Our Method of Meal Planning

I am, admittedly, the worst about waiting until 4:00 in the afternoon to go to the grocery store and get a dinner plan together.  When I wait until the last minute, I'm battling crowds at the store and then end up cooking way later than I would like because I don't start as early as I could if I already had the ingredients on hand.  After we found out I was pregnant, I started making the effort to have healthy dinners each night and do my meal planning on the weekends so I wouldn't be scrambling in the evenings.  This little bit of extra effort has made a huge difference in the quality of our meals, the amount of money we spend at the grocery store, and my stress level around dinner time, so I thought I'd share my little system with you in case anyone else could make use of it.

At some point during the weekend, usually on Sunday afternoon, I count up the number of nights we will be eating dinner at home and use my iPhone to find a recipe or recipes online for each dinner.  Sometimes I search Pinterest for something like, "healthy meals for pregnancy," but I've found on Pinterest you see a lot of the same recipe over and over, so I also use plain old Google as well.  As I find recipes, I screenshot the ingredient list and steps for cooking on my phone.  Thank goodness for screenshotting!  This way I don't have to worry about writing the recipes down, emailing them to myself, or anything like that.  I just have them in the picture library on my phone that I can easily access while cooking.

Next, I pull out one of my trusty legal pads (Am I the only one who has these things all over my house?) and write out an ingredient list for the grocery store.  I divide this list up by days so I can use it for reference later regarding which meal I want to cook which night.  Over the weeks, as I've built up my collection of spices, flours, oils, etc., these lists have begun to consist of mostly just fresh produce and herbs, meat (sometimes - we usually have at least one vegetarian meal a week), and quinoa, noodles, or other sides to have with our entrees.  So, even though I've had to make the investment in some different spices and oils, I'm saving money now by just having to buy a few (healthy!) ingredients per meal.  And if I'm using chicken a couple nights during the week, I can buy the big pack of tenderloins that only costs $5-$7.

I typically head to the grocery store on my own on Sunday evening because the Mister hates shopping.  Even though I'd love for him to join me, I do sometimes enjoy the time on my own to concentrate and feel prepared for the week ahead.  Even though this trip is usually between $100-$150 once I include our weekly incidentals and all the snacks I need to get through the days as a pregnant lady, it's far cheaper than it would be for me to go to the grocery store every night and spend $30-$50 on whatever caught my eye.

And that's it!  I use the screenshots on my phone and my master list each night.  The Mister lets me know when he's on the way home from work - his commute is about forty minutes so that gives me just enough time to prepare dinner.  We feel good about the meals we're eating (and feeding our growing baby secondhand), and there is something so nice about opening up the fridge and knowing it's stocked for the whole week with healthy choices.  Not to mention there are usually leftovers for me to have the next day for lunch, so I get to enjoy the benefits twice.

We were out of town this whole weekend, which meant I didn't get to follow my usual meal planning method, and I'm definitely feeling the effects!  I think we're going to use a coupon for a restaurant nearby tonight.  Gotta go out every once in a while, right?  I'm looking forward to getting my act together again this weekend. : )

Pregnancy Update: 24 Weeks

I definitely didn't mean to let nine weeks pass between these pregnancy updates!  But I should have known that would be the case because September is a crazy month for us - our anniversary and both of our birthdays are in September.  We went to the beach for Labor Day/our anniversary weekend, had family come stay with us for the Mister's birthday, and have otherwise just felt much busier than usual.  The good news is... I'm almost done working!  That's a weird sentence to type.  My "stay-at-home mom-hood"  starts in less than two weeks!  I only have a couple more shifts, and then I'm done working for now.  It may seem early since the baby isn't due till February 1st, but we officially found out this week that the Mister will be promoted to Captain, which means we'll be moving away sometime next spring.  So, before baby's arrival, I'll be overseeing the house being painted, the carpets being cleaned, and all the other little things that will have to be done before we can put the house on the market.  Not to mention getting prepared for the little one!  We obviously hope I'll carry the baby till 40 weeks, but we have to be prepared for earlier than that, which means we'll need to pack our hospital bag, install the car seat, and have somewhere for this kiddo to sleep and have diapers changed by Christmas time.  Needless to say, I'm thankful I won't have to worry about work in the coming months and can focus on my growing to-do list!  And, fingers crossed, I'll have more spare time to share bits of our life here!  I have a long list of posts I want to share with y'all that I haven't found the time to write.

During my long blogging hiatus, we found out our baby is a GIRL!  What a lovely feeling it is to be able to use a pronoun other than "it" when referring to HER. : ) I'd never known true temptation before walking through the section of baby girl clothes at a department store with the knowledge I'm allowed to buy pink and flowers and all of the cuteness.  We're really enjoying ourselves.

Baby's size: According to "The Bump," baby is the size of a cantaloupe this week!  But "What to Expect" says she is as big as an ear of corn.  Those two produce items seem very different in size to me, but Chris says the fruit and vegetable comparisons are based more on length than on weight.  Either way, she should be weighing in at about 1 1/2 pounds and measuring in somewhere between 9 and 11 inches.  She's been doing a ton of growing, but still has a lot more to do - she'll gain about 6 ounces a week every week until she's born!

This is hopefully NOT the way he will hold our newborn.

What I'm wearing: Although I was really looking forward to breaking out my comfy fall wardrobe, the cooler weather is stubbornly holding out on us here in NC.  This time last year I was wearing sweaters and scarves, but it's looking like we're going to be stuck in the "in between" weather for at least another week.  It's hard enough to know how to dress for cool mornings and warm days when I'm not pregnant!  I did find a pair of maternity jeans I love - the basic light washed Liz Lange ones that Target carries.  They're more "jeggings" and super comfy.  I bought them in the next size up in a darker shade as well, but that may have been a waste of money because I still have a lot of growing room in the ones I'm wearing now.  For my birthday, I got a couple Forever 21 ponchos that I adore, but like I said, the weather isn't really cooperating with me on wearing those.  My uniform for work has basically been some stretchy black ponte pants paired with the tops I can still fit in that I rotate through (luckily I can get away with that since I don't work every day of the week).  I'm not quite big enough for maternity tops yet, but I've sized out of most of my nice work shirts - another reason I'm ready for cozy sweaters!  I can still get away with a couple of my dresses, but I don't think the temperature or my tummy are going to let that happen much longer.

Weight gained:  As of this morning, I've gained right at 20 pounds.  I'm a little bummed by that because I was hoping to gain no more than 25 pounds during pregnancy, and there's no way I'll be able to only gain 5 more before February (baby still has 6 or 7 pounds to grow on her own!).  The formula I was trying to stick to was no more than 4 pounds during the first trimester and then a pound a week after that (maximum would be about 16 pounds right now).  I was right on track with that, but my weight shot up by about 5 pounds a month or so ago when I went to the emergency room for a UTI and they gave me fluids.  I haven't been able to make up for that quick weight gain in the weeks since.  It could be that I was dehydrated from the beginning and needed a little more water in my body.  I'm taking comfort in the fact that I'm doing better about drinking lots of fluids each day, eating fairly healthy, and exercising regularly.  My practitioner doesn't seem concerned about my weight, so I'm just trying to relax and do everything I can to keep baby and me healthy, and that means eating when I'm hungry and making the best food choices I can stomach at the time. : )  I still have folks telling me they didn't know I was pregnant and that I don't look like I've gained weight, which I think is due to the fact that I'm carrying very low.  My bump looks really obvious in these photos, but with some of my looser shirts paired with non-maternity, stretchy pants, you still can't see it poking out.

Sorry for all the selfies!  I need to remember to ask Chris to take these bump photos when he's home!

How I'm changing other than my bump: Chris said last night my face is starting to fill out a little.  It's hard for me to notice those smaller changes, but I can definitely see some puffiness under my eyes.  My skin looks a lot tighter and more youthful on my face, which is a nice pregnancy perk!  Even though I've been weightlifting a little (yay! - more on that to follow), it's not quite enough to combat the flabbiness that I feel like I've got going on all over - I'm not getting hung up on it, though.  I know I'll be able to push it hard in the gym once the baby is born and I no longer have to worry about jeopardizing her safety.

Working out: Now that it's at least a little cooler in the mornings, I've been able to take the dogs on longer walks (all three of us get a little exhausted if it's above 60 degrees or so).  Last fall/winter, I was going on 4-5 mile walks each day, and I'm hoping I'll be able to do that again once the temperature starts to really drop.  Of course, I'm being careful to listen to my body - I turned around early the other day when I started to have a lot of round ligament pain.  Hopefully that won't be a recurring problem!  I'm also trying to do 30 minutes of one of my barre or prenatal yoga DVDs each day after my walk, but I'm back to having some queasiness and have been experiencing a little fatigue, so I'm not as good about that as I was a couple months ago.  As I mentioned before, I am so happy to be back to weightlifting some - I really missed it!  Even though it's mostly only on the weekends when Chris is around to go with me, and I'm super weak right now from taking so much time off, it feels awesome to be back in the gym. (I'd probably be fine going by myself, but I take a lot of comfort in having Chris there to spot me and help me make sure I'm doing exercises safely.)  I've been making a big effort to exercise every day lately.  I used to take the day off when I worked in the morning or on weekend days when Chris was home, but now I try to fit at least a 30 minute walk in at some point EVERY day.  I've read so much about how this regular exercise is important for my health and baby's well-being and that it can help make delivery easier.  I'm all about that!  

Symptoms: Last time I updated y'all, I jinxed myself by saying I wasn't throwing up anymore.  The very next week the spontaneous episodes of barfing came back.  I'm glad to report that hasn't happened again in over a month, but I still feel sick pretty frequently.  My acid reflux got rough as well after my last post, and my practitioner prescribed Zantac for that.  The prescription has helped a lot, both with my reflux and nausea.

My acne is a still bad at this point - I'm staying very broken out on my cheeks.  Recently, I started using essential oils around our house and for medicinal purposes, and I've been putting a little Melaleuca (tea tree) oil or lavender oil on my trouble spots after I wash my face.  I can tell a difference with the oils, so I'm going to keep that up!

Some days, I don't have any trouble with fatigue... Other days, I hit a wall in the afternoon and have no choice but to take a nap.  I'm thankful it's not consistent or especially limiting at this point.  A little nap is nice every few days!

My bladder definitely feels pregnant now!  I think that's partially due to the fact that baby is hanging out so low and pushing on everything down there.  Running errands means a lot of finding public bathrooms!  But I'm happy that I'm doing better about staying hydrated, so I'll take the constant tinkling as a side effect of that.

At my last appointment, I mentioned my lower back and hip pain to my practitioner, and she said it sounds like sciatica.  Luckily, it doesn't bother me much anymore during the day, but I do have a good bit of pain when I'm in bed and when I get up after sitting in the same place for a while.  I'm thankful I don't have much discomfort in my hip when I try to exercise because that would be frustrating.

Like everyone warned me about when I revealed I was pregnant, I have so many FEELINGS.  It's like I've lost the ability to feel just a little mad or a little sad or a little happy.  If I'm mad, I'm raging... If I'm sad, I'm crying.  I know it's par for the course, but it really is surprising how all-consuming my emotions are right now.

I don't know if this is a common pregnancy symptom or not, but I'm very jumpy.  When I see a bug or a shadow out of the corner of my eye, I feel myself startle and my heart skip a beat, even if my brain is registering that what I'm seeing isn't a threat.  I guess maybe it's my maternal instincts kicking in - in hyperdrive!

Days until my next appointment: Because our girl was nestled down in a ball at the bottom of my uterus last time we tried to do an anatomy scan, the ultrasound technician couldn't get good photos of her spine and kidneys and such, so we're going back for another anatomy scan tomorrow.  I'm excited to see the baby again and get confirmation that everything looks like it's developing the way it should be!  Then our next appointment is November 4th, so a couple more weeks...

Food aversions: Plain water, broccoli, grilled cheese

Food cravings: Caesar salad, chocolate milk, coffee ice cream, Japanese and Chinese food (sweet and sour chicken, teriyaki chicken, fried rice, egg rolls), ground beef (this one is weird because I'm usually not much of a red meat eater)

How I'm sleeping: I'm waking up once or twice a night to pee, and I'm just generally restless due to the sciatica pain.  I tried the pillow between the legs trick, but it didn't give me any relief.  Some nights are good and some nights are rough.  And I'm having CRAZY dreams!  Most of them aren't scary, but they're all very vivid.

What I'm looking forward to in the near future: November is going to be my month to get a lot of baby preparation work done, so I'm looking forward to the feeling of accomplishment and relief that I know will come with being at least a little more ready for her arrival.
Also, one of my best friends' baby boy is due in November, and I'm so excited for her and her husband!  I can't wait to see what their little one looks like and to watch them become parents. : )

Feeling baby move: I can definitely feel her moving around in there now, and my ability to feel it is becoming more and more consistent.  It's still mostly internal, so I'm eagerly anticipating the coming weeks when it will be easier to feel her from the outside so Chris can experience it too!  He's felt a few little twitches and kicks when she's really active, but I'm hoping her movements will become more pronounced soon.

Innie or outie?: Still definitely an innie right now!  I'm wondering if it's going to stay that way because it looks nowhere close to poking out.  Perhaps that will change if/when she decides to move up a little in my abdomen as she grows.

Dang, I'd wanted this update to be shorter than the last, but I think it may be longer!  I just have so much to tell you guys!  Overall, everything is going really great because baby and I are both healthy, and I can deal with a few pesky symptoms when I get to trade them in for baby kicks and buying little onesies and tiny hats with bear ears.

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In other news, I had my hair dyed back to its natural color.  I've been doing the ombre/sombre thing for over a year now, and I loved it, but it's nice to feel like myself again when I look in the mirror while all these other changes are happening to my body!

We have a very exciting weekend ahead including the NC State Fair tomorrow night and the American Roots Music Festival on Saturday and Sunday!  I'm going to try to take lots of photos to share with you here.  Have a great weekend!

Pregnancy Update: 15 Weeks

 

I hope you're in the mood for a long post!  Judging by my notes I've written about what I want to share, this is going to be a lot!  I haven't done an official pregnancy post yet, so I have a ton of ground to cover.  But I figure after this there won't be quite as much to fill you in you on, and these updates will be a little shorter.

Baby's size: According to "The Bump," baby is the size of a navel orange this week!  He or she weighs about 2.5 ounces and is 4 inches long.  That's pretty big!  Especially compared to when I first found out I was pregnant and he or she was only the size of an orange seed.

What I'm wearing: I haven't even tried to wear any shorts or jeans that button/zip in a couple weeks.  For work and when I need to look a little nicer, I'm wearing dresses.  But most of the time these days I'm in workout clothes when I'm around the house or running errands.  I know I'm going to need to buy some maternity jeans I like soon since the months when I'm the biggest will be some of the coldest of the year.

Weight gained:  Using the weight from my first doctor's appointment in June as my starting weight, I've gained seven pounds.  According to my "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book, I should have aimed to gain no more than four pounds during the first trimester and then about a pound each week after that, so it looks like I'm right around where I should be.  I was a little nervous this week because I lost a couple pounds, but since then I've gained one of them back, so I'm hoping it's just normal fluctuation.

How I'm changing other than my bump: Generally, my whole body looks different, but that has less to do with the whole growing a baby thing and more to do with the fact that I've stopped weightlifting since I found out I was pregnant.  At first, I stopped because I was worried about safety and wanted to do my research, but I haven't jumped back into it because I was too sick to exercise at all for a while.  I can see the lack of muscle tone all over, and I've especially noticed it in my legs, upper arms, and shoulders.  I don't think my face looks much fuller so far.  My boobs, however, are unrecognizable.  I'm definitely going to need to size up my cups soon!

Working out: Now that I'm feeling better, the dogs and I are walking every day (well every weekday - I've been taking weekends off) for about forty minutes.  I also try to do a safe workout video each day.  I alternate between three DVDs I bought at Target.  Two of them are Barre workouts that I can do with a few modifications (not doing anything flat on my back during floor work, not crunching my abs very deeply, and not twisting my middle too far during stretches) and the third is a prenatal yoga workout.  I like the prenatal yoga DVD because I don't have to worry about safety since the workout is just for pregnant women, and the stretching specifically helps with a lot of my new little pains accompanying the changes in my body.  But it is WEIRD... think full body leotards, calling your belly your "baby groin," and Kegel exercises.  It's a little out of my comfort zone, but it does the trick for an effective workout that I can feel good about doing.  Chris and I were hoping to get back in the gym this week, but his work schedule has been too busy, so we're aiming for next week.  I've been reading up a lot on what I can and can't do, and I'll definitely feel better with him spotting me when I'm using free weights, but I'm so excited to get back at it!  I'll fill you in on what I'm doing in the gym and my modifications after we go.

Apps we're loving: Chris and I are both enjoying the What to Expect When You're Expecting app and The Bump app.  They keep us updated on what's going on with the baby and have a lot of good resources and checklists.  We make an event out of watching the videos the apps post each week to let us know what the baby is doing in there and how his or her body is developing.

Symptoms: I've been astonished at just how many symptoms I have!  Pregnancy makes your body do some crazy things!  I haven't thrown up in a few weeks (knock on wood), but I still feel nauseated most evenings.  Starting about 5 pm, I have a nasty, too full feeling, and I start burping a lot.

Now that I'm not sick during the day, I'm STARVING.  I try to eat a healthy snack every two hours.  

My acne is pretty terrible.  I've struggled with it anyway for the last few years, but it's much worse now.  This may be partially due to my fear of using most of my facial care products (the medication can be absorbed through your skin!).  I'm washing my face with a gentle cleanser and that's it.

As far as fatigue goes, I haven't struggled with it yet like many women say they do.   I think this may be because I allow myself to sleep in until 9 or so on the mornings I don't have to go to work.  Before pregnancy, I would have felt terribly lazy for doing that, but now I don't beat myself up about it because it takes a lot of rest to grow a baby!  And it keeps me from having to nap later in the afternoon when I want to be productive.

Another common symptom I haven't experienced much at all is having to pee frequently.  If anything, I think I'm peeing less now than before I was pregnant.  I'm struggling to drink as much as I should because no beverages sound particularly good to me right now, so staying hydrated is a little bit of a struggle.  Sweet tea is one of the few things I do like to drink, but I have to limit myself so I don't go over the suggested 200 mg caffeine threshold each day.

I do have the typical pregnant lady lower back and hip pain.  It's mostly just where my lower back meets my left hip, and there have been times I can't even walk it hurts so bad!  Sometimes when I stand up it feels fine, and other times it feels like the joint isn't working quite right and I just have to take a break for a minute and try again.  Another issue I have occasionally upon standing is extreme dizziness.  I've read that's caused by lack of blood flow to my brain because it's being pumped to my uterus!  I try to remember to stand up slowly both for the sake of my back and to prevent the spins.

One "symptom" I did not expect when I became pregnant is a new feeling of self possession and confidence.  As my waist is growing bigger, I'm caring less about what I wear and how much make up I have on when I go out in public.  It's not because I'm letting myself go but exactly the opposite - I'm making a BABY with my body.  It might not be the perfect body, but it's pretty awesome for being able to do that.  : )  I'm hoping the "pregnancy glow" will make up for the lack of make up I'm wearing over my prenatal acne.

Days until my next appointment: Five!  My next appointment is this coming Monday, August 17th.  I'm hoping we'll be able to find out the gender then, but it may still be a little early.  We'll see!

Food aversions: I'm honestly not averse to much anymore.  When I was sick all the time, the only thing that was appetizing was terrible food, like fried chicken sandwiches, pizza, and such.  Now that I'm feeling better, I don't want to eat that kind of food anymore because I associate it with when I felt so bad - which is a good thing for both mine and baby's health!  The only foods I really,  really don't want right now are fresh fruit and water.  There's kind of a funny story to explain that - when I first found out I was pregnant and before I was feeling nauseated, I was determined I was going to go organic and perfectly healthy for this kiddo.  Every time I left work, I would go by the Fresh Market to stock up on fresh cut fruit, bottled water, organic crackers, etc., for snacking.  Well, the first day I felt REALLY bad, I had just gorged myself on water and fruit, and now I'm feeling nauseated just thinking about it.  So, for now, fresh fruit and plain water are unfortunately off the table.  I also don't like anything that feels really dense or heavy in my stomach, like broth based soups, since I'm still struggling sometimes with feeling way too full after eating.

Food cravings: Because I associate unhealthy foods with when I felt so yucky, I'm only really craving healthy foods (pretty awesome, I know).  Salads, crisp vegetables, brown rice, etc., actually sound the most appetizing.  It is kind of exhausting to constantly be trying to decide what sounds good to eat, though.  Every two hours, when my stomach is empty and ready for some more fuel, I have to pick out something else from the pantry or fridge.  I know that sounds fun, but after a few days, nothing really seems yummy anymore.  I've been sticking to fairly bland foods like yogurt, oatmeal, and low-calorie popcorn as my go to snacks when I just can't decide.  Oh, and I do crave Subway sandwiches (I have them toasted to reduce the risk of Listeria in the lunch meat)!  Thankfully there's a Subway right around the corner.  I usually grab a sandwich to have for lunch or dinner when I'm headed to work.

How I'm sleeping: Up until this week, my sleep hadn't really been affected at all by the pregnancy other than the discomfort I've felt in the evening with nausea and feeling too full.  But I can definitely sense some insomnia creeping its way in the past couple nights... I can only sleep in one position now - on my left side.  It's not safe to sleep flat on my back anymore and when I'm on my right side my reflux is really bad.  So, I'm restless from having to stay in the same position all night, and I can't seem to make my mind shut off when it's time to sleep.  I don't as much worry about the baby or anything like that, I just have a hard time completely relaxing and not thinking about random to do lists and such.  I don't fall asleep until 1 a.m. or so and then I wake up a few times during the night after that.  But, like I said above, I'm able to sleep in most mornings so my sleeping patterns aren't making me tired during the day yet.

What I'm looking forward to in the near future: Right now, I'm obviously most anxious to find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl.  I think everything will seem more "real" once we can officially decide on a name and start planning with more specifics in mind.  I'm also looking forward to having an official "bump."  Right now I'm in that awkward, in between stage in which people can't really tell if I'm pregnant or just developing a gut.  I'm ready to flaunt that baby belly!

Do we think it's a boy or a girl?  At first, I was sure this baby was a boy.  The Mister's family is almost all boys on both sides and that's always made me feel like we have a very slim chance of having little girls.  The Mister, however, is DETERMINED that this baby is a girl.  He only refers to it with the pronoun "she" and calls it by the name he wants to give it if it's a girl.  So, I catch myself thinking of it as a girl since he's so sure!  I wish I had a gut feeling either way, but I really have no idea.  Some days I lean more towards boy; other days I give in and go along with calling it a girl.  We shall see!  I'm so ready to be certain about it.

Whew, that's all I can think of to update you on for now!

Before I go, I have to share this article with you that made my mom, sister, and me crack up, like literally laugh out loud till we cried.  The humor is a little crude at some points, but if you're into that and one of your close friends or relatives is or has been pregnant, give this little gem a read.

Also, this meme and everything else from the Mommie Pickles facebook page made me giggle.

 

Lastly, I read online today that many women bring music with them to listen to while in the delivery room!  I never even considered that as an option. Of course, some women said they never noticed the music through their pain, but others said it really helped them relax and focus.  I'm going to start working on my labor playlist now!  Can't hurt to give it a try : )

There's a kegerator in my living room: marriage is all about compromise.

Well, actually it's a "keezer," a contraption home brewers make from freezers to keep kegs of beer cool and carbonated.  In all honesty, I was pretty relieved when my dad and the Mister built this thing.  Up until we had the keezer, we were bottling our beer instead of kegging it, and bottling beer is a long and tedious task.  And you don't always get a consistent finished product when bottling - achieving the correct amount of carbonation is harder when relying on the yeast and sugar to take care of the process itself in a bottle as opposed to easily being able to pump the right amount of carbonation into a keg.

However, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of a large freezer taking up residence in our living room.  Since we purchased our home, I've caught the interior decorating bug, and I take the appearance of our home way too seriously.  At first, my vote was for the keezer either going in Chris's office or out in the garage.  But the more I thought about it sitting on the white carpet in the office with the potential of condensation and leaks, it didn't seem worth the risk to hide it in there.  And I hated the thought of guests having to walk outside to the garage no matter what the weather to get a drink, not to mention the heat or cold could make it harder to maintain the beer at the right temperature.  Plus there's also the risk of the tubes inside the keezer freezing in the winter.  So, I caved and allowed the living room to be its home.  

I was surprised to find out that I actually don't hate the addition.  It does crowd the wall a little bit, but I dressed it up with a few plants, and the Mister stained some nice wood really beautifully for the collar.  Not to mention I get to color on it since he painted it with chalkboard paint!  The whole kegerator in the living room thing has grown on me - it's different.  And it got me thinking that the keezer is a great example of the fact marriage is all about compromise.

Not that I think I'm an expert on marriage by any stretch of the imagination... we are closing in on our second wedding anniversary (which is hard to believe), but there are lots of couples who have been married muchhh longer than that, including both of our parents and grandparents.  But I do think that I've learned a little.

For starters, I think it's important for couples to share interests, like our home brewing.  Chris did a lot of research while he was deployed on home brewing and came home ready to dive head first into it.  At first I wasn't sure about making our own beer, but I thought it was important to show interest in it since it meant so much to him, and I ended up really enjoying it.  Now we both have become "beer snobs" and fantasize about opening our own brewery when we hit the jackpot.  On the same note, Chris tends to give me free reign when it comes to decorating the house, but he's found that he really enjoys shopping around for antique furniture and fun items to suit our taste with me.  And he does love the finished product and that both of our styles are represented in the house.  Home brewing is not a cheap hobby, but we both agree on how much to spend and when to invest to keep supporting our beer fun.  In the same way, when I'm salivating over the new couch I want from West Elm, Chris doesn't tell me "no way," but we talk about how we can ask for gift cards for our birthdays and Christmas to make my sofa dreams a reality. : )

Of course, I don't think couples should do EVERYTHING together, even though it does seem Chris and I are that way at times.  I don't plan to ever invest myself in a video game hobby, nor do I ever expect him to join me at the yoga studio.  But we do take the time together to lift weights in the evenings (at least we did pre-pregnancy), another interest of his I've picked up, and we really do treat it as our opportunity to be together and catch up on each other's days while finding the time to exercise.

We compromise in other ways, too - mainly regarding time management and relaxing. Chris leaves for work around five in the morning and doesn't return home (on a good night) until six or so in the evening (that's a 13 hour work day!).  Whereas I only work part time and most of my world revolves around our house and our home life when I'm not at work.  So, it's easy for me to want him to help me with things here as soon as he returns home at night and during our free time on the weekends.  I'm the type who becomes obsessed with getting tasks done as soon as possible, as soon as the idea crosses my mind - this ranges from little things like taking the trash out to bigger tasks like planting our vegetable garden.  But Chris obviously needs time to decompress in the evenings and would prefer to relax on the weekends since his work weeks are so taxing.  So, I have to be understanding and remember that although I may have been focusing on rearranging furniture all day, Chris needs to have a moment to himself and do things on his own terms.  Likewise, sometimes he has to capitulate and do something as soon as I ask (like last night when he had to spray for ants as soon as he got home from work because I was about to have a breakdown due to the rogue fire ants finding their way in from the backyard).

I've found that those little things are how we show our love and commitment - not in grand gestures, but in him spraying for fire ants when he's dog tired, or me staying up late by myself doing laundry to make sure he has a clean uniform in the morning.

While I was sick all the time a couple weeks ago due to the pregnancy, we both had to sacrifice a good bit.  I had to "man up" and get on with life sometimes to make sure our house didn't fall into disrepair, and he had to cook his own meals and take care of me after working hard all day.  And I know those kinds of compromises are just going to increase once we have the baby.  I'm sure there will be some trying days with a newborn when Chris doesn't get home from work until eight or nine at night.  Similarly, it will be hard for him when I hand the baby over when he walks in the door exhausted because I'm dying for a shower or need to cook dinner.  But I know neither of us would trade the life we live now or the life we're going to live soon as a party of three for anything.

Wow, that was quite a dissertation that just started with a kegerator in my living room, but there ya go. : )  I'll be posting more pregnancy updates soon!

Big purchases for baby so far...

When I found out we were expecting, it was important to me to get our registry together asap.  Not because I wanted people to buy us things, but because I knew we'd be buying a lot of the big ticket items ourselves and I wanted to go ahead and have a list with which to budget and plan.

Even before I was pregnant, I'd decided to use the website Cricket's Circle for our registry.  I'd read about it online and loved the concept - each item on the registry has been narrowed down to the three best choices based on reviews by moms, so you can choose from the three "Cricket's Picks" for bottles, onesies, strollers, etc., with confidence that you'll receive a quality product.  Unfortunately, I got some bad news after the hours I'd spent creating my registry (it still takes a while even with only three choices for each item!).  I'd been emailing with one of their customer service representatives because I'd had some issues saving color options for my selections, and she revealed to me that I should probably move my registry due to the fact Cricket's Circle was shutting down their registry service. : ( She offered to help me with the process, but I hated for her to have to do that.  So I spent another day working on our registry online at Buy Buy Baby... Luckily they had many of the products I'd already selected from Cricket's Circle's site.  In the end, Cricket's Circle still helped me a lot with making decisions with reassurance I would be satisfied with my selections, even if I had to put in a little extra work (and I have to admit it's fun picking out clothes, gear, and toys for the baby, even if it's time consuming).

Of course, I was even more surprised than I thought I would be by the price tags on some of the baby items we'll be needing in the very near future, not to mention how lengthy the list is of items needed for the first year or two of having a kiddo.  So, we've decided to spread out the purchases and start buying things little by little right away.

(Image from freshlypicked.com)

I had already chosen a couple baby purchases before completing our registry.  The first (and I ordered this almost as soon as I knew we were expecting) was a "Bringing Home Baby Bundle" from Freshly Picked.  The bundles are a collaboration between Freshly Picked (a company that makes the cutest leather baby moccasins) and Naomi Davis, the writer of one of my favorite blogs, Love Taza.  They are the sweetest combination of matching items for baby and mama to wear in the hospital, when coming home for the first time, and beyond.  Each bundle includes baby moccasins, a robe and socks for mom, a swaddle, a hat for baby, a cute bag to carry personal items to and from the hospital, and a laundry bag!  I love the idea of having these pieces of clothing that are especially for those first few precious hours and days together with our new addition.  It also gives me the the illusion of being somewhat prepared for our time in the hospital and delivery.  : )  The color choices of yellow, blue, and pink are also available, but I decided to go with the classic gray instead of waiting until we know the baby's gender to order the bundle.  I think we'll be able to get more wear out of the neutral gray moccasins than we would with a bright color no matter if the baby is a boy or girl.

(Image from Lovetaza.com)

Another item I'd picked out a while back was our diaper bag - the "Carryall" by Storq.  I ordered it this past week, and I did a happy dance when it arrived in the mail just a few days later.  I'm admittedly more excited about this diaper bag than I've ever been about a purse.  It's made from 100% cotton canvas (that's usually used for teepees!) that's completely water-repellent.  It has a ton of pockets for all things baby-related, but it definitely doesn't look like a classic diaper bag!  It's minimal and black on the outside, and you can carry it by a handle on the top or as a backpack - which means the Mister won't be embarrassed to tote it around. I'm also planning on purchasing a couple pieces of Storq's beautiful maternity clothes as soon as I can - they're out of stock in my size at the moment.

(Image from Storq.com)

So far, those two are the only big purchases we've made for baby.  My plan is to order our bassinet in the next week or two.  The bassinet is going to be one of our most important buys early on because we're likely to be moving within a month or two of having the baby, so we probably won't be putting together a nursery at this house... which means the baby will be sleeping in the bassinet while we're here unless he or she out grows it quickly. 

(Image from buybuybaby.com)

I've decided on the HALO Bassinest Essenti Series Swivel Sleeper because it rotates to either be used as a classic bedside bassinet or with the baby resting on the bed as more of a co-sleeper.  I liked the idea of a co-sleeper instead of a bassinet, but the thought of accidents happening while we were asleep made me nervous, so I was happy to find this model with its sturdy sides that will help me worry less about rolling into the baby's space while we're sleeping.  And if we decide we aren't comfortable with co-sleeping or that we need some more space, we can turn the basket away from the bed.  I'll post some photos once it arrives and we have it set up!

After the bassinet, our next big purchases in September will be an infant car seat (definitely a necessity!) and a nice, warm coat/bunting for baby since he or she will be arriving midwinter!  I can't wait to fill you in on all of it!

The Happiest Place on Earth

As I mentioned in my last post, I spend this past week at Walt Disney World with part of my extended family.  We've been really lucky because my grandparents became part of the Disney Vacation Club (kind of like timeshare for Disney properties) when I was very young, so my family has been visiting Disney World frequently since my cousins and I were little (and before some of them and my sister were even born).  So many of my best memories took place with my family all over the Disney parks and the resort where we always stay.  My grandparents are generous enough to provide our lodging, and this time we were able to take advantage of the "Disney's Armed Forces Salute" ticket prices.  I was able to purchase up to 12 Four-Day Park Hoppers for my family at a VERY discounted rate on Fort Bragg.  Thank you Disney!!

This was my first trip to Disney World in quite a few years, and I was overwhelmed by the comfort and happiness I felt when we pulled into Old Key West Resort the first day.  All of the staff and our front door mat greeted us with a "Welcome Home," and it truly did feel like a homecoming for us.  We love that place!  Especially after the 10 hour drive...

I was bummed that the Mister couldn't join us because of his work schedule; we haven't been to Disney World since we've been together.  But I am looking forward to the opportunity to take him and our little one back sometime in the near future.  He hasn't been to Disney World since he was a kid, and I think he'd really enjoy coming along with my family, as we consider ourselves WDW experts. ; ) I was also missing my cousins who weren't there with us this time.  I hope we all get to go back together as adults one day - it's so hard to plan big trips like that now that we're grown-ups with real jobs and babies of our own.

However, that is one of the greatest attributes of Disney World, its ability to grow with you.  There are attractions for the littlest kiddos and the most adrenaline-hungry teenagers.  And the street shows, musicals, exhibitions, beautiful resorts, and magic keep parents smiling, too.  Although I had to miss out on some of the fun this time (I did a lot of holding my family's bags and sunglasses while they rode rides that are off limits for preggos), I found myself grinning just thinking about all of us taking Baby Dixon once he or she is old enough to take it all in.  I can't wait!

Here are some photos of our trips below if you care to see!

A lot of our time at WDW is spent waiting for or riding on buses - but it's such a nice perk of staying on Disney property.  We don't have to worry about the traffic, parking, or walking from the parking lots to park entrances.  And if you're enjoying adult beverages you don't have to think about arranging transportation (although I obviously wasn't partaking on this trip).

This was our first experience with the new set-up for Disney's passes.  Everything is now loaded onto a "Magic Band" that you wear.  We were able to walk into the park with just these bands and our fingerprints.  Additionally, we we could link our individual bands with our debit cards, so we didn't have to keep up with money and wallets in the parks, which we loved.  But we did have some major glitches that we've never experienced before at Disney parks.  We were stopped multiple times at entrances because people in our party's reservations had been switched in their system (e.g. my uncle scanned as my sister one time).  And we weren't originally able to link our passes to our bands or the My Disney Experience app due to a technical glitch, so we couldn't reserve Fast Passes in advance (Fast Passes allow you to walk onto a ride at a certain predetermined time interval instead of waiting in line).  We were really disappointed about this because 1) the only other way to reserve Fast Passes was at kiosks in the parks, and by the time we got to the kiosks in the morning the only times available were in the evening, 2) the lines for almost all the attractions and rides were 60-80 minutes, so we would only be able to enjoy a few rides a day, and 3) we were really unfamiliar with the new system and the competition for Fast Passes.  In the past, Fast Passes were only available for those staying on Disney property, and all we had to do was scan our passes outside of the ride and it would print us a ticket to bring back in an hour or two to walk on.  Of course this new system is more fair for those not staying on Disney property, and we would have been happy with it if everything had worked correctly and we had been able to reserve Fast Passes in advance.

We spent a lot of time in the first couple of days waiting outside Guest Services for my parents as they tried to iron out why our passes weren't linking and why names in our party were switching between passes.  However, Disney pulled through and more than made up for our wasted time with some "no-strings attached" Fast Passes we could use each day at any ride at any time for everyone in our party.  Later that day, one of the Guest Services representatives we'd spoken to earlier even visited our villa personally with our corrected passes and a gift card for all 18 of us to enjoy breakfast on Disney.  Even though we were pretty frustrated in the beginning, we were really impressed with the customer service we received.

At one point, when we were particularly hot and tired of waiting outside Guest Services at Hollywood Studios, my sister, Caroline, had her hand on top of this column, just messing around out of boredom.  An employee walked by and chastised her, in a not so very nice way, saying, "You're not going to climb that wall."  So, we had to take a photo in remembrance of the occasion.  We were feeling a little bratty that morning after all the trouble, and I can't help but laugh every time I look at this photo now.  [From left to right - my brother, Lowden, his girlfriend, Brittany, me, and Caroline]

The highlight of the trip for me was Monday evening when we visited the fairly new Be Our Guest restaurant which is INSIDE the Beast's castle in a recently added area of Fantasyland within Magic Kingdom.  I'm a Beauty and the Beast fanatic, and I will admit I teared up a little when I walked inside.  It was just such a perfect reproduction of the scenes from the movie!  We sat in the "Forbidden West Wing," complete with an enchanted rose and a ripped painting of the Prince that changed to the Beast when "lightning" flashed outside the window.  The restaurant also had seating in the ballroom (with snow falling outside!) and a third room with a huge music box with Belle and the Beast dancing on top.  We had a chance to take photos with the Beast after dinner, and you can tell how thrilled I was by how hard I'm cheesing in the picture above.  Everything was just beautiful.  I definitely suggest it to anyone visiting WDW in the future (but make sure you make reservations beforehand).  FYI - The gray stuff was delicious.

I had forgotten how unafraid of humans the wildlife is around the parks.  I made friends with this bird while I was waiting for my family to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom.

We were a little amazed during the Frozen parade in Hollywood Studios when it started snowing in July.  I can't imagine how magical that must have been for the children there experiencing it.

We had a lot of fun with Lowden as he took on the "Drinking Around the World Challenge" at Epcot's World Showcase.  I'm looking forward to hopefully doing it with Chris next time we go - he was very jealous he couldn't participate, but I kept him updated by text message.

We got to watch a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on Thursday night!

I knew I wanted to buy something special for the baby while we were at Disney World.  I decided on Nala and Simba stuffed animals!  My most beloved stuffed animal (that I slept with for much longer than I care to admit) was a Nala I got on my first trip to WDW.  Since this was technically baby's first trip, I thought it was fitting!  Without knowing the baby's gender, I couldn't decide between Nala and Simba, so I got both because they weren't very pricey.  You can see my Nala above with the baby's cubs.  I think they are darling, and I hope the baby loves them as much as I love mine!

There ya have it!  It was such a great week. I firmly believe that everyone needs to go to Disney World at some point in their lives : ).  Thanks to my Baggie and Pop-Pop and the Disney Armed Forces Salute for making this trip possible!

We've got BIG news!

Hi friends!  Long time no talk!  I do have a little bit of an excuse... We found out in May that I'm pregnant!  And I've been sick as a dog ever since.  But we are so very excited! I'm starting to feel much better this week and have been able to do more "normal" tasks and activities the past couple days, which is such a relief.

I went to Disney World last week with my family - the Mister couldn't join because he had to work.  We agreed that we wouldn't share the big news until I was 12 weeks pregnant, and that milestone was last Monday.  Chris couldn't bear to keep the secret anymore, so he set up the adorable photo above all by himself to post on Facebook with the announcement.  He is seriously the cutest.

We're on the 13th week now! Our due date is February 1st, and I'm starting to feel like it's going to be here before we know it.

I'm already looking like a pregnant lady in some clothes, so it's a good thing we're able to share the news now!  Since I've been feeling better, I've started eating healthier again instead of just eating what sounds appetizing (thank goodness), taking the dogs for little walks, and I'm really hoping to get back into the gym next week (very carefully, of course).  It's crazy how out of shape I feel after just two months of falling off the wagon.

I took this last week in Florida when I was 12 weeks.  I wasn't expecting to have this much of a bump so soon!

As we continue along this journey, I'm looking forward to sharing it with you! From prenatal exercising, to pregnancy eating and cravings, to big purchases for baby, I'm hoping to post as often as possible, in addition to trying to get back to posting the normal, non-pregnancy content as well.  But I've got baby on the brain, so we'll see how that goes. : )