Morning

Being a new mom means all night feedings. There's just no way around it. But the most amazing thing, is that no matter how long the night seems, and no matter how hopelessly of a failure I feel, the morning always comes! There's something so reasurring about the sun rising every single morning, especially after a long night. It speaks to me of hope, and God's everlasting faithfulness.

It also tells me that Samuel will probably sleep a lot more, now that the sun is up.

36

Today I am officially thirty-six weeks pregnant. This is kind of a milestone. I'm officially "full term", meaning, if I go into labor they won't stop me, because the baby will more than likely be born perfectly health and strong.

I'm not really in a rush for this little guy to get here though...This weekend Fernando and I are getting away to Naples, and I've been looking forward to it for so long! Then next weekend is my second baby shower, and there are still a few things I need (sort of). So, there's no need for baby F to make an early arrival...I wouldn't mind him to come on his due date - or there about.

I'm feeling good - my cough is gone! **Hallelujah!** And this is my last week of work.
I do have some projects lined up for myself so I don't go crazy just sitting around waiting to pop.
I'm really excited about cooking meals I can freeze! Most of the meals I found online were pasta meals, which isn't bad, because I'm Italian and I could eat pasta probably every day of my life - maybe. But I need diversity and health, so I've tried to be a little creative. For example, I'm going to grill some chicken breasts and cut them into strips and freeze them so I can pop them into chicken quesadillas, or throw them on a salad. I'm also making some turkey meatloaf - nice, lean meat with plenty of protein. I got a recipe for Multi-grain waffles that looks amazing and they can be frozen after they are cooked. Yum.

Other than cooking meals, I plan to swim (hopefully every day), get together some fun baby/kid music on a playlist, and gather any last minute items I may need.

I'm really encouraged by how great I feel - still have good energy, I'm in really good spirits, and I don't feel nervous. I'm sure that will come, but for now 36 weeks is looking pretty good!

Oh, and this has nothing to do with anything, but here's a picture of all the bridesmaids at my sister's wedding.



I was 33.5 wks then.

Bake. bake. bake.

Even though I've been sick still, I just couldn't resist the urge to bake any longer.
So, today I made a mixed berry pie - although it came out a little more juicy than I would have liked, it tastes ah-mazing. The crust came out so good - best I've ever made.

I still kind of want to make some cupcakes, but that'll have to wait for next month. I'm low on eggs, and have to ration them out to last me until my next grocery run.

Here is the recipe for the mixed berry pie:



Mixed Berry Pie

pâte brisée for 2 rounds crust
2 cups Blueberries, picked over and rinsed
3 cups Strawberries, roughly chopped
1 cup Blackberries (you can use any berries you want)
3/4 cups sugar, plus some for sprinkling top
2 tablespoons flour, plus some for rolling the dough
2 tablespoons cornstarch
zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the dough, 1/8-inch thick, to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Chill the shell while assembling the filling.

In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, sugar, flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, cinnamon and ginger. Stir until well combined. Remove the pie shell from the refrigerator and pour in the fruit mixture.

Roll out the other half of the dough on a lightly flour surfaced. Cut into strips to make a lattice topping. Arrange the dough into a lattice pattern. Crimp the edges. Sprinkle sugar over the top.

Bake the pie at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place foil over the edges because they will be browning lightly. (I just moved my pie to the bottom rack) Reduce the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees. Let bake for an additional 35-40 minutes until the crust is golden and the fruit filling has started to bubble. Best served with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe from My Life As a Reluctant Housewife blog.

Oh, and don't ask me where that large missing piece is...neither Fernando, baby F, nor I, know anything about that.

Sick.

I'm sick. Not sick of being pregnant (well...maybe a little), no, I'm sick-sick. Throat on fire, head feels packed with junk, coughing-coughing-coughing. I feel bad for baby F...my coughs are strong and they probably rock his world - literally.

This weekend was fun though. I was only just starting to get sick on Saturday - so Fernando and I enjoyed the most wonderful day driving around some beautiful neighborhoods in Coral Gables looking for garage sales. But we slept in so late that we only found two, and there was nothing in either that enticed us. Then we headed over to Coco Walk and had an amazing lunch at Greenstreet - this amazing fresh food, outdoor, cafe/bistro. We snacked on hummus and sipped a mango smoothie, then dug into some ginormous salads. The day was gorgeous and it couldn't have been a more relaxing way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Now it's Monday. (boooooo)
My house is in need of some deep scrubbing and sudsing - as well as my car. I want to get this cleaning done - I really do! But the constant coughing exhausts me! So, we'll see what I end up getting done...although I do have a great motivation, last night I watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and this guy had a disease that weakens all his muscles and he can barely talk, but only missed one football practice all season (he's a highschool football coach). So, that makes me think if he can do it, I can certainly scrounge up the necessary energy to scrub the home and car today- even while making a baby and fighting a sickness.

Here's to restful weekends, and charging the hill of life come Monday morning.

Six Weeks

That's all that stands between life as I know it, and life with a child. My child. My first child.

I know I'm not ready, and that kind of freaks me out, but I also know that I'll never be ready, and I just have to learn as I go, and I'm ok with that.

I'm resurrecting this blog because I want to remember this time. I want to take moments and record them. It takes time, and I'm not very disciplined at documenting life, but I have to at least try.

So, how am I feeling right now? Big. No, make that GINORMOUS. I've gained 30lbs...30lbs!!! I know why too...because I've eaten like a fatty. I am hungry more often because of the pregnancy, but I haven't made good choices when that hunger has come upon me. Sour gummy worms, ice cream sandwiches, a whole sleeve of Toll House crackers in one sitting!!! Today begins my cleansing, purging, get your act together woman! eating phase. Yes, I only have 6 more weeks, and yes, the damage has probably already been done, but if I don't get it together now, I have a feeling this could easily turn into life-long eating habits, and I can't...I just can't.



Other than feeling huge, I am feeling that mixture of 'freak out' and calm. Mostly calm, which is good. I packed my baby bag last night, boy was that crazy! picking out the first little onesie my son will wear in his life :) Packing tiny diapers and a little cap.

I'm glad pregnancy takes 40 weeks...something this big, has to hit you in tiny waves or it will just knock you over completely.

Food

I love food, and I love taking pictures of food.
I am trying to eat more healthy, but, I'm finding out that eating healthy takes creativity.

Here are some creative meals I've made recently.

Hearty Beef Stew - stocked with yummy veggies! I love adding pumpernickel bread and fresh butter on the side.



This...


Plus this...



Equals this!



And finally, my first attempt at homemade butternut squash soup and baguettes topped with balsamic tomatoes and mozarella cheese.

The Haggard's Tragedy

Recently there have been a myriad of interviews on TV with Gayle Haggard. She is the wife of well known pastor Ted Haggard who, some years back, was found to have been mixed up in drugs and homosexual infidelity. She just put out a book called "Why I Stayed". Although I am glad that she stayed with her husband, and it seems they have worked things out, I did not hear anything in the two interviews I saw (I'm not following this story, it just so happened that I turned on the tv yesterday and today, right as they were interviewing Gayle) there was no mention of the Lord, or God's grace, forgiveness, or help. I found this to be disappointing and confusing. I suppose there is a way for a woman to stick with her husband through very difficult days without the help of the Lord, but I would imagine their faith had to have something to do with the outcome of this tragedy. I am sorry that the Haggards are not giving God any glory for their restoration on either of the two very public interviews that I saw (Oprah & The Today Show). There is a YouTube video from Gayle where she does mention God, but in their interview with Oprah they credited her deep love for her husband and therapy as the two factors that have helped them get through this difficulty in their marriage. What a waste of such a public platform. I hope they don't truly believe that love and therapy are really what saved them - that, in my mind, would be their biggest tragedy.