Monogram Project

While my best friend Sarah was in town a few weeks ago we worked on a fun craft project. Sarah found this cute idea and tagged it on her Pintrest. (http://pinterest.com/) If you've never heard of Pintrest it is this lovely site where you can "pin" images. Pretty much like cutting something out of a magazine and pinning it on your cork board, but stored online and can be accessed anywhere. So back to my story, I saw her pin and quickly stole it for nursery inspiration. What is it you ask? It's a button monogram and it looks something like this:

http://americancrafts.typepad.com/studio/2011/02/element-monogram-tutorial-by-jen-jockisch.html

Here is what our final results look like:

Sarah added her beautiful piece of work to her gallery wall featuring many fabulous pics from her wedding last year. Here is a pic of her work:

My monogram while complete isn't in its final resting place. I plan to hang it behind my glider or do a gallery wall above the dresser. Here's a shot of my completed piece:

Our Go to Dinner

One of our go to dinners is very simple and requires only a few ingredients. Not only that, but there is also minimal cleanup. I've raved about this simple dish to many friends and family. Unfortunately, I've forgotten to send it to those many people. The best part for me is that Mike's kind of taken over making this dinner so the only thing I have to do is the potatoes. So here it is:

Cheesy Chicken-and-Broccoli-Topped Potatoes 

source: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cheesy-chicken-and-broccoli-topped-potatoes-10000000479073/

Hands on Time: About 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 baking potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3/4 pound skinned, boned chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons paprika, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
• 2 cups small broccoli florets
• 2/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheese

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes for 1 hour (depends on size). The actual recipe says to microwave and this is much faster, but we like the flavor of the baked potato.
• While the potatoes cook, combine the chicken, flour, 1 teaspoon paprika, salt, and pepper in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and shake to coat.
• Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken mixture and broccoli; sauté for 5 minutes. Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes or until chicken is done. Add cheese, stirring just until melted.
• Split potatoes open with fork, and fluff pulp. Spoon chicken mixture evenly over potatoes; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon paprika.

Week 26: My Pregnancy Journey

How Far Along: 26 weeks

Size of Baby L:1 3/4 lbs 14"

Total Weight gain: 19.5 lbs

Gender: Boy

Movement: Slowed down a bit, but mostly I haven't noticed as much since I've been busy.

Sleep: Pretty decent. Still just waking up to use the restroom or flip to the other side.

What I miss: Being fully understanding of how big I am and not running into walls and furniture.

Cravings: Sweets.

Symptoms: Nothing in particular. I do seem to be getting more fatigued. Getting closer to that final trimester.

Nursery Stats: Still waiting on the crib. Hopefully ordering a rocker recliner this week. Also, going to search for a rug.

Best Moment of the Week: Seeing Mike hold our nephew Joseph and console him when he was crying. He even went up to get him when I passed out on the couch at midnight. Can't wait to see him interact with our little one. I know he will be an amazing father.

Big Decisions: We've decided to do cloth diapering. While it will be more work in regards to laundry. We will save $1,500 in Baby L's first two years. Plus many other benefits! Second major decision was not to chop my hair off. It's been hot! After curling my hair this AM I decided I liked having options. I think I'm just ready to get my hair done next week.

Father's Day 2011

Unbelievable that we celebrated Father's Day yesterday and that today is June 20th! Not only that, but we are in double digits until Baby L arrives. 99 days till baby arrives, 99 days! (Sung to the tune of 99 bottles of beer on the wall)

Yesterday, Grace and I woke Mike up with a Father-to-be card. Grace or Goobs as we like to call her was sitting very poised on our bed with the card in her mouth and then dropped it right on Mike. Very cute. I had given Mike his present earlier last week. He received this book:

Just a little preview for our lives to come. We also go to experience this on Saturday when we watched our nephew, Joseph.

We spent father's day at my parents lake house to celebrate with the whole family. We were blessed with a beautiful day. Boating, fishing, eating and a winery visit took place.

Mike and Liam

Best Dad  Ever!

Week 25: My Pregnancy Journey

Pregnancy Stats:

How Far Along: 25 weeks

Size of Baby L: about 1 1/2 pounds and about 9 inches crown to rump (the size of a rutabaga)

Total Weight gain: 17.5 lbs

Gender: Boy

Movement: Kicks are getting a lot stronger and more consistent. Mike can feel them now.

Sleep: Waking up more often to turn over and also to go to the bathroom. Lots of thoughts and excitement so it's often hard to fall back asleep.

What I miss: Schlafly's Summer Lager and being able to do as much as I use to without wearing myself out.

Cravings: Crunchy stuff, like chips or Imo's pizza reheated in the oven. Also, watermelon.

Symptoms: Round ligament pain and baby boy moved lower and seems to be laying on my bladder.

Nursery Stats: Crib won't be arriving till July now...Mattress has arrived. Narrowed down rug choices. Now trying to figure out glider/rocker situation.

Best Moment of the Week: My 9 week old nephew falling asleep on me and looking like he's hugging his cousin. Also, the excitement in Mike's face as he feels the baby kick and receiving flowers on Sunday.

Lists: enjoying and looking forward to

Things I'm enjoying right now:

• reading
• watermelon
• daydreaming about our boy
• flowers
• rain against the windows 
• hanging with family
• my job
• cuddling with Grace
• lists
• sleep

Looking forward to:

• little nose, little ears, little toes, little fingers
• blue? brown? green? bright eyed baby
• coos and possibly even cries
• snuggling with my boys
• reading classics with Baby L (Goodnight Moon, The Velveteen Rabbit)
• singing lullabies and whatever else comes to mind
• listening to Mike sing DMB to Baby L
• down the road-catching lightening bugs, seeing his eyes light up as he discovers new things, his first sounds, his first words
• selfishly-beer, wine and sleeping on my stomach

Weekend Visitors

This past weekend we had the pleasure of hosting our friends Sarah and Tommy. The weekend was extra special as they were celebrating their first wedding anniversary. The two of them spent Friday doing touristy stuff. Touring Busch Stadium, the brewery and going up in the Arch. Friday night we went out to Blueberry Hill for dinner. Here are pics of us at dinner:

Saturday I made waffles for Sarah and myself. Since the boys aren't big breakfast people it was nice to be able to make something more than just a bowl of cereal or oatmeal. We then got to work on our art project. Here is what we were working on:

http://americancrafts.typepad.com/studio/2011/02/element-monogram-tutorial-by-jen-jockisch.html

 

 

I'll post our results later on. We took a break from this and went to the Science Center to look around. There were so many things we could have done, unfortunately almost all of them were outside and at 98* none of us wanted to spend it outside. We headed to the Boathouse in Forest Park for lunch. Always one of my favorite places to go. We went home,  took naps and finished up our projects. Then we headed to Cicero's in the Loop for dinner and then walked to Fro Yo for dessert. I've never been to Cicero's and wish I would have before being pregnant. They have tons of drink choices and with the heat of the summer in full swing I've been missing beer. (Don't worry I just added O'Douls to my grocery list!) As you can see we like to eat. One of my favorite things about my friend Sarah is how we can just relax and be ourselves. There is no pressure. A lot of times when we visit with one another we spend most of the time eating and relaxing at home. By the end of the weekend I always look back and laugh that we didn't do a ton, but we definitely have our own fun. Can't wait to see her again in a few weeks!

Week 24: My Pregnancy Journey

How big is Baby L?
The lil guy is getting bigger. This was clearly evident in my ultrasound this week. Score!! We were lucky that our doctor's doppler was being repaired. This week baby L is more than a pound and a half and is about a foot long or the size of an ear of corn. He continues to grow and develop.

How I'm changing?
My weight gain is between 15-16 lbs at this point. I'm hoping I can get my eating in check so that I can gain 1lb or less every week. I'd also like to be walking more and I think I may have to resort to the treadmill since the temperature has been too hot. We walked to the library Sunday afternoon, which was about 3 miles round trip. It felt good to be moving, but was pretty warm with a high of 90*.

In great news, my doctor's office called and told me I passed my glucose screening test and I do not have gestational diabetes. Who hoo!! I was really happy to hear that. I love sugar and was worried I would have to give up fruit. Major bummer for a preggo in the sweltering summer. Also, my measurements were right on and I am measuring 24-25 weeks.

Not much else changing. I've been a bit achy. Mostly in my back and sometimes my legs hurt.

What else is going on?
We had a great weekend with our friends and I'll be recapping later this week. Sarah and I worked on a project for the nursery and she worked on the same project for her gallery wall. I'll be posting about that too. It turned out really cute. In other nursery news, we received our mattress today and are still awaiting the crib. I hope to possibly find a rug this weekend.     

Baby Shower

I'm back to continue my recap of our Memorial Day Weekend. On Sunday my mother in law threw us a baby shower with Mike's side of the family. We had a yummy lunch of pulled pork, cole slaw, black beans and other delicious summer foods. My parents drove in town to attend and it was great to have so many family members around. It was especially great to spend time with family we do not get to see very often. We enjoyed lunch and then Mike and I opened many wonderful gifts. One thing is for sure, baby boy has lots of clothes and may have to wear a new outfit every few hours to get through all of them. We are truly blessed. Here is a shot of Mike and myself:

And the delicious cupcake cake:

We spent the rest of the day hanging out with family and swimming.

Monday we woke up early to drive up to see our friends Tyler, Jenilee and their new baby Roland. He's about 6 weeks old and doing great! We spent a few hours catching up with them and playing with Roland. Here are a few shots:

The boys playing with Roland. See that smile for Mike. Kids love him.

Hanging out in his swing

We came back to Mike's parents house and spent the rest of Monday and Tuesday morning hanging with the family until driving back Tuesday. We had a great time seeing tons of people. Wish we could do it all of the time!! Who is going to build a teleporter??

Week 23: My Pregnancy Journey

How Big is Baby L?
Baby L is the size of a large mango this week.

He's about 11 inches long and weighs a little over a pound. Baby boy can now hear more sounds and feel me swaying to the music. The blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing. And he is getting use to all of the familiar sounds around me. The loudest of all is Gracie barking. "They" say this gets him use to the noise so it won't faze him after he is born. Let's hope that's the truth. I've been feeling a lot more movement, which is very fun. He's doing flips and feels like a little jumping bean. It mostly occurs around mid morning, between 10-11am, and then again in the evening.

How I'm changing?
Since I always start with weight gain. I will start there. Total gain at this point is between 14-15 lbs. After this past weekend, where I ate all weekend long, this really isn't that surprising.

So those pregnancy ailments that have been non-existent for me for the most part have now arrived. They decided to grace me with their presence while I was out of town this past weekend. Saturday morning, while at my friend Kari's race I started seeing white spots, getting clammy and then only could see white. I almost passed out. My blood pressure and blood sugar were taken and both were fine. The rest of the weekend I was worried about having preeclampsia or gestational diabetes. I talked to my Mom about it on Sunday when she came out for the baby shower and she helped ease my mind. She reminded me the same thing happened to me at Easter mass and I completely forgot. For the most part it probably occurred because of traveling and stress. Also, the increase in blood flow in my body probably affected this all as well. After talking to some of my friends they also had similar situations while pregnant. 

So coupled with this bearing down on my mind. My emotions were in high gear. I was feeling big and little comments were getting to me. So far in my pregnancy I cried the most this weekend. Not because of anyone in particular or anything anyone did, my emotions were in high gear and I really believe it was mostly because of Saturday mornings occurrence. Mike even endured a five year old temper tantrum because he told me Jimmy John's was out of the way. Don't worry he got it for me and it was only five minutes out of the way. I'm just preparing him for a child :)

What else is going on?
Continuing to plan the nursery. We can't wait for the crib to come in. We ordered fabric for the curtains on Monday. I'm contemplating cloth diapers vs. disposables. Next Saturday we are going to a cloth diapering class and we will decide after that. We have friends visiting this weekend and we are super excited for them to be here. We plan to work on one of the art projects for the baby's room this weekend. 

       

This past weekend was exciting and exhausting to say the least. On Friday afternoon we loaded up the car, dropped Gracie off at my sister's and drove four hours to our friends Kari and Phil's house just outside of Louisville, KY. We had a great time catching up with them and playing with their 14 month old daughter, Reagan. Saturday AM we watched Kari run in a cross country race and besides a pregnancy freak out we had a great time. (I'll fill in on this later in the week). Then we were back on the road again to see Mike's little sister graduate.

We headed to our Alma mater for graduation and first stop was a legacy photo with my beautiful sister in law. It's really neat that all three of us attended the same school and who knows there could potentially be a fourth future alum in this picture as well.

We also took some family photos and then headed back to the sorority house for lunch. It was great to be back. My sister in law and I have the joy of being members of the same sorority. I had Mike take a picture of me outside of the house.

After lunch, it was time to seal the deal with a little bit of pomp and circumstance. The ceremony was beautiful. Taking place on the Point, overlooking the Ohio River, where Mike and I graduated 6 years ago. While we couldn't see much we were all touched by the President's words, in awe of the beautiful scenery and excited for Rach to enter this new chapter of life. We got distracted by butterflies swarming in the trees above and a toddler boy in suspenders. Clearly day dreaming of our baby boy. But nothing could stop us from missing the most important part of the day:

 

Congrats Rach! We love you and couldn't be any prouder.

More recap to come later this week.