28/29/30 Weeks and Pumpkin Donuts

How far along: 28/29/30 Weeks (Sorry for the hiatus)

28 weeks

29 weeks

30 weeks

How big is baby: By the end of 30 weeks she is 3 + lbs

Total weight gain: 20+ lbs

Sleep:  Has progressively gotten worse. I now wakeup every 10 minutes to adjust myself and then by about 3 am I'm awake for the day.

Best moment of the week: Let's see if I can sum up the last 3 weeks. Christmas was great. We just sort of relaxed and spent time with family. Thankfully my job has given me lots of time off to be able to spend with everyone. Since I've been home I have gotten to get in the kitchen a little bit (something I haven't been able to do in a while) and even made some delicious pumpkin donuts with my new donut pan Christmas gift (thank you husband!!). 

The most accurate family picture for us haha

Food Cravings: Nothing particular. I will say that my iron clad will power has been non existent this holiday season haha. Anything that has come my way that looks yummy has gotten tasted. I'm putting my foot down now, my diet has to go back to normal seeing has I have 8 weeks till she's out.

Food Aversions: I got nothing.

Symptoms: Back pain and sciatic nerve pain. If I'm up on my feet for more than an hour then my body just feels wrecked. Other than that there have been little pains and aches here and there that have to do with my body preparing itself. I had a couple painful contractions the other night, but haven't had any since. 

Mood: Has mostly been stable. WELLLLL if you ask Ryan, he'd tell you I'm a grump. I don't think I'm THAT grumpy, but when you're uncomfortable about 80% of the day you might be a little grumpy too.

Movement: Baby "V" takes cat naps throughout the day for mayyyybbbeee 10 minutes, the rest of the time she is rolling and pushing and it feels like she's grabbing my organs :)  

What I’m looking forward to: My baby shower on the 31st of this month. I'm starting to get into the nesting part of this pregnancy, so it will be nice to start gathering all the baby gear necessities. As of today we are at 8 weeks!!! That's 60 days until our baby "V" is here!!!!! I'm ready to kiss that adorable little face and hear that little voice.

I just wanted to wish you all a very Happy New year!! 2014 started with heartbreak, losing our last baby. Throughout the year I was able to not only heal my heart and soul (thanks to my amazing support system), but my body as well with amazing nutrition. My happiest moment this year would have to be hearing/seeing my little girls heart beat for the first time and knowing we are expecting this huge blessing. 2015 my heart is full and so is my tummy haha. I may complain about the aches and pains, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Here is to a year of blessings and things that really matter. My goals this year include focusing on my faith and finances (debt free by 2016). I have so much to look forward to!!! Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog and for your words of encouragement.

Pumpkin Donuts

(You will need a donut pan to make these. Here is a link to some, they make mini donuts,not full size. Donut Pan on Amazon )

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup + 2 Tbs all purpose flour

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

Coating

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter the donut pan. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. In another large bowl (or that of a mixer)whisk together both sugars (make sure there are no clumps from the brown sugar). Add the oil, eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Once this mixture is blended slowly add the dry ingredients. 

I have found that the easiest way to get the mixture into the donut pan is to pipe them like you would frosting. You want to fill each donut about 3/4s full.

Bake for 13-16 min until a toothpick comes out clean. You will want to cool them slightly. In a big ziplock bag combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon. While the donuts are still warm take one at a time and put it in the ziplock bag with the sugar mixture and shake it up. Once the donut is covered place it on a cooling rack and repeat with the remaining donuts. Enjoy :)

Recipe adapted from: Cooking Classy

19 Weeks

How far along: 19 Weeks

How big is baby: The size of a Heirloom Tomato (I don’t like this description haha)

Total weight gain: Same!!!! Around 12 lbsish

Sleep:  Well last week my body decided to retreat and I caught the stomach bug that everyone had. It wasn’t fun at all and for a couple nights I got no sleep. Baby girl didn’t make it any easier by deciding to squirm and move around while I had chills and tried to sleep. Otherwise sleep has actually been just fine.

Best moment of the week: Ryan’s birthday and seeing our little girl again! Last night was my husbands birthday, so as per request, I made him some carrot cake cupcakes and snickerdoodle ones. He has been sneaking cupcakes every time I turn my back now haha. I will hopefully have these recipes up the beginning of next week. I also had my 20 week ultrasound/appointment yesterday. We got to see our little girl and she is definitely growing!! Her little hands were either next to her head to in her mouth most of the time and we got an awesome shot of her nose and mouth (see below). A little less than 20 more weeks and I get to meet this beautiful girl!!!!!!!

Food Cravings:  It’s so random. This week I absolutely had to have a strawberry pop tart. I still haven’t been able to fulfill this craving, but it’s still there. I don’t normally eat them ever, so this is an odd one. Also mashed potatoes just sound amazing all the time…..

Food Aversions: The only thing I’ve noticed is the smell of anything containing breakfast sausage. Bella was eating a sausage a couple mornings ago and I almost gagged. The worst smell ever.

Symptoms: Ever since the stomach bug, my digestive tract isn’t up to par. I don’t have the same appetite and let’s just say prune juice might be at my desk…… Other than that I’m just getting huge.

Mood: Normal moodiness. Nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe more sadness at looking at my kids and how big/old they are, they aren’t my little babies anymore (who’s kidding….they’ll always be my little babies, even in their 40’s).

Movement: Ryan has finally felt her move by putting his hand on my belly. She loves to put her feet really low and kick my lower abdomen/areas you don’t love feeling kicks. I can tell she moves all over the place at random times too. She hates when I cross my legs, so soon that will be retired.

What I’m looking forward to: This weekend!!! Ryan and I are going on a marriage retreat in Idaho. I can’t wait for a nice relaxing break, this should be really good for us.

Last thoughts: The nurse practitioner that went over my ultrasound said everything looked great, but did add one thing in the middle of telling me it looked good that I was a little concerned about. She said that normal placentas have the connection to the umbilical cord in the middle of the placenta, but mine is on the side. She said that it’s ok and can be normal, but we’ll just have to measure the growth each visit to make sure she keeps growing fine, but no no no don’t worry!!! It’s completely normal…. Obviously I am a little worried and she didn’t do a very good job explaining why having a cord connection on the side vs the front would make a difference in growth, so I’m asking: Have any of you experienced this (or someone you know)?

Some Fall Recipes

Since I started this blog as an attempt to document some of the things I enjoy baking or doing I FINALLY have some yummy recipes to add. The air is starting to get crisp and it seems like summer is starting to lose its grip on the weather. I actually don't mind, the only thing that is driving me nuts is the lack of pregnancy clothes I can wear (the husband frowns upon breaking the bank to purchase a new wardrobe). Since I no longer have a coffee addiction (thank you Isagenix) I've taken to drinking a decent amount of tea, and not just any tea. The tea that I am currently in love with is called Creamy Earl Grey and it's made by this lovely little Tea shop in town called Bramble Berry Cottage (Brambleberry Cottage). I adore going there to have a little tea party with my daughter or friends and trying all the different hand mixed teas they have to offer. Next on my list to try is there brand new Autumn Grey tea (think Earl Grey the pumpkin version).

I previously told you that a couple weeks ago my family and I picked a LOT of plums from my fathers property. We ended up saving half the batch to make Plum Brandy (that's Ryan's little project that I will blog about once it's all done fermenting and has been processed) and the other half to make Plum Vanilla Crumble Bars. The bars ended up tasting fantastic. They were similar to a Lemon bar only a better balance of sweet and sour with vanilla bean hints.

 The other recipe I am going to share with you are Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with a Maple Cream Cheese filling. This is something that I make every year when fall hits. It's a favorite of my family and friends and I get the request to make them often.

 Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Ingredients

For the pumpkin cookies:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup canola oil

3 cups chilled pumpkin puree

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the maple cream cheese filling:

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, cold

2 tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

To make the pumpkin cookies, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and spices.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, whisk sugars and oil together.  Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly.  Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.  Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

Transfer the cookie batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip.  Pipe small rounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1½-2 inches in diameter. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat with remaining batter.

To make the filling, combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-heat speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.  Add the powdered sugar, maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Be careful not to overbeat the filling or it will lose structure.  Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip.

To assemble, pair the cookies up by size.  Pipe filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair, and sandwich together with the remaining cookie.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm before serving.

 Recipe acquired from:  Annie's Eats

Plum Vanilla Crumble Bars

Crumble Topping

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 almond slices, toasted

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold butter

1 -Mix dry ingredients on medium bowl

2-Cut butter into cubes then, using a pastry cutter, cut into dry mixture until pea sized mixture is formed. Should be crumbly looking

   -Place in fridge until ready to use

Shortbread crust

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks of butter (3/4 cup)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 -Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

   -Combine flour and salt in a small bowl, set aside.

   -Cream butter and both sugars together. Add vanilla and mix.

   -Slowly incorporate flour mixture until combined. 

   -Press into a greased 8 x 8 baking dish.

   -Press shortbread dough into the pan spreading evenly. Use a glass as a small rolling pin to even out if necessary.

   -Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. 

Plum Filling

5-6 cups plums, pitted and sliced

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

   -Add plums and water to wide pan and heat through, them add sugar and vanilla paste

   -Cook over medium heat until plums begin to break down, about 30 mins

   -Let mixture cool a bit and transfer to food processor, and give it a whirl

   -Put the mixture back in the pan, and continue to cook until thick paste forms, making sure to stir constantly, it will burn if you don't stir!! Even if you think that it’s taking too long keep stirring and let it thicken up.

   -When you can scrape your spoon through the mixture and you see a trail, you're almost there. This should take about 15 minutes. (Make sure you really cook this down enough. If you don't the filling will be too runny and not hold the bar shape. You really have to get all the water out of the fruit.)

   -Once you see a thick paste form, you're done, spread over shortbread and sprinkle crumble topping on top of the plum filling layer. 

   -Bake at 325 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the toping begins to brown.

   -Remove from oven and let cool. Cut into bars to serve. Store in fridge to keep filing firm.  

Recipe acquired from: House of Brinson