16 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 16 weeks

Baby Size: About the size of an avacado

Total weight gain: Last week I was told I hadn't gained any weight during my pregnancy but after celebrating Thanksgiving with my family this past weekend, I'm pretty sure that's no longer the case!

Maternity clothes? I'm still in my normal clothes but I did purchase my first maternity shirt this week. It just so happens to be a UNC Tarheels t-shirt (: I knew I'd be needing it for the game in January so I decided to go on and buy it!

Stretch marks? Not so far!

Sleep:  I'm back to sleeping like a baby

Best moment this week:  Picking out Baby Holt's furniture!

Miss Anything? Nothing at this particular moment

Movement: Sometimes I think I feel little flutters but I'm not really sure. 

Food cravings: Mexican! Finally! It's my favorite and up until this point, Baby Holt was not a fan!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing! Yay!

Gender:  We find out on December 6th if Baby Holt is a boy or girl!

Labor Signs:  None

Symptoms: Nothing other than exhaustion by  the end of the day!

Belly Button in or out? In 

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Mood: Happy as can be (:

Looking forward to: Spending Thanksgiving with the family!

{Recipes}: Mom's Baked Spaghetti

One of my all-time-favorite dishes that my mom makes on Sundays for our family is her famous baked spaghetti. I can remember as a child, I would sit and watch for the cheese to bubble on top. It wasn't until the cheese bubbled that the spaghetti could come out. I remember Mom pulling it out of the oven and when my nose was hit with the smell, my mouth would start watering in anticipation for that first bite. And if you want to know a secret, that hasn't changed. I still watch it and my mouth still waters when it comes out. It's that yummy. And because it's so yummy, I still can't figure out why I had never asked my mom for the recipe until last week. Crazy, huh? Well I finally did and I attempted to make it and it turned out fabulous...despite not making my own homemade sauce like Mom does. So let me share the recipe (:

Mom's Homemade Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients
- 1.5 bags Sharp Cheddar Cheese (trust me, it's better than using mozzerella!)
- 3/4 box of spaghetti noodles
- 3 cups of spaghetti sauce (I used meat sauce but whatever is your preference)
- 1 pound hamburger

Directions
- Brown hamburger and cook noodles seperately
- Spray 8 x 11" baking dish with cooking spray
- Mix spaghetti sauce with the hamburger and stir it very well
- Pour a layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the baking dish so that you can't see the bottom
- Place a layer of noodles on top of the sauce
- Pour another layer of spaghetti sauce on top of noodles
- Sprinkle cheese on top of sauce
- Place another layer of noodles on top of the cheese
- Pour and spread the remaining sauce on top of noodles
- Cover the top with a layer of shredded cheese

Cook uncovered on 350 for 35-45 minutes (until cheese begins to bubble!)

Serve with garlic bread and salads and you'll be set!

A Much Needed Weekend

Over the last couple of months, I have been an awful wife. I blame it on pregnancy. I feel so sorry for my husband. By the time I get home from teaching my amazing class of 22 students, I am exhausted. So exhausted in fact that at 4:00 I have my pajamas on and I could seriously go to bed at 6;  our house is a complete disaster; all of the laundry baskets are completely full and by all of the laundry baskets I mean all five of them; I haven't cooked a meal in forever; I couldn't tell you the last time I swept or vacuumed the floors; and quality time with the husband now consists of a few text messages during the day and a kiss at night. Like I said, I've been an awful wife. But I sure do love my husband. He takes it all in stride and constantly supports me by telling me he understands and trying to do all he can to help out. But I still feel bad and last weekend I did my best to fix it.

One of the perks to being a teacher is that schools are closed on holidays and the teachers get a much needed day off. Lucky for me, Veteran's Day fell on Sunday so school was closed on Monday. Knowing that I had a long weekend and the hubby also happened to have those days off, I told Kevin I wanted to head to the beach. Thankfully, he was game!  

So on Friday, I left work a bit early, came home and packed, and by 2pm, we were heading to Myrtle Beach. On the way the hubby and I acted like fools singing to some old school 90's music (aka Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, & Savage Garden). It was great. By the time we made it to the beach it was dinner time and we were starving. We ended up going to Sir Pizza, a delicious pizza chain in the south. Their pizza tastes just like a local pizza parlor in our home town that recently shut down so it's become a new favorite of ours since we discovered it back in July. After finishing up dinner, we headed to our condo to check it out; we were quite impressed with how nice it was. After we unpacked and got everything settled, we headed off  to North Myrtle Beach Bingo and played bingo for the night with Kevin's parents and grandparents who also came down. I was pretty ecstatic because I won $50! (Nevermind the fact that it cost me $45 to play haha). 

Saturday morning Kevin and I slept in. We got up around 9 and then headed out to the balcony where we soaked up the sun. After a while, we started getting hungry so Kev went and got us some Chick-fil-a. After eating we sat around and watched tv and took a nap. By 3:00 I was ready to get out and go do something so we got ready and headed out to do some shopping. I was a little disappointed with the current sales but nonetheless, I did purchase two cute shirts from Old Navy and a pair of shoes from a factory store. By the time we finished shopping, we were starving so we met Kevin's dad for dinner and went to Damon's. After dinner, Kevin dropped me back off at the Bingo Parlor and I played with the ladies while the men went to catch a movie.

Sunday was our last full day at the beach so we enjoyed each minute of it. We slept in till 10 and then got up and got ready for lunch. I was craving vegetables so we headed to Cracker Barrel to beat the church crowd. After we ate, we sat outside in the rocking chairs and played a game of Checkers per the hubby's request. He ended up regretting that as I beat him miserably. haha I was proud of myself considering I hadn't played Checkers in years! We then headed back to the condo and went walking on the beach. When we returned I was exhausted and took a nap. By the time I woke up it was time to get ready again and head to dinner. We ended up going to Nakatos which just so happens to be my absolute favorite Japanese restaurant in the world. They only have three locations: Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; and Myrtle Beach, SC. Needless to say, we never go to the beach without eating there at least once. As always, the food was delicious and I actually ate all of it! When dinner was over we headed to the strip and did the SKYWHEEL. It was amazing. I'm a lover of all Ferris wheels so I enjoyed every single breathtaking minute! Since we were riding it at night, we got to see all of Myrtle Beach lit up. It was quite a site. You have to do it if you're ever in the area!

Sunday morning we got up early and packed up to leave. It was rather depressing. The sun was shining bright and it was 75 degrees at 8am. If Kevin would have had Tuesday off, we'd have stayed an extra day. I could guarantee it. But unfortunately he didn't, nor did I, so we packed up our belongings and headed home. We arrived back shortly after lunch and it was raining and only 60 degrees :( Told you it was depressing. But at the same time, it was great to be back home with our little guy who spent the weekend with his Aunt Debbie.

Overall, we had the most amazing time and it was so great to actually relax and regroup with my husband. It was even better to be able to actually sit and talk with my husband again for hours on end...something we haven't done in ages. So if you're pregnant or just need to regroup with your husband, take a weekend vacation, I promise it'll make it all better (:

I'll be gone now but before I go, I'll leave you with a few photos!

the view from the porch

on the Sky Wheel

The view from the Sky Wheel

The view from our bedroom

15 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 15 weeks

Baby Size: About the size of a navel orange

Total weight gain: None! I thought I'd gained at least 3-5 pounds but found out from the doctor today that I've actually lost weight since my pregnancy!

Maternity clothes? None so far but I suspect by Christmas I'll have a few pieces!

Stretch marks? Not so far!

Sleep: I've started having trouble sleeping but a benadryl every now and then does the trick!

Best moment this week:  Hearing baby Holt's heartbeat again today! It was beating strong at 153 beats per minute!

Miss Anything? Just feeling motivated. Every morning I have all of these things I want to accomplish when I get off but by the time I get home, I'm too tired and unmotivated to do any of it!

Movement: No but by Christmas I should feel a little movement here or there!

Food cravings: Nothing in particular. However, I have grown a love for ice cold water! Which is completely strange because everyone knows I hate drinking water!

Anything making you queasy or sick: If I get hot real quick, I'll feel nauseous but that's it. 

Gender:  We find out on December 6th if Baby Holt is a boy or girl!

Labor Signs:  Nah it's too early for that!

Symptoms: Just tired and unmotivated lol

Belly Button in or out? In 

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Mood: Excited!

Looking forward to: Another weekend with the hubby, helping supervising the brother-in-law & future sister-in-law move into their new place over the weekend, and planning our gender reveal party!

14 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 14 weeks

Baby Size: Still the size of a peach

Total weight gain: 3-4 pounds

Maternity clothes? Still no. I can still fit into all of my clothes but I've discovered that some of my favorite jeans won't be in my clothing rotation much longer :(

Stretch marks? Nope and lets hope that it stays that way. I finally broke down and purchased some Vaseline Cocoa Butter. I sure hope it does the trick :P

Sleep: I still go to sleep the moment my head hits the pillow... be it 7:30 or 9:30! 

Best moment this week:  Finally figuring out how we're going to reveal Baby Holt's gender!

Miss Anything? Being able to take whatever medicine I want! I've had a head cold for the past few days and all of the good stuff is not on my list of appropriate medications to take during pregnancy :(

Movement: Nope but I can't wait until I feel Baby Holt!

Food cravings: Nothing particular

Anything making you queasy or sick: Whenever I cough I feel like I'm going to be sick which stinks because with this sinus junk, I've been coughing alot lately :(

Gender:  We still don't know but will find out around the end of November/ beginning of December. I thought boy for the most part but now I'm thinking girl. Kevin definitely thinks its a girl. 

Labor Signs:  No

Symptoms: When I walk up our stairs now, I have to pause at the top and catch my breath!

Belly Button in or out? In 

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Mood: Happy other than feeling miserable with this head cold!

Looking forward to: Heading to the beach with the hubs this weekend. I've felt like such a bad wife lately. I'm asleep before he gets home and I haven't had the strength to do hardly any cooking or housecleaning. So I'm excited about having a weekend together to just relax and enjoy each other's company!