26-Week Update

26-Week Update

Hello, friends! I hope the last week treated you well and you accomplished all you sought to do.

We had a reasonably productive week! Yay! We got "nursery #1" cleaned out and put a lot of the baby stuff away. The room had previously been occupied by a bunch of random junk that didn't have a place. We sorted through dozens and dozens of books, and other things. Some got put away, others are off to Goodwill, some are off to storage. We now have all the baby's stuff in that room (except some of the furniture, which is still in "nursery #2"--it's a long story!).

We also got registered at the hospital. Woop!

It's so nice to have gotten some things done. I'm so grateful to have the help of my wonderful family, because otherwise this probably wouldn't have happened (yet). :)

We finished up our birth classes, too. Another yay! 

I'm still dead tired. I have been sleeping less and less and worse and worse the past few nights. Yuck. I feel like I've gotten no rest, despite sleeping in really late. No fun! Especially since there's still so much I need to be doing. 

I think I've officially gotten my first actual pregnancy craving/obsession: veggie burgers. I'm not going to tell you how many I've had in the last week. It's in the single digits, so I think I'm okay. No 12-step program needed (yet), though, admittedly, they do occupy a lot of my thoughts. What can I say? I'm in love and I don't care who knows it! (Name that movie!)

I also took some time today to play with my new dSLR. I'm determined to master manual and aperture priority, but they're no joke! My hats off to those skilled photogs who create such gorgeous images on a consistent basis. I'm in awe of you. Hopefully I will learn this skill set quickly so I can take top notch photos of Flipper when she makes her debut. (Any tips welcome!)

Anyway, here are a couple of my favorite from the day--

Have a good week! :)

25-Week Update

25-Week Update

Wow! This week we hit the 25-week mark. It’s seriously crazy to think about. That means that in 15 short weeks, our little lady will be considered full-term and ready to make her dramatic debut into the world.

Aaahh! That’s just hard to wrap my head around!

Flipper has been going pretty crazy the last couple days! For the past couple months, I’ve mostly felt her moving around on one side. I read that this is pretty normal for some people, it all just depends on where the baby is hanging out. Well, over the past couple days, she seems to have outgrown her little comfy corner because she’s everywhere! Girlfriend is kicking all over the place all at once all of the sudden. Not to get mushy, but I can’t believe how fast she’s growing already! She was so tiny just a couple months ago (and still is, obviously), but now big enough to jolt my stomach and reach all across my torso!

I’ve been taking some time to just sit and watch my stomach as it bounces and jumps and lumps with her jarring kicks and flips. It’s so surreal and fun to see. It feels like I’m getting to know her, little by little. She’s such a fireball already, but that’s really no surprise. J

I’ve developed more of a sweet tooth than normal, but I still haven’t had any cravings. I get into certain moods where only one food sounds good, but that’s pretty much normal for me (unfortunately).

I’ve had an easier time being awake lately, but I’m still so tired that I’m hardly productive. (Annoying!)

Our last birth class is this week! Eeee, can’t believe it’s almost over! Then we’ll be trying to take some other classes over there for feeding and caring for a newborn. Fun!

The next doctor’s appointment is coming up—I have to take the gestational diabetes test (YIKES). Just after that, we’ll be in the THIRD TRIMESTER and going to the doctor every two weeks!

And there’s still so much to be done!

And I want some French fries…

Cravings: None

Aversions: Still the same, can’t even think about it without wanting to puke. UUUUUGH.

Baby's Size: Cauliflower, between 1.5 and 2.5 pounds!

Missing: Being able to lay however I want to; knowing what fits; being able to eat like a normal person (at least normal for me)

Names: Still none. I’ll post specifically about names later, though. J So stay tuned!

Shepherd's Pie with Garlic-Kale Mashed Potatoes

It has been waaay too long since I posted a recipe. Oops! But I think the wait was worth it, because this one really is good. (Quality>quantity, I say!)

This is a pretty excellent recipe to help with those Meatless Mondays a lot of people try to achieve. It's also a great way to save some money, because meat=expensive and lentils are dirt cheap. And delicious. And versatile. And so healthy! (Can you tell I love me some lentils?!)

This is also a really great way to sneak in veggies, especially kale. 

Poor kale, so many people judge it without giving it a fair chance. I promise, it's yummy if you prepare it the right way. This is one of those "right ways" that you can use to improve the nutrition density of a simple meal.

Plus, it's an all-in-one dish. No need for sides. 

Did I mention it's delicious? Because it definitely is.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients (4 servings):

For the potatoes

- 5 or 6 medium sized russet potatoes

- 2 stems of kale

- 1/2 C milk

- 1/4 butter

- 2 T cream cheese

- 1 t minced garlic

- pinch salt

For the bottom layer

- 1/2 C lentils, cooked in 2 C vegetable broth

- 1/3 - 1/2 C diced onion

- 1/2 - 1 full C your choice of frozen vegetables (peas and corn are good!)

- 1 T soy sauce/Braggs aminos

- black and cayenne peppers, paprika

Directions:

1. Start preparing lentils first by bringing them to a boil in two cups of broth, them turn down to simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Peel and chop your potatoes. Place in large pot and cover with cool, salted water. Bring to boil and allow to cook.

3. Take kale and remove leaves from stems. Then, slice leaves into very thin pieces (mine were as thin as I could cut them). Then, cut them going the opposite way to make the pieces nice and tiny. Set aside.

4. Saute the diced onion in about a teaspoon oil or broth over medium heat for about five minutes, then add frozen vegetables.

5. Once potatoes are almost tender, add in kale and stir. Allow this to continue cooking for about 5 more minutes.

6. Once the lentils have finished cooking, strain them to remove the excess broth and add lentils to onion/veggie mixture. Stir well to combine and add in a few grinds of black pepper, a dash or two of cayenne, and a few sprinkles of paprika. Stir in soy sauce/aminos. 

7. Drain potato/kale mixture and try to press out as much water from the kale as possible. Place into large bowl with remaining ingredients (from the first list). Mash, mash, mash!

8. Pour lentil/veggie mixture into a prepared casserole dish and spread it out to cover the bottom of the dish. Add potatoes on top and spread to cover. (If your potatoes seem a little thick, you can spray a little cooking oil on top.) 

9. Cook at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are starting to slightly brown.

10. Serve hot! Especially good with a little Sriracha sauce on top. :) Enjoy!