Welcome Back, Kotter

I always imagined that feeding a baby would be hard whether it was breastfeeding, bottle, or actual food.  What do you feed a baby?  What do you feed a toddler?  Searching and pinning Pinterest provided some ideas that I vowed to try.  Some I did but as of late, I decided to just feed him exactly what we are having for dinner.  I didn't want to have separate meals made specifically for The Kid and while I still find myself perusing Pinterest for meal ideas, I'm happy with the road we chose.  The Kid is a super great eater and just watching him devour his food,, veggies and all, makes me happy.

Current favorites?  Spaghetti, rice, broccoli, carrots, celery, green beans, macaroni and cheese, empanadas, avocados, bacon, eggs, breakfast tacos, beans, mashed potatoes, veggie lasagna, roasted chicken, chicken fried rice, pancakes, turkey sausage are some of his favorites.  

Yay us.

33 weeks

OMG.  Less than 7 weeks remain (I hope) before The Kid makes his appearance.  At my most recent doctor appointment, my doctor told me she was surprised that I was doing so well given that I've had 3 things working against me since the beginning; my age (35), my diabetes and my mild hypertension.  All 3 put me in the high risk category.  At this point, it seems that I won't have any use for insulin injections.  However, I do have an upcoming appointment with my endocrinologist so that could change.  Anything can happen.  I wouldn't refuse the insulin.  I'd do anything if it meant having a healthy and beautiful baby.  Taking care of myself means that I'm taking care of The Kid.  

Currently, I visit my OB doctor, my endocrinologist and now, the maternal/fetal center where they will check The Kid every week until he's born.  They will check his growth as well as his heart rate, etc.  At last check, he is in the 59% tile which is very good.  It's where he should be.  It's confusing but you don't want a baby to score too high here.  90% means he is getting way too big and may have to come out sooner than later.  

But, as I mentioned before, we both are doing very well.  Aside from trying to maintain a healthy diet and exercise plan, it's been relatively low key.  Well, unless you count that overnight hospital stay I had last week, the result of a minor (and I mean minor) fender bender.  No fenders were even bent.  But, with everyone around me worried about me and The Kid, a simple call to the OB, just to quench their worries, landed me in the hospital.  High risk + minor car accident send you to the hospital for observation.  Contractions and The Kid's heart rate dipping into low territory keep you overnight.  Luckily, we passed the remainder of the tests and were sent home the following day.

We still have several things to do and buy before he gets here.  The baby shower is in about 2 weeks so we'll hold off until then to purchase what we need and didn't get.  In the meantime, the things that we have received are being assembled, clothes are being washed and things are being hung in the nursery.  Oh, and classes.  The classes have started because, let's face it, we have no idea what we're doing.  

Have I ever mentioned that I still cannot believe that we are having a baby?  I'm still in shock over here.

19

19 weeks so far.  Aside from a few painful leg cramps and the inability to eat whatever I want, things have gone rather smoothly.  Tomorrow marks the halfway mark.  Still 4 months to go.

Merry New Year!

And just like that, 2011 is over.  My 2011 New Year's Resolution was to make a list of places to eat at that either I had never been to or it'd been a while.  

As you can see, I didn't make it.  It sucks but oh well.  Perhaps in the new year I can finally make there but in Houston, many new and yummy restaurants open up and well, may as well add them to The List.  I'm not going to make a new list though.  If I make it, I make it.

My New Year's Resolution for 2012 though is to focus more on my own health.  According to my own doctor's, I'm doing very well.  But, with diabetes, I want to get better.  I always want to get better.

A much better update to follow detailing how I spent my summer and fall and the beginning oh winter.  

Beef jerky time.

New Kids on the Block CHECK!

Mom and I, 1978.

During the late 1980s, I was a new teenager.  I am also the only girl in a Mexican household stuck between a brother sandwich.  All that means is hearing, "No, because you are a girl" a lot.  What it had to do with anything has been part of my argument whenever this topic arises between my mom and I.  Mom, can I join little league with my brothers?  Sleep overs?  Movies with my friends?  You name it, I wasn't allowed to do because I was a girl.  All that good shit you're supposed to do with your friends, denied.  The one that hurt most was being denied to go and see New Kids on the Block.  I was in love with Joey McIntyre and Donnie Wahlberg.  All I wanted to do was go to their concert and finally meet Joey.  But despite my tears, the begging, the lame attempts at bargaining, that damn phrase was uttered to me by my overly protective mother.  It's a sore spot for me, but I'm not mad at my mother.  I don't hate her for what she did.  I completely understand why she did me the way she did.  I'm her daughter, her only daughter.  I know the very thought of anything happening to her only daughter would hurt her.  However, it wasn't right.  I feel like I missed out on a great deal. But I never, ever forgot about New Kids on the Block.  I've had their Greatest Hits CD in heavy rotation for years.  (As I type this, Step By Step plays in the background.)  Music is magical.  It can transport you back in time and make you feel that way in said time.  Music is like a DeLorean, flux capacitor and all but without the requisite 88 MPH.  I listen to this CD and I'm back in middle school, 12 years old, watching the videos on MTV rather than doing Ms. Chatmon's math homework and wanting to hug Joey.  My mom's tough rules were a tough pill to swallow but I cannot go back in time and fix it.  I can only move forward and buy some MFing NKOTB tickets and make my inner 12-year-old happy.  Holla.

So, on June 25, 2011 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas with my best friend since our middle school days, as well as some new friends, we went and cheered.  I cheered the realization of my dream as well as the fact that my mom couldn't say no.  No one could.  Instead, I got much encouragement and some high fives.  I even managed to get the BNC to drop me and my friends off like a boss.  And so, another box is checked in my Before I Turn 35 Bucket List.  I am happy.  Very, happy.

Behold, photographic evidence.  Be warned, it's image heavy.

My BFF (far left) and a new friend waiting for the show to begin.

 

Don't fall Joey!

Joey singing Please Don't Go Girl.  I screamed things at him.  Naughty things.

And then, Jordan walked towards our section! 

Closer...

And closer...

And closer...

CLOSE! ZOMG, he's right there!

What's with the horns?  Maybe it was when a snippet of AC/DC's Back in Black played.

The concert was amazing.  Honestly, I was expecting both NKOTB and BSB to sing to pre-recorded music, do a little dance and that would be it.  My bad.  They had a live band and some nice choreography.  These guys aren't new anymore, and they're either pushing 40 or surpassed it yet they can move.  I hurt for 2 days afterwards and all I did was stand up, scream and wave my arm back and forth because Donnie told me to.  It was one of the best concerts I had ever been to. 

And so, one of my many dreams was realized.  I went, I screamed, I bought some T-shirts and my heart burst.  It was awesome.  So, now on to more check boxes of my Before I Turn 35. 

The Summer of Margie resumes...

Feliz Dia de las Madres

In Mexico, May 10 is always Mother's Day.  Always.  You can't forget it.  I have yet to speak to my Ama (my grandma) but maybe she is still asleep since she likes to party hard and didn't answer the phone when I tried contacting her at 6a today.  Or, maybe she knows it was me and is letting me sweat because I called so early. 

Anyhow, I took my mom out to lunch today and, since my Old Man tends to be off on Tuesdays, he was more than happy to join in.  May as well since he filled the role of mom when she was off making some paper.

The role of Favorite Daughter is stressful and requires much time but the reward is immeasurable. 

What would you do...for a Klondike Bar?

I purchased some Klondike No Sugar Added bars this past weekend.  I usually try to avoid products with such a label because it means very little.  It can be full of carbs, which, if unused, will turn into sugar.  It can also mean that no additional sugar was added but other fructoses were added to compensate for the missing sugar.  However, after carefully reading the Klondike bar's label, I was satisfied enough to take them  home and give them a whirl.

The candy coating taste has not changed.  It retains that distinctive Klondike taste.  As for the ice cream contained within that yummy chocolate, it has that diet taste to it.  To me, it's just a tiny reminder of why I'm limited to some food items especially when it comes to my old ice cream addiction. 

Klondike has great flavors but oddly, the no sugar added one is missing from its site.  But, wtf, a rocky road one?!

Ok, focus...

I also added these: Skinny Cow No Sugar Added Vanilla ice cream sandwiches.  With 4g of fiber, I just couldn't pass these up.  They are yummy, filling and exactly what one needs when you need a little something after dinner. 

Being a diabetic will always have me on my toes.  I love food too much to think of it as my enemy and one should never think of food as such.  However, everyone is different.  What works for me may not work for others.  But, researching, testing and making yourself available to new things is a great start. 

Happy eating!

Flashback Friday (Thursday)

One day, my phantom children will look at these pictures and giggle about how old they look.  They'll notice the wood paneling, the orange couch, the fluffy carpeting but not before they notice that I was wearing socks with sandals before Kevin Federline did it. 

They'll notice that I sucked my thumb and I will tell the story of how old I was when my mom traumatized me into getting off the pacifier for good.  (It involved a roach.)

But it's the clothes that we'll talk about more than anything else.  My cute little dress, despite my underwear showing, even if it matched my dress and my cute, pink long sleeved tee with my brown plaid pants. 

The 70's were a grand time (for the 3 years and some months in which I was alive).  I was 3 years old in these photos and I remember most of the moments as they were captured on film.

Top of the Muffin to You!

I'm a huge Seinfeld fan.  Huge.  Insane.  Not only do I possess the box set, with the accompanying coffee table book detailing every episode, but I also own the Scene-It Seinfeld game.  I know.  There are so many good episodes that whenever I try to name my Top 10 I end up leaving out several other good ones.  I should just rank each episode, all 9 years of it. 

Some great ideas have come out of Seinfeld such as the bro, the yada-yada, the urban sombrero and the muffin top (not the too tight pants which makes meat cones).  The top of the muffin is the best and Elaine knows, we know it and now, Mr. Lippman knows it. 

Mr. Lippman steals Elaine's idea and opens up a shop, Top of the Muffin to You! which starts out not doing too well.  See, Mr. Lippman was only baking the tops and not the entire muffin.  As Elaine rightfully explains, the entire muffin has to be baked in order for the top to be yums.  There has to have been a stump.  That sentiment is what had me weary when I found these while out on an excursion. 



I need snacks, good snacks, to fend off the low sugar hunger monster and, while these looked a little promising, they were just okay.  As with most sugar-free items, the muffin tops were a little dry, then again, the stumps weren't formerly attached so that may have been the reason.  The overall taste was subtle despite being chocolate flavor which I actually enjoy.  Then again, I am the person who LOVES the dark chocolate miniatures out of the bag.  Despite all that though, the Vitatops were full of healthy stuffs and it's what I need right now.  Turns out, while my A1C has held steady at 6.4, my vitamin D has taken a nose dive.  So, let's add another pill to my Walgreens profile. 

FYI, if you intend on trying the Vitatops, be warned that it contains 9g of fiber.  We all know what fiber does, right?

This

Makes.Me.So.Happy. 

The entire series needs to come in a cute box set.  Today.

More at the link. 

FYI, work be crazy.  My wallet is paying for it since I'm opting to shop at the nearby Target rather than stay and eat here. 

Welcome to Kitteh Korner

Welcome to the corner of our home now named Kitteh Korner.  The majority of their stuff is here, out of our way as well as any guests.  Sure, there is more of their stuff in other parts of our home but all the good stuff is in this corner. 

  

I finally managed to find a nice, inexpensive cat tree for the kids.  If they tear it, or just  rub their butts on it cause anyone with kids knows all about the butt scooting, then I'm fine with it.

I'm happy to say that they love it.  Logan reminds of Chris Farley.  They're both fat and yet incredibly agile.  He managed to get up there without faceplanting it.

 

Then Bitty Girl comes along cause she noticed some shit needed to be stirred and that shit was a dangling tail. 

Remarkably, Bitty Girl, while an active and crazy thing killer, has been behaving very well.  It's the older ones that are acting up.  Shitting right outside a litter box with fresh unused litter as well as pissing all over the new mat made from Astro turf.  I've been chalking it up to them being 9 years old, senior citizen kittehs.  It makes me sad to think of them getting older but it may just be them getting all snotty on me.  All in all, I may have to buy a new litter box this afternoon.  

Damn kids. 

Evil Pancakes

Since we gave up going to House of Pies for breakfast on Sunday mornings, I've had to check the brain for making breakfast.  While out shopping, I found Quaker Oatmeal pancakes and since I'm a label reader, I had to snatch them up after reading the 4g of fiber per serving.  Not bad, not bad at all.  Mrs. Butterworth's, not pictured, in sugar-free form was perfect as well as the Hersey's sugar-free chocolate syrup, not pictured.

 

This comal, or griddle, in cast iron form, has been in my family for years.  I "stole" it from my mom when I finally moved out years ago.  Apparently, my mom received it as a wedding gift.  It will be 40 years old in November.

Darth and Stormtrooper helping with the flipping. 

That's right, evil is where it's at.  I found these are Target for $0.74. 

The pancakes came out a little thin but all in all, i'm very happy with the oatmeal pancakes and its sugar-free topping.  My apologies for nomming it all up before I took a photo of the final product. 



Thanks Dad

I bought a car this past weekend and, with a bit of a broken heart, I had to return it on the advice of the Old Man.  I'm almost certain now that a catastrophe was looming underneath the hood and, luckily, it was averted thanks to him.  I've been thinking about him since, and how he views me.  Does he still see me as a child, like the one pictured above where I was trying to pose just like him, or does he see me as the 34 year-old that I am?  I'm okay with the former and I get it.  I'm his daughter, his only daughter, and I asked for advice and he gave it to me straight.  I've asked for help perhaps a handful of times, as a last resort because my thinking was, and always has been, I'm an adult, I can handle this.  I don't need your help.  But, I get it now wherein I never did before.  They want to help.  They want you to be safe and happy.  They won't be mad or annoyed that you bothered them.  So, here I am, ready to be treated as a kid, so to speak, by my dad, the man who loves me like no other man will.  Thanks, dad, for always being there for me.  I'm sorry that I'm a stubborn mule.  I got it from mom so go yell at her.  $20 on mom.  ;) 

The Return of PB & J

A while ago, after much testing that yielded crazy high readings on my meter, I realized I had to give up my beloved PB&J.  It hurt.  It hurt more than the cereal.  PB&J is the perfect morning breakfast.  Easy to make in the morning, only dirtying up a butter knife, wrap it up and voila, done.  And, since we're always honest here, I'm not a big fan of breakfast.  Sure, I like eggs and bacon and waffles and bagels but lunch and dinner is where it's at. 

I was pretty gloomy after I made the dreadful decision of saying good bye.  Bad breakfasts happened, usually ones that had me in hunger panic mode when lunchtime finally rolled around.  But then, the sky opened because I found this.

And then this.

Which made this.

And then all was right with the world.

Don't forget the sugar-free iced coffee from McDonald's, the only thing I can stomach from there. 

The jelly, while more runny than the sugar-laced one, is surprisingly decent.  A serving of the jelly, about 2 tablespoons, contains 5g of carbs and the peanut butter contains about 6g of carbs.  The medium sugar-free iced coffee is about 8g of carbs.  So far, my blood glucose has taken to the change very well and that, in turn, makes me happy.  Very happy.  Time to eat!

Emails

I'm supposed to be sifting through emails, saving, printing, filing, catching up, etc. but eh, if those emails waited this long, they can wait a little longer.  I've been on vacation since Friday, February 11.  Yay for me.  However, it wasn't all rainbows and cupcakes.  We were in the midst of moving and, while it only took 2 days to move all of our stuff over, unpacking and organizing and settling in while battling a nasty cold is not the ideal vacation.  But, at least I wasn't at work, not going to the doctor and dying a slow death.  Shit got done.  We're settled and the cats have settled in nicely.  Proof, check it.

A few scenes from my time away in a completely non-cohesive manner.

Helping a friend with his yard work.  Talk about embracing the Mexican roots.  I didn't know I had it in me.  I'm going to print up some business cards soon. 

My reward for the yard work was chicken fried chicken topped with fries and bacon infused gravy with a side of decadent mashed potatoes.  I couldn't finish the whole thing, which brings me to a small side note.  Dude, can we start using smaller portions?  This was a ridiculous amount of food and, while it was good, (definitely not something I would eat on a regular basis) wowza.  And, we're back.

Troop, sans gun, at House of Pies.

We moved back into the hood both the BNC and I grew up in.  We're extremely happy about our decision and are relishing in visiting the park 3 blocks away.  Since I was denied being a part of the little league, I am living my dream of learning how to properly catch a ball.  Verdict?  I suck at it.  My index finger and part of my palm are bruised but it's not stopping me.  Even B has offered to help me since he's a softball fanatic.  (That is downtown Houston in the background.)

It was incredibly windy and cloudy Sunday evening when these shots were taken.  There is a bit of a hill in the background where we used to fly our kites as kids.  I can't wait to do it again. 

Meat lasagna with Darth.  Yea.

Ugh, 71 emails still inbox.  Wish me luck.