V is for Victory!

Today was a great day off! 

Officially made it to 38 weeks which feels amazing. Two more weeks till I can meet baby Marlee! I also was able to put both my engagement and wedding ring on! Victory! The lack of lemonade and pasta must be working because I didn't gain any weight this week either... hate admitting the doctor was right. My ankle swelling has also been so much better, or as the doc put it, my ankles are still "slightly skinny." Hey, another victory in my book.

Appointment Summary 

Blood Pressure: 128/78

Weight Gain: None! 

Uterus Height: 38 cm 

Marlee's Heartbeat: 150 BPM

Goals: Continue with less sugar, more water! 

My sister, mom, Nick, and I decided to go to the Party in the Park for fireworks so I wanted to make something festive for the occasion. I decided on red velvet cupcakes with blue frosting and white sprinkles! I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it sounded delicious so figured I would give it a try. The original recipe is from Cooking Classy but I found it from another tester here: Heidi Bakes

The only thing I changed was that I used 2% milk and the cupcakes could have probably been cooked a minute or two less.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup salted butter, firm but not cold 

1 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon red food coloring (I used the whole little bottle)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk 2% milk

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time stirring after each addition. Add red food coloring and vanilla extract and mix until combine. In a small mixing bowl, combine milk and 1 tsp vinegar. Add milk mixture and flour mixture to cupcake mixture, alternating in two separate batches, mixing until combine after each addition. Divide batter evenly among paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven 18-23 minutes until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool about 2 minutes in muffin tin, then transfer to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container to cool completely (this just helps them retain more moisture). 

I gathered all the ingredients. 

And went to work! 

I mixed all the dry ingredients. 

Whisked the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. 

Added the milk and vinegar together and let it sit for a second. This essentially makes buttermilk... I mean who has buttermilk sitting around? Not this lady. 

Added the eggs and vanilla.

Now time for the food coloring! 

Added the dry ingredients and milk mixture. 

Mix. Mix. Mix. 

Great color and texture - light and fluffy! 

I usually have pretty cupcake liners but these white ones were on sale... can't pass up a good sale.

Popped the cupcakes in the oven and did a little clean up. Brusco helped of course. 

The icing was nothing fancy. Just 2 cups confectioners sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tbsp milk (more or less for texture), and 3 tbsp butter. Of course, I added some blue food coloring too. 

My husband does not like icing. So I try my best to go light on the icing. I added some sparkly white sprinkles to top them off.

My kitchen lighting is terrible.

These cupcakes were great. Moist and full of flavor. I will definitely be adding these to my recipe folder. And if you do not have a cupcake carrier, buy one. I love it. (Shout out to Delvyn for the great gift!)

The rain ruined our picnic so I didn't get any feedback from the cupcakes but will take them to tomorrow's festivities. We ate at Kozmo's Grille for dinner and saw some fireworks from the car. Still a great day/night overall! 

Green Thumb Momma

I finally had time to spend some of my day in the garden and I cannot believe how much the plants have grown! We added a little extra fertilizer two weeks ago and with all the rain we have been getting, the plants have flourished. The lettuce has given us at least 4 nice sized salads but that is about the extent of the edible veggies so far. I am optimistic that we will get some tomatoes soon! I did a little pruning and weeding and enjoyed being out in the sun. Marlee was happily sleeping in my belly while Brusco watched over us like he always does. 

This was the garden from June 19th. 

And the garden today. 

The picture is from a different angle but there is at least a foot difference in the tomato plants and the pumpkin plant is huge! 

Next year I am going to have to make the pumpkin mound bigger! The leaves are bigger then my hands! And my hands are quite swollen as you can see...

The tomatoes are maybe two feet tall. 

And little flowers are forming! Bring on the veggies! 

The broccoli has been pretty quiet but still growing taller by the day. The peppers are still maybe 6 inches tall but we have struggled to even make it this far. The seeds did not want to germinate and after starting new seeds, we finally have some progress! 

I am going to have to give the watermelon plant more room next year too because it is stretching into the grass. 

Brusco usually doesn't venture into the garden but I can't blame him for sniffing the pumpkin... It's a really fragrant plant! 

Shameless garden picture. Overalls and all! 

Oh I can't forget my basil! These little fellas are not in the garden but are going to need transplanted to a bigger container soon. 

After a little watering, the garden is ready to grow another day. It was nice to finally get outside and enjoy the sun while doing a little work. 

July Already!

Seriously where did June go?

July really is one of my favorite months but I was not quite ready for it yet. Can I have a redo of June? There are so many things I want to do just yet!

And of course Marlee Josephine will be here before I know it.

It is pretty bittersweet actually.

I have enjoyed this part of my life so much and am not quite ready to let it go. I almost feel selfish at times because I know I should be more excited about meeting her than about the actual pregnancy but it really has been such a joy. She is kickboxing as I type and I am going to miss this feeling. Sure my feet are the size of footballs, my back aches everytime bend over, I am lucky if I can put my socks on with the first try, and I pee every five minutes, but the perks of pregnancy more than outweigh the bad. I have even come up with some not-so-obvious perks.

37 weeks and 3 days - So large and happy

Perks of Pregnancy

• Instant Conversation Starter - I am really good at making every small hello awkward. If we run into each other at Walmart, I will go out of my way to either avoid you or make you wish you had avoided me. Is is a gift I guess. Butttt since I have been pregnant, it makes these meetings so much easier. The bank lady for example; super sweet lady. Always chats me up. I have nothing to say. Ever. Then BAM - pregnancy came along. She asks how I am feeling and I can talk forever about how excited I am to meet Marlee. Then I can happily exit without feeling like I just ruined that poor tellers day with bad conversation. Number one perk of pregnancy - hands down.
• Shaving - Ok now shaving is a pain no matter what stage of life you are in but I am a terrible shaver. I have been doing this for 15+ years and still cut myself on a weekly basis. Terrible, I know. Buttt with legs the size of small tree trunks, it is practically impossible to cut myself. Cankles are a razors best friend. When all bony prominices are covered by my swollen-ness, shaving is a breeze. And the days I do not shave, pregnancy is also a good excuse. Bam.
• Strangers Hold Open Doors - Generally, people are not this nice to me so it is an added bonus of pregnancy that people smile and do nice things when they really do not have to. My arms have not been affected by pregnancy and they do still function quite well. I even had a guy the other day hold open the doors at Walmart for me. They are automatic doors and are no way like an elevator that they could close at anytime leaving me to wait for the next door. They open and stay open till I pass. I smiled politely though and thanked the kind sir.
• Mixer is Never Out of Reach - This obviously does not apply to everyone but I have absolutely no storage space in my kitchen. We literally have half our appliances and pans in the closet in the dining room. My KitchenAid mixer is the favorite of my appliances though so gets stored right on top of the refrigerator (love, love, love my mixer!). Unfortunately getting it down during pregnancy has been quite the pain considering my usual method of just hopping on the counter like a little kid is no longer an option (and yes, I have tried). Luckily, Nick has become pretty handy in these desperate times and retrieves my mixer in one swift movement! No questions asked! This is a small perk but that darn thing is heavy - so a greatly appreciated perk. 

This list can certainly go on with some more obvious perks such as the pregnancy glow, the amazingly full hair, I can eat two pieces of cake without feeling guilty, and I get the occasional ankle rub (feet rub is not an option in this household). 

I have started my countdown till Marlee arrives at 20 days! My due date is July 17th but my last day of work is the 20th so I figured I can push for that day as her due date. A couple residents at work think I have dropped but I am pretty sure that she is still sitting up pretty high and is content with her home for now. I get some Braxton Hicks contractions maybe a couple times a day and even less when I am off my feet so nothing too exciting going on in there. 

Three more weeks!

Festival Season!

Today was a very productive, entertaining, and exhausting exciting day. It really was a perfect day with family and friends. We spent the first half of the day with the Zoar Family and we were able to see what having three little ones would be like! As hectic as I can see it being some days, I am sure there is never a dull moment - and I can not wait to have those moments with our family. Our visits are too far and in between but it seems like we just pick up right where we left off. I just wished they lived closer because they always have good tips for little ones which I am sure will come in handy the next couple of months. Marlee also was gifted a huge box of clothes, a swing, a jumper, two play mats, and an activity saucer! We did not really have any type of entertainment for her so I am looking forward to putting them all to good use. Thanks again Zoar and Christina! Now to find a place for all her new toys...

Our original plans were to head to the Akron Aeros game with Isaac but the weather did not want to cooperate. We decided to check out the Richville Festival which was a blast. I remember riding those rides when I was little but was pretty content with being pregnant and unable to ride. I wanted to scream for Isaac! They looked absolutely terrifying. He had a blast though and even won a stuffed turtle at one of the booths. All and all, it was a great time and I got some fun pictures. 

Nick rode this one too!

Isaac loved the trampoline!

I finished my Saturday night off with my giant legs and feet up on pillows! About 8 of them. 

Perfect ending to a Saturday night <3

Happy Friday!

Hurray for Fridays!

Started my day off with lunch at Kozmo's Grille with the lovely Randi. We shared a Greek Pizza and I am now wishing I took a picture of it because it was phenomenal. Tomatoes, spinach, feta cheese, and caramelized onions on top of a delicious carb filled crust. It was nice to catch up and get some friend time in before Marlee arrives. My next trip to Kozmo's Grille will definitely consist of more pizza and hopefully a martini!

After a trip to the store, I returned home to see my headbands for Marlee had arrived!! I purchased them from Ellura Sage on Etsy and I could not be more pleased with the quality and colors!

Lots of colors for lots of outfits!

I even received this festive little clip for following on Facebook! 'Merica!

Brusco had to be my temporary model since neither Nick nor Isaac were very willing to try on the headbands for pictures. 

Such a pretty little puppy!! 

After Nick grilled some steaks for dinner, I was finally able to put my feet up and relax for the rest of my Friday night. Wolverine is on FX and some ice cold watermelon is calling my name. 

Happy Friday everyone!