stream of consciousness

Mark hasn't felt Punkin move since last Friday. I feel her all day long, but as soon as we put a hand on my lower stomach, she stops. What a stinker! I've been feeling much better.. except for the past two days. I've had a massive headache for over a day, and nothing seems to help it. No worries though -- just part of pregnancy and my blood volume increasing like crazy in the second trimester. It's expected. But it hurts.

Mark is studying at the dining room table. For you non-military people (half my readers): Airmen have these "test" things they have to do. They're called CDCs (Career Development Courses), and he has a book per month to work through and test on. Different jobs have different amounts of books. Mark's job has 8. Ew. He will be done by September... just in time to focus all his attention on Baby Girl :)

Our next ultrasound is scheduled for June 1. I'm beyond excited. I love love love our ultrasound technician -- she's just the sweetest little lady. And I talk her head off every time I see her. We get to bring a blank DVD to this u/s, and they'll record everything for us!


I'll be home in two weeks, and I'm getting all antsy. I feel pretty sad about leaving Mark and Piper here alone for so long. I'll be spending part of my time at my sister's house and the other part with my parents. The first half of my trip will be spent with C&H, and I'm sooo ready to love them to death. Sprout is actually due on June 10th, but he's been super low & head down for a long time now. So he may be coming a smidge early. Regardless, I can't wait to photograph him and hold him super tight.

I'm also pretty excited to see Hudsie's reaction to having a new baby brother. He has no idea what's about to hit him :)



I'm sipping blue Gatorade and watching Minute to Win It. What an entertaining show.

Spaghetti Sauce a la Shannie

Most of you have seen me mention homemade spaghetti on Facebook, and a lot of you have asked how the heck do you make spaghetti?!

My mama never fed me Ragu as a child, so I just learned to cook the sauce exactly like she did. It's delicious, full of flavor, healthy, and you know exactly what's going in it. Since you made it, and all.

I'll start off by saying that we eat a lot of spaghetti 'round these parts. It's one of our favorite meals. I can cook the entire meal in 25 minutes. It's healthy. And it's el cheapo. We only use half a "pack" (pound) of hamburger meat, so we can really make two meals out of one pound of beef. Noodles are very cheap, and canned goods are cheap too. Especially if you're shopping at Walmart.


So follow me on this Italian journey (snicker snicker) and see just how easy it is to make delectable spaghetti sauce that will make your Airman's mouth water...

My Mama's Spaghetti Sauce 101:

1. Brown your beef. I stick it in the same pot in which I'll make my sauce. It saves me from washing an extra dish. And I hate washing dishes. Afterward, drain the grease. Like I said, we use half a pound for the two of us. It's plenty.

not the most appetizing picture

2. Pull your Diced Tomatoes & Tomato PASTE out of the cabinet. Paste. Not sauce. And it needs to be these sizes too. Dump them both on top of the beef. Fill up the diced tomatoes can 3/4 full of water. Dump the water on top of it.

Great Value is JUST as good as Hunts

Did that make sense? I hope so. So now you have ground beef, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and 3/4 a can of water in your pot.

It's coming together now! See?!

3. Yank the Black Pepper, Oregano, and Basil off your spice rack. Also grab the salt [not pictured]. Pour in a lot of black pepper, a few generous shakes of oregano, and a lot of basil. And don't be timid. Just shake your arm off. I take my salt and just drizzle it in there. Lots of spices. Go for it.

Black Pepper is such a hit that our label is coming off..

4. That's it. Just keep simmering. And tasting. And tasting some more, because it's so darn good that you'll make yourself believe that you need to keep taste testing. Even though you know it's perfect.

It's hard to take a photo with all that steam goin' on..

That's it. Somewhere in there, you need to stick some spaghetti noodles in a pot of water and salt your water. And also, you need to prepare a salad with diced tomatoes. Because salads go with spaghetti... in our opinion. I wish I knew how to make garlic bread, but I'm no Julia Child over here.

Now keep taste testing until your airman comes home from work. Yum yum yum.

We're proud supporters of Coca Cola & Hidden Valley Ranch

So there we have it. Not as easy as yanking the jar of Ragu out of the pantry and heating it up. But it's so much better. It's insanely better. The taste is out of this world. Please give it a whirl. You'll chuck your jar of Ragu out the window and never look back. I promise!

100% Husband Approved!

Yep, Mark thinks this stuff is the bomb. I even got a high five after he took the first bite. And then he was so excited about its awesomeness that he got out of his chair to kiss me because it tasted so good. Has Ragu ever gotten you a high-five or a kiss? I doubt it.


I bet I make my mom just SO proud on a daily basis. Right mom? Right? :)



There are zillions of ways to make spaghetti sauce. If you use a different "recipe," let me hear about it! Yum!

18 weeks!

photography by Daddy :D

How far along? 18 weeks 2 days :)

Total weight gain: 6lbs! A smidge "under average."

Maternity clothes? I can still fit in pre-pregnancy jeans and shorts, but I definitely love my maternity shorts the best. And I definitely need larger-than-normal shirts!

Sleep: Getting better!! YAY! Now I only wake up to use the restroom, and I can fall back asleep pretty fast.

[I would just like to say that Baby Cox is doing flips inside me right now. Is she loving the Mexican lunch we had? Or is she excited for this blog post?]

Best moment this week: Mark feeling her kick on Friday, at exactly 18 weeks. He said she "is like a shark" and it shocked him to death. When he felt her, his eyes got super wide and he said, "OH my gosh!! I felt that!! Woah. WOAH." Haha!!!

Movement: Yes! She always becomes a squirmy wormy during church during the sermons. I'm pretty sure she loves our pastor just as much as we do :) ..and she moves all during the day on a normal basis.

Gender: Our sweet daughter!!!

Labor Signs: Ha, no!! But I'm looking more and more forward to labor. You can call me crazy if you want, but I know God created me (and every other woman) to do this magnificent thing. I can't wait to experience it.

Belly Button in or out? Way way in.

What I miss: Laying on my stomach (it hurts to even try).

Weekly Wisdom: Search CraigsList on a daily basis for sweet deals. We found a brand new bumGenius 3.0 AIO (all-in-one) pink cloth diaper for FREE. She even included 100 rice paper sheets! .. I might explain how to use those at a later date.

Milestones: Inching closer and closer to our half-way mark. Not sure how this pregnancy is zooming by so quickly, but it is. Slow down, time! I want to savor each millisecond of this time with her!

I'm feeling pretty good these days. I still don't have any "cravings," but I will say that she definitely loves Mexican food. Still. We're signing up for birthing classes this week -- which we will take in August & September. It's an 8-week course through Birth Works, and we're very excited!

We're contemplating on hiring a birth photographer and nixing a maternity shoot. It's a pretty popular thing in our area, and we've found a great, affordable photographer. More on that later.


Today we're going to buy me a patio chair so I can sit outside and become a crispy critter get a little suntan. We're so happy. We're so in love, having a baby girl, it's summertime, and I'm about to get a new nephew. I'm pretty sure my life is just grand!!!

books I want her to read:

I've always loved reading. A lot. I hated Accelerated Reader tests in school (kind of), but I loved reading. In elementary school, I only read fiction. In middle school, I read "chick" books. And in high school, I read mostly Christian non-fiction and a teeny smidge of fiction.

In college, I read everything. And my Anatomy & Physiology II book was my least favorite, by far ;]

Clayton is five, and he loves the "gross" non-fiction books. Anything about slimy creatures, dinosaurs, bugs, etc. is right up his alley. When the book fair came to his school, he asked for a joke book and a Ripley's Believe It or Not book. What a hoot.

But there were some books that I loooved as a child. They made reading fun. And, as a result, I associated reading with FUN! I definitely want our daughter to be extremely exposed to many different types of books with different styles of writing. I want her to be a regular at the library and develop a love for literacy at a young age. She'll choose what she wants to read, but there are a couple books that I might just have to get for her... :)


1. Amelia Bedelia and the Baby:


Oh my gosh! I LOVED this book. I've always had a little "obsession" with babies. Ahem. So when my mom bought me this book about Amelia Bedelia babysitting Missy, I fell in love. I clearly remember her smashing up baby food and giving Missy a bath. I'm really not sure what's up with Amelia's funky hat, but that girl is hilarious. Is she wearing a maid's outfit? And how old is she, anyway? And why is she so dense? :)


2. Arthur's Baby:


The most popular Arthur book among my elementary peers, by far! I'm pretty sure this book was constantly checked out. And why? Because it was adorable, of course!! All the Arthur books are just so fun to read. Arthur's Tooth and Arthur's Nose also brings back fond memories :) The fact that I still remember everything about Buster and Muffy is just too cool. I love this series!


3. Junie B. Jones:


Junie B. Jones is one of the funniest series ever. I'm pretty sure this might be the first "chapter book" series I ever read. Junie B. Jones books were always checked out for a library, but I remember looooving these books. I'm pretty sure that this series is one of the ones that introduced me to real reading, since I'd mostly read picture books before then. I even remember Junie seeing her teacher eat a grape at the grocery store and freaking out that her teacher "broke the law." Sigh. What great memories.


4. Wayside School Is Falling Down:


Absolutely INSANELY hilarious!! I can't remember any specifics about this book except that it made me literally laugh out loud. I also love(d) the set-up of this book -- how each character had their own "chapter." This author is a genius (also the author of Holes), and I would love for our daughter to get the same laughs that I did as a child! Timelessly hilarious.


5. American Girl series:


Molly was my favorite. And Samantha. But I loved all the American Girls!! This series is so genius -- it teaches little ones about girls growing up in different periods of history. I learned so much about different time periods and what it was like to be a young girl during different wars and eras. I couldn't get enough. I always wanted a Molly doll too :) I'm happy to see that American Girl is still popular, and they've "come out" with new girls from different eras! Can't wait for our daughter to discover this magical series.



For now, I'm dreaming of stocking her room with Eric Carle board books, We're Going On a Bear Hunt, The Mitten, and so many more. Soon, when she is able to more easily hear my voice, I'll start reading to her. I can't wait! :) Reading is SO MUCH FUN!

she has my lips.

Alternately titled: The post where I stare a little bit too hard at the ultrasound pictures and find new things to love about our girl.


So the other day, I was just obsessing over the magnificence and quality of our 3D photos taking a gander at our daughter, and I found something amazing:

She has big lips.

And not only does she have big lips, but she can pucker those lips. Only 16 weeks gestation, and she's already prepping to kiss mommy daddy. That's my girl.

Think I'm crazy? Well, I've come prepared with visualizations to help you. Naturally! I sharpened the photo to help you focus in a little bit better. Here's the big photo:

Zoom in on the lips and nose:



What? You don't know what you're looking at?
Sigh.
Thank goodness I'm here to help..

Now scroll back up to the first photo. Is she, or is she not, puckering her lips? She has mommy's lips! I think. I hope. I guess we'll find out in October. Too cute. Just too cute.


Now excuse me while I go stare at my baby's features some more. Just kidding. Kind of. Tomorrow we turn 18 weeks pregnant. Just thought you should know :)

ultrasound video! and Piper too.

Big Sister:

Just because I wanted to show you these photos.

----------------

I never showed you the video of our ultrasound! We actually have a 20 minute video, but I'm not very tech-savvy, so I don't know how to cut it down to 10 minutes (YouTube has a 10 minute limit and won't publish anything longer). But we do have a 3 minute video of the tech trying to wake our baby up and get good angles.

Our baby girl refused to cooperate.

I've added notes to the video to help you understand what you're looking at. It's pretty simple: the big round thing is her head, and the rest is her torso! Just locate her head, and that's all you need to do. In the very beginning, you can see her long limbs, which is pretty neat. Our other video is much cooler, but I've no idea how to share it with you guys. Until then, you can look at this:




I could really go for a BBQ sandwich, macaroni salad, baked beans, potato salad, big yellow tomatoes with salt, and some banana pudding. Just sayin.

why we're choosing to babywear:

Your overwhelmingly positive comments on our cloth diapering post were, well... unexpectedly cute!! I cannot believe so many of you are supportive of going cloth! I'm pretty sure it's because I just have the best blog readers in the universe. And I'm not even biased. It's the truth.

So you've seen me talk about slings and wraps before, most likely. Today I'm here to tell you why we're so "passionate" about toting our daughter in a sling. It isn't just a fashion statement [although they are very fashionable] -- there's a method to this madness. Or something. Is that even the correct usage of that phrase? I don't even think so...

Anyway..

Like I said yesterday, we are supportive of attachment parenting. Dr. Sears has these "7 B's" of attachment parenting:
1. Birth Bonding
2. Breastfeeding
3. Babywearing
4. Bedding Close to Baby
5. Belief in the Language of Your Baby's Cry
6. Beware of Baby Trainers
7. Balance

So, clearly, I'm focusing on #3 today -- babywearing. I have about 4 slings that I just love. Now, I've never actually used a sling. But I've read different reviews and there are different things about each one that I love. Once our daughter is here, she will likely let me know which sling she prefers. Until then, I have about 4 that I think are just fab. In order:

Sleepy Wrap^

Maya Wrap^

Mei Tai^

Ergo^

There are different styles of baby carriers, like ring slings or stretchy wraps, but that isn't really important right now. What I'm interested in are the amazing benefits of wearing your baby. (That was a horrible sentence). I'm taking all this info straight from Dr. Sears -- you can read more on babywearing here.


-Babies in slings are happier babies. Babies like to be held. Most cultures hold babies a lot and rarely put them down. A mother's arms are for holding her baby :) There definitely came a point where my nephews did not want to be held -- they wanted to get down and play. But, as infants, they wanted to be held. A lot. And even into their toddler years, they liked to be held when falling asleep. (Another aspect of babywearing, mentioned later).

-If your baby is in a sling, (s)he's learning. There's only so much that your baby can do while sitting in a Bumbo seat in the middle of the living room. Dr. Sears says this: The human face, especially in this position, is a potent stimulator for interpersonal bonding. In the kangaroo carry, baby has a 180-degree view of her environment and is able to scan her world. She learns to choose, picking out what she wishes to look at and shutting out what she doesn't. This ability to make choices enhances learning. A sling baby learns a lot in the arms of a busy caregiver.


-I seriously can't say it better than Dr. Sears, so I'll just go ahead and copy his next point: Babies in slings are more organized -- Mother's rhythmic walk, for example, (which baby has been feeling for nine months) reminds baby of the womb experience. This familiar rhythm, imprinted on baby's mind in the womb, now reappears in the "outside womb" and calms baby. As baby places her ear against her mother's chest, mother's heartbeat, beautifully regular and familiar, reminds baby of the sounds of the womb. As another biological regulator, baby senses mother's rhythmic breathing while worn tummy- to-tummy, chest-to-chest. Simply stated, regular parental rhythms have a balancing effect on the infant's irregular rhythms. Babywearing "reminds" the baby of and continues the motion and balance he enjoyed in the womb.


If left to his own resources, without the regulating presence of the mother, the infant may develop disorganized patterns of behavior: colicky cries, jerky movements, disorganized self-rocking behaviors, anxious thumb sucking, irregular breathing, and disturbed sleep. The infant, who is forced to self-calm, wastes valuable energy he could have used to grow and develop.


-Babies worn in slings are shown to be more attentive, have better speech development, are better listeners, and are more involved in conversations.

When you wear your baby, your baby experiences exactly what you do. It's a constant learning experience. Those little bouncy seats and exersaucers are cool [my nephews loved em!], but they'll only realistically sit there for so long. You can fold laundry, load the dishwasher, make the beds, and get everything done while wearing your baby. And your kid will love it since (s)he's close to mommy.


You can even breastfeed while babywearing (and no one would know!), babywear your baby to sleep (something Dr. Sears definitely promotes!), and so much more. Even Michelle Duggar owns an Ergo carrier!! Too cool.

I'm so excited to wear our daughter. I've already bought my sister a Maya wrap, so I'm excited to see how Sprout likes it! And remember: moms have been babywearing for centuries. Like cloth diapering, this isn't a new concept. Heck, even Sacagawea wore her baby on her back during the Lewis & Clark Expedition!!


I recommend checking out Adventures in Babywearing, a blog written by an avid baby-wearing mama.

If you're bored, watch this ADORABLE video of this new daddy folding a stretchy wrap (similar to a Moby or Sleepy Wrap) and wearing his brand new infant daughter. She is SO tiny. Even Mark watched this and said it's "adorable." It really is too cute. You'll die when you see her all scrunched up like a peanut:




Happy babywearing!! :)