26 weeks & babycation

 I'm not going to lie.  Looking at this picture kind of makes me hurt.

ha ha!! Just kidding... well, kind of.

26 weeks into this pregnancy and I am still feeling for the most part good.  I have days where I am more tired than others but overall still feeling good.

I had a growth spurt from 24 week check-up!

Ready for this?  I had my check-up on April 12th and measured 30 cms as I recorded on the last update.  Hubs and I laughed.

I went in to the doctors on April 28th and was measured at.....

ready for this?

......

35 cms.

Wowzahs!!

So in 16 days I grew 5 centimeters.

We still laughed but I laughed a little less harder and had to ask my doctor if she was at all concerned about this.  40 centimeters is like the "ding" on the dinnerbell in my mind.  Ding as in, you're done.  Your turkey has cooked, the thermometer has popped.

So naturally hearing that I was already 35 centimeters and it wasn't even technically May (remember I'm due in August- three months away) kind of made me panic a bit.

My doctor said she wasn't very concerned about it. She said I'd probably go past 40 cms and that all that stretching and growing would, yup, be painful but that it was all going to be okay.

She also reassured me that I had had a growth spurt and wouldn't necessarily see a growth like this again.  Maybe? Maybe not?!

I always wanted a growth spurt but never imagined it would happen to me sideways and not length-wise. *sigh*

Anyway, 26 weeks marks the beginning of what my doctors call "house rest" and what I thought they were calling "house ar-rest".  They had a good laugh about that one when they heard me call it that.  Now I like to call it my babycation as in a "baby vacation".... or my rest for my babies.  So what do I plan on doing during my babycation?

Finishing the nursery, prepping for babies, reading, cooking, and if I can, find a nice pool to jump into (well, not so much jump more like clumsily climb into) and swim around this summer.

Ah, babycation sounds nice. And right in time for summer!!

Please pray that the girls get as close to August as the Lord wills!!

sometimes i drool

Sometimes when I have a minute or two I like to peruse blogs and recently I've gotten into home decorating blogs or DIY or just crafty blogs in general.

I like to read about the projects and see the transformations that many of these bloggers do themselves.  And while I would consider myself a beginning crafty person I still look to a lot of these blogs for daydreams and inspiration... and then I drool.

I mean, how can you not drool over the yellow accents and the ingenuis idea this blogger had to use a barn door as her bedroom door.

That's right I said a barn door.

Be still my beating heart!

Photo Credit and Blog Credit

 And if that weren't enough her headboard is literally lovely! 

I can't stop staring at this.

Photo and Blog Credit

 This blogger had the nerve to do an awesome pantry.  If this is this lady's pantry I would love to see the rest of her house.  I love the paint choice. I love the chalkboard labeling. I love that she has shelves and shelves set aside just for her entertaining/decorating purposes. Who has that many cake stands and glass vases?!?!?! *sigh*  I actually just recently found this blog and love love LOVE that she loves colors!! I think we will have a beautiful blog friendship.... the kind of friendship where she doesn't know I exist and I stalk her blog to watch for updates.

Oh internet... thank you!

 She EVEN has a *sigh* baking station!! How fun!!

Photo and Blog Credit

 And let's not forget the blog that helped me get started with my drooling.

Jones. Sweet Jones!  Her tutorials and diy information is so easy I've done a couple of her projects already and loved them. I have a beautiful canvas art piece that I did from her blog above my bed but unfortunately I'm not happy enough with it to post a picture.  I think it's because I need more color to help it stand out.  So it's a project in process for now.

I love this project of hers and want to do a woven fabric pin board for my girls' room.  But again, I love her colors. That blue is so beautiful and really makes the fabric board stand out. Not sure if I could do this with beige fabric.... might just bleed into my wall. Hmmm....

Photo and Blog Credit

And finally for today. I love Holly Mathis interiors because she seems to be a gal after my own heart.  I love her rustic almost country charm.  Love this table!! And if I can say this about someone else's table I love how "beat up" it looks.  It looks loved and lived in.

*sigh*

What are some ideas/blogs or projects that inspire you or make you drool?

moods and memorization

 

Either I have writers block or I am not as interesting as I like to think that I am but gosh, I just cannot sit down to write a blog that I think would be entertaining.

Is it me or do pregnant people have slower minds? Seriously.

To top things off today I'm mood swinging, so I am actually feeling a bit weepy about the whole not being able to write a decent blog issue and wish I could just blow some steam.

Pffffft!!

Moods are an interesting thing, aren't they?  As a woman I have had to learn and relearn and relearn and discipline myself to follow through on the fact that feelings and moods and emotions are fleeting.  They feel very real because well, it's how I'm feeling.  But the truth is that they are not always Truth.  Emotions can be mean to me. And moods, well, those are always (as of lately) swinging.

So what is stable in life?  What grounds me?

And that is SCRIPTURE!

More and more I'm finding how wonderful it is to be slowly memorizing scripture in my life.  It's so important for me to speak Truth to myself when I'm not necessarily feeling it. 

Recently, Hubs and I were caught in some nasty turbulence.  I'd like to say I handled it like a champ but to be honest I fuh-reaked out and was crying like a baby.  Probably like two babies with all the hormones I got going on.  I was feeling vulnerable and seriously imagining my death.  We were in a small commuter plane and bouncing around like popcorn being popped.  I was sobbing and telling Hubs, "I can't do this. I can't do this."

And then I thought of Isaiah 26:3 which I had memorized which says, "He will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in You."

And I repeated that to myself over and over and over again.

Naturally I freaked out the lady next to me who pulled out her barf bag and stared at me until we landed but it brought me so much comfort to know that not only could I ask God to give me peace but He actually promises to give me peace.

I realized memorizing scripture helps us to connect to God in more than just a "feel good" way.  It also helps His word to come alive for us.

If I can encourage you in any way, I would definitely say memorizing scripture is useful for us to connect and be "in step" with our Father.  It helps us to keep in mind the things that are on God's mind and reminds us of the Truth when our emotions tell us otherwise.

So today, although I am feeling somewhat emotional about life I can recall to mind the promises God has given to me through His word and bank on the Truth of what He says.

What verses have you memorized that have later come to mind? (scary situation or not)

24 weeks

I always look so tired in these photos, don't I?

Well, here we are, week 24.  I'm in my 6th month and feeling relatively good for the most part.

Hubs is pointing to my belly... just in case you missed it.

Here's some fun facts about life in the 24 week...

our babies are each a pound and a half.

they measure at about 12 inches

and they're both growing steadily.

Right now they are just developing their more intricate parts like the delicate vessels of the lungs and more brain developments.  They're also focusing on getting fatter as right now they are still pretty thin and even transparent.  Poor things.  Maybe I should eat more cake. :P

Baby A is head down (way to go girlfriend!!) with her legs up around my belly button.

Baby B is still laying right up under my ribs.  Her head is now at my right side and she moves around like crazy!!

They are both really active little girls and usually wake me up in the middle of the night.

So here is the latest news that made Hubs and I laugh... 

our doctors routinely measure my "fundal height" and in case you didn't know the fundal height is

the distance from my pubic bone to the top of my uterus (thank you babycenter.com for the accurate defintion).  Generally this measurement should equal the weeks I'm at in my pregnancy.  So at 24 weeks a person (with a single baby) would probably measure between 23-25 centimeters or so.

My doctor told me I'm measuring at 30 weeks!

Wow!!

This just made Hubs and I laugh.  We are so blessed and it's so fun and interesting to be growing.

Seriously, this news wasn't hard to hear at all it was just so much fun to hear how fast I've been growing!!

I'm trying to think of what else there is to tell you.... still having interesting dreams... took my glucose test.... chose our names but not our middle names yet.... nope, we're not telling anyone!

oh yeah and if the background of our picture looks weird, it's cause we're in NORMAL!!!

Woo hoo!! We surprised my Dad for his birthday and flew back to my home yesterday!! I was hoping to "show off" the midwest in springtime to Hubs this weekend but in true midwest springtime fashion it'll be rainy and 50's all weekend.

Boo.

But who cares. I am totally living it up with my family this weekend!!

Hope you have a good weekend too!!

crafty time

 I was feeling a bit crafty today.  So I tackled a project that I was hesitant to do at first.  My mama had brought me these beautiful aqua curtains but something. was. missing.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it until I started a different project and then it hit me.

Embellishments and applique.

Do I know how to applique? No, I'm not even sure that's how you spell it but it looks right.

So with a pattern to look at it (but wasn't using since I already had my curtains) I just kind of "winged" it.  No pun intended.

So here you go, a sneaky peaky at the nursery decor.

 See? Beautiful curtains but I wanted just a little bit more!

 Not the straightest or best stitching but cest le vie! The curtains came together!!!

 These are not E.T. hands but actually tree branches.

 This little darling is my favorite!!! Even though the pattern didn't have a flying bird I wanted one.  So I made one flying.

ta-da!! My birds, the wind blowing the leaves and a little friend, coming to join them.

How fun and cute for my sweet little daughters!!!

tradition (to be sung to the tune of the Fiddler on the Roof song)

 Is there anything more fun than traditions?  Traditions are usually kept to special ocassions like Christmas, Easter and birthdays.  I am all about my Christmas traditions.  I have a hard time with people who want to sleep in on Christmas morning and have had to learn to be flexible getting a household full of children and adults up and going when all I want is for everyone to run down the stairs at 6am, the smell of cinnamon rolls wafting in from the kitchen, and Santa Claus quietly slipping out the door- not quite fast enough to not get caught by my nieces and nephews.  Lord help my sweet children if they prefer to sleep in because I will not allow for it on Christmas morning. Sorry sweet babies doing cartwheels in my uterus as I type.

While I am all for my Christmas traditions and developing birthday and Easter traditions, I am also intrigued by those who have traditions for non-holidays.

My friend Jin posted a picture of chocolate chip pancakes and a caption that read, "Saturday Morning tradition"....

and it made me think, "Why can't you have a tradition and a fun special treat for normal days like Saturday?"

 So today, Hubs and I enjoyed chocolate chip pancakes and. they. were. heavenly.  Really amazing.  I mean, are you surprised by that comment? That they were delicious.  It's your basic comfort food food groups; carbs and chocolate.  So really, there shouldn't be any surprise that chocolate pancakes are amazing.

And drool worthy.

And because it was Saturday and I had time to make them and then take about two billion pictures, I did and now you can enjoy the pictures.

But first.... a couple questions.

1. Can you just make a tradition or how do they begin?  Can I call this a tradition or do I have to have chocolate chip pancakes for the next ten years before they are tradition worthy?

and 2. did you have any traditional foods that you eat for Christmas, birthdays or a plain ol' day of the week?  If so, what was it and do you keep it up?

 Enjoy the pictures and don't forget to hum Fiddler on the Rood while scrolling through them.  It'll make the experience more enjoyable.  Oh I heart Tevye!

 don't hesitate to lick the spatula.  well, your own!! You shouldn't be licking mine or it'll only sadly be the taste of dusty computer screen.

 

Hubs put syrup on his. I did not. I preferred the simple butter and melted chocolate taste.  Try any topping and let me know what works!

The Twinkies gave the chocolate chip pancakes two flips!  I think that means they loved 'em!!

overrun... with a thought

We've been overrun recently with some friendly visitors.  With spring in the air, we've had an affluence of caterpillars making their way towards our home which will provide warmth and shelter for their sweet little cocoons.

For the most part we are not bothered by them except when they tried to make their cocoon on our open door (oops, I left it that way so I could sit inside but feel like I was outside).

I'm excited to see their cocoons change and for them to spread their little wings and take flight eventually.

Caterpillars remind me of an analogy that the authors used in the book, "TrueFaced" which I read last semester.  They said that if the DNA was taken from a caterpillar and looked at, you could essentially say, "This is the DNA of a butterfly" and they related this to how we are changed and made into our righteous selves through Christ.  Even though we may feel like we are the same ol' person with the same ol' sin and mistakes that bog us down.

How encouraging is that? That though I struggle with sin and wonder if I will ever become the person I was made to be, it's imperative for me to know and believe and claim for my life that I am actually already that person in Christ.  God never expects perfection from us.  Even after we've reconciled our hearts with Christ, we're still not expected to be perfect.  We're expected to rely and cling to Christ.  And His perfection works in us. Although you may look like the same ol' caterpillar, God no longer sees a caterpillar when He looks at you through Christ.

He sees a butterfly.

If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

sweetness

Guess who got new goggles for her swimming class?

shocked my mama

My Mama's in town.  I couldn't be any happier.  I'm loving our time together and only wish I could see my Dad too.  We love you Dad!!

Today I showed my mom my sequence of pictures

(click here for weeks 6, 10 & 14)

and I think she was a little surprised.

"I popped... I think.... don't you... think I popped between 18 and 20" I asked.

"Yeah, you popped." she said.

She's been quick to love on me and remind me that I'm beautiful.  The love of a mother.

Here I am.

22 weeks in.

Feeling good.

Still semi-active.

Eating whatever I want (no aversions).

No big cravings.

Babies are just about one pound.

And the cutest thing they're doing this week (according to my baby books and online) is developing their tooth buds.

How cute is that?! Little tooth buds!!

In other news, Mikey and I are registering for cloth diapers.  We're super excited to try out diapers for the newborn stage and see if this is something we want to do.  Cloth diapering would save us a ton of money and seems like a good plan.  So we're taking the first step and trying out the newborn size.  If we like them, we'll get the next size, when the Twinkies need them.  If we don't, we'll go to Plan B.

We registered for the diapers with a friend on her blog:

Calicloth Diapers 

If you're interested take a peek.  We're pretty excited.

Getting a lot of baby prep down and sewing for most of tomorrow. Woo hoo!!

Don't worry Dad, we'll send you some In-n-Out. ;)

March 2011

March was such a great month.  I'm feeling really good although I am slowing down with this pregnancy.  Already.  I have one more month left before I am home-bound, which I am fully accepting as good advice.  I'm already feeling pooped.

I can't imagine what I'll feel like in a month or even three months from now.

The babies are doing well and everything looked good at their 20 week check-up.

March was a stretching month for Hubs and I as we tried to connect with loved ones who live in Japan.  I remember watching the footage of the tsunami washing over Sendai and not fully realizing the tragedy that was happening before our eyes on live television.  

We're thankful to God that all of our friends in Japan are safe and now we pray that relief efforts will truly help people and meet them in their distressed time.

I had a lot of fun with my "Chicken Week" posts that I finished about a week ago. Click here to review all those tasty recipes.  It was wonderful to stretch myself with some new recipes but there were also some major failures.

Overall, a 5 lb chicken was too much for two people and a week's worth of chicken recipes was too much chicken for Hubs and I. I would do 1-2 recipes stretched over the week and go with a 3 lb. chicken.  I never intended for people to eat chicken every day for a week like we did but just in case that wasn't clear... I'm still not advocating for it.

I finished two books:

Babywise: by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam which was a great read and something I think Hubs and I are going to try so we can give our baby girls some structure to their little lives.  I really enjoyed this book and it's challenging me.  I'm not a scheduled person. I don't like too much structure but what I am learning and what I am sure I will continue to learn a lot more once Baby Girls come is that, it's not really about me anymore.  I'm excited to give my daughters some structure and to love them while still learning about their own personalities and their preferences.

I also read One Thousand Gifts:

by Ann Voskamp.  This is an amazing book about drawing closer to God and Ann's journey to learning what the central line to communion with God is.  Let me tell you, this is a book you will read and reread over and over again because Ann offers insight and challenges throughout the whole book.  I felt like I was barely able to scratch the surface of her thoughts as they swirled around me, encouraging me to draw close to the Lord on my own.

Read it.  It's good.

I haven't been crocheting much but I have been deco paging (a new bedroom canvas~ pictures coming soon) and sewing for the arrival of Baby Girls. I'll have to post some pictures of all the projects we've been working on.  Hubs and I went to the Art Supply Warehouse on Westminster and can I just say, "I love you Art Supply Warehouse."  So cheap.  I cannot believe how cheap their canvases are and supplies in general.  The only thing I was a tad disappointed with was their price with dye colors.  But it actually saved me from an impulsive and possibly bad idea.

But yeah, if you're in the area and want to do some artsy stuff go there! You will love it.

March has been good.  I'm excited for April.  Lots of fun stuff coming up in April but hopefully it won't go by too fast because then... I. am. home.

What have you been up to this month?

rose colored glasses

Hubs and I had our 20 week ultrasound today and everything looks amazing!!  It was so wonderful seeing the twinkies and to finally know where they are located since I've felt a LOT more movement this past week.
They are lying horizontally across my belly instead of next to each other.  One is, I guess, on top of the other.  How exciting.

So here's the news.... we are 95% sure we are having TWO GIRLS!!! Hence the blog title.  I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of pink and life through pink tinted lenses for awhile.  Unfortunately I don't naturally tend to flock towards pink.  Don't get me wrong, I love pink. I love any color that is bright and wild but so far, as far as baby stuff goes I've tended to stay around aquas and emeralds.  Who knows.  Maybe my girls will shake their head and beg for pink stuff later. :)

The ultrasound tech has only been wrong once in her 31 years of doing ultrasounds, so we're pretty sure we'll be bringing home two pink bundles of wonderfulness this summer, Lord willing. :)

Baby Girl A is number 1 or letter A because she's closest to the birth canal or the exit. :)  She weighs about 13 oz and has a anterior placenta.  Which means the placenta that gives her all her nutrients and oxygen is actually on the top of my belly not on the backside.  Which may explain why I haven't felt her as much.  I thought she was more mellow but maybe it's just the extra cushion between us.  Anterior placentas are not a problem. Baby A has her head towards my left hip and her legs moving up towards my right side of the ribs.  She actually has her feet on top of her sister's head.  So I've been feeling a ton of activity on this side of my stomach because I have a head, hands (of #2) and the feet of #1.  I hope Baby A isn't being too mean to her sister.  As far as measurements go, everything looks right on target for growth and development for Baby A.

Baby Girl B has her head on the right side of my body, under my ribcage area.  Her body and legs swing on over to my left side.  She's about 13 ounces as well and measures right on target for her due date.  Overall, everything looks awesome and they were pretty cooperative with the technician.

The only problem we had with the ultrasound was that I began to get sick from lying on my back so long.  I remember talking to my bestie Kelli about this, not being able to sleep on our backs and I really wondered, "is it really that bad?" but YES! Let me tell you, after a couple minutes on my back I got really hot and nasueated from not getting enough blood to flow to my brain.  Blech.  Twice we had to take a break and let me roll to one of my sides.  I guess the weight of my daughters and all that comes with them was too much for the major blood vessel that flows through my backside. Blech.  It was not fun at all.

So needless to say, when we found out we were having girls my reaction was more or less mellow.  I was just trying to not throw up on the side of the table.  But I made it through.

We're doing good.  We're excited and we can't wait to meet our little Twinkies.  What a huge blessing from God. We're super excited with our news.

Chicken Week Recipe #4 & 5 (12)

I had another failed chicken recipe try. Daaarn!!

I was so sad that it didn't work. It was a Japanese recipe that Hubs and I love and I wanted to pass it on but alas, it failed.  I think I cooked it too long or maybe the chicken just didn't work cause usually it's fresh chicken. Anyway, it didn't work!

But I have a lunch recipe for you and a dinner recipe for you.... so enjoy the final two recipes of Chicken Week! Woo hoo!!

Chicken & Mango Salad (from the Weeknight Cookbook with my own adaptations)

Ingredients:

2 c of your already made chicken

2/3 c canola oil

1/4 c white wine vinegar

1 T dijon mustard

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 c apricot preserves

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 mango, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced

buns

butter lettuce

Now what:

First make the vinaigrette.  In a food processor or blender, combine the oil, vinegar, mustard and process until blended.  Add the garlic and preserves and continue to process to a smooth puree.  

Assemble the salad. In a bowl, combine the chicken, celery, onion and mango.  Add the vinaigrette and toss gently to coat.  Toast the buns, line the buns with the butter lettuce, load the sandwiches with chicken salad.

Eat and enjoy!!

And now on to dinner... this is a recipe from my friend Liz who is amazing and ya'll should check out her website.  http://lizziecancook.blogspot.com 

She's quirky, bubbly and totally awesome!

I give you bird!

Just kidding. I give you Chicken Pho

Here is Liz's explanation and recipe because I can't say it any better than my sweet friend.

If there were a food about which i could write a book, pho might be that food. pronounced "fuh", pho is a delicious vietnamese brothy noodle soup that kicks classic chicken noodle soup to the curb, in my opinion. i crave it. my husband and i fell in love over pho. the wonderful sauces and herbs you add to it make a heavenly aroma. and we've seen pho restaurants with some of the goofiest names, such as "9021pho", "pho that", and "what the pho?". i mean, come on!

it is typically served with sliced rare beef, tripe and tendon, and the broth is made in a slow cooking process involving oxtail. well, kids, this blogger isn't much for red meat or for all-day cooking affairs, so when dao, a vietnamese friend of ours, offered to teach me how to make a simpler, quicker chicken version i squealed at the opportunity. and it is delicious!

chicken pho (phở gà in vietnamese)
2 cans chicken broth
2" of fresh ginger (whole, but peeled)
1 quartered small onion
5 star anise
2 chicken breasts
1-2 T. fish sauce, if desired (you can substitute salt)
1 lb. rice stick noodles (damp or dry)

garnishes:
fresh basil
fresh cilantro
bean sprouts
sriracha sauce
hoisin sauce
hanh dam (thinly sliced onion soaked in vinegar - so good)

bring broth and 3-4 cans water to boil. add ginger, onion & anise and bring back to boil. once boiling, add chicken breasts, simmer for 15-20 minutes until cooked through. remove chicken, cut into thin slices, set aside. (i taste the broth here and add fish sauce or salt to taste - you want it to be salty as adding the noodles later will lessen the salinity). bring water to boil in another pot and cook noodles til just done (don't overcook!). drain and place noodles in individual bowls, add some chicken, and cover in broth. rip up basil & cilantro leaves into soup & garnish as desired!

originally

Originally I was going to title this post "Definitely not 'Man Food'" but now it's just

"what not to eat for dinner tonight"....

I made a not so hot meal tonight.  It just didn't flow with Hubs and I.  We finished our meal, pushed back our plates and I said with half a thought, "Hmmm... that wasn't very good."  To which Hubs sighed with love in his eyes and said, "I'm so glad you said that."

Because usually I love things he doesn't always like and he loves things I have seen people eat on fear factor.... okay, maybe not that radical. But I did eat some of the things he eats regularly for dares in Japan... so, ya know.

So no recipe tonight.

Sorry.

But I promise to still give you plenty of recipes because ladies and gentlemen, I got plenty of chicken in my fridge.  I was actually quite surprised when I saw how much chicken I had in my fridge when I made dinner tonight.  Might have to think about making lunch and dinner tomorrow and posting two recipes tomorrow for Sunday.  I'll see how energetic I'm feeling but hopefully I can give you a little more than just a sorry looking photo.

If the photo looks tasty to you (it did to me in the cookbook) comment, and I can send you the recipe.

But don't say I didn't warn you.

Don't forget to say a prayer for the Japanese people who are still trying to locate loved ones and start the process of putting back together their lives.  Hubs and I were devastated to see the land we love so much filled with so much grief.

I'm so thankful that Jesus is able to share our grief with us.

Thankful for the verse

Because of the Lord's great love for us, we are not consumed.  For His compassions never fail, they are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Chicken Week Recipe #3 (12)

There is no one I love quite like how I love my Grandmothers.  I think every Grandmother is like a sunny flower and mine are no exception.  So to celebrate them both, I'm including in my chicken week a recipe from one of them.  Although I may include a recipe from the other one later on.... hee hee only time will tell.

And Jamie, you seem to be my favorite fan of chicken week so I am sorry to say there is cream of mushroom soup in this recipe and although there are ways to substitute that, I feel bad not knowing if you can use this. Hopefully you can find some in Japan. ;)

Here we go....
Grandma Schupbach's Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:
1 cup of noodles (cooked in chicken broth, did you save yours? We did and used it! Yay!)
2 cans of cream of chicken soup/mushroom soup (either or)
1 cup of mushrooms fresh (or 1 can)
1/2 c. chopped onions
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 c milk
1 c cheese
2 c of chicken (cooked please, if you're not using cooked chicken)
bread crumbs

Now what?
mix all the ingredients together, put it in a casserole dish, top with  bread crumbs.  Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. You want the bread crumbs browned and the casserole bubbly.

With two people eating it we barely touched half of it.  So this amount could work for 3-4 people perhaps or two and leftovers for tomorrow. Woo hoo!!

Say what? Secret hint:
My beloved Grandma makes this recipe doubled.  She freezes the casserole, thaws it when she wants it and bakes it at that time.  I have done this and it was SO convenient to have a hot meal that was also homemade in my freezer waiting to be cooked. Just put it out on the countertop a couple hours before hand or put it in the refrigerator a day or two ahead of time. :)

Voila!!

Chicken Week Recipe #2 (12)

Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas
Ingredients:
chicken which you already have
fresh button mushrooms
baby spinach
flour tortillas
monterey jack cheese
sour cream
salsa

What to do:
Grease (with spray or oil) a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat saute the mushrooms until tender about 3 minutes.  Add the spinach and chicken and saute just until the spinach is wilted, about 30 seconds.  Transfer to a bowl.
Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas, spooning it onto half of each tortilla and leave a 3/4 inch border uncovered.  Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Fold the tortillas in half over the chicken mixture to enclose loosely.
Wipe out the frying pan with a paper towel and return to medium heat.  Grease with spray or oil again.  Working in batches, add the quesadillas to the pan and cook until golden brown.  I put a saucepan or something heavy on top to make sure the cheese melts and really sticks to the insides.  Cook 1-2 minutes on first side, flip with a spatula and cook another 2-3 minutes longer.
Top with sour cream and salsa.

Yum!! Quick and easy!

a secret...(chicken week (12))

Sorry Mom, it's not a secret about the babies...

It's a secret that my sister-in-law shared with me and I wanted to share with ya'll.

If you take about 60-90 minutes to make the above chicken you can have up to 4 meals in a week from the meat of one chicken.  I'm going to show you how this week (a big thanks to hubs who will be eating a lot of chicken and a lot of american style dishes).

For starters and just a disclaimer.  This is with the thoughts of cooking for 2 possibly 3 people. I decided to use a 5 lb. chicken with the roasted directions down below.  We'll have to see if I can make it through the week using only this chicken.  I'll conclude the week with thoughts on whether or not the 5 lbs was good.

It's just a fun idea I've had and want to try.  I thought it might be nice to pass along an easy way to cook some meals throughout the week by putting a little time into one meal (the roasted chicken).  Maybe roasted chicken could be your "sunday dinner" and throughout the week you can use the chicken in a variety of ways.

This, however, will not be a good week for those who hate eating chicken.

Sorry friends.

Trying to make life easier for some will not work for others.

Let's begin shall we?

Recipe 1 of Chicken Week

Classic Roast Chicken (from the Weekend Cookbook)

Ingredients:

Whole chicken (we're going with a 5lb-er to feed a family of 2 for 5 recipes)

Fresh rosemary, minced

salt and pepper

Now what?

Prepare the chicken: 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place the bird, breast side up on a rack in a large roasting pan.  Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, while reassuring it that everything is going to be okay.  I feel like this allows the chicken to relax and therefore be more tender and juicy.  You think I'm kidding but I do talk to my chicken and it does taste amazing.... coincidence? I think not. Rub the outside of each chicken with rosemary and a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Roast the chicken:

Roast the chicken for 20 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a thigh away from the bones bone registers 170 degrees. (about 40 miutes longer)  Transfer chicken to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes.  

At this point, Hubs and I ate wings and thighs for dinner while saving the remainder of the body for the week.  You can do the same or carve up the chicken and save all of it for the week.

Now, Hubs and I like to save the bones and boil them in a big pot over a couple of hours.  We do this while watching t.v. or getting other things done. The chicken bones do not have to be supervised as long as you keep an eye on all party supplies and alcoholic beverages. Chickens will do just about anything to avoid a boiling bath. :(

We strain the bone water after it has boiled/simmered for a couple hours and then we let it cool and then we put it in freezer bags and freeze it.  For what? You might ask my pretty little pets.  For homemade soup and totally healthy broth that can be used in any recipe that calls for chicken broth.  We don't add anything like salt to the broth because it can always be added afterwards when we make a recipe.  We like the purity of the broth.  Plus, it usually doesn't need anything.

Okay, did I cover everything? I think so.  Don't forget to come back here tomorrow and later on this week to catch all the yummy recipes new to me and some of my favorites from this one chicken.

brown paper packages tied up with string...

a few of my favorite things...

 just in case you doubted my love... grapefruit, i love you!

 yellow accessories, especially on our back patio birds 

and yellow accessories on me.

 fresh flowers that open before my eyes

 pretty slices of lemons and mint leaves garnishing...

 first time homemade lemonade and messy hair days.

And one of my top favorites is my Grandma's potato salad.... it makes me so happy to eat it.
(and a special thank you to Alicia for my blog title. Youngest children rule!)

18 weeks and a lesson in what not to say to a pregnant woman...

Here we are... 18 weeks!

So far so good.  I'm feeling good, feeling energetic and able to eat just about anything.  I'm still craving the most unhealthy foods but trying to keep my sugary choices down to a minimum.

I'm still cuh-razy about grapefruit.  How good is that fruit? Seriously? It's amazing and I love it.

I'm now 100% in maternity clothes and actually in this picture am in larger than normal "regular" clothes.  I went shopping at my friend Michelle's store... well, where she works and I purchased a few "comfort" items to lounge around in and able to walk around Long Beach in.

She persuaded me to buy the cropped pants in hot pink, not my usual blues/greys/blacks and I'm so thankful she did.

Michelle, you are such a fashionista! Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort blah zone and into snazzy pants zone. ha ha

Okay, now, just a quick lesson before signing off for today.

Please, when you see me, do not ask me if this is what size I'm supposed to be.  Am I larger than other 18 week pregnancies? Yes! Am I larger than some women who are in their 7th month? Yes.

But I am having twins and I have no idea how large/small I'm supposed to be.

All I can say is I'm exercising and eating healthy.

So... please don't ask me if this is what size I'm supposed to be.

I've learned that pregnancy is a good time to learn many things. For one, patience. Patience to go to my next appointment, patience to feel the babies moving, patience at the restaurant taking a long time to serve my food when I'm starving and ultimately patience for nine months to take, well, nine months.  I wish it would hurry but I know it'll be gone before I'm ready for it to be gone and I'll miss having the babies inside of me.

I'm also learning a lot about comparison.  I know plenty of people who are further along with one baby that I am bigger than.  And plenty of people who are at the same stage as me that I am bigger than.  It can really get a girl down to be bigger....

but I can't compare.  I'm trying my best to eat healthy and exercise regularly and if I gain a ton of weight or look like I'm nine months at six months, so be it.  I'm not going to get down about something I can't ultimately control (unless of course I eat an entire cake and then I do have some responsbility for my weight). haha

Anyway, I am learning to love and I do, my body and it's amazing changes.  I'm loving how it was created to be stretched.

18 weeks down! I'm officially in my 5th month!

February 2011

February has been a whirlwind of events.  Hubs and I waited till almost February to get the word out but I would definitely say that February was the month of everyone finding out we're having twins. :)

We're still so excited to realize day by day what a blessing pregnancy and the idea of becoming a family is to us.  

Hubs and I were able to be a part of and help in some ways with a student conference our region holds every year.  We were also able to help with an orientation this past weekend where we shared how God has been leading us to go back to Japan and how to discern where God may be leading the students who attended.  It was so much fun to be a part of both of these events and fun to visit with friends but whew, I get tired a lot more easily these days.

It took me almost a week to recover sleep-wise after the first conference so I told the people in charge for the second weekend that I would be sleeping at home and commuting on days that they needed us. :)  I got a LOT more sleep the second time around.

I made some tasty dishes this month.  I homemade some chili and even used tomato juice that Hubs and I had canned earlier in the fall. (note picture above)  There's something so fulfilling about using the herbs/vegetables/fruit from your own little patio.  I love to call it my garden but in reality it's hardly that.  Or at least, not the gardens I'm used to.  It's a modest collection of a few herbs, small strawberries and a little tomato plant.  I did not use the tomatoes from my plant to can.  Oh golly, no! I'd never have enough.  Plus, they're just cherry tomatoes.  But it's still refreshing to use the plants from our backyard.  Hubs has done such a great job taking care of everything back there and it's lifegiving for him.  Right now we're overgrown with cilantro so if you're in the area and want some, let me know. :)  I had daydreams this month about starting an actual beautifully larger garden in our backyard and was excited that planting this spring would possibly lead to some fun adventures this summer and fall.  But as patios would have it, ours has limited "direct/all day" sunlight.  And where the sun doth shine already, we doth planted there. :)

So I've given up the daydreams of seeing carrots, giant swiss chard, cucumbers and sweet peppers blossoming this season.  I'll have to tuck those dreams away for another day.  I will admit that I do daydream about taking my babies out to the garden to nap on a big blanket in the shade while I work in my garden, weeding, watering and tending to it.  In my daydream I have one of those beautiful large hats on that ties underneath the chin with the ribbony type material.

*sigh*

Aren't gardens so romantic?

There is something so beautiful about rows, beautiful vegetables all lined up like school children waiting to go to class.... I would love a picture of my grandmother's garden.  She always had the loveliest and largest gardens we would play in and eat peas from.

*sigh* 

Aren't Grandmothers wonderful?

Okay, for all my guy readers out there (hello. are you there?)  I'll move on.

In February, I didn't do much crafting.  I sent boxes of crafts though.  I finished some fabric flowers and some cute burp cloths and sent those to my sis-in-law who just had our newest nephew; Abel Henry.  What a lovely name, don't you think?

*sigh*

Aren't old fashioned names just wonderful?

I have to admit and I'm only able to tell you this because Hubs vetoed it harshly before my mother vetoed in herself.  I love love the name George for a little boy.

I do.  I love the fact that George was my Great-Uncle who got my Grandpa into a lot of trouble and I'm sure vice versa,  I love that George means "farmer" which translates to me "earth" which just reminds me of the simplicity and goodness that flows from below.  I close my eyes and picture the dark soil that I know and love that runs through the veins of Illinois.

....wow, is anyone still reading?  I'm probably boring you all. :)

Dad, I know you're still there.  Am I your daughter or what?

Anyway, I love the name George but Hubs unfortunately does not.  He can't picture a little baby named George and even though I think "Georgie" makes the cutest nickname I have been denied.  Maybe I'll keep it for a plant I own one day.

Speaking of plants and gardens.  I did, sadly, manage to kill a plant this month.  I have no idea what happened.  It was a house fern and supposedly an "easy" one to take care of but i woke up one morning to find it black and shriveled.  I've actually been nursing it for awhile so it made me quite upset to find it dead... buh! But alas, it's dead and good riddance.  When I researched online how to revive and care for it, I came to realize that it was actually not what I would consider "easy" but instead quite fickle of it's surroundings.  It can't be too humid but a little humidity is nice.  It can't have too much sun but wants sun.  It wants heat but not directly.  It can't be moved. at. all. and it apparently hates me.

So the high maintanence plant goes in the dumpster and I go back to the store to get another one.

Remind me to tell you the story of when I tried to grow asparagus.

This month, I read Jane Eyre.

One of the best books ever.

Read it.

The movie is coming out and I challenge you to READ the book before seeing the movie.

It's actually quite quick of a read despite it's size.  I tried to read a chapter before bed and oftentimes read more than one and would struggle with my eyelids growing heavy.  It's just so good.

Also, this month we had our 16 week check-up where the doctor assured me I am not gaining too much weight (so don't ask if I'm normal size, that's just not nice but it's been asked) my heart beating out of my chest (pounding seriously pounding) is quite normal and the babies heartbeats were healthy yet quite different.  One is faster than the other.

How cute.

Yeah, so about the heartbeat.  I would get these intense moments of a heavy heartbeat where I felt like my heart would jump from my chest.  One time Hubs said he could see the vein in my neck pulsating.  WHAT?!?! Crazy huh? Well, the doctor told me it's just because I'm pumping double the volume of blood.  

Again, I say, the pregnant body is amazing.

That's it for the month of February.

Oh, Valentine's Day... you want to know what we did?

Well, to make a long story very short since I rambled about gardens and Illinois' soil, we came home the night before Valentine's Day to find out toliet had been overflowing for some time....

from our neighbors plumbing as well since we share pipes.

So we were up till 1AM cleaning up toilet water.

I'll spare you the details!

*sigh*

Isn't getting a bleached bathroom and going to the laundromat to wash out your towels romantic?

I'll leave you with that thought.

Much love to you.

Belly shot on Friday and a fun series of recipes next week... provided I feel well but so far so good with the 2nd trimester.

something interesting...

the problem with a blog is that there is a nagging voice in my head that tells me I can't write something here unless I have something valiant to write about from "up there"....

and when my head feels blank and my stories seem trivial it's hard to get on the ol' blog and share my life.  I have fallen into the trap that I have to entertain you, make you laugh, cry or think and really that isn't what this is about.

this blog is a place for me to spin the tales that go round in my head, share them without fear and let the laughter, if it may, be from me only.  because life isn't about performing either, right?

So here goes. Some less than interesting but real life things that have happened....

i threw up. for the first time in pregnancy.  i've gotten off so easily this pregnancy and i am certainly not complaining.  i am more amazed at the human pregnant body.  again, i stand amazed at the way my body is changing and how my mind can't form complete thoughts and how this is all a part of hormones racing, heart thumping, blood surging and babies devouring the better part of who i am.  and what i mean by that is how the babies will get nutrients first and any part of my blood that will benefit.  again, certainly not complaining just amazed.  i am currently on iron pills so that i don't faint every time i stand up.

anyway, i digress. throwing up. ah, yes. so i waited too long to eat. i really shouldn't have done that. by the time the food got to the table, my stomach acids were extremely angry and raging. seriously, i could feel that this was not going to be good but i ate anyway, hoping to appease the stomach acids with the simple gift of food but it was not to be easily appeased.

so at a restaurant i threw up.

at home that night i decided to just head to bed and hope for better things.  but as I was washing my face i noticed tiny red dots...?!?! hives?  I called my doctor and found out that nope, not hives but broken blood vessel capillaries from the force of getting sick.

amazed at the pregnant body.  Who does that? Who breaks their capillaries?

while pregnant i've taken more time to read. i have recently fallen in love with jane eyre and would definitely name my first born rochester if mikey would let me. hmmm maybe i should ask. who knew a book that thick could be so captivating and amazing.  the page number really scared me off at first because i hate not finishing a book. i hate having the book linger over me for months and months, sitting on my bedside table begging me to finish it. i don't like that feeling and yet it happens. so i stayed clear of poor jane eyre.  But alas, i was pleasantly spellbound and surprised by how charming the story was.  two thumbs up.

i have been having some mild cravings these days.  i am easily enticed by my nose and eyes.  i've been daydreaming about cinnamon rolls (to which my dentist said, "oh joanna. not those.") and my dad's apple fritters. dancing delightful chicken tenders from DQ (only from DQ) topped off with a DQ blizzard.  I want my grandma's vegetable soup and hot wings from Buffalo Wild Wings....

don't ask me why, don't tell my I'm crazy.  I just see or smell or think about these things and I am half-driven to find the closet DQ and sit there for hours... or at least over the course of a couple of meals.  blizzards for lunch and chicken tenders for dinner.

and the funny thing is.... now, thinking about all those things makes me have heartburn. pregnancy is so intriguing to me.

overall, things are good. I am moving in to a month of nesting and rearranging our home.  I'll be sure to keep ya'll posted on how life (the interesting and the... not so) is going for us.