32 weeks!

Yesterday marked the 8th month of my pregnancy. I really have no idea how I got here. Back in April when I took that test, this point seemed FOREVER away. I felt like it was going to drag on for a long time and pregnancy has been the exact opposite. And now that I've said all this, weeks will start dragging on.

Baby size: Squash
Any symptoms?  the back pain is back in full force, frequent bathroom breaks, and some swelling
Cravings? I could eat a cheeseburger just about every day of the week. Salads have been sounding good too.
Favorite part this week? getting his closet started and the anticipation of the baby shower this weekend.
Least favorite part this week? I am struggling to walk and Diesel could really use a walk.
Boy or Girl? BOY!! :)
Names? Tucker :)










Things went pretty well this past week. At the Halloween party we went too over the weekend, I had some swelling in my hands. This is only the second time that it has gotten so bad I had to take my wedding ring off so I'll consider myself lucky. Danny might get out of buying me a fake ring after all. I told him that I didn't want to go too long without my rings on since I look like I'm in high school, causing people to believe I'm going to be a teen mom.

We have an ultrasound and doctors appointment today. This will most likely be the last time we see Tucker until he makes his debut. Today's ultrasound is to check his growth and try to get an idea of how crowded he is going to get in the end because of my bicornuate uterus. I will hopefully have an update for you tomorrow. And pictures :)

Soooo What Wednesday

Oh Wednesday. I dislike Wednesdays for some reason. Thursdays though.. I love Thursday. And that's because the next day is Friday, and I try to not work very hard on Fridays. This happened in high school, it happened in college and it still happens as an adult but not as often as I'd like. My brain just shuts off Thursday at 3pm, 4pm if I'm lucky. Thursday is also Grey's Anatomy night. One thing that makes Wednesday a little more enjoyable is Shannon's So What Wednesday link up.

So What if...
- I bought some large blueberry muffins last night at the grocery and practically ate one in the parking lot. I'm surprised I made it outside honestly.
- I'm trying to cut back on the amount of tv I watch (why? I don't really know) and I watched 4 hours last night.
- my original goal was to have Tucker's room done by the baby shower and it's only half way done. Shower is Sunday people.
- I've decided I'm not taking any childbirth classes since the Internet is a wealth of knowledge these days.
- I told myself I would start waking up earlier about a month ago and I have yet to do so.
- my cereal of the week is Lucky Charms.
- I want to spend the entire morning writing in my new Erin Condren Life Planner instead of actually working.

- I feel like my food choices have resembled a 6 year olds lately.
- I wanted to have Christmas shopping mostly done at the end of October and I've only purchased a candle for my Grammy.
- I just want to lay in bed with Danny and Diesel and watch Parenthood all day.


Hope you all survive hump day. Its only 9am and I feel like going to bed already.

Weekend Recap

Another weekend down. These weekends are flying by and I know it has got to be because we have so much crap to do before our little man arrives. And this one was far less productive than the others, but we had lots of fun!

 

Friday after work I went to visit Gram at the hospital.  She was asleep so there wasn't much visiting with her. Danny and I were planning on going to the sectional football game after we went to his brothers for a little bit, but as we were pulling in Danny got called into work. This is the second time in a row that we've planned on going to a game and we ended up not being able to. It was fine though. I went home and crawled in bed.

Our maternity pictures were scheduled for Saturday at noon. When we got up that morning it was gloomy and VERY windy. The photographer called and said lets do it tomorrow. That was fine by me. So, we took off for the hospital to visit Gram and then to Lowe's to get a shelving system for Tucker's closet. I kindly informed Danny of all the things we needed to get done by December so he was on board for errand running. Lowe's is very helpful in helping you determine what you need. They will even cut shelves for you so they fit your needs. Didn't know that. We went home and lounged for a few hours before heading to our friends' Halloween party. We failed to get a picture of our costumes, but Danny was a milkman and I was a pregnant housewife. Easy peasy.

Sunday we got up for pictures again and it was a gorgeous day! Still a little windy every once in a while, but much more manageable than Saturday. We took pictures for about an hour and a half. I cannot wait to see them! Later in the afternoon we took off to Indy to meet my mom for dinner and go to HH Gregg. My mom's company was invited to a special event where they get to enjoy a Friends & Family discount so we took advantage. This lady got herself a new dishwasher last night and it should be here and running in a couple of weeks. (If you're new around here, my dishwasher is an absolute pain in my ass. Like brings me to tears pain in my ass) My mom got me an early Christmas gift.. a new Kuerig.. since my current one is being a shithead. She said its kind of for her too since she's going to be staying here after the baby is born for a week and we can't have a faulty coffee maker. It was a successful trip to HH Gregg I would say.

I'm currently eating a cupcake with my breakfast, simply because its Monday.

Five On Friday!

First things first... a big hello to all the new readers! Holly's cash giveaway did wonders for sponsors! Love that Holly and her brilliant ideas.

Secondly, I'm getting back into the Five on Friday link up with Darci at The Good Life Blog. Its been a couple of weeks and I've missed it. It helps me get a couple of thoughts out of my head and into words, preventing them from bouncing around more than they really should. Its pretty great.

ONE - My mother-in-law got me a prenatal massage for my birthday in August and I finally used it yesterday. OH. MY. WORD! That was the most beautiful 60 minutes I've experienced in the last 8 months. I am 99.9% positive that I fell asleep twice. Not like full on sleep since I had to turn from my back to my side then to my other side, but I nodded off a bit. Probably came close to snoring. Tucker enjoyed it too, until the end when we started getting hungry. He likes to kick me when its getting to be meal time. I told Danny's mom thanks and she mentioned there may be another one in my future. I mean, okay!

TWO - We're getting our maternity pictures done on Saturday. Two things about that... First is its pretty chilly here right now. Like 28 degrees chilly. Granted, it is only 9 am but still. That's not very October-ish, but this is Indiana. Saturday at 9 it could be close to 50, we don't know. Next, I haven't tried on my outfit since I bought it a few weeks ago. I should probably get on that tonight. Like as soon as I get home from work in case I need to sweet talk the hubs into taking me shopping. He's gonna looooove that one. I'm really looking forward to pictures though. Not gonna lie, I kind of enjoy having my picture taken... being a Leo and all.. we like being the center of attention for a little bit.

THREE - Mama's getting a new dishwasher! This has been needed for a couple of months. Our dishes come out with crumbs on them. Its really quite disgusting. But as soon as we threaten the dishwasher that its getting replaced, it gets its shit together and things come out spotless for a wash or two. We've tried Dishwasher Magic, we've tried this other cleaner, Danny took it apart, I've cried in front of it... NOTHING WORKS! So, Sunday night we're going. My mom's company got invited to a Friends & Family sale at HH Gregg so I told Danny we're going and we're leaving with a delivery time for a new dishwasher. So, if you have a dishwasher that is just wonderful, I want to hear about it. We have a Maytag right now, but apparently the life expectancy on those is only about 6 years.

FOUR - Something else that has been on my mind as I've hit the 30's in this pregnancy... my hospital bag. I said once I hit 30 weeks I would work on it. So far all I know is what bag I'm bringing for myself. 30 weeks is probably a little early, but the next few weekends are busy and when those are over its practically Thanksgiving. Once Thanksgiving is over, we're right there at the "any day now" point. I need to start making my list, like today. For myself, Danny, and the baby.

FIVE - Danny posted this on my Facebook yesterday and said "sounds about right" and every single one of those 10 rules fit Diesel, in case you ever wanted to know what he is really like. Every time we walk in the door, we get the 3rd degree. He has to sniff us from head to toe, twice, and sometimes he will even lick our arms and legs to make sure we even taste the same. (He's really weird) #10 is true too. He'll sometimes open the door to come in and sit in front of me while I pee. I can't wait until him AND Tucker have to join me at the toilet.

 

That's all for now! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

 

 



31 weeks!

I can't believe its Thursday already. Tuesday felt like it drug on but I think I blinked and missed Wednesday. I'm not mad about it. The next 3 weekends are going to be great so the weeks can keep on flying by. Now it's time for the 31 weeks bumpdate!

Baby size: Pineapple
Any symptoms?  back pain, peeing a lot, and I'm kind of very hormonal
Cravings? fruit pastries. I snagged some single serve Krispy Kreme pies at the grocery on Sunday. The peach was heavenly and the cherry is safely hidden :)
Favorite part this week? watching Danny fuh-reak out when the baby kicked really hard
Least favorite part this week? Being a big freaking cry baby
Boy or Girl? BOY!! :)
Names? Tucker :)







Last night we were sitting on the couch and I was rubbing my belly. I could feel the baby just chilling on my right side, but I couldn't tell if it was his back or leg or head or what. I wanted Danny to feel though because I think its pretty cool. So Danny starts running his hand over the spot for a few seconds and then BAM! Tucker went NUTS, which caused Danny to practically jump off the couch. I died laughing. It was the funniest thing to probably happen all month.

On another note, I'm tired of the crying. Whether its something Danny says jokingly but I take it seriously, Diesel barking in my face RIGHT as I'm dozing off for a nap, or that the house is a mess... I cry. I just cry. I'm over it. My back pain is close to bringing me to tears. It hasn't been this bad since I played volleyball in high school.

Speaking of Danny again, he told me last night he wants to guest post sometime. I'm not telling what his topic of choice is, but I'm very interested to see what he has to say. Be on the lookout! :)

That's all for now. I have my prenatal massage tonight. I. CAN'T. WAIT!

You know you're pregnant when...

There have been so many times throughout my pregnancy that I just stop what I am doing and say to myself, outloud even, "Yep, I'm pregnant." Whether its because of pregnancy brain, a crying fit or avoiding a simple task because it seems monumental due to the basketball on my front side.

Here are some of the obvious signs that confirmed I was pregnant, you know, besides the 4 positive tests and 5+ ultrasounds.

You know you're pregnant when...
- a sink full of dishes can cause uncontrollable sobbing
- a whole glass of water at 9pm causes heartburn at 9am the following morning because: glass of water = multiple trips to pee. multiple trips to pee = super tired. super tired = coffee with breakfast. coffee with breakfast = heartburn
- you start relying on your toes to pick things up for you
- you would give your leg and left boob for a nap
- your husband is afraid to leave you unattended because of your pregnancy brain
- the amount of clothes you buy in a 6 month period is the same, or even a little more, then you buy in a 12-18 month period
- you spend 5 minutes at the grocery store talking yourself out of the smores Goldfish and the french toast Goldfish, then have to talk yourself out of the smores waffles too.
- your husband questions your sanity
- you question your sanity
- choosing what to eat at the state fair seems as monumental as choosing a college
- you know realize how much food/drink you actually drop because at the end of the day you have at least 1 stain on your shirt because your belly catches those things now.
- you think "I'm growing a human" is a valid argument or excuse for just about anything you do or don't want to do.

Pregnancy is a funny thing. It makes you do funny things, think funny things and feel funny things. And the best part is you have NO idea when those funny things are going to hit you.

I'd love to hear about all the things that you all have done that made you stop and think to yourself "yep, I'm pregnant"

Weekend Recap

Another good weekend has come and gone.

Friday afternoon my aunt called and said my Grammy thought she had cellulitis again and needed to go to the hospital. My aunt lives 4 hours south of us and she couldn't get ahold of Gram's sister.... soooo I finished up a couple of things at work, went home and changed clothes, grabbed some snacks and met her at the hospital. We spent almost 4 hours in the ER and then she got sent up to a room where she will be on IV antibiotics for a few days. Last time she had this, she was in the hospital for about 5 or so days so we'll see what happens. I got home close to 10pm and went straight to bed and waited on Danny to get home from the football game and dinner with a friend.

Saturday was suppose to be firetruck rides for all the little kiddos but they got rained out. So, we went and got breakfast, then ran around Muncie for a little bit. I got stuff for our Halloween costumes for next weekend and stuff to finish Tucker's name. Danny was a trooper about me springing a quick stop at Kohls, that also turned into me running into Maurices. Walked out of both emptyhanded. Womp womp. When we got home I got Tucker's name done and I am so pleased with how it turned out. I can't wait until his room is all put together! The rest of our night was spent munching on our Chili's take out, crafting on my part, bow shooting for Danny and then a few episodes of Parenthood.

The highlight of my Saturday was getting the collage of our wedding photos hung up in our room. 

In order to prevent there being a bunch of holes in the wall since there were so many pieces, I used those 3M command strips.  They make 3 different sizes for hanging pictures so they were wonderful. I can't decide how these little magical strips came to be.  I'm convinced they were either invented by:
A) A husband who was tired of hanging shit up for his wife, OR
B) A wife who was tired of her husband not hanging her shit up
I can't decide. Danny chose Option C, which is they worked together. How loving of him!

Sunday was good, but pretty tiring. My morning was spent meal and grocery trip planning and paying bills while catching up on General Hospital for the week. (any other GH watchers out there? I need to you to speak up!) After all that fun, I headed to visit Grammy then meet my mom for some Lowe's shopping and dinner with her and my brother. I went to the grocery on the way home and that just about killed me. Why on earth I would choose to go on the biggest grocery trip in months, on a night Danny works, at 7 months pregnant, is beyond me. Won't do that again. I felt like I was crawling through the store. But, its over with and we now have enough food for the next 2 weeks (minus fresh produce). When I got home I watched the Colts/Broncos game. I normally don't watch football, but with all the talk about this game I had too. Colts won! I was really excited for them, especially Andrew Luck. He pretty much signed up to be in Peyton Manning's shadow just being on the Colts, but to be playing against him. That was a lot of pressure I would think. I am only semi regretting staying up until midnight to watch the end of the game.

Now, its off to the dentist. I HATE going to the dentist. Like its my least favorite thing to do. So this Monday is off to a GREAT start.

30 weeks!

30 weeks! I cannot believe there are only 10 weeks (OR LESS) until we get to meet this sweet babe.







 Baby size: Cucumber
Any symptoms?  back pain, peeing a lot, and I'm kind of hormonal
Cravings? I really want Chilis. Hopefully I can talk the hubs into going tomorrow night before the football game!
Favorite part this week? Being 3/4 the way through!
Least favorite part this week? Hormones
Boy or Girl? BOY!! :)
Names? We are back at Tucker Paul for now








Pregnancy hormones are no joke. I've been kind of bumming lately. I don't really know why. Danny's only explanation is pregnancy. I just have zero motivation to do anything at work or home. Thank God I'm my own boss and if I want to slack I can slack sometimes.

Really though, if I don't get Chili's soon (a Tripple Dipper with boneless wings, southwester egg rolls and crispers if we're being specific) I might cry. You know what else makes me want to cry? The fact that my Kuerig is being a complete asshole. I've wasted 2 k-cups this morning because when the coffee is done, it has coffee grounds in it. Like bad. I'd go for the "third times a charm" but I'm out of Truvia packets. Rough morning so far!

I'll quit bitching now. :)

Pumpkin, Pumpkin and more Pumpkin

The other day I was looking in our cabinets for something sweet and as I was going through the 2 with the baking items, I noticed a can of pumpkin that I bought last fall and never used. I was THRILLED because I had just told Danny a couple days before that I was craving pumpkin pie. Not only did he not offer to go get some, he told ME to go get some. That's not the point of this post though...

I decided to see what I could whip up with this one can of pumpkin. It was one of the larger cans and I knew one of the recipes I wanted to try only needed half and the other only needed a couple of spoonfuls, leaving me with 3/4 of a can and in need of a 3rd quick and easy recipe. I wanted quick and easy because Pregnant Erin is lacking patience these days. So, here is what happened.

Saturday night I made Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Sunday morning I made Pumpkin Pie French Toast
And just this morning I made Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
... All of which turned out great!

Lets start with the cookies... all you need is: a box of spice cake mix and a 15oz can of pumpkin. Honest to God, thats all you need.

Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. As you can see, mine are quite large so it took about 15 minutes for them to get done enough. My family has LOVED them! A few recipes I've seen have put cream cheese frosting on them, but the hubs and I agree that a dollop of whipped cream would be awesome!

Next was the Pumpkin Pie French Toast... you can click the above link for the measurements of the larger batch, but here is what I used for 4 pieces and yes I ate all 4.
4 slices of bread
1 egg
2 spoonfuls of pumpkin
splash of milk
couple shakes of pumpkin pie spice

Mix that all together until it looks like really nasty runny baby food. Lightly dip both sides into the mixture then put on a hot griddle. **When dipping, don't completely saturate the bread. My first 2 pieces were so heavy they almost fell apart and were mushy** Cook both sides until they look done then enjoy :)

Finally, the Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal. I LOOOOVE variations of oatmeal, especially when they apply to the current season.

For this breakfast, you'll need oatmeal(duh), a couple spoonfuls of pumpkin, some shakes of pumpkin pie spice and vanilla wafers (or graham crackers).

Prepare your oatmeal as directed and in a separate bowl mix together the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. I did this in a separate bowl because I wanted to make sure the spice was evenly spread throughout the pumpkin. Combine the pumpkin mixture with the oatmeal. Crush your cookies/graham crackers (the amount you use is up to you.. I used 6 vanilla wafers) then sprinkle onto the oatmeal. Give it a taste test then doctor it up as you wish. I ended up putting 1/2 a packet of Truvia so it was a little sweeter since I like sweet oatmeal.

And now that all this is over, I'm probably going to be okay with not eating pumpkin until Thanksgiving when I have a large slice of pie!

Weekend Recap

This weekend was yet again another good combination of productivity and relaxation. These might be my favorite kinds of weekends. Responsible Erin and Lazy Erin both get what they want out of those 2 1/2 days. Its great!

Friday I really just wanted to go home from work and veg out on the couch all night, but part of me knew that would drive me crazy. So, I texted my bff Rachael and my old-new friend Chelsea (more on the old-new another day) to see if they wanted to run to Hobby Lobby with me and then go get dinner, so we did that. I wanted to get our house numbers to put on the big S hanging on our front door, but HobLob didn't have ones small enough, so I got some things to start on one of my projects for Tucker's room.

Saturday Danny wanted to go to this place where they do battle reenactments. This one was for the battle of 1812. His school went on a field trip, but mine never did so it was my first time seeing it. It was pretty cool. All of the vendors and participants were dressed up like they lived in the 1800s and the things they sold were modeled after those times too. We bought some root beer from one of them and it was real root beer. I wanted it for the bottle because it was cool. Turns out, I don't like real root beer. I like the fizzy kind, not the syrupy seems flat kind. Danny liked it though. We got up there around 11:30 and by 1:30 this girl was over it. It was hot, my back hurt, my hand were swelling and I was tired. When we got home I put comfy clothes on and we got to work on cleaning the kitchen and dining/future play area. After that little burst of productivity, we spent the rest of the night watching Modern Family.

Danny had to work Sunday, so I spent Sunday morning on the couch watching the entire weeks worth of General Hospital. My mom came up to bring us some chili and to go to Target with me. We pretty much go to Target every weekend. She helped me get a cubicle storage system for Tucker's closet and some other things. We watched Little Fockers while we waiting on my brother to come over.  We needed him to get the storage system out of the car and into the house. Watching my mom do it at Target was almost painful and she wouldn't let me help her at all, so we called Drew. After they left, I didn't get off the couch until I went to bed and it was nice. My back was starting to bother me again so I didn't do anything the rest of the night.

Hopefully the rest of the year contains a nice mix of relaxation and productivity like the last couple of weekends have.

Oh, I was also on a pumpkin kick this weekend. Details tomorrow :) I have some fun, easy recipes coming your way! Speaking of recipes, Sunday morning I did some blog work. The "Good Eats" page now has all of my posts with recipes and the "Pinterest Adventures" page has posts with Pinterest projects.

29 weeks!

We're almost to the 30 week mark. For some reason, I feel like 30 weeks is a pivotal mark and is huge! Why is this? Not a freakin clue, but whatever. This week has been pretty good overall and I am pretty glad its moving along so quickly. I'm very anxious to meet and cuddle my little boy :)



 
Baby size: Acorn Squash
Any symptoms?  back pain was rooooough on Sunday night, all of Monday and most of Tuesday. heartburn is pretty serious still. some very light cramping but it went away quickly
Cravings? tacos. We seriously almost ordered tacos Tuesday night at like 9pm
Favorite part this week? I feel like my bump has rounded out a little bit more. Last weeks picture had this awkward flat part on the front
Least favorite part this week? I was still kind of an emotional mess earlier this week
Boy or Girl? BOY!! :)
Names? We are back at Tucker Paul






PS - I hate this picture. I feel like I look huge and I'm blaming the shirt, since its not a maternity shirt. But, I've taken all of the monthly pictures in it so I'm going to stick it out.

This week hasn't been too bad, which I'm very glad about.

We attended a Newborn Care class last night.  It was pretty informative and made me feel better.  I guess I did know a little bit more than what I originally thought, but I did pick up a couple of things as far as all the testing they'll be doing after he is born and what not. Next up is a breastfeeding class. I'm still up in the air on childbirth classes. I do know that I will be getting an epidural... this girl won't be doing the natural birth route. I'm unsure about childbirth prep classes because I can't decide if I want to know every single thing that is going to go on before hand or just get thrown into it and learn as I go.

Have any of you taken classes and did they help or not? Or have any of you not taken classes and still felt like you were okay?

So What Wednesday

I am sooooo happy its Wednesday already. This week hasn't been terrible or anything, I'm just really looking forward to the weekend. Even though my Friday night is most likely going to consist of laying on the couch watching tv. But for now, it's still only Wednesday and I'm linking up with Shannon at Life After I Dew and saying "So What" to some things that might seem like problems but don't bother me a bit.

  So What! if....
- my kitchen hasn't been cleaned in over a month and I'll be lucky to get it cleaned this week or weekend
- I've planned whole day around being able to get Taco Bell for lunch
- those plans for the day include my glucose test and when I get Taco Bell I'm going to chug a Diet Mountain Dew like its going out of style
- I ate 4 slices of turkey at 2am
- I'm practically counting down the days until I can unwind with a glass of wine at the end of the day
- I'll probably buy 3 large bags of Halloween candy even though we'll have a total of 10 trick-or-treaters
 - Danny and I's costumes for a Halloween party we're going to makes me giggle when I think about it.

That's it for this week. Tonight we are attending a Newborn Care class at the hospital we'll be having this kid at, so that should be interesting. I know just about nothing about caring for a baby so hopefully this class will teach me most of what I need to know. We shall seeeeee.

Weekend Recap

Friday at 2:30pm I thought the weekend was shot. I was sitting at work and my head was pounding, I felt so congested and I felt like I was getting a fever. Awwwwwwesome! So, at 3, I went home and got in bed, which is where I stayed until about 8pm when Danny got home from hunting and brought me dinner. I got up for about 30 minutes because I HATE to feel like I'm being worthless.. sometimes. I decided to finish clearing out the baby's room... which lead me to a pile of crap. Literally, a pile of dog crap. Thanks, Diesel! This was after Diesel refused to let me take a nap.. needing to go out every 30 minutes to make sure the grass was still there, demanding treats (which he didn't get), and barking just to make sure he still could. Cleaning that up justified spending the rest of the night in bed.

Spending Friday afternoon/evening in bed was what I needed. I felt pretty normal Saturday. As soon as I got up I started laundry and did dishes. Productivity stopped shortly after when I found myself 3 episodes further into season 1 of Parenthood. Whoops. After Danny woke up (he slept til almost 12. I love when that happens because it reminds me that he is human :) ) he watched an episode of my new favorite show and accused me of wanting to be a Braverman after I mentioned they drink wine at every. single. meal!  Danny's brother showed up to check out the baby's room since he said he would paint it for us.. next thing I know he's carrying in his case of beer and supplies and getting after it. I mean, ooookay! While he painted, we went to the festival in town to get lunch, then ran to get another gallon of paint and a milkshake from Steak n Shake. (Caramel apple is delish... go get one this week) We got back just before Danny's brother was leaving for the day.. he got the trim done and left us a little surprise.. A Jellybean for our Jellybean :)

Yesterday was a girls day with my mama. We got lunch at Paradise Bakery then hit up the maternity clothes store... for the 3rd time. Hopefully I got enough clothes to last me through the rest of pregnancy. I'm still rocking some non-maternity clothes that were too big pre-pregnancy so it's possible.  After a stop at Target I was done! I could not wait to get home and spend the rest of my night on the couch. My back was killing me. I was going to fold laundry but the thought of bending over to get them out of the dryer made me want to cry.

I also couldn't wait to get home and see the painted nursery. My brother-in-law did a fantastic job. And now... the real fun begins!

This weekend was a good mix of productivity and relaxation. Hopefully they are all like that from here on out!

28 weeks!

So am I really in the 3rd trimester? Already? Its officially crunch time.

Baby size: Eggplant... just like with the rutabaga, this comparison doesn't help me all that much
Any symptoms?  back pain is constant. heartburn sucks. some nausea. fatigue is making its way back.
Cravings? caramel apple shake from steak n shake. its so sad that the closest one is 15 minutes away
Favorite part this week? the increased and stronger movements
Least favorite part this week? I think I might be having some anxiety about being away from work for most of December and January
Boy or Girl? BOY!! :)
Names? We are back at Tucker Paul






Now that I am getting closer and closer to December, I am starting to get really nervous. Not so much about the fact that I'm entering motherhood, although I'm sure that's going to send me into a sob-fest at some point, but more about work and being away. I've been in the big chair since my dad passed away in June 2010, so taking an extended break from said chair is causing me some anxiety. It's not that I don't think my brother is capable or that the business will fall apart without me there, I just don't have confidence in my ability to fully prepare him and the other guy before I leave. I don't know why, especially since my house is literally 4 minutes from the office, my business partner is my brother who I'm sure I will see, and the other guy is my freaking neighbor. I'm also worried about all of the things my brother and I need to/should accomplish before mid-December. I'd like to have it all done by December, but I'm going to be flexible since I'll be going to the doctor more now and he's also in school.

I'm also making a mountain out of a freaking mole hill.

In happier news, we're picked a day for maternity pictures. Yayyyy. The photographer emailed me back last night and now we just have to settle on a time and find outfits.

Time out for fun: I'm watching the Today show right now.  Miley Cyrus is going to be on the show Monday and performing. And apparently in her documentary or whatever that was on last night, she called the VMA performance a "strategic hot mess"  Okay, Miley.

I'm on the hunt for more shirts this weekend. Fall weather isn't getting here quick enough for me and I seriously had to pull a shirt out of my hamper the other day. True story.

We are off to the doctor this afternoon. And after, I'm going to enjoy a cupcake that my mom bought for Danny's birthday.

The Easiest Banana Bread I Ever Did Make

On Friday I mentioned that I wanted to make some banana bread this weekend. I purchased bananas on my last grocery trip with this intention. And it was close to a form of torture watching them sit on the counter and not slapping some peanut butter on them at some point last week. I found though that it was worth the wait. I also mentioned I didn't know whether I would stick with the tride and true recipe my old roomie gave me or if I'd try one that had been taunting me on Pinterest that claimed to be simple.

If you've followed me through any point in the last 6 months since I've been pregnant, you know that I'm all about simplicity at this point in my life. I went with the easy recipe, courtesy of Artsy Fartsy Mama. It's a 3 ingredient banana bread with an optional 4th ingredient.

Here is what you need:
- Box of yellow cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 3 or 4 ripe bananas (I used 3)
- 1/2 to 1 cup of chocolate chips (I just poured them in so I don't know how much I used)

Here's how you make it. It might blow your mind.

Mash the bananas in a medium/large bowl (one that is big enough for the cake mix).

Add the cake mix and bananas to the same bowl and mix well.

Mix in chocolate chips

Bake in loaf pan at 350* for 50 minutes (thats what it took in my oven). Don't forget to spray the loaf pan. I loaded that thing down with nonstick spray. There is nothing I hate more than gunk stuck on a pan or cookie sheet.

And you're done!

The creator of this recipe said you can bake in 2 small loaf pans for 35-40 minutes.  I also thought about putting it in my muffin pan and making muffins. I might next time. I can't wait to change this up a bit next time. I'm thinking hold the chocolate chips and add some walnuts? If I could find some peanut butter chips I'd be golden!

The banana bread was still soft and delicious as of 6:25 this morning when I woke up and needed a snack before I even thought about starting my day. There are only 2 small slices left and they are going to my brother. My mom bought Danny red velvet cupcakes for his birthday (6 to be exact) and some mini cheesecakes from Gigi's Cupcakes. We don't need those AND the rest of the banana bread. You're welcome, Drew.

I love to bake using recipes that include using a boxed cake mix.  You're letting the cake mix do the work for you. I've made cookies, cobbler, and dump cakes.  They are so simple and its great.

Let me know if you try this recipe, or have before, and loved it.

Happy Birthday Hubs!

Today this sexy piece of man meat turns 24. We are now the same age again, but I'm sure that won't stop people from thinking he's my much older boyfriend/sugar daddy.

yep, Diesel is wearing a tie

He doesn't love his birthday and for someone that thinks she deserves an entire week to celebrate her birthday, this doesn't sit very well with me. For the past 5 years (that's 6 birthdays) I've tried to change his attitude about his birthday. I've gotten him an x-box (we were only dating.. I must have really loved him), threw him a party (his 21st), arranged a get together at a local bar (22nd) and last year I bought him a custom made gun holster. He's slowly coming around and enjoying the actual day and wanting to do something on his birthday weekend. I'm sure by the time he's 30 he'll think he deserves a 2 week long get away out in the mountains away from me and the kids. Diesel will be allowed to go though.

One cool thing about Danny's birthday is that he shares it with his grandpa.  His grandpa turned 65 the day Danny was born. Every year Danny's mom gets them together. Tonight our nephew has a football game, so the get together with Grandpa will be Thursday. Danny's mom will make dinner and then the family will come over for cake and ice cream. This family, both Danny's dad and Danny's mom, loves to celebrate with cake and ice cream. Its truly wonderful.

Right now, the birthday boy is sitting out in his tree stand enjoying the first day of bow season. I think he's even going back tonight. I took a picture of him in his hunting get-up and he told me I wasn't allowed to share it on social media, or my blog. So naturally I cut most of his body out and included it in the above collage that was posted on Instagram(erinshell10) and this blog. Its my picture and I'll do what I want with it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANNY - I love you more than all the grains of sand on the beaches of Cancun!!