Northwestern Hospitality

Many thanks to Jamie, David & Amelia of Bungalow Bee for their Seattle hospitality. Jamie is a blogging buddy who makes a mean Chicken Tortilla Soup - and insisted on bringing us this delicious meal as we (and our new baby boy) are newcomers to the city.

It was delightful to finally meet Jamie, and her family, in person. We cannot express how much we appreciate their thoughtfulness. It has helped us in the transition of missing the familiar things about our former town and friendly neighbors, to feeling more at home here in Seattle.

Btw Jamie, I think I'll be needing that recipe... this is one of my husband's favorites. And I had seconds :) Thank you, too, for the cupcakes! Delicious. We are so blessed.

We're Here

We arrived at our new home, in Seattle, 11 days ago. (That's us down in the corner.) Even though most of our belongings are still in boxes, we managed to make our way downtown for dinner one evening. (At this point, I still had not been able to find any boxes with pants that fit me - thank goodness for safety pins!) But, since Grandma was visiting and deserved a dinner out - out we went.

We set up a fresh Christmas tree and decorated it. I even managed to make Charlotte a promised Christmas present...Even when a mommy doesn't have time to make anything crafty between moving and a new baby, when her daughter looks up with doe eyes and asks, "Can you make me a purple scarf for Christmas, Mommy?" Who can say no?

I didn't have a pattern. But I recall liking the half double crochet stitch and the shell stitch. Using an "I" hook, I chained 109 stitches, made 4 rows of half double stitches on each side and finished with the shell stitch for the border. At a finished length of 3 inches wide by 40 inches long, the scarf turned out sweet and petite, just like my girl.

Our boy, Henry, is 3 weeks old in this bath picture. He's already changing and growing a bit. But compared to my husband's hands, he is still very tiny indeed. We wish everyone a very blessed and Merry Christmas in celebration of our savior's birth!

He's Here

Henry Samuel was born on 11.30.09 at 8:16 a.m. weighing 8 lbs 3 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. (He was over a full pound lighter than predicted.) He's beautiful and perfect and sweet. He is also beloved by his parents and his big sister...
Here's one last pic of me before we went into the hospital on monday morning...

We were all ready to meet each other. He wanted out as much as I wanted him out. For the most part, things went smoothly. I'll have to update you with the birth story another day because we are all still very tired. And happy.

9 Months

This is my 36 week photo. I'm finally 9 months pregnant - and I certainly feel it. Today was my ultrasound to determine baby's approximate weight. Our "big boy" is definitely big. He's already 8 lbs 1 oz - inside the womb! (This is a 1/2 lb heavier than my daughter was at this stage. She was 9 lbs 11 oz at birth.) So, he's on track to be 10 lbs by my due date. (The doc doesn't want us to wait that long, so a c-section is on the books about a week early.)

Even though most of my time is spent lying down in bed... In the last couple of weeks, my husband and I have put our house on the market, held an open house, accepted an offer, held a moving sale, started packing boxes and celebrated our 5th anniversary. (I went and gussied myself up by removing the Breathe Right strip from my nose before our picnic dinner in front of the fireplace. Why is it so hard to breathe during pregnancy??) My dear H never complains... he even told me that I looked nice.

Here we are saying our "I do's" 5 years ago. Just thinking about this moment makes me feel the same overwhelming joy that I felt that day. (H, you really are the best!)

Over our anniversary dinner/picnic, we talked about how we would never have thought we'd have (nearly) two children, be selling our house and moving out of state (say it like George H.W. Bush here) at this juncture. We may feel a little overwhelmed, but we're happy.

We've also decided to forego being apart in December. We're all making the trek up to Seattle together. We'll be on the road December 10th. The countdown has begun...

The Honeymooners

Today, my husband accepted a job transfer (out of state) to Seattle, Washington.

We are excited about the change that God is bringing in our lives. We are also feeling a bit overwhelmed due to the timing of our move.

December will be a long transition month for us. We have to sell our house, pack everything in boxes, oh, and have a baby. Our second child is due December 9th and my husband must report to work, in Seattle, on December 14th. We will likely be separated for several weeks until I am able to travel up with our children. This may be the hardest part of our journey as we are always together. Since the day we started dating, we've seen each other everyday, except one.

We are especially happy about the city we're moving to, as we honeymooned in Seattle nearly 5 years ago. We're really not beach people... we're more forest-y people. It's a good fit. Now we just have to convince all the grandparents the same thing :)

32 Weeks

Can you hear the sound of my tin cup raking back and forth across the steel bars?? Only 55 days left of this pregnancy - where I feel like I'm doing time. Ok, maybe not San Quentin kind of time, but definitely some kind of county lock up. I'm hoping there will be time off for good behavior.

Due to a mild kind of chiropractic care, nutritional support, epsom salt baths, a pregnancy support belt, nightly back massages from my dear H and lots and lots of prayer, I've been able to get about 6 hours of sleep a night - on average. It is making a world of difference.

When I'm pregnant, I never feel like I'm really in my own body. It sort of feels like one of those giant sumo wrestling suits people put on. See it here. Only you have to add nausea, heartburn, sleepless nights, muscle spasms and what feels like mild internal organ trauma. Yeah, that about covers it.

Even though "I hear the train a-comin', It's rolling 'round the bend..." is swirling through my head, I know this is all worth it in the end. (Johnny can be so therapeutic sometimes.)

* Side note - This week we had a severe wind and rain storm. I watched from my front window as a tree limb fell directly on top of my neighbor's car. Fortunately, no one was hurt. It was almost unbelievable!

Delicious Celery Soup Recipe

Ok, so I'm momentarily out of my slump and ready to post an amazing find... celery soup. I know, I know, it doesn't really sound that exciting, but this is truly delicious.

I'm not a celery girl, but my husband is a celery guy. So, after visiting the local farmer's market this weekend - and coming home with mounds of produce - I needed to utilitze a head of celery. (Can I just tell you first that I'm still giddy about buying 15 pounds of butternut squash for .50 cents a pound?!)

This recipe jumped out at me and I dove in. It was so good that I had seconds... then half of thirds. Here's what you'll need: celery, onions, apples, garlic, parsley, chicken or veggie stock, milk and olive oil. I followed the recipe exactly and can't recommend it enough.

My husband likes chunky soups and I prefer pureed soups, so I made both, at the same time. I just dished up his bowl, then fired up my new hand blender and pureed mine (thus the pic of two different bowls of the same soup.)

Here's my cost breakdown: We purchased two heads of celery for $1, a bag of onions for $2, five pounds of fuji apples for $2... So, for a family of three, this will feed us for two meals. Our per meal cost is roughly $1.75 - for two adults and a toddler!

Mega bonus: it's healthy. I'm positive that we'll be revisiting this recipe even after my strict diet comes to an end.

Some News at Week 28

Recently, I stood near two friendly couples. One of the husbands asked me, "How many weeks left?" I replied, "Not weeks,... months. I have 2 1/2 months left." The other three immediately turned around to join him in staring at me with their mouths open. One woman squeaked out, "Are you sure they haven't made a mistake??" Yes, I'm sure. And about 2 weeks ago, another woman asked me the same thing. My belly is big, but what do you expect?...I'm pregnant.

This past week has been rough. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. There were so many risk factors: I'm over 35, previously had a baby over 9 pounds, diabetes runs in my family, I'm hypoglycemic (pre-pregnancy) and I weighed less than 6 pounds when I was born. These factors all contribute to a diabetic cocktail.

Even before my diagnosis, I had put myself on a strict no-sugar diet. I wanted to prevent this sort of thing. It happened anyway. It's still tough to talk about.

We just want a healthy baby. December can't come soon enough.

Thrifty Workspace

Recently, I came upon this oak sewing cabinet on craigslist. (I've been searching for a cabinet for my freearm machine for nearly 2 years!) The cabinets I found were never quite right... either they weren't made for a freearm machine, or they were just plain too expensive.

This cabinet (with an electric lift) was $50 and included a vintage Elna sewing machine! Since I prefer my trusty Singer machine, I enlisted my dear H's help. He fired up the power tools, removed the Elna machine and mounted the Singer. Isn't she lovely?

Now I have drawer space, spool racks and double the workspace. And we have our kitchen table back ;)

In recent days, I haven't been able to sew... but the projects are piling up and this workspace is so inviting! Thanks to my dear H for making it all possible.

Getting Clumsier

This is not an ancient caveman's drawing of a foot. It's my drawing of a foot. My smacked-by-a-wooden-chair left foot.

Many of you know that as pregnancy progresses, your dexterity and grace are lost. They've been replaced by bumbling, uncoordinated lumberings. Such was the case a few days ago when, as my daughter sat eating lunch in said wooden chair, my foot seemed turbo-propelled by some invisible super-magnet to collide with the corner of the chair leg. It stuck between my second and third toes (as the arrow indicates.) With the collision, there was a loud SNAP.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move.

My husband came running and helped me limp/hop to the sofa. My daughter helped by dropping a 2 pound ice pack directly on top of the toe. My middle toe turned a bit purple and is still uncomfortable to walk on, but doesn't seem to be broken. It's a miracle.

A day later, I tried, unsuccessfully, to drink from a glass. Doesn't seem difficult, does it? But when I started pouring before the beverage hit my mouth, I made a one-in-a-million shot. Straight down the neckhole of my shirt, I poured my juice all over my bra. Now, if I had tried to pour it there, I probably would have accidentally made it to my mouth.

In my last pregnancy, doorways suddenly seemed so narrow. By the time I delivered, my shoulders were black and blue from cutting every corner too short while walking through my own house. Sometimes I would even bounce off the corners a little bit - sort of like a bumper car crash.

I've never been a butterfingers, but holding on to anything seems an impossible task these days. Whatever it is, if I touch it, it will most certainly somehow end up on the floor. I've forbidden myself from carrying eggs, touching crystal lamps or bringing heirloom jewelry anywhere near the bathroom sink.

These pregnancy afflictions seem universal... why is that??