21 Weeks in Michigan

We went to Michigan the last week of July to visit Gma Marilyn and Gpa Russell.

At Papa Lou's Pizza

Things we did while in Michigan:

1. Watched/Fed deer in backyard!

2. Went to a city that starts with a P and had pizza while Michael and Gpa swung on swings at the bar.

3. Went out in the 'outback' and looked for elk but only found deer.

4. Went to mass outside at Cross in the Woods

5. Drove over the 5 mile long bridge into the U.P.

6. Had s'mores

7. Played Mexican Train and lost to gma both times.

 

We also hit 21 weeks while were there. There is no chalk board but I was wearing the same shirt that I was when we found out we were expecting. Didn't realize how big I've really gotten until this comparison.....

 This was our Expecting chalkboard (small pink shirt)

Out on dock with Taffy (same pink shirt stretched out)

 

21 Weeks

How far along? 21 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Not sure but sill eating like a horse!
Maternity clothes? I've stuck mostly to skirts but love my new shirts from Target.
Stretch marks? Fingers crossed, none on the belly yet
Sleep: He's moving so much that I wake up.
Best moment this week: Keeping everything down!
Miss Anything? Coffee. 
Movement: This kid is out of control.
Food cravings: Peaches, Lays potato chips
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: There is a belly
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? It's getting close to the surface
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: shopping for new clothes for work

 

 





 

IT'S A BOY!! 17, 19, Gender Reveal, 20 Weeks

It's been a little busy. Not really, I'm just exhausted. I taught Extended School Year the month of July and it wore me out! Here are belly pictures from the past few weeks. We had our gender reveal party right after we found out that we were having a boy. We went to the Dr. on Monday right after 18 weeks. While we were there baby L had hand in the way and Dr. was unable to determine boy or girl. I was devastated since it seems that everyone has been finding out at 14 or 15 weeks. We ended up going to a 4D ultra sound place that same night and were able to tell, we were having a boy! I highly recommend the ultra sound place we went to. Super friendly tech, very relaxing and exciting to see everything on the big screen.

 

We've never had more than 10 people in our home at a time...we ended up with over 28 and had a blast! We were so glad that so many people could come and share our exciting news.



This was my chalk board as guests walked in. I found this on pinterest.

 

 

 

 We "played" old wives tales to see how real these tales were since I had been super sick this whole time. There were many people who were set that it was a girl because of how sick I had been. In the end, the tales pointed to a girl but we shocked everyone when Michael and I sprayed each other with blue silly string. (Bad mess to clean up after, vacuums up though)

 

 

 

My friend Julie made the peep cupcakes. The peeps were lemonade flavored!

I ordered the straws on Etsy after my favorite blog has them all the time.

 

We were so glad the Maranos were able to attend. We went to their gender reveal party last year Labor Day. The only person missing in this photo this time was Tansley.

 



How far along? As of 7/31/13- 20 weeks 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: Last appoint (18 weeks) I was up to 133. I think up 6 pounds now.
Maternity clothes? Holy cow; Yes! My pants, shorts, everything are so uncomfortable. I've been living in maxi skirts and sun dresses. I'm going to have to shopping before fall.
Stretch marks? Not any new ones that I know of
Sleep: Not very good. I've had the craziest dreams and end up waking up at 3:30 to go to the bathroom every night. Hoping now that ESY is over to sleep better before school starts again.
Best moment this week: Taking naps on the couch after work
Miss Anything?  Still missing iced coffee
Movement: Lots of movement! Random throughout the day.
Food cravings: I'm not craving Lucky Charms but that seems to be my go to. I'm craving pumpkin anything though. I had to make a pit stop at Starbucks for a slice of pumpkin bread and a Carmel apple spice yesterday. It was so good!
Anything making you queasy or sick? None I can think of
Have you started to show yet? Yup, had another teacher tell me this week that the bump looked good on me =)
Gender prediction: IT'S A BOY
Labor Signs: Not yet (thank goodness)
Belly Button in or out? Still in, but it feels likes it's moving out
Wedding ring on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy!
Looking forward to: Not being "sick" anymore

Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe has been modified because I do not like sour cream or salsa, plus, I like to make things easy at dinner time. The original recipe came from Taste of Home.
*Chicken
*Tortillas (large)
*Cream cheese (8oz)
*Enchilada sauce (I like Macayo's green)
*Shredded cheese (I use the Mexican mix from Costco)

Cut up chicken into small pieces and cook on stove. When thoroughly cooked, melt cream cheese with chicken.
Preheat oven to 350
Spray 8x13 or whatever pan with non-stick cooking spray, pour a little bit of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of pan too.
Place chicken into tortillas and  roll. Place seam side down into pan.
When all enchiladas are rolled, pour remaining enchilada sauce on top of tortillas.
Bake in over for 20 minutes.
Take enchiladas out and spread cheese on top. Place back in over for 7-10 minutes until cheese is melted.
ENJOY!

 Melt cream cheese with cooked chicken

 Seam side down (don't forget to add sauce to the bottom so they don't stick)

Healthy Fruit Popsicles

I started making these awhile ago when my mom bought me the molds for Christmas. They are super easy and can pretty much be made with any frozen fruit. We've tried cherries but always come back to raspberries and strawberries as our favorite. In the pictures, I think the blender has cherries in it but the Popsicle its self is actually raspberry. I found this recipe in the healthy Jessica Seinfeld cookbook that I have. I like her recipes because they have a hidden vegetable pure that you can't taste. Don't worry, these tasty Popsicles don't have any hidden vegetable. Super easy to make!

Prep: 10 minutes, Freeze: 120 minutes, Makes: 8 Popsicles
*2 cups plain lowfat yogurt (I use regular)
*2 cups frozen berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or cherries)
*1/2 to 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Combine the yogurt, fruit, and sugar in blender and process until smooth. Pour into Popsicles molds and freeze.

15 Weeks!

I almost forgot about this! I was so excited because this week I finally felt better and actually did my hair and make up! Doesn't sound like a big deal but this was huge!

There is a small bump; making my clothes a tad on the tight side these days.

How far along? 15 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Do not have a definite number, but I am eating and keeping food down (yay!)
Maternity clothes? Started to look around, ordered 2 shirts from the GAP just in case I need them soon.
Stretch marks? On my legs! Of all places! Bought some cocoa butter to help, we will see how it goes
Sleep: Sleeping eh- uncomfortable, bought a body pillow for ‘pregnant’ women to try and help
Best moment this week: Not throwing up! Thought I felt baby move. Not a fluttering movement but a water woshing
Miss Anything? Coffee. 
Movement: I think so but it is not what everyone tells me it should feel like
Food cravings: Papa John’s pizza, Hawaiian
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing yet
Have you started to show yet: I think so, Michael says you can hardly tell
Gender prediction: Girl- I’ve changed my feelings
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Finding out if we are having a boy or a girl and to plan the gender reveal party!

14 Weeks!

14 Weeks! Time has started to fly by since school is out. I went to the doctor this morning, everything looks good. She was unable to tell the gender this time, but fingers crossed, next time we'll know what baby Lombardo is.

The head is on the left, facing down.

 

 

 

There is a tiny, small bump....

How far along? 14 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 1 pound
Maternity clothes? Nope, even though I wore a dress last week and Michael asked if it was a maternity dress
Stretch marks? Haven't found any yet
Sleep: Sick this week with a cough...not so much
Best moment this week: Going to doctor and finding out everything is good
Miss Anything? Dessert. I would like to have dessert everything night
Movement: None yet
Food cravings: None really, except Panera Bread's broccoli cheddar soup with a beget is always good
Anything making you queasy or sick: This seafood department at the grocery store
Have you started to show yet: there is a small bump there
Gender prediction: I still think boy
Labor Signs: Thank goodness no
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Not moody, just tired
Looking forward to: feeling movement soon

Ultra Sound & Week 12

I have been waiting to copy and paste and revise this paragraph with my own information for weeks now! Once again, I'm copying this from my favorite chalkboard blog.
We went to see Dr. Lewis for our first visit where she confirmed it, not twins, not triplets, but one baby Lombardo with a heart beat of 174! She thinks it might be a girl, but my fingers are crossed for a boy. Either way though, Michael and I would just like to have healthy baby.

  The head is on the left.

How far along? 12 Weeks, 1 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Not sure yet....
Maternity clothes? Nope, but pants are getting tighter
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: All the time!
Best moment this week: eating cheesecake
Have you told family and friends: Yep! We only kept a secret for a day
Miss Anything? Lunch meat
Movement: Nope, not yet.
Food cravings: Nothing really....whatever I can keep down at this point is good.
Anything making you queasy or sick: not yet
Have you started to show yet: A tinny, tinny bump, but I could be wrong, I did start with a bump already.
Gender prediction: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Hungry which leads to being moody...I just want a sandwich from Jimmy Johns!
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender on June 17th!

Baby Lombardo

 

 It's official! We're having a baby! After finding Little Baby Garvin on pinterest because of a chalkboard picture I started reading her blog. I started last September and found myself reading it weekly. I know, it's weird, I don't know her but I enjoy laughing and her stories and seeing her fashion and holiday stuff.

So... this is copied from the Garvin blog...I'm not creative but I'm really good at copying. After not feeling so hot all day and realizing I was past due I left Michael downstairs and went up to the bathroom. I sat forever waiting to see if there was a double pink line or not. I had this whole plan that I would wait until Michael was at work to do this and if the line was there I would lay out the Indian's onsies I had already bought with the test. Well, that didn't really happen. I screamed for him to come upstairs and make sure there was in fact a double pink line. After the initial shock of  the double lines we were excited. I still made him stop at the CVS so I could get a digital test just to double check. With 3 positive tests, we found out on Amy's 21st birthday, April 13, 2013. We kept it a secret for a whole day! We went to Michael's parents for dinner and gave them, "If You Give a Mouse a Cook" book with a note saying: "Please read this to me when I come visit in December, Love Baby Lombardo". We did the same to my parents on Monday (they were in MT with Amy for the weekend) except they were given "Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom".

 

NEW YEAR 2013 & Alfredo Sauce

Holy Moly! It's already March and I'm way behind! Not much new here at the Lombardo house, but here's the start of our year.

We had family over to ring in the 2013 year with THE BEST white chicken chili and of course, I copied my favorite blog for a chalk board and printed out the subway art.

This would be right before everyone out voted me to turn the island into a ping pong table.....


The best part about the holidays, I'm off and actually cook.

Alfredo Sauce

 What you need:
1 pint half & half
3-4 garlic cloves chopped finely
8 oz sour cream
1 stick of butter
Parmesan cheese (I wish I woul have used the fresh stuff instead but I forgot when I was at the store, Kraft will work in an emergency)
Noodles!

What to do:
Cook noodles, drain, set aside
1. In a small sauce pan, put chopped up garlic and 3 TBS of butter and saute. Don't burn!
2. Place remaining butter, half and half and sour cream in a pot. Whisk consistently.
3. Little by little, pour in parmesan cheese until completely melted.
4. Add putter and garlic to pot and whisk.
5. Pour over noodles and enjoy!

I put a wooden spoon over my noodles while they boil so that the water doesn't over boil. Just a little side note that I found on pinterest.