sharp stick in the eye

Tiny Valentine

2012-02-14T11:13:00.001-06:00

She's cute, yes?

Today You Get a Pat on the Black

2012-02-10T13:04:00.002-06:00

My friend at work was wearing this color the other day--"Pat on the Black"-- and I just loved it. It's dark with the perfect amount of red in it...not too maroon. And thrilled was I to discover it was Sally Hansen, sold at my neighborhood Target.

Just doing my part on the internet.

You're welcome!

related: You may or may not recall my request for recommendations on navy blue nail polish? Indirectly but through blogland, I found one that looks promising, Bobbing for Baubles by Essie...but as they do not sell it at my neighborhood Target, I have yet to acquire and try. Butbutbut there's always Amazon. Oui, something perhaps for another week's allowance. Good Friday to you.

Baby Gear: A Top 10

2012-02-08T21:40:00.001-06:00

Since it's been almost HALF A YEAR (#whatintheworld) since this baby of ours has walked the earth (figuratively of course), I thought I'd weigh in on the ever-fun subject of Baby Gear (further solidifying sharpstickintheeye's classification as a mommy blog. sorry).

When registering late last spring, I emailed several friends with young tots for their opinions and was gratefully armed with recommendations galore. It was very generous and welcomed, as I'm not a big reviews-reader. (Well. that's not true. I like to read 'em but I never know which reviewer to believe?). Besides the basic baby items (we have / have loved the Chicco Keyfit carseat, Bob stroller, Fisher Price Healthy Care Booster Seat), here are some other items we've been depending on so far during this sweet baby's life (plus some non-essential sundries we've loved, sprinkled in).

Below you will find a list of what I'd send you if you were to email me with, "What in the heck am I supposed to get for this baby? Do you really need all this crap?"

At the very least, if you're a non-mama/mama-to-be, consider this a fountain of suggestions for baby shower gifts, should you ever need one.

1. Quick-Zip Crib Sheets plus 3 top sheets. Originally recommended by my dearest Erin in her guest post last year, and she was not lying about their awesomeness. These are my number one item recommendation! It is SO easy to change the crib sheet! More than once has Juliette spit up in her bed (she can really psych a mama out, ok?), and each & every time, I am so relieved that a clean sheet is just a few zips away.

2. Waterproof Changing Pads, these or these. My friend Courtney told me about these and I absolutely LOVE them. I keep one on top of her changing table pad at all times. In case of accidents, this little beauty catches the mess and doesn't mess up the changing cover. Either I was formerly awful at changing diapers, or Juliette was quick on the draw (probably both of these), but some days when she was itty bitty, we'd go through these things like water. I probably have 8-10 of them and it wasn't too many.

I also keep one underneath her crib sheet so if she spits up in her bed, it doesn't get the mattress pad under the sheet wet (I know, I'm probably a genius).

3. Aden + Anais Muslin Swaddle Blankets. Juliette was a summer baby, so these were perfect for keeping her brand-new self wrapped up but not too hot. But even in the colder weather, we've used them a ton. They're nice and large, stretchy and soft. There are so many pretty patterns too! (If I had extra cash money to dispose of, I'd buy these or these. So pretty!) We have 8 total, and it hasn't been too many.

And as we learned from our instructional DVD (forthcoming below), Juliette loves (yes, still) being swaddled...but she could escape from one of these by itself. So this blanket makes the perfect first layer of swaddle. Which brings me to...

4. SwaddleMe Blanket. This over the Aden + Anais is almost inescapable (but I still have to wrap that little escape artist pretty tightly). I've found this one easy to maneuver and washes well. (Also I actually like the organic one better than regular. It really is softer and more stretchy.) The fleece has been great for winter.

5. What to Expect Baby Tracker iPhone App (free!). HOW MANY TIMES I have seen this screen, I do not know. Juliette's every move was tracked within this app during the first (ahem, 4) months of her life.

I was, admittedly, [more than] a bit obsessive about it...but there was some strange sort of comfort at the beginning, when things were so crazy, in knowing that the information was being recorded somewhere. Like it counted for something. Plus, that first week or two, you actually do need to track how many wet/dirty diapers they have, how much they're eating, sleeping, etc., which side they nursed from last. After the first few weeks, I just liked being able to look back at the patterns she was developing.

6. Any type of Kimono Onesie (for the very tiny bebe). We don't have this particular one, but we did have several of them, and I'd wished we had more. I guess we were skittish new parents or something...but when she was very brand-new, Jonathan & I both were glad when we didn't have to mess with putting anything over her head.

7. Sophie le Giraffe (that's my made-up name for her...everyone knows it's la Girafe...hehe). The 50-year-old French chew toy is a definite Juliette favorite (and Mommy & Daddy favorite too, for some reason). Here she is with her love:

{if you want to do a little more reading about Sophie, here's an article I found about her sort-of recent popularity.} Yes, it seems like a bit silly of a price for a chew toy. But Jules loves her a lotlotlot. I like seeing her little face too. During maternity leave, I was watching Three Men and a Baby from 1990, and Tom Selleck definitely buys Baby Mary a Sophie from a New York street vendor...watching the movie by myself, I definitely shrieked, "Sophie!"

8. I don't know if this really qualifies as "gear" per se, but we're crediting the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD for saving our sleeping lives. I'd read most of the book before Juliette was born, but when we (yes, both of us) FINALLY sat down to watch the DVD when she was 4.5 weeks old, something just clicked. Seeing the wacky Dr. Harvey demonstrate "the 5 S's" was a lot more effective than reading about it. Not only that, but it also afforded Jonathan some expertise and skills at a point when it seemed like this nursing mommy was baby's only soother.

Before watching the DVD, we thought Juliette didn't like to be swaddled, as she would fuss pretty good during the wrapping process. But when we really actually did it, just like Dr. Harvey told us to (after some google searches on my part such as "what if my baby is the only baby in the world who doesn't like to be swaddled"), it worked like magic. I'm not at all saying this would happen for every baby...but when we finally started swaddling Juliette, she started sleeping through the night (classified as 11 pm ish - 5-6 a.m. ish). Don't get me started on trying to break her from her swaddle habit...the jury is still out and I have no clue what we we will do. BUT, hospital stay + aftermath notwithstanding, I do have a baby who has generally slept 10-12 hours/night since she was very very young, and I'm going to go ahead and credit the swaddling (although there is probably a large amount of temperament and luck involved). Sorry if that got soapbox-y!

9. Bright Starts Lots of Links. Luckily, everyone is smarter than me. I was a weirdo and didn't register for any toys (or any feeding apparatus beyond bottles...dummy, for sure). This didn't deter several sweet people from giving us packages of these links! We received several, and they've been wonderful!

This item is probably obvious to the wiser mamas out there...but I did not know. These are probably the first toy that Juliette could grasp and see. I was so excited when she finally started reaching for them and looking at them. Now of course, she's putting them in her mouth and pulling them apart and waving them around like a bird. They're great in the car seat, on the play mat, or when she's getting her diaper changed.

10. These bibs from Babies R Us. This is a pretty utilitarian addition to the list, but I loved these bibs especially when Jules was spanking new. They were the perfect size for a tiny baby, easy to put on, easy to wash, and there were lots of 'em. (Thanks, Meredith!)

I hope you had some sort of hot drink and/or fruit snacks while you read that (as I did while writing). I'm glad to say there hasn't really been anything we registered for that I wish I'd chosen differently.

What would YOU add to this list? What have been your favorite few baby gear items? Or, for the non-mamas, what's your go-to shower gift that's an instant success every time (if you don't mind sharing)?

Where's Winter?

2012-02-03T19:29:00.002-06:00

So the Groundhog yesterday predicted we'd have six more weeks of winter. Does he mean six more weeks of this faux-spring we've been having? I haven't worn a real coat since I don't know when.

On the one hand, it's been nice to not have to stress over have-I-bundled-up-the-baby-enough...on the other hand, I like winter (well, at least the brand we get in Memphis). I like fires and soup and tea and blankets and scarves and coats and the rare snow. It's been sort of unsettling to see nothing but 50s and 60s in the forecast these last few weeks in JANUARY. Even 68 and sunny this week! What, do we live in San Diego now? I don't get it.

Meanwhile, Juliette has been having some fun with her Daddy (he's had a less-busy week this week, which has been amazingggg).

Look at my girl flapping her arms in excitement, with her handsome Daddy. Bottom right, I spy an ankle sock and an Elvis bib (thanks, Carrie).

In some of these photos, she is wearing her friend Evangelin's grey skinny jeans. OHEMGEE

The Thing About Parenting (thus far)

2012-01-29T22:14:00.001-06:00

I like to outsource. I have no problem consulting and/or compensating the expert in any given field, be
it plumbing, web design, or trimming bangs—if affordable, I’d rather it be done right the first time than waste time messing it up myself and have to get it redone anyway. Call it lazy, smart, or plain realistic…it’s just the way I am.

Don’t misunderstand where I’m headed…that little babe of ours is the most precious thing in this entire
world to me and you’d have to remove my head or something before I’d concede the job of being her mommy. But we’re almost 6 months into this gig and I’ve realized—and it’s actually pretty jarring—that there is no one person on this earth I can consult with or talk to or read that can tell me absolutely, 100% what is the “right” thing to do with my baby, in x situation. For earthly care decisions, the buck stops here. And while this is obviously the way it should be, this probably (read: definitely) is the first experience in my life where NO ONE ON THIS PLANET is more of an expert in something (Juliette Jerkins, in this case) than me! How completely odd.

And there’s so much decision-making. So much everyday decision-making. I just had no clue.
Should we wake her up? Should we let her sleep? Should we be feeding her more/less? Should we be spacing out her feedings more? Should we let her cry? Should we not let her cry? And what will this all mean for tomorrow—and more importantly, the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT???

Sure, you can ask for opinions or bat around ideas/theories. You can consult with your mom or your bffs with babies, ask your pediatrician, read books, read blogs, but at the end of the day (read: middle of the night), YOU are the mommy (and daddy), YOU are the one(s) making the final decision. The “right” thing for Juliette is left to us. It’s totally foreign to be in the middle of such a guessing game, this whole parenting-a-tiny-(mute)-human thing--which involves endless trial and error, might I add--and to then be holding the position of expert! Unimaginable!

(Is it just me?)

Recipes from the Internet

2012-01-23T21:06:00.004-06:00

...because that's where recipes come from, right?

Since Juliette was born, I've gone through spurts in cooking. (Let's be honest, it was that way before she was born too.) Usually, having people over, taking a dish to a party or bringing a meal to a friend are the catalysts I need to get me in the kitchen. (The whole grocery-store part is the killer.) Here are a few things I've made recently for some reason or another. And for transparency's sake: this is pretty much all I've made recently, too.

I've seen Black Bean Brownies posted several places recently. Black bean brownies, you say? Yes indeed. They're healthy(-er) with hidden fiber inside them. Yes.

I made this version the other night for dinner at my parents' and everyone liked them. It was pretty fun hearing everyone's guess on secret ingredient. No one got close, obviously. {We did, however, serve them with some Blue Bell frozen yogurt, and may or may not have used chocolate syrup.} They are light and not super-dense/rich. Yes, they're "healthy"-er, but definitely not disgusting. I'd classify them as "good to great," and fairly easy. I'd make these again for my fam, but probably not for an occasion where prizewinning is involved.

Sister posted about these earlier today, recommending these Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies (5 Cs, like diamonds). I'd second that recommendation. I really like their texture and taste.

I made some Cheese Straws to send my brother (Martha made him those cookies above), similar to these. My friend Kate's MIL makes these and always knocks my socks off. This provided the perfect opportunity for the cookie press' maiden voyage (since it's been almost 6 years (!) since we registered for it--sort of close to this one). I used the star shape punch thing. Who wouldn't like a concoction based around cheese and butter?

(you like my little collage? haven't reinstalled photoshop since the computer disaster, so here's a free online quickie collage.)

Next up was Macaroni and Cheese Soup for the soup swap I'm going to tomorrow night. Adapted from this one.

Nutmeg = good touch (but eeesh those brains give me the heebie jeebies). Also left me with a pretty messy pot, yikes.

Ingredients:

1 lb elbow macaroni (cooked according to package directions)
1 1/2 C onion (used frozen chopped, thank goodness for that)
1 1/2 C celery (chopped)
1 1/2 C carrots (diced in the food processor)
1/4 C flour
6-8 strips bacon (cut into 1/4 inch pieces)
3 tbs Dijon mustard
6 C chicken broth
1 C shredded cheddar cheese (can use 2% milk)
1 C shredded Swiss cheese
1 C shredded Parmesan cheese
1 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese (shredded in food processor!)
3/4 C evaporated milk
1/4 tsp ground or fresh nutmeg
Fresh Cracked Pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
Yields 16 Cups

Directions: Saute bacon, onion, celery and carrots in large soup pot until vegetables are soft. Add flour and Dijon mustard, cook for 3-5 minutes on low (it'll be pretty pasty). Add chicken broth and simmer until mixture starts to thicken (sort of the consistency of a gravy).
Slowly add each cup of cheese one at a time waiting until each is incorporated into mixture over medium/low heat, stirring constantly. (This is pretty important or you'll get cheese globs.) Once all of the cheese has been added, salt and pepper to taste and nutmeg if desired (but you totally should). Simmer on low for 5 to 10 minutes allowing the flavors to mingle.
Just before serving add evaporated milk and cooked elbow noodles. The amounts above make a pretty thick soup, so if you would like more broth add less noodles, less broth more noodles. Top with cheese or bacon bits, if you'd like.

It's pretty yummy. You could use whole-wheat macaroni if you'd like, too. And also add more veggies (I already upped them a bit).
............................................................

I finally read the first Hunger Games book. Just like everyone said, I couldn't put it down and am well into the second (first book read on the iPad, too). It was very interesting. I'm very excited to see the movie, but that Winter's Bone girl isn't exactly who I pictured as Katniss, even though I knew it was going to be her the whole time I was reading.

Also...I wish there was a mobile Baby Nail Trimming Service. I would pay for it in a heartbeat.

Alas

2012-01-20T09:59:00.001-06:00

Writing from the lame-o blogger iPhone app once again. Be prepared.

Our fridge has been on the fritz this week (fridge on the fritz has a nice ring to it). This has involved things like hurriedly schlepping liquid gold, ie my milk stash, to my parents' freezer and throwing away perfectly good food like turkey meat that wasn't expired yet but is too scary to me to use if not refrigerated cold enough (terrible sentence but you know what I mean).

We tried rice cereal with Juliette several times this week. She was waking up in the middle of the night, ravenous, so we thought maybe it was time (and our pediatrician recommended starting sometime between 4-6 mos). She's not in love with it yet (not really at all), nor is she in love with sitting in her little high chair. And Mommy is not in love with the mess. (Yes I can hear you sitting there thinking, this is just the tip of he iceberg you wacko). I don't know if the cereal contributed to this or not (I think not really since I'm not sure how much cereal has actually been swallowed) but she did sleep all night last night, 7:30-7, PTL.

Another something on my mind: I wish there was some sort of manual or forum or booklet for bringing your not-newborn infant home from a hospital stay. All the google search results I've found pertain to newborns coming home from the NICU. N/A for us. Maybe I could eventually write some stuff, for the sake of the Internet and all, but I'm not sure if it would help, given that our experience is just one out of jillions. Something to consider though.

Tragically, my very sweet little (6'2") brother Scottie lost his best friend this week in a car crash. Please say a prayer for him and for her family if you can.

We'll have a working fridge tomorrow.

A Few Things to Say (a PSA)

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

It's gonna be weird, prolly.

We're going to be keeping our girl close for the rest of the winter. If we see you out (which prob won't be a ton), I probably won't offer to let you hold her. If you have small kiddos at home, I really won't. I really like you and I really really like your kids, but I'm not going to ask to hold them either (as much as it may hurt! my friends have some cuuuute babies!). We're staying out of day care for a little while (thanks to generous help from family & dear friends are we able to do this!). We're trying to keep the germs at bay, for a time....to let a little immune system beef back up.

I might ask you (awkwardly) to wash your hands if you come to my house. If I see you out and about, I may offer hand sanitizer. I'm apologizing in advance for this.

So for right now, I'm (on purpose) in Not-Cool Mom mode. This ain't the time for Laid Back Leslie (or even Fake Laid-Back Leslie).

It's just The Way It's Gonna Be for a little while. I know you probably all understand.

So, thanks :)

4 months old + 5 months old

2012-01-10T21:51:00.001-06:00

(warning! photo-intensive post)

Baby Jules:

Since your 5th month (from 4-5 months old, that is) was pretty much consumed by the whole RSV thing, we'll consolidate those monthly posts into one (so your 4 months doesn't get gypped).

4 months old: (that is, the month prior to Dec. 10)

-you got your first cold this month (yes, a regular cold)
-your first Thanksgiving! Uncle Stephen took "3 month" photos of you at our house...some real gems! (And we found out that he + Aunt Amanda are going to give you a cousin! During the Thanksgiving prayer, no less. Wheeeeee!)

(one of my faves)

-you started really loving to grab your feet
-you slept over 12 hours for the first time (you're doing 11 hours consistently, except when you had a cold)
-your nap times are still all over the place, really
-you started taking 6 oz bottles mid-month at school
-you went to the church nursery for the first time!
-at your check-up, you weighed 15.1 lb (75th percentile) and were 25.5" (90th percentile). You are very tall! You wear mostly 3-6 months size, but not for long...the rise is too short!

(Santa booty)

You turned 4 months old on December 10th, and got another cold a few days later. December 17 is the day we went to the ER and you began your hospital stay. While your first Christmas was spent as a patient at LeBonheur, you were taken off the ventilator on Christmas Day, which was a wonderful present for us all!

(my elbow looks weird, I know, but I was trying to hold you upright; during our Christmas card photo time)

Today, as I am typing, you are 5 months old! I don't have a lot of developmental stuff to post since you were mostly sick this month, but I will say that in the past week or so since you've been feeling better, you are LOVING "talking" up a storm and even giggling some when I tickle-kiss your tummy! Your eating and sleeping patterns have been thrown for a loop, but you have consistently gone to sleep around 7 pm since we've been home from the hospital, and woken up anywhere from 3 am-6 am. So that's not too bad. You are still nursing exclusively, and we may have bought some extra time for ourselves before you start solids. You're now up to size 3 diapers (we changed the morning we went to the hospital), and 6 mos size clothes (but can still fit into a few of your 3-6 mos stuff).

We are still swaddling you, and as much as your paci was a lifesaver after leaving getting off the ventilator, you are starting to only care for it when you're swaddled and falling asleep. You like to maneuver yourself to sleep almost sideways in your crib, goofy girl.

Post photo-shoot, mama got artsy --->

Since we've gotten home from the hospital, we've spent lots of time in the bumbo seat and playing with some light-up toys and your rings. You HATE tummy time (maybe even more so now), and we haven't seen you roll over in quite a while. Hopefully, in the midst of your anger while on your tummy, you will figure out how to do that again.

Since we didn't get to see him before Christmas, Santa Claus came to see you this past Saturday, and Uncle Grant took photos of you and your BFF Elliot.

You did great until he turned you around to look him in the face. Whoops!

We are so thankful that you are not sick anymore and feeling better. We missed your sweet little spirit and sense of humor!

(Tiny Toms!)

Amazingly enough, I found this photo on my computer from one year ago today, January 10, 2011:

Snow! (None of that today, that's for sure.)

A whole lot can happen in a year, baby! We love you more than words can SAY!

To m'readers: coming off the emotional roller coaster that was the past several weeks, it's been hard for me to just up and post something light about a craft I want to make or a recipe I tried (haven't been doing any of that recently anyway). This here post is a good bridge to that place of Not All Seriousness. But I'm so lucky and glad to have had this space to post those things while All That Stuff was going on. That is all.

2012 One-Page Calendar

2012-01-05T17:29:00.000-06:00

Eager to return to a smidge of normalcy after our Holiday 2011 Hospital Bonanza, I am offering up another printable one-page 2012 calendar, like last year.

Go to this link to download the printable pdf.

Here's a preview of what it looks like (similar/almost identical to last year, I know...stick with what works, right?).

If you can't get the link to work, email me and I'll send you a copy of the PDF.

Juliette update: As of last night, we are officially done with weaning her off all the drugs she was on at the hospital, so we expect(/hope) that from here on, she should continue to return to her "normal" self (sleeping and all, Lord willing) at a quicker pace. She is smiling and showing us a lot of her regular/happy personality, but she's still having trouble sleeping in her normal (aka championship) way. (Read: tired Mommy, Daddy, and Baby Jules.) We're now praying for some miraculous make-up rest for all 3 of us, as I have now returned to work and Jonathan to school.

From earlier this week, had to put her in the Santa jammies, since she didn't really get to wear them:

Look at that smile!

Happy New Year (again)!

Home for the New Year

2012-01-01T22:20:00.001-06:00

Thursday afternoon and into Friday morning, Juliette decided to start eating on her own. Yipppee! Since she'd already conquered breathing room air on Wednesday, we knew our time at LeBonheur was coming to a close.

{The fox that Jules got for Christmas from Uncle Scooter...he's in jail for kidnapping the duck (from Renee)}

By Friday afternoon, after she received an A+ from the lactation consultant, speech therapy, and the resident on duty, Juliette was declared ready to return home and got her feeding tube taken out of her nose. That left only one thing needing to be removed before she was FREE from all tubes/hook-ups (PICC line was the very last thing to come out before we left).

We had sort of a rough time with sleeping on Thursday night (little missy is still adjusting), so I was so deliriously tired Friday that I celebrated the going-home news by taking a siesta in the hospital room. Jonathan started piddling around and packing things up and I eventually got enough make-up zz's to get up and join him.

You know how they say God doesn't give you anything you can't handle? Thursday night I told Him I couldn't handle any more. I was really feeling like I didn't have anything left in the tank. I emailed/texted several close friends requesting immediate prayer. I cried out to Him on my knees, begging for rest and a chance to go home. He answered my prayers and I am so thankful/relieved (and why am I surprised?). We still have some rest to catch up on, but it is worlds better being in your own bed, can I get an amen?

Friday night around 6 p.m., after 13 nights and 14 days spent at LeBonheur, we piled two weeks' accumulation of miscellaneous belongings into the ole Accord, bundled up our baby, and trekked our way to HOME SWEET HOME.

I'd be lying if I said I'd even BEGUN to process all that God taught us through this experience.

I do know that we are blessed to have very loving, supportive, and prayerful families and friends who are invaluable in a crisis. And also? There are some amazing people that work at LeBonheur. There's no way to thank them adequately for making such a scary experience more bearable.

Although the new mommy in me is still mourning a little over the Christmas season I'd originally envisioned, I am so glad we got to spend time with family, and see how people that were previously strangers to us came together and made an effort to give a special Christmas to patients (and families) at LeBonheur.

Also, I am blown away by the prayers offered from all over the place on our behalf. Yes, that means YOU.

THANK YOU, thank you for the prayers and the love and the sweet messages, notes, and good thoughts sent our way during this ordeal.

Happy New Year, straight from Chez Jerkins. xoxo

The Latest

2011-12-27T23:47:00.000-06:00

I wrote on Christmas Day that we were having a great day. And we did!

(Christmas socks from our sweet nurse Ashlee)

Around three in the afternoon, we were told that Juliette had made enough progress in her breathing that she was ready to go without the ventilator. She would still have to have oxygen through her nose, but she was strong enough to take breaths on her own. They stopped all her medicine drips (except an antibiotic), so she'd start to wake up. We would stay in the ICU until they were sure that she wouldn't have to get intubated again.

Around 6:30 on Christmas Night, the tube came out and we got to really see our precious little baby's face again, and what a wonderful sight it was! It was the best Christmas present we could have asked for.

She spent a little while reacquainting herself with air...sticking out her tongue a lot and moving her little head around, just taking it in and testing out making sounds. We each got to hold her, and told her over and over how much we love her and how well she did fighting that nasty old virus.

We went to sleep thankful and tired, but a good tired. She had worked hard over the past 8 days, and was finally reaping some reward.

(Tiny Toms from Aunt Martha...let's see how many photos of Juliette's feet I can post)

Monday, late morning, we were told to prepare to move upstairs to a "regular" room (a regular room includes a BATHROOM, the ability to have food, and more than three visitors at a time).

There are two things she has to do before we can blow this popsicle stand: breathe well on her own and eat on her own. By the end of today (Tuesday) she has almost accomplished item #1, which is amazing. We have item #2 yet to go.

We continue to appreciate your prayers for total healing of Juliette's body (and mind and spirit as well), and that she is able to get good rest over the next several days.

While it was definitely a different sort of Christmas than I envisioned (in every possible way), we still were able to spend time with our families...eating delicious food they prepared and brought up, and giving thanks for Juliette's progress.

Also, if you didn't know, Santa visits the ICU at LeBonheur!

So sweet!

Thank you for all of the messages, texts, good thoughts and prayers you've sent our way. They have definitely helped carry us through this whole ordeal.

We look forward to a very healthy and restful new year, Lord willing. Here's to hoping my next post will be from HOME!

Post #1
Post #2
Post #3 (Christmas card)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T12:58:00.001-06:00

Juliette is having a great day today! Praise God!

Merry Christmas to you, wherever you are!

Be back later with a more detailed update...I want to wait and see how today unfolds. Thank you so much for the prayers and good wishes to our little pumpkin girl. Have a wonderful holiday!

*Addendum; Mr. Jerkins wants to make it known that this photo was NOT photoshopped. We had a random snowy morning in early December, and he took this wonderful photo himself (with his iPhone, no less). Please make note.

Christmas Eve Eve Update

2011-12-23T23:36:00.003-06:00

After finishing Wednesday night's post, Jonathan & I tucked ourselves into our little hospital fold-out couches and tried to go to sleep like we had each night we'd been here, counting on Juliette to have a peaceful night with improvement by the morning.

But apparently, Juliette wasn't interested in our agenda. She struggled to keep her numbers up all night. We were awake for a lot of it, trying to help our nurse as we could but mostly worrying. By the morning, her numbers weren't looking that great, and the doctor had to turn up the settings on the ventilator way up past all of the progress we'd made the past few days.

It's like when you train train train for months for a race...you finally get to race day, finish it, but then take the next couple of weeks off. If you tried to run that race again, your endurance wouldn't be nearly what it was several weeks before...despite all the months of training, your endurance/all your hard work would've vanished just like that! So went all that progress we'd made toward getting off the ventilator quickly.

There were some pretty scary moments for us yesterday morning...through my blinding tears, I kept thinking, "I just wrote about trusting the Lord, and now I'm having to really do it. This is so hard. Lord, please don't take my baby. Please heal her from this virus." Push came to shove and I saw the limitations in medicine...the training, the drugs, the vast knowledge of doctors & nurses, the medical equipment. They can only do so much. They have no control over life. They are not God. Faced with this, I realized we already have the answer to the where-can-we-turn-to question. But it isn't the easy road, trying to let go of the {imagined} control you have over tough situations.

We were told this morning to settle in...it could take a while before her little lungs are ready to do the work of breathing on their own. She had a good day today staying steady and we are going to sleep tonight more reassured. We have all the time in the world if it means she'll get well.

Over and over I think, if there was any way in this world I could switch places with Juliette, I would do it in a second! I can see a little more clearly the picture of God's love for us--we were sick with sin, and he interceded! Praise Him!

Tonight, the Jerkins family sends our love to you as the world rejoices at Christ's coming. What a precious gift the Lord gave us--this intercession for us through his own Son!

We appreciate and crave your continued prayers. Thank you so much for all the love and prayers that have been offered on Jules' behalf already.

Obviously, this isn't exactly the Baby's First Christmas that I had pictured. But we are so glad and thankful to be here with her where she can get the best care possible during her fight against RSV.

Merry Christmas to you!

***UPDATE (12/24 10:30 am) Juliette had a great night last night! Her numbers right now look beautiful and her ventilator settings have been turned down (meaning her little lungs are able to do more work on their own). Praise God!

Before I forget: I was randomly interviewed by the New York Times for an article about how video conferencing is shaping family dynamics. The article is here--go to the 2nd page to see our little paragraph. (The writer originally found me from this post, where we revealed baby's gender via mass family skype/facetime/google chat get-together).

Where We Are

2011-12-21T17:52:00.001-06:00

At this moment, we are sitting in Juliette's room in the ICU at LeBonheur Children's Hospital.

Here's the scoop:

Last week, Juliette started having a bad cough. Hunching her shoulders into her chest and really looking bothered. To the pediatrician we went (we'd just been there for her 4-month check-up and shots on Monday). She had no fever or ear problems, so he sent us home and said to just watch her...because if it was a virus it was going to take its course no matter what we did. She was still sleeping normally and smiling and acting like herself, just coughing bad.

Thursday she still had no fever, no fussing, just coughing. Around 3 pm, I got a call from the teacher that Juliette now had a fever a little over 101. I went to pick her up and took her home...gave her some Tylenol that night and put her to bed early. She only woke up once to eat (she had a little catching up to do) and had no fever. Friday, she went to her Nana's house for the day. She was still feeling puny but didn't have a fever. By the time I got home at 4 that afternoon, she was a bottle behind her normal consumption...just eating slowly and not interested. I thought maybe it'd easier for her to nurse instead, so we just thought we'd forgo all of our weekend plans and settle in to get her feeling better.

Friday night was pretty awful. She woke up every 2.5 hours or so, with coughing and fever, Tylenol or no. By Saturday morning she was pretty much refusing to eat. Dr. Bubba (our SUPER WONDERFUL pediatrician and friend) had told me earlier that week if I needed anything that he'd be around over the weekend and to let him know. So I did. She napped some Saturday morning, but by the time he came to see her around 10:45, she'd not eaten anything for a long time and was completely drained of energy. Her eyes were open but sort of blank, her arms were pretty limp and she was wheezing pretty good. Dr. Bubba measured her pulse-oxygen rate, and it was very low. Very gently and calmly, he explained that this virus was going to have to run its course over the next few days, and he thought maybe we'd all feel better and less worried if we went ahead and went on to the hospital to get Jules some oxygen and monitoring. He said pack your toothbrush but don't drive too fast down there. He was so calm and reassuring that I really didn't have the chance to freak out. The man definitely knows what he's doing. He even stayed and chatted with us for a few minutes about his dog.

So I packed Juliette a diaper bag (full of stuff she wouldn't need at all), and nothing for us, thinking if we really had to stay that my mom would probably be able to bring something up to us and surely we weren't really going to stay overnight. Our doc called ahead to let them know we were coming, so when we walked into the ER they were expecting us. We got back to triage and they measured her pulse-ox level again and it was even lower. So low that we skipped the rest of the triage business and got straight back into a room to get Jules some oxygen. This is when things got scary. From what I can remember out of the chaos, they started giving her oxygen (and some sort of medicine maybe?) and then let me hold her for a while. It seemed like she was almost asleep when she woke up and started completely freaking out--beginning probably the worst 20 minutes of my life. She was screaming and wiggling so uncontrollably that I couldn't hold her anymore, even with Jonathan's help. Jonathan's dad (who is a doc and operates at the children's hospital where we are) was there by that time, along with J's brother Michael (they're in the same med school class).

Time really seemed frantic but somehow slow at the same time as we all endured watching Juliette struggle. It was a complete and total nightmare. The nurse came in a few times to help me but I felt totally helpless and had no idea what was going on or going to happen.

After the 20 minutes from h-e-double hockey sticks, the ER doc came in and explained that Juliette was wearing herself out trying to breathe and if they intubated her (put in a breathing tube), she could rest and have an easier time recovering. Since Jules hadn't eaten that morning, I had last pumped during her nap (about 8:30 am). It was 2:30ish by this time, and I was about to explode. I am SO thankful for this...because in that moment, instead of seeing the intubation as an opportunity to freak out, I saw it as an opportunity to go pump. In retrospect, I guess that was God's hand calming me in an unexpected way. I didn't really understand or give myself a chance to see how big of a deal it was...I was just thinking about needing to pump.

After the intubation was done (I was finished by this time), Jonathan and I got to see her and were told that she'd be intubated in ICU until she could breathe on her own more easily. Once we got to the ICU, the doctor there explained that Juliette has RSV which is a virus that has to run its course...all they can really do is be there to support her as she fights the virus. And that there isn't really a predictable or set time frame in which this can happen. It can be days or weeks...no one knows.

So here we are...it is Wednesday night and we are still here. Jules has improved each day we've been here... but she hasn't been ready yet to go without the tube. Once she gets off the ventilator, we will probably be here another couple of days for observation.

They are telling us there is a possibility that the tube could come out tomorrow. Obviously, we can be patient. Whatever she has to do to get better is what we're going to do.

I've been utterly punched in the gut to how powerless humans can be. All the bravado and hoopla surrounding man's innovation is trivial compared to God's overwhelming power and sovereignty. When you have a revered and trained doctor tell you, "we can't make this virus leave your child; we can only support her as she fights it herself," you realize how futile our own plans and efforts can really be.

Jonathan and I walked down to the chapel tonight. There was a basket with colorful sheets of paper, printed at the top, "Share a wish, a hope, or a prayer."

Written in child's handwriting, the top one read, "Lord, healing Aiden's brain is a piece of cake for you."

God is in control.

ps thank you for all the prayers, texts, calls, emails, and offers for help. We are extremely thankful for the support and love.

Writing from the Blogger App & Instagram Wall

2011-12-14T10:37:00.002-06:00

We are still rolling sans computer. It's the pits, honestly. I'm trying NOT to obsess over the photos chronicling the first 3 months of Juliette's life stored within that are potentially lost forever, since we hadn't gotten around to backing up yet. I know, I know, they make these automated back-up devices now. You better believe one of those contraptions is on our Christmas List.

Despite my husband's teasing, I'm glad to be such an insane phone pic hoarder, even on this slow 3GS (who knew sev years ago that this phone would one day be considered "clunky"?). At least these grainy pics exist somewhere (ie, the palm of my hand only, atm...scary).

(many thanks to our computer magician, Robert, who is currently running hard drive intervention/witchcraft in an attempt to forage photos and other electronic treasures. Say a prayer for us.)

I have no idea what photos will look like coming from this blogger app but here goes nothing (can't size them or even place them, maybe). These pics were taken as a quick visual update, so accept my apologies for the obvious desk-messiness and poor lighting.

I saw a post from Little Green Notebook via babble about stuff you can do with your instagram photos. We Jerkins love us some instagram. This is a loose interpretation of one of the inspiration photos, which I'll link to later.

The start of something good:

Round two (after our computer went to the doctor):

I'm so excited! Our first round was sort of baby-heavy (acc to DH), so we tried to include more inanimate artsy stuff in this next round. I love the possibilities here! We're using these 3M removable wall stick things so I'm not worried about messing up the paint, and the photos can be changed around easily.

We Have a Piano

2011-12-05T17:15:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the wonderful generosity of my Uncle Gregg, we now have a 1952 Wurlitzer piano.

I'm so excited! It fits nicely in our 1954 house.

You may or may not know this, but I took piano lessons for 14 years growing up, culminating in a solo senior recital with a set list of probably 12 songs. I'm not the most naturally talented musician (I can't hear a song and just sit down and play it)...but I do enjoy playing and look forward to hearing little Jerkins children play it one day too!

In other news, Sister and I completed the 5K Goal this past Saturday!

It turned out to be really really fun. I couldn't run the whole time, but we ran mostly 8-10 minute stretches with 2-3 mins walking in between. We have tenatively decided to try to do one 5K every month! and perhaps by next year, I'll be in good enough shape to train for the St Jude Half Marathon again.

Also, I wanted to publicly thank Leslie P for her post about having-things-on-your-plate (how else to term it?). Go over and give it a read, if you haven't.

Les, what most impressed me was that you know what size your plate is. I really have no idea. I think I'm somewhere in between a dinner plate and a platter, even before this working-mom stuff... but with the countless things in my life that NEVER get done, part of me suspects I just have a very full and cute little salad plate. Who knows?

Please Note

2011-12-01T15:18:00.001-06:00

I screwed up our home computer. Had it plugged into the wall next to a perfectly good power strip. Why am I such a dummy? There were some power outages at our house last week and our computer was a victim. So here I type, on the blogger iPhone app, just to let you know I'm still here, just without my mode de communication.

And of course being computerless has made me more prone to thinking of more blog post ideas. Though, write them through this iPhone app, I will not.

Meanwhile, I am in search of a failsafe navy nail polish color. Any recommendations?

3 Months Old (9 days later)

2011-11-19T22:21:00.005-06:00

Sweet Baby Jules... (this is a long one)

You are so much fun!

We are having more and more fun with you every day. Your sweet little spirit has really shown itself to us this past month. You are doing more "talking"...laughing, cooing, and interacting with us through your little voice. We just can't get enough!

{Toppling over turns into glam pose}

Since you started school on your 2-month birthday, this entire month you've been in day care and you have just done great. Miss Sandra, Miss Carolyn, and Miss Sherrill have all been wonderful and you've done a good job adjusting (faster than Mommy did). {Sidebar: the going-back-to-work topic probably deserves its own post.}

Your teachers have helped you learn to go 3 hours between eating (great job!). You take 5 oz bottles at school and now eat on a very regular schedule (5 times/day total). I'm very thankful that you still are nursing great, too.

We're still working on getting your naps to become more regular, but you're sleeping well at night so I'm not too concerned. You usually go to sleep between 7:30-8 and sleep until I wake you up about 6:30. We take a bath every night (you love your whale tub) and we read a book before I swaddle you up.

You are really noticing things more, which has opened up a whole new world of playing with toys and looking at books. You like playing with your rings, watching the mobile on your friend Emery's swing, and Sophie the giraffe. But mostly, "playing" is laughing and talking with people.

You've also turned a corner and now take your paci pretty well. The world doesn't end without it, but you do now like it and it does its job of soothing you, especially before bed. You still love chewing on your fist most of the time.

We have so much fun taking you out and about! You're very agreeable and offer smiles to everyone.

This month we celebrated your first Halloween! Your daddy finally got his wish and had his very own turtle:

Your dad ordered your turtle costume (on ebay) when you were just a few weeks old, and had been trying it on you every couple of weeks until Halloween came. We just could NOT stop giggling when you were wearing it, you looked so cute.

The day before you turned 3 months old, you rolled over for the first time! You did it first at school, but again for Mommy and Aunt Martha that night. Even though your effort comes from frustration at being on your belly, I appreciate your concentration and strength in this new skill.

This past week, you and your daddy skipped school and watched your first (of many) Tigers games.

You weigh 14 lb 1 oz, and I don't know how long you are. (We need to get out the tape measure, Daddy). Also this month, we had to wave the white flag and officially call it quits on the cloth diapers (I'm planning a separate post addressing this). You're wearing size 2 diapers still and mostly in 3-6 months clothes.

I'll probably remember this as the month things became more real-life and less Twilight Zone.

We love you, precious Juliette. You are a joyful gift from God!

One month post
Two months post

Some Stuff on a Wednesday

2011-11-16T12:27:00.006-06:00

1. I'm good at eating leftovers. I get satisfaction from cooking something and eating all of it. This could be either lazy (b/c I don't want to cook every night) or green (can't have food go to waste)...call it what you will.

2. Parenthood is such a freaking good show. Just...yes. Every single week. And every single week, they get me with the tearing-up. On the other hand is Glee, which has been spiraling downward into the Land of I-Don't-Get-It. (Circle of Life, I guess. This time last year, I would've thought that show could do no wrong.)

3. This baby. Killing us with cuteness, one day at a time. I love this photo (posted it on Instagram the other day), because it looks like she has really defined deltoids. Hee hee.

4. My dear husband took the above photo with his new iPhone 4S. I'm on the one-month-eligibility-countdown for this puppy. CAN'T WAIT (mainly for that camera.. and my 2.5 yr old 3Gs is moving slower than Christmas).

5. Speaking of Christmas...thanks for the input on Christmas stockings. I'll let you know what ends up happening.

6. In Couch to 5K news...I've been actually doing the workouts (at the gym, at night, after Jules is asleep). Can't say the lbs are just melting off yet...but at least there is some regular physical exertion occurring. Something.

7. This Penn State thing is just beyond. I can't even wrap my mind around the layers of evil involved. Lord help us.

Pretzels and A First-World Problem

2011-11-10T22:03:00.005-06:00

Here's a quickie snack for youz. I got this concoction via Martha via her sister-in-law, Katy. YUM! They're going to be handy to make at the holidays especially. (The batch I made several nights ago is already gone!)

Thavory Prethzelsth (Savory Pretzels)

1 lb pretzels
1/2 c veg oil
1 t garlic salt
1 t cayenne pepper (I used Emeril's Essence so they wouldn't be as spicy, in which case maybe use garlic powder instead of garlic salt?)
1 package Ranch dressing mix

Stir all the ingredients together in a big bowl (I added the pretzels last), then spread out on cookie sheets and bake at 200 degrees for 2 hours. THE END.

Easy, eh? So delish!

I gave you these pretzels so you'll give me consult on the "issue" below.

I realize this is totally a not-real-life-issue-and-doesn't-even-matter-but-I-don't-know-what-to-do problem (and need to use some more hyphens): Christmas stockings. What do you do for your first kid?

Our stockings (me, Jonathan, and Red the Cat's) are classic ticking stripe from Pottery Barn, which I picked several years ago knowing that they'd have the same, if not coordinating stockings at PB forever and ever.

Here's an old pic from our condo (when we had to hang our stockings on the mirror above our dining table, nice!):

Alert: the 2011 Pottery Barn holiday catalog is not complete with ye classic ticking stripe Christmas stockings. There are of course, the solid red with white tops and the red/green ones, as well as some tapestry-looking ones with a snow man and a tree maybe.

The question is this: what in the heck do people do? Are you supposed to buy multiple stockings for how many kids you want to have from the get-go? Because that is SO MUCH PRESSURE to let Christmas stockings decide how many children you have (obvi). Or should I just [pretend to] play it cool, wait and then hope they'll have the matching one whenever that time comes? Or, go for mismatched kids' stockings and be all easy-going and "eclectic" (such a hot word right now)? Does anyone else think about this?

Heeeeeelp

p.s. Juliette is 3 months old today but I'll obviously wait a while to write that post, so it'll be nice and late. :)

Baby Paper

2011-11-03T12:45:00.003-05:00

Been wanting to share these for a while.

My talented friend Laura H/"Eve" (some of her calligraphic talents shown here previously) is just the best at interpreting my harebrained ideas and transforming them into works of art (which exceed my initial mental concepts every time).

Here's Juliette's birth announcement up on the fridge:

(photo by Stephen Jerkins) Many thanks to Sister who loaned her Photoshop skillz in transforming the watercolor piece and the lettering into this card. I got the photos printed at mpix, on their pretty metallic paper.

And here is the stationery I've been using for thank yous:

Even after many months of using these cards, I am just still in love.

{Embarrassingly, I've still got a pretty good list of thank-you notes left to go. Please know, we are indeed thankful! It's slow going sometimes.}

Thank you so much, Eve, for sharing your talents with me once again.

Two Months Old (late)

2011-10-25T21:41:00.004-05:00

Not surprisingly, I’ve been only mentally writing this post, ie procrastinating, over the past couple of weeks. That poor baby. Since the self-inflicted pressure to write the most profound two-month-old post ever has lifted, I’m going to pen this as if was written two weeks ago.

Dear Baby,

We are trying to call you by your name more often… but most of the time we still refer to you as “Baby.” ☺

The big super huge number one main thing that’s happened this month is that you started sleeping all night. (Readers: please don’t send me hate mail. It’s all her own doing.) You have always been a good sleeper, able to sleep 4-5 hour stretches from around a week old (since you were back up to your birth weight quickly). You even slept a freakish 8 hour stretch at 2 weeks old. But something clicked for you right at 5 weeks old, and you’ve been pretty consistently going to sleep between 10-11 pm and waking up at 6 or 7.

The night your BFF Elliot Burke was born (September 20th…yay Baby Elliot!), you slept 10 HOURS in her honor! It was amazing. I often tell your daddy that your sleeping habits have made me a little scared about what we’ll get with your future siblings… kharma and all that.

Here you are, meeting Elliot for the first time! (You girls were both really into it. hee hee)

Also this month, you met your cousins, Kendall and Kailyn, for the first time! Don’t worry, Kendall has already taught you the Pledge of Allegiance. You’re going to be all set!

You are a good eater, and nurse pretty consistently every 2.5 hours during the day. I do my best to “load you up,” as we say, so you’ll sleep well at night, but we haven’t been stressing too much about a daily schedule yet (since you’re going to “school” exactly on your two-month birthday). You usually get at least one bottle every day to practice for day care, and you do a great job taking them.

You wear mostly 0-3 month size clothes, but you’re very long, so you can already wear some 3-6 month stuff. At your doctor’s visit, you were 11 lb 14 oz and 23.5 inches long, 90th percentile in both. Wowee! Head circumference: 50th. Watching you get your shots was NOT fun, but you did just fine. Thankfully your daddy was there with us to comfort us both.

{falling over, once again...}

We’ve been having some trouble with diaper rash, and thus have been in and out of the cloth diapers this month (we started on those when you were 4 weeks old). Alas, these issues are still in the process of being resolved. (More on that later.) But in disposables, you’re wearing size 1 (again, pretending like this is two weeks ago).

{cheering on Mommy's alma mater, on TX/OU game day. Thanks for making me the onesie, Aunt Martha!}

Your pacifier usage has plummeted. You spit it out immediately and often it makes you mad when we try to give it to you. You’ve started trying to chew on your knuckles instead, and just will not let me convince you that I’m offering you something better.

Besides your new sleeping skills, our favorite thing you’ve been doing this month is smiling. Yep, it’s pretty much the best thing ever. Your best smiles are during diaper changes and sometimes when I’m un-swaddling you and getting you out of your crib.

I have absolutely LOVED our time at home together, Baby! Especially this second month as we’ve gotten out more, and as things have calmed down a bit with your sleeping / I’ve felt a bit more physically “normal.”

You are the absolute joy of our lives!

Our little “jewel” -- Baby Jules.

one month post (also late)

IN THE NAME OF ACCOUNTABILITY

2011-10-19T21:28:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the all-caps, really. But I need the emphasis, for extra accountability.

Before Juliette was born, probably early on in the summer, I decided that I'd set a goal of running the Grizzlies 5K on December 3rd. That seemed like a reasonable amount of months to work back up to running 3 miles.

A mere year ago, this goal would not have seemed so daunting. I've run several half-marathons and a full marathon before (see this post). But you see, I got fairly large and unwieldy during my pregnancy, and perhaps a little earlier on than some(/most?).

I'd been going to spinning 3 times/week (which I love) in the mornings before work for several months before I got pregnant, and my doctor said it would be a great exercise to continue into the pregnancy. Had to take a brief hiatus because of alldaylong sickness at the beginning of pregnancy, but then kept pretty faithfully going until I was 6 months pregnant and couldn't balance on the bike very easily anymore. After that? Sort-of regular walks around the neighborhood was my sole source of exercise. I do wish I'd done more (like busted out that prenatal yoga DVD we bought at Target, whoops), but what can I say? It was hot and I felt as big as a cruise ship.

ANYWAY...right after sweet Juliette was born, I started wondering why I'd set this 5K goal. Although there is a cute baby to show for it, I'm horribly out of shape, and haven't been feeling the whole running thing (especially since presently, there's more of me to carry around).

When Sister told me about this Couch to 5K program, and I was intrigued. Tonight, I went on the first walk/run while Jonny was home with Baby. It was surprisingly feasible. Of course there was plenty of huffing and puffing, but the 20 minutes went by quickly.

To work full-time and have a baby and find time to exercise is supremely challenging. I've been really trying to give myself grace right now, and to not freak out that this is how I'll look (and feel) forever. It's totally humbling...you have this new precious baby you adore and wouldn't trade anything for, but your body has been completely put through the ringer. {Yes, I've heard from plenty of mommies that you look up after 6 months-year (please more like 6 mos) and feel more like yourself again.}

Any tips for sneaking in exercise between work and baby? (It's our second week with me back to work, btw, so we're def still settling in). Thankfully, Aunt Martha committed to running the race with me.

Here's hoping I'll be back in 6 months-to-a-year with a report on being back to "myself" (but who is she anymore, anyway? another post for another time).

But in the meantime, I'll be Couchto5King it for December 3rd. Fingers crossed!

TGFNM (thank goodness for new music)

2011-10-17T12:26:00.003-05:00

I’ve been in a musical rut for a while, seems like. Worn out all the ole standbys... even the "new" stuff.

It’s been my experience over the last several years as a bona fide adult that I have to go out of my way to find new/good music. Probably added to this is that I don’t want to spend much time listening to music I don’t really love.

Added to this: my home/work/home commutes are blessedly short, so plugging in the ipod and then start/stopping for a 5-minute car trip seems like more trouble than it’s worth. Oftentimes, this results in just listening to the radio (don't you hate finding yourself so zoned that you’ve just listened to an entire segment of commercials without changing the channel?).

Thus, when some of my favorite musical acts release new music, all within a short span of one other, I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot, 'cause I didn't have to forage too hard for it at all (ie, previewing and then trying to decide if it's purchase-worthy…arf).

Feist

The lovely Leslie Feist has released this gem, which I’ve been enjoying immensely. Thank you, thank you madame, for giving us more.

Wilco

Never enough Wilco. Haven’t listened to this enough to actually chronicle an opinion about it, but I look forward to listening.

Ryan Adams

I love his sound. A lot. A whole lot.

The Nobility

Jonathan’s talented brother Stephen (somewhat unfairly talented if you ask me) and his band have recorded a new full-length album. I am waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail, but we definitely enjoyed streaming it on their facebook page before its release. Way to go, Uncle Stephen!

Speaking of arriving in the mail—I’ll admit it. I still like hard copies of CDs. Is this strange? Despite the "cloud" security, I like owning the tangible recording. And reading the little booklet. Then popping the CD into my car (which, for the aforementioned short drive time making this a much more efficient way to listen). I can't seem to let go of it. In fact, for albums that we do purchase electronically, I still like to make a hard copy on a blank CD. Is this weird?

Obviously, I’d like for Juliette to grow up listening to good music, not only for fun/enjoyment purposes, but also in the name of her being well-informed (and for cool points, naturally). It would be a tragedy if she didn’t know of Michael Jackson’s significant contribution to music (don’t worry, her dad has already made sure she’s become acquainted with Kurt Cobain). Maybe I should make a list of music she should know. Has anyone done this? What would you put on it?

As for new music...anything that I am totally missing out on? Fill me in. There's got to be lots.

Around the House

2011-10-05T15:11:00.006-05:00

And for something not-baby (finally! some of you may say).

Here are two projects in our room that we got finished before the baby came.

Got some curtains hung behind our bed. You can barely see on the left of the window there, but there are two windows that we're disguising with these curtains (black ticking stripe from Premier Prints). Therefore, the right panel is just hung over the wall.

This is really the only wall of this bedroom where the bed can go (besides the wall the door is on; but I like being able to see the bed as you walk in the room, so that wasn't an option). So, we centered the bed over the right-side window (and had it like that for over a year, might I add, until we got around to these curtains).

They make all the difference in this room, seriously! I love walking in here now.

The quilt is one I bought in late spring from Target, in the name of something lighter for summertime and we've loved it...love the weight and the change of the pattern. Our normal duvet is white matelasse (sp?) and matches those shams. It's getting close to duvet cover time (yay cool weather!).

You can also see the ikea hack night stands we made, inspired by this post.

We followed it pretty much to the T, including her hardware source. I don't know the total we spent on these, but I'm almost positive they ended up being less than $50/piece.

All that's left is recovering the cushion (and maybe painting?) the chair to the right of Jonathan's night stand, and getting some stuff hung on the walls. Oh, and a rug. I guess a rug is a pretty major item... but it's not on the near-future list.

And as much of an eyesore as that fan is...I'm so thankful for it. Especially this summer! I have a new found appreciation and love for ceiling fans, despite their aesthetic drawbacks (and even with our house sporting a new a/c unit).

As both of these projects were completed while I was very pregnant, I can only take credit for vision.

Thanks to Martha & Dudley for once again bringing their mad skills and helping hang the curtain rod (yall, they are amazing at this). And to my Granny for sewing the curtain panels (with blackout liner), and my friend Laura R for getting the border added to them. For the side tables: thanks to brother Michael for painting the drawer fronts. And my dearest love, Jonathan, of course, for doing the whole rest of the project.

One-Month Reflections

2011-09-28T21:18:00.001-05:00

As usual, I'm a couple of weeks late on this one. I sat down to write this post the exact day she was one-month old (September 10), but the pressure of writing something profound and poignant about motherhood was too much, especially given the small window of time I had that day. I was then going to scrap this whole post because I missed the date, and she's even changed so much since then. BUT I thought these photos were too cute and hopefully will be able to post them every month on this here blog.

Juliette with her yet-unnamed bear:

Some things I've learned:

1) I had no idea. Just no idea. About what, you may ask? Um, everything. Those first several "bootcamp" weeks with a new baby are unlike anything I'd been through. It actually made the last weeks of pregnancy seem like summer camp (rash and all). Through the hazy 24-hour days (a "day" that became midnight to midnight instead of waking to sleeping), I wondered if life would ever be any kind of "normal" again. I'd go to sleep and have no clue when I'd wake up...my human alarm clock came through the monitor. Also the constant scariness that I was going to "mess this up" ...thankfully, that suffocating feeling has passed (for the most part). Also? Those hormones right afterward? Man, they're something else.

{always looking to her left!}

2. Our family is awesome. They have been beyond supportive...but my favorite part is seeing how much they all love Juliette! With Jonathan's crazy school schedule, I have been completely thankful for the support and the company.

3. I didn't know I could love a tiny little human so much. There really aren't words to describe it. I guess the only thing that can scratch the surface of an illustration is this: no matter what time it is, no matter how tired I am, whenever I go in the nursery to rescue a crying Juliette, and I see her tiny sweet and helpless self looking up at me, I just cannot believe she's mine. My heart completely explodes with love for this little person and through sleepy eyes I just have to smile down at her needy little face.

{whooooooooooop}

{no thank you, Mommy, I'm done}

This whole thing is such a miracle. I really feel like I've done nothing but be a vehicle for God's graciousness to us.

Bye bye!

Why I'm Bad at Reading Magazines

2011-09-26T22:13:00.002-05:00

{Maybe this should be titled "Why I'm Bad at Reading Magazines Versus Blogs"}

Let me preface this by saying that I don't impose these randomly-formed opinions on others...this is solely what happens in LeslieWorld.

1. It seems like an activity reserved for when I have NOTHING else to do. No shows to catch up on, no laundry, no sheets to change, no THANK YOU NOTES (which will not be true for a while), and post-baby no meals to eat, showers to take, or naps to catch. Perfect example... I started this post 6 days ago!

2. I will most likely be sitting at the computer at some point during the day anyway (maybe?)...how much quicker is it to click over to my Google Reader and skim a couple of posts before going along my merry way paying bills or checking email?

3. I can star or categorize blog posts in my Reader for later...and actually find them! {The "cloud" is helpful to folks with a propensity toward disorganization.} Magazine cut-outs, save some recipes, enter the wasteland of our desk for about a week before they get trashed by me or my dear husband.

I like magazines and magazine content. And philosophically, I do NOT want print to disappear and everything to be electronic or online. But this is just how it is.

If I ever DO read Real Simple or Martha Stewart, I enjoy the content greatly. It just never seems to make the priority list.

The End.

Here's a picture of the cutie pie just because. This is just post-smile (I barely missed catching it).

iPhone Baby

2011-09-09T14:44:00.004-05:00

Greetings from the land of all things baby!

Don't worry... We've taken photos of Juliette with our good camera.

Here are just several daily-life photos I've taken of her with my phone over the past several weeks. [Some of them are from instagram, so I'm sorry if you've already seen some of these.]

Here you can see her little "sprout" hair--Jonathan calls her his little Eggplant (and thanks to her friend Emery for lending this cutie pie Polo outfit):

She loves being outside and going on walks:

On our way to church for the first time, wearing a dress that was mine as a baby:

I had grand plans of getting a good picture of her in that dress after church. But alas, she had the biggest poop of her life (yep, blowout) so it was not to be. The best laid plans...

Loves sleeping on Mommy (in fact, if she could only sleep on someone's chest, I think she would...)

And Daddy:

Her brother Red is doing great during this transition, btw.

A "milk coma" face:

And the one that was not to be:

Poor baby!

{p.s. I'm SO ready for the next generation iPhone and its rumored awesome camera! Otherwise her life's documentation will be, for the most part, very pixellated.}

Starlet

2011-08-29T20:32:00.003-05:00

Baby Juliette is featured today on our friend Aaron Snow's blog:

Aaron Snow is a friend of Jonathan's from college, who lived in our old townhouse right after they graduated, and is a photographer in Oklahoma City. He brought his lovely family to Memphis this past weekend to visit and took some wonderful photos of our little treasure.

Thanks, "Uncle" Aaron!

For Posterity's Sake: The Birth Story

2011-08-22T20:35:00.001-05:00

I'm going to dive right in. She is napping now, so let's go.
Editor's note: this took me three days to write, hehe.

Monday, August 8, Jonathan went back to school. So it was me at the homestead that day; hot and huge, mainly watching TV.

I had a doctor's appointment that day, and was told I was dilated 1 cm, 50% effaced. Respectable, I guess, but no baby on Monday.

Monday night we had pizza with my brother Scott. Every night for that past week at dinner, we'd been all "wouldn't it be funny if [dinner item] was the food that put you into labor?" Well, Sunday night and Monday night we had pizza for dinner (Sunday night w/Uncle T-Bone and Dave & Beth). So... pizza?

Tuesday at 4 a.m. I woke up with contractions. I'd had some Braxton Hicks contractions over the weekend, like maybe 4 of them, but that had been it.

When they (the contractions) woke me up, I was just like, "Oh, THAT'S a contraction!" I guess it's one of those things you just can't really describe until you feel it? Anyway.

So Jonathan and I lay there for about an hour, timing them, and talking. They were about 7 minutes apart at that point, and about 30 seconds long. After a while, we did the obvious things: both took showers, made sure we had everything in our bags, and googled famous August 9th birthdays (main ones were Whitney Houston, Deion Sanders, and PL Travers who wrote Mary Poppins, in case you were wondering).

At 8:45 am or so, we called my dr. to see what we should do. I wasn't really in pain, but the contractions were definitely regular and slightly uncomfortable. I knew it probably wasn't time to go to the hospital just yet, but wanted to see what she'd say. She said to go ahead and come in and see if I had dilated anymore than at my appointment the day before.

Nope. Still 1 cm. The doctor said it'd probably be a good idea to go home, walk around, and try to get labor going at home as long as possible. She said to go to the hospital when the contractions were 5 minutes apart and a minute long.

I was DETERMINED with a capital D not to get sent home from the hospital, by the way. Once we go, we stay until we have a baby.

So, we go home, I walk around the block several times (it's hotttt), took another shower, and even did some lunges (in the loosest sense of the word) across our living room. Still, I'm having regular contractions about 5-7 minutes apart, around 30 seconds long. And they're not getting any longer or more intense. But they're uncomfortable enough that I can't really nap.

By early evening, I'm really annoyed. We've told our family that things were getting going...but yet nothing seems to be happening. Jonathan has taken the day off from school. I'm just feeling like the girl who cried wolf. Would this baby EVER come out? (Confession: I actually made the mistake of googling situations like these...and someone posted on a message board somewhere that she had had contractions of the same description for THREE WEEKS. Mistake.)

Jonathan and I took a longer walk around 9 p.m., maybe for 30 minutes or so. During the walk, the contractions start hurting more (5 mins apart), but they're still around 30 seconds long. We get home and he gets in bed and I start watching Friday Night Lights for a little while.

A couple of episodes in, mid-episode, it gets to the point where I just can't watch anymore, it's hurting too bad. And they're about fifty seconds long, so we're getting closer to the minute mark. I wake Jonathan up and then take another shower (yes, the third one of the day). After he showers, we pack up and it's about 12:30 a.m. {Obviously, on the drive there (in between contractions), I'm googling August 10th birthdays (Herbert Hoover, Antonio Banderas).}

By the time we get to the hospital and back into the triage area, I am in some good pain. The nurse comes in to check me... 1.5 cm. HECK NO there is no way I am going home... "Please don't send me home," I tell her. She tells me my blood pressure is crazy-high, like through the roof (which had not been the case the entire pregnancy, as recently as my dr. visit that Monday), so that's what will keep me there. I thank God that my blood pressure happened to be high so I could stay at the hospital where the drugs are. She runs an IV line and gives me some pain medication (that did nothing but make me sleepy and my limbs dead-like...didn't really soften the blow of the contractions at all).

The triage nurse tells me the toxemia test came back negative, but can see I'm in too much pain to go anywhere and that I'd be admitted. We finally got into our labor & delivery room around 6 a.m. and I was READY for that epidural. Thankfully, we only had to wait 30 minutes for the Magic Man/CRNA, Kevin (I think I will always remember his name), to come and do his thing.

People have asked me if the epidural needle hurt. NO. Heck no! It paled in comparison to the pain I was already in. In fact, nothing that happened to me at the hospital hurt as badly as those contractions. The IV line in my hand? Nope. Needles? Nope. Delivering the baby? Nope. But we'll get to that.

I'm about 3 cm at this point, so it's just a waiting game. Once I get the epidural and calm down a little bit, Jonathan and I both snooze. My mom and sister come by around 7 am to say hi and then it hits me that we're actually going to have a baby TODAY. {The day before, it had really seemed that she would never come.}

My doctor comes to see me around 9:30 a.m. or so and I'm dilated even more (can't remember how much at this point). She says she has a dentist appointment at 11 (Wednesdays are her day off), but that she'd check me before and then as soon as she got back.

We had the best nurse ever, Sarah. Jonathan goes to school with her husband, but we'd not met her before. Her sweet, comforting attitude made ALL the difference in my labor experience. Especially when I got sick several times after the epidural and felt so gross and nauseated...she just helped me get cleaned up with a sympathetic smile on her face and said some comforting words. She was such a blessing.

At 10:45 a.m. when my doctor came back, I was 7-8 cm. And feeling nothing (hallelujah!) except yucky heartburn (which didn't go away until after delivery, btw). Martha and Jonathan would look at the machine and say, "Oh, you're in the middle of a big contraction right now." I'd say, "Awesome. Can't tell!"

When she got back from the dentist around 12:20, I was 9.5 cm and 100% effaced. She said we could start pushing soon, and that she saw a full head of dark hair already! (TMI?)

In the next forty minutes, we had some time to try to digest (as much as possible) what was about to happen. A HUMAN BEING was about to come out of my belly, that would be our CHILD! So crazy! We prayed for her and her health and my health and thanked God for the safety He'd bestowed on our family thus far.

Right around 1 p.m., I started pushing. It was hard work, but it didn't really hurt, if that makes sense. The "pressure" people talk about, that you feel during delivery, did not hurt me. I just felt it.

At 1:23 p.m. on Wednesday, August 10 (yes, many many hours after labor's commencement...more than 33 if you're good at math), Juliette Taylor entered the world.

When they held her up, all purple and screaming, I thought, "She looks like a real baby!" {Is that a weird thing for a mother to think?}

They placed her on my chest, and I was instantly in love. That little face, her beautiful dark blue eyes, full head of hair, had us from the get-go.

It was a little over an hour before our families could come back and meet her, so Jonathan texted a photo and a little video of her out to the waiting room. Here they all are on their phones, making it viral.

(blurry but funny photo from Uncle Michael.)

Later that night (I'm too vain to post the pics on the public internet from right afterwards, sorry):

The adorable door sign that Aunt Martha made for our recovery room:

One of my favorites! (Jonathan's mom handing Juliette to my dad to hold for the first time)

Our little burrito bundle:

(this photo by Uncle Stephen)

Here's my little cutie today, home with her mommy during her nap, in what we call her "muscle pose"

Totally smitten. And thankful.

Juliette

2011-08-16T12:35:00.003-05:00

Juliette Taylor
August 10, 2011

8 lb, 6 oz
21 inches long

Born at 1:23 in the afternoon

Our family

We are very thankful.

photos by Uncle Stephen Jerkins

Making Summer Pregnancy a Little Bit Pleasant-er

2011-08-04T19:52:00.004-05:00

What? Pleasant-er isn't a word. I know, I know.

I wanted to document and share the things that have made being pregnant in the heat of the summer (my least favorite season by a mile, as yall know) a little more bearable. Cause even I'll admit that there are some good things about summer (ice cream, anyone?).

1) I got this shea butter early in my pregnant to rub on my belly...I wouldn't say that it's prevented anything, but it feels nice on my stretched-out skin and probably doesn't hurt anybody.

{Since The Rash, I've been using Sarna lotion. What a great invention that stuff is. Also, I'm doing a lot better on that front, btw.}

2) I got this SWEET maternity tankini from Old Navy, a la this:

...and have been taking full advantage of open invitations to "come anytime" and swim at friends' pools. And by swim, I mean float (although this week, I've done some water-treading to try to help get things moving along...no luck so far). There is nothing like the feeling of getting in a swimming pool right now. It's completely amazing.

3) Lemon water: recommended to help with swollen feet. I'm not 100% sure it's cured me or anything, but it is very tasty and refreshing.

4) Cantaloupe! CANNOT GET ENOUGH!

(via pinterest)

I never ate cantaloupe, like for my whole life, until last summer while eating lunch over at Jesse's. She was cutting a fresh one and I tried it again just for kicks and have loved it ever since. Thanks, Jess!

5) Making ice cream in our little ice cream maker (some recipes from last summer here and here). We've made vanilla, mint chocolate chip, strawberry, and mango sorbet (and my dad has made peach and chocolate mint too...mmm!).

Normally I'm not the HUGEST ice cream fan, but this year I've been craving it. Like, bad.

{Speaking of which, I could combine the previous two items and make this cantaloupe sorbetto. Mmmm!}

6) And finally, rocking my world via Netflix instant queue is Friday Night Lights:

I'm three episodes behind So You Think You Can Dance because if I'm watching TV, I want to be watching FNL. So freaking good. I'm dreading the day it's over!

So those are some things that have helped me along these past couple of weeks. I've made a conscious effort to not complain about the heat. It's obviously hot. I'm obviously about to pop out this baby. Thus, I'm obviously/naturally hot.

Yall have any hot-weather tricks of your own?

What Waiting Looks Like

2011-08-02T12:01:00.003-05:00

Jerry's Sno Cones every day...

Pineapple yesterday!

Kitty cat looking out the window. What's he watching?

Jonny, yard mowing!

(I'm reserving the right to refer to Jonathan as "daddy" until our human child enters the world. For some reason, I don't think of us as "mommy/daddy" to Red, even though I think of him as our furry child. Whatev.)

Something miscellaneous for you...

from Aunt Amanda:

"The most beautiful garden rose I have ever seen. What is its name, you ask? Juliette."

Nursery Part V: Chair

2011-07-27T06:30:00.005-05:00

Thank you for all of the sweet comments on the nursery tour!

Finding a chair for the nursery was the hardest part of putting together this room. I couldn't afford the chairs that I really loved... and didn't like the ones I could afford enough to actually buy them (isn't that the exact opposite of practicing smart consuming?).

I loved this nursery tour on ohdeedoh, and appreciated the mom-behind-it's comment re: chair: "Proving elusive was a reasonably-priced modern glider or an old rocker that was comfortable and narrow enough to fit our tiny space, so we gave in and bought the super-cozy, super-cheap, not-so-handsome big-box-store glider, and tucked it in a corner with pillows and a modern quilt. What it lacks in style, it makes up for in comfort every day."

All set to join her, I got this little pillow for the chair, had a sweet knitted blanket my Granny had made, and found some coordinating fabric for recovering the ottoman. I'd get so close to buying the glider itself...would put it in my online shopping cart, fill out the shipping information...and then just couldn't bring myself to push the PURCHASE button.

Another thriftier option was the wooden rocker-rocker, but I wanted something a little more comfortable, somewhere I'd really look forward to sitting at 3 a.m.

After asking around exhaustively, I too, like the lady quoted above, found the ready-to-go {affordable} stylish nursery chair "elusive" in the marketplace.

During this time of inner conflict (dramatic, yes), my mom had been offering me an upholstered chair of hers. It's actually the chair she used when my sister was a baby, and it had been reupholstered in the past several years.

It was truly a light bulb moment: one day I'm sitting at work right before leaving for the day, and I thought, I wonder if they sell rocker/glider bases that can be attached to the bottom of a stationary chair?

Indeed they do!

My dear friend and interior designer/personal hero Laura R. (who'd previously helped me get the bedding and curtains made) came to the rescue here once again. She found the kit for sale online and enlisted the help of a handy gentleman at our church to affix it to the chair for me (something like this I think?).

Voila! My rocker/swivel upholstered chair for less than $100:

The cat sleeping in the chair was $0.

{Little heart pillow from here.}

I know, I totally lucked out having such a cute upholstered chair given to me for free. But, for those of you out there restless with the nursery chair situation, maybe you can find an upholstered chair you like for cheap and have it converted/convert it yourself too?

Nursery Part IV: The Tour

2011-07-25T07:00:00.009-05:00

Bienvenue/welcome!

The ole yarn wreath, as you walk in!

Welcome to the room that has consumed so much thought, energy, and effort in the past several months. I know it's unlikely to spend this much thought/energy/effort on future nurseries...but this was really fun to put together.

{I will write more specifically about our Chair Journey later this week.}

The scrabble art was inspired by this photo I found on pinterest. I used letters from a travel scrabble game we had (and weren't using) and a shadow box frame from ikea. The little fox print is from here (Jonathan loves foxes), and the mirror is from Urban Outfitters. Oh, and I instantly fell in love with that plate from anthropologie. Such beautiful colors.

The yellow lamp was Jonathan's grandmother's (his grandad made it from a vase when they lived in Indonesia and carried it back to the States--it was her favorite). The succulent planter was Jonathan's other grandmother's. And the pink pillow on the bottom shelf my almost-91-year-old granny made and embroidered for little Jules (there is a matching blanket, waiting in the hospital bag for coming-home purposes). And yes, the square frames still need photos.

So thankful for those plantation shutters that were there when we moved in. It gets so dark in here (and for that reason, I didn't get the curtains made wide enough to close).

(Thanks Uncle Michael & Aunt Jamie for the adorable frog humidifier!)

My friend aka personal hero Laura R. hooked me up with a wonderful seamstress here in town who made the bedding and curtains. She did a beautiful job at a very reasonable price (and I was VERY fortunate to have found all of the fabric in the $4/yard section of Johnson's Fabrics...and then to get 15% off of that!). I asked her specifically to make the velcro straps for the bumpers to keep it a little smoother-looking than ties, as well as the pleated crib skirt. {I didn't necessarily want the fabric's girliness to be enhanced by bows or fluffy pleats, if that makes sense.} THANK YOU LAURA for your help on this!

My granny made and embroidered the little blanket above with her name on it (and Mandi did the letter template).

From the doorway (I'd love to get a new light fixture--something like this maybe?--but must say that on a day like today, we were thankful for the fan!):

{That doorway in the corner goes to a bathroom which connects to our bedroom. So she'll be sleeping about ten steps away from where we sleep!}

Jonathan & my friend Laura H. (showed some of her handiwork here) sanded and painted the dresser (mentioned in Nursery chapter 2 here, where you can see its former state). Laura helped me pick the color (white beet by Sherwin Williams), and she found the hardware at an antique shop downtown, which we spray-painted gold.

The changing pad tray was built by Mandi's talented husband Grant (from wood he already had, no less!), from this tutorial I found, and Jonathan painted it.

The coup de grace of the whole room, aka my favorite part, is the family tree wall above the dresser, inspired from lay baby lay, here. (I even used her frame source for the gold frames.)

The Romeo & Juliet quote artwork (Jonathan's idea) was done by our friend Andrea (who also did the piece shown in this post, which has a spot by the door, not pictured).

Uncle Stephen helped curate the photos for Jonathan's side of the family. Thanks, Steve.

One more look at the whole shebang with Jonathan's panoramic stitch iphone app:

We still have just a few tiny things left, like photos for those few frames, attach the knobs on the closet doors (which btw, were a project in and of themselves...they were formerly full-mirrored doors, thanks Jonny & Dad!), and getting the monitor set up.

You can see a few shots of the room before its baby transformation here.

All the photos for this post were taken and edited by my wonderful husband.

This was truly a collaborative effort by so many nice friends & family members. THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the help we had!

Honestly, I kind of feel vulnerable sharing all these pictures of a room that we've poured so much energy and love into. But there you have it... I can't wait to spend time with our daughter in this peaceful space.

*Update: wall paint color is Glass Slipper by Benjamin Moore, and the rug (our main splurge of the room) is a bound piece of carpet, "Argyle Trellis" in brown from Kiser's here in Memphis.

Keeping it Real

2011-07-19T13:18:00.003-05:00

Here's what's going on.

I was trucking along, barreling toward 36 wks (this past Friday) and feeling pretty lucky that we'd made it to the home stretch without any major annoyances or roadblocks in this process known as human gestation. The idea of 4 more weeks did not sound cumbersome to me in the least...in fact, I was rather relieved to have another whole month to get things prepared, and try to wrap my mind around actually becoming a mommy shortly. I was zen, I was sleeping well, and overall doing "great."

Last Weds or so, I started itching, mostly on my tummy. This was easily attributable to the fact that my belly is being stretched beyond belief thanks to the growing little girl in there.

Then I noticed my legs were itching too. By then, it was a full-fledged, disgusting and mind-blowing rash that is all over about 80% of my epidermis.

Who knew pregnancy rash was even a thing that could happen? Not I. I suppose that it's far too scary a thing to be shared with the innocents in your pregnancy wake.

What is the only thing that completely makes this rash go away? Have the baby, of course.

So what do I now want to happen? Have the baby, of course (when she's good and healthy and ready, but nevertheless the sentiment remains).

We had lunch with my high school piano teacher today, who said that there always seems to be something in the last month of pregnancy that makes you completely READY for the finish line...ie, a cold that won't go away, heartburn, not sleeping, etc. Itching uncontrollably definitely falls under this category.

YES I'M READY FOR YOU, BABY! WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!

Anything happen to you in your last month that made you want it to be over?

Or, for the non-expectant, have you ever suffered from poison ivy or heat rash? (And did you want to check yourself into a loony bin?)

p.s. Yes I've tried hydrocortisone, Benadryl, Aveeno baths (in lukewarm/cooler water), some stuff the doctor gave me, and breathing deeply while taking my mind to a relaxing, happy place. If you have any other ground-breaking suggestions, I'm all ears.

I Can't Wait!

2011-07-15T11:03:00.001-05:00

We're going this afternoon! (and catching it in 3D)

Wonder if they're going to look so grainy and dirty the whole time?

I was in the 12th grade when the first Harry Potter movie came out (I think?). My mom took me, brother, and sister to the midnight showing. I finished the book about 1 hour before the movie started...and thus began the tradition of finishing each book pretty close to its corresponding movie release (sometimes the day-of, sometimes the week or month-of). So I didn't stay ahead plot-wise beyond the next movie. It was a fun way to go through the series (except, obviously, I've read all of #7 before Part I came out since the movie was in two parts...I didn't know where the split would be, nor could I put it down).

Jonathan asked me last night if I thought our kids would like these movies and/or books. I don't see why in the world they wouldn't? They're magic! (har har har)

Nursery Part III: Door Yarn Wreath

2011-07-11T21:17:00.001-05:00

This probably shouldn't even count as its own nursery post but what the heck. It's technically part of the nursery.

I finished this about a month ago, and have been enjoying it every time I walk into Juliette's room.

My friend Leslie P (also married to a Jonathan!) made some super-cute clips with these little rosettes and told me how easy they were, so I thought they'd look cute on a yarn wreath (which are so popular on the interwebs these days) for the nursery door.

This isn't the exact link I used, but it contains instructions for both the yarn wreath and the rosettes, here.

After placing all the rosettes on the wreath and hot-gluing them on, I thought it needed a little personalization. So for the letter, I cut out a "J" in felt in two different sizes and sewed them together with embroidery thread. Then, I cut out a cardboard backer for the letter and hot-glued it to the felt letters. I hot-glued the whole thing to the wreath, which I then looped with a ribbon and thumb-tacked to the top of the door (ie, no visible holes in the door).

Seriously easy and CHEAP! Felt and a foam wreath form and yarn on sale = cheap. I think this whole thing probably cost around $7 maybe (with yarn and felt to spare).

Once I get more stuff cleaned up and hung up in her room, I'll show you more things we've done. (I really dislike showing half-finished projects, ya with me?)

oh, and p.s. I made an addendum to my last post re the burp cloths: forgot to mention that they're backed in cream or white flannel (good absorbency, right?), bought by the yard at Hancocks (something like this).

Sewing for Baby: Burp Cloths

2011-07-08T11:04:00.009-05:00

Martha mentioned these on her recent post, but I wanted to show some more pics for yer.

Back in the early stages of my pregnancy, I came across this burp cloth tutorial via my blogging buddy sabbespot's blog. I thought they were so cute and loved the endless fabric possibilities.

After sewing a couple things (two summers ago), I hadn't made anything really since those first few projects.

I emailed the link to this tutorial off to my friend Erin (who sewed the most gorgeous quilt for her daughter Felicity...you can kinda see it in the background of their picture on this post), who confirmed that this was a novice enough project for a dodo seamstress like me.

So, under Martha's tutelage & supervision, we set up the Sister Sweatshop and got to work:

(my favorite cotton boll fabric from Joann!)

We also did some applique (is that the right term?) on a few of these bibs:

So fun and will make great baby gifts too! I definitely recommend this tutorial if you're looking for an easy sewing project with a sweet result. Thanks for your help, Marth!

*UPDATE forgot to mention, we used plain cream or white flannel as the backs. I'll put a pic on my next post.

p.s. Can we talk about how I hate the term "burp cloth" ??? There's got to be a better one out there...

July 4th Weekend

2011-07-05T11:15:00.001-05:00

The 3-day weekend started out fantastically: I woke up Saturday morning and found this box on my front porch:

A brown-paper-package-tied-up-with-string! And what was inside?

GINGERSNAPS! (can you think of a better Saturday morning surprise?)

The card read "Finally caught up with your blog and hope these satisfy your craving!" My dear/lifelong friend Polly had sent these (referencing this post), and lemme tell you...these cookies are DELICIOUS. They're from Polly's friend's company, Baking for Good, which donates 15% of your purchases to the charity of your choosing. THANK YOU THANK YOU Polly! Baby Jules & I are greatly enjoying these treats. :)

We got a ton of work done in the nursery this weekend, which didn't really leave me much time/energy for baking this year, unfortunately.

Poor, confused kitty. He's thinking, "What are all these strange things you're bringing into my house?" The past several nights when going to sleep, he's turned in circles and meow'ed right at my belly. He knows something is up (but probably not how truly earth-shattering it will be).

The annual neighborhood parade started the 4th off with a bang:

(brother Scott, Dudley, and Martha)

Wish I'd gotten more photos! Baby + I lasted most of the whole thing in the heat but it took the rest of the afternoon to recover. We headed to the Turman/Humber/Guinn/Carter/Jerkins annual cookout in the evening, completely with these fantastic sugar cookies by Lori and fireworks!

(these have recipes, from when I wasn't a slacker)

2010 July 4th post
2009 July 4th post

Hope yall's weekend was a fantastic celebration of our country!

Bon Weekend!

2011-07-01T17:02:00.003-05:00

{And what a happy & fortuitous time for it to be a 3-DAY weekend at that!}

You know our fam does July 4th up big... it's probably my favorite holiday besides Christmas.

So I'll be back next week with what all goes down this weekend.

In the meantime, here're some cute things I'm looking at on etsy...

Some Turkish bath towels for your weekend swim:

An adorable dress for my baby girl who-isn't-born-yet-but-will-someday-be-this-size-and-most-likely-in-the-summertime-of-next-year:

Finally, this dresser. I think it's brilliant.

Yes, I'm on Pinterest. Still kinda figuring out how it works (what's the difference between a "like" and a "pin" ?) but it is a beautiful place for some beautiful photos and ideas.

Have a wonderful and patriotic time!

I'm Nothing if Not Helpful

2011-06-28T15:36:00.000-05:00

If you see a pregnant woman and don't know what to say, stick to something along these lines:

1. You look so cute/pretty/radiant etc

2. I am so happy/excited/giddy etc for you

3. You're going to be a wonderful mom/parents etc

4. Your baby is just going to be cute/pretty etc

Yep, I'd say that pretty much covers the safety zone.

side note: I have (very fortunately) been feeling well and/or great, so I've been able to answer the question "how are you feeling?" with "good" or "great" ...so I can't really speak for those preggies who feel otherwise. Treading lightly is probably always the best tactic.

Cloth Flower Wreath

2011-06-23T11:42:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday, Martha and I each made a cloth flower wreath, like the one Mandi had on her front door at my baby shower, using this flower tutorial.

It's been so enjoyable to see it when coming in the door everyday this week!

These really are so easy, just like Mandi told us they were, but I thought I'd share some little nuances that we discovered.

We cut our strips of scrap fabric about 1.5" wide and the length of a yardstick (36" obvi) and ironed them flat. We did her step of hemming one end for the first few, but I don't really see the benefit/point of it...you can just hide the end where you start your stitches at the bottom of the flower.

After loosely loosely stitching all the way down one side of the fabric strip and pulling it taut, you kind of arrange it into the flower shape you want...

and then iron it flat. We sewed the buttons on a few of these with loose stitches from underneath the center of the flower...but most of them we hot-glued on.

We used half the little piece of cardboard that the buttons came on as the backer. This gave us something more secure when gluing/attaching the flower to the actual wreath.

Voila! here's Marth's:

Cost:

fabric: on-hand
needle/thread: on-hand
hot glue: on-hand
$4.99 for the wreath from Michaels (if we'd had a 40% off coupon, would've been 2.99)
$4-ish for the colored buttons from Hancocks (we didn't have the big colorful ones in inventory that we wanted to use)

Total: around $9

woo hoo! Thanks, Mandi, for spying this one!

Her Name

2011-06-21T06:48:00.000-05:00

Juliette Taylor

We've loved Juliette for years (and adore it paired with Jerkins)
...and Taylor is my given middle name

Beautiful watercolor that my wonderfully talented friend Andrea made her:

Our criteria was finding a name that everyone knew, but one that wasn't overused and had lots of personality on its own. {As active as she's been in my belly, it seems like she's going to have plenty of personality!}

Can't wait to put a face with a name :)

Baby Shower

2011-06-17T12:00:00.005-05:00

It was a wonderful day!

There were several family members in attendance: my Aunt Melissa was in town from Dallas, and my Granny and Aunt Gwynne and Cousin Mae came too (along with my mom and Martha and Susie and Jamie of course). And there were so many sweet friends from our church who came to Mandi's beautiful house, celebrating with us the coming of our baby girl.

Mandi and the hostesses (Hayley, Jesse, Amy, Anne, Ann, Bethany, Beth, and Sara) really outdid themselves!

Bienvenue!

Rainbow sherbet and various kinds of cookies (lemon, shortbread) were the fare du jour.

Hayley sewed these adorable cookie pouches, fastened with diaper pins:

(aren't they so cute?!)

Drink station on her sun porch, pre-drinks (which were water, raspberry lemonade, and mint tea!):

Mandi made those sweet fabric balls too, and Hayley did the runner.

Entry hall table:

And photo with some of the hostesses (missing a few), {and probably the final photo of moi you will see published on this blog before le bebe comes}:

THANK YOU FRIENDS! It was a beautiful day I will never forget!

Craft sources from Mandi & Hayley:
wreath flower tutorial here
fabric poms here
cookie pouches here via here

This is Not a Joke

2011-06-15T17:40:00.004-05:00

A week ago Monday, we found out that our air-conditioning unit would have to be replaced. Amidst the quote process, several trained professionals got the existing to putter along at 75 degrees until yesterday.

Now it's all over. And this is now our reality.

(You may or may not remember this post from last summer...no more repairs are possible, I'm told.)

I'm very thankful to live in town with family. Red is at Kitty Camp (thank you Nana & Papa!) and my parents live very close by (so it's easy to go back and forth for stuff).

I think the only reason I am not totally freaking out (while having definitely freaked out partially) with the whole I'm-7-months-pregnant-in-the-summer-and-my-air-gone-broke thing is because God is giving me grace. That's the plain truth. He continues to provide for us even when I don't ask! And I'm thankful.

Boo Boo Bunny

2011-06-12T21:48:00.003-05:00

Today was a fun and wonderful day! Several very dear friends hosted a baby shower for me at my dear dear dear friend Mandi's house. I can't wait to show photos of all the CUTE crafts they did for it, but I'm still gathering pics from various sources.

In the meantime, here's what Aunt Marthie made for le bebe:

A "boo boo bunny" ...so sweet!

Here's his tail:

Accompanied by this poem:

"If a boo boo has you feeling crummy,
Stick an ice cube in my tummy.
Hold it to your boo boo tight,
Soon everything will be all right!"

Our little nieces have a boo-boo bunny and Jonathan loves to suggest it as the remedy for every ailment when we visit them. :)

more to come!

New Succulent Plants

2011-06-05T21:30:00.005-05:00

This weekend, in an effort to spruce up my kitchen window sills, I picked up a few new succulent plants to put in little containers we had on-hand.

I adore the new monogram mugs from anthropologie. {Last year for mother's day gifts, I did this same thing with their previous version.}

Owl pot with new hair:

I found this pretty little jadite planter in Hardy, Arkansas (yay for Cherokee Village, Laura!) last fall and am just now getting around to giving it a living tenant. Love "string of pearls" and hope these make it in this spot.

A better (albeit phone) pic of the plant itself:

Those little plants are just so cheery! And probably cost $8 for all three.

In other news, my current (and maybe only "real") craving has been for ginger and/or molasses items, preferably cookies.

So I made Joy the Baker's Chewy Ginger Chocolate Cookies.

Delish. They didn't exactly scratch my molasses cookie itch (I'm craving one like they have at Starbucks sometimes, but haven't found one yet?), but these are darn good. Even if it's not Christmas and it may seem out of season to make ginger-y cookies...yum! I highly recommend. {If anyone has a recipe for a molasses cookie like the Starbucks ones, I'd appreciate it if you'd send it my way. Thanks!}

Dear Well-Meaning People,

2011-06-02T15:26:00.006-05:00

I know you are nice and looking for something to say to the awkward, round preggo lady walking your way. And, honestly, I've maybe said one or both these to other people in the past. I had no idea what would become slightly annoying to hear when you’re pregnant. But here are a couple for you. And here are my thoughts on 'em...as this is my blog.

Let me also say to my local compadres: if you’ve said one of these to me, I do not hate you forever. Nor do these even make me mad or ticked off--I've just been ruminating. These are by no means the worst I’ve heard so far or even hurtful necessarily—mainly just funny.

Without further ado:

Number 1: “You look SOOOO pregnant” or “You are SOOOOO pregnant!”

People, this is what happens when you’re 7 months pregnant. You’re. Pregnant. So yes, I’m SO pregnant. What did you expect to happen when you found out I was preg back in February? Nothing? To a lady who's hormonal and insecure about looking a way she's never looked before in her life, this can translate to, "you look huge!" See?

Number 2:
Person: “When are you due?”
Me: “August 12th”
Person: “Oh, you will get the whoooooole summer to be miserable!”
or
“You are going to be sooooo hot this summer”
or
“Oh honey, you are going to just melt in the heat. You’ll have to stay completely inside.”

Believe me, I am fully aware how hot I will be in June and July. I am fully aware it’s summer. I have been aware of it and gritted my teeth through it for the last 26 years of my life. And (if you saw my belly in person), I’m not sure when you thought this baby would come out and I’d be able to somehow MISS summer weather? This child’s arrival is obviously impending, and it’s just now June.

And I promise you, if you knew me at all (which, these well-meaning strangers don’t but here you go), you’d know that August has previously been my least favorite month of the entire year. After this, I don’t even expect to really love it beyond loving my child and the fact that we’ll celebrate her birthday during this month every year. So yes, I know it'll be hot.

However, it is the Lord’s providence for me to have this child in the summertime (maybe to teach me a much-needed lesson about complaining?); and, you can’t always plan your children’s birthdays exactly when you want them. We are thrilled to be having this baby, whether it’s coming in August or January. So we'll take the blessing that it is and deal with the heat as necessary.

Love,
A Hormonal Pregnant Lady

Babies & Some Junk Food

2011-06-01T07:23:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend visiting friends & family in Dallas!

First, we needed our staple road trip food for the drive there:

This tradition started years ago. It's the only time we eat Corn Nuts, but we get them for every car trip (and always have gum handy to combat the after-effects).

We got to go help pick Kendall up from her school on Friday, which was fun (blazes, was it hot!). This pic is after she and I painted fingernails and I braided her hair (isn't she such a cutie?!):

Girl time!

I tried to get a pic of little sister Kailyn, but she was telling me (in this photo) that she couldn't smile because her teeth hurt:

Cutie!!!

From there, we went to see my grandma, and her new kitty, Skeeter:

He is a VERY sweet kitty and loves his new home (and I couldn't get him to look at the camera)!

After a trip to Ikea (hopefully will be tackling some projects soon!), we had a lovely dinner with Grandma, my aunt and two of my uncles. {Also that night, we caught (no pun intended) Hillbilly Handfishin on Animal Planet. Totally weird...I still don't really get it.}

Our last stop was to see our dear dear friends Erin & Jonathan and meet their darling little cutie pie Baby Felicity!

Oh, she is just as irresistible as she looks in this photo!

On the way home, I got a hankering for a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. This was somewhere less than 100 miles into the 500 mile drive. About 50 miles away from Memphis, we finally found one in Forrest City, Arkansas.

Behold, the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Blizzard!

{Please don't think I've completely abandoned my principles from this post and this post, but it WAS a road trip after all! And I nowhere near finished the whole thing.}

Glad to be home, even though it's suddenly a billion degrees in Memphis too. Baby Girl must be glad too, because she's been so active in there ever since we got home!

Thanks to our friends and family for the wonderful hospitality this weekend.

Yummy

2011-05-25T22:27:00.002-05:00

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, made tonight (with storm sirens blaring):

{love the kosher salt in them!}

via the inspiring blog Food in Jars, here

And these little felt rosette hair clippies, made for my darling nieces we get to see this weekend!

{some good practice for making hair accessories for little girls!}

These are ridiculously easy. I read these instructions for the rosettes. Next time, a little leaf addition perhaps?

Buona notte!

Nursery Part II: Dresser Top vs Changing Table

2011-05-23T21:40:00.003-05:00

Little Girl has a dresser to her name already, which is destined to be painted (again) very soon.

This guy, which we acquired last summer from our good friends, the Reasons.

(hilarious to see the green-painted mirrors that used to be in the nursery when we moved in. glad they are long gone.)

The glossy black color scheme was my idea, and though this is a bad photo, it really didn't turn out as I'd imagined.

Preparing the nursery is the perfect excuse for a fresh start!

So, it seems that the whole use-the-top-of-your-dresser-as-a-changing-table-surface has become fairly ubiquitous, with one of those changing pads + diaper accessories on top. I have spoken with several very passionate changing table users (two of them being my parents), but I already have this dresser in-hand, and I like its height and length. It just needs a paint job!

Here's what's been inspiring me:

This beautiful blue dresser:

Little more fancy white one:

This more mid-century guy:

Not for a changing top, but I love the color, via Making it Lovely:

And (also not for a changing top, but just because it was a great deal and super cute) THIS ONE I HAD THE CHANCE TO BUY AND WAS AN IDIOT AND DIDNT BUY IT AND OF COURSE IT WAS GONE WHEN I WENT BACK (from Sheffield's Antique Mall here in town):

Anyway.

At first I was thinking something in the green family (my fave color), because greens can look so nice with blue (the wall color). But my friend Laura encouraged me to consider something in the pale pale pink family, with gold hardware perhaps.

I'm resistant to painting it white/cream, because I don't want it to match the crib. All-matching furniture is not really what I'm aiming for in this room.

Any other brilliant ideas out there? Or does anyone have any strong opinions about changing tables vs. using the top of a dresser?

It's fun having a piece that we already own that is such a blank canvas (although it will definitely need a good sanding/priming)!

{My heartburn & I are headed to bed! We have a new curfew.}

I Made Yogurt and Granola

2011-05-17T21:26:00.000-05:00

First, thank you so much for all of your sweet comments, encouragement, and tips in response to my last post.

Second, the night I wrote that post, I got lost on 100daysofrealfood.com (via Marth via Audrey). It's a pretty kick-butt blog concept, the whole eating-real-food thing. And it completely convicted me, especially when I thought about how much I eat that comes from a box in the center of the grocery store.

In response, I made her granola (for our cereal...J must have cereal in the morn):

Sans coconut, with flaxseed. Nothing like the smell of melting butter with honey!

(you can either make bars at this point, or break it up for cereal, like I did.)

Close up:

Yum! Jonathan likes it too. I need to price this and see how much it cost to make it compared to a box of Kashi...

Next, and lots more exciting in its groundbreaking-ness, was making yogurt in the crock pot. Yes you heard me. Making yogurt in the crock pot. How genius! Recipe I used is here.

All you have to buy is a half-gallon of milk and a small carton of plain yogurt as your "starter" (but you can use 1/2 c of your first batch as your next starter! and on and on...). Worlds cheaper than buying yogurt loaded with sugar. And it's so flippin' easy.

You just cook the milk on low in the crock pot for 2.5 hours. Then turn it off and let it sit for 3 hours. Then ladle out some of the warm milk, stir it with your "starter" plain yogurt, dump that back in and stir into the pot. Then cover the whole crock pot (lidded, of course) with a towel, and let it sit for 8 hours. So easy!

The recipe actually made 7 of these containers, but one had already been consumed when I took this photo. (FYI: I used 2% organic milk instead of Vitamin D milk and the texture is fine...very very similar to what we had while in Italia!)

Yummy with strawberries (and the granola above too!) and a little honey. I haven't tried making flavors yet, but the recipe says you can blend it with fruit (and maybe add a little gelatin to thicken). You can also strain it through a coffee filter inside a colander to get more Greek-style yogurt (will try that soon).

Making yogurt is definitely something I will continue doing. I love yogurt! And I will LOVE not paying out the nose for it too, especially when bebe comes. I've heard babies like yogurt.

What next? Bran muffins?

Any healthful recipes that have blown your mind lately like this crock pot yogurt did mine?

Confession: Food

2011-05-15T22:45:00.004-05:00

I am not a naturally skinny person. I am not obese either, but I don't have nor have ever had the metabolism to just eat whatever I want and not exercise. Never have. Unfortunately, I've also never had a small appetite. I learned at a pretty young age that these things needed to be kept somewhat in check. Not necessarily through crazy diets or exercise regimens, but a common-sense watchful eye was necessary.

Like most girls (from what I hear), I also associate eating with emotions; can often get carried into eating when happy/sad/celebrating/bored/emotional, etc. etc. etc. if I'm not careful. {I can also blame part of the emotional-eating tendency to attending an all-girls school for fourteen years. But on the upside, that environment also helped me have no shame in my love of food.} I've never wanted to be a strict weirdo about my diet, who couldn't go along with the flow...like eating a piece of cake at a birthday party or eating pizza at a football-watching party. Those things can be integral in making memories with friends.

Anyway, when I got pregnant, I was going through a difficult time in my life. I'd been eating more (and worse) than normal. My husband had started school and was out of the house a lot. Then, when we got pregnant (and were thrilled!), I was pretty sick in the first trimester. It was survival mode; "what is the one thing in the world I can possibly stomach right now?" Unfortunately, the answer was all-too-often not the healthiest option (I couldn't have kept a salad down if my life depended on it).

So when I quit feeling sick, around 16 weeks, I'd already clocked over two months of bad eating habits; ie, eating whatever I "felt" like eating. Add to that working full-time, being alone at dinnertime (or, the need to cook for one), and pregnancy fatigue (however you might define it), and I've been doing a bang-up job of excusing myself for eating junk.

This must stop. It's appalling to me that I am growing a human being and haven't been trying my darnedest to eat as healthfully as possible for this precious baby whose health the Lord has entrusted me with.

What makes me think that it will be any easier (or that I will possibly feel any more well-rested) when I come home from an 8-5 work day in a couple of months with a little infant in tow? Not to mention what I'll inevitably be teaching my children about healthy lifestyle habits, were this to continue as-is.

I've been sort of surprised how many comments I've heard during this pregnancy like, "oh, it doesn't matter what you eat," or "well, you can eat whatever you want." It's only something like an extra 300 calories/day you're to consume when pregnant. That is not very many, and in no way warrants a devil-may-care diet. Shouldn't I be even more vigilant about what I'm feeding myself and my child?

I've been putting off thinking about this too seriously or dealing with it properly until after the baby comes, but that really seems foolish. It's only going to get harder (right?).

Is it hard for any of yall to cook {for one} after a long day at work? Or does anyone struggle with this (or did you during pregnancy)?

And are there any magic tips out there for cooking dinners and staying on top of healthy eating choices (and what if you're working and taking care of a baby)?

p.s. last night's post was not necessarily the catalyst for this one; just a symptom of the problem. :)

The Weirdest Thing I've Eaten So Far

2011-05-14T22:36:00.004-05:00

That's vanilla ice cream (lowfat Blue Bell) + a blueberry muffin (from a mix, yikes!).

The moment this combo first occurred to me (and obviously had to try it), I was thinking, "BUT OF COURSE! I AM A GENIUS! HOW CAN NO ONE HAVE THOUGHT OF THIS BEFORE NOW? THANK GOODNESS I'M PREGNANT AND WEIRD (AND DRAMATIC)! THIS WILL CHANGE THE WORLD!"

But honestly, it wasn't everything I hoped or dreamed. Just an okay muffin and a yummy scoop of ice cream.

The End.

The Club Can't Even Handle Me Right Now

2011-05-10T21:47:00.001-05:00

Prepare for brain/iphone pic dump.

After attending the Grizzlies' heartbreaking triple-overtime loss last night (the game ended at 12:45 am!), today was one of those days when I wish it were acceptable to wear sunglasses inside.

To my out-of-town friends who may have heard about the historic Mississippi River flooding in Memphis & surrounding areas: we are fine. Our house is fine, we are not in danger. It is a terrible situation for many people in our area, and our hearts and prayers go out to them.

But yes, the river has not been this high since 1937. It's insanely huge.

Downtown Memphis:

That there's the biggest river I ever done seen.

Next, we are slowly slowly slowly working on the landscaping in our front yard. You may remember last summer, we re-sodded. This year so far, we have cleaned out the beds and lined them with stone. Unfortunately we haven't decided/purchased what to fill them with just yet.

Nonetheless, here's our little coral bark Japanese maple in its new home at the corner of the house, by the carport:

(You can also see a Jasmine vine that I am trying to establish on the side of the carport. I miss my old one.)

So fun looking at baby girl clothes!

I haven't bought anything because I have no idea what size she will be (big or small for her age, etc.)...

But it's insanely fun to look at these cute rompers and imagine a little girl toddling around someday!

{When I picture what she'll look like, I automatically think of her looking like a mini-Jonathan. Mixed with Suri Cruise for some reason. No idea why.}

Mother's Day Gifts:

My lifelong friend Laura is an extremely talented artist & calligrapher. She penned our moms' and grandmothers' names for me; I scanned and had some stationery printed up (should've gotten a better pic):

Laura also did the calligraphy for this address stamp I had made (rubberstampchamp is awesome! and awesomely cheap):

If you're in the Memphis area looking for some custom calligraphy, I can put you in touch with her (hope I don't get in trouble with her for this unsolicited advertisement...I just think her work is so beautiful!).

Going to get some shut-eye! Go Grizz!

This week so far...

2011-05-04T11:26:00.002-05:00

This happened. And I thought it was funny.

Whoever you are...you're funny. Thank you.

And the four of us (me, my puffy face, Jonny, and our baby) have been enjoying cheering for the Grizzlies in the playoffs and attending home games.

Believe Memphis! Go Grizz

Nursery Part 1

2011-04-29T17:18:00.006-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything on the nursery yet. It's been sorta touch-and-go playing musical furniture, trying to get stuff out of there (it was our office) so we could paint and prep. Happy to say it's now painted (thanks for your help, Dad!) and we have a crib! (or, what Jonny has been calling "Red's bed")

In this color:

(sorry for the fuzzy thumbnail)

And we have this crib set up.

Couldn't resist the Jenny Lind.

Besides that? Nada, yet.

This is going to be her room (on move-in day):

Remember with the weird painted mirrors, that were on top of the single grasscloth'd wall in our entire house? We had those removed during the laundry room extravaganza, and the wall was sanded and smoothed, ready for a fresh coat of paint.

Here's the room mid-painting:

Aren't those windows great?

This bedroom is right next to ours, connected by a bathroom (back there on the right). The crib will be maybe 10 steps away from where I sleep. Thus, I don't think I'll be using a bassinet right at first (as of now).

In the spirit of full disclosure, here's our front living room with twin bed (thanks, Reasons!), drum set (for sale!), and large desk, that had to move from elsewhere so the painting could happen.

So maddening, all this stuff everywhere, but it's slow progress with one of us gone a lot. (And I know, our house has no shortage of ceiling fans!)

I have fabric picked out (with Marthie's help, of course), and still working on chair, rug, light fixture (?), and dresser/changing table combo decision.

It's very fun to dream up and plan all of this, but I have to stop every now and then (remember my post from the other day) and say, Who is this person who is caring so much more about this room than any room she's ever decorated in her entire life? I know it's for my little daughter, but sheesh! Twilight zone, a little.

The Everything-I-Like Trifle

2011-04-26T21:28:00.005-05:00

When our monthly bunko group sent the email sign-up for food, I signed up to bring a dessert. I've not been in the making-things mood very often recently, with morning sickness in the early months, and the whole my-husband-is-a-med-student-and-never-home thing going on, but I decided it was time to get out of this rut.

The theme was springtime stuff/gardening, so I decided to make a pretty trifle.

I was very lucky to get a lovely trifle dish with a lid for a wedding gift. It sat in storage for a few years, until my sister dug it out to use, and then when we moved from our tiny condo, it got a permanent spot in my pantry.

I wanted to really go for it with this trifle. The ones I've had/made in recent years have been on the healthier side: angel food cake, reduced-fat cool whip, etc., blah blah blah. Also, I didn't really want an intensely chocolate-focused trifle. I (typically) err on the side fruit-focused desserts in general anyway.

I wanted none of this let's-make-it-healthier stuff. I wanted the good stuff. Not low-fat and homemade, but still light. With only things in it that I like, and nothing in it that "needed" to be in it, like nuts or blueberries (I like both nuts and blueberries, but I don't always need them in a trifle).

So, may I present, one of the few (if any?) concoctions that I have totally made up myself. The parts (pound cake, vanilla pudding, and whipped cream) are all homemade, but not my own recipes. The combination of them, however, is my own. Let me be clear: I don't think this is super-genius or anything, but maybe some of you will find its simplicity of taste-combination freeing?

I'll show you the parts individually, and then bring it all together at the bottom.

Let's start with the VANILLA PUDDING. Having never made pudding-pudding before (except for pudding-ish pie fillings, like so), I found this recipe from NYTimes here, so I figured it was a safe bet.

Some lovely half-and-half, a wonderful start to many tasty things.

I had one more vanilla bean, so I went for it on this one, for the authentic factor (I guess...whatever that means). I'm sure it's just as yummy (and slightly simpler) with vanilla extract.

Pudding made and about to put in the fridge to chill (you can see how thick it is on the side of the bowl):

STRAWBERRIES:

Cut and sprinkled generously with sugar:

POUND CAKE, recipe from my lovely & talented sis-in-law Amanda (and her sis Diana), similar to this one. (I am holding out hope that one day soon, she will get her own blog going and share it with you from there!)

WHIPPED CREAM, doubled this recipe (starting with a chilled bowl, popped in the freezer for a few minutes):

- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

Easy! And so much tastier (to me) than Cool Whip. So why not?

And DARK CHOCOLATE CHUNKS, Kroger brand. I trust that you can all imagine what they look like by themselves.

Leslie's Trifle (with everything she likes in it)

- 1 quart (or this full recipe) vanilla pudding, chilled
- 1/3-ish of one pound cake, cut into small cubes
- 1 pint strawberries, sliced and sprinkled generously with sugar
- 2 batches (at least) of whipped cream
- 2/3 bag (or however many you want) dark chocolate chunks

Cover the bottom of the trifle dish with the pound cake chunks. Spread (generously) half of the pudding over the top. Spoon strawberries over the pudding until covered; sprinkle chocolate chunks on top. Top this layer with whipped cream until covered. Repeat layers: pound cake, pudding, strawberries, chocolate chips. Top all with whipped cream with garnish with strawberries and chocolate chips. Chill at least one hour.

Enjoy!

Wedding Day & Earth Day

2011-04-22T11:34:00.006-05:00

I'm glad that for us, they are/were one & the same. {Except after the fact, I guess you say "anniversary" instead of "wedding day."}

Happy Anniversary, Jonathan Jerkins! You are truly my other half.

Some images from April 22nd, 2006, the day our family was established.

{I am the luckiest to have had TWO redheaded bridesmaids. You're all beautiful! And I miss you out-of-towners. And I miss seeing my collarbones.}

Look at these youngsters:

Jonathan's younger brother, Michael, caught the garter...and got married on March 25th of this year, just several weeks ago! (and GO GRIZZ indeed! This year was the last time the Grizzlies were in the playoffs too.)

I'm sure that very soon (in oh, say three-point-five-ish months), there will exist a very very very close second for the title of Best Day of My Life.

But for now, this is still it.

Blast from the Past:
4 year post
3 year post (none, whoops)
2 year post
1 year post

Trying to Take a Chill Pill

2011-04-20T06:59:00.005-05:00

Despite my best/conscious efforts at the outset of this whole having-a-baby thing, I have slipped into Overthinking-Waffler-Nervous-Nelly-New-Mommy-Shopper mode. YUCK.

I started a registry a couple of weeks ago, and it was my first real foray into the overwhelming world that is Baby Stuff.

Will she even like a swing? What about a bouncer? A playmat? Which car seat? Which changing pad covers? A Moby wrap or an Ergo?

Somewhere underneath all of this has been the overwhelming desire to pick the "right" thing. Like there's ONE right thing in this whole mess.

One example: I'll think, what will it say about me as a parent if I don't want loud primary-color-y items all over my house? Does that mean I'm not interested in Baby's visual development? I'm too cool for school? I don't want it to mean either, but what if it does? I've never done this before!

So, to all of you whose phones and email boxes I've blown up with questions like, "So why did you choose the diaper bag you have?" ... I'm sorry.

And I'm aware and trying to chill out a little.

Example? I picked out a baby book... spontaneously.

My mom and I were in Anthropologie, and she got me this one for my birthday.

I loved the pages and the adorable way it's illustrated, so I just said "YES, thank you!" and haven't looked back (the way I make decisions under normal circumstances). Thanks, Mom.

Have you ever slid over into spaz mode without meaning to? Or is parenting just one big control-yourself-from-spazzing-out fest?

The Fall of the Flip Cam

2011-04-16T17:12:00.002-05:00

Along with many others, I was very surprised to learn this past week of the Flip Camera's demise.

This gadget was on our very short list of electronic goodies to acquire before Baby comes.

Did the smart phone really kill this device in less than 4 years after its conception, as this article suggests? This NY Times blogger is upset too, here.

Am I being irrational to worry that the way things are trending in electronics, my children's entire lives are going to have to be documented on my cell phone?

Will things regress, or will quality cease to be compromised with the all-in-one device?

In 20 years, what will her childhood multimedia heritage be?

Dramatic? or something you've also thought of?

Italia: Cinque Terre & Roma

2011-04-11T12:13:00.001-05:00

Let's pick up where we left off...

Our what-we-thought-would-be-short train trip from Florence to Vernazza (Cinque Terre) was not uneventful.

The trip from Florence to Cinque Terre involves a train to Pisa, then Pisa to La Spezia, then a smaller train to the five towns of Cinque Terre and ultimately for us, Vernazza.

We didn't leave Florence until around 6 pm, since we did the Uffizi and Accademia that day. Made it to Pisa with an hour lag until the next train to La Spezia, but not enough time to see the Leaning Tower.

Unfortunately, when we got to La Spezia around 9:20 pm, we'd missed the train onto Vernazza by about 10 minutes. And the next one? Oh, it was at 11:10 pm. So I hunkered down to update our trip journal while Jonathan had a photo shoot.

There were lots of interesting characters in the La Spezia train station at 11 o'clock at night, and I wasn't sad when our little train finally came. And how long was the final leg of the trip via train, for which we waited almost 2 hours, you might ask? A MERE 20 MINUTES. Yep.

So, after checking into our room around midnight, and checking out before 10 a.m. the next day, we were ready to explore Vernazza for the day until leaving for Rome that afternoon.

Vernazza is one of five little towns built into the mountainside, facing the sea, on Italy's west coast.

500 people live in this town.

And, as I learned from our Rick Steves book the Burkes loaned us, there is a Commissioner of Good Taste who regulates the buildings' multi paint colors. {sounds like a fun job! or at least a fun title to have...}

Yes, this is real.

{the largest aloe plant I've ever seen... and, do you like my birthday-present leather jacket that Jonny got me in Firenze?}

{succulents and sedum just grow out of the walls...beautiful!}

At the top of Vernazza's castle.

SO, as I understand it, all five towns are connected with a hiking trail, which is supposedly breathtakingly beautiful and fun. This was not in the cards for this preggo and husband this time.

Instead, we took the train one town over to Corniglia, which is unfortunately ONLY accessible from the train station by a very long and very steep path...maybe something like 350 long steps I think I read? Whoops.

While waiting the hour until the next train back to Vernazza (a maybe 10 minute ride through the mountainside), we sat on a bench, enjoying the perfect weather and view of the sea.

I definitely want to go back to Cinque Terre for longer and when not pregnant.

Before I take you on to Roma, here's a chubby face/sort of belly-ish shot for those of you who've asked:

Mmm.

Okay, so that afternoon, onto Roma! It was about a 4.5 hour train ride, but the logistics went smoothly this time (...except for finding our hotel once we got there, but I'll spare you the details because we eventually did find it).

Pantheon at night, 5 mins from our hotel:

Never in my life could I say, "My eyes are looking at something that was built in 127 AD." Well in Rome, that would change!

Colosseum (truly colossal!)...and I love how that kid is looking straight at the phone camera.

Inside the Colosseum:

Mind-blowing.

And then...St. Peter's, Vatican City, from the top of the dome:

There really aren't words for this. It's completely overwhelming.

At the Vatican post office box:

My illegal phone pic of the Sistine Chapel {Probably the most impressive of all in all of Vatican City...I can't believe that took Michelangelo only 4 years--seems so short--and he didn't lie on his back to paint! ouch}

Mente (mint) gelato on the way back to the hotel, in front of St. Peter's:

That about sums up our adventure!

If you'd like to know more about international travel while 20ish weeks pregnant, email me. For now, I'll just say it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be (at least for me). And I won't post a photo of my feet after the flight home, but let's just say I've never seen them look like that before (so swollen!).

After a looooooooong flight back (on which we each had our own freak-out moment, mine involving a convinced fear that the baby was taking all of my oxygen), we made it home to our kitty!

What a way to celebrate five years of marriage and the upcoming arrival of our little baby girl! Ciao!

Italia: Venice & Florence

2011-04-08T08:55:00.007-05:00

Finally! I've done enough laundry to sit down and do this.

I'll split the trip into two cities per each post, so the photos + commentary won't be too laborious.

Please indulge me in this precursory comment: I really dislike all of the photos taken of me during this trip (or any time in recent months). But alas, I am pregnant, and I am larger (everywhere) than I've ever been in my entire life. I know that sacrificing your vanity is just part of carrying a child. This doesn't mean I have to like these photos. But this is my blog, so I get to say my piece if I want to. Also...you can safely assume that the good, high-resolution photos were taken by Jonathan.

We left Memphis Saturday around 10: 30 in the morning, flew to Atlanta, then flew to New York. We left New York around 7:30 pm ET, and got to Venice around 11 a.m. their time on Sunday morning.

We took a water bus into town from the airport... it was fun to see this storied city built on the water with my own two eyes. And thus began the mind-blowing that happens when you realize how old everything is.

{not far from where we saw a local teenage couple TOTALLY MAKING OUT in one of these doorways, oblivious to the world. Our baptism into seeing public makeout sessions all over the place.}

So, what I learned in Venice: maps are useless. Any sort of strong directional sense is largely futile. You WILL get lost and you WILL have no clue where you're going. And yes, we did make a circle once or twice. But, it was fun wandering around, and we managed to stay awake all day until about 8:30 Sunday night.

We went to St. Mark's Square (the "big" thing there, right?), where part of the front facade was under scaffolding.

{those little boys in the green jackets were trying to get pigeons to sit on their head and arms and stuff. gross.}

Jonny making a pigeon-face (and you can see the beautiful church and scaffolding):

So, we meandered around, had some not-so-great/touristy pizza (better pizza was to come) and went to sleep. Funny, we both woke up around 2:30 am and realized the other was awake. We ate snacks, and went back to sleep until 8 am.

That morning, I got this best gelato pic (grapefruit...MMM!):

And then we packed up and headed to the train station for FIRENZE!

Jonathan downloaded this new app slash toy, Autostitch, and had fun playing with it.

Here's the Duomo in Florence (which is so jammed into the city, it's hard to get a comprehensive picture while you're standing next to it):

Inside:

Those famous "Gates of Paradise" on the Baptistry doors, (so beautiful in person, even on a grey day!):

While in Florence, we were SO graciously hosted by our friends Laura & Ryan Stephens, who are participating in mission work through Avanti Italia.

Here's the 4 of us from the Piazza di Michelangelo (a wonderful view of the city and a better idea of the size of the Duomo):

Ryan & Laura's apartment was so cozy and comfortable, and we got to enjoy some of Laura's Italian-refined culinary skills. They also took us to visit two of their artisan friends they've met while there, one makes intricate jewelry and detailed metal accoutrements, and one works mainly in watercolor...we bought 3 small watercolors of his (two for the baby's room!).

THANK YOU so much, Stephens, for hosting us! We had such a great time with you both.

Also in Florence, Laura took us to Harding University's Villa where Jonathan spent a summer in college. We ate a delicious lunch, and I got to meet Robbie, the longtime famous program director:

We finished off our trip to Florence with visits to the Uffizi Art Gallery and the Accademia, where I got this illegal phone pic of the David:

So formidable and so much larger in person than I expected. We walked into the gallery where he stands, and I just said, "Whoa!" Completely beautiful. We also liked seeing Michelangelo's "unfinished" slave sculptures there.

Of course, before getting on the train to Cinque Terre, one more stop at J's favorite gelato place from his college days, FESTIVAL!

Next we go to Vernazza (Cinque Terre) and Roma! Stay tuned!

wha?

2011-04-04T07:16:00.002-05:00

(in front of the Duomo, Florence)

We're back from a week in Italy! Can't wait to share photos and other randoms when I can get my [jet-lagged] head on straight.

More l8r!

Baby Girl Resources: Guest Post by Erin

2011-03-28T07:00:00.002-05:00

Note from Leslie: We are all in for a big treat! My dearest friend Erin has agreed to guest-post for us. Erin & Jonathan's precious baby girl, Felicity, was born at the beginning of December and I am absolutely OBSESSED with her and her cuteness. I knew Erin would be full of baby girl favorite-resource wisdom to share from her parenthood journey thus far. Take it away!

When you are pregnant with or adopting your first baby and registering for all the essentials, there are a few obvious necessities about which everyone has differing opinions--the carseat (I'd go for the Chicco Keyfit), stroller (wish I had the Phil and Ted's), high chair (opted instead for the Fisher Price Booster seat), etc, etc. Then there are the less obvious, but no less wonderful, gems that you stumble upon and can't imagine doing without. At 4 months into this awesome motherhood gig, those items have been:

1. The Quick Zip Sheet Set--I almost took these off my registry because my mom thought they were gimmick-y. Yet even she will now tell you that she is so glad I didn't. These are the BEST. Rather than having to untie all the bumpers and shimmy the mattress out to put on a clean sheet, all I have to do is zip on a new top sheet. Pure genius, huh? And when the time comes that my little one has a middle-of-the-night blow-out (knock on wood, it hasn't happened yet), I will be even more thankful for these puppies.

2. Bum Genius 4.0 Cloth Diapers—This will probably take a lot of convincing for those of you who have visions of white burp cloths with big safety pins, or of your hands and washing machine covered in you-know-what. But seriously, it is NOT like that! We (yes, even my husband) are obsessed with these things, not only for the awesome cost savings, but also the environmental benefits and the fact that they are so stinkin cute! Being far from a domestic goddess (I may or may not have uttered the words, "So Mom...how do you mop?" in the last year), if I can do them, anyone can. And I'd be willing to bet that you'd actually really enjoy them. The time it takes to wash/dry/fold them is minimal—maybe 15 minutes every few days. We also conservatively estimate that our initial investment will be paid off by the time our little girl is around 8 months. (AND, we get to use these for any subsequent kiddos!) The hubbie and I affectionately call them “the gift that keeps on giving.” Every time we use one, we hear little "Cha-Ching" sounds going off in the distance. (In addition to being a lazy housekeeper, I am also notoriously cheap frugal.) So, while cloth diapering does warrant a bit of research, hopefully I’ve convinced someone to at least give them a second thought. (And for what it’s worth, while there are lots of styles of cloth diapers out there, we have loved the Bum Genius 4.0’s. They work the same way as any disposable diaper so are very grandma/babysitter friendly.)

3. Baby Geek iPhone App—best 99 cents I ever spent. In the early days and weeks with a newborn, this helped me keep track of dirty diapers, which side to nurse on, how long she nursed, weight and height, etc. (Lest you think I’m anal, the pediatrician and nurses really do ask about this kind of stuff so I had to keep track of it.) There are plenty of apps like this out there, but for what we needed it to do, this was perfect (and cheap).

4. Dwell for Target Kimono Onesies—so… I can certainly live without these, but they are so flippin presh, and we needed something girly on this list in honor of Baby Girl Jerkins. These onesies have fun graphic prints that aren’t your run-of-the-mill baby designs, and the kimono style is a fun change (though maybe a little trickier for dads). So far, they have held up really well in the wash. And it’s tough to beat $12.99 for 3 onesies. (Are you seeing a theme here? I told you I was cheap.) Two thumbs up.

Any favorite baby items YOU can't live without? Please share!

Crazytown

2011-03-25T09:13:00.005-05:00

That's where I've lived this week. Jonathan's brother is getting married today. Surprisingly, it's 40 degrees outside as I type this.

I did break this curse, though...

One of my favorite things to eat/drink (whichever it is) during this pregnancy so far has been smoothies (also mentioned here). Jonathan and I both head to Tropical Smoothie Cafe A LOT, like at least several times/week, Jonathan from school and me from wherever.

Right now, when you buy a smoothie, they give you these scratch-off coupon cards. I kept getting things like "Free Breakfast Sandwich" or "99 cents off your smoothie" ...meanwhile, Jonathan was racking up on the "99 cent smoothie" cards, which is basically $4 off. He's been getting them every single time and I had gotten zero. I even went with Martha on Sunday, and the lady handed us two cards at the same time and I got the 99-cent-off card while Martha got the 99-cent-smoothie card.

I was starting to think that in some karmic way, I had done something to wrong the universe...

until Tuesday!

Feast your eyes:

HECK YES! The curse was broken.

Early Spring in my Backyard

2011-03-21T06:55:00.001-05:00

Redbud trees get their 15 minutes of fame this time of the year, and ours is the star of our backyard:

Budding tulips (my fave!)

Jonny's Butterfly Maple "Pet"...

And, not in my backyard, but flowers just the same... for our celebration of Anne and baby Emery:

{Yes, I realize these photos will win no prizes. I will try to improve my skills for Baby Girl, but realize that there is a long way to go...}

Something is better than nothing? Maybe?

Happy Spring!

It's a...

2011-03-16T08:33:00.007-05:00

{photo by Aaron Snow}

GIRL!

Shocking us all (especially my baby daddy)! We were all absolutely convinced it was a boy, and the comments on the giveaway reflected the same overall thought.

Nobody's gonna put this baby in the corner!

So last night, for our "reveal," we had our families over, and did facetime, ichat, and google video with the three out-of-town sibling families.

See? (from L to R: Scottie in Columbia, SC, Kendall in Arlington, TX, and Amanda in Nashville, TN):

Then we held a lottery. We put all the family member names in a bowl (which numbered 15 people total), and I drew a name.

The winner got to see the news first (we had the little "GIRL" card in an envelope), and then got to choose how to announce it to the whole group.

Aunt Amanda won the drawing, so Jonathan texted her a photo of the card. After seeing the text, she yelled "IT'S A GIRL!" to the whole group and it was mayhem. Little nieces Kendall and Kailyn were dancing around with their mommy, "A girl! A girl! Just what we wanted!"

It was so flippin fun.

We're all excited to meet you, little girl!

And the winner of the Starbucks card is... Caroline!

Caroline, email me with your address (lesliejerkins@gmail.com), and I'll mail you your prize.

Thanks for playing and sharing in our joy!

Pink or Blue?

2011-03-14T09:28:00.004-05:00

Just for funsies, let's do a little giveaway!

Tomorrow we find out Baby's gender, so maybe we should make a little game out of it?

Guess if the baby is a BOY or GIRL in the comments section and I'll randomly generate the winner from the pool of either boy or girl guessers, depending on the outcome.

In an effort to not alienate one gender over the other in the entrant pool, THE PRIZE will be something that will appeal to both BOYS and GIRLS:

You can enter until midnight on Tuesday, March 15. I'll announce the winner (and pink/blue!) on Wednesday.

Easy! (And you get coffee on me!)

yay!

Pie Bomb

2011-03-10T17:59:00.005-06:00

Just so you guys know that it's not all roses and lollipops over here when I bake stuff (yes, even pies), here you go.

I have always loved pineapple and mostly anything involving pineapple. It almost seems like it's cheating, calling itself a fruit (it's so tasty!).

Whenever we'd have pineapple with dinner growing up, my mom would give me the drained juice, like so:

{Good heavens, there is probably an unspeakable amount of sugar in such juice.}

I recently became the lucky recipient of a recipe scrapbook of Jonathan's grandmother, compiled for her by her friends & family as a wedding gift in 1945. Its yellowed pages pasted inside and its precious wooden covers make it feel like even more of a treasured artifact.

So, for my first crack out of its box, I chose Pineapple Chiffon Pie as the guinea pig (besides the pineapple factor, I was familiar and could locate all of the ingredients).

Eggs, sugar, gelatin, pineapple... sounded promising. {Plus, with Pie Week '09 under my belt, the whole making-a-custard-thing-after-soaking-gelatin wasn't so intimidating.}

Looks pretty...

Even with whipped cream and on its best day, unfortunately this was just a good jello/congealed salad with crust. It's not bad or anything, but it's not what I, or probably anyone else, would pick out when hankering for a good ole piece of pie.

Womp-Womp.

Maybe I did something wrong with this. But I don't know what I could've done so wrong, without having left out ingredients or messing up the mechanics of the recipe to have made the inherent taste be so off?

Lesson learned: just because a recipe is old, does not mean it's an instant winner.

Jonathan did raise his eyebrows when I chose this one as the first try from the treasured scrapbook. Perhaps I will go with something more traditional next time, like Fudge Squares or something. (I'll keep you posted.)

No longer always sleuthing but trying to keep it real,
Pie Sleuth

Granny's Mac & Cheese

2011-03-04T09:05:00.000-06:00

Do not bother reading this post if you are looking for a healthy and/or gourmet recipe. {In fact, my attempt to give this recipe a little nutritional value is downright laughable.}

I am going to share with you our Granny's recipe for Mac & Cheese, which is famous the world over (aka, in the Guinn family).

Featured prominently in the Guinn Family Cookbook I made for Christmas gifts a couple of years ago:

{thanks to help from my pal Stacey}

Here are the basic ingredients:

You cook the noodles (I love using little shells), and then stir in the egg, then the cheese & sour cream.

I decided to give Baby J some extra nutrition and added some frozen broccoli:

Poor thing...I know, I know, microwaved broccoli=kind of a pitiful effort.

Some of the stems burned when I opened it out of the microwave. Weird, I followed the directions.

Chopped and added to macaroni mixture:

Put in one of those 7x11 size pans:

Bake for 25 minutes, and voila:

I promise I don't eat like this every day, but this baby loves carbs, what can I say (he/she is its mother's child!).

The recipe:

Janie's Super Macaroni
(we don't know who Janie is)

6 oz. (1.5 cups) uncooked short macaroni
1 large egg or 2 small eggs (I only ever use 1, no matter the size)
2 T milk
1/2 lb sharp cheddar cheese (the mild used above was on sale)
salt & pepper
1 cup sour cream

Cook macaroni in plenty of boiling salted water until just tender; drain. Using fork, beat egg with milk; pour over the hot macaroni and mix well. Grate cheese, mix in sour cream. Stir well. Pour into small casserole dish and top with cheese (I ran out above).
Bake 350 fir 25-30 minutes, or until browned.

I promise you will not be disappointed. Plus, it's super easy!

p.s. Boy/Girl Day (as I'm calling it) is March 15. Can't wait to know if le bebe is a he or she!

Santa Claus Reads My Blog

2011-03-02T21:30:00.002-06:00

Santa really does read my blog! Remember this post before Christmas?

Ole St. Nick came through:

RECESSED LIGHTING!

(I was gonna move all the junk on the countertops but decided to keep it real.)

Isn't it so exciting?! We took out that ceiling fan and the weird flush mounts and the ceilings feel ten times taller. It changes the whole room.

And the new fixture for over the kitchen table, from the wonderful local lighting store, Graham's Lighting. {We actually grew up down the street from Mr. & Mrs. Graham!}

can you see the kitty cat?

I so love it. [Those photos were taken at NIGHT obviously...unbelievable!]

Now that the lighting is done, it officially puts the nail in the coffin of the yellow paint. When we moved in, the kitchen was this color:

Beige-y blech-ety blech. {It actually looks better in this kitchen than I remember it looking.}

I picked the yellow in a hurry (ie, the second day we lived in this house) because

a) it was the color of my old kitchen which had good memories
b) all my little accessories look cute with yellow
c) I was hoping the warmer color would make me like the cabinets better.

old kitchen:

Well, I gave it a good 9 months, and unfortunately, the recessed lighting has not done the trick to make me automatically love the yellow (or the cabinet color, for that matter).

Thinking of something in this family, but open to anything:

The criteria is something-that-will-look-good-once-I-can-paint-the-cabinets. Any ideas?

Also left to do on My Dream Kitchen list:

-crown molding (only room in the house without it besides the guest bath)
-patch ceiling in a few spots
-re-paint
-cafe curtains
-update appliances (gotten a dishwasher so far)
-paint cabinets
-replace floors

Geez you can spend $$ in kitchens quickly! This will surely take a while, but the lighting was a HUGE step.

THANK YOU SANTA!!!

Making Sure Our Kid is Cool

2011-03-01T10:22:00.003-06:00

Jonathan: "Will you start listening to some good music, and no more Glee? You know our kid can hear that now."

(He won. I listened to Dr Dog on the way to work this morning.)

...................................................
be back with real content soon!

Adjusting

2011-02-24T15:29:00.003-06:00

(via text message)

me: Can we do FaceTime w/our fams all at once to tell them boy/girl?

Jonny: I don't know. Let's make a cake.

me: No cake.

Jonny: Or get a pink bowl and a blue bowl and put cat food in both and let Red choose which one to eat out of. And then we let him go since he won't be important to us anymore.

me: Um, I don't think so.

.................................................

Mommy Blog

2011-02-17T14:16:00.007-06:00

While I've gawked and/or scoffed at blogs that turn into complete mommy-blog mode after the writer has children, I can definitely understand how this happens.

The primo number one main thing going on in my life right now is that I'm going to have a baby. It's changing what I wear, what I eat, when I go to sleep, how much activity I do (or how much time I do/want to spend on the couch). So, how could I not write about these things?

Another reason the full-out Mom Blog is so tempting is that it's a free & easy place to document things about your pregnancy or your child's life (I know Anne has made a scrapbook from hers--great idea!).

All that said, I give you permission to skip these posts if you don't want to read about it...I'll forgive you. I was you once.

Tomorrow, I'll be 15 weeks along.

Right now, I like to eat/drink:

-smoothies smoothies smoothies
do not get sick of these guys (yet)

I even drove to McDonald's yesterday of all things to try one of their "real fruit smoothies" because I wasn't close to my regular smoothie stop. [And by the way, the clarification of "real" fruit makes it worse. I haven't looked up the ingredients yet because I'm kind of scared.]

-Fresca

-Orange Juice

-Greek yogurt

-kettle-cooked salt & vinegar chips

-hot or grilled sandwiches (with and without turkey, but I'm abstaining from the Great Turkey Meat Debate)

Drawing inspiration from this:

-post for dressing myself

{photo from here}

How freaking cute is she? I don't know if I'll have the ability to use many of my non-maternity clothes for much longer...(there are a few but it's already kinda challenging in more ways than one, if you know what I mean).

Several other great maternity style blogger mavens: Rockstar Diaries and Jenloveskev.

Has anyone out there found maternity inspiration online?

Peppermint Patties, too

2011-02-14T09:07:00.004-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day, or whatever.

We made these peppermint patties the other night, inspired by Darby's post here (and subsequent re-try).

If you make them yourself, heed the following:

We pretty much followed the recipe, except doubled it, and there was no way we were going to get all of that powdered sugar mixed in there. We just put as much as the ole KitchenAid could handle (I would NOT recommend trying this with a hand-held mixer).

Also be sure to freeze the minty fillings after they're shaped and before dipping in chocolate. I don't see how hardening at room temp for 2 hours would really cut it.

They're definitely a project, but well worth it I'd say. REALLY hit the spot the past couple of days.

We got a lot of work done around the ole abode this weekend...way more activity (outside of work, that is) than I've been able to do for weeks/months. Finally feeling a bit better, if still really tired.

We played closet musical chairs to get ready for bebe (and thanks to Grant, again, for the closet build-out help--invaluable). Tons more to do. I am a messy pack rat, apparently.

I'll Try to Make It Up to You

2011-02-09T20:45:00.001-06:00

Bad blogger. I've been awful. Although I know yall don't wake up every morning thinking, "did she post did she post" I do like my little corner of the internet and appreciate the community here.

Thus, I feel remiss.

{it's snowy and this is what we're doing tonight}

But you see, this has been pretty much the only thing on my mind recently:

{look at his/her foot kicking! future soccer player like their old man}

Yep. We're having a baby. A little Jerkins. We are so humbled & thrilled!

And boy howdy, has it made me feel sick. The morning-that-really-lasts-all-day sickness otherwise known as constant nausea, actual throwing up, and fatigue different from any other I've known.

{Hence the radio silence on ye ole blog. I've been thankful for the sickness as it's a reminder things are going well in there, but sheesh I have felt awful.}

While I have had very few cravings, the story of the day has been more in the food aversion variety.

The thought of going to the grocery store? Gross. Going to a grocery store that is next door to a Pei Wei (ie, my regular Kroger)? Unimaginable.

I'll cook something that sounds so good, really enjoy eating it, but once I put the leftovers in the fridge cringe at the thought of having to deal with them again. {This even happened with the blessed hummus.} Weird.

One thing I have really wanted a couple of times:

You'll notice that this is a photo of an almost-empty bag.

Quick shout-out: I am so lucky that my sister lives about two streets away from my office.

At least once a week (or more), I will go take a nap during my lunch break, lay on the couch, or she will feed me lunch (or buy me Sour Patch Watermelons!). Thank you, Marthie. Your geography and hospitality have been indispensable to me + Baby J.

Another food item/recipe that hasn't grossed me out at all thus far (I've probably eaten it four times at least over the past couple of months):

Laura's Crock Pot Lasagna, via Martha

Behold the-worst-photo-ever-that-accomplishes-nothing-and-you'd-be-better-off-using-your-imagination:

Jonny likes it because there are no crunchy corners like the baked kind has (I kinda like those, but whatev).

Slow-Cooker/Crock Pot Lasagna
(thanks Laura & Marth, it's been a lifesaver!)

1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef, whatever your preference)
2 (29-oz.) cans tomato sauce (or already made spaghetti sauce)
8-oz. package lasagna noodles, uncooked
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1-1/2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 diced onion
3-5 cloves garlic (i do 4)
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Basil

* Spray the interior of the cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
* In a large nonstick skillet, brown the ground beef (or turkey). Stir in the tomato sauce (and onion, garlic, oregano and basil) and stir well.
* Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker. Arrange one-third of the uncooked noodles over the sauce, breaking them up as necessary to fit better.
* Combine the cheeses in a bowl. Spoon 1/3 of the cheese mixture over the noodles.
* Repeat these layers twice more; top with remaining meat sauce; cook on low for 4 hours. Serves 6 - 8.

Yum!

Oh, p.s. For those readers who have been around this blog a while, you'll know that I absolutely hate summer and hot weather. When's the due date, you may ask? August 13. Joke's on me!!!

p.p.s. That will probably be the only ultrasound photo you will see. (I just couldn't resist it with the little foot and plus, I have nothing else to show you yet.)

Some Stuff

2011-01-30T22:46:00.004-06:00

My Granny lives in a high-rise building with condos. On her floor outside the elevator, there's a little console table that the residents of the 6th floor like to decorate with seasonal items (Christmas, 4th of July, etc.)

I loved this month's addition to the glass birds and clear beads:

When we asked Granny about it, she said, "Oh, we put that out sometimes in case people need to sharpen their pencils. You know."

Uh, no? But well done.

Also, I don't think I showed you this chair I got at Sheffield's Antique Mall last summer for $60:

I bought new fabric with a gift card (at Broom Corn, locally), and was going to save up for the upholstery job (no way I am balla enough to try that one on my own...unlike Stephanie and Lauren!).

My mom stole away the fabric and the chair one day before Christmas when just Jonathan was home and surprised me with it:

I love how it turned out. The toile in orange will be timeless but still a little "unexpected" as they say. {Cliff, pick your jaw up off the floor.} Thanks, Mom!

(also you can kinda see my den curtains in the background that Granny and Martha helped me with.)

Slowly but surely.

Monthly Desktop Calendars by Sissy

2011-01-24T22:19:00.005-06:00

For those of you who read this blog and not my sister Martha's, I want to spotlight a monthly feature she gives us over on her blog.

Every month, she makes these sweet patterns for you to download for your computer or phone background.

Download this month's here. What a talented little missy!

In other randoms, I've really been really enjoying Parenthood on NBC. Have yall been watching it?

One of my favorite parts of the show is the set design. They're so comfortable and well-done.

Check it out if you haven't yet. Lauren Graham is a perennial rockstar.

Cold Weather Survival

2011-01-12T12:03:00.003-06:00

For me, it includes the following:

I've never looked back since acquiring last year. My toes would probably be gone by now if it weren't for these puppies.

I made this Lemony Hummus...

Sliced up some pita, brushed with olive oil, baked for a bit...

{phone pic alert!} MMMM warm carbs + dip!

Then, we had a hankering for some Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies, so I gave these a try (they're really similar to the recipe on the inside of the Quaker Oats container, but just a bit more flour and a nutmeg addition):

And this tea:

Can only justify buying it when I have Christmas or birthday money. My favorite.

Also, I've been reading (and enjoying greatly!) Mansfield Park on my mom's kindle (we're dummies and left our books at the lake over New Year's weekend).

Bundle up and happy winter!

Snow Day

2011-01-10T08:54:00.002-06:00

Everything is so much prettier when you wake up to a freshly white wonderland...

Since this happens about twice a year (tops) in Memphis, I can say this: I wish we had snow more often! (people in other parts of the country might beg to differ.)

It's so dreamy. Even my kitty is mesmerized.

Here was our view at breakfast:

Happy Monday, wherever you are, and whatever it looks like outside.

2011 One-Page Calendar

2011-01-05T22:45:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year, friends!

Last week was crazy...I was sick for over a week (yes during Christmas too!) and since it was the end of the year, I had no more sick/personal days left. It was a tough week trudging through when I felt so awful. But I guess whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

Now I'm back, and I created this letter-sheet size, single-page 2011 calendar.

It's perfect for the office desk wall beside my computer at work, and now I have something to cross off the months (see: optimist/pessimist post on this here).

Download it and print from this link.

Here's a visual for you (but print for the link for the correct format):

If you have any problems with getting it from the link, email me and I can email you the pdf directly. (this is my first time to try to embed a pdf in a post.)

Hope this little goody compensates for my blog absence. :)

Yay for 2011...I have a feeling it's going to be stellar.

Pretend I Posted this 4 Days Ago...

2010-12-29T08:36:00.002-06:00

Inspired by this card from 1963:

Hope it was a grand Christmas and that you all have a lovely New Year! xo

Amaretto Cake

2010-12-21T21:07:00.005-06:00

This is my gift to you, this recipe.

These photos are no gift. But the cake itself may be a good gift to a special someone...be it your grandma, uncle, dear-friend-you-only-see-at-Christmas. It would also make a nice hostess gift perhaps?

It's DEE-LISH!

A sweet friend I used to work with gave me this recipe several years ago. It's easy to do and yields an extremely tasty result...what could be better? Plus, anything with almond extract is usually a winner in my book.

{look at that pretty amaretto...mmmm.}

Amaretto Cake

1 package yellow cake mix
1 3.5 oz package vanilla instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup amaretto
1 teaspoon almond extract

(glaze/sauce/topping):
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup amaretto
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, water, amaretto, and almond extract in mixing bowl; beat on low speed until dry ingredients are incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat 4 minutes. Pour batter in prepared bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 10-15 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely.

Combine sugar, 1/4 cup water, and butter in small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and gently boil 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool 15 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup amaretto and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Punch holes in top of cake with a wooden pick (I used a straw). Slowly spoon glaze on the top, allowing it to absorb into cake.

{I dont know why some of the butter was on the top like that, but it still tasted right! Also sad that the finished product photo is the worst of all of them, especially since it's the one that's supposed to really convince you to make the thing. Fail by me. Sorry.}

The green plate that the cake is on was $1.50 from Kroger...I always love to take a plate I don't need back!

ENJOY!

Merry Christmas!

you know you're an adult when...

2010-12-16T09:11:00.003-06:00

...your dream-world/lottery-winner Christmas list includes some magically installed recessed lighting:

{here}

{here}

or an Electrolux vacuum akin to this one:

Fantasyland, my friends. Adult dream-time going on above.

[Btw, my parents have one of those Electrolux vacuums and let me tell you...if I ever want to REALLY vacuum (which is every time I actually get out the vacuum aka not too often), I will drive over and borrow it. It vacuums MOUNTAINS/WORLDS/GALAXIES better than the Dyson we bought right after we got married.]

But, I guess things haven't gotten completely out of control.

I would love this Beatles print too:

Being an adult isn't so bad.

What adult-y things do you want from Santa Claus? Corningware? A good drill? Lay it on me...I'm right there with you!

Cookie Load

2010-12-13T22:26:00.001-06:00

The title is not "Cookie Overload" because I'm not completely overloaded by cookies. I mean, technically, yes, we've been on cookie overload, but that doesn't mean I'm ready for it to be over. Get it? But I may just overload you with photos here in a minute, so fasten your seatbelts.

Our Sunday School class wives' annual Christmas Cookie Exchange was this past Friday, and this year I had the pleasure of hosting.

This year I made "Dinner Mint Cookies" from BH&G, link here.

They're powdery, like wedding cookies-ish.

You grind up dinner mints in the food processor, stir them into the dough, and then roll the warm cookies in some after baking.

this photo was an attempt to copy Jonny's great cookie photo from last year:

Ummm...kinda...

*A note on the Dinner Mint cookies: they are tasty, yes. BUT they are not my very favorite and nowhere near held a candle to the winners from this year. Their place is most likely at some sort of baby or wedding shower next to the decaf coffee. In that setting, they'd be perfect.

Then the party started. We had so many great savory apps this year. Martha brought this tasty dip:

{wish I'd had the brains to take a pic of the whole savory spread!}

Here is the magnificent cookie "tasting" table:

Fourteen different kinds of cookies to taste! And fourteen different kinds (plus the recipe!) for everyone to take home...The take-home bags:

Variety:

Marthie's cute "Mint Chocolate Check Mates"...

The Dinner Mint cookies, plated and ready:

And yes, those little placards are tiny. I was so proud of myself for making them, and then when Martha and I were cutting and folding them before the party, she was like, "who do you think we are, Keebler elves?" whoops. [They just looked so cute at that size though--I just should've made the font bigger.]

Marth and one of our winners, the other Leslie (who, quite coincidentally, is also married to a Jonathan):

Leslie's "Chai Crescents" won for most unique. Let me tell you, I am dreaming about those cookies at this very moment. (Hopefully will make some soon!)

Our "Best Presentation" winner (for her adorable brown paper packages tied up with string, including postage stamps) there on the left, Laura/Eve, along with Lauren, Shellie, and Meredith (thanks for the dip, M!):

The only pic I got of the Cookie Queen of 2010, aka Best Overall winner, aka Mandi Burke, aka My Hero was with full flash and I'm pretty sure she would hate me forever if I posted the picture I have. {Darned overhead lighting didn't give me enough for sans flash.}

Mandi's Iced Eggnog Cookies broke everyone's heart with their goodness, and handed her the prize.

This is a terrible photo, but I want you to get an idea of the tasting plates in their enormity of task:

Thanks to everyone who was able to come! We had a great time and walked away with some wonderful recipes (and quite a few extra calories)!

............................................

The very next day, on Saturday, I picked up Shauna and her friend B and they came over to make...what else?...cookies!

These are (probably) my very favorite frosted sugar cookies, aka Mrs Debbie E's "Decorator's Dream Cookies."

They are indeed dreamy in their tastiness.

Peace, yall.

Happy Cookie-ing this Christmas!

Christmas Ornaments

2010-12-07T12:18:00.004-06:00

I love the way my mom “did” Christmas ornaments.

(you’re welcome for this photo by the way…this is circa kindergarten/1st grade)

Every Christmas Eve, we got to open one present: our ornament for that year. All three of us (Martha, Scott, and I) got our very own ornament to be added to the tree Christmas Eve.

Our mom would put the date on the ornament (she loves to date everything), and the ornament itself would usually have something to do with what we’d been up to that year... in the fourth grade, I bought myself gerbils (and now cringe at the thought of them, GROSS!, but that’s another story), so my ornament that Christmas was a little mouse/gerbil-y guy running around one of those metal wheels. Martha would get a ballet dancer, Scott would get a football bear or something the year he started playing football.

Sidebar: we usually took down our tree the morning of December 26th (and one year, it was Christmas Night itself). My dad always worried over the fire hazard of a live tree (and the mess, let’s be honest), so as soon as the presents had been unwrapped & Christmas dinner had been eaten, taking down the tree was fair game. The Leslie & Jonathan tree stays up until New Years! Take that!

So, when the Guinn family would take down the tree, all three of us had a shoebox with our name on the top, that housed “our” ornaments. And the next year, when we’d decorate the tree, we were responsible for putting up “our” ornaments.

I just love this. When we got married, my mom gave me the “Leslie” box, and it’s been such a treasure to use some of these ornaments on Jonathan’s & my Christmas tree. [And I’m happy to say she’s continued this tradition with her sons-in-law!]

It’s so fun to have a growing collection of these special ornaments and I cannot wait to do the same thing for my kids one day.

My granny always said she loved the look of a “homemade” Christmas tree that didn’t all match. Me too!

Thanks, Mom, for this wonderful Christmas tradition.

p.s. Hey oldest children: one of my favorite ways to taunt Martha while decorating the tree was to constantly point out how many more "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments there were for me than her. I beat her like 7-1. Bam.

Glitterphobe

2010-12-02T10:48:00.000-06:00

This may or may not come as a shock to you. {When I told Mandi about it the other night, she was a little surprised at my strong feelings, and urged me to post about such.}

I hate glitter.

(these inspiring photos are from this post, via the lovely Twig & Thistle blog.)

Sure, it's beautiful. These photographs are pretty, this craft project is probably wonderful and fun.

And simply looking at this picture does not give me hives, I kind of enjoy it (from the safety of my computer screen). I like sparkle just as much as anyone.

But if this were in my home, it would need to be in a clear, sealed acrylic box to make it through the door.

I do not want to touch it, I do not want its debris in my house, on my clothes, in my purse, on my face when I don't know it (!!!), molting from paper, nothin'. A mail nightmare (and perhaps the only) is opening an invitation or card of some sort and having glitter pour out, catching me off-guard.

I'm not saying it shouldn't exist. Simply, I don't want it to touch me or any of my things. It's difficult to clean up, and you never know what surface it's perpetrated (the light can play tricks...and sometimes you can't see it).

Christmastime makes this especially tough.

Case in point: on Monday night, Mandi and I were walking into the sanctuary at a local church where we attend BSF. They had just decorated the space for Christmas, with trees and glittery garlands all over the stage at the front of the auditorium.

As we went to sit down about six rows back, I noticed glitter on the seat and the floor. WHAT TO DO! And, maybe just as importantly to prove my point, HOW did the offensive glitter make its way approximately 20 yards back from where it presently resided?

This just shows the intrusiveness of glitter's scattering ways. I had to brush off my seat before I'd sit down, and clear space for my bag (no way was it going on the floor).

Is this weird or rational? I'm leaning toward the latter, and I know my husband thanks me for this prediliction {especially one day in the (not-certain) future when we have small children running around, wanting to do glittery craft projects. Sorry, kids, Mama is a glitterphobe}.

You're welcome, dear, and Merry Christmas.

Giving Thanksgiving Its Due

2010-11-28T21:32:00.006-06:00

We love Thanksgiving! Food, football, family (the three fs, I guess)... but mainly food.

Four grocery store trips it took me to find this, the necessary ingredient for "Tony's Spinach," a Guinn family favorite (that has now also become a Jerkins family dinner staple).

My granny found this recipe in some post office employee pamphlet my grandaddy George brought home one holiday season forever ago. Seeing as I have no photo of the finished product, I'll share the recipe with the subsequent (and inevitably blurry) photos closer to Christmas.

The pepper jack Velveeta is crucial. Forgive the processed cheese for this special occasion.

Also made PW's Dinner Rolls, recipe here:

{The method is similar to her Cinnamon Rolls, and thus pretty easy to do.}

So delish, and worth the work.

Here's where things got a little crazy.

You know how I'm kinda weird? And sometimes like to make things harder than necessary? {Remember Pie Week '09?}

I'd committed to bringing a pie to Thanksgiving dinner, along with the rolls and the spinach.

Well, PW had posted her Pumpkin Cream Pie last week (during her pie week)...it looked like a fairly straightforward chilled pie, nothing complicated, with a graham cracker crust.

Hmmm. That seemed too easy.

"I wonder if there is a recipe out there for graham crackers?" I said to myself.

Turns out, there is! Knowing it would be wayyyyy easier to buy ready-made graham crackers (if not even a ready-made graham cracker crust), I nevertheless decided to give this a whirl.

Because if a homemade graham cracker crust was going to take the pumpkin cream pie to the next level, I sure as heck had to know.

Thank you, smitten kitchen.

They didn't have to be pretty since they were going to be ground to a pulp for the crust.

Here's my pie.

And here are some bullet points:

1. The graham cracker recipe may seem intimidating. Don't let it be so. It's a good one to work in while you're doing other cooking because there are rest periods after several of the steps.

2. The crust was DYNAMITE. I am totally serious. It KILLED in crust form. The taste was leagues better than any graham cracker crust I've eaten to date. Which leads me to...

3. The crust outshone the filling. Hear this: the filling was fine...pretty good, even. It just wasn't wonderful. And it needed to be great to keep up with all the incredible-ness going on in the crust.

I have frozen the remaining graham crackers and will put them to use during Christmastime for another, more robust pie filling. {Suggestions?}

Do you still think I'm crazy?

.......................................

Sad to throw away perfectly adorable mini-pumpkins:

But we're moving on to Christmas (!). And, in what I hope is a new Jerkins tradition, we already got our tree (feels early but it's nice!).

(you think that photo is artsy or just bad? I couldn't decide. either way, there's teeth-grinding going on.)

Happy week-after and official start to Christmas.

Stuff

2010-11-24T06:52:00.003-06:00

[I'm a loser. I started this post on Monday morning. whoops.]

Over the weekend, I went to Garden Ridge in search of a cheap 8x10 area rug for our guest room. My grandma is staying with us this week, and I wanted her to have some cushion for her toes in the mornings.

(Amanda had directed me there after seeing YHL post about their trip to Garden Ridge. Smart.)

I like finding treasures at GR every now and again...but must admit that giving myself a pep talk is necessary before venturing in. Saturday's excursion was no exception. Christmas was in full swing, and people were everywhere.

During the trip, I overheard this comment between a boyfriend/girlfriend-y type couple regarding the following item:

"This would totally make a great conversation piece."

Yeah, it's a toilet paper roll holder. With a hat plunger.

Beyond disturbing.

However, I did find this 8x10 neutral rug for $60 though:

Nothing wrong with cheap + functional.

Saw two of the cutest babies ever on Sunday:

And we've got this whole leaf ocean thing going in our backyard:

TODAY may be the day to plant those violets sitting on the table that we bought 4 weeks ago, if it's not raining.

Allow me a soapbox-y comment before we close this randomness:

What in the WORLD is going on with the whole we're-open-on-Thanksgiving-Day thing?! It started predictably enough with Wal-Mart...then I see MICHAELS is open on Thanksgiving? Is nothing sacred anymore? As a former full-time retail employee, I entreat you LET THESE PEOPLE STAY AT HOME! They've got serious resting up to do before the madness of Black Friday, especially at the big-box stores of insanity. This is a disturbing trend that cannot end well.

Foodstuffs I'm preparing for Thanksgiving are pretty much set. Be back to share afterward (if successful).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Laundry : Officially Done

2010-11-17T07:18:00.000-06:00

It's been officially done for at least six weeks now (maybe longer). Sorry I'm just now getting around to sharing with you.

Reminder of the before:

During: (more posts during the during here)

After:

We now have a pantry!

Laundry room in old storage closet at the back of our den, doorway to the left of the back door.

Thanks to Robbins Construction for taking care of business on this project. We DIY'd none of what you see. And let me tell you, I am FINE with that and very thankful!

You can run and tell THAT.