My pregnancy survival

I am 30 weeks today and I can't believe that my "d-day" is so quickly approaching! Being pregnant is hard work, especially when you're older. Not that 28 is old but I had my last when I was 19 and the difference is quite drastic! I wanted to post some of my favorite things that have helped me survive pregnancy thus far. Starting with:

Canned Chicken. Everyone knows that you can't have seafood while you're pregnant and not just for the mercury but for the bacteria as well. Did you know that included processed lunch meat? It has been so hard cutting that out of my diet so this has been a great substitute. All I'd do is strain the chicken, throw in mayo, celery, red onions, and maybe some alfalfa sprouts and voila - a delicious pregnancy approved sandwich. I've eaten countless cans of this stuff - thank goodness they sell it at Costco!

When I was pregnant last time (age 19 mind you), I had some back pain in the very end but I never experienced the "zingers" I've had the entire stretch this time. You know, those sharp tortuous pains in the lower back? The ones that come from doing nothing and pretty much collapse you? Yeah those. Some days are definitely worse than others but this next one really helped relieve some of that pain:
Maternity Yoga 

I love this yoga movie. Its only about 30 minutes long and provides safe, helpful relief to any pains you might be having. I got it on Amazon for under $10 - can't beat that. Plus, it has a section for post pregnancy yoga which I will be doing in about 10 weeks!

My next maternity fav has been this 3-panel tank top which I wear under EVERYTHING! As you can see its completely designed for the growth throughout your entire pregnancy AND to wear after. "Pregnancy belly shape wear girdle made for any pregnant mom before, during, and after pregnancy."
 I got mine off a website called babysteals.com for about $16 but here is the direct website. LOVES IT!



I realize now that I have not posted one picture of myself pregnant. Probably because those mostly all get posted on facebook. So here is a picture taken today - 30 weeks down, 10 to go!

Valentine's for sunbeam class

Yet another idea from Pinterest. I made these cute little Valentine's for my sunbeam class, aren't they the cutest! 

Vitamix Challenge Part 1

Have you heard all the hype over the Vitamix? Well, let me tell you it is amazing!!!

"This versatile, high-performance appliance helps you prepare healthy meals quickly and easily without a single attachment! Super-powerful Vitamix motor matches the power on the Vitamix commercial blending equipment found in the finest restaurants worldwide." Costco website

I've heard that you can put anything in it and watch as it effortlessly pulverizes it - whole apples, pineapples with the outer layer, nuts, grains, beans, rice, etc. and all without a single attachment. The most exciting part about this new toy is getting to experiment with it, hence the "Vitamix Challenge". My new game at home is having the boys guess what I put into their drinks. Last night it consisted of this:

Chunk of pineapple - no outer layer
Whole apple
Handful of spinach
One whole banana - no peel
Chunk of Beet
Several tablespoons of Flaxseeds
Cup of Greek yogurt
Cup of Ice
Dash of fat free milk

My husband pretty much pinned every ingredient except the spinach, beet, and flaxseed. Isn't that great that all he could taste was the fruit? Great way to sneak healthies into someone's diet. Trick? Believe it or not it was the beet that tricked him. Once I grinded all the other ingredients it came out a yucky green color but after adding the chunk of beet it came out a nice smooth dark pink. He never suspected the spinach with such an appealing presentation.



Oh, and I smashed a Vitamix claim. This machine does not pulverize a whole apple. I had to take it out and cut it into 4 pieces which then worked fine. But I did leave the seeds, peal, and core all there.

Its going to be fun coming up with all the ways to use this machine. Stay tuned for more!

I love you because...

I found this on pinterest and fell in love with the idea! What a perfect way to keep a marriage fresh and unique. 

The frame came from Marshall's for $7 and the pearls from Joann's for $1.50. I had everything else. Not a bad price tag for such a cute craft.  

I made these little rosette flowers out of an old t-shirt and embellished them with pearls. 

I also velcroed the pen to the back so it doesn't get misplaced. 

Before I even finished the project I came home from work one day to my first message from my hubby. So glad he's actually going to be using it! 

I couldn't find any scrapbook paper that I liked so just went with a solid slate blue. The nice thing is if I find some down the road it wouldn't be hard to just print a new sheet. 

Lion Cake

I found this post in my blog drafts and can't believe I never posted it! This was a cake I made for my avid hunter neighbor (who is now 71). One of his greatest adventures in life was hunting lions in Africa! This is a great cake idea for the lover of animals and the ones who like to have them stuffed :) 

Charity Never Faileth

This past summer Tyler decided on his own that he wanted to start a lemonade stand and give all his proceeds to a children's hospital. Completely shocked I asked why and his response was, "all kids deserve to live!". He almost seemed a little offended that I even had to ask. lol

So I helped him make the lemonade and gave him a little station at the bottom of the driveway. He earned about $30 and today we finally mailed it off (really late, I know).

After some research we decided to send his donation to the UC Davis Children's Hospital - Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy program. The funds are used to directly enhance the children's stay at the hospital with toys, art supplies, entertainment, etc. We felt that this would make a bigger impact from such a small donation. 

I'm so proud of my eight year old son for coming up with this act of kindness on his own. With this I made my New Years resolution - do more charity/humanitarian work. It's something I can do with my family and we can all benefit from it. 

Isn't it nice when the young ones set the example for us adults! 

If you are interested in making a contribution to this charity please mail donation to:

Diana Sundberg, CCLS
Child Life & Creative Arts Therapy Manager

UC Davis Hospital

2315 Stockton Blvd

Sacramento, CA 95817

Christmas 2011

Here are some highlights from our festive Christmas holiday

Grandma and Papa with all their grandkids

Tyler with 3 of his cousins on Christmas Eve and very excited I might add

Christmas Eve dinner at the "kid table" 

Dinner at the "adult table" 

On Christmas morning Tyler received a big box from Santa. After opening box after box after box he finally found the gift inside... an Ipod nano 6th generation! 

Here are some happy kids with their favorite toys! 

Rockin' out!

Tyler showing off his ipod and new bear tooth necklace that our hunting neighbor made for him. 

I got a little spoiled this year. I wanted a new bed realllllly bad because the other one spotted in THIS post was so rickety and unstable. Not to mention it put Tyler in the ER once. I'm so happy to have a solid stable wood bed that doesn't feel like an earthquake getting in and out of. Props to my husband for putting it together with the full blown flu!

Here was my surprise from my hubby on Christmas Eve. See what I mean by spoiled!? 

Since I am about 22 weeks pregnant I thought I would document what I looked like on Christmas. I felt good until my doctor told me 3 days later that I'm gaining too much weight. Dang fudge! 

Here is my family - parents and 5 of my 6 siblings. I have one more brother that wasn't able to make it out for the holidays. 

Hope your holiday was as just as wonderful! 

Homemade Snow Globes

We got the idea from Martha Stewart seen HERE. All you need for this project is:

- Mason Jar, baby food jar, or any jar really!

- Distilled water

- Glycerin

- Small figurines

- Large glitter

- Super glue

Directions: 

Glue the figurines to jar lid and let dry completely. Fill the jar up with distilled water, add a few drops of glycerin, and teaspoon of glitter. Lastly screw on the lid and you're done! You could super glue the lid closed but we decided not to in case something needs to be re-glued inside. The kids had a blast making this project and were extremely proud of the finished product. 

What to expect when you're expecting

Did you ever read the book "What to expect when you're expecting"? I did. I read it when I was pregnant with my son, Tyler, 8 years ago. Who would of thought that a guide through pregnancy could be made into a movie! It comes out the month I'm due (May) and I am definitely not missing it! It looks HILARIOUS!!

Love Chocolate? Love Peanut Butter?

This is what happens when chocolate and peanut butter get married. They create a sinful baby full of worthy calories.

Chocolate cake, peanut butter frosting, Reese's cup, chocolate drizzle. What's not to love?

Peanut Butter Frosting:

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter softened

4 cup (2lbs) powdered sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream or till desired texture

Directions:

Cream together peanut butter and butter until light and fluffy. Alternate sugar and heavy cream into butter mixture. Apply to cooled cake!