Monday, March 17, 2008

Updates, Cravings, and Shift Work with George

The weekend was a pretty mellow one. Friday, the kids had theater class and we didn't do much else since the brakes on our only working vehicle were pretty much kaput and it was snowing...again. Saturday, H bought new brake pads, rotors and a new caliper to fix the car. I had volunteered to babysit for some friends while they went out on a much needed date. Their kids and ours have always gotten along great. The only problem was their 7-month-old daughter that was unhappy her mommy wasn't there and uncomfortable because she was cutting a new tooth. After trying to appease her with any toy I could find, I fed her some bananas and rocked her until she passed out. Thankfully, she stayed snoozing until her parents came back. Of course, then she was all smiles.

During this time, H took some friends out to look at houses, and left two of their kids with me as well. In all, I had eight kids in the house. After H returned, he crashed for the night and I was worried that we wouldn't have a vehicle to get to church in the morning. At 2:30 a.m. though, he woke up from his looooong nap and got to work on the car. It was done and working great before church. I love when he gets mechanical. It makes me appreciate him so much. Sunday, we went to church, taught our lessons and headed home.

Big news this week: we had a new nephew enter the world. H's older brother and his wife had their first child on Tuesday and he was a big, healthy boy. He weighed about 8 lb. 9 oz. and was 20 inches long. Being born via caesarean, he was also a nice, plump, non-alien looking baby. It's amazing to look at a newborn and realize that they are so new and have just left heaven. Just amazing.

Spring break is next week for the kids and we are going to take full advantage of it. We've decided to head down to the Grand Canyon for a day (me and the kids have never been there), then head over to southern NM to visit my family for Easter and stay for about 4 days, and then head home via Colorado to visit my brother and his family for a day or so. It's a full itinerary, but we're pretty good at trying to keep things mellow and enjoying it. We also have about 10 days to do it all. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and to taking a good trip before the baby arrives. My mom is already planning to spoil us all with good food, shopping for the kids, baby clothes, and bedding for the nursery. The kids are excited and I can't wait to see them egg-hunting with their cousins.

So, back to daily stuff. I have only had a few cravings so far in this pregnancy. I have an ongoing taste for fry sauce that I don't indulge very often. A couple weeks ago, I wanted cheesecake from Costco because they put a yummy frosting on the top. So, H indulged me and bought one. The problem, however, was that I forgot how big they are and it took a week to eat. Needless to say, I am over that craving. And now, it's brownies. Homemade brownies. I have made a few batches already in the last few weeks and I could still eat more. 3/4 of the cheesecake having been eaten, it amazingly didn't reflect on my weight check at my last appointment. Hope that keeps up.
And now, a little sharing. Most mornings, I get on the computer, read the news, check some accounts, and read my favorite blogs. This morning, I went to Apartment Therapy The Kitchen and saw this delicious cake that made me pine away for Spring even more.

Isn't it beautiful?
And after opening up some much neglected email, I found a notice from my university about a program I would loooove to enroll in. It is called Writers in New York and is offered through NYU. Aspiring poets and fiction writers can take creative writing courses at NYU while living in and experiencing New York. The goal is to encourage the writers to immerse themselves in the unique opportunity that is NY, while living and studying in Greenwich Village. It sounds like heaven to me. The program is four weeks long, and is ridiculously expensive, much more than my trip to London. But, oh, the experience and the writing and the creativity. I don't plan on this being a possibility in the near future, being that I'm carrying around my third bun-in-the-oven. But, hey, maybe in a couple of years. And with the whole family this time. I would love to experience NY with H and the kids. Did I mention that I've never been there before? But, hey, maybe this program will peak the interest of one of you.

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