Nursery Updates

I am really glad we were able to get as much done as we have on the nursery before I was put on bed rest. This was definitely a group effort. Friends helped us paint, my Dad came to help Chris install the light, my step-father loaned us his palm sander. My Mom made baby blankets and is working on the the crib bedding now. I love how it's coming together and I think it is such a perfect pretty little girl room.


This is the view from the door. The room is very small. All the furniture is in except the crib which just needs to be assembled. It will go on the wall opposite the window.


Here is our completed dresser project. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Here is the rocking, nursing, reading corner. Complete with a bunch of my childhood picture books.

And my favorite part: the chandelier!

Isn't it pretty?!

We still have to add the crib, curtains, crib bedding and some wall art. From this point forward I have to direct others to finish it up but I know we will get it all together in time.

No More Nesting

Last week we had a bit of upheaval here at the Potter house. Last week during what was supposed to be a routine ultrasound I was sent home and put on bed rest. I am now on day 7 of bed rest. Luckily I am able to work from home via my lap top and blackberry. I am also allowed a once a week trip into my office for Friday morning committee meetings just for a few hours. And of course I get to go to the doctor every two weeks for copious amounts of ultrasounds and test. Other than that it is home and on my back.

I'll be honest--bed rest sucks a lot. However, bed rest is much better than our baby being born at 28 weeks. Hopefully the bed rest will keep Margot safely inside until at least 36 weeks. Apparently she is very eager to join us--silly little girl.

It was a scary and stressful week but now we seem to be settling into a new norm of sorts. Poor Chris is now stuck doing everything--cooking, cleaning, picking up, grocery shopping, errands, fetching me things and running his practice. However, we have been so grateful and amazed at an outpouring of love, help and support from our friends, family and church community. We've had visitors, meals brought to us and help with all sorts of things.

The hardest part about bed rest besides sheer boredom is not being able to nest. I can put away baby things, organize and re-organize closets or ANYTHING. Oh well. Such is life. At least Margot remains safely inside kicking up a storm. And on the upside I can now wear yoga pants as much as I want.

The Nesting Instinct

Saturday night around 9pm Chris said, "I think your nesting instinct is kicking in because I can't keep up with you." I think he may be right. We've had a scary long ongoing "To Do" list for months. And this Saturday I woke up with a strong urge to tackle as many chores as possible.

Here's a glimpse at our Saturday:
7-8: sort through all books and gather ones to sell back to Smith's
8-9: make breakfast, do dishes, shower, get dressed, soak beans for baked beans
9-10: weekly grocery shopping at Winco, return home and put away groceries
10-11:30: Sell back books at Smith's and go to Lowe's to buy dresser knobs, light bulb and curtain rods
11:30-12: make chicken, rice casserole for lunch and get beans cooking for baked beans
12-1: pick up the house start baby laundry while Chris put new knobs on baby dresser
1-1:30pm- eat lunch
1:30-2:30- Chris painted front door red while I did dishes, picked up assembled baked beans
2:30-3:30- sit and read on font porch
3:30-5- go on long nature walk at Fern Ridge
5-6-Chris made dinner while I got off my feet
6-7- sort by size and fold and put away baby clothes
7-9- watch movie
9-10 Chris head to bed while I finish dishes, put away remaining baby clothes and take a bath

I am pretty sure I've never had a more productive Saturday in my life! As productive and wonderful as our Saturday was we still have quite the "To Do" list left. I hope this "nesting" sticks around for a bit so we can get it all done. Here's what's left on our pre-baby To Do List

Stain book case
hang mirror
trim back roses
trim hedges
edge yard
eradicate ivy
find nursery wall at
sew nursery curtains
assemble crib
print photos and update photo albums
finish baby sampler
interview pediatricians
hospital tour
make meals to freeze

Menu Friday

Lately we've changed how we do food at the Potter house. The old model has always been that I plan menu's, make grocery lists, go to the grocery store and cook dinner each night. Occasionally I would enlist Chris' help either to do dishes as I cook or aide in the cooking. However since I've been pregnant our model has changed dramatically. I still generally make the menu. Sometimes this is done with Chris* and some cook books of his choice (Betty Crocker) but often on my lunch break with a variety of websites or lately random dishes I know by heart. Either we grocery shop together or Chris ventures out on his own with a list in hand. Then each evening he cooks dinner. I sit on the bar stool in our kitchen and chop things, read him the recipe and offer general advice on heat, stirring, browning etc. It's amazing how much he's learned over the past several months. I find my advice is needed less as he becomes more confident with various cooking techniques. Sometimes it's a little frustrating to be relegated to my stool on the sidelines but my swollen feet greatly appreciate the relief and by the time Margot makes her appearance Chris will be nearly as competent in the kitchen as I am. This should make for a much smoother postpartum period for all of us.

Our menu's have also changed quite a bit. In order to help Chris cook we try to focus on quick and easy weeknight meals. So we have less Bon Appetit recipes, less ethnic food and more Betty Crocker. I also try to pick things he particularly likes. I know I'm more excited cooking something I really like. The man loves meat and potatoes. He loves meat loaf, stroganoff, stuffing, casseroles, chili, and meat loaf. And because we are watching our pennies these days we try and choose economical meals. Here is our menu for the week to come:

Fri: Chicken and Rice Casserole (recipe jotted down on random scrap in my recipe box)and sauteed spinach

Sat: Roast chicken with braised french lentils, roasted carrots and salad

Sun: Dinner at my Dad's

Mon: chicken tostadas with fresh salsa and sauteed zucchini*

Tues: Potato leek soup (Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French cooking) and salad

Wed: Taco soup

Thur: left overs

Fri: steak, scalloped potatoes and sauteed spinach


Chicken Tostadas
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup fresh salsa (either green or red)
1 cup cooked or canned black beans
shredded cheese
lettuce
chopped green onion or chives
sour cream
fresh salsa
1 cup masa
water

place masa in bowl and add just enough water to make a stiff dough. Form into tortillas and dry fry on high heat in non stick skillet. Place tortillas on plates and lower heat in pan to medium heat. Place chicken in pan. Sprinkle with chili powder and cumin. Add one cup of fresh salsa. Let cook for 5-10 minutes until heated through and some of the liquid has cooked off. Top each tortilla with black beans and cheese. Add chicken and top with lettuce, salsa, sour cream and green onions.

Happy

I think the third trimester is my favorite part of pregnancy so far:

I got to register for wonderful sweet soft baby things
I haven't cried in over a week (a record for my pregnancy so far)
There is no doubting I look pregnant and not just chubby
Our nursery is coming together and I am so excited to see it completed
Baby showers are happening soon
Margot moves all the time and I love it
Chris can feel Margot move
Fall is here and when fall is over our baby will be here

This elation could also be contributed to the fall weather. It's a pleasant 69 degrees today and I am wearing a dress with tights, riding boots and cardigan and it's perfectly comfortable!

Fall + Nesting

Fall has arrived. I have always loved fall but perhaps never as much as this year. Not only was I desperately waiting for a reprieve from the summer heat but this fall has so many wonderful things to look forward to! Fall has always brought out my nesting instinct. But this year fall will coincide with pre-baby nesting and I am excited. The past two weekends we have started to really make headway on our pre-baby to do list and the cooler temperatures will really help us tackle those last few yard projects. I am celebrating a ten day forecast that doesn't come above 75 degrees.



This weekend we should finish painting our front door red, pot some mums for the porch and finish trimming back our trees and hedges. I hope to share a photo of our cozy front porch all ready for the new season on Monday.

What I'm looking forward to this fall:
completing my nursery decorating project
finishing our front yard clean up
decorating for fall
breaking out checkered table cloths, warm candles and gourds
scarves and riding boots
warm cozy soups
roasted root vegetables
planning our Thanksgiving menu
baby showers!

And best of all when fall is over it will be almost time for Margot to join us!

What are you looking forward to this fall?


image found here

Pregnancy update: 27 weeks

Today I am 27 weeks pregnant with Margot. We are officially in the third trimester! Her arrival is definitely starting to feel closer with just this last home stretch to go. Last weekend we got a lot done to prepare and I hope this weekend is just as productive. Her nursery is all painted (Thank you Beth and Joanna!) and so is the dresser. We still need to find new dresser knobs but we hope to do that this weekend. The nursery is also cleaned out and only has baby things in it.

Last weekend I registered while Lauren was in town to help me. It was fun but a little exhausting! So many baby things. I just loved all the wonderful little girl things.

At 27 weeks Margot is the size of a head of cauliflower, weighs almost 2 lbs and is 15 inches long. She is starting to open her eyes as she learns the blink reflex. She is moving A LOT. Just this week I have noticed a big difference in her movements. I suppose because she is bigger her movements are much stronger. She actually woke me up last night with some strong kicks.

Needless to say the current heat wave has not make me the happiest pregnant woman around but I am trying to focus on the 75 degree weather for next week do all I can to stay cool until it arrives. People are not kidding when they say heat is difficult when you are pregnant. I do however appreciate the wonderful tomatoes we are finally receiving in our CSA box--delicious!

Dear Oregon

You seem to be severely confused about what constitutes normal weather patterns. For the past two years you have been deeply confused on this matter.

Spring should begin in March/April and persist till early mid June with OCCASIONAL rain showers but mostly pleasant sunny temperatures in the mid to high 70's. Mid June you should start transitioning to the 80's reaching high 80's and even early 90's throughout July. Because this is when we want/need/expect to be hot. This is when we want to camp, swim and BBQ. Come August you should taper out to the mid 80's cooling slightly to the low 80's by the end of the month. As we move into September you should cool further into the 70's to begin your transition into fall weather. This is an example of a normal, reasonable and healthy weather pattern. Rather you left us, after a long and cold winter, with NO spring. Instead you persisted to rain through the month of July. Finally you gave us some decent weather in August with temperatures in the 80's and even the low 90's at the end of the month. But now that labor day has passed and we are ready to transition into fall, pull out our scarves and sweaters, cook soup, pot mum's and nest to our hearts desire you pull a week of 95 degree weather. Really Oregon this is just not cool---not cool at all.

The Most Delicious Breakfast

This morning I had a brilliant bit of breakfast inspiration and created the most Delicious breakfast. My cousin Lauren (who was also my college roommate) and her husband are coming for the weekend. They now live in Seattle and are among our favorite house guests. Lauren and Nick started dating not long before Chris and I and we all palled around quite a bit in college. One of our favorite haunts was Cafe Sienna a whole in the wall Mexican breakfast place near campus. Lauren and I shared the same favorite Eggs a la compensena. I was remembering this while getting ready this morning and decided to make my own eggs a la compensena. The original is actually made with tortilla chips and jalapenos which I didn't have. Bu I came up with a slightly different version that was equally delicious. If you like Mexican food and eggs then you must make this.

Laura's Eggs a la compensena

3 eggs

one ripe tomato

fresh chopped green onions (a few table spoons)

butter

two soft corn tortillas

Cheddar cheese (2-3 Tb)

a splash of milk

fresh salsa to serve

Melt butter in a non sick skillet. Cut tortillas into strips and add to butter. While those cook for a minute or so crack eggs into bowl with a splash of milk and whip up. Cut up your tomato and onions. Add eggs to the tortillas. Add tomatoes and scramble for a minute or so. Add grated cheddar cheese and scramble just until done. Add green onions and transfer to plate. top with fresh salsa and hot sauce--enjoy!

With a delicious breakfast and fun weekend ahead I'm so happy it's Friday. Lauren and I are going to register at target tomorrow morning. Tonight we are making homemade pizza and relaxing. Happy three day weekend!