifications now.  No burpees, inclined ab work, less jumping...but still moving  :-)
Sleep: Sleeping well.  I haven't had to get up much during the night recently.  I am getting tired earlier, though.

Aversions: coffee, raw spinach
Cravings: sausage biscuits, cheez-itz, apples, cold fruit

What I love: Telling everyone about our baby, starting to actually look pregnant!
What I miss: enjoying coffee, being able to go "full out" at the gym
What I'm looking forward to: a new "to us" house hopefully soon, having some comfortable clothes, shopping and planning for this sweet baby, picking a name!!!!!
What I'm thankful for: my husband who takes care of me, makes me go to bed even when he's not done with work for the night; family and friends who share excitement with us

Snails anyone?!

So, after our surprise ultrasound I suddenly realized that David and I were both there and both knew what the gender was for our sweet baby.  That meant no gender reveal!  Boo!  (Though David was probably glad about that...he didn't want to do ANYTHING!)  Then I realized that my parents were coming for Easter and decided I'd do a reveal for them.  David's family couldn't make it but we did a FaceTime reveal for them.  So, then I had to come up with HOW to reveal.  At first, I was just going to incorporate it into our Easter meal but David wanted breakfast pie and I didn't want more bready stuff with that (meaning muffins).  I figured I could get a bunch of Easter candy since colors for that are usually pink, blue, and yellow...and just use the color I needed.  Then I found a fun little idea and went with it.  So, just before we had brunch with my family, we had everyone sit in the den while I brought out the reveal "board."

It's a BOY!  I made little snail "pigs in a blanket;" though I think that EVERYONE thought it was something else. 

How embarrassing!  I also made puppy dog tails (just pretzels dipped in chocolate).  It was fun!

We are really excited!  I thought it was a boy...and apparently everyone else did too.  I'm glad that we will now have a girl and a boy.  K will be a great big sister and is actually excited about her baby "brudder."  Now we just have to come up with a name.  Hopefully we'll agree on one soon.  :-)

For the SNAILS:
1 can of crescent rolls
cocktail sausages

Preheat oven as instructed on rolls.  Press a rectangle of crescents together (this would be two triangles with the seams pressed).  Cut into 4 strips lengthwise.  Place a sausage at one end, half on half off and roll about halfway down the strip.  From the other end, roll the dough up like you would a crescent roll.  When you get to the sausage, turn the dough so that it faces out and looks like the shell of a snail.  Place on baking pan.  Repeat for all the dough. Bake until browning.  Enjoy!  I got 16 snails.

17 weeks

What a crazy week!  We went to look at houses last Saturday.  That was fun but a LONG day and by the end I had a headache that wouldn't go away.  Then, Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment.  I think I cried about 4 times before I even made it to the appointment!  Not about anything important but it just sent me over.  While we were there, my doctor asked me if seeing gender a little early would make my day better.  Um, YES!!!  So, we found out that day.  :-) Sweet profile shot!

 The next morning, David sent a surprise sausage biscuit to my clinic by the resident.  YUM!  So good.  Then, this weekend my parents came for Easter.  We went BACK to a few houses and out to eat.  Then, Saturday we did a gender reveal.  I was beat by the end of Saturday but it was a really good weekend.  Some point soon I'm going to have to figure out what to do about clothes. The bottom picture is actually the day BEFORE this first shot.  Depends on what I wear as to how much I "show."

Due Date: September 25, 2014
How Far Along: 17 weeks (and 3 days)
Fruit/Veggie: Pomegranate/Turnip about 5-6 inches long, 4.5 ounces
Gender: We had a surprise ultrasound on Tuesday!  Check back for gender reveal.  :-)
 Exercise: Still exercising almost daily.  I get out of breath faster but still going strong.  :-)
Sleep: Sleeping well.  I haven't had to get up much during the night recently.  I am getting tired earlier, though.

Aversions: coffee, raw spinach
Cravings: sausage biscuits, cheez-itz, apples

What I love: Sharing the gender with our family!  My awesome doc who let me see my baby early!
What I miss: sleeping on my stomach, enjoying coffee, having clothes that fit
What I'm looking forward to: a new "to us" house hopefully soon, having some comfortable clothes, shopping and planning for this sweet baby, picking a name!!!!!
What I'm thankful for: generous friends offering to share maternity clothes, my sweet husband who got a sausage biscuit for me last Wednesday, went to the store before church to get me a banana because we ran out and I wanted one for breakfast, the past weekend with my family, and MOST of all the sacrifice that Jesus made by giving His life on the cross to take the punishment for our sins so that we could be redeemed if we but believe...and that he DEFEATED death and LIVES so that we can live!

16 weeks

So, I've kind of hit some awkwardness this week.  My pants are starting to get tight but I don't look pregnant and so maternity clothes feel weird and don't look right. 

I tried some stuff on yesterday and a few things will work well.  One pair of pants fits like the size smaller - maybe that's why the tag was still on them when I got them at the consignment sale!  Oh well!  Guess I'll just grin and bear it or wear dresses.  I think David and I are going shopping tonight, and mama is coming next weekend, so maybe we can shop.  I have my next doctor's appointment Tuesday.  Can't wait to hear that little heartbeat again!  I've done better this week drinking water but still need to be more consistent.

Due Date: September 25, 2014
How Far Along: 16 weeks (and 1 day)
Fruit/Veggie: Orange/Avacado/pickle, about 4 inches long, 2.5 ounces
Gender: we don't know yet, should be about 2.5 weeks.  I have had lots of people tell me they think boy. Exercise: I did a few modifications this week due to some round ligament type stuff but otherwise pretty much normal routines.  Couldn't finish the burpees yesterday...definitely had to modify those! 
Sleep: sleeping well, wake up 1-2 times to use the restroom (usually) though I have a rare night where I sleep all night; still wish I could get more sleep.  The night of the national championship basketball game I put the game on with David and the quickly fell asleep...at 9pm!  Woke up to brush teeth and do our devotion, then I was out again.  It was nice!

Aversions: salad, coffee
Cravings: sausage biscuits, cheez-itz, apples

What I love: Sharing excitement with others, David!

What I miss: sleeping on my stomach, enjoying coffee, feeling comfortable exercising flat on my back, having clothes that fit
What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender, house shopping, having some comfortable clothes - my pants are getting tight but maternity pants feel weird

What I'm thankful for: generous friends offering to share maternity clothes, my sweet husband who got a sausage biscuit for me last Sunday.  YUM!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bread

So, like I said, I made a non-gluten free recipe for Sunday School, too.  It was a pumpkin bread that I had wanted to try for a long time.  Who says you can't make pumpkin bread in January?

It was SO good.  Of course, I am a bit partial to snickerdoodle AND crumb toppings.  Guess I made this one a little for me.  I shared it with my friend who had just had her baby and with work.  Despite making two loaves, it disappears quickly.  Try it out!

Vegan Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Bread from Bakeaholic Mama
2 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbs cinnamon
15 oz fresh pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey (To make it vegan substitute maple syrup)
1/3 cup water

FOR THE TOPPING:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs cinnamon
2 tbs vegetable oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and prepare 2 loaf pans. 

In a large bowl mix flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. In a separate bowl mix pumpkin, oil, honey, and water together. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir to combine.  Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

In a small bowl using a fork mix all of your topping ingredients together until slightly crumbly. Sprinkle over the tops of each loaf.

Place the filled pans in the oven and bake for 1- 1 hour 15 minutes or until a tooth pick is inserted and comes out clean.  Allow loaves to rest for 20 minutes before removing from pans. Enjoy!

Monkey Business

Our Sunday School class has breakfast every week.  Since David started eating gluten free, he hasn't really been able to eat (almost) anything on Sundays in class.  So, when it was our turn to bring something, I made sure to bring something he could have.  I asked if he wanted cinnamon rolls or monkey bread.  I don't think he ever answered, so I just picked monkey bread.

I ended up making a non-gluten free recipe as well but, oddly enough, even AFTER being told it was gluten free, the monkey bread was almost gone at the end of Sunday School!  I'd call that a success.  It definitely was better heated up.  David enjoyed taking it to work the next week.

Gluten Free Monkey Bread from Lynn's Kitchen
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons xanthan gum
1 1/4 cups white rice flour
1 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

In the bowl of a mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and let sit for about 5 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, adding the xanthan gum last. . Mix using the dough hook of an electric mixer.
Mix for about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times. Continue to mix for about 5 minutes.

Prepare a bundt pan with cooking spray.  Mix the topping ingredients together.  Using a cookie scoop, scoop rounded balls of dough into the topping and coat.  Put the coated balls into the prepared pan.  Cover dough loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place pan into oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until done. Combine glaze ingredients until smooth and drizzle half of the glaze over hot monkey bread. Let cool for 30 minutes or so and drizzle remaining glaze on top. Serve and enjoy!

15 Weeks

I'm a little late on this post and really need to get some other posts up.  We've been busy this week but also doing fun stuff.  We went to a friend's house for dinner last night and then K had a birthday party today.  She's napping right now and then we'll go to the grocery store and do some cooking.  I'm still feeling good but I'm at that point of jeans-don't-fit-as-well but don't-look-pregnant-either.  Of course, I'm also told "Oh, I see a baby bump (FYI, it's not there yet!)" then later told "you're 15 weeks, you don't look pregnant."  Makes for being unsure - should I look more pregnant?  Is baby growing?  (Though the increased tightness of jeans make me think baby IS growing!)  But I'm excited and thankful.  K told me the other day that she was ready for the baby to come because she doesn't want me to be sick and that I wasn't coming to her graduation program because I'm pregnant.  Not sure what that has to do with me coming but she thought it did!

Due Date: September 25, 2014
How Far Along: 15 weeks (and 2 days)
Fruit/Veggie: Apple/Avacado, about 4 inches long, 2.5 ounces
Gender: we don't know yet, should be about 3.5 weeks.  I have had lots of people tell me they think boy. Exercise: Still doing my normal routine but feel slower than usual and now hesitant about how many modifications I should do or if I can go "full out" like I usually do.

What I love: Sharing excitement with others


What I miss: sleeping on my stomach, enjoying coffee, feeling comfortable exercising flat on my back
What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender, loving this baby, house shopping

What I'm thankful for: generous friends offering to share maternity clothes