Another Yogurt Trip

Benjamin turned 7 on the day we had Desiree's birthday party.  February is a bit of a birthday month in our family.  So, of course, it was time to take the birthday boy for some frozen yogurt.  It's actually Ben who introduced me to the frozen yogurt shop last year on his birthday.  And today I got a free one because of all the times I've bought frozen yogurt (buy 10 get a 10 ounce or less free!).  So now you know how often I've been there...  It's the kids' new favorite.  Except Emily, but I think she'll give it a try for her next birthday, now that she knows her sister went.  So Benjamin and I trekked up to the yogurt shop and enjoyed some frozen yogurt.  I am pretty plain and predictable.  I always get the same thing: cake batter flavored yogurt with various chocolatey toppings (like cookie dough bites and mini m&m's).  Benjamin went with toasted marshmallow yogurt and chocolate yogurt mixed, and a few toppings, including mint pastel chips.  He wasn't too interested in hanging out for long, so we didn't.  But we did have enough time for a picture!

He went with me to the library to return some movies and then I took him home.  It was a nice little visit, albeit brief. 

The last few days I have been working on a couple things...  Planning the "Great to Be 8" party for church (something for all the kiddos turning 8 this year) and working on one of the goals Jeremy and I decided we need to actually do this year (and which has been on my goal list for about 2 years):  our 72-hour kits.  We had a list, and so I spent Monday collecting everything we already had and putting it in piles.  This lets me know what I need to purchase.  My goal is to have them done by General Conference in April so that we can get on the schedule of rotating every 6 months at Conference time :). I got that idea from my genius friend Jessica.  It seems like a really great way to remember to rotate!  I'm also starting to work out details for a baby shower I'm hosting at the end of March for our Primary chorister.   And currently I'm making Baked Tacos for dinner for when Jeremy gets home (our eating schedule is pretty out of whack when Jeremy is on swing shift).  I found the recipe on pinterest and made my own taco shells with corn tortillas :).  So hopefully it's tasty.  And tomorrow a gal from church is coming over and she and I are going to make home-made bagels together.  Sounds like good times to me :). 

Then Friday I'll go take that dreaded glucose test.  Ick.  Oh well.  It must be done.  This baby is a-growing.  In fact, today I started the 3rd trimester, so we're in the home-stretch!  I have started researching car seats and I purchased a baby papasan chair at a thrift store for $3.50.  I figured it was a great bargain :). 

A Par"tea" for an 8 Year Old Princess

I think I mentioned previously that sweet Desiree is 8 now.  I still can't get over it.  It can be tough to have a birthday party up here in February:  it pretty much MUST be indoors.  And since Jeremy and I have an apartment that has enough room, I told Christina I would host Desiree's party if she wanted me to.  She appreciated that, and we went to planning.  And what we came up with (with Desiree's help, of course) was a "tea" party birthday.  We had pink hot chocolate instead of tea. 

I love to host parties.  Especially the kind with food (and what kind of good party doesn't have that ;)?).  I spent some time pinning tea party ideas on pinterest, and then invited Desiree over to look over the ideas and choose what she would like at her party.  For activities we bought straw hats and got fake flowers and ribbons and lace and let the girls decorate their own tea party hat.  We also had some beads (of which I have a kajillion left over) so they could each string their own bracelet (I learned I should not have gone with cheap Dollar Tree stuff on this, since the elastic string was horrible and came untied easily).  And then my mom ordered these little party favor things where you basically decorated a teapot and could put candy inside.  We also had feather boas for them each to have -- and I had bought some fancy fans at the Dollar Tree that they could each choose and keep. 

For the food, Desiree selected cheese cubes, tea party sandwiches, chocolate-dipped strawberries, fruit kebabs, and chocolate-dipped strawberry wafers; along with the pink hot chocolate.  And, of course, there was also cupcakes and ice cream.  I did cupcakes with the idea that the kids could decorate their own cupcake -- and then I found an idea on pinterest to put the ice cream in a 9x13 pan and then use a cookie cutter to cut out ice cream shapes.  Let me say that I have come to the conclusion that sometimes less really is more.  And this would have been one of those times.  We had way too much food and things were a little over-board on cutesie (meaning more effort).  And, true to Nilla form, I got stressed when the time for the party started and I felt like we were behind.  Yeah, probably could have simplified a little.  But I will also say I think the girls had a great time, and I think Desiree enjoyed it.  One of the cool ideas I found somewhere (possibly through pinterest) was the idea of buying tea cups at thrift stores.  So I started hunting them down, and I found a bunch of really cute ones.  I was able to get them for less than 50 cents each and sent those home as party favors as well (I don't need a bunch of fru-fru teacups ;)). 

I don't have a lot of pictures, because I was busy doing the transitioning of table stuff (going from "tea party" food to cupcake decorating while Desiree opened presents in the living room).  Christina got a bunch of pictures, though, and maybe I'll manage to get them eventually.  But I'll post what I have :).

So Thursday night I worked on the name tags.  I'm not super-fancy or crafty, but I thought these were cute enough for place settings.

 

This is what the table looked like when I went to bed Friday night (well, Saturday morning, technically).

 

 And a close-up of Desiree's place setting.  There were 3 different types of tea cups.

At the party.  (I'm a little disappointed I didn't think to take a picture of each food item like I usually do -- but I'm pretty sure my dad isn't disappointed about that ;)).  The cheese and the fruit kebabs were the most popular.  I think we should have skipped the chocolate-dipped strawberries and probably the sandwiches too...  You live, you learn!

All the girls.  By this point, several of them had removed their hats, but this will still give you an idea of some of their fun stuff.  This was at the end of the party and basically it was just the waiting for moms to pick up time.  Saria has really gotten tall...  But, she will be 12 this year ;).

 After about an hour of cleaning up, I hurried to take a shower, because I had to get to a baptism service at 5 and then we had Stake Conference at night.  So, not the most flattering of pictures of me with my wet hair.  But Emily looked so cute walking around my house with her hat on (which Uncle Jeremy decorated for her) and her other hat in her hands (we had extra hats...)

 See?

 And so I got pictures with all 3 of the girls who were still here -- and pictures of them by themselves.  Here's the birthday party girl :).

 

And her is Saria.  Like I said, she's getting tall.  She was on her knees like I was, but I was more squatty than she.  Hahaha....

 

 But here's a better shot of her.

And because my stomach looked particularly huge to me before we left for Conference, I took a picture.  Haha...  Jeremy.

 

 And this is just one more reason I love this man :).  So I kept telling him we had to get a picture with him and his mustache before he shaved it off.  But it didn't happen -- our schedules were awful on his grave shift.  So I realized when he got home Friday morning (he left for work while I was out visiting teaching and visiting a friend Thursday night) that he had shaved off his mustache.  And I just figured, "Oh well, so we didn't get a picture."  And no big deal.  Well, last night as I was looking at all the birthday pictures I got, I noticed a picture I hadn't taken.  And when I clicked on it to enlarge it...  Well, my sweetie totally took his own picture -- just for me!  Oh how I love him!  Plus -- he was a wonderful help at the birthday party.  It was he who took the pan of ice cream around and let each girl pick what cookie cutter shape she wanted, and then he cut it out and scooped it onto their plate.  Haha...  My hero ;).

On that note... I should go and try to sleep again.  Jeremy is actually home (and was in bed asleep until about 15 minutes ago when he noticed I was not in there and came out to find me).  I think it's our attempt to adjust off of graves (he works swings this week -- my favorite schedule these days :)) and we're having a hard time sleeping.  So, I will try some more.  Because after yesterday and today (Stake Conference again, so earlier church, and we foolishly stayed up until about 2 this morning (ahem, Sunday morning) and got less than the desired amount of sleep) I should be exhausted.  So I shall try again :).

Tender Mercies

Today was a good day.  And I count that a tender mercy.  Because, as I said in yesterday's blog post, I have been struggling with change and adapting, etc.  Today is one more example of how much I am loved by my Heavenly Father; another example of how aware He is of me.

I got a text at 10 from Lea asking me what I was up to today.  I told her nothing much until 3:30.  So she said she was planning to stop by before work if that was okay.  It was -- and I really enjoyed our visit where she got me caught up on their trip to Los Angeles.

I got a text from Annie at 11ish and she was just letting me know that she'd read my blog and she just was encouraging and loving.  I do love Annie!  She is wonderful.  It was a wonderful little piece of happy sunshine that brightened my day :).  (And Annie, I meant to text back and got totally involved in making food.  I'm sorry!  But you did brighten my day :)).

I talked to my dad.  And while he and I almost always get in a heated debate about something every time we talk, I am glad we talk.  We are just a lot alike.  Which means, Dad, that you're a hot-head too ;).  I love my dad -- and I think we just know how to push eachother's buttons so well because we are close.

I got some smile-bringing blog comments.  Okay, call me a dork; but these really do make my day sometimes.  Probably more of that social aspect of things -- like getting feedback.  And I appreciate those who shared their thoughts, advice, and experience of child-birth as they experienced it.

I tried out 3 new recipes I'd pinned on pinterest (more on that below)...

For the crafty/gabby/get-together thing I'm trying to do monthly.  I just invite any of my local friends over for the afternoon/evening to work on any craft they want to bring and just sit around and chit chat.  That social gathering I referred to yesterday.  And I love to have a reason to make yummy food and try new things; so I do that too :).  There's not usually a large group, but those of us who are here enjoy the time and the visiting.  And so I plan to keep doing it :).

I talked to my mom for a bit too.  On the phone.  She actually stopped by for a few minutes while the other ladies were here and she joined in on the visiting after she got off work.  Then she took a couple of the Southwestern Egg Rolls home for her and my grandmother, and she said my grandmother really liked it (and so did my mom).  It was nice to see my mom too.  It's kind of sad to admit, but I live like 3 blocks from her and, now that we're not in the same Ward anymore, it feels like I don't see her very often.  So it was nice to see her here for a few minutes and then talk to her on the phone.

And I listened to Christmas music from about noon until 7 p.m.  Haha...  Well, that's because Jeremy needed to sleep, so he was using the CD we had in the CD player in the bedroom as background noise to drown out the cackling of the women while he tried to sleep.  A Courier and Ives Christmas, so it was instrumental at least.  I love that man.  He does sacrifice a lot for me -- and I am often in awe of what a blessing it is to know he's my husband.  Gush, I know.  But seriously.  I think he does the sweetest things in support of me.

So here's the stuff I made with pictures and links to the website with the recipe :).  I liked all three (though I think Jeremy wasn't so impressed with the punch) and got rave reviews on the cookie dough dip (which is easy peesy!!  Definitely a keeper!)  I think I'll start doing this when I do pinterest things -- whether food or craft.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

Lime Sherbet Punch

 

Oh, and what craft am I working on?  Well...  I want to hang the following (part of Wordsworth's Ode: Intimations on Immortality) in the nursery.  This baby may not have a crib -- but by golly it's going to have a poem hanging above where that crib should be! ;).  I charted it out today and am now ready to start stitching!

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakendess,
But trailing clouds of glory to we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!

I love that part of the poem, and I think it quite appropriate for a nursery :).

Oh, and yes.  today is 27 weeks.  So here is my picture.  Actually a couple.  I was trying to get a good angle, but the one picture where I'm angled too much so I had to really turn my head...  I was shocked to see what my belly looks like from that angle!  So, naturally, I had to include it here.

Anyway, it was a very good day.  And I do know it was an answer to prayer.  My current struggles may seem silly and insignificant when compared with those of others.  I know that they actually are.  But I matter to our Heavenly Father.  And because of that, my struggles -- no matter how small -- matter to Him too.  I am reminded of a quote from another talk I love:  "I am led to believe that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that the things that are important to us become important to Him, just because He loves us."  That talk is easily one of my favorites of all time.

P.S.  I really did have on regular clothes today.  And I meant to take my 27-week picture while I was in regular clothes.  But forgot to until after my shower and jammies...  At least they're different jammies this week ;).

Feeling Salty

In the Bible, it speaks of being the salt of the earth.  A good thing -- in that context.  I think the idea of what it meant was really driven home for me when I had to eat food that didn't have salt added during cooking.  (And you can ask my husband, I have a salt tooth ;)).  Salt is an amazing thing.  Just a little goes a long way and adds so much to the flavor of a thing.  It's also an antiseptic, a preserver, etc...  Some interesting little parallels you can draw there.

Interestingly enough, also in the Bible, there is a scripture to "Remember Lot's wife."  She who was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back toward Sodom and Gomorrah.  Probably not just looking back physically; but actually wishing to be back there in her heart.  This is not the good kind of salt.  There are many days I think I probably deserve to be turned into a pillar of salt. 

I've been struggling with that lately.  And perhaps I'm not the only one, since the person who sent me the link to this talk (one of my Counselors in Primary) was sent it by our Stake President who is a long-time friend of hers. 

I don't handle change well.  I will admit that.  I come by it honestly -- it's in my genes.  But I'm pretty sure it's one of those things I can learn to improve on.  And I need to.  Because lately I have felt overwhelmed with desires to return to what was.  Nothing of the Sodom and Gomorrah sort.  Just the past.  My past.  Sometimes I long for 15 years ago (or more).  I have glimpses of moments at my grandmother's house in Dothan during summer vacation when we would stay up watching Unsolved Mysteries and other tv shows and my mom would buy all these yummy snacks that we couldn't get in Panama (I've been a foodie my whole life...).  (By the way, did you know Yoplait discontinued their custard yogurts, at least out here?  My heart breaks a little...)  Sometimes I long for 13 years ago and days hanging out daily with Julie and Alysha (who was like 4)...  When we were two peas in a pod and practically inseparable.  Sometimes I long for 5 years ago (which shocks the heck out of me!) when I was living in Tuscaloosa and going to school full-time and working full-time.  Though it was one of the hardest times of my life (and believe me, I was ready to move forward then), I look back now and see that it was a very good time of my life as well.  I think I really grew into myself in new ways and learned things about myself I didn't know before.  Sometimes I long for 3 years ago when Lea and I were working at the library together and doing crazy things like 'Survivor: Tundra'.  And sometimes I just long for 3 months ago when life hadn't changed quite as much as it has since December (even though, then too, I was ready to move forward).

The truth is, I have had a more difficult time adjusting to not working than I ever dreamed I would.  My sweet Jeremy somehow suspected such things might happen.  He voiced his concerns to me before we made the decision for me to quit.  I laughed them off, thinking he was crazy.  His big concern for me?  That I would lose my socializing time.  I thought he was crazy, because I can always get in the car and go somewhere.  But you know what?  While that's true, it's also true that sometimes I don't know where to go; so I don't.  I really had no idea that I got so much socializing done through working -- and that my personality depends on that socialization so much.  I relished the thought of days at home, keeping house, cooking dinner, doing my own thing.  I never dreamed it would get old.  Well.  It did.  And I find myself looking for ways to stay busy and be more involved.  I'm grateful -- oh so grateful -- for a husband who supports and shares my desires to be home with our children.  And for a husband who supports my need/desire to host get-togethers every so often for a gaggle of women -- just so I enjoy some girl time.  But I'm still in the adjustment phase.  And I have many quiet moments (especially late at night while Jeremy is at work) when I just start meandering through the past and longing for those days in ways that I shouldn't.  Not because it's wrong to remember and enjoy the memories.  But because I'm not merely enjoying them.  I'm longing for them. 

In speaking of Lot's wife in the talk I linked above, Elder Holland said, "In short, her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future." 

And I think that may be me.  I'm so stuck in longing for what was that I am not allowing myself to embrace what is and what is yet to be.  To quote again from the talk:

"I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead, we remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives. So a more theological way to talk about Lot’s wife is to say that she did not have faith. She doubted the Lord’s ability to give her something better than she already had. Apparently she thought—fatally, as it turned out—that nothing that lay ahead could possibly be as good as those moments she was leaving behind." {Emphasis added by me.}

This was a great talk, and it really was full of wisdom I needed to hear.  I have been richly blessed with many things.  Among them are sweet moments in life with friends and family that I can carry with me to remember fondly and bring a smile to my face.  But those moments are nothing more than memories.  I cannot have them back to re-live.  But life has shown me that, as I go forward, there are more such times to come.  More moments of joy. 

I feel like a whiner writing this.  I sit here in the comfort of my apartment feeling (and watching) life within me as our baby kicks (and my laptop bounces).  I have the desires of my heart.  The desires I longed so much for and feared I may never have.  I have a wonderful loving marriage with a wonderful loving husband, and we are anticipating the joys and growth of parenthood in 3 short months.  My cup runneth over.  This past year has been a year of miracles and of promises fulfilled.  It is time for me to let go and move forward and embrace the changes.  Because they will be what I need to grow and become who I want to be. 

One of my biggest concerns I had in regards to my new calling in church is that the ladies I would be working with now and I would not click like the four of us who had worked together before had.  That we would not become friends as had happened before.  I think today I was shown otherwise.  And it's a beautiful thing.  A reminder that there are always new opportunities to make new friends and yet not lose the old ones.  So this change, too, was one I have been struggling with.  But I'm starting to not struggle with it so much anymore.  And that, to me, is a tender mercy.

Well anyway, thanks for the vent-session ;).  Just the scrambled musings of a Nilla mind.  I'm off to face -- and embrace -- the future :).

Thinking About Birthing

I'm nearing the end of the second trimester.  I can see my stomach "move" along with the baby more and more.  Other than my stretchy elastic pajama pants (and t-shirts that I always have bought XL), there is only one non-maternity piece of clothing I can still zip up -- and it's a skirt that is normally quite large on me anyway.  All signs are pointing to the end being in sight (not that this has felt long or awful by any means, I might add).  But it is occurring to me that I have no clue what's coming.  Like, at all.  Oh sure, I know there's a fun little process called birth.  And I've seen the "Miracle of Life" video more than once (and thanks to an 11th grade Physiology teacher who believed the fact that most of us in class would either go through it or witness their wife go through it, I (and the rest of the class) got to experience the not-so-pleasant ending about 5 times in one day).  So I guess I'm not completely clueless.  But I have a sneaking suspicion that being the outside observer is quite different from being the first-person experiencer.  And yes, I'm making that word up. 

So in the last two nights, I've started reading some birth stories (read: giving myself nightmares). 

Let me just say that I appreciate my cousins who shared details of their natural-birth birth stories.  I have re-visited them in the last 24 hours.  I also read some other natural-birth stories on a website solely dedicated to that.  Natural-birth being without pain medication.  I will say some of those stories seemed a bit whackadoo to me.  Mostly just the different belief systems the authors appear to subscribe to.  But still, it gave me quite a spectrum of different experiences -- from the "oh, I didn't even feel contractions until I was 8 cm dilated" to "I was moaning and roaring in a squatting position after peeing in a bed-pan."  (The latter seems scary to me -- I so want to be like the 8 cm lady!) 

I find that life and maturity will change a person.  I can remember wanting to have 12 kids.  Because I loved babies so much.  Good reason, right ;)?  Then I found out about something called an episiotomy (is that spelled right?).  I guess I was still in naive la-la-land, because that procedure sounded phenomenally horrible and I knocked my 12 down to 3.  Then I realized that it was likely that, with all the other pain I was going to be experiencing, that episiotomy was probably not going to be super noticeable (during the birth process at least), which gave me pause to consider just how much pain I would be in in general.  Possibly I started experiencing the joy of menstrual cramps by that point and learned that contractions are like that -- but a whole lot worse.  And that 3 became a big goose-egg.  Zero.  I'm pretty wimpy.  But over time, I realized I really did want to have children.  And my number was back at 3 (besides, I'd learned of something called an epidural, and that was my ticket!).  Then it climbed to 4 with the acknowledgement that I wouldn't even mind having 5.  Well...  Age has a way of putting a damper on things, and I doubt I'll have 5.  But the point is...  Even though I intellectually know (as opposed to first-hand-experience know) that this will be incredibly painful, I do want to be a mother of more than one. And I want very much to try to do this without pain medication.  And it's not so much because I want to experience all the feelings of it.  It's more because I know that whatever is being given to me is also going to affect the baby.  And okay, so I'm not the best with eating super-healthy.  But I do want to try to do this without pain meds.  And, disclaimer:  I do not judge anyone who chooses otherwise.  Because, as I indicated before, I know my ability to tolerate pain is not high, and even though I may want it one way, I may not make it through.  And also, I believe these decisions are personal and individual and people need to do what is best for them and their situation. 

My mother has a huge pain tolerance.  And a laid back personality.  I didn't get those cool genes.  She had 4 kids and went natural with all four.  Of course, options were more limited in those days, but still.  I am in awe.  Especially when she tells me of having my older brother Ben (her first child) at age 19.  Apparently there was another woman in labor at the same time, and I think they shared rooms then, divided only by a curtain.  Anyway, the other woman was moaning and groaning and screaming, and I guess a nurse or doctor commented to that lady that she was making more noise than my mom, who was further along in the process (and I guess that meant was most likely in more pain) and my mom was silent.  Can I just say I don't want to be moaning and groaning in front of a bunch of people?  For some people that may feel natural and right.  For me it just seems awkward.  So that scares me a bit -- to be in that much pain that I might want to moan and groan with a bunch of strangers in the room.  Of course, under normal circumstances, I guess I wouldn't want a roomful of strangers poking around in places I prefer to keep covered; but I have heard modesty pretty much goes out the window during this blessed event.  And that scares me a little too!

So why am I writing this?  Well... my musings.  Might as well document them.  And also because I know some of my blog readers (probably most of them) have already "been there, done that" (meaning child birth - in any form).  So please feel free to share advice, opinions, thoughts, experiences.  I moderate comments, so if you don't want something posted -- tell me and I won't post it.  I will read it and file it away mentally for my own information.  I know there are different "methods" out there that are supposed to help ease (or at least help you cope with) labor (breathing techniques, etc).  What do you recommend?  What worked for you?

I know women do this all the time.  Women have been having babies since the days of Adam and Eve.  And I'm pretty sure there weren't epidurals then.  So I know I can do this.  Now to psych myself up for it and at least become knowledgeable :).  And hope I don't scare myself too much ;).

Goofy Girls

I didn't really have anything to say.  I sort of wanted to...  But I just didn't.  But I did have 3 goofy pictures.  Good enough, right ;)?  I do love these girls. 

I'm going to the dentist tomorrow.  Fun.  I don't hate the dentist.  But I don't really feel like going. 

I finally posted a new picture on facebook announcing our bun in the oven.  It's the Christmas card picture, since it's the only one with both of us...  I guess it must be true now, huh?  After all, it's now on facebook. 

Jeremy got home at almost 9:00 this morning.  He went to work at 8:00 last night.  Boo!  Hiss!  Grr!!!  So I made him pancakes (and totally swapped the measurements... 2/3 cup mix to 1.5 cups water.  And I wondered why the batter was so thin.  No worries, I finally figured out my mistake ;).  So we had a ton of pancakes.  Good thing Jeremy's nickname (given to him by my dad) is Hoover (as in the vacuum)).  We also had more avena drink.  Because if I'm going to be up late into the night, I might as well get that stuff a-brewin' for a nice breakfast treat :).  Mmmm.  It's so yummy!  We are beyond ready for this project to be over.  Yeah, we and the other 10 families at church whose husbands/fathers are working crazy horrible shifts for the same reason... 

I hate Comcast.  Just so you know.

And I find it hilarious almost every time I look at my google stats for this blog, some of the most frequent key words that result in hits for my blog have to do with CandyLand (you know: that awesome kids' game). 

For the Love

It's officially Valentine's Day in this Pacific Northwest state.  And so I am baking Jeremy's favorite dessert:  raspberry coffee cake.  And my house smells like really hot fat.  Not so good. 

See, Monday I made a pinterest recipe.  Because I had invited one of my counselors to come over and visit, and who needs a better excuse to make a deliciously decadent dessert?  Not me.  In fact, I made two of them...  Frozen hot chocolate (supposed to be copycat of Serendipity's in New York City).  It was bomb.  A keeper.  (I had to go to my mom's to 'borrow' ice.  We just don't keep ice here, and so I recently gave away my ice trays.  No room in the freezer anyway.  I'm thinking I'm going to regret that decision since I want to dream of making that frozen hot chocolate again and again.  The recipe is here, if you need it like I do ;).  Takes a little effort, but worth it.).  Anyway, like I was saying...  So I also made this recipe.  Chocolate chip cookie pie.  Oh my goodness.  It was rich.  Well, the thing calls for 3 sticks of butter.  Three.  Mixed with a few other ingredients and all in a deep-dish pie shell.  3 sticks of butter.  (Which is why I probably won't make it again, even though it was sinfully good).  And during the baking process, those 3 sticks of butter sort of overflowed.  Thankfully, I had lined the bottom of the oven with foil (saves scrubbing any messes in the oven later on).  Horrifically, I forgot to pull out the butter-coated foil before heating up the oven.  Twice.  For dinner tonight (taco pie -- yum) and now for Valentine's Day dessert (which will probably be Jeremy's breakfast ;)).  Oy.  So now my house smells again, after it was starting to wear off.  Boo.  And so I have the sliding door open - in Washington in February.  Thank goodness for my nice fleece Alabama blanket :).  It's keeping me toasty. 

I love my husband, though, so it's worth it :).  To make him his favorite treat for a day of love.  (Oh, and if you're wondering about that pie...  We ate about a quarter of it between us, and then I took it to the funeral home.  Saved us from eating about 2.25 sticks of butter ;)).

Today I took sweet Desiree out for her frozen yogurt birthday treat.  She turned 8 yesterday.  8.  Oh it's unbelievable.  Two years ago I took her to McDonald's.  How did she get so big?!?  I picked her up at school and we headed to BluBerry.  She'd never been, so it was a new experience for her.  She sampled the tart yogurt (which she surprisingly liked!) and the sea salt caramel pretzel (which she didn't like at all).  And she decided on some chocolate, vanilla, tart, and mango!  She's so funny.  And she topped it with chocolate caramel pieces, those pastel mints shaped like chocolate chips, strawberries, possibly some m&ms, and some marshmallow creme.  I'm always amazed at the mixture kids choose.  But she was thrilled with it, so that's all that matters.  Afterwards, we went to the Dollar Tree to get supplies for her birthday party -- beads for bracelets, flowers for the hats, and plates and napkins.  And then she went with me to Costco.  She is such a sweet girl.  She was just so happy and so pretty.  Sigh.  I still can't believe she's 8. 

And no post these days would be complete without some mention of my expanding stomach.  Haha...  Today (well, yesterday) was 26 weeks.  So I took the picture.  And let me say:  I meant to take it while I was still in my regular clothes.  But I forgot until after I was in my jammies; so there ya go!

It's funny, because I still don't see the difference day to day.  I just know I can't button any of my regular pants and have outgrown one of my church skirts.  I think I expected that my stomach would start to feel alien to me -- as thought it was something extra that suddenly appeared, and I'd bump into everything with it.  But that hasn't happened.  I barely notice it, really, as it gets bigger.  Just in the clothes.  I feel the baby a lot more, which means baby has gotten bigger and stronger.  My next milestone doctor appointment is the one where I have to drink that icky sugar stuff (the gestational diabetes test).  I'm dreading it, because I think I will hear bad news, with the way I love sugar and carbs.  Recall I just told you about how I made chocolate chip cookie pie and frozen hot chocolate in one day.  Ummm.  Yeah. 

I think that about sums it up!  Happy Valentine's Day everyone :).

Avena

How about a post with no real point?  Sounds good to me!  :).

So back in 2008, when I went to Panama with my dad, I bought this tiny carton of something called "Avena."  It was delicious.  It's like an oatmeal drink and tastes all cinnamon-y.  I had mostly forgotten about it until one day Jeremy and I tried a drink called "horchata" here locally at a Mexican restaurant.  Not exactly the same thing, as horchata is made from rice instead of oats.  And also seems to be more dairy-free.  But still made me remember the avena.  And oh how I wished we could find some avena around here!  I finally remembered at some later date to google it.  And I found a recipe for it!  I was so excited, and I "pinned" it to my pinterest for reference at a later time. 

That time has come.  And oh. my. goodness.  It did not disappoint!  It probably wasn't the EXACT same (but it's been 4.5 years, so I'm not exactly fresh on the exact taste), but it sure is close.  And delicious.  And now I'm cooking up another batch to have tomorrow morning before church :).  Yum.  Jeremy likes it too.

I also tried a copycat recipe for Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup that I found on Pinterest.  Not exactly the same, but still very good!  I will make it again :).  Definitely a recipe keeper. 

And in case you wanted these recipes...  Here you go!
Soup
Avena drink

Yesterday at about 1 p.m., Jeremy got a call from work saying he didn't need to go in.  What a happy surprise!  (Unfortunately that surprise didn't extend into tonight, but I guess you take what you get...).  So we got to do a date night :).  My original plan was to just buy some ice cream as a treat for us to have as a semi-date night thing, since I wasn't anticipating him having a night off for at least 3 more weeks.  And we think of ice cream as a treat.  Well, I still bought the ice cream :).  haha....  Butterscotch oatmeal cookie or something like that.  Definitely different!  But we had a chance to go out for date night, so we did :).  We headed to Applebee's and I ordered a steak and Jeremy got a steak fettuccine.  I will say I was kind of disappointed in the amounts of food for the price and the quality of the sirloin.  Golden Corral has better tasting steaks.  We don't have one of those around here.  But it was nice to go out on a date with my sweetheart :).  And then when we got home, since we're both used to staying up late; we continued date night with popcorn and Cool Runnings as we snuggled up on the air mattress (which really doesn't fit 2...).  Such a fun date night :).

And last, but not least.  Here's a couple of clowns!  Haha...  They were calling themselves that after they found Uncle Jeremy's hats.  And they put on a circus show for us before I took them home.  We had them Thursday evening while both Christina and Nick were at work.  They are sweet girls.  And I know my dad loves to see a picture of them every now and then :).

Graves

It's a new month, and that means Jeremy's schedule has changed again.  This time it's back to grave-shift.  I will say I am thankful that I can adjust my schedule to fit his more.  However, I do not take on the full grave-shift experience.  I pretty much just keep the swing-shift schedule and try to make it to about 2 a.m.  And so, I am blogging.

Besides, I should be doing this more often.  I was just thinking the other day about how I used to blog daily.  And I actually managed to have stuff to say.  When did I get so boring!?!

So today (er, yesterday) marked 25 weeks.  Here is the bump picture.  I had ordered all the bump pictures I had taken up to about 2 weeks ago, in order to put them in the baby's book.  Jeremy was looking at all the pictures I'd ordered and came across picture after picture of my expanding belly.  He had no idea I'd been taking them.  He thought it was cute.  I keep trying to tell him that our baby will want to see these things one day.  He thinks I'm crazy.  And if we have a boy, that may be true.  But if we have a girl, I'll be right.  So ha!  And anyway, if we have a boy, he'll eventually have a wife, and she might want to see those pictures ;).  And so might his little daughters.  Girls just like those types of things.  Anyway, I'm wearing my maternity pants a lot these days.  Just so much more comfy.  I don't have the body type to have a cute baby bump, but that's okay.  I'm mostly carrying in the front and haven't noticed a lot of weight gain anywhere else.  So I'll count my blessings :).

I will say I'm sometimes amazed at how the baby seems to go into hiding.  Sometimes I can feel the baby a lot and figure out pretty much where it's sitting.  Sometimes it seems like it isn't even in there!  I mean, there's only so much space, and it's a pretty well-defined area.  It blows my mind that the baby can seem so "invisible."  Of course, then I'll lay on my side with "too much" tummy touching the bed, and the baby seems to have issues with that.  I get a few kicks then, exactly where the tummy touches the bed, and I know I must not be in the baby's favorite position.  Still don't know if I think I'm having a boy or girl.  But I can honestly say I don't have a preference.  Other than when it comes to names.  We still aren't agreed on a boy's name.

In other funny news...  Jeremy has been growing out his facial hair.  I always thought I'd have an issue with this.  For some reason, I just prefer the clean-shaven look.  A couple days worth of growth doesn't bother me, but the thought of a full-on beard and mustache just seemed yucky to me.  Haha...  Well, I can now say that I don't mind the whole thing (beard and mustache).  But I definitely think the mustache alone is less than favorable.  I will have to get Jeremy to take a picture with me in the next couple days.  I should have taken one when he had his beard earlier today.  It won't be something that happens often.  He actually is only doing it along with another co-worker in some sort of celebration of wrapping up this project they've been working on for the last year.  Today marks what is possibly (hopefully) the final few weeks, so they shaved off the beards and left only the mustaches.  I'm not a fan.  But I think it's cute anyway.  And since I neglected to get the full beard shot, I'm doing the best I can with when he was in the background of a nursery kid's picture a couple weeks ago.  But it had gotten quite a bit bushier.

I'm totally giving props to my sweet husband who has been hanging out in nursery to help the other 2 nursery workers -- and give his wife one less thing to worry about having to take care of.  And actually, all I have heard is about how awesome he is in there.  Yeah, he is pretty awesome.  And totally cute and handsome ;).  One of these days, he's going to be our children's favorite playmate.  And fixer of all broken toys :).  Yep, he's a keeper.

On that note, I think I'll get ready for bed.  Hopefully he'll be home around 6 a.m. Graves is yucky.  Yuckier than just a mustache ;).