Tada!!!

Yes, ladies and gents - we have a tummy! I know it's not terribly exciting yet - but at least it's something. You can click on it for the ginormous version should you so desire. 99 days and counting!! And yes, I think Elliot is doing the same chicken dance pose that I am.

Brief update...

Sorry I haven't been on here much lately. Figured I'd post a quick update.

Riley registered for Kindergarten today! He was very excited to see the building where he'll be going, and it goes through 5th grade, so he'll be there for quite a while! In fact, when he's in 5th grade, Elliot will be in 3rd, and Liam will be in Kindergarten. Can you even believe that? Wow. All three of them under one roof - yikes! Well hey, if WE can do it at home, they can handle it at school.

Other than that, not much to report, just life as usual. Our friends Mark and Brandy got married this past weekend - we weren't there but my parents were and so we were able to see some photos, which were beautiful, as expected. How could they not be with the bride and groom both basically supermodels. Ah, to be one of the beautiful people. But I digress. Other than that, we're just getting back in the groove now that Nick is home from his trip. My OB appointments are getting closer together, right now I'm on an every 3 week schedule, but after my coming appointment it'll be down to every 2 weeks. This coming OB appointment I have my gestational diabetes test, I get to drink that culinary delight called Glucola. Bleck. Oh well, all for a good cause.

We've gotten yet another hit of winter here over the last several days, I'm really hoping that once this thaws we're well on our way to spring. I'm SO over this winter.

So that's about it. Oh, I'm finally starting to look a bit pregnant so I'll have to post some photos of that. And I finally made it back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I had lost about 13 pounds over the first several months, but it has gradually crept back on and now I'm back at square one. Now to make sure I don't end up looking like I did in pregnancy #1... Horace from McDonald's anyone?

I'll try to post more soon - thanks for reading!!

Riley and Elliot's new utensil skill...

Well, we had a lovely day today - out and about running errands with Nana and Pa. Our lunch was a SCRUMPTIOUS meal at a local Japanese restaurant. Nana (my mom) and I both had the salmon teriyaki bento box (yum!!), Pa had chicken teriyaki (I think), and the boys shared a plate of fried rice and an order of hibachi chicken. What's cute is that when the waitress saw we had two children in our party, she brought them these little chopstick sets that had been fashioned in advance using some rolled paper and elastic bands - not exactly a MacGyver invention but still impressive. The boys did REALLY well! They each served themselves chicken from the main dish onto their respective dishes and ate every last piece. Sorry for the grainy photos... my cameraphone isn't exactly state of the art.

Why do I love this commercial so much?

I know it's not exactly new, but I still laugh everytime I see this commercial.

Ummmm... no she didn't.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I've already blogged about my loathing for all things Sandra Lee. But I couldn't not post about this one. It's from her racetrack eats/tailgating episode. Just take one look at the photo for this recipe and one look at the ingredients/directions. Enough said. If the Food Network doesn't shut her down, the Board of Health and the FDA should. If you dare to make this, I'd recommend having a bottle of nitroglycerin handy.


Sandra Lee's Bacon-Wrapped Cheesey Corn

• 3 tablespoons four-cheese sauce mix
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 4 ears corn, shucked and cleaned
• 4 slices pre-cooked, thick-cut bacon

Set up grill for direct cooking over medium heat.
In a small bowl, sprinkle cheese sauce mix over mayonnaise; stir thoroughly. Brush corn with mixture. Wrap each ear with a bacon slice; wrap in foil.
Place on hot grill. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until corn is tender and bacon is cooked, turning often. Serve hot.

Lots going on...

Sorry to have been MIA this past week. We've had lots going on and I haven't had much time to check in here.

The hubby is away on business through Thursday which isn't terribly fun. Especially when you're home minding two little ones while 6+ months pregnant. It's also a drag that he's at this GORGEOUS hotel in San Diego - where they upgraded him for free to one of these exclusive private villas. All kinds of luxury amenities perfect for a romantic getaway. Unfortunately, it seems he picked up either some sort of nasty stomach bug or actual food poisoning from the "food" he was given on the plane. Which was really a glorified combination of every nasty pre-pack snack in the convenience store. Beef jerky, chips, honey roasted peanuts and shortbread cookies anyone? I mean, I know airline food never had the best reputation, but we have sunk to a new low here. So my poor guy is suffering over 3000 miles away, and there's nothing I can do about it. :(

To top off the reasons for sadness, we turned Milo over to a Corgi adoption agency yesterday. It was a VERY difficult and tearful decision, but in the end, we feel - the right one. When we got Milo, we had no plans for a 3rd child, and he essentially became our third child. Dogs are a wee bit more demanding than cats!! Now with Liam on the way, we knew that both Liam and Milo wouldn't get the attention they required if Milo were to stay. But we found a GREAT agency here in eastern NY, and they work specifically to place Pembroke Welsh Corgis in homes that want them. There's currently 8 applicants where they think Milo would be a great fit- applicants who have been waiting for months and longer in some cases to get the perfect canine companion. So, Milo went to his temporary home yesterday with the agency owner while he's waiting to be placed, and I even heard him bark in the background once or twice over the phone during a check-in call just to let me know "everything's okay, Mom." I have the utmost confidence that he will find a loving and suitable home... although I'm still sad not to see his eyes when I turn the corner, and I'm having a hard time saying things to the kids like "Milo doesn't live here anymore." But they're doing well with it, and things should smooth over soon.

At any rate - I'm not sure if I'll be on here more or less with Nick gone... but that's what I've been up to lately. Miss you all!

You can't make this stuff up...

So I think my boys are officially OBSESSED with trains. As in, Elliot woke up whimpering the other night, and when I went in his room he kept moaning "the freight cars.... the freight cars." And now today Riley got out of bed, stumbled into the living room, collapsed on the couch (he's sick remember)... and said "Mommy, I thought I was feeling better but my wheels and axles are hurting." Somehow I think a little WD-40 isn't the answer for this one.

Here we go again...

So the kids are both sick. Again. This time it's a stomach bug which is just double the fun. The worst is that although I haven't actually gotten sick yet, I have the nagging queasiness that is hinting to me that I'm on deck for this thing. Joy of joys.

The things we do for our children...

So, my grandmother has been pestering me that the reason that I've been so dog tired lately is because I'm probably anemic, due to the fact that she suspects I'm not getting enough B12. She feels my abstinence from eating beef or pork is the culprit.

It's true, I haven't eaten beef or pork in over 10 years. I just don't like the stuff on any level. I actually hadn't eaten ANY meat since 1997, but when pregnant with Riley, I started eating poultry again for the sake of the extra protein. And for anyone who knew me during my pregnancy with Riley... the old saying "you are what you eat"... yeah, I ended up looking like one giant chicken nugget. Plump and nearly as wide as I was tall. But I digress.

Well, since I spoke with my grandmother last night and she once again reminded me that a little red meat would help with acquiring my B12 quota... it was like a little voice kept nagging me that maybe I should just try a little piece. For the baby. And then it turned into me driving around today running errands, while visions of cheeseburgers danced in my head. Could they really be as bad as I remember? Would I really disdain the flavor of beef as I had in the past? Or might I be pleasantly surprised to see that I now savored the flavor of a processed patty of ground bovine? I debated internally like this for around 2 hours. I finally decided, if I didn't try it, I would never know. Besides, if I did like it - Liam would be getting the extra B12 he apparently needed. So I did it. I drove up to the Wendy's drive thru and ordered a burger. A Junior Deluxe Cheeseburger, no mustard, no mayo. I unwrapped it, surveying the sight of it carefully. Yes, by all outward appearances, they were exactly as I remembered them. Now or never - let's take a bite. Chew, chew, chew, chew. Hmmmm. I think I was actually expecting to like it a little bit - yet I didn't. Not by a long shot. I ended up forcing myself to finish it, and were it not for the ton of toppings (ketchup, pickles, lettuce, cheese, onions), I don't think that would've even been possible. So, there you have it. The verdict stands as read in 1997 when I decided to forego meat - I don't like beef.

There have been a good many of you through the years who have tried to tempt me or downright insult me into going back to eating the stuff. Little words like "come on, just try a BITE." I think you people would've just loved to see me take that bite and have it be the start of my quasi-vegetarian unraveling. Sorry folks. I just really don't like the stuff. And I hope that today's taste buys me at least another 10 beef-free years without grief from you all.

He moves!

So I was just laying down doing a little reading when not only did I feel Liam move, but I watched my stomach rise and fall with tiny little movements. It was a little bit backstroke, a little bit Macarena. I know half of you probably still don't even believe I'm pregnant due to the lack of abdominal evidence, but I assure you I am! And I've been feeling movement for a while, but this is the first time seeing it from the oustide with this pregnancy.

Anyway, just had to share baby's first dance recital.

Big Brother - Oh Brother.

"Can I get you some drinks or appetizers? And by the way, what's your BMI?"

Sound odd? It is. Last Friday, Mississippi (the fattest state in the US with over 30% of adults being obese) introduced a bill that would prevent restaurants from serving customers with a BMI of over 30 certain kinds of food. Oh yeah, THAT'S gonna be pretty.

Here's a copy of the bill incase you want to see for yourself - it's HB 282. If you want to see the full text, there's a link to the PDF within the page.

Still not much to show...

So here's me today - at like 22 1/2 weeks. A little more of a bump than the last time I posted my tum... but still a far stretch from a bowl full of jelly. Thankfully I'm still wearing my regular clothes, with the exception of a hair elastic to extend my buttonhole on my pants... Stay tuned!

Kids say the darndest things...

So Elliot just had the most priceless "conversation" with little Liam in utero. It started the same way it always does, him asking me if he can talk to Liam.

"Mommy, can I talk at yaw baby? Can I talk at Wee-um?"

"Yes, Elliot."

Elliot pulls my shirt up a little so he can see my tummy.

"Hi, Wee-um. I Eh-yet. I yaw big bruvah."

Silence. This part is new. Could it be? Could he be imagining a response from Liam?

"No Wee-um. I sowwy. Yaw too wittow to eat a cwackuh."

More silence.

"Okay, Wee-um. See you in June. You will open da daw and come out."

Gosh I love that kid.

Chocolate Cake anyone??

So it's February 1st! That's worth celebrating right? While this recipe might not be the proverbial "piece of cake" to make, over 1000 rave reviews at Epicurious.com can't be wrong! This is, literally, the best reviewed chocolate cake on the Internet. That's reason enough for me!

An old-fashioned chocolate cake, first published in Gourmet magazine, has received more than 1,000 reviews, making it the site's most popular recipe.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake
Chef Ed Kasky used Callebaut semisweet chocolate for the cake and Guittard French-vanilla chocolate for the frosting, but any fine-quality semisweet chocolate will produce a wonderful result in either. Serves 12 to 14.

Ingredients:
For cake layers

3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut

1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee

3 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

3 large eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

For ganache frosting

1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

Special equipment:Two 10- by 2-inch round cake pans

Preparation:

Make cake layers:Preheat oven to 300° F and grease pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.
Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
Make frosting:Finely chop chocolate. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.
Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency).
Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides. Cake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.