Menu Monday

     Back by popular demand (and because I finally have a kitchen), it’s Menu Monday! I actually cooked for the first time in our new house last night. I made Taco Meatloaf (Tim’s favorite). Here’s the recipe if anyone is interested.

Taco Meatloaf (4-6 servings)

1.5 lbs. ground chuck

½ onion, finely chopped

1 egg

¼ c. minced cilantro

1 packet taco seasoning

¼ c. tomato sauce

½ c. crushed tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line rimmed baking sheet or other baking dish with aluminum foil.
3. In a large bowl, combine meat, onion, cilantro, and taco seasoning. Add tomato sauce and egg. Using hands, work in crushed tortilla chips. Shape into a loaf and place in baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until cooked through. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Monday: Homemade chicken noodle soup. I’m attempting to make this kind of soup for the first time. The recipe is a copy of the Hard Rock Café recipe I found in a cookbook called Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2.

Tuesday: Shrimp arrabbiata. This is a recipe from Cooking Light magazine. Caution! It’s spicy!

Wednesday: Chicken lo mein.

Thursday: Black bean soup and corn muffins. This is my mom’s recipe.

Friday: Chicken and rice pot pie.

Saturday: French onion beef roast with green beans and rice. It is an Apron’s recipe from Publix. We will have leftovers of this on Sunday. 

Our little blessing at 28 weeks

     Hello third trimester! Can you believe it! I can’t. I feel like it was just a few weeks ago that we were announcing we were expecting.

     I can say for sure that the nesting instinct has kicked in and thankfully, we finally have a house for me to nest in! I’m hoping that I can get crafty and make some things for the nursery and organize the closet and get everything I can done before the furniture comes in. 

     So I had my first doctor’s appointment with our new doctor in Richland last week. It went well. I am measuring right on track and the baby's heartbeat was a strong 140 beats per minute. I go again this Wednesday for another appointment and will then begin seeing the doctor every two weeks until 36 weeks, at which point I'll have to go in every week. This Wednesday I will also undergo another screening for gestational diabetes since the first one I had done in Georgia was done a little earlier than they would like. Scoring at or below 140 is considered a passing rate and I scored a 91 on the first test, so I'm hoping I will pass this one too. 

How far along? 28 weeks, 2 days

Baby’s size? The baby is the size of a Chinese cabbage (whatever that is…) He weighs about 2.25 pounds and is about 15 inches long from head to heel. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through my womb. He’s also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Maternity clothes? Almost exclusively.

Sleep? Sleep is pretty good. The only problem I have sometimes is if I get worn out during the day and take a nap, it’s hard for me to get to sleep later that night.

Food cravings? Nothing in particular, though fruit and milk have tasted extra good. That may just be because we lived in a hotel and off restaurant food for three weeks.

Food aversions? Nothing really. Though if I see a French fry anytime within the next few months, it will be too soon.

Symptoms: I’m definitely beginning to feel the impact of having a larger belly. My feet hurt if we go run errands for too long and my back has started hurting more.

Best moment this week?  Moving into our house and beginning to organize the baby’s things. I’ve even started washing his clothes and putting them away.

Movement? The baby kicks a lot and sometimes I can even see it and it's amazing. He’s really kicked me hard in the ribs a few times. Tim talks to him a lot and baby really responds to him. It really warms my heart to see how much our little boy already loves his daddy.

What I miss about not being pregnant? Not much. It does get frustrating that I can’t lift and do certain other things. I’m not big on being dependent on Tim to have to come help me with things like that. It’s especially annoying to have to call him over every five minutes to lift yet another box.

What I’m looking forward to? Painting the nursery! Photos to come. 

House hunters

     I had planned on having several editions of our search for a home here in Washington, complete with pictures and descriptions and other stuff. But after two weeks in a hotel, we are going crazy and with the rental market the way it is, we felt like we needed to jump on this opportunity as soon as we could. Plus, my maternal nesting instincts are seriously kicking in and if I don’t get to paint something or pick out furniture soon, I’m gonna bust! We generally have good instincts when it comes to finding places to live, though, so we’re really happy with what we were able to find and we’re excited to finally get settled in here. (In addition to finally being able to do laundry in our own washer and dryer. Plus... home-cooked meals! Menu Monday fans, stay tuned.)

     We paid the security deposit today and we will move into the house this Friday, Jan. 21. The house is in Richland and is within 10 miles of Tim’s work. It’s a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with an open kitchen/dining room/living room. It has a two-car garage with a entrance into the laundry room/mud room and out back is a nice patio.

     Here is a sneak peek of the house. We’ll post pictures and more information later this weekend after the move.

Our little blessing at 27 weeks

How far along? 27 weeks

Baby’s size? The baby is about the size of a head of cauliflower, weighing in at almost two pounds and measuring about 14.5 inches long. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, the baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now.

Maternity clothes? That’s all that I’m able to wear now. And they’re pretty darn comfortable. I may never go back! Just kidding.

Sleep? I’m sleeping well. I stuff a pillow under my tummy when I’m laying on my side and that seems to help me stay comfortable.

Food cravings? Last night, I was totally wanting a big hamburger. And I'm starting to crave fruit again, probably because I haven't gotten to eat much in a few weeks. 

Food aversions? Nothing especially, but after eating out for two weeks now, I’m dying to eat a home-cooked meal.

Best moment this week? It has been really fun to have people ask me about the pregnancy now that I’m more noticeably pregnant. Random strangers stop by our table at restaurants to ask when we’re due and wish us luck. It’s fun getting attention, especially because I’m going to take a backseat once Mr. Cuteness arrives.

Movement?  Lots and lots. He’s a mover and a shaker.

What I miss about not being pregnant? Nothing.

What I’m looking forward to? Entering the third trimester next week! Time is flying by! I’m also looking forward to finding a place to live so I can start decorating the nursery. It will be fun to have a project to work on during the day. 

Our little blessing at 26 weeks

How far along? 26 weeks

Baby’s size? The baby is about the length of an English hothouse cucumber (about 14 inches long head to heel). He weighs about 1 2/3 pounds. People might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat by putting their head on my tummy (no stethoscope required). Tim has actually been able to do this. Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby’s also soaking up antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink.

Maternity clothes? That’s pretty much all I wear now. Also, because we’re living out of suitcases for who knows how long, I decided to bring only maternity clothes because it didn’t make sense to pack clothes that I would grow out of in the coming weeks.

Sleep? Sleep has been really good since we’ve settled into the hotel. It might be because we’re three hours behind our normal time and I'm a bit jet-lagged. 

Food cravings? I haven’t really been craving anything this week, though breakfast food like pancakes have been extra.

Food aversions? Nothing really.

Best moment this week? One of the best moments this week was when I had the laptop propped on my belly and the baby kicked so hard that the laptop moved. We also ordered furniture for the nursery a couple days ago, which was another big check off the list.

Movement? He’s been kicking a whole lot more in the last week and it’s been really wonderful. It helps when I’m feeling lonely to have him give me a little bonk to let me know that I’m not alone. He also has this weird habit of curling up in my lower right side. It can actually be kind-of painful, but it’s also really neat to be able to feel him so easily.

What I miss about not being pregnant? Nothing!

What I’m looking forward to? Being able to see the baby moving from the outside of my belly more. It's really crazy when we're able to see his little "bonks."

First day

Here's Tim about leave for his first day at work Monday. So far, he's doing a lot of training and getting security badges and stuff.