Watch Out Kitchen, Here I Come!

I was in a cooking mood yesterday. I had so much fun in the kitchen yesterday afternoon. I roasted a whole chicken for dinner with carrots and onions. I then made some awesome red potatoes in the pressure cooker. I can't get over how fast I was able to make yummy potatoes. I always love roasted potatoes but have a hard time getting them cooked all the way through, so they're still crunchy. I also made homemade Artisan bread. So yummy!!!

With the artisan bread recipe, it makes enough dough for 4-5 loaves. You keep the extra dough in the fridge. I found a recipe on pinterest to turn the artisan dough into monkey bread, so I made a miniature monkey bread for dessert. Oh so yummy!!!

After my stress out moment last Tuesday, all of my cooking last night made me feel awesome! I felt like I was able to provide a nice yummy dinner for my husband. What did you make this week that you want to brag about?

What's Cookin' in the Kitchen?

I have not been doing that great of job cooking meals recently. We have been eating out a lot, and I'm starting to get frustrated with myself. I need to do a better job of stocking up the kitchen, so I have a lot of easy go to meals. This meal plan is kind of thrown off since it's Thursday and I'm making it but oh well.

Thursday: Dinner-Spaghetti, Salad & Garlic Toast

Friday: Breakfast- Breakfast tacos

Lunch-Left over spaghetti

Dinner- Crock Pot Peppered Steak over rice

Saturday: Breakfast-weekly breakfast date

Lunch- on your own

Dinner- Baked whole chicken with veggies

Sunday: Breakfast-Waffle, Turkey Bacon and Fruit

Lunch-Chicken left overs

Dinner-Baked tilapia, rice & salad

Monday: Breakfast- Bagel sandwich with egg whites & turkey bacon

Lunch-Tilapia left overs

Dinner- Pulled pork sandwich & baked fries

Tuesday: Breakfast-Yogurt, Granola & Fruit

Lunch- Pulled pork sandwich left over

Dinner-Chicken Tacos, black beans & salad

Wednesday: Breakfast- Bagel & fruit

Lunch- On your own

Dinner- Tacos left overs (church night)

What are some of your go to recipes? I need some new ideas :)

19 Weeks

how far along? 19 weeks, Wednesday 3/7/2012

how are you measuring? 19 weeks 2 days (The ultrasound on 1/18 showed the baby was measuring 2 days ahead)

size of baby? Small cantaloupe, 6.5 in 10 oz

heartbeat? 148 (I took a doppler home from clinic. It was fun finding the little one's heartbeat)
total weight gain/loss? + 9 lbs

maternity clothes? I bought a pair of maternity jeans last weekend, and let me tell you I love them!!! They are so comfy! I bought a few maternity shirts from target the other night as well. They are so much more flattering than my regular shirts that are tight. I feel like when I wear them, I actually look pregnant instead of just pudgy.

stretch marks? Nope. Still using Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter. I did notice this week that my belly button is starting to stretch. I had an outtie belly button to begin with, so it's going to get totally gross looking. EEK!
sleep? I've been sleeping really good lately. I try to sleep on my left side as much as possible, but I still roll over on to my stomach at times. I am still comfortable on my stomach so that's nice. I haven't been getting up to use the restroom at all which has been nice.
best moment this week? Using a doppler at home to listen to the baby's heart beat!!! It was so nice not having to wait 4 weeks. :)
movement? Oh man the little squirt is moving around a ton now! I am feeling him/her during the day more and more. Yesterday it was super windy with gusts at 40 mph. When I was walking in from the car to the school, he/she was moving around like crazy. It has been so fun. I still can't feel it from the outside yet.
food cravings? Sweets! Oh man have I got a sweet tooth. :/

gender predictions? I'm starting to think it's a boy. Our male dog does not want anything to do with me. He use to curl up next to me on the couch, and now he won't even join me on the couch. At night, if we let him on the bed he will usually lay by my stomach when I'm on my side. Now he won't even go near my stomach. My FIL heard that the male dog doesn't like male babies due to the testosterone. I wonder if this is true, or if it's just his wishful thinking that it's a boy.

what i miss: Having nice hair. I feel like my hair is not holding the cut/style anymore. It's been growing really fast lately, so even getting a hair cut every 6 weeks is not enough. I have an appointment next week, and I think I'm just going to have her trim it so I can grow it out to my shoulders. (I know Eric will enjoy that as he loved my long hair.)
what i'm looking forward to: For Eric to feel the little one move. He is so anxious and excited to feel movement. He is going to make such a great father. Seeing the excitement he shows when talking about this little one just brings such joy to me. I just want him to experience feeling the baby move :)
how are you feeling? I really have been feeling great. The 2nd trimester really is a breeze compared to the 1st. I still go to bed earlier than Eric, but there have been a few 10:30pm nights this week.

Development this week: Today starts week 20 of development. (OMG That's the halfway point, and I have a baby the size of a small cantaloupe in my belly!!!!) The ultrasound this month will be able to detect the gender. (Although we have chosen not to find out. This is our choice so thank you for supporting it.) If it's a girl, her uterus is fully formed, her ovaries are holding about 7 million primitive eggs, and her vaginal canal is starting to develop. If it's a boy, his testicles have begun their descent from the abdomen. In a few months, they'll drop into the scrotum (which is still under construction). Luckily, he/she still has plenty of room, which means there's plenty of space for twisting, turning, kicking, punching and even an occasional somersault.(According to What to Expect When You're Expecting)

18 Weeks

how far along? 18 weeks, Wednesday 2/29/2012

how are you measuring? 18 weeks 2 days (The ultrasound on 1/18 showed the baby was measuring 2 days ahead)

size of baby? Large Mango, 6 in 8 oz

heartbeat? 153 (as of 2/17/12)
total weight gain/loss? + 6 lbs (as of 2/17/12)

maternity clothes? I am still wearing normal shirts. I wear the maternity pants to work just because they are so comfortable. My jeans are starting to get a little uncomfortable while sitting down. EEEK!!! It might be time to get some maternity jeans.

stretch marks? Nope. Still using Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter.
sleep? I've been sleeping much better now that my cold is over. I haven't been getting up to use the restroom at all which has been nice.
best moment this week? This was a fun week for us as we celebrated our 2 year anniversary with a Kansas City staycation. We had a great weekend! We talked about how this is our last anniversary just the two of us. It's been easy to leave Yeah-Yeah at the apartment over night while we go stay at a hotel, but next year we definitely won't be able to do that. It's so crazy how our world will soon be flipped upside down in 5 short months!
movement? The movement is starting to get more frequent and a little stronger. I have been feeling movement every day and even sometimes during the day. It's so fun! Eric has tried to feel it but it's still not strong enough to feel from the outside.
food cravings? Salty things right now. hmmm

gender predictions? Still going to say girl.

what i miss: My clothes fitting me nicely. I still feel like I'm in that awkward stage of has she gained weight or is she pregnant. I don't feel like I have a true baby bump right now, so if I wear a tighter shirt it makes me look thick :(
what i'm looking forward to: For Eric to feel the little one move. He is so anxious and excited to feel movement. He is going to make such a great father. Seeing the excitement he shows when talking about this little one just brings such joy to me. I just want him to experience feeling the baby move :)
how are you feeling? I really have been feeling pretty good this week. I've been having quite a bit of "heaviness" in my lower abdomen this week. I can definitely tell things are growing and getting larger.

Development this week: Today starts week 19 of development. This week the little one is 6 inches long and a full half pound, about the size of a large mango. Vernix caseosa-a greasy white protective substance-now covers the baby's sensitive skin to protect it from the surrounding amniotic fluid. Without this protection, the little one would look very wrinkled at birth. The coating will shed as delivery approaches. (According to What to Expect When You're Expecting)

What's Cookin' in the Kitchen?

Sunday: Grilling chicken breasts, hot dogs, stuffed jalapeno peppers, zucchini and mushrooms
(We really took advantage of the 60 degree weather this afternoon)

Monday: Dinner with some friends

Tuesday: Shredded Beef Tacos

Wednesday: Left Overs (church class)

Thursday: Shredded beef nachos or taco salad

Friday: Eric's parents will be in town

Saturday: Dinner with Eric's parents

2 Year Anniversary

This weekend we celebrated our second anniversary. I can't believe two years have come and gone. These two years have been so much fun and excitement for us both. This was our last anniversary just the two of us. :)

I booked a hotel for us down at the plaza and we went to a fancy steak restaurant for dinner. It was a wonderful night for us. I am so thankful for the man God created just for me. I'm looking forward to many more anniversaries.

17 Weeks

how far along? 17 weeks, Wednesday 2/22/2012

how are you measuring? 17 weeks 2 days (The ultrasound on 1/18 showed the baby was measuring 2 days ahead)

size of baby? Sweet Potato, 5 1/2 in 5 oz

heartbeat? 153 (as of 2/17/12)
total weight gain/loss? + 6 lbs (as of 2/17/12)

maternity clothes? I am still wearing normal shirts. I wear the maternity pants to work just because they are so comfortable. My jeans still fit, so I haven't purchased maternity jeans yet.

stretch marks? Nope. Still using Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter.
sleep? I've had a cold this week (I know...AGAIN!) Because of the cold, I have not been sleeping well. I can't breath through my nose, so I wake up a lot. I then start coughing from all of the drainage.
best moment this week? We had a doctor's appointment on Friday. We both look forward to the appointments. Even if they are just quick listen to the heart beat. Monday was our 2 year anniversary. We will be celebrating this weekend. :)
movement? I have been feeling some sort of movement at least once a day. It usually occurs in the evenings, once I sit down on the couch to relax. I have to be focusing on it to feel it.
food cravings? Um well considering Eric made a HUGE batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies for our anniversary on Monday, right now it's cookies.

gender predictions? Still going to say girl.

what i miss: Not getting sick every 6 weeks. What I was sick at 4 weeks, 10 weeks and then again 16 weeks.
what i'm looking forward to: I can't believe how close we are to half way there. Wow that's just in 3 weeks. Crazy!!! We can't wait for our anatomy scan in 3 weeks. We might not get to look too much since we are still not wanting to know the gender. I'm still waiting for that obvious belly bump as well.
how are you feeling? Miserable this week thanks to cold #3. I'm finally starting to feel pregnant though. Eric always asks if I feel different and it's always been no until this week. This week I started to feel a "heavy" feeling in my lower abdomen. It's crazy to think there's a baby growing inside of me. :) I did have some round ligament pain earlier today on the right side. It was kind of a weird sensation. It didn't feel like cramps at all. Just a "pulling" pain on the right side. I mean gosh, my uterus is the size of a cantaloupe now. No wonder the ligaments are getting pulled.

Development this week: Today starts week 18 of development. At 5 1/2 inches long and 5 ounces, the baby is filling out and getting large enough to feel those twists, rolls, kicks and punches. The baby is mastering the yawn and hiccups. The little one is now truly one of a kind with unique fingerprints. (According to What to Expect When You're Expecting)