12 years ago today

J and I started dating. And who remembered? Not this girl. Nope, J came home for lunch and reminded me. What a guy.

On a side note I’d like to say that I think my jean overalls are slightly amazing and I think this needs to come back into style at some point. Although I’m honestly not sure if they were ever “in style” back then.

I just don't know what to do with myself

A random cat picture. I’m sure these will start turning into baby pictures shortly. Do not ask me how Winston managed to jump up onto that tiny platform.

I haven’t been doing much besides quilting lately. Not a lot of reading, not a lot of cooking, not a lot of blogging. But my soon-to-be nieces’ quilt is so close to being done. I’m already doing the hand sewing for the binding; once I finish that and give it a good wash it will be done! Such a good feeling. I’m I’m pretty excited about how it turned out.

That means that next week I will be able to really get going on my own quilt for Bean. I have started it, but since I’m making it up as I go I still need to figure out some fabric yardages and buy some materials. I’m hoping to have this quilt done by the 3rd weekend in April, so three weeks from now. That is about a month before my due date! I think I can, I think I can.

Otherwise I’m fighting an acute split personality disorder; it’s my extremely fatigued and unmotivated self versus my inherently organized, to-do-list making, planning, go, go, go self. The tired, ever larger pregnant belly me is saying that we’ve done 98% of what really needs done and to just toss the rest of the list out the window and relax. The OCD, type A me is saying not only are we not ready, our current lists aren’t even up to par and that I need some serious color-coded revisions and a more detailed timeline of the next 6 weeks to prepare for baby!

J just thinks I’m nuts and wants to know what’s for dinner.

The nursery is really just about finished. We need to buy some blackout curtains and I think we’ll be good.

I’ve started to pack hospital bags; one for baby and one for J and I. I do need to buy a few more things and commit to packing the rest of it into said bags. But it’s almost there.

Need to install the car seat.

The garage is driving me nuts. Over the course of a long and bitter North Dakota winter it has gotten messy. Not just grimy and needs swept out with the leaf blower messy, but unorganized, stuff randomly everywhere messy. When it’s –40 outside you tend to just stick your arm out the door, toss your item and let it stay where it lands! It’s still not warm enough to empty the space out and organize, but I sure hope it gets to that point soon!

And to garden or not to garden…? Planting time around here is late. According to the farmers almanac it’s the weekend of my due date. Maybe not the smartest thing this year? But I so would like some fresh herbs and tomatoes and a few pots of flowers. Decisions.

Maybe it's not pregnancy at all, maybe this is a true diagnosable case of spring fever?! It's been quite a while since I lived in a place with winter. And what a winter!

Anyway, enough about my unorganized pregnant brain and the fact that it’s driving me nuts.
I’ve got a quilt to work on. And even though Easter is a good month away I started binge watching Easter Parade this week. So I’m gonna go brew a cup of tea and get back to my quilt and my movie and figure out what is really going to get done on my to-do list … later! As the natives say, uff da!

Bread & Wine

My Mom bought me Bread & Wine for Christmas. It looked good, reminded me a lot of another book my Mom gave me for my birthday last year called The Spirit of Food. But amidst my travels so far this year, sewing projects (I'm soooo close to being done with my nieces baby quilt) and a never ending pile of baby related books here it is March and I'd not yet touched it.

Then suddenly it began to appear everywhere. One of my good friends read it and loved it. It popped up on several blogs that I read. And overwhelmed with topics like breastfeeding, natural childbirth, vaccine safety, etc. I decided to put down the baby books and read this!

Side note: I think I'm going to return my disturbingly giant pile of baby related literature to the library for good. I need to read for pleasure. All this "research" is leaving me stressed and drained instead of excited and feeling prepared. I'm moving on! And I really think our family of three will still survive.

Back to Bread and Wine. So glad I finally picked this up. I loved it. Really loved it. It's the kind of book you don't want to put down, but also the kind that you force yourself not to read too quickly because you really don't want it to be over. I cried. I never cry over books. OK, very rarely.

It's in many ways a book of short stories or essays. Surprisingly enough many are about pregnancy and having babies! Obviously they're all centered around food, cooking, eating. And often they are also largely about God, hospitality, loving people.

Here are some of the quotes that resonated with me.

 

 

Pg. 15 "...but part of becoming yourself, in a deeply spiritual way, is finding the words to tell the truth about what it is you really love."

 

Pg. 41 "... About making your home a place where people are fiercely protected, even if just for a few hours, from the crush and cruelty of the day."

 

Pg. 43 "... I started cooking the way I start everything: by reading."

 

Pg. 98 "I want my kids to learn firsthand and up close that different isn't bad, but instead that different is exciting and wonderful and worth taking the time to understand. I want them to see themselves as bit players in a huge, sweeping, beautiful play, not as the main characters in the drama of our living room."

 

Pg. 106 "What people are craving isn't perfection. People aren't longing to be impressed; they're longing to feel like they're home."

 

Pg. 132 "We don't learn to love each other well in the easy moments."

 

Pg. 195 "Or you can decide that every time you open your door, it's an act of love, not performance or competition or striving."

 

Pg. 203 "I practice, since that trip, being entirely where I am, glamorous or not, and what I find is that it's better to be in one place wholly and full-heartedly, than a thousand splintery half-places, glamorous as they may be."

Now go read this book immediately!

I'm on to a little comfort food: Jane Austen's Emma.

Baby journal: Week 31

No picture this week. I forgot! Blame my pregnancy brain. Also, they're really just not cute anymore... But I already took a 32 week photo, so there will be one next week.

 

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #8

 

Week #31 (3-9-14 – 3-15-14) 

 

Weight Gain #1

 

Bump I’ve noticed it’s gotten quite hard this week. And of course growing. My doctor said I’m measuring right on schedule.       

 

Baby Nicknames  Bean

 

Symptoms  Where to start… I started having Braxton Hicks contractions this week along with a little cramping. Freaked me out! I wouldn’t mind an early baby, but 31 weeks is too early. The doctor assured me all was normal. My ribs are sore to the touch and it’s hard to breathe. My back is bothering me, especially at night while I’m not sleeping. Also a little heartburn/reflux this week.   

 

Cravings  I’m tired, which equals low motivation/energy. Cooking is just not my thing lately. Not really craving anything, in fact it’s been the I’m hungry but nothing sounds good scenario.  

 

Emotions  Anxious. Anxious to get the labor and delivery thing over with and anxious to meet the baby! I want to know what it looks like and if it’s a boy or girl! 

 

Sleep  Crap-tastic. On a good night I’m up after 2 hours to pee, up again about 4 hours later to pee and have minimal tossing, turning and repositioning of pillows. On a bad night I don’t even feel like I’ve slept. It’s getting frustrating. I miss sleep and the baby isn’t even here yet!    

 

The big moment of the week  Had a routine doctor’s appointment. Everything was fine. My fasting glucose came back at 74 (normal is 90 or below). We took a tour of the birthing center. The nurse was nice and the floor seemed updated and nice. Then on Saturday we took a childbirth preparation class. J said he could have done without the life scarring videos and being forced to wear the “empathy belly” but otherwise it was informative. I’ve also started packing hospital bags!  

 

Weather  Up and down. 40’s and rain for a day or two, then back to cold and snow again. Over the weekend the overnight temps were back to negative numbers. But I’ve had the windows open any chance I get!!  

 

Current events  A passenger airliner with over 200 people on board went missing between Malaysia and China. Still hearing lots of rumblings about Russia, Ukraine and Crimea. OSU did not win the Big10 basketball championship.    

 

Worries 

 

Looking Forward to  Being done with this pregnancy!

Niece’s baby quilt: Part III

Sewing the Large Star Blocks

 

This was an easy and quick step. You're at the point where you can finally visualize the big picture and the sewing is easy and goes quickly. Again, the hardest part, and really it wasn't hard but time consuming, was figuring out where to place the colors and patterns so that it looked "random". I started going cross-eyed and made J come and help at one point.  Here are a few shots of me laying things out on the floor before sewing.
On to Part III!

We’ve assembled the small star point blocks (that was part II). All 48 of them. We’ve already got 96 white squares, and 12 colored squares (that was part I). All of these squares should be 5”. The next step is putting them together to form the large star blocks. One large star block will equal nine of these 5” blocks. We will be making twelve large star blocks total.

So, step one! Take 1 of your 12 colored 5” blocks and 2 of your 48 star point blocks. Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance sew a star point block to both the left and right of your colored block so that the colored parts of both blocks come together. Press your seams toward the middle of the square. Make 12 of these strips!

The next step is exactly the same sewing, but with different 5” blocks. This time you will use two white 5” blocks and one 5” star point block. Simply sew the star point block between your two white squares. Press these seams away from the middle square. This will make future sewing much easier. Make 24 of these strips! 


Now it’s time to take three of your strips and sew them together to make one whole star block. You will have one strip with a colored center and two strips with star points in the center; one above and one below your strip with the colored center. Here’s a picture of them laying together before being sewn.


Match up your seams for two of the rows and pin right sides together. Use a 1/4 inch seam allowance and sew! Repeat for your third row and when you’re done you have a completed large star block. Press your seams and measure to make sure each large block is 14 inches square; trim if necessary. You will make 12 of these large blocks!


The next step is sewing the quilt top; joining your 12 large star blocks together and adding the boarders. Step 5 is piecing your quilt back and basting together your layers. Step 6 is quilting the quilt. And the final step, step 7, is binding the quilt.

I have already completed steps 4 and 5 and am hoping to start and finish step 6 this week and step 7 next week. But I’m not posting any more tutorials until my sister sees the final product in person!

I’ve also already started cutting and sewing blocks for Bean’s baby quilt. I’m hoping to really get going on that the last week of March and finish sometime in mid-April. And then I think I’m hanging up my sewing hat for a while. Wish me luck!

Carrot Bundt Cake

I’m not a big fan of carrot cake. But my husband is! And despite the fact that there are still feet of snow on the ground here, it’s starting to feel like spring. And there is something about spring-time and carrot cake. Plus, it was my week to bring snack to Bible Study.

So I went exploring on the internet to see if I couldn’t dig up a good carrot cake recipe. I’ve made them before, but from kits and out of boxes, never from scratch. I found several, but invariably they contained a lot of oil or were smothered in cream cheese icing. My main complaint against carrot cake is that cream cheese icing. Incidentally my husbands favorite part.

I finally stumbled upon a recipe for carrot bundt cake. Bundt cake? It was made with butter, not oil, and contained lots of orange juice and zest. Best of all, the icing was a much lighter powdered sugar concoction with a bit of butter and more orange. Now here was a cake I could get behind!

A few notes. 2 1/2 cups of sugar is a lot of sugar. And it looks like a lot of sugar. It will be OK. Three cups of carrot is a lot of carrot and you will be grating for a good 10 minutes; do that first! Second, melt your butter so it has a chance to cool down before you throw it in with your eggs and beat everything together.

Here is the original recipe source: http://bakingbites.com/2008/03/carrot-bundt-cake/

And here is the recipe complete with some pictures from my very own kitchen:

 

Carrot Bundt Cake

 

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup orange juice (fresh, if possible)
zest of one orange
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups shredded carrots (from about 4 large carrots)
1 cup raisins (You could add nuts to your raisins, or omit the raisins for all nuts to equal 1 cup.)

 

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. (DO NOT SKIP! I used Baker’s Joy and it worked perfectly.)

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

In another mixing bowl, beat together sugar, eggs, butter, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until almost combined.

 

Stir in shredded carrots and raisins. Batter should have carrots and raisins evenly distributed and no dry streaks of flour remaining.

Pour cake batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (This cake will be dark on the outside from the caramelization of sugar against the pan; don’t worry!)

Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

 

Makes 1 cake. Serves 12-14.

 

 

Orange Glaze
1 tbsp butter, very soft
2 tbsp orange juice
1 cup powdered sugar

 

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth (I used a spoon). Add in a few drops more orange juice only if frosting is too thick. Place your cake on it’s final serving dish and spoon the glaze over the finished cake. (I added some festive sprinkles!)

 

Baby journal: Week 30

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #8

 

Week #30 (3-2-14 – 3-8-14) 

 

Weight Gain #2 (yikes!)  

 

Bump It is BIG. I thought in January I was big. Wrong. I can’t imagine how much bigger I’m going to be in 10-ish weeks. And my belly is hard, no give when I try and bend over, it’s hard to breath and eat. So thankful for my big belly… but I’m not going to miss the look/feeling once Bean arrives.  

     

Baby Nicknames  Bean

 

Symptoms Start of the week: I’d say I’ve really started to get uncomfortable this week. I can’t sit on the couch or lay in bed without changing positions frequently. There doesn’t seem to be a comfortable position anywhere anymore. Not nauseas, but still no real appetite. I want junk food and snack food instead of anything healthy or actual meals. Headaches again. End of the week: My visit to the chiropractor and sleeping with a few pillows have really helped all but my crummy appetite!       

 

Cravings  Popcorn. Coke. Ice cream. Pickles. Chocolate. Basically junk.  

 

Emotions  I’ve felt more emotional this week. Easily upset and weepy. A bit stressed and overwhelmed.  

 

Sleep  I’m sleeping not great. Lots of tossing and turning. I can’t get asleep long enough or well enough to even have weird dreams. I’ve been feeling more tired and less motivated and I think that’s making me somewhat stressed and more emotional.   

 

The big moment of the week  I went to the chiropractor (needed that!) and made a few appointments for more frequent intervals. Bean continues to move and twist and kick and flip and jab and is just soooooo active! It’s still making me nervous for after he or she arrives. :-)

 

Weather  Cold. Snow. Repeat. Although I did hear a bird this week! First bird I’ve heard in months. That’s hopeful right?! 

 

Current events  Russia and the Ukraine and words like war, invasion, etc. 

 

Worries  If I feel huge and uncomfortable now and I’m already unable to sleep how am I going to do this 10-ish more weeks?!  

 

Looking Forward to  Our hospital tour after our next doctor’s appointment. 

 

Book Reviews

 I've heard about this book from many people. A good friend who is also a pediatrician. My cousin whose first baby is a champion sleeper. Various internet blogs and articles. So after checking it out of the library about 5 times and not reading it, I finally read it. It didn't take long to do, it's a quick read.

 

And I liked it. The most common negative feedback about the book I'd have to agree with; it doesn't need to be an entire book. It's very repetitive. Honestly there are two pages 125 pages into the book that tell you what the other 235 pages have to say. However, I get the author. Like myself he seems to need an explanation for everything. It's not enough to say do this because I said so or because it works, I need to know why exactly I'm doing it. I need enough information to decide it's a 'best practice' not just a load of crap opinion. And while he also says the same things over again, I get that too. Sometimes it takes hearing something with different words or illustrated in a new way for it to really click. So yes, the book is repetitive. Yes that is sometimes annoying. But reading this before my baby arrives and not needing to immediately utilize it's techniques to quiet a screaming infant while sleep deprived I didn't find it was that big a deal.

 

The book summary: colic is a fancy medical term for "your baby is fussy and cries and we don't know why so here is a 'diagnosis'". Here are the common theories about colic and why they don't make sense. Here are this authors new theories and why they make sense. And finally, here's what to do about "colic" and beyond that how to have a newborn that is happier and sleeps better at night. The term 'the 4th trimester' is becoming a popular phrase and I think this guy may have been ahead of his time in coining it. All things in this book point back to the environment baby just came from, the womb, and how to recreate that for them at least in the short term (first 3-4 months).

 

What the book isn't: a cry it out, schedule your child book. Although he doesn't say bad things about those methods he really hones in on the very first 3 months of baby's life and explains that you just can't spoil them during this time! He would probably be more on the "crunchy" side of things advocating baby wearing, co-sleeping and breastfeeding. But I found him quite rational and middle of the road. He also says by 3-4 months it's time to wean baby off all this womb reenactment and get them sleeping in their crib, take away binky, and let them use their own natural coping methods or you might be sorry down the road.

 

Good book! Well researched. An easy read. Very practical advice, and very specific methods. I don't think anyone on either end of the parenting spectrum would be offended by anything in it unless you're a fanatic in either direction. I'd recommend it.

 

 

  This book was a free download. It's brand new, and apparently part of a series of book for busy people. It was a short 88 page "guide" on HypnoBirthing. I really felt it was more like reading a research paper. It brought up and defined all the main points, it pointed you towards more detailed reading, and was a basic overview. I didn't like it, I didn't dislike it. I don't think there was enough to it to have much of an opinion about. It was free so no love lost, but I wouldn't put this on the top of your pregnancy reading.

 

 

 

Baby Journal: week 29

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #8

 

Week #29 (2-23-14 – 3-1-14) 

 

Weight Gain #0  

 

Bump I’m starting to outgrow my sized up Old Navy shirts, my good winter coat and have difficulty putting my own socks and shoes on. This is problematic since I still have 10-ish weeks to go. 

      

Baby Nicknames  Bean

 

Symptoms  Some heartburn and reflux. I often feel out of breath. But honestly I’ve been feeling really good and I’ve been exercising a lot this week! 

 

Cravings  Still want fish. Rice Crispies. Chocolate.

 

Emotions  

 

Sleep  Sleep is getting more difficult. I toss and turn a lot because one position just doesn’t stay comfortable for very long. Still have lots of weird dreams too.  

 

The big moment of the week  The nurse called with all my lab results; all normal and no sign of gestational diabetes. And I was able simply to have a fasting glucose, none of that nasty drink and waiting for hours!  

We met with our doula again and wrote our birth plan.

I’ve also been working on master lists to get us ready for baby: food to freeze, bags to pack, things to finish in the nursery, etc.

 

Weather  We’ve been breaking records again. It was –29 one morning this week without wind chill. A few flurries. Thankfully also lots of sunshine.

 

Current events  It’s hockey tournament time here in ND. They’ve been canceling TV shows and school for it lately!  We went out for dinner several nights this week. That’s been nice and soon will be much harder to do.

 

Worries  What my wardrobe will consist of from now until May 

 

Looking Forward to  Meeting Bean! I’m really starting to wonder if it’s a girl or boy, what it looks like, how big they will be, what sort of temperament they will have (hopefully super calm and easy going!!)

 

Hello March

You’ve heard of march roaring in like a lion?

“March roars in like a lion
So fierce,
The wind so cold,
It seems to pierce.
The month rolls on
And Spring draws near,
And March goes out
Like a lamb so dear”  -Lorie Hill

 

Well this morning it is –20 degrees and feels like –43 degrees. I am praying the latter part of the poem holds as true as the beginning seems to.

What I’ve been (and would like to be) Reading…

As I mentioned in my only book review of February, I have been reading. But I’ve been quilting and sewing a lot more. There is something so rewarding about sitting down and making cute and cozy little items for a baby on the way. Something about the act that connects me to a hundred other women who have gone before and done the same thing. So I’ll not complain about my lack of completed books lately.

My list of books to read is always ridiculously long, but it’s grown even more so this past month. The photo is a just a sampling of my most immediate to-read titles. I’m currently reading two books: Happiest Baby on the Block and a guide to HypnoBirthing for busy people (not pictured because it’s on my kindle). Up next is Bread and Wine because I’ve had it since Christmas (thank you Momma) and I keep hearing amazing things about it everywhere. After that, I’m sure it’ll be back to baby-related books. New priorities you know.

I’ve been Listening to…

Two Pandora stations. Traditional Country Hymns and French Cafe Radio. The first I imagine my Grandma joining in and singing with me from heaven. The second is relaxing and does wonders in mentally whisking me away from frozen ND whilst drinking hot tea, reading and indulging in Girl Scout cookies.

I also need to find a good playlist of relaxing music for labor. It’s on my to-do list.

Watching…

I’ve been binge “watching” BBC miniseries. I put watching in quotation marks because it’s what’s been on in the background. While I’ve been quilting I’ve been playing the more recent adaptations of Jane Austen’s books like Emma. I’ve also been re-watching old faithfuls like the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice. Cranford season 1 is free to stream on Amazon Prime right now.

My Kitchen has been rather quiet lately…

My stomach is shrinking and I’m being forced to eat smaller and smaller meals. Frankly the only thing that sounds good is fish. But I did roast a chicken last weekend and J made the most amazing mashed potatoes. I’ve also made my favorite fish recipe several times; tilapia fillets breaded in panko, crushed almonds and lemon pepper seasoning then pan fried in a butter olive oil mixture. Yum! And of course, I made my birthday angel food cake from scratch.

some good things I’ve come across recently around the web…

3 time management tips I wish I'd learned 10 years ago

Foods you can freeze
















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