15 Weeks As Of 09.30.15

How far along? 15  Weeks!
Size of baby M? Little love is about the size of a naval orange measuring around 4 inches long and weighing about 1.75 ounces.
Total weight gain/loss: Still hanging around that 110lb mark. At least the rapid gain in the beginning has leveled off a bit...had me worried that we where looking at a 50lb weight gain this time...eekkss.
Maternity clothes? Some shirts yes. My regular shirts fit but they are just too snug for my comfort. I have a small collection of long sleeve maternity shirts and am going to have to pick some new up as the temperatures are quickly falling here in good ole' Wisco!
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Dreadful. Garrett was doing quite well and last night was up most of the night. Even on the nights he does sleep I have such trouble getting comfortable. Plus, I've been up 1-2 times a night to pee. Last night I got up, used the bathroom and a half hour later I was awake and had to go again. I made my bladder suffer as I wasn't about to get up out of my nice warm bed again.
Best moment this week: Feeling more and more little flutters in my belly. I feel you sweet babe! It's crazy to me that we're already in that stage of this pregnancy, the feeling little movements stage. With as sick and tired as I've been each day seems SO long sometimes but then I look back at when we found out (just 10 weeks ago) and it seems like the time as flown! I still feel like I have FORVER to go but I know that this part of the year flies for us! October brings Steve's birthday, one of our nephew's birthdays and Halloween. November brings my birthday, another of our nephews birthdays and Thanksgiving. December is always busy for us with Christmas with all of our families (three celebrations) as well as my sister-in-laws birthday. January and February will be a little slower but I'm sure will cruise right along as well. And before we know it, March will be here!
Have you told family and friends: Yes, everyone knows! There are some people that haven't heard the news from us, family, friends or social media so they're quite shocked when they see me and this growing bump. It makes me laugh a bit that my belly has been noticeable since about 13 weeks (even in my baggy scrubs at work) because people still didn't notice my bump at 24-26 weeks with Garrett. Oh my how quickly the second pops out!
Miss Anything? Sleep, obviously. Being able to move around without feeling 400+ weeks pregnant. Being semi comfortable in my own skin. The amount of acne I've had this pregnancy has really taken a toll on my self confidence. Everyone else says it's hardly noticeable but I know that it's there and there's days where I just want to hide in the house. It's taken guts to take these photographs every week because I'm being incredibly down on myself lately. But I keep up with them because I know in years to come I'll appreciate having them. I love to look back on Garrett's and I'm sure I'll feel the same with this baby.
Movement: Little flutters here and there. From time to time I'm certain that I feel a slight jab but then I doubt myself. It just seems unbelievable that our little babe can already be large enough to be jabbing me. I can't wait until Garrett can feel the kicks and movement! 😊
Food cravings: Eating has actually made me more nauseous this week so it hasn't been a favorite activity of mine. I crave beef sticks and Little Debbie Swiss Rolls quite often. I still love carbs and cheesy potatoes could be on the daily around here...I wouldn't mind one bit. Apples with peanut butter go down just fine and vanilla Greek yogurt does as well.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Eating, strong smells, talking about nasty stuff at work.
Symptoms: Moodiness, cramping, DREADFUL headaches, lightheadedness, dizziness, heartburn (with greasy, spicy foods only), joint pain (SO much joint pain!) and shortness of breath with any mildly strenuous activity. The lady bits still continue to hurt. Ouch.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Still mostly moody. And I cry at anything remotely sad.
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender prediction: Ehh, no clue. Still leaning girl but my brain is confused.
Labor Signs: None. They can make an appearance around 37-38 weeks though and I'd be alright with that!
Belly Button in or out? More out than in these days
Wedding rings on or off?  On, and still loose as normal. I wore them the whole time with Garrett so we'll see!
Looking forward to: Baby's gender! Baby's gender! Baby's gender! Having Garrett feel those little kicks and feeling not so miserable...hopefully.

Prepare: Chicken Pot Pie

Pot pie is like a total comfort food if you ask me. Especially when my momma makes it. Her flakey crust just melts in your mouth and it's pure deliciousness. I was super hungry for pot pie awhile back but was in a total time crunch. I nearly called my mom to whip one up for me but figured I'd try my hand at it. I cheated and used a store bought crust which I'll gladly spend the extra time on next time, while it was good it was certainly missing that delicious crust.

For those of you in a time crunch at dinnertime this is a great reciepe for you! It's easy, it's quick and it's tasty!

Here's what you'll need for this yummy-ness:

1. 1 package of refrigerated pie crust
2. 1 can cream of celery/chicken soup
3. 1 package mixed vegetables-whichever kinds you prefer!
4. Chicken broth
5. cooked chicken
6. You can use leftover chicken for this recipe or boil 2 to 3 chicken breasts until cooked through. Cool, then chop or shred chicken.

Whisk together cream of celery/chicken soup and chicken broth in a sauce pan over medium heat. I didn't measure, but you’ll probably need a 1/2 can or a can of broth. Just mix until the gravy is the desired consistency.

Add a half bag (or more, to taste) of mixed vegetables to soup mixture.

Cook until heated through. Stir in chicken. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Press one pie crust into a glass pie pan. Trim the edges. Randomly pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork.

Pour filling into pie crust. Top with remaining crust, sealing and trimming the edges, as necessary. Cut slits in pie crust to let steam escape.

Bake at 350 degrees until the crust is brown, about 30 minutes & enjoy!

Family Time, Corn Races & Blood Moons

This weekend was another one of those heart so full weekends. Saturday started out slow paced and we attended a family reunion for Steve's family that afternoon. Garrett had such fun playing football with the big kids! 

We stopped at my parents on the way home, picked corn stalks for fall décor & end up grabbing dinner from a local Pork Chop Dinner benefit. It was delicious and it was nice spending relaxing time with my family. My parents are beyond smitten with Garrett and seeing them interact with him melts my heart. He ran in the corn fields with my mom and brother, took a lawn mower ride with grandpa and nearly gave their chickens heart attacks chasing them in the fields.

We came home just before bed time and Garrett was out about 20-30 minutes earlier than usual! Such an exhausting day for a little guy! Steve lit a fire and we roasted some smores. We had plans to enjoy the fire for awhile but we found ourselves dozing pretty quickly leading to an early bedtime for us too.

Sunday was a mellow day. We chilled around the house, spent hours outside and worked on building some storage cases/bookshelves for Garrett's big boy room. Dinner was pork chop leftovers which made my job easy, plus quick clean up. Garrett went to bed early as it was tiring weekend for him and Steve & I watched the lunar eclipse. Cuddled under blankets on the deck we reflected and talked about how dang lucky we felt to live in the country, surrounded by peace.

Week Fourteen {Baby Number Two}

 14 Weeks as of 09.23.15

How far along? 14  Weeks!
Size of baby M? Baby M is about the size of a lemon! He/she weighs about 1 ounce and is about 3.5-4 inches in length. He/she has developed soft finger and toe nails and is starting to develop bone marrow!
Total weight gain/loss: Still right around the 110 mark which makes a gain of somewhere between 3 to 6 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Not yet but the amount of clothes that I have that fit me correctly is quickly shrinking. When not pregnant I wear my clothes pretty snug and my collection of baggy shirts is pretty small. I'm starting to dread heading to my closet every day because there's a SUPER small handful of shirts that I actually think I look alright in. I need a shopping spree day to accommodate this growing bump!
Stretch marks? No new ones. I developed a few on my upper thighs/tush after having Garrett but they are so light that thankfully they can't be seen!
Sleep: I always feel like I could use more! Garrett is so unpredictable at night that you never know if you'll get to sleep all night or if he'll have you up a few hours after you lay down. Frustrating.
Best moment this week: Being into the second trimester. I can't believe how quickly that came but yet it still feels like I have FOREVER to go! We're due March 23rd though, which is exactly 6 months from today!
Have you told family and friends: Yes, everyone knows!
Miss Anything? Sleep (it's been TWO years!), feeling like myself, fitting into my clothes, having energy...
Movement: Some quickening but nothing more than that so far. I felt Garrett kick for the first time around 17 weeks so it's exciting to think that in a few short weeks I could feel those tiny little jabs! :) I loved that part of pregnancy with Garrett!
Food cravings: This week has been a bit of touch and go with nausea. It seems to be getting a bit better but will come on with a vengeance quickly when it wants to. I've been eating a lot of Saltines which I'm quickly growing sick of. I craved cheesy hash browns like mad this week and gladly would have eaten them for every meal. Carbs still seem to sit the best but I'm trying to eat a variety of foods regardless. I've been eating fruit snacks like they're going out of style but they are little bits of flavor that don't leave me feeling terrible. Overall I've been so, so hungry this past week. I eat and eat and eat and I'm still starving. Might as well say hello to huge thighs right now...
Anything making you queasy or sick: Talking about stuff at work sometimes has me holding back from throwing up. Nasty wounds, tracheostomies and gross sputum are right up there at the top of the list. I've noticed that the past two weeks I'm SUPER sensitive to smells and everything seems 100x stronger than it really is. That's fabulous with some of the nasty things I encounter at work.
Symptoms: Still with nausea on and off, back pain, frequent headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness, increased appetite and urination, the lady bits keep on growing (yahoo!). And the acne, oh the ACNE! It is TERRIBLE! I feel like a 13 year old boy these days and no amount of cover up can hide it!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Still moody & quick to snap. Will it end?
Have you started to show yet: I certainly think so! Stretching shirts and abusing the hair band trick already!
Gender prediction: Not sure this week. We're 100% on a girl's name (same one we had selected for our first pregnancy) but can't agree on a boy's name (again!). If this growing baby is another boy I'm not sure he'll have a name before he's five...
Labor Signs: None yet. We can wait another 23 weeks. Then those labor signs can come of full force! #dontwantanotheroverduebaby
Belly Button in or out? Making it's way to the outside
Wedding rings on or off? On
Looking forward to: Still looking forward to our 20 week ultrasound! And crossing my fingers I don't feel like complete junk the entire pregnancy!

Family Photos 2015

Our dear photographer, Whitney of Whit Meza Photography just made a big move to Tennessee! I knew before she left that we had to have our annual family photos taken by her! After all, she's captured some of the biggest moments and best memories for our family over the last three years! Garrett's birthday is in August and due to the fact that I have two boys who dislike the whole "having our picture taken thing" I always try to kill two birds with one stone: family photos & Garrett's yearly photos all in one. As I meanitoned, Whitney has been there for some big moments for our family:

Our announcement photos with Garrett:

Our maternity photos {part one l part two}:

Garrett's newborn photos:

Our 2014 family photos:

Garrett's 1 year photos:

 She's also captured birthday parties and more recently our Baby #2 announcement photos (coming soon to the blog) and our 2015 family photos. I thought I'd share them with you today!

Garrett had decided that sitting still for photos just wasn't going to happen this year. I have great hopes that next year, when he's three he might be more cooperative. Of course, then we'll have a five month old to contend with too. Good thing I've grown to love un-posed, candid photography huh?

 

As always, these photos belong to me and can not/should not be used without my permission.

Fall To-Do List

Summer used to be my favorite holiday. Then I got pregnant with Garrett and became sort of intolerant of the heat. While I still enjoy the sunshine, swimming and summer activities I've grown a much deeper love of fall. The crisp air, the heavenly smells, and sweet tastes of pies and ciders. I love it all. I've compiled a little list of things I'm dying to do in this upcoming season...

Bake some fancy pies l The only pie that I really enjoy is Dutch Apple. I've never been a lover of any other sorts. I'm determined this fall to make some fancy looking pies. Plus, I've got two boys in the house who would gladly eat up the pies

Jump in the leaves l Garrett didn't enjoy the whole jumping in the leaves last year and I have a feeling he'll love it this year! Moving from our tiny little yard in town to this massive 2.5+ one will mean far more leaves and raking I'm sure but that's what brings on those huge arm muscles right?

Spend some weekends at the orchard l I love apple orchards! Sipping hot cider, nibbling on fresh apple squares and watching Garrett enjoy the play yards. 

Read tons of Fall/Halloween books l Garrett refers to his fall/Halloween books as his "monster" books and we'be got quite the collection going! Room on the Broom is by far a favorite of ours and we're also loving... I've got a couple more I'd like to add to our list this year such as this one, this one and this one.

Ride hayrides l I haven't been on a hayride since I was a child so I think making it an annual family thing would be so much fun! Garrett loves tractors right now so I'm sure he'd love the idea of it!

Host bonfires with friends l I've been working on putting together some ideas for a bonfire get together. I'm thinking hot cider, hot cocoa, assorted local beers, roasted beef hot dogs, smores (of course!) and some other snack-y foods!

Bake all things pumpkin l I'm not a huge lover of pumpkin but after finding this pumpkin cream cheese bread recipe I'm convinced that I need to try making it! I'm also loving the look of these pumpkin brownies and mini pumpkin pies! I may even have to attempt this delicious looking apple butter recipe!

Get a fall inspired manicure l I haven't had a mani or pedi since I was like 37/38 weeks pregnant with Garrett and that seems like forever ago! It's time! I'm dying to spoil myself a little and am loving Essie brand: In The Lobby for this fall season!

Visit the farmer's market l We haven't been there since last summer and I've been meaning too for the last few months! It's on my to-do list for this Saturday though! I'm thinking iced coffee, tasty doughnuts and picking up some of the loveliest fall flowers for the house!

Carve pumpkins l Can't wait to see if Garrett will get into the goop this year!

There's also bound to be plenty of pots of soup and chili made. Hot cocoa sipped. Crisp leaves crunched and mornings spent cuddling up under warm blankets. Here's to the lovely fall weather! What's topping your fall to-do list this year?

Five On Friday

It's been quite awhile since I've done a five on Friday post and I thought "Well hey, today is as good of a day as any right??! Plus, it will give me a chance to catch y'all up on the happenings around these parts.

- One - First off a HUGE thank you for all the thoughts, well wishes and excitement surrounding our latest announcement! I can't wait to share more details about pregnancy this time around as it is SO different than my first! I'm full of more thoughts, more fears this time around and the nausea has been an all day, everyday thing. It's such fun to know that there are so many people out there (many whom I've never met) that are sharing in our excitement! I can't promise that the blog won't go baby crazy in the next little bit but it's been a tough, tough secret to keep these past 13 weeks!

- Two - It was feeling a lot like fall here in Wisconsin but this week has been in the mid to high 80's. Talk about killing this pregnant woman! Ever since I was pregnant with Garrett I have been intolerant of any sort of heat so this week has been killer! Needless to say I've anxiously been awaiting the arrival of that cooler weather back! I broke out all my fall décor and have been loving the new look in the house! My mantel is decorated and I've been dying over this cinnamon fire candle I picked up a Target. Seriously, if you don't already have one walk run to Target and get at least two. You won't be sorry!

- Three - With my fall décor came a strong itch to decorate for Halloween. I've literally had to convince myself to wait until the beginning of October and everyday it's been a challenge to avoid that orange and black tote of scary fun in the basement! I picked up a few new things this year courtesy of Target's dollar spot and I'm pretty excited about them! I love decorating and when I can pick stuff up for $1 and $3 that pretty much makes my day! I did bring Garrett's fall and Halloween books out already and he's been making frequent requests to eat the "Monster" books. He really loved the "spookies" last Halloween so I'm excited to see what he does this year! There is a few more things in my Halloween décor wish list that I'll have my eyes on after the holiday {hooray for clearance shopping!}:

 Skull Hand Hour Glass l Lace Mesh Mantle Scarf l Halloween Skull

Lit Berry Wreath l Crow Skeleton l Skulls Tablecloth

 

 - Four - In all things fall I'm also dying to make this pumpkin bread posted by Christina of Carolina Charm! I'm not a fan of pumpkin but it looks so dang good that I feel like I need to try it regardless!

- Five - With the new baby arriving in about 6.5 months we've been working on plans for Garrett's big boy room. Right now he's in a bedroom on the main floor, right across the hall from us but with a new addition he'll move upstairs into a room we're renovating. The shape of the room is a little funny thanks to the fabulous roof lines in this ole' house but I think we've got some good plans worked out for it! I'm still going with a nautical sort of theme but hoping to add in more of a rustic feel. These are some Pinterest finds that have caught my eye:

 I picked up a head board a couple days ago, to refurbish for his room and have had my eyes open for a dresser. I'm thinking the wood will be a deep navy but will have to see what I can find at the store when I go. We decided on moving him straight to a twin sized bed instead of purchasing a toddler just to move him into a twin. It'll be placed against the wall and we'll purchase rails for the other side. I'm hoping it solves our problems of sleeping through the night as he certainly seems to sleep better in actual beds versus his crib. I guess the only thing we can do is try!

In other news I've successfully blogged everyday for the past week and feel pretty dang successful about that! It helps that I've been off work for the last week, along with Steve for a little anniversary stay-cation! I'm telling you, I could get used to this! ;) Much to my dismay, it's back to work for the weekend though but I do have the first half of the week off next week...for that I am grateful.

Here's hoping y'all have a fabulous weekend! Soak up the last summer-ish weather as fall is a comin'!