39 Weeks

Virginia,

Your daddy and I are more than ready to meet you!  The hospital bags are packed, your room is finished and all cleaned up, and family and friends are on standby waiting to drive to St. Vincent's to be there for your birth.  I think I'm going to have to stop calling Bebe because every time I call her, she answers the phone in a millisecond with a frantic, "Hello?!?", to which I respond, "I'm not in labor, Mom!"  I know that you were just being gracious last week since Pop was out of town, but I'd like to remind you that he is back now.  Also, Aunt B is flying in from Omaha this weekend with hopes of meeting you, so please don't make her fly back without meeting her new niece!  There are so many reasons why this is the PERFECT week for you to arrive!  Regardless, I just hope that you are as healthy as can be, and I will still love you to the moon and back even if you decide to keep us all waiting.

Love,
Mommy

P.S. Your bassinet in our room is ready for you, too!

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We are really hoping to meet our little girl this week!  I have had two full weeks of being at home, and everything is as much in order as it can possibly be.  (Except for organizing the basement, which I refuse to do without Josh's help.)  So this week I will be twiddling my thumbs.  

And going on walks.  And eating pineapple and spicy foods.  And drinking castor oil.  

Okay, minus the castor oil.  

(Those are all supposedly things that can naturally induce labor.)

As of my appointment last week, I was still 1 cm dilated and 25% effaced.  I have not had a single contraction throughout my pregnancy.  Every time I say "Ouch!" because V has kicked me in the ribs or is poking her foot 2 inches out my side, Josh says, "Are you having a contraction?!?!"  I should have been keeping a tally of how many times he has asked that.  Because I'm pretty sure the number is well over 100 by now.  

Here I am at 39 weeks:

Looking a little rough... had to wait until Josh got home this evening!

My blood pressure has continued to be good and I'm measuring right on.  I also haven't gained any weight in 3 weeks, which is surprising considering I've been eating a lot of these lately:

Salted Caramel - Chocolate Cupcakes.

Mmm!  I made these for a get together last week.  The recipe made 72 (SEVENTY-TWO) mini cupcakes. That equals a whole lot of leftovers for this pregnant lady!  

I'll keep you updated on our week!  Please keep us in your prayers!  

Mmmmm

Aww man... Do I have to let Josh take these to his office tomorrow morning as a thank you for the baby shower??

They just came out of the oven and I wish you could smell the cinnamon-sugary-buttery aroma that has filled my house.  You'd want to come eat a pan with me.  Then we could go to Publix and pick up a can of Pillsbury's to send to the office.

And they don't even have the cream cheese icing on them yet.  Oh dear! 

Maybe I'll put them on a serving tray so that they "look prettier" when Josh takes them... a.k.a., I can eat one and no one will know.

Recipe: Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing  (Southern Living, Dec 2011)

Finally, an update!

Blogger finally decided to recognize new pictures in my iPhoto!  Yipee!

So here's a recap of what's happened since I last blogged...

23 weeks:

Josh and I soaked up all things FALL... which means I made some candied apples...

The CRIB came in!!
I got a call from Storkland on a Friday at 2:00 with news that our crib was in and was at the warehouse in downtown Birmingham.  Josh and I were planning on heading up to Florence when he left work that day, but I knew that he would NOT leave town until the crib was put together in Virginia's room. I called him at work to tell him that he could pick it up after he left for the day, and he said "I'm going to leave right now!"  Meanwhile, Storkland called me back and said, "Bad news, there's a Veterans Day parade going on downtown and the guys at the warehouse said there's no way to get a vehicle through all of that mess."  To that, I just responded, "Okay, we'll still try and if we can't get it today, we'll get it next week." What I was thinking was, "You don't know my husband... he will carry the crib 20 blocks to his car if he has to, but he WILL be picking it up today!"  When he gets something in his mind, he will stop at nothing to get it done!  By about 3:00, he arrived home, came inside to tell me that he couldn't get the crib after all, I said "yeah right", and he got our neighbor to help him bring it inside.  :)  He is going to be such a great daddy!   

We also just happened to get the beautiful crib bedding in that day, so it is all set up and just waiting on baby Virginia!  (Well, and a mattress!)  

Pictures to come.... I'd like to hang some art on the wall before I "reveal" the crib & bedding!

That night... happy as a lark... 26 weeks:

On the Friday before Thanksgiving, Josh and I hosted our second annual Homewood Thanksgiving with some friends that live in Birmingham.  We had a wonderful, wonderful time and had some pretty yummy food, too!  We had to rearrange some furniture to have enough seating, but we actually discovered that we like the buffet better in the dining room.  Now we're searching for something to take it's old spot!  

(Sorry, Mom, I didn't have time to iron the tablecloth and napkins.)

(If I had only discovered Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint when I painted the china cabinet... I'm feeling a new project coming on after V arrives!)

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Praline Topping and Pecan Pie-Glazed Pecans.  Mmmm.

Buck Randall was kind enough to join us for the party.  I wonder how many people out there think this is extremely disturbing??

Love using our china.  (Don't look too closely at the placement of the utensils ((Faith!!))... I don't know proper etiquette on that and I didn't have time to look it up... plus, I didn't think my guests would care too much!)

Funny, I got pictures of china, food, and a deer but didn't take a single picture of the guests.  Probably because Josh was snapping pictures for me before everyone arrived.  I'll try to remember to take people pics next year.  

Then, we arrived at 28 weeks...

No, I did not put a basketball under my shirt!  

I'll be adding some Thanksgiving with family pictures soon, as well as pictures from my baby shower that is this coming Saturday!  I am extremely excited and so blessed to have friends and family that are so generous to have a party for Miss Virginia and me!  

And speaking of Virginia... everything seems to be A-okay still!  She's just continuing her dance parties in my belly and is obviously growing rapidly!  :)  I believe she weighs about 2 1/2 pounds now.  And me... well at my last appointment (26 weeks) I had gained 17 pounds!  Although I think that several of those pounds were my cowboy boots.  I also weighed a few days after that appointment on Mummi and Doc's fancy scale and it was 6 or 7 pounds less than the reading at the doctor's office.  So who knows!  I am still feeling GREAT and, other than my back hurting at the end of the day and having a hard time leaning forwards to pick up things, I don't feel any different than pre-pregnancy Bonnie.  Josh has been so sweet to rub my back every day when we get home from work and he graciously takes off my cowboy boots for me because it is too hard for me now! haha!  

My next appointment is December 7th, and after that, I'll start going every 2 weeks instead of 4.  Time is flying by!  We can't wait to meet our sweet little girl!!

White BBQ Chicken

I bring to you today a recipe for the best chicken you'll ever eat! We call it "Allen's Chicken" because my brother-in-law Allen taught me how to make it. I think he calls it "Bubba's Chicken", after his uncle. Whatever you call it, the stuff is make-your-mouth-water good! Perfect for tailgating (oh how I miss Tuscaloosa Fall Saturdays...) or just any ole time.


Hickory Grilled Chicken with White BBQ Sauce

Bone-in, Skin-on Chicken Breasts (or sometimes I cut up a whole chicken also if there are folks that like dark meat)
Lots of KOSHER Salt and Pepper
Hickory Chips
Charcoal


Soak the Hickory chips in water for whatever time the package says (probably 30min-1hr). As far as how much to use...I fill an 8x8 pan a little more than half-full with chips.


Salt and pepper the chicken really heavily. You'll think that it's too much, but cover the chicken completely on both sides.


When your charcoal on the grill is ready, add the hickory. (Be sure to drain off water first). Put chicken on grill and cover with lid. Grill for about 20-25 minutes, flipping once after 10 min. Put in a dish of some sort. Don't worry that the chicken looks dark... it's not burned, that's just all of the hickory-smoked goodness on it.


Put some water in the bottom of the dish to help keep the chicken from drying out. Cover tightly with foil and put in oven at 350 for about 1 to 2 hours. (I usually leave it in there closer to 2 hours... Really just depends on whenever you're finished making the other fixin's and are ready to eat.) Serve with White BBQ Sauce. (I forgot to take a picture of the final product because we had company over and were hungry!)




White BBQ Sauce


1 cup Hellmans
10 T. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Salt
1.5 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne
1.5 T. Horseradish
1 T. Lemon Juice
dash of Worcestershire

Chocolate Fudge Pie

I decided to post one of my all-time favorite dessert recipes. This is a Paula Deen recipe, so it, of course, starts out with a stick of butter. The pie is so easy to put together that JOSH has even made it. He used to request it so much that I told him he'd just have to learn to make it himself. Without further ado, the recipe.....
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Chocolate Fudge Pie

1 stick butter
2 oz (2 squares) semi sweet chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 unbaked, frozen pie shell

Melt together butter and chocolate over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar. Whisk in eggs. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes (or until the filling isn't too jiggly... Paula says 25 minutes, but that's just not enough "y'all").

Serve warm or cold with homemade whipped cream or ice cream. (We prefer with ice cream. And don't feel bad if you need to drizzle some chocolate sauce over the top.)
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Since Mrs. Laura Rowe got a picture of the pie last time I made it, I felt no need to get out my camera. I wouldn't want to make her feel bad that my photography skills are so incredibly superior. No need for hurt feelings 'round here.

New favorite recipe

I found the most delicious salad recipe the other day in an old Southern Living and thought I'd share it. It has become my absolute favorite. The dressing is amazing!

Spinach and Apple Salad with Cinnamon Vinaigrette

Apples, thinly sliced
Spinach

Dressing:
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine apples and spinach in a serving bowl. Whisk together honey and next 6 ingredients until well blended. Pour mixture over salad, tossing gently. Serve immediately. Extra dressing can be refrigerated.