Baby Journal: week 27

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #7

 

Week #27 (2-9-14 – 2-15-14) 

 

Weight Gain #0 

 

Bump Bigger and bigger every day it seems. Jared way laying on the couch with me last night (2/15) and felt Bean kick for the first time! It freaked him out :-)    

  

Baby Nicknames  Bean

 

Symptoms  I’m generally uncomfortable. Which is scary because I’ve still got a ways to go… It’s hard to find a comfortable position to sit or lay or sleep in. My left ribs have been bothering me. And my upper back has been hurting. heartburn has also reappeared a few times this week. 

 

Cravings  Water?! I’ve been soooo thirsty this week. I’m not really craving food because I can’t eat much before I feel full and yucky.  

 

Emotions  I can’t say I feel overly emotional; but lots of thinking has led to lots of conflicting emotions. I want baby to get here, and I don’t. I’m excited and I’m terrified. May seems close yet far away. Get the picture… :) 

 

Sleep  Very vivid dreams. And it’s hard to find a comfortable way to sleep which means I’m restless. Not great.  

 

The big moment of the week  Jared feeling Bean move. Having the baby shower (technically that was last week, but close enough), seeing the gifts, figuring out the stroller, and making a big pile of baby laundry. It’s getting so real now. Ahhhhh!  

 

Weather  When I was in Ohio: snowy and cold (single digits). At home it’s been blowy and cold (negative temps). Winter. 

 

Current events  The winter Olympics are on! That’s all we’ve been doing. Celebrated Luke and I’s birthdays while I was in Ohio. Working away on baby Moldovan’s quilt. And our good friends the Burtons had their first baby, a girl named Amelia, Feb. 12th.  

 

Worries  The end is never going to get here (or I might explode first). Alternately that the end is going to get here, and I have to do this thing called labor and then we’ll have a baby!

  

Looking Forward to  Getting the next doctor’s appointment over with. Fasting glucose test. Babies arrival (not too soon).

 

 

Niece’s baby quilt: Part I

Project  Baby quilt for my soon-to-be niece
Pattern  Bella Notte (Beautiful Night) By Sweet Jane's Quilting & Design
Fabrics  Storybook Classics by Windham Fabrics & Itty Pritty Polka Ditty by Holly Holderman

Part I/ Day I was cutting fabric for this quilt.

I was able to cut all the fabric for this quilt in one day. It went quickly thanks to a precut layer cake of the storybook fabric.

      Not familiar with the fabric term layer cake? This is a fabulous tutorial on precut quilting fabric!

Since the precuts were 10"x10" I simply cut each large square down the center first. Then I made a horizontal center cut on one half and a vertical center cut on the other. The result is 2 strips measuring 2.5"x10" and 2 squares measuring 5"x5". Since you need more squares than strips, some blocks ended up as all squares.



This pattern called for 60 of the 5" squares and 24 of the 2.5"x10" strips.

 

Next I took my neutral yardage (white dots on a slightly off-white) and did some real cutting. From the width of the fabric (selvage edge to selvage edge) I cut five 5" strips. Then from the length of the fabric I cut eight 5" strips. Four of these strips cut from the length will become boarders. From the rest of the 5" strips I cut 5"x5" squares. I was able to get 8 squares from the width-cut strips and 12 from the length-cut strips. The final total of white 5" squares was 96!

 

After I finished cutting my white yardage I went back to the storybook fabric and did the last of my cutting. Of the 60 5"x5" squares I set 12 aside, untouched. These will be the centers of my 12 stars later. With the remaining 48 squares I cut them diagonally to form 96 triangles. Cutting complete!

 

Next I played a little with the layout of the quilt top. The first photo is all the star centers with one blocks worth of total fabric (star points and neutral squares). The second picture gives you a rough idea of how each star block will come together (how I'll make the points and attach things). The final two photos show how differently the stars can look; the first has very abstract/uneven points (varying sizes & angles). The second star has more uniform looking points, although they're not perfect and it still has a slightly patchwork/uneven feel. Not sure which I like better...

Baby Journal: Week 26

One day it seems like time is going quickly; holy moly how did we get to week 26, month #7 already?! Only 13-ish weeks to go! Other days it seems that time is crawling by; May seems very far away and the thought of getting much bigger is inconceivable and slightly terrifying.

 

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #7

 

Week #26 (2-2-14 – 2-8-14) 

 

Weight Gain #0  

 

Bump It’s getting harder to zip my winter coat and less comfortable to sit and sleep   

   

Baby Nicknames  Bean

 

Symptoms  Back pain and what I am self diagnosing as sciatic nerve pain. I’ve been exercising every day this week… maybe it’s bad for me?! ;-) I also had some nauseous days at the beginning of the week; it was mild but annoying.  

 

Cravings  Everything. I’ve been sooooo hungry this week!  

 

Emotions  I’ve noticed the past week or two I’ve been getting anxious for this pregnancy to be done and the baby to arrive! Labor dreams. Maybe it’s because Bean moves around so much now and I feel like I’m pregnant and not just struck down with a 4 month long flu? 

 

Sleep  Not sleeping as well. Vivid dreams are back and it’s difficult to find a position that’s not painful for one reason or another.  

 

The big moment of the week  Flying back home for the baby shower! Last big trip before baby arrives in a few months.  

 

Weather  Cold, sub-zero. But no snow and some sun. 

 

Current events  I don’t even want to discuss the Broncos dismal loss in the Super Bowl. Big in ND is the passage of a new farm bill.

 

Stuffed Shells

After our trip to Florida I realized how convenient it is to have many of my favorite recipes on the blog. I can just look them up on my phone whenever and wherever I am. So I took a few pictures while making dinner tonight and decided to add to my virtual recipe collection.  I grew up eating stuffed shells. It’s a hearty meal that feeds a crowd and as a preacher’s family that was called for often. I can’t say they were one of my favorites; mostly because I have a strange aversion to soft white foods (whip cream, pudding, cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, etc.) and these are cheese filled.  But after being inspired by meat-sagna (lasagna, heavy on the meat, lighter on the cheese) I started making shells with a few tweaks. It is one of my go-to’s for people who need meals. The recipe makes a lot of food; so we can eat dinner and I can take the other half to another family. Or you can freeze it as well! Just add a salad and bread and you’re done.  

 

Stuffed Shells

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 box large shells

• 3 cups ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)

• (1) 8 oz. pkg. provolone, shredded

• 12 oz. pkg. mozzarella, shredded

• ¾ cup parmesan, grated or fresh

• 3 eggs, slightly beaten

• 1 ½ tsp. salt

• ¼ tsp. pepper

• ¾ tsp. oregano, crushed

• 2 tsp. chopped parsley

• 4 cups spaghetti sauce

• Meatballs (optional)

* 1 pkg. (approx. 1 lb.) ground turkey 

 

Instructions:

 

Pre-heat oven to 350.

 

Cook shells according to package directions; drain, rinse well with cold water & dry on single layer of paper towel. 

 

Combine cheeses with beaten eggs, salt, parsley, oregano and pepper. Fill each shell with cheese

mixture.

 

Spread a thin layer of sauce in a large baking pan. Place stuffed shells 1 deep in pan and cover with part of the sauce. Sprinkle with additional parmesan and mozzarella if desired.

 

Bake for 35 minutes. 

 

Serve with remaining sauce and meatballs.

 

*Alternate directions (aka. my “tweaks”)

 

Half the amounts of all cheese called for in the recipe.

 

Brown ground turkey (or beef, or sausage, or any meat of your choice!) and season to taste (S&P, Italian seasonings, fresh herbs…)

 

Combine cooked meat, reduced amount of cheeses & all remaining ingredients.

 

Stuff shells and bake as directed above. Now you don’t also have to make meatballs because it’s all combined!

Babymoon

Our vacation to Florida was lovely. I admit I had grand plans of all-inclusive Caribbean resorts in mind when first I thought about a babymoon. However airfare from the state of North Dakota to pretty much anywhere, let alone the Caribbean, is ridiculous and involves lots of layovers. So Florida it became. And my in-laws graciously lent us their condo free of charge for the whole week; so we had a huge space 10 minutes walk from the beach with all the comforts of home at our disposal. And Jared’s Grandparents live about a 10 minute drive down the road which meant we had dinner and card playing companions all week which was fun as well.

The trip didn’t start out well. A 2 hour delay before we ever left led to a missed connection in Minneapolis and an unplanned night at the Hilton Garden Inn. However the hotel was really nice, we got a good last minute rate and we made it out on the 6:45am flight the next morning. Yawn!

We started our trip at the infamous Pancake House. We met Grandma and Grandpa and had lunch. Then we made a trip to the local grocery, Publix, settled into the condo and walked the beach for a while. I made us dinner at the condo that night and we relaxed, watched some golf, I read, and we slept for about … 11 hours that night!  

Will you look at the condo and the views from said condo? So quiet and beautiful!

Sunday we walked the beach for quite awhile again. While the 60 and partly cloudy weather was a real struggle for the locals (down vests, stocking caps and all) we were walking around in shorts and T-shirts. But it also wasn’t exactly sunbathing weather. I prepped dinner at the condo and then we went over and cooked it at the grandparents and visited that evening.

Monday and Tuesday the weather was amazing! Sunshine all day long and temperatures ranging from 75-80 degrees. We basically sat at the beach all day for those two days. We packed a bag and borrowed the condo’s stash of chairs, towels, umbrella, etc. Since we met Grandma and Grandpa for brunch at the Pancake House every morning we just packed snacks and water for the beach. We ate our way through 4 containers of strawberries that week. They were delicious. I think sitting on a sunny beach eating fresh strawberries is one of the most relaxing and luxurious experiences that one can have.

Tuesday evening we braved the island traffic and drove downtown for a seafood dinner. We sat out on the dock, right on the water, watched people fishing and lots of sea birds. There was live music; a band of older gentlemen playing 1940’s jazz and swing. J ate a shrimp po-boy sandwich (one of his favorites) and I had the local grouper. Then we walked to Times Square (not the same as NYC) and got ice cream cones. It was a really perfect night.

Wednesday and Thursday is was chilly and starting Thursday until we left Friday morning it rained. No more beach. But we still enjoyed the warmer weather. Wednesday we went put-put golfing at Jungle Golf. Our very first trip to Ft. Myers together for a spring break in college while we were dating we played mini golf there. It was fun to be back nearly a decade later as a married couple with a baby on the way. And then on our way back from golfing J stopped at another ice cream place his Grandpa had recommended, the Royal Scoop, and we got another round of ice cream cones. He’s so good to this pregnant Mama.


I cooked dinner Wednesday and Thursday night at the Grandparents and we used the rainy weather to stay in, visit and play a lot of Euchre. I made chicken taco chili one night and a roast the next.



And then all too quickly it was time to go home. We left fairly early on Friday morning, had a slight delay again in Minneapolis, but made it back home by about 1:30pm. And of course I started laundry, unpacked and was cleaning cat hair immediately. But eventually we got hot showers and after a quick couple of necessary errands in town J took me out to the Country Club for dinner. No cooking, no cleaning up, it was a perfect ending to a lovely week. Not sure when we’ll get to jet off for a week at the beach where we have no schedule and can lounge, read, and sleep as much as we want! 

Baby Journal: Week 25

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #6

 

Week #25 (1-26-14 – 2-1-14) 

 

Weight Gain #1  

 

Bump Took a picture in Florida  

    

Baby Nicknames  Bean

 

Symptoms  Been having some mild nausea again and the very vivid dreams have returned. I think I’m also having round ligament pain (maybe from all the beach walking?).

 

Cravings  Pop-Tarts and ice cream… and I ate them because that’s what vacation is about right? 

 

Emotions  Nothing

 

Sleep  Haven’t slept quite as well this week.  

 

The big moment of the week  Babymoon time! We escaped the frozen tundra of N. Dakota and enjoyed a week in sunny Ft. myers Beach, FL. 

 

Weather  I don’t know about back home, but here in Florida it was “cold”; 60-ish degrees and a bit gloomy. We did have two brilliants days of SUN and nearly 80 degree weather and we camped out at the beach all day each time!  

 

Current events   Super Bowl Sunday is coming up. As are the winter Olympics in Russia.

 

Worries  

 

Looking Forward to  Baby shower is quickly approaching! :)

 

Baby Journal: Week 24

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #6

 

Week #24 (1-19-14 – 1-25-14) 

 

Weight Gain #0  

 

Bump No Photo this week 

     

Baby Nicknames  Bean

 

Symptoms  I’ve got a head clod, sinus infection, something?! When I went in for my routine OB appointment I got sent home with antibiotics. Bean moves all the time now!   

 

Cravings  Nothing new, especially since the antibiotics aren’t very nice to my tummy. 

 

Emotions  

 

Sleep  Lights and restless, mostly because I can’t breath! 

 

The big moment of the week  My doctors appointment and hearing Bean’s heartbeat again. Everything is normal and on schedule.  

 

Weather  Guess who had another blizzard! That means subzero temps and more snow.  

 

Current events  Iran and the nuclear situation and the NJ governor Chris Christy are both big news items this week. 

 

Worries  

 

Looking Forward to  Our babymoon :)

Baby Blanket Tutorial

Last autumn I made a list of sewing projects that I wanted to do before Bean arrived in May. Some are superfluous now because I’ve been gifted some of the very items I had on that list. But there are still a few things that I really want to make. A baby quilt, both for my sister and I, is a given. It's also what I’m currently working on.

However, I just had to give this blanket tutorial a quick try before I started in on quilting. I’m so glad I did. It’s an incredibly easy and rewarding project. And I already have purchased fabric in anticipation of making a few to send as gifts. It seems that it is a good time to be having babies right now because in addition to my sister we have several friends with little ones on the way. 

The original tutorial I used can be found: here

I made some slight changes, but my tutorial is much the same. Enjoy!

Two Sided Receiving Blanket

 

Materials Needed

2 coordinating yards of fabric; I used 1 yard cotton & 1 yard flannel

Thread in the color of your choice

sewing scissors, rotary cutter & cutting mat

sewing machine

iron, board & I always use my trusty Best Press

Instructions

Start by laundering your fabrics! I admit I don’t always do this because I’m too excited to start my project once I get my fabric home. But since I used a cotton fabric and a flannel fabric it was important to wash first so that any shrinking happened before I sewed.

 

Simply lay out both fabrics, right sides together. Using a cutting mat and rotary cutter I squared up and trimmed each side/edge so everything was neat, even and the selvages were gone.  

Next, and this is an optional step, I rounded off the corners. Place a bowl at the corner and use a rotary cutter to trim. The first time I did each corner individually. The second time I had my blanket folded in half and was able to round off two corners at once. Worked just as well and saved me time!

 

Next you may want to secure your two fabric pieces together with pins or clips. I found that my fabrics stuck together quite well on their own!

 

I sewed around the entire perimeter of the fabrics with the EXCEPTION of 5 inches. Mark your 5 inch “hole” before you begin sewing so you don’t forget, or place it in an awkward spot as I did the first time.

 

I used a straight stitch, white thread (no one will see these stitches), and a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

 

Once I was done sewing, I cut notches in my corners to ensure my seams would lay flat once I flipped my blanket right side out.

 

Now turn your fabrics right side out through that 5 inch gap and press the seams.

 

As you can see above, I ironed all my seams flat. This is especially important in the 5 inch gap you now have.

 

Pin your gap. You will sew this closed by means of a decorative stitch around the entire blanket perimeter. Although I used white thread, you might want to use a fun, contrasting color. You may also chose to simply do a simple straight stitch around the perimeter instead of a decorative one.

 

Tip! Practice your decorative stitch on a scrap piece of fabric first. Stitches may be larger or smaller than you envisioned, and may not line up quite the way you thought either. It is a lot harder to use your seam ripper on decorative stitches than a straight one. I found that making the stitches as large and wide (or far apart) as possible made the decorative stitches look nicer and the process go more quickly.

This is Bean’s first blanket made by Mommy! The print is cotton, bungle jungle by tim beck for moda. The cream is flannel, Timeless Treasures Fabric. The decorative stitching was not set on the largest/widest setting for this blanket. I still think it looks good, but it took forever and I think I would have preferred the larger spacing.

This is blanket number two. I did everything exactly the same, except for setting the decorative stitches at their longest spacing. As I thought, I much preferred the different spacing!
I already have fabric ready to go for another blanket and plans to make at least two more after that. But first, I must finish my quilting!