My Mornings Lately

I am loving our weather here lately.  The mornings are nice and fall like.  I have a little ritual that I've been doing in the mornings the past couple of weeks.  I get up and fix Tim's breakfast and lunch and send him on his way.  Then I light my pumpkin candle.

Sit in this room for a little while, have my quiet time, and pray for our sweet little boy.

Then I go in to check on these two, and they are always in the same spot!

The mornings are probably my favorite time of the day and being able to spend them not rushed and doing whatever I want is so nice!  I get to have a nice calm hour or so before I dive into my housework and errands.  

Then there are the mornings when Tim is off.  I still get up and do the things I said above except for the last one.  Here is where they usually are if Tim is off work:

I don't know what we are going to do when Robert gets here!!  The puppies are just going to have to make some room for him, I guess! :-)

Husband Tag

I saw this today and thought it was too fun to pass up!  Tim has answered these questions about me:

1. She’s sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?

Well, Randi has a diverse range of TV interests.  So if it is the morning, it's definitely Matlock.  Unless there is a Monk marathon, then it's Monk.  If this is later in the day, it will be TLC or Bravo most likely.

2. You’re out to eat, what kind of dressing does she get on her salad?

She wants to get ranch, but she'll try a vinaigrette "because it's healthier"

3. What’s one food she doesn’t like?

Bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s

4. You go out to eat and have a drink, what does she order?   

Water, unless it's particularly bad, then she'll get a diet coke, or a flavored lemonade if she's feeling frisky

5. What shirt size does she have?

XS or Small normally, she currently needs a tad more room in the belly. But she can still wear XS or Small in maternity wear.

6. What shoe size does she have?

6 usually

7. What’s her favorite type of sandwich?

mmmm... probably grilled cheese with smoked gouda prepared by her dashing husband.

8. What would she eat everyday if she could?

Ice cream... or skittles, OR NOW AND LATERS! (that's how she says it when she finds them).  Maybe bean burritos from Taco Bell with no onions and pintos and cheese.

9. What is her favorite cereal?

Has to be either Fruity Pebbles or Cinnamon Toast Crunch

10. What would she never wear?

leggings/jeggins/skinny jeans

11. What is her favorite sports team?

hmmm she'll probably cheer for whomever I am cheering

12. Who did she vote for?

the cryptkeepe... er McCain

13. Who is her best friend?

Me (awwwwwwww)

14. What is something she does that you wish she wouldn’t do?

I wish she wouldn't chew the inside of her mouth when she's nervous or stressed (which is always)

15. What is her heritage?

 Well there's English, and Norwegian, and Cherokee, and....well that's mostly it.  Did you know that there is a Biles Island somewhere in England???

16. You bake her a cake, what kind of cake?

I buy her a cake, and it's white cake with cream cheese frosting

17. Did she play sports in high school?

um no

18. What could she spend hours doing?

Baking, homemaking in general, singing made up songs to the pups

19. What is the unique talent that she has? 

Staying married to me.  No one else has ever done that

20. What is her type of coffee? 

an iced chai dulce something... with NO COFFEE




That's my 20 answers for my wife, if there are typos I apologize for messing up her pretty blog.  But this italicized font is killing me.  Thank you for reading. - Tim

23 weeks (Finally!)

I'm sorry I haven't posted this sooner.  I had the picture all ready to go, I just didn't get the rest done until now.  Sorry sorry sorry!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 23 weeks

Size of baby: 8.5 inches, 1.5 pounds, about the size of an ear of corn!

Maternity Clothes: All my pants that I wear out are maternity.  I still wear my regular lounge pants and things.  I'm still wearing my regular shirts for now, but I'm on the lookout for some cute maternity sweaters for the winter time.  I'm also having to get a couple pair of new shoes because none of my other ones fit :-(

Gender: sweet, active baby boy!

Movement:  TONS of movement!  He had been breach up until last week, then I felt him kicking on one side and pushing on the other so I figured out he was sideways.  After my appointment yesterday, my dr said he has flipped and is head down.  Now, if he will just stay that way, we will be good to go!!

Sleep: I'm kind of getting uncomfortable sleeping on my side because I like to pull my knees up close to my chest when I'm on my side (odd, I know), well obviously I can't do that anymore.  Anytime I move my lower body while I'm on my side it makes me feel like I have heartburn.  I think it's just pushing the baby up but it's very uncomfortable.  I would prefer to just sleep on my back, but I know that's a no-no.  I'm so comfortable on my back though!!

Symptoms: My lower back is hurting fairly often and my heels hurt really badly when I've been on my feet for a while.  Also, I physically can bend down, but it hurts (kind of like heartburn) when I do.  So it's kind of frustrating to figure out how to pick something up or when I'm trying to get up from a cushy chair or couch.

Food Cravings/Aversions:  Pretty much everything sounds good to me right now!  

What I am looking forward to:  We are going to JBU Homecoming next week and are looking forward to seeing our friends.  I am having a baby shower here in town in a few weeks and we have family that is coming in for that.  Also, we are going on our babymoon at the end of the month to Angel Fire, NM.  Thankfully, the trip will be practically free since we are using Tim's boss's cabin there.  It should be fun!

Allow me to introduce Brutus!

Yesterday, we did something we have been planning for a few years now.  We got rid of my car (which was having more and more wrong with it with each passing day!) and got a new more family friendly vehicle.  By family friendly, I mean easy for me to get a stroller out of, lift a car seat out of, and can fit a car seat plus 6 adults for when family comes to visit!  I am so thrilled and am having a hard time believing it's really mine!  Here are some pictures of Brutus the 4Runner!

What in the world?!

The other night I walked down the hall to our bedroom to put something away.  Leo ran ahead of me and kind of blocked my way looking a bit nervous.  I didn't know what he was doing until I looked into our room:

Yes, our bed had been made, but someone was worried about another someone getting his bone so he  decided to bury it in our bed.  I called Tim in to look at it and about that time Leo hopped up, retrieved his buried bone, and ran down the hall to look for a different hiding spot for his special treasure!

Pecan Pie Muffins

If there is one thing that we love around here, it's pecan pie (but really there are way more than just one thing we love...)  So when I saw this recipe over on Pioneer Woman's cooking blog last week, I knew I had to give them a go!

Pecan Pie Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans (I used chopped)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup softened butter (I actually used melted because that's how PW showed it in her pictures and I'm not one to argue with PW's cooking pictures)

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl.

Mix eggs and butter in separate bowl.

Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and mix gently until blended.

Spoon into greased muffin tin and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

I always find it more fun when I have a sweet helper at my feet:

As soon as I got these out of the oven, I put a little bit of butter on the one I knew I was soon going to devour and by the time it was ready it had melted beautifully!  Soooo good and extremely easy!!

(I'm not the neatest when it comes to getting all the batter into the cups, thus my messy muffin tin!)

Enjoy!

22 Weeks

I had a wonderful trip last week. I will post all about it later on, for now, here is my 22 week update!  Hard to believe we will meet our little man in less than 18 weeks (hopefully!)

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 22 weeks

Size of baby: 8 inches, 1.2 pounds, about the size of a papaya

Maternity Clothes: All my pants that I wear out are maternity.  I still wear my regular lounge pants and things.  I'm still wearing my regular shirts for now, but I don't really know how much longer I can pull that off!

Gender: sweet baby boy!

Movement:  TONS of movement!  He is more active in the afternoon now, not just the evenings.  He kicks so hard that I can see my stomach move on the outside when he does it!  That is so amazing to me!!

Sleep: I'm sleeping fine.  I have always woken up easily and tossed and turned so that hasn't changed, but it's not really a pregnancy symptom.  

Symptoms: My lower back is hurting fairly often and my heels hurt really badly when I've been on my feet for a while.  

Food Cravings/Aversions:  Waffles and ice cream (not together)

What I am looking forward to:  I have my next appointment next Tuesday.  We are going to JBU Homecoming in a few weeks and are looking forward to seeing our friends.

Puppies and Their Pillows

I took these pictures on Thursday.  I thought it was so funny how Leo had arranged the pillow just right to lay his head on it.  Then I turned my head and Annie had done the same thing.  These two are such sweeties!

21 years ago

Life as I knew it changed forever.

My papaw died.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  Ryan and I sat down on the floor as my dad sat in his recliner and said he had something to tell us.  I had never seen my dad cry until that day and I've only seen him cry 2 times since then.  I often talk about Papaw and think about how proud he would be of all his grandchildren, half of which he never had the chance to meet.  I think about how excited he would be to have a great grandson and another on the way.  I think of how happy he would be at how much each of us has accomplished.  I wish he and Tim could have met each other and maybe smoked pipes together while discussing life.  I would have loved for him to make baby Robby's furniture for the nursery.  He was an amazing man, with amazing stories.  He was quick to admit the mistakes he had made in his life.  As soon as I would walk in their house, I would go into the den and take my place on his lap.  I would touch the tattoo on his forearm and ask him about it.  "That was when I was young and dumb", he would tell me.  When Ryan and I spent the night at Granny and Papaw's house, Ryan slept on the floor next to Granny's side of the bed and I would sleep on the floor next to Papaw's side of the bed.  We would look over at each other under the bed, giggle and whisper.  After a few minutes of that,  Papaw would would tell us, "Time to quiet it down now".  He told great stories and acted like we were the most important people in the world.

He loved his grandchildren, his daughters, his son-in-laws, and his wife so much.

I miss him.

Baby Gifts!

Robby has received a couple of BIG gifts!  I texted Tim when the packages arrived to make sure he was ok with me opening them before he got home from work.  And like a smart husband, he told me to go ahead and open them!!  All of these came from Aunt Darlene and Uncle Willy!

The first package of the day contained these:

We have decided to go with cloth diapers and I couldn't be happier with these that we chose.  We will probably have to use disposable diapers for the first couple of weeks, but we plan to transition to these as soon as he weighs enough.  I plan on making a post a little later with all the reasons why I chose this specific brand and type.

The second package contained this:

Detergent to wash the diapers.  I think I will also use this to wash all the baby clothes for the first time.

The third package contained this:

A bag to put the dirty diapers in while we are on the go.  The bag contains the odor and zips so no one has to know what is in the bag!

Now, the fourth package was so exciting because this is one of the huge things we need!!  It was this:

About a month or so ago, we decided instead of buying all the nursery furniture while we are here, setting it up, using it for 3 months, then storing it until Tim is done with officer training and we find a house in San Antonio we would just get a nice pack n play with the changing table and newborn sleeper to use as the crib.  Robby will probably be using this as his "crib" for the first 5 months or so, until we move and get settled.  Although I had picked out this specific pack n play, I had never seen it in person.  I LOVE the colors and the pattern.  It's just perfect!  As soon as Tim got home and ate his dinner he helped me put it together.  I am so excited to have several big items already taken care of for our baby.  So even if we don't get anything else done, he has diapers to poop in and a place to sleep!  :-)

Enjoy these pictures of the process of putting together the pack n play!

21 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 21 weeks

Size of baby: 8 inches and 1 whole pound,the size of spaghetti squash (since I'm leaving in just over an hour for my trip, I didn't have a chance to go to the grocery store and get one, so this week's picture is without it!)

Maternity Clothes: Just jeans and a couple of shirts.  I'm hoping to make my regular shirts stretch (literally and figuratively) for a while!

Gender: sweet, precious baby boy!

Movement: lots of kicking, he's still breech (as he was when the u/s was done) so he's kicking really low

Sleep: I wake up a few times a night to reposition, but mainly the reason for my trouble sleeping is Annie needing to get up to go outside every hour or so.  I hope that doesn't last too much longer!

Symptoms: Nothing really, just occasional bloody noses and the general huge feeling!

Food Cravings/Aversions: I still enjoy a double decker taco whenever I get the chance to have one, but usually I don't have any major cravings.  I can always go for some cookies and cream ice cream though!

What I am looking forward to:  I get to see my family this week and it's the first time they have seen me since my bump has made an appearance.  

Thankful Thursday!

10. Upcoming trip
I'm leaving tomorrow to go see this sweetie!!

I'm also going to see my brother and sister-in-law.

Then next week I will be seeing my parents.  I'm very excited to get to see my wonderful family!

11. Annie's health

Annie is doing much much better!  Other than having to peepee every 30 minutes (even at night) due to all the fluids that were put into her, she is doing great.  We all went out in the backyard this afternoon and she was walking around great!  She was still a little wobbly, but is getting stronger by the day.  She lost a ton of muscle in her back legs just in the short amount of time she wasn't able to walk so it will be a process getting it back.

12. Healthy pregnancy

I am so blessed to have had such an uneventful and easy pregnancy for this first half.  Robby is moving around and kicking like crazy.  We are so thankful that he is so healthy and active!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures to post of this recipe in the making or the finished product.  I've made it twice now for some events and it has been a hit both times!  The crust tastes amazing and is super simple.  I'm planning on using it with my lemon bars the next time I make them.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Bars 

Ingredients:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs


1 stick butter, melted


1/3 cup sugar


16 oz cream cheese


1 cup sugar


1/4 cup flour


12 oz evaporated milk


2 eggs


1 Tablespoon vanilla


1-1/2 cups peanut butter and chocolate morsels

Directions:

Heat oven to 325.  Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup melted butter, and 1/3 cup sugar thoroughly; press onto bottom of ungreased 13×9-inch pan.  Microwave 1 cup morsels for 1 minute or until just melted; set aside.  Beat cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth.  Gradually beat in evaporated milk, eggs and vanilla.  Stir 1 cup cheese mixture into chocolate/peanut butter mixture.  Pour the cheese/chocolate/peanut butter mixture over crust.  Then pour the remaining cheese mixture on top of that.  Take a spoon and swirl around the mixtures a little.  Bake 35 minutes; take out of oven and sprinkle remaining morsels on top.  Bake another 5 minutes.  Let cool 15 minutes; refrigerate 2 hours.  Cut into squares and serve!

20 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:  

How Far Along: 20 weeks, I really can't believe we are halfway to meeting our sweet baby boy!  This pregnancy has been so easy so far, I can't wait to see what the last half has in store for me! 

Size of baby: 7 inches, 11 ounces, the size of a banana! 

Total Weight Gain: Like I said before, I'm not going to do this one anymore.  I will say that right now I weigh what I weighed at my heaviest in college before I lost quite a bit of weight before our wedding... 

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing maternity jeans but most of my shirts fit just fine as long as they are long enough.  I only have 2 actual maternity shirts that I wear. 

Gender: BOY!!   

Movement:  Yes!  He pushes a LOT!  It's so funny!  And he will also kick and punch at the same time.  I love it!  Tim has felt him many times, I'm so glad! 

Sleep: I'm sleeping just fine as long as a dog isn't whining or throwing up all night! 

Symptoms: None right now.  I'm not taking a daily nap like I was.  I seem to have a little more energy.  Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I am having some nosebleeds, which many have told me is a pregnancy symptom.  Thankfully, they haven't been out of control or anything. 

Food Cravings/Aversions:  I'm eating pretty much anything.  I haven't been craving anything in particular.

What I am looking forward to:  My bump growing more, seeing my brother, sister-in-law and nephew at the end of this week and my parents next week.