McIntosh Cottage Antiques

I'm blogging over at McIntosh Cottage Antiques today! And wow, have we got a treat for you! Our second shipment of the summer arrived this morning and it is full of great pieces!

Check it out and see if you want to add a little something to you collection!

19 Week Bumpdate!

19 Weeks!

How far along: 19 weeks!

Baby Size: Our little one is the size of a mango this week, about six inches long! The sensory portions of his/her brain are developing this week and he/she might be growing some hair on his/her scalp!

Weight gain: Up a total of 6 pounds, will check my weight again at my next appointment in mid-September!

Maternity clothes: I've started wearing some maternity pants, but I'm also still wearing the bella bands with my regular pants as much as I can! I've got a VERY small supply of maternity clothes so I'm trying to take my time before moving into them full time!

Stretch marks: None yet! Fingers crossed that it stays that way!

Sleep: Sleeping well, but hoping to catch some extra sleep this weekend!

Gender: We find out Sept. 20th!

Movement: I've felt a few tiny flutters the past few days! Such a special feeling! I am so excited to finally be feeling our little one move around sometimes!

Best moment this week: This weekend was wonderful and I got to see a lot of friends I hadn't seen in a while. I really enjoyed celebrating sweet baby Cannon and my friends Molly and Brian! And on Sunday I came home to a clean house, a partially tiled shower, and dinner cooking - I have a wonderful husband! BUT, that said, the best moment of this week was feeling our sweet angel move and telling Adam about it and listening to the excitement in his voice.

Looking forward to: A busy, but fun long weekend! We're going to get the shower finished up this weekend and make some progress on the nursery. We're also planning to take Adam's parents to Buy Buy Baby for a tour, going out for a celebratory dinner, seeing friends, and relaxing together!

Food cravings: French toast...no idea why! My mom was able to curb this one for me this weekend! She made french toast for breakfast on Saturday!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing, and surprisingly grilled chicken doesn't sound terrible...however, I'm still not sure I'm ready to eat it!

What I miss: Not-one-thing!

Symptoms: No real symptoms. I felt great this week and I'm looking forward to another wonderful week!

Nursery: We've not made any major progress in the nursery, but this weekend we're planning to put up the last of the crown molding and the base boards and then I'm going to caulk! AND...if I'm feeling brave, I'm going to try my hand at mudding the seams on the sheet rock of our new closet! Wish me luck!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Mood: Happy and feeling blessed to have a great husband and wonderful supportive family. And feeling extra blessed this week that our baby seems to be healthy and growing.

Workouts: I had a great workout week this week! I did one hour of Body Pump and took several walks. A big thanks to my parents for walking with me this weekend! I walked a total of twenty miles this week!

Adam and I can't help but feel so lucky and blessed to have such a wonderful life. We have so many things to be thankful for, most of all this little bundle. We are so looking forward to the weeks to come!

18 Week Bumpdate!

*This week has been a crazy one- so my apologies for no picture (got a haircut...a major one last week and I'm still not so great at styling it either...so yea) and sorry about this post being a little late!

How far along: 18 weeks on Tuesday!
We are really looking forward to all of the excitement that is coming soon! Our lives kind of calm down a little in the next few weeks and we are looking forward to spending some quality time together at home finishing projects and just enjoying each other's company. I am soaking up all of this one-on-one time with Adam. We are so excited to find out more about our sweet babe in just five weeks and really start to imagine our life with him/her. Sweet baby, we are so thankful for you and your growth this week and we are so excited to see what the coming weeks bring!


Baby Size: Our baby is the size of a sweet potato this week! We had a great anatomy ultrasound today and our sweet one is growing and looks just perfect! He/she weighs 9 ounces this week! Everything is measuring right on track and baby has all of his/her sweet perfect parts and everything looks great! We are so thrilled that this ultrasound went well!

Weight gain: Up two pounds since my last appointment. Right on track with weight gain!

Maternity clothes: Definitely in the bella band all the time. I finally found some maternity pants and I've now got a great little collection and hopefully won't need anything else in the pants department at least! So far I'm still in my regular clothes, but I'm sure that will start to change in the coming months!

Stretch marks: None yet! 

Sleep: Sleeping well, but getting up to tinkle a lot!

Gender: We find out September 20th, but we now have THE envelope and we will be hiding it as soon as I get home from work! The second envelope was put in the mail today to Sweet Reba's for our cake! 

Movement: None yet, but hope to feel something in the next four weeks or so!

Best moment this week: Lots of great moments this week! I had a really nice weekend at home and got a lot done while Adam was out of town for a boys weekend and Fantasy Football draft. I had such a fun time with my friend Ashley and her little one as we strolled through BuyBuyBaby to add some must haves to the registry. She was so helpful to me (clueless new mama...) On Sunday some of my sweet friends from Junior League got a group together for a little joint shower for a friend of mine and me. It was great catching up and getting tips from a few experienced moms!

Looking forward to: I am really excited about feeling our sweet baby move and I am just dying for it to be time for our gender reveal! I don't know if I can wait five weeks! But, somehow, we'll do it! I am also really excited to be celebrating two friends of mine this weekend! I am attending a baby shower on Saturday for a dear friend and an engagement party Saturday night for another dear friend! I am so thrilled to be celebrating these two as they get ready for such fun life changing events!

Food cravings: Fruit and sweets. It is bad...I've been craving desserts...a lot. The great news is that I am loving chocolate flavored almond milk, which does actually quench my need for dessert, most of the time. It's a good alternative to a huge cup of ice cream!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Same old, same old...grilled chicken.

What I miss: Running...maybe I'll give it a try one day this week and just see how a short jog feels...

Symptoms: Heart burn...but nothing a little zantac won't cure! 

Nursery: The bed is gone! And now the nursery is empty, except for the BOB and  two drying racks. We made some decisions on nursery bedding this week which was exciting. We have a plan for a boy nursery and a plan for a girl nursery and I love them both. They are really sweet and I can't wait to really see them come together!

Belly Button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Mood: Feeling great! I feel really excited and so relieved that our sweet baby is looking healthy. The change from our last ultrasound to this one was amazing and I am so thankful for such wonderful technology that allows us to check in on our sweet one. I think I can speak for both Adam and me when I say that we are feeling so blessed that everything with baby is looking very normal!

Workouts: I did slack off a little on my workouts on my birthday week, but I've been getting back on track this week and I'm feeling great! I did Body Pump twice this week, 30 minutes of prenatal yoga (I need to do more!) and walked a total of 18.9 miles over the course of six days! It was a great workout week and I am feeling motivated again!

17 Week Bumpdate!

How far along: 17 weeks! Time is flying!

Baby Size: This week our babe is the size of a turnip, about 5 inches and 5 ounces. Little one's rubbery cartilage is turning into bone and he/she is gaining weight and growing a stronger umbilical cord. I can definitely tell that this little one is growing...because so am I!

Weight gain: Still not looking at the scale, but up 4 pounds at my last appointment.

Maternity clothes: I'm still wearing my regular clothes (with some exceptions) and a bella band. I'm on the hunt for maternity clothes and should have several orders coming in this week! My parents and sister gave me some cute tops for my birthday and I'm going to start wearing those soon!

Stretch marks: None yet! Hopefully they stay away! I'm applying lotion and cocoa butter every day, twice a day!

Sleep: I'm still sleeping well, but have had a hard time falling asleep. I've had a lot on my mind lately from anxiety about raising our sweet baby to mentally decorating the nursery to wondering how we're going to juggle everything once this little babe arrives! But I'm still trying to do as much as I can to relax before bed so that I can fall asleep more easily.

Gender: No news yet! It will be hard not to find out at our ultrasound next week! We just need our nurse to be very discreet and tell us when to look away! Only six weeks until the gender reveal (I have no idea how I'm going to be able to wait!!!!)

Movement: None yet, but I'm hoping it will come soon!

Best moment this week: We had a great weekend! My parents and sister came to visit and we had such a wonderful time with them. We had no huge projects, so we were able to relax and do a couple of out of the ordinary things! We got our new sleeper sofa on Saturday morning and took my family for a big tour o Buy Buy Baby on Saturday afternoon. We ended the day with a little birthday dinner at Divino's. Not a bad way to spend my birthday weekend! AND, we got the BOB!!! So excited about this! A huge thanks to my family for this wonderful gift! We'll be able to stay in shape and give baby some fresh air with this stroller!

The new sofa.

The BOB...so excited about this running stroller!
We have a crib and a stroller for baby now...
so we're sort of prepared...right?

With my beautiful sister!

My wonderful parents, they just celebrated their 37th Anniversary!
Congratulations, Mom and Dad!

Looking forward to: Tackling a few projects this weekend and taking a little girls trip to Buy Buy Baby to work on the registry with one of my sweet friends on Saturday!

Food cravings: Fruit (as usual), chips, and ice cream (not together...) this week!

Anything making you queasy or sick: No grilled chicken and no pickled banana peppers!

What I miss: I miss running. I've loved walking and I'm really trying to fit a lot of it in, but I miss being able to go for a 20 or 30 minute run. Walking is a little more time consuming and I don't feel the results like I do with running. 

Symptoms: I've had some "growing pains" and a stuffy nose, but otherwise, I feel great!

Nursery: Oh...I've only ordered about 30 fabric swatches......all of the furniture, except the bed, is out of the nursery and it's looking pretty empty. We packed up the bedding this weekend and I'm hoping to get in there and organize and clean some this weekend. And at some point I want to narrow down the fabric swatches and get a girl room plan and a boy room plan. 

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Mood: My mood is pretty much great! I have felt more anxious this week and I think that is just because things seem to be getting more and more real each day. Though I know it's completely normal to worry, I feel like I've been doing that a lot lately! Overall though, I'm feeling excited and overwhelmed with joy.

Workouts: Workouts this week have been pretty much the same. I walked several days this week, for a total of 13 miles and did some yard work! The yard work was a nice change of pace. I love yard work, but haven't been helping out too much in that department lately, it was nice to get back into it!

Wow! 17 weeks...this pregnancy seems to be flying by. I am excited about everything that is coming up, feeling our sweet baby move, and seeing our sweet baby on the ultrasound next week. We are so in love with you little one and cannot wait to meet you. We pray for you every day and can't wait to see what kind of exciting changes you bring to our little family. We love you so much already, I can only imagine what it will be like when you are here! 

Jalapeño Lime Chicken Soup: From Pinch of Yum

Thank goodness I am finally feeling better so that I can get our house back on track! These past few months we've been living in crazy land! Between endless plans and morning sickness (that lasted all day...), Adam and I have been regulars at the grocery store and take out spots in our neighborhood.

BUT, I'm back! Aside from a few low moments here and there, I feel like myself again and the slightest mention of food makes me hungry, rather than sick! I am proud to say that this week, we are officially back on a weekly dinner schedule and the groceries for the first half of the week have been purchased. (I realize it is Wednesday and thus the first half of the week is coming to an end, but this is a feat, nonetheless!)

For all of you curious minds out there, prior to finding out I was expecting, I was the queen of planning our dinners, usually Monday through Friday, on Sunday afternoon and getting all of the grocery shopping done Sunday or Monday evening. Well, that all changed the week that I suddenly decided I could not eat anything on the menu that I'd planned.

So we're back on track and here is our menu for this week:

Monday: Jalapeño Lime Chicken Soup 

Tuesday: Smoked Gouda Mushroom Quesadillas

Wednesday: Black pepper stir fried noodles with chicken and vegetables

Thursday: Spinach Fettuccine with Chicken and sautéed greens

Friday: Hamburgers and Turkey Burgers, salad, and Heirloom Tomato Tart with Ricotta and Basil

Saturday: Out to dinner

Sunday: Baked Chicken Salad and salad

On Monday night, I tried Pinch of Yum's Jalapeño Lime Chicken Soup. It was DELICIOUS. It had a nice kick and the flavor was wonderful. Adam and I both went back for seconds and we had plenty left over for us to have for lunch this week. We always love a meal that gives us lunches later!

Per usual, I tweaked the recipe slightly. So here is my adaptation of their Jalapeño Lime Chicken Soup. 

My photography skills (especially with my iPhone)
cannot compete with Pinch of Yum!

Jalapeño Lime Chicken Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 2 pounds chicken breasts (roughly four chicken breasts)
• 3 jalapeños, 2 seeded and ribbed and one not. (I think you could do 2, 1 or even none. The salsa verde has a little kick to it. If you skipped jalapeños in the soup, you could garnish with them later)
• ½ large red onion
• 4 14 ounce cans white beans (canellini or great northern)
• 2 16 ounce jars salsa verde 
• 4 limes 
• ½ teaspoon salt
• fresh cilantro for serving
• sour cream for serving
• avocado cubed for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

• Bring the chicken broth and water to a boil in a large pot. Add the raw chicken breasts to the hot liquid; cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until completely cooked. Remove the cooked chicken from the hot liquid and set aside to cool. 
• Return the liquid to the pot over medium heat. Shred the chicken breasts with two forks and add the chicken back to the pot.
• Finely chop the onion and slice the jalapeños. 
• Add the jalapeño, red onion, white beans, and salsa verde to the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes over medium heat. Just before serving, squeeze the juice of one lime into the pot. Cut the remaining limes into wedges for serving. Add the salt; taste and adjust as needed. Serve with fresh cilantro, sour cream, avocado, and lime wedges. 
• Enjoy and let me know what you think!

New Blog Loves

It's been awhile since I last posted on some of my new favorite blogs, but since I've been shamelessly using recipes from one of them (literally, two this week already) I figured I should tell you about the blog before I start telling you all about the borrowed recipes!

Up first though, Camp Patton. Grace, the author, is a mother of four children and wife to a doctor who is on rotations. She is super woman, like literally. She is an amazing photographer and take beautiful photos of her children (they are pretty darn cute subjects...) I love that she owns that life with four children as a stay at home mom, means a life that is sometimes chaotic. Her sense of humor is great and her four little ones are adorable. She writes mainly about their life and what's going on in the Patton household. As a soon to be mom, I love this blog...BUT would highly recommend it to everyone I know (pregnant or not, mom or not). Reading her posts is one of the highlights of my day, they always make me laugh!

My second new blog love is Pinch of Yum. This blog is written by a husband and wife couple and they post recipes. In the effort of full disclosure, I'll say that some of the recipes are a little different and have not be appealing, but a large number of them have looked and sounded amazing. The photography on this blog is excellent and the recipes are all pretty easy and straightforward! We've already tried two recipes this week and have plans to try a third. I also have a stack of them printed out in the queue for next week! As I find good ones, I'll pass them along!

Hope you guys enjoy these two blogs as much as I do!

16 Week Bumpdate!

How far along: 16 Weeks!

Baby Size: Our little babe is the size of an avocado today, about 4-5 inches and 3-5 ounces. Our baby's little heart is now pumping blood. He/she is gaining some coordination in his/her limbs. In the next couple of weeks, our little on should double in weight and add several inches to his/her frame. And our sweet one has tiny fingernails now!

Weight gain: Up 4 pounds at my last doctors appointment, last week. I was pleased with this weight gain and have decided to continue with my approach of eating well, with a few splurges, working out regularly and NOT stepping on the scale!

Maternity clothes: My bump officially arrived this weekend! If you look really hard in the picture above you can see it! I'm still wearing regular clothes, but the bella band and perfect fit are now staples in my wardrobe. I placed an order for some maternity pants at Old Navy over the weekend. They should come in this week and we'll see how they work out! I've also been eyeing a few cute tops on asos.com!

Stretch marks: None yet, but I'm continuing to apply lotion and my Palmer's Cocoa Butter!

Sleep: I've been sleeping well, but having a hard time falling asleep. I feel like I've had a lot on my mind lately and just can't seem to turn it  off when I get in the bed. I'm trying to work on relaxing a little more before going to bed, the past few nights I feel like I've been wound up thinking about all sorts of things before getting in bed and that is not conducive to falling asleep quickly!

Gender: Can't wait for September 20th!

Movement: None yet, but I am so excited for this!

Best moment this week: Three best moments this week! First, my teeny bump finally popped out on Thursday and that has been really exciting. It's small, and to be honest, no one really notices it yet, but Adam and I are excited about it! Second, we had a great weekend in Florida with Adam's family. It was a big family reunion and we were able to see so many people we hadn't seen in a long time (some since our wedding!?) and meet several people we hadn't met before. We spent lots of time on the beach relaxing and catching up! And finally, on our way back from Florida we stopped in St. Simons to have lunch with my parents, my sister, and her boyfriend. It was a great impromptu visit and they were all very excited about the bump...my sister said she thought she might cry! Her enthusiasm was just what I needed! :-)

Adam and his grandmother

Adam's dad and me

Looking forward to: I'm looking forward to my birthday weekend this coming weekend! My parents and sister are coming into town for the weekend. We have no big plans but we are going to go out to dinner one night. On Saturday we're picking up our new sofa, which is very exciting. We've been waiting for it for a few months! And later on Saturday, we're taking my family to Buy Buy Baby so they can get the full experience. Other than that, no big plans, just lots of good family time and a little birthday celebration!

Food cravings: Fruit is the one consistent craving. I do occasionally crave ice cream, but other than that no major cravings this week. We're finally back in a rhythm with my meal planning and I actually planned a menu for the next two weeks and did my shopping on Monday night! Stay tuned for a few new recipe posts!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Same old grilled chicken and pickled banana peppers. I'm also a little picky right now about Mexican food...I can't really handle the Moe's food or anything TexMex, but could for sure eat a little Casa Linda. I don't really know why, but I think it's a difference in the spices they use!

What I miss: Not a thing :-)

Symptoms: Occasional nausea, otherwise I'm feeling like a million dollars!

Nursery: My fabric swatches came in for the chair we'd love to have in the nursery from Pottery Barn Kids. We love the Wingback Convertible Rocker in the washed grain sack in flax. The best part about this chair, aside from the fact that it's comfortable for both Adam and me, is the fact that later on, you can convert it from a rocker to a regular chair by purchasing the feet. It will probably end up being the most pricey item in our nursery, but we think it's a great investment. The fabric is great! Now, we're just waiting on the bedding swatches we ordered to arrive. We ordered options for boy nurseries and girl nurseries. Over the next couple of weeks, we should be able to empty the current bedroom and start assembling the crib! It feels fast, until I realize that we're almost halfway there! Ahhh!

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood: I'm in a great mood, but feeling a little overwhelmed. We've had a lot going on the past few weeks and the rest of August is pretty busy as well. Our fall calendar seems to be filling up and before you know it it is winter and sweet baby will be arriving. I've spent a lot of time this week just trying to get things done!

Workouts: My workouts this week were a little different. I didn't make it to Body Pump with all of the other craziness we had going on this week. But I did walk a total of 10.3 miles split over three days and while we were at the beach I got two really good 40 and 45 minutes sessions of swimming and treading water in the ocean. Like I said, a different kind of week for workouts, but it was a really nice change!

Sweet baby, we are so lucky to have you on the way! We are thrilled every time we get to see you or hear your tiny heart beating away. We are excited about you, but also anxious and worried about being great parents for you. Your dad and I talk about you all the time and the things we want to teach you and the way we want to raise you. We are praying so much for you to be a healthy, smart, and sweet baby and we are praying that we will be patient, smart, and loving parents for you.