Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Another football Sunday has come and gone and this is what was simmering in our slow cooker while Colin watched football and I blogged/Googled ways to get labor started.

 Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

3 (15 oz.) cans petite diced tomatoes, un-drained
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup minced onion
1 cup finely chopped carrots
3 cups chicken broth
½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
2 cups half and half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ cup fresh basil, minced
black pepper to taste

Instructions

• In your slow cooker, combine tomatoes, celery, onion, carrots and broth. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours.
• Forty five minutes before the soup is done, melt butter in a deep skillet or large pot. 
• When butter is melted whisk in flour, half and half, and 1 -2 cups of the soup mixture from the slow cooker. Whisk until smooth and well blended.
• Pour the flour/half and half mixture into the slow cooker with the remaining soup.
• Add the Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil and stir to combine.
• Cover and cook on low for 30 more minutes. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth OR add soup to blender (about half a pitcher at a time) and blend until smooth.*

*If you, like me, don't have an immersion blender and you go with the regular blender option, BE FOREWARNED: putting hot things in a blender will cause an explosion of soupy gook all over your kitchen if you don't hold the lid on tightly. (Yes, we learned this lesson the hard way many years ago when attempting butternut squash soup for the first time. It was a fun time for all.) I've heard that you can take the plastic center piece off of the blender lid to avoid such an explosion. Something about letting air in... Personally, I don't trust this option enough to attempt it, so I just put a kitchen towel over the lid, hold it down, and say a little prayer.

I served ours with grilled cheese sticks.  

Mmm... cheesey

High Five For Friday

Happy Friday, kids! You know how this goes...

1) On Sunday I spent almost an hour and a half on the phone with one of my best friends. She doesn't live nearby so it's not often that we really get to catch up on each other's lives, but when we do it's like we've never missed a beat. It was so good to hear her voice and to catch up with her and to just hit the pause button on life for a little while.

2) Thanks to the phone conversation above, I was able to reconnect with an old friend from college who I haven't talked to in 10 years. <--- how is it possible that I can refer to some of my college days as "10 years ago?" That should be on a Low Five list somewhere...Anyway, I am so happy to be back in touch with her and I'm looking forward to being involved in each others lives again.

3) The turkey's done! That's right - I've hit the 37 week mark which is full term. Baby J is now fully cooked and could be making his grand debut any day now.

4) Earlier this week when Col and I were grocery shopping, two complete strangers came up to me (separately) and told me that I looked wonderful and that they couldn't even tell I was pregnant until I turned around. I could have kissed both of them. Just one more reason to love Wegman's - nice people shop there. :)

5) This video may have made my entire week. I think I've already watched it 5 or 6 times. How can this not make you smile? If you didn't like Sesame Street as a child, we can't be friends.

Throw Back Thursday - Pet Edition

In all of my talk about Baby J and Colin, I've neglected to mention another member of our family - our furry, four-legged child. 

She loves to sleep in duffel bags - but only the Vera Bradley ones

Kitty, the cat formerly known as Miley, actually belonged to my sister. When I moved back to NJ from DC, I lived with my mom and sister for about a year. It was during this time that my sister decided she was going to get a cat... and name it Miley. I can only assume this was after Ms. Cyrus who's twerking days we were still blissfully unaware of. 

A few months after my sister brought her home, she developed a skin infection which was allegedly due to a grass allergy (what animal is allergic to grass??), and was uh... sexually frustrated... causing her to make horrendous whining and crying sounds at all hours of the night. Colin and I took her to the vet to get all of the above issues taken care of and vaccinated and she's been ours ever since. Unfortunately, her name is still Miley on all of her paperwork but we never call her that.

Kitty & Daddy - April 2007

 We had to put a bell around her neck because she was so small and would often disappear into drawers and under beds where we couldn't find her.

Our little fur-baby

Kitty & Mommy - December 2012

Nursery Tour

I am so excited to finally share pictures of Baby J's nursery! You'll remember from this post that we decided to do a Key West/shabby-chic for boys theme. Being that we rent and can't paint or personalize things the way we could if we were homeowners, I had my doubts about how this room would turn out. Thanks to a handy husband and father-in-law, some very generous friends and family, and a little creativity and bargain-hunting on my part, it turned out exactly the way I wanted!

Wicker Turtles - Pottery Barn Kids (small size only available in stores)

Delta 4-in-1 Convertible Crib in Cherry - Wal-Mart Online
Madras Print Crib Skirt & Quilt - Pottery Barn Kids (online only)
Circo Fitted Crib Sheet - Target 

Extra Large Sabrina Basket, White - Pottery Barn Kids
Curtains - Target, very old

Rocker - $20 antique store find that Colin refinished
Sherpa Baby Blanket - similar here
Boppy - Target
Boppy Cover - BixbyBasil
Pineapple Basket (I store lotion, Butt Paste and A&D ointment in here) - Nate Berkus for Target
Diaper Basket - Marshall's 
Changing Pad - Summer Infant, available on Amazon
Madras Print Changing Pad Cover - Pottery Barn Kids
Lamp - old, probably from Target 
Dresser - belonged to Colin's grandmother
Drawer Pulls - old Target, similar here

Diaper Genie - available on Amazon

Laundry Basket - Marshall's

My handmade decoupage letters are hung above the dresser but I deliberately left them out of these pictures since we're keeping the name a secret until baby's birthday.  :)

Chalkboard - Marshall's
Large Sabrina Basket, Espresso - Pottery Barn Kids 
Cloud B Twilight Turtle - available on Amazon 
Crane Drop Humidifier - available on Amazon
Lamp - very old, I'm talking college days old

Table - I got this when I moved into my apartment in DC. It was bare wood (and totally scratched up by our cat), but with a little TLC from Colin and his dad, aka "Pop-pop," it looks brand new!

Seahorse Rocker - Handmade by an awesomely talented friend; full picture below

Did you notice how I'm not-so-subtly trying to hide our printer under the table?? This room used to be our office and, as you saw here, my coffee table is my "office" now. 

 Lyrics to Lee Brice, "Love Like Crazy" Print - Made by yours truly
(Preggos and Mommies - don't listen to this song without a box of tissues nearby. Gets me every time...)
Wood Frame - Marshall's

 Whale Print - Also made by me using Microsoft Publisher and ClipArt
Distressed White Frame - Target

And one more close up of this because it's so awesome :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of our friends and family who purchased or made a lot of the items in this room for us. We are so appreciative and we hope the baby likes his room as much as we do!

Slow Cooker Chili

We love fall in this house. And I love my slow cooker. We especially love Sundays in the fall when we can throw something in the slow cooker, open the windows, veg out on the couch, and watch football all day. This recipe is a fan-favorite on football Sundays and it makes great leftovers (which seem to disappear quicker than most of my kitchen creations). I've adapted the recipe from a combination of different chili recipes and our personal tastes and I think I've finally perfected it. Also, it is super easy to double if you have a large slow cooker and are expecting a big crowd.

Slow Cooker Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or turkey (I strongly recommend using grass-fed meat. We get ours from our local butcher shop)
2 cans low sodium tomato soup
1 can kidney beans, drained
1can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1/2  Tbsp. ground cumin
black pepper and sea salt to taste

For toppings:
Cheddar cheese, shredded (I also strongly recommend not buying the pre-shredded kind. Did you know they add sawdust to this to keep it from sticking together? Gross.)
Sour Cream
Corn chips (I like to get the Scoops kind so that you can make little mini-chili bowls out of them while you eat - #getinmybelly!)

Cooking instructions:
Brown the meat in a skillet and add to slow cooker once browned and cooked through.
Add remaining ingredients (except topping ingredients) to your slow cooker and stir to incorporate. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. Serve in bowls and top with shredded cheddar, sour cream and chips.

DIY Maternity Jeans & Other Pregnancy-Related Ramblings

If you're like most women, you've probably spent a decent amount of time searching for the perfect pair of jeans. You know - the pair that has a dark enough wash that makes them acceptable to wear at night, a butt that doesn't stretch out and get saggy, and a hemline that can be worn with flats or heels (and doesn't make you look like a freak who shrunk her pants if you opt for the latter).

Or maybe you have a particular brand or store that is your go-to for jeans and you buy a pair for every possible jean-wearing situation you may find yourself in. If you're lucky, that will also include pregnancy. For me, that store is American Eagle. I freaking love their jeans. Unfortunately, they don't sell maternity jeans (probably because most of their clientele is under the age of 20 and they don't want to encourage teen pregnancy. Smart move, AE).

Anyway, I digress. Way back when I wasn't pregnant, I set aside a few pair of AE jeans that had become too big for me, (I had lost about 15lbs. before becoming pregnant due to some dietary changes I made to keep my MS under control, but more on that some other day). I thought maybe I could wear them in the early stages of pregnancy when regular pants are still barely button-able, or use the old hair-tie trick to make them work.

I should stop here and say that both of these are great options for early to mid pregnancy. However, there will probably come a point when even the hair-tie trick is uncomfortable and you just want to pull a big, soft, stretchy piece of fabric up over (or under) your burgeoning belly and call it a day.  

Side note - I am aware of the belly band, and I do have one but I hated that thing. I was constantly fidgeting with it and every time I had to pee (which was often), it needed to be re-adjusted which I just couldn't be bothered with.

So, I did some Googling and found that with an old pair of jeans (preferably one that is a little big) and a stretchy tank top or a belly band that you hate, you can make your own maternity jeans! This is the tutorial that I used. If you're attempting this yourself you will need a sewing machine. Lucky for me, my mother is a seamstress who not only has a sewing machine, but also has the time to do stuff like this for me.

And so, my American Eagle maternity jeans were born and I love them! They are the only pair that I wear now and the only pair that will accommodate not just my belly but my hips, butt, and thighs - all of which have grown a little in the past 36 weeks.



I believe these are AE's Boyfriend cut jean. I think their Artist cut would also work well for this DIY. Basically, the lower the waist on the original jeans, the easier it will be to make them into maternity jeans.

Another little tip: If you opt to purchase your maternity jeans as opposed to making them; don't be like me at 16 weeks and think that only your belly is going to get big and proceed to buy a bunch of maternity jeans that fit you well then. Even if you don't gain a ton of weight, and even if most of it is in your torso, your hips have to get bigger to let Junior out and they will. I now have 4 pair of maternity jeans that are practically brand new but horribly uncomfortable to wear. Just trust me on this one. They might be a little big on you at first but you'll be glad you have them towards the end.

And here I am rockin' the jeans at 36 weeks and 1 day pregnant. T-minus 4 weeks to go! Ignore the no makeup look and Jets shirt. The Eagles already played - and lost :( - this week so it's officially Jets day in our house. 

High Five For Friday

Happy Friday! Jumping right in to my top 5 moments of the week...

1. The nursery tour post is almost done and should be up early next week! It was all I could do this morning to not skip High Five For Friday in place of this. I had so much fun putting both the room and the post together. Here's a little preview that some of you may have already seen if you follow me on Instagram. 

2. Fall weather. Need I say more? It's starting to get pretty chilly here, especially in the mornings and evenings. I've worn both a scarf and my Uggs at various points this week and it feels oh-so-good to be reunited with them.


3. I started my weekly doctor's appointments this week. For those of you who don't know, most obstetricians and midwives see their patients once a month during pregnancy until the 36th week (or 9th month) when appointments become a weekly thing. I don't particularly look forward to going to the doctor, but in this case it means we are one month away from meeting our little man.

4. I got a manicure and pedicure earlier this week and am headed to this wonderful place to get a haircut this weekend. This will probably be the last time that I get any sort of pampering before Baby J's arrival (and possibly long after). I wonder 1 - How long this manicure will last (I give it one more day before it chips), and 2 -When I'll ever have time to get a manicure again (I'm guessing sometime after never). 

Nail Color: Essie, Twin Sweater Set

5. In about 9 hours I get to spend two whole days with my better half. It sounds silly, but I appreciate our time together even more than I did before I was laid off. When we were both working outside the home, mornings were so rushed with both of us trying to get showered and ready for work, making coffee, scrounging breakfast, and making lunches, that we barely seemed to have time to kiss goodbye. By the time we both got home at night, we were so exhausted that evenings were usually spent zoning out on the couch in front of the TV, with our respective tablets/laptops/phones in our faces. Weekends were reserved for getting everything done that we didn't get to during the week - cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. I'm not saying this isn't still what life is like sometimes, but not being mentally drained by the drudgery of a 9-5 job has really given me a chance to "stop and smell the roses," as they say. Even when we are cleaning the apartment or building baby furniture or grocery shopping, I'm much more mentally present. Now, I look forward to doing the most menial tasks simply because we're together.

Ok, you can all go make pretend gagging sounds now. I'm in love...get over it. :) And have a great weekend!

My New Favorite Chair

Stability Ball | Rocker Swing

There was a time when I used my stability ball to do ab workouts. Now, I just sit on it. 

This has quickly become one of the only places that I can sit comfortably for extended periods of time. As you can see, I've made a nice little workstation for myself here. Aside from the fact that my coffee table is a tad too low, it works. And this set up allows me to be in front of our sliding glass door, which I've been able to leave open thanks to the amazing fall weather we've had here in NJ. I usually end up here at night too when hubs and I are watching TV. 

The other day at my 35 week appointment, my midwife said to me, "Wow! His head is really low! Do you feel a lot of pressure?" Um, yes. That would be an understatement. This isn't anything to worry about and I'm thankful that little dude has assumed the ejection position, but it can be pretty uncomfortable for mamma. The ball seems to relieve a lot of the pressure, at least when I'm sitting. Preggos - I highly recommend investing in one sooner rather than later. And it doubles as piece of workout equipment post-baby (pretty sure its the other way around, but whatever).

You'll also notice that our swing is already set up (#ididitallbymyself) and ready for baby's arrival. Maybe he will actually nap in here so that I can continue blogging from my new "desk."

Semi-Wordless Wednesday - Be thankful.

What you have woken up to today? 

Whether you believe in God or not, you've probably used the phrase: "I'm praying that..." Whether it's that an interview goes well, you get into a certain school, that something bad doesn't happen to you, that a sick friend gets better, etc., you've probably said something like this before. I find that I usually only "pray" for things when I want something. How often do we ever stop to thank God or to just recognize and be thankful for the things we have?

Today, instead of asking for anything, take a moment to survey your little corner of the world and all that you have, rather than asking for what you have not.



Also, if you happen to know who started the Semi-Wordless Wednesday trend, let me know so I can link up with them!

Boppy Cover from BixbyBasil

Lately, I've been ordering so many things for Baby J and his room that sometimes I forget when I'm expecting a delivery. <--- Ha! See what I did there? Expecting a delivery? Get it??

Yesterday I was delighted to see that this adorable Boppy cover from BixbyBasil had arrived.

Seashore Boppy Cover

I purchased a plain Boppy pillow from Target awhile ago but wasn't crazy about any of the covers that traditional big-box stores had to offer. I hate baby-ish looking stuff - pastels, farm animals, zoo animals, or silly onsies that say things like "I'm a cute-a-saurus rex!" with eighty-five bazillion dinosaurs all over it. No thank you. Before I was even pregnant, I knew I did not want my baby's room (or the baby, for that matter) to look like Fisher Price threw up on them.

My brilliant husband had the idea to do a Key West themed nursery, inspired by the best vacation we've ever taken to, you guessed it: Key West. We went to celebrate my graduation from graduate school and we can't wait to go back. Here we are on Duval Street, just after the sunset.

The nursery is actually turning out exactly the way I envisioned - madras print, lots of wicker baskets, framed country music lyrics, an antique white rocking chair, turtles and whales, (for some reason I am oddly OK with these animals but not the puppies/bears/butterflies/etc. that usually adorn most baby products). Think shabby-chic for boys. I'm thinking a nursery tour post is in order soon...

Usually when I can't find what I want from a store, I turn to Etsy. There are so many talented artists selling pretty much anything you can dream of and, they'll usually customize it for you if it's not exactly what you're searching for.  On my quest for a non-pastel, non-animal covered Boppy cover, I stumbled across this one and ordered it immediately because it is perfect for our Key West theme. I was even able to customize the back with this super soft minky fabric:

So, if you're looking for some unique items for your little one or a great no-one-will-get-the-same-thing baby shower gift, hop on over to BixbyBasil to check out her awesome selection of Boppy covers and other home & nursery decor!

The Honeymoon is Over

When hubs and I started trying to get pregnant, I did tons of research on pregnancy, getting pregnant, baby products (I think I had half of my registry built before I even saw those two, coveted pink lines)... you name it. I could probably be a midwife I read so much. Ok, maybe not. But I did read a lot.

One of the repeat pieces of information that I came across was that most pregnancies follow this pattern:

First trimester - sick, tired, sick again. Most women feel miserable until about the 12th or 14th week when energy levels will start to rise and nausea will, hopefully, subside. Oh, and you aren't showing at this point so you either have to tell people your complexion is green because you have a 3-month-long flu or bite the bullet and tell them what's really going on (if they haven't already guessed).

Second trimester - the "honeymoon phase." This will be the best and easiest part of pregnancy. You'll be feeling better, you'll start showing, most people will know by now that you're pregnant and will start looking at you with that stupid smirk that only babies, kittens and pregnant people seem to elicit.

Third trimester - the end is near. Basically, you will revert back to first trimester levels of exhaustion, possible nausea and a host of new, uncomfortable symptoms. Things like swollen feet and ankles, difficulty moving, breathing, eating, etc.

My honeymoon phase started the day I took my first pregnancy test. Tuesday, February 12, 2013 to be exact. I had told myself I would wait until Valentine's Day to take a test, but I had one test left from the month before that was burning a hole in my medicine cabinet. I had a feeling that something was different. In fact, I remember waking up that morning and sitting on the edge of the bed thinking, "My whole life could change today," and it did! I was thrilled. Hubs and I had only been trying for two months and we were really lucky to get pregnant so quickly. I took the first test so early that you can barely see the second line:

February 12, 2013

Even Colin, always the realist, said that we shouldn't get our hopes up and that I should buy more tests to take the next day. So I bought 3 more and by 2am on February 13, they were much clearer. Thankyoudigitialclearblueeasy.

February 13, 2013

I sailed through the first 12 weeks with little more than a few "Ew, that doesn't seem appetizing at all," moments. I never threw up, never took a day off from work and had a nice little, barely visible bump by week 13.

 13 weeks, 3 days

The second trimester was everything all of the books and doctors and friends said it would be and more. My skin was clearer than ever, my hair was growing like weeds, my appetite was back, I was still working out every day. We found out that we were expecting a healthy baby boy and everything seemed to be going exactly as it should. I even passed the dreaded glucose test on the first try. I waited for the other shoe to drop as I neared the third trimester. 

Week 28 came and went. And so did weeks 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34. People were constantly telling me how great I looked - how I only had "a little basketball" of a belly. I even wore a bikini on our beach vacation which elicited the aforementioned "aww, she's pregnant" looks from strangers. I was practically gloating to anyone who asked how I was doing that, "I still feel great!" and "I've only gained 25lbs!" I even went so far as to say, "I don't know why some of these pregnant women complain so much!"

Enter week 35. And backaches. And sleepless nights. And braxton hicks and mood swings like no other. The honeymoon is over. I'm in full-on uncomfortable mode 24/7. Here are just a few of the joyful symptoms that have reared their ugly heads this week:

Eating two bites of food and being full. Even my most favorite foods aren't as enjoyable as they once were because eating more than a few bites of anything makes me feel like the skin on my stomach is going to explode. Or I get heartburn that radiates up to my eyeballs. Or both. Silver lining: this is probably keeping me from gaining more than the recommended 25-35lbs. I'll take it.

Sleeping doesn't happen. Nor does sitting, standing or walking. They tell you when you're pregnant that you're supposed to sleep on your side. I didn't really have a problem with this as I usually did sleep on my side... until now. No matter how many pillows I use to contort my head/belly/feet into what seems like a comfortable position at first, I ultimately end up with rib or hip pain that wakes me out of a dead sleep. Which makes me realize I have to pee (again), which means I have to get up...

Getting up from a supine position, especially after an extended period of time, is not easy. Usually my back and/or hips are so stiff that I have to windmill my body so that I'm laying horizontally on the bed, drop one leg to the floor, and push off with my foot to force the rest of my body into a standing position - kind of like a seesaw. I'm sure it's fun to watch. 

I have hemorrhoids.  There. I said it. I don't even care because you know what, it or something equally uncomfortable will probably happen to you too, you unsuspecting-happy-woman-who-thinks-she-won't-get-any-weird-pregnancy-symptoms. I was once you. That kind of reminds me of this moment from The Office:

The baby gets hiccups. All.The.Time. The first time it happened - around week 22 or 23 - it was cute. Hubs and I would put our hands on my belly and feel the little blip!...blip!...blip! of his body jumping with each hiccup. Now, it's just irritating. And sometimes painful - especially if I've just eaten and my stomach feels stretched to the max.

Standing up or walking makes me feel like there is a bowling ball sitting in my pelvic bone and that the bottom is going to drop out at any second.

People start to ask you questions like, "Are you afraid of pooping on the table??" Um, no. I'm afraid my baby is going to have something wrong with him that the tests didn't catch. Or that I won't be able to feed him. Or that we won't be able to afford college or that he'll hate us or that we'll be bad parents.  Or that someday some stupid ass drunk driver is going to kill him in a car accident or that I'll lose a tremendous amount of blood during labor and my husband will have to decide which one of us to save. I would poop on the table one million, billion times if it meant avoiding any of the above scenarios. 

I know it could be worse. And I'm not complaining while I'm complaining, I still feel very lucky and very happy to be pregnant and to have had an overall, easy experience. Sometimes I still can't believe that there is a person - a whole person - growing inside me and that in a few short weeks I am going to be able to kiss his face and watch his tiny fingers curl around mine. The truth is, I would go through it all over again - even the unpleasant parts multiplied 10 times - if I knew meeting this amazing little person was the end result. 

High Five For Friday

So I'm still learning about some of this, a lot of this blogetiquette stuff. A few of my regular reads include a "High Five For Friday" post where you post about your top 5 moments of the week. I love reading them and it always makes me think about my own top 5 moments. And I think its important to take time to focus on what's good in life. I believe this lovely blogger  is the originator of High Five For Fridays and that it's the polite blogger thing to do to link to her blog (help me out if I'm wrong here).

So without further ado, here's my High 5:

1) Football season started. Which means fall which means my baby's due date. And also, the Eagles won. I'm a lifelong Eagles and Phillies fan but I've made an agreement with my husband (who is a Jets and Mets fan) that the baby could be a Jets fan during football season if he let him be a Phillies fan during baseball season. Seemed like a fair deal, right? Well, this drastically limits the time that I have left to cheer for the birds because I guess I'm gonna have to jump on the Jets bandwagon when little dude gets here. We can't be a house divided during football season! So this week, I celebrated a big Eagles win over the 'skins. Here's a fun video for all of you Philly sports fans:

What Brotherly Love Truly Means. from Philadelphia Eagles on Vimeo.

2) Earlier this week I took a breastfeeding class at our hospital's learning center. While the class was mostly a refresher of things I had already read about, it reinforced my desire to make breastfeeding my baby work no matter what. I really believe that it is the only way that babies should be nourished until they are able to eat solid foods. Back in the day, there was no Enfamil or Gerber Good Start. If you didn't breastfeed your baby, he/she didn't eat. And babies instinctively know how to eat and where to find food from the moment they're born. Did you know that if you place a newborn baby on his mother's chest after delivery he will actually wiggle his way over to the breast and latch on all by himself? Seriously... Google it. I don't intend to try this because I also believe that we were given opposable thumbs for a reason but how amazing is that?

I realize times have changed and many women need to go back to work or will be separated from their babies for awhile due to health problems. But there are also breast pumps and cars and bottles and coolers. And where there's a will, there's a way. I know it's not going to be easy but many of the most rewarding things in life are not easy.

3) I made this the past two mornings and It.Is.Good. I used regular sugar instead of stevia because I don't eat any of that fake sugar stuff (more on that in another post), and I did not add whipped cream. But honestly, it's so flippin' good that you don't even need it. And I drank it out of a Mason jar which is way more fun than a regular old glass. 

Update: I made this for Colin over the weekend. His comment when I was pouring it out of the blender and into a cup for him, "It smells like fall threw up in there." I took that as a compliment. 

4) As of tomorrow I will be 35 weeks pregnant and I start my weekly OB appointments. I can't believe that we could, potentially, meet our son any day now! Here I am earlier this week taking my weekly bump selfie shot:

5) I signed up for a free trial of Audible and downloaded The Cuckoo's Calling as my free book and have been listening to it all week on my Kindle. I didn't know if I would be a fan of the audiobooks but so far, I'm really enjoying this one. The reader does different voices for the characters and I find that that helps me keep track of the characters and stay focused where I thought I would constantly be zoning out and rewinding. <-- is it still called 'rewinding' if it's not a tape??

That's all I've got for this week. Have a great weekend everyone!

Everyone Has A Blog

It seems the thing to do these days is have a blog. Especially if you’re a twenty- or thirty-something girl who has kids, loves red wine, crafting, God, her hubby, her family, Pinterest, running, yoga pants, coffee, cooking, baking, makeup, shopping or any combination of the above. Well, those are all pretty fun and interesting things to a lot of people (myself included)… but why would anyone care about my opinion on any of them? Why should I start a blog? Does the World Wide Web really need another blog about winecraftingGodhusbandsbabiescoffee or yoga pants? Probably not. 

But you see, I’m presently unemployed – something I never, ever, ever thought I would be (but more on that later). And I'm 34 ½ weeks pregnant - something I couldn’t wait to be and feel so blessed to be (a LOT more on that later). And I’m still adjusting to this new and very unexpected place I've found myself in, and it hasn't been easy. I've been working, in some way, since I was 15. I have an MBA for crying out loud. I'm not supposed to just stay at home! But I am. Or I wouldn't have found myself being laid off from my corporate job in  human resources at 8 weeks pregnant. That was definitely not in my plans. But I'm learning very quickly that sometimes our plans are not the best plans. 

So this morning I was lying in bed, wondering what earth-shatteringly boring things the world of unemployment and pregnancy would bring today and reading my favorite blogs. And they were all written by these fun, smart, insightful, funny women who were sharing their stories and documenting their lives; whether it was recipes, parenting tips, fashion tips, career advice, or stories about struggles with serious, heartbreaking things like cancer or infertility. And I realized that I look forward to reading these blogs every day. And I get sad when there aren't any new posts. Because a lot of these women, who I don't even know, affect me in some way. For example, I turned to one of my favorite blogs when it was time to build my baby registry because I had no clue where to start and the author always seemed to have the cutest, most useful products in her little one's nursery. And another is my go-to blog for new hairstyles if I have an event to go to or am just bored with my current look. Many have provided dinner ideas when I think that having enchiladas again sounds like the worst idea in the world. Some I can always count on for a good laugh; others an insightful message. The list goes on.

And I had a light bulb moment. I thought, I can document this new and unexplored territory of unemployment and mommy-hood and give myself something fun and exciting to think about each day. I can start a blog. And who knows, maybe someone else can learn something from me too.
 

So I’m gonna try this blog thing out – if for no other reason than to document this new path that my life has turned down. We’ll see where it takes me.