Funny Kids dancing

This is absolutely hilarious, I think kids dancing is so funny and this little boy has it down haha

its a little long but you have to watch the end because the end has some of the funniest parts I could seriously watch this over and over and crack up every time!!

23 weeks!!

So I know I totally skipped over 22 weeks, it was such a crazy week and I didn't want to do the update the day before I turned 23 weeks i wanted to try and get back on track so here we are back with 23 weeks

How far along? 23w3d (when the picture was taken)

Baby's size? Papaya

Weight Gain? up to 5 lbs total!! Were making progress here!!

Maternity clothes? nope

Stretch marks? not a single one :)

Belly button in or out? in still but making its way out, I need to take out my belly button ring but I have had it for so long my stomach looks weird without it

Sleep? Sleep is so so I have been having a harder time getting comfortable I have a regular body pillow from target that helps but i just want to sleep on my back or flat on my tummy and i cant so were trying to adjust to the change

Foods I am loving? pretty much anything is good to me now...YAY I can finally say that again!! Especially spaghetti o's and lucky charms and cupcakes

Foods I am hating? lately it depends on the day some days some foods just make me cringe

Best moment this week? a person who does not know me noticing I am pregnant

Movement? I feel his movements much stronger and much more frequent which I love, He was a little jealous at work when I was feeding one of my babies every time I would sit down to feed her he would start kicking, it was really cute.  Also, I tried putting music up to my belly when Landon wasn't moving to see if he would respond and sure enough he started kicking around it was the coolest thing!!

Symptoms? my ankles have started to swell some after I get off work and I have been having what I assume is round ligament pains.

Gender? a lil boy, Landon Matthew

What I miss? beer and wine :)

What I'm looking forward to? finally getting this glucose tolerance test over.  I have been dreading it since I found out i was pregnant because I don't want to drink that drink...and I thought it was going to be a little cup of syrupy stuff...oh no its like a water bottle full!! I have to do this tomorrow so I am looking foreword to getting it over with.

Weekly Wisdom: I was talking to a friend about how i feel like this pregnancy is going so slow and how i am getting anxious to meet this little guy and she reminded me to enjoy this time while I can sleep and veg as much as I want and enjoy my husband time now because in a few months its all gonna change

Milestone: I worked out for the first time in 17 weeks!! I felt like a major slug but it did feel good to get moving again

Emotions: I want to be 29 weeks already because this 23-28 week period scares the crap out of me, I have seen too much at work and in my mind this is the scariest part of the pregnancy every little twinge or cramp or whatever freaks me out!! I just remember my mantra that God is in control!!

A Place to Call His Own

Since I currently have no nursery to decorate I am slowly accumulating a file with all kinds of ideas I have once I finally have a nursery to decorate.  I thought I would share some of my vision!

First of is the bedding, I am waiting for some fabric swatches but based on internet pictures and what I picture in my head this is the bedding I think I am going to get, the crib will be a dark wood:

Modpeapod.com

I want to do an asymmetrical frame cluster along the lines of this:

wall art

I want to make some long curtains in maybe a gray/blue color since the bedding has some gray stripes or maybe even do them in the light green, I don't know I will need to decide on wall colors first:

No Sew Curtains

I want to put his name in wooden letters on the wall in a classic font such as this:

large letters

I am planning on organizing his closet along the lines of this:

closet dividers

I also want some kind of organizing shelf system 

like the Expedit system from IKEA with some cute lined baskets:

like these but with dark wood to match the crib and with boy colors obviously :)

I will also need to find a nice comfy squishy glider/rocker and a low dresser which will also double as the changing area

I want the overall feel to be relaxing, At first I wanted bright bold colors, but I figure I can go nuts with that once its time for him to move into a big boy room as a toddler or what not, as a baby I want a relaxing room there is enough chaos with a new baby as it is we don't need his room to add to it!

I have many ideas floating around in my little head and I CAN.NOT.WAIT to buy a house so I can start putting all these ideas to reality!!!

I found a winner

I made a recipe the other day that I was a bit skeptical about at first but on a whim thought I would give it a try.

Its calledHoney Onion Chicken and I found the recipe on another blog I read.

Ingredients:

1 package chicken tenders

2 eggs

1 can french fried onions

Seasoned pepper

Salt

Honey

Preheat oven to 350.

Dip chicken tenders in egg. In a ziplock bag, crush the onions and then coat the chicken in them. Line a 9*13 with foil and spray it with non stick spray. Place the chicken in it and and then sprinkle with salt, seasoned pepper (I actually used Lawry's seasoned salt because that's all I had on hand) and drizzle it with honey.

Bake COVERED for 20 mins. Then, uncover it, drizzle with more honey and bake another 20 min's uncovered.

I texted Hubby at work to bring home some honey since we had just run out and he returns with

Honey with a blend of rosemary and lavender.

He said hes been wanting to try it and then I explained that it was for a recipe not his tea.  AT this point I had no choice but to use it so I did...well...It was amazing, so delicious!!! You could hardly taste the lavendar but the slight fragrant hint it added was a perfect compliment to the onion and salt.  Hubby loved this recipe I served it with rice and broccoli an cheese.  We will definitely be making this again!!!

Here it is all cooked and ready!!

The Predicament

Our child care situation is what I am referring to, I mentioned it briefly in a previous post and thought I would elaborate, you never know maybe someone may have some oddball idea I never thought of.

The situation is Hubby works as an assistant store director at a grocery store chain here in Texas.  The key word in that job title is assistant, being that when it comes to scheduling he kind of gets the shaft and doesn't get much say.  Ideally He would work 7-5 on the days I work, he would take our child to daycare on those days...problem solved. Well because He gets the shaft with the schedule he mainly works 10am-8pm and occasionally 2pm-midnight.  This is part of the problem.

I work night shift as a nurse, once we move I will probably have to leave for work at around 5pm and will not get home until around 745am the next morning. I only work three days a week and am trying to look into financially being able to go part time which means I will only work 2 nights a week.

So the big issue is that 3-4 hour time gap between when I go to work and when hubby gets home.  Also the fact that just because I get home in the AM doesn't mean I can be up with a baby all day until that time gap begins because I have to sleep at some point in order to make it through work and be a safe nurse, not to mention some sleep is essential to life.

So, basically day care is totally out of the picture because they aren't open till that late so while it would give me an opportunity to sleep some they aren't open usually past 6 or 7 so we still have that time gap to deal with.  most nurses I work with have family come watch their babes at night or their hubby works a regular human schedule so getting ideas from them isn't much of an option.  I could have a nanny but do I have her come from 10 am to 8 or 9pm? Thats a long time and in my eyes a lot of $$$$$.  We don't have family in Houston so thats not an option.  I could go part time and work on the days hubby is off but that would totally suck because I then would never have a day off with my man :( also if I went part time I could space out my 2 days of work and then really only need a sitter or someone for that time gap as I wouldn't need to sleep all day I would really just need a nap and lots of coffee.

Going part time looks like the best option however, Im not sure how my smaller paycheck would work with us buying a house and having a baby at the same time.

I know God is in control and I pray that He will work it out as I know he will but this seriously stresses me out.  I keep pushing it to the back of my mind hoping that one day God will throw a rock wrapped with a brilliant idea at my head, but at the same time I feel like if I keep ignoring the issue Landon will be here and I will have nothing to do with him when I have to go back to work.  I think the solution is I need to strike it rich so I can just stay home until the kids go to school then start working again....hey we can all be wishful huh!!

21 weeks

How far along? 21w4d

Baby's size? a carrot, about 10.5 inches

Weight Gain? 2lbs still

Maternity clothes? nope

Stretch marks? not a single one :)

Belly button in or out? Very much in

Sleep? sleep is good i just wake up with sore hips depending what side I have been laying on

Foods I am loving? pretty much anything is good to me now...YAY I can finally say that again!!

Foods I am hating? although I am still not a huge fan of eggs

Best moment this week? feeling the hiccups for the first time

Movement? Landon is very active during his active times, usually very early in the morning and late at night is when I feel him the most

Symptoms? not too many anymore, peeing all the time though

Gender? a lil boy, Landon Matthew

What I miss? sleeping flat on my back

What I'm looking forward to? having people notice that I look pregnant and not just like I ate a big meal, I feel pretty pregnant looking but apparently to others I don't

Weekly Wisdom: I tell myself often God is in control He gave me this life to care for and He is in control me worrying about all the crazy weird things that can happen will do no good! <--- still holds true

Milestone: being over half way there

Emotions: Lately I have been stressing out a lot over what we are going to do about childcare once I go back to work.  neither of us have family to watch the lil guy and we both work very strange hours so it poses quite the predicament, I just keep telling myself God is in control and I have lots of time to figure it out still, finding a house will put us one step in the right direction because we will know what area we are living at to find a nanny/sitter/daycare whatever

and the bare belly

The Help

I know they already have a movie coming out for The Help and it is already cast, I didn't want to see who they cast for the movie though before I did this because I didn't want it to scew my inner thoughts, but if I were to cast the roles for the leading characters this is who it would be:

Aibileen Clark:

I would cast Gabourey Sidibe as Aibileen, I know they don't describe her as being this big but I just see Aibileen as a very large lovable lady and this is who pops into my head. I absolutely love her relationship the Mae Mobley she gives her the love and nurturing she needs and doesn't get from her mother

Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan:

I would cast Skeeter as Maggie Gyllenhaal, this is exactly as I see Skeeter, and at this point in the book I really think she is going to get some people in some serious trouble, she is starting to get on my nerves even though I know her motives are for good she seems to pry too much

Minny Jackson:

Minny without a doubt to me is Queen Latifah, she is sassy and not afraid to speak her mind, this is exactly who popped into my head from the very start

Hilly Holbrook:

would be Reese Witherspoon

Celia Foote:

based on the description of Celia in Ch.9 when she is spotted at the restaurant with Mr. Foote this is how I picture her as Jessica Simpson

Elizabeth Leefolt:

to me I see Mrs. Leefolt as Kirsten Dunst particularly how she looked and acted in the movie Mona Lisa Smile, I really dislike this character in the book, she is just so cold and un loving her relationship with Mae breaks my heart

Mae Mobley Leefolt:

I am not sure about this one, definitely a cute little blonde girl though

Charlotte Phelan (Skeeter's mother):

I see Charlotte as Tilda Swinton, not sure why this is just who I picture

Constantine Banks:

I think of Oprah when I think of Constantine, I am really anxious to read more about what happened to her and why she had to leave so suddenly

Stuart Whitworth:

this is what I picture when I think of Stuart, I am excited to see him and skeeter getting more serious it will be interesting to see where it goes

This was actually harder than I thought it would be, trying to find the right actress or whatever to fit the image I have in my head for each character.  I am really enjoying this book, there are so many different plots its hard to put the book down at times I just want to keep reading to see how they all play out.

And yes, every time caramel cake is mentioned I want one and all the food they talk about in the book always makes me so hungry, especially when Minnie is teaching Celia how to cook, the meals she makes always sound so good!!

All Images are from google images

And He Shall be Called...

Well we decided on a name for our lil guy.  We had discussed names quite a bit prior to finding out the sex.  I am the type who needs things done, I cant have this precious baby kickin and floatin around inside me without a name.  I need to get stuff embroidered and be able to call him something, so I guess it should come as no surprise that we pretty much decided on our name the day we found out it was a boy.  We decided to sit with it for a week or so to make absolute sure, but every other name we threw on the table was discarded for some reason or another

This cute lil guy will be called 

Landon Matthew Lopez

It's a name that can't be shortened and really there are no silly little nicknames that can come from it (for example I have a cousin named Michael, as a child he was called Mikey and now he is a grown man and his family still refers to him as Mikey and Im sure it drives him crazy because I know it drives me crazy), He wont have to worry about teachers, doctors, etc mispronouncing it, its easy to spell and is a name that I can see a grown man at a job interview having.

In other news, we set up our baby registry yesterday at Babys R us.  It was fun but man I was tired by the end.  The store had a really poor selection especially for little boys so I had to do quite a bit of adding once I got home and then still couldn't find certain things we liked so we also have an Amazon.com registry, which I love because you can prioritize things and I think amazon has great customer service too.

20 Weeks

How far along? 20w5d

Baby's size? a banana

Weight Gain? 2lbs!!

Maternity clothes? nope

Stretch marks? not a single one :)

Belly button in or out? Very much in

Sleep? Sleep has really been great this week!

Foods I am loving? Papa Johns Pizza, Lucky Charms, fruit, mac and cheese, sprite, captain crunch, apple juice, spaghetti o's

Foods I am hating? eggs, peppers or onions, garlic

Best moment this week? Finding out were having a lil boy!!!

Movement? YES, definitely feeling him move...allll the time, I love it especially when I can see it from the outside, hubby still hasn't felt him yet, every time i go to put my hand on my belly he stops moving, sneaky lil one he is

Symptoms? This week has been great I really have nothing to complain about! I think its hilarious though that I often feel like I have to pee really bad and go to the bathroom and only a small amount comes out...i know this will only get worse as baby gets bigger.  Also at night I have noticed my hips get sore...not sure what thats about

Gender? a lil boy

What I miss? this week I miss a nice glass of wine! 

What I'm looking forward to? setting up our registry

Weekly Wisdom: I tell myself often God is in control He gave me this life to care for and He is in control me worrying about all the crazy weird things that can happen will do no good! <--- still holds true

Milestone: choosing a name...will share shortly :)

Emotions: I am so excited now that I know were having a boy i just cant wait to meet him and see what he looks like, me and hubby look totally diffrent him being hispanic and me white as can be so it I am interested to see what features from each of us he gets

Just a fun lil thing

So recently one of the blogs I read and love the Sweet T Family paired up with some other ladies and decided to start up a little book club.  I absolutely love reading and I often like to read books suggested by others.  I thought this book club The Blush & Bashful Book Club would be a fun little thing to do as I love to read also love to discuss the books I read with others, I like hearing other peoples opinions about stuff.

So we are reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett this month and so far I am in love...this book is awesome.  I have heard many a good thing about it and so I was quite thrilled when we threw out the original book for the month and decided to start this one.

Part of the deal is to post our answers to questions about sets of chapters as they are posted on the website. So here is my views on Chapters 1-3

1. Right off the bat, who are your favorite characters? Why? What do you like about them? I love Minny! I love her straight foreword attitude and the fact she has no fear in speaking her mind!!
2. Who are your least favorite characters? Why? What is it that you dislike? I really dislike Elizabeth she seems so selfish and like she cares way to much about what others think, a very superficial person.  It also breaks my heart how she treats her daughter.
3. Who are you most interested to learn more about? I really want to learn  more about Constantine and what happened to her, it seems like she just disappeared one day and I am really interested to see what happened.
4. What do you think the Terrible Awful Thing is that Minny did to Miss Hilly? I think she put some kind of bodily fluid or function into that pie!!
5. Why is Celia Foote hiding Minny from Mister Johnny? What is she afraid of? She probably wants him to think she is a superior house wife and can do it all on her own, I think she is afraid of him leaving her.
6. What kind of man do you perceive Mister Johnny to be? A man you don't wont to cross paths with on a bad day!
7. What do you think is to come from Miss Skeeter's question she asked Aibileen in the kitchen? I actually have no insight on this one at this time

Baby Lopez is....

A Boy!!!!

Our apt went really well today, aside from finding out were having a boy all the anatomy looked like it should and lil man was measuring that he weighed 11oz and was in the 50th percentile...She also said he was measuring exactly 20 weeks which I am today.

So I definitely need to switch my train of thought because although I had an underlying suspicion that it was a boy I was almost positive I was having a girl...I am thrilled to be having a boy and now I just cant wait to pick a name and buy a house so I can start decorating his nursery!!

a few more pics of lil man:

He is already flexing his biceps for us, also I think it looks like he will have my nose...now maybe well get super lucky and he'll have my blue eyes too...but I know thats a long shot :)

19 weeks

How far along? 19 weeks 4 days

Baby's size? Heirloom Tomato about 6 inches from crown to rump

Weight Gain? I weigh myself everyday and some days Im at 0 lb. gained some days Im at 1 lb. gained...I'm interested to see what the Dr has to say about this 

Maternity clothes? nope

Stretch marks? not a single one :)

Belly button in or out? Very much in

Sleep? I have slept much better this week, it makes work so much more enjoyable when I get enough sleep

Foods I am loving? Papa Johns Pizza, Lucky Charms, fruit, mac and cheese, sprite, captain crunch, apple juice, spaghetti o's

Foods I am hating? eggs, peppers or onions, garlic

Best moment this week? This week hasn't been too eventful I just seriously cant wait till Wednesday when I find out the sex of this lil bebe

Movement? YES, definitely feeling bebe move more and more

Symptoms? I have definitely had much more of an appetite and much less queasiness this week, I'm just very particular about what I want to and don't want to eat...I find myself not able to eat as much at one sitting anymore which I know is only going to get worse.  My skin has still been breaking out pretty bad, but My amazing OB office that I freaking love has a really sweet lady who does all their aesthetic services so I am going every two weeks and alternating between a pregnancy safe facial/peel thing and microderm abrasion, I am really hopeful that things will start to look better soon...plus its really nice getting a facial and neck/head massage every two weeks :)

Gender? Find out in 3 days!!!! I cant wait its like christmas all over again...I told hubby He may not want me knowing the gender because it will be all I can do to not buy every cute thing I see ESPECIALLY if its a girl :)

What I miss? being able to run and work out and sleep on my back 

What I'm looking forward to? finding out what this little bebe is!!!

Weekly Wisdom: I tell myself often God is in control He gave me this life to care for and He is in control me worrying about all the crazy weird things that can happen will do no good! <--- still holds true

Milestone: I feel like I am finally showing just a tad

Emotions: Lately knowing this pregnancy is almost half done I have started to feel a little overwhelmed with the fact that I am going to be responsible for teaching and raising this little life..its a BIG responsibility