Week 13 (Déjà Vu)

Whew, what a crazy few days.

On Thursday, I went to the OB/GYN to have my second appointment. The appointment went great. I inquired about a flu shot that did not have preservatives in it and they had some available so I was able to get my flu shot. I was also able to listen to the baby's heart beat. I recorded it so that I could play it for Ryan when he got home from work. At this appointment the midwife told me she wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure that I was 16 weeks along. My appointment was scheduled for Saturday.

Saturday morning (bright and early) I began to drink 4-6 eight ounce glasses of water for my ultrasound. That ended with me getting sick and then drinking more water. Ryan and I drove to Allen Hospital. We were really excited that the ultrasound could be done on a Saturday so that Ryan could make the appointment without taking off work. After the ultrasound, the technician estimated that I was at week 13 and 3 days. That makes the nausea I have been feeling a little more clear. I am slightly bummed that I am not as far along as I was told but either way I am pregnant so I suppose waiting a few weeks longer will be okay.

My next OB/GYN appointment will be on November 15.

Here is my photo from last Sunday. I finally got it to load. I suppose this is a picture of week 12 with this new information I have (No wonder I am not showing!). :)

Week 12 Photos

First Ultrasound

Week 13 and 3 days

Week 15

Hey All,

I tried to upload my picture but the picture keeps rotating when I upload it so I will post it another day! :) Here are my weekly stats though. I have my second doctors appointment on Thursday! I will try to post on Thursday or Friday about my appointment! At this appointment I will be meeting my midwife for the first time. I am hoping that she will let me hear the baby's heartbeat.

Pregnancy Stats:

How Far Along – 15 Weeks

Size of Baby – an apple.

Gender – Too early to tell.

Total Weight Gain – None so far.

What I Miss – Being able to drink tea whenever I want without reading the label.

Cravings: None specifically but I keep baking.

Symptoms: Hiccups, Heartburn, Not hungry at times still.

Worst Part of Pregnancy this Week: Nothing :)

Best Part of Pregnancy this Week: Realizing that I am only 5 weeks away from seeing my baby and finding out whether I am having a little girl or a little boy!

German Chocolate Torte

My favorite dessert has always been German Chocolate Cake. Since Ryan and I have gone "primal" I have been trying out different desserts so that I can continue to share my baking with my friends and family. About a month ago, I ran across the blog, The Food Lovers Kitchen. I found this recipe and immediately bookmarked it with the intent of making it for my birthday, instead I made brownies. Today, I decided to tackle this recipe. It wasn't very hard at all and it tastes incredible.

The recipe uses coconut flour which is extremely low carb. If you click the down arrow next to the serving amount you can decrease the serving. I made 6 servings. I used a mixture of stevia** and honey to sweeten the recipe.  I have included the changes I made below. I hope you give the dessert a try!

Make the recipe!

Instead of	I used
Pecans	Walnuts
Chocolate chips	Baker’s Chocolate (sweetened slightly with stevia**)
Palm Oil	Coconut Oil
Maple Syrup	3 tbs honey and 1/4 tsp stevia**
Salt	I left this out.

**A note about stevia.

-Make sure that the stevia is the real thing, otherwise it will not be as sweet as the stevia I use. Vegetable inulin is a bulking agent, so it is not as sweet as pure stevia. Also, some stevias are sweetened with dextrose and other sweeteners. I buy my stevia from the bulk section of HyVee. The stevia bottle says, Stevia rebaudiana which is just the name of the stevia plant. It is so much sweeter than the bottled stevia options that have additives to them. About 1/2 tsp of pure stevia is equivalent to 1 cup of sugar.

14 Weeks/Birthday/Trip to Illinois

Hey All,

This has been an exciting week! First of all, I am 14 weeks today! For some reason, I have hiccups like crazy. It is kind of silly because I am so used to this that I hardly notice that it happens but others around me obviously do. :) Also, the baby has decided that I should have a little more nausea. I am extremely anxious to see an ultrasound of our little person. I am not sure I am patient enough to wait 6 more weeks (It's a good thing that the nurse didn't give me a choice)! Our dog, Eddie, decided he wanted to be in my bump pictures this week. :)





















Pregnancy Stats:

How Far Along – 14 Weeks

Size of Baby – a lemon.

Gender – Too early to tell.

Total Weight Gain – I am still down from where I started but I have gained 2 lbs since last week!

What I Miss – I still miss eggs with a runny yolk!

Cravings: None

Symptoms: Still getting up a lot to go to the bathroom. Nausea, Hiccups (Me, not the baby)

Worst Part of Pregnancy this Week: Getting sick on my birthday :(

Best Part of Pregnancy this Week: Seeing my family for the first time while knowing I was pregnant.

My Birthday!/Illinois Trip
My 23 birthday was Friday! Ryan and I decided to make the 5 hour trip from our home in Iowa to see my family in Illinois. I was excited since I had not seen them in about 2 months. We thought it was a good time because my sister was moving to Ohio today. We arrived in Illinois late Friday night. I brought my family grain free brownies to celebrate my birthday. The trip was lots of fun. I also got to spend some time with 3 of my good friends.

On the way back to Iowa today, Ryan and I stopped at some little antique stores. Ryan found an antique mug that looks like a barrel, which we purchased. We also stopped at Trader Joes to buy some grass fed meat since we have a hard time finding a variety in Iowa. Upon arriving home, there was a package on our kitchen table! I opened it to find that Ryan had gotten me a camera for my birthday! I am not an expert at photography but I wanted to have a new camera to photograph the baby since my old one was not working well.  We played around with the camera a little bit tonight (using it to take the baby bump photos!)

We are having a baby!

Hey Everyone,

So it appears that I did what most beginning bloggers do. I wrote about 5 posts and then stopping blogging. Well, I am no quitter so I decided to start up my blogging again. After all, there is no better time to begin blogging than when you have something exciting to blog about!

About a month ago, Ryan and I found out that we are expecting! I am 13 weeks today, which means I am due in APRIL!!!! Whew, that still sounds so far away. 9 months is a long time. It takes 9 months to get through each year of school. That felt like forever. It is a good thing that I found out I was pregnant 2 months in. Now I only have to wait 6 months! :) I hope that blogging will help my side of the family and my friends in Illinois stay involved with my pregnancy even though they live 6 hours away from where Ryan and I do.

I had my first doctors appointment on Friday. My mother-in-law went with me since Ryan had to work. It was only the initial appointment, which means lots of information passed back and forth and lots of questions asked. I am very anxious to see the baby but I was told that they do not perform ultrasounds until week 20 unless they suspect a problem. My next appointment will be on October 18th but that will still be too early to see the baby.




















Pregnancy Stats:


How Far Along – 13 Weeks

Size of Baby – a peach!

Gender – Too early to tell.

Total Weight Gain – I have lost 12 lbs since I found out I was pregnant even though I have been eating as much or more than I did before I was pregnant.

What I Miss – Kombucha! Eggs with a runny yolk! I am not a very big fan of well-cooked eggs.

Cravings: None

Symptoms: Getting up a lot to go to the bathroom. 

Maternity Clothes: I started wearing a pair of maternity jeans, not because  my old one were too tight but because they were falling off...I have decided that I love maternity jeans and want to wear them forever!

Worst Part of Pregnancy this Week: Nothing really. I no longer feel sick. I am able to eat again, including smelly foods such as garlic and onions. I suppose I am still not too fond of getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

Best Part of Pregnancy this Week: I got to shop for pregnancy clothes and I received some as a gift. I love getting new clothes! Having people tell me they could see the beginnings of a baby bump.

Happy 6 months!

Rae and Ry

Today, Ryan and I have been married for 6 months. I wanted to share our story with you. I hope you enjoy reading our story!

How We Met
On January 10, 2011, Regan entered the library and met Ryan for the first time. Over time, Ryan would often stop and talk with Regan about interests and where life was leading her. Ryan was a little sad, because it sounded to him like this lovely young woman was going to be leaving the state in not too long and he'd never get the chance to really know her. Regan watched as Ryan interacted with the patrons. Ryan was patient and kind. Regan started to go to the library more often with hope that Ryan would be working.

 Taken by Beth Paulsen. Check out her blog, Playin' With The Paulsens, here to see more of her photographs!

In May 2011, one of the librarians told Ryan that he needed to "go get Regan's phone number and ask her out!" Ryan was unsure that this was possible and so he decided to "friend" Regan on Facebook. On August 24th, Ryan finally decided to ask Regan out. When Regan came into the library, Ryan asked Regan if she would like to go jet skiing with him. Regan agreed. The following Wednesday, Regan approached Ryan and greeted him. Ryan told Regan that jet skiing didn’t seem to be working out. Ryan asked Regan if she would like to hangout anyways. Ryan ask her for her phone number and received it.  Later that day, Ryan decided to step outside of his comfort zone by texting Regan. After some small talk, Regan didn’t know what to talk about so Regan asked Ryan if he preferred detailed or more shallow conversation. Ryan told Regan he liked detailed answers. Ryan found this to be an incredibly unusual question of an analytical nature. He HAD to date this woman and soon. Ryan asked if she wanted to go to lunch in 2 days. Regan said, "Yes."

Dating and Courtship

On their first date, the two talked for 4 hours and were surprisingly open and comfortable with one another. Their second date, just 3 days later, lasted 9 hours. Ryan admitted to Regan that he was interested in her. Regan laughed and told Ryan that she was interested in him too. Regan and Ryan spent much time talking on their dates. They went on walks, made meals together, went out to eat, and star gazed together. This continued until Ryan started talking about the idea of entering into a courtship together. Regan seemed to like this idea. Ryan set it up so that Regan would meet his parents, he would ask her father's permission and he bought a promise ring for Regan. Ryan’s parents loved Regan at once and Ryan’s mother even said that she knew that he would find a sweet girl, but she had no idea she would be this sweet and that he couldn’t have found anyone else like her. When Ryan told Regan that he had received her father's blessing, she thought that they were already in a courtship from that point on. On October 5th, 2011 (Regan's birthday), Ryan took Regan to CU in Waterloo. After dinner Ryan asked Regan if she would enter into a more serious relationship with him. Regan (and the waitress) thought he was proposing (since Regan already thought they were courting)! After clearing things up and having a good laugh, they had officially entered into a courtship with the intention of marrying some day.

Taken by Beth Paulsen. Check out her blog, Playin' With The Paulsens, here to see more of her photographs!

Proposal

On November 3rd, Ryan started looking online and researching rings. After looking through hundreds of designs, one stuck out and Ryan knew that it was the right ring. Ryan ordered it right away.  Ryan now needed the perfect way to propose and to make sure that it was a surprise. Ryan was trying to decide what day to propose on and joked to himself about making it the 17th because that is his favorite number. Ryan had the idea to look up when the next meteor shower, since the two had talked about wanting to watch one. A quick Google search revealed that the next meteor shower would be on the 17th of November!  Ryan obtained Regan's parents blessings and made sure that they were comfortable with him asking her and with the timing.

To throw Regan off the trail, since she knew that the day was coming soon, Ryan began on Wednesday buying her gifts and filming himself and her talking about their plans and thoughts. On Wednesday, Ryan bought Regan two board games. On Thursday, Regan went to Ryan’s home to eat lunch and play a game. Ryan gave Regan a dozen roses (He told her later that he had the ring behind the couch in case he couldn't wait for the next night to ask her).

Taken by Beth Paulsen. Check out her blog, Playin' With The Paulsens, here to see more of her photographs!

On Friday, Regan and Ryan had planned to see a meteor shower. Ryan picked Regan up at 11PM and there were three wrapped packages on the seat. Ryan told Regan that she could open them when they got to "The Land" (his parents have some land just outside of town). At "The Land" Ryan and Regan settled down to watch the meteor shower. The two watched the starsm talked together, enjoyed the peace and serenity, danced in the moonlight (until becoming too cold!) and opened gifts. The first gift was a food container (since she had been teasing Ryan for days about losing her’s). The second package contained the movies, It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas since Regan had told him she watched every year with her family on Christmas. The third package was a pair of diamond earrings which Ryan thoughtfully informed Regan was not a ring as she unwrapped it. At this point, Regan was sure she would not be getting engaged this night. Ryan then asked Regan to give some suggestions on film about the ring, about what kind of cut the diamond should be and what kind of band it should have... Regan wasn't sure what she liked so she didn't really have answers (which was good since he already had the ring). Ryan then asked Regan to stand up which she didn't think was suspicious at all for some reason, maybe she was too cold to think straight :) or maybe since he had already done that a bunch of times already, such as when he asked her to dance). Ryan got down on one knee and said, "Regan, will you do me the honor of marrying me?" Regan said, "Yes.”

Regan talking with her dad before walking down the aisle. Photo by Jacki Koch

The Wedding

One night, Ryan and Regan were talking and Ryan said he wanted to have a hypothetical conversation. Regan indulged him. Ryan said that they could be married by the weekend and then proceeded to step Regan through each hurdle that needed to be jumped prior to marriage, such as obtaining a marriage lisence, a minister, as well as a location.  Regan asked Ryan if he was serious and Ryan said that he would do it if he had any inclining that Regan would consider it. Regan said, "Let's do it". Regan and Ryan contacted their parents to ask for approval. Regan and Ryan decided to get married in Illinois so that Regan's father could attend.        

                                 

Bride and Groom with most of their family Photo by Jacki Koch

The next evening, Regan and Ryan were headed to Illinois for their marriage license. Ryan's father was able to obtain a minister's license. Regan's uncle offered to pay for the wedding at a Biaggi's restaurant. Regan and Ryan called their guests. After obtaining the marriage license, Regan and Ryan drove back to Iowa so that Regan could work her shifts. Regan worked an overnight shift from Saturday to Sunday and at 7AM on Sunday, Regan and Ryan left for Illinois with Ryan's parents.

Regan and Ryan said, "I do" at 6pm that evening.

Ryan and Regan after the wedding, posing for pictures. Photo by Bre Rottinghaus

 Our engagement photos were taken by our friend, Beth Paulsen. Check out her blog, Playin' With The Paulsens, here to see more of her photographs! Our wedding photos were taken by guests at our wedding, Bre Rottinghaus and Jacki Koch.

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Ryan told me that he wanted a pumpkin pie for his birthday, so I set to work to make a gluten free pumpkin pie sweetened with stevia. My first attempt had way too much stevia in it but my second attempt was just like...pumpkin pie. :) Ryan and I decided to make mini pumpkin pies so that we could share them easier. We had friends over for dinner tonight and this is what we served them for dessert. They went back for seconds! Give this a try. :)

Makes one 9-in pie or 24 mini pies

Crust

150 g Almonds ground

100 g cashew

2 tbs honey

3 tbs butter

1. Place nuts in a blender and finely grind.

2. Melt butter

3. Stir ground nuts, butter, and honey until evenly distributed.

4. Press mixture into bottom of muffin tins (or one 9-in pie dish)

Bake crust 7 minutes.

Pie Filling

1/4 teaspoon Stevia*

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Pumpkin pie spice (powdered cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice)

1 teaspoon Vanilla

2 Large Eggs                                               

1 can (15 oz) Pureed Pumpkin**

1 cup Whipping Cream

1. Mix stevia, cinnamon, salt, pumpkin pie mix in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin, vanilla, and stevia-spice mixture into beaten eggs. Gradually stir in cream.

2. Pour into pie shells.

3. Bake at 300° F; bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Mine did not set all of the way before the crust began to brown too much so I removed it and let it cool. The pie thickened for me while cooling.

* (Make sure you have real stevia or your pie will not be sweet enough. We buy our stevia from the bulk section of HyVee because the precontainered stevia that we had found has added fillers (vegetable inulin, dextrose...ect) so then more of your "stevia" will be needed to make the pie sweet enough.)

**(Make sure you buy pureed pumpkin and not pureed pumpkin pie mix-the pumpkin pie mixture has sugar already added.)