Friday, April 30, 2010

It's a problem.

My name is Jeannette and I have a diaper-buying problem.

That felt good.

Now, check these babies out. Pretty cute, huh? These latest little additions to my stash came to me for the low, low price of $100 for a dozen. They are in excellent condition - never used! They retail for $12.95-15.95 each. These are about the closest you can get to the ease of disposables -- they're the diaper and cover, all in one. I have a feeling these will be Jordan's favorite during those sleepless nights.

The young mother also gave us her Bum Genius diaper pail liner and 2 dozen flannel wipes. I love free stuff. BIG fan.

I have homemade macaroni and cheese in the oven right now. Jealous? I'm jealous of myself right now.

I threw that last part in because I feel bad that I keep posting about diapers. Now it's about dinner, too.






Saturday, April 24, 2010

Gardening, Diapers, and Further evidence that there's a baby in my belly

I cannot wait until my tomato plants start giving up the goods. They've more than quadrupled in size over the past month, have had a lot of flowers, but I'm only seeing one little green tomato bud AND it's of the grape variety so it likely won't be getting too awfully big. One. I know that soon enough, I'll have more tomatoes than I can keep up with. I'm just rather impatient and want them NOW. That, and I'm tired of paying for tomatoes at Henry's. While their prices are great, I use a lot of tomatoes -- and having them growing in my very own back yard just seemed perfect.

Now if only I could get my hands on a pizza tree, I'd be set.

Mom's great idea of using my lettuce barrel to grow cucumbers, then later lettuce (using a second tier) seems to still be on hold. Brodie LOVES to curl up in that barrel full of dirt. I feel bad when I think about the plans I have for the vegetables to be grown in it. He cries at the back door in the morning -- not because he has to pee, but because he can't wait to run out and lay in the warm dirt. I never said he wasn't strange.

Lucy, on the other hand, will be content to hang out under the tomato tree and wait for the bounty to become so heavy that it falls to the ground. Because, afterall, if it's on the ground, Lucy firmly believes that it was put there for her to devour. She's our little Hoover. With sharp teeth.

I am the proud owner of 2 more Thirsties covers (washed but never used - pristine condition - $9 each) and also 2 GoodMama's diapers w/ matching inserts ($20 each). The 3rd cover shown (pink) was thrown into the bundle of BG diapers I'd picked up earlier - score! The GoodMama's have been used, but if the previous owner hadn't told me, I would have assumed they were brand new. These are the haute couture diapers of the cloth world. Softest things EVER. I cannot say enough awesome things about Craigslist -- I just can't believe that I'm finding these deals so easily! I'm mildly obsessed with obtaining diapers now.

One observation about cloth diaper people -- so far, they have been the nicest, most friendly people we've ever met. They can't wait to help us newcomers, which is awesome because I still have questions despite all my research.

I've also decided that I'm going to try my hand at knitting again. Being able to make some wool soakers (diaper covers) will save a ton of money and apparently, they work really really well. Plus, little wool covers and pants are just the cutest, so I've gotta give 'em a shot. If I ever get good enough to actually make something other than a square of knit mess, I'll be in business!

And, last but not least -- we have the 19/23 week photos. This would fall under the category of Further evidence that there's a baby in my belly, in case you were keeping track.


Wednesday, April 21, 2010

My favorite food.

I realize that this is neither about dogs nor babies. It's worthy of it's own post, though. Just trust me.

I found this recipe several months ago and have kept it in the rotation ever since. I rave about this every single time I make it. It's awesome. It's super easy. It works for breakfast, lunch, dinner or anything in between. You've just gotta make it.


Here's the stock photo, in case you aren't convinced that you should, in fact, check out the link.




I've used thyme in place of the rosemary -- DEEE-licious. I always use at least 3 cloves of garlic (duh) and as much rosemary (or whatever herb I like that day) as I can get/trim/chop. Usually works out to be a LOT more than what is called for, but it's totally worth it. The crust alone is heavenly. Then, add in the filling -- I mean, you just can't go wrong with feta, tomatoes, mozzarella and artichokes. You really can't. Oh, and I always use extra of those, too. Just fill it up as high as your pie pan or baking dish will let you. Do it. Do it now.

Aaaand, you're welcome.

P.S. Tasty Kitchen is a great source of all kinds of different recipes. When I got a little burnt out from making ONLY Pioneer Woman recipes, I turned to her Tasty Kitchen. Just like AllRecipes.com - it's all user-submitted recipes that are ratable and reviewable by other users. Super helpful and it's been a gold mine of yumminess!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Spork's new trick and some pictures

While my delicious eggplant parmesan (jealous?) is in the oven, I figured I'd go ahead and post this week's photos. In comparison to last week, I think I look smaller. Could be that I haven't had dinner yet. I also didn't just chug some whey protein...because while good and a necessary addition to my diet, it definitely creates some amazing belly-bloat. Lesson learned.

New this week -- I can kind of feel the baby kicking, jabbing, doing aerobics, etc from the outside. Kind of. It's subtle, but it's there. It also doesn't happen much, in general, yet - mostly in the morning or later at night AND it doesn't last for too long. Jordan has yet to be a part of the fun. Maybe tonight Spork will get it's Kenpo on and he'll be privy to the awesomeness.

Here's the 22 week pics (or 19 week -- hopefully we'll have this nailed down soon!):




Sunday, April 11, 2010

Another awesome Craigslist find!

I almost forgot -- here's the beginnings of our diaper stash! Scored them this morning - 24 (23 pictured) Bum Genius Egyptian Cotton diapers (sizes small & medium) for the super-awesome price of $100. I'm officially great at bargain baby shopping!


Catching up on belly-photos

I've broken down and decided to post some pictures. We've been taking front/side shots since week 15 (that is, if I'm currently 21 weeks...). The first weeks you can tell I was pretty bloated and there was no baby belly to be seen. I finally started getting a bit of a belly just a few days into my 19th week. Then this week, I had a belly explosion. It's crazy how much it grew - and literally overnight! I feel like my skin can't possibly stretch anymore right now and I'm only halfway through. This is going to get ugly.

The 15-19 week pictures are only bare-belly, starting at 20 weeks, I've added clothed & bare-belly. Consider yourself warned. We'll see how long these bare shots last. I'm thinking I'm going to be a Volvo soon at the rate that I'm going, so they may be nixed pretty quick ;-)

This should quiet the demands for awhile, right?

























Saturday, April 10, 2010

I'm an awful blogger.

As I've been reminded on a few occasions by the only person who actually reads this mess, it's been quite awhile since I've added anything new. I have no real excuse. Nothing really had been happening that's necessarily baby-related, plus I'm pretty lazy in general. I'm sorry, Angela. I promise to do better now that you've abandoned us on the west coast ;-) I'll try to catch up with all the little things here in this disjointed post. That'll teach you to complain.

So, everything is pretty much progressing as it should. I'm finally looking less like I'm a heavy beer drinker and more like there's a baby in ma belly. It's about time, too. Looking like a college kid with a gut is not attractive. I'm still very far from the point where I'm forced to wear maternity clothes and thankfully my pants fit better than they did before I got pregnant. Yeah for first trimester weight loss! In similar news, apparently being pregnant makes it impossible for me to actually gain weight. I know, as I type this, the weight-gaining gods are laughing. It'll likely happen. And with a vengeance. Pass the Ho-Ho's.

(yes, I'm kidding about the Ho-Ho's)

There is a bit of controversy over exactly how pregnant I really am. Possibly a little over 17 weeks or just a tad over 21 weeks. I have zero desire to have an ultrasound. While one midwife is very much on board with our thoughts and is very easy-going about the whole situation, another is quite pushy and holy-crap-really-needs-us-to-have-it-narrowed-down-by-now. We're not worried about this discrepancy between the two providers because, frankly, the one that is pushing for the ultrasound isn't going to be at the birth. Being held to a due date isn't something I'm interested in, as induction would only be used in an emergency. If it's that important, we'll just assume I'm only 17 weeks -- that should buy us some time, right?! Who knew I'd be so laid-back about this?

Because I'm now the self-proclaimed queen of craigslist bargains, I'm about to be the proud owner of some more awesomeness. I've come across a woman who is unloading some excellent Bum Genius egyptian cotton diapers...and I'm picking up my loot tomorrow. Pretty psyched, so long as they are in the amazing condition that she says. They aren't made/sold anymore by the manufacturer but have pretty great reviews from the folks that have tried them in the past. Our plan is to try several different types/brands of diapers and hopefully settle on some favorites...getting rid of the ones we didn't love so that others can love them instead. For the unheard-of price of just over $4 a piece, I simply couldn't pass this deal up. Oh, and just like with the second-hand furniture -- it's not gross. I simply won't put anything on my baby-to-be that I'm not comfortable with. Have no worries. Plus, we're remaining part of this wonderful reduce-reuse cycle and I couldn't be happier about that. I'll share evidence of my score tomorrow if everything goes as planned.

I may or may not decide to post some photos of the progression of my mini-bump. Stay tuned.