Maternity Leave? A Good Book?

A bump, a cat & an empty baby swing? Hmmm. 

 This isn't what maternity leave is supposed to consist of. As you can tell I'm officially on maternity leave now. No more REI & no more hospital for the next few months. It all started officially today, but I didn't end up working my last day on Friday. I started having some bleeding and contractions right before I was going to go in that lasted over a couple hours, and then they of course stopped. 

So we're still waiting. Lyle came home from being on call yesterday morning, took and nap, then said, "Well, I got a good nap! It's time for this baby to come!". It's pretty fun to see him getting so excited and ready. 

Saturday I ran some errands and picked up this book.

50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James

I'm sure you've all heard of it. It's quite the rave right now. My book club decided to read it for our next get-together. I'm not so sure what to think of it yet. It's quite disgusting but completely addicting. I've just about finished it...hence the addicting part....since I felt stuck to the couch yesterday (Little's legs were all up in my ribs and my back was not agreeing with me). I tend to skim through the parts I find disgusting. But I keep going back for more! Any thoughts on this book? 

Happy Monday everyone!

lauren

Lemon Cream Pie. A Gingersnap Twist.

Tuesday evening I hosted book club here for the last time for a while. I love hosting and knew that I may not be doing it for a little while come May. It was a fun night as we all ate, chatted, sipped on wine, and talked Hunger Games.  

I always have fun whipping up a couple snacks & nibbles. Tuesday I made this yummy lemon cream pie from Real Simple (but of course!) made with a gingersnap crust, some bacon wrapped dates, and kale chips. 

Lemon Cream Pie

This pie is really fairly simple. I just had problems with the whipped cream and remembering to get all the ingredients at once while at the grocery store! I recommend using Trader Joe's Triple Gingersnaps, and be sure to pick up at least 2 lemons when shopping for ingredients. 

The bacon wrapped dates were easy-peasy as well.

Just wrap pitted medjool dates with a half a slice of bacon. Then secure with a toothpick. Place them all on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Yumm! I love that salty sweet combination and I'm really not a big bacon fan. 

Lyle & I have been eating a lot of kale lately. It's so super healthy for you. We've mostly just been steaming it a bit then I toss it lightly with a vinaigrette dressing. The other night I turned the rest of my bag into baked chips. Just toss them with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or so until crispy. I could have baked mine for a bit longer I think, but they were still tasty. 

The evening ended with a huge sideways downpour! I thought the rain was actually coming through the roof. Oh how I love the storms here. 

Today I may actually break down and get a massage for myself. Lyle gave me the "ok" but I haven't completely committed yet. It's hard to spend money on something like that for myself when there's so many other things that the money would be good to put towards...aka baby. My back just gets put into knots when I sleep these days. We'll see. 

Happy Thursday. Let me know if you try any of these recipes!

lauren

What I'm reading...

Want to know what's on my nightstand these days? Right now I'm in the midst of juggling two different books of which have absolutely nothing in common with one another, but I've loved both of them so far: The Hunger Games & The Happiest Baby on the Block.

The Hunger Games was suggested & lent to me by my friend Camille. She raved about it and how she would stay up all hours of the night finishing the books in this trilogy. I love a good book like that, and this one has definitely not disappointed me. I bypassed our Book Club book this month to read this one (bad me!) and do not regret it one bit...well I might tomorrow when I attend book club and haven't read the latest. I'm almost done now and look forward to starting the 2nd book in the series, Catching Fire. And hey, there's a movie coming out very soon! Read it before it hits the theater! If you're interested in more details, take a peak here.

The Happiest Baby on the Block was given to me by my two good friends in Seattle, Breanna & Julie. I'm about half was through and love it so far. I think it's the most useful baby related book I've read so far throughout my pregnancy. I've read all the intro books: What to Expect...., The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy, Belly Laughs, & a breast feeding book. This one takes the cake. Dr. Karp goes into the theory of the 4th trimester and baby's transition out of the womb; ya know...it really makes sense! With all my experience and knowledge I have from working with little ones, I can say that I don't disagree with anything I've read so far. I won't give away any of the details or secret tricks like the 5 S's. If you're interested enough you'll read more about it here. I highly recommend this book to any mammas or mammas-to-be out there. And really read it; don't just skim it through (and wait until you're getting closer to being due rather than early on so that you don't forget the details and really start to attach the skills to eminent experiences; read the fun stuff early on).

And in case you were wondering, Cadbury Mini Eggs go really well with these two books as a little nibble. My weakness around Easter. Am I the only one that loves them?

Happy reading (and nibbles).

lauren

Awkward & Awesome Thursday

The Awkward:

• This photo of me under the bed with the cat. I like to title it Sometimes I Wish I Were A Cat. What am I doing under there? I'm not sure. I think I may have been trying to get something out from under the bed and stayed a while. This photo was from a while back in the condo in Seattle. 
• Having Lyle come home from work this morning and still being in bed. Oops.
• Almost running out of gas while doing my Meals on Wheels route
• My Swifter breaking on me in the middle of cleaning the floors, then having to use counter spray instead and get on my hands and knees to mop it up.
• Having Book Club at our tiny house tonight with a record number of people attending and wondering where everyone is going to sit. Hmmmm. 

The Awesome:

• Running a little further and finishing my full run without walking:)
• The beautiful cool sunshine
• A clean house
• Looking forward to Explosions in the Sky tomorrow night in Ashville, NC

What's been awkward and awesome about your week?

I saw someone do this on a blog and really liked the quirky idea. I have to give her credit for it. Thanks Kelly.


lauren