Baby Blanket: Done!

 

30 weeks down, 10 to go!

Tomorrow I will complete my 30th week of pregnancy - so we're 75% of the way to the due date. This week the fetal movements continue to be strong, I felt one last afternoon that had to be a foot kicking hard.

 

Last night, Josh was out at a bachelor party. We are homebodies, but I'm not used to being home by myself.

After I got off the phone with my sister, I went to the grocery store and picked out a dinner to make - for one (much easier than shopping for two).

I ended up having Italian soda, tortellini with chicken broth and parmesan cheese and finishing up with some ice cream and granola. Simple and easy - but perfect.

With both dogs next to me, I sat down to relax - eat dinner, watch a movie and browse through a food magazine. I then realized that in about two months, a night alone will be even more rare... especially one spent at home.

So I don't forget... Ben in the Womb Stories

There are two stories I just don't want to forget that I find pretty amusing about our baby while in the womb:

Before every ultrasound, I have to time the drinking of water to ensure that I have a full bladder during the ultrasound. A full bladder is never a fun thing, especially for a pregnant woman - even more so for one with a baby that sits very low (like Ben).

During week 27, I had an ultrasound. By the time I finally got called in, I was very uncomfortable. We ended up doing a few shots and then I could take care of my bladder. Josh and I start looking at the ultrasound screen, waiting to see our son. He grew so much since the last ultrasound at 20 weeks! The first images of his head
show it rocking back and forth - against my bladder! No wonder I felt uncomfortable!

At least it made us laugh!

Fast forward to this weekend (week 30)....

I walked over to Josh and asked him if he wanted to talk to the baby. He's not too keen on it, since he insists Ben hears his voice and can't understand it anyway. To placate me, he placed his cheek to my stomach and told Ben, "stop being a burden to your mother" (sweet, wasn't it?). Instantly, Ben kicks his cheek!

Josh feels him move daily now, but this timely reaction was just too funny!

You probably had to be there for these stories to be amusing. However, being very pregnant in the middle of Texas summer is anything but comfortable, and little things like this can brighten your day!

Cookbook Collecting

Different people collect different things... packrats collect everything, others may collect items like sports memorabilia, stamps or movies. I collect cookbooks. I usually try to find one (if there is one in English) whenever I travel for work... I've had better luck in some places than others. Oddly enough, I still
probably haven't made a recipe out of half of the cookbooks that I do own. I do enjoy spending time in the kitchen (more on the weekends or vacation), but enjoy reading through cookbooks even more.

For the past seven months, I have kept up the consolidation of other recipes (from magazines, blogs, Food Network, intranet sites, etc) into binders, rather than accumulating recipes from random sources and keeping them disorganized.

Some of the ones I've found this weekend that I will add to the "kid recipe" section are:

- Chocolate Chip and Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches
- No-Bake Chocolate and Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

I've also found two cookbooks to pre-order. Lucky for me, they are not available until after my due date - but at least I can arrange purchase for them ahead of time.

-Giada's Kitchen
-Martha Stewart's Cooking School

Now if only I could be sure I'd have time to look at the cookbooks after the baby comes. Something tells me that it won't seem so important after he's around!

Back to Baking

While it would seem like nothing seven months ago, this weekend I was able to do more house cleaning than I have in months (partially because the maid service now monthly does the difficult stuff), complete our laundry, prepare multiple meals, take our dogs for a walk (not a big deal except for it being hot outside) and bake cookies!

I used to bake (usually drop cookies) fairly frequently, but have not done so since last Christmas, when I made many types of cookies and candy... probably too much! Today I decided to use the toffee bits in our pantry and make some Toffee Bits Cookies. Josh and I both really like them, so now we're back to old problem - lots of cookies sitting there, ready to be eaten!

I'm hoping that during the next few weekends, I'll be able to continue to use the items in my pantry, but we'll see how far it progresses. Either way, it's good to be using my KitchenAid mixer again!

A Homecooked Meal

For the first time since we found out that we were expecting, I've made a meal without Josh's assistance! He laughed when I came home and said we wouldn't be eating out, but I actually did it (amazing since the thought of cooking has been anything but positive for the past several months)!

I also am doing more around the house for a weeknight, and I'm not sure why now that I'm in week 29 the energy is returning. My mom thinks I overworked myself before. Regardless, I'm glad to be more normal today than I've felt in a while.

Tonight I made Cheesy Baked Tortellini, a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis. It is in her Everyday Pasta cookbook. She has a new cookbook coming out the day after Ben is due, so I'll be sure to pre-order, as I've never been disappointed by her recipes - and just as important - neither has Josh.

Hopefully my time in the kitchen will continue, as I used to really enjoying cooking and baking. For now, here are photos of Sadie and Perry:

 

 

To run or not to run?

For almost a year, Josh debated whether or not he should do the Houston Marathon this next January. The training program started this past Saturday, and he got up early to do his time trial. He'll get up early every Saturday from now on for the runs, and will run on his own a few times a week.

He wants me to run it with him next year, but running has never been fun for me. Considering how hard it is for me to run though (= the huge workout I get from attempting to run), I'm likely going to start doing so as my post-pregnancy workout towards the end of the year.

Either way, Josh signed up for the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 18 of next year. I hope to be there supporting him on his way to the finish line!