Valentine's eve

brady and i had eggo waffles.  my main motivation to eat these is to get them out of my freezer.  honey bought a huge box of them from costco an insanely long time ago and i'm so sick of them taking up space.

i did text honey this picture and say that this was the last time i'd be able to eat eggo waffles for a long time.  despite covering them with butter, blackberry jam, syrup, and whipped cream, they taste like cardboard.  honey said he didn't even know we had eggo waffles.  well now that explains the problem.

we went to the library for story time.  brady still loves to lay his head on my belly all the time.  i love it.

i also took a million adorable videos of them but the blogger app still doesn't allow videos so.... those will continue to rest on my phone.

just the four of us reading books together.

one of brady's favorite library activities is coloring.  he grabs a mini pencil and the scrap paper that they put by the computers to write down library book codes (what are those called?  the letter number combos?) and he colors.  i make him color on the floor though because the papers are so tiny and i don't want him scribbling all over the tables.

and sometimes he finds his own spot.  i'm obsessed with this kid.  he's adorable.

and these two play together so so well.  i love it and i love watching them together and listening to their conversations.

brady also likes to play on the computers.  most of the games he doesn't understand at all, but i had a stroke of genius this time and hooked him up with the dora soccer game which only requires him to touch his finger to the soccer ball so it's perfect for him and he loves it.  abigail can't watch though because she gets stressed out that he's always losing.  ; )

abigail likes this letter train game a lot.

i finished organizing the "office supplies" in the office.  now i can actually find stuff and know what we have!

all neatly stored in this little container.  pop a lid on it, slide it in the cabinet, and we're good to go.  can i come organize someone's house?  my family doesn't appreciate my efforts so it's not bringing me satisfaction like it should.  i know i'm making progress, but i feel like i'm breaking the rules.  ha.

i got everyone's valentine presents together.  honey got a card, grapefruit juice, and chocolate twizzlers (along with a handful of starbursts), brady got four blue starbursts and the book "if you give a dog a donut" that i found on a high shelf in one of our closets.  abigail got a $1.50 sweatshirt, this little sticker activity book (i've been so excited to give this to her for the past several weeks so we can work on it together), this pen and heart pencil i found in my organizing efforts, and four pink and red starbursts.

i made this cheesy broccoli quinoa recipe i got from diana.  it was really good.  brady has started holding his bowl or plate in his right hand while using his left hand for his spoon or fork.  so random.  so i saw him doing it at dinner and called christopher's attention to it so he could see brady's quirkiness.  and then i noticed.  honey was holding his bowl in his hand and eating with his other hand.  i'm guessing that's where brady picked up this habit.  how did i never catch that before?!

happy valentines eve!

24 weeks

How far along:  24 weeks  (2.12.15)

Total weight gain/loss: 16 lbs

Maternity clothes:  yes... just maternity shirts.  maybe i'll break out my maternity skinnies this week.  my belly is definitely growing!

Sleep:  this has been the week of bizarre dreams.  like probably the most bizarre dreams of my entire life have been happening this past week.  and i seem to have multiple weird dreams each night, so honestly, i wake up feeling kind of weird and disoriented because they felt so real despite being so crazy.  but really i can't complain.  i get a lot of sleep and never wake up in the middle.  i've been sleeping from 10-8... give or take.

Best moment this week:  monday.  my doctor appointment and costa vida lunch with honey and warm weather and sweet kids.  it was perfect.

Movement:  it's increasing in frequency and power.  i'm feeling more and more even when i'm standing up.  and when i'm sitting down at night, this babe is always going crazy which is fun.  it hasn't gotten painful (except when she lodges herself low and right in my belly) so it's still just awesome.  i love it.

Food cravings:  i'm doing pretty great with eating i think!  this week, i did better about making meals and about eating at regular times.  i'm also doing better at asking myself questions before i eat.  am i eating because i'm bored or tired or no reason at all?  it's helped.  in weeks before, i would find that i'd just make myself a bowl of something and while i was eating it be all "why am i even eating this?! i'm too full to finish, but i guess i'll try so it doesn't go to waste."  i typically eat cereal for breakfast right when i wake up (in bed) and then make scrambled eggs on toasted french bread for lunch.  sometimes i'll eat again around 4 when the kids are up from nap/quiet time and get a snack.  and then i eat dinner at 6.  i have noticed that this past week, i've had more "i have to have that right now" moments which is fine when i think about chocolate chips because i can get a handfull from the kitchen and be done... less fine when i see a commercial for something on tv for something i'd have to prepare or buy.  so i try to limit my exposure to areas where i might see a food that is unattainable to me.  i'm also noticing that i don't want to eat large amounts of food in one sitting, but i'm getting hungrier more frequently than what i used to.  so when i do get hungry before it's time to eat, i try to just make sure i'm only getting a small amount of food that won't give me a stomach ache if i feel obligated to finish it. 

Symptoms: i still sometimes feel nauseaus at night, especially if i forget to take my sleeping pill and find myself awake at 11pm.  other than that, i really haven't been experiencing any pregnancy symptoms.  i'm just in that sweet spot and it's wonderful!  although i will say that i'm more emotional than normal and i cry much more easily when i'm sad about something... but at least i'm able to recognize that i'm emotionally unstable.  identification and admission is half the issue, right?!

Gender:  my head has been stressing out about what if this baby turns out to be a boy.  i feel like the ultrasound pictures weren't as clear this time as they were with abigail or brady so i wonder if the ultrasound tech was too relaxed and didn't investigate enough to really be sure it's a girl.  irrational?  yes.  but i won't be having any other ultrasounds this pregnancy so there'd be no way to know if there was a mistake until this kid is actually born.  i mean, my cousin got a surprise last march when his baby boy, john, was actually born a girl.  they had boy everything... stroller, carseat, clothes, blankets, you name it.  so, they were in a bit of a shock that day (and let's be honest... for several days to come) and i'm just thinking that if it happened to them, it could happen to anyone.  

What I miss:  nothing.  ; )  i'm loving being pregnant.  

Milestones:  it's a big deal... this is what most doctors consider the age of viability!  
Theme: the week of super weird and crazy dreams like i've never experienced before.
What's different this time around:  with abigail, i remember having a special thing for cupcakes... especially if they were professional ones with big, gorgeous icing on top.  and i was obsessed with fruit.  this time, my wants and cravings are so random and inconsistent.  sometimes i'm obsessed with pringles or licking roasted peanut shells or A1 sauce or whatever, and sometimes i can't even handle teriyaki beef or stuffed pepper leftovers because it tastes too salty for me.  sometimes i just want tons of candy and sugar galore and sometimes i can't handle an entire cupcake.  i'm still loving salads though (with ranch... creamy poppyseed, my usual favorite, is way too sweet for me)... which i'm pretty sure i didn't have with either previous pregnancy!

Extra:  i had my 24 week appointment on monday with dr. walker.  she's great and i really like her still.  the lady at the front desk didn't give me my orange glucose drink before my appointment because i was technically only 23.5 weeks along but dr. walker rang for it during my appointment and had me drink it then so i wouldn't have to come back later in the week to do the blood draw.  she asked if i had any questions (i actually didn't!) and was like "really? no questions at all?!" and all i could do was just shrug my shoulders and tell her everything this pregnancy was going along just like the two before and that i was feeling great and everything was wonderful.  then she told me my blood pressure was great, weight gain great, belly measurement was great, etc. etc. and that she wished everyone could have pregnancies like that.  i went ahead and scheduled my next appointment for the wednesday after we get back from brazil.  i was going to do that monday because i've been doing all of my appointments on monday mornings but i think since we get back the night before, i'll want that morning to go grocery shopping and do laundry and whatever.  and i might be tired from the flying.  anyways... it's on the calendar and only a month away!  pregnancy is going so fast right now... i hope things slow down a bit in the next several months so i can keep enjoying things a while longer!

Medium rare steak

Of course since the snow in our yard was 99.9999% melted... We got a fresh blanket of snow last night. Which is 100% melted in our backyard and 100% coating our front yard. Ha. Fresh fun for Abigail to play with which will be perfect because the weather is supposed to be pretty nice the next few days. It's more fun to play in the snow in 60* weather than 30* weather.

Anyways, there's nothing like snow that makes me really want to just stay home for a lazy day so that's what we did. After breakfast, the kids watched rio while I cleaned out my book cabinet. Y'know... Because I'm taking one small step towards minimalism. My current strategy is to put everything I don't want in a certain part of my basement so it will be easier for me to group and deal with stuff (sort, give, donate). But these books will be going to Steph. Glad for them to have found another loving home since they were all well loved by me. 

Brady was reluctant to go down for nap and ended up taking a short nap. He was awake a little after three and I wasn't thrilled about it. Luckily, honey had told me he'd try to come home early so he left the office around 3:30 when I told him Brady was up. 

I also told him I was hungry and although I'd planned on making dinner, I didn't feel like it and we should go to Texas Roadhouse instead. He was all for it and we got there at four when they opened. ; )  we sat in the very farthest booth back by the bathrooms and it was awesome. So private and quiet and secluded and it felt like we were at a completely different restaurant. It was a fun change. Also, mark this that as long as we sit in a booth, we don't need a booster for Brady. We've been doing that at other restaurants for a long time but for some reason always get him a booster at Texas Roadhouse. No booster works much better. My salad was great, rolls were wonderful, and I ordered my steak medium rare. I need a happy medium between medium rare and medium...

Is that so much to ask?! I ate the last of my steak with A1 sauce and was loving it. Now I'm craving rare meat with steak sauce. Oh pregnancy. 

We were home by 5, I went to the church at 5:30 to work on visiting teaching, and I made it home before 7. Our RS president came over during nap time to approve the changes I was proposing so I was glad to get to the church the same day so put it in MLS.  Let's all cross our fingers we won't have to keep making so many changes in upcoming months! It seems like we just have a lot of new move ins and whatever that make that inevitable. Either way, I'm absolutely loving my calling. It's pretty awesome even if it is frequently really time consuming. 

We put kids to bed and then I showered while honey ran on his new treadmill and then we both watched the celebrity apprentice from Monday night. 

It was 10:45 when I finally realized that I was still wide awake because I forgot to take my pills so I got on that and now I think I'm finally tired enough to fall asleep! Woohoo! 

Life is good. I'm excited for another normal day tomorrow. 

Tuesday on time

Today I was punctual!  Who knew that was even possible?! 

I woke up before 8 and had plenty of time to eat my cereal, play on my phone, and get dressed before I got Brady up and put both kids in the car. They ate bananas on the way to preschool. Emmy, Brady finished Abigail's because halfway through she was all "I don't like bananas" and Brady was still hungry. But I was prepared to finish it myself. ; )

We were at least seven minutes early for preschool and it gave me time to hang out in the car while I talked with Abigail and put on makeup. 

Brady and I headed straight to the post office because I got my courage and determination to mail something. And then I got overwhelmed with packing options and I saw the long line and I turned around and walked out. Is this an illness? Can it be diagnosed and treated? Surely I am one of millions with a complete revolaion for the post office. 

Anyways, we went to Walmart with the intention of being super quick and heading to playgroup at the church. But I was in a wish washy mood (I think the post office experience, though brief, zapped my ambition and confidence) and I had a list full of stuff that I didn't normally buy or hadn't ever bought so I shouldn't have been surprised that it took forever. Once I realized that we were too slow to be able to make it for playgroup, we just took our time at Walmart and then went straight to pick up Abigail... So we were at least five minutes early again. Woohoo! I'm almost like a totally with it sort of mom! 

We made and ate eggs for lunch (they were so perfect and way more delicious than what they have been in a long time and I'm thinking it was the extra cheese and fresh loaf of bread. Brady went down for nap around 1:15 and Abigail and I read a book and then went outside. I mailed a Valentine's card to granny and papa. Maybe that will be on time too??? 

The clouds started looming in the sky so we went inside and Abigail went to her room for quiet time while I snuggled in bed to do visiting teaching stuff and we all emerged around 4:30. I came downstairs and started cleaning up the kitchen, finishing putting groceries away and texting honey about his eta while getting the kids a snack. 

Honey said he'd be home around 5:30! Whew! Good thing I had dinner in the crock pot because I wasn't thinking he'd be home until closer to six thirty or so. I started on the rice and the zucchini and set the table and finished cleaning up and guess what! When honey got home, I was all ready with dinner! It's my day to be punctual! 

I tried a new recipe (three ingredients in the crock pot: stew meat, teriyaki sauce, and pineapple tidbits) and services it over rice with just regular zucchini on the side and honey said it was a winner (it's hard to get a big reaction out of him as far as food goes) so that made my day. Especially because it's super easy (like takes literally two minutes) and satisfied the kids too. It was too salty for my taste, but I think maybe that's just because I'm pregnant and my tastebuds are all over the place these days. 

Honey and the kids played in the great room while I put away food and dish dishes and then I got ready and went to church early. We had our RS activity at 7 and I grabbed honeys keys and went fifteen minutes before to just make some visiting teaching changes in MLS.  So I was happy to have gotten that done and I was right on time for the activity on family history. I loved sitting next to my friend kristy and had fun talking to her about the bachelor. She hasn't really been watching this season but I told her she looked just like one of the girls on the show and she said I was literally the fourth or fifth person to tell her that in the last two days. Ha. Well, it's true. And fyi, she looks like Becca, who got the one on one date last night. 

Anyways, it's been a good day. And apparently we're supposed to get snow tonight... I'm so glad all my errands for the week are done and the kids and I can just hang out tomorrow. 

Holy cow I am so so sleepy right now. 

Minimalism

I think I'm a wannabe minimalist with hoarding tendencies. Does anyone have experience with this? Would you like to help me out? I've read a lot of really good minimalist blog posts and I get motivated, and then I seem to have trouble taking action. 

But for the record, all things are relative, and while I already have a very minimalistic home and life in a lot of ways, I'm just looking to simplify a bit more...

Monday

My Mondays are always amazing and this Monday was no exception. It was absolutely wonderful. 

My 24 week appointment. 

Killing time during my glucose test until it was time to get my blood drawn. 

Driving with the windows down while singing Taylor swift. 

Meeting honey for lunch at costa vida. 

Gorgeous weather all day long. 

Spending "quiet time" outside because it was too gorgeous to not soak it up. 

Brady napping forever. 

Going to the library as a family for fhe. 

We drove two cars, so on the way home, home stopped by sports authority and bought s treadmill. It's all set up in our basement now. 

Bedtime together as a family and that Brady wants to lay his head on my belly at every possible opportunity. 

So perfectly wonderful. 

Sunday kids

I used to love reading the blog of some lady named Mary who was super funny and loved Jane Austen. But then she stopped blogging. Anyways, she used to always take a picture of her kids each Sunday before church. That seems super ambitious to someone as lazy as myself, but I am working on taking a picture of my kids after church every once in a while. Like today. 

How is it impossible for kids to act normal and casual when they know they're being photographed?! What's with the weird arm movements and facial expressions?!  

So here's a few outtakes and a picture. 

Number one. 

Just put your hands down and act normal! 

It's okay! Just smile! 

Okay, go ahead and be silly. 

Arms up! Get your wiggles out!

Okay, now hold hands and smile at the camera. 

Yes, those are the normal kids I pretend to have. ; )

Green smoothies

They're always tastier with a buddy.