Hungry Lady: Eating for Two Edition

Well, I've been doing quite a bit of cooking and trying out new recipes. I'm not sure if I'm trying to compensate for the fact that I didn't get off the couch for my entire first trimester or looking ahead to much of the same for the third, but while I have the energy and appetite, I thought, why not cook?!

You may or may not have seen these before on Pinterest, but thought I'd give you the run-down on two new recipes that are definitely worth trying.

Skinny Spinach Lasagna Rolls
On a scale of Lazy to Julia Child, I award this a solid Betty Crocker. It was delicious, made enough for plenty of leftovers and was relatively easy. It took about 30 minutes of prep and about 30 minutes to bake. Here's the full recipe, but note that I subbed regular lasagna noodles for whole grain and added more spaghetti sauce than it called for because "I like things saucy."

(via)

Crawfish & Rice Casserole
Considering Greg and I both lived in Louisiana for several years of our life, it should come as no surprise that we both love seafood. So, when I stumbled upon this recipe, I knew I had to give it a whirl. My gem of a husband took the lead on this one and honestly, it was kind of a lot of work. We also did 1/2 crawfish (frozen from Kroger) and 1/2 shrimp and opted for instant microwave rice because we're lazy like that. It was delicious. Despite it being a huge pain to cook, we'll definitely be cooking again! (Recipe here!)

(via)

(our photo - it was much more appetizing than it looks!)

Oh, and after only a little over two years, I finally put on my big girl panties and decided to get real place settings for our dinner table. Yay for being an adult!

(Don't mind the Joe's cup...  :-)

Let me know if you give these recipes a try! And follow my appropriately named "Mmmmm" board on Pinterest!

Pregnancy: Week 18-21 in Review

Well I feel like I've definitely gotten in the swing of this whole pregnancy thing. Here's a quick look at the first few weeks of my second trimester:

Feeling? I feel fantastic! I'm definitely growing, but I'm still comfortable and feeling good overall. So, I'm trying to do as much now while I feel good!

Weight Gain? About 8 pounds as of today.

Baby Size? We've graduated from a bell pepper to the length of a carrot. According to my all-knowing BabyCenter app, he weighs about 3/4 pound and is about 10 1/2 inches long.

Maternity Clothes? Yes, my normal wardrobe has shrunk in size... But I've found some cute maternity tops and I finally broke down and bought some maternity jeans. I'm still rocking the belly band with my work dress pants, but those days are numbered. My favorite thing to wear is my maternity leggings (they are from H&M and they have a full belly built in - most maternity leggings I've found sit below the bump). If only those were considered "business casual"...

Cravings? Nothing specific, but I still love anything salty and fruit. I'm eating lots of pineapple, strawberries, apples and bananas. I still think about french onion dip quite often, but I've cut back (for the sake of maintaining a not huge ass).

What I Miss? Every once in a while, I miss being able to drink a nice adult beverage (especially on a really nice day on a patio). But other than that, I'm just really enjoying this part of pregnancy.

Fears? Why yes, I have a mountain of them, but I try to focus on the small ones such as the fact that my belly button is getting shallower. I don't know if I'm destined for a maternity "outie" but my fingers are crossed that I'm not.

What I'm Looking Forward To? We've painted the nursery (pics to come!) and now we're getting started on some other nursery projects, which should be fun. Baby registry day is coming up this week, too.

Best Moment? The baby has started moving so much. I feel him every day and I absolutely love it! Greg even got to feel a kick for the first time this weekend. :-)

Breaking my cardinal rule of no iPhone in the mirror pics, but Greg was out of town!

It was Halloween. I couldn't help myself...

Nursery Prepping

Well, the time has finally come for us to start on our baby's nursery! We were waiting on our ultrasound (which happened a couple of weeks ago) to confirm that it was a boy (it is!) before we started anything.

Our sweetie!

But now, it's full speed ahead! The hubby's busy season starts in January and while the vision for the nursery is clearly mine, Greg is definitely the man who's making the vision come alive. So let's get to my master plan:

The Idea:
Well, really the look I'm going for is theme-less; nothing against nurseries with themes, I just want this room to be classic. We're shooting for neutral and not too baby-ish. We can add wall art and of course, toys, to make it look like a nursery, but I like that he can grow into it.

The Color Scheme:
Gray & Navy with shots of Kelly Green - The walls will be gray with lots of gray accents, but we'll add navy and throw in a pop or two of bright green to liven up the space. (I'm still finalizing paint swatches for the green color!)

When I fell into my Etsy vortex a few weeks ago, I came across this throw pillow that so perfectly fits my color scheme. Of course, I had to order it. Where it will live? I'm not sure yet, but I love the J.Crew-esque design. (It's by Jillian Rene Decor and all of her stuff is gorgeous/high quality!)

The Furniture:
I think we'll go with white furniture (crib), but I've been wanting to get a great dresser for the changing table that we could re-do and paint in a bright color. Lucky for me, I have an awesome husband and Connor has a great future daddy because when I found a dresser on Craigslist weekend before last, Greg agreed to drive me to a tiny town east of Dallas (about an 85-90 mile round trip!) to pick up this gorgeous dresser from an antique shop.

We're both so in love with the shape. It's a vintage French Provincial dresser and it's in amazing condition; it's so beautiful in person that I think it's going to be hard to paint over the beautiful wood, but that's still the plan. We also love that if we decide to take it out of his room, we could strip it, refinish or repaint it and it could live in a guest bedroom or even as a buffet table in a dining room.

Well that's as far as we've gotten, but we'll be sure to update you along the way!

9 Year Date-iversary

Today, the hubby and I celebrate nine years together. The fact that we've been together for literally 1/3 of my life still blows my mind, but I just couldn't have it any other way.

As most of you know, we started dating the fall of my Freshman year and how we made it through four years of college, well, I'll never know. It could only be that it was just meant to be, right?

Who knew that these kids...

Our first date - Mai Tai Date Party - Sept 2003 (Wish I could've told my 18-yr-old self to cover up a bit!)

Halloween Party - Oct 2003 "Goose" from Top Gun & an apparently sassy bumblebee 

Summer 2004 - The weekend Greg saw first-hand that I'm not the "camping type"

Would be expecting our own little one nine years later.

If you would've told me that the cute Sigma Nu that I wanted to ask to our very first date party (see photo above) would be my most amazing husband, friend and future baby daddy... well, actually, I probably would've said "Oh yes, I know!" as I had the plan all along to make sure he fell in love with me. (Mission Accomplished)

But HE, he probably would have never believed you.

Now, here we are all these years later experiencing possibly the most joyful year of our life (to date). Happy Dating Anniversary to the most wonderful man in the world!

Hungry Lady: Red Hot Apples

This is seriously one of my favorite fall treats. While it definitely doesn't have to be a fall-only treat, the yummy aroma that will fill your kitchen when making this just screams fall! So, I've enjoyed "red hot apples" since I was a little girl and my Grandma would make them for us. Fast forward to the first year that Greg and I were married, I decided randomly to make them. Turns out his Grammy used to make them, too, but she called them "Rosy Apples" (coincidence that my Grandma's name is Rosie?! I think not!) But I digress...

So, here's what you need:

4 Red Delicious Apples (peeled and sliced)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. red hots
3/4 - 1 c. water

Cook for 20ish minutes on med-high heat (stirring every few minutes) until apples are soft. Let cool on the stove. You can serve hot (some like it over vanilla ice cream) or cold and by itself (how I prefer it).

Mmmmmm, delish!

The Real Deal Behind Pre-Natal Yoga

I started a prenatal yoga class about 3 weeks ago - the main reason was simply because I wanted to stay (somewhat) active during pregnancy, but I also thought it would be a good way to relax, prepare for labor and maybe meet a preggo friend in the 'burbs. Well, fast-forward 3 weeks and I've learned a few things.

 
1. No giggling out loud.
On my first visit to yoga, I really had no expectations. My only previous experience with yoga was about 25 minutes of a 90 minute hot yoga session. So let me back up - I guess I would say that I did have the expectation that it wouldn't be 100+ degrees in the studio, it wouldn't smell like the bottom of the ball pit at McDonald's play place and I wouldn't almost faint. Lucky for me, hot yoga is nothing like prenatal yoga. But what I didn't expect... was the giggles. While we had one hand over our heart and the other "hugging" our baby and my instructor uttered the words "Clear your mind. You are a strong, confident, peaceful warrior mama..." Sorry, now, can we back up? I'm a WHAT?! I opened my eyes to peek at the other "warrior mamas" in my class to see if anyone else found this at all hilarious. Um, they did not. So now my rule is no giggling in class.

2. It's allllll about "all natural."
Maybe this isn't news to anyone else, but it was news to me. Turns out many, many women take prenatal yoga classes to help prepare themselves for childbirth. Natural childbirth. While I don't knock anyone who wants to go the au-natural route, I'm just more of a "keep-the-epidural-on-ice-I'm-on-the-way" kinda gal. In fact, it appears that I'm the only one in my class who isn't trying for a natural birth. One gal even previously had a *shudders* water birth. The instructor makes many comments about doing things the natural way, eating only organic foods (as I quickly stash my Cool Ranch Doritos in my purse) and even how we sit, stand and sleep.

3. Clothing choice can be important.
The first two classes, I carefully picked out my yoga outfits, but by week 3 I just kind of threw on what I found in my drawer. Well, I didn't really think about it until I walked into the class, but what I found in my drawer was actually a t-shirt that says "Pizza Hut is for Lovers" - I got it for free somewhere and it's super-soft but I definitely got a few looks when I walked in. (See #2)

4. "Time to do more kegels!"
One thing I was not expecting during the class was to get in a crouching position and be instructed to "practice your kegels." Say wha?

Yes, these are the same things you read about in your smuggled Cosmopolitan Magazine in high school - apparently they help in childbirth and afterward. I swear, of the one hour class, we easily spend 10 minutes doing kegels. I mean, geez, I could prop my ass in the air and practice those in the comfort of my own home. There's something about doing them in a class setting that is just a little odd.


So, while it's a pretty different experience than what I expected, here I am, ready for next week's class. It may be weird, but I sort of enjoy the classes each week and if nothing else, it's an hour of peace and quiet where I can totally relax. I just told the hubby that if I start getting brain-washed and start talking about an all-natural childbirth, to kindly yank me from that class. I do know my limits.
 
Ohmmmmm...

Pregnancy: Week 14-17 in Review

Well I feel like I've definitely gotten in the swing of this whole pregnancy thing. Here's a quick look at the first few weeks of my second trimester:
Feeling? I'm feeling really good, for the most part, and am really enjoying every little moment. Soaking it all in because I know in a few short months, it may not be as magical as it is now.

Weight Gain? About 4-5 pounds total

Baby Size? We've graduated from the size of a lemon to a the size of a turnip. Baby B is now approximately 5 inches long (from head to bottom) and weighs 5 ounces.

Maternity Clothes? No, I've ordered/bought a few things, but haven't worn anything yet. I finally got a belly band and it's working like a charm, though. Will be on the hunt for more maternity clothes shortly.

Cravings? Basically anything salty and fruit. My faves right now Wavy Lays and french onion dip (I could literally eat it with a spoon) and strawberries, grapes and apples. But I'm back to eating pretty normally and sensibly; I only succumb to cravings every now and again.

What I Miss? Every once in a while, I'd love a margarita, but other than that, I'm doing alright. I also don't have the stamina to run like I used to before, so now I walk/jog the best I can.

What I'm Looking Forward To? I get a sonogram at our next doctor's appointment in two short weeks. This will (hopefully) be our gender confirmation appointment. Can't wait to see our little one again!

Best Moment? I've finally felt my first flutters of movement a few times. It's usually when I'm laying flat or on my side right before I go to bed. One of my favorite moments in life, actually :-)