Some things I'm trying not to forget

Gabriel is growing so fast, morphing from my little sweet baby into a big boy, with his own preferences and distinct personality. I really don't want to forget these days...


The fact that the only likes the blue Go-Gurts, the pinks just don't match up.


How he out of the blue recently started telling me, "Mommy, you look really beautiful." (Melt. my. heart.)


When he tries to tell me he's thirsty, it comes out, "stirsty."


He must sleep with Buzz, two books, a flashlight and a truck. Every night.


How much he loves to talk about farts. And fart. And burp. Just like someone else I know...

The fact that it we cannot leave the house without his blanky. EVER.


He refuses to allow us to drive anywhere without him buckling himself. Because he's a big boy.


Before he goes to bed, he only wants to read three books and in a certain order - first, Paul and Judy, second is Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? and finally, Goodnight Moon.


And especially the fact that before he is able to go to his bed at night he must give each of us a hug and a kiss and say "GoodnightmmommyIloveyouseeyouinthemorning!" as he's rushing into his room to say his prayers.

Thank god Halloween is over

Halloween is such a throwaway holiday for me. Don't get me wrong, Gabriel looks adorable in basically anything he wears and I like watching my husband carve pumpkins - yes, I dislike carving pumpkins, call me the Halloween grinch - but it's really just the kickoff for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I am COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS until Thanksgiving!!

This year it's being hosted at yours truly's, which means I'm working on a menu that so far will include pumpkin gnocchi, butternut squash soup, possibly a root vegetable puree and a turkey of some sort. I'm going to need to do some hands-on research in the kitchen, so check back for some potentially delish recipes!

I don't really have anything else to say today, we're being lazy. But here are some pictures from Halloween and the pumpkin patch...

Week 28 (and a half)

Wednesday marked the 28th week and I have officially entered the third trimester, woot-woot for the home stretch! According to Parents.com, little boo is this size: 

He/she is approximately 15 inches long and weighing in at a whopping 2.something pounds. Apparently he/she should be putting on about a half pound or so per week from here on out so be prepared to watch me pack on some major poundage. Speaking of which, I haven't been nearly as cautious as I was with Gabriel's pregnancy, so I've already hit about 20 pounds. I'm thinking my goal of staying under 30 might be slightly out of reach - oh well!

I'm so thankful that thus far, it's been a pretty easy pregnancy. I'm feeling sore at night, rolling over every hour-on-the-hour has become the ultimate chore, and I am so sick of having to wake up to pee every 2 hours, but it could be worse! I would say the worst symptom I've had is the itching. My elbows and behind one, yes - just one, weird I know, knee have been itching like nobody's business!

I had my 1-hour glucose test two days ago and I'm so happy that the numbers came back fine. With Gabriel, I failed the 1-hour test so they made me do the 3-hour glucose test. You have to drink a disgusting orange-flavored syrup, wait an hour, draw blood, wait another hour, draw blood, wait another hour, draw blood...needless to say, it is not something I'd want to spend a morning doing.

They also found out that I'm anemic and need to start supplementing with iron. It makes complete sense - I was feeling so lethargic during the day and in the mornings was having such a hard time getting up to make Adrian's breakfast. I'm a pretty early riser and prefer to start my mornings between 6:30 and 7:00, depending on when Adrian gets up, and that was such a struggle that Adrian even caught me napping one day with Gabriel, something that NEVER happens. I'm looking forward to starting the iron pills and hopefully having a little more energy.

In terms of the impending labor at the end of this whole thing, I'm still going to try for a VBAC. I'm so excited to be able to go into labor on my own and experience all of the emotions and pain and everything all over again. It's such an empowering process and I'm crossing my fingers that my body continues to cooperate so I can try for a natural, intervention-free delivery!

Here's a picture of me today, feeling great:

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Teresa's graduation and Julian

Last Wednesday, my sister graduated from her Certified Nurse's Assistant program. For those who know my sister, you know that she has really struggled with school; what takes someone an hour to complete will take her several so she really has to work hard to stay at the same pace as everyone else. It doesn't make her any less smart, just means she has to put in significantly more effort.

During her senior year of high school, she was accepted to Northern Arizona University. Adrian and I drove her out there, went to her orientation, got her settled in and wished her well. Throughout the year, it became clear to her that she wasn't cut out to live so far away from family when she needed more support both emotionally and educationally. I made it very clear to her that I was not supportive of her leaving - it would be such a shame for her to miss out on the experiences and growth that comes with living on campus and becoming an individual. She still wanted to get into nursing so she started out with the CNA program in Coalinga and boy, did she make me so proud! I was worried that she would go up there, live with my grandparents and her friend who went with her, and fall into the middle of the pack, as is her usual. She flourished up there, getting great scores on her tests (probably better than I ever got in college!) and ended up getting valedictorian of the entire program! She's coming home to live with me and do her pre-req's for the nursing program out here and I am so excited...

When I got back from Coalinga to watch Teresa, Adrian, Gabriel and I did our annual trip to Julian with Nicole, James and James' mom, Karen. This is the third year that the three of us have gone up there during the fall/winter and the second time that we all did it together. James and Gabriel were buds and he spent the whole trip riding on James' shoulders. Unfortunately, we didn't get a ton of pictures, but here are a few...

Sunday Funday - Another day in the kitchen

My feet are sore, legs are swollen and my back is a little achy, but I am stuffed and satisfied with yummy goodness. The morning started out with spiced apple crepes and chocolate-cream cheese crepes for breakfast. I wouldn't say they were the best I've ever made because I was missing a couple of crucial ingredients, but they were still pretty decent.

For lunch/dinner/tasty football-watching food, I made a classic chili. You can find the recipe here. I exchanged the tomato juice for the same amount of stewed and diced tomatoes since I didn't have any on hand and it was fabulous. Probably the best chili I ever made, although you can't really compare since the only other chili I made, I decided one adobo chile wasn't enough so I added three. If you have ever used chili adobo, you know that it was HOT, as in, can't feel my lips because they are burning off of my face hot. But try that recipe if you like chili, it was some of the better chili I've ever eaten.

From Heat Oven to 350 - yet again, my photos do not do justice...

And now for the coup de grâce, chocolate chip cheesecake bars. I used this chocolate chip cookie recipe and I have to admit, it was way better than the normal Nestle recipe that I generally make. Here is where the rest came from. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, make chocolate chip cookie dough and cheesecake filling as directed. Use large glass dish and give a healthy dose of cooking spray. Use half of the cookie dough as a bottom layer, then add all of the cheesecake filling, then add top layer of cookie dough. Bake for 35-45 minutes and be prepared to enter the most blissful, food-induced euphoria. I am forcing Adrian to take the rest of the pan to work tomorrow for fear that by the time he gets home, all he'll find are crumbs.

We decided that I'm going to  have to start cooking healthy food again.The last time I stayed home when Gabriel was little, all I did was cook and although the food was delicious, we collectively gained several many pounds. We both want to reign things in so that we don't become matching fat blobs. I think I'm going to try some yummy Weight Watcher's recipes this week, so be on the look out!