Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Wordless Wednesday.




More wedding action- belly at week 28.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Putting up beans.


Our garden is doing so well! In the last week or so everything seems to have really come along. 

Lots o' tomato action...but this post's about beans!

Here's a look at ONE day's worth of bean picking! This is the biggest mixing bowl I have.  So...what to do with all these beans? Freeze them, of course! Freezing green beans is one of the easiest ways to preserve food. It's as easy as:

1. Pick green beans. Snap off ends.
2. Blanche in boiling water for 3 minutes, then plunge into ice water for 3 minutes.
3. Drain, bag, and freeze!

Of course, for more, um, specific directions, look here. Yummy! 

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Bonus Wednesday Post!

Okay, so I've posted my obligatory "Wordless Wednesday" pics for the week, which is admittedly the easiest post to come up with. But I also want to take advantage of a little extra ambition and post a short list of goals/aspirations for the coming weeks. Hopefully this will help keep me on track!

1. Daily morning meditation. I picked up a little book called "Mary Day by Day" that I intend to use for this purpose. Instead of reading Facebook/assorted internet crap with my breakfast, I'm going to focus on the scripture reading/meditation/prayer in the book. The daily entries are short but powerful, which should help keep me on track. 

2. Finish several books I've started. This includes "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World," "Birthing from Within," and a few others. I also need to go over "Husband-Coached Childbirth" with Brett thoroughly- as soon as he's done with it. On a similar note, we'll be starting our Bradley classes soon- exciting! 

3. Drink my pregnancy tea! I have been very slack with keeping up with the recommended 2 (and in the third trimester, 3) cups a day. The tea I currently use is Traditional Medicinals, which has red raspberry, nettle, and many other beneficial herbs. I got a jump start on this tonight by brewing up a large batch to keep in the fridge. If I had even MORE ambition I would just buy the red raspberry leaves in bulk and make it myself, which would be cheaper, but.....In case some of you fellow preggos don't know, red raspberry leaf is fabulous for you! In fact, it's pretty much the only homeopathic treatment that even the most straight-laced, conservative ob/gyn will recommend. I need to work on a separate post about this....

4. Get this cloth diaper situation taken care of! I've already registered for the diapers themselves, but I still need a lot of accessories, which is difficult because most are not available on the "standard" registry sites- i.e. Target, Babies R Us, etc. I'm still looking at wet bags, comparing detergents, and bugging Brett to get our clothesline put up so that I can line-dry as much as possible. 

5. Two words: birth plan! Hopefully I'll be meeting with my doula soon to get it organized. I have lots of thoughts, but appreciate any inputs from fellow mamas.

Wordless Wednesday.




Pics taken at Erin and Matt's wedding last Saturday.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Belly Shots/25 Weeks Update.

So we're at 25 weeks...wow! Baby has been moving sooo much lately- especially right when I'm trying to fall asleep! My favorite part of the day is when Brett and I can lay in bed and feel (and see!) him/her wiggling/kicking/punching around. Apparently baby especially enjoys squirming under my ribs as well. Sleeping itself is becoming more difficult, because (complaint alert!) I feel just plain uncomfortable pretty much all the time. The ol' pillow-between-the-knees trick has been helpful so far, though. Also-I feel like my skin is being pulled apart (already!) and I know it will only get worse. I think the next time I have a baby I am going to intentionally gain like 20 pounds prior to getting pregnant, lose it, and then enjoy my stretched-out skin. Brilliant idea, no? 



Running is still going well. I have had some issues with my belly getting heavier, but nothing major. Regular trips to the chiropractor have helped sooooo much with any lower-back/hip pain I have.  I also ordered a Prenatal Cradle this week upon the recommendation of some running friends, so I'm excited to try that out. I am planning on running in the Army Birthday Run next Friday (5K distance) and I will be in the 7th month by then! The guys are joking that they're going to get a special trophy for me :-) 

Monday, June 1, 2009