30 Weeks Pregnant

H and I started our childbirth classes this evening. They are 2 hours long for 5 weeks. Tonight we mostly discussed relaxation and exercises the mom can do. A lot of what there is to go over I've learned from either the baby book or from TheBump.com. But it doesn't hurt to go over things with a professional. We definitely need to figure out our birth plan. I really want to know what H will be comfortable with.

How far along? 30 weeks
Total weight gain: At my appt last week I'm up 3lbs from my weight as of Nov. 3rd (about 6 weeks pg).
How big is baby? From weeks 29-32 he's the size of a squash.

Maternity clothes: Still not needed! But I am thinking of buying the BeBand from Target.
Stretch marks: I have some small red ones that are at the tops of existing stretch marks that have gone white. I'm putting the cocoa butter on them because I don't want them to get worse!
Sleep: Eh. I miss a good night's sleep. I wake up numerous times to pee, and change position. Have to move to get rid of specific aches. Only 10 weeks left of these aches.
Movement: He has active times and sleepy times. Daddy has gotten to feel him a few more times.
Food cravings: Salads. I guess that's good that he wants healthy stuff!
Food aversions: Nothing specific
Belly button: It's coming out a bit more. I'd love for it to pop out!
What I'm looking forward to: My baby shower on May 1st.
Weekly joy: Not baby related, but we just got a brand new printer/copier/scanner. I'm enjoying having a printer again! We got this one:

Chocolate-Cream Cheese-Peanut Butter Bars

Source: Betty Crocker

Peanut Butter and Chocolate together, never heard of a better combination! This dessert certainly didn't disappoint. It comes together fairly easily, just takes awhile because of having to cool and refrigerate between steps. But once it is done, AWESOME! LOL!

Ingredients
Cookie Base and Topping

• 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 egg

Filling

• 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1- 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup crunchy or creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Preparation

	Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie base and topping ingredients until soft dough forms. Shape 6 (1-inch) balls of dough. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls 2 inches apart; flatten in crisscross pattern with fork.
	Press remaining dough in pan. Bake cookies and base 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Reserve cookies for topping.
	In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and butter uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and stirred smooth. Spread evenly over bars. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
	In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar and whipping cream with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Beat on high speed about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Spread over chocolate layer.
	Crush reserved cookies; sprinkle over cream cheese layer. Press in lightly. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Next Time- Can't really change much in a dessert. These are great as they are!

Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili

Source: Lauren's Kitchen

This is a Weight Watchers recipe, but neither H nor I am on Weight Watchers. I happened across this recipe in my Google Reader and I thought it looked really good. The fact that it is on Weight Watchers just makes it that much better, since healthy stuff is never a bad thing to try.

We opted to use both cheese and sour cream. We also decided to try it with tortilla chips. We used the chips as scoops, and it worked well. Definitely liked these additions to the chili.

For any readers that are on Weight Watchers, according the link provided in Lauren's post, this recipe makes 10- 10oz servings and each is 4 points. Obviously without the additions.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 16-oz can black beans
• 1 16-oz can kidney beans
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 10 oz package frozen corn kernels
• 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
  
• 24 0z. (3) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• chili peppers, chopped (optional)
  
• chopped fresh cilantro (omitted)
  

Preparation

• Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker.
• Place chicken on top and cover.
• Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours.
• Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred.
• Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in.
• Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream (extra points).

Next Time- This recipe is so easy to make, and it tastes great. No changes need to be made. : )

Skillet Lasagna

Source: Betty Crocker

I decided to go browsing some food websites looking for recipes to add to this week's menu. I found this recipe and decided to try it. The recipe is pretty similar to this recipe I made back when I first started this blog.

Having issues with H's camera right now. If I can get the pictures uploaded, I'll add the pic for this! Sorry.

Ingredients

1	pound lean ground beef
1	small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
1	small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 1/2	cups uncooked mafalda (mini-lasagna noodle) pasta (3 ounces) (used bow tie pasta)
1 1/4	cups water
1/4	teaspoon Italian seasoning
1	jar (14 ounces) tomato pasta sauce (any variety) or Marinara sauce
1	jar (4.5 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/3	cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation

• Cook beef, onion and bell pepper in Dutch oven over medium-high heat about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain.
• Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese.
  
• Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat to low.
  
• Simmer uncovered 10 to 12 minutes or until pasta is tender.
  
• Sprinkle with cheese.

Next Time- This was cook and simple. Nothing needs to be changed. It also makes great leftovers!

Macaroni & Cheese

Source: The Pioneer Woman

This is my first attempt at homemade mac & cheese. Growing up we always had the stuff from the blue box. I've been eager to try my hand at homemade mac & cheese. I came across this recipe on Pioneer Woman, and knew it would be my first attempt. It certainly didn't disappoint.

I went to 2 stores looking for ground mustard and both were sold out. I know I want to try this recipe again when I can actually use the mustard.

Ingredients

• 4 cups Dried Macaroni
• ¼ cup (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
• ¼ cup All-purpose Flour
• 2-½ cups Whole Milk
• 2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired (omitted)
  
• 1 whole Egg Beaten
• 1 pound Cheese, Grated
• ½ teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
• ½ teaspoon Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
• ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Preparation

• Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.
• In a small bowl, beat egg.
• In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.
• Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
• Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.
• Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.
• Add in cheese and stir to melt.
• Add salts and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.
• Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
  Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Next Time- This was excellent. I'll just try it with the ground mustard next time to see what that does to the flavor.

25 Weeks

What's changed in 3 weeks? Well, very early one morning I started to feel Baby Rebel kick! It was the day I turned 23 weeks! Very exciting. A week later H finally got to feel him kick. He said that it felt weird, but he's happy to feel him move. Baby Rebel is getting much more consistent in his kicking. His constant times are 1am and 3am. I haven't figured out other times during the day that he's always kicking, but I'm sure that will come. Also, so far his kicks haven't gotten painful. Nothing to my cervix or ribs, so that's nice. I also have yet to feel hiccups, I'm sure that will be an experience the first time!

Today I also went and had the 1 hour Glucose Tolerance Test done. If I fail, I'll have to take the 3 hour test. If I fail that test then I have gestational diabetes and I'll have to watch what I eat. There is also a concern of having a bigger baby. I should know by next Monday, my next doctor's appt, whether I've passed or failed the 1 hour test.

Women always talk about how awful the drink is that you have to drink for the glucose test. But for me it wasn't bad at all. It smelled and tasted like orange pop. I did have the option of lemon-lime, but I prefer orange stuff. So, just a note to any other pregnant ladies that have yet to take the test. The drink isn't that bad! :)

Now for the good stuff.

How far along? 24 weeks 6 days
Total weight gain: As of my appt In February I'm still down 2 lbs from pre-pregnancy
How big is baby? From 25-28 weeks, baby is the size of an eggplant. Let's just hope he doesn't come out purple! ;)



Maternity clothes: Still not needed! I'm OK with this!
Stretch marks: Don't think I have any new ones, but I did buy cocoa butter and have started use that to prevent more from appearing.
Sleep: I sleep a LOT! I swear I'd sleep for 12 hours if given the chance. But, I do wake up a lot during the night, so it could because I'm not sleeping well, so I need to sleep longer.
Movement: Yup! Started at 23 weeks, and has picked up since. I love feeling him move around. Especially when I can feel him from the outside.
Food cravings: Nothing really. Just hoping my sweet tooth isn't in jeopardy with the glucose test being done.
Food aversions: Nothing specific
Belly button: It's coming out a bit more. I'd love for it to pop out!
What I'm looking forward to: Passing the glucose test!
Weekly joy: Having H feel Baby Rebel kick more than once. I love sharing that with him!

22 week ultrasound

I'll stop the suspense, and let ya'll know what we're having.

Haha, yeah we got the money shot this morning.

We had our follow up ultrasound today since they weren't able to see everything clearly at our ultrasound back at 19 weeks. We got to see pretty much every little part of Baby Rebel. All his bones in his legs and arms. The 4 chambers of his heart, both hemispheres of his brain, and the umbilical cord and placenta. Everything looked nice and healthy.

Some stats- He was measuring 22w5d, and I'm currently 22w2d, so he's a couple days ahead which is normal. He weighs 1lb 4oz, which puts him in the 56th percentile. I don't want a huge baby, so I'm happy with that.