June Daybook

Life is busy, so I thought I'd just slow down today with The Simple Woman's Daybook.

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... the sun is slowly setting, and the wind is finally calming.

I am thinking... about everything that needs to be done tomorrow, about my growing belly and my blood sugars.

I am thankful... for my husband, who keeps me grounded.

In the kitchen... is a clean area, with dishes done, counters washed, and no junk piling up.

I am wearing... my hair in a pony tail, with my bangs hanging down.  I always seem to revert back to wearing my hair up...

I am creating... a new life...sort of scary every time I think about it.

I am going... to attempt to assemble a bike tonight, once the kids are in bed.

I am wondering... if it's an easy job or if I'll be cursing by the end of the night.

I am reading... Ina May's Guide to Childbirth again.  Refresher.

I am hoping... that this pregnancy is healthy.

I am looking forward to... baby kicks.  I'm so busy, I feel a little detached from this pregnancy.  Flutters and kicks will help me bond with the life inside me.

I am learning... to reduce my sugars as much as possible.  It's not as easy as it sounds. :(

Around the house... almost every room except bedrooms are clean clean clean! I haven't seen my house this clean in a long time.

I am pondering... going out and taking the laundry off the clothes line.  I should probably do this... *edited to add that someone already did this for me. I'm super lucky.*

A favorite quote for today... "Mommy, why aren't you resting?"  Liam, asking me that after I took a 10 minute nap.

One of my favorite things... watching the kids play with their dad.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Lilia's half-birthday party.  Survive that, and the rest of the week should be fine.

A peek into my day...

Who needs a new rug?

When we moved into the house almost 2 years ago, I was a little wary of the fact that our living room carpet was cream colored.  Two kids, a cat and a light colored carpet...not a good combination.  After all this time of scrubbing out stains by hand, and it really never getting it clean, I bought a SteamVac finally.  I thought this particular one had the best reviews, and was totally affordable.  It was actually only $134 when I ordered it.

So I finally used it today, and I cannot believe how well it worked.  I did a little pre-treatment with some generic carpet cleaner.  I used hot water straight from my tea kettle, mixed with the hottest tap water I could get and a Deep Cleaning solution.  And then I went to work...

Halfway done, and the difference is AMAZING.

I'd have to say this is the best "investment" I've made yet.  It was so worth it and I'm so happy we decided to buy this rather than renting one, or buying new rugs.  I keep walking into my living room and just gaping at how clean it looks.  I want to roll on it and sniff it.  And bar the kids from ever entering it again.

And now I can comfortable think about placing a baby on the floor without shuddering.

Wordless Wednesday

13 weeks...

13 weeks, 3 days, and seriously, far too many days remaining.  I'm so tired, still...I guess I need to put an order in for some 2nd trimester energy.

13 weeks...the baby is the size of Shrimp...

Lilia asks me daily how the baby is growing.  How big is the baby now? The baby is in your tummy, right? How big will she be when she is born in December?  Questions, questions, questions! It's very sweet, and it's fun to educate her the best I can.  Oh, and I say She, because Lilia says She, because she wants a baby sister.

We picked a midwife, after a week of interviewing various ones.  All were wonderful, but I'm very positive I made the right choice.  I love having one less thing to worry about- and finding a suitable midwife was amongst my top worries.

Now to survive the next 27 weeks...

Is it HOT enough for you?

This is my window thermometer.  The Red is Outdoors, the Blue is Indoors.  I live in Central NY.  This should be illegal.

So today, I am grateful for Central Air, and cheap pools.  Because seriously, today would be unbearable without those things. Oh, and Sun screen.

Good Bye Pre-K

Lilia's last day of Pre-K was Friday, and they had a little graduation ceremony for the kids in the class tonight.  It was quite the affair, with the kids singing songs, getting their diplomas, and then having refreshments.  One parent even put together a slideshow DVD of the years big events, and gave each family a copy.

My little attention ham is growing up!

I think Lilia had a really fun time, but she's going to miss school a lot.  She loves going to school, so much so that on days school was canceled, she'd cry.  But the good news is the school year is only a few months away, and she'll be at the same school, with many of the same kids, with a wonderful teacher whom she adores already.  It's nice too, because I don't dread that first day of kindergarten at all- I know how much she enjoys it, and I know it's a really good school.  John went there, with many of the same teachers and principal.

Now we just have to survive the summer.

I'm Back!

Did you miss me?

I took an unannounced hiatus for the last few months, mainly because I was sick as can be.  Turns out, I was pregnant, and it seems that with each pregnancy I have, I get worse morning sickness.

But here I am, 12 weeks along, and feeling a lot better than I was. I have energy for the first time in forever, and even managed to get things done around the house.  At the end of the day I'm definitely more tired, but at least now I don't quite so useless.  I managed to survive, but for one reason only- I have the most awesome husband EVER.  I'm glad that my first post back can be on this day.

Feeling better meant I could make pancakes for breakfast.

Lilia LOVES pancakes, and Letters.

Despite being the end of the semester, and being super busy, my husband stepped up and just took charge of the house and the kids while I whimpered in the corner of the house with my bucket and pillow.  He made meals,, he did laundry, he cleaned, he shopped...he took care of the kids- baths, school, playing, clothes, hair, lunches...the man was a SUPER man, and he never once complained about it, nor did he guilt me for all the work he did.  I am telling you- I am one lucky woman.  As I started to feel better, he didn't push me, he still pampered me and made me feel like a Goddess.  Last week, he drove me to three different midwives (all over an hour away from Herkimer) so we could interview them.

Liam ate his L and M before we could grab a picture!

And today for Father's Day? Do you think he took a break?  Nah- he took the kids outside and started working on cleaning and filling our small pool, and then went to Walmart and went shopping.  Now the pool is slowly filling, the kids are napping, and so is he.  I don't know how I ended up being so lucky, but I'm so happy to have such an awesome husband.  "Happy Father's Day", and "I love you, John" don't seem to be enough to convey how happy I really am.


For dinner, I'm making him his favorite meal- Home made Manicotti.  It's the recipe his Grandmother gave and taught me.

Shells:
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients- the batter will very thin.

Lightly grease a  7 inch skillet with oil, and place over medium heat.

Place about 1/8 cup of batter into the skillet, and cook like pancakes.  It should be very very thin- like a crepe.  They will also cook up very fast, so be careful!  I always just cooked it completely on one side, for about 1 minute, and then about 5 seconds on the other side.

Filling:
2 pounds course ricotta
4 eggs
1/3 cup grated mozzarella + more for topping
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 TB parsley

Spaghetti sauce

Mix ingredients together, except spaghetti sauce.

Scoop 1 TB of mixture into the center of the manicotti shell, and roll up.  Place rolls in a single layer in a baking pan (I usually end up with 2 pans).  Layer sauce and additional mozzarella cheese on top.  Cover, and back at 375º for 25 minutes.

We usually freeze one pan, and you can take that out to defrost in the morning/afternoon, and then bake in the evening.  I also half the ricotta recipe quite often.  I never seem to make quite enough shells for the full recipe of filling.  It's absolutely delicious, and one of my favorite recipes to bake (mainly because of the memories I have of learning to make it with John's Grandmother.)  And it's probably John's favorite dish ever.  It's super good with home made sauce, but I didn't get a chance to actually make any, so it's a jarred sauce tonight.

Manicotti- fresh from the oven and being devoured very quickly.