Month: April 2012

Categories
Pregnancy

Same but Different Loss

I watched it. I didn’t mean to, yet I did & I knew I couldn’t not watch. Yet I realized I wasn’t, I’m not, strong enough to watch it home alone (I turned it on while husband was around Saturday). It’s too close to home. Probably was way
too close. & yet, in some ways so different.

I’m talking about last week’s episode of 19 Kids & Counting. Your thoughts & mine on the Duggers in general don’t really matter for the sake of this. I DVR the show because I find their family & lifestyle so fascinating. I remember hearing Michelle had miscarried her 20th child last Dec, but I also think I half blocked it out during my first trimester triplet high.

I didn’t know the details. I didn’t realize that they too went as an excited couple to their 18 week, gender reveal appointment. They too had told everyone (in their case, really everyone) they were expecting & thus had tons of family & friends awaiting great news that afternoon. They too were shocked & saddened beyond what they could’ve imagined by what they saw or, in our cases, didn’t see on that ultrasound. I’ll admit that the Oprah ugly cry occurred through almost the whole show. I was brought back to that Jan 31st day I can’t forget. Watching them break the news to their children tore me up.

But here’s where our experiences separate. While we carried on with a somewhat different but still healthy pregnancy, Michelle didn’t. That makes our grief in the passing, joy in the brief life & how we’ve dealt with the losses different too.

As this pregnancy winds down, I’m thrilled, elated even, that we’ll sooner than later be bringing home (God willing) two babies. That’s what we have & are focusing on. But the impending birth also means we will meet what’s left of Baby B soon too. This week, we’ve discussed this & plan to discuss it further with our doctor next week. We’re not sure our plans. One thing I know from this experience, is that it has bonded me even closer to my husband. And for that, I’m so grateful.

Post written post-midnight Sunday when I couldn’t sleep. I’m learning it’s better to type out these feelings than let them linger inside.

Categories
Everything Else Food

Everyday Desserts


By this point, y’all are familiar with how much I’m continuing to eat in order to grow & sustain these babies. A lot. Still something every two-three hours.

The weather here has been in the 80s for the last couple of weeks. So now not only am I looking hugely pregnant, I’m also looking sweaty. But the one one of the great things about warm weather & spring/summer is that fruit will soon be in season locally! Bring on the NC strawberries, blueberries, & peaches!

And while bananas aren’t grown local, I didn’t get the childhood nickname of Suzanna Banana by coincidence!

Fruit is by far my favorite go to when I’m hungry. Add COOL WHIP whipped topping, and even the most basic fruit becomes a special, exciting, delicious snack or dessert.

Top plain white cake with strawberries & COOL WHIP, BOOM, you’ve got Strawberry Shortcake. Perfect for Easter weekend when our fresh strawberries should be coming out.

But my all time favorite dessert is banana pudding. {if any of y’all try to call me Suzanna Banana though, it’s on.} Since I eat dessert every night now, & since Target had both bananas & COOL WHIP on sale this past week, I took advantage and whipped up this banana pudding for the weekend. This recipe makes a lot. Like feed-a-family-reunion, take-to-church-pot-luck, perfect-for-girls-beach-weekend lot. Or, you know, feed-Suz-&-her-growing-babies lot. 🙂

I’ve shared this recipe before but it’s been a while, and it’s my favorite & also one of the easiest Banana Pudding recipes I’ve ever made. I swear the reason for it’s awesomeness~ COOL WHIP. I used two small containers of COOL WHIP this time & it made the pudding part so moist & light. The recipe is from my friend Kim’s Mississippi Momma. You can’t beat a southern lady’s recipes y’all!

Homemade Banana Pudding
Ingredients
1 large pkg instant vanilla pudding
2 c cold milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 container COOL WHIP, slightly thawed
4-5 bananas. sliced thin
1 box Nilla Wafers

Directions
Make pudding as directed on package: Using wire wisk, mix pudding into cold milk for 2 minutes in large bowl.
Continuing whisking while pouring in condensed milk then COOL WHIP.

{ingredients; adding the good stuff}

In 2+ qt container, place layer of wafers, then thinly sliced bananas. Top that with pudding mixture. Continue to layer until all gone. Enjoy!

{1.5 qt full; COOL WHIP containers make great banana pudding holders}

And for some reason you have COOL WHIP & bananas left over, throw them in a dish with strawberries & blueberries & call that breakfast! Happy spring & summer eating!

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content.I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.

Categories
Everything Else Reading

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

April’s book club pick was The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. We came up with the idea of venturing in the the world of graphic novels because another #booknerd’s dad had received this book for Christmas & then left it at her house.

Hugo is thick y’all! Like intimidatingly so. Enough that it sat on the top of my couch for long enough that I kept having to renew it from the library before I got brave enough to open the first page. But when I did, I “read” 75 pages in just over 30 minutes. Gotta love pictures, especially intricate, interesting ones like in Hugo.

The story wasn’t super-duper, over-the-top fasinating to me. A ten year old boy living in a train station & the wonders he encounters there. But the pace of the novel was quick & that kept me coming back for more.

I think it would make for a great movie {clearly it did since Hugo won so many awards}. I’d definitely recommend this as easy light reading. It could be fun to read with children as, I’d imagine, the photos & story would keep them entertained. I’m interested in seeing the movie now too!

Categories
Family/Travel

Happy 80th Nana!

Happy 80th birthday to my sweet Nana!

{my most recent photo of Nana, from my VA shower}

Hope she’s having a day filled with her favorite things. Looking forward to hopefully seeing her soon to celebrate her birthday {maybe this weekend if I’m feeling up for a beach weekend trip}.

Categories
Pregnancy

Twenty Seven Weeks

Jason & I had a day date to see The Hunger Games then I went to a friend’s Stella & Dot party. I snapped this photo once I got home from the party. PS~ you don’t buy as much jewelry sober as I usually do after a couple glasses of wine!

{Target maternity top & jeans}

How far along? 27w1d

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Weight Gain? As of last Monday’s doctor appointment, I was up 32 pounds. I asked if that was okay & my MFM told me to keep it up but to watch tons of snacking since babies weights are looking good but he doesn’t me to have an overwhelming amount to lose post-babies.

Stretch Marks? So, those little dots are now definitely stretchies. Strangely they’re only on my right side by my hip. Coming soon to the belly & my left side?! Guess we’ll see.

Sleep? It’s okay. I wake up just as often due to heart burn/reflux as I do to pee. I keep Tums beside the bed to pop one in as needed through out the night.

Movement? Yep, especially in the evenings.

Genders? Baby A is a still a boy & C is a girl.

What I Miss? Baby B always. Not having to eat on schedule & not worrying that I’m not getting enough veggies etc.

Food cravings? Yay for passing my glucose/gestational diabetes test this week! I’ve been loving the cake from Wednesday’s work shower. I’ve eaten the leftovers all week. Also loved fruit this week.

Food aversion? None. Tomatoes don’t love me though.

Labor signs? None, thankfully.

Belly button in or out? Still in but getting smaller.

What I’m Looking Forward to? Getting things in order with the nursery.

Symptoms? Some days I feel awesome. Others I’m beyond spent just going to work & coming home. I think that’s normal for this point with multiples. Today’s a day I’m tired & have thus stayed in pjs all day. 🙂

Weekly Wisdom? Rest when you need to, take advantage of days you feel good, put your feet up & keep Tums close by for nighttime.

Milestones? Last week in the second trimester! The babies are 2 pounds {about as heavy as the head of a cauliflower} & over 14 inches long per Baby Center. The weekly update mentioned hiccups which the babies have definitely had over the last week.