Around This House...

Unfortunately spring has not come... we still get the occasional snow fall and cold wind. As a result Anders and I have been spending more time inside than I'd like... I even think I'm getting a bit of cabin fever. We have been keeping busy baking, reading, doing puzzles, and going to indoor play structures. Hopefully spring will come soon, I long to see that green grass!

My baking interests have also been a bit off, instead of wanting to make a bunch of fruit pies and fluffy deserts, I've been loving cinnamon and ginger, spices that are usually used in the fall. I don't know ifit because I feel that I need to snuggle up in a warm blanket or if it's the pregnancy, but these fall treats have been delicious and very satisfying. So I'm just going to embrace it!

Baby is growing and kicking like crazy. We had our ultrasound last Monday and we have a beautiful and happy baby on our hands. The little one must have known he/she was on camera because there was quite a show and even a few kicks at the technition. I am feeling grateful that everything is on track. Now I want to start to go through baby clothes and start to get ready for the arrival... it is still a few months off but the ultrasound made it so much more real. I'm trying to take everything and live in the moment; time is flying by so quickly and I have a feeling that it is just going to go faster! :)

A Little Cinnamon Makes Everything Better

Yesterday I wore a spring dress which gave me the hope that spring was here to stay. "Not so!" screams Mother Nature when I woke up in the morning to this...

So Anders and I decided to whip up some warm comfort goodness aka cinnamon buns!

It is my mission to find the perfect cinnamon bun recipe since they are one of Derek's favorite treats. I have tried quite a few recipes and this one is by far the best I've made (however if you want to do a recipe face off I'm open to try more recipes!). They are easy to whip up and don't take very long considering you have to make the dough and clean up... about 1 hour for everything.

Cinnamon Swirls

3 1/4 cup flour

3 tsp quick rise yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup butter

1 egg

1 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon (I put in more... maybe double this)

1/3 cup butter

raisins (optional)

Set aside 1 cup of flour from total amount. Mix remaining flour, yeast, white sugar, and salt in a bowl. Heat milk, water, and 1/4 cup butter until hot to the touch. Stir hot liquids into dry ingredients and mix in egg. Mix in enough reserved flour to make soft dough that does not stick to the bowl. Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 5 min. Cover and let rest for 10 min.

Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter together (I melted my butter so that the brown sugar would dissolve). Roll dough into a rectangle 9X12 inch. Spread with cinnamon mixture and sprinkle with raisins. Roll dough from long side, jelly roll style. Cut into equal pieces (about 12). Grease pan with 2 tbs. olive oil, cinnamon, and 2 tbsp. syrup. Place rolls into greased pan. Cover dough and let raise until double about 20 min. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 30 min. or until browned.

Enjoy!

A Little Off the Top

I really wanted to let Anders hair grow... I love little boys with longer hair. But when we got to church today it just looked sooooo bad! Usually when I wash and comb it, his hair dries and looks ok, but today it was just one 'ol big mess. Not cute. So I had to give up my dream of Anders having beautiful soft whispy hair.

Today was the day... his first haircut. And you know what? It wasn't half bad .

Oh Baby!

Today I felt the baby kick for the first time when I was driving home from work. Just wanted to share :)

Bunnies, Chicks, and Chocolates

I don't know why, but I was really excited to celebrate Easter this year. Maybe it's because we have a little boy in the house. That's probably it. Anyway, I started making plans a couple of weeks ago, and I think so far we are having some fun!

We woke up at 7:00 and went downstairs. I left Anders' Easter basket on the floor and he bee-lined it. Instead of putting a bunch of chocolate in the basket I decided to put some small toys that Anders could use in Spring like sidewalk chalk, Play dough, stickers, a windmill, and bubbles. I also put in a bunny puppet that we had already, but Anders didn't seem to notice.

We also had a little egg hunt. Derek had a great idea of putting Cheerios inside of the plastic eggs and Anders absolutely loved it. His eyes would light up whenever he found another egg.

In the afternoon we went to my parent's for dinner. I made a trifle which was a nice spring treat. All in all we had a wonderful weekend and some nice family time. Now on with the snow melt, I want summer!

I'm Feeling Good

I have to be honest... pregnancy and me just don't mix. When I was pregnant with Anders I was throwing up multiple times per day for the first 6 months and had on/off nausea with the occasional throw up session for the next two months. Month 9 was ok thank goodness and I just had the normal pregnancy related uncomfortableness, but I was happy that's all it was!

So when the signs of pregnancy started popping up  (not being able to stomach anything but carbs and having no desire to eat, but needing to eat every two hours) Derek and I knew we were pregnant again without needing a test. Our thought was "yay!!" followed by "oh no, pregnancy here we go again". But I really can't complain, I feel so blessed that we could get pregnant and have another little one around. Plus, Anders was a wonderful baby, and honestly I'll take a really bad pregnancy for a happy and healthy baby.

But today I'm having a really good day. My nausea has been minimal and it sure makes me appreciate feeling "normal". Throughout the day I was just overcome with a feeling of gratefulness. Here is some of what I'm grateful for:

• A wonderful husband who has been taking care of the house and Anders and has said on a number of occasions "Why don't you go relax and have some you time?"
• My boy with an irresistible ticklish neck and contagious giggles.
• My supportive extended family who have helped by making meals and looking after Anders on the really bad days.
• A nice hot cup of cranberry apple cider with lemon.
• My body and that it is strong enough to support growing life.
• That I was able to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies and enjoy the smell of them baking.
• My home and that it feels like home.
• All the baby preparations and planning for the future.

Joyfully Announcing