Day 323: NCSU game day Saturday. My parents came into town & cheered on the Pack beating Clemson!
gift idea mayhaps?!
Day 324: Moekitty cuddle time after the crowd left.
So little he only take over at least one half of the love seat...
Day 325: Monday night I treated myself to take out Chick-fila for dinner & a milkshake for late night snack!
Whip cream on top? Yes, please!
Day 326: Look what arrived Tuesday! My Paper Culture art {post to come}.
Four years later we have a pretty photo art on our wall
Day 327: Worked Wednesday then traveled down to the beach. No photo.
Day 328: Thanksgiving day which deserves it’s own post later this week.
Parade & Thanksgiving decorations
Day 329: We shopped just a little, celebrated Mom’s & my birthdays a little early, then I won Mom, Nana & I’s Mexican Train Dominoes game with this train!
This is my 500th post. Wow! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were surrounded by family from both of our sides & enjoyed a great weekend with them.
Another ponytailed, makeup-less photo. This time post 5.5 hour car ride home.
How far along? Nine weeks Saturday so 9w1d today.
Maternity Clothes? After not being able to zip & button a bigger pair of work pants this week, I wore the BeBand with unzipped pants & broke down & purchased a pair of maternity khakis & jeans. The khakis I wore this weekend & wondered why I’d put off that maternity panel so long!
Weight Gain? Haven’t weighed myself but I’d think so.
Stretch Marks? No.
Sleep? Lots of tossing back & forth. Enough that after one night together in a double bed, Jason moved over to the twin in our room at my grandparents’ to give us both better nights’ sleep. Last night I woke up at 12:30, 1:37, 3:34 & 7:30 to pee. I had to get a snack at 4 too. I’ll be off to bed early tonight.
Movement? Not yet.
Genders? We hope & pray for healthy babies first & foremost. But I’d love to have boy/girl combos.
What I Miss? Sleeping on my tummy/back without waking up & having to roll over. I think I’m going to start surrounding myself with pillows so I stay on my sides.
Symptoms? The bump that especially appears after eating this week. And the hunger.
What I’m Looking Forward to? More maternity pant wearing this week which will mean more comfort. Counting down the days until our first MFM doctor appointment {8}.
Weekly Wisdom? Rest when you’re feeling tired. My family is all about the go, go, go. This weekend we experienced that I can no longer do that. I found chairs in every store we went into. Also smile & share in everyone’s excitement. I think Nana told at least one person everywhere we went all weekend that I was pregnant with triplets. She’s so proud & excited.
Milestones? The babes are the size of grapes this week & about an inch long.
I started this post back in August {at the beginning of my Infertile Fridays} but had been holding off on hitting publish until I had a chance to take photo evidence to reveal my baby stuff hoarding secret.
Before I was even engaged, I’d amassed a pile of wedding related things I hoped to use. Favorite programs, invitations, photos I’d taken of friends’ flowers & dresses. I had ideas of location, time of year & colors. I’m a planner & it made it much easier once that ring was on my finger & the real planning needed to be done.
That said, you shouldn’t be surprised that I’ve slowly been gathering future baby things over the last couple of years. Enough that there has been a “future baby closet” for a while. It’s the closet of our office/man cave/future nursery/junk room so it works. It began when I saw the Vera Bradley owl pattern was being retired & thus the baby bag was on major sale. I love the versatility of that pattern & knew several friends who’d enjoyed that bag. A quick click or two online & it was at our doorstep. Then one day I was shopping at Target {before we were even TTC} and noticed there was an owl themed gender neutral set on sale. I went home, discussed with Jason then bought it, crib sheets & all. Nothing like being prepared way before the fact right?!
Then I discovered blog giveaways. Free baby stuff. And next thing I knew a Sophie, ruffle butt training pants, a Bird E Studios diaper wristlet, a nursing cover & an owl patterned cloth diaper were added to the closet. Then the Haute Green party at BlogHer happened & I very happily came home with eight more cloth diapers, wipes, cloth diaper laundry detergent & a Fuzzi Bunz to-go wet bag. Another cloth diaper {Soft Bums} was won recently & I also received burp wraps earlier this fall. Yep, all this before my first positive pregnancy test.
& since we announced our news, my super sweet friend Kelly gave us our first future baby gift. A precious owl lovey! I’m obsessed! My parents brought down a five pack of teeny tiny newborn onesies last weekend.
While she was in town to help, Mom & I went through the baby stash at the bottom of this closet. Of course all the ones of things need to be multiplied by three now! We organized the crib set {& later discovered at Target that while they no longer sell that one, Circo still makes another neutral one that will coordinate}, put all the toys in the diaper bag, & all the super cute cloth diapers in the tote bag. Ignore the mess, as this has been my secret closet until now…
my no-longer-so-secret baby stash
Am I the only one who pre-baby hoarded tiny little things?
You can tell form the photo above that these are simply gorgeous dressings. Each one is made with all natural, fresh ingredients~ like you can look at the ingredients section & you can actually read & know what they are! There are no MSGs, trans fats, preservatives or artificial flavors. For my celiac friends, all these dressings are gluten free.
I really had a hard time choosing which one I wanted to try. I walked into the store hungry {always my down fall} & was happily overwhelmed by all the lovely Simply Dressed choices. I couldn’t narrow it down between the Strawberry Poppyseed & the Pomegrante. All the Simply Dressed were on sale last week at my local grocery store & I had the free coupon {thanks Marzetti}, so I brought both home with me.
According to my how-to-grow-big-healthy triplets book, I’m supposed to eat at least five servings of veggies now. I have a hard time getting there. Fruit though, I love! So I thought with both of these dressing options, I could fruit & veggie up salads. I’m trying to incorporate more salads at lunch, as sides with dinner or evening snacks. Because really, doesn’t a good salad dressing make you want salad more than a boring one?!
Sunday night, I took basic bag salad, added fresh mushrooms, sliced red pepper, strawberries, candied pecans & croutons & topped it with the Strawberry Poppyseed dressing. If I’d had some feta or Parmesan cheese to toss in the salad, it would have been divine, but it was a pretty amazing salad as is.
Love a super cold dressing on top of a pretty salad.
The dressing flavor is the perfect mix of tangy & sweet. Not too heavy. Not too light. Perfectly complimented the strawberries in my salad & the poppy seeds so yummy. The dressing showed up perfectly in my bowl without being overwhelming or MIA.
Of course this pregnant chick chose the dressings that stood out most to me but kinda sorta not my husband’s favorites. I think he’d have rather I’d brought home the Ranch or Blue Cheese. I think he’d have liked the Greek Feta or Caesar too. Next grocery store run I’ll try one of those as these Simply Dressed really are my new favorites.
I think the Champagne dressing would be a great way to spice up a sandwich wrap. I’d love to try the Feta one for dipping carrots. I think the Ginger one would make a great chicken marinade. What other ideas or ways do you incorporate salad dressings or Simply Dressed dressings in your meal plans?
You can read more about the other choices as well as pick up some recipe ideas on the Marzetti Simply Dressed site. You can find them in the refrigerated produce section of your local store.
I was one of the bloggers selected by T. Marzetti Company and Clever Girls Collective to host a Marzetti Simply Dressed review. They provided me with product to test myself and compensation for my time. However, my opinions are entirely my own.
