Flashback Friday

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Another week in the books. Nothing too exciting to report on this end. Perhaps this picture can help give you an idea of how I’ve been spending my days:

Pillows, blankets, dogs, nutella, water, tv and some fitness equipment. (Disregard the background- we are pairing that room this weekend and refinishing the fireplace. Finally. And by *we* I mean Tyler because it takes me 45 minutes to stand up from this couch.) So boring, But totally needed since I can’t really do anything anyways! I did try to run a couple of baby-related errands yesterday and 3 stops earned me a 2 hour nap and lethargic afternoon/evening. And my appetite is now gone. Which sucks because I kind of like food.

I did manage to pick up a smaller rug to place under the rocker so that it wouldn’t rock into the wall every time I stood up. I think I need to add a dog bed to the room as well because Layla is doing a good job of hanging out in there too.

I’ve gotten incredibly clumsy over the last few weeks and dropped a figurine when I tried to put the rug down and it broke into a billion pieces. You might be able to see some of the pieces under the crib still because I’m lazy and didn’t want to reach for them yet.

Yesterday, my mom sent me some pics of when *I* was a baby, so I really wanted to share those. Can you tell I’m really getting into this whole baby thing? Holy crap it’s exhilarating and exhausting. PS: Why is Home Depot the only place with expectant mother parking? Sorry, but if I need something from Home Depot, I’m sending Tyler. Give me preferential parking at the grocery store! And the drug store! And the froyo shop!

Ok, back to some old pictures. Sorry if this is boring, but I find them completely hilarious either because of my whackadoodle chub or because of the glorious 80’s-ness (new word?) of my outfits.

Glorious. Just glorious.

These photos are rare because they capture some of the few moments where I was actually smaller than my mother. Case in point:

See? She’s tiny. (Mom, don’t call me after you read this and yell at me. You’re cute in the pic so that’s all that matters)

^^This is what I’ll look like if I keep it up with my current nutella consumption.^^

Striking a pose. Remember when I tried to recreate one of my poses? Here’s a refresher:

Cute/Not cute?

Hope you have a great weekend! I know we will- Tyler and I are going to learn about breastfeeding! Cue the excitement!!

Humpday Bumpday

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

More baby stuff to share! This week, I thought I’d give a little scoop on the online service, Babylist, that I used to register for some baby items we needed.

The features that make BabyList unique are:

1. Add anything from any online store to your baby registry. This means everything from big boxes to little mom ‘n’ pop Etsy shops

2. You can even add gifts that you can’t find in stores. BabyList makes it easy to include requests for help and favors in your registry, like a home-cooked meal or babysitting.

3. Save gift-givers money — Prices can fluctuate a lot between the time you add items and when someone buys it. BabyList will show links to multiple stores that have the same item, so you gift-giver won’t end up paying too much.

4. Access a registry on the go with iPhone, iPad app, or Android app. (And check out those reviews. That’s a lot of love from real users, which means that’s an app that actually works!)

5. Registry Rewards at multiple stores.

6. You can talk to a real person — send an email (or call) and BabyList will respond.

7. Free registry insert cards. BabyList makes it easy to drop a registry insert card in with your shower invitation, which makes it easy for your friends and family to find your registry.

Pretty cool, right? I was able to get ours up and running within a couple of minutes and have since added the app to my phone so I can edit the list whenever the mood strikes.

I think the best feature of this site is that it allows you to add items from ANYWHERE online. LOVE. I didn’t want to be confined to just BabiesRUs (no offense if that’s the route you took) because other stores out there offer certain products that caught my eye.

Another great feature is that it allows me to add products from .ca sites and my US friends/family can still order them and get them delivered to me with no extra hassle! PLUS- we aren’t having a shower (total downfall of living so far away from practically all friends/family) so I was able to share the link on Facebook!

So, if you find yourself pregnant and in need of a registry service, check out Babylist! (Also, if you want to buy me the baby things from my registry list, email me and I’ll send you the link..because um, yeah 😉 )

FYI: This isn’t a sponsored post! I am just really impressed with Babylist and wanted to share it!

Have you heard of Babylist? Did you register?

Cucumber Fruit Smoothie

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Sounds kinda gross, right? But when you really want to sneak in some extra veggies (especially after a carb-filled weekend) what better way than in a smoothie?

Ah if only the background of the above picture alluded to the chance of alcohol being included. Amiright?

PS: that background is actually one of a set of napkins my godmother made for me a while back. I LOVE them. I need to have a cocktail party some time so I can bring them out again.

Ok, back to the smoothie. I didn’t really measure out the ingredients, but I wanted to keep it on the smaller side so I could also enjoy a slice of banana bread. Because of that, the frozen fruit I used didn’t so much make it your typical smoothie consistency, but more of a juice. Still, totally ok with that because it’s healthy and that’s what I need on a Monday morning. Don’t remind me that I accompanied my glass with the totally not healthy banana bread. Whatever, BALANCE.

Cucumber Fruit Smoothie

Cucumber (I used about 1/3 of a super long english cuke)
Frozen pineapple chunks (small handful)
Frozen blueberries (small handful)
Plain greek yogurt (2 spoonfuls)
OJ (enough to cover about half the goodies in the blender)

Pretty basic, right? Note: If you’re not a huge cucumber fan, I probably wouldn’t recommend this as the cucumber taste is still pretty evident. Here’s the part where I’d normally tell you that this drink would be a great way to kick start the new work week. But, since I’m not going to work, I can attest that this smoothie did help me power through 3 episodes of Scandal. So that’s something.

I fully anticipate repeating this smoothie throughout the summer when it’s hot/if I potentially need to lose baby weight (just won’t have it with the banana bread!) Plus, it’s a pretty neat change up from the typical addition of spinach or kale as the hidden veggie..especially when you don’t have either of those in your fridge.

What’s your favorite way to sneak veggies? Have a fave smoothie recipe?

Weekend Recap

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Friday- all I really did was take naps. Since I could barely move, I figured that sounded like a pretty good itinerary. I mean, I’ve earned it?

Damn right I worked hard. I pride myself on being super fast and efficient in my tasks and feel slightly bummed that I had to abruptly hand over my duties to my not-yet-ready replacement. Can’t worry about that now!!

Saturday- I got up at the crack of dawn and baked banana bread (using this recipe). Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out as well as my last loaf, but it’s nothing that a good slather of pb/nutella/butter can’t fix!

Tyler and I then had our second childbirth class at the hospital. There’s a ton of good info, but I HATE hospitals, so I just get a bit of anxiety thinking about being hooked up to a bunch of crap and well…just being in the hospital in general. I’m hoping that everything is smooth sailing so we can get in and out of there as quickly as possible.

Best part of the class: the instructor is HILARIOUS. She’s a retired OB from Argentina who is not afraid to make the men in class feel as awkward as possible. And I love it.

We finished off the day with a great steak dinner at home and watched Exodus in 3D with our snazzy glasses. It was trippy being able to watch a 3D movie at home on such a large screen. The movie was good but not too thrilling since my Catholic education pretty much gave away the ending. (that’s supposed to be funny.)

Sunday: I met my friend Susie for brunch at Nellie’s in Kensington (decided to get out of the house for a bit before the pain really kicked in for the day). All I really wanted was the bacon. But I managed to eat the eggs and fruit too. Hashtag healthy.

And I sold my very first thing on Kijiji! What a sad accomplishment. But in all honesty, I never really had anything worth selling since I moved to Calgary with none of my things except for a potion of my clothes. But, I managed to sell my monthly transit pass pretty quickly (hey, it’s $99/mo and I only used it for a couple days!)

The rest of the day was filled with laundry and laying around the house…while Tyler did a ton of household chores AND installed the car seat!

Here’s to hoping the coming week is slightly more exciting (doubtful!)

How was your weekend? Best thing you did?

Nutella Milkshake

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Drooling yet? You will be soon.

I give you….the NUTELLA MILKSHAKE

Holy cow, this is heaven in a glass. Such a great combo of flavors! I can’t wait to maybe add some Bailey’s to this in the summer time and just sit on the patio and chilllllll.

Note: I am not one to measure out ingredients when I make milkshakes/smoothies, so sorry in advance if you’re one of those people who love to follow exact measurements!

Nutella Milkshake (adapted from How Sweet It is)

nutella
oats
cashew milk
ice
vanilla
cinnamon
plain greek yogurt

It really does taste like a blended oatmeal cookie- just with the added bonus of nutella. I’ve already downed about half this glass and I’ll tell you what- the baby LOVES it. He is dancing like a maniac! I’d join him, but I’m a bit sore and enjoying a relaxing afternoon on the couch with my heating pad and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Thankyouverymuch.