Pregnancy *13 Weeks*

Hi Everyone!!! Today I'm 13 weeks pregnant!! With only 7 more weeks until I'm halfway done, this pregnancy is just moving along. I thought I would start sharing each week; how big the baby is, how I'm doing, and maybe a picture my baby bump. So here goes...


13 Weeks

Baby:

Depending on which website you want to believe, baby is either the size of a peapod or a peach.
Baby now should be measuring about 3 inches long.
And baby should weigh about an ounce.

Mommy:

Still having morning sickness.
Baby doesn't like coffee, so I'm going through withdrawals. (It's been 4 days and counting)
I've been craving fruits and veggies.
Still have to go to the bathroom every 1-2 hours, even wake up at night to go.
Other than morning sickness & battling a cold, I feel pretty good!


Hopes for this week:

To start feeling better (hopefully no more morning sickness & headaches)
To find all my baby/pregnancy books in the garage.

~Veronica~

Just For Fun!

I took a baby predictor test and here are my results!

Veronica is expecting a baby!
Her due date is Sunday, June 22nd 2014.

we predict that she will have a
Girl!
on
Sunday, June 22nd 2014
at
12:20 pm
weighing
4116 g ~ 9 lbs, 1 oz

Get your prediction at Spacefem.com

I'm really hoping this baby won't weigh 9lbs. If it did, that would be my biggest baby yet!

~Veronica~

Pregnancy Update

Hi Everyone!! So a few days ago (Thursday) I had another doctors appointment, so I thought I would update you all on how things are going.

So in my last post (the 7 Weeks Pregnant one) I talked about how I had been spotting, well it had been coming and going ever since I found out I was pregnant. But starting on Monday of this week, it was really bad and Tuesday was pretty bad too. I just *knew* something wasn't right even though my doctor told me not to worry, its all normal, etc. etc..

On Monday afternoon, I was telling my Hubby this isn't normal, I know my body regardless of what the doctor says, I just know this isn't right. But I was told by my doctor that unless I was going through pad after pad not to call them or to worry.

Then early Thursday morning (like 2am) I was woken up by some intense cramping. Luckily I had an appointment to see the doctor that morning, so hopefully I would be getting some answers soon.

The nurse took me back into the room, I waited for 10 minutes for the doctor to come see me. She said it's still too early to hear the heartbeat on the Doppler, so she was going to get me an ultrasound, especially with all the spotting and now the cramping going on.

So I waited another 15 minutes for the ultrasound technician to come get me.

And that's when I got to see my beautiful baby just jumping around in my belly! :-) And I got to hear the sweet little heartbeat. (That's always music to my ears!)

Once the ultrasound tech. was done looking around at my baby, she said just to sit there and wait while she typed up her report. (In case you aren't familiar with this, she types it up and it shows up on the screen where you were just seeing your baby, so you are able to read everything she writes.)

So I was reading what she was typing and automatically I knew something was wrong with the placenta because she had typed something about it. So anyways, she finishes up her report and brings me back to the room to wait for the doctor.

The doctor comes in a few minutes later and tells me that there is a rip in the placenta and that's what's causing the bleeding. So she tells me to not lift anything heavy and no intercourse for a week. And once I resume these activities if I start bleeding again to call them.

And she also told me that the baby is measuring further along than we thought, so I have a new due date. June 22, 2014

I'm happy to finally have answers as to what is going on with my baby. It feels good to know that I was right and that I'm not crazy after all.

The doctor said that it's fairly normal and everything should be fine, but I am still a little concerned that something could go wrong, so I'm trying my best to take it easy.

Wish us luck!!

~Veronica~

Travel Pictures

Here are some pictures of our trip coming back home from ND... These were taken on November 4th.

Thanksgiving 2013

Here are a few pictures from Our Family's Thanksgiving this year.

Jelly Bean *2 1/2 Years Old*

My lovely Daughter with her much beloved "Pony". She seriously loves this horse. She rides him, sings to him, dances with him, and one time I even caught her playing fetch with him. She threw a ball and then said "fetch pony" and then got on him and rode him over to the ball. It was sad and adorable all at the same time.

Today she came up to me and said "look Mommy I have a surprise for you". This was her surprise.

Luckily it's only washable paint and not fingernail polish. Like I've said before, she is 100% girl despite having 2 older brothers!


~Veronica~

Thanksgiving Menu {And Recipes!}

Hi Everyone! With Thanksgiving less than a week away, I thought I would share with you all Our Family's Thanksgiving menu with recipes too!



Menu

Drinks:
Water
Soda
Sparkling Cider
Wine
Horchata
Coffee

Appetizers:
Deviled Eggs
Fresh Fruits w/ Dip
Fresh Veggies w/Dip
Cheese, Summer Sausage & Ritz Crackers

How To Post A Comment

Hi there! Today I thought I would take you step by step on how to comment on my blog. As I know it maybe confusing.

Step 1: Click on the title of the post you want to comment on. For example; lets say I want to comment on the Hot Chocolate post. I would click on the title Hot Chocolate Recipe, as I've highlighted below.

Step 2: Once you've clicked on it, it will take you directly to that post. Scroll down that page and at the bottom, there is a comment box.

Step 3: Enter your comment in the box. Then press Publish.

That's all there is to it! I hope this helps clarify things.

~Veronica~

Free {Or Cheap} Homeschooling Resources

Hi Everyone!! Since we've become a homeschooling family I've found lots of great resources available to us, so today I thought I would share them with you all. Just in case you are unaware of all that is available to homeschooling families, like I was.

Free {Cheap} Resources

Note: Free* = The cost to download is free, but you will end up spending money to print (paper, ink, etc.)

1.  Library Card - It's kind of an obvious one, but having a library card gives you access to thousands of books. Not to mention most libraries have: computers with free internet access, movies, encyclopedias, magazines, and story time/activities for kids. Price: Free.

2. Lakeshore Learning Teacher Club Card - If you are lucky enough to have a Lakeshore store near you (we are cause one just opened up last month!), then you should go in and sign up for this card. Once you have this card not only do you get coupons sent to you, you also get 15% off  hundreds of classroom supplies. Price: Free.

3. Scholastic Warehouse Sales - I love going to these!! You go online to this website, find a warehouse sale near you and then register for it. You'll then get a pass that has a coupon on it, you print it out and bring it with you to the sale. They have tons of books and at amazing prices! Price: Free, except for whatever books you buy, obviously.

4. Barnes & Noble Educator Card - With this card you can receive 20% off the list price on all things BN considers suitable for the classroom. You can print out the application here. Price: Free. (You can read more about it here.)

5. Teachers Pay Teachers - This website has themed lessons/worksheets/etc., which you download and then print out. Some of them cost money, but a lot of them are for free. Price: Free* - $10 & up. You can check out their website here.

6. 1+1+1=1 - This website has lots of great ideas, resources, printables, etc. a lot of which are free. Price: Free* - $15.  You can check out this website here.

7. Confessions of a Homeschooler - This is another great website with lots of resources. Price: Free* - $100. You can check out this website here.

8. Staples Card - This isn't exactly a homeschooling resources specifically, but you can buy lots of great school supplies here and be rewarded for it, along with ink rewards too! And lets face it, us homeschoolers go through a lot of ink, or at least I do. I think you get 5% back on everything you purchase and when you recycle ink there, you get $3 for each one. Price: Free.


I hope this list helps you and your family, as I know how expensive homeschooling can be. What are some of your favorite homeschooling resources?

~Veronica~

Hot Chocolate Recipe

Hi Everyone! As you all probably know by now, I absolutely love Coffee! But my love for hot beverages doesn't stop there. I pretty much love them all; Tea, Hot Apple Cider, Hot Chocolate, etc..

Today I thought I would share with you one of my favorite Hot Chocolate recipes. I hope you all enjoy it as much as my family does.

Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

2 Cups Milk
2 Cups Half-n-Half
1 Cup Chocolate Chips ( I prefer milk chocolate chips, but you could use semi-sweet or whatever else you like)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Pour the milk & half-n-half into a medium saucepan. Warm it over medium-low heat. Once warm add the chocolate chips. Stir and make sure it doesn't get too hot and burn. Once all the chocolate chips are melted*, add in the vanilla extract. Then pour it into a cup/mug and enjoy!

*Note: The chocolate chips don't dissolve 100%, so don't be alarmed if there are small pieces remaining. It just makes it taste that much better, in my opinion!*

~Veronica~

7 Weeks Pregnant

Hi Everyone! As I recently posted, I'm Pregnant, 7 weeks Pregnant to be exact! I thought I would share my journey over the past 7 weeks, as it hasn't been an easy journey. *Warning: Some parts of this story may contain too much information*

I found out I was pregnant & pretty much immediately I started spotting. I thought it was implantation bleeding at first and really didn't think too much about it, but it continued for 10 days straight and it was a lot of times, bright red. So when I was making my first appointment with my doctor, I mentioned that I had been spotting and is this anything I should be worried about.

I was still in ND at the time, but they were wanting me to get blood work done right away or to go get checked out at a local clinic. Well after talking about it with Hubby, we decided just to wait until we were back home, because it would have been next to impossible to be seen by a clinic there, which meant we would have had to gone to the ER and we both didn't feel it was an emergency.

So we decided to wait, which was difficult because the spotting wasn't going away and I was really becoming worried that something was wrong.

13 more days passed and we were finally headed home, I was still spotting, but trying my best to remain hopeful. We left ND on a Sunday afternoon and stayed the night in Billings, Montana.

The next morning we got on the road and we made a stop at a gas station on the MT/ID boarder to use the restroom. When I went to the bathroom there was so much bright red blood. I rushed out of there and got back to the car and just broke down crying. I seriously thought I was losing the baby. In that moment and the next few days later, I really had no hope left.

My first appointment was scheduled for Wednesday. I was pretty much a nervous wreck until the moment they were doing the ultrasound and I heard my baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was the sweetest sound EVER! I felt like for the first time, in a long time, I could breath again.

It's been almost 2 weeks since the doctor's appointment and I'm still spotting. I'm still a little worried because up until the 12th week the chance of a miscarriage is there. But I'm trying to trust in my doctor when he says that my spotting is completely harmless to the baby.

Wish us luck!

~Veronica~

Surprise!!

Ultrasound of our baby at 6 weeks!

Grocery Budget Challenge

Hi everyone!

This week I spent $111.69 on food items. My budget is $150, so that's $38.31 under budget!!! My best week so far, since I've started this challenge! I was able so stay under budget because I'm using up a lot of pantry items this week!

How much did you spend this week on food items? Are you staying on budget?

~Veronica~

Weekly Menu #4

Hey Everyone! Here's the weekly menu plan for this week, sorry it's late. I'm also doing it differently this week (no PDF and only listing dinners).

Weekly Menu Plan #4

Sunday - Breaded Chicken With Broccoli & Rice

Monday - Ravioli

Tuesday - Soup & Sandwiches

Wednesday - Burritos

Thursday - Chicken Alfredo With Rolls

Friday - Fried Rice

Saturday - Tacos

 What are you making this week?

~Veronica~

MIA

Hi everyone!! Sorry I've been MIA lately. We were traveling with Hubby for his work for the past 2 months and now we are finally back home for good. We got home last week and I've just been trying to get everything together and get back to normal.

I've got lots of blog post's & updating planned this week so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, tell me, what have you been up to lately?

~Veronica~

Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween Everyone!! We hope you all have a fun & safe Halloween!

This year my kiddos are dressing up as; a Ninja, Bomb Bird (from the Angry Bird games), & a Kitten.

Here are some pictures of our pumpkins & the kiddos all dressed up!

 

Before

 

Boogie Man's Pumpkin ~ Cat

 

Hubby's Pumpkin ~ Witch

 

My Pumpkin ~ Ghost

 

Super Guy's Pumpkin ~ Monster

 

My little kitten

 

 

Meowing for me :-)

 

Where's my little kitty kat?

 

Where is she?

 

Angry Face

 

Boogie was doing his Angry face and Jelly Bean had to join in!

 

My Ninja!!

 

Her "seriously mom, how many pictures do you have to take of me" face.

 

Ninja, Bomb Bird, & Kitten

 

He has the most Gorgeous Eyes!!

 

Do you celebrate Halloween? If so, what is your child/ren dressing up as?

~Veronica~