34 weeks (almost)

keepin' it green.

How far along? 33 weeks, 5 days

Maternity clothes?I tried to do a better job of getting dressed this week. :)

Stretch marks? None popping up yet!

Sleep: Well, I didn't sleep last night. I'm having a lot of trouble rolling over or getting comfortable at all for that matter. I think I got up 3 times to go to the bathroom last night. INSANE.

Best moment this week: Henry laying down next to me and rubbing my belly while saying, "Hi, Paco!" Then, "Come now?"

Miss Anything? Being able to walk without pain!

Baby Projects You're working on? I've started packing our bags for the hospital. I also got all the cloth diapers stripped and ready!

Movement: He's been head down for probably the last week. He's still moving, but mostly just stretching. Today, I could feel his little fingers moving. SO COOL.

Food cravings: Burritos and anything gummy. Also, ALL FOOD.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Getting up too quickly.

Have you started to show yet: Heck yes.

Gender: DUDE!

Labour Signs: Braxton Hicks have been getting to me lately. One practically doubled me over the other day! I'm really wondering how different labor will be (assuming I don't go through back labor again...)
Belly Button in or out? Innie!

Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I've had some moodiness lately. The other day, Eric asked me if I needed to leave for a break, but that only served to make me more testy. I think I'm going to have to start putting myself in time outs if I can't control my crazy.

Looking forward to: Are you kidding me? ROSCOE. Roscoe. Roscoe. Roscoe. Roscoe!

What to do with Leftover Spaghetti!

I don't know about you, but EVERY. TIME . I make pasta, I make too much. Now, I don't mind eating leftovers, but you don't always want to eat the same thing you just ate.

Enter: SPAGHETTI PIE!!!!

INGREDIENTS

• 6 oz. spaghetti, cooked
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 3/4 cup (3 oz.) Sargento® Artisan Blends® Shredded Parmesan Cheese, divided

• 1 cup Sargento® Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1 cup pasta sauce
• 1/2 cup (2 oz.) Sargento®ChefStyle Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

DIRECTIONS

• 1

  Toss spaghetti with olive oil in large bowl. Stir in eggs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Pour spaghetti mixture into greased 10-inch pie plate; form into a crust.

• 2

  Spoon Ricotta cheese over spaghetti crust. Top with pasta sauce. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 25 minutes. Top with Mozzarella cheese. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Cool 10 minutes before cutting.

I found quite a few recipes, some that called for ricotta cheese and some that called for cottage cheese. I only had a 1/2 cup of ricotta, but I had a ton of cottage. So, I spread the ricotta on half of the crust and cottage on the other. It turned out PERFECTLY. It was all the cheesy goodness this pregnant lady needed. And hey, I used up my leftovers!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

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my babies

I took this picture shortly after Henry woke up from his nap the other day. His bangs had somehow curled up during that time, and he looked to me like a high schooler. Last night, he spent the entire night in his "big boy bed." Granted, I was right beside him, but this was a big deal for us. Right now, I'm watching him push the wheelbarrow around the yard with his dad as night is falling down around us. I'm holding onto these moments-- a kiss on my cheek while I secure him in his carseat; his little finger by his mouth while he ponders a question; his hands quickly wiping tears from his face when he's mad; his head cocked to the side while he's "reading a book;" the feeling of him as he melts into my arms while we watch one of his favorite shows; his face, his perfect face! This kid is my life. He is my entire life.

pictures taken by my good friend, Amy Werner

Things are changing so soon for our little family. I cry at the thought of Roscoe Everett, my little baby boy, so new. I am already head over heels. At night I pray, over and over, "Lord, thank You; thank You; thank You" and then "Keep them safe; keep them safe; keep them safe."

32 Weeks!

Found this questionnaire on a few blogs I read. So, I thought I'd give it a go!

How far along? 32 weeks, 3 days

Maternity clothes?I'm wearing sweats all day every day around the house. When I go out, I get all creative by putting a pair of jeans on... :) I'm still in a few of my "bigger" non-maternity outfits, but that's pushing it at this point.

Stretch marks? None popping up yet!

Sleep: I wake up usually once at around 2 to a contraction and a serious need to pee. :) Other than that, I sleep like a log!

Best moment this week: Got the crib and some artwork up!

Miss Anything? A life without heartburn.

Movement: Little guy is moving around quite a bit, though he's really running out of room!

Food cravings: SWEETS. Dear Lord. I've also been craving salads. What a great balance!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Changing Hendo's diaper.

Have you started to show yet: I would say so, yes.

Gender: DUDE!

Labour Signs: Braxton Hicks, but nothing regular or intense.
Belly Button in or out? Innie!

Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly, I'm euphoric. I am loving these last weeks alone with Hendo. Though, I had a little breakdown yesterday. Hen wouldn't go down for a nap, and I kinda freaked out imagining having a newborn to deal with on top of a restless, crazed toddler. Thank God Eric was there to calm me down/ put some things into perspective!

Looking forward to: Seeing this face I've been working on.

Put a sticker on it...

Okay, it's entirely possible I'm wayy too excited about finding this 1977 beauty for only 1.99 at Goodwill today. But, I'm even more excited about my awesome idea to put this sticker from one of our favorite farmer's market vendors on the side:

What's even more awesome? Hendrix LOVES IT. Thank you, Goodwill. :)

BEST. GIFT. EVER.

We received a lot of awesome gifts from each other and from family this Christmas. We are BLESSED. However, there was one gift that took the cake. My parents told us before they came down that they wanted to treat us to an overnight stay in a hotel while they watched Henry.

When they got here, we went onto priceline.com. We knew we wanted to stay downtown Austin, and we knew we wanted to stay in a nice hotel. So, we took our chances and bid on any 4 star hotel in the downtown area. I had my hopes set on the Omni Hotel, and we got it for 76 bucks! WE. WERE. STOKED.

on the train

My parents had set aside money for how much they thought the hotel would cost, and they gave us the balance to go out on the town. Seriously, I have the greatest parents in the world.

the view from our room

Eric and I took an afternoon Metro train into the city. We didn't want to deal with having a car, and it made things so much easier! We checked into the hotel, had the concierge make our reservations for dinner, went and scoped out our awesome room, and took off to explore.

snacks at Starbucks

I'm glad they told us ahead of time, because let's be real, we needed some time to emotionally prepare to be without Henry. Even just walking around the city (being only gone for about 3 hours), we were missing him! We had to keep reminding ourselves that he was FINE.

lovers.

Quite easily, the highlight of our trip was our dinner. We ate at Parkside Restaurant, and we dropped mad cash there. It was the best meal I've ever eaten. Eric had Farm Chicken and I had Braised Beef Cheeks. Mostly, we just enjoyed sitting across from each other and getting the chance to really talk.

We kept saying, "Happy Anniversary," because everything felt SO SPECIAL. After dinner, we got Ben and Jerry's ice cream from the lobby, went back up to the room, got into the hotel robes and cuddled up. We watched TV and laughed till we finally fell asleep. We both kept saying, "Love you, Hendo!" We missed our favorite cuddle bud, but it was nice to not be kicked in the face during the night!

yes. it was as comfortable as it looks :)

We woke up relatively early, because, mama's gotta feed the baby. We ate at the Driskill Hotel's 1886 Cafe. It was good, but no food tastes the same after our meal at Parkside. We're ruined.

ah, breakfast.

After breakfast, we got a few souvenir presents (we promised Hendo we'd bring him something and we wanted to thank my parents and my sister for watching him). Then, we went back to the room, and packed up. My parents picked us up, and we left from the hotel straight to one of our favorite cafe's in Austin. Hendo was asleep in the car, and we finally woke him up because we couldn't stand it anymore. Turns out, he didn't miss us at all. He didn't even want to sit by mom for lunch. The grandparents and Aunt Cora ruined him! :)

the fam at Magnolia Cafe!

Thank you, mom and dad! WE LOVE YOU!!!!! Anytime you want to relive the experience is FINE BY US!!!!

A Year in Review

January! Of note this month? I realized (quite painfully) that one should never trust a bad hair colorist twice. Other than that? Hendo was the cutest ever.

In February, Hendrix and I flew to Illinois to celebrate my lil' sister's 16th birthday. I also got my hair fixed by my girl, Kristen back home, and the seeing world screamed, "THANK YOU!!!!" For Valentines day, we celebrated at home with our new tradition a "VALENTINES FORT!"

In March, I made quite possibly the best meal I've ever made-- corned beef and cabbage. I'm telling you, it was ridiculous. I threw myself a 27th birthday party, complete with a scavenger hunt! Also of note, Hendrix fell asleep without the aid of my cuddles as shown above for the first time in his toddler life.

In April, we hosted a big Easter party at our house. It was so fun. Eric celebrated his 28th birthday. Our family all went to a minor league baseball game to celebrate. It was Hendrix's first, and we had a blast.

In May, we met the Werners for the Temple . It was insanely hot, but it was also AWESOME. Hendo and I also went to the Austin Children's Museum with our good friends Heather and Ella. It was so fun to see Hendrix actually understanding a few of the exhibits.

In June, we traveled BY TRAIN to Illinois to visit my whole family (specifically, my sister, who is serving in the Peace Corps). We had a great trip, and we were able to visit with tons of friends.

In July, Hendrix took his very first swim lessons! I found out I was PREGGERS on July 4th. One of my old students, who was an exchange student from Germany, came to stay with us. We also were visited by the Underwood's (who are old friends of ours from college). It was a busy and AWESOME month!

In August, the nausea came. It was also the summer of heat and draught here in Texas. So, we spent a lot of time in the pool, and I spent a lot of time complaining. My parents flew Hendo and I home (before the 2 year old ticket price). We were able to watch two of my great friends from college get hitched.

In September, we celebrated! First, we went to the Children's Museum for Henry's friend Francis' birthday. Then, we celebrated our 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY by pigging out on sushi and sneaking dollar candy into the dollar movie theater to watch Bridesmaids. Next, were my niece and nephews big birthdays (15 and 16)! Then, we saw both of them off to HOMECOMING. Finally, was Hendo's big number 2 (his birthday celebration took place in October).

October started out with a trip to the ER for me. Dramatic, I know. After spending most of the night getting sick/ hooked up to an IV, we woke up and got it in gear for Hendrix's FARM PARTY! It was a great success thanks to my family and friends, who all pitched in when I could not. Shortly after the party, we traveled with Ya-ya to Iowa to celebrate Eric's cousin's wedding. We had a blast, and Hendo got to spend time with his 2nd cousins, who we wish were around the corner. Then, my mom came to pick us up and we spent a calm week with my grandma and her. Hendrix weaned himself this month! It was an easy transition for both of us, I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. We found out on October 28th that we were HAVING A BOY!!! And then on the 29th, we threw A HALLOWEEN PARTY! :)

In November, we chilled out our lives. As you can see, we were quite busy in the previous months. However, my Aunts, Tracey and Ann both came to visit Ann's family, who lives in Austin. In an odd turn of events, their RV was damaged, and so their trip was extended! We got to spend tons of quality time with them (although, it's never enough). If only they would move here! We celebrated Thanksgiving at Ya-ya and Papa's house, and I ate my way through more pie than I care to reveal. :)

December was Christmas filled! We finally found a church we love! We started a few new traditions including Elf on the Shelf (thanks to Great Aunt Sherry), and an advent calendar. Watching Hendo's excitement grow every day has been more fun than we ever imagined. We had a great visit from more friends from college, the Preuls! We had a blast just spending time with them and their gorgeous daughter, and exploring South Austin together. I finished Hendo's first year scrapbook! We celebrated Christmas day at Andy and Liz's beautiful new house, and had a blast fighting over grab bag gifts by playing Minute to Win It games. Then, the next day, my family arrived. We had a perfect week with them. They treated Eric and I to an overnight (our first without Hendo) at the Omni Hotel in Austin. Eric and I had the best time. Luckily, Hendrix KNOWS his extended family. We are blessed to have been able to see them so much in the past year.

All in all, 2011 was wonderful. SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED!!!! I can't wait to see what 2012 brings.

Looking back on 2011... and that resolution of mine :)

I don't know if you remember MY 2011 RESOLUTION ? Yeah, it was a big one. Looking back, I think if I had made the rules even more strict, I would feel a lot worse than I do. Honestly, I'd say I stuck to it by about 80%. So, if my goal had been to loose 20 pounds, I would have lost 16 pounds!!! Thinking about it like that, I feel really proud of myself. I have gotten rid of WAY more than I brought into the house. And most of what I did bring into the house adhered to my guidelines, or was calculated. I honestly can't think of a purchase that I regret AT ALL.

Now, one thing I have to say I'm ashamed I could not say goodbye to, and I feel a little guilty about? BABY GAP. Isn't that ridiculous? The truth of the matter is, their sales prices were usually CHEAPER than a lot of the Goodwills around here. Plus, their clothes are so nice and so cute. So, I still bought my lil' dude some new duds. He got a lot more things 2nd hand, but, I couldn't kill that love. And you know what? In the spirit of not being tough on myself, it's okay. :)

I'm proud of myself. I've grown up a lot this year. I'm moving in the right direction for my family.

This year, I don't have a new big resolution. I'm having a baby in 2 months. I'm going to have to adapt and change to accommodate a brand new life. My resolution is to be open, flexible and present. That will be big enough. :)