16 weeks

Here is the baby bump at 16 weeks. (I've never taken a picture of myself in the mirror before, but nobody else was home. This is our master bath and I am thinking now that it looks pretty blah.)

I went to the doctor this past week and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat. Yeah!! Very exciting!! Also, I had only gained 1 pound since my last visit 4 weeks ago ... I have the stomach virus to thank for that. And the fact that I am no longer having to eat something starchy every two hours to hold the nausea at bay. This was very exciting since I had gained 8 pounds from what I normally weigh at my first visit (at 12 weeks). Yikes!!

I am now into full-fledged maternity pants. But I am okay with that. I love the elastic waistbands. Why don't women wear pants like that all the time? I can still wear most of my regular tops if they are long enough ... most maternity tops are still a little big for me.

I am feeling much better, but I am still very tired. Sadly, I am not sleeping well. I sleep like a rock until about 4:00 a.m., when I wake up starving and desperately needing to go to the bathroom. I usually end up going to the bathroom and trying to fall back asleep, but I am too hungry, and then get up and eat a bowl of cereal. (How is that for a run-on sentence?)

As far as cravings go, I am all about some oranges right now. Specifically, orange juice and orange slices. I really like cheese too. And Mexican food. And Jersey Mike's club sandwiches. I am not eating a ton of sweets this go 'round, which is very different from my previous two pregnancies (I once at three pieces of cake in one day ... that is insane, pregnant or not.) I'm not sure what that means in the old wives' tales of the sex of the baby, but that is just how it is this time.

I go back to the doctor on April 28 for my ultrasound. Please pray that the baby will be growing and developing as it should. We haven't decided it we are going to find out the sex or not this time. We found out with my first two, but since we have one of each, I thought it might be fun to be surprised this time. But, my super-organized, Type A personality is dying to find out. It will probably be a last minute call.

Happy Easter!

Here is our family pic this afternoon. The kids still had their church clothes on, but Will and I had already changed. (Our neighbors were out of town this morning, so we didn't have anyone to take our family picture until we got to my sister's house.) I love the face David is making in this picture. We were pooped after getting up to be at church before 7am this morning. But it was totally worth it. The service was AWESOME!

The kids made the art below at preschool this past week. I love it! It truly depicts the true meaning of Easter, not bunnies, eggs and candy, but the death and resurrection of our Savior.

The lyrics of one of my favorite praise and worship songs tell this story in a very powerful way. The last verse is my very favorite ... I get choked up every time we sing it at church.

In Christ Alone

(by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty)

In Christ alone my hope is found He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness Scorned by the ones He came to save

‘Til on that cross as Jesus died The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death This is the power of Christ in me

From life’s first cry to final breath Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man Can ever pluck me from His hand

‘til He returns or calls me home Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Payback

I got a call from the director at Claire's preschool today telling me that she said her throat hurt and she had a low-grade fever and wanted to come home. She did have a low-grade fever the night before, but a little Motrin and it was gone by morning. I even checked her temp again before we went to school.

When the director called my cell phone, I was in the bathroom at work and missed the call. Then, she called my home phone and talked to my nanny who was home with David (he doesn't have MDO on Wednesday). The nanny called me to tell me about Claire and I called the director back to tell her that the nanny was coming to pick Claire up.

Here is the funny part of this story ... when the director couldn't get me on my cell phone, she asked Claire if she should call her daddy. Claire's response was, "No, my daddy is at work and we don't need to bother him." What?!? Clearly, it is no big deal at all to call mommy, and bother her at work.

The reason I titled this post "Payback" is because when I was in elementary school, I called my parents from the school office at least once a week to come home because I didn't feel good. I loved getting to go home and lay on the couch and watch daytime television.

[An aside ... when I spell checked this post, I had misspelled the work "elementary." Clearly, I should have stayed at school and worked a little harder on my spelling skills!]

I did make Claire take a nap this afternoon, which she normally does not do on days that she is home. Apparently that healed her because she had a grand ole time playing outside this afternoon and going to the grocery store with me tonight after dinner.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday. 33. I am feeling a little old, although I have been told I don't look it. (I still get asked for identification almost everytime I order an adult beverage.)

I had a wonderful weekend full of celebrations. Friday night, we ate dinner at my mom & dad's house where we had my mom's fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and deviled eggs (mine and my sister's favorite). For dessert, we had chocolate cake with marshmallow creme frosting, like my Meme used to make. It was yummy!!

Saturday afternoon, I got to sneak away to the spa for a much needed manicure and pedicure. Thanks to Will for setting that up for me! It was a treat! Saturday afternoon, my in-laws came by to visit (they were in town visiting some other relatives) and they took us to dinner at my favorite new Mexican restaurant, Chuy's. We got there at 4:45 and still had to wait 30 minutes for a table, but it was totally worth it!

Today, we had lunch after church at our favorite meat and three diner, where David managed to get ketchup on his ear and collar of his white shirt even though he only ate about 3 bites of food. I tried to talk Will into watching New Moon tonight, but I think he cried foul on all the birthday celebrating for this year.

Now that I am reading back over this, apparently, birthdays are all about eating for this pregnant gal. Might as well enjoy it while I can! I did get some fun birthday cards that sing and light up that Claire quickly confiscated for her card collection. You may see her on the show Hoarders one day ... I'm just warning you.

Speaking of eating, you must watch Jamie Oliver's show, Food Revolution. Will and I are both hooked and are seriously thinking about making some changes to how our family eats.

Party Planning

I finally feel like I am sort of getting caught up on things around here. I've even managed to get the kids' birthday party invitations done a little early! My hubby will be shocked!

I love sitting down to play with Photoshop, but the sad thing is that I typically have to re-learn the program all over again every time I used it. I have Photoshop Elements 7.0, which is pretty user friendly, but I still had to google how to cut my picture into a circle (even though I did it last time I used the program ... about 4 months ago). I finally learned how to blur out text in a picture too. Yeah!

We are having a joint party for the kids (since their birthdays are 4 days apart) and decided to break down and pay the money to have it at a local "bouncy" place. Very low key.

(1) Invitations

I got some ideas from my friend Melissa who has a little web business making super-cute stationary and such. (Her waterproof labels are the best I have ever used.)

(2) Outfits

I typically make birthday party outfits for the kids, but I am just not feeling totally up for it right now. However, I did find this super cute cupcake fabric that I will be making pants out of for the kids.

And, I ordered matching t-shirts from one of my favorite Etsy sellers, Smitten & Co. Check her out. These shirts make great gifts too. The kids' shirts will look like this (with their name and age, of course) and match the cupcake fabric above.

Now, all I have left to do is order/bake cupcakes. I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do yet. I would love to save some money and make them myself, but I have a feeling that Publix will be getting a call from me the week before the party!

Excuses, Excuses ...

I can't believe it has been almost two months since I last posted, but I have a good excuse ...

That's right ... I'm pregnant with baby #3. I found out on January 15, but it was still very early, so we waited about 4 more weeks before we started telling our close friends and family. Then, we waited until my first doctor's appointment to tell everybody else.

The pictures below are from my first OB appointment on March 4. I thought I was about 10 weeks along, but ended up being almost 12 weeks along.

First trimester ... check! Due date is September 19.

Here is a profile shot of the baby.

And a front view. It looks a little bit like he/she is waving at us. Boy or girl, baby was very busy during the ultrasound.

I have had bad morning (what should really be call "all day") sickness, bronchitis, a bad allergy attack and a 48-hour stomach virus with this pregnancy, thus the lack of attention to the blog.

And, for memory's sake, here is my first belly shot at 14 weeks (today). There is a little shadow on the belly, but unfortunately, I am really showing that much already. I have a feeling it is going to be a long, hot summer!

For the record, Claire is positive that this baby is a GIRL and she has already named her Mary Caroline. We will know in a few weeks if she is right.

I feel like chicken tonight ...

No menu plan this week because either Will or I have something almost every night this week and the kids are going to visit their grandparents in Alabama this weekend so we can go out to eat 2 nights in a row (with friends). Here are some recipe links for a few yummy eats that we had this week.

Mushroom Chicken Parmesan with mushroom rice. I found this recipe online Thursday morning and decided to veer from the menu plan and make this for dinner instead. The nice thing about this recipe is that it called for things I always keep on hand in my pantry and fridge. (In theory anyway.) It made quite a fancy meal served with green beans, rolls and a bottle of Chardonnay. BTW, to make mushroom rice, I sauteed a 12oz. pkg. of fresh sliced mushrooms with butter and then mix with a box of prepared brown rice.

Pumpkin Spice cake. This is an easy breezy dessert and I actually bought the ingredients to make it back in the fall, but never got around to making it. Good thing cake mix and canned pumpkin have a long shelf-life. To make this cake, mix one box spice cake mix, one 15oz. can pumpkin and 3 eggs. Pour into greased bundt pan and bake at 350* for 45-50 minutes (until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean). Sprinkle with powdered sugar or make this yummy cream cheese glaze: 1/2 c. cream cheese frosting (from the can), 2-3T. milk and 1/4t. cinnamon. Stir all glaze ingredients together and drizzle over cake (add more milk if needed to get it to drizzling consistency).

The best chocolate sheet cake. EVER. Click on the link for step-by-step instructions from Pioneer Woman. I took this to a party on Friday night and it was a hit. We are still munching on the leftovers. I will pay for it in the gym this week, but it is WORTH EVERY BITE!

Egg-In-A-Hole. Another recipe from Pioneer Woman. I made this for breakfast on Saturday morning. I used homemade sourdough bread that we bought from a local bakery for $1.50/loaf. (This particular bakery supplies bread to Cracker Barrel restaurants.) It was greasy, but good. Make sure the skillet is hot enough to toast your bread but not overcook your egg. (Mine was a little well-done, but Will likes it that way. I like the runny yolk.) Best made in an iron skillet, which I apparently don't have. I will have to lift one from my mother or mother-in-law's house next time I am there. They both have plenty.