Halloween shower fun!

I can't believe our first baby shower is less than 2 weeks away...on Halloween! :)  And how much fun is it that everyone is dressing up like nursery rhyme/children's story/fairy tale couples (what can I say - I have sweet and creative friends)!?!?  So here lies my dilemma...
My sister-in-law, Kelley, gave us the idea of Goldilocks and the Bear (the "just right" one, of course). Nicholas said he could go for that, so I began my online search for what to wear as Goldilocks...and here are the options I found:

Now this is one classy costume for a pregnant gal, huh?  Or maybe this one:

Really, people???  This one was looking better, except the biggest size is 4T - unfortunately not gonna work out:

Then I found THIS one, which I thought would be PERFECT!!! But of course it had been on clearance and was sold out, completely (and conveniently discontinued).  I did put my email on a list in case they get any more in, but it's not lookin' good!

So I'm still on the search for my "just right" Goldilocks costume! Anyone have any crafty ideas of how to make this costume?? Surely I can come up with something! Ha, if not I did see an easy way to do chef costumes and we could be the bakers from "Patty cake patty cake, baker's man!"  I can't wait to see how cute (and hilarious) everyone is gonna be!  I will be sure to post pics afterwards!

In other news, today is 29 weeks - woohoo!!!  I can't wait to hit the 3-0 mark next week (and to clarify, of course that means 30 weeks, NOT 30 years old - I've still got close to 4 years, thank ya very much).

I had a scary day last Friday b/c I didn't feel the baby moving nearly as much as usual ALL DAY LONG. I started the kick counting my OB office told me about at 28 weeks, and I was able to get 10 kicks in an hour, but it was on the longer end of an hour and they were super faint, no big movements at all, which is really unusual these days. Friday night I called my dr's office but couldn't make myself press the '0' which was for medical emergencies or labor! I felt really silly even calling, but Nicholas couldn't remember what was "normal" (he hasn't had any OBGYN training since back in medical school, which believe me, he is very thankful for), and urged me to, saying "that's what they're there for." Anywho, I called Leah and she assured me that it was normal not to feel the baby move as much on some days - she said she definitely noticed that with Callahan - just if it continued over a few days I may want to call. Whew, so that made me feel better. (ps, thanks, Leah, for listening to my overly hormonal self break down on the phone with you like a crazy, psycho lady)  He stayed pretty calm on Saturday, too, but luckily Sunday he hopped, flipped, and jumped around for about 6 hours straight, haha, and didn't stop until well after midnight. Ahh, what a relief (this doesn't mean I'll be in for years of worrying after he's born, does it mom???)!!  ;) Anywho, long vent and not very exciting reading here, but I just felt like documenting my little silly woes!  I have a dr. appt in the morning, so I'll add a little update manana!

Happy Tuesday, Friends! :)

See ya later, second trimester!!!

And hello THIRD!!! Wowsers, can you believe it???
I promised a pic for this week, so here it is - today, 28 weeks, 1 day, and beginning trimester tres!

Big belly! And getting bigger! Nicholas's crazy schedule is keeping mine close to as crazy this week, and I've been dealing w/ a little bit of an ear/pressure/infection type of deal (no big deal, just annoying), so that's all I have for today! (I owe a few of you a callback - promise it'll be coming by the weekend!)
Have a good night!

Fall is in the air...well, for today at least!

So I know it's been about 95 degrees for the past few days (i even pulled weeds in the yard in a swimsuit on Saturday afternoon, haha!), but TODAY it was a nice change of close to 70, cloudy in the am, and a little drizzly in the afternoon. Now usually I'm not one to love rainy, cool days (well mainly the rain part), but it was nice to feel a little fall in the air, especially THIS YEAR, b/c that means January is right around the corner! :) But I've been looking forward to enjoying a caramel apple spice cider from Starbucks - yum, yum - and it was the perfect day for one of those tasty treats! (My usual right now is a chai tea latte, which does have a little caffeine, but nothing overboard...)

Being all in the fall spirit as I was today, I took a long gaze at the pumpkin bread at Starbucks, too! Of course I knew I didn't need that and the yummy drink (at the same time), but it inspired me to come home and make a homemade version of my own!  Healthier AND it probably cost me all of $4 to make two loaves, which is what one piece would have cost at Starbucks (I know, look at me, so very thrifty...haha, it's all about priorities, people, you know, cutting back a little here and a little there...how else can you spend practically a morgage payment at a baby store in one day if you don't save that $4 on a starbucks pumpkin loaf!!??!!)  ;) hehe.

So, I thought that I'd post the yummy recipe (and the changes I made) in case you are feeling like a fall domestic diva yourself and want to give it a try! By the way, it turned out AMAZING!!! I just had a loaf slice with a tall glass of milk and it was oh-so-delicious! Nicholas took some to the hospital tonight, too!  So, here goes (Pumpkin Gingerbread from allrecipes.com):

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 4 eggs 2/3 cup water 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2.	In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice and cinnamon.
3.	In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
4.	Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

My Changes:
-For the 3 cups of sugar, I used 1 1/2 of white splenda blend sugar and 1 1/2 of brown splenda blend sugar.
-Instead of 1 cup of vegetable oil (holy cow!), I used 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and 3/4 cup of apple sauce.
-I couldn't find (or either they were out of) the pumpkin puree, so I used the Libby canned pumpkin pie mix and it worked perfectly.
-Note: I already had all of the spices except for ground ginger, and that was on the spice aisle, too, just had to get a different brand than usual.
-For the 3 1/2 cups of flour, I used 2 cups of all purpose flour like the recipe said, and then the other 1 1/2 of wheat flour (why not throw in a little nutrition!)
-I also stirred in 1/2 cup of walnuts and 1/3 cup of pecans (just b/c that's how much I happened to have in my pantry!) and it was the perfect addition.
-Oh, and I almost forgot, I added just a tiny bit of streusel topping before popping it in the oven. Basically I just melted 1/3 of light butter in the microwave, then eyeballed a little bit of flour, splenda sugar (like a tablespoon of each white and brown), took a handful of pecans and crunched them up, AND I was out of oats (oatmeal didn't sound as good to me as it usually does in the first trimester), but I needed something else to make the mixture less runny - b/c you want it to be crumbly/sticky - so I used a packet of plain instant oatmeal, ha, and it was perfect!!!!  I just sprinkled/plopped drops of this mixture on top of the two loaves and put them in the oven! You don't have to do this but it just added a little something extra!
It did take a little more than an hour to bake, but it was WELL worth it!!!  I'll definitely be making this again!
Happy Fall, Ya'll! :)

Baby product reviews!

So last Friday at Kelly's Korner blog, she did a fun little review of baby items that she used, didn't use, couldn't live without, etc., and other moms (or dads, if they happen to be bloggers) linked up their reviews to hers - and since she has a HUGE following, there is tons of great advice attached to this post - which is super handy dandy for me since we need to do a little registering soon (hopefully I'll get some time to go through these over the weekend)!  You can find that link HERE in case you want to peruse a little for yourself!
The Preppy Baby also has a good review HERE!

In the meantime, although these are necessities, I was thinking Mills would look pretty cute sleeping in this:

And of course with one of these two bedding options - the first one is on SALE (amazing I picked it, right? haha), and the second one would coordinate w/ the crib bedding (which we picked out, along with the actual crib and the rocker/glider - all on order, more info to come on that later!)

 

And I also think this little guy would look pretty cute in his nursery when it's finished! :)

 

{all compliments of Restoration Hardware Baby & Child}

I had my first prenatal yoga class today - I went to the same place Leah went when she was pregnant and it would have been great (well let's not exaggerate, it would have been just fine), except I couldn't find my old yoga mat from college so I had to grab a new one at Target today during lunch...Well evidently the new ones are REALLY slippery, and combined with the fact that they keep it 80 degrees in the yoga rooms and you're sweating, I was sliding ALL OVER THE PLACE! My downward facing dogs were turning into push-up positions and my warrior poses were practically splits...SO, I will be wiping that bad boy down and testing it out again before next week!  But overall it did feel really good to stretch out and move around in ways you don't normally do - and it was neat to see lots of other pregnant women - ranging from way behind me to way ahead of me in the belly department!

I have to leave the house at 6am for work tomorrow, but hoping to finish up a little early and looking forward to a relaxing weekend - hope you have the same!

Oh what a day it has been!

...or maybe I should say oh what an evening it has been...the whole day part wasn't so bad. So... I decided to be a good mommy to this sweet one,

and take her for a little walk. Of course she used the bathroom before we left our own yard, but as she always does, she got the urge again towards the end of our walk. In an effort not to have to run back to the house to get a grocery bag then have to go pick up her "surprise" in someone else's yard, I strategically walked her into one of the middle round-abouts in our neighborhood (b/c it's all pine straw and bushes and you don't have to pick it up there!)...well it seemed like a good idea, and it has worked before...but not this time. She took care of her business, but decided to take a different route coming back to me, around a bush. I tried and tried to talk her into going back around the way she came (b/c there were a few bushes all together and I couldn't get between them), but no, instead my sweet little lamb ran around the bush AGAIN! And to make matters worse it was some kind of prickly bush! I let go of my side of the leash, and tried pulling as hard as possible from her side....long story short, after about 10 minutes of grueling effort in the dark, I unhooked her, left the leash, and held onto her collar and walked hunched-over back to our house. Awesome. My sweet husband was still at work, but I'm sure he won't mind going to fetch the leash tomorrow morning! :)
So I made a quick trip to the grocery store, then came back and cleaned out the refridgerator. I had some homemade red pepper tomato basil soup still in there that I made two weeks ago (yuck, i know), and there was still one serving of lasagna left that needed to go. Nicholas came right in from work and said, "oh, i'll take care of that stuff," and popped it right into the garbage disposal...which didn't turn on. He hit the reset button...no luck, only a dull hum...then he had to stuff his hand back down the drain to pull out everything he had put in...gross. The whole kitchen smelled like the ghost of dinners' past, so I had to light every candle in the house.  This is what it looked like (note: if you have a weak stomach do not scroll down):

Mmmmm, yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!! Luckily after another call to Mom and Phil, Nicholas used a socket wrench to 'unstick' the disposal blades, and came to tell me the good news that he fixed it while I was taking a hot bath...my night got a lot better very quickly! :)  So now I'm all clean and refreshed, about to enjoy a new episode of Criminal Minds with the hubby!

Oh, and I hit the 27 week mark yesterday! I promise a belly pic update for week 28! And I don't know if you happened to notice that little ticker up there at the top, but the countdown is less than 100 days now - almost less than 90 now - that's crazy!! More to come later this week, I'm exhausted!!!  Night!

Updates galore!!!

So it's been a little while....whew, and I'm exhausted!!! Work, traveling, and trying to make baby decisions have all been keeping me busy! Actually, so much so that I'm updating this blog via I-26...haha, gotta love technology, right? (believe me, my company provides this handy dandy little wireless card, but it has its pros AND cons...aka, the mentality that not only can you blog from anywhere/anytime, but you can also WORK from anywhere/anytime!)
So this Tuesday marked 26 WEEKS! The little guy now measures about 14 inches and weighs about a pound and two-thirds - according to babycenter he's about the size of an 'English hothouse cucumber,' to be exact - hey, some of these fruits/veggies get a little out there as we go along!  I had my monthly dr. appt on Wednesday and in the past 5 weeks (week 21-week 26) I have gained 4 more pounds and she did the little fundal height measurement (where they measure your belly vertically) and said we were "right on" at 27 weeks (although I was 26 weeks, Nicholas said within a week is still considered on target).  Good news! 
In other good news, I drank the flat version of this:

(the oral glucose test solution), and I PASSED! :)  Woohoo for no gestational diabetes, that's for sure! So everything seems to be running smoothly at this point, thank you Lord!

Sorry for the boring post today, but I'll try to update later w/ some pics from Nicholas' 28th bday, Danielle and Sam's wedding in CT, beach weekend, and Wofford homecoming (which is where we're headed now)...I think it may feel a little different being pregnant at a frat house, ha, definitely a first for sure! This weekend will be Mills' first stop on college tour 2009 - Wofford this weekend and Clemson in a few weeks - he has two choices (well, in SC, that is! Out of state he can go wherever he wants)! :)  Ok, I'm getting carsick now and I'm gonna have my first pregnancy vomit if I'm not careful - no good! :P

Happy Weekend!

Corn Cobs and Soccer Balls!

So today marks the 24 week mark - woohoo! (I told Nicholas this morning that it was our anniversary baby birthday week, b/c we got married on the 24th, but it took me quite a bit of explaining before he got it, haha.) Anywho, so according to Babycenter.com, baby boy is now the size of this:

And another fun/freaky fact, my uterus is now the size of THIS:

REALLY?!?!?!? Now that's just scary!

Here's this week's development according to the babycenter:
"Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's about a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon."

So that's what our little buddy is up to this week! I took a fabulous bath tonight and noticed that for the first time I can actually see little movements popping out through my stomach!!! For now they're just tiny and I have to look for them when I feel him moving around, but I know that will change quickly! It's fun! And in other news, my SIL, Jennifer, finds out what she's having tomorrow morning!!! I'm SOOOOOOOOO excited!!! Even though everyone thinks it's a girl, and she took an over the counter gender predictor that said girl (AND she has an overwhelmingly girl feeling), I'm still pumped to know for sure and to see the pics of her cute little face! I just know Jennifer will be updating her blog as soon as she finds out (right?)! :) hehe!

Work is kicking my bootie with an upcoming meeting that we have to prepare for, so I better go get some sleep while I can! Hope to see you later this week! xoxo!

Labor Day Weekend, Belly Update, and GO TIGERS!!!

Well I'm sad to be missing Bible study tonight, but I'm REALLY EXCITED to watch the TIGERS play tonight with these people: That's right - Leah, Matt, and Callahan!! :) We're all hanging out at our place with some Andolini's pizza and college football on the big screen... ahhh, what could be better! :) Last week Clemson played MTSU, so I'm (nervous, scared) pumped to get a look at how they're gonna be this year. Speaking of last weekend, we spent Labor Day weekend up at Nicholas's grandparents' house in the mountains...it was nice to get some cool, fresh air and a change of scenery! AND, work on my golf game...I have to say, with two days of playing and a lesson or two from the Wallaces...I'm getting quite good. This was Mills' first golf trip, but believe me, in this family he'll have many more to come in no time!! :) Here are a few pics!

My skills in action ;)

We were trying to get to the ladies' tee box, but somebody (aka a family of deer) kept getting in our way, ha! :)

Now for some belly updates (as if you couldn't tell in the previous pics)!!!

This was at 22 weeks...


And this was on Tuesday (at 23 weeks)! Please ignore how disgusting I look...I had been asleep on the couch but got up to take this pic JUST so I would have this week's pic to post - so don't judge! :) (And yes, mom, I know I need lipstick!)

The shadow may be giving me a little extra in this pic! It's crazy just how pregnant I look when I look at a 'from the side' shot! When I wear loose shirts, people still can't tell I'm pregnant (especially since in my new offices most people don't know what I looked like before!), but when I wear tighter tops I do have people ask how far along I am, which is fun! It makes me feel pregnant rather than just chunky, ha!

As of my 21 week appt, I had gained 12 pounds!! That's right, hit the 140 mark! The dr. said that was perfectly normal and that 25-35lbs overall is the "perfect amount"...I won't break down where exactly I think some of that weight has gone here on this blog, BUT, I have a feeling that they'll be coming on quicker in the months to come (of course, they're supposed to, so it's a good thing)... let's just hope they come off even quicker, ha! :)

So anywho, two posts in two days, aren't you proud?? :) Be back after the weekend, but keep letting me know what you think about the bedding on the previous post! And yes, Calee, you SHOULD start a blog - I think you have plenty to blog about in your everyday fantastic life! :)

1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, C-L-E-M-S-O-N T-I-G-E-R-S, Fight Tigers, Fight Tigers, Fight, Fight, Fight!!! Let's Beat GA Tech Tonight!!! :)

bedding buzz

So Jennifer and I have been talking a lot about bedding options for the little ones on the way! This super cute store, Baby Bloomers, over in Mt. Pleasant has tons of custom bedding options, so I'm gonna scope those out when I have a free afternoon or Saturday, but in the meantime here are some ideas...and you may notice that the majority of them have green in them - that's in hopes of not having to repaint the bedroom, but if it comes down to something we like better, we'll do it anyway. Oh, and a few of these Nicholas put in here...b/c he doesn't seem to think that baby boy bedding looks masculine enough, ha! :) Let me know what you think!














Oh, and and I almost forgot! My grandmother is also an awesome seamstress, so I could even have her make the set if I could find some fabulous fabric - or just substitute a piece that I don't like of another set - either way! :) By the way, if you click on the pictures they'll open up larger - give me some feedback and let me know what you think! Oh, and I have to also mention that I LOVE the bedding (and nursery) on Erin's blog HERE! So cute! Oh, and I'll upload that baby bump pic tomorrow afternoon - I'm just too stinkin' tired tonight!! xoxo!

Introducing Baby Boy Wallace!!!

or, more specifically...

James Phillip "Mills" Wallace, II

That's right, baby boy has an official name! :)
He will be named after his grandfather (thus, the II), and if you're wondering how we got Mills - it's the middle letter of James, middle letters of Phillip, and the 's' comes from the second. So it's the heart of James and the heart of Phillip - my marketing spin, ha! Yes, I realize that he'll probably have to explain it a lot, you know, the first day of school, etc...but Nicholas never minded going by his middle name, and there are plenty of 2nds, 3rds, and on and on that go by all sorts of nicknames (Trey, Tripp, and a gazillion others), and basically, we just like it! There are just so many James and Phillips (Phil's, etc.) in our family, and we wanted our baby to have the meaning and heritage of a family name, but his own unique name at the same time, so there we have it - Mills Wallace.
(I wish I had a scanned pic of the notebook paper page that my sister-in-law used to test out Mills Wallace - it's got everything from how he'll sign his name when he grows up, to how he'll sign his name and sports number, to our family's name on a Christmas card greeting, and everything in between! I could have sworn I had folded it and put it in my "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book, but for some reason I can't find it today and I REALLY wanted to post it with this name post...but I promise to do so as soon as I find it again!)

And also, it's this cute, little guy's FIRST BIRTHDAY TODAY!!! So happy birthday, Will!!! Mills can't wait to meet you and have lots of fun in the years to come at Wofford Homecomings, Clemson games, beach trips, mountain weekends, and playdates!


Also, I failed on my blogging duties last week, but this week will hopefully be better! Today I'm 23 weeks, and Nicholas took a belly pic for me tonight that I plan on posting tomorrow! Good night, friends!