Why I Loathe the Laundry: Reason #83

In the words of Bono, "It's not a hill, it's a mountain..."

I'm trying to come up with sock conservation plan.
I'm thinking something along the lines of the three R's of sock wearing:
Rewear, Reuse, & Recycle.

I've been trying hard to have a clean sock pile as opposed to a dirty sock pile since this post. I must also say that Nate's sock collection has probably tripled in size since then too.

A Heart Felt Letter

Dear Dryers Slow Churned Rich & Creamy Double Fudge Brownie Ice cream with 1/2 the fat and 1/3 less calories than regular ice cream,

You help fill that empty place in my heart stomach that's hidden somewhere roughly beneath my rib cage and crammed somewhere above my growing fetus.

I'm not 100% sure where that spot is. I'm not even sure where most of my bodily organs that I use to call my stomach are any more. But what I do know is that you make me feel good. Really good. Especially when I eat you with a fork out of the carton and the kids and husband are not around to see me indulge in your creamy double fudge brownie heaven.

Thank you for the temporary gratification you give me. I promise to forgive you for the extra poundage I've put on during our few days we spent together with me secretly eating you in the corner of the kitchen.

I think now, for the both us, it's best if we spent some time apart for a while. It's not you... it's me.

I won't forget you and the fond memories we made. I'll always have that cellulite on the back of my thighs to remind me of your sinful deliciousness. I'll make sure to watch for you at the store and when the timing is right- if you happen to go on sale- perhaps I'll bring you home with me again and we can relive some of those memories. You know, for old time sakes.

Sincerely,
Ginnie

Ruffle Me Scarf Winner

First of all, thanks so much for all the cute name ideas. You did not disappoint. Now I'm just trying to figure out a way to birth that many baby girls so that I can use them all. I was a little surprised that Lily was the most common name suggested. That one is actually on my list of girl names that I love. I'm even more surprised that names like Rainbow & Puberta were only suggested once. Those two names are truly unforgettable and one of a kind.
Now on to the winner.

Through the magical random power bestowed upon Random.org,
the winner is...

Congrats Jessica! Email me your shipping information along with the scarf color of your choice and size (children's or women's) to ginniejphotography[a]gmail.com.

Recipe Love :: Chicken Curry in a Hurry

This makes my heart and stomach happy.
Yes, it's that good.
Would I lead you astray?

Ingredients:

• 1½ tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• salt
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 (12-14 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3 packed cups fresh baby spinach

Directions:

1.) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Cook the onion, stirring often, until soft (about 7 minutes). Add the curry powder and continue stirring for 1 more minute.

2.) Stir in coconut milk, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Continue cooking the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.

3.) Add the chicken, stir well, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until the meat is cooked through.

4.) Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally until wilted, about 3 minutes.

5.) Salt to taste and serve.

........

P.S. Today is the last day to enter the Ruffle Me scarf giveaway. Thanks so much for all of the name suggestions. There might be hope for my unborn child after all :) Puberta is now high on the name option list. We would probably call her Pube's or Pubie for short. I'm thinking it has a nice ring to it.

Baby in Waiting

She's not here yet,
but one thing is for sure...

(Kaleb's not smiling because Macie is touching him. Oh, the pain.)

She is loved.
♥


P.S. Don't forget to check out the Ruffle Me scarf giveaway below or just click HERE to enter.

Giveaway :: Ruffle Me Scarf by SPB

How about a little giveaway/name my baby game!?

I've talked about Sweet Pea Baby before.

I've ooooooed and aahhhhhhed over their sweet blankets and baby accesories.

I've done a few product shots for their new Vintage Vogue line.

And as of late I've been doing some more product shots on one item I'm particularly fond of...

Their ultra hip & chic Ruffle Me Scarf for children and women!

I must say, I'm a fan.

What's in it for you?
Sweet Pea Baby is giving away a Ruffle Me Scarf to one lucky reader!

What's in it for me?
Ummmm, well... you're going to help me name my baby.
You think I'm kidding. I'm not. We're really running low on the name pool here.

How do you win the free swag?
It's quite simple my friends. Just leave a comment by Thursday, June 3rd giving me your best baby girl name ideas.
Please note: Names like Bonquisha and Apple will not be accepted... maybe.

*For an extra entry you can Tweet, Facebook or Blog about and link back to this giveaway.

Winner will be announced next week!

30ish Weeks

It's a real number. At least for me it is.
It's a number that ranges any where from 29 to 33.
It's a number I throw out there when I want to sound further along in my pregnancy than I really am.
It's a number I use because sometimes I can't actually remember how far along I really am because I use "ish" numbers way too often.

As a general rule of thumb, I always tell people I'm at least two weeks ahead of what I really am. I call it positive thinking. And perhaps, if I can convince everyone around me that I'm further along then maybe the baby might think that as well. Then that would mean that I only have 7ish weeks left and I can deal with 7... ish.

Ya, It's Funny

Just a little something to brighten up your Monday...

A Photo Essay

Aqueducts in Caesarea, Israel

Caesarea, along the Mediterranean coast
.....

I've posted some more pictures of our trip on my photography blog:

Egypt, Israel, Jordan :: Round 1

And yes, you can assume right. There will be a round 2...

It's starting to hit me

I woke up obscenely early this morning and could not fall back to sleep.
The only things keeping me company were my thoughts running wildly
and then IT hit me.
I’m having a baby.
And then IT hit me again…
I’m not ready for this baby to come.
40 weeks is not nearly enough time for a procrastinator, like myself, to get ready for a baby.

By this time, when I was pregnant with Abrie, I had all of her clothes washed, folded and neatly tucked away. Then I would pull them out, unfold each outfit, adore their cuteness, fold them perfectly, and tuck them away again.
This was a ritual I repeated almost weekly.

I had the car seat out with the buckles placed on the smallest setting. Everything was inspected multiple times to make sure it was in proper working order.

The crib was set up and ready to go with the bedding perfectly placed. Her blankets were hung decoratively over the side and the plushest stuffed animals vignetted the corners of the crib.

Flash forward with me now to child #4, current day.

I have not a thing ready.
No clothes folded neatly.
No car seat out with the buckles placed on the smallest setting
(or even purchased for that matter)
No crib set up and ready to go.
No bedding with soft new sheets.
No stuffed animals vignetting the corners.
No nothing.

Poor child #4.
Come to think of it, I was child #8 and I’m sure I had it a lot worse.

My mom probably never had time to even think about me being born.
She probably delivered me in between her errands of running to the grocery store and car pooling for soccer. My guess is it was something like a drive-thru delivery. I imagine it was very similar to going through the Mcdonalds drive-thru, but instead of ordering a #1 with a large Diet Coke you pull up to a window, ask for the doctor on call, order an extra strong epidural (but not too strong, you still have soccer to carpool), and a prescription of happy pills (biggie sized) to go.

And a car seat!? Forget about car seats. Who has time to even think about car seats with child #8? They probably wrapped me up tightly in bubble wrap to ensure a safe trip home from the hospital.
I probably slept in a make shift crib made from a small card board box with old t-shirts laid down at the bottom for sheets. And when my brothers and sisters friends would come over they were filled with disappointment to see that it was a baby in the box and not a puppy.
I probably used old tube socks wrapped around me and secured with duct tape for diapers. And the only clothing they could round up in such short notice of time was probably my brothers footy pajama’s which were 5 sizes too big, but that’s okay; I’m sure they tied knots at the bottom of the footies and cut off any excess material to make a comfortable fit.
I probably went a good month or two without any baby necessities until my Mom had enough time to make it to the store and buy me everything a baby needs.
I’m pretty sure that’s how it went for me.

So technically, my dear sweet child #4 has nothing to complain about. I’ll always have it worse than she did…

And I had to hike to school, up hill, both ways, in the snow, with no shoes on.

*Alternative Title: Commas Gone Wild