The Divine Jane

I just watched the short video below on Jane Austen and loved it. I always love to hear other people's opinions on Jane - particularly men. It is so rare to find a man who has not only read Jane Austen but appreciates her novels. I hate it when people refer to them as "chick lit."

One of these days I'm going to take a course on Jane Austen. I would love to be shut in a room with fellow Janeites and talk for several hours about her novels. Hopefully, at whatever future college I work, there will be such a course.

In the meantime, I have videos like this to get me thinking.

(And let me say, too, that I think it is entirely possible to take Jane too seriously.)

The Divine Jane: Reflections on Austen from The Morgan Library & Museum on Vimeo.

Birth Preferences

Last night in our birth class we went over birth plans and discussed some things we may or may not want to include in them. Adam and I had already talked and thought about this so we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted but it was good to get an idea of how to organize the birth plan.

Once we create our list of birth preferences (i.e. - a birth plan), we will discuss it with our doctor this week. When she approves of everything there, we'll make a copy for our file and then we'll bring a copy (along with some goodies) with us to the hospital for the nurses.

Our instructors recommended dividing it up into Labor, Delivery and Postpartum and using bullets instead of paragraphs. We will also start it out with a brief statement (saying who we are/this is our first baby/etc) and finish it with a big "Thank You!"

We haven't written the plan yet and I won't go into all of our preferences but here are our four big sticking points:
1) We want intermittent monitoring
2) We want freedom to move about during labor
3) We want to deliver in the position(s) of our choosing (except for squatting on the floor which my OB has already said she cannot do and which I don't see myself doing anyway)
4) We want the baby to be placed on my chest immediately following delivery

All of this of course comes with the caveat that everything is okay with the baby and myself. If anything goes wrong at any point, we obviously will put aside our preferences for safety's sake.

Honestly, if I can get these four things I will feel that I had the birth experience I wanted.

I really think it is crazy that this is even necessary though. I don't think it should be a battle to get what I want. And, in all honesty, I don't think it will be. Although I would rather have had a midwife, I think our OB is going to be pretty good. It is obvious she is not used to med-free/natural/intervention-free births but she seems open to them and I think that talking about all of this beforehand is going to be really helpful. And there are some things I'm still unsure about like whether or not I want someone to "coach" me when I push.

One thing I'm pretty sure about: I have no desire to watch the whole thing in a mirror. I realize this may change but, at the moment, I think it must be like watching a pot of water boil.

But grosser.

Yeah, I'm a Science Teacher

So, recently in class we were making non-newtonian, rheoscopic, polymer-based materials aka Slime and Silly Putty. I had some left over Borax that we used to make the slime so I used this recipe to make some crystals.

BoraxCrystalsRecipe:

You’ll need:

• Borax
• A large bowl
• A glass or plastic container (wide-mouthed is best)
• Pipe cleaners, twigs, roots, or whatever you want to cover with crystals
  
• Pencil/chopstick
• Spoon

First, make your frame. Use pipe cleaners to make shapes like snowflakes, trees or octopi. I used twigs, leaves, and roots which ended up looking really great, like twigs after an ice storm. Remember that the crystals will swell , so don’t make the circles/angles too tight, or they’ll grow solid. Unless that’s what you’re going for, which might be cool. Either attach a string to the finished frame or a spare pipe cleaner and then tie the end of that around a pencil or chopstick – you’ll use this to suspend the structure in the Borax solution.

Next, prepare the two containers: one for measuring out the quantity of water you’ll use and another for the actual mixing.

Measure enough water to fill the container you’ll be using for submersion, and boil it.

Fill the large bowl (I used a mixing bowl) with the boiling water, and start adding borax. Mix as you do this, and continue to add borax until it’s no longer dissolving. A quart of water and about 2 cups of Borax did the trick.

Slowly pour the mixture into the plastic container and be sure not to pour in any extra crystals that didn’t dissolve. Too many crystals will compete for growth later.

Submerge your frame into the Borax mixture. Try and keep the tentacles/arms from touching the sides.

Let the shape sit in the Borax over night, but feel free to check periodically. The crystals grow very fast, which is great for impatient geeks (like me!).

In the morning check it out!

Pity Party

Last night I had my first pregnancy-induced pity party. I thought the fact that I've made it to 34 weeks without such an occurrence was pretty good - but this one was a doozy.

It all started because I need new shoes. My feet are really not that swollen - just the tops are a little puffy. However, they are puffy enough to make my work shoes uncomfortable. So, I was a little surprised to discover that my feet are now 1/2 size larger than they were pre-pregnancy.

And here's where I reveal that I now wear a clownish size 11 shoe.

And NO ONE carries size 11 shoes. Except for Payless and Target and all of these seem to be of the ballet flat variety which offer no support for my fairly high arches (thanks a lot, ballet classes).

It all came to a head when I entered one final store on the Grand Shoe Store Tour of Little Rock 2009 and I found the perfect shoe. I asked the guy if they had a size 11 and he said, "Sure! Let me go check" with such confidence that I just knew they'd have it.

So when he came out moments later with an apologetic look on his face, yet a shoe box in his hand, I was a bit confused. Until he said this:

I'm sorry, ma'am, we don't have a size 11. But we have a size 8.5

while holding the box of the size 8.5 shoes to me.

I didn't know whether to cry or scream at him. Instead, I acerbically informed him that I last wore a size 8.5 when I was in 7th grade and walked out.

Ordinarily, I think I'd laugh at this. But all of this came on top of the fact that I can't find a bra that fits either. Visions of a future filled with ordering everything from specialty sized shops that cater to ginormous ladies with ginormous feet swirled through my head.

I just felt like nothing on my entire body fit. My pants are falling down, my bra is too tight, my pathetic excuse for a winter coat (it is really a glorified windbreaker) doesn't fit over my sweater, my shoes are too small and my socks are falling down. (Insert 2-year old whine here.)

So I unloaded all of this on poor Adam during dinner and had my little pity party of one (because he certainly wasn't joining in). In fact, I think he made fun of me for it so I'll take back the "poor" in front of his name and insert "totally unsympathetic and snarky" instead.

And I of course felt silly for it later because it really isn't such a big deal. I only have two more weeks of work and I'm pretty sure I can get by with my slightly uncomfortable shoes during that period.

As far as as my unmentionables are concerned, I may make a trip to Expressly for You (feel free to laugh because I do) and get sized for a decent bra. I realize I'll probably have to go larger once the baby is born but at least I'll have something comfortable until then.

So the world is once again back to its rose-tinted self. And I should be happy because I'm still sleeping like a log at night, I'm not swollen all over, my baby is healthy, I am healthy, school is almost out and Christmas is almost here.

The pity party is officially over.

P.S. - Should I explain the picture? That is a picture of Dawson Leery crying on the show Dawson's Creek. It makes me giggle. It reminds me of college when the girls and I would watch Dawson's Creek while eating entire boxes of macaroni and cheese. I think this is from the episode when Dawson's dad dies in a car accident because he was trying to retrieve an ice-cream cone he dropped on the floor of his car. Tee hee.

Oh, dear

Adam's assignment from our birthing class this week is to surprise me with "contractions" that I have to relax and breathe through. The only caveat is that he cannot do it while I am driving. I think he is going to enjoy it way too much.

Other than that, everything is going swimmingly. Mini McEvoy checked out great at our doctor's appointment on Tuesday and is still head down (with his/her back to my left side). I continually promise the baby that lots of love and toys will be waiting on the other side if he/she stays that way.

(Little does Mini McEvoy know that lots of love and toys will be waiting on the other side, regardless.)

(Can I add that it is every difficult to talk about this baby without using the word "it"? I'm trying my darnedest but it is awkward at best).

Update: Yep, Adam just came home and gave me a "contraction." It is going to be a long week...

Big ole' eye roll

What I'm about to write about comes from the worldly experience of someone with zero outside babies and only one safe-in-the-womb baby BUT is this really necessary?This is a sign that (presumably) new moms can buy to put on their stroller/car seat so that strangers will not touch their baby. Until I saw this, I didn't realize a person could pay money to be passive aggressive but some wonderful company has figured it out.

I understand the need to protect a newborn from all the big bad germs out there but does that also mean that you can no longer verbally communicate with others? Is it so hard to say something if you think someone is getting too close? Wouldn't that be better, and nicer, than letting a sign do all the talking?

Besides the fact that I think this sign would just attract people rather than repel them.

Anyhoo, I'm off my soapbox now.

"I have a Masters but then I got married"

Being a pregnant vegetarian, I am hyper-aware of my protein intake. My doctor is always quizzing me about protein and reminding me to eat protein at every meal.

My doctor seems happy with how I'm doing so far (no anemia - yea!) but tried to recommend yogurt for a quick morning protein. Unfortunately, I have an aversion to yogurt. Or, perhaps more correctly, I have a hatred for yogurt.

For one, it is never cold. You could literally take it right out of the refrigerator and eat it and it will still taste lukewarm. Why? I have no idea.

Two, the flavor always tastes super fake to me. It always taste like someone added a candy version of fruit to the mix. I went for a honey-flavored version once and it was what honey would taste like if Willy Wonka made it rather than bees.

Three, I've never been able to add things to regular yogurt. For example, I tried making my own honey yogurt once and I just ended up with honey flavored lumps interspersed throughout the yogurt. Gross.

So, try as I may, yogurt just doesn't cut it for me. Possibly adding to my hatred for all things yogurt is the advertising of yogurt. That's why this short video below makes me laugh until I cry. It is so true and so funny.

Enjoy!

Camping Trip (baby's 2nd in utero)

So the last time we went camping, Mini McEvoy and myself were much much smaller. Mini-McEvoy was also much less mobile before.

This time camping I was a little bit bigger and a lot more awkward. Getting in to our tent wasn't so difficult but there were lots of laughs at 3am when I tried to clamber out of the tent. It was not a pretty sight, I'm sure.

Mini-McEvoy was also a lot more active this time around. He/She seemed to like camping and the fresh air because he/she would not stop moving at night. I think the added excitement of a nighttime visit by a skunk didn't help.


We took my parents with us and had a great time (car accident included). We made hobo packs for dinner, roasted marshmallows for dessert and made pancakes for breakfast. The weather was beautiful although I do wish it had rained a bit because I love hearing the rain fall on a tent.

I think I can safely say this was the last camping trip before the arrival of Mini-McEvoy. Our next camping trip is tentatively scheduled for spring when the baby is a couple of months old.

I thought getting out of the tent at 8 months pregnant was interesting but taking a 4 or 5 month old camping will probably prove to be even more interesting!

Reason # 10, 562, 342....

....why I love my Subaru.

On the way home from camping this weekend (more on that later), we encountered this


coming towards us in our lane. Adam was driving and luckily reacted in time to avoid a direct head-on collision. He drove the car off the road and we hit this


The only significant damage caused to my wonderful beloved Subaru (as far as we can tell at this point) is this


All of us are fine. We were a bit rattled but we had an hour to calm down before the Perry County Sheriff arrived. Mini McEvoy is doing well and was moving around normally all afternoon and evening. I am going to the doctor tomorrow for my bi-weekly checkup and will, of course, mention the accident just in case she wants to do an ultrasound to check on everything.

In the meantime, we are thanking our lucky stars that everything turned out okay. It is amazing how quickly an accident like that can happen.

I'll never be able to make fun of Adam's driving again!

Shower Pictures

As promised, here are some photos from the shower weekend. My friend took all of these so I cannot claim the credit. Liz, if you are reading this, were you getting artsy with these pictures or did my computer somehow make them look like this? Either way, I think they are good.

All of us on the Riverfront's jungle gym thing.

Emerging from the World's Longest Slide

Reading a baby book at the shower

Ima Lucky Girl

My friends and family threw me a baby shower this weekend and it was so much fun. Mini-McEvoy got so many wonderful gifts and it was so much fun to see everyone. Plus, there was cake. From Community Bakery. What more do I really need to say?

I did not take one photo but I hope to post some (once others post them, ahem) soon. Rest assured, a good time was had by all. The weather really cooperated this weekend so we were able to spend a lot of time outdoors at the RiverMarket walking around, eating, going down the World's Biggest Slide (not really, but kind of), eating, running away from mimes and eating. I also got to introduce Mini-McEvoy to his/her future best friend/soul mate Mini-Boineau. I'm glad we can say their first meeting occured while they were both in utero.

It was all over too soon which just reminds me that we really do need to set up some sort of reunion weekend in the Hamptons at some point in the not too distant future. I see large amounts of cinnamon toast, truth-or-dare games and gay wedding marathons in our future.

Possibly the best part was bringing all of the gifts to our apartment and realizing that the cats DID NOT jump all over, sleep on or in any way mess with Mini McEvoy's things. I think this bodes well for our future.

A squash and a shower

We're still in the squash stage and will be for the next 2 weeks, I believe. I officially switch to week 30 on Saturday but it is doubtful I will be blogging between now and then. My sister/brother-in-law/niece and my friends (most of whom I haven't seen since my wedding 2 years ago) are coming to town for my baby shower!

I am so excited to see them. The only problem I've encountered is that all of the usual things we would do (i.e. - going to smoky bars and drinking copious amounts of alcohol) are not an option. I'm sure we'll think of some pretty good alternatives though.

Um, thanks?

I am usually not home to enjoy daytime TV but today I happened to catch a segment of a TV show called "The Doctors."

First, let me just say that IF these are real doctors I would be very concerned to be their patient. They all kind of seem like doofuses. I don't often use the word doofus but it seems extremely applicable here.

On today's show they had what amounted to the worst endorsement for cloth diapers I've ever seen.

Enjoy! (And for some good and actually pertinent information on cloth diapers, I suggest going to Jillian's Drawers.)

Being Pregnant Must be a Lot Like....Getting Old

Since I'm still in my 20s, I have not yet begun to feel the effects of aging but I think being pregnant must be a lot like getting old. I wake up every morning and some aspect of my body has changed.

Some days, it is a good thing: my belly is a little bigger, my hair is thicker, my face is glowing-er.

Some days, it is a bad thing: I have a weird pain in my thigh, my belly itches, there is a rash on my knee.

The thing about it is that my body is not the same one day to the next. That sameness is something I've counted on for basically my whole life. Even puberty was gradual. Pregnancy, on the other hand, is day-by-day and each day is different than the one before it.

I really love the days that bring proof of my baby. Like the day the baby kicked so hard Adam could (finally) feel it. Or the day I looked down when the baby was moving to see my belly moving. Even the days that bring puffy ankles. Each day is memorable, exciting and welcome in its own right.

I wonder if I'll miss these days when the baby is finally here.

Finished the bird mobile

Here are some pictures of our completed bird mobile. The whole thing cost $12 and I think it came out great. Here's what I used:

Branches
Scrapbook paper (for birds)
This bird template
Ribbon (to hang the branches to the ceiling)
Thread (to hang the birds to the branches)
Spray paint

And here's how they turned out: (The picture quality isn't great but you should get the idea).

The mobiles (crib mobile on left - changing table mobile on right)

Close-up of changing table mobile

Baby's Perspective (changing table mobile)

Close-up of crib mobile

Baby's Perspective (crib mobile)

Close-up of Paper Bird

Also, if you are wondering, the green bird prints are from Target (in the $1 section!!)

Branches and Squash

Yesterday was a beautiful, spectacular fall day in Arkansas and we wanted to spend it rambling around so we headed to Petit Jean.

While up on the mountain we robbed two trees of their branches in order to make mobiles for the crib and the changing table area. I felt bad about getting live branches but Adam said we had to. So, we picked branches that would eventually be cut anyway.

The best part is that these branches came from Camp Mitchell which is not only where I went to camp for every year as a kid but also where Adam and I wed almost exactly two years ago.

An added bonus was watching Adam try to wrangle the branches from the trees. Those poor trees did not want to let go. Pictures of the completed mobiles to come.

The baby this week is the size of a squash. Appropriate for this time of year, I think.

I didn't sleep at all last night

Last night was probably the first of many sleepless nights caused by Mini McEvoy. This is what the baby was doing all night long:



In other news, I got my H1N1 vaccine today. Yay! Now I don't have to worry about pigs sneezing on me.

Baby's First Plane Trip (in utero)

I suspect our upcoming trip to New York will be the first of many trips for Mini McEvoy. I'm a little nervous about swelling to the size of, well, the plane but I'm looking forward to the trip nonetheless. I will be drinking gallons of water and will insist that Adam let me put my legs up on his. (I also may insist on a foot rub or three.)

This week, baby is the size of an eggplant. Mmm..eggplant parmesan.

Nursery Decor

Maybe it is a little misleading to call a corner of our bedroom the "nursery." We live in a 1-bedroom apartment (until the summer, at least) and so Mini McEvoy will get a corner, albeit the best corner, in the room.

That little fact is not going to stop me from decorating but I am trying to keep the decorations cheap, easy to move and to a minimum. A focus of my decorating has been on the mobile. I don't like any of the mobiles available in stores (they seem to be more for the adults in the room rather than the baby lying in the crib) so I decided to make a mobile instead.

I first saw this and thought I'd give something similar a try. I liked the fact that this would look interesting from the baby's perspective.

But then I saw this and fell in love with the branch part. (Not so much the star part.)

I think I'll be able to cobble something together. We'll see what happens. Mini McEvoy may end up with just a branch hanging above his/her crib.

I have to say I've already felt a little Mama guilt because my baby will not have his/her own nursery. Despite the fact that this situation will remedy itself when the baby is 6-7 months old, the guilt remained until I saw Oprah's tour of a typical Danish house.

It reminded me that I really don't need a big house to be happy and neither do my kids.

Catching Up

I'm such a good mother already - I stopped writing about my child at week 10. During those first 10 weeks of pregnancy, Adam and I were the only ones who knew so the only way I could express what I was thinking (and feeling) was by talking to Adam and writing about it on the blog.

And then, of course, not posting it.

But once all of our family and friends knew, I didn't feel the need to write about it any more. Plus, my entire 1st and 2nd trimester were so (please don't hate me) uneventful. I never once had morning sickness or any of the other usual symptoms of pregnancy. I felt totally normal during that time and there honestly just wasn't much to write about.

Now, however, I feel the baby move and I am (finally) showing so I guess I should get on the ball. I have finally posted those 10 posts so you can read them here. If you don't want to read all of them, you can just read the one when I describe the day we found out we were going to be parents.

New Blog Name!

Our new blog name: Ramble Bramble. Adam came up with this name and we both really liked it.

There are a few definitions of the word "Ramble" but this one is my favorite:

Ramble (v) to take a course with many turns or windings, as a stream or path.

This seems to describe Adam and I because we have taken many different turns in our life thus far and we will probably take many more. We kind of like it that way.

A bramble, Adam tells me, is a blackberry bush which really has no significance in our life. But it rhymes with ramble and I giggle whenever Adam says "Ramble Bramble" so it works.

This blog will include all the adventures of our small family including: pregnancy, babies, gardening, trips, cooking, family, friends, jobs, etc.

Hope you enjoy!

I've imported all of our 25x50 blog posts and incorporated them into the new blog but we will no longer be writing there and the comments section has been turned off.

Sweet Potato Harvest

Adam and I harvested roughly 25 sweet potatoes from our garden today. I have plans for these potatoes: ranging from a savory sweet potato bread to sweet potato soup. For tonight, we made a two potato gratin that I got from a Moosewood Restaurant cookbook.

First, let me just say that I love the Moosewood and all of their cookbooks. If I could take Ithaca and subtract the 100 ft of snow they get every year, add in some southern accents and food and shake it until it ended up closer to my parents in Arkansas I would totally live there.

This gratin was the perfect recipe for Adam and I because it combined one of his favorite foods (potatoes) with one of mine (sweet potatoes) and topped it with a mutual favorite (cheese). I have to say, though, I think I'd add less cheese than what the recipe required. What you see here is 4 oz of grated Havarti but it kind of overwhelmed the sweet potato flavor. All in all, however, the gratin was spectacular. So spectacular, in fact, that I forgot to take a picture before we dug in.

Relish Your Garden

In the height of the summer, Adam and I ventured out to the garden in the early morning hours to pick all of our green tomatoes, peppers and onions. We then spent the next two days in my parents' kitchen making my Gram's relish.

This particular relish is a family recipe and, therefore, a big secret. I can tell you there is a lot of chopping involved and several cups of vinegar and sugar but a better accompaniment to black-eyed peas I've never found. Luckily, we had some red peppers in the mix so the relish looks Christmas-y and will make great gifts when that time rolls around.

The huge benefit to making this relish is that we put so many tomatoes to good use. Not being much of a fresh tomato eater myself, Adam and I were often lost as to what to do with the vast amounts of tomatoes we had on hand. Luckily, this relish pretty much wiped us out.

The best part of making this relish is that Adam and I got the very first quart all to ourselves.

I think I did it again

Maybe it is unrealistic to think I can blog and garden (and attend classes and work two jobs) over the busy summer months. I don't know. But, needless to say, I continued our blog tradition of being completely absent during the summer months.

But it is almost October now so let the blogging begin (again)! There are still some forthcoming summer-y blog entries detailing our relish-making adventures but that should about conclude the summer.

In totally unrelated-to-gardening-news, Adam and I are expecting a baby although I'm sure most of you reading this have already heard the good news. For that reason, I am considering creating a new blog (to detail all of our adventures including baby and gardening) but have yet to think of a good name.

Give me your suggestions - I need them! (Says the girl who actually named a blog 25 x 50).

Feeling like a watermelon!

This week the baby is the size of a prune but I feel more like a watermelon. Not that I feel like I look like a watermelon but I want to EAT WATERMELONS ALL DAY EVERY DAY.

I can definitely classify this as my first food craving. I'm not sure what it means to be craving watermelon but I certainly am. There are moments in the day when I can just picture a huge juicy watermelon in front of me and I am holding a giant spoon. Yum. (Good thing I'm eating some right now, otherwise I'd be drooling all over the keyboard.)

In other news, after a few days of absolutely no pregnancy symptoms (which had me worried beyond belief) the nausea etc has returned full force. I have to say I am really happy about this. Until I can actually feel the baby move, I'd prefer to have as many pregnancy symptoms as possible just so I can "feel pregnant" every day.

Good news: this weekend, we get to tell our families. We are so excited and ready to let our loved ones know. This secret has been too hard to keep!

No symptoms (again!)

I'm feeling a bit of deja vu. I'm here in week 9 (again) and I am basically symptom-less (again). I was a little freaked out early in the week because my nausea had all but disappeared but, when I took an honest account of things, I had to admit that I do still have nausea but I'm just ignoring it better!

And, I have to say, those baby bump message boards are a lifesaver. I can go on a type a stupid question like, "Is it okay if I don't throw up?" and get 100 people assuring me that they, too, have had little to no morning sickness.

These message boards have been a lifesaver in lieu of actually being able to talk to my sister and mom. Just another weekish and I can tell everyone!

Ironically, I think my boss is going to figure it out before anyone else does. He keeps looking at me strangely and today he said that I looked different. I just shrugged and blamed it on the vacation!

UPDATE: Here's a fun symptom - my mind is shot! I'm supposed to be writing a paper right now but, every 3 minutes or so, I find myself just staring off into space. I hope this doesn't continue - otherwise my grades are going to plummet in the upcoming semester!

Baby's First Camping Trip!

Baby had its first camping trip - in utero! I think that counts.

I have been feeling marvelous. Little to no nausea, some fatigue, some food aversions but nothing all that bad. I can't figure out if I'm feeling better because I'm on vacation or because I'm just somehow over all of that.

We are getting closer and closer to the day we get to tell everyone. I am so excited! Keeping this secret has been about the hardest thing I've ever done. I've even been avoiding talking to my parents and sister because I don't know what to talk about if I can't talk about my pregnancy.

Anyway, baby this week is: a raspberry!

Vacation: All I ever wanted

We should have done a little post about how we were going to be absent from the blog-o-sphere for a while. But we didn't. Sorry if you were wondering.

We have been on vacation - not the entire time we've been absent from the blog - and now we are back to the real world.

At least, I am. Since Adam is a lucky ducky teacher, he has the summer off. Since I am a poor pathetic grad student, I have two classes and two jobs for the summer. Fun.

Our garden is going bananas. While we were out of town my parents watered and harvested. Here is what has been harvested so far:

zucchini
bell peppers (!)
herbs
lettuce (but it was bitter-y so we yanked it out)
one okra pod

Everything else is doing really well. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, onions, beans, watermelons, tomatoes and flowers.

Our only failure so far has been our cucumbers. They got the evil cucumber beetle and never recovered.

Pictures soon to come, I promise. Adam may be doing most of the posts for the next two months because of my aforementioned dreary summer plans.

Dialing it back

Well, we went to our first doctor's appointment today and everything went really well. We were able to see the baby and hear the heartbeat - amazing!

The good news is that, in the doctor's words, I am as healthy as a horse.

The bad news is that we aren't quite as far along as we thought. We were about 2 weeks off - so instead of being 9 1/2 weeks today we are 7 1/2 weeks!

I guess that isn't really bad news - it is just anti-climactic because we've already progressed to the raspberry/olive stage and now we have to go back and do it all over again.

We will still tell our families at the same time (end of June) but they'll have to keep a lid on it for a few weeks until we are in the relative safety of the second trimester.

The other good news: we only have one baby. No Octomom for us!

We've got a fetus!

This week the baby is officially a fetus. And I am officially pooped. Those that know me well know that I HATE naps so the fact that I've actually considered taking one (or two or three) this week should clue you in to how tired I am.

Plus, this week starts my first week of my summer semester - which finds me taking two classes, working one job and doing an internship at the same time.

Nausea is an every day, all day occurrence now but I still haven't actually vomited (fascinating, I know.) I just refuse to vomit. You may think that I am regretting my previous statements about being symptom free but I am not. I actually LOVE having all these symptoms because it makes this whole pregnancy thing all the more real. Bring it on baby.

I made it through my visit to my sister without spilling the beans. I really thought everyone would notice that I am drinking water and not iced tea but no one has noticed yet. I guess my family is not as observant as I thought!

So here is my pregnancy reveal idea: We are going to Nashville at the end of June for my niece's birthday. After we celebrate her birthday (because I do not want to steal her thunder) we will gather everyone around and give Rebekah a gift to open for Jacqueline that I "forgot" to give earlier. The gift? An "I'm the Big Cousin" t-shirt that Jacqueline can wear when her new cousin is born.

Cute, no?

Hey little raspberry!

It is officially week 8 - the raspberry week. I still have some slight nausea but it is nothing I can't handle. I spent the last two days in Tunica basically passed out on the big king bed in the hotel room watching cable. It was wonderful.

I did make a brief foray into the casino and, luckily, there were few people there and not too much cigarette smoke. The worst part was when I went to the Paula Dean buffet and couldn't eat a bite - which totally defeats the purpose of a buffet.

Plus, I had to lie to my parents. About booze. They wanted to know what I drank at the bar in the casino. I said I had gin and soda with lime - which they thought was weird.

Today I'm in Nashville visiting my sister. I suspect it will be very hard not to spill the beans but I just have to keep reminding myself of the perfect pregnancy "reveal" I have dreamed up. More on that next week.

Still No Symptoms

During this past week, this first week I have known I am pregnant, I have vacillated between:

1. Extreme happiness
2. Worry that I have an ectopic pregnancy
3. Happiness again
4. Fear of miscarriage
5. Happiness again
6. Worries over pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes
7. Happiness again

I complain about not having any symptoms but surely these back-and-forth emotions are a sign of pregnancy hormones? This time would be much easier if I could talk to someone but we are keeping it a secret so I have to stay mum about my worries.

Adam has been a great sounding board but I'm beginning to realize that he thinks I am crazy. Oh well, he better get used to it because we'll have roughly 9 more months of this!

Aside from all of the back and forth emotions, I still have no pregnancy symptoms. I really cannot wait until our first doctor's appointment (June 3rd) so we can finally hear a heartbeat! Then this pregnancy will feel more real to me.

From the day I found out I was pregnant, I have had no caffeine, no sugar and, obviously, no alcohol. Even though some caffeine is allowed, I have been wanting to give it and sugar up so this is the perfect excuse. The hardest part of this is forgoing iced tea when I eat lunch with my parents. I am convinced they will figure it out.

I feel great though and I'm looking forward to a happy and healthy pregnancy!

UPDATE: I felt a little bit of nausea this afternoon. Yea!

Mothers' Day

I found out I am going to be a mother on Mother's Day.

I took two home pregnancy tests that morning and both came back positive! My usual reaction to eventful (or even uneventful) moments is to scream but, for some reason, I did not scream when I saw those double lines. I very calmly walked into the bedroom and said, "You know how today is Mother's Day? Well, you better get me a gift!"

Even more amazing is that Adam got it right away!

After doing some calculations, it looks like I am about 6 weeks along. Although this fact is a little surprising, this pregnancy is not unplanned. I just honestly thought it would take a lot longer to become pregnant.

I also thought Adam was going to be a little freaked but, from the word go, he has been nothing but excited, helpful and (of course!) curious. We went to the library the next day to get some books (What to Expect when You're Expecting, Eating Well When You're Expecting, Pregnancy Stretching and, for Adam, Making Babies).

The evidence of Adam's self-education about pregnancy and birth was made apparent when I arrived home from work two days later to questions like, "What do you think about epesiotimies?"

We are keeping this a secret from everyone until we are in the 2nd trimester. So, until week 14, none of this will be on the blog. But, I wanted to clue everyone into the early days of this pregnancy after we make it public.

But, honestly, there is not much to say. I have had zero nausea, no fatigue, no dizziness, no metallic taste in my mouth. Nothing.

I told Adam that I wish I had some nausea or something because then I would feel pregnant.

He said I should be careful what I wish for and I suppose he is right.

While I'm waiting for that nausea to show up, I'll update weekly on this blog. For all of you more interested in the garden, do not worry. This is still a garden blog!

But, once a week, it will also be a baby blog. This week, my baby is the size of a sweet pea. (At least we are keeping with a produce theme!)

Oh hail!

Around 4 this morning we had some major hail. And I just kept picturing our little plants being ripped to shreds. Honestly, our garden has endured just about all of the possible weather events for this section of the country. Early frost, strong winds (although, thankfully, no tornadoes), heavy rain and large hail.

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I'm actually looking forward to the summer when every day is just hot and humid and mosquito-filled.

May showers bring slugs

Our garden is growing very quickly now. Our onions are thick and dark green, the potatoes have shot up


we've got our first tomato



and our first little zucchini



BUT, we also have our first pest of the season. Slugs.

It has been so wet this season and the slugs seem to really like the nice, moist mulch we have provided. We first noticed them when we harvested lettuce for the first time and had to pick several slugs off the inner leaves.

Then, yesterday, we went to the garden to discover they had severely munched on our zucchini and cucumber leaves.


We're not real worried because the zucchini, cucumbers and lettuce all have a lot of new growth so they are far from dead.

But we need to get rid of these slugs.

Our plan of action: get the slugs drunk. That's right, apparently, slugs LOVE beer. They love it so much that if you leave a bowl of beer out they will crawl right in and drown. We are also going to spray the leaves of the plant with a soapy water mixture to make them distasteful.

We'll see how it works!

Shout Out

This post is for you, babies Mason!

Last night I saw this pretty little red strawberry with a not-quite-ready berry growing right next to it.

Adam and I are currently blessed with two nieces, one nephew and one mystery niece/nephew on the way.

But this picture reminds me of my little red-headed niece Dorothy and her still-growing baby brother or sister. So this little post is dedicated to them.

Uncle Adam and Aunt Erin wish y'all lived closer to us so we could make you some fresh strawberry shortcake! In the meantime, we'll make do with blog shout-outs.

(And I will continue to look forward to the day when all my nieces and nephews hit the 2 year mark so that I can start referring to them in years instead of months. The month-age thing just confuses me.)

Honey Do

Last week, Adam went out to the farm to make some improvements while I stayed at home and worked on my research papers.

And since a large part of my waking hours since then has been consumed with finishing those research papers, I am just now getting around to writing about his accomplishments that day.

First, he made some bean poles out of bamboo. We are late planting our beans so we don't have any actual bean plants yet - but we've got some beautiful bean poles!


Second, he mulched our seating area. The county is putting in a sewer line near the farm and, therefore had to cut down some trees. They turned those trees into mulch - free for the taking!


Third, he planted our second round okra and covered them with cloches to prevent them from being nibbled on as they were the first time.

All in all, he got quite a lot done! I suspect he also drank a cold beer (or two) under our nice little umbrella but we don't have a picture of that.

Next on the to-do list:
1. Plant beans
2. Plant corn
3. Plant flowers

Still Here...

I promise we are still alive and kicking. Our garden is still doing well. We have been very busy.

Several new additions have been made to the garden. So many, in fact, that I just simply do not have the time to blog about them. Rest assured, I will very soon upload all of my pictures and post a probably too-lengthy blog about it all.

Also, very soon we will be bringing home our first big harvest. I see lettuce, cabbage, herbs and strawberries(!) in our very near future.

But, for the immediate future, I must go write a paper...

Summer Plans...

The weather here lately has been summery to say the least. We reached 90 degrees one day this week and weren't far from it during the rest.

These warmer temperatures have been cooking a few ideas I have in my mind for summer projects.

Unfortunately, my summer is not shaping up how I thought it would. Whereas I once thought I would take no classes, I am now taking two classes and will be working a job and (hopefully) a summer assistantship to pay for them.

So, my summer schedule thus far is the most hectic of all.

But after this semester ends (classes end in another week and my assistantship ends on the 15th) I will have one blissfully empty week before summer classes begin.

This is where my mind is currently focused (not, unfortunately, on a paper due tomorrow) and where my "real" summer plans reside.

During that week, I want to:

1. Make a garden apron (like I saw here and here)
2. Make some rosemary shampoo, tarragon perfume and herbal deodorant
3. Construct a ladybug house
4. Make these cute row labels (good ideas here)
5. Drink a cold bottle of wine (and have Adam drive me home!) in the garden on a cool night

Sounds good, right?! It might be a little ambitious for one week, especially since I won't actually be in town for that entire week, but I am looking forward to it.

Now I just need to focus on my papers.

In Honor of This American Life...

Adam and I weren't able to go to the farm tonight because we went to the live show of This American Life instead. (Really good, by the way).

So, in honor of This American Life, here's a little story. It's a farm story that has nothing to do with our plants.

The plot behind ours has been inactive so far this season. So we were a little surprised, when we arrived Wednesday evening, to see it tilled and planted. Standing in the middle of the new plants, and surrounded by a skimpy and apparently temporary fence, was a man in a suit watering his new plants.

Adam was tilling our garden at this point so the man introduced himself to me. I can't quite remember his name but I think it was Bob. Or Bill. Aside from the fact that he kept calling me "Karen" and he had a massive comb-over, he seemed very nice and we were happy to have him as a plot-neighbor.

As we were saying our goodbyes, Bob/Bill said:

By the way, when I came out the other night, your fence was knocked over. I'm pretty sure a deer did it. Anyway, I righted the fence but I though I'd let you know.

Upon arrival at our plot that night we had noticed that our back fence was ripped and a little...tilted. We weren't overly concerned because the rip is easily repairable and the fence itself was still stable. Plus, deer haven't been a problem for us and we don't have to worry about keeping them out.

So it surprised me when he said a deer must have done it. I told Bob/Bill as much to which he responded:

Oh? You haven't had a deer problem over here? Well, it was most certainly a deer. I even think I saw a mom and her baby earlier.

After telling me this news, Bob/Bill tells me they are putting in (get this) an electric fence! To keep the deer out. Last year, they had a plot on the other side of the farm and apparently the deer destroyed their plants. I'm thinking an electric fence is a little extreme for a garden plot, but I keep that opinion to myself.

Later in the evening, I am talking to some other plot-neighbors of ours and I warn them about the impending electric fence. My plot neighbor says:

Oh, I meant to tell you, I was out here the other night and Bob/Bill had just finished planting his tomatoes. He was running his hose along the aisle between your plots and fell over your fence. I saw the whole thing! Then, he put the fence back and left.

Can you believe it? Bob/Bill is a lying liar! I guess I could be mad but I just find the whole thing funny. You don't expect to encounter bold duplicity at a community garden but there you have it.

Needless to say, Bob/Bill with his electric fence, comb-over and pants-on-fire will be an interesting addition to our little neighborhood.

Photo Survey - Sheds

I told you earlier about our tool "shed" and how we did it on the cheapy cheap. I thought I'd show you what some other gardeners are doing, in terms of storage, at the farm.

Thank you, mulch.

We got a lot done at the garden today and our garden, I must say, is doing very well. So far, we haven't had many weeds (except in the aisles - which Adam tilled today) and we are thanking the mulch for that. Although we've only had to spot-weed, we are on the lookout for more mulch.

So, to update you on some things:

Onions



Zucchini



Lettuce


Potatoes


The cabbage, cucumber, peppers, strawberries, tomatoes and herbs are also doing great.

We did have a fatality this week - our okra.


I was shocked! Okra was the one plant we could really count on last season. Although we initially blamed deer (more on that later), Adam thinks slugs were the culprit. Ew.

Oh well, we'll try again. And this time we'll probably cover them, like we did with our lettuce on the second go-round.

While Adam tilled our rows today, I planted some mint (in a pot so that it doesn't take over)...


...and some wildflowers (these are going all along our fence).