the giraffe life

Usually my meal planning is fairly laid back. I look over the sale ads, pick out 2-3 meals I feel like making this week, and try to do as much of the cooking as possible on Sunday so we can ride out the work week on leftovers. But this does sometimes lead to dinner ruts or accidentally making two very similar meals super close to each other (tacos and enchiladas a few days apart).  I figured keeping track of what we're eating for longer periods would alleviate the dinner ruts and help us remember some of those recipes we just haven't made for a while.  I saw this idea on pinterest and liked it immediately, but it's taken me seemingly forever to just DO IT. I gave up on making it pretty like the original and that made all the difference.  Completely fictional menu plan to give an idea of how it will look - I don't cook nearly this much, considering there are only two of us to consume all the food. And don't mind Monkey's tail, the turkey sketch, or that I f...

Most of my maternity wardrobe One thing I've really struggled with this pregnancy is getting dressed! Sounds silly, right? It's tough to find blog posts about how much maternity clothing you'll actually need because it's so personal. What one person considers appropriate work attire or "enough" doesn't always match your situation. So I figured I'd throw my experience out there :)  Here's what I've bought and my thoughts!  Oh, and I linked to something similar when I could. Links are not  affiliate - these companies don't even know I exist!   Work Appropriate - 19 items for $298 1 pre-maternity cardigan 2  tank tops - $20 (worn with pre-maternity cardigan) 6 short sleeve  blouses - $70 (1 from a yard sale, 1 from a thrift shop, the others buy 3, get 1 free) 4 long sleeve shirts - $25 (1 from a yard sale, 1 from a thrift shop, 2 from Pink Blush end of season clearance) 1 formal dress  - $88 (worn with  pre-maternity  ...

It's common knowledge that you can borrow books for free at the library, but look what I got to take home with me (forever!) from my library:  a new bookcase/bookshelf display-type item! It used to hold children's books but a bigger, two-sided shelf replaced it. So it was outside with a free sign on it! I couldn't believe my good fortune - I think it will be perfect in the baby's room. My plan is to give it a good scrub to try to remove those adhesive marks and then fill it with books! Thankfully my parents saved some of my books from when I was younger and I've received a few as gifts so I'm excited and ready to get set up! Acquired anything for free lately?

Mr. G and I aren't finding out early if our baby is a boy or a girl - we're happy to wait until the baby is born. Of course I've heard a lot of predictions (adamant predictions!) so I thought I'd go through some old wives' tales for fun. Morning sickness - nausea = girl, little/no nausea = boy For me:  on/off nausea depending on the day = girl Chinese Gender Chart - a chart matching your age and month of conception For me:   girl Mayan Gender Prediction - add the year of conception and the mother's age. Even number = girl, odd number = boy For me:   girl Baby's heart rate   - over 140 bpm = girl, under 140 bpm = boy For me:  the baby's had a range of heartbeats, so inconclusive ! Besides, our midwife said the heartbeat gradually slows down over the course of the pregnancy anyway. Season of conception - winter = girl, summer = boy, spring and fall = equal chance For me:  conceived in the winter = girl Cravings - craving s...

We've returned from our trip to St. Michaels!  The weather was a warm, comfortable temperature for the whole visit, but there were some wild thunderstorms and a little flooding. To be expected this close to the water, I suppose? Many of the roads had ditches cut beside them to hold excess water and runoff so the sidewalks and roads were in good shape again pretty quick.  Most of our time in St. Michaels was spent walking around town. There are a ton of cute shops (we saw one with handmade three-dimensional wooden maps of various coastlines around the world) and lots of places to eat. I was impressed that one of the restaurants, Ava's Pizzeria , even offered a vegan cheese and veggie pizza! We spent a lot of time in the water too, since our B & B had a great pool. They also upgraded our room to a suite with a soaker tub next to the bed. It was awesome! I've never used one, but my pregnant self loved all the space and how light I felt. Super relaxing! ...

Some of our baby's first gifts! Sarah commented that she wondered about weird stuff during pregnancy, so here are some of my experiences, as of 20 weeks . .  Food  - I am so HUNGRY. My ramped up appetite was actually one of my first symptoms that made me think,  maybe this isn't just killer PMS . From about week 6 to 13, I felt off (dizzy or weak) much of the time unless I'd JUST eaten. My food aversions were simple: anything sweet (including fruit, candy, and chocolate - very difficult to explain at Easter parties when it was too early to reveal our good news) and Chinese food.  In fact, I mostly lived on carbs and cheese (plus eggs, as long as someone else was preparing them). Vegetables had to be cooked just right but then I could stomach a small portion. By about 14-15 weeks, I could handle most foods (Chinese is still out) and I've learned to eat immediately if I feel hunger coming on. Nosebleeds - I usually get a minor nosebleed or two every winter...

Back in February, I mentioned that Mr. G and I had started considering locations for our anniversary trip in June. In years past, we've vacationed in Daytona Beach and California .  After finding out I was pregnant though, we decided to pick somewhere within driving distance. Not only will it be cheaper, but it's good for peace of mind because the thought of flying makes me a little uneasy. (I had to take a ferry ride for work a few weeks ago and it couldn't end fast enough.)  Coincidently, one of my friends at work was raving about her vacation last year and how she can't wait to go back this year. Of course my ears pricked up and I asked her a million questions, then brought home her suggestion to Mr. G, who loved it. We've booked our stay in June to  St. Michaels, Maryland  - a small town on the bay.  We're excited! They have walking trails along the water, lots of seafood for Mr. G, museums, kayaking tours, and the place we're staying has a pool...