25 week update

There she be, my 25 week belly. This little girl is growing, stretching, kicking, and rolling! I definitely feel pregnant this week. Its getting harder to bend over, lay Avonlea down in her crib, my back hurts by the end of the day, and I am hot all.the.time!

I've gained about 10 lbs so far and I doubt that I will stay within my 15lb goal, but it does seem like the weight gain has slowed down a bit. I've only gained about a pound since my last doctor's appt. Speaking of the doctor, I got back at 26 weeks and then start every 2 week appts from that point forward.

I have been feeling pretty darn good  so far. And by that I mean my uterus! :) I am having very minimal contractions, usually 1-2 a day and they are typically at night when I lay down. That makes me very happy! I would be ecstatic to make it full term this time around. (what pregnant woman says that?!) But, I am exactly 10 weeks from the day I delivered Avonlea at 35 weeks. I really, really want to make it to 36-37  weeks. I cannot express enough how much I just want to deliver a baby that can stay with me and go home with me. I just want to experience that 'normal' birth experience that most women get. I want a healthy, full term baby girl!

As for names, I *think* we have it narrowed down to two. Which is great progress from the 27+ list we had just a few weeks ago. Her diaper stash is pretty much  complete and I'll do a post on that later. Really all I have left to do before she gets here is to locate and wash the newborn clothes, wash the carseat and swing covers, and put together the rock n play. That's a pretty short list. I guess when you're baby #4, there isn't a whole lot to prepare. Which is fine and dandy with me. I am kind of relieved to not have to put together a room this go round.

Overall, this pregnancy is going pretty darn good and I am extremely happy about that! I can't wait to meet this little girl, but I'd be happy to wait until October. :)

Bloglovin'

As you know, Google Reader is going away this summer. Bloglovin' is a great place to keep up to date on all of your favorite blogs.

I am happy to announce that I am now on Bloglovin' and you can easily follow me on there to keep up to date with Two Boys and a Little Lady!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hope to see you all there!!

GF recipes

In the past month or so, we haven switched the kids to a gluten free diet. We originally made the switch for Bennett to see if it would help his sensory and his behavior. Once school let out for summer, it just seemed easier to do it for all the kids. I pack their lunches for the babysitter and family meals at home are all gluten free. It really hasn't been that hard of a switch, mostly because we eat a wide variety of things anyways. I only had to adjust our bread and pasta mostly, and be more aware of ingredients in processed foods. For example, who knew that regular soy sauce contains wheat?! It  sure does, so now I just buy the GF soy sauce. Doesn't taste a bit different. We also switched to corn tortillas for tacos instead of flour. We have always been aware of artificial flavors and sweetners, but I am extra vigilant about them now. We don't do red dye and we try to stay way from the other dyes as well. We have always sweetened with honey, maple syrup, etc.

Anyways, here are some of the recipes we have been making lately:

Soft GF sandwich bread:


GF bread from the store is down right disgusting. Trust me. We've tried every single brand out there. For a while we just did without bread or rolled things in corn tortillas. But my golly, sometimes a kid just wants a pb&j! So, mama went on a search for good, soft bread. My sister told me about this recipe that  she tried and thought it was really good. So we tried it, and the texture was soft and fluffy....amazing! We had pb&j that night for dinner and the kids were in heaven!! I've made it twice now and we are hooked. It also works great for eggs in a basket and french toast.

PB Oat breakfast cookies:

Really good!! No added sugar or flour! We made them GF by using GF oats.

Crunchy Apple and Grape salad:

Really Good!! The kids really enjoyed this.

Hawaiian BBQ Pork Burgers

 

We used GF buns and I always make our own BBQ sauce. These were super good!! Peytonn ate two burgers by himself! Bennett ate his without a bun, as always.

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

Made these the other night for dinner. Super simply to make and really tasty. I used canned and rinsed black beans, mashed them slightly, added some fresh salsa, onion, and seasoning. Used cheddar cheese and sour cream on the side for dipping. Used coconut oil for frying. We ate these up! A great week night meal that's meat free. You could also easily add leftover shredded chicken or taco meat.

Homemade Spaghetti O's

Amazing! Seriously! Make this if you make nothing else! Uber easy and really really good! Peytonn likes the sauce as tomato soup without any pasta. I make GF pasta and the sauce separate. Then add them together in the individual bowls. We also use Whole Foods 365 brand of crushed tomatoes with basil as our tomato base.

There you have it! Going GF doesn't have to be difficult. Just making a few changes to your 'usuals' can transform your diet. Most foods are naturally GF: all meat (without breading), veggies, fruit, and most dairy. I am amazed at a lot of the yummy recipes I am finding to replace some of our usual gluten filled foods.