Pregnancy- 12 weeks & recipe

Well, by the time I post this, we are actually 12 1/2 weeks along.

These past 1 1/2 weeks have been an absolute whirlwind of busyness. (Is that even a word?)

I can tell that my symptoms of the 1st trimester are starting to decrease (Thank the LORD!), but I have my days & waves of the symptoms still.

-Constant headaches

-Huge waves of sleepiness (think of your after lunch sleepies x's 10!)

-Stomach cramps- They say that this is my stomach & all the lady parts streaching as our baby is growing & needing more room, so I look at this as a good but sometimes painful side effect

On the flip side, positive things are:

-My appetite is coming back to normal. Soon after we found out I was pregnant, I just didn't have much of an appetite. And when I was hungry, I found that I was FULL after eating only 1/2 of what I used to be able to eat in 1 sitting. My appetite still isn't fully there, but it's getting better.

-I've gotten compliments on my "glow". Which I'll say, before pregnancy, I just thought it was bunch of crap when someone told a pregnant woman she was glowing. I thought, "Yeah, she is, but probably because she's hot & tired of carrying all of that around!" (Kinda like when someone tells you that it's good luck if it rains on your wedding day, {which it did ours}- My response to one of my bridesmaids that said that to me while we were getting our hair done was, "That's just a bullsh*t line they tell brides so they don't freak out on their wedding day"- Needless, to say, it got some laughs & got me some more champagne brought to me! Hmmmm, I likey!")

-I am still able to wear a couple of pairs of my regular jeans... Nevermind if sometimes in the middle of a car ride I have to unbutton them- the point is, they are still buttoning while I'm standing up, which I think it a plus!

-Bump- Yep! John definitely thinks this is a huge plus! I've got a little bump. John asks to look at it about 10 times a day, (which is cute but can be annoying & makes me want to give him a bump on the side of his head, when he asks to see it 20 minutes later as I'm in the middle of dinner (as if!!!) ) It's something that I'm actually wanting to see grow a little more quickly. I'm in that gross "I just look like I left an all you can eat buffet & yes, I filled up my plate 4 times". If someone didn't know that I was pregnant, I swear I think that they would think I've lost my mind, or just enjoy a couple too many keg parties on the weekends. Anywho, people tell me that it's so cute- but what are they really going to say to a hormonal woman who can't drink the painful comments she might receive away???- Oh well!

The books say that in the past 3 weeks, Baby King has more than doubled in size. And is about the size of a large fresh plum. Its digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements, so our baby will be able to eat), the bone marrow is making white blood cells (so the baby will be able to fight off germs passed around in playgroup), & the pituitary gland at the base of the brain has started producing hormones (so our baby will one day be able to make babies of their own)- {{SO weird to already be thinking of a that! Oh goodness!}}

Since I didn't post anything last week for a recipe, I'm going to do something simple that I actually made for a side for dinner tonight- SO easy & we love them!!

Sweet Potato Fries

1 sweet potato/ person (I had smaller sweet potatoes, but if you get a Big Mama one, I'm sure one would suffice for 2 people ;) )

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Ziplock Bag

-Wash sweet potatoes & dry. (sometimes I just stick them in the oven for a couple of minutes.)- Cut potatoes into 1/4" strips. I find that it's easiest when just you just cut it in half long ways, then again longways, etc, etc...

Once I have my strips, I usually cut them in half to make them about the length of a finger.

Put in a ziplock bag. Drizzle olive oil in the bag (about 1 Tbsp or so / potato- use your own judgement. It will go further than you think)- Then I sprinkle about 1 tsp of salt & about 1/2 tsp of pepper. (Sometimes if you want it spice it up, sprinkle 1 or 2 shakes of Cayenne pepper (GENTLY because that packs some HEAT!)- )

Zip bag, & toss around to evenly coat fries.

Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Spread fries out evenly on cookie sheet in 1 layer.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!