Wordless Wednesday - Easter Edition

Pregnancy Update - Week 32

How far along - 32 weeks

Maternity clothes - Yes, with some regular clothes mixed in.  I was able to wear a junior's maxi dress from Kohl's yesterday for Easter!

Weight gain - 35 lbs....would love for it to stop here!

Stretch marks - Thankfully none

Belly button - a tiny bit out

Sleep - I loooooooove sleeping.  Still getting up a TON in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom though...it will probably be years before I know what it's like to sleep through the night again!

Best moment this week - It is *finally* getting warmer out there..bring on the summer heat!

Foods I'm loving - Depends on the day.  I'm actually getting way more nauseous than I was {if you can believe that} so it all depends on how I'm feeling that day.  Can always eat candy and bagels though {hence the 35 lbs weight gain}

Foods I'm hating - Again, depends on the day.  I rarely want meat of any kind, or veggies. 

Movement - All the time.  That is the one thing about pregnancy I do love.  Though I'm convinced the baby is trying to push its way out through my belly button sometimes.

Symptoms - Nausea, a little dry heaving has made its appearance again, swelling, back pain, allergies {not related to pregnancy I know, but annoying me none the less} fatigue, nesting like *crazy*

Gender - Skip and I know, but we're keeping it a secret!  Don't forget to vote in the poll on the left side!

What I'm looking forward to - Being full term and trying to convince New Baby to make its appearance a little early!

What I miss - Everything about not being pregnant

Milestones - 8 months today...wahoo!!!  Trekking on through

Emotions - I really try and stay positive as much as possible, but it's hard.  I don't mean to sound like I'm just complaining all the time on these.  I am so so so blessed to be carrying this little one.  The baby is healthy and thriving in there and that is all I can ask for.  It's just that being nauseous for 28 weeks {I wasn't sick until week 4} straight without a single day of full relief is really taking a toll on me.  It will be so worth it once I hold this little bundle of joy in my arms, but the journey there is really wearing me down.



On a more positive note...here's a 32 week picture taken yesterday at Easter.  I look and feel like a house!

Coloring Eggs

Whoops....I really didn't mean to go a whole week without blogging even once!  I've been suffering a bit because my nausea is actually getting worse, not better, the past few weeks and I've pretty much just been crashing on the couch as soon as Little M goes to bed.  Some days I'm not sure how I'm going to make it for another eight weeks, but we're powering on through.

Anyways, last night was a pretty fun night around here....Little M got to dye Easter eggs for the very first time!  Skip and I have done it ouselves the past two years since she was really too little to help.  But with a step stool bringing her up to counter height, she was more than ready to help this year!

We just used a store-bought dying kit {okay Dollar Tree bought if we're being honest} and I grabbed some stickers we had lying around already.  Little M had such a great time doing it and I know the eggs will look fabulous as our table centerpiece tomorrow!

All ready to start

Yay for coloring eggs!

All done coloring!

Waiting for them to dry

Sticker time

Wedding ABC's

Nicole over at Flip Flops and Combat Boots filled out this survey a few weeks weeks ago.  I thought it was really fun!  Since Skip and I attended the wedding of some of our really good friends last night, and were reminiscing about our own wedding, I thought today would be a great day to fill it out!

Our wedding took place on July 29, 2005.

Attending: Including the two of us we had 72 people...we wanted to keep it really small

Bridesmaids: My best friend K was my maid of honor, and my two sisters were my bridesmaids

Catering: The reception hall took care of the food and it was all amazing!  I only wish we hadn't missed our cocktail hour.

Dress: I loved my dress.  It was the first one I tried on at the first place we looked.  Only my mom and I went to look and it was such a special time together.  We both cried when I tried this one on so we knew it was it!

Engagement: Skip and I got engaged three days before he left for his deployment to Iraq.  We were engaged for a little less than a year before we got married.  We would have gotten married sooner but we weren't exactly sure when he would be coming home.

Flowers: I carried a bouquet of red roses, and my girls had white rose bouquets.  I loved the contrast!  I was also a very lucky bride and received this gorgeous display of white roses the morning of the wedding from my sweet groom!

Reading the card he sent me, which I still keep in my jewelry case

Groomsmen: Skip doesn't have any brothers so his groomsmen were all just friends with him.

Honeymoon: We spent a week in Punta Cana following our wedding.  We loved the resort so much we went back the next year for our first anniversary!

Invitations: We had very simple, white invitations that my dad printed up at home.  We were trying to save money wherever possible!

Justice of the Peace: We didn't have a JOP, we had the priest from my church marry us.  He was such a great, laid back wonderful guy and we were so happy he could help us celebrate our wonderful day!

Keepsakes: I think this questions is about favors?  We didn't give out traditional favors to our guests.  Instead we made a donation to the American Cancer Society, as several of my family members have died from cancer.

Ladies Night: There was a bit of drama surrounding this night, but it ended up being the week before my wedding.  My sisters and my best girl friends took me out to dinner at the Melting Pot and then had a lingerie party for me.

Music: We had a great DJ that had everyone dancing all night long!  Any DJ that ends the night with a Bon Jovi song is fabulous in my mind!

Newlyweds: Well since we've been married for almost six years now, we're definitely not newlyweds anymore!

Old, new, borrowed, blue: Old was a handkerchief I carried that was my grandmother's I believe? {wow that's terrible that I don't remember!}  New was my dress.  Borrowed was my mother's pearl necklace. Blue was my garter.

Photography: A woman I used to work with was our photographer.  It was so wonderful that she knew me, and made the whole experience really stress free.

Question popping: Skip proposed on August 8, 2004 in the evening, in his parent's backyard.  I was being surprised and ridiculously happy and excited!

Reception: Our reception hall was the same one my parents and my aunt were married out.  It was small, romantic, and the people that worked there could not have been more wonderful.  They were super accommodating and understanding to the fact that Skip was in Iraq for most of the wedding planning process.

Shoe game: I have no idea what this is.

Trash the dress: I never did this but am thinking about it.  It looks so fun!  Maybe it's something I'll do for our 10 year anniversary

Unique: We had a few unique parts to our wedding.  The first was that when we were introduced as husband and wife, a bagpipe and drum band walked in front of us playing the Marine Corps Hymn.  It was the one thing Skip wanted and it was so awesome.  Also, all of the boys sang "You've Lost that Loving Feeling" to me during the reception ala Top Gun.  I loved it!

Vows: Skip and I went with tradition vows.  We love that we can relive that moment anytime we are at a wedding with traditional vows as well!

Wedding woes: Other than Skip being away during most of the engagement, we really didn't have many.  I was very relaxed and stress-free about the whole process.

X-rated: Only the bachelor and bachelorette parties!

Young kids: No one we were friends with had any kids, so this wasn't a problem

Zzzzz: We were married on a Friday night and had to leave for our honeymoon at 4:00 am on Sunday, so we didn't go to bed at all Saturday night.  We were exhausted!

I loved filling out this survey and taking a little trip down memory lane.  Feel free to fill this out yourself!  Let me know if you do so I can come check it out!

Thriving in the Sunshine

The other day we *finally* had a beautiful day of sunshine and warmth.  While it was over too soon, it did help to cheer us all up and remind us that summer WILL come to Jersey one day!  I of course took the opportunity to capture a few pictures of Little M and Mr. B, who love the sunshine as much as their mom!

I could not believe she actually gave me a smile!

Happy girl

Hard at work

Major concentration

Sun bathin'

Enjoying the view

A face only a mother could love

I can't wait to have more days like this!

Spring Shopping for the Pregnant Girl

First off, thanks so much to all of you for all your sweet comments on my pregnancy post!  I wish you could all follow me around all day long telling me how tiny I look...it would do wonders for my ego!  Haha.  Anyways, as a lot of you know, you start to feel less than stellar towards the end of a pregnancy {not that I've been feeling great at any time, but you know}  The weight gain and huge belly really start to drain you.  Throw in all the beautiful spring lines everywhere that I could not fit into if I tried, and a girl can start to get down on herself.  But no fear pregnant ladies, there is a way to happily go spring shopping without leaving the store feeling like a whale.  Want to know the secret?  SHOE SHOPPING!!! 

I had a 20% off coupon to Payless the other day and was determined to put it to good use.  And boy did I!  I came away with not one, not two, but FOUR new pairs of shoes.  I'm in love.

all images from payless.com

Now if you'll excuse me I'll be lying down on the couch with my legs straight up in the air.  I can't have my feet swelling now can I!

Pregnancy Update - Week 30

How far along - 30 weeks

Maternity clothes - Bottoms are all maternity except for some yoga pants and sweatpants...most tops are non maternity, though I am LOVING my Old Navy nursing tanks! Don't know why I didn't buy them with Little M. They are so long and great for layering!

Weight gain - Around 32 lbs....so much for only putting on 30 lbs this pregnancy

Stretch marks - none thank the Lord! I'm determined to still be able to wear a bikini again!

Belly button - All flat, sometimes popping out

Sleep - I can never get enough.  We go to bed pretty early these days and I still have to nap every day.

Best moment this week -

Movement - All the time and crazy!  Sometimes it really hurts

Foods I'm loving - Most anything, especially candy bars, pizza, and bagels

Foods I'm hating - Not much more than usual

Symptoms - Nausea, nesting, out of breath, exhaustion, heartburn like crazy

Gender - Skip and I know, but we're keeping it a secret!

What I'm looking forward to - June 20th

What I miss - Working out...I'm still far too nausea to really do any

Milestones - 10 weeks left!

Emotions -  I'm just plain done

PS...check out the poll I put up on the left sidebar and guess whether you think Little M will have a baby brother or sister!

Now for a few pictures.  I took these this morning at 30 weeks exactly!




Sunday Favorites

I'm very excited about this week's Sunday Favorites and hope a lot of people link up!  This week's topic is what is your favorite recipe?

When Skip and I were first married, I was ridiculously excited to start making all different kinds of meals for him and our friends.  We both loved to entertain and were constantly throwing dinner parties and other small get-togethers with our friends.  I was always in search of a recipe that could become my 'signature'.  I wanted something that people would love and would always want me to make.  I wanted something I could pass down to my children, something I would be known for. 

At our very first Christmas party in 2005 I found it.  Tucked in with some recipes I received at William Sonoma when we registered for our wedding, was a recipe for Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Crostini.  It looked delicious and I thought the red and white colors would look great on our Christmas table. 

image found at WilliamSonoma.com

Well let me tell you, it was a *huge* hit.  I have made it for every party we've had since.  I've had friends tell me it's not a party unless I make it!  I'm so glad that I've found my 'signature recipe'!

Now you can make this fabulous dish as well!  Here is the recipe, which can also be found on the William Sonoma website.  {and no I'm not worried about sharing this recipe with you, because I don't really follow it exactly...have to keep a few things to myself!}

Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing, plus 1/4 cup


1 baguette, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick


slices


Salt and coarsely ground pepper, to taste


8 vine-ripened tomatoes, about 1 1/2 lb. total


1/2 cup slivered fresh basil leaves


2 Tbs. finely minced red onion


1/4 tsp. minced garlic


1 Tbs. aged balsamic vinegar


1 1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese


Directions:


Preheat an oven to 350°F.






Brush a baking sheet with olive oil and arrange the baguette slices on the sheet in a single layer. Brush the tops with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until crisp and golden, 15 to 18 minutes. If not using immediately, let the crostini cool, then store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.






Core, seed and dice the tomatoes. In a bowl, stir together the tomatoes, half of the basil, the onion, garlic, vinegar, the 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper.






Slice the mozzarella into 1/4-inch-thick pieces or into smaller pieces so they fit on the crostini. To assemble, lay a piece of mozzarella on each crostini and spoon 1 to 2 Tbs. of the tomato salad on top. Garnish each with a pinch of the remaining basil. Serve immediately.


Serves 8.


Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.


 

Now it's your turn to share a favorite recipe.  Link up and hop around!

Saturday Morning Scenes

I'm linking up today for Saturday Morning Scenes!

I *finally* finished painting Little M's new big girl room and am slowly working on some accents.  Can't wait until it's all done!

Wordless Wednesday - Flashback Style

Way back in 2003-2004 when we were just boyfriend/girlfriend!

My fav picture *ever* of us...completely candid and so in love!