Hump Day, Bump Day - Week 29

How far along? 29 weeks, 3 days

Baby's size?  An acorn squash (are these vegetables getting bigger?? Because she certainly is!!) 15 inches and 3 pounds!

Milestone? She is fattening up and her Mama is feeling it..

Maternity clothes? Pretty much exclusively. I look ginormous in the picture above.. I'm really not THAT big. Swear. 

Stretch marks? Last week was a false alarm.. no stretch marks!! 

Sleep?I'm currently writing this at 4am... It's like clock work, I'm up every night at this time. Might as well be productive!

Symptoms? VERY congested, terrible indigestion, uncomfortable.. Have a feeling this isn't changing for the next 10 weeks! 

Best moment this week? Just the highs and lows and craziness that comes with pregnancy. Like crying because AJ tipped the Chinese delivery guy $10 instead of $5 last Friday night.. or peeing on myself when I started laughing last night.. which caused harder laughter and uhh harder peeing hahaha!! It just blows my mind that AJ and I have almost been together 6 years and in just over 2 months, we will share our life with this little one. Trying to soak up those last moments of it just being us.

Miss Anything? Normal brain functioning.. Pregnancy brain is BAD. It is so hard for me to spell words or make coherent sentences. I'm constantly checking and re-checking my work and I'm still making mistakes. I HATE making mistakes and will beat myself up over it. I'm in such a funk because I just feel so dumb these days..

Movement? She moves around like crazy! I'm starting to see little feet or fists stick out of my stomach when she moves. SO close to knowing what this little girl looks like!!

Food cravings? Just so dang thirsty!! Mostly just want water.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Just my indigestion.

Have you started to show yet? Yup.. And I got my first "Any day now?" comment...

Gender? Sweet baby girl :) Madelyn Jane Pryor

Labor Signs? Nope.

Belly Button in or out? It's out. And AJ says it moves when I laugh hahahah

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time? SO. EMOTIONAL.

Looking forward to? Doctor's appointment on Friday! Not an exciting one, just a check up. But now that they are happening every two weeks, every appointment is just inching closer to meeting our baby girl!!

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Weekend Wrap Up - Menu Monday

Friday night, we were both exhausted from a looonng, intense week of work. We ordered in Chinese food and vegged out on the couch. 

And Saturday.. ugh. I really don't even want to put up this picture because I'm hoping to just erase Saturday from my memory. Let's just pretend the Bama game never even happened.. At least #3, 6, 7, AND 8 teams lost to help the sting of losing a little bit.. 

Sunday AJ had to work in the lab so I got some projects done around the house I had been neglecting. Like finally hanging our degrees in the bedroom.. And cleaning.. so much cleaning. YUCK

I found some great stuff at World Market!! One precious gold thing for the nursery that I will show once it's all done. And this mail holder and super cute A, M & A hooks. I have been wanting to have a "command center" at our door for the longest time to catch bags, mail and be the place for "what's going on this week" for AJ. LOVE it and so glad I finally go around to doing it.. 

And all the while.. Molly was snoozing.. She has tough life.. 

Weekly Menu - 10.5.15

Monday: Taco Soup

This weekend we had a "cool spell" in the high 60s/low 70s, so I had to take advantage and make soup! This recipe is insanely easy.. you literally just dump everything in the pot. The only thing I do differently is subtract a can of beans and add in a can of corn. SO yummy when you top it with cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips! And it makes a LOT, so we are having leftovers tonight for dinner. 

Recipe HERE.

Tuesday: Skinny Chicken Enchiladas

How this recipe is "skinny" is beyond me.. cream of chicken, sour cream, tons of cheese.. But thank goodness because it is one of AJ's favorites! I planned several meals this week that I can cook because AJ is supposed to have jury duty. (Which is downtown, which means he won't get home till LATE. Boo!)  

Recipe HERE.

Wednesday: Lemon Pepper Chicken with Risotto

Found this recipe on Pinterest last week and knew we had to try it. I could not find raw/unflavored risotto anywhere in the grocery store, so I guess I'm going to substitute with rice. I'll let you guys know how it is! 

Recipe HERE. 

Thursday: AJ Steak

Thursday night I have a Happy Hour to go to with work (wooo sparking water and lime) so AJ will be on his own for dinner. I picked him up a good looking NY strip steak at the grocery store (only $5!) and grabbed his go to side dish of cherry tomatoes (that he will marinate). 

Friday: Crab Cakes

I mentioned several weeks ago that AJ was going to try to make crab cakes out of canned crab. Well it turned out REALLY well. It was SO yummy that I had to add it into our favorites pile that gets recycled pretty often. Serving them with rice and homemade tartar sauce. 

Recipe HERE.

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Friday Favorites - Birthday Edition!

As always, I am linking up with Erika, Narci, and Andrea for Friday Favorites! 

Well yesterday was one of my most FAVORITE days of the year.. my birthday!! I have always loved birthdays. I love looking back over the past year and looking ahead at what's in store. I thought getting older would sting a little, but it's actually crazy how I love every single year more and more. 

One of my FAVORITE gifts I received is my new Erin Condren planner. These planners are life changing. Every single thing you could want in a planner is packed in here. AJ knew I wanted a new one to start marking stuff down for 2016 - he picked out the design and everything. I'm pretty impressed! 

I had a crazy hectic day at work yesterday, and at times forgot it was my birthday. But having this guy meet me for lunch was my FAVORITE. Along with what seems to always sound good at restaurants.. salad and fries haha!

My sweet coworkers got me one of my all time FAVORITE sweets - chocolate covered strawberries! 

Ahh obnoxious birthday decorations are my FAVORITE. Tracey out did herself with signs and balloons up everywhere! So nice to have people constantly popping in my office telling me Happy Birthday throughout the day!! 

AJ is my FAVORITE person in the world! He goes above and beyond for me every single day, and on my birthday he makes sure I feel extra special. Since I have been pregnant, he drops me off and picks me up from work and yesterday the pick up was complete with my FAVORITE flowers and my FAVORITE pup :) :) 

Our FAVORITE date nights are ones spent at nice restaurants sharing a bunch of small plates and discussing every single little element. Last night we kept up the tradition, and went to Bestia in downtown LA. This place the definitely THE place in LA right now.. we had to make reservations two months ago!! And that bone marrow on top of spinach gnocchetti with aged balsamic. I die.  

I was beyond exhausted yesterday after a night with hardly any sleep and a long day at work but SO glad we had a special night out. We need to get a couple more nights like this in before our FAVORITE little girl arrives!! 

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Hump Day, Bump Day - Week 28

How far along? 28 weeks, 3 days

Baby's size?  An eggplant.. 14 inches and 2.5 pounds

Milestone? Her lungs are mature enough that she could survive outside the womb. But please keep on baking little girl!! 

Maternity clothes? Pretty much exclusively. 

Stretch marks? I MIGHT have one on my right side.. I'm pretending it's not there.. 

Sleep? Pretty good, but never enough! ALWAYS exhausted.

Symptoms? VERY congested and snotty, terrible indigestion, and some insane sciatic nerve pain shooting down my right side. 

Best moment this week? My glider chair and ottoman are now in the nursery and I go sit in there every single night. Sometimes AJ and Molly will come join me too. It makes my heart SO full to have my whole family in our sweet little girl's room.. just waitin on December! 

Miss Anything? Was pretty bummed that I didn't get to eat raw oysters or tuna ceviche at dinner the other night. Couple more months!

Movement?  My wild woman moves non-stop. I googled the other night how to calm her down.. my only conclusion is that I should prob stop eating ice cream.. ha!

Food cravings? I want more sweet things now than I did before my pregnancy, but not really "craving" anything..

Anything making you queasy or sick? Just my indigestion.

Have you started to show yet? Yup..

Gender? Sweet baby girl :) Madelyn Jane Pryor

Labor Signs? Nope.

Belly Button in or out? Full fledged outie. It popped out on Sunday.. and it makes me laugh every time I look at it. 

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time? Pretty happy! Mostly too tired to be moody. I suppose I probably complain too much! Sometimes I get on my own nerves.

Looking forward to? My 26th birthday tomorrow! Last one without our little girl here! 

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Life Lately

Life lately.. I've been drinking too many Pumpkin Spice Lattes. But it's my only glimpse of fall in this 85 degree heat without a scarf or pair of riding boots in sight! 

SO excited all my shows are back on Thursday night! Oh Shonda, how I love you!! 

This past weekend we went down to San Diego to visit some of AJ's cousins. Friday night we had dinner at Juniper and Ivy. It's a restaurant owned by Richard Blaise - who also owns the Spence, one of our favorite Atlanta restaurants! The food was to die for, the restaurant was gorgeous, and this dessert.. holy cow was it yummy! 

Saturday morning we watched a little football then headed to Del Mar for lunch by the beach. We had quite the view!! 

Saturday night we went to a Wine and Food Festival at the San Diego Zoo. Hundreds of vendors were there with unlimited samples and ALL of the proceeds went to charity!

Fortunately, the SD Zoo has LOTS of hills! I got in quite the work out while stuffing my face. 

We ended the night taking an aerial tram over the zoo. AJ HATES heights and held on for dear life the entire time. Surprised I got this picture of him, ha! 

Sunday I came home to my very first birthday present - from my mom! I have needed a new watch for a longgg time and SO thankful she indulged me a little bit :) 

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Hump Day, Bump Day - Week 27

How far along? 27 weeks, 3 days

Baby's size? We know exactly how big she is from my doctor's appointment.. 2 pounds, 7 ounces! 

Milestone? She's practicing breathing with her rapidly developing lungs and she is showing brain activity in that little noggin! 

Maternity clothes? Kelli sent me more clothes, so I have a closet full! I am wearing something different every day and feeling great! 

Stretch marks? Had a panic attack the other morning thinking I had some.. it was just an indention from the bed sheets! haha 

Sleep? Some good, some bad. I'll get what I can take!

Symptoms? Heartburn and belly pain when she digs down as low as she can go. Every morning, like clock work, when I'm waking up she puts her head as low as it will go and sticks her butt up in the air so it's poking out of my belly. Man oh man is it painful, but love those sweet little moments with her!!

Best moment this week? Seeing our wild woman on the sonogram at the doctor! 

Miss Anything? Eating when I want. I am STARVING at night before bed, but if I eat, I'm going to have awful indigestion and not be able to sleep..

Movement?  This little girl is so active they couldn't get a picture of her at the doctor or get an accurate read of her heart beat. The tech was like.. Holy cow! Does she move this much all the time!?! Yes... yes she does!! 

Food cravings? Sweets!! And really just food all around. I have had an intense appetite this week!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Just my indigestion.

Have you started to show yet? Yup..

Gender? Sweet baby girl :) Madelyn Jane Pryor

Labor Signs? Nope.

Belly Button in or out? It's pretty much an outie.. I'm in denial. 

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time? Pretty happy!! I just sit in the nursery all the time and re-fold her tiny little clothes pretty much every day haha!

Looking forward to? We are visiting some of AJ's side of the family in San Diego this weekend. I am looking forward to seeing them AND getting to float in their pool!

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Laurie's Trip to LA!

This past weekend Laurie came out to LA to visit! We both have been so busy that not much planning was done beforehand.. we just went with it! I picked her up from the airport Friday afternoon and we headed down to Manhattan beach to watch the sunset.

This cute guy accompanied us and after the sun went down we headed to dinner at Fish Bar. 

Saturday morning Laurie and I walked 3rd Street Promenade, checked out the SM farmer's market and walked down to the pier. 

Our poor pale skin got a little crispy. It was an unusually hot weekend in So Cal.. ready for fall already!! 

Saturday afternoon we cooked wings, whipped up some fruit dip and watched nonstop football. (Glad I don't cheer for a losing team like Laurie and AJ! ha!)

Sunday morning we headed to Joan's on Third for brunch. I have been here several times for lunch, but have never had their breakfast and man oh man, it did not disappoint! 

Next we did some shopping in Beverly Hills then headed over to The Grove. We got this ahhhmazing donut from Bob's in the Farmer's Market. I can't stop thinking about it! 

After a quick rest at home, we headed to one of our favorite sushi spots Sunday night. (Yes, everything is cooked in that roll!)

Monday - Laurie jumped on the double-decker tour bus and saw all of Hollywood. THEN she had tickets to go see a taping of Jimmy Kimmel. Hate I couldn't join her because I had work and a doctor's appointment, but so glad she got to enjoy such a cool part of LA. She left this morning and Molly is already missing her friend! SO SO thankful to have sweet friends come visit me so often! 

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