Baby Darnell is a...

GIRL!

So I know you guys all know this, but I've had some stressful weeks. But finally, I'm posting it.

A few of my new mommy friends have told me to hold of buying clothes, since everyone likes to give clothes as presents, but I couldn't help myself. Matt and I actually did find out at the first ultrasound that she was a girl, but the midwife was only guessing because the crossed legs made it very hard to see. But my 20 week ultrasound confirmed our midwife's guess! That first time, we went out and bought one pink sleeper, just in case she was right, because we wanted to pick out something together. After my confirmation ultrasound, I had to go buy just a few more items because we REALLY knew who she was :)  Here are the pictures of the adorable clothes we got:

Look! Purple! And kitties! So adorable. 0-3 months

Kitties!  0-3 months

I had to buy this outfit set. Her daddy loves ducks :) Newborn 

SCORE! I found puppies, which are usually on baby boy clothes! And they're purple! 3-6 months

This is the outfit we bought after the midwife's guess. Daddy loves her :) We picked it out in hopes that she can come home from the hospital in this, but even though it says 0-3 months, this looks way more like 3-6 months to me. (Sorry the picture is sideways, I can't figure out how to adjust this)

Auntie Rayla actually bought this! Pajamas for her when she's about 24 months

And I could absolutely not pass this up when I saw it. American Cutie :) I knew her daddy would approve. And of course, in our house, America anything is appropriate all year long :) 0-3 months 

Addicted to Smoothies

I love smoothies. It's how I get my fruits and vegetable in throughout the day. Plus, they're delicious. I recently tried adding spinach to my smoothies. I was so skeptical about it, but you really can't taste it in there! What an excellent way to add fiber and minerals to your diet without tasting it! So now I always have a bag of baby spinach in the fridge to add to smoothies.

Here's the one I made today.

Spinach
Orange Juice
Frozen Blueberries (if you don't have anything frozen, you must add ice to make it cold)
Fresh Strawberries
A Banana (with some of it going to the dog, of course :)
Orange sherbet

Yummy yummy!

Baby's Gender

Well, this is a little on the late side, but you must forgive me, I have had A LOT on my mind. A lot.

We TRIED to find out the baby's gender on Friday, but the baby was uncooperative and kept the legs crossed! How mean! At least our baby is modest, right? Anyways, our midwife did make guess based on what she could see, so I will find out this Friday on my 20 week ultrasound if her guess in correct.

So keep your fingers crossed that the legs stay uncrossed!

Ramblings of a Pregnant Woman

Ok, seriously. Those of us who are prone to klutziness should just get a pass from Mother Nature and have the stork deliver our babies to us. After all, it's not our fault that chairs and walls attack us for no reason whatsoever. And as we get bigger and more off-balance, those walls and chairs become even more sinister. You can almost hear their evil cackling laughter.

Thankfully, purple is my favorite color :)

Predicting the Baby's Gender!

Friday's the big day! At least the biggest day before the baby's arrival, anyway. We find out if we're having a little girl or a little boy! Needless to say, we're SUPER excited :)

However, nothing is one hundred percent accurate when guessing the baby's gender, except running DNA. Even ultrasounds can sometimes be hard to see. Everyone's heard of those old wife's tales, and some people swear by them. I don't believe in any of them at all, but it's REALLY fun to compare them to yourself and find out later if they were right.

So what do the old wife's tale say I will be having?

1. Carrying high or low. High: girl, Low: boy
      -Well, I honestly have no idea. I'm not showing a lot yet. I also have a fairly wide pelvic structure, so right now I feel I'm showing everywhere, haha. I did just get a text from one of my friends that said I'm carrying low, so point goes to the boy I guess!

2. Baby's Heartbeat. 140+ is girl, <140 boy="" p="">     -This one doesn't give points to either. Why? Because the last time we had an appointment, the heartbeat was 140. Sneaky baby :)

3. Cravings. Sweet cravings means girl, salty or sour cravings means boys.
     -Haha, again this one is inexplicable. I haven't had any cravings! I would say sweet, but I crave sweets when I'm not pregnant. I have been eating more potato chips lately, but that just might be me using pregnancy as an excuse to buy them. So again, no score.

4. Chinese Birth Calender.
     -This takes your age at the baby's conception, and the month you conceived. Try it here.  Problem: I actually don't know what age I was, since at our best guess conception was around my birthday. So this baby is being very very sneaky.

5. Mayans Even and Odd.
     -This is also like the Chinese calender, but this takes my age and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If there is both an even and odd number, it's a boy. So for the 4th time in a row, we have no answer. I'd like to know, though, how the Mayans or Chinese figured this out I have no clue, since age of conception and the year have absolutely nothing to do with a baby's gender.

6. Face Breaking Out. More acne is girl, less acne is boy.
     -The legend has it, a girl steals her mama's beauty, thus mama now breaks out like a teenager. Well, finally, one I can answer! My skin has never looked better, so point to the boy! Although, you know, it might be because of those prenatal vitamins, instead of the baby's gender, but whatever :)

7. Wedding Ring.
    -With this one, you tie your wedding ring to a string and hang it over your belly. If the ring swings in a circle, it's a boy, back and forth equals a girl. Point goes to the boy again!

8. Morning sickness. Really sick equals a girl, feeling fine equals a boy!
    -Finally a point to the girl! Even in to my second trimester, I have been getting sick. When I get a headache or a migraine (which is happening way more often in my pregnancy), I'm more likely to throw up than when I wasn't pregnant. I also had some serious nausea in my first trimester, to the point where I wouldn't eat anything all day because I was so queasy.

9. The linea nigra: It's a dark line that runs vertically on your belly.
     -Legend says if it goes down to the belly bottom, its a girl. If it continues farther than that, it's a boy. Well... I don't have one, so no points there!

10. Favorite Side Sleeping Position. Right: Girl Left: Boy
     -Point to the girl!

11. Soft or dry hands? Soft say girl, dry say boy
     -Dry says boy!

12. Clumsy or graceful? The XX makes you graceful, the XY makes you clumsy.
    -I'm clumsy to begin with, but I would definitely say I am even more clumsy now, so boy it is! I can't take my eyes off the sidewalk or I trip over myself.

13. Fuller face. If your face is fuller, it means a girl. No change is a boy.
    -Boy again!

14. Increased Mood Swings. If you're moodier, it's a girl!
     -Nope, it's a boy! I've either felt fine, or been too sick to be moody, haha

15. Baby Weight. If all the weight is in front, it's a boy. If it's spaced all around, it's a girl.
    -I'd say girl. But then again, it's still early, so I'm not showing/carrying a whole lot yet.

So what's the verdict? 3 points to a girl, 7 points to boy, and a whole bunch I couldn't answer! We'll see on Friday if those old wives were right!

Pork Chops with Dijon Gravy

I grew up not really enjoying pork chops, since they were always dry. Matt doesn't really like them, either. But guess what?! After tonight I got, and I quote, "I don't really like pork chops, but I REALLY like yours." Yay! I love getting compliments about my food. :)

These pork chops take minimal work. Seriously, it would be hard to mess these up. And they're super flavorful and very moist. Dry pork is the WORST, but these are far from that :) I made a pan gravy while the pork rested. Served with a veggie and roasted potatoes, these make a fabulous well rounded meal. Yummy yummy!

For the pork chops:

Two bone-in pork chops (please, use bone in. That's key to juicy, yummy pork. Boneless will dry out like you won't believe)
Salt
Pepper
Herbs de Provence (Or you can use whatever seasonings you want, but Herbs de Provence tastes really good with dijon mustard)
Butter (I know, I know. Sorry).

1. Melt some butter in the bottom of a pan over medium heat. You need enough to cover the whole bottom
2. Season both sides of the pork with salt, pepper, and the seasonings
3. Place the pork in the pan. Cook for 7 minutes. Flip, add more butter if needed, and continue to cook for 7 more minutes
4. Remove from pan and rest

For the pan gravy:

Flour
Dijon mustard
Milk
Salt
Butter, if needed

1. Turn the pan down to low. Using the drippings (mainly butter) from the pan, sprinkle some flour in the pan and whisk with the drippings. You only need enough flour to make a one-to-one ratio. You can do less, but definitely do not do more than one-to-one with the flour, or your gravy will be really thick.

2. Whisk in the milk and the Dijon mustard, along with a sprinkling of salt. Sorry I don't really do measurements, just eyeball it. Your gravy will become thick. If you want it thicker, continue adding milk and Dijon. Also, if you want a thinner gravy, use less flour in step one. You can also add more butter at this time. Heat through.

Serve the gravy with the pork chops. Yummy!

Notes:

If you don't like Dijon mustard, just leave it out. Without the Dijon, you'll make just a regular ol' pan gravy, which is just as delicious :)

You can try making an even thinner/healthier gravy by using chicken stock instead of milk.

Pregnancy Update

Alright, here's the run down: I'm not really enjoying being pregnant. Sure, I'm super excited to be a mommy, and I feel blessed that I get to experience growing a little human inside me, but unfortunately, that doesn't prevent it from sucking sometimes. I feel really guilty about it, but I can't help with how I feel.

It's so hard to explain what pregnancy is like to anyone who has never experienced before. Heck, even women who have experienced it might not understand, since pregnancy is so different for everyone. But here's the truth: everything in your body has the potential to stop working normally. Things you didn't even know could be effected b pregnancy are. Everyone knows about the backaches and the morning sickness. But did you know you can be congested through your whole pregnancy? Yup. Since you carrying 7 liters of extra blood in your body, your nasal passages swell and increase in pressure, thus causing congestion. So you basically have the sniffles for up to 9 months. You can become intolerant of certain foods and smells. Some women experience headaches. Your feet swell, your eye sight can get worse, your joints (even joints you did not know existed) ache and cause pain. Everyday activities make you short of breath and more tired than normal. You have to adjust your sleeping position. You can't take anything but Tylenol. You start gaining weight, and with that come ligament and muscle cramps in your abdomen because everything is stretching. You can't eat as much anymore in one sitting, but some days you can't tame your hunger. Your digestive system stops functioning. And lets not forget that your bladder is all of a sudden three sizes too small and you have to constantly use the bathroom. I haven't slept through the night for the last three months because of this. Actually, I usually wake up twice. Guess the baby's preparing me for when he/she gets here :)

For some women, they get hardly any of these. Their morning sickness lasts for only the first trimester, and other than aches and pains and the constant bathroom use, they're fine. Some of us, though, are highly uncomfortable. I happen to suffer from migraines. In the past four days, I have experienced two. I have woken up with them, and they are accompanied by extreme neck pain. I then proceed to get sick all morning (two days ago I couldn't keep anything down until dinner). Tylenol didn't even work because I threw that up, too. All I can do is stay in my house and hope that it eventually goes away.

And this is all just the physical side effects. There are a lot of emotional side effects, too. I pretty much much experience everything from sheer joy to full on panic. I love my baby, I'm so excited to have one, but I'm also nervous and overwhelmed and in disbelief. "Is this really happening to me? Finally?" "I get to be a mommy! The only thing I've ever wanted in life!" "Oh goodness, it's never going to just be me and Matt. Ever again." "Holy cow I get to be a mommy! And buy lots of cute things for my baby." "Oh I hope I don't screw up raising this baby." "Ugh I'm going to get so big!" "Oh my goodness I actually have to push that out of me!" "When do I get to feel the baby move?" "Oh my gosh what if it's a miscarriage?" It's natural for all of these things to go through your head. Sure, everyone knows that pregnant woman get big. But when it actually becomes a reality, you kind of fight it. Even though it's for a good reason, I fought with my weight gain. Does any woman really want to gain weight? Not really. And there's nothing like the reality that eventually, that baby WILL be coming out. Very painfully. And there's nothing you can do about it. I have always looked forward to pregnancy. But nothing- I repeat, NOTHING- can prepare you for it until it actually happens to you. You also can't predict who you will react, or feel, or how easy your pregnancy will be until you're going through it.

Like I said, I'm so glad I get to experience this. There's nothing quite like. On days when I feel good, I enjoy being pregnant and embrace it. Those days, however, that suck, REALLY SUCK. Unfortunately for me, I have more sucky days than good days. I wish more than anything that I could flip that, but this pregnancy doesn't want me to roll that way. That's life. So believe me, I take advantage of the days I feel great. I walk the dog a lot, clean the house, and stay active. The days that I'm feeling like crap, I take it easy and just hope it gets better as I get farther along.

So believe me when I say, I can't wait for this baby to get here! Sure, I'll be exhausted, my house will be neglected, and I won't sleep for about 3 months, but I'm pretty sure having that little baby in my arms will make me forget all about that :) Only about 21 1/2 weeks to go!

Egg Drop Soup

Yay, I'm feeling better! Which means I am getting back to my kitchen and cooking more and more. However, since I'm pregnant, I can't eat as much in one sitting anymore, so I feel like I'm in the kitchen even more than I was before.

One of my favorite things to "make" when I was younger for lunches was Egg Drop soup. In my family, though, we used the little packet. I never tried it to make it from scratch, so I hadn't had it in a long time, until I found this recipe for Egg Drop soup - from scratch!

I love making soup, even in the warm summer weather. Especially now, with the warm weather coming and my pregnancy, it's really important keep hydrated. Broth soups definitely help me keep hydrated, and they are super easy to make and clean up afterwards.

I really wanted to make this recipe, but I only had about half the ingredients, so I just winged it and made it my own. I must say, it came out delicious.

1. Chop up about an 1/8 of an onion. I probably had no more than a 1/4 cup. Place in a small pot with about 1/2 tbsp of oil. When the onion is just about done, add some red pepper flakes to the pan. Quickly add two boullion cubes (or enough for 2 cups of water) and 2 cups of water. Boil until the boullion cubes are dissolved.

2. In a small bowl, beat up one egg. Once the cubes are dissolved, lower the heat. Stir the soup in one direction to get a whirlpool effect going in the pot. Slowly drizzle the egg in to the whirlpool, to make egg threads. Once the egg is cooked (this takes only seconds, really), add in a handful of spinach and continue to cook for a minute or two.

Then eat! I drizzled a little bit of sesame oil into my bowl to add a little more flavor to the soup. It was fantastic. Quick, easy, and delicious :)