Week 36..."Sew" much fun:)

"Sew" much fun...nice play on words, right? Humor me if you don't think so. I finished up my bibs this weekend. The "droolers" got pearl snap closures and the bigger bibs have velcro. I have no strategic reason for this. It's just what I felt like doing. Here is a sampling of the burpies and bibs I mass produced for our baby. I love the fabrics I found for our surprise baby. Once I finished my crazed craft project, I believe the final count was 20 burpies, 4 droolers, and 6 bibs. Crazy, right? Hello, nesting...Katie style.

I adore this owl and apple fabric!

  

We have a new addition to our family! A beautiful, blue mixer. We received one as a wedding gift, but wanted to exchange it for a different model. I returned it, but put off replacing it for way too long. I finally decided we wouldn't be ready to be parents until we had one. Obviously. It fits perfect in the kitchen! I haven't used it yet. I'm waiting on a recipe to inspire me...

Speaking of recipes and cream cheese...King Cake! This wondefully traditional Louisiana dessert is not available in Ohio. I have heard of some being made...but I would never eat one made up here. A fellow Techster and speechster, Carolyn Rainwater, has this fantastic blog where she posts tons of fun recipes. She recently posted this super easy King Cake recipe and we tried it out tonight! It does not disappoint this southern food snob:) I plan on making it with my patients at our Mardi Gras party next week! Yes, I am having a Mardi Gras party at the assisted living facility I work at. And no, we will not make the residents flash us for beads. There is enough flashing without incentives...

So I am a terrible person, I forgot to take before pictures of the laundry room. Ryan did such an amazing job and I wish you could see the before...but here is the after! The colors match the walls and trim in wood floor room. Before, they were an awful ivory color with random stains and smudges everywere. The floor was a disgusting, greenish linoleum type material. Now...a fun tile! Ryan is currently finishing the shutter doors and then the laundry room project will be complete!

Week 36 is here! Just when I think my stomach can't stretch anymore...it does. Now that we are getting down to crunch time, my body is experiencing all kinds of fun things. Ok, some are not so fun. But feeling my baby wiggle around is still just as fun as the first kick I felt:) The baby's room is almost done! We are waiting on a shelf, slipcover, and lamp. I have decided to save the wall art until baby gets here. I will take some pictures soon!

Hope everyone has a great week! Ours will probably be very snowy...and maybe a little icy. Be glad if you live in the south...

Mardi Gras and more!

This is a catch up picture post. I finally decided to upload pictures from my camera! The first few are from Christmas. I'm not too far behind...it's not February yet:)

The McCormick boys made it impossible to get a picture with all 3 looking in the same direction...

How cute is Landen? Super cute, I know. She is growing up so fast! Everytime we see her, she has fun new tricks. But...she needs to slow it down. I don't get to see her often enough for her to grow this fast.

Here are a few of the bibs I've been making. These are "droolers." I discovered them in my recent Etsy search, so I ordered one to see what all the fuss was about.

These bibs are shorter and meant for the drooling moments instead of feedings. I didn't make too many, but they are super cute!

And now...Mardi Gras madness! I had an amazing Mardi Gras baby shower this weekend. And, I remembered my camera! And, I remembered to take pictures with it! My friends did such a great job with decorations and amazing food and fun games:) Here are a few pics...

How festive is this diaper cake?! It makes a great centerpiece on our table for Mardi Gras season:)

King Cake, straight from New Orleans!

Nicole made Dirty Rice Balls...and they tasted fantastic! She had a few challenges...but I think she did a wonderful job. She used the recipe that I blogged about last year. She would like for everyone to know that she needed more than 2 eggs for the batter. Nicole would recommend 4:)

Gina invited "Piper and Hayes" to the shower. They had a lot of fun. Here they are before the "parade".....

and after the "parade." Everyone got to cast a vote with their beads for boy or girl. Boy won...

I had great help opening my gifts:)

The wonderful hostesses!

Week 35, here we come. Fluid retention is at an all time high, regardless of the drastic decrease in sodium. According to the doctor, this is normal. Unfortunate, but normal. I get so annoyed by it because it fluctuates so much. One hour, I look normal. The next...4 times my normal size. Ugh.

Ryan is finishing up the amazing laundry room renovation. Of course, I didn't take before pictures. But I will post after pictures! On the agenda for this week...a diaper shower with Ryan's co-workers! And maybe fish tacos...

Enjoy your week!

Baked Macaroni!

Tonight...a fun recipe. And this one is low sodium! I found it on the Mayo Clinic's website in my search for food less likely to make my feet swell to twice their normal size.

Baked Macaroni

14 oz whole wheat pasta (I use rotini...it tastes the least like cardboard)
1 lb extra lean beef
1 onion, choppped
2 jars low sodium spaghetti sauce (The "heart smart" kind usually has the least sodium)
Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350. Cook your pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Cook the beef and onion together and drain the fat. Add the pasta and spaghetti sauce to the meat and onion mixture. Mix together and pour in a greased dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until warm and bubbly. Top with parmesan cheese!

And we have reached week 34! Is it possible to stretch anymore? I know it is...I just don't want it to happen. Ryan and I have been "nesting" lately. My nesting consists more of crafting. I recently mass produced burpies and bibs. I will try to get pictures of the super cute bibs up this week. I know Ryan loved how I took over the living room for most of this project. Next on the agenda...applique.

We have been watching DIY network like crazy lately. It seems to have had quite the impact on Ryan...he started re-doing our laundry room. It is without a doubt the ugliest room in our house. Today, Ryan ripped out the awful floor, cleared the shelves, took the doors off the hinges for a re-do, and prepped the walls for painting. Should be fun to see how that turns out:) I'll try to get a picture before the painting so you can see how awful it is and appreciate this last trimester renovation even more. So our "nesting" seems to consist of creating and renovating...not cleaning. Well...we clean as we make messes creating and renovating.

Ryan has been quite the trooper through this entire pregnancy...but especially these last few weeks. I seem to be more prone to panic attacks over silly things and he has learned to avoid telling me to "calm down." That phrase always has the opposite effect on me. People say the most insane things to pregnant women. It makes me worry that I said the same things before but I know I won't make those mistakes again. Let me just say...no woman ever likes to hear comments about her weight or appearance...especially when she is pregnant and her hormones are on speed. Pregnant women...especially first time pregnant women...don't like to hear other people's horror stories. We are paranoid enough, don't give us more reason to be. Unwarranted advice is really not needed. And...it is ALWAYS okay to tell a pregnant woman how cute she is. She would much rather hear that instead of hearing how huge she is or how she is going to pop any day or how she has bad taste in names or how she has silly ideas about labor and delivery or how huge she is, etc, etc, etc...Just a thought:) I seem to have trouble keeping those to myself these days...

On to happier things, I have a baby shower this weekend! I am so excited...it is a Mardi Gras party! I love that my Ohio friends are putting so much effort into planning a party perfect for a Louisiana girl. I promise to bring my camera so I can get lots of pictures.

More happiness....my life is filled with pregnant friends! 7 to be exact. Most of these pregnancies are brand new, so pray for a safe first trimester. 2 of these friends are expecting twins! That is 9 babies in 2011...so far:) Another college friend is in the process of adopting and will hopefully have a beautiful 2 year old girl in her arms in the upcoming months. The miracle of life seems to be abundant these days!

Ok...time to publish this post. I think I have written enough for one night. Have a great week!

I think I'm pulling a Kristin...

So here is a fun story about my sister, Kristin. When she was pregnant with Brady, she actually had a different name picked out for essentially her entire pregnancy. Once she found out it was a boy, the name they came up with was Cass Grayson. We called that baby boy Cass for the rest of her pregnancy. A few weeks before her due date, she started doubting her name choice. And...we all know the rest of the story. Brady was born, not Cass. It actually took Kristin and Jared a while to decide on a name once Brady arrived.

So...I tell that story to tell this story...I think I'm pulling a Kristin. I'm starting to worry that once our baby is born, the name we have picked out won't feel right. So I tell that story to say this...who knows if we will have a Hayes or a Piper. We could have a Bernard or a Helga instead. Ok, those names are obviously not options:) I just want to back myself out of the nice little name corner I have created and leave the name choice open to other options.

And now the suspense has grown! Not only will the gender be a surprise...but the name will be too! Maybe. Or maybe not. Ahh...the joys of hormones:) 7 weeks to go!!!