Adios, agosto.

I’m H-U-G-E!  Wow.  Looking at pictures of myself I can really see why everyone moves out of the way and opens doors for me when I’m out and about… they’re really just clearing out of the way – it’s pure self- preservation!

I guess I’m technically right on track though… 35 weeks and counting.  Realizing that Baby S could safely arrive in as little as 2 weeks, D and I have been taking advantage of our opportunity to do things alone that we may not be doing alone again for a little while.  Like attending the last Riverdogs home game – such a great stadium. 

We actually had an exceptionally good time.  The weather was amazing, there were no sand gnats – besides the ones playing on the field, and… we WON something!  Yes!  We were picked to play one of those between inning games – a Hollywood Squares knock-off – and I answered the question correctly by agreeing that the Andes mountain range is the longest in the world.  So we won $25 to the souvenir shop where we got D a hat and Baby S a cute littel Riverdogs tshirt she can wear in a few months.  

 

 We had such a good time we stayed til the 9th!  Adios, Riverdogs – hasta abril.

To go right along with that all-American pasttime, I made Humble Chile Pie this week.  I’ve been in baking mode lately and it’s spilled over into the dinner hour…

 Some g-r-e-a-t bread I got from AllRecipes.com - this is our new sandwich loaf for sure.  And it’s healthy, too.  Replace some of the white flour with white whole wheat pastry flour and it’s even more nutritious.

Figs were on sale this week at Publix so I got some perfect little green Calmyrnas and some sweet, raisin-y Black Missions.  Yum, yum, yum.  This appetizer took the prize this week in the dinner category - it reminds me of the satisfying and healthy Mediterranean food that was trendy when I was in college…  Just slice the figs in half, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle some salt and pepper over the top and push a little goat cheese into the mushy centers.  Wrap with a thin strip of prosciutto and enjoy.  Or you can do like I did, and put them in a 375* oven for about 5-7 minutes, or until the prosciutto starts to crisp up, and eat them warm. 

They make your tummy very happy.  And no shirt is required…

 

Actually, my husband always wears a shirt at dinner – he’s so great, he actually asked me if I wanted him to put on a shirt before dinner – so chilvarous!  But we were eating casual style that night anyway as the house was in an uproar because of my furious nesting instincts as of late.  (Thanks for dealing, baby!)

Plus, I thought a break was due him since his new job requires a shirt, slacks and a tie!  Quite the change from mesh short, tshirts and cleats.  Although I must say, I don’t mind the new look.  (How lucky am I??  A husband who wears either baseball pants or suits 95% of the time… someone turn down the heat!)

While D brings home the bacon, I’ve been crafting (and cleaning and organizing) away.  The bumpers are done!  Yay.  That means the bedding is done!  Woohoo.  I don’t know what took me so long – it was so easy…

Here’s an out-of-focus (sorry) picture of the finished crib corner of the nursery…  I think Baby S is going to sleep very sweetly in there.

29 years = 1 fun week

 It’s hard to believe August is almost over… and it’s even harder to believe I’m 29!  Well, not really because it comes after 28, but whatever.  We celebrated my last 20’s birthday with a romantic dinner at Al di La – a chic little Northern Italian trattoria (I’m still dreaming of the Pecorino cheese with truffle honey!) and then headed downtown to Raval with Mr. and Mrs. Mae.

 Earlier in the week I got to catch up with my sweet little buddy, K.  It’d been 4 years!  We had fun reminiscing about our college memories and bringing each other up to date on our busy lives.  Props to her – she’s a midwife in Spanish Harlem and was very happy to know we are using the Birth Place. 

 Speaking of the Birth Place, we finished our birth class last week!  Here’s a shot of the whole group… they were really fun.  After everylittleone is born we’ll get together for a reunion. 

 Another birthday week treat – I got to see my girl, M, down from Greenville with her beau. 

Although I’ve had some great visits from some beautiful girlies to brighten it up, August has been an unusually rainy month… check this out!  Our front yard almost totally submerged!

 And the back yard…

B misses the outside and chasing her squirrels.  I swear she’s looking at me as if I have the power to make it stop raining so she can go play…

 So since the weather has been quite damp, I’ve been baking to pass some time.  Some super moist banana bread that I spruced up with strawberry jam and orange marmalade…

And D’s new favorite – Hummingbird Cake - I turned into some de-lish cupcakes for our Sunday School picnic.

Yummy baked banana sundaes – before they went into the oven for a few minutes and were topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

 And, as always, right at my feet, my two taste-testers…

 We also tried a new homemade barbeque recipe – Bourbon-Mango Pulled Pork.  Some of the ingredients – honey, whisky, chipotle, and fresh pureed mango…

 An all-day slowcooker adventure, just for my favorite BBQ connoisseur.

Husband sighting!

He had a lot of sleep to catch-up on but D was home Thursday and half of Friday! And he found it rather amusing that I was taking pictures of him “doing nothing” just because he was home.

We enjoyed quite the lazy Thursday on the couch… but we did manage to get out for a lunch date before his flight to Indiana on Friday.

He even made time to cut the grass in that 36 hours! (It may not be easy on the eyes, but that outfit was bug-proof.)

On a crafty note… here’s a teensy weensy peek at the just-over-1/3-complete blankie! My novice attempt is not nearly as gorgeous as some of the work others out there have done – but it’s a fun pattern. And is Baby S really going to care…? I don’t think so.

PS… you all have got to try this Maple Apple Crisp. Cut back on the butter and maple syrup – but use real maple syrup – and lightly dust with cinnamon and nutmeg. Forget the whipped topping – it’s perfect without. (It’s not just because I’m pregnant… our Sunday School class liked it too.)

Mmmmm… I’m ready for fall.

Almost….

Thus far, August has been for getting things done. And most things we need to get done are almost just that! We’ve entered the home stretch – 7 more weeks to go! But be forwarned – if you are looking for D – this is not the post for you. It’s laden with girlie-baby-crafty goodness because he is off at various camps around the country about 4-5 days a week and thus I have total creative directorship for this post.

But when D is in town we’ve been building nursery furniture, going to our birth class, and squeezing in a date here and there. Unfortunately there aren’t even any pictures to document those events… he’s an enigmatic vapor – you see him, then fwoosh – he’s leaving on a jet plane again.

So I’ve kept myself busy (and from thinking about the fact that all my teacher friends are back at work and I’m not…) with all my projects and a little trip to Hilton Head to see my sister who was vacationing down there with a friend. In this pic I successfully avoided…

…the big belly beach shot!

But then they got me. Oh well.
Here’s the nursery! Essentials are done (praise the Lord!) and now I’m just sprucing it up with some finishing decorative touches and clearing out the lingering boxes and pink gift wrap.

Here’s quite a stark shot of the half naked crib and walls… the bedding is half done. Since we’re renting we decided not to paint, so I’m working on some Noah’s Ark paintings and Spool’s bird mobile that will cozy up the walls a bit (pics to follow).

However, the dust ruffle is done! Phew – narrow hemming and gathering for my first real project. Hard? No. T-e-d-i-o-u-s? Y-e-s!

Now on to the bumpers…

…which are under construction as we speak.
I’ve cut this one all out, and now just need to get it over to the machine (after the bumpers). A simple homecoming outfit from McCalls… sans the hat – I decided to knit one to match instead.

A floral for the dress and solid purple for the panty-bloomer-diaper cover thingy.

Here are the finished hat and booties I knitted to match her homecoming dress – my first attempt at working in the round! Don’t the yarn and the fabric match perfectly??? Two totally unrelated purchases – sale purchases – that came together quite swimmingly!

And here’s a (very pink) pile of the beginnings of our bag for the birth center…

And can you believe it??? In the midst of all this hard work and busy bustling, these two have been no help to me at all!