Cankles

22 weeks of pregnancy brings cankles.  That's right my friends, cankles!  You know when there is no separation or difference in the calf and the ankle, when it is all the same size.  To help these cankles our nights consist of Jon and I sitting together with our legs propped up.  The doctor is somewhat concerned about my swelling feet and calves, so she has instructed me to really put a limit to my salt intake. I have to go back to see her if they do not improve or get worse within a week.  So it looks like our going out to eat days are going to be few and far between because trying to cut back on salt when you go to a restaurant is really hard! I also have to start walking.  The amount of weight I gained in the last 4 weeks was more than the amount I gained in the whole first trimester!  So I suppose Jon and I will be loading up the wheelchair and heading to the park to go on walks in the evenings.  This girl is determined to do everything in my power to stay off of bed rest, and I'm afraid that if I don't get these things better managed now, it could easily spiral out of control.  Keep in mind I am only 22 weeks pregnant, which means I am barely over half way to the end.

[the right cankle]

One thing that has been bothering me for over a week now is my right ear.  At first I was convinced that a bug had crawled in my ear while I was sleeping and it was trying to make its way back out.  The PA at work looked in my ear and said it was all clear.  It really feels like something is crawling in my ear or tickling my ear.  I thought maybe it was some hair, but when my hair is completely pulled back away from my ear I still feel the tickling.  It's driving me bonkers!  I know this most likely has nothing to do with being pregnant, it just so happens to be going on while I am pregnant.

I'm continuing to take Protonix on a daily basis to help with reflux and thankfully it is still helping.  I still have a decent amount of energy these days, which is very helpful with Jon being on the injured list.

Lillian is an active little thing in the mornings and the evenings.  She may be active all day, but I am usually active during the day too, so I may not be paying attention as much.  Jon was able to feel her move the other day.  He was pretty excited and wanted her to move more, and she did, but she is not strong enough or big enough or whatever to be felt by him all the time.  I feel like that day is not far away.  Her heart rate was a strong 145 at the doctor's office.  It is still so awesome to hear that sound!

I did buy the first thing for her the other day, a super cute zebra print pants and shirt outfit.  I ordered it online and can't wait for it to come in.   I think I have decided on her bedding and will hopefully be ordering it within the next few weeks.

[my 22 week belly]

Recovery Road

Jon's surgery to repair his ruptured achilles tendon went really well. He was a little nervous before but after some Versed he had no more worries! I brought him home that afternoon and he slept and kept his foot elevated. That night was a little rough for him. It was hard for him to find a comfortable position while trying to keep his leg elevated, and although he was taking his pain meds around the clock, he was not getting much relief. The next day he called the doc, who added another pain med to the mix, and that seemed to do the trick.
He is now 10 days post op and doing well. He gets around with his crutches most of the time, but when he's out and about for longer periods of time he uses a wheelchair. The wheelchair allows his leg to stay elevated, therefore keeping the swelling to a minimum. Bathing was an issue at the beginning because he tried to hang his bum leg out of the tub and that was very difficult. Thanks to my sweet grandmother, Jon is now using a shower bench. (Thankfully we have a pretty large shower for it to fit in.) Problem solved! This road to recovery has definitely not been a smooth paved one, but we have figured out the speed bumps and managed our way so far. Jon has a follow-up appointment on Monday in which they will remove the temporary splinted cast and apply a hard plaster cast. He will have to remain non-weight bearing on his left foot for at least 6 more weeks.
We are hoping for a good report from the doctor and a quick and uneventful recovery!

Halfway

Monday marked 20 weeks of carrying this miracle! It's actually crazy to think that I have been pregnant for 5 months! The first trimester seemed to drag by and consisted of lots of sleep and nausea. The second trimester has been much more enjoyable. I have a lot more energy! My belly is growing every day! This week I have been able to feel Lillian move! She seems to be an active morning girl, and I have no idea where she gets that because her mom and dad are late sleepers! The second trimester has brought on a more emotional me. I find it funny when I'm crying at nonsense things, but I embrace it and let the tears fall. I'm not usually a "crier." In fact, I have been known to be called cold hearted. I'm definitely not cold hearted but I'm not one to show emotion very often, well at least not until I became pregnant. I was driving down the road the other day and saw a young man riding his bike, most likely to or from work. It was chilly outside and we were on a one lane street. The cars started backing up behind him as he was struggling so hard to pedal as fast as he could. I felt so sorry for him and the tears starting falling. I then began laughing as I realized what I was crying about. Today I was watching a cooking show, and the host was talking about having a dinner party for her father in law. She was talking all about his accomplishments and the things he liked, and next thing you know I'm crying! I can't even imagine the tears that will be shed when I get to see and hold our sweet baby girl! Oh the thought just makes me so happy and excited!! On another note, I ordered some fabric swatches for Lillian's bedding. I know the main fabric I want to use for it, but I wasn't sure about coordinating ones so I ordered swatches to help me decide. No, I am not making the bedding! I don't have the patience for that! My friend, Meagan, ordered her daughter's bedding from Polka Tot Designs and it is beautiful, so that's the place I will be ordering from.  I'm not sure exactly where we will be living (most likely where we are now, but who knows) when Lillian is here, so I am insisting on getting the bedding I want.  I may not be able to have the exact nursery I want, but at least I will have the bedding! :)

Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Although I wasn't really wanting to, I made dinner tonight. I thawed some chicken and didn't want it to be wasted, so I browsed Pinterest and found a recipe. I tweaked the recipe a little to make it more my style. It turned out great! I highly recommend you make this one night soon! (It only takes about 25-30 minutes)

What you will need...
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 medium red onion
1 avocado
2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil

What to do...
Turn the oven to 350. Prep your chicken (cut off fat, etc.) Mix salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic salt together in small bowl. Rub spice mixture over both sides of chicken. Heat olive oil in skillet (I used a cast iron skillet) over medium high heat. Brown each side of chicken for about 3 minutes. Place chicken in baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. While chicken bakes, dice onion and place in bowl. Pour lime juice over onion and add cumin, mix together. Chop avocado (keep it pretty chunky). Fold the avocado into the onion mixture, being careful not to mash the avocado.
Spoon the avocado salsa over the chicken (the more the better) and serve immediately.

I paired the chicken with a salad and corn. It was a light but filling dinner! Enjoy! :)

Finding the good in the bad

Life has thrown us quite a few curve balls lately.  I am usually one to just roll with the punches and keep my head up, but I think these pregnancy hormones don't always allow me to be the person I once was.  I get stressed a little easier, a cry a little more, and I get down more often.  Not to worry though because it doesn't last long.  My old self finds her way through the thick fog of hormones and shines through, allowing me to once again be positive, find the good in the bad, and keep on going.
Last week was a down pour of bad/disappointing news.  It started when I woke up Monday morning to water dripping from the bathroom ceiling...never a good sign!  Apparently the roof could not hold up to the 3 days of rain we had last weekend and decided to leak.  Then Jon's injury and being diagnosed with a ruptured achilles tendon.  After that we met with a real estate agent about listing our house, only to find out that in order to sell our house as quick as we wanted, we would need to sell it for less than we bought it.  That just would not work.  We did not have the plan to sell our house, only to be upside down financially in the end.  To top it off, Friday night our precious Annabelle decided to destroy part of the carpet in the master bedroom, tearing apart the carpet and padding, making her way to the concrete slab.  This last week Jon and I were both a little overwhelmed with all of these things going on, causing us both to be down in the dumps. You are probably thinking, "That's it? Danielle, it could be much worse!" I realize it can always be much worse, but being handed all these things at one time, on top of being pregnant/ emotional made it hard to deal with.   I did the only thing I really knew to do at the time and that was turn to God and hand all my worries and anxieties to Him.  I prayed for Him to lift us up and to allow us to see the good in the bad.  Like I said before, my old self found her way through the thick fog of emotions and with His will I am able to find the good in the bad.   The roof-well at least I have a roof over my head and it's not leaking on me when I sleep at night.  Once Jon's surgery is over this week we will tackle finding someone to fix that problem.  As far as Jon's injury- it is repairable!  I am thankful for his job...that they are understanding and that because of what he does now he will not have to miss time from work or take sick days.  It's also a good thing that it is his left foot instead of his right, allowing him to drive when he really has to.  The house- well it is what it is.  We love our house! It is prefect for us!  Although we would like a less expensive mortgage and a neighborhood with couples our age and children, we have a roof over our head and are settled in this house.  We can always attempt to move again when Lillian is a toddler or just before she starts school.  The carpet- We don't have to recarpet the whole bedroom like I originally feared!  We have extra carpet in the attic and will be able to "patch" the hole.  My cousin works at a flooring company and is going to set us up with someone who will do it on the side, which will be a little cheaper!  Most importantly I am healthy.  The pregnancy is going well.  Lillian is healthy and growing.  Without the bad in life it may be hard to recognize the good.  It's best to always keep your faith, to give thanks with the good, and lean on Him through the bad.  Life will always continue to go on!

“When it rains it pours. 

Maybe the art of life is to convert tough times to great experiences: 

we can choose to hate the rain or dance in it.”

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

When I was planning the gender reveal party I knew I wanted to have cute party favors for those that came. I'm not sure where the idea came from but I decided on clock sugar cookies. I had been wanting to make sugar cookies and decorate them with royal icing. I figured this was the best time because it would be an easy shape and design. I went to some of my favorite blog recipe sites and compared recipes and picked out what to do. I went with a lemon vanilla sugar cookie with basic royal icing. The whole process took me about 3 days, but it was not difficult at all.

I made the dough, rolled it out, cut out all the circles, and baked them.

After they cooled, I outlined each circle with royal icing.
Once the outline dried (a few hours), I "flooded" the cookies with royal icing and let them dry over night.

After the white royal icing dried, I decorated the clock "faces" with black cookie icing.
They were packaged after they were completely dry.

The finished favors!!

I had more pictures to show each step, but the computer is acting funny and not posting them like it should.   I really enjoyed making these cookies, and they actually tasted really good too! I see more decorated sugar cookie baking in my future!

What a day!

It's crazy what all can happen in a days time! Yesterday I was off work, so Jon and I made plans to look (again) at a house we really like. We went to the house and were reminded how much we love it! It's got lots of charm! The original hardwood floors look great and creak when you walk! I love that sound! There is an amazing sun room. It actually has a separate laundry room. The backyard is perfect for us and the pups! The house would suit us perfectly! We ended up making a contingent offer, meaning if we sell our house we would buy theirs. Keeping our fingers crossed that someone buys our house soon!!
Now let's go back a couple days to Sunday...Jon was playing a flag football game and some guy on the other team stomped on his ankle/achilles tendon. Jon immediately fell to the ground in excruciating pain. We decided he needed to see an orthopedist because the swelling was getting worse, he couldn't walk on it, and the pain was still there. Fast forward to yesterday...Jon got a call from the orthopedic specialists office letting him know they could fit him in to their schedule. Off we went to the doctor's office. After the physical exam, an X-ray, and a MRI the doctor concluded that Jon's achilles is ruptured/totally torn and requires surgery. Jon left the doctor with a huge boot, crutches, and an appointment for surgery next Wednesday. Not what we had bargained for!
Right after the appointment I met a real estate agent at our house because we are thinking of listing our house with her. She walked through our house and took some notes and left us with some paperwork to fill out. We haven't had any luck selling our house by owner so this is our next step, especially since we have a contingent offer on a house now.
There is a lot going on around our house these days and I keep reminding myself of this verse from Isaiah 41:13...
"For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you."
Although these things were not in our plans, they are in His plan and it will all work out in the end!