Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Grace turns ONE!
You would wonder what keeps me from doing more than one or two posts a year anymore - well shoot I can barely keep up with brushing my teeth (don't tell my dentist) :) Just HAD to post some pictures of my amazing little lady who turns ONE this Saturday! She is incredibly smart, sweet, dramatic, beautiful and so full of life. At least once I day, I wonder what I did with my time before she was born. Stephen and I can't imagine what our life would be or was without her. She is our everything!
Monday, March 9, 2015
Grace Elizabeth Field - Birth Story
Holy cow. I guess its about time I share Grace's birth story, since you know, she has been here over 5 months now!! Needless to say, my life is way more insane than I ever imagined, but I love being that little girls mama! Here is our story!
It was a week and a day before my due date with Grace and I was at one of Stephen's football games. Something felt different, I knew that it was going to be less than a week before I saw my baby girl face to face. I increasingly was becoming more and more uncomfortable. Pressure, back pain, exhausted and walking like a penguin that I always dress up as!
On Sept 24, my mom and I went up to SLO for lunch at Village Host with Alyssa. I remember walking to the restroom at the restaurant and felt like I weighed 1,000 lbs. My mom warned me "the last meal I ate before I had you was pizza." Well after lunch we then headed for a much needed foot massage. During the massage, I told my mom I felt something pop...but never thought to much of it...just that it felt like I kept peeing in my pants throughout the night and couldn't control it. Amazing.
The next morning, Sept 25, after I got out of the shower and was getting ready to go grab a smoothie with Melissa, something was definitely off. Good thing we didn't go on the walk like we had been planning on doing. I text Stephen and said I thought something was strange, like maybe my water was breaking. We'll less than 5 minutes after I sent that text, it was like the movies, my water broke in a huge gush!! I yelled for my mom to grab me a towel as I called the doctor and continued to sop up the incredible amount of amniotic fluid now soaking into my mom's carpet. My poor poor mom's carpet!
Within an hour, I was being shuttled by my parents to meet Stephen at the high school where he drove me up to Sierra Vista hospital. I was immediately admitted and labor begins! When I got there, they checked me and I was only 1 cm dilated. So long to still go! I labored for 6 hours and decided enough was enough, I needed an epidural. They gave me the epidural and then checked me and I was only 1.5 cm ...are you kidding me?! Shortly after the epidural, my blood pressure dropped, I got nauseous and they had to give me medication to get me back to normal.That was fun...
Stephen was beyond amazing throughout the entire labor. The best coach (duh) I could ask for, supportive, hugged me when I needed it, kissed me when I needed it, gave me some space when I needed it and stayed by my side the entire time. By the way, he also had been working on a Pandora station for us so it was the perfect music for us the whole night, I loved it. The nurses always liked coming into our room too because we had the best music :)
The epidural ended up stalling my labor. Prior to getting it, I was contracting every 2-3 minutes and then after went to 5-7 minutes. So they ended up giving me Pitocin to help speed it all up. At 7pm (10 hours after my water broke) we got an amazing nurse, Heather. I can't imagine having a better nurse. She was phenomenal and helped walk us through everything. She would go above and beyond to answer our questions, made us feel comfortable with the whole process and really made the entire process a joy (yes a joy).
One eventful moment throughout the night was when Grace's heart rate sky rocketed and we didn't know why. Well Heather guessed it might be the 3 HUGE Sierra mist, cranberry and orange juice mocktails I had been consuming. I was only allowed to have water from there on out and fortunately that is what happened. Little Grace resumed back to normal heart rate after a few big glasses of water. At that point, we should have known how sensitive to everything our little Gracie would be (sensitive or dramatic.. take your pic).
After 22.5 hours, Grace decided it was time to arrive. I all of a sudden got the feeling like I wanted to push, so Heather said she wanted me to push and see how I did - a practice so to say. Well, I ended up being so strong, and so good at pushing (thank you Obsidian CrossFit) that she frantically called the doctor and told him he better hurry up! There were several contractions that I couldn't push- I just had to grunt through it because the doctor wasn't there. Let me tell you, not being able to push was the absolute worst part of my entire labor. Up until that point, it was easy. Pretty sure at that point I would have welcomed the laundry man to come in and deliver her if the doctor didn't get there.
My mom was also amazing through all of this. At one point also helping me hold my legs, all while taking some amazing photos. Poor thing, I am sure she was stressed out I gave her that task. I was so glad she was there with us!
At one point, Heather said "I can see her head!!" my first question was.. Does she have hair?! and boy did she!!
When Grace arrived, it was like a huge wave ran over me, they immediately put her on top of me... her little purple body started to turn a soft pink as she tried to cry (actually she was more of grunting than crying). I said "Hi my baby girl" and she looked right at me... I looked at Stephen and we both started to cry. What an overwhelming miracle she was.
Before labor, Stephen had said he wasn't sure he wanted to watch Grace as she entered the world. Well between him having to help me hold up my legs and coach me, he saw it all. He still talks about what an incredible experience it was to see. That never in his life did he imagine he would be so moved.
The next two nights at the hospital were a blur. With trying to learn how to nurse, all the standard tests being done, trying to make it to the bathroom in my adult diaper, and getting next to no sleep. We were so happy to head home on September 28!
Grace Elizabeth Field Birth Story
It was a week and a day before my due date with Grace and I was at one of Stephen's football games. Something felt different, I knew that it was going to be less than a week before I saw my baby girl face to face. I increasingly was becoming more and more uncomfortable. Pressure, back pain, exhausted and walking like a penguin that I always dress up as!
On Sept 24, my mom and I went up to SLO for lunch at Village Host with Alyssa. I remember walking to the restroom at the restaurant and felt like I weighed 1,000 lbs. My mom warned me "the last meal I ate before I had you was pizza." Well after lunch we then headed for a much needed foot massage. During the massage, I told my mom I felt something pop...but never thought to much of it...just that it felt like I kept peeing in my pants throughout the night and couldn't control it. Amazing.
The next morning, Sept 25, after I got out of the shower and was getting ready to go grab a smoothie with Melissa, something was definitely off. Good thing we didn't go on the walk like we had been planning on doing. I text Stephen and said I thought something was strange, like maybe my water was breaking. We'll less than 5 minutes after I sent that text, it was like the movies, my water broke in a huge gush!! I yelled for my mom to grab me a towel as I called the doctor and continued to sop up the incredible amount of amniotic fluid now soaking into my mom's carpet. My poor poor mom's carpet!
Within an hour, I was being shuttled by my parents to meet Stephen at the high school where he drove me up to Sierra Vista hospital. I was immediately admitted and labor begins! When I got there, they checked me and I was only 1 cm dilated. So long to still go! I labored for 6 hours and decided enough was enough, I needed an epidural. They gave me the epidural and then checked me and I was only 1.5 cm ...are you kidding me?! Shortly after the epidural, my blood pressure dropped, I got nauseous and they had to give me medication to get me back to normal.That was fun...
Stephen was beyond amazing throughout the entire labor. The best coach (duh) I could ask for, supportive, hugged me when I needed it, kissed me when I needed it, gave me some space when I needed it and stayed by my side the entire time. By the way, he also had been working on a Pandora station for us so it was the perfect music for us the whole night, I loved it. The nurses always liked coming into our room too because we had the best music :)
The epidural ended up stalling my labor. Prior to getting it, I was contracting every 2-3 minutes and then after went to 5-7 minutes. So they ended up giving me Pitocin to help speed it all up. At 7pm (10 hours after my water broke) we got an amazing nurse, Heather. I can't imagine having a better nurse. She was phenomenal and helped walk us through everything. She would go above and beyond to answer our questions, made us feel comfortable with the whole process and really made the entire process a joy (yes a joy).
One eventful moment throughout the night was when Grace's heart rate sky rocketed and we didn't know why. Well Heather guessed it might be the 3 HUGE Sierra mist, cranberry and orange juice mocktails I had been consuming. I was only allowed to have water from there on out and fortunately that is what happened. Little Grace resumed back to normal heart rate after a few big glasses of water. At that point, we should have known how sensitive to everything our little Gracie would be (sensitive or dramatic.. take your pic).
After 22.5 hours, Grace decided it was time to arrive. I all of a sudden got the feeling like I wanted to push, so Heather said she wanted me to push and see how I did - a practice so to say. Well, I ended up being so strong, and so good at pushing (thank you Obsidian CrossFit) that she frantically called the doctor and told him he better hurry up! There were several contractions that I couldn't push- I just had to grunt through it because the doctor wasn't there. Let me tell you, not being able to push was the absolute worst part of my entire labor. Up until that point, it was easy. Pretty sure at that point I would have welcomed the laundry man to come in and deliver her if the doctor didn't get there.
My mom was also amazing through all of this. At one point also helping me hold my legs, all while taking some amazing photos. Poor thing, I am sure she was stressed out I gave her that task. I was so glad she was there with us!
At one point, Heather said "I can see her head!!" my first question was.. Does she have hair?! and boy did she!!
When Grace arrived, it was like a huge wave ran over me, they immediately put her on top of me... her little purple body started to turn a soft pink as she tried to cry (actually she was more of grunting than crying). I said "Hi my baby girl" and she looked right at me... I looked at Stephen and we both started to cry. What an overwhelming miracle she was.
Before labor, Stephen had said he wasn't sure he wanted to watch Grace as she entered the world. Well between him having to help me hold up my legs and coach me, he saw it all. He still talks about what an incredible experience it was to see. That never in his life did he imagine he would be so moved.
The next two nights at the hospital were a blur. With trying to learn how to nurse, all the standard tests being done, trying to make it to the bathroom in my adult diaper, and getting next to no sleep. We were so happy to head home on September 28!
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Top 10 Things I Love About My Amazing Husband Project
Post I never posted but meant to...
I want to make something special for Stephen that I could give him after the birth of our baby girl. Something small, sentimental, and would remind him every time he read it that I loved him. That even in those moments of struggle that I am sure to come in the next several years, and moments when he might not remember the amazing things I see in him, that he could look back and read these little reminders. Needless to say, I loved this project and I can't wait to share it with him.
I designed a little card ring and wrote "I Love" on each one of the cards.. then decided I wanted to hand write every little love I had for him to make it more personal and special. These are super easy, if anyone wants the PDF, I am happy to share!
I want to make something special for Stephen that I could give him after the birth of our baby girl. Something small, sentimental, and would remind him every time he read it that I loved him. That even in those moments of struggle that I am sure to come in the next several years, and moments when he might not remember the amazing things I see in him, that he could look back and read these little reminders. Needless to say, I loved this project and I can't wait to share it with him.
I designed a little card ring and wrote "I Love" on each one of the cards.. then decided I wanted to hand write every little love I had for him to make it more personal and special. These are super easy, if anyone wants the PDF, I am happy to share!
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares
I was watching Tricia Yearwood one morning and she made these. I thought they sounded pretty amazing and they definitely were!! I took them to a CrossFit competition as an after work out goodie and then gave Stephen some to take to the football office- they were all gobbled up right away! I am not one to continue to make the same thing over and over, but I must admit I couldn't get enough of these :) Definitely recommend!
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
2 cups pretzel rods, crushed into crumbs
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup plus 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (I actually did 2 cups)
Directions:
- Crush pretzels into crumbs (I just used my vitamix and pulsed twice)
- In a bowl, combine pretzels, butter, 1 cup peanut butter and sugar and mix thoroughly
- In an ungreased 9x13 dish, press the pb mix evenly.
- In a microwave safe bowl, put chocolate chops and 1/4 cup peanut butter and put in microwave for 30 seconds at a time and stir each time.
- When chocolate is glossy and melted, spread over the pb layer
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour before cutting into squares!
Almost 39 Weeks & Home Progress!
Stephen and I had our 38+ week doctor's appointment today and stopped by the house to check on the progress. Its moving along- drywall is all up, stucco is up, it is getting pretty exciting!! Had to get our obligatory belly/house photo of course! Unfortunately, at this moment in time, baby is moving along as much - after the check I am not dilated at all yet - but I am measuring full term. Apparently, baby girl is completely content with where she is :)
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| 38 Weeks, 5 days! |
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Little Baby Book
Made a simple little photo book to celebrate our little girl! Maternity pics, baby shower pics and baby shower WOD pics :)
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
My mom ran across this recipe and we decided we had to make it... right away! We made it for dinner last Sunday and the boys and us included absolutely loved it! We made a few modifications from the original recipe here. So below is our version (and it was doubled from the original recipe)! We definitely recommend this recipe!
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1 1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 cup grated white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
Directions:
- Cook pasta according to instructions, drain and don't rinse
- While pasta is cooking, put butternut squash in a bowl with a little water and microwave about 10 minutes. You want it to be tender before you add it to the pan. You can also use pre-cooked and frozen butternut squash in this recipe, but I prefer fresh.
- When squash is tender, add to a large pan with the chicken stock, milk, cheddar cheese, parmesan and bring to a boil.
- Simmer and start to let the sauce thicken, breaking down the squash as much as possible.
- When everything is cooked down, add the spices and then put everything in a large blender to make as smooth as possible. This is an optional step, but I found it made the dish WAY more creamy.
- Pour the sauce back in the pan and add the chicken. Let it cook and get warm about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the sauce to the noodles.
- Garnish with parmesan!
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