Lund Baby Coming in August

Well, I'm having a baby! That probably explains a lot, such as lack of blog posts, lack of crafting or any delicious food for this entire year. But hopefully now that the baby bump is here (at least a little!), I'll feel more motivated to take and post pictures! I know the 3 of you reading this blog will certainly be happy...haha.

I didn't feel up to taking daily/weekly pictures with various fruit or chalkboards, etc. but I have taken a picture every 4 weeks (so every appointment) starting with week 16...so yep, just two pictures thus far! But more will come as the months pass. I'm currently 22.5 weeks (although if you asked, I'd just say 23, because who counts half weeks? Crazy pregnant ladies. And doctors apparently. My doctor enjoys writing "19 weeks 6/7 days" on things. Haha). We are having a BOY although I won't ever post pictures of the evidence in the ultrasound because...well, I wouldn't want that posted about me, even if I was negative-years old! 

I've felt pretty great the entire pregnancy (blessings counted daily, trust me) and now that I'm this far along, I feel EXTRA great each day! And with some wonderful encouraging of my mom about "daily milkshakes" and from my doctor about "eat constantly", I think this baby boy is healthy and growing! My bump has really started to show quite a bit more since these photos - I can no longer zip up a single pair of pants I own, so I can't wait to start the summer skirts and maternity clothes!

Enjoy the pictures! Next time I promise to try to also post something crafty that I will try to attempt to do...but we shall see. Luckily the warm weather always gets the crafting/baking bug going, so maybe Easter weekend can involve some sewing or desserts! But if this blog turns into a strictly (or even mostly-strictly) mommy/family/lifestyle blog...well...I'm not going to apologize too much. We are excited to move into this new phase of life!

16 weeks - see the bump?

Baby boy ultrasound pictures! I even wore blue to help give boy-ish thoughts to the baby :)

20 weeks!

Not that you want to hear it, but I actually think the 20-week picture makes my bump look bigger than it really was... probably everyone feels this way, but I think it changes size daily, so some days I feel so big (like the days I can't button any pants...) and other days I feel quite regular, and maybe no one would even notice I was more than half way with this baby! But anyway, just felt like putting a disclaimer in case my week 24 picture doesn't look any different from this week 20 one. I am growing, promise!

Pies, Pies, and More Pies!

I LOVE pie. I attribute it to my birthday being on Pi Day (3.14!), but I'm not sure if that's actually the reason. I've almost never met a pie I didn't like (although that could also be said for every type of dessert...), except of course for pumpkin because who wants vegetables in a pie?! Not counting chicken pot pie of course.

I rarely get to make that many pies because someone else in my household (ahem, not me), doesn't love them as much as I do. But this holiday season, I've already made four!  We had a pie night for relief society and several of us volunteered to bring pies we could all eat after we learned how to make a pie. I knew I wanted to make this banana cream pie from A Spicy Perspective because it was the perfect balance between a regular ol' pudding banana cream, and some fancy homemade custard kind of banana cream. It turned out so well! I had several people tell me it was their favorite of the night (I personally loved the cookie dough pie the best..that is totally on my list to make soon!). Unfortunately, the crust didn't stick together as well as I wanted, but that could be due to my extreme dislike for using too much butter. :) I used a banana cream pudding instead of vanilla, and I quite liked it, even though it did have a somewhat fake banana taste. And I didn't use the coconut, but I certainly will if I make it again!

The other pie I made was totally random - I wanted to make something that didn't involve going to the store, and somehow I happened to have strawberries in my house! That almost never happens, so I took advantage of it and made a strawberry peach pie. I couldn't really find any recipe... so mine is very loosely based on this one from All Recipes. I didn't use the cinnamon, used canned peaches and fresh strawberries, and added some sort of mixture of flour and cornstarch...I was just winging it. This pie was the only one that was all eaten at the pie night! I quite like peach and strawberry together, it turns out, so once summer hits I'll do this again too!

And finally, for Thanksgiving I was asked to bring pie to my cousin's house. Pecan is the best (even my husband thinks so!) so I made two of them - both the pie crust and the pecan pie recipe is from the Taste of Home cookbook, and they are super simple (pie crust = flour, shortening, salt, water), but always delicious! If I did it again, I'd make extra filling - probably 1.5 times, since my pie dishes are apparently super deep!

Pin 1 Down: Zucchini Brownies

With no time to waste, I accomplished my 1st pin in my personal 6 pins in 6 weeks challenge. We received a giant zucchini from my family when we came to visit - or rather, we received only part of a giant zucchini! This recipe only used 2 cups of shredded zucchini, so I still have quite a bit left to play with....or hide and pretend it doesn't exist....

Every Pinterest recipe that I found for gooey-looking zucchini brownies used the same recipe as this one from Mommy I'm Hungry. And while it sure is gooey (or rather, the frosting certainly is), the brownies themselves weren't my favorite. For one, there are no eggs in this recipe! How can we have brownies without eggs? So the brownies were slightly gritty from the sugar (I think I may have done the steps in an incorrect order though..) and I thought they were pretty dry. But then I put this frosting on top- and you can't even tell! I only did about 2/3 of the actual frosting and it's still so gooey, chocolatey, and delicious!

So while I'll keep searching for a better zucchini brownie recipe, I was actually pleased with how these came out. Plus there were plenty to share with our neighbors, especially the wonderful ones who lent me powdered sugar when I had absolutely none.... :)

6 Pins in 6 Weeks

Lately I've been in such a creativity rut. I don't feel very motivated to try new foods, desserts, crafts, sewing projects, anything! I loved the 6 pins in 6 weeks challenge I participated in earlier this year, so I think I'll have my own little challenge over the next month and a half to get the juices flowing again. Here we go - these are the 6 pins I'd like to accomplish in the next 6 weeks (give or take a few months... :D ):

Order fabric online (something I've been afraid of) and make a cardigan: http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639131526721/

With some of the fabric I order, make myself a new purse: http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639132710723/

I love apples but I never take full advantage of apple season. Buy some and make this delicious-looking pizza: http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639133691477/

Use up that zucchini and make brownies! http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639132658432/

Do at least a few of these different ways to improve your life: http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639132782959/

And finally, get to work on another necklace! http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639135049832/