Life Updated (Sort of) and Meal Plan

Hello from C and Kit the Brownie.

 

(photo taken by N)

Is that an appropriate way to start a post, when you have been on a blog hiatus for nearly a month?  Is that enough of an attention grabber for you?

I do apologize for all of the silence here; rest assured I have missed blogging but have barely had time to even think about what I would write for a post, let alone actually sit down at the computer and write it.

Well, that's not entirely true-- I have done quite a bit of sitting down at the computer, but it has been for my summer online class.  Every time I do find an hour to sit down and type, every hundredth of a second of that hour is filled with furiously typing as fast as I can to try and get everything done that needs to get done for that class.

We've been traveling a lot.  Fun and exciting times, and lots of great memories were made in the past month.  But I must say I'm glad we're home now and staying put until this baby's born.  Now my hours will just be filled with furiously crossing items off the to-do list to try and get the house and homeschool year ready before little one makes her appearance.  (This is the last week of my online class!  Hooray!)

So today, I'm shirking my responsibilities in the online class (I'll do it later today...) to bring you a few quick updates and a meal plan.

Where oh where to start?  There's a lot to tell.

How about a baby update?

I went to the doctor for my 32-week checkup last Friday.  L accompanied me and the other two girls stayed home since M had the afternoon off from work.  It was actually a nice little one-on-one time for me and L.  I'm trying to squeeze those times in with all three girls when I have the chance.

Doc was slightly concerned because I haven't gained a single pound in about 12 weeks (in fact, I've lost one pound).  Then she measured the baby and little girl is actually measuring a bit on the big side (which I suspected given all of the intense kicks and jabs that have been taking my breath away) so I guess there isn't much cause for concern.  I assured the doctor that I have been eating plenty, and coming back from traveling I was expecting a huge weight gain given all of the junk food and extra sweets I've been putting away while we've been on the road.  But I guess little girl is just taking my calories?  I don't know; I can't quite figure it out.

I've gained about 18 pounds total for the pregnancy (I was steadily gaining about 4-5 pounds a month in the first four months) so that's still within the realm of normal.  Still, the doctor instructed me to go home and have some ice cream.  How often do you hear that?  So I did  :)

Running is still happening-- slightly uncomfortable, but still doable if I keep my runs to two miles or less and under 30 minutes.  I'll usually run on the treadmill (running on blacktop is too uncomfortable for the joints) for 20-25 minutes and then do some pilates or body weight exercises after that.  I only managed about one or two workouts per week in the last month, though, with everything else going on.  I'm back in the saddle now that we're home... trying to be careful about burning *too* many calories given the weight gain thing, but exercise is SO good for my mental outlook and managing my emotions in this sometimes-over-emotional late stage of pregnancy.  So I really need to keep up with it when I can.

Contractions are coming pretty regularly... I will usually have at least a couple every day, and if I'm overly active or dehydrated I might have several in an hour.  That's usually my signal to sit down and drink some water, or even take a little nap.

And now... the belly pic.

Just to show you how much little baby girl growth is happening lately, here's a pic from 30 weeks (taken exactly two weeks ago):

(Sorry again for the mess.  Pictures are for documentation purposes only; not trying to win any photo awards here.)

I think there's a pretty noticeable difference in belly size, don't you?  I can certainly feel a difference in baby's size and strength in there.  She is surely getting ready to make her debut.  Not long now!

Okay, that is all the rambling I have time for.  There is plenty more rambling to do about trips, kiddos, birthdays, checkups, homeschool plans, and summer camps, but I'll have to save that for another day!  I'm hoping to make lots of time for blogging in the coming weeks now that we're home for a while and settled, because I've missed writing a lot!!

One more random pic for you...

 

Some of the junk food we ate on our recent trip to West Virginia... there was an Ikea perfectly placed at a good lunch stopping point on the first leg of our journey.  Not exactly a healthy lunch, but you can feed a family of five for $11... can't beat that.

...aaaaaand the meal plan:

Saturday breakfast: waffles

Saturday lunch: salads and sandwiches

Saturday supper: loaded baked potatoes

Sunday breakfast: blueberry almond coffee cake

Sunday lunch: at Cracker Barrel

Sunday supper: leftover waffles or baked potatoes

Monday breakfast: leftover coffee cake/waffles

Monday lunch: smoothies and salads/sandwiches

Monday supper: snack supper (too hot to cook!)... french bread and brie, chips and guac, veggies & dip

Tuesday breakfast: scrambled eggs

Tuesday lunch: more smoothies and sandwiches

Tuesday supper: microwave turkey meatballs and pasta

Wednesday breakfast: banana flaxseed muffins or blueberry flaxseed muffins

Wednesday lunch: peanut butter banana roll-ups

Wednesday supper: leftovers

Thursday breakfast: leftover muffins

Thursday lunch: quesadillas and fruit

Thursday supper: chicken caesar wraps

Friday breakfast: cereal

Friday lunch: various leftovers

Friday supper: crockpot honey sesame chicken

Saturday: leftovers all day!

Enjoy the week, everyone!