DIY Word Art

I was down to my last large frame that still needed filled and I felt like I had already gone overboard with the wedding pics.  So I feel like this has done the job of filling the frame...and was cheap, so extra bonus!

I used Microsoft Publisher and created text boxes all with different sized fonts and different font types and different color shades, then I would fill in things that describe St. Louis.  I did some neighborhoods, popular streets, locations like restaurants and museums, etc.   Then just took the file to Office Depot and they print for around $1.  My opening was for a 11x14 print, but you have to print on 11x17 paper there since they are not really a photoshop...but is fine with me cause those extra inches don't really matter.  It would be around $10 to get this printed at a walgreens on the 11x14 paper.

I really think doing some word art like this is such an easy, cheap way to fill frames around the house.  I can't wait until we get a house and to make some things for the nursery!

Here's the whole thing framed on the wall:

And a close-up to see some of the fonts and words:

30 weeks

How I'm feeling?  Really each day is different.  I've been taking tylonel pm a lot so the sleeping has got much better, which is a huge relief.  I can think and function much better at work!  I still will just have some stomach pains or bouts of feeling uncomfortable and not good.  The only way I can describe it is that it just feels like there is not enough room inside me and everything is all scrunched up together.  Bending over and moving around is just getting harder-- we have a standup shower with no bench or ledge, so every time I shave my legs I keep thinking this is going to be the last time, but I keep managing!  My anxiety and emotions have just skyrocketed out of control, so I actually talked to the doctor today and am going to try some medication to get it under wraps.  The house situation has been very stressful this last month because we had found a house that we liked and planned to put an offer down on-- however, I was all set to pay close to what they were asking and at least start the negotiating to see where they stood.  The husband and realtor thought it was better to just wait a while and then put in the offer...which made me nervous that we would lose our chance to even make the offer if someone else beat us to it.  Well, ONE night before we had plans to meet with the realtor and draft the offer, they accepted one from somebody else.  So I was extremely upset that we never even really tried to get the house and was somewhat angry with the husband for screwing this up in my opinion.  We were pretty sure that it was going to happen, so had spent time looking at flooring, checking into the daycare nearby, looking at 2nd cars we would buy, etc.  Just not a pleasant situation to deal with, especially being almost 7 months pregnant counting on moving before the baby gets here!  So now we are still looking for houses, but also figuring out what our plan B will be because there is good chance we will not be moved by the time he arrives. 

Clothing:  Full time into maternity pants now cause they are so much more comfortable...or just large loungey pants when I'm at home or not somewhere important.  I still wear all my regular shirts- just have the 2 maternity shirts (one of which you'll see in the picture below!).

Name:  Well I think we have settled on a name, but I'm just holding out a bit longer to make sure.  Dustin is itching to tell people, so I guess we will-- I just need to be 100% convinced of the name first to make sure I don't waiver on it if anyone has negative opinions.  I told Dustin he could have control over the middle name of this kid (but I have some veto power or final say if it's ridiculous) and I'm doing middle name of our next child.  Of course Dustin is just coming up with stuff I hate, so this is not good....although it's not like the middle name really matters.  Again, he's all into inventing names-- like it would be this great idea to come up with a blend of our names to make his middle name.  Um, can't we just pick something simple like Michael that isn't going to be all confusing and weird?!  We'll see what he comes up with, but told him to keep thinking on this.

Other:

• Baby is very active- usually I notice it most at night.  It is weird when I look at my stomach and I see the entire thing flinch when he moves.
• We had more baby classes.  Last week we had really got into the actual birthing process and I seriously was about to toss my cookies and couldn't even look at the screen at times and had to think about other things.  I think actually it will be easier for me to go through it than if Dustin was the one going through this and I had to watch him. 
• My belly is getting so stretched that my bellybutton is getting very shallow....and it looks freakishly tiny compared to this huge stomach.  I just look at it in the mirror and don't even recognize it anymore, so is just weird.
• I've started working on a custom baby memory book that I want to put together.  The ones in the store just don't seem all that great.  I've seen some good ones on etsy, but are so expensive that I figured I could just make my own.  We'll see though if this really gets done on top of everything else!
• I've also started on making a mobile for above the crib, so assuming it turns out I will do a post on how I made that and what it looks like!
• I think during these last 2 weeks is really the first time people have looked at me and really could tell I was pregnant vs just a little chubby.  It's all been people I know, but have commented how I'm finally really showing or actually look pregnant.  I still don't think I've had any stranger that has said something to me...but I also haven't been out a bunch or in situations where people would really do that.  There are still days in some outfits where people do a double-take when I mention that I'm due in December saying that they can't even tell...so that is always funny to me.  I got 10 weeks left and 10 lbs to gain, so should end right on track!

Dr. Appt. Date: 9/27/2011
Weight: 146 (up 15 lbs from start)
Blood Pressure: 90/62 (little lower)
Baby's Heartbeat: 148
Fundal Height: 28 cm (moved up to the normal range!)
Belly Circumference:  36 inches
Dr. Appt Description: This appt was very fast and routine.  We had the ultrasound last week, so she just briefly went over those results saying everything looks really good.  The baby was at 56th percentile, so just above average size.  She says there is plenty of amniotic fluid, so that is a good thing.  The baby is breeched now- he is basically sitting in a V-shape with his head on my upper right side, then his butt is at the low point, then feet on my upper left side.  They could see his hands playing with his feet in the ultrasound, but I am really bad with making out any images or what is going on still.  She said at this point being breeched means nothing and most babies will move around more in the next several weeks.

Picture:

Super Easy Appetizer

I absolutely love this appetizer cause takes less than 5 minutes from the time you start until it's in your mouth!  The cold weather and football also made me in the mood for this.  It may also be good with some jalepenos or green onion on top.

Ingredients
1 pkg cream cheese (I used reduced fat)
1 can of chili (I use with beans and meat)
Half pkg of shredded cheese (I just used a colby jack combo cause that's what we had)

Spread the cream cheese in shallow dish- I use a corningware dish that is about 10-12 in. round.  Spread chili on top of that.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and microwave 3 minutes or until hot!  We eat with fritos.

Fall Stew

With the cooler weather moving in, I decided it was time to start cooking hot dinners again.  So we decided to try a new stew recipe-- and it was super easy to make.  It tasted pretty good, but will make a few modifications next time (which I'll mention below).  I also used a lot of help from the grocery store of buying items like baby carrots you can just dump in the pot, rather than chopping up.

Ingredients

• 2 cans tomato soup (undiluted)
• 2 c. red wine (I had used water, but would have been way better with the wine, trust me)
• 1c. flour
• 2 lbs. beef stew pieces
• 1 bag of small white onions (just peel and put in pot whole)
• 1 bag of small red potatoes (just clean and put in pot whole)
• 1 bag of small yellow potatoes (just clean and put in pot whole)
• 1 bag of baby carrots
• 4 stalks of celery- cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 large package of whole mushrooms (approx. 24) (just clean and put in pot whole)
• Minced Garlic (we did not use, but will add next time- probably would use half of a bulb)
• 2 T. Italian herb seasonings
• 2 Bay leaves
• Fresh ground pepper

Directions
Mix together soup, wine, and flour until smooth.  Combine with remaining ingredients in covered roasting pan (make sure you have a nice large pot for this).  Note: It appears that the sauce barely covers all of the items, but once it cooks the sauce will thin out and you'll have plenty.  Bake at 275 degrees for 4-5 hours.  We served with fresh crusty bread!

28 Weeks

EEK!  It is hard to believe I'm now in the 3rd trimester and this is really nearing the end!  I'm a couple days late getting this posted.

How I'm feeling?
To be completely honest these last few weeks have been much harder for me for all sorts of reasons.  I'm going to sound like such a complainer here, but I want to somewhat accurately capture this, so I can look back and remember!  First, I've just had several days of stomach aches and just feeling sorta sick.  Next, I've had several nights of insomnia-- I usually can fall asleep pretty easily at night or at least within an hour.  However, many times I wake up anywhere from like 2-4am and am wide awake, brain is churning, and there is no going back to sleep.  A couple nights ago I got a total of 2 hours of sleep that night...and then end up just being exhausted at work the next day.  I asked the doctor about this and luckily she said it's fine to take Tylenol PM, so if I have a few nights of bad sleep, then take this to guarantee a night of better sleep.  I'm hoping this weekend I can catch up on some hours.  I've also started having contractions, but these aren't really that uncomfortable/painful, but just something else to deal with when I can feel my stomach clench up and get hard.  Another symptom that has started is my heart feels like it is racing at times- which first freaked me out, but read on the internet it was normal and doctor confirmed this as well.  Along those lines I also feel like I have heightened anxiety-- I am starting to just freak out with how much we have left to do these next few months, although they aren't all things that MUST get done, but just things I would like done.  So I need to keep reminding myself that everything is going to be fine even if we don't get it all done. I don't feel like my husband has the same desire to get these items done or has the same sense of urgency, so then just adds more frustration to me and more anxiety.  More than anything I would just like for us to find a house- we've been looking since January basically and I'm just burnt out and ready to be done and pick something.  Once we pick a house, then need to find pediatrician nearby, need to get on daycare list, we need to buy another car, we need to get some additional furniture including the nursery, need to pack up our place, need to deal with renting out our current place, etc.  I'm sure it will all get done and work out, but just seems overwhelming dealing with all that on top of everything and just feel the burden is on me to get a lot of that done.

Clothing?
I acutally just ran to Target Labor Day weekend and just picked up a few things there- jeans, work pants, lounge, pants, work tops, and some casual tops.  I've been going back and forth with wearing these clothes and my usual stuff.  Even though I can still wear my normal pants with the belly band, I think the belly band is probably getting too tight for me and may be contributing to my stomach aches and not feeling well.  I think the maternity clothes definitely make me look more pregnant so I like the fit of those better than some of my clothes, which I just feel make me look chubby.

What's new? 
We have started taking childbirth classes at the hospital- it is 4 weeks long on Wednesday nights.  I was hoping we might meet some other couples in the class, but not really anyone there that we would be friends with after this is over...so kind of a bummer.  I'm a little undecided on the class- a lot of it is pretty general stuff that you'll get from reading books, but there have been a few helpful tips and is a good opportunity to get some questions answered specific to our hospital.  I thought a funny thing happened this week in class.  For the last 5-10 minutes, she turns down the lights and plays soft music and we (the woman) is supposed to lay down comfy on the floor with pillows and blankets while she talks us through practice contractions.  Then the partner (in my case, my husband Dustin) is supposed to massage you or calm you.  So for the beginning part I'm really annoyed with Dustin cause he has this awful habit of always shaking/jittering his legs....and he just won't stop....so how was I supposed to relax laying there as he was all jittery?!  Then I almost get a case of the giggles cause I'm thinking about how UN-relaxed I am compared to everyone else in the room.  Finally then Dustin stops moving and is just still- thank goodness!  Well come to find out, he FELL ASLEEP!  So I'm glad in the end he was nice and relaxed while I laid there anything but that!

I got pre-registered at the hospital, so we can quickly check in once I go into labor.  Also got the form filled out and submitted for the epidural....definitely don't want to waste time at the moment having to do all that stuff!

Dr. Appt. Date: 9/13/2011
Weight: 145 (up 14 lbs from start)
Blood Pressure: 102/62 (holding steady here!)
Baby's Heartbeat: 148
Fundal Height: 25 cm
Belly Circumference: 35 inches
Dr. Appt Description:  This week I had my glucose test, which consisted of drinking some "potion" that tasted like a mix of fruit punch and medicine- had to drink 10 oz in less than 6 minutes, but not gulp it.  Then an hour later they took blood samples.  The results came back good and no diabetes!!  They did find in my blood sample though that my iron count went done and am anemic, so need to take an iron supplement now.  The rest of the appointment was very standard, but my fundal height measurement was a little on the low side.  So average would be 28cm and 26-30 cm. is the acceptable normal range.  So my doctor doesn't think there is an issue, but just to be sure we are doing an ultrasound next week to check the baby's size and fluids.  (And I'll have the tech double-check this really is a boy...doesn't hurt to get a second opinion on that too!)

Picture:
We were slackers and didn't get a picture taken until 29 weeks, so this is a week later...and you'll have to excuse how I look, but figured was better than nothing!

Random Good Things

I realized all of my posts are turning into things baby-related, so here is one of just random stuff going on with us right now!  As you'll see, this post truly is just random of stuff we've enjoyed lately...

Good Restaurant (in St. Louis)
Labor Day weekend we had a free night and decided we had to get out and do something to take advantage of our free time pre-baby.  We got in the car and just drove towards SLU and Central West End to see what kind of restaurant we could find-- we didn't really see anything new catch our eye, so decided to go to Dressel's since we had never been there.  It was a good find cause the atmosphere and food was great!  They use local food in a lot of their dishes-- Dustin got some lamb special that he said was awesome.  The beer they had was amazing- lots of Belgian choices...so we'll definitely be coming back here once I can drink again!

Good Movie
We had decided to see a movie that night since we rarely do this due to the obnoxious cost they charge these days.  We had settled on The Help since it was at the Moolah Theater, which is my favorite place to go since they have comfy leather couches to sit on.  However, we get there and the line was so long that we had zero chance of getting a couch....so we decided to leave cause we didn't want to see the movie all that badly and sit in their uncomfy old seats.  So we headed out to the county to go to a large multiplex type place and just pick something that was showing.  One of the only choices was The Debt and it was great!  I NEVER write movie reviews and grade them, but felt like this one was so good and the users on yahoo were ripping it apart, that I had to log on and stick up for it.  Definitely a good movie to see or rent-- I thought it told a great story and had a good amount of suspense and surprises in it.

Good Concert
Our local radio station (105.7 The Point) sponsors a huge concert at least once a year called Pointfest.  I used to love this station back in the high school and college years, but now I never listen to it anymore.  I think it is described as Alternative, but for some reason I just don't care for the bands anymore and is too heavy sounding....ya, I'm sounding old I know.  Anyways, this years headliners of the show were right up my alley, so we got tickets.  Cake was one of the main bands and I have LOVED them for at least 15 years now.  They were great to see live, but only got to play 30-40 minutes so barely got in any older songs...and considering basically the entire Fashion Nugget album is awesome, we were bummed we got to here maybe 2-3 songs from it. We did hear Stickshifts and Safety Belts which is one of our faves, so that was fun.

Here's us with our friend Crystal at the show....being old and lame sitting...guess gray was the color to wear that day!  We were commenting how a few years ago we thought- who would go to a concert and sit, what is wrong with those people?!?!  Now that's us!  Although we did stand for all the songs of the bands we liked, so we aren't 100% lame....yet.

Next up was Chevelle, which I'm embarrassed to say, I did not know anything by them since I don't listen to this style of music anymore!  However, I enjoyed listening to them...the lead singer was good to look at....so I may go download some of their music.  Next up was The Urge, which most people do not know who they are, but in St. Louis they have a HUGE following.  10 Years ago they played Pointfest as their last show before breaking up....and then they reunited for this show and announced they are now back together and will be coming out with more music.  It had to be incredible for them-- this was at a large outdoor ampitheater and the whole place was cheering and singing and supporting them...I just think if I was in a band, that moment has to feel awesome.  It seemed like 90% of the people there were purely there to see The Urge and after they were done, the place cleared out.  Lastly, Bush closed out the show.  Man, I thought Gavin Rossdale used to be good-looking back when I was young, but he did not seem to have aged well at all!  He sounded awesome though and was VERY appreciative of the fans (who stuck around).  (Gavin is on the bottom right of the pic with the guitar)

One annoying thing about the show was that we were in actual seats vs. the lawn and it was no smoking in the seats.  Well within 5 minutes of sitting down, people are lighting up all over the place and it is just driving me nuts how disrespectful they are.  I was debating to go complain, but figured it was useless...until my hero in a yellow security shirt arrived and patrolled it!  He couldn't catch everyone, but he did a decent job at finding the people and making them stop....but as the night went on, he disappeared somewhere and then there was no hope.  It seriously was just a different breed of people at this show-- I always say going to most concerts at this venue and Six Flags just bring out these people who I wonder how they even function in society.  Half of them just look like your typical white trash people-- something we would put together only for a halloween costume!  The guy behind us apparently just came shirtless to the show, despite the fact that it got down to nice temps in the 70s all evening....and he had a fat gut, so it was so gross when I was sitting and he's standing up behind us and I can see this emerging pale gut next to my face.  They really need to require shirts, regardless of how hot it is.  Ugh.

Good Video Game
I've been spending the last month probably playing Lego Harry Potter on the Wii....yes, this sounds lame and I HATE harry potter and know nothing about that series, but the lego video games seriously rock!  They are the exact style of play that I enjoy-- lots of levels where you have to collect money and find hidden objects.  Dustin usually plays with me, but had to stop for a while cause thought it was giving him headaches-- I told him that is going to be an issue just as we have a baby boy that he can no longer play video games cause gets headaches!  He claims now that it is better or tolerable...so we'll see!

Other than that we primarily spend our time doing something baby-related or house-hunting!