Baby Bump Chronicles 15w4d

Due Date: February 16th

Zodiac Sign: AQUARIUS-which has characteristics of being good communicators, being friendly, intelligent, and strong-willed.



Symptoms: I feel really good except for this headache that I've had for the past 3 days.  I'm not tired like I use to be, so I am really glad of that.


How big is the Baby: The size of a red delicious apple.  He/She is the 4 inches long and about 2 1/2 ounces


Any Cravings: Still no cravings.  I love fruit still.  I just got some yummy plums from the grocery store that are oh so yummy.  I am sooooooooooo tired of eating out, so I am craving home cooked food.  Glad I'm not tired so I can cook it.


What can't you stand to eat? I still can't stand Mayo or creamy stuff.


Any Anticipations? Scott and I go to our first child care class at the hospital this week.  I'm excited to see what all they tell us.  We find out the sex of our baby at the end of this month, so I am really excited about that. 

Maternity Clothes: I've been wearing the bella band over my pants.  If you are not familiar with a bella band, it's a elastic thinga-ma-jig that you put over your unbutton pants to hold them together and closed.  It's really comfortable. 


Exercise: I still need to do something, but sorry to say, I still haven't started.  (Sad Face)


Diet: I think I am eating pretty healthy and good.  Even think I've gained a little weight.



Things I miss: A good glass of wine and sleeping on my stomach sometimes.  I try to stay sleeping on my sides because its better for the baby.


Things I'm enjoying: Scott talking to my belly bump and my growing belly.

Do You Remember?

Yall remember these?  Man, they were so good.  They seriously need to put these back on the shelf.  I swear I would tear'em up!!!!!!!!! lol

A Must Have....

Old Navy has NFL team shirts for under $20 bucks.  Definitely got to get one for the upcoming season!

Latest Cake

Here is a cake that I did for my line sister, Tasha's, 30th birthday party.  The top tier is strawberry and the bottom tier is white almond sour cream.  It's covered in buttercream and mmf accents.

It's Showtime

I absolutely love the fall time.  September until  the end of December is my absolute favorite time of the year.  I mean, all the shows come back on with new episodes, it will be football season, you got Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, and it just an exciting part of the year.  Plus, let's not forget about holiday decorations.  Man, I just can't wait....Any who, here are a list of shows that I am anticipating watching this fall. 

This is one of my favorite shows.  I can't wait to see how the saga continues.

We are Eagles fans over here, so of course we are excited about the upcoming season.  Oh yeah, I'm joined a fantasy football league this year.  My name is "Mother Nature" because I may bring that Hurricane, Tornado, Tsunami, or just whatever...LOL  Beware!!!!!!!!

Of course, I'm a big Real Housewife franchise fan.  I'm ready to see how Camille handles life without Kelsey.

This show is totally new, I am looking forward to it.  I just hope it doesn't get as "Bough-ghetto" as the Miami series.

Tia and Tamara is just the cutest show.  I really like it!  Definitely a must watch.

Ol' Wives Tales: Fact or Myth?

Everyone keeps asking me, "Do you know what you're having?" or "Do you want a boy or a girl?"  Well, I wouldn't mind having either being that this is our first child.  I just want to see 2 healthy eyes, one healthy nose, a healthy mouth, ten little fingers, ten little toes....y'all know the deal...lol  Any who, there are so many ol wives tales that people tell you to do to see if you're having a boy or a girl.  Of course, me being me, I've tried them all.  I thought it would be neat to share all the tests I've done, and the results.  Oh yeah, check out our newly painted bathroom courtesy of Scott.  Not too bad, huh?  Also, I'm officially 13 weeks.  Woo Hoo!

Chinese Gender Chart:  The Chinese Gender Chart is a chart that the Chinese use to determine if a mother is having a boy or a girl.  Of course, the Chinese are pro boys.  The way the chart works is I enter my due date (Feb 16th) and my birth date (June 9th).  The chart uses some type of calculation to figure out what I'm having.  The chart said that I am having a.................GIRL.  This chart has a 93% accuracy rate.  Will shall see in due time.  Here's the link if you want to try it yourself:
http://www.babycenter.com/chinese-gender-predictor

Pencil Pregnancy Test:  With this test, you stick a needle into the center of an eraser on a pencil.  Then you thread the needle.  A second person will hold both ends of the thread, and then center the pencil on the middle part of the mother's wrist.  After the pencil is still, the second person raises the pencil up above the mother's wrist.  If the pencil sways up and down (wrist to elbow), you're having a boy.  If the pencil sways across left to right, you're having a girl.  If it sways diagonally, you're having twins.  So you want to know what this test said I'm having........A BOY  LOL   Here's the link for more information on this test: 
http://pencilpregnancytest.com/

Heartrate Test:  This one is easy.  If the baby's heartrate is above 140, you're having a girl.  If the heartrate is below 140, you're having a boy.  Just FYI, a safe and normal heartrate for a baby is 120 to 160 beats per minute.  At our appointment yesterday, the baby's heartrate was 155.  So you know what that means, I'm having a GIRL!  For more information, you can go to the following link:
http://pregnancy.about.com/od/genderpredictions1/ss/genderfht.htm

Baking Soda Test:  With this test, you take a teaspoon of baking soda and put in a cup.  Then you pee in a cup.  Next, you pour a very small amount of pee on the baking soda.  If it fizzles any, you're having a boy.  If it does nothing, you're having a girl.  This test determined that I am having a........BOY!  These tests are cracking me up.  Here's the link:
http://community.babycenter.com/post/a26396415/baking_soda_gender_test

Carrying Low or High:  If you are carrying high, you're having a girl.  If you are carrying low, you're having a boy.  I'm not really sure myself how I'm carrying since it's so early.  My mom says I am carrying low right now, so that would mean I am having a BOY!
http://www.parenting.com/gender-predictor

Mayan Legend:  Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy.  I was 29 when we conceived and the year is 2011.  9 and 11 are both odd numbers, so that means we are having a GIRL.
http://www.parenting.com/gender-predictor?pnid=13991


Queasy or not:  They say if you are sick as a dog during your first trimester, you're having a Girl.  If you have little or no morning sickness, you're having a Boy.  I was hardly sick at all. So according to this test, I'm having a BOY!

What everyone else says:  Scott and I took a poll with our immediate family.  64% say GIRL and 36% say Boy

Mother's Intuition:  Well, early in my pregnancy around the 7th or 8th week, I had a dream I was holding a little boy.  He was a cute little boy.  You know they say you have vivid dreams while pregnant.  I don't have a "feeling" either way right now, so we will just have to wait and see.

I think all these Ol' Wives Tales are just fun to do while you wait.  It will be fun to finally find out what we are having.  We have about another 7 or 8 weeks before we find out though.  Ugh!  The agony of waiting and not knowing.  I'll just continue bugging all of you in blogland when I get antsy about it...lol

Welcome to the Neighborhood!!!!!!!!

These are 2 gift baskets that I made for two new neighbors in our neighborhood.  Our neighborhood property owner's association wanted to start giving our new neighbors a little gift to welcome them to the neighborhood, so I volunteered to make the baskets.  Any opportunity to do anything crafty, I'm all in.  I put 2 bags of chips, a Vitamin Water, box of candy, peanuts, sunflower seeds, a greeting card, and our neighborhood by-laws in the baskets.  Scott and I plan to deliver them this weekend.

Yummy Goodness!

These Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings have become a regular meal in our house.  I recently made them this past weekend, and they were still sooooooo good.  I started making them because I wanted a chicken recipe where I could bake the chicken instead of frying it.  I mean, frying food isn't the healthiest ya know.  The thing I like about them the best is that they taste as if they are fried, but their not.  Any who, I was telling a friend of mine at work about them, and she wanted the recipe.  I thought....mmmmmmm, others may be able to endulge in these yummy wings too if I just post the recipe on my blog.  So, here ya go! 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( I use more...ha!)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I use more of this as well...he he he)
Paprika, black pepper, and onion powder (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 chicken wings (I like to use wingettes, but whole wings can be used as well)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup hot pepper sauce (I use Louisiana Hot Sauce)

Directions

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag, and shake to mix. Add the chicken wings, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Place the wings onto the prepared baking sheet, and place into the refrigerator. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. NOTE:  The wings do better if you can refrigerate them longer than an hour.  You can even refrigerate them overnight if you like.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dip the wings into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the wings over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.

Viola!  Enjoy the Yummy Goodness!

The Help

I recently read this book and loved it.  I don't want to give the story away, but here's a brief synopsis.  The story is set during the 60's in Jackson, MS.  It is customary for white families to have black female maids.  Some families are nice to their maids, and some not so nice.  The maids get an opportunity to write a book telling about their experiences with the families that they work for.  It is quite a shocker to the families what their maid truly thinks of them. 

My heart just went out to some of the characters in this book. I could only imagine how it would feel to be able to raise children, cook, and clean houses for white families but never being looked upon as good enough.  The movie based on this book comes out Wednesday, August 10th.  I definitely plan to go see it.  I just hope the movie doesn't stray too far from the book.