You know those insurance commercials where they tout how much people from Company X saved by switching to Company Y? Well, people wouldn’t switch providers unless they were going to save money, so OF COURSE people who switched saved some amount of money! That doesn’t mean YOU will save that amount of money!
I had a coupon for 30% off clothes at Babies R Us, and what choice did I have but to go and buy a couple of things for the baby? This is my favorite. It’s a onesie with a picture of a mama bear and a baby bear, and it says “Mommy loves me.” I also love Beatrice, who makes an appearance in the photo below. Note her resemblance to the bears on the shirt. Too cute!
24 weeks, 6 days. Hard to believe I’m more than six months pregnant, except when you look at my rapidly-expanding baby bump!
It sounds kind of weird, but tonight I made microwave risotto. Found the recipe in today’s newspaper and decided to make it. It was delicious! Mike raved about it. I didn’t take any pictures, but here’s the recipe:
4 servings
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, finely minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon saffron (I omitted this and put in extra garlic and added black pepper)
1/3 cup white wine
1 cup arborio rice
3 cups fat-free chicken broth (I used homemade broth and I think that’s one of the keys to the deliciousness of the recipe)
1/3 cup parmesan cheese (I probably used more like 2/3 cup, because extra cheese makes everything better)
2 tablespoons light sour cream
Place the oil, onion, garlic and saffron in a microwave-safe bowl, preferably with a cover. Cook for 3 minutes on high in the microwave.
Stir in the wine and rice. Cover with the cover or with plastic wrap, and cook for 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup of the chicken broth and stir. Cook for 5 minutes (covered), then stir. Repeat.
Add 1/2 cup of the broth and cook (covered) another 4 minutes. Remove and stir.
Check the consistency. If needed, add more broth and cook another 2 minutes. (I didn’t need to add more broth. In fact, I was concerned my risotto was too liquid-y, but it thickened up.)
Add the parmesan cheese and stir in.
Add the sour cream and any remaining broth by tablespoonfuls and stir until desired consistency is reached (more broth may be needed).
This is what my belly looks like at 23 weeks, 3 days pregnant.
It’s amazing how much bigger it is than it was in the last picture!
The other day, Mike’s mom sent some things or the baby. She’s been saving some of Mike’s old clothes, blankets, dishes, etc. for all these years, and now our little one will be able to enjoy them. There were a lot of beautiful handmade blankets, quilts, receiving cloths, etc., because Mike’s side of the family has a long tradition of being crafty (mine does not), and Nana Laura also tucked a few new things into the boxes.
Poppy, as we’re calling her for now, will be very well dressed once she gets a little older. Nana sent two dresses with matching hats and a shirt that comes with two pairs of pants. All of the clothes are very cute and feature pink and brown polka dots, and are sized 12 months, which shows very toughtful foresight.
The older things are a hoot. One of the things she included was a hat and mittens set that Mike wore way back when. We are in sunny San Diego, so I don’t know how much need we’ll have for wool mittens, but they’re so cute, we’ll find a time and place to use them (maybe a visit to Nana Laura in Colorado!). Since Poppy isn’t here yet, I decided to give the hat and mittens a trial run on Beatrice, my stuffed bear, who is about the size of a newborn. And then we had no choice but to take a picture and photoshop Beatrice into some sort of really cold background. How cute is this?
She’s the envy of all the other bears.
Thanks, Nana Laura!
Where once there was a guest bedroom, closet, and bathroom (on the other side of the wall seen below)…
Now there is rubble.
No more closet. The dividing wall between the bedroom and the bathroom is almost gone.
I don’t have any super up-to-the-minute photos of the bathroom demo, but here’s one from last night. Suffice it to say, a lot more has happened today. Now the toilet is gone, the pipes have been capped and cut off, all the drywall is down, and the tub is even more full of debris.
Stay tuned for more photos and stories of the renovation!
This is what my belly looks like at 21 weeks, 4 days pregnant.
