Summer Snaps

Here are some of the pictures we've taken thus far this summer: 

The hubby's birthday Manhattan at Restaurant Zoe. 

Nothing beats a cup of French press coffee with fresh cream.

Our woods in bloom! 

Chicken and vegetable pasta, yum.

The husband saw this chubby little bird and said, "Hey! This bird knows exactly how you're feeling!" - Thanks??

View of building during Seattle Art Walk.

Free outdoor dance class in Pioneer Square.

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Let's Eat Cake!

Birthday cake, birthday cake... lyrics to one of my fave Rihanna songs of the moment, also what I baked the hubby for his birthday last weekend. I tried out Ina Garten's Birthday Cake with Butter Frosting recipe - and this thing was a BEAST! I had to offload it to anyone who would take some. Each slice was heaven, but packed with a punch of sugar so you only really wanted a thin slice. Great for a kids birthday party I think, a bit much for two people. 

On another note, Happy 4th of July everyone!! Looks like it's going to be a pretty day here in Seattle. Think we'll have some BBQ after my Masters swim practice this afternoon.  Yup, still hauling my preggo butt into the pool as often as I can these days. It's really the only way I can relieve my leg cramps and bring some peace of mind. Feel sorry for those who have to see me in my two piece though. ;-)     

Carb Cravings

This was my vision the other day when I grabbed a crate of strawberries at Costco:

No, not something healthy or simple, but a reason to bake a cake and buy Cool Whip! I made one of my favorites: Ina Garten's Honey Vanilla Pound Cake. Super simple and delicious with any kind of berry. Or even slap on some lemon icing, and BAM! Dessert.

Then today I thought about the hamburgers I'm going to make this weekend (yes, food on the brain 24/7), and decided that it'd be awesome to have homemade buns. I tried a new recipe from the blog "Alexandra's Kitchen" for Brioche Buns and here are the beautiful results:

I think my next food craving I need to satisfy is a big frosty root beer float. Mmm.. What foods are YOU craving right now? 

Huge and One Hundred

First of all, I want to thank those of you who contacted me personally last week following my last blog posting about the baby blues! It's so nice to know that I'm definitely not alone, and to also get some really cool ideas on how to connect with other mommies in my area. Several of you have recommended PEPS(Program for Early Parent Support), which is based in the Puget Sound area. You register when your baby is due and your zip code, and they form a group of around 12 people who also live close to you and are expecting around the same time to meet up weekly for parent questions/bonding/etc. Many of my friends have formed long lasting friendships with other mom and dads in their PEPS groups - pretty cool.


Thankfully my mood has lifted significantly this week, along with the temperatures here in Vacaville, CA. It's hit at least 100 every day this week - YIKES! As I get larger and larger and the days get hotter and hotter, this is going to get very interesting. For so long I wanted to really "show" a baby belly... um, be careful what you wish for!  


My lifesaver lately has been my latest purchase: the Leachco "Snoogle" maternity pillow.  I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone who is pregnant, and even if you're not, it's pretty awesome! My neck and back don't hurt hardly at all anymore! ... 

Wouldn't you love to be a maternity pillow model? ;-)

  

50 Shades of Pregnancy Hormones

Remember way back when, when I claimed that I wouldn't go overboard on the "baby talk" on this blog? Yeh, well I'm declaring right now, F THAT!  It's nearly impossible for me to come up with "stories about my life and travels" to share on this blog that DON'T involve the growing baby in my belly. Especially with no job and too much time on my hands, it has really been an all consuming experience.  Plus, I realize that it's pretty cool to read about other pregnant peoples' stories (like this one), so maybe other people will enjoy reading about my pregnancy too.  

I'd say that so far I've been really lucky on the pregnancy symptoms front: no morning sickness, just some mild food/smell aversions at first (raw meat, could smell the garbage from the other room). But I'd say the biggest thing I've been struggling with lately is the baby blues. I read the other day that depression is more common during pregnancy than postpartum (which really surprised me!). About 25% of pregnant women will experience this.  I think a lot of it personally stems from the loneliness of traveling each week, being by myself all day while my husband works, and not having a job to socialize and occupy my mind.  Don't get me wrong, I know I'm pretty lucky to be with my hubby all the time, to enjoy the California sunshine, and to be able to swim on a Masters swim team. But it's just not always a bucket of rainbows or something.


My hope is that I'll find some good "mommy groups" once our baby is born, which will help me find the social interaction and community I'm looking for. If anyone knows of good groups in the Redmond, WA area, please let me know! :)


In the meantime,  I'm trying to keep myself busy by doing such things as: planning the baby's nursery (stay tuned for future posts on this!), cooking, swimming, ... and reading "50 Shades of Grey". Oh that's right! "Mommy porn" as my friends call it. It's pretty cheesy and ridiculous so far, but what the hell!