Week 41 THE END!

41 weeks!!

Tomorrow marks my milestone for week 41 of pregnancy!! That is 10 months and 1 week. WOWZA! Today is my last day of pregnancy!! Looking forward to meeting Penelope Ann tomorrow. We will be inducing labor at 7:30 am. The past couple of days I have been having some crampy contractions, but still nothing intense. I am eager to find out if they have been doing anything! My mother always never knew when she was in labor until she was dilated to about 7 cm!! With me she was literally sitting on my head in the car on the way to the hospital, my younger sister Katie Mae she was overdue with. Went in at 42 weeks to be induced. When we got there she was in transition!! She had Katie within the hour!





It's crazy how each and every woman is different with pregnancy, and labor. I just love hearing every ones experiences!

I have been feeling rather great still. Just tired here and there towards the evenings. I have been taking it pretty easy the past few days. I was admitted into the hospital the other night with high blood pressure. I had an extremely bad headache for most of the day, and nothing would make it subside. So I then decided I had better call my doctor before he closed for the evening. I called at about 4:30, Jamie had left for work and took Elijah up to gma and gpa's house, so I could get some rest. The doctor told me to take my bp, and call them back with the results.

So I called my friend Stephanie, and she took me over to the grocery store so I could get my bp taken at the pharmacy. I took it 4 times. It was surely high! 150/94 was my average. I have never in my life been over 120/80. I called my doctor back, and they told me to come in immediately. I had to call Jamie who was almost at work, and have him turn around, then I had to get ah old of my sister in law, and get our game plans rolling to take Elijah for the night.

It was nerve wracking. I didn't know what to expect at this moment. Were we gonna have a baby? Were they going to induce me tonight? Were they going to do a cesarean? Jamie gave me a blessing, and I felt at ease right away. They hooked me up to all the standard machines, took my blood, and started me an IV in case we had to have the baby that night. I still had high blood pressure and Penelope's heart rate was high. Around 180 Jamie and I sat and talked and laughed, while watching a couple episodes of "Friends" . Jamie kept saying they were going to send us home.

I was popping out contractions like it was cool. About every 3 minutes,but they weren't painful. They just really made me have to urinate like NO OTHER! They just weren't long or strong enough to be doing much. I dilated about 1/2 a cm while we were there. If I had made significant progress we would have stayed overnight. We were admitted about 7:30pm, and had our results around 10:30. Everything came back normal. My bp had lowered to normal, and Penny's heartrate had gone back down to normal as well.

Love these peachy orange flowers!

We were released with a clean bill of health that evening! We celebrated with some ice cream, and headed home. I have felt back to normal since then. However it has been super hard to sit still. The doctors and nurses told me to take it easy, and watch my bp. It seems that being on my feet easily gets my contractions going, and they tend to get stronger quite easily. So I sat still pretty well for 2 days. Kind of??...lol I'm not very good at the whole sitting thing. Today I worked in my yard a while. Had to plant some more flowers ;O) I just love this time of year.


My pumpkins, watermelon and Strawberries!

Working in the yard is by far one of my favorite things to do! I certainly get it from my mother! I do intend to take the rest of the day easy, I'm not even going to COOK! Can't believe the day is almost to a close..Ill be seeing you SOON PENNY!!

Today is my DUE DATE!!! 40 Weeks Pregnant!

40 weeks!

 Well here we are at week number 40!!!! Today is my due date.... and Penelope Ann has not arrived! We went in bags packed to my Dr. this morning to have a checkup, and do a non stress stress test. Penelope passed with flying colors. Heart beat was outstanding. We then checked my fluid, and she has PLENTY of fluid in her lil home as well! She is certainly not ready to come out. I am okay with that. I am anxious to see the little tyke, but she just isn't ready!

39 weeks!

Other than that my appointment showed that I had lost 2 lbs, this past week, and I haven't progressed with my cervix. It's opening, but not enough to even scrape my membranes!! Not that effacement and dilation even mean anything. People can walk around at a 5 for weeks, and NOTHING. People can have NOTHING for WEEKS, and BOOM..dilate like it's cool and have a baby in a matter of hours.

Since there was no need for induction today, we will wait ONE more week. If labor doesn't jump start on it's own, then we will induce next Tuesday morning June 12th @ 7:30am!
I have had so many people tell me how sorry they are that I am going over my due date. I find it silly. I'm in no pain or discomfort. Still running, lifting weights, boxing, pilates, yoga, etc etc.. You name it I am doing it. I feel pretty darn fabulous. I just have the occasional tiredness!

This past week has been a little hectic. Elijah broke his leg. He was dinking around on the couch with dad, and twisted his foot, and fell off the couch. The fall isn't what broke him, it was the twisting action on the couch we presume. He has been a trooper, and has been walking on it for a couple of days now.

It is so hard and sad to see your baby hurt like this! My baby boy!! It was just in time too, dad had to go on graves, and so I was left tending to Elijah all day and night, with a little break from dad once he woke up in the afternoon to get ready to go to work. The first 3 days were kinda tough. I tried to keep us busy. The tough part was Elijah whining, and needing to be carried EVERYWHERE. I mean I work out daily, and do all sorts of vigorous exercises, but having to carry around almost and extra 50lbs between Penny in my belly, and Elijah on my hip...it was exhausting!!

His awesome camo cast!

So thankful his cast is waterproof, it has been SO NICE to not have to worry about keeping my Critter clean!!

I have honestly been trying every trick in the book to induce this labor..And zilch!!! My neighbor came over the other day flabbergasted that I was mowing the lawn. She said I was crazy. LOL mowing the lawn is a piece of cake compared to most of my workouts I have been doing throughout my whole pregnancy!! It's just walking back and forth really haha. I don't even recall breaking much of a sweat. Maybe because of the heat..but that is about it!


 I am extremely thankful and feel truly blessed to have had such another amazing pregnancy. I feel very ready, and confident to have Penelope! So excited to see what labor is like, and to potentially experience a natural birth. She is currently weighing in at around 6.5 lbs. A whole pound more than Elijah was when he was born ( he was a Cesarean due to being breech, and not being able to turn during the ECV. and taken at 37 weeks.) So I very well could be having around a 7lb baby give or take!! That is odd for me to think about LOL.

Hope to see you soon Penny!! Mommy, daddy, and big brother Elijah are so eager to meet you sweet girl!!!

Week 38 and Counting!

37 weeks 1 day!

Still pregnant! All 38 weeks of me, but not for long I presume! Saturday was a pretty awesome day. Can't remember the last day that really wasn't actually! I feel very blessed to have felt so amazing through this pregnancy. I did get hit with some fatigue the past few weeks. I had plenty of down days, just spent relaxing, reading a book, playing with Elijah outdoors and lounging around.

It has been nice for a change. I am quite a busy girl. I like it that way too. I really enjoy always having a task, chore, errand, craft, or home improvement project to do! At first when the fatigue hit I was a bit miserable. I missed going to the gym, and my at home workouts just don't do me justice I feel. I at least had jogging outdoors with Summit! The only downside was after my morning workout I was beat! And it literally zapped my energy for the rest of the day. So I cut back on cardio, and upped my pilates, and yoga. It helped a lot, but I missed my daily running routine!

Elijah helping mom and dad prep the vegetable garden

The past week has been good with my energy levels. They have seemed to come back to normal. Most likely because of my hormones I think? Getting ready to have this baby!! Penelope will be here literally any day now. It's very exciting to think about!

I got a lot of work done in the yard yesterday. I decided it was time to get rid of a lilac bush that Jamie and I had always talked about cutting down. We love lilac bushes, however this one was in the way of my up and coming vegetable garden! Good thing we have 2 lilac bushes in the yard. It would have been really sad, I love keeping fresh lilac in the house during the season!

Jamie woke to me taking a the chainsaw to the bush in the early A.M. He came out and asked what I was doing. I told him. "Prepping my vegetable garden!" He said "OK, just don't cut off your leg." Then he went back inside and him and Elijah apparently watched me finish the job. He told me later it was enjoyable watching his wife do something like that. It made him proud. :O) 

Goodbye Lilac Bush!

We spent the day running errands, doing yard work and going to a birthday party for our sweet niece Paige. I was literally on my feet, hands and knees all day. Played basketball with the nephews, ran around in the yard blowing bubbles with all our nieces and nephews. Walking around the mall, and home depot, digging out lilac bush roots, shoveling dirt and weeding in my vegetable garden. There were a couple of times when I was pulling up roots that I literally though Penny was gonna pop RIGHT out of me! She didn't though!


After we called it a day, Jamie wanted to go mountain biking. I was all game to go. But he thought it best for me to stay home and relax. Good thing I did. He came home drenched in sweat, and so sore beyond belief! Guess Ill have to hit that trail after Penny is born! ;O) I don't think I would have survived!

Playing with Earthworms!

I didn't have a problem with the high amount of activity yesterday as most people would have thought. I felt great, slept great, and woke up early feeling great! Ready to do it all over again!

I did have some more sign this morning about Penny's arrival! So I know that those contractions yesterday from all the activity must have been doing something!!? 16 days left until my due date. I wonder when she will make her debut!?!?


On another note! Our family hit a milestone on May 18th!! It was our sweet Summit Boy's birthday!! He turned the big 4!!! What an amazing dog he has been in our lives. Great Danes make GREAT companions! Elijah and him are the best of buds. Our family would not be complete without him!!!

Happy Birthday Sir Admiral Ullr Summit!

Summit's Birthday doggie cake I baked!

Elijah and Summit <3

Pumpkin Quinoa Bars

A friend of mine asked me if I had a recipe for a Quinoa Protein Bar. These are delish! Having trouble finding the original site I adapted this recipe from, and I wanted to pin it! So here it is. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Quinoa Protein Bars

Part one:
(1 cup) uncooked quinoa
2 cups water

Part two:
(1/2 cup) fresh pumpkin meat ( canned will work just fine, however fresh meat is tastier!!)
  1/2 cup water

Part three:
1/3 cup + 1-2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 - 3/4 tsp sea salt
(1/4 cup) flax egg



Part four:
1-2 tbsp pepitas (seeds from squash)

Cook the quinoa (after rinsing it). I used the method in which you boil the quinoa and the water for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover it, and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine half of the quinoa and the pumpkin purée in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse on low and slowly stream in the water, then gradually bring it up to high speed. It will be tough to purée quinoa, because it's very gummy and glutinous, but be patient and keep working it and it'll come out fine!

Dump in a large bowl, and then add all of part three, along with the rest of the quinoa. Mix well, give it a taste and adjust any of the seasonings or sugar to your liking.

Scrape into a well-greased 8x8" baking dish (I baked it in a larger dish and I found it a bit too thin to handle well). Smooth out so it's level, and then sprinkle the pepitas over the top. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the top is dry and doesn't give in when you press gently on it, then cool for an hour (you can put it on a plate and then leave it in the fridge uncovered to speed up the process). Then cut into as many bars as you want. I cut them into 16 because they're pretty densely packed with nutrients and fiber and protein, so a little should be enough!

Time to Play Catch Up!!

8 Months Pregnant

Yes I haven't posted since JANUARY! Everyone falls off the blogosphere now and again! The past 3 months have been crazy!! What HAVEN'T we been up to?

My pregnancy has gone rather amazing. So thankful to have felt the way I have been feeling. I did run into a few bumps in the road. 1: Being my lower back. I didn't have any issues with it until I went into the Chiropractor! I setup an appointment to have the Webster's Technique done, to ensure that Penelope had enough room to turn. The Dr. noticed my sacrum was a little out, so he adjusted that as well. Since the relaxin hormone from my pregnancy had well kicked in, my adjustment wouldn't hold, and my back kept going out!! It was horrible! After a few adjustments though I was back to
running on the treadmill!

8 ½ months

2. As of most recent I went into preterm labor! 33 weeks pregnant I began to have Braxton Hicks contractions in the car dealership. I figured it was nothing, probably just from the excitement of buying a new vehicle, and being on my feet all day. Well after 3 days they didn't stop! Nothing would settle them down. They just gradually got stronger (not painful), they were consistent and forming a pattern. I was having about 5-7 every hour.

The belly and all it's glory @ 8 ½ months!

I called my OB to see if this was normal, being I never even felt a BHC with Elijah. They got me in, and took a look. I ended up having a bladder infection that caused me to start contracting. I dilated only to 1cm, so that was good! I was given antibiotics to clear up the infection, and stop the contractions within a couple of days. Worked wonders! Minus the horrible heart palpitations, and tiredness the meds gave me!! The Dr said I can resume regular exercise asap, just to pay attention to my body. I have really laid off my cardio though. It seems that I have BHC just going up stairs, or playing outside in the yard with Elijah and Summit. Im sure it is just my body prepping, but it's new to me, and I am afraid of going into labor early again!

I am now a little over 8 ½ months. 40 days to go!! Crazy to think about!!!!!! I'm getting really excited about meeting Penelope Ann! She has since turned head down! Which is awesome, but also a bit nerve wracking!!! One step closer to having a vaginal birth after a c section!! The only other thing that needs to happen to ensure a vaginal birth is to go into labor naturally. My Dr won't induce on a VBAC, to keep the added stress from the contractions off of the previous incision. I'm really hoping for a natural birth! Anxious to see how this journey will pan out!

As for the excitement I mentioned above about buying a new vehicle..that is right..I traded in the FJ Cruiser!! Something we weren't planning on doing for a little while longer. Besides, after the 4th time of buying me a vehicle...it was Jamie's turn to get his truck! Well we ended up doing just that! Jame got his truck too! I thought I would miss the FJ- afterall it was my dream vehicle forever!! I don't though..this Acadia is my dream vehicle!! :O)

Our New Family Car out at the Lake!

Jamie's New Truck!

For our family vehicle we went with the 2012 GMC Acadia. Now I can really talk up a storm about the Acadia. Let me sum it up for you. Seats 8, AWD, 20/26 MPG, Fully loaded with headed seats, tri climate control, moon roof, and sun roof, DVD, bose system, XM, bluetooth, and a PLETHORA of other gadgets! 3rd row seating is comfortable for adults, and even with it up, has the most cargo room out of any suv, both midsized and large sized. Yes more room than an expedition, and yukon. In fact overall, the cubic feet of the Acadia is just 2 cubic ft LESS than the GMC Yukon! Hard to believe but it is true! We are so overwhelmingly happy with the purchase. We have been test driving, and searching for the perfect family car with all these features FOR MONTHS, without having to go to a minivan to get it!! Quite honestly this is it ladies and gentlemen!

5 days later we bought Jamie his truck. Something we didn't intend to do. But our car dealer knew what we wanted in a truck, and he found it! It was pretty incredible actually. We upgraded Jamie from a 2007 Chevy Silverado extended cab work truck edition to a 2011 Chevy Silverado crew cab LT.

Jame is pretty happy with all the features of his truck! Even gets much better gas mileage because it has flex fuel. Going from the extended cab to a crew cab has been nice. So much more room in the back! So having the kids back there is so much more convenient!

As for other events in our timeline...EASTER! Easter was great, it was so fun to watch Elijah able to hunt for eggs all by himself for the 1st time!!! He was so excited to see what was inside of all his eggs! He enjoyed coloring eggs as well. And seriously the most amazing thing of all...he LOVED the Easter Bunny!!! He couldn't get enough of him! He didn't like Santa at all this past Christmas, but you put a person in an animal suit, and he goes NUTS. We took him to go see Cat In The Hat over the month of March for Dr. Seuss's Birthday, and he loved him too!! So darling!




Summit the Easter Bunny, tired after "laying" all those eggs! ;O)

Elijah and the Easter Bunny!

This kid loved Cat in the Hat!

Dr. Seuss Cupcakes I made for our Dr. Seuss Parties!!

My lil Thing 1 tasting cotton candy for the first time!

Other than all of this it has just been pretty steady. Jamie has been going to school for his Foreman's Certificate, he takes his text next week for that! He recently took his other test through work for his grade 4 pay. He passed! It is a VERY nice raise in pay!! If he passes this Foreman's test it will be another big raise!

I have been finishing up my cake classes. As much as I love them, I am looking forward to being done and getting certified as a Wilton Cake Instructor! It takes a lot to prep each week, whilst being pregnant, and having a toddler to chase after!!

Fondant Mario Cake for the Cub Scout Cake Auction!