A Pinterest Christmas

Last night, a few close UWRF buddies and Kaylee came over for some Christmas Pinterest crafting! I found 4 simple crafts that we could all make together. We also made delicious food we pinned on Pinterest. I didn't get a photo of it all, but it was delicious! I'm posting the link for my favorite thing that I made: Cranberry Feta Pinwheels. If you invite me over for a potluck, don't be surprised if I bring these. Delicious, and festive looking!

http://www.food.com/recipe/cranberry-feta-pinwheels-16213

Here are some highlights from our evening:

Becky and Kelly working very hard! We made ceramic tile coasters. So easy and adorable!

Jenna is not a crafter, but she did such a great job!

Group crafter shot. Angela was also there, but she didn't make it in time for a photo. Note the wine glasses: I made a DELICIOUS (according to the non-pregnant and of age people) White Wine Pomegranate Lime Sangria. Another that I'll file away for future use!

We made salt dough ornaments. 

and melted crayon ornaments. These were the favorite by the girls! I have lots more glass ornaments, so I'll be making more. Tony even made one!

This is one of the finished products. Some turned out  more multi colored. Very fun!

Here's just the UWRF girls minus Ang. 

27 week update!

Tony and I just got back from our OB appointment today. Everything is looking great!

In case you were keeping track, I'm up 12 pounds now from my basal weight (before my weight took a nose dive). The midwife says that's right on track, so I should keep it to 1 pound per week still. (She said I might need to increase my walking during the Christmas season...)

My blood pressure is still low, but not dangerously low! Woo hoo! However, I am anemic; so, we picked up some iron supplements on our way home.

The glucose tolerance test went well. My blood sugar is just fine! Another woo hoo!

I've been having some sharp pains in my upper abdomen, and the midwife decided it's my ab muscles stretching out. She said to treat it like any other muscle injury; ice and rest!

Baby K is now on the average size. The fundal height was 27 cm, right where it should be. This is good! I was getting a little scared that we might have a monstrous baby!

Baby K's heartbeat is 140 bpm. The average range it should be in is 110-160, so we're on track there too.

After our appointment with the midwife, we had an anesthesiology consult. I wanted to know if an epidural was an option at delivery. He was very insightful in helping me make my decision. My spinal fusion is high enough that an epidural is possible; however, I have lots of arthritis in my lower back (AT 26??!!!), so an epidural may take longer and have some increased risks. One of those increased risks would be an infection where they would have to remove my hardware and completely replace it. NO WAY! I am not going through that surgery again. Now we're looking into additional options for pain control: hypnosis, visualization....

We go back the week of Christmas!

Bound and determined!

This trimester, I have been working to finish my masters while I am student teaching. This has been quite difficult at times...But, tomorrow night is the night I present my research proposal! It is all ready to go and bound! Very exciting!

Season of Advent

Tony and I purchased a very neat Advent calendar to use when we have kids. It has a bunch of activities to do every day as a family, a Bible verse and a prayer to share together. We are doing it together this year to see what it is like, even though it is geared towards a family with kids. I thought I'd share the daily Bible verses and activities in case anyone else wants to join us in our preparation for Christmas. They weren't put together in a specific order, but I organized them the way I wanted to. There are also extra ones to switch out so each year is a little different.

Since I am behind on posting these, I will do a little catch up:

December 1- We had a very good discussion of what Advent means to us. We both have differing Christian backgrounds, so it was a fun discussion!

December 2- Tony and I ordered our Christmas cards yesterday!

December 3- Tonight we're baking cookies together! 

A Dazzle Friday

Friday evening, Tony and I met a crew of family at Oxbow Park for their annual Zoo Dazzle event! It was quite a fun, and not as cold as last year, time!

There were fun crafts and treats.

Harvey was quite funny all night. He was running around and just being silly!

So Uncle Tony put him in the recycling bin!

Natalie posed by the giant snowman.

 The kids enjoyed seeing the animals inside their bedazzled cages!

Piano Lesson

Last night, when Tony and I were babysitting Harvey and Natalie, Tony took Natalie downstairs to play some piano. They were a very cute duo!

Tony drew out a little chart with numbers to put by the keys, and then he wrote out a song using those numbers. Natalie was playing the song all by herself!

Tony then introduced her to some Beethoven, Mozart and Bach. Natalie enjoyed the first piece!

 

Insta Show and Tell

Here's what my phone captured this past week!

Tony and I were on the north side of Rochester rehearsing for Winterfest Caroling, so we made a stop at Flapdoodles. I had the S'mores! So delicious!

Amanda and Will came over to help us with Baby K's room. Will did some heavy lifting with Tony, and Amanda helped me decorate the walls! She has an eye for interior design.

Sol is unsure of this new crib we have. Thank you SO much to Connie and Duane (Mindy's parents) for letting us use this wonderful crib!

I finally put the silver balls on the downstairs tree. Sol has taken a few of the lower ones off when we're not looking, but she's been good for the most part. 

I tried to wash the sheets the other day, but when I took them out of the dryer, Luna claimed them. 

Tony and I both like to read before bed, but it was difficult to concentrate with  these two wrestling on us!

Last night we got to spend some time with Natalie and Harvey. Tony was taking a picture of me with the plate of brownies, and Natalie thought we should have one too. What's up with those silly eyes?!

Harvey explained, step by step, how to use his Elmo book. It was absolutely adorable! He talked and talked and talked! Then we sang and danced..

He also had to show me his cool truck book before we went down to play race cars.