No Apples, but..

Our CG was planning on going apple picking yesterday at Marino Lookout Farm but due to the rain, we decided to postpone the outing. So - instead of picking apples & asian pears with our good friends, we got a lot done at the apartment (with the help of our good friend SH, thanks Mountie!)

I found and purchased a dresser for the babies this week, which we picked up yesterday in the Mountie-mobile.

The cool thing is that the top folds out to be a changing table! And, I only paid $40 for it.

We rearranged the living room so that 1) the RCA cables would reach from all the electrical/entertainment components to the receiver (and) 2) we have room for both the pack-n-play and the new dresser. The corner where all the misc "stuff" is right now is where the pack-n-play will go when the babies come. The pic is a little dark and the room is still a little messy, but you get the idea.

We actually picked up the dresser in Charlestown, got all of the speaker wire run and speakers hung for the surround sound, hooked up all of the components, and got the cable internet and phone back up and running all before 2pm. Then we ate some lunch and watched disk 5 of Lost: Season 2 before putting the books back on the bookshelf, setting up the pack-n-play to be sure it would fit in the space we saved for it, and unpacked newborn and 0-3 month clothes into the dresser. What a day! My feet and ankles are huge from all the work we did, but it was worth it. We still have a long ways to go to get completely settled in but we made a lot of progress yesterday and we are both really pleased with how it turned out.

Pregnancy update: I'm trying to keep positive despite the physical difficulty of being pregnant in the 3rd trimester with twins. I wake up in the morning with hand, knee, and foot pain. I'm waking up more during the night not because I have to use the bathroom but because I'm uncomfortable with pain (rib pain last night) that wakes me up. Granted, I don't get the rib pain if I sleep on my huge pregnancy body pillow, but it is huge and sometimes I just want the opportunity to cuddle up to my husband before I fall asleep. Anyway, the babies seem to be doing great, they are kicking me all the time and moving around. It is so strange when they move into a certain position where either their head or their butt is pressing against the outside of my belly and that one spot is so hard and even raised up a bit. Aliens, I tell you.. Aliens :)

Tm and I are having a little bit of a reality check thinking that these kids will likely be here within 10 more weeks. I really should get all of my Christmas shopping done early this year, cause you know I'm not going to be doing any shopping in November or December! We do want to put the babies on our Christmas cards this year, so that will have to wait at least.

We recently got new cell phones, complete with a camera (and flash!) Here's some of the pics I've taken with it in the past few weeks, just for entertainment sake.

Aches, Pains, & Aliens

It seems a bit silly to blog (read: type) about how much pain I am experiencing in my fingers / hands. I feel like a person with arthritis (which, I'm sure this could be classified as so, since arthritis just means inflammation in the joints). It's the worst in my finger knuckles, not so much in my thumbs, although there is some pain in my toes as well but I'm not trying to pick things up, grip, and function with my toes as I am with my hands. Ouch.

Heartburn is back - I wonder if it is here for good or just for the day. I've read that as the babies grow larger and take up more space, that heartburn will come back in the 3rd trimester because of this (if it ever went away to begin with). I must say that I have NOT missed this during the 2nd trimester and am quite sad that it seems to be returning.

Aliens - yes aliens - are living and growing inside my belly. Or so it might seem when I recline a bit and the babies are moving. I'll notice my shirt move out of the corner of my eye.. It's really strange to watch when I pull up my shirt and look directly at the skin, especially if they are really active. It is just wierd to see your body moving of its own accord, jumping and swirling.. Other folks had told me this would happen but now that it is happening, I still need to make note of it. 'Cause really, it is very very strange. But oh so cool at the same time ;)

Oh, and if you'd like to see my belly gallery, you can check it out here.

Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles

www.keepingpace.org

I have posted before about the wonders of freecycle, for the ability to get and give great free stuff, however, I never realized the potential power of connecting people through this site.

A few weeks ago I posted a WANTED ad to freecycle, saying I was expecting twins, and if anyone had any of the list of items I needed laying around, could they contact me. Well, I didn't get any actual stuff from that post, but I did get to meet some really great moms of multiples and get introduced to a great support group - "Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles" or KPMM for short.

Now, I'm getting a little sucked in, but I think it's good. Their headquarters is down in Bridgewater but I attended a meeting in Roslindale this last Wednesday (instead of prayer summit, sorry folks) and got to meet a bunch of really great ladies with twins & triplets ranging in age from 7 years old down to 5 weeks old, and everything in-between. They also have a store that is open every Saturday morning in Bridgewater, where they sell all kinds of baby stuff (and maternity clothes) to members, and the general public, for garage sale prices. So if any of you new moms (of singletons) or pregnant friends with a car want to drive down there sometime and take a look around, I'd be happy to go with you!

Check out their website - and especially if you know of any moms of multiples out there, or folks expecting multiples, give them the info too. We are trying to organize a Brookline meeting for folks who need a T-accessible meeting, it's very exciting - more coming on this soon.

Make Way for Ducklings

My 6-year-old nephew came to visit with my sister this weekend, and the only "touristy" outing we had to do, was to go see the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture. It was a really nice outing - especially since Tm and I had not yet seen it or even seen the Swan Pond.


It was a drizzly day, but somehow it seemed perfect weather for walking around the pond, visiting with the ducks, swans, and other city dwelling birds, and taking in the scenery. It is good to do these things, to see the "sights" within the city of Boston, that has been our home for 2+ years now. I hope we get the chance to do and see more within this city, without the help of having out of town guests come to visit.

Make way for ducklings!

Another Day, Another Cake

So, most of you have probably experienced my Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake- it is typically the only "party" cake I make, because it's so easy and I typically just keep the ingredients around the house so that I can throw one together on a moments notice. The recipe for that cake comes from The Cake Mix Doctor. I received the book as a gift from my sister at my bridal shower. She would make the Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake from it as well, so I knew it was a good one. Well, another recipe she used, but actually used in our WEDDING CAKE (she slightly revised the recipe from a bundt recipe to use as a layered cake) was this one:

The Fuzzy Navel Bundt

Last week I just made two of the Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cakes (CPBC for short) - one for a work party, and another I brought to community group. Well, tonight is the party at PJ&DJ's place for KW's going away party. How could I bring another CPBC to a community group / church gatering less than a week later? The answer is, I couldn't. Well I could, but Tm and I have been wanting a taste of the Fuzzy Navel cake ever since I rediscovered half a bottle of Peach Schnapps when we were unpacking. This is left over from the last time I made this cake.

Now, don't worry here - the alcohol bakes out of the cake, so I'm not going to be getting the babies liquored up by having a piece of cake. But - I am looking forward to cutting into this beauty, and I hope everyone else likes it as well.

I must note, that my dear husband put a lot of work into this cake too. The recipe calls for fresh orange juice, which usually I just replace with some from the carton (store bought). But it also says for a more flavorful cake, to add the zest of 1 orange. Well, if I was going to buy an orange for zest, I might as well just buy 3 oranges to make make fresh orange juice. Which, in our household, juicing citrus is Tm's job. (He also had to juice limes in the same day for our dinner, Pan Seared Pork Tenderloin with Garlicy Lime Cilantro sauce, YUM).

All that said, we didn't get as much done around the apartment (unpacking) that we would have liked to yesterday, but we did get a lot accomplished:

1) I found a Sesame Street mobile on craigslist the day before, we arranged a meeting time and met to exchange the cash for the item. So cute!

2) Went to the Verizon store to check out new phones. I then spent 90 minutes on the phone with Verizon signing up for a new contract (we've been with Sprint for the last 3 years) and following up with paperwork to prove where I work for the awesome corporate discount we got.

3) Tm did the dishes, which doesn't sound like much, but there was about 3 days worth of dishes in there.

4) I unpacked ONE very large box containing towels and linens. We put clean sheets on the bed.

5) Cooked a yummy tasty dinner out of Cook's Illustrated - which, it just so happens that they featured the same recipe on their show "America's Test Kitchen" yesterday, I caught the 2nd half of the show while eating a late lunch. Some of you might be familiar with this recipe, I made it way back when for a Welcome Team event (Spring Thing - Guess Who's Coming To Dinner). Yum!

6) Tm went to the store to pick up the ingredients we would need to make the Fuzzy Navel Cake.

7) I baked some cookies (from a mix) and washed up the dinner dishes.

8) Tm returned with the wrong pudding mix for the cake and without complaint went back out to get the right thing.

9) I did some more dishes.

10) Time to make the cake! Tm got a great arm workout juicing the oranges, I slightly injured myself grating the zest, but we got the cake into the oven then relaxed the rest of the night. So you know there's a lot of love put into this cake!

When I put it that way, we got a lot done! Time to get ready for church and eat some breakfast.

The Amazing Disappearing Bellybutton!

Let me give a little back story here.

I have always had an innie bellybutton (BB for short), and quite a deep one at that. In September 2001 I had a laparoscopic surgery which resulted in a small scar that ran along the bottom edge of my BB. This scar decreased the elasticity of my BB where no matter how much I stretched or pulled, I could not ever see the bottom of my button. I mean seriously, I had to dry it out with a q-tip after showers to keep mold from growing in there (that part was a joke).

Imagine my amazement at 14 weeks of pregnancy, upon looking down to see - what's that? The bottom of my bellybutton!! At that point it was still fairly deep, but more rounded and definitely "open". I'm now 23 1/2 weeks along and what was once my BB is no more than a shallow divot with my bellybutton's private parts exposed. You know, that little nub of tissue in the very depths of your BB? That's what I'm talking about here.

I forgot to mention, I also have a BB piercing, along the top edge of my BB. I've had this piercing since I was 19, and it hurt A LOT to get, so it is my intention not to lose it because I don't think I could ever get it done again. A few weeks ago I purchased a specialty jewelry that is basically a piece of flexible medical tubing with a decorative "stopper" inserted at each end. So - no worries about having a hard piece of jewelry tearing out as my belly grows and stretches, but now it is starting to look like I just had a piece of my belly pierced, as it is indistinguishable as the actual "top" of my bellybutton. And, what was a tiny scar along the bottom edge of my BB is now about an inch and a half long smiley face. I will spare you by not posting a photo here.

I knew I was a smart gal for never getting any tattoos on my belly. Aren't the changes of pregnancy great? Some are amusing, to say the least. Until next time..

Catching Up

I realize I haven't written to my blog in almost exactly one month. In that time we started (and are soon to finish) our childbirth / infant care classes, went on vacation back home to Seattle, have been working on getting settled into our new apartment, among other things. I of course have the continued job of growing our two baby sons :) I don't have much energy to type tonight so I'm just going to lead you through the last month in whatever photos seem appropriate from that time. Thanks for reading / looking, I'll write more soon!

Hershey found what he thought was a comfortable spot to rest - in the sunshine, on top of miscellaneous odds-and-ends that weren't packed at moving time.

Yes, these are my feet and ankles (what's left of them) resting on my carry on luggage on our way to Seattle, during our extended layover in Dallas. Yes, we had to fly to Dallas to then fly to Seattle. I resolved 1) never to fly that pattern again (and) 2) never to fly pregnant again. It took about 3 days for my ankles to return and for any of my shoes to fit.

The day after our arrival, we spent the afternoon with some friends and had some professional black and white "pregnancy" photos taken. This one was particularly fun to do, although I somewhat resent Tm for having a bigger pregnant belly than me!

These are my parents! It just so happened that the timing of our trip was perfect so that we could attend my cousin's wedding. It was a great opportunity to see a lot of my extended family and to see my parents get dressed up. Don't they look cute?

Here I am at my very first baby shower. The chocolate brown outfit was a gift from my mother-in-law - she thought I should have something sexy to wear while pregnant. The top probably won't fit for very long, as these aren't actually "maternity" clothes, but the pants are super comfy (gauchos) and I think I'll be able to wear for a long time, during and after the pregnancy. We had a great time with everyone, and got lots of cute outfits and baby stuff. It was a lot of fun.

"The Farmboy" is a little restaurant just south of where Tm's parents live that serves GREAT breakfast. We actually went there twice with his Dad for breakfast in the 3 days we spent with Tm's family. The first time I had eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits & sausage country gravy. The second time I had a huge malted waffle with strawberries and whipped cream, and scrambled eggs. Mmmm... Yum! And, the coffee was always hot (more on this later).

I'm lounging at the in-laws place with Isabelle, who is a Devon Rex, just like Hershey. She is an old lady (18 years old!) but she still gets around alright, despite her cataracts and partial vision loss. Just like any other Devon, she loves to spend time on your shoulder. She has always been very skiddish, so it is an honor that she chose to sleep on me. She does interact with us more each time we visit.

This picture was taken at IHOP: International House of Pancakes - which USED to be my favorite breakfast spot. It is tradition that I look forward to every time we go home to visit, that we have a breakfast date at IHOP with our friends JB & DB. This visit was no different. I ordered (decaf) coffee, and of course IHOP brings out a cup and a "hot pot" of coffee. First off, the first cup was cold. So I asked for new coffee - which came out piping hot. By the time I drank the first cup and attempted to refill from the "hot pot" the coffee inside was certainly NOT "very hot coffee". I was inspired enough by the experience (and, I must say it is ALWAYS like this) that I wrote a comment card to our good friend Dave (the IHOP guy). I even included my address, I wonder if he'll write me back..

This is just prior to our leaving Tm's family to head back up north to prepare to fly back to Boston. I thought it would be a great idea to get a picture of the babies with their Grandpa Y while we were there.

That's all the pictures (and time) I have for now. Thanks for looking and take care!

Exhausted and Completely Blessed

The days are ticking by to our move date - I am exhausted each night - and so completely blessed. So many of you have offered your assistance, given up your weeknight or weekend to help us out - it means so very much. Not only the work you are able to accomplish, but having help spurs me on to get more done than I would get done simply on my own. You keep me accountable to keep going, and honestly, I think you keep me from bickering with my husband (too much) and I can leave him to help do the things that he does best. In the past 2 days he has been carrying over lighter furniture items to the new place, trying to clear out some space as we continue to fill the apartment with more and more boxes. Thankfully, the packing is starting to come to an end. There are still some odds and ends that need to be taken care of, and obviously we have not torn down the computer or internet connection yet (that will happen last thing Friday night, and the first thing to get set-up at the new apartment) but for the most part things are wrapping up. Tomorrow night Tm's going to go get the laundry done while I go to the new place and clean. Friday will consist of getting the last things packed and ready to go, and some prayer in the evening that things will go well on Saturday.

So I must say, once again, THANK YOU ALL so very much. Once we get a little settled in, perhaps in mid to late August, we plan to thank you all appropriately with a dinner party or some such event. Our new place is even smaller than the one we're leaving, though, but I heard ES & SS had over 10 folks in their tiny place, it'll just have to be a "social" format where not everyone gets to sit down at the same time :) You guys rock.

We're MOVING!

If you have been reading my posts, you know that we are currently living in a mold haven, camped out on our livingroom floor for the past 3 weeks. Well last Wednesday we went and saw a new apartment (in the same building) that is on the front of the building (facing Beacon Street). It's going to be available for move-in probably by next Wednesday, so we are planning our move for the next weekend - we're hoping to get enough help so that we can get it all done on Saturday, July 22nd but if not then we'll be carrying over into Sunday as well. If you can offer any assistance, on either of the actual move dates, with packing the week before, with providing used boxes or packing supplies, we would be so grateful. Thanks for your consideration! We are just so happy to be getting out of our moldy apartment (although it sucks to have to move).

My Ever Expanding Belly

We've been taking belly pics ever since 6 weeks - every 4 weeks - until now, 18 weeks. I think after this we'll have to take them every 2 weeks because the change is definitely happening more quickly now.

We also had our 18 week ultrasound today, and found out that we are expecting.. two boys!

This is "Twin A"

And this is "Twin A"s boy parts. Can you see it?

This is "Twin B"

And this is "Twin B"s boy parts. This one has an arrow to help you find it.

I'm sure our sons will really appreciate their mother posting ultrasound pictures of their penises for the world to see. I can just hear it now, "How embarrassing, Mom!"

My First Digital "Scrapbook Page"

So, for numerous reasons I have not done any scrapbooking since April - crazy! I decided to take a break from paper scrapping (which takes up a lot of space and costs) and purchased a digital scrapbooking software program (Art Explosion Scrapbook Factory Deluxe v. 3.0) in the hopes I'd get to do some scrapping. So - all explanations aside, here's my first digital scrapbooking page. It's also the first page I've done about my pregnancy.. Thanks for looking!!

If you'd like to view this page full size, check it out at my Online Scrapbooking Gallery. At this link, if you click on the smaller picture, you'll get a full size view of the page. :) Thanks for looking!

Eww!

So this is what the inside of our bedroom wall looks like. It smells even worse! Luckily we seem to be making some progress with our landlord - they are calling in the "restoration" people and are planning to tear out our entire bedroom wall and replace it. We should get the call tomorrow with more details. 

From a 1 bdrm to a studio

I must admit I am getting increasingly frustrated with this mold situation at our apartment. Landlord says a carpenter will be coming in tomorrow morning to pull off some of the boards around the window/fire escape to look to find the source/mold. As I was doing some housekeeping in the living room tonight I realized that the OTHER window (the one in the living room) that also leaked earlier this month also smells of mold. Yay.

So, what was our small but spacious 1 bedroom apartment has quickly turned into a studio apartment with a less than comfortable bed (the futon). At least we still have each other, right?

I don't think my family is going to be able to come this weekend. I can't imagine entertaining anyone in this apartment regardless of if we had space to put everyone. It's hard enough to find enough room for me, Tm, Hershey, and all our stuff, much less 2 more adults and 2 nephews. Oh, this just sucks. Really, really sucks.

Moldy Bedroom?!?

Our bedroom is currently un-liveable, and not because it's a mess (although it is a mess) but because of a strong, permeating moldy smell. If you look at the message archives, we had a pretty big leak along the edge of the window / fire escape in that room a few weeks ago. Now, it is my fear that mold is growing in the wall. I took the trash out this morning and looked at the back of the building, to see a large quantity of green growing on the outside of the building, and I wonder if that is contributing to the smell. All I know is that to enter the room I have to wear a particulate respirator mask otherwise a headache is immediately forthcoming. Last night we camped out in the living room, and the bedroom door is closed until this is resolved. When we got home from doing the laundry last night the whole apartment smelled! Now, after airing out the entire apartment and closing the bedroom door, we can confidently say that the smell is coming from the bedroom. I guess the good news is that part of our apartment is liveable. The bad news is that we are expecting out-of-town family guests this weekend!!! I just hope and pray that this will be resolved by Friday and I don't have to call them and say "don't come."

Happy 4th of July, everyone. Hope yours is better than it looks like ours is going to be!

Hungry like a Hobbit

Well, I'm now almost 16 weeks along in this twin pregnancy. The sickness is subsiding, as long as I eat whenever my body says "EAT!" which, seems like all the time! They say that newborns need to eat every 2-4 hours, but I think it's the same in-utero! I'm sure all of you have seen Lord of the Rings - remember in the first movie, when "Strider" is leading the hobbits, and they start to break down their gear for "2nd breakfast", and "Strider" freaks out?!? One of the hobbits says "I don't think he's heard of 2nd breakfast, Pip." I feel like a hobbit! Between full meals, small meals, and snacks, I've been covering just about all the "Hobbit" meals: breakfast, 2nd breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. But, I don't have feet like a hobbit! Maybe we'll have to start calling the twins "Pip" and "Merry" in-utero until we come up with real names for them! (on that note, in 2 more weeks we hope to find out the sexes of the babies at my 18 week ultrasound). :)

Let the knitting RE-commence!

I started this project (a baby blanket) a while back.. with just one skein of yarn. Oops! I figured I'd be able to go pick more up at Michael's next time I went to the store. But it looks like they're not carrying this yarn anymore! So, it's been sitting around doing nothing and since this is currently my only set of knitting needles, I haven't done much other knitting (except when RL was kind enough to lend me her needles to make baby hats).

Well, I finally did some searching online and found the yarn I need, and it arrived yesterday! YAY! Now I can let the knitting re-commence! I'm planning to learn how to crochet a scalloped border around the whole thing (in a different color/pattern yarn) when it is complete.
 

Gotta love Dilbert

I subscribe to "Daily Dilbert" which means I get the new Dilbert comic in my email every morning (I don't get the Sunday comic). I just had to share this one!!

Freecycle is awesome

I am so thankful to MH & LH for telling me about Freecycle. Have you heard of it? It is a yahoo group where you can offer up to others the things you don't want anymore, and of course try to get things that others no longer want. Sometimes you can even post a "wanted" ad so if someone has an item that they didn't even remember they had sitting around in their basement, you can take it off their hands. Here's an excerpt from the main page:

" Boston, Massachusetts Freecycle(TM) is open to all who want to "recycle" that special something rather than throw it away. Whether a chair, a fax machine, or an old door, feel free to post it. Maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself! Everything posted must be FREE, legal and appropriate for all ages. Freecycle is a movement of people interested in keeping stuff out of landfills while building a sense of community."

I wanted to share about Freecycle because I was so immensely blessed today by another Freecycle member. Timo and I took a short, 2/3 mile walk today to go pick up some maternity clothes. Another member had offered this lot of clothes and I hadn't "won" it, but a few weeks later she wrote me to say that the original person who had contacted her apparently didn't want the stuff, was I still interested? I replied in the affirmative and arranged to pick them up. Well, I just got done sorting through the two huge trash bags full of clothes, and I really hit the motherlode!!! I can't even count the number of tops - long sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, 1/2 sleeve, short sleeve, no sleeve - some t-shirt style, some dressier. Also some dresses and skirts, a nightgown, and a pair of shorts. Wow.

Completely, amazedly blessed.

Let's Get Crafty: Scrapbooking!!

Today was the "Let's Get Crafty: Scrapbooking" event, hosted by yours truly. We met together for a potluck breakfast - yummy pancakes with fresh fruit, scrambled cheesy eggs, everything bagels, cut up watermelon, and Dunkin muffins. Yum! I went through a short talk about the basics of scrapbooking, and we quickly got to work! As always, I forgot to take out my camera until nearly the very end, but here are some shots of everyone who finished a project today.. KR made some beautiful cards..
PM made an intro page for her Ireland photos..

WS made the first page for her wedding album! Great job, ladies! I hope you all had fun!

My Science Fair Project

So, this is what I have been working on for the past few hours for the Welcome Table at church.


I have had this project in my "To Do" list for months.. It's on a folding board like what you see at science fairs. I've never actually DONE a display for a science fair, so this is my first time making such a thing. Not all of the seams are in ideal locations, and I just hope this thing will last for some period of time, with being folded and re-folded, and being stored in the back store room at the hotel, getting beat up on, etc. Anyway, it's done. 

Drip... drip... drip...

So, two of our windows are leaking at the moulding around the top of the window, the moulding above the window and fire escape door in the bedroom and the window by the kitty tower. Rain is expected to continue through Saturday. We called the management company - apparently they are getting a lot of these calls and can't do anything about it until the rain stops. Oh, yay. I wonder if we'll have any clean towels by the end of this..

Desperately Hungry Pregnant Lady Food

I guess I have been blogging a lot about food lately, but I think that's understandable from someone who's pregnant.It's 11:50pm and I haven't eaten dinner yet. Now, don't scold me yet - when I got home I was feeling awful - Tm got home and I made him feed me a salad (I felt the need for veggies of some kind). We immediately fell asleep and I didn't wake up until 10pm. For the last 2 hours I've been writing email, reading blogs, and trying to figure out what I am going to eat. What do I feel like eating? What is easy to make? What do we have in the house? Sometimes I feel so much a need for PROTEIN that all I can think about are SCRAMBLED EGGS. This is the 2nd time I have made this particular version for myself - scrambled eggs with cheese and ketchup on buttered toast. And, that's water in the purple glass. People keep asking me, are you craving any foods? And I never have an answer, cause I don't feel like I do crave certain foods but I do certainly crave foods - usually vegetables and eggs (not together!) although I could go for some green beans right now. Um, I gotta go..

More Adventures in Crockpot Cooking

Crockpots are the ultimate kitchen tool. They've been around just about forever (at least in my lifetime) and it wasn't until just recently that I listened to both my mother-in-laws and started using one. I actually got my crockpot free, that was one condition of the deal, I didn't want to spend $30 on a new crockpot when I knew there were likely crockpots laying around in people's cupboards or attics, not getting used, just collecting dust. I thank the nice lady from Dorchester who offered me her crockpot in response to my request on Freecycle . Anyway, back to my latest adventure - "Souper Beef Stroganoff". This recipe was culled from a cook book I received as a gift (from one of my MILs) a few years back when I didn't even OWN a crockpot. So, needless to say, this recipe is untested. Until now. It smells good and I think it might even taste good. As soon as Tm gets home we'll find out, and I'll let you know....

Rating: 7 on a scale to 10
The flavor was excellent, it's not too salty, just right. Very creamy. My only complaint is the texture of the meat (Tm thought it was fine!), but I did leave it on to cook much longer than the recipe recommends. It's very easy to make! It took me about 30 minutes this morning before leaving home to get it going and 10 minutes after getting home. If you want a meatier version just add more meat. We made it with about 1 1/3 lb. of meat and the meat pieces seemed a little scarce. You could cut the pieces up smaller than I did, also. Here's the recipe:

"Souper" Beef Stroganoff
from Crazy About Crockpots by Penny E. Stone

Prep time about 15 minutes, Serves 6, Cost: about 72 cents per serving

1 lb or more beef round steak
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of potato or onion soup
2 teaspoons beef seasoning mix or 3 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup water
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pkg. egg noodles, prepared according to package directions
1 small pkg. sour cream

Combine salt and pepper with flour. Cut meat into strips or bite-sized pieces. Coat meat with flour and brown all sides in a little bit of oil. Transfer meat to crockpot when beef has browned. Dissolve boullion in 1 cup of water, add beef broth mixture and soups to crockpot, and stir together. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours. When ready to serve, prepare one package of egg noodles according to package directions, and drain. Add a small carton of sour cream to crockpot mixture. Serve over cooked egg noodles. (I actually mixed the egg noodles in with the mixture in the crockpot as we like our noodles fully coated in yummy goodness. Also, ours was made with cream of potato soup and I cut the meat in bite sized pieces.)

Enjoy!!

The Fenway Experience

Well, Tm and I finally got to go to a Red Sox game together :) He had gone last season with his friend M but alas, there was no ticket for me then. We bought these tickets from a gal at Tm's work who had extras, so we paid just face value. We're in the right field grandstand, here. I always knew that Red Sox fans were serious fans - but I had never had what I am calling "The Fenway Experience". It was like we were sitting amongst a big, extended family. People were more likely to pick up a chant started at the back of the park, and more likely to carry it on longer - they cheered on the pitcher when he'd gotten 2 strikes on the batter (and 2 outs) and they wanted their team back up to bat. I haven't been to many teams parks - Mariner's @ Safeco Field, and Braves @ Turner Field. The fans at those locations are nothing like Red Sox fans. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure they're loyal, excited, cheering fans. But Red Sox fans seem to be a whole different breed. I'm glad I got to experience Fenway, filled with Red Sox fans, during our adventure here in Boston.

Oh, and I ought to say, the Red Sox beat the Devil Rays 6 to 4. It was also Curt Schilling's 200th win. Tm says he's bound for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tag

Tagged by formerly paulinechu

1. Four Jobs:
a. File clerk for an independent insurance agency
b. Video rental store worker (with an "adult" section)
c. Front desk supervisor at a hotel
d. X-ray technologist

2. Four Things I Wish I Had Done Earlier In My Life:
a. Traveled internationally
b. Taken a road trip coast-to-coast with no agenda and unlimited funds
c. Learn to speak Spanish (fluently)
d. Bungee jumping

3. Four Places I Have Lived:
a. Glendora, CA
b. Shelton, WA
c. Seattle, WA
d. Boston, MA

4. Four Countries I Have Been To:
a. USA
b. Canada
c. United Nations (well, it's technically an international territory)
d. - - - - - - -

5. Four Countries I Would Like to Visit:
a. Italy
b. Spain
c. Korea
d. Antarctica

6. Four of My Favorite Dishes:
a. cup
b. plate
c. bowl
d. mug

7. Four Sites I Visit Daily:
a. my yahoo site / yahoo comics
b. blogger
c. scrapbook.com
d. iVillage (pregnancy boards)

8. Four Software Applications I Cannot Live Without:
a. Internet Explorer
b. Microsoft Excel
c. Calculator
d. recently, Picasa

9. Four Things I'll Never Forget:
a. My husband's birthday
b. I've forgotten
c. everything else
d. already

10. I Tag: (revised) I tag SKF!

My First Hat

Okay, so I'm not sure how many hours I have been working on this hat - it's 10:30pm now, and I think I started on it around 7pm.. Three and a half hours later, wa-lah! Baby hat! I had a little bit of the burgandy yarn and really felt an all black hat would be inappropriate so I added the stripe - I must say it is also my first project using two different yarns and I think it worked out well. Probably not perfect, but I don't think I dropped any stitches either. It also looks really cute on our Coca-cola bear.

Comics are healthy for you! Read one today.

There are 5 comic strips that I try to read on a daily basis.. They are Fox Trot, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Pearls before Swine, and Dilbert. I really wanted to put last Thursday's Pearls before Swine up on the blog, but for some reason it won't let me post it here. But, here's a link.. I think you'll enjoy this a lot, I sure did.

I will NOT be held responsible...

... if any of you folks who helped P & DJ move, and ate my chili, are struck with gas! No pointing fingers at me if you start stinking up your own homes! hehe.. And, please get it out of your system before you come over here on Tuesday night (j/k). Honestly, I was so happy to have everyone over today, glad that I could help in the "move" even though I didn't come lift heavy things. Now I'm wishing I had taken a picture of the crockpot before (full of chili) and after (nearly empty). I'm glad everyone enjoyed the meal and if you want the recipe just let me know! I just love my subscription to Cooks Country magazine. I can be pretty much assured that (as long as I don't screw it up) that whatever recipe I pick out of there will come out good. Otherwise I wouldn't have the nerve to serve a brand new recipe I had never tried on 10 of my closest friends. :)

The good news is: I've been feeling a LOT better these past two days (today and yesterday). I just hope that this whole "feeling better" thing will last. I'm feeling like I did before 6 weeks - needing a morning and afternoon snack, but not nauseated at other times, and just really thirsty all the time. I did get heartburn last night, but I attribute that to the raw onion in the chicken salad I made.

I'm also very excited to get started on my very first knitted baby hat. KR was so sweet to let me borrow her knitting needles necessary for this knitting project. Thank you, KR! Now, I just need some yarn!! Perhaps tomorrow.. I may even do a "test" hat with some old yarn I have, but it's BLACK - is that a little too depressing for a baby, to wear a black knit cap? We could just pretend that baby is a cat burglar! Yeah, black is not really a color you dress up your infant in, traditionally. Anyway, we'll see. My first hat will probably be so ugly with knitting mistakes anyway that the black won't make much difference. I'll post pics when I have something accomplished.

Picture of the Day

Here's one good reason why I should keep my camera with me at all times.

Kitty Tongue

Hershey sometimes forgets the tip of his tongue outside of his mouth. We like to call this phenomenon "Kitty Tongue". It's like his super power, that has the ability to cheer up any bad mood or bad day.

Ugh..

Wow, I'm feeling gross.

I'm trying my first crockpot meal today - hopefully I don't burn the apartment building down! I've got a roast, potatoes, carrots & onions (with brown gravy) cooking on high at home. I can't wait to get home to (hopefully) some heavenly smells. I also hope the cat doesn't get too interested in the slow cooker and burn his little nose!

Saturday will be another adventure in slow cooking - I'm planning to make Chili & Cornbread for a gaggle of people helping our friends DJ & P move (into our neighborhood, finally!). While everyone else is down in Quincy shlepping boxes and furniture, I'll be at home cooking up chili and possibly taking a nap while it cooks. What a hard life! P says I can't come because she doesn't want me lifting "anything." Such protective friends! I love you guys!

I want to get to Michael's and buy some yarn so that I can continue my knitting adventures. I'm stuck right now on my project (a baby blanket) because I'm out of yarn! You can tell by this that I am not an experienced knitter. An experienced knitter would have plenty of yarn, the right color and dye lot, at the ready. An experienced knitter would have known what they wanted to DO with the yarn when they bought it! Hehe, not me, though. But knitting is fun! My good friend KR taught me how, and last Saturday we had a fun knitting circle at her place where I not only got to get a few rows knitted, but got to chat with all the ladies and hear some fresh gossip!! :) Hehe, don't ask, I won't tell you what it was!

On another crafting note, I haven't done any scrapbooking at all this month. I only did 2 pages last month and 3 pages the month before. I am really slowing down. I need to organize all of the great papers and stickers my MIL brought me when she came to visit. Really I just need to decide on a project and get going on it. It doesn't help that I feel crappy a lot of the time (especially in the evenings) which is the time that I would have time to scrap. It's hard to be creative when all you want to do is go to bed or rest on the futon. I'm hoping I'll get that 2nd trimester "energy jolt" and get some scrapping done before I have to get rid of my craft desk to make room for the crib.

Updating

As some of my friends have "found" my blogger blog, I suppose I should update it and actually use it :) It's been nearly 4 months since I wrote last so I'll try to update with words now and add pictures later.

February 2006

Had follow up appointment after the negative first try, decided to try again right away, started a new IVF cycle later that month.

March 2006

Church retreat! We were really happy that we got to go to the retreat, because it was questionable whether the timing would work out for us to be able to go. We did get to go, and were so glad we went. I don't think I took any pictures that weekend, but I should get some of the ones that P took cause they look great on her blog.

Finished up IVF attempt #2 this month, last part of month spent waiting for results.

25th - Saw Monty Python's Spamalot at the Colonial Theater. It was so funny!! We really enjoyed this special "splurge". So funny!





April 2006

3rd - took OTC test, came back negative. Had told myself and Tm that it didn't mean anything, only that it may be too soon to test, but still felt depressed anyway.

5th - did blood work and received call in the afternoon, expecting negative result. "It's positive!" I could hardly believe it, I asked her "Really?" as if she would lie to me. Called Tm right away, probably cried.

6th-11th Vacation in Atlanta! We had a blast!

27th - 1st ultrasound @ 7 weeks 1 day. Revealed we are expecting twins! Tm attended the appointment and got to see the ultrasound first hand. Our friend JP at church put it best "Exciting!... Scary!" We do feel doubly blessed and know that God will only give us as much as we can handle. Babies are dubbed the "bilateral blobs" (by MQ at work) or Lumpy & Blobby by Tm.

May 2006

5th - 9th MIL comes to visit, share with her the news that she is finally going to be a grandmother (to human children, instead of just pets). She cries, we go shopping at Goodwill for maternity clothes. Find some great deals after much digging - 5 tops, 5 bottoms & a swimsuit for under $45! Even got a prenatal yoga tape (VHS) for $1.99. I thought it was overpriced! :) Shows how much we think of VHS.

11th - 2nd ultrasound @ 9 weeks 1 day. Babies are growing at exactly the right rate (measured at 9wks1dy), from crown to rump they are nearly an inch long each. Heartbeats 173 and 175 bpm. They have identifiable parts now and resemble tadpoles more than simple "blobs" now. Physically have been feeling pretty good in the AM and pretty cruddy in the PM. Hoping I'll start feeling better soon, but again just feel blessed even in my yukkiness.