Cold Weather + Love = Wonderful Memories

Chad and I decided that we would do one final professional photo shoot this Christmas with our first baby girl Bella.  Most of you know about the photo shoot because I asked for advise on what to wear.  I was going to wear a sweater dress, tights, and boots, however it didn't work out.  It was a cold day, but lots of Love was in the air!  Here is a sneak peek...I can't wait to see all of them and decide on a Christmas card! 

Photos were taken by Lauren Ames.  She is amazing and is great to work with!  Thanks Lauren for creating wonderful memories for us and being so patient with our dog.  We love the photos!

Go check out her work on here!

Wouldn't You Love to WIN

UPDATE:  BooMama is also giving one away too!  How AWESOME!  Check it out here!

BooMama

A HP TOUCHSMART 600 PC

I know I would love this FUN computer in my house!  A few amazing Bloggers are giving one away.  If you are interested in winning this computer you should check out the following blogs and enter for a chance to win.  I have and I would love to WIN.  With a new baby coming soon I would love to have this computer in our office to help organize all things baby! 

What are you waiting for get started now:

Kelly @ Kelly's Korner - visit Kelly's Review to enter!

or

MckMama @ My Charming Kids - visit her blog to enter!

Best of Luck and I hope I WIN!

Week 16

Today I am 16 weeks and here is my 16 week picture of Baby Stafford.  He/She is the size of an avocado.  This picture was taken after church last night and unless I show you my belly I don't look pregnant. 

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along:  16 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I have gained 2 pounds since the start of my pregnancy

Maternity Clothes:  None

Sleep:  I am sleeping better...I still wake up twice a night to use the little girls room.  The only change is that I have had horrible dreams.  Not fun at all!

Best Moment this week:  Hearing Baby Stafford's Heartbeat

Gender:  Not Sure Yet...we will find out in January 2010

Movement:  None

Food Craving:  Breakfast I love cereal and currently I am loving Honey Nut Cheerios.  I love to have apples and crackers for a snack.  For lunch and dinner I still like bland food such as grilled cheese. 

What I miss:  Chocolate Milk and Chocolate

What I am looking forward to:  My appointment in January and Christmas with my family!

Weekly Wisdom:  I don't have any to share...sorry :)

Symptoms:  I still have a stuffy nose and I am still extremely tired all the time!

My doctor's appointment on Friday December 4th, 2009 was GREAT!  My hubby was out of town, but I had my friend Kim come with me and it was nice to have her there.  My doctor delivered her little girl Kelsey and she asked questions for me that I don't think of...so a BIG thanks Kim!  I gained 2 pounds and Baby Stafford's heartbeat was a strong 148.  We spent some time going over my medical records from the Tulsa Fertility Center and I ended up having blood work done.  I also found out that I am Rh-negative so I will need to take certain precautions during my pregnancy.  So at Week 28 I will have to get an injection of a drug called Rh immune.  Hopefully all will be fine after getting the shot.  Both my sisters had the shot as well when they were pregnant so I am not too concerned.  My next appointment is in January 2010. 

I now sit and wait until than and think is it a boy or a girl. 

A Stafford Christmas

Merry Christmas to All! I have been waiting to show all of you my Christmas Tree and today is finally the day At Show Us How You Live Christmas Tree Edition @ Kelly's Korner. So don't forget to stop by Kelly's blog and see all the beautiful trees! We only have ONE tree. I have a lot of friends around here that put several trees up and I think it is great and all the trees are so beautiful, however I don't think Chad will allow another tree to go up in our house. Maybe I will try for next year. I love our tree we have had the same color scheme for the past 4 years and it does not get old. Our tree is 9 feet and it is Red and Orange with TONS of sparkle! I just love the sparkle and I look forward to showing you the rest of our Christmas decorations next week. For now I hope you enjoy our tree as much as we do! I look forward to getting TONS of ideas from other's that link up to Kelly's blog. Have a great weekend everyone!

Great Girly Gift Ideas

One of my favorite boutiques in NWA is Perfect Choice. Some of my favorite items to shop for are Jewelry, Scarves, Tano Purses, Hobo Wallets, and Home Decor. If you live here I suggest you stop by and take a look at this store. You will fall in LOVE! I did some shopping there yesterday afternoon and if you follow me on Twitter (MelissaStories) I showed the items I purchased. They are amazing and I may wear one for our pictures this Saturday. I also need to share with you that the prices are very reasonable. So go shopping and have fun! One last comment is that they have AMAZING Christmas Trees!

Location of Perfect Choice:

1406 South Walton Blvd

Bentonville, AR 72712

(The store is located across the street from Panera and Starbucks)

If you are on Twitter you can follow Perfect Choice @ perfectchoice

If you are looking for a great place to get gift cards you can go to KNWA homepage and go to Santa Saver and you can purchase 2 $25.00 gift cards for $25.00 WOW what a DEAL!

1st Trimester Post

Since I really didn't do many weekly pregnancy posts with pictures during my first trimester I thought that I would do one post with a few pictures and highlights of my first trimester being pregnant. I am going to try to do a better job of doing weekly posts on how things are going during my pregnancy. I have read so many blogs that do such a great job capturing each week that I thought that I would give it a try. So let me begin with the highlights and at the end I will show a series of photos that we took over the course of my 1st Trimester.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 15 weeks and 2 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: last Monday (November 23rd, 2009) I went to the doctor and I had not gained any weight since my appointment on November 3rd, 2009. My next appointment is on Friday so we will see!

Maternity Clothes: No maternity clothes, I am still wearing my normal clothes and as I tell my friends unless I am naked or show you my belly you can't tell I am pregnant!

Sleep: Since I have been sick with a cold for the past two weeks my sleep has been okay, I wake up a lot coughing or going to the little girls room. I do love to sleep in until 8:30AM or 9AM.

Best Moment this week or during 1st Trimester: Best moment this week is I am starting to feel better, which is great! Once I get rid of my cough I think that I will feel great again! YEAH! Best moments during 1st Trimester are first hearing the babies heartbeat, second telling my family the news in October, third would be our coming out party in November where we shared the news with our friends, and fourth would be sharing the news on my blog and getting a wonderful response from all of you.

Gender: Not Sure Yet! But I am dying to know!

Movement: None Yet! But I can't wait :)
Food Cravings: During my 1st Trimester until today I crave cereal, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, toast, and crackers. I know very bland food, but for now that is what sounds great!

What I miss: My daily glass of chocolate milk

What I am looking forward to: My doctor's appointment on Friday!

Weekly Wisdom: Resting and Taking It Easy is OKAY!

Symptoms: During my 1st Trimester I was sick almost every week. It was either in the AM or the PM depending on the day! I had several days of headaches and during week 13 and week 14 I was sick with a cold and a sinus infection. I am starting to feel better this week and hoping that Week 16 will be a GREAT WEEK!

The last photo I was holding my dress so you could see the tiny baby bump!

I will be back next Monday with a Week 16 Update!

NEW DINNER IDEA

So for the past 15 weeks that I have been pregnant I have not enjoyed cooking or eating any other food but cereal, toast, grilled cheese, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The more bland the food the better. I really have not cooked at all so Chad has been left either joining me in the bland foods or he stops and gets take out. Not tonight I actually cooked. Chad was missing home cooked meals so I told him I would cook for him tonight before he leaves for a business trip tomorrow. I made his favorite meal, Spicy Peanut Penne. If you like peanut butter and pasta you will love this meal! It doesn't take long to make you just have to have patients when making the sauce. So if you are looking for new recipes to try with your family give this one a try! I know that I am always looking for new recipes!
(So if you want to share any new recipes with me that would be great too)

Enjoy and let me know if you give it a try! Have a great night!

Spicy Peanut Penne Recipe

Ingredients you will need:

1 box of Penne Pasta

1 pound of boneless chicken

2 tablespoons of Cornstarch

2 tablespoons of Milk and you may need a bit more to help thin out the sauce

3 tablespoons of Peanut Butter

1 tablespoon of Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon of Honey

Dash or a Splash of Lime Juice

Garlic Powder for flavoring

Cayenne Powder for flavoring

Preparing:

1. Cook and Drain Pasta

2. Cook Chicken and set aside

3. In one bowl add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and add the 2 tablespoons of milk just before you add it to the pan!

3. In another bowl add the following peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, lime juice, garlic powder, and cayenne powder. Stir and set aside

4. Once the chicken is fully cooked remove from the pan and lower your heat to low. Add cornstarch milk mixture to the pan and continue to stir as it will stick if you don't. Add the peanut butter mixture from step 3 to the pan and continue to blend together until it is a sauce texture. If you need it to thin up the sauce add milk and once it is warm add the chicken.

5. Add pasta to sauce and serve!

Enjoy!!!