Wise word of the day: When the Gap model looks bad in a shirt, you should not buy it.

Random things

Just in case you were wondering...I was half joking when I suggested it because my list of boys name is so scarce (I think I might have half a dozen names that I might like, but nothing that really stands out to me), but Jared has said, "no" to the name Gilbert.  ha ha.

In other news, I was told at work the other day that I look like a Norman Rockwell picture (specifically the one of the girl with a slingshot and over sized baseball cap).  Since then I have nicknamed baby Shelton, "Rockwell".  It sounds a little more manly than Muffin (which my siblings have been calling him). 

It has been beautiful out lately, I walked around the SU campus Tuesday just for fun.  The leaves are changing and it is the perfect temperature.  I love fall!

 

 

 Baby at 12 weeks (2" long).

Baby at 22 weeks (12' long). I am pretty much living in dresses and leggings (or stockings) these days.  They are so comfortable!!

We go to the ultrasound place to get updated pictures of Rockwell today (by today, I mean last Wednesday - for some reason this post did not post until now).  If they are good, I will post them someday (the only photo I like is of his long feet).  I think he looks like an orc (from LOTR) in his 20 week pictures because of the way the screen blurs the edges.  Please, ignore the pile of reusable grocery bags that are waiting to go back out to my car.  I was so proud of myself for remembering them on Saturday when I went grocery shopping. 

I made gumbo this weekend and I am eating it for lunch each day (with extra Tabasco sauce) and it doesn't seem to be killing me.  The only thing right now that is giving me heartburn is tomato sauce (oh spaghetti and lasagna and stuffed shells I miss you).

I have 6 labs down this semester and 6 more to go.  I can't believe the semester is half way finished already.  It is so much easier to teach a class that you have taught before (even better if you have taught it 3 times before).  This week's lab was on electricity and motors; it is my favorite lab. 

Verse of the day:
"...In love he predestined us for adoption ..."

I have been marvelling at that portion of the verse today.  I have never noticed the, "in love" part before or it just never stuck out to me. I love how deep the Bible is.  I look forward to reading it to our little baby.  He will probably point out things to me that I have never noticed and ask me questions that make me rethink things I thought I knew.   

Okay here is the rest:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,"

(Ephesians 1:3-5 ESV)

Clothes Shopping

To my non pregnant friends (and ones without kids): Maternity clothes are expensive.

Here are a few tips that I have assembled that will save you quite a bit of money.

1. Shop the maternity racks for dresses and tops now (and pants and shorts if you are brave). I have at least 5 or 6 dresses that I bought on clearance racks for $5 of $6, that would have cost me $35 or $40 if I bought them full price. The Target clearance rack is a jackpot of beautiful clothing. Kohl’s can also have some sales; they are hit or miss.
2. Buy dresses that are roomy in the waist and chest. I have 4 or 5 dresses that are non maternity that I still wear and will for a few more months.
3. Buy shirts that are a little bit roomy, but also make sure they are long. Roomy short shirts will not work as your stomach expands; they also need to be long. Empire waist shirts are wonderful.
4. Find pregnancy leggings on sale or else roll the tops down (or buy low rise) normal leggings. $24 for maternity leggings is not happening!!
5. Motherhood Maternity has the best (super comfy) nursing bras (and they are cheap on sale). They have sales at department stores and at the outlets.

Think about it now or spend extra money later. Buy things now!! I have been saving shirts, dresses, and pants since I got married. I have only bought a pair of dress pants and one shirt so far (at full price).

6. Lastly, borrow if you can. Jeanne lent me a pair of maternity jeans, which are so comfortable (I have worn them every Friday for casual Friday (the last 3 weeks) because the GAP jeans I bought are a bit too big still). Linnea sent me her maternity pea coat (in purple, my favorite color) and Jeanne lent me her pea coat (in black, so classy). So, I will be warm this winter. Bring on the snow.

Baby names

Here was my list before we found out the gender:

Girls
Evelyn Grace
Rose (middle name of second girl)
Louisa Anne
Virginia and Georgia (twins)
Emma
Elsie
Violet
Margaret
Ella
Lucy
Julianna
Eliza
Adeline
Amelia
Blaise Isabel (just because you can rearrange blaise to get isabel -- ha ha)
Olivia

Boys
...
...
...

So, I wasn't surprised to learn that we were having a boy because life is just funny like that.  I love so many girl names and have no strong feelings towards boys names at all.  Well, at least I have 19 weeks to prepare.

I just realized in typing that list that I really like vowel names for girls. Maybe if we have 5 girls someday I will name them A, E, I, O, and U. I just need a U name. I am just kidding. But if they are girls, it looks like they will be a nice mix of A and E names.

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

So, I have a confession to make, when I cook a recipe for the first time I rarely follow it (unless I am baking, sometimes).  I throw most of the ingredients into a pan and mix it up for maybe the number of minutes that it calls for (or maybe shorter if I am not patient, which is usually how it goes).  This makes it extremely hard to write down what I cook to tell you about it. 

I made a recipe based on one I found online on a food blog that I read, realsweeteats. However, I didn't measure my squash, want to use browned butter, or have fontina cheese.  I also didn't measure my chicken broth or milk or pasta (which may have been the rest of a box of springs and elbows).

Here is what I did.  I will try to follow my own recipe next time and test to see if this comes out the same.  Maybe you are having the same reaction that I had when I first read cheese and squash together in a recipe, but believe me, it is delicious!!

Ingredients (my ingredients are in ( ):

(some - the rest of two boxes in cupboard) 3 cups uncooked whole wheat pasta shells
(1 - cooked whole in oven for half and hour to make cutting up easier) 4 cups 1/2-inch cubed uncooked butternut squash
(a dash, maybe 1 T) 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
(1/6) 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
(1/2 cup) 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
(3/4ish of a cup - I just poured it in) 1 1/2 cups skim milk (or unsweetened almond or coconut)
(I have no idea, I used the rest of a block, probably 4 or 5 oz) 6 ounces freshly grated fontina cheese (extra sharp cheddar)
2 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese2 tablespoons unsalted brown butter2 tablespoons fine (panko) breadcrumbs

For those of you that have cut butternut squash before, I learned a trick today: put the whole squash in the oven for 20 -30 minutes, pull in out, and it will be nearly all the way cooked and so easy to slice through the skins.  I let it cool off a little, peeled off the skin, diced it up, and threw it in a pan with a little bit of olive oil.  I also added the seasonings. 

I let it cook for a while, because I was grating the cheese, before added in the chicken broth and some of the cheese.  Save some of the sharp cheese to put on the top with the bread crumbs (yum yum yum, the bread crumbs make this dish even more amazing). 

Dump everything, once the cheese is melted into a pan, top with rest of cheese and bread crumbs, put in oven to cook (or if you are hungry, broil it for a few minutes until the cheese and bread crumbs start to brown). 

Baby muffin (as my siblings call him) and I fully enjoyed this meal (no heartburn, unlike most other foods, I am looking at you pulled BBQ pork and beef stew sitting in my frig).

Does anyone else love butternut squash?  Everytime I eat it I think, why do I not eat this more often?  They sell butternut squash for $2 a piece at the farmers market downtown.   While I was quite envious of Boulder's expansive farmer's market, I am thankful for my cheap source of butternut squash here.  I hope they have more this Saturday!!