12 weeks!

I have decided to do some occasional progress updates on this blog for family and friends living far away. Let's just jump right in to the 12 week updates!
 

 
How far along? 12 weeks, 4 days
 

Total weight gain/loss: About 3-3 1/2 pounds, depending on the day. ;)

Maternity clothes? I purchased my first maternity...undergarments (?) this week and it was heaven. I also am wearing a few maternity shirts, maxi dresses, and the belli band with pants/shorts.
 
Stretch marks? Not yet. Using coconut oil and Young Living's "Gentle Babies" oil, alternating with plain old Palmer's Cocoa Butter.


Symptoms:  Still some nausea, though my appetite has definitely increased this past week. I also feel like I am starting to get a little more energy.

Sleep:  Lots of it! So thankful for the body pillow I borrowed from my friend, Megan!

Best moment this week: Announcing the pregnancy publicly!

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Not really.

Movement: Nope, not yet.

Food cravings:  SPAGHETTIOS. And chili.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. Just when my stomach feels empty.

Have you started to show yet:  I think so! I didn't really, but looking at the comparison from 8 to 12 week photos made me think differently.

 

Gender prediction: We have an elective ultrasound in early October. I don't know why, but I just have a feeling it's a girl. Which probably means it's a boy. No preference though!
Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Seeing little Sprout on Wednesday! Praying for a healthy baby and all good results from the NT scan.

Essential Oils and Pets

     It should really be no surprise to those of you who have even ever met me when you see the title of this post. I am that lady. The crazy cat lady, the rescue lady, the lady who refers to her pets as her "furbabies". I'll own it. Because I am a rescue fanatic, I also have a few sickly "furbabies". It comes with the territory. I cannot (though my husband probably could) tell you how much money we have spent over the years trying to not only solve whichever ailment became most pressing, but also and more importantly trying to identify the cause and best prevention. We have battled everything from allergies to severe anxiety, to multi-night "pet hospital" stays for bladder retention/stones.
     About a year ago, we started using coconut oil for everything in our house. My husband I both just really enjoy the taste in our baked goods and when used for browning meat, veggies, etc. and it also helps that we know we are putting something healthy in our bodies. About six months ago, I started allowing our eldest and chronically sickest cat, Sidney, to lick the remaining coconut oil off the spoon after I had spooned out the amount of coconut oil needed for cooking (**disclaimer: we DO own a dishwasher**). Coincidentally, Sidney's allergic symptoms which included runny eyes and nose, sneezing, frequent respiratory infections, and skin dermatitis, substantially improved. I started doing a little research and found that it wasn't really so coincidental, and many other people have had and shared similar experiences with their pets.
    I am currently waiting for my full Young Living Essential Oils kit to arrive, but in the meantime, my mother-in-law left me with Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, and Valor. I noticed that Sidney has been frequently climbing to wherever I have been storing the oils and sniffing the bottles. I wondered, is it safe to let him sniff these things?! I did a little more research and talked with my mother-in-law who provided me with a suggested list of safe oils and uses for pet care. Turns out, it's ok to let Sidney and any of my other animals sniff Lavender, and I can even put it on them! Sidney's allergies have improved, his anxiety has improved, and I am now experimenting with letting some oil dry on my dog's collar before putting it back on her in the morning to assist with anxiety while we are away.
   Here is a list of some oils and their uses for pet care. This is not an all-inclusive list of what can and cannot be used for pets, so please consult other more reputable (ha-ha) sources prior to using anything else. And, as always, a small little medication disclaimer. **Please do not discontinue your pets prescribed medications without consulting with a veterinarian and, be smart about it. If you live in a flea or tick infested area, don't stop your pet's flea/tick medication cold turkey. Try adding some of these oil recommendations to the existing prevention method instead, and slowly taper off the other medications if desired.**

Happy oiling!

Homemade Flea Collar: 1 drop Cedar wood, 3 drops Purification, 2 drops Lavender, 2 drops Citronelle, 1 drop Thyme, 3 drops Orange. Mix oils and soak COTTON collar or cloth in mixture until all oil is absorbed. Allow the material to dry completely before putting on the dog. NOT safe for CATS due to the Orange.

Homemade Ear Spray: 1 TBS. carrier oil (I like coconut), 7-8 ml Thieves spray, 3 drops Lemongrass, 4 drops Copaiba, 5 drops Purification in a glass spray bottle. Spray on outer ear three times per day. Rub it down the canal, but do not fill the ear canal.

Frankincense: Great for small pets. Uses: wound care, tumors, infections, fungus, behavior immune support.

Panaway: Best for pain. Uses: Osteo-arthritis, post surgery, muscle aches and pains. Dilute for cats.

Valor: Great for courage and calming. Uses: Fear, training and behavior issues, skin mases, itching, allergies, infections.

Peace and Calming: Good for hyper younger pets. Uses: Fear, anxiety, behavioral issues, excitement, builds confidence.

Peppermint: Great for cooling overworked or overheated dogs and horses. Uses: Pain relief, fever reduction.

Purification: Best for flea repellent. Safe for cats at 75% dilution.

Lavender: Very gentle. Uses: Calming, repelling insects/parasites, fights infections, wound care.

Lemon: Use with carrier oil. Uses: anti-parasitic, great for skin conditions, focus when training.

Thieves: Best for infection. Uses: pain relief, anti-parasitic, antibacterial, antiviral, wound and oral care, infections.

Digize: All digestive issues: Uses: Anything gastrointestinal, even used on colic horses successfully!

RC: Uses: Respiratory and urinary support. Great for cats who need bladder fortification.

Essential Oils/Young Living - Reformed Pill Popper?

          Like many women I know in their mid twenties, I have started to pay more attention to my health and lifestyle choices in recent years. Gone are the days I can indulge in greasy foods, sweets, and adult beverages as frequently as I would like to without seeing some type of effect on my body. Sometimes I see the results in the form of unsightly bloating, skin imperfections, a sour mood, or low energy...to name a few. A few years ago, I started making healthier choices. I made the usual swaps in terms of wheat vs. white, "always choose water" - no excuses, Coconut oil instead of the alternatives, and tried to stay pretty active.
        The problem for me has always been consistency. With aging comes maturity, but what people forget to tell you is that with age also comes a slower metabolism and seemingly less time to do anything about it! The one thing I have remained consistent about over the last several years is paying attention to what vitamins and supplements I put into my body. In addition to taking a women's multi-vitamin daily, I also take a probiotic consistently and have "green smoothies" and hot tea quite frequently. However, what I also take daily, is a boatload of likely unnecessary Motrin, Benadryl, and other various over the counter meds.
        When I moved to Jacksonville, I met a girl named Megan (who also happened to end up being my best friend). She was the total opposite of my 5'9, brunette haired, pill-popping frame. Megan is a tiny ball of energy who chooses water over Diet Coke and essential oils over prescription or over the counter medications whenever possible. Megan taught me about oils and some of their uses and it has been amazing to watch her use them on her baby. I also have a friend named Audra who sweetly talked to me about them and then sent me a few specially selected oils for a particularly stressful time this year. I credit Audra for helping me find a stop to my insomnia, and for sparking my initial interest in the oils.
        Fast forward to this week when my mother-in-law made an unexpected but welcomed visit to see us, and to tell us about her journey and success with Young Living Essential Oils in recent months. I won't bore you with details of names and stories of family members and friends you won't ever meet, but I will say that when someone shares success stories with you involving people you know well, you listen. And when that same person is someone you trust both professionally (she's a nurse) and personally (I'm married to her son ;) and tells you to take a capsule of lavender, lemon, and peppermint for your bad allergies - you do it! Just in the few days my mother-in-law was here visiting, Tyler and I used oils for our allergies and for his snoring and for the first time in the twelve years we have been together, I have to poke him to make sure he's alive as he is sleeping soundly and quietly through the night.
        Do I believe that oils cure everything? Not really. Do I believe that people should stop taking all of their prescribed medications cold turkey and switch over immediately? Definitely not. Do I believe some people will think I'm crazy for "buying into" essential oils and their effectiveness? Most definitely. But, am I also a reformed pill popper? You betcha. Because learning about what I CAN put into my body and how good it is for me makes me think about what I am CURRENTLY putting into my body and why. Mindfulness is a beautiful, healthy thing.

A Healthier Summer Staple

With the weather warming up across the country (for the most part), I wanted to share a few ways I have recently found to healthy up a classic summer stample: pasta salad. I.love.pasta.salad. Like, a lot. I could eat it all the time. Unfortunately, it just isn't really a great addiction to have. Thankfully for pasta lovers like myself, I have come up with a few alternatives to the traditional ingredients. I find I enjoy my beloved pasta salad even more when it contains ingredients I feel good about eating. - Use a nutrient-rich pasta such as Barilla Plus. One box of this pasta has as much Omega 3's as 6 ounces of walnuts and as much protein as 11 eggs. - Make it colorful. Pack in as many veggies as possible. Peppers, red onions, asparagus tips, black olives, broccoli, carrots, celery, cucumber, squash, zucchini, etc. Use what you have in your fridge. You can never have too many veggies and they tend to go very well together. - Choose your cheese wisely. Feta: sheep, goat, 1 percent instead of whole, etc. are good choices. Also, purchasing a 4 ounce container of Feta, for example, provides instant portion control. - It's all in the dressing. Choose a low-fat dressing like low-fat Italian or flavored vinaigrette with no mayo or fattier additions. Happy Summer and happy eating! xoxo, Emily

A Few Good Men(us)

Hi Friends and Family! It has been forever since I have posted. I have since graduated from grad school with my Master's in Social Work and our family has relocated to Jacksonville, Florida. Now that we are on a more predictable schedule, I have been experimenting with our eating habits and have found that what works best for us is purchasing fresh fruits and veggies the beginning of the week and some type of poultry. In addition, we stock up on rice, quinoa, etc. for sides. We mix and match what we have and end up using up most of the food without much waste! Here is one of my favorite meals from the past week:

Guilt Free Lasagna (from the blog, Hautepnk) 1 yellow onion, chopped 7-8 garlic cloves Portobello mushrooms 1.5 pounds extra lean turkey 1.5 cans clean tomato sauce (I used Amy's basil) Dried herbs (such as oregano, thyme, basil) 1.5 bags baby spinach (you can also use a box of frozen, thawed of course) 4 cups non-fat cottage cheese 6 small zucchini (yellow or green) Fresh lasagna noodles (I got the green, wheat kind from Native Sun or Whole Foods) 1. Peel and chop onion and garlic, saute in good quality olive oil 2. Chop mushrooms while the above simmers on low 3. When veggies are tender, add turkey until browned 4. Add sauce, mushrooms and herbs and simmer on very low 5. Steam or thaw your spinach and drain, mix with the cottage cheese (drained as well) in a medium bowl, add a little salt 6. Slice zucchini lengthwise or in large slices to act as noodles 7. Make light layer of sauce on bottom of pan 8. Layer of zucchini 9. Cottage cheese, spinach mixture, fresh lasagna layer, meat layer, zucchini layer, cheese layer, zucchini layer, meat layer Cover with foil and bake for 45 mins. at 400 degrees F, then uncover for an additional 15 to darken the top a bit. This is a very versatile recipe and can be spiced up, cheese can be added, other veggies, meats, etc. Just a basic healthy lasagna recipe but certainly a good one. I made this one evening and we ate off of it for the entire rest of the week for lunches, etc. Enjoy!!

Getting Organized

Hi friends! The husband and I seemingly caught a little belly bug and I seemingly caught up on A LOT of sleep. After I awoke from my slumber, it was time to do something productive. As I am on a mini-break from grad school right now, I have treated myself to a few beauty magazines as well as gotten caught up on my regularly delivered ones such as Food Network and Rachael Ray. Today I decided to do something with all of the torn out pages of interest growing in piles next to my side of the bed.

First, I sorted through the beauty stack of torn out pages with various "likes" or inspiration for Spring fashion such as pastel colors, a list of Spring "must haves", and hairstyles to try. I decided to create an inspiration board and simply tacked up the pages I had saved, and hung the board next to my closet. I hope to simply switch out pages once I have tried them or the seasons/trends change. I also do not believe in throwing out a magazine just because you've looked at it (though I also do not believe in hoarding them!), so a few of my sweet friends will luck out :)

Next, I was long overdue in the recipe organization department. I already have a recipe box, a shelf for my cookbooks, and a binder for hole-punched magazine recipes. However, the binder was a disaster area full of loose, dog-eared, random recipes. Not any longer! I hole punched until my fingers hurt and here is how I organized the binder:

1) Misc. Food plan ideas or meal planning ideas remain in the front and back pockets
2) Desserts
3) Pastas/Italian (deserves its own category as this seems to be our fave)
4) Dinner Ideas (most of these are meat dishes)
5) International Dinner Ideas (Mexican, Chinese, casseroles, etc)
6) Party Ideas/Special occasions (Dips, meatballs, etc)

This is quite adaptable as I have a few more section dividers and Lord knows I will find more recipes to add. Hope this helps you organize your prized recipes or new ones to try!

xoxo,
Emily

Applesauce 'n Cinnamon Cupcakes (Mupcakes?)

Uh..yummm! I have a quick recipe to share with y'all. With the cable/internet out and the washing machine dead, what's a girl to do?...Bake, duh. I used my new mini cupcake maker again, and decided to try a more savory cupcake..or so I thought. The cupcakes actually seemed more like a moist muffin than a cupcake as I decided not to frost them. I opted out of icing, as the mupcakes (muffin/cupcakes?) themselves were quite sweet. I chose to top them with a little pinch of granulated sugar, and they were delicious. The fun part about these is that they can be adapted greatly. I considered adding things such as chocolate chips, craisins instead of raisins, coconut, etc. Play around and see what you think. Enjoy! :)

Applesauce & Cinnamon Cupcakes
(Adapted from the book 500 Cupcakes)

1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk (I used regular 2 percent and added about a tsp of white vinegar)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (not sure if mine was unsweetened or not)
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 small red eating apple, thinly sliced for topping (optional)
granulated sugar for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or your mini cupcake maker!). Grease a 12-cup muffin pan. Place butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, and buttermilk in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients inlucing applesauce, cinnamon, pecans, raisins, and any other mix-ins you want to try.

Spoon batter into the cups. Lay the apple slices if using on top and sprinkle with a little sugar.

Bake for 25-27 minutes. Remove pan from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes and cool on a rack. Serve warm.

xoxo,
Emily