15 Weeks

I know I don't really have much to blog about, besides updates of my growing belly. Things have been kinda the same around here otherwise. Some quick updates: Work has been busy for both Steve and I. Steve and Tovi both have bad allergies right now. Fall is coming soon!  I'm pumped because I can't wait for apple picking, apple spice candles and all the fall scents, warm comfy clothing and boots, and CHILI!!!! ;)

14 weeks

Baby B Updates

I've been going back and forth about taking weekly photos of my growing belly. However, I've been slow to do this for some reason. I'm thinking the few reasons might be that:

1.) My belly hasn't been changing that much in the past 3 months to notice. So each photo would look the same. That's boring.

2.) I have gained 4 lbs since three months ago (mostly boob and an inner tube around my belly after I eat) so I just feel like blah, not my normal self. So I really don't feel like being in any photos at the moment. LOL.

So on that note I've been thinking... and thinking... I really want to make my own baby book. I am going to take some ideas from Steve's and my old baby books that our mom's used and come up with a new baby book in my own style. You know the baby books I'm talking about right? The one that is shows the birth arrival with weight, length etc, the family tree, growth chart.... Do they still make those?? However I think I'm going to leave out the teeth chart. (see below)

That is just kinda funny to me! ha-ha  Plus I really don't think I would have time to do this, let alone remember to do it when the teeth pop in!

Whew... back to my idea. So I've decided I am going to scrapbook a baby book for my lil peach. (That is how big Baby B is currently).  So my updates that I will share will be some of my journal entries I will use in the book. Once I get a few of them finish I will maybe show some layouts that I've done etc.... but for now just an update from time to time when something big happens or a change occurs. Otherwise, like my doctor told me, I'm a boring patient so far. (I'm taking that as a good thing!)

So here are my first journal entries I've done.... no scrapbook pages yet. I think I am going to have to schedule some time to sit down and have some creative time for myself. I'm always working or going to bed so I need that 'extra me time' while I only have 6 more months to have it ;)

xox m.

PS- I've started my 2nd trimester today! Time is going by pretty quickly... before you know it Oct will be here, then Christmas, then Baby B! :)

Cooking Adventure

Over a year ago, Steve and I got married and we received an awesome gift called: The Crock Pot.

Now our kitchen isn't finished. We have a card table for a cooking area, which also is home to our toaster oven and knife set. So cooking in our kitchen for the past year has been interesting. We have had tons of grilled cheese/mac & cheese nights. Also we grill out a ton. Steve has even perfected some of the grilling dinners we have. Plus when we grill, that means STEVE cooks. I love that. Ha-ha-ha. 

Ok... back to the crock pot.

So trying to figure out new meals to try for dinner always includes finding recipes that have few ingredients.  So I found this gem (which probably isn't that big of gem to foodies, but since we think grilled cheese and mac & cheese is great - this is huge) Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken. YUM!

So I went into our basement storage... found awesome kitchen gifts from our wedding, and the crock pot. Then went to the store to get some items, came home and mixed indigents together, and set that puppy on low for 4 1/2 hours.
*side funny note* I am NOT a cook, at all. I try. I fail... a lot!!  I fail so much at this part of being a house wife that I went to the store to get BBQ sauce that was ON SALE for a dollar, because if this meal went wrong I would be upset that I wasted a good bottle of sweet baby rays. HA! Oh and I picked up crock-pot liners - best idea e-v-e-r!! My clean up was a simple: take the liner out of the pot and toss in the garbage... easy peasy! Down side to the crock pot liners - only 4 come in a pack- ugh.

So when Steve got home from work his first words were, 'what's for dinner, it smells good'. (SCORE - things are looking on the bright side for me!)  Then we sat down and as I was taking the chicken out of the pot... it was almost falling a part. (UGH, what did I do wrong this time!?) Oh fear not, it was just because it was sooo juicy and tender. Steve took his first bite and BAM.... 'wow babe, add this one to the list!'

*hallelujah - I'm using Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce next time!*

xox m.

PS- Please feel free to share any awesome recipes you have, including or excluding the crock pot. Because as you can see... we now have 2 staples, umm... make that 3 (can't forget taco night).

Poor Toaster

Tovi is really such a great dog. He is awesome.

Tovi relaxing after he got shaved.

He....

• Loves to play with the neighborhood kids, but does not like when they pull his tail. When they do pull his tail, he whips his head around to look at them and give them a Tovi stink eye. Seriously, it cracks me up.
• He is a leaping lizard! He will jump from sofa to sofa just so he doesn't have to get off and touch the ground. And if there is a box in his way.... no problem! He thinks, 'no need to go around it when I can just jump over it.' Problem solved!
• In the morning, he always makes sure to give Steve a kiss before he goes to work. (I think he picked that up from me - ha!)
• Every time we return home, he is SO happy to see us. When I say SO happy, I don't mean the happy where he just wags his tail and then goes back to what he was doing. This boy wiggles so hard it is hard for him to stay still, then you can see that his heart is just exploding with excitement which sometimes leads to a few jumping jacks. Then sometimes he even gives a little whimper/howl to let us know he just feels over the top that we are home. (Some might feel that is just too much to handle when walking in the door.... but please tell me the last time you were greeted by someone who was THAT happy to see you. BONUS: it happens every time!)
• I'm bias... but he IS the cutest dog ever.
• His sleep positions are too funny. One leg relax out to the side like a frog.... another shooting straight up into the sky.... and the others pressed straight out. Comfy! ;)
• If there is water, he is in it. He LOVES to swim. When we head down to the river, he is the first one in. We barley make it out the car door and he is already booking it for the water.
• He stays in our yard and listens really well. We don't even need to put a leash on him. He prefers to be naked 24-7.

But.... Tovi does have a few things he needs to work on.

• Going bananas over the UPS and FedEx truck. We have NO idea why he barks at them, but he does.
• Jumps up on others when he gets too excited. Shame on us, but we are working on it.
• And his latest craze.... gnawing on your arm. HA. Ok, not funny. But our neighbor let him do it once, and now it's a thing of endearment. However, it's not so enduring when he goes up to random people and wants to suck on their arm. Hmm....

Ok so the whole reason for this post was because my poor Tovi is the sweetest, but yet seems to be an underdog in the 'pound life'. Every time we take a walk and another dog comes up to us, he will just lay down and submit....e-v-e-r-y  T-I-M-E. It's cute... but NOT good. It's good when other dogs just come to sniff him and then he gets up and starts playing... but it's BAD when other dogs just come to attack.

A few weeks ago he got attacked by 2 German Shepard's and got bit on his neck really bad. We shaved the area and cleaned up the wound, waited a few days and then took him into the vet when it wasn't healing. Turned out, we did everything correct and that was that. So wahoo for us as doggie parents, but so sad for Tovi.  (See healed bite marks below... looks like he got bit by a vampire! ha-ha)

After the attack, when we would go for a walk, each time a dog would approach us (leashed or not leashed) Tovi would be soooo scared. He finally got comfortable again, and then out of nowhere, a German Shepard (diff. one from before) came out and started to attack Tovi! I tried to intervene and then I just started screaming at the owner to get his dog, because he didn't even notice what was going on, but then the dog just ran away. Tovi was not hurt, but it was scary, for the both of us.

Now... I'm a HUGE dog lover. However, I am now apprehensive around German Shepard's. Ugh... I really dislike it, but I just get so nervous.

Anyways.... so last night Steve and I were walking Tovi and guess what happened?!? Tovi got attacked... AGAIN!  (by a boxer this time)

My poor pup. Does he have a sign on him that says 'kick me'?
I honestly feel like my dog is in Jr. High and is getting beat up on the playground every day and there is nothing I can do about it.

Well nothing came about the attack. It was more of the dogs being territorial, but that was all. Well... and I got a nail puncher wound on my foot and my big toe nail got bent back and was gushing blood. But that didn't hurt until the middle of the night. Well.... and then this morning, we saw a scab under tovi's neck so he actually got bite this time as well. Seriously... tov is the sweetest puppy and loves life, and these bigger dogs just love to pounce on him. 

All in all, he has not be phased by the trauma UNLESS we go walking (which he loves to do every day).  So we will work on that, and pray these are the LAST of the attacks that we both will have to deal with.

xox m.

It's been a few weeks since I've been on here.... whoops! Many things have happen, but to be honest, I've just been exhausted so the last thing I could think of was blogging. So I apologize. This baby was putting all my energy on the low end. However, I am a few weeks shy of the 2nd trimester and I am starting to bounce back! YAY!  I have to admit; I have had no morning sickness, and haven’t really even ‘felt’ preggers. (Yes I'm knocking on wood!)  The only thing that has been different is the fact that once the afternoon comes all I want to do is take a nap, and I do! (Ahhh the joys of working from home and for yourself). I was told that one of the top things to do when you are pregnant is to listen to your body. I am fortunate enough that I can listen and take a snooze, but honestly I am NOT a nap person. I don’t like to take them, and if I ever do I just feel blah the rest of the day. Naps are usually no good to me. But the past weeks, er…. month….. naps have been my best friend! The first time I slept from 1 – 5 and then went to bed at 8:30. I felt kind of guilty, but all my work was done for the day, and obviously I was tired, so I listened to my body. It felt good….

K so quick updates and then I will be back on track to blogging….

• We had our first doctor’s appointment and got to see and hear our lil peanuts heartbeat. Best moment of our lives!! We are blessed.
• Steve and I celebrated our one year anniversary! Boy does time fly! And we heard the first year is the hardest…. Not in our case. It has been extremely amazing thus far! (Can’t wait to see what we say next year when we have a 5 month old ;))
•  Made a few more improvements to our home.
• Steve almost lost his life on a motorcycle accident. Short Story: He was riding home from work and a Comcast wire fell down and damaged his bike, then flung up into his helmet and did some work on his face. He is alive, so praise God!! 2 inches lower and he could have been decapitated. Needless to say…. We are selling the bike.
• Bumper Krop is doing awesome! Jen and I are always working on a project and keep getting new clients (praise God!) The other week we landed our first HUGE job. We now need to talk with our tax man as we have surpassed our yearly goal (it’s only July!).
• Steve had a guy’s day on the water and was riding the wave runners. (Steve's neck still felt sore so he took it easy and was just riding – no tricks). Well he all of a sudden got knocked off his wave runner…. Fishing line caught him right across his face. SERIOUSLY! We now have 5 more life insurance policies taken out on this kid. Maybe we should take out a few more....
• Travel plans are in the works for October. Destination: Fly to Sacramento. Cali (visit Aunt Sally and Uncle Graham)à San Franà Monterey (Visit Granddad Jimmy) àPhoenix, AZ (visit Nana and Granddad) àGrand Canyon àHome. Can't wait!!  

Whew…. Ok so now I am slightly caught up. I hope I can keep it up! J

Have to end with a photo....

xox m.

Cutest Little Onesies

Obviously we have baby on the mind 24-7. So I thought I would show off some of the cutest onesies that I've found. HORRAY for BABIES..... er... BABY! :-)

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Oh gosh, I just can't wait!!

xo m.