Monthly Archives: March 2010

Squatting in the Dirt

Posted on March 29, 2010 | 1 Comment

If you see a pregnant lady laying in the dirt on the side of the road, don’t worry too much. If she has a camera and bright green shoes on, she is most likely just fine down there.

I have started to see all kinds of awesome things creeping out of the dirt and dead leaves along my route home. The only problem is that they are so tiny and close to the ground. I am able to squat to get the shots, but I can’t get up super easy. At least the view is nice from down there.

All. Pregnant. Photographers. Should. Have. Life. Alert.

Oooh. Look at the sky from down here! It is light outside at 7 pm! Amazing.

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23 Week Papaya

Posted on March 29, 2010 | 3 Comments

Wait—what happened to 22 weeks?

I don’t know what you are talking about.

No really, where is that part of the series?

You are mumbling, I can’t understand the words you are saying. Can I offer you some juice?

I am not a huge fan of Papaya, but when you mix it with pineapple, wonderful things happen. Pineapple is intensely sweet and tangy, and the buttery and musky papaya cuts some of the sharpness when you juice them together. Martha Stewart agrees that this is a good combination. She also puts mint in this mixture, because she is like that. I would have too, but I have pregnancy brain, and ended up with a package of Andes mints instead.  I remembered the fresh mint when I was already pinned into the check out line. And there is no more wiggling between the cart and the candy shelf to escape back into the produce department for a forgotten item. I am clearly too large and too slow for that kind of behavior.

This may look shockingly large. (I am of course talking about the papaya and not my gigantic FACE.) But you have to remember that the comparison to fruit is dumb. They are really only comparing the length from the head to the toe of the baby, and the actual size of the fruit as a whole has little to do with the actual babe within. But I do in fact have an 11+ inch human growing in there.

Little mister is even getting big enough that he got to kick his dad. While resting his hand on my belly yesterday, Justin felt the first pummeling from his son. It was a sweet moment.

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Posted in maternity series, photography, pregnancy

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Breathing is Good

Posted on March 21, 2010 | 1 Comment

As I type this, I am finding it hard to breath. The body I am living in is starting to feel foreign to me. I know it is technically the same one I have had for years, but it seriously feels like I am wearing a costume. A heavy one. It is increasingly difficult to get a deep breath due to less space for lungs, extra blood pulsing through my body, and carrying more weight. Specifically on the chest. Ahem.

When I tell Justin about my woes, he reminds me that I’m a “good baby grower.” Thanks, that’s sweet, but that doesn’t really help me breathe. I guess there is nothing much we can do. So I sit here listening to my own heartbeat pound in my ears, feeling my blood pulse through every part of my body like there is a race on. And if I am wearing a necklace, it will bounce with each ridiculously exaggerated heartbeat. I guess this is normal?

Otherwise, I’m feeling pretty well, considering there is another human growing in my abdomen.

Life is continuing at break-neck speed and I am keeping up for now. This week’s big event was finding our new apartment. We had been searching for a while, and just found something that is going to work out nearly perfectly for us. I was so excited yesterday that I got a stomach ache. We are also moving a month and a half early. Which is probably a good thing since I am only going to continue to suffocate under my own weight as the months go by. Time to start packing and saying goodbye to lovely Andersonville. But we are excited to get to know our new hood, Rogers Park. And it is the perfect season to explore.

Yes, spring is officially here. Although Chicago welcomed it with a snowstorm.

RUDE.

But the week before the snow was pretty great. The day before the snow was nice enough to open windows and walk to the park without a coat on. Luckily I had the day off to soak in some vitamin D before putting on the puffy coat once again. March is such a weird month here.

The rink is melting!

The rink is melting!

Schween rests by an open porch window

Then hunts her shadow with intensity. This points to the sad fact that she hasn't seen much sun for months.

Oh, and these are taco pot pies. Nothing to do with spring really. Just a weird dinner we had on Thursday. I know it sounds white trash, but they were actually pretty awesome.

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Avoiding Eye Contact with Porpus

Posted on March 21, 2010 | 1 Comment

We did something that I’m not particularly proud of, but I can’t resist sharing these pictures. Here is a glimpse of Porp’s Friday night with a newborn hoodie.


Apologies all around.

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21 Week Banana (muffin) Boley

Posted on March 18, 2010 | 3 Comments

Last week was banana week. A 10.5 inch banana to be specific. Let me know if you ever see one of these, because that is ridiculously large. And most bananas are no more than 8.5 inches at best. But, this whole thing is ridiculous anyway, so I have officially stopped caring if the fruit is the right size or not. Because generally it just won’t be. All I know is that baby Boley is growing, so that is sweet.

This week, I am trying the patented Black and White Except Banana Filter™. Fancy. This is mostly due to my skin being a wreck. Hopefully, some sunshine will help with this problem. What ever happened to perfect glowing skin and hair during pregnancy? Yeah, I am wearing a headband here, too. Meh.

Porp has limited time for phone calls from the banana phone. She can’t be bothered.

Banana hands!

So the above picture may appear gross to you, but when making banana muffins, the more brown your naners, the better. These are prime muffin naners. I have written a couple times about this recipe, because it is one of my all-time favorites. If you only make one of the recipes in this series, make this one. Hundreds of thousands of people agree it is most delicious. Seriously. THOUSANDS.

Besides the bananas, there is a key ingredient that you cannot skip. The cinnamon, butter, sugar crumb topping:

Don’t forget to put it on the muffins BEFORE baking.

Then bake for 18-20 minutes and go see what Norp is up to. Clearly, she is exhausted from all her calls. She has assumed awkward harp-seal-napping-pose on top of no less than two perfectly fluffed plush blankets on her recliner.

Ta-dah!

Everyone will be a fan of these. Try eating them warm, paired with an ice-cold glass of milk before bed. Or warm in the morning with a cup of coffee. They are amazing even if you aren’t a big fan of muffins.

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Posted in baking, cats, maternity series, photography, pregnancy

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FREAKING OUT

Posted on March 17, 2010 | 1 Comment

I almost peed my pants on the way to work because I saw these at the end of my block. SPRING?!?

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Little Big Things

Posted on March 15, 2010 | 10 Comments

This is not the 21 week belly shot/food post. I can describe that for you though:

Increasingly round girl holds 10.5 inch bananas. Pretends banana is a telephone. Makes muffins.

I will post this week’s maternity series a little later this week. Maybe even tomorrow if I am ambitious. But all of the sudden life has gotten a little busy. In a good way.

Right now, I need to just sit here for a second and settle. I want to reflect on what just happened last week, and soak up its goodness before it rushes by.

Let’s back up about 26 or 27 years. Meet my husband, little Justin.

He may or may not be having a cocktail. No one is sure, but we are sure that he is stinking cute. I want to squish him.

Now meet little me:

Yes, that is pink gingham. And a farmer’s tan. Slightly less squishable than Justin was, but not a bad-looking kid.

I don’t think I am alone in the world of moms-to-be in my daydreams about what baby will look like. What happens when you combine the two photos above? Whose genes will win out in the eye, hair, and skin category? Will they be athletic? Will they want to wear gingham? And what will they be like? Funny? Smart? Shy? Will they like math? Will they want to be a chef or will he be into science? Will baby like hummus? Will they only eat mac and cheese for a year? Oh, please don’t be a picky eater, little Boley.

This new little person is a total mystery to us. That is why each new bit of information we get is a thrill. Last week we went to the 20 week ultrasound appointment. We had our first glimpse of our little MAN.


I know that having a baby is one of the most common things on earth, but it is still amazing when you really think about it. Like I said, we are THRILLED.

It feels good to be able to put a specific pronoun in place when talking about him. I won’t post the picture that allowed us to find out that he was indeed a boy, but I assume you know what boy parts look like. Picture that only really blurry and small.

He is healthy and normal and we were happy to see a real live baby moving around in there. Things are starting to feel real. So many people have bad news delivered to them at this ultrasound appointment. I just can’t imagine receiving the news that something is wrong. I can’t imagine the heartbreak. We feel extremely lucky that all is well and good. I promise we aren’t taking it for granted.

——-frozen yogurt intermission–—–

Sorry.

Other little big things that have been happening include buying a lovely used car that my father-in-law found for us on Craigslist. Oh, Craigslist. I spend an embarrassing amount of hours on there. I won’t tell you the actual amount, but it can’t be normal. We are apartment hunting in the land of a million billion apartments. And this time we really care. Justin has even become actively involved in the online search, which I think is a first in seven years. It is exhausting, consuming, and exciting. But I feel like we may be nearing a well-planned victory in our search.

Oh, yes. A not so little big thing also happened last week…

MY HUSBAND GOT A JOB….!!!asdjfhaeihwafbkjadsn

Not an internship, clerkship, or part-time gig. A REAL JOB.

He will be an official fancy-pants lawyer at the firm of his dreams. The good guys.

I didn’t cry at the ultrasound like I thought I might, but I cried in the hallway before the appointment when he told me he got an offer. It feels like 10,000 lbs have been lifted off our shoulders. Especially for Justin. He is noticeably different. I don’t think I realized how stressed out he was. I am not sure he even fully realized the stress until he got the offer. It was suddenly lifted. He looks 3 inches taller. Seriously. Talk about the best day ever.

I would like to attribute all this to being purely lucky people, but honestly he has worked his ass off. For YEARS. And I am not going to be shy here in taking some of the credit for being patient and supportive. Patience is extremely difficult for me, but I figured it out (most of the time). And it was worth it. There is also a certain wonderful grandma that we owe the world to. I am so proud of him and glad that he will be doing something he loves. And being able to provide for a young little family is definitely something he is smiling about. I admit that I’m grinning, too.

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Melt

Posted on March 9, 2010 | 5 Comments

On the way to the train yesterday, Justin and I had an argument about Spring. It is my favorite season, and because of my heightened awareness during that time of year, I am going to say I am more of an expert on Spring than he is. See, I am even capitalizing “Spring” because it is that important.

So, the argument was over the definition of Spring and when it starts. Justin was saying we are experiencing spring right now, just because it has gotten into the 40′s for a few days. I am not so easily fooled. This is March. In Chicago. She is a cruel mistress. I am happy about the warmer temps, but this doesn’t mean I am putting away the puffy coat and pulling out the green shoes just yet. When it is true Spring, you can smell it, feel it, hear it, and see it. I have about eleventy-million photos from Spring of last year, and what we are experiencing this week is just not it.

However, I’m willing to admit we are on the cusp of something. That is obvious. The snow is melting more each day, and everyone is restless. Things will begin to explode within a few short weeks, including the icy hearts of millions of Chicagoans. We will have made it though, and the city will have its annual spring freak out. It’s my absolute favorite time of year. I love having a May birthday, because it seems like a good time to reset the year. January is no time to celebrate New Years, and I propose we move it to Memorial Day weekend. Who is with me?

Last Friday, it was sunny out. Not warm, but definitely sunny and above 32 degrees. So I went to the park at lunch to inspect the scene. People were out and about, and many were ice skating. Sorry if you are into ice skating, but it is time we pack that crap up now. I want to see the rink melt and the patio set up.

The garden isn’t showing any life yet, but I still enjoyed the feeling of being almost there. It is amazing what a little sun can do. Anticipation is in the air.

We have melting! We have sun!

People will clamour for these precious tables in a few weeks. And look! Bean reflection in the melt.

I fell in love with these plants. I didn't expect to find anything so pretty in the park, since I assumed everything was dead.

My favorite nubbin was even shining bright.

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Posted in Chicago, Daily Picture

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20 week Cantaloupe

Posted on March 8, 2010 | 3 Comments

We have reached the halfway point.

The point where the baby is compared to a cantaloupe.

This is also the week that we bought a car. Which is good. But it meant that I decided to go grocery shopping in person vs. the delivery service I have been using for a couple years. This is less good.

I have lost nearly all my skills in the grocery shopping department, so it took me about 10 hours and a million dollars. And I failed to get any ingredients to make this cantaloupe into something special. Hours later, I found out that if you wrap it in prosciutto, it becomes fabulous. Grocery fail.

I also fail at throwing and catching cantaloupes with one hand. Frame three shows an injury that occurred as a result of my poor hand/melon coordination. But I recovered without any lasting damage.

So as I mentioned, there are no ingredients to this cantaloupe recipe beyond…cantaloupe. Sorry. Though I would like to hear if you try the prosciutto idea and love it.

There is something very satisfying about cutting open a cantaloupe and then scooping, dividing and chunking. Cutting any large fruit with a big knife seems this way. Pineapple, watermelon, or even an over-size apple is an exciting chop. Am I alone here?

Actual baby news: We have the big 20 week ultrasound tomorrow afternoon, and if baby cooperates, we will know the answer to the “boy or girl” by the end of the day. We are so excited to see the baby on the screen, since up until now, all we have gotten is a little heartbeat flicker coming from a pinto bean, and a few heartbeat recordings at later appointments. It will be amazing to see an actual baby kicking around in there. Oh, yes there is much kicking. Everything is becoming more real.

I have a couple drafts saved on here that have yet to be published. My goal is to get them live this week, because drafts get stale and gross. And my camera came back out in celebration of warmer temps (more than 30 degrees) so stay tuned for some actual DPH, like in the good old days of Megagood.

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