Five on Friday

Another week come and gone - and it was a busy one. The weekend doesn't seem to slow down either, so let me take a quick minute for the Friday Five....

1. Dog Guilt
I worked late last night. Matt worked late last night. And I had to go to the grocery. I was speeding home like I had left my non-fur child. Dog Guilt is real, and Namath knows it. He ignored me most of the night. I still feel bad. I don't know what I will do when Sunburst enters the picture. If MS is reading this - I think Namath deserves a happy hour on the porch.

Turn that frown upside down, buddy.

2. Self-Medication - Opa!
Luckily, it's the perfect weekend to assuage my guilt with food. Yes, the Greek Food Festival is this weekend and it's magical. I'm plotting my schedule to see how many servings of pasticho I can get this weekend. It's heaven on a plate. I'm pretty sure they hand you a jar of bechamel at the pearly gates.

3. Do We Sense a Theme?
I did have a good reason for my grocery store run/dog abandonment last night. Tonight is game night, and it's a tailgate theme. My responsibility is dessert, and you know I had to go for the cream cheese two pack for the win. I'm sure everyone's heard of the cream cheese chocolate chip dip - or cookie dough dip on some circles - but it's worth mentioning just in case. 

4. Never Gonna Give You Up...
This was a new one to me at 6 am this morning - has anyone heard of getting Rick Rolled? MS was telling me about it as he was blasting this famous song while we got ready. I know I've said it before, but we are so blessed his fun spirit lives under our roof.

5. Couch Potato
Fall TV is baaaack. Almost with a vengeance - as Grey's Anatomy has been become almost painful to watch. But I can't stop. Looking forward to catching up with Homeland, Parenthood and Modern Family. We're a little behind, but at least there will be cream cheese dip to watch with.Winning.

Happy REAL first weekend of Fall!

20 Weeks

Whoaaa...we're halfway there...
I couldn't resist. 

I had to let Namath participate to mark the halfway point.

How far along? 20 weeks. Baby is the size of a mango/banana. This week marks changing from crown to rump length to crown to foot length, now that baby is spreading his legs and kicking more. Go Sunburst!

Total weight gain: 7 lbs. How long do I have to keep recording this?

Maternity Clothes: Definitely moved to the maternity pants. Can still wear regular tops, especially with my looong tanks that go underneath to seal any gaps. I took advantage of a Gap fall sale to grab some long sleeve tee's and the supersoft leggings everyone raves about.

Stretch Marks: Nope.

Sleep: I'm not sure if never being tired first trimester has caught up with me, but I've been in bed by 8:30 most of this week.

Best Moment this Week: Shopping for little boy's nursery. I think it's coming together in my mind - which these days doesn't mean a whole lot. Excited for fabric swatches to come in and see if I can move full speed ahead.

Miss anything? My hands not smelling like maple syrup. Seriously. Did anyone else have this?! MS even asked me one morning if I got up in the night to eat waffles. Good idea...but no. Just call me Aunt Jemima.

Movement: I've felt enough little pops and wiggles that I don't think I'm imagining it. But it's just not consistent yet. If I feed the baby, will he grow faster and in turn, move more? That's my theory.

Food Cravings: Sweets don't make me quite as sick as they did before. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. Maybe I drowned the sickness in all the icing last week. Like shock therapy.

Anything making you queasy or sick: The living will questions I had to answer upon pre-registering at the hospital. Yikes. Moving on...

Exercise: It was a good week. Baby and I got a few runs in, and lifted some weights.I'll be lifting that car seat in no time.

Gender: Boy!! I'm officially very outnumbered. Now playing the name game. Forget Trivia Pursuit. This game is HARD.

Labor signs:Nope.

Symptoms: The sciatic nerve has been screaming this week. I've screamed back a couple times. Thank God for the Snoogle. Really giving some thought to the chiropractor.

And We're Back...

It's Monday again. Some of us are more ready than others. But, hey! It feels like Fall out! And that's something to be excited about.

This is his excited face. 

I started off the weekend just like every weekend should start - with a pedicure at my favorite nail place. Color is OPI Over the Taupe - in case you were wondering.

Saturday we headed to Jasper to look for a glider. This place had awesome lamps. I'm a sucker for a lamp.

We quickly got down to business and picked this bad boy out. It's a recliner too, but I don't think you can tell. Multiple people told  me it's nice to be able to recline in case, hypothetically of course, the only way your baby will sleep is on you, then you can just recline back and catch some sleep before the alarm clock goes off. We picked a gray fabric. I'm always a little nervous to see what the tiny swatch of fabric is going to look like on an entire chair/couch/love seat. First world problems.

MS came home with a little prize for the man cave. We moved past the leather and got fabric as well. He told me it would be great for him to take Sunburst up stairs and give me some alone time. I'm writing it down here, so the masses will hear this promise.

I think he likes it.

 Sunday night we made breakfast for dinner in honor of the series finale of Dexter. I don't know how to make over easy eggs, and I hate ham, so this was as close as I got to the Dexter breakfast. I'm still deciding how I feel about the finale. Series finale's always leave me underwhelmed - maybe it's all the build up.

 

So we are back - with painted toenails, Dexter behind us, and new chairs in 4-6 weeks. I think that's a successful weekend. Happy Monday to you and yours.

Five on Friday

My favorite post of the week!

1. End of a Kill Spree

I believe I've mentioned this show 19 times this season, but this horse deserves to be beaten (sliced up?) again, since Sunday is the SERIES FINALE. We are going to make an evening of it, with a themed dinner and all (not sliced up people, get your mind out of the plastic wrap). Most of my lame jokes have probably gone unappreciated if you don't watch Dexter, or even if you do. Needless to say, I'm excited. In a bittersweet sort of way.

2. Fall Back

It's getting darker earlier on my morning runs, which led me to remember the days are getting shorter. (Thinking about getting my IQ tested soon). Am I the only one who finds this concept confusing? I can never remember how it shakes out every year. Obviously fall back means its dark when I leave work and super depressing, but is it dark in the mornings too? Why do I have no recollection of this from year to year?

3. Rock Me Mama

We are going glider shopping this weekend. Which in a nutshell, shakes out to sitting in a bunch of comfortable chairs to see which is the most comfortable. I can think of worse ways to spend a Saturday.
I'm hoping for something in a gray....

4. On the Hunt

Bargain Hunt recently opened close to our house. It's been taunting us for months - I had chalked it up to a dollar store type store. Oh, no. It's much more fabulous than that. It's like Home Goods/TJ Maxx and Big Lots all combined and this was the product. Everything from clothes to car seats to furniture to sunscreen. My understanding is most items are liquidations or returns from large online stores (overstock.com, amazon.com). So items are still new in box. They are dated when they hit the shelves, and you get a little card when you go in with dates and corresponding percentages off. The longer an item sits on the shelf, the more you save. I should mention the prices are already great to start with. If you have one around you, or live in Birmingham, you should definitely go.

5.Let Me Updgrade Ya...
In case you live under a rock, the iOS 7 was released. I said I was going to let the kinks work out before updating, but I have the patience of a gnat, so I made the move first thing Thursday morning. (spoiler alert: it takes almost 2 hours).

People are complaining it's too bright, but I like the fresh look. I'm all about some change. I feel like I got a whole new phone and all I did was stare at the 'preparing to update' screen for 2 hours. Not a bad trade.

Side Note: Can we all act like grown adults and learn to google? Facebook is not the place to ask software questions. "HEY! Does anyone know how to close open apps in the new iPhone software?? I'm SO confused!" Lest you be tempted to be that person, a quick little tutorial here. 

Rainy weekend ahead. Hopefully this means cooler tips next week - which will lead to full paneled jeans and all things pumpkin. The two things are not entirely unrelated.

Stewardship

For the month of September, we are doing a church wide study of stewardship. I think like everyone else, I get a slight knot in my stomach when we start talking about money,  because it's one of those subjects that isn't openly broached outside the four walls of our house.

We've been doing our best to go through the nightly journal, and it's given us some great time to openly talk about how we spend, save and give. It took me about .002 seconds into day one to figure out to me, money = security. If we just saved a little bit more, spent a little bit less, I would feel better. I wouldn't have anxiety when my car starts making a weird sound or Namath needs immediate knee surgery (ha). A secure life is always justwithin grasp...

So needless to say, this quote in Sunday's worship guide hit me hard.

"We want treasures because they give us security. But because of decay (moisture, rust, thieves...), treasures lead us to security's opposite - anxiety. Because our riches bring us into constant war with decay, they do not bring us rest. It is a great service of Jesus, therefore, to liberate us here from anxiety about gain. Jesus teaches the truest "liberation theology." 

                                                        - Adolf Schlatter 

Inherently, there is nothing wrong with seeking financial security. Just as there's nothing wrong with a lot of the things we place importance on. It's the gray area when it goes from being a good thing to being one of the most important things. 

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...."

If everything comes from God, how am I using what He gives me?

Would someone else use it better? 

19 Weeks

A little blurry, but pretty good for before 8 am. 

How far along? 19 weeks. Baby boy is the size of an heirloom tomato. He's sprouting (blonde?) hair this week and his sensory development is 'exploding'. Which means this weekend he got to taste a lot of cheese dip and hear a lot of yelling. Roll Tide, baby boy! Please don't turn out like Johnny Manziel.

Total weight gain: Per my scale Monday morning, 7 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Loving the pants - so much more comfortable and easier than the rubberband trick (especially when it's time to go to the bathroom). Lots of maternity Gap/Old Navy maternity t-shirts on the weekend.

Stretch Marks: Nope.

Sleep: Sleeping well!

Best Moment this Week: Finding out Sunburst is a little boy! I hear great things about little boys and it just made the baby so much more real. It makes my heart so happy to think about him.

 He also got his first few items of clothing. I think his closet will fill up fast!

Miss anything? I know I sound like a lush, but a beer during the stroke inducing Alabama/Texas A&M game Saturday would have been real nice.

Movement: Confirmed at our ultrasound the placenta is in front, so it's acting as a shock absorber for baby's movements. I won't lie, I was a little bummed, since most people seem to be feeling a lot of movement at this point. But, my doctor told me she also had an anterior placenta for one of her pregnancies, and was feeling things by 21 weeks. All that being said, I do feel some wiggles and kicks. They are just subtle and not very consistent yet.

Food Cravings: Bring on the salt. Although I had my fair share of sugar this weekend...
Hello, Savage's icing! When Matt's mom offers to bring dessert, she doesn't mess around.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I've had several good days in a row and took advantage of eating with no nausea! It was back on Sunday though. Not a big deal, though.

Exercise: Ran twice during the week last week and did a weight workout. Saturday finally felt like Fall, so I took advantage and got in a 5 miler with baby boy. I felt great - he's going to be an athlete...I can feel it. Don't worry, I'm running to the salon to get these highlights freshened up asap.

Gender: Boy!!

Labor signs:Nope.

Symptoms: I think the round ligament pain has entered the picture. After running, running errands and doing some cleaning Saturday, all I wanted to do was sit to ease the achiness. So I did. I was in bed by 8:30 with a heating pillow and an episode of Sister Wives...which brings on a whole other type of pain.

Most looking forward to: Starting to pick out the crib, glider and bedding, now that we know it's a boy. It's so real to start preparing for his arrival. We are so excited!

The Weekend...and All God's People said Roll Tide

I've been lucky and haven't suffered from the exhaustion I hear about this whole pregnancy. But this weekend, she did me in. We had a blast, but I'm in desperate need of a pajama day to recover.

Shamefully, I took few pictures, so I hope my narration is up to par. Friday night, we had Matt's parents over for dinner. Not only did she bring enough cake to feed 20 people (that had enough icing to feed 30 - my favorite kind of cake), she brought over some sweet baby things of Matt's.

Saturday, Fall briefly struck Alabama. We took advantage and went on a long(er) run. The weather made such a huge difference. There are few things I love more than a good Fall morning run before football. I dressed like a highlighter for the occasion.

We made it up to do the tiniest bit of yard work, wash our sweat off and get the house ready for friends. Oh, and of course time to make a cream cheese-sour cream-cheddar-sausage-rotel dip. Tis the season.

Matt went through great lengths to get me a festive drink so I wouldn't feel left out. I had no idea this stuff existed, but it wasn't too bad. It did lack the all important property of calming by blood pressure when I thought we were surely going to lose to Texas A&M AGAIN. Or when we got the 9384th penalty of the game. But in the end - the Tide Rolled. I need a bye week to recover.

Sunday we celebrated my mom and niece's birthdays. The highlight for me was the Ashley Mac's strawberry cake. Probably not the highlight for Kate. She was a fan of the colorful clothes.

Super fun weekend of food, family, football and friends (three stars for alliteration). I'll be at home washing my pajamas.

18 Weeks

Better late than never...

How far along? 18 weeks. Baby is the size of a bell pepper. See, all that mexican is helping! Baby S is flexing his arms and legs this week. I should follow suit with some weights. It's a BIG week! Ultrasound to determine, first and foremost, if baby is healthy, and almost as exciting, is Sunburst a he or she!

Total weight gain: Seem to be holding at about 3-5 lbs. I trust the doctors scale more than my own, but I have another afternoon appointment, and you know how fair I think that weigh in is.

Maternity Clothes: Anxious for some cool temps to try out the new jeans, leggings and tops. But right now, dresses are working just fine.

Stretch Marks: Nada.

Sleep: Sleep is good. I'm really thirsty before bed, so I usually down a bottle of water. We all know how that ends.

Best Moment this Week: Tie for first: Putting the hardwoods down in the nursery. I've almost stopped calling it the guest room. Finding out a good friend of ours from Sunday School is expecting in March. Have loved having someone to swap stories with! We also did some exploring of Buy Buy Baby to help with my research. Some of this stuff is starting to make sense...

Miss anything? Good headache medicine. And I know I will miss some cold beers when Alabama plays Texas A&M this weekend....

Movement: I think I feel it? Sometimes? It's really hard to tell. I'll be interested to see at the ultrasound if the placenta is out front. That would explain why I don't feel clear movements yet.

Food Cravings: I think we've covered this. Don't think I didn't head to the gas station for sour punch straws on Saturday. Heaven.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Dinner always seems to do it. It's gotten better since I started the acid medicine, but still not 100%.

Exercise: Made it to 4.5 miles on Saturday! We won't talk about my pace. 4.5 was a big deal.

Gender:  TOMORROW. SO fun!

Labor signs:Nope.

Symptoms: Headaches and slight nausea. All par for the course. Hello, lover -

Most looking forward to: If you don't know this by now, I worry for your reading comprehension:)

Five on Friday

Whew. It's been an exciting week at our house. This will serve as a true brain dump, as I'm also coming off a sugar high and am not firing on all cylinders.

1. Ouch
Before all the fun of the week, Matt had to go in for an emergency root canal. I think the procedure ended up being a lot less painful than having the jacked up tooth, but then again, I wasn't the one sitting in the dental chair. Ironically, I went in the same day for my 6 month visit. Which you should do. Every 6 months. That's all I'll say about that.

2. Cleanliness is Next To...
I've been meaning to blog about this for ages, but haven't for the risk of sounding totally old and boring. But if you have an animal, you deserve to know about any and every tool to help fight the uphill battle of hair, water dripping from the wrinkles (is that just my dog?) and the dirt tracked in from going in and out, in and out. And in and out.

This thing mops your floors and you run it just like a vacuum. It's fantastic. The cleaner smells awesome and leaves your house smelling like a spring day. A spring day where you weren't dripping sweat from mopping with a real mop. Does anyone still do that? It's so easy it makes 'mopping' once a week or so no big deal.

3. Preach

This article. ALL DAY LONG. Amen.

4. This Calls for Popcorn with Extra Butter

I'm not a big scary movie person, but I keep seeing the previews for Prisoners and I'm so intrigued. It just looks like it has some great twist, and would be a great excuse for popcorn and three flavors of sour patch straws.

5. It's a Big Weekend 

Alabama is taking on Texas A&M. Kickoff is at 2:30, the party is at our casa, and I'm contemplating what kind of cream cheese dip will grace my counter. Matt is making some kind of flank steak/jalapeno/bacon heaven, the high is 80 and I've got plenty of stretchy pants. It's going to be a great weekend.

Roll Tide, friends.

Baby S is a....

We are so excited to share a healthy BOY is on the way! We've eaten more blue icing and blueberry treats in the past 24 hours then I have in years.I feel a little like Violet from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it's been just so fun spreading the news! So glad little Sunburst spread his legs:)

Mexican and Edgars with sweet friends to celebrate. The doctor gave me orders to eat more carbs. I happily obliged. It may have been the BEST doctor's appointment ever. I'm certain I'll get a gold star in my chart next visit.

Blueberry muffin tops from Magic Muffin. To DIE FOR. Elaine Benes was on to something. 

Sunburst - who now should probably be referred to as Sunny for masculine reasons - was moving and kicking, but pretty laid back over all. He got a little shy and would move every time she tried to get a money shot. But despite that, we got several, and have NO issues buying blue and picking boy names.

If this isn't evidence of God's handiwork, I don't know what is. We were just fascinated seeing that spine twist and turn and the heart beating away. Amazing. And the proud mom in me has to say the doctor said his brain looks "awesome". 

We got a peace out sign as well. I think he was DONE with all the poking and prodding after a little bit. His head was measuring a full week ahead, which gives me slight anxiety, but I have full faith it will all even out. Right???

I cried as soon as I saw "BOY!!!" go up on that screen. MS held it together until he talked to his dad. Sweet, sweet moment that I will never forget. 

This baby is already so loved, prayed for and anticipated. We can't wait to meet you in February, little boy! Until then, all the carbs you can handle. That is my promise to you. 

Boy or Girl?

Mommy's Intuition: BOY 
Matt's Guess: BOY
Grandparents' Guesses: Mine say BOY/Matt's say BOY (are we sensing a theme?)
Friends' Votes: Most say BOY...
Work Friends' Intuition: GIRL

And then for the crazy old wives' tales and fanatical tests from all over the internet:

Chinese Baby Chart: GIRL 

Old Wives' Tales Pointing to GIRL: HR above 140, skin breaking out, nausea, leg hair the same, baby daddy not gaining weight, nose the same size as always(?), dull colored urine (doesn't that just mean I'm hydrated?).

Old Wives' Tales Pointing to BOY: Carrying low, craving salty and sour foods, weight gain out front. 

So basically, your guess is as good as any! Can't wait to see if Baby S is a he or she tomorrow, and more importantly that baby is on track developmentally and healthy. SO looking forward to a nice long ultrasound to see Sunburst! I think we will celebrate with Mexican food. 

A Little Friday Q&A

Today I'm breaking away from the Friday Five brain dump to do a little Q&A with The Williams....

1. What is your favorite recipe?

It's hard to beat a good soup in the crock pot. White Chicken Chili or Taco Soup. I'm just waiting on the slightest change in temperature to take the plunge. Shredding your chicken in the Kitchen Aid mixer makes the White Chicken Chili, if you ask me. Which hey, you did!

A few key ingredients

2. What is your favorite hair product?

I've blogged about this recently, but right now I'm loving the Kenra Blow Dry Spray.

I love this too - and didn't realize how much until I ran out and my roots came running in. Yikes. This stuff is a lifesaver. I'll be picking up a can this weekend to get through to my next highlighting appointment.

3. What is the best vacation you have been on?

Hands down, Greece. Not only was it beautiful, it was the longest vacation I've ever taken, we were iPhone free and able to totally unplug. Plus, the food was amazing.

4. Tell us your favorite meal? 

Mexican, easy! I often take pictures of my Mexican because it's just that good it should be shared with a photo. A Chille Relleno (not fried, which is hard to find) and a quesadilla can make everything ok.

5.  Dream job?

I like my job pretty well right now. But I guess if I was choosing something as a total dream, could I review spas? I would be very thorough.

6. Christmas or Thanksgiving? 

I love them both, but I think overall, I like Christmas better. It's a true season, and I love decorating and all the time with friends and family. Last year was the first year in our house and I loved getting to decorate. 

7. Favorite clothes store? 

TJ Maxx for sure. I love finding a good bargain, and it seems there is always ones to be found, if you're willing to search around. I have to be in the mood, but some of my favorite things are from TJ!

8. What is your favorite Football team and do you have any traditions on game day? 

If you read my blog for any amount of time in the Fall, this is an easy one - Alabama! We are having quite the run right now, so the past few years have been super fun. We love having people over to watch, and make it down a couple times a year to Tuscaloosa to tailgate with friends.

Pivotal moment in last years heart stopper with LSU.

Namath enjoys the festivities too. 

Football season has great food. One of my favorite go to sites for a new dip - Plain Chicken.

9. Favorite TV Show?

I watch entirely too much TV. At least I recognize the problem. But if we're talking about shows I like to watch live and can't stand to miss, I would go with Dexter, Homeland and Parenthood.

10. DIY or buy everything? 

I like to think I'm crafty, and I've made a few DIY items. But for the most part, I buy. A few Pinterest inspired items as of late -

I think that ends this portion of our Q&A, and my brain already feels lighter on this Friday. Happy weekend, friends!