Cranberry Orange Muffins

We made some Cranberry Orange Muffins last week and they turned out to be pretty yummy! I got the recipe from Joyful Healthy Eats. You can find the full recipe by clicking the link in the previous sentence, or by clicking the picture below.

A lot of times, Matt and I look at recipes and see what we can do to make them a little healthier. In this case, I decided to add a glaze to the top. :) I mixed powdered sugar and orange juice and dipped each muffin in it, shook off the excess, and let it cool.

They're pretty yummy muffins - give them a try!

Penny Cuddles

Penny wanted some cuddle time with the baby earlier this week. She's pretty sweet.

Gainesville Baby Shower

On April 11th we had a baby shower in Gainesville. It was so sweet to get to see church friends, friends from the bank, and family! We were truly blessed that day and were shown an outpouring of love and gifts for this little baby!

I still can't believe it's me in these pictures... I hardly recognize myself. I'm working hard to remember that this is a special time in my life, and that I won't look like this forever. :) It'll definitely be worth it! :)

Aunt Summer, Nana, and Aunt Nova showing the baby some love. :)

Evie was sweet enough to help me open gifts. She did a fantastic job. This particular gifts was one of my favorites to open with her help. She took the lid off of the box and there was a manual breast pump inside. Evie looked at it, opened her eyes wide, and shouted, "OOOOH WOOOOOWWWW!" That girl is hilarious.

I think G-Ma (Renee) and Nana (Mom) are pretty excited about this little girl's arrival.

The "Land girls" who aren't Land's anymore. :) It was so much fun to visit with them for a little while!

We have gotten so many sweet handmade gifts, it's unbelievable. This baby has gotten some very special gifts that we'll keep forever!

It was really a beautiful shower, and Matt and I are so thankful for our friends and family and the love they've all shown us during this exciting time!

Creamy Avocado & Spinach Pasta

Not long ago Matt made Creamy Avocado & Spinach Pasta for dinner and I. loved. it. He said it was very easy (especially if you have a food processor). He found the recipe on Jo Cooks, so you can click the link, or the picture below to find the full recipe.

We actually left out the basil, because we just didn't have any, and used almonds instead of pecans (again, just what we had at home!). It was still delicious. I'm sure you could be creative with this one and add in things to your liking!

Enjoy!

Penny Pictures

Matt and I recently saw some pictures taken of dogs that were so cute, and so funny. Most were taken up close, and at weird angles, which caught all sorts of funny expressions from the dogs. We tried to take some of Penny that way and we realized... Penny only has about two expressions. Ha! With Ginny, you could always tell what she was thinking, or what she was wanting. It's not that easy with Penny. So, they didn't turn out like we were expecting, but Matt still got some cute pictures of her that I wanted to share. :)

She is such a sweet, cuddly pup, and we like her just a little bit. She is still trying to figure out the baby's room, and what is ok and what isn't. She got into some trouble once for pulling out one of the baby's toys and ripping the face off of a stuffed raccoon.... but that has been the only issue, at least so far. And boy did she know she was in trouble when we walked in the door!! Really, though, she's a good dog and we're excited to see how she does with the baby. She has been very sweet and gentle with other babies/young children she's been around. She's just a very loving dog.

(Can you even imagine how sappy and lovey-dovey I'm going to be with baby posts if I get this way on a post about my dog????) ;)

Banana Nut Muffins

Matt and I made some Banana Nut Muffins last night, and they are super yummy. They aren't as sweet as what you'll find in the grocery store, but we're ok with that. They are still super moist and have a delicious flavor.

I found the recipe at HappyPrettyBlog.com (through Pinterest). You can check out the full recipe by clicking the link above, or by clicking on the picture.

We used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, because that's what we had, and we added some oats to the top. Next time we may kind of press the oats and walnuts into the batter a little more so they stick a little better (some fell off easily since they were just sitting on top).

They are super yummy! :) Give them a try!

Updates

Whew! Things are starting to get pretty busy. We had LTC two weekends ago, a baby shower in Gainesville last weekend, a Spring Retreat with the youth group this weekend, a baby shower in Canton next weekend, and a Rangers game the weekend after that! Overall, I'm feeling ok, but I definitely feel my energy being quickly drained from me when I'm out and about doing things. Because I've been so tired, Matt has really been working double time on getting everything picked up and put away in the nursery, along with helping a TON with housework. I sure do appreciate him. He painted an end table to match the dresser he fixed up, but we're still waiting to get some wood for the top. Once it's all put together, I'll take some pictures to share. The crib is mostly put together, there are sweet little dresses hanging in the closet, and things are starting to come together and look like a sweet little room for a sweet little girl!

I'm still sleeping ok, for the most part. I wake up several times needing to flip over on my other side, and a few times to go to the bathroom, but thankfully I usually get back to sleep pretty quickly. Penny started barking at something this morning just before 6:30 and it startled the baby. The baby was kicking so much after that that I couldn't get back to sleep, but then I found out it was time to get up anyway when the alarm started going off.

I gave in and bought some new tennis shoes. I had to get one size bigger and wide width! All I had left at home that still fits are my Chacos, which work just fine, but I kind of wanted some tennis shoes. Hopefully my feet will shrink back down to "normal" size after the baby comes, but if not, at least I have one pair of tennis shoes already!

I'll try to gather up some pictures for the blog sometime soon. Maybe I can get my hands on some pictures from the baby shower, I'll get a couple of the nursery, and who wouldn't want a few pictures of Penny??

LTC

This past weekend we participated in LTC (Leadership Training for Christ) in Dallas with the church.

Awesome shirts, huh? Yours truly designed them ("Give it up" was the theme of LTC) 

LTC's statement of purpose says they "assist young Christians in developing their knowledge of the Bible and biblical principles, enhance their communication and leadership skills, and orient their energies and abilities to areas of Christian service." I'm not saying that isn't true.... but it's about youth groups preparing things beforehand then performing them for judges in order to win gold, silver, or bronze medals. Matt and I get a little (or sometimes a lot) frustrated with the process and what they are truly teaching the youth in the ways they respond to certain things, but overall, it IS a fun thing for the youth to prepare for and participate in. We had a great time hanging out with the teens and several other adults and younger children over the weekend. We got to know some families from the church that we didn't really know, and it was fun to see the youth get so excited about their events.

Matt wrote the script for the high school puppets group and it was a big hit. He was their "coach" and did a great job. The skit got a lot of laughs, and I think the teens had fun with it.

He also coached the junior high and high school chorus. We are so proud of this group! When we started, they all complained that they weren't "a singing group." They started just a couple of months ago having never really sung in parts, or together at all, really, and ended up singing three beautiful songs (including one that Matt wrote) in four-part harmony.

 

Matt didn't make it for the picture above, but they roped him in for the second one and told him he had to pose on the front row with the girls. ;)

Matt also worked with the teens to prepare for Bible Bowl, which is just trivia questions from the Bible (related to that year's theme). He then had to judge at the event. He had a team of four girls. I don't think any of them particularly enjoyed the event, but I think they got a few good laughs and inside jokes by the time it was all over.

Once again, Matt was instructed to pose with the girls. He is such a goof! Thankfully most of the teens think he is pretty funny. I think he is only a complete embarrassment to them about 25% of the time. ;)

 

 

There were also a lot of individual events. Song leading, art, sign language, etc. One of the high school girls participated in sign language and it was absolutely beautiful. We were so proud of her.

 



Here are a few of the teens just being goofy (imagine that!). Well, I guess two of them just thought they were posing for a picture... so only one goofy teen here.

 

It was a fun weekend. Matt and I were both pretty exhausted once it was all said and done. I actually stayed home from work on Monday to rest because I was so exhausted. It was a lot more walking than I'm used to, and I didn't get as much sleep as I'm used to, so it really took a toll on me.

 

Overall, it was a successful weekend! We still have to hand out awards tonight, and they will perform their events for the congregation on Sunday, then we'll be done with it all... until next year!

8 Months Pregnant!

I've hit the 8-month mark! Only 8-ish more weeks to go!

Here are a few of the things happening right now:

- My ankles swell up pretty huge if I'm not careful about it. Thankfully I'm not on my feet much with my job, so I can prop them up and rest them most of the time. When I don't, though, YIKES. I also bought some compression socks that I've used when I know I'm going to have to be on my feet more than usual. They take a good 20 minutes to put on (Matt has to do it for me) but they DO work.

- I finally feel huge. I don't know when it actually happened, but 1-2 weeks ago I saw a picture of myself and was blown away. My whole face looks different to me.

- I'm hungry. A lot. But I'm also concerned about my weight gain. It isn't way out of control, but I have passed the recommended gain already. I have been very consistent in my weekly weight gain for a long time (Hey, give me that! At least I'm consistent!), but if I keep up that pattern, my ending weight gain will be quite a bit higher than I'd like. So I'm trying to make sure my frequent snacking is at least on healthy snacks.

- My shoes don't fit. Well, my Chacos fit, which is good considering that is mostly all I wear anyway. They have adjustable straps, so I've been able to slowly let those out. I think they are all the way out at this point, though, so hopefully my feet won't be growing or expanding anymore for the next two months. I tried to put on my tennis shoes a few days ago and it just wasn't happening. I've read of people whose feet grow during pregnancy and never shrink back to their original size. Mostly because I'm cheap, I'm hoping mine will shrink back post-baby so I won't have to buy all new shoes.

- My wrists have started hurting some, but thankfully not all the time. When I saw the chiropractor a few weeks ago she asked if my wrists had been bothering me. I told her no, and she went on to tell me how great that was, because some people have a lot of trouble with that. Well, it hit me! It is mostly at night, but sometimes it hits me during the day. Again, I'm thankful it isn't all the time, because they hurt pretty bad when they do decide to hurt!

- I've realized now, more than ever, the importance of drinking plenty of water. Of course that has been something I've been focused on for a while now, but while we were out of town this weekend for a youth event, my schedule was thrown off quite a bit and I ended up not drinking nearly enough water. That lead to a pretty scary couple of hours where I had waaaaay more Braxton Hicks contractions than usual, all within a fairly short amount of time. It definitely scared me! I realized it was likely due to not getting enough water, so I sat down to rest and guzzled some water and almost immediately noticed that I was feeling better.

- This little girl is still pretty active. Most of the movement I feel at this point is more "rolly" than hard kicks and punches, but she definitely still has her moments where she is sure to make herself known. I'm getting pretty excited about meeting her and seeing those tiny feet that have been giving my ribs such grief.

We went out behind our house yesterday and snapped a couple of pictures to document the 8-month mark. You can't really see my belly in the last one, but I still thought it was a neat picture.

Things are getting close! In some ways, I can't believe we are already to the 8-month mark, and in others it feels like I've been pregnant forever. I know most people say the end of the pregnancy drags by, since you get pretty ready to get that tiny human out of your body. I am not miserable at this point, and our calendar is jam-packed with things from now until the due date, so hopefully it will go by faster for us. Hopefully. :)

Painting

Matt's aunt, Rhonda, invited me to an event with "Painting with Erin" here in Canton. They set us up with all of the supplies we needed and took us step-by-step through the process of painting a picture. We painted the state of Texas (thankfully they provided the outline!).

Erin (Matt's cousin) and I working on our paintings



Renee was very focused... ;)

Our group with our finished paintings!

It really was pretty fun. It was also frustrating at times to see the "example painting" and not be able to match it. I was so nervous about starting the letters on mine, but I did my first lines and was really proud of myself. Then I went back over it to make it darker... and the more I worked on it, the worse my letters looked! Ha! I consider myself to be a decent artist, but I've never learned how to paint, and I was reminded of that in a hurry when working on this painting! Overall, though, it was a lot of fun.

Side note: When I saw that last picture the next day, I honestly didn't recognize myself. I have officially hit the point in pregnancy where I feel huge. Two more months... ;)

Favorite Meals

Matt started teasing me last night because every night for the past several nights, I either want breakfast food or black bean and spinach quesadillas for dinner. The quesadillas especially get me drooling lately.

I know that isn't a glamorous "food picture" like you see on foodie blogs, but people... that picture makes my heart go pitter-patter. It is even better with a little side of homemade guacamole, but the local grocery stores have been awfully disappointing with their avocado selection lately.

I suppose a hearty serving of beans and spinach isn't too bad of a pregnancy craving to have (it beats my macaroni & cheese cravings of the first trimester!). Of course I followed it up with some Oreos and milk (the milk is good for me!!!).

I've been a little bit concerned about my weight gain lately. I am already past the "recommended" weight gain, but probably not quite to the average just yet. Overall, though, I think I'm eating a fairly good diet, and I'm not overdoing the special goodies too much, so I'm trying not to worry about it too much at this point.