This got me thinking about Eli and what I may have to put on hold for a few weeks until his little system adjusts. I know for first time moms (myself included) that the ‘gassy’ period lasts forever but it really is only three months or so and that’s important to keep in mind the second time around.

Naturally I’ll give up whatever it takes for Eli and thinking about it now will help me be in a problem solving mindset if I notice him in pain. It took me about three weeks to figure out it was my diet with Avery……pretty unpleasant. I didn’t really know how things worked! Now I do though so I figure I may as well eat as much of my craved vegetables now while he is still unaffected by them.

Last night I put all said veggies, with a few additions, on a pizza.

I used about a third of my basic bread dough recipe to make two crusts (left over from making bread yesterday) and then went to town with toppings.

First poured tomato sauce on half of each crust and then olive oil on the other side. The olive oil side I sprinkled with salt, garlic and Parmesan cheese and just put a little salt and dried oregano on the tomato sauce.

Toppings

• olives
• pickled banana peppers
• green bell peppers
• onions
• carrots (chopped very finely)
• cabbage (shredded finely)
• thinly sliced roma tomatoes
• mozzarella cheese
• garlic powder
• dried oregano
• light sprinkle of salt
• light sprinkle of Parmesan

The reason I put seasoning on top of the pizza was because it had such a thick layer of vegetable toppings I knew it would need an extra boost and it really turned out perfectly.

My concept was basically to put every veggie I had in the fridge on the pizza….except for cucumbers, I really couldn’t make myself do that.

Who would have thought carrots and cabbage would have worked on a pizza!? Well I’m here to tell you that it did and was fantastic.

Naturally I made Shane a pizza without either of those thing and added TONS of pepperoni. He loves veggies, and I loaded his with veggies too but carrots don’t really fly in his book.

I cook the pizzas at 500 degrees for about ten to fifteen minutes. The crust gets crusty with big air pockets and the cheese browns but has stretch. It’s perfect.

Today I just made a massive salad of all the veggies (including cucumbers this time) and drizzled it with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

On the side I had a piece of left over pizza (couldn’t resist!) and a huge jar of cold water.

So until I have to cut out foods, I will enjoy them, even if there was no way I could finish this massive of a plate and that I also chopped my thumb nail because I am really not savvy with knives.

Question: For the mamas, did you have to cut out any foods while nursing? For everyone, what weird toppings have you put on pizza?

I got especially excited about it because on Monday night I was having contractions, heavy nausea and cramps and Shane rubbed my back in the sore places for a while and it felt so good  that I just knew I’d be in heaven having someone work on those places for an hour.

It was everything I hoped for. I was so relaxed when I got home that I didn’t want to move. She hit all the ‘labor’ pressure points so hopefully I can go into labor sooner than later:)  Things have definitely felt ‘different’ since the massage (I won’t go into the tmi details here for your sake, hehe) but not sure if they’re labor different or my body is just all adjusted and muscles are relaxed. Which was a good thing since I had spent the morning nesting like a crazy person….cleaned the house top to bottom and even baked bread and made pizza dough for a dinner.

A small sandwich bread loaf and a larger cinnamon/olive oil loaf.

Even though I didn’t blog, or do anything but watch the Royals game after the massage, I did manage to make dinner and it was oh so tasty.

Salad, garlic bread from the loaf I baked that morning, and some homemade spaghetti. I loaded that spaghetti sauce with veggies and garden fresh herbs and sprinkled a little bit of Parmesan on top.

I slept very well last night and Avery finally is fully adjusted after night terrors last week and for the first time in a few days he slept in to his usual time (7am) so I got a full night.

This morning I knew we needed to get out in the sunshine and go to the park but first we had breakfast. I had cereal.

With a sliced banana, almond milk and a cup of coffee. Avery hijacked most of my cereal but hey, the boy’s gotta eat too. hehe

Then we did some intensive potty training. He has been resistant to diapers and the toilet for quite some time now but finally I think he’s putting some things together. He calls the toilet ‘the potty’ and hasn’t been fighting it so much. However, he does hold everything in all day if I put him on the toilet every half hour. As in, he won’t even poo that day.

So I got him his own potty and he knows what it is, understands that he needs to sit on it but hasn’t gone on it yet. His bear on the other hand…….

Well, let’s just say it’s been going potty all morning.

After we worked on potty training for quite a while we headed out to the park. The weather is PERFECT. 75*, totally sunny with a nice breeze. Avery loves the park and we spent the rest of the morning enjoying it.

He also found a friend and they got very excited about the lawn mowers together. SO cute.

We left in time for naptime and Avery crashed immediately. Sunshine will do that to you. I think I may have gotten a tad burned even though I tried to keep tabs on it!

Now that he’s napping I might try to do a little garden work to help urge this baby to come. So I bid you adieu!

Question: Any potty training tips? Have you ever had a massage?

Today for lunch I had my typical taco salad.

I was cooking beans at the same time and once the bean smell hit the house I couldn’t eat anymore…..I am SO sensitive to scents these days. Nausea is full force.

Speaking of beans. I cooked up this batch with diced onions, taco spice, cayenne, garlic powder and salt and I was able to make REALLY good refried beans.

Just used my emulsifier to puree them and what a difference from my other batches! Usually I just cook the beans with salt and garlic but adding the onion and other spices really made a huge difference. First time I have ever been satisfied with my refried beans.

Last night, last meal before grocery day, I put together a very random Middle Eastern inspired meal.

I basically cooked rice in the rice cooker, topped it with hummus (still in the rice cooker to warm up the hummus), onions, chopped chicken and chopped green and black olives on top with red pepper flakes and olive oil on top. I liked it, Avery liked it a LOT….not sure it made sense to Shane but he ate it all like a champ:)

I still have to get my greens and even though juices are my main stay for that, I decided to switch it up a little and go for a green smoothie since I had frozen bananas and lots of strawberries from my little patch.

Also lots of kale, coconut oil, peanut butter and an orange! Avery and I split it.

There’s really nothing like seeing your toddler with a massive green mustache…even if he is freaking out that his cup is empty.

He always gets frustrated with smoothies because it doesn’t LOOK like it’s all gone since it coats the sides and he keeps trying and trying to get every drop. I have to coach him….

Also, with the warm weather and the massive pregnantness I have been enjoying some sherbet.

And by some, I mean I ate a half gallon in like three days. Oh yes, it’s just as yummy as it looks and oh so refreshing! This is the best sherbet flavor combo I’ve ever had. Pineapple, raspberry and orange. I could have done without the orange and maybe just had an entire tub of pineapple. Incredibly delicious.

So there are some eats of late. Tomorrow morning I will be baking bread for the next couple weeks and I’m always excited for that! Until then though, I will bid you adieu and goodnight.

Question: what is your favorite ice cream, sorbet, or sherbet?

Well I have done this once before and there are endless lists out there but sometimes learning from experience is the only way to go.

When I packed for Avery’s birth I wasn’t thinking about several important factors are set into motion after your baby lands in your arms. The first, and most important, is that you nurse. I knew this, but didn’t know that obviously you want to bring a shirt that is easy to nurse in. Once I was out of the hospital gown (asap!) I put on some sweat pants and a t-shirt…..but the t-shirt was So annoying to pull up with my lack of abs and roughed up body every time I needed to nurse and I wished so hard I had just brought a v-neck or SOMETHING easier to nurse in.

I also completely forgot to bring swaddling blankets or a onesy for Avery. The hospital provides blankets while you’re there and a little outfit as well but it was just lucky that he was born in warm weather because his little bare legs were hanging out as we left!

I think we all know that hospital food is kind of disgusting. When packing my bag last time I put a bunch of granola bars in there just in case I wanted to sneak a snack while laboring (most hospitals don’t allow eating or drinking during labor which is silly and I did both when we were alone) and once I gave birth if I got starving while nursing or something. I ate one or two maybe but I wanted FRUIT. The hospital fruit was not good and this time I’m definitely filling my bag up with apples for an easy snack.

So what does my entire list look like? Here goes.

Hospital Bag Take 2

• camera
• cell phone with charger cord
• netbook with power supply (in case we have to stay an extra night like last time)
• low cut shirt for nursing ease
• sweat pants
• underwear
• dress for leaving hospital
• robe
• 2 onesies (in case of surprise blow out….we all know they happen!)
• 2 swaddling blankets
• boppy
• pillow (hospital beds are SO uncomfortable, I have to have my own pillow)
• wallet
• make up…probably just some lip color and under eye concealer for photos!

Trying to keep it minimal but also being prepared. I want to be safe in case they end up keeping us there longer than I anticipate. This was the case when Avery was born because my water broke almost 24hrs before I gave birth (which can cause infection and they wanted to observe us longer) so including the night I labored there, we stayed three nights total. It was a major drag. I hated it. I cried when they told me they were keeping us another night. I wasn’t prepared mentally, emotionally or hospital bag wise.  With all that though, I did pack a ton of stuff I didn’t need so I felt like I had too much junk in the room (thermal socks, slippers, shoes, sweater, etc) and I want to avoid that too. Taking advantage of what the hospital provides is also key. They give you thermal socks and slippers, pacifiers if you need them, diapers of course, all sanitary products and toiletries you’ll need, and pain killers like ibuprofen if you had rough tearing or something.

There you have it. Simple I think, and up to date. I remember when I was pregnant for the first time I saw a list that included change for phone calls and batteries for your camcorder! Time flies people, it flies fast.

Question: What did you bring to the hospital? What would you recommend? 

If I had been aware of the all absorbing love and sacrifice that comes when you bring a child into your life, I would have spent my entire childhood letting my mom know, but then I guess it wouldn’t have been such a challenge!

My mom somehow gave birth to seven children, raised us as a stay at home mom and on top of that, she homeschooled every one of us. She had a great support with my dad but spending all day every single day caring for us, mostly while pregnant and nursing, had to be trying beyond what most could handle. Imagine spending fourteen years being either pregnant or nursing for the majority…that’s intense.

When I got pregnant and began to go through the rough symptoms that carrying a baby can bring I remembered the times when my mom would wave us outside so we wouldn’t see her throw up in the sink or would sit on the couch weakly trembling with a pale face downing saltines and water and I suddenly began to see how much she must have gone through.

I felt rushes of guilt occasionally, remembering times I may have been disrespectful towards her as a teen because I never realized how much she sacrificed for me. Isn’t it funny how that works?

Once while I was pregnant with Avery I overheard a teen giving her mom an attitude at Target and had an almost irresistible urge to butt in and say ‘I don’t think you get it. Whatever petty issue you’re having right now as a spoiled brat doesn’t matter because this woman sacrificed her body, her freedom and all the love in the world for you, so get over it.’ Naturally I didn’t, but that was my lightbulb moment.

Being a mom is incredible. It’s fulfilling like nothing else in the world and I am blessed beyond measure to be a mother. However, it’s a life altering path to take and it requires selflessness, hard work, and sacrifice and so I say to my mother, thank you. Thank you for being present every moment of my life, thank you for loving me unconditionally, thank you for training me, for being a good example of a wife and mother, thank you for guiding me with wise advice, thank you for letting me be who I was designed to be and supporting me in it fully. Thank you for praying for me, letting me cry over the phone to you, celebrating all the insignificant little good things in my life, encouraging me,  and showing so much generosity in every way to me and my family.

I have learned these past couple years that only a mother can truly understand what a mother does and so I can say with genuine sincerity, Happy Mother’s Day Mom.

Question: Mamas, did you get new appreciation for your mom after becoming a mother yourself? Non mamas, how did you show your mom she was special this year?

Weight gained: 14lbs up. I feel like Eli is bigger and yet I’m gaining less weight this time. I  am not sure if he’s bigger or I just have more fluid but either way, it seems that my belly is very large.

Baby Size: Who knows these days hehe. According to everything he’s around 7lbs but I’m almost 39 weeks and judging by the size of my last baby, I’d say he’s getting closer to 8lbs. Even if he’s the same size as his brother he’d still be much heavier than seven pounds at this point!

Cravings: Been longing for chocolate. Which is funny since it’s been an aversion for most of my pregnancy. This means I’m getting to the end, right? When Avery was born I had the CRAZIEST chocolate craving for months. I’d eat chocolate every single day. I’d like to have a fridge full of fruit, sharp cheddar, feta and boxes of chocolates. Only the chocolates can be in the pantry, no need for them to get cold and hard.

Aversions: Oh man, pretty much anything that isn’t fruit and cheese.  I had onion rings last night…..and thought I was going to hurl, for like hours.

Physical:  Just the usual. I’m huge pregnant so anything that comes along with that is what I’m feeling. Plus some added nausea.  Eli is a crazy mover so that’s intense sometimes.

I’ve been starting to get excited about wearing non preg clothing. Seems like I’m so big at this point that I’m kind of cycling through a few dresses, leggings and a couple shirts.  Not exactly an exciting cycle either. I’m grateful to have comfortable clothing but ready to be able to put something else on.

Emotional: I have gone between feeling incredibly nesty, to incredible cabin fever. I have to get out at least once a day just to clear my emotional head. It works beautifully but I struggle to figure out what is wrong when I forget to go out.  I literally melt down any day that I’ve been only at home and THEN figure out that it’s because I haven’t left the house!

I haven’t been impatient about giving birth or stressing out about when it’s going to happen, I’ve just been chill and happy about how things are going. A very surprising development for me since I am not normally like this about big things, especially giving birth. I’m excited and highly anticipating all the good stuff but staying serene at the same time.

Belly!

I decided to give a break on the dresses since you get a better idea of exactly how massive this belly really is.  I’m just wearing some bike shorts and a tank. Neither of which are maternity. Excuse my pure white legs. They’ll never get color if I don’t let them out.

I am actually really impressed with these shorts. I hadn’t worn them since really early on, just assuming they’d be too tight, but the other day I decided to try putting them under my belly since I’ve been having less contractions and found that they really easily stretched over my belly. So they’re almost at my belly button without causing any discomfort on my part.

Funny, I wore this shirt on my ‘before’ photo of this pregnancy. Which means it’s also very impressive with it’s stretching skills.

And that’s my update. Filled with fake smiles and white legs. I apologize. But when you’ve got ten days til your due date you just have get by however you can.

Question: For the mamas, were you able to stay cool the last weeks of your pregnancy? Did you manage better on second than first?

This is something that is especially important to me right now because I will potentially be having a baby within the next grocery cycle and that means I need convenience. By convenience, I don’t mean getting frozen pizza or microwave meals, but meals that don’t take much effort to put together that will fill my family and require minimal clean up.

I’m planning now because of the busy weekend ahead and I don’t want to go grocery shopping without a good plan!

Baby Having Meal Plan

Tuesday-Bean burritos with fajita veggies

Wednesday-Italian sandwiches

Thursday-Chop salad

Friday-Pizza w/salad

Monday-Chili

Tuesday-Taco salad (Due Date)

Wednesday-Spaghetti w/salad

Thursday-Asian chicken salad

Friday-Roasted potatoes, bbq chicken sandwiches (veggie for me)

Monday-Baked potatoes w/steamed broccoli

I’m not saying I will stick to this in any way if the baby gets here near the due date but it’s best to plan anyway. Avery was over a week late and I’m not counting on this one to come on time either, just to be safe (and sane!).

Lunches will be leftovers or salads…because salads are pretty much all I ever eat during the day.  By salads, I mean, taco salads…chips or rice with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, hot sauce instead of dressing and maybe sour cream or carrots or whatever I have. They’re ridiculous salads and I eat them constantly.

Sometimes, like this week, I want cheese on them. I put a lot of cheese on this bad boy. It made me feel bad later though….darn you dairy!

If it isn’t a taco salad it’s a mad combo of veggies. Just piled high.

I usually make Shane’s lunches really simple too and mostly left overs or sandwiches or burritos.

I haven’t been eating breakfast lately, don’t judge me.

I assume that I’ll be having oatmeal breakfasts very soon once Eli gets here for milk production and because I’m sure my appetite will be hardcore.

Managing a pregnant appetite is nothing like a nursing appetite. I can go all day without eating while I’m pregnant (even though that’s bad) but while nursing I get hungry like crazy.  Well, except when I’m nursing while pregnant, that didn’t make me hungry, it just made me sick.

I haven’t been photographing much food this week because we’ve been out so much. If we aren’t at the park playing we’re out in our backyard. Avery loves the park.

I promise he was only nekkid for a very short time at the end! I had to take all his clothes and shoes off before putting him in the car since he got really wet and muddy but while I was gathering things up he started laughing and running around, just loving being without clothes.  He got muddy because he and some other kids were playing in the water spigot off a drinking fountain and spent a good half hour jumping in water and mud. Even though we got there around 9:30am, it was already QUITE warm enough for playing in water. I love seeing kids get dirty. It’s awesome.

In fact, it would seem my kid likes any water he can get around. The pools are not open yet so he plays in the puddle created by our sump pump. It gets really deep when the weather is crazy (thought it’s only probably a foot across) and the other day Avery was trying to put his hand on the bottom but went tumbling head first into it. hahaha. So cute.

He didn’t think it was as funny as I did…..but that’s parenting.

So photographing the random tidbits of food I’ve been eating this week just keeps slipping my mind. Mostly apples. Maybe that’s why my belly is round as an apple.

Been very peaceful about the actual act of being pregnant right now. It’s a huge difference from when I was pregnant with Avery and I like it. I have no impatience, no stress or worry, just peace. Sure, I’m huge preg and it’s not very easy but at least I’m not freaking out on top of that.

We’ll just see when this baby is ready and until then I’m going to enjoy my firstborn.

Question: Has it felt like summer where you live? We have had consistently warm weather since the beginning of March!

So, this morning Avery and I went to the park since it was a gloriously sunny and yet not too hot day. He LOVES the park and even ventured on the big slides this time around. Then we had naptime and it was somewhat more successful than the past couple days.  His sleep restlessness this week is due to his knowledge that he can actually get out of bed. Flexing his little will:)  Hoping that after a bit more sleep training he’ll settle down.

Even after he woke up from his nap we still spent the afternoon in the yard. He learned how to drum with a stick and chair.

He was quite good and alternated with drumming and a strange dance where he put the stick in his teeth.

We also drank green juice.

My portion was decidedly altered by him….I think we fight over it a little since we both love it so much. hehe

Then Shane offered a dinner out rather than me cooking! He sure knows how to be my dream boat:) Making dinner has become really much harder this week and the relief of having the night off was much appreciated.

There was a lot of food. Avery and I shared this and there was still enough to fill a box for Shane’s lunch tomorrow.

Avery and I also shared sopapillas with ice cream.

He loved them.

No seriously, he loved them.

Whenever I get out plenty,  I get nesty so I spent the evening cleaning, organizing, crock potting and eliminating our big freezer for now. It felt good.

But I’m sore, my baby is going crazy in my belly and I think it’s waaaaay past my bed time. so goodnight!
Question: Do you get cabin fever?

It left us a little ‘off’ this morning though and I had a major zoner instead of the alert, happy, goofy boy I generally have in the morning!

He mostly snuggled with his stuffed animals since my lap is getting annoyingly small with the large belly but he took breaks from them to have me read his truck book over and over again and also, to eat massive quantities of food.

The sure sign that more sleep training is needed comes when your child doesn’t seem rested. It’s even worse if mommy, who is a million months pregnant, is also not rested!

But that is what coffee is for. Also, green juice.

I realize this lighting is ridiculous…..but it was a very odd colored morning with just a weird glow outside rather than sunlight.

I always forget that I’m allergic to kiwi. This juice definitely gave me a scratchy throat but it was so worth it.

I had my 38 week appointment this morning which was entirely uneventful. This is why I hate having weekly appointments at the end. I realize they like monitoring but I literally go in, get weighed, blood pressure taken, hear heartbeat and go home. This mornings visit was fifteen minutes long. I drive twice as much for the appointment!

Here’s a snapshot of dinner. I am lazy and don’t want to blog about it but I might as well.

Creamy Mushroom Bowtie Pasta

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 package of mushrooms (any kind will work)
• 1/2 red onion chopped
• 1/2 green pepper chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes whole
• 1 more Tablespoon butter
• 3 Tablespoon flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound bowtie pasta

Sauté veggies in 1 Tblsp butter and 1 Tblsp olive oil until fully cooked and browned. Add in the second Tbslp of butter and flour and allow to fully absorb. Then slowly add in milk until mixture is fully heated and thickening. Once milk is all in add grated Parmesan. Then toss bowtie into the sauce.

It was very good. I figure with the green juice it all balances out:)

And now for some garden updates.

I went out and snapped some photos this evening of some of the good things growing in my garden. My main spring/summer crop is the green beans.

Green bean plants in a sea of leave mulch

I have several long rows of these (with carrots, beets and parsnips companion planted with each row for fall) and am really excited for the beans that will be forming in the next weeks. They already have little buds!

See the little buds about to be blooms?!

I also have a few broccoli plants this year! Generally I don’t grow broccoli because it is an inefficient use of garden space as the plants aren’t very small and only produce one to two heads of broccoli per plant rather than say, cucumber vines that produce many many cucumbers per plant. However, I need low maintenance this spring/summer during the transition from big preg to mom of an infant and so I chose broccoli.

Broccoli plants ARE pretty to me though:)

I need to work on this bed as far as weeds. We have this crawling grass in our yard that sprouts roots anywhere it touches and it’s walking right onto my garden bed. I really need to put wood edges to contain it.

Another place that needs work is my tomato/sugar snap pea bed.

They're getting big and need stakes!

I haven’t staked ANYTHING in this bed yet. I need to stake trellis the sweet peas and stake the tomato plants as well as pull the bolted spinach. So much to do, so little physical ability. I’m okay with waiting on those things for a bit though.

And now for the good stuff. My first batch of cilantro is going to seed and soon those seeds will be funding the rotation I like to keep going year round (except for a break in the hottest part of the summer since they like it cool).

The cilantro is the tall plants with white flowers

The first batch is currently shading the second batch below it so while these dry out and turn brown I still have plenty of usable leaves underneath.

Hard to get a good view with so many tall plants!

And finally, something I have been wanting to do for quite a while is plant asparagus. So this year I dedicated a row in my bigger bed, on the far side, to just that.

Feathery anticipation

It must be a dedicated row because asparagus isn’t something you plant each year. You plant seeds and then it takes SEVERAL years to produce a crop. Three to five years in general and it’s just something you have to plant and forget about.

And that is the update from my little piece of earth. I picked another half pound of strawberries today and my ‘stash’ is up to over a pound and a half. The stash is composed of the strawberries I am able to resist slamming immediately after picking and is for a future pie or something delicious!

Question: Do you have a garden of any sort? I love seeing potted gardens on balconies and efficiently managed gardens in tiny backyards.

Warning: this is basically a love letter to my son and the life I get to have with him as a stay at home mom.

This morning we got up to a dark and rainy outdoors and Avery was kind of grumpy. I decided to ignore his mood and instead got straight to cleaning up the house and making him breakfast. He stayed gloomy until Shane left for work when he got excited about saying bye bye Daddy and then came the good stuff.

He brought me his favorite book for me to read to him.

It’s only been since I got this book for him that he’s wanted to be read to at all! Before that he’d look through his books but was never patient enough to sit and watch me read them. I still would, but I’d have to be super duper animated to keep him interested. Now he wants to be read to constantly. The boy loves his trucks.We read and he snuggled close to me pointing out each truck, animal and person and begging for me to read it over and over.  I kept looking down at him holding onto his favorite stuffed animals as he so intently listened to me read and all I could do was snap mental pictures over and over of the precious moments we were having. My heart almost aches for the love that I feel between us during times like this. He rests his little hands on mine and offers the most precious kisses and chats in his precious toddler voice.

He tries to make me laugh constantly and his little antics work so well because it seems I’m always giggling the days away. Today he brought out his ‘toy’ netbook (really one that  I broke) so he could type.

The rain kept pouring down, the house got cozier and the moments got more dear. I have such a blessed life and right now I hang in the balance, the lull, between having one child and two and for these last few days/weeks I have to be one hundred percent dedicated to being present with Avery while there isn’t another to divide my attentions. I love all the little things we do together even if he’s just snuggled against me while ‘tagging’ his stuffed animals.

He messes with the tags and if a stuffed animal doesn’t have a tag, it is ignored. hehe

I know a whole slew of new kinds of moments and experiences will come from watching brothers grow up together and I so look forward to that but for now it’s just me and my boy and I love each second of it.

Question: Do you ever have to remind yourself to live in the moment?