These are a few of my random favorite things.... today

Favorite Quote:What if we woke up today
with only the things we had thanked God for yesterday. I have been thinking on this for several days now and trying to make a much more conscious effort to thank God for all of my many blessings.

Favorite Restaurant:DoDiYos
Its this amazing Greek-ish restaurant in Birmingham. Cannot wait to go back.

Favorite Perfume:


Favorite clothing store at the moment: Altar'd State
It is so neat inside. I didn't even realize it was christian based until we were leaving. Such neat gifts and things.

Favorite new find: Birchbox (thanks Leslie!!)

Favorite drink while preggo:
Sobe all natural Lifewater: Macintosh Apple Cherry.
SO GOOD. No calories/ Sugar!

Favorite fabric softener:
This stuff smells so so so good on sheets.
Snuggle Blue Iris and Bamboo Silk


Quite random... hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

First day of Fourth Grade!

This is my little brother, Morgan. He is in FOURTH GRADE!!! Time has flown, I cannot believe he is so grown up. I remember vividly when he was born. He was a preemie and only weighed 3lbs 11oz. He sure has grown from there- he hardly meets a food that he doesnt like. In fact I dont think I have seen him turn his nose up at anything- he is pretty much an easy going kid. You can tell by the look on his face, he is excited to be back in school! Morgan is really smart and loves school. Plus he has awesome teachers this year- Mrs. Amborn (Martha, not Jordan) and Mrs. Nosser. Both so sweet and wonderful. Morgan is super excited about becoming an uncle. He is soooo glad that the baby is a boy. One of his buddies (Andy, mentioned in earlier post) is also becoming an uncle this year. I guess having older siblings is not so out of the ordinary anymore. Hope his first day back is wonderful!!!

31 Weeks and a BIG boy!

How far along? 31 Weeks
This is a pic of his little nose, lips and chin. precious. I love him so much already

Baby's size? The bump says size of a squash. The ultrasound said 3lbs 9oz 2 weeks ago. My chart says "large for date," sounds like he is going to be a big boy like his dad!

Weight gain? +13. "wow- that Nexium is really working!" says the nurse. (Ten pounds between visits- thanks.)

Sleep? What sleep?? The hip pain is KILLING me. I sleep with a body pillow every night and it doesn't seem to help.

Foods I am loving? Everything.

Foods I am hating? Nothing.

Symptoms? waddle waddle waddle... especially when I am tired.

Gender? Precious little sweet darling boy.

What I miss? Sleep and not feeling so big...

What I'm looking forward to? having my body back and my baby boy in my arms.

Emotions? worry... about everything and CRAZY awful dreams

Accomplishments? Nursery set up, linens in and walls painted!! yea!!! photos coming soon. Almost done with Bassinet. SO proud- Me, my mom, my grandmother and my sister all worked on it- 4 generations!! I am so happy with how its turning out. I dont know how to turn the pic- sorry :)

Rain

All that rain I have been praying for...



Apparently rain makes trees heavy.

Random Ramblings

Tuesday night, my sweet Mimi cooked for my sister and I. It was as wonderful as we had expected! She is such a good cook. She made Squash Bisque (my sisters request) and Pasta (for me). She received the pasta recipe a few years ago from a dear friend, Peggy Gouras, and we have been enjoying it ever since! Thanks Peggy!
If you are tired of BLT's from all those fresh tomatoes you have, this is a great recipe to use fresh tomatoes in.

Isle of Patmos Pasta
1 lb favorite pasta (like rigatoni)
4 peeled cloves of garlic
3/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts (we like Walnuts)
1 cup fresh washed Basil leaves
salt and pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
2 cups fresh tomatoes (cubed)
Cook pasta al dente. Place garlic, nuts, basil, salt, pepper and cheese in food processor. Pulse to combine. While machine is running, drizzle olive oil through feed tube, stopping to scrape occasionally. Meanwhile, in another pan with a drizzle of olive oil, heat tomatoes until very hot.
Layer pasta, pesto and top with tomatoes. Sprinkle extra cheese if you like.



In other news...

My dad turned 50 years old!! We honored him with a party at my aunts and it was wonderful!! He does so much for so many people. He is literally the most generous person I know. He is ALWAYS willing to help in whatever we have gotten ourselves into. He is usually the first to offer- he pretty much knows a little (or a lot) about everything... computers, cars, fixer-upper houses, electricity, building things, even cooking- he is our go-to guru!! We all wanted to make this birthday very special and I think we accomplished that! We made all of his favorite foods and had a table of his favorite sweets complete with a golf themed cake. His siblings surprised him with a Yetti cooler and I made a slide show of him and the family. He was surprised at how much we all had done and was so happy!! It was fun to see so many of his old friends... they probably have not all been in the same place since college.



....How Morgan and Dan spend their Sundays (where I would like to be now):
That is a water gun that Morgan is preparing to empty!

It is soooooo hot!

Are we there yet??

How far along? 25 weeks

Baby's size? roughly the size of an eggplant. I have to go to like three websites to decide which veggie is the least weird- a Rutabaga? an English Hothouse Cucumber? Are you kidding me??

Weight gain? +3 I was telling the doctor that I feel so big, it just cant be correct. She then explained to me that she thinks my hips have already spread. Thanks doc

Sleep? Not sleeping well. I sleep really well like one night a week. Dan fixed a pillow in a case where it doesn't go flat and that seems to be a huge improvement.

Foods I am loving? Everything.

Foods I am hating? Nothing.

Symptoms? Dan and I saw my whole stomach move for the first time on Monday- cool and weird all at the same time!

Gender? Precious little sweet darling boy.

What I miss? Sleep and not feeling so big...

What I'm looking forward to? having the house totally in order so that we can begin the nursery

Emotions? worry... about everything.

Accomplishments? guest bathroom back in business!!

So last post, I was complaining of constant heartburn. My Doctor changed my prescription from Pepcid to Nexium. I picked up my new medicine today at Kroger, Oh. my. gosh. This better be a miracle in a pill- $100 for 30 days. That is $3.33 a pill! Ummm INSANE! I have insurance that is a fortune, I go to the doctor that is a fortune, then I pay a fortune for medicine. What is wrong with this picture??? I am not claiming to know the answer to the health care crisis but there is most definitely something WRONG!!
(stepping off soapbox :) )

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Time is flying!

I realize this blog has turned into a baby journal, but that has kinda been my life lately. Baby baby baby! We are really ready (we hope) for him to be here. I cannot cannot wait to look in his eyes- I am also really wondering how much hair he will have. I have been in heart burn hell for a while now. I think water gives me heartburn. Seriously.

How far along? 24 weeks

Baby's size? about the size of an ear of corn? where do they get this stuff- he HAS to be bigger than that! I can feel this guy kick!

Weight gain? Doc on Monday!

Sleep? increasingly worse- woke up at 4:00 wide awake, dying of thirst and pounding headache. My hips have really started to hurt when laying on my sides also.

Foods I am loving? yesterday I HAD TO HAVE a piece of fried chicken. Had to.

Foods I am hating? not hating anything at the moment- ate the Black and Blue Salad from Anchuca on Saturday with filet medallions and it was ah-mazing. Definitely would not have been able to eat this 2 months ago.

Symptoms? random aches and pains.... he is very active- I have not been able to pinpoint a schedule except that he moves more when I am still.

Gender? Precious little sweet darling boy.

What I miss? I would love some Baileys over ice. Also fitting into my clothes would be nice.

What I'm looking forward to? still looking forward to having the house totally in order so that we can begin the nursery. Think I have the paint color nailed down!

Emotions? worry... about everything. Odd dreams about my ability to protect the baby or even hold the baby. I have this dream where I pick him up from the crib and my arms just give out- and he falls. Pretty scary.

Accomplishments? Big Belly! does that count? people have stopped asking me if I am expecting, they just say "when are you due?"