10 WEEKS TO GO!

Oh that day! What an emotional mess I was! It was the first week of February & my little Blue Eyes was getting ready to turn a year old. I was knee deep in first birthday planning & up to my neck in winter bills wondering how I was going to get the two to happily marry without going broke. To make matters worse, my stomach issues & IBS always flare up when stress is high so everything I ate made me sick. I was sick for a several weeks before feeling like this was definitely the worst case of IBS I had to date & I swore I was finally going to start taking my medication (which I never do, of course!). Ahem!



Ever notice how Moms are always right? They are clued in to the mysteries of the universe, I am certain! That being said, my mother half serious & half with a giggle suggests I take a pregnancy test. Bah! I can't be pregnant! I am a seriously dedicated birth control pill taker! How could THAT be possible? Well at this suggestion, I quickly thumb through my calendar. A long list of explicitives run through my head & I grab my keys & notify my husband I am heading to the Dollar Store to buy a pregnancy test. I had my hair in a bun, my husbands dirty sweatshirt on, tears streaming down my face & yes, I also had started to break out in stress hives (ON MY FACE!!!!). I must've looked like a broke, knocked up teenage buying a pregnancy test & paying for it with the remainder of a gift card my mother had bought my son for his Christmas stocking. Because yes, that week in February I didn't even have a whole dollar to scrape together for a pregnancy test. Oh yes, and let's not to forget to mention there was close to 3 feet of snow on the ground that week! But no amount of the white stuff was standing between me & that Dollar Store!



Well, I am sure you could guess the results by the title of this post! And tomorrow I will have only 10 weeks to go until my due date in mid-September. After the initial shock of being pregnant again finally wore off, we found out we are having a little girl. We also got a little more unexpected news when we found out there could be some potential complications. Nothing in this world is more scary then when you get that news. I "Googled" every term the doctor gave me. I surfed every forum that my web browser would allow trying to find any shred of information I could get. I cried for weeks over the information I found. I wanted to feel knowledgable. I NEEDED that information. I joined a few online support groups. And we did every test we could to try to find out what type of disorder our daughter could potentially have. If you're wondering, we really haven't gotten a good solid answer, even after an amnio. Trisomy 13, 18 & 21 have been ruled out, as well as Cystic Fibrosis. The amnio did produce a "positive" result for Spina Bifida, but since all 4 of my ultrasounds showed no sign of spinal defects, the doctor seems fairly certain it is more likely a "false positive". Of course, this gives me no confidence in the rest of the amnio results. We had the option of doing a broader range of testing for chromosonal defects, since that is what my highest risk is for, but we opted to decline all further tests. So, these last few weeks we are waiting it out & anxiously preparing for the arrival of Little Miss Magic. We have been so caught up in the testing, that we are frantically trying to pull together everything for her arrival. I pray for my daughter every day. I pray first & foremost that God's will be done in our lives. We are willing to accept the life God wants to give us. I pray for her to be healthy & that if she isn't, the complications would be minor. I pray that I can be the best parent that I can be to her & to her two big brothers. Nothing in this world is as precious as those three children are to me.



So...Yes, 10 WEEKS LEFT! My mother is coming out to visit next week so we can do some organizing & shopping. She'll only be here two days so I am sure we will try to cram as much in as possible. HERE'S TO NESTING!

Wishing my readers a blessed weekend & a productive week ahead!

It's sure to get a little crazier!

HAPPY MONDAY!!! Here is to hoping that your weekend was filled with relaxation & blessings! We had a great (and busy) one, for which I have lots of pictures to show you in few paragraphs down.

In other news, however, this past week has been really crazy for me... Well, really the past 6 months have been crazy for me! I am on pregnancy #3 with our first little girl and before she was even a little blue line on a stick she has made our life very interesting. From severe morning sickness & dehydration (which I mistakenly thought to be old stomach issues creeping up again) to the marathon of testing I've had, she has been in every form, much more challenging than her two brothers. This past Monday I had an amniocentisis, for which we have a potential Down's Syndrome or Cystic Fibrosis diagnosis. Mind you, I already had a genetic carrier testing for Cystic Fibrosis which came back negative. However, with only a 92% accuracy rate on the test, the doctor suggested we run the diagnostic on the amnio as well, just to rule out that possibility in it's totality. So here we are waiting on results that we have been assured should be here by the very latest this Friday. Its already a relief knowing the end to this crazy "in between" phase of non-direction will soon be over and we can focus on welcoming Little Miss Magic in a mere 14 weeks or so. I can't wait. I've been a mom to boys for the past 8+ years & I am really excited to be having a daughter now, too!

Back to our weekend... We had a great one! Lots of time with family! It was our little cousin's 2nd birthday party (Dora The Explorer themed, of course) and all the "little's" had a great time swimming & playing with one another. Birthday Girl had a fabulous time & received lots of great gifts that any 2 year old would adore, including a new Tutu & Dora rain boots! Can I just say how proud of my oldest son, Brown Eyes, I am? He spent half of the party pulling around a wagon full of giggling little girls assuring that every pigtailed guest got a ride before party's end! Then after all the wagon rides were completed, he found & promptly returned a lost gold bracelet to its owner, who hadn't even realized he had lost it yet. Owner rewarded him with a 5 dollar bill to which my husband reminded him that honesty always pays off! Needless to say, I'm a proud Mama! After Birthday Girls party on Saturday, we celebrated a mini post birthday for Brown Eyes, whose actual birthday is in May. But since my parents were still vacationing in Florida in May, we celebrated a little late this year. My Mom made him a special homemade ice cream cake, which was fabulous!! Chocolate layer cake with vanilla ice cream in between & chocolate mousse cream "icing"! YUUM! I can't wait to nibble on the left overs this week! If I haven't mentioned it already, my Mom is an awesome cook & baker! She always has unique ways to make things special, especially when it comes to treats for the kids. I want to be her when I grow up :-D

Here are a few pictures of our weekend. We have another crazy week ahead of us which includes a few doctors appointments, taking the kids on a few outings & waiting for those test results. It's sure to get a little crazier by week's end too! Wishing you & yours a happy week! I know it's the last week of school for many of you, so I'll be wishing you some sanity this week, as well. Many blessings!

A few of my summertime favorite things...

With school out of session & the first day of summer right around the corner, my mind can't help but wander to summers past. I remember the first time I took my babies to the beach & sunk their little toes into the soft sand. I see my Mom & I sipping homemade sangria under the big umbrella in her back yard & chatting about absolutely nothing. I look back at my younger years & cherish the memories of my best friend & I driving down to the boardwalk after work then sucking down Strawberry Shortcake ice cream in the warm summer twilight. What I am left with are my absolute favorite things about summertime: Friends, Family & any kind of treat with fresh fruit!

So if you are spending this sure to be beautiful weekend with someone you love, here are a few "fruity" recipes from my family archives for you to bestow on them.

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE COFFEE CAKE
Courtesy of my "Aunt" Kathy

Ingredients for Batter: 3/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup softened butter, 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 2 cups sifted all purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 cups blueberries (if using frozen, defrost then pat dry)
Ingredients for Crumb Topping: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/3 cup sifted all purpose flour, 1/4 softened butter

Directions for Batter: Mix sugar, softened butter & egg until fluffy. Stir in milk. Next, add sifted flour, baking powder & salt to liquid mixture and stir. Toss blueberries in flour, then add to batter. Spread batter in greased & floured 8 or 9 inch square glass pan. Bake at 350 degree's for 45-50 minutes.
Directions for Crumb Topping: Combine ingredients & sprinkle on warm cake after baking has been completed.

*Pairs great with vanilla ice cream!

PEACH BREAD

Courtesy of my good friend, Kristan

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup oil, 2 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla, 3 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 cups peaches (if using canned or frozen pat dry once defrosted).

Directions: Dice peaches into small cubes & set aside. Mix sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Next add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to liquid mixtire & stir. Add peaches & stir until peaches are evenly distributed. Bake at 350 degree's in two loaf pans or single 8 inch square glass pan for 35 minutes.

*Pairs great w/ breakfast menu's. May also serve with crumb topping from Blueberry Buckle recipe.

LEMON ICE CREAM

Courtesy of my Mama, the Boopster herself :-)

Ingredients: 1 cup whole milk, 1 cup whipping (heavy) cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla, juice of 1 1/2 lemons, 1 cup sugar, lemon zest or peel to garnish.

Directions: Squeeze the juice from 1 1/2 lemons & mix with , vanilla sugar & milk. Set aside. Whip heavy cream until stiff, then fold into milk mixture. Pour into shallow container to freeze. When partially frozen, stir several times then let rest to continue freezing. Garnish with lemon peel or zest.

I hope that you enjoy these recipes as much as I have! Wishing you all a very blessed weekend filled with wonderful summer memories of fun, family, friends & good food!