Week 34

How far along? 34 weeks

Baby is the size of:  a bunch of carrots

Maternity clothes?  Stretch.... anything that stretches is happy.... Random thought:  do they make maternity shoes?  If not, they should.

Rings on or off? Off... :-(

Sleep:  Ok, but M says I've started snoring.  Sorry, honey!

Belly Button: Outie

Exercise: Finally got to go swimming!  They changed the pool schedule, so I'm able to go more often.

Food cravings: Dill pickles; chocolate; ice cream cone (think McDonalds...)

Movement: Finally flipped head down!  So, now he's kicking my side, and my ribs.

Best moment of the week: Swimming on Friday.

Fun fact:  According to a Harvard study, first time moms give birth (on average) at 41 weeks and 1 day.  Thank goodness my midwife won't talk induction until 42 weeks.

Symptoms:  Weepy! I cried several times this week.

Mood? Did I mention weepy?  And oversensitive?

Blessings of the week: The sense of relief and thankfulness after finding out the baby had flipped to a head-down position.  Now, if he'll just stay that way.

I learned ...  That high blood pressure is no laughing matter.  My midwife was pretty concerned about my BP at this week's appointment.  It was fine at the end of the appointment when they re-took it, but she's wanting to be cautions and has booked me for once a week appointments from here on out to keep an eye on it.  In the meantime, she's advised me to drink plenty of water, keep my feet up, and REDUCE STRESS!  Pray for me, would you?  I'd appreciate it.

Looking forward to:  Being done with work.  I just need to hold out a few more weeks.

Western Theme Date Night

The lovebirds at the rodeo!

Last week, it was M's turn to plan date night.  He did a hum-dinger of a job, too!

We began our evening with dinner at Logan's Roadhouse.  Nothing like a good steak to get me in a Fan-tas-tic mood. :)

Side note: did you know that Logan's has a "health nut" section of their menu?  Each of the menu choices in that section are guaranteed to be 550 calories or less.  I did the math on my calorie counter at home and found out my meal only cost me 520.

I had a 6 oz sirloin steak (grilled to perfection, I might add), a baked sweet potato (plain, not butter or toppings) and steamed broccoli.  A...maze...ing...

I did splurge a little and have a roll and some peanuts.  And 3 glasses of water.  With my lemon. And M's lemon.  And half of M's water while waiting for my refill...

What can I say? I was just a little thirsty. (I hadn't had nearly enough water that day!)

(Clockwise from left) 1. Invocation / 2. Calf Roping / 3. Clown! / 4. Team Roping

Anyway!  After that, we drove out to the Equestrian Center for the FFA rodeo.  I'm not a huge fan of bull riding, but they had several other events as well.  I personally like the barrel racing the best.

It was also fun to see all the Western wear.  Not to be out done by the 'good ole boy' uniform (scruffy jeans, work boots, a t-shirt and camouflage baseball cap).  We definitely felt like we were in the real south.

Get it here!

To finish our date, we snuggled on the couch and watched a Western flick on Netflix instant play.  It was a John Wayne movie I'd never actually seen before (that's pretty amazing. I thought for sure I'd seen them all by now) - "In Old California".  It was quite a switch to see the Duke playing a polished Boston chemist instead of his usual rough and ready gunslinger (although there's plenty of those in this movie as well). I really enjoyed it!

Western Themed Date Night:
Dinner: $11.00 (we had a gift card that covered the rest of the bill)
Rodeo: $20.00
Movie: Free
Total cost: $31.00

Try this one at home - if you're not into rodeo, you could always go horseback riding, or line dancing.  Or, if you leave near a ranch, check with them to see if they host live entertainment.  There's an "Opry" near us that would have been fun to visit.

And instead of eating out, try grilling out on your patio or back porch... I definitely recommend beef though. For some reason, it just sets the mood.

Would love to hear about your version of a Western themed date night, if you decide to do one - we will have to do this one again, it was a lot of fun!

Week 33

How far along? 33 Weeks

Baby is the size of:  A large bunch of kale.

Maternity clothes?  Found a cute t-shirt today on clearance and picked up a couple of nursing bras.

Rings on or off?  Still off :-(

Sleep: Had my first round of heartburn/reflux last night.  Yuck.  Otherwise, not much change or improvement in sleep.

Belly Button: Outie!

Exercise: Got up early and walked on the treadmill a few mornings before work. Still want to go swimming, but it rained every night the pool was open.  Bummer!

Food cravings: Potato chips and onion dip; pickles.

Movement: Lots of sloshing side to side and "barrel rolling".

Best moment of the week:  Cookout with friends Friday night!

Fun fact:  His bones are hardening.

Symptoms:  Heat rash, back pain, heartburn/reflex, puffy feet.

Mood?  Cranky and oversensitive, I hate to admit.

Salad Season Has Begun!

Farmer's Market is in full swing down here... we're enjoying some fresh veggies.  I came across a recipe in my Rachael Ray "Big Orange Book" while looking for a burger idea.

I changed a few things up, but stuck to the mayo-less idea.  I love that I can take this salad to a picnic or BBQ and not worry about it going bad in the heat.

It's zippy! And pretty!

Of course, if you don't like radish, you could always leave it out, but I think it really makes this dish.  The flavor is not overpowering at all.

It's a zesty combination of spring veggies... red (new) potatoes, radish, celery, and onion - tossed in a light honey and mustard vinaigrette dressing.

Add some spring to your table, y'all. This one's yummy.  Pop over to my recipage, here, for nutrition facts.  And enjoy!

Spring Potato Salad

by Raye

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: stove top salad side gluten-free vegetarian potato spring summer

Ingredients (6 servings)

• 2 lbs new potatoes
• 1/2 c. honey
• 1/2 c. Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 3 large (or 6 small) radishes
• 4 stalks celery
• 3-4 spring onions

Instructions

1. Wash and quarter the potatoes. Boil in a large saucepan until easy to pierce with a fork. Drain and put in a mixing bowl to cool.
2. Chop the onions (spring onions are small - may use 1 medium yellow onion instead), celery and radishes. Combine with the cooled potatoes.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Toss the dressing with the potato mixture. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
4. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.

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Week 32

How far along? 32 weeks

Weight gain so far:  26 lbs.  

Baby is the size of:  A butternut squash

Maternity clothes?  Formalwear was a no-go for the play we went to this week... that's ok, though. Thankfully, I had a black dress that still fit.

Rings on or off?  Ugh.  Off. I've been a bit puffy this week. 

Sleep: Not so great, but I'm getting through it.  I wake up a lot.

Belly Button: Pretty much an outie.

Exercise:  Pilates twice, walked once.  And walked/hefted/sorted/arranged for 6 hours at my yard sale!

Food cravings:  Peanut Butter... and Chocolate... and Steak.

Movement: Bouncy, as per usual.

Going all cowgirl on you...

Best moment of the week:  After paying for breakfast, lunch, and a dinner date out, we still made over $100 at the yard sale.  Woohoo! 

Symptoms:  Sore back, knots in my neck and shoulders.  Puffy feet.

Mood?  Somewhat oversensitive.  

Blessings of the week: Great date night with my man!  Steakhouse and a Rodeo!

I learned ...  Tone matters!!!  That goes for conversation, as well as muscles...

Looking forward to: Hair appointment this week.

30 Before 30 Update: April 2013 Edition

Here's an update on my 30 Before 30 list.  Read some great books this month! 

My fun book for the month was The Whitney Chronicles by Judy Baer.  It was an easy read...and hysterical, to boot.  The main character, Whitney, is bummed about being single and 30, when suddenly, she's being pursued by 3 eligible bachelors!  Throw in some challenges in her best friend's life, a menopausal mother and crazy office co-workers, and what's not to love? Along the way, Whitney learns some things about waiting on God's best for her life while not putting her life on hold in the meantime.  I felt it was a well written novel and very entertaining.  I must have laughed out loud a dozen times. 

I'm looking forward to the sequel... that's next month's fun book!

Week 31

How far along?  31 weeks.

Baby is the size of:  A pineapple

Maternity clothes?  Yay!! Went shopping with my mother-in-law and found 3 skirts for work, a dress, and a few tops.  Also got some nursing tops and a nightgown.

Rings on or off? Mostly on... except for Saturday.  It was so humid and my hands got puffy.  Seem to be back to normal today.

Sleep: Last night was rough... I have knots in my back and had a hard time getting comfortable.

Belly Button: M says it's officially an outie.  I say, not quite.

Exercise:  Pilates twice and walked on the treadmill once. 

Pineapple this week!

Food cravings:  Pizza.  And apple juice.

Movement: All over the place this week.  He mostly seems to be laying sideways and is long enough that I can feel his head on the left side of my belly and him kicking all the way over and around my right side.

Fun fact:  He's about 4 pounds this week and has fully developed senses.  His irises are even reactive to light at this point.

Symptoms:  Starting to have a hard time taking deep breaths.  And I can't get off the couch without help.  I think it's just too soft... The backache is worse this week.  I've been stretching a lot and trying to move around as much as I can.  I've also found that my skin is sensitive to something in my carpet - my hands and feet break out when I'm in contact with the carpet for more than a few minutes.

Best moment of the week: Baby shower!  Had great turnout... not to mention, a surprise!  M's parents flew down and surprised us at the shower.  Was not expecting that!

MIL and me at the baby shower

Mood?  Pretty good this week.  Less stress at work toward the end of the week helped.

Blessings of the week: Baby shower.  And my friend Sara's cloth diaper demo.  I learned  a lot from her experience.

Baby Shower:  We did a baby safari/jungle theme for the shower, since that's the nursery stuff I currently have.

MMMM! Good cake!

My stash of baby stuff is expanding!  We received so many useful (and cute!) things at the shower.  This baby is off to a good start.  We've got most of the basics now, just need to pick up a few more things before he arrives.