Ikea, Ovens and Food Cravings

Well, this week is almost over. I'm one more week closer to being a momma. Yes! Spencer is one week closer to the end of the HARDEST semester in his college career. Yes! And summer is just around the corner. Double Yes!! In celebration of long awaited endings and inspirational new beginnings, we took a field trip to Ikea and splurged on an AMAZING rug! It adds a pop of personality to our living room, and does a fantastic job covering up the rental carpet. I love sitting in the living room now, it feels so much better. Crazy how one square of fabric can change your outlook on life.

In other news, I'm getting weary of our oven's unique "burned food" smell, and am going to attempt cleaning it without the use of harsh chemical products. Thank you Pinterest! I found a recipe for overnight cleaning, using baking soda, salt, and water. I can't wait to try it out! Cleaning the oven is probably the most awkward and irritating thing for me to clean, but I'm gonna dive into this with a good attitude and hopefully emerge tomorrow victorious! I mostly want to avoid inhaling gallons of cleaning products, which is what put me on this "all natural" cleaning kick. That, mixed with my new-found desire to deep clean/reorganize our entire apartment. I'm walking the thin line right now between being able to move around fairly easily and, well, not being able to move around. I want to get all the spring cleaning out of the way before I can't anymore. 

(My usual attitude towards cleaning)

Along with going on a crazy cleaning spree, I am finally feeling the ever warned about pregnancy appetite. I am constantly hungry! I'm doing my very best to only munch on carrots, celery, and banana muffins, and drink gallon after gallon of water, but it's not very fulfilling when all you want is a huge freaking piece of chocolate cake!

 I did give in earlier this week and bought myself some powdered donuts. But overall I'm pretty proud of myself. It feels silly, but I really am worried about pregnancy weight. I wasn't supposed to gain much to start out with, and I feel like every pound is another obstacle that I'll have to deal with post-baby. I've done pretty well, I think I'm at about 6 lbs of total gain (after factoring in the 15 I lost in my first trimester, no thanks to morning sickness), and I have 9-14 lbs left before I reach my ideal size. Baby has about 4-6 lbs left to gain before she's considered full size, so I think we're doing pretty well. That being said, now is definitely NOT the time to go crazy with food. It does help to think about what I'm eating, and how it's essentially the same thing  I'm feeding Avery. With that in mind, I'm much more likely to reach for a spinach salad over the Nutella jar. And now, some inspiration for myself: