meal planning made easy

i find something i struggle with every single week is trying to plan out dinners for the hubs and i. i think trying to figure out what we are going to eat for the week is probably the one thing i hate doing the most. so lucky for me, my hubs stumbled across a blog called domestic imperfection . in her blog ( which i really enjoy reading now) she had a link for a website called emeals.com . this website makes meal planning so easy. we haven't officially started it yet, so i will let you know how it goes once we get the ball rolling with it. but we did sign up tonight and we printed our first meal plan which is for 7 days. it looks pretty awesome! they give you all the recipes for 7 days, as well as a detailed grocery list of everything you need. you are also able to select the grocery store you plan to shop at, and they can give you an estimated cost on what you are going to spend.


so wish us luck!!! i will keep you updated on how everything is going with it!

37 weeks!!! oh and merry christmas!

how far along: 37 weeks!!!!!! 3 weeks left! up until october i would be considered full term now, but now full term isn't until 39 weeks i believe. so no celebrating full term this week. we do get to celebrate christmas today though! merry christmas to everyone!!

total weight gain: 37 pounds. eek! i will get into this at the end of all this.

baby is the size of: a stalk of swiss chard.

miss anything: my pre-pregnancy weight. getting out of bed with ease. sleeping. lately my sleep has been terrible. no matter what pillow i use, what position i'm in i can't get comfortable. it takes me forever to fall asleep, and then i end up waking up really groggy. i know they say you don't get much sleep with a newborn, but at least i will be able to get comfy when i'm no longer pregnant.

cravings: nothing really right now stands out to me. i mean i always want donuts, but that was a craving i had before i was even pregnant. you know that question people ask " if you were stranded on a deserted island, what one food would you have with you?" well mine will always be donuts. always. nom nom nom. (ok now i really want one)

belly button in or out: out!

looking forward to: good sleep, being able to exercise, having a glass of wine once in a while, and my son being able to meet all our friends kiddos. 

best moment this week: nothing really great happened this week. i actually got some shitty news this week.

maternity clothes: yup. that and big pajamas. also my husbands shirts. 

labor symptoms: none!

so this week. eh. i started noticing last thursday some pretty bad swelling in my legs, ankles and hands. i tried to ignore it until friday, which then i could no longer do. by the time i was done volunteering i could barely walk. my ankles were so swollen i literally couldn't bend them to walk. when i got home i took my blood pressure and it was really high but i waited till my ob appointment until monday to talk to the doc about it. turns out i am border lining preeclampsia. eh! i need to monitor my blood pressure everyday, twice a day as well as when i am feeling icky. i'm not officially on bed rest yet, but i need to take it extremely easy and not do anything to crazy. along with the high blood pressure and swelling, i gained 8 pounds in the past two weeks. she says it's probably water weight from the preeclampsia. eh! just when i thought i was in the clear, and all my uti's were gone, as well as the kidney stones this happens. i haven't had an easy pregnancy at all. but i am still very grateful that i haven't had any MAJOR problems with my little bean. i know the preeclampsia is really bad, but as long as my son is born healthy, all of this will have been worth it. i can't wait to be a mama. 

on another note, merry christmas!!!!! my husbands family is coming up minus two of his sisters lara & rachael. then my mother and step father are also coming up. we will make a ham and some "fixins" and take it easy. probably watch cheesy christmas movies. so yea. today should be nice. what is everyone doing for christmas? i hope everyone has a really lovely day today. it's crazy to think that next year at this time, we will be celebrating with our son! i really am so very excited to start our own traditions with our family. 

36 weeks!!!!

how far along: 36 weeks!!! holy cow! 4 weeks left! time is really going fast now, especially with the holidays coming up!

total weight gain: 30 pounds!!

baby is the size of: romaine lettuce! 

miss anything: being able to wear my wedding rings. i'm starting to swell up and can't wear my rings :(

cravings: totally was craving a burger and shake! lucky for me, the hubs and i went out to lunch with our awesome friends jenny and joseph and greyson to a yummy burger place. i got a bbq burger and an oreo shake. both were equally amazing. nom nom nom.

belly button in or out:  out!

looking forward to: no more swollen ankles, bending over with ease, and holding my baby boy in my arms. i really want to meet this kid.

best moment this week: well there is a few!!!! got a call today saying my strep-b test came back negative. woot woot. we had lunch today with our sweet friends, which it's been way too long since we've gone out for a mid day lunch. the hubs and i got some new bedding which is always exciting. we haven't bought new bedding in forever!!!! so that's nice.

maternity clothes: yup.

labor symptoms: totally thought i was in labor last night. had waves of pain coming and going, my body evacuated everything in it (sorry if that's tmi), and yesterday was the first day my swelling got really bad. but after going on a long walk the waves of pain stopped. so my body totally faked me out. maybe it's a sign that he's coming soon? only time will tell i guess. as long as he doesn't come on christmas i'll be happy. 

35 weeks!!!!

how far along: 35 weeks!!! only 5 weeks left! 35 days to go! i can't believe it! 

total weight gain: 29 pounds!

baby is the size of: large cantaloupe

miss anything: doing things with ease

cravings: i had a craving for mc.donalds today, so i got some for lunch. i think i deserve it after my good doctor appointment

belly button in or out: out

looking forward to: meeting my little guy

best moment this week: my family coming up to see us on sunday, my doctor appointment today that went really well, my sweet friend jenny coming over to help me organize the nursery.

maternity clothes: yup

labor symptoms: nope 

i can't believe there is only 5 weeks left, give or take. i can't wait to meet our son, but at the same time i am sad that one day in the near future i will no longer be able to feel my sons little kicks and i will no longer have my big belly. i sure can't wait to have him in my arms though. 

today i had my last ultrasound, which went really well. back at 20 weeks when i went in, i had partial placenta previa. now at 35 weeks i found out that the previa is gone, and now i can have a normal birth. no c-section! which makes me really happy. i didn't want to have a major surgery to where i would be uncomfortable for days after. now i get to have the birth experience that i want to have. which sets my mind and heart at ease. 

my dear friend jenny came over last week to help me get organized with the nursery as well as a list together of things that i still need. such a blessing to have her help! she is wonderful. the nursery is now almost all the way complete. i'm excited to share it with you guys once it's all done. 

on a bad note i've had some hard times with this pregnancy. i currently have the second uti that i have had this pregnancy. this time i am feeling much worse. and in between the two, i was told i also have kidney stones. this time the pain is lingering a lot longer than the last, and more intense. i hope this passes soon.  i just need to stay on top of all my antibiotics. tomorrow i have another doctor appointment where i will be tested for strep b. then from there on i will go in every week to be checked. 

hoping my pregnancy goes a lot smoother from here on out till our little bean is here.  i will attach a photo of little bean from todays ultrasound as well as a photo of adam and i next to the ultrasound screen.  we think from what we can see, that he looks like me. 

we also got the cutest booties today in the mail from adams mom. love them!!!

alright time to go nap. i got a pregnancy pillow in the mail today since i haven't been sleeping well. time to cuddle up with it, and get some rest.

our honeymoon in paris

in october my husband and i visited paris. it was for our honeymoon/babymoon, and boy was it lovely!!!!!  it's just the break we needed from our busy lives in los angeles. we had no set plans for things to do while there. we just wanted to take each day by day and relax while there.  

i think our most favorite thing that we did while there was a croissant baking class.  it was amazing. we made three different kinds of croissants. a plain, a chocolate, and an almond. we got to make a few of all three kinds. we also made these mini cookies with a raspberry jam and white chocolate chip. after learning how to make all three kinds, we got to finally eat what we made!  which of course was the best part of the entire class. while eating they provided tea, and coffee. oh it was so fun! if you're ever in paris i highly recommend taking one of their classes. 

check out their website here...paris pastry class

my other most favorite thing we did was go to luxemberg gardens. it was so beautiful. we got lunch, and brought it back to the park. sat under some beautiful trees while we ate, then went to the fountain to watch the children play with boats. it's something we plan to go back to when we travel with little bean. 

we went to a handful of museums, and got to see some beautiful art. 

we took a walk over the lovers bridge on the way to notre dame.wow notre dame was beautiful!!!! we made some lady super mad there for cutting in line. she was so upset she actually came up to me in the church and called me a bitch! pretty uncalled for. we still had an amazing time there! 

our hotel was right by the eiffel tower, on the corner of rue cler, so we spent lots of time in that area. we also visited père lachaise.

we did lots of walking around and exploring the city, but i won't bother with those details since i posted so many photos.  

our honeymoon was lovely, and perfect.  

34 weeks!!!!!

how far along: 34 weeks!i can't believe there is only 6 weeks left. so exciting.  the more and more i feel him move around in there, the more excited i get to meet him.

total weight gain: 28 pounds!

baby is the size of: a cantaloupe

miss anything: sleeping on my belly, sleeping on my right side, and picking things up with ease. i also miss taking baths. i've probably taken a handful since preggo, but i am always afraid that the water is too hot and that it's hurting the baby.

cravings: today i am having a major craving for a burger, fries, and a birthday cake milkshake.  who wants to go to the counter burger with me?

belly button in or out: out :)

looking forward to: my family coming up this sunday, my sweet friend jenny coming over on saturday to help finish up the nursery, and christmas!!

best moment this week: getting to babysit our friends baby last night! i love that kid so much, and it was nice being able to see my husband interact with a baby. it was really sweet.

maternity clothes: yup. also i think being in pajamas all day is my favorite thing ever.

labor symptoms:  nope!

i have been feeling pretty great this last week! i finally passed the kidney stones, which hurt, but now there is no pain so that's nice.  today i'm super tired for some reason.  eh! no amount of laying down has given me energy.  but that's okay. hopefully i get some sleep tonight.

oh! oh! oh! i also went to target this week, and got little bean his first christmas decoration. i want to get him a new ornament every year. i wrote the date on the tag with his name on it that way we will be able to remember which year it came from. ah! love starting traditions with my family.

next week is also the big week where i find out about my placenta previa! hopefully my placenta has moved, and i will be able to have a vaginal delivery. i really don't want to have a c-section in fear of a rough recovery. so send good thoughts my way! my appointment is on wednesday with the specialist, then i have a normal ob appointment on thursday where i will also be tested for strep-b. crossing my fingers all goes well at those two appointments next week!!!

it's beginning to look a lot like....

christmas!!!!!!!!

i got our tree started last night/ today. it's not quite done yet, we still have some ornaments from when we were kids to put on the tree. i will probably put those on there tomorrow, then it will be done! i love this time of year!!!!!!!

i also got little bean his first ornament. i plan to do this every year.  i wrote his name and the year on the tag, that was we will be able to remember each years ornament.