Weeks 18 & 19

 Today I acutally hit 20 weeks and we will go for that anticipated ultrasound to find out the sex of our little bundle! The last two weeks I have noticed the vericose veins getting worse and worse which is hugely dissapointing. I knew they would get somewhat worse with this pregnancy, but it seems like more are popping up (literally!) everyday. Its time I get the support hoes and start wearing them! I was dreading a winter baby since my last was in August and I really enjoyed the summer being pregnant, but I'm now realizing that having this baby in the winter is somewhat of a blessing! Jeans and leggings will go well with veiny legs.
Only other complaint this past week is the FLU! My husband came back from a weekend bachelor party with a nasty cold and a day later I felt like I had been hit my a bus. Headache, sore throat, runny nose, you name it. I went to bed last night at 6pm and didn't get up until 7:30 this morning! I'm a bit better, but man, I think the babies really suck the life out of your when you are sick.
Last update....I'm wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans today with a rubberband around the button!! That makes me pretty darn happy I will have to admit! :)
Stay tuned for baby gender reveal. We are surprising the kids today! I think we will do some pink or blue balloons and blind fold them and make them hold them and open their eyes. I hope they are not dissapointed!

Kid School Snack Ideas

Besides packing school lunches (that will be the next posting) I was told that my kindergartener needs to also bring a morning snack everyday. Last year they had a snack calendar and you brought snack every 12 days for the whole class. Good and bad I guess. You didn't have to pack one everyday, but you also didn't know what the other parents were sending! Trust me...not usually good stuff!

I've put together a list of healthy snack ideas to send your little ones to school:
1. grapes
2. strawberries
3. clementines
4. string cheese
5. yogurt cup or tube
6. peanut butter on celery
7. applesauce
8. air popped popcorn
9. pretzel sticks
10. banana
11. apple slices with peanut butter
12. almonds
13. sunflower seeds
14. dried fruit
15. homemade trail mix
16. black olives (what kid doesn't love those!)
17. cantelope
18. watermelon
19. raisins
20. graham crackers
21. goldfish crackers
22. carrot sticks
23. cherry tomatoes
24. peaches and cottage cheese
25. mandarin oranges
26. pickles
27. turkey and cheese roll up
28. cheese quesadilla
29. cheese and triscuit crackers
30. peanut butter in triscuit crackers
31. rice cakes
32. banana or pumpkin bread
33. blueberries
34. dry cherrios or other healthy cereal
35. guacamole and crackers
36. fruit and cheese kabobs
37. hard boiled egg
38. hummus with veggies
39. apple chips
40. cherries
41. protein bars
42. homemade granola
43. mini whole grain bagel with cream cheese
44. pumpkin seeds
45. yogurt parfait
46. beef jerky
47. pretzels with nutella or peanut butter
48. kale chips
49. salsa with baked tortilla chips
50. cashews

The First Day!

I'm documenting this because this is one of those monumental days for every mother. Your 1st child goes off to Kindergarten!

Mine went today. I didn't cry....at first. She looked so cute and it was a little of a rushed morning and of course they run you out of school, otherwise you might try to stay the whole day and take pictures. It wasn't until I got home and opened the envelope the teacher gave me on my way out the door. It reads:
The First Day
I gave you a little wink and smile as you entered my room today,
For I know how hard it is to leave and know your child must stay.
You've been with her for five years now and have been a loving guide,
But now, alas, the time has come to leave her at my side.
Just know that as you drive away, and tears down your cheeks may flow,
I'll love her as I would my own and help her learn and grow.
For as a parent, I too know how quickly the years do pass,
and that is was once my turn to take my child to class.
So please put your mind at ease and cry those tears no more,
for I will love her and take her in, when you leave her at my door.
Mrs. King

That was very sweet and sums it all up...how fast time goes and how sometimes we just have to let go and let them grow! (sniffle, sniffle) :)

16 weeks!

So I'm a little behind! This photo was taken at 16 weeks. Just wanted to squeeze it in before I post the 18 week photo!

Feeling great and feeling the energy return. Like I mentioned before I was extremely tired in the beginning. I'll take it over puking, but I felt so lazy! Working out in the heat...no thanks! Thankfully the weather has been awesome and my energy is back, so I'm ready to get back into my regular fitness routine. Still completely clueless whether there's a boy or a girl in there?? My attitude says I must be having a 3rd girl because thats just my luck, but I followed all the instructions on conceiving a boy! :)- I mean I did it all, so it must work right??? Well soon we shall find out! The date for ultrasound is Aug 30th. I've been 2 seconds some days from walking into an Ultrasona and forking over $100 just for them to the tell me the gender, but I'm doing my best to keep my mind occupied until my free ultrasound date :)

Pregnancy and Piriformis Pain!

I know I'm not the only one. I've heard many pregnant women complain of tightness in deep where their butt meets their lower back. Many do not know what this muscle is and you can try many stretches and never really quite get relief. Most likely its the piriformis muscle. It runs from your sacrum or pelvic bone to your hip joint. You may not have even known it existed, but many of us have heard of the sciatic nerve, which runs right underneath! This makes sense if you figure the piriformis is used for hip rotation and as our bellies grow our hips rotate and we even walk different. The piriformis can get inflammed or tight putting pressure on the sciatic nerve.

I've been lucky in that I don't have any sciatic nerve issues, but I am feeling that strong urge to stretch something in my low back and hip and its really quite hard to get to! You can try a hamstring stretch and hip stretches like pigeon or by laying on your back crossing one ankle over knee and pulling your leg in to your chest. This helps a little, but I've found the answer to be foam rolling or using a tennis ball! Massage works really well and essentially thats what foam rolling is. Sometimes the ball even works better because of the pressure you can get from sitting on it! Ouch, but YESSS at the same time!

Here is a link to show you more on the piriformis foam rolling!
http://babybumpfitness.com/?p=102

Keep stretching mommies!

Here's our recipe of the day...

It was another Pinterest Sunday! A kinda rainy blah day, so we decided to make playdoh!



Ingredients: 1 C Flour
1 C Water
1/4 C Salt
1 TBSP Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Cream of Tarter
Food Coloring (actual coloring or a kool-aid packet will do)
Sparkles (If you wanna be a fun mom!)
Sauce Pan and Wooden Spoon Little helping hands.

Steak is for dinner...but making playdoh sure is more fun!

Hot Soup in the Hot Summer!

This pregnancy has made it tough on me to eat really well. My only cravings in my last pregnancies were cheese, fruit, and ice cream...pretty normal I thought and I still managed to eat really healthy. This time around most of usual veggies have just looked blah to me! I haven't been loving my avocado, kale, and broccoli like usual. I've been wanting heartier foods and the carbs...well, lets just say I'm not following paleo!! I think I bought cous cous, quinoa, and whole grain pasta at Trader Joe's yesterday! Along with Greek Yogurt, Tomato soup and the ingredients for this soup that looked super yummy!! What's up with this? Could it be a boy this time?? Anyway, this recipe says "summer", but I will definitely make this in the fall again! It got rave reviews from my hubby too who hated my last attempt at potato soup, so yay for me!! Oh....and Weight Watchers for the recipe!

A few modifications I made....I used frozen white corn, cooked my bacon ahead of time, and I added a little bit of shredded cheddar at the end :) It hit the spot!

Summer Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder

Larger Image

Weight Watchers Recipe

Ratings (186)

6PointsPlus Value

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 15 min

Serves: 4

Sweet summer corn can't be beat. Highlight it in this chowder along with buttery Yukon Gold potatoes and smoky Canadian bacon.           

 

Ingredients 4 medium uncooked yukon gold potato(es) 1 spray(s) cooking spray 1/2 cup(s) uncooked celery, chopped 1/4 cup(s) uncooked onion(s), chopped (or 1 large shallot) 4 piece(s) corn on the cob, kernels removed with a knife 1 cup(s) sweet red pepper(s), diced 4 oz uncooked Canadian-style bacon, diced 2 cup(s) fat-free skim milk 1/2 tsp table salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce, or to taste Instructions Pierce potato in several places with a fork; microwave on high power until tender, turning over once, about 8 minutes. Allow to cool; peel and mash. Meanwhile, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray. Add celery, onion, corn and red pepper; sauté over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Stir bacon and milk into saucepan; stir in mashed potato and mix well. Season with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce; stir to combine. Cover and simmer 10 minutes (do not allow to boil). Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

Ahhh Vacation!

I'm back from a week at the beach and I feel totally refreshed! Although I do enjoy the trips that include lots of walking and full schedule, the ones that include nothing but beach are awesome too! We stayed at a very nice Holiday Inn Resort on Pensacola Beach. I would highly recommend it for an family with small children! Daily they had Pirates on the pool deck playing pirate games and having a treasure hunt and a mermaid that swam in the pool and did the little girls make-up! How cool is that? They also had arts and crafts and every evening was a "dive in" movie for the kids! They put up a big screen at 8pm with a kids movie and free popcorn! We had never been to Pensacola before, but the beach was a small island that had everything in one place and within walking distance of our hotel. Even the restaurants were awesome and kid friendly with playground out in the sand and live music. Just a perfect place for a family getaway. And...I know it sounds far, but the drive is almost under 12 hours. Thats not too bad! We left at 2am and arrived at 2pm with only a few stops. The kids slept a lot of the way.
Here is the link to the resort if you are interested http://holidayinnresortpensacolabeach.com/
I recommend checking it out for your next vaca with the kiddos. And here are a few pics...