Pregnancy: 30 Weeks

This Week:

Baby weighs nearly 3 pounds!

Baby is shedding lanugo.

Spinning Babies:  This week I was working to get baby flipped into position.  Some tricks I learned from the Spinning Babies website:
*Don't lounge on the couch.  Try to sit straight with your hips above your knees.
*Crawling around is good for helping baby get into position.
*Try a modified "downward dog" position with your knees on the edge of the couch and your forearms on the floor to help baby turn.
*If you're going to lay down, do it on your left side.

Belly Button:  flat, but nearing an outward position

Cravings:  Yes, randomly.  One day I was dying for a coke (and yes, I know they are terrible for you).  All I really needed was a couple of sips, but for some reason, I just really wanted one.  Also, one day I had to have a burger.  Maybe my body was craving beef?  Lacking iron?  I don't really know, but nothing was going to do unless I ate a burger.  And one night, I literally dreamt about french crullers!

Baby Activity:  This baby is still super active!  No more waiting until the evenings when I sit down to rest. This little one makes his presence known all day long!

Sleep:  Getting worse.  I toss and turn for an hour or two until I can get comfortable enough to finally fall asleep at night.  And then in the morning, when I'm actually sleeping nicely, I have to get up because Little Guy has gone back to school!

Exercise:  Walking about 20 minutes 3-4 times a week.

Baby Purchases:  A pepto-pink changing table for $10, that I cleaned up and painted a fun orange!  Also, my parents bought Baby Boo Boo a travel system that I just love from Babies R Us! :)

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This Kid

I love him something fierce.

Now that he's back in school my days seem so empty without him.
My living room floor is so bare without hot wheels and characters strewn all over.
The television is very rarely turned on.
No more calling out, "No jumping on the couch please!"
Well....
at least until 3:15 pm.

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Focus on Mom

I'm so excited to join Nicolette of Working on a Project and Susi of Boca Frau and be a part of the Focus On Mom challenge this month!  

Have you ever flipped through one of your photobooks or looked through your Facebook and think, "I love pictures of my family, but you'd never even know I was a part of it!  I'm not in any pictures!"  I sure have!

Basically, Nicolette noticed how we as moms are always the ones taking the pictures, but never actually in any pictures.  This project is going to change that! 

There is no specific topic you need to write about - actually, you don't even need to be a blogger!  

You can simply join us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter by using the hashtag:  

#focusonmom

Here are a few of me from this past month:

And sporting my new blonde locks:

 

No special editing or fancy cameras needed.  Come on Mamas!  It's time for you to step out in front of the lens for a change! 

How to join us: You can do either #1 or #2 below or both.

1. Link up your picture on one of our blogs. If you have a blog then add a link to your post. If not, then add a link to your Facebook photo, Instagram feed, or Twitter handle. Not sure how to find the link to your photo(s) on social media? It’s super easy. I wrote two posts to show you how: How to get a link to a photo on Instagram and Twitter and How to get a link to a picture on Facebook.
2. Post your photo on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and add the #focusonmom to the description.We are going to use the #focusonmom across all social media to make this challenge as accessible as possible. What does that mean? You don’t need to have a blog to join us. All you need is an account with either Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
3. Spread the word and Follow Us! If you follow us on Twitter (Nicolette / Susi / Melinda), Facebook (Nicolette / Susi /Melinda) and/or Instagram (Nicolette / Susi / Melinda) it will be easier to share our reminder posts and for us to share your posts as well.
4. Encourage others. Starting the 15th of each month click the hashtag on any of social media sites to see the pics shared. Show some love, make some new friends and support other women who have taken the time to get in front of the camera.
5. Link Back. Please mention this challenge in your post and link back to one of our blogs.

6

Quick and Easy Summer Dinner

In the summertime there are many days we are out and about all day enjoying the sunshine, which leaves me with not much time for dinner.  And who wants a hot, heavy crockpot meal after spending a day at the beach or park?  Not me.  This quick pasta dish is hearty enough to fill you up, but has colorful veggies that shout, "Summer!"

Here's how you can make this quick summer supper in 15 minutes!

You will need:

1 box bow tie pasta

pesto sauce (amount according to preference)

1 red bell pepper

a few kale leaves

1 yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

ham (I used the already cubed ham)

Boil water and cook your bowtie pasta as usual.

In your food processor, combine onion, kale leaves, garlic, and red pepper and pulse until desired size.

Sautee veggies until tender in a pan over medium heat using oil of your preference (I use coconut oil).

Drain and rinse bowtie pasta.  

Mix pesto sauce into pasta.  

Add veggies into pasta and mix.

Mix in cubed ham.

Voila!  A super quick, super simple summer dinner in less than 15 minutes!

You can even garnish with a bit of shredded cheese if you wish.

*Do you have a quick, simple dinner that you make when summer days are too fun to be wasted in the kitchen?

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Pregnancy: Week 27

This Week:

Baby's brain is very active now.

Baby may have regular wake/sleep cycles.

Stretch Marks:  Still none.

Belly Button:  Still surface level.

Wedding Rings:  I usually just wear my engagement ring, since the wedding band is tighter, but this week I managed to get the band on too! I guess it's all that water I've been drinking!

Labor Signs:  None.  Just some regular Braxton Hicks.

Baby Purchases:  We got a couple of blankets and a big pack of baby washcloths to use as reusable wipes, but the highlight of our week was when my brother-in-law and sister-in-law came over with a HUGE bin of baby clothes!  It was awesome!  There had to be 40 onesies, 15 pair of baby mittens, tons of hats, socks, and cute little outfits - all in amazing condition.  It was way more clothes than Little Guy had when he was a baby.  Best. Gift. Ever.

Surprise:  I, ok, Hubby highlighted my hair!

I read that it's better to do foils or a cap than applying color to hair because that way the chemicals in the dye don't sit directly into the scalp to be absorbed into the body.  Lucky for me, Hubby is a licensed cosmetologist (though he only works on men these days) and foiled me up!

What do you think?

10

The Light Meets the Dark

When you're tired, and stressed out, and have a million things on your plate.

When you have major life changes taking place.

When you're pregnant, and hormonal, and running on a minimal amount of sleep as it is.

When you're getting even less of that sleep than usual fretting, contemplating, worrying yourself sick (literally) about all the things going on in your life and what the possible outcomes of each situation might be.

When you find yourself crying in the middle of the night, unsure if it's just your hormones, or if it's really worth the tears.

When you find yourself feeling like no one knows what you're going through, and you feel tired of constantly trying to hold it together.

Then you stop, and realize.

 I'm not the only one that this is affecting.  I do not live alone.  My spouse is affected.  My child is affected. Everyone I come in contact with while in the center of my whirlwind of despair and negativity is affected.

And they did not choose this.  I have thrust this upon others - this snappy, gloomy, emotional mess that is me right now, unbeknownst to them all.

I am the only one who can choose how this is affecting me.
I am the only one who can choose the actions and behaviors I use with others.

So I have to make a choice.  I have to let all the feelings of anxiety and despair and hurt flood out of me, and replace them with love and peace and contentment.


This is where the healing begins.
This is where the healing starts.
When you come to where you're broken within
The light meets the dark.

1

Strawberry Lemonade Whoopie Pies

We have a ritual in our house.  Every Wednesday night we all snuggle up on the couch and watch Master Chef.  Little Guy is completely in love with it, and Hubby and I find ourselves craving some sort of amazing snack while we watch.

We decided to make Wednesday nights "special snack night."  This was our first special snack night, and Little Guy got to choose the snack.  He chose macaroons (which he had previously seen on the show), but those are just way too complicated for this gal.  We compromised with Whoopie Pies, and Little Guy got to choose the flavor.  As much as I tried to steer him toward something involving chocolate (Hubby and my favorite), he settled firmly on Strawberry Lemonade.  

Well then.

Here's how we made our Strawberry Lemonade Whoopie Pies.

Ingredients:

1 box strawberry flavored cake mix

1 box lemon pudding

1/2 cup coconut oil (that's the only oil I have - but you can sub vegetable oil)

3 eggs

1/2 cup water

Filling:

marshmallow fluff

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

Place tablespoon sized drops onto a pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  

Let cool.

Sandwich marshmallow fluff between 2 "cookies."

*Disclaimer:  We virtually always bake from scratch at our house (usually cutting the sugar in recipes in half - or replacing it with honey), so we found these whoopie pies to be entirely too sweet for us.  We each enjoyed one, but the rest of the batch never passed our lips.  I'm quite sure other families would love them though, that's why I'm sharing this recipe.  

If you try them, let me know how you like them.

Linked up at:
Sugar and Dots

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This Moment

Linking up with SouleMama for this moment.  

A moment from this week that I want to pause, savor, and remember.   

Castles, they might crumble.

Dreams may not come true.

But you are never all alone because I will always, always love you.

Plumb

Linked up at:
The Wiegands

3

Despicable Me 2 Minion Craft

Life around here has been all about Despicable Me 2 for the past couple of weeks.  Little Guy has been dying to go see it, and honestly, so have Hubby and I.  We loved the first one (we actually saw it twice in the theater), so we couldn't wait when we heard part 2 was coming out.

To help us get in the mood (like we needed any help), I thought we could make our own minions.  This turned out to be such a fun project!

  We used:

empty toilet paper rolls
tissue paper
paint
googly eyes

It was so much fun!

We also had a coloring party with pages from the Despicable Me 2 coloring book - which I picked up at Michael's for only $1.00!

We finally got a chance to see the movie last weekend, and it was really cute!

*There are so many great summer movies for kids this year.  Which have you been most excited to see with your family?

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