"I've never met a problem a proper cupcake couldn't fix." -Sarah Ockler, Bittersweet
I just had to share the good news! Well, it's good news to me.
You know how I've been wanting to have dessert lately? (On pretty much a daily basis?) I found a simple solution! Or at least one simple solution. Hopefully I'll find more later. :)
It's called...............
...........
...........
...........
...........
...........
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A single-serving cupcake in a mug that you cook in the microwave!
I found a recipe for one the other day, and if you're wanting to see it, click HERE. The only problem was that I wanted frosting. Because, really, who eats cupcakes, or cake at all for that matter, with no frosting? The blog with the recipe for this mug cake didn't include frosting. Rude.
So, I found another blog that had a recipe for a single serving of frosting. As a bonus, the blog is called The Uni-Baker, and they specialize in recipes that make enough for one person. The recipe for the frosting is included with their recipe for one cupcake that you bake in the oven. How sweet is that? It probably tastes better than the mug cake in the microwave, but I wanted it faster. Haha! Anyway, click HERE to get the recipe for the uni-baker cupcake and frosting.
Next time you want something sweet but don't want to make a couple dozen cupcakes, remember this, and thank me for sharing this with you! Haha!
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
Being One-Handed is Hard
It's really too bad that you can't crochet with just one hand. While nursing Austin, I could have crocheted Andrew and David's Halloween costumes' hats and finished them! As it is, I've started on one...
They're going as Mario and Luigi this year,and we still need to get them overalls. Why are kid-sized overalls so expensive anymore? It's ridiculous!
If you're wanting to see what the hats are going to look like and/or get the pattern, click HERE to get to the original blogger's page. Cute!
They're going as Mario and Luigi this year,and we still need to get them overalls. Why are kid-sized overalls so expensive anymore? It's ridiculous!
If you're wanting to see what the hats are going to look like and/or get the pattern, click HERE to get to the original blogger's page. Cute!
Welcome to the World!
"Don't tell your kids you had an easy birth or they won't respect you. For years I used to wake up my daughter and say, 'Melissa, you ripped me to shreds. Now go back to sleep.' " -Joan Rivers
Today - Sunday the 19th (which, honestly, will be over by the time this gets posted) - is Austin's 3-week birthday! I know all of you are dying to hear his birth story...
Ok, so maybe just one of you. But hey, I'm putting this out there into the cosmos because if I don't do it now, I won't remember how it went 30 years from now, and that will make me sad. Or maybe it won't. Because my memory is that bad.
Can you tell I'm tired? I'm rambling, and nothing's really making sense, but I'm giggling over here anyway...
If you don't want to hear all the details, just skip to the bottom of this entry; all the cute pictures of the little guy are going to be at the end.
Here goes.
Starting around the 18th or 19th of September, I started having Braxton Hicks contractions that were coming around more frequently. They didn't really hurt, but they were annoying, and they'd come irregularly for about 2 hours at a time then stop for a few hours. I didn't really know what was going on, because with my first two boys, I hadn't had any even semi-frequent Braxton Hicks contractions, so this was new. As the days went by, I got them more and more, but the intensity of them never changed.
On Friday, September 26th, I had a doctor's appointment. I was really hoping the doctor would tell me that I had progressed from the last appointment, and that I could just walk over to the labor and delivery wing of the hospital. (My ob/gyn's office is attached to the hospital.) I saw a doctor I'd never seen before, and although I was progressed to 3cm and 75% effaced, he was sort of brusque about how he thought the baby was going to be in there a while longer, and that he wasn't going to do anything to help it along. Not like I was really in a position to need help. I was 38 weeks 5 days, and this office doesn't induce early except for medical reasons. *sigh* I hadn't progressed from the week before, and I was pretty down because I have a tendency to dilate a bit quite a while before my due date, and just sit there until I get induced.
Aaaaaand that brings us to the next morning. Saturday, the 27th of September. Something that doctor did must have been similar to stripping my membranes or something, because that next morning, I started losing my mucus plug - sorry about the TMI - and those Braxton Hicks became just a little bit more than pesky. They weren't that painful, but they weren't just annoying anymore. I went about the day as normal, but as time wore on, I just started getting tired. I knew I had things to do at church the next day, so I emailed people to get everything covered because I didn't feel very good.
I didn't feel like cooking dinner, so I ran out at around 7:30pm to grab something for Jason and me to eat as the boys had something easy earlier. I actually ended up waiting for a while because I guess Penn Station takes a while to make your sandwiches, but while I was waiting, I noticed that I had a contraction that hurt more and it felt like it was making him move further down, which I didn't know was possible. Haha! He was a low-lying baby, for sure. I think it was that moment, that contraction, that made me pay more attention, because I didn't entertain the idea that I could be going into labor that night until then.
I came home, we ate, and I still had those contractions. I took a shower, and decided to hunker down with a movie while I timed contractions. Not too far into the movie, I was walking around, and breathing through the harder contractions, and they were getting a bit closer together, but nothing consistent. Some of them were 7 or 8 minutes apart, but some were 3. When they started hurting even more, I turned off the movie, we called our babysitter to come over, and called the doctor's office to make sure the on-call doctor recommend that I come in, which she did.
So at about 10:50pm, off to the hospital we went. For some reason, I was convinced that they would check me at triage and tell me that I wasn't really in labor and that I should go home. I mean, my mom went to the hospital at least 3 times with my younger sister, thinking she was in labor, and was sent home. Well, when we got there at 11pm the nurse checked me, I was dilated to 5cm, and she said, "Well, you're staying!" I was thrilled and sort of shocked at the same time - first, that I was dilated so much, and second, that I could stay and have the baby.
After that, holy tamales did the contractions get bad! Looking back on it, I'm pretty sure I had back labor, which is no joke! This coming from someone who has had contractions brought on by pitocin before! Wow. I just about immediately asked for an epidural once they gave me my own room, but they had to get a certain amount of iv fluid in first (I don't remember why they had to do that), plus I was group B strep positive, so I had to get all the antibiotic into me before they could give me the epidural. The pain was unbelievable while I had to wait. The thought of having to finish the labor and push and everything without pain medication almost made me want to cry. It was awful. Not to mention that the contractions had become so bad that I was shaking uncontrollably, like the worst case of the shivers I had ever had.
Finally, I got my epidural a bit before 1am, and while I still shook, they definitely calmed down. I had told them to wait to check me until after the epidural was done, because between the pain of the contractions and the shaking, I was sure I was going to throw up if they tried. (I actually DID come close to throwing up a couple times. Great memories!) When they checked me, I was dilated to 9, and they scrambled to call my doctor. When she was busy helping someone else, they got the in-house doctor to come and help deliver. In the few minutes it took him to get there, I was fully dilated and ready to push, and in about 5 pushes and 2 contractions, he was born!
Born at 1:23am, Austin Chase was born on September 28th, weighing 6lbs 15oz, and he was 20 1/2 inches long. When I first saw him, my first thought was, "Oh my goodness, I have a baby on me!" I actually said that out loud, and all the nurses and the doctor started laughing. But seriously, I had only been at the hospital for 2 1/2 hours! And let's compare my babies:
Labor length:
Andrew: 9 hours, induced by breaking water then pitocin
David: 9 1/2 hours, induced by pitocin then breaking water (It would've gone faster if they'd done it the other way around...)
Austin: 2 1/2 hours, natural labor
Gestational age:
Andrew: 40 weeks, 1 day
David: 39 weeks
Austin 38 weeks 6 days
Length:
Andrew: 20 1/2 inches
David: 21 1/2 inches
Austin: 20 1/2 inches
Weight:
Andrew: 8lbs 6oz
David: 9lbs
Austin: 6lbs 15oz
Outside of being about the same length, my experience with Austin was completely different. He's my LITTLE baby! I mean, the last baby I had was 9lbs a week early! Holy mackerel! I mean, I should've known he'd be little; even at my furthest along with him, he never kicked my ribs. He was small and sat so low, one doctor described him as being like a bowling ball inside my stomach.
At three weeks old now, he's doing great! He wakes up a few times at night, sleeps a lot, and loves looking around at everything when he's awake. He doesn't cry unless he's awake and doesn't want to be alone, or he's hungry, so he's definitely a more quiet baby. He's my perfect baby #3!
To see David's birth story, click HERE. To see details about Andrew's birth and his first few weeks, click HERE.
Alright, I've bored you enough with the details. Here are some pictures!
We all are so happy that he's a member of our family, and can't imagine our lives without him now!
Today - Sunday the 19th (which, honestly, will be over by the time this gets posted) - is Austin's 3-week birthday! I know all of you are dying to hear his birth story...
Ok, so maybe just one of you. But hey, I'm putting this out there into the cosmos because if I don't do it now, I won't remember how it went 30 years from now, and that will make me sad. Or maybe it won't. Because my memory is that bad.
Can you tell I'm tired? I'm rambling, and nothing's really making sense, but I'm giggling over here anyway...
If you don't want to hear all the details, just skip to the bottom of this entry; all the cute pictures of the little guy are going to be at the end.
Here goes.
Starting around the 18th or 19th of September, I started having Braxton Hicks contractions that were coming around more frequently. They didn't really hurt, but they were annoying, and they'd come irregularly for about 2 hours at a time then stop for a few hours. I didn't really know what was going on, because with my first two boys, I hadn't had any even semi-frequent Braxton Hicks contractions, so this was new. As the days went by, I got them more and more, but the intensity of them never changed.
On Friday, September 26th, I had a doctor's appointment. I was really hoping the doctor would tell me that I had progressed from the last appointment, and that I could just walk over to the labor and delivery wing of the hospital. (My ob/gyn's office is attached to the hospital.) I saw a doctor I'd never seen before, and although I was progressed to 3cm and 75% effaced, he was sort of brusque about how he thought the baby was going to be in there a while longer, and that he wasn't going to do anything to help it along. Not like I was really in a position to need help. I was 38 weeks 5 days, and this office doesn't induce early except for medical reasons. *sigh* I hadn't progressed from the week before, and I was pretty down because I have a tendency to dilate a bit quite a while before my due date, and just sit there until I get induced.
Aaaaaand that brings us to the next morning. Saturday, the 27th of September. Something that doctor did must have been similar to stripping my membranes or something, because that next morning, I started losing my mucus plug - sorry about the TMI - and those Braxton Hicks became just a little bit more than pesky. They weren't that painful, but they weren't just annoying anymore. I went about the day as normal, but as time wore on, I just started getting tired. I knew I had things to do at church the next day, so I emailed people to get everything covered because I didn't feel very good.
I didn't feel like cooking dinner, so I ran out at around 7:30pm to grab something for Jason and me to eat as the boys had something easy earlier. I actually ended up waiting for a while because I guess Penn Station takes a while to make your sandwiches, but while I was waiting, I noticed that I had a contraction that hurt more and it felt like it was making him move further down, which I didn't know was possible. Haha! He was a low-lying baby, for sure. I think it was that moment, that contraction, that made me pay more attention, because I didn't entertain the idea that I could be going into labor that night until then.
I came home, we ate, and I still had those contractions. I took a shower, and decided to hunker down with a movie while I timed contractions. Not too far into the movie, I was walking around, and breathing through the harder contractions, and they were getting a bit closer together, but nothing consistent. Some of them were 7 or 8 minutes apart, but some were 3. When they started hurting even more, I turned off the movie, we called our babysitter to come over, and called the doctor's office to make sure the on-call doctor recommend that I come in, which she did.
So at about 10:50pm, off to the hospital we went. For some reason, I was convinced that they would check me at triage and tell me that I wasn't really in labor and that I should go home. I mean, my mom went to the hospital at least 3 times with my younger sister, thinking she was in labor, and was sent home. Well, when we got there at 11pm the nurse checked me, I was dilated to 5cm, and she said, "Well, you're staying!" I was thrilled and sort of shocked at the same time - first, that I was dilated so much, and second, that I could stay and have the baby.
After that, holy tamales did the contractions get bad! Looking back on it, I'm pretty sure I had back labor, which is no joke! This coming from someone who has had contractions brought on by pitocin before! Wow. I just about immediately asked for an epidural once they gave me my own room, but they had to get a certain amount of iv fluid in first (I don't remember why they had to do that), plus I was group B strep positive, so I had to get all the antibiotic into me before they could give me the epidural. The pain was unbelievable while I had to wait. The thought of having to finish the labor and push and everything without pain medication almost made me want to cry. It was awful. Not to mention that the contractions had become so bad that I was shaking uncontrollably, like the worst case of the shivers I had ever had.
Finally, I got my epidural a bit before 1am, and while I still shook, they definitely calmed down. I had told them to wait to check me until after the epidural was done, because between the pain of the contractions and the shaking, I was sure I was going to throw up if they tried. (I actually DID come close to throwing up a couple times. Great memories!) When they checked me, I was dilated to 9, and they scrambled to call my doctor. When she was busy helping someone else, they got the in-house doctor to come and help deliver. In the few minutes it took him to get there, I was fully dilated and ready to push, and in about 5 pushes and 2 contractions, he was born!
Born at 1:23am, Austin Chase was born on September 28th, weighing 6lbs 15oz, and he was 20 1/2 inches long. When I first saw him, my first thought was, "Oh my goodness, I have a baby on me!" I actually said that out loud, and all the nurses and the doctor started laughing. But seriously, I had only been at the hospital for 2 1/2 hours! And let's compare my babies:
Labor length:
Andrew: 9 hours, induced by breaking water then pitocin
David: 9 1/2 hours, induced by pitocin then breaking water (It would've gone faster if they'd done it the other way around...)
Austin: 2 1/2 hours, natural labor
Gestational age:
Andrew: 40 weeks, 1 day
David: 39 weeks
Austin 38 weeks 6 days
Length:
Andrew: 20 1/2 inches
David: 21 1/2 inches
Austin: 20 1/2 inches
Weight:
Andrew: 8lbs 6oz
David: 9lbs
Austin: 6lbs 15oz
Outside of being about the same length, my experience with Austin was completely different. He's my LITTLE baby! I mean, the last baby I had was 9lbs a week early! Holy mackerel! I mean, I should've known he'd be little; even at my furthest along with him, he never kicked my ribs. He was small and sat so low, one doctor described him as being like a bowling ball inside my stomach.
At three weeks old now, he's doing great! He wakes up a few times at night, sleeps a lot, and loves looking around at everything when he's awake. He doesn't cry unless he's awake and doesn't want to be alone, or he's hungry, so he's definitely a more quiet baby. He's my perfect baby #3!
To see David's birth story, click HERE. To see details about Andrew's birth and his first few weeks, click HERE.
Alright, I've bored you enough with the details. Here are some pictures!
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| One of his first pictures, taken at the hospital. |
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| It almost looks like he's praying. |
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| This boy smiles in his sleep quite a bit! This is the best picture I could get, just as he stopped smiling so big. |
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| Welcome to the world, Austin! |
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| Confused? Upset? Befuddled with life in general? I don't think we'll ever know. |
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| Sleeping peacefully |
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| Taken earlier today, modeling some sock-monkey inspired crocheted items made by my old room mate's mom. |
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| Would this make a good Halloween costume, do you think? |
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Jeffrey R. Holland
Jeffrey R. Holland is one of my favorite people ever. When he talks at conference, it's like he's speaking just to me. I think part of it is the way he speaks - full of inflection and passion that makes it very clear what he's trying to convey. Don't get me wrong; I love the other apostles and love their talks. It's just that some of them speak so quietly, so soothingly, it's like a grandfather reading a grandchild a bedtime story. Lovely to listen to, but can make me sleepy.
Is it terrible that I feel this way?
Anyway, my sister sent me a link to this blog where a girl talks about a BYU devotional given by Elder Holland. It's about love and dating, and how it's connected to Heavenly Father. There's a quote from that devotional that I loved, and I wanted to share it.
"I suppose no one is as handsome or as beautiful as he or she wishes, or as brilliant in school or as witty in speech or as wealthy as we would like, but in a world of varied talents and fortunes that we can't always command, I think that makes even more attractive the qualities we can command - such qualities as thoughtfulness, patience, a kind word, and true delight in the accomplishment of another. These cost us nothing, and they can mean everything to the one who receives them."
Isn't that wonderful? It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. There are days where I don't feel attractive - especially now when I have spit up on me and I haven't showered in 3 days - but Heavenly Father doesn't look at our outward appearance. He looks at our hearts, and when we're beautiful on the inside, it shows on the outside.
Is it terrible that I feel this way?
Anyway, my sister sent me a link to this blog where a girl talks about a BYU devotional given by Elder Holland. It's about love and dating, and how it's connected to Heavenly Father. There's a quote from that devotional that I loved, and I wanted to share it.
"I suppose no one is as handsome or as beautiful as he or she wishes, or as brilliant in school or as witty in speech or as wealthy as we would like, but in a world of varied talents and fortunes that we can't always command, I think that makes even more attractive the qualities we can command - such qualities as thoughtfulness, patience, a kind word, and true delight in the accomplishment of another. These cost us nothing, and they can mean everything to the one who receives them."
Isn't that wonderful? It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. There are days where I don't feel attractive - especially now when I have spit up on me and I haven't showered in 3 days - but Heavenly Father doesn't look at our outward appearance. He looks at our hearts, and when we're beautiful on the inside, it shows on the outside.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Dessert
"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie." -Jim Davis
My poor brain. I think it's dying a slow and painful death. I've been so frazzled the last couple of days...
And all I keep thinking around meal times is how much I just wish I could eat dessert for every meal. Especially these:
Or this:
Or this:
Or these:
Honestly, there are a ton of others that I can think of (oh, like ice cream!), but I won't mention those. You're probably salivating with me already; no need to taunt you any more than necessary!
My poor brain. I think it's dying a slow and painful death. I've been so frazzled the last couple of days...
And all I keep thinking around meal times is how much I just wish I could eat dessert for every meal. Especially these:
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| Ooh, I really want to try the pumpkin spice ones! |
Or this:
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| I love apple pie and French silk pie and pumpkin pie and pecan pie and.... |
Or this:
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| The plain Jane version is my favorite, although adding a bit of chocolate or fruit would be acceptable. Lol! |
Or these:
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| Any variety, just about, will do. But kinds with frosting or white chocolate chips would be the best! |
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Gimme gimme gimme!
It's been a little while. That's because I had my baby. Surprise! I'll tell you more about that maybe tomorrow. It's getting late, and I had something else I wanted to say.
Well, actually, I wanted to complain. Haha! So, if you don't want to read about it, just skip this post.
Ok. So, I'm breastfeeding my baby boy, Austin. Can I just say that I've forgotten how ravenous I get when I'm nursing? Oh my word. It just hit me today, and Austin is a little over 2 weeks old, so I thought it would hit me before, but no. I just feel like I want to eat everything! And I pretty much have eaten everything, or at least everything snack-y. I'm too tired (and we're too poor!) to make another meal or something more filling.
Pretty much this is the gist of this entry:
I'M HUNGRY!
The end.
Well, actually, I wanted to complain. Haha! So, if you don't want to read about it, just skip this post.
Ok. So, I'm breastfeeding my baby boy, Austin. Can I just say that I've forgotten how ravenous I get when I'm nursing? Oh my word. It just hit me today, and Austin is a little over 2 weeks old, so I thought it would hit me before, but no. I just feel like I want to eat everything! And I pretty much have eaten everything, or at least everything snack-y. I'm too tired (and we're too poor!) to make another meal or something more filling.
Pretty much this is the gist of this entry:
I'M HUNGRY!
The end.
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