Pregnancy Week 10

This week felt like it took forever! Thanksgiving was great! I helped my brother with hosting. He did such a great job! :) Thursday night I found some amazing deals online on cloth diaper covers. SCORE!! I ended up buying 11 covers (from cottonbabies and kellyscloset) for $89 and free shipping! Yay!! 6 flip covers from cottonbabies, and 5 thirsities duo wrap size 1 from kellyscloset.

                                                      


Sweet sweet deals! I worked friday and a half day on saturday. Then another Thanksgiving dinner at the in-laws. Everything was delicious there as well. I eventually found my way to the couch to take a nap. OH! and we found out my sister-in-law is pregnant too!! She's due a month behind me. :) They are doing a midwife too! It will be neat to have someone to journey along with me :)

Anyways, onto the update...


How far along? 10 weeks

Total weight gain: 0 from last week, fluctuating from my pp weight to +5 pounds. So I'm going with no weight gain right now.

Maternity clothes: Yes, my work pants and my jeans have now gone maternity. Soooo much more comfortable!

Stretch marks: Nope

Sleep: Has gotten much better already, usually only wake up to pee around 5:30am, and my dreams have been less strange and less frequent which is nice since I am sleeping deeper and more restful now.

Best Moment this week: wearing my maternity jeans! The comfort!! Thanksgiving with family! Yummy food! Finding out my sis-in-law Amy is preggers!

Miss anything? wine at thanksgiving dinner, lunch meat, not feeling bloated.

Food cravings: orange juice!! I am really enjoying bananas this week.

Anything make you queasy/sick? Nothing specific, but pretty much any weird/strong smells.

Gender prediction: I still say boy, I ordered an Intelligender test so we'll see what it says in week 11. :)

Wedding ring: on

Symptoms: they seem less this week, other than a little moody, and craving OJ. Im not nearly as tired.

Mood: Good, slightly moody

Looking forward to: getting my fluff mail! My midwife appointment dec 5th, then christmas shopping with Billie :)

I hope you all had a lovely time with your families and found some amazing deals!! :)
N.

A feast fit for a king...

With all of my Christmas talk lately, I figured I'd reassure you that I am most definitely NOT skipping Thanksgiving!! Below are a few of my must haves for Thanksgiving dinner. Enjoy!

Starting at the top left and headin' left...

Sweet potatoes--no marshmallows please. Scott's mom makes these and it is AMAZING!!! 

Jello--the classic. We call it ribbon cake at Scott's family's.

Green Fluff--or pistachio fluff. One of my absolute must haves! I'm totally obsessed with this! I'm the one that makes it so I can bring the left overs home :) 

I cannot make it through T-Dinner without a tall glass of milk--straight from the bulk tank thank you very much.

Veggies--I love either corn or garlicky green beans--or both! 

Mashed potatoes--the main food of T-Day!! It would never be Thanksgiving without mashers and gravy made from the bird!!

Turkey of course!--we use a Nesco to cook ours, lots of homemade wine and delicious spices to help in basting. Mmmm...White meat only please.

Stuffing--I never liked stuffing until a few years ago, and now I make a Gluten Free version with corn bread! AMAZING!! I'm always glad to have leftovers of this one!

Cranberry sauce--Again, not until recently. Nothing beats a little cranberry sauce with your turkey!!

Rolls--Although I miss terribly those non-rolls (brown n serve), or any for that matter. I do make a few gluten free, but there is nothing like a crusty roll all steamy and soft on the inside...just begging for butter and potato gravy goodness!!

That's all for now. I'll have to do a dessert collage later, it mostly consists of pies, but I just couldnt fit it on here. My favorite dessert memory: My grandma grabbing the pie and running with it because for some reason she doesnt stuff her self full of dinner and she wants dessert right away. My mom told her no, and chased after her for it--mind you my mom is hobbling along since she has a hard time walking these days, and my mom wrestled my grandma for the pie...sigh...nothing's better than that!! I love my family!

N.

Pregnancy Week 7

I'm not sure why I feel so excited to write this week's blog, maybe it's because I'm at 8 weeks + 1 day and each day I'm worrying less and less, or it could be the festive feeling I'm in. Anyways, I'm so excited today. I have off of work and have secretly started listening to Christmas Music! Shhhh! I cant believe I'm saying it, but it feels so good to do it! It put me in a cleaning and cooking mood this morning, which Scott can't complain much about... I'm currently listening to pandora radio and Johnny Mathis is singing "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" sigh, I love it! I think I'll have to make up my wish list soon! Anyways, onto week 7.

How far along? 7 weeks

Total weight gain: up 4lbs from my pp weight.--bloat?

Maternity clothes: bella band, and my trusty yoga capris

Stretch marks: nope

Sleep: getting weirder...I'm exhausted, but once I get into bed, I can't turn my brain off, once I do fall asleep, I dream all night long--I think this is why I'm tired all day long. People at work even say, "Wow, you look tired." gee thanks :) anyways, my dreams are just plain strange, I've never been much for dreaming, but now its a totally different story!

Best moment this week: my first midwife appointment! Everything went really well. The drive was long (1hr, 15mins) but nice to spend the time with Scott. I did blood work, and a urine test. Everything came back normal. My vitamin D was low, so I've been taking a supplement which will help with the pain in my joints. (they normally don't test for vit d, but when I mentioned how sometimes my body just hurts, she recommended this test b/c she had the same problem until she was tested and now takes a supplement. I really feel a difference thank goodness!)

Miss anything: Fitting into my jeans!! I feel so bloated all the time! Also, knowing what I want to eat and not changing my mind or getting nauseous over it!

Food Cravings: not much to be honest. Maybe soup.

Anything make you queasy? Pretty much anything and everything! Especially smells, and living with two men doesn't help the stink factor!

Gender prediction: boy

Wedding ring: On

Symptoms: Super smell sensitive! Nauseous over most things--I usually can distract myself with something else to let it pass. Weird and frequent dreams. Easily emotional.

Mood: Pretty good most of the time. Unless I just woke up. My patience to put up with people's crap is definitely thinner than normal.

Looking forward to: Thanksgiving! Just 2 weeks + 2 days away!! I've already started on my menu!

I would love to hear from some of you out there in Blogger land. Let me know what your blogs are so I can follow you too! Lots of Love and Festive Cheer!!
Nikky

Pregnancy Week 5

This week was definitely eventful! Sunday we met our doula, Rachel. She is fantastic! Even Scott likes her! As we finished our meeting and we were walking away, first thing from Scott's mouth was "I like her!" I was awestruck. He doesn't ever, ever say that! So that is simply amazing!!
Then on Monday, Billie and I went to Appleton to meet my midwife! There are 2 midwives and 1 advanced student midwife in this practice. Andi and Anja are the midwives, and the student midwife is Julie. We met with Andi, and she is fantastic!! I love her whole aura if you will, she is calm and extremely knowledgeable. Sigh...I love my birth team! :) 

Anyways, I also started my new job this week. I can't say I'm really excited to see what this place has to offer, but I am excited for the health insurance and benefits that come with the job! 

Week 5 has been pretty uneventful as far as symptoms are concerned.

How far along: 5 weeks

Total weight gain: 2lbs

Maternity Clothes: just a bellaband with my jeans.

Stretch marks: no new ones

Sleep: once i fall asleep, its pretty good, then my normal 2am bathroom break, and strange dreams until my 5am bathroom break. Nap if i can around 3pm.

Best moment this week: meeting my birth team!!

Miss anything? my boobs not hurting... 

Food Cravings: crab rangoons!

Anything make you queasy/sick? smells

Gender Prediction: boy

Symptoms: I feel pretty great this week, a little nausea, but it is minimal. My nose is in hyperdrive, and my boobs are flippin huge and sore!!

Wedding ring: On, but tight most days--bloat? 

Mood: Happy to sarcastic most days, so nothing out of the ordinary. A little irritable--shorter fuse maybe.

Looking forward to: My first prenatal visit with my midwife in two weeks hopefully, and having our house finished--if the electrician ever gets here...

Playpen ideas

 I really enjoy the mulit-purpose these things serve nowadays.

1. Fold up changer. This design is adorable! I love the play gym concept and the fold up changer is awesome!

2. Drop down changer. Just like the previous one, I really like how the changer drops away for storage. I also love the remote control idea so you don't have to disturb your babe if the vibrations/music turn off and your little one begins to stir. The roll down curtain is neat as well. Good for hiding storage when your aren't using the lower part.

3. Changing Caddy. I enjoy the gray, black, and orange colors here. Also the changing caddy is awesome! Tons of space!

4. Super cute design. This one is almost exactly like the previous, just missing the toy bar. Such a fun print! And again, lots of caddy space for diapering.

5. Basic but functional. While this one is just a playpen, it is super cute, and would work well for a grandparent.


Thanks for reading!! Comment below on which is your preferred playpen. Cheers!

Nikky

Nursery Ideas

Here are some of my Nursery Ideas, Enjoy :) 

All these items came from www.buybuybaby.com

1. notNeutral Arbor Friends Lamp Base and Shade. I love owls! But I'm on the fence if I could plaster them all over my child's nursery yet. I would love little pops of them here and there. So, I love this line of bedding and decor. Not too much. I'm still unsure if I'm in love with the lamp, but it couldn't hurt to have the ideas out there. I love...Lamp.

2. Color Study owls Vinyl Wall Decal. This is super cute because it is sorta off the cuff. I would rather it be a canvas than a wall decal, but who knows, maybe I could paint one similar to match our colors. Owl Decal.

3. Nursery Smart Changer in Mocha. Instead of having the traditional changing table, I definitely want a low dresser (like this one, or even a bit larger). That way as the child grows, this can still be used for years to come. We are undecided as to Mocha or Cherry color, but either way, it will match the crib. Mocha Changing Table.

4. Orange Butterflies I Wall Art. My husband loves insects, and if he wasn't a farmer, he'd be an entomologist. I thought this would be a nod to that, and would go with the orange in the bedding. Butterfly Wall Art.

 5. Mulitposition Reclining Sleigh Glider and Ottoman. While I'm definitely not tied to one glider over another, I definitely think comfort is key. I would also love for it to be neutral in color so we can always move it to another room in the house. Glider.

6. notNeutral Arbor Friends Storage Bins. If we go with the changing table pictured, I'd love to have two of these and one brown canvas bin to go in the upper slots. Super fun, and a great way to incorporate color and theme without going over the top.Arbor Friends Storage Bins.

7. JJ Cole Striped Storage Box in Brown. I love canvas bins and like I said in #6, This would go great to compliment the Arbor Friends Storage Bins. Brown Storage Box.

8. Tree of Life Wall Art. I love how similar this is to the bedding! More than likely I would end up making something like this. Super cute! Tree of Life Wall Art.

9. notNeutral Arbor Friends 4-Piece Crib Bedding Set.One of the few bedding sets without a bumper! I love how simple this is, good contrast of colors, and definitely up my alley. Bedding Set.

10. Ethan 2-in-1 Convertible Crib in Mocha. While I'm not super concerned about it being a convertible crib, it is a nice feature to have. I love dark wood, so we would go with either this color or the Cherry. Crib.

Well, there you have it! My first go at one of these fun picture boards. I hope I did alright. It really helps to see it all put together. I think I might make some more for the other areas. (ie. travel systems, toys, feeding, etc). How fun! :) 

N.

Groceries, dying, new house? wait...what?

Today I picked up my groceries for the next week of meals and then some. I paid $170 total, and got everything I needed. :)

Yesterday we found out that my mother-in-law's mom died in her sleep at the age of 93. She was a sweet but tough lady from what I managed to get from the 2 years of knowing her. What a way to go though! I hope it was so blissful, and the angels came and guided her to heaven! Scott's family deals with death a little differently than mine, and they are pretty nonchalant about it. My family on the other hand goes through all the tears, memories, laughs, etc. We are a little more...emotional about these things.

So...because of the recent death, Scott's parents want us to buy the farm that grandma and grandpa live/lived on (I'm not sure where grandpa is going yet...) So if we buy this farm, we would have to move there obviously...which was our ultimate goal but we honestly didn't think it was going to happen so fast. We are not even finished with our downstairs unit where we planned on moving into in the next month and renting out the upper unit. Yes, we would obviously just rent the lower unit as well, but I guess I was really looking forward to living downstairs. I've been planning and picturing it for so long. All our hard work has gone into this place, and I truly cannot picture myself never living in it. We've been on our own as a married couple since feb this year, and we are finally getting to where we planned on being in the first place. I guess I was just looking forward to relaxing and enjoying my house a bit before we worried about moving to the farm.

But, I guess that's how these things work. I mean in my mind, we really didn't have enough room in the lower unit (or the upper for that matter) for a baby room and our hobby room (or infinity room as Scott calls it--since there is an infinity of possibilities of what the room could hold...jajaja). I need a set space where I can make my soap and natural products instead of cartin' it all to the kitchen to spend a week making things and then moving it all back to try to find space for the soap to cure. All I really really need is lots of shelves, a microwave, an outlet, and a work bench. Clearly that wasn't happening in a two bedroom lower in a duplex. I know I planned the rooms in this house, and I knew how small I was making everything, but my family center has always been the kitchen/dining room. So I made it bigger, the rooms smaller, and it is what it is... Anyways, that's neither here nor there...

I would be thrilled to move to the farm since it was where we wanted to end up anyways. I cant wait to live in the country again!! Peace and quiet, starry nights, quiet, bonfires, privacy...did I mention quiet? This could ultimately be our "happy ending". Rental duplex in town with two renters, bringing in approximately $1,000/month. In a year my debt will be paid off and hopefully I will be pregnant or have given birth. I could stay home and make sell my soaps, and work on the farm. Sigh...I love the thought. But its just so abrupt.

more soon... :)
love and angel blessings!!
Nikky