Pumpkin Patch Kids

This Saturday we just had a day for fun and pictures! David is loving using our new camera and we are capturing the last few weeks of our baby as a bump in Mama's belly :-)
*Side note, today a little girl at the church potluck was sitting on a friend's lap beside me. She poked my belly and asked in a sweet little voice "is there a baby in there?" So cute!

We're somewhere between 38 and 39 weeks. I happened to see my midwife's chart on Friday and saw they are going with a different date then they gave me over the phone, a later date. That's cool. More opportunity for baby to come on his own before the pressure of inducing starts. So, as fate smiled upon us this weekend, it was the kick off of Pumpkin Fest! Just when Baby Bear hits pumpkin-size!

 

 

*What I wore: cardi/old navy; cami/shadeclothing.com; maternity jeans/indigo blue from Motherhood; flats/Walmart

 

Pumpkin artist 

 

 

 

 Hubby found a friend in the apple barn! :-)

Attempting to slide the baby out ;-) 

 

Ineffective, obviously! 

 

Next idea, curb-walking. Suggestion given by 4 people. Apparently you can't make a baby come when he's not ready. 

 

 Sliding and walking makes a mama tired. Time for a rest!

 



 

 

My turn with the camera! I LOVE that fall is coming :-) Also loving the close-up feature on our camera!

 

Hope everyone else had an awesome weekend!

Best,

M~



August Already? Really??

WOW! So I am 31 weeks pregnant, this kid could come in 7-11 weeks. WHOA! It's getting exciting :-) This weekend hubs and I had a chance to hit some consignment stores where we found some cute baby room accents and a little fleece camo outfit! I LOVE how baby's room is looking! I'll have to get some updated pix of the nursery!

Some randomness first:
1. Something I really hate about myself - I cannot tell a short story. I seem incapable of leaving out minute details.
2. Lately, for several months, I've found myself getting stuck in negative mode. I have no reason to give a negative spin to my conversation. Everything is great. I really have nothing but wonderful things to say about my husband and the baby coming, but I catch this tone in my voice, this rough edge to my conversation... I don't get it. Finally last night I started praying about it, hopefully I will start controlling it now.

Humorous things David has said:
*Walking by a Forever 21 I was admiring how pretty their clothes looked for the coming fall. He says "Yea, too bad they're made for skinny people." OOOooohh the look I gave him! I haven't let him alone about it since, even though he explained he was looking at the guy manikin and how skinny it looked and he was thinking he didn't look like that. Ok honey. Sure. ;-)
*After watching Olympics for a while Saturday, I commented that I was inspired to get into running post-pregnancy. I have visions of jogging with my baby in his jogging stroller (that we will hopefully be getting before he's born!). David says to me "You could start by running to the stove". Nice. The most chauvinistic thing he's ever said! He had a mischievous smirk on his face, but wow! I was shocked!

Ok, that's all folks!

Yesterday Meredith and Jesse were married! I'm so excited. All day I thought of them and prayed for them. Its so wonderful when two God-fearing, loving people find each other and just can't wait to start serving God together.

Last week we had an unexpected early visit to the midwife clinic. I wasn't worried or scared about anything but I had noticed a few things that I decided might be worth mentioning to the office. They said to go ahead and come in for a check up. I felt like it might be pointless to begin with, and definitely after we went did I feel frustration and anger for how the appointment went. I hadn't slept well for a few days, parts of me were hurting I suppose from baby stretching out and his movements have changed some, and I've been getting a few more "practice contractions" that actually hurt. So feeling like that, David even through his own exhaustion from overtime at a physically challenging job, had compassion on me and wanted to cheer me up and make the most of our day. He is so good at taking care of me. I love how it was so important to him that while we had the chance, he wanted to spend time together doing something. He kept saying "We don't get a lot of time together to go out and do anything, lets make a day of it." I love that he was sensitive to our lack of "going-out" time together. So even though I would have loved nothing more than crawling in bed and sleeping the weekend away, and I'm sure on some level he would have to, since he took the weekend off and made a point to say it was for us, I rallied for my hubby who was rallying for me :-)

Our weekend:

He brought me flowers :-) These were such bright, pretty daisies! They really reminded me of Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail" saying "Daisies are a friendly flower", they just look happy! I love how happy David looks when he gives them to me and hears me express appreciation for their prettiness.

My first experience at a Johnny Rockets. David really wanted us to have that "old diner" experience.

We took turns picking out old rock 'n roll and classic country tunes.

Maybe not an old fashioned favorite, sweet potato fries!!!

MMMMmmmm!! Double chocolate malt!

To share!

You know how we love our burgers! I went with the classic and subbed in the "special sauce"!

For the first time in weeks we skipped Farmer's market! We were way too exhausted. It was exciting to sleep in and laze around the house. As aforementioned, when we finally got around, we hit consignment stores! I loved it! We got paid from 2 places I had previously dropped off some things, which funded the rest of our day! Baby stuff and groceries :-) Hopefully I get another check from my fav consignment store in town and I can get some supplies to finish gifts for people. I love participating in a small way in the small business exchange!

We decided on cooking a Mexican feast after all our running around. So fun! 

My first time making Mexican rice!!! I love that it actually turned out! My new pal Candace pointed me in the right direction, and I went from there. It was most gratifying that hubby was actually pleased and impressed with the rice! So here are my tips:

Rice cooker so you eliminate mistakes (unless you're a master rice chef!)

I used brown rice so 1 part rice, 2 parts water

Olive oil in a huge skillet, about an inch worth

Add rice, some garlic powder and black pepper

Apprx. 1 TBS tomato paste, water to equal about 2 TBS total mixture

Stir tomato mixture into rice

Add about 2 pinches of sea salt

Add cilantro at end, dried or fresh (i had dried on hand)

YAY! Multi-grain tortilla, only 160 mg sodium... lowest I could find in the store

I load my tacos/burritos with rice, meat, refried beans, cheese, sauteed red peppers, fresh onion, lettuce, tomato, sour cream! Soooo delicious!

It was a very nice weekend with my hubs. Sunday we ate leftovers and then slept the afternoon away until it was time to go back to church. Church was awesome, we really got to meet a lot more new people, I may have met a new walking buddy! Mother of 2 yr old twins and has one on the way, WOW! I could learn some things from her I'm sure :-)

Monday was such a blessing... Sunday night after David went to bed I got into a stressed, down phase and decided to yoga, then read a couple chapters out of devotional books and read the passages along with the lessons. I turned on Pandora to have study music. SO amazing!!! Laura Story "Mighty to Save" was the first song in the set. That is my ULTIMATE go-to heart jump-start song! The tone of my evening was totally changed. I was able to open myself up to God and just talk to Him about everything that had begun to weigh on my mind. So Monday morning when I woke up I was trying to hang onto everything positive God had shown me the night before. David was part of that. On his own, he began to clean our room, I went up and joined him and he told me he was going to dishes that day and fold laundry. What a sweetie! Because of his willingness to help me after his long night of work, I was encouraged to work on the nursery and meet some other goals I had. He stayed right there with me helping and encouraging me. So much to be thankful for!



Dinner after work last night! A new fav!!! I picked up mandarin chicken in the organic freezer section, little did I know it was meatless. It still turned out great! I sauteed it in sesame seed oil for a richer, nuttier, more Asian flavor. I used a whole romaine heart for the salad base, chopped raw almonds in the food processor, added sunmaid dried cranberries ( the least amount of sugar in dried cranberries I could find in the store), layered the "chicken" on top, and made my own dressing out of sesame seed oil, rice vinegar, a touch of light soy sauce, and sesame seeds! YUMMY! Hubby even liked the chicken and now I have a new meal idea for us: this "chicken" with rice, onions, mandarin oranges, and making our own egg rolls. It will be a date night in with "take out" made healthy, Chinese!

Have a great week ya'll!

Best,

M~

Concerts may not just be a thing from my past!

I tell you, whether to go to a friend's benefit concert was a real struggle for me. I have not gone to a concert since David and I got engaged. For two years prior to marrying him, I went to every concert that was within reasonable driving distance (reasonability subject to likability ;-) ). In 2009 I remember 3 months strait of concerts! It was a blast! I had a concert buddy and everything, I was SO cool!

I picture myself a little differently now... or I did. A little less endurance maybe? A little less ambition for "fun"? I just tire out too easily! Man, am I getting old or is this another passing phase of pregnancy... like my bump, for instance? Or peeing every five minutes...

The fun actually began Thursday night when I was invited to go with a group to do some last minute shopping with the bride to be and lasted through Saturday night.

One week from today this girl is getting married!!! Whoa! I so remember the final stretch before my wedding, such anticipation, such excitement, such longing to FINALLY be with my one and only for the rest of our lives!!! Other people getting married makes me sappy about when I got married ;-)

Thursday night at Kohl's, Bride and sisters looking at shoes, dresses, and ties, shirts and jackets for the guys!

Love how she'll "tie" everything together and bring out the colors of her wedding with her shoes!

These girls are the loveliest sisters ever! So awesome how they're so there for one another!

Just laughin' it up like girls do!

So glad I got to hang out with former college roomie and bridesmaid Sarah!

Oh these girls!

The busy bride, shopping, getting gifts, and running everything from her cell!

Yea... took a minute out for me... My current bras which got me through almost 2 trimesters had to go! It was the end of the 1st trimester all over again, things were falling out of places they didn't need to fall out of, and getting pinched where its not pleasant to be pinched. Up another cup size I go. Girls, I was so not prepared for this! Did not think that big 'ole D cup would really fit... imagine my surprise!

YAY time for food! Love us some Panera ya'll ;-)

No, I did not order two drinks! The Mocha Frappe is for hubs. Ya'll know how much he digs a mocha frappe ;-) The low-fat mango smoothie was for me and baby bear! Though I was kinda lusting after anything resembling and iced coffee! I indulged and got the turkey bacon, avocado sandwhich... just a half, just a taste. So yummy!

That was our wild Thursday night! I had to ditch early so I didn't get to go to Hobby Lobby for all the fun with crafts, hubs kinda needed transportation for work ;-) But it was totally a blast!

Friday night I reserved exclusively for the Opening Ceremonies. Who in the world doesn't know Olympics are going on right now? I grabbed a pizza and bread sticks for dinner, there was no way I could fathom cooking that night. Unfortunately, hubs was not as excited as he usually is about the pizza. Apparently he wanted our "fun money" for this week to go towards the Batman movie. Oops. So sorry honey :-(

My girl Sarah came over in time to watch opening ceremonies with me. It was awesome! Hanging with her and seeing the creativity and talents of our neighbors across the pond!

 I cannot believe that next Summer Olympics I will have a 3.5 year old!!!! SOO crazy. I'll always be able to tell baby bear that we watched Olympics together from the time he was in my tummy :-)

FINALLY concert day! It was kind of a fun start. Hubs and I still got to do our Farmer's Market routine, though for the first time ever, we were a little disappointed with the produce. After that I had barely an hour to make food, pack food and water for the road, and fix myself up to go. The girls were ready to make a day of it! First stop mall, then brunch ;-)

Lacey got these SCRUMP-TIOUS-looking and tasting, chocolate chip pancakes. The girls kept downing the coffee.... I was sooooo jealous!

Oh yea! That golden stack of yummy would put a smile on my face too!

Ah yay! More time with the bride-to-be! I'm so glad I got to hang out with her these last few days! I'm going to miss her soo much! It's her fiance we're going to support at the benefit concert.

Chillin' at the raffle stand.

Gotta protect my fair skin from the sun with my floppy hat!

Funny story... We stopped at a gas station about 10 miles from the venue. I would have used the restroom, but I couldn't even stand the smell of the hallway. I was told the church providing the field for the event would be unlocked... no such luck. Nor was the firehouse next door. I had made a joke that at this point I could go in the woods, that became my reality. Soon everyone there knew the big pregnant chick had a big full bladder and they were rushing to find a solution. This one nice older couple, parishioners of the church, happened to have some toilet paper in their trunk. Oh joy! I called Lacey in the meantime on her cell (she was across the field from me), to see if she or Mer could be a guard. They both came, and the wife of the gent who had dragged me all over trying to find an unlocked facility. I really would have been fine with just Lacey or Mer, or both, but all three? And this lady, though sweet as she could be, I didn't know! A little much for my shy bladder issues ;-) So... this lady picks a big 'ole tree. I was totally thinking the whole woods... from this tree I could still see everyone up on the hill and thought surely they could see me, I could see the band setting up on stage, and the road. I knew people from the road would have a view. There was NO WAY! Finally I convinced the lady to let me go in the woods, her husband, close enough to holler at us, said "Watch out for ticks!" Great, thanks. The lady proceeds to go in with me, and stands, back to me (praise the Lord), less than 3 feet away! Seriously! I think there is more room between stalls!!! LOL. Well, finally went, then 20 minutes later the preacher showed up and unlocked the church building. Great timing.

Added another friend! Candace is awesome! She was our ride home. That makes her double-awesome!

The speaker and director of this organization is also an author. She was great at keeping the message upbeat and effective!

Meredith and fiance Jessie, co-coordinators of this wonderful event, taking a moment to just enjoy the scene!

Meredith and friends enjoying the show and showing support for Jesse's (drummer) band, A New Day!

I love that this is a band that really stands for such a wonderful cause, that together they worked to put together a fundraiser to help mom's in crisis and precious little babies. Their music definitely rocks! Check out the links above for samples and see what they're up to now!

I got plenty of people-watching time in. I loved this scene with father and son. Need a great idea for a father-son outing? Go to a Christian Rock concert together!

This is great, Mom joins Dad and Son down front! This dad was so thrilled to have them there, he just kept giving them big bear hugs!

I also loved this mom and son interaction! Pure joy right here! Made me so anxious to have my own little boy in my arms! Cool fact... this is the drummer's sister and the one who recommended our midwife to us through Meredith!

FINALLY!!! Long over-due bump pix! We're 30 weeks folks (65 days to go today)! Our little guy is super-active! And so much bigger! His movements can be hard, fast punches and kicks, to very strong, but steady movements that appear as bulges all around my belly. I love this connection with him right now. Sometimes, it can get a little crazy, and occasionally hurt a little bit. This dude now has grip strength! Hair, finger nails and toe nails, eye lashes, and fuller features. His brain has the little squigglies now so he can store knowledge one day!

And of course! Have to show at least one weekend meal! Sunday we had big plans for burgers, unfortunately we discovered our meat had gone bad. Good thing I had already prepared chicken on standby... We just changed it to chicken sandwiches ;-) Nuking the chicken wasn't as exciting David said "so in the end we end up microwaving lunch any way" however, I reminded him that at least we cooked all the sides and fixings ;-)

mmmmm! My very own roasted red peppers (which ended up also serving as a great add-in for the humus I made Monday)

Hubby made a deluxe chicken sandwich, loaded down with caramelized onions, cheese, 3 pieces of chicken and four slices of bacon, and smothered in BBQ sauce! That's my man ;-)

I'm soo glad he let me take this picture! I just couldn't imagine him eating this... doesn't that look painful??

This is from tonight... I'm getting ready to work on my blog. Snack of choice? Two peaches from Farmer's Market, organic/natural ginger ale (I only drink half because its still not an ideal beverage for pregnancy), and of course, have to get in that water!

This is from the other night... I wish the picture showed this more clearly, where you see the arrow and line, baby bear was making a crazy "doggie bone" shape on the right side of my tummy. He was all raised up and firm, it must have been his head and butt making the round shapes. It was CRAZY! He just hung out there for a while. It was pretty cool. He's getting sooo BIG!

That's my weekend+ folks. Have a great week!

Best,

M~