Another letter to Kid B - Love Mommy

Dear Kid B,

Hi.  Remember me?  You should.  You're growing inside me.

For the last several weeks, I've been freaking out your dad at night when you decide to move or shift in my belly.  It's a cool thing to watch with my shirt covering my belly, but lift up the shirt so you can see the actual belly, and Daddy gets super freaked out.  I find it to be quite humorous actually.  The other day, your big brother R (who is SOOOOO psyched to meet you btw) was sitting on my lap and you kicked him in the back.  He didn't mind though.  He thought it was pretty cool!

You may remember from this post, that your Auntie Tay likes to write letters.  In her letter to you, she talked about our work out sessions together.  We worked out together tonight actually.  Aunt Jen was there too!  Tonight, Auntie Tay and Aunt Jen, along with 2 other women who happened to be near us, had the pleasure of seeing you move around while I was working out!  While doing our ab workout, you decided that you  needed a little work out as well and started moving all around.  Right now, I cannot figure out how you are positioned and I was REALLY trying to figure that out, but you kept moving and shifting.  I think you and I freaked out everyone, but again, I thought it was pretty humorous.

I'll get serious now for a moment or two.  Daddy, R and I are so excited to meet you!  It seems like we just found out about you, but in about a month or so, you will be here!  R tells me he is going to be my BIG helper. He assures me that he'll help me change your "stinky" diapers and sing songs to you to help you sleep.  We've been practicing some songs every night actually.

Daddy took some pictures of us this past weekend.  R and I decided that we should pose with the stuffed turtle that R picked out for you a while back.

This is proof that R DOES love you.  :)

And this is proof that Mommy and R are goofy and your dad makes us crack up.  :)

In closing, Kid B, I promise, we'll figure out a name for you too.  I SWEAR we will not call you Kid B after you are born - at least not for very long.  :)

We love you!

Mommy

An Open Letter to Kid B - love Auntie Tay....

Prepare yourselves..... If you need to pee, do it now, or else you may pee yourself laughing.

My BFF Tay wrote this letter to Kid B last weekend while I spent time on the couch attempting to feel better.  AND she said I could share it with you!  Best.friend.ever.  Maybe someday I'll share her letter to R as well, if you are lucky.

An informal name poll for Kid B

Kid B is "due" in 12 weeks (Yea for 3rd trimester!) and EMX and I, while we both like each other's top picks for names, cannot agree on a boy or girl name.  So, while we are not going to commit to a poll like these people, I thought an informal poll would be fun.

To keep it a little fair, I won't reveal which pick is mine and which pick is EMX's.  The links are there just for easy reference, though the reason why we each like our choices is not really dependent on the names' meaning.  We are also open to help with the different spellings listed below.  While we like different names (not in the top 10 name set), we do like names that will be easy to understand/read out loud in class.

Girl:

Gisele (Giselle) Marie

Nora Gisele (Giselle)

Boy:

Clark(e) Douglas

Trent Douglas

So, to reiterate again, just in case, the final choice will NOT be dependent on this poll, but I thought it would be fun to get some outside feedback.  I'd still like to believe that I'll have the final say - you know, after I've carried Kid B for 40 weeks, and given birth.  That whole chestnut.  

;)

The mystery of the missing cookie - SOLVED

On the way home from our recent quick Boston trip, EMX and I made a stop at Holland Farms in Yorkville, NY.  What looks like a normal "convenient store/deli" from the outside houses some of the best desserts I have ever tasted in.my.life.  I am not exaggerating.  Their half moon cookies are amazing and their headlight donuts make you never want to eat or drink ANYTHING ever again.  Ever.

Once I realized how close Holland Farms was to the Thruway on the way to Boston, I immediately contacted my Mother-in-law and told her to get her order ready so I could call it in.  Holland Farms will ship their half moon cookies, but they will not ship their headlights.  My in-laws requested 6 "fingers" and 6 headlights.  For the younger Obers, we ordered 6 headlights and 6 half moon cookies.  3 chocolate bottom, 2 white bottom and 1 full moon - a white cookie with all white frosting.  I also knew that I would get a headlight for the road.

We stopped Sunday afternoon, picked up our order and ordered some goodies for the road.  I immediately regretted not getting a 2nd to-go treat, but EMX talked me into staying in my seat and just eating the one.

When we arrived home on Sunday, we had to share our treats with my L and her fiancee B, since we are oh so generous.  But there were stipulations.  They could choose a headlight or a half moon - one or the other.  And they were under strict instruction that if they chose a headlight and did not appreciate the awesomeness after their first bite, that they were to let me know immediately and I would finish the headlight and let them have a half moon cookie.

They appreciated the awesomeness, so I decided to eat a white bottom half moon cookie as my dessert (which I did share with B).  So that would leave one white bottom half moon cookie.

Cut to last night - Tuesday night.  I had a headlight Monday evening and the rest of the headlights are nestled safely in the garage freezer.  I was moving the full moon cookie to my lunch bag (a gift for my friend J at work) and was looking for the last white half moon cookie.  BUT, it was MISSING.  Where was the cookie?  I checked the garage freezer to see if I had frozen it.  Nope.  Not with the headlights.  I asked EMX if he had eaten it.  Nope.  He only will eat the chocolate bottom half moon cookies.  I tried to think about when I could have possibly eaten that last white bottom half moon cookie.  I sat and sat for a good 10 minutes trying to remember.  Then I got tired and decided to go to sleep.  But I STILL could not remember eating that darn cookie and it was really starting to bother me.  Did I sleep walk and eat the cookie?

This morning I woke up, went to work, and as soon as I got there, I emailed my sister L to see if I had given them a cookie for the road.  NOPE.  I also emailed my father-in-law to see if he had moved the cookie.... or, if when he came over our house on Monday to make sure my straightener was turned off (benefits of living in the same neighborhood as your in-laws), he had snatched the cookie and taken it.  NOPE.  That left sleepwalking, which I simply could not accept.

Tonight after work, I was pressed for time.  I had only 45 minutes from the time I left work to drive home, change, make the boys dinner, find the cookie and get to Super Strength class.  I checked the recycling bin which held the cookie boxes.  Not there.  I checked the fridge again.  Not there.  I asked EMX AGAIN if he had eaten the white bottom cookie.  NOPE.  I then checked the garage freezer AGAIN.  And there it was - IN the freezer door shelf.

DUH.

Yet another example of pregnancy brain.

Kid B better be super cute and super smart because it is seriously taking all of my brain cells.

Minestrone soup - the lazy way

I've been loving soup and sandwich for lunch lately and I would rather make soup and bring it than eat canned soup. It just seems so much healthier to me.

So here is the original recipe that I've been using:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/11/crock-pot-minestrone-soup.html

I was introduced to www.skinnytaste.com a few months ago and I LOVE it!  I love being able to make more healthful versions of usually decadent or unhealthy food. 

Yesterday when I had originally planned to make soup, I only needed a few things from the grocery store, and used a few substitutions so as to reduce the amount of items that I needed to purchase.  My modifications are as follows:

• Instead of diced tomatoes, I used canned whole tomatoes and just diced them up (b/c I had a ton of whole tomatoes and didn't get the right size can of diced tomatoes while shopping).
• I used dried herbs instead of fresh (b/c I was lazy).
• I added 3 cups of fresh baby spinach instead of 2 (b/c I like spinach).
• I added 1 cup (before cooking) of ditalini pasta (b/c that is what I had).
• I added 2 tbsp parmesan cheese (b/c I didn't have a leftover cheese rind).
• I added more like 4 cups of reduced sodium chicken broth - I didn't measure.  I just poured it in my crock pot until it looked full enough.

For a 1 cup serving here are the nutritional values of my modified/lazy version:

111 calories, 23 g carbs, 0 g fat, 8 g protein, 5 g fiber. 

Paired with a sandwich or salad and it's the perfect lunch for me!

An Overdue Christmas Oberview

The Christmas season is a busy time for everyone and we are no exception.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas is when I do "the baking."  It's a stressful time for me - but I love doing it and I cannot imagine not doing it every year.

This year I tried a new chocolate crinkle recipe and it did not disappoint.  You can find the recipe here.  I quadrupled the amount as I like to have a good amount of every type of cookie that I make.  I could have probably tripled the amount and been fine.  In fact, these cookies are the only ones that we still have left.  :)

For our Christmas day meal, I always make the same meal.  It's one of my favorites to prepare and is quite nice to make a lot of the dishes ahead of time.
Menu:
Spiral cut ham with cloves and pineapple
Creamy Potluck Potatoes
Smashed Sweet potatoes
Rosemary and Sea Salt Rolls
Corn
Peas
COOKIES for Dessert

Since I am baking cookies for a month prior to Christmas, I don't see a point in making another extravagant dessert for Christmas Day.  Instead I just put out a big plate of every kind of cookie and let my family graze on them.

I assemble both types of potatoes the day prior to Christmas or Christmas Eve so all I have to do on Christmas day is bake the ham (so simple), warm/bake the potatoes and rolls and cook the corn and peas.

I don't change much from year to year for the dinner menu because it works and it's SO good.  With the leftover ham this year, I diced it up and stuck it in the freezer and now any time I'm making an omelette or frittata (which happens quite frequently), I grab a handful of ham to throw in.  LOVE IT!

R-ster had a fabulous time opening gifts.  The fact that he is the only nephew/grandchild in the family makes him QUITE spoiled, but hopefully we are doing an OK job of keeping him at bay in the spoiled brat category.  He asked for a Spider-man Toy "like Joshua's" and a piggy bank this year.  Santa did bring him the Spider-man Toy and thankfully it was JUST like Joshua's.

My youngest sister L made Reed this amazing piggy bank!  (My middle sister J and I are insanely jealous of L's craftiness.)

R-ster insisted on wearing his new tie all day from Grandpa G and this Spider-man mask from Grammy made an appearance throughout the day - on numerous people naturally.

And lastly, my favorite picture from Christmas Day.  :)

Happy New Year!  I hope 2012 is a great year for everyone!

Yet another example of how having kids changes you

I ran across this article the other morning which made me kind of happy.

I'm a fan of Jay-Z.  Not in the I have all of his albums kind of way (I don't think I have any), but in the "if I hear him on the radio I turn it way up" kind of way and I kind of appreciate the fact that he's going to stop using the B-word.  Baby steps, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

Since having R-ster, EMX and I definitely had to edit our musical choices at home.  When R-ster was first born, we listened to A LOT of Radiohead and Coldplay.  Nice, easy, softer tunes with no real threat of bad words.  Now, everytime I hear either band, particularly Radiohead, I think of the early days of babydom.

I like to "get my groove" on to all kinds of music.  One of my favorite things to do is to put some music on and just dance around the house with R-ster.  Thankfully, he usually likes to do the same, so he obliges.