Wrecked, Spent, Done

Each time I go in for a midwife appointment she asks me my word of the day.  Basically how I'm feeling.  Usually the answer is "good" or "fine" or "okay".  Last time it was "exhausted".....next week it will most likely be one of the words in the title.  People always say every pregnancy is different - after my first one I really hoped they were.  But then you realize, just because some things were bad in the first one, you still avoided other issues that might get you in the next pregnancy.....

I haven't had the morning sickness as bad as with Litttle Lady (although there seems to be scientific evidence morning sickness is actually worse with girls - and I did start taking the zofran once it started, although I got off of it sooner) and my feet are still wonderfully trim and non-hobbit looking.  However, the physical aches and pains are far worse this time.  I think some of my ligaments have thrown in the towel - they are on strike.  They've decided enough is enough, they won't work under these conditions.  Sleeping is painful - every toss and turn hurts, getting into and out of bed hurts.  Some days each and every step is painful.  I feel like I'm walking with a grapefruit between my legs.  Just not pleasant......Perhaps it is simply because everything was so stretched out the first time it is struggling to hold things up and in this time.  Who knows.  Chasing after a two year old certainly contributes to the exhaustion.  I know I wasn't getting up and down from the floor multiple times an hour during my first pregnancy! 

One way or another, these next several months (well, in reality, years), before and after Bambino get here, will probably be some of the hardest ones we have ever dealt with as a couple/family.  Chris has started school now and we are trying to figure out the best way to balance things.  Hopefully he'll be able to cut back on his call at work so he can devote more time to studying.  We've figured he will need to go straight to the library after work a couple days a week so he can read/watch videos.  He has class twice a week, where he meets at a specific time via video chat for his class.  He will have to be home, but hide away upstairs during that.  Hmmmm, so home for class twice a week and having to go study the other three work days.  Yesterday I think he only got to see Little Lady for about 10 minutes.  He got home and then I whisked her off to the pool so he could study and then do class.  She was in bed before he even finished his class for the evening.  Have to figure out how to get him more time with the kiddos....if only he had a standard lunch time I could take them to see him everyday....but the OR doesn't work that way.  We've decided at least one half day each weekend will be devoted to family time/fun.  It is gonna be hard - hopefully it is doable.  Hey - you do what you gotta do, right?  One way or another, we'll make it all work.  I think I'm also going to start up daycare, or some kind of business, again in January to help with finances - we are still trying to figure out how to pay for the last bit of Chris' school.  Some stuff changed at the last minute after acceptance and deposits had already been paid and we've been scrambling trying to get funds together to pay for it.  He has been able to get some student loans but not enough.  Basically one of those situations where you made big changes in your life, rearranged things, made huge sacrifices and took huge risks so that you could get ahead and ensure your families financial security and Independence - and then you're thrown a grenade that flips everything on it's head again.  Let's just say it has been a stressful pregnancy.  Selling two properties - one through a short sale, dealing with stuff with my mom, moving a family cross country, starting new in an area where you don't know anyone, starting a new job, starting school for another degree............let's just say this pregnancy has been a bit stressful.  Certainly more physical and emotional stress than my first pregnancy - although I'm very happy to have avoided the preeclampsia this go 'round (so far - geeez, I probably shouldn't have even mentioned it the way things have gone....).  I had been hoping to start up some classes at BSU, but there is no way we can afford that now.  C'est la vie.  Enough belly aching!!  We are still incredibly blessed, have food on our table, a roof over our head, a house full of love, healthy children, and so much more!

August was pretty busy and packed with family type stuff - I have been trying to get it in before the craziness started.  We did our Maternity tour, gymnastics classes, hosting a play dough play date at our house, Blackberry picking, parish picnic, lots of play dates, I had my birthday, we finally had a "date" for just the two of us and did family pictures.  The calendar is now pretty much clear for the next month.  Who knows when little man will decide to make his debut......

Here are some of the August things I haven't already done posts on:

My Birthday

I turned 31 on the 23rd.  It was a simple day, spent at home.  I asked Little Lady several days earlier if she wanted cheesecake or canolis for my birthday and she said cheesecake - so cheesecake it was.  I was looking for the best cheesecake recipe but the top rated one that kept coming up over and over was actually Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie.  I decided to give that a whirl, so we made that in the morning.  I'm trying to use stuff from our garden, so I made a grilled mozzarella, tomato and pesto sandwich for lunch.  Our neighbor gave us a jar of pesto she canned - very good.  She has three sons and looks phenomenal - and now she cans awesome food too?  Must adapt to Idaho.....
Chris hung out with Little Lady in the backyard while I made some meatballs with raisins for dinner.  My present was a card for an 80......yes 80....minute pregnancy massage.  Ohhhhhhhhh, how I need that......

She started my birthday morning with an early 6:30 am wake up - much earlier than her usual.  Luckily I was able to get her back to sleep in our bed....no such luck for me.

 



 

She started work on my wonderful birthday "cake."

 

Smooooshing the crescent roll into the bottom of the pan...

 

This is what I get half the time now when I ask for a smile.

 

There we go!  Mixing up the topping.

 

 

Grilled mozzarella with home grown tomatoes from our garden and pesto from our neighbor.

 

The finished sopapilla.  I must say - VERY good.  Everyone enjoyed it.  Not my usual, but I'll certainly make it again - quick and easy.  Good to take to a potluck or picnic.

 

Meatballs with raisins.....mmmmmmm......a Grandma Pat specialty.

 

 

 

Visiting Papa at work

 

We were able to do a little visit with Chris the other week.  He was on call and a late case got scheduled so he knew it was going to be a late night.  He had a little break so we were able to come visit so he could see Little Lady.  He didn't get home 'till after 9pm (he leaves by 6:30am) and she was already in bed - so it was good we were able to do that.



 

Papa gave her a matching hat.  We hung out in the break room for a bit and he gave her some ''hot chocolate" - which I later realized was capuchino...after she had already had most of it....awesome.

 

Ta Daa!! (from gymnastics class) - or Yay Caffeine!  Take your pick.

 

 

A Date!

 

We finally had our first date since before our move.  We arranged for a sitter for four hours and did a morning date. 



 

 

 

Neat mural on the back of the Idanha hotel.

 

We had brunch at La Vie En Rose, in the Idanha.  It was nice to be in an old building again.

 

I built my own turkey, spinach and feta omelet.

 

Chris had the fritata.  Good food and good atmosphere.  Would recommend the place.  It is neat, many of the restaurants Downtown have a shared bathroom inside the main buildings that they are in, so you leave the actual restaurant to go use it.  I almost fell down the stairs going to it - I've adjusted from the narrow old stairs.  Having lived in our 100 year old house for several years, I was a pro at them and always felt odd using "modern" stairs.  How quickly we adjust.

 

 

We then wandered about the Farmers Market for a while.  It was getting a bit smokey out.  It gradually blew in over the course of the morning.

 

 

Stay weird Boise, stay weird.

 

 

Pretty flowers.

 

Our meter was up and we still had the sitter for a little while, so we stopped along the river, had a seat, and chatted.

 

The smoke kept blowing in :-\

We did get to see some fly fishing though!  Squint and look to the left, by where the grass starts.

 

 

We were still able to relax a bit and chat....but it eventually got to be too much smoke.

 

Pretty flowers along the river.

 

 

Family Pictures

 

I was able to find someone in the mom group I am in here who is interested in photography and was willing to do free pics to build her portfolio.  I think she will have them ready this weekend, and I'll get to see how they turned out and share some with you.  We haven't done any and I thought it would be nice to get some pics before Bambino gets here.

 



 

Baby C still came along too.

 

 

Pretty park.  I snapped a couple pics while she went to her car to grab something.

 

Getting a two year old to stay still for pics is certainly a challenge...

 

Eventually she started telling us "I done."

 

What, you don't have chickens wandering around your parks?  They were actually very robust and healthy looking.

 

 

Sensory animal exhibit

 

We also got to check out a neat little "display" (in a trailer out front of Cabela's) with all kinds of animal skins and furs and mounts.  I think the main mission is to provide vision impaired children with an opportunity to be exposed to different types of animals using senses other than sight. 



 

 

It was certainly a change for her to be able to touch everything.

 

Yes, we stop by Cabela's way too often.  I'm not sure how often Chris goes by without us - it is right by his work.  Let's just say Elk season is fast approaching and he likes to do lots of "research" to prepare.  So.....new baby, school, full time work and trying to hunt in a totally new region for a totally new animal......yeah, no stress at all....

 

 

 

CANNING!

 

I tried canning for the first time.  Chris was able to swing a day off since he worked so much overtime the other week, so I was able to try this out since he was able to sit in the yard and study while Little Lady played outside - although she still helped out every now and then.  Let's just say it was a learning experience....

 

 

I got "suited up" and realized I should make an apron for pregnancy....

 

She got her apron on too and was ready to help!  I believe this is an old Famiglietti apron?  Either that or just from when I was a kid?

 

First we made blackberry jam from the berries we picked.  This is not canned, just put in a jar in the fridge.  It was thickened with cornstarch instead of pectin (don't have any), so I wasn't sure that was okay to can and I couldn't find a sufficient answer on the Internet.  I'm actually going to pick up some pectin at the store today and use that for the rest of the blackberries I have and can those.

 

 

Next up, tomato sauce.  It felt like I had a ton of tomatoes, but I realized it was probably only enough for one quart size jar.  It takes at least 5 pounds to make on jar.

 

 

First, all the skins had to be peeled off.  Just put them in a pot of boiling water for about 35-45 seconds and then immerse them in a bowl of ice water.  The skins then pretty much peel right off.

 

 

I then had to quarter all of them and remove any tough parts (stem area) and remove the seeds and squeeze out extra water.  You can keep the juice to drink if you like.  I put them in a strainer to drain any extra water while I was processing.

 

They then went into a pot to boil down.  I still used a masher to help break them up - I had lots of roma tomatoes.  They also have lots less water, so I didn't need to boil it down as long, maybe that is why they didn't break up on their own as much.

 

Then came the real learning part for me.  I put the sauce in the ONE sterilized jar, closed it up, and put it in the pot of boiling water that was ready and waiting.  I then realized that it really didn't cover the top of the jar with at least an inch of water......hmmmmm.......I decided to let it continue boiling while I pondered that.  Then I also realized the pot kept boiling over and putting out the flame.  **Sigh**.....so I think I got about 15 minutes of boiling, rather than the 45 required, before I came to terms that it wasn't gonna work.  I removed the jar and let it cool and then put it in the fridge, to be used this week.  If I'm going to do quart size jars I need to get a larger pot.  That was an AWFUL lot of work for a jar of tomato sauce.  I am ALL about opportunity cost - and buying a jar of sauce at the store makes much more sense - but the lesson was invaluable and I do have concerns about what goes into our bodies.  I'm also not earning money right now - and trying to save money - so canning is still a valuable tool.  I just need to try it on stuff that is a bit easier to prep.  Processing all those tomatoes was killer on my legs and back right now - several hours of standing.  I was very disappointed after it all, but I now feel better about it.  I had been very anxious before trying it - as most people are with anything new - but I gave it a try, didn't totally succeed, but learned some lessons and am willing to try again.  What more could I ask for?

 

 

 

I also have some zucchini and squash I need to freeze - can't find our Food Saver though!  Guess I'll have to resort to the old school method of just putting it in a ziploc bag....

 

It also helps that I have an adorable little helper!  I wonder if she'll get into baking like her Mama, or cooking like her Papa.  Or maybe neither! ;-)

 

 

 

 Being pregnant

 

I also fit in some being pregnant - although the "fitting" aspect is getting harder.  This was 35 weeks I believe...

 

So let's review:

 

 

22 weeks

 

26 weeks

 

30 weeks



35 weeks

 

Here was 36 weeks with Little Lady.

We'll see how this goes!  Chris wants a minimum of 37 weeks - for obvious development reasons.  I'm hoping for maybe 38 weeks - or 39 at the most.  Although the way this is going he'll probably hang on for 41......
We have also decided we will NOT do a doula.  It seems like a frivolous way to spend money right now - although I'm amazed at how many people barter out here, I'm gonna have to get into that....
Even just interviewing the doula got Chris more into the whole thing and ready to help.  I've read my natural birth in a hospital book and taken notes for him to review.  I'll probably also copy a couple pages for him as well so he feels prepared.  One way or another, Baby C will make his entry soon enough - an then maybe I can get some sleep.   ;-)


Hope all is well with you!  Thank you very much to those of you that have reached out over the past several months to just check in or send a card telling me you're thinking of me or asking how the pregnancy is going.  It means a bunch.  The last several months have been tough emotionally - hormones don't help - and having supportive, caring friends and family members means the world to me.  I probably won't post as much for the next couple months, but I'll try to do an update now and then.  Blogging takes a lot of time - especially when there are lots of pictures to post - and I'm already exhausted just trying to keep up with Little Lady and the work that needs to be done around here.  Keep checking though - I will update it for Baby C's arrival.  There is also an option to follow by email for those of you without google accounts.  I think it is at the bottom of the screen.  You will then get emails when there is a new post.

Also, let us know if your following us!  I love to know who actually reads this.......keep us posted too!