A Baby Story

I don’t know what it is, but once I got into “baby mode” baby stories started to fascinate me.  So in light of that, I thought I would share my little “squeak”‘s baby story.

At about 36 weeks my doctor checked me and said I was ready to go at any time.  At 36 weeks I was dilated to 1 and 50% effaced.  Needless to say he got my hopes up – which is never a good thing for an ultra organized planner like me.  The next few weeks passed by like molasses in winter time.  At 37 weeks I was dilated to 2 and 75% effaced.  At 38 weeks I was dilated to 3 and 80-85% effaced.  Needless to say, I became restless and scheduled an induction.

I had high hopes that the babe would vacate the womb on his own.  But alas, we made it to D-Day.  I called into the birthing center at 5:30 a.m. as instructed.  The charge nurse said they weren’t ready for me and that I should check back at 7:30.  So 7:30 rolled around and I called back, and they were not ready for me.  This time they said they’d call me back around 9 to let me know when I could come in.  So at 9 a.m. they called and said I had two options, either I could stay on-call all day or they could reschedule me for the next day.  In that case, I could still be pushed back again because I was a non-emergency induction.  So I chose to stay on-call.  Monday was probably the least productive i’ve been in a while.  I just kept crawling back into bed, so annoyed with everyone and everything.  At 2:30 the hospital called and said, “are you ready to come in?” i’m like “YES!!!!” So we dropped boo off at my SIL’s and rushed (and by rushed I mean we went 35 mph in a 50 because people don’t know how to drive!!!) to the hospital.

Once we got there, things slowed down a bit.  We spent 30 minutes in the lobby area, waiting to fill out mandatory hospital papers.  Around 3:45 we finally were shown our delivery room.  At about 4:15 they started me on some sort of liquid to hydrate me.  And around 5 p.m. they finally started the petocin at a level of 2.  Lucky for me about an hour later my labor team showed up along with my mom and her husband shortly after.  Having people there for conversation made time fly by.  At 8:30 visiting hours were over, so the parentals left.  Around 9 p.m. I had received my epidural and was all ready for the doctor to come in and break my water.  Dr. Kapernick (my doctor) was amazing and I’m so glad I had her for the delivery of this baby.  She broke my water around 9:30 p.m. (at that point I was dilated to 4).

Once the water broke we (my three girlfriends and husband) decided to pass the time by with a game of scattegories. 🙂  I love inductions –  I was fully dilated by 11 p.m. and didn’t even know it until they checked me.  At 11:45 p.m. I started pushing.  I was hoping that the baby would pop out after 15 minutes, but alas that did not happen.  At 12:40 a.m. on March 27th my healthy baby boy was placed on my chest.  At 7 lbs 9 oz, 20 1/2 inches long.  He was perfect.

**stop reading now if you don’t want to know the gory details**

Now on to the part that all new moms or moms-to-be love to know.  “Did you tear?!”  Yes.  Unfortunately, I did.  Mainly because my little man came out in a superman pose (fist up by head).  I experienced a second degree tear, which honestly is a walk in the park compared to my first birth where I had a third degree tear… a degree makes a difference!  It took me 6 months to heal from my first birth – and for the entire first month I was taking pain meds.  This time, I made it to-day 5 and stopped taking medicine because I simply didn’t need it anymore.  What a blessing!

Well that’s my birth story – it is true, at least in my case, that the first one is the hardest and thereafter it’s a walk in the park. 🙂  Enjoy the pictures below!

Waking up to snow

Every morning, around 7 a.m. I hear my little munchkin talking to his stuffed monkey and giggling in his crib.  It’s a fabulous sound to wake up to.  So as our routine goes, I walk into his room and pull up the blinds – usually to find an overcast morning (the predictable weather we have in the Pacific Northwest).  This Tuesday morning, the sun was shining through the cracks in the blinds and as I pulled it up all we saw was a blanket of snow – it was SO exciting… and really unexpected since the weather man hadn’t told us to expect this!  Little Boo was stoked and wanted to go out and play.  Here are a few shots of him looking out our back porch sliding door.

45 Life Lesson’s

One of my FB Friends posted this awesome column – enjoy!

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written.”

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s,we’d grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

Womencare Shelter Gala 2012

Last night my husband and I attended the Womencare Shelter Gala at the Lakewood Inn in Bellingham, Washington.  (My company, Management Services Northwest was one of the sponsors of the event.)  The WCS themed the event, “closing the door on domestic violence.”  Just last night, they were able to raise $78,000.  Which is pretty amazing to me, considering there were only 24 tables of 8.  The husband, like usual, goes a little bit crazy when there are SO many silent and live auction items.  Because of course, to him they are “free” (tax deductible).  The one item that got a way was the weekend trip to Winthrop with a Porsche Cayman S – his limit was $1,000 and is still pouting that the old couple beat him out.  His comment, “They’re 50! Frick! What is this a mid-life crisis?!” Ha-ha – he’s not a very good loser.  What we did walk away with was wine tasting at Samson Winery with 8 of our friends.  The last auction we went to, a limo ride was won – so I think a combo is in order…. once this baby makes an appearance.

The Cord

So the last time I was pregnant, I heavily debated with myself on banking boo’s umbilical cord.  Alas, I decided against it because the things it cures like blood cancer, metabolism diseases, brain injuries, etc. didn’t really run in the family.  Well recently one of my close relatives was diagnosed with non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – which is a blood cancer for all of you who don’t know (I didn’t!).  So now I’m struggling with the should I, shouldn’t I, in banking this little one’s cord.  I feel like in the long run, really how much is $2K if it’s saving my child’s life! And of course, the clincher – I’m at 34 weeks… only 6 weeks, God willing, to go.  So if I’m going to make a decision, I need to make it quick.

I recently inquired about additional information from www.cordblood.net and they sent me the informational packet, which you can read about here.  I’ll let you know what I decide, but as of right now I think I’m 95% sure I’m going to do it.  The husband is on board (I think) – so I’m just going to talk to my doctor about it next week, and we’ll see what he says.

Mini Coconut Goodness

At about noon yesterday, my husband informed me we were bringing dessert to our friends home that evening.  So, having seen this beautiful picture on pinterest a few weeks back, I knew exactly what I was going to make.

Mini Coconut Cream Pies — slightly revised from the original

Ingredients:

2 pre-rolled refrigerated pie crusts

 

The filling:

1 small box of instant vanilla pudding

1 15 oz can of light coconut milk (mine’s from TJ’s)

1/2 tsp coconut extract

 

The topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 TBSP sugar (or to your taste)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp corn starch

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease mini-muffin tin and set aside.

 

Unroll prepared pie crust and using a 2 1/2 inch circle (or fancy scalloped cutter if you have one), cut 12 circles out of the dough… it is possible, see picture below for example. 🙂 

Press the circles into the mini muffin pan, making sure the dough is hugging its little muffin crevasse.  (If you don’t, little bubbles will form (or rather, one big bubble) and then no filling will fit in the tart.)   Bake the mini pie crusts for 5-8 minutes at 400 degrees. (Mine were perfect after 6 minutes and 50 seconds.)

 

For the filling, whip coconut milk, pudding, and coconut extract (Always taste test to make sure it’s coconutty enough for your crowd).  Mix together for 2 minutes, then let rest for at least 5 minutes to thicken.

 

For the topping, whip together the heavy whip cream, sugar, and vanilla (add cornstarch if you are preparing the mini pies ahead of time, it will help hold its form) until peaks form.

 

To put together:  Spoon the filling into completely cooled pie shells.  Then pipe or spoon the topping on each pie.  Last, gently place flaked coconut on each pie.  Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve!

I taste tested about 3 while putting these little puppies together.  They are delicious.  The one “extra” I will do for next time is make my own, homemade pie crusts.  Store bought just isn’t the same, mainly because it’s not sweet enough for me.  There’s a few good recipes on allrecipes if any of you are brave enough to do the scratch version.  Enjoy! 🙂

Broccoli Cheddar Soup & Sweet Rolls

Whoops, forgot to take pictures!  But todays meal was such a slam dunk I had to share.  I invited the family over for a last minute meal… not sure why I did that after working 16 hours yesterday; but alas, I did.  Luckily, this meal was a snap to put together.  I think the soup took me a total of 40 minutes.  And of course the sweet rolls were doughified via my breadmaker.   Also, I did not do the fancy design you see on the sweet roll recipe website.  Instead, I picked the working mom version and plucked dough directly out of the breadmaker bowl and formed each piece into something that resembled a ball.   Seriously easy.   For Broccoli Cheddar Soup Click Here.  For Sweet Rolls Click Here.

Oh, PS.  I had 9 people over for dinner so I added 2 more cups of chicken broth and two extra TBSP of flour.  It made JUST enough.  As for the rolls, I had 4 left.

Enjoy!

Gyros + Brownies

I know… weird combo, but what can I say ? Oh yah, I’m pregnant. 🙂  So I’m not sure if I told you all, but I received a brand spanking new bread machine for Christmas and have been using it every week to make every kind of bread imaginable.  So this week, I was craving greekish food – so obviously pita’s were a good choice.

I scoured the internet to find a noteworthy pita recipe, and I finally found it!

After throwing all the ingredients in the bread maker, about 1 1/2 hours later I pulled the dough out and formed it into a “loggish” looking creature.  Then, as instructed, I cut it into 8 pieces.  Below is my beautiful dough.

Yum, the smell of fresh dough is delish.  So then I began to roll out, estimating the size by what I think of as a typical pita. ((below))

Then, I stuck them directly in the oven @ 500 degrees for exactly 4 minutes.

Look at how perfect they are!  I love easy recipes.

So, all while my dough was rising, I prepared the meat & etc. portion of the meal.  You have to let it marinate and what not, so preparation is key.  This is actually one of those great, prepare the previous evening meals because once its all marinated it only takes 15 minutes to grill up and assemble.

I found a great recipe for gyros off of foodgawker.com.  **A little background to this day of cooking** I was stranded at home due to an abnormal amount of snow in the PNW… which, for any of you who are not familiar, is anything over an inch of accumulation.  But no, we really had a bad storm – my backyard saw about 12 inches and it was COLD!

At any rate, here’s a picture of the chicken in all its marinated glory.  Slight deviation to the recipe, I didn’t have any lemons, so I used lime juice.  It still was delicious, so I figure, success!

Now for the complicated part, Tzatziki.  I failed at taking pictures during this segment **SORRY!** mainly because tzatziki is SO time-consuming.  I accidentally purchased nonfat yogurt, but still tasted like the tzatziki I’ve had before, so it wasn’t that big of a deal… just took forever to drain all the liquid.  Also, I shredded the cucumbers and then squeezed all the excess water out with paper towels.  One thing I did do, that I’ll make sure to correct the next time, is that I used too much garlic.  Bleh!  I did a heavy hand of 3 tsp minced garlic… and it was waaaay to garlicy.  So word to the wise, this is not the situation where more is better.

The toppings I decided to use were cherry tomatoes, feta, and red onion.  I seriously think the red onion made the gyro.  It balanced all the flavors perfectly.

My husband asked me why I didn’t put the feta in a more attractive bowl , and my response was, “because why dirty more dishes”.  His response, “doesn’t stop you otherwise”.  UMMM do you not realize I just slaaaaaaaaaved over a meal for you… pulease.  And the kitchen was clean Might.I.Add.  ((He’s a little OCD with cleanliness, and thinks I run the dishwasher waaay too much… which could be true, but really, I just made you dinner – be quite!))

And here’s the final product.  I will never go back to store-bought pitas.  I may by store-bought tzatziki though… To the right is my little boo’s pizza.  He’s such a picky eater, so I made him a pita pizza (marinera sauce + mozzarella + chicken ((hidden of course)) + cherry tomato).

Now on to the MOST important part, dessert.  While on foodgawker I found a delicious recipe for peanut butter cheesecake brownies (quite a mouthful!).  Now this recipe tells you to use BOXED brownies for the bottom half – um no, making brownies are so easy peeps, please just take the 5 minutes to throw the ingredients together.  I used this recipe for brownies.  And the combo was sinful.  One slight deviation that my husband and I both agree on, add more cream cheese.  IDK, I’m just not tasting the whole cheesecake portion, I taste peanut butter but no cream cheese.  So, i’m thinking if you double the cream cheese to 8 oz instead of 4 you’ll be golden.  Another recommendation, refrigerate once the brownies have cooled… the next day they are to die for.  I know it’s hard to wait that long, I didn’t.  But they do taste better the next day versus right out of the oven.

Pioneer Man

My husband made the most delicious meal yesterday… So delicious I felt inclined to post the link. We were watching “pioneer woman” on the food network yesterday morning and she started cooking this pork butt and slaw and potatoes au gratin that were absolutely mouth watering. So the husband went to Safeway and picked up all the ingredients. The only change we (or rather HE) made was cooking the pork in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours and low for 2. Oh, and we didn’t do the dessert… But I’m keeping that on the menu for later, as I love her rustic approach to apple pie.

Oh and I almost forgot, I did contribute something… These delicious rosemary pepper rolls. The flavors were off the chart. The only change I made to this recipe was preparing the dough in my bread maker. I LOVE me a bread maker.

*The Verdict*

So, I did a terrible job telling you all how the cake tasted (you know, the one I made for my GPA’s 80th). It was delicious. Infact, it was so good I ate the leftovers for the following 4 days… which is probably why I gained 3 lbs. Awesomeness. Good thing i’m pregnant.  At any rate, the one lesson I learned from this caking experience, is that if you have a deformed cake… don’t use it. You pretty much couldn’t taste the caramel (since the majority had oozed out prior to frosting). Such a bummer, because the taste test of the caramel prior to application was SO YUMMY. Whelp, i’ve learned my lesson, next time i’ll turn on the other oven…

Oh, and here’s a picture of the slice –