{this moment}

A Friday ritual started by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Happy weekending, friends.

A Lovely Afternoon

Raleigh promises to really heat up over the next couple of days so Ben and I decided to take advantage of the hot-but-not-humid weather and spend some time out of doors.  I snapped a few pics so that you could share in our lovely afternoon.  We're home now and having pancakes for supper.  Summer just doesn't get any better than that!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Good morning!

What a gorgeous morning!  A huge thunderstorm came through our neighborhood last night.  This morning I awoke to a pleasantly chilly morning...perfect for an early morning walk.  The sun is peaking out now and it looks to be a gorgeous day.  I hope the sun is shining on you wherever you are this morning.  I wanted to share a few things that are making me incredibly happy these days.  So, in no particular order...

1. Spending my Monday mornings learning and studying the book of Colossians with good friends
2. Milkshakes!  Especially with a cute date!
3. My newly pedicured toes!
4. Roomy fit crocs
5. A beautiful quilt made by a sweet and generous friend
6. Sitting on an exercise ball
7. A new little corner of our home
8. Eating the fruits of our garden labor
9. Metal straws and fun seltzer and fruit juice cocktails
10. The pure blessing of air conditioning when the weather outside is scorching

What are some of your favorite things these days?

39 weeks

Hello friends.  Today we mark the 39th week of this pregnancy.  I'm so thankful that we've made it this far and that all signs point to a healthy, thriving little boy. 

Today we learned that his little head has not yet engaged and that he'll probably cook for a couple more weeks.  As excited as we are to meet this little guy, we are thankful that his Creator has a plan for him and his birth.

So for now, we watch and wait.  We will enjoy more sleep at night, going out to eat, more evenings spent walking and talking and watching The West Wing, and the last few weeks of this special season of our little two person family. 

{this moment}

A Friday ritual started by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Happy weekending, friends.

A List

Hello there.  A huge summer thunderstorm is brewing outside my window.  It's the kind of evening I'd love to throw open our windows so that we could listen to and hear the storm.  It is not to be as we are getting ready to head out for the evening.  It's a good thing these summer thunderstorms are a common occurrence around here.

So rumor has it that we are going to have a baby and soon!  It could be tonight or it could be as much as 3.5 weeks from now.  Either way, the end of this pregnancy is near.  I thought I'd take a little time and make a list (probably more for my benefit than yours) of things I'd like to accomplish before this little guy makes his appearance.  Who knows...maybe this will motivate me and him!

To be fair, I've actually been working on this list for the past couple of weeks so forgive me for posting items that have actually been accomplished.  A girl has to have some things marked off the list.

1. Find a pediatrician
2. Write a birth plan
3. Pack a bag for the hospital
4. Make these postpartum care pads
5. Wash all baby clothes
6. Wash all linens and blankets
7. Prep gDiapers
8. Make a contact list for labor
9. Make a contact list for birth
10. Take a breast feeding class
11. Take a child wellness class
12. Take a cloth diapering class
13. Make a solution for cloth wipes
14. Make a curtain
15. Find and hang a print in the nursery
16. Make a baby book
17. Knit a baby hat
18. Paint baby chair
19. Make a mobile for the nursery
20. Set up Moses basket in our bedroom

Okay, so clearly there's a great deal to keep me busy these next few days or weeks!  It kind of sounds like I'm going to need a couple of weeks to get this all together.

In other news, this happened today.

Roomy fit: totally necessary.

 

My sweet husband took me to the mall today to purchase a pair of crocs as my feet no longer fit in any of my shoes.  ?!?  I had no idea that this would be part of my pregnancy.  My poor little Shrek-like feet.  I'm looking forward to the return of my regular toes and my ankles!  It's been so long since I've had ankles.  And if you have to endure the mall, a cookies n' cream milkshake is a must.  

38 weeks

We're just ticking these weeks off every Monday!

 38 weeks

The Bee and I got a good report from the midwife today.  She helped me feel his little head.  (Well, it didn't feel so little!)  There's a real person in there!

This week's "let's see if this helps the baby come" tactic is Evening Primrose Oil.  Ever heard of it?  Ever heard of it making a baby come?  I guess we'll just have to see!  Either way, I was so thankful for a reminder from my sweet friend Sarah.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).

A time to be born.  Whenever that time may be, we will be excited and ready to meet our son!

{this moment}

A Friday ritual started by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Happy weekending, friends.

Progress!

A quiet, sleepy day here.  I'm gathering my energy for an evening out with friends.  I think that will be the perfect antidote to this otherwise sleepy day.  Sleepiness aside, progress has been made.

Our newly updated spice cabinet for your viewing pleasure:

I stocked up on new spices, replaced the troublesome bags with jars, and created a handy list (seen at far left) of what spices we have in the cabinet.  Hopefully this will prevent us from buying three (yes three!) separate containers of ground ginger in the future.

And I finished the mobile!  It was a longer, more fiddly project than expected.  This project involved lots of knot tying.  I think my sausage fingers made this project more difficult than it would normally be.  It's hard to capture in a photograph.  Hopefully we can get it hung in the nursery and it'll be easier to take a photo.  For the time being, these shadowy pictures will have to do.

In addition to my progress, Ben made great progress yesterday as well.  He set up our pack n' play.  It's now set up in our bedroom.  Every time I pass it I do a little jig imagining the sweet baby boy who will soon be sleeping there!  Ben also installed a diaper sprayer to our toilet.  Fancy!  We're hopeful this will be helpful in our great cloth diapering experiment.  And, lastly, he installed the car seat.  We are all set, little boy!  We can't wait to meet you!

Works in Progress

Hello there!  Happy Wednesday to you!  The sun is finally peeking out here in Raleigh after a gray morning.  It looks to be a hot and steamy day.  This is the June I know.

I feel like today is a work in progress kind of day...one of those days that hasn't gone exactly as expected and nothing is as finished as I'd hoped it would be.  To be fair, this started last night.  Already in bed, I noticed that the dishwasher I'd just set to run was curiously quiet.  I debated whether or not to get up and check on it and thank goodness my curiosity won out.  This is what I saw upon entering the kitchen:

Oh yeah.  Let me first say, we are not smart.  And second, we are dishwasher novices.  This dishwasher is our first.  Weeks and weeks ago we purchased what we thought was dish washing detergent at Costco.  I hadn't started using it yet because I was finishing a small bottle I'd picked up just after we moved.  Last night though, that small bottle gave out and I had to top off the dish washing detergent receptacle with, again, what I thought was dish washing detergent.  Haha.  Wrong-o!  Turns out that liquid - dish soap.  You know, the super, super bubbly kind that's only to be used when hand washing.  Eeesh.  After a quick panic, we managed to get the soapy water sopped up and we left the machine for morning.  This morning we have done a vinegar-rinse-drain cycle over and over again and I'm happy to report we are now washing with proper dish washing detergent and are hopeful that we've solved this problem.  Admittedly, stupid mistake.  Thankfully we were immediately able to laugh about it and I'm willing to be we'll never make that mistake again!

Our vinegar-rinse-drain cycle has taken more of my morning than expected.  Thankfully, I was still able to host a sweet friend for a delicious breakfast.  (I made these, a classic in my book.)  She is starting her summer today and we chatted about goals and plans for these luxurious months ahead. 

After bidding her farewell, I set to work on sorting out our spice cabinet.  It was in an embarrassing state.  I have a lot of spices, but most are in small plastic bags that are easily lost in the cabinet and more often than not are not labeled.  ?!  Who does that?  I have started, but am in need of an additional few containers before finishing this project.  So here's work-in-progress number 1:

I did spend a good portion of yesterday working on the mobile for the nursery.  I'm happy with the results, but it's taking far longer than expected.  I cut over 100 circles yesterday and laid them out in order.  I'm hoping that I can get the circles sewn together and possibly finish this project today.  Wishful thinking, most likely.  Here's work-in-progress number 2:

Here's to hoping that today can be a day of finishing!  I'm sure I'll report here on finished projects...if that day ever comes!  Hoping you all have a lovely Wednesday. 

A Cup A Cup A Cup A

Good morning,

It's a quiet, looks to be rainy morning and I'm gathering my motivation to go out on a walk (instead of curling up on the couch with tea and a book; but be assured there will be much of that later).  But before I head out, I wanted to share with you the delicious peach and strawberry cobbler we shared with friends last night.  We were celebrating a birthday, but this cobbler is so delicious, you'll find yourself celebrating anything and everything as an excuse to make it. 

I went to the grocery yesterday morning hoping to that the perfect cobbler fruit would find me and it certainly did!  There on the "needs to sale immediately" rack (or whatever they call that rack with all the produce that will go bad approximately eight minutes from now) was a huge bag of organic peaches.  The price?  $1.11.  !?!?  I knew they were meant to be mine.  The peaches were incredibly soft, mushy in places, but perfect for cobbler making.  I snatched them up and along and the cobbler came together.

I made my mom's a cup a cup a cup recipe and it was not only fantastic tasting, but incredibly easy to make.  I hope you find time to pull this quick and easy recipe together sometime this summer.  Thanks, Mom, for sharing your recipe with me!

Ingredients
1 stick of butter
1 cup of self rising flour
1 cup of sugar*
1 cup of milk
2-3 cups of fruit

*Depending on the sweetness of your fruit, you might need an additional 1/2 cup of sugar

Directions
About 30 minutes (or longer) prior to making the cobbler, cut up your fruit.  If you think it needs to be sweetened, add sugar and let the fruit macerate.  After about 30 minutes the fruit will become soupy and a bit syrupy.

Place the stick of butter in a 9 x 13 dish.  Place the dish in the oven and preheat to 350.  As the oven heats up the butter will melt all over the bottom of the dish.

Meanwhile, mix the flour, sugar and milk together.  If you don't have self rising flour (I didn't), add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.  When the over has preheated and the butter is fully melted, remove the hot pan from the over.  Pour the flour-sugar-milk mixture over the butter.  Spoon the fruit on top.  Do not mix.

Bake at 350 for approximately 40 minutes or until the crust has turned golden.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!

37 weeks!

This week we are officially fully cooked!  I'm so thankful that we've made it to full term.  Today we switch from trying to keep our little guy inside as long as possible to trying to get him to come as soon as possible!  To wit, I purchased a box of red raspberry leaf tea and am currently drinking my first cup.

Mmm!  Delicious!

Ben has been saying for days and days that today, June 11th, will be our sweet baby's birthday.  As the day isn't entirely spent, I can't prove him wrong, but I don't think today is the day.  I'm scheduled to attend a cloth diapering class tonight and a breastfeeding class tomorrow night.  Anytime after that - he is welcome to come!

37 weeks & red raspberry leaf tea

Come along, little one.  Whenever you are ready, we are so very ready to welcome you with open arms!

Weekending

Happy Monday morning to you.  I hope that this weekend was everything you needed it to be.  Our weekend was exactly that.  Ben and I spent the warm, sunny, curiously humidity lacking days enjoying each other and the loveliness of the season. 

 

We started our day with these delicious pancakes.  A special thank you to my sweet sister in law, Mitchell, for pointing us to this recipe!

 

We spent the day at Jordan Lake, soaking up the sun and dipping our toes in the water.  We saw at least five other women who were at least as pregnant as I am.  Who knew that all of Raleigh's pregnant ladies hang out at the lake?

We also took in a movie; enjoyed several long naps, continued on our five-movies-in-one-week challenging, watching this one and this one; worshiping at church; and eating a delicious dinner out together.

We're back at the beginning of the week.  There's a soft rain falling this morning and the forecast for the week makes me even more thankful for our fun-in-the-sun weekend.  Here's to hoping that your Monday and your week are fantastic. 

{this moment}

A Friday ritual started by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Happy weekending, friends.

Backyard Supper

Our backyard garden contributed to a delicious supper this evening.  I have always longed for a sprawling back 40 that produces all or nearly all of our vegetable needs.  That said, I am no green thumb.  I am Charlie Brown and my attempt to grow a vegetable garden is Lucy with the football.  But this year, I have great hope.  (I'm quite sure I say that every year.)  My hope, I hope, is not unfounded.  This year Ben and our dear friend Danica built us the loveliest of raised beds.  We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapenos, and what has become a bumper crop of basil. 

The basil.  It's gone wild!  In the last couple of weeks I've harvested close to 10 cups off our plants.  I don't know how I'm going to keep up throughout the summer!  I need your basil recipes!  And lots of them!  I've made pesto, of course, and a simple lemon-basil syrup that I've been stirring into iced tea (Ben added it to a bit of bourbon), but that just isn't going to cut it.  I need basil recipes that require 10 and 12 cups of this lovely green stuff.

When I sat down to plan our meals for the week I did a bit of basil recipe googling and after reading many recipes for stuffed spinach shells, I decided to try my hand at a pesto spinach stuffed shell.  I'm happy to report that the experiment was successful and I worked my way through another couple of cups of basil.  A delicious supper, thanks in large part, to our luscious and thriving backyard.  Here's to hoping this is the first of many!

A Day For Making

Good morning, friends.

It is a quiet, gray chilly morning in Raleigh.  June, you are throwing me for a loop.  The loveliest of loops, I must add.  You usually bring with you scorching temperatures and a soupy humidity that makes my already unpredictable hair truly unmanageable.  But this year, oh how you surprise me.  We've enjoyed clear days with temperatures in the mid 70s and the lack of humidity is so noticeable it's all anyone around here talks about.  Lunches can be shared out of doors, after supper porch sitting is common, and the chill that stirs up around 9:00 pm reminds me of my mountain home.  June, you are such a lovely surprise. 

This morning found us struggling to get out of bed.  The darkness of the room, the coolness of the sheets worked against us and we talked ourselves into enjoying a few minutes of quiet snoozing and baby kicking entertainment before starting our day.  Ben, having run the Tuesday night 5K last night, joined me on my morning walk.  After donning long sleeves we walked through the quietest, gentlest of rains.  What a perfectly perfect way to start a day.

He has returned to his daily routine of studying and I have made myself a cup of coffee.  I sat down to decide just what this day wanted to be and I am quite convinced that this is going to be a making day.  I love, love, love to create and this kind of day was made for creating and making.  This is the kind of day that tortured me when I was working.  I longed to make a pot of decaf coffee and settle in with a project, watching and listening to quiet rain and the sound of knitting needles clacking or a sewing machine trundling.  And today, what a gift today is, I have the chance to do just that.  I hope that today, wherever you are, whatever the weather, you are able to enjoy the gift of today and take a moment, an hour or even the whole day to embrace it. 

Movie Night

Ben and I are in an unusual season.  We're both spending our days at home together...sort of.  Ben completed a masters degree in May and is now spending the majority of his time (between 8-12 hours a day) studying for a licensing exam.  How's that for being vague and attempting to cloak our personal lives with some modicum of privacy?

After a morning workout and breakfast, he closes himself off in the office and studies till lunch.  He breaks for lunch and then he's back at it until supper.  I'm so impressed with his focus and diligence and I am confident that his hard work will pay off.

It's strange, being so close to him and yet not interacting with him throughout the day.  I'm doing my best to not interrupt him and respect the closed office door.  The highlight of these days (though there have only been a few so far) has been our lunchtime.  We make a simple lunch together and each outside in our backyard.  Those stolen minutes, mid-day are so very special to me right now.

And then there are the evenings.  Our evenings are suddenly more free these days as many of the chores and activities that once occupied our nocturnal hours have been relegated to my daytime hours.  We want to use this time intentionally and have been working on a wee list of fun ways to spend an evening together.  We don't want to spend a lot of money each night (though going out for dessert nightly always sounds appealing to me!) and it's tough for Ben to get really excited about anything that involves a great deal of cognitive effort (see: studying for 8-12 hours, daily!).  We've come up with several ideas:

• Preparing meals together, especially to music
• Having a game night
• Taking evening walks together (or waddles, as the case may be when one is 36 weeks pregnant)
• Reading together
• And yes, going out for dessert!

So having said all of this, what did we do last night?  Exactly none of those things.  Well, that's not true.  We did make supper together and we did take a walk, but that - for whatever reason - wasn't cutting it for us.  And so, we embarked on a journey that has always appealed to us, though it's never been quite the right time in our lives to undertake such a mission. 

Our local video store has a fantastic deal: 5 movies for 7 nights all for the low, low price of $9.  This has always peaked our interest but we have never had the luxury of watching 5 movies in a week.  But if this isn't the time in our lives, I ask you - when will that time be?  Picking 5 proved harder than expected, but we managed to settle on the following 5 titles:

The Business of Being Born

Chariots of Fire 

Ferris Bueller's Day Off - somehow Ben has never seen this!

Hotel Rwanda

To Kill A Mockingbird

 So there you have it.  That's what we'll be doing this week with our time.  If you have any ideas about other evening activities, send them my way.  How do you unwind after a long day?  I feel quite certain that after a week of moving watching we'll be ready for a new activity!

36 weeks!

Today we enter the 36th week of this pregnancy.  A handy app on my phone tells me that our baby is the size of a large cantaloupe and measures 19-22 inches and weighs 6 pounds.  This app has this hilarious countdown function which today is reporting that we have 4 weeks and 0 days remaining.

Pregnancy, and parenthood, from what I've heard, is full of unknowns.  This one, this not knowing the time of arrival, is one of the most unusual.  At least to me.  It's crazy to think that this little guy could come at any moment or that he might choose to wait until mid-July to make his appearance (two weeks after my due date).  That's a nearly 6 week window. 

And yet.  Somehow this not knowing makes this incredibly exciting thing nearly unbearable.  Every day feels like an adventure.  I awake wondering if this is the day that I'll meet my son.  Admittedly, I'd like to get a curtain sewn and hung in his room and take care of a few other small things, but it nevertheless, every day I awake with excitement wondering if this is the day. 

At any rate, here we are at 36 weeks.  We can't wait to welcome you, baby bee!

I'm not sure why I appear to have a black eye in these photos.  Optical illusion only.  No black eyes, promise!

A New Week

Happy afternoon.

As previously mentioned, I stepped away from full time employment last week.  I have this time, this undetermined amount of time, to settle in and await the arrival of our sweet baby bee...whenever he decides to make his appearance. 

I was a bit anxious leaving work for the final time last Thursday.  I have worked at the same institution for nearly six years.  I feel as though I've grown up working in that place.  It was my first "real" job after college.  While there, life happened.  I survived a terrible breakup.  I met my and married husband.  I returned to grad school and received my masters.  I was blessed with a baby.  I met friends that I am confident will be life-longers.  Leaving this place is a big change. 

On that last day I enjoyed donuts with dear co-workers and a delicious lunch with the world's greatest boss and that was that.  I gathered up my few remaining things and left. 

I came here, to our sweet home.  A home that my husband and I purchased just a few months ago in a neighborhood we love.  We are so thankful for this space, this space that already feels like home.  And I came home to him.  He welcomed me and congratulated me and showered me with words of affection and a sweet and thoughtful gift. 

We spent the evening celebrating.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner at a new-to-us restaurant.  We walked the streets of Raleigh in the waning hours of May, reflecting on what is to come in June, in this new season. 

And here we are at Monday.  Today feels like the first real day of not working.  It feels strange.  But altogether wonderful.  Today has been so much of what I hope this time will be: study in the Word; a time of fellowship with friends and coffee as we open our hearts and minds to what He has to teach us; a bit of exercise; errands run, at a slow pace; taking care of to dos; lunch shared with my husband in the sun; a nap.  I think we are going to get along, this unknown season and I.  I'm so very thankful for this time and am looking forward to how it unfolds.

Welcome

Hello there.  Welcome to this space.  This is a much thought about, long awaited space and I'm thankful to have it. 

Yesterday I stepped away from full time employment and into this new world at home.  My husband and I are expecting a sweet baby boy in July.  The time to write about homemaking has come.  And I couldn't be more excited.

I hope this space will serve as a record of these new, sure-to-be-challenging, amazing days that lie ahead.  I hope that I will be challenged to create, to write, document this season here in this space and I hope that you will join me on this journey.

Thanks for reading!