Playtime

Our little Peanut has been having tons of fun with all her new playmates.  She just has lots of little ones between all our family and friends that keep her occupied.  There are the little ones across the street from my parents (our current digs), my friend's kids, my other friend's kids, my cousin's little girl (I always forget the term of that relation--would that be my second cousin or first cousin once removed? I have no idea...).  Combine this with preschool two days a week and story time at the library and well, our little girl is sacked out when it comes to bedtime.



























We spent yesterday evening with my cousin and her little love and this morning/afternoon with one of my closest friends and their little girl (and could I remember to take pictures two days in a row? Of course not.).



























She fell asleep tonight at six o'clock, folks.  

 





















 



And here I am at 22 1/2 weeks.  It's funny because my starting weight this time around was about ten pounds less then it was with the Peanut.  And currently, I've only gained around 8-9 pounds.  But somehow I look like I am at 36 weeks.  When "they" say you show a lot quicker the second time around....."they" weren't kidding!  

 

Fashion Designer

I've mentioned before that the Peanut has quite the way with clothes....she was at it again this morning.  Normally, when she is in the bath, I usually go in her room and lay out her clothes for the day on her bed.  Note, as I said, I just lay them out on the bed, still folded.

She got the idea today to lay them out as an "outfit" as well accessorize the ensemble.

Yes, those slippers are much too big for her right now.   She found them stashed away

 in one of her drawers. 

She is such a funny girl!


 

Our Newest Addition!

We got our perfect little "love gift" (as my husband's cousin so appropriately called it) late yesterday afternoon.  We are so excited to announce that our newest addition to our family is a......................

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited we are!

Why, Yes--I Do Still Know How to Operate a Camera

I actually have been taking some pictures in the last several days.  There are even sweet little things to say about each one.

I mentioned before that Peanut looks forward to every afternoon when Grandma gets home from work.  My Mom usually gets home around 3:30 every afternoon.  Some days, as early as 11 am!, Peanut asks repeatedly, "Is Grandma home from work yet?"  It's too funny.  Today, I got to capture some of her excitement on camera.  Peanut was outside playing when my Mom got home and I was able to tell her that Grandma was home and snap a few pics at the same time.

Our sweet girl is in preschool right now and they are having a Valentine's Day party tomorrow.  So we got to go to the store to pick out Valentine's.  I think I was as excited as she was--probably more, cause I don't even think she gets it yet.  Of course, my girl, who had a plethora of pink and purple My Little Pony, Disney Princess, and all other sorts of hearts and flowers Valentine's to pick from, she went with her favorite, Toy Story.  Or as she calls them, "The Buzz One's."  But as my Mom always tells me, pick your battles.  Eating your vegetables?  There's a battle worth having.  But Valentine's?  Not so much.

 



We were making Valentine cupcakes and I went upstairs to use the bathroom, again (sheesh, and I'm only at 21 weeks!).  I come back downstairs and Peanut has made herself more than welcome to the chocolate cake batter.  Her response?  "Don't worry Mommy, I only had a little bit."

  

And for the final tid bit, our Peanut has become VERY bossy to my parents ever patient black lab, Jet.  Pretty much because she's the only one that will listen to the Peanut.  Jet puts up with Peanut's bear hugs, her bossiness, her three year temperament like. a. champ.  So Peanut has now taken to reading Jet stories as well.  And Jet even listens.

Most of the time.  But if Jet sees an opportunity, she escapes as fast as she can.  Either way, she is such a good girl to our little girl.

Stay tuned Wednesday or Thursday of this week--we get to find out if our little bundle will be in pink or blue!

A Bad Case of Writers Block?

I have been way bad on posting lately.....so much so that my Mom has even made mention of it.  So it must be really bad.  Not that I didn't already know that.  Life has just been different these past few months.  Not bad in any way, but definitely different. 

Being pregnant, then packing, then moving, and now, settling in.  Talk about different, right?  Just calling on address changes alone.....good grief!

Peanut is in preschool, so that takes this homebody away from home (the computer) for multiple hours each week (but I can hear an amen on grocery/Target/Costco browsing all. by. myself?!?!?!  AMEN.).

Hometown is a *somewhat* rural area (although still part of a major metropolitan area) so it takes longer to get most places as compared to our former Smalltown.  So that takes some of my time. 

I got our taxes filed and then had to amend my filing because I forgot one of the things we were supposed to claim, so that has taken some time. 

I have friends here (I am pretty much the wall flower, so sadly {all of my own doing!} I didn't have too many close relationships in Smalltown) and I have been having fun catching up with everyone here, so that has taken some of my time.  

And my iPad?  Well, my affections for my much loved (and much missed) DVR have been replaced with games on my tablet.  So, yes, that too, has taken some of my time. 

Finally, living here at my parents, we now have a nice large, gated yard for Peanut to explore, so that takes some time too.   

We are settling into a new normal.  Life is good, just different. 

I am liking loving different. 

Nineteen Weeks

I can't believe 1/12 of the year is already over.  That probably sounds a little silly, but time is flying by!  I say that every month of every year, but seriously.  Of course, it couldn't be that we were busy moving and getting settled through the better part of January, so it was like I blinked and missed the whole month.

Or maybe that was the case.

My photo taking has been way lagging lately, so those three little posts for the month of January?  That was pretty much the extent of my picture taking for the whole month. We have even been behind in taking photos of the progress for little love #2.

Way to keep up on that promise that I would take just as many pictures of the second child as the first child.  Nice, right?  

We've been behind partly because of moving.  But mostly, because every time I thought to take a picture, I either hadn't showered, hadn't put on a stitch of makeup, looked like a slob (or some sort of combination of all three-yikes!) OR if I felt it was a picture worthy moment, Hubs wasn't home to catch it on camera.

Poor Hubs.  

Definitely have popped out from the last picture, huh?

Welcome to being married for almost eight years, right?  Those photo worthy moments (at least of me) are further and further between. 

However, all that aside, in other (wonderful!!) news, we had my first prenatal appointment yesterday and we FINALLY got to hear the heartbeat!  My first appointment up in Smalltown was at just ten weeks, so we couldn't hear the heartbeat just yet.  Although they did try.  But the little love was very active in the ultrasound, so that was very comforting.  Both my doctor up there and down here said it wasn't really necessary to have another appointment until we got moved and settled, so that is why it's taken so long to get to be able to hear that little hummingbird beat.  But we got to hear it yesterday, and it was just as awesome as it was the first time.

We also got to schedule the next ultrasound, so as long as this little one isn't shy, we should be able to find out if our sweet little Peanut will be having a little brother or sister.  Plus, the appointment is on Valentine's Day, so isn't that sweet?

Please cue for the collective Awwwwwww. 

We also gave notice to our renters, and they were (somewhat surprisingly!) very understanding and agreeable, despite them having to move about two months earlier than they had originally planned.   So praise God for that as well!

And our Peanut?  LOVING the late afternoon when Grandma gets home from work.  Asks me several times each day, "Is Grandma home from work yet?"  So I will leave you with a photo I took this afternoon when my mom beckoned me outside to take a picture.

Moving Back to Hometown: Mission Accomplished (or at least the first part is....)

Life has been a whirlwind for the past week and a half.  First, we are moved back to Hometown!  As if you couldn't tell that already by the title.   

My aim is to be helpful, people.  

Peanut's last play in the snow.....at least in Smalltown.

Let me give some background before I dive into the story.  Smalltown is in a portion of our state that gets a fair amount of snow each year.  MUCH more than we ever did back in Hometown--we even purchased studded tires within a month of moving here.  BUT, we hadn't had hardly any snow this winter season.  We had a small bit back in November and an even smaller amount on New Year's.....but neither lasted long.  So we were due for some snow.  Of course my hope was that it would occur at least two weeks prior to our move so we would have lots of time to look outside and enjoy it, Peanut could play in the snow, and all roads home (aka the mountain passes) would be nice and clear for our 6+ hour drive home with two vehicles and a 26 foot moving truck.
 
Well?  Not so much.  God had other plans.  And isn't that always the case?  

Her FINAL night in her toddler bed/crib.  Sigh. 

 
So last Tuesday (the 17th) it started snowing.....and it didn't stop.  Or at least it didn't seem to.  My Dad, as well as my mother-in-law and brother-in-law, were all to fly into Smalltown late in the afternoon on Thursday.  Well, the major city that they all had to fly in from practically shut down from this ginormous amount (at least by West Coast port city standards) of winter weather, thus making it very difficult for all our family to get to Smalltown.  My Dad's flight?  Canceled within two hours of his original departure time.  My mother-in-law and brother-in-law?  Their flight was delayed for over eight hours.....while they were stuck in got to hang out in the tiny airport restaurant.

With family having already purchased airfare to come help us move, having given notice to our landlords that we were going to be vacating, and with both Hub's current and future restaurants juggling their schedules around Hubs' and our transition, we weren't really in a position to say, "Hey let's put this off for a week while the weather improves." 

Despite the massive number of power lines, it IS pretty, isn't it?

 
 
So we pushed through.  Hubs' mom and brother got in LATE Thursday night and my Dad flew in late Friday morning.  (Where, by the way, in the car on the way home from the airport my Dad informed me he was so glad he was able to make it to help us make the big move home--but that he would have crawled there if that's what it had taken to get there to help us--he was that excited to get us home.  Isn't that just the sweetest thing?!?!?)  We had already got our moving truck early Thursday morning (due to the weather and the rental place closing early) and we promptly went and purchased chains for the moving truck.  At that moment in time chains were required on the mountain passes on all vehicles over 10,000 pounds--which of course would be the case with our moving truck--so $100 later, we were the proud owners of chains for our moving truck.

Hubs, his brother, and my Dad busted their you-know-whats from about 11 am on Friday until about 10 pm Friday night.  With a stop for lunch, a stop for dinner, and countless stops to put salt down and scrape the walk ways and drive way free of snow, they got the truck loaded with *most* of our stuff.   Hubs' mom helped me in keeping the Peanut occupied for most of the afternoon with a trip to the mall and a stop at Costco to pick up pizza for dinner. 

Several days before the move, I left the smallest suit case in Peanut's room to use on the big day--this is what I found when the big day came. 

 

We got up bright and early on Saturday.  Me?  I woke up at 3:30 am and COULD NOT get back to sleep. Ahhh, the joys of being pregnant.  I finally gave in and got up at 5 am and took my time showering and getting ready one last time in our sweet little place we called home for the last two and a half years.

The boys got the rest of the odds and ends loaded in the truck (which seriously take WAY more time than all the big stuff), while Hubs' mom and I busted our you-know-whats cleaning our little home to insure we got our deposit back.  Luckily, I had done the deeper cleaning (windows, light fixtures, etc.) about a week before we moved, so we really were just vacuuming and cleaning bathroooms and floors--but all that stuff takes time.  And my sweet mother-in-law?  She cleaned the fridge.  Inside and out.  Can you say nomination for sainthood?

 

Our landlords came around 1:30 on Saturday afternoon to do the final walk through and exchange a not-so-looking-forward-to, tearful goodbye.  I've said it before, but we are blessed.  I mean, who exchanges tears and hugs and parting gifts with their landlord (or tenants for that matter) when they move out?  People who are blessed to have had very special landlords that took them under their wing, that's who.  I can say with strong conviction that it was no coincidence that our paths crossed with them.  And I am ever so grateful.

 
By the time we got gas for all the vehicles and got potty breaks (mainly for the preggers and three year old), it was 3 pm on Saturday before we got on the road.  Much later than the noon hour we were shooting for, but we wanted to get on the road before another significant amount of snow hit.  (And hit, it did--Smalltown got another 6 inches Saturday night after we left--on top of the approximate 12 that were already on the ground.)  And quite honestly, the roads weren't too bad.  They were really clear until we hit the mountain passes and fairly clear after the mountain passes.  Driving conditions really could have been so much worse--but we took it slow for the safety of all of us.  Hubs and his mom drove in the moving truck, my Dad and I and Peanut were in our car, and Hubs' brother--bless his heart!--drove Hubs truck, all by himself.  And we were all wiped. out. by the time we got on the road.  I was exhausted and I had only cleaned house and packed some boxes--I hadn't been outside loading a 26 foot moving truck in 20 degree temps, like all the guys had.  So yes, Peanut's adored uncle definitely gets a nomination for sainthood as well.

 
We rolled into my parents driveway about 11:30 pm on Saturday night....were I promptly fell asleep in my clothes within a half an hour of stumbling walking in the door. I even abandoned ship and left my mom to get Peanut into bed.   (Thank you, Mom.)

We unloaded on Sunday with the help of Hubs' sister and her family--her husband helped unload while Hubs' sister and mom took all the kids out to lunch.  This was such a big help too, so my mom and I could unpack and get things around the house somewhat organized for our temporary but several month stay.

 
Peanut has already started preschool here and we have been able to share a night out for a birthday party with Hubs' family.  I had my first "doctors" (it was actually the initial visit with the OB nurse practitioner) appointment and Peanut had her first dental appointment here in Hometown.  We are settling in--thank you Mom and Dad!

And the verdict?

It's SO good to be home.

It's Been Awhile

The last two weeks have flown by. Even though it didn't really feel like it on any given day.

If that makes any sense.  I hope it does.  But if it doesn't, I claim pregnancy brain. 

Peanut and I rang in the new year while Hubs was finishing up at work.  His boss had asked them to work on refinishing some of the tables at the restaurant.  Which of course can only happen when they are closed.  And while I appreciate that my husband works very, very hard in providing for our family, I was *a little* irritated when he didn't get home until 3 am on New Year's Day.

They closed at 9 pm on New Year's Eve.  The little over-achiever decided to get a whole bunch of the tables refinished.  Again, while I appreciate his initiative in trying to get as many of these done as he could, I can guarantee none of the other managers would have done this--not on a "holiday" and especially not before their day off. 

So I wasn't thrilled with that little surprise and then I was even less thrilled a few days later when Peanut came down with a cold and an even more nasty cough.  Which of course, she graciously shared with both Hubs and me.  Although I don't think it was the upper respiratory flu, it seemed way worse than the average cold.  I obviously don't have a medical degree, so I really don't know what it was, but I am just happy we are much better and on the mend.  Hubs got it last and he seems to be doing much better as well, for which I am very grateful.  The man never rarely uses sick days (see preceding story regarding the over achiever gene), so he worked 11-12 hour days all while trying to get better.  Fun times.

Ultra sound photo from about 10 weeks.  Yes, I am just getting around to posting it. 

However, in more uplifiting news, I am feeling much better pregnancy wise.  The nauseousness has seemed to subside for the most part, creeping up now only on a rare occasion.  So that has been very nice.  I am still tired, but I think that has way more to do with packing up our household and chasing a three year old than it does with being pregnant.

Speaking of moving, we are moving one week from today!  I cannot believe this day has finally come!  This poor little blog has been so neglected lately.  I keep telling myself that I will have so much more time to devote to blogging once we get moved, but I just don't know.....

We will be living with my parents for a few months until our renters (we have in our home) lease is up and then just a shade longer after that.  We (I use that term very loosely) plan to go in and paint and get the carpet replaced before moving all of our belongings back in.  God willing, we will be getting moved in and settled just prior to the little brother or little sister's arrival at the end of June.  It will be tight, but we are very thankful and even more blessed. 

I am excited to be able to grocery shop at my favorite (read cheap) grocery store once again and even more excited to be surrounded by family and friends.  Despite all the wonderful new changes we will have, I am sad to be leaving the place where our precious Peanut spent her toddler years.  It will be a home she will eventually only remember by pictures and that makes me cry just thinking about it.   I am sad to be leaving a climate that calls for sunglasses 12 months of the year, rather than the 3 months (if we are lucky) I am accustomed to in HomeTown.  I will miss Hubs four mile commute (as will he!) and I will miss our sweet landlord.  I don't question for a minute that God didn't know exactly what he was doing when we ended up renting from her.  She has been so wonderful to our family and most of all to our precious Peanut.  I am so grateful things fell into place as they did two and half years ago. 

I've said this (and reminded myself of this!) so many times:  He is not a God of coincidences.


God is so good.

Happy New Year!

Blessings to each of you in the new year...

Why yes, the toupee hair WAS all Peanut's idea.  For reals.

 

Best Dessert Recipe of 2011: Coconut Cream Pie

I am linking this recipe up to Finding Joy in My Kitchen's Countdown to 2012: Best Dessert Recipes.  Coconut Cream Pie.....does it really need a further introduction?  I think not.  

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I have decided that pies are my new favorite dessert.  Specifically cream pies.  Is it okay to have a birthday pie rather than cake?  If it is, then sign me up! (That is unless my mom is making her homemade German Chocolate Cake--because if that's the case, all bets are off...)

The hubs and my birthday were last month (they are just a few days apart) and I made him a blackberry pie.  We still had some left over on my birthday, so I didn't bother making another dessert and I promised myself that the following week, I would make myself a pie.  (Hubs is wonderful, but it's like pulling teeth to get him to bake on my birthday--so I stopped trying.  Plus he detailed my car inside and out so I can't complain!  Please know I am not bashing my husband--I think our "talents" compliment each other very nicely!)

The next week came however and Hubs and Peanut both got sick and then life got in the way, so I finally got a chance a few days ago to whip this up.  It was worth the wait.  Even Hubs liked it and he swears he doesn't like coconut--I really think he's lying.  Either about not liking coconut or about the pie--but when you are short on time getting ready for work and you still choose to have a piece of pie after lunch--my bet is that he's lying about the coconut.

Although I love the butter based crust I found, I had some palm shortening that I wanted to try.  This crust was very good and flaky, but more difficult to work with than a butter or vegetable shortening crust.   I also made a stabilized whip cream, as I knew the pie would take us several days to eat.  It worked really well!

Coconut Cream Pie

For the crust

1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp palm shortening
2 to 3 Tbsps cold water

In a food processor (or by hand), mix dry ingredients together.  Add in shortening and pulse to combine (cut shortening into flour using two knives or a pastry cutter if doing so by hand) until the mixture is a little chunkier than canned Parmesan cheese (I think that's a great reference point, don't you?).  Add in water one tablespoon at a time, until dough just holds together.  Shape dough into a ball and flatten to a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate about 20 minutes. 

On a well floured surface (I love using my Silpat for this), roll out dough evenly into a circle, large enough  for a 9 inch pie plate.  I roll the dough out and hold the pie plate over it to make sure it will cover the bottom and the sides.  You could use a pastry mat too, but this works for me.  :)

Fold dough into quarters and transfer to pie plate.  Press into dish, fluting edges or trimming even with the pie plate.  You can tell what I did--someone got lazy.  Pierce the dough evenly with the tines of a fork and bake at 475 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.  (This is called blind baking--where the crust is baked prior to filling the pie.)  Allow crust to cool prior to filling.

Coconut Cream Filling

4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup of sugar (I used good ol' sugar--somethings you just can't mess with)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp butter
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut divided in 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup

Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl for about a minute and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, mix together sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Stir in milk gradually, whisking to combine.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and starts to boil.  Boil for one minute, continuing to stir.  Remove from heat temporarily and ladle about a half a cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, stirring the yolks constantly.  Once combined, return the egg mixture back to the mixture in the saucepan, stirring to incorporate. (This process is called tempering.)  Place saucepan back on burner and bring to a boil once again.  Boil for one minute and remove from heat.  Stir in butter, vanilla, and 3/4 cup of coconut and fold to combine.  Pour into cooled pie crust and place plastic wrap directly on filling to prevent a hardened pudding crust from forming.  Allow to cool completely before topping with cream.

Stabilized Whipped Cream (aka homemade Cool Whip)

1 Tbsp cold water
1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl, mix together water and gelatin.  Set aside.

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, whip cream on medium high speed until cream starts to thicken (about 3-5 minutes).  The gelatin mixture should have thickened completely.  Using a spatula, break up the gelatin mixture and add to the cream, along with maple syrup and vanilla.  Mix again on medium high speed until whip cream reaches desired thickness--I let mine get fairly thick as I wanted it to hold up in the fridge for several days.  Remove plastic wrap from cooled pie and spread whipped cream evenly over top.  Top with toasted coconut if desired.

Toasted Coconut

Place a large saute pan on burner over medium high heat.  Allow pan to get hot enough to let a drop of water dance all over the pan. (That way you know it's good and hot!)  Using remaining 1/4 cup of coconut, pour into pan, stirring constantly.  Coconut will start to toast immediately, so make sure to keep stirring to allow all the coconut to toast (this shouldn't take more than 30 seconds).  Remove from heat and pour onto plate and allow to cool before topping on pie.