Pregnancy Diary {Week 41: Eating like it's my last meal- Recipes}

I somehow knew in my head and my heart that this little guy would be coming late. I was convinced from day one that I would have a 41-42 week pregnancy .... which has proven to be helpful as I am now in Week 42 waiting for him. I would love to go into labor on my own so we will see if that happens this week!!

In the mean time, my mom has arrived and we have been keeping busy!! So many little projects she is amazing at helping me get done (like re-organizing my cupboards and pantry, closets, bathroom, etc etc etc). In addition to many other thing, a few I will try to blog about this week.

The one thing we do love to do together is cook. We decided it would be fun to try new recipes while we are waiting for Baby M to arrive. Since we are so in love with the meals we ate last week,  I thought I would share with all of you. I've included the meals and links to recipes below, ranked in our favorite order. Note: The order was very hard to rank-- they were all AMAZING!

**Pictures to come. Blogger was acting up this morning. 

Grilled Vegetable and Fontina Pizza

Source: Cooking Light
Link: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-vegetable-pizza-50400000122500/ 
Notes: We added genoa salami to make it a meaty pizza for my husband. We also used Pilsbury pizza dough because we didn't have time to make our own, and it turned out fluffy and had a great smokey flavor. We followed the rest of the recipe exactly and it was AMAZING! 

Pasta With Zucchini and a Lemon Basil Sauce

Source: Our Best Bites
Link: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2012/07/zucchini-ribbon-pasta-with-light-creamy-lemon-basil-sauce/
Notes: We didn't ribbon the zucchini, we just quartered it to be the same size as the Ziti pasta we used. Served with Grilled Chicken Breast.

Salmon with a Corn Relish

Source: Kiley's Kitchen
Recipe:
1 Ear of corn (we cooked on BBQ and then sliced kernals off)
1 Avocado, chopped
1 cup cherry tomato halves
1/2 Red Onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Notes: We served with BBQ salmon and coconut rice and BBQ Pineapple. You can add/take away what you want from this recipe.

Herbed Shrimp and Bean Salad

Source: Cooking Light
Link: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/shrimp-white-bean-salad-50400000114428/
Notes: We followed the recipe as noted. It was fantastic, I loved how the flavors blended together and you could really taste the herbs.


I also had a sweet tooth this week, so we made a few of my favorite desserts.

Black and White

Source: Dewars
Recipe:
Dollop Hot Fudge Sauce
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
more hot fudge
chocolate ice cream
marshmallow cream
almonds/walnuts to top
Note: It's not worth making if you don't have the real Dewars Fudge and Marshmallow Sauce. My mom brought it with her from California to Chicago for me!!

Peach and Blueberry Crisp

Source: Cooking Light
Link: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/apple-cranberry-crisp-10000000521615/
Notes: This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. It's so easy to make and doesn't make me feel too guilty about dessert when I am just using in-season fruits :) I always adapt to what is in season.

Pregnancy Diary {40 Weeks}

Hi, yes, I'm still pregnant!

40 Weeks + 2 Days

40+ weeks and I am still plugging along. I love it when I get asked the question "How far along are you?" or "when is your baby due?" and I can say -- I'm 9 mos pregnant and my baby was due last Saturday. That usually gets me a pretty good response :)  Even my friends are getting anxious and wondering when our little guy will arrive. Trust me, I am too. But in the mean time, I'm trying to stay busy and not dwell on it!

- I walked to my last Dr's appt - it was a beautiful 80 degree weather day in Chicago with a light breeze and I absolutely loved the walk. It also helped me not feel guilty when I suggested M Burger for lunch and enjoyed a Strawberry Milkshake :)

- Last week, leading up to my due date, I had a few girls nights which helped the week go by fast and give me plenty of time to discuss all things L&D with some good friends in Chicago.

- Ryan and I saw The Dark Night on Friday July 20th. It was such a great movie and it was fun to squeeze in one more movie night with Ryan before our Baby comes. Although, if he's not here this weekend, we may try to go see another movie -- we'll see!

- Work last week was so busy. I actually didn't get everything done I had wanted to, but I was worn out and they will have to pick up where I left off. It feels so good this week to not be logging in and working!

- I haven't had too many problems with my feet swelling, but the last few weeks I have struggled with it. I didn't eat well over the weekend (at this point, I feel like I can eat whatever my heart desires....) and I think that contributed to some major cankles and swelling. I've been trying to keep my feet up and drink lots of water. They are a lot better than they were (thank goodness!). There's nothing worse than feeling huge and then looking down and realizing your feet are gross too. ugh.

- On Saturday July 21, my due date, my mom flew into town. She is wonder mom! We have been keeping busy with my list of 'to-do's before the baby comes. We've made it through the list and are now adding things to keep ourselves busy. She can help me get more done in 3 days than I could do in 1 year! Running errands can be exhausting but they are a lot more fun when you have a friend helping you!

- Another fun thing mom and I have been doing this week is trying new recipes. We already found 2 we LOVED and are excited to try a 3rd one tonight. I love getting new inspirations for recipes and especially healthy, light, summer recipes. Fresh veggies and fresh fruit in the summer are amazing. 

- Mom also brought me a treat from Bakersfield - the fudge and marshmallow sauce from Dewars. If you haven't been, you won't understand how amazing this stuff is, and that's ok. We made our own version of a black and white  ---- amazing. I can't wait to have another. Thanks, mom!!

- I am still swimming at the pool and loving having access to an outdoor pool. I don't make it to the gym as often as I was, but that's probably because I am getting around a little slower these days :) We've also had some really icky hot weather where even the pool didn't entice me to go outside.

- A friend of mine does massages and body work, and I asked if she could come by and do a little work on me to try and induce labor. Lucky for me, her niece was in town and offered to also do some reflexology on me. OMG. It was amazing! I have never felt so relaxed. It hasn't induced labor yet, but I am so grateful to them and their generosity to come over and help me relax and encourage our baby boy to come out!

- I was filling up the car with gas the other day, when a woman asked the question "when are you due"? A simple question, but one that got awkward quickly. She started asking more questions (from 10 feet away mind you) like, "How far are you dilated", etc? Wow, that's a little personal for the Costco gas station, lady! Haha. It's amazing how when you are pregnant people feel like they can ask you anything and tell you whatever they want...

- Still no name for Baby M. I think it's official we'll wait until we see him to make a decision. I'm so excited to meet our little guy I hope he hurries up and gets here!!

39 Weeks - in my favorite outfit. Pathetic, I know, but so comfy.

Maternity Photo Shoot

I feel so blessed to have enjoyed a wonderful 40 weeks of pregnancy. Not all of it has been bliss, but it has been such a unique and beautiful time in my life-- from the very beginning: finding out and sharing the best secret with my best friend, to sharing our secret with family and friends, to finally sharing it with the world (when my belly expanded!) -- it's truly an amazing thing to be pregnant. I've tried to embrace every part of it that I could. 

I loved the idea of capturing this special time in our lives, so I asked Tiffany Rebecca to do a Maternity Photo Shoot for us --- but not that awkward guy-kissing-wife's-belly-type of a shoot. I wanted more of a lifestyle shoot that could somehow show this exciting time in our relationship. I love Tiffany's style and her incredible ability to capture sweet and tender moments -- and that's exactly what she did (see above header photo).

To see her blog post on our session, and more of her work, click here:  TiffanyRebeccablog.com.

Thank you, Tiffany! I will always treasure these photos.

Date Night

We've been trying to take the advice of our friends and enjoy these last few nights out by ourselves while we can :)

Friday night date: We went to a really great Italian Restaurant-- I had the pear ravioli (YUM). Ryan bought me a gorgeous flower arrangement, we bought a few final items for Baby Boy M at Babies R Us, and had gelato for dessert!! It was a productive, relaxing, enjoyable summer night.

Pregnancy Diary {38 Weeks}

White Sox game - 38 weeks pregnant. 100+ heat index with humidity (yes, even at 10pm at night). The weather was awful but the company was amazing and I had a blast!! The constant ice from concessions helped too :)

38 Weeks and I am full term! For some reason that makes lots of people think I am going to give birth on the spot ... it doesn't really work that way! It's just a waiting game now -- whenever our little peanut wants to arrive. I am still thinking it's been a good strategy to assume he is going to come late because mentally I am fine with having a few more weeks on my 'clock'. We still have a number of things to check off our to-do list and I'm enjoying summer a bit too much still :) Here are a few highlights of the past few weeks (some of them noted already on this blog or on Facebook/etc so may not be new news but here we go):

-          I already talked about having Ryan's family in town-- they were here for 6 days and it was so fun to host them and show off our city! We love living here and we kept them very busy with lots of Chicago activities. We made our own Chicago Hot Dogs, and enjoyed family time at our condo as well. It's amazing how big our little condo felt after the 5 of them left! :) 

-          After the last ultra sound and knowing the approximate size of our little peanut, has really made things sink in. It's a good thing I have a "healthy baby- healthy attitude". I love knowing how baby M is positioned and feeling his little feet kick and knees roll around my stomach. 

-          Pregnancy brain -it's a real thing. I swear my brain can't connect the dots. I have a hard time putting sentences together and sounding like an intellectual woman. It's incredibly frustrating but I have essentially given up at this point. 

-          4th of July- We had a great day, but I had a meltdown by 8pm. I was so exhausted -- I just crashed. My sweet Ryan was so patient and concerned and did whatever he could to make me happy. My head hit the pillow that night and I was out. The next morning I woke up and thought "what was wrong with me last night?" And then I realized -- I'm 9 months pregnant and getting exhausted and emotional is absolutely normal. 

-          We went to our first baseball game of the season! It was a great game, Sox won, and we went with a group of friends that made the best out of an extremely hot and what could have been miserable game. 

-          I got invited to go to the Tim McGraw Kenny Chesney Concert! I don't listen to country as much lately, but I love love Tim and Kenny!! Some of their classic songs took me back to my high school days ----and they are such great performers! We had awesome seats and had a blast on a perfect Summer night at Soldier Field. 

-          I'm still loving our pool at the gym. Especially with this recent heatwave we had -- the hottest days we've had on record in Chicago for over 50 years -- Yuck!! The cool water feels good to cool me off and also helps soothe my sore legs and muscles and has become a great substitute for my 'normal' work outs. 

-          I went to dinner the other night and my server tried to convince me I needed a margerita. I kindly declined and pointed out my (very large) belly, and he asked "oh, when are you due?!" I smiled and said, in 2 weeks. His reponse? "No S***!" and then proceeded to rub my belly --  3 times! That's the first time a stranger has touched my belly --- it all happened so fast it didn't really phase me but was pretty funny. I think people expect full-term pregnant women to sit at home....but why would I do that? :) 

-          Over the weekend we started buying the final things we need (or think we need) for our little one. It's really happening! Any final advice tips for what to do once baby gets here is VERY appreciated!! 

-          I mentioned before that we don't have AC at our church building. After the heat wave this last week, church was pretty much unbearable. You could find me, along with my other 8 mos pregnant friends outside on the steps because it was cooler outside than it was in the building. We get points for showing up, right? Intentions were fully there...

Week 37- You've all seen this dress a few times now but it's sooo comfy and light!

Week 38 - Gotta love the LBD! Heels were maybe not a good decision but a girl just feels sexier in a pair of heels...

A Man's Shower

Surprise!!!

Ryan has some awesome co-workers who are super supportive of him and our family. They surprised him last week with a Baby Shower at the office -- complete with cake and presents!! I was not in on the surprise, but one of his co-workers texted me a few photos as the event unfolded.

Such a handsome daddy!

The whole crew.

A huge thanks to our ConAgra friends who are excited for us & showered us with generous gifts!

4th of July

I love this city and this flag!

I love the 4th of July holiday. The 4th means:

Freedom
Family
Friends
Fireworks
BBQ
Summer
Homemade Ice Cream
Memories
Swimming
Movies - superheros saving the world :)
Romance
Music - Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, Overture of 1812

I have so many fond memories of spending the 4th of July with my family -- it's one of those holidays that makes it hard to live far away from them. Ryan and I had a great 4th this year -- we went to the pool, went to a BBQ with friends, saw Spiderman, hung out with other friends, ate yummy gelato, and then finished our night with greek food and watching hundreds of fireworks shows from our apartment window while listening to the Capital 4th Special on PBS :)

Note: Sorry - no photos from our 4th celebrations. It was 100+ degrees and this pregnant mama was in no mood for pictures...

I can't wait for 4th of July 2013 when we get to spend this special holiday with our little man!! Just a few more weeks and we'll get to meet him. I can't wait.

Merrill Vacation in Chicago

We just had Ryan's family here for a week in Chicago -- let's just say it was more of an adventure than a vacation :) There's so much to see and do in Chicago that we definitely kept busy!!!

Architecture Tours (on a boat and walking tours in the city)
Family BBQ - complete with Goose Island Root Beer
Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory
Museum of Science and Industry
Deep Dish Pizza (Gluten Free for Jarron & Ty!)
Frank Lloyd Wright Tour in Oak Park
Chicago Summer Storms
Concert in Millennium Park & Picnic
9- mile bike ride on Lake Shore (add that to an 8 mile walk that day)
Shopping on Michigan Avenue (The Mag Mile)
Navy Pier - Stained Glass Museum and Fireworks
Church in a 1900s schoolhouse
Sunday Family Dinner - Ryan tried to BBQ in one of the biggest storms to hit this summer!
Neighborhood Tours through Wicker Park and Gold Coast
Old St Pat's church
Merchandise Mart
Lamborgini Dealership
Annette's Ice Cream and Scooters frozen custard
Hanging out in our condo

Whew! We really did do a lot while they were here!! The amazing thing is that there is still so much to do and see in Chicago that they will definitely need to come back and visit :)

I was able to do a lot of the things on this list -- I hope I didn't hold them back at all! I walk a little slower than normal and maybe needed a nap here and there, but we had a really great time having them in our city! Unfortunately, I did not take many photos (I'm not much a photo taker these days with my 9 month pregnant belly), but here are just a few.

The Orchid Room at the Lincoln Park Conservatory

Millennium Park - Going on a bike ride! (I was sad I couldn't go!)

Tiffany Stained Glass - Navy Pier Stained Glass Museum

Dark photo - but watching Fireworks at Navy Pier

Old St Pat's Cathedral - One of my favorite Chicago Buildings.

Lamborghini Dealership -- guy time amongst all the churches and historic tours :)

Gold Coast Historic Walking Tour. Love this building.

Merchandise Mart - Awesome sign, Shirt made from tile, historic Art Deco Building.

Thanks for coming to see us!! Please come back soon! We'll have another reason to come very very soon! :)

{Pregnancy Diary} 36 Weeks

Only 4 weeks to go!!

36 Weeks

- We took maternity/lifestyle photo shoot and got a sneak peak at the results (see my new photo heading?!). My girl friend Tiffany is a beautiful photographer and captured this moment so perfectly. I can't wait to see the rest!! I also can't wait for her to do our newborn photo shoot of my little man!

- We finally ordered a crib. I feel like it was one of those things that took us forever to decide on one and finally order it. Ryan's excitement showed through when he brought it inside and immediately started putting it together! It's in our little nook and ready for Jr to arrive.

- I bought a 40lb watermelon. And pretty much ate the whole thing myself. I bought it for a BBQ, but there happened to be lots of fruit there, so we brought most of it home. And then I ate most of it... Ryan helped, but let's be honest, I ate it every chance I got. So delicious.

- We had our final ultra sound! I love getting to watch baby boy move around. At this point, he is so big that we could only see parts of him at a time, but it's so comforting to know that he is growing healthy and strong. We also learned that he is currently 6lbs. Growing at a rate of .5 lbs/week, we are going to have a healthy, large baby boy at delivery!

- Overall, I'm still feeling pretty good. I get frustrated about aches and pains here and there, but for the most part I am amazed at what my body can do and how good I can feel with all this extra weight and changes going on.

- I'm thirsty all the time. I can drink a liter of water in 30 minutes... and still be thirsty. I just keep drinking and drinking. Which I know is good, but annoying when I have to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes :)

- I haven't really had many cravings -- just always wanting fruit. But the other day I was craving a hot dog for 2 hours before I finally told Ryan we had to go get one! It was delicious.

- It's summer in Chicago which means church is super hot (we currently go to church in a school built in 1900-- with no central AC). I typically just sweat all through sacrament meeting. My secret weapon is a stash of otter pops in the freezer that I can grab as I need them. 

- I'm going to miss pregnancy hair. I haven't noticed it to be super voluminous, but it doesn't get as oily as it used to, which has made a big difference for low maintenance locks! I also decided to highlight my hair ... which I haven't done in years, but I'm loving the subtle change.

- I hit my wall. Literally the day I 'turned' to 36 weeks, I called my mom and said "I'm done". I'm over being pregnant. I feel big and slow and tired, and I'm over it. That day was a rough day -- my hormones were crazy, emotions at the surface, and let's just say I'm grateful for a patient and loving husband, and patient understanding friends who helped me through that day!
 

Just after getting my hair done -- it was so hot!

34 Weeks

35 Weeks

{Pregnancy Diary} Travel With Baby

When I stop to think about how much I have traveled with JR already -- it adds up!

Utah
Virginia
California (Twice!)
Florida
New York
Washington D.C.
Maryland
Wisconsin
Michigan
Indiana (driving through)

Admittedly, some flights were better than others. This one, in particular, had us sitting on the plane through a hail storm for 4 hours, only to find out our flight would be cancelled. We would have to return to the airport at 7 am (getting only 5 hours of sleep). Ugh. At 7 months Pregnant, it was not my favorite experience.

That equals 7 round-trip flights and 10 states! I know our travel will change a little bit once JR arrives, but I am hoping we can continue to explore and see our families as much as possible! One of the flight attendants on an American Airlines flight gave me a Junior Aviator Logbook --it was really sweet, and I think she was just grateful I wasn't full term and going to deliver a baby on her flight :)

On our way to CA!

Chicago Summmers

Chicago summers are the best. 

City Views from a rooftop BBQ.

The weather is gorgeous (unless hot and humid....which happens sometimes but not all the time)
Summer Fridays (Ryan gets off work at 2pm!!!)
Road Trips - we love exploring the Midwest
We walk everywhere and sometimes just go on walks for the fun of it.
Street festivals
Music Festivals
Art Festivals
Frozen custard
Ice Cream
Frozen Yogurt
Snow Cones
Otter Pops
Fresh Summer Fruit (Watermelon... delicious)
Baseball games
Going to the Pool (a new one for us!)
Chicago Beaches (not a real beach, but as close as we can get!)
BBQs (almost every day at our house)
BBQs with friends (rooftop, suburbs, anywhere outdoors with great company!)
Hanging out in the park
Movies in the park
Concerts in the park
Workouts in the park
Hot Dogs
Patio Eating at amazing restaurants
Visitors!

--- there is always more to do than one can choose!

We absolutely love it and are excited to enjoy an amazing summer in Chicago before Baby M arrives. Our schedule has been busy the past few weeks but we have been savoring our city and everything it has to offer!

I'm obsessed with going to the pool. Its like home for me (a former lifeguard and swim instructor for 6 years)

Chicago Style Hot Dogs - always a good choice.

This is me a little unsure about having my photo taken with such a large dessert ---- it was delicious!

Our Final Pre-Baby Trip: Green Bay and Door County

Ryan and I have talked about spending some time in Green Bay and especially Door County for a long time now -- it is known as the Cape Cod of the Midwest! While this trip didn't give us a lot of time in Northern Wisconsin, we did get a flavor for what it's all about. -- including Green Bay's Main attraction:

Ryan told me Green Bay was a small town, and really the only thing there was the Packers --- but I didn't really believe him... until we got there. Really, people, the only thing there is Lambeau Field! But don't worry - it is a beautiful stadium, and the museum inside was worth the admission price (for those of us that enjoy American football).

We drove through Green Bay in just a few short minutes and then headed on our way to explore Door County. In case you don't know Door County -- here is a visual (click on it to see it bigger):

The drive was beautiful -- full of quaint mid-west countryside with Cheese Stands, Country stores, Cherry Vineyards and many adorable red barns. There's something about living in the city that makes you appreciate all this open space and natural beauty of the Midwest.

A little blurry, but we were driving through...

Sturgeon Bay

Sturgeon Bay Downtown

Countryside.

We stopped to have lunch in Egg Harbor where we found a local grocery store, grabbed some panini's, cheese curds, pasta salad, cherry gummies and local Wisconsin sodas and headed for the best view around.

Lake Michigan looks better here than in Chicago!

Love this.

The weather was PERFECT.

Door County was just as charming as I had hoped and I look forward to a long weekend trip back to go visit and explore more Michigan Lakeside towns.

Where else would you rather be?

Love in Green Bay!

A few years ago I went on a BYU Study Abroad in London. It was an amazing opportunity I got to share with my little sister, and also a chance to meet some incredible people who I am fortunate enough to still call my friends!! Although we don't live close, we still try to keep in touch and blogs and facebook help us follow each other around the country. One of these friends has kept her roots in the Midwest, and since Ryan and I have new roots in the Midwest, it's helped us stay in touch :)

Dinner at Publican in Chicago August 2011

Last fall Kim came to Chicago with her then-boyfriend and we met for dinner. It was so fun to catch up with her and meet this great guy that she had fallen for. (We had many long talks in London about love, life and our futures). I was thrilled when I learned these two were engaged, and even more excited to celebrate with them! We couldn't make it to California for the ceremony, but jumped at the chance to drive to Green Bay to congratulate them and celebrate with fireworks at their local country club.

Stolen off of facebook --from their Wedding day.

The reception was gorgeous, the bride was glowing, and we loved the chance to catch up with them, hear all about their big day and future plans. Unfortunately, we had a camera snafu and most of my pictures from the reception are gone :( I still have the photo booth photos though!!

I loved the table decorations -- my only picture that survived from that night!

The photo booth was super fun, as always :)

We look forward to many more rendezvous with the Haldemans in the future!

A Shower for Baby M

Two of my dear friends in Chicago planned a beautiful shower to celebrate Baby M. It was wonderful -- full of amazing food, great friends and lots of laughter and love (and cute presents)! I'm truly blessed to have wonderful friends here in Chicago showing us so much love and support during this happy time! My friend Tiffany, was super sweet to take a few pictures to capture the day.

The decorations and food were beautiful!

 

Yes, that's me diving into the food-- It was so delicious!

I loved reading all of the wishes!

Add caption

The Lobster rolls were to die for!

I may or may not have had a small coke...

Thank you!!