20 Weeks

I can't believe I have hit the half way mark. Twenty down, twenty to go. This was a BIG week for us. We had the 20 week ultrasound and gender reveal. We are happy to announce that everything went well and we have a healthy mom and 12 ounce baby. 

How I'm Feeling:

I have been great these past few weeks. I still find myself exhausted at the end of the day but have no trouble getting through day to day activities. I actually took a pre-baby trip to visit my friend C (6 petals) up in VA this weekend. The trip included long walks, shopping, pampering, eating, friendly croquet competition, kayaking, a little wedding planning and relaxing. It was great to get away and see a good friend because who knows when I will be able to sneak away on the weekend like that again. 

How I'm Changing: 

Maternity clothes are my best friend. I am still able to fit in a small percentage of my clothes but I don't know why I bother. Thanks to Cyber Monday sales and many upcoming holiday parties, I finally invested in some maternity basics. They are comfortable and make me look pregnant instead of a few pounds over weight. 

At my 20 week appointment I was the same weight as my 8 week appointment and the nurse showed some concern. At the time I just listened to her suggestions and we moved ahead with the appointment. A few hours later, I began to stress the situation. HOW have I not gained weight when very few of my clothes fit and there is an obvious baby bump?! I know I have been eating well and not over doing my exercise program. THEN it hit me.  Pre-pregnancy I was doing Crossfit and building muscle, muscle weighs more than fat. I have loss some muscle mass and everything weight wise has balanced out.  It may have taken a piece of chocolate cake to figure this out. I now feel better and plan on continuing with an active, healthy plant based pregnancy. 

What I'm Eating:

I am back to my normal eating ways and my appetite has returned. There have been a few days that I have over done it with massive salads of raw vegetables and beans and paid for the fiber overdoes later in the day but it will return to normal soon. Anything roasted and salted is my favorite and baked sweet potatoes occur a few times a week.   We have bowls of tomatoes that I need to figure out multiple ways to eat them. The timing is good. 

Anything Else:

I have made two baby purchases that I will share. Both clothing related and both have stripes. I find my self not a big fan of the "typical" baby boys clothes and prefer the solids, plaids and stripes. 

I have also made my design decision on the nursery. I am so excited to share the progress and our "theme". Geoff is VERY excited about the direction I am going. I have promised that I will clean out the room prior to beginning the project if he finishes our kitchen before the end of the year.... 

Marriage is all about compromise. 

Boy or Girl?

Yesterday was a big day in the Roe household. We had our 20 week appointment and found out the gender of our baby. 

We decided to host a gender reveal party to share the great news with our family and friends. 

Instead of the cutting a cake or popping a balloon ideas I found on Pinterest we decided to embrace the season. We kept score on a dry erase board and had pink and green boys for our guests to wear their vote. Geoff and I wrapped about a dozen clear ornaments in small boxes with a festive paper. In one of the boxes we had wrapped an ornament that represented the gender. It was so much fun to watch everyone open the boxes. 

Our friend, Holly, had to "winning" box! A green ornament. We are having  BOY! We are so excited. I always wanted a big brother and can't wait to meet the little guy. 

We celebrated the rest of the night with a chili bar that contained a black bean chili with multiple ways to prepare your bowl. There were tortilla chips for nachos, Fritos for Frito boats, baby potatoes for loaded potatoes and corn muffins plus all of the needed chili toppings. I wish I would have taken a picture. Geoff's sister, who was informed of the gender earlier in the day, brought cupcakes with blue frosting to finish the night. 

We were both so grateful to have so many friends come over on a Thursday night to celebrate with us. Now they all need to start having babies themselves.....

Farmers Market Finds: The Guacamole Guy

This weekend was our town's Carols in the Park as well as our First Saturday Farmers Market. Vendors, music and Christmas Festivities with 80 degree weather? Count me in. 

I was on a mission: guacamole for my Sunday dinner. 

Mexican food ranks at the top of Geoff's favorite food list and is easy to make vegan (if desired). Being Geoff's birthday month, I thought it would be appropriate to make a new Mexican inspired dish that combined Mexican food with his second favorite home made dish: pizza. 

There are times where we will have buckets of avocados but this year that has not been the case and I knew that The Guacamole Guy would fill the gap perfectly. 

Here is a rundown of how I put dinner together: 

Excuse the iPhone pictures. My camera was dead.... 

I started with a quick salsa of diced cherry tomatoes, onion, lime juice, and salt and pepper.

I then made a cornmeal pizza dough recipe that I found from Martha Stewart. You could buy pizza dough or even use tortillas. Pizza dough is so easy to make and takes very little effort if you have a stand mixer or food processor. 

Once the dough had gone through the rising process, I stretched it and pierced a few holes with a fork. Instead of pizza sauce I used the Mild Tangy Tomatillo Salsa. 

I topped the pizzas with Diaya Pepper Jack cheese, black beans, and sliced cherry tomatoes. 

The pizzas were then baked at 425 for about 25 minutes. Typically we will make pizzas on the grill or using a grill pan to get them crispy but I wanted to cook all four at once. 

Once the cooking was complete, I let them sit for a few minutes and topped the one he was eating for dinner with guacamole. 

On top of the guacamole went the fresh salsa I prepared earlier. I did not top the remaining pizzas so that they could be stored, reheated and topped when ready to eat. 

Geoff was rather impressed and looking forward to leftovers.  It was the perfect Sunday dinner. 

Thank you Guacamole Guy!