Pinterest Projects

I really feel like I should be posting about all these crazy Pinterest projects I've been doing lately, but that would mean committing to blogging more than once a month!  Seriously though, you could say that I've joined the masses in this online addiction.  I'm not a crazy pinner per se, but I do LOVE to spend some time browsing.  I try to pin things I think I'll actually do not just forever dream of doing.  I've had this Valentine's pin for awhile now and finally got to take advantage of it this month for Rylin's Mother's Day Out class.  He actually did quite well sitting and posing for me and I think it turned out pretty cute!  I uploaded his picture into PSE and added the script, then printed on card stock, cut two slits, and wove a heart sucker in between.

Most of what I tend to pin is food (who doesn't), and we've already found more than a few of our new favorite recipes.  There are tons of ideas for Paleo eating so it works out nicely that I don't have to buy a bunch of cookbooks for new ideas.  I LOVE to cook, but only when it's new and creative things or really scrumptious favorites.  This is on the menu for tonight.  Except I like to tweak things a bit.

Salmon Chowder (Paleotized)

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
3 cups HOMEMADE! chicken broth
1/2 teaspoons dried dill weed
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup whole milk
1 can (14-ounce) salmon
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, for garnish


1.Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat and cook onion, celery, and bell pepper, stirring. Add garlic after vegetables start to get soft, 3 to 5 minutes, and cook 1 minute. Add carrots, broth, dill, salt, and black pepper. Stir and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until carrots are fork tender, about 10 minutes.

2.Add milk, and salmon. Heat 5 more minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve with a little grated cheese on top.

My whole family loves this one...even the kiddos.  A good savory meal for a cool night like tonight.

I'll be honest that I've seen a lot of pins for activities for kids and SAHM's and I really have felt a little overwhelmed.  "Who has time for those things?"...I ponder and just skim over.  I think I do a pretty good job entertaining my boys but I often find it's because we are out and about so much.  When we're home, I tend to be a slacker when it comes to finding fun things to do besides the usual.  And let's be real, Play Doh can only last so long and playing "restaurant" gets boring after a while too.  So this week I set out to find some easy things I could put together to help entertain them.  This was my first project and it turned out to be a huge success.  I spent about ten minutes rummaging through our junk drawer, my craft closet, and bedside table to find tiny objects that were pretty recognizable to a three year old.  Then I put them in a jar with some sand I had left over from another project and secured the lid with duct tape in case someone got the notion to free his finds when I wasn't looking.  I used some blank 4x6 card stock to draw my best renditions of each item and write it's description underneath (even though he can't read I figured it would be some good word recognition or something).  Then I punched a whole in the top of the cards and held them together with a metal ring.  Rylin loved finding all the hidden treasures and he was occupied for a good fifteen minutes...a least!

So click on my Pinterest link on the right side of the page and follow me!  I'll try to post more stuff soon.

Bump Pictures and Other Things I Thought I'd Never Do

I love my bestie, Nicole.  We were roomies in college and she's still one of my favorite people today, even though she picked up and moved to another state when we both were newlyweds.  We still text and call and when we see each other it's like we never were apart.  You know, the kind of friends who just pick up where they left off.  We are quite different but she gets me and I know that she will always be full of encouragement and honesty no matter what I bring to her.  She was the second person I told I was pregnant (after Jordan) and she's constantly checking in on how I'm doing.  She was excited for me before I was ready to be and helped bring me around.  So when she asked me the other day for a baby bump picture, it took me a little off guard.  I hadn't much considered it before, in fact, I kind of detested them.  As if they went against my very nature.  No offense to the pregos out there who have documented your 9 months this way (practically EVERY one of my friends have), but to a girl going through infertility, they were for a long time just a reminder of what I was never going to have.  Babies were easy for me.  They were cute and innocent and I knew we'd have some even if they came through adoption, but the belly was another story.  And don't get me started on those stupid "parking for expectant mothers" signs! 

This pregnancy thing still seems a little awkward to me and half the time I feel like an impostor.  Like I've been to a place where I've seen things I can't forget and now they effect every aspect of this new experience.  No unrestrained bliss or happy ignorance.  I know some girls move on more easily from infertility to pregnancy.  They accept their new blessing whole heartedly and put their past behind them.  I'm not sure why it hasn't been so simple for me.  I feel like I have an allegiance to uphold.  You know, like I've somehow let my "people" down.  In infertility I was a part of a group of women with a shared understanding.  Not pitted against friends who were happily and spontaneously having children but empathizing with our differences.  Now pregnant, I don't feel like I fit in with either group.  What I do know is that God hasn't brought me to this place and down this exact road without a purpose.  Every day I'm reminded to be grateful for what I have, respectful of those around me who don't have it, and appreciative of my journey to get here. 

So at 24 weeks this is me. I am a little proud of my bumpity bump and think I've earned at least one belly shot. You better know that I've taken every opportunity to park in that first space at CVS, Babies R Us, and church! Now just don't go expecting a maternity spread with my hands in the shape of a heart over my navel or anything.