15 weeks - orange

15 weeks - Orange

I've gained 6 pounds so far, and am still feeling great!  This weekend in between our house guests, we cleaned out the whole garage, it's all ready for the camaro!! Yay!!  Remember this thing?  We also did another headboard for the guest room!! Can't wait to decorate it!  Will blog it soon.  But for now, it's on the what works and what doesn't from pinterest.

Yesterday was a doctor's appointment and everything is going as planned!  Baby Ball is measuring correctly and got to hear the heartbeat, which is always SO fun.  Heartbeat is 145, last time it was 162.  They said it all depends on eating/activity/etc.

I was very honest with my doctor about doing Crossfit and guess what! She was totally okay with all of it!  I told her that I follow www.crossfitmom.com and look at the different trimesters and scales.  I said I know it's not my doctor though and so I really wanted to make sure she was okay with it all. After all the sweet ladies at work told me all about how I shouldn't be reaching above my head (and I've been doing thrusters in Fran, pullups, push press, etc) I thought I should ask.

Dave and I got to go with our realtor to a wounded warriors function for www.helpingahero.org It was awesome!! President George W. Bush was the speaker and Dennis Miller, the comedian, was the MC.  I was very proud to be an American and Dave looked so good  in his dress blues!  I wore heels that night and we hardly got served any more water once the presentation began, so I woke up in the middle of the night almost in tears due to the leg cramps I was having.  In case you're wondering, water and bananas aren't the only thing you need, calcium is pretty important too.  My doc said  to just take some tums and I should feel better. That helped!  And... I have to forego the heels :( such a bummer, but beauty is not worth those leg cramps..ever again.  Can't wait to see the cute new flats that are coming in tomorrow!

We also had awesome friends, Ben and Laura, come into town last weekend.  They have two really cute kids who are so well behaved!  It's amazing what routine can do for some cute kids, they were angels!  She also has her own blog, www.ourfullplate.com which is full of healthy eating, working mom, cute stuff.  I can't wait to try some of her recipes!  They brought us this super cute little Sophie chew toy.  I'm obviously not a mom yet, since I had no clue that it was the "best new thing".  But it's all BPA, etc. free.

Can't wait to meet this cute baby so it can start chewing on Sophie! :)

Chili - Missouri Style

I'm sure everyone from Missouri is wondering why I put "Missouri style", but here in Texas you just can't get good chili.  I'm sure it's good to all of them, but it is NOT what I want on a cool fall day.  So, I've been making all kinds of chili around our house.

What's the difference? In Missouri we put ground beef and beans in our chili and we don't serve it over rice.  Here in Texas some people put skirt steak, deer, no beans, and over rice.  Don't get me wrong, it tastes good.. but it's not what I'm after!

So, I start by dicing an onion.

Heat some olive oil.  Add onion and one pound of lean beef (90/10) and a couple cloves of garlic.

Once brown, add a can of rotel (the hot kind).  Let that simmer for a couple minutes.

Then add a can of pinto beans, can of kidney beans, can of diced tomatoes, can of tomato sauce. Don't drain any of it, dump it ALL in!

Season as needed with cumin, cayenne, chili powder, salt, pepper.

Let all of that simmer and you have some yummy chili!!

We ate it all up so I have ZERO pics of that, but serve with fritos, cheddar cheese and sour cream as you want!

Rice Krispie Chocolate Chip Cookies

At school we're doing a celebration for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), the Mexican celebration to honor their lost loved ones and remember them from October 31-November 2.

I asked students to bring in a picture of a lost loved one and candles/flowers/favorite food/sugar skulls/skeletons, etc.

Didn't they do a great job?
I thought that I needed to bring something in too.  So I decided to bring in a picture of my grandfather, really my step-grandfather, but the only grandfather I ever knew on that side.  I began to think of something to remember him by and I knew it had to be cookies, and it HAD to be rice krispie chocolate chip cookies.  Each time we went to stay at my grandma's house, my sister and I helped her make cookies and just as they were about to go in the oven my grandfather came running in from the farm and gobbled up all the cookie dough.  Looking back, it was definitely a game he played, but we were always so stressed out over the cookies going in the oven "before grandpa came home".

For those of you who like crispy cookies, these are for you!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup margarine or butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups rice krispie cereal

1 package (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 350. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat together margarine and sugar until smooth.

Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Add flour mixture, mixing until combined.

Stir in cereal and chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350° F about 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove immediately from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.

YUMMMY - so what did you think?  I am so reminded of grandpa!

14 Weeks - lemon - DIY letters for weeks

14 weeks - lemon - October 23, 2012

I'm still not quite sure how a lemon is bigger than a peach but that's okay.  I've been using the same site each time too so that it makes sense.. oh well!

This week has been a big week!  The secretiveness (or lack there of ) is totally gone!  I met with my boss who was wonderfully supportive, and the students realized it on the same day but they were sweet enough to keep their mouths shut until my boss knew.  After that, it was out in the open.

High schoolers are soo darn cute.  A freshmen thinks that I got pregnant last weekend and should already know the gender of the baby, wow.  If only that's how it worked - wouldn't be that great?!  Skip the first trimester, and go straight to the fun gender knowing 2nd trimester of fun? Count me in!!

I've officially switched to maternity clothes, and if one more person tells me "already?!  My friend never wore maternity clothes" I'm going to scream.  Yes, I look pregnant. No, I'm not fat, and yes, I'm only 14 weeks.  5 pounds up and NONE of my work pants fit.  Tell me about it, I wish I didn't have to wear maternity clothes either. Dave has been THE most supportive person ever.  He's going to be one great dad! 

Last week mom and dad came in town and it was so great to see them.  I'm a horrible daughter and have zero pictures with them, well, we have one picture - but it is not cute.  It's a blurry cell phone pic.

I'm still working out and feeling great!  Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant and have to remind myself to slow down in a workout.  The crossfit coaches are awesome and remind me of that too :)

We have a doctors appointment next week and I can't wait to see the updated pic of Baby Ball!!

And how did we make the "14 week" signs?

At Hobby Lobby I got the big paper letters, scrapbook paper and modge podge.  Choose scrapbook paper that is DARKER than your walls.  oops.

Put the numbers/letters face down on the scrapbook paper.  Trace them and then cut them out.

Put modge podge on the letter and put scrapbook paper on the letter/number.  Let dry completely.

Go back and put modge podge on top of the scrapbook paper.

Then, you're done! Pretty cute, right?!

6 Weeks!

Friday, August 24 - 6 weeks!!

6 weeks pics - yes, I know I'm in a sports bra, but I wanted a pic for myself for post pregnancy motivation. And.. Everyone sees us in workout clothes and swimsuits anyway, so it's not that big of a deal!

How Far Along: 6 weeks!
Size of the Baby: Baby Ball is a pea!
Maternity Clothes: Not yet
Stretch marks: Not  yet
Weight gain/loss: 0

Sleep: I just started getting up in the middle of the night.  I had no idea this would start so soon!!

Best Moment of the Week: We're getting super excited to hear a heartbeat next week! (and nervous too)

Movement: of course not
Symptoms: Odors!!!  I think I've always thought pregnant ladies were crazy for saying they smell everything.  Well, it's true.  I know who needs deodorant, who needs some gum, everything!  And I was walking dogs at the shelter and everywhere smelled like dog pee.  I then realized, duh, I'm pregnant.
Food Cravings: None!

Gender: don't know, but apparently this whole "no morning sickness" thing is a sign of a boy.  We'll see if that holds true.

Belly Button in or out: Still have a weird belly button :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: The dog pee, that made me almost nauseous
Labor Signs:  of course not.
Wedding ring on or off:  Off. I just wear random rings on my ring finger.
What I miss:  Sushi was what I wanted this week.
What I am looking forward to: Next week we have our doctors appointment and get to tell Dave's parents, yay!
Nursery:  Still is the junk room
Emotions: This week I'm less emotional than last week.

Stupid things I have done: Everyone calls it the "pregnant brain" so everytime I do something silly, I blame it on this.  Not sure if it's true though.

13 Weeks - Peach!

13 Weeks - Baby Ball is a Peach!! October 16, 2013

WOOHOO! Some say we're in the 2nd trimester, some don't. Either way we're past the 12 weeks!!

Dave and I are still sooo excited! 

I've been doing stuff around the house and loving decorating.  We had this awful spot above the front door and I had no idea what to do with it.  My girlfriend, Erin, came over for dinner and she said to hang some rod iron pieces from Hobby Lobby up there. It looks awesome!!!  Erin is owner of "Style Spies" and she does wardrobe consulting, she's awesome.

(the ugly before empty space - with my cute grandma)

                                                         (after, so much cuter!  Minus the storm door..)

Gotta love Dave, he's been out of town off and on the past couple weeks and the minute he came home he was nice enough to hang curtain rods, shelves (after the painting) and those iron pieces. I'm one lucky girl that he's so willing to work!

At one of my multiple trips to Hobby Lobby this week a lady said "it's a boy". I looked around and realized she was talking to me! She told me she's had 7 kids and I'm definitely carrying a boy. (I agree with her) I guess I really am showing... I've gained 4 or 5 pounds which is more than I should have so far, so hopefully I don't become super fat.  Maybe it's just because I haven't had nausea...who knows!!

Tomorrow my parents come  in town and we can't wait to see them!  Pics to come..

Last weekend I also ran a 5K mud run with some awesome girls from CrossFit.  They were nice enough to go slow for me and I did most of the obstacles!  Just no climbing cargo nets that were a couple stories in the air.

Baby Ball is already getting spoiled too with "gender - neutral" clothes.. soooooo cute!

12 weeks - plum

12 weeks - Plum - October 9, 2013

Yay for energy!! Even though I'm not quite through my first trimester, the "flip has switched" and the majority of the exhaustion is gone!! Everyone said this would happen, and it has!!

We've had a busy weekend of a fun rehearsal dinner and wedding for our good friends Carrie Jo and Shawn. The wedding was gorgeous and had a great band, lots of fun! And - I fit in my cocktail dress!

I obviously hadnt had a sip of alcohol and so on Sunday when we woke up I was ready to work. I started taping off the guest room to paint it, and by the end had Dave's and our friend Brittany's help! I'm not so sure that was their idea of fun the morning after a good wedding. They were great help!!

This week is "fall break", our school has a lot of breaks! So I've used those days off to get a bunch done around the house! I just painted the hall too! We don't know the gender, so can't station the nursery quite yet..

Question- is this the normal nesting?? I think it's supposed to come later on... Oh well!!

11 weeks - Lime

11 Weeks - Baby Ball is a lime! October 2, 2012

I'm starting to look like I ate a couple too many pieces of pizza.  I've gained 2-3 pounds but have a little itty bitty bump.  Clothes are starting to fit a little tighter.

On Friday we got to hear the heartbeat!  How fun!  162 beats/minute.  I hope that's good. 

The nurse came in and after getting me all ready for an ultrasound she came back in and said "oops" it's time to hear the heartbeat.  She fumbled around and after what felt like FOREVER she found it.  She then screamed that it was the first time she's ever found it.  Why does she do that job then?!  I can't imagine how those other pregnant ladies have felt when she left the room to go get the doctor!!  Oh well, we heard it, and it was awesome!!!

We also gave our moms the "go ahead" to tell their close friends.  They were so excited and all the fun emails that have been running around are great.  I told my family too and  I guess 2 months ago in Wisconsin they all knew somebody was pregnant but not sure who.  I guess there was "a vibe".

Have you seen the BabyGarvin blog where the cute mom does the adorable chalkboard things each week?  Well, I decided to go to Hobby Lobby to do something similar and then remembered that I am not an artist so I picked something else.  I bought some letters and numbers and scrapbook paper and modge podged it all together and here we have it.  I think it looks pretty good! And Dave is one good photographer too, he's such a good sport.

I'm still not really liking beef during pregnancy, but I'm getting more energy, so life is good!!