Cheesy Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
1- 12.5oz can of premium chunk chicken breast in water
1 lb. pasta (I used farfalle)
1 bag Steamfresh peas
1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
2 cans cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk (or more for a creamier sauce)



Directions:
Cook pasta in heavily salted water for 7 minutes (4-5 minutes less than box directions). Cook peas for 4 minutes in microwave. Empty chicken into a mixing bowl and shred with a fork. Add soup, 1 cup of cheese, sour cream, and cooked peas to chicken. Mix. Drain cooked pasta and return to pan. Add sauce mix to pasta and blend. Place in baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake on 350 for 25 minutes.

#nelsendays2014 Week 12 + bathing suit shopping & colds: pregnancy edition

I'm home sick today with a cold. Wah, wah. 

Colds are typically not fun, but they're even more interesting when you're pregnant. 

I choose the word interesting because my "medicine" is this contraption:

It's just awkward. But it does work! It doesn't quite have the knock-you-out effects of NyQuil, or the get-rid-of-a-cold-quickly impact of an antibiotic, but I can breath for the most part, so that's a plus.

The MAJOR downside is that I was supposed to drive to Charleston after school today to go see this love:

And meet this new little love:

And see their sweet mama and daddy:

Hey, Mea- mind if I hijack your IG? Thx :)

And stop for super-healthy, go-where-the-babies-in-our-bellies-lead-us snack breaks along the way with Andrea:

But, alas, I am at home. In my pajamas. Still. Watching the rain outside the window as I post pictures of what could have been. Am I dwelling? Yes, yes I am. 

Sigh.

Here are some pics of things that actually happened this week: 

Day 78: Mid-week maternity shopping and dinner with my mama :)

No, that's no me. 

But it might be hilarious if I pose like this for a pic in my new suit. 

While my mom and I were shopping, I splurged and bought this Pea in the Pod bathing suit. 

I figured with a due date of July 22nd, I'll be spending a lot of time in my bathing suit this summer and wanted to feel semi-cute in it. 

I started in Target's maternity section and felt like a heifer in the dressing room, to put it lightly. So this Pea in the Pod one felt like it was worth every penny. 

This coming from the girl who gets most of her clothes at TJ Maxx and the Banana Outlet when the whole store is 40% off. Pregnancy changes things.

And right now this suit is 25% off! So if you're preggo, I won't judge you if you splurge. ;) 

Oh, and if you shop in the store, see if they'll match the online sale- I asked and it worked! Plus I received a coupon for $50 off a $50 purchase (which will buy you a sleeve of some of their super-cute outfits) but who doesn't love free money?!

Day 79: Dinner date with my sweet friend Lindsey who is due in April. How cute is she?! Let's just pretend like our bellies are NOT the same size in this pic, k? :)

Day 80: It was #nationalpuppyday according to instagram. It just didn't seem right to not have this cute face show up under the hashtag. ;) Tally will turn one next month! Didn't we just bring him home?! You can see more cute puppy pics of him here. You know you want to.

Day 81: I posted this pic two weeks to the date that we'll be leaving for our Babymoon! Stock photos of vacation spots always crack me up. We'll be sure to reenact this photo for your viewing pleasure while we're gone. 

I'm sure we too will be the only ones at the resort and won't look weird at all posing in our matching white suits. #wedonthavematchingsuits #butwemighthavetomakethispichappen

Day 82: Baby shower for one of our small group friends, Stacey!

Day 83: Bedroom furniture is on the way!! Thankfully, this was such a quick and effortless decision. #NOT

Day 84: Same shirt at 14 weeks and 23 weeks. Can you spot the differences in these photos?! ...on second thought, don't. Notice the belly and move on.

Since I'm not feeling super adventurous to make up my own meal tonight, I'm thinking I'll give this recipe a try. It looks easy and yummy- two things I love when I cook. Check it out here!

Happy Friday, friends!!

Baby Nelsen is a...

Beginning July 22, 2014!

We couldn't be more excited about having a boy first. I know you're not really supposed to hope one way or the other, and of course we would have been so excited either way, but we were kinda hoping for a boy first. ;)

We've had a favorite boy name for many years now, but just this week, we've started tossing out some other ideas that we both really like, so who knows what we'll end up doing?! I think it will be pretty shocking to friends of ours who have known our name for a while if we end up making a last-minute switch. I just can't say that the name we have always loved feels permanent yet. 

When do you know which one is IT?!

Whatever name we decide to go with, I really just can't wait for him to get here!

Updates: Furniture, floors, nursery, and babymoon!

This month's Ten on the 10th post gave my ten before baby list:

1. Replace carpet in master bedroom with new carpet or hardwoods (gotta love surprises caused by a puppy and a blue ink pen). 
2. Purchase bedroom furniture for master bedroom. 
3. Move painted dressers from our room to the nursery. 
4. Set up crib and window seat. 
5. Upholster rocking chair, window seat, bumper and crib skirt.
6. Cover pillows for window seat and rocker, and find two gray pillows for window seat. 
7. Wash, fold, and hang baby clothes. 
8. Fill out baby book with pre-baby entries. 
9. Have a picture taken with my pregnant self, Matt, and Tally. 
10. Go on our babymoon!

Here's an update on the list:

Carpet is being pulled up and replaced with hardwoods the first week in April. 

• We went back and forth between replacing the carpet and installing hardwoods. We both personally love carpet in a bedroom for the comfiness and because our bedroom is where we both do our workouts, but we knew with a baby on the way and a pup who loves to bring all of his toys to our room to chew, the carpet would just get all gross again. Plus, the rest of the house is hardwoods (even the master bath since it was converted from a bedroom), so it seemed to be the best bet to just go with hardwoods. We're excited to see the knew look!

BEDROOM FURNITURE IS ON THE WAY!!!

• If you know how long it has taken us to decide on a suit, you understand the all-caps. If you remember this post, or saw this pic on instagram:

...you know that we were down to two and thought for sure that one of them would be the winner (I, by the way, liked the top one the best since you guys were wondering ;) )- until we saw them in person. :/ My mom and I went to look at them together when Matt was skiing, and we could not believe how different they looked in person. Not the same furniture at ALL! Major bummer.

However, while we were there, we happened to see our third-place option in person and loved it even MORE than the pictures. Hooray!

So here's what we're going with now:

We LOVE it! It's the Paula Deen home line. I can't wait for it to arrive and set it up on the new floors! It will look like a completely different space.

One of the painted dressers have been moved to the nursery, and the crib and window seat are all set up! My parents helped with this when Matt was skiing. I couldn't believe how much we got done in one day! They were such amazing helpers! 

Upholstery for the window seat, rocker, crib skirt and bumper are all underway. I can't wait to take pictures of the finished products of everything in the nursery and share them with y'all! I promise to spill on where everything is from since you know I love to share when I find a good deal. ;)

I have the fabric for the two pillows that need to be covered and found the two solid gray ones at IKEA for $14 total! For both! That's inserts and covers for two, in case I was not clear. :)

The Babymoon is booked and we leave in less than two weeks!!! We're going to a place called Sanctuary Cap Cana in the Dominican. We can. not. WAIT!

Hope y'all have a great week!