Practice Labor!

I woke this morning around 4:00 am with some strong-ish contractions that were an average of 5 minutes apart. After timing them for awhile & deciding that it didn't feel quite strong enough to be the real deal, I was able to fall back asleep around 4:45. Harper woke Jeff and I at 6:30 & the contractions were still going. I told Jeff that today could possibly be the day! He was anxious, but I told him that if it was true labor, it felt like very early labor. 


Well, the contractions stopped around 8am. It was a "false" start, but good practice. On the plus-side, it motivated us to check off the final lingering items on our pre-baby to-do list. 


So, I wasn't expecting any real results, but I attribute this little practice session to eating a bunch of "Labor Cookies" last night. I might have to do it again to see if it will lead to the real thing. I've been feeling like labor is looming so thought I'd give them a try. I mostly did it for fun, but also because they sounded yummy! I have a somewhat high tolerance for spicy things, so I doubled the cayenne to 1 (very full) teaspoon when I made them. My mother- & father- in-laws tried them & liked them, so I wanted to share the recipe. If spicy isn't your thing, you could always omit the cayenne altogether, because they're a super yummy ginger cookie!


Jump Start Your Labor Cookies 
(source)


2 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
8 T. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. molasses 1/4 c. egg whites


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda and spices and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the molasses to the creamed butter, then add the egg whites until combined. Addd the dry ingredients slowly. Once incorporated, roll dough into 1 inch balls and place onto baking tray. Bake 8-10 minutes. Once cool eat as many as you can possibly stomach, lay down for a nap and wait for labor to begin!

Sweet Tooth

It is quite unfortunate for my waistline growing belly that I've had a major sweet tooth during this pregnancy. Compared to my last pregnancy, I've gained much less weight so far, and I'd like to keep it that way. Alas, there are so many goodies calling my name.

Game of Thrones Lemon Cakes

Jeff and I have spent the last few months obsessed with George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. I won't go into details regarding the obsession, but we're in full geek-out mode. The first book has been made into an HBO series (yes, there is a reason it's on HBO and not basic cable, if you catch my drift). A big part of the series is the food. As a lacto-ovo vegetarian, I wouldn't touch most of it with someone else's fork, let alone my own. However, there are a few stand-outs for me. Most notable are the lemon cakes that are continuously mentioned throughout the series. HBO released an "official" recipe for them, and I've made them twice now. We certainly wouldn't have been without lemon cakes when the show premiered last night! It was a night for thumbs up all over the place. They may not be exactly what I imagined from the book, but they're definitely going to make regular appearances in our kitchen. They're fairly easy to make & require just a handful of simple ingredients. Let me know if you'd like to borrow my little ramekins!

Raspberry Jam Cookies

Harper adores Love is a Handful of Honey by Giles Andreae. It's a very sweet story with beautiful illustrations. On his favorite page, the little bear and his friends have a picnic with some of those delectable heart-shaped jam cookies. You know the ones I mean, right? So I picked up this recipe from the incomparable Martha Stewart. This recipe is great, and would have only been improved with my mother-in-law's infamous raspberry jam fresh from the garden. Harper had a great time "helping" mommy with the dough.

Counterproductive

Sometimes it's not so bad to be counterproductive. I ran my first solo run this morning. I was quite proud of myself, since I've leaned on the company of others to get my sleepy butt out of bed. This time I decided that I didn't want to let myself down. So where does the counterproductivity come in?

Well, this is what I had for breakfast. I know... for shame.


I surprised Jeff with a homemade pumpkin cheesecake accompanied by homemade whipped cream & a sprinkling of pecans. The only unfortunate thing about any proper home made cheesecake (besides the gluttonous aspect of its consumption), is that it had to set overnight. So of course we couldn't wait until dinner. It made a lovely breakfast. The texture is light, and the amount of spice is just perfect. The extra steps of the springform pan, bain marie (water bath), and cooling/setting process are so worth it. I dare say it beats the Cheesecake Factory's seasonal pumpkin cheesecake.

Our third wedding anniversary is next week, so thought this would be a fun early indulgence for us. Besides, what better than a delectable pumpkin treat to put us in the mood for Autumn's approach (as if we needed any additional help with that)?


By the way - beware of the 2010 pumpkin shortage. You may want to call around and stock up for the season once you find it. I tried four stores before success at a WinCo that is ten miles away. I purchased six cans. Yes, I know I could have used fresh butternut, acorn, or another fall/winter squash. What can I say? I'm a pumpkin loyalist.

Growing up

Days of late have been overwhelming. The demands of life are both exhausting and rewarding. When I look at Harper, I realize that he is growing faster than I imagined he would. I look at his happy face and see a big boy... I wonder where my little teeny baby went. Though I want to freeze this time forever, I can hardly wait for each milestone. Being part of his life, doing more than just watching him grow up, is more than I could ever ask for. In the blink of an eye, he's going to be a teenager, then an adult.

The introduction of solid foods has been a blast. It's fun watching him explore different textures and tastes. We've been making him wholesome, organic, homemade food. It is so much work, but definitely worth it. It seems that his favorites so far have been sweet potatoes and butternut squash. He doesn't make too much of a mess just yet, but I'm sure that will change once we start letting him feed himself.

Now that I've been back to work for a couple of months, things are staring to get busier at the office. Also, I'm starting my fifth week of a nine-week class at school. I wish I could say that I've learned something new, but I haven't yet. It's been mostly busy-work so far, which is a shame since I enrolled with the obvious intent of achieving an education. I have probably blogged about this before, but I am ever-acutely aware that the things that take me away from time with my family need to be immensely meaningful. I wish I could say that was the case right now, but it unfortunately is not. I am sure that it will be someday. For now, we're grateful for what we have - which is so much.


S

Did Someone Say... Coconut Lime?!

I haven't baked much since moving into this house. Our oven is archaic. It may not be an antique, but it is comically old and quite temperamental. With the recent purchase of a mouth-watering cupcake cookbook, I decided to give it a whirl. The result is what you see to the left: Coconut Lime Cupcakes (with Snoopy cupcake liners)! I thought it would be a fun welcome to summertime, and a little reminiscent of the jaunts I used to take to Mexico when I lived in Arizona. Aside from a little taste of the (delectable) icing, I haven't tried them yet. Once we dive into these goodies (when Jeff gets home), we'll see if the oven was in a good mood today.


For those of you that would like to see the glory that is our oven/stove... check out the original ad circa 1963 (click to maximize your full viewing pleasure). Though our house certainly has character, it definitely needs some updating. It could be worse--at least the appliances aren't originals from when the house was built in 1931.

S

Chunky Baby

Yesterday was a bit exhausting for the three of us. We started the day with 3 1/2 hours at the lab for the glucose tolerance test. The high dose of sugar (this time it was the orange flavor) on an empty stomach was nauseating for the first hour, but it didn't last the entire morning, which was good. The phlebotomists were really nice, so they helped make it bearable. They took four draws that left my arm looking a little beat up. Jeff is a waiting room expert, so he was prepared with books, magazines, and video games for the morning. They definitely helped pass the time, but it was just nice to spend the morning chatting with one another. We expect to get the official results on Monday, though I am already suspecting the outcome...

After a great lunch at one of our favorite nearby restaurants (Teapot Vegetarian House), we went to the ultrasound appointment. Jeff will have to fill you all in on the waiting room experience at the ultrasound appointment (I'm sure he'll be posting about it). The baby looked great. S/he was quite active throughout the procedure. It was fun to feel and see the movement at the same time. The technician couldn't get a clear profile shot, so we have a frontal view of the face, which I put some markings on since it may be tough to fully make out.


The not-so-good news is that the baby is much bigger than s/he should be. Our little sprout is now a big sprout, weighing 3 lbs, though 2.5 is normal. This is a sign that the news on Monday regarding the gestational diabetes test will not be pleasant. Regardless of this fact, the ultrasound was really great, and the baby is otherwise quite healthy. We'll be sure to update everyone when we find out the official results from the test. I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but I have a feeling we are in for a high-risk pregnancy.

S

Double Digits!

Its hard to believe that we're in the double digits remaining before the baby comes. With my belly so big already at about 27 weeks, its tough to imagine how enormous it will be when I approach the final 40-week mark. To put everyone's disbeliefs aside regarding my big belly, here is a pic I took today with my phone:
Okay, I know what you may be thinking. "It's not that big..." Let me tell you, the picture is a tad deceiving. I took a shot that was at an absolute profile angle, but was just shocked at what I saw. So, I decided to share this lovely 45-degree angle shot with you that is a bit more flattering (as flattering as it can be). The jacket hides a bit of the perspective on the belly's grandeur, too. Also, it is in the same shirt as my 18-week picture, so thought it would be a fun comparison.

We go in for a couple of appointments on Friday. Our 3-hour glucose tolerance test is at 8:30am. By the time it is over, I'm going to be one hungry mama! We picked up some high-protein bars that I'll be gobbling down immediately after the last blood draw. Jeff is so sweet--he plans on fasting with me that morning, so we got enough bars for the both of us. We'll then whisk away to a much-needed lunch before going to our 2:00pm ultrasound. We won't get the results of the glucose test until Monday, so it will be a long weekend while we wait for the news. As for the ultrasound, I'll see if they can get us a copy of the results in addition to faxing it to our OB.

No matter what happens, we're doing our best to stay positive. Even if the results come back ugly, I'm sure we can handle it. Jeff and I have been through so so so much together--especially with some of his own medical woes. It only makes us stronger... and this time, we have the love of three to keep us going.

S

Cravings for the Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Alike

Although we can't take credit for this yummy concoction of deli delights, we certainly don't mind doing so, as we've been digging this for quite some time. If you've seen Spanglish, you'll recognize this as the sandwich Adam Sandler makes about halfway through the flick. Outside of adding avocado and making it a little more vegetarian friendly, this is the original recipe in all it's glory:

* 3-4 slices of Morningstar Veggie bacon strips(the real stuff works as well although you'd be surprised at how good the Morningstar ones are!)
* 2 slices of Monterey Jack cheese
* 2 slices of toasted rustic country loaf(we also like sourdough)
* 1 tbsp of Vegenaise or Mayo
* 4 tomato slices
* 2 leaves of butter lettuce
* 1 teaspoon butter
* 1 egg

* 1 Avocado(only need 1/2 per sandwich, so make two!)

Preparation:

1. Cook the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels
2. Place slices of cheese on one side of toasted bread. Place in toaster oven or under broiler to melt.
3. Spread mayo on other slice of bread top with avocado, bacon, sliced tomato, and lettuce
4. On non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Fry egg, turning over briefly when the bottom is set (up to you if you want to keep yolk runny or not. I think if you're pregnant it's better not to keep runny)
5. Slide finished egg on top of lettuce, top with other slice of bread
6. Place sandwich on plate and slice in half, letting yolk run down sandwich

Enjoy!

J