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 Cool stuff from Nerdy Baby. Check it out! The final amnio results came back this morning and all is good in genetic babyland. Even though our insurance company will probably gouge us, getting the early results were well worth it, as I would have had several heart attacks by now if I’d been forced to wait. And while I’m mostly loving living chemical free, I’ve missed my xanex like you wouldn’t believe over the past two weeks.
Still, now we know stuff is good, and we can RELAX a bit. We’re having a high-power ultrasound in a couple weeks with Dr. Barry, and I think after that it’s back to regular old prenatal care.
Things are stretching. Ever heard of Round Ligament Pain? Look it up. I’m hoping it stays as intermittent as it is right now, because OW. I took a good long walk today, so hopefully that won’t make it worse.
Plans are underway for TMQ’s room. All I can say is it’s not going to involve any baby pink and it’s going to be wicked cool. I will probably want to move in. We should have the paint and carpet picked out shortly, and then Daddy and Grandpa will get to work! I may get enlisted to paint some furniture, but I’m cool with that. Anybody enjoy sanding? Anyone?
 So today I dragged David to USA Baby to see if we could get a stuff-for-your-kid 101 course. The amount of crap it is possible to buy is more than a little intimidating. Chuck, the owner, was really helpful. I now feel well-armed to make decisions about some of the more essential items. The stroller you see pictured is called the Bob. It’s way cool. We do a lot of walking with the dogs in the neighborhood, and that won’t change any time soon, so this puppy will get a lot of use. It’s pricey, but well worth it. We’re going to get a Graco infant car seat and regular stroller as well. We looked at a bunch of gliders, and are probably going to get one that’s kind of a modern take on the wood glider (I usually hate those). This one is fairly interesting looking and has some great fabrics to choose from. Unless I find something good on Craigslist that’s CHEAP.
 In news of the weird, Tiny Josephine seems to not like fish any more. I made some stew with the red fish David caught last weekend on Tuesday and all was well. But last night David grilled some more, and I couldn’t eat it. And then, and this is really strange, we went for dim sum at Chinatown today and ordered a plate of sea bass. Chilean sea bass is one of the tastiest things on the planet – and I couldn’t eat it! David sure didn’t mind, but what gives? I had no problem with the shrimp, but the bass just tasted off to me. David assured me it was most certainly not. I know I’m only supposed to have seafood twice a week, and I over did it a bit this week, but most weeks I have little to none. Pregnant bodies are just strange is all.
Today I had my regular prenatal appointment. My doctor was out of town so I saw an NP. Same weight as last time, good blood pressure, no swelling, belly growing at a predictable rate. She couldn’t do a sonogram, but I got to hear the heartbeat. It was hard to find because TMQ seemed to be wiggling around a lot. I also got a flu shot. And let me say, after having a big needle stuck deep in my belly, a flu shot is very not painful. Then I got a massage, which was wonderfully relaxing.
David and I will probably go look at strollers and car seats this weekend. Trying to figure out what we need and where to register is a bitch. I’ve been trolling Consumer Reports for information. It’s misleading to read the customer reviews on sites, they can be so contradictory. And full of scary bad grammar and spelling. Other things I’m eyeing – a cushy glider by Storytime Gliders, and a daybed from West Elm. I’ve picked out a crib from IKEA (pending designer approval). Said designer will be visiting next week to help me nail down the plan for the room, and then it’s time to put the menfolk to work on the painting and carpet.
It’s nice to be past some of the big hurdles and to be able to start concentrating on some of the fun stuff. It’s also nice not to feel death all the time. The second trimester is officially way better.
 I’m happy to report that the long cooking drought is over. We even made fish stew last night, and the lingering smell in the kitchen doesn’t make me ill! During the first oh, 13 weeks of pregnancy I cooked maybe once a week. And I had this bad habit of forgetting key ingredients like oil or leavening.
While I haven’t missed the cleanup work entailed in cooking, I’ve gotten mighty sick of eating restaurant and previously frozen foods. And nobody’s happier than David, he loves him some home cooking. Here are some recipes I’ve made recently:
Emeril Lagasse’s Fish Stew
I don’t cook Emeril’s recipes that often because 1) they’re usually wicked complicated and 2) they’re usually very, very high in fat. However, nobody does it like Emeril. I always turn to him for special occasion and comfort food recipes. This one is relatively easy (meaning it’s not four recipes in one) and while not low in fat (there’s a roux) it’s not too bad since none of the other ingredients have much in the way of fat. We used 2 lbs of the redfish David caught last weekend in it and it was DELISH!
Butternut Squash Soup
I’m mostly avoiding cooking meat at home, the after-cooking smell really bothers me. We also have sorely neglected our CSA (farm membership) so a lot of veggies have been given out to friends or languished. But winter squashes are pretty hardy, and I finally used one of my butternut squash to make this. It’s a great recipe, really easy. It has a lovely texture and the flavor is quite sweet. For that reason, I like to swirl some yogurt in it (tip via Emily) or some low fat sour cream. It’s really good served at lunch with some cheese toast. I added a little ginger paste to the recipe, because I almost always do.
Gingered Pumpkin Pie
In addition to the butternut, we get some other green and orange, pumpkin like squash from the CSA. I baked up two of them and scooped them out to freeze and use later. But first, I made this recipe. You would never know it’s lightened! Maybe because of all the sugar… Still, you use nonfat evaporated milk instead of sweetened-condensed and it comes out really nice.
Stove-Top Mac and Cheese
I am not the only currently pregnant lady with a wicked mac and cheese craving. And not the only one to suffer from the curse of the lumpy white sauce. Unless there’s butter involved, starting with the flour and gradually adding milk always leads to disaster for me. I usually heat the milk and then gradually sift in the flour. Takes more time, but not if you count how may times I’ve had to re-do lumpy white sauce. Anyway, this recipe avoids that problem all together. Be warned, it’s wicked rich. Normally I might say “bring it on!” but in my current state, overly rich food makes me very ill. So I reduced the fat a bit by using non-fat evaporated milk. Next time I’ll probably also combo some lower fat cheese in with whatever else I use. Maybe gorgonzola? Yum.
Enjoy! I know I am.
 I’m happy to report that the long cooking drought is over. We even made fish stew last night, and the lingering smell in the kitchen doesn’t make me want to hurl! During the first oh, 13 weeks of pregnancy I cooked maybe once a week. And I had this bad habit of forgetting key ingredients like oil or leavening.
While I haven’t missed the cleanup work entailed in cooking, I’ve gotten mighty sick of eating restaurant and previously frozen foods. And nobody’s happier than David, he loves him some home cooking. Here are some recipes I’ve made recently:
Emeril Lagasse’s Fish Stew
I don’t cook Emeril’s recipes that often because 1) they’re usually wicked complicated and 2) they’re usually very, very high in fat. However, nobody does it like Emeril. I always turn to him for special occasion and comfort food recipes. This one is relatively easy (meaning it’s not four recipes in one) and while not low in fat (there’s a roux) it’s not too bad since none of the other ingredients have much in the way of fat. We used 2 lbs of the redfish David caught last weekend in it and it was DELISH!
Butternut Squash Soup
I’m mostly avoiding cooking meat at home, the after-cooking smell really bothers me. We also have sorely neglected our CSA (farm membership) so a lot of veggies have been given out to friends or languished. But winter squashes are pretty hardy, and I finally used one of my butternut squash to make this. It’s a great recipe, really easy. It has a lovely texture and the flavor is quite sweet. For that reason, I like to swirl some yogurt in it (tip via Emily) or some low fat sour cream. It’s really good served at lunch with some cheese toast. I added a little ginger paste to the recipe, because I almost always do.
Gingered Pumpkin Pie
In addition to the butternut, we get some other green and orange, pumpkin like squash from the CSA. I baked up two of them and scooped them out to freeze and use later. But first, I made this recipe. You would never know it’s lightened! Maybe because of all the sugar… Still, you use nonfat evaporated milk instead of sweetened-condensed and it comes out really nice.
Stove-Top Mac and Cheese
I am not the only currently pregnant lady with a wicked mac and cheese craving. And not the only one to suffer from the curse of the lumpy white sauce. Unless there’s butter involved, starting with the flour and gradually adding milk always leads to disaster for me. I usually heat the milk and then gradually sift in the flour. Takes more time, but not if you count how may times I’ve had to re-do lumpy white sauce. Anyway, this recipe avoids that problem all together. Be warned, it’s wicked rich. Normally I might say “bring it on!” but in my current state, overly rich food makes me very ill. So I reduced the fat a bit by using non-fat evaporated milk. Next time I’ll probably also combo some lower fat cheese in with whatever else I use. Maybe gorgonzola? Yum.
Enjoy! I know I am.
P.S. For readers of my other blog, please excuse the cross-post.
There seems to be this big debate in the online photography world and beyond: whether or not to use flash in your photos. The only real photography class I’ve taken was on using available light and it was awesome. I learned so much about how to judge when the light is going to help or hurt your photos. And that’s what I stick to outside. But people, I’m here to tell you that I love me a bounce flash. I have two:
 The Nikon SB 400  The Nikon SB 600 Both of these puppies flip up so you can bounce the light off the ceiling. The first one is ultra-light and easy to use, but only has vertical positions. The second one is heavy and adds a lot of heft to your camera, but can rotate horizontally so you can turn your camera for the shot. It also has a little digital screen so you can adjust the intensity and a whole lot of other things I haven’t learned how to use.
Which is my whole method of photography, by the way. Learn a couple things and ignore all the other crazy features until forced to learn something new. In other words, I’m a total hack.
So while I’m firmly in favor or using flash as needed, DO NOT use the onboard pop up atrocity. Here’s why:
 This is my dad on pop-up flash. Notice how his skin looks washed out and shiny, and how hard and unflattering all that direct light is.
 And this is bounce flash. Aaaahhhh. Oh so much better. The way the bounce flash diffuses the light (and they can have fun little diffusers built in as well) softens everything up and makes it more luminous. For indoor shots of people, objects, and especially food, these two little widgets make a world of difference.
 Who can argue with this face? If you look at Loki’s eyes in this shot, you’ll notice that nice glowy look that comes from the flash reflecting off them. This makes dark eyes which tend to recede pop out more (but not in a creepy way).
Food is great too:
If you’ve ever taken a picture of food with your camera phone or with a normal flash, you may notice that you end up with shiny looking food. This can be really unappetizing, and it can make stuff look greasy. I’ve also used a tripod and available light which many people favor, but I find it makes my pictures end up with a greenish-yellow cast rather than the nice warm look I get with the bounce flash. Like I said, I’m not an expert with my camera settings. But it’s also way easier to just pick up the dang camera and snap a pic than to try and navigate around a tripod in your kitchen.
Anyway, that’s my two cents on light. There is infinitely more subtlety in the debate than I have to offer, I just do what works for me. And what works for me is my bounce flash when I’m indoors. Cheers!
Of my belly. I had a request from a friend for a picture of currently pregnant me. Just for reminders, this is me at just about 10 weeks:
This is me now at almost 17 weeks (pardon the bumpy zipper):
Yikes. And keep in mind I’ve lost about two pounds since that first picture. That belly is all Tiny Josephine and assorted structural changes. Hi! I’m going to be HUGE!
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