Oh no... not that!

The time has come... I have been dreading it and putting it off and making excuses, but despite my valiant efforts, this weekend I finally have to give in and just do it. I have to clean the closet in our spare bedroom.

Hopefully all goes well with the house situation and we will be able to move, but in the event that we stay here another year, we will need a place to store baby things. And if we move, we will need to have things packed. So this weekend, despite the blazing heat and stifling lack of air in our apartment, I am going to give it my best shot, the old college try, and start to get rid of my junk.

Kevin moved into this apartment a few months before I did, so most of my things were packed into storage bins and tucked away in closets, almost never to be revisited. A lot of it is my craft things, which I am reluctant to throw away because I have a tendancy to revisit projects and phases, but there is also things I have been hanging onto since high school (or longer) and it is just time. Time to get rid of the excess and start clean.

Wish me luck!!

Yay for ultrasounds!

Some of these pictures are a bit creepy, but gosh I love the little foot <3

Looking right at the face

Profile of the little wiggle worm - all it did the whole time was move and move.

Here it is, arching its neck back

Zombie baby!

This one is tougher to see - that little white triangle is

the nose (see the nostrils?) and upper lip

Wee little legs

Hurry Up and Wait

It seems like that is all I am doing these days - hurry up and wait. We had to hustle to find a house so we would be able to close by the time our lease is up. Well, we found the house and now we just have to wait until all the pieces are in place. I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row for the baby, but so much of it is up in the air depending on this thing or that.

So here I am, waiting to pack, to paint and nest, to prepare for the baby by getting a crib or picking out a daycare.

Lord, give me patience...

Half-way there

Today marks the day that we are half-way to the finish line – 20 weeks pregnant, 20 weeks to go! We’ve still got a LOT of preparing to do – pick out furniture, find a day care, move to a new place… But we also have a lot of things to look forward to – I am starting to feel the baby move more, soon Kevin will be able to feel it, we have an ultrasound next Wednesday and this time the baby will look like a baby rather than a kidney bean (at 6w1d). I am hoping that I will soon look pregnant, rather than like I’ve been hitting the donuts. The few maternity clothes I’ve got help the appearance of the bump for sure. I’m debating whether I should buy another BellyBand or finally cave and get a pair of maternity pants.

Here’s to another 20 weeks of a growing belly and new experiences!

Enjoy it!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Since I've been pregnant, I really have been slacking on the baking front, especially because the heat in our second floor apartment is stifling. I used to bake a lot - if I got a taste for something, I would make it for myself, save one or two pieces and then send the rest with Kevin to work. So this baking break I've been taking has been affecting more than just me, myself and I.

Kevin's been working the guys on his crew really hard to keep up the past couple weeks - demand is up and his shift is short people, so it's been a struggle, not to mention all the equipment that keeps breaking down and slowing things up. So today I offered to make something for him to bring as a 'thank you' to the people he works with, for working so hard and being supportive, since he is a newly appointed manager. I browsed through my starred recipes and found something perfect - chocolate-y, peanut butter-y, and individually portioned (since there is a guy on the crew with questionable personal hygiene aka "Hands in the Pants Guy"). I haven't been hanging on to this for very long, but boy I'm glad I didn't wait to make it any more!

Peanut Butter Cake

(recipe from Cooking With Joey)

**Made just under 3 doz cupcakes**

1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Heat oven to 325°.
Original recipe calls for a bundt pan, but I wanted to make cupcakes for the aforementioned reason.

In a large mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add vanilla.

In a smaller bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. I sifted them, but I don't think you need to. I also forgot the baking powder (did you know forgetfulness is a symptom of pregnancy?), and if I were to make it again, I would include it, but they don't seem any worse for the wear (excuse me while I like ganache off my fingers...).

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients along with about 1/2 the buttermilk and slowly beat until well blended. Add another 1/3 and the rest of the buttermilk and repeat. Add the final installation of dry ingredients and beat until smooth.

Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake. Since I did cupcakes, I started at about 15 minutes and checked them, then put them in for a little longer. I ended up at about 22 mins but make sure you are watching them.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes then carefully remove from the pan and invert on a baking rack.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache.

3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup corn syrup
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
pinch of salt
1/4 cup (or more) creamy peanut butter

In a saucepan, combine the cream and corn syrup. Bring to a simmer, add chocolate and salt, and remove from heat. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Whisk in the peanut butter until well blended.

I made mine in my smallest saucepan and it was plenty big enough. It also meant that the ganache was a little deeper, so I just dipped the cupcakes right in - it made the frosting quick and painless. I packed up the extra ganache in a little Tupperware and sent it to work with Kevin, so they could warm it up and have a little extra if they wanted. The original recipe says to save it and use it as a topping for ice cream or pound cake, if you are looking for more uses.

Please ignore the wonky photography.

I never claimed to have any skills in that department.

Having a GREAT Day!

You know, sometimes things just line up so nice and all these little things make an ordinary day...just excellent.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are house hunting. On Tuesday we put an offer in on a house and on Wednesday we found out it was accepted, which means we are officially on the road to becoming homeowners. Barring any major complications or problems with the home inspection, we should be in by August 20 or SOONER! Yahoo!

Yesterday, my husband met his mother near our home so they could go shopping. She was looking for some help to pick out a computer for her husband for Fathers Day and also something for me because today is my birthday. I have asked for about a million things for my birthday, including but not limited to, a puppy, a magically machine that inhales all cat hair, and a camcorder. But the one thing I really wanted is what my mother in law got me - a waffle iron!

I am not even kidding. That is what I have wanted for months and months but I just never got it for myself. So this morning, I made myself waffles for breakfast. Yum! And tonight, we are going out for hibachi for dinner. It is not Kevin's favorite, so this is the one time a year I get to pick a hibachi restaurant and it is ok. My parents just called my work phone and sang "Happy Birthday," I am going home this weekend and my mom is going to help me register at BRU and some of my friends will be home too so we can hopefully get together.

I puffy pink heart today <3

Enjoy it!

Worry Wart

Way back a couple months ago, before I was pregnant, I used to worry that we would never have kids or that I would never be able to get pregnant, because of problems I was having with regulating my period. Drama queen, much?

I guess I have always been a worrier, but I am just starting to get a taste of worrying about a child. We've visited Babies R Us on several occasions, mostly because I just like to get some ideas and it sort of makes it seem more real. But, inevitably I end up leaving feeling overwhelmed and vastly unprepared. There are so many choices of everything, from carseats and cribs to breast pumps, bottles and pacifiers.

On top of that, we plan to wait until the baby is born to find out if it is a boy or a girl, which is getting me really frustrated with my decorating choices. I've already decided that I don't want to get a whole bedding set because a lot of the stuff in there (bumper, comforter) is considered a SIDS risk and shouldn't be used until they are older anyway. But I am desperately seeking solid colors and every time I find something I like, it has a little design on it. You can't choose anything girly, because it is SO girly, and everything that could be neutral has frogs or giraffes all over it because those are animals that come in green and yellow.

So here I am, up in the air about where we will be living, unable to decide about ANYTHING we need to register for, and worrying about how on earth I will be able to take care of this tiny little person when I can't even pick out a pacifier...

And I know - this is just the beginning!