Make Ahead Meal Plan

I've tried doing a month's worth of cooking in one day (turned into 2) before.

Needless to say - I learned a lot.

I have every intention of getting at least 2 week+ worth of meals stocked up in our freezer for when baby arrives.  Here's my plan

ALL DINNERS:

Bacon Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Pulled Pork

Chilli

Taco Meat

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo (Slow Cooker)

Chicken Carriatore (Slow Cooker)

Chicken Pot Pie

I'd like to make at least 2 of each meal - giving me 14 meals

Besides all this I hope to have hamburger patties (to BBQ or fry), pork steaks for the grill, and frozen pizzas to fill in in hopes of getting another weeks worth of meals.

Of course we are still doing our fruit and veggie co-op, so side dishes will mainly be whatever fresh produce we have on hand that week.

Breakfasts will be easy stuff - cereal, waffles, smoothies.

Lunches - left-overs, tuna sandwiches, pasta, canned soup, etc.

I'll blog my experience on this next Make Ahead Meal day - planned for a couple of weeks from now

Stocking the Freezer

We are starting to get prepared for baby's arrival, more and more every day.

We've started to stock our freezer with meat.

This week fresh, boneless chicken breast went on sale for $1.99/lb.

The cheapest it EVER gets is $1.89/lb so for me - it was stock up time.

I bought 5 packages and separated them out into 9 different packages for the freezer (bags of 2 -3 chicken breasts each bag)

I only spent about $35.00, which I will probably go back and get a couple more packs before the sale is over for the make ahead meals I hope to start in about 2 weeks.

We also have a CostCo gift card from when we bought our car, so we plan to save that to buy meat over the summer (about the only thing we buy at CostCo is their meat, organic broccoli, strawberry trays, dishwasher soap, milk, and that's about it.  You could spend a fortune in there on almost nothing if you aren't careful)

So now I need to get my freezer meals cooked up and bagged up and the start of our post labor stash of food will about be complete.

We will supplement with our fruit/veggie co-op bi-weekly

Pick up bread and milk as needed

And get our meat from CostCo over the summer.

All this in hopes that our savings will last us the whole summer and not be spent on overpriced food and take out/junk food.

Sounds like a plan to me.

To Do's for the Week (33)

I feel like if I make myself a list of things that need to get done around here, I'm more apt to try to complete it.  So here goes:

Pack my hospital bag

Print out list before packing

Clean out kitchen cabinets

Clean out under our bed

Plan out my make ahead meals

Print recipes

Make grocery shopping list

That's not too much.  I don't want to over do it, and I still have work work to do.  Not to mention we are busy EVERY day the rest of the week with something

(Girl Scouts, co-op pick up, stranger danger class for Alyssa, and a jewelry making class this weekend)

Target Freebie!

I did our Target Baby Registry a couple weeks ago.

I got a $20.00 gift card to Target that day too - a great bonus!

I used it to purchase my breast pads and lanolin cream and a few little travel size things I needed for the diaper bag.

They were out of the "Welcome Bags" that day though.  So when we went to Target yesterday I stopped back by the service desk to see if they had any more.  AND THEY DID.  I'm so glad I asked - look at all this great stuff!

-Cute bag (Plan to use it to pack things into my hospital bag)

-Breast pads

-Breast milk storage bags

-Aquaphor sample

-Tommee Tippee Bottle w/ $2 coupon

-$20 Shutterfly gift card

-And a booklet with lots of Target coupons

Vacation with a Newborn

We were given the opportunity to purchase a time share from Steve's parents.

We have used it for 3 different years now and it's a beautiful place, great resort, and it's within a 4 hour drive from us.  Due to financial issues they are wanting to get rid of it, we on the other hand, would like to keep it.

The kicker, the timeshare is always the 1st weekend of May.

IF baby comes late, we are talking about a 3 week old joining us on this vacation.  Pretty crazy and I can't imagine what that would be like.

It won't be much of a vacation, that's for sure.  No R&R for us.

The plus side - the condo has washer/dryer and a full kitchen.  So really it will be like a 2nd home.  There are 2 pools, mini golf, BBQ grills, playground, shuffle board, game room, etc. for Alyssa.

So me and the baby may be stuck in the condo most of the time, at least Steve and Alyssa would be able to go off and enjoy the resorts amenities.  Which are luckily all free.

And thanks to the full kitchen, I'll bring prepared meals or easy crock pot meals, and we will just eat there.

Of course the place we are going has lots of other activities/shows/shopping/entertainment - but with this little of a notice, we are lucky just to be able to buy the time share and help out his parents let alone have extra spending money for fun and games.

I just DREAD the packing... I haven't packed for a day out with a baby in 6 years, let alone a vacation.  It could be interesting.

I guess it's all up in the air.  If I get a C-section, I have a feeling this could all be out the window.  It depends on the health of the baby as well.  Also WHEN the baby arrives.  So we will just have to see I guess.

Here's photos from last years vacation to this spot.

It would be very sureal to return to this place that we love, only a year later, with a new member of our family joining us.  It's stressful to think about all the details, but really, it would be very exciting too!

Snow Day #2

Hubby was home sick with the flu today.

Alyssa spent the night at Gramma and Papa's last night.  She had another snow day today.

I slept in till 10am!!!!

I took care of hubby for awhile and headed out the door.

The less germs I'm around, the better.

I spent most of the day at my parent's house.

Alyssa went out and enjoyed the snow for over and hour!!!

She's a snow bunny, for sure!

I decided to come home about 4:30 to check on Steve.

I grabbed food from our house to take back to my parent's house to make them dinner.

They do so much for us I wanted to treat them, so we had pork chops, homemade mashed potatoes with gravy, and green beans.  My dad even pretty well cleaned up the kitchen!

I stayed to visit awhile longer and headed back home by 8pm.... without Alyssa.

It is Friday night after all, and this is "Gramma night."

So I'm hanging out in the bedroom, by myself, avoiding the germs.  Steve was able to eat and take a shower today, even work on our taxes a little more.  So he is doing better today.  Still not great, but better, and that's a good sign.  I see a lazy Saturday in our future tomorrow.

Not quite done working yet

My hopes for working were:

This weekend would be my last expo

After that I'd set up the basement with my displays and product for:

#1- Customers can come over and shop and or Open Houses

#2- Restocking, so I can get a good start on restocking before baby arrives

#3- Start getting new products onto my website, having everything out makes it easier to see what needs added

#4 - Easier to pull products for online orders

So even though this weekend was going to be my last expo - I wasn't planning on no longer working after that.

UNFORTUNATELY - Plans have changed.

First, the winter Gods, that haven't visited out area much in the last two year, unloaded a heck of a winter storm on us today.  And I'm not talking snow, I'm talking the bad stuff - sleet and freezing rain.

That, already, prevented us from going out tonight to set up as we usually do the Thursday evening before a show.

But the biggest problem.

The FLU.

Hubby was knocked on his butt big time today after work with the flu.  I think he's been fighting it for 2 days now, and it literally hit him hard this evening.  So he's couch bound.

Without his help, nothing happens.  I can't lift much, or bend much, wire anything, and we don't have my sister in laws help this weekend either.  So these expos are NOT a one man band kind of deal.

The new plan...

Official last show is in two weeks now - March 8, 9, and 10.

The basement may or may not get set up - it depends on how I'm doing at that point.  I will be 36 weeks+ at that point.

In the mean time, with two extra weekend off now that weren't planned we will be:

-Finishing taxes

-CLEANING

-Getting bags packed

-Installing the car seat

-Sterilizing bottles and pacifiers

-Making burp cloths

I'd really like to have as much as I possibly can done by 37 weeks when I'm full term.  That way I can just sit back and wait. Ha!  We shall see...

32 Weeks 6 Days

Watch out for the...

BUMP

32 Weeks - 6 Days

I had to hurry up today and get my 32 week shot in before it was too late to add to my progression collage.

I think I'll finish off this collage with a 36, 38, 40 weeks photo and then one with baby.

But I guess that all depends on WHEN I actually have the baby - could be later could be earlier.  We shall find out in less then 8 weeks now!

Completed Nursery!

 Vintage Hockey Theme

We are HUGE hockey fans - mainly STL Blues fans

I have had this theme picked out since before we knew we were having a boy (and a girl theme too if we were having a girl).  But I have to say, I was a little afraid of doing a boys room.  We've been all about girls in this house for almost 7 years now.

In the end, I'm SO HAPPY with how it came together.

View from the door

Carter's "Closet"
We painted this TV cabinet and upcycled it into a clothing armoire 

Packed full of baby boy goodies!

We hung this bar inside the cabinet
I added the clothes organizers, which was very helpful when I went to see what sizes we still needed to buy

Inside on of the doors we hung hooks
Right now it is holding bibs and pacifier clips
And our cute "don't ring the doorbell sign"

Inside the other door we hung a shoe organizer
It is currently holding hats and holiday bibs

The bottom two drawers have shoes, socks, mittens and burb cloths, towels, and lovie blankets
The brown baskets have mainly onsies and sleepers in 3-6 month & 6-9 month size clothes

Above the armoire we hung navy and white lanterns
(a pinterest project find)

Decor on top of the cabinet
A "C" that I may or may not decorate yet, an aphothocary jar for binkies, and a Gold Canyon scent pod warmer that I added a vinyl  hockey player silhouette to the front.  Still need to get a scent pod in there... 

I made this "Keep Calm" sign with a generator, the puck is from our old hockey room from our last house, and the lava lamp was a Christmas gift to our daughter.  It just happened to be blue and the kids are sharing the room - so it is a perfect fit

Now you can see where the "shared" area come into play.
I did not take photos of my daughter's areas because she was not in the mood to pick up her things.  Maybe another day.
This is the changing area though.
The white baskets have cloth diapers and inserts
The top drawer has newborn clothes - bottom drawer has 0-3 mn. clothes
The basket shelf to the right has the wipe warmer on top, each basket has things like cotton swabs, hair brush./comb, nasal sucker, nail clippers, arm & hammer deodorizers, peepee teepees,, etc

Above the changing area.
This is my own personal hockey stick from when I was younger and we'd play street hockey.
Matches perfectly

Decked out the diaper champ

This crib was our daughters
I didn't want a "out of the box" theme (and you can't find hockey themed nursery ANYTHING, so the bedding was pieced together.
Bumper from Babies R Us
Crib sheet from Target
Crib skirt - I made  (secret: twin sheet, binder clipped on the the springs (adjustable!), and added a strip of navy blue ribbon)
Rug is from Target

 I found vintage hockey photos and turned them black and white - frames from Michaels

The "C" I bought from Hobby Lobby and painted navy blue

The clock is from the True Blue store at the Blue's arena

We also added the wainscotting and chair rail to the wall!  I love it!
Hamper is from Walmart
The cord is running to the baby monitor hidden behind the frames above

This shelf I bought at Garden Ridge
I made the hockey subway art with my sillhouette machine - hubby cut and painted the wood for me first
I printed the art in the frames and added another hockey puck

Our completed shared nursery!

I can't wait to bring home our little boy for his first photo in his crib

Doctor's Appointment - 32 weeks 4 days

I had a GOOD doctor's visit for once!

Blood Pressure was 98/62

Weight: 132 (Gained 2 lbs! total gained 12 lbs)

The best part - my stomach is measuring much better this week.

Last visit I was 2 1/2 cm behind - this week, I'm only 1/2 - 1 cm behind 

Baby's heartbeat was in the 150's and he was up wiggling around.

Only thing going on is the cold I have right now.  So they printed out a page of medicines that are safe for me to take.  I may or may not take anything, but it's nice having the list if I feel like I just need SOMETHING.

Next Appointment: March 5th

Lots of Baby Prep Today

For some reason I feel this NEED to get everything done on my to do list.

Some things, more then others.

Today I went a little crazy.

I got the baby's nursing area set up

Washed all the newborn clothes

Washed all the needed things for the diaper bag (going home outfit, burp cloths, sleepers, hats, mittens, sock, blanket, nursing cover)

Washed my nursing tanks, nursing bras, nightgowns that will be good for nursing, and new comfortable pants I've bought

Washed the crib sheet and changing table pad cover

I finished the crib skirt and put that on

We hung the rest of the nursery decore

Set up the baby monitor

Brought up diapers and wipes to put in the bassinet

FINISHED THE NURSERY!

Now we just need to add some stickers to the wall on our daughter's side of the room, vacuum, and we will be ready to take some photos to share of the COMPLETED room.  Can't wait!

As you can see to the right of the screen - my TO DO LIST - with still lots of things to get to and need to still be crossed off.

Tomorrow - we are working on the playroom/area and TAXES... fun stuff...

New Nursing Cover

Look what arrived today!

 

My New Udder Cover!

I'm obsessed with this pattern or the quartrefoil shape.

So I had already bought this nursing cover just because of the quartrefoil pattern

 

However, when it arrived, it was almost see through...

When I went to their site again, just browsing, I saw they had new prints!!!

So today, the new one arrived and it's beautiful.  Not only is it quartrefoil, it's also my favorite color (turquoise) and works great for a boy.

I'm going to get this new cover washed and into the diaper bag, the other one I'll probably put in my nursing area's side table or in my breast pump bag.  It is better then nothing, and having an extra cover on hand doesn't hurt.

Bassinet

Look what made its way into our bedroom last week.

The funny thing, it was hubby's doing.

I keep debating whether or not to get a bedside sleeper.  I bought this because it said "bedside sleeper" but it's NOT.  Our old bassinet had a bar that came off and you could get into the bassinet, this one does NOT.  But it is also a mosses basket type thing on top that comes off and then the bottom is a changing table.

The plan was to keep this in the basement so I could work a little and have Carter close if I needed to.  Then be able to carry the top upstairs so I didn't need to pick him up to move him.

So as much as I'm NOT happy with this bassinet being used as a bedside sleeper (co-sleeper), is it worth spending $130 on a co-sleeper?

Still not sure.

Also wondering if maybe even one of these would work

They are half the price and Alyssa really didn't like being on her back.  She liked sitting up in her bouncer much more.  This would at least bring the baby up closer to my level, it rocks, and is reclined.

Guess we will see what happens.  If nothing else, we do have the bassinet.

Belly Band Alternative

I've been wanting some Belly Bands

...but not for $15-$20 each.

I found a tutorial on Pinterest, bought the supplies, and had every intention of MAKING my own.  It looked simple enough.

Problem was - time and lack of effort on my part.

So here I am 32 weeks, with no belly bands.

TILL NOW

Thank you Walmart and AS SEEN ON TV inventions

I now have my own belly bands

2 for $10 (Black and White)

AND I can use them post baby.

I actually fold them down on top so they don't cover my belly.  They are a bit tight up there.

That's me and my fugal self at it again.

Baby's Nursing Area

I'm so excited about how this turned out!

I wanted a place to nurse that would be comfortable and where I could keep everything all in one place when I needed it.

We opted for a recliner rather then a glider with Alyssa so it could be used after she grew up - GLAD WE DID.  We have used this off and on since then.  Now we need it for THIS baby, so no expense there!

The lamp I got at a yard sale last fall for $5.00!!!  

It's been in the basement ever since, but I knew it would come in handy at some point.

I picked up the side table yesterday at Garden Ridge.  To me it was pricy, at $59.99, but it seems like that is the going price for side tables these days.  I'd looked at many stores and this was exactly what I had been looking for - so I just went ahead and got it.

 I had the vase and flowers from last year's spring decor.

I added an ultrasound photo of Carter, which I'll switch once he's born.

I really wanted this side table for a number of reasons

1- To have a place to set a glass of water while nursing

2 - Mainly to hold and hide all my nursing supplies

 Inside the top drawer I have:

nursing pads

Lansinoh cream

baby wipes

burp clothes

 The bottom door hides my breastpump

and Nursing care kit

I also made sure the area was close to an electrical outlet for times when I need to pump.  Also for the lamp to be easily plugged in.  The lamp has a 3 way light bulb so I can set it to the brightness I need depending on the time of day.

With our children sharing a room, having a glider/recliner in the room was just not practicle for us.  One because of the lack of space, and two because of course I won't be feeding in the room while Alyssa is fast asleep.

The area also faces our TV and I can see out our back door and out a window from where it is positioned.  So I really think this space is going to work for us.

YAY for another thing marked off my to do list!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day this year, honestly, WORE ME OUT!

I'm not sure what I was thinking volunteering so much, but in the end, I'm so glad I did.

 Here is the special Valentine's Day outfit I made for Alyssa!

Bow and shirt by me - legwarmers from my shop

I made a special Valentine's Day breakfast:

Heart shaped banana caramel pancakes with heart shaped strawberries

 I was the craft mom at her Valentine's Day party at school

They all were very wound up at the party with donuts and cookies for snack with Kool-aid

Not to mention their candy treat bags and candy Valentines.  I think they all had a wonderful time though.

I'm so glad I can be there with her for these special days

 That evening Alyssa had a Girl Scouts Valentine's Day party/meeting

I volunteered to do a craft with them as well

They also had a pizza party, games, and a "wacky" fashion show (hints the crazy attire)

This is 5 of the 20 girls in the group.  Luckily they split them up so it wasn't a free for all making their craft (flower headbands)

More candy later - Alyssa was a crazy happy girl!

I'd say she had a great Valentine's Day.

Unfortunately, with all that going on with her, me and hubby didn't really get to celebrate Valentine's Day till the next night.

He took me to Joe's Crab Shack!  I've been craving crab legs for a couple weeks now, so it was very very good! 

But before we went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner, Alyssa had a half day of school.  So I picked her up and we headed to the shop where my items are consigned and she helped me restock.

I surprised her on the way home with a stop at AMERICAN GIRL STORE!

They were doing a free Saige craft and she had a gift card she'd been holding onto since Christmas that she used to buy a few things.
She then went to Gramma and Papa's to spend the night while Steve and I went to eat our CRAB LEGS.

Talk about a busy last couple of days.

It was so fun though, and it's special time I got to spend with Alyssa and with Steve before we become a family of 4.  I know these are memories I'll always remember.

32 Weeks 1 Day Update

It's been awhile since I've blogged.  I had a show last weekend, had to restock all this week for my stand yesterday, and I have my LAST SHOW till fall 2013 next weekend.  So still lots to do in the next week and a half.

But here are belly shots from the last couple weeks

30 Weeks

31 Weeks

 Last Dr. Appointment:

February 5th

**I had them check my protien levels since the ER said they were low when I was in there last - they said they were FINE and not to worry.  The test the ER ran was not once usually run on pregnant women because it usually is always low during pregnancy.

**I asked about my Group B strep test they ran in my 1st visit to the hospital - they apparently did the test, but never sent it to the lab.  But said they would have to do another test anyway because the tests are only good for 4 weeks at a time and it's been longer then that at this point.

**I'm currently at 130 lbs (gained 10 lbs at this point)

Still having contractions regularly, mainly in the evenings, but nothing that is concerning enough to rush off to the hospital.

**I told them about the horrible rib pain I've been having, of course they said it's normal... nothing I can do except ice and heat the area.

 **I am measuring about 2.5 weeks behind with the growth of my belly (was measuring at 28.5 when I was closer to 31 weeks at that point) - but they said as long as it's within 3cm, they don't get too concerned.  However, they said another ultrasound may be ordered to check on the baby if next visit I haven't grown much.

Next Appointment: February 19th

Besides the Dr. appointment:

Sleeping SUCKS

Body HURTS

I'm definately to the uncomfortable stage of this pregnancy and not enjoying it.

On a very positive note - CARTER IS DOING GREAT!

Great heart beat, he moves around A LOT, hiccups twice a day.

We can't wait to meet him <3

Juicing for Health

On a scale of how health conscious we are around here, I'd say we are probably a 7 out of 10.

1 major thing we lack in is exercise.  The other, self control when it comes to deserts.

However, we do shop wise and I do my very best to stay away from junk food at the grocery store.  We are part of the fruit/veggie co-op that is bi-weekly, and eat lots of that.  We all take Juice Plus+.

We just added another element to our efforts of trying to live a healthy EATING type lifestyle.

Juicing.

This little dude arrived yesterday:

The Ninja Blender

We were very excited to try it out last night.  So for desert, instead of ice cream, we had a smoothie to try it out.

Banana, yogurt, frozen strawberries, and pineapple.  The recipe called for honey too, but we were out and did without.  It was kind of a sour mix without the honey, but it still tasted great.  Little did we know it would FILL US UP, almost like a meal in an of itself.

 This morning, I was on my own for breakfast - this is what I whipped up.

 Banana, clementine, tangerine, yogurt smoothie

OH WAS IT GOOD!

and easy, and most importantly healthy

So today the plan is to do some shopping for some better yogurt and some spinach to make some GREEN smoothies, and also protein to add to smoothies for a well balanced diet.

We made a space on the counter for our Ninja to live so it is out and ready for any time we want to use it.  Hopefully it will get a lot more use this way.