Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a glorious long weekend (4.5 days to be exact), and I can't believe that Thanksgiving is already over! Our weekend began at noon on Wed when I got off work and headed out to my 4D ultrasound with my mama. I was looking forward to seeing this little girl's face, and to hopefully ease my fear that she doesn't have the Konrad "butt chin" going on. Alas, the little babe had other plans, and she spent the entire 45 min ultrasound completely facing away from sight. In fact, the tech couldn't believe that she was in such a funky, uncomfortable looking position this late into the pregnancy. Despite all the OJ I chugged, and despite all the shaking and jiggling the tech gave my belly, she hardly flinched during the entire ultrasound. At one point, she turned her head towards the screen but immediately stuck her hand over her face like a movie star trying to block out the paparazzi. Little diva already I guess. We will try again in a couple of weeks. Hopefully she'll have moved positions by then. If not, I guess I'll just have to be patient and check out her good looks in person.

After the U/S debacle, we headed home to a house full of girls for a night of pre-TDay bakin'. It was such a fun night, and we ended up with enough desserts to feed a small army. The final count was:

-4 Apple Pies

-6 Pumpkin Cheesecakes

-3 Pumpkin Cobbler Crumbles

-3 Batches of Choc Chip Cookies

Needless to say, no one starved come Thanksgiving Day. And, the desserts were a major success, even if I was too full to actually eat any of them post T-Day dinner.

Here's some of our loot:

On Thursday, we got up bright and early and headed to my parent's house. My mom and I started cookin' the goods, and the boys got to catch the am football games. John was so excited because this was the first year since I've known him that he was actually able to relax and watch football on Thanksgiving. We typically do Thanksgiving at his grandparent's house, and no one there ever puts the games on. After a day of cooking (and snacking), my inlaws came over for dinner. We had a great night of feasting, and I pretty much felt like I was going to explode afterwards. There is so much less room in my stomach now-the baby feels the need to hog all my turkey and stuffing space, so my one plate sent me into Monty Python "One Thin Mint" territory, and I couldn't even muster enough space to attempt dessert. Oh well, thank goodness for leftovers.

My mom, grandma, and I working away in the kitchen

John catching some football. I teased him that he looked like a little boy standing right in front of the TV watching his fav cartoon. I think he was that excited to be watching the game.

Me, John, Baby, and John's Mustache (Only one more day left of "Movember" Thank God!)


I had to take a bump shot b/c my fam overseas wanted to see it. Am I the only one who feels super awkward taking these?

On Friday (wow, we still have 3 more days off?!), John and I sat around like sloths until we slowly emerged from our respective food comas. We relaxed, watched a Lord of the Rings marathon, and napped (and downed some leftovers throughout the day). By Saturday, we were sick of T-Day food, so we headed to Irvine to one of our fav burger places, The Counter. We met up with our friends for lunch and then headed to Bergstrom's to pick up some of the nursery furniture that had arrived. The baby's room now features a beautiful dresser/changing table and hutch. I love it and can't wait for the rest of the goods to arrive so I can see the whole thing put together.

Sunday was another lazy day. Football and the rest of LOTR marathon-a perfect way to end our looong weekend. Now the countdown is on for Christmas. We are getting our tree this week, and all of our awesome decorations will emerge from our garage. LOVE this time of year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I couldn't be more excited about this 4.5 day weekend! The Thanksgiving festivities start tonight, when my friends and I are getting together to do some pre-Turkey Day cookin'! We decided that we will all make our fav Thanksgiving treat together, then split up the goods and take to our respective T-Day gatherings. On the menu so far is (thank you Pinterest):

-Pumpkin Cheesecake
-{Supposedly} The World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Heroes Apple Crisp (my friend apparently reversed engineered this recipe and I can't wait to try it!)
-My Mother-in-Law's Famous Apple Pie that I am attempting this year

We are definitely not going to be lacking in the dessert department this Thanksgiving! Before we meet up for our baking session, I am headed out to get a glimpse of Baby Girl in 4D. John has opted out of this appointment because he finds the 4D thing a bit disturbing and would rather wait to see his kiddo in real life when she looks less like a "smashed pumpkin face". So, this means that my mama will be joining me. I'm excited to see what her little features look like, even if it is a tad creepy.

We plan to spend actual Turkey Day watching football, cooking, and eating, like any 0ther good American family. John's family is coming over to my parent's house for dinner, so we'll have lots of people to eat up these desserts so I'm not stuck taking them home and feasting on them for the next 4 days.

Our dresser/changing table/hutch is in stock, so we plan on picking that up at some point this weekend, once our food coma wears off. I'll post pics once that is set up.

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Nursery: Part 1

This past weekend we tackled the nursery. It was a joint effort between my dad, my Father in Law, and John, and those guys are pros because they got the whole thing mostly finished in less than 24 hours-and that included shopping for all of the supplies plus all of the tools we needed. There's some minor touch up left to do, but the hard stuff is done.

Here are some before pics of the room once it was cleared of all the bedroom furniture:









Here comes the PINK!



After:








We opted for a light pink on the top half of the walls and wainscoting on the bottom half. The pink was color matched to the pale pink accents in the bedding, which I also picked up this weekend. The walls are pretty pink, but overall I love how it turned out. The pink will be toned down with black furniture, which we expect in a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see it all come together!

Sneak Peak of the bedding-Large damask print bumper, with minky dot pink on the interior & coordinating damask, pink, and polka dot bed skirt-courtesy of The Baby Guy. Prettttty!


Oh, and this glider and matching ottoman has been ordered and is on it's way!

23.5 Weeks

In just a few short days, I will hit the 6 month mark! I can't believe I've been pregnant for nearly 1/2 a year. Despite how sick I was and how much I hated being pregnant for those first four months, this really has flown by. I know the next 3.5 months will fly by as well with the holidays approaching.

I am feeling great these days. Sleeping isn't as easy or comfortable as it used to be. I used to sleep like rock (and through my alarm), but now I'm awakened by the smallest thing. I also can't get comfortable. I always slept on my back or stomach, two positions that aren't allowed or possible any more. I kick (literally) my poor husband out of bed almost every night now, and I wake up to find him on the couch. So much for getting our good sleep in now! Although, as long as I am not spending my days/nights with my head in the toilet, I'm a happy camper.

Here's an updated survey:

How far along?: Almost 24 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 5 lbs

Maternity Clothes?: Yeah...squeezing into my old jeans is a distance memory, although I have a couple of pairs of stretchy pants I can still wear. Still wearing all my normal tops.

Sleep: so so

Best moment this week: weighing myself and finding out that I am only up 5 lbs from my pre-preg weight after all the sickening Halloween indulgences I've had over the last few weeks. I was scared to step on that scale!

Food Cravings: Thanksgiving food! I can't wait for stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pecan pie!

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: Nope!

Belly Button in or out?: In, for the moment

What I miss: Cocktails! So far I've been to three weddings, several nights out with friends, and a raging Halloween party, and I miss being able to have a drink or two with my friends. I also miss feeling energetic. I tend to fade around 9pm and I hate how boring I've become!

What I am looking forward to: Getting the house ready.

Weekly Wisdom: Exercise! I haven't been doing it enough, but I feel so good when I go on a long walk (hey, at least it's all uphill!). I have more energy and feel better overall

Milestone: having a healthy pregnancy so far, feeling good and being able to enjoy these last few weeks!

And, here's a recent pic