Baby W: 34 Weeks

Total weight gain:   40 pounds [let's hope this number doesn't much higher]
Maternity clothes:  Mostly wearing large [ugh] shirts, shorts and yoga pants. When I venture into public, I'll sport the handful of maternity items I do have. Most of which have been shrinking each week [do we have super hot water here, or what?!] Not planning to buy anything more - we're in the homestretch!
Stretch marks:  Nope
Sleep:  I'm sleeping pretty well, but I need like 8-10 hours a night to really feel rested. It's a good thing I'm not working right now :)
Best moment this week:  Over the weekend, Mike and I [ok, mostly mike] put together most of the nursery furniture, so I've been getting things setup this week. We're finally getting somewhere! Because Mike is working so much to get ready for hockey season, it was great spending some time with him over the weekend.
Miss anything?:  My regular clothes! 
Movement:  I get a butt and feet moving across the top of my belly many times a day, but there's not enough room in there to do flips anymore! And the nightly hiccups continue, which is kind of amusing. 
Food cravings:  Dessert. Trying to hold back.
Anything make you queasy or sick?:  Nope
Aches and pains:  Overall achy, mostly at the end of the day.
Starting to show yet?:  Does a blimp 'show'?
Gender prediction:  No news here. Still a mystery!
Labor signs:  I have a little contraction here or there, mostly with a full bladder or after a walk. But nothing that persists or hurts too badly.
Belly button in or out?:   Still mostly flat with one little spot that pokes out sometimes.
Wedding rings on or off?:  My faker is still on, and my real ring is [finally] on its way back to me after being fixed. It's gonna be so shiny! But I hope it fits... fingers crossed! I have a feeling my fingers might be a little to swollen right now though :(
Happy or Moody most of the time?:   Happy [even mike noticed!]
Most looking forward to:  Lots of things! Weekly doctor appointments start next week, which means baby time is approaching. Getting excited to have the house all situated, meet the little one, and see my family!

Baby W: 33 Weeks

Total weight gain:   38 pounds - that's right, down 2 from last week! [wahoo!]
Maternity clothes:  Only fitting into my maternity pants and large shirts/shorts these days. 
Stretch marks:  Still none [yay!]
Sleep:  Despite waking up to flip over and potty breaks, I'm sleeping well. Better than I will be in two months, so I'm soakin' it up.
Best moment this week:  I've been exploring State College and getting to know my way around. I met some of Mike's work peeps and even maybe made a friend or two :) And today we went to the Amish Farmer's Market... might be my new favorite thing!
Miss anything?:  Not really; I'm pretty content for right now.
Movement:  Oh yes. Mostly moving and stretching in there - maybe we're learning to box out already... do we have a basketball player on our hands? Oh, and lots of hiccups.
Food cravings:  Not craving much. I haven't even had ice cream or fro-yo for over a week! [my hubs wouldn't join me in eating it anyway, and i can't eat it alone!]
Anything make you queasy or sick?:  Nope
Aches and pains:  Nothing new here. A little uncomfortable at times, but it's tolerable.
Starting to show yet?:  Oh yes.  I swear I look like I could pop tomorrow.
Gender prediction:  No news here, but I'm excited to hear what my new doctor thinks.
Labor signs:  Nope
Belly button in or out?:   Still mostly flat with one little spot that pokes out sometimes.
Wedding rings on or off?:  On
Happy or Moody most of the time?:   Happy
Most looking forward to:  Another week of getting acclimated and meeting new people, and another [likely uneventful] doctor's appointment late this week. 

Baby W: 32 Weeks

Because of our move over the weekend, this is a few days late in being posted. Have you been on the edge of your seat?! [probs not...]  Regardless, you'll get this week's post in just a few days!

[sorry for the lousy picture quality... guess i shouldn't take it by a dim lamp?]

Total weight gain:   40 big whoppers this week... yikes!
Maternity clothes:  Nothing new this week
Stretch marks:  Not yet
Sleep:  Still sleeping well... no alarm clock and night-sleeping is bliss
Best moment this week:  Being reunited with Mike this weekend! Although I'm very sad to have left my family, it's much easier knowing that I'll be seeing almost all of them in the next couple of months.
Miss anything?:  Nothing, really! It's too soon to miss my family yet [i just saw you guys for a whole month!], so just loving life! Well, maybe I miss driving around without a map....
Movement:  The flips and stretches in there continue
Food cravings:  No cravings right now. And after hitting my 40-lb mark, I'm going to really try to lay off the ice cream.
Anything make you queasy or sick?:  Nope
Aches and pains:  Nothing too terrible.. I'll take the swelling and the hip pain over the anticipated contractions in less than 2 months!
Starting to show yet?:  Oh yes. 
Gender prediction:  I still think it's a boy, but I have absolutely nothing to base that on.
Labor signs:  Nada, and let's keep it that way for another several weeks.
Belly button in or out?:   One little part is an outie! Overall flat though.
Wedding rings on or off?:  My cheap-o subsitute ring is on, but that's because I lost a diamond in the real deal. It was good timing though - I had just enough time to take it to the jeweler in Omaha before heading east.
Happy or Moody most of the time?:   Happy :)
Most looking forward to:  Getting acquainted with my surroundings and getting the house all unpacked.

Baby W: 31 Weeks

Baby W is likely measuring just over 16 inches long

and weighing in at 3.3 pounds.

Total weight gain:   Unofficially 36 lbs
Maternity clothes:  No new maternity clothes, but I did have to get a couple bigger things. My small shirts & shorts don't fit so well, so I had to get a couple larges so I look a little more respectable.
Stretch marks:  Still none
Sleep:  Sleeping really well most nights. Waking up really consistently between 2 and 3am every night for a bathroom hike.. maybe that's Nugget's new party time?
Best moment this week:  Loads of family time this week, which has been fabulous!
Miss anything?:  My long-lost hubbby, and being able to exercise without being ridiculously out of breath.
Movement:  Lots of moving in there every day. I can definitely tell nap time from awake time.
Food cravings:  Not really any cravings, but ice cream is still my favorite thing. I think that's a life-long love for me.
Anything make you queasy or sick?:  Nope
Aches and pains:  More of the same, plus my feet have decided to start swelling some evenings.
Starting to show yet?:  Oh yes. 
Gender prediction:  No updates here. I still think it's a boy, but I have absolutely nothing to base that on.
Labor signs:  An occasional contraction, but nothing serious and nothing painful.
Belly button in or out?:   Mostly flat, but getting closer to being an outie!
Wedding rings on or off?:  On
Happy or Moody most of the time?:   Happy
Most looking forward to:  Reuniting with that long-lost hubby of mine! It's been almost a month, so I miss his face!

Color Run 2013

At 3 months pregnant, a 5k sounded like a great idea. At 7 months, less so....

But alas, no backin' down! Along with my mom, my friend Rachael, and her mom Shirley, I walked the 3.1 miles of The Color Run recently. It's something I've thought about doing for the last couple years but just never did. So when Rachael and I talked about it months ago, we decided it would be a fun adventure! And it was. But we didn't anticipate how much more difficult three bad knees and one extra passenger would make it. Regardless, we all prevailed and we had a fantastic time doing it!

The starting line is wayyyy up there. It took us an hour to get started!

The Pink station... obviously. There were four color stations along the course, and this was the last one.

The other end of the color station

Our chauffeur for the day... he didn't want to partake in the color part of things.

My mama and I (and the extra passenger)

Rachael, me, Shirley, and my mom. Post-race, clearly.

Rach and I after the race.

I guess I'm a BA.

Retiring the Red Raiders

As with many small Iowa towns, my hometown is shrinking. It's sad but true. The result? Our high school will be consolidating with a neighboring town this fall, so of course we'll be having a new mascot. Because of that, the past weekend was packed full of festivities around town to officially retire our old mascot, the Red Raider. It was the same weekend as our town's annual celebration, the Lazy Days and a BBQ Cookoff that has taken place for the past few years. Throw in a couple family reunions, and it was quite the weekend. Needless to say, there was a lot of commotion around town. It was really fun to see the town so busy, and also to see some people that I haven't seen for a while. 

Friday night kicked off the weekend with a BBQ Wings contest, a beer garden, and a band. There was a huge turnout, and the streets were packed!

Saturday morning started bright and early with the Doctors Dash, which is a 5k sponsored by all the local doctors. There's also a 10k and a 1-mile walk. We did the 1-mile walk as a family; a 5k wasn't in the cards for us this year, as you could imagine. 

The starting line commotion before the Doctors Dash

The local Rotary club held their pancake feed on one of the closed downtown streets, where I met up with a couple girls that I graduated high school with. We got in some good chatting and of course some quality people-watching.

Next on Saturday was the parade. This has always been one of my favorite parts of homecoming week, and it was kind of  similar to that. There were some class floats, a grand marshall, and of course the cheerleaders and band. It was really fun to see such a variety of ages represented. And we even got a little candy! 

The fire department's calliope, an old air-powered piano that is run by pressing the foot pedals. Talk about coordination!

The town's beloved 97-year-old guy helping to advertise the Johnny Carson Birthplace Museum, one of our 'historical attactions'

A parade wouldn't be complete without familiar faces! Randy & Shirley with the Alegent crew.

'Rockin into Retirement' - one of the witty floats to help Retire the Red Raiders

The horses always bring up the end of the parade!

Saturday afternoon was spent at a huge family reunion [eating too much food, of course]. That evening was the official retiring of the Red Raider. The school board president read the official proclamation, and the Red Raider is history.

The weekend included more quality family time and more catching up with old friends, and even a nap or two. It was a fantastic last weekend at home, but sad to know that it will never be the same to come back. But alas, things must change and we must move forward. So good luck to the future:  the Southwest Valley Timberwolves!

S'mores Bars

This week was the annual Vacation Bible School week at the church I grew up in. It's a pretty fabulous week, and it's fun seeing kids make the same fun memories that I made growing up. The last day of the week ends with an ice cream social, which I was asked to make bars for this year. I didn't know what kind to make, so I of course perused trusty ol' Pinterest, and I stumbled upon some s'mores bars that I have been eyeing for quite some time but never had a purpose to make them. This seemed like a good excuse to me! The original recipe can be found here or you can keep reading.



What you'll need:
11 Tbsp butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
3/4 cup semi-sweet mini chips
3 Hershey's bars broken into rectangles
2 packs of honey graham crackers


What you'll do:




 Using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each one. Add the vanilla and mix again. 

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix this into the creamed ingredients a little at a time [or you'll have a heck of a mess].

By hand, stir in 1 cup of the mini marshmallows, as well as the semi-sweet chocolate chunks and mini chips. 

Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, break the graham crackers apart and arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet as shown here.

 After chilling, scoop spoonfuls of the bar mix onto the graham crackers, much like if you were making cookies. Fill in the gaps until you've used all the bar mix.

Bake at 375 for 6 minutes.

Press the Hershey's rectangles into the dollops of bar mix, then place the remaining 1/4 cup of marshmallows into some of the holes.

Bake for another 7 minutes.

Cool completely then cut.

Enjoy!

Good luck eating just one.