The Wednesday One: Week 38

Baby Bump Update: Week 40

Here I am at 40 weeks!

Yep! Baby Boy Seeley had already arrived...5 days prior to that! Though my due date was moved to the 10th based on my first ultrasound, my original due date was the 5th, which was the same day that baby Seeley arrived! I guess he decided he wanted to be on time. :)

Just for fun, here's a look back at my pregnancy...from 12 to 40 weeks!

Week of Pregnancy: 40 weeks

Baby size: Baby is about the size of a small pumpkin this week!

Baby is now around 20 inches long from head to heel and weighs around 7 1/2 pounds! In the funnier, Dad-to-Be Edition of How Big is Baby? that I discovered, our little guy is as big as a beach ball this week!




Symptoms: Up until I went into labor, I continued to experience Braxton Hicks contractions.

Food cravings: I still wanted sweets 24/7. By the end, I had put on around 35 pounds. :( With the other two, I had only put on 25-30 pounds, so I was definitely feeling miserable this time carrying the extra weight. Fortunately, at 2 weeks after delivery now, I've lost 22 of those pounds and I can fit into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes again now!

Food aversions: None.

What I'm excited about: Finally meeting our little guy and not being pregnant anymore!!

What I've done to prepare for baby: I finally found some new pieces for the nursery! Instead of blue, it  will now be a soft lime green! I got a new crib sheet, breathable mesh crib bumper, blanket, and changing pad cover. :) I would like to create some art for the walls, but haven't decided what I want to do for sure yet.

Funny moment: I was informed by the preschool director that Ethan, and the other Ethan in his class (whose Mom was also very pregnant!), had put stuffed animals under their shirts and were pretending to have their babies one day at preschool a few weeks ago. Oh dear!

After the scare I had after the 36-week appointment with all of the contractions I had been having, I thought for sure that I would be more dilated the following week at my 37-week appointment, but I was still at 2-3 cm. I was worried with Josh scheduled to leave town for a few days, so my mom came to help out in case anything happened. At my 38-week appointment, I was dilated a solid 3 cm. At my 39-week appointment, on the 4th, I was dilated 3-4 cm, and starting to thin out some. I was also measuring at 40 weeks. They offered to induce me anytime I wanted to, but I was still hoping to go into labor on my own. That night, I started having more contractions and they stuck around through the night, instead of going away like they normally did. So...the rest of the details will be continued in the birth story post! :)

The Wednesday One: Week 37

Grands! Barbecue Cups

It's that time of year again...back to school! The boys have been in the swing of it again for over a month now, but I know a lot of kids recently headed back. With the start of school comes the return of all of the after-school activities, earlier bedtimes, and limited family time together in the evenings. For me, it also means simpler meals that I can get on the table quickly. With two hungry boys, and now a third little one to keep me even busier, I have been on the lookout for yummy meals that everyone will enjoy, but won't keep me in the kitchen all evening.

I was excited to discover some tasty, quick and easy recipes from Pillsbury®. There are so many that I want to try, but this past week I decided I wanted to make their Grands!® Barbecue Cups first. With just 4 simple ingredients and 30 minutes, I was able to put a delicious meal on the table!

Pillsbury® Grands!® Barbecue Cups

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef, cooked, drained
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 can (10.2 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits
• 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (3 ounces)

Directions:
In a 10-inch nonstick skillet, mix cooked beef and barbecue sauce. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until hot.

Pull each biscuit apart into 2 layers; press each into 4-inch round. Place 1 round in each of 8 greased regular-size muffin cups. Firmly press in bottom and up side, forming 1/4-inch rim. Fill with beef mixture; sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 375°F for 13 to 15 minutes or until edges of biscuits are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from pan.

With 3 hungry guys to cook for, plus my mom visiting, I knew I needed to make extra, so I bought the larger can of biscuits to make 16 cups, instead of 8. On the side, I served some mac 'n cheese and baked beans; the perfect additions to a barbecue! We had plenty of cups for everyone, plus some for leftovers. Josh thought that they were great right out of the refrigerator the next day, still cold! With that in mind, they could be a great lunch idea for the boys to take to school.

We all loved these barbecue cups (which always makes a recipe a keeper!), and I especially loved the concept of them. It's a fun twist on regular ingredients and the perfect idea for keeping dinner interesting for the boys! This fall, I would love to make them by using leftover chili in place of the beef with barbecue sauce. We always have leftover chili because we make a huge pot of it when we make it. This will be a great way to stretch it into 2 easy meals for the week! I also plan to use this recipe for fall gatherings. The cups are so versatile - they would make a great appetizer, the perfect potluck dish, or a fun snack for playdates.

For this recipe, and several more, download this Pillsbury® recipe booklet for some quick and easy meals to make on busy week nights! What recipe would you like to try first?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. The content and opinions expressed here are all my own and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of General Mills. Compensation was provided by General Mills via Clever Girls Collective.

The Wednesday One: Week 36

Someday I'll get back on track. I forgot how crazy life with a newborn is!!

The Wednesday One: Week 35

Almost a week late on this one! :( Unfortunately, I didn't get it finished last Wednesday before going into labor on Thursday morning!! Trying to catch up now!

Summer Nights at the Seeley House

As of a few weeks ago, the boys are now sharing a room!! In order to get the nursery ready for the baby, we needed to move Noah into Ethan's room. Before doing this, we went ahead and finally painted Ethan's room (another post with the finished pics coming soon, hopefully!!). He had been wanting it to be blue since we moved in last summer, so gone is the green paint now. Once the room was ready, Ethan graduated to the top bunk, and Noah is now the bottom bunk resident! :) They have both been loving it and it works well since they both need to be up to get ready to take Ethan to preschool every day.

This first set of pictures is from a night when Ethan was using the guest bed because we were still in the midst of painting his room. After we got them ready for bed, Noah climbed up in with Ethan and wanted to spend the night there. Despite some crazy sleeping positions, it actually worked out pretty well and I didn't hear a peep from them until morning! Haha!

Yes, Hot Wheels cars are mandatory sleeping aids, even if they end up on your head. ;)

Here is Ethan in his newly painted blue room, making the bed on his top bunk, and the boys lounging in Noah's new digs.

Since moving into his new bed, Noah has done fairly well. Occasionally, he'll try to get out of bed and join Ethan up top, or play with his toys in the dark. LOL! Naps have went pretty well, too, since we let him sleep in there alone, while Ethan naps in the guest bedroom.

These are pics from Noah's first night in his new bed! He did great! :)

Sometimes, I find them like this when I take a peek at the monitor... ;) I've also had fun listening in to their late night chats some nights. I love that they can have their own little conversations now. :)

So sweet!!

For another first, we took the boys to see their first movie in a theater last month!! I had been wanting to take Ethan for awhile, because I knew he was old enough to sit and watch an entire film now, but it seems like every time we would get a chance, there weren't any films playing that I thought he would like. :(With the recent release of Disney's Planes, I knew both boys would be eager to see it. Noah adores airplanes and they both love Cars and Cars 2, so I was hoping it would be a hit!! They both did great during the movie, probably with a little help from a nice, big bag of buttery popcorn. ;) Noah took turns sitting with either Josh or I, and Ethan was happy to sit in his seat for the duration. We were a bit disappointed with the movie itself (Cars is much better!!), but it was still a fun time. It was a bonus that Noah was still free, so we'll have to take advantage of that again! Haha!

The boys loved the movie theater popcorn (surprise!), but broke down a bit at the end of the night. They were sad that the movie ended and it was time to go home! Haha!

This year, Josh took the boys to the local county fair by himself. The idea of walking around in the heat and humidity while 9 months preggo definitely didn't appeal to me, so I sat this year out. The boys enjoyed their evening with Daddy, indulging in corn dogs and funnel cakes, watching the monster trucks and visiting the cow barn! :)

Too cute, sitting on the bleachers to watch the monster trucks!! 

We've been keeping pretty busy lately, checking items off the to-do list (hello, nesting!!) while we anxiously await the arrival of baby boy #3! I can rest easy now, as Grandma Frank has arrived for the long haul, so we'll be set to leave for the hospital at a moment's notice! :) I'm starting to get a bit nervous about trying to juggle 3 of them (especially in the mornings when I'll have to get myself plus all of them ready on a limited amount of sleep!), but hopefully it will work out ok. Fortunately, Ethan is pretty self-sufficient now and can handle getting dressed and brushing his teeth by himself. :) Noah tries, but he's not quite there yet. I'm sure it won't be long though.

It's been a great summer. We've enjoyed several evenings of ice cream or frozen yogurt to cool down, movies on the big screen TV in our recently finished basement (hopefully some pics of that posted soon, too!!), and riding bikes and playing with sidewalk chalk in the driveway. Now, I'm looking forward to fall (football, fire pits, cooler temps, all things pumpkin...) and adjusting to life as a family of FIVE!!

Tiny Man Starts Preschool!

I can't believe that it was just a year ago when I was writing a post about Ethan's first day of school and now I'm back to write about Noah's first day!! I am running a bit behind on this post, as the boys have been in school for a month already now. I know some kiddos were just starting today though, so I guess it's not too late to share our pics! Haha! After much internal debate about whether or not to send Noah this year, at just 2 years old, I finally decided that it would probably be good for both of us. It would give me a couple mornings a week with just the new baby (due to arrive in another week, or sooner!), and it would give him a chance to play with other little kids his age. He normally just plays with Ethan, which I think has played a part in him growing up way too quickly already!! :'( Here they are on "transition day," getting acquainted with their classrooms and teachers.

     

And, of course, the obligatory first day of school pics... :)

Ethan and Noah are attending the same church preschool, which is the same one Ethan went to last year. He had a great year and really enjoyed his teachers, Ms. Susan and Ms. Ruth, and all of his classmates. This year, he is going every day, and is enrolled in Ms. Christy's 4-year-old kindergarten readiness class. I'm hoping that he will have another great year, and that it will prepare him for full-day kindergarten next year! Wow! He has Ms. Ruth helping with his class again this year, so I knew that would be great for him since he really liked her! :) The schedule is perfect, as it runs from 9 am to 1:30 pm, for a 4.5-hour day. Mornings aren't super rushed because of the later start (next year, Ethan will need to be at school by 8:30), they eat lunch at school, then when we get home it's time for naps! I love that it leaves enough time for me to actually get things done and come back to the house without feeling like I am just picking them up after dropping them off!

Ethan's first day!

Noah is enrolled in the 2-year-old toddler class, for just two days a week, with Ms. Susan and Ms. Rachel. So far, he seems to really like it! He has had a few tears when getting out of his seat in the morning and walking in with the helpers, but by the time he gets to the door he is fine. I actually kind of wondered how it would go on the days when just Ethan gets out to go (as Noah currently wants to do everything that big brother does), but so far, Noah hasn't gotten upset that he has to stay with me. :) He does, however, want to take his backpack or lunchbox with him everyday, too. So sweet.

Noah's first day! When did he get so big?!?

Getting pics was interesting this year...

Little bookends!

Funny little guys!

Yes, Noah is Ethan's little shadow! Haha!

Can you tell he loves his big brother?? :)

Getting big too quickly!

Here is Noah's very first piece of artwork that he made at preschool. :)

Great sticker placement!! ;)

We hope that the boys have a great year at preschool, learning lots of new things and enjoying time with their classmates!