28 weeks

Sleep. I miss you.
This belly is getting much heavier and sleeping is getting much harder. It takes a lot of effort to turn over and to get out of bed. If Taylor is awake he'll usually give me a little push. Teamwork. My little man is liking the right side of my belly, he is always curled up there. I'm not sure what is wrong with my left side. He makes me look like I have a lopsided belly. Thanks.
So besides rarely getting a few hours of sleep at a time, this week hasn't been too bad.  A lot of work on a class fundraiser and a good house cleaning. My new year's resolution was to never go to bed with a messy kitchen/living room and to cook an amazing dinner at least four days a week. (Left overs for the rest) So far I've been good. But it's only February.
Now that I'm in my third trimester I should probably buckle down and finish up on the nursery. I really only have a few sewing projects to finish and some wall art to decide on. My wonderful friends are throwing me a baby shower next month and I am so excited. My parents, sister, and mother in law are able to come and that makes it even better.
My doc told me to start thinking of a birthing plan. Yikes. That makes this feel very real.  Some friends of mine are either very close to being due or have already given birth to their precious babies, and I'm a little jealous. I know everyone says the last two months go by the fastest but man, I want to meet you! I have your name picked out, your blanket and necessities all made, and your clothes hanging in the closet.  I can be patient though. For you.

Lately I have found myself in better spirits because of a new Bible study and new friends. I'm incredibly grateful that Oklahoma hasn't turned out to be so bad. Shocked, too. :) Since Taylor's and my Valentine's day consisted of me working all day and him flying until 9pm, we decided to do it right this weekend. We'll head into the city for some shopping and maybe some German food. My favorite.

This week my favorite recipe is probably a healthy broccoli fettucini alfredo. Unbelievable I know. Usually alfredo is full of cream and heavy calories but this recipe is made from a little bit of garlic, light butter, flour, and parmesan. It's super quick to make so it's nice when I don't really feel like cooking.

Broccoli Fettucini Alfredo

(http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2012/02/broccoli-fettuccine-alfredo-548-recipe.html)

(This recipe makes about 8 servings. So it's a good idea to half it, unless you're feeding a ton of people.)

INGREDIENTS		COST
16 oz.	dry fettuccine	$1.63
16 oz.	frozen broccoli florets	$1.29
1 clove	garlic	$0.08
4 Tbsp	butter	$0.45
4 Tbsp	all-purpose flour	$0.06
3 cups	milk	$0.94
1 cup	grated parmesan	$0.96
1/8 tsp	nutmeg	$0.02
to taste	salt & pepper	$0.05
TOTAL		$5.48

STEP 1: Begin to boil a large pot of water to cook the pasta. When it reaches a full boil, add the pasta and cook for 7-10 minutes or until al dente. When the pasta is finished cooking, reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water and then drain the pasta in a colander.

STEP 2: While the pasta is cooking, thaw the broccoli in the microwave and begin to make the parmesan sauce. Mince the garlic and cook it over medium heat in a medium sauce pot with the butter until the garlic has softened slightly (3-5 minutes). Add the flour, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes more. This is the "roux" that will thicken the sauce.

STEP 3: Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the milk mixture until it comes up to a light simmer. As soon as it reaches a simmer it will thicken and should be able to coat a wooden spoon (see photos below). Turn the heat off and whisk in the parmesan cheese. Add freshly cracked black pepper, nutmeg, and salt to taste. Make the sauce slightly saltier than you'd prefer if you were eating the sauce alone. Once it's spread out over the pasta and broccoli it will taste more mild.

STEP 4: Return the cooked pasta to the large pot that it was boiled in (with the burner turned off). Add the reserved pasta cooking water and toss the pasta to loosen it up. Add the thawed broccoli and then pour the parmesan sauce over top. Stir to coat everything in the sauce and then serve!

-B

Home Stretch

I've heard from a few different places that 27 weeks marks the beginning of the third trimester, and then other places that it's 28 weeks. I decided to split the difference. I'm 27 weeks 5 days and finally starting the home stretch of this crazy adventure. It's hard to believe how fast everything has gone by. I'm ready for these last 12 weeks to fly by so I can be playing with my little monster.

So far I've gained 15+ pounds but happily gaining it all in my belly.  I'm in my last pair of jeans so I probably will have to invest in some maternity pants soon, ahh.  Hello stretchy waistband.  My appetite has gone crazy; I can eat all day.  I have to have a constant supply of grapes and apples or else I would just eat junk. Which still tends to happen. One trip I made to the commissary when I was hungry, ended up with me bringing home Snickers Ice Cream bars, Oreos, Muddy Buddies, and chocolate chip cookies. Needless to say, I can never go there when I'm hungry again. If I don't keep it in the house I can't eat it. So it's all juices, fruits, and whole grain cereals for snack time.   Some old symptoms are popping back up, and some new. I have to pee every five minutes and I noticed I have these hot flashes.  This is the one time I could visit my sister's Arctic house and not be cold. I'm also drinking twenty gallons of water a day and my fingers are too swollen to fit my wedding ring on. Only in my hands though, I'm avoiding the cankles somehow.

We had some project time this past week. We decided to turn our coffee table into an upholstered ottoman. Taylor and I were getting tired of our feet falling asleep every time we put our feet up. So we painted the table with our new handy spray gun in the same charcoal gray as the nursery.  I found some great black and white honeycomb fabric at Hobby Lobby and purchased some foam and batting.

We love it.  And it is incredibly comfortable.  If we ever get tired of it, it could probably go at the end of the guest bed.

The rug I ordered for the nursery also came in this week and I decided to put it in the living room for the time being. It was 8 x 10 so it was plenty big, and we needed one for the area. It was dark gray and shaggy-ish so it's nice to sink your toes into, maybe I'll find a different one for Baby? :)

In our base housing we have this one awkward size room that is meant to be the dining room and living room. It's hard to make these bunkers look cute but I did my best. With our new rug I have to say it's at least cozy enough.

My little pup is the best!

The recipe this week is my favorite!!

Curried Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
(left-over) chicken (2 breasts ish)
2 ice berg lettuce leaves
1/2 medium carrot
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp yogurt (or an additional 2 tbsp of mayo)
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 heaping tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 onion powder
1/2 sweet apple
green onions
1 oz cheese
flat-leaf parsley
pepper
salt

Directions:
First, shred the leftover cold chicken with your hands into a bowl.
Chop the lettuce, peel and grate the carrot, chop the onion, and chop the apple.
Combine the mayo and yogurt into a separate bowl and add the spices then the parsley.
Finally add the chicken, lettuce, carrot, apple, onion, and cheese. Careful not to bruise the lettuce, I stirred with a big plastic spatula.

Toast some kaiser rolls and serve. Taylor liked to add a slice of swiss to melt on top of the rolls too. This recipe is one of our new favorites, such a mix of amazing flavor.

On this [blog] they show it step by step with pictures.


-B

Oh boy

25 weeks pregnant and feeling extremely large today. It's almost as if I've doubled in size since last week. People are extra friendly now, so that's nice.  This week I have been going nursery crazy.  We have decided on this crib:

 We thought about getting it in a cool grey color, but sometimes grey can come out blue so we decided white was best.  Also, later on down the road if we have a girl we wanted to be able to use all of the big pieces again. White is very gender neutral. Maybe pair it with a teal or an eggplant for a little girl.

In my last post I talked about this amazing rocking chair my mother scored at a Pottery Barn outlet.

You can't see the bottom but the wooden rocking part is exposed.  It didn't come upholstered, so what you're seeing is just canvas.  This way I can pick out the fabric myself. I already have this soft, sturdy and easy to clean charcoal fabric picked out. It has a bit of texture which I love. I seriously cannot wait until this piece is finished! It is my favorite in the entire nursery so far.

I also mentioned how I wanted to re-purpose an old dresser as a changing table. Personally, buying one online I would be paying too much money to get flimsy particle board.  Luckily, I found one in a consignment shop outside of the city this weekend.

 It was in great condition and only needed a face lift. The $85 dollar price tag was extremely doable and I'm never afraid of some sanding and paint. We decided to invest a paint sprayer, we do a lot of painting, so this shouldn't take long. Another thing I love about this dresser is the amount of drawers and how deep they are. I'm going to find some great patterned paper and attach it to the bottom of the drawers.

 I found this elephant fabric through hours of searching online:

Now usually I don't like animal prints in nurseries because I think it's so predictable. But I fell in love with this. I love the little modern elephants. Paired with this soft poly fabric:

Will make up the other side of blanket, probably with the same chartreuse ribbon.  The elephants will also be on the crib skirt so the crib will definitely be the focal point.  Hopefully I'll have enough to include a little scrap on the pillow for my rocking chair. 

I decided typography was the best idea for the wall art. We wanted something a little more original than "you make me happy when skies are gray".  We found a few sayings from children's books, lyrics, and movies that I love but I need to decide on my favorites.  It's easy to get these made on Etsy and then get them framed with a pretty matte. Plus, these great paintings from Hong Kong courtesy of my sister:

Love the little monster.

Well, other than nursery overload this week was pretty quiet. Aside from my complaints about my lower back.  Taylor has become a pro at digging his knuckles just in the right spot, and I am very thankful for that. We are all signed up for our birthing class in March and I'm strangely excited about it. I know I'm going to learn a ton.  We have our 'plan' in mind but would love to know all of the info about all of our options.  Only 15 more weeks. Unreal.  I find myself going through his clothes repeatedly. Just looking and feeling his little clothes makes it all the more real that one day my little guy will fill them. I think about him every second of every day.

On the mom-front, I am trying to be as prepared as I can be. Babywise has proven to be the most insightful book I have read, and I am only on the fourth chapter.  In my personal opinion, I love how much it focuses on becoming a family and the importance of carrying on a marriage life.  Never stop dating.  It's also about the baby learning to self-soothe and a bunch of other things when it comes to parenting. I've heard some mothers hate the book but personally I love it.

Now for the recipe this week:

Enchilada Stuffed Pasta Shells
This has become one of our regular meals and we love it. Promise it won't disappoint!

Ingredients:
15 jumbo pasta shells
1lb ground turkey
2 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
½ teaspoon dried minced onion
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup refried beans
1 cup shredded Colby jack cheese
*Feel free to add black olives, sour cream etc.*


Directions:
Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat brown ground turkey until no longer pink. Drain any excess fat. Stir in onion, oregano, basil, and cumin. Stir in 1 can of the enchilada sauce. Stir in refried beans. Set aside.
Step 2: Fill each cooked pasta shell with the turkey/refried bean mixture. Coat an 11 x 7 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and pour half of the remaining can of enchilada sauce evenly over the bottom. Place each shell into the bottom of the dish. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tops of the shells.
Step 3: Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. During the last few minutes of cooking, uncover and sprinkle the tops of the shells with Colby-jack cheese. Bake until the cheese has melted.
(Makes 3 servings)

*Don't forget to add some cilantro before serving. Makes a BIG difference.*

-B

Ballooning

Tomorrow I'll be in the 24th week of my pregnancy, hooray 6 month marker. Lately, I've been getting bigger by the second. It's gotten to the point where I can no longer sleep comfortably. Sleeping on my back is a no-no now, I can feel him sitting on important things in there. And even sleeping on my side hasn't been working. Hopefully it will get easier, but I have a feeling as he gets bigger it will just get worse. Bending down to put on my shoes and pick up things has gotten to the uncomfortable point too. Again, this will just get worse with time! I need to get some slip ons..

The nursery is starting to come together. We decided on a crib and nursery colors. I decided to make the bedding which is a fun project for me to keep me busy. Plus it's fun knowing no one else will have my bedding but me.  We also found a great upholstered rocking chair! A complete steal.  It's still unbelievable to me that we found it. It will be a great piece that we take around with us all over the world.  I can already picture my little guy crawling up in my lap for a bedtime story.

It's hard to believe we are already half way through January. These last few months are going to fly by, before I know it my son will be here and Taylor will have his wings. I still find myself getting impatient though!

Alright for this week's recipes I tried an Apple Butter Pork Tenderloin which turned out AMAZING. I promise it is worth the time.

 APPLE BUTTER PORK LOIN
DOWN HOME BAKED BEANS
Apple Butter Pork Loin Ingredients:
2 (1 ½ pound) pork tenderloins
seasoning salt to taste
2 cups apple juice
½ cup apple butter
¼ cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Season the pork tenderloins with seasoning salt, and place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish or small roasting pan.
3. Pour apple juice over the pork, and cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.
4. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven.
5. While the pork is roasting, mix together the apple butter, brown sugar, water, cinnamon and cloves.
6. After the hour, remove pork loins from the oven, and spread the apple butter mixture over them.
7. Cover, and return to the oven for 2 hours or until fork tender.

And then for something sweet, we tried out some homemade donuts. Well, easy "homemade" donuts. I didn't make the dough. Here is a website that includes step by step photos I recommend taking a look at.

Ingredients

• 1 ten count can Texas style doughnuts (or your preference, just not flaky layers)
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 stick margarine, melted (or butter)
• Vegetable Oil For Frying

Instructions

1. Pour oil into skillet to the depth of a little less than 1/2 an inch and heat on medium to medium high for about five minutes. In a bowl, melt margarine. In a separate bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.
2. Using a plastic bottle cap, cut the center out of each biscuit. Drop dough into hot oil, watching carefully and turning when golden. Once doughnuts are golden on both sides, remove to paper towel lined plate. Repeat until all dough is cooked, including doughnut holes.
3. Dip both sides of each doughnut into melted margarine, then press both sides into cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve warm.

These were just as good as they sound and incredibly easy to make. Watch out for your fingers though, I burnt some with the oil.

-B

December

Well I didn't do a very good job of updating my blog during the holidays. It was pretty busy. A few days in Los Angeles with my sisters. A week in Las Vegas with the rest of my family for Christmas . (We came out even!) And finished out the New Year in Summit County skiing at Keystone with Taylor's family.  Unfortunately I didn't get to do any skiing. Such a bummer because I've only used my new skis one time.  Taylor finished out the vacation with no injuries (a miracle), unlike last year which had him coming home with a few broken ribs. I reminded him we really need a paycheck.  So while I put my feet up in the ski condo, elevation took its toll. Ever since I started visiting Taylor at the Academy, I would get sick. I left feeling awful, ready to get back to flat Oklahoma. As soon as I walked off the plane I felt ten pounds get lifted off of my face. A few days in my own bed and I'm finally getting better.

The holidays were amazing, now Taylor and I are enjoying the lull before all of the big things start happening.  The month of May will be an awesome disaster. We have Taylor's Assignment Night, which is an event where they tell all the fly boys in his class which planes they will be flying as well as their first assignment. I'm due maybe two days after this, so we're praying everyday that I don't go into labor during this. Quite possible. I will be stressing, wondering where we will be getting stationed.
I am due May 7th. Taylor graduates May 18th, which will have my parents and Taylor's whole family heading out here.  And then finally, Taylor can take his short paternity leave to relax with his new son and exhausted wife.

In the meantime, I am starting on little man's nursery. We are slowly transitioning the 3rd bedroom from an office into his new room. He already has a good start on his tiny wardrobe. I had fun at Baby American Apparel and Baby H&M, and his Grandma went to town at the Osh Kosh outlets. Today I started his registry with the help of my sis, or else I would have been totally lost. I had no idea babies needed so many things.

As for the name...Taylor and I have favored a few in the past few months, but have landed on one that we love. We won't announce it for a while though, sorry!
Next week I'll post some photos of little things I have for his nursery. I think I'm going to start posting a recipe with each post too. Pinterest has expanded my cookbook immensely.

Pink or Blue?

Every year for Thanksgiving we travel to Tennessee to hang with the Ragland clan. It was a particularly long travel this year, 15 hours in the car with a pregnant woman who has to pee every 30 minutes. They say that little side effect goes away in the second trimester, but they lie. It was so nice to be able to relax and not worry about anything, with my only task being to eat.  I love eating. 
My stomach had been flat until the day we left Tennessee, finally deciding to pop out at 17 weeks on the dot. Still not looking pregnant, but happy to know my tummy will only get bigger now. It's like a reminder, Hey I'm in here.
The day after we arrived back in Oklahoma, I had my next appointment. The Doc had told me he wanted to check the organ development of the baby this visit, so when I got there I had high hopes of finding that little organ that would tell me if I was going to be buying blue things or pink things. Once I sat down on the exam table, he let me hear the heartbeat again. Still the most amazing sound I've ever heard. But after that, he said my ultrasound wasn't going to be for another 2 weeks. I asked if he thought it was because I wasn't far enough along and he said not at all, but the 'big' ultrasounds they do at the hospital and not his office, and in a small town booking an ultrasound appointment takes a couple weeks. (lots of preggo ladies, not a lot of appointments) So I left, blatantly disappointed.

Then I remembered a few weeks ago having some nurses come and give a briefing on base. They each talked about locations in the city who would give ultrasounds to determine the sex of the baby, also 4d ultrasounds. They each had went there, even working at the hospital it was hard to get an appointment. So I called the Doc and he recommended a place in the city, called Stork Vision, run by doctors and nurses. He could tell I was bummed out and encouraged me to make the call. He said it wasn't uncommon to be impatient when it comes to bonding with your child. They had ONE appointment left the next day.

With Taylor working from 5-5, and the appointments at the hospital and Stork Vision being M-F, we both knew either way, he wasn't going to make the gender ultrasound. My hubby isn't the emotional type, so he was fine with me finding out without him. Luckily, I am also not the emotional type, and I had no problem making the drive to find out the big news alone. So I drove up to...

..my heart beating out of my chest. I told myself if they told me it was a girl, I was going to wait until my hospital ultrasound to confirm. Because they say it could still be a boy, with the goods tucked underneath him. However, confirming a boy is a lot easier. His  goods would be showing from all directions.

So I walked inside and it was extremely glamorous. Like a baby palace. My sonogram room had velvet couches, a chandelier, thick carpets, a huge flat screen. I was impressed. Then the next minute my little nugget was on the flat screen. This is so much cooler than a hospital ultrasound. The nurse probed my tummy and I got to watch the little one squirm around until finally she paused it, pointed to a little part and said..."You're having...a little boy."  Again, I'm not the emotional type, but hearing those five words took my breath away. She explained to me the image, and also showed where the umbilical cord was, to assure me she was not mistaking the parts. Then she showed me how they were apparent from every angle. Yep, definitely 100% a boy.  

I couldn't stop smiling. When I left, they gave me a DVD of my entire ultrasound, so Taylor could watch the whole thing too. So I zipped over to Target, might as well while I'm in the city, just to buy something real and tangible, that I could hold and know my son would be wearing it one day. I landed on this...

Perfect, since his Daddy is a pilot. As I was driving home, my husband called and I told him yes, I found out. I said but would you rather wait till I come home? Absolutely not, he says. So I told him I was carrying our son. WHAT! Taylor had been convinced we were having a girl since the beginning. I however, felt opposite. Needless to say he was over the moon. For those of you who know Taylor, I am expecting our little boy to be identical in attitude. Scraped knees, giving his mother a heart attack jumping off things twice his height, more scraped things, lots of band aids. I deal with these things from my 24 year old husband, so I am fully prepared.


So now, I am just waiting for these last five months to fly by. Now that I picture my son every moment I am awake (and when I'm fortunate, when I'm dreaming), I cannot wait to meet him. Hold him and snuggle him and smell him.

Now, I get to start the fun part of designing his nursery and buying boy things..

Week 13

This Halloween was pretty low key. So far my favorite costumes I saw were an entire family dressed up as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dobby, Dumbledore, and Mcgonagall. And another as Dorothy, Scarecrow, Lion, complete with Toto. It's finally starting to really get cold in Oklahoma and I love it.  Expecting snow soon. I love it because I can wear big comfortable sweaters and be comfortable as I expand.
Speaking of, today I am at 13 weeks 3 days of my pregnancy. My morning sickness has died down which I'm grateful for, and believe it or not, I'm finally starting to feel pregnant.  All because of this:

Baby Rags looked nice and healthy to the doc. It probably was the most surreal thing to watch the little one squirm around on the screen, but not be able to feel anything.  Very trippy.  Now I'm not a crier, so I just laid there and kept saying "That's so crazy.. That's so crazy.." He printed out a lot of pictures to help me get a grasp on things.

I haven't started showing yet and Doc didn't expect I would until next month. I'm pretty excited to get that little bump. So right now I'm focusing on being able to see family for Thanksgiving :].  And how much amazing food I will be eating. And the Monday after we get back I have my next ultrasound. And well, that will be a very special visit.. As my friend would say, I get to find out what flavor it is.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween, and check out these adorable babes.

Complete with wasabi and ginger.

My sister-in-law's favorite, probably.

And the best for last. My little neice Elise! I am just in love with her.

-B