Menu Plan 6/16-6/22

Thanks again to Laura and Jill for hosting the Meal Plan Challenge! 

The plan for this week is simplicity. I plan to keep working until the baby comes, because who wants to sit home WAITING for a baby to come, but this means I am TIRED at the end of the day! I'm hoping for quick, easy meals most nights, with a bit more additional prep thrown in for Tuesday and Thursday as those are the days that Hubs picks up the boy. 

Sunday: BBQ at Noni's house - veggie burgers :-)

Monday: Pasta with Quorn Meatballs and Red Sauce

Tuesday: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Crockpot Minestrone Soup

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Mac n Cheese with Broccoli

Enchiladas are a bit more involved than I might normally plan for this week, but I have a craving so it's happening. I am also planning on making a mexi-rice casserole on that day for the freezer. Same type filling ingredients just with rice and greek yogurt instead of wrapped in tortillas. 

Last week I made stir-fry for the first time in a long time and wow! I completely forgot how EASY it is to make! I will be adding it to the regular rotation for sure! Unfortunately, I brought some of it to work and it spilled inside my bag on the way in, which was sad and messy. Apparently I need a better method of transport!

I'm also excited that I have officially made it past 37 weeks of pregnancy, and can deliver at my place of choice. Hooray for being full term! I'm looking forward to adding some stretching and walking back into the rotation now that my hips are feeling better and I'm confident that the baby can safely come anytime it wants.

Speaking of the baby, I have been dying to get a photo of myself with the belly and Ben, but being the family cameraman (woman?) I rarely am photographed unless I am able to take them myself. It is surprisingly difficult to photograph your own pregnant belly with a cell phone! This is the best I have been able to come up with. 

I'm really going to miss how his foot rests on top of the belly like that! Although I probably won't miss holding him up so high along with the extra 34 lbs I'm lugging around!

Happy Father's Day

 Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dads out there doing their thing :-) Hubs is currently sleeping in while I make the coffee and try everything I can to shake this head cold before I go into labor! Apple Cider Vinegar and the Neti Pot to the rescue (I hope!)

I wanted to share the gift that Ben and I put together for Hubs this year. I didn't post about it last year, but I got simple white letters that spell "DAD" and took pictures of Ben holding each one. I then chose the best one from each letter (the hardest part!) and put them into a 3 panel picture frame. Hubs absolutely loved it and it sat on his desk at work. A few women even commented on it at his work and are using the idea themselves this year!

Last year's Father's Day gift

When I bought the letters, I chose large white ones because I had a plan in mind. I thought how fun it would be to let him decorate them each year before we take the pictures! Last year was just a starting off point, so this year we decided to add handprints!

I started by covering his play table with "craft paper" - I just fold up and save the excess paper that comes in the box when Amazon ships something to the house. Reuse what you got right?! Also, just to note, I used washable paints, put on a heavy duty bib, and kept a damp cloth nearby for quick cleanup!

Okay, so after taping that paper down, I put out paint on a plastic plate, one color at a time. First, I tried painting his hands using a small paint brush, which he thought was HILARIOUS, but he got impatient with it quick. So I spread the paint out thin and stuck his hand in it. It was a bit goopy at first, so I pressed it firmly on the paper next to the letter to get rid of some of the excess then pressed it onto the first letter.

Viola! I decided to use a different color for each letter. I think they came out pretty cute!

 The next part of the project proved to be a lot more difficult than last year! Photographing an infant that can barely crawl and can't walk is MUCH different than trying to get a toddler to sit still! We had 2 failed attempts at a photo shoot before finally getting it right. Here are some outtakes!

"all done letters mama"

Totally throwing the letter at me!

Also, it should be noted that it rained pretty much every day during the week I was trying to take pictures. We had 2 sunny afternoons and Hubs was on pickup duty for both of them! UGH! So the finished product ended up being an indoor photo shoot. Which is probably the only way I was going to get him to sit still anyway!

I started the shoot by putting a fitted white queen sheet loosely over our couch. I kept the pillows underneath to give it some dimension. I then set up my tripod, which I found to be really helpful because I needed to do a whole song and dance to get him to look in my direction/not throw the letters at me. What you can't see is that behind me I have Finding Nemo playing to distract him, but I also had a stack of simple books and sang a few songs with arm motions to get him to smile.

My camera doesn't support a remote (booooo) so I sat next to it and pressed the button about a billion times. I seriously think I took like 300 pictures, but in the end I got some pretty cute ones!

I really look forward to building on this idea each year and creating new and fun ways for Baby2 and any future kids to be involved too!

Thanks for letting me share!  If you have a cute Father's day project you made with your little one, or by yourself, I'd love to see it! Please share your link and/or a description in the comments!

Pregnant Mama: 37 weeks

 I decided that I am going to post pregnancy updates more frequently now that we are closer to the end. I feel like so much is changing and also like I didn't take the time to write this stuff down last time, so I'd like to have a more detailed account this go around. Plus, if this baby is anything like Ben, I probably don't have too  many more of these to write!

37 weeks

What do the Apps say? - Full term baby! Baby is expected to have lungs (and all other parts) that are fully developed at this point.  Expected weight is roughly 6 1/2 lbs, although Ben was 8 1/2 lbs just one week farther along. I can officially deliver at the Birth Center as of today which was my goal.

Weight Gain: Last appt I was up 34 lbs. Not too bad!

Wardrobe: My pants are fitting worse than ever. Also - I refused to buy new underwear in the past few months because I thought I would rather let the ones I have get stretched out and buy new ones after so I'm not just buying them for a few months/weeks. I stand by this approach but am still wishing I had more/new pairs. I caved and bought 2 new maternity shirts, but they were less than $5 a piece and I had a coupon. I really like the shirts when they were $20 so I'm okay with this purchase.

Movement: Tons. It's bordering on painful these days because it's so forceful. Today I was feeling lots of what I presume are arm movements because they are low, and either a foot or a knee or a pointy butt bone has been pressing really hard on one spot and not moving, which is making that one part really sore!

How's Mama Feeling? So TIRED! My SI joint has let up and isn't bothering me but suddenly the front of my hips are screaming in pain when I switch positions and when I walk. I don't remember feeling this much pressure at this point in my pregnancy with Ben. My feet and ankles are swollen from retaining water. I'm also still encountering the "leakage" concerns I brought up a few weeks ago. I've just accepted it as part of the package this time around and I have committed to wearing bladder control liners daily to help maintain. Of course I find this to be terrible, but I know that many people experience it and have it much worse than I do, so I'm not really complaining about it. I hope to be one of the lucky ones who has this problem go away after birth.

I also woke up this morning with a sore throat and clogged sinuses :( I've been in denial about it most of the day but I really feel crumby. I'm trying every natural remedy I can come up with (tea, so much water, honey and lemon, rest, spicy soup, neti pot, kombucha) but am open to suggestions if anyone has them! I really want to avoid taking any actual medication, especially since I am so close to the end but would hate to have to suffer through labor with a head cold!

Pregnancy Brain: I can't remember but that pretty much says it all.

Cravings: More Arnold Palmers. Cookies. FINALLY got my hands on some tart froyo this weekend and want so much more. Pad Thai. Cheese.

Emotional Stuff: Holy hormones batman! I am feeling a lot of extremes this week. Today I was very crabby at work. End of the year for teachers can be a tough time anyway, then add in a week of on and off rain and being very pregnant, it is not fun for anyone.
  A few of the older women in my life have said a few things that make me feel less than great lately. I know they don't mean it the way that I take it, but it's still tough sometimes. One woman in particular taught my son to say "Mommy fat" a few days ago. Luckily he only said it the one time (in his defense, he is in a parroting stage and will repeat anything you say at least one time), and I am confident that she meant it as a sarcastic attempt at a funny comment, but it was upsetting nonetheless.

A side by side comparison with last week. I feel like baby has dropped a bit, but it's hard to tell from these pics. Plus I heard that it doesn't really happen as early with second babies so who knows. For the most part, I am really happy with the way that I look! I think I am still down a few lbs from the weight I gained with Ben and although I wish I had been able to stretch and exercise more, I didn't want to go against chiropractors orders so I took it easy.

Is Ben ready? I get this question about as often as "how are you feeling?" I want to do a separate post on it in general but right now, I think so. He is VERY interested in babies and when it is appropriate he will touch them gently on their heads. He loves to stare at them, point and say "baby" and offer them toys. Do I think he really understands that one of those creatures is coming to live with us and need his mommy as much as he does - no way! But I think (hope) he will adjust quickly!

Anyone else get sick in the last few weeks of pregnancy? Do you know if antibiotics at this point could affect milk supply after birth?