art for the nursery...want!

LOVE these. I want the unicorn one...it reminds me of when I told my sister (and she believed everything I said to be true when she was four years old) that if we were animals, she'd be a dirty monkey and I'd be a magical unicorn.

You can buy them here. I wonder if I can get a friend to recreate my own version...

dessert tonight

What used to be my signature cookie - triple chocolate. Definitely not clean. Very sad, this is.

I've been attempting to keep my eating relatively "clean" to lose the last ten prego-pounds (for more on eating clean, check out this fantastic site I just discovered), but I still have the WORST sweet tooth ever. So I'm constantly on the hunt for healthy treats. Tonight I'm trying fudge cakes with...get ready...black beans! I've made them before, and they do the trick for me. Just be prepared; they're not going to taste like delectable, fudgy brownies. But they work in a pinch when I have a hankering for chocolate. Here's the recipe, courtesy of Clean Eating magazine.

Black Bean Fudge Cakes
INGREDIENTS
Olive oil cooking spray
1 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa or greater)
1 1/2 cups soft-cooked black beans, rinsed and drained (I used a full 15 oz can)
2 eggs
1 egg white
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 heaped cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup honey
1/4 to 1/2 cup unsalted walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Mist an 8-inch square with cooking spray.

Melt dark chocolate in a small saucepan over low with 1 tbsp water mixed in.

Combine melted chocolate, beans, eggs, egg white, oil, cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla, applesauce and honey in a food processor; process until smooth. Stir in walnuts and pour mixture into prepared baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides, about 30 minutes.

Garnish each piece with a dollop of nonfat Greek-style yogurt, if desired.

Nurients per serving: Calories 230 / Total Fat 12 g / Sat. Fat 2 g / Carbs 28 g/ Fiber 4 g / Sugar 19 g / Protein 5 g / Sodium 120 mg/ Cholesterol 45 mg

jinx!

I regret writing my last post. Yep, our girl threw her semi-sched out the window. She's been a bit fussy and restless at night which is out of character for her. Off I go to google "get your baby to sleep through the night!"

i totally relate to this

The crying game. A great blog entry/article by a local writer.

Isla is now in somewhat of a sleeping pattern at night. We waited six weeks, and were sure she was gaining and feeding well, before attempting to stretch out night feeds so we get a few more hours of shuteye between. Before I was feeding every two hours. Now our nights have been looking like this (keep in mind this is only four days...I suppose it could change any time!)

10:30-11 - I zip Isla up in her sleep sack, and into the cradle she goes after a few goodnight kisses. I'm trying to work towards a 9 pm bedtime, but the nights just go by so fast! After a few minutes of grunting, she's asleep.

3:20 - She wakes up to eat! We're back in bed around 4. It takes her about 20 minutes to fall back asleep.

7:20 - Hungry again! This time she's wide awake until about 9. Around then she falls into a deep, deep sleep until 11 am. I usually take her in bed with me and we both snooze for a couple needed hours.

So this little schedule I can live with...although the nights are long (essentially 12 hours!), I get close to 7 or 8 hours of actual sleep, which is amazing.

But who knows? Next week could bring something totally different!

look ma!

mama baby style...on the cheap!

Or at least my first documented attempt at it!

Top: Old Navy Maternity (my last maternity piece of clothing, I swear!), secondhand 

Jeans: Buffalo, $20 at a crazy sale a few years ago

Boots: yep, the new ones! Sorry you can't see them! Aldo, $108 on sale (originally $200)

Belt: American Eagle, $30

Necklace: gift

I'm in love with Isla's hat...a friend crocheted it. What a beautiful job she did. We get compliments on it all the time. I need my own version ;)

Sidenote - LOVING a high bun. Easy, and works even better with greasy hair! A major bonus since I'm not showering as often as I probably should these days. Check out this awesome tutorial on the Daybook (my current blog obsession).

scary!

I promise I won't post these videos regularly...just couldn't help myself with this one. Made me smile.

PS - Isla weighs 10 lbs 4 oz...woohoo! Almost four pounds put on since her birth - so glad that breastfeeding is going well! Now if only that conehead would smooth out a bit... I kid, I kid.

six weeks

Trav tried to lighten the mood before I went into the OR...I was so nervous and couldn't stop shaking. Managed to smile for a photo op though!

Finally able to hold my babes after being so sick from the anaesthetic and try nursing.

Poor Isla was so squished and breech inside that her legs stayed splayed out for a couple weeks. Flexible girl!

Finally going home. All of our clothes were too big for her.

Home at last! (And check out that conehead! Sorry Isla! ;))

Isla is six weeks today. That went by in a blur! But on the other hand, we've come a long way since those days in the hospital. I plan to start writing my birth story tomorrow (after Isla's doctor appointment), as well as get a handle on writing 40 thank you cards - eep!

tummy time

me and a bit of isla

A good friend of mine offered up her sister's maternity photographic skillz for my shower present. Awesomeness! Here's a few of the mostly PG ones...some are pretty risque! I wasn't initially big on the idea of capturing my engorged stomach plus additional fat cells plus preggo puffiness, but now I'm glad I did. I mean, years later I think I'll appreciate it.

If you want to check out more of Jessica's work, visit http://vintageduckphotography.blogspot.com/

a bit bad ass...even for me

That's tongue-in-cheek by the way. Anyway, I ordered these Aldo leather boots online (I was itching to shop but haven't been leaving the house too much these days.) AND...half price! Score. Bought with my birthday money...double score. Stay tuned for how I style them...can't you just picture them pairing perfectly with my rugged stroller?

yep, i'm one of those moms

I'm part of that complainy cliche now, but I just have to get it off my chest...we had some friends over the other night. One of them innocently asked me (and don't get me wrong, she's a doll): "So, what do you do all day now?"

Um, what?

Believe it or not, taking care of a mini-human takes about 20 hours out of your day.

That is all.

back with a vengeance

Ok, maybe not with a vengeance. No one would want to read angry, vengeful blog posts, right? Or maybe they would...?

Anyway, I'm not angry or vengeful. Quite the opposite! Busy adjusting to life with our new baby girl. Isla was five weeks Monday. Wow! I laughed to myself when I was perusing some old posts of mine - I mentioned that we wanted to start a family in five years. Bah ha ha! I wrote that about 10 days before we conceived. Nice. (Wait..is it weird you now know the day we conceived?)

Better stop there. Anyway, a longwinded way to say I'm happy to be back!