The Baby "Bump"

I haven't had good success taking my own belly photos lately (overcast days + flash-in-the-mirror = really bad photo) and I always forget to ask Daniel to take one for me, but here are 2 very recent snapshots my dad took that happen to have me in them (which is a rarity since I'm usually the one operating our camera) and show the baby belly:

the Sinclair siblings, taken Sunday at Mom's 54th birthday celebration



Yes, Rochelle, this one's for you.
You can make fun of the belly and my growing thighs, but you're not allowed to make fun of the pale skin.

Around here...

... we are trying to wrap up our summer. The Grand Finale of the season will be our upcoming week in Long Island with my entire family (Yay! [edit: almost] all of us under 1 roof for 6 whole days!), but when we return home in 8 days, it will officially be time to get back to our "school schedule." Daniel is working hard to have everything lined up for what is always a very busy first few weeks of classes and I am trying to get our house organized enough to begin our own first week of classes on the 10th. I'm not a big fan of starting school super early like this, but with the baby due in mid-October, I'd like to have enough of a jump on the school year that I can take a long break mid-semester if need be.

... this pregnancy is progressing perfectly normally and that's really nice. Last week I had the standard 28-week bloodwork done (and got poor hemoglobin results, but that's normal for me), took the blood glucose test (passed with flying colors), and received my rhogam shot.

... vegetable gardening is keeping us mystified. The cilantro that we were initially very worried about is doing extremely well, while the basil that we planted the exact same way we did last year (with great results) is struggling and our parsley (supposedly fairly easy to grow) is nonexistent. I'm not sure if it's the massive amounts of rain and lack of sun that's being problematic or if we got a bum batch of seeds, but it is what it is. At least our tomatoes are looking good, the summer squash and zucchini plants are huge, we are already getting decent-sized green peppers, and our lettuce continues to produce.

... Daniel is burning the candle on both ends so that I can get as much rest as possible. For example, last night he waited up until close to midnight for Gabriel and Bronwyn to return home from watching Nana perform in The King & I so I could go to bed, and then he was the one to get up at the crack of dawn with Aubrey so I could sleep for another hour. I'm trying to just enjoy it for the next week or so rather than dreading the return of Daniel's increased workload and consequent inability to lend a hand quite so much.

... I need to get back to laundry and then tackle the dining room linen/school/art supply cabinet.

Cousins!

No to Minimal Meat/Poultry Dishes

Following up from yesterday's post, here are four of my favorite meatless or minimal meat/poultry recipes for everyday life!


From The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook (a wedding gift from Judy Mihm):

Chicken Potpie

9c water
1T black peppercorns
2-1/2lbs chicken pieces, skinned
3 celery stalks, each cut into 4 pieces
1 small onion, quartered
1 bay leaf
5 to 5-1/2c of assorted veggies (they recommend potato, celery, red bell pepper, sliced carrots, chopped leek, sliced fresh mushrooms, and frozen green peas, but I use whatever I have on hand)
1 garlic clove, minced
6T all-purpose flour
1tsp salt
1tsp black pepper
1c 1% low-fat milk
Biscuit Topping*

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in an 8-quart Dutch oven or stock pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, 1 hour. Remove from heat.
2. Remove chicken pieces from broth. Place chicken in a large bowl, and chill for 15 minutes. Strain broth; discard solids. Set aside 4-1/2c broth; reserve remaining broth for another use.
3. Remove chicken from bones; cut meat into bite-size pieces.
4. Preheat oven to 400*.
5. Bring 4-1/2c broth to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add veggies and garlic; cover and cook about 10-15 minutes or until veggies are tender.
6. Combine flour, salt, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Add milk, stirring with a whisk; add to vegetable mixture. Cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add chicken.
7. Spoon into a 9x13-inch greased baking dish. Drop Biscuit Topping* onto mixture to form 16 biscuits (I usually do 12 bigger biscuits). Bake at 400* for 30 minutes or until golden.

*Biscuit Topping

2c all-purpose flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
1/4tsp sugar
1/8tsp garlic powder
1c 1% low-fat milk
1-1/2T butter, melted

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and garlic powder in a bowl. Stir in milk and butter just until flour mixture is moistened.


Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

1T honey
1 package dry yeast (about 2-1/4tsp)
1c warm water (100-110*)
2c whole wheat flour, divided
1c all-purpose flour*
1tsp olive oil
1/4tsp salt
Cooking spray (I like to buy the olive oil spray to use whenever a recipe calls for cooking spray)

1. Dissolve honey and yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add 1-3/4c whole wheat flour, 1c all-purpose flour, oil, and salt to form a soft dough.
2. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes), adding enough of remaining whole wheat flour to prevent dough from sticking to hands.
3. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; turning to coat top. Cover dough and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4. Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12-inch circle. Place dough on two 12-inch pizza pans or baking sheets that are coated with cooking spray (I use non-stick pizza pans, so I don't have to spray them). Crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until puffy. Top and bake as desired.

*I have made this with all whole wheat flour and it turns out okay, but isn't quite as tasty. I'd recommend that if you want to make it completely out of whole wheat flour that you use at least some whole wheat pastry flour, which produces better results.

We either grill it (yum!) or just bake it with toppings in a 550* oven (or as hot as your oven will go) for 7 minutes or so. I love it with just some olive oil & garlic powder, lots of cheese, and tomato and fresh basil. Also a favorite: olive oil & garlic powder, cheese, grilled/sauteed assorted red bell pepper slices, and sauteed mushrooms. Daniel likes BBQ sauce, shredded cooked chicken, and cheese. And, of course, there are the traditional kinds of pizza: red sauce w/ pepperoni & cheese, etc.


From the More-With-Less Cookbook:

Pakistani Kima

Saute in pot:
3T butter
1c chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced

Add:
1lb ground beef

Brown well. Stir in:
1T curry powder
1-1/2tsp salt
dash pepper
dash each cinnamon, ginger, and tumeric
2c cooked tomatoes (diced or whole)
2 potatoes, diced
2c frozen peas or green beans

Cover and simmer 25 minutes. Serve with rice.

I often add some corn, too.

I LOVE this dish. It makes great leftovers for lunch the next day or two!


From I'm-not-sure-where:

Potato Soup

1. Saute 1 small onion, chopped, and 3 cloves garlic, minced, in butter. (Make sure the onions are well sauteed so they're not crunchy.)
2. Add 6-7 white potatoes (peeled & cubed).
3. Cover w/ water & 4 cubes chicken bouillon.
4. Season w/ salt, pepper & nutmeg. (Trust me: you do NOT want to omit the nutmeg, even if it sounds weird to you!)
5. Boil; cover & simmer 20+ minutes or until potatoes are soft.
6. Remove from heat. Mash potatoes well. Add 1c milk and 1/4c shredded cheddar cheese.
7. Heat through & serve.

Meat

I'm not much of a meat/poultry eater. This is not for any moral or ethical or research reasons, but simply because my tastebuds prefer dishes that have meat/poultry in them vs. eating a hunk of animal protein. Maybe this is the result of growing up in a big family on a budget: casseroles, soups, stews, etc. were the common fare when I was a girl and they're what I'm accustomed to.

A hamburger on a bun is about as "meat" as I can get. Even Thanksgiving dinner isn't all it's cracked up to be, as far as I'm concerned. I'd rather eat the casserole or pot pie made from all the leftovers the next day.

Or maybe we could just have beans & rice with warm, soft tortillas and lots of guacamole on the side this year for Thanksgiving dinner. Mmmm...

I've never cooked a roast. Why would I when I could make a beef stew instead and have a bigger vegetable to meat ratio in my meal?

I do cook whole chickens all the time. I then use them to make soups, casseroles, tacos, etc. I can think of maybe one time I cooked a chicken and served it traditionally (potatoes and gravy).

I don't have anything against people who like steak. I just don't.

What about you?

Yay!

The 2-1/2 hour drive to get there were well worth the words:

"In fact, these are such remarkably clear pictures of what a perfectly normal fetal heart looks like that we would love to have your permission to use them."

Yes, a very healthy baby is due in just 3 months, and we are ecstatic to know that he or she will arrive right here in our local hospital! Thank You, Lord!

Food

Aubrey first thing this morning, helping with breakfast prep.



Dinner!

If I'm not careful, I am never going to stay within my doctor's 20lb weight gain recommendation for this pregnancy with all the cooking we're doing around here!

Misc::

:: Aubrey likes to blow raspberries on my belly, which is both funny and obnoxious (I hate having my belly button touched). She also thinks the terms "belly" and "baby" are interchangeable. If she points to your belly and says, "Baby," please don't be offended or assume she thinks you need to work on your ab muscles; she really just doesn't understand.

:: I am still very tired and some days it's downright discouraging. This morning I woke up and wondered how I could keep going. God is faithful, though, and inevitably I realize an hour or two later that not only am I still going, but He is giving me the grace to be productive and cheerful as I go.

:: Last night Daniel kept waking us both up because he was hot. This was a first for the summer. At one point, he stood up, yanked the blanket and comforter completely off the bed, and said, "Why on earth is all of this on the bed in July?!?!" I laughed and reminded him that we were both using the blankets just the night before, when it was a frigid 45* or so.

:: We started a cell group for young families last week and will have our second meeting tonight. I'm really looking forward to hearing what the "older" parents who will be sharing with us have to say. I also just love getting together with other people.

:: I have frozen strawberries and blueberries in my freezer that need to be made into jam. Does anyone want to motivate me?

:: If this baby is a girl, she will almost definitely be Claire. But I'm still hung up on middle names. I'd prefer something that's more than 2 syllables in order to not get stuck in a rut (the other kids all have 2 syllable middle names), but I'm not interested in the obvious choice: Elizabeth. And then, what if the baby's a boy? I finally looked all the way through the baby name book the other night hoping for inspiration.

Nothing.

Wha???

Yesterday morning

me: My sunburn hurts so badly, I don't want to take a shower.

Daniel: So don't. You're a girl. Girls don't stink.


Today

Jackson: Daddy runs so he doesn't get old and fat.

Bronwyn: Daddy won't ever be fat.

Jackson: Yeah, 'cause he's not a girl.


???!!!

Camera download

Fresh off the camera:

It seems that Jackson & Aubrey prefer much smaller bodies of water.


Gabriel specializes in getting dirty at the beach.


A girl and her Daddy.


It doesn't get much lovelier than this...


Everything tastes better at the beach!


My one child who will gladly eat blueberries. Smart girl.


He absolutely loves her, can you tell?


What I get to look at through one of our new family room windows.

More

The excitement just doesn't end around here these days!

Last night, my talented and kind friend brought over the valances she made for me. Tonight Daniel hung them all. They bring so much life and warmth to the room-- and I love them.

Now the fun of hanging things on the walls begins. I was waiting until the valances arrived to put holes anywhere since I knew they would influence the room and where I would want things a lot.

It's so awesome to see this space slowly but surely coming together. And, let me tell you, we use this room so much! It is an amazing place first thing in the morning, so bright and sunny and cheerful. It's also a wonderful spot for snuggling under a quilt, listening to the crickets and watching night descend in the evenings. Not to mention all the hours in-between that you will see children and train tracks and books and dolls strewn about our colorful area rug!

P.S. Sorry for the quality of the photos. They don't do the valances a bit of justice. Our camera does much better in natural light, but I was too excited to wait for morning!

Arrivals

Today we had some exciting arrivals!

First, a well-packed box from Heart of Dakota Publishing was delivered to our door by the local postman (who happens to be the sweetest older man, by the way). I waited until dinner was cleaned up and Aubrey was down for the night before opening this package since I knew I would be rather absorbed once I started exploring its contents.

This year, I'll have 1st and K students (in other words, totally dependent-on-mom learners), 2 toddlers, and a new baby. I need something that will make my life, well, as uncomplicated as possible. Little Hearts for His Glory, which allows much of Gabriel and Bronwyn's work to be combined, seemed like a really good option for us to try. The only catch is that I don't actually know anyone in real life who's used it. But since I'm willing to be the guinea pig, here goes!

I know it's only been about 30 minutes of looking over everything, but so far I am absolutely and completely pleased. Everything is laid out for the teacher, but in a flexible manner. On the days that we are doing well and things around the home are running smoothly, there is room for me to change things up and get as creative as I might like. On the less-than-stellar days when perhaps-- just perhaps-- the baby is crying (no, never!) and Aubrey is being demanding (unthinkable!) and I am wondering how to manage breakfast let alone homeschooling (not me!), there are easy directions: Gabriel, do this, Bronwyn, do that.

And, what's more, I like what I see. This looks like stuff I will enjoy teaching.

Then, as all the books were sprawled about my living room, a trailer arrived bearing our new-to-us piano!

Since Aubrey was already in bed and because it now needs a good tuning after having been hauled several miles down the road and from one house to another, we haven't tinkered with it much tonight, but I can hardly wait.

A piano! Of our very own!

I haven't any immediate plans for getting any of the kids piano lessons, but I am very excited to have the instrument available so they can begin "playing" and familiarizing themselves with the feel and the sound. I remember how much my sisters and I loved to make up our own songs as little girls, not caring in the least if the notes on the piano matched the ones we belted out vocally. It's really fun for me to think of my own children (especially one little girl who sings almost every waking moment) doing the same.

New Things

1. On Saturday morning, I wiped the sleep from my eyes, threw on a pair of jeans, grabbed the car keys, prayed I wouldn't get in an accident even though I'd not yet had a cup of coffee, found my way to an Amish home several miles away, and bought 10 quarts of freshly picked (as in, she was out in the garden picking them when I arrived) strawberries for $2 each. I've never bought anything from an Amish woman before. I've also never bought anything at 6am before (I am not one of those Black Friday shoppers).

2. I made strawberry jam. My mom says I've done this, but I don't remember a bit of it, so I think it still qualifies as a New Thing. And, besides, I made it with turbinado sugar instead of regular refined sugar, which was going out on a limb since I'd not actually found a recipe anywhere saying such an exchange was possible. (It worked just fine and is delicious, if you're wondering.)

3. I canned the strawberry jam. I've never canned anything in my life. The first batch was made at a friend's house under her careful supervision. The next two batches I canned, with trembling hands, at home on my own.

And, naturally, that night I had horrible nightmares about poisoning (and killing) my family with the jam I was certain I had messed up. After consulting several experienced professionals, it turns out it's fine (I guess tiny air bubbles in your jam won't kill you) and that I'm as paranoid as Daniel always tells me I am.

My jars of jam are on the second shelf up on the right. I rearranged this cabinet and cleared out space to make room for at least some of the food I plan to put up this year. I have 1 more batch of strawberry jam to make, and then I'm hoping to can a bushel of pears. Then raspberry and blueberry jam. Then some quarts of diced and crushed tomatoes, assuming our garden actually produces well. And then applesauce, assuming I'm not bigger than a whale and still functioning by the time apple season rolls around.

4. We rearranged bedrooms, which means Aubrey is now sharing a room (with someone other than Daniel and me). The girls have the big giant bedroom and the boys have the smaller-- but still big by most bedroom standards-- bedroom upstairs.

I'd post pictures, but the kids are in bed and I didn't take any earlier.

5. We're getting a piano! Some friends are rearranging their house and are no longer in need of their upright. I am so excited! The timing is perfect since we were already in the process of shuffling all of our "family room things" (toys and TV) to the "new room" so that the old family room can become a music room/library. Assuming it stops raining sometime in the next year and we can do an open trailer transport, it shouldn't be long before the piano is in our home.

And then I guess I'll have absolutely no excuse for not dusting off my very retired and limited piano skills.

At the end of the day

The kids are all in bed and-- for a bit, anyway-- quiet and/or sleeping. This is my favorite time of day. Not because I don't like being with my children or because I dislike having them awake, but because there is such a sense of completion as I tuck them in and pray with them. We have lived this day and, while there are some things I might do differently if could have a do-over, we have lived it fully.

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My house is in a bit of disarray currently, thanks to bedroom rearrangements and toy overhauls and preparations for the piano we are inheriting tomorrow evening (yay!) and ongoing canning, but it doesn't even seem to matter once the kids are down for the night. The mess that was starting to make me frenzied before is now simply wonderful and precious proof that we are a family here in this home: a living, breathing, active family.

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This morning I heard about cherishing the days-- these days-- and neither letting laziness or goals get in the way of prioritizing my children this summer. I thought about the end of each day and how, just like tonight, there is always more I'd like to have tackled. I'm learning, little by little, that the end of the day comes regardless of whether or not I finished organizing the boys' closet.

I'm also learning that the end of the day comes regardless of whether or not I took the time to read my daughter a book, or to work on a puzzle with my son, or to fill the kiddie pool and watch the kids have the time of their life splashing around in it. Ten years from now... five years from now... five days from now, I won't remember when exactly the closet got finished. But I will remember the time spent with these precious souls that are, for now, under my watch.

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I want to live my days with the end of the day in mind.