Lots of Celebrations & Fun – Weekend Recap

Posted on May 12, 2014 by playinghousewi

On Friday, the weather was starting to heat up and everything was feeling great. Work was a little slow, but I had the pup with me, so that made it sillier.

My pup, the contortionist.

After work, we headed over to our friend Mike & Kari’s for a little BBQ get together. Mike and Kari had a wee little one, Madison, just about a year ago and she’s perfectly adorable and behaved and so sweet. Anyway, our friend Tricia and her boyfriend joined too, and we had a little “pre-birthday” celebration for Tricia and I (Tricia’s bday was yesterday, mine is Thursday).

Birthday shenanigans.

Make a wish!!

The gang hanging out!

Saturday morning we got up early for our first labor & delivery class with our doula! She had tons of helpful information to share with us (some of it a repeat from our hospital class), and it really went well! I’ll share more about this in a separate post.

The remainder of Saturday was spent running errands and doing chores around the house. Your standard grocery shopping, meal prep, yard work, vacuuming, etc. Then, Saturday night, the hubs and I just relaxed and got to bed early.

Then Sunday was the big Mother’s Day brunch at our house. We had my sister and her family over and my Milly (mother-in-law) and Pop (Mark’s grandfather) over. Unfortunately, my parents did not come, as they went to a baseball game instead. While this is something my mother and I fought about and have since “resolved,” the feelings of disappointment and frustration definitely reemerged yesterday. I know the baby hasn’t arrived yet, but it was technically my first mother’s day… it would have been nice to share the day with my own mother.

Anyway, we did a waffle bar that really turned out wonderfully! We had different spreads for the waffles (butter, nutella, fudge, jam) and then tons of toppings (syrup, whipped cream, honey, berries, bananas, chocolate chips, powdered sugar, yogurt… that might have been all).

The table set for 8!

Yummy parfait compliments of Milly.

Wheat & Original Waffles… both delish!

The spreads!

Mmmm toppings!

Delicious egg bake!

That’s a tasty plate!

The waffle bar in action!

Pop & Gabs laughing it up!

That’s a spoonful of chocolate chips!

Heyyyyy!!

What are you looking at?

Where’d I go?

Here I am!!

Third helping??

Have I mentioned I suck at quantities? These are all leftovers!

Here are the recipes I used…

Whole Grain Waffles (I thought these were pretty darn good!)

Waffles of Insane Greatness (These are the original waffles and I’m not gonna lie, they were pretty damn good)

Sausage & Egg Casserole with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Mozzarella (This REALLY hit the spot. So light and fluffy and awesome)

After everyone left, Marky and I totally just took advantage of the day. First the boys crashed…

Food coma.

Then, we snuggled up on the couch and took a nice nap. All the windows were open, allowing for a nice warm breeze. It was wonderful. Once we woke up, we moved to the hammock for some more R&R.

Ahhh heaven. But I’m not going to lie. As we laid there, I couldn’t help but think, “holy shit, I’m going to miss this.” It was so quiet and peaceful and just us. I know that when baby comes, she will offer us new and different perfect experiences like these, but regardless, the thought made me feel a little guilty.

After nap & hammock time, we went to the store to put a little icing on our unhealthy day. In honor of Mom’s Day, we bought all of my cravings for dinner. Now, this is something we haven’t really done more than a couple times. But, I figured, might as well enjoy satisfying these little cravings before the pregnancy is over, right? So this was our dinner…

Frozen pizza (yes, I have a total weakness for the stuff)

Caesar Salad Kit

And here’s the kicker….

Jalepeno cheetos! My favorite chip!

The boys’ couch!

We watched Delivery Man with the windows open and just enjoyed the night. The movie wasn’t great, but the day and evening were perfection. I couldn’t have asked for more from my amazing hubs. I should also mention that he wrote the sweetest card EVER and got me a gift certificate for Nordstrom Rack (one just opened and I’ve been dying to go check it out)!

Symptoms

I’m definitely at a much less comfortable place than I’ve been for the rest of the pregnancy. It’s still manageable, but I’m achy all over, my back doesn’t feel great, and my hands and wrists are quite sore. Thankfully I read on BabyCenter that this was normal. I’m trying to do wrist stretches periodically throughout the day, but it doesn’t seem to help. Oh well, right?

50 Days, Magical Cheesecake & a Great Appointment

Posted on May 8, 2014 by playinghousewi

I’d like to start off by warning you that I’m obnoxiously chipper right now. Why you ask? Well, a lot of reasons, but mainly, I had a really great appointment with my doctor today. Here’s the update…

Blood pressure: GOOD (98/66… I think?)

Belly Bump Measurement: 32-33 cm (measuring right on track or maybe even a little small… my lady parts like the sound of small)

Baby’s Heart Rate: Great! (I forgot to ask specifics, but she said it was perfect)

Baby’s Position: Still head down! She’s such a good girl.

Weight Gain: Dan da daaaaan… 1 lb! Yes, this made me very happy! My doc said it was great, too! So, now at 33 weeks (tomorrow), I’ve gained 27 lbs. That feels way better than 26 lbs at 31 weeks. I’ve just got to keep up the good work… ie: exercising and eating well. AKA… I will not be going home and eating all the leftover cheesecake. Damn.

I also asked my doc quite a few questions…

1) Can we pre-register for the hospital? No need to! Everything is electronic, so they’ll get you right in a room and any questions needing answers will be asked there.

2) In order to get my breast pump paid for by insurance, I need a prescription… can I get one from you today? Yep!

*NOTE: I had heard great things about the Hygeia Enjoye breast pump and am attempting to go through www.abreastpumpandmore.com to order mine (the website was recommended to me by the rep at Hygeia). I’ll let you know if my insurance accepts it and it works.

3) Do you apply oil / do perineal massage when the baby is crowning? I’ve heard it helps prevent tearing. I do sometimes, but it depends on the patient and how she’s feeling. Sometimes it is too sensitive down there and the massage doesn’t help. If you would like me to, just let me know and I will. And, if you’d like me to apply oil, feel free to bring the oil with you and I’ll be happy to use it.

4) If I have any tearing, will I receive local pain meds before I’m stitched up? Yes. We use lidocaine, which sometimes hurts a touch when administered (it’s a shot), but sometimes it doesn’t. That should relieve any pain from the stitches.

5) When do you cut the cord? I’ve read that it is beneficial to wait a few minutes after birth to cut the cord so extra blood flows from the placenta to the baby. Supposedly it lowers risk of newborn anemia and iron deficiency. I have been trying to adjust my practice to wait a few minutes before cutting the cord. Just remind us [or put it in your birth plan] and we will do that.

**So, here is where I handed the doc my package of mini cheesecakes (see recipe in yesterday’s blog post) and said, “Here’s a little bribe before I ask my next question…” Mark made sure to add in, “You can have the cheesecakes no matter what” haha… I love him.

Classic Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust Garnished with Mixed Berry Preserves and Lemon Zest & Whipped Cream, Fresh Blueberry and Lemon Zest… AND, Oreo Cheesecake on an Oreo Crust topped with Whipped Cream and a Mini Oreo. Mmm….

6) My company requires a doctor’s note for my maternity leave. I am requesting 12 weeks and was hoping you could write a note saying that I need 12 weeks. Definitely! The more time the better! What I’m not able to do is fill out a disability form because medically, it is pre-determined that a vaginal birth receives 6 weeks and a c-section birth receives 8 weeks.

SUCCESS!!! YES! How amazing, huh??? I love my doc. Hopefully the damn note will be enough and I can finally get the maternity leave thing checked off my list.

One more reason for smiling… as of today, there are exactly 50 days until my due date! I love round numbers.

Classic & Oreo Mini Cheesecake Bake-Off

Posted on May 8, 2014 by playinghousewi

I decided that instead of making mini pies to bribe my doctor into writing me a note recommending a 12-week maternity leave, I would make mini original and oreo cheesecakes. The recipes were quite simple, but between making tonight’s dinner and prepping tomorrow’s slow-cooker dinner in between my cheesecake bake-off, I was literally in the kitchen for nearly 5 hours.

However, if I get that note, it will be worth every minute spent. If I don’t… I’m coming home and eating all the “leftover” cheesecakes.

Close up…

All packaged up for my doc! Hope she likes cheesecake…

For both cheesecakes, I used a pretty classic recipe. The only difference between the classic and oreo was literally the crushed oreos mixed into the cheesecake batter. Here are the recipes:

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbles

2 TBSP sugar

3 TBSP butter, melted

*Mix it all together and voila! Then press graham cracker crust into paper-lined mini muffin tin.

Oreo Cookie Crust:

10 original Oreo Cookies with cream (not double stuffed)

1 TBSP butter

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Throw cookies in the food processor and grind up to crumbs. Add butter and grind again until crumbs. Press into paper-lined mini muffin tins and bake for 5 minutes.

Cheesecake Filling

3/4 cup sugar

3 (8oz) Packages Cream Cheese, softened

1 tsp Vanilla

3 Eggs

* Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Beat cream cheese, vanilla and sugar with mixer until blended. Then add eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until well blended. IF YOU ARE MAKING OREO CHEESECAKE: Mix in Oreo Cookies, just until blended. Spoon cheesecake over crusts.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-18 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Once fully cooled, add the garnish of your choice and refrigerate for an additional 1-2 hours (at least) to set. TA DA!

Original Recipe Links:

Original Cheesecake

Oreo Cheesecake

A Busy Weekend Recap

Posted on May 5, 2014 by playinghousewi

Another weekend recapped in photos…

Toby and I were on the same page on Friday afternoon. We were definitely feeling sluggish and just over it. Especially after putting in some extra hours last week.

We were both pleasantly surprised when the hubs popped in for a surprise visit after his training session was let out. That helped with the afternoon.

After work, we all napped for a little before heading to my sweet friend Kate’s parents’ house for a farewell dinner. She’s abandoning us and moving to Seattle. New job at Expedia!

Carrie brought her tiny little 6-week-old man, Phoenix to the dinner!

Such a smoosher.

He’s way too cute!

We enjoyed a night of pizza making, GREAT food, and perfect conversation.

Why would she ever want to leave this??

Resident Chef Erica shaping the dough.

Mmmm cheese!

How cute are they?

The boys!

Watch out, Kate! First comes Seattle, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in the baby carriage 🙂 I think your hubs-to-be might be ready!

Is that an AMAZING looking pizza or what?

I have to include this salad dressing recipe, because it was AMAZING! Compliments of Kate’s momma. SO tasty.

On Saturday, we were supposed to have our first labor class with our doula, but she had to cancel because she had a birth on Friday night. I know this is crappy to admit, but I struggled/struggle to believe it. I had emailed her as a little reminder on Friday night and she emailed me back within 10 minutes to cancel and say she was on her way to a birth. Maybe I’m just being skeptical. Oh well.

The lack of class left room for EXCESSIVE amounts of yard work…

Marky trimmed trees…

A lot of trees.

And I was in charge of raking and picking up sticks. So, after literally almost 8 hours of hard labor… at 8 months pregnant… I decided that it might have been a little bit too much. By the end of the day, I had a few Braxton Hicks contractions right in a row, which kind of scared me. It could have been from over exertion or dehydration… but either way, it was probably too much. I felt fine while we were doing it though? In fact, it felt nice to get in some exercise and enjoy the sunshine.

After all that gardening, Marky and I chowed down some Mexican food! Mmm. I was in bed by 10.

Sunday was another big day! It was my sweet Ashley’s bridal shower… with a derby theme! I’m not going to lie, I was a little anxious about having to get dressed up in a theme, because having to get dressed seems to be quite the challenge these days, but I somehow managed. I miraculously squeezed my 8-month-prego belly bump into a pre-pregs dress, threw on a blazer and a hat and was “off to the races.” Well, actually, I stopped for a mani with my mom and sis first! I’m not so sure about my color… it’s a little blah or maybe just too close to my hand color.

The color’s a little lame.

Anyway, the shower was absolutely gorgeous and I had such a great time! It was great to see all my ladies, eat delicious food and play some silly games.

The beautiful bride-to-be!

The bridesmaids (minus a couple)!

I’m second from the left! I’ve decided that black + a blazer = a pregnant woman’s best friend! I had quite a few conversations with folks I hadn’t seen in a while that were interupted by, “OMG! You’re pregnant! I didn’t even notice!” Now, I read a lot of articles and posts about things NOT to say to a pregnant momma… for the record, let’s add that one to the list of things TO SAY!

How gorg are these flower centerpieces? This pic is taken in my kitchen… yes, I was lucky enough to bring this prize home!

When I got home, poor Mark was still in the yard slaving away. Learning my lesson from the previous day, the hubs set Toby and I up on the hammock so we could keep him company.

And watch him work…

Ahhh finally sunshine!

All in all, it was a jam-packed and fun-filled weekend!

Symptoms

Ohhhh my back! I’m feeling a lot better than I did Saturday night, but I’ve still got some serious aching in my back from all that yard work. Good news? I think I’ll survive 🙂 I’m also a bit tired. I woke up at 4 am to pee and could not get back to sleep. I ended up reading until around 5:30 and then my alarm went off at 6:30. I know, I know… practice. Whatever. I’m tired.

But, as I lay there in bed thinking about the baby, I did get pretty excited. Even a little excited for the late night feedings. Not all of them… every night… every two hours… but just to breastfeed my little girl and love on her. And also, I was thinking… in waking hours, you change and feed a baby every two hours(ish)… do you have to change a baby every two hours at night, too? My guess is yes… but oofta. That’s rough.

Anyway, I just can’t wait to meet her. As of today, there are only 53 days left! Ehh… I don’t like that number. Sounds too high. As of today, there are only 7.5 weeks left! That’s better!

Delicious Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes

Posted on April 29, 2014 by playinghousewi

I like to make a hot breakfast as often as possible, which usually just amounts to eggs on the weekend (and MAYBE once during the week). Anyway, after having delicious egg sandwiches (whole wheat toast, cottage cheese, avocado, spinach, tomato, and egg… mmmmm) on Saturday morning, I was left with only one egg for Sunday’s breakfast. SO, I decided to make some pancakes. I love trying new, healthy recipes and was super excited when I came across this recipe for Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes.

Tasty & Healthy!!

Ingredients:

1 cup (123g) whole wheat flour (or white whole-wheat)
1/2 cup (40g) quick oats (I didn’t have quick oats, so I threw 1/2 cup – or maybe a smidge over – in the food processor to grind it up smaller… cooks more similarly to the quick oats this way)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg (or 2 egg whites)
1 cup (240ml) milk
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar (or light brown)
1/4 cup (63g) Greek yogurt (I used half greek, half plain organic)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup add-ins like chocolate chips or fruit, optional (we put fruit on top)

Directions:

Toss the flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Set aside. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Whisk in the brown sugar and yogurt until no lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla until combined.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in. Stir gently until just combined. Do not overmix the batter or your pancakes will be tough and very dense. Add any mix-ins you prefer, but again – do not overmix the batter.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Coat generously with cooking spray, oil, or butter. Once hot, drop about 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle. Cook until the edges look dry and bubbles begin to form on the center or sides, about 1 minute. Flip and cook on the other side until cooked through, about 2 more minutes. Coat griddle/skillet again with nonstick spray for each pancake or batch of pancakes.

Keep pancakes warm in a preheated 200F degree oven until all pancakes are cooked. Serve immediately. Pancakes taste best right after they are made. Pancakes freeze well, up to 2 months.

We served our delicious pancakes with plain yogurt, fruit and syrup. DELISH! They’re denser than your average pancake, but honestly, so tasty.

Symptoms

I’m feeling a lot better today. Headache is gone, as is the stomach ache… my back is a bit achy today, but nothing unmanageable. My darling momma sent me home early from work yesterday, which was great. I was able to relax on the couch – while folding laundry and of course, keeping the machine running – and just take it easy. I actually went through my linen closet last night, and purged a bunch of old sheets/curtains/quilts/etc and reorganized the cabinet to make room for baby. It was pretty simple and TOTALLY rewarding. Plus, now we have even more crap to sell at our garage sale this summer.

In other news, my amazing friend Jenna has agreed to lend us her glider chair until our new one arrives. She was planning to sell hers, so she is VERY graciously going to put off selling it for a few months and maybe we’ll even try to sell it for her at our garage sale.

And speaking of the chair, send us positive vibes… tonight is “D Day” with the chair. If all goes as planned, Mark’s dad will be helping us to bring back the original chair tonight and beg them to accept our return for money (versus store credit). Keep you posted!

20-Week Celebration, Mani’s, Treats & More!

Posted on February 10, 2014 by playinghousewi

I had a great weekend! With Friday marking our half-way point in the pregnancy, we were naturally in good spirits. On Friday, we pretty much just laid low and hung out at home. There’s a chance I was in bed sleeping by 10 pm. Then Saturday, I was up early to meet my mom, sister and niece for manicures (the best way to start a Saturday).

Jessie (my sister) painting Gabbers’ nails… me in the background soaking in the loveliness of being pampered.

Happy Valentine’s Day Nails… I couldn’t resist getting a little festive!

After nails, mom and I grabbed a delicious lunch at my favorite local restaurant, Cafe 1505, and then we were off to do a little maternity shopping. While I have most of my staples, I was in desperate need of a pair of black pants that I could wear to work, some tops, a bra, and potentially some basics for Mexico (shorts, tanks, swimsuit). We were pretty successful in that I was able to get a pair of black pants that I’m in love with, some nice tops including one tank and a short sleeved-shirt or two, and a pair of shorts! BUT, the swimsuit and bra saga were not even a little fun. I almost shed tears a few times. I have always had a chest that is just too big for my frame, so things like swimsuits and bras are VERY difficult for me to find. Maternity bras and swimsuits were no different. Turns out my bra cup size is not made in a small enough band size… or at least not at Pea in the Pod. The lady recommended we go to a different store called Allure, which just so happens to be in the same little mall as Cafe 1505… I’m thinking lunch and bra shopping will be in my near future. As for the swimsuit… ugh. That was just as frustrating. NOTHING fit and I literally tried on about 10 swimsuits. I looked online and Old Navy sells swimsuit separates, which I think might be my best bet. I’m planning to order about 3-5 different styles and sizes and hope that one of them fits.

Okay, enough bitching about shopping. We all know how frustrating that can be… but the positive, is that I came home to my amazing husband who was ready to celebrate our 20-Week milestone. From balloons and flowers to frozen pizza (I have such a soft spot for frozen pizza) and cupcakes, everything was perfect!

I just love these colors and the polka dots! Perfection!

What I walked into!

So, we put our jams (PJ’s) on, made some delicious pizza, and curled up on the couch together. We actually watched, “The Business of Being Born,” which I’ll write about in a different post. What I’ll say now, is that every pregnant woman and her husband should watch this movie. It’s really powerful and is a great reinforcer of the importance of knowing your options at the time of labor.

The next day, Marky helped me make homemade caramel dipped pretzels covered in chocolate and sprinkles. The original plan for these was to just bring them to my doctor and her nurse on Tuesday as a little celebration of us finding out the sex (and the obvious bribery), but I decided to make a double batch and bring some to work. Here’s what I did…

Brought an excessive amount of sugar, corn syrup and butter to a boil… then added sweetened condensed milk.

Then, I cooked the healthy mixture over medium-low heat for what felt like forever (stirring the entire time), until it reached 245 degrees F.

Once it was the right temp, it turned the right color! And caramel was made…

So we dipped the pretzels and let them sit and harden on a buttered piece of parchment paper. This took hours.

Once the caramel was hardened (after about 3-4 hours, I ended up putting it in the fridge for a half hour to really do the trick), I melted different colored candy melts in a double boiler, dipped my pretzels and covered with sprinkles.

The result was a lot of REALLY delicious pink and blue pretzels!

And for my doctor and her nurse, I wrapped up some pretzels in a little bag and added a cute bow! Voila!

I poured the leftover caramel into two well-buttered baking pans and let those harden into yummy caramels!

Here’s the recipe for the pretzels if you’re interested: Caramel Pretzel Stick Rods Dipped in Chocolate.

And while we baked, my sweet husband took some time to chat, up-close and personal, with the babers.

And even took the time to listen a little 🙂

How cute is he?

All in all, it was a great weekend with my hubbers and fam! And now, it’s just one day until we get to see our sweet baby on the big screen and find out the sex… and then Friday, we’re off to NY! This week is definitely going to be an amazing whirlwind!

Symptoms

Besides the rough patches during shopping, it was a great weekend. I’m feeling really good… except for some back pain. But, I’m headed to the chiropractor this afternoon and my sweet Milly gave me money for a massage that I need to book once I’m back from NY. All in all, feeling really excited, happy and good!

12-Week Appointment

Posted on December 12, 2013 by playinghousewi

Today was our 12-Week Appointment! At our last appointment, my doctor mentioned that she delivers about 80% of her patients’ babies. I had asked her if I could bribe her with cookies to make sure she would deliver my young buck and she replied with, “I do like cookies.” Obviously, this means that I will be baking a lot of cookies over the next 197 days. We’ll see if it works!

So anyway, being that I’m pregnant and my memory is total shit, I forgot about my cookie bribery plan until this morning, which meant I had to spend my lunch hour baking cookies. I can’t complain… who doesn’t love baking cookies? I made chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips and classic chocolate chip cookies. Mmmm. Only down side, I had to leave the bowls and mixer thingies unlicked. I think that might be illegal… it felt wrong.

Delicious cookies cooling before going into their cute little holiday tin!

Anyway, that is so not the important part of the day. Our appointment was great and it is even more confirmed how amazing my doctor (and her nurse) are! My husband and I were around 5-7 minutes late to our appointment, which is only about a half hour long to begin with, and literally no one scoffed for a second. They are just the sweetest and nicest people around. Anyway, upon my arrival, I was instructed to pee in a tiny little cup. I had been anticipating the pee test, so by the time we arrived, I was very excited to relieve my bladder. Then, we met with the sweet Nurse Debbie and she made me get on the scale. Brace yourself, I’m about to be such a girl, but being that I had just eaten, who knows if my weight gain is totally accurate (hah), but I’m up 2 lbs. Sweet Nurse Debbie squealed, “That’s perfect!”, but I’m sure she says that to all the girls 🙂

After the damn scale, we just chatted until Dr. Kostik came in. She asked us whether we had decided to do the nuchal scan, which tests for different chromosomal disorders like Downs’. Mark and I had spoken a lot about this and ultimately, decided that we did not want to do the tests. No matter what the tests show, we would not terminate the pregnancy, thus making the tests a waste of time/money/etc. It felt good to have that behind us and then we got to move onto the FUN part… it was heartbeat time!!

I got all situated on the table and Dr. Kostik pulled out the tiny doppler machine. I was really nervous that we might not be able to hear the heartbeat, because a lot of people say that it’s not guaranteed (especially this early in the pregnancy). But, it was our lucky day! At first, it didn’t sound much different than my heartbeat (after a pretty rugged workout), but something about it was just so incredible! Obviously, I know that there is a mini person in my tum, but it’s so crazy to have these opportunities to “come in contact” with the babe. I think he or she was bothered by all the doppler ruckus, because when the doctor put the doppler back on my stomach to find the heartbeat again, the heart rate seemed a bit faster and sounded like a horse stampede. Although, Dr. Kostik thinks the heart beat is somewhere around 165 beats per minute. I think that was a rough estimate, but a little slower than last time.

The husband took a video, so as soon as I get it from him, I’ll post it!

Other than that, we scheduled our next appointment for January 9th and, we scheduled our 19/20 week appointment… the one where we get to find out the sex of the baby. I’m really excited! Our doctor uses board certified radiologists and prenatal specialists to do the “anatomy scan” with all of their fancy tools. A 4D ultrasound, a doctor to explain everything you’re seeing, and a full hour. We also lucked out and were able to schedule our appointment with our doctor right after the ultrasound, so we’ll go directly from the ultrasound to talk to our doc. The big revelation day is coming Feb 11th… 61 days and counting!

Symptoms

My body has been super achy lately and I’ve had some pretty nasty headaches. I’m thinking it’s about time to cash in on the massage from my amazing Milly (mother-in-law). But, regardless, I’m feeling happy and excited.

Delicious Alert

Posted on October 22, 2013 by playinghousewi

I’m eating my lunch and just tasted the soup my hubs whipped up last night and I just have to share it! It’s delicious and healthy! I love when that happens…

Herbed Zucchini Soup

Click the link above… or follow recipe below:

Makes: 4 servings, 1 1/4 cups each

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, (about 3 medium), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, or dill or 1 teaspoon dried
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, (3 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Place broth, zucchini and tarragon (or dill) in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the zucchini is tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Puree in a blender (see Tip), in batches if necessary, until smooth. Return the soup to the pan and heat over medium-high, slowly stirring in cheese until it is incorporated. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot or chilled.

Best part… only 115 calories for 1.25 cups of soup!

Think skinny thoughts…

Posted on October 22, 2013 by playinghousewi

For the past 8 or so months, I have been celebrating my slimmed down, wedding body. It was about 3 years (50 diets and endless workouts) in the making, but I had successfully dropped all of my early-mid 20’s, binge-drinking and after-bar-eating weight and gotten back to a size I didn’t think I’d see again. I was even to the point where I felt comfortable eating lunch in nothing but my bikini (oh how I miss my honeymoon). That was a dream of mine. Yes, it’s a strange one, but I have always aspired to feel comfortable hunched over a cheeseburger in my bikini. Whatever… everyone has to have goals.

Anyway, my point is not to praise my wedding-bod, but to wish it good luck for a relatively slender future.

I’ve spoken to many mommas who claim to have lost weight in their first trimester. I am barely half-way through mine and I swear to you, I’m feeling thicker. Two weeks ago, I went to Banana Republic and tried on this super cute, simple black dress for my dreaded 10-year reunion this weekend. The dress looked great. I decided to order it online last week and it arrived last night. I excitedly tried it on and… needless to say, I will NOT be wearing that cute little dress. I literally looked pregnant.

That might be a weird statement because I am pregnant… but not as pregnant as I looked. Woof.

BUT, just for fun, I puffed out my buddah belly in front of the mirror again and decided that the dress would be ADORABLE if I were 6 months pregnant and not trying to keep my early pregnancy a secret from my graduating class.

I ended up deciding to wear a black dress that I already have. Win-Win… It’s slimming where it needs to be and will allow me to shove my face with some delicious food at the reunion without giving away my secret AND my husband will be quite pleased with the fact that I’m not buying more clothing.

As for my growing belly, I am going to be working hard to manage my portions. That’s really my issue. I love healthy food… I just love a lot of it.

Tonight, we’re actually having my cousin, Amy, over for dinner… I’m making white sauce chicken pizza and garlic sauce pizza, cheesy garlic bread and a Caesar salad. The girl has dietary restrictions, so we had to make a meal with no: meat, tomatoes, spicy, beans, peppers, and acidic food. So, tonight won’t be the model for my healthy eating, but it will be delicious. We can’t be perfect every day, right?

Healthy eating ends at lunch and will resume tomorrow… we’re having my Milly’s AMAZING Soy-Glazed Salmon with Brussels Sprouts Rice.

Symptoms

I slept through the night all the way until my husband’s alarm went off at 6 am! That’s 7 hours all the way through. I’m pretty happy about that. In terms of morning sickness, my worst times are definitely in the morning through maybe 1 pm or so and then later in the evening. In the mornings, I’m pretty queasy. Breakfast is becoming a thing of the past, although, I’m still able to choke down my morning “shake”… which is more like juice.

It includes:

Leaves of 4 pieces of Kale (stems removed)

1 cup frozen Strawberries

1/2 cup fresh Parsley

1 Banana

1 cup Juice and/or Water

1 teaspoon Ground Flaxseed

(recipe is for 2 servings, apx: 100 calories per serving)

It’s delicious. My husband and I both love it.

After the smoothie, I’m pretty spent on food. At least until lunch. In terms of the evenings, the nausea returns and comes accompanied by a whopping headache and severe exhaustion. Last night, I may have fallen asleep mid-conversation. It was crazy. I was up, folding laundry and putting everything away when all of a sudden it hit me. As I got closer to making it through my pre-bed routine, I became even more exhausted until I collapsed in bed. I think even my face was tired.

Anyway, I’d love to continue, but I have to pee.

Actually, one more important note before sign-off… I couldn’t be happier! I have a good feeling about this little sesame seed and am feeling very grateful. The cramping seems to be gone and the other side-effects as well. I’m feeling fat, healthy and happy!