Easy Recipes: Lamb and Spaghetti Sauce over Quinoa

With a new baby in the house, we are trying to eat well.  However, we don't always have the time for things we used to.  Thus, "easy recipes."  I had purchased a cheaper package of lamb...not sure now what it was.  Perhaps a lamb chop.  Either way, it was a couple chunks of lamb without bones.  I threw that in the crock-pot frozen and covered it with about half a jar of spaghetti sauce.  Cooked on high for 3 hours and turned it down to low until dinner time.  Andrew cooked up a batch of quinoa, we shredded the meat in the sauce and served it over the quinoa with sauteed green beans on the side.  It was tasty, easy and relatively healthy.  This would work with any meat.  It would be good over pasta, rice or a baked potato as well.

Check out more great recipes at: Pennywise Platter Thursday at the Nourishing Gourmet and the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap!

Mastitis...Making the Breast of It

Oh I know, lame joke of a title...my only excuse is I've been married to Andrew for almost 7 years now...and lame jokes are his forte!  

Anyway, back to the issue at hand.  Mastitis...or an infection in the breast.  Seriously, I guess I had to get something after having such an easy pregnancy and labor.  I feel like it wasn't a bad case of mastitis but it did give me fever and chills on Sunday and makes nursing on the left side nearly bring tears to my eyes. And get this, continuing to nurse is one of the ways to keep the infection down. Tylenol or ibuprofen and an antibiotic seem to be making a dent in the pain.  

People make breast feeding out to be this wonderful experience.  You are providing your child with this life giving nourishment...blah, blah, blah.  It is a good thing...however, it's a lot of work.  Hard work.  So, if you see a nursing mother be sure to remember, she's doing hard work! 

He's Here...a Birth Story! (Not too gory but definitely all there...just an FYI)

I can't believe he's really here (or that I'm sharing a picture of me right after birth).  Our little boy decided to make an early appearance on Monday.  Amazing!  

I started feeling uncomfortable around 1:30 am Monday morning.  Thought I was just having digestive issues...it can come with the territory you know.  Pretty soon I realized it wasn't digestive issues.  Soon there was nothing left in my stomach or the other way and around 4 am I realized that this was probably the real thing.  I tried waking Andrew up, telling him I thought I was having contractions.  He woke up enough to ask how close they were.  I told him I wasn't sure; they just seemed to keep coming!  Naturally, he fell back asleep.  

I went back to the other side of the house and focused on contractions for a bit longer.  Then, I called Andrew on his cell phone.  That finally got him out of bed since it was in the living room.  He came and rubbed my back for a bit and I told him we'd probably better start packing.  So, he ran around getting stuff I thought I'd need, took a shower, then I took a shower, and around 6:20 we headed over to the hospital.  At this point, things were feeling really uncomfortable.  Andrew dropped me off, went to park the car, and returned to find me kneeling on the floor over an ottoman.  Honestly, it was one of the best positions.  Some guy walked by while Andrew was gone and wondered if I was okay.  Absolutely; it was so much better than standing or sitting.

After much prompting, he finally got me on the elevator and up to the labor triage nurse.  She gets me hooked up and checks me and is somewhat surprised to find I'm already 6cm dilated.  By the time they got me all checked in and up to Labor and Delivery (approximately 40 minutes) I was at 8 cm.  Keeping in mind, 10 cm is the end goal.  It was all happening quite quick...but it sure didn't feel quick enough!  

Of course, when we checked in we found out that all of our midwives were at a training for the next two days.  So, a very nice doctor who works at the hospital ended up doing the delivery...but to be honest, it's really the Labor and Delivery nurse/s that do the hard work- just don't tell the doctors that!  

Turns out I'm a very internal person...do not touch me when I'm in labor.  I don't want you around and I surely don't want to be touched.  Our friend Kathleen got there around 8:30 ish.  Honestly, didn't do much for me but she was so wonderful for Andrew.  She reminded him to breath and was able to tell him how things were going to go.  Plus, afterwards she took great pictures for us.  So glad she could be there with us...I just didn't want to chat during the fact.

The Labor and Delivery nurse, Brenda, was awesome as well.  Really patient with me.  Asked me what my plan was...ummm...don't know.  Pretty much just want to have a baby.  Finally, she asked if I wanted to get in the tub.  YES!  That was the best plan.  The tub really helped.  When I got out of the tub, she checked me and I was fully dilated and she accidentally broke my water.  What a mess...labor is not a clean sport.  At that point, I was told I could push when my body told me to...since I wasn't on any drugs for pain I was assured I would know.  Let me tell you, you still don't really know until all of sudden and then it's like okay I'm going to push.  At 10:26 am, our little boy joined us.  What a relief.  At that point, I just felt relaxed, happy and done. And, maybe a little hungry :)

He's an 8lbs 8oz 21 inches long bundle of joy.  I've always questioned the sanity of having children, even after I got pregnant.  I'm sure I'll question it again, but for now, he's just the most perfect thing in my life.  And in no way am I upset he came 10 days early...that head was plenty big enough!  Hard to believe I was camping and kayaking over the weekend and giving birth on Monday.  He's a special boy ;)

PS. Andrew thought I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions until the triage nurse said I was 6cm dilated...seriously, I knew they were the real thing :)

Naturally Knocked Up

The title is stolen from a blog with the same name...check it out.  It's a great blog on fertility by someone who also has PCOS!

Photo taken December 19th, shortly after conception :)

Speaking of PCOS or polycystic ovary syndrome, I was diagnosed at 15 (as discussed before).  Within the next few years, I decided there was no way I was going to have children.  For one, I'm not terribly fond of most kids and for two, PCOS was going to make it difficult if not impossible to get pregnant.  Well, we know what usually happens when we say "never" but I digress.  I've never been fond of artificial fertility stuff either.  So, no children.  And, with poor self-esteem/body image I "knew" no guy was going to be interested anyway.

Then, I got a bit older and my cousin had her first kid.  Then, I joined the Mormon Church and everyone was having babies.  It started to not seem like such a bad idea.

Then, I got married (so much for no guy being interested) and eventually left the Mormon Church.  Married life was stressful and children again seemed like an unreasonable idea.

As we know, different things are important at different points in our life.  Suddenly, I became important...my health, both physical and mental became important.  Over a 2 year period, I lost over 60 pounds, became physically active, ate healthier, and worked hard to make strides in my self-esteem/body image.   

The PCOS was still there...but a child seemed like a possibility again.  So, Thanksgiving 2009, Andrew and I decided we were open to the idea of a child, through natural means, but that we weren't really going to "try."  Ironically, I was pregnant by Christmas.

I still have issues.  I still have problems with poor self-esteem, eating foods that make me feel like crap, not getting enough exercise, etc.  But, most of the time I know the difference.  I know things or issues aren't permanent...they ebb and flow.

On one hand, I joke that with how quickly I got pregnant, it is a good thing I wasn't promiscuous in high school.  On the other hand, I firmly believe that without the changes I made this would have never happened.

Really? (Corrected location for Bailey)

Once in a while life throws you a curve ball.  Recently, Andrew and I decided we were maybe probably ready to have a child.  And, that's how quick it happened; less than a month after that pivotal discussion.  No longer will it just be our little fur babies.  Now, we'll have a real human baby.  

Wish us luck :)