Tuesday, August 16, 2011

10 Weeks Left

Eeeek, only about 10 more weeks to go! And that's if Baby Luke stays in there full term! There is still so much to do before he makes his appearance. I'm getting overwhelmed and scared.

At least I'm feeling better this week. My iron was low so I went on supplements, and I guess they have kicked in because my energy is back. I was up at four o'clock yesterday morning putting away clothes. I then went to the gym for about an hour and then walked each of the dogs (it was really nice and cool).

I failed my first glucose test so I had a gestational diabetes scare, but my test results from the 3-hour test came back great, so I celebrated with sweet tea for lunch and a Peanut Buster Parfait from Dairy Queen in the afternoon...pass the sugar :)

I've been thinking a lot about Luke's baby book the past couple of days. I bought a lot of stuff from a scrapbooking kit called Forest Critters before I even became pregnant. My plan was, and still is, to make Luke a homemade baby book from the kit. It is so cute...owls, squirrels, deer all in the bright colors of his nursery. That is a huge project in and of itself. At least it doesn't have to be done before he gets here. I would like to get a good start on it though.

Let's see, what else do I still have to do: FINISH THE NURSERY! I still haven't cleaned out either of Luke's closets. My goal is to get one completely cleaned out for him and finish cleaning out the other one as needed as he grows and accumulates more stuff. Speaking of stuff, my first baby shower is this Saturday so the stuff is going to start pouring in. Where to put it?

Both closests are filled with crafty stuff like scrapbooking supplies, photos, and wrapping paper and gift bags. I plan on moving most of the scrapbooking stuff to the office area in our mudroom. I've already cleaned out those cabinets, but now what do I do with the stuff I cleaned out of them? Eeeek!

I have a few projects I want to do in the nursery as well such as making fabric-covered letters to spell out "Luke", hanging floating shelves, and getting picture frames with mats that I can cover in the fabrics from his room. So much to do. Oh, and I want to make custom items to hang from his mobile. The good news is that he will be perfectly fine if I don't get those things done.

Eeeeeeeeek! Did I say that already?

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Mango Smoothie

I had a little bit of a scare at my last doctor visit. Turns out I might not be doing as well healthwise/eating wise as I thought I was. My iron was really low and my blood sugar was really high. So, I thought I better go ahead and start watching my sugar intake and eating better overall. I'm hoping the sugar reading was incorrect. I'll find out for sure tomorrow when I go in for a more intensive test. As for the iron, I guess Baby Luke is really starting to grow and is taking more and more nutrients from me. I did feel him kicking a little higher on my belly early this morning.

At the beginning of my pregnancy, before the "morning" sickness got really bad, when I was just a little queasy first thing in the morning, I was making mango smoothies for breakfast. Yesterday I really wanted ice cream, but instead I made a mango smoothie. So yummy and it satisfied my ice cream craving and even gave me a little ice cream headache because I used frozen mango. Here's how I make it:

Mango Smoothie (serves one)

handful of frozen mango chunks

milk, 1/8-1/4 cup

plain yogurt, about 1/4 cup (I used 3 oz Greek low-fat yogurt)

1 pack Stevia, or you can use Splenda, some honey, or other sweetener of choice

drop of vanilla extract

ground flaxseed, about 1/2 tablespoon or so (great brain food for baby!)


Put mango and milk in a blender (I use a Magic Bullet for my smoothies) and puree/pulse until mixed a bit (you may have to add a little more milk depending on how frozen the mango is and how stubborn your blender is). Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Enjoy. Mine is usually a bit thick at first so I eat it with a spoon like ice cream and then slurp the rest as it melts.