Thursday, August 23, 2007

The Seasoning of My House

I mentioned earlier that my son has been dis-placing the spice jars. Moving them from the drawer to the built in shelves across the room.
























Lately we've found the spices in a couple of other spots, as well.




Like...curry powder on the bookshelf










and black pepper on the bath tub...

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

When the Gentle Nudge Becomes A Shove

I used to work for a man who loved to talk about giving "gentle nudges" in order to affect a "one degree shift" or change. And I like this idea. Yeah...let's "nudge" each other in the right direction. It gives an impression of caring about good change but not shoving it down some one's throat. However, I find that sometimes, after a ton of gentle nudges, what I need is a swift kick in the rear.

For me right now these changes I need to make are relational. I have some serious hang ups about a couple of relationships that are always going to be a part of my life. To tell you the truth I don't think I know the real reasons why these relationships are so hard for me. But I have hardened my heart to these people and it's just plain wrong. My husband has had enough and I don't blame him.

I guess the only thing left to say is...please pray for me. Pray the God will soften my heart and help me build a new way of relating to these people.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Ban Has Been Lifted

I want to shout it from the blog-o-spheric rooftops:

WE'RE MOVING!!!

For several reasons it has not been appropriate for me to broach this subject in the blog-o-sphere until now. But it's been 9 months in the making.

My house is on the market. Half of our stuff has been packed and now one of my main objectives is to keep our house clean enough to show potential buyers.

My husband's last day at work is September 14th and promptly after that we will be headed south to stay with my parents until my husband finds work and we find a house. We are thinking this might take a couple of months. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

For now I bounce between elation at the thought of being back in our hometown and frantic moments of cleaning where I curse the decision that causes so much work.

Throughout this process we have asked God to help us do what he needs us to do. Several have joined us in this prayer and we are so grateful for an extended community that loves us in this way.

Here's the kicker - we still don't really know where we'll end up. There is a job opportunity even farther south that my husband is very excited about. We know we'll be with my parents for at least a little while, but it's possible that we'll moving away from home again. Here's where I have to add: Do any of us know when God will pick us up and move us to another place?

This journey has taught me allot about loving those God puts in front of you. I'm not saying that I've been great at it, but I definitely have a new perspective on building relationships that are not determined by how long that person will live in close proximity to you.

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Monday, August 13, 2007

My Son the Flavor Expert

My son is a fabulous eater. He has always loved to eat. And he's never really protested much about the food that is put before him. The only protest we get is when he is done eating and wants to get down from the highchair - that's when food ends up on the floor.

Lately my son's palate has become a little more discerning, but I'm actually encouraged by his choices. He likes his eggs with salsa (my folks are pretty proud of that one). He's also a big fan of this vegetable dish I make that has a Moroccan seasoning on it. Because of these two dishes he's not all that excited about plain eggs OR garbanzo beans without his Moroccan seasoning.

Last week I fixed a dish I've made several times that has a homemade mushroom cream sauce. I like this dish because instead of using the cream of mushroom out of a can you make a much lighter and more interesting version out of fresh ingredients. My son has always like this dish, as well. As most of us who have cooked the same dish several times, I decided I would make an experimental modification and add more shallots this time. The increase in the amount of shallots didn't really help - instead of a mild oniony taste it was kind of overpowering and a little off. Apparently, my son agreed. He ate the chicken and the pasta covered in this sauce but he was often making a pained face when he tasted it. It was as if he was saying, "This tastes familiar, but not quite right."

I recently lost my pantry space and have had to move my dried herbs and spices to one of the drawers in the kitchen. These drawers have been available to my son since he was able to reach and open them. One of his new favorite games is to move the spice jars from the drawer to the built-in shelved on the other side of the kitchen. Usually this process involves putting the lid of the jar into his mouth during transport. I keep trying to tell him that it's "yucky" and he makes the "yucky face" and then promptly puts the jar back into his mouth. Obviously my whole heart is not into this teaching opportunity, otherwise I'd be removing him from the situation as well as telling him that it's "yucky". Secretly I hope he's learning more about these spices than most of us will ever know because of our unwillingness to lick the tops of the jars!

Note: I HAVE permenently relocated the cayenne pepper and red chili flakes.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

A Lovely Summer Dinner

Just put this one together - it's delightful with flavors of summer, easy to prepare, and filling!


Lemon Basil Shrimp with Pasta

3 quarts water
8 oz uncooked spaghetti
1 lb peeled and deveined large shrimp
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper*

1. Bring salted water to a boil in dutch oven or large pot
2. Add pasta - cook 6-8 minutes
3. Add shrimp & red peppers to water with pasta and cook until shrimp are done and pasta is al-dente
4. Drain pasta, shrimp, & peppers
5. Place pasta mixture in a large bowl and add olive oil, capers, basil, lemon juice, and salt
6. Toss
7. Serve over small bed of baby spinach

ENJOY

*This recipe is from Sunset Magazine but the red bell peppers are my addition- really I think you could add any vegitable that you enjoy on the crunchy side that will not go to mush after 3 minutes in boiling water. :)

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

A Year Ago

This week a year ago I was in the hospital awaiting the arrival of our first child. It's a LONG story so I'll try my best to give you a concise but thorough account.


I was 10 days overdue and our midwife agreed that induction was probably a good choice. For those of you familiar with birthplans, this was were my birthplan was thrown out the window. I was "planning" for a birth free from medical intervention.


So we entered the hospital at 7 am that Monday ready to see what induction was all about. They started us out on the gentlest medication and my water broke early the next morning. I was strep-B positive so after my water broke I needed a cycle of anti-biotics every 4 hours. I was not contracting much on this first medication so by noon the second day they brought in the petocin. The contractions were pretty regularly for the rest of the day but dilation wasn't. I labored through the rest of that day and got to about 2 cm. We agreed rest was probably the best course of action for the evening so they gave me some pain medication and did not increase my petocin. The morning of the third day we were ready to rock and roll. The game plan was to increase the petocin at regular intervals and hope of the best. This was probably the longest day of our journey. I labored all day with little results AND it seemed that the baby was getting particular about which positions I could be in. At one point the nurse suggested I get into the bath tub to help relax me and manage the pain a little. So, with much help with the monitors and IVs the nurses got me into the tub and just as I feeling the wonderfully soothing warm water...I was yanked (as much as a 10 month pregnant woman can be) right out of the tub. Apparently the baby's heart rate began to fall as I sat in the bath tub. I remember thinking that surely these nurses were being overly protective and that I should have been able to sit in that bath for a while longer - but I did what the professionals told me to do. I also remember dreading when the nurses would come into my room to increase the petocin. Watching that number rise on the machine that facilitated that flow of medicine was menacing. The kicker was that the contractions were painful but they still weren't helping me dilate much.


By the end of the third day I was 3 cm dilated and ready for something that would help move things along. We decided to get an epidural and crank up the petocin through the night in the hopes that I could make some progress while I slept. Remember I'm still getting IV antibiotics every 4 hours, I'm on petocin, and now I'm getting an epidural.


Here are some things I never knew about an epidural until I got one:

1. They are not always put in perfectly the first time

2. When they are not put in the exact center of your spine they distribute the pain medication unevenly

3. You need a urinary catheter when you are numb from the waist down


So, I've got two IV bags, one for the medicine to help me have contractions and one for the antibiotic to help prevent giving my baby the virus that I carry but that doesn't harm me. I also have pain medication being administered into my spine but it's inserted so that it's completely numbing the right side of my lower body but I'm still feeling the contractions on the left side of my body. I was told that if I laid on my left side then gravity would help the pain medication get to that side of my body. And it worked! However, my son's little heart rate started to fall again as I laid on my left side, so that plan was no good. Apparently, I was going to have to stay on my back. At some point during the night the baby's heart rate fell again and they ended up turning my petocin (the thing that was making me have contractions) OFF.


When I awoke the morning of the 4th day I was still at 3 cm and I wasn't very well rested because the contractions were strong enough on my left side to wake me up every so often before they turned my petocin down. After talking with the midwife we agreed that if I was not at 5 cm by noon that we would schedule a c-section. At this point my water had been broken for over 50 hours so they (I say "they" only because I don't remember being part of the decision) also decided to start giving me fluids intravenously so that the baby would have enough amniotic fluid to weather the rest of our labor journey.


I guess I should also tell you, I was blessed with an amazing portion of patience through out this week. I only had one melt down during that day that I labored through without pain medication. God was certainly with me, helping me take one thing at a time. Thankfully, at this point my body started to get with the program.


By noon I was 5 cm dilated and by 5 pm I was ready to start pushing. I pushed for 4 hours and thanks to my midwife and an amazing nursing staff that baby was born around 9pm on Thursday, without a c-section. :)


I did not get the baby on my chest the moment he was born for several reason. There was meconium in the amniotic fluid, the cord had been wrapped around his neck, I was strep-B positive, and he was HUGE, 10 lb 7 oz to be exact, which also contibuted to my 3rd degree tear. So, the moment he was born two or three pediatric nurses and an OBGYN were suddenly in the room. The bright lights were turned on so that the baby could be checked out and I could be cleaned up.

The baby was as healthy as a horse. No problems with meconium in his lungs, no strep-B, and no blood sugar issues (they usually test large babies for blood sugar issues). He had a very slight heart murmur but after a few more tests he was cleared to go home. (The doctor couldn't even find the murmur a few weeks later.) Just a great big healthy baby boy.

When I recount this story I'm still amazed at all the twists and turns that we encountered and I'm also incredibly grateful that at no time were either the baby or I in any real danger.


We may have waited 42 weeks but he was definitely worth waiting for. He's the coolest kid I've ever met and I'm pretty darn lucky to be able to spend the bulk of my time with him.


What a difference a year makes.

I love you, Bugg. Happy Birthday!

**Side Note: For the last hour I have been struggling to get my son to take a nap. So in between nursing, reading books, singing songs and seeing if the reason he's crying like that is because he's still hungry, I've been trying to finish this post. That's motherhood for ya!***