Month: December 2016

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  I’m currently waiting for the boys to finish making root beer so I can get in the kitchen and attempt to make some vegan steak bombs for our dinner tonight.

Speaking of boys, this house is going to be full of boys soon.  We can officially announce that Soy Bean is going to be a little boy!  I’m surrounded!  Sophie and I are going to really have to stick together.

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I’m very excited, and not surprised at all.  When I first found out I was pregnant I had a strong boy vibe almost instantly.  However, as far as pregnancy symptoms go, I’ve been experiencing typical “girl” symptoms, like craving sweets, morning sickness and so on.

My husband is so excited about having two boys, he’s already planning camping trips.  It’s going to be a long time before he takes my baby out into the woods though…However, when he does I have big plans for the couch and a glass of wine.

As far as baby clothes go, I know everyone says it’s fun to shop for a girl but I love the little boys’ clothes I’ve been seeing.  I’ve always enjoyed shopping for my stepson (he’s one well dressed kid thanks to me…and my mother-in-law and mom of course) so shopping for a little baby is going to be that much more of a cuteness overload.

The highlight of my vacation this week (besides seeing family, having awesome date nights, and eating delicious food) was hearing my son’s heartbeat for the first time.  We had a doctor’s appointment on Thursday morning and luckily my husband was able to come.  Before we’ve only see Soy Bean’s heartbeat in the ultrasound so I was super pumped (see what I did there) to hear it.  We even heard him flip over, he’s very active in there, I’m sure I’ll appreciate that when I can actually feel him.

I hope that you all have a wonderful New Year. It’s strange to have a weight gain goal for 2017!

 

 

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Happy Holidays

It’s a rainy Saturday here, I can’t imagine if this was snow!

I’ve spent most of my day so far in the kitchen and I’m happy to do so.  It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been comfortable cooking.

I had fun rummaging through my cookbooks and the internet to find the perfect Christmas Eve menu for my family.  I knew I wanted to make some sort of soup.  When I was a kid we always had clam chowder on Christmas Eve.  Obviously, that meal is out of the running these days so I had think outside the box.

I love the Minimalist Baker.  Her recipes are simple and delicious.  I usually have most of the ingredients on hand already.  I made her summer corn soup, which I found on her website.  My husband said it was one of his favorite soups ever.  I think I’m going to make a New Year’s resolution to make more soup…

I paired the soup with Chloe Coscarelli’s Italian quesadillas.  They were a big hit!  I didn’t think it was going to be a lot of food but we were stuffed.

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Over the course of the day I also cranked out some English muffin breads (so much work, so much flour everywhere!) and a fruit salad.  Phew!

I was most pumped about the lack of queasiness all day.  I was a little nervous about chopping an onion for the soup but I was able to pull it off.  I’m so grateful to be feeling a little bit back to myself.  16 weeks tomorrow!

Of course now the lower back pain is starting to kick in a little bit.  I had my husband rub my back for me last night and that seemed to help.  I love a good back rub so I guess I have a pretty excuse to ask for one now!

 

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I also ventured into the maternity section at Target this week.  I’ve been eyeing some dresses there, and guess what…they were on sale this week.  I went back yesterday and bought a pair of jeans as well.  I had been wanting to buy a pair of dark grey jeans since before I got pregnant but I hadn’t found a pair I liked.  Well I bought a maternity pair yesterday.  Guys, maternity jeans are awesome.  I think I’m going to wear them for the rest of my life.

Tomorrow our parents are going to find out if they’re going to have a grandson or granddaughter.  We’re so excited to share the news, and even more so to not have the secret anymore!  Happy holidays!

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Coming in June…

We’re having a baby!

We could not be more excited.  Our little Soy Bean will be joining us around June 11.

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I was cocky at the beginning of this pregnancy.  I was only feeling a little tired, but still eating all my usual veggies, hot sauce, etc.  Then week 7 hit me.  Hard.

So tired.  So sore.  Sore incredibly nauseous.  My tastes in food completely changed.  My whole life I’ve loved savory foods, veggies, and so on.  After week 7 I couldn’t not even look at broccoli.  Or even think about it.  Gross.

From week 7 to week 12 this baby and I have pretty much lived off of Rice Krispies and almond milk.  For food craving I have been leaning towards fruit, especially pineapple and grapefruit.  I’ve also been gulping down grapefruit juice.  My husband thinks I’m crazy.

Today I’m 15 weeks and finally starting to feel better.  I’ve heard good things about the second trimester and I’m looking forward to them.  The first trimester was tough.  I worried a lot about Soy Bean.  I was amazed how little you see your doctor during early pregnancy.  I found out I was pregnant at 4 weeks and 1 day.  When I called they scheduled me for an ultrasound for three weeks later!  It seemed like forever, and I was partially convinced that nothing would show up.

But there he/she was.  Our little blog with a fluttering 158 beats per minute heartbeat.  It was incredible to see for the first time.  After that first doctor’s appointment I finally started to relax a little bit.

We’ve seen Soy Bean one more time since at 12 weeks and it’s amazing how much he/she has grown.  Soy Bean was stretching and tossing around a lot.   I already know what his/her nose will look like since the ultrasound profile looks a lot like my stepson and nephew.  We had good news with our genetic testing which was a relief and we found out the gender!  Now I am looking forward to feeling better, gaining some weight (I lost 6 pounds my first trimester), buying some maternity clothes, and planning for this kid.

We are waiting to tell our parents the baby’s gender on Christmas, and it’s been a hard secret to keep since my husband and I are already calling the baby by his/her name sometimes.

In food related news, I think I’m finally starting to get my appetite back.  Yay!  I’m planning our Christmas Eve meal and am excited about cooking it.  Or at least right now I feel I can cook it right now.  I have made very few meals in the last few months, and I’ve missed being in the kitchen.  I’m so grateful that my husband has taken such good care of me.  He’s done so much for me in the last few months including extra cooking, cleaning, allowing me to nap whenever I need to, warming up my car for me and the list goes on.  I don’t know how women get through early pregnancy when their partners are not supportive.

So I will be back here soon updating about Soy Bean and hopefully if I keep feeling good I’ll be blogging about some delicious and healthy vegan food.  Now off to do some Christmas shopping.

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