19 Weeks!

According to The Bump, baby Carson is now the size of a MANGO.  To me, that's crazy.  I remember reading on that site when my baby was the size of an apple seed...it doesn't seem that long ago!

I probably won't be doing this every week, but I hadn't blogged for a while and figured this would be a good post for today since I'm almost half baked!  Sorry I don't have a bump pic, I haven't taken one lately and to be honest, there isn't much there! I'll try to post one soon because I know you're all dying to see my belly, ha!

How far along? 19 Weeks

Total weight gain: Not really sure, I'll find out at my appointment next Wednesday!  I'm going to guess maybe 3-5 pounds?
Maternity clothes? Not yet but my jeans are getting pretty snug!  I got some maternity clothes for Christmas!
Stretch marks? no
Sleep: I've been sleeping great besides some tossing and turning (which has always been normal for me).
Best moment this week: Letting everyone know Carson's name over Christmas!
Miss Anything? Having energy! 
Movement: I could SWEAR I felt him moving in there a few times this week.  It might be wishful thinking, but I felt it around the same time two nights in a row while laying in bed.
Food cravings: anything fruity (smoothies, fruit, etc.)
Anything making you queasy or sick: not anything new....red meat, raw meat, the turkey carcas at Christmas (seriously, doens't that gross everyone out?!)
Gender: Baby BOY!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: fatigue mostly, sometimes my stomach gets a little crampy but nothing bad at all
Belly Button in or out? innie
Wedding rings on or off? on and loose!  Probably because it's been so cold!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: my anatomy scan appointment next Wednesday!  Can't wait to see Baby Carson for the first time in 6 weeks!

He finally has a name!!

 I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  We had a great time visiting with our family and eating tasty food and treats!  I LOVE giving gifts so one of my favorite things is when I get to watch people open gifts!  On the other hand, I hate when people watch me open gifts b/c I don't like being the center of attention!  (I just about had a panic attack at my bridal shower, haha!)

Remember this little guy?  This was WEEKS ago!  We get to see him again on January 4th...can't wait!

After lots and lots of discussions and going back and forth between names, we have finally made a decision!  We're both so happy to announce that our son will be..............

We discussed name ideas with friends and family a little bit but then held off until we made a final decision.  You wouldn't believe how many people feel the right to tell you how awful they think a name is or how they would "never use that".  I really don't share name ideas to get THEIR opinion so if you don't like this name, sorry...we do and you don't have to use it for your own baby! :)

Emily's Kitchen

Last weekend, we had a few parties to go to so I went to Pinterest (where else?!) to find some food to take with us!  I ended up choosing an appetizer and a dessert.  If you aren't following me on Pinterest, click the button in my right sidebar or you can find my boards here!

For the first party (a going away party), we took these Jalepeno Poppers.  They were a HUGE hit and very easy to make!

Source: tastykitchen.com via Emily on Pinterest

Easy Jalapeno Poppers

2-3 jalapeno peppers

3/4 of a block of cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls

The recipe called for canned jalapenos which I thought was a little odd so I used fresh.  I only used 2 peppers because I didn't want it to be too hot for people who can't handle the spice!  If you like it spicier, be daring and use 3!  I also made sure to remove most of the seeds.......

Mix the diced jalapenos with the cream cheese and sugar.  I mashed mine together with a fork to make sure the sugar was mixed in:

Get out your cutting board and spread the crescent rolls into two rectangles.  As the recipe suggested, I pinched together the seams in the dough.  Next, spread your cream cheese mixture evenly over the dough:

 Next roll up the rectangles starting at the LONG end (you'll get more poppers this way)!  Don't roll too tight, the dough will break!  After this step, I stuck my rolls in the fridge for a few hours.  I thought it might make it easier to slice plus I wasn't going to the party for a few more hours!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and slice your logs into about 1" pieces.  Using a sharp knife really helps to make this step stress-free! ;)

Place your poppers onto a lightly greased baking sheet and pop into your oven for about 13 minutes, or until golden brown (mine took about 15 minutes).  Let them cool and enjoy!  This recipe made about 30 poppers for me.

For the second party (a housewarming party), I decided to bring some cookies (mainly b/c they would be fine in the car while we were at party #1.  Sigh....being popular is so hard!  I ended up choosing these delicious Red Velvet Cake Cookies.  This recipe was also very easy and also a big hit at the party!

Source: thesmallthingsblog.com via Emily on Pinterest

Red Velvet Cake Cookies

1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

1 block (8oz.) cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)

1 egg (I used 1/4 cup egg beaters egg product...I hate regular eggs!)

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Powdered Sugar, for rolling

Make sure to set your cream cheese and butter out to soften first!  I did this while I was prepping my jalapeno poppers.  Once the cream cheese and butter is about room temperature or softened enough, mix it up with your Kitchenaid stand mixer!  Oh wait, I forgot....I don't have a stand mixer.  Boo!  I used my Kitchenaid hand mixer and it worked fine....at least, for this step....

Mix in your egg and vanilla and blend until creamy.  Next, add your red velvet cake mix.  If you've never used red velvet cake mix, don't be alarmed if it comes out brown - that's normal!  It will turn red, I promise!

Before mixing....

After mixing!

Stick your cookie dough in the fridge for about 3 hours to harden up.  This will make it easier to form into balls.  Once your mixture is sufficiently chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Now you can use your hands or a cookie scoop and form the dough into 1-1.5" balls.  Roll the balls in powdered sugar and place on an un-greased baking sheet.

Pop these in the oven for 10-12 minutes.  They will look cracked and gooey in the middle, but that's ok!  Let them cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

The original recipe said to sprinkle extra powdered sugar after baking.  I skipped this step and they still tasted delicious!


P.S. Just so everyone knows, my Kitchenaid hand mixer about killed me during this kitchen adventure.  For some reason, it was having major issues with the thick cake cookie dough and I had to keep scraping the beaters off.  ANNOYING.  I was trying to explain to my husband that this definitely would never happen with a stand mixer. ;)  Proof:

growl!

The one where I fill in the blanks..

 

 

 

1.   My most favorite "little thing" is   relaxing with a CLEAN and clutter-free house!  I can NOT relax if there is mail on the counter, dishes in the sink, etc so I really love relaxing when all the chores are done!

2.   I give anything to  have some coffee in the morning....gave it up for the babe! :)  .

3.  I can't believe   winter break is HERE!  Today was a crazy last day filled with glitter pine cone ornaments, cupcakes, and candy cane taste tests and graphing.  I'm so excited to leave for FL tomorrow! 

4. The one thing I'd like to achieve today is   packing my bag for FL (since I haven't started) and get a few loads of laundry done.  I cheated because that isn't one thing.

5.  The last thing I want to do today is   the stuff I need to do (pack and laundry)..boo!

6.  If I were writing my own blank today, it would say:  "Over the holidays, I'm most looking forward to..."  .

7.  My favorite candle scent is    I love almost all vanilla candles (and variations of vanilla).  I think they're great for any time of the year!  Right now I have some sort of evergreen candle by our [fake] tree and a cranberry candle in our kitchen - yum!

New Wheels!

I want to once again say THANK YOU for all the congrats!  I try to respond to each and every comment BUT some of you have not set up your email to link to comments!  I hate when I get the "no reply" email address and can't respond to your comments!  Please make sure your email is linked so that bloggers can easily respond to you by email, it's SO easy!

Once we found out we were expecting, we started searching for a new car AKA a Mommy Mobile!  I was looking at 4-door sedans and wanted an Acura (I've had 2 and LOVE them).  We were looking at used cars and found a great deal on an Acura RDX (smaller size SUV).  I somehow got lucky enough to have the hubby trade in his car (probably because it had 100k miles) and we kept my old Acura!  The RDX is now our "family" car, and I drive it to work every day.  How old am I again?  48?

I don't have any pictures of MY new car, but here are some pics from the internet (lazy, I know).  Mine is the same color as the first two pictured...

This car has tons of fancy features - I feel very lucky!  One of my favorite features is the STORAGE space!  I've always had semi-small cars (all but one of my cars were 2-door coupes) so this is awesome space to have!

What are you driving and what do you like about it?

Holiday Decor and More!

 First of all, let me just share my excitement.  My district announced today that a lot of people (read: parents) had been complaining about our January 2nd return to school date.  They didn't like that childcare centers were closed and a lot of them had the day off and wanted to spend it with their children.  I guess there were enough complaints to make the district feel like something needed to change.  SO, we aren't going back to school until January 3rd!  That means I'm on break starting this Friday at 4pm until January 3rd!!  I'm so excited.  The only thing they had to do to make it justified/legal was to tack on a day to the end of our school year.  While this bothers some of my co-workers, it doesn't bother me because I'll be on maternity leave.  Happy day!

I've had fun stalking looking at everyone's holiday decorations so I decided to take some crappy high quality cell phone pictures of my own!  I didn't include my kitchen table which has a super cute table runner and place mats b/c it is currently clutter-tastic with mail, school stuff, and candles galore (thanks for the 2 for $20 sale, Bath & Body Works)!

Our tree....LED lights with old school star!

Our mantel and stockings.  I know it's plain, but I've been on a clutter-free kick.....oh, and I know MY stocking doesn't match (grrr...OCD)!  Do you like Chip & Dixie's new stockings?  They have embroidered initials and they were $1.40 at Kohls!

I keep seeing cute holiday card displays all over blog-land and Pinterest.  I wanted to make one using foam board, fabric, and ribbons.  HOWEVER, hubby talked me out of it and I he came up with this super cheap idea instead.  I bought a bag of 50 mini clothespins ($1.50) and used twine we already had at home.  It doesn't look great, but I think it will be more exciting when I add more cards!  Send me your cards, people!  (I swear, I'll get mine out before Friday.)

close up of the mini clothepins

I bet you're wondering what "and more" means.  No?  That's ok, I'll fill you in anyway.  I felt like I haven't put up any pictures of my pups lately so here is a pic of them getting into our Christmas gifts (we need to WRAP)!  There was a bag with a couple dog toys and bones and they sniffed it out and were digging through all the bags to find it.  GUILTY!

One more thing.  On the way to work yesterday, I went to take a swig of my juice and my freezing cold hands slipped while I was trying to twist open the travel mug lid.  My nail BROKE.  Not just broke, but broke off bad.  I wanted to cry like a baby but instead I rushed to work to bandage it up.  I'm still trying to think of a solution...nail glue, super glue, cut it off?  Ew.

Sorry for the sideways pic....

It's a Boy!

I know I already broke the news to all of you in this post, but I wanted to share how we told our family and friends.  For my mom and sister, we bought some blue balloons along with an "It's a Boy" balloon and put them in a big box with a gender-neutral sign on the outside.  We took the box to my mom's and had her open it up and all the blue balloons popped out!  I found this idea on Pinterest (where else?!).  We did the same thing for my MIL but we just had the balloons in the back of our car so she opened the hatch and they all popped out at her (sorry, didn't get pics of that one). 

Here is my mom opening the box.....

For my Dad & Step-Mom, we knew we wouldn't see them anytime soon after we found out so we sent them a card in the mail.  This is an idea I found on this blog.  I re-created the card with some super cute fonts (of course) and mailed the card with balloons to my dad's house.  Obviously I wasn't there to see them open the card, but if you would like to download the card I made, you can do so HERE.  I printed mine on yellow paper (2-sided).  FYI: If you choose to make a card like this, I would suggest using a fine-tip sharpie on the balloons.  A ballpoint pen was too sharp on my balloons and a regular sharpie is way too visible when the balloon is not blown up!

As for announcing to friends, this is the picture we used on Facebook (and I think we'll also use it in our Christmas card, maybe).  For our close friends, I called/texted them immediately.  :)

Happy Friday!

It's already Friday again!  I've been sick all week with strep and a fever (for 7 days in a row, seriously?) so this week FLEW by for me!  I'm linking up with Lauren @ The Little Things We Do. 

1.   Love is   the best thing in the world!  (Sappy, I know.)  Love requires work but it is seriously the best feeling.  I love my family, I love my friends, I love my pups, I love my wonderful husband, and I love my baby BOY!

2.   Being in love feels like  butterflies in your tummy :)     .

3.  My favorite quote about love is    "Never give up on something you can't go a day without thinking about"  (I think people give up waaaay too easily these days) .

4. The most important thing in a relationship is   communication.  There are a lot of other things too, but I think communication is huge.  If you can't communicate with each other, you aren't going to get very far!

5.  A "deal breaker" for me in a relationship is   ego-maniacs or people who only care about themselves.

6.  The way I show love in my relationships is  letting him know I'm always thinking about him (little notes, texts, emails), making him meals and cards and gifts, telling him how much I love and appreciate him, etc...

7.  I love   my amazing husband who is also my best friend and our son who we will get to meet in May!! 

I feel like this should be a Valentine's post! 

Tar-jay Tuesday!

I'm linking up with Tara @ Fabulous But Evil for Target Tuesday! I love Target. I think I've expressed that over and over on this blog, but I'm not kidding. Seriously.

Today I'm going to focus on furniture because I've had an itch a need to re-organize my office/craft room lately. 

Carson 2-Shelf Bookcase - Espresso (I might need two of these.....I have a lot of books!)

Espresso Wide Shelf with 5 Wire Baskets (I love the 5-basket for our playroom!)

Home Carson Adjustable Shelf Horizontal Bookcase - Ebony Black (I love this for my crafting stuff!)

What are you loving at Target right now??  I probably won't buy any of this stuff, but it's fun to look!

Nail Polish Swap!

I participated in the Nail Polish Swap hosted by Tara @ Fabulous But Evil and Celia @ Just Trying to Find My Way.  Who doesn't love nail polish and packages in the mail?! 

My swap partner was Erin @ Fleur de lis and Football.  Erin is also a teacher!  We have similar taste in nail polish so I had a fun time shopping for her.  Erin ended up sending me some super cute colors!  Not to mention, hot pink bubble wrap!

Erin also wrote me a sweet note!  The colors I got were from Essie and Sonia Kashuk.  From left to right: SK Smoke & Mirrors, SK Tauped, Essie Miami Nice.

I'm currently wearing the Tauped color on my fingernails and I can't wait to use the metallic hot pink on my toes for my trip to Florida in a few weeks!  That Smoke & Mirrors is going to be PERFECT for the holiday season...it's so SUPER metallic-y!

Thanks so much, Erin! 

Fill in the Blank Friday...a bit early!

So I made a Friday post on Thursday night.  So what.  I would have scheduled it to post tomorrow while I was at work but then how would I submit it to Lauren's link-up!? 

1.   The holiday season is   cheerful!  I love the time I get to spend with family and I LOVE buying gifts for people!

2.   Snow makes me   depressed a bit.  Not to be a glass half empty type of gal, but I hate cold weather!  I'll admit that snow can be pretty.  For about a day, tops.  After that, it gets all slushy and gray and it's gross and I'm over it!  P.S. I didn't even mention the way people drive it in.  Just because you drive an SUV does not qualify you to go 85 on the highway in blizzards, mmk?

3.  The best comfort food to eat when it's cold out is   chicken pot pie, soup & grilled cheese, and something VERY odd that my mom used to make for me: cream of chicken soup over toast.  OMG yum.

4. Winter is the best time for   hanging up Christmas lights, visiting Florida or other warmer places, celebrating Christmas, etc.  Joking (kind of).  Truthfully, winter is the best time to cuddle in front of the fireplace and drink hot cocoa!

5.  I can hardly wait for   the weekend so we can put up our Christmas tree!  I also need to get on the ball with buying my gifts....eeek!  So behind this year.

6.  When it comes to holiday gifts I prefer to   shop online.  I really enjoy shopping but I hate crowds and it seems impossible to avoid crowds this time of year.  Plus, you can almost always find a better deal online!  

7.  If I were to rate my excitement about the holiday season on a scale from 1-10, I would say I am at about a   7 or 8?  I'm very excited to take a trip to Florida with the hubster (that trip probably ranks a 10).  As far as the actual holiday celebrations, I'm SUPER excited to see family but it can get a little stressful to visit all 6-7 places in two days.  I'm just thankful all of our relatives live in town so we don't have to travel!