Munchkin Meals: 17 months

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Hello and thanks for stopping by!
munchkin-meals-large1

A great big thank you to Brittany for hosting, as always.

My girl Lula is 17 months old.photo 1 (2)

One big change for us this month is that Lula is no longer nursing.  My doctor predicted this would happen since I’m pregnant and can’t be producing much.  More on that in a later post.

Breakfast:

4-5 oz whole milk (some consumed before breakfast was ready), one scrambled egg, spinach and berry smoothie mixed with oat cereal,120306 PS 011 a little of Mommy’s spinach smoothie120306 PS 013

Pre-nap:

2 oz whole milk (roughly)

Lunch:

Tuesday: kale chips,

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we shared

Granny Smith apple,

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mine and hers

 6 oz whole milk, leftover breakfast smoothie

Wednesday: vegetable stir-fry with tofu and cashews, Granny Smith apple,

we shared this

shared

a little BBQ chicken120306 PS 034

Snack:

bites from Mommy’s banana with peanut butterphoto

Dinner:

carrot puree mixed with oat cereal, chunks of cheddar cheese,photo (1) 4-5 oz whole milk

Notes in the Margin:

Lula is usually a very big eater at breakfast–that makes sense–she has gone 12 hours with nothing in her belly!  We can usually depend on her to eat everything at dinnertime as well.

Lunch is hit or miss lately and I am fine with that.  I have noticed that she is more likely to eat her veggies if I give them to her from my bowl, rather than giving her a separate portion.  120306 PS 032Maybe it’s because they stay warmer, or maybe she feels special eating from Mama’s bowl. Whatever the reason–most days–it works.  I try to eat what she is eating for lunch because that is when she is the most picky and it’s easier for both of us to eat the same food.

We try not to give her extras if she doesn’t seem interested in her veggies, which are always the first part of her lunch.  If she is more interested in playing with kale than eating it, I assume she isn’t very hungry.

Some days, if I feel like she shirked her veggie duties at lunchtime, I will give her the remainder of her breakfast smoothie to make up for it.120306 PS 008She is always willing to drink that.

Here is last month’s post, if you are interested.

I was emailed this link today- talk about timely.

Have a wonderful day!

Pregnancy 2: 21 Week Update

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Good morning!  I hope that your week is off to a great start.

21 weeks and counting!  I thought it might be nice to have a “real” picture taken, rather than a shot of me standing in the bathroom.

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And just for kicks, here I am, roughly 21 weeks pregnant with Lula…trying on a dress at Target…good times.

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loving my shoe choice here!

I am feeling pretty good.

Cravings: We got our tax return and big spender that I am, I am going to buy a huge container of cashews from Sam’s Club on my next visit there.  I love sprinkling them on stir fries and of course, as a snack, they are divine.

Pregnancy Brain: It’s been non-existent this week.  Pa might say otherwise.

Exercise

Tuesday: shoveling, playing in the snow130226 A 120

Thursday: 3.7 miles on the treadmill

Saturday: 6 miles (felt great!)

130303 PS 005

headed to a pee spot

I have had to get creative with my running outfits as I don’t want to stretch out any of my “nice” running clothes.  Old running pants and a hoodie it is!

photo 1 (1)

shamrock shake or spinach smoothie?

Sunday: we ran about a mile before we decided that this was the one day we might EVER be able to snowshoe in Kansas.  We ran home home, changed, and got going.  Best decision we made this weekend.

RunBobbieRun style photo.

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This morning: 3.7 miles on the treadmill.

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Points of interest: As my bump gets bigger, I have found that it’s harder for me to bend down, shave my legs, etc.

Putting on my snowshoes on Sunday was a challenge as well.

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I already look exhausted

Weight Gain: I’m not a share-my-numbers kind of gal, but after not gaining a pound for the first 12 weeks of this pregnancy, I started putting on weight rapidly.  I’m not talking about freaking out over a half pound gain a week.  I’ve been eating fairly healthy foods…except since Christmas my sugar intake has increased on the daily.

Basically, after lunch, I allowed myself sugar in whatever form I felt like…candy, chocolate, cookies, etc.  It wasn’t a free-for-all by any means, but I was indulging in more treats than before I became pregnant.photo (1)

After yet another week of gaining more than I was hoping for, I decided that the only way I could be sure I was doing my best to keep my weight gain on track was to limit my refined sugar intake to my morning coffee(s) and a dessert after dinner.  (I still eat fruit throughout the day.)

A week of this regimen flew by and when I stepped on the scale this past Saturday, lo and behold, it was the least I had gained since early January!  So…surprise, surprise…sugar and I don’t get along.

Additionally, I feel better.  I have more energy, I am hungrier for my meals (SHOCKER), and each day I feel a sense of accomplishment when keep my sugar cravings in check.  This method has worked extremely well for me.  Also, dessert tastes a lot better when I haven’t been eating sweets all day.

And of course, taking me out of the equation, not subjecting Baby 2 to a ton of sugar every day is definitely a good thing.

That’s a wrap for this week.

Have a great day!
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Past pregnancy updates for Baby 2:

Weeks 19 & 20

Week 18

Week 17

Week 16

Week 15

First Trimester

More Snow & A Power Outage

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I live in Kansas.  Once March hits, around here, temperatures shoot up into the high 60s and snow is non-existent.  This year seems different.  Although March is right around the corner, we just received our second significant snowfall of the season in less than one week!

Monday eve

Monday evening

For northern transplants like me and Pa, this has been fantastic.

I think we have Lula convinced as well.130226 A 073Fortunately for us, a lot of places shut down in Kansas when the weather gets bad and Tuesday was certainly no exception.  Pa’s place of work was closed Tuesday which made for a true snow day.

We stayed up late (for us) on Monday night–10 PM if you were wondering–and were up at 5 AM.  The reason?  The power kept flickering on and off.  The winds that came with this storm were quite strong.  By about 5:45, the power shut off and there was no sign of it coming back on.

At this point, I was wide awake and wanted to do something, but I didn’t want to use up all of my phone battery, although I did tweet out this:Screen Shot 2013-02-27 at 11.52.08 AM

Pa suggested I read a book on my Kindle, so read I did while I waited for daylight.photo 2I could lie and say that I enjoyed sitting in the dark, but really, I wanted the power back on and all of my creature comforts too!  Pa and Lula are both fighting colds and obviously, getting the heat back on was our biggest concern.

Thank goodness for gas stoves so I could have my coffee!

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yes, I drink instant

Daylight made an appearance and it felt a lot more cheerful, even without the TV, fully charged electronic devices, heat, etc.130226 A 089

By about 9 AM, it was getting pretty old to be without power.  I thought about some of the folks who experienced the inconvenience of loss of power for days in some of the earlier storms this year, and hoped that would not apply to us.  9:45 saw us eating breakfast and lo and behold…POWER!  And it didn’t go out again!The day got a whole lot better at that point.  We cranked the heat up, went outside, and started shoveling/pulling Lula around on her sled

130226 A 123After about an hour, I was getting pretty tired and needed some fuel, so we called it quits, came inside and relaxed while Lula took a most excellent nap.

During nap time, I played around with different WordPress themes, as my blog needed an update badly.  I found one that I like a lot.  I need to see if I can hide more of the posts that show up below the one that I most recently published, but otherwise, I am pleased with its “makeover”.

The afternoon brought lunch and more outdoors time.  Pa really wanted to make snow people so we started doing that until Lula freaked out about the deep snow.  She ended up trotting up and down the driveway while I shoveled and Pa made our snow family, complete with a pregnant mama!130226 B 001It was another really fun day all around.  I’m so grateful that the power came back on and that Pa didn’t have to worry about navigating the roads.

As former teachers, Pa and I have had a lot of snow days, which in retrospect, were incredibly lazy days.  With Lula in the picture, things have changed.  Our outdoor play time with her makes snow days so much more memorable than a day spent inside watching TV.

130226 B 036Have a great day!

Pregnancy 2: 19 & 20 Week Update

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Good morning!  I hope that your weekend was wonderful and that your day is off to a good start.

I am not as consistent as I would like to be with publishing my pregnancy update posts in a timely manner, so this week, I have a two-for-one post since I’m currently in week 20.

I am–allegedly–at the half-way point of the pregnancy!Baby2 - 1 - 138Although the first trimester felt long, January and February have flown by. When I planned and budgeted for my winter maternity wardrobe, I figured that by March, I would be wearing some of my long dresses and skirts.

I have to chuckle because the highs have been in the 30s around here, and we are getting another snowstorm right now.   All that means is that I am still rocking my three long-sleeved maternity tops with my skinny jeans or my VS sweats that Pa got me for Valentine’s Day!

photo (6)

Overall, I am still feeling pretty good.  I will admit that waking up in the morning is one of the hardest parts of the day for me.  I just want to keep sleeping…I guess that is true for anyone past the age of 11 or 12.

Pregnancy Brain: I frequently have a hard time communicating what it is I want to say.  If Pa asks me where something is, sometimes I have to describe the area where the item is located because I can’t think of a word like “desktop organizer” or “dresser” fast enough.

Congestion: It is so much better!  Once I started feeling on the up and up from my cold, most of my congestion went away as well.  I am not waking up overnight with a runny, itchy nose anymore.  Hooray!

At my last appointment, my doctor did mention that I should NOT be sleeping fully on my back.  He recommended that I prop a pillow under my back to keep me at somewhat of an angle.  Since my congestion has cleared up, I haven’t needed or desired to sleep in that position and have been sticking to my sides instead.

Fatigue: Most days I feel great, especially once I start moving around.  Once or twice a week, when Lula is taking her nap, I shut my eyes and doze.  Otherwise, I am enjoying staying active.

Exercise: Still hanging in there with running.

Last week looked like this:

Monday: 1.5 mile walk with my baby girlphoto (3)

Tuesday: 3.7 miles on the TM

Wednesday: nada

Thursday: 4 miles on the TM, shoveling

Friday: does playing in the snow count?130222 051

Saturday: 2 miles walking, 2 miles running on TM

Sunday: 6 miles outside

Cravings: Summer fruit.  I cannot wait to buy my first bag of seedless purple grapes in season- yum.  I spotted this at Sam’s Club last week and it has been amazing.

photo (1)10 bucks for 6 pounds of some of my favorite kinds of fruit?  I’ll take it.  The pineapple is so sweet.

Movement: I’ve been feeling movement here and there for the last week or two!  Little twitches and kicks, especially when I am really paying attention to it.  It’s so fun to experience those feelings again.

Weight Gain: Yes.

That’s about it from here.  Pa is home today due to the poor road conditions–another snowstorm–so we are having a fun, relaxing Tuesday.  Well, now that the power is back on, we are!photo (7)

Have a wonderful day!

Past pregnancy updates for Baby 2:

Week 18

Week 17

Week 16

Week 15

First Trimester

SNOW DAY!

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Good afternoon and happy Friday!

I think Lula is finally sleeping, instead of feeling frustrated that I stuck her in her crib.  She has napped well all week long, so it figures that the day she and I are stuck at home, she struggled to find her way.

Perhaps she is dreaming of all the fun she had yesterday- in the SNOW!IMG_3326

That’s right, Kansas actually got a decent snow storm, close to the most snow that Pa and I have experienced since we’ve lived here (almost 8 years now).

Yesterday morning Pa and I got up around 6 as both of us had treadmill runs to complete.  (He took the day off of work, thank goodness, due to the horrific road conditions)

Before I headed to the basement for my run, I snapped this photo.

photo 1 (2)You can see the yardstick Pa set up for a time lapse- one good use for an old IPhone!

By a little after 9 AM, it looked like this:

photo 2 (2)It was so fun to experience a daylight snowfall.  So many of our recent snows have fallen overnight.  Having the opportunity to hunker down and watch the snow fall, fall, fall from the warmth of our house was wonderful.130221-B-012

But we had to get outside for awhile and play!130221-B-048

Pa surprised Lula with this sled Wednesday night and she LOVED it.130221-B-039

I love the fact that it has a back on it so she can’t fall off easily.

We dug a few “tunnels” for her in the driveway and pulled her back and forth through them, over and over again.  She had a great time.

When she wasn’t sledding, she walked up and down the pathways until she got bored.130221 B 046What a great way to contain her while we shoveled the driveway and an excellent way to burn off some energy after being indoors all day.130221-B-054And, I’m talking about all three of us, not just her.

We all slept well last night, the sun is shining today, and the the snow hasn’t melted yet!

Have a great weekend!

Whole Wheat Cheese Crackers

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Good morning!

I hope this day is off to a good start for you!  Lula and Pa have been under the weather–I think they acquired whatever I had last week–so I am hoping they start feeling better soon.  Here’s my favorite “get well soon” video- always makes me smile.

I haven’t done many baking posts lately.  Although this recipe isn’t mine, it is one that I am excited to share with you today.

I get a lot of pregnancy cravings.  Most of them are fleeting, as in I buy a box or two of something I am craving, and am sick of said item before I’ve finished the contents.

One pregnancy craving that I haven’t tired of?  Reduced-Fat Cheez-Its.  I love the way they taste and I love how crunchy they are.  However, I don’t like the ingredient list and I really don’t like that there is little to no nutritional benefit in eating them.

I decided to see if I could find a recipe for a homemade cracker that would be similar, fun to make, and hopefully healthier.

Ta da!

Ta da!

This is the recipe I used.  It contains 5 ingredients (I used whole wheat flour and skipped the pepper).  Sadly, my crackers did not have the brilliant orange hue shown in Ellie’s photos, but they still tasted delicious.

A few things I wanted to mention.

1.  Using a food processor to make dough is amazing- who knew it could be so easy?photo 2

2.  I had to really go easy on my food processor in the last thirty seconds or so of pulsing the ingredients.  I ended up molding a few of the lumps together into a ball with my hands instead of killing my buddy.

This is what the gorgeous, cheesy ball looked like once I was done.photo 3 (1)

3.  I let it refrigerate overnight and this was the color of the ball the next day when I was ready for rolling.130209 PS 026The outside of the ball had turned a grayish-brown color–kind of scary–but the inside was still the cheddar color from the previous day.  Once I rolled it out, the ugly color was pretty much gone.

4.  I used the warmth of my hands to help work the dough a bit- otherwise it would have been far too stiff to roll out immediately.

All I had was a rolling pin, a pizza cutter and a ruler so I did my best to make straight edges (I’ve never been good at that).

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I poked holes with a corkscrew

These crackers were thick and puffy and really tasty, especially right out of the oven.  Lula and I both loved them and I ate way too many!

130209 PS 030I wouldn’t say they were exactly like Cheez-Its or Goldfish–which was what Ellie was shooting for–but they were a really tasty, homemade, whole wheat cheddar cracker that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I will definitely be making these again!

130209 PS 034Have a wonderful day!

Baby 2 Sonogram

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Good morning and happy Monday!

Our weekend was wonderful.  I hope that yours was too.

I had a sonogram appointment for Baby 2 on Friday morning and Pa and Lula were also in attendance.  I was a little nervous right before we saw our baby but everything was just fine!

photoWe are very fortunate.

He or she was moving all over the place, the umbilical cord was perfectly placed so we couldn’t tell his/her sex if we wanted to, and there are some remarkable similarities to his/her and Lula’s sonogram.

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Lula

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Baby 2

It was a great way to start our weekend.

We had a fun, somewhat unexpected 2″ of snow on Friday night, which made for a very special Saturday morning run.  I had been fighting a bug since Valentine’s Day so I ended up walking with Lula for a portion of the run while Pa got in a little extra solo mileage.  It was fabulous.

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I was able to enjoy the views, the crunch of the snow, and the special stillness after a snowfall.  And everything was sparkly!130216 PS 021

Lula enjoyed both playing in the snow and consuming a lot of snow once we wrapped up our run.130216 PS 064Yesterday the temperature shot up to 60 degrees so clearly, the snow is almost gone.  Yes, this is a typical Kansas winter.

The temperature is supposed to drop, drop, drop all day today (it’s 50 degrees right now), so I may try to drag Lula outside in a few hours to take advantage of the warm weather while it’s still here.

Have a wonderful Monday and a wonderful week!

Pregnancy 2: 18 Week Update

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Good morning!photo 2 (6)

Busy day today- I have an appointment at 11 to see the baby!  I am looking forward to seeing the little tyke.  It’s weird to think that the sonogram technician will know the gender in a few hours, but that Pa and I won’t find out until July.

Although this doesn’t have much to do with my pregnancy, Lula’s naps have been getting shorter and shorter.  She has gotten in the routine of playing back in her crib during naptime–sometimes for over an hour–and then either drifts off to sleep or I bring her out of the nursery.130126 009

I’ve had a surprisingly decent attitude about this.  I say surprisingly, because usually I act as though her lack of a nap is the end of the world.  I guess she is preparing me for Baby 2′s arrival, since I won’t then be able to rely on an hour or two to myself every day.

Pregnancy Brain- my story for the week is this…okay, I had a really good story but I forgot it…seriously.

Congestion- continues, same old, same old.  Still occasionally laying on my back for parts of the night.

Fatigue- not bad.  I’m finding it’s worse when I sit down for too long, which I think would be the case even if I wasn’t pregnant.

Exercise- keeping on, keeping on.  I’m still running 4 days a week.  During Tuesday’s run, I noticed some low-in-the-uterus pangs of pressure.  When I was pregnant with Lula, eventually that pressure became uncomfortable/painful enough that I had to stop running.  I’m sure the same thing will happen again.  Additionally, Lula and I try to take walks (1-1.5 miles) when the weather is nice.photo 1 (5)After our walks, we go to the park and play.  She is more interested in the field behind the park since she is so mobile now.  It’s a fun way to get out- really cheap too.photo 2 (5)

Cravings- sugar, sugar, sugar.  I am trying to reign this in as I know that of all the things to put in my body right now, few foods are worse.  I had a strong craving for muffins the other morning so Lula and I whipped some up and they hit the spot.photo 3 (4)

Happy Friday and I hope that everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Past pregnancy updates for Baby 2:

Week 17

Week 16

Week 15

First Trimester

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Good evening!

I hope that everyone who celebrates is having a great day.

I got these fancy pants from my hubby- I was thrilled when I opened the box this morning.photo 1 (6)A comfortable pair of pants for lounging around the house in while my stomach gets bigger and bigger?  Yes please.

I have always liked Valentine’s Day.  I think that the commercial side of it is a little much, and there is no need to spend a lot of money, but it’s a fun celebration at an otherwise pretty dreary time of year.

Every year on Valentine’s Day when I was in middle school and high school, my step-father brought home flowers for my Mom, one rose for my sister, and one for me.  This was such a sweet, inexpensive tradition that always made me feel special and loved.

Lula and I made a special Valentine for her Pa at story time on Tuesday.photo 2 (4)

Additionally, I made sugar cookie cutouts to surprise Pa.photo 4 (1)I had so much fun rolling out the dough and cutting the heart shapes while Lula shrieked in her crib one afternoon!  :)  Decorating them was even more fun!

photo (7)

Anyone extending their celebration into the weekend?  We are going to try to go out to eat on Saturday.  With Lula, we have to eat out early, so we are hopeful there won’t be a long wait.  We are leaning in the direction of Mexican.  YUM.

Have a great evening!

Babywearing

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Good afternoon!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend and a good start to the week.  Our weekend was uneventful and relaxing.

As I settle into this pregnancy, I have been doing some reflecting on how to make life work once there are two little ones in the house, both of whom are going to need lots of my time and energy.

Thinking back to the first three months of Lula’s life, we were pretty much inseparable until she went to bed at night.  Since I was exclusively breastfeeding (she refused to take a bottle), everything revolved around eating and sleeping.photoLet’s just say that the Breast Friend and I were very close, and that I made it through the entire 4 hours of the Today Show almost every day.

I did a fair amount of baby wearing with Lula, exclusively for errand running and exercising.  (I used the Baby Bjorn and loved it.)photo (1)

The Baby Bjorn does not lend itself well to nursing, as baby sits upright.  This was fine when I was only responsible for Lula, and could plan around using it.

When Baby 2 makes his/her grand arrival, one thing I know for sure is that I will not be camped out on the couch for hours at a time, nursing the little guy/gal.  Lula would never stand for that and frankly, I don’t want to relive that again.  Too much time sitting down isn’t good for anyone, especially a new mama who is going to crave some activity!

One of my frustrations with nursing Lula so frequently, and in the fashion I did, was that I felt helpless to do anything else- even answer the front door!  Not only do I want to be able to wear Baby 2 around and nurse whenever he/she wants me to, having a toddler will necessitate it, as I will be tending to Lula’s needs, making meals, doing laundry, shopping, etc.

I am fairly modest so I don’t plan on baring all to the world, but I also don’t want to be covered head to toe in a burlap sack when I am nursing in public.  I have a Moby wrap and I am hoping that will work well for baby wearing and nursing.

However, I would love to know what other mamas used with their littles, especially in those first 4-5 months when eating is such a huge part of a baby’s existence.

Any feedback and or suggestions are appreciated!

Have a great day!

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