What's Up Wednesday (10/26/16)

What We're Eating This Week

Nothing too creative in this department this week. It's getting hard for me to feel like even cooking anything. I'm tired and just not craving anything in particular. Breakfast foods have been my friend apparently.

Monday- Red Pepper and Parmesan Fritatta 

Tuesday- Cereal (yikes)

Wednesday- Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Thursday- Leftovers

Friday- Going out to celebrate Josh's birthday! (Yay! No cooking for me!!)

What I'm Reminiscing About...

Timehop is a fun app. This week this photo popped up on my timeline. It came at a perfect time since Jamee and I just carved pumpkins with our class for the fourth consecutive year. What a fun tradition. I have photos of the last three but not the first year. We must have had our hands full that year- no time for a picture! Ha! 

I reminded Josh this week that this time last year we found out that our first IVF egg transfer had failed. That seems like so long ago. It's amazing to look back and while it still makes me sad that it didn't work, I'm so thankful to be where I am now. This precious boy growing inside of me makes all the heartaches and long wait worth it! This was a quote I posted this time last year. 

How true it is! God's timing is always the best!

What I'm Loving.......

The cooler weather! Normally I'm a hot natured person and you'd think I'd be ever more hot growing another human but it's as though I've cooled off! I'm loving wearing leggings, tunics, scarves and other cute fall clothes. Not to mention I've been able to break out my boots! Yippee!

I'm also loving sitting in baby boy's nursery and soaking it all in. Next weekend I hope to put some pieces on the wall and arrange furniture the way I want it. Mom and I need to head out to Mary Jo's fabric store to find some fabric for curtains. I saw some I loved from Pottery Barn Kids but I'm pretty sure we could copy and make them ourselves for cheaper! It's starting to come together and I'm so excited! How come the baby will have the most completely finished and decorated room in the house? Seven years here and still a work in progress. 

What We've Been Up To.....

Josh and I took our hospital tour of the Maternity wing where we will deliver last night. I'm super pumped, excited, and NERVOUS but mainly excited. Everything that I was hoping to have available to use is there! Nice tubs, yoga balls, limited interventions, baby staying in the room, one to one nursing staff, you name it- it's all great! The "plan" (and I have that in quotes because I know things change...) is to have this baby as naturally as I can. We are using a midwife who is totally on board with the things we desire to happen during this birth. I'm lucky that the practice I go to also has great doctors who also value the less intervention approach and are respectful of patients wishes, in case something changes and we'd need to see the OB instead of our midwife. Josh and I were giggling when the tour guide talked about how they put baby skin to skin with mom immediately after birth and one dad asked if he could do skin to skin too. Of course, she said yes but my hubby (the master of snark) whispered in my ear that our kid would be getting "skin to fur". Ha! He is referring to his chest hair. Oh, Joshua John. Always keeping me laughing.

This made me laugh the other day too. We shall see how cold it is come January! 

What I'm Dreading...

Not really dreading anything right now. Life is good!  

What I'm Working On.....

We have been working on this dresser for the nursery all week. It was a gem of a find at a consignment shop near my school. $65 dollars and some Annie Sloane chalk paint later...ta da! Almost finished, just needs the doors put back on, some hardware and it moved into the nursery! If you've never used chalk paint before, it's awesome! No sanding or priming necessary. So easy to apply and use. The waxing part was a little trickier but it ended up ok. I wanted to go with a red but my mom and Josh got me to go blue instead and now I love it!

What I'm Excited About...

Friday we are going to a 4D ultrasound place to see our sweet baby in 4D. My friend Melanie told me about this place that offers teacher discounts, so I called and booked a session. My mom is coming with us because she so wanted to come to an ultrasound with me but for all my others she was out of town. I can't wait to share pictures when it's done. My friends who have had the 4D ultrasounds have amazing pictures of their little ones. It's so unbelievable when they are born how much they resemble those pictures!

What I'm Watching/Reading....

Honestly, no time for tv or books right now. I work on things until 9ish and then crash in bed! If I read anything lately, it's mail catalogs and my couple magazines that I get in the mail. I'm making a list of things to read and watch over Christmas break and my maternity leave. Have any good recommendations?

What I'm Listening To.......

I'm loving listening to This American Life podcasts as I drive to school and back each day. If you've never checked them out, I highly recommend. Interesting stories!

What I've Been Wearing.....

Whatever fits! Ha! I'm still able to wear a lot of non-maternity clothes but it's getting harder each day! I ordered a couple of comfy "jeggings" from Loft and I'm loving those. Gotten lots of compliments when I wear them too.

 

Someone requested a belly shot so here you go. I feel so huge in some clothes and in others I look small. I guess I'll still be stretching some for the next two months. Crazy that I'll be 30 weeks on Saturday!

What I'm Doing This Weekend.....

This weekend we are taking our youth group to Raleigh. We have some fun things planned to do- check out the capital, a few museums, have devotional/small group time and  just enjoy each other's company. Time spent with them is always fun!

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month....

Thanksgiving, Baby shower #4, a three day week (two times in November!) and time spent with family! I'm going to see my brother and sister in law two times this month, which is a record! They live all the way in Orlando and are both busy flight attendants, so to spend time with them is special! I know November is going to FLY by!

What's Up Wednesday

What We're Eating This Week

Quiche, Spaghetti and Grilled Pork tenderloin are in rotation this week! I've been making my own spaghetti sauce from scratch and I love the taste. Makes me feel better to be eating something that isn't canned or processed. 

Ham and Cheddar Quiche (looked and tasted very yummy- obviously!)

What I'm Reminiscing About...

For the past two summers I've spent a week with our niece, Ella. I'm going to miss my one on one time with her this year. Next year I'll come and even bring her a playmate! :o) Minnesota summers rock...the weather is awesome!

What I'm Loving.......

My new kitchen table! I think it fits the space so nice! Super excited to have it all set up. Now I'm just trying to decide if I should keep the chairs or switch them out for something else. Not sure if the black looks right. 

What We've Been Up To.....

Lots of home improvements. This is the state of my upstairs currently and for the next two days. We are FINALLY getting the second floor painted. I'm excited to finally see what it looks like with color up there. Of course, having to organize, purge and clean is giving us the urge to sell our house now. So who knows- I think we are going to give it a whirl. New baby, new house...could be worse timing right? Ha! Remind me though to next time paint the entire house BEFORE we move in. Just a tip to any future homeowners. 

What I'm Dreading...

Nothing! 

What I'm Working On.....

I worked my last day at the Red Barn yesterday. Kinda sad. It's been an awesome place to work. I'm grateful that I had something to keep me busy and on some sort of schedule over the summer, not to mention that the ladies have been the sweetest to work with! (Love you, Martie and Laura) Yesterday I got to work on some holiday lettering and signs. I thought these turned out pretty cute. I may copy this on some scrap wood at my house for the holidays. 

What I'm Excited About (and looking forward to next month)...

Next Friday is the kickoff to our Youth Camp at Jasper Cove Young Life camp. Josh and I have been working on the plans for this all summer. 200+ youth and volunteers. It's taken a lot of organizing and help from fabulous people and it's almost ready to go! Please say a prayer that everything runs smoothly and that Christ's presence can be felt at camp the whole weekend!

What I'm Watching/Reading....

OLYMPICS BABY!!!

We are an addicted household. I've been staying up WAY to late to watch events each evening. But how can you not?!?! These two images cracked me up- have to share. 

Could you just imagine?!?! That would be some seriously hilarious tv! I would love to say I have a favorite event, but I really have enjoyed everything I've watched. Women's soccer, gymnastics, volleyball and any swimming are favorites. 

What I'm Listening To.......

I've been starting on my Christmas music binge. Weirdo, I know. It's relaxing especially when I'm working on the computer for hours. I want this baby to hear it's moms favorite music! 

What I've Been Wearing.....

I kinda covered maternity fashion last post but here's a typical stay at home outfit! Ha! If it fits, I wear it. :o) 

What I'm Doing This Weekend.....

This weekend we will probably be cleaning up from all the painting. Fun fun. Next week my workdays start so I'm going to try to maybe prepare some freezer meals to get me through the first week of school. I'm sure the first week will have me in zombie mode.  I may go on a small shopping spree since we find out TOMORROW if we are having a girl or a boy! Yay! 

Happy rest of the week to you all!

Life Lately

Summer has got me all lazy! I planned on blogging at LEAST once a week and seem to be failing at that. I'll try to be better! Ha!

You laugh but that really has been my day a few times these past weeks! I get up, eat breakfast and go back to bed. Growing a human is very tiring apparently. (And don't worry, I'm only drinking one cup of half caff coffee....) I tried to cut out coffee but the headaches were not worth it. 

My honey came home with this awesome body pillow the other day. He knows that I've been tossing and turning all night long, trying to get comfortable. #gamechanger Seriously. This pillow has made getting great sleep so much easier! Now if only my bladder would get on board with not waking me up three times a night! Ha! I'm lucky to have this guy, he totally speaks my love language. 

Thanks for all your feedback about places to shop for Maternity clothes! I ventured to Destination Maternity in Southpark and hit the jackpot. 5 tops, 1 dress and some undergarments all for $100! They were cute to boot! I also ordered some cute things from Gap. Looking forward to getting these cute items in the mail!

 

I've had so much fun working at The Red Barn Marketplace this summer. It has been the perfect part time job for me. Yesterday I got to practice my lettering by making little signs. The long black sticks will be cut down to make little individual signs with those words. All their stuff is so cute and it's all 20% off until August 20th! If you haven't ever been, you need to check them out! 

 

 

 Check out these beautiful old mantels that arrived at the store yesterday! The detail work just blew me away. If I was building a new house, I'd definitely snag one of these (a'la Joanna Gaines) and use it as my mantel for my fireplace! 

Speaking of good finds....I've been eyeing this table in the store all summer long. I've been dying to replace my old rectangle table in my kitchen with a pretty round one. The kitchen nook area is really small and I feel like the rectangle table is just not the right shape and makes movement around that area a little tricky. So I decided to buy it yesterday. I cannot wait to set it up in the kitchen.

(the new-to-me round table)

(Current kitchen table)

And some pinterest inspiration! I just need to decide now if I want to keep my black farmhouse style chairs or not. I'll have to post a pic of the table when it's in the house and set up.

I got my class list this week and letters have been sent out. I've been getting busy writing names on nametags, deskplates...if you think of something to be labeled, it gets labeled. Look at the darling printable labels that I found to make for our different folders and journals. I love the clip art! It's getting close to school starting- about two weeks left! I'm excited and nervous as usual. 

I've already started to pray for my class. It's important for me to do that each summer. I believe that God has always blessed me with the perfect class for me and I'm so thankful for that. Each of those precious faces deserve God's grace and blessing and I have to remember that I'm supposed to be a living example of him each day. I pray that I can be a light for Christ and that others may know him through me. 

Last thing...we find out if our sweet baby is a boy or a girl next week! I cannot wait. This has been the longest 4 weeks between appointments ever! What do you think we're having?

(17 weeks pregnant)

*I really need to have Josh take some nicer pictures with our actual camera. ha!*

Life Lately

Life has been so fun and BUSY lately. 

Firstly...all about the sad day of the Superbowl for Panther fans. Super bowl started out fabulous. We had a wonderful morning in church. My brother and sister in law were in town and it was nice to be together as a family. We also had some friends from Michigan visiting. We love the Heidema/Waters family! Corinne especially loves Josh. I'm pretty sure that when I first came into the picture she wasn't too fond of me. She was only 14 of course! 

(Yes... I'm married to a 34 year old who acts 5. Geez.)

              

Since we had company in town, we decided to just spend the evening watching the Superbowl together at our house. Josh and I wore our team gear (Panthers colors for me, Chicago Bears colors for him). We munched on yummy goodies and then watched the AWFUL game. Boo hoo. Still love the Panthers though. Next year will be our year- keep pounding! It's hilarious to watch American football with a German, soccer loving father. He is always asking why they don't get red cards or get kicked out of the game. That would be unacceptable in soccer he says. It keeps us laughing for sure. 

                                                   Here we are in our gear and doing the dab!

Danielle's cookie cake cracked us up! Apparently all the cookie cakes at the store had the same spelling error. 

We celebrated the 100th day of school this week. We fell a bit behind due to all our snow days! The kiddos were adorable in their "old people" outfits and we had so much fun working on centers during the day. Each year we end the day with a parade where we walk around the school counting to 100 over and over. It's always a big hit. Jamee and I were matching nursing home bff's again this year. Comfiest costume ever. Those Granny's have the right idea! These are the days that make teaching Kindergarten so fun. 

Josh put up another pretty gallery wall for me last week. He may have grumbled about it the whole time but didn't it turn out great?! I may have a slight , ok...major obsession with gallery walls. This is wall number two for my house so far. Is that wrong? I think the thing I love most is that vintage Monaco calendar print in the frame and maybe that cute blue car photo!

Today we celebrated the coming arrival of Melanie and Cuz's sweet baby, Ella Kate. We decided to make the book The Giving Tree the theme of the shower. It turned out so adorable. I could see this being a really cute theme for a 1st birthday too. I love the red, green and brown color combo. We did food in the vein of branches (chocolate dipped pretzel rods), leaves (salad) and fruit (fresh veggies and apple shaped cupcakes). The cake was precious and very yummy. I can't wait to snuggle that baby girl when she arrives! Congrats, Melanie!!

Our wonderful Kindergarten Team

Ready for Ella to join us!

I had fun working on some cute burpclothes for the baby as well. Wish I had taken a picture of the finished product! 

Josh and I had a follow up appointment with our doctor today. He touches my heart so much. Such a sweet man. He said he likes us a lot but wishes he didn't have to see us anymore! We said we feel the same! Ha ha! I have to undergo a procedure to check on some things and then I think we will be trying FET for the third time. Hopefully three times the charm. Please continue to pray for us as we make some big decisions and go through procedures, etc. in the next couple of weeks. I'm so thankful to feel so comfortable and cared for by my doctor. He keeps saying that he knows in his heart that we will have success. I pray he's right! After this past attempt I had been really down and sad. It's not like me. I'm pretty sure it drove Josh nuts because I normally bounce back quick. A part of me knows that it's healthy to process and grieve what could have been. I'm starting to feel more positive and happier. Truly, the prayers and sweet words of encouragement from friends and family have meant the world to me. The verse below says it all though. My hope shouldn't be in myself, a doctor or any human...it should be in him. I know years from now it'll all make sense and I'll have an "a-ha" moment where I will see how God's plan was so much better than mine.