Stories and such...

I'm back in Anchorage after a fantastic (but way too short) trip to Iowa to visit the fam, and meet my new perfect niece Emerson. It felt oh so good to be back in Iowa, even my skin and hair agreed with me. All nieces/nephew are doing wonderfully. Emerson is a good baby, quiet and so alert with her big, big eyes. I so miss waking up to snuggle her in the morning, and watching her cute squirms and and hilarious expressions. Syd, Macy and Truett are all doing perfectly also. True has gotten much bigger and is still the best cuddler. I just couldn't get enough. Syd and Macy seem to get funnier all the time. On the first night I was there, Macy walks up to me and asks "To... You poop Tuett??" I didn't leave the R out of Truett's name by accident, that's really how she says it. The question took me back a bit while I tried to figure out what she was saying, and I am guessing she was asking if I was the one that pushed baby Truett out. Rachel's response was perfect, when she replied "Hey, I POOPED TUETT! Let's give credit where credit is due!" Too funny. But moral of the story is Macy is talking like crazy and is funnier than ever. Sydney too, of course... what else could we expect? She has more attitude than you can probably imagine, but I love it and I love her honesty! If you want good opinions while shopping, take the 4 year old with you. We all went to the mall on Sunday and I pulled a shirt off the rack that had a picture of the beatles with "Let it be" written on it. Sydney promptly told me "It's not the best" so back on the shelf went that shirt... I would have still worn it but she didn't approve at all;)

Rach, Kate and I got to spend some great time together, with frequent trips to Starbucks that now has me constantly craving it. I had just gotten better with my coffee/hot chocolate addiction and now I wake up thinking about Starbucks. mmmmm! It's just a few comfy moments of the day, where it feels so so good the minute you get it in your hands.

I also was able to visit with Mom and Denny, saw my Grandparents, aunt and uncle, cousin, and a couple fabulous friends! I wish I had more time to see everyone, but I was happy for whatever time I got. Rachel did some maternity photos for me which was so fun. We went outside to this old run down barn in 8 degree weather and she handled it like a champ practically rolling around in the snow to get the shots. We then moved inside for a few more pictures, where Sydney was the assisant and very involved. I'm going to print a few of the belly shots for Henry's room, so that is one of my projects I'll start on soon. I'm very anxious to put up art and photos in his room! I miss Iowa already and miss the fam so much. The short trip was definitely worth it, although my feet disagree. On the way down I had fairly quick flights and my swelling wasn't so bad. Definitely thought I was in the clear, which was just plain silly of me. On the way back I still had nice back to back flights that got me here quickly, but one of them was about 6 hours and an hour in my feet and legs were rebelling in a big way. I have never seen them so large. I could feel them tightening up and so I'd tryto walk around, but there was no going back. It took two full days for my ankle bones to appear once again. Luckily they did, so there's hope that they aren't gone for good. But I must admit, though every body sacrifice is well worth it, I'm getting quite ready to have my legs back, to see that my body is capable of going back to normal. I know that's not one of the things you're supposed to say when you're pregnant because it isn't supposed to matter, but I also know every pregnant woman thinks it, and I think that's ok. It's amazing watching every change, but it's also a little scary giving up every part of what's normal for your body and not knowing what it will be like or if it will ever come back when the baby is here. I love being pregnant, I love watching the changes, I just am ready to see the old body (or a closeish version of it) and hold our baby. Soon enough :) I have a little foot sticking out right now, Henry seems very content in there so that makes me feel good.

Eric and I are busy preparing for the big days ahead, which seem just around the corner. I'm now just about 32 weeks, so full term in 5 more weeks... eek! I'm sure he won't be here that soon, but any time after that. We just had our second child birth class at work which is a lot of fun. I think Eric really enjoys them which makes me happy, and I know he'll be a great support during labor. We practice in class and he's wonderful, which makes me even more excited than I already am for the big day. It's hard to believe Henry will be here with us so soon. I'm getting increasingly anxious to see what he looks like, hear him, all of those normal (but HUGE!) things. I wish I could just get a glimpse at what he looks like. If only it worked that way.

Eric's subaru seems to have broken yesterday, so we have to get that into the shop, and the bills just never end. Welcome to grown up life I suppose. Eh. I have the day off today, and I am bound and determined to clean this house, so I should start before I get tired again!

Ciao.

Testing one two three...

Well it's a good thing I don't work with computers/design for a living. Because I can neither design, nor operate a computer in many ways. So that's that.

As you may have noticed, I am testing out a new layout for my blog, and I really, truly, have no idea what I'm doing. I have been sitting here for an hour (after I spent practically that long trying to get the silly layout to appear) trying to find where my "new post" button went so I could write on here. Generally blogs are no good if you can't find where to write on them. I was getting slightly frustrated but now I have a quick moment of confidence as I've obviously found out how to write on my own blog once again. Hallelujah.

This is another one of those moments where I wish I could blog for a living and then I would know all of the fabulous tricks that blogger know so that their blogs just brilliantly fit together and have different sections for different things... Like I could have a recipe section, a pregnancy section, a regular section etc... and then that would be nice for maybe those who want to read about the pregnancy but don't want to read the rest, or maybe want to see recipes and don't give a rip about the joys of pregnancy and gas and weight gain and frequent urination. You never know, there COULD be people out there who don't want to read about those things, I imagine. As I sit here finishing my delicious cup of tea, I'm thinking I will perhaps delve further into this confusing world of blogging to see what other aspects I'm incompetent in, or perhaps find something interesting that I could add to the site.

I will leave you with a recipe to try however, as my goal this year is to share more healthy recipes, collect more from others, find them from interesting places etc.

This muffin recipe is from Women's Health Magazine, but I actually got it from my friend, coworker, health fanatic Claire. She brought them to work and then was kind enough to make me a few additional muffins without the nuts and left them on my desk. It took me all of 3 minutes to finish those, but they were great while they lasted and they make a great breakfast, snack, even dessert. She makes a couple of modifications to them, so I'll add some of those in as options for you.

BANANA MUFFINS:

1 1/4c oatmeal

1 c rice flour (whole wheat flour is alternative option. Also,she does 2/3 c of the flour, 1/3 c protein powder to complete this part)

1/4c ground flax seed

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs beaten

1/4c plain yogurt

3 medium, ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 c agave nectar

1/3 c grapeseed oil (or try flax oil)

1/4 c walnuts, chopped (I skip this part because I simply cannot force myself to enjoy nuts of any sort, but they certainly add health benefits!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, combine all wet ingredients (banana, oil, agave, eggs, yogurt...)

In another bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix them into the wet while folding in walnuts.

Put in muffin tins, and bake for 20-22 minute until the tops are springy. Cool and enjoy!

This should make 18 muffins, each containing:

147 cal, 7g fat (1g saturated), 103mg sodium, 20g carbs, 2g fiber, 3g protein

(This is without the changes, so those change a bit if you make the adjustments)

So this is what it's like to have a brother...

Yes, I have been living with my brother in law David for the past two years, and have gotten a feel for what it's like to have a brother (which I always wanted). For the most part, I have very good things to say, but there have been plenty of moments where I am pestered like I imagine a sister would be by her brother. I am glad he reads this blog, however the other day I came home to find that David's interpretation of "please don't bring me things that taste good doused in hot fudge" or other dessert items, is apparently two huge bags of oreos. Ironically I had just come from the gym, had been doing well all day and then no sooner than my eye spots a blue bag I am ripping the plastic apart and devouring them one by one. Or handful by handful, however you choose to look at it. It was actually more like some sort of animalistic display, as if I hadn't been fed in months. I was powerless, I kept walking away, I tried drinking milk so that I would have a different taste or not be so ravenous. But then that's stupid because what goes perfectly with milk?! Oreos. Of course.

I have hidden them, but now I just walked in from the gym 5 minutes ago (and am hungry, as usual) and I am salivating unable to think of anything other than the oreos "hidden" in the cupboard. I hope I haven't developed some weird pavlovean response where every time I come home from the gym I'm going to think I am in absolute need of the blasted cookies. Well thank you David, for waking the beast within me. You will pay the price. Yet another hurdle to jump!

I refuse to eat them. Eric and I are going to go get pho for dinner, a far healthier option so maybe if I go get changed I can force him out the door before I accidentally wander toward the cupboard.

Thank you for 5 minutes of distraction from cookie goodness...

One more photo

I forgot I wanted to share a picture from the park down the street from our house... We take Finn here to run sometimes, and Ani had a little sledding party there the other day that didn't last long but I got this picture just to show our surroundings!

Tidbits

I've made it through this pregnancy so far with surprisingly few meltdowns of any kind. I had a few emotinal days here and there, don't get me wrong... Such as the day I fell to my knees crying in the closet because nothing fit (I've since had to get over that because, well, nothing ever fits now. So I've just decided to accept looking like a sausage stuffed in its casing when I get dressed. That and I've bought a few new things :) ). Well it's been a while since I had a breakdown, until Monday. I woke up feeling really swollen and uncomfortable, and when I got to work the scale showed me that I was indeed, swollen. Pregnancy weight is not something I want to be upset about because it is necessary and important, but I have learned the women in my family are water retainers which makes the numbers pretty shocking. Well anyway, I was upset, and tired, and after work I was going to go to the grocery store to do a large shopping trip since the house was pretty empty. I got to the store, couldn't find what I was looking for, and nothing Iwas putting in the cart would combine to make any kind of dinner... so I started to break down. Eric advised that I go home and we will try the shopping another day. So I took the few things I had and headed out, stopping for a little latte on the way to lift my spirits. As I'm pushing my cart over the ice packed parking lot, the gravel scattered all over it caused my cart to shake so severely that I'm just dumping my latte all over myself. Which of course then makes me cry, and I proceeded to cry the whole way home. Eric came home then, and said he would go to the store to get the ingredients for what I wanted to make for dinner. He headed out and was gone for longer than expected, and about an hour later he shows up with a houseful of delicious groceries... including healthy options he thought I might want to take to work for snack, lunches etc. What a guy, it was really sweet of him. Of course made my mood infinitely better. I went swimming at the pool the next morning before work, hoping it would help with my swelling, and I am in love with swimming again! Of course, swimming now looks a lot different in my opinion. But it feels amazing, and will now be a regular part of my routine. I have been wanting to get in te pool for months, even before I was pregnant I wanted to get back into swimming but never got motivated to go to the pool. Well the swelling got me there, and now I'm hooked! It was so refreshing, and although I look like a flailing fish, it still feels right. I was a good swimmer back in the day, but the racing suit has been retired quite permanently. In fact, I really have no swimsuit that fits at all. I decided to brave it and just wear one of my normal summer bikinis, because I don't have any one piece and it wouldn't fit over the belly even if I did, and I didn't think it was worth it to buy a special maternity suit. Well, my suits don't fit me, so I wore the bottom of one, and the top of another trying to cover as much as possible. It wasn't a very nice look, but I really didn't care, and no one was looking. I think to be sure everything important stays where it ought to be (covered) I may go look for a slightly larger tankini or something for the next few times.

Along with the excitement of swimming, we have been trucking along on exciting things here at home! This past weekend we bought a chair for Henry's room! It's a very pale green, just the right size and very comfortable. I'm glad we found the lighter color because it brightens up his room I think. His rug should be here this Friday, so that's exciting. We also bought his diaper bag! And on the same day we got that, one of my orders from Etsy arrived-- they are fantastic bags with owls on them to go in his diaper bag... One is a wetbag, canvas on the outside with a waterproof lining to hold wet/dirty clothes and such, and one is a smaller wet bag for wipes so we don't have to carry a whole pack of wipes with us. Or we can shove the pack in there just because it's a fun bag.

I finally got motivated to cook again yesterday, and I'm feeling inspired in that department again. I'm thinking of only healthy recipes, and trying to get out of some of the regulars that we gravitate towards. Last night we had salmon with a soy/mustard/garlic sauce, over whole weat angel hair with sesame broccoli and snap peas. Tonight we made turkey noodle soup! I love making dinner because it's fun and healthy, but also because then I automatically have lunch figured out for the next day and for some reason that makes me really happy. So if any of you have recipes you enjoy, or have been wanting to try, please share them with me! At the bottom of these posts, you can leave comments (that will also be fun so I know who, if anyone, reads this!) But I'd love to hear some of your recipes, please share! One thing you should know, is that I don't eat beans... but you can still share bean filled recipes if you'd like. I'd love to hear them, I just won't eat them! :) Mom shared a recipe for a seafood soup last week, right after we had eaten a cioppino at one of the midwives' houses. It was delicious and Eric and I both wanted the recipe, and it sounds like Mom's recipe is just like it so we are looking forward to trying that. Oh, another thing: Please refrain from giving me brownie recipes or anything that I might find suitable doused in hot fudge... Mom sent me a jar of hot fudge in my Christmas stocking, and I am hooked, dangerous! I just finished a bowl, I had vanilla bean ice cream on top of a pear with some of the hot fudge on top... YUM! Today I found myself at work thinking of what else would be good with the fudge on top, so we better just watch out and not give me any more ideas for that :)

I spoke too soon the other day when I said Henry wasn't kicking much-- I think the past few days he must have been in a growth spurt. Usually right before he gets considerably bigger, he is really still and I don't feel much of him for a few days and when I start feeling him again I feel him in a much stronger way. Well last night after dinner (and dessert) he started just kicking and wiggling all over the place. Eric and I had fun watching my belly shake, and the boy hasn't stopped since! I felt him all day at work, this evening, non stop. It's been great :) I hope he is healthy and happy in there and moving in happy ways. They sure feel happy from the outside, I love it!

Those are the updates for now, hoping I hear from some of you after this to get some tasty food ideas.

Here's a picture of the frost that is covering every tree in Anchorage, all the fences etc... It's called anchor frost, and I think it's really beautiful!

Happy Birthday EGG!

That's right, this morning my niece Emerson Grey Granzow (EGG/Eggy) was born! I haven't slept a wink since 3:30 this morning, as I was in and out of bed all night trying to get the updates on Kate/baby from Iowa. It was a long, hard labor and delivery for my poor sister, but she handled it like a hero and brought little Emerson into the world and now both are doing well! I'm VERY proud, and just so excited to meet this little one! I can't believe she's already here, to me it feels like the time has gone quickly although I can imagine for Kate it did not feel so quick. In fact, I remember her telling me a week or so ago that she was beginning to think "this pregnancy was all a cruel joke" and wasn't going to be ending any time soon. Turns out that little baby has pretty good timing actually! She was nice enough to come on a Friday/Saturday that Matt wasn't working, Rachel was able to go because Taylor was home with the kiddos, Mom and Den could come up in the morning, and I'm very relieved because we were starting to wonder if maybe I jumped the gun by booking tickets to Iowa only two days after the due date. But nope! That little one came early like we all thought she would. I am now eager to get back to Iowa and visit with FOUR nieces/nephew. It's just so exciting, I love being an Aunt.

I had that strange kind of sleepless energy today, so I bounced out of bed when I decided that I was tired of climbing in and out, with no sleep in there... I had come down at 4 or so and read blogs and looked up pictures on the internet, found things for baby's room that I like, made lists of things we need to get/do... Then I went to the store for breakfast makings and made breakfast. I'm apparently a sub-par breakfast maker, the last few attempts have been a little gross, like the time I tried a recipe for baking powderless pancakes with whatever flour we had on hand (not the right kind) which Eric laughed at... and the time I tried making eggs and hashbrowns but the hashbrowns were slightly underdone and we had ONE egg so I gave Eric this sad little portion of scramble. It ended up being about two pieces of scrambled egg. Well this time, I think my breakfast was delish-- minus having cooled a little more than I had meant for it to by the time I got it upstairs. I think timing is not one of my strong points, it's hard to get everything done at the same time! But I made pancakes, eggs, toast, raspberries, coffee, oj. Yum. Most importantly, I had the energy to do it despite being sleepy, and I tried. So what more can we ask for? :) If that means someone eats my cold breakfast then so be it!

Eric said I was sounding scattered and silly this morning because I was sleepy, but I think we'll all just have to get used to that-- I was just excited to share all of the things I had found and thought of in the middle of the night! Well when everyone was up and ready we did a very exciting errand. We went to pick up our new WASHING MACHINE! Most of you probably don't know the hatred I have had for our washing machine for months. A piece of it broke so it doesn't aggitate like it should. You have to do very small loads, and even then I'm just not convinced of its power, so out it went. Now we have a shiny, larger, quieter, and FUNCTIONAL washing machine. I have been doing load after load since then and loving every minute of it. I feel so much better having that, and now bring on the dirty baby clothes and blowouts in a few months! We are ready. When we got back I thought I should start cleaning before I crashed. So that's exactly what I did, I started cleaning like a mad woman before ever sitting down. I swept and swiffered all of the floors, vacuumed the rugs and the stairs and the carpets upstairs, and then I changed the trash, cleaned our bathroom, did the dishes, crawled on hands and knees (that is getting a little tougher and more like aerobic activity) while I scrubbed the entryway floor so the guys could lay our new flooring down... They did that, and it looks great! A much nicer color, much cleaner, just a big step up, so I'm really happy with that. They will do the laundry room floor one of these days, and then we may go buy more in a lighter color and get some for the upstairs bathrooms. Overall, I would call it a productive day. Tomorrow Eric and I are going to go look at a chair we may get for the nursery. I was in there a minute ago thinking yikes, there is an awful lot to accomplish in there so hopefully this week we'll make some progress! It's a small space to work with and we really want it to be comfy and cozy and peaceful with all the right personality in it... I'm not great at doing that, but I have been begging Rachel for help from a distance. I think when we get a chair and a rug in there, and some shelves we'll be in business. Things should come along after that!

As I was online this morning around 4am I stumbled upon a really neat blog that I like. Some woman who is obviously an etsy.com fanatic like I am, and she posts about different artwork and baby things, and household items and other fun things so I was able to look at those and dream of things I'd like to decorate with or have for the babe. So many fun things to think of :) I also was thinking, I wish I had a home office where I could blog for work during the day. If only I had interesting enough things to say, or a topic to write about. Unfortunately, I don't. So whoever is out there reading this, this may just be as good as it gets on this blog, but that's ok. Some day when I think of something brilliant or find something that MUST be shard, I'll be sure to show you!

I tried taking my monthly belly photos last week when I hit 28 weeks (3rd trimester) but apparently the camera card was full and decided not to notify me, so those are gone. Here is a photo from tonight, at 29 weeks though! Eric says that really is what my belly looks like, but I think this picture makes it look just a tiny bit bigger. I just ate Annies mac and cheese for dinner, so maybe I'm just a little stretched. Or maybe it's time I accept the fact that I'm getting bigger fast! Fine by me, I love feeling this little guy grow. This is about the time for a big growth spurt for us both, and I can definitely feel that he has grown. When he rolls around it's just so noticeable and it's easy to see how much space he takes in there. To think in a few weeks he'll be pounds heavier, I'm excpecting some pretty strong movements to start soon! They're strong now, but I hear they get strong in a very purposeful way. Right now it feels like he's calmly moving most of the time. He's probably 2 pounds and some ounces now, and he is positioned with his back/butt on my left side, his head angled down toward my right hip, and his feet must be up higher but I haven't felt him kicking for a bit so maybe they're sitting at the back. I really feel him flinch and roll more often than kick these days. Sometimes his movements startle me or make me laugh and no matter what they are just plain fun to watch and feel. I cannot believe we'll be full term in EIGHT weeks, to think he'll be with us so soon is just exciting and overwhelming and I can't wait. I'm getting into that stage where I feel like on one hand the pregnancy is just taking off and I'm happy with where I am and feel like there is still so much more to experience, but on the other hand I'm getting anxious to meet him in a couple of months. It feels like there is a long way to go but really, our little love is not far from us.

I think it's time to go watch the laundy machine at work... Yes, welcome to my exciting Saturday nights.

Ciao!

I'm a New Years Eve Grinch

It's true, I'm a New Years Eve grinch, but I love a new year! I have never been huge into NYE, I just don't like the craziness of it all. But take that opinion and multiply it by 10 while I'm pregnant. I had a fairly low-key one, but when everyone around is completely sloshed and screaming and there are fireworks going off around the entire city, I get crabby. I retired home around 11:40 (probably could have held out 20 more minutes but ehhh, there are 365 days to enjoy 2011 if you ask me) and I had heard someone was in early labor. So I headed home to try to get some sleep. But somehow with all of the flashing lights and screaming and the firworks literally next door coming through my window that task seemed hard to follow through with. So it took a bit to sleep. Luckily I didn't get called in until about noon the next day to the birth center. So that is where I spent the New Year! I got home last night, and treated myself to my favorite salad from a place called Mooses Tooth, had a fabulous shower (my favorite after a birth!) and went to bed by 10:30. I live an exciting life :)
New leg cramps woke me up in the night a couple of times, they last for days and I thought wow, they tell you this might happen around 20 weeks but I made it to 28 and THEN they start! It reminds me of when I was 11-13 and had horrible growing pains, when I would limp upstairs to Mom's room and wake her up to help. She was always so willing to rub my calves even though I had woken her up. I found myself in bed this morning wishing it were still so easy as to just run to find mom and have her fix it! Instead I tried stretching and shoving the heel of my other foot into them, but I think I may just have to deal with it. Maybe this will be the final push to getting me to the pool and prenatal yoga class. I shoud go try on all my old swimsuits to see what can wear to the pool! That oughta be fun...:) David was laughing at the fact that one of my tshirts was resting on top of my belly last night, I can only imagine how my swimsuits fit!
I truly hope this year is an exciting and special one for all of you. I'm so looking forward to what it will bring to us, all of the changes... the anticipation! It's unbelievable that we become parents this year, my best friend is getting married this year, I get to be an aunt again, and who knows what else! I'm thankful for what last year brought me, and I'm ready to dive into this one!
I'll do a 28 week belly update later today,I just got out of bed and that's not the best time for photos. But our little Henry is doing well, his movements feel a lot different now days. They are more of a rolling squirming type than actual jabs. He still jabs and kicks but they just feel different. It's fun to feel larger movements and sometimes he'll be off to one side making my belly stick out on that end and I love to rest my hand there, feeling his little body in it. He has decided that for now head up seems to be a comfy place, so we are hoping in the next 2 weeks he flips to head down. He has plenty of room to move, but what we've noticed is that he just chooses not to, he'll move for a while and come back to breech-- for weeks in a row. So if he continues that in the next few, we'll start trying to change his mind a bit. For this last week though he has been in there like he's in a hammock. With his head on one side, back/belly right under my belly button and his feet up on the other side. I hope he's feeling relaxed in there, I would be if I had a warm place to be rocked to sleep in a hammock-like position! His room is taking shape, we have washed and hung a lot of clothes and I'll continue to work on that. Still needing a bookshelf and a rocking chair, and we need some organization in the closet so a few shelves may be in order. Eric is going to put a new light fixture in there, and after those things, it will be the small things to get ready. I'm on the lookout for artwork, rug, curtains etc.
Happy New Year everyone, I hope it's a wonderful, healthy, happy one for all!