Feeling Relaxed and Ready

I had an appointment with my midwife on Friday. All is well. :) I got the strep b test, which was a sucky test that made me feel violated. lol. Heartbeat is good, position is great, size is good. She guesstimated about 6 lbs right now. I'm 70% effaced, 2 cm dialated, and baby is at a
-2 station . She was quite excited to see that my body is definetly getting prepared and ready. I'm feeling confident that things will be smooth and fairly easy.

The nursery is organized and ready. We finally got our glider rocking chair. We went with one from Walmart online. It was the right color and price and they shipped to the nearby store for free. I've got more than enough clothes. I went shopping and bought a few things yesterday. Old Navy had all their baby clothes for $5 bucks each! I couldn't help but buy some things and neither could Aunt Annie!

I'm baking cookies today. I want to have a stash in the freezer just in case. Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Sugar Cookie Onesies. I'm trying to hold back from eating the Chocolate Chip ones. They are dangerous.

Counting Down the Days.

Me at 36 weeks. Anxious Ryan popping out of my belly from behind. :)

This week has been busy and better than last week. I haven't had any skipped heart beats since Sunday. On Monday a couple people told me that it looks like my belly has "dropped." Today I think I notice it too. I do feel like I have a little more room to breath. Maybe not having everything pushed up has made the difference. Whatever the reason it's so nice to have a normal heart rhythm again.

This is a busy school week as I'm putting on Hoops for Heart events as school tomorrow and Friday. It's a bit of organization, but the students all really enjoy it. Volleyball has been a bit hectic too. This is the first losing season I've experienced in years. I've tried many strategies with this group and haven't found anything that will work. It's frustrating. And then I have a parent sending me nasty emails that I don't treat her daughter fairly on the team. Just can't make everyone happy. Another 2 weeks and it's all done.

I'll visit my midwife on Friday. Then I'll be visiting once a week until her arrival. :)

Heart Burn and Heart Palpitations

The two bad H's of my pregnancy.

Heart burn has been a constant annoyance since the day I found out I was pregnant. The only thing that doesn't give me heartburn is milk. I eat Tums like they are candy. And I do admit that the Tums Smoothies do somewhat taste like candy. They are tasty, not chalky like the regular ones. I keep a bottle in my bag, purse, desk, and med. cabinet. It's annoying, but I can deal with it. At least the Tum's will take care of it, or take the edge off.

Heart palpitations suck! More than likely they are benign PVCs which are normal in pregnancy due to hormonal changes and all the other physical changes. No matter how much I tell myself that they are normal, NOTHING about them feels normal. They are extremely un nerving. I would get 1 or 2 a day, which wasn't a big deal. Yesterday morning I woke up having numerous "skipped beats." It feels like my heart momentarily jumps into my throat. There will be a pause in the normal rhythm and then a couple quick beats before it resumes a normal rhythm again. I went and say my general dr. yesterday on advice from the ob and she did a blood test to check my thyroid and had me wear a 24 hr. monitor. Of course when I was at the office I didn't have a single PVC. The monitor recorded well over a hundred of them though. So they will be able to tell exactly what it is. I just have to wait possibly until Monday. Today I was really hoping they would be gone, but no such luck. There are times when I'll have 2 or 3 in one minute. When they are so frequent it's hard to stop thinking about them. I'm not getting anxious or stressed out about it, but when I can't stop thinking about it it's frustrating! I called my cardiologist and he said crazy things happen to the pregnant woman's body towards the end and that it is just a "normal" side effect assuming they are just PVCs. I'm still going to go see him next week so that he can do a check up and maybe a echo to make sure there hasn't been any structural changes in my heart. I could take a beta blocker to help, but that's a medication I really don't want to take while pregnant. So basically I just have to "hang in there." I really really really hope they go away or reduce in frequency soon!

Next midwife visit is next weds. I get the strep test then.

White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookie Tutorial

This is probably the most requested cookie that I make so I thought I'd post the recipe and the outline the process to make. They are delicious, but a little time consuming. Well worth it if you have a couple hours to spare.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped.
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cold butter
2/3 cup finely chopped white chocolate baking squares (I use Baker's White Chocolate Square
1 cup melted white vanilla candy coating, for dipping. (I use vanilla bark)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
red and white sugar or nonpareils.



1. Preheat oven to 325. Drain cherries and finely chop them. I use my food chopper, its quick and easy, or else you could do it by hand with a knife.



2. Combine flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.



I use my kitchen aid hook to blend and cut in the butter. It works well. If you don't have this you can use a pastry blender to cut in the butter or a couple of knives.

Chop the butter into smaller chunks before cutting it in.

When it's cut in the dough is still dry and there are small chunks.

3. Add the chopped white Chocolate, and finely chopped cherries. Stir in almond extract. Knead mixture until it forms a smooth ball. 4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Flatten on cookie sheet with the bottom of a sugar dipped glass.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 325. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to wire rack to let cool.

6. Melt the vanilla coating in the microwave at intervals of 35 seconds. I find that it works best to heat for 35 seconds, mix, than heat again for 35 seconds. After mixing it should all melt nicely and you are ready for dipping. Dip half the cookie and shake off the excess.

7. Roll the edge in red and white sugar or nonpareils. Place on wax paper until the coating hardens.

Enjoy!

Nursery Progress

I made good progress on the nursery yesterday. Mandy and I went crib shopping. We got a great deal at Babies R Us. We ended up purchasing the floor model at 20% off and then I used a 15% off coupon on top of that! Walked out with a crib for $88. The only thing I need now is a nice glider/ottoman to replace the standby rocker that is in there for now. I really want one of those gliders that recline, they are oh so comfy. But they are oh so pricey as well. I might have to go with a budget glider at Target unless I can talk Ryan into splurging. I also purchased by stroller/carseat combo and some fun baby outfits. I still need to get some Detoit Tigers and Moosejaw apparel to add to her closet. It's quite addicting to buy all the fun clothing. :)

It's good to have the nursery ready. Now I need to keep Skipper out!