Big News All Around

So this has been a big week for us!  We found out we're having another boy and Marlo took her first real steps! 

Joe couldn't make it to the doctor's appointment, but we wanted to find out the baby's gender so the ultrasound tech aimed the shot and told me take a guess - it was pretty obvious.  I wasn't too surprised - I kind of had a feeling it was a boy, just a sense I had.  But Joe was thrilled; at first he didn't even believe me.  I guess after Gabbie and Marlo, he just assumed that he produced girls.  So, he was really excited.  And I'm excited too!  I didn't have a preference either way.

 I had reasons why I wanted a boy and reasons why I wanted a girl.  I knew Joe wanted a boy, so I wanted that for him.  I also thought that if we had a boy he would at least have some chance of being buddies with Liam, four years younger but not ages apart.  Also for my cloth diaper obsession I wanted a boy so I could get some boyish prints as well.  But I thought it would be really special for Marlo to have a sister so close in age. And I could dress them up in look-alike outfits!!! Presh!  Also, I would be able to put Marlo and a sister in the same room.  I think that Liam and the baby will be too many years apart to share a room.  I mean four years is a large developmental difference.  What 13 year old wants his 9 year old little brother in his room...I don't though....I guess I could put Marlo and the baby (when he's old enough and sleeping through the night) in the same room and just make it gender neutral.  But that would only be when they are younger.  We have more rooms, but I don't want to lose our guest room.  Once the baby is ready to be in a crib, I will just put a crib in our office.  It's off of our master bedroom and is very quiet - no one goes back there so it will be perfect for a sleeping baby.

And as for Marlo walking, well, it's about TIME!!! Gosh!  It just felt like she'd never do it.  I knew she was so close but she's been so close for so long.  It was just amazing to see her up and moving.  And she was loving it.  She had this look in her eyes that she was doing something big, really big.  She took about 5 steps a few times in a row in the late afternoon and before she went to bed she was taking about 11-12 steps in a row.  I'm just so proud of her.  I guess it means so much more to me since she's struggled with moving from the very beginning.  It was adorable how excited Liam got when she started walking.  We were both beside ourselves.  These are the moments that make me thankful for being at home.  These are the moments I don't want to miss.  I posted some cute video clips of her walking below.

Taking Risks in the Kitchen: 01

I've decided that each month I will post two new recipes that I've tried in my kitchen that are successful and share with my readers.  I figure this is a good way to hold me accountable for trying new things!  I suppose I am an okay cook.  I know some good dishes, but I wouldn't call myself a risk taker in the kitchen.  I tend to stick to what I know and don't venture out of the ordinary too often.  It's not that I don't like to try new things, but I always fear that something won't turn out well and that I'll have to throw my hard work away because, well, it was just nasty! 

But the issue here is that eating the same stuff gets boring, duh?  So, let the kitchen games begin!  In preparation for getting more diverse meals made in my kitchen, I signed up for Farm Fresh to You.  Probably many of you have heard of it, but if you haven't, it's basically a company that works with tons of organic and local farms to deliver fresh and organic produce to your door step.  I was hesitant to join because it didn't get raving reviews on Yelp and I'm a big believer of Yelp reviews.  But I like that you can control your account from online, see what will be coming in your basket of produce, and switch out items if you're not happy with what will be delivered.  There are also options for different size baskets and frequency.  And I like the idea of getting seasonal produce and trying new things that I normally wouldn't try.

In our first basket we received four sweet gypsy peppers.  I have never had these before or have ever bought them so I didn't know what to do with them.  After Googling around for a bit, I came up with an easy and very tasty recipe.  (See Below)

Stuffed Sweet Gypsy Peppers
Ingredients:
4 Sweet Gypsy Peppers
1 cup of rice (you're choice - I used a medley)
3 tablespoons pesto
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
a handful of chopped up cilantro

Directions;
Cut peppers in half, discard seeds
spread a thin layer of pesto in each pepper half
scoop cooked rice into each pepper half
sprinkle each half with cheese and cilantro
broil in high for about 6 minutes

Pre-oven Stuffed Peppers

 

Cooked and ready to eat peppers

 

 

The second recipe I will share is a bit more time consuming.  I made Fresh Lobster Salad rolls, but man, so worth it!!!  Apparently, fishermen have been catching an abundance of lobster so until the end of the year lobster prices will be much cheaper than usual.  So, if you love lobster, go and get yourself some.  Joe bought a live 2.5 lb. lobster on Sunday, we boiled it, and then put it on the BBQ for a few minutes.  We ate about half of lobster on Sunday night with just some drawn butter - delicious!  But we had plenty of lobster leftover.  Joe had the great idea of saving it and making lobster rolls.  I love lobster rolls, but have never made them.  Below is the recipe I used - I got it online but added the sautéed garlic from an online recommendation and was so glad that I did that! It added such wonderful flavor.  The recipe below is for already cooked and de-shelled lobster so if you want to try this you will need to cook, de-shell, and chill the lobster before hand. 

 

 

Lobster Salad Rolls

Ingredients: serves 4

4 cups, cooked and chilled lobster

1/2 cup Mayonnaise (I used a bit less)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/8 cup diced celery

3 cloves of sautéed garlic

a dash of hot sauce

4 hot dog buns that open from the top (they are the larger, thicker buns)

butter to spread on buns after they've been heated

 

 

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together

toast/broil buns so they are a little crisp

spread a light layer of butter on buns

scoop lobster salad into each bun

 

Pretty Simple List of Ingredients (Sans Buns & Salt)

 

Mixed and ready to go on the bun!

 

 

Both recipes were fantastic!  The peppers are great as an appetizer and can be made quick if you already have the rice cooked.  Obviously, the lobster takes more time, but wow, might be one of the tastiest things I've made.  And lobster rolls are perfect for the summer - perfect for a casual summer dinner party!  If any of my readers try these out, let me know what you think!

 

 

 



Nothing like Maternity Swim Suit Shopping to Boost Your Self-Esteem!

Or not! Ugh...we're visiting my step-daughter in Philly in two weeks and we mostly just hang out with her and do a LOT of swimming in the hotel pool.  Well, I fit in all my swim suits, but you know, the gut is hanging, and I might not look pregnant to some; I might just look like I have a gut.  Plus, because I have this blood clotting disorder I give myself a daily injection of Lovenox, a blood thinner.  And this is what the battle wound from daily injections looks like:

This bruise is about 5-6 inches long and rests on my hip.

(Sorry pic is upside down, but you get the idea - it ain't pretty)

 

My OBGYN recommends doing it in the hip or stomach. I choose hip because poking dear baby just makes me nervous.  And as long as I hit the same spot it's only one part of my body looking like my husband beats me.  So, obviously, I want to cover this up and will not be wearing a bikini. 

 

Also, the whole showing your growing belly thing with a bikini kind of makes me uncomfortable.  Don't get me wrong, I have no issues with seeing other pregnant women exposing their bellies in bikinis but for me I just feel too stared at, you know.  People are fascinated with pregnant women, especially when they are very far along.  I get it.  It really is amazing - I'm growing a human being! I mean, totally the world's most awesome science experiment happening in my uterus!  It's interesting. But I feel like as I pregnant woman (and I'm sure most women who've been pregnant will agree with me) that you just get stared at more - by everyone - other women, men, children - people are just curious.  Therefore, I feel like the maternity bikini will only draw more attention to my belly and with a bruise like the one above, yikes! Tons of stares for sure!

 

I found a really cute Tankini- style suit from Pea in the Pod.  It's ruched so it can be worn even when I'm not pregnant. It covers my bruise and I think it's quite flattering...well, as flattering as a suit can be when you've had two kids, don't work out, and your thighs haven't seem the sun since last summer.  After trying it on and really liking it, the only thing that wasn't working was that the top, the part that covers the boobs, was loose and the fabric was folding over in a way that showed the nude inside material - weird?  I showed the sales gal since I wasn't sure if there was a defect.  Her response: "No defect sweetheart.  You've got big hips and a small chest, that's the way the suit fits you."  Brutally honest.  I actually admire that.  I got the suit anyway and will just put a little stitch in the top on either side so the fabric doesn't roll over.

 

You'd think pregnancy hormones would give me a bigger rack...sadly, no.  But I've got a suit for the summer!  And despite the sales gal, who in seconds pointed out my flaws, I think I look pretty good in it.  Will post a pic when I take it for swim!

I'm Hired!

Today I had my interview at Rosie Posie Baby at it went great! The owner and I hit it off and she offered me the job by the end of our interview.  I got to talk about what I loved about cloth diapering and had to answer some questions about what would I say if a customer asked me certain questions.  Here were some of the questions: "How do I get my baby to sleep in his crib?"  How would I respond to a customer saying, "I would never cloth diaper."  Or what to say to a parent who doesn't want to baby-wear because they want to raise on independent child.  I felt right at home! Rose, the owner, thinks I will be a great addition to the team and is totally supportive of the reasons I want to work.  I was honest and told her I'm not trying to make money - I just want a few hours for myself doing something I love that is not about my kids or my husband or my house.  As a mother of three, she got it.

So, the schedule is not completely set, but I think I will work a 4-6 hour shift on Thursday and then maybe a 3-4 hour shift every other Saturday.  So at most a 10 hour week and at least a 4 hour week.  And if I can't manage this then I quite - no big deal.  I mean, the idea of quitting when I was teaching was horrific.  If you quit on a school mid-year you destroy the school, you upset families, and put loads of work on your co-workers.  So I try to remind myself that this is a cloth diapering store.  If I can't handle to work 6 or 8 hours a week, I can simply quit.  But I really hope that this will be something I can handle and love doing.  I see myself, in the future, when the kids are all in school, doing something with moms and babies - lactation consulting or maybe breastfeeding advocacy or just something.  Working at Rosie Posie Baby is a great way for me to get just a little bit involved in this world professionally.  And just think, I will have a reason to shower, to look presentable!! This could be life changing in so many ways.

Wipe Yourself

Last week I discovered the most luxurious aspect of cloth diapering - home-made wipes with home-made solution.  I seriously look forward to Marlo's poops because I have a semi-spa like experience cleaning that stuff up - no joke readers. 

So here's the deal.  If you're going to cloth diaper, why not use cloth wipes? Makes sense.  So, upon the recommendation of some friends, I purchased 3 dozen organic bamboo wipes from Ducktail Diaper Co. on Etsy.  They are so soft and wonderful.  And Laura, the shop owner let's you choose your thread color for the wipes - fun!  Then I used my friend's wipes solution recipe.  These wipes smell so delicious - I kid you not, you will want to wipe yourself.  And I'm not only using them for wiping butt, I use them to wipe hands, the kids' faces, my hand - they are wonderful.  And not only do they smell delicious because they are soaked in lavender but I keep them in a wipes warmer so they are warm upon touch - doesn't get much better than this people.

 I will post the wipe recipe and steps for making below:

Wipe Solution

Warm water

Two big scoops of coconut oil (or a half cup of olive)

Squirt of whatever baby soap you use to mix the water/oil combo

Squirt of witch hazel

10-15 drops of lavender

5 drops tea tree

 

Dry Cloth Wipes

 

Witch Hazel, Lavender, & Tea Tree Oil (got everything at Whole Foods)

 

I'm using Olive Oil - the big Costco brand - I guess if I really wanted to dip into the pocket, I'd use organic, but Marlo's butt seems to do just fine with Kirkland

 

Mix ingredients with warm water and soak wipes.

 

 

I roll each wipe up like this so they fit nicely into the wipes warmer and I make sure to squeeze out excess solution - wipes should be just a little moist.

 

(The yellowish color on some the wipes is from the olive oil - completely normal.)

 

 

Line up in wipes warmer

 

 

And heat up for the spa-like experience (this is the Prince Lionheart warmer from Amazon)

 

 

I swear if you try this - you'll love it.  And these don't just have to be for baby - you can remove make-up, moisturize you hands with these - so may uses really.

 

 

Thought I'd share since this makes me happy on a daily basis!







 

 

 



 

 

Know Your Redhead History

Since I have a redheaded child, I decided to do a little bit of research about redheads.  Here are some summarizing points from my research:

1.) Red hair occurs naturally among 1-2% of the human population - totally makes me feel special for having a redhead child!

2.) It is the rarest hair color - again, Marlo is pretty darn special!

3.) Red hair occurs in people with two copies of a recessive gene on Chromosome 16 which causes a mutation in a particular protein. - I'm thinking that both the mother and father need to have this recessive gene since two copies are needed (but I'm not science major!)

4.) It is thought that 46% of the Irish population carry the recessive gene for red hair. So, If you want a redheaded child - you're best bet is to find an Irish mate!

5.)But...Scottland has the highest proportion of redheads - 13% of the population.

6.) The US has the largest population of redheads 2-6% of the population - about 6-18 million.

7.)Red hair is very common amongst Ashkenazi Jews (maybe from the mix of European DNA over centuries)...this also may be the reason why Joe carries the recessive gene - his family are Ashkenazi Jews.  I have several red heads in my family, but Joe knows no one in his family who had red hair.  so that recessive gene must go way, way back.

8.) In Europe, prior to the 20th Century, redheads were so commonly identified as Jews that all redheads during the Spanish Inquisition were identified as Jews.

9.) Shakespeare would even identify Jewish characters by giving them red hair.

10.) Discrimination: "Gingerphobia" is the hatred towards people with red hair, "gingerism" is predjudice towards redheads - nuts? I've never heard of these before but, how about "ginger-elitists" (like me) as the term for those who think their children are superior because of their red hair? ;-)

11.) Redhead Day is a Dutch summer festival that occurs for two days in September every year that celebrates people with red hair - how awesome is that?!

There were other details about pigmentation and skin sensitivity and such for redheads since many redheads have extra sensitive skin, but these bullet points were the ones I found most interesting.  My cousin and his wife both have red hair and they have the most adorable (seriously not saying this because we're related) little redheaded girl I've ever seen.  But I'm sure her hair color wasn't much of a surprise to them. They both clearly have the gene.  But Joe and I were quite surprised with our little red head.  I sure do hope it stays red forever.  Looking at her hair reminds me of the little miracles of the world - the little wonderful things that are so unlikely to happen but do...Marlo's hair is the story of the underdog winning, you know? 

My Little Redhead

 

 

 

 

Part-time Job? Eeek!

This weekend I applied for a part time job. I know, nuts, right?! Who wants to hire a pregnant lady with a 3 and 1 year old at home?  Hmmmm....

Well, there is a cloth diapering and breastfeeding store near us called Rosie Posie Baby and they're looking for some part-time hours to be covered - the shifts can be as short as 3 hours.  I think this might be really fun for me!  I mean, I couldn't work more than maybe 6 hours a week, but I think I would so enjoy something like this.  I'm obsessed with CDing and have add my fair share of breastfeeding experience so I think I'd be great in a place like this.

I also think that having something in my schedule that is just dedicated to me would be fantastic.  After hearing the good news from my OBGYN that all is good with baby, I feel like I can commit to some things.  Maybe go to yoga regularly or work for 3-6 hours a week?  Who knows...

I just saw the job opening on their FB page and I got really excited.  And the gals who work there fulltime get to bring their kids along with them.  I'm not looking for a fulltime job or anything, but I love a place that is open and welcoming to kids being with their mamas at work. 

And this would be a job that I wouldn't take home with me.  It would just be for fun.  I've thought about getting a job at Williams Sonoma or Pottery Barn just to get the discount and to get out of the house for a few hours. 

Why not? Submitting the application can't hurt!