Little gardener

09Jul09

Please pay no attention the sickly nature of our plants. The Houston heat has not been very nice to them. I am in the process of preparing an area on the window seat in our bedroom for them. But until that happens, Kaitlin waters them for me every day.



Look at that chubby little arm and hand. I just want to eat her sometimes.

Filed under: Home Life, gardening   |  3 Comments
Tags: children, gardening

For my mama

09Jul09

37 weeks. I promised my mama I would post this picture yesterday afternoon. Then we got home and I started dinner and completely forgot. Sorry Mama.

So, I had my 37 week appointment yesterday and my ob said that everything looks well (although my fluid is back down to 7.5 but that’s okay because I hit my 37 week mark) and she gave us permission to be more active in starting my labor. Don’t worry, I’m not going to run a marathon or anything, but I am going to start taking care of some things around the house (like moving Seth’s bassinet from the living room into our bedroom…haha I kid you not, the house is chaotic right now). I’d also like to organize my fabric and get them stored in some clear bins so I can see what I got. However, that will have to wait for when the hubs gets home because I don’t think I want to brave going out anywhere with the princess by myself. I’ve been doing my best to avoid having to lift her, and if I went to the store by myself I’d have to lift her into the cart. Anyway, I’m still nesting a bit and it’s driving me crazy. Most of the things that I want done in the house I need the hubs for. For instance, moving the above mentioned bassinet into our room, well he needs to move my dresser mirror off the floor (it’s propped up against the wall on my side of the bed) and mount it to my dresser. Yea, things like that. Apparently he can’t find the screws for it, which is fine, but it needs to relocate so I can get Seth’s little area set up. Yes, my mind is going a mile a minute.

Anyway, any labor starting tips…throw them my way ladies!! And I understand that patience is a virtue and yada yada, but I have a tight schedule this month, which no isn’t Seth’s fault, but I need to have him. My body is physically aching to get him out, seriously.

Don’t worry, Mama. I’m not going to take any castor oil, I promise.

Filed under: Baby News   |  3 Comments
Tags: pregnancy, third trimester

No fireworks for me

06Jul09

I originally posted this on my Facebook and wanted to share it with you all.

First of all, I am measuring 36 weeks & 4 days. I will be 37 weeks on Wednesday & considered “full-term.”

Okay, so I went called my doctor yesterday afternoon because Seth wasn’t moving like “normal” and I was told that since my amniotic fluid level was low (it was 7cm when it should be at least 10cm), if he wasn’t moving like normal then I was to call. They told me to come in so that they could monitor him. I was having mild contractions, but they were very managable. His heart rate was good. So, they did an ultrasound and found that he wasn’t moving like he should and was very sluggish. They also found that he was breech and transverse. He also weighs 6lbs 9oz. So, my doctor wanted to keep me overnight for monitoring and they pumped me full of fluids (4 bags total in less than 24 hrs…I was peeing like crazy!). Apparently I also had a UTI, so they had me taking antibiotics every 6 hrs (they even woke me up in the middle of the night to take them) too.

At about 6am, I started to feel Seth moving around more like himself, so I started to get a little hopeful. My doctor wanted me to have another ultrasound to see how Seth was doing and if he was doing better (they do this test that is sort of like an APGAR for in-utero babies and the highest they can score is an 8; Seth scored a 6 yesterday, but since his fluid was low, my doc wanted him to score an 8 to make sure that he was doing okay even though my fluid was low), then I could most likely go home. I was supposed to have my ultrasound around 7am today but because of various car accidents and other pregnant women with more urgent cases than mine (ie: bleeding), my ultrasound got pushed back to 2-ish.

I had my ultrasound and the tech said that he looked much better and that he had returned to a head-down position (I’m guessing that his crazy movements at 6am was him turning), my fluid was up to 9cm, & she rated him at an 8 for the test. I was so relieved!! My doctor said that I could go home but that I have to absolutely take it easy, keep taking my antibiotics, drink LOTS of water (they gave me a gigantic travel mug with the hospital’s logo on it that holds 34oz & I was instructed to drink 4 of them a day…yikes), and to attend my already scheduled appointment on Wednesday. I’m scheduled to have another ultrasound, so I’m hoping that everything will still be good.

On the plus side, I am already having mild, but very sporadic contractions…so hopefully once I hit 37 weeks, then it won’t be much longer before we get to meet this little guy.

Thank you again for all of your prayers, well wishes, and warm thoughts. They are greatly appreciated!

Filed under: Baby News   |  3 Comments
Tags: pregnancy

Our past week in photos

29Jun09

Lunch picnics under makeshift tents in the living room. The quilt she’s sitting on…$6.50 at the thrift store. Looove it.

Frequent, but short, trips outside to play with the puppy. Just for the record, I did let her in after I took the picture. I just love the way she holds her; almost like cradling a baby, and Penny just lets her do it.

Passing out from previously mentioned short trips outside….the heat will do that to ya!

Exploring just where exactly a 2.5 lb puppy will fit. Mama, Kait’s wearing the size 3T clothes you sent her. Looks like it’s time to upgrade to 4T. She’s so big.

A new weekly ritual that I’m loving so much.

Locked and loaded; assumed the position; making his final decent. Insert your own description for this photo. All I can say about it is yes, I do feel as miserable as I look. p.s. I’m 35 weeks & 5 days…only 4 weeks and 2 days to go.

Filed under: Baby News, Home Life   |  6 Comments
Tags: girl and puppy, pregnancy

Sewing

24Jun09

There has been a lot of sewing happening in our house these days. Most of it has been on a project that I haven’t quite finished yet, so I’m not going to elaborate on it…but I do have some little things to share with you all.

Father’s Day presents for my goober of a husband. He loves the Simpsons (hey, nobody’s perfect ha). I made him a pillow cover (which is still a lil too big, but I’m still learning….) & a little fabric garbage bag for his truck. The loop has velcro on it so he can attach it wherever he wants. I didn’t use a pattern…just flew by the seat of my pants. It’s not perfect by any means, but I plan on coming up with a more concrete pattern for it in the future. I want to make myself one!

Little sets of somthings for my mama & dad. I’m a terrible daughter and Mother’s Day flew right past me without sending anything to my mom. So, when I decided to make something for my dad for Father’s Day, I made something for my mom too. Of course, being my true self, these have yet to make it into the mail (yes, I know Father’s Day was this past Sunday)….but in my own defense, it’s scorchingly hot outside and Kait and I like to stay holed up in the house. They will be going into the mail today though…we have to leave the house for my ob appointment.

Bibs for my adorable neice, Taylor, to use while she’s at Nana’s house. My mom has my brother & his family over a lot to visit, so I wanted to send her some useful items that she can keep at her house to hopefully cut down just a little bit on Chuck and Laura’s packing. We all know that packing for an overnight trip for a little one requires a lot of stuff. I hope these help out! The fronts are just cotton from my stash (I geek out over the ballerina print every time I look at it), and I used some of Kait’s old girly flannel receiving blankets for the backs. The Tinkerbell print and pink fabric (which has little silver stars, but it’s hard to see in the photo) are leftovers from Kait’s quilt that has been a loooong work in progress for me. I’m hoping to get it finished by the time Steve builds Kait her big girl bed (more on that later…like once he finally buys the wood and actually starts on it haha). And just for Elizabeth, I fussy cut around the center Tinkerbell (in fact, I fussy cut around all the Tinkerbell squares that are going to be in the quilt too). I didn’t use a pattern for these; I just traced around one of Kait’s larger bibs. I wanted these to be a bit on the bigger side so that Taylor can use them for a long time. I do want to whip up a bunch more of these for Seth…I have lots of scraps of boy fabrics and I’m itching to transform them into bibs right now!

Pillowcase dress(es) for Kaitlin. I used this tutorial except that I didn’t make ties for the straps, I actually made straps. If you read the tutorial, you’ll see what I mean. I ended up having to take in the straps quite a bit, but I just folded them down and hand-sewed them to the inside of the back of the dress; so hopefully she will get at least another summer out of this dress. I made another one using a different tutorial, but I didn’t like the outcome, so I’m hoping to rip out a couple of seams and mend it to be like this one. I already have another pillowcase cut and ready to be sewn (it’s white with little navy blue anchors on it with light red rope on it…I’ve been geeking out over it too, it’s so cute!), but I’m debating on whether I should use some of the leftover pillowcase to make the straps, or if I should make some out of contrasting fabric (perhaps navy blue or red…not sure). I also want to add ric rac to the bottom that matches the straps, should I decide to make them contrasting. Okay, enough rambling. Here’s another shot of Kait in the dress, but it’s of the back. Oh yes, and the photo also has another shot of my ginormous belly.

Hey Mama, check out her french braids!

Filed under: Sewing   |  3 Comments
Tags: pillowcase dress, Sewing

Banana Bread

23Jun09

I’m not sure what deal is with all the baking, but I was at it again Saturday. We had some fairly riped bananas and I really hated to throw them out, so I dug out my favorite banana bread recipe and whipped these up in no time.

And just in case you wanted to try out my fool-proof banana bread recipe, here it is:

First, gather all of your ingredients:

3-4 ripe bananas, smashed
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 c melted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour (I’ve substituted 1/2 c whole wheat and the recipe came out yummy, but I don’t know about subbing the entire amount)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

You don’t need a mixer for this. A good old wooden spoon will do the trick. Mix the butter into the bananas. I like to start off by just mashing the bananas in the bowl I’m going to mix all of the batter in; it cuts down on the amount of dirty dishes later. I also save the bowl that I melted the butter in and I use that to beat my egg in. Mix in sugar, egg, & vanilla next. Sprinkle baking soda and salt over mixture and then mix in well. Add flour last; I usually mix it in 1/2 c at a time.

That white blob at the bottom of the picture would be my 35 week belly that I couldn’t keep out of the shot and take a decent photo. ha.

Bake for 1 hr or until a knife/toothpick comes out of the center clean. This recipe makes 1 loaf or 12 muffins. It stays super moist and is oh-so-yummy.

I hope you and your family loves this bread as much as my family does!

Filed under: Baking/Cooking, Home Life   |  1 Comment
Tags: banana bread, recipe

What I’m loving right now

22Jun09

This girl, this dog, and the sweet bond.

Dead grass? Yes. Houston heat is brutal.

The dress? More on that later.

Filed under: Home Life   |  2 Comments
Tags: children playing outside, puppy

Yum

19Jun09

Can Kristen bake bread from scratch?

I chose Elizabeth’s recipe to start out with. Her instructions seemed very clear and basic. Just what a beginner needs.

I decided that since I was going to make a mess of my kitchen, I might as well make a double batch. I wanted to mix the dough “old school” but once I got to adding the 5th cup of flour my arm was too tired, so I cheated and used my Kitchen Aid.

This is what it looked like before I started to knead it. I didn’t get and shots of me kneading it or of the dough rising because the princess was awake by then and I was distracted.

Success!!! Elizabeth’s recipe said to bake for about 30 minutes, but my loaves only needed 22 minutes. I’m guessing that’s because it’s so freaking hot here in Houston!

After they’d cooled for about an hour or so, I sliced one up to taste test. Sooooo gooooood! I let the hubs taste it and he liked it so much that he used it to make his sandwich for lunch this morning. Oh…and some bread bags are in the works now. I’m also on the lookout for a bread box. I’d like to get one thrifted, but I’m finding they are hard to come by.

Elizabeth said that her favorite way to eat this bread was with butter and honey.  I totally agree. It makes a yummy before bedtime snack and a yummy it’s-4am-and-I-can’t-sleep-thanks-to-third-trimester-insomnia snack.

Kait likes it too.

I can’t wait to play around with it and sub some whole wheat flour for the white. Your recipe suggested 1/2 C of whole wheat, but have you made it with 1/2 the total flour content being whole wheat?

Thank you so much Elizabeth for such a yummy and beginner-friendly recipe!

**********************************************************************

On an unrelated note…our comforter got ruined in the move, so I’ve been given the “ok” by the hubs to sew a duvet cover for it. I want to make a nice scrappy cover, but I don’t think I have enough different fabrics to get the true scrappy effect. If anyone has any cotton (or similar weight)  fabric they’re looking to get rid of…I’d gladly take it off your hands and send you a little something in return.

Filed under: Baking/Cooking, Home Life, soulemama   |  5 Comments
Tags: baking, baking bread, homemade bread, soulemama

Rainbow-y Goodness

18Jun09

During my surfing of the web last week, I found this recipe for rainbow cupcakes. Kait saw it too and hasn’t stopped talking about them. I promised her last week that we would make them on Saturday. Well, Saturday came and I was so tired and hurting that I just couldn’t muster the energy to make them. Kait hadn’t mentioned them that day, so I didn’t feel that bad about not making them. I did want to make them, so yesterday, I dusted off my Kitchen Aid and attempted to make those pretty stripey cupcakes.

I think Kait approves.

A couple of things I learned from this “experience.”
-This is a relatively simple recipe…but it takes a long time to mix up the colors and stripe each cupcake.
-Make sure you use relatively NEW Wilton cake dyes. My mom sent me her entire stock of cake decorating supplies and while I appreciate it (really I do mama), I used her violet (which is probably at least a couple years old I’m guessing) to tint the purple and it came out almost grey. I had to add a substansial amount of red to get it to look purple-y.
-Err on the side of less! When you are tinting, you can always add more dye if the color isn’t as bright as you want it, but you can’t take it out. Also, don’t get discouraged if the raw batter isn’t as bright as you’d like. The colors get brighter after they bake, I promise.
-Also on the side of less…obviously I didn’t take into account how much cupcakes “puff up” when they bake. That’s why I only have enough batter for 12 instead of the normal 24…and look how ginormous they were. Next time, I’ll make sure that I use less batter. I was so worried about each color touching all the sides of the liner that I didn’t think about how much the batter was going to expand. I assure you that even if your batter doesn’t touch the sides of the liner, it will during baking.

All in all, Kait enjoyed watching me make them and dictating which bowl got tinted next and which color I used next. She was so excited to wake up after her nap and eat a rainbow cupcake. They were too big, so she didn’t even finish the whole thing. I think she and I will share these to eat them up. Oh, and Daddy likes them too…he ate 2.

Filed under: Baking/Cooking   |  5 Comments
Tags: baking, cupcake, rainbow, rainbow cupcake

Have no fear…

12Jun09

Super Kaitlin is here!

After many weeks of tying her blankie around her neck as a makeshift cape, she finally has a real one.

All of the materials were in my stash, so this item that is sure to cause hours of play cost this mama absolutely nothing. It took me about an hour from cutting the fabric to sewing on the ribbon. The ribbon is a bit long (2 yds), but I think it adds to the charm of the cape.

Recognize the fabric, Mom? Apparently I bought another yard of it after you sent us out the yardage for the backing for her quilt. I don’t remember buying it, but there it was in my stash, a completely seperate cut piece of the same fabric. As for the yardage you sent us, I’ve decided to use it for curtains for her room instead, and I’m going to back her quilt with a plain lavender or pale lime green sheet. We’re big on Tinkerbell these days, so I want to make the most out of the fabric I have. I’ve been trying really hard to use what I have already to decorate the house. It’s pushing my creativity.

I think she likes it.

p.s. I just realized that this falls in to my Finished Friday category…which has been sorely neglected. Maybe it’s time to start that up again.

Filed under: Finished Friday, Sewing   |  7 Comments
Tags: child's cape, Sewing, superhero cape, tinkerbell