Be Here Now

Some days are almost perfect. 

Yesterday though, had me on the kitchen floor, crying while trying to make dinner.  Children have a way of pushing you to your breaking point, questioning your sanity and wondering if you're even equipped to be a parent in the first place.  Or is it just me and mine?

I read a lot of parenting books.  Or, maybe I just own a lot of parenting books and should read them more thoroughly, but in any case, I'm pretty sure my main problem is fear.  I love these kids so much, but I'm afraid I'm going screw them up.  That they won't be healthy or happy.  Maybe that I'll scar them emotionally and they won't want me in their lives when they are older.  I also read something about feeling powerless in some moments and I do believe that goes back to my fears.  So what am I doing?  What am I even saying?  I don't know.  Why are some days so pleasant and some days so hard?   

I'm working on being present.  You know the book Be Here Now?  I think of that book all the time.  I say that phrase all the time.  Be here now.  Be here now.  Where is my mind?  It's on the dishes, the messes, lunch, what we need to do before we do the thing we need to do next and the thing after that and on and on.  Someone posted in my Instagram feed about being present today and it is something I am going to be working on.

This morning while Dahlia took her nap I bought my boys to the basement to play hide and seek.  If there is a more hilarious game to play with a 4 year old and a 2.5 year old, I would like to know it.  I love it.  I love the hiding, helping them find spots, seeking, laughing at the way they like to hide in the same spots over and over.  They like to play in semi-darkness with flashlights and it gets a little spooky, so they don't always like to hide by themselves and if they are looking for me, they like it when I call out in a crazy voice.  We played for over an hour before we needed a snack.  You know, this is one of our worst times of day usually.  I'm cleaning up breakfast and prepping for whatever is "next" and they get bored and will seek out attention.  ANY attention.  My oldest in particular has a hard time with this.  So for now, I'm going to try to really engage with them during this time.  Things can be sticky.  Stuff can stay messy.  I want to play with them, and they want and deserve my attention.

I think there are a few things that will help me achieve this goal.

1. Have breakfast ready.  This will take me almost no time, these people practically live on peanut butter and jelly or oatmeal.

2. Put the damn phone away.  Enough said.

Do you have trouble living in the moment?  Have you read Be Here Now?  Do you like to cry while you make peanut butter and jelly?  Any tips you think I could use?

Also, shout out to my neighbor, Mrs. Kathy, for making us tacos for dinner.  

           

Some Things About the Weekend

I remember another mom saying or maybe I read it, who knows, that she likes to get all her chores done during the week so she can relax with her family on the weekends.  I think that is a great idea too and I want to do that, yet every Saturday I'm cleaning, folding laundry and saying things like "Let's mop the floor as a family!" 

 So my floors are clean.

Today we had a get together for my very dear friend who is expecting a little girl in a few short weeks.  It's nice to get together and watch the kids play, even if they get super dirty and crazy.  I indulged in some salted caramel brownies and I'm looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow.  I have been sore all weekend from my lifting session Friday but have managed to keep up with all my Insanity workouts.  Is that balance? 

So about these borax crystal sea shells.  I wouldn't call them a fail exactly, they just didn't turn out the way I was expecting based on what I saw on Pinterest.  (Does it ever turn out the way it did on Pinterest?)  I read the instructions and followed them, but I didn't read the whole blog post, sometimes I don't want to read all of someone's jibber jabber just to finally get to the instructions or the recipe. 

 

So here's the plate of them.  

This is a seashell that turned out OK. 

I can't remember what this rock was, but it did better that most. 

Pumice with a few little crystals, I think this one is cool.  

And lastly.  

The nice thing about this project was it came together quickly.  My 4 year old and I did this together and it only took a couple minutes, which is great for a busy preschooler.  He was able to stir the solution and gently place the rocks and shells in.  He enjoyed examining them thru the glass with a flashlight every couple days as the crystals grew.  I want to try this experiment again, maybe with a deeper dish, see if we can get some better crystal saturation.  

If you've got any cool experiments to try with the kids, I would love to know about them! 

Lord Have Mercy

I was not prepared at all for today's work out.  Not mentally, not physically.  I didn't look at my program beforehand and when I opened my book and saw it was the same work out as the last one, only 4 sets of 4 reps, my first thought was: "I should have eaten my sweet potato."  For the record, I put some butter on my sweet potato and the butter had come out of the freezer and tasted like, well, freezer.  Old freezer.  Gross.  So I was wishing for more carbs.  Look at my book.  I am destroying this poor thing. 

Writing all over the place, writing in the wrong places, scratching stuff out.  Man.  I think I pulled my left butt cheek bone while dead lifting, however I think we can expect some gains.  I do really enjoy this kind of work out, heavy weights and low reps and I don't think I've done anything like it since getting back into the gym after baby.  I also had my Insanity workout scheduled for this evening so I was VERY HAPPY to learn that tonight's Insanity was "Cardio Recovery."  Thank goodness. 

In other news, my oldest son Silas and my baby Dahlia had check ups at the doctor this week.  They both needed shots and my poor boy was so scared.  He got his first and I held him and he cried and cried.  Then the nurse held Dahlia while I tried to comfort Silas but he cried even harder watching his baby sister get her shots.  I did that laugh/cry thing that moms do.  It was nice to see Silas show his empathetic side for a change.  

We've got 3 days left of July and I haven't made our July bucket list yet.  I'll throw these out here now then: 

1. Eat corn on the cob
2. Eat watermelon

Any surprise it's all about food? 

My Happy Place

I'm betting I've blogged about this forest preserve before.  It's my happy place and I've been bringing my kids here since there was only the one.  I love it because it's open prairie and wetland with lots of beautiful flowers and well maintained trails.  They have a really nice visitors center too.  I took the kids today and they love walking on the trails, throwing sticks into the creek and climbing on all the rocks and landscaping.  I love that we're not confined by the rules of home. 

 Throwing sticks in the water. I call it "Pooh Sticks" like from Winnie the Pooh, I don't think the boys get it yet.  

 

 Go right ahead and take all the sticks, Silas.  

 

 It really is the simple things that bring the most joy.  

So, update!  Nothing is new here.  Hahaha.  I don't even know what to blog about sometimes so I haven't been, despite the best intentions to get back into it.  July was a bit of a doozy for us, between the holiday and trying to potty train the two year old and everyone got chest colds mid-month?  As far as fitness, the beginning of the month knocked us out for a bit but I'm bouncing back now.  I bought a set of Insanity DVDs at a garage sale for $10 and I've been doing that now for a week.  I LOVE IT.  It is as fun as cardio can get.  I'll keep posting about that as I get further into it but so far it's crazy fun.  I don't keep up 100% but I know I'll get better.  I'm still lifting at the gym 3 times a week too, of course.  We've hit a good stride at the moment (knock on wood) and I'm wanting to make a July Bucket List to close out the month.  Said list will probably consist of "eat watermelon" and "run thru a sprinkler."  

How about you all?  Anything exciting happening?  Anything you think I should add to my bucket list?  Do you have a bucket list? 

It's Almost Summer!!

However, the past few days have been rainy and cold.  It's on its way though, I can feel it.

Things are going well here.  I feel like it usually takes me about 8 months or more to get into the swing of things after a new baby is born.  This time though, with Silas in preschool and having other commitments I wasn't able to spend my days wallowing in my fear and indecision.  We hopped right back on schedule, for the most part.  When Dahlia turned 6 months old, that's when I really started to feel better and more confident.  We started going back to the gym consistently when she was about 4 months old.  I know exercise helps me immensely.

So we're going to the gym at least 3 days a week.  I started a new program.  It's from the series The New Rules of Lifting for Women and it is titled Strong.  I really like it.  Nice, concise workouts.  I split my cardio to 3 separate days a week because I don't have that kind of time all at once right now.  I've been trying to get up early and do fasted cardio, and it's really great when that happens, but it's hard.  I've still got 15-20 pounds I would like to lose (yeah, yeah, I know EFF the scale and all that jazz but the truth is the truth).  I've just started tracking macros/calories after completing a "Whole120."  I'm glad to have whey based protein shakes back in my life.

You know, I feel like I haven't got much to say.  The most exciting thing we do is go to the gym.  I've been getting our groceries delivered so I don't have to schlep 3 kids to the store.  Peapod is a godsend.  When my husband gets home from work I recount every conversation I had with another adult to him.  He loves this.  We've been spending as much time as possible outside, riding bikes, playing in the sandbox and blowing dandelions.  Tonight we took a last minute trip to the park where we played Hide and Seek.  I forgot how much fun that game is.  My boys are hilarious, they don't wait for you to find them and they hide in the same place over and over.

I want to start a series of posts about "how I found out I was pregnant."  I think my stories are hilarious (of course I do) and I know other moms have got to have funny stories.  So I'm going to start Silas' story and if anyone wants to send me their story I will post it.       

Alright!  I'm tired, I can't think of anything more to write, I'm going to go to bed.         

   

It's been a really long time.

Well hello old blog!  It's been over 2 years since I last wrote here.  I've missed it!  Let's see, my last post I was expecting our second child who was born December 11th, 2014.  We named him Amos Phillip.  He's two now.  Aaaaaaand we welcomed a sweet, sweet baby girl in October.  Her name is Dahlia Brynn.  She will be 5 months old this month!  You could say we've been busy.

I've been thinking about blogging again and was encouraged by a couple of friends.  I've also got my evenings back to myself as all the babies are in bed early.  I'll be sharing some recipes, fitness stuff, random thoughts, encouragement, and self-depreciating humor.  You know, the usual.

I've also been thinking about sharing my birth stories?  I love reading birth stories, and I have written out Silas' story.  I have been wanting to type out the others before I forget (how can you forget?).  I was also thinking if anyone wants to submit their birth story, I would post it here too.  I remember pouring over so many stories before Silas was born and even now if I see one I can't resist.  That stuff is so fascinating!

OK!  If you've read this, have any ideas or anything to say, I want to hear it!         

Random Robin Williams because I can't figure out how to do my own pictures yet! 

39 Weeks plus a few days.

I hit 39 weeks on Saturday.  I don't think he's coming soon.  Last night I got my hopes up and I almost started making my phone calls, because I was feeling a little crampy, but I decided to wait and see.  Naturally, nothing more happened and I fell asleep.  I feel a little better though, I've decided not to get excited until the 20th.  That way I won't drive myself crazy.  Crazier.

I went to Target last night to get Silas his "big brother gift."  I had a little bit of trouble with this, because I want something he'll like but nothing elaborate or expensive.  I almost got sucked into a big drum filled with musical instruments.  Yes, exactly what I need is a tambourine he can play for his newborn brother.  He's been throwing things too so I don't want to give him any more wooden blocks.  So he got a small teddy bear, which I will give him in the hospital.  My friend who is also having a baby talked about getting her son a doll, kinda like a practice baby, and that sounded like a good idea to me so I bought Silas a small doll too.

At this point of the shopping trip I didn't know if I was going to break down and cry or throw up.  So I bought a pint of Ben & Jerry's Half Baked Frozen Yogurt (I'm cleaning up my diet) and went home.  It's all starting to feel so real and I got a little overwhelmed.  I'm having all those feelings I'm sure lots of moms do, how will I ever love another person as much as I love my son, how will having a sibling affect him, etc? 

Anyway, Saturday my friend took some pregnancy pictures of me and she printed a couple off for me to see today and I'm really excited to see the rest of them!  I'll post those when I get them.  It was really fun and I'm so glad I got to do them.  I didn't do them with Silas.  This one is an awkward one from today.  I can't selfie properly.

Another friend had a Christmas party today and it was so much fun.  It was one of the first times I've seen Silas "play" with another child, not just try and take toys away from his friends or play next to them.  He and another boy were chasing each other and laughing and pushing cars all over the place.  It was hilarious.  He fell asleep almost instantly on the car ride home. 

OK, let's do the update and get on with our lives. 

 How far along?  39 weeks and 3 days.

Size of Baby:  The baby is the size of a baby.  (Thank you Pregnant Chicken, no more stupid vegetables.)  About 20 inches and 7 pounds. 

Weight Gain:  Who's counting anymore?  I don't want to know.  See also: Ben & Jerry's.

Nursery:  Still not done.  I went up there and moved some things around.  I did unpack and sort through the baby clothes.  That was fun.  We have some new things, some new hand me downs, and some things that Silas wore.  It was a trip down memory lane and it made me really happy. 

Movement:  Yes, of course.

Symptoms:  Nothing new.  Heart burn and back pain.  Crabby as hell. 

Cravings:  Nothing really?  Cheeseburgers?  Is this part of the pregnancy getting boring?  Hahaha.  

Looking forward to:  Giving birth.  Of course.  If I make it this far, I'm going to continue my "tradition" of buying a little crystal on my due date.  With Silas I had wandered into a crystal shop and was chatting with the ladies and when they found out it was my due date they said I should hold onto rock crystal quartz for "energy."  So I did.  I'll try anything.  I ended up buying a pointy one and I took it into the delivery room with me.  It was sharp and I mostly poked myself in my numb fingers with it, but it's kinda nice to have something else to focus on while laboring.  I abandoned it after a short while though.  I had crying and whining to do. 

I'm sure I'll be back with a 40 week update.  God help me. 

Waiting...

I was starting to get really excited that baby would be joining us any second now.  I had dilated a couple centimeters, baby was head down and low, I felt awful.  Now I've realized that he's not coming for another couple of weeks.  At least one week.  I'm going to need more Tums.  And that's ok.  I had such a short labor with Silas, I feel if I let this baby come on his own time too, my labor will be short again.  And I won't have to have any unnecessary interventions.  That's the hope anyway.   

The past couple days have been very busy.  My mom spent the night last night, that was fun.  We had a late night grocery shopping session and then ate cheese and cookies.  Then this morning, my friend came over to help me prepare 9 freezer meals for after baby comes.  My mom was here to watch all the kids while we cooked.  This is all new to me and I'm very excited by the process.  The recipes come from Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer.  Basically you prep everything and then freeze it.  You can do a week's worth of meals in a few hours.  I'm going to get the book from the library and hopefully do a few more soon.  I'll be sure to report back.  I know some of my friends do this and love it.  We did a Parmesan Chicken, which you simply bake; a Hawaiian Pork dish that you throw in the crock pot; and a Black Bean Soup you reheat.  I was amazed because I thought we would be cooking everything and then freezing it.  This method, of course, makes much more sense.  So all you have to do is plan ahead a little bit and make sure you thaw your freezer meal out.  Add a rice or potato, a salad, or whatever and you're done!  Here's a link to the book on amazon, if you're interested.  

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Panic-Dinners-Freezer-Great-Tasting/dp/0800730550#

Saturday I will be 39 weeks.  I have plans to meet up with another lovely friend and take some maternity photos.  I'm excited.  I didn't have any done last time, so I'm looking forward to it.  I'd like to have a few pictures that look decent to remember this time.  

I think that's all I have today.  This weekend I hope to do a 39 week update since I skipped 38 and maybe I will have some photos from my maternity session to share.

Hey, do you do freezer meals?  Or make ahead kind of stuff?  I would love to hear all about it!  

 

37+ Week Update

I'm late doing my 37 Week Update.  I didn't feel like blogging this weekend.  Silas got a flu shot and he seemed a little under the weather all weekend.  I was sure I was getting the stomach flu on Saturday, but thankfully nothing ever came from that!  Silas is almost all back to normal today so I think it was just his shot. 

Today the weather was crazy!  It was raining when we woke up and by about 10 am it was snowing like crazy and cold enough to stick.  I decided that after our naps I was going to bundle us up and go outside.  Silas has never played in the snow.  He loved it!  I need to get him some boots and I'm thinking a snow suit would be good.  As it was I put 3 pairs of pants on him and his sneakers, a few long sleeved tops and his puffy coat.  My mom bought him these little mitten-like things (they had no finger or thumb dividers, but I don't think a 17 month old needs them anyway) and he seemed to keep pretty warm.  He didn't want to come inside. 

I'm hoping to keep getting him outside this winter.  He needs to get out and play.  It took a long time for us to get ready to go, and I know it will only get worse once there's 2 of them to dress for the cold.  I'm thinking that by the time our second son arrives and I feel like venturing out again, I will be able to put him in a carrier under my coat and I will know he is safe and warm and Silas will be able to run around.  Plus, I'm sure we will be able to streamline our "getting ready routine" if we do it more often.  Today I bundled us up and by the time we were ready I was hungry and Silas needed a diaper change.  So we had to take a break.  Haha.  But we made it and it was great.

OK!  The Update!

 How far along?  37 weeks.

Size of Baby:  One website says the size of a swiss chard, the other says a honeydew melon.  I swear we already did a honeydew melon.  In any case, just over 19 inches and 6 1/3 pounds.  When Silas was born he was 19 inches and 7 pounds even, so this baby is almost there! 

Weight Gain:  I'm still packing it on.  Hooray. 

Nursery:  No news here, I'm hoping to get up there this week and work on it.  My friend texted me today that she was working on her new baby's room while her son slept and I was... sleeping.  Of course. 

Movement:  He's still moving!  When I was pregnant with Silas I didn't know the difference between the Braxton Hicks contractions and the baby moving.  Maybe that sounds silly, but I just thought he was really stretching in there and that's what I was feeling.  Now, I'm still a little confused, but I know a bit better.  I remember getting a stress test and I was strapped up to a machine and I had a contraction and the doctor said "You can't feel that?" and I said "I feel that, I thought that was the baby!"  I hope I'm not the only one.   

Symptoms:  The never ending heart burn.  Tonight I'm going to finish one of my 2 bottles of Tums that I bought the last time I was at Walgreens.  I decided I eat a lot of acidic foods and that's not helping, but there's nothing to do about it now.  If I ever get pregnant again I'm going to buy stock in antacids. 

Cravings:  I want a grilled cheese to dip in some tomato soup.     

Looking forward to:  Thanksgiving.  We switch families every year because it's just too far to drive to both.  This year is Aaron's family and I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone.  And eating.  I'm planning to make a big pan of my macaroni and cheese.  It's so good.   

So how do you feel about getting out in the cold?  Any tricks for toddlers and little babies in the cold?  What about Thanksgiving food?  What's your favorite and what are you bringing?       

36 Week Update

I feel like I was just saying "I can't do this for another 10 weeks!"  Now there's only 4.  The last time I saw my midwife I was already 1 centimeter dilated.  I understand you can walk around a centimeter dilated for weeks, but I was still excited.  Baby is head down, and bald!  But I could have told you that.  We make bald babies. 

Things have been so sweet here.  This might be the calm before the storm.  I've decorated the house, my husband thinks it's too early, but I absolutely love it.  It's so beautiful and soothing.  Plus, I don't think I'll be wanting to do it in a couple weeks after Thanksgiving.  I want it now!

I bought a 3 foot tree.  I wasn't going to do a tree this year, I was afraid Silas wouldn't leave it alone, but I peeked in a bin of Christmas ornaments and spotted some of the cute "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments and got really sad that they might be packed away indefinitely if I couldn't come up with a solution.  So I bought a small tree, picked a few special, plastic ornaments, and decorated.  It's an awful picture, but it's a great tree and it makes me happy.

We also decided to try and push Silas's bedtime back to 7 pm.  He had been waking up before 6 am and that's too early.  Despite all the experts saying that we should put him to bed even earlier to see if that would help him sleep in, we decided to keep him up a bit longer since their way wasn't working.  Normally we would start bedtime at 6:30-6:45, but now we are starting at 7 and I'm typically out of the room by 7:20.  He's usually asleep before 7:45.  And now he's sleeping until 6:30-7 am.  It's great.  We're still transitioning in the nap department, I thought we had that down, but 2 good days does not mean you have it all figured out, unfortunately.  The best part of this has been that Silas is in a good mood by the time Aaron gets home and we have been enjoying this time as a family.  We're all sitting on the floor, rolling a ball or playing with blocks or reading books and it's been my favorite part of the day.  I feel so blessed.

One more picture before I get on to the update.  This is my dear friend Meghan.  We celebrated her with a baby sprinkle this weekend.  She is expecting her first baby girl early next year.  Her son is a month younger than mine and her daughter will be a month younger than my new baby.  So funny how that worked out.  I love this picture of us!

Have I mentioned how HOT I've been this pregnancy?  It's 30 degrees outside and snowing and here I am in a sleeveless dress.  OK!  To the update! 

 How far along?  36 weeks.

Size of Baby:  A papaya!  18.5 inches and 6 pounds. 

Weight Gain:  Last time I calculated it was about 20 pounds.  Math is fun. 

Nursery:  Aaron and my dad moved the crib and the dresser into his room.  They disassembled one table and I will need to move that downstairs this week.  After that I want to organize the drawers with all the clothes and such.  Then it's pretty much done! 

Movement:  I think he's running out of womb.  Har har har. 

Symptoms:  I bought 2 bottles of Tums the last time I was at Walgreens.  I'm hoping they will be my last, but I'm not sure.

Cravings:  My appetite isn't there anymore.  It's like the first trimester all over again.  I want a really good grapefruit but I keep buying duds.  I gotta find a good grapefruit.   

Looking forward to:  Finishing up the last minute things?  I froze my "Kid's Klub" account at the gym, I don't think I'll be going for a while, or taking Silas if I do go and they don't watch babies under 3 months of age so #2 won't be able to go for a while anyway.  Finishing the nursery.  Lastly, I want to organize our basement a little because I think we will be spending some time down there this winter.  Lots of room for an 18 month old boy to run around!     

Pregnancy Pillows and the 35 Week Update

35 weeks today!  Before I do the update, I want to talk really quickly about the two pregnancy pillows I've tried this pregnancy.  My friend got me this awesome pregnancy pillow.  It's called a Belly Rest Pillow.  I love it because it's so small and it can be positioned to support your belly and your back.  I think this one is great if you have a smaller bed, or haven't sent your partner to sleep on the couch yet.  It's awesome.  My other friend had given me her Leacho Inc Preggle Pillow and that pillow has been great too.  It's bigger, and shaped like a candy cane.  Once you throw your partner out of bed, you have this nice big pillow to snuggle.  Every time I go lay down I think "This thing is amazing."  I didn't feel the need for a special pillow when I was pregnant with Silas, but this time having the extra support in bed has been nice.  I've been using both these pillows together.  Double the back support, and having a cushion to support my big belly has been really nice.  Here's links to both pillows on amazon, if you need one or just want the bed to yourself.

The Leacho Pillow 

The Belly Rest Pillow

Grendel prefers the Belly Rest

On to the whiny update!  I've been walking around all week thinking I was already 36 weeks, so when I opened my pregnancy tracking app and saw I was only 35 weeks, I groaned, really loudly, at Target.  By myself.  Good thing I was there for Ben & Jerry's.  On the one hand, I'm scared of having a newborn again and how much that's going to change our lives.  On the other hand, I'm so uncomfortable, I want to be done.  I think I need to work on my attitude.  Christmas decorations may help.  I don't care how early it is. There may be a LOT of whining in this post, so feel free to skip the reading and come back in a couple weeks or 8 months or so. 

35 Week Update

How far along?  35 weeks.

Size of Baby:  Honeydew melon, over 18 inches long and over 5 pounds! 

Gender:  Boy!

Weight Gain:  I ain't even.  I feel like my skeleton doesn't want to support my body anymore, my tailbone doesn't want me to sit on it.

Nursery:  I'm happy to say I have gotten a lot done up there.  I put all my jewelry tools and odds and ends into bins and moved them downstairs to storage.  It was a little sad.  I don't know when I'm going to get them out again.  I moved most of the furniture that isn't staying in there to the basement and all the bins of baby boy clothes up to the closet in his room.  I have emptied the dresser that is going in his room and as soon as we get a couple more things out of there, I'm moving that up and I'll start organizing the drawers.  Then I think all that's left after that is moving the crib in.  It's already upstairs and I tried to push it down the hallway, but it got stuck.  My mom has been a huge help in this process.  I can't do this kind of thing with Silas running around and I nap when he does, so she's been coming over to hang with him so I can get some work done.  I know a more motivated person might skip the napping, but I am not that woman.

Movement:  Still kicking like crazy. 

Symptoms:  Heartburn as always, I'm waking up a few times at night to eat some Tums.  I knew I should have bought more than one bottle last time I was at Walgreens.  As I grabbed just one I thought to myself "This is the last bottle I'm going to need for this pregnancy!"  Yeah, right.  My back is also hurting by the end of the day.  I'm leaning on a heating pad in the evenings. 

Cravings:  Grapefruit.  Salad.  Ice.  Ice cream.  Pulled pork sammiches. 

Looking forward to:  I guess the last few little things before winter sets in. My dear friend is having a little girl in January and we are throwing her a sprinkle next weekend.  My dad's birthday is coming up and we're doing a joint "party" with my husband since he just had a birthday.  Thanksgiving is around the corner.  I love turkey. 

Did you use a pregnancy pillow?  More importantly, is it too early for Christmas decorations?  Let's talk about it in the comments. 

Halloween and a Soup Recipe!

I know I'm a few days late now, but I want to recap our Halloween.  We had so much fun!  On the 24th we went to a party at our very dear friend's house.  All the kids were dressed up, but I was the only mom in costume!  I don't know why this keeps surprising me.  I get really into Halloween and dressing up is my favorite part.  I decided early on that I wasn't spending any money on our costumes.  Silas is still little and we have so much fabric and costume accessories I wanted to work with what we've got.  I went as a witch and Silas went as an "imp."  I didn't get any good pictures though!  The actual day of Halloween we woke up to a little snow!  It was snowing big, fluffy flakes and was cold!  It didn't stick though and quickly warmed up, but not much!  When trick or treating started it was so windy and cold I kept waffling about whether or not to take Silas out and what kind of "costume" to put on him.  His imp costume was just a cut up old tee shirt, but it was too cold for that.  I ended up taking him in his regular clothes and coat with his bear hat on his head.  We went to 5 houses.  He's 17 months old, so he doesn't really care, you know?  I just knew the neighbors would miss him if they didn't see him so I have to do right thing and give people their dose of adorable.  My husband hates when I say things like that.  Says I sound conceited. 

Pretty and festive!  

I whipped up this soup on Halloween morning on a whim.  We grew butternut squash in our garden this year and I'm trying to use it up.  Sometimes I just slice it, bake it and feed it to the gentlemen, but I thought a nice warm soup would be good for us to eat on a chilly Friday.  I had already baked off a squash so this came together fast!  If you want to make this you will have to cut your squash in half, lay cut side down on a baking sheet, and bake until soft.  Depending on the size of your squash it may take a half hour to an hour.  I made a really small batch because I wasn't sure if we would like it.  Well, I have made it 3 times since, so needless to say, we like it a lot! 

Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 precooked butternut squash, skin peeled off.

• 2 tablespoons butter or olive or coconut oil, you can use less if you want, but I wanted our soup to be rich so I used butter.

• 1-2 tablespoons minced garlic, we're scared of vampires so we use lots of garlic.

• Spice, I used about 3 teaspoons of Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning.  This comes in a grinder bottle and contains salt, mustard seeds, black pepper, coriander, onion, garlic, paprika and chili pepper.  If you don't have this blend you could simply use salt, pepper, onion, maybe a little nutmeg or cinnamon?  Nutmeg would be tasty. 

• Water or milk to thin the soup.

Melt the butter in a large pot.  Add the garlic and saute on medium until fragrant and lightly browned.  Add in your spices and stir.  Add the squash, and milk or water.  You may want to turn the heat up a little if you're in a rush.  I used my immersion blender to blend everything together into a really smooth soup.  The first time I used only water, but today when I made it I used whole milk and my goodness, it was so rich.  Perhaps a little too rich.  Butternut squash bisque, if you will. 

How was your Halloween?  Do you like butternut squash soup?  Do you have other ideas for using it up?  

 

Sad, sad cookies.

Today was the most beautiful fall day.  I took Silas on two walks in the neighborhood.  The leaves are falling and crunchy, the colors are beautiful, there was a little breeze, absolutely perfect.  I had every intention of going to the gym today, but it didn't happen.  I'm getting tired, I feel huge and I'm not motivated.  Haha.  So we took naps and cooked.  I wanted cookies so I pulled out a favorite cook book and got baking.

 

I am a little upset. 

I followed the recipe, I even measured pretty exactly because I wanted GOOD cookies.  I have a tendency to change things and sometimes that doesn't work out but this time, I followed the recipe, dang it!  I'm guessing the author didn't test out her claim of "or coconut oil."  They do still taste good, so at least there's that.  You know I've been scraping them off the pan with a big spatula and eating it. 

I made soup too, and that turned out pretty good.  Thank goodness.  I can't deal with two failures in the kitchen in one day.  I even made mental notes of what I was doing so I could share it here.  

This is like a chicken chili or chicken tortilla inspired soup.   I'll call it Spicy Chicken Soup.  

For the chicken 

8 chicken tenderloin pieces or 4 boneless skinless breasts (I used Trader Joe's frozen tenderloins.) 

Fiesta Lime Mrs Dash 

Preheat oven to 350* and place the chicken on an oiled baking sheet.  Sprinkle liberally with the Mrs. Dash.  Bake until the chicken is no longer pink.  Mine took about 20 minutes.  Chop or shred, you're going to add this right to the soup at the end.  

For the Soup 

1 bag of Trader Joe's Fire Roasted Veggies or 1 medium onion and 2 bell peppers

1 cup Trader Joe's Fire Roasted Corn or whatever corn you have 

1 14 oz can tomatoes, I used "Southwestern with green chiles" 

1 14 oz can kidney beans

1/4 cup chili powder

2 tablespoons cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of cayenne

pinch of chipotle powder

Chicken stock or water and bouillon 

I started by cooking the bag of veggies on medium heat, these come frozen and cook down very quickly, then I added the corn and spices.  I try to keep things on the mild side so Silas can eat what we do, but I didn't do a very good job of that this time.  He ate a few beans, but I could tell it was too spicy for him.  Poor kid. Once that is cooked down, add the can of tomatoes and the beans.  At this point I added about 2 cups of water and a tablespoon of chicken bouillon.  Heat through.  When the chicken is done and chopped add that to the pot and stir.  Simmer on low for a while or until you remember you've got the stove on.  

You can serve this with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, fresh limes or whatever you like.  I shredded a little cheese on the top of mine.  

I love Trader Joe's.  These are a staple in our house.

The veggies, corn, tomatoes, beans and spices.

With the water and bouillon added.

Chicken fresh from the oven. 

 My bowl.

With cheese.  You can see Silas's little plate in the background.  He didn't love it. 

What have you messed up in your kitchen lately? 

32 Week Update

I'm just going to make this a quick one.  I haven't felt like writing this week.  We had some play dates, some crazy diaper rash and Silas got his flu shot.  We even made it to the gym twice.  Woot!  

How far along:  32 weeks.
   
Size of Baby:   A large jicama, 3 3/4 pounds, and nearly 17 inches.   
 

Weight Gain:  About 15 pounds.  Ahem.   

Nursery:  Now I'm starting to freak out about this.  I have 8 or 9 weeks tops.   

Movement:  He's still moving a lot.  I'm looking forward to him running out of room, maybe then he'll keep his arms and legs to himself.   

Symptoms:  Nothing new.  The usual aches and pains, having even more trouble getting comfortable for sleep.   

Cravings:   This baby desires lots and lots of protein.  I baked some chicken legs today and there were no leftovers.  I will be doing that again tomorrow. 

What I Miss:  I keep seeing these really yummy looking cocktails for fall.  We used to gather around the fire in the yard with the neighbors and roast marshmallows and sip delicious cocktails.  The fires are still going but sometimes I'm so tired by the end of the day, I won't even go out for a little fire and a marshmallow. 

Looking Forward To:  I'm planning to go to Chicago to see my friend's band next weekend.  I haven't seen his band play in probably 5 years and I haven't seen him since I was pregnant with Silas.  I'm looking forward to a little fun in the city.  OH!  And all the fun Halloween festivities! 

Overnight Oats and 31 Week Update

I can't believe I'm 31 weeks today!  It's cooler here, but I know I'm in the home stretch because I've started crunching ice.  When I was pregnant with Silas I ate so much ice at the end.  It drove my supervisor crazy.  I made at least 2 trays of ice at work everyday and ate them.  A quick google search says this may be a sign of anemia.  I better thaw out some steaks to be on the safe side.  Anything for a steak.  

I wanted to share my overnight oats "recipe" with you guys.  I like to have this made and ready to go so I don't have to worry about breakfast in the morning.  The recipe is basic and very easy, with endless possibilities.  A quick google search will yield so many variations, you could try a new one everyday for a year probably.  I use old fashioned rolled oats, but any oats work, except maybe steel cut oats.  The special thing I've started doing is making these in mason jars.  I take about 6 jars, measure out the oats, maybe add some chia seeds, and then every couple nights add some fresh mix-ins, the milk and shake!  It makes our mornings that much easier. 

Basic Overnight Oats
1/2 cup Oats.
1/2 cup milk of your choice, any will work: almond, soy, rice, cow, goat, emu.  Sometimes I use water if I'm adding yogurt.  We don't drink juice, but I bet you could use it.  Apple juice and cinnamon?  Yummy.

That's the basic formula, stir or shake, cover and refrigerate.

Add Ins
Fruit, frozen or fresh.
Pumpkin!
Yogurt, we like Greek.
Protein powder, you'd have to experiment with the amount of liquid if you added protein powder.  I've tried chocolate protein with peanut butter.  That is a breakfast with staying power.
Chia seeds, about a tablespoon will do, be sure to add extra liquid, chia seeds can absorb 10 times their weight in water!
Nuts or nut butter.
Sweetener if you want.  I like maple syrup, but someone ate it all (it was me).

Here's some pictures of the two I threw together tonight for tomorrow.

 This is 1/2 cup oats with frozen mixed berries for the Mr. and about 1/2 cup pumpkin puree and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice for Silas and I. 

 Adding the milk, soy milk for the Mr. and whole milk us.

 All shook up!  Ready to soak in all that goodness.  You can microwave these for a nice hot breakfast or eat them cold.

Let's make the 31 week update quick!  The list is getting redundant.  The baby is now approximately 16 inches long and 3.3 pounds, about the size of a romaine lettuce.  I have put on more weight than I care to mention, I'm still having a boy, the nursery has barely been worked on,  he's kicking the bejesus out of me, I have heart burn and I'm out of my preferred brand of antacid (Walgreens brand, Tums style, tropical fruit flavored; this is very important), craving ice, missing wine, and looking forward to Halloween! 

The Apple Festival and Forest Preserve

The weekend was a little off for me.  Saturday was a hard day.  It was cold and rainy and I lost my car in a parking lot.  I was walking around and around clicking the car lock to try and hear it, but that wasn't working.  Naturally I was running late too so I was about ready to cry by the time I found it.  Thankfully, I didn't have Silas with me.  A few other things happened but I won't rehash it all.  Sunday was better!  In the afternoon we headed to the Heirloom Apple Festival that I've been looking forward to.  It was at the Leroy Oakes Forest Preserve.  I've never been to this particular forest preserve before.  There is a little farm house on the premises, the Durant House Museum.  It was so cool to walk through the house.  There were people in period clothing giving tours and slicing up heirloom apples.  They had about 10 apples to try and most of them I've never heard of before.  They also have a one room school house on the property.  You can go in and ring the big school bell, write on a slate "chalk board" with a piece of soap stone and try on the dunce cap.  I really love this kind of thing.  I didn't get so many great pictures, I had Silas in the sling and it's hard to take pictures like that but here's a few. 

The table of apples.

This is the table in the "modern kitchen." I loved the stove. 

Inside the school house. 

 

The dunce cap!!

Monday we went to the gym.  I didn't make it last week so I'm glad to be back at it this week.  Silas loves to go play with all the kids.  He couldn't get in the door to the play room fast enough.  

Today we went to a state park, this one is about 5 minutes from the house and I love it.  It's James Pate Philip State Park.  They have a cool nature center and lovely trails.  I haven't seen much of the trails, one time the creek was flooded over the bridge and today I was letting Silas walk around so we didn't make it far.  I thought we would be there for a couple hours, but he didn't last long.  He walked well for a while, but he keep tripping.  I was trying to teach him how to dust off his hands by brushing them on his pants.  I was demonstrating by brushing my hands on my pants and he walked over and dusted his hands off on my pants.  I cracked up.   

I'm trying to squeeze as much fun things as I can in the last few moments of my time with Silas as an "only" child.  Winter is coming and so is the new baby.  I'm afraid we will be cooped up and exhausted.  I know things will be changing dramatically, so I'm trying to treasure these last moments. 

I'm hoping to share a couple easy make-ahead breakfast ideas this week.  I love when I can get up and not think about frying eggs for the masses. 

How are you enjoying your last few moments before winter? 

30 Week Update!

It's funny how things change.  It's Friday night and I'm home.  Before Silas I would be deep, deep, deep into happy hour by now.  I don't even think you can call it happy hour at this point.  So far tonight I've mopped the floors and washed my hair.  The floors really needed it, I'm not going to comment on my hair.  My husband sold his motorcycle tonight too.  I know he was a little sad to see it go.  More changes.  But I know neither of us would have it any other way.

I skipped week 29.  So we are at 30 now!  I can't believe it.  I was told your second pregnancy flies by and it seems true.  Although looking back to when I first found out, I would be walking around the neighborhood in the evenings, and it hardly felt like spring.  I would walk around and "talk" to the baby in my head and that all feels so long ago.  Now I'm 3/4 of the way through!  I should probably start working more seriously on the nursery.   

How far along:  30 weeks.
 

Size of Baby:   About the size of a large cabbage, nearly 16 inches and almost 3 pounds!  

Weight Gain:  About 13 pounds. 

Nursery:  I have started cleaning it out.  A couple nights ago I took two bags of beloved items trash out of there.  It's a start. 

Movement:  Still kicking good!  It starting to hurt my ribs. 

Symptoms:  Some aches and pains, my back is starting to hurt now too.  I need to do my prenatal yoga.  And hit the gym!  We haven't been this week.  

Cravings:  Today I wanted Mexican food in the worst way, something like a chimichanga and rice and re-fried beans.  We got Chipotle.  It did the trick. 

What I Miss:  Taking deep breaths, everything is getting all squished up in there, including my lungs.   

Looking Forward To:  Aaron and I have a date out tomorrow night and Sunday there's an heirloom apple festival at a forest preserve near here.  I find heirloom fruits and veggies very interesting.  That sounds a little nerdy.    

I thought this was too funny not to share.  I ordered our Chipotle online and Aaron went to go pick it up.  You can save your order so it's easier to order every time.  We usually get salads and they're named "Charisse" and "Aaron" but I didn't want a salad.  I wanted a giant burrito with everything in it.  So I made that order and instead of naming it "Charisse" because it's not really me wanting to eat a giant burrito with everything in it, it's the tiny tyrant in my belly.  So I named it "Pregnant Wife."  (I don't think there's anyone who thinks I'm funnier than I think I am, except maybe my mom).  I was hoping they would see that and take pity on me or my husband.  I hoped that this could lead to our order being filled quickly or a free burrito or a really big burrito or something.  I got this:  

This made my night.  I should really get out more.  For the record, it was a really big burrito. 

 

My Little Announcement

Since I said I had an announcement, a couple people have asked if we're having twins.  No, no.  That would be a BIG announcement.  I guess that's what I get for leaving people in suspense.  The announcement is that I've opened an Etsy shop!  I'm slowly listing things and as I make more things, I will add them.  Here's the link!  Honey Bee Jewelry Co on Etsy  I'm really excited.  I've got a lot to learn still but I'm glad I took the first step!  All you can do is try.  Here's a few things you would find there. 

 Lapis and Moonstone Bracelet

Green Quartz and Moonstone Bracelet

I think this pendant is so cool!  It's a pumice stone, painted green with a turquoise bead on top and a spiral on the bottom.  I love it.  

 

I love this one too.  Similar to the green one, it's a painted pumice stone accented with hematite discs.  

 

This is an unpainted pumice stone with a dangling star.  Sorta celestial.  

 

I gave all the ladies in my family a pendant like this last Christmas.  This is a turquoise cross with pink tourmaline accents. 

I'm hoping to get out to the flea market soon to pick up some more beads.  It's a pretty good hobby for wintertime too!  

Do you have an Etsy shop?  We could be shop friends if you did.  Do you have a winter hobby?  Or an anytime hobby?  I know some of my friends are crafty! 

2 Outfits and A Ton of Jibber Jabber

Today was another busy day.  I'm cleaning out my studio, making room for the new baby.  I have a tendency to hoard things or scoop them up and save them in case I need whatever it is.  I had a ton of these tiny seed beads sitting around taking up room.  I was starting to throw them away and felt bad about it.  I know I'm never going to use them but it seems so wasteful to toss them.  So I boxed them all up and posted on a garage sale site that they were available for free.  They were spoken for in 20 minutes.  I met the lady this morning for the drop off.  I think I might have to start selling these kind of things.  Even if it's only $5.  Haha.  We met this lady near a donut shop (coincidence?) so we stopped in for a bagel before our mom's group at the hospital.  I might have bought a bunch of donut holes too.  For the other moms. 

Silas is transitioning from two naps to one.  It's been a little hard on all of us.  So I'm trying a new tactic and today it worked very well.  We were busy all morning and I was trying to get home before he fell asleep in the car.  He fell asleep anyway but he was so tired he barely stirred when I carried him inside.  He looked so darn cute I almost put him in bed with me.  I miss snuggling with him since we moved him to his crib.  He slept for two and a half hours and was a happy camper the rest of the day.  Totally awesome.  We spent a lot of the afternoon outside running around.  The weather was cool, in the 50's.  Perfect for fall.  He walked the whole way around our block.  Our block is bigger and oddly shaped, it takes me about 10 minutes to go around.  It took us about 45.  He loved being able to roam freely though, so it was worth it. 

He's got one of his favorite things here, a big stick! 

On with the outfits!  I wore this dress over the weekend and I absolutely love it.  My friend picked it up for me at a garage sale (thanks Heather!).  It's so comfy and the material is heavy enough that I can see myself using it through the fall.  Put on a scarf, some boots, a jacket and you're set!  

 

This is Liz Lange from Target.  I'm pretty sure this is the same dress but this one is similar and on clearance for 12 bucks and change. 

 I have no idea where to look when I'm taking a selfie.  I wore this outfit this morning.  The jeans are the same ones I talked about in this post.  When I was pregnant with Silas I didn't like the full panel on my pants, I had a pair of jeans that was elastic in the back and had the tiniest fly I've ever seen in the front.  I think the zipper had 10 teeth.  And it never stayed up.  But I couldn't find the same pair this time and every pair I get that are low rise aren't flattering or are uncomfortable.  These are working great for me.  The top my older sister bought for me from the Goodwill for $4 last pregnancy and I found the skinny belt at JC Penney for a couple bucks.  It was a 2 pack, one black belt, one brown.  There are deals out there for maternity clothes! 

I feel like this post has gone on and on so I'm going to end it here.  I have a little announcement coming by the end of the week, so watch out for that!