Appy’s Night Out

We went over to my sister’s house on Friday night for an appy’s night.

I was stressing a little about finding some appy’s to bring that were not only delicious, but also easy to make and I wanted them to fit within the dietary guidelines that I’m choosing to live with.

I feel WAY healthier when I’m not eating dairy or wheat and I try to avoid meat the majority of the time.

So, if you take those requirements and then add a bit of preggo brain….I was seriously struggling to come up with something aside from the Chevre (Goat Cheese), Roasted Garlic and Pappad (Lentil Flour Crisps) that I ALWAYS bring.

Goat Cheese & Pappad

It’s delicious, so I don’t mind bringing it, but I like to have new ideas to share and try…..

Finally about 4pm (We were supposed to be there at 6pm) I wondered about making a Greek Salad Bite and I also had some idea about a mini dessert that would involve some sort of wafer or cookie base and berries. At first I was trying to come up with something that would glue the berry to the cookie like custard or whipping cream, but then I wondered if I could use the same chocolate that I use to make my non-dairy fondue. MMMMMM, It sounded like it would be delicious.

Jon and I ran up to the store and picked up the ingredients that we would need and came home and slapped it all together and whadda know….both ides were a rousing success.

Here are the Greek Salad Bites…..

Greek Salad Bites

I bought cherry tomatoes, mini cucumbers, goat feta, green peppers, purple onion and klamata olives.

I cut the cherry tomatoes in half, sliced the mini cucumbers, cubed the goat feta, cut the peppers and onion into small squares and halved the olives.

Then I put a half a cherry tomato on the toothpick and put the wedge of cucumber on next to make sure the seeds and juice wouldn’t fall out. I then placed a cube of the feta, then the purple onion slice followed by the pepper and topped off with the olive.

I made up the dressing (just a regular greek salad dressing, either homemade or bottled would work) and put all of the “bites” into a container to take them to the party. I poured the dressing all over the top and let it sit until I got there. I pulled them out and put them on the plate and TADA!!!!!! Delicious appy’s that just happen to be vegetarian….

To make the little berry desserts, I bought some Nila Wafer’s from the store along with some non-dairy chocolate bars and some Silk Soy Creamer. (I figured that if If I had to I could just use the Nila Wafers but I was trying to find something that I could eat without compromising.) You should be able to get chocolate bars that aren’t made with dairy at your local grocery store, you just have to look at the ingredients. They will probably be plain and also a dark chocolate. I also popped over to our health food store and they had some chocolate mini cookies that were dairy and wheat free and so I picked up those as well. When I got home, I melted the chocolate and then stirred in the soy creamer to make it a little bit softer.

I laid the cookies down on a plate, spread a dollop of the chocolate onto each cookie and then placed a berry on the top of each one. I used blueberries and raspberries, but I also think that strawberries and banana’s would also be delicious…..YUM!!!!!

Chocolate Berry Bites

Both of these dishes were completely finished off and along with everything else that was brought, it was an amazing evening of good food and great friends.

I love to be able to bring food that fits within the lifestyle choices that I’ve made, but that others are willing to eat because it’s JUST. THAT. DELICIOUS!

I am not as strict about my diet as I could be, but I do try to make the best choices when I can so that when I can’t…..I really don’t need to worry about it. I try to live healthy, but I don’t want my choices to leave me unable to ever enjoy life….at this point, eating dairy or wheat or meat makes me feel uncomfortable, but it won’t kill me…..but if I can live (and eat) in a way that doesn’t make me uncomfortable – then I want to make that choice……and, if I decide that I really want that piece of cheesecake at the restaurant…..then I’ll have it knowing that I’ll most likely end up with a gut ache and a few other unmentionable side effects.

But, I do love it when I can come up with ideas that work, are delicious, and keep me healthy and happy. The biggest bonus is when other’s don’t even realize that I’m feeling them food that’s “abnormal” (to them).

Do you have any dietary limitations and do you have any good ol’ standby’s for parties or get together’s? I’d love to hear how you cope with food allergies, intolerances or even medically necessary avoidances (like sugar for diabetics???).

You can see the set from the Appy’s Night here…Not even one shot of me…can you tell who had the camera….and by the few pics taken – not for long, eh? We were having too much fun chatting and eating.

36 weeks

Alrighty then….we’re getting there! Slowly but surely, we are getting closer and closer to the finish line.

I’m sitting on my couch with my feet up on the ottoman and I’m trying desperately to stay awake and yet, in spite of my best efforts, I’m nodding off and I catch myself jerking awake and well, quite frankly that’s really uncomfortable. Biggest problem, my two year old is watching a movie in the kitchen and it would be terribly unwise to fall asleep….who knows what level of mischief he could get up to in 10 -15 unsupervised minutes. But, BOY WOULD I EVER LIKE A NAP RIGHT NOW!

I actually went grocery shopping with my sister this morning and well, at this point that feels a bit like a herculean effort. Especially considering that I had Siah with me. Although to his credit, he was the most amazing little shopper this morning. Normally, shopping with him is a bit like sheep herding and cattle wrangling, but the little monkey actually sat in cart the WHOLE time except for the very end. I thought for sure that I had bought enough at Superstore that I could use the coupon to get the free $25 Gift Certificate…….but no, the total rang in at $233. and so I chose to run back and pick up a 3 pack of roasting chickens (which we will totally use over the next little while – easiest meal ever!) and a Jumbo box of cereal.

But……racing through a store with a 35 pound 2 year old on your hip at 36 weeks pregnant…..HA HA HA HA HA! I “raced” him back to the cart/cashier (as opposed to carrying him) and he did great.

Okay, enough with the nodding off already, I should go and make myself a coffee.

Actually, I’ll be right back……………….

……………Okay, still tired, but I think that the getting up and moving around helped some. I haven’t actually had any of my coffee yet as it’s blazing hot, but it’s sitting here beside me and it smells amazing.

So, I had my 36 week midwife appointment yesterday and it went well. I actually lost a pound from my last visit, which was a pleasant surprise. Everything else checked out great…..little man’s heart rate was at 156bpm and I’m measuring 35cm. She doesn’t actually believe that he’ll be the ginormous monster sized baby that the OB suggested based on his scans, but only time will tell, eh?

36 weeks side

I was tested for the Group Strep B yesterday and at the same time she checked things out and I’m 1cm dilated and my cervix as soft, so things are exactly where they should/could be.

She gave me some Mother’s Cordial to start as well as a herb tea to help build up my nutrient levels and to prep me for the labour and some homeopathic remedy that is supposed to also help to prep things.

I also walked outta the appt with a whole armload of CD’s, DVD’s and a video. There were some labour massages and other relaxation techniques that she wanted me to take a look at and I figured why not. If I can get a great massage outta Jon in the next little while – BONUS, as far as I’m concerned.

I had planned to do a few things while I was out, but I had forgotten my cell phone at home and so I just went home and killed some time until my chiropractic appointment.

36 weeks front

I’ve actually been feeling pretty good. My necks not bothering me. My shoulders are not really bothering me. I do have a tiny bit of a sore spot on the top (and inside) of my right foot. I have NO IDEA what happened. I woke up fine on Tuesday morning. Walked around a ton. Put on my Birkenstocks to leave for work and right where the band crossed the top of my foot it felt like I’d been burned or like it was massively bruised…neither of which is the case.

My hips were slightly out, but really not too much and he did quite a bit of work on my feet. I think that 211 pounds combined with the Relaxin hormone is just too much for my feet to handle. I will be happy to have this baby and loose some of that weight. It sucks when your feet hurt.

I didn’t notice a massive difference in my hips until this morning when I crawled outta bed and for the first time in a while waddled myself to the bathroom and had absolutely no hip pain whatsoever.

Yah for my Chiropractor. He’s the best. I have scheduled another appointment with him for Monday June 7th. I figure that puts me a little closer to the time of the birth and that there is a good chance that I’ll be out of alignment at some point between now and then.

I’m feeling quite pressured to do another thorough tidy on my house and to prep some meals or at the very least some easy/quick meal ideas for Jon and the kids to make and to finish up the last minute things on my “to do” list. It’s very exciting because as of next weekend – we’re on an “anytime now” basis and that’s pretty exciting.

I’m planning on walking a lot over the next few weeks and continuing with the 2-3 times a week exercise class.

36 weeks! WOW! We’re almost there. YAH!

Wrapping Things Up

I’m frantically organizing and planning all the last minute admin stuff that I can think through to help things flow smoothly through to the end of the year and yet…………I’m certain that I’m missing stuff and that is seriously stressing me out!

Trying to come up with the planning/organization lists this far in advance is WAY different than actually working through the different projects in the months leading up to the actual events.

And so I went into the office today to try to wrap some things up BECAUSE……….as of close of the day on Friday, I am officially on Maternity Leave.

YAH!

I’m SO excited!

And yet, I do love my job and am a little sad about not having the challenge of fitting all the pieces and people together to come up with the most effective way to streamline everything without problems or issues. I love organizing and planning and scheduling…….

But…as of Friday – things, they are a’changing in my world. This is just one step closer to my newest baby arriving and I’m getting more and more excited.

In other news, I did manage to finish Siah’s pants and here is the best photo that I could get. He was ALL OVER THE PLACE! But, he loves them and they are so cute on him.

Somebody put a shirt on that kid!

Rainbow Pants in Action

We haven’t tried their wool “diaper cover” super powers for overnights as I’m still too chicken….which is so stupid…I should just give it a go, shouldn’t I?

I’m just so tired these days and the thought of a soaking wet boy attempting to crawl into my bed in the middle of the night sucks and having to get up to strip and change a wet bed is even worse….mind you the past few days we’ve had a 4am wake up call and it wasn’t because of our kids…..

There is some stupid, loud, noisy crazy bird that is singing as if his life depended on it RIGHT! OUTSIDE! OUR BEDROOM! WINDOW!

AND……even once we close the window…..we can still hear him. Stupid Bird! So that just adds to the tiredness! GAH!

Oh well, hopefully the bird moves on and we’re not stuck waking up at 4am for the entire rest of the summer. Can you imagine how brutal that would be?

I have my 36 week appt with my midwife tomorrow AND I’ve booked a Chiro appt for tomorrow so it should be a busy day. But I should be feeling fabulous by the end of the day, though and that’s a definite bonus.

Well, that’s enough blathering for one day. I have to figure out what’s for dinner and get ready for my exercise class and I have one hour to d it all in.

All I want to do, is to crawl into bed!

35 Weeks and a bit

Well, to be honest, I’m only a few days away from 36 weeks, but I was bound and determined to get a 35 week post up, even if I just threw some crappy pics up and called it done.

I had Jon take some pics of me yesterday and while I wasn’t totally thrilled with the pics (once I downloaded them from the camera) I didn’t care enough to try again.

At this point, we’re just rushing past this week’s photos and looking forward to the 36 week pics at the end of the week.

35 weeks front

Last week was a bit of a weird one, to say the least and while I’m not feeling like I’m on the top of the world…I don’t feel quite as “down” as I did last week either.

I’m not sure why, but at this point…..I’m just gonna go with it.

I’ve been swelling off and on with some days being brutal and other days having almost no swelling. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it all. I can be on my feet or off of them for the day. I can eat different things, and I haven’t identified anything specific that makes me retain fluid more than anything else. So, as far as I’m concerned…it’s just a crappy thing that happens to me in late pregnancy.

35 weeks side

I’m definitely into the whole BRUTAL TIRED and yet often can’t sleep thing. I seem to be awake long past midnight and then so SO tired during the day. I hate that! But……soon! YAH!

I do have my 36 week appt with my midwife on Thursday and so I’m looking forward to that. I’m also planning on booking a few last appts with my chiropractor just to make sure that I’m in really good alignment for having this baby.

And, that is the sum total of excitement happening around these here parts.

Hopefully, I’ll have something better for ya tomorrow.

Creativity Feeds Me

So, even in the middle of all my angst and insecurity I have been “making things”.

I find that creating things makes me feel better. I went through a phase a few months ago where it felt like I’d done NOTHING creatively and starting up again….felt like drinking a tall glass of cold water on a hot summer day. I felt like I could breath again.

For whatever reason, crafting or creating seems to really feed me.

And this past week I’ve been working on two different projects….

I’ve been knitting like crazy. Working on Some wool diaper covers and they are so cute!

I made one a bit ago, but never managed to actually sit down and sew it together to finish it.

It’s just a plain chocolate brown underwear style diaper cover that will fit a newborn maybe up to 3 (ish) months.

Once I figured out what I was doing…..I attempted a pair of wool pants or “longies” for my 2 year old.

Wool Soaker

This is them not quite finished.

This past week, I did manage to finish knitting them, but I put them aside because the sheer number of ends that need to be woven in is brutal and that’s my least favorite part of knitting, (weaving in the ends). I know that these are probably not the best thing to have knit just heading into the summer, but they are big enough that they’ll fit him in the fall/winter and at that point, I might even try putting him in a thick pair of underpants overnight and trying to see if they’ll help with any accidents.

He is toilet trained (mostly) during the day and if we remember to toilet him before we go to bed, then he is typically dry in the morning so…it would be an accident “helper” at best.

Regardless, they will work for our upcoming baby when he’s a bit older….so I’ll get lots of wear outta them.

I then started knitting a “better” pair of the little underwear style diaper cover in the rainbow stripes for the new baby…..and I’m finished….(No picture yet)….but the ends……OH! MY! GOODNESS! the ENDS! So, it’s a car project. One that I’m working on in the car and so I should be finished in week or two.

And then earlier this past week, Jon and I stopped in at one of those cute little boutique stores for babies. I saw these burp cloths and they were gorgeous and unbelievably expensive.

I figured that I could make a bunch of them myself with fabric that I had on hand…….

And so I did…..

Open View

They are about 8″ x 13″ and the majority of them have terry cloth on one side and 4 of them have flannel. They fold in thirds to a wallet size and I’d like to get some labels to put on them and I’m thinking about selling them and a few other items, either on-line or for sure at a craft fair this fall/winter.

Wallet Size

To see the whole set, you can click here.

Just a Tad Off…

I’ll get to the 35 week post soon enough.

This has been a bit of weird week for me.

I’ve felt a bit insecure this past week and I really don’t know why?

By insecure, I mostly mean unsafe or unsure or just not quite as confident or strong or “on top of things” as I normally feel.

I just wanted to retreat and pull back inside myself and my house and just “be”.

And so mostly, I did just that.

I did go into work on Tuesday and plowed through an unbelievable amount of work which was great, but by the time we called it a day – I WAS EXHAUSTED!!!

And then……that makes me feel so….so….well, I end up feeling like I’m failing or less than adequate or something.

I try to put in all into perspective. I’m 8 months pregnant with my 5th kid and I’m working and trying to stay on top of everything. We are eating regular dinners, the laundry is caught up, the house is tidy-ish, I’m exercising 4.5 hours a week and we are all happy and healthy.

Wanna know what I did during my other pregnancies???

I existed! I slept! Not even kidding you…..I woke up EXHAUSTED! I barely stayed awake until the kids went for their nap at noon and if needs be, I’d sleep on the floor of their room in front of the door to block them in, just so I could get a nap myself. Then I’d wake up (sort of) and throw something together for dinner and I’d count down the minutes until 7pm when it was bedtime because that meant that I could go back to bed……sometimes, I wouldn’t even make it to their bedtime and I’d go to bed early and leave Jon to put them to sleep.

Yah, pregnancy has seriously kicked my butt!

So, in perspective…….I’m doing pretty good, right?

But, it doesn’t always feel that way. And for whatever reason, this week has been harder than others.

I did manage to cross a few things off my “Getting Ready for Baby” List and that typically makes me feel better, but right now I’m so scattered (my usually computer like brain is acting like it has a wicked virus) that I can’t mentally see a picture of what still needs to be done versus all that has been done and well……that just feels like another kick when I’m already down.

I’ve got a month left. I can do this. I know I can.

I will make it through. One day at a time!

And soon, when I’m holding my baby, this will all feel different. It’s just a matter of time.

34 Weeks

Okay, so we’ve made it to 34 weeks…..in my head this seems both HUGE and completely insignificant.

I have 6 weeks left until my due date. Only 6 weeks…….and yet 6. more. whole. long. weeks……..UGH!

I want this time to fly by and if I’m really being honest, this week went by fairly quickly and so I’m hoping that the rest of the weeks continue along the same way.

34 weeks front

I’ve been REALLY tired recently and so I’m trying to be very diligent about bedtimes and about taking all my vitamins and supplements.

I seem to sleep for about 7 hours and then wake up….today I tried really hard to get back to sleep when I woke up at…….5AM!!!!! and I did manage to fall back asleep. In fact, I did such a good job, that I didn’t wake up until 7:45am. Fortunately, Jon had already gotten up with the kiddos to get them off to school.

I didn’t feel tired, BUT…..I’m all puffy. I can feel it in my hands and feet. YUCK!

I had a visit with my midwife on Wednesday and she offered to give me a natural tonic to help with the fluid retention and I turned her down saying that I wasn’t really uncomfortable….just mostly by the end of the night. Now I’m kicking myself. I should have just taken it.

It was a great appointment, which was followed by a really weird Thursday.

I woke up with a pain on the left side of my abdomen down by my groin. It felt almost like a muscle or tendon ache, BUT….I couldn’t make it “stretch” out so I’m not sure what the deal was. On top of that, I woke up with a weird rash on my stomach. It wasn’t itchy and it seemed to fade and this morning is completely gone but weird to wake up with 2 weird symptoms that seems to be completely unrelated.

The pain is gone and so is the rash and I think that the rash had something to do with the aloe vera gel that she used as a conducting gel for the doppler. I also wonder if the pain had something to do with um…..er…….gas or something else like that. Who knows. All I know that I feel much better this morning except for the tight puffy hands and feet.

I have my next appointment with her in two weeks and then we start in on the weekly appointments.

See, it’s all coming so quickly and yet the end of June seems SO. FAR. AWAY!!!!!!

34 weeks side

The little man is still favoring the right side and we’re guessing that’s where he’ll stay for the remainder of the time.

He has his butt up close to my rib cage and his back is pressed up along the right outside edge of my stomach. Until the last week or so, he’s been up fairly high, but I can feel him grinding his head against my pelvis. That’s a lovely feeling, let me tell ya.

I feel his kicks up at the top of my stomach and can feel him moving his little hands, and elbows down in the lower half of my stomach.

Someone asked what it feels like and the best explanation that I can think of is if you had someone inside a balloon (you know those giant balloons that people sometimes crawl inside) and you were blind folded and had to try to identify which body part they were pushing through the balloon. It’s a pretty thick balloon (my stomach is) so it’s not quite that easy, but you can feel the pokes and jabs and pressure as the baby presses against the edges of his current, temporary, little home.

Sometimes he pushes so hard that it hurts, but that is rare and is more a pressure hurt than a blinding pain. Most of the time, I can just feel him pushing and stretching and slowly building his muscle as he exercises inside of me.

I counted out the days yesterday and there is 42 days left. Not very much longer, right??????

Natural Beauty Products

I made the MOST AMAZING Body Cream.

It’s all whipped and light and goes on so smoothly and smells delicious enough to eat. Although I wouldn’t recommend it, the ingredients list is safe enough that you could eat it….

Body Cream

It has Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Beeswax, Coconut Oil, Cornstarch and Pink Grapefruit Essential Oils in it.

It’s the consistency of very foamy, thick, shaving cream or heavy whipping cream. It melts as soon as it glides onto your skin and leaves your skin soft and not greasy feeling.

I made a double batch and got the container pictured above as well as another big tub and those two 4 oz containers stacked on top of each other. I’ve given one away already and plan to give the other away tonight at a shower that I’m attending. I’m also planning on whipping up some baby diaper cream to include in my gift tonight. I have the most amazing natural alternative to petroleum jelly (Vaseline) that has NO petroleum by-products in it…..again, it’s safe enough to eat and works amazing at protecting and nourishing baby’s sweet skin.

I also attempted two different deodorants.

I find that I’m sensitive to certain natural deodorants and I’m still searching for “the perfect” deodorant for me.

The Rock Crystal works for a time, but then gives me a rash….The same for the coconut/baking soda deodorant. I was really bummed when I got a rash after using that deodorant as it works so amazingly and honestly – you don’t smell AT ALL and you can even skip a day, but….when your skin rashes up so badly that you can’t put your arms down….not cool.

So I’ve been on the hunt for a more sensitive natural deodorant.

I did make one that worked pretty well and it had zinc oxide in it, BUT…..I would get blocked pores and so I’m back to experimenting with different recipes.

Here are my latest two attempts.

Deodorant

As you can see on the incredibly sexy labels I created, one is a zinc oxide base and the other (just for your info) is a coconut oil/beeswax/baking soda combo…..Both are working well and I’m currently using the coconut/beeswax/baking soda one consistently to see if I end up with a reaction….so far so good.

I’ve also got some recipes for natural sunscreen in the works and as soon as I go all crazy potion lady on them and then try them out on myself and my kids…I’ll let you know how they work.

I love to be able to find natural, cheap, alternatives to the beauty products that we regularly use and to be fully confident that what we’re putting in and on our bodies is safe, effective and saves us money.

What are your favorite natural beauty products? Do you have any good product lines that you’d suggest? I’m always interested in who has come across what and why they choose those particular products? Lemme know!

Unique, Weird, Special…..

We are a “unique” family.

We all have things that make us “special”.

It’s funny that the same things that can make you special, can also make you weird.

Here is one example of Angelica’s most recent “weirdness”…….

DSC_0215

Who knew that dinner could be so “artistic” and “creative” looking?

What do you do that’s “weird” or “special” or “unique”?

I like to make lists…in fact, I’ve been known to make a list of all the different lists that I need to make……I like to think that makes me special as opposed to strange, but I know that other’s might disagree.

More Creative Nesting

I’ve been going through a massive “PURGE” recently.

I think that most would call it nesting, although – I think that it’s a little early for the whole “nesting” thing to happen.

It would be awesome if I had massive amounts of energy to go along with my desire to clean and tidy and it would also be amazing if I could either continue this on until the baby comes or bottle it up until 2-3 weeks before the baby is supposed to arrive.

BUT……regardless, that’s what I’ve been doing with any “free” (ha ha ha ha ha – what a joke, as if I really have any free time) time.

I have managed to knock a WHOLE TON of things off my to do list, and that scares me as I don’t want to be sitting around at the end with a month to go and nothing to do, but deep down inside of me, I know that’s really not a reality. I’ll ALWAYS have or at the very least FIND something to do.

We have pretty much set up our room/the nursery and aside from a few little things like determining exactly where to store all the babies stuff so it makes the most sense….like clothes and blankets and diapers and supplies, etc – we’re pretty much ready to go in there.

One of the things that I co-ordinated with the rest of the baby’s “stuff” was a white board……

White Board

But wait a minute, you might be saying….that looks an awful lot like a tray….and well, it is….but it’s hanging on the wall close to the change table which is also close to the doorway….which makes it very convenient for writing notes or reminders on.

I got the idea from Make it and Love it….

Basically, you can write on top of glass, the same as on a white board and so you can take whatever frame you like and add whatever fabric you like and VOILA!!!!! Easy, cheap and beautiful white board.

I like the idea that you can create something very practical, have it be beautiful and yet, customize it perfectly for you. You can take any frame and if you don’t like the color but you do like the shape and design…..spray paint is very cheap and a great way to be able to co-ordinate with your decor. Depending on whether or not you have fabric pieces on hand, you can either use those, or go through your clothes or sheets or blankets and see if there is something suitable that you’d like to re-purpose. You could even use scrapbook paper or any combo of papers set up together. I had thought about creating a dry erase board for my kitchen with different sections for “To Do:” and another long section for a “Shopping List” and another section for “Dates to Remember:”. You could totally use co-ordinating papers to create different size sections and it would look very cool. In something like this, you’re pretty much only limited by your imagination…..

I re-purposed a tray that we had been given a while ago. It was one of those picture frame trays, but the kids had spilled my coffee on it and it had soaked through and mucked up all the frame and pictures. I chose a light patterned fabric from the stuff that I’d used for my quilt. I figured that would make it easier to see what I was jotting down. Then I used my glue gun to secure the fabric to the back piece of the tray. We secured a piece of wire to the back of the tray for hanging purposes.

The handle of the tray provides a nice ledge for the dry erase marker to sit on and right now my biggest issue is keeping my family from drawing silly faces on it.

I plan to use it for marking down notes or baby items that we run out of or even just the time that I least fed or changed the baby.

We just have a few pieces of art to get up on our bedroom walls and then I’ll take some pictures and show you the whole thing. It’s come together so nicely and I’m loving the fact that we’ve created a space that feels comfortable to just “be” in. In fact, I enjoy hanging out in there more than I do in my living room and I LOVE my living room.

Do you have a favorite room in your place? Which room and why?