{21 Weeks}

{#tgibf} Hope y’all enjoyed the kickoff to Football season! Baby Santie is growing, and I think this mama only has a few weeks left fitting into my jersey comfortably. 🙂

Well this was a crazy week for sure! It was the first week of Kindergarten for my littles. And therefore pretty tiring for me. Plus, add all the extra running round {quite literally sometimes}, and on my feet time – well I repulled my calf muscle that was an old injury from a few years ago. Then of course my ankle started acting up. Well, it put me out of commission this weekend. I didn’t even get my photo done yesterday like I needed to! So this week’s photo is technically not quite a 21 week photo, but close enough! 🙂

Week: 21

Feelings: A little frustration at times. People keep saying to me “WOW, you FINALLY look pregnant.” As though I’m choosing the size I am, or how my baby/stomach are growing. People. I EAT. All the time. I even have to force myself to eat because I don’t have a huge appetite. It is just so frustrating. I’m sure they mean well, but I swear people don’t think before the speak sometimes! I would never comment on someone who looks *too* big for how far along they are. It’s not my fault I’m petite! *sigh*

Cravings: This week it’s been cheese!  🙂

Symptoms: Started feeling some minor hip pain while sleeping at night toward the end of the week. And some general achiness from my tummy growing. Baby has some active phases! Usually morning and evening and boy does he get moving! Lots of kicks, stretches, punches and even hiccups sometimes!

{18 Weeks}

Well – it’s happened. I’ve gotten my first cold while pregnant. This is giving me a not so exciting look into what my school year will be like! Eek. Being sick and not being able to take medicine is rough. That’s typically how I power through and still remain productive. Thankfully I was able to rest most of the weekend. And of course – it is back to work {full days of training} this week! Anyway, I had this picture taken and ready to post days ago, but have spent the majority of the weekend either on the couch, in bed or a combination of the two! Better late than never, right?! 😉

Week: 18

Feelings: Tired – but mostly because of this cold. I’m also getting super impatient! I can’t wait for our anatomy scan during the 20th week. And, if I must admit it, I’m feeling a little self-conscious about my bump. It is flat around my belly button! Ha. Not sure if it is because I had my belly button pierced for like, 13 years? Potential scar tissue? Or is my bump going to be deformed for the whole pregnancy? Sigh. I hope it rounds out. {I know, I shouldn’t be self-conscious, pregnancy is beautiful… but seriously. It looks… odd. ;)}

Cravings: SOUR CANDY!

Symptoms: Started feeling some stretching and ligament pain Saturday which I am excited for. It means my belly and baby are growing! And of course, as the chalkboard says, I have started feeling little movements. Baby Santie loves kicking, especially in the late afternoon. I think they are going to be an active baby – they were moving like crazy even during my 8 and 13 week ultrasound!

Oh – and this week Winston couldn’t resist. I got photobombed. 😉 Peek a boo W! The whole baby thing, and not being able to lay all over Mommy is confusing him.

{17 Weeks}

Ahhh it is almost the end of week 17! Crazy how time flies. And speaking of… I am back into the swing of things at work. I spent the entire week working in my classroom. It felt good to not be rushed this year {we had just moved into a brand new building last year and had less than a week to unpack, organize and get set up!}. But I can’t believe the week is already over. I have trainings for the next few weeks, and then back to school September 2! Where did the summer go?

The only good thing about summer ending is… you guessed it… SEAHAWKS! Preseason football is back! And because of it, I totally spaced on posting this picture until now. Good thing I’m a great multi-tasker. I’m watching the game and posting at the same time. Pure. Talent. 😉

In honor of Blue Friday my chalkboard this week is blue and green themed. Pretty fun!

Week: 17

Feelings: Pretty good this week! My fatigue has started to lessen. I am so thankful! I hope I can manage to keep this up through September. That is the most exhausting month ever. OH and I managed to pull my neck {all the way into my back} like no body’s business – couldn’t even turn my head. Everyone kept asking “What did you do!?”  Well… short answer? I turned my head. Yeah. I’m THAT good. Haha!

Hmm.. and as I type I think I’m ready for that bump to even out. I wonder how long it will be before it rounds out. Or maybe its because people say I’m carrying low. Hmm.. things to ponder.

Cravings: Nothing in particular this week. Oh – peanut butter and crackers! I haven’t had that in so long. Yum!

Symptoms: Just some aches {growing aches – yay!}, and my acne is starting to decrease slightly. Thank goodness! This is worse than anything I had as a teenager. I will be so thankful when this is gone!

GOOOO HAWKS! Can’t wait for the regular season to kick off. And this rain is welcome to come back more frequently also. I’m ready for cozy clothes and snuggly nights. Hope everyone enjoys the game and has an awesome weekend!

{16 Weeks}

Well, I am officially onto week 17, but this week and weekend got the best of me and this is the first opportunity I’ve had to sit down and post this picture! This was actually taken on Wednesday – so my goal for week 17 is to take the picture and post it by Friday! 🙂

Week: 16

Feelings: This was just an exhausting week. I tried to relax as much as possible but felt the pressure of school looming ahead of me. So I ended up getting lots of rest breaks but also got a lot accomplished on my summer “to do” list. Thank goodness, because I’m heading in this week to begin classroom set up! Also I felt VERY thankful that my good friend Beth gave me her maternity clothes. She just had her second, beautiful daughter, and no longer needed them. I was very thankful for belly bands and maternity jeans this week! 🙂

Cravings: Sadly, I was craving pizza! So most lunches this week consisted of salad and some sort of pizza-ish meal. Not the healthiest but you have to splurge sometimes! 🙂

Symptoms: Fatigue, low back pain, and I started to have some aches in my hips. Which makes me a little apprehensive since I already have mild hip pain from time to time {Lovely genetics!}.  I hope it isn’t a sign of what’s to come!

Have a good week y’all!

{15 Weeks}

Wow. What a week! A colleague and I spent M-Th travelling 2 hours in the morning and 3-3 1/2 hours in the evening to Lake Stevens, WA in order to prepare for our upcoming ProTeach portfolio. We learned a lot at our seminars but it was an exhausting week. So, I just got around to taking my weekly photo! As I’m nearing the end of week 15, I’m getting more and more anxious for week 20 — I can’t wait to find out what gender the baby is!

Week: 15

Feelings: Just exhausted. And behind. The training this week took a toll on me mentally, as well as on my house! I have quite the list to accomplish tomorrow!

Cravings: Nothing in particular this week — just more on the salty side. And fruit. Lots of fruit!

Symptoms: Minimal low back pain {yay!}, and fatigue.

{14 weeks}

Whoops! I meant to post this earlier, but the week got away from me. So here is the Week 14 recap! Our photo had to be taken in a different space – not my favorite since you can see things in the background – but it is all for good reason! Johnny has begun prepping the nursery {where I took the previous photos} – yay! 🙂

Week: 14

Feelings: I feel relieved this week because I can finally talk about our pregnancy. It also gives people at work a clue as to why I’ve been a little spacey and really fatigued. I am also relieved that I finished teaching my last week of summer school! But not looking forward to commuting to Lake Stevens all next week for the WEA ProTeach Jumpstart Seminar. {So glad teachers get the summer off, right? haha} I’m also bummed that the imaging department won’t schedule my anatomy scan until week 20. So we have to wait quite a while to find out if baby is a boy or girl. Patience is a virtue….right? :-\

Cravings: Bagels! For the first time in a long time I am eating carbs without really thinking about how they fit into my macronutrients. Although I still care about getting enough protein. Even though meat typically doesn’t sound good.

Symptoms: So this past week was really difficult for my low back. I already had some low back issues {minor} prior to pregnancy but now they’re definitely worse. I’m trying a combo of stretching, icing, attempting to walk as much as possible and chiropractic. It’s a little better toward the end of this week, but I’m just praying this isn’t a sign of what’s to come!

Question for the Mamas – any tips for strengthening low back during pregnancy??

Hope ya’ll are enjoying your weekend!

{13 Weeks}

As many of you know, on Sunday, we announced that we are expecting! If you read my last post, you also know that my husband will be having to travel out of town, to Juneau, AK throughout much of the pregnancy. It was certainly not in the plans, but you have to go where the work is!

So I’ll be documenting my pregnancy, and the journey our family goes through on the blog. I’m also hoping to come up with some new crafty ideas and new recipe ideas since I will have so much time in the near future! I already have an idea to blog about how to make little baby shoes out of fabric. The baby shoes in the announcement photo were a pair I actually made since I couldn’t find a gender neutral pair that I liked well enough.  So stay tuned!

Since we announced on a Sunday, that put me a bit behind on my blogging plans. So I’ll end up posting twice this week.

Week: Last week was my 13th week. We had a nuchal translucency ultra sound and got to see baby Santie again! Baby is moving around like crazy {on the ultrasound, it’s obviously too early for me to feel anything}, and looks very healthy. Can’t wait until the gender scan!

Feelings: I welcomed this week with open arms! Good bye nausea {thank goodness}, and reduced fatigue for the win. I still get incredibly tired but I can function a whole lot better now! Although teaching summer school probably wasn’t my best laid plan. So. Tired. 😂 I am looking forward to the point when I can finally have enough energy to get in an actual workout instead of only walk. {Current moms.. please tell me this is a reality! Did you ever end up feeling like working out during pregnancy?? Tips??}

Cravings: My only cravings so far have really just been enhanced cravings for things I already love – pineapple, banana peppers, salt and vinegar chips {I know, I’m weird}, and basically anything sour. Although the strangest thing is I’ve had a reduced sweet tooth. And if you know me – that’s really weird!

Bump: I have a little bump – but to most it looks like nothing. I feel fat – not pregnant! I’m looking forward to looking pregnant and not bloated! 🙂

 

The Wednesday Word — fitness survey

Gooood morning!

Holy moly…I am too sore to workout – so I decided I needed to take the day off. {Live Fit Trainer has 3 days off at the end of the week, since I have been super sore, I dispersed them throughout the week this week}Since I was so sore this seemed like a nice alternative! Get those sore muscles stretched out… blood flowing into them and wake up the brain!

So, along with my fitness goals, I really want to get back into blogging more frequently. Once a week, but more than once would be awesome! I thought a cool way to do that would be to implement something I devised {or thought I did… although I am sure I’m not that clever!}, called the “Wednesday Word”. Soo, I will post a new fitness survey, a new motivational mantra or photo that I’ve found… something to keep me {and hopefully you} going and excited about health and fitness! 🙂 #iwill #whatisbeautiful

This week I have decided to hone in fitness. I’ve seen this fitness survey floating around the  web… {Over at Carrots ‘N Cake, etc.} I am not a fitness guru or health nut, so my answers are pretty bleh. BUT I thought it would be interesting to see how my answers change during each phase of the Live Fit Trainer. Since I’m in Phase 1 – here is posting numero uno!

Hope y’all are having a great and productive week!

Five Fitness Things I Can’t Live Without:

1. iPhone – I cannot workout without music!
2. Nike Free 5.0s – favorite shoes ever
3. H20 – hydration baybee!
4. Motivation – sometimes that means pulling up Pinterest, thumbing through a fitness magazine really quick or even just turning on some of my favorite workout songs!
5. My HUSBAND! – He keeps me motivated and wanting to stay fit. I couldn’t imagine having a partner who isn’t motivated to stay fit and healthy! XOXO!

Most Embarrassing Song I Listen To When I Workout:

• Britney Spears? — I will always love Britney. I grew up with her and love her – she gets my heart pumping!
• Little Mix – Wings – This popped up on my Pandora and I love the beat!

Favorite Pre-Workout Snack or Meal:

Egg {usually 1} and Dave’s bread, toasted with coffee —  I usually workout in the AM around 5ish, so breakfast is the first thing in my belly!

On My Fitness Bucket List:

• Complete all 3 phases of Live Fit Trainer – and stick to it!
• Complete a 1/2 marathon
• Complete a color run – seems fun!
  
• Lose fat – gain lean muscle!

Must Have Tech Tools:

• iPhone! – cannot live without my music playlists – especially Pandora!
• I don’t currently have but totally want… Polar FT40!

Top Exercise Gear:

Seriously love my Nike Free 5.0s. I had a foot injury {Morton’s neuroma – no fun!} a while back and ever since have difficulty with the way shoes fit, and flare ups.. ever since I started wearing this style of Nike I have had ZERO problems! These are my favorite!

Motivational Mantras:

I have quite a few but two that are true to where I’m at right now in my journey are…

Favorite Strength Moves:

1. Squats!
2. Leg Press!
3. Lunges! — I loathe them, but I feel and see results… it’s a love hate relationship! 😉

I love leg days – probably because I have the most strength and so I feel the best when I go up to a heavier weight.

What are you favorite things?! Copy and repost – just tag me back so I can read and comment! Happy Hump Day!

Ciao,

Roller coaster ride.

I am tired of the roller coaster. I am tired of the, “I want to get fit… I want to gain muscle and eat lean” mentality that quickly falls to the “OMG that looks/tastes so good” mentality. I am through. Finished. Ready to make a permanent change.

This past year has been quite difficult for me on the fitness home front. My first year teaching was a lot more difficult than I imagined. I thought for some reason I wouldn’t be subject to the first year teacher stresses and struggles. Alas, they got me. And they got me good! The summer leading into my first teaching job (last summer), I worked out pretty hard and started the “New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women” program, which I loved by the way. Then, I was hired and like a whirlwind life changed. I was working 12 hours a day, and some days more to get my classroom together… I was working long days to get my plans finished in between and after meetings while trying to maintain my normal life, also while being infected with 5 year old Kindergarten germs. It was crazy. 😉

All the while I told myself, “Well, next week things should calm down and I can get in a workout or two.” If you guessed that I didn’t do that, then you guessed right! Pretty soon it was December, and the holidays hit, and so did all my favorite sugary treats. Finally come Winter Break I got back into the gym, only to become very sick with the flu. Another road block. Long story short, I am just finally getting to the point where I can regain the right mentality, the right priorities to take care of myself and realize that is the best thing I can do for my husband, my students and most importantly myself.

Today I did a lot of online browsing… I came across a great fitness program that I started today and am SUPER excited about! …click here to check out Jamie Eason‘s 12 week Live Fit Trainer program. Stoked on that. And I also found out about the Under Armour “What is Beautiful” campaign. I joined up on that and am super excited to start some of the challenges. {Pssst… follow me on UA What is Beautiful – HERE!”}

Its late. Its random. I haven’t blogged in… a long time. BUT, I just couldn’t wait to get a post going, to chat about all the things going on inside my head. This post is somewhat of a ramble. But I think it is best that way. I am so tired of living my life “lazy”. “Ugh. I am too tired to work out”, and then feeling disgusting or gross when my clothes don’t fit. BTW, I REFUSE to buy new clothes! And, I also refuse to keep yo-yoing back and forth just to fit in said clothes! 🙂

My goal is… Complete Phases 1, 2 and 3 in a 12 week program… Change my lifestyle and teach my students to be active!!! #iwill #whatisbeautiful

Fitness is for life. I’m making the change… I’m challenging myself to become a better version of me. I am challenging myself to be the best person I can be, someone my future children can be proud of, someone my current students can be proud of. {Seriously… my kids would rather sit in front of a TV or video game… NOOO!} NO EXCUSES THIS TIME! I want to make a change.

Well, all I can say/guarantee is…stay tuned for the next installment on this roller coaster ride! 😉

Ciao! And Sweet Dreams… zzzz.

Happy birthday… to me!

Wow. It has been months. I mean, months, since I’ve posted! It even feels weird to be typing this up!

Quick catch up… I got my first teaching job! I graduated last June, and was hired in August to be a half day Kindergarten teacher. MAN. Half day Kinder is tough. But, at the same time it is rewarding and fun! And because of the craziness, it is safe to say that my life has been taken over! All I do is teach, plan for teaching, organize for teaching, talk about teaching. I LOVE IT! And, I have an amazing husband who is supportive and listens as I ramble on, and on about my days. However, life is good!

The other day I was reading up on a friend’s blog. She is blogging to keep family and friends in communication about her pregnancy. She made my bagels recipe, and shared it on her blog. I realized how long it has truly been since I blogged and how much I enjoy it! So, here I am! It was perfect timing because… today… is… my… birthday!! Yes. I am 27 today. Weird. And, I was already planning on baking up some birthday happiness, so it was a perfect time to share with you all!! {If anyone is still even subscribed/reading my blog that is! ;)}

For my birthday I couldn’t choose between a lemon cupcake with lemon curd filling, or a mocha inspired cupcake. Alas, the chocolate and coffee lover in me won!

I thought it was fitting that I take a pic to mark my enthusiasm to get back into blogging… CHEESE!

Yep. 27 year old cheesy smile. It still feels weird to say I’m 27. :-\

Anyhow – these cupcakes were fun to make. I must admit I wasn’t thrilled with the texture, and they weren’t chocolaty enough for my tastes, but all in all they are good! The frosting is smooth and airy and delicious! The frosting is definitely a remake!

Yummm. These will be delish tonight for a birthday treat.

Eeek. All my cute little cupcake soldiers lined up! Ready to be devoured!

ONTO the recipe!!!

Mocha Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp espresso powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee, cooled
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

For the frosting:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 Tbsp espresso powder
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp chocolate syrup
• 5 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

For the cupcakes:

1. In a bowl, mix flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, baking powder and espresso powder. Set aside.
2. In a measuring cup, mix together cooled coffee and buttermilk. Set aside.
3. In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
4. Add eggs, beating in one at a time.
5. Slowly add in dry ingredients, alternating with milk mixture {about 3 additions of each}.
6. Pour batter into cupcake liners, no more than half full {seriously – the rise up fast, and don’t dome over like most cupcakes… don’t over fill!}
7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove and cool completely.

For the frosting:

1. For the frosting, warm cream for about 30 seconds in microwave. Whisk in espresso powder and chocolate syrup. Set aside {I threw mine into the freeze for 5-10 minutes to cool down the mixture, so as to not melt my thick airy frosting!}.
2. Beat butter, powdered sugar together, until fluffy. About 3-5 minutes.
3. Add cooled cream & espresso mixture slowly until desired consistency. If desired, whip an additional 3-5 minutes until fluffy.
4. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and garnish with chocolate covered espresso bean, or in my case a chocolate covered nut or chocolate ball {Chocolate covered espresso beans are non-existent where I live!}.

Source & Recipe {very slightly adapted} from: Shugary Sweets

I hope y’all have a great weekend and a safe St. Patty’s!! 🙂

CIAO!