Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Baby News
Tomorrow, I will be 31 weeks. We have 2 months from Monday before our precious little person's much anticipated arrival! It seems as though time has been flying lately, which is a nice relief since it seemed to stop for a while just before that. I'm on my every two week visit to the doctor. In about 5 weeks, I'll start going every week. Dr. Cartwright may do another ultrasound around 36 weeks. She says I'm measuring on track, but that I'm measuring bigger than with Adon (although I weigh less now). She's concerned the baby will be much bigger than Adon. We're not worried in the slightest since she thought Adon would be so little and he was just perfect. According to my Week by Week book, Baby is about 3.5 pounds and nearly 18 inches!
I attended my cloth diaper class yesterday at Cotton Babies. Wow!! It was so informative...2 hours of information! I made it through the first hour fine, but then my brain went into overload. Adon was a champ through the whole thing! I think I have a general idea of what we'll use, but I have to sit down today to make a list of all we'll need for two babies of different sizes. They're hosting a yard sale tomorrow with about 10-12 vendors (moms) selling their used cloth diapering supplies. I'm praying for favor and God's wisdom to know what to buy and to get some good deals. I want to get enough to get started with Adon so I can have a little practice under my belt when I have to do it for two! What I'm not able to get, I'll be registering for. I think it will be fun, but I'm a little overwhelmed. As Jeremy would say, it will be an adventure!!
I also tried on the Ergo baby carrier last night. AMAZING!!! I was totally in love with our Jeep one, but this one is awesome! The girls at the store were super helpful and friendly. They let me try on the display model and helped me put Adon on my back and wear him around until our class started. I couldn't believe it fit, since I am 7 months pregnant! And it was soooo comfortable. My back hurt a little bit after wearing it, but not as much as if I was just carrying him...plus I had two free hands. I think Adon enjoyed snuggling so close to me. He kept laying his head on my back! :o) This is definitely going on our registry!
Please pray for me to find some good deals at the yard sale tomorrow!
I attended my cloth diaper class yesterday at Cotton Babies. Wow!! It was so informative...2 hours of information! I made it through the first hour fine, but then my brain went into overload. Adon was a champ through the whole thing! I think I have a general idea of what we'll use, but I have to sit down today to make a list of all we'll need for two babies of different sizes. They're hosting a yard sale tomorrow with about 10-12 vendors (moms) selling their used cloth diapering supplies. I'm praying for favor and God's wisdom to know what to buy and to get some good deals. I want to get enough to get started with Adon so I can have a little practice under my belt when I have to do it for two! What I'm not able to get, I'll be registering for. I think it will be fun, but I'm a little overwhelmed. As Jeremy would say, it will be an adventure!!
I also tried on the Ergo baby carrier last night. AMAZING!!! I was totally in love with our Jeep one, but this one is awesome! The girls at the store were super helpful and friendly. They let me try on the display model and helped me put Adon on my back and wear him around until our class started. I couldn't believe it fit, since I am 7 months pregnant! And it was soooo comfortable. My back hurt a little bit after wearing it, but not as much as if I was just carrying him...plus I had two free hands. I think Adon enjoyed snuggling so close to me. He kept laying his head on my back! :o) This is definitely going on our registry!
Please pray for me to find some good deals at the yard sale tomorrow!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Text Posting
If this message posts, then I can successfully post to our blog via text message! How cool is that? I feel like I just caught up with technology...we'll not really. But at least feel like I discovered something really cool. If this posts...I may actually post more often!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Adon's new accomplishment
Adon can turn himself around on the couch and our bed to slide off! I left him on the couch and went into the other room. When I came back, he was on the floor, and there was no thump! I didn't believe it, so I put him back up on the couch and watched him do it! Yesterday, Adon was in bed with us in the morning. I left him with Jer and went to the bathroom. All of a sudden, I hear him crawling from our room to the bathroom! I asked Jer why he let him go, and he said he didn't that he got down all by himself. Unconvinced, I put him back up on the bed and watched him turn around and slide down backwards!
Now we just have to work on the steps! He crawls to the edge of the steps in our room and grunts to indicate he's ready. I'll turn him around and he'll slide backwards...but he won't come down until I turn him around.
In other news, the baby is much more active than Adon was. I feel the baby kicking (hard) and moving all the time! Only 10 more weeks to go!
Now we just have to work on the steps! He crawls to the edge of the steps in our room and grunts to indicate he's ready. I'll turn him around and he'll slide backwards...but he won't come down until I turn him around.
In other news, the baby is much more active than Adon was. I feel the baby kicking (hard) and moving all the time! Only 10 more weeks to go!
Baking Day Success!
Thursdays are my normal baking days. Lately, though, they've been pretty boring...just making bread mixes and muffins for the upcoming week. We have plenty of muffins and bread mixes leftover from last week, so I got to experiment with a few new recipes today.
I tried Whole Wheat French Bread Rolls to go with our lasagna for dinner. This was my first attempt at making bread WITHOUT a bread machine, so I was a little nervous, as bread can be finicky. This was a major success, though!! They came out of the oven just as we were ready to eat dinner. J ate three of them (they were about the size of hamburger buns)! They were scrumptious with a little bit of honey and butter. MMMM......I put the uneaten ones in the freezer for another time. I bet they'll be good for sandwiches!
I also tried a new whole wheat bread recipe. This was the first time I made bread dough in the bread maker, then baked it in the oven. If you're interested in the recipe, let me know. When I copied the recipe into Word, I forgot to include the source...so I have no idea where it came from. The jury is still out on the success of this one, since it's too warm to slice and try. Although it looks pretty good, and the crust is much softer than our other one.
And finally, I made the easiest simplest peanut butter cookies ever!! Three ingredients and 15 minutes from start to finish...it doesn't get any better. Plus, since we haven't been grocery shopping in a couple of months, it was nice to find a recipe not requiring lots of ingredients. These were super tasty. I left enough out to try and for dessert and put the rest in the freezer, so we're not tempted to eat them all tonight and then we'll have a few stashed away for when we're hit with a sweet tooth craving...which around here is almost every night!
I would have taken a picture, but I already put everything away. As I was cleaning up, I saw a chubby little hand reaching up onto the kitchen table about to grab a peanut butter cookie! It was so cute! Let me know if you try these recipes how you like them or if you have tried any new tasty recipes lately!
I tried Whole Wheat French Bread Rolls to go with our lasagna for dinner. This was my first attempt at making bread WITHOUT a bread machine, so I was a little nervous, as bread can be finicky. This was a major success, though!! They came out of the oven just as we were ready to eat dinner. J ate three of them (they were about the size of hamburger buns)! They were scrumptious with a little bit of honey and butter. MMMM......I put the uneaten ones in the freezer for another time. I bet they'll be good for sandwiches!
I also tried a new whole wheat bread recipe. This was the first time I made bread dough in the bread maker, then baked it in the oven. If you're interested in the recipe, let me know. When I copied the recipe into Word, I forgot to include the source...so I have no idea where it came from. The jury is still out on the success of this one, since it's too warm to slice and try. Although it looks pretty good, and the crust is much softer than our other one.
And finally, I made the easiest simplest peanut butter cookies ever!! Three ingredients and 15 minutes from start to finish...it doesn't get any better. Plus, since we haven't been grocery shopping in a couple of months, it was nice to find a recipe not requiring lots of ingredients. These were super tasty. I left enough out to try and for dessert and put the rest in the freezer, so we're not tempted to eat them all tonight and then we'll have a few stashed away for when we're hit with a sweet tooth craving...which around here is almost every night!
I would have taken a picture, but I already put everything away. As I was cleaning up, I saw a chubby little hand reaching up onto the kitchen table about to grab a peanut butter cookie! It was so cute! Let me know if you try these recipes how you like them or if you have tried any new tasty recipes lately!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Super Yummy Black Bean Burgers!
The last time I made a major shopping trip was February 2, during which I bought a month's worth of groceries. Since then, we've started the Crown Financial Ministries class at church, and I've learned (or been reminded) how much differently God's plan for money is than society's (and ours!). In an attempt to honor the Lord with our finances and use the money He's given us wisely, we've made a few changes. We recently reset our grocery budget envelope as it had some major IOUs in it. I am determined to only grocery shop with money that is in the envelope and not create any IOUs. To date, we have $7 in that envelope. This is the first time it's been positive in probably over a year!! And it's been over two months since I went shopping!! It's taken a lot of work and creativity, but God is so faithful to stretch what we already have and make so much more!
In light of all of that, I've been experimenting with some new recipes to use up some "dusty" items in our pantry. We had a bag of great northern white beans that I (actually J made it!) used with some (super on sale) chicken and some other stuff from our pantry to make a white chili. We were sorely disappointed, because it was too spicy for us. I wound up sending the rest of it to my dad. However, we only used half of the bag of beans, so we still have a pound to be used for something else...please let me know if you have any good recipes using these beans.
Another new recipe we tried was black bean burgers. I was a little skeptical as I was modifying a recipe in the cookbook to suit our family's tastes. (The cookbook recipe sounded really spicy.) Personally, I love black beans, but they are not J's favorite. Bless his heart though, he always tries what I fix. These were so not a disappointment!! In fact, I loved them a ton! I think it's one of my new favorite recipes...especially considering how cheap they are! Fortunately for us, we got most of the ingredients and condiments from the bakery, so they were even cheaper! Here's the recipe for anyone interested...super easy and super tasty (and super healthy)!!
Annie's Black Bean Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
1 can (15 oz) black beans, undrained
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 egg
Spices to taste (we used seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin)
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Put black beans into food processor, and process until slightly mashed. Mix beans, bread crumbs, egg, and spices together. Heat skillet and oil on medium heat. Form into four patties about 1/2 inch thick. Coat with the cornmeal (makes the burgers slightly crispy). Cook on medium heat 4-5 minutes on each side. Serve with your favorite condiments.
J thought they were a little bland, so I'll add more of the spices next time and probably use diced onions instead of onion powder. For condiments, we used a smidge of mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and pickles...all on a whole wheat bun. They actually only had whole wheat rolls (not actual buns) at the bakery so we made eight baby burgers instead and J made some cooked carrots to go with them. Oh man am I glad we have more beans! My mouth is watering just thinking about them!
In light of all of that, I've been experimenting with some new recipes to use up some "dusty" items in our pantry. We had a bag of great northern white beans that I (actually J made it!) used with some (super on sale) chicken and some other stuff from our pantry to make a white chili. We were sorely disappointed, because it was too spicy for us. I wound up sending the rest of it to my dad. However, we only used half of the bag of beans, so we still have a pound to be used for something else...please let me know if you have any good recipes using these beans.
Another new recipe we tried was black bean burgers. I was a little skeptical as I was modifying a recipe in the cookbook to suit our family's tastes. (The cookbook recipe sounded really spicy.) Personally, I love black beans, but they are not J's favorite. Bless his heart though, he always tries what I fix. These were so not a disappointment!! In fact, I loved them a ton! I think it's one of my new favorite recipes...especially considering how cheap they are! Fortunately for us, we got most of the ingredients and condiments from the bakery, so they were even cheaper! Here's the recipe for anyone interested...super easy and super tasty (and super healthy)!!
Annie's Black Bean Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
1 can (15 oz) black beans, undrained
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 egg
Spices to taste (we used seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin)
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Put black beans into food processor, and process until slightly mashed. Mix beans, bread crumbs, egg, and spices together. Heat skillet and oil on medium heat. Form into four patties about 1/2 inch thick. Coat with the cornmeal (makes the burgers slightly crispy). Cook on medium heat 4-5 minutes on each side. Serve with your favorite condiments.
J thought they were a little bland, so I'll add more of the spices next time and probably use diced onions instead of onion powder. For condiments, we used a smidge of mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and pickles...all on a whole wheat bun. They actually only had whole wheat rolls (not actual buns) at the bakery so we made eight baby burgers instead and J made some cooked carrots to go with them. Oh man am I glad we have more beans! My mouth is watering just thinking about them!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Giraffe Boy
We found this in the box of clothes from Sharron! He was a little perturbed at first, but then it was like he didn't even have it on. At one point he was crawling really fast and put his head down...it looked like the little giraffe was charging!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Doctor's Visit and Other News
I saw the doctor this week for my 28-week checkup. She said I was 4 pounds lighter than at this time with Adon and that I look skinnier than the last time she saw me...which is funny because the scale tells me I'm about 4 pounds over my goal. My blood pressure was great, but I have been having dizzy spells a few times a week to the point I feel like I'm going to black out. The doctor said to watch out for sugar crashes and eat more protein. That was also a funny thing to me, since she told me with Adon that the more protein I ate, the bigger he would be. She also said my mid-section is measuring right on track. With Adon, I was measuring up to 4 weeks smaller, so the doctor thought Adon would be super tiny (around 5 pounds). Now that I'm measuring on track and feel much bigger, she thinks this baby may be a lot bigger than Adon was. We may have another ultrasound in a couple of months to determine the baby's size. However, I'm not worried in the slightest. The baby will come at the right time and there's nothing anyone can do if he/she is bigger or smaller than "normal."
I've ordered and received a 3-month supply of raspberry leaf tea to help prepare my body for the delivery. There are some major health benefits provided by this natural tea, and I can't wait to see the difference it may provide when the baby comes.
In other news, we've enjoyed J's first "seven-day" with his new shift. He's only working 3 days a week (13- and 14-hour shifts) and every other week he gets seven days off in a row! It's a major adjustment for me, because I don't have a normal schedule anymore. I'm trying to adapt to him being home so much (after a year of not seeing him much) and still get things done.
Adon is starting to toddle while holding onto me with just one hand. He jabbers up a storm. I know he is really trying to tell me something, but I can't always figure it out. He eats pretty much everything we do now, which is super convenient...however, it makes me more careful of what we eat so he eats healthy. We cleaned out his dresser and packed up his "baby" clothes to make room for all of the new clothes he got for his birthday. I'm excited for him to be able to wear some of his new warmer weather clothes!
That's about all I can think of for now.
I've ordered and received a 3-month supply of raspberry leaf tea to help prepare my body for the delivery. There are some major health benefits provided by this natural tea, and I can't wait to see the difference it may provide when the baby comes.
In other news, we've enjoyed J's first "seven-day" with his new shift. He's only working 3 days a week (13- and 14-hour shifts) and every other week he gets seven days off in a row! It's a major adjustment for me, because I don't have a normal schedule anymore. I'm trying to adapt to him being home so much (after a year of not seeing him much) and still get things done.
Adon is starting to toddle while holding onto me with just one hand. He jabbers up a storm. I know he is really trying to tell me something, but I can't always figure it out. He eats pretty much everything we do now, which is super convenient...however, it makes me more careful of what we eat so he eats healthy. We cleaned out his dresser and packed up his "baby" clothes to make room for all of the new clothes he got for his birthday. I'm excited for him to be able to wear some of his new warmer weather clothes!
That's about all I can think of for now.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Cloth Diapers
I'm so totally excited!! I've asked J a number of times about switching to cloth diapers, but he was too grossed out by them. He, out of the blue, told me a few weeks ago that with the new baby coming, we should make the switch to save money!
I was a little overwhelmed to learn of all the cloth diapering options, and know no one (locally) who uses them. I couldn't even find a retail store that sold them. I've been putting off doing research on them, because I was afraid of choosing the wrong ones. Well, today I found this awesome store called Cotton Babies. They even have a cloth diapering class!! I called right away and signed up for the class. A major bonus is that they have a registry! I was worried that if we switch, how will I ever tell people what kind of diapers we will use, as a couple of people have mentioned having a diaper shower for us. The registry will make it so easy! Plus the registry is online, so our out-of-town friends and family won't be so confused!
However, the icing on the cake came when I was perusing their website this evening...they have a Diaper Grant for Missionaries!! I was completely amazed to read, "We want to give in a practical way towards the ministries of people who are giving their life to strategically spread the gospel among the unreached. The Diaper Grant for Missionaries is a practical way that we can make a positive impact on a missionary family's life on an ongoing basis." I mean, WOW!!! I'm even more excited about attending the cloth diaper class...and a number of other really cool ones they offer. Anyone else ever consider using cloth diapers? Let me know if you have and your experiences if you've used them. If you haven't considered them, all I can say is...they're not what they used to be and you should at least check it out!
I was a little overwhelmed to learn of all the cloth diapering options, and know no one (locally) who uses them. I couldn't even find a retail store that sold them. I've been putting off doing research on them, because I was afraid of choosing the wrong ones. Well, today I found this awesome store called Cotton Babies. They even have a cloth diapering class!! I called right away and signed up for the class. A major bonus is that they have a registry! I was worried that if we switch, how will I ever tell people what kind of diapers we will use, as a couple of people have mentioned having a diaper shower for us. The registry will make it so easy! Plus the registry is online, so our out-of-town friends and family won't be so confused!
However, the icing on the cake came when I was perusing their website this evening...they have a Diaper Grant for Missionaries!! I was completely amazed to read, "We want to give in a practical way towards the ministries of people who are giving their life to strategically spread the gospel among the unreached. The Diaper Grant for Missionaries is a practical way that we can make a positive impact on a missionary family's life on an ongoing basis." I mean, WOW!!! I'm even more excited about attending the cloth diaper class...and a number of other really cool ones they offer. Anyone else ever consider using cloth diapers? Let me know if you have and your experiences if you've used them. If you haven't considered them, all I can say is...they're not what they used to be and you should at least check it out!
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