i'm back.... plus 1!

just a quick hello...

this little man is taking up a lot of my time right now and i need to sneak in as many naps as possible when i get opportunity... birth story coming soon though :)

tasty tuesday- blueberry lemon muffins

normally i am not a huge fan of blueberry muffins... these ones my mom started making while we were still in school and i have to say this is still one of my favorite blueberry recipes.

ingredients

mufins:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp BP
1/2 tsp salt
zest of one lemon
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter/margerine
1 cup blueberries

topping:
1/2 cup butter
1tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup white sugar
(this is a ton of topping.. i usually only use half the butter and half the sugar and still have lots for a single batch)

directions

muffins:
mix dry ingredients together
beat egg, add milk and butter
stir until mixed
stir in blueberries

scoop into lined muffin tins.
i find that the blueberries stain my silicone pans so i just use muffin cups.

bake at 425 F for 20 minutes

topping:
combine lemon juice and butter
dip muffins in butter and lemon juice mixture and then into the sugar.
let cool uncovered on baking rack

bump day - week 38

day two of home alone...

in a bit of a rush today... the long weekend threw me off and i totally thought it was still tuesday...
then i realized as i'm getting ready to run out the door that it is actually wednesday and i'd better get at least one picture up before i head out in case the lighting really sucks later or more realistically, baby brain sets in and i completely forget.

baby brain is so very real.

this morning i let the dogs out and then baxter came in, then draco came in... but i forgot that draco came in so i was out in the back yard calling him and starting to panic when i realize he is looking at me like i'm crazy from inside the house.
good thing he loves me unconditionally.

in other news...
i made some serious headway this morning tidying up the living room. its not by any means ready for the public yet but its hugely better than it was and if i don't lose steam this afternoon may be inhabitable once again. its amazing how things just pile up. especially when you are trying to fit baby stuff everywhere. even if i don't finish today, i will finish up tomorrow morning before i go for my ultrasound.

here's a quick pic for now and if i think of it later i will post a better one!

tasty tuesday - nuts n' fluff

i think i got this recipe off of a shreddies box years ago.
super delicious and easy to make.

ingredients:

6 cups popped popcorn
6 cups shreddies
1 cup salted peanuts (i like the ones without skin)
1/2 cup margerine/butter
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 package of large marshmallows (250 g)

mix it up:

toss together popcorn, shreddies and peanuts.
set aside
melt butter and peanut butter in a large microwave bowl (about a minute)
add marshmallows and microwave for another minute until marshmallows puff.
stir in cereal mix until well coated
pour into 2 greased 15"x10" (or whatever's handy - i know i've used random sizes)
bake at 250 F for 10 minutes
cool
break into bite sized pieces and store in an airtight container.

happy munching!

38 weeks and counting...

i made it through thanksgiving!

i was really hoping to not end up missing turkey and stuffing... my family tends to do things like be born on holidays. i was christmas, my sister was grey cup sunday and my brother was new years. i didn't want to miss turkey though so i will fully admit that i gave the little sea monkey a bit of a pep talk yesterday that it was not allowed out to play until i have finished thanksgiving dinner and digested it.

the sea monkey seems to have listened.

at my doctor's appointment on friday i was still measuring pretty small... she is almost positive that this is because the baby has already dropped so low but just to be on the safe side i am scheduled for an ultrasound on thursday just to check on things and make sure that everything is ok. i originally freaked out about this, but now i realize that if she had been really concerned about it i wouldn't be waiting a week to go in and that its really just a precautionary thing.
if something is not quite right - like low amniotic fluids or they think the baby has slowed growing then i will be induced.
hopefully that won't happen because fernando will be away on tour still then, but i guess i have to be prepared either way.

my hospital bag is FINALLY packed. i feel like a bit of a weight has been lifted off me now that i finally can cross that off my list. i washed all of the baby's stuff yesterday and now it is in a laundry basket just waiting to be put away into the proper drawer. maybe later today i will get to that and also pack the baby's bag so its ready to go too.

SUCCESS!!

victory is mine!

first item on my mat leave bucket list was to re-learn how to make a granny square.

i am proud to announce i whooped the granny square's ass.

i am terrible at following directions when it comes to crocheting so i learned by just looking at a picture and i think i've gotten it.

two test squares and 3 good ones to start a blanket for the sea monkey.

this picture is really dark since it was taken with me phone around midnight in my basement (formerly known as man land - now a split between craft land and man land since i lost my sewing room to give the sea monkey a room), but the color is actually a really nice aqua green and i'm going to pair it with red squares and hopefully figure out how to connect them all with black and white in between.

not sure how to do that yet since i've never made a granny square blanket yet, but i'm up to the challenge. i am already picking up speed with the squares and i just started... i think that i like granny squares.

also just wanted to say happy thanksgiving to everyone... i for one can't wait for turkey and stuffing today! favorite food ever.

my mat leave bucket list

i had a summer bucket list that didn't really go so well... most of the things did not get checked off and i eventually just gave up trying to coordinate with fernando's hectic schedule.

this bucket list is different.

these are things that i am going to do. not necessarily depending on someone else to do them with me.

• re-learn how to crochet a granny square. for some reason that skill has eluded my memory and i have no idea how to make a simple granny square.

• lose the baby weight. i don't know if this will prove to be difficult or if breastfeeding will give me the advantage i need to get this done. ideally i would actually like to hit a weight of 10 lbs less than my pre-pregnancy weight. when i got pregnant it was in the middle of winter and i was not at my thinnest.

• swimming. i don't mean train for the olympics crazy kind of swimming... i used to swim kilometer after kilometer and to be honest i have no idea why. and zero interest in doing that again, but i would like to start going to public swims with the baby as soon as the sea monkey is old enough. we'll see how i feel about that once i am trying on a bikini for the first time in my post baby body. that might be a bit on the traumatizing side for me but we'll see.

• start going for walks. i am going to try and take at least a short walk with the baby and the dogs at least 5 times a week if not more often.

• stop neglecting my houseplants.

• keep up with the housework. being pregant and working full time leaves very little time for housework. by the time i would get home from work i would fall into bed for a nap and then get up, eat dinner and be too tired still to get much done. i have already tackled a lot of the little projects this week but i would ideally like to keep up with things so the small things that can be done on a more regular basis don't turn into massive projects.

• re-brand my crochet and knit products and separate them completely from kabukikreations. it is tricky to market so many different products as one small business. the target markets are completely different and i would like to give it a try as its own separate thing.

•  create a website so i have a stand alone site to sell from rather than just selling on etsy. this will be a project for the spring once toque season is over.

• start sewing more. i miss it. i am rusty, but i am positive that a bit of practice and i'll be good as new. so many adorable baby things that i could sew... that is motivation enough itself.

i'm hoping to revisit this post regularly and update everyone when i've accomplished any of these bucket list items. hopefully some of them get crossed off sooner rather than later but i have a year... that should give me time to get through them all.

wish me luck!

foto friday - the man candy edition

a lot of people know about my obsession with this guy....
it goes back YEARS.

i used to be an avid WWF (now WWE) fan and only quit watching when this guy left...

any idea who i'm talking about?

this LOVELY man.

Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson

excuse me while i drool a bit...

thankful thursday

 i am sitting here at my cluttered kitchen table typing away on my laptop catching up on all the goings on and trying to make sure that fernando will have someplace to sleep each night on his upcoming west coast tour... so far kelowna hotel is decided but i still have to figure out the rest of them.

and i realize...

i'm on mat leave.
i don't have to go to work for the next year if i don't want to.
i have a chance to spend time with our baby and get to know the sea monkey without having to worry about juggling a work schedule.

and after that year is up...

we'll see.

i don't HAVE to go back to work.
i will probably choose to work part time because my work is really awesome and will let me work a modified schedule and from home when possible so that will make the extra income pretty hard to say no to.

as i sit here i realize that the opportunity to stay home and be a mom is a privilege. i know that there are people all over that wish they could do that. i am going to make it work and take full advantage of the opportunity.

i also want to say thank you to fernando for finally getting most of the baby stuff out of the boxes and assembled. i was starting to go crazy trying to move around all the boxes. now they're all gone except for the crib. not sure when that will get put together but it will eventually. good thing we don't need it right away.

bump day - 37 weeks

day 3 of mat leave... wish i could say its been a stress free and wonderful time.... but i would be lying.

i'm not going to go into details because i'm posting this in a bit of a rush.
maybe another day.

here are some pictures though to represent the week the fruit ticker turned watermelon.

almost done :)

tasty tuesday - tis the season...

for PICKLES!!!

Dilled Carrots

here is what you'll need:

1 head of dill for each pint of pickles you're making
1 clove of garlic per pint
carrots - to fill as many pint jars as you're making
pickling salt - 1 tbsp per pint
Boiling white vinegar - 1/4 cup per pint jar
boiling water - to fill jar

this recipe is awesome because you can make as many or as few jars as you like!

what you'll need to do:

place head of dill and clove of garlic in hot sterilized pint jar
fill with carrots to within 1" of top
measure salt over carrots
add vinegar
fill with boiling water to withing 1/4" of top
seal tightly
let stand 6 weeks before using.

ENJOY!


variations:

add a couple jalapenos to the jar when you're filling it... dilled jalapenos are delicious! and spicy dill carrots are delicious too!

add extra dill or garlic - its not an exact science

try other kinds of pickles. this recipe is great because you can make one jar and see if you like it before committing to a huge batch of something you're not sure about.
dilled beans are delicious!

37 weeks - officially full term!! and a watermelon!

it's almost time to meet the sea monkey!!
its down to the final little wait.

i really need to get a hospital bag packed so i'm not caught unprepared.
that's on my list of things i need to get done ASAP.

and according to my fruit ticker the sea monkey has moved up a fruit... the final fruit...
a WATERMELON!

first thing entering my mind when i see that is...
OMG
that has to come out of me now

i'm actually less nervous for the birth than i am for having a little bobble headed baby to take care of.
i'm positive that we'll figure it out just fine but its a bit nerve wracking right now.

another milestone...
i'm officially done work now.

i'm hoping to get lots done this week to make up for all the stuff that has been put off because i was just too tired after working a whole day at the office.