5 on Friday and other happenings!

Hi friends & happy fall!

1. I have been traveling for work this week and the weather has been amazing. Boston is not known for it's nice weather, but thankfully I hit it just right this week. Yesterday when I left, it was sunny, breezy, & 75 degrees. So beautiful. I asked my cab driver on the way to airport how long they would have this gorgeous weather. His response "two weeks". EEK! Glad I was coming home to the same temps, but for more like 2 months. 

2. Well football started back, which means that the only nights of the week I might get the remote are now Tuesday & Wednesday. Between college & the NFL, there is a game 5 days out of 7. It's a good thing I like football so much. :) My husband got really lucky I tell ya! So far this year, all the teams we love are undefeated. I might have just jinxed us, but hopefully not. Go Tigers! Geaux Tigers! Go Falcons! 

3. My Etsy shop (www.wheatonwhaleydesigns.etsy.com) has been going great as well. I'm constantly adding new things, so be sure you check them out. I'm trying to update Instagram (@wheatonwhaleydesigns) as I make stuff, so be sure to follow me there! I'm going to be doing a Christmas in October sale where I offer one thing super cheap each day & will have a limited quantity of each thing at that price. Get excited! It's going to be fun! 

4. And in baby news, we are officially (plus some) in the 3rd trimester! 30wks! WOAH! She is definitely active & moves constantly. She loves Jeopardy! Every time the theme song plays, she goes crazy...like we can see her move from the outside. It's so neat & just amazing. God is such a creator. We can't wait for her to get here! We talk to Milly every night about her getting a new sister. I'm not sure she understands one word we're saying, but still. 

5. One of my friends mentioned to me earlier this week that this time last year we were preparing for my bachelorette weekend. If you told me then that I'd be very pregnant at this point, I would have laughed & told you that you needed some counseling. God had bigger plans that I could have ever imagined. 

Sorry I took such a hiatus! Gotta do better! 

Happy weekend pretty people!

Much love!

26 Week Bump Update!

We are definitely on the downward slope of this pregnancy. It's kind of crazy to think that we could legitimately have a baby in 10 weeks. We are just SO excited. I know people say they are, but it's just SO true. I swear this is how Andrew feels:

True statement.

Jeans ~ Shoes ~ Necklace

Weeks: 26 

Gender: Girl!! The pink keeps piling up, especially with the nursery taking shape.

Name: Abigail something. 

Size: As big as a head of lettuce (which seems small to me...I guess maybe my grocery store is just not supplying the good stuff). She's 1.5-2.5 lbs and 13.6-14.8 inches long. 

Movement: Still active! At our last appointment her heart rate was faster than it had ever been, 152. Glad it's variable! They have been doing heavy construction near my office & let me tell you, she is NOT a fan. It's almost instant...when they start drilling & jack hammering, she starts kicking. The minute they stop, she stops. Guessing she is going to like a more calm environment. 

Cravings: The last 2 weeks it's been egg salad sandwiches. I've probably had 20, no joke. Still loving popsicles and have rekindled my affair with the Skittles in the purple bag.

Mama thoughts & feelings: I am still feeling great. Such a blessing to feel so good during pregnancy. I am starting to get uncomfortable at the end of the day from sitting so long, but that's probably expected. We probably all should get up & move more often. 

Now that her nursery is almost complete, it feels even more real. I walk through that room several times during the day & every time by heart just skips a beat. 

This week I am just especially grateful that God has given me this precious soul to love & take care of here on earth. I see so many women around me who are struggling with infertility, loss, and grief. I want to wrap my arms around each one of them & let them know that I am praying fervently for them. I prayed before, but of course, I pray even more now. God please grant them their wish. 

Ok, drying my eyes now. The jeans I'm wearing above are a great maternity flare jean for fall. Since that trend is coming back (YAY), I figured we probably all could stand a good pair!

So excited that it's almost the weekend!

Much love!

Wine for Women with Child, and other fake things

So if you can't tell from my post, I'm not actually drinking during my pregnancy. #duh. But, those that know me know how I really enjoy a good glass of wine. Forty weeks is a long time, but it's nice to know that there are options. Here is what I've found & like (enough).

First up, wine

There are 2 brands that I've found in my local Publix or on Amazon: Ariel & Fre. Of the 2, Ariel is better, but it's also more expensive. Typically I'm not a white/rose lover, but they seem to be the better fake, so you may have to try a couple to find what works for you. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find this in any restaurants. Here's what I liked the best:

 Funny story about this Cabernet. On our recent beach trip, I bought this bottle so that I could feel like part of the group. Well, since it looks like a typical bottle cover, Andrew didn't realize it was my wine. He poured a glass and said "this is not normal wine". Had to laugh at him. He wasn't there when I told everyone, "don't drink this!".

This is a pretty good White Zin. It tastes like it normally does, but is just a hint sweeter than normal. I drink it with ice since I don't care about it getting watered down, and that seems to help make it even better.

Next, beer

I have tried several of these, but I wasn't really impressed by any of them except O'Douls. Now total disclaimer, I'm not a big beer drinker anyway, so that might have something to do with it. Also, I don't drink this at home, but if we are out, most restaurants will have this or something similar.

Bubbly stuff 

Pre-baby, I really enjoyed a glass of champagne. Fre (the same brand that makes the wine above) has a pretty good mock-Brut. I have drank it by itself, but the way I liked it best was with OJ or grapefruit juice. 

So, there you go! Nothing earth shattering, but I didn't even know this stuff existed until a friend shared it with me. Since we are friends, I'm sharing with you too!

Happy weekend lovelies!

Much love!

Try This Tuesday: Chicken Spaghetti!

My husband says we are not, but I've felt like we are in a food "funk" recently. Know what I mean? We fix the same meals every week. Andrew said "but I like all those things!", which is sweet, but I think pregnancy has me wanting to change everything. I've already rearranged the living room furniture, emptied out the dining room to become the nursery, and have my eye on the bedroom (honey, don't freak out). 

So, each week I'm going to try out one recipe & share it with all of you! I promise I'll only post things that at least one of us liked. My taste buds are a little off, so I'm not a great judge of food here recently. The cheap Kraft mac & cheese used to be my FAVE, but now it's kinda blek...

The other night I made chicken spaghetti. My husband is not a fan of red sauces so when I mentioned spaghetti I got a look, but I reassured him that it was cheese instead of tomato.

I served this meal with Texas Toast (b/c mama is loving some bread right now), but it really is good by itself. 

Ingredients (serves 6-7)
3-4 medium sized chicken tenderloins or 2 chicken breast  (I only buy frozen b/c chicken freaks me out) 
1 can Rotel, original or with green chiles
1/2 Velveeta cheese block, melted (I bought the 2% to save calories, but I would probably just stick to the regular)
1 cup frozen peas (or veggie of your choice)
1/2 box of spaghetti noodles
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

1. Boil your chicken until cooked all the way through. I am always cautious and boil mine at least 30 minutes. Probably excessive, but again, chicken. After the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot. There will most likely be a film on the top of the water, try to spoon that out too. 

2. Add your pasta to the chicken water & cook per the directions on the package.
3. While pasta is cooking shred the chicken and mix in the rest of the ingredients. I dumped in my peas frozen b/c I knew the oven time would cook them enough. 
4. Hire a handy assistant. Mine is super cute.

5. Drain pasta & add to sauce mixture, stir. Pour the entire mixture into a sprayed casserole dish (I love this dish that we got for a wedding present). Spread shredded cheese on top.
6. Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. 
7. Remove & enjoy!

Overall for me, it wasn't my most favorite thing, but again, I'm not the best judge right now. It has only things I loved pre-pregnancy, so I'm sure come December I'll be singing a different tune. Andrew really enjoyed it, and he's got pretty refined food tastes, so overall, I'd say it was a win!

Much love!

We joined a church, and other weekend happenings!

When we moved to Greenville almost 2 years ago, it was easy for us to decide Westminster Presbyterian. It was close to our house, we loved the congregation, and most of all, the sermons were easy to understand (and the Pastor tells funny jokes). So we made a decision, this will be our church! Woo, what a relief. I've had friends who it took months to find a "home" for them & their family. 

Fast-forward 2 years...and we still weren't members. Go figure. Between weddings, vacations, holidays, our marriage, and a million other things...we never actually pulled the trigger. That doesn't mean we hadn't been attending, because we had (I'd even sung with the choir several times)...it just never seemed to line up right with our schedules. 

BUT, the stars finally aligned and we did it Sunday! Nothing like impending parenthood to get your moving on your list of important things to do!

I can't say this is the best picture we've ever taken, but it was early so cut us some slack. I also joked with Andrew that we look very presidential. Andrew says he couldn't be president, but that he'd make an excellent First Gentleman if I decide to run! :)

Going backwards, Saturday was tree cutting day. We are very fortunate to have my dad (the original Mr. Fix-it) just live a few miles down the road. I'm not kidding when I say he can do anything. He might not know how to do it beforehand, but he'll figure it out. Anyone need a handyman? haha.

We have 2 huge pecan trees in our yard, which are great for shade, but they are the self-pruning variety, so limbs are constantly falling off the trees. Not small limbs either. See below:

Since we use that walkway to get to our cars, we really needed to cut the trees back. Don't want a limb falling on Milly or one of us. Enter Dad to the rescue!

So that's our weekend. Nothing spectacular, but lots of fun & exciting things happening for us. Come back tomorrow to see a recipe we tried recently!

Oh - one more thing: Bath & Body Works has their fall candles! I might have done a happy dance in the middle of the store. 

Much love!

24 week Bump update: Baby Girl Wheaton!

I had full intentions of writing a journal for this baby with weekly updates about how I was feeling, what size they were, etc....but that lasted about 4 weeks & then I lost my planner where I was keeping all the information. Thankfully it has been found, but I missed several weeks in between. Since you can't really lose a blog, I figured that I would start doing those updates here, mainly for my own memories, but also for any inquiring minds (if any of those exist). :)

Just a heads up, this is a long post, so grab a glass of wine (since I can't have one) before you start!

Full disclaimer on this picture. This was taken last night at about 830pm...after I'd eaten lots of carbs, so my belly might look bigger in this picture that is actually is, but I'm not a morning person...

Weeks: 23-24 (one doctor says I'm due one day & one doctor says another, who knows)

Gender: Girl!! You should see the amount of pink that has already taken over our house!

Name: First name is definitely Abigail. We are tossing some middle names around. For some reason I feel like it might be a "day of" decision

Size: As big as a cantaloupe, so anywhere from 10.5 to 12 inches long. She definitely weighs over a pound, but could weigh as much as 1.5 lbs.

Movement: She is very active! Every ultrasound we have she just runs the entire time. (Good for her because mama is no runner, unless there's a sale at Nordstrom) I have just started feeling her move, which is the coolest & weirdest thing ever. She's most active at night, but thankfully not enough to keep me awake. Andrew got to feel her kick for the first time last week.

Cravings: Honestly, I haven't had many cravings that aren't foods I normally love. I eat a lot of macaroni, lasagna/spaghetti, & popsicles. My husband teases that I have the diet of a 5 year old, which may be very true. :)

Mama thoughts & feelings: I really have felt great this pregnancy, other than the few weeks at the beginning where I was nauseous. Of course I'm tired a lot, and have a hard time rolling out the bed, but that's just part of the deal. I'm afraid I might be one of those women that loves being pregnant. We want a big family, so I'm sure I'll get tired of pregnancy eventually, but right now I'm loving it.

Some days it still hits me that we are having a baby. Everything happened so fast that I sometimes have to stop & catch my breath from life just flying past me. We can't wait to meet our baby girl and hold & cuddle her. I can't wait to see Milly with her. Her only interaction with a baby was like "ugh, why is that thing crying?", and turning her nose up. This could be interesting! :)

Most of all, I can't wait to see Andrew with her. I know that she is going to have him wrapped around her finger from day one, and I'm totally OK with that. She will definitely be the most loved little girl around. 

We have started an email account for Abigail that we will sporadically send emails to from now until she's 18, so I'll save my words to her for that place. Andrew found the idea somewhere, and I thought it was a great way to let her know how much she's loved & adored even now, and forever. Of course, she'll know it from our actions, but I want her to confirm it for her in many ways. 

Woooo, that was long. Aren't you glad you had your glass of wine?

I am no fashionista, but I know it's hard to find pregnancy attire that isn't Little House on the Prairie-esk, that isn't super expensive, and that you can wear after pregnancy. I'll be back tomorrow with a few pieces that I could not live without, where I found them, & how they fit.

Much love!