Banana Bread Love

Banana bread is my comfort food... the aroma takes me back to childhood and simpler times.  It reminds me of good times laughing around a table with loved ones.  It reminds me of all the times my family showed love to a friend or neighbor by sharing a mini loaf of home baked banana bread goodness.

Banana bread was my first successful baking venture.  I won't go into the disaster cookies I baked previous to that first banana bread experience... who knew eggs were important?  Thank goodness for an almost 10-year old brother who would eat pretty much anything... I digress...

Week 20

How far along? 20 weeks

Baby is the size of:  A banana (approximately 6 to 6.5 inches)

Maternity clothes? Shhhh.... the denim skirt I'm wearing is NOT a maternity skirt.  Scandalous... my fly is unzipped and the top is held together with a rubber band between the button and buttonhole. I never thought I would purposely leave my fly unzipped; that's usually one of those middle school horror stories.  LOL.  You do what you gotta do.

Sleep: This morning, I gave up. I got up at 7 a.m. and half laid/half sat on the couch with a blanket and dozed for another hour until M got up.  It was nice to (sort of) lay on my back for a change.

Food cravings: Last night, it was marinara sauce and parmesan cheese.   But mostly, it's been strawberries.  Still.  In fact, we bought a flat of fresh strawberries at the produce market today.  MMMMMMmmmmmm..... 12 pints of strawberry awesomeness.  I may or may not have eaten an entire pint in one sitting.

Movement:  I'm noticing the baby is more active when I'm hungry!

Best moment of the week:  Went on a date night out with the Hubby last night.  Lasagna at Olive Garden, followed by a free concert.  Yep, we're big spenders!  It was fun to get dressed up.  I haven't worn heels since November, so this was a big deal.

Fun fact: The baby practice swallowing by ingesting amniotic fluid.  What I can't get over is that what I eat flavors the amniotic fluid, so the baby is tasting the same flavors I am since the tastebuds have now developed.  This kid's gonna really like strawberries.

Symptoms: More emotional and forgetful.

Wedding rings on or off? On... except for today... I forgot to put them on this morning! EEK!

Mood? Somewhat anxious.  I may be driving M nuts with all my questions.  I just want to make sure he's happy and content!  Thankfully, he's been very reassuring and understanding. 

Looking forward to: Valentine's Day, and another ultrasound next week.  Maybe we'll find out if this little one is a boy or a girl!

Buffalo Chicken Rides Again

M loves spicy Buffalo-style sauce.  We've had the zippy stuff several times... on sandwiches, pizza, and now.... (drumroll please)... Buffalo Chicken Eggrolls.

I was looking for something to serve at our Big Game party last weekend and came across a Buffalo Chicken Eggroll idea on Pinterest.  Hmmm.... the wheels started turning...

Prenatal Fitness

So, I'm a slacker... or that's what I felt like at my last prenatal appointment.  I was relating my symptoms and mentioned I get very out of breath going up stairs, etc. when my midwife told me that I needed to get off my backside and get my heart rate up.  Or at least it was something like that...

30-40 minutes of cardio at least 4 days a week. Which is about 3 days more a week than I was exercising at the time.

I'm up to 4 days a week (usually) of either brisk walking on my treadmill, or a prenatal pilates workout, or a little of both.  I've found that I don't get quite as out of breath on the stairs, but I do still "huff and puff".

Guess What?

adding on to our family...

I'm excited to announce that M and I are expecting our first baby, due June 24th.  I wanted to let you know there will be a few small changes to the blog as a result.


Check out the far right tab above.... Introducing masion|bebe!  I'll be posting any baby related items there.  I have some great ideas for posts... everything from prenatal journal entries, nutrition, exercise, book and product reviews, and more.  These posts will of course appear on the main page as well, intermingled with other posts, but just the baby related items will be grouped together on the new maison|bebe tab for easy reference.

Now that I'm feeling better, I hope to get back to a regular posting schedule. Pray for us as we grow and develop!

Week 19

How far along? 19 weeks

Baby is the size of:  A mango

Mango sized this week!

Maternity clothes?  I made the skirt I'm wearing. I needed a skirt with more stretch around the waist and maternity clothes are SO ridiculously expensive. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for good deals on more skirts for work. Someone graciously gave me a few maternity tops and a dress, so I at least have some options for work!

Sleep: Old news... still can't sleep.

Food cravings: Brownies. I finally gave in and made some semi-healthy nut-butter brownies. I'll post the recipe at some point, just in case you get a craving, too.

Movement:  I think this baby will be a kickboxer. The kicks and punches are not hard, but starting to be regular. More active at night!

Best moment of the week:  I had enough energy to prep most of next week's meals today (Saturday). Whoo hoo! Finally feel like I accomplished something.

Fun fact: Babies develop the vernix caseosa usually by this week. That's the scientific term for the white stuff that you sometimes see on newborns. It's a layer of fat and dead skin... sounds gross, but it's vital for protection of the baby's skin. Sitting in a "water" bath for 9 months can be rough on the skin, I'm sure!

Symptoms: It's getting hard to bend over.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood? Mostly happy. Stressed at work.

Looking forward to: Weekends!

30 Before 30 Update: January 2013 Edition

Here's a look at the progress I made this month.

I was able to read 1 educational book and 1 fun book this month.  My choices were:

1. Super Nutrition for Babies by Katherine Erlich, M.D., Kelly Genzlinger C.N.C., C.M.T.A, and David Brownstein, M.D.

I really enjoyed reading this book.  It is bursting with valuable information.  The thing I appreciated the most is that the authors take pretty hefty scientific info and break it down, explaining concepts in a way that makes sense to hormone-crazed prego mamas (like me).

It's nice to know that there are medical professionals out there that care strongly about preventing disease, not just treating it after it happens.  One of the main thrusts of Super Nutrition for Babies is that it is entirely possible to avoid many chronic childhood conditions (obesity, diabetes, autism, eczema, food allergies, just to name a few) by simply feeding your child the most nourishing diet.  And then the authors go so far as to tell you where to find the foods they mention, as well as include recipes and timelines of when and how to prepare the nourishing food.  This is definitely a book I will hang on to and reference again and again.  I highly recommend it.

2.  Chronicles of Avonlea, by L. M. Montgomery.

I bought this book at the Anne of Green Gables bookstore in P.E.I., the one run by L. M. Montgomery's family.  I've read most of Montgomery's books over the years, but not this one, or its sequel, Further Chronicles of Avonlea (which will be my fun book for next month).

I enjoyed reading this collection of short stories.  Montgomery's writing style includes plenty of "scope for the imagination".  I found myself getting attached to several of the characters along the way.  The stories are snapshots of the lives of Anne's contemporaries, living in either Avonlea or nearby White Sands or Carmody.  The collection of short stories weaves together grief, bitterness, deceit, redemption, generosity, heartache, love, marriage, and plenty of humor.

This is a timeless classic for sure.  Again, I highly recommend.  The short stories are perfect for picking up when you have only a few minutes; most of the chapters take 5-10 minutes at the most to read. 

Also, I have decided to do a baby quilt and have pinned several ideas on my Pinterest Sewing board.  Now comes the big decisions.... what colors and which pattern to go with?  Much of that decision will depend on if we find out the baby's gender... I'll keep you posted.

If you have recommendations for devotional books, please comment below.