Monday, December 29, 2008

there are feet in my ribs

I think they are feet anyway. Hard to tell. It's not very comfortable, but I know I'll be missing the little kicks before too long so I am trying to enjoy it all. 34 weeks today and all we have to do now is decide on a name and try to keep the house clean. Anyone have any wonderful name suggestions?


Thursday, December 25, 2008

presents!

This was Anika's third Christmas and she really got into it this year. She's been wonderful about leaving the tree and the presents alone, but once we gave her the go ahead she dug right in.






Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

graduation

Eric graduated from Airmen Leadership School this Wednesday. He had been going to classes for several weeks to learn what is required to be a Staff Sergeant. The promotion will come in the next month or two. It was a nice evening with dinner and lots of laughs. It was nice to finally meet all the people I'd been hearing about for weeks. Here he is receiving his certificate



and enjoying a few drinks in the E club with his classmates


Monday, December 8, 2008

St. Nicholas Day

The 6th of December is St. Nicholas Day and we celebrate with stockings filled with tangerines, nuts, and candies. We aren't great at planning ahead so I had to run to the store and fill them right before Anika could dig in. Next year she'll be old enough to know what's going on so we'll have to be on the ball.

Here are the stockings




Her first PEZ dispenser :)





The next day she wants to see what's still in there.





We also went to the Christmas market in Trier this weekend. Those things really are more fun when you aren't pregnant and pushing a stroller through the crowds. The food was wonderful though and the sun was shining. Unfortunately we picked up a stalker in the crowd. He didn't like the way our friend was holding her puppy's leash so close. He thought she was being abusive and he chased us through the crowds, yelled in our faces, and we couldn't get rid of him until we found some Polizei to help us out. He wasn't all there mentally and he was very persistent. Thankfully the police kept him with them while we made our escape.

Monday, December 1, 2008

30 weeks!

Already 30 weeks pregnant and as of tomorrow I can say 7 months too. This little one is getting so much more active as the days go by. Yesterday he or she kicked really hard and hit the desk through my belly. That was the oddest feeling.


I have started working on a playlist to listen to while I labor and I am welcoming suggestions. No, I will not add "Push It" :) Here is what I have so far and I'm sure I will add and remove many songs over the next 2 months.



There is also a classical playlist that I may use at the end. I'm not usually a classical music kind of person so I could use some help with that one too.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Thanksgiving

We had a quiet Thanksgiving here. Eric was feeling a bit under the weather so he spent the day enjoying the side effects of Nyquil while Anika and I put together a feast. The menu included the must haves like turkey, potatoes, and stuffing along with bacon wrapped green beans, pureed butternut squash, cranberry sauce, rolls, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie. I'm thinking if I have to do all the cooking myself next year the potatoes and stuffing might come out of a box.



Monday, November 24, 2008

time for a change

Our bedroom was cluttered and the furniture wasn't in the best arrangement. Anika and I fixed it all today and we'll surprise Eric when he gets home :) Now there is floor space when you first walk through the door and plenty of room on both sides of the bed. The new arrangement also allowed me to put the printer on the right side of the computer so the cords are no longer stretched across the underside of the desk. Here's the new look






Anika was enjoying the uncluttered desk :)



Sunday, November 23, 2008

snow!

Yesterday we had our first snow of the season. It was just a few inches, but it made everything so beautiful. Anika and her papa went out to play for awhile first thing in the morning. They were the first ones out there so there were no footprints or tire tracks yet.












When they were shivering and turning blue it was time to come back in and have oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast.










Thursday, November 20, 2008

recipes

There isn't anything exciting going on here today so I'll just share a couple new recipes I discovered this week. The first is for broccoli. I know that a recipe for broccoli doesn't excite most of us, but this stuff is really good and with the holidays coming up an easy veggie side dish is always nice to have.

This is from Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa)

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
~4 to 5 pounds broccoli
~4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
~Good olive oil
~11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
~1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
~2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
~2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
~3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
~1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
~2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Directions

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 11/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.


The other new thing I tried this week is Jill Dupleix's Hot Crash Potatoes. I didn't have any fresh herbs so I just used a little dried rosemary and it was still very good.

  • 16 small, round potatoes
  • salt
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp fennel or caraway seeds
  • 1 tbsp thyme or rosemary sprigs
  1. Heat oven to 230 or 250C - yes, hot. Don't peel the potatoes. Just bung them into a pot of salted water, bring to the boil, and simmer for around 15 minutes until they'll take a skewer without too much resistance. They should be just about cooked, without being soft.

  2. Drain, and arrange on a lightly oiled baking tray or sheet. Use a potato masher to squash each potato flat, until it is twice its original diameter.

  3. Brush the tops with olive oil, and scatter with sea salt, pepper, fennel seeds and thyme.

  4. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until terminally crisp and golden. Serve hot.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Happy Birthday Anika!

Our baby girl is two years old now! I can't believe it. Yesterday was a long day for us all with work and a doctor appointment, but we ended it with a nice little party. There was pizza and salad and juice, presents, and then the most delicious brownies. Anika helped make the brownies :) sort of.










We found this rocking horse on a yardsale website and picked it up for her. It's hard to get her off of it now.







Tuesday, November 18, 2008

3D ultrasound pictures

The baby wasn't in a good place to get good face pictures, but the doctor tried. He said there needs to be more amniotic fluid between the baby's face and the wall of the uterus. We did get a good look at the heart and it looked just fine. I got my Rhogam shot today and if I'm lucky this one will have my blood type so I don't need another one.






Monday, November 17, 2008

here I am

With all the time I spend online I suppose it was inevitable that I would start up a blog. This will be where I share all the exciting events of my days like Anika learning something new, the joys (and pains) of pregnancy, trying a new recipe, the book I just read, and our latest travels in Europe.

I'll start with a few pictures that I took this morning. I'm 28 weeks pregnant today and this little one has been very active lately. I've been having some lovely aches and pains in my hips and legs now that I'm in the 3rd trimester, but I wouldn't give it up for anything. Here's the growing belly
































and my sweet daughter is cooking breakfast for me :)




















Tomorrow is Anika's 2nd birthday so I'll be back with presents and chocolate. I also have an OB appointment so if you're lucky there will be new ultrasound pictures :)