almost...

so i have an enormous pile of "almost complete" projects, rooms, things, to do lists, etc. one of my almost complete projects is our photo album of our roadtrip last summer. which got me to thinking of this map i colored in once we were done our travels. 15 more states i'd like to visit. 35 is a pretty good accomplishment for now. got to save some adventures to share with our wee one!

so i'm taking a blogging break because i can't look at any more pictures. i can't finish the babies room because we have to finish up with some touch up paint (oh and putting all the furniture back in) did i mention we got carpet! first room in our house to have carpet. we love our crazy wood floors and one day hope to have them refinished, but for now that is not a reality, so this carpet thing seems like a little luxury!

my flower beds just might be one of those projects that doesn't get done this summer, i'm not feeling it these days.

need a few more baby items, like cloth diaper covers, socks, little things that i'm almost done getting together.

this pregnancy is almost done. crazy... just a little over a month to go.

so this is an almost done week for me.

hope to have a 34 week update soon, you know before it almost 35 weeks.

until then.

just thought i'd share

this has been a favorite read of mine lately. love the blog too! 

check out the digital copy here!

strawberry picnic pies

i made these little treats last week for a dinner we had with some friends. they are called picnic pies ( or hand pies). recipe can be found here. so i made them with strawberries and they were really good. it got me to thinking how good they would be with peaches, apples and plums... any fruit really. a great little portable snack, unless you want to serve them with ice cream, which you totally should!

32 weeks

life at 8 months:

•  went on a little shopping expedition to black creek nursery with my mom to get flowers. and with a miraculous burst of energy, planted them almost all in one afternoon.
• on the baby front: we found a pediatrician, started bi monthly appointments with the midwife, started child birth classes, set up our crib and are putting the finishing touches on the baby's room!
• other fun things included attending the wedding of a very lovely couple
• going to art star craft bazaar ( got a very cute print for the babies rooms) i think this was the 4th year my sister and i went!
• celebrated my "first" mothers day. jason surprised me with a prenatal massage. yes, he's the best! also celebrated with the other woman in my family with a lovely dinner  at our place!
• made a wedding cake for a co worker of mine ( pictures to come)
• made homemade vanilla bean and butter mint ice cream!
• worked 3 double shifts in a row ( and then crashed hard the next two days) no more doubles for me.
• had a fun date day with jason, including my massage, donuts, a trip to ikea, dinner outside ( where we eat almost all our meals if its nice) and arranging the babies room.
• having a little trouble with: sleeping, back pain, swelling in  my right foot and ankle and bending over for more than a second.
• these days are very full in a great way. full of anticipation, joy and baby movements ( or should i say somersaults )

remember when...

i use to use this blog for my cooking and baking endeavors?? i know its been a bit pregnancy and baby focused of late. that's  not to say that there hasn't been many new recipes tried and invented, cakes made ( in fact i'm working on flowers for a wedding cake as we speak) and baked treats tried. those things just haven't made it on here. 

so today i thought i'd share yesterday's lunch. yes, peach waffles for lunch. we <3 breakfast foods a lot around here. you can find them sprinkled into any meal of the day. we have been without a waffle maker for a while. our last one broke a couple of years ago. it was a great waffle maker, purchased second hand for dirt cheap... and it just never got replaced. then about a year ago we received a very old waffle maker for free. oh i'm guessing a good 30 years old or more. we never even knew if it worked, until recently i got it off the shelf and gave it a try. it worked and it made beautiful waffles!

i haven't had a ton of cravings during this pregnancy, but fresh summer fruit would definitely be one of them. i told my mom the other day that i'd been craving peaches most of my pregnancy, so she dug out some frozen ones she had saved from a previous summer. i heated them back up with some honey and cinnamon and we had ourselves a lovely little lunch.

at our home...

 so those room shots are the bear cubs room! to the untrained eye it doesn't look like much, but it is,  and is continuing to be. 4 new( safe) outlets, an overhead light and switch (soon to be fan and light), trim, and prep for painting. hopefully in the next month or so, i will have a mostly finished room for the showing!

chips loves when we make the bed. it's his favorite activity. he hides out under the covers for quite some time. who can blame him, i think its most comfy too!

we took a short bike ride the other day. it was nice to get out again. i've only gotten out a few times to ride this season and may only get a few more times before giving birth... so i'm trying to relish in those moments.

that's whats been going on lately... in the near future i hope to plant the flowers i recently got, wash the rest of the windows, take many walks on the trail, go to a craft bazaar with my sister, make some more wipes and burp cloths, and savor these moments with jason, while its just the two of us a little longer.

30 weeks ( a vacation to montauk)

  we decided to take a little vacation while we could. this babe is getting bigger, making traveling a little more uncomfortablle. we went to the beach town montauk on long island. its was pretty  much the beginning of the season up there, so it was a bit of a ghost town. we took advantage of that by enjoying leisurely time on the beach almost completely by ourselves. what we lacked in sunshine, we made up for in yummy food and relaxation. the sun did pop its head out for the half hour we were eating pancakes inside one morning ( oh that sneaky sun) but that was it. the rest of our time was mist and fog. which was rather enchanting after i realized there was to be no sun.

this whole beach bum thing was new for us and much needed. you see, we tend to take adventuresome vacations. one's where there  is a whole lot of moving from thing to thing. sleeping in tents or cars, or carrying big packs around with us. so this total snails pace, do what you want when you want was a nice change. never worrying about the time or missing something really cool. it was a total break from life.

a few highlights:

misty beach walks

collecting shells

lobster rolls + homemade strawberry rhubarb pie

gawking at beautiful beach homes

listening to the ocean roar

and this babe has found its way into my ribs, quite an interesting feeling. these new feelings and experiences with pregnancy never cease to amaze me.

little life within me!!!! probably our greatest adventure to date!

28 weeks

  7 months:

lets start off by saying that time is moving so fast. it's not too stressful, though, we are making good progress on the projects and things we'd like to get done before july.

this week we are really focusing on the babies space. painting, putting up a ceiling fan, installing some proper outlets. and then we can begin to fill the space and make it a real room. that will feel so nice.

hoping that my glucose test comes back negative!

wondering why only my right calf and ankle seem to swell now?

wishing we could have a garden this year, but knowing that's not a realistic possibility.

loving the constant rotations of fresh flowers in the house, cut from the backyard.

missing just a little bit: brie, sushi, sleep, and a glass of wine.

life is well. sure i have my emotional days, where things just seem like too much, but the good days and excitement and happiness in this current stage of my life certainly out number those days by many.

crafting baby things

 just a quick little update. since moving my craft space to our guest bedroom, there has been an increase in productivity! birds for a baby mobile are done. working on some burp cloths and wipes and a few other projects... enjoying this energy at this point. it's very exciting when i actually put these ideas into actions!

26 weeks

a look into our life right now:

• me breaking down and finally admitting i need pregnancy jeans... they feel mighty good!
•  we bought our crib! 
• we have an actual light switch and light for the bear cub's room! this is major progress people ( we have been living in lamp land for so long)
• next week there will be... an exhaust fan, safe lights, and an OUTLET for our bathroom.
• potty training our cat. well, attempting to. scoff you may, but if this works, we'll be done scooping and buying litter!
• a surprise visit from miss kerah kemmerer!
• a little mini vacation set for may!
• easter celebration x2 at the hunsbergers and rittenhouses. we are stockpiled with chocolate over here!
• these photos were taken at the rittenhouse homestead! so pretty up there right now!
• knit a baby bonnet that will probably fit this babe in oh, about 2-3 years. oops.
• made some double sided baby wipes. fleece and terry cloth. hoping they will do their job well. 
• that's the latest. we are in busy bee mode, but enjoy our outings together, a quick milkshake, a short walk and other daily adventures together while it's just us 2.