Baby #3, Month 3!

I am SO thankful to be out of the awful 1st trimester and into the second! Around my 11th week I started having better days (which is how I normally am) and at 12 the nausea and all that goes along with it was almost non existent! I feel like I can start enjoying my pregnancy now, and I have stopped wishing that it would "hurry up". As long as I feel decent, I love being pregnant and I am enjoying every minute with my 2 little ones who are here already. No, not wishing away these months at all! I'm working out again, eating normal, cooking nice healthy meals and keeping up with my house and laundry! (I'm sure my hubby is praising the Lord about that one.)

 I felt the baby move at the beginning of week 11, which is amazing. I had no idea you could feel a baby that early (although, I felt Joey in week 12) but my Dr. says with the third it's normal. Since then, the baby has been very active and I feel it all the time! No matter how many times I carry a child, the feeling of it swimming and kicking inside of me will never cease to amaze me.

 I got to see my little pumpkin on u/s again this month because of a little scare we went through. Praise the Lord everything was ok, but it shook me a little to be having issues at almost 12 weeks. Come to find out my placenta is very low to my cervix right now and that is why I was having the problems I was. It's a common problem and most placentas move to where they are supposed to be by the time 20 weeks come. If it doesn't, it could be serious (placenta previa) but right now I am not going to worry about that. The Lord knows what he is doing and if that happens, we'll take it as it comes! I read that only about 1% of women develop P.P so I'm not counting on it. ;)

As you can see, my belly is growing! Here I look a little bigger than normal (maybe the outfit?) but I like it because I look pregnant and not just thick around the waist. ;) I'm still at an awkward stage--not really able to wear maternity, but normal shirts look a little strange Every pregnant woman's favorite stage, right? 

The kids love the baby and are constantly kissing it. Joe calls it a "baby button"--I think he's confused about a baby and a belly button! Brookie is very much hoping for a sister, but we shall see! 

Just wanted to share a few pictures from the last week or so:

 Waiting for dinner to come out of the oven...

 It was delicous! Spinach Lasagna Rolls...I made them with whole wheat lasagna noodles, low fat ricotta and a jar of alfredo I had in my pantry because it's all I had and added some fresh tomatoes for color and more nutrition Next time I would do tomato sauce to make it much lower fat. Everyone in our house loved it!

 This month I took pictures of the kids and this was my favorite. I'm sorry, but could they be any cuter?!

 This one isn't edited yet (thus the carpet sticking out ;) but I love Joe's face here!

 Oh, my. Just darling.

 The weather here is still in the 100's, and since I'm feeling better we're finally going to the pool again and actually doing things other than lay around the house. Preschool starts next week for Brooklynne (at home) and I'm very excited about it. Other than that, I'm just happy and blessed to be back into a routine again!

Blogging Catch Up

I've been on a roll with blogging for a while, but I fell off the wagon this week. Hopefully not for long. I love blogging. Even if I didn't have one reader, to have an online journal of our lives that I can go and look back on is so special to me! 

 So besides not blogging, here is what we've been up to. My poor bare windows finally got curtains after almost 2 years of living in this house!

 Me and my (at the time) 9.5 week belly ironed all 3 huge sets. Brookie was very intrigued by an iron and ironing board and what they do. Apparently she has never seen her Mother iron before in her life.

 The kids help was enlisted to hold everything up and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of their poor little hard working selves.

 Trust me, this did not last long.

 Annnnnd....a little peek at what my windows now look like! I'll be doing a full "Before and After" of the rooms in my house when I'm done so I didn't quite want to show the whole thing. But you get the idea.

 Also on the agenda has been trying new recipes. I recently joined pinterest and have never been more inspired in my life! Recipes, home decorating ideas, photo shoot inspiration, etc, etc, etc. This week we'll be trying Grilled Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken, Healthy Spinach Lasagna Rolls, and picture here is Chicken Enchilada soup which was SO easy (done in the crock pot) and delicious! I doused mine with a good bit of cayenne pepper. Seems that I can't get enough spice in my food these days. :)I served it with cornbread and tada, a 15 minute prep-time meal!  Click on the links and try some new recipes!  

 Of other things we've been up to--taking pictures of our son who peeled off the foil that was over the leftover cornbread, plopped himself down Indian Style in the corner of the kitchen and proceeded to help himself. He did this without a chair or assistance and I still can't figure out how he reached it.

The dog ate the crumbs.

 In our spare time we like to wrestle. Or at least daddy does. Mommy watches and smiles and feels very blessed to see such a happy family playing on the floor.

Devotions every night before bed are just about our favorite time of the night. Brookie always says, "daddy, can you read long"? Every single night. Nate normally just reads a chapter or so and then they all pray.

Sometimes certain children do not sit very well...

...and must be corrected.

Brookie loves to cuddle and listen to the Bible being read by her daddy.

And speaking of recipes, I think I might have finally perfected a delicious chicken stir fry! Served with brown rice and baked egg rolls, a delicious "take out" night without the fat, salt and msg! :)

As I said before, I'm working on creating beautiful spaces in my home. We're doing one space at a time and as money allows. We got some letters for the kitchen,

and the kids were very involved in watching and "helping". And here I was again, in the middle of cleaning up dinner but taking pictures instead!

When Nate said they could paint when he was done, someone was just a little thrilled

and someone else was not

But then he got a turn and everything was all better.

I realize I need to get on the other side of the camera more, so here's a 3 month belly shot for you. I'll be doing my 3 month post soon, but just wanted to leave you with my growing bump!

The kids love Mommy's belly and always kiss it and ask about the baby. Joe  Joe says it's a "girl boy" so we shall see! :)

I think that is all the news for now. I'm finally caught up and will see you all in a few days for a pregnancy update! Have a wonderful week, friends!

The best Sandwiches in the World

Ok, so you might not think so, but when I saw a recipe for "Roasted Red Pepper, Eggplant and Ricotta sandwiches with Pesto" I knew I had to try them.

You'll Need:

 Some kind of ciabatta or sub roll

 1 Eggplant

 1-2 roasted red peppers

 Ricotta Cheese

 Pesto

 Olive Oil

 Salt and Pepper

I sliced the eggplant very thin, brushed it with olive oil on both sides, sprinkled with salt and pepper and grilled them in the broiler. Then I opened a jar of roasted red peppers and put them on the plate. It was cheaper than buying them fresh!

 You can use any bread you want, but I bought a multigrain sub roll, brushed it with olive oil and toasted it in the broiler.

 Spread pesto on one side (later, I added it on the other side because it needed more!)

 Layer on eggplant...

 Smear the eggplant with ricotta cheese. Don't skimp! (I used 2% because it's less fat)

 Place your beautiful roasted red peppers so they can pose pretty for their picture...

 Close, and enjoy!

 My kids loved it...

 ... as you can see :)

Nate and I loved them too. They were bursting with so much flavor and very healthy! Of course, to make it lower calorie, use low fat pesto, low fat ricotta (low fat milk products are just made with low fat milk--it's not chemicals!) and less olive oil. However, you want to get olive oil as a healthy fat, so measure to make sure you're getting your daily amount needed. Enjoy!

A Happy Little Story

I had a date the other night with a very cute guy.

Most of the time he was more interested in his food than me, but it gave me a good chance to sneak peeks at his gorgeous face.

Oops...I think he caught me staring at him.

His dad was gone and so was his sister. So it was just me and him, left all alone with the chicken pot pie.

It was some delicious pot pie, if I do say so myself.

Just when I was beginning to wonder what he thought of me, he gave me the sweetest smile I have ever seen. I was hooked.

And we lived happily ever after. The end.

Inside Fun

This summer is getting to me. It's above 105 degrees EVERY SINGLE DAY, sunny and humid. I love summer but enough is enough--I'm ready for beautiful, cool fall. Although here it's not beautiful and it's not cool but it's cooler than now so I'll take it! Any day, please! 

Anyway, enough complaining from me. The other day I decided we better make the most of being inside so we did some crafts. Really, it was just making pretty cards, but for a -2 year old and 4 year old that's about as crafty as we get right now.

 She drew this duck. I can't believe she has these skills. She didn't get them from me!

 I guess he wanted to color...his lips?

 So yes, even I, the ever non-crafty person got a little creative and had some fun ;)

The good news is, the cards are actually in an envelope and going to the mailbox today! I am very proud of myself. :)

 In other news, I'm taking on a new challenge of making my home as beautiful as possible with a limited budget. God has blessed me with a beautiful home and I don't have the best decorating skills, but I am determined to try and make beautiful spaces out of each area. Starting with the living room, but more on that later.

 I hope you all are enjoying your summer and that it isn't quite as hot as it is here. :)