Snow Day!

We had a bit of snow last night. Not a ton really but it was the really wet and heavy kind and school was called off. Of course they waited until 5 am to call and tell us it is a snow day instead of calling it off the night before like every other district surrounding us. So I have been up since then, no biggie but I would rather get up at 6 like I usually do. Four hours of sleep just is not enough for me.  Boy am I tired!

This morning I had an appointment with the dentist for a cleaning. Oh boy were my gums sensitive! The hygienist said it must be from the pregnancy because there is nothing wrong with them. They still hurt. I hope they are back to normal soon! With Emma being off school she got to hang out in the waiting room and find Waldo for 45 minutes. She will not go back with me for some reason. After we got home I went outside and watched her play in the snow with the dog and build a snowman. It was weird not doing it with her but playing in the snow and building things is off-limits. Just about everything is off-limits. It’s so freaking boring! Plus my floors could use a mopping and the carpets vacuumed, tired of looking at them but it will have to wait.

I am thinking of baking a cake later. Not exactly what the doctor would want me to do seeing I am pretty much at the weight limit they wanted me to gain. But angel food cake and raspberries can’t be that bad. Right?

Emma and her snowman

May Have Been the Last..

This may have been our last kid-free weekend for a long time so we did what we could to take advantage of it without overdoing it. Now is not the time to break the rules the doctor gave me. Hoping to keep this baby baking for a while longer not encourage his behavior and let him out just because he thinks he can hurry things up. Already a rebel.. Oh boy are we in trouble. Better show him who is boss while he is still in the womb. No better time to put my foot down than now. Who is in charge here? Okay, okay we all know it isn’t me but I will pretend to have some sort of control while I still can.

Emma spent the weekend at her aunt’s house so we decided to take advantage of it. Friday night we went and bought some baby items, a couple left on the registry and just some cute little random things that I liked. Pat made a point to make fun of my obsession with tiny socks. I don’t know what it is about little bitty socks that I love. I generally hate feet, they gross me out like nothing else (minus spit but we won’t get me started on that) but little baby feet. I love little baby feet, and their tiny socks and itty bitty shoes. Maybe because they don’t walk around and get sweaty, callused and stinky yet. Maybe it is the size? I don’t even know. After that we went and had dinner then rented a couple of movies. I wanted to watch Sinister so I picked that then I decided to get Pat a palate cleanser and rented Here Come the Boom. Both movies were good especially with the soft pretzels and cheese I made to go with them. We stayed up to late lying around on the couch but with no kid at home it did not matter what time I got up so why not?

Saturday I got up to darn early so I sat around and did nothing until Pat got up. We decided to go to Midland (just a town over) and go to Marshalls, we got Emma a super cute outfit then went and had some Japanese for lunch. With full bellies we checked out the new Cabela’s in town then went home and relaxed then went to the theater and saw Warm Bodies. This was the first movie we saw in theaters without Emma since He’s Just Not That Into You. So maybe 2009! It was almost strange to get to hold the huge tub of popcorn! The downside to that is I ate a TON of it. Alright let me correct that.. I ate all of it and washed it down with a huge soda. Oh well, it is hard not to when you have a fetus telling you it is a great idea. No regrets either. It was our pseudo weekend away without being away. After the movie we went and visited with some of my besties Sam and Heather. Finally got a peek at her amazing wedding gown, ordered pizza with pepperoni and feta and watch He-Man cartoons. After we went home and passed out!

Today I made brunch then we went and picked up Emma. we went and let her pick out a new outfit, she bout a new Hot Wheels set and got her Club Penguin card. Then of course got dad to get her some McDonald’s. Spoiled much? Nah!

So now Pat is napping on the couch, Emma is watching Star Wars the Clone Wars and I have the oven preheating for our roast beef dinner. No school tomorrow so a later dinner tonight. Ms Emma does have an advanced placement test tomorrow afternoon but other than that nothing so a big dinner followed by a later bed time works for us.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Week 31!

9 more weeks to go! Or less, I am hoping for a little less. So over pregnancy, I just want to get to the end result!

Here are a few week 31 stats:

• The baby is around 16 inches long
• Weight is on average 3.3 lbs (about the weight of 3 navel oranges), I am thinking it is actually more because I have consistently measured a few ounces ahead. I haven’t had an ultrasound in a few so who knows.
• He is about to hit a growth spurt
• He is very active, they say the head now can move side to side but I think there is a Cirque du Soleil going on in my uterus.
• I have half of my hospital bag packed (just my clothes so far) I will finish after the shower and registry completion.
• We picked the name Ian for Male Fetus. Sorry Kurt at Lost it Big no Kurt or MFer.

Yesterday I did a huge grocery shopping trip! Tons of great stuff on the menu for the next week. Pretty much everything is pretty healthy minus the calzone Emma requested I make. I was lazy and bought dough mix instead of just doing it myself. But all in all this will be my first complete week back to clean eating. I am just going to pretend the calzone is clean, or maybe I will make a salad for myself. Tonight Bulgogi, edamame and rice is on the menu. I need to get that started 5 minutes ago but I decided breakfast and blogging would come first, then dinner, then making cookie dough (not cookies for the house)

I am really looking forward to the baby shower this coming Sunday. Everything is set minus the fact that I need to grab gifts for the hostesses and the first place prize for the diaper raffle. Pat and I decided to host the diaper raffle in lieu of having a diaper party. I never know how I will feel day-to-day or if the baby is going to come early so we figured it would just be easier. I am all for throwing a party but I don’t want to clean my house to have a bunch of men and a keg in it then have to clean more when I am at the end of my pregnancy. i do have Emma’s gift, a locket necklace that I will take her in and let her choose how it is engraved and what picture she would like to put inside. She has been wanting a “real gold or sterling” as she says locket and that is quite the big girl gift so it is perfect for her. One of her grandmothers and great-grandmother and going to have gifts to present to her at the shower too. I love how thoughtful some people are. It is really nice! I have an activity bag for after the baby comes but I decided to give it to her when she goes to the hospital to meet her brother for the first time.

I should hear from the doctor’s office about the yoga I found, hoping I get a yes so I can do something. Been missing working out and I am itching to be a bit more active, even if it is only yoga.

I have my 31 week bump pick to post but I will have to do that later. I left my phone upstairs and it needs to be charged so look out for that later today!

Carb overload!

Since the beginning of pregnancy I have been haunted by the worst case of morning sickness. Nothing helped, the mass doses of Zofran, Vitamin B, Tums, ginger, nothing! Not too long ago I was given Zantac to add to the Zofran and vitamin b regime and finally some relief  Granted there are good and bad days but there are more good ones than bad now.

Given the fact that the morning sickness was pretty much debilitating and every smell on the planet made it worse there was not much cooking going on in my house. The things I did cook and eat mainly consisted of carbs. Breads, bagels, crackers, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, pancakes. You know everything that is bland and a complex carb. Now we are cooking more and eating a better variety of foods but I find myself constantly drawn to bread and potatoes. This habit really needs to be broken. But I freakin’ love bread and potatoes more than ever right now!!! Why can’t I crave spinach?

I am really trying to get my food intake back on track before the baby comes so it is easier to do. In a couple of weeks I plan on buying a mass amount of food and bagging it up and freezing it for crock pot meals. Then there will be no excuses for not cooking something healthy after the baby comes exhausted or not. I can pour something in the crock pot in my sleep if I need to!

So far at 30 weeks and 5 days there has been a 28 pound gain, most of it is baby bump and I gained what I feel like is a good portion in my thighs. Not too bad but more than I was hoping to gain. I still have a while to go and can potentially gain 1-2 lbs a week. That is another 9 to 18 lbs. Hoping for the smaller number but it is what it is. The weight won’t stick around forever and if all goes well delivery wise I can get back to walking about 2 weeks after and in full swing at 6 weeks. My jogging stroller was purchased months ago and I plan to get a sling for days I don’t want to push a stroller. No excuses!! can’t knock the calorie burning benefits of breastfeeding either!

The fact that everything I no longer fit as I lost before is good motivation to get it done. There will be no purchasing of larger sizes to accommodate my post baby body, I will be stuck in maternity clothes until the 12′s fit! I have to be in a party dress by July and a bridesmaid dress in October. I will look good in them too. There is no choice because I refuse to give myself one. Having a baby will not be an excuse to not get moving and take care of myself. Taking care of myself, being healthy and energetic will make taking care of a baby easier. Plus feeling good about myself and having a good attitude will help cope with any stress.

30 week bump pic, notice the lack of hair? Went and got a “mom” cut! No tiny little fingers torturing me with hair pulling while nursing!

I will be back in this dress for my July event! Promise to myself and to the blogosphere!  The last and only time I ever wore this was in June if I remember correctly. Then I went and got knocked up

Unexpected Exercise and BLT Pasta Recipe

With the rain yesterday morning raining on my fitness parade I had mentioned hitting the gym and seeing what I could accomplish. I really need to have the something is better than nothing attitude right now. Well, I did not make it to the gym. But, I did get a walk in. It kind of happened due to an unexpected circumstance. Here is the story….

Yesterday was Emma’s first day back to school so we decided to take her back and forth instead of having her take the bus. I wanted to help her find her classroom, she was pretty nervous about getting lost in the first grade wing. So, off we went, I got her to her class and I went home and got some things done that I needed to do, had lunch with a girlfriend and then Pat and I ran back out to the school to pick her up. They have an area that the First Graders are released to after school is dismissed and I waited and waited and did not see my kid anywhere (Pat was in the car). So I went to the cross-guard and the attendant outside and she told me to continue to wait because she thought there were more kids that have not come out. So I did, I waited and waited. I didn’t see any kids coming out, the parking lot was almost empty so I was freaking out and pissed off. I marched my ass into the office and of course I had to wait in line even though I was freaking out trying to tell them my kid was MISSING! I called pat and told him to go home in case she was on a bus or left with a neighbor or something. I was able to track down her teacher and found out that she was put on a bus (without my consent)! I don’t think that there is a word to describe the amount of stress, worry and anger I was feeling. Being at the school and having sent Pat home I decided I did not feel like waiting for Emma to get off the bus, him load her in the car and come get me so I decided to start walking. Probably not the best idea seeing I was wearing flip-flops, it was hot as heck out and I was wearing jeans. Oh well, I needed to blow off steam and I had no desire to sit at the school any longer. It was not the teacher’s fault or even the office but the bus attendants and transportation department. None the less I was mad. After I got close to a mile and a half in Pat and Emma met up with me and scooped me up. I felt like crap from the heat but ended up just fine. The good thing was I got some exercise in. It’s about time!

Today we were supposed to go to the Kiss/Motley Crue Concert with another couple so it was postponed until tomorrow. So I decided I would give the kitchen a go. The original dinner plan was fast-food on the way down to the concert. Oh the shame in having to admit that! HA! I have not done much in the kitchen lately. The smell of raw and/or cooking meat does not sit well with this baby. The October issue of Family Circle Magazine came in the mail today and i saw the recipe for BLT Pasta in it. The picture looked delish and it is pretty healthy (compared to how I have been eating) and light. There are very simple ways to make it quite healthy, swap out bacon for turkey or chicken bacon, cut out the bacon fat, use whole grain pasta, up the amount of veggies, all in all simple to adjust to healthier.

It is sooooo good!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces center-cut bacon (12 or 13 slices), diced
• 1 1 pound box penne pasta
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1 pound bunch spinach, trimmed, roughly chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 bunch red chard, well cleaned, tough stems discarded, sliced
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/3 cup fresh basil, torn
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling.

2. Cook bacon in a large skillet for 10 minutes over medium heat until just crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve 2 tbsp of the drippings in skillet.

3. Meanwhile, cook penne in boiling water for 11 minutes. Drain.

4. Add 2 tbsp of the olive oil to skillet with bacon drippings. Return to medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Add spinach and chard and cook 4 minutes until wilted. Stir in cherry tomatoes; cook 2 minutes.

5. In a large bowl, toss penne, bacon, spinach mixture, basil, remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, the vinegar, salt and pepper.

Mother Nature

Leave it to her to rain on my parade! Well, rain on my “I am going to try to walk/run/whatever this morning” idea. Oh well, there  is always tomorrow. I need my workout area finished so I can just use the treadmill and my DVDs. If this baby gives me a moment of relief I am thinking that I will go to the gym for a little bit later. We will see how that works out.

Today was Emma’s first day of the First Grade. She was surprisingly  this morning. But alas, she is off to school and all is well. There were tons of friends from last year in her class, so I am sure she will lose those butterflies quickly. I can’t wait to see what she has to say about it this afternoon!

I did eat a yogurt parfait from McDonald’s  this morning without an issue (other than nausea so I will take it) so I am thinking I should go get the stuff to make and have them at home. Yeah, yeah, McDonald’s is bad but we were out and about and I needed to eat now!! Could have been a value meal.

Emma on her first day of First Grade. Not sure why she chose to have her picture taken while standing on the dog bed, but hey, whatever. Kids are strange!

Salad-A-Day Challenge…

Let’s see how to put this. Hmm. Well, the Salad-A-Day Challenge was a failure. well, more like I failed, not the salads. Salads can’t win or fail,  after all it is just salad. I made it ONE FRIGGING’ DAY! I have not kept much down this week at all. I am so close to a liquid diet it is ridiculous. Water, tea, sports drinks and soup with a few crackers and breads added, maybe a few grapes and some cheese here and there.

I still have not started back up on the workout yet either. Hopefully soon. We have an appointment next week so maybe the doctors can help get this nausea thing under control. Then some carpet needs to reinstalled in my workout space so I can get going again before it is too late!

Back to the subject of salads.. I am going to retry this venture soon. Maybe after the doctors so I can maybe get some help keeping the salads in me.

Hope you are all enjoying your Holiday Weekend!

Salad A Day Challenge Day 2

Yesterday was day 2 of the Salad A Day Challenge. Let’s just say I was very successful at stinking it up. I made a salad, I put dressing on it and then the smell of the dressing was a huge turn off so I threw it out. No picture, no eating, no nothing, just into the trash can it went. I instead ate a tuna sandwich (with onion, celery and tons of lettuce)  and a bunch of grapes and cheese on the side. So yeah, didn’t even make it through day two. Ha! I did manage to at least get some fruits and veggies involved in what I did eat for lunch. Later I had Mu Shu Pork and wonton soup that was pretty much all cabbage for dinner. None of the rice or all that jazz with it though. Maybe today will be better and I get back to the challenge.

Let’s see what else is going on. I still have that damn cramping from my accident with the dog, Spending the day in the hospital was not fun, but at least we know that the pain is just from bruising and nothing major. So I am peace of mind at least. I have been trying to go through Emma’s room and get it cleaned out and downsize how much stuff she has. It has become quite the chore to take on. Especially after some one else’s kid comes over and trashes it. I love when other kid’s parents refuse to have their kids pick up here like I am some sort of damn maid. This is what condition her room was left in..

 

Let’s see what else there is… School shopping. We have most of it done but it is not finished. It is actually starting to irritate me a little I freak out when things are last-minute. There is not much else to buy. A few trivial things and black and brown dress shoes. More when there are more fall weather items in the stores (that does not freak me out though) I struggle with things that are not planned or at least at the minimal organized chaos. I like things planned out and done early on.

Salad A Day Challenge

As previously blogged about my diet has been far from healthy. It’s been hard to eat most things lately. I have been doing a little better with food so I decided to accept Trying Not to Be Fat’s Salad a Day Challenge.  So here is how it works:

• Replace one meal with a salad
• Salad must contain protein and good fats
• Be creative
• If you can make your own dressings do it, if not buy a variety
• Make it Big

I may not be able to always follow the rules, but in any case even trying to get myself back to being used to eating better again makes this worth it.

Yesterdays salad was very tasty, but eating it was a bit rough. None the less I did eat it and it did stay down. So Yay for small miracles. Granted I did follow it up with a small slice of pizza shortly after but it could be worse. Could of only been pizza!

 

The picture sure makes it look unappetizing but it did look better in person.

Ingredients:

• Baby spinach
• Feta Cheese (from pasteurized milk so it’s okay)
• Bacon (crumbled)
• Red onion
• Dried Cranberries
• Dried Cherries
• Sunflower Seeds
• Poppy seed dressing

Boring!!!

Yes, I am bored, very, very bored. I feel like I am cut off from the rest of the world. Lately I spend all of my time in my room. I am constantly sick and very fatigued. Due to the flood in my basement I can smell it through the entire first level of the house. No one else can smell it, just me. So sitting where everyone else is out of the question because I can’t stand the odor. So I sit upstairs alone. Thank goodness for HBO GO and Six Feet Under. I always meant to watch the series and never did until now. I do enjoy it. Between yesterday and today I finished Season 1 and am on Season 2 now. So that gives me a week more of entertainment before I see all 5 seasons. Maybe by them my sniffer won’t be picking up everything on the planet and grossing me out.

Let’s talk food. I miss food, REAL food. I can’t cook. Can’t stand the smell of meat cooking, or anything high protein. Ugh. Plus, most things make me sick. I have been faring better with junky food. I would tell you what my full diet is right now but there is a certain level of shame that would come with that. I want to eat some good, light, tasty healthy food again. My stomach says no. And the 10 lbs extra I am toting around is not sexy. I will tell you that. I hope it is just water weight. I really don’t think I have digested enough food to gain any weight. No matter how unhealthy it was.

Workouts are still suffering. As in nonexistent. I miss working out, Yoga, Running, walking, Pump, the whole nine yards. I am tired of lying around all day and night. I though about trying to do something but I have a hard time being upright for too long without hurling. This better pass soon. I understand gaining for pregnancy but I don’t want to end up back to obese either. There is healthy pregnancy weight gain and just plain old being a lazy gluttonous gain. I want to avoid the later of the two.

This concludes my whining and moaning. One of these days my posts will go back to being a bit less whiny and more positive.