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)

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

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

Cinnamon Roll pancakes (I made these without the icing.)
http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/03/01/cinnamon-roll-pancakes/

Baked sweet and sour chicken (Valentine's dinner!)
http://life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried.html

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup (B LOVED and J said it was better than my old recipe)
http://www.creativelydomestic.com/2010/10/guest-post-crockpot-chicken-and-noodle.html

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta (I used 1/2 of the Swiss and 1/2 Italian cheese plus some additional spices)
http://amysnewkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/03/chicken-cordon-bleu-pasta.html

Cheesy Zucchini and Squash Bake
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2011/07/recipe-for-easy-cheesy-zucchini-bake.html

Pokey Sticks
http://dinnersdishesanddesserts.blogspot.com/2011/05/pokey-sticks.html

Baked Penne with Sun-dried Tomatoes (one of my favorite finds)
http://www.marthastewart.com/313371/baked-penne-with-chicken-and-sun-dried-t?czone=food/dinner-tonight-center/dinner-tonight-main-courses

Crock Pot Ranch/Parmesan Pork Chops and Potatoes
http://realmomkitchen.com/287/ranch-house-crock-pot-pork-chops-with-parmesan-mashed-potatoes/

Chipotle Lime Tacos
http://www.laaloosh.com/2011/05/26/chipotle-lime-chicken-tacos-recipe/

Meatloaf Burgers
http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2010/08/24/meatloaf-burgers-with-extra-sharp-cheddar/

Roasted Red Pepper and Basil Pasta
http://annies-eats.net/2008/11/26/roasted-red-pepper-and-basil-pesto-penne/

Parmesan Knots
http://realmomkitchen.com/609/easy-parmesan-knots/

Queso Dip
http://annies-eats.net/2011/01/17/queso-blanco-dip/

Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice
http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/slow-cooker-cheesy-chicken-and-rice-the-downside-of-being-a-swan-princess.html

Parmesan Zucchini
http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/2010/09/project-food-blog-challenge-1-ready-set.html

Desserts

Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Bars (good gracious, yum!)

http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chocolate-chip-salted-caramel-cookie-bars/

Andes Mint Cookies (easssssy!)

http://sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com/2011/04/andes-mint-cookies.html?showComment=1323739192245#c8874412180426553846

Butterfinger Pie (any candy would work)

http://www.food.com/recipe/butterfinger-pie-29478?nl=RZ-083011-eaters-digest__item-link-url-5&sni_mid=16629&sni_rid=16629.311.675292

Pineapple Dream Cake

http://tamiskitchentabletalk.blogspot.com/2008/10/pineapple-dream-cake.html

Oreo/PB No Bake Dessert (heaven in a dish, I tell ya)

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Peanut-Butter-Chocolate-Dessert

PB Cup Brownies (again, easy)

http://www.bakedperfection.com/2009/07/peanut-butter-cup-brownies.html

Fresh Apple Cake

http://lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com/2010/09/caramelly-appley-delicious.html

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

http://www.lovintheoven.com/2010/04/chocolate-chip-oreo-cookies-mailing.html

Grilled Stuffed Bananas

http://lickmyspoon.com/recipes/banana-boats/

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/02/01/red-velvet-cheesecake-brownies/

Andes cupcakes

http://www.yourcupofcake.com/2011/05/andes-mint-cupcakes.html

And that's it for now! Let me know if you try any of them!

25 weeks and a comparison pic...

How far along? 25.4 wks
Total weight gain: 12-13ish pounds
Maternity clothes? Yep and reg comfy clothes
Stretch marks? We've covered this...
Sleep: touch and go....much better when I don't take a nap.....getting harder to tummy-sleep
Best moment this week: hitting 24 weeks and viability, hearing Brenna talk about her "bruder in my belly"
Miss Anything? feeling normal
Movement: yes, lots, mostly at night
Food cravings? nothing really.....finally found my jellybeans!
Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing in particular really
Gender: boy
Name? I guess buying letters for his nursery at Hobby Lobby 'cause they were on sale means we officially have a first name.
Labor Signs: no
Symptoms: heartburn that I can hardly stand.....ridiculously excruciating
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on but wondering how they will fit come June
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy, but tired
Looking forward to: getting the glucose test over with and starting the third trimester

25 weeks with Baby Spud

24.5 weeks with Baby Sprout in the same shirt!

30 Before 30 = FAIL!

Ok, so I failed miserably at my 30 before 30 list. I guess that's what happens when your life seemingly does a 360 AND you get pregnant after writing the list. Here's the update...

#1 - Run a 5K and a 10K - DONE!
#2 - Work on learning Spanish - I never even attempted it. Do a few episodes of Dora count?
#3 - Write a wedding day letter to Brenna - I'm going to do that before her birthday, I promise.
#4 - Pay for a stranger's food - I always forget. I'll do it this week. I think about it when I'm sitting at home in my pjs a lot!
#5 - Camera in manual mode - Nope.
#6 - New kitchen backsplash - No new kitchen. This one isn't my fault.
#7 - Close on houses and move in - No closings. Again, not my fault.
#8 - Cook a Thanksgiving meal - During my first trimester of pregnancy? Yeah, right!
#9 - Read Bible - I started the one-year Bible and made it to about the March chapter. I'll pick it back up in March.
#10 - Flashmob - Never found one, but I did look.
#11 - Overnight camping trip - Again with the whole morning sickness thing...
#12 - Read 4 classics - Nope. But I have read 11 books since New Year's.
#13 - Finish the HP books - DONE!
#14 - Watch the HP movies - We're on #4 so far, so about halfway there.
#15 - Blog 2-3 times per week - I'm working on doing better.
#16 - Decorate for Christmas - Not exactly what I had in mind since we're in a rental. Bummer.
#17 - Plan a garden - No plans for moving yet.
#18 - Handwritten letters - Unfortunately no.
#19 - 4 Homemade Christmas gifts - I did make some, so we'll call that a win.
#20 - Iphone - Obviously it involves spending money I'm successful!
#21 - Guitar - Um, no.
#22 - Harley ride - I had a few planned with our friend Dave, but the weather was uncooperative.
#23 - Jump in leaves - YES!
#24 - Zoo - YES!
#25 - Weekend trips - No, but I did host two of my BFFs here in NC. So 50% win?
#26 - Wine tasting - Knocked up wino....no thank you.
#27 - Letters to teachers - No. I really need to do this.
#28 - Find a church, make a friend - I think we've settled on a church. No church friends yet, but I've met a few moms in a moms' group.
#29 - First get-together at new house - No new house. :(
#30 - Hokies - YAY! And they won!
#31 - Celebrate my 30th - WOOHOO! J and I hung out in Greenville last weekend while my in-laws watched Brenna. It was a short but much-needed trip. I guess it became a babymoon, too!

22.2

Today I'm officially 22 weeks and 2 days pregnant! Here's the lowdown on how the pregnancy is going!

How far along? 22.2 wks
Total weight gain: 9 pounds
Maternity clothes? Yes, ugh!
Stretch marks? just the ones I already had.....so hot
Sleep: much better, thank you
Best moment this week: hearing his little heartbeat, being told by 2 people that I didn't look pregnant haha! (or does that just mean I'm always fat?)
Miss Anything? regular pants, running
Movement: yes, lots, mostly at night
Food cravings: Starburst jelly beans....and NOBODY has them!
Anything making you queasy or sick: the left over chicken gnocchi soup in my fridge that I can't bring myself to clean out....gross
Gender: boy
Name? We're close.
Labor Signs: no
Symptoms: pelvic pain/stretching...but the headaches, rls, exhaustion, heartburn seem to be easing up most of the time
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on, but definitely tighter than at this point with B
Happy or Moody most of the time: happier than I was, for sure
Looking forward to: getting started on things for a nursery :), announcing his name