25 Weeks

I suck. I haven't done the survey since 11 weeks... oops. We knew that was going to happen right? Oh well. 

Here goes. I wanted to add non cell phone pics... but lets just face it, I'm so lazy. Don't mind the toilet... we're potty training still.



How far along: 25 Weeks 2 Days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Only about 5lbs which I'm astounded by! But... you have to take into consideration that during the first trimester I lost almost 10lbs after not being able to eat and getting the stomach flu?!

Maternity clothes: I've bought nothing but shirts this time. I thought for a while there the only thing getting bigger were my boobs. They seem to have slowed and now my belly is starting to poke out. I'm still wearing most of my regular pants as long as they are really low rise - otherwise I bought a new BeBand and that seems to work for the few pairs of pants that I can't button.

Stretch marks: I luckily didn't get any with Landon so we're hoping that trend continues. 

Sleep: Other than having a little bit of insomnia when I first lay down I'm doing pretty good - except to get up at least once to pee.

Best moment last week: I'm just trying to enjoy what little time I have left being a mom of ONE.

Movement: All the time - except this time it's LOW - like I feel like he's going to kick out my vag.

Food cravings: Food cravings have subsided - thankfully. Most recently again was root beer... or just ice cold soda in general?! And this morning... milk. I craved milk with Landon.

Gender: Boy... again. Still.

Labor signs: OMG, the Braxton Hicks are going to be the death of me this time. I don't remember having them this early - or barely at all with Landon. This time I get them whenever I am exerting myself too much or if I go from laying down/sitting to standing too quickly.

Belly button - in or out? In... it never popped with Landon.

What I miss: Wine. And being able to move quickly.

What I am looking forward to: Being done. Having an outside baby... this also scares the shit out of me.

Milestones: 25 weeks... viability baby!

It's a BOY... AGAIN!

Well, there you have it... another boy! I'm not going to lie... I cried. 

I went in to my appointment on Friday and I had totally convinced myself we were having a girl. Everything has been different this time. The cravings, the sickness, the moodiness, the weight gain... everything. 

Just goes to show you that every pregnancy truly is different. 

I didn't have much time for it to sink in before they came in and told me that they saw "something." A calcification, on babies liver. They reassured me that it's probably nothing, however they'd like to do additional testing to make sure. 

So a trip to chat with the genetic counselor, a few more blood tests and a follow up ultrasound are ordered in order to rule everything out. 

The meeting with the genetic counselor was just another meeting reassuring us that based on our family histroy everything is "probably fine"?!? And I got a call the next day assuring me that everything from the blood test came back normal and with no signs that anything was wrong. My ultrasound is scheduled about 4 weeks from now to make sure the calcification has cleared up.

So after that little hiccup... we can now focus on enjoying that Landon is going to have a little BROTHER!

Time to pick names :)

Meal Plan - April 29th

Why can't I keep my crap together???

Well, it's kind of hard when your household is battling the stomach bug. A couple of weeks ago there wasn't much eating going on in this house. And if there was, it most definitely wasn't a home cooked meal.  Alas, I think we are all better now however this baby has been making feel like absolute crap around dinner time so Adam and Landon have done a lot of fending for themselves.

Anyway, I thought I'd give it a go this week.

Bacon and Asparagus Pasta - this looked yummy as I was perusing Pinterest the other day so I thought we'd give it a go!
Holy Yum Chicken - I'm sure this has a more appropriate name but that's what this blog calls is. The picture makes my mouth water.
Perfect Potato Soup - I've been craving a good soup. I love potato soup. I'll probably get bread bowls too :) I had a different recipe previously but was perusing The Pioneer Woman's blog and came across this one so I'm going to try it.
Enchilada Lasagna - This looks interesting?! I was feeling like we needed a Mexican dish this week.
Bacon Parmesan Penne - Two pasta's with bacon? Sure. Sounds ok to me?!

I'm too lazy to post the grocery list?! Sorry :( I'm almost out of the first trimester so hopefully I'll start feeling better and getting a little more energy and enthusiasm!

11 Weeks

I've seen different pregnancy questionnaires on blogs the last few years and have always really enjoyed them. I decided that with this pregnancy I would keep better track of my progress than I did with Landon. I didn't do a horrible job last time but it was kind of jumbled. It'll probably still be jumbled.

Anyway, here we go... at almost 11 weeks!

Pregnancy Questionnaire

How far along: 10 Weeks 6 Days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I was up 2lbs last week... feels more like 10 cause I'm SO bloated.

Maternity clothes: I've bought one shirt thus far and I've already decided that I don't like it - haha. I've worn it and washed it though so I'm stuck with it. I did break out an old plain white maternity shirt for my weekly picture - I'm hoping to wear the same shirt in each photo. Pants are fitting alright so far.

Stretch marks: I luckily didn't get any with Landon so we're hoping that trend continues.

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty well - despite the random wake up to pee. As long as I don't chug a bunch of water right before bed I'm usually good. I was having some insanely vivid dreams - I remember that with Landon as well. But they seem to be happening less and less.

Best moment last week: Seeing this little one's heart beat a few weeks ago topped things so far!

Movement: Not yet.

Food cravings: Everything?! First craving was for Root Beer. That was at about 6 weeks. Then on three separate nights I needed to have Sour Patch Kids. Last week? Waffles. With bacon. And syrup. :)

Gender: I have a feeling... we'll see in about 7-8 weeks.

Labor signs:  Nope

Belly button - in or out? In... it never popped with Landon.

What I miss: Wine - I might just copy and paste this every.single.week.

What I am looking forward to: I ordered a Doppler on Amazon yesterday so that should be delivered tomorrow or Saturday. Hopefully we can located Baby 2.0's heartbeat!

Milestones: Almost out of 1st tri!

Potty, Potty, Potty!

Landon turned 3 on March 29th. THREE!

I had high hopes of potty training much earlier however he had NO interest. He still had no interest going into his very first Spring Break from daycare but I took the opportunity to implement what I'd like to call Potty Training Bootcamp. 

Nothing glamorous about it. Underwear.All.Week. 

I was off for most of the week with the exception of two days for a few hours so starting on Mon April 1st we went straight to underwear. I'd tried this before but never for more than over a weekend.

• Day 1: LOTS of accidents. Nothing in potty.
• Day 2: One morning accident. Nothing in potty. I think he held it after the first accident until he napped cause he woke up wet. Then he held it again from then until he took a bath.
• Day 3: One pee accident right after breakfast. He sat on the potty before nap for literally 35 min watching Netflix on my phone and nothing. I even gave him more liquids this day. I even ran to the grocery store and totally forgot that he was in underwear... he held it! Thank goodness!
• Day 4: He spent the night at my mom's and wouldn't go all day. 
• Day 5: I woke up SO.FREAKING.SICK. - we laid in bed all morning watching movies. Mid-morning I finally put him in a pair of underwear and what does the little stinker do? Of course he pee's in my bed as we're watching TV. So I strip him and let him play naked while I stripped the bed. Next thing I know his little potty in the bathroom is singing away?! 

What?!??! Then I hear him. "Momma, I peed!"

How that little child had anymore pee in him after wetting my bed is beyond me but OMG - we just had our first pee on the potty!!! After that we had SIX more pee's on the potty that night.

Saturday and Sunday were equally as well - with peeing anyway?! We even went out to dinner on Sunday and he went in a PUBLIC potty! It's a start and I'll take it! I think we are finally on our way to being potty trained! 

Yay!!!

The Invisible Mother

I'm not sure where this came - a friend shared it and I thought it was inspirational and definitely worth the share :)


I couldn't make sense of the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids would walk into the room while I was on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' 

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! 'Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?? 

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.' 

Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock? Where's my phone? What's for dinner?' 

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature --but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!? 

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. 

It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' 

In the days ahead I would read --- no, devour the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. 

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it ' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.' 

I closed the book, feeling the missing pieces fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does'. 

'No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last-minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.' 

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder; as one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. 

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. 

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand-bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it there ....' 

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

Meal Plan - April 1st

Lets try this again... meal planning. Meals have been a little a lot chaotic in this house. I have been getting sick (literally) around dinner time so making dinner (especially unplanned) has been a challenge.

I need to plan... or the next 7+ months are going to be a nightmare! So here we go!

• Brats & Rally Fries - No recipe. But I mean, what's better for the opening day of baseball season?
• Skinny Chicken Pesto Bake - Skinny... that's what I'm going for this week. Sides will include Crash Hot Potatoes and a green salad. 
• Guacamole Bacon Burgers - ^Scratch the "skinny" I mentioned above. OK not really, I think I'll use ground turkey instead of beef. Maybe some whole wheat buns?! And instead of fries... I'm really craving some corn on the cob. It's so not in season yet... hrm?! Salad?
• Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken - Another skinny recipe! Will serve with rice and corn tortillas.
• Copy Cat Applebees Oriental Chicken Salad - I hate loath Applebees. But I do love copy catting their Oriental Chicken Salad, turning it into a wrap even.

So there we have it. Back to meal planning! Yay! Now... I'm off to the grocery store!