2014 Already?

I'm a bad blogger...has it really been since August that I typed anything up?  Yup, I've been slacking on a lot of fronts for the last half of 2013.

"Binary Dad", "Binary Kid", & Mom

Weight loss?  Try weight gain...
Mom of the year?  Ha!  At least he's clothed and fed...

On the bright side, both hands are now in working order...I can bend both thumbs again!  I realize you are probably thinking "what the heck is up with her thumbs?"  Well...last February (2013), I was diagnosed with all three RMI (repetitive motion injuries) that you can get...Trigger thumb (the reason I couldn't bend my thumbs), Carpel Tunnel (hands went numb quickly), and DeQueirvain's Tendonitis (something to do with the tendon that runs from your wrist to your thumb, I only had it "released" on my left hand and can't see any difference than in my right).  I had surgery in the first week of September and the first week of November, leaving me pretty useless for most of the months before and after.

We also lost Gabe's Grandpa in November, so life is "adjusting" still.

Where did that year go?!?

This year, I am getting back on track though.  No more excuses, well...one more, but I am trying to work with it.  I've been having trouble with my right knee.  I was diagnosed (again) with tendonitis, this time in my knee!  Starting next week, I'll be going to physical therapy twice a week for the next 6 weeks, in hopes of it getting better.  If it doesn't I may be looking at another surgery.

My blender that can supposedly make Ice Cream...finally got it working!

I'm also restarting my low-carb journey, with some minor tweaking because we are still breast feeding here.  I'll be starting in "phase 4", or lifetime maintenance.  I don't want to cut carbs drastically and cause issues for the little man.  He also loves to stuff Cheerios in my mouth, so I figure this way I may not stall out or gain when he decides I look like I need a "two Cheerio snack break"!  I plan on shooting for the 80 carbs a day end of the 80-100 carb spectrum and dropping into "phase 3" if I need to to see a change on the scale.  Let's be honest for a minute...I currently weigh 5 pounds more than I did the night before our almost 15 month old (next week!) was born!  That's a lot of poundage considering I was down to only 5 pounds heavier than before he was concieved by the time he was 2 months old.

(01/01/2014) Current weight: 302.0
(06/01/2014) 6-month Goal: 250.0
(01/01/2015) 12-month Goal: 200.0
(06/01/2015) 18-month Goal: 150.0

Well, there it is...by June, I want to be back down to what I weighed 2 years ago.  I can do it!  But, not by diet alone this time...nope, this time I will also be working out from the beginning!  In fact, I am starting with working out!

We have a family membership at a gym near our house, it has free daycare, a swimming pool, running track (walking for me), all sorts of machines (even a "women's center" with a door to the daycare room), and trainers!  Of course, I have been waiting for a call from the trainer since we joined...but since I haven't been able to take advantage of the gym anyway, I'm not too upset (I plan on trying to get with a trainer when I start going in regularly so that they can help set me up to succeed).  My goal for the gym is go in once a week to start...little man has horrible separation anxiety and has never been watched by anyone but my Mother (who lives 400+ miles away, so not often), so I figure the first month or so will be "workout free" while he gets used to the idea of playing with a "stranger" while I work out.

To aid in my "exercise to lose weight" goals, we brought the Wii back upstairs.  I ordered three new workout games to go along with Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus (that I already owned).  I picked up Jenny McCarthy's Your Shape, the one that comes with a cute little webcam, Jillian Michael's Fitness Ultimatum 2010 (I really don't like the way she trains on The Biggest Loser, but for the ~$6 I paid for the game, I'll give her a shot), and Gold's Gym Dance Workout.

My impressions so far (I got them yesterday)...

Dance Workout

Your Shape

• Your Shape: Holy dog poop, this one makes you sweat!  I know...it's supposed to...love the camera, not real happy about her yelling at me to match her moves or "focus on your arms/legs"!  I can't really bend my right knee right now (that's what the PT is for), and there's no getting down on the floor without someone near to help pick me up since I can't put weight on my knee (Garrick had to drag me out of the tub a while ago because I literally could not get out on my own!).
• Fitness Ultimatum 2010: Haven't loaded this one up yet...frankly, I'm intimidated by Jillian Michaels' and right now I'm "evaluating" these three games to decide which one I'm going to stick with for a while.
• Dance Workout: I am so not coordinated enough for this game!  I get my right and left confused and it is so fast paced, I miss out on most of the workout trying to untangle my legs from each other.  This one is losing out on the "gonna do this one first" race.

 My goal for these "games" is to do one workout everyday  I'm not in the gym, so 6 days a week. 

Sharing my Burrito Blanco at Azteca...this is one of our favorite meals, but beans, rice, and flour tortilla are going bye-bye.

I made Peanut/Pumpkin Seed Brittle for Christmas!

Munching on a quartered hot dog wrapped in half a refrigerator biscuit...he loves these!

Phone's for you, Mom!

Starting his early love for Starbuck's (water)...

How to keep a baby properly strapped into his car seat and warm!  A car seat poncho, made by yours truly for a whopping $8...you can purchase one on Etsy for $40 if you can't sew...

Fun with Gak!  Flour + water + blue food coloring = a ton of fun!  Until it's time to clean up...

Rosie has taken to cuddling with the stuffies and baby blankets...I think we've watched enough Doc McStuffins, she may think they're really alive and really do need cuddles!

Daddy bought himself a PS4 for Christmas...now if only they'd come out with workout games for it!  We currently have the PS2, PS4, and the Wii all hooked up with motion/sensor bars all stacked on top of each other!

Our "Elf in Training" because Mommy is too cheap to spend $30+ on a creep looking elf when she's perfectly capable of crocheting a whole wardrobe for Barbie, and she can "report to Santa" every night.  She currently has two other dresses, an apron (for baking), and a bolero in her wardrobe as well...working on another set, but the pattern is problematic...

Santa came!  We decided that our family traditions (Garrick, little man, and I) will be a blend of family traditions...we opened all of our gifts Christmas morning, from family and Santa.  We had planned to order pizza and watch the Batman series of movies (we got the boxed set last Christmas and still haven't watched the second and third movies), but as plans with a toddler tend to change, it was visiting Grandma, dinner at IHOP, and home in time for bed.  As time goes on, we'll come up with some Christmas Eve traditions.

Now, do not look past here if you don't want to see me in my underwear.  The following photos are my starting photos for getting back in gear for losing weight.  I have yet to find my measuring tape to get actual measurements, but I did "suck it up" and take a clothed and unclothed photo of myself (not naked).  I also set up a "motivation jar", which in this case is a big wine glass, full of 154 glass beads.  It's pretty, but more importantly, for every pound I lose, I get to move a glass bead out of the jar and when it's totally empty, I've reached my weight loss goals!
































Do Not Scroll unless you want to see it!

Well, there I am...I'll do another picture in 6 months and 12 months.

A Baby-Friendlier Version of My Great-Grandma's Cookie Recipe...

We have been making a recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation in my family, I know this recipe only as "Great-Grandma Our Last Name Here's Cookies".  They are essentially an Oatmeal cookie with Raisins, Chocolate Chips, and Nuts!  They are cram-packed with yumminess and customizable to suit everyone's likes/dislikes.  For example, Garrick doesn't like raisins in cookies (or on the planet, but that's another story), so for him, I skip the Raisins (but I do still add the "Raisin Juice").  I recently made a batch (which is really a double batch of the original recipe, but as my Great-Grandma used to say, "Double batches of cookies are the only way to do it"), raisins, chocolate chips, nuts and all!  I even modified it a hair for my likes by replacing half of the chocolate chips with white chocolate chips and using some Golden Raisins instead of using just the plain old brown ones.  This was the first time I've made them in at least 5 years, but probably closer to 10 years...I just haven't made a lot of cookies, especially since these don't fit into a low carb diet at all.  Anyway, I let Gabe try them, being careful (or so I thought) that he didn't get a nut or raisin, or chocolate!  Well, as evidenced by his diaper after helping me polish off several of these cookies, he still managed to get the raisins, nuts and chocolate!  The up side to him not fully digesting food yet is that I can tell how long it took him to move particular foods through (and in this case to see that he got whole raisins and chocolate chips swallowed)!

Long story, well, long...I decided that before our next trip (which is coming up shortly), I would make a "baby-friendlier" version...no nuts or chocolate in these!  Also, instead of sugar, I used mashed Banana!  I also only made 1/4 of the recipe, so essentially, a half batch, that still yielded 5 dozen (plus 3) baby-sized cookies!

Here's the recipe for "Baby-Friendly Oatmeal Raisin Cookies"...

• 1/2c Butter (1 stick)
• 1/2c Sugar or 1/2c Mashed Banana or 1/4c Applesauce and 1/4c Mashed Banana (I used 2 small bananas that were very ripe )
• 1 Egg
• 1/4-3/4c Raisins (I used 1/4c and then snipped each raisin in half or thirds, I should have used more...)
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons Raisin Juice (*see Note)
• 1c Oatmeal
• 1c Flour (All Purpose)
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• optional...chopped banana, apple, or anything else your child likes (and can safely eat)

*To make Raisin Juice...Place raisins in a pan/pot and cover them with water.  Bring to a slow boil and simmer "for a while".  I usually simmer mine until the whole house smells yummy and the water is a nice dark "raisin" color, about 20 minutes.  Then, pour raisins into a strainer over a bowl (I use my big glass measuring cup).  This separates the raisins (to be used in the cookies) from the "Juice"! Save both!  Once the raisins and the juice have cooled, you're ready to make cookies!  I usually do this the night before, but I've been known to do it up to a week before and put everything in the fridge until cookie-making time.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a bowl or bag (I use a sandwich size ziploc for this size batch), combine Flour, Baking Soda, Ginger, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon.  In a separate bowl, cream Butter and Sugar (or banana or banana/applesauce).  Add Egg and mix (I use my stand mixer for this...I so badly want a good quality one of these, what I have is a hand mixer with a stand).  Now it gets "fun"...mix the flour mixture and the raisin juice with the butter/sugar/egg mixture...but not all at once!  Take a small bit of the flour and mix until combined, now drizzle in a little bit of the raisin juice and combine.  Continue mixing small amounts of the flour mixture and raisin juice until it is all combined.  Now, by hand, mix in the Oatmeal.  You now have your "dough base" to which you can add your "goodies"...for this batch, I simply added the raisins (these are not required, but are very yummy and Gabriel loves them).  Each time you add something though, mixing it in thoroughly before adding the next item, saving delicate things for the last (chopped banana should be carefully mixed in at the very last so you don't just smash it up).

Because I'm making cookies for my almost 10 month old, I made them fairly small (as in I could probably get 2 or 3 in my mouth no problem, but he takes 10 minutes to eat one).  I got 5 dozen (plus 3) cookies (63) out of this!  That's a ton of cookies for a baby!  I put a large container of them in the freezer for later and am taking half or better of them with us on our trip for Gabriel to share with his 21 month old cousin (and probably the 5, 7, and soon to be 9 year old cousins too).  But, back to baking them first!

Line your cookie sheet(s) with Parchment paper (man do I love baking with this stuff), this will keep your cookie sheets clean Hello easy clean-up! and keep your cookies from sticking.  I use two spoons to form these cookies, the dough is super sticky and this method just works awesome.  Make the cookies whatever size you feel is appropriate for you and/or your child...mine where roughly 1 teaspoon worth each (give or take).  By now, your oven should be up to temp (unless, like me, you've had your butter softened, flour mixture ready, raisins juiced and snipped, and oatmeal measured for like a week because you forgot last week that you were out of Ginger and had to wait until you bought more to make the cookies...then sit back and wait for your oven to come up to 400 degrees), place your first cookies in the oven and set the timer for 8 minutes.  The original recipe says 10-12 minutes, but I find that my oven burns two-thirds of the cookies if I bake them that long, this time produces mostly perfectly cooked cookies with only a few with darker bottoms.  When the timer goes off, remove cookies from the oven and then get them off the cookie sheets and onto cooling racks!  Give your sheets a minute to cool down a bit, then repeat the whole cookie loading, baking, removing process until you are out of dough!

We've recently removed one of the toys from his Exersaucer to make an "eating area" on it...works great!

So that's it for the cookies...now, here's some random (semi-recent) photos!

Deviled Eggs with Mommy for an afternoon snack (he's been getting a daily snack and sharing dinner with me, but still mostly a boob baby).

Spinach off my plate out at Olive Garden!  Garrick and I celebrating 10 years of being together!

Daddy (Garrick) & Gabriel "patiently" waiting for me to grill dinner!

"The Dinner" I was grilling!  Steak, Grilling Cheese (OMG that stuff's good, but spendy!), and Sauteed Mushrooms!

Using Rosie as a ladder...and giving "good pets" too.

He ate almost the entire banana at this sitting!  Right before an early bath. ;)

Enjoying Strawberries and Cheerios for dinner because we had smoked sausages and I wasn't sharing, lol.

I recently made 2 "tester" slings out of cotton, trying to find a good workable size for myself.  I have a size 9 sling from Seven Sling (thanks to my sister) and my homemade one that is a whopping 1" larger than the Seven Sling.  Both are too tight...after a screwup in cutting, the other sling I made is also a size 9...and this one is a hair too big.  But, with rolling the shoulder like I did, it was workable...now to get Gabriel to hold still in it, I don't think he likes slings.

That's it for today (in pictures), but in other "news"...we recently joined a gym (go us)!  So far, all we've done is enjoyed taking Gabriel to the swimming pool, but Garrick meets with his personal trainer tonight (was supposed to be last night but the trainer had his days wrong) and I'm still waiting for a call from the trainer he set me up with.  It's been about 10 days so far and I'm still waiting...but since we're fairly busy this week, I'm not really in a rush right now.  If nothing else, next week I'm thinking about starting to do a "couch to 5k" using an app on my phone and the indoor track at the gym (while utilizing the free day care)!  Soon, I hope I can start posting progress again!  Also, by Friday night, we'll be "plus" one more kid for the month...but shh, it's a surprise!

I linked the gym up there...if you're in the area and decide to check them out, give them Garrick's name and we'll earn a referral credit!

Green Onion Mayonnaise...

I have a new favorite topping for hot dogs and hamburgers, as well as a dip for veggies and cheese sticks!  My green onion mayo is very versatile & low carb!

First a little history to why I have a ton of dried green onion in my house...  Green onions are super way to regrow!  Just buy them at the store, being them home, and cut off most of the green part. Now, stick the whites (I leave them banded together) into a juice glass, 3 bunches for into my small drinking glasses (a juice glass), with enough water to cover the bulb parts. Then just stick them in a sunny window and watch!  I get about 1/2" of growth every day!  

Back to the cut green parts, snip them up and put them on a foil lined cookie sheet in an oven set to 200-250 degrees and keep an eye on them while they dry/bake/roast. When they are all dry, pull the sheet out to cool. While drying some of the onions will turn brown and get a yummy roasted flavor to them as well! I cut and dry all the green onion tops as they get big, minus what I use fresh. I can get 3 full growths out of a bunch before the onion flavor gets extremely strong (at which point, the whole kitchen is usually smelling like onions as well). After 3 sets of onions bunches, I have cups of dried onion all over my kitchen!  This "recipe" was born from a need to use some of the dried onion up before I was over run!

On to the recipe!

Green Onion Mayonnaise

1 cup mayonnaise

4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) Dried Green Onion

1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley (or 3-4 Tablespoons fresh)

Combine all ingredients and place in an airtight container in the fridge!  

Sometimes, the dried onion turn the mayo brown...it looks unappealing, but tastes amazing still!  Also, I like it really "oniony", so maybe start out with less onion and adjust it to your own tastes.  And, the Parsley just adds color, it can be left out all together if you don't feel like adding it (or are running out/low).

My Latest Adventures in Dog Food Cooking...

I'm late this week in getting my batch of dog food made...I have really been trying, but my energy level seems to come in very short bursts.  So, here we are at Thursday and her food for the week is still in "pieces"!  She actually ran out of pre-made portions Monday, but we've been feeding her "scraps meals" and last night I scooped out a cup of rice, a cup of Veggies, and a big handful of chicken (previously all were cooked and the chicken was de-boned), then I poured some Chicken broth on top and popped it in the microwaved (because she won't eat it cold).

I'm trying to get ahead on her food...mostly because in three, very short weeks, we're going to be a little preoccupied and I don't think it's very fair to ask my Mother to cook food for the dog!  So, I started this week's food by boiling 12 pounds of Chicken leg quarters and 2 pounds of Chicken Gizzards (and hearts).  To the larger pot, I added some Parsley, Nutmeg, and Black Pepper...to season the chicken a little but also to help with the smell of the cooking chicken (which smells horrible by the way).  Once the chicken was done (Tuesday...I bought it on Monday), I poured the liquid into three containers, cooled it and put it in the fridge to help separate the fat from the broth.  The next day, I skimmed the fat and filtered the "bits" from the broth (I got enough filtered broth to use it to make 20 cups of rice and fill a 2-Quart pitcher along with half of another pitcher).  After I filtered the broth, I warmed up the fat and ran it through a paper towel to get the particulates out of it.  I ended up with 2 cups of purified fat!  Which, I plan to warm it up and pour it over the mix when I add the yogurt, gravy, and such.  But, once I got the broth filtered, I started the rice in the big cooker (I had 10 cups of rice, so I just made all of it).  Yesterday, I cooked up five large bags of veggies (Cauliflower/Broccoli mix, French cut Green Beans, Broccoli Cuts, Carrot Coins, and a bag of Peas and Diced Carrots).  But, by the time they cooled enough to mix, I was exhausted!  So, today after shopping, I made up 3 cups of Brown Gravy (not exactly "healthy" I'm sure) and added about one-third of a jar of Creamy Peanut Butter while the gravy was hot.  The PB really thickened the gravy, so I also added about a cup of Chicken Broth to thin it back out.  Then, I tossed the whole thing in the fridge to cool for an hour before mixing it into 64-ounces of Plain Yogurt (I buy Nancy's Organic for her...).

Rice & Veggies!

Brown Gravy & Peanut Butter!

And since I have now mixed everything together...the dog is currently chowing down on a serving of this new batch!  To mix this huge batch of food, I broke out my big Turkey Roasting Pan (pictured on the left with the Rice and Vegetables in it)!  With everything in it, this batch filled it to the brim!  Of course, 14 pounds of meat (without the bones) filled one and two-thirds gallon-sized Ziplocs, 5 pounds of Veggies filled another, and roughly 20 cups of Rice filled one and a half bags!  Top it off with 3 cups of Gravy, half a jar of Peanut Butter, and 64-ounces of Plain yogurt...and there's a lot of dog food that's been made!  My hope is to put half of it in the freezer for after the baby's born!

Actual "recipe":

• 10 cups of Rice (as measured by the scoop that comes with your cooker)
• Chicken Broth to fill Rice Cooker to the fill line (if cooking rice without a cooker, it's 1 cup rice to 2 cups liquid)
• 12 pounds Chicken Leg Quarters
• 2 pounds Chicken Gizzards & Hearts
• 5 pounds Frozen Vegetables (I used Carrot Coins, a Broccoli/Cauliflower Mix, French-cut Green Beans, Cut Broccoli, and a Peas/Diced Carrot Mix)
• 3 cups prepared Brown Gravy (which is 9 tablespoons dry mix & 3 cups Water)
• 1/3 to 1/2 Jar Creamy Peanut Butter
• 64-ounces Plain Yogurt
• 2 cups Chicken Fat (microwaved to liquify)
• 4 to 6 cups Chicken Broth

Optional Additions:

• Hard-Boiled Eggs
• Scraps (Meat & Veggie)
• Leftover Pasta

I still need to get it all bagged up and in the fridge or freezer, but that is just gonna have to wait until I have help.

On the dog front...Rosie just turned 11 years old yesterday!  She was born September 12, 2001 and was given to me in mid October of 2001 (when she was 7 to 8 weeks old, I forget the exact date I got her).  She didn't have a name until close to Christmas though!  My childhood Lab was named Licorice (as in Black Licorice...), so I had wanted to keep the "color-theme" in naming this new puppy, but nothing I came up with really "fit".  She was almost named "Shady", but it reminded my partner at the time of Shady Pines (the retirement home on Golden Girls).  Which is how Rosie got her name!  She was named after Betty White's character on that show!

August Catch-Up (Part2)

Food!  I know I've strayed way away from anything "food" related in the last several months...partly because I just don't have the energy to really "cook" or "create", but also because we aren't low-carbing right now.

I did have a thought a few weeks ago.  I love my coffee...decaf, regular, whatever, I love it.  What I don't find particularly appealing with each and every cup is mixing my flavoring and cream in...I know, I'm lazy like that.  So, my idea?  Well, I haven't done it much, but I have twice bought pre-made creamer (the flavored kind) since I got pregnant.  Most recently, I got a small bottle of Peppermint (my fave)...as I was finishing the bottle off, I mused about how nice it would be if I had a low-carb version!  So I did what any lazy low-carber worth a grain of salt would do...I washed the jug out and removed the label!  Then, I left it sitting on my counter for several weeks (we're talking like a month or better).  But, today while making dog food, I finally had all the necessary parts to give my recipe thoughts a whirl!

I started with what I had left in a pint of Heavy cream (a whopping 3 ounces, or 5 Tablespoons), I used a small funnel to get it into my bottle, but if you trust your pouring skills better, you can skip the funnel.  I then added 4 ounces of Half & Half (6 Tablespoons) and 1.5 ounces of Butterscotch DaVinci's Coffee Flavoring.  You can use more or less flavoring, this is just where I liked this particular flavor...I didn't want it too strong or sweet.  With my measurements, it actually half-filled my little creamer jug, so I think I can safely double the recipe for a full bottle.  For a creamier creamer...add more heavy cream and less half & half.

As I mentioned before, it's dog food making day!  I usually get 13 or 14 bags of food out of a batch, or 6 to 7 days worth of food for our old dog.  She's also been getting a can of "puppy" food for lunch each day to help add calories that she was missing out on (to help keep her weight up since she has lost all she can "afford" to), for that, she gets canned food that we buy at the store...it was easier than trying to figure out what to add to her food and it was recommended by her vet's office.

Today's batch started like any other batch of food...rice in the rice cooker, followed by 3 bags of frozen vegetables on top in the steamer basket!  A few weeks ago, I upgraded her "dog food making apparatus" to a 28-cup rice cooker I picked up at Ross' for just $30!  It has cut the time it takes to make the dog's food to about one-third the time it used to take!  Today, I started with 7 scoops of rice (14 cups once cooked).  Once the water was added, I topped the cooker with the steamer basket that came with it (I skipped the divider today) and tossed in a bag of Carrot rings, a bag of Broccoli cuts, and topped the whole thing with a bag of French cut Green Beans!  Then, I popped the lid on and set the cooker to go...easy!  I then talked Garrick into cooking the 2 pounds of Hamburger for me...I just can't stomach the smell of cooking hamburger!  Once it was cooked, I added a 3 cup container of Chicken stock (it had gone passed it's sell by date) and a bag of pasta from a very old Hamburger Helper that I threw the rest of in the trash (saved just the pasta).  Then, I realized the pan we were cooking in was too small for everything and dumped the whole thing into the big "dog pot".  I made the low-carb creamer while the pasta boiled with the meat and stock (and an additional 6 cups of hot water) for a few minutes, until the pasta was cooked.  Then, I took the pot off the heat, or rather, turned the heat off, and started adding in the vegetables and cooked rice.  I love how vibrant the color stays when I steam the veggies rather than boiling them!  At this point, the whole thing needs to cool for several hours (which it is still doing).  Once cooled, I'll add the yogurt (and any other "cold" items).

For today's batch, I have yogurt "mix-in's" in the form of two extremely overripe bananas and three "well beyond people consumption" apples.  I used a whisk to break up the bananas and get them incorporated into the yogurt (just over a quart today to use up what I had left in the fridge).  Then, I diced the apples up really small!  I didn't bother coring the apples, I just diced them up and picked out seeds if I saw them.  Apples and bananas are two of Rosie's favorite "treats", so this is a special treat for her and she knows it's there!  She spent the time it took me to dice the apples up at my feet catching tiny bits of apple when they happened to fall off the cutting board!  After a good mix, I put the whole thing back in the fridge to wait for the rest of the food to cool. 

In a while, I'll mix the cold and cooled portions together and start bagging...this is the messiest and most time consuming step of them all!  We portion roughly 2-cups into Ziploc sandwich bags for easy to control meal sizes, then we seal all the bags, removing most of the air.  The bottom drawer in our refrigerator is now home to the dog's food...it generally takes up the whole drawer!  She appreciates the food and I really appreciate knowing what I'm feeding her!  Also...there is an added benefit to not giving her all that corn "filler", smaller poops that generally "wash away" with a good hosing!  She still has a few "monsters" because of the puppy food, but in general, her piles don't take up large portions of the yard anymore...bonus!

Why I Wash w/ Shaving Cream...

Okay, first let me start off by saying, NO...it isn't the kind you buy at the store!  Now, why do I wash with my Homemade Shaving Cream?  Because it smells freaking awesome!  And...why not?  I mean it's only four ingredients, the first of which is shampoo.  As mentioned in my last post, I make my Shaving Cream/Lotion with Shampoo, conditioner, Lotion, and Coconut Oil...that's it!  Some have said that they get a lovely lather from the recipe I follow (and passed on to you all in my last post), but I do not...I get a white, sorta thick fluid that quickly disappears into my skin!  But, oh...it makes my skin feel so good!

This is more information regarding my breasts than the "average" reader needs, but here it is anyway.  Since becoming regnant, my boobs have drastically changed...I'm talking, shape, size, color...the works!  So, one day after making a fresh batch of the shaving cream I was taking a shower (and shaving my legs for no good reason other than to be able to use my shaving cream again) and I got to thinking about the ingredients in it...I use a Vitamin E Lotion and at the time, was using Organic Coconut Oil, sounded good enough to me to help ease some of the "tightness" I was feeling in my chest...if nothing else, it smelled good and gave me a slippery/smooth feeling while I rubbed the tender areas!

I still don't get a lather (at all), but I now enjoy the scent of my homemade shaving cream/lotion nearly every shower by also using it as a body wash as well!  It doesn't take a lot either, I use about 2 teaspoons worth to wash with (I use double or triple that to shave each leg)!  My little 3-ounce shower bottle lasts me well over a week, in fact, I have about half of it left as of today's shower!  Somehow in the making of the last batch, I made 8-ounces of shampoo and another 8-ounces of conditioner, plus 2-ounces each of lotion and coconut oil turn into about 30-ounces of shaving cream too...so it isn't like I'm going to run out any time soon!  Even if I manage to work it up to using 3-ounces a week, I still have about 2.5 months worth of yummy smelling cream to go!

But, in other news around the house...

Look at my belly!  But, please...don't look into my messy office or the super bright bathroom...just check me out! I got the dress I'm wearing there before our trip to Las Vegas last January (that feels like a lifetime ago now), it fit a little big at the time, but it hung really well and was long enough I didn't feel like I was going to be flashing anyone.  The floral part is sheer with a black "slip" lining under it, the lining is fitting me very snugly these days though...the legging are to keep my big 'ol thighs from rubbing together and causing other "issues", but I think they look okay.

Recently, since my birthday is coming up and I sign up for every freebie I possibly can, I have gotten a slew of emails offering me "free stuff" since I'm turning old(er).  Last night I enjoyed a free dinner at IHOP, not the "best" option for my Diabetes, but I don't kill my diet too often.  I got a free "Rooty Tooty Fresh & Fruity", basically it's 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage, and 2 pancakes topped with your choice of Strawberries, Blueberries, or Apples.  Each fruit is really just pie filling dumped on top, I get mine with the fruit on the side, so I can indulge in the Butter Pecan syrup (mostly) and then eat just a little of the sweet fruit.  We had to pay for drinks and Garrick's meal (of course), but we did save the $6.99 that my meal cost.

Also on the "meal plan" this week is a stop into an old favorite (that isn't a favorite anymore since they closed down the location nearest our home), Perkins.  I have a free meal coupon for there too...2 eggs, 2 bacon or sausage links, and 3 pancakes.  I also have (but will most likely not use) coupons for a free shake at Arby's, a BOGO deal at Aunt Annie's Pretzels, and a free cone at Ben & Jerry's.  These ones don't get used often (or ever for some) because they just aren't "worth" it to us.  Aunt Annie's is in the mall, but we've never tried them, B&J is across town and is a free ice cream cone really worth the $3-4 it would cost to park downtown?

What is always worth the free coupon (and a special trip out to get it) is the BOGO deal I get from Coldstone Creamery on my birthday!  Yes, we got the huge sized cups...but for the extra $0.40 it costs to go from a medium to the large size, each cup makes 3 or so treat servings for us...worth the extra change I think, especially since this beauty on the right was absolutely free!  What did I get though?  Well...I got a Cheesecake Fantasy, but instead of Blueberries, I got fresh Raspberries, and instead of Strawberries, I got Whipped Cream!  So, what I ended up with was Cheesecake flavored ice cream, graham cracker pie crust crumbles, raspberries, and whipped topping...can we say "yummy raspberry cheesecake with a load of whipped cream all tossed in the blender to make a tasty baby" in unison now?  I ate the cup almost level with the top, popped a lid on it and it is now chilling in the chest freezer downstairs!  That was not dinner though....oh, no! 

Dinner was a new "experiment" for us.  We tried out Five Guys for dinner!  If you have one of these near you...you must go try them out!  It's like Subway...but with burgers!  I got a "little cheeseburger" (one meat patty) with Mayo, Lettuce, Grilled Onions, Grilled Mushrooms, and BBQ Sauce...it was the best burger I have had in quite some time!  Garrick got his cheeseburger (2 meat patties) with just Mayo and BBQ Sauce, he doesn't like any "veggies".  We also got sodas...they have those new "fancy" Coke dispensers that have all the flavors you can add and a bazillion choices to start with (okay, the thingy says it makes over 200 flavor combos), including at least SIX diet choices!  Gone are the days of not having any choice if you had to drink diet soda! 

 As a side note here, I can remember as a kid not wanting to eat at McDonald's because the only drink option I had was Diet Coke (which I hated then, but prefer now) or water.  I swore when I was younger that "someday" I was going to open a restaurant that served only diet drinks with Coke (or Pepsi or RC for all I cared) as the only sugared soda.

So, I happily filled my cup with Diet Barq's Root Beer and Garrick got Diet Coke.  We've found that we really do not like the extra flavorings they offer, though it was nice to try Sprite Zero (otherwise known as Diet Sprite) with Grape and Orange Flavorings (separately)...and a few other combos, I just wasn't feeling that adventurous with my beverage choice this evening.  Then, it was off to sit at a table and await our fresh cooked burgers while enjoying a pile of in-the-shell peanuts!  I don't know why, but places that offer these are always some of our favorite places to eat...there used to be a lpace in Bend Oregon that we loved...they gave you a giant bucket of peanuts and just swept the shells onto the floor (which they swept nightly), it was always so much fun to go there and eat peanuts and dump the shells right on the floor...taking kids there was even fun because you didn't have to worry about them making a huge mess...it was part of the "charm" of the place!  They also served super strong "adult" beverages in mason jars.  But, back to tonight's story...Five Guys is most definitely going to be a place we go again...they don't serve a lot of "choices" as far as the food goes, but it was perfect for dinner!

My tomato plants are nearly as tall as me...I may or may not have mentioned this before.  I even had to go out and by longer plant stakes to help support them!  Each plant now sports a 60-inch bamboo stake along with the cages and shorter stakes.  Well, all of the ones I bought and planted are...the one Garrick bought me (that was much large and more established when I got it) is only as tall as the tomato cage, but it is loaded with small tomatoes!  Some are almost ready to be picked and eaten too!  They aren't very big...about the size of a golf ball maybe, but they look so good, I cannot wait to eat them!

We really haven't been "using" our garden (as it were) much this year...heck, the BBQ is still in the process of being cleaned and we haven't used it yet this year!  But, we do plan on getting that finished up (tomorrow hopefully), as we have hot dogs and our favorite Summer recipe, Fiery "skewered" Shrimp on the menu!  For the Shrimp, I use our Pineapple Sage (a lot of it) and then barbeque them in a grill basket, way easier than soaking skewers, threading the shrimp, carefully turning the skewers, prying you don't lose any of those yummy shrimps to the bowels of hell (otherwise known as "where good food goes to waste") if it falls through the BBQ...much easier to give the basket a few good shakes and wait for all those shrimps to be ready to be inhaled by us!  Even our nephews like this one (the oldest one or two anyway)!  They like shrimp though...  We buy the smaller shrimp because we don't have to thread them on skewers...saved us about $5 for an equal sized bag at Costco...we got 31-40's (shrimps per pound) instead of (18-24's or something like that)!  All it really means is more tails to give the chickens!  Get them raw though if you plan to BBQ them...don't want pre-cooked ones here!  Also, get them peeled...it saves you a lot of hassle and the meat gets more of the flavor from the marinade!  (I have posted this recipe before, but will likely do so again later this week after I cook up this batch.)

In all things "baby related"...

I think I've settled on a "look" for our nursery!  I've been struggling to find an affordable set, I know it isn't something we "need", but an overall theme/look is something I "want"!  Way back before we knew we were having a boy, I had settled on the idea of Sage and Brown as a color scheme, whether our little one was a girl or a boy, and I really haven't let that go...too much!  We did buy a "nursery in a box on Friday night that only came in Cherry colored wood (not so hot next to brown room decor in my opinion), so I have spent the weekend looking for bedding sets that compliment the wood color.  To my surprise, a lot of the brown themed sets were displayed with cherry wood and they don't look too bad!  But, the set I currently like the most is less brown and more green anyway.  The set is a 13-piece set, but does not come with the bumper...and costs $82.  The bumper (that's in the photo) is another $20, but I can easily just add the "breathable mesh" kind for $21 (all prices reflect walmart.com prices as of last night when I was looking)...it's a safer choice and I can get it in Sage green as well.  It isn't the "cutest" option, but safety wins I think!

I have "graduated" into nursing bras....darned under-wires were causing all sorts of issues that no one ever tells you about before you get pregnant (or after for that matter)!  Giving up my under-wire was hard to do....mostly because I've grown so big (I am now too large to fit my G-cups) that I cannot find anything locally!  I did manage to find Bravado Nursing Bras in their Double Plus style at Diapers.com though!  What a life saver those are!  Sadly, they only carry them in a sports bra style (hello to a few years of nothing but uni-boob), but at least I'm not in pain anymore!  The XL size in the Double Plus fits 42-46 E-G...they don't tell you that on the website, that's what the packaging says.  I would not have thought to try them if it hadn't been for a lovely woman who wrote a review on the website and stated that she was in an F-cup prior to becoming pregnant!  The bra really offers zero support and pretty much just barely keeps my boobs from going wherever they please, but it is better than nothing!

Lastly, we may have a name for our little man!  Of course, that changes on a weekly basis, but this one just feels "right", so we shall see...  We aren't going to be sharing our final name choice with anyone though...until he's born.

My, oh, My...It's Wednesday Already?

 This whole summer is going to be crazy busy...we have something going on with family and/or friends nearly every weekend between last weekend and the end of September!  We have a wedding to go to at the end of August, "we" (Garrick) have decided to skip his 20 year high school reunion in favor of visiting with friends that live across the state, one of our nephews will be here late next week (after I go spend a few days down in Central OR and bring him home with me) and will be staying with us through the July 4th weekend, July 5th is our second anatomy scan (hopefully baby will cooperate and we will find out what sort of "parts" the baby has), then on the 6th, we have a short appointment with our OB and are headed to Portland for that weekend (OK, we're staying in Vancouver, but ya know...)!  July 7th is the baby shower (I foresee my little "it" getting lots of yellow, green, and orange stuff...)!  After that, the weekdays free up a bit, but we still have plans every weekend...what a crazy time!

As far as this week goes, we were out of town visiting friends...this meant leaving our house Saturday morning to make it to the hotel in time to check in and then dinner (after a short trip to the mall, I needed new shoes), followed by an evening at the bar with many more friends (I know...I say I don't have any friends, I should qualify that better and say I don't have any local friends...besides the few I do have)!  We ended up spending the entire night talking and playing games with our friends and didn't manage to get any sleep that night!  Sunday morning, we got showered, had breakfast at the hotel, and then made a beeline to the nearest Starbucks for caffeine (and decaf for me and baby), followed by a sto pat Jack in the Box for "road drinks" (Diet Sodas).  Once on the road, it wasn't  long until we were in the middle of nowhere and my blood sugars decided not to behave (I had half a bag of Coconut M&M's in my purse and we were fairly close to a town).  We made a quick stop in at Burger King for a chicken sandwich and a small root beer, and then were on the road again!  We ended up getting home around 3:30 Sunday afternoon and after a quick trip to the vet to get Rosie (we board her at her vet's office when we need to go out of town and don't have anyone to watch all of our pets), we were home and finally in bed asleep by 4pm!  Monday was a typical day, except that at my OB appointment on Friday, my doctor decided it was time to reign in on my blood sugars by placing me in the hospital for a few days...Monday I got the call to be at the hospital at 8:30 the following morning.  So, I had to unpack the suitcase from the weekend to repack for a stay at "hotel hospital" for an undetermined length of time.

Also on Monday, we went to do the baby registry.  I'm not a huge fan of Babies R Us, but it is close to the house and they offer a few "perks" when you register with them.  First perk, we get 10% off anything left on the registry (either 1 month prior to or 1 month after the "event" date, but I can't remember which)...savings for us, woohoo!  The caveat there is that you only get the 10% savings on a single shopping trip (can we all say "expensive trip" together on the count of three?).  We also got signed up for a VIB (Very Important Baby) card, this is basically a gift card that anyone can put money on (it's on the registry as an option), I have an issue here too though...the card (and therefore the money put on the card) can only be used for diapers, wipes, baby food, and formula!  I need to call the info number to ask if cloth wipes and diapers count, otherwise I don't see this card being of any use to us...unless I fail miserably at making baby food and let's be honest, if I can keep the dog alive by making her food, I should be able to do the same for a baby, right?  Lastly, Babies R Us is expensive!  We put things on the list that we want/like, but I really hope that people do some shopping around and get whatever they choose to get for our little nugget (assuming anyone does) at a store that carries the "same" product for a better price!  A prime example of that is the infant car seat we put on it...it is the car seat we plan on getting, but we plan to purchase it ourselves from Baby Depot (in Burlington Coat Factory) for about $30 less than the one on the registry!  Some things are sorta kinda on there twice...there's a "baby essentials" gift set that has a bunch of crib sheets and changing pad covers that also comes with a changing pad (I really love this set in both the yellow/green combo and the yellow/white combo), but at $80, I don't think anyone will actually get it.  So, we also added a plain, no frills changing pad (it happens to be BRU brand, but any would really do) along with 4 or 5 different changing pads (more for the color than whatever design is on them). Really, I just know we need the pad for atop the dressers I have yet to build and enough covers for the pad so that we can change the baby on a clean surface!  I feel horrible that I don't "care" what they look like, but I do know that right now (until we know what we're having), I'm sticking to the yellows, greens, and browns because they'll work either way.

Lunch today, minus a slice of bread...

So, here we sit on Wednesday already! I can't believe how fast this week has just flown by!  On the bright side, we hit the 21 week mark today!  Go us!  I did see my OB this morning and he plans (at least for now) to send me home tomorrow morning, but won't say "for sure" until he comes to see me then.  Which means I may or may not have a ride home tomorrow.  I know Garrick will either do it himself or arrange a ride, but I really hate that he has to take time out of work to deal with this when it feels like a mostly wasted stay for me.  They have about as good of control on my sugars as I have been having at home!  Yesterday I was low all day (though I would not have been had I been home, I would have treated the low more aggressively to start) and today has been bouncing between what I think of as "perfect" readings and being around 200!  I finally figured out this whole "hospital food" thing too...since I'm Diabetic, I don't have the luxury of having anything I want and with the restricted carb counts at each meal, I have to be very careful what I pick or I will starve!  I didn't order my lunch yesterday, I let them pick it for me...I got a single tiny tortilla with some chicken in it, a teeny packet of salsa, 1/3 cup of brown rice, and a fruit cup...I was so hungry by the time dinner got to me that I nearly inhaled it!  y breakfast this morning, I have the "system" worked out though...I ordered scrambled eggs, sausage, lite yogurt, cottage cheese, decaf coffee, hot chocolate (sugar free), whole milk (for the coffee), and a strawberry jello (sugar free)!  Without eating the Jell-O (I have it saved in the fridge for later), I was stuffed!  The key is to pick several lower carb options!  For lunch I did the same thing...except I know the tech who took my food order thinks I'm nuts.  I ordered half of a sandwich (1 slice of bread, ham, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and mustard), a garden side salad with Ranch, a fresh fruit cup (the melon in it is really yummy), another Jell-o (sugar free again and this time "tropical", it was gross), and a chef salad (included a sliced hard boiled egg, some turkey meat, 4 tiny cheese cubes, cucumbers, and a few cherry tomatoes)!  The tech asked me if I was sure I wanted the side salad since I ordered a "big" salad too, lol!  Keep in mind though, the side salad is like 4 bites of lettuce with a single slice of cucumber and one cherry tomato...  Again, I'm stuffed, but really looking forward to dinner tonight (as soon as I get it ordered)!  I sleep much better when I'm not starving...last night was miserable and the night nurse spent from 7pm on trying to force feed me a sleeping pill!  She also tried to tell me I needed to have an IV "access" line put in, but I turned her down on both the unneeded sleep aide and the IV line, I sleep very lightly in places that are not my own bed, but I sleep just fine between the wake ups (for which I am fully awake for and not groggy)...I also have no need for an IV...all they are giving me is insulin and my BP pills!

My Week in a Ramble...

Staying "busy" this week!  Well, not as busy as  I "could" be, but I have got a few things accomplished so far.

Yesterday, I put together a cheap shelving unit to hold all of our "needs charging" stuff (cell phones, Nintendo DS, iPads, Nook, etc...).  Really, it's a shelving unit to hold CD's and DVD's, but it was just the right size to stick at the end of our hallway!  Once we get the offices moved downstairs, it'll be nice to be able to charge cell phones and such near where we sleep and spend most of our time...though that may change with moving the offices downstairs!

I also got a small batch of Banana Chips made using my new Food Dehydrator!  I only bought 3 smallish (medium) bananas, so only got one and a half trays out of the bananas.  It was enough to make maybe 3/4 of a cup once dried, I'll get lots more next time!  Eight to 10 bananas should fill my dehydrator. 

I also (finally) got around to trying that fresh cheese recipe yesterday!  I used half a gallon of Whole milk (the recipe called for raw milk, but store-bought pasteurized milk worked fine), 4 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar (also known as 1/4 cup, but I used my "measure from above" cup that is marked in tablespoons), and 1/2 Tablespoon of Salt (table variety, but to be different I could have used the Black Salt...).  I wasn't really sure how long to let the milk go at a "slow boil", so once it was immediately starting to produce tiny bubbles when I stopped whisking (I used my silicone coated  whisk so I didn't scratch my pot, the original recipe says to stir...her photos looked to have larger curds than I got, but I love the texture I got).  I turned off the heat and started to drizzle the vinegar in, stirring the whole time.  I had added about half the vinegar before the curds and whey started to separate, in fact I was just beginning to think I had messed something up when it "magically" became two distinct textures in the pot (the curds are solid and the whey looks like a pale yellow liquid)!  To strain it, I layered a tightly woven tea towel into a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl.  Then, I laid a double thickness of cheesecloth in the towel.  You really don't need both the cheesecloth and the towel, one or the other would work fine, I just don't think my cheesecloth could handle the cheese on its own (it's the cheap stuff you can get at the grocery store in a little package).  Next time, I'll use just the towel!  To make a harder cheese (think cheese ball here), I added the salt (as suggested in the recipe).  However, next time I think I won't out quite so much salt in, it made the end product very salty!  I dumped my curds into an empty bowl to mix in the salt, it was still too hot to really handle, and I wanted to make sure the salt got distributed.  The recipe says to hang the cheese for several hours (after a few other "get the moisture out" steps.  I'm plain out of places to hang things in my kitchen (ding room, living room, bedroom, office, etc...), so I had to do a bit of thinking about how and where I was going to hang my cheese.  My solution came in the form of my banana hook!  My particular hook happens to be attached to a basket (for fruit and veggies), but since we have never been really "good" about having a spot to keep said basket, it normally just hides in a closet.  It made the perfect place to hang my cheese though!  I set the large bowl I used to catch the Whey under the cheese (in the basket) and tied the towel around the hook for the bananas!  Not only was it out of the way, but I could transport it to other locations (since it was sitting on my stove-top, that came in really handy).  The cheese is now in the refrigerator, along with the (cleaned out, empty) half gallon container, which now is nearly full of Whey!  I was a little surprised with how much Whey came out of the process!  I really don't know why I was though...the cheese ball that was produced was actually quite small, roughly one cup of cheese was produced using one-half gallon of milk.  Without the salt to help harden the cheese, this same recipe makes fresh Ricotta cheese.  It's an extra step, but if I was going to try my hand at making a Lasagna...I think this would be perfect in it!

Today, I have already cleaned the dehydrator's trays (sticky bananas and no wire mesh inserts) and drug out the meat slicer (I guess I should just call it a slicer).  I started peeling my apples because I generally don't like the skins on Apple Chips, but after one apple, I decided to leave the rest with their skins on!  So, I got the slicer set up and began slicing away at the bag of small, red apples I bought over the weekend.  After the bananas yesterday, I was assuming I could do the whole bag of apples (8 apples in total), but was so glad I stopped slicing after 3 apples to load a few trays!  My 3 small apples filled my dehydrator!  I'm glad I got this batch going early in the day now, I'll have an idea of how long they take to dry and came hopefully do another batch overnight tonight.  We're going out of town this weekend for an overnight trip and I want to take some dried fruit with me for snacks!  I also still have a Cantaloupe and a small (personal sized) Watermelon to dry out this week (though one may have to wait until I get home based on the time I have left and other things going on toward the end of the week).

I also need to make another batch of Dog Food up today, mostly because we are down to one serving left of the Hamburger/Veggie/Pasta food I made last weekend.  We actually have a large bag in the freezer with three and a half days worth of the pasta meal in the freezer, but I am/was trying to get ahead of the game (again because of the trip out of town).  So, I need to start the "Pumpkin Barley with Turkey" recipe soon so it has time to cool and I can bag it up.  My plan is to keep out three day's worth of food (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) and freeze the rest in single day bags.  That way, when we get home of Sunday, I can pull out a few bags and they will be thawed and ready to serve by Monday morning.  For her stay at the vet, I'm not sure what we will do about food...Rosie has been getting a bag of homemade food in the morning and a can of food in the evening.  Plus, as treats (and pill pockets), she has been getting bits of hot dog and other softer foods that I know she likes.  This morning, I broke up one of the apple slices into "easy to swallow" bits for her, the whole slice was just too hard for her to eat!

In the realm of "those pets that live under my deck"...Clyde has decided to go broody!  Gah!  Of course, she waits until I am going to be gone and can't really do anything about it...  I know she just wants to hatch out some cute baby chickens and be a Mom, but I can't have any more chickens, so the answer is no right now!  I noticed it "for sure" yesterday and immediately went down and pulled the fake eggs out of the nest.  This was all I had to do when Henrietta did this in the Fall, so here's hoping!  I've also been making sure I go get the eggs as soon as I see one has been laid.  This morning, when I went to get the egg I saw I also turned the coop lights on to make it not as dark and "homey" for brooding in, I'll turn the light off tonight when I go down to put any stray nesters back up on the roost for the night.  When Clyde decides to sleep in a nest box, unfortunately, so does Henri!  But, last night all I had to do was put Clyde on the roost and Henri followed her up there too (they really are each others shadow), they even stayed on the roost the rest of the night, so I don't think she's as set on brooding as she thinks she is...

My plants are in a love/hate relationship with this weather lately!  The tomatoes are doing well up on the deck, growing inches a day it seems!  But, the lack of sunshine this week is really taking it's toll on them!  As is the colder weather...just past noon today and it is currently warmer in Anchorage, Alaska than it is at my house!  The Rhubarb is thriving in this weather though...especially the set of 6 plants that don't have a hose going out to them yet!  We did buy hoses this last weekend, but I'm not going out in the rain to set them up.  Even the Raspberries are enjoying the added moisture, or it could have been the buzzing bees from a few weeks ago, but I have little fruits forming!  I wasn't expecting any fruit from them this year because they are still such tiny plants!

My weeks just keep getting busier too!  While the weekdays look fairly "clear" if you were to peek at my calendar, they are really filled with my trying to be domestic and all that entails...I hate laundry (putting it away, I actually like washing it), so I have been avoiding that for a few days.  I love to cook, but hate to do the clean up.  But, with only a few really "good" pans, I have to wash dishes just to make the things I need to make (like the dog food)!  Cleaning...this is really something I don't mind, but I have to be "in the mood" for it and it never seems to coincide with when (or how) Garrick gets the same bug!  It's also not something I have been in the mood to do for quite some time, lol.  I'm not a complete slob, we don't live in a filthy, stinky mess...bu it is cluttered and "full".  This week has it's on "busy-ness" too.  On Friday we have our ultrasound!  This is the one where we will hopefully see girl or boy parts!  Yikes, that came up fast (and oh so slow at the same time)!  Because we'll be out of town this weekend, we won't be registering immediately, that will have to wait until next week at some point!  However, the baby shower is right around the corner (first weekend in July), so I can't put it off too long!  We also have plnas to go out to dinner with friends on Friday night...so it'll be a long day.