Food = Mess

I have really been into watching the Food Network lately. I don't even think it's because I'm pregnant. I knew about "The Food Network" but never remembered it when it came to watching TV. I have been watching it ALL the time lately--even when they are cooking things that I would never cook. It's so interesting to watch, though. I really do love to cook. I love trying new recipes and making things from scratch; however.......I hate the mess that goes along with it. For example.......

Ugh.

I attempted three (yes, three) new recipes tonight for dinner. They all came from the Food Network magazine. The first was a quick, pretty easy broccoli dish that involved blanching broccoli, tossing it with olive oil, bread crumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper, and baking it in the oven. It was okay.....just okay. The second was a recipe for three-cheese macaroni which is "lighter" than regular macaroni and cheese. It was not too difficult to make, although it dirtied SO many dishes. This was a big thumbs down. It was very creamy but didn't have a lot of flavor. The third was sooo good! I made a version of the Red Lobster garlic cheddar biscuits. They were very tasty and would have been 100 times better if I had cooked them for about five minutes less. With our oven, I always have to cook things longer than the recipe states, but I kept these in just barely too long. They had really good flavor, though, and I can't wait to make the again!

The dough...
The final outcome! Yes, they were a little crispy on the outside but, like I said, good flavor and fluffy on the inside.

Thankfully, my sweet and wonderful husband helped me out by drying the dishes. I mean, I did use almost every dish in the house to make the dinner. I don't know that I could have handled the situation by myself. My lower lower back was killlllllllllling me. We took a walk after we finished for some post dinner exercise. After taking a shower and now sitting on the couch with my feet up, I feel much better!

Okay, off to watch 90210, Melrose Place, and maybe a little Oprah. We are so well-rounded! 19 weeks tomorrow....... :)

Sweet Sweet Potato!

I had my monthly checkup today. Everything was great! We were able to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was near the 160's again--very strong. PTL! We scheduled the appointment for our next ultrasound for October 5th!!! I cannot waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait. Seriously. During this ultrasound, they will check all aspects of the baby's anatomy, including the sex, of course. Can't wait!

As of today, I am 18 weeks preggo! Here's is alllll the info, minus the belly pic.

(((Isn't it the hairiest, ugliest sweet potato ever??)))

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

That's it for now.........OH and here's a video with the baby's heartbeat. Ryan took it on his cell phone, so the image quality isn't that great......which is FINE since it's my big ol' belly :) He taped it on the sly. The heartbeat doesn't actually start until around 12 seconds.



It's the best sound we've ever heard!

Duck Feet

Tomorrow I have my second doctor's appointment with my regular OBGYN. I am sooooo excited (as I mentioned previously) to hear the baby's heartbeat again. Our appointment is at 3:20. If you read this beforehand, please pray that everything goes well! Not that there's any reason to think it wouldn't, but prayer doesn't hurt.

One thing I've wanted to talk about is flat shoes. Since I have started showing, I have been wearing maternity pants, of course. Theeeeeeeeeeeeee most comfortable clothing item on the planet. The only problem is that they are much shorter than my regular work pants. Hence, the flat shoes. There's also the tripping and falling issue that I'm slightly worried about. I started wearing them on Monday and have mixed feelings! One thing is that my feet sweat like crazy in them. It's gross. They don't sweat this bad in any other shoe--it's kind of weird. They are very comfortable, though, except for the fact that they're a new shoe and they're tearing up my heel a little bit. I feel like I can move so easy in them. On the other hand, I feel kind of like a duck when I walk in them. They're just so.......flat! I can walk around so quickly because of it, but I feel like I'm just flopping all over the place. Again, mixed feelings! I don't know if I'll ever be completely in love with the flat shoe, but I'm giving them a chance.

That's it for now. Nothing too major tonight! Ryan just got into bed, so I need to get off the computer for the evening :) I'll post tomorrow evening to update!

Baby's First Wedding at 17 Weeks

Nothing too out of the ordinary occurred this week. It was mostly work, work, work! Yesterday, I went shopping almost all day with my BFF Amy. I had SUCH a good time! I bought a few cute tops from Forever 21 that I think will work for a quite a while for my big ol' belly. Amy and I always have the best time together. We could talk all day long and never run out of things to talk about. I am so glad to have her as a forever friend!

Last night we attended the wedding of a very good friend, Megan. It was one of the nicest weddings I've ever been to. We had the best time! The best part was the band at the reception. They are called "Off the Record," and they were soooo good! We--yes, we--danced the night away. When I woke up this morning, my feet, legs, and torso were actually sore from dancing so much! Here we are last night:

My head looks so big next to Ryan's! :) Yikes.

....Now onto baby stuff....

I am 17 weeks now! This Thursday, I have my monthly checkup. The most exciting thing that will occur will be listening to the heartbeat. I can't wait! Then we will go in again two weeks after that and have an ultrasound. I really can't wait for that. I have been trying to come up with a "theme" by looking at baby bedding this week. Here's what I have so far:

This is our current boy choice from the Gap. The little green dots are turtles. I love it! Obviously, a boy choice.

We both love this for a girl. It's from Pottery Barn Kids. The dots are just dots. I like that it has a bunch of different colors, and I loooooove the monogramming--which is optional. I discussed different bedding that involved butterflies with a few people, but to those people--I like this better! :)

Surprisingly, Ryan and I both agreed on these! I like that they are simple with lots of white. I can't wait to find out what sex this baby is!

Here is the information about our baby at 17 weeks, along with the standard pictures.


Your baby’s sense of hearing is developing since the ears have fully formed and moved into their final position. Your baby is also beginning to form adipose or fat tissue. This will help him/her take on a more normal appearance by filling out the fine features that he/she has. Fat is important in helping regulate the body’s temperature and metabolism.

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

The belly...

....and last but not least....our current baby!

Goodnight! :)

Saturday

Yesterday, we went to Williamsburg for a very quick trip in the morning. We are attending a wedding next weekend for a good friend from church, and I could not find anything to wear! None of my dresses are appropriate or fit the baby belly very well. I looked at several of my usual stores for something locally but just couldn't find a thing. I decided that if I couldn't find a dress at BCBG, I wouldn't find one anywhere! Well......I found one. Thank goodness! I tried on 19 dresses and found ONE that I loved.


Ha! You can't even see it in the picture. It's a cocktail length dress with black on the top and cream on the bottom. It fits the boobs really well and drapes over the baby belly nicely. We stopped in Coach after I found the dress to peruse their shelves, but I found nothing, so we left! We headed at Olive Garden for Soup and Salad and then drove back to VB.

For dinner, we decided to have hamburgers on the grill with home fries. It was soooooooo yummy! I think my favorite part about having hamburgers is all the stuff that goes on top. Of course, I was so amused with how big my hamburger was, I took a picture.

Doesn't it look yummy?

After dinner, we took a walk in Thoroughgood to scope out a house we like and get a little exercise. We came home afterward and watched TV on the couch until it was time to go to sleep!

I am now about to get ready for church. The choir is singing this morning for the first time in a little over a month! I am looking forward to it. I will be wearing a maternity top this morning, I think. They are soooooooo comfortable! We might stop by a couple of open houses today......wish us luck!

Four Months!

As of yesterday, I have finished my fourth month of pregnancy! Yaaaaaaaaaay! I am 16 weeks now and very happy about it. Four weeks from now, I will be 20 weeks which means.....ultrasound!! I have been feeling great--no sickness, limited nausea, and no crazy cravings. Just bigger boobs and belly, which is all fine with me. I ordered some really cute maternity tops this week, so I think I will be pretty much set for fall and winter. Here is all the info about begin 16 weeks pregnant you could ever want......
Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

......and to round it off....the belly pic! The first one is from 11 weeks, and the second is from today. I feel like there's barely a difference when I see the pictures, but I know there's a big difference in real life!

Another Small Vacay!

Unfortunately, this will be a quick post because we are expecting company in the form of work people! Ryan is having some of his Team Leaders over to do a Fantasy Football draft. It should be interesting...

This weekend was very relaxing. We hung around the house for the most part. I went to Omi's pool on Saturday and Amy's pool on Sunday. We had the usual dinner at Omi's on Sunday, and it was wonderful!

For Labor Day, we attended a family gathering at the Jeffersons' house. Here are some pictures:

Lace and Me...because everything looks better in black and white!
Sweet little Ian
Happy Haley :)

Ryan and I both took off today. We watched Haley get on the school bus this morning for her first day of 2nd Grade!

Sister and Brother
She looked sooo pretty! I loved her outfit. Too bad the pic is a little blurry....
What a cute face.

We are going to watch Big Brother now...( I started this post at about 6, but it's now 1015!) We are both back to work tomorrow, but of course, it's only for three days! YAAYYYY!! I am going to the Rascal Flatts concert on Thursday and can't wait. It's going to be fun!!

Okay, the post is finished! Enjoy the pictures, Lisa :)