Twenty Seven

First, can I just say that it's laughable that I thought I had a belly here. 

Second, my first Mother's Day was pretty great. Conrad got me this body pillow. At first, I kind of hated it and wished he had gotten me some new canvas and a bluetooth device. But then, THEN, a couple days later, I took a nap with it and slept for a good 50% of a 24 hour period. I had the most glorious pillow lines on my chest and face, and it took them an hour and a half to go away. That's how you know you slept well. 

My mom got me some pregnancy and labor goodies. She said she "wanted to get something that was more for mommy than baby." A cocoa butter stick for my belly (which is mysteriously void of stretchmarks; my tots, on the other hand...), a bottle of massage oil that smells like a spa (meant for massaging my body while I'm pregnant), and a delicious candle that makes me wonder if I have pica (I promise I don't). I don't think the candle will make it with us to the hospital. I've already burned through a third of it. 

My parents took us to the Pasadena Showcase which is one of my favorite, favorite things. Looking through artfully decorated homes might be my number one thing to do, ever. The only downside was that it was LA's surprise heatwave weekend meant to kill pregnant women. 95 degrees outside, 100 degrees inside. Yes, friends, they did not condition that air. Many contractions were had. 

As for pregnancy milestones, we're one week away from third trimester! The boy-child is getting bigger and stronger, as are his kicks. 

May Group Giveaway

Blog Design from Confessions of a Busy Busy Bee

2 months of Diamond Ad Space from Domestic Mamma

2 months Large Stitches Ad Space from Chevron Stitches

2 Art prints from A Cat-Like Curiosity

These ladies were SO generous with their donations this month! Click on the links above to see these amazing women and the prizes they are offering. One lucky winner will take all offered prizes.

Just complete the RC form below to earn your entries!

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DIY Paper Pendant

I made this pendant wreath a while ago when I had an abundance of energy and inspiration (you know, before I got pregnant). But really, it is the easiest craft you could do. It looks totally bookshop-y and country. 

HOW TO:

Cut a piece of cardboard about 4 inches in diameter. This will be the backing to the pendant. Set aside. 

Take an old book. One with yellowed pages would be good, but you may want to go with a more stark look, depending on the room. Carefully tear or cut the pages out of the book as close to the binding as possible. Roll each individual page into a very gradual cone, and secure with a piece of tape. 

Assemble the pages to form a circle, and use hot glue to secure to the cardboard backing. Make sure the taped sides of the rolls are in the back. If there is a small gap in the middle of the circle when it's complete, that's fine. You'll cover it up.

For the center piece, I just used some crumpled brown paper cut into circles with scalloped scissors. I layered 4 or 5 pieces on top of each other to give it a more flowered look. You could also use a circular printout if you have one you've been wanting to use, or some scrapbook paper. 

To hang on a wall, hot glue some twine or ribbon to the backing. 

If you end up making one, take a picture and send it to me! I'd love to see how you styled it in your home, or what different materials you used!

A nursery for a little prince (because seriously, we'd have to be royalty to afford it)

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Oh, baby boy stuff. That co-sleeper up there was designed by some Italian designers for a contest, and it isn't actually a product you can buy, but man, do I wish it was. It's the most sensible design for a co-sleeper I've ever seen. Why are there no others like it?! 

The Restoration Hardware crib and dresser are totally beautiful and absolutely too expensive for me. I'm thinking I'll either go with a white crib or a driftwood crib like the one above. And don't get me started on how senseless changing tables are. I'll take a full-size dresser and a $20 changing pad, thankyouverymuch. 

As for decor, I was thinking I'd stick with a nautical theme and go with whales (which I still love), but maybe I'll go less "theme-y" and more "do whatever I want because my baby won't care anyway." So I threw a hot-air balloon mobile into the mix, and I'm super in love with the grey and yellow one above. 

And more whale art. 

Phrases pregnant women hate

"You look like you're about to pop!"
I had one person tell me this, and I was 20 weeks along. Granted, he was 21 and had probably never been around a pregnant woman, so he totally couldn't have guessed how far along I was. Mostly it was just funny. I actually like when people acknowledge I'm growing, but I might be weird.

"You look so much bigger/smaller than ___ weeks!" 
I'm never offended when people tell me I look smaller, but some people are. I'm honestly not even offended when people tell me I'm carrying large. A woman at church asked me "Are you sure you're not having twins?" and it didn't even phase me. It's probably all the hormones. They're like sedatives or something. I'm comfortable with my size, but it certainly wouldn't feel good to have someone say outright "You're gaining a lot of weight," or suggesting that you're underweight and therefore malnourishing your baby. Gee, thanks.

"Should you be eating that?"
This one gets my goat, along with any other comments about my behavior that would suggest I'm using bad judgement. Yes, I'm drinking soda. With caffeine in it. Yes, I eat red meat several times a week. Yes, I even ate sushi - real sushi, not the cooked excuse for sushi - when I was first pregnant because it was the only thing I kept down.

"You look tired/uncomfortable."
Well, you look like a fat person with too-skinny legs. Oh wait, that's also me. Just don't comment on a pregnant woman's appearance. Her ego is fragile.

When people ask the gender but then still call the baby an "it" rather than a he or she.
Why would you ask if it's a girl or boy if you aren't going to refer to it by it's gender-specific pronoun?

When people ask awkward questions like "Are you excited?" or "Is the dad excited?" 
Of course I'm excited. And why would the dad be extra-excited? Because it's a boy? Here's how to respond. Make the asker feel as awkward as these stupid questions. Say "Oh, not really. We were trying not to get pregnant but it happened anyway." Or "There's no father. I got pregnant in a one-night-stand." They'll never ask you a stupid question again. Mission accomplished.

"Can I touch your belly?" Or worse, touching without asking.
Only a few people have touched my belly, and they all asked first. It doesn't really bother me. I understand that they just want to "give their good energy" to the baby or feel him move. If I'm feeling like I don't want to be touched, I'll simply say, "Oh, he's asleep right now, but if he wakes up and starts moving, I'll tell you so you can feel!" No one ever pushes too hard. I think most people understand boundaries. It's usually older women who touch without asking.

When people ask what names we're thinking of, I tell them, and they proceed to call the baby by one of those names - or worse, a nickname. 
It's not his name now. It might be his name when he gets here. Please don't lock me into a certain name when I may want to reserve the right to change it. This one, weirdly, is probably the most irritating one to me. I've simply just started lying and telling people who ask that we don't have any names in mind yet. We do.

And other questions asking about what I plan to do, like "Are you going to breastfeed?" "Are you going to get an epidural?" etc. They make me feel like no matter how I answer, I'm about to be judged. What I find most irritating are the questions I have to answer a thousand times, like "How are you feeling?" "When are you due?" "Boy or girl?" "Do you have any names picked out?" I just get tired of saying the same rehearsed answer over and over again.

What's the most obnoxious thing anyone has said to you while you were pregnant? This could get fun.

2 Ingredient Pineapple Bars

Here's a Pinterest recipe for y'all. It intrigued me because it only called for two ingredients and both were items that I had in my pantry.

It's seriously absurdly easy. If you're out of eggs, no problem. If you're out of absolutely everything except a box of angel food cake mix and a can of crushed pineapple, no problem. 

In a bowl, combine 1 box of angel food cake mix and one can of crushed pineapple, juice and all. It should be kind of foamy. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 F. 

What results is a dense, moist cake that I decided to label as "bars" since it was significantly denser than a regular cake. I bought a generic cake mix which was kind of different than if a Betty Crocker mix. Instead of one bag of cake mix, there were two separate bags in the box - one labeled "flour mix" and one labeled "egg white mix." I was kind of confused, so I just dumped both mixes into a bowl and combined with the crushed pineapple. 

Maybe a name brand cake mix would have turned out differently. Maybe less dense? Have any of you tried this recipe with a name brand cake mix and gotten a different result? I'd be curious to hear! 

I made an easy cream cheese frosting that turned out lumpy, served it with fresh berries and called it a day. 

So, about those teenage years...

Check out my awesome MS Paint skills..

To my awesome mother who dealt with more drama from me than from all my other siblings combined. To my mother-in-law who did the same for my husband. 

To all the women out there who have ever had a baby. I never knew what it took until now, and I haven't even had the thing yet.

And to all the women who have ever been nice to, helped, smiled at, protected, or otherwise positively affected a child, whether you have children of your own or not. 

Happy Mother's Day to all, and may there be an abundance of chocolate, and may you enjoy hours of having your feet elevated, and maybe even massaged. 

Twenty-Six

- My cravings are leaning toward the unhealthy. I've craved meat the whole pregnancy, but it's starting to get out of hand. I ate at In-N-Out four times (for you out-of-staters, it's the West Coast's favorite burger), plus I had a steak at some point. Any time I want meat, I allow myself to have it because I'd rather gain weight from red meat than have crazy constipation from an iron supplement.

- Also, this happened.^^^  If this ever happens again, I want you to slap me in my pregnant face and remind me that there is no excuse - NO EXCUSE - for this behavior. Pregnancy does not justify it. (Also, follow me on instagram for more of my awesome food updates)

- I had a doctor's appointment this week, and we discussed my gestational diabetes test results (which were totally normal, despite the whole me-and-a-can-of-whipped-cream thing). My doctor even commended me on the seventeen pounds I've gained. "You had a slow start. You lost weight in the first trimester, so you needed to catch up." And then, at some point while we listened to the baby's heartbeat, I mentioned how much extra hair there is on my stomach, and she insisted that I wasn't hairy at all. I think I love this woman.

- The baby kicked SO hard while I was in the bath the other day that the bath water actually splashed from the jolt. Like, water sloshed around and my belly was the epicenter.

- Conrad is just the dreamiest. He was laying on my belly's upper half, looking downward at the lower half watching and feeling the baby kick him smack in the face, and he started singing "Sea of Love," one of our current favorite lullabies. Conrad does this thing when he can't remember the words to a song where he just makes up whatever words he wants. Usually, what results is an absurd string of words that make no sense next to each other. But this time, he made up the sweetest little rhyme:

Actual words:
Come with me, my love
To the sea, the sea of love
I wanna tell you 
How much I love you

Words that Conrad made up:
Baby boy, do you recall
The day we started it all
I wanna tell you 
How much I love you

I promptly started crying, as pregnant women do. I just imagined him singing those words to our son years down the line, referring back to the first time they laid eyes on each other, and the tears came a-flowin'.

Have I mentioned I'm really enjoying pregnancy?

How Grand (as in, a thousand) (also as in, how great)

Welp, we're well on our way to reaching 1000 followers on GFC! When I combine all my social media platforms, and even account for some overlap, The Framed Lady reaches significantly more than 1000 people, but you know how us bloggers can be with milestones.

So I've decided to plan a giveaway. Once I get to 1000 followers on GFC, I want to put together a big giveaway with a big prize (maybe a cash prize, maybe an assortment of giftcards?), and I want to invite EVERYONE to participate!

Here's the info:

Options for donating:

$3 - 1 social media link (either Facebook or Twitter)

$6 - 2 social media links (either Facebook or Twitter for the first link, and one additional link)

$9 - 3 social media links (either Facebook or Twitter for the first link, and two additional links)

$12 - Co-host position (1 mandatory social media link and two additional links, at least one link must be Facebook or Twitter)

Giveaway will start within one week of reaching 1000 GFC followers. I'll keep you updated as it gets closer. 

Plus, if you sign up and share the announcement post (fill out the form to get the code), you can win an option upgrade if you refer the most people! Help me get to 1000 followers and let's all gain some new followers!

If you could be a doll and fill out this donation form, that sure would be awesome! 

Nesting

It's been 65+ degrees in our neck of the woods despite all the rain. Conrad spent one of the rainy days with me checking items off our to-do list. Normal to-do lists consist of doing the dishes, running errands, or sweep the porch. It was an unconventional list: clean the ash out of the fireplace, clean the barbeque, dust the baseboards, clean the walls (yes, walls) in the master bathroom. Ah, nesting. And ah, Conrad, for humoring me and helping me reach up high and bend down low (or doing it for me, rather, since my body's range of movement is becoming more and more limited).

I still have a few things on my list as far as nesting goes, and the list gets longer as we get closer to Boy's arrival. I'm toying with the idea of painting all of our walls, I need to designate a "baby area" in our house, and I get weird artistic urges to paint, which result in entire days spend behind a canvas, and when I finally emerge, there's paint in my hair and a smile on my face. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go construct built-in shelves and buy a new king bed. And probably start a farm, or something.

Why we waited to get pregnant

As you've probably gathered from reading my posts for the last few months, we're THRILLED to be welcoming our little boy. Ecstatic. I chalk our happiness up to good timing and blessings. Of course, we would have loved our baby if he had come earlier, but life would have been very different for us. We got to have some wonderful time for learning and creating a strong marital foundation for our future family in the four years we had before babies came along.

Mine, His

We both got to graduate college. We've placed a very high value on education, and always felt that we would be more prepared to provide for our family if we had completed our schooling. Having kids before you graduate can certainly be done, but it also makes it significantly harder.

One of our first nights in our first apartment.

We got to move several times. I love that we've lived in a few different homes together. We got to start over and make a new home each time we moved, and it brought us closer as a couple.

Conrad and me in front of the building he used to work in. Downtown San Diego.

Conrad underwent a job switch and is now settling in at a very stable, opportunistic position. Right by the beach. With a very short commute. This job switch was a huge deal for us. Conrad's work-related happiness was really kind of low at his old job because the commute was all the way in downtown San Diego (an hour-long train ride each way), and by the time he got home, he had hardly any waking time to do anything he liked. Now, with his new job, he gets to travel for work, spend time outside, and is only 10 minutes from home. He has time to surf after work because it's not totally dark when he gets home, and he's had a lot of time to work on side projects. Making the switch with a baby would not have been hard, but we're in such a happy place now. We're much more ready to welcome a baby.

We got to buy a home. We bought our condo after only 2 years of marriage, and will probably have it for the rest of our lives. It's an awesome investment for later in life. We'll rent it out when we want to buy a bigger place for our growing family. We're happy we were able to save up and "get ahead" with our home purchase!

We fell WAY deeper in love. There was so much we didn't know about each other and about ourselves when we were first married. We were so much less mature and prepared compared to now. I throw way fewer tantrums. Conrad does way fewer things to result in my throwing tantrums. We've grown. :)

Did you wait to have kids? Why or why not? Why are you glad that you waited or didn't wait?

Mango Tandoori Chicken Pizza

This pizza. THIS PIZZA. Conrad and I used to go to California Pizza Kitchen and get this pizza there, but then they got crazy and changed their menu drastically. This pizza was cut from the selection. So I went two years missing it, never thinking to myself, "why don't you just make it at home?"

Last week, I finally had that thought. I included it in our meal plan, picked up all the ingredients, and had it hot and ready right when Conrad walked in the door. This pizza is so good. We ate the whole thing. Looking back, we could have just saved the leftovers and enjoyed it again later, but it was so good that we couldn't stop eating it. The Mango Curry Grilling Sauce is the star. It's sweet and spicy and smoky, and it gives your pizza this cool, summery look because of it's color. 

I've made my own pizza dough before (this is my favorite recipe), and while it is cheaper (and more homemaker-y) to make your own dough, it adds at least an extra hour to prep time (20 minutes to mix and knead, 1 hr + to rise). I weighed my options and went for the pre-made dough, and it turned out delish. 

Recipe

You need:  

Pizza dough (I used Pillsbury's for the sake of convenience) 

Archer Farms Mango Curry Grilling Sauce (they sell it at Target and I put it on everything)

Mozzarella cheese

1/2 diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 cup chopped cooked chicken (I had some in my fridge from leftovers, but you could even use canned)

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped 

1 cup frozen mango chunks (I sliced them in half because the chunks were pretty big)

Directions:

Spread the dough out on a cookie sheet to desired thickness. Pour about 1/3 cup of the Mango Grilling Sauce onto the dough and brush around evenly. Sprinkle on desired amount of mozzarella. Add the diced onion, peppers, mango, chicken, and cilantro. 

Cooking will be based on your dough's directions. Cook as directed until dough is cooked through and cheese is melted. (Sidenote, if you're using the Pillbury's, it says to precook the dough. I did not do this. I cooked for 20-25 minutes instead, and it turned out perfect)

Add more cilantro as desired, and you could even drizzle on a sweet chili sauce like Maggi's, but it honestly doesn't even need it.

Enjoy!

Twenty Five

- I took my glucose test this week! You can read about it here. And my results are within the normal range according to my medical records. We'll see if my doctor has anything to say about it on Monday.

- This "tan-faster-when-you're-pregnant" thing is no joke. See below. Also, observe my new swimsuit. Watermelon colors! You know, to house the watermelon as it grows. 

- Conrad pointed out how clear my skin was this week, and it made me realize I haven't had a zit, or even a blackhead, in a few months. I broke out a little bit at the very beginning, but mostly on parts of my body other than my face. I'll probably break out again after I have the baby, due to more massive hormone fluctuation.

- We were talking about lullabies we want to sing to our baby, and we realized we have kind of unconventional taste. Several Celtic songs were on the list, as well as David Bowie, Nat King Cole (Nature Boy), Cat Stevens (Morning Has Broken), The Honeydrippers (Sea of Love), and Billy Joel (Goodnight My Angel). 

- Conrad has been kind of impatient so far about waiting to feel the baby kick. He thought he could just set his hand on my belly and the baby would kick him immediately, not realizing that the baby may not feel like kicking at that precise moment and he might have to wait. If he had his hand there for more than a minute without feeling anything, he'd become bored and distracted, and would usually just stop trying. Last night, he had a bout of patience and decided to lay his head on my belly and just lay there and let our boy kick him in the face over and over. It was pretty precious. He gasped at every kick.

There's some major pre-baby bonding going on over here, guys. Major. 

Answers to Questions

Last week I opened up to reader questions. Here are the answers to some of your questions!

How many kids do you want?
I go back and forth on this one. I used to want a lot, but then when I had super terrible morning sickness, I swore to the heavens that this baby would be an only child and I was never going to go through that again. But now morning sickness is gone, and I'm back up to "several." I kind of love the idea of having a houseful of happy children. Maybe three? Maybe four? Maybe even more! We'll stop when we feel like we can't handle it anymore, or when we feel like Heavenly Father has sent all the little angels that were meant to be in our family. 

Were you trying to get pregnant?
Yes. First official try and we had a baby on the way. I was expecting to have at least a little bit of trouble getting pregnant (meaning it might take a few months), so I started documenting my pregnancy journey. But then, BLAMO, we were blessed enough to get pregnant so quickly, and I felt kind of silly for expecting issues. 

What is your faith?
I'm a Mormon. There is so much I could say in answering this question. Here is a list of thirteen basic statements which very briefly explain Mormon beliefs. Personally, I find happiness here. I believe that families can be together forever through this gospel, which is something that I definitely want for myself and all my loved ones. I also believe in the awesome power of Christ's atonement, through which we can be forgiven and return to live with Heavenly Father. If you have further questions, you can email me at tesiahwilk@yahoo.com or inquire through the church directly by contacting missionaries in your area here. 

What advice do you have for other bloggers?
Um, sponsor me? Just kidding. I've written several posts on blogging, tips, and networking. Here's a list of some of the posts:
Easy Blogging 101
Like Weeds: Tips that helped me in growing my blog
Blog-turned-business
Why Facebook Pages Suck
Feature on The Feminine Crusade (top five pieces of advice about blogging)

I love answering questions about my blogging experience, or sharing tips. If you have any other questions about it, email me or leave a comment!

Do you read every comment posted on your blog, even days after you posted the post that your readers commented on?
Yes! I actually have my comments set up where I get emailed every time I get a comment, so even if you comment on a post that I wrote a long time ago, I see it and read it! Every comment you leave brings a little extra joy to my day (granted the comment is a nice one). So go ahead, comment more! I do my best to reply to comments where it would fuel a conversation. Sometimes I don't get around to replying to every single comment, but please know that I see them and love them!

Where did you get all of the outfits for the photo shoot you did (pictures in this post) and who did your styling?
For that photoshoot, I worked with the amazing David Talley. He provided all of the outfits, which I think were all thrifted. I did my own styling and makeup as directed by the artist. :) We wanted to do a creative shoot that was kind of dark, so I went with darker, more dramatic eye makeup (not like glam-heavy, more like dark-circles-and-spooky-expressions-heavy). I actually didn't do anything to style my hair, but the reason it looks different in some pictures is because of David's awesome editing skills!

It was really fun reading what you guys were curious about me. Have a question that wasn't answered? Leave it in a comment or send me an email at tesiahwilk@yahoo.com. I'd love to start a conversation with you! 

The Sea of Love

Late last night while Conrad was out, I turned on some music and started swaying in rhythm. I had read somewhere that a baby at my baby's stage (24 weeks gestation) can hear, and is even capable of understanding rhythm patterns. So we listened to Robert Plant's rendition of "Sea of Love" over and over. I danced and swayed in my empty house, holding my baby belly and singing along to the words, hoping there might be some way his little spirit might understand them. "Come with me my love to the sea, the sea of love. I wanna tell you how much I love you." He held on tight and didn't move as long as either the music was playing or my body was swaying, or both. If I stopped dancing, or if the music stopped, he would kick hard, as if asking for more. Or to tell me he hears how much I love him. Though I don't know how capable my baby is of higher thought at this point, I like to think we savored that little moment together.

Robert Plant's Sea of Love, in case you want to listen.