Here's lookin' up your old address

I'm writing on borrowed time.  David's asleep and it's 11:45.  Amelia slept 12 hours straight last night after going down without a peep.  She peeped tonight on and off for about 30 minutes tonight, falling asleep for about 15 of those 30 minutes, but she's been out for a good 3 hours now.

I decided to go ahead and post this because I'm going to be insanely busy tomorrow filling Millie's Bows orders and packing for Amelia and me to take the train down to Oregon on Thursday morning.  And when I'm in Oregon, I don't check the computer.  At least not more than once or twice.

I was reading some of my older posts before the baby was born and I used to actually be a mildly entertaining blogger.  Not that Amelia isn't an entertaining subject matter, but really only to me and her dad and her grandparents, probably.  Plus I think a small chunk of mental capacity made its great escape at some point between getting pregnant and birthing my child.  It happens.  I may just be getting less interesting as I grow older - I won't rule out that possibility.

SO.  I was going to make homemade pan pizzas tonight for dinner.  I've made it before, back when I was still interesting.  Dough is so super simple to make but for some reason I always feel like it's going to be a headache, and having to wait for it to rise...I just didn't have make the time.  I had already thawed the mozzarella and pepperoni by transfering each Food Savered item from the freezer to the fridge a couple of days ago and since I only have one more night to cook before I leave David to his bachelor ways, I decided to at least attempt something pizza-ish.  By the way, David will be more than cared for while I'm gone in the meal department.  I made a double batch of Poppyseed Chicken and am planning to freeze a couple of chicken pot pies.  Can you tell we've run out of red meat in our house? 

Anyway, on to the recipe.  It's pizza on a flour tortilla crust.  Now, before you judge, just listen.  I've made flour tortilla pizza before.  It was soggy and slightly unappetizing.  This pizza, however, was crispy and absolutely tasty.  Could have been how much cheese I piled on it, but one of these pizzas fed David and me and we were full at the end of the meal.  I only served strawberries on the side instead of making a salad or something 'cuz I'm ghetto like that.

Try this recipe - you won't be disappointed!  My additions are italicized.

Quick Tortilla Pizza

Makes 2 pizzas; serves 4 (I obviously halved the recipe - I only had 3 flour tortillas on hand)

INGREDIENTS

Six (10 inch) flour tortillas, preferably whole wheat

(Um, didn't use whole wheat tortillas)

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (divided use) 
(Who actually measures cheese when making pizza?)

2/3 cup pizza sauce (divided use) 
(Didn't measure this, either...we're "light on the sauce" people)

Pepperoni, olives, vegetables, or any other toppings you like 
(I used pepperoni, black olives, and chopped up fresh spinach...I put spinach on and in everything I can get away with)

I added some garlic salt, pepper, and cilantro (why?  I don't know, I really don't.  It was green) to taste.

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray the bottom of the first tortilla with non-stick cooking spray to help it crisp. Lay sprayed side down on cookie sheet.

Sprinkle a small amount of cheese on top of tortilla, just enough to help tortillas stick when cooking. Top with another tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, top with third tortilla. Top last tortilla with about 1/3 cup pizza sauce and toppings of your liking.

Repeat the directions for the second pizza, using remaining ingredients. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (mine was done at 17 minutes - nice and crispy) or until golden brown. Cut with pizza wheel (I won't tell if you want to use a knife) into wedges.

Per serving (based on 4): 274 calories, 19 grams protein, 10 grams fat, 6 grams saturated fat, 36 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 33 milligrams cholesterol, 748 milligrams sodium. Analysis by registered dietitian Mary Mullen.

"Didn't measure" is the story of my life. 

Tonight I went to Google maps and looked at the "street view" of my hometown and the little house where I lived for the first 9 years of my life.  I have really, really great memories of that place.  It's a very small town, but I love that it's small.  I also love that it seems to have stayed largely unchanged.  I'd love to go back someday but I'm not sure how realistic that is since I'm halfway across the country now.  Anyway, it was fun to get to roam around town via the Google street view.  Speaking of which, I looked up my address now on Google and it's eerie that our garage door is open and so is the gate to the backyard.  David was obviously working in the yard when they came by with the truck.  Strange!  You can actually see my brother-in-law working in his front yard and their dog sitting in the yard staring at the Google truck when you look up their address.

I decided to show you the street view via Google Maps of our house.  I don't know - to me it's kind of crazy!  Obviously this is prior to David cleaning out the garage!

Have a wonderful weekend!  My shop is closed for the long weekend but I'll be back to doing orders on Monday.

There's something wrong with this picture.

I pulled this book from Amelia's collection the other day to read it to her.

The illustrations are really nicely done...

I found out that the book has very few words, just pictures.  That's fine, I like making up my own words to the story.

If only the story wasn't about a completely irresponsible mother, who, in the real world, would have been arrested for child neglect and abandonment.

Um, lady?  Carl is your dog.  Or maybe the voices in your head told you that he's a human being, capable of caring for your infant.  I mean, I normally throw Amelia in a fish tank to see how she swims, too.  Totally normal.

"Better job than I could have done, Carl, especially when I'm not on my meds."

Babies Don't Keep

Can someone please hand me a beach towel?  I'm going to need it to mop up my tears.  I ran across this poem and had to share. 

Babies Don't Keep

Mother, oh Mother,

come shake out your cloth,

empty the dustpan,

poison the moth,

hang out the washing

and butter the bread,

sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house

is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery,
blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done
and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing
will wait till tomorrow,
for Children grow up,
as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

~author unknown~

Cookbooks, cookbooks, and a contest (!?)

My dilemma.

I have a lot of cookbooks (not an exhorbant amount, but more than I can use).  I have a lot of cookbooks that I've never opened.  Cookbooks that are beautiful and have wonderful, complicated recipes that I will never make because I am generally not one to go and buy unusual or "fancy" food.  The reason?  It's hard for me to imagine buying ingredients for one recipe.  I already have items in my pantry that have been sitting there for a while, so why would I spend money on a leetle jar of some fancy paste when it will probably never be used again and live its life on my refrigerator shelf until it starts growing things.  Since I'm not earning a paycheck anymore my main job as head chef of the Baldwin household is to use what we have in the fridge, freezer and pantry while making as few shopping trips as possible.  This means making garlic bread out of frozen hot dog buns and David making his yummy stir fry out of 25 half-full bags of frozen veggies.  Mental note:  We do not need anymore frozen broccoli.

See the blue binder in the picture above (and to the right)?  That binder houses mostly recipes I printed from AllRecipes.com.  See the cookbooks to the right of the picture?  The ones that say "AllRecipes.com"?  It's easier to type ingredients into the search on the website and find recipes that way than to thumb through cookbooks, although I really do love cookbooks.  I love the idea of them.

We eat mainly chicken, ground beef, and pasta.  We also eat a lot of tomato-based foods such as spaghetti and tortilla soup.  I'm stuck in a rut when it comes to what I buy.  I will freely admit that.  If there was such a service as a "pantry chef" or a show where someone came to your house and listed everything you had in your pantry and fridge then gave you recipes to use it all then I would be the first in line.  Really, though, this post isn't about what we eat.  I do wish I was braver when it came to ingredients.  I'm not afraid to try new recipes - as a matter of fact I pretty much will make several variations of the same dish, never repeating the same recipe twice.  Of course, this is rather inconvenient when I make something that knocks David's socks off.  As I was saying, I'm not afraid to try new recipes, they just have to include ingredients already in my pantry or they have to include ingredients that can be left out or substituted if not in my pantry.  See?

Anyway, I used to house all of my cookbooks in a little hutch in my dining room.  This worked out okay until every recipe I printed off the internet wound up sandwiched between whatever space I happened to find room.  It was looking pretty ghetto.  So, now they live in a bookshelf in a guest bedroom of our home.  It's not even a cute bookshelf. 

I'm a dessert girl.  I love making dessert.  I have a little collection of cookbooks devoted entirely to desserts.  Cookbooks for cookies, brownies (not pictured because it's currently sitting in my cookbook holder on my kitchen counter), and cupcakes. 

If I had a better kitchen with more counter space (that's another post entirely), I would make it my goal to be able to produce cookies that look like this:

Isn't it adorable?  Imagine having the talent to do that!  I considered acquiring this as my new hobby but then I saw the tools required to even attempt to attain this skill:

Considering my sweet husband has been so supportive of all my hobbies such as painting, knitting, and sewing, I figured I shouldn't push my luck.  I really have yet to find my niche, but that's probably because I expect to be really great at something right when I start and that's obviously never the case.

Back to cookbooks.  I have a cookbook with beautiful photos of recipes I'll never make. 

I also have a cookbook dedicated to showing one how to host the most spactacular parties!  It has directions and pictures on how to do everything from setting the table to creating beautiful garnishes to making a beautiful ice bowl!  It also explains (with pictures, no less!) how to host any kind of themed party you want to throw.  Someday I'll be a wonderful hostess, but I probably should get a table that seats more than 6.

I guess my whole point in this is to say that, while I absolutely l-o-v-e cookbooks, I don't know how I'm ever going to use them all.  But my goal is to try to at least thumb through them and see if any have recipes that call for chicken, beef, or tomatoes.  Ha. 

If anyone has a tried-and-true recipe please let me know.  I am also looking for healthy recipes...I have lofty goals of weight loss.  Someday I want to run a half-marathon (those of you who know me stop laughing!) but the thing is - I hate running.  Anyway, that's another post for another time.

If I were to give away one of my cookbooks, would you be interested?  Here's why I'm asking:  I'm considering doing it for a contest.  I will list the ingredients of my fridge, pantry, and freezer and whoever comes up with the best recipe (I have to try it and like it!) wins a cookbook.  I'm also asking because I know there are those of you out there who read my blog but you don't comment.  Other than family, of course.  I know family who read it and don't respond but that's to be expected. 

So, answer me that.  If you're reading me on Facebook, come on over to my blog.  You don't even have to log in to comment (but please tell me who you are).

And, just because I can, here's a photo from bathtime tonight:

Happy Weekend!

Obesity and formula

Well, I'm up.  I'm not sure whether to blame it on the caffeinated coffee I drank at 4pm or the fact that my baby isn't in bed next to me for the first time in a while.  I keep checking the monitor to make sure she's...I don't know...still there?

Can I just say something?  Okay, thanks.  I mean, it is my blog, after all.

I recently saw a video trailer for some documentary about babies who are formula fed verus babies who are breastfed.  I'm not going to name the documentary or the website because I don't want to promote it in any way. 

I first saw the video around 9:30pm tonight and I literally can't get it off my mind.  The trailer for this documentary had some woman nursing what looked like a 3-year-old and as she nursed her kid she said (and I quote) "I have friends who say 'Oh, I wasn't breastfed and I turned out fine.'  That argument, with the obesity epidemic in this country, is no longer valid.  Our country is not fine.  Our country did not turn out fine by not having breastfeeding be the norm.  It is an absurd epidemic in this country how sick we are."   

Really, lady? 
I mean, seriously. 

Let's think this through.  Over the past 30ish years, let's name the things that have become more prevalent in our society.

- Video games
- Fast food restaurants on, literally, every corner
- Parents afraid to discipline their kids or "hurt their feelings" which leads to kids having a sense of entitlement
- Divorce
- More moms working outside the home
- Microwaveable meals in place of the homecooked meal

Oh, and "formula-fed babies".  Right.  Our entire society is fat because, as babies, we were all formula-fed.  My baby gets formula, on average, less than one feeding a week so it's not that I'm defensive about this. 

Here's why this makes me so angry...

First of all, let's all agree that breastmilk is, in fact, the best for babies.  There's absolutely no disputing that.  God, in His infinite wisdom, provided along with the miracle of life the ability for that life to be sustained with the mother's milk.  It's a wonderful thing.  It's a natural thing.  That does not mean it is always an easy thing!  There are babies who come out of the womb Champion Nursers.  There are also babies who come out of the womb and take a little longer to get the hang of nursing and it takes a lot of patience on the part of the mom and the baby to get it figured out.  Some never really do. 

There are women who cannot breastfeed for health reasons on their part or on the part of their baby.  Legitimately, sincerely, cannot do it.  There are babies who are allergic to their mom's breastmilk or babies who have such severe reflux and/or eczema that, to breastfeed their babies, moms would have to go on a diet that would be detrimental to their health. 

Let's even forget about the legitimate reasons.  Let's just assume that a mom doesn't want to breastfeed her child.  Here's the thing... make a documentary, "educate" women all you want, but do not judge women who do not breastfeed.  Want to know why?  Because it's none of your business. 

I guess I should just laugh at the woman who said that formula-fed babies are the reason for the "obesity epidemic" in America.  Couldn't possibly be that we, as Americans...

We are served larger portions in restaurants than anywhere else in the world and we also have a hard time just putting down the cheeseburger. 

We allow our kids to sit on their rear-ends in front of video games or Spongebob Squarepants instead of getting outside and exercising. 

We have both the mom and dad working outside the home and thus not really monitoring what or how much the kids eat (among other things). 

Perhaps because of how little we actually see our children or are involved in their lives, are afraid to discipline them for fear it might hurt their self-esteem and instead we give them whatever they want.  Mr. Sense-of-Entitlement grows up and drowns his less-than-stellar childhood memories in a Super Size milkshake and a Big Mac. 

As kids we are more often getting Pop Tarts or Lucky Charms for breakfast, chicken nuggets at school for lunch, and McDonalds in the evening for dinner.  

The list goes on and on.  Yes, I get that she's saying that we are a sick society because, since the introduction of formula, many more mothers formula feed than breastfeed.  It's been my experience, just in being involved in several mothering forums online, that breastfeeding is becoming more the norm than formula-feeding.  Now, I won't start on the whole "breastfeeing your 5-year-old" debate, I'll just say that I admire any woman who can even make it a year breastfeeding.  As I said before, it's not always easy.  Most women who lobby for more women to breastfeed are the ones whose babies latched on from the get-go and gain weight beautifully from the start.

My baby lost a full pound within 3 days of her birth.  She was cranky and downright unhappy and, as a new mom, I couldn't figure out why.  Three days after she was born we went to a lactation consultant who told us of her weight loss and, after hearing about how irritable she was, told us that she was hungry.  Talk about breaking a mother's heart.  My milk didn't come in until 5 days after my daughter was born.  She was burning more calories eating than she was getting from the colostrum (the yellowish stuff babies get from the breast prior to the "real" milk coming in).  We had to supplement with Nutramigen and, let me tell you, I was THRILLED that such a product existed.  My baby didn't have to go hungry!  She also didn't latch very well.  I had to use a nipple shield for the first 3 weeks of her life before she finally latched on. Even then she would pop off while nursing for no apparent reason whatsoever.  She still does that. 

Around 8 weeks or so she would scream at night and cluster-feed (which basically means she was attached to my breast for hours trying to get as much food as she could).  She would cry (then I would cry) when nothing was there.  I would pump during the day but sometimes she needed a couple of ounces of formula to "top her off".  Again, I was so happy that such an option existed.  The thought of telling my baby, "Tough luck, kiddo" after my milk supply was gone and sending her to bed with not enough in her belly wasn't an option for me.  Before we even introduced formula at night I had someone tell me that I wasn't "exclusively breastfeeding" because my baby was also taking my milk through a bottle at night.  Since then I've wised up and realized what a bunch of nonsense that is.  It's my milk and, at the time, I was exclusively breastfeeding. 

Our breastfeeding trials remain, although I have come to realize that even though my kid is done nursing after 7-10 minutes, she's satisfied and doesn't seem to want any more.  She's never choked on the milk even when the supply is gushing so I just have to assume she's an efficient eater and gets the job done in less time which is fine with me.  Her weight is increasing beautifully and steadily so we are happy with that.  I have tried now to only give her formula if absolutely necessary.  My goal is to pump enough so that if David and I leave her with his parents then they will have breastmilk for her.  Lately she's been on a new eating routine where she gets a bottle of breastmilk before bed then a couple of hours after she goes to bed I pump and am able to get about 6 oz which we use the following evening to "stock her up".  By skipping the feeding at night and giving her the bottle I'm able to pump more.  The last couple of nights I've used a couple of ounces of breastmilk to mix with rice cereal and she loves it.

If you read this entire post, great job.  Sorry for rambling.  My baby's been in her own crib for 3 hours now which means she'll probably wake up in about 2 hours.  If she was in our bed with us she would more than likely sleep for 8-10 hours.  Oh, well.

Another late-night post brought to you by me, the girl with too much on her mind at bedtime.

Thanks for listening!

Noise & Rice Cereal

So, about this "noise sensitivity" thing. I've never been one for crowds, but crowds in contained indoor spaces makes me a little frantic. The reason isn't just being crammed shoulder-to-shoulder...I only consider myself as having a minor case of claustrophobia. It's the noise of the crowds that makes my palms sweat. I like being able to hear myself talk and I don't enjoy the ringing in my ears that happens when too many people in a close proximity to me are trying to talk all at one time. Add loud music to this and I'm good as committed to a crazy house.

This is going to sound a little crazy, but if I'm in the car with someone and they have the radio on loudly and they're trying to talk to me over the radio it makes me feel almost panicky. I hate it. Just turn the radio off or be quiet! I realize how I sounded just now...kind of like a jerk. It's different (kind of) if there's background music going on at a party or something...I don't mind if music is playing unless the music is loud enough that the strain for people to talk over it is noticeable. My parents think I'm nuts. I know I'm thought of as a neurotic mother, but it's just because I try to put myself in my daughter's position on a constant basis (would I want to be held like this? Am I cold? She must be cold, too. And so on.) that if something is too loud to me then I assume that it's too loud for her. Thus, the realization lately that maybe my daughter is normal and I'm the crazy one whose ears ring when the TV is on loudly (which, "loudly" is apparently relative) and people are trying to talk over it. Don't get me started on loud talkers. My ears are bleeding just thinking about it.

Are you snoring yet? Just don't snore too loudly.

I will take this opportunity to say I thank the Lord for my sensitive hearing. At least I can hear, right?

Amelia had her 4 month checkup yesterday. She's 13 lbs and apparently has shrunk in height since 2 months ago. David said he watched the nurse measure her and isn't buying her "official" height, so we'll measure her ourselves at some point. The pediatrician gave us the "OK" to give Amelia some rice cereal. We tried it last night and she seemed to like it even if most of it ended up down her chin, on her bib, and coating her fingers. Don't believe me? Take a look.



We tried it again tonight but she didn't seem thrilled with it so I think we'll wait another few days or a week before our next attempt.

For the last few days I've been trying to lay Millie down for her naps without being swaddled and without the swing. It's not going so well. Today she whined for 55 minutes before going to sleep for one of her naps and she never sleeps longer than 30 minutes. You'd think that meant she would sleep better at night but that's not the case. She gave us 9 hours straight in Oregon but that is highly unusual. Most of the time she'll sleep right at 5 hours for her first round then 4 for her second round then another 3 or so. After that I unswaddle her and consider her "up" for the day.

My current frustration is that the second you put the pacifier in her mouth (which seems to be her main comfort to go to sleep), her hands immediately go to her face and yank the paci out. At that point she gets upset like "Why? Why would someone take away my pacifier?"

I'm loving that she laughs now. It's more like a chuckle...I love it. She chuckles most at her daddy.

Okay, Amelia's awake from her last nap and in another hour or so she'll be down for the night, I hope. Tomorrow I'll blog about Halloween.

Berries & Birthing

It's been one of those days already. Struggling to keep my eyes open even though the sun is actually shining.

I'm looking forward to 2:45 when I can leave work and head over to Safeco Field where the Mariners play their Home Opener today against the Angels. I know D is anxious to welcome Ken Griffey Jr. back to Seattle and see him play with the Mariners jersey on once again. Several people we know are going to the game - I have a feeling it might be a bit of a madhouse. The Mariners are 5-2 so far this season and we as fans are really hoping that the early record is a foreshadowing of things to come! I know that lately my interests have been a bit skewed if food is involved in any way. Last night D and I went to the store and bought candy and sunflower seeds for the game but I think I still might need a Shiskaberry at the game. Don't know what a Shishkaberry is? Don't worry - I'll show you tomorrow.

Speaking of berries, D & I picked up the most beautiful, most tasty strawberries at the store the other day. A 4 pound box was only $5 and I'm determined to eat each and every strawberry so their perfection doesn't go to waste. You know I have pictures for you.



We had a prenatal appointment yesterday and, as with every appointment, we came out of my doctor's office and I said "I love my doctor" to which D agreed, adding that it's nice that she's so open and friendly. She felt my belly and gave me her best guess as to which position the baby is in even though she warned me that Amelia is still too small to know for sure. But I think she's right based on what I've been feeling. Seems as though she is head down (which is apparent to me when she gets the hiccups) with her back and buttocks curved around the right side of my tummy and her legs stretch to the left side of me. She still has plenty of time to do the mamba in there and get all flipped and such, but I'm not too concerned. Her heartbeat was 152bpm and my blood pressure was no longer in the 130s but back down to normal levels. Pretty sure last time it was so high because I had been fasting for the GD test.

We rushed home to eat dinner before heading to our first childbirth class. We had time to watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that we had TiVo'd from Sunday. I usually cry these days at anything (really, anything), but this episode had me almost sobbing. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it. If you haven't seen it and it's still sitting in your queue on the DVR I won't ruin it for you, but for the sake of whoever is watching it with you, please have a box of tissues nearby and don't try to pretend you can hide the tears and snot that will surely ensue.

Our childbirth class was pretty good. There were a lot more people there than I thought there would be. I started to count everyone but got distracted and forgot to finish. Yes, my attention span is that bad. I would guess we have 24 people in our class. Our instructor's name is Melissa and she is a registered nurse and also has a Masters in education with which she teaches 4th and 5th graders. She has a warm and friendly, slightly spunky demeanor which puts us at ease. D won't even speak up in Bible class but he spoke up a few times in our childbirth class which made me happy. Another thing that made me happy was when I got to stradle a chair and D massaged my back. Realizing that he could do that during labor was even more appealing - we both agreed that he needs to practice that a lot more before I go into labor!

Tomorrow I will hopefully have pictures from the game to post. Who knows if I'll forget though, so don't get your hopes up. My memory isn't what it used to be (even though my Dad will tell you it's never been good!).

Obligatory Post after a Missed Day

I told you how bad I am at following through. I didn't post yesterday...oops.

In my defense, it was a busy day. But, today is a new day and my hair is curled which makes me feel a lot better than when it's board straight and straggly.

Last night after work I stopped by the store for milk. We've been going through it at a pretty rapid pace due to my Raising Bran Crunch addiction. Speaking of which, I picked up 2 more boxes last night - the nerve of Safeway to keep it on sale for so long! I guess I could have worse cravings! I also picked up some grapes, bananas (product of Chile - I happened to notice), and Gala apples (99 cents/pound!).

Cereal for dinner then off to Costco before Bible class. D always eats at their little food court. Every once in a while I do, too, especially now that I'm pregnant and don't have to watch my calories quite as closely. While he was downing his piece of pepperoni pizza and polish dog, I sucked down a Mocha Freeze so quickly that it started a watery-eyed coughing fit. That's really the only interesting part of that story. I picked up some pears at Costco along with the usual restocking items. I found Amelia a really cute Carter's dress for next summer for $5.37. I wanted to look some more but we were in a hurry and a lady had pulled her cart right in front of the clothes, blocking 3/4 of the items. She was oblivious that I was hovering around her so I grabbed the dress closest to me which I happened to love, anyway.

Couldn't sleep last night. Amelia kept me awake and then woke me up this morning. She must know that today is the first day of March Madness! My bracket is filled out and I'm all set to go. No, I don't bet on my bracket but it's always fun to see between family whose bracket comes out on top. I don't have the UW Huskies going very far but I hope they prove me wrong!

I tried to find some pictures for you to make this post more interesting but nothing seemed to apply. I would take a picture of the Sound but it's foggy and nasty outside so there wouldn't be much to see. Although... here it is on a clear day back in July 2007! It's the view from my office window. Cruise ships dock in front of that teal colored building. That's Alki Beach across the water there...and a ferry, of course.

Happy Thursday! I can't believe it's Thursday already. Not that I'm complaining!

Sick Day

I probably should have qualified my "blog every day in March" statement with "unless sick" and "usually not on weekends". I started getting a sore throat last Tuesday and by Friday I had a stuffy nose and cough and earache. On Saturday I woke up with the voice of a 40 year smoker. I know I'm getting better, but I'm still not even close to 100% so I stayed home from work today.

This is what we woke up to this morning:

It's March, right? As in, almost Spring? "Global Warming" my foot!

My super sweet mother-in-law is bringing us soup and Jello and other sickie food. She's so thoughtful - she takes such good care of us!

By the way, we sold our queen-sized futon and our living room furniture on Craigslist this weekend. Pretty great! So D and I blew up the queen-sized Aerobed in the living room and are using that to sit on until we get my parents' furniture this weekend. :)

My brain is not functioning at full capacity so I'm going to take my leave. Have a great Monday!

Pike Place in the morning & 23 weeks

There are definite benefits to taking the bus to work - the above picture is just a portion of them. I don't take the bus anymore because my respiratory system and my back aren't what they used to be and the Seattle hills can be killers even when you're not pregnant. I took the above picture back in October on my walk from the bus stop to work. It was probably around 7am as I was making my way through Pike Place Market. There was a ferry on the Sound and the streets were quiet (which, if you've been to Pike Place Market in the afternoon you know that "quiet" is not typical). A coworker brought in a bag of Piroshkies this morning and offered one to me. He walks through the Market on the way to work every day and today he gave in to the smells wafting through the streets of freshly baked pastries. We talked for a bit about how peaceful and mood-lifting walking through the market on a weekday morning can be. Fresh fish being unloaded from delivery trucks, florists setting up their booths with loads of the most beautiful fresh flowers that will later be sold for the unbelievable price of $10/bouquet, the smell of freshly roasted coffee and newly baked pastries...really it doesn't get much better than that. To top it off, if you walk up the hill from the market just a bit or walk across the street to the park you get a beautiful view of the Sound and Mt. Rainier.

I didn't take my coworker up on his offer of a Piroshky because I already had my cinnamon toast bagel, but I do want to try one someday. His ham & cheese piroshky smelled really good and I got a whiff of the apple one as I passed by another coworker's desk.

Right now I'm drinking my tea and watching the rain fall as I try to get some work done. I've been feeling pretty run down lately and yesterday brought the onset of a sore throat, ear pain and a stopped up nose. I'm officially sick. I'm thankful for a cold rather than the flu - I'm still semi-functional.

I'm 23 weeks pregnant today! According to BabyCenter.com, Amelia is 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (to the right is an illustration of what a baby at 23 weeks looks like). With her newly developed sense of movement she can feel when I'm swaying to music or rocking in my seat. The rocking thing is fairly common for me now, especially at church. I start without realizing that I'm doing it and it usually ends when D makes fun of me by moving the song book back and forth or side to side (depending on which way I'm rocking). Amelia has been using my bladder as her personal punching bag which means I can't get away with long intervals between bathroom trips...she doesn't like being crowded, apparently. She also has found a spot inside of me to kick that feels somewhere between a tickle and a really unpleasant sensation. I love to feel her moving but when she kicks that spot I do everything I can to get her to stop!

It's off to get some work done on this Thursday morning. Have a great day!