18 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 18 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby Hamm is the size of a sweet potato now.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +10lbs - same as last week, though at my doctor's appt they said 

I've only gained 7 lbs.  I like theirs better!

Maternity Clothes: Yep, pretty much everything (except sweats). 

Gender: Unknown....my gut says it's another boy right now though.  Jarrod still says girl.  

Gavin has been saying girl a lot more, but switched back to boy last night.

Movement: I'm starting to randomly feel little butterflies in my stomach but haven't felt much this week.  I'm really looking forward to that!

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty good - Jarrod isn't a fan of all the extra pillows in the bed, though.  

What I miss:  Not much - trying to enjoy this one since it will probably be our last.

Cravings: Spicy foods, bbq potato chips, french fries.

Symptoms:  The sciatic pain is getting a little less with the stretches the doctor told me to do.

Best Moment this week: Scheduling our next ultrasound!  March 10 we'll (hopefully) know if Baby Hamm is a boy or a girl!

Recipe - Sloppy Joes

I remember a time when Jarrod and I were first living together when we ate sloppy joes a lot!  Always the kind out of a can...Manwich!  :)  Well, I decided to try a Tastefully Simple recipe and make our own Sloppy Joes.  I honestly can't remember the last time we had these.  This was Gavin's first experience with Sloppy Joes, so it's been a while!


Brown a pound of ground beef with 2 tbsp Onion Onion.  Drain as needed.  Then stir in 1 tsp mustard (I used spicy mustard since I love it so much during this pregnancy), 3/4 cup ketchup, 1 tbsp brown sugar, and Seasoned Salt to taste.  Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes and you're done.  They were so delicious on toasted buns!

Happy Birthday, Gray!

I think this is the last set of photos I need to post that were accidentally deleted.  That same weekend back at the beginning of the month with all the snow was also our friend Gray's 2nd birthday.  We were glad that the sun was shining on his party day and we were able to make it to the birthday party.  It was at a bounce house type place and Gavin was not very sure of it when we got there.  Jarrod tried to take him on some of the equipment and he just wasn't into it.

So after a few attempts, Gavin spent a good 10 minutes playing in the "sturdy" playhouse.

Then for some reason, something just clicked with him and he decided he liked the different bounce houses and slides and was doing them all, even going down the big slides by himself!  He loved it!  I'm so glad Jarrod came with us to the party because I would not have been able to get in these things with him being pregnant.  (Sorry some of the pics are blurry...it's hard to get action shots on my camera.  I still have to learn about that!)

What a fun day!  We can't wait to go back (with Daddy, of course!)

Baby Hamm's Update

We had a quick check-up today at the doctor.  I'm 17 weeks 3 days right now, and baby's heart rate was 152!  We'll find out the sex in 3 weeks or so.  :)  Yay!  Doc gave me some ideas for stretches and exercises to help me with my hip pain.  Jarrod was at the appointment so I'm sure he'll be on me to keep up with them and hopefully it will all help.  

Gavin's 1st Snowman!

That Friday that we got a lot more snow and ruined my birthday dinner out turned out to be a great thing.  It was the first time that the snow was packing snow good enough for a snowman!  So, while Daddy was out working out, Gavin and I made his first snowman to surprise him.  We had so much fun and Gavin was so proud!  When we came in to get things to decorate it, he said, "Stay right here, Snowman.  We'll be right back."  :)

Time to get caught up!

Yay!  I'm so excited!  I finally got to pick up my memory card today from the camera shop and they recovered my photos!  They not only recovered the photos I lost (75), they recovered photos all the way back from August.  Kind of crazy that they can do that.  So, it's time to backtrack and get this blog updated!


We got a lot of snow and ice on my birthday and were snowed in for a few days straight.  So, that Friday, we decided we would go out to dinner for my birthday and then rent a movie and have a "sleepover" in the living room with Gavin.  Well, that Friday we were supposed to get another dusting of snow that turned into like 6 or 8 more inches.  So, Jarrod just brought home take out for dinner, which was super yummy!  {Spicy Orange Chicken from Mama Fu's!}  Then we made a little bed for Gavin on the floor and put in Despicable Me and enjoyed our night!

Right around bedtime, Gavin started to get antsy.  We turned off the movie, and attempted to fall asleep, but that just wasn't happening.  If Shirley laid next to Gavin, he'd get mad and want her to move.  If Shirley wasn't laying next to him, he'd get mad and want her next to him.  He kept getting up for no reason, and finally I said, "Do you just want to sleep on your bed?" and he immediately responded with, "Yeah, let's go," and grabbed his pillow.  So, we all ended up in our own beds instead of sleeping in the living room.  :)  Still a fabulous way to celebrate my birthday with my family!

Wordless Wednesday

Pizza Party

I mentioned yesterday how we had a great day Saturday with Amy, Chris, and Lucas.  They came over and the boys played outside for a long time.  I love that the weather is getting nicer.  Gavin is all of a sudden obsessed with playing sports.  He wants to go out all the time to play soccer, hit his golf balls, or his newest toy, swing his baseball bat.  So they played with some balls, dug in the sandbox and played on Gavin's climber/slide.  

Then we grilled pizzas.  Well, we half grilled pizzas.  I put the pizza dough on the grill and cooked on side.  Then, I took the pizzas off and brought them in to top them and put them back on the grill, but the propane ran out just as I did that.  So they had to finish cooking in the oven.  One batch of dough didn't seem to turn out like the other, and I was going to throw it out, but Jarrod and Amy convinced me to try it.  Well, apparently it was good, because Lucas wouldn't stop eating it.  He inhaled that pizza!  I snapped a quick pic of the boys, and there is pizza hanging out of Lucas' mouth.  :)  They're so cute together!

17 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 17 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby Hamm is the size of an onion -

according to my book, the baby is putting on the fat now! :)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +10lbs - same as last week.

Maternity Clothes: 90% of the time I'm in maternity clothes.  I still have a few regular shirts that fit ok. 

Gender: Unknown....my gut says it's another boy right now though.  Jarrod still says girl.  

Gavin has been saying girl a lot more, but switched back to boy last night.

Movement: I'm starting to randomly feel little butterflies in my stomach but haven't felt much this week.  I'm really looking forward to that!

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty good - Jarrod isn't a fan of all the extra pillows in the bed, though.  

What I miss:  Not much - trying to enjoy this one since it will probably be our last.

Cravings: Spicy foods, bbq potato chips, french fries.

Symptoms:  The hip/sciatic pain is really bothering me.  It's something I've dealt with since having Gavin, so I blame him.  :)  I'm fine in the morning, but limping by evening.

Best Moment this week: Having friends over for dinner on Saturday.  Amy is 5 weeks ahead of me, so we had a good time swapping stories and sharing food cravings.  :)

Some other updates from this weekend - we had a really great time this weekend, even though we didn't do much.  Amy and Chris came over on Saturday to grill out and Gavin and Lucas had a blast playing in the backyard.  That is definitely my favorite part of our house here - Gavin loves playing outside!  It's so nice that he has a fenced in yard to play in.  Sunday, I enjoyed 3 hours of shopping - ALONE!  It's so nice to have a few hours to myself.  Then we went out again together and drove by the preschool we looked at again and Gavin was so excited to see "his preschool."  I think we're going to drop off our check to register him this week.  I also got a call that my memory card is ready and they were able to recover some pictures!  I won't know which ones or how many until I pick it up, which I'll either do later tonight or on Wednesday.  I'm excited to see what they found.  :)  

Recipe - Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

Last night, we made our new recipe - Chicken Bacon Ranch pizzas.  It's not a recipe I found online or in a cookbook, but rather just a new idea for us to try when grilling pizzas.  I got the idea for grilled pizzas on this websites, Annie's Eats, and use her recipe for pizza dough.  Last night we used Tastefully Simple's Bacon Ranch Dip (discontinued item, sorry...) as the base and topped the pizza with grilled chicken, bacon and cheese and it turned out delicious!  Yum, Yum!

Think about it...

Consider these questions:

...do you like to eat?

...are you struggling to pay the monthly bills?

...would you love to go on a family vacation, but can't afford it?

...do you have small children at home?

...do you work full-time but would rather work part-time or stay at home?

...do you to get out of the house?

...do you want to retire?

...are you planning to have kids someday?

...are you really outgoing?

...would you love to learn to be more outgoing?

...do you love to cook?

...do you have cooking "difficulties" or believe that you can't cook?

...are you lacking in positive recognition at work?

...do you need more friends?

...are you living paycheck-to-paycheck, with no possibility of building up savings, much less college funds for the kids?

...are you fun to be around?

If you answered yes to any of the questions, then trying Tastefully Simple may be the right thing for you.  How about trying it right now!!!  YOU can be your own boss and determine your own hours for as little as $56!  When you join now, you receive even more supplies to start your business for FREE!

Sign up to become a consultant and receive:

• Pack of 25 Catalogs
• Pack of 25 Order Forms
• Pack of 50 Simply Stocked™ Flyers 

Place your $400 activating order and receive:

• 12 Lapboards
• Tastefully Simple Checkbook Cover

PLUS, you get tons of training and support AND will have me to help you along the way.

Email me at mrspate22@yahoo.com or comment below; we can help you visualize and achieve your possibilities!

Thirteen Thursday

I feel like we have so much going on in the next few months!  Here are some of the big things we're looking forward to (not necessarily in the order they're happening!) -

1. Finding out if Baby Hamm is a boy or a girl!
2. Getting Gavin's new furniture
3. Getting our tax return
4. Going to Florida for Steve and Heather's wedding in May
5. Taking Gavin to the beach (while in Florida)
6. Setting up the nursery
7. Getting all the baby stuff out of the attic and starting to fill the house with all the memories of having a baby in the house again
8. The beautiful spring weather that is coming our way
9. Holding my first ever team meeting for my expanding Tastefully Simple team, Simply Ambitious
10. Taking a little weekend trip - we're not sure when or where, but we'd like to take Gavin somewhere when Jarrod gets his bonus check
11. Skyping with friends!  I'm so excited that some of friends are finally on skype and I can 'see' them again
12. Jarrod gets to see Sara Evans next week at his morning meeting - he's beyond excited to see his crush
13. Finding out if Baby Hamm is a boy or a girl!  (Oh wait...did I already say that?)

Wordless Wednesday

Time to reorder!

We have just a couple weeks left for our fantastic Fall/Winter line of Tastefully Simple products before they all retire!  Today I'm going to start making calls and sending emails to those of you that have ordered any of them in case you want to stock up on your favorites before they're gone. These are the products that are leaving us soon...


Berry Medley - $19.95
Butterscotch Kisses Cocoa Mix - $8.99
Cajun Rice and Shrimp Etouffee Mix - $8.99
Carrot Cake Crunch Cheese Ball - $6.99
Cheesy Chive Warm Dip - $7.49
Cinnamon Apple Syrup - $8.99
Cracklin' Bacon Crisps - $6.99
Cranberry Apple Cobbler - $9.99
Cranberry Pomegranate Preserves - $7.99
Creamy Crab Cheese Ball - $6.99
Creamy Wild Rice Soup - $8.49
Dreamy Irish Frozen Dessert - $8.29
Easy Slow Cooker Recipe Book Vol. II - $1.99
Flavors of India Seasoning Salt - $8.99
Fudgy Popcorn - $7.99
Harvest Spice Pancake and Waffle Mix - $8.99
Hearty Chicken and Dumpling Soup - $8.49
Homestyle Beef and Noodle Soup - $8.49
Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning - $8.99
Nutty Good Granola Snack - $7.99
Oats and Cranberry Bars - $7.99
Peppy Papaya Salsa - $8.49
Popcorn Party - $16.95
Pumpkin Patch Bread Mix - $7.99
Rhubarb Strawberry Fruit Spread - $7.99
Rich and Cheesy Sauce - $8.49
Sensational Caesar Veggie Dip - $7.49
Shanghai Stir Fry Sauce - $8.99
Smoked Paprika and Garlic Dip - $8.99
Tangy Tennessee Slow Cooker Sauce - $8.99
Wahoo! Chili Seasoning - $8.99
Warm Up! Mulling Spice - $6.99
White Fudgy Popcorn - $7.99


In case you haven't tried these products and would like a recommendation, I bolded the products that are my personal favorites from this line. 


Would you like to earn some of these products for FREE???  It's really easy.  Print this list, then take orders this week from your coworkers, family, and friends.  Call me with their orders by the 22nd and we'll get you set up for some FREEBIES!  Just email me to let me know you're doing this.  


To contact me to place an order, you can email me at mrspate22@yahoo.com or visit my website to see all we have to offer.  Jennifer's Tastefully Simple site

Want more information about how you can have a new job, working hours you determine, and having a BLAST while doing it?  You can get started on your amazing journey with Tastefully Simple for as little as $56!  Let me know if you're interested in more information on joining Team Simply Ambitious!