For the Love of Fall

I love fall.  Need I say more? It's the BEST season ever - I am inspired in the fall.  I want to cook/clean/walk/decorate the house/bake/go to the park/read a good book.... I could go on and on and on..... Also, another thing I LOVE (this one is kind of random) - cloudy, cool days.... Today is one of those days and I love it.  It's slightly airy and pretty, almost like a storm is about to roll in.... chilly enough that I want a blanket and snuggle time.... This picture doesn't give it justice - but this is what it looks like out right now:

XOXO

OUR HOME! Kind of a long one.....

I almost forgot - SOO by the end of the summer - we felt our front yard was PERFECT!  While I am still working out the whole "flowers/gardening" thing (they were WAYYY better during the summer) - Kevin has been busy maintaining the lawn - despite the LONG summer drought - he still managed green grass all season! WOOOO HOOO!! 

Also - I am not sure yet, if I blogged about the night I found out we were pregnant?!!?  It's kind of ironic that it was the night I decided to plant a brand new garden..... Who knew, we were growing a little flower of our own!!!

I really wanted a garden, and so my friend Colleen came over to help plant some flowers - it took us HOURS!!!!!  That night, I was feeling a little queasy and went to bed kind of early.  Zoey woke up in the middle of the night with an upset tummy and so I decided to take a test (obviously, we were already slightly suspicious that we were preggo) - of course the test came back positive (at 3 in the morning)!!!!  The next day I took several more tests (hahaha) just to be sure..... and boy oh boy we were pregnant (haha with a girl)!!!

When we told family in Ohio (of course :( I had to phone my family in RI) we wrapped a bouquet of baby's breath flowers with a  couple pacifiers.... it was wonderful to see every one's reaction!!! :)

Harper - you are so beautiful.... of course we have more pictures but here is a couple:

6 weeks:

12 weeks:

16 weeks:

I have 20 week ultrasound pictures where we discovered Harper was a girl - YAY!!  I still need to scan those!!

XOXO

Friends

Today I heard from a friend that I haven't talked to in a few weeks!!  It made my heart smile!!  Liz (the friend) is my training partner, and one of my closest friends.    This is one of my favorite pictures of us running the Akron marathon together with Ellen!!!  Ellen is in the background with both her hands up in the purple tops - SUCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH a funny picture I laugh every time I see it!!

Liz, Tracy, Ellen and I became so close training together!!  I can't wait to train again soon with Harper as well!!! 

We are starting to walk now though!!

XOXO!

Just so you Know

We did it - we ate home EVERY single day last week!!!  We have plenty for breakfast in the morning and I will do another "big shop" tomorrow!  We are going to take it one week at a time - on to week two!!

No plans this weekend = Happy Hagenhaven!!!

Have a great weekend!

XO

Creamy Carrot & Parsnip Soup

In preparation for the baby, we decided to make all meals at home to A, start eating crazy healthy (to set a good example) and of course B, to save money.  I went to the market today and bought food for b.fast, lunch and dinner ALL week.  I am not going to post the menu yet (just in case we totally fail our first attempt to ONLY eat at home)!!!

Tonight though, was a great start!!  My sister bought me a book called "100 Best Foods for Pregnancy" by Charlotte Watts (about the healthiest foods to eat for you and the baby during pregnancy, DUH)....  Anyhow, I picked all my meals from the books inspiration..... We started with "Creamy Carrot & Parsnip Soup"  (serves 4 so we made it all and will have the leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow)

4tbsp butter
1 large onion (chopped)
8 carrots (chopped)
2 large parsnips (chopped)
1 tbsp peeled & grated fresh ginger (I used dry ground because it's what I had in my pantry)
1 tsp grated orange rind
2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
pepper (to taste)
salt (to taste, recipe did not call for any I only added a VERY little)

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan & add the onion (stir and cook until soft)

Add the carrots & parsnips (cover and cook until soft - about 15 min)

Stir in ginger, orange rind & vegetable stock.  Bring to boil and then simmer covered for about 30 minutes

remove from hear and let cool for 10 minutes

blend in the blender until a happy consistency & return to clean saucepan

stir in the yogurt & coo gently through, on low

garnish with pepper

HONESTLY - it was AMAZING!!! The picture isn't great, by the time I realized I was going to share, we had already eaten our bowls and this was just what was left over :) HAHAHA - same for the bruschetta - I already made and we ate and there was only a tiny bit of topping left - SORRY!!!

I also served it with bruschetta!!!!!! 

Thin sliced Italian bread (toasted & cooled)
3 chopped Roma tomatoes
fresh chopped basil
tsp minced garlic
drizzle of olive oil
mozzarella cheese

mix tomato's, basil, garlic & olive oil - spoon onto bread and top with cheese - bake on 350 until cheese is melted :) MMMMM!!!!!  (Make sure when you scoop on the break its not very watery scoops)

I know the two don't actually GO together, but it was a REALLY nice meal :)

I started a crock-pot apple pie oatmeal recipe tonight for the morning..... Will take better pictures :)

XOXO - wish me luck this week :)

21 WEEKS & the Nursery!!

I can officially say, we am more than half way to meeting our baby girl!!! SO exciting!  This week has been awesome!  I feel her move, but not consistently - she moves sometimes when I eat, which makes me smile because I think it's cute that she likes when I eat....  Her favorites (so far) are sweets! DUH!!!

I went out with a girlfriend today for lunch and she was telling me about her experiences when she first had her son.  She said she missed him being so close all the time and it was weird when she went to sleep after he was born.  I think that is beautiful - as much as I am anxious to meet her, I really am appreciating her being so close and the bond we are forming. 

I still need to scan my ultra sound pictures, but when we saw her it was incredible - she was VERY active JUST like MOMMY!!!!  She would cross her legs, uncross her legs, then repeat for a few minutes - raise her arms, put them down then tilt to the side and wiggle her butt - she was a riot!!!

On the home front HagenHAVEN is doing amazing.  Kevin painted the first coat in the nursery and it looks amazing, I am so excited for it to be complete.  Its a very pale color greenish/yellow.  We are going to keep the nursery very neutral.  She will have PLENTY of pink in her life, and when she is old enough to tell us what colors she likes we will repaint and re-design for her.... for now, we want to be able to use all out baby stuff again for Baby Hagen numero 2, 3 & 4 :) hehe!!

My sister designed the room for us and here are the pictures!  This is all her designs and our inspiration however we are tweaking SOME stuff and I will start posting pictures once the room is at least 100% painted :) (you can check out her blog if you like her stuff its all artsy funness http://www.fineartroughcraft.blogspot.com/) (OOO and of course the name won't be Harvey because we are having a girl) hahah!!

PS - I miss running more than I could EVER EVER express..... It's my OWN fault though, because although I was EXTREMELY sick for my first trimester, I should have pushed though.... OH WELL!  Cleveland half marathon is less than a year away and this March I will be able to train with my DAUGHTER!!!!!  I picked out an AMAZING jogging stroller :) :) WOOT WOOT!!!!

I hope she loves track and cross country :)

XOXOXO!!

YUMMM

Today, I ate A LOT.... more than usual.  Everything just sounded good.... OK, I will admit the run-down....
- Yogurt
- Honey Nut Cheerios's
- Banana
- 1 and a half chicken salad sandwiches
- Fruit salad
- Spaghetti O's
- Large chocolate chip cookie
- 2 pieces of veggie pizza
- a half a chicken breast w/ a lot of cheese on it
- a baked potato
- apple pie

I mean REALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, this was my first TOTAL CRAZY FOOD DAY (since I have been pregnant)! hahaha - I know we all have them, but man I could not get enough - hopefully tomorrow, I will make better choices :)

Week 20 (21 tomorrow) - I feel AMAZING....

We are having a GIRL!!  Finally I am feeling her move, and I LOVE it.  There is nothing better....  I am starting to get to know her and she is just so sweet.  I will scan some ultra-sound pictures in tomorrow and post them, because honestly, she is so sweet and it's so fun to see her grow!

Our registry is getting better - almost done.  It's on babies r us.... any "been there done that" mom's feel free to drop hints

Dear Baby Girl - I love that we are starting to bond, I know you have always been able to feel me, and now I can feel you back! I love it.  It feels like pop corn - so great! XO sweetie pie!

XOXO

Week 19 & School

Week 19 has been amazing :) they all are now.... hahaha. Still baby no movement. 

Message to the baby: PLEASE MOVE :) Love, Mommy... Also, I have a feeling you're a boy - I don't know why, it's just a feeling (kind of like how I knew I was pregnant RIGHT away) I will have to share that story later.  We get to see you on Wednesday :) YAY!!!  I cannot wait!!  That is also when we can tell your gender (if we want to - we are still undecided).  One thing is for sure, we certainly cannot wait to meet you!!

We met with a doula yesterday, to talk about labor and delivery.  It was very exciting and made it much more real.  I mean, eventually, the baby needs to come out :)

Our registry is taking forever to complete, I need an experienced mom to help.... I am thinking about waiting until Wednesday to add anything else, just in case we decide to find out the gender haha :)

School started for my MBA last Thursday and it was great.  It felt good to be back.... Lot's of projects to do and start thinking about already....

In the meantime, we are enjoying our labor day off of work and about to go out for lunch - We may check out somewhere new.... not sure, we are meeting another couple so I guess we will all figure it out together....

XOXO