He's a Tricksy One

For some reason, I'm always really thirsty at night.  My bedtime routine goes something like this:

Get a drink of water
Brush my teeth
Get a drink of water
floss my teeth
get a drink of water
wash my face
get a drink of water
put on my pajamas
get a drink of water
go to bed

It makes me feel like a little kid trying to get out of going to bed by asking for a 100 drinks of water.  The only problem is that I do really want to go to bed.  I'm usually super tired.

Waaallll anyways, the other night I was facebooking while waiting for Aaron to get ready for bed.  You see, I was already excepting my last drink of water.  Finally, he said, "Would you like to pray and go to bed?" I answered, "Ok, just give me a sec and let me get a drink of water."  I closed down the computer and made my way to the kitchen.  Where was my cup that I had just left 1/2 full of water?  Ok, I must of lost it.  I'll just get a new one.  But wait, where was the water pitcher?  I looked around and it was no where to be seen.  The whole time Aaron looked way too innocent.  I gave him the evil eyebrow of doom and started searching.  Look at what I found.  And yes, I did have to get a chair to get it down.

What is that mine eyes spy on yonder hill?

I just hope I don't die of thirst before I climb the mountain to get it. 

Guess who was mighty proud of himself?

What I'm Diggin' This Week

• Books, books and more books

I don't know how it happened, but I'm reading a ton of books all at once for some reason and I have several more on my to-read shelf.  On Wednesday, my husband asked me what I planned on doing all day.  At first I felt guilty that I just planned on laying on the couch and reading all day, but then I remembered that it was my job.  Yes, people do pay to just lay around read books.  What a great life!
For my Omnibus class, I'm currently reading Uncle Tom's Cabin and Killer Angels.  I also just finished Tale of Two Cities which was an enjoyable read.
Now we get to the best part: fun reads!

I just picked up this book from the library yesterday. Aaron and I read it together as we ate dinner last night.  It is chock full of helpful info on raising chickens and rabbits, growing veggies and fruits, brewing beers, etc.  According to the book, I can expect to harvest 1,400 eggs, 50 lbs of wheat, 60 lbs of fruit, 2000 lb of veggies, 280 lb of pork and 75 lb of nuts.  Ha, I'll be happy with a few good veggies though I would like a fruit tree and some chickens for eggs (more on that later).  Still a good read with lots of useful information on sustainable living.

Unbroken is the story of a former Olympic runner who gets shot down in his bomber plane.  I think he becomes a POW but I haven't gotten that far.  The best part about this here book is that I get to impress my husband with my copious knowledge of the B-24 bomber.  Did you know that more people were killed in non-combat related accidents than in actual combat?  So sad, so many lives were "wasted."  Super interesting stuff.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like Louie in real life though.

• The fact that my mom told me I have to eat lots of snacks so Baby Girl will gain weight. Please excuse me while I go eat yogurt topped with homemade granola, chocolate chips, and dried coconut.  It is all for the children. 
• A baby with crazy long hair. 

• Getting to take this hunk to his first symphony which he loved!

The Advocator

We eat healthy...well, mostly that is.  Sometimes a girl just needs chocolate, or several pieces of homemade bread smothered in natural peanut butter and homemade jam, and sometimes she just needs a giant messy hamburger.  Check out this sexy lady.

I call it the Advocator.  This one is actually Aaron's.  I think it includes several servings of gaucamole, mayo, bbq sauce, ketchup, mustard, bacon, cheese, a grilled pineapple ring, and a hamburger patty.  I would highly recommend it.  

Oh, and please don't tell your parents that I just said sexy on the internet.  Thanks.  

One tiny bite for man is a giant bite for Baby Girl

In  case you haven't noticed, my child is thin.  I call her my skinny minny.  I didn't realize just how thin until we went to the doctor for her 4 month check-up right after Christmas.  They told me that was in the 90th percentile for height and only the 10th percentile for weight.  This wouldn't have bothered me (after all, breast-fed babies tend to be on the lower side of the weight charts) except for the fact that she had only gained about 1/2 lb in 2 months.

The doctor said to take her home and to try and increase my milk supply.  After two weeks, I thought she was getting more food and scheduled a weight check for her.  Unfortunately, she didn't appear to have even gained an ounce.  This concerned a doctor and he ordered her a series of blood and urine tests.  Have you had to get blood drawn on a 5 month-old?  I now understand what it truly means to be a mom.  I remember a friend of mine always says that having a child is like having a little piece of your heart walking around outside your body.  I never really understood that until they shoved a giant needle into, not one, but both of my baby's arms.  I just held her tight and tried to fight back the tears.  I wanted to beat up the technician or at least beg her to take all of my blood if they would only leave her alone.  

Fortunately, all the test came back A-ok.  It seems that Baby Girl just isn't getting enough milk.  In addition to attempting to increase my milk supply, I came to the sad decision that I needed to start her on real food.  I had really hoped to wait for another 3-4 weeks but my poor child looks half starved.  

After consulting my baby food book, I decided to start with one of my favorites: Sweet Potato!  At first she couldn't figure out why I was sticking something into her mouth, but by the end, she was gladly sucking my spoon.  I think she is totally ready for solids.  I only gave her 1 teaspoon mixed with some milk.  Can you imagine eating only 1 teaspoon and even being anywhere near satisfied?  Here are some pictures to document the occasion. 

Before

The proof was in the pudding

She goes back in a 1 1/2 weeks for another weight check.  Pray that she gains at least a little something.

You Know You Have Too Much Time On Your Hands When...

You are currently crocheting a rug out of cut up t-shirts.  Seriously.  I need to get a life.

I love my baby.  I love being home with my baby.  But sometimes all the free time on my hands drives me crazy.  I feel like a hermit.  I look for excuses to leave the house but have trouble coming up with them.  Is it wrong to get excited about grocery shopping day.  Sometimes I feel like the cashiers at the grocery store are my friends.  Every week we talk about my baby, their grand-baby, the weather, the flu that is going around.  Today, I even brought one of the ladies at the store a present..and it was even wrapped.  Ok, so it was for her newborn grandchild.  That's not weird, right?

You know all of those times in your life when you were crazy busy and stressed and you wished you could just sit around at home all day doing projects off of pinterest and baking?  Ya, that is my life.  It is fun for a while but after a few months it gets old fast.

Sometimes I try to encourage myself by reminding myself to do my work to the glory of God.  But what gets me is when I don't have any work to do.  How do you sit on the couch and wait for your baby to wake up to the glory of God?  I let you know when I figure it out.

The good news is that help is on the horizon.  I'll start teaching next week, playing the piano this week, and BIG news: we're joining a once-a-month mom's group.  Maybe we'll even make friends of the mom/child variety.  We have a lot of friends but we just don't really have friends who are in our stage of life.

But enough whining.  Back to joy.  Here are a few things that make me happy.

A husband who lets me goof around. 

My own personal laundry assistant

GF, DF taco movie nights with the hubby

A guy who loves you enough to send you flowers

The Skinny on Being Skinny

Ok, so we didn't eat dairy for a week and now we've gone without gluten for 1 1/2 weeks.  How do I feel?  Skinny, super skinny.  I haven't weighed this amount since before I was pregnant.  Possibly not even since my wedding.  Here is my weight loss trick: don't eat dairy, wheat products, and nurse a baby.  Did you know that when you nurse, you burn 500-1500 extra calories per day?  Yep, I think I lost 3-4 pounds in the space of one week.  Now, that I'm eating dairy, I'm trying to make up for it by eating all my Christmas chocolate.
We did discover some great new recipes.  One new recipe was this one here that I made up for breakfast.

Sweet Potato Hash (GF, DF)
1 sweet potato
1/4 c onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 1/2 T oil
salt and pepper to taste

Shred or grate the sweet potato.  Heat the oil in a skillet.  Put the sweet potato and the onion in the pan.  After cooking for about 3 minutes, add the celery.  Continue cooking for about 3-5 more minutes or until it reaches the desired tenderness.  Add salt and pepper.

Though this is so simple, it tastes quite delish.  Feel free to serve with a fried egg on top.  Or maybe some bacon.  Or how about a ton of sausage?  No, wait!  How about a waffle topped with syrup, butter, sweet potato hash and some bacon.  Now I'm talking.

Excuse me while I go eat a whole stick of butter. This girl needs some calories.

Obligatory New Year's Post

2012

• Was pregnant and gave birth to a baby.  The hardest thing I've ever done.  
• Gained and lost oodles of weight.
• Exercised more than ever before (though it was all low impact)
• Celebrated one year of being married to my man (if you're reading this aloud, be sure and pronounce "my man" with a strong Kentucky accent)
• Discovered that I like fish
• Quit my job

2013

• Buy a house
• Keep on exercising.  This is my favorite exercise video. It isn't very hard but it is perfect for those cold winter days when I can barely make myself put down the coffee cup and book and get off the couch. 
• Keep my house cleaner
• Be a better mother
• Memorize Scripture
• Do hard things - serve people especially when it is outside of my comfort zone