pmthreads

You may have guessed from my absence ~ our little one arrived a bit early! Little Pandora was born Wednesday the 8th, only a week early & with no complications. We are all home & doing well! (Today is my due date, haha)

I just got my camera cord back so here is a grainy iPad shot for now ~



The labor definitely took us by surprise, lasting only 3 hours total! For the first 2 hours my contractions were completely irregular (2 minute apart, 8 minutes, 5 minutes, etc.), and would sometimes pause if I changed positions ~ all the signs that it was 'false labor'. Once we hit about 2 hours they were so intense that we decided to go to the hospital anyway, throwing things in our bag & rushing out the door with our toddler. The contractions were about 2.5 minutes apart the whole 20 minute drive there and I was screaming my head off in the car!

And we barely made it there in time! They rushed us back to a delivery room & were telling me not to push yet, we were waiting on their doctor to get ready. No time for an epidural, or for a friend to take Orson ~ the poor guy had to sit in the room through the whole thing! (Luckily he doesn't seem traumatized) The baby was born within about 30 minutes of our arrival at the hospital ~ it was quite the crazy, surreal night!

It has been hectic juggling two little ones, especially in my sore state, but *thank goodness* I've got Justin's mom here this week to help. Justin took about 3 days off but headed back to work Tuesday to finish off the end of the school year. (I'll have him for the whole summer, but meanwhile I've got to get through next week on my own.) When we got back home I spent a few days finishing up my last bit of work & am really enjoying the fact that today I am free!! And feeling pretty good ~ I can finally start knocking out a few of those neglected chores & my overwhelming to-do list. (Naturally the toddler just woke up from a super short nap...)

10 days until the due date and counting down! (And we suspect she'll come/be induced a little early)

Since the start of the year I have been setting aside certain days of the week for themed posts (Monday: Getting Things Done, Wednesdays: Manicures, Sundays: Recent Recipes) and am proud I've been able to stick to the schedule so well! Those weekly deadlines have definitely helped push me to keep with it and I've been posting more than ever!

But those weekly themes have mostly focused on listing *everything*, and I've been itching to get back to more 'normal' posts ~ dropping the lists and focusing more on the interesting recipes & projects. I plan on sticking with the themed posts until the baby arrives and then will probably disappear for a bit until things settle down. Then I can hopefully get into the habit of posting regularly without the set themes or lists. (Though I may keep the lists privately going for myself. It's surprisingly motivating to see how much, or little, you've accomplished during the week!)

By the way, sorry to have skipped the manicures for so many weeks! With all of the extra custom orders & baby prep & cleaning I just can't motivate myself to do anything with them lately!


Last week I...

♦ Made my own taco seasoning! We had some Sazon on hand for those times a recipe needed a little, but the jar finally ran out and I was eager to try this. It smells wonderful & we'll be trying it out in a recipe this week.

♦ I managed to go through all 7 bags of baby clothes from my cousin and get them sorted by size. Here is a picture of the 3 month and 6 month piles!



Oh my!! Pandora will definitely be a well dressed baby! Luckily that is the bulk of it ~ there is a slightly smaller 9 month pile and then a few Newborn, 12 months, hats/socks/shoes/etc.

I then went through each size & pulled out my absolute favorites & set the rest aside to go to another home. Once you add in the things I bought, or got from grandmas & the shower, she is still going to have a ton of clothes!

♦ Inspired by the clothes sorting, I pulled out the bag of boys clothes I have set aside for a pregnant friend and checked for any stains. I thought I'd need to treat & wash most of the bag, but since they were not our favorite items I guess they did not get worn as much! (There were also quite a few boys clothes mixed in the above piles, so I was able to add about 30 more things to this bag)

♦ The mower was finally ready to pick up from repairs after 2 1/2 weeks so Justin rushed over & started mowing that night. (He was quite embarrassed about our overgrown yard & was about to go out there with a weed whacker!)

♦ Found a local pediatrician for the baby & Orson - Definitely should have done this sooner, but since we moved we've only had to take Orson in once for an ear ache & just went to the Minute Clinic.

♦ Bought a curtain & rod for the nursery & hung them. Thought I could get away with one panel but we'll definitely need to pick up a 2nd one!

♦ Been working on Thank You cards for the baby shower & am about 2/3 of the way through.

♦ Researched what iPad cases would be good to use around a toddler and decided to order this one. The iPad & case arrived on the same day! I like the case pretty well, but would go with the newer Kraken case or the Griffin Survivor if I was to do it again.

I've also spent a lot of time figuring out how to *use* the iPad, which includes many Google searches to answer my questions. Very sad to see that you can't log-in as different users, but luckily with our different email hosts & such I think Justin and will have fewer problems sharing it than most people would.

♦ And I've been slowly going through some of the ancient bookmarks on my computer. I moved a lot of recipe & craft links over to Pinterest when I started an account there, but had not noticed how many other links were floating around in my folders! Most of them are from *years* ago, and it's quite interesting/depressing to sort through them all.

Keeping it simple again last week! We ended up with some leftovers & ate out an extra night so we did not do as much cooking. Last week we made ~



► Hot & Sour Soup with frozen egg rolls (2+ dinners, pictured above) - I had this on my list for possible freezer meals, but vetoed the idea once I saw how early the water was added in the recipe. I'd prefer to have most of the prep done & store everything without the water so it doesn't take up so much room in the freezer!

► Brats with frozen steak fries & bagged salad - Our plans to grill were derailed by lots & lots of rain!

And for a get-together we made ~

► Hot Bacon & Swiss Dip with tortilla chips - This stuff goes dangerously fast!

I've been taking things easy but still working on some last minute baby stuff. Last week I (with some help from Justin) ...

♦ Sewed & hung the new black-out panel for Orson's room. I guess it was a little too successful ~ Orson started asking for a nightlight!

♦ Went on the hospital tour.

♦ Moved Orson's car seat to the right side of the car to give him a little time to adjust before we set up the baby's car seat base in hold old spot.

♦ Set up the playpen bassinet in our bedroom.

♦ Moved the desk from the nursery & scooted over the crib. We've still got some arranging to do in there, but she'll probably be sleeping in our room for a while.

♦ Picked up the custom framed photos we ordered from Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. The frames were all 50% off this week, so I made sure to ask about the sale and we got a huge discount!!

We also bought a plate holder there for a large serving platter. Might as well use it for decoration rather than having it shoved awkwardly in a cabinet! (It now sits atop the red cabinet)

♦ My lovely aunt & cousin threw me & Pandora a baby shower! It was so nice to see everyone, eat some yummy foods, and we got spoiled with presents. The ladies helped me knock out some of the much-needed items from our registry, and my cousin loaded me up with 7 giant bags of girl's clothing! I'll need to start sorting through them this week, but for now I'm having them checked out by our quality inspector ~



♦ And we had one last big splurge before I stop working ~ an iPad 2! It should be arriving in a few days & we are still in shock, we've wanted one a long time.

We were not able to fix the battery in our current laptop, and with the broken power cord that means it's only really usable if you don't move it at all. (Next year we'll probably replace my desktop with a nice laptop, but for now we needed something a little more portable.) There is also a hand-held baby tracker I've been wishing for since Orson was born, but at this point I figured that $50 would be better spent on a tablet & a cheap app. With Pandora threatening to come early we didn't think it was going to be possible (I'd lose a few weeks of payments), so we are extra excited about our early Mother & Father's Day gift!

Anyone have recommendations for a case?

Last week we were worried that the baby might need to be induced early, so we stuck with some easy dinners! We made...



► Sausage, Lentil, & Kale Stew (2 dinners, pictured above) - We also doubled this one for 2 more freezer meals! To freeze it we started off by doubling everything, then removed half of it into a freezer bag before the water was added. I poured the rest of the ingredients in the bag and we'll just need to simmer it for 30 minutes when we are ready to make it.

► Chicken Taquitos with Queso Fresco (doubled for 2 dinners) - This one was a little more work, but worth it to use up the rest of that Queso Fresco! For this I followed our normal Chicken Taquito recipes but subbed both of the cheese with 6 oz. of the Queso. Not quite as taste as normal, but still very good!

► Frozen Breakfast Scrambler (the type with sausage & potatoes, just add egg)


And I also made a simple Asian salad for lunches. Equal parts shredded savoy cabbage and shredded, cooked chicken ~ then I sprinkled on sesame seeds, Chow Mein noodles, and tossed everything with some of my Savory Miso Dressing. Tonight I made the same thing minus the Chow Mein noodles & mixed it with leftover ranch dressing for a light dinner. Yummy!

Well, I was able to stay pretty productive last week, but now the baby is thwarting me! My feet & hands started swelling like crazy & my blood pressure shot up ~ the doctor said any higher and we might have to induce early, so now I've got to sit around & do nothing as much as possible. That sounds like fun, but it is not easy to do when you are 1) taking care of a toddler & 2) worried the baby might be here weeks early & there is so much to do! (Don't worry, my blood pressure was lower at my appointment today, but I'll still take it easy.)

Last week I...

♦ Lined a shelf with fabric panels! I'd wanted to do this every since I pinned this (apparently '39 weeks ago', haha). I did not really go back & read the post to follow any directions since it's so simple. Why did it take me so long again?

Here is the shelf I wanted to cover, in our guestroom bath. The cut-outs would be cute in a kids/teens room, but seem too young otherwise. They also distract a lot from the items on the shelf (which are not that amazing, but we just used anything the right size & color we had on hand) ~



Then I measured the back of each shelf and cut cardboard to size. Luckily they were all the exact same height! For these you do not want to cut them too snug because the fabric will also add some thickness around the edges.



I covered each cardboard piece with fabric scraps that I had been saving from when I hemmed the curtains for the same room. (We could not find any the right height so I just had to shorten them a little) Unfortunately I had to seam rip the hem out first & steam them a bit, but it was not too bad. I glued along the back only, folding in the corners and letting them dry with some cheap clips.



And here is the finished shelf! Aside from the knick-knacks it's looking pretty good, haha.



♦ Measured the shelves of the new white cabinet (master bath) to buy some totes/bins for organization. I also put away the rest of the stuff we had sitting around in moving boxes ~ there is so much more room in there now!

♦ Used Goo Gone on our old coffee table, which has become our new TV stand. The front two corners used to have safety pads to protect our little guy (who previously busted his head on them and had to get stitches!), but they've since fallen off and left dirty residue from the tape. It won't be too long before we'll have to get some new tape and stick them on for the new baby, but at least now I know how easy it is to clean off afterward!

♦ Started working on a new black-out panel for Orson's window. The liner we bought was not blocking out enough light since it is on a curtain rod & away from the window, so after many elaborate plans on how to block the sides better (velcro, magnets, foam noodles even!) I decided to just sew a fabric panel to fit on the inside of the window frame, up against the window. I measured his window & the nursery window and checked my stash of corduroy fabric downstairs. I had some just large enough to cover both! I cut the fabric to size and will sew them this week.

♦ The day Orson's new dresser was arriving I moved the changing table (and the shelf & trashcan we keep beside it) into the nursery. Poor Orson was very upset, trying to carry the trashcan back to his room & arguing with me that I needed to put everything back, but he finally calmed down. He was very excited to 'help' daddy put the dresser together that night and had fun filling it up & arranging toys on the top.

♦ Moved the main camera for Orson's room, hanging it up high on the other side of the room. We have a 2nd camera in there temporarily that will be for the baby's room later. I also adjusted that one a little so now we can almost see his whole room ~ I'll be sad to give that one up!

♦ Rounded up all of Orson's too-small clothes since he's officially up a size now. Haven't had a chance to sort them yet, but at least they are all in once place!

♦ Signed up again for the hospital tour. (We were supposed to go last weekend but I was feeling too sick from the insane pollen levels)

♦ Started sorting away my craft supplies in the basement into our new big shelves! I worked down there two different days, about 45 minutes each time, and made some real progress. (Unfortunately I've got to leave it alone now until after the baby arrives.)

♦ Started doing some major planning when we found out the baby might arrive so early ~ making lists for our hospital bag, contacting people who might be able to watch Orson during the delivery, etc.

♦ Got the newborn/infant boxes out of the nursery closet & arranged the blankets, hats, etc. on the changing table shelving. I was waiting to do this until after the shower, but wanted to have some stuff accessible so we can pack a hospital bag now, just in case!

► Polenta with Chorizo & Queso Fresco (doubled for 2+ dinners, pictured above) - I found this new recipe searching for some way to use up some of the Queso Fresco we accidentally bought last week! We used regular grits, about half of the tomatoes called for, and meant to add in a little fresh chopped spinach but we totally forgot when making it! It made a lot of food & definitely did not need to be doubled. The Queso Fresco was interesting ~ I read it was similar to feta, but it had more of a waxy texture & not as strong of a flavor.

Justin *loved* this recipe, but I was not impressed. I am not much of a Mexican fan though (and hate cilantro), so you can’t really take my opinion. To serve it you lay down the polenta & corn mixture, top with the chorizo & tomatoes, and sprinkle the queso & cilantro over the top. Justin raved about how each layer was so flavorful on it’s own, and they created a complex mix together. (Poor guy ~ I doubt we’ll make it again!)


► Chicken Parmesan Bake with Pan-fried Asparagus (2 dinners) - I’d been craving this one for weeks, but we kept having one recipe that was too similar (chicken topped with bread cubes or something with tomato sauce & cheese) so I put it off. I wanted to make this one as a freezer meal, but didn't want to buy that much chicken. Oh well ~ it was delicious!

Ahh. Spring Break is over, but we had a nice one! Relaxing, fun, and productive ~ and it didn’t even rush by! We started out with a quick anniversary trip to Chattanooga, Tn, ended with a bad allergy attack and a get-together with college friends, and managed to knock off the majority of our to-do list in between. We got so much done, I’m just going to list things by room. This week we tackled the...

♦ Basement - Vacuumed (dead bugs), put down more bug spray, & assembled 2 cabinets for my craft supplies. The cabinets were a little smaller than I had pictured, so we’ll definitely need a 3rd! (but wait for them to go on sale again)

♦ Living room - Hung our awesome new metal wall art over the fireplace, cleared the poinsettia & V-day cards off the mantle & them replaced with some ‘neutral’ decorations (which will probably be up there a long time!)



♦ Kitchen - Bought some black bins for the red cabinet, ordered fabric to spruce them up a bit, hung our trivets on the wall ~ might as well use them for decorations too!



♦ Our room - Put together the white cabinet for our bathroom & filled it up! Need to get some totes for this before I can really organize it.

♦ Orson’s room - Framed a poster, hung 4 things on the wall, bought a light-blocking curtain liner & double curtain rod, stitched together the liner (didn’t realize it was 2 narrow panels) & lengthened it, hung all the curtains, bought & put in a hanging rod for his closet (like this) so he can reach his clothes, & bought him a dresser! Hopefully he won’t mind this replacing the changing table.



Above you can see the framed poster ~ the artwork was created by my talented aunt! The kitty below is too tiny for the wall, but I was so pleased to find something with a cat that was not girl themed. We'll add to it later.



♦ Nursery - Moved the file cabinets to the basement & put together the crib!

♦ Everything else - Hung wall art in a bathroom and the hallway, put aside cash to pay for the photos being framed, cancelled the satellite TV (did you know you can legally get broadcast channels free through a cable connection?), re-listed 6 items on eBay and listed 7 new things, took in the mower for repair (so did everyone else - a 2 week wait!), bought a weed-whacker, bought & returned another laptop battery (neither one worked, this thing is dead!), bought a breast pump, tried 6 new recipes & put aside another 2 freezer meals.

Whew! I’m impressed. I definitely did not think we’d mark so much off our list in such a short time. Big thanks to Justin! I've even managed to keep up the momentum today.

Wow, somehow last week I managed to try 6 new recipes without realizing it! They were mostly sauces, and some were added later in the week, so I didn’t notice just how many there were.



► Miso Glazed Salmon with Garlic Scallion Noodles and Pan-fried Asparagus - This was a winner all around! I used the glaze from this recipe but we ended up having to buy frozen salmon, so I just followed the cooking directions on the package for that. The sauce was just what I was looking for - Japanese dengaku style. I slathered it on often so there was a nice thick coating.

The noodles were surprisingly good! I was a little hesitant after the Ginger Scallion Noodles disaster, but these were delicious. (I did cut 1 Tbsp. of butter, no fish sauce, and my noodles were wheat based rather than egg.) I even ended up making another batch later in the week for lunches since we’d only used half of the noodles, and now I agree with the poster that I could probably eat this entire batch in one sitting. It’s just so easy to go back for another bowl!


► Chinese Roast Chicken with Coriander Rice & Roasted Green Beans (2 dinners) - I had hoped to take a photo of this meal so I could type up an official recipe for it, but we ended up having to change some things this time around so it was a little off. Oh well, maybe next time! It is based on this recipe, but multiplied enough to make 10 drumsticks.

Drumsticks were on sale, so we also doubled it for 2 more freezer meals! I just poured the marinade in a bag with the chicken & we will make the rice the day we bake that. Today I picked up some more green beans & will go ahead and trim those to freeze & hope they will roast well.


► Grilled Kabobs with 2 dipping sauces - Grilling season is finally here! For the kabobs we used steak, sliced onions, mushrooms, broccoli, and bell peppers. I also whipped up 2 new sauces to try out.

Coconut Dipping Sauce - We normally use low-fat coconut milk in recipes, but for this one I think it was a big mistake. The sauce was *super* thin! I used 1/2 the ginger called for (I hate grating it) and that was plenty. The sauce was too tart from the vinegar so I added in another Tbsp. of peanut butter and 1 Tbsp. honey. At that point the flavor was pretty good, but still too runny from the low-fat coconut milk. (I don’t think we’ll bother trying it again with full fat milk though! I’m sure I can find a better one.)

Restaurant Style Ranch Dressing from Our Best Bites - Once again - good, but I don’t think I’ll be making it again. This was better than bottled ranch, but not really the flavor I expect from a restaurant’s ranch dressing. I think a few few spices could change that, but I don’t know what’s missing, so I’ll just try another recipe next time.


► And for a get-together we decided to make nachos! We cooked some ground beef & put out chips, canned nacho cheese dip, salsa, chopped tomatoes, onions, lettuce, black beans, refried beans, and some other stuff I’m probably forgetting. I also used this as an excuse to try out two melty cheese dips I’d been eyeing...

Nacho Cheese Sauce - I was not too impressed with the flavor of this one, and thought it thickened a little too quickly. I actually preferred the canned cheese to this (and wasn’t in love with it either).

Queso Blanco - Whoops! I totally botched this one by grabbing the wrong cheese. We could not find White American Cheese in the dairy section (and totally forgot about the deli), so I headed back to the refrigerated section in the international aisle to grab some melty Mexican cheese instead. I did not realize that most of the cheese there was actually ‘crumbling’ cheese until I was making the dip. I tried to use it anyway, but apparently this cheese does *not* melt, and we ended up with this ~



I am not anxious to waste the $6 we spent on this cheese though, so you'll be seeing some recipes with “Queso Fresco” (crumbling cheese) over the next two weeks!!

Today I am 8 months pregnant! About 1 month and 1 week to go. (And Justin's hoping for 2-3 days late ~ we'll see!)



Here is my 8m picture from last time. The old one was taken a week or two later than this, yet I think I look further along this time!