Motherhood, Part 1.

 

 

I am now 4 days from my due date, and little E. could arrive at any time. Sometimes I'm still amazed at the fact that I am now a mother, and soon this little human being that I've been loving and growing inside of me for so long will be in my arms, the biggest responsibility and joy of my life.  If you know anything about my situation or the year I've had, you know that it's been really rough and often scary and because of that I will be raising this boy, this gift, alone. Not only did I leave the father due to his being abusive, but the father is also headed to prison on other charges. It wasn't how I envisioned things when I conceived (or ever), and many days I struggle with guilt and sadness over the fact that my child won't have a typical family life, but ultimately I know that we are safer and better off  just the two of us, and I am determined to make for us a beautiful life. A life full of joy, truth, wonder, warmth, adventures, understanding, and above all, love. Love for ourselves and love for others.  The kind of love that is there sun-up to sun-down and doesn't lean on whims, moods, or selfish desires. Real love.

 

It's a little scary and overwhelming sometimes, knowing that the odds are against us. But I know that everything will be okay and I am making it my life's mission to raise the most kind, loving, gentle, generous, funny, genuine, hardworking person that I can, and I can hardly wait to begin the adventure. :-)

 

 

Back and Eating For Two

After a far-too-long hiatus due to moving, chaos, and technical difficulties, I am glad to say that I am finally back and have no intentions of ever abandoning this blog again, although the content will be a little different. I hope you'll forgive my absence and stay tuned, because things are about to get a lot more interesting. ;-)

I'm having a baby at the end of the month! A boy, specifically. and although my current situation is less than ideal, I could not be any more excited. Since I've not posted the typical (or any) pregnancy posts until now and it's nearly over, here's a little briefer to catch up those interested.


Weight Gain: So far I've gained 15lbs, but some days it feels more like 30. I was slow to gain un but due to eating much and often for the last two weeks per the Dr's request, I'm starting to catch up. I never thought a Dr. would encourage me to gain weight, but I'm thoroughly enjoying having permission and encouragement to indulge in Peppermint Shakes.

Style: I don't have many baby bump pictures, but I have been pleasantly surprised at the number of fashion choices for pregnant women these days. My advice for pregnant women on the hunt for great maternity wear: Shop consignment! Shops like Motherhood can be expensive and since women can only wear maternity clothes for a few months there are a lot of great pieces out there in excellent condition. The two shirts I love and wear the most came from All Things Maternity, and my favorite maternity jeans were $8 at a regular consignment shop. Also: maternity stores will try to sell you belly bands, but don't buy into it. They can be pricey and it's super easy to make your own belly bands at home. I bought a cute tank top in XS on clearance for $2 and cut off the top for my own band and it works perfectly.

Shopping: JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS IS THE GREATEST THING EVER. I repeat: JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS IS THE GREATEST THING EVER. Well, for a new mom, at least.
Not only do the sales have a great selection of baby clothes in all sizes and styles, but they have excellent baby gear and an amazing Maternity selection. I've been to two of the sales so far and at the second I got probably $200 worth of stuff for $30, including a $5 Boppy nursing pillow and a $2.50 Bright Starts playmat. My trick is to go on one of the days when they have items discounted. Usually Saturdays are 25% off and Sundays are 50% off. If you're in the Tulsa area the Holiday Sale is coming up this weekend. You can bet that I'll be there.

Cravings: In the beginning it was Mexican food and anything salty with a major aversion to sweets and especially chocolate. In the last month or so the tides have changed and now my cravings lean more towards Peppermint Shakes from Braum's and Fruity Pebbles. No, I'm not vegan now- shame me if you want. But I plan on going back to near or total veganism after baby E. is born.

Vegan Mofo: Spooky Style

October is Vegan MoFo month, and what a great months for vegans it is. For those not in the know, Vegan MoFo stands for Vegan Month of Food and it's a month of amazing posts on vegan blogs. The Vegan MoFo goal for bloggers who sign up is to make a post a day on their blog for the entire month of October. The posts often have a theme chosen by the author, which can lead to a lot of creative and entertaining content. It is a vegan dream.

My favorite example of themed posts this year is Don't Eat Off The Sidewalk http://donteatoffthesidewalk.com.
The author of the blog is a fan of horror films and her theme for MoFo is giving fun reviews of her favorite spooky/horror films and coming up with menus inspired by the movies, complete with links to the recipes. The best part is that she not only includes films for horror geeks, but also kid-friendly favorites like Hocus Pocus. I'm sold.

Eating Vegan At The Fair

Yesterday I took a little trip to the Tulsa State Fair and while fried and unhealthy foods were plentiful and in the majority, I also found a pleasing amount of vegan-friendly fair, including a pineapple whip ($3) which was delicious and worth the brain freeze.

I also found: A spinach & black bean burrito sans cheese and ranch sauce-$7.50, a soft pretzel with no butter-$3 (just ask them to glance at the box), a hummus plate-$5, a veggie sub, and sorbetto $5.

There were probably other options I missed as I didn't walk by every stand. It's great to know that vendors are becoming more aware of and accomodating to vegan customers. If you serve it, we will come. And spend our money. It's a win-win situation.

La Costena Salsa Verde

My latest not-so-guilty pleasure. Cheap, spicy, and healthy. I could probably eat this stuff daily (and nearly do). I buy the little cans but it also comes in jars.

4/5

Bulgar Salad

Last night I had a bag of bulgar and the desire to experiment, and what I came up with was delicious. This bulgar salad is tabouli-esque, but had slightly different flavors.

Ingredients:
Water
2 cups of bulgar (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/3rd red onion, finely diced
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 a seedless cucumber, diced
3 shredded baby carrots
3/4 tbsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
1. Take the bulgar and soak it in 2 cups of water for an hour.
2. After the bulgar has been sitting for an hour, take the bulgar, vegetables, and spices and combine them in a glass or ceramic bowl.
3. Top with the lemon juice and stir well. Cover and r

Roasted Pepper and Olive Tapenade

Tapenade is a provencial dish, typically containing finely chopped olives, capers, and olive oil. It is popular in the South of France, spread on breads as an appetizer.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large red bell peppers, halved
2 large yellow bell peppers, halved
1/3rd cup roughly chopped black olives
1 tbsp capers, drained
Pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Toss the peppers with enough oil to coat and bake for 35 minutes. Peel the skins off the peppers and chop them.
2. Put the peppers, olives, capers, and pepper in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Let the tapenade come to room temp before serving with crostini.