Nursery Project

Sarah at Pewter+Sage wrote a post about how she found alphabet cards and was inspired to create art for her baby girl's nursery using them. She posted several ideas and one of them was this piece from the Tiny Decor blog (which, for some reason, is not working right now and I am REALLY sad).

I already ordered the cards from Amazon and I am SUPER excited to get started on that once the painting is done (more on that later this week!). It will be the perfect art for our "alphabet soup" nursery!

Chicken Gyros

It isn't often that I will take a bite of my own food and say it is awesome. But tonight...well, I just couldn't resist. Because this marinade was simply amazing. The chicken was moist and juicy and just plain YUMMY. C was drooling as he was grilling!
Chicken Gyros
as seen on Beantown Baker, adapted from Elly Says Opa!

Ingredients
1.25 lbs. chicken pieces
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping Tbsp. plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper

tzatziki (I am still working on my recipe so won't post what I used until it is perfect)
sliced tomatoes
sliced onions
pitas
(I added lettuce. Because I wanted to)

Directions
1. Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, and oregano in a bowl. Add the chicken and rub the marinade in. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
2. Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, and oregano in a bowl. Add the chicken and rub the marinade in. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
3. Warm your pitas and add chicken, tomatoes, onions and tzatziki (and lettuce in my case). Roll up and prepare to make a mess.

Week 20: Half-Baked!

Ladies and gents, we have reached 20 weeks! Baby boy is now half-baked! Baby weights about 10 and a half ounces and measures about 6 and a half inches from crown to rump. Starting next week, we start measuring him from head to toe! He is swallowing more, which is practice for digestion, and he is producing merconium, which will accumulate in his bowels and which we will see in his first poopy diaper (um, gross). At the halfway point in pregnancy, the top of the uterus is about even with the belly button.

I have had a TOUGH time sleeping this weekend, and tonight I am hoping to catch up on it. Baby boy has been a little quiet for a few days, but I think the heat was getting to me and since I wasn't very rested, I don't think he had the time to feel me calming down and give me a few kicks. He was moving around quite a bit this afternoon, and hopefully tonight he will start being squirmy again. And, because worrying is what I do best, the fact that he has been mellow has me a tad stressed out. Here is this week's belly shot:


We leave on Thursday for a wedding in New Jersey and I am the matron of honor. I am not sure how I am going to make it all day on Saturday in heels. Yikes!

70th Birthday Cake

One of my friend's contacted me a few weeks ago to make a small birthday cake for her mom's 70th surprise birthday party.

I had to bake a cake on the hottest day of the summer. With no air conditioning.

This is the cake that almost gave me heat stroke.
Just a boxed vanilla butter cake mix (yes, a boxed mix. Whatever.) with vanilla buttercream. I was nervous because I hadn't made roses in ages.

I was happy with the results, even though the humidity was wreaking havoc with my icing consistency. I hope she likes it!

Pregnancy Week 19

This week, baby is the size of a mango! The best fruit yet!
The hair on baby boy's scalp is sprouting and it is an important time in sensory development! He is designating special areas for taste, smell, hearing, vision and touch. There is some research that suggests that baby can now hear me, so I think I may start reading to the belly. Unusual, yes, but what else do you want from an English teacher? I already have regular conversations with the bump, so why not go a step further?? Arms and legs are now in the right proportion to the rest of his body. His kidneys continue to make urine and a waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Here is this week's belly shot:

After this, C and I went to a wake. I had to go out and buy an appropriate dress because I have nothing for dressy occasions that fits. I put on the dress and C walked in and said, "My love is pregnant!" It was the first time he had remarked on the belly, so the dress made me look REALLY pregnant! I should have taken a picture in that, lol.

I have only gained 2 pounds during my pregnancy, which I am really happy with. I think this is partly due to the fact that there are many things I can't eat and am avoiding because of my heartburn. I talked to the pharmacist today about something else I could take, and he guided me to Prevacid. I think I may give that a whirl, since Zantac is doing NOTHING for me now. And to be honest, besides the heartburn, my pregnancy has not been too tough! I am feeling very blessed and happy these days!

Blueberry Almond Cake with Lemon Drizzle

This recipe popped up yesterday from Beantown Baker and I knew I immediately had to make it. I made a list because I was missing a few things and ran to the grocery store. It was well worth the extra trip. It was simply amazing. The cheesecake filling covered in blueberries was an extra surprise and was creamy and delicious. It was pretty lemony, which is ok with me because I love lemon.

I would suggest using a springform pan; I used a 9-inch cake pan and it would have looked so much prettier had I been able to remove the cake from the pan. But my springforms are still packed away somewhere from when we moved (a year ago, yes). I also overbaked the actual cake part because the cream cheese filling wouldn't set. But, even with that, it was still AH-MAZING.

Blueberry Almond cake with Lemon Drizzle
as seen on Beantown Baker, adapted from Modern Comfort Food

Ingredients
For the cake: 1 1/2 cup flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt A pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 2/3 cup plain yogurt 2 tsp fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp almond extract

For the topping:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp flour
1 egg
2 tsp lemon zest
2 C fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 C sliced almonds

For the drizzle:
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 C powdered sugar

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch round cake or spring form pan and lightly dust it with flour.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add 1 cup brown sugar and beat for approximately one minute until light and well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for approximately two minutes after each addition. Alternately, add one-half of the flour mixture and one-half of the yogurt, beating briefly on low after each addition. Repeat. Stir in the lemon juice and almond extract. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan.
4. In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, 1 egg, and the lemon zest for approximately two minutes until very smooth and creamy. Spoon this cheese mixture over the cake batter and spread, leaving a one-inch margin of cake batter exposed around the perimeter of the cake. Sprinkle the blueberries over the cream cheese mixture and the sliced almonds around the perimeter of the cake.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake to room temperature and serve.
6. For the glaze, whisk together the lemon juice with the powdered sugar and drizzle the mixture over the top of the cake.

Baby Boy Purchases

So, Mama here has purchased a few things for her baby boy.

First, a few hooded towels and a washcloth set that was on clearance from Target. I couldn't resist the sea turtle:

And while attempting to match paint samples to our bedding at BRU, I began perusing the clearance section and found these four outfits in 6-9 months, which will be perfect for next summer. And all of them come with shorts! Bonus! Can you see the plaid bermudas that are with the "Here comes trouble" shirt? I am in love.

And this hat and mitten set. Because I am a sucka:

Possible Nursery Colors

I spent some time at Babies R Us with my handy fan pack of Sherwin Williams paint colors and think I finally decided on the colors I want to go with. Our bedding has so many different colors, but I felt like the red was too orangey to go on the wall and I didn't want to go with the blue. As a reminder, here is our bedding:


So, I am thinking of doing Sherwin Williams Jonquil on the top:


The green in our bedding is REALLY green. I wanted to pull it into the wall color SOMEHOW, so I think between the top and bottom colors, instead of a chair rail, I will do a strip of SW Melange Green a few inches thick. The color is greener than this in person:
And this color would go on the bottom, SW French Roast. Although my girl who works at SW says it has a really red hue, so I may have to go with an alternate (Java is a possibility):

I am not 100% sold on the idea of yellow in a boys room, so may do a neutral on top with the brown. Thoughts/suggestions?

My Secret Shame

This is my secret shame. AKA: The third bedroom. This is what you see when you open the door. Are you afraid yet? You should be.(The curtains are tied up because we had a fan in the window. Our A/C is out, so we had created a wind-tunnel of sorts).

When we were looking for a house, we knew we wanted to stay in the same city we had our apartment in. This also meant that we were limited in what we could purchase in this area, since the prices tend to be on the slightly higher side. So we knew we were probably going to end up with a three bedroom as opposed to a four bedroom. Which meant the girls would share a bedroom and we would save the third bedroom for a nursery.

Once we moved in, the third empty bedroom became a home for my scrapbooking supplies and pretty much everything else that didn't have a home. The closet quickly became packed full of CRAP and the room never really was used for anything. I had originally painted it yellow, disliked the color, and painted it grey last summer. Awesome, since it will soon be seeing its THIRD PAINT COLOR in a year. I also painted the trim white.

I started going through several boxes of papers and this is what the room looked like:

And this, I am sad to say, is the closet:

It is really a great size for a closet, and we have the bonus of having the shelves along the one side. But the sight of it jam-packed makes me cringe.
Oh, and access to our eaves? Yeah...don't even think about it.

I have a LOT to do in the next few weeks if I want to get the room painted by the time school starts in August. And speaking of paint, I think I finally decided on colors for the room! I am so excited!

Operation: Nursery

Now that we know the bambino is a Baby Boy, it is time to get started on the nursery! I know many mommies to be decide to make their own bedding, but I am not that talented and unfortunately, do not know anyone who IS (and who has the time to give me to do that, lol).

Before we started our registry at Babies-R-Us, I saw this bedding and completely fell in love. It is the Peek-a-Boo Pals bedding from BRU.
It is ridiculously soft and plush and I adore the skirt. And, as an English teacher, I love the alphabet! I have decided to incorporate both the animals and the alphabet in Baby Boy's room. I will NOT be doing the decals and at this point, I have no idea what colors we will be painting. I know I want to do two-tone somehow; either one color on top and another on bottom, with a chair rail, or subtle stripes.

Today, I was browsing my newest addiction, Etsy, and came across this print from seller PotatoPatch:And I also found these adorable clothing dividers from the same seller. Totally unnecessary? Yes. But it appeals to the organizing freak that is currently hidden WAY DEEP inside me (where did she go??):And if I am feeling ambitious enough, I may attempt something like this:
I have no idea where I found this picture, but it was awhile ago. And I love it. I doubt I will be able to find letters as awesome as these, but I can try!

Stay tuned for pictures of the disaster area that we currently call our third bedroom. It is scary.

We are Team...

BLUE!!

Our ultrasound was bright and early this morning. I was supposed to go in with a full bladder so I didn't even bother peeing before we left the house. By the time we got there, I was in pain and dancing all around the place. The tech took us back and started the ultrasound. For most of the time, baby was facing us and had his mouth open (definitely his mother's child...). She got all the measurements she needed and had me go to the bathroom (FINALLY) to see if baby would move positions and she could get a shot of the goods. And then she saw what she needed and told us we are having a boy! I immediately started to cry, lol. She said my doctor would get the scans in a few days, but that everything looked good.

So hard to believe it...a baby boy!

Pregnancy Week 18

This week, baby is the size of a sweet potato!Baby is spending the hours in the uterus yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. Now is about the time that I may start feeling more real kicks and not just flutters, although baby has been pretty active lately. Right now he is squirming away in there!

I put together this slide of my belly shots. I can see a definite difference between weeks 12 and 17 (sorry it is so tiny):And here is this week's belly shot. I feel as if I have actually popped. I made C take like, 6 pictures. The lighting is bad and my capris were cutting in at a weird point on my belly:


Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! OUR ULTRASOUND! I am beyond excited to find out what we are having, but even more than that, I am praying that baby is healthy and developing as expected. I will be sure to post the results when we get home!

Colorado Avalanche Cake

My friend Jim turned 30, and I was in charge of his birthday cake. He is a huge Colorado Avalanche fan, so I wanted to put the logo on the cake. I found a sample of it online, printed it out, and basically free-handed the entire thing. Talk about a pain in the ass.

I had to squeeeeeeze his name on the bottom!

I went with a basic white cake with an almond buttercream. Yum!

Pregnancy Week 17

This week baby is the size of an onion! Baby is about 5 inches long and weighs almost 6 ounces. Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.


This week's 4th of July baby bump. I am feeling more pregnant, even if I don't necessarily look like it. And today I gave in and had a cherry Coke at lunch and about 30 minutes later, baby was going bonkers! It was nice to have that reassurance that the little guy was in there!

I started our registry at Babies R Us online. Talk about overwhelming. I went through and put on a few things that did not necessarily need to be discussed with C (like a bathtub). As soon as we find out the sex of the baby (LESS THAN A WEEK! AUGH!) I want to hit the store and start scanning away. I have been reading many reviews and getting a general idea of what I want, then C and I can go over it while in the store. My shower is not until October 24 and I am fairly certain my parents will be buying our crib. So we need to start pricing out the rest of the furniture so we know what we will need to purchase.

I will say, this heat is killing me. I really wish our A/C was not broken, because for once in my life, I wish I could turn it on.

Meals for New Parents

My friend J and her husband just welcomed a new baby girl to their family last week. And because I am Italian and we celebrate with food, I brought them over a complete meal to enjoy and to take the stress off of them a little bit!


When bringing meals to new parents, I try to keep it simple for them to reheat, as well as possibly freezable (in case they already have a ton of meals prepared or brought to them). Be sure to include reheating instructions, if necessary, and I am always sure to include dessert!


For these new parents, I had to think outside the box a little, because J's husband is lactose intolerant. So, I went with:

• Sausage and peppers (made in the crockpot), with hoagie buns and mozzarella cheese for J to put on her sandwich.
• Oven-roasted red potatoes
• Salad mix
• Rice Krispie Treats

Here they are, all packaged up with pink ribbon:

And here is a picture of me with baby Ellie!

No-Bake Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate. A beloved combination by many. Including this pregnant woman. J had a sleepover and I had a hankering for some cookies, but didn't necessarily want the hassle of actually baking anything tonight. So I grabbed my always willing helper, A, and we whipped these up in a jiffy. A super simple cookie and one that you can easily get the kids involved in helping you make!

No-Bake Cookies
Yields 2-3 dozen cookies, depending on the size

Ingredients
1 stick butter
2 C sugar
1/2 C milk
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 C peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 C oats

Directions
-Add first four ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for one minute.
-Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter until smooth.
-Stir in oats
-Drop by heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
-Allow to cool and set, about 30 minutes

Berry Crumble

A delicious way to use all of those yummy summer berries! I did not have any raspberries, so I used some strawberries instead. I also doubled the recipe but am posting Ashlee's original recipe. If you can bear putting the oven on for a little bit during the heat of summer, this was definitely worth it!

Berry Crumble
courtesy of A Year in the Kitchen
Serves 4 (I doubled the recipe so we had a larger pan, which really just meant we had larger servings)

Ingredients
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 tsp almond extract
1 lb cherries, pitted and halved
1 pint of blueberries
1 pint of blackberries
1/2 pint of raspberries (I used strawberries instead)


1/2 C rolled oats
1/4 C white whole wheat flour
1/4 C packed brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp butter, cold
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions
-Preheat oven to 325
-Mix berries with sugar, cornstarch, salt, and almond extract and pour into a baking dish.
-Mix oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder.
-Cut butter into oat mixture with pastry cutter or forks.
-Add applesauce and stir to combine.
-Crumble oat mixture over berry mixture in baking dish.
-Bake 20-25 minutes; serve warm with a side of vanilla ice cream.

Pregnancy Week 16 (and 4 days)

OK, I missed week 15's belly picture and this one is late. But, better late than never, right? So here is this week's picture, but it is actually 16 weeks, 4 days:

I think it is starting to look more like baby and less like flab, but I could be kidding myself.

Big event this week? On Friday, 6/25, I felt the baby move. Well, I think it was the baby moving. Tiny flutters and popping in my belly. And every since then, when sitting down or laying, I can usually pick it out. It is the oddest feeling ever!

Our big ultrasound is a week from Monday on July 12! I can't wait to find out what we are having!

How far along: 16 weeks, 4 days
Total weight gain/loss: No clue. Will update at next appointment on July 12. But at last check, I was at 0 lbs gained/lost
Maternity clothes: Some. Mostly maternity capris/pants
Stretch marks?: Not yet
Sleep: It was great when C was out of town. I had the bed to myself!
Best moment this week: Feeling flutters for the first time!
Movement: Slight and random flutters
Food cravings: sweets
Gender: Find out July 12!
What I miss: Miller Chills on the patio around a bonfire
Milestones: Flutters! And perhaps the beginnings of a real bump?