Wordless Wednesday!

Memorial Day fun...

He got upset because we put his floaties on...ugh!

Handsome hubby!

It got a little chilly!

Bumpdate: 25 Weeks!

Madison is the size of a head of cauliflower....13.6-14.8 inches long and 1.5-2.5 pounds! So big already!

This is as close to the bathroom bump picture for this week as it's going to get. I'm looking like s**t today and that isn't going to change.

-Due Date: September 11

-Weight Gain: I will find out my new weight on Friday.

-Gender: GIRL! Madison Kay.

-Movement: Tons of movement lately and I love it. This is my favorite part of pregnancy...feeling those little movements all day long! Hubby finally got to feel her move and I think he is the only father that thinks it's weird.

-Clothing: Maternity everything. It's basically the only thing that is comfortable. Now I need to invest in a few more pieces because the same 6 shirts are getting really old!!

-Cravings: No cravings this week really. Although some Yogurtland sounds pretty good right about now.

-Overall Feeling: My back has been hurting and I have had some trouble sleeping but for the most part, I am pretty good. The trouble sleeping has made me a little more sleepy during the days but I try to rest while Brayden naps. As for my back, I just can't be on my feet too long...my poor back needs rest. I'm not looking forward to the back pain at 39 weeks!!

-Fears: Time management and multi-tasking. I know that when I have 2, I will have twice the responsibility. This means figuring out how to stop two kids from crying, dealing with a tantrum while feeding a newborn and so on. I fear the days that I want to rip my hair out. I know I will have them, just like any other mom, but I also know that I won't get my regular "me" time while Brayden naps. Thankfully I will have my hubby home more and he will be able to keep my head level and keep Brayden taken care of when I am busy with Madison.

I am really excited because hubby just said that we should start getting the rooms switched. We have to turn our master bedroom into the nursery and our large 3rd bedroom, used as a den now, will become our master bedroom. I really want to get things started so I can get things ready for Madison. I love being prepared so having the nursery perfect with clothes cleaned and folded/hung will make me feel so much better! Can't wait!

22 Months!

Ahhh! In less than two months, my sweet boy will officially be 2!! I can't even believe it. Sometimes when he cuddles up against me, I remember those days when he didn't yet crawl, walk or run and would just rest against me all day. Those days were awesome but honestly, these days are just as awesome. Brayden is so incredibly smart and funny! He is constantly wowing us with his knowledge and sentences and then cracks us up when something like this happens: 

Me: "Hey bud, it's time to go home."

Brayden: "No, I'm sleeping." As he rests his head against a pillow at my parent's house.

Or this:

Brayden is playing in the backyard and grabs this owl my mom keeps on the back porch. He says to the owl "come on owl!" like they are best friends.

So stinking cute!

He is also turning into quite the little toddler with a toddler attitude at times. His favorite word is "no" and he has decided to tell me that when I tell him to do something. That doesn't usually go over very well. The tantrums, or getting in trouble and crying over it, doesn't last long and he is back with a smile on his face and playing with his toys.

Likes:

-Elmo

-PBS Kids

-Disney Junior

-fruit

-any carbs

-broccoli

-green beans

-"potatoes" which are both actual potatoes as well as tomatoes!

-water...playing and drinking

-milk

-drawing...he recently took a pen to our couch and drew on every cushion...yeah, that wasn't a good morning!

-running

-singing

-swinging (he didn't like the swing for a while but now he is back to liking it)

-swimming

-giving "squeezes" or hugs as normal people call them

-movies...Tangled and The Lion King are his two current favorites

-playing with shapes and cars and puzzles

-being in just a diaper

-bubbles

-being outside

Dislikes:

-going home...he won't say goodbye to family to avoid leaving their house

-going to bed...he whines when I tell him it's time but once he gets in bed and I shut the door, I don't hear a peep

-changing his diaper

-putting on sunscreen

-wearing hats indoors

-seeing other people or babies cry. He gets really upset and wants them to stop crying. My sweet boy has such a big heart!

-getting in trouble (obviously)

-changing his clothes

-getting out of bed in a hurry in the mornings. He loves to stay in his crib for about 30 minutes after waking up and just play. When we have to hurry out the door in the mornings, he tends to be a little grouchy.

Honestly though, Brayden is at such an awesome stage. Hubby really enjoys playing with him and just said to me the other morning how much fun Brayden is. We couldn't ask for a better little boy and we can't wait for him to be a big brother! We know he will be great!

Bumpdate: 24 Weeks!

Baby Madison is now the size of a cantaloupe!! I think that's huge already! She is between 10.5 and 11.8 inches long and weighs about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces. According to The Bump, she is also starting to look more like a baby since her skin is becoming more opaque. No more alien baby!

My bump is getting way more obvious! As you can tell, my non-maternity shirts are starting to creep up in the front...yikes!

-Due Date: September 11

-Weight Gain: I go to the doctor on the 31st so I won't have a weight update until after that.

-Gender: GIRL! Want to see our gender reveal? Click here! *Things like this headband are KILLING me! So adorable!*

-Movement: She is moving up a storm in here! I swear she is doing somersaults and entire gymnastics routines! My mom got to feel her move this last week so I am excited for hubby to come home tonight and feel her moving!

-Clothing: I am wearing mostly all maternity pants and shirts but I only have so much so I am still trying to wear my regular stuff if I can. I should just go shopping for more maternity clothes but it's just so dang expensive!

-Cravings: I had another craving for shrimp tacos!! Luckily I didn't have to wait long to satisfy my craving this time. I went to dinner with a friend last night and had amazing shrimp tacos from Fred's! Delish!

-Overall Feeling: I feel pretty good except my back has started hurting. I was expecting this because I had the same pain with Brayden but it's not fun to have to stand for long periods of time! Also, I am coming down with a cold right now and I am just hoping it doesn't get much worse. I don't like to take any medicines when I am pregnant so I am just loading up on fruits, liquids and Vitamin C. Cross your fingers that this goes away quickly and doesn't get anyone else sick!

-Fears: I don't have any new fears this week and actually, one of my fears has kind of been put at ease. I recently watched a friend's 7-month old boy for a whole day and it went really well! Brayden was very sweet to him and we did great all day! That really made me feel better about how Brayden might react when Madison comes.

Wordless Wednesday

I am so excited about my first-ever rug purchase!! After hearing about a 50% off sale at RugsUSA.com I decided to go check it out. I had read some other blog posts mentioning the same website before so I knew I would be getting a great rug. I found the perfect rug in the perfect color and it was only $150 for a 5x8....such a great price! Most other rugs I had been looking at were in the $250-$300 range and I was just not willing to spend that much money on something that would lay on my floor. After ordering my rug, I kept an eye out for a shipping email. Funny thing...I got the shipping email and the rug delivered on the same day!! I don't know if it's because of where we live or if the website is just THAT fast but I was one happy lady! And know this little gem is living in my front room.

It goes perfect with the art we have on the wall and the pillows on the couch. We are NO WHERE near finished with this room but I tend to take my time when decorating. I can't spend a ton of money at one time and I am generally pretty picky about the things I buy. As for now, this rug has made a HUGE difference in the room and I couldn't be happier!

Bumpdate: 23 Weeks!

Another week has come and gone! I am definitely growing and starting to feel a little large. Madison is now a solid pound and the lungs are preparing for breathing. So crazy to read all the things our bodies do to create a new human! I am still amazed by it all! 

-Due Date: September 11

-Weight Gain: I am up 9 from my pre-pregnancy weight.

-Gender: Girl! Every time I go to Target, I look at all the little girl clothing. I get overwhelmed and excited at the same time! So much cute stuff...but SO MUCH!!!

-Movement: Even more movement this week; especially in the mornings. I am looking forward to the days with constant movement! I love that feeling!

-Clothing: I am mostly into maternity clothes with the exception of a pair of jeans and obviously my skirts and some dresses. I did buy myself two new maternity shirts today! I don't like to buy maternity stuff because it's so expensive and I know I only get to wear it for a new months. Today however, I felt like I needed to expand my options a bit and the shirts were on sale for only $10. Can't pass up a deal like that!

-Cravings: I have wanted Yougurtland for the last week or so. I might just have to get some tomorrow...

-Overall Feeling: Most of the time I feel great. Today my back started really hurting but I think that was from cleaning my apartment floors and then walking around Target for an hour. I am getting tired now so I try to rest during Brayden's naps and hopefully I can take a nap once in a while.

-Fears: Today a 10 month old baby girl came over for a few minutes and Brayden was not happy. Immediately wanted my attention and didn't want the little girl to play with his toys. This makes me very nervous for when Madison comes. I know we will deal with the jealousy for a while but I just hope it's something that won't compromise the lovely newborn stage. I loved just sitting and watching Brayden and I know I will have less of that with Madison but I hope I still get that a little bit. We are crossing our fingers that Brayden adjusts quickly.

Mother's Day!

My Mother's Day was amazing. I spent the day in the pool with lemonade in my hand relaxing. Brayden also spent the whole day in the pool swimming around like a crazy child! Since we started swim lessons, he has gotten so comfortable in the water and actually tries to swim away from whoever is holding onto him. He really thinks he can swim on his own. Silly boy! Instead of rambling on about the rest of my day, here are the million photos I took to document the shenanigans! 

The floaty doesn't last long...he would rather be held by someone!

Jumping off the edge!

Splashing of course!

Haha! He only "jumped" off the high ledge once...he wasn't a fan!

Playing with Daddy!

Me with my Grandma and our fancy hats!

Hubby wanted a fancy hat too...so he got the floaty haha!

Of course we played cornhole!

And this was his very short break playing inside. I think it lasted about 10 minutes and he wanted to go back in the pool.

Needless to say, we had an awesome day. I loved spending it with my mother. She is everything a role model can be. I seriously aspire to be so much like her, not only as a mother but as a person. It was perfect to spend the day by her side and watch my crazy son play with his daddy.

Recipe: Peach Cobbler Dump Cake

This was by far my favorite new recipe of the night! Amazingly easy and absolutely to-die-for! Even the hubby said it satisfied his Peach Cobbler craving...and that's saying a lot! Hubby has really high standards for stuff like this. He is from the south and of course everything there is delicious and filled with butter! This recipe was so good, he even had two servings (and so did I!!)

Here is what you need:
-2 (16 oz) cans of peaches in heavy syrup
-1 (18.25 oz) box of yellow cake mix
-1 stick (1/2 C) of salted butter
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
That's all!!

Directions:
1. Pour canned peaches with syrup on the bottom of an 9x13 baking dish. (No need to spray with oil) *Side note: I didn't use all the syrup. I dumped out about 3/4 of the syrup from one can and used all from the other can.

2. Pour dry cake mix on top of the peaches. Press down on the cake mix. *Don't skip this step. I didn't do a very good job and there were a few spots where the cake mix was dry after baking. Not a huge deal but you wouldn't want that to happen all over your dessert.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon. I didn't measure the cinnamon because I am lazy so I just sprinkled some over the top of the dish until I thought it looked like enough. You can always add more after baking. Cut butter stick into 12 pieces and place evenly across the cake mix.

4. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes (uncovered)

We topped the dessert with some vanilla bean ice cream and it was amazing!!

Original recipe from Six Sister's Stuff.

Recipe: Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

This is super easy and it is a family pleaser...even with the spinach, my toddler ate it!
(*Note: Again, this is NOT my recipe. I found this on Pinterest and used the original recipe from the coordinating website. I will have the link to the original recipe at the bottom of this page.)

Here is what you need:
-8 oz. uncooked Rigatoni
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 C chopped onion
-1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach, thawed
-3 C cubed chicken breasts, cooked (I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store I already had. Bonus, I didn't have to cook chicken and it was very tender. This is recommended by me!)
-1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomato, undrained
-1 (8 oz) container Philadalphia chive and onion cream cheese
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1.5 C mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Begin to prepare the Rigatoni according to box. Spread oil on bottom of 11x7 baking dish and add the onioin. Bake the onion at 375 for 15 minutes. Transfer onion to large mixing bowl, set aside.
2. Drain and dry the spinach with paper towels. Stir Rigatoni noodles, spinach, chicken, can of tomatoes, cream cheese, salt and pepper into onion bowl. Mix well.
3. Spoon mixture into the baking dish used for the onions and sprinkle the top with cheese. Bake covered with foil at 375 for 30 minutes and uncovered for additional 15 minutes. *Side note: I wish I would have just left it covered the whole time. The noodles that were on the top layer got a little hard. *

That's it though, very easy! And while it was baking, I cleaned up the dishes used so at the end of the meal, all we had to clean was the baking dish! Even better.

The original recipe was from Saving Money Living Life.

Recipe: Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits

So if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you will have already seen that I made a pretty delicious meal last night. As I have mentioned before, hubby is only home on the weekends right now so I wanted to make him something special. I started off with these Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits. (*Note: This is NOT my recipe, I found it on Pinterest and then used the original recipe from the coordinating website. I will have the link to the website at the bottom of my page.)

Okay onto the Cheddar Biscuits. Hubby mentioned last week that we should go to Red Lobster so we could eat some of the biscuits. We didn't end up going and so when I found a copycat recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it. I have never made biscuits from scratch before and it was super easy so I am sure ANYONE can make these!

Here is what you need:
Biscuit
-1.5 C all-purpose flour
-1.5 C cake flour
-1 tbsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp salt
-2 tsp garlic powder
-12 tbsp (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1.2 inch pieces
-2 C cheddar cheese
-1.5 C buttermilk
Garlic Butter Topping
-4 tbsp (1/2 stick) salted butter
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp dried parsley

Directions:
1. Place oven rack in the upper-middle position and preheat to 425. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and garlic powder until combined. (I just used a fork to combine it all.) Add the cubed butter and use fingers to rub it into the flour mixture. It will be chunky but try to break up the butter pieces evenly. Add in the shredded cheese and use fork to combine. Add in the buttermilk and use fork to combine.

3. Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop out the dough and place it on the baking sheet. Bake biscuits for 10 minutes. (While they are baking, make the butter topping mixture; directions below.) Remove from oven and brush with butter topping and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Butter Topping Directions:
-In a small sauce pan, combine butter and minced garlic on medium heat. Stir until butter is melted and garlic is fragrant. (1-2 minutes) Add the garlic powder and dried parsley  and stir to combine.

 DONE!  Easy and quick and they are seriously delicious!
This is the link to the original recipe by Portugese Girl Cooks: Scratch Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

Bumpdate: 22 Weeks!

Madison is growing so fast already!! She is now 11 inches and weighs 1 pound (about the size of a large mango)! It's so crazy that I am more than half done with this pregnancy and that I only have 18 weeks left....if I make it to 40 weeks! I am kind of starting to freak out...

-Due Date: September 11

-Weight Gain: I am up 9 pounds from my starting weight. Not too bad but I definitely need to work on eating more healthy food and concentrate on feeding my body foods that will benefit me and Madison. I have been eating way too much processed food lately and that really needs to be controlled!

-Gender: GIRL! And of course I am addicted to looking at Zulily each morning and they have some seriously cute girl stuff. I might be in trouble!

-Movement: Still tons of movement and I am loving it.

-Clothing: Whelp, I may be losing my regular pants pretty soon. They still fit but they are so unzipped when I wear them that I fear people can see my zipper...or worse...undies! Yikes! I always pull my shirt way down to avoid this but it would be nice to not worry about it!

-Cravings: Not many cravings. We will see if some cravings come in the next 18 weeks but they haven't been nearly as strong as they were when I was pregnant with Brayden.

-Overall Feeling: I feel great. I know I am so lucky because I have known a few friends that had girls and had absolutely miserable pregnancies.

-Fears: Getting everything done. I have so much to do before Madison comes and there isn't much I can do about it right now because hubby is gone all week and only home on the weekends for about 6 more weeks. I need things to be taken out to our garage, furniture moved, furniture put together, a closet redone and so on. I am excited to get these things done but I hate that I can't do any of it right now.

On a really exciting note, I got my new Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag in the mail today!!! I am so pumped about this bag but I am going to wait to use it until Madison comes. I want it to still feel new in 17 weeks when she gets here!

Bumpdate: 21 Weeks!

Baby Madison is now the size of a pomegranate and is about 10.5 inches and 12.7 ounces. She can taste now which makes sense! In the ultrasound we saw her swallowing!

-Due Date: September 11

-Weight Gain: I see the doc on Thursday so I will have an update for my weight next week.

-Gender: GIRL! And I get to shop for adorable things like this!!! *Swoon*

-Movement: Tons of movement way down low. Can't wait for the hubby to feel her!

-Clothing: Wearing mostly maternity shirts and still wearing both maternity and regular pants.

-Cravings: Not too many cravings this week yet. I did buy some hot, caffeine-free tea though and I don't usually have that.

-Overall Feeling: I am definitely tired this week from all the partying over the weekend. I am still managing to be productive so that's good!

-Fears: I still have the same fears as last week but recently Brayden has shown interest in potty training. I am scared to potty train! Haha. I just know that it will be full of excitement and struggles. Obviously though it would be amazing to only have Madison in diapers!

I am really excited to start planning the baby shower and getting things ready for baby Madison. I can't wait to get the nursery going and see how it all comes together...hopefully it looks the way it does in my head!  I have TONS of cleaning and organizing to do before Madison gets here so I think once I get going, it will all come together quickly.

AANNNDDD, I am now the proud new owner of the amazing diaper bag on the left! So excited to have a backpack diaper bag that will give me two free hands! Also, the art on the right is my inspiration for Madison's nursery. I don't like the saying on it at all but all the colors and the birds and the general feel of the art is perfect! Here is to hoping I can find what I am looking for or I might need to find someone that can paint this on a really large canvas. (Fingers crossed!) 

Wordless Wednesday!

So proud to have a sister I can call my best friend!! And she's crazy...LOVE HER!

 My big boy reading in a chair like it's no big deal...*tear*

He fell asleep on me at the engagement party at 7:45! That's what happens when you don't nap all day!

Working hard on his alphabet puzzle

Always has to be touching Mommy!