Wordless Wednesday or My Daily Attempt to keep Ethan Alive

Ethan had a "photo shoot" yesterday at a park. The birthing center where he was born (and where the Little Girl will be born!) is opening up a new location and wanted photos of the babies that had been born there. Ethan had a great time running on the playground before it was his turn to get his pics taken.

 Here is where I will insert my "mommy guilt moment". See that concrete step behind him? What you don't see is the other side is gravel. Well, he was having so much fun running back and forth in this play area and I was trying to get some shots of him. He stopped to have his photo taken and when he turn he didn't realize he only had a step or two before hitting the "wall". He went head first and flipped upside down, landing on his face and falling on his back onto the gravel. All I saw were arms and legs flying in the air.

My heart fell with him. I ran to him telling him he was okay. I didn't want to move him in case he had some sort of neck injury (I watch too much ER) so all I could do was wipe the gravel off his face. He started crying and caught his breath for a second and then jumped up and started running again! All seemed well but of course I worried about him all day while he was at school. Teacher said he was fine and had a great day.

These photos were taken before the accident. His professional, going to be published on the web and hung in the birthing center, were taken after the fall. I later discovered a skid mark from his forehead down his nose. Hope she can edit that out.

On a side note: Who designs a children's play area with a foot tall concrete wall and a foot tall drop off on to gravel???

24 weeks

24 weeks!! Over half way there. I am feeling really great. I attend yoga class at least once a week, sometimes twice. It really helps to adjust my softening joints. If I skip a week I start to feel achy all over and my hips start to hurt. I am looking forward to a yoga workshop mid Oct: Primal Birth. I can't say enough about how much yoga helped me with my first pregnancy, labor and birth.

I can't eat anything too spicy anymore, which makes me really sad. With Ethan I could eat anything! But now I get a terrible stomach ache a few hours after I have a spicy meal. 

The Little Girl was head up at her last u/s on Weds which is not really a problem at this age. I've been talking to her and telling her that is not where she is supposed to be and she needs to start making her way head down. Yesterday morning she moved to a side laying position where her feet are to my right side. I can tell because her kicks (feet) are harder then her hits (hands). Keep it up, Baby Girl! You are half way there!!

Here she is with her hands above her head.

Eli says she has "lady like" feet!! I hope so because Ethan has his feet and on a boy they are cute but not so much on a little girl.

Doesn't she have a cute nose?? She weighed 1lb 9oz.

We will start going for u/s every month now. So far every thing is looking great! Healthy Mama and Healthy Baby!

Right now I am doing lots of research on childbirth and the different issues that can arise. I am reading "Creating Your Birth Plan" by Marsden Wagner and taking notes to write my own birth plan. I didn't write a birth plan when I had Ethan because I felt safe having the baby at a Birthing Center. Even though I was very informed on childbirth before Ethan's birth I feel even more so now. I want to know all about the different complications that can happen and what my stance is on them BEFORE they happen! That way we can make an informed choice if something were to happen. I don't really trust myself to remember everything so I'll be writing it down. I'll be sure to share it with you when I am done!

Bloggy Break- Soup Recipes

I'm not sure what happened or why I took such a long Bloggy Break but I'm ready to up date you on all the "Happily Homemaking" that's been going on!

Ethan started "School"!! He's going to a Mother's day out program twice a week for 4 hours a day. At first he didn't really know what was going on but now he is getting the idea. The last few times I've dropped him off he has cried as I left and then yesterday he took off running to the playground without 1 tear! The teachers say he does great during the day and he is starting to participate and play with his classmates. He eats all of his lunch everyday and comes home with art work (finger painting, stickers, etc.).

Eli got his last two remaining wisdom teeth out. Because they were already in, I thought he would be recovered with in a day or two but it took him a bit longer. I had only planned to make one type of soup, my potato and broccoli soup, so I had to scramble and make up a few more.

Broccoli and Potato Soup

2T butter

1 Onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1lb potatoes, cubed

1 bag broccoli (I also used some cauliflower)

3c chicken broth

3c water

1/2 low fat milk

1/2 grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper (white if you've got it)

Heat butter in a pot big enough for all your ingredients. Cook onion and garlic until transparent. Add potatoes, broccoli, broth, salt and pepper and water. Cook until vegs are soft. Blend until smooth ( I used my immersion blender). Add milk and cheese. Cook until melted. You could leave out some of the broccoli until after you blended it up, just add it in and cook a bit longer before adding milk and cheese.

Potato and Cheese Soup

3 T butter

1/2 onion chopped

4 med potatoes chopped

2 carrots chopped

3 T flour

salt and pepper

1 T rosemary

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1 cup grated cheese

milk to thin

This one is made a lot like my Scallop Potatoes. Make a roux with the butter and flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add a bit of the chicken broth and whisk it around until it starts to thicken. Add the potatoes, onions, carrots, rosemary and the rest of the chicken broth. You can use some water if the chicken broth is not enough to cover. Cook until the potatoes are falling apart. Blend with the immersion blender. Add cheese and melt. If it is too thick you can use milk to help thin it out.

Split Pea Soup- Crockpot

1/2 bag Split Peas

1/2 bag Lintels

3T butter

1/2 onion

3 cloves garlic (or 1 tsp powder)

3 carrots diced

2 small pots diced (I used red)

1/2 pound sausage (or ham or bacon)

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

salt/ pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp curry powder

Rinse lentils and peas and add to crock pot.
Heat butter in skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook a bit. Then add potatoes, carrots, salt, pepper, oregano and curry powder. You are not really cooking the veggies, just browning them a little. Add to crock pot.

In same skillet cook sausage. You can use left over ham or bacon, just chop it up into little pieces. Add to crock pot.

Add broth and enough water to cover all. I add some more salt because I use homemade broth and I never get that salty enough.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high 4-5 or until lentils and peas are very soft. I used the immersion blender to make it more liquid.

Beware, this soup is not very pretty. It looks a lot like you've already eaten it but it is really tasty!

****When using an immersion blender always make sure to keep it below the liquid level. Splashing of hot liquid hurts!!