No more dumping with uncertainty

Pumping and dumping is over, my friends. Now you can know with certainty if the milk you have is too alcohol laden for consumption by tiny mouths. My friend Peter helped design a SIDS monitor for this company, and turned me on to their Milkscreen product. Dip a little strip in your milk and see if it has unsafe levels of alcohol. If so, I guess you have some weird drink mixer.

They define unsafe levels as anything above 0.03% alcohol content, and claim that is the level that the baby's eating and sleeping behaviors are affected. So, she may slur at 0.01% but won't get grumpy until 0.03% I guess. To be safe, Milkscreen gives you a warning if your milk has 0.02% alcohol in it.

This glass is definitely half full

Some of you may recall how excited I was that I could buy gDiapers in local Austin grocery stores.



Well, in doing some grocery shopping for my bday party today at one such store, Daddy P spotted gDiapers on clearance. Now, while this is unfortunate that this store has decided to no longer carry the brand, it made for a windfall for us. We bought starter kits in each baby size and extra diaper liners and ALL were half off! We easily saved $100 today. We have also now firmly committed ourselves to being gDiaper parents... It felt super real. I pulled out one of the little diapers, so tiny, so cute, and then tried to imagine poop splattered all over it. Awwwww, cute.

PS Emily, have I told you how totally awesome you are for looking all over Connecticut for gDiapers? :)

A gift from baby...

Thank you, baby, for my birthday gift. It's so appropriate, as I turn thirty. Such a sweet present, this, my very first varicose vein. (bratty baby.)

Practicing the domestic arts

Recently I've become simply enchanted by this whole cupcake fad that's taking over everywhere. So I tried my hand at some simply delicious Strawberry Chocolate cupcakes. Strawberry ganache-filled, buttercream topped, chocolate goodness. My sugar crazed husband loved them, and they seemed to be a hit all around. I had been looking for bite-sized desserts. So often in the evening I am craving something sweet, but don't necessarily want a large portion.



A cupcake is my current answer. The mini-cupcake backfires on me because I rationalize that I can have a couple since they are mini, and then I would guess I end up eating more than would make up a normal cupcake! There was actually a study reported on in the NY times that people who eat those 100 calorie packs or snacks or the snack size chip bags actually consume MORE of the snack than if they were given a large bag. Crazy, huh?

New cast

Daddy P got a new cast. The doctor saw new bone growth and is optimistic that the cast will be off within a month! Yay! I finally got permission to write on the cast, but that only lasted a day... they replaced it with a blue one. Sniff... Sniff...

Baby Prep: Tinted Windows

So, Friday we decided to tint our windows. Amazingly, by Saturday at noon it was reality. I don't think we ever move that quickly. It was something! Now our black car, with black dash, and black seats, is going to be a little cooler to get into in the summer. It really is amazing what a difference it makes! And we look really really cool since you can't see in the back windows now hardly at all. I love our car, I truly think it's a great fit for us, but when it's 95 out and has been sitting outside for hours, it takes a really very very long time to cool down. So hopefully, now putting a baby in the back (with her back to our air vents) won't be quite so awful. Granted, by late October it should be better, but there's always next summer! Money well spent. I love it.

Surprise Baby Shower

My friends from work, with the help of Daddy P, threw me a surprise baby shower. I was very surprised. Mostly because Daddy P seriously cannot hide anything, and there were a number of places where he almost got tripped up. You see, I was told that my friend Krista was throwing a cook-out for four friends. It turned out it was a shower for my friend Emily (who's getting married) and I. Very fun and quite a surprise!! We got lots of cute frilly clothes for our little Cletusella, and some other fun items that I am sure she will love.

Thank you, Daddy P, for facilitating such a surprise, and to my wonderful friends for putting such a party on!

Ribs, Wrists and other bones

Daddy P's surgeon had some "important" surgery to attend to instead of checking out his wrist... So his appointment was postponed until Monday...

Meanwhile, Baby G has figured out where my ribs are. I was sitting in a meeting when suddenly I felt this very uncomfortable constant pressure against my rib pushing out. I guess this is what Daddy P's mom meant when she told me about the discomfort of getting poked in the ribs! The poor woman I was with. I was so surprised that I immediately bent over in my chair and wrapped my arm around myself to put pressure on the spot (not that it helped). I tried to regain some composure once the initial shock had worn off...

Our mutt has her own bone. There's not really anything significant to relate about it, but I felt from the post title that I should mention some other bone and that's the first that came to mind. Could be because the incessant gnawing is starting to create a permanent buzz in my head.

New Belly Pics

Finally added more. Note the terrible posture as all the tightening pulls everything inward like a black hole. I walk around with my arms outstretched to my sides trying to stretch my tummy and pecs in an attempt to counterbalance the process. I end up looking like I need a hug...

And now, a break from baby stuff

I hate chicken. Not the eggs, or the animal, just eating the animal. I eat chicken a fair amount, but not because I like it. I usually do some small amount of pouting when I eat it. I figure it's better for me than my true love, red meat, but who really knows anymore. Anyway, the point is that I am being won over because I found the most delicious chicken recipe ever. I have to share. It's an adaptation of Elise's Rosemary Chicken Kabobs. (Adaptation, not because hers sucks, but because I cannot follow a recipe without changing it. Call it creative license, poor reading ability, attention deficit, whatever, it's real.)

My version went something like this...

Ingredients:

* 4 chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes

Marinade for an hour in the fridge in:
* 2 tbsp chopped, fresh rosemary
* 4 tbsp lemon juice
* 1/4 c water
* 2 tbsp olive oil

Put on skewers, and grill. While you're grilling, make this yummy sauce:

* 1 qt frozen strawberries w. sugar added
* 1/4 tsp nutmeg
* 1/8 tsp cinnamon
* 1/4 c balsalmic vinegar
* 2 tbsp strawberry preserves

Simmer the strawberries until mushy and strain out the pulp. Add the spices, vinegar and preserves and simmer until thickened. Drizzle over the cooked chicken kabobs.

We did separate veggie kabobs but in my opinion the veggies off the grill are so yummy they don't need sauce. This recipe will seriously make you eat chicken whether you like it or not.

An Almost Doctor

One step closer to being a certifiable Ph.D.! I uploaded my dissertation this morning. So, come August 18th, Daddy P will have to call me Dr. Mamacita. Nice ring, eh?

Of course, the real title I want is "Psychologist" but that one's a long ways down the road yet... In the meantime, I'll be happy with those new three initials after my name.

The state of things

I was looking around the house yesterday and thought that this picture perfectly summed up the state of our lives these days.


It's a perfectly lovely wine rack, that was given to us by our wonderful aunt in California, being completely wasted.

Well, it's been a little while since we've just updated our general condition, so I thought I'd fill you in a bit. Mamacita has been feeling really well the last couple of weeks. Baby G is growing like crazy (well over a pound now), and Mamacita is starting to notice difficulty in doing things like getting out of chairs and bending over to tie her shoes. There aren't a lot of complaints though, and it seems like this is a really good time in the pregnancy.

Baby G is becoming more more active in the womb. I can definitely feel her kick now, and Mamacita claims to have been able to see her move this afternoon. Apparently the poking is becoming more frequent and less predictable times. Nearly every night she gets to give me a good kicking on the hand as we sit and watch TV.

Baby registering

So, we've tried our hand at baby registering. It's really an overwhelming process. I feel like it was more for us to have a list of things we need to buy than for people to get stuff for us. I've consulted with several experts and I think we still have gaps in the registry, but we're working on it. More than anything it was just a little shocking to see how much stuff we actually need. This darn spoiled baby.

Meanwhile I am getting bigger by the day. Cletusella likes space and she's knocking down figurative walls all over the place. I'm at that skin-stretching phase right now. Every night after dinner (maybe this is a hint about my eating habits more than anything) my skin feels crazy taunt, like if you poke it too hard it might just snap. Gross, right? Yeah, that's how I feel too. Along with this has been the clearing of the closet. I have packed up most of my closet at this point (5 boxes worth) since none of it fits anymore. I am completely into maternity clothes at this point. Denying that truth leads to my tummy poking out of the bottom of my tops which just isn't the look I'm going for.

Daddy P gets his cast off next week so the Dr. can take the first X-ray. Most likely they will just put another one on in a different color, but if he's a super-healer dude there is a chance that he might be free of it. Fingers crossed.

You win one, you lose one...

Okay, so Daddy P hustled me. I get a lousy pedicure and he gets a whole weekend of diaper duty off. I am slightly miffed about this, but seeing as he's going to be the designated diaperer after my two months of maternity leave, I am not to complainy.

The weather here is humid and hot. I feel like I'm already getting ready for moving back home to Texas. And whether or not it's related to the heat, my feet are huge. I just bought a pair of size 10 shoes. Seriously folks. My little (okay, not "little" but cute) size 8 1/2 feet just decided that size 10 shoes are a little more reasonable to lug around this baby hunk.

My stomach is getting bigger. I'm serious, it really is. According to Babycenter.com, my uterus is the size of a soccer ball. Seriously. A soccer ball. This baby has way more room that it needs if you ask me. I think a cantelope sounds like a reasonable sized home. This baby is living the life of excess already!

Oh! Something random and exciting: I found a CSA in Austin that we've decided to become members to once we move back. We used to belong to one in Houston, and loved it! It really changed how we ate. You get this box of veggies, some of which you've never ever had in your house, and get to try out all these new crazy recipes -- and eat healthy at the same time! So I am super stoked about this.

We made it!

After a long day of airplane maintenance problems and thunderstorms on Wednesday, we finally made it to the family reunion in Branson. We had lots of fun times with many many G's. It was especially good to see our little nephew again. Here's a picture of him getting ready to go to the reunion hall with "papa horses."



The highlight of the trip was the bowling competition. Mamacita fancies herself a pretty good bowler, and was wiping the floor with me for the first couple of games. She and I decided to make the event interesting by wagering a weekend of diaper duty on the final game. With the stakes on the line I rose to the occasion and am happy to say that at least for one weekend I'll be living on easy street. Now if I can just get her to bet on fantasy baseball I may never have to change a diaper...

Stuck

so, our journey begins here, at the airport..a girl and her mobile
phone and a cancelled flight. as it was, it was six hours flying
travel and four by car..now who knows...we might not make it out at
all... patience my dear friends...I will let you know what state we
end up in...

Baby G meet hundreds of Gs

And by Gs, I mean the tons and tons of Daddy P's relatives that we will be vacationing with this weekend.

Maybe the baby knows and that's why she's been beating the crap out of me these last few days... Hm...