Nursery Wall Art

So one part of the nursery that has me a little stressed right now [I know, Jose's doing all the work and I'm the one who's stressed.] is the wall art. This has always been an intimidating area for me, which is probably why I never hung anything in any of our apartments and why we still have no pictures hanging in our house. Actually, the only thing hanging in our house right now is a chalkboard that has "2017" written on it, patiently waiting for us me to decide what our goals are going to be this year. Welcome to my life. Actually. That's a lie. We also have a huge blogger selfie mirror hanging in our bedroom because vanity.

Anyways, while I originally planned to have industrial shelving above the baby's dresser/changing table, we decided that that might not be completely safe, given the baby will be laying there some of the time. So now I'm trying to come up with some type of art arrangement for that wall and, quite frankly, I'd rather not. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love doing the interior [& exterior!] designing for our house, but the whole gallery wall thing is a little overwhelming. Anyways, I thought I'd share some of the ideas I have floating around right now. Any and all of your opinions or suggestions are extremely welcome and appreciated!!!

Bear head, $19.99

Paper mache deer head, $24.99

Wolf head, $19.99

Wooden dear head, $32.32

He Will Move Mountains print, $40

Mountain Shelves, $90

Son of the King sign, No longer available where I originally found it, but I love this one so may have to find someone who can make it!

Little Bird You're So Fly print, $24

Zinc letters, $18/each

Welcome to the World, $14

That's all for now friends! Happy Wednesday! XO

32 Weeks

Shout out to 23-year-old Jenna with this pic - VS Pink errrythang!

How far along? 32 weeks

Maternity clothes: Maternity clothes + comfies (as you can see!)

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty good!

Best moment this week: Major progress in the nursery! I already love this room so much and can't wait to share it with you all!

Miss anything? Random, but sushi... Can't wait to enjoy my first crunchy tuna roll!

Movement: I'm convinced this little guy is already paying attention to his big sis during her karate lessons...

Food cravings? Gah! Sweets are still a huge struggle, but I'm really trying to be more disciplined. Every day is so different as far as my level of control goes! The amount of times I've given myself the "but I'm pregnant" excuse is shameful. 

Anything make you queasy or sick? Nothing in particular, but still a little nausea in the mornings.

Gender: Boy

Labor signs: Just having a hard time being comfortable in general.

Belly button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood most of the time: It's really been 50/50. Actually, I could've said things were great, up until this morning when I had a total meltdown because Jose mocked me [something we do to each other regularly], but my pregnancy hormones were all Not today! and I stormed upstairs and slammed the door. 

Looking forward to: Getting back on track with my diet + exercise. I'm not trying to be perfect by any means while pregnant, but I'm constantly finding myself in the "So what if I put on a few extra pounds, I'm pregnant" mindset. And, although I know the hormones have a lot to do with it too, I definitely felt a difference in my mood when I was more mindful of what I was eating before my Glucola test. Obviously, it's a known fact that sugar effects our moods. Also, my worst enemy has always been self-control. I will only buy healthy food at the store, but there's always sweets available at work and if we go out to eat, which we've been doing more of lately, I usually don't stick to my diet much anyway - pregnant or not. So. Here's to another week of trying my best! Wish me luck!

Total weight gain: ~30 lbs.

31 Weeks

Sorry for the low-quality pic... Was having issues with my iPhone camera focusing. 🤔

How far along? 31 weeks

Maternity clothes: Maternity clothes + comfies

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty good!

Best moment this week: Passing my Glucola test!!! Woohoo!!! Also, eating out with family Friday and Saturday nights! Literally nothing better than food with family/friends!

Miss anything? Energy! Feeling like Jose's been doing everything around here these days... Mostly because he has been. Thank God I have a hubby that cleans [Not bragging; it's just much appreciated right now].

Movement: More and more movement :)

Food cravings? Still sweets, but feeling like I have things a bit more under control since I had to contain myself before my Glucola test. [I say this after a weekend of eating out for every meal + finishing off a bag of Reese eggs.]

Anything make you queasy or sick? Nothing in particular, but having a little morning nausea again. 

Gender: Boy

Labor signs: Other than the possible Braxton-Hicks contractions, just some discomfort when eating - constantly feeling stuffed or some tightening, also having a hard time getting comfortable while doing basically anything - sitting, standing, you name it.

Belly button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood most of the time: On/off... Most of last week was good, but I've had some anxiety these past two days. I have anxiety anyways, but this is a little different. Yesterday, I actually started to cry for no reason. I thought that only happened in movies. It may have also been because my weekend was coming to an end and Jose had to go into work last night. Both things worth crying over [Don't judge me. Adulting is hard. Especially when I have to do it alone. Huge props to those of you who do the single parenting thing on the reg.], but I'm hoping this doesn't mean I'll have any postpartum stuff. I've heard it can be awful. Another thing I never had with Aurora. I swear this pregnancy is a total 180 from when I was pregnant the first time. 😩

Looking forward to: Aside from baby boy's arrival, the completion of the nursery! Jose did some more painting in there and it's coming along nice! Also, I was told I should let everyone out there in Bloggerland know that the reason it's taking so long is because I keep adding things to do in there. Which is true. What started as a painting-the-room job has turned into painting the room [ceiling included because all the ceilings in our house had high-gloss paint when we moved in - WHY!?!?], tearing off all the old trim to replace with new trim, painting the closet and all the doors in the room [all also had high-gloss paint], and staining and planking one of the walls. Re-reading all that, I'm really starting to feel bad that Jose's married to me. 

Total weight gain: ~30 lbs. [Also, my BabyBump app says I should expect to gain a lb./a week from here on out, so that's great...]

My Greatest Accomplishment

As we head into our final 2 months as a family of 3 [4 including Zoey, of course! Aurora never lets me forget to include her. :)], I can't help but look at this beautiful girl in disbelief. Disbelief that just over 7 years ago, I was trying to figure out how on Earth Jose and I were going to explain to our parents that I was pregnant before we were married. The disbelief I felt throughout most of my pregnancy that this was for real and, in just a few short months, it wouldn't be just the two of us ever again and that our lives would change forever. The disbelief I felt once we had her and that I could love something so freaking much. [Also the disbelief that I could love Jose anymore than I already did, because he was - and is - the world's most incredible daddy!] The disbelief I felt when I'd stare at her at any given point after that, in complete awe, that she is, in fact, my daughter. What the hell did I ever do to deserve her? The disbelief I felt at every little milestone. She has always been so freaking smart. She's always had this incredible personality - sassy, but still so sweet, always smiling (that smile gets me every time!), so expressive in anything she says or does (just like me, her face says it all!), so curious, so funny and witty, she gets along with and loves everyone she meets. Sometimes I stare at her and I can't believe she is already 6. Her hands, her feet, her facial features,... everything still seems so tiny to me. Other times, I can hardly believe she's only 6. She'll do or say something and I feel as though I'm dealing with an adult. She truly is a ray of sunshine. Even when she has her moments, I have to keep myself from laughing or smiling almost every time. I don't say all this because she is my daughter because, honestly, I feel like I've always done "okay" at this whole parenting thing. Jose is the real MVP when it comes to parenting and we've been so blessed to have our parents and grandparents involved in her life as well. She's been surrounded by so many incredible people that have helped to shape her into who she is. Someone I could not be any more proud of. Someone who I see as a better person than I could ever be. I try to teach her all that I can about life, but she'll never know how much she teaches me.

While it almost feels like the end of an era of it being "just the three of us," I am so unbelievably excited to bring another life into our home. I know this little man will have personality traits and quirks of his very own and I cannot wait to see how they add to our family. Jose and I were in such a different place in our lives before Aurora came along, but she has been our inspiration and our motivation to create a better life for ourselves. I can only imagine how much greater that feeling will be with this little dude. I swear, if I do nothing else with my life from this point forward [okay, well, like 2 months from now], I have already served my purpose in this place.

This post was brought to you by pregnancy hormones and a heart full of proud wife and mama emotions.

30 Weeks + Corn & Black Bean Quesadilla Recipe

Haha, forgot to crop out the slippers!

How far along? 30 weeks - 3/4 of the way there!

Maternity clothes: Maternity clothes + comfies is where it's at these days!

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Sleep was pretty good this week! Hoping it stays that way!

Best moment this week: Because I'm a really exciting person, I'd have to say the highlight of this past week was getting grocery shopping done yesterday by 11:30 a.m. Aaaand, I'm serious. Normally I lounge all day on Saturdays until I absolutely have to get up to get groceries, or I just push it off until Sunday. Yesterday, Jose had an eye appointment, so I figured I'd just get groceries then and it made a world of a difference! There was no one else there, so it went super quick, and once we were done, we had the whole day to do whatever else we wanted. It was great! Like I said, pretty exciting stuff going on over here!

Miss anything? I know I must sound like a broken record, but sweets! Today is the first official day of my 3-day diet for my sugar test on Wednesday, so I'm trying really hard to avoid any sweets aside from the extra things I'm suppose to be eating prior to the test. 

Movement: He's still going crazy in there!

Food cravings? So the Costco sampler lady sold me on some tortillas last weekend and I can't stop eating quesadillas. Just trying to use a minimal amount of cheese. Yummy recipe below!

Anything make you queasy or sick? Nope!

Gender: Boy

Labor signs: I feel like I may have had a few Braxton-Hicks contractions this week. Not sure since I never felt them with Aurora, but I've read that they're a common thing at this point in the pregnancy. They weren't anything too crazy, but just some discomfort.

Belly button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood most of the time: I feel like it's been better... maybe I'm just more aware...??? Maybe I'm totally lying too. But if I have been cranky, I promise it's due to my sugar test being rescheduled!

Looking forward to: Baby boy's arrival!

Total weight gain: ~25 lbs.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 of an onion
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1/4 C. salsa
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• cooked chicken breast, cubed (optional, I've made them with and without)
• shredded cheese
• tortillas

Directions

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add black beans, corn, salsa, cumin and chili powder (and chicken if you like!) and stir to combine. Reduce heat. For the tortillas, I use these Tortilla Land Uncooked Flour Tortillas, so I heat both sides of the tortilla on a griddle and, as the second side is cooking,  sprinkle a little shredded cheese on half of the tortilla. Then I spread some of the corn and black bean mixture on top of that, followed by a little more cheese. I fold the other half of the tortilla over and flip the quesadilla a couple times until the cheese is melted. Since this is technically half of a quesadilla, I make 2. You could also use one tortilla on the bottom and one on the top, but I have flipping issues, so making them separately is easier for me.

That is all my friends! Hope you all have a great week! XO 

21 Day Fix Pancake Recipe

So I seriously feel like the biggest hypocrite ever right now, blogging about eating healthy when I failed my Glucola test. But the truth is, I really do eat pretty healthy most of the time. I plan and prep healthy meals every week, but the junk food I snack on in between is what gets me off track. But! I'm proud to say [and kind of brag a little] that, since receiving the call last Wednesday that I failed my test [which came literally 5 minutes after I had just scarfed down 11 mini Reese cups], the only "junk" I've eaten is a piece of cherry pie and a handful of semi-sweet chocolate morsels. I know! [It should also be noted that I do plan on fully indulging in a piece if cake this Friday - with no regrets - as our office has it's monthly birthday celebration and I am one of the guests of honor. Don't mind if I do!]

Anywho, I was supposed to have my second, 4-hr long test this Friday and I seriously [like not even kidding!] almost started crying when they called yesterday and said the lab tech would be out on Friday and they had to reschedule my appointment to next week. The best day that works happens to be the day after my birthday, which means I'll be on the "special" diet for the three days leading up to that. I am totally not one to even care about my birthday, but the idea of not being able to do something makes me want it even more! Anyone else feel that way?

Getting on to the whole point of this post...

While I haven't craved anything in particular, sweets have been my worst enemy! And while I've been eating better, it's definitely been a struggle. One thing I've been craving lately is pancakes! About two weeks ago, I almost caved and drove myself to McDonalds for some hotcakes. Breakfast all day - holla! [Anyone who knows me personally and just imagined me saying that out loud, I'm sorry.] But then I remembered pinning a recipe a while back for some 21 Day Fix-approved pancakes, as that is the meal plan I'm trying to stick to as best as I can. I went back to look at the recipe and, surprisingly, I had all the ingredients it called for. And, it was a super quick recipe, which are the only kind I'll really attempt. So I whipped them bad boys up and, promise you, I loved them! I even made them for breakfast the following Sunday. Another humble brag: my flipping skills have been totally on point with these. Which also never happens. It has to be a sign!

So, three paragraphs later and I'm finally getting to the recipe:

21 Day Fix Approved Pancakes
Makes: 6, Serving size: 3 (21 Day Fix portions: 1/4 Yellow, 1/2 Red, 1 Purple, 1 tsp. for 100% Pure Maple Syrup)

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 banana
• 3/4 C. oats
• 1/2 C. unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1.      Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
2.      Pour onto a lightly greased griddle or griddle pan. (I used coconut oil cooking spray.)
3.      Cook until lightly brown on both sides
4.      Drizzle with 1 tsp. of 100% pure maple syrup (Optional, but what's a pancake without syrup really?)

So that's it my friends. If any of you tries these, I'd love to know your thoughts. 

Happy Wednesday! [OoOh, we're halfway there!]

29 Weeks

How far along? 29 weeks

Maternity clothes: Wearing mostly maternity clothes now... and baggy tees/sweatpants [part of my ploy to remain as sexy as possible throughout the remainder of my pregnancy]

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Still uncomfortable at times, but good for the most part. 

Best moment this week: This past week has been filled with a few highs and a low. Low: We said good-bye to my grandma on Saturday. She passed about 2 weeks ago and I'd really been okay with it up until her service [accepting that she was in a better place now, etc.], but saying good-bye is never an easy thing to do and the tears have to flow at some point and Saturday they sure did. Fortunately, I was, once again, reminded of how lucky I am to come from such a loving family and to be surrounded by so many loving, caring people. Also, I was reminded of how amazing our church family is for all they did for her service. So I would definitely consider those little reminders a high. Other highs: 1. I was able to be off work for a few days and spend some time with my family, 2. Jose and I went to a Sister Hazel concert in Chicago and I got to see one of my besties [and meet her s/o]! I got pretty exhausted and had to sit the last half out, but it was still a great time. Side note: Arriving in Chicago between 5-6 p.m. on a Friday is not particularly ideal. It took us an hour to go 7 miles! But as cheesy as it sounds, there is no other person I would've rather sat in traffic for an hour with than Jose. Somehow, looking back, that was my favorite part of our trip [gas station snacks, selfies, unified road rage,... really, what better way to sneak in some quality time together?].

Miss anything? Energy has still been pretty low, so there's that.

Movement: Still so many kicks from this little man! I love it!

Food cravings? So, confession time. Ya know how I've been bragging about starting to eat healthier? Well, I've been planning healthy meals, and sticking to them fairly well, but then still snacking on sweets in between. Apparently all that snacking has caught up with me because I had my Glucola test last Tuesday and failed. Yikes! I immediately dropped pretty much all sweets once I found out [I've had one piece of cherry pie and a few semi-sweet chocolate morsels since] and have even started working out a bit, which I hadn't been doing much of at all. I go back for the dreaded 4-hour test this Friday, so wish me luck! 

Anything make you queasy or sick? Nope!

Gender: Boy

Labor signs: No

Belly button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood most of the time: The mood swings still come and go, but I'm trying really hard to be more aware of them and manage them, so I'm not a total asshole. 

Looking forward to: This little boy's arrival and spending the whole summer with my babies. :) I really cannot believe that we're going to have another human being in our household in just a few short months. It's been Jose, Aurora and I for so long now that, even though I always knew I wanted more, it almost seemed strange that it would ever be anything other than just the three of us. I'm so excited, though, and I know Aurora is going to be the best big sister ever!

Total weight gain: ~25 lbs.

I realize that heading out for a funeral may not be the best time for a happy family photo opp, but it's been a looooong time since the three of us have all been dressed in anything other than play clothes or comfy sweats, so I have to take what I can get.

Have a great week, friends! XO