Five on Friday {November 22, 2013}

It's the Friday before Thanksgiving!! How can this be?? November 2013 will be over before we know it! This is my favorite time of year, though, and I'm determined to not let it fly by without enjoying every bit of it! I'm planning to start working on a Christmas tradition to do list this weekend. Makes me giddy just thinking about it! :) Whatever you end up doing this weekend, I hope it's wonderful! Happy Friday!! :)

 

One.
After today, only *two* more school days until Thanksgiving break! I am so, so ready! I actually look forward to going to work on days right before holidays because we get to do so much more fun stuff!! I'm going to make these Oreo turkeys with my class on Tuesday. I know they'll probably be wild, but they'll love it!! {I don't know where the idea came from. A teacher friend shared it with me.}

Two.
I can't believe it, but it's time to pick out Christmas cards! I *love* Christmas cards, but honestly, I get so overwhelmed when I look at the pages and pages of choices on Shutterfly! Having that many choices is a problem for indecisive people like me. There are a ton of Christmas card deals out right now, too. My favorite savings website, Southern Savers, recently did a post with a list of coupon codes for different websites where you can get free or almost free Christmas cards. You can check out the post here. I noticed I was drawn to the ones that say "Joy" because that's how I feel this year! Of course, I feel joy every Christmas, but even more this year! :) I am just so excited and happy about all the fun things to come in the next few months! Picking out a Christmas card next year will be *so* much fun. We'll have pictures of our sweet baby girl to share!! :) Here are some of my favorites on Shutterfly.

Joy Stripes

Scribbly Greetings

Humble Birth

Peace Cut Out

Snowy Window

Three.
I made these Italian beef sandwiches for dinner a couple of weeks ago and they were so, so good. I sometimes shy away from slow cooker meals because I feel like it sometimes makes things mushy, but it was perfect for this meal. This recipe could not be any easier, either. Just a few ingredients {I skipped the Giardiniera}, shred the meat, and you're good to go. I thought about doing a blog post just for the recipe, but there's no way I could even come close to taking a picture as good as Kristen's. This is a must try, for sure!

{Photo via Iowa Girl Eats}

Four.
One of my favorite {commercial} things about Christmas is ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas. The countdown has already started! I just love snuggling up on the couch by the Christmas tree with Christmas candles burning, and watching a Christmas movie while drinking hot chocolate and eating Christmas treats. You can't get much cozier than that! My favorite one on the list? Without a doubt, Christmas Vacation. I guess we'll have to catch another favorite, Elf, on a different channel. "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!"

Five.
So...Black Friday shopping. I'm just not sure I can get into it. It's just so confusing this year! All the stores are opening earlier and earlier, and some are doing pre-Black Friday sales before actual Black Friday, which pretty much starts on Thanksgiving Day this year, if not earlier! Maybe I'll get some energy this weekend and check out all the ads. I do love the excitement of it all and it definitely puts me in the Christmas shopping spirit! I'm dying to get some presents under our Christmas tree!!

Oh, and one more thing...I *can't wait* for Thanksgiving dinner! That is all.

Happy weekend, everyone!! :)

  

23 Weeks

Click here to see my other weekly pregnancy update posts.

Click here to see my step-by-step chalk art tutorial.

I know...my chalkboards have been boring this week and last week. I have been tired! I promise I'll be back with a cute chalkboard for next week, though!! :)

How Far Along: 23 weeks and 1 day

Size of Baby: According to The Bump, the baby is the size of a grapefruit, weighs a little over a pound, and is just over 11 inches long. I feel like she must be growing like crazy, because my belly looks *so* much bigger to me this week!!!

Total Weight Gain: +16 pounds, I gained 1.5 pounds this week.

Gender: It's a girl!!

Maternity Clothes: Same as last week...almost everything is maternity, except for a few things I can wear with the belly band.

Wedding Rings On/Off: On

Stretch Marks: None yet. I'm still using cocoa butter lotion almost every day.

Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty well this week!

Cravings/Aversions: Sugar, sweets, chocolate, you name it. I've especially enjoyed mint Oreos this week. I made baked zucchini fries one night for dinner {they turned out gross!!!} and thought they looked like rice krispy treats from a distance which prompted me to make a whole pan. I ate an embarrassing amount when they were warm and gooey. My mom gave me a bag of chocolate peanut butter popcorn last week, and it was gone in two days. It's bad, y'all. I've always loved sweets, but I was really hoping that not wanting them as much was going to continue. Doesn't look like that's going to happen. :-\

Symptoms: I've still been having Braxton Hicks contractions and sharp pains {I think this is ligament pain} several times a day on most days. I talked to my doctor about it and she said to call if they happen 6 times an hour or more. My skin is still dry, but not as bad as last week. I have Avon skin so soft lotion in my classroom that I won as a door prize for something at work, and one of my students told me when I was putting it on my hands that I smelled like her grandma! Ha!

Movement: She's moving more and more, especially right after I eat. I thought for sure that she was kicking hard enough for Daniel to feel her this weekend, but he still hasn't been able to feel it. I think it will be soon, though!

Mood: Happy!!!

What I Miss: Really nothing! I'm loving being pregnant right now, even with the minor symptoms!

Looking Forward To: Thanksgiving break!!!! I only have four more school days and then I'm free for a few days!!! So, so ready for this! I'm hoping to get some Christmas shopping done!

Best Moment This Week: Hearing that sweet heartbeat again at our doctor's appointment. It was 145 bpm this time which is super close to what it was last time, I think. We both just love hearing it every time!

  

22 Weeks

Click here to see my other weekly pregnancy update posts.

Click here to see my step-by-step chalk art tutorial.

How Far Along: 22 weeks and 1 day

Size of Baby: According to The Bump, the baby is the size of a papaya, weighs almost one whole pound, and is about 11 inches long.

Total Weight Gain: +14.5 pounds, I gained three pounds this week. Yikes!

Gender: It's a girl!!

Maternity Clothes: Same as last week...almost everything is maternity, except for a few things I can wear with the belly band.

Wedding Rings On/Off: On

Stretch Marks: None yet

Sleep: The crazy dreams have returned. They're so vivid that I almost feel like I'm awake for them which makes me feel like I didn't sleep that well. I wish I could remember more details! All I could remember from one this last week had something to do with a steakhouse and Morgan Freeman. So weird.

Cravings/Aversions: Remember the days when I was craving veggies? Those days are long gone {except for veggie subs!} and I have returned to my sugar loving self. I'm pretty sure my weight is reflecting that, too. :-/ I blame Halloween.

Symptoms: I've been feeling my abdomen get really tight occasionally and figured out after talking to a nurse that they're contractions! It doesn't happen that often and it doesn't hurt at all, but I had no idea that could happen so early! My skin is also getting really dry...especially on my hands. It hurts when I wash my hands with hot water and I've been putting lotion on like crazy. I've never really had dry skin and I'm not a fan.

Movement: I'm still feeling her move every day! It's very random. Some days she moves a ton, and then other days just a few times.

Mood: Happy!!!

What I Miss: I can't think of a single thing! :)

Looking Forward To: Our doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. I've never looked forward to doctor's appointments before, but I count the days for these visits!

Best Moment This Week: Putting up our Christmas tree over the three day weekend! I *cannot* wait for Christmas next year. It's going to be *so* different and so much fun!!! :)

  

Weekend Rewind {November 11, 2013}

Three day weekends are the best. It just makes the whole weekend better because you know that you have an extra day! That carefree "I can stay up late" feeling on Sunday night is just *the best*.

We had a wonderful weekend...it started with me telling Daniel that I wanted to put the Christmas tree up this weekend. Yes, really. I promise I don't ignore Thanksgiving...I'm just so ready to get started on all the Christmas cheer! :) At first he was totally against it...he's an after Thanksgiving kind of guy, but I convinced him to at least go and look at the Christmas stuff at Lowe's on Friday night.

While we were there, we look at paint swatches for the baby's room. We're I'm still torn between light pink, light aqua, and light gray. After looking at samples, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to find a light aqua that I like. Daniel is ready to paint the room gray today! I'm so glad that he cares and has an opinion on these things! I think it's so sweet! :)

It was a cold night so we went to Starbucks after Lowe's and got our first red cup of the season! There is just something about those red cups. {I was also hoping this would help in my Christmas tree plans!}

On Saturday morning, we went to Vanna's fifth birthday party. She had a princess tea party and all of the little girls dressed up in princess outfits. My sister did an amazing job with everything! All the little girls *loved* the tea party. And just look at this castle cake she and my mom made! Vanna loved it!

After the party, we went and did a little shopping at Hobby Lobby...both for the baby's room and for Christmas stuff. ;) Daniel found this adorable canvas that we ended up buying. It makes me lean more toward the pink and gray color scheme. The tree looks brown in the picture, but it's more gray in person.

I also did a little damage in the Christmas department. I absolutely love that Hobby Lobby pretty much always has their Christmas stuff 50% off!

After having my new favorite lunch, a veggie sub at Subway, and finishing up our shopping, we headed home and project Christmas tree began! Squeal!! :)

After finding out that only about 5 of the 1,000 lights already on the tree still worked, Daniel set to work removing all the old ones and putting new lights on the tree. Pre-lit trees are not worth it. Those lights were not easy to take off! This is about as far as we got on Saturday.

Sunday was another busy day with church in the morning, Christmas angel shopping in the afternoon, and finishing up the Christmas tree on Sunday night. This sight makes me a very happy girl. I absolutely love going through all of our ornaments every year when we put up the tree! So many memories...

We hung an extra special ornament this year with our sweet baby's ultrasound picture in it.

This is another one of my favorites that I made last year. I cut our wedding invitation into strips, curled them, and put them inside a clear ornament. I did one for our save the date card, too. Of course I found the idea on Pinterest! :)

Here's what we ended up with. It just needs the topper and some presents underneath which will come another weekend!! I'm just so glad we get to look at it for the next six weeks! It makes me so happy!! :)

Whatever you ended up doing this weekend, I hope it was a wonderful one!! Y'all have a great week!! :)

  

21 Weeks

Click here to see my other weekly pregnancy update posts.

Click here to see my step-by-step chalk art tutorial.

How Far Along: 21 weeks and 1 day

Size of Baby: According to The Bump, the baby is the size of a pomegranate, weighs about 12 ounces, and is about 10.5 inches long. At first, I thought that had to be wrong since last week's measurement was 6.5 inches, but then I remembered that after 20 weeks, the measurements are given from head to feet, instead of "crown to rump" {as all the baby websites say}.

Total Weight Gain: +11.5 pounds, I gained two pounds this week.

Gender: It's a girl!!

Maternity Clothes: Almost everything I'm wearing is maternity, except for a few pairs of pants that I wear with the belly band and blousy shirts.

Wedding Rings On/Off: On

Stretch Marks: None yet

Sleep: Sleep is pretty much the same as last week...not bad, but not great, either.

Cravings/Aversions: I've been wanting Subway for the longest time {weird, I never crave Subway}, but couldn't have it because of the deli meat. We went this weekend and I got a veggie sub and it was so, so good. I could eat it again right this very minute. Other than that, nothing else has really changed. I still have to have my ice water with me at all times. :)

Symptoms: Still feeling pretty good, except I got sick again the other night. I thought it was happening because I was taking my prenatal vitamins without enough food, but I know that wasn't the case this time. It's weird, completely random, and happens about once a week. I'm also starting to get a little lower back pain every now and then. I'm sure that will be getting much worse in the months to come! Not complaining, though!

Movement: I'm feeling her move every day! I love, love, love it! Some days I feel it a couple of times an hour, and then other days it's only a few times. I can't wait until Daniel can feel her!

Mood: Happy!!!

What I Miss: I can't think of a single thing! :)

Looking Forward To: I can't wait for the nursery to start coming together! I mentioned last week that we bought a crib and changing table/dresser, and this week I bought these curtains at Pottery Barn Kids last night. They are exactly what I wanted and they were on sale!!! Yay!! :)

{source}

Best Moment This Week: I had the best, laid back weekend with my sweetheart.

  

Weekend Rewind {November 4, 2013}

Happy Monday! I hope you had a good weekend and a good start to the week! I'm always glad to get Monday over with, but I have to say, today was a pretty good one! My students were pretty mellow, everything went smoothly, and it wasn't dark outside when I left for work...thanks to daylight savings time. That part of daylight savings time, I love. The getting dark at 4:30 part, not so much. Anyway, we had a somewhat eventful weekend around here, so I thought I'd do a quick weekend post to recap. :)

We got to go to a concert at Samford University here in town on Friday night. Some friends of ours couldn't go and gave us tickets to go see David Phelps. He used to be part of the Gaither Vocal Band, but now does mostly solo stuff. My dad *loves* the Gaither Vocal Band, so I grew up listening to this kind of music.

Here we are in front of the concert hall.

We had fantastic seats! We were in the eighth row, right in the center. It's the closest I've ever been at a concert.

Can you spot our photo bomber? Peace, lady.

If you've never heard David Phelps, do yourself a favor and watch this video {all the way through!}. This is the song he sang to close the concert, and we were so excited he did it. It's our absolute favorite!! You will get goosebumps right around 3:18!! God has given him such an incredible gift!!


After the concert, we went to do some late night shopping at Toys-R-Us for our niece, Vanna. She's turning FIVE on Friday!!! How can this be? It goes by way too fast. She is very much into Disney princesses right now, so we had fun looking at all the princess stuff. Daniel got just a *little* overwhelmed with everything he has to learn in the next few years! ;)

We also looked at some baby stuff in Babies-R-Us. I'm having such a hard time deciding on a color scheme for the nursery! At first I wanted light pink and light aqua, but I really haven't found much of anything. I found this pattern on Friday night, but I think it's a little too "big girl". I think it's super cute, just not babyish enough. Opinions?

I'm starting to lean toward gray and pink. I love the combination, but I'm a little nervous about gray walls. I thought this set was really pretty.

I'm definitely being my usual, incredibly indecisive self! I'm so ready to get started on the room...I just don't want to rush and end up not liking it later!

Saturday was the perfect, laid-back, fall day. I made these baby cinnamon buns for breakfast and they were so easy and so, so yummy. And the best part...they're made with crescent roll dough!

Daniel cleaned out the garage, and I cleaned and did laundry inside. We pretty much hung out and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. Relaxing is so much more, well...relaxing...when your house is clean and you've gotten things done that have been on your to do list for a while!

That night, we made Pioneer Woman's potato soup for dinner and...umm. Wow. Totally simple ingredients, but an incredibly delicious result. It's not your typical thick and creamy potato soup, but we absolutely loved it! There's a little chopping at the beginning, but that's the hardest part...and it's totally worth it! It was perfect for a chilly fall night.

We ended the night with s'mores and roasted marshmallows over the fire pit. I finally tried a s'more with a Reese's peanut butter cup and I was totally unimpressed. I *love* Reese's peanut butter cups, but when it comes to s'mores, give me the Hershey bars!

After church on Sunday morning, we had a picnic at a baseball park with the men's Bible study group that Daniel is a part of. The picnic was at Rickwood Field which is the oldest active baseball park in the country.

We got a tour with a whole bunch of baseball history, but I'll be honest. I'm not a baseball fan, and the highlight {other than the other people there} was when I got to eat my veggie sub from Subway. If you've been reading my pregnancy updates, you know I have *really* been wanting Subway!!! I may never order anything else from Subway--it was *so* good!

I hope you have a fabulous rest of the week!! We'll make it...and a three day weekend is on its way! :)