That baby, you know that one I just had? Wasn’t I in labor like yesterday? My newborn, my cute little baby boy? Okay, so now he’s around 15.5 lbs but still. Didn’t he just show up? He’s still brand new, right?

Except he’s TRYING TO CRAWL.

Joseph has rug burn on his cheeks and knees. Deep, sad, red marks on both knees and cheeks. He can lift his tush and get up on his knees and start scooting, or he can lift his head up and scoot dragging his body. But he cannot get his head AND his rear end up at the same time. Once he coordinates the two, we’re in trouble.

Who am I kidding, like we’re not already in trouble? We’re so outnumbered.

Here’s the coach trying to pick him back up when he was getting weary. Except he weighs as much as her (and I only slightly exaggerate.)

That little coach started crawling at 5.5 months. C crawled at 6 months, Mo at 9 months, B at 10 months/6 months adjusted age (the week after he came off oxygen - three years ago this week.)

Joseph is three months old. Almost four months, he’ll be four months old next Saturday. But still. Scooting for almost a month now, rolling over for longer than that. Now getting up on his knees? We better start baby proofing, huh?

I love this kind of trouble.

Update: While cuddling my oldest and youngest this evening it struck me again - don’t blink.

Not just because during that blink your home and electronics will all be dismantled and at least one child will run naked onto the front drive. But don’t blink because when you do, seven years fly past and you go from this to that.

And the happiness and ache and laughter and pain and the beauty of it all just engulfs you and you realize how very fleeting the sorrow is and how eternal the joy is…

Update AGAIN: Kit wanted to point out the similarities in our boys.

First, note about our basic bread recipe - DOUBLE THE YEAST. Do 2 T instead of 1 T.

We do the 4 loaves batch of bread dough and we then quarter it and bake 3 sections as bread. The fourth section we do as CINNAMON ROLLS because the world needs more cinnamon rolls. Kids, we decided you needed more fat in your life and this is my way of helping reach that goal. I sure love you.

Roll out the dough, spread with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll up, slice into 12 pieces (half, half those, then slice into thirds.)

Find a cute baby to hug.

Place into greased 9×13 pan and let rise until rolls start touching and you cannot wait anymore.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. If you are so inclined, mix up a couple ounces of cream cheese and a tablespoon or so of butter then a dash of vanilla and mix in powdered sugar for a cream cheese frosting. Add milk if it gets too thick.

I flip the cinnamon rolls out upside down onto a cookie sheet when they come out so the warm and gooey sugar sticks to the rolls instead of the pans. Let it cool and you can flip it back over to frost them. Or start snitching while they are still warm and don’t bother to frost them.

Whole wheat cinnamon rolls. What a strange but yummy contradiction.

I’ll preface this by saying I do not like beans, but Kit does. We’re trying to do more meatless meals, for a variety of reasons. Which means I knew I had to find an alternative protein source and thus the need to explore beans and cook them in such a way that I would be willing to eat them. And could thus persuade my kids to try them, too.

So, experimenting has lead us to black beans, after we tried my sister’s black bean soup that I really liked! Then I found the black bean burgers from Safely Gathered In though I made a lot of changes. And I need to still try Isa and Beverly and Abby’s bean recipes (thanks for sending those!)

Here are our black bean recipes. First, I soaked a pound of beans overnight and then threw them in the crockpot until soft and Kit salted them to taste.

I took out 1 cup or so and threw them into our tamale pie for dinner, along with a cup of rice. This was in place of the ground meat and it was great - Kit and I preferred the recipe meatless and with rice and beans, it counts as a complete protein!

Then I took out 3 cups for the burgers, and what was left I put into a freezer container for soup later this week. One pound of beans provided enough for 3 meals for our family!

Black Bean Burgers
With the three cups cooked beans I mashed them and then added 1/4 cup bread crumbs and seasoned as if it was ground meat. Onions, garlic, pepper, worsteshire sauce, and some ketchup (to sweeten it up for our kids.) I patted them (with Christopher’s help) into five patties and layered in wax paper and froze to fry up later this week. We let Christopher sample it and much to my surprise, he said it was really good! I think covered in cheese and mayo and ketchup and mustard it will be yummy, and our kids already like veggy burgers so they may go for it.

Does it look as unappetizing as raw meat? If it does then I think it passes the test.

This is not at all related, but cute and on the same photo import. I was letting Joseph “air out” mid diaper change and Bennett saw. He stripped off his diaper and laid on the blanket and said, “I a baby like Joseph!”

If you click on the picture of the boys it will show you the large size one and you will see Joseph’s current eye color. Kit gave Christopher a brief lesson in genetics this evening to explain our baby boy’s eyes.

Update: The black bean burger really looks like a burger, eh??

(Update: Here’s the big reveal! Okay, not so big. Kind of typographic, really.)

Just when you though the belly was about to POP! Our newest addition has finally arrived, 1:40 PM, CST. See the picture — cute, huh? Everyone is doing great. Perhaps we’ll post a name later (maybe). Heidi is resting and will write soon, I’m sure.

Though we know you’re dying to know gender, we’re going to hold on to the mystery a little while longer. Heidi wants to see how long we can hold out. And we realize the threats will increase. Don’t worry, the kids will spill the beans. Eventually. Now, if you go and read this and the paragraph above, you may discover what we have named our baby.

Perhaps we should offer a prize?

If you’re the first to break our exceedingly clever and devious code, let us know. Each sentence has a clue. Read back from the beginning. Check closely.

Email us when you figure it out.

(Heidi adds - those of you that wondered when we had time for this in labor, Kit had it written up and ready to post last week. He’s tricky AND well prepared.)

or, “Baby Come Out Song” if you ask Mo.

C and Mo collaborated on a welcome home song for Mojo, with a little help from Dad. Seriously. Just a little. I only balanced volume levels and such. I’m just the producer, I swear.

The drums, mandolin, and piano are canned loops. The harmonica was performed by both Mo and C — they took turns. And of course, they sang all their own parts.

Anyway, here’s the song. Song For Mojo.mp3

Now, I had a little trouble wrangling the kids closer to the mic. I know, that’s the job of the producer, but it’s a little nerve wracking to sing into a mic for any purpose, so we applaud their bravery all the same.

Here are the lyrics, in case you want to follow along:

(C’s verse)
A new one is coming.
It will be joyful.
It’s a happy time of year!

(Mo’s verse)
It’s fun to watch the baby asleep
with that song on.
But I like to play the drum song
with the baby awake.

Here’s Heidi modeling her labor present.

It’s from Couture Moms. Nice service, by the way. I messed up the online order and they took care of it, no problems.

(Heidi adds - this is not a maternity shirt, I just wanted to see if it would fit okay after the baby comes. It stretches, apparently! But my belly was poking out below, so wait to buy one if you are pregnant…)

Another Heidi addition - I am NOT having a baby tonight, Moira was cuddling on my lap at 6pm saying she doesn’t want to sleep but her head does. Then her eyes got really wide and she threw up. SO, really need to stay pregnant the next day at least so I can help take care of my sick little girl before I’m in labor…

Making some changes to Mojo menu. This one is pretty heavy on the protein since we don’t normally eat a lot of meat. We also need stuff without dairy as a staple since most of our kids react badly to dairy while I nurse. And I wanted EASY, easy so I can prep meals in the few minutes I’ll have. This is also giving us our final shopping list for pre-baby, since I’m 34 weeks today and that means I’ve probably got 4 weeks until this little one is going to arrive - and possibly less! Time to get moving…

Pizza Hut (Mo’s request)
Mr. Chopstix (C’s request)
Outback steakhouse (Mommy’s request)
Chipotle (Kit’s request)

But after the take out budget dies, then what??

Dinners (add veggies and/or salad):
- creamy chicken with pasta
- beef burgundy w/pasta
- mini meatloaf with cheesy potatoes
- chicken caccitore
- spicy tropical steak
- garlic lemon chicken
- pizza

- calico bean soup
- german pancakes
- sausage rice scramble
- tator tot casserole
- stroganoff
- omlettes
- taco salad
(more…)

We had the missionaries over for dinner (we’re trying to have them once a month at least until the baby comes) and they sat on the couch for a minute with the kids while we got dinner on… the kids gave them a book and the patient elders were kind enough to read it to them. “Go, Dog, Go!” As Christopher listened he announced, “Hey, this is about prepositions!! I’m learning those!” One missionary says, “It’s about what?” with a big grin and we all laughed. I’m happy something is sinking in with our language lessons.

And actually those language lessons are getting HARD, we’re half way through the second grade work but Christopher just memorized the definition of a preposition and is now memorizing a LIST of prepositions which means I have to memorize them, too… aboard, about, above, across, along, after, before, behind, below, between, etc, etc, etc. It’s a LOT! My brain is having to work in ways it’s not worked for years…

Missionary dinners - so far we’ve done homemade pizza & salad and cookies for dessert; ham (one of those big ol’ pig legs we love) & cheesy potatoes with peas and buttermilk cake for dessert; buttermilk pancakes, sausage, orange juice, strawberry sauce, homemade pancake syrup, and fresh fruit (grapes, plums, apples.) Not sure what we’ll do next, I think we can manage one more dinner before Mojo arrives. I need to figure out what to serve…

Yum! And funny moment. It’s a good chance for us to practice dinner manners with the kids in front of guests, entertaining and polite dinner conversation, and a chance to serve the missionaries. And they aren’t picky guests so it’s a low pressure way to help them out.

Notes from the Sears’ The Birth Book.

Distraction can cause mental strain. Relax mind and body during labor.

Managing the “Pain Gate”: Block the fast moving cars (pain) with gridlock (music, touch, heat, etc.). This will work better in early labor. Before Transition. After transition is another story.

One can fill up the receptors with other things — pain meds (boo) or endorphins(yay). How to get Heidi started on endorphins before hard labor hits? Start her off on the runner’s high — get her shoes on and have her take a brisk walk during early labor. “But don’t we walk during early labor?” No, we don’t walk. We amble. What we need is a serious walk. Perhaps a full jog down to Jean’s house to tell her that Heidi’s in labor.

If intense physical sensation is experienced, and the mother fears it as a signal of something going wrong, those sensations distort into fear. Heidi needs reassurance that the sensations (not pain) are normal. Semantics rule.

Pain is something entirely different — it’s a marker for things going wrong. Spontaneous pain is something to watch for. Sensations are going to be everything else. (Heidi addition - because I’ve experienced pain that did signal something going catastrophically wrong, I was very nervous in Emy’s birth and feared that the pain - sorry, sensations- were because of something going wrong again. A uterine rupture or placental abruption. I need to figure out how to distinguish “normal” pain from the warning pain… not sure how to relax through the one when I’m so on edge, having tried out some of that placental abruption pain. Oh, and placental abruptions? THOSE REALLY HURT.)

Stopping for now. More notes to take later.

Every time we have a well check I remember why we skip well checks. We love our pediatrician, she’s great. We’ve had her since C was 2 months old and she never attempts to give us parenting advice - only medical advice. And we appreciate that. She never comments on our extended breastfeeding (except to be supportive) or co-sleeping and she thinks it’s great we homeschool. She had a lot of questions about that today and was saying how nice it is Moira doesn’t have to wait around for a classroom of kids but can go at her own pace and we have such flexibility to meet the kids’ needs. We smiled and agreed.
(more…)

Not specifically for Mojo but meals we’re prepping for after Mojo arrives. I need to write them down here so I can know they aren’t lost on the notepad I keep losing. Kit was making bread while I was napping or something, and he went to our blog to find our recipe. This is why we blog. It’s my brain in blog format. But the censored version. Be glad I censor, it’s better this way, you would get even MORE random and not so nice posts if I didn’t censor… crazy, I know. Is it possible for me to blog more? Okay, back on topic -

Pantry meals (have items ready for assembly)
bowtie chicken pasta salad (will need to pick up fresh produce - grapes, apples, green onions) - bowtie pasta, canned chicken, coleslaw dressing, pineapple, mayo, almonds
tuna fish casserole - cream chicken soup, tuna, egg noodles, peas
spaghetti - noodles, sauce (canned or homemade)
calico bean soup (add cheese & sour cream) - bush’s beans, corn, kidney beans, ground meat, tortilla chips, diced tomatoes

Freezer meals (at least partially frozen, may need further assembly)
chicken tortilla soup - corn, tomatoes, chicken broth, shredded chicken, tortilla chips
taco salad (make homemade ranch dressing) - ground meat/beans, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, tortilla chips, cheese
tamale pie - corn, tomatos, meat/bean mix, cornbread mix, cheese
skillet lasagna and salad - meat, noodles, diced tomatoes, cottage cheese, parmesan, mozzarella, basil
gyros (need cucumber & tomato) - greek pita, yogurt, chicken
chicken tetrazzini & salad - spaghetti noodles, cream mushroom soup w/shredded chicken,s our cream, cheese
chicken mushroom crepes, french cut green beans - cream mushroom soup w/shredded chicken, crepes, sour cream, cheese
sweet & sour chicken, stir fry veggies & rice - sauce
chicken stuffing casserole, cranberry sauce, peas - cream chicken soup w/shredded chicken, stuffing
meatloaf, cheesy potatoes & corn
pizza
haystacks - cream of chicken soup w/shredded chicken, cream cheese, rice, pineapple, peas, cheese, wonton noodles, almonds

In freezer:
meat/bean mix (1lb) for tamale pie & taco salad
ground meat w/onions & garlic for skillet lasagna & calico bean soup
meatloaf
shredded chicken & cream of chicken soup (x2) and cream mushroom (x2)
tortilla soup (more shredded chicken)
chicken breasts for sweet & sour chicken

Not that Kit is not a fabulous cook, but my goal is to make his life as easy as possible postpartum which is really quite selfish because when his life is easier then he spends even more time spoiling me and the kids. And we’ve also done frozen meals before and then needed to use them up for various surprises like, oh - say bedrest? Or sick kids. We’ll probably make up a batch of these in June to get us through the last trimester then if I stay off bedrest and upright then we’ll do another batch of freezer meals towards the end of July to get us through August postpartum. Fingers crossed that works out okay…

Next up, my massive shopping list for this little munchkin. I asked at the birth center for the supplies list so I could shop and they said I have plenty of time, I won’t deliver for 4 more months. And I reminded them - I had a baby 10 days from now. I need to prepare, mentally I NEED TO PREPARE so they completely understood and they’re emailing me my shopping list. I need to do this so I can relax and know we’re all set even if there are some hiccups. Plus now I have my second trimester energy so we need to cram this in while we can.

I’m 22 weeks pregnant. It’s always there, every moment getting a wee bit louder. I had a baby this week. Just get me through this week. So I plan menus and I fold receiving blankets and I pack a hospital bag that I PLAN TO NEVER USE and I pray really hard to just get past this week.

See, I start out on menus and I end up on baby trauma, huh?

I love praline pecans. LOVE THEM. The candied nuts, the ice cream, the sugar mounds with a couple pecans sprinkled in them. LOVE PRALINES. I fell in love with some in California that Trader Joe’s carries but WE HAVE NO TRADER JOE’S IN TEXAS! Which was a significant point of concern for me when leaving California…

Anyway, I’m missing those pecan pralines and Jenny doesn’t live there anymore so she can’t bring them to me and I was getting desperate. At which point I held a copy of Tiger hostage that James needs and has been trying to find for less than a million dollars - we have it and Kit, because he’s so nice, was willing to just send it to James but NOT ME. The pregnant lady demanded praline pecans from Trader Joe’s!! (I think at this point James was starting to get scared, or at least skeptical, that I was willing to send him an OS for candy. Clearly he does not spend a lot of time around pregnant ladies. We are not what you would call “rational” when it comes to cravings.)

Well, Kit, my amazing husband, took pity on his wife AND HE MADE ME PRALINES. And they are truly the best pralines I’ve ever had, and I’ve had pralines literally from west coast to east coast. And they were all yummy!! Thank you to everyone that sent me pralines! (This is an on-going craving… I guess I can’t blame this on pregnancy.) Here’s the recipe. Kinda sad to discover how easy they are after all these years of desperate measures… Praline Pecans.

Oh, we did 2 cups of pecans instead of 1.5 cups, we did butter instead of margarine. We stirred at 4 minutes, 7 minutes and pulled it out at 8 minutes because it seemed dark enough - keep a close watch. And I did the cold water bath - put bowl with mix into a bigger bowl of cold water to bring temp down and help it set while you stir. But then MOVE FAST because once it turns it can get grainy really fast. Still delicious, but not smooth. And if it doesn’t set - great ice cream topping! And if it gets grainy - crumble up for ice cream! So long as you don’t burn it, you can’t fail.