3rd Trimester

According to my midwife, I'm now entering my 3rd and final trimester. Of course, I keep hearing conflicting opinions on when the 3rd trimester actually starts, so I'm not sure who to believe. Either way, I can't believe there are only a few months to go now. Here's a pic we took today of the 27 week belly. Still carrying pretty low and small, but I'm getting more okay with that fact since I haven't had some of the annoying growing pains others are complaining of. No side cramps or back aches or anything...yet. I hear I should enjoy that while it lasts!! It's strange to me to look down and see a very distinct line where my stomach USED to start and now where the baby is stuck on! He's getting a lot more aggressive and jabbing his elbows or knees or feet into my ribs, which is a new strange feeling.

Yesterday we spent the day in New York City hanging out with some of Matthew's friends from England. It was a beautiful day, perfect for walking around the city and enjoying Central Park. We saw an amazing exhibit at the Whitney by Tim Hawkinson, who's actually a Christian artist. Check out his stuff at the Whitney website: http://www.whitney.org/exhibition/feat_hawk.shtml

So we can home pooped from walking all day long, but feeling oddly refreshed after being in the city and around so many different faces and cultures. We continue to feel pulled towards the city and the work God is doing there...even if a bit apprehensively. I'm realizing my own flesh-ness likes comfort and familiarity - not dirty smells and grundgy streets. But I'm also realizing how small my life quickly becomes when I'm not rubbing up against humanity in all it's different facets. Matthew reminded me yesterday as we walked how God changes our perspective...and continues to give us a heart of flesh in replace of our hearts of stone. As He calls us deeper into that lifestyle and mission, He'll gives us hearts that break for the city and the people that they're made of. That's a great resting place for me when I want to change myself...instead of just waiting to the Spirit to work.

We're looking forward to seeing my family for the first time in four months next weekend. It'll be great to just rest with them over Memorial Day weekend. My parents and sister that is. My other sister is still in Costa Rica, due back in June, and my brother is here in Philly, so we've been able to see him a few times here and there.

Enjoy the coming week. Hope you all get an extra-long weekend coming up with the holiday :0)

The WIld thing.

We just set up our crib in the baby room. I can't believe we are really going to have a baby. Just above the crib is a cover of a maurice sendak calendar. Sendak is the guy who wrote and illustrated "Where the Wild Things Are". I remember that book fondly, I hope our little boy will too.

Matthew

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Dreams

They say you have bizarre dreams when you're pregnant...so I knew I was in for it since I ALREADY had pretty weird dreams anyhow. I don't know what it is about being pregnant that heightens the intensity and vividness in your dream life, but if they could capture that in a drug form, it'd be the new bestseller cause MAN...my dream life is NUTS these days!

Last night BEFORE I fell asleep it became very clear to me that Brighton was in fact growing at an alarming rate. Those sweet little baby bumps in my belly are gone and are now replaced with full-fledged powerful KICKS! I just sat there in amazement staring at my stomach as it bounced all around...seriously, I couldn't believe how much activity was going on because of him! The feeling is getting more bizarre as the walls of the uterus get thinner and I can start to feel bony parts of his body banging around in there. I swore I felt his knee or foot gliding across a 4" section last night.

All that to say, the new experience of feeling literally rocked by his kicks turned into a pretty hilarious dream. I'm warning you though, it's weird so you can stop reading here if you get grossed out easily ;0) ...

So I dreamed Matthew and I were sitting there watching him kick when suddenly his foot literally came OUT of my stomach. We said "Aww, how cute, there's his foot" then we couldn't get it back in and we noticed his head was coming out of my stomach too?! So we called the hospital and headed over to the ER. The whole time I was so overcome with emotions at seeing our baby for the first time that I just kept talking to him and smiling and not really worrying that much. Then we got to the hospital and they just grabbed him out of my stomach and started wrapping him in packing tape?! Saying it would keep him warm?? Well he was panicking and screaming and so I started panicking and getting totally annoyed at the hospital staff. Then to keep him quiet they taped a pacifier into his mouth. Thankfully after that I woke up, but it all felt too real! Yeh, pretty strange. I warned you. I should start a whole different blog on my dreams...ha, ha. Every night it's some new story. A couple nights ago I dreamed I was a dolphin getting eaten by a shark and then I woke up in another dream and was interpretting THAT dream about how it related to being scared of birth. I know my friends are dying laughing now (especially those of you who've had to LIVE with me)...they know me and my bizarre dream life all too well :0)

NEW! Comments Section

Now you can actually post your comments straight on the blog (if you care to) instead of emailing me. Matthew got the Comment Section up and running which now appears at the end of each entry...so TRY IT OUT! I want to hear your crazy thoughts & musings too ;0) Also, check out the days left in this pregnancy...we're down to the double digits! 98 days to go!

The Master Minds at work...hopefully

The problem in our household is that we have too many creative juices flowing and not enough time to see them through. But this weekend, HOPEFULLY, we're going to attempt to get some of these household projects done that have been hanging over our heads since...well, some of them, since we moved here last August!

First project is to paint a ton of canvases we bought back in Fort Collins. They're small square canvases that we wanted to paint simply with different shades of a few colors. We have an enormously long hallway currently and thought those could brighten it up some.

The second project is to finish the 3-panel room divider we started a few weeks ago. After shopping around, the cheapest one we found was still around $100, so Matthew decided to make one himself. It looks pretty dang cool, I must say. We'll post a pic when it's done...then start taking mail orders from anyone interested...ha, ha :0) My part in the project is to actually sew the panels, since Matthew created the wood frame part. The first set-back was that I forgot how to wind a bobbin on my new sewing machine and had lost the manual in the move. Matthew tracked down Kenmore and ordered me a new one which just arrived yesterday. Ah, so we're back on track!

The third project was also waiting to be completed with the arrival of the sewing manual. We bought some cool fabric at IKEA to make a tablecloth and some cloth napkins, since we were tired of going through bags of paper napkins at meals, which never seemed to get dirty enough to throw away...but would be gross to save :0) Yeh, who would have guessed IKEA has fabric? It's relatively cheap and much cooler than the stuff you'd find at Joanne's Fabrics or something.

Anyhow, I think that's mostly it. With our party last weekend, we were forced to get the last of the boxes put away and the rest of our pictures hung up, so that's done. We had an AWESOME turnout, by the way. It was so great to see the mix of people from all our different walks of life here in Philly. What a fun crowd! Thanks to evveryone who showed up!!

So we'll see how "productive" this weekend actually turns out to be. Knowing us, we'll end up sleeping it away. Last Sunday we took TWO Mother's Day naps...one before lunch and a two hour one afterwards. Ahh, we like to make the most out of our "Day of Rest" ;0)

The beginnings of letting go

We've had great "plans" formulating about this birth coming up in August and how we want things to go, where we want to have our baby, who we want to deliver him, etc...etc... Ah yes, plans. Matthew and Amy are soooo good at formulating them down to the most minute detail. And VERY bad at letting them go...especially Amy :0)

Don't get me wrong, plans are great, but they rarely pan out how you expected. We of ALL people should have a pretty solid grasp on that concept by now...HA!

We've been going to a small birthing center owned by one midwife instead of doing the traditional OB office where you meet with a different doc each time. We have LOVED getting to know our midwife, sitting with her for over an hour at most appointments just talking about our fears and excitement about this pregnancy. We feel safe & comfortable with her and trust her to take good care of us when we head into our baby's "birth day" in a couple months. She knows where I'm at physically and emotionally with this pregnancy...both are key things when it comes to delivering a bambino.

So needless to say, we were a little worried when we got an email yesterday about the financial stress they're suddenly facing with the recent increased malpractice insurance costs in the city...and that they might have to close their doors as soon as this month.

Hmm, nice little birth plans. Possibly flying out the window. After going into Amy-default-mode and freaking out, Christ gently reminded me that this is just the beginning of letting go how I want this whole birth thing to pan out. There will be LOTS of unexpected turns, some good, some hard. But either way, we have no control over this situation. We can make lots of great "plans" but this natural thing will happen with it's own free will in most ways. There's a place Christ is calling Matthew and I to rest that has nothing to do with natural vs. epidural, birth center vs. hospital...He's calling us to once again, grab His hand and trust that He's the one in control of bringing little Brighton into the world and He'll take care of not only him, but of us in the process. Whether I deliver at our birth center or in a bright, noisy hospital...whether I get to experience natural childbirth or have to have some emergency procedure. Hmm, this makes me think there is A LOT to let go of...and this is just the start.

There's a lot I don't even realize I'm holding onto white-knuckled. More than just how I'll deliver...how I'll transition into being a mom, how I'll take care a of this little squeeling, helpless thing, how Matthew and I will connect after long, sleepless days/nights, how I'll juggle work & baby, etc...etc... If you can't tell by this point in the blog...I am a controlling maniac. I want everything figured out. T's crossed and i's dotted clearly BEFORE I move onto the next phase of life. If I haven't had that up until this point, I HIGHLY doubt becoming a Mom will make that any easier :0) Thank goodness Jesus loves to carry even crazy nut-cases like me and show us our junk, so we can realize even more just HOW MUCH we need Him!

Learning to let go...never an easy process. Always much easier when a marg is in hand, but alas, I'll have to wait for that until AFTER the baby is here :0)

Boy Meets Grill

The fish tacos were a raging success. Here's Mateo fryin up those deliciously marinated flaky white fillets. And who of all people randomly stopped by that night?! My brother, the original fish taco man...he must have smelled the fragrance wafting through Center City or something :0) We made some fresh salsa to go with them, that unfortunately stayed with us all night. I woke up thinking I must have sleep-walked into the kitchen for some of it in the middle of the night because I could still taste it this morning! Yuck.

Tonight was Girls Movie Night where we had three different kinds of ice cream and one total chic flick. It was fun to be with the gals and talk about babies and boys and food and life. Tomorrow the weekend is finally upon us. Hopefully Matthew and I can chill out before the big house-warming bash we're hosting on Saturday night. We've been WANTING to go see a movie in the actual theater for the past few weeks, but is it just me or have there been NO decent movies lately?! We can't seem to justify spending $18 to go see something lame. We might need to get more creative :0) If you have any ideas, please feel free to share!

Starting Month 6

Check out the new belly shot we took last night. I need to put the one of me in the black spandex (yikes!) because it is CRAZY looking at it compared to that 9 week shot of me. I literally had a belly transplant in just four months! I'll try and get that one up once Photobucket quites giving me a hard time (our online photo storage place). Anyhow, as of last Friday my midwife said we entered month 6 of this pregnancy...which can be confusing since the pregnancy lasts 40 weeks...so it's more like a 10 month deal than the whole 9 month thing. But it's crazy, none the less, how time is flying.

Brighton's growing bigger and making his presence more know. I can see him re-adjusting himself now and moving around...not just his kicks. The other night I saw one side of my stomach rise up and just stay there then slowly go back down and ripple over, as if he was rolling over or had just pushed himself up against the outside of my stomach. Our midwife says he's still small enough to push himself back and forth against the walls and spin himself around...that gave us a humorous visual image to laugh about :0)

Did we ever share the name on here? I can't remember? Matthew Brighton Smith will be his full name. Matthew, after his sexy dad ;0) and Brighton, was a name Matt found after doing a reversed name search by meaning first for "one who is loved". Then it brings up all the names that coorelate. Especially after this kiddo's first "appearance" back in December and us freaking out initially, we really wanted a name that expressed our love for it and not only being loved by his earthly parents but his Heavenly Dad as well. We went back and forth on a lot of names, but when Matthew found Brighton, we were both sold. It's been fun to have a name to call him instead of Elpon the rapper (random nickname given by my dad...there's a story behind it...I'll share if you email me and ask...he's a goofball :0).

So that's the latest with the babe. Other news...

For some reason I've been an a cooking kick lately. Maybe it's because I was too pooped to plan meals over the past month with getting sick and all. Or maybe it's realizing that most evenings, from now on, I won't be able to spend an hour or two in the kitchen creating yummy food. So I guess I'm eating it up for the time being. One of my FAVORITE dishes, cannelloni, finally made an entrance into our kitchen this week. The normal recipe is a three hour production of three different homemade sauces, a filling, and the noodles. But I figured out a way to cut that time down and still make a pretty dang good dish. Here's the recipe if you're interested in trying it out:

EASY Cannelloni

Cannelloni:
1 pk. Cannelloni tubes or lasagna noodles (I use spelt or wheat)

1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
1lb. ground beef
10 oz. spinach chopped
1 cont. low-fat cottage cheese
¼ tsp. Italian seasoning (or oregano, basil, parsley)
¼ c. grated parmesan

White Sauce:
1 ½ TBSP butter
1 ½ TBSP flour
1 1/2 c milk
¼ tsp. of both salt & pepper
1/3 c. grated parmesan

Topping:
1 jar spaghetti sauce (this is the easy part :0)

Directions:
1. Cook noodles as directed, then run under cool water, and set aside to be filled.
2. Brown meat and drain grease. Saute onion & garlic with dash of oliveoil. Add
spinach & sauté. Remove from heat. Add cottage cheese, seasonings, & parmesan.
3. Melt butter over low heat. Whisk in flour, then add milk increasing heat to high & bringing
to a boil, constantly stirring. Reduce to simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat & whisk in s/p
and parmesan.
4. Pour 1/2 of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of 9x13 dish. Stuff the cannelloni tubes or if using lasagna noodles, cut in half and roll spinach/beef stuffing inside. Place the noodles tightly side by side in the baking dish. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the top of the noodles. Then pour the white sauce on top.
4. Cook at 425 for 20-25 min.

I just use one big saute skillet and wash it after I do the stuffing to make the white sauce. That keeps the dirty-pan sink level lower. These are good served with a baked sweet potato and garlic parm. green beans (Saute some garlic in a little olive oil and butter over medium heat, then add a pound of fresh green beans and a dash of white wine. Cook & stir for 10 min. while the cannelloni do their thing then toss with some SHREDDED parm cheese)

Tonight we're making my brother John's famous fish tacos with some homemade salsa. And then watch...next week we'll have peanut butter and jelly every night...ha, ha. These days I've gotta run with whatever fetish is happening cause most likely the energy & desire is shot after a couple days!