Down To The Wire

Life (and the exciting fact that we will be parents soon) has gotten in the way of blogging. I got this email today and well, this is getting real. Our baby will be joining us soon!

Weekly Pregnancy Update (35 Weeks)

I don't have too much in terms of updates for this week. This baby is still growing and I'm getting bigger too. Tonight I'm bowling with my coworkers... this should be interesting. Can't say I bowl much to begin with, but when you add this big belly I think it might get even harder. Wish me luck!

Week Number: 35 Weeks, 2 Days
Baby Size: Large Cantaloupe (about 5.5 pounds)
Sleep: This has still been just fine. It helps that our weekends are consumed by trips or lots of activity. I'm able to sleep in and get plenty or shut eye.
Movement: Still very consistent and strong at times. I'm starting to be able to notice where baby is laying by the firmness of my belly. As the nurse pointed out to me a couple weeks ago I'm pretty sure I still feel kicking me on my right side. Sometimes it's way up at my rib cage. This movement still amazes me and I love it. I said to Joe the other day that I'm anxious to meet our baby, but I'll probably also miss feeling the movement inside my belly. Oh well, once baby arrives I'll have lots of other things on my mind.
Symptoms: Still nothing to really complain about. No heartburn, swelling, varicose veins, etc. I'm considering myself very luck.
Belly Button: Still an innie! I still don't think this will change, but it's amazing how close I'm getting to pushing this belly button outwards.

Best Moment of the Week: This one is easy... I got a prenatal massage over the weekend. Friends of ours gifted me the massage and so I went to the spa on Saturday and enjoyed some pampering. 
Looking Forward To: I'm anxious for our doctor appointment next week (my 36 week checkup). The main reason is to find out whether this baby is head up or head down. I've been very curious this whole time what position baby was in. Even when baby was moving or twirling in my belly, I'd love to have a way to see what sort of contorted angle baby is sleeping in. Of course I'm also looking forward to my mom traveling to Charlotte to visit! She arrives in a little over a week and I think I've been counting down the days for weeks now. It will be great to spend some time with her, but I also know she'll help us with any last minute preparations we have before baby gets here.

Perfect Hard Cooked Eggs and Egg Salad

Behold one of the most ingenious ideas ever... baking eggs instead of boiling them! I'm sure most of us think of hard boiled eggs and say to our selves, well, they must be boiled. Well let me change that thought for you and introduce hard cooked eggs in the oven.

With Easter approaching I'm sure there will be lots of this taking place for dying Easter eggs or making deviled eggs. Maybe this year you can try a new way that I think is far easier. The original idea came from this post found on Pinterest. My mom told me about this brilliant idea so Joe and I wanted to give it a try. 

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. It's seriously that easy.

I place them in muffin tins to keep them from rolling around.

Immediately after baking toss the eggs into an ice bath.

Let them sit until cooled, drain the water and store in the fridge either peeled or unpeeled.

Then enjoy with your favorite recipe! I figured I would share mine. This egg salad recipe is about as basic as you can get. As you can probably tell from many of my recipes, I don't like to over season or add too much that's unnecessary. Maybe it's because I don't have a sophisticated enough pallet so I can't pick up on the subtle flavors added by some ingredients. Either way, this recipe is so easy to change and make it how you like it.

Egg Salad

Ingredients

12 Hard Cooked Eggs (chopped)

4 Stalks Celery (chopped)

1/4 cup onion (chopped)

2/3 cup mayo

3 teaspoons mustard

Directions

Mix mayo and mustard together first to ensure they're well blended. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Serve as sandwich or with crackers.

And if you want to go totally off the grid... try an egg salad (open-faced) sandwich with avocado.The picture might be terrible, but your mind is still blown!

Photo Friday #63

This is what I like to call an oldie, but goodie. My brother Scott was in the area of George Washington University the other day, snapped a photo of the statute and send to the family (we have a group text constantly going so it's easy to update everyone on happenings). I immediately recognized the statue and remembered this picture we took together back in July of 2005. I pulled up my computer and the many many folders of pictures I keep. Surprisingly it wasn't hard to find this picture. Mom and I were in DC to pick Scott up and move him back home to Iowa. He had interned in the capital city for about seven months and it was time to return to the Midwest. Honestly I'm not sure why we decided to take a picture in front of George... but now I'm glad we did.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken Bake

This was one of those recipes that I found and thought "perfect, I have all of these ingredients!" There's not much that I dislike more than a recipe with tons of new ingredients that I have to buy from the store. Usually when that happens I end up never using what's left of that certain ingredient and it sits in the fridge for a while. I adapted this recipe to fit our family needs. The original called for 4 chicken breasts but for just Joe and I, that would be a whole lot of food. I also adjusted the portion size because we frequently purchase individually packaged chicken at Costco and each pouch has two breasts. Perfect for a meal like this. Oh and you'll notice there's no seasoning. We both believe less is usually better. Plus there's plenty of salt on the Ritz crackers. Feel free to add salt or pepper if you prefer.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken
adapted from here

Ingredients
2 large chicken breasts
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut each chicken breast into 3 or 4 chunks. Grind up the Ritz crackers (either with a food processor or a rolling pin). Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into separate bowls. Keep bowls in this order. Dip chicken in milk first, then into the cheese. Press firmly so the cheese will stick to the chicken. Lastly dip the chicken into the cracker crumbs and again press the crumbs firmly into the chicken. Place each piece of chicken into a baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes to help brown the top.

Photo Friday #62

Ever drank Charles Shaw wine before? You know, the $2 bottle of wine you can buy at Trader Joe's? Ok, maybe you know it as two buck Chuck... now does it ring a bell? Well when Joe and I lived in Des Moines the grocery store chain opened their first location in Iowa. We were appalled when we found out it was actually three buck Chuck. What a rip off! Just kidding, still a steal of a deal for decent wine. Anyways, this picture just goes to show that even people who drive a Lexus still enjoy reasonable priced alcohol.

Weekly Pregnancy Update (33 Weeks)

Can't say I have huge updates this week on the pregnancy front. I've officially decided that this dress I take my weekly pictures in is not the most flattering outfit. On a different note, I have to say Joe has done a great job keeping these pictures consistent week. Although it's not one shot and we're done. We always make sure to take 6-8 just in case. Then I have a chance to weed through them and save the best ones. Thank you Joe for helping me document my ever changing body!

Week Number: 33 Weeks,2 Days
Baby Size: Pineapple (18 inches, 4.5 pounds)
Sleep: Luckily lately we haven't had much of a social life on the weekends (plus we can't travel anywhere) so our weekends have been great opportunities for us to catch up on sleep. Well, maybe not catch up (we normally can get about 8 hours each night during the week), more so get extra sleep. I keep reminding myself that we need to take full advantage of that now before our little one joins us and sleep is unheard of. Just this last week I've started to notice a bit of fatigue set in. Not nearly as bad as the first trimester sleepiness, but each day I find myself feeling a bit tired in the afternoon/evening. Totally normal, right?
Movement: Just like always this baby has not been shy about making his/her presence known. I have never had to worry about the baby doing well inside the womb because movement is frequent. I love it and Joe loves enjoying it too. It's almost a routine for us to sit on the couch at night after eating dinner and for Joe to place his hand on my belly to feel the movement.
Clothes: For the most part I've completely transitioned into maternity clothes (as to be expected at this point). But the time that I steer clear is weekends or anytime that I'm lounging at home. I've started to wear a few of Joe's t-shirts or some of my own that are on the bigger size. Oh and with the chilly weather we keep having, my sweatshirts have been perfect to wear over my big ol' belly. Comfort over style for this girl!
Symptoms: I was just reading through the common list of symptoms to see at this stage of pregnancy. Most don't apply to me, but a few might. First one is clumsiness... although I don't think of myself as a normally clumsy person, I did trip up the stairs last week. It was at work, I was wearing my flats (as opposed to heels!) It scared me enough that now I constantly remind myself to just take it easy. No need to walk fast or be in a hurry. Second is shortness of breath. I find when I'm not sitting up straight that my breathing is somewhat restricted. Just a good reminder to have good posture I guess.

Best Moment of the Week: Visiting the doctor last week was actually pretty exciting. After the snow storm in Charlotte we missed an appointment so it had been a while since we got an update on our little one. The heartbeat was at a steady 144 (slowing down a bit from previous appointments, which we were told is totally normal). I'm also on track for weight gain and my belly is measuring right in line with our due date.
Looking Forward To: My mom is coming to visit us in Charlotte in a few short weeks and I'm super excited to see her! Oh and the fact that today is Ash Wednesday reminds us how close we are to our (about ) Easter due date. Bring on the baby!

A Home For Unwanted Adirondack Chairs

I'm about to blow your mind with a blog post that has nothing to do with babies! Well, besides the post about the snow in Charlotte a few weeks back, these non-baby related posts are few and far between. I apologize for those out there that are not interested in baby this and baby that. What can I say, babies have been on our brain lately.

This post is mainly about the great weather we had in Charlotte (hmmm, maybe this blog has become either a baby update or weather update. Lame!) During the week lately it hasn't been particularly nice (maybe high's in the mid 50's or so and rainy). Still, we can't complain about that because it could be worse... much worse. Yesterday was a gorgeous day, peaking out at 73 degrees or so. I sent this picture to my parents showing them the amazing temps. Then I felt bad because my dad responded by showing me that they were currently living in -4 degree temps. Ouch.

Anyways, back to the reason for this post. The nice weather game me a chance to get outside and snap a picture of our new additions to the back patio. Say hello to our new (and free) Adirondack chairs. My coworker and friend moved recently (tear, miss you Megan!) Joe and I helped them load the truck up about a week ago. Who am I kidding... Joe helped Pat carry the large items while Megan and I did a few small things in the house. Two pregnant ladies plus moving does not equal much help. Megan said they were going to get rid of these chairs unless we wanted them. Of course I wanted them! We struggled a bit to fit them inside our car, but it worked. Now they're hanging out on our back patio just waiting to get some use. The best part about them is they face due west so they'll be perfect for watching the sun set.

On the same weather-related note, we took advantage of the weather by sitting on the back porch furniture we both each other for Christmas. This was the first time we officially enjoying sitting out on the furniture and we can't wait for summer to arrive so we can sit out there more. It will also be a great place to be outside with a little one. Whoops, I somehow managed to bring the baby topic into this non-baby post. So be it!