Backaches

It was around week 21 that I began to notice how much my back ached. And not just my back - my whole upper body seemed to be sore, especially in my ribcage area. Every time I sat, lied down, or even walked around, my body constantly throbbed from this dull pain. I just could not get comfortable no matter what I did. So I enlisted the help of my husband, who gives the best massages ever. All I have to do is turn my back to him, and that's his cue. I've also read that warm baths and back exercises help. I'm not one for taking baths (partly because we don't have a nice big bathtub and partly because they remind me of that episode of Friends where Chandler asks Monica, "You just sit in there stewing in your own filth?"), but I've started to incorporate more exercises into my routine to build a stronger back (a great exercise for this - seated rows). 

I'm also interested in investing in a Snoogle, a body pillow for pregnant women that claims to provide support to the back and tummy. Sounds good to me!

Snoogle pillow ($59.99) in Replacement Cover in Taupe Rings ($29.99)

www.buybuybaby.com

During the times when my husband is not around to give me a back rub, I'll be using my massaging chair pad. It's no John, but it'll do.

Massaging chair pad

A gift from my Mom from many years ago - thanks, Mom!

The Crawling Dead

I've found Lil Bit's Halloween costume:

The Walking Dead Onesie

$19.99

www.skyboundshop.com

Interesting fun fact that you probably didn't know about me (or would have never guessed based on my personality) - I am OBSESSED with The Walking Dead. So when I read online recently that Skybound is launching a Walking Dead Onesie, I was super excited. I've had plans to dress Lil Bit like a Lil Zombie since he will arrive just in time for Halloween, but seeing as there aren't many zombie costumes for newborns on the market, this onesie is the next best thing.

www.hutchinsphoto.com

www.hutchinsphoto.com

My Mini Mathematician

I think first and foremost, all parents want their children to be healthy and happy babies. But deep down inside, I think we all have little hopes and wishes for them. For example, John hopes our son will play sports. I just hope he's not bad at math. I fully intend to teach him how to count, add, subtract, and memorize his times tables as soon as he's able to talk (and hide all calculators from him until he needs one for calculus). 

In the meantime, I found the most adorable onesie at UncommonGoods.com.

Acute Angle Babysuit

$25

www.uncommongoods.com

And hey, it's actually accurate! (I hate when I see math stuff on clothing and it's not even correct).

There's also a really cute math-themed swaddling blanket available.

Pythagorean Theorem Swaddling Blanket

$38

www.uncommongoods.com

(Again, accurate!)

Hope everyone's enjoying their weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Inspiration

A few weeks ago, John and I were in Orlando when we stopped in this store called Brunello Cucinelli. As soon as I walked in, I turned to John and said, "This is exactly how I want the nursery to look and feel like."

www.style.com

www.gq.com

I love all the neutral colors with subtle pops of blue. It all just feels so clean and calming and I felt it would be a good atmosphere to create for a baby's room.

Below are some of my favorite looks for men and women (photos courtesy of boutique.brunellocucinelli.com)

I love all the different shades of khaki, cream, grey, and blue. So John and I set out to Home Depot to find some paint samples that would remind us of this collection. 

Torn by all these decisions, I decided to hang the samples on the walls of the nursery to get a better idea of how they would look in different lighting.

John and I sat in front of this wall for several minutes, pulling off the ones that looked too similar to our existing wall color, as well as the ones that we felt were too dark. We also rearranged the samples several times to see which colors complemented each other the best.

We finally settled on Martha Stewart's Wrought Iron in Behr Flat Enamel paint  for two opposite walls and Behr Mesa Taupe in Flat Enamel for some stripes that we wanted to paint on the other two walls. We deiced to use the existing wall color as the other stripe.

The color for the stripes was the most difficult for us to choose. I didn't want anything too grey because I thought the blue/grey combo would look too much like UNF colors, while John didn't want anything too brown. I really like the color taupe and found this shade that we thought was a perfect compromise between what John and I both wanted.

We don't want to reveal too much yet, but here's a sneak preview of our progress.

There's me putting on the first strokes of blue paint.

John painting in his Uggs - I thought that was hilarious.

Me putting up the blue tape for the stripes. As John was taking this picture, I was laughing and telling him NOT to take my picture.

There's Lil Bit at 23 weeks.

John painting the stripes.

Stay tuned to see how everything turns out!

Baby Bump: Week 23

23 Weeks

I was telling John yesterday that my belly already feels so full and ginormous that I can't imagine anything else being able to fit in there or get bigger. But at only 23 weeks, I'm definitely going to get much bigger than this, especially in the weeks to come. I've read that in about a month, the baby should double in size - wow!

Hope everyone's week is starting off well! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Soon-To-Be Father's Day to my love! Here's what I got him:

Lacoste Andy Roddick Short Sleeve Super Dry Striped Polo
On sale $43.99 for men and $31.99 for boys
I know, my son is spoiled. But I don't care.

Size 4 for the Daddy and size 4YR for the Lil Bit. How cute are they going to look playing tennis together in these?

John loves to play tennis so it'll be really cute to see him teach our son how to play tennis one day.

Big Gator and Little Gator

And a special Happy Father's Day to my brother-in-law Ben, who just had his 2nd baby yesterday.

Welcome to the world Silas!

He is beyond adorable and this just makes me that much more excited to have a little one of my own. Congratulations to Ben and Julie again! Now they have two wonderful boys and I couldn't be happier for them.

I've Got the Blues

Ever since I found out I was having a little boy, I've been obsessed with wearing the color blue - blue tops, blue eyeshadow, blue shoes. I decided to take it one step further today by painting my nails blue.

What I'm Wearing

O.P.I. Russian Navy nail polish

Sam Edelman Hamilton Sandals

One side effect of pregnancy is swollen feet, which I definitely began to notice during week 21. My little piggies in the photo above look so chubby to me! I first noticed the swelling when my sneakers  felt so uncomfortable last week that I had to take them off just so I could comfortably drive home from the gym. Since I refuse to buy new footwear, I've been trying to wear sandals as much as possible because they have the most give. I read online the other day (always dangerous to do when you're pregnant) that your feet swell and never go back to their original size even after the baby is born. Panicked, I asked my doctor about this at my last appointment. She reassured me that they would absolutely return to their normal size (good thing because I've got a lot of great shoes!)

Penguins!

Remember when I said that I fully intend to dress the baby and John in matching outfits? Well, our boy is gonna have to dress a little bit like his mama, too. You see, if there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I have a slight obsession with penguins. Nothing too crazy of course (although many of my friends, family, and most of all John, would beg to differ). Here are some penguin clothes and accessories I bought for my little boy.

Winter cap by Gymboree size 0-3 months

On sale $10.99

Mittens by Gymboree size 12-24 months

On sale $6.99

Long-sleeved top by Gymboree size 3-6 months

On sale $8.99

Bodysuit by Gymboree size 3-6 months

On sale $5.99

Bodysuit by the Gap size 3-6 months

On sale $8.99

My Attempt At Bread Pudding

My obsession with bread pudding began as a result of attending the Jax Food Truck Rally over the weekend. So I set out to make it for myself using Paula Dean's recipe for Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding. Hopefully, this will satisfy my pregnancy cravings.

Here are the ingredients I used (I tweaked the recipe a bit since I'll be the only one eating this bread pudding - John's not too fond of the stuff): 1 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, 2 eggs, 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. The recipe also calls for fruit cocktail and raisins, which I don't particularly like so I decided not to use them.

Step 1: Cube donuts into a large bowl.

Mmm...donuts...

Heart bowl courtesy of my friend Richelle :)

Step 2: Pour ingredients on top of donuts and let soak for a few minutes.

I started with half the can of sweetened condensed milk, but then decided to just go ahead and pour the whole thing in. Doesn't it already look sinfully delicious?

And in goes the rest of the ingredients, including the eggs, cinnamon, and salt.

This is by far the UN-healthiest dessert I have ever made.

Baking dish again courtesy of Richelle

Step 3: Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

Since I didn't use all the ingredients, I decided to just bake it for 30 minutes, which I think turned out to be a good idea since the donuts came out a little more browned than what I would have liked. Plus, without the liquid from the fruit cocktail, the center didn't really need to "jell" as the recipe calls for.

The verdict: just ok. Honestly, it just tasted like warm Krispy Kreme donuts (which is totally fine be me). I realize now that I should have gone ahead and used the fruit cocktail so it would turn out more moist. This was a bit dry. It was nonetheless delicious and satisfied my bread pudding cravings (and I'm sure Lil Bit enjoyed it as well). I'm going to attempt this again this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out!