17 Weeks

How far along? 17 weeks
Baby’s size? The size of a turnip (5 inches long and weighs 5oz)
Stretch marks? No
Maternity Clothes?  I love my maternity yoga pants
Sleep: I’m finally waking up only 3 times a night!  Woohoo!!
Movement: Some but they aren’t super strong yet
Food cravings: None
Anything making you queasy or sick: Raw meat and seeing blood.
Symptoms: Same ol’ same ol'
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time: Tired but happy

I’m spotting pretty much every other day, so things have been very uneventful around here.  I’ve found out that daytime television is awful and it stinks not doing anything all day.  I’ve let Lovey’s toys take over the living room, but watching her play is more entertaining than laying down watching lame shows.

Amazing Fried Rice

Fried Rice

Despite being raised by a Midwestern mother, I’m not always up for meat and potatoes.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great combination but every night?  No thanks.  So this is an easy side dish that goes great with steak.  Seriously, there is nothing better than a juicy steak with fried rice.  Don’t believe me?  Try it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rice, uncooked
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1/3 cup green onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 1/2 eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 to taste salt
1/2 to taste pepper

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions.
In a large skillet melt butter.
Add onions, carrots and scallions.
Saute until carrots are translucent.
Set aside.

 
Place sesame seeds in a shallow pan.
Bake at 375 until golden brown (10 to 15 minutes), shaking pan occasionally for even color.
In a light greased hot skillet pour beaten eggs in
Cook as you would scrambled eggs.
Combine rice, vegetables, sesame seeds and eggs.
Add soy sauce and stir.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Nursery

Hubby and I agree on how to decorate the nursery and haven't made too much progress since we decided what we were going to do.  We aren't going to paint until the weather is a little nicer so we can open up the windows (paint fumes + pregnancy = no good).

Since this is my second baby I don't get a baby shower; however, my mom wanted to buy something for the baby for Christmas.  So she gave us the money to buy the perfect crib and that's exactly what we did. The crib arrived a few days ago and Lovey couldn't take it any longer, she *needed* her baby brother or sister's crib put together immediately.  Hubby surprised me and put the crib together in about an hour with minimal frustration.

Please excuse the blurry picture.  The lighting was bad and I was trying to take a quick picture when Hubby wasn't exactly too excited about it.

One part of the nursery down and only a dozen more things to do.  Good thing we have some time.

Bisquick Chicken

Bisquick Chicken

I don’t like to eat fried chicken.  Well, don’t get me wrong I like the taste of fried chicken, but I don’t like how I feel after I eat it.  All the grease makes me sick afterwards, so this is my alternative to fried chicken (adapted from the official Bisquick recipe).  It’s 1000x healthier than fried chicken and is gluten free (I eat gluten but I know many people don’t).

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons melted butter (margarine)

1/3 cup Bisquick mix

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 chicken boneless chicken breasts (you can leave a whole breasts or cut into pieces)

Zip-lock bag

Directions:

Grease baking dish (I used a 13x9) with melted butter

Add ingredients to zip-lock bag and shake until the chicken is coated

Bake at 425 for 35 minutes.  Turn chicken and bake for another 15 minutes.

Tip: Don’t put the pieces of chicken too close otherwise it messes up the browning process

Grape Salad

Grape salad is one of the *best salads* ever created.  Not only is it delicious but I never have any leftovers.  Ok, so this isn’t exactly a salad per say, but hey no one has ever complained that instead of something leafy green they got this instead.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. red seedless grapes
1 (8oz.) pkg. of cream cheese
1 (8oz.) container of sour cream
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Almond slivers (optional)
1/4 cup Brown sugar (optional)


Directions

Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla and sugar(s) until smooth

Wash grapes and remove stems

Gently fold grapes and almonds into cream cheese mixture

Refrigerate about an hour before serving

16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks
Baby’s size? About the size of an avocado (4 ½ inches long and weighs 3 ½ oz)
Total Weight Gain: lost 3 lbs
Stretch marks? No
Maternity Clothes? Yes…but only 3 bottoms. I’m not ready to commit to maternity clothes
Sleep: …ugh- that should say it all
Miss Anything? Soft cheeses and wine
Movement: fluttering
Food cravings: fried foods- wings, onion rings, pickles
Anything making you queasy or sick: Raw meat and seeing blood.
Symptoms: Fatigue, ligament pain, colon issues, and now spotting
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy

I started spotting today :(  I’m so thankful I have such a great doctor’s office and got in pretty much right away.  The nurse checked the baby’s heartbeat and it was fine, then I got an internal exam, and finally an ultrasound.  The results from my internal exam aren’t going to be available right away, so I’m doing my best not to worry- much easier said than done.  So bed rest it is....