Friday Five: Favorites of the Week

Good Friday morning to you!  I don't know about you, but I am very excited that it's just about weekend time.  I plan to do a lot of relaxing, baby prep/house organization, and hopefully make it to a BodyPump class on Saturday morning.  Sounds like my kind of weekend :)

As has become the norm around here, I'm linking up with Courtney, Cynthia, and Mar for a Friday Five post!

This week's theme is Friday Favorites, so here are some of my favorite things from this week!  Thanks, ladies, for the link-up!  Be sure to head to their blogs to check out other Friday Five bloggers, as well.

1. My pets
I know I talk about them all the time, but Pablo and Tequila have just been cracking me up this week!  First, Tequila started wanting to sleep under the covers with me (I'm talking face-first-to-the-foot-of-the-bed under the covers) this weekend.  Well, one night this week I woke up in the middle of the night and found up with her tucked under the covers with her head on the pillow!

Sorry for the horrible picture, but that was the best I could get since she moved when I moved.  But seriously, she looked like a human sleeping there!  Then, Pablo finds a box top sitting on the kitchen table and decides that's his new hang-out.

These guys are so entertaining!

2.  All the babies!!
Seriously, y'all, there's something in the water!  I found out this week that three more friends of mine are pregnant and due before the end of the year!  Also, one of my favorite bloggers Julie announced that she's pregnant!  I also got news last night that one of Joe's friends became a dad yesterday when his wife gave birth at 5am.  Congrats, Noah and Dawn!  And, today is also the day that my friend Ashley has a scheduled C-section and will welcome her second child into the world!  So many babies!!! Yay!!

3. Having Baby Fish's going home outfit picked out.
While my mom was here this past weekend, we went shopping for going-home outfits.  We picked up one for each gender, and here's what we found!

I'm pretty excited for both of the outfits :)  Baby clothes are just so cute!

4. The beautiful weather this week.

Sorry all of you that don't live in Florida, but this week has just been lovely!  Highs in the low 80's and sunny--you really can't beat that!  I've been enjoying the weather with some outside time and the return of iced coffee/frappuccinos (decaf, of course!).  Tequila has been loving the outside time, too!

5. Relaxing last night
I had a bad case of foot/ankle swelling/yesterday, as well as some extreme pregnancy impatience!  I had so much I needed to get done, but it was taking so long to get around thanks to the return of Bike Week.  Add in swollen ankles, and I was not a happy camper.  Cue the pregnant lady crying in her car while driving.

Luckily, I was able to just prop my feet up and relax all evening, so that was really nice!  Plus, the puppy snuggles I was getting put me in a much better mood!  Also, Joe so graciously offered to get my errands done for me today, so I'm very thankful that I'll be able to come home to rest again!

Bonus: Something I did yesterday!
I can't tell y'all just yet, but I did something yesterday that I'm pretty excited about!  I'll be sure to share it with you on Monday (maybe on Instagram later today)!  I just had to say something about it today because it really was probably my favorite thing of the week :)

Question for you: What's your favorite thing from this week?  What's something silly that your pets do?

Pregnancy Update: 36 Weeks + Another Baby Shower!

Hello, hello everyone!  It has been a busy week so far, so I apologize for getting this post up late.  I feel like I have something going on every night this week.  Things are just hectic!  That's what happens so close to spring break, though, I guess.

Well, it's time for another pregnancy update!  I wanted to wait until today to give you the up-to-date weight total and everything after yesterday's doctor's appointment.  So, let's get to it!

Pregnancy Update: 36 Weeks

How far along? 36 weeks (and 3 days)

Baby Bump progress: 

Baby's Size? a honeydew melon! Around 6 pounds and 18-19 inches long.

What's happening this week?  

• Liver, kidneys, circulatory, and immune systems are pretty much in working order
• Baby is getting close to be able to breathe on his/her own!
• The skin is getting smooth and soft, and gums are rigid

Total weight gain/loss: 28.6 pounds total since my first doctor's visit.  I was happy to see I gained just under 2 pounds in the last two weeks (unlike the 5 pounds from the last two weeks!  yikes!)

Stretch marks?: no new ones!  I'm continuing to put the cocoa butter on regularly.  I feel like the baby is growing a lot faster than before, so I don't want anything new to start forming this close to the end!

Sleep: still waking up a few times a night to change positions, but I'm still able to get back to sleep.  Monday night was the first time that I woke up having to pee so bad that it hurt!

Best moment this week: having all of my visitors!  Mom was here from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, my sister-in-law and mother-in-law were in town for a few hours on Saturday, and my friend Kristie was here all day Saturday!  So much fun to get to see everyone :)

Miss anything?: having plenty of clothing options to wear (I should probably go buy some more maternity tops...I only have 2!), alcohol, not being able to sit how I want--legs straight out/propped up is not the way I like to sit!

Movement: Still lots of moving in there!  The movements aren't as sudden--just more of a push or a slow roll.  I guess that's because Baby Fish is getting bigger and there isn't as much room for him/her in there!

Food cravings: nothing in particular!  I ate good while my mom was here (we went out for dinner each night, which was fun)

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope!  Still doing well with that, though my acid reflux is back after a brief break for a week

Gender: We'll find out when Baby Fish is born :)

Labor Signs: nothing specific, but I do think that Baby Fish is slowly starting to drop.  I've noticed he/she is sitting just slightly lower than before.  That's normally, though, since I'm less than 4 weeks from the due date!

Symptoms:

• Swollen feet/ankles LIKE WHOA--it's been pretty bad this week!
• Feeling tired/out of breath very easily
• Some acid reflux (not as bad, but more frequent)
• Being really, really hungry
• Having trouble getting up from sitting on something that's low (my car, the couch, etc.)

Belly Button in or out? still in, but it's really flattening out!  I have a deep belly button, so seeing it this small is kind of freaking me out!

Wedding rings on or off? on, but getting tight!

Happy or Moody?: Pretty happy most of the time, but I do get very easily annoyed!

Funny moments this week: This week, I've really started to have to prop my feet up at work.  I think the funniest thing is when one of my office mates walked in on Thursday and saw me sitting like that.  I explained to her that I was having ankle swelling and that I knew sitting here with my feet propped up looked bad, and she said, "Girl, you are 8 months pregnant!  If anyone comes in and has a problem with it, I'll handle it for you!"  It cracked me up.  Luckily everyone is being super understanding and empathetic, so I'll just keep sitting with my feet propped up!

Looking forward to: doing some baby shopping soon to pick up the rest of the necessities!  Oh, and meeting Baby Fish!

Exercise this week: After getting in a workout on Monday and feeling great about it, I thought I would work out more.  Yeah....not so much.  I think the only things I did this week was take a walk on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday.  Hey, that's better than nothing, but I really do want to get back into my normal workout routine!  I'm hoping to make it to a BodyPump Express class on Thursday, which will be nice to get back to.

Baby Fish Feature: Another Baby Shower!

I'll be honest--I NEVER expected to have this many showers thrown in Baby Fish's honor!  The amount of love that people have shown us over the last few months is just so overwhelming!  I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart (and I know Joe does, too!).

This past weekend, my mom and sister-in-law came in to town to throw me a baby shower!  While I knew it was happening and who all was invited, I didn't know anything else!  Katherine (my sister-in-law) thought having a Dr. Seuss theme would be a great, and she pulled it off wonderfully!

We started off by eating and chatting.  There were lots of people there from different aspects of my life, so the first game we played was a perfect ice-breaker!  It involved this set of cards that you read and the last person with the set wins.   The cards said things like "pass to the person with the most kids" and "pass to the person who first yells 'baby'".  It'd never seen that before, but we all had a lot of fun playing that game!

Next up, everyone decorated bibs!  To make it a game, when everyone finished, I chose my "favorite" one!

They were all so cute--it was hard to choose!

Of course, there were presents to open.  We received lots of things we needed for Baby Fish, including some cute outfits, books, nursery items, and baby medicines!

And before the shower ended, I had to get a picture with my friends there who are also pregnant!

Then, Ashley and I took this "chest bump" picture.  It's one of my favorites!  Haha!

I had a great time at the shower, and I was so thankful to have everyone there.  I am also so grateful to all the work that Katherine and my mom put in to throwing the shower!  It was such a nice time and I really enjoyed every minute of it :)

Meanwhile, Joe and his friends were having a "Diapers and Beer' party!  Needless to say, he had a fun time with the guys, and we wound up with lots of diapers!  Thanks, boys!

Question for you: What's your favorite baby shower game?  Have you ever heard of a "Diapers and Beer" party?

Tuesdays on the Run: Post-race Treats

Hey hey!  How's everyone doing this morning?  I woke up to a pretty hilarious sight this morning: Tequila had gotten under the covers and was sleeping with her head on a pillow!  She looked like a little human!  I tried to get a picture, but of course she moved as soon as I did.  Her sleeping positions have just been cracking me up lately.

I'm changing up my normal posting schedule this week: I go to the OB today for another appointment this afternoon, so I thought I'd do my pregnancy update post tomorrow.  Also, I really wanted to participate in today's Tuesdays on the Run link-up!

Today's theme for Tuesdays on the Run is Post-Race Treats.  I'm going to take my own little spin on this and make this my favorite post-race treats that I never would have expected to enjoy after running!  Let's just jump right in and see what they are!

A big thanks to Erica, April, and Patty for the link-up!  Head over to one of their blogs to check out other TotR posts!

Chocolate Milk

Image Source

Not only does it taste delicious after a race, but chocolate milk actually helps with recovery!  In fact, the one time I drank chocolate milk after a half marathon (RnR Virginia Beach '13) was the only time that I didn't feel crazy sore the next day!  Rock on!

Mickey Waffles

What better way to celebrate a runDisney race than with a Mickey waffle!?  Perfect mix of carbs and sweets to help fill me up after an rD half marathon.  I would normally expect this to be too heavy after a race, but any time I've done the Princess Half Marathon, I always head back to the resort and grab a Mickey waffle.  Yummy!

Doughnuts

Until I had a doughnut after the Daytona Beach Half Marathon, I never would have thought they would be tasty after a race!  Joe told me after taking his nutrition elective that the best time to eat something bad for you is up to an hour after exercising, so maybe that's why the doughnuts taste so good then!  I've also enjoyed doughnuts after the Suck It Up Buttercup 10K, as well as my most recent race: the Daytona 5K.

Beer/Wine

Many races offer free beer/wine/alcoholic beverages to runners at the post-race party.  Until I tried it, I would have thought beer/wine would be the LAST thing I'd want!  But, after drinking cheap beer after the Lighthouse Loop Half '13 and some Barefoot wine after the ZOOMA Chicago half, I'm a believer!  There's just something something so refreshing about it!  Maybe it's the carbs and sugar?

Question for you: What's something that you love eating/drinking post-race that you didn't expect to enjoy?

SSMT February Verses and Reflections

Another month has come and gone, which means I have worked to memorize another two verses of Scripture!  One of my goals for 2015 was to join the Siesta Scripture Memory Team through the Living Proof Ministries blog.

As a part of that, I decided that at the end of each month, I'd share with y'all the verses I chose to memorize and reflect on their meaning for me.  So, it's time to reflect on February's verses!

Before we get in to the verses, I will be quite honest with you in saying that it was not a good memory month for me.  I did choose two verses, but I did not do well with committing them to memory.  In fact, I didn't even write one of the verses down in my spiral!

That being said, let me share the two verses with you and just reflect on why I didn't do well with memorizing them.

Verse #3: Galatians 1:10 (NIV)

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?  Or am I trying to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."

This verse came up in the sermon I heard on February 1st when I was choosing my verse, and I thought it would be a good reminder for me in my life.  I've always been concerned with other people's opinions of me, and it used to drive many of the things I did.  However, over the last year, I've really been working on letting go of my need to please people and seek to please God instead.

One of the reasons I think this verse was hard for me to memorize is that it isn't necessarily a verse I fully need at this time.  After starting my new Bible study on how to study Scriptures, though, I see this verse in a new way; it tells me how God feels about us when we seek to please anyone but Him.  Looking at this verse in that way, I DO need to commit this memory and will continue to work on this verse during March.

Verse #4: 2 Thessalonians 3:13 (ESV)

"As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good."

I chose this verse because of how lazy I've been feeling lately.  I needed a verse that would help me combat my laziness when it was overtaking me.  I did memorize this verse, but I really didn't recall it as I did my verses in January when I needed it.

Overall, I feel like I didn't pray over my Scripture selections this month as I did in January.  I think that led me to picking verses for the wrong reasons, and therefore gave me a hard time with memorizing them or a lack of times to recall these verses when I needed them.

I believe I'm off to a good start for March, though, and am hoping to continue to memorize February's verses, as I know they will be needed during some seasons of life!

In case you missed it:
January's Verses and Reflections

Question for you:  Have you ever felt like you did something good for the wrong reasons?  What verses do you have memorized that give you strength and comfort?