Blathering

The trip to Texas went really well. I got a bit overwhelmed when I got home and needed to clean, wash clothes, grocery plan, and grocery shop. J Cleaning went on the back burner and is just now being slowly done. I am really having to learn flexibility with my grocery shopping since I can’t just take Nathan and go and Evan hasn’t been very available on the weekends (huge project). I always loved doing my grocery shopping in the middle of the week when there weren’t many people at the store, and now that’s about the only time I can shop. Some days that REALLY bugs me. J Ah well. All for a good cause.
Speaking of good causes, my little “cause” is doing well. I went to the doctor on Monday and got to hear the heartbeat. I’m now waiting for a call from the specialist’s office to set up an appointment. I’ve struggled a bit more this week with my thoughts. I guess more little aches and pains and weird feelings are setting in, and it is hard for me to write them off as “normal” anymore. I am trying to take it easy as much as possible since I’m getting close to the time when it matters, but I have such a hard time when there is always something that needs to be done. I hate feeling useless.
Right now I’m taking a break from cleaning. After the heavy task of sweeping (yes, that’s sarcasm), my back and side were hinting that I should stop for a break. Isn’t that ridiculous? The problem is that I don’t know how many of my aches are from a lack of activity and how many are true “take a break” signs. It drives me crazy to feel lazy (ha ha ha), but I would much rather err on the side of caution. I guess I should stop complaining. ;-)
When we came back from Texas I brought home several bags of peas, bell pepper, and squash that were frozen. MeeMaw is trying to clean out some space in her freezers since garden season is almost here again, and I was more than willing to help her out. I would’ve come home with a lot more, but we were limited on space. If Stephen goes to Texas soon, I’m going to be sending him with an ice chest. Ha
Well, my back is feeling better, so I think I’ll try to clean the bathroom now. One of my sister-in-laws is coming in this weekend, so I’m really trying to get the main things clean. Having a son who uses the bathroom on his own is NOT exactly helpful.

Texas, here we come!

I'm taking advantage of what will probably be my last opportunity to go to Texas until the baby comes. I am pretty much done with the nausea, and I'm not to the point where I need to be carefully watched. So I am going. I always hate leaving Evan, but I am actually excited to be going. I think Evan's preoccupation with school and my inability to get out much both contribute to my antsiness. :-)
I have Evan stocked up on food. I roasted a chicken last night then used the bones to make broth. I made chicken salad with half of the leftover chicken, and the other half I used in my chicken noodle soup I made today with the broth. Evan loves chicken noodle soup. :-) He has a few other meals, as well, so he should be set.
Now I'm tired, and I haven't even packed my bags yet. I did make my soaked flour muffins this afternoon, and they turned out really well. I used buttermilk to soak the flour instead of yogurt, and I think it works much better for muffins. I'm taking muffins and other things I've made to try to keep a little of the same diet for me while I'm there.
Well, I should go pack. I guess. Or go watch a movie with Mom and Evan. The bad thing is that I need to get out my maternity clothes and see if there are a few things in there I can wear.

Wipes!

I went to Target today and spent about $6.80 on this stuff. My total before coupons was almost $28. I think I have enough wipes to last me quite a while. :-)

Today

I have a hard time with post titles, especially when I am mainly just rambling. :-)
I scooped poop yesterday; today my back is really hurting. I don't know if it was just the scooping or all the kneading yesterday, as well, that pushed me over the edge. I feel so out of shape, but I don't know if there is much I can do about it.
My half-and-half bread turned out okay. It just has a weird taste, and I'm not sure exactly what it comes from. I have a hard time believing it is just from the wheat flour, but I just don't know. Hmph. ;-)
I did make whole wheat pizza dough this evening, and it turned out really well! I was so happy! It made enough dough for four pizzas, so I made two and froze the dough for the other two. It feels so wonderful when something actually works. ha

03-09-09

I'm officially twelve weeks today. :-) I think this is the "silent period" of pregnancy. I don't feel yucky, and I don't feel anything moving. I just don't really feel pregnant. Okay, other than the fact that I have all of two pairs of pants to wear. ;-) It will probably be another month or so before I can feel baby. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing the heartbeat at the next appointment.
I went to Walgreens with Mom this weekend and got about $65-worth of diapers for $15. I almost feel badly for stocking up so early, but it was a really good deal! I also got two huge cans of Planters cashews, two bottles of Coffeemate creamer, Garnier shampo, Glade Sense&Spray, a box of PediaSure snack bars, Colgate toothpaste, and Glad Clingwrap for $9 and some change. :-)
I am going to try to get free Huggies wipes at some point this week. It depends on whether or not I can find them at a Walgreens around here.
This morning I made sourdough waffles, and they were good! Last night I took out a cup of my starter and added two cups of warm water and three cups of flour (two white, one wheat). This morning I added eggs, coconut oil, salt, honey, and baking soda. I was pretty impressed!
I am making bread again today, and I'm trying half white, half wheat. I figure it's better than nothing if Evan will eat it! ;-) I'm ready to see how it turns out. I have one loaf left from last week, but Evan will not eat it. ha I'm hoping to try the sourdough pancake recipe at some point. I want to have things like the waffles and pancakes made ahead and frozen for quick meals for Nathan and me.
I guess that's all for now!

Whew!

I feel so tired! This week has been interesting. Wednesday night I started getting a sore throat, and Thursday morning my lower back was hurting. By lunch my lower abdomen was cramping, and I was pretty scared since everything felt like I was about to "start." I lay down while Nathan was taking a nap then sat for most of the afternoon/evening. Nathan was great and sat almost an hour and a half (with a couple of breaks for potty and jumping up to get something) with me reading books. I don't know if he was feeling a bit down, too; but he was definitely more sedate and cuddly than normal. :-) Thursday night my stomach was starting to feel better, but I had a little fever. When I woke up this morning, I felt pretty much back to normal, other than being a little tired. Hopefully, that's over and nothing else will come of it. Of course, I'm feeling every little ache or pain and trying to ignore them!
Evan actually came home early today, so I was able to go to the grocery store and get that out of the way. We're heading to my parents tonight, and I am very happy. My "running around" has been drastically cut down lately, so I've been feeling pretty couped up, especially since Evan has been so busy. Usually I'm just going to the grocery store or running to Walgreens, but it's funny how those times count as "getting out." I haven't been able to do that much lately just because I can't put Nathan in a cart (I'm not lifting him anymore) and he's not the greatest at making a relaxing shopping trip when he's out of the cart. ha
So, that is life right now. I don't have another appointment for two and a half weeks, but I'll be really happy to hear a heartbeat. After that appointment, I'll be shortly starting the weekly appointments. In some ways, these first almost twelve weeks have flown by.

03-03-09

The bread wasn’t really what I expected. Nathan likes it, though! It is just very different and not at all like MeeMaw’s sourdough bread. Of course, hers is made with white flour, so I suppose that would make a lot of difference. I haven’t decided yet if the bread recipe can be worked with. I might still try the waffles; Nathan will eat them if nothing else. He ate two slices of bread this morning with honey. I ate a piece of bread with eggs on top. It really wasn’t bad. I remember the bread I ate in Russia was a lot like this bread, and I actually got accustomed to it and craved it when I got back home. Hmmmm…
Today I am not being nearly as motivated. I just feel worn out. Ha I do have my beans in the crockpot for Red Beans and Rice, and today is the perfect day for them.
I am still reading my Charlotte Mason books. I just finished School Education and have started Ourselves. So far, I am not getting interested in Ourselves. I am hoping that will change as I read. I did enjoy the end of School Education because she gave her opinion of a general schedule for school. The more I read, the more I feel that her general approach to education is the one that I would love to use. Everything she says rings true with what I learned through my personal and teaching experiences. I am glad I have a bit of time before I have to put the "rubber to the road," though. It's nice to have the time to plan what you want to do and find the books and resources that you will need.

Busy Morning

I feel so productive this morning! I have been making my sourdough starter for a week now, and today is bread-making day! I actually got up before my son today to read; then I made my bread dough. I definitely got my upper-body workout in the 10-12 minutes of kneading. :-) Nathan had his own little piece of dough that he was working on. So, now I wait until my dough doubles (probably sometime this afternoon), and I'll have to knead it again and put it in the bread pans to rise again. Hopefully I'll have bread pictures by the end of the day! ha I hope, hope, hope that it turns out well. I love sourdough bread. I am actually contemplating sourdough waffles tomorrow. Here is the link to my inspiration.
We are having deer roast tonight, so I also had to brown the roast and put that in the crockpot this morning. Since I was already pretty busy, I decided to put my veggies in later in the day. I just put the deer broth (homemade), onion, celery, and garlic in the bottom of the crockpot and put the roast on top; I'll add the carrots and potatoes later. We'll see how that works. Now I'm taking a break before cleaning the kitchen and starting laundry. :-)
By the way, my husband is going straight to the library after work today to work on his research project, so does anyone want supper?? ha ha