Baby Holguin - 22 Weeks

Mama knows best. I posted a couple weeks back about my nagging intuition and why I thought we were having a boy. Well, I was right! Our 20 week ultrasound proved it once and for all and it was very clear that a little boy is coming our way this April. Since then we have been thinking about names, nursery ideas, what he will look like, what he will be in to and most of all how excited we are to meet him.

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Handmade Holiday Gifts

I'm a firm believer in handmade goods. The joy and creativity that comes with making something by hand has rewards that are incomparable. The moment I realized my skill at crochet and knitting, it seems like all I do is make gifts for others and I love it! I've also become more crafty at sewing, cutting and gluing - basically fine tuning the kindergartner in me.

The holiday season is the perfect time to craft up a storm and give gifts that you can't put a value on. The meaning and sentimental value is much higher than anything similar found in stores. Here are a few things that I crafted this season :

1. Knit Ribbed Cowl

Idea derived from H&M. Made with bulky grey yarn.

2. Knit Cable Gloves

Idea from ravelry.com. Made with worsted weight grey yarn.

3. Holiday Wreath

Idea from pinterest.com. Made with styrofoam circle, white yarn, red and green felt, faux berry twig, pearl tipped pins, hot glue

4. Christmas Stockings

Idea from various google images. Made with felt, interfacing and sewing machine.

5. Crochet Toddler Ripple Blanket

Pattern from ravelry.com. Made with Lion Brand Homespun yarn.

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Baby Holguin - 18 weeks

Week 17 was SO uncomfortable. The only way to describe it would be to say that it felt like I had just experienced the craziest ab and oblique workout ever. Every muscle in my abdomen ached for 3 days straight. They hurt when I walked, twisted, stood up and basically made any move in general. The only good part was that I had a great excuse to sit on the couch and watch the entire Twilight saga and demand things from Andrew because, well I needed to "rest".

Little did I know that this period of stretching and aching was the foreshadow of what was to come - my belly!! It literally popped out during week 18. Baby Holguin was working hard to make room and the work definitely paid off.

What we've learned: Our baby is a little over 6 inches long. SIX inches! And that doesn't even include the little legs. Right now baby is growing about half an inch per week so by 20 weeks he or she will be about 7.5 inches long. The baby weighs 5 1/2 ounces now and the genitalia, whether boy or girl, is mostly formed.

Cravings: Orange juice. All day, every day. I drank almost a half gallon in one day, I just can't get enough!

Daddy duty: After week 16, I can't lay on my back because the weight of my abdomen on the uterus can cut off the blood flow to the baby. It's especially difficult at night because I love sleeping on my back. Andrew has taken on the duty of monitoring my sleeping positions and he'll wake me up to remind me to turn on my side. It's really great because I'm a deep sleeper so I won't wake up on my own.

My crazy dreams: I dreamed that I went in to labor and rushed to the hospital to have the baby. Somehow I fell asleep during labor and woke up with the baby already in my arms. The nurses were congratulating me but I keep thinking, how did I fall asleep?? I wanted to be awake for the birth!!  I was so upset in the dream that I almost didn't believe it was my baby because I hadn't witnessed anything. Everyone was oohing and aahing at the baby and saying how well I did but I kept saying, "I wasn't awake!! Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

Nursery updates: I finally cleaned out our second bedroom and made space for all the cute baby stuff we'll be getting. It's such a relief to get that part done and over with and know that we are at least somewhat prepared for whats to come.
If we have a boy, I'm leaning towards a pear green color scheme for the nursery with rustic reds and eggshell blues.

If it's a girl, I would like the nursery colors to be deep purples complimented by soft lilacs and cream. 

Doc updates: We had a 16 week ultrasound a couple weeks ago and it was so awesome so see our little baby moving around and going crazy in my belly. The weirdest part is that I can't feel a thing! The baby looked healthy and normal; it had two arms, two legs, a spinal cord, a stomach, a big ole head and a really strong heartbeat. The heart rate was at 144 bpm and it's so reassuring to know that everything is growing as normal.
We have our 20 week ultrasound on December 7th and hopefully at that point we will be able to find out the gender. We've been looking forward to this appointment for a number of weeks and we will be so excited to announce it to everyone. Pin It

Baby Holguin - 14 weeks

We have officially passed the danger zones of the first trimester and have transitioned wonderfully into trimester numero dos. Everything has been really smooth and although there were a couple concerns in the earlier weeks, they have pretty much been wiped out by now.

What we've learned: Our baby is a little smaller than an apple. He/she is about 4 inches long and weighs a little over 2 ounces. Right now our baby has a skeletal system, lanugo and organs. Its skin is translucent but it can move around like crazy but I can't feel it yet.

Cravings: Sweets! I have been craving soda, candy and fruity flavors. Usually I try to curb it with an apple or a banana but it's difficult when all I can think about is gummy worms and Pepsi. It's odd because I've never been into sweets before and usually can just say no, but now I may just be giving myself gestational diabetes.

Barf foods: Tomatoes and Ranch. YUCK. Just thinking about it makes me gag. I used to love tomatoes in my salad, on my pizza, etc and now when I try to eat them, I have to spit them out. Same with ranch dressing. Before I found out I was pregnant, I used to eat ranch on my salads everyday and now I can't even stand the smell of it.

Daddy bans: So far Andrew has banned me from a few things such as riding my bike, drinking coffee, wrestling, caffeinated soda and every once in a while doing the dishes (not so bad). I was a little annoyed at first but then realized that he has good intentions. However, coffee has been difficult to stop drinking. Especially with my sweet cravings, sometimes I just want a delicious pumpkin spice latte to wake me up in the morning - so secretly I have been ordering 8 oz half decaf coffees at Starbucks a couple times a week. I finally went to the store and bought bulk coffee and pumpkin spice creamer and Andrew was pissed when he found out I was drinking it. So I had him consult his almighty friend Josh who said that it is totally ok for pregnant women to drink coffee in moderation - which is exactly what I have been doing. Booya.

My crazy dreams: I have had some very odd vivid dreams over the last few weeks. Most recently I nursed a kitten back to life. Somehow I came across a newborn bald kitten, soaking wet and cold. I wrapped it in a shirt and put it in the hamper. I went to sleep and woke up in the middle of the night realizing I had forgotten about the kitten and worrying about it being dead. I ran to the hamper to find the kitten barely alive so I nursed it. I even made sure to switch boobs so one wouldn't feel worse than the other. Like magic, the kitten sprung to life and suddenly sprouted all its hair and began running around like a brand new kitten. I felt strange when I woke up.

Nursery updates: We started our registry at Target and Babies R Us and I kind of realized how much stuff we need, but Andrew was not on the same page as me. He is very simple when it comes to registering and was baffled at why you need so much of this and all of that. Either way we had some fun scanning stuff and now we just need to make room.

Doc updates: We have an ultrasound coming up on 11/9 and by that time we will be 16 weeks. I am secretly hoping to find out the gender so I am really excited. If we can't see the gender then we will go back at 20 weeks for another ultrasound.

Body changes: My belly has grown a little and I've been in denial. I swear it's mostly because I haven't been working out as often and I've been eating a lot. However, Andrew says that for as long as he's known me I've always had a flat stomach and this is nothing like he has seen before. Either way, it's exciting to think that our baby is growing. For the first three months it's hard not to be able to see the growth and I always worried that nothing was really happening. Now when I lie down and my bladder is full, I can feel my uterus right below my belly button. At first it scared me - I thought a muscle was popping out but then I remembered that now is the time you can feel it. It's a little bigger than a softball and it's crazy to feel the shape and now that our little baby is tucked in there.

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Baby Holguin: Weeks 5-13

Not much has been happening with my preggo body in the last couple weeks but now is the time when all the fun begins! We've been keeping track of the progress through americanpregnancy.org and get so excited to receive our weekly newsletters that tell us the size and weight of our little lentil.. bean... tangerine.. apple!

The first trimester was a breeze - I am very lucky. My only symptoms of pregnancy were exhaustion and brief mood swings. I had no morning sickness (first hint to my gender prediction) and all in all I felt normal. I tried to work out as much as I could but I was so tired all the time that I always wanted to go to bed as soon as I got home from work. I noticed that change of course, when my stomach started to pudge and my thighs reflected last nights dinner. Now I am back on track to working out but have learned that you do need to be somewhat careful. Rule of thumb - if you did it before, you can do it now! As long as you keep your heart rate at or below 150 bpm. You don't want to make your baby work harder than it already is.

Speaking of baby, we are getting super pumped. It's crazy how fast he is growing. Now that I'm in the second trimester, I am even more convinced that I am having a boy. Here's why:

1.  No morning sickness. This seems to be a trend with boys.
2. Every dream I've had pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy are about boys.
3. My father-in-law had a very vivid dream of a baby boy.
4. I just feel it. And I can because I'm the mom!

Andrew thinks we are having a girl, and thats ok but I am very curious to find out who will be right. We have an ultrasound in two weeks and I'm crossing my fingers that we can see the gender at that time. I've been working on the nursery and am getting very excited to personalize it. I'm not going to go crazy with gender specific things but I want to make it his. Or hers. Baby bump photos coming soon!

This will most likely be baby's first beanie... 

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It's a Wreath Kind of Day

I've always wanted a wreath hanging from my front door but have never really found one that I had to have or one that fit in my budget. My friend Mary pointed out a beautiful wreath for sale on Etsy, but it cost $55 + shipping. We decided to collaborate and make the exact same wreath with supplies from Joann's. Sure enough, the wreath turned out awesome and I suddenly became motivated to make my own.

I had some extra supplies lying around and remembered a felt flower tutorial that I had found online at papernstitchblog.com and it was so easy to follow. A couple weeks back I scored a twiggy wreath for $4.95 at an antique sale and my first wreath making journey began!

I started with two colors of felt, a random lace ribbon, pencil, sewing needle, sewing thread, scissors and a hot glue gun. 

I free handed a cutout circle (oval) and cut it into a spiral. The outer edge of the spiral will become the inside of the flower so if you start out cutting the spiral thin and eventually begin to cut it wider toward the middle, it will shape the flower better. In the center of the spiral, leave a "tab" for the base of the flower. 

Begin with the outside end, start rolling up your felt spiral.

Eventually it will turn into this: 

Place the "tab" along the bottom of the flower to use as a base 

Thread your sewing needle and tie the ends so make it a double thread. Starting in the center of the tab, insert the needle and sew through the layers. Repeat this in a circle sewing together all the layers. Make a knot and trim the ends of the thread. You won't be able to see the thread once they are on your wreath so I didn't worry too  much about the sew job. 

You will begin to make some cute felt flowers. 

Here's another way to cut the felt so the edges of your flower are wavy. 

Practice the layout of your felt flowers on your wreath before you start gluing them on. You can experiment and move them around to see what looks best. When you are ready, put some hot glue on the base of your flower and start placing them on your wreath. Tuck them into each other to get a more bunched look. 

Mary's wreath turned out great and it cost her about $20. Here is a sneak peek at hers: 

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You + Me + Baby = 3

It was August 21st, 2012 - I was sitting at work unable to focus, wondering why my cramps had not proceeded into the dreaded visit from Aunt Flow. I started counting the days since the last visit and remembered how sometimes it's not always spot on (no pun intended) but I was already at day 30... day 31... day 32... thats unusual. Aunt Flow doesn't miss a beat by THAT many days. Then it hit me. Aunt Flow may have decided to retire for 9 months... Shoooooot.

I texted my husband asap with one of those flippant "I think I might be pregnant" texts, you know the ones that aren't meant to freak anyone out or anything. His response: "Really?". I'm pretty sure both our heart rates spiked at that moment and we weren't able to speak until we got home that night. Neither of us entertained the idea right away but I knew I had to get a test. But just in case Aunt Flow came that night, I waited another day.

Lo and behold, nothing.

On August 22nd, 2012 I went to the Dollar Tree and bought two tests. Yes, they were $1 and according to my doctor, they are as accurate as any other test. I did my best to stay calm. The look in the male cashier's eyes made me uneasy - a look of, "you have a secret and you've been busted!". I rode my bike home and tried to decide what my reaction would be if it was + or -, would I be excited? Upset? Nervous? I couldn't keep the smile off my face, so I pedaled home as quick as I could.

When I got home, Andrew was unusually calm. Well he was calm until I pulled out the test then he practically ripped open the box and read the instructions about three times to make sure it was done perfectly. He "left me to do my business" and attempted to strictly enforce the 3-5 minute wait time. However, I could already see the stick beginning to change the second my urine hit it. He ultimately forced me into the bedroom, forced me to sit down and told me to wait - like a 2 year old in timeout. He studied his watch and counted the seconds. I was so anxious at 2 minutes that I stood up and demanded we look at the test. We both raced to the bathroom, practically shoving each other out of the way as we strained our eyes to get a look at the result. The stick had two boxes, one with a control line that looks like: [ | ] The other box contained the fate of the rest of your life. If the test is positive, the second box will contain another [ | ] and if it's negative then it will be blank.

Our result?

Yep. I bawled.

Andrew enveloped me in his arms and asked why I was crying, out of sheer concern that I was genuinely upset and devastated. I honestly didn't know how I felt at the time. The only way I can explain it is that all my emotions, concerns and thoughts poured out into those tears. They were tears of joy, excitement, anxiety, fear, nervousness and relief. Tears of "how did this happen so fast" and tears of "there is a baby inside me??". I've always imagined being pregnant but have never put it into perspective.

Worry #1 - The Hood to Coast marathon was in two days. Can I run when I'm pregnant? What if I miscarry? Long story short, I ran anyway and everything was fine or else this post wouldn't exist. However, my last leg turned into a nightmare after following a big group up the wrong route. I ended up running 13.8 miles instead of the designated 5.2 miles. Andrew FREAKED OUT. Basically he put a bounty on each staff members head for allowing his wife (and child) to get lost and possibly endure a medical emergency. I was definitely panicking but made it out ok, just exhausted. The next step was to relax for the next couple weeks and let everything settle in.

Worry #2 - Where is the instruction manual?? I know nothing about bearing, birthing and raising a child.

However, today is September 26th, 2012 and we just heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time -- I cried, again. It was beating so fast and so steady, working hard to sustain it's tiny body within my own body. It's unreal but so real. A microscopic fertilized egg has innately multiplied to become numerous cells which have multipled exponentially to create an arm, a hand, an eyelid, a brain, a heart. A beating heart. Life is a miracle and this child is already loved more that he/she can imagine.
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Roasted Green Tomato Salsa

Who's got green tomatoes??! We do... And we have LOTS. Last year our tomatoes stayed green all summer although we diligently watched for a hint of orange or red. We were let down when the first frost hit and they all died. It was a waste of time and money in my opinion. However this year, I decided to work with the green tomatoes and one of the best ideas I could come up with was salsa. I had been reading the ingredients on my salsa bottle at home and was disappointed by all the ingredients I couldn't even pronounce. I thought, what is this crap? So I decided to make my own homemade salsa - the kind where I know exactly what is in it and exactly where it came from.

Ready to put in some work?? I hope so! This recipe is not ideal for a weeknight when you have to wake up at 6am the next morning... however, it can be done and the only reason I know this is because I did it. The outcome of this recipe is so worth it though and I actually had some fun creating it. I ran into a few snags along the way, which didn't hurt my product in the long run but made it difficult throughout.

First - I didn't have a big enough pot for the entire batch so I had to use two separate pots for cooking.
Second - Have all your ingredients cut, chopped and ready. Otherwise you will be running back and forth while your food burns on the grill.
Third - The water in the canning pot takes FOREVER to boil. Start it early. It was so huge it took up two of my stove burners.

Here goes, enjoy!

What You Need:

3-4 lbs mostly green, orange and red tomatoes
(I used my garden tomatoes)

2 bell peppers, sliced into strips
(I used my garden peppers)

2 white onions, cut in quarters

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapenos, chopped
(More or less depending on your spice level)

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1/2 C lime juice, about 5 limes

1 C lemon juice, about 4 lemons

Salt to taste

Cumin to taste

Pint (recommended) or quart jars

New lids
Rims

Canning funnel

Ladle
Canning rack and canning pot

Prep time: 20-30 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Processing time: 15 minutes from boiling point

What to do:

1. Fire up the grill! I used a chimney starter to get my charcoal going and it heated up within 10 minutes. 

 

2. Lay out the tomatoes, bell peppers and onions to roast on the grill. You want them to be slightly charred before flipping, but not too mushy. If they are too mushy, they will already be cooked and you don't want that since you will be cooking them later. Make sure they are slightly charred to get that nice roasted taste. 

3. Take the veggies off the grill and put them in a large (or two large) pots. Turn heat to high and bring to boil, then reduce to a medium simmer. Stir often. 

4. Add minced garlic and chopped jalapenos. Cook for 45 minutes. 

5. Start your canning water. In a large pot add enough water that will cover jars by at least 2 inches. You can add more hot water if needed after the jars are submerged. Keep canning rack on it's "elbows".

6. Add cilantro, lime and lemon juice, salt and cumin to your tomato mix. Cook for another 15 minutes or until salsa is cooked down and tomato chunks are greatly reduced. You can "chop" up the tomatoes in the pot of add salsa to a blender and puree for about 5 seconds or until it is the consistency you want.  Here is what the reduction process looks like:

7. I only had four pint jars so I used those and two quart jars. I read online that it would be ok to combine the two sizes for processing as long as you processed for the time of the larger jar. Wash all jars, lids and rims in hot soapy water. Rinse and leave jars in hot water to keep warm so they don't crack when you add hot salsa.

8. Prepare a shallow dish with hot water to soak the lids while filling jars. Keep rims dry.

9. When canning water is about to boil, ladle salsa into each jar using the funnel to avoid spillage. Wipe the jars tops clean, place a hot lid on top, screw on a rim with a tight twist (tight enough that you know you can get it off again) and place jar into canning rack. Repeat with each jar until rack is full then lower the rack slowly into the boiling water. If water has not begun to boil, start processing timer when boiling starts. For pint jars, boil for 15 minutes and for quart jars boil for 30 minutes. 

10. Once processing is finished, carefully pull up the rack onto it's "elbows" and remove each jar from the boiling water using tongs or hot mitts. Try not to touch the lid or rim since this could cause an issue with sealing. Place each jar on a towel or drying rack. Listen for the popping sounds!! This is a good sign that your jars are sealing. Let sit for 12 to 24 hours and resist all temptation to press the poppy button in the middle of the lid.

Enjoy your homemade roasted green tomato salsa!

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ต้มข่าไก่ - aka Tom Kha Soup

Tom Kha soup is a creamy and flavorful Thai dish that is so tasty, I can't even begin to describe it. If you've never tried it, go to your favorite Thai restaurant and give it a shot! Then come home and try my recipe - slightly adjusted to meet my needy taste buds.

The one trick to making Tom Kha a success is to find the right ingredients. Uwajimaya is an amazing store in Beaverton, OR that carries a wide variety of products from all over Asia and they have everything you need to make Tom Kha. It's well worth the trip and don't forget to check out the candy aisle - where you can't read the labels and picking a package is sorta like playing Russian Roulette.

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DIY Shutter Headboard

Honestly, honestly.... this project was kind of a pain in the arse.When I started it, I thought it would be smooth sailing and for the most part it was but when it came down to putting the thing together, figuring out how to get it in place then actually trying to find the materials I needed, it was a little more than I had bargained for.

First step was easy - I found these amazing shutters at The Rebuilding Center - once again, one of my favorite places to get amazing deals on DIY supplies. I found 6 individual shutters for $2 each. They were already painted and in great shape so all I had to do was clean them. I love Scott's Liquid Gold wood cleaner - it works very well and it smells like almond!
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The Best Laughable Memes

What is a meme, you ask? A meme is like an inside joke -  something that is only laughable if the person reading it really understands it's context. But technically, a meme is an idea or a symbol of culture and society  that can be replicated. It eventually evolves, goes viral then spreads worse than herpes at an underage binge drinking party. When I'm looking for a good meme, I'm looking for something that makes me LOL. A good meme should be sarcastic, dramatic and hilarious. If it's not, then don't waste your time.

For example: Ryan Gosling. He is a huge sex symbol in American culture and he is known to play the part of a sweet, tender hearted lover in the majority of his movies. There are multiple Ryan Gosling meme's circulating the internet, most of which apply to his character that every woman adores and melts over. Here is one of my favorites:

Props

Get it? It's supposed to be funny and exaggerated. If Ryan whispered this into my ear, I would probably melt in his arms. And by probably I mean definitely. 

Props

Why yes, yes you can...


Here is another: Hillary Clinton. From the tumblr page of textsfromhillaryclinton, the memes are all about Hilary Clinton and how much of a badass she is at running the world, all while texting at the same time.

Get it?! She's rejecting Mark Zuckerberg's friend request on Facebook because she is too much of a badass - LOL!!

Straight up. 


Hopefully you are now starting to understand what a meme is and how they can surely brighten your day. Here are a few more favorites.

Face Eating Zombie Man Props

Gotye Props

Wonka Props

Douchey boyfriend props

Just Doing Too Much Props

Cat Props

Overly Attached Girlfriend Props

Obviously some memes can get out of hand and can be quite annoying. Don't bother creating your own unless you know, for a fact, that they will be hilarious. Also, be careful what you post on the internet. Memes are perfect ways to emit sarcasm and embarrass people and if you are not careful, you could be the next victim of an endless meme yourself....

Click here for a prime example: Overly Attached Girlfriend Video

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