Food, Fun and a Bump-date

What a fabulous weekend I had!  I hope you guys had at least half as much fun as I did because that would mean you all had fabulous weekends as well!  Friday night I left work and got a manicure.  This is a special treat because I am a nail biter (I know, I know - I hate it, too), but I've gone about 3 weeks now without biting/ripping them off so, hopefully, I'm now a recovering nail biter.    Then I went home and made these cookies (and didn't take any pictures of the process - sorry) as part of my hostess gifts for my shower on Saturday morning.  For my first time ever making them, they turned out really well and I would definitely make them again.  However, I still don't think they're as good as this girl's.

Saturday morning, I had my first baby shower for Abby and it was a huge success (FYI, I plan to do an entire post on it a little later in the week).  I had such a good time, everything was amazing, and Abby was blessed with so much wonderful stuff!  I think we're almost set with the things we need to bring her home!  After the shower we watched that terrible excuse for a UT/UGA football game and then headed home where I proceeded to put everything we had received that morning away - I was very proud of myself for being so productive because let me just say that I was WORN OUT by the end of the shower. 

Here's a teaser picture of all the fun stuff she got.

Sunday, I made chicken enchilada soup (recipe - but, again, no pictures - below...and, as usual, I can't take credit for this recipe.  I got it from an old co-worker), started on my thank-you notes, and then the husband and I got ready and went and took our maternity pictures.  I already did a post on this last night with the sneak peak, but let me just say again how much fun we had!  I seriously cannot wait to see the rest of them!  FYI, Susan is currently in the process of building her portfolio (= she still has great prices and will through the end of the year) so if you are in the Nashville area and are in need of professional pictures, give her a call (I was not asked to write this - we just really liked her and she did an amazing job). 

Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound chicken breasts
½ cup diced onions
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina (a type of Mexican flour - look in the ethnic food section)
3 cups water, divided
1 cup enchilada sauce
1 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
sour cream
tortilla strips

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Brown chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Shred and set aside.
2. To the pot add onions and garlic, sauté for 2 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Pour in chicken broth.
3. In medium bowl combine masa harina with 2 cups of water and whisk until well blended.
4. To the onions and garlic add the masa harina mixture, remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese, salt, chili powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil; add shredded chicken. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or until thickened.
5. Top with Tortilla Strips & Sour Cream (optional).
6. Enjoy!!

To save on time- use 2 cans of cooked chicken. If soup mixture is too thick, add a cup of water until your desired thickness.

******

Yesterday, I also hit the 8 month mark.  Here's the traditional bump-picture and the 32 week bump-date.

32 weeks - 10/10/10

Image found here

How far along:  32 weeks

Stretch marks/belly button:  Still no change here, thankfully!

Sleep:  Apparently 5am is my new wake-up time EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. and, just for the record, I. AM. NOT. HAPPY. ABOUT. THIS. AT. ALL.  And please don't tell me that it's just preparing me for all those sleepless nights ahead - that doesn't make it any better! :)

Symptoms:  Pretty much all the ones that I've mentioned before; however, I did experience my first (and hopefully last) leg cramp on Sunday morning around 4am.  I am not lying when I say I can't imagine that labor pains can possibly compete with the pain this thing caused.  I literally thought someone was cutting open my lower calf with a dull and jagged knife.  It was the worst pain I've ever felt (seriously, breaking my back hurt less than this thing did)!

Best moment of the week:  No surprise here, it's a tie between our baby shower and maternity pictures.

What I'm looking forward to:  Hearing Abby's heartbeat again on Thursday and our baby shower on Sunday.  I foresee another fun weekend in sight!

Enjoy the rest of your Monday!