23 Week Bump Update

This afternoon we're headed out for our family vacation. We decided to split the trip over a couple days in order to prevent any meltdowns from Addie.  I cannot wait.

Due Date? September 27th (will confirm a c-section date as we approach September)

How far along? 23 weeks

How big is baby?  About the size of a grapefruit.  About 10.5 to 11.8" and 12.7oz to 20.8oz (over the next several weeks this number will remain about the same as the doctor is measuring at a different point)

Weight gain? +8

Maternity clothes? Yes. The non-maternity shirts are getting a little too close for comfort.  Starting to show off the maternity band more than I should.  

Stretchmarks? Nothing new

Sleep? Insomnia is back.  About an hour every other night I'm waking up and unable to get back to sleep for an hour at a time.

Best moment this week? When Addie and I were eating dinner she grabbed my hand and massage it and said feel better.  I don't know what this doctor fascination is but it's super cute.

Movement? Huge movement, it's unbelievable how active he is already.

Food cravings? Nothing really.  I'm having some reflux lately so nothing sounds good.  Literally I can eat a slice of bread and I'll have terrible reflux.

Gender? Boy!

Labor signs? none.

Belly button in or out? In

What I miss? Back to missing drinking.  We're going on vacation soon and I could really use a pina colada.

What I am looking forward to? 3pm this afternoon when we head out for vacation.  Well, maybe not so much the drive but definitely the arrival tomorrow.

Milestones? Nothing new, at least that I can remember.

Next doctor's appointment? June 14th, when I'll also be doing my glucose test.

-stephanie

Weekend in Pictures

I think I've mentioned before that my life is super busy right now.  I'm transitioning into a new role at work while continuing my work from my previous role as well as taking additional training classes each week.  On top of that I have a rambunctious 2 year old and am 23 weeks pregnant.  It's a lot so some things in my life need to suffer a little to make sure the focus is where it needs to be.  That's my family first and my career second, the blog falls to third.  I'm doing what I can to keep posting on a regular basis however you've probably noticed a day or two when I don't post (ahem, yesterday).  I value each one of you as a reader more than you'll ever imagine.  It makes me so happy to have readers who read my blog and those of you who comment make me really feel like you're interested in our life.  Anywho, so this is what's been going on in my life.

Saturday morning breakfast with my little girl at Panera.  She had a chocolate muffin top thing (delicious) and I had a hazelnut coffee & everything bagel.  

Such a perfect date.

This picture cracks me up.  We were eating dinner and Addie reached over and said, "here, hold your hand".  She then massaged my hand and said, "there feel better now".  She then called me doctor.

I went to the local market in downtown Columbus this weekend for their Farmer's Market and I bought a bouquet of peonies from the local vendor.  Gorgeous!

And this picture was dinner at a local German restaurant that we love.  My little German girl can slam on sauerkraut like no one knows.  It'll give her gas like nobodies business but she loves it.  You can call her Heidi.

So, I'm doing my best to stay focused on the blog, but I hope you'll understand my priorities.  Next week we're on vacation so I may be a little MIA to enjoy our time!

-stephanie

Mightee Kids: April's Let's Kick It

I've told you before about Mightee Kids.  Their motto is "Helping kids help other kids around the world...one tee at a time" and you can help too!  Not only do you receive a cute t-shirt each month for your little ones, $5 from each month's tee will be donated for the charity of that month.

This month's tee is Let's Kick It where FUNDaFIELD is helping build soccer fields for children in war-torn countries.  Mightee Kids has also paired up with One World Futbol Project to provide virtually-indestructible soccer balls for the kids.

Want to find out how you can get your own tee each month and help support a great cause?  Go to Mightee Kids and read about monthly subscriptions.    Check out their twitter, facebook and instagram sites.

-stephanie

22 Week Bump Update

Oi, what a week.  I've been traveling for work and got back last night from a bit of a bumpy flight with all this nasty weather we've been getting.  I'm glad to be home so I could cuddle up with my little Addie.  Just trying to get back into the swing of things, especially at work with this long weekend.  Only a couple hours until the long weekend and I can't be more excited to shut down work.  Let's get to the bump...

Due Date? September 27th (will confirm a c-section date as we approach September)

How far along? 22 weeks

How big is baby?  About the size of a papaya.  About 10.5" and 12.7oz (over the next several weeks this number will remain about the same as the doctor is measuring at a different point)

Weight gain? +7

Maternity clothes? Yes. The non-maternity shirts are getting a little too close for comfort.  Starting to show off the maternity band more than I should.  

Stretchmarks? Nothing new

Sleep? Sleeping well!

Best moment this week? Coming home yesterday afternoon.  Addie was sitting in her car seat and acted really shy at first which hurt my heart a little. But then she reached over and grabbed me and pulled my face down to hers and grabbed my hair.  Ever since she was a baby she would run her fingers through my hair.  She does this when she's tired, nervous, scared.  Then she said, "missed you mama".  Tears!

Movement? Yes!  I'm having some 3rd trimester moments where I think he's trying to claw his way out of my belly.

Food cravings? Chips & Salsa though I'm also craving some really fresh fruit.

Gender? Boy!

Labor signs? none.

Belly button in or out? In

What I miss? Not wearing a bikini in a week when on the beach.  I could probably still wear it, but it likely would not look like it did last summer when I was wearing it.

What I am looking forward to? We have another appointment this morning to see the little bean so I'm excited for that and being done with work for 3 days.

Milestones? I had my first experience this pregnancy with a swollen ankle.  I imagine it was due to training, standing for so long, eating sodium and not getting as much water as I would normally be consuming.

Next doctor's appointment? This morning!

-stephanie

Sour Cream Pound Cake

I found a really delicious and easy recipe for pound cake in my Betty Crocker recipe book the other day.  So I decided to share it since it was both easy and tasty.  I was trying to find something similar to the famous Starbucks Marble Pound Cake.  It's not quite Starbucks, but it's a good alternative.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups white flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
splash of vanilla
chocolate sauce - optional

Directions:

Set the butter, sour cream, and eggs out to come to room temperature for 30 minutes.  While these are coming to room temperature, mix together flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl.  Whip the butter and sugar for 10 minutes on medium speed.  Add 1 egg at a time, continuing to whip after each egg for approximately 1 minute on low speed.  Add vanilla then slowly alternate adding the flour mixture, then the sour cream mixture, stopping to scrap down the sides.  Once combined, place in a loaf pan.  If you're looking to change it up, remove about 2 cups mixture and add about 1/4 cup or more of the chocolate sauce.  Mix these well and then pour over the top of the mix in the loaf pan, don't mix this.  Bake in oven at 325 degrees for approximately 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Yummy!

-stephanie

Traveling for Work

I'm currently traveling for work in Wisconsin.  I left Monday afternoon so the last time I got to hug Addie was Monday morning as she was heading out for the day.  When I arrived in Chicago on my layover, I headed through the terminal looking for something to eat before my next flight to Wisconsin.  That's when I stopped with a group of travelers and heard the news about Moore, OK.  It was devastating   Because I'm now a mother, I feel a different type of pain to the parents in Moore, OK.  It was all I heard for the next 4 hours until I finally had to turn off the news and watch House Hunters on HGTV.  I needed to watch something else.  Not because I didn't care about the individuals suffering in Moore, but because I was feling it deeply.  Especially since I'm not in a place where I can hug Addie.  I pray for everyone in Moore.

In other news, this was my fun last night!

Great time!  I can't wait for Thursday afternoon when I can cuddle up my Addie!

-stephanie

Frugal Find: McDonald's Iced Coffee

Yummy!  Considering I cannot drink any alcoholic beverages throughout the summer, my alternative fun refreshing drink of choice will be of the iced coffee variety. This weekend i found out that McDonald's is offering their iced coffee drinks in any flavor or size for $1! 

This runs through September 30th so enjoy all summer long!

-stephanie

21 Week Bump Update

What a busy week. Though I missed posting a couple days I couldn't miss Friday's bump update so I hope you enjoy!  More than halfway!

Due Date? September 27th (will confirm a c-section date as we approach September)

How far along? 21 weeks

How big is baby?  About the size of a pomegranate.  About 10.5" and 12.7oz (up two ounces from last week and 4 inches!)

Weight gain? +5

Maternity clothes? Yes, still mostly just work pants.  Stretchy skirts are non maternity.  Still looking for great summer dress/shirt/skirts.

Stretchmarks? Nothing new

Sleep? Sleeping well again!

Best moment this week? Mother's Day when Addie met me at the door with flowers, a balloon and a Starbucks gift card and said, "Happy Mudder's Day".  My response was, "thank you Addie, did you get this for me?"  Her response, "No, dada did".

Movement? Yes!  A lot of movement.  So much so that sometimes it's a little painful the amount of movement that's going on.

Food cravings? Chips & Salsa

Gender? Boy!

Labor signs? none.

Belly button in or out? In

What I miss? Being able to wear all of the cute clothes this summer.  Not being able to wear a bikini at the beach in a couple weeks.

What I am looking forward to? Strangely enough, I leave for a work trip Monday afternoon.  I'm looking forward to getting away and not having to do the nighttime routine.  Being able to hang out with some coworkers and not have to worry about being home by a certain time.  I'll miss Addie to death but it'll be a nice break.

Milestones? Nothing big, though the baby did grow 4 inches this week which is crazy!

Next doctor's appointment? May 24th for another ultrasound.  The technician was unable to get a clear picture of the little guy's heart so we'll have another ultrasound at that time to make sure everything is looking good!  Excited to see the little guy again.

-stephanie

MIA

Hey, remember me?  Yes, I know.  It's been a while.  Work/life balance is bad right now.  I'm working until 10:30 most nights this week with about an hour or two to spend with Addie in the early evening hours.  I can't wait for our vacation that's coming up in a few weeks so I'll finally have some quality time to myself.  So let me just do a little photo dump for you.

An iced coffee drink I made at home.  My favorite summer drink!

What I got for mother's day.  Flowers, a balloon and a Starbucks gift card.  Addie handed this to me and said, "Happy Mudder's Day"!

Little Miss Addie and her favorite Sesame Street crew.  Little does she know we'll be seeing them all live in about a month at Sesame Street Live!

-stephanie

Product Review: Cardstore

In another life I'd be a party planner.  Of course there comes some stress and the need to work non standard hours, but how much fun would it be to create a fabulous party for someone!  Anytime a friend is planning a party I immediately offer up to help if they need my assistance.  Especially when someone else is footing the bill, right?!  So my friend Lindsey is planning a party for her husband.  He turns 30 and wanted to throw a last minute party, something really informal with close friends and family.  I was so excited when she asked me to help out because I love a party, but also because I recently had the opportunity to try out cardstore.com.  

I instantly fell in love.  Not only with the cute cards they have in their database, but that you can create your own invitation or use one of their many templates.  L and I found this one and loved it!  It's so easy to design a card off of their invitation templates and literally took us 30 seconds to design!

I love the simplicity behind the design and as two full time employed women, we loved how quickly we were able to change out pieces on the invitation template to meet our needs.  The quality of the cards are phenomenal!  Right now, cardstore.com is offering 20% off sitewide by using the code CWG3507.  

I cannot wait until it's time to plan Addie's 3rd birthday in January!

-stephanie

20 Week Bump Update

Half baked today!  Woot Woot!

Due Date? September 27th (will confirm a c-section date as we approach September)

How far along? 20 weeks

How big is baby?  About the size of a banana.  About 6.5" and 10.6oz (up two ounces from last week and 1/2 inch)

Weight gain? +5

Maternity clothes? Yup, just in the pants.  My non maternity pants are getting a little tighter but I'm holding out as long as possible.  I'm in desparate need to find a lot of dresses/skirts in the maternity area.

Stretchmarks? Nothing new

Sleep? I've been waking up in the middle of the night for about an hour and unable to get back to sleep.

Best moment this week? Seeing the little guy last Friday at our anatomy ultrasound.

Movement? Yes!  A lot of movement.

Food cravings? Chocolate donuts.

Gender? Boy!

Labor signs? none.

Belly button in or out? In

What I miss? Not being able to wear non maternity clothes as we approach summer. The summer fashion right now is so cute.

What I am looking forward to? 4pm this afternoon so I can turn off work for the weekend.

Milestones? Officially half baked today!

Next doctor's appointment? May 24th for another ultrasound.  The technician was unable to get a clear picture of the little guy's heart so we'll have another ultrasound at that time to make sure everything is looking good!

-stephanie

Addie's Uncle Nick

Rick is one of five boys.  He's the oldest, so the other four are younger than him.  His youngest brother is 8 years younger than him so they were all really close in age growing up.  It's great watching Addie interact with each of her uncles because they're so caring and protective of her and she loves them all so much. But there's one uncle Addie never got to meet, her uncle Nick.  

Nick was the middle child, just 4 years younger Rick and was always the boy with a smile.  He had the biggest heart, the most energy, and there was never a person who met Nick that didn't instantly love him.  Nick joined the Army after graduating high school in 2003.

He was based out of Fort Benning, GA in the Air Assault unit.  In 2004 he began his 1 year tour in Iraq and would send emails, letters, and call us all as often as he could.  We sent him care packages full of snacks and items from home to keep his spirits up.  In January 2005, he got to come home for 2 weeks of leave.  Days before he was to return to Iraq, Columbus was hit with a huge ice storm delaying all flights out of the airport for several days.  We were all so excited because we were gifted with a handful of extra days we got to spend with him.  Soon the ice began to melt and he eventually had to catch that flight back to Iraq.  We all said our goodbye's and shared lots of hugs & kisses, telling him we'd see him in a few months when his tour in Iraq would end in June.

Unfortunately, Nick didn't make it to June.  His Humvee ran over an IED on May 8, 2005.  May 8th fell on a Sunday in 2005, Mother's Day.  We were all informed by the Army that Nick died that day and we wouldn't get to hug him again or hear his upbeat personality or see him come bouncing through the door.  It has been the hardest day any of us has ever experienced so far in life.

Today marks 8 years since Nick passed away.  Some days the hardest part is knowing Addie will never get a chance to meet him, to hug him & kiss him and play with him.  She'll never get a chance to be adored by him because we all know the two of them would have been quite the pair.  We have a picture of Nick hanging in our living room and Addie knows it's her uncle Nick.  We'll continue to talk about Nick and share pictures with her.  One day when she's old enough we'll tell her what happened and how important his life was not only to the one's who knew him best but also to America.  And to Addie.

-stephanie

Hurt So Bad

Addie is full of randomness at this age.  We continue to hear her say very interesting things.  Here are a few:

• On the way home yesterday, as she sat in her seat she said, "Mama, booboo" referring to the scratches on her knees from a few days ago.  I said, "oh you have a booboo?" and she replies, "Yes, hurt so bad!".  

• She's also recently started saying 'umm' when we ask her a question that requires her to think before answering.  For example, if we say, "Addie what color is that?" she would likely reply, "umm, umm, blue".

• She's picked up the word 'delicious' which she uses quite frequently now.  We were able to catch it on tape and you can watch it here.

• She also randomly said to me about a month ago, "Feel better already".  At the time, I caught one of the best pictures I've taken of her thus far.

• Yesterday I posted about her first meeting with Mary's little one and her response after holding him for less than 10 seconds and taking her pictures with him she said, "Mary, take him".

Does your little one say anything funny or weird?  Has there ever been something your kid says that is gross?  Please tell me about it.  I love hearing these stories!

-stephanie

Baby #2 Is A...

First, let me just say that I had no idea what I was looking at when the technician showed us this picture.  Literally, no idea what part of the body so I'm just going with it.

Now, my reaction.  I'm excited.  Little nervous, but excited.  I'm nervous because I have a girl, I'm a girl mom and being a boy mom is probably a lot different.  It will be an adjustment and I won't get to dress up another girl in all of those cute clothes.  But I'm excited.

I think I might be most excited to have that mother/son relationship.  It's crazy but I had this moment when watching "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?".  Watching the relationship with his mom and that his mom adores him and he adores his mom.  I nearly started crying thinking about what this will be like for me one day.

Rick is beyond thrilled.  He has a boy to do "sports stuff" with.  When we told Addie she would have a brother she said, "No, girl".  When we asked what she wanted to name him she said, "Girl".  So we'll need to warm her up to the idea.  Addie finally got to see my best friend, Mary's baby this weekend.

She did well but immediately said, "Mary, take him".  I love this picture.  It makes me happy to have a boy on the way.  She'll be such a great sister.

-stephanie

19 Week Bump Update

Today is the day.  The big day when we find out what this little bouncing bean inside of me is.  Boy or girl?  We shall see later this afternoon!  Go ahead and make your predictions now and come back next week to find out what we will be having!

Due Date? September 27th (will confirm a c-section date as we approach September)

How far along? 19 weeks

How big is baby?  About the size of a sweet potato.  About 6.0" and 8.5oz (up nearly two ounces from last week and .4 inch)

Weight gain? +4

Maternity clothes? All maternity pants all the time!  I imagine I'll be wearing shorts or dresses/skirts all summer long.  I'm not interested in wearing pants already and it's only May 3rd.

Stretchmarks? Nothing new

Sleep? Sleeping really well actually.

Best moment this week? We announced on Facebook finally.  The picture is below and hilarious.

Movement? Yes!  A lot of movement.

Food cravings? Mexican & margaritas.  Maybe it's because Cinco de Mayo is Sunday.

Gender? We'll find out this afternoon!  What's it going to be friends?

Labor signs? none.

Belly button in or out? In

What I miss? Really the same thing I've been talking about for the past few weeks.  I'm not a big drinker but over the summer I love a good sangria or frozen drink.  Watching some friends drink margaritas tonight is going to make me really want one.

What I am looking forward to? 2pm this afternoon!

Milestones? Outside movement.

Next doctor's appointment? Same as above, 2pm this afternoon when we find out what the baby is.

-stephanie

PS.  Check out the Facebook announcement below.

PPS.  Don't forget Starbucks Frappuccino Happy Hour begins today!

Review: Hanes Playtex Secrets Bra

I received Hanes Playtex Secrets bra for free from BzzAgent and the opinions expressed in this post are my own.

I'm so happy to have had a chance to review the Playtex Secrets bra!  I'm a larger chested woman and have such a hard time finding a bra that fits well, flatters my figure and comes in a variety of colors besides the boring big chested options of nude, white or black.

 

So when I received my bra I couldn't wait to try it out.  I was in desperate need for a new bra and literally met the delivery guy at the front door to take my new bra out of the box.  He totally gave me the side eye and then I realized why.  He knew what was in that box!

So I got it out of the box and was so excited to check it out and put it on the next day.  After wearing the bra for a couple weeks, I realized it's doing a lot for me.  It looks great and flatters my figure plus it feels really light and comfortable on.  I liked it so much I went out and bought 2 more.

This weekend I'll be purchasing another couple bras since Kohl's always has these on sale, combo that with a 15% Kohl's discount and these bras are under $20!  Seriously, the best bras I've ever purchased and you don't have to break the bank.  Check them out at your local Kohl's, you're guaranteed to love them!

-stephanie

Wordless Wednesday: No Nap Time

This is what happens when you skip your nap.

Dinner means impromptu naps.  I asked her if she was tired when I noticed her eyelids getting heavy.  She immediately closed her eyes and passed out.  And no, she didn't sleep later the next morning so no more skipping naps.

Happy Wednesday!

-stephanie