FIRE DRILL!!

I accidentally sent Keith into a panic last night and now that I think about it, it was h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s. At 3:30 am I shot straight up in bed (turns out my abs still do kind of work) and made some ungodly noise that consisted of whimpering and many swear words. Keith immediately sat up and started panicking "what!? what happened!? is everything okay!? oh my god!" The only words I eventually managed to get out were "My leg....Charlie...." and then he tried to rub my leg in which I immediately responded "DON'T TOUCH ME!" I think everyone just got a good idea of how labor will go for us.

Anyway, no, I wasn't in labor, I just had the world's worst charlie horse in my calf that happened to wake me up out of a dead sleep. Another joyous side effect of pregnancy.

Below are the newest pics of the nursery. Still waiting on that damn chair!

Chair will go in this corner with side table

 Thats a whole lotta baby for one picture! Rachel (middle) just had her little boy two nights ago!

It finally happened...

I got out of bed last night to eat. I have gone 36 weeks without getting the urge to get up and eat but last night we watched a movie in bed around 9 and at 11 I just HAD to have a bowl of cereal. I didn't think I'd be able to last until 8am! My appetite has been so strange throughout my pregnancy and half the time I can't even tell if I'm hungry and I don't necessarily crave anything (except I could always eat sweets) so I thought for sure I could go my whole pregnancy without getting up to eat. I was wrong.

So, exactly one month to go until my due date!! Below is a pic from yesterday. 36 weeks!

I thought the picture below was cute. Penny was following me around everywhere yesterday and kept snuggling up against my stomach. I think she's actually realizing she's going to have a little brother!

Okey Dokey Artichokey

I wanted to share this recipe because it was SO good. I added garlic salt to the cream cheese mixture because it needed some salt.


creamy white chicken and artichoke lasagna:

what you need

2

cups shredded cooked chicken breasts

1

can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, chopped

1

pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA, divided

1/2

cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/2

cup  chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

2

pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1

cup milk

1/2

tsp. garlic powder

1/4

cup tightly packed fresh basil, chopped, divided

12

 lasagna noodles, cooked

make it

HEAT oven to 350°F.

COMBINE chicken, artichokes, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan and tomatoes. Beat cream cheese, milk and garlic powder with mixer until well blended; stir in 2 Tbsp. basil. Mix half with the chicken mixture.

SPREAD half the remaining cream cheese mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with 3 noodles and 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Repeat layers of noodles and chicken mixture twice. Top with remaining noodles, cream cheese mixture and mozzarella; cover.

BAKE 25 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining basil. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve.

kraft kitchens tips

NOTE

Spray the foil with cooking spray before using to cover the lasagna to help prevent the foil from sticking to the cheese on top of the lasagna.

SERVING SUGGESTION

Serve with your favorite steamed vegetable.

SHORTCUT

Purchasing a fully-cooked rotisserie chicken at the supermarket is a quick way to obtain cooked chicken for recipes. Check to make sure the chicken is hot, not just warm, when you purchase it. If you are not using the chicken immediately, cut it into pieces and store in tightly covered containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

I have a taste for nothing....

SWEETS! This is my lunch and I must say I am VERY proud of myself because Juan was telling me "extra large chocolate sundae with reeces peanut butter cup on top" and my mind was saying "small, fat free, vanilla with chocolate sprinkles" and I went with my mind. Good job Sarah.

forgot the friday belly pic again!

This was from last night. So, 35 weeks today! eeek!

A very baby weekend

This past weekend was great. Andi, Christi and Rachel came in Friday with their significant others and we went to dinner and hung out at our place after. One thing led to another and the next thing I know, Keith and I are owning them at board games (obviously). Saturday was my baby shower and I was so overwhelmed (in a good way) by how many people made the trip in from near and far. I actually cried later that night because I'm so grateful for the amazing friends I have in my life. I almost made it through my entire shower without crying but then Heather had to go and ask me to be in her wedding right before she left so that sparked the water works! Below are some pictures from my shower (I love my dress...for comfort. Not so flattering!) .

My favorite cupcakes ever

My mother in law did a great job decorating!

My mother in law and my momma. Theyre going to be the best grandmas ever

Rachy poo. I love you!

Two of my bestests. Rach and Andi

My mom and sister in law who is due in July with a little girl :)

Heather, Molly and Amanda. All made the trip from out of town.

Christi, Kelley and Vanessa (all also came from out of town)

My coworkers!

This is perfect....

That's all.

Happy Birthday to Keith

Friday was my husbands birthday so while he was out with his friends Thursday night I prepared this glorious breakfast to have the next morning. It was amazing! And it would probably be really good with bananas or chocolate chips in it too:

French Toast Souffle

Ingredients:

1 bakery loaf of butter crusty bread-10 cups cut into 1-inch cubes

8 (ounces) low-fat cream cheese, softened

8 large eggs

1-1/2 cups milk

2/3 cup half and half cream

1-1/4 cups maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions:
1.  Place bread cubes in a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan.

2.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in milk, half and half, 1/2 cup of the maple syrup, and vanilla until mixture is smooth.  Pour cream cream cheese mixture over the bread; cover, and refrigerate overnight.

3.  Remove souffle from refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

4.  Bake uncovered, for 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Pour remaining 3/4 cup maple syrup over souffle, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Serve warm.

**********************************************************************************************************

Are "bobs" a Pittsburgh thing? I had never heard of them until I moved here and now it's all I see. Pumpkin bobs, vanilla bobs, chocolate bobs and these peanut butter bobs I got instead of birthday cake:

Things I have learned the past year:

This has been a pretty crazy whirlwind of a year. I got a new job (almost a year ago), we bought a house and I found out I was pregnant. I think this means I'm a grown up. No, no I'm not. I refuse. But anyway, I have learned some things that I thought I would rant about.

1) Dont buy a house just because you think you should or because you found one down the street that's cheap. (which is also probably in the ghetto and surrounded by police cars 18 of the 24 hours of the day. I say this because I have a "friend" who constantly talks about how she should buy this house down the street because "its just so cheap!" no shit...thats because its in the most crime ridden neighborhood in the city and I'm pretty sure it's where Snoop Dog's posse vacations. "yeah but its SOOOOO nice inside, you should see it"  nah, Im cool with the burbs thanks though).  For about a year, we had been casually looking on zillow at houses and even looked in person at some places in the neighborhood we had been living. Eventually we saw one online that seemed perfect so we went and saw it and immediately knew it was it. Lesson: take your time, do you research, price things out and LOCATION is so important. Some people buy starter homes which is great but I couldn't imagine moving in another 5-8 years so if you're fortunate to find something you COULD live in for at least 10 years, I think that's key. I mean moving is the worst right???

2) From now on, if I'm going to a baby shower, I'm buying them something from their registry. In the past, I would always just buy cute clothes I found or useless things that I thought were adorable but after registering myself, I realize that we actually NEED the things on the registry! Not to sound ungrateful because all gifts will be greatly appreciated but there is a reason for a registry and even though opening a pack of bottles or a diaper geenie is not nearly as fun as opening teeny weensy little clothes, it's needed!

3) Pregnancy is amazing, weird, scary and exciting all at the same time. According to my "What to Expect" book, this week is when the amniotic fluid has maxed out which means it's mostly just baby in there now and it certainly feels like it! I can actually see limbs pressing against my stomach and rolling around which is so strange but also very cool. Last night Keith was watching my stomach and Juan (please refer to previous post. No, not really his name!) stuck an elbow or knee out so far that Keith yelped in shocked. "HOLY SHIT! Doesnt that hurt??" Then he said he got teared up because he felt like he was actually interacting with his baby boy. Aw cute :)
I've had a really easy pregnancy so far and have felt pretty good but I as I stated in a previous post, the hormones are kinda scary sometimes. The picture below is me on Saturday morning hiding from "scary third trimester Sarah." I woke up in a TERRIBLE mood and was so tired I went back to bed (after eating the largest bowl of cheerios known to man)

4) When you live in the suburbs, and your door bell rings, there really isn't any escaping the fact that you're about to purchase mass amounts of cookie dough or girl scout cookies. Just go with it...

5) I still don't understand blood pressure numbers and  as many times as I've googled it, I dont think I will ever remember. The dr will tell me and I will nod and say ok as if I have any idea what she's talking about. 

Thats all for now. If I have anything else earth shattering new to share, I'll be back!