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! 

Baby Update + Homemade Chili Recipe

Yup, here's your token confusing 3D ultrasound picture. If you can make out a baby, you've probably gone through this yourself. ;-) Anyhoo, last week Todd and I found out that we've got a little MALE resident in my belly! It was really fun watching him move around. He loves putting his hands up by his face (as seen in photo), and he also was playing around grabbing his toes. I just can't wait to meet him face to face! 

Okay, enough baby talk. Tonight I decided to make some homemade chili using a recipe from one of my favorite Junior League of Seattle cookbooks "Simply Classic". So easy and smells delicious! 

1 lb lean ground beef

1 lb kielbasa sausage

1 tbsp olive oil

1 c onion chopped

1 c green pepper diced

2 gloves garlic minced

1 16 oz can kidney beans, drained

1 16 oz can stewed tomatoes

1 16 oz can tomato sauce

2 bay leaves

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1/3 tsp white pepper

1/3 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne 

Saute beef in a large heavy skillet, drain, and set aside. Same with sliced sausage.  In the same pan, saute onions and green pepper in olive oil over medium heat until soft but not brown. Add garlic and saute 2 more minutes. Add beef and sausage back in, along with all remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour. Serve with a garnish of sour cream and/or grated cheese. Enjoy! 

Keep Calm and Swim On

Happy Wednesday everyone! 


Today I'm going to share a cool meditation that my swim coach taught me, and which anyone can put to use! I found it so beneficial I thought others might too. :)

Coach Karen shared this meditation with me after watching me panicking each time I'd get a stomach cramp while swimming. I'd be clutching the wall, trying to breathe, hoping that my swimming wasn't putting undue stress on Baby C.  So she taught me to say these four words: "Sa, Ta, Na, Ma." With each word you touch the tip of each finger to the thumb tip. 


Thumb & first finger - SA
Thumb & second finger - TA
Thumb & third finger - NA
Thumb & fourth finger - MA


Coach said that she read studies showing that this meditation, called Kirtan Kriya, increases memory and cognitive function and decreases stress. I like the translation for each of the words too:


Sa = the beginning
Ta = life
Na = death
Ma = rebirth


In any case, my muscle cramps have greatly reduced since using this technique. I feel calmer with swimming while pregnant and trusting that the baby will be just fine.  In fact, I think I've got a little helper swimmer, this week Baby C has started moving and kicking around a LOT more!! 


Namaste!