6.30.2011

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I took this picture the night I found out I was pregnant.  I thought it was an amazingly wonderful reflection of how I was feeling at that moment.  Full.  Glowing.  Exuberant.

Fast forward through the next couple months and the picture hasn't quite been as pretty.  The first trimester has always been a little difficult for me but never to this extent.  Perhaps it's because this time around I'm also caring for two little ones, a flock of chickens, a hive of bees, and one cat.  Or maybe this pregnancy is just different.  In any case the last several weeks have had their ups and downs. 

But, over the last few days I can feel something starting to shift.  It might have been that I decided to start meditating again.  Or that my hormones are beginning to regulate themselves.  Or... who knows.  But what I do is that the migraines are gone.  The nausea is almost gone.  And most importantly, my mood is improving. 

And today.  Today was the best.  Today I had my first doctor's appointment. 
I heard the heartbeat. 
And once again I'm over the moon.

6.27.2011

Bee Check

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All is well in the hive.
Which is good, cause all wasn't so well in the home.  Kind of one of those days.
That's okay though, tomorrow's a fresh start.

6.24.2011

Moments Like These

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I could live in forever.

6.22.2011

Homemade

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Today we finished these (long) shorts for Jackson.  He picked out both the monkey and the brown fabric himself and helped me do a lot of the sewing.

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As you can see, he's quite happy about the results.

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I have to say, I am too.  They are pretty cute- and definitely big enough that they might fit him next year too which is always a bonus.

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And for Grace, a new skirt.  I love, love this fabric she picked out.  It's kind of vintage looking I think.  Perfect for a long skirt.

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She was pretty happy with her final product as well. 

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And for dinner tonight, for the first time ever, I made pizza on homemade pizza dough.  I got the recipe from this book and it worked great.  We added fresh basil and oregano from the garden and organic Italian sausage... delicious!

6.20.2011

Cookies and Soup

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Yesterday, for Father's Day, while daddy was out golfing, we surprised him with these yummy peanut butter cookies...

Peanut Butter Cookies (from the Great Big Cookies Book)
Ingredients:
1 cup of flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of butter
3/4 cup of light brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 egg
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of crunch peanut butter

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In another bowl, mix the egg and vanilla extract, then gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in peanut butter and blend thoroughly. Stir in dry ingredients. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Grease two baking sheets. Spoon out teaspoonfuls of the dough and flatten with fork. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly colored.

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Then tonight I made this cream of asparagus soup for dinner. Mmmmm. I wanted to make sure and write down the recipe so I'd have it for next year when we have our own asparagus.

Cream of Asparagus Soup
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
3/4 pound fresh asparagus
boiling water
salt and pepper -- to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stir until smooth. Add milk; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble.
Set aside.
Wash asparagus and cut in 1/2-inch pieces. Cook asparagus in a small amount of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Set aside a few of the asparagus tips or pieces aside for garnish, if desired. Mash or blend remaining asparagus; set aside. Add enough boiling water to cooking liquid to make 1 cup; add white sauce and pureed asparagus. Heat thoroughly; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add whole asparagus pieces and serve.

6.13.2011

My First Real Knitting

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Up until about two weeks ago my only knitting experience consisted of three squares, or "washcloths" to be exact. And while I really did kind of start to get the hang of it by square three, I still found it quite challenging. It seemed that knitting would just never be something I would be good at.

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But then a few weeks ago a friend at work (who did not know how to knit when I first met her at the beginning of the year) was suddenly knitting herself a pair of pants, I became inspired. I made a trip to our local knitting shop where I picked out some chunky soft wool and asked for some help finding a very easy baby sweater pattern. The shop owner immediately took me under her wing and got me started.

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A few days (and several trips back to the store) later, I finished this sweater. And while it is definitely not perfect, I still can't believe I did it. To me it is like magic that a ball of yarn can turn into a piece of clothing.

So tomorrow I get to give it away to it's new owner, my two month old niece Marina who is in town visiting this month. Can't wait.

6.08.2011

6.07.2011

Purple Bouquets

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In every room.

6.06.2011

First Beach Day

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This morning as we were sitting around the table for breakfast (breakfast number 3 that is) we decided to plan out our day. It was immediately, and unanimously decided that going to the beach was a must. So off we went to our river for the afternoon. At 91 degrees I actually couldn't imagine being anywhere else.
Seems it's official then, summer is here.

6.05.2011

9 Years

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Highlights from our anniversary weekend
~ Lunch at Punch Pizza on Grand Ave.
~ Ryan would want me to note his nap
~ Gardening together
~ Dressing up for dinner
~ River view at the Freighthouse
~ Walking around Stillwater
~ Dinner at Luna Rosa
~ Homemade gellato
~ Talking until midnight (and knowing we wouldn't get woken up at 6:30 the next morning)
~ Sleeping in
~ Picking up the kids the next day (it's funny how excited we get to see them after only one night of being gone)
~ Hearing about how much fun they had without us
~ Brunch at Katie's

And just like that I feel reconnected and refreshed. It was the perfect anniversary weekend.

6.03.2011