Be Merry

I'm signing off for the remainder of the holidays! 

But I couldn't do that without wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and an amazing start to the New Year!!!

See you in 2013!!

XO

30 (almost 31) Weeks

Hello THIRD trimester!! 

It is pretty hard to believe that I am in the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy. And with the craziness of Christmas being next week, then New Years, and then lots of baby prep...it's going to be no time before our "still no name" little girl is going to be here!! While I am already seriously dreading the no sleeping at night and walking around like a zombie, I have to say I am a ridiculous kind of excited to get my hands on a tiny little baby again!! And I am still so lucky to have a current cuddle bug, but there's just something about a sweet innocent baby who isn't trying to wiggle their way out of you, that just brings a smile to my face. 

Picture ::

Baby Size :: 3 pounds...15.7 inches...think head of a cabbage size

Weight Gain :: according to the doctor I'm doing okay, so we'll leave it at that. she notices i have my boots on every time i'm in there, so said i could probably even deduct a few lbs from what they have recorded...i'll take it!! 

Current Cravings :: ice is still a bad one...like really bad! grilled cheese + tomato soup...multiple times a week! fritos with cream cheese. chocolate...nothing new there. oh- and this might be my first really strange craving, but i was at the grocery store earlier and walked by the hot bar and spotted an egg roll that i just HAD to have. i came home and devoured that thing like i hadn't eaten in days....it was SO good!! oh, and red wine...really been getting the itch!! 

**see picture and don't judge. we had a night out...so in one hand i have a giant cup of crushed ice and in another, a giant glass of red wine. now mind you, i ended up splitting that glass into another, but it was delish**

Baby News :: not much news here. it feels like she is swimming around in there all the the time. we're having lots of poking and prodding near the belly button, which is kinda freaking me out. i have a majorly weird thing about belly buttons and with this pregnancy it has popped. so you can only imagine how that weirdness has only escalated. 

Complaints :: my neck and back are killing me! i can feel that now the weight of my belly is pulling me forward therefore creating this terribly annoying strain! my circulation problem has been about the same lately, but can't say i'm thrilled about (2) 8+ hour drives coming up very soon. and only the past couple nights has sleeping been an issue, but that is mainly due to the fact that i have been hot! 

Exercise :: gym...what gym! i had still been doing good with going, but then the hubby passed along his sickness to me last week and well that came to a halt! and unfortunately with this crazy time of year, i just haven't had the time to get back in there. being healthy (and keeping current baby girl healthy) is a little bit more important right now since Christmas is a week away! i'll get back in there after the new year...and hopefully walk this baby out! 

Maternity Style :: more and more yoga style pants. i seriously live in them while i'm at home. i usually can't wait to get back to the house so i can throw on the lounge wear. 

Life Happenings / Baby Prep :: we have sort of stalled in this department and i have to say i'm finally starting to get a little stressed about it, but figure i'm going to have plenty of time in january while i'm mourning that Christmas is over. last weekend we did manage to completely rearrange the furniture and re-hang some pictures. it's kind of nice to stare at a different setup considering everything else is going to be the same. but for some reason the way we switched it makes the room look a lot bigger and even higher ceilings. i've also started all of my "to-do's before baby" lists so we're slightly getting there on the organization front. 

Florida trip recap

I mean this post is a little past due now (typical- I started it a week ago)

We arrived home last weekend from our 8-day excursion down to Florida! 

My sweet sister flew in from Atlanta to drive all the way down with us. Lucky for her (and me!) it was one of baby girls best road trips, so it honestly wasn't as terrible as I was anticipating. 

We went and went and went while we were there!! I don't get home very often, so there was lots to do and see. 

We got to visit with my mom, grandma, friends and babies....always good for the soul! 

Lillian was a trooper considering she went most days without naps, and 10pm bedtimes.

The trip definitely wore this mama out being 27 weeks pregnant, but I just kinda rolled through it the best I could. Not going to lie though that when we got home it felt oh so good to be back in my own bed!! 

Just a few of my favorites from our trip. I was exceptionally bad taking pictures this time, but clearly I had my hands full....

:: Lills with "Betty" as she kept liking to call her ::

:: we got to meet up at the park with two of my besties and one of their daughters...and someone did not want to leave the cool red swing ::

:: we just adore my sweet grandmother and i'm so glad we have these pictures ::

:: my little turkey ::

Is anyone else as excited as I am about December being here.

We take it real serious.

Tartan

What could be any more classic at this time of year? 

TARTAN

The pattern of the season!! 

I'm obsessed! 

And personally could stare at it everywhere in my house, and wear it everyday! 

1 :: Land of Nod Tartan Plaid Stocking

2 :: McQ Tartan iPad case

3 :: J.Crew Perfect Shirt

4 :: J.Crew Tartan Shirt in Vintage Barn

5 :: J.Crew Men's Tartan Wool Tie

6 :: Land of Nod Tartan Plaid Tree Skirt

7 :: Pendleton Tartan Mug Set

8 :: Jack Spade Flannel Plaid iPhone case

9 :: J.Crew Girls' Tartan Swing Top

We're in need of new stockings for next year with our newest addition coming and I think those stockings might just be the perfect ones!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!! 

We all have so many things to be thankful for, and today is a great day to be reminded of that! 

xo, 

Paige

Thankful

Signing off over here for a little bit.
(ha- not that i've been all that present lately anyway)

Baby girl and I are off to visit family and friends in the sunshine state!

I saw this and thought it was a great reminder as we enter the week of Thanksgiving...

I am super thankful that I get to walk hand in hand with these two turkeys everyday, and that I have the opportunity to gain one more hand to hold in February. 

WARNING :: this lady is going to be full of Christmas cheer upon returning!!

Happy Weekend!!

25 weeks

Here we are...at week 25 (as of last Thursday)...and only 15 more to go! 

Whoa, where has the time gone?

I can't believe I am just shy of the 3rd trimester, and with the holidays around the corner, this little girl is going to be here before we know it!! 

It's so different this time around being pregnant, you just don't have that "time" like you did before. It's okay, just makes for a much more tired mama by the time the evenings come and I am doing a terrible job of going to bed at a decent hour. 

And I'm not going to lie that I hit my pregnancy slump the last couple weeks. A lot of this is due to the fact that I feel like my belly is WAY bigger now than it was at this time two years ago. And a big belly means getting dressed for the day can be a problem. I hate feeling cramped in pants and having things restricted in my stomach area (only part i was dreading about being pregnant this time of year), so all I want to wear are yoga style pants and my uggs :) I do miss being able to throw a dress or skirt on! 

But, this is where we are and we are happy that this little girl is healthy and continuing to grow, so I shall continue to focus on that!! 

Here's some stats as of recent :

Week :: 25

Picture :: 

Baby Size :: 1.5 pounds...13.5 inches....apparently the size of a rutabaga (whatever that is)

Weight Gain :: we are officially neglecting to answer this-ugh, i have finally stopped weighing myself at the gym. apparently though i'm at the point of only gaining 1/2 lb each week per the doctors orders...HA!!! 

Current Cravings :: ice (yep, this odd craving is back with a vengeance) + bacon, egg, cheese, cream cheese on an everything bagel (if you only knew how many of these i have been eating!) + chocolate, bitter fresh fruit (especially strawberries and oranges)

Baby News :: she's been having some major hiccups lately. Lills had them a ton, so this does not surprise me. and finally we have movement again! we felt her very early on this time around (even the hubs did too) however then it just totally stopped and has only been within the couple weeks or so i've felt her again. the doctor thinks she was just sitting nice and cozy in a hiding spot. oh- and we found out i have to go back for another ultrasound around 35 weeks to check on a few things. and while i do hope everything is okay, i'm already super anxious to see my little bugaboo again!! 

Complaints :: morning bloody noses, the potty breaks (i usually have the worlds largest bladder, so this is annoying to me). i also had to take a visit to the doctor a week or so ago because i am having some really bad circulation problems in my legs. we're talking spider vein patches popping up over night, and varicose veins that could take you all the way to california and back. it's bad. and what's worse is that they hurt badly when they are flared up which is especially in the morning. according to the nurse this is pretty early for them to be this flared up, so i've been in a funk. had to go buy the worlds most expensive compression hose...and let me tell you, these bad boys take Spanx to a whole other level.
oh. my.god.
they took me 15 minutes to get on the first time and literally almost cut the circulation off while trying to work them on.
oh the joys!

Exercise :: we still go weekly, mainly now to help with the above mentioned circulation problem. we may only make it 1-2 times a week, but at least we're going! just walking, elliptical and weights for this mama. finally had to halt the running (although i did run for 5 minutes last week and that was pretty funny), which i'm not going to lie, i do miss it!

Maternity Style :: lots of leggings, jeggings and still a mixture of maternity tops + my own mix of non-maternity (however, those days are creeping to an end as the bottom of my belly has started to show and that my friends is unattractive!)

Life Happenings / Baby Prep :: For the most part I am not stressing over here. Having another girl has taken a ton of the pressure off with needing to feel prepared.
We pulled all of the "baby" stuff back out in early October, so her closet is ready for the most part. The hubs and I are planning to rearrange the nursery though to give it a different look, but we'll plan to do that sometime in December. So right now, the room sits as my collecting space/junk room until I can finish getting everything around here organized. Which let's face it, probably won't be until January!

So in the meantime, we're just gearing up for the holidays over here!!
My MOST favorite time of year!!!

Sweet Chili

As promised, here you go!!
Enjoy a pot of this simmering on the stove, I think it's going to be the perfect weekend for it! 

Ingredients ::

(1) lb ground turkey (or beef)
(1) cup chopped onion
(3/4) cup chopped green pepper
(1) lb can of chopped tomatoes
(1) lb can of dark red kidney beans (drained) *you can also substitute white cannelloni beans
(1) lb can of baked beans
(1) 8oz can tomato sauce (or paste, makes it a bit thicker)
(1) tsp salt
chili powder (desired amount)
secret ingredient ** BROWN SUGAR** (desired amount)
(1) box of shell noodles or Fritos
shredded cheese (any kind you like)
sour cream

Directions :: 

-brown your ground turkey on the stovetop
-dump all other ingredients (aside from noodles, cheese and sour cream) into either a large pot or crock pot; add ground turkey
-let simmer until nice and warm
-serve with remaining (3) ingredients

cute chili bar via pinterest

Happy Friday!

Halloween Recap

Has everyone recovered from their sugar high yet??

Our Halloween fun began this past Sunday at our neighborhood parade!
Here's a little recap of (unedited) pictures from that!

 :: she wanted no part in pre-parade pictures ::

 :: but then she came around ::

:: yes, daddy had to wear his hideous wig and glasses ::

:: lills with her friends emma and stokes ::

:: we had about a two second window for this shot before another meltdown ::

:: had to come back for a photo shoot with the pupster ::

Last night we had an entertaining Halloween night as usual, this year that entertainment was brought to you by a banana, a ladybug, an indian princess, a bunny rabbit and Cinderella!!

OH- and how can I forget about the hot dog...

Do not ask me why but I love Halloween! Always have! My mom use to have parties at our house for my friends...we would dress up, bob for apples, set up haunted houses and trick-or-treats...it was ghouls of fun!! 

And while I always complain that we never have many trick-or-treaters, this year was a different story because I actually ran out of candy. We officially became "that house" that had to resort to peanut butter crackers and juice boxes. It was embarrassing, yet hysterical because we had a couple kids that opted for nothing when they heard we had no candy. Seriously?!

(disclaimer : I may or may not have eaten half of the candy over the past week contributing to this unfortunate situation. I'm not even going to deny that I've hit my 6 month pregnancy mark and well those that have been there know what that means!)

I whipped up my usual "Sweet Chili" recipe that is a classic of my mother's, who so kindly showed me how to make it years ago when we started this tradition. I'm going to be honest, it's delicious!! I'm not shy about sharing the recipe because it really is THAT good thanks to this one secret special ingredient. 

However, I thought I shared it here before to link up, but now can't locate it, so will post later on when I have more time. 

I also fixed this delicious Fall Crunch Mix (sadly there is a little bit left today, which I'm sure will be gone tomorrow!), The Great White Pumpkin Ball, Chili served with noodles & scoops and Pumpkin Bread with chocolate chips to top it all off!!! 

*I'm drooling again just thinking about it all

** 2011 Halloween / Chili + Chimnea Night