All posts by Becky

Non-stress test now done every week to monitor babies' heartbeats, contractions and mommy's patience!

The Question From Every Person I Know…HOW ARE YOU????

Ummm 34.5 weeks pregnant with twins…that’s how I feel! I’ll start by listing my top 10 “wish for” list and “miss list”.

I wish for and miss:

  1. I miss…being able to do laundry without it feeling like an Olympic event in which I’m certainly losing. The clothes are located on the 2nd floor, the washer and dryer in the basement.  I can drag the bag of clothes down the steps and hoist them into the washer, but getting them all out of the dryer HAHAHA.  I have to get instruments to help me reach the ones that stay in the back.  And bringing a basket back upstairs…ummm HELL NO!!!  Not happening this month!!
  2. I wish…every single thing I ate didn’t cause heartburn. Heartburn from the depths of hell that then lasts until the wee hours of the night.
  3. I wish…Baby A would get his food out of my pelvis (footling breech) and stop playing freaking hacky sack with my bladder. It feels like he’s regularly trying to escape his confinement.  Seriously, that boy has many months of swaddling ahead of him after the frat party he’s been having in there!
  4. I miss…Being able to BEND OVER period! The best $16 bucks I’ve spent this pregnancy has been on a grabber.  God forbid I lose that thing.  It’s my GO-GO-GADGET ARM!!!
  5. I wish…I could pull my underwear and pants up without all of the dramatic movements. And NEVER, NEVER let them go when you are sitting on the toilet.  Otherwise, that might be end-game for the rest of the day for that pair.
  6. I miss…going to the park with the dogs and kid. I can go, but get me too far from the bathroom and Baby A starts his hacky sack routine.  And your guess is as good as mine as to whether I’ll make it back to the restroom area or not.  Better not to chance it.
  7. I wish…I didn’t have multiple Dr. appointments each week. On one hand I love being able to check in on them frequently, but sometimes my “non-stress tests” last 1 hour sometimes almost 3.  It all just depends on who is cooperating that day.  And though it maybe be “non-stress” to the babies, me and Isaac sitting there for 3 hours is not “non-stress.”
  8. I miss…sleeping on my stomach…or back…or side….or basically anyway I choose! And getting out of bed is like an old episode of American Gladiators.  Disengage from pregnancy “snake pillow”, attempt to not disturb child who has snuck into bed, don’t disturb husband who has work in the morning, try to get to knees without crushing belly, crawl past sleeping dog who refuses to move after repeated attempts to push her off the bed and finally you are nearing the edge.  But then suddenly the edge is a lot closer than you thought and now you’re flailing so you don’t hit the floor.  Husband believes it’s the baby falling out of the bed and wildly grabs me and the dog is royally ticked because you tried to smash her and is now glaring at you from the floor.  Finally though I’m out of bed and hobble down the hallway because your legs feel like a Barbie dolls that someone tried to rip the legs off of.  Go to bathroom, get back to bed (again with monumental effort) and repeat in 2 hours…and again in 2 more.
  9. I miss…coffee…sushi…uncooked lunchmeat…and basically eating any fruit/veggie I want without worrying whether or not I washed it good enough or if I’ve contracted listeria! I still do have coffee, but as a major trigger of heartburn and the recommendation for 200 mg or less a day, I don’t have much often.  Soon though, I’m going to need stock in it!
  10. I miss…just normal activities being normal. Riding a bike, hiking, driving a car, going up and down steps, etc! I feel like so many activities I need a little help for which is okay, but at the same time I hate inconveniencing people (feel like my grandma now!).

But at 34.5 weeks pregnant with twins I’d still say I’m doing really well.  I have had almost no swelling versus my first “singleton” pregnancy.  My hands were swollen then, they were numb and my legs swelled so much you could see every shoe and sock indent.  I’ve had none of that this time and I think it’s because of cooler weather, an air conditioner that runs at 68 and lots of water consumption flushing the system.

As of my 34 week appointment I’ve only gained 20 lbs total!?!?  I made the nurse check twice because I couldn’t believe it.  I gained 35 with my “singleton” but a lot was due to water retention.  But still, I’d have thought I’d have gained more.

Babies are measuring very well.  At the last appointment 3.5 weeks ago they were both about 3 lbs 10 oz.  That means that each baby is the same size as someone at that time being pregnant with one baby.  Hopefully they keep up with the excellent growth rate but they have to be running out of room.

Baby B is in head down position and hopefully stays there but baby A is the “rare” footling breech.  I’m not sure how rare it is, but apparently it’s somewhat uncommon.  Basically at the last ultrasound he was bent in half with his head protruding out of my stomach and butt towards the back, and doing a split with one foot down in my pelvis and one foot I swear kicking my esophagus.  He’s able to change positions up until the bitter end so hopefully he gets his act together and goes head down.  If not, it will most certainly be a c-section.  And on the fun side, if my water breaks and he’s still in his split there’s the chance a foot could come out…at…any…MOMENT!?!?  That would make for a very, very interesting day and car ride to the hospital.  But overall, the breech isn’t that big of a deal other than it would require a c-section.  So say a little prayer he behaves soon.

And I still try to keep as active as I can.  I’m definitely slowing down versus a few weeks ago, but doing anything has become a challenge.  But activity keeps the blood flowing for me and for them and is an important part of any healthy pregnancy.  Granted most of my walking is in the house chasing dogs and crazy toddlers, but still I’d argue I’m getting in at least a mile or so a day.

34 weeks non-stress test
Non-stress test now done every week to monitor babies’ heartbeats, contractions and mommy’s patience!

July 30th is getting awfully close!

Will they be boys, girls or both!  We have cake cones for each!

The Twin Gender Reveal-Girls, Boys or BOTH? And why we wait to tell.

The REVEAL

So as we did when I was pregnant with Isaac, we waited until 20 weeks to tell my family.  We found out on my birthday, Friday, March 6th what we were expecting and pulled together the plan to reveal (okay, I was the mastermind here…Doug just wanted to blurt it out.  I wanted a little more theatrics).

But first I’ll answer a question.  You see, people always want to know why we wait.  And I always want to know why people don’t!  It’s definitely an exciting time when you’re expecting but it’s also an annoying time and a scary time.  When you find out your pregnant you can’t help but always think “I hope everything is okay in there.”   Did that nose spray I used when I was 4 weeks along hurt them?  Did the plague cause irreparable damage to their developing hearts?  Heck are they both still in there!?!  Then I’ve had so many friends that have had miscarriages very early in their pregnancies and have to tell everyone that this baby wasn’t meant for this world.  It’s not that it’s embarrassing, but more for me anyway, something I wouldn’t want to be questioned about.  But I get it, a lot of people have to share that joy immediately and my decision to wait is by far in the minority…call me weird.

But then as soon as you tell people you are pregnant, comes the onslaught of wisdom.  They immediately start telling you what you “should” and “shouldn’t” be doing.  They polish their Google MD degrees and start spouting off their wisdom.  You shouldn’t shovel snow…you shouldn’t drink tea…you should get rid of your pets…you should sit in front of the TV for the next 40 weeks and on and on and on.  Meanwhile I just want to scream “You should mind your own business!”  I know they mean well, but really, unless you catch me drinking hard liquor and smoking cigars when pregnant why not keep your opinions to yourself.  (I don’t smoke or drink even when not pregnant so don’t worry).

But I digress from the fun of the reveal.  So on March 6, we were at the doctor for 2.5 hours and had full anatomy scans done.  It’s pretty neat in that they are able to see each baby’s heart, kidneys, bladder, lobes of the brain and major bones.  They are also able to tell most of the time with some degree of certainty if they are girls or boys.  Though I have heard of a number of cases where the new expecting parents were told one gender only to find at a later ultrasound that they were in fact expecting the opposite!  I’ve also heard of twins turning into triplets, but after 2.5 hours with an ultrasound peaking in on my stomach, I’m fairly confident there are just 2.

So off I went to my parent’s house for my St. Patrick’s Day themed (at least in food) birthday party (and reveal party they didn’t know I had planned).  For this party, I volunteered to make cupcakes to use up some ingredients I had that I didn’t know how long they would keep (how convenient right?).  Doug and I spent time making ice cream cone cake pops for baby one and then little decorative cake balls for baby two.  The inside of each would represent the gender of the baby.  So a blue inside for boy and a pink inside for girl.  And on the outside we put an M&M on the top so people could choose which gender they thought the baby was.  Pink/purple for girl and blue/yellow for boy.

So right before it was time for “Happy Birthday” I had a sign stating that we were expecting.  The family all cheered, everyone was surprised they were incredulous that I could keep it secret for so long and they were excited to take part in the guessing game.  Everyone chose their cone and bit in.  BABY ONE IS A BOY!  They cheered, congratulated my dad on having a lot of trucks for baby one to play with along with my son and my sister also has a boy.

Gender Reveal Cake pop Cones boy 2
Boy cone
Gender Reveal Cake pop Cones girl 1
Girl cone

 

Gender Reveal Cake balls
Baby one is a BOY!

Then it was time for Happy Birthday.  Everyone sang their best (and worst) and cheered and were still rejoicing in the news of the new baby.  Then I hit them with round TWO.  Sign two was held up “God Laughed, 3+2=5” and that’s when things really started to get fun.  Shocked cries of OH MY GOSH, my aunt made a historical moment by remaining speechless, one uncle asked how this happened (I’ll let Doug answer that sometime) and then my grandmother after she finally understood the sign busts out with her own little secret.  “Oh yes, my Grandma Martin had 3 or 4 sets of twins…I think 3, but maybe 4.”  SAY WHAT??????? First, who the hell is this Grandma Martin I’ve never heard of?  Second, twins are in my DNA and no one told me????  Apparently, Grandma Martin was quite prolific and had 13 live children.  From memory, my grandmother doesn’t believe any of the twins made it, but Grandma Martin would have also had these children sometime in the 1800’s and lived in Czechoslovakia.  You see, when we talked to the doctor and I told him there were no twins I was aware of in our family.  So he attributed the twins to my age, liking to eat a lot of sweet potatoes (cultures that eat a lot of yams have a high incidence of twins), weight and random chance.  So while I was getting over my own little surprise of not being the anomaly of the family everyone was rioting about the gender of the second baby.

Out pops cake pan two with all of the little cake balls.  Everyone again picked their chosen gender and bit.  ANOTHER BOY!  Good thing I like the outdoors, reptiles and amphibians and playing sports, because it looks like we’ll have a lot of that in the future!  There will also come a time where I should never have to mow the lawn, shovel snow, carry groceries or worry about them coming home pregnant.  I will instead need to make sure they are raised to be polite and helpful gentlemen that treat others with respect and have amazing aim in the bathroom.  It’s a good thing I don’t mind cooking because that’s going to be a lot of BOY to feed.  I may also consider having a bathroom built with a urinal and me have a princess bathroom installed for my use only!  Doug is thrilled with the prospect of all boys.  He was hoping for one of each, but his second hope was for all boys.  He was worried about having to keep eyes on two girls!

Gender Reveal Cake balls 1
Boy and girl cake balls

 

Gender Reveal Cake balls boy
Baby 2 is a BOY! Two BOYS!

So let the BOY adventures begin!

19 weeks boy ultrasound
TWO BOYS!

 

 

Twins ultrasound 10 weeks

Go Big or GO HOME! TWINS COMING SOON!

20150317_142607Go big or GO HOME!

So we were excited about our new prospective little human.  At that point I was about 7 weeks along and Christmas was just about 10 days or so away.  I started to contact various groups in the Cleveland area about recommended OBGYN’s and specifically I was looking for one that was supportive of a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean).  With it being the holiday time a lot of people were slow to respond, but slowly I started to compile a list.  I started to look these doctors up, check their reviews and decide which I might like to call.  But before I knew it Christmas was here and I still hadn’t made my first OB appointment.  Christmas fell on a Thursday in 2014 so a lot of places were closed that Friday and Monday.  So finally on Tuesday, December 30th I got through to the doctor of my choice.  He had the best reviews, was VBAC friendly and seemed to have a more natural approach in general.  He was in-network and sounded like a perfect choice.  I called and after the nurse did a quick calculation she exclaimed, “OH! You’re almost 10 weeks along the doctor really likes to see people before 10 weeks.  She asked if I could come in in two hours that they’d squeeze me in.

So two hours later I was in the office with the doctor having my ultrasound done.  I was chatting away that we’d like to have 3 kids and my husband would like to have 4, but he was a bit delusional because we’re kind of older, yada, yada, yada and the doctor was really quiet.  So I stop and say, “Well am I still pregnant or not?”  When I was pregnant with Isaac I never really felt pregnant.  I ran with my dog until 38 weeks and really the only symptoms I had were tiredness from weeks 10 to 15, heartburn and lots of swelling later.  But otherwise, I was good.  This time, I had felt nauseated, exhausted and the heartburn had already started.  Doug teased me that it was a girl.  But the doctor, still doing his ultrasound thing says, “Oh yes, you’re definitely pregnant.  Do you want to see?”  So he turns the screen and I look.  He says see this here….that’s a baby.  And see this here, that’s a baby.  I nod my head, yup, great baby is still in there.  Phew.  But then he pauses, seeing I’m a little dense and says, “There are two babies….”   SAY WHAT????????  He says, “You’re having twins.”  I of course asked if he was sure, and he said definitely and I can see both of their hearts beating so you are good to go.  He said I was the fourth person in the office that day with twins (the epidemic!).

I’m usually anal retentive when I go the doctor and have a list of questions, but to hell with the list!!!  That list I brought no longer applied.   So I asked the only three questions that could come to mind.  1. Identical or fraternal.  He wasn’t sure.  They both are in their own sacs (safest type of twins), but that doesn’t mean anything as far as identical or fraternal.   Could have been two eggs that were fertilized at the same time (fraternal) or it could be one egg that was fertilized and split and each formed its own sac (identical).  He said the only way we’d know for sure until they were born was if they were boy/girl twins.  2. Was I at a higher risk of miscarriage?  Not really.  At 10 weeks with both heartbeats detected the miscarriage rate wasn’t that different versus a single pregnancy.  3. Can I still run with my dog? Yes, I can run with my dog and any other reasonable physical activity for as long as I felt comfortable.  Exercise is recommended.

As I left the doctor, I was at a crossroads.  I wanted to drive straight to Doug’s work to tell him, but at the same time, when would I ever have a chance for this sort of news again?!?  I drove home and made up two signs.  The first saying, “Our family plan 3+1=4 July 30, 2015”.  The second, “God Laughed.  3+2=5 July 30, 2015”.  I then printed out some ultrasound pictures.  I first printed out single pictures of one baby and then printed out the pictures with two babies.  I set up two stations in the house.  Station one featured sign 1 and single baby ultrasound.  Station two in the bathroom upstairs featured the multiple ultrasounds, sign 2 and a hidden camera.

Doug was at work a long time that night and didn’t get home until well after 7:30 pm.  I was eager to say the least!  He came in asked about the doctor.  I said it went well and they opted to do an ultrasound and look there are pictures.  He studied the pictures at station 1, asked a few more questions and went to the living room.  I then begged him to please get the pregnant woman her Chapstick upstairs in the bathroom.  That I NEEDED IT (not an outlandish request for an addict) and needed to finish dinner.  So he went upstairs and I snuck up behind him with my camera and watched him look at the pictures and sign at station 2.  He heard me on the steps, turned and said….”TWINS???”   This was followed by, “I thought you said there weren’t twins in your family!?!”  I said to my knowledge there aren’t!!  Then he started laughing and shaking his head.

We spent the night debating if they were boys, girls, both!?!  We’re still working on our budget and still working on Doug’s student loans so we also spent time discussing a plan.  Doug though was still in utter shock most of the night.  He did what I did earlier that day, and just kept repeating, “Twins…twins….twins.”  I had gone to the mall because I needed some Auntie Ann’s pretzel therapy and for Isaac and me to have a walk with humanity after news like that!  But Doug just sat at the dinner table refilling his wine glass and eating large amounts of ice cream!  We went to bed around 10 pm and at 2 am Doug got out of bed sat on the couch in the dark until I found him there the next morning at 7 am.  It took him a good day or two to adjust to the idea.  We looked at our health care plan to figure out what our maximum out of pocket would be since twins on average are born at 36 weeks and can require NICU stay time.  This time it was different from when Isaac was born because then I was working full-time and made good money and had corporate insurance.  Now Doug is just starting out at a practice and I’m at home taking care of Isaac and tutoring students and training dogs on the side.

I said this year was going to be quite the adventure.  I never disappoint!

Stayed tuned for girls, boys or BOTH!

20150317_142552

We’re Expecting in July!

Th20150317_142552e Discovery

In mid-December, I was sick as a dog.  Well actually, when I think about it, I don’t know why that statement exists, because really, my dogs are very rarely sick.  But anyway, I was sick.  A relative graciously didn’t let us know that their children were sick until we were at their birthday party (in the cesspool of snotty germs) and another gracious relative insisted the sickies give me a kiss.  Common sense apparently isn’t so common on that side.  Then to top it off, Doug and I planned to go indoor rock climbing with friends and the relative and one of the sick children was brought and coughed directly on my face.  No matter how many wet wipes I used, I had been INFECTED!

So shortly after the visit, I came down with the plague.  This particular plague resulted in non-stop coughing and eventually I lost my voice for weeks.  I wanted nothing more than to medicate myself with Nyquil and sleep, but my small human demands constant attention.  I had been exhausted beyond normal, but I just figured that was the plague.  But still, I had been doing my Insanity workout for the last month and tried to continue to do it when sick.  But within 5 minutes of starting the workout with Shaun T I’d find myself laying on the floor wanting to sleep!  We had just started trying for small human #2 so I figured I’d get a test to check.  Low and behold the faint line showed   I did some quick calculations and it looked like Isaac would have a new sibling come July 30th, 2015!  Now how to tell the husband and hope that the plague didn’t cause any harm.

For those of you that know me personally, you know I love a good prank or surprise.  Maybe this is because as a child I always wanted a surprise birthday party.  I don’t think I ever told my parents this, but I wanted the big one where people jumped out in hats, balloons, etc.  So maybe that’s why I’m compelled to have a little fun with events….or maybe I just like the entertainment.  Either way, I had to think of something good because when I told Doug I was pregnant with Isaac I was so shocked since we just started trying, I didn’t even think to be creative and just blurted it.

My husband is a Chiropractor.  He’s the straightest arrow I’ve ever met, couldn’t (and won’t) lie to save his life and has a fear of getting in trouble and doing something to offend people (all I can say is that apple fell far from the tree THANKFULLY!).  He’s meticulous as a Chiropractor and always treats everyone with respect.  That being said, people being people can sometimes say odd things and Doug always worries that he’ll offend them.  So I thought I’d perhaps have a little fun with this.  I spent a good hour that afternoon creating a very official letter from the Ohio Chiropractic Board.

Basically the letter told him that he had offended a patient and the patient was seeking judgment through the chiropractic board.  He was being summoned to appear in court before the board in order to discuss these claims.  I went on at the bottom of the letter to say that the patient felt he should; clean the litterbox more, exercise his dog more and make sure the laundry was taken to the basement.  It was signed by the very official chair of the Ohio State Chiropractic board…Haywood Jablomy (okay, okay, I messed up and put a y instead of an e….shoot me!).  PS.  If you aren’t laughing right now ask someone else to say the name Haywood Jablome out loud a few times.  If you still aren’t laughing…none of this will be funny and you better just go and watch CNN or something.

Anyway, in the letter I also wrapped up the positive pregnancy test in paper and sealed with tape.  I put the entire letter and wrapped test in a very official manila envelope that I printed his name on and I even took the time to cut stamps off of a piece of mail we received so they looked cancelled.  Then the waiting came.  I could hardly wait until he got home.

When he got home, I told him he had something official looking in the windowsill.  He took forever to get it but finally picked it up and Isaac and went to the living room to open it.  I tried to look like I was casually cleaning things around the living room.  As he started to read the letter he started to vigorously rub his head.  He told me to take Isaac that this was important and he had to read it now.  So I took Isaac and luckily he was engrossed in the letter otherwise my face would have been a dead giveaway.  I asked him what was wrong and he said it was a complaint!  He had no idea who!  He then turned his attention back to the letter mumbling and started to rip open the test.  He was utterly confused for a few seconds.  Then came the look of relief and excitement, but a little hesitation…because man…my letter was that good!

Apparently he only read the top part of the letter.  He never got to the litterbox or dog walking part and never looked at the name of the Chair of the Ohio State Chiropractic board.  He thought the test he opened was actually a “special pen” that he was sent to sign the paperwork to acknowledge that he read it.  I’ll admit, a little mean, very funny, and really you can only do things like that once and only when you know the person will be excited about the prank!

Oh why wouldn't you zip beloved pants!

How I Became “The Dog Show Floozy”

floo·zy   ˈflo͞ozē/

  • a girl or a woman who has a reputation for promiscuity.

Yup.  That’s me, the Dog Show Floozy.  What? You mean you haven’t seen my video and pictures circulated through Facebook, Youtube, and soon to be on Huffington Post?  Well if you haven’t…PHEW!!!! I haven’t either, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t out there waiting to creep up when I least expect it!

You see, unlike other “sporting” events, showing dogs is a somewhat fancy and formal event.  Though, if they ever start showing in swishy pants and casual tops I’ll embrace with glee!  Dog show people typically wear business suits, skirts, dresses, ties, bow ties and the signature “comfort shoes.”  Comfort shoes mean no heels, and something you can run with your dog in.  This also translates to shoes that often don’t match the outfit AT ALL.  I would get more dressed up for a dog show than I would to go to my former corporate job!

So anyway, I wanted to start this year off with a bang (and I did) and entered Envy, my Portuguese Water Dog, in a show near Cleveland for the first weekend in January.  But, much to my dismay, I started off January 2015 a little heavier than December 2014 (damn holiday festivities!) and found that many of my dog show suits would take an act of GOD himself to comfortably zip.  My trusty Spanx got it close…but God forbid I have to go to the bathroom at the dog show.  It’d all come undone like a house of cards…except that is kind of what happened.  Not the going to the bathroom part but….well the all coming undone.

The show was in an arena at a fair grounds so not as dressy as many of the other shows we had recently gone to.  So I dug and I dug in my closest and found a cute knee length black skirt with a little flow and a stretchy top to fit the “girth growth” bill, paired it with control top black panty hose and a turquoise shirt and coordinating vest.  PROBLEM SOLVED.  I was presentable, I had one of my beloved vests on, the skirt was black and not the ideal color for my dog, but she has a flashy neck so I’d just stand closer to her front when I stacked her and for me, the dilemma was solved.  Except…

You see, Envy is a wicked smart dog.  She’s like a rocket on the agility course, loves obedience and would like nothing more than to play with other dogs and jump in rivers and lakes all day.  But, she is NOT a fan of conformation dog shows.  I get it.  I probably wouldn’t want some stranger staring me down, feeling me up and making me be all “controlled” to assess my best and worst attributes compared to some standard.  But, I do enjoy them, and feel that a pretty girl like her should be a champion and let everyone know she does have some nice attributes to be checked out.  So before we go into the ring for her assessment, she needs a little pep talk outside the ring.  This is usually in the form of playing with a toy, doing tricks, jumping in the air and gaiting (aka mommy and dog running) back and forth.

So in my well put together outfit if I might brag, we run back and forth and play with her toys.  She’s happy.  She’s got her tail up, she’s play bowing at me, I’m making fun noises for her and all is right in HER world for a bit.  Oh, did I mention this is an arena?  You know, an arena, the kind where there’s a lower level and then a surrounding upper level…where you can be up in the upper level and look down to see all of the dogs and people that are about to go in the ring?  Yes, an arena…and we’re on the lower level doing our pep talk.

So as we play, a kind woman comes up behind me as I stop to check and see how close I am to ring time.  She gently puts her hand on my shoulder, leans in close and whispers in my ear, “I don’t want to alarm you, but your skirt is around your knees and your ASS is completely exposed.”  SAY WHAT?!?!?  She continues on to say she didn’t want me to be on “What Not to Wear: Dog Show Edition.”  And though I’ve never seen the show, I may be making my debut there soon!

I was betrayed.  Betrayed by my outfit, by my dog (she could have had the decency to give me a wink or nod) and betrayed by the damn control top panty hose.  Had I have went barelegged like I wanted to I’d have at least felt the draft!  But noooooo, it’s January in Cleveland aka minus 50 degrees so I wore panty hose and thick ones.

I graciously thanked my confidant and added “Well shoot, you figured out my secret weapon for this judge.”  I tried to do one of those crowd scans where you’re looking around at everyone to see who might be recording, but trying not to make it obvious, all the while trying to casually find the edge of the skirt to YANK back up.

To make matters worse, they were ending the class that was right before the the class I was supposed to go in.  So I wildly tried to tether the skirt back to my body by tucking it into my panty hose and HOPE that it stayed that way for my gallivant with Envy around the ring.

It stayed…to the best of my knowledge.

And that’s how we started off 2015 as “The Dog Show Floozy.”  Never a dull moment!  From now on I’m getting pants suits…and maybe my mother-in-law was right and I did corrupt her son…NOT! :)

Oh why wouldn't you zip beloved pants!
Oh why wouldn’t you zip beloved pants!

 

 

I think that about sums it up!  Powerful message to keep you on track.

2015 The Start of a New Year and New Adventures

What can I say, I LOVE THE START OF A NEW YEAR!  There’s always something special- something magical about a new year.  A fresh start, new adventures and new goals.  Of course, things still carry over from the previous year, but I always feel like a new year can mean new and different results.  2015 is going to be one of our most challenging years yet…I can feel it!


2013-Goodbye Pop

In previous years, Doug and I have made some sort of health/food resolution.  In 2013 we gave up pop for those fellow Northeast Ohioans and for the rest of you, we gave up soda.  So since 2013 neither one of us have drank any pop.  No Diet Coke (my previous vice), no Cherry Coke, no Sprites, not even an Orange Sunkist.  For Doug this was a very, very easy year.  He didn’t drink pop much to begin with, just the occasional can here or there or he did really like frozen Cokes and root beer floats.  But for me, I was drinking a Diet Coke from the vending machine every-single-DAY!  If you think about that money wasted (50 work weeks x 5 days a week x $1.50 a bottle = $375), I could have bought some really nice “stuff” or invested that money in a decent growth stock mutual fund with a 10% return and had about $973 in 10 years!  Talk about a lost opportunity!  But anyway I digress.

So we gave it up cold turkey on the first of the year.  You don’t really realize how addicted you are to something until you give it up.  The first month was challenging for me.  So many things triggered my “need” for a Coke.  Lunch time at work as a pick me up.  Going away parties at work.  Doritos, pizza and a need for coke.   Or the two really hard ones for me, free drinks available for the taking at work lunch meetings (FREE POP!!!) and when I would hear the “click/pop” of a can being opened or that telltale “hiss” of a bottle being opened.  It set me to drooling like one of Pavlov’s dogs!

But every time I said, “NO, no pop today” I found that I had more strength the next time.  A little over 2 years later and I’ve not touched a can of pop.  We originally did this because it was a waste of money, a waste of calories and we didn’t feel like the chemicals were probably that great for us.  Now recently I’ve seen people taking cans of Coke and using them to clean their toilets.  Yowza!  I can’t say I’ve seen any amazing health benefits, or mind clarity, but overall, I’m happy with the decision we made and don’t plan on guzzling a can any time soon.


 2014-Quitting Fast Food

In 2014, we decided to give up fast food.  This one was definitely a tough one for us.  We were by no means fast food junkies, but like most American’s we visited some fast food joint at least once or twice a week for our burger and fries or that delicious chicken sandwich.

There were a bunch of people that got a bit huffy about our choice stating, “Not all fast food is bad” and “Every fast food restaurant has a healthy option.”  And they’re right, I agree.  You can go to McDonald’s, Chick Fil A and Wendy’s and get healthy options, but that’s not what most people do.  And we weren’t different.  When we’d go, we’d get something delicious and then regret it afterwards.  I can’t tell you how many times I ate a grilled Chick Fil A sandwich…but it didn’t stop there.  I also had the amazing waffle fries and loved every single bite until the “after” set in.  The horrible heavy feeling in your stomach.  The one that left you feeling like you needed to exercise immediately.

So on New Years 2013 we decided to buy some of the greasiest food we could.  We went to Mc Donalds and bought Big Macs and Large Fries and then wrote how we felt while eating it.  We took that Post It note and hung it on the side of the refrigerator as a reminder.

I think that about sums it up!  Powerful message to keep you on track.
I think that about sums it up! Powerful message to keep you on track.

It’s been tough at times, especially when seeing Chick Fil A or Wendy’s, but if we remember back to how we felt after our Mc Donalds binge, it makes it quite a bit easier.  The hardest part is defining what fast food really is.  So we defined it as chain places like Mc Donalds, Wendy’s, Arby’s, etc where you could pull up and get a fast meal.  And though we vowed we wouldn’t eat meals from these places, but we didn’t eliminate drinks.  We travel quite a bit by car are recognize that sometimes the only place to stop to get a coffee or refill our water would be a fast food place.  Doug also requested that we not eliminate the ice cream from fast food places (ridiculous, I know!).  He loves an occasional ice cream cone from Mc Donalds because 1. they’re good, 2. they’re cheap!

Places that we do still eat at: Subway, Quiznos, Jimmy Johns, Qdoba and Chipotle.  Yes, I think they are still probably dangerously close to “fast food”, but for most of them, you have to leave your car and the meal is made fresh in front of you.  Calorie wise I know some of the choices might have a greater calorie intake versus something like a salad at Mc Donalds, but the other temptations aren’t there.  To my knowledge you can’t get a fries or the like at any of these.  And for those most part I feel these are more wholesome meal choices for us.


 2015-What’s Next?  Counting pennies…

For 2015, we took a little turn from the food/health resolutions and will instead be focusing on sticking to our budget.  A couple of years prior to marrying Doug I paid off $50,000 in about 18 months by sticking religiously to a budget.  And keep in mind, I wasn’t making too much more than $50,000 a year at that time!  Doug’s student loans are well over my mere $50,000, but we’ll be planning our budget each month and sticking to it.  We’re dedicated to paying off his student loans as quickly as possible so we can spend and give our money on/to things that really matter instead of making interest donations each month to the federal government.  Student loan debt is our ONLY debt and it’s the constant “elephant in the room.”  If you’ve never heard of Dave Ramsey before stay tuned because we’ll be using some of his principles to “clean up our debt mess!”

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Homemade Apple Chips Perfect for Little Hands

I’m not sure who wins the easy contest, apple chips or the applesauce?!

The apple chips are the perfect snack food for you or your baby.  I love to leave them out on the counter and snack on them throughout the day or give them to the baby while I get his lunch ready.  He loves to crunch on them and the literally melt in your mouth.

First, like the applesauce you need to wash the apples well.  I put them in a sink filled with water and 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar.  I let them sit for 10 minutes or so and then drain and rinse well.

Next, I take the WHOLE APPLE and put it in the food processor on the slice setting.  One by one, I slice the apples.  In total, I can only fit 5 or 6 sliced apples in my food dehydrator, so make sure you keep that in mind and don’t go wild slicing only to find they won’t fit.

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Next you have two options.  Method 1, I put the sliced apples into a bag that I had 3 tablespoons real maple syrup and 2 tablespoons cinnamon.  I seal the bag with the apples, maple syrup mixture and air and shake it to get all of the slices coated.  The second method, I just lay the apples out on the dehydrator and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Try them both and see which you prefer.  I like the sweetness of method 1, but method 2 obviously is more wholesome for your family.

Apples after shaking in the maple syrup cinnamon mix!
Apples after shaking in the maple syrup cinnamon mix!

After you’ve prepped the apples if using method 1, you’ll need to lay them out on the layers of your dehydrator.  Try not to overlap too much or they will “bake” together into one large lump.  Also, when I first started doing apple chips I would spend a lot of time picking out seeds and whatnot, but now, I just bake with them on and find they fall out a lot easier when they are baked.

 

I let them sit in the dehydrator overnight (about 8 hours) and they are nice and crisp in the morning.  I honestly could make these every week I’m so in love with them!

Apples arranged before dehydrating
Apples arranged before dehydrating
And after a night in the dehydrator...notice some appear to be missing...the husband LOVES these too!
And after a night in the dehydrator…notice some appear to be missing…the husband LOVES these too!
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Apple chips are perfect for little hands!

 

Apples made using method 2 with sprinkled cinnamon on top.
Apples made using method 2 with sprinkled cinnamon on top.
I used a large pot full of apples, with 1 cup water and a heavy dose of cinnamon.  I put the lid on and cooked on low.

Easy DIY Applesauce in Slow Cooker or on the Stove

Applesauce is perfect for all of those leftover apples.  Applesauce is versatile.  Use it in baking as a substitute for oil, butter or eggs, use as a sauce for pork, as an easy snack for babies or just eat it as is in it’s simplistic deliciousness.

I like the idea of getting extra fiber when I eat and use applesauce so I do mine a little different then you’d normally see.

First I wash all of the apples really well.  I put them in a sink filled with water and 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar.  I let them sit for 10 minutes or so and then drain and rinse well.

Next, I slice the apples with my apple slicer/corer WITH THE PEEL ON!  I used to spend endless amounts of time peeling apples always feeling like, “Here goes that heart healthy fiber!”  So I now slice with the peels ON.  I just start accumulating all of the slices in a large pot that I’ll use on the stove.  I’ve also used my slow cooker to cook this all day.  The choice is your’s what you use.  The benefit of the slow cooker versus the stove is that you can use a slow cooker liner  and it eliminates a lot of the cleanup.  Either way add the apples to the pot or crockpot, add a cup or two of water and get cooking!

I used a large pot full of apples, with 1 cup water and a heavy dose of cinnamon.  I put the lid on and cooked on low.
I used a large pot full of apples, with 1 cup water and a heavy dose of cinnamon. I put the lid on and cooked on low.

If you are using the crockpot, I cooked on low for 4 to 6 hours.  For the stove, I cooked on medium heat until the apples were soft enough to be cut with a spoon.  If you love cinnamon like we do, feel free to add some.  I don’t have an exact measurement, just add tablespoon or so.  An alternative is you can add the cinnamon after you’ve put the apples in a food processor or Magic Bullet.  NOTE: I do NOT add sugar to my apples. I’ve found that they are sweet enough as is.  But if you want to add sugar you can start with 1/2 cup brown sugar.  But be daring, try it without sugar and I doubt you’ll be disappointed!

See how much the apples cooked down over the course of 40 minutes?
See how much the apples cooked down over the course of 40 minutes?

Once you can cut the apples with a spoon, pour them into a food processor and pulse until you can’t detect peels and the mixture looks smooth.

I've placed the apples into the food processor and pulsed until smooth.  I've also used the Magic Bullet when I do smaller batches or applesauce.
I’ve placed the apples into the food processor and will pulse until smooth.  Notice that right now, it’s still a little lumpy looking.  If you leave the skin on you’ll have to pulse until smooth otherwise you’ll have chunks of peel throughout. I’ve also used the Magic Bullet when I do smaller batches or applesauce.

After that you can decide how you want to store it.  I put mine into quart freezer bags and laid flat in my freezer.  You can also can it, or if your family loves applesauce it’ll hold in the refrigerator for a week or two.

 

Apple pecan pie

Highly Coveted Apple Pecan Upside-down Pie

I’m not sure you can get more delicious than this…well you can my husband says, but we’ll have to save the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie for another day :).

This is a super easy pie, not too sweet, but perfect for company.  I’ve yet to find a person that doesn’t like a classic apple pie with nuts on top.  I most recently made two with one being for “friend’s night” and the other was given to my neighbors as a “howdy, we’re new in the neighborhood” gesture.  Both parties gave it RAVE reviews.

Anyway, the recipe originally came from a My Recipes website, but I’ve modified it some as I’ve made it based on feedback (mostly from my husband).

Ingredients:
1-1.5 cups pecans (I’ve chopped and I’ve left whole…either works well)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3-1/2 cup butter melted (use 1/2 if you use the 1.5 cups nuts)

2 Pie crusts (top and bottom) (you can use store bought if you are crunched for time or make your own)

6-8 apples peeled and sliced thick (I used a variety of kinds.  You choose!  Basically you want enough to heap)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-2 Tablespoons cinnamon (we love cinnamon so this is a lot. You decide if you want more or less)
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Putting it together: (Pre-heat oven to 350 F)

1. Take the first three ingredients and mix them well (pecans, butter and brown sugar).  Pack them into the bottom of a pie pan.
2. Lay the pie crust out on top of the nut mix with it centered on the pie pan.
3. In a separate large bowl mix the remaining ingredients (apples, sugar, flour,  cinnamon, nutmeg), until the apples are coated.  Then HEAP the apples onto the pie crust that should be centered on the nuts and pie plate.
4. Finally put the second pie crust over the apples and “join” together with the other pie crust by crimping the two pie crusts together.  I do this in an up direction since I’ll be dumping the pie out on a plate later.
5. Cut slits in the top of the pie to release steam and place on a cookie sheet with sides.  THIS PIE WILL BOIL OUT A BIT.  So unless you want an oven filled with apple juice on the bottom, do this!
6. Bake at 350 F for about an hour to an hour fifteen minutes.  It should be golden brown on top.  If you have an oven that browns too much, put some tinfoil on top.
7.  Once done, pull out and let cool for 10 minutes and then put a large plate over the pie and carefully flip it out onto the plate.  It’s helpful to have a second person here to scrap out some of the sticking nuts or crust.

And VOILA!, delicious pie, hot and ready for serving.

We usually serve with a small scoop of ice cream and most recently served with a Salted Caramel Ice Cream and it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

Apple pecan pie

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Apples all Winter Long-How to freeze apples to enjoy them all winter

I was recently at a friend’s house and she introduced me to freezing apples.  Really this should have been a no brainer, but for whatever reason it never entered this girl’s brain!  Apple pie is one of my main go-to pies for company or special occasions and it’s always shocking to see the winter and early summer prices.  So when she asked me to help her prep her apples for freezing I was in!

First, I always wash my apples in the sink with a white vinegar/water solution.  I fill the sink half full of water and add about 1/2 cup vinegar.  Even though I’m going to peel my apples, I want as much of the pesticides and waxy residue off as I can.  I soak the batch of apples about 10 minutes and then drain the sink and rinse.

Second, we start peeling.  Some people hate peeling, but I’ve always kind of enjoyed it.  See it’s a game…how many apples can I peel from top to bottom making one continuous spiral of peel?  Come on, if you’ve ever peeled apples you know you’ve secretly done this.  And you know the disappointment you feel when that continuous chain is broken.

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Next, using an apple slicer, I divide each apple into perfect wedges and then place the slices in a bath of water and lemon juice.  No science necessary here, just a bowl of water with 5 or 6 squeezes of lemon juice in it.  Let it sit for a bit and then strain the slices out and place them in pre-labeled freezer bags.  If you’re into vacuum sealing you could do that as well, but for me, I saved my Foodsaver bags for meats.

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The assembly line of apple prep: 1. Peeling/cutting area with the ever important computer streaming Dave Ramsey!), 2. Lemon/water bath, 3. Straining and apple storage bowl and 4. The Ziploc bag labeling and storage area.
The assembly line of apple prep: 1. Peeling/cutting area with the ever important computer streaming Dave Ramsey!, 2. Lemon/water bath, 3. Straining and apple storage bowl and 4. The Ziploc bag labeling and storage area.

Now you’re set to seal them up, flatten them out and freeze them for a snowy day!  I’ll be using mine later this year to make things like applesauce, pies and who knows what else I’ll dream up!  Enjoy having fall’s harvest all winter.  Even better is all the prep work is done.  Just set in the refrigerator to defrost and VOILA, ready to use.  I might just go and buy another 30 pounds 😉