Saturday, January 08, 2011
THE Eli Gardiner
Labels: Eli Fun
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
40 Weeks Is A Long Time
Labels: Eli Fun, Pregnancy Fun
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Eli's Nursery
Not a lot of words here...just wanted to share some photos of my son's aqua and orange nursery (yes...I'm aware that there are 36 different shades of those two colors going on in here...I don't care. I dig it.)
This is a gorgeous mobile made by a good friend...isn't it the dreamiest?
Labels: Eli Fun
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Me & Dorie: BFF
I got to hang out with Dorie Greenspan one night. It.Was.Awesome. She came to a local cooking school to show us some of the recipes from her new book and I had a front (2nd) row seat!
She made 5 recipes - each of them outstanding. Seriously....out.standing. (Note: She stood at the front of the class cooking each recipe...however, all the food for us, her students, had already been made by the cooking school so while we watched her cook, we were eating what she was cooking...see?) And the food wasn't all things I would normally go for, either. Especially the main dish.
Remember that time I told you that I don't do fruit in my food? Well, the main dish was a Lamb and Apricot Tagine with Couscous. I saw the title in the handout and I inwardly (or possibly audibly) groaned. I thought I'd just pick out the apricots. ....Wanna see my bowl after I ate it:
Yeah....it was that good.
Also, how cute is Dorie? Pretty darn.
She moves. A lot. And talks with her hands. A lot. So most of my photos of her from this night, she's wicked blurry.
In conclusion, it was the most fun I've had watching a famous chef cook yummy French food for me to eat.
Labels: French Fridays With Dorie Fun
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
FFwD: Chicken For Les Paresseux
Quickly now, because this is the only November recipe I was able to get out (though those Potatoes Gratin are sooo on my list to try), let's discuss this chicken.
Labels: French Fridays With Dorie Fun
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
36 Down...4-ish To Go
Look at me - I'm 36 weeks pregnant!
I suppose that would be called "full term"...but as I still have 6 more days at my job (read: a week and a half), I'd be totally ok if this kid waited until week 39 to come....Momma needs some time off, yo.
**PS - for those of you super sad not to see a FFwD post last week (Cami...), I just couldn't bring myself to cook last week (blame two nights spent making 36 fondant bumble bees!...pictures to come). Luckily for all of you, I plan on making TWO Dorie things this week...but not until Sunday. So you'll still have to wait for a new recipe review. However, I do have some blogging to do about the class I went to recently TAUGHT by Madame Greenspan herself! Coming soon....promise....
Labels: Babbling Fun, Pregnancy Fun
Thursday, October 28, 2010
FFwD: Marie-Helene's Apple Cake
So, sometimes I'm funny about fruit in my food. Don't get me wrong - I love fruit. Fresh fruit....by itself....un-touched by other kinds of foods. If I'm eating chocolate, there better not be a hint of orange. If I'm eating meat, I better not find a pineapple lurking. If I'm having cheesecake, keep it pure and strawberry-free. (PS - sometimes when I pretend I'm going to become a world-famous chef, it's this road block that reminds me it will never happen.)
And then, friends.....then I died. *sigh* ....Then.I.Died.
Labels: French Fridays With Dorie Fun
Thursday, October 21, 2010
FFwD: Hachis Parmentier
Labels: French Fridays With Dorie Fun
Please Don't Punch Me In The Face
...I love being pregnant.
No, wait....let me say that again:
I LOVE being pregnant.
Let me be clear on something: It hasn't been a cakewalk. Heartburn started early and with ferocity (for the past 5 months I've been on prescription strength antacids). Headaches unlike I've ever known started about month 4 and after exhausting the limited strength of Tylenol (seriously, who does that work for?), my doctor prescribed me the strongest thing I could take...and it really didn't do much at all. And now I'm in that "my stomach is scrunched up so tiny that I eat 5 bites and I'm full and nauseous and wanting to throw up because there Is.No.Room" phase of pregnancy. As an avid Weight Watcher-er, seeing the scale tip past The Number Which Should Not Be Named has been scary. I've been confined to wearing flip flops for 3 months. And, already being a fidgety sleeper, I have HATED having to deal with sleeping with this newly shaped body.
However...HOWEVER.......I still love EVERY minute of this journey.
Granted, I fought hard to be here. I was born wanting to be a mother. When I was little and people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd say "a ballerina, an ice skater, a nurse, and a mother". At college, I quite literally wanted to kidnap every baby I saw on campus (...there is an annoying amount of babies on the BYU campus). As I got older and single-er, I started feeling violent towards all the girls with whom I grew up as they had baby after baby...and I went home to my lonely apartment every night. When I finally got married at age 31, I felt gratitude that I had "life experiences" under my belt. Two months into our marriage we started "trying" and 3 years, 3 IUI's, 1 IVF and over $20,000 later, I find myself 7 weeks away from my dream.
Oh yes...I fought hard to be here. And, once again, I feel gratitude that the journey was long.
But that's not why I love it.
I love being pregnant because....because I'm a partner with God in creation (finally!). Because Andrew and I will have a tangible product of our love to show off to the world (finally!). Because the science of the whole reproduction thing is absolutely astounding to me - I am literally GROWING A HUMAN BEING IN MY BODY (finally!). And because every time I feel this little boy squirm, every time he pushes and kicks and hiccups and twirls and giggles (yes, I think my boy is already giggling)....every time I watch my belly do that creepy wave, I am reminded that He Is Mine (FINALLY!); that Heavenly Father is loaning me one of his Most Awesome spirits to raise and love and protect and teach and guide through this mortal coil.
I am filled to the brim with joy and love. I am glowing and emotional. I am crazy and needy. I am awestruck and humbled. I am fat and happy.
I.Am.Pregnant.
*This painting is called "For This Child I Prayed" and my sister gave me a framed print of it at my baby shower. It's the story of Hannah and her desire for a son (Samuel) and the prophet Eli promising her she would be a mother.
Labels: Pregnancy Fun
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
FFwD: Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup
Labels: French Fridays With Dorie Fun
Eli: The First 30 Weeks
Having an IVF is a stressful, agonizing, terrifying experience. It's not what I would call "fun" or "the way to go". BUT...if you ever do find yourself on the IVF side of infertility, let me tell you the best part: the ultrasounds. So.Many.Ultrasounds. I have quite literally watched this boy grow from an egg to...well, to an as-of-today 3.75-ish lb, 16-ish inch baby boy. Most pregnant women have 2, maybe 3 ultrasounds throughout the 9 months of gestation. Me? I've had 12**...and will probably have at least one more.
Come with me now, as we follow the development of this gorgeous child who I'll get to meet in 8 weeks:
1. Fertilization: That's right folks....one of these fertilized eggs is my son. ...How many of YOU know what you looked like the exact minute you were conceived? ...Suckers.
2. Implantation: See that little white dot? That's those two eggs being rocketed into my uterus. And guess what! One of them stuck!
3. Week 5: It's official! I'm pregnant!
4. Week 6: Yep...still in there!
5. Week 7: Feelin' queasy...which I'm told is a good thing.
6. Week 8: Whoa...are those arm and leg nubs? K - he's a teddy graham person.
7. Week 10: The official hand off from fertility doctor to OB...obviously my fertility doctor has much fancier machines...
8. Week 14: The longest I've gone without seeing my little guy....and look how much he's grown!
9. Week 18: It's a boy!!! A 12 minute long ultrasound, as my son did NOT want to share his business with the world. But eventually we peeked anyway. And just look at those toes...
10. Week 22: Check out this kid's profile - doesn't he already look like Andrew?
11. Week 26: ...The creepiest picture I have of Eli. I mean...dude......look at that creepy face, all starin' back...heebie.jeebies.
12. Week 30: Ok...heebie jeebies quickly replaced by...oh my word, the loveliness of that face. And would you get a load of those cheeks?! Are you kidding me?! *sigh*
13. Week 30: In case you missed it.....it's a boy.....
**Yes, I know there are 2 week 30's - but we really have had 12. One was during week 28 when we ran into some complications...she just didn't take any pictures.
Labels: Fertility Fun, Pregnancy Fun
Friday, October 08, 2010
FFwD: Gerard's Mustard Tart
Labels: French Fridays With Dorie Fun