Week 34

What's happening underneath that bump?

The baby responds as a newborn with its eyes open while awake and closed while sleeping. Your baby knows the sound of your voice, so spend lots of time singing and talking throughout the day. The same lullabies you sing now will calm your baby once he or she is born.S/he is developing immunities to fight mild infection. Those sharp little fingernails are at the ends of the fingertips already, and you might need to clip them during the first few days after birth.

He or she is around 18 inches, and is about five pounds. The skin has turned from red to pink, and all of the organs except for the lungs are fully mature. Movement is restricted even more this week, and baby is curled up tightly in the womb. You should still feel movement frequently, but it will be much more confined. You'll notice every little hiccup or kick now, as the skin of your abdomen is stretched and the baby is pressing against your organs

Happy Halloween!

John's having a ball giving out candy to the neighbourhood kids - BUT, he's also filtering our candy giveaways ---He's hoarding the ones that he likes..So the Reese's peanut butter cups are making their way down his belly instead of out to the kids. Can you believe that??!

We had dinner recently at this couple's place whom we met during the child prep class, so I ambitiously tried to make dessert. It was either that, or bring a store-bought one, and you should have seen John's face when I suggested that.

So, I turned to my "go-to guru" from the Good Things Catered blog, and once again, she did not disappoint. Thanks so much, Katie!! (although my cake definitely didn't turn out as asthetically pleasing as hers, but since I've never iced or decorated a cake before in my life, I cut myself a break. It was delicious, though! Score 1 on the Supermom board!)

Excuse the pale white face here...(I look like I'm made up to be a ghost!) I'm trying out a new foundation and as you can see, it's not working out for me.

On the baby note, I had another appointment today...I'm 34 weeks and 4 days today, and I gained FOUR POUNDS since my appointment 2 weeks ago! That means I'm 144 lbs now, and have gained a total of 27 lbs. My goal was only 25. Humbug!

Food for thought...

Ok, I hate baking. Because I'm bad at it. This is the person who used to bake ALL.THE.TIME. in highschool. Perhaps I sucked then too...but at least my testers were a little more lenient, maybe? I don't know. Kiddo is going to have to deal with store-bought treats. Heck, aren't kids discouraged from having too much baked goods anyway?

Cookie Dough Truffles:

Verdict: Easy to make, but I remembered AFTER I finished making them that I never was a cookie-dough kinda girl...I find it odd that there are people who can lick the batter bowl after making cookies (i.e. my husband) Bleh...


But my husband loves cookie dough, and he said that he liked them...That's good, since they are ALL his. I don't think that the neighbours were a fan either.

So....this is probably going to be a one-time thing.









One Hour Bread:


Verdict: I honestly think that I did not mix the dough enough before shaping it....The texture was way too sticky. But since I've already dumped the mixing bowl into the sink and filled it up with water (I know, sometimes being too much of a anal-clean freak will come bite you back in the ass), I wasn't about to go mix it again. It does LOOK nice though. It didn't really taste that bad either....Actually, it hardly tasted of anything. As for the texture, it's a little dense.


I think I should stick with recipes that are written for dummies/first-time bakers.


On another note, my husband is pretty proud of himself. His "garden" bore "fruit".

Isn't he adorable? Although I'm not sure if that will be enough to feed even a baby bunny rabbit, but hey, it's still a carrot!

Can't see it? Don't worry, it's not old age, or your cataracts acting up. Even my camera had difficulty focusing.(hahaha)

Here's an extremely close up view :

Our flowers in the front yard are doing fantastic as well...Which is somewhat of a miracle, since I don't remember doing a thing to ensure that they survived from last year. Goes to show...sometimes, things are better left alone.

Week 32

What's happening underneath that bump?

The baby is up to 4 lbs now, and 17" long. While he or she still has room to move around a bit, the womb is becoming cramped for your little one. Right now, your baby can open his or her eyes, breathe with the lungs and coordinate thumb sucking. All 5 senses are functional, the toenails are completely formed and the hair on the head continues to grow.

A little progression chart using the same dress....I can NOT believe that I can still fit in it!! Although I'm definitely not going to wear it out, it still DOES fit.

Finish!

I actually finished the bumpers! I'm actually quite relieved as I thought this would be one of those meant-well-but-the-motivation-is-slowly-dripping-away kinda deal....So, yay for me!

Some of the miscellaneous stuff I was working on concurrently...Blankets, burpies and washclothes. I am actually quite tempted to make a grown-up sized version of the blankets -- the minky fabric is soooooooo soft!

Next up, sanding and refinishing the side table that we found at a yard sale for $10 - turns out that table was made by an old Grand Rapids furniture company. What are the odds?! (Hubby grew up in that area)

I'm No Supermom

But I can sure as heck try! First stop - be a whiz in the kitchen. And considering the fact that I'm the same person who almost killed herself (think thick white carbon monoxide pouring out of the microwave ---- yes, microwave oven. I blame you, mom. Yes, that pot was NOT microwave safe. At least, not for the cooking time I needed it to be.) when she tried to cook rice for the very first time, this MIGHT be quite the feat.

But anyway, these are the recipes that I intend to try - These people really seem to be food gurus, and their pictures of the final product is just the final push over the wall to motivate (delusional) me to try it out for myself:

Appetizers:

Ginger Wings

Buffalo Chicken Dip


Main Dishes:

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup - This looks PERFECT for a cold winter's night! And if I can successfully make the breadbowl from scratch as well, I'll call myself a kitchen goddess


Chicken Tikka Masala - Now, I've successfully made this in the past, but it's always by using the bottled curry sauce (I know, that's also called cheating). But "from scratch", here I come!

Chiang Mai Noodles - This would be a true test for this blogger --- All her recipes/pictures look delish, but because this is an Asian dish (Thai, to be exact), I have to admit that I'm a little sceptical whenever someone raves about such dishes when the recipe came from an American cookbook.

Hearty Beef Stew - Since this recipe calls for red wine, it'll be post baby before I'll make it. But doesn't it look like it'll be something that will make those cold nights bearable??!

Tomato Herb Flatbread - Looks perfect for the end of summer meals when the tomato plants are flourishing. I can't wait to plant my very own next year!

Quick Shrimp Pad Thai - Again, this will be a good test..but it does look awfully delicious!

Big Mama's Chicken Pot Pie - This is the kind of culinary pieces that will seal the deal in me being a full-fledged accomplished mama in the kitchen!

Chicken Marsala

Baked Macaroni and Cheese - I usually can NOT stand cheese, but ever since I got pregnant, I've been noshing my way through packets of American singles. Straight up. This sounds like something that will make baby (and hubby) happy

Baking/Desserts:

Cookie Dough Truffles - will be trying this this weekend, as we were invited over to our neighbours and hubby volunteered to bring dessert

Autumn Apple Pie - I'm really not much of an apple person, unless it's juice or pie, or crumble. Basically, the unhealthy version. And this looks GOOD.

Apple Crunch

Tender Banana Bread - I have 2 bananas ripening up on our kitchen island as I type...

Christmas Bread Wreath - Definitely something that I'm going to try this Christmas. If it turns out, it'd be a good handout to the neighbours

One Hour Bread - the one time we tried to make bread, we weren't sure as to whether our yeast culture had gone bad......it looked and tasted a little sour-y. This one sounds great because we don't have to continue feeding the culture and thus, make bread every freaking week, else the culture will grow bad. I mean, I love bread, but who's got the time to make it every week???!

31 weeks

What's happening underneath that bump?

Growth begins to slow a teeny bit, and the brain goes through a period of rapid development. The only major organ left to fully develop is the lungs. If your baby is a boy, his testes will begin to descend from the body cavity to the scrotum. The bones are still hardening.

The baby is becoming quite cramped, and can't move around very well. It's easy to see the baby's elbow or leg pushing against the abdomen

At this point, most women are eager to have their baby not only because they can't wait tfor the new addition, but also because they are sick of being pregnant!.

Dang right that I'm ready to have the baby! I'm absolutely tired of being pregnant! But it's still scary to think that I'm now down to single digits (weeks) before I'm due...

Good thing that John's finished the furniture and it's all been moved up to the nursery. So yay!!

Freakin' A...........!!!

I just found my first GROUP of stretch marks. Booger!

Success Is Sweet.

Literally. I past my 2nd round glucose test. So welcome back, ice-cream and sweet treats!

I had the most horrible expericence going through the 3 hour test, and honestly, I would have gladly gone on the "diabetic" diet if the other option was to take a 5 hour one and pass. I have never wanted to throw up so bad, but that would be futile as I would have to come back and take that horrible drink all over again. So I toughed it out (probably looked like a fright to the other patients waiting at the lab) and thank goodness baby was good and did not squirm around like he/she usually does at that time of the day. Else my poor stomach will probably have self-distructed, especially in addition to the stomach ache that developed in the 2nd hour.

I'm so glad that it's done and over with!