Five on Friday!

ONE ~

In love with these zinc letters from Anthropologie that I got for Marshall's room.  They were kind of a pain in the rear to hang but I think I did a decent job. (Just don't ask me how many times I had to cover up nail holes with spackle, re-paint and then re-hang.)

Ta-da!

TWO ~

Enjoying these quiet mornings with my iced coffee and laptop.  :)  Dogs are outside, my favorite movie is on in the background (Father of the Bride) and I'm finding lots of great recipes on Pinterest!

THREE ~

I'm so sentimental these days about Doug and I becoming parents together to our little boy arriving on July 24th.  Just the thought of seeing him with our sweet boy sleeping on his chest, makes my heart go pitter patter.  I love this handsome guy and I am so grateful for this blessing we are about to receive.  

FOUR ~

Loving this picture & quote I came across on Pinterest.  This year has been a bit crazy.  However, reading this made me laugh and made me realize that I cannot let negativity get the best of me!

FIVE ~

I'm obsessing over this dress from The Limited.  I cannot wait to be back into my normal size clothes, after I lose a little baby weight of course.  I look at this cute dress and think "date night with the hubby," I just love it!  

Hope ya'll have a Happy Friday and a great weekend!  Our weekend consists of pool time and relaxing.  We only have two weekends left completely to ourselves.  ;)

37 weeks - Full Term!

How big is the baby this week:  He should weigh about 6 1/3 pounds and measures around 19 inches.  
How far along?  37 weeks
Due date: Baby boy will be arriving on July 24th via c-section due to my low lying placenta 
The Bump:  Large and in charge
Belly button in or out?  Still flat as a pancake
Wedding rings on or off:  On
Best moment of the week:  Doc appointment today!  Heard his heartbeat.  One more appointment next week and that's it - eeeeeeek!
Sleep: About the same.  I sleep pretty good, other than having to get up every half hour. 
Miss anything?  Everything at this point.  All the pressure is getting quite uncomfortable.  Just ready to meet him!
Movement:  Large movements which cause a ton of pressure.  It's still so great to me to feel him move but it can be quite uncomfortable.  Sometimes he'll be in a spot that's uncomfortable for Mama, so I drink a bunch of orange juice and he starts moving within 5 minutes. ;)
Food Cravings:  Nothing really.  I have been back to eating a ton of cold fruit and drinking lots of ice water, but that's about it.  My appetite is the same...kinda blah at this point.
Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nada.
Symptoms:  Lingering stuffiness and cough.    
Labor Signs:   Nope 
Gender:  BOY!  
Happy or moody most of the time?  I'm getting extremely sappy with this all happening so soon.  I'm so excited but very nervous for birth.  
Looking forward to:  Well, I have exactly two weeks until my baby boy is here, so I'm very much looking forward to July 24th!  We are definitely ready!  :)

Sourdough French Toast

Morning ya'll!

It's early, really early, and I'm sitting here wide awake, perusing through recipes.  I don't know about you, but I LOVE trying new recipes.  I've actually found a couple of killer recipes from some of my favorite blogs that I read.  I figured that I'd also share one of our favorites - Sourdough French Toast.  It's delish!  It's actually become the hubby's favorite breakfast.

Sourdough French Toast - This recipe is for about 6-8 slices (1/2 inch thick) of bread but it all depends on how big the slices are.  I use a local sourdough bread and the slices are pretty decent size.

Ingredients

1 cup half and half

4 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon (this is a total guess here, I typically just sprinkle some in)

2 tablespoons of honey (warm it in the microwave so it's easy to mix)

Whisk all these ingredients together and once everything is mixed, pour into a pie pan.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place a couple pieces of bread into the pie pan mixture and let sit for a good 15-30 seconds on each side so it's coated nicely.  Then place on a cooling rack with a pan underneath it for another 30 seconds to let the mixture soak through.

Over Medium heat, melt a tablespoon of butter in a nonstick pan.  Place the first two pieces of bread in the pan and cook each side for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.  Then place pieces in oven on rack or a wire rack.  Repeat all the steps until you finish all your pieces of bread.  I usually let the bread stay in the oven until I'm finished (5-6 minutes).   

Serve immediately.  We eat ours with some warm syrup and strawberries.  :)

Enjoy!

FIVE ON FRIDAY: JULY 5TH

Happy belated 4th of July everyone!  Hope you all had a fun-filled, safe and happy day!

Here are 5 things that I'm lovin from this week...

1. These faces...even though they're driving me bat shit crazy.  I love dogs but man, these two are HIGH MAINTENANCE.  I like to refer to our little chi-terrier as the mini terrorist.  The name fits her perfectly!  Nervous for how they'll act once the baby arrives.

2. These Zinc letters from Anthropologie.  I'm in love.  I started off with just buying the M for Marshall's nursery but after thinking about it for days, I splurged and went for the full name.  I'm so happy I did and I cannot wait to get these up on the wall.  

3. Lipton Blackberry Pomegranite Iced Green Tea.  This stuff is the bomb!  I could drink this all day but I limit myself to one, ok fine, two cups a day.  I just can't help myself.  With how thirsty I've been in this last month of pregnancy, it has definitely quenched my thirst!

4. My baby bump.  :)  Yes, I'm uncomfortable.  Yes, I'm ready for pregnancy to be over and for Mommyhood to begin but I will for sure miss this belly.  I've been soaking it up for the last month and making sure to take tons of pics!

5. Red Toes.  I am loving this Red nailpolish - OPI The Thrill of Brazil

TGIF!

36 weeks

HOLY MOLY - only 3 weeks to go!  3 weeks until we drive to the hospital and get to meet our son!  It's beyond exciting and so surreal.  I am ecstatic!  I'm also nervous, scared, anxious but I think excitement takes over all the others.  ;)

I didn't have time to do a chalkboard this week but I did take a couple pics of myself in the mirror - lame I know but oh well.

How big is the baby this week:  He's about 6 whole pounds and measures around 18 1/2 inches.  Crazy to think that I have a full size baby in my belly!  :)
How far along?  36 weeks
Due date: July 31st, 2013 but he will be arriving on July 24th via c-section :)
The Bump:  Oh it's big and gets in the way but I really do enjoy it.  I catch myself starring at it a lot lately and am realizing how much I will miss it but let's be serious...I'm totally ready to get my body back into shape
Belly button in or out?  Still flat as a pancake
Wedding rings on or off:  On
Best moment of the week:  We had a doctor appointment yesterday and were able to hear his strong heartbeat.   
Sleep: I've actually been sleeping better than ever right now.  Yes, I wake up to pee every half hour but I fall back asleep so quick.  
Miss anything?  Yeah but this is all worth it
Movement:  Tons!  
Food Cravings:  None what.so.ever.  I am thirsty all the time and my appetite is kinda blah. 
Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nada
Symptoms:  My cold is still lingering, so I do have a stuffy nose and a little cough that's hanging on.  I'm still having the bad rib pain on my left side near the back and my doctor thinks I may have cracked a rib during all my coughing fits from being so sick.  Awesome...so if that's the case, it'll take awhile to heel.  
Labor Signs:   Nope 
Gender:  BOY!  
Happy or moody most of the time?  Happy, Excited, feeling more grateful than ever these days.  
Looking forward to:  The long 4 day weekend with Doug home.  Also, 20 days til my Mom arrives in Boise and 21 til the birth of baby Marshall.  Ahhhhhh, so exciting!  :)

Hope you all have a fun and safe 4th of July weekend! 
Cue the fireworks!

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35 weeks

How big is the baby this week:  This week he is about 5 1/4 pounds and measures around 18 inches.  He's definitely running out of room!
How far along?  35 weeks and 1 day
Due date: July 31st, 2013 but he will be arriving on July 24th via c-section :)
The Bump:  HUGE and oh so uncomfortable
Belly button in or out?  Flat and it'll probably stay this way 
Wedding rings on or off:  ON!  However between water retention and 100 degree heat, it's a tad snug 
Best moment of the week:  Finishing up Marshall's room!  
Sleep: Sleep has been a bit better actually and I'm sure that has to do with me not being so sick.  My cold has gotten a little better, so I've been sleeping a little better.
Miss anything?  Oh just about everything at this point
Movement:  Large movements since he's running out of room.  He likes to hang out on my right side  
Food Cravings:  Nothing really now.  I'm just thirsty ALL.THE.TIME.  Food is all kinda blah to me since I feel so big that I don't have a huge appetite. 
Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nada
Symptoms:  A little back ache here and there   
Labor Signs:   Nope 
Gender:  BOY!  
Happy or moody most of the time?  I'm so excited for my baby boy to arrive.  We've been talking about how excited we both are and keep wondering what he looks like.  
Looking forward to:  My Mom to arrive! AND of course the time when I get to hold my sweet boy!   

Have a great weekend!

My Personal Pregnancy Faves

Since I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy (4 weeks so go), I thought I'd share some of the things that I found to be helpful during pregnancy.  When I first became pregnant last November, I found a couple blogs where women shared products that were useful, clothes that were useful and even experiences.  I found these to be super helpful!  

I have to say, I've had a super easy pregnancy.  Well, at least I feel like I have.  I didn't get sick at all, I had no food aversions and no crazy cravings.   All in all, it's been great.  Now that I'm nearing the end, I am completely uncomfortable and just ready for my sweet little man to be here in this world.

Last Christmas, my hubby bought me this book "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and I have absolutely referred to this book each week of my pregnancy.  It's nice to read each week as to what I should or could be experiencing.  It's definitely a great reference!

I received the book "Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth" by Jenny McCarthy as a gift from a friend of mine.  I will say that this book had me laughing hysterically out loud.  Jenny McCarthy is hilarious, yet completely truthful with her thoughts and experiences about pregnancy.  If you have a sense of humor, you'll love it and laugh throughout the entire book.  She has other books too that I'd love to check out.  

Mustela Stretch Mark Double Action Cream - This stuff is the bomb!  I've never had an itchy belly and I have yet to get any stretch marks.  Not sure if the hereditary thing is true or not but if it is supposed to be true, I should've had some by now.  If anything, this cream does wonders to making your skin feel soft.  I just started my 2nd tube of it.  It also smells really nice.  I'm not a fan of the cocoa butter smell, so this cream is all around awesome!

Gap Maternity Support Cami - I purchased these very early on in my pregnancy and bought the white, tan and black.  I wear these underneath just about everything!  LOVE!  I actually ended up buying another white one in a larger size as I got bigger.  Now that it's summer, I wear them underneath tank tops and around the house.  They're soft, lightweight and completely comfortable.

Maternity Jersey-Stretch Tank Tops and Maternity Rib-Knit Tanks - Both from Old Navy.
I love these as well.  I found that one of the most comfortable things to wear during pregnancy was a tank with a cardigan over it.  I have quite a few colors in these tanks and have worn these over and over again.  

I will admit that I did NOT purchase a body pillow.  I think I've done ok without it.  We have tons of king size pillows on our bed, so those worked just fine for me since they are large enough.

That's all for now.  Hope this was helpful!