Easiest cheesecake ever...

Have you all heard of this stuff? Philadelphia cheescake filling?

I had plans over the fourth of July to make a cheesecake. When shopping for ingredients at Walmart in the cream cheese section I saw this tub. Um, well...that seems a heck of a lot easier so I tried it. Just as good folks...I may never make a normal cheesecake again!



Graham cracker premade crust
Tub of philadelphia cheescake filling
Tub of coolwhip



I won't tell anyone how easy it is if you dont... :)

23 Weeks!

My back hurts...just the first thought that popped in my head as I sit and type this. Moving on... :)

Size of baby: A Papaya! About 11 inches long and over one pound.

Weight: This morning scale said 146.7. But then again I always weight myself in the morning, nekid. So who knows what the Dr's. scale will say this after noon fully belly and clothes. I'll be happy as long as I haven't hit the 150 mark yet. Just not quite ready for the big 5-0. 147 would be having gained 17 pounds so far.

Gender: Our son! Hunter Lee Lunsford V

Movement: Yep, lots last night. I actually got to lay in bed and instead of feeling my stomach I just watched it. For a good 10 minutes just starred at my belling moving around. So cool, and such a GREAT piece of mind :) Keep moving for me Hunter!

Sleep: Good. I def feel like my stomach grew this past week and as a result I am tossing and turning a bit more. Furthermore, Hunter must be putting more weight or pressure on my bladder now again because I'm back to the up 2-3 times a night to pee. no fun.

What I miss: hmmmmm I struggle with this question every week. I guess because I know I miss stuff but all in all I know this is all short lived so none of it bothers me that bad. I of course miss my old body, miss having a beer on the back porch with my husband, I miss not feeling like I got ran over by a truck if I stay up past midnight. I miss being able to eat stuff without thinking about what it is. But again, yes I miss all of these things but not to the point that it is effecting my mood or that I am bothered by it.

Best moment this week: Watching Hunter put molding up in the nursery. Something about watching daddy work on his son's room made me smile. Not to mention it's a good feeling knowing progress is being made towards the kid having a room.

Looking forward to: Dr's appt today at 4:30pm!! Can't WAIT to hear the heart beat and see what I weigh. It will be the first time they measure my belly too.

Cravings: I never think of something on my own that I want. But the second I see a picture of something yummy or hear someone talk about a particular food, I want it.

Symptoms: In the "what to expect when expecting book" They list out a slew of symptoms one might be experiencing by month. I'm in my 5th month now and here are the symptoms from the book's list that I have....

-Fetal activity - check!
-Vaginal discharge - TMI...but hey it's a symptom
-Soreness in lower abdomen
-Occasional headaches and dizziness
-Nasal Congestion - I wake up congested every morning. Clears up after the shower.
-Sensitive gums - until I read this as a symptom I was wondering why my gums where bleeding when I brushed and flossed when they never had before. check!
-Hearty appetite - suweeet, I'm normal! :)
-Leg cramps
-Itchy abdomen
-Protruding naval yes please :)
-Backaches
-enlarged breasts. that's an understatement....

Pictures: Hunter snapped these bad boys for me last night :)


My t-shirts fit awesome these days ;)

You sure know how to make a preggers girl feel good...

Ya'll are so sweet. Thank you for commenting such kinds words, you have no idea how much they lift my day. My pregnancy thus far has been super easy and I have zero complaints but overall as some of you know, you still don't feel your complete self or as pretty as you would like. Compliments to a pregnant women do wonders to her happiness and self esteem. I'm going to remember this going forward and always make sure to return the niceness :)

In other news I never updated you all on the eggy's from our backyard a month or so ago. Well they did end up hatching and the little birdies have grown big enough to fly out of their coo coo nest. Just in time for me to begin watering my potted flowers again! They were on the verge of no return.

Here's a pic of the sweet chirp chirps fresh as they come!

I don't know about you but I'm REALLY looking forward to this three day weekend! Cleaning, golf, sunbathing, nursery progress, and spending time with in-laws and friends is what is on our agenda.

I really hope everyone has a fun and safe fourth. God bless America!! xoxo

22 Weeks!

Yesterday got away from me but lucky for you I'm still 22 weeks today too :) So here goes...

Size of baby: A spaghetti squash. (where do they come up with these veggies?) But if that doesn't give you an accurate picture how about the fact that baby has hit the 1 pound mark! No more ounces...we're onto pounds yay! :)

Weight gain: Weighed myself at home the other day and I was 147 something. So 148 with 130 start weight...looking at around 18 pounds. If this stays true when I get weighed in at the Dr. next week I'll be one happy girl!

Gender: A little Hunter!! yay :)

Movement: My goodness this little guy has been moving like crazy especially last night and this morning. I feel awful saying it because I love his kicks always and they give me comfort in knowing he's doing well in there but last night I was ready for him to go to bed so I could go to bed :)

Sleep: Sleeping good!

What I miss: So I had deli meat turkey on a croissant the other day. It was good. Most all my girlfriends agreed they ate deli meat through all their pregnancies so I figured one little half a sandwhich couldn't hurt. And it didn't. Still craving a jimmy johns turkey tom sub though. Beside food def missing my old bra size these days. Purchased a whopper size of a nursing bra on Saturday...hope it lasts me until baby is born and after!

Best Moment this week: hmmmm feeling Hunter kick and being able to shop for him!!! I purchased a few outfits and sleepers along with his bedding! (Whales Won!) It's a blurry picture so if you can't tell the crib sheet is navy/white polka dots.

and a very "little boyish" overnight bag that he can pack his things in for grandma's house. Monogrammed of course :)

Big Hunter is okay with the purchases because he knows I'm just excited to know it's a boy and finally be able to buy things, but he would like me to start to take it easy. I think my initial "it's a boy" shopping sprees might be over :(

So..... as far as nursery purchases go we have the crib (PBKids kendall in white), chair (Little castle Valentino in color Riviera linen), and bedding (jackson bumper with max crib skirt and navy dot sheet) . A good start, I'd say!

Hoping this weekend Hunter gets started on putting up crown molding in the room. After that I can have the wallpaper hung and we'll really be moving along. The wallpaper I'm doing is a ivory grasscloth.

Looking forward too: A long three day weekend and nursery progress. It's fun decorating a room from scratch and picturing little Hunter in all these sweet little things :) Oh and hearing his heart beat in the next few days. I feel like it's been forever!

Cravings: None really, all food tastes pretty good these days!

Symptoms: Uncomfortableness at times...I sit with a pillow behind my back when on the couch. Nausea still in the morning. I've always felt a little sick on the drive into work in the morning. I would take a glass of water with me and drink it on the way in while sucking on a preggers pops to sooth the nausea. Last week however I was so thirsty before running out the door so I drank half a glass of water while standing in the kitchen. (no preggers pop yet) Annnnd that lasted about two seconds before it came back up in the kitchen sink. No water in morning before food or a preggers pop. Seems weird to me since its just water but it is what it is and i'm certainly not messing with it. No stretch marks still, but I do have that dark line that runs from the belly button down. Oh and my belly button is sooooo an outty :) Hunter thinks it's gross but I think its cute. ha!

Pictures: Speaking of lines and protruding belly buttons...you all want to see a nekid belly pic???? I've debated about posting this but over all it's just my stomach right!? Ok, if you do scroll down... :)






















Cool or freaky?


In the next few pictures we are play hid the ball in my belly for Jake. It started because I was trying to tell him his baby brother was in there but in order to get him to even pay any attention to my stomach we had to put his ball there...haha go figure :)





Until next week...

Friday Night's Dinner...

It's been a while since I've blogged about Chef Hunter...probably since it's been a while since we've cooked a good meal together. Summer time is busy with outdoor parties, softball games, and lots of eating out apparently :)

Anyways, friday was different...we stayed in and cooked Caprese Beef Tenderloin! Another recipe from our favorite recipe source Cuisine Recipes.

Caprese Beef Tenderloin
Because this dish cooks so quickly, have all of your ingredients prepared before you begin cooking.
Makes: 2 servings
Total time: 25 minutes


2 beef tenderloin steaks (4–5 oz. each, 1-inch thick) (we never follow a recipe exactly :))


Salt and black pepper
2 slices baguette (1-inch thick) (and a grilling beer :))


Olive oil
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 tsp. minced garlic


1 cup seeded, diced Roma tomatoes


1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar


2 Tbsp. each diced fresh mozzarella (I swear that's mozzarella)


and minced fresh basil (Hunter likes his basil not so minced :))

Nutrition InformationPer serving: 467 cal; 22g total fat (5g sat); 72mg chol; 456mg sodium; 36g total carbs; 3g fiber; 33g protein

Season steaks with salt and pepper; brush bread with oil.

***You can do it all in a skillet like the recipe calls for below or we just grilled everything outside. At the end while the steaks where resting Hunter mixed up in a skillet the oil, garlic, tomatoes, vinegar mixture to pour on top of the steaks once plated.***

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add steaks and bread; cook 3 minutes. Turn steaks and bread. Cook steaks 2 minutes more and bread until toasted on both sides. Transfer bread to 2 serving plates; place steaks on top of bread and allow steaks to rest, 5 minutes.

Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to skillet and heat over medium-high. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes; cook until softened, 2–3 minutes. Stir in vinegar and cook, 1 minute more.

And the Master Chef at work....as you can see we served it with asparagus and corn on the cob.


The asparagus was tied together with twist ties for easier grilling.


He brushed everything (corn, aspargus, & bread) with oil/butter and seasoned them before grilling.


Such concentration :)







It was a gorgeous red sky that night!


And Voila!

Message on a chalk board...

There's a new tradition in our household that I'm pretty excited about. Every Sunday when we get home from church I write on a chalkboard that Sunday's message. It's hung on a wall in our kitchen that we walk by everyday so this way we are reminded all week long to practice living the way Jesus would want us to.




I'm VERY excited about the idea of sharing this tradition with our future children and one day having THEM write sunday's lesson on the chalkboard! It's the little things :)

21 Weeks!

Size: A banana (7in long) 11oz weight

Weight gain: Who knows! I haven't weighed myself at home at all. Hoping I'm around 147ish. The 150 mark is gonna KILL me!! I'll know for sure at our next appointment July 6th.

Maternity Clothes: Yes mostly. Dresses or maternity pants/tops to work, shorts, tanks, and some elastic waist skirts on the weekends.

Gender: It's a BOY! Hunter Lee Lunsford V

Movement: All the time! I feel him moving around in there in the car on the way into work, a couple times while sitting at my desk during the day, usually in the car on the way home from work, and then nice big kicks at night when laying on the couch or in bed. If I'm busy though and moving around a lot (like on the weekends) I don't feel him as much and always make note of his night time movements on those days!

Sleep: Really well still.

What I miss: Turkey wraps. And hot dogs. Hunter cooked me a hot dog the other night and made sure it was cooked to whatever degree it is they say it should be. It just wasn't the same...he like charred it. I want a normal cooked ball field hot dog :)

Best Moment this week: Find out he was a boy at our Gender reveal party. Our friends and family were so supportive and excited for us. We are very blessed to have shared that moment with all of them!

Looking forward to: Making progress on the nursery. Hunter is going to clear out the room this weekend and then hoping some crown molding gets put up fourth of July weekend. After all that is done I'll have the wallpaper put up, our crib put together and we'll be getting somewhere. We still need to go to a couple places and test drive some nursery chairs, lots to do, lots to do. Also looking forward to being able to buy something from a store that I see is cute :) (now that we know it's a boy!)

Cravings: Actually at this moment, a chicken parm sub. I will be full filling this craving by stopping to get one a local pizza place on my way home from work :)

Symptoms: Tummy pain and achiness from it growing. Back soreness...I like to have a pillow supporting my back now when I sit in a chair or on the couch. No swelling or stretch marks yet hallelujah to that!

21 week picture taken this morning: