You Say Potato, I Say Stop Talking and Hand the Spud Over

I keep getting the question from people about what foods I am craving. People seem to want stories of me sending Chris out in the middle of the night for pickles and ice cream or other such nonsense. The truth is, nothing has been a craving that I MUST HAVE NOW. Sure, there have been foods, that I would like now, but nothing so serious that has Chris throwing on the iconic raincoat over his pjs and heading to the store (is it just me or were the 50s a strange and freaky time?).

All this being said, the food I end up eating the most often is the humble potato. I'm not too picky about preparation, but in the early weeks only mashed would do. Yesterday, I really wanted that weird hash brown thing with cornflakes on top and today my car somehow steered itself to Wendy's for a baked potato with sour cream (it's done this several times in the past few weeks).

According to the good folks in Idaho (actually, is there more than one person in Idaho?), my almost daily hankering for potatoes is really a good thing. Evidently I'm getting more potassium than from a banana (which is good because I just can't stomach those lately) and also a healthy dose of vitamin C.

Now if only they could make a potato ice cream, I would be one happy pregnant chick.

Block Party

To be honest, I didn't know block parties still existed. The idea of closing down a street and hosting a huge potluck, seems like a quaint event from my childhood. Except in the early 80s, we knew all our neighbors and a yearly block party was just another chance to have Mrs. Murphy's yummy potatoes.

Now, I'm the first to admit, I don't know all my neighbors. This actually surprised me when we moved to Clintonville, which is a inner ring suburb of Columbus with strong neighborhoods mostly built in the 1920s - 1950s. Our street isn't as close-knit as some of the streets seem to be, and we barely ever talk to neighbors other than our immediate next door ones. So, when a woman stopped us on our walk home from the farmer's market last week with a Xeroxed invitation to a yearly block party we decided to make an effort to attend.

The party was last night and it was quite fun and a great opportunity to meet some of the neighbors we may have just waved at over the past two years. We met people who have lived on the street for 50 years and have watched their families grow up and leave the nest and are still here. Although there were a few old-timers, the majority of the street has lived here for less than five years. It was decided that our street hasn't changed much over the years and there seemed to be a consensus that it is a good thing so many young couples and families are moving in.

With the baby coming, I feel like we should know our neighbors better. Last night we made a good start at that.

Happy Autumn!

In honor of the first day of my favorite season, I'm sharing with you an incredibly easy pumpkin muffin recipe. I love all the tastes of fall, but pumpkin tops the list. These muffins are tasty with a big glass of milk or a mug of coffee. Enjoy!

Easy Pumpkin Muffins
1 box of spice cake mix
1 15 oz can of pumpkin

Mix together and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

(No, I didn't miss any steps or ingredients, they really are that easy!)

ETA - Thanks Heather for finding the missing word! For those who are interested, you can also use any flavor of cake mix, but I would then add cinnamon and nutmeg to spice things up a bit.

Weddings!

I love weddings (which is convenient because next month we'll be going to three weddings, three weekends in a row). It's always so great to see a couple taking that plunge and making those vows. Since we've been married, I also like to hear those vows again and mentally answer yes. The homily (or sermon) also usually geive some good take-away nuggets of truth. Yesterday, my good friend Nicole married Gavin. The Deacon performing the ceremony, highlighted the need for kindness in relationships. So simple, but so important.

The wedding day was rainy, but we made the best of it swapping the outdoor photo location for a bar (fitting for the couple!). Nicole looked beautiful and Gavin was a beaming bridegroom. It was a great day and it was an honor to be part of it.

Let's Talk About the Baby Daddy

It's his birthday today. Clearly in the past seven years, the day September 11 has taken on a whole new connotation to Americans, but before it ever became that day, it was Chris' birthday and so we choose to still celebrate.

In the months we've been married, we've grown in love and everyday life has been peaceful and rewarding. People have kept asking if marriage is different than life before, and in subtle ways sure, but at the core it's the same safe and comforting place it has always been with him. He's a wonderful partner and I'm proud to call him my husband.

In the months, since we've decided to start a family, I've seen not only the great partner I knew I had, but also a budding father. He's the one who makes me warm lemon water each morning in lieu of my usual coffee with milk (which he made in the pre-baby days). He follows me around with a glass of water on the weekends to make sure I am staying hydrated. And every night he has been tucking me and the Olive into bed. My body and life is going through a much more obvious transformation, but he's going through one too and I can't wait to see what is the other side.

Happy Birthday, honey! Here's to many more happy years.

Milestone

Today has marked a milestone in this pregnancy. I was able to work all day and not come home and take a nap! It might not seem like a big deal, but I've been awake for more than 12 hours today and that might be a record for me. For the past 9 weeks or so, all I I would do is get into my car after work, trying my best to not fall asleep at red lights, and immediately stumble into bed upon arriving home. Chris would wake me up when he got home from work and more often than not, he would then go pick up some food for us. But today, I managed to not only stay awake, but also go to the grocery store and make dinner. Granted dinner was pasta with jarred sauce, but still I was super proud of myself. In addition to cooking the food, I also ate it, which lately has been no small feat.

I thought that pregnancy would be no big deal, at least early on. I figured that I was relatively fit and healthy, being pregnant wouldn't phase me. I was caught off guard by the extreme exhaustion and constant queasiness that accompanied my early weeks of being pregnant. I feel like I am now coming out of that fog and I can now make this pregnancy what I want it to be - healthy, natural, and joyful. Today was a good start at getting there.

Weeks

Weeks have never meant much to me. Days sure, months yes, but I've not often paid attention to the passing of weeks. Weeks always just seemed to go along without notice with the passing of the days. Days would string together and form into months, and I would barely notice that they ever formed weeks.

Now, however, I'm eagerly waiting for Friday of each week to come along and mark another week of this tiny being growing in me. This past Friday marked 12 weeks. At 12 weeks, our little guy or girl is the about 2 inches long and it's eyes have moved to the front of the face. He or she is also growing finger and toe nails (which reminds me I need to get myself to the nail salon).

Now that I feel more comfortable with announcing pregnancy (and am not feeling the overwhelming desire to SLEEP NOW every 15 minutes), it's been really fun telling friends and co-workers. Come late March, Chris and I will be the proud parents of the newest member of the family. We're already excited to be planning for the birth and arrival and talking about our hopes for this child. As we go through the next 6ish months, I'll be sharing lots here, so stay tuned!

At Least It's Not Just Me

The reason we finally cancelled our subscription to Netflix, was because we had the same copy of Hotel Rwanda for 10 months. I never quite found myself in the mood to watch the story of genocide. Today, I found out that I'm not alone.

I Tried, I Really Tried

A few years ago, I didn't think I would ever willingly watch a political convention. Yet, last week, I tried my best to stay awake night after night to watch Ted Kennedy do it one more time, to watch Hillary bow out gracefully, to watch Bill do what he does best and finally to watch history be made as Barack accepted the nomination. I might have been dragging each morning, but what they were saying made sense to me and I related to the words, ideas and passion. I found the dialogue to be respectful, thoughtful and dignified.

So this week, I've been trying to do my due diligence and watch the Republicans do their thing. I made it half way through a Huckabee speech last night before I decided to go to bed. He was giving me the creeps. It might have been all the sequined cowboy hats in the audience, but I was certainly feeling nauseous and uncomfortable. Granted, I don't agree with much of the Republican platform, but I am finding the snippets I've been hearing to be incredibly divisive and offensive. I've been hearing a lot of scare tactics and fear mongering and it makes me scared for the country. I don't believe the country can be lead effectively through anger, fear and resentment.

So tonight, I'm trying to watch again, but I have Slate.com open on my browser to ward of that creepy feeling I keep getting during the video montages.