{09.19.09} I'm his Mississippi Princess

No, I'm not from Mississippi. And I'm not really a princess. I believe this came from a lyric from a song we heard back 4 or 5 years ago. The artist's name isn't coming to me. That's not the important thing here. This is one nickname Josh has given me over the years of us being together. Another is Buger Bear. Now that one I'm really not sure where it came from. 

Hard to believe our 2 year wedding anniversary is here {9.19.09}. I still remember that day so well. So many great friends and family members were a part of it, and I cherish all of those memories. Josh and I have been together for 6 years now. Wow! And soon (like a matter of days even) our little family will become a family and we will grow by one more person.

I'm so lucky to have met Josh and to have gotten to know him so well. We really go together well, don't ya think? He has taught me so much and I only hope I've taught him some stuff along the way.

I was trying so hard not to cry, can you tell?!

I love that we can be goofy together and have so much fun.

He's my Joshy :)

Here's to 50+ more years together being goofy, silly, lovey, best friends, partners and more in life. I can't wait to explore more and have many more adventures together. He is my rock and my world. One of the strongest men I know and so smart. He takes care of me and makes sure I am happy.

I can't wait to see him in the role as a Daddy and to love another person, who we created together. I know he'll be a great teacher, role model and father to our little Dewey. I'm excited to watch our family grow!

Happy 2nd anniversary to my Joshy, I love you with all my heart!

Baby Dewey Update

Still waiting patiently for Baby Dewey to make an appearance. I keep talking to Baby and say how fun a birthday party would be, but I think Baby is a bit shy right now. Official due date: Saturday. 

As uncomfortable as I've been in the last 2 weeks, I really do enjoy having Baby with me all the time. It has been a great journey and a great way to get to know someone. Even if the conversations are one-sided. 

After my doctor's appointment yesterday: no new progress. From last week, I am about 1 cm dilated but other than that, no signs of labor yet. Have lost the plug (sorry, TMI?! but once we get down to the labor part of pregnancy it usually is!) and have been having quite a few contractions. False contractions though I believe. Some are pretty painful, not agonizing but very uncomfortable, and then they go away for hours at a time. I think Baby is messing with me.

I'm proud of myself for not having gone to the hospital yet, with false labor. I know that is always hard to know "when is it time" and trust me, I've thought that a few times. Only time will tell I suppose. I know every time I call Josh or my Mom they really listen to the sound of my voice and try to tell if "this is the call". So I try not to call too often. 

Let's see, what else. Last night during dinner, (fettuccine alfredo with bacon and garlic-parmesan-rosemary bread...YUM!) I made a comment that I think the one thing I've craved more than anything this entire pregnancy has been garlic bread. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved garlic and garlic bread, but for some reason I've wanted it with almost every meal. Not in a gross kinda way. I don't want it with cereal in the morning. But for dinner, I could eat it every night. YUM!

Josh has been a HUGE help. He's done so much around the house to help out and it has been amazing. He really is taking to this nesting thing too. Cleaning, help make dinner. He made french toast the other night for dinner. AH-may-ZING!

So no Baby yet. We'll see what this weekend brings. I'll also do a post later with pictures of the nursery and a blanket I made. It gives the gender away, so can't show it yet!

Happy Weekend!

What is bigger than a watermelon?!

{this was the middle of the week, so 37 & 1/2}

 Notice, not many of my shirts fit anymore. Plus, my belly button is just about poking out. I think I'm just about done!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 38 Weeks Today (2 weeks to go, 14 days!)
Size of baby: size of a Watermelon! (and weighs 6-8lbs and is 18-20 inches long) Ok, we can stop growing now, I want you to fit coming out!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Officially 20 lbs, yikes! Plus a little more, eek.
Maternity Clothes: Wearing maternity pants and shirts.
Gender: Baby Dewey is either a Girl or a Boy :)
Movement: Kicking & hiccups! Now I can start feeling when Baby is changing positions. And the kicking downward is uncomfortable!! Head is down.

Sleep: Starting to get less and less sleep, but still tired.
What I miss: Nothing really...my regular clothes?! Being able to bend over?!
Cravings: Food?! Fruit & Veggies...and cookies! Also, cheetos. However,the size of my meals is pretty small now.

Symptoms: Have some pretty strong heartburn/indigestion, hiccups for both baby and me. Can now tolerate dairy?! And some swelling in the feet. :(
Labor Symptoms: I think this week I officially had some real contractions.
Milestone: Another doctor appt this week, now going every week.
Best Moment this week: Pedicure?!

What I'm looking forward to: My belly growing (more)...though not sure how much bigger it can get...and to meet baby!

{Just because I thought it was appropriate!}

This week I went to get a pedicure on Monday. Man did that feel awesome! What a nice thing, food rub, cleaned up the tosies a bit and some ORANGE nail polish. I don't know why I'm so excited that it's orange, maybe because I've never had orange toes before, but I just love it! It's the little things really people, stay with me here. The lady asked me how far along I was and I told her. She then asked, "So it's ok to rub your feet and if you go into labor  you're at the right point?". I smiled and said "Yep!".


However, nothing really happened after that. Except....Later that day and since then (all week) I've had some here and there painful contractions. Wooohoo! Let's get this going. I've timed a few and there is no real pattern to them...yet. Just keeping an eye out. We're on baby watch people, it's go time, er...or close to. 


I posted on facebook asking what other's thought my due date would be. I got a wide variety of answers. Most hoovering around Sept 10-11, 16, and then past my due date (which is the 17th). So we'll see what actually pans out. 


We have our bags packed and ready by the door just in case.

{Homemade} Chicken-Broccoli Bake

I've had broccoli for a while (or been eating it off and on for a while) and wanted to make something with it. So I came up with this dish by what I had in the kitchen. Man was this good! I made a side of cornbread which went great with this! I must say that EVERYTHING that I made was homemade from scratch. That is right, nothing was out of a box. Except the noodles in the chicken bake dish.

Chicken Broccoli Bake with Cornbread

6 chicken tenders (or chicken breasts, however much you want or have)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (small)
2 cans of water (from the soup can)
1 head of broccoli, chopped
1 medium can diced green chilies
1/2 box or pound of elbow noodles, whole wheat (you can use whatever noodles you want)
salt and pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 F. The chicken tenders I used were frozen, so I took those out at the very end and topped them on the rest just before putting in the oven. First, open the cans of soup and empty in a 9x13 inch casserole dish. I used just under 2 cans of water, mix this in. Next, add green chilies. These were not spicy at all, but gave it a great flavor! Mix in the chopped broccoli. Again, add more if you want/have it. Next, I added the noodles, uncooked. The added water will help cook these through. Last, add chicken, raw. I suppose you could pre-cook the chicken and it would be fine. But this worked out just fine for me, and I checked to make sure the chicken was cooked through. Salt, pepper and garlic salt to season the chicken to taste. I didn't use much of any seasoning. I mixed the noodles down just under the surface of the liquids to help cook the noodles, and pushed down the chicken so it would help cook them too. Put in the oven for 50-60 minutes. I checked at 45 minutes and turned the chicken over to make sure it cooked thurough.

This turned out perfect! Seriously, the broccoli with the green chilies and soup mixture had such a great flavor, and the added noodles gave it some more filling. Of course the chicken was good too!

On to the Cornbread.

1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
**bonus: 2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 400 F. Combine all the dry ingredients. Combine the egg, sour cream, milk and butter and stir into the dry ingredients. I didn't use an electric mixer, it was pretty simple to mix with very little effort. Add in honey at last, and by all means add a bit more if you like. I noticed that the 2  tablespoons I added didn't quite give it the "honey" flavor once baked, but you could tell it was there. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 inch baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Ta-da!

This whole meal was GREAT. While it took a little time to make, a little longer than some of the dishes I've made, it was worth it. Really tasted like a great home cooked meal. And the left overs? Won't last long...as we're having this for lunch today as I speak.

Happy Weekend!

Can A Watermelon Really Fit In There?!

22 days and counting. Seriously?! The time feels like it is flying by, and I have to keep telling myself that when those days come that will never end!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 37 Weeks Today (3 weeks to go to due date!)
Size of baby: size of a Watermelon! (and weighs 6-8lbs and is 18-20 inches long) Ok, we can stop growing now, I want you to fit coming out!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Officially 20 lbs, yikes! Plus a little more, eek.
Maternity Clothes: Wearing maternity pants and shirts.
Gender: Baby Dewey is either a Girl or a Boy :)
Movement: Kicking & hiccups! Now I can start feeling when Baby is changing positions. And the kicking downward is uncomfortable!! Head is down.

Sleep: Starting to get less and less sleep, but still tired.
What I miss: Nothing really...my regular clothes?! Being able to bend over?!
Cravings: Food?! Fruit & Veggies...and cookies! Also, cheetos. However,the size of my meals is pretty small now.

Symptoms: Have some pretty strong heartburn/indigestion, hiccups for both baby and me. Can now tolerate dairy?! And some swelling in the feet. :(
Labor Symptoms: Have continued to have braxton hicks more regular now, but not painful and back pain.
Milestone: Another doctor appt this week, now going every week.
Best Moment this week: Still working on a name. I know I know, time is coming close. We may just have to wait to see Baby!

What I'm looking forward to: My belly growing (more)...though not sure how much bigger it can get...and to meet baby!

My work was so sweet and threw me a baby shower this week. It was a lot of fun! Sad that Josh couldn't make it, since it was in the middle of the day, but it was great. Baby and I sure were spoiled. We played a fun game, taste testing baby food and had to guess what it was. It was so funny seeing people's faces! Spinach is definitely not good pureed as baby food!

I couldn't show you too many pictures since some of the decor may give away the gender :) The cake was great, some sort of raspberry filling, YUM! Many thanks to EVERYONE for putting this together and making me feel loved :)

We're on baby watch now, being officially 37 weeks. Josh and I both think we'll go early, but who knows at this point. It's really just a guess. Still the same due date, Sept 17th so we'll see. My goal is to make it to atleast 38 weeks, which puts us at Sept 3rd. Then all is fair game as far as I'm concerned.

I have days where I feel great, and days that I just feel huge and miserable. My feet really do bother me, swelling. I get uncomfortable sitting for too long, so work is kinda rough there.

As my doctor put it to me at my appointment on Wednesday, "Here's to an UNeventful week!".

36 weeks = 9 months = three quarters of a year

Look who's large and ...in charge?! Ok, maybe not the latter half of that because essentially baby is in charge of when the debut is, but definitely feeling large. I've had many people tell me I'm beautiful, and I really do think I look fairly good for being {9 Months Pregnant}, but still I can feel large can't I?! If you stop and think about it, which obviously I have, I've been pregnant for three quarters (3/4) yes that is 75% of an entire year. When you put it that way, it sure sounds like a long time. But, it does take time to grow a person, thank you very much!

Image via Baby Center

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 36 Weeks Today (4 weeks to go to due date, that's less than 30 days!)
Size of baby: size of a Crenshaw Melon! (and weighs just over 6lbs and is 18 inches long) Ok, we can stop growing now, I want you to fit coming out!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Officially 20 lbs, yikes! Plus a little more, eek.
Maternity Clothes: Wearing maternity pants and shirts.
Gender: Baby Dewey is either a Girl or a Boy :)
Movement: Kicking & hiccups! Now I can start feeling when Baby is changing positions. And the kicking downward is uncomfortable!! Head is down.

Sleep: Starting to get less and less sleep, but still tired.
What I miss: Nothing really...my regular clothes?! Being able to bend over?!
Cravings: Food?! Fruit & Veggies...and cookies! Also, cheetos.

Symptoms: Have some pretty strong heartburn/indigestion, hiccups for both baby and me. Can now tolerate dairy?! And some swelling in the feet. :(
Labor Symptoms: Have continued to have braxton hicks more regular now, but not painful and back pain.
Milestone: Another doctor appt this week, now going every week.
Best Moment this week: Still working on a name. I know I know, time is coming close. We may just have to wait to see Baby!

What I'm looking forward to: My belly growing (more)...though not sure how much bigger it can get...and to meet baby!

After my last ultrasound yesterday, I will know on Wednesday, my next appt, if my due date has changed much. The doctor said Baby looks good and is growing well. Let's just hope for a smaller Baby so we can fit coming out of mommy!

As I'm writing this up, Baby is dancing away in my belly. Shifting side to side and poking out legs and hands, I think. I do know the head is down, thanks to a final ultrasound yesterday. Getting ready for the big day.

On close watch these last few weeks. Josh has not allowed me to do the grocery shopping anymore, atleast not carry anything. What a sweatheart! Also, Lucy has not left my side while I'm home. She will follow me EVERYWHERE, even the bathroom if I leave a room for more than 20 seconds. I think she's keeping an eye on me too. If only she were able to drive me to the hospital if I need it, then we'd be set :)

My energy levels flucuate from day to day, so some days I get more done than others.

I'm really enjoying these last few weeks having Baby in my belly. Such a bonding time. I mean the whole pregnancy has been a bonding time, but just talking to Baby and feeling Baby move and talking about different things. I refer to myself as mommy, of course I've done this with Lucy too, and to Josh as daddy, but again we did this with Lucy. I know it will be different when we get to see Baby and become parents

Tuna Noodle Casserole...with a twist!

With some inspiration to make this dish more than just tuna and noodles, comes this version of Tuna Noodle Casserole. This was great and added so much more flavor to the dish than just tuna with noodles. Give it a try and add your own "stuff" to make it your own!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1 lb of rotini noodles (or whatever your noodle of choice is)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 stalks of celery diced up
2 quarter inch thick slices of onion diced up (add more onion if you like, I am not a huge fan)
2 cans tuna, drained
1/3 -1/2 cup bread crumbs for topping

Cook noodles, and drain of water. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour noodles into a large bowl. Add both soups, diced celery, onion and tuna and mix together. Pour into large casserole dish. I used two round pans since I didn't have a large casserole dish clean. Put in oven for 10-20 minutes or until bread crumbs on top are crispy to your liking.

Optional: add cheese to top to let melt/crisp up in oven, add in peas or other vegetable.

This was great and added so much more to the meal than just tuna with noodles. Definitely a good combo!