Preparing Fido

I ordered the Preparing Fido CD, which came (very quickly!) today. Very interesting. The point is to acclimate your pet to the sounds of a baby. It has crying, cooing, laughing, screaming, etc., tracks, so you get a little of everything.

So far, Brady is completely oblivious. We'll see what he does when it gets to the "Screaming Baby" track. His ears perk up now and then, but so far, no signs of anxiety and such. Good boy.

I must admit, I find the sounds a little annoying myself. Guess I better play it for my benefit just as much as the dog's!

20-Week Appointment

My 20-week appointment this morning went great. Everything looked perfect, but we didn't get any good pics because the little stinker was smooshing half his face into the placenta and covering the other half with his opposite arm. Silly boy. Camera shy and stubborn, just like daddy. We shook and vibrated my belly for a good 10 minutes trying to get him to put that arm down, but he just absolutely refused to budge. I should've had some caffeine! So we'll probably just do another u/s at 32 weeks to get some good pics.

We confirmed that it's definitely a boy, heart, spine, stomach, kidneys, brain, lip, nose, etc., all look perfect. Phew! My glucose was elevated quite high, but doc figured that was because of the milk I had with breakfast (as a post gastric bypass patient, milk sugars create a major insulin-type reaction); he didn't seem concerned.

Now, to get serious about a name...

But first, a nap.

More crib ideas...

Maybe we'll do an airplane theme for the nursery in honor of the two grandpas? Here are two I like...

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Strawberry Muffins

OK, to redeem myself from last night's cobbler fiasco, which ended up basically as a bowl of jam after I added more cornstarch to the finished product to thicken it (I removed the bread parts, of course), I decided to turn the "jam" into muffins this morning. And I must say, YUMMY. Here's my version of the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Benefiber (a powdered fiber supplement), optional
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1/4 cup flax oil, optional
  
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup strawberry jam

DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; make a well in the center. Combine eggs, oil and milk; pour all at once into the well. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix. Gently fold in jam (a few lumps will remain, which gives the appearance of whole berries in the finished product). Place in a well-greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.
   
   
2. Notes: Next time, to make them healthier, I'll use half whole wheat flour and maybe some oats. I also added about 1/4 cup Benefiber (the powdered fiber supplement). The original recipe called for 1/2 cup oil, which I substituted for 1/2 cup applesauce and about 1/4 cup flax oil, just for good health (I figured the oil would offset the additional dry ingredients created by the Benefiber). The original recipe also called for buttermilk, but I didn't have any, so I used milk, which worked fine. And it also called for 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, but I don't really like nutmeg and didn't have any anyway, so I just left it out. All around, a fantastic muffin the way I made them.
   

Strawberry Cobbler

Tonight I made a strawberry cobbler (why is it so hard to write that word without spelling it "clobber"?). Here's my version of the recipe (adjusted slightly after I actually tasted it!):

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced or chopped or whatever you prefer
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, diced
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup milk (original recipe calls for heavy cream, but I didn't have any)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2 quart baking dish.
2. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and hot (happened very quickly). Stir in strawberries, and remove from heat. Pour mixture into the baking dish, and dot with 2 tablespoons butter. (I think next time I make it, I'll put the sugar on the berries first and let them sit a while so that they make their own syrup, then I'll add the juice – not the berries – to the cornstarch mixture and adjust the amount of cornstarch based on how much juice they put off. This time, I didn't do that, and the finished product is way too runny because the berries were super plump and juicy.)
   
3. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt (I don't "sift" anything; I just stirred with a whisk). Blend in 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in cream. Mixture should be fairly soft. Spoon on top of berries.
4. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven.

Lord of the Strings

When Ken's parents were here last month, they brought him this shirt. We couldn't resist taking a cheesey pick of the lord with his current collection. From left to right are: the Ruby, the Naked Lady, Ken (obviously), the T-5, and the Tele.

19 Weeks

Hard to believe we're almost half-way through this pregnancy! Things seem to be going along fine, but we'll know more after our 20-week ultrasound 4/27. If everything looks good/normal at that time, then we'll be able to get serious about picking a name and such. One of our friends from church asked me last night if I'd like to have a shower before or after he's born. I thought, oh man, I haven't even begun to think about showers or registering or anything! Guess I'll get serious about that after Friday's ultrasound...

I'm still feeling great. I've thought I might've felt some movement this past few days, but can't be sure. Seems like I ought to by now, but it's possible that the placenta is in such a position as to block kicks and such. I'd like to think it's because my abs were so tight and strong that nothing can get through, but that's a far-fetched fantasy!

Baby (no, we haven't chosen a name yet) can hear now, so I think I'll start spending more time in the music room when Ken is playing his guitar. Perhaps bring some earplugs for me, as he keeps the amp kicked up pretty high!

We played hookie from church today. Today's worship team is led by a guy who, when he prays, uses various forms of God's name every three words, and it really irritates us both: "Lord, we come to today, Jesus, to ask you, God, that you grant us forgiveness, Father, for our sins, Lord...." and so on. I counted 47 times in one prayer once, and it wasn't a very long prayer. "Alicia, I would like, Alicia, for you to join me, Alicia, for lunch today, Alicia. Alicia, I know a great little place, Alicia, that you, Alicia, would really like, Alicia." ARGH!!! I wonder if God gets annoyed by that? Like, I'm listening already, you don't have to keep calling me!

We had some much-needed rain yesterday, and might get some tomorrow, too, but today is beautiful and sunny. I don't remember it being as windy here in So Cal as it has been this year, but maybe it was and I just didn't notice. Or maybe it's more windy in Camarillo than up in T.O.

Washington Wedding

Last weekend we attended the wedding of one of my college friends, Nathan, in Walla Walla, Washington. It rained the day before, and was overcast the day after, but Sunday, April 15, was a gorgeous day all around. How nice for them! You can see some of their story on his blog.

Easter Brunch

Last night we thoroughly enjoyed Chinese supper and bowling with Christye and Kevin. Too long since we bowled; it's fun! We'll definitely do it more often, especially now that we know there's an alley about two miles from us.

This morning, we went to the Easter Sunday Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues Sunset Strip, which was completely delightful. Food was good and entertainment was fun and energetic! Here's a photo flick of it... (No, that's not a bride; just a large singer in a white gown. Can't explain it. She must've been burning up!)

Cool Slideshows

Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a lovely day, topped off with these gorgeous flowers from my darling husband. He couldn't decide between the sweet smell of the roses and knowing that tulips are my favorite flower — so he got both! We had a delightful dinner out (after I'd been treated to lunch at Claim Jumper by Gerry, Sali and Sharon).

I took 17-week pics tonight (I do them every week), but there isn't any difference from 16 weeks visible to the casual observer, so I won't bother posting it. But the baby has definitely shifted up out of the pelvis this week. With the Doppler, I now find the heartbeat much further up. I guess he's about 5 inches long this week. Wacky!