Going the Distance: April 2017

Peaks and Valleys from the Week

Happy Friday!! Hopefully things are looking and feeling Spring-like where you are! After starting the week with cold and rain, we're getting back into the warmth and sunshine today with 80 degree weather.

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I thought I'd change it up a bit and write about the peaks and the valleys from the week.

Let's get the valleys out of the way:

~Having a bit of a breakdown after preschool teachers are harassing me to get meetings scheduled before I go out on maternity leave (one of them even showed up at my school to stalk me!) It's not my fault that these should have been done by May 1 and all of a sudden they're all panicking that I won't be here soon. I'm living by this motto now:

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~After scheduling two of said meetings, getting the crappiest goals for kids' IEPs that I've seen. I swear one teacher just uses the same goals for all of her kids because I've seen the same crap goals last year with kids that she sent to my school.

~Coming down with a cold or allergies or something starting on Tuesday morning. So far it's a head cold/allergies only. I'm hoping I can kick it soon and that it stays out of my lungs. The last thing I want is to be having contractions and dealing with sniffles and coughing. Ugh.

Now on to some of the peaks!

~Because of my friendship with the building guy at our school, I was able to get my AC fixed to the point where it actually cools my room instead of blows luke warm air around. Key on 80+ degree days!

~The woman who is covering my maternity leave (and is overlapping with me for a couple of weeks before I go out) is amazing! She's helped me so much with seeing kids while I'm in meetings. I know that when I'm gone, my kids will be in good hands.

~I get to see some of my favorite people this weekend at my friend Bree's baby shower!

~My husband's female coworker got the baby this funny onesie:

~The sweet gift from one of my private school students and his little sister--they are such a nice family!

~I guess this would be a peak: some minor contractions throughout the week here and there (nothing consistent), but signs that baby girl is hopefully getting ready in there!

~Getting another check up on baby girl this afternoon!

Wishing you a happy, sunshine-filled weekend!!

National Infertility Awareness Week

It's been super hectic at work this week and I've had almost no time to blog, but I couldn't let this week go by without mentioning that it's National Infertility Awareness Week.

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I know there are people out there who are dealing with the ups and downs of infertility, some out loud and some in silence.

To those of you out there, I just want you to know that you're not alone. I know the pain of each pregnancy announcement on Facebook or in blog land. I know the pain of watching your friends' baby celebrate their first birthday when you were trying to get pregnant the same time they were. I know how it feels to dread getting your period every month. And I know the struggles of making your life revolve around trips to a fertility clinic.

I also know the things that people say, that make you angry, or want to cry. Yes, they're just saying those things to try and empathize or to help, but they don't realize how hard those things are to hear. (And for those of you supporting someone through infertility, I'll re-post something that I posted a while back about things you should and shouldn't say).

It's ok to be angry. It's ok to struggle to be fully happy for someone else when they tell you they're pregnant, and just wish that for once it was you. It's ok to cry and grieve. This process isn't easy on anyone, physically, mentally or emotionally.

I've learned so much about myself by going through infertility. I'm stronger than I thought I was. I'm able to face fears better than I was before. And most importantly, I've grown closer to my husband through this process of getting our miracle baby, as well as discovering a whole network of incredible women who are always willing to listen, support, and lend an ear or shoulder to cry on or celebrate with.

Keep the faith. Keep rooting yourself on. If you need a cheerleader, I'm cheering you on!

WHW {#90}: 38 Weeks

How Far Along: 38 weeks

Size of Baby: Technically she should be 7 pounds right now, but she was measuring at 7 pounds 2 Fridays ago. But on Monday my stomach was measuring at 36.5 weeks, so...at this point, I know she's in there and she's probably around 7 pounds now. Give or take.

Gender: Still a girl!

Weight Gain: About 27 pounds as of now

Food Cravings: I would give anything for a milkshake. Or a rootbeer float.

Food Aversions: None anymore

Movement: Oh yes! My stomach does dances every night when baby girl is super active. We've tried to get it on video but she gets camera shy whenever we try. So in the meantime, we just enjoy watching my stomach change into different weird shapes

Sleep: still sleeping through the night pretty well, just getting up for pee breaks. Occasionally I stay awake for a bit or end up dreaming about stuff related to work and trying to get things done before I go out on maternity leave.

Clothing: Those swing dresses I got from Old Navy are awesome! I wore one last week when it was in the 80s and plan to wear some more tomorrow and Friday when it's in the 80s again.

Other Pregnancy Symptoms: some contractions on Saturday, and on Monday it felt like she had dropped down based on the pressure I was feeling, but that's subsided. She seems pretty comfy all nestled in there.

What I Miss: being able to pick up things with ease when I drop them. Because I drop things all. the. time now haha

Best Moment: Yesterday I saw one of my private school Kindergarten students and his younger sister insisted on waiting for me so that she could give me this cute teddy bear for the baby (with a happy birthday balloon). The mom shared that she had been loving on the bear and was excited to give it to me. She was SO sweet! And along with that, was a huge bag of goodies for the baby, from the boy that I work with. Some families are SO generous and thoughtful--the whole thing really warmed my heart :)

Looking Forward To: baby girl making her arrival whenever she deems it appropriate. Or...when the docs give her the eviction notice on her due date!

Now it's your turn to link up with Jessi and I to share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

Weekend of Rain and Contractions

Can someone tell me how it's already the last week of April?? Time is flying!

This weekend, despite the rain on Saturday and the cold on Sunday, had some highlights!

~Friday check up at the doc to do non-stress test and check baby's fluid levels--all looked good!

~Went to pick up MG's car which had been in the shop for 4 days for something we thought was covered under his plan, but ended up being $470. My pregnancy bump got us $200 off the price which was nice.

Then the car ended up not even being ready so we had to get him back into a rental car. At the office, he asked if he had to get the same Ford Fiesta again, and the guy asked if something was wrong, so I said "it's just hard for me to get in and out of while pregnant" so we got upgraded to an SUV for free. Pregnancy has its perks :)

~After dealing with all of that for 2+ hours, we grabbed dinner and it was a low key night in where I fell asleep on the couch before 10. Wild stuff over here.

~Saturday was rainy and crummy all day. We ran errands to Costco, MG got his car (for real this time), and we rented Hidden Figures which was really good!

~Ironed and hung up the sheer curtain in the baby's room

~Did some refresher reading from our childbirth class

~We went out to dinner at Sweet Water Tavern and had a delicious little dinner date!

~Our friend's wife was out of town so he wanted to come over and hang, so we all hung out and watched the old Comedy Central roast of Justin Bieber which was hilarious.

~During the evening, I started having some contractions. Nothing major, and I didn't think I was in labor, but they were definitely contractions, so things are starting to get moving!

~Pretty sure I had a few more in the middle of the night as I woke up sweating, but slept pretty well overall.

~Sunday morning brought Cooper snuggles and MG made a yummy breakfast. Then we waited for the life insurance person to come by and take my blood, urine, weight blood pressure, etc. #adulting

~Ran errands and then my friend Emily came over to hang for a bit, which ended up being 3 hours haha

~Got a massage since the one I had scheduled for Wednesday had gotten canceled--massages are always glorious but when you're pregnant they are incredible!

~Went for a walk with MG when I got home, and then picked up Chipotle for dinner (always yum), and started watching Thirteen Reasons Why. Not too sure about it yet...anyone else watched it?

~Tried to make a decision about these two hampers for the baby's room. I think I like the Twinkle Star one because the gray goes better with the room. Still think the elephant one is super cute though

So, that's about it--nothing super eventful, other than those contractions. We'll see where the rest of the week takes me with those....

Hope your start to the week is easy!

Happy Friday!!!

I just wanted to drop in quickly this morning and wish you all a happy Friday and weekend!

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Things have been super hectic for me this week at work with trying to get my coverage person caught up on everything, answering a bunch of her questions to get familiar with everything, and trying to get whatever I can get done at work before I go, so it's as smooth a transition as possible, so I haven't had a ton of extra time to blog the last couple of days.

Hoping after today things slow down a bit, but I didn't want you all thinking my radio silence meant I'd gone into labor (although I've been having cramping and some mild contractions, especially last night). Baby and I are still here. Ive got another doc appt this afternoon for a non-stress test and I think another ultrasound to check on her size and my fluid level so we'll see what that reveals!

Anyway, have a nice weekend and I'll catch you all on Monday!

WHW {#89}: Currently....

Reading ...

No Way Back by Andrew Gross-- about 1/4 of the way through and it's not bad so far...I'm interested to see how the two story lines tie together. I'm trying out this book before I get to The One Man by this author which has amazing reviews!

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Watching ...

MG and I finished The Fall yesterday and man was that series dark but engrossing!

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Of course I'm watching all of my Bravo regulars like Southern Charm, RHOBH, Vanderpump (which is over now, boo!), RHONY....basically give me Bravo or give me death lol

Eating....

On this week's menu:
Monday-Baked Queso Tacos,
Tuesday-Broccoli Pesto Pasta with Feta,
Wednesday- Buffalo Chicken Zucchini boats
Thursday-Shrimp and Guac Tostadas

And snacking on those peanut butter cookies that I made this weekend and shared with you guys yesterday!

Looking forward to ...

another prenatal massage today after work! My second one in a week--I'm using up those massage envy massages that I have built up while I can!

Enjoying ...

all of the compliments I've been receiving about how good I look. Anything nice that makes a pregnant lady feel good about herself, I'll take it.

Drinking...

water, and some sugar free iced tea to change things up a bit since I can't enjoy a beer and don't really want to have a glass of wine with 3 weeks left--I can hold out.

Loving....

that my department finally figured out who is going to cover for me while I'm on maternity leave, AND she is coming today to start getting familiar with the school, the kids I work with, my schedule, etc. Makes me feel a little better that it won't be totally up in the air if I go out early.

Dreading....
Having to share my office space with someone else during this time. I like having my own space, plus my office is kinda small, so it might be a little tight in here with both of us. I just hope she's normal otherwise it will be LONG days of awkward conversations when I'm not seeing kids.

Wanting ...

to not have to test my blood sugars anymore, and just eat what I crave without worrying about how it's affecting the baby. I already feel guilty that I have gestational diabetes and it's affecting her on some level (even though I know there's nothing that I could have done to prevent it)....I guess this whole mom guilt thing is real. Just glad that we're being monitored and that she's still doing ok, even if she's big (81st percentile! eep!)

Wearing ...

Short sleeves, and whatever flowy dresses I can get away with. Thanks to Lindsay last week, I ordered a bunch of swing dresses from Old Navy which are supposed to arrive today and tomorrow, so hopefully those will get me through these next few weeks before baby girl gets here (and after!) Added bonus: they were only $15 each!

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Grateful For...
making it to 37 weeks! Baby is "early full term" which makes me happy that she's ready to survive in the outside world if she makes her appearance (which it doesn't not seem like she is even contemplating, based on her living basically under my ribs still lol)

Now it's your turn to link up and share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

{Recipe Files}:Low Sugar, Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookies

Several of you were interested in the low sugar, low carb peanut butter cookies that I posted about yesterday, so I wanted to share the recipe with you.

These aren't ooey gooey pb cookies, but they do hit the spot when you're craving a cookie, and when you're dealing with gestational diabetes on Easter, trust me, you crave cookies!

I found the original recipe here, but adapted it a bit.

What You Need:

~1 large egg

~1 cup creamy natural peanut butter (I used Jif's Natural pb which I eat normally)

~1/2 C Splenda (or other sweetener. I used Truvia)*

~1 tsp baking powder (I used flour because I was out of baking powder)

~1/2 tsp vanilla (optional...I did this)

~1 tsp water

*the original recipe called for a cup of Splenda which seemed ridiculously high to me so I did 1/2 C and I think they came out well. If you want super sweet cookies, go with the 1 cup.

What You Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. In a mixing bowl, add in all of the ingredients and mix together well. I used a hand mixer and it went pretty quickly. The mixture may be a little dry--mine was fine though.

3. Using a baking sheet that's lined (I used my baking mat), scoop a heaping teaspoon and place on the baking mat.

4. Spray a fork with non-stick spray (so the fork doesn't get stuck in the cookies) and then press into each cookie to make it look like classic peanut butter cookies.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cookies are firm and slightly browned. Mine took 20 minutes and were browning so I took them out. They weren't firm, but after sitting there for a bit, they firmed up a bit (not crunchy but not super crumbly).

Your house will literally smell like these cookies for up to 4 hours afterwards which will just make you want to eat them all haha.

MG enjoyed these, and they definitely have hit the spot for me when I get a craving for something sorta sweet. Of course, they'd be extra delicious dipped in chocolate, but that will have to wait until post-baby for me :)

Hopefully you like them if you make them yourself! And if you're not worried about sugar, make them with regular sugar!

A Hoppin' Weekend

Happy post-Easter!

My weekend wrapped up the end of my Spring Break, and had some pretty good highlights!

~Friday pedicure to round out my week of relaxation (haircut, massage, pedicure...perfection)

~Check up on baby girl with my first non-stress test and a glimpse at baby girl's adorable little face (don't mind her squished nose haha). Baby girl is in the 80th percentile for size to which I say #eeeeek!

those lips!!!!

~Friday date night to Chuys

~Watching season 2 of The Fall

~Saturday morning I finished the book I'd been reading in bed before getting up. MG and I had breakfast at home, and then made our way to Annapolis for the day. It started out a little overcast but by lunch time the sun was coming out and it was gorgeous out!

~MG and I wandered in and out of stores on our way to the waterfront and stumbled into a sunglasses store where MG found a pair...and I kept getting drawn to a pair, so we treated ourselves to some pre-Easter sunnies

~After lunch at the Iron Rooster, we walked down to the water front and took in the views (and walked off lunch)

~Around 3:30 we decided to make our way back home and listened to S-town on podcast (pretty interesting if you're looking for a new podcast!)

~Got home, took Coop for a walk, and then got invited over to my friends' house who had her baby at 35 weeks. Baby girl had just gotten home from the NICU on Thursday, and we were both anxious to meet her so we popped over. She is TINY, but so so so cute!

~Had a low key night in on Sunday and finished up season 2 of The Fall.

~Sunday morning we had breakfast, and ran some errands to the grocery store. I started reading a new book, and MG and I hung up the shelves in baby girl's nursery (pics to come)

~Decided to try out a low carb, low sugar peanut butter cookie--and they turned out pretty good! Nice to have another option when I'm craving something sweet! (the house smelled like peanut butter cookies for at least 4 hours after making them, too!) I'll post the recipe if you guys are interested!

~We decided to grab lunch at Yard House and eat outside since the weather was so nice out!

~Went for a walk, then came home and relaxed on the deck, and got to use my new pineapple Tervis cup which I love!

Had a little relaxation before a couple of sprinkles came down, and I'm pretty sure I could live in a zero gravity chair for the rest of this pregnancy

~Grilled tilapia for dinner and just chilled for the rest of the night, and I finally got to try Halo top's mint chip ice cream which was awesome and fit in my carb count--woot!!!

Luckily I have a work from home day today to get progress reports done for the 3rd quarter, so it will be easier to ease into the work week after being off all of last week.

Hoping you had a nice Easter weekend, too!

36 Week Bumpdate

And suddenly, we have less than a month before baby girl arrives!

How Far Along: 36 weeks

Size of Baby: 6 lbs, 19-22 inches (a large cantaloupe...which MG happened to get at the grocery store this week haha)

Gender: Still a girl!

Weight Gain: 22-23 pounds right now

Food Cravings: All the carby sweet things, especially with Easter this weekend, what I wouldn't give to sink my teeth into some Easter candy or a Cadbury Creme Egg! I bought two at CVS the other day to enjoy once I have baby girl.
And I have a running list of all of the foods and places I want to eat once the gestational diabetes is gone!

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Food Aversions: None currently

Movement: She's still moving around in there...we watch her nightly wiggle-fest which makes my stomach look like it has an alien in it haha

Sleep: So much sleep! Tuesday I was so tired all day. I took a nap in the afternoon, and then fell asleep on the couch before going to bed for 8+ hours. I know these days are numbered, but I was shocked at how sleepy I was!

Clothing: Maternity stuff, with some shorts mixed in. All of my elastic waistband shorts still fit, so I've been living in those during the days that I'm at home for Spring Break since it's been in the 80s this week and stretchy material is my friend these days :)

Other Pregnancy Symptoms: Sore joints, especially in my inner legs, sore feet every evening, Braxton Hicks here and there....

What I Miss: still eating whatever I want whenever I want. I'm really tired of scheduling my day around when I test my blood sugars. And now I feel like I'm eating more than I want to and often feel so full at certain periods of the day because I have to eat a certain amount at a certain time.

Best Moment: Celebrating our 3 year anniversary yesterday and last night. We went out to Eddie V's for a nice fancy dinner. I didn't get the truffle mac like I wanted to (wahhh) but the crab stuffed shrimp was out of this world delicious and what I'd been craving since we talked about where to go for our anniversary dinner....and we may have indulged in the blackberry cobbler for dessert (shhhh!)
Crazy that this is the last anniversary pre-baby!

I limited the carbs at dinner so I could indulge in this...still probably wasn't good on my blood sugars but damn it was worth it! The taste from this will get me through the next four weeks :)

Looking Forward To: seeing baby girl at our ultrasound on Friday and hoping she's still staying at a good size! Even though she's all squished up in there, it's always reassuring and fun to see her on the ultrasounds!