Blueberry Muffins: Make These Today. I Mean It.

I wish I could make that picture scratch-and-sniff for you. I wanted to make muffins today, so I googled "best blueberry muffin recipe." The first recipe that popped up looked amazing, and I decided to give it a try. I gave James a call, since he was at the grocery store anyway, and had him pick up some fresh blueberries.

I was a little apprehensive before I started the recipe, because James got the blueberries - but they were $7! I couldn't believe they were that expensive, but I guess it IS February. I mixed up the recipe & put them in the oven, and they started filling the house with delicious smells.

And let me say this: these muffins are worth $7 blueberries! These are easily the best blueberry muffins I've ever made, and quite possibly the best I've ever eaten. You really should try them. Today, if possible. Your family will rise up and call you blessed.

To-Die-For Blueberry Muffins
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 18 muffin cups with non-stick spray (or use liners).
• Combine 3 cups flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add the eggs & enough milk to total 2 cups. Mix this with the flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups to almost full, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
• Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Mix with fork until crumbly, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes in preheated oven, or until done. Remove from pan & let cool on cooling rack.

25 1/2 Weeks

WFMW: What Helps Me Clean House

I am one of those strange people who really loves having a clean house but can't seem to manage to do it. (What, that sounds like you, too? Go figure.) I get great satisfaction in clean, shining furniture, toys put away neatly, and upholstery with only minimal crumbs & cat hair.

I normally do just enough to keep the chaos under control & keep things sanitary. Every once in awhile, though, I'll buckle down and really CLEAN the house. I have to be in the right frame of mind to do it, and it requires a few other things as well:

1. Restraining/occupying Wendy. In my daily cleaning, I like to encourage her to help as much as possible. But when I'm in deep-clean mode, things just go better if she's happily strapped in her high chair & occupied with Play-Doh or buttons. She can still watch what I'm doing, & we still carry on conversations, but she's not going right behind me undoing everything or playing with the toilet cleaner.

2. Upbeat music. Last year for Mother's Day, James got me an iPod, and then for my birthday in June he got me an iPod speaker dock thingie for the living room. I have a playlist called "Upbeat" that I should have just named "Cleaning Music" - that's what I use it for. It's so much easier to do unpleasant tasks when the music is cranked! I vividly remember cleaning house as a child - my Mom would get out the Anne Murray & Neil Diamond records, and that's what she'd crank. (To this day, hearing Anne Murray & Neil Diamond makes me want to dust.)

3. Good-smelling products. Even though I don't have a very sensitive nose, one of my main motivators for cleaning is the fresh smell of the house. To me, a clean house smells like Lemon Endust. It's what my Mom always used when I was growing up, and the scent still says "clean" to me. I generally wash down our living room tables with soapy water (because toddlers are grubby) and then treat them liberally with Lemon Endust to restore some moisture & shine. If I ever find a candle that smells just like Lemon Endust, I'm stocking up.

4. Cookie breaks. Everybody likes cookie breaks. They're more important now that I'm pregnant & easily exhausted. I work no more than 30-45 minutes at a stretch without sitting down & having a snack or a drink of water. This helps keep me from getting too burned out and also helps keep my blood sugar under control.


These little things help keep me on track when it's time to clean. What do you do to stay motivated and get it done?

For more great tips, head over to We Are THAT Family for Works-For-Me Wednesday!

Blech

Ginger ale...check.

Chicken broth...check.

Popsicles...check.

Saltines...check.

One very exhausted, very pale pregnant lady who no longer has toenails because she done threw them up...check.

Blech.

Baby Update

We had our 24-week check-up today, and we'll be 25 weeks tomorrow. Everything looks good! Our next visit will include an ultrasound (which I ALWAYS love!) and then we'll start having appointments every two weeks until he comes!

Highlights:

• I GAINED 4 pounds!!! This is the first time, in my total of 15 months of pregnancy experience, that I've ever gained weight. Until now, I've always lost weight.
• My blood pressure was good! I have a serious white-coat problem, and my blood pressure is usually quite high at my check-ups but normal at home. Today it was good for my check-up!
• Baby David's heart rate today was 130, nice & strong & easy to find.
• I'm only measuring 3 weeks larger than normal this time. With Wendy, I measured 8 weeks too big for the whole pregnancy.
  
• My OB is now talking about doing the C-section between 38 and 39 wks, instead of at 37 weeks, like we had originally discussed. It'll be better for Baby David's lung development, I know; I do still have concerns about going into labor & rupturing.

Thanks for following along on our journey! Have a good weekend!

Olfactory Overload

I've always heard that a pregnant woman has a heightened sense of smell. I never noticed it when I was pregnant with Wendy, and I didn't notice it this time around, either - until the last couple of weeks. I don't normally have a very sensitive nose; I think the years of working with animals burned out some of my olfactory receptors. But now, it's like I've had a sudden awakening, and some unusual scents are particularly good.

Most people like certain smells, like flowers, fresh-cut grass, cookies baking, etc. I like all of those, too, but here are some of my more unusual favorite smells:

• Dial antibacterial gold soap. I love it.
  
• Band-aids.
• Sizzling onions/peppers/steak. Like, the fajitas being brought to the table next to yours, when you ordered a healthy, boring salad.
  
• Warm, clean, happy cat. Usually found purring in the sunshine.
  
• April Fresh Downy. I don't use it often, but I keep snuffling the clothes when I use it.
  
• ripe peach. I would almost rather smell it than eat it. Almost.
  
• Lemon Endust. The house isn't clean if it doesn't smell like Lemon Endust.
  
• freshly-bathed Wendy (that's kind of a given)

The flip side of this is that some smells are intensely displeasing to me now, things that ordinarily wouldn't bother me at all. Things like:

• Garlic. Not fresh garlic in a meal, but the garlic that you ate yesterday that is now oozing from your pores. Yeah, I can smell that. Go stand way over there, please.
• Ripe bananas. Green or just-barely ripe ones are fine, but once they cross that threshold, I don't want them anywhere around.
• Gasoline. Normally, I kinda like the smell. Not right now.
• The Refrigerator. All those closed-in smells. Normally, I don't think our fridge smells like anything, but when I'm pregnant, it stinks.
• The Microwave. When you cook something and then shut the door, the smells stay in there & get funky - did you know that?
• Cat breath. Especially Maestro's. Smells like something died in there.

Do you have any strange favorite or least favorite smells?

Motherhood is Not Dignified

If a Mommy needs to use a public restroom with a currently-potty-training 2 year old, she's bound to get a little embarrassed. I had to use the facilities as we were running errands this morning, and Wendy helpfully narrated the entire experience for the benefit of everyone else in the restroom.

LOUDLY.

"Mom-mom go potty?"

"Mom-mom pee-pee!!"

"Mom-mom wipe! Mom-mom wipe more!"

"Mom-mom flush!"

Nice.

WFMW: My Sleeping Buddy

Sleeping while pregnant is complicated. The pajamas have to be just right so they don't irritate sensitive or itchy skin. The covers can't be too heavy. The pillow must be aligned just so. The bladder must be empty (or at least start out that way!). And the pregnant woman must lay on her left side like all the books & doctors say. If she wants to change positions & sleep on her right side (rebel!) it takes 5 minutes & a rest break to get all of THAT flopped over & comfy again.

I've always been a very active sleeper, so it's not easy for me to adjust to sleeping on my left side. I'm also prone to tension headaches, and I discovered pretty early on that sleeping in one position most of the night was NOT good for my shoulders. I would wake up with bunched muscles & neck strain from sleeping exclusively on my side.

Then I remembered my friend, the bolster pillow. Mine is about 8 inches in diameter and about 15 inches long, and is PERFECT for snuggling without being in the way. It fits neatly between my two arms when I'm laying on my side, supporting the upper arm & keeping my muscles nice & relaxed. It has made a huge difference in my comfort, and in pregnancy, comfort is essential!

That's what works for me - for more great tips, head over to Shannon's place for the weekly Works-For-Me Wednesday tip carnival!

Return of Ickiness

Someday, I promise I'll write about more interesting things than Wendy's latest antics or pregnancy-related things. Today is not that day.

I've been feeling pretty good for about 6 weeks now. I'm tired all the time and it doesn't take much to get my hips and/or back hurting, but other than that things have been good.

But this last week, I've struggled with nauseousness again. And it starts in the middle of the night. I wake up feeling nauseous & can't get back to sleep. The nauseousness lingers until the middle of the day, and then I start to feel a little better.

I woke up around 3 a.m. this morning feeling yucky. I checked my blood sugar, to make sure nothing weird had happened, and it was fine. I had some Tums, nibbled on saltines, and went back to sleep for an hour around 6 a.m.

I don't know why this is happening - I haven't changed anything in my diet or my routine. I never had anything like this with Wendy - with that pregnancy, once the sickness went away, it stayed away. I've heard that some women experience nauseousness again in the third trimester - which is 2 weeks away - and I think, "NO, please, not THAT!!"

Have any of you moms experienced something like this? Any suggestions?

Mocha Truffle Cookies

It has come to my attention that somehow, with all the recipes I've posted, I've overlooked this one - possibly my favorite cookies on the planet. They're sinfully chocolaty, with a wonderful note of coffee that just makes it all so...yummy. The texture is great, too - the outside is a typical cookie texture, but the inside stays moist & very soft.

I only make these cookies to take somewhere. If I made them & they stayed at home, they wouldn't last the day - I can't be trusted! (Proof - I just took some of these out of the oven, and had to lick my fingers before I could resume typing!)

Here it is - enjoy!

Mocha Truffle Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp instant coffee granules
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets; set aside. In a large saucepan, melt better and the 1/2 cup chocolate chips over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in coffee crystals; cool 5 minutes. Stir in sugars, eggs, and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir into coffee mixture. Stir in the 1 cup of chocolate chips. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool cookies on cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack & let cool. Makes 36+ cookies.

A Little Ham, and a Tender Chin

Like most kids, Wendy loves the camera. She likes to look at it & pretend to take pictures, and most of all, she likes to have her picture taken. If she finds my camera sitting on the table, she'll turn it on, hand it to me, and say, "More smile!" She loves to pose & then look at the display to see the picture of herself.

She's quite the little ham.


This morning, she and I were in the living room waiting for James to come down for breakfast. She was perky & energetic, as usual, jumping & flitting around the dining room while singing to herself. And then, out of nowhere, she tripped & hit her chin on the pointy corner of the coffee table.

It hurt - a lot - and it took quite a while to calm her down. She even asked for "more medicine," poor thing, but I figured the hurt would be almost gone by the time Tylenol made any difference.

Here's the aftermath. It even hurts me just to look at it!



Obviously I didn't have children when I bought the coffee table, or I never would've bought one with pointy corners!

WFMW: Not Answering

There was a time I just couldn't stand to let the phone ring without answering it. That time has passed.

It came about a few years ago, when everyone I actually wanted to talk to would call my cell phone. The only people who ever called our home phone were telemarketers or survey-takers. I just stopped answering the home phone. If it was an important call, it would show up on voicemail, and we'd take care of it - but that seldom happened.

Now, my very smart Hubby has our phone set so that our home phone rings both of our cell phones, too. That means that I can take advantage of the built-in caller ID on the cell phone to see if it's a call I should answer. Strange area code? Talk to the voice mail. Call from Hubby's work? Let him answer. Mom calling for the 3rd time? Call her back later.

It has simplified my life a LOT! No more dashing for a ringing phone - no more interrupting storytime or dinner just because the phone rings. It definitely works for me.

For more tips, head over to Shannon's place for Works-For-Me Wednesday!

Pet Dilemma

I just finished putting three of the cats and the dog on Craig's List.

It's a big step for me, but I've come to the conclusion that it's just best all the way around if they can find a new, loving home. Our house is too small, our finances too tight, and my attention way too divided to keep track of all these pets.

I would just take them to the Humane Society, but their published statistics say that 2/3 of the animals that are taken in end up being euthanized.

That's a last resort.

But something's gotta give.

(We're still keeping two of the cats. And Matilda, the outside cat that isn't officially ours.)

Cute Little Troublemaker

This little cubby is in a closet-organizer thing that we use as a dresser in Wendy's room, and it's about 3 1/2 feet off the ground. She quietly stacked up toys to climb up to this spot, and then called for help.

Being the good Momma that I am, I had to grab the camera first.

My Favorite Sounds

This morning, I was taking a break from sorting Wendy's outgrown clothes & I heard James vacuuming upstairs. I realized that's one of my favorite sounds - someone else vacuuming. A lot of my favorite sounds are enjoyable by themselves, but some are good because of what they represent. Examples:

• Wendy giggling
• Wendy's sleepy sigh
• cats purring
• coffee brewing
• the slight creak of the bed when I lay down
• the dishwasher/washer/dryer running (esp. all 3 at once!)
• the zip of a tent (no other zipper sounds the same)
• crackling campfire
• the spray & sizzle of using starch while ironing
• James coming downstairs from work

What are some of your favorite everyday sounds & why?

Auto-Focus

You may have noticed from the tone & frequency of my posts that I'm feeling much better. I still have days when the nausea returns, or the exhaustion reaches a level I just can't work through, but in general, I feel roughly 500% better than I did even two short months ago. And I've come to realize that illness (and hormones) make me a very self-centered, self-absorbed, self-focused person.

While I think that's understandable given the situation and the extent of physical discomfort & despair I was in, that time has passed. It's time to move on.

There are times in life when it seems like God is trying to tell me something. Not like actual verbal instructions (although I think that would be terrifying & also quite nice), but more of an urging in a certain direction. It often manifests in a repeating idea that comes through conversations with others, Bible class topics, sermons, even music & whatever books I happen to be reading.

Right now, I think God is reminding me that I am to be a servant. My job, in His kingdom and in real life, is to serve others. That means I need to be serving James and serving my family, instead of constantly sitting back & letting others serve me. As I said, there is a time for that, and that time has passed.

It's going to take effort. It's going to take constant reminders to not slip back into auto-focus - that typical self-centered way of thinking.


Philippians 2:5-7 (NIV)
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

WFMW: Baking Bacon

I love bacon - especially crispy-crunchy bacon. It's great by itself, it's great added to recipes, and it's FANTASTIC with tomato slices & mayo on a sandwich! I've always hated actually cooking the bacon - the time, the spattering, the turning, etc.

Then I remembered that some people bake bacon in the oven.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line two large SIDED baking sheets with heavy-duty foil
• Place bacon strips in a single layer on the sheets
• Bake 12-18 minutes, to desired crispness
  

When it comes out of the oven, I immediately put the bacon on a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Then I carefully lift the foil & funnel the grease into a bowl to keep.

Let's see - wonderful, crunchy bacon with no mess, no spattering, and no clean-up! That definitely works for me!!

For more great ideas, head over to Works-For-Me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer!

New Art Form

Most days, we take a bath right before bedtime. Today, for some reason, I made an exception...

Presenting...Ravioli Belly-Painting!!


Wendy is usually a fairly tidy eater, for a 2 year old. But at lunch today, she decided to take her last bite of ravioli, lift her shirt, and paint circles just above her belly button. She was pretty proud of her handiwork, and even held up her shirt to show Daddy on the way to the bathtub.