the BGB

Thanks to the super sweet nurse at the doctor's office, I have learned that I am 24 weeks along, for those of you who were waiting with baited breath to know. But this also means that around the time of my next appointment, I have to do the ever so fun glucose test, though I didn't find the orange drink that disgusting and I only have to fast for 1 hour this time.

So we've had quite the turbulent week in toddler-ville around this house. Check that: month. Abby started complaining of pain in her hips early in February and one doctor visit a few days later revealed nothing in x-rays or tests. ("She knows what her hips are??" quoth the nurse. Um, yeah, and she's a beast at "Head and shoulders, knees & toes...") Then a week of silence about it and normalcy reigned. Then the pain returned and worse. Fever, other yucky things, and another doctor's visit. Un-fun blood sample. Much cuddling. Again nothing except a "probably..." but it's all seemed to be gone now, which is GREAT. And this whole kit & caboodle round 2 came exactly when we were forced to convert to the BGB.

I've been a firm believer in using the crib until there was a something to necessitate a change. In our case, Abby and I were getting ready before school a week ago in her room, and our conversation went something along the lines of
Abby: Mommy, I can crawl out of my crib.
Me: Really? Let me see.
A: Like this.
M: Oh. You can.
A: And I can get back in.
M: Really?
A: Yeah, like this. I did last night to get my blanket when no other peoples were in here.
M: Well, okay then.

The crib was gone the next day and we have a verifiable BGB--big girl's bed. I came across a soft, fluffy afghan that I made for Abby a year ago, and that's helped with the timing. It's a big girl blanket to use in her big girl bed, and it's super soft, which is right in Abby's happy wheelhouse. This kid is all about the soft textures. EXCEPT, that she now likes sleeping with "Daddy's hat" (a ski mask that Ben uses when he shovels snow in the winter). I'm not 100% sure how this new trend started, but it's about every night now. And my kid isn't the only one with funny little attachment quirks; her little BFF loves his pillowcase.

We've only had one naptime issue and one nighttime issue in a week. And, not sure if there's a connection here, but she's slept until 6 yesterday and today (hallelujah, I've had breakfast by myself for 2 straight days--merciful solace), knowing that she can get out of bed herself if she waits until there is a 6 ("or if there's a 7 or an 8 or a 9 or a 4") on the clock. And, the BGB is good timing for me. I frankly was finding it a little uncomfortable putting her into the crib lately. She's only 29 pounds, but that's enough to heft around my butterball belly right now.

6 months in, I guess

I'm at the point in the pregnancy where I'm not counting down to 10 weeks (the safety zone as I call it) or to 16 weeks (done with puking), and I'm not going in for check-ups every 2 weeks. And I kind of forget what week I am. I *think* that I'm around 21-22 weeks. It's the groove period where you're feeling relatively awesome (though sleeping is not my friend), you're retaining the last vestiges of free and easy movement, you're still fitting into some few and far between non-maternity shirts/sweatshirts, and you can travel pretty easily. In other words, it's a good time to be right now. AND, I can still zip/button my winter coats...barely. It's kind of funny looking trying to suck in your belly in this condition; you kind of get a little bit of a concave appearance on the sides. The front isn't moving! And AND and, the vanilla bean is kicking full force now, but the good kind, nothing that obnoxiously wakes me up or is uncomfortable. Toby and Leo enjoy my shelf--it's their favorite lounging pad at night. I can still hold Abby. It's a good time right now!

When I think of it in weeks, it's in the "eh, I'm only 20-something weeks along...lots of time yet." When I think of it in relation to due date, it's "eh, June is pretty far away still" (just for the record, I'm calling June 3rd--which is about as early as I delivered Abby and that was Abby's due date, so the symmetry intrigues me). When I think of it in regards to months, it's "OMGoodnessit'sonly4monthsawayandthisisthecrazytimeoftheschoolyearandBenjuststartedtrackandOHNOwehavetodosomething!!!"

Abby is down for a nap, Ben is gone, and I'm going to jump on some websites and start scouting cribs. White??? Espresso??? I don't know. How many BumGenius diapers do we need this time around? I don't know. What other things to do we need to set up a new baby's room? Hamper? Diaper basket? What else?? Stay with the strollers that we have or invest in a double????

When is the dresser going to be painted? When are we going to buy some stuff? Maybe I should have grabbed the credit card before I became ensconced here with two cats on me and a laptop.

And...I'm starting to stress about names. We have pretty much nothing, which isn't a comfortable feeling for me. Abby has declared several times that the new baby's name shall be "Girl;" I guess we could use that in a pinch. :-)

January freezer recipe

This isn't a new recipe for us, but it is one that I/we love dearly and make often--at least once a month. And, it makes a nice big pan full of enchiladas, so after we devour a couple when they're hot & fresh, it's easy enough to package up some for the next day's lunch and still stash one or two packs away in the freezer for one of those days. And this one is downright versatile, so most often we go vegetarian with it, but once in a while if I have some leftover cooked chicken, that will make it's way into the mix. Regardless of the poultry inclusion/exclusion, I pretty much always toss in a can of drained and rinsed black beans, which we're big fans of in many different recipes. I'm not quite as fussy with the ingredients in this one, obvoiusly: I always just use a regular onion, eyeball the amounts of sour cream & ricotta, use whatever kind of shredded cheese we have, etc. It always turns out lovely. Oh, and I highly recommend forgoing the regular red enchilada sauce for a green tomatillo sauce instead (I find it readily available in the same section of shelving at Meijer; it's slightly more expensive, but it's a cheap dish overall, so not too much of a splurge...and it's often on sale--stock up!). So, for the month of January, the freezer recipe is: Spinach Enchiladas from Allrecipes (my all-time favorite go-to recipe site).