He's here!

Someday soon I will write a post about my birthing story. For now, I'm just going to share a bunch of super cute pictures!

Clay Lucas
Born at 7:15pm
7lbs 13 oz & 21 in













Love,
Jess

Weekly Chase

Still pregnant here...I wasn't dilated at all on Thursday but I go back to the doctor today to make a plan and I've had every prelabor sign known to man. Hopefully he decides to come soon because I really want to avoid having to be induced at the hospital! So far I've tried a bazillion things that are supposed to induce labor...pineapple, Chinese food, walking, breast pump, and on and on and on. Haha. Someday I will blog about my experiences with all the things I tried. Anyway, onto the Weekly Chase...

This week I was...legen...wait for it...dary! (if you have not seen the show How I Met Your Mother, do so now, please)

• Rest as much as possible I did this! I only babysat for a couple of hours each morning and cut my work hours down from 30 to 20! I even took 3! bubble baths...and ate a cupcake in the bathtub...hehe, I'm pregnant, don't judge!


• Walk I did this! I walked for 45 minutes on Monday and on Saturday I walked to Dean and Deluca and to Paper Source to get supplies! Yay!


• Work on Clay's scrapbook and finish crocheting his Cowboys hat Bam, I rocked this! The scrapbook is 75% finished and here is the hat:




• Hydrate I was a ROCKSTAR most days when it came to this. And I forced (by forced I mean bugged constantly all day) my friend Liz on my quest to hydrate!

Goals for this week:

• Have this baby.

However, until that precious time comes, here are my goals for this week:

• Read the posts from other Weekly Chasers!!! I have had so many wonderful comments from you all and every time I sit down to read everyone's I get through one or two then get sidetracked (baby brain, anyone?).


• Continue to walk, hydrate, and rest I feel great physically (most of the time) so I want to stay as active as possible until I deliver without wearing myself down.


• Work on Clay's scrapbook and Rhonda's blanket Maybe I'll get the scrapbook done by the time he's 50... And I  starting making a blanket for my dear friend Rhonda. She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and I thought a lap blanket might be a good addition to her next care package :)


• Bake cookies I'm such a hostess. Like I can't help it. It's bad. Anyway, I want a treat to take to the hospital to share with my family, friends, and nurses. I will draw the line at making everyone individual treat bags...maybe :0

Love,

Jess

Food Friday- Gingersnaps

...or as I like to call them, Gingasnaps

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup sugar

Directions
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening on low speed for 30 seconds. Add 2 cups sugar. Beat until combined. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture.
-Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in the 3/4 cup sugar. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
-Bake in 350 degree oven for 8 to 9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and tops are puffed. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.





Nom nom nom

Love,
Jess

Weekly Chase

Well, I'm still pregnant. Lol. 39 weeks and 1 day. I'm so anxious to meet him and snuggle I can barely stand it!! Since I'll probably be out of touch for a little while after, when little Clay has decided to join us, you can see pictures of him on my friend Liz's blog!

And the verdict is...

• Paint my toenails Done :)
  

• Walk two days and do a pool workout 
Well, I only walked one day with this cutie but I spent time at Target and the mall yesterday then spent 9 hours helping my friend Amy unpack at her new apartment...so I'm not too sad about missing a walk and workout.

• Finish a food plan for my friend Liz I have started and after some info from Liz am almost done!
  


• Work on my checklist for Clay Carseat is still in the dining room, I decided to keep the stroller in the front closet, the outfit still isn't ironed (I just hate ironing. I'm hoping I go into labor so this task will fall on someone else...is that horrible?), and I just got the pictures in the mail for the scrapbook so I can start working on that!
  


• NO TEXTING/INTERNET WHILE DRIVING! I have done really well with this! I won't say it hasn't been hard to break this habit but I'm doing it!
  

Goals for this week:

• Rest as much as possible If you know me, then you know that this is hard for me to do...especially when there's dishes in the sink, laundry to be done, etc.


• Walk I know, third week in a row...but I think it's a good goal :)


• Work on Clay's scrapbook and finish crocheting his Cowboys hat I'm so behind it's not funny with the scrapbook and the hat just needs to be finished by his newborn portrait session but I'm betting after he arrives I won't have much time.


• Hydrate Some days I get so caught up in work or doing other things that I don't realize I've been slacking til it's 8pm and I'm sucking down water like I just spent a month in the Sahara. Then I end up peeing all night long (who am I kidding, that happens regardless of my fluid intake). Anyway, I want to be more conscious about making sure I'm getting enough water!

Love,

Jess

Oh what a night...or week...whatever

So I have that song stuck in my head... "oh what a night...late December back in '63." Anyway, that's where the title came from. Here's a rundown of my last week or so:

• I got some pretty devastating news last Friday. One of my very best friends has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Send up some prayers for her please :)


• I'm done with being pregnant. Haha. I just can't wait to hold my little one and have my body back!!!! I can say that I got off pretty lucky with not having morning sickness but I feel like I've had every other common and not so common pregnancy symptom known to man. For someone who is extremely impatient and a planner, the last month of pregnancy has not been fun! Maybe sometime this week I will write a post about all the natural things I've done to induce this baby (THEY ALL FAILED!).

[caption id="attachment_139" align="aligncenter" width="169"] Fail[/caption]

• I worked my last 45 hour week til after maternity leave (woo!). Next week I'll just be doing what I feel like I can...which is hopefully around 30 hours.


• My aunt and cousin came to visit last weekend. Highlights: IKEA, Southpark Mall, Target, Loco Lime, Dean & Deluca, Amelie's, Dilworth Coffee, my aunt cleaning my apartment for me!!!!!!

[caption id="attachment_140" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Loco Lime=burning pit in my stomach[/caption]

• Clay's corner (he'll be sharing a room with me until late November) is done!

[caption id="attachment_137" align="aligncenter" width="169"] Clay's corner (minus the cradle)[/caption]

• I read this book. All I can say right now is that I cried. And cried. And cried. Not a good selection if you're pregnant and your hormones are raging. Someday I will do a review about it. When I can look at the cover without crying.

[caption id="attachment_138" align="aligncenter" width="225"] wahhhhh[/caption]

Enough for now, this post is already to windy.

I'll leave you with this:

Love,

Jess

Food Friday- Pizza!

I got this recipe from one of the most awesome magazines out there...Oxygen It's a great magazine for active women- it's full of workouts and healthy recipes! This recipe is for a single serving...just quadruple the ingredients for a whole pizza!
Buffalo-Style Chicken Pizza


Ingredients

• 1/4 whole wheat pre-made pizza crust


• 4 oz cooked chicken breast, shredded


• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced


• 1 tbsp hot sauce


• 1 oz reduced-fat blue cheese

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450. Place pizza crust on a baking rack set inside a cookie sheet.


• In a small bowl, toss chicken and celery with hot sauce. Spread over pizza crust and top with cheese. Bake for 8 minutes.

I hope you enjoy!

Love,

Jess

Weekly Chase

Last week's run down:

• Walk one day I did it! It was only a 15 minute walk but that's more than I've done in a few weeks so I'll count it! Plus I spent my Saturday afternoon walking around Ikea and the mall with my family so I've definitely got some good walking in this week!
  

[caption id="attachment_114" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Walking with the bump![/caption]

• No eating out I did so well...til my family came to town. Haha. I completely forgot about my aunt and cousin (Rachel=awesomeness) coming when I made this goal ...but we only ate out for three of the meals so it wasn't too horrible.


• Finish a book I haven't finished my book but I'm so close! It's at the top of my to do list for the night right after eating dinner so I should be done with it tonight!
  


• Post Food Friday on time Did it! Check it out!

Goals for this week:

• Paint my toenails I'm 38 weeks pregnant and pretty proud that I can still do this. Well, I think I can... It hasn't happened in a few weeks and I'd like to have pretty toes if I'm going to be waddling :)


• Walk two days and do a pool workout  My foot is feeling better everyday so I want to up my goal a little every week...well for the next couple weeks til I deliver at least.


• Finish a food plan for my friend Liz I am a horrible friend...I've been telling Liz I would do this for the past couple weeks and all I have so far is a basic idea. So this week I will do this!


• Work on my checklist for Clay Carseat and stroller to the car, iron his coming home outfit, catch up on his scrapbook! That's all I have left on my list of things to do before he comes!


• NO TEXTING/INTERNET WHILE DRIVING! I know, I know, it is a HORRIBLE habit! But I am going to quit! I recently realized how much I do this and since very soon I will be driving with some very precious cargo I need to be more attentive to the road!

Well, I'm getting down to the final days of my pregnancy so if I happen to miss a Monday it will be because I'm busy holding my sweet precious Clay Lucas!
Love,

Jess

Food Friday "Quickies"

Since being pregnant I've learned how important it is to have some (mostly) healthy quick recipes for those nights when you get home from work and unlocking the door feels like a feat! They're all ones I made up so forgive the unoriginal names!

Here are a few of my favorites:
PPP...Pasta, Peas, Parmesan


Cook the pasta and peas then mix the ingredients together to personal taste and enjoy!

• Whole Wheat Pasta (I prefer rotini or a small noodle that you can eat with a spoon so you can scoop up some peas with each bite!)


• Frozen Peas


• Shredded Low Fat Parmesan cheese


• Butter (optional)


• Salt and Pepper...and Red Pepper

Rice, Peas, Chicken


Cook the rice and peas, add in a skillet with the chicken and a dash of olive oil. Cook on low heat for a few minutes. Add soy sauce to taste and that's all!

• Whole Wheat Microwaveable Rice


• Rotisserie Chicken from your local grocer, pulled off the bones


• Frozen Peas


• Low Sodium Soy Sauce

Peanut Butter and Strawberry Sandwich

Toast your bread (it tastes so much better this way because it melts the pb!), spread on peanut butter, top with sliced strawberries, drizzle with honey! YUM!

• Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread


• Natural Peanut Butter


• Strawberries


• Honey

Love,

Jess

Weekly Chase

I'm doing it! I'm doing the weekly chase! I found out about it from my friend Liz, who also is participating in the Weekly Chase. To learn more about it click on the badge above.

Goals:

• Walk one day this week- I am currently 37 weeks pregnant. At the beginning of my pregnancy I was doing really well with walking and my job is very active. But recently, due to the heat (100 degrees!!) and a suspected stress fracture in my left foot, I have not been doing any extra walking outside of what's necessary. However, this week it is cooler and my foot is feeling better so I hope to walk one day this week.


• No eating out- try to resist the urge to go out to eat except for a possible Girls Night Out.


• Finish a book- I want to get as much reading done while I still can before the baby comes.


• To Post for Food Friday on time- each Friday I attempt to post a recipe that I have tried. However, the last two weeks I have been late getting my posts up on my blog. (Be sure to check out the recipes I have already shared)

Check back next week to see my goals went!

Love,
Jess

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!

Yes, that's right, I am absolutely positively obsessed with the Olympics! So much so that I'm already planning Clay's 4th Olympic themed birthday party in 2016! And I might check the medal count every 30 minutes throughout the day...

Anyway, the natural course of action for Liz and I was to have an Olympic themed party for the opening ceremonies. Here are some pictures from the night:









It was a great trial run for Clay's 4th birthday party (I know I'm crazy)...

Love,

Jess

Food Friday "Classics"

I know, I know. I've been slacking, but I'm really excited to share with you one of my favorite recipes. It took me many batches but I finally figured out how to perfect the chocolate chip cookie! I use the Nestle Toll House Recipe but make a couple of changes.

Before I continue on with the recipe, I would like to share with you a wonderful clip from a wonderful show...enjoy!

Phoebe's Nestle Toulouse Recipe

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg
1 (12 ounce) package NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Use your hands to mix the shortening, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop with an ice cream scoop onto ungreased baking sheets.
BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.



Okay, now who wants to bring this pregnant girl some?
Love,

Jess