27 weeks!

baby is the size of a rutabaga!

How far along: 27 weeks

Total weight gain: 10 pounds. I feel it all catching up to me now!

Maternity clothes: I found an awesome deal on pants, so I officially own 2 pairs! other than that I'm still a strong believer in the old rubberband trick. For Christmas my mother-in-law sent me maternity sweaters and a maternity jacket. I won't freeze this winter now!

Stretch marks: none so far! whew.

Sleep: insomnia has kicked in lately. I'm tired all day but when it's time for bed I just can't sleep.

Miss anything: bending over to put my shoes on without it being a chore! haha

Movement: squirmy little guy. I love it!

Food cravings: food in general. haha

Anything making you queasy or sick: I have moments here and there. I'm afraid I'm going to be one of the women who get sick all over again in the 3rd trimester. I'm trying not to think about it!

Gender: little dude :)

Symptoms: I get pretty bad back pains between my shoulder blades and my legs get a little crampy. I went and got a heating pad and that has helped A TON.

Belly button in or out?oh my heavens. never in my life did I think it was possible but It is so close to popping out. freaks me out.

Wedding ring on or off? still on.

Looking forward to: all my sewing projects!
Fear: my glucose test and the million shots I have to get my next appointment.

It's so weird to think how far I've come. I'm definitely enjoying every second before the big day comes. I'm  feeling big and by the look of these pictures I look it too!  I will admit that I'm already getting to the point where I'm starting to miss my old body and how my clothes used to fit. I just have to remind myself how fast three months go by. We set up our crib last night and moved everything out of the spare bedroom to make room for baby k's stuff. Seeing that crib up and nothing but the baby stuff in that room makes my excited to start all my sewing and decorating!

I haven't forgotten!

Some times I get very bored before I head off to work. . . there are probably a million things I should and could be doing right now, but instead, I'm just playing around with the web cam. I literally work every day until Christmas, including Christmas Eve, so I hope to relax and enjoy every minute I'm not at work.
I've had a few people tell me I'm slacking on the belly photos and catch ups. I haven't forgotten! I'm sorry!  I hope in between work shifts I can take a 25/26 week photo and catch everyone up but it might have to wait until after Christmas. Until then, happy Wednesday!

our first Christmas tree.

I love the feeling our tree gives our home having it lit up in our living room. I'm sad this month is going by so fast, soon it will be time to take it down. I love our little Christmas tree!

tea cup candles

Kristofer and I are going through a bit of a candle craze lately. Partly because we live in an apartment. . . with a cat. . . so  we are always needing to find ways to keep our home smelling fresh and clean. Though there is nothing wrong with the simple glass jars candles usually come in, I wanted to find a way to liven up the candles in our house, without breaking the bank on a ton of decorations. Then I remembered seeing something online a little while ago. Tea cup candles! They are so easy to make and seriously so so cheap.

All you need is:

•  2 tea cups (saucers optional)

- I was so proud when I got my tea cups at the D.I. for 50 cents each! The best part is people usually get rid of their tea cups with matching saucers, so dig around for a minute and you're bound to find a set.

• Soy candle wax

- I just followed the stove top instructions that come on the package. You can also try microwaving it but it really is simple to use the stove.

• Candle wicks 

-I got 3.5 inch. Depending on the size of tea cups you get, you may have to do a little trimming.

• Candle scent

-This was my favorite part. There are so many different scents, it was hard to choose. I ended up choosing Sage and Citrus. I love scents that make it smell like I just cleaned, even though I probably didn't ;)


Directions:
Before you start, you want to make sure you clean your tea cups. After they are cleaned dry them completely. You want to make sure they are room temperature before any wax goes into them.
Place your wicks in the tea cups before preparing the wax and make sure they are placed straight so you can easily pour the wax in. Prepare the wax as directed, adding the scent. Pour wax into tea cups and just like that you're done! It will take 30 minutes to and hour for the wax to harden, depending on the size of cups you chose. Mine took about 45 minutes.

This was probably the fasted and easiest things I've made, not to mention kinda fun! Who knows, I might have to give some of these as Christmas presents.

5 pregnancy symptoms I never expected

1. I sneeze like there is no tomorrow. Ever since I was about 8 weeks I have been constantly sneezing. I wake up with sneezes and it continues throughout the day. I never would have expected this to be a symptom but I guess it's more common than I thought! So weird!

2. Olives, once my favorite finger food, now disgusts me. Ever since I can remember olives were a treat to me. Being little and putting them on my fingers (okay, maybe I still did this until now) were what made olives the best snack food. Now even the sight of olives gross me out, which is truly a shame.

3. If you are easily grossed out, or you feel some things are best left unsaid, don't read this number. I am 100% honest. Chest acne has hit me. Now I've heard of your skin breaking out during pregnancy, but I always imagined having to buy extra face cream and cover up. I never expected it here! I have never had an acne problem, in fact, my face is as clear as can be. So why my chest? I have no freaking clue. All I know is that it better clear up when March rolls around!

4. Oh my ever growing nose! You may be laughing or a little bit confused, but you read right. My. nose. is. growing. It may be something only I notice, maybe not. It's probably something you can easily notice on yourself but no one else can. Either way, if this continues I'm afraid my nose it going to just get wider and wider! What can ya do?

and

5. My alarm is baby kicks. Some of you are probably saying "duh" right now, but when I found out I was pregnant I never thought about the baby kicking. Now, I obviously knew that you feel the baby and everyone brags about how they love feeling those little jabs here and there, but it never crossed my mind that the baby has it's own mind and own schedule in the belly. In other words, baby doesn't care if you want to go to sleep at 10 and he sure as heck doesn't care if you don't want to wake up at 6, 7, 8 AM. He will kick your insides all he wants, and no, you won't sleep through it.

Now, being 23 weeks, I still have 17 weeks for this list to get bigger. But no matter what symptoms come and go during this pregnancy, I love why I have them and would go through anything for this baby. . . . even give up my olives and get a big nose. . . .

babyboy wardrobe wishlist