A Month of Gratitude: Day 15

I am grateful for many things we don't often think about. It's easy to take conveniences for granted, but today, I am thankful for grocery stores. I'm especially thankful for pre-cooked meals at the grocery store. The leftovers I planned to cook last night turned into a disaster. I guess some things are not meant to be refrigerated and reheated. Never mind what it was supposed to be, it came out a gloppy mess.

The S.O. ran to the store and bought chicken and mashed potatoes from the deli area at the grocery store. We added a vegetable, and dinner was ready in a few minutes with no tears (well, just a few).

I am really thankful I don't have to grow my own food and butcher my own meat. I could if I had to but I am so glad I don't have to.

Friday Flashback

AKA "I swipe a Mother's Day post from my other now-defunct blog"

 

 Remembering the Cake Lady

Mom was always "the cake lady." Whether she was making cakes for her own kids' birthdays, graduations or weddings or creating elaborate cake concoctions for the celebrations of friends, neighbors and friends of friends, for several years there, it seemed like she was baking and decorating cakes 24 hours a day, seven days a week (she probably was!).

Sometimes the cakes were a source of fun and creativity. A lot of times, they were a source of headaches and annoyance. But everyone who knew Mom knew she was "the cake lady." And everyone always commented on how beautiful her cakes were.

This was long before Ace of Cakes and the dearth of fondant on cakes. Mom created scenes -- from roses to critters -- for the most part using butter cream frosting. Sometimes she would use royal icing, chocolate molds or marzipan when it was absolutely necessary.

Like so many of her talents, I didn't inherit the cake gene. I can bake a cake, but I can't make it look the way she did. She once made a cake that looked like a huge basket of strawberries -- the basket was "woven" with butter cream frosting, the handle was royal icing over wire, and the berries were made of marzipan. It was amazing.

Update: Since taking a cake decorating class, I feel better about making cakes for Milo and/or the S.O. but I'll never match Mom's talent. I sure do miss her.

Mommy cooks

Ever since Milo has been old enough to eat people food, I've experimented with recipes from "Cooking for Baby: Wholesome, Homemade, Delicious Foods for 6 to 18 Months". Some are not so much recipes as how-tos -- how to make pureed fruits and vegetables. Recently, though, I've tried a few of the "real meal" recipes toward the back of the book. Milo is fast approaching 18 months!

The three I've tried have been quite tasty: beef stew, macaroni and cheese, and fish fingers. And Milo has absolutely refused to try them. Scratch that, he did eat the mac and cheese but not as greedily as he eats the kind from a box. (And really, homemade is only a tiny bit more work). I know toddlers can be picky eaters. I know -- from many accounts and experts -- that it can take up to 15 attempts to get a toddler to accept a new food. But I don't really like to cook. And I don't really enjoy spending a lot of time on a recipe that is going to be rejected out of hand.

Still, the S.O. and I did enjoy the food, and the recipes weren't that complicated. At least I didn't spend all afternoon creating something just for the boy to have him scream about trying it. And at least he will eat lots of other things. I'll just have to keep trying.

The book is very informative and, as I said, the recipes are tasty. I'd recommend this book for moms-to-be and/or moms of little ones.

Now, where did I put those oven mitts?

Friday Flashback

Last August, Milo was getting his first taste of "solid" food.

Now, he chooses what he wants to eat and feeds himself.

Saturday smiles

Some things are universal.

Things like orange-slice smiles.

"I can feed myself, Mommy"

Hmmm, what do we have here? Applesauce. Can I eat it with my hand?

Ah. This is much easier.

Delicious!

Mommy makes applesauce

Now that Milo is eating some solids -- including applesauce -- I decided to try my hand at making some of his food.

I started out with some medium-sized Gala apples,

peeled, cored and sliced.

I put them in a large pot with just enough water to cover them.

I boiled them until tender, then scooped them into the food processor.

I pureed the apples with some of the cooking water until I got the consistency I wanted. From there, the sauce went into a freezer tray,

And got taste tested.

It passed with flying colors.

Milo vs Peas

Milo's first attempt at peas didn't go as badly as it could have. My side of the family hates peas, so I'm glad Milo didn't send them flying. I don't want him to be a picky eater like his Mommy was (is). Still, I think he wore as much as he ate.

And he looked damn cute doing it.

Food Tidings

Did I tell you about this site? My awesome friend Heather set up a schedule -- with the help of some other awesome friends -- to bring me and the S.O. meals three days a week.

Way back when -- before Milo was born -- I reposted a list of ways to assist new parents. Because I refused to give my underpants size, friends decided to help out by bringing food. And it has been awesome. Most days, there has been more than enough for at least a couple meals. And everything has been so tasty, leftovers are great.

Not only does having food brought in save us the trouble of cooking, it saves us from having to decide what to fix or pick up for dinner. I had no idea how exhausting decision making could be (not as exhausting as breastfeeding, but close).

I am so grateful to all my friends who have (or will) pitch in to take care of the S.O. and me so we can concentrate on taking care of Milo. I highly recommend this site and this idea for any new parent (or anyone who is convalescing).

Nutrition*

As I mentioned yesterday, I attended a conference to earn a certificate in sports nutrition. After a day full of lectures, I took my test. I won't know for sure for a little while but I'm pretty confident I passed.

An interesting statistic from today's class: People born between 2000 and 2003 have a 25 percent chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes. It really made me think about how we'll feed our child. I don't want to be super strict about his diet, but I want him to be healthy and live a long life. We will try to feed him wholesome foods while allowing him to also have some treats that may not be the healthiest thing (cookies, candy, etc.).

The key (and this should be a no-brainer) is moderation. I'm not going to preach about nutrition here. I just want to say how sad it is that so many children struggle with obesity today. Were our parents (or parents of previous generations) really more conscientious about our diets? Are we that lazy? Or has it been a downward spiral?


*Nutrition - the science or study of, or a course of study in, nutrition, especially of humans.

Christmas traditions

When I was a kid, the one thing that signaled Christmas more than any other -- more than the tree, more than the onslaught of Christmas specials on TV, even more than the pile of presents -- was Mom breaking out the ingredients to make peanut brittle. She used a recipe given to her by my paternal grandmother.

It was quite a production: bags of raw peanuts, boxes of baking soda, piles of sugar, bottles of corn syrup, sticks of butter, the candy thermometer and her trusty heavy-bottom pan. My brothers and I would stand near the stove as Mom stirred what seemed like a magic potion, waiting impatiently for the moment when she added the baking soda, and the syrupy concoction would turn into fluffy, gooey peanut brittle.

She would pour the molten mixture out on a metal slab in the middle of our huge kitchen table. We four kids would gather round with our buttered fingers and start pulling the edges of the peanut brittle to stretch it thin -- to Mom's cries of "Wait! It's still too hot! Wait!"

But we couldn't wait. The sooner we pulled the peanut brittle out into thin segments, the sooner we could start eating it -- and the sooner Christmas could really get started.

I don't remember a year without this tradition while Mom was alive. She carried on even after all of her children had moved out. She would spend days making batch after batch because I wasn't the only person who thought it wasn't Christmas without Mom's peanut brittle.

Since Mom died, no one has carried on the tradition. But this year, my lovely culinary friend mentioned wanting to make something homemade for family. I shared Mom's peanut brittle recipe with her, and joined her this weekend to oversee and help with its creation. Honestly, I was afraid to try this recipe myself. I worried about having the right equipment. I worried that my inherent lack of patience would cause me to a scalding sugar mess across my kitchen. I worried that no matter what I did, it would never in a million years live up to my memories.

Yet, standing in my friend's kitchen, sipping hot spiced cider, watching her add the baking soda at just the right time, then stretching the candy with her, her husband and the S.O. really did feel right. And the first batch of peanut brittle -- when pulled thin and cooled -- was perfect. It was exactly the way Mom made it.

And it was exactly what I needed to make it really feel like Christmas.

Nobody told me

Nobody told me there would be no room for food! Nausea in the first trimester? Sure, I knew about that. Heartburn in the third trimester? Yep, heard all about that one. But not having enough room to eat a normal meal during the second trimester? Come on, people! Nobody told me about that.

Sure, yesterday was all about overindulging, but I didn't. Not really, because as soon as my tummy started to get a little full, I felt stuffed -- more stuffed than the Thanksgiving bird! And it wasn't just yesterday's holiday meal. Earlier in the week, a sandwich filled my stomach beyond capacity. Even my normal breakfast of plain yogurt and granola feels like I ate too much. So eating for two is definitely out of the question.

Why didn't I know that shortly after getting my normal appetite back, I wouldn't be able to actually eat? Even looking through some of the books I've picked up, that seems to be something that happens later, when the bump gets much bigger.

It's not fair. Most people get to be miserable Thanksgiving day because they went back for seconds (or thirds) or drank too much beer. My tummy was overfull with just one normal-sized plate of food. Is Baby really taking up that much space all ready?

What else aren't people telling me?

My Aloha Babymoon, part 3

Hey everybody! I hope you're not sick of hearing about my trip yet because I have more to tell you.

Our third day in Hawaii started out with a trip to a nearby farmer's market. With the clouds and looming rain, it wasn't very busy, so we were able to talk to a lot of farmers and try samples of some unusual things. We tried rambutan, a prickly fruit you break open. It has a subtly sweet flavor and looks pretty interesting.
We also tried (and bought) some Kaua’i Keshir Tea. It's made from coffee bean husks and "is low in caffeine, high in antioxidants, with a natural sweetness which comes from the coffee fruit." I haven't yet brewed any at home but plan to later today.

We even bought a slice of pie made with local mangos to have for dessert later that evening. (It was delicious!)

After returning our spoils to the condo, we headed west to Waimea, then north to Waimea Canyon. We stopped at the Waimea Canyon Lookout and Pu'u Hinahina Lookout.
Waimea Canyon is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and I have to admit it is awesome, in the true sense of the word. From there we went farther up the road to Koke'e State Park. There we visited the park's museum and had lunch at the lodge. After a short nature hike, we drove on to Kalalau Lookout, where we saw an amazing rainbow over the Na Pali Coast.
With rain rolling in, we drove on to Pu'uokila Lookout and walked a little way on the wet and muddy trail. Parts of "Jurassic Park" were filmed in this area, and it really does look quite prehistoric -- also a little treacherous.From there, we headed back east toward our condo. We made a short stop in Hanapepe to check out the town's suspension bridge. The S.O. zoomed over the bridge while I watched from the safety of the shore. Even though I had no problem looking out over the precipice at the canyon, the swinging bridge gave me a bit of vertigo (I'm pretty sure the Nubbin had something to do with that) and I only stepped out far enough to have my picture taken.

We finished up the day with a walk along the beach near our resort.

Week 13: And I have nothing to wear

This week, according to Fit Pregnancy, my baby-to-be is 2 1/2 to 3 inches long or "the size of a medium goldfish." Now, all I can think about are Goldfish crackers. Great. Because with the decrease in nausea, my appetite has really increased. (Not that I'm thinking about eating babies, obviously!)

Some of my clothes are starting to get a little too snug. I am really not ready to buy any actual maternity clothes, though. So, maybe I just need to buy some yoga pants. They're nice and stretchy, right? Without looking baggy and sloppy.

Fit Pregnancy also tells me I'll have more energy. I have to call BS on that one. Maybe they don't mean those of us who are of "advanced maternal age." Because, whether it's my age or the change in the weather, I haven't felt any more energetic yet. In fact, I've been just as tired -- if not more -- than ever.

And just when I thought week 13 was going to be all peaches and cream, they tell me, "Your smell and taste aversions will probably stick with you for the rest of your pregnancy." So even thought I was hoping to go back to my pre-pregnancy eating habits, I probably won't be eating too many vegetables or fish -- except maybe Goldfish crackers, that is.