My Favorite Kitchen Gadget

For Christmas I had jotted down on a sticky note what I wanted to get Tyson and to my dismay, he found it!  But what was hilarious is that I had written down "Chef Mat".  While he thought we were getting a personal chef (which is a HUGE insult to my hubby chef), I smiled,  patted his ego and told him to not worry.  The Chef Mat will be a treat and relief to us in the kitchen.  And it is......

Tyson and I LOVE cooking and do it often.  For Tyson, he caters parties and can be in the kitchen prepping and cooking for 6+ hours at a time.  That amount of time on his feet affects his back and legs. There are several times where he has woken up sore because of the lack of support on the hard kitchen floor.  For me, I enjoy helping him in his cooking, baking treats, preserving and cleaning. This amount of work done on hardwood floors makes my feet and back ache and then add a huge belly and I am in intense pain at night.   This mat has saved us beyond belief.  I purchased it at Bed Bath and Beyond because I was able to return it , had I had any problems.  Some reviews had mentioned that the trim curls up, but after having it for 5 months, no such thing.  I bought the mat in Truffle to match our decor and because we loved our first one so much, just recently, purchased a matching one.  And they are EASY to clean. Now we have one in front of our stove and in front of our sink.

And why do I have this on my baby/mommy blog?

Because after SEVERAL hours of baking Tyson a cake for his birthday (which was yesterday), making Bacon and Chocolate Chip Cookies for his special treat (OMG to die FOR!), wrapping Mother's Day gifts, and cleaning up a storm, my legs and back did not hurt as much as they should have.  The cushion support is such a relief and cannot recommend the mat enough. 

Also in baby news, today is my due date and at 6pm, I am without contractions.  BOO!  I had my NST today with a follow up NST on Monday.  I also am scheduled for my induction on May 5th (I know, Cinco de Mayo), but I am hoping for some action sooner.  Just knowing that we will have baby in hand by this time next week is reassuring enough so we are just counting the days down.  FINGERS CROSSED!

Nothing!

No contractions.

No dilating.

No dropping.


No effacement.


No action.


At our weekly appointment, Maxon is as boring as ever......


BUT I  made sour cream cookies!

Sour Cream Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup sour cream

PREHEAT oven 400 degrees F

Everything goes into a mixing bowl

MIX                                                                                                   

ROLL out onto a floured space

CUT OUT with chosen cookie cutters

BAKE for 8-10 minutes

FROST when cooled

Simple Frosting:  I do NOT use measurements for this. Just feel it out.  I use powered sugar, a small bit of butter and milk.  Milk is used sparingly....just add until you get the thick consistency you want.  A little goes a long way.

Earthquakes and Milkshakes

Hoping to spend a quiet Easter with family and food, our evening was interrupted with a sharp, extra long EARTHQUAKE!!!.  My mom and I hoped that my anxiety and stress would trigger contraction pains of some sort, but the only thing that it did trigger were several aftershocks that sent me flying out the door.  I even practiced staying up all night!  Not for becoming prepared for Maxon's hourly feedings and poopy diapers, but because as soon as I dozed off, an aftershock would rattle the windows.  My body, surprisingly enough, CAN survive on three hours of sleep.  And what is better is that I will be able to live off of a little more caffeine after Max's is born than I can now.

And so on Monday, instead of doing on our Monday cleaning/organizing and laundry routine, we became responsible parents and shopped for our Emergency Earthquake Kit.  After reviewing some websites, including the California's Earthquake Emergency website, we put together necessities for the next "BIG ONE."  Hopefully we will never use these items and Maxon will only know of earthquakes that are small shakers, but we, as new parents, need to be overly prepared and overly cautious.  Tyson and I joked that if it were the just the two of us, our plan of attack would be to rush to the nearest bar......Oh, how the times have changed *gag* 

In addition to our granola bars, PB, Top Ramen, Canned Fruit and Soups, Emergen-C, hand sanitizer, sponges, Saltine Crackers, Propane, gallons of water, and yes....beer (tyson's idea), we are putting together a first aide kit loaded with Hydrogen Peroxide, band-aides, gauze and aspirin, some food for Sonny, flashlights and batteries, candles and matches, any necessary baby supplies (formula, diapers, wipes), blankets, TP and whatever else that we can think to put in our Kit.  Most of our stuff we will probably grab will be found in our camping tote so we are making sure that this is fully stocked as well (sleeping bags, propane stove, bug spray, tent).

Am I missing anything else????????

And in the middle of all of this "preparedness" I have had an insane craving for a chocolate milkshake.....McDonald's preferably.  This amazes me considering I find McD's food repulsive.  So I will have to satisfy my sweet tooth with chocolate cupcakes.....close enough......

Baby Shower

We had an exceptional baby shower this past weekend, despite our weather woes. It was no worry for us, however, because we had a gazebo to cover our large party and the beautiful scenery distracted any worry for us. Tyson and I were honored by the amount of people that showed up to help celebrate the upcoming family member and were taken even more by surprise of the gifts that people brought us. Our friend Keith gave us Nikes, Air Forces, Lebron's to last until Max is a year. My mom bought us Max's homecoming outfit and our friend Chantel and Cole bought us the CUTEST socks with fire engines----these are just to name a few. We received endless amounts of clothes, bottles, toys, bibs and hats. We also got our favorites......GIFT CARDS! Now we can get the last minute items to complete his nursery.

I started another round of yoga at Sharp Hospital and while I wasn't too fond of the first class, I enjoyed myself on the second round. I felt lighter and more relaxed afterwards. I know Max enjoyed himself, but thought it was a boxing class, rather than a meditation class. He was throwing jabs and punches as I was leaning into lunges. On tonight's yoga class, Max relaxed more and so did I. These yoga classes are such a treat for me and I cannot get enough of them!

Seems like he is every so busy in his womb because he is constantly moving, especially during chow time. I don't know if it is because he is getting restless or just excited with what I am eating/talking about/doing at the time. He is thankfully not active at night so I am assuming he is sleeping, like he should once he is born. From what I hear from friends and other pregnant women, sleeping becomes extremely uncomfortable at this stage with many trips to the bathroom, heartburn, and an active baby. With the exception of peeing a lot, I am sleeping amazingly ****knock on wood!****

A first for me today----my craving for raw onions. I had an urgent need to eat raw onions today so for lunch, I ordered a burger with extra onions. I couldn't get enough of the onions and almost ate them by themselves, but held back. The intense bitterness, spiciness and crunch is all I can think of. And instead of being offended by my stinky breath, Tyson happily joins in my onion obsession.

This is my last week of working five nights a week and I am looking forward to having more time to organize for Max's arrival. I am finding that working the 5 long shifts has taken a toll on my back and legs and with my belly getting in the way, it is for the better. I am hoping that April 1 will begin my time off, but it may be sooner than anticipated. I am physically feeling up to working the shorter shifts, but my expanding belly is just too much for what I do at work. I also understand that I need to take more care of my body and not push myself. I started feeling sick after the baby shower on Sunday and realized how much work and strain I had put on my body. After a long night's sleep and some soothing tea, I felt 100% on Monday morning. It was by body telling me to take it easy and I am learning to listen to it very carefully.....

With that said, my body is telling me that I NEED A BOWL OF CEREAL! My late snack is calling my name.

Grandpa D and Daddy T giving a cheers to Max

Delicious!

Tys and I with a few of the Grandmas



Cake by our friend Nikki! Gorgeous!