Happy Weekend

Even though I had Monday off this week, it has been the longest week EVER.  I am currently at work with a wrist brace on since I have what appears to be pregnancy carpal tunnel in my WHOLE LEFT ARM, leaving me wanting to chop it off.  Thank goodness this brace seems to be helping. I slept in it last night and have been wearing it today and can tell a huge difference.  Fingers crossed this keeps helping.  

On to a happier note, it's Friday!!! Woohoo!

23 Weeks Bumpdate

How far along:  23 weeks

Size of baby: So my app updated and re-did how it calculates the weeks, I think due to the complaining by some on the confusion of it. Now instead of showing me in a week ahead (like this week it would say I am week 24, but 23 weeks, 0 days- confusing! It now just shows the second half), so this changed the configuring some. Which means we are still stuck on the same fruit and measurements somehow for another week.  Papaya, 8in, 1.2lbs

Gender:  GIRL!

Maternity clothes:  Haven't gotten anything new, but definitely wearing them for the most part.  I can still wear regular dresses, which look ok, and some shirts.  I think the maternity clothes just look better with your bump, and sure are comfy! Maternity pants all the way though!!

Sleep:  Ok. Still back/hip pain, but I am able to sleep.

Symptoms:  Growing, growing, growing belly!!! Lots of movement, and still very tired.  I have noticed if I walk a lot (which is mainly when shopping haha) my back and feet are KILLING me after.  Nothing really new here.

Miss anything:  Being able to lay on my stomach when sleeping. That is how I fell asleep best!

Movement:   Big yes here.. and Lance can finally feel her now!!! yay! She likes to play a game where she will stop most of the time when he puts his hand on my belly, but luckily she moves SO much now at night, he still can catch her some.

Food cravings:  Same things here I still like to eat, but wouldn't say an intense craving on anything. My OJ, tomato sandwiches, and recently I have started really liking non-frosted Strawberry or Blueberry poparts, and salads!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope

Have you started to show yet:   YES

Belly button in or out:  In

Wedding rings on or off:  On

Mood: Anxious to get things done, but very happy!

Best moment of this week:  Hearing her heartbeat at our last appointment and feeling so much movement.  It's scary not knowing what's going on in there, and those things help ease my mind!

Looking forward to:  We will be heading home to MS one month from TOMORROW!!! We will fly in late Thursday night, March 27, and fly back to NC Monday morning, March 31. I can't wait to see all my friends and family and have our baby shower, which I know is going to be fabulous. Also, getting my best friend to take our Maternity pictures and getting to take ones with HER too!!!  She has finally shared her news, so I can freely say now that Lexie and I are pregnant together!!! She is about 7 weeks ahead of me, and even though we are 11 hours apart, it's so neat to share this experience together.  I know I bug her to death with questions since this is #3 for her, but that's what friends are for! :)

22 Weeks Bumpdate

How far along:  22 weeks

Size of baby: Papaya- 8in, 1.2lbs

Gender:  Girl, Ms. Tilly.

Maternity clothes:  As I was browsing around Target Monday on my day off, I came across some Maternity "jeggings". Now at first I thought, um no.  But then I thought, well why not just try them on? Hello comfort!! I guess these are more of a legging material, supposed to look like jeans? I don't really know the technical description, but I do know these went home with me!

Sleep:  Pretty good, getting used to flip flopping back and forth to keep the pain at a minimum.

Symptoms:  Big hard belly! Also, the past week or two my skin has been breaking out something awful. The weirdest thing is, it is SO dry. I have never in my life had dry skin. I am normally an oil machine, so for my face to be peeling and dry is so weird. I never thought I would see the day when I switched my "For Oily Skin" foundation to "For Normal to Dry Skin". Yes, this change happened on Monday.  So I have some nice pale, flaky, broken out skin. Is this the pregnancy glow people talk about?!? One positive thing I am enjoying is the dryer hair. I would keep this forever. Having constant oily hair is never fun.  I am very curious to see what in the world happens to me after I have this baby.. dry, oily, both?!?  Also, the double chin has arrived. Boo!

Miss anything:  Being comfortable and not getting so out of breath. I can only imagine what's to come!

Movement:   YES! Little missy has been a busy, busy bee lately.  She mainly has her little parties at night time when I am laying down resting before bed.  She also likes to do what she was doing during our ultrasound... curl up on one side in a tight little ball, which results in a huge knot sticking out of my side. It doesn't hurt, but it's an odd feeling and sure looks crazy!

Food cravings:  Same, nothing really.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope

Have you started to show yet:   Definite yes.

Belly button in or out:  In

Wedding rings on or off:  On

Mood: Happy :)

Best moment of this week:  Feeling Tilly be so active and move around.

Looking forward to:  Our checkup today and hearing her little heartbeat! 

Weekend Shopping

So as much as I love my "What to Expect' app, it can also be a burden to my pocket.  I am constantly in my June 2014 forum reading all the posts and advice from other expectant moms, but unfortunately this is where they also post about all the good baby/mommy sales going on.

This weekend I was cooped up inside with a BAD head cold (thank goodness I am slowly, but surely, feeling better) so I was on my app quite a bit.  This is where I learned about the HUGE Carter's sale and the Vera Bradley sale.

Carter's had 50% the whole site, and then if you spent over $50.00, you got an additional 25% off your whole order!  I tried to be good here and not go TOO crazy, because I know a lot of people are going to want to buy us clothes at the showers (hello, they are SO cute).  Which in return will mean towards the end we will be getting all the remainder necessities, which can add up fast.  I finally finished (I think!) our registry this weekend and somehow it's over 100 items, yikes!  Here is a little preview of a few items I purchased.  I did good and got only 6, 9, or 12 month items.

Next, I hopped on over to Vera Bradley to check out these diaper bags that were up to 50% off!  Of course the one I wanted wasn't 50% off, but still on sale.  Also, if you sign up for their emails, you get an additional $20 off.. so all in all, I did end up out of pocket barely over 50% off.. not bad!

I have a feeling having a little girl is going to be pretty pricey... sorry Lance! :)

21 Weeks Bumpdate

She's growing! :)

How far along:  21 weeks

Size of baby: Spaghetti squash - 8in, 1lb

Gender:  Girl, Ms. Tilly.

Maternity clothes:  So my Old Navy order was a bust.  I only liked one of the things I ordered. Luckily it was this shirt/dress that is simple black and was on sale for $5. So with sending everything else back, I should get around $70 in my free "cash" back. Not sure if I will try out some of their spring dresses, or spend it on little miss.  I just didn't LOVE the other 2 shirts and then the "skinny" jeans fit my butt area, but were so baggy all down my legs and very wide leg. Not what I wanted, so back it all went.  Hopefully I get my credit back for my "cash" sooner than later!  Lance and I also stopped at another thrift store this past weekend and I got 2 more pairs of pants and 2 shirts for a total of... $10! Woohoo! lol Maternity thrift shopping is the best, because most of the clothes are brand new.  Some are quite, hm.. ugly, but you can randomly find some good items.  I think when I am off Monday for President's Day I might go to Motherhood Maternity and look for some more jeans.

Sleep:  Still having bad hip pain. Boo.

Symptoms:  Nothing new here. Really staying steady on all the lovely symptoms.  My stomach has started to get a lot harder, which feels so odd! 

Miss anything:  Being able to bend over.. Painting my toes is definitely a challenge, and I don't even have the big jumbo belly yet.   I asked Lance if he would do them and he said yes, but couldn't guarantee what it would look like.  I took that as he can just be a good hubby and buy me a few pedicures! :)

Movement:   Yep! Main times are still when I am sitting or laying down.  Mostly after I eat, she has a little dance party.  Lance still can't feel anything yet from the outside. 

Food cravings:  Surprisingly still nothing crazy here.  I might randomly think of something and really want it then, but no one item that I continue to crave. The only thing consistent has been I have to have my glass of OJ each morning. We ran out one time and it was a sad day.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope

Have you started to show yet:   Oh yea, nice and hard belly going on! :)

Belly button in or out:  In

Wedding rings on or off:  On

Mood: Happy!!

Best moment of this week:  Getting everything together. Her bedding has arrived and I got the cutest basket I am going to use as her hamper this week at Marshall's.  Still no furniture though..

Looking forward to:  Continuous planning and organizing! Also, I will be home in 6 weeks for my shower and to see everyone!! :)

20 Weeks Bumpdate

Ok, so my mom asked why I always "cut my head off" in my pictures, haha, so I figured I would try to take some this week not doing that.  I just think it's awkward either smiling into your camera or into the mirror? I guess I am not a good mirror "selfie" person.  I actually tried to have Lance take a few last night, but of course he HATES taking pictures and kept taking them so quick they were either blurry or I wasn't looking.  I gave up and went back to my mirror for now! :)  I definitely got quite a bit bigger from last week.  Since I take these pictures in the morning you might not be able to tell much, but by the evening, I am BIG!

How far along:  20 weeks.. HALFWAY! :) 

Size of baby:  Banana- 7in, 11oz

Gender:  Girl :)

Maternity clothes:  I ordered a few things off oldnavy.com this week, hopefully when they get here Thursday, they all fit! :)  I used my reward points so only paid $3 for my whole order, yay! Next big order will definitely be on all their cutesy baby girl clothes, I can't wait!! Other than that, still wearing the ones I have, and still my regular sweaters and tops that look ok with my big belly. 

Sleep:  Painful. Sleeping on my side hurts my hips and back SO bad. I try not to sleep on my back since it isn't recommended, but I always wake up on it. Plus, I will admit this here: Lance tells me I am a BAD pregnant snorer when on my back, so I wake up a lot to him poking me telling me to roll over. haha oops!!

Symptoms:  Same as it's been. Sore, big, tired, dry, you know.. all the fun things that come along with being pregnant! :)

Miss anything:  Being comfortable.

Movement:   Yes, yes, yes! It's always when I am sitting, or laying on my back. Saturday I was laying down and felt her, so I went to pull up my shirt to put my hand on my stomach (I am always trying to see if I can feel her through so I can tell Lance to try!) and right when I did that my stomach made a huge bounce when she moved (kicked?). It was crazy! Sadly, as much as he has tried, Lance still can't feel anything yet.  She must sleep a lot, because I only feel her randomly and it's just a few minutes.. like she is readjusting to go back to bed. :)

Food cravings:  Still don't have anything I just HAVE to have, thank goodness. Still loving food.. and scared of what the scale is going to say because of it.. ah! Getting bigger has been hard on me (as I would assume it is with most women). I'm not too worried about my stomach getting bigger, it's just EVERYTHING else that is growing with it.. legs, arms, CHIN, etc. Lance assures me that my whole body is supposed to grow, so it's normal haha. Luckily he is super supportive and helps me not be silly and concerned.  I haven't gained a crazy amount or anything.. but honestly I am not too concerned with the number, just where that number is going! Haha.  So if I start to getting puffy and lots of "water" weight, be nice and act like it's not there, ha.  I have heard the comments women get at the end, "You look like you're about to pop!" "Are you having twins?". Once again people, BE NICE TO THE PREGNANT LADIES OUT THERE!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope

Have you started to show yet:   My goodness, over the weekend I grew. And I mean grew. My belly is a BELLY now!

Belly button in or out:  In

Wedding rings on or off:  On

Mood: Happy, and wore out! haha

Best moment of this week:  Just feeling our little girl move around and the constant planning for her arrival. Got the bedding ordered yesterday and it should be here tomorrow!! Now we just need a crib to put it in.. haha

Looking forward to:  The second half to fly by!! (a girl can dream, right?)

Mini Super Bowl Party

So this year Lance and I decided to stay home for the Super Bowl.  He had been working on the siding all weekend (yes, my husband is tearing off and replacing our old siding. BY HIMSELF. Men!) so I knew he would be exhausted and wanting to relax.  I'm not going to lie, I was only sad about not going to a get-together mainly for all the yummy food, haha.  I figured we would have our own little fatty fest at home.

I have seen this recipe on Pinterest forever and finally decided to make it. I think there are tons of different versions, but the one I used called them "Crack Sandwiches".  Basically it is ham and swiss mini sandwiches with an amazing butter sauce.  These were super easy to make, and SOOO yummy.

Ingredients:
1 package of Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
1 package of deli ham
1 package of sliced swiss cheese
1 stick of butter
2 tsp onion powder
3 tbsp dijon/spicy mustard
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
3 tsp poppy seeds


Directions:
-Melt all of the ingredients in a bowl in the microwave, minus the bread, ham, and cheese (obviously).
-Cut the bread down the middle without breaking up the rolls, so you have a top "sheet" and a bottom "sheet".
-I lined a glass dish with aluminum foil but you can use whatever dish you want
-Put the bottom of the buns down and rub the top of them with the butter sauce
-Cover with ham and cheese. I bulked up a little on the ham, and just did one layer of cheese.
-Put the top layer of buns on, and pour the rest of your sauce on top.
-Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
-Cut into little sandwiches after cooled a few minutes

Like I said, super simple.. and oh, so good! Next I just added some chips and dip.  I originally saw the chips first (yum!) and went and found the dip after since it was pictured on the front of the chips! haha

Here is our little set up in front of the TV, with creeping Bonnie in the background.

And lastly, we had some delish strawberry cupcakes I made earlier in the day. :)

Hope everyone enjoyed all the party food on Sunday.. oh, and that crazy game!