Winter is here.

This last week we received our first snow fall.  I guess I can officially say that winter is here.  Of course, winter isn't my first choice when it comes to seasons, but it is fun to have an excuse for snuggling up and drinking lots of tea.  Plus, you can't beat a white Christmas!

It's crazy to think that the season has arrived in which my baby will be born.  Time sure does fly.

Babysitting

This last week was nuts.  Definitely up there in regards to the toughest weeks of the semester.  I only had one big exam, but clinic was crazy and my tailbone was killing me.  It's tough to get things done in a timely manner when you're hobbling around like a cripple.  Lame excuses, but that is the reason for the radio silence.

A friend of ours asked us to babysit on Monday.  I was very close to useless, because I was coming down with a cold and generally not feeling well.  Danny was a champ though!  It was so cute to watch him :)  He got the 2 yr old fed, entertained, bathed, brushed his teeth, and got him to bed.  He's going to make the best dad!  Can't wait for our baby to arrive...only 2 more months!

The Little Things.

Just enjoying the little things this week, including:

-buying the baby girl cloth diaper supplies, excited to try this out!

-learning about doulas...if only we had as much money to spend as we wanted, I would definitely splurge on one...I might still.

-snuggling with my honey under the covers.  This week, it has felt that winter is here/just about here.  I'm not a huge fan of the cold, but I love snuggling!

-yummy tea.  Broke out some honey vanilla chamomile, can't go wrong.

-meeting my brother and mom for breakfast and enjoying a delicious cinnamon roll (I had been craving one for awhile now and it definitely hit the spot.)

I feel like my brother and I look nothing alike, it's quite strange.

Nursery Loves.

Just a couple things I'm loving for the nursery lately...

1 is from here and 2 is from here.
I have always been leery of ordering something off the internet...something I've never seen in person.  I'm going to have to get over that!  Because I sure do love that dresser.  I'm giving it one more weekend though, we're going to the bigger city close by to see if I can satisfy my picky-ness.
I'm definitely going to have to make that mobile, it is so adorable!

4 Simple Goals, before 2014

I saw this end of year project over at A Beautiful Mess a couple of weeks ago and instantly loved the idea.  I think I did the original challenge back in the day...but since I'm not great at documenting regularly (obviously), I don't remember the details.  I love having goals, even if I don't always attain them, just having them written out is a huge motivator.

1. Document this time in my life consistently.  At least three times a week.  A professor at school was telling us just how great this time in our lives is, and to make sure to thoroughly enjoy it.  Those are very true words.
2. Eat greens every day.  I'm bad at eating greens, I have to admit.  But I'm keeping this simple, at least one green, leafy thing a day.
3. Create more often.  Sure, I get to build up and restore teeth every day, but I feel like my personal crafting has taken a hit because of it.  To be more specific, pick up a project at least once a week for the rest of the year.
4. Eat out less often.  We go through phases and right now there's a lot of eating out going on.  I don't like it.  My goal is to cut back to one time a week or less.

Doctored Boxed Carrot Cake.

My mom's birthday is this coming week.  It's tradition to take a cake to that month's church potluck.  There's nothing like celebrating with the church family!  I wanted something good, but didn't want to put too much effort into it, because it's been a rough few weeks with school/pregnancy/life.

Cue the semi-homemade cake:

Doctored Boxed Carrot Cake Recipe:
-1 box carrot cake mix
-4 eggs
-1/2 cup melted butter
-8 oz. pineapple juice
-Pineapple chunks (I used about a cup)
-1/2 cup raisins
-1/2 shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease pans and such.  I used two 9 inch round pans.
Mix carrot cake mix, eggs, butter, pineapple juice, and pineapple chunks for 30 seconds on low with an electric mixer and then for an additional 2 minutes on medium speed.  Stir in the raisins and coconut.  Pour into your pan(s) and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

Cream Cheese frosting
-8 oz. cream cheese
-1/2 cup butter, softened
-2 cups powdered sugar
-2 tsp vanilla
-juice from 1/4 of a lemon

Mix the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon juice together with an electric mixer.  Slowly add the powdered sugar to prevent clumps.  Try to resist eating the whole patch!

Everyone at church loved it!  They all thought it was completely homemade.  The one thing that was slightly annoying is that the cake was pretty crumbly.  If I could do it over, I would add one less egg to see if that helped the situation...or hard core google to see if I can figure out why it did that.

Happy Birthday, Mom!! Love you!  You are honestly the best mom,  I am so blessed!

Pregnancy is kicking my butt this week.

It feels quite literal actually.   My tailbone has felt like it's broken, it doesn't help that I've had a busy week in clinic-don't get me wrong, I love clinic time, but my body is just loudly protesting this week.  It's been taking all my energy not to wobble around like an elderly person.  My entire body hurts...I'm not quite sure how that works.  The worst part is that I don't wake up feeling better.  A good nights rest used to leave me spry in the morning, apparently those days are gone!

Despite all that, I can't help but feel so blessed by this baby girl growing inside of me (and I mean growing! my mom comments on how "huge" my belly is almost every time I talk to her :)).  She makes it all worth it.  It's strange how much I love her without even knowing her.

Enough grumbling. I've had fantastic patients this week and after Friday I don't have another exam for 3 whole, entire weeks!!  I am so excited.

Here's a photo from last Sabbath of Danny holding a cute new baby (6 weeks old).  He's going to make the best daddy!