27 Weeks

 Yeah, excuse the get up.  We ran some errands and then I just wanted to get into comfy pants.  Also, I got my hair cut and dyed (can't lean over the tub anymore to do it myself). 
Hence the reason my hair isn't really done.

How far along: 27 weeks

Size of baby: for weeks 25 to 28 the baby is the size of an eggplant

Total weight gain/loss: Well, for most of the week I was around the same or up .2 making it +17 pounds.  However, as of yesterday (my "official" weigh in day) I had lost a little over a pound and was at +15.6.  So... somewhere between +15.6 and 17.

Maternity clothes: maternity clothes all the way... my old sweatpants aren't even fitting anymore


Gender: It's a girl!  Olivia Grace is on her way!

Movement: tons!  One day she kicked Little Man like six times in a few minutes.  He loved it!  He asks me all day long "is she kicking right now?".  If she's not kicking he says, "that's so boooring". Ha!  I think he thinks I can make her kick on demand and is not happy when it's not happening.  She also kicked Michael quite a few times one night.  I thought I had her schedule down, but this week it seems she has been moving a LOT more... at all times of the day and night.

Sleep: it's a mix this week--I'm having lots of trouble falling asleep at night, even if I haven't napped in the day or I feel exhausted.  I am also up at least every 2 hours to pee.

What I miss: sleeping on my stomach, not having to pee all the time!, getting off the couch easily


Cravings: nothing really

Symptoms: becoming slightly uncomfortable

Surprises: none this week

Fun Purchases: again, nothing this week

What I'm looking forward to: My trip to Ohio!  Also, I'm looking forward to my doctors appointment on Tuesday.  I don't want to have to do the glucose test (and really, I'm more afraid of the results than actually drinking the sugar), but I'd like to get it over with.  Either I fail and have to move on to the three hour test (sort of common), or I pass and can move on.  Also, I'm interested in what the ultra sound is going to say about my placenta.

Milestones: Some sources say that the third trimester starts at 27 weeks.  Others say it starts at 28 weeks.  The majority says 27, so that's what I'm going with.  Yay for third trimester! :)

Your Love Never Fails

This week I find myself once again having to extend grace.  Grace that I don't necessarily want to extend.  Grace that really isn't deserved.  Grace that is costing me something.  Grace that is hard to give.

But as I struggle through giving this gift, I am reminded that I too am offered grace.  Every day.  If grace can be extended to me, then I too can work to extend it to others.


I'm so glad that when others fail me I always have Someone to lean on.

Acne Care

Wow, it's been a looong time since I've done a product review.  Either nothing has really caught my attention, or I am just not paying attention.  That said, I knew I had to share with you my newest find.

Bear with me as I give you a little history on my acne problem.  I'm not doing it to be wordy, but I think it makes the point (and love of the product) come across better.  I'll be brief!

high school- I had normal every day teenage acne.  It wasn't bad, and was usually just around "that time of the month".

college- OH MY WORD!  I don't know what happened.  Stress maybe?  I broke out, and I broke out bad.  Nothing would work.  A lot of the scars on my face are from this time.  My mom finally took me to the dermatologist.  I was using special soap, washing my face twice a day, had 3 different topical treatments, and was taking some sort of antibiotic three times a week (at a dollar a pill).  It sort of cleared up, but still wasn't nice and pretty.

after college-I was no longer on my parents insurance.  Luckily my face had cleared up some.  I started using Pro Active.  I think I used it for about a year or so.  I didn't find it all that great.  After that, I just used random over the counter products.  I went through phases of good and bad skin, but it was never where I wanted it.

pre-wedding- Soon after I got engaged with Michael my face broke out again.  BAD!  I did not want to have pimple face on my wedding.  I was pretty sure it was hormonal.  Those breakouts are totally different.  I, once again, went to the dermatologist.  He said he could give me stuff to take or use, but that the best thing I could do was go on birth control.  He said it was definitely hormonal, and the birth control would regulate my hormones.  I was getting ready to go on it anyway, so I killed two birds with one stone.

I have had pretty clear/good skin for the past couple of years because of this.  Then came the time to go off of the birth control... and then I got pregnant and you are limited in what you can use.  You can guess what happened.  The nasty hormonal acne came back.  I asked my doctor what I could use and was using some over the counter proactive type thing.  It wasn't helping. 

Meanwhile, my boss had given me a $50 gift card to Sephora.  I'm sure there is lots of make up or perfume I could have bought, but I just wasn't interested.  I figured I'd just use it on acne treatment.  I asked the salesperson which would be the best and he recommended GO CLEAR hands down.  He said he used it himself and was amazed.  I also had this OK'ed by my doctor, but didn't use it for months because I was finishing up my other stuff.

I have been using it for about a month, maybe a little more, and am in love.  Right now I am just using the cleanser in the morning (when I shower) and the moisturizer.  I am not using the topical treatment because it has salicylic acid.  (Even thought I was given the all clear, and studies have shown the problem with salicylic acid and babies is from the digested version.  Just trying to be safe.)  Even without using the topical treatment, my face has cleared up.  It's super soft and has a nice appearance to it (minus all the scars).  I believe Sephora sells it in two sizes.  I got the smaller version, which was around $40.  The larger version was $75, I believe.  You may be thinking what I was thinking while standing in the store--that's very expensive for face wash.  I would never have bought it had I not had the gift card.  Now, after using it and seeing the results, I'm willing to pay $40 every two months to have a clear face.  So if you have a problem with acne that the over the counter face washes aren't helping with, I encourage you to check out GO CLEAR.  I'm a big fan!

Yee Haw!

Olivia got her first pair of "cowboy boots" from Little Man this week! :)

He got a pair himself, so he was sooooooooo excited to give these to her.

(He was upset when there was a misunderstanding and he thought his dad had already given them to me.)

They are for a 6 to 9 month old.

He said something about her walking in them, and then was very confused when I explained she would not be walking in them.  That led to a whole conversation about babies not walking. :)

He then stated that I should swallow them so she could put them on.  Oh dear!

Nursery, Part 2

Michael decided to tackle the piles of paperwork on Sunday.  So I decided to tackle some nursery projects.

I started by hanging up pom poms.

I ordered them from this etsy seller.

This actually took much longer than I thought.  I had to open them all up.

Michael had to actually hang them for me.  I couldn't reach the ceiling... even on the step stool.

I ordered the ten pack because they were on sale.  I wasn't planning on using all 10.  I figured I'd use 7 or something.  Turns out 9 was perfect.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but there are actually 3 different colors of pink.

They are very close together in color.  I had to go with the 3 lightest pinks available.

I'm so glad I did.  I was tempted to go with a brighter pink, but I don't think it would have looked as good.  Also, they came in 5 different sizes.  Although some are pretty similar.

After taking forever to hang poms, I used some more of the clear push pins and hung the quilt.

Since I can't paint a tree on the wall... and the quilt can't be used on the baby anyway... this added some more color and decoration.  Love it!

Next, I hung the "O".  I found the frame at Hobby Lobby for 50% off.

I have no idea why I can't take a straight picture.

I promise the frame and O are straight.  I even took 3 attempts at this picture.

Apparently pregnancy has thrown off my balance?!  When all else fails... blame it on pregnancy! :)

I found this cute little glittery bird at Buy Buy Baby.

It's hard to see the white glittery outline, but it's super cute.

I hung it right above the changing table

There was a really cute picture I saw at a baby boutique.  It was pink and had birds and flowers.

Unfortunately, it was a small fortune.

After looking at their online selection, I found a smaller (and cheaper) picture that I liked.

Plus, I liked that it wasn't pink.

It was still a little pricey, but I felt justified. :)

I am having a make shift nursery with no paint, etc.

One sort of expensive picture was OK in my book.

I also like that it has green (and some blue) in it.  It will work when we paint the room green.

Target has a few things that are made by the same artist.  I bought the nightlight.

I ended hanging the extra pom pom on the other side of the room.

I actually hung the curtains with clear push pins.  Yep, I did.

Mostly because it's temporary.  

But also because I didn't feel like trying to drill curtain rods in apartment walls.

I bought some wall decals at Target as well.

Unfortunately, we have textured walls (it's a Texas thing), so I'm not sure they are going to stay up.

My sister Rockie sent us this sign.  

It came the day before decorating, and I decided to hang it above the door.

Again, you can't tell, but it is very glittery. :)

Another look...

 (See, the O is straight!)

I plan on getting some floating shelves for above the changing table.  

I just haven't found any I like/that match.

I also left a space between the changing table and crib for the diaper champ.

Kale Chips

Back in June my dear cousin Erica proclaimed on her blog that I was the reason she "loves food too much".  She was basically blaming me for not being her desired weight.  She said the reason it was my fault was 1) for giving her too many yummy recipes and 2) for introducing her to The Pioneer Woman.  I cannot deny these two facts.  Although, Erica is waaaaaaaaaay smaller than me, so I'm perfectly fine with her weight. Ha ha!  Anyway, I decided (almost a year later) to meet her challenge and share something healthy.

I'm pretty sure you are all going to think I'm crazy after this post.  I assure you, I am not.  There was a time (before our life got crazy with talks of moving states and adding babies to the family) where Michael and I were trying to eat clean.  I still wish I could eat clean.  It's just a LOT of work.  One recipe I stumbled upon during this time was for kale chips.  For those of you who don't know, kale is a leafy green found in your produce section.  These are suppose to take the place of potato chips.  Let me tell you, they do not.  They aren't bad though.  I promise!

One of the reasons I decided to make them now (besides to get back at Erica! hee hee), is because kale is incredibly good for you.  Leafy greens are good for you in general, but kale is one of the best.  It is also loaded with iron, which I seem to always be in need of... even more so now that I am pregnant.

Anyway, here's what you do:

Preheat your oven to 350.  

The link above will tell you to line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.  

This was a waste.  The oil goes right through.  Just spray a cookie sheet with non stick spray.

Wash your kale, but then make sure it is really dry.  

This will make a difference in the finished product.

Again, the directions say to cut the kale off the stem.  You do not need to do this.

Hold the end of the kale in your hand.  With your other hand, gently slide down the stem.  

The kale will come off.

(Please excuse swollen pregnancy hand)

Rip into bite size pieces and line up on cookie sheet

Drizzle with olive oil.

Note: months after finding and making the online version of these, I found out that Hungry Girl has a version in her cook books.  I believe she tells you just to spray with olive oil spray.  It's up to you.

Again, the link says sprinkle with "seasoning salt".

I have no such thing.  I use sea salt.  Beware: a little sea salt goes a LONG way.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes until edges are brown, but not burnt

 I am actually learning my new oven.  

While these look alright, I could have taken them out a little sooner.

They don't look it, but they come out crispy and "chip" like.

Served here with Biggest Loser Pizza Burgers

Some choose to eat them just as a snack.  I haven't gotten that "crazy" yet. :)

List o' fun-- Mall Playgrounds

Mall playgrounds can be great, but they can also be frustrating.

There are a few tips to follow.

The up: they are great when it's a cold and rainy day... or when it's super hot.

The down: remember, everyone else is thinking the same thing.  Especially, don't go on "spring break" or "Christmas break".  Everyone else is going to be there and it will be a zoo.

The up: It can be a one stop shop type of thing.  You can shop, you can play, and you can grab lunch.  If you are needing to get out of the house with your kiddos, this can be free (or almost free) gig that will last hours.

The down: It can get crowded.  Also, sometimes people let their big kids in.  You have to watch out for that.

I have given you a few other tips on this blog before, but in case you forgot:

*The stores open at 10, but the mall opens sooner.  Try going to the playground at 8:30 or 9.  No one else will be there.  Then when the malls open, you can stroll, shop, or grab a coffee.  You'll be in and out before the crowds.

*You can also hit up a storytime at Pottery Barn Kids or Barnes and Noble if your mall has one.

Don't forget your hand sanitizer!