The Halsey Hallway: March 2012

Friday, March 23, 2012

28.6 weeks

How far along? 28.6 wks
Total weight gain: 18 pounds
Maternity clothes? yep and they are TOO EXPENSIVE!!
Stretch marks? no doubt
Sleep: good once I actually fall asleep
Best moment this week: a great doctor's appt, good bloodwork, and buying him some cute stuff at the consignment sale I helped with

Miss Anything? walking normally, peeing less than 100 times a day

Movement? ridiculous amounts!
Food cravings? There isn't room for food anymore!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Subway
Gender: boy
Name? Yes, announced at Brenna's party.....will do public announcement on fb soon I'm sure.
Labor Signs: no, but def. having Braxton Hicks
Symptoms: sciatic nerve pain but not many headaches at least!
Belly Button in or out? In but I'm not sure it'll stay in the entire time this go around.
Wedding rings on or off? on but kinda tight :(
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy
Looking forward to: maternity pictures next weekend

29 weeks, 1 day (standing in the rain and still (fake) smiling)

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Brenna's ABC Book

This is for you Erin!

For Brenna's birthday I made her an alphabet book on Shutterfly. I took one picture of her for each letter and put them all together. I got the idea off of Pinterest, and it turned out better than I even expected. And it was FREE with a gift certificate I had in my account plus the good deal they were running on photo books.

Brenna's Seussical Celebration

I'm obsessed with party planning. I'm apparently not obsessed with wrapping up the first 2 years of Brenna's life since I keep refusing to write her 2 year letter/post. But, I'm not too nostalgic to spill all the details about her super fun 2nd birthday party.

We decided to celebrate her birthday in VA since our rental house is small and we know about 5 people total in this town (another story for another day). We knew my mother-in-law's house was probably too small, so we rented the fellowship hall of a church near her house. This was close for all of our family in Bristol and our friends in the NRV and Roanoke, so nobody had too much of a drive. It worked out perfectly and was a blast. I planned and planned and planned, and I was very pleased with the end result! Enjoy the (ridiculous amount of) pictures!

cool invite from Etsy

Brenna's topsy turvy cake made mostly by Daddy

Who says fondant isn't yummy?

money from Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw

Hokie chair from Nanie - a little skeptical at first, but now a huge fan!

opening presents

Cat in the Hat candy by my mom

cupcakes

green eggs pretzel candies

cheese tree

truffula trees

caramel turtle candies

one goldfish, two goldfish

noodles for poodles

green (deviled) eggs and ham rolls

cute idea from Pinterest

family

more family

sweet cousin Jayla

double third (and fourth?) cousins

the 3 pregos

T in her Christmas present (a tutu that I made!)

catching up on opening Christmas gifts with the Bashams

finalllllllly!!

London and Brenna "helping"

smooches

present table

Happy Birthday to You! book that everyone signed

poem for my baby and some party favors

These will be used in the playroom once we move.

T showing off the Dr. Seuss chair we made for Brenna.

balloon wreath on the door to the fellowship hall

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Pinterest Finds

So I've made no secret of being in love with Pinterest. I think cooking, party planning, decorating is my new way to realize my creative side since I'm no longer teaching. The one thing I don't like about Pinterest is that you can see what people pin, but you can't really get feedback on if they tried things and how they turned out. So, since a few people have asked, I'm making a list of the best dinners/side dishes and desserts that I've tried and LOVED. There are only a handful of things that I've tried and been disappointed with, but these are my favorites! Sorry there are no pictures. And I'm hoping it's legal to post these links - since they are public blogs and I'm obviously not taking any credit for the recipes. I just copy other people! Here goes...

Main Dishes/Side Dishes