Black Friday Curse

I honestly thought that this little girl would be here by now. My doctor seemed so encouraging these past two visits. I've been walking until my hips hurt, bagging leaves in my front yard, cleaning the baseboards with soap and water, even ironed my nursing pajamas.

I've run out of things to clean. And if I'm not staying busy cleaning, then I am staying busy spending money.

Thanksgiving break was splendid. Except for the fact that I left the headlights on in my car one day {I think I did} and it killed my battery. We bought jumper cables and Chris got it to turn over once, but then that was it. Needless to say, it doesn't look like the battery is the problem. Had to call a tow truck and I'll find out that damage today.

Every Black Friday for the past three years, my car has had to go to the shop. The first year, the brakes went out on the JEEP. Last year, we went outside to a completely flat tire. And this year, it just looks like a Christmas surprise! Wah-wah. :)

But my tree is up! And my little Haven-pants is loving it as much as his mommy!

Humor Me!

Take a guess on when you think Olive will show up. Click HERE!

Thankful

I went to the doctor yesterday-- I'm dilated to a 2 and 50% effaced. Olive just might be a November baby. :)

Usually on Thanksgiving (and especially Christmas), we spend most of the day in the car traveling from family to family. This year, we're staying home. I plan on inhaling a big breakfast from Waffle House, watching the parade, putting up our tree, taking a nap or two, and then going to my at-work-bff's for dinner at 5pm.

I don't have to cook. I don't have to drive. I'm just pulling out this pregnancy card left and right.

I'm thankful for a quiet day at home with my boys. And I am really thankful for them. :)

Etsy

Being the perpetually creative person I think I am, I decided to make a few products to sell on Etsy. Since I was new to the Etsy world, I did some research. In the past my wife had bought, cut out pieces of paper that look like baby clothes, a party hat, tags with her name on it, and some flags tied together.

Yeah, I don’t know how I lived life without these types of items either. But, per my usual system of judging things then wanting to participate (blogs) I decided to make a few items for sales.

A while back I randomly saw a light switch cover made with an old Archie comic. This gave me the idea to make covers using pages from old superhero comics. Of course it had been done, but not well. So, I made my little trinkets and put them up for sale….and waited.

After a few weeks I am still waiting on my first big sale. I have been added to “favorites” lists. Which is a like teasing a dog with a piece of bacon. However, I’m readying the warehouse crew at Olive Juice (our sickeningly adorable store name) for the big black Friday rush.

Update: Chris made his first big sale. He's been acting like a 6 year old on Christmas morning for three days now. :)

Olive's Sprinkle

My sister Noel hosted a sprinkle for me at the beginning of the month. I haven't posted a recap because I didn't take any pictures. I was too busy micro-managing every little detail and haven't connected with my mom yet to get the photos off of her camera. :)

The pictures that I do have are blurry... and the other ones that are not on here are only showing up as half of the picture in my documents folder. The other half of the photo is a block of gray. Anyone know how to fix this?

Since this was a sprinkle, it was more low key, intimate, and had less tacky games. I just wanted to eat and see some of my favorite ladies before Miss Olive shows her face. The party was held at a coffee shop by my house with the theme being coffee and desserts. My sister, aunt, and cousin made all of the desserts and just had a coffee tab with the barista so the guests could sample what they wanted.

It was perfect. But hot. I never did cool down and I'm pretty sure that I panted through the whole thing. :)

Here is the invitation from ScriptivaPaper.




My aunt found this chocolate baby mold at Michael's and made these chocolate dipped pretzel sticks.





I found this cheese ball rattle idea on pinterest... I used the same recipe I used for the pumpkin shaped cheeseball that I made last year. Then, I connected the balls together with a pretzel stick.





And now on to the blurry photos... Wah-wah.



This is my friend Lindsey that I've mentioned before. She was the one who just had a pumpkin themed shower a few weeks ago. She is scheduled to have little Benjamin a week from today! :)



And my old college roommate, Megan! Her son, Tristan, is the one that I made the acorn cupcakes for in September.

Side note: My shirt. After I got ready, I asked my sister Noel how I looked. Her response? "There is a reason why big girls shouldn't wear print." Ahh.... the love of a sister. :)



Those are the only photos I can share today... until I realize what is causing most of my images to come up with a gray block across the bottome half.

Happy Monday!!

Olive-Noel Stanfield - 36 Weeks

It's the final countdown... na na na nah... na na na....

I had my 36 week appointment yesterday and all is progressing well. She has dropped, is in birthing position, and the cervix is soft.


{Could my face get anymore jolly? It's all water weight, right?}

How Far Along: 36 weeks {9 months}!!

Total Weight Gain: I've hit my goal of 25lbs, with four weeks still to go {wah-wah}. My legs look like tree trunks... which is why I stopped and got a chocolate long john on the way to work. I have no self control anymore.




Maternity clothes: Still wearing my old fat girl jeans, but barely breathing in those.

Best Moment: My "sprinkle" last week was so fun. I'll make a post about that tomorrow. I was sweating and panting during the whole thing, but they don't call this a pregnancy glow for nothing.

Food Cravings: Nothing has been discriminated against which is the only reason I can explain how I gained 3.5lbs in one week.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Olive being here. Christmas. Long days at home. Taking 19856 pictures of her and Glave. Seeing who she looks like.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Sorry for my absence last week. I don't know if it's the time change or being 36 weeks pregnant, but I have been in a terrible mood. Family nonsense, out of town co-workers, evening starting earlier, ankles swelling, no sleep from 1-5am, etc, etc. At first I was blaming all of these things. It couldn't possibly be me, right? But I think I just needed a long, peaceful weekend-- with a few naps, to get back to myself. But these are all first world problems, so I'll stop. :)

My weekend kicked off into happy gear when my old college girlfriend, Jen Hogan (BLT Dip girl), sent this in the mail for Olive. This will definitely be her Santa picture and Christmas morning outfit. It's a good feeling when people you don't get to speak to on a daily basis still think of you.



Look at Haven's ears. That is the Stanfield in him...



Only to be confirmed by this picture that a 2nd grader drew of my husband. :)



I have my 36 week appointment tomorrow where they measure to see how much Olive weighs so far. Since Chris was 10.8 and Haven was 9.9, the doctor wants to know what he's in for come delivery. In Haven's defense, he was a Little Debbie baby. I also received a "wet tap" when I had an epidural last time (anyone familiar with this? I had to get a blood patch done to correct it)... so we have to look at other options... or chances of that happening again. I'm getting to that point where Olive could have 3 arms and 5 eyes and I wouldn't care-- lets finish this rodeo! :)

Baking Fail

My sister hosted a "sprinkle" for Olive and I this weekend. I am such a snob {about a lot of things} when it comes to favors. I am probably alone when I say that I find it insanely tacky when the host sends you home with a tin of Sixlets or M&M's. Especially when the person who the shower is for, registered for the most expensive bedding/china/what have you. I also think it looks better when the person receiving the gifts is the one that gives a little something away at the end.

So I took it upon my ambitious self to make Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls for everyone coming.

18 pans to be exact.

My friend Joan told me not to. I didn't listen.

So the night before, I scalded my oil, sugar, and milk.... then I added the yeast.... then I added obnoxious amounts of flour.... and then I waited. Waited for dough to rise all night, so that I could roll all of this dough out in the morning.

Saturday morning Chris is getting ready to leave for an orientation. I can't find my rolling pin. I casually mention that I can't find it (when was the last time I made a pie? Did it get unpacked in the move?). Chris then drops the mother load, “I think Haven was playing with it and it broke. I don't remember but I think I threw it away.”

Huh? What?

It's 6am and if there was any hope in getting 18 pans rolled out, time to rise, and then baked three at a time for 20 minutes... I needed to start rolling now. Oh and my mother was coming down and I needed to deep clean prior to her arrival.





Then Chris was like... "Welp, gotta go!"

Ok, no big deal. I'll just pretend that I am a pizza maker and roll this out myself.



I survived. 18 pans were rolled and bake.



I announced at the sprinkle that I wish I could say these were made with love... but honestly I was so mad at myself the entire time for thinking that at 35 weeks pregnant, alone with a toddler, awaiting the arrival of my OCD mother, that baking 18 pans of cinnamon rolls from scratch was a good idea.

But they look cute, right?

BLT Dip

I know it's November, but BLT dip is good year round. :)

My friend Hogan first made me this delicious concoction one year for the 4th of July... and I've been trying to copy it to perfection ever since. But like most things, food just tastes better when someone else makes it for you.

What you'll need:

1/2lb of bacon, crispy and chopped
1 whole tomato, diced
2/3c of mayo
1/3c of sour cream
Plenty of cracked pepper
A handful (or two of shredded cheese) optional


This is pretty easy to throw together... The secret is just letting sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving.



Now Hogan is a generous dip maker; she will toast a whole loaf of bread and cut it into triangles to serve with the dip. I on the other hand... I just use crackers. Wah-wah.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Shower Favors

I co-hosted my friend Lindsey's baby shower this past weekend... We went with a pumpkin theme. I saw these pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats on pinterest and tried them out.

If you need a pumpkin favor for a party or fun, try these out.

I didn't put the piece of candy in the middle and I just used a tootsie roll and green icing for the stump/leaf. To get the pumpkins orange, I added Wilton orange frosting gel to the melted butter and marshmallows before stirring in the cereal. A box of Rice Krispies and a bag of marshmallows makes about a dozen pumpkins.

50 pumpkin later.... Ta Da!