growing, loving, & learning... mamahood
My friend here is designing bags/purses from burlap, hemp, and local embroidery (some machine, some hand). The main fabric is recycled burlap sacks, so the bags are very environmentally friendly! She wants to know what foreigners think about her work so please comment with your thoughts.
Bag #1: Black Teddy Tote
Bag #2: Local Embroidery & Buttons
Bag #3: Rainbow Teddybear Tote
Bag #4: Local Embroidery Messenger Bag
Bag #5: Hand Embroidery & Hand-woven Hemp
You can see more photos here.
See how I grow!!
Week 16: I’m really showing now! I had to start wearing maternity pants almost every day. I really like wearing maternity capris. We also had our first ultrasound this week!!
Week 17: Took a final trip to the Stone Forest for the year. I’m still loving being pregnant, but the tummy’s getting uncomfy which makes sleeping difficult. We also got some furniture for the baby’s room/nursery this week!
Week 18: Baby’s first kick! October 26th I felt little movements in my belly… and Baba (Paul) felt them too! He hasn’t felt it since that day but I feel baby move every once in awhile if I’m sitting still or lying down.
Week 19: Baby’s first growth spurt, or so it seems! I’m hungry all the time and gained 2 lbs just this week!
Lately, every time I sit down at the computer, I can’t think of anything to write. Or I can think of so much, I can’t figure out how to put it into a post. Or, I’m just busy living life (which sometimes means laying on my side, enjoying the feel of baby’s kicking), so I don’t sit down at the computer at all.
Anyway, I want to keep you all updated, but for today, I’m just going to share answers to questions found at The Simple Woman’s Daybook.
Daybook Monday, November 16, 2009:
Outside my window… a cold, cold day
I am thinking… I wish this headache would go away
I am thankful for… hubby baking bread in the cold, cold kitchen for us!
From the kitchen… I’ll soon be able to smell those honey wheat rolls!
I am wearing… four layers, including a fleece and a thermal long-sleeve t-shirt
I am creating… a warm spot under the comforter in my bed
I am going… back to the U.S. at the very end of December
I am reading… Intimacy with Jesus
I am hoping… for a healthy little one!
I am hearing… the sounds of food preparation coming from the kitchen
Around the house… a big mess (mostly dishes my fingers were too cold/lazy to do) that I’ll need to clear before my friend comes over tomorrow morning
One of my favorite things… the blue hoody I’m wearing right now (under the fleece sweater)
A few plans for the rest of the week: studying Chinese, preparing for Thanksgiving, finishing the Kimono, cooking hot pot, watching the meteor shower if it isn’t too cloudy
Here is picture I am sharing… the blue hoody :-)
First Trimester, originally uploaded by simplyla.
Week-by-week photos from my first trimester. See that belly grow!
It’s hard to believe I ever thought being pregnant felt yucky, because I feel so good these days! Even smells seem to have lost their ability to bother me, and there’s hardly anything that sounds bad to eat (before, I had all sorts of food aversions). I still tire easily (perhaps because my big belly makes sleeping and many other activities uncomfortable), but a good nap most afternoons gives me a lot more energy than before.
In the food realm, not only do I still have food cravings (potatoes and cheese, not together, seem to be the cravings I’ve had most throughout this whole pregnancy), I’m hungry a LOT. I eat at least 6 times a day (3 meals + a snack after each), and especially snack on fruit, yogurt, and popcorn. I’m back to my normal spicy-loving-self, and even after a huge, spicy Chinese dinner with Paul’s dad last night, I have not suffered any heartburn. Maybe it’s all the water drinking I do? Whatever it is, I’m glad!
I’ve been feeling more energetic this trimester, and one way I expend that energy is baking. I’ve always enjoyed baking, especially lightly sweet breads for breakfast. I made a lot of applesauce earlier this month so I decided to try out a new recipe this morning. This is definitely my new favorite breakfast bread.
Applesauce Spice Bread (Breakfast cake-like) Recipe
Ingredients
* 240ml (1 c) all-purpose flour
* 240ml (1 c) whole wheat flour
* 2.5ml (1/2 tsp) baking powder
* 7.5 ml (1-1/2) teaspoons cinnamon
* 2.5ml (1/2 tsp) ground nutmeg
* 1.25ml (1/4 tsp) salt
* 240ml (1 c) sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2.5ml (1/2 tsp) vanilla
* 60ml (1/4 c) oil
* 200 – 300ml (~1 c) applesauce
* 45ml (3 Tbsp) milk
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F (200C). Oil and flour a shallow baking pan or glass dish and set aside.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
3. In a smaller bowl, beat eggs, vanilla, oil, applesauce, and milk together one at a time until smooth.
4. Combine with dry ingredients, but don’t over mix!
5. Pour the batter into your prepared dish. Bake in the middle of your oven 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove and cool for 10 minutes. Then invert to serve or continue cooling to store.
I’m having a great time working on projects that our baby will one day soon enjoy. Finding the right materials can be a challenge, but I’m learning lots of crafting terms in Chinese and locating the best stores to buy the various supplies I need!
I began my first project for baby in July, and am finally done! I found the pattern “Nightingale Lap Quilt” in Aimee Ray’s Doodle Stitching book and, though I liked the overall idea, I didn’t like the specific style: it’s all creamy pinks, and I wasn’t a huge fan of the pink nightingale.
So, I sketched it out in my craftbook with the colors in fabrics I found at a local shop, used the “Two Trees” embroidery pattern from a different part of the book (a pattern for a scrapbook cover), and combined them all into the blanket you see above. I’m so glad it’s done, and cuddling with it gives me one more reminder of the little one we’ll have in our home next year!
You can see more photos of the process and finished quilt on flickr.
I feel so good, hardly ever feeling sick now and even beginning to get a little more energy (though my afternoon naps are still frequent)! I am a lot more active than I was in the weeks where morning sickness was bad, which is nice.
I’m also beginning to enjoy a lot of foods again that bothered me before, especially food with flavor… think spicy! It started one day when Paul was preparing two separate plates of potatoes for dinner, the spicy for him and plain for me. Suddenly I realized his looked oh-so-appetizing and mine, just a bit boring. So I had him season mine the same and enjoyed them immensely!
This isn’t really a pregnancy craving, but I’ve been eating it for breakfast about half the mornings of my pregnancy so far. I generally make a batch every week while it’s warm out, and switch to making a batch of from-scratch “instant oatmeal” on weeks during the colder months.
My recipes is adapted to perfection (for my personal tastes, of course) from the “Homemade Granola” recipe on page 116 of the cookbook Artisan Bread in Five. I’ll try to figure out the U.S. measurements soon!
Granola Goodness
80ml vegetable oil
140ml honey
30ml water
2.5ml vanilla flavoring
1000ml rolled oats
100ml sesame seeds
1.25ml ground cinnamon
1.25ml salt
240ml dried fruit (raisins, banana chips, pineapples, and coconut are our favorites)
1. Preheat the oven to 200C (375F). Brush a large pan with oil.
2. Mix wet ingredients in a small bowl, measuring out the oil and then the honey (makes the honey slide out of the measuring cup more smoothly).
3. Mix oats, seeds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl, then stir in the wet ingredients until everything is coated.
4. Spread granola evenly on the baking sheet.
5. Bake 40 or so minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until the granola is golden brown.
6. Remove quickly to a large bowl (so it won’t stick) and as it cools, stir in dried fruits.
7. After cooling, store in airtight containers. Serve with yogurt, top desserts, or eat as cereal!
Well, I was home alone this week, so this “artist rendering” (ahem, Paul’s doodling) will have to do for this week’s picture.
Morning sickness is leaving though the exhaustion’s still here. But, though tired, there’s a certain energy about not feeling that I’m about to throw up at all times, so I’ve been engaging in various house cleaning, crafting, and even studying.
My cravings and aversions haven’t changed much, but my sweet tooth is returning and finding me baking more! Cupcakes with frosting, yum yum!
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