Diaper Shower

For my good friend Jeanette who is expecting her second baby in March we are holding a baby shower for her. For her shower theme we chose diapers since she is expecting a second boy and she will probably need more diapers than anything else.  So I am baking a cake and making a diaper 'cake'.  This is the base Diaper cake:

I made this myself with nothing more than a Pizza Pan and a box of 96 Swaddlers Diapers and a some balloon ribbon.  The finished product is sitting in cellophane on my dining room table right now but I will wait to show that until after the shower on Sunday, keeping it a surprise for Jeanette until then :)

Yesterday heaven received another Angel...

I didn't know her, I probably never met her but her story has been heavy on my heart since I heard about it yesterday.

She was Rhonda Wyatt, aged 31.  She was a mother and wife and a victim of Domestic Violence.  She lived in the same town I do, that is all I know...that is all I need to know.  Domestic Violence has been trivialized, used as a weapon in ugly break-ups and now this.  Three children are now without a mother and a father who will no doubt be incarcerated for the foreseeable future.  When something like this happens right on your doorstep, it makes you wake up and realize that the existence you live is in no way fulfilled.  In fact just wanting to pay the bills and making sure your children are safe are not enough.  There are others we should be aware and mindful of.  There are others who NEED you, because without you no-one cares.

This isn't the first time I have felt this.  I know in life we make choices and we have to deal with these choices or learn to live with them.  As a young adult I made some choices that have been very profound.  Indeed if it weren't for those choices I would not be here now and be a mother to two beautiful boys.  I will share more about my experiences with Domestic Violence over the next few days because it is now a duty to educate and to be a advocate for those who no longer have a voice.

R.I.P Rhonda Wyatt.  I am sorry I did not do more for you.

Pampers

Since Henry was born all I have used are and bought are Pampers diapers. Apart from the Huggies diapers that were bought for us as part of one of my showers we have pretty much only used the Swaddlers and the Cruisers with a dabble in the Baby dry which we did not like at all.  Last year right at about the time Henry started growing out of the Swaddlers we experimented with the cruiser and did not like them.  They were awful but Huggies wasn't cutting it either and Baby dry were very rough. Right about this time I discovered Pampers Cruisers Premium Absorbency.  The6 were a little pricier but I gave a box a try and that is what we have used ever since. Today I received an email from Pampers regarding their latest product...a NEW Pampers Cruisers with Drymax.  Hmmm, curious as I am I requested the sample and am now eagerly awaiting its arrival.  I also learnt they are selling limited quantities of it on a pre-release basis on Feb 24th, so I guess I will trawl the stores that day too to buy me up a pack or two.  Could this be the one?  Cheaper than the premiums and keeps henry dry?  We shall see, watch this space!

Get your free New Pampers Cruisers sample here!

2009 GF Staples

Another year, another update on what we keep handy in the house. All is good and it seems gluten-free living is becoming more and more normal!

So here is my updated list!

Pamela's Baking mix
Gluten-Free Pantry Beth's All-Purpose GF Baking Flour (cup to cup conversion)

Masa Corn Flour
Rice flour
Tapioca Flour
Sweet Rice flour
Organic Oatmeal (Apprently DH is tolerant of this kind of oatmeal so that is good!)
LaChoy Soy (This was the only wheat-free, msg free Soy we could find thus far)
LaChoy Teriyaki (Again wheat and msg free)
Tinkyada Pasta Sheets (Makes awesome lasagna, can't tel the difference!)
Schar Spaghetti and pastas (These hold up realy well and we love the texture!)
Cornito Mystic Flames Pasta (They are Hungarian, wheat, gluten and egg free)  These I use for any dishes that call for egg noodles.
Basmati Rice
Jasmine Rice
Cinnamon Chex

Things we found locally

http://www.sinfullygf.com/

They make pizza and sandwiches and sell breads and cookies.

www.tinassweettreats.com

She bakes out of her home and makes the most divine pecan rolls!

Halloween 2009

My pumpkin and his very proud brother!

The very yummy cheesecake brownies!

Here is the recipe for the infamous cheesecake brownies, they are infamous because they were the first sign that I was well and truly pregnant!

Cheesecake Brownies

1 package (21 ounces) brownie mix, batter prepared according to package directions.

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat a 9" x 13" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Spread half of the brownie batter into the baking pan.

In a medium-sized bowl, with an electric beater on medium speed, combine the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy.

Spoon over the brownie batter, then top with the remaining half of the brownie batter.

Using a table knife, cut through the batter and swirl to create a marbled effect.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool, then cut into bars and serve, or cover and chill until ready to serve.

Serves: 12 to 15

Note: I make these GF too with a GF Brownie mix and have tried it with the Betty Crocker Brownie mix. They are very. very RICH! Be warned. I only know of one person that can devour a whole tray of these and he is a Brownie fiend!

OMG Morning, noon and night sickness!

I had morning sickness with my first pregnancy so I knew what was coming. What I wasn't prepared for was the full force morning, noon and night sickness! It started with the 2 nights before we left for England. I had baked a double batch of cheesecake brownies to take to a friend's Hog roast. That night was so nauseated by the chocolaty aroma I hardly got any sleep. At the Hog Roast we chilled out in the pool and I nursed a huge Margarita unable to even finish half of it (this should have been a HUGE clue!)

Nausea wasn't a issue it was the hurling my guts from the moment I woke up to the moment I laid back down again. I was sick literally 24/7 with brief breaks so I could inhale cheeseburgers and fries (they were the only things I could stomach at the time).

This lasted well into the 2nd trimester at which point heartburn took over. My eating for 2 plan was thwarted. I barely gained 15lbs in the first 2 trimesters. the last 5lbs came at the end when the little one finally dropped giving me room to eat!

First ultrasound

So while we were in England I had called the OB office and scheduled a slew of tests and checks for when we returned. This included betas and an ultrasound. With my background it was inevitable they were going to monitor me to ensure this pregnancy was viable. The first 3 months we were literally sitting on the edge of the seat!

Here is the bean at 6 weeks gestation, that morning we also saw his heart fluttering!

Haven't been on for a while...

But I have a lot to share!





July 21st 2009, we flew out to England to visit my family. This would be Toby's first visit and the first time he would meet the rest of my family. On this particular morning we were all taking it in turns to take showers and finish our packing so we could take our evening flight out of CVG to LGW. This was also the morning I took a pregnancy test which at first looked very much negative.




As you can see the test got progressively darker during our 12 day stay in England. In fact as you can see on the last test, the positive result line is darker than the control line! We were having our second baby!!!!....finally.