With the tree up, my feet up and some gifts wrapped, I can put my feet up and tell you all about my Baby Shower last weekend! It turned into a Yellow/Gray themed celebration and it couldn’t have turned out more beautiful! I wanted it to be a little different then the typical shower because, lets face it, no one wants to play Bingo and sit through 3 hours of gift opening. I found a couple of cute decorations and games on Pinterest and left it to my amazing girlfriends to make it happen, they did not disappoint!

The flowers were super simple and were perfect with lemons in the vase – vase compliments from our wedding! I knew I kept those babies around for a reason. Confetti and garland were from ETSY shop Confetti Momma and they were all so perfect. Courtney also worked with me because I bought a load of goodies. The labels on my Tea and Honey favors came from CanningCrafts ETSY shop also. Two of my best friends created games and prizes and also made the adorable tissue paper pompoms which I thought were SUCH a great touch. Another bestie was in charge of the balloons, “What’s in my Phone” game, prizes and AMAZING clothes line. I just don’t know what I would have done without my friends. They made the day so amazing and relaxing for me and our guests are still raving about how great it all was!

We were so incredibly blessed with gifts galore. It wouldn’t have all happened if it wasn’t for my Momma (and Daddy) to throw Kevin and I this shower. They are the most amazing parents and will be even more amazing Grandparents in a few short months! We can’t thank everyone enough for coming to our shower, especially my Monster Mother-in-Law and Step Mother-in-Law for making the trip from Rhode Island to help us celebrate. I can’t wait for Baby L’s Rhode Island Shower now!

How far along: 25 Weeks – this week flew by!
Baby is the size of: A Napa Cabbage?
Gender:  Surprise! We don’t know and neither will you!
Weight gain: Probably still around that 15lb mark!
Maternity clothes: Same. Tops are mostly always non-maternity.
Stretch marks: Still nothing!! Woohoo
Belly button in or out:  Still in.
Sleep: Been great for about a week now!
Best moment this week: Short week, Thanksgiving and decorating for Christmas!
Worst moment this week: How can anything be bad at this point? Except, this morning I sneezed in bed and literally thought I ripped my uterus open.
Miss anything: This time of year I am definitely missing a festive cocktail!
Movement: This week I felt my first official “roll” from Baby L. It was certainly not a kick, punch or jab, it was a roll from one side of my belly to the other, it’s so weird! Kevin is able to feel movement now too!
Cravings: Still beef. In any form. Oh, actually been really wanting Oranges!
Queasy or sick: Nope!
Labor Signs: None yet.
Symptoms: Nothing! I mean, besides the baby moving and me being hungry…
Wedding rings on or off: On.
Looking forward to: The nursery is getting closer and closer to being ready every day! Now looking forward to everyone coming down for my Birthday next weekend and then Christmas!

We changed things up this week and decided to take the month blocks to the Tree Farm to snap a picture. The typical spot was getting mega boring to me! We spent the morning searching for the perfect tree! We couldn’t decide if we really wanted to get a tree this year or skip the festivities, but since we have taken over Christmas, it seemed only right! There were no Griswold moments, only a few quotes I just couldn’t resist.

Happy soon to be December all!

How far along: 24 Weeks and heading into the third trimester! EEK!
Baby is the size of: An eggplant
Gender:  Surprise! We don’t know and neither will you!
Weight gain: Had my checkup last week and after dinner I was officially up 14.9 pounds. So it’s safe to say that my 15 lb guess was NOT very far off. Doctor had no concerns regarding that or my blood pressure of 124/64
Maternity clothes: Same as last week. Although in today’s picture I am in pre-preg jeans that actually are buttoned with no additional help such as a Bellaband. At least it proves that ALL 15 pounds are in my belly and not elsewhere.
Stretch marks: Still nothing!! Woohoo
Belly button in or out:  Still in.
Sleep: Been great for the last five days or so. I decided to kick the Snoogle to the side and try just regular sleeping and I have been out like a light! Not sure if I’m more tired than normal or just getting more comfortable.
Best moment this week: My beautiful, beautiful, beautiful Baby Shower! Everyone made it a gorgeous celebration for our little one.
Worst moment this week: How can anything be bad at this point?
Miss anything: Sleeping on my stomach or even laying on my stomach period!! And deli meat. And a cocktail.
Movement: Baby is still very calm in there. Get little bits of rock and roll, but it’s mostly pretty gentle.
Cravings: Nothing exactly my ground meat. haha
Queasy or sick: Nope!
Labor Signs: None yet.
Symptoms: Nothing! I mean, besides the baby moving and me being hungry…
Wedding rings on or off: On. Still.
Looking forward to: Everything. Now that we have so many beautiful gifts I want to get the nursery ready more than ever. After the first of the year we can focus on that.

Why not kick off the Holidays with some clean eating! Nothing better than enjoying a delicious dish of cottage cheese instead of pie, right?

My friend from High School is very active in health and fitness as she’s a Team Beachbody Coach. If you remember my Brazil Butt Lift Challenge back in April, she was the coach of that. She’s now starting a 10-Day Clean Eating Challenge through her Facebook page that will take us from today up until Black Friday! With the recipes, menu and shopping list already done for you, there’s no excuse to NOT take part in a healthy lifestyle. It takes the guesswork out and leaves you feeling better inside and out. Kevin and I do eat very well on the norm, but anything that helps me not have to PLAN…I’m in!

Our shopping trip was no bigger than usual as we had a lot of the items already – mostly the condiment types of items – as well as chicken and salmon already in the freezer. Stocking the freezer during good sales is THE way to go.

The challenge allows you make substitutions based on your own needs…so I did decide to sub such things are cottage cheese in place of the protein shake and almonds instead of walnuts. Here was this weeks haul filled with all things good for us! I want to give major props to the Applegate Turkey Bacon. I do NOT like bacon, at, all. I have tried turkey bacon once and it literally smelled and tasted like wet dog. I figured why not give it one more shot – this stuff is seriously a winner. I won’t say I LOVE it, but it’s definitely something I could handle.

Sunday morning was filled with prep to get ready for the week ahead. After making pancakes (hey, a girl’s gotta get in her last bit of bad food!) I started in with prep. I decided to bake the bacon (ha) on a cooling rack inside a pan so that the house and stove didn’t get covered in grease and smoke! Right after the bacon was done, we roasted almonds. I typically buy raw almonds from BJ’s since they’re cheaper and roast them myself – these came out SO tasty. A little later on in the day I cooked up some chicken tenders which will be for dinner Monday and Tuesday. Doing this easy prep makes the week ahead not seem as stressful.

Later in the day, I made our lunches for Monday and did any remaining prep necessary such as taking some Ezekial bread out of the freezer to thaw for breakfast.

Monday:

Breakfast / Egg and Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich on Ezekial

AM Snack / 1/2 Banana

Lunch / Tuna with Onions and Celery over Mixed Greens, Cucumbers and Tomatoes. Topped with Homemade Balsamic Dressing

PM Snack / Cottage Cheese and Almonds

Dinner / Honey Dijon Chicken with Steamed Broccoli

I eat lunch later in the day, so my snacks both happened prior to Lunch. Kevin started breakfast this morning and forgot we were starting this – so our sandwiches were deconstructed a bit. As long as it gets in us, does it matter how pretty it is? I think not.

Tuesday:

Breakfast / Melon and Yogurt (this will certainly NOT tide me over for more than5 minutes so I will be adding more food to adjust for my caloric needs)

AM Snack / Piece of Fruit

Lunch / Turkey Avocado Wrap on Whole Wheat Tortilla

PM Snack / Almond Butter and Celery Sticks

Dinner / Grilled Salmon with Ginger Rice (this will be substituted for Wednesday’s dinner since Kevin has class – no one wants their lunchroom to smell like fish). Wednesday Dinner: Chicken Tacos with Beans and Quinoia.

This week may be a little difficult since I am going home for my Baby Shower – I WILL be eating a few things clearly not on the menu but my mom is stocking up on healthy foods for us anyway.

On a side note… this weekend Kevin and my Monster Mother-in-Law wanted to head to a winery nearby so I was the third wheel. I don’t miss wine as much as I miss beer so it wasn’t unbearable.

Cheers!

How far along: 23 Weeks and counting
Baby is the size of: A bunch of grapes – a little vague if you ask me!
Gender:  Surprise! We don’t know and neither will you!
Weight gain: 10 pounds at my last checkup, but we go on Wednesday for the next appointment.
Maternity clothes: Kind of alternating everything..maternity jeans and leggings, pre-preg jeans and Bellaband. Tops are all pre-preg with a sweater over.
Stretch marks: Still nothing!! Woohoo
Belly button in or out:  Still in but looks a little shallow!
Sleep: Been OK. But rolling over has been more uncomfortable lately and I wake up every single time I have to move!!
Best moment this week: Nothing that stands out in particular. Still able to do my normal activities without too much trouble. More and more kicks that we can see through my shirt.
Worst moment this week: Need to get back into fitness and working out because I have hit a wall lately! Other than that, doing well!
Miss anything: Sleeping on my stomach or even laying on my stomach period!! Missing it more than ever. 
Movement: Lots and lots of movement. It’s so fun (except when it’s directly into your bladder)!
Cravings: Any and everything! More often, but staying on track with healthier choices.
Queasy or sick: Nope!
Labor Signs: No labor signs, some practice contractions. These should start to be more fun.
Symptoms: Nothing! I mean, besides the baby moving and me being hungry…
Wedding rings on or off: On.
Looking forward to: Everything! Things are going to start getting more real and March will be here before we know it!

How far along: 22 Weeks! Can I start counting down now?
Baby is the size of: An ear of corn! Nearly a foot long.
Gender:  Surprise until March…but we are kind of leaning more one direction lately.
Weight gain: 10 pounds at my last checkup, but judging by the weigh-in this morning that I shouldn’t have done…probably more like 15. eep!
Maternity clothes: Kind of alternating everything..maternity jeans and leggings, pre-preg jeans and Bellaband and tops are all pre-preg with a sweater over.
Stretch marks: Still nothing. 
Belly button in or out:  Still in…not sure when it’s supposed to pop out.
Sleep: Been OK. But rolling over has been more uncomfortable lately and I wake up every single time I have to move. Baby is more active also, but not yet waking me up.
Best moment this week: Kicks getting stronger and definitely frequent. Baby is taking up a lot more space so every movement is felt. Kevin gets to feel lots of little kicks now. <3
Worst moment this week: Having to adjust my meals. I can’t eat anywhere near as much at one sitting as I used to…but that also means I’m hungry much more often!
Miss anything: Sleeping on my stomach or even laying on my stomach period!! Missing it more than ever. 
Movement: Baby L is a mover and a shaker. I see karate in it’s future!
Cravings: Any and everything! But still eating well. Only had a handful of pieces of Halloween Candy and they were all mini’s. 😉
Queasy or sick: Not for a few months now. Just feel VERY full after I eat. 
Labor Signs: No labor signs, keep those away for a few more months please.
Symptoms: Not really much of anything going on lately. It’s kind of nice.
Wedding rings on or off: On. My books say that hands and ankles should begin to swell..we’ll see.
Looking forward to: Everything! Excited for my Shower, Thanksgiving, my 30th Birthday, Christmas and then the serious nesting in the nursery can happen!! Ready for this little creature to be on the outside!

I figure it was a good time to show off the belly WITHOUT a shirt over it. Of course everyone says how cute baby bumps are, and they’re so sweet, it’s cute, cute cute cute. Well here’s a little tip to those non-pregnant people – it’s anything but cute. It doesn’t look like that perfect little round belly, beautiful skin…no no. It’s a big, stretched out stomach full of veins. HAHA!

A pregnant belly is seriously something that I cannot explain. You wake up one morning and it’s there, out of nowhere. And there’s nothing you can do about it. But to feel those little kicks and jabs and hiccups makes it ALL worth it. Baby L will be here before we know it.

This picture I just had to share…we went to Rhode Island this weekend to celebrate Kevin’s Dad’s birthday which called for a trip to the bowling alley. Not sure how I was going to be able to bowl with a gut and no balance…but I held my own. This picture just makes me laugh

I’m not smuggling a bowling ball, I promise!!

How far along: 21 weeks – seriously, where did that belly come from?
Baby is the size of: A carrot!
Gender:  Surprise until March…but we are kind of leaning more one direction lately.
Weight gain: 10 pounds at my last checkup, but judging by this picture a LOT more already.
Maternity clothes: Mostly maternity clothes now, but got some new open sweaters that I really like.
Stretch marks: None yet!!
Belly button in or out:  Still in, turkey’s not done yet.
Sleep: Been OK. But rolling over has been more uncomfortable lately and I wake up every single time I have to move.
Best moment this week: FINALLY being able to paint the spare room turned nursery!
Worst moment this week: Painting. HAHA
Miss anything: Sleeping on my stomach. And deli sandwiches. But I totally splurged and had a roast beast sammy. I HAD to…otherwise I probably would have died.
Movement: Not a whole lot..this child is awfully docile. Either that or it’s way smaller than they think it is! (of course right now it decides to start kicking like crazy!)
Cravings: Still that ground beef!
Queasy or sick: Nope!! This is definitely the most exciting part of pregnancy I think..and most enjoyable.
Labor Signs: No labor signs, keep those away for a few more months please.
Symptoms: Not really much of anything going on lately. It’s kind of nice.
Wedding rings on or off: On. I have the cold months on my side – my fingers tend to shrink from the weather.
Looking forward to: Nesting for real. Walls are painted, new ceiling fan is hung thanks to my wonderful hubby who doesn’t get frustrated with anything! The room is SO cozy I want to live in there. Just have to move the bed out after the holidays, make one more storage trip and we can officially nest. 🙂

My little handyman and new Grey walls. LOVE them.

And I wanted to share my little jacket thing…I want to call it a cloak…or peplum but it’s really neither. It was one if my finds at that yard sale a few weeks back. It’s super warm and perfect for this time of year to fit over my ever growing belly! I love it. It’s Scooter Brown brand which I have never heard of, either way it’s super cute! Also, still in my pre-preg skinny jeans with a Bellaband holding them up. I do enjoy that thing – but I have to be honest, I can’t wait to get home and unwrap myself from all these clothes.

Happy November and the official start (for me) of the Holiday Season! Two things we don’t commit to until November 1st, one is turning on the heat – I mean it’s not really necessary before now anyway…and second, I refuse to wear my Uggs until that day arrives. You can thank me later!

Why not start November off right with a Gift Guide for Him, Her and Mini! Since my Mini’s gender is unknown, I went with pretty gender neutral styles and colors because lets be honest, gift clothes are just SO darn cute. I can’t go gettin’ all caught up in them and then have a boy pop out. So here are my picks for some early shopping!

Her

Travel Mug / Scarf / Watch / Beauty Blender / Vest

Him

Socks / Bag Balm / Vest / Fire TV /

Mini Style

Bear Hat / Pants / Vest / Teether / Toms

I think mostly everything is pretty self explanatory. But c’mon, have you seen Starbuck’s new “Dot” line of travel mugs, they are so cute! Maybe the most costly thing is a new watch for the lady in your life. I have a slight watch obsession..I bought my first Citizen on a cruise a couple years ago and have not worn any other one since. I can wear it in the shower, the pool and really bang around with it and it’s so tough.

No family is complete without a vest for everyone. Lets be honest, if I could live in tank tops and vests all year long without looking like a total freak, I SO would. Yes, I have already purchased vests for my little one in various sizes already. You can never have enough. My hubs loves his Bag Balm. I actually bought it when I was in High School during crew season to help my poor callused hands. He uses is when the cold weather comes around and his fingies start to crack. A must for any guy (or girl) that works in the cold with their hands or are just prone to dryness.

Lastly, the Amazon Fire TV Stick. I’ve been hearing a little about this from people at work so asked Kevin what it’s all about. Stick this baby into your TV and you can do some streaming of Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, music and more. Don’t ask me the specifics, but for $39 it’s worth the purchase to get all of your favorite TV Series and Movies right when you want it.

Hope everyone has a great first week of November, how about that blizzard in the Northeast yesterday? Winter is closer than we all hoped!

21 Week update will be arriving shortly…we were kind of bums all weekend so there was no picture to be had. Stay tuned!!