Christmas Dinner

So, before I post about pregnancy this week (36-weeks!!!), I figured I'd share our Christmas dinner. Everything here is gluten-free and vegan and beyond delicious!

Only one of the recipes is an original, and I'll post that recipe later. For now, though, enjoy links to the other pages and their scrumptious recipes and gorgeous pictures (because I took none… hey, I'm 9 months pregnant ;)).

Appetizer:
Almond Feta Cheese (When I make this, I double the fresh herbs, but keep everything else the same. I served with Mary's Gone Crackers Original crackers.)

Main:
Walnut Lentil Loaf (I didn't have apple butter for the sauce, so I just omitted it. I also used one celery stalk, as well as one scallion.)

Sides:
Mashed Potatoes (Just use the potato layer recipe and cut way back on the salt!)
Green Bean Casserole (This is my original recipe that I will post in the next couple weeks--hopefully.)

I know it's way late and you can't use this for your dinner, but hopefully you can try out these recipes on regular days and come back to them for your next special occasion if you decide to!

34-Week Update

34 Weeks

So… I’m a few weeks behind. Oops. It’s been a pretty crazy time lately, with the holidays, traveling, having pretty crazy third trimester insanity, starting a new job, and trying to get things in line for this baby!

Everything has been good, though! We are still having a very healthy pregnancy (yay). I’ve been getting quite a bit of ligament pain and apparently, she likes to set up camp on my sciatic nerve, which is painful, but I feel lucky that those are the worst of my problems.

So far, I think the third trimester is my favorite. I was so beyond miserable in the first and partially through the second. Even though I’ve reached an epic size (I believe NASA will be rocketing me into space any day now to become the new ninth planet), I feel better (though equally exhausted).

There aren’t really any new symptoms to report, just the usual (more intense/frequent, though): heartburn, ligament pain, back pain, sciatic pain, fatigue, insomnia, and pregnancy brain.

We have totally been slacking on keeping up with the pictures—have I mentioned how tired I am? I did manage to snag a little picture at 31.5 weeks, so you get two pictures for the last 3-4 weeks. Oh, well.

Not the best picture, but 31.5 weeks!

A few random thoughts:

• Still no name. I know, I know. Everyone keeps asking and telling us how we need to get on it. It’s not for a lack of trying, though, I promise. We thought we had one nailed down and then the list of most popular names for the year was released aaaand whattyaknow? So, we are back to the drawing board…
• All of our doctor appointments have gone very well! Her heart rate is great, growth is on track, everything is looking perfect!
• I had my first genuinely rude and unbelievable comments about my size last week while Christmas shopping. A woman working in the store we were in asked when I was due, so I told her next month. She started going on and on about how there was absolutely no chance I was going to make it that far because I’m just so huge and how the baby’s going to be born at Christmas! She would not stop talking about how big, huge, massive, ready to pop I am… For anyone wondering, that is not what you say to a pregnant woman. It doesn’t matter if she’s 5 years pregnant and looks like couldn’t possibly get any bigger—either tell her how great she looks or don’t acknowledge her pregnancy at all. Seriously. You may find yourself on the business end of a throat punch. (The doctors still assure me I'm right on track, by the way, so I'm not "too big" by any means.)
• She got the hiccups for the first time (that I know of)! So weird!
• She is head down with her booty poking up into my ribs. :) I hope she stays head down and we can get this show on the road!

34 Weeks

30-Week Update

This update is about a week late--oops. Chalk it up to third trimester lack of energy and motivation, but honestly, I feel like every other week is frequent enough for updates since there's really not a whole lot to say. I think the main interest in these updates is the bump watch. People love to see pregnant bellies. Weird, but it is what it is.

Anyway, we celebrated Norma Gene and Boomer's 10th birthday with a fun little party this week, as we tried, in vain, to wrap our heads around the idea of being two months away from the babe's due date. 

As you can see, I'm pretty much ready to be launched into space to orbit the sun… Days away from generating my very own gravitational field. It's always a matter of time as a pregnant person. The good news is that no strangers have come up to me to rub my stomach--yet. Hopefully, it stays that way. 

The nursery has been painted, but is far from done! We have about a million other household things that need to be tended to, though. 

I've gotten more aches and pains, especially in my back. I'm sure that it's just a taste of what's to come. 

Flipper is all over the place, moving a ton! She is about three pounds and 15-16 inches long, which is hard to believe. I feel like, with how big I am, she should really be bigger! But she's definitely getting there. :) 

I finally seem to have managed to kick that epic cold--it only took three weeks! Yikes. But I'm glad to see it gone. I still have a bit of congestion, but that seems to just be one of the many perks of pregnancy. 

Other than that, there's not a whole lot to report. So far, there haven't been a whole lot of new developments baby-wise. I am definitely getting more excited, though! I am so ready to not be pregnant anymore and just have this precious baby. 

Hope you're all doing well and are ready for the holidays! Can you believe they're already here? The past six months have FLOWN by. I can't believe it's already time for Thanksgiving. Time to figure out Christmas!