IN WITH THE NEW

I couldn't be more excited right now. I just want to bake cookies.

I will kind of miss the teal touches on the old one, but not really. I mean seriously. Do you see how clean those new burners are? I'm clearly meant to be a stay-at-home mom.

27 WEEKS

It's been a while. And I missed last week's preggo photo... woops! This week I see a huge difference in my belly growth since it's been two weeks since the last picture!

Well I am going to try and get back on track with the blog this week... at least until Wednesday. Then it's holiday time for us!

We are heading into Saskatoon for my first appointment with the doctor who will potentially be delivering our baby. We are so excited to meet her and discuss the whole birthing process. Then we are heading to Mark's grandparents at the farm to spend Easter weekend. On the Saturday we have an appointment at a Honda dealership to go look at and hopefully purchase a Honda Odyssey van! We can hardly believe we're in van-buying mode already. And probably more excited about it that we ever thought we would be. We're also hoping to purchase the car seat and maybe a few other baby things while we're in the big city. 

Things are sure moving along now! As of yesterday, we only have 3 months left until baby is scheduled to arrive (June 24th)! This is technically my last week of the second trimester. At 28 weeks I hit the third trimester. The time is flying by!! I can hardly believe it.

As baby is growing and we are both able to feel him a lot more now, we are getting more and more excited to meet him. We are talking to him all the time so he will find our voices soothing once he is born. We're reading lots about his development week by week and still trying to come up with a name!

We also starting attending prenatal classes 2 weeks ago, and have our third and last session tomorrow evening. So far it has been amazing. I wish it wasn't finishing so soon! We have learned a lot from the sessions and we're really looking forward to tomorrow evening.

Anyway, I hope you have all had a great week and I will see you tomorrow!

RECIPE: CLEAN EATING PANCAKES & TOPPING

I posted this picture of what I made for lunch yesterday on instagram, and had some requests to share the recipe, so she is!

Greek Yogurt Blueberry Pancakes

1 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 C Greek yogurt

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 Tbsp milk (+)

1 C blueberries

coconut oil

1. Mix flour, baking powder & baking soda in a large bowl and set aside. In a med. bowl, beat yogurt, eggs, honey, vanilla & milk.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients & mix well. Fold in berries.

2. In a large skillet over med. heat, melt a small amount of coconut oil. Drop 1/4 C sized scoops of batter on skillet (you may need to use a spoon to spread the batter, as it will be very thick. I ended up adding quite a bit more milk to the mixture as I found it was too thick). Cook evenly until browned.

3. Wipe skillet clean, add more coconut oil and repeat!

TOPPINGS:

Peanut Butter / Greek Yogurt Spread

1/2 C peanut butter

1 C Greek yogurt

1. Mix!

2. I added some honey and cinnamon and it was so delicious! Next time I may add some cocoa powder as well. There will be loads extra! Use as a healthy fruit dip!

Blueberry Compote

10oz frozen blueberries

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

dash cinnamon

*add honey if desired

1. Combine all ingredients in a small pot over med. heat. Stir about 3-4 minutes.

Note: It will not thicken like regular compote due to the lack of refined sugar. Still DELICIOUS!

And that's all folks! Hope you enjoy!

OUR BEAUVAL HOME

I've been telling my mom for some time now that I would take some pictures of our home from the outside, and I finally did! I will take some more of the town and inside our house soon... But for now, here is our home!

This is the view of our side of the duplex! We love our front window which lights up our entire house, and we are looking forward to getting some use out of our front deck once the snow is gone!

A view of the full duplex. The Wilson's on the left, and the Westman's on the right.

A panorama view of our backyard, taken from the Wilson's backyard.

An even wider panorama view of our backyard taken from the Wilson's backyard. You can get an idea of how close we are to the school! Mark has a short walk every day.

And this is Valley View School. No, it's not a jail.

The building on the left is the VERY small grocery store (the Northern) that we never shop at unless it's an emergency because everything is REALLY expensive.

25 WEEKS

I won't lie, I'm starting to feel pretty huge now. It's slowly getting harder to get up off the couch or out of a chair, and even rolling over in bed seems like a lot more work these days. I'm just hoping that I won't get stuck one of these days! I can still touch my toes, but it's really uncomfortable. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to. My hot water bottle is my best friend (along with Mark who fills it up for me!), and I can only sit or stand for a certain amount of time before I need to switch it up. Oh the joys!

But over all I truly feel great. Our little boy is kicking like crazy now and it's the most wonderfully bizarre feeling in the world. He's supposed to flip around this week or next, so I'm preparing myself for these rib kicks that all the moms have been warning me about! We are so excited to meet him, and that day is coming soon enough! Have I mentioned how fast the weeks are flying by?

INSTAWEEK

Take a peek into my week.

As compilation of instagram photos taken this week.

RECIPE: HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

These are probably my favourite no-bake treats to make. They are so fast and so delicious. I try not to make them more than once or twice a year, or else I am pretty sure I would be obese.

Peanut Butter Cups

1. Melt one bag of milk chocolate chips in a pot over med. heat, stirring constantly.

2. Pour half the melted chocolate into cupcake wrappers and freeze (about 45 mins).

3. Mix 1/2 C of peanut butter with a handful of powdered sugar to taste.

4. Once chocolate is frozen, spoon peanut butter mixture on top.

5. Reheat leftover chocolate and pour on top of peanut butter.

6. Freeze about one hour.

Makes about 8. Melt another bag of chocolate chips for more - you will have leftover peanut butter mixture!

MARCH

The snow is actually beginning to dwindle here in Beauval. And by dwindle, I mean we can now see some of the paved (or unpaved) streets, but everything else is still covered... but melting! There are even little birds chirping a springy tune as I type this morning. The new season is slowly making her presence known, and we are welcoming her with open arms. Each morning I wake up a with a little extra lightness is my heart, as I wake up to a little more light in the sky. The days are getting noticeably longer now and we have moved from spending most of our time cozying up indoors, to the outdoors, enjoying the sun and warmer temperatures. I particularly appreciate the rise in temperature now, as I can no longer zip up my winter coat properly. I supposed this soccer ball-sized tummy of mine prefers to be exposed to the sunshine and fresh air. 

I've never found the beginning of spring to be the loveliest of times. It's muddy, sometimes stinky, and quite honestly "beauty" is a subjective word during these first few weeks. And yet, it is here that lies a hope - a special kind of hope about what comes next. Soon the mud and strange smells will fade away and spring will blossom in all her glory. 

So while we grudge through these last cold, muddy days of late winter, looking forward to the hopeful season before us, there is all the reason to dream about what is to come. New life, new stories, new friends, new adventures. 

Anything can happen.

And now, the super cutest March 2013 calendar for your desktop or smartphone from Going Home to Roost.

Click the photo for all sizes and styles of this March calendar. 

24 WEEKS

INSTAWEEK

Take a peek into my week.

A compilation of instagram photos taken this week.