In case you were wondering, Snack Packs are still pretty awesome. And why do I know this? Because I’m pregnant.
1 down, 2 to go…
This week our niece Megan had her baby, so on our way to Hilton Head we detoured through Rock Hill to see her and baby Isaiah. He’s beautiful!
This makes the first of three babies scheduled to enter our family this year. Our other niece Lauren (the Marine) is having a girl in December, and we follow up with another boy in January. Oh, and just to add to the fun, Roger’s sister LaNell is getting married in October. What a happy year for our growing family!
But back to the cuteness at hand…
We’re having a baby!
Meet the latest addition to our family – William Friend! He’ll be arriving January 20 (or near there). He’s 22 weeks along now, and according to the What to Expect iPhone app, he’s the size of a spaghetti squash (which is way cuter than the turnip it compared him to a few weeks ago).
So far, pregnancy has been going really well. I had some nausea during the first trimester, but thankfully it passed after several weeks. I feel great most of the time now.
I recently signed up for a prenatal yoga class and am loving it. I’ve never taken yoga before, so I was a little nervous about the first class. But the instructor is great and the class is full of both newbies like me and veterans.
Roger and I set up our baby registry last weekend. I never knew there were so many kinds of baby wipes. It was great having Roger with me, because I know without him I would have been so overwhelmed! Fortunately, we visited the store ahead of time to get an idea on prices for some of the larger items – strollers, high chairs, and such. We’ve been shopping consignment sales for gear, and we managed to find an awesome stroller (among other items).
We’ve also been figuring out how to decorate the nursery. This part is really fun. The internet is full of neat stuff for a baby’s room. Check out the crib set we bought. It was delivered to the house yesterday.
Several people have asked me to post belly pictures. Roger has been taking photos of me each week, but for the most part I look like a smiling idiot who thinks showing her belly is hilarious. This is starting to change now that my belly is growing more, but there’s still not much to see. Here’s the latest photo, from 21 weeks:
More baby updates to come!
Our new laundry room
Don’t you hate those home renovation shows that make you sit through an hour of home owners arguing and bickering as they work through a project before you ever see the final result? Me too, so let me start with the “after” picture:
New cabinets and a new paint color add up to a prettier and more useful laundry room.
Roger did most of the work, although I did help bring the ridiculously heavy counter top upstairs…TWICE. We had to cut the counter to size (go go new circular saw!), which wasn’t a big deal. The huge warp in our front wall, however, was a little challenging to hide.
I’ve had a crazy urge to paint lately, and this project satisfied that craving. Roger and I painted the walls Friday night, and I painted all of the trim Saturday. Then we both painted the mailbox and stair rails outside Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day and we were on a roll, so why not?
Read the rest of the post to see before pictures and how the kitties helped on the project.
1 Brisket, 3 Meals
Last week I found a recipe that required my crockpot AND beer. What could possibly go wrong?
Ugh. It was so bland! First, I needed parsnips but couldn’t find them, and I didn’t know what they were anyway. So I’m on my phone at Publix looking up pictures of the elusive veggie, only to find out it’s an uptight carrot. I’m not a huge fan of carrots, so I opted for mushrooms instead.
And maybe that was the problem? Do parsnips have an incredible taste that I missed out on? Who knows. But all was not lost…
I was able to get 3 separate meals from this brisket. THREE! I was determined, because I just cooked 3 pounds of meat and wasn’t about to let that money go to waste. But I also wasn’t about to eat flavorless crap either. Read on for the recipes…
- Slow-cooker beef brisket with beer (bleh)
- Brisket fajitas (yum!)
- Philly cheesesteak sandwiches (easy! fast! good!)