Fascinating

I was going through some old pictures looking for something, and I realized that ever since Miss Pear could reach for stuff she has had a fascination with my Bible. In fact, she will sit there and just flip through it. Of course she has now progressed to borrowing my little ruler too. one is missing and my back up almost disappeared today! She even has her own Bible, but mine is better, not sure why!

So I am curious - is it just us, or are all children fascinated by Bible pages?

Queen of Multitasking

I was going to call this post "Why make one when two will do?" But that would probably be an inside joke that so many would not get, going back to my manufacturing days when engineering would drive us crazy with custom parts and we would say, "Why buy standard when custom will do?"

So, getting back on track, as I have mentioned, this is the week I am determined to get caught up, or at least be able to see the end of the to do list. While there are some projects I need help with due to pregnancy fatigue and sore muscles (like getting down that box of maternity clothes to wash, and vacuuming because of vacuum is very heavy), a lot of it is just using my energy productively.

I always have more energy in the mid morning time frame, so I have been trying to get up, get what I can started, and then be ready when that burst of energy hits. What has helped me tremendously is multitasking.

I am the most behind in my baking. At the beginning of this week there was not a cookie, loaf of bread, muffin, or loaf in the freezer. I had actually resorted to buying bread. I know, shocking!

So twice this week I have got up, got the bread machine going to make dough for cinnamon buns and got the Bosch going with either bread or muffins. It works out to keep me moving at a steady pace that Miss Pear can keep up with me and I can have my helper.

But the trick is to fill the appliances as full as possible.

The bread machine can only make one loaf or one batch of cinnamon buns. So helpful, but not as efficient as I would like.

The Kitchenaid can do 2 loaves of bread, 1 batch of muffins, 1 batch of cookies, or 1 batch of cinnamon buns. (but requires more attention than the bread machine and Bosch)

The Bosch can handle 4 loaves of bread, 24 rolls, or double batches of cookies, muffins, or cinnamon buns.

So by maximizing 2 appliances, by nap time I had 24 muffins and 12 cinnamon buns made, plus the kitchen was mostly clean (just those last minute things need to be cleaned once they cool.)

Miss Pear had fun stealing my raisins, and I feel accomplished.

So often we have all these wonderful appliances but we still stick to uni-tasking. So while things are easier we are not giving ourselves every chance to be as on top of things as we could be, of keeping our kitchen time as short as possible so that we can be doing other things that matter (like discussing with toddlers if we should play outside after nap or go have tea with the neighbors, or reading books, or just playing together - you know, the pressing things!)

While I am not an expert in this by any stretch of the imagination, I am making a concerted effort to figure out how to make everything in the kitchen work hardest for me so that I don't have to work hardest in the kitchen!

I even had a few minutes of spare time in the kitchen to get a few things on the go for supper!

So now after nap time I have to finish cleaning the kitchen, but in a pinch everything left could go into the dishwasher, finish supper, and sort coupons. All things my daughter can again help me with, or at least keep me company with!

It is always surprising how far a little bit of planning and multitasking can take you!

What are your favorite multitasking tricks in the kitchen?

For more kitchen tips head on over to Tammy's for Kitchen Tip Tuesday!

Picture from Art.com

Catch Up Wednesday

So far this week my dream of being caught up has consisted mostly of keeping the kitchen orderly and family fed. Monday we all just had a case of the blah's so we declared family date night and went out for supper - it was a nice treat, and we tried a new restaurant that we now love!

Tuesday was tied up with doctor visits in the morning and then updating family after nap time. Although we did have a very nice supper, complete with dessert made by me, and a trip to the library. Oh, and I managed to find the top of my desk - a rare treat.

So today was the day to get caught up. This morning I went downstairs and after feeding Miss Pear I immediately started cinnamon bun dough in the bread machine and the makings of Winnipeg Rye Bread (the cracked rye has to soak first). And put the sheets in the drier. By nap time the bread and buns were done, and I just have to make the bed. So I am feeling very on top of things.

There is still lots to do, but for the first time in a long time I am feeling like there is a chance I may get caught up again! And if not, at least I have 4 loaves of bread and a dozen cinnamon rolls!

Picture from Art.com

20 Week Update

Hi all! I just wanted to thank you all for your warm wishes and prayers as I have shared this new adventure in our lives, it means so much to us! We do not come from praying families, so the prayers of friends are especially sweet.

We had our 20 week appointment, and both baby and I are healthy! What more could you ask for! I have always said that I did not care if God gave me all girls, all boys, or a mix, I just wanted healthy children!

So to prove God has a sense of humor, the ultrasound did not reveal the baby's secret. We caught a quick glimpse that causes us to lean one way rather than the other, but I am still pondering an aqua room. Actually, they were not able to get all the pictures they like at the 20 week ultra sound, so in 4 weeks at our next appointment we will have another ultrasound to get the rest of the pictures, and another shot at finding out!

We did see and hear a strong healthy heartbeat, and after last year, that has to be the absolute sweetest sound in the world. It was even better than when Miss Pear told me I was a genius last week, and that was pretty special. I think part of me still carries fear that something could still happen, so I just keep praying and enjoying each movement I feel.

There is some concern about my low blood pressure, more of a functioning concern than a health concern, but my doctor made some dietary recommendations, and we will see if that helps. It should bounce back in another month or so anyways, so it is not a huge concern. I did not mention to her that sometimes a bit of coffee helps......

Once again we are the boring patients, and that makes me so happy.

Another Monday Morning

Another week to try get caught up.

It feels like with being pregnant and taking turns being injured and sick I feel like I am a bit behind. Oh well, it is supposed to be cooler all this week so maybe I can get lots of baking done! My list included granola bars, cookies, Rice Krispy Cake, bread, and muffins.

And to be honest, I am just grateful we are finally all healthy (Miss Pear seems to finally be over the lingering effects of her flu).

We replanted parts of the garden again, and finished planting the stuff we were staggering like carrots and lettuce. I am debating if it is bad soil or bad seeds that are giving me such a poor yield. Next January/February before we start actually planting we will be working peat and stuff into our soil, and I will try a different seed company. This year we are just going to start putting down grass clippings to help break up the heavy soil.

We are trying something new. We cannot have peanuts in the house due to allergies, and I dearly miss peanut butter, so we are trying sunflower seed butter. It is the consistency of organic peanut butter, and was picked up at Trader Joe's (I also saw it available at Amazon.com), so we will see how that works.

Tomorrow we have our 20 week ultrasound appointment. We are hopeful we will find out if we are having a boy or a girl, but are definitely not holding our breath! We are funny, we don't care if we are having a boy or a girl, we just want a healthy baby! But it would be fun to know!

So for the first time since we got pregnant I think we are going to have our first week where everyone is healthy (please Lord!), so this will be nice!

Oh, and if you have not shared your thoughts on this post, I would love to hear from you!

I am giving up reading....

....at least until this child is born.

It seems like when I read and I am pregnant things freak me out, get in my head and refuse to leave, or just outrage me. I have been meaning to post this for a while, but this is the first day I have actually felt like I could manage - I think I almost have this sinus infection beat!)

I am not even going to link to this malarky because it does not deserve the traffic, and it would mean I would have to go the magazine site, I refuse! But I was reading an older magazine recently in the doctor's office about baby pools, and it both upset me and got me thinking.

Now to be honest, the first time around we hosted a baby pool. Free to get in, open to our friend and my husbands co-workers only, and you won bragging rights, nothing more. You had to pick delivery date, weight, and gender. We may do it again with the same rules, just for fun, but I am having second thoughts after reading that article. We mainly did it because everyone was speculating and guessing because we did not know if we were having a boy or a girl. Plus our friends were asking every day about us, so it kind of shifted their focus to teasing who missed the date already (which is nice when your back feels like it is breaking, you are huge, and you have to say yet again that there is no news, but if this child does not come soon.....)

But this article that is making me give up reading was about a family who hosted a baby pool, open to anyone who wanted in, and charged people to enter it, and then kept half the money and gave half back in prizes. Is it just me or does this seem kind of sleazy. I just cannot see gambling on your children! I cannot remember what they did with the money, I don't think the article said. And it was the parents who did it, not someone else on their behalf who then gave them the money.

But here is my question, is the "free just for fun amongst friends pool" just as bad as the "money pool"? Is it sleazy to make money on your baby this way or am I just oversensitive?

What do you think?

Oh, and am I the only pregnant woman to consider giving up reading? :-)

Patchwork Aprons

Way back in January I had a dire need for aprons, and had both a charm package and some scraps I wanted to try to use up. The end result was these two aprons.



The squares are 5" x 5" with half and quarter ones being cut as needed to nicely fill in the apron. This was a cheap way to get aprons and a wonderful way to use up scraps. I am now actually just putting aside scraps that can be cut this size for future use! (You may not be able to see it, but darts are sewn into the waist for a good fit).

I wish I could find the web site where I got the original idea, but this design is of my own making because I could not find the web site in January either, plus it original idea was for a full apron. So feel free to use this idea to get through your scrap pile! (If you do make one, lay it out and then sew the rows on the angle - much easier!)

So the two main ideas I employ now for using up scrap material is 5 x 5 goes for aprons, and anything 11 x 11 or larger become napkins! It is great to be able to use up these scraps, even the smaller ones rather than throwing them out, plus be filling a house hold need!

So that has to be frugal, right?

Heart Blanket

I learned to knit after Miss Pear was born, and I have loved it! Now I am finally knitting her an afghan. It is the Easy Heart Baby Blanket pattern with a few minor adjustments.

I am using Lavender Velvetspun wool and the appropriately larger needles so that the blanket will be a bigger size more suited to an almost 3 year old. (4 balls per pattern +1, so doing the pattern 5 times means you need 21 balls of wool - be sure to get yours with Michaels and Joanne's coupons like I did or it can very expensive, and it might be plus 2, I am not certain yet). I picked this wool because every time we were even near the wool Miss Pear would find it and cuddle it because it is so soft. She would literally carry it around the store with her! So technically I guess you could say she picked out the yarn - we start 'em early in our family!

The last variation is that the way the pattern is written you do not get the block look like in the pictures of the pattern, you get "columns" of hearts, which is not what I wanted, so on my pattern Row 24 now reads "repeat rows 2-6, then knit 8 rows, begin pattern again at row 1" and that seems to have fixed the problem I was having.

Oh, did you want to see my progress?

I have almost 3 patterns done, and expect to do 5 or 6.



(An up close shot so that you can maybe see the heart, which is textured, not a different color. I love the subtly). Now that I look at this more closely I see that I will likely have to do 6 patterns, but I will finish the 5 I have wool for before I make a decision on that!

And to encourage me in my knitting, Miss Pear is always asking if it is for her, petting it and saying how soft it is, and helping me by unrolling wool for me. It is a real mommy and daughter project. Plus she has declared that she really wants to learn to knit too.

So Busy Doing Nothing

Happy Monday all, and it is happy because I am thrilled to report that I am no longer concerned about my head exploding. This was a grave concern on Saturday!

Dr. Pear was on duty all weekend taking very good care of me and playing with Miss Pear, so I got lots of rest, and I am convinced that has made all the difference!

This morning when I walked into the kitchen for about the 10th time (too bleary eyed before that) and still feeling very low, I was greeted by this site.



There are two important things to note. One, our sink is just to the right of the picture - note the lack of dishes to be washed...Mr. Pear washed them all last night. That glass is the glass I was filling with water to drink.

Funny, now that I look at the picture you can see some of my favorite kitchen stuff. The Kitchenaid mixer I have had for over 10 years that still works like new. The Henkle knives we were give as a group wedding shower gift. The inordinate amount of plug ins in our kitchen. My sink arsenal of dish soap in the oil dispense, hand soap in the lotion dispenser and foaming Dawn (if you know the secret of making your own refill, please let me know - I only bought it because it was free after coupon, but now I love it).

You can also see a very old decoration that I have had since my University days. It used to hang over my desk. Then it hung in my cubicle at work. And now it hangs in the kitchen:

It always makes me smile.

Except this morning, it made me feel bad about how things are not getting done. We went straight from morning sickness to Mr. Pear hurting his arm to me breaking my foot to Miss Pear getting the flu which turned into a sinus infection to me being sick with the same sinus infection. So I am sure you can just imagine, especially with our closest family being 2000 miles away.

But then I stopped and thought about it. Yeah, the house might not be spotless, but it is neat, and the laundry is done (again, the work of Mr. Pear this weekend, I was flat on my back in bed), we are eating relatively healthy meals, just lots of pasta, the grocery shopping is done (again, only because of Mr. Pear) and Miss Pear is far from ignored. We spent the morning together in the living room mostly watching television, which is not the best, but not horrible either considering her morning energy level is still not recovered from her illness. We were together, talking and laughing. She was playing with my knitting yarn as I worked on a blanket for her. We were together, hugging and stealing kisses, just being together.

So I can honestly say that while I am not on top of everything, this chick's busy taking care of the most important things...my family....and then napping.....the house can wait a little bit longer, but my daughter will never be this age again.

So I was wrong...

Remember when I said that I did not think Miss Pear had shared her germs with us, but that I was just tired and sick? I was wrong. That night I was hit out of the blue with a massive and painful sinus infection. While it is not fun, I would not change the week and a half I had nursing Miss Pear back to health and trying to keep her entertained. It was worth it. Unless of course I could make it so she was not sick at all, naturally!

But aside from the residual nose drips and coughing, Miss Pear is all better, even her appetite has returned. Praise the Lord! She was so sick it broke my heart.

Even when I get sick from caring for my daughter, even after lots of neurotic hand washing, I still love being a mom, and would not trade it for anything. While I am not crazy about being thrown up on, it is only when it is your child that you are more concerned about that poor little one freaking out about this weird thing happening to them than you are about what just went down your shirt.

I can frequently be quoted as saying that the worst day at home is still better than the best day at work. The pay may be lousy, but the benefits are unmatched! And I mean every word of it.

Plus, if you have not read Donnetta's post I Love My Job, I strongly recommend you head over, especially if you are a mom!

Thursday? Already?

What happened to Monday through Wednesday?

It has been a long and short week. Miss Pear is almost better, still stuffy and tired, but well enough to seriously look for trouble. I don't think she shared her germs with us, I think I am just tired and pregnant, not anything more! Actually, Mr. Pear is tired too. So I think the fact that Miss Pear has been having a coughing fit the last couple nights right around 2AM is probably the culprit! Any ways, we are on the mend here, just that lingering stuff of such a bad flu/cold is keeping us down.

But my experiment of Catalina dressing went well, I will still be adjusting the recipe though, but it is promising. Plus my experiment with Raspberry White Chocolate scones went well too, although the raspberries were almost shockingly tart!

We have been entertaining ourselves with the NHL playoffs. If you are a fan and like us can get no news to speak of, try NHL.com, it has great coverage plus you can click on your team for more news. My Anaheim Ducks got knocked out, but Mr. Pear's Montreal Canadiens are still in, so we are all cheering for them. Round 2 starts tonight, and we are excited!

I have been working slowly at getting some crafts done. I am knitting a heart blanket for Miss Pear, and am working on a Hawaiian appliqué square that will be a wall hanging, however I am still on the appliqué part. Plus I have a quilt that needs quilting, a few projects started and not finished by the sewing machine, and I would like to knit a blanket for baby. (I have the pattern picked out, but am waiting until our 21 week ultrasound to see if baby will reveal more to us! Like if I should choose pink or blue! If not I will do it in white.) Oh, and I have a cross stitch picture on the go. Plus I have supplies for more projects, either all or some, so I really feel motivated to get some of these things done, but they always get put off in favor of more important things - my sweet family.

I have been thinking I should do a photo update of some of these projects, but have usually opted for a nap instead....

And speaking of a nap......

Happy Monday!

We had a much better night's sleep last night, so today every thing looks a little bit brighter, even though Miss Pear is still very sick. The flu has turned into full blown sinus cold/infection, and she is not a her usual energetic self, to say the least!

But she has a bit more color today, and a little bit more energy, and is a little cheerier, so these are all good signs!

However, we will be laying very low for the next couple days. I am a big believer in keeping our germs to ourselves! So it will be a quiet week!

But I am trying something new today. I am trying to make my own Catalina dressing for the taco salad we are having for supper tonight. I will let you know how the finished product turns out (so far I would add more ketchup and sweetener to the dressing and cut back on the oil, but other than that it is good!)

Weekend Update

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend that is most restful.

You could certainly describe our weekend days as restful, our nights are a little bit more eventful that we like with a sick little one getting up for help blowing her nose, but that is to be expected.

To summarize how Miss Pear is:
Tuesday was the day of Throwing Up - in the end Miss Pear needed a bath, I needed a shower. Enough said?
Wednesday was the day of the Upset Tummy.
Thursday was the day of Being Busy (Dizzy to translate for you) and Conjunctivitis (she woke up with it and it was gone the next morning)
Friday was the day of Mucus, so was Saturday.

The flu turned into a horrible head cold. I feel so bad for her. She is miserable, and just listlessly lays on the couch when she is awake, but has trouble sleeping because she is so congested. (Even with the vaporizer and medication from the doctor, yes, she gets that congested and cannot clear it without help. She is one of those rare cases where the vaporizer, aspirator and saline drops are just not enough to clear the really thick mucus she gets, which I am sure you really want to hear about).

So we are staying home, keeping our germs to ourselves, and watching lots of Pooh Bear. Even reading does not hold her attention which tells you she is really sick.

I am just grateful that she does not have the flu/cold combination that is settling into the chest. That one just scares me. This one is no picnic, but her lungs are nice and clear, as are her ears!

So Nurse Mommy continues on duty! Fortunately Daddy is excellent on duty too!

Nurse Mommy on Duty

Miss Pear got very sick yesterday afternoon, and while I am pleased to report she is no longer throwing up, she is still not well. So I will likely be gone for a couple days while I play Nurse Mommy and care for my patient.

Please pray that she would recover quickly and that no one else would get sick!

Summer Recipes?

Well, we had a heat wave this weekend, and it looks like it has broken, finally, today. It is hard to think about how hot it is here and then think of other parts of the country still under snow!

But it has me thinking. I had said that I was going to work this winter to compile a list of recipes for hot days. Either dishes served cold, salads, or things that could be made in the slow cooker, but ideally things that could be served cold. This way I would not be scrambling at the last minute or serving sandwiches with veggies, again.

While we do love to barbecue, in a true heatwave here, it is actually too hot to barbecue, shocking I know!

So on to my mini list, such as it is:

We love pasta salad! But you can only eat so much! (My recipe is literally cook pasta, toss with Italian salad dressing or vinaigrette of your choice while hot, toss in assortment of veggies and maybe some chicken, cool and serve)


Another one of my favorites is the Cold Plate. You just assemble on the plate:

• Salads of your choice (potato, pasta, coleslaw, whatever)
• Cold meat (with appropriate cold sauce if need be) Cold fried chicken is always good and most people don't seem to think of that!
• Cold beans (I still cannot eat "pork and beans" hot! You can also make beans with chunks of wieners inside, affectionately known as beanie weanies.)
• Assorted fruit cut up, or veggies are great too!
  

That is it!

As you can tell these two recipes are highly methodical! And you can probably also tell that I need help in this area to get more ideas!

So, could you help a girl out? What cold meals do you love? (Please include the recipes or links if possible!) Do you have a go-to list like this or is it just me struggling with Southern California summer heat?