Friday, September 30, 2016

Baby Smoochie - 30 Weeks

30 weeks, yay! I know there's still a ways to go, but this number sounds so fun in knowing we aren't THAT far away from meeting our newest love. No doctor appointment this week {unless you count 3 hours of blood work, ha} - I go at 31 weeks, then 34 weeks, then 36, and then weekly.


How far along: 30 weeks

Size of the baby: 3 pounds

Gender: Still thinking girl. It's going to be such a crazy moment if they announce boy, ha!


Maternity clothes: I am looking forward to cooler weather to be able to wear my long sweaters, leggings, and riding boots! I am so over summer.

Movement: LOTS and LOTS! Now is the time of doing the twice a day kick counts, and most days I have had 2 sets of 10+ kicks within a few hours of waking up. For sure, I can count on Smoochie to rock out around 6:00 AM and between 8:00-10:00 PM {the evening dance party is also one shared with his/her sister}.

Sleep: Meh, hit or miss. It's definitely getting worse. Having jacked up sinuses last week didn't help. Hopefully now that I am breathing better, this will get back on track. I am also starting to potty more at night.


Symptoms: I think I have all of them! Sciatica, snoring {according to B}, hip pain, bathroom issues, more nasal congestion, out of breath. The upside is no real swelling as long as I stay on-top of my water {still aiming for 80-100 ounces/day} and, you know, don't spend 3+ hours in the car! No more trips for me I think.

Cravings: Nothing in particular. Trying REALLY HARD to watch what I eat since this is the critical time for Smoochie's growth - I wouldn't say I'm great at it but trying for lots of fruits, veggies, proteins and limited carbs.

What I miss: Sleeping good, feeling well-rested {joke's on me huh since I won't feel well-rested again for oh about a year}

Hey stretchmarks! Can you please not get any worse?

Best moment of the week: PASSING THE 3-HOUR GLUCOSE TEST!

Worst moment of the week: Finding out I failed the 1-hour test, ha. 2 charley horses in the last week - those are horrible!

Other random stuff: Still haven't really DONE anything to get the nursery started. I have high hopes for some projects this weekend. I know we're still 2 months out, but I'll just feel a lot better once the room is at least cleaned out. Luckily, the friend who was going to give us her infant carrier brought that over, so just having that makes me feel better!

Belly button watch: About as out as it's going to get if my other pregnancies are a guide.



Thursday, September 29, 2016

ABC Game: Brent's Turn!

I really love when I can get Brent to play my silly blog games. I must have caught him in a good moment because he agreed easily. {grin}

A - Age: 36
B - Biggest Fear: running out of Miller Lite
C - Current Time: 5 o'clock somewhere
D - Drink you last had: water
E - Every day starts with: the thought of calling in sick
F - Favorite song: New Year's Day - Charlie Robison
G - Ghosts, are they real?: Swazye died so no
H - Hometown: Austin, TX
I - In love with: beer, burger, boobs
J - Jealous of: retired people
K - Killed someone?: no speaka English
L - Last time you cried: when Gus died {Allena comment: anyone get that movie reference?}
M - Middle name: Joseph, no kin to Jesus or Mary
N - Number of siblings: 1 that I know of
O - One wish: to have as many wishes as I want
P - Person you last called: guy I work with
Q - Question you're always asked: Are you really having a third kid? {Allena comment: Yup!}
R - Reason to smile: payday
S - Song last sang: Down for Whatever - Ice Cube, that's right
T - Time you woke up: 6 in the am
U - Underwear color: Black. Can't believe they make white. That just doesn't make sense for anyone.
V - Vacation destination: someplace classy like Graceland or Dolly Wood
W - Worst habit: letting Allena talk me into things, like this for example
X - X-rays you've had: elbow, heel, ribs, tailbone. Only one was alcohol related. Any guesses? {Allena comment: That's a fun story I should tell!}
Y - Your favorite food: A cheeseburger and fries
Z - Zodiac sign: Taurus

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Currently: I Don't Have Gestational Diabetes!

Current Book

Continuing to plow my way through the Game of Thrones book.
A Feast for Crows is book #4 of the 5 that have been released...getting close!


Current Song


I am actually digging this Forever Country medley!


Current TV Show

Lots of new TV! This week I watched {or have on the DVR}:
1) DCC, 2) season premieres of Empire and SVU {#TeamTuckson}, and 3) This is Us {LOVE!}


Current Drink

In honor of the passing of Arnold Palmer, I made myself an Arnold Palmer!


Current Shame-Inducing Pleasure

Don't judge...but I might have listened to a few Christmas carols already.

Current Outfit

Dr.'s office bathroom selfie. 
I wear this dress once a week. I could wear it every day.


Current Celebrity Crush

Sterling K. Brown
His acceptance speech at the Emmy's was adorable, and I already love him on This is Us.


Current Mood

Excited for cooler weather! I realize I said that last month, but it's for real this time!

Current Anticipation

Going to see Newsies with the mother-in-law on Thursday.
Excited to spend some time with her without the kids because she rocks!

Current Film

I am definitely excited about this one!


Current Picture

I guess this could have been my Current Drink too. {grin}
Glucose test #2 for the win! Bottoms up!


P.S. - I found out I passed! Yay!


Monday, September 26, 2016

Life Lately

Last week I posted ZERO pictures of my children or baby bump. #ForShame Let's remedy that pronto, shall we?

That time my shirt wouldn't stay down and I felt like Rachel Green.
Let's just say this shirt is now retired.

Remember this? I wish my arms looked this good...oh wait, #FakePregnancy

That time I caught them holding hands and my heart exploded.
Let's ignore Drew picking her nose, okay?

When Babs decided they could each take a bag of Lego pieces home...
it got serious!

Watching videos with Daddy in the EARLY morning. 

When 1 pair of sunglasses just isn't enough!

Straight chillin'

So fresh and so clean

On my way to a baby shower

My cute date - IN A DRESS AND WITH A BOW!!!

Earning a trip to Target by scrubbing Dad's floor mats!

Her first Lego set! {Of course Bubba put it together}

More Pokemon cards...
This is pretty much all he talks about these days!

They were just hanging out in his room talking together.
I snuck up to take a pic and died.

I don't think I shared this summer that we were having a lot of trouble with my car. We thought it was the battery and then when replacing that didn't do the trick, it was determined to be an electrical short. So I got a new {to me} Ford Explorer!

Welcome to the family! I will try to not destroy you!

That time I got dressed in the laundry room and drove to Houston at 6AM for a meeting and didn't realize the bow on my bra poked out until I got to Houston.

While in Houston Brent texted me this.
New Christmas pj's from Babs and a creative sleeping spot. {grin}
Drew has also decided she is ready to sleep in panties at night! 
We've had a few accidents, but she's doing so great!

My weird, triangle-shaped hotel room that was all windows???

So my sister moved. Our 6 minute drive has grown to an hour.
#NoIAmNotAngryInTheLeast
We went to check out the new digs this past weekend and Drew wore a ballerina outfit. 

Mayer feeling Smoochie move. 

When you want to see what's happening on Sofia the First but don't want to actually watch it.

And the 'Drew falls asleep in the car' edition. {grin}
1) After the baby shower 2) 5:00 on a Friday 3) Leaving Aunt Patty's

We've also had some fun medical drama lately {fun used super loosely here}

  • I failed my 1-hour glucose test {barely} and get to repeat it with the 3-hour version bright and early Monday.
  • My mother-in-law had major surgery last week, but she is doing great!
  • My dad has a bacterial infection that is BAD. Like he's in isolation in the hospital bad. It's been going on for about 5 days and luckily the latest round of IV antibiotics seem to be working, and he should go home with a PICC line Monday afternoon for 4 weeks of IV antibiotics.
So if you're the sending good thoughts type person, we'll take them!

Friday, September 23, 2016

How I Feed My Kiddos

So I got a couple of requests after I posted the Banana Almond Butter Muffin recipe last week for what I feed my kids, since I tend to be a bit crazy particular about what they eat. I would say 80-90% of the time they eat very clean. But do we eat donuts sometimes and stop for a Starbucks treat from time-to-time or get Chick-fil-A on a night where I just can't even think? Of course. I think balance is important, but MOST of the time they eat pretty clean.

My kids are very different eaters. Drew eats almost everything. She will try pretty much anything and loves fruits and vegetables. This girl picks spinach, okra, peppers, and tomatoes straight from her Pops' garden and immediately eats it. BUT her brother...not so much. After many years and many tears {and some help from speech therapy at 3}, he only eats 3 fruits and vegetables - carrots, apples, and grapes. They are very different, and for the most part, I am not a short-order cook. So I have learned to take what I know about my family and craft our meals and snacks around that! I am not a gourmet cook by any means - but I will not sacrifice quality. A recipe that has a million ingredients or steps just isn't going to cut it.

Here are some of my rules:
1) No or low sugar. There are very few things I buy with added sugar. If it does have added sugar, it must be VERY LITTLE. If I put a * by the food below, it does have added sugar.
2) Very few carbs. We eat very little bread, tortillas, and 'crunchy' snacks. Your body treats bread the same way it treats sugar, so I try to limit that. The kids get to pick 1 snack/day and the ones I buy are as clean as possible. Probably half our meals don't have a carb or if they do many times it's rice or potatoes.
3) Water. The kids main drink is water. They do get about 2-4 ounces of juice a day with all their vitamins {Omega 3, Vitamin D, and a probiotic put in the juice}. If they ask for milk, I let them have it, but they probably ask AT MOST once a week.
4) Squirty fruits. We still eat quite a few pouches, but I have cut Trent down from 6-8/day down to 4.
5) Read labels. I am constantly reading labels and making sure I understand the ingredients. I search for added {sometimes hidden} sugar and junk ingredients.

So here's a sample of what we do:

Breakfast:
-Drew wakes up hungry and wants to eat! She loves scrambled eggs, Applegate breakfast sausage*, fruits, and veggies. Once in a while she'll ask for a sunbutter/jelly/honey sandwich which is just sugar/carbs, but I let her have that occasionally.
-Trent is NOT hungry when he wakes up. I might get an apple or a hard-boiled egg in him. 
-If they eat a good breakfast {relative to each kid}, they can have a squirty fruit before we leave.

Lunch:
-Drew gets meat {Applegate hot dogs are her favorite, lunch meat**, dinner leftovers}, a string cheese, a squirty fruit, and either 2 fruits/1 veggie or 2 veggies/1 fruit. She loves grapes, oranges, bananas, apples, watermelon, blueberries, and strawberries for fruit, and she loves tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, green beans, green peas, and sweet potatoes as her veggies. See? My easy eater!
-Trent gets meat {lunch meat**, Applegate chicken nuggets, spinach hamburgers - I have been making these for years and switched from zucchini to spinach and now also blend in tomatoes, grilled chicken or pork chops}, a Siggi's yogurt*, carrots, and 2 squirty fruits.

Snack:
-When I pick the kids up from school, they get a snack. Trent usually eats pecans, string cheese, or an apple {or all of the above - he seems to make up for not having a big breakfast by eating a ton after school}. Drew eats raisins, a banana, pecans/cashews/almonds.
-I make my own popcorn using this recipe. I use coconut oil and salt and that's it!
-The time period before dinner is when they usually get their 1 crunchy snack - Mary's Gone pretzels, Nut Thins...as clean as possible!

Dinner:
-I typically cook big meals Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Brent golfs on Wednesdays, so that's when I might pan grill chicken or pork chops. I am working on adding a Sunday dinner, but I'm not there yet, ha! The weekends are leftovers, super simple meals, occasional meals out, etc.
-We are big spaghetti eaters. I buy Amy's sauce {I don't buy it through Amazon but get at Natural Grocer} because it's organic with no added sugar. It is HARD to find spaghetti sauce without added sugar. I make spaghetti probably twice a month, and I've recently started sauteeing and pureeing spinach and adding it to the sauce to get more greens into Trent.
-I make 2 'breakfast for dinner' meals. 1 is bacon, eggs, hash browns. I buy Pedersen's bacon - no added sugar. I make sure the hash browns are clean - a lot have crap added. Everyone also adds a fruit/veggie. This is usually when Trent eats grapes. This is our newest fruit for him, so I still have to force it a bit. The other breakfast is a sausage/egg scramble. I have yet to find breakfast sausage without sugar but I buy the healthiest I can find.
-Quesadillas, burritos or fajitas - I buy Stacy's tortillas - 5 ingredients and super clean. Trent and Drew typically just want cheese quesadillas, Brent and I will eat them with chicken and apples inside - yum. I might do one of these options once a month because of the tortillas.
-Chicken fried rice - this one makes me laugh because everyone eats this differently. Trent only eats the chicken and rice, Drew wants the rice, eggs, and veggies, Brent wants chicken, rice, eggs, veggies, and I eat it all PLUS coconut aminos instead of soy sauce - y'all this is a must have - soy sauce is TERRIBLE for you but coconut aminos are GOOD for you and taste AMAZING.
-Bacon wrapped chicken - salt, pepper on chicken tenders, wrap in bacon, bake at 350 for about 45 minutes - flip halfway
-Chicken, green beans, and red/sweet potatoes baked in the oven at 350 - super easy and delicious!
-I make my own chicken nuggets sometimes using this recipe.
-I will make meatloaf but cook in cupcake tins so it cooks quicker and makes little meatballs.
-I don't use our slow cooker a ton but plan to change that because some of our afternoons are getting busy with after school activities, so I'm going to start dusting off my crock pot recipes and seeing what I still consider clean enough to make {grin} and using Pinterest for new ideas!

So that's basically how we eat. The kids know if they've had their crunchy snack and if they have hit their limit of squirty fruit. They know not to ask for food after dinner {unless they want to eat a fruit or vegetable}. They know sometimes we will have treats but that it isn't an every day thing. We talk about what foods fuel our body and what foods don't and why that's important. We talk about things that help our brains and things that don't. I explain why I give them the vitamins I give them, etc. Am I perfect? Of course not! But I view their little bodies as a miracle that I want to cherish and nurture as much as possible.

I hope this post wasn't terribly boring!! {grin}

**What I wanted to say about lunch meat is it is hard to find good quality stuff. I always buy organic and nitrate/nitrite free and where possible I buy without added sugar. At our main grocery store, I can't find it without sugar, but it's very low.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

2016 Emmy Fashion: Best Dressed

I only saw a few dresses that I thought were amazing. But the ladies I loved, I LOVED HARD.


Kristen Bell
Normally I don't like big dresses or crazy patterns {birds?}.
Somehow this just all works perfectly on her.

Kate McKinnon
I don't know why, but I just think she looks so damn great.

Priyanka Chopra
I saw her twirl a little. Swoon.

Shiri Appleby
The color and the fit = perfection.

Tina Fey
We've seen this style before, but the color just looks SO good on her.

So those are my thoughts. What did you think of the show or fashion??


2016 Emmy Fashion: THE WORST

Wow, there were a lot of bad looks this year. A LOT.


Amy Poehler
Oh Amy. Why are you wearing a pea soup shroud?

Anna Chlumsky
I don't even know what to say.

Claire Danes
For 2 seconds I was like 'Claire, you finally did it!'
Then I saw the 3rd boob thing and her oompa-loompa skin. #Sad

Ariel Winter
This was just too tight. And too old for her.

Gabby Hoffman
WTF.

Sarah Paulson
Oh sad inner boobs. Paired with a bad dress.

Kathryn Hahn
Velvet? Really?

Keri Russell
It's like a sack with stuff sticking out of the bottom.
And then she kept throwing it back to pull an Angelina with her leg. Awful.

Laura Carmichael
Poor Edith.

Maisie Williams
At least Arya Stark had the excuse of blindness for her look on GoT this year!


2016 Emmy Fashion: Always a Bridesmaid

Emilia Clarke
This fits her SO AMAZING. 
I just hate the color on her skin. Especially since her make-up is also neutral.

Regina King
I love the color of this.

Emmy Rossum
Fits her SO GREAT but just so, so, so simple. Like too simple?

Joanna Froggatt
Fits great, just too plain.

Neve Campbell
A little too stiff.

Padma Lashki
I just keep thinking it was probably 90 degrees!

Tracee Ellis Ross
I don't know why...just not quite there for me.

Kirsten Dunst
You guys know how I feel about inner boob. #JustSayNo
If it didn't fit her so great everywhere else, and there weren't SO MANY BAD DRESSES, she could have ended up on my worst dressed list. {grin}

Viola Davis
I wanted to love this. The color is gorgeous but something about the fit?