Things to do

Energy has been a precious commodity for me lately. I feel like there is so much that I have to do between playing and keeping up with Lea, schoolwork, keeping the house clean, keeping my body in shape, and getting this place ready for another baby—I’m going nuts! I have it in my head that the house must be perfect before I can bring baby Noah home. We have to clean out the entire basement (we weren’t told that it molded down there and like 90% of our storage was ruined AND Germany has a billion laws about throwing stuff away), the attic has to be set up to keep what we have left to store (i.e. boarding the floors so we don’t fall through the ceiling when we go up there), organizing, and getting Noah’s room cleaned out of shrunks (like wall lockers since Germans don’t believe in closets), finding new homes for the shrunks, and reorganizing furniture. Noah is getting Lea’s furniture because European cribs are flimsy, low, and way too expensive for what they are. Lea is getting big girl furniture, to include a twin bed so I can lay down with her at night when she’s settling down. I am really excited about that part. I have been guilty of climbing in her crib a time or two since she REFUSES to sleep in our bed.

I know that I am being a little ridiculous about this. The basement doesn’t have to be cleaned out before Noah comes home. He will probably never even see the basement. Does that fact matter whatsoever to me? No. I think about bringing him home to a house that’s less than perfect and I start to hyperventilate. Does he need baby furniture within the next 9 months? No. We’ll be using the cosleeper for at least six months after he’s born. But, darn it, he will have a room before my 35th week and it will be freaking PERFECT because it has to be. Rational? Nope. Watch me while I don’t care. I don’t know what’s spurring on the sudden nesting spree, but I am feeling the clock ticking every second. I know I have a little time, but I also know that time can pass before we have a chance to notice.

School is going well. This semester is winding down and I have to say, it’s been a very good one. I really got into my classes and I feel marginally more motivated this time around.

I have started doing Rocki’s Pregnancy Yoga videos. They are a little cheesy, but my body feels nice and relaxed. That and my daily mile with my rotten dog concludes my fitness routine. I have noticed the difference between how I feel now compared to how I felt with Lea. I feel more flexible, stronger, and less achy. I did nothing while pregnant with her and it wasn’t pleasant. This is the way to go for me, I think.

Speaking of the girl, I have a massive recent Lea mess to clean, so I am ending my rant.

Let it go

I am learning that there are people out there who just don’t deserve your worry. I am sure that all of my readers have at least one person in his or her acquaintance who cannot seem to make a single life decision that doesn’t involve self-destruction. I have a couple myself. People whom I love and care about, but whom I have to detach from to some extent in order to remain sane. It’s frustrating to want the best for someone and to watch as they flounder through life with next to no regard for who they hurt.

The art of “letting it go” is so hard for me. My worry comes out as anger. . . actually, any negative emotion generally spews itself out in that form. I hate being worried for people who can’t help themselves. I HAVE to learn to let things go and love people anyways. I am trying to get wiser about this. . . I just have to figure out how.

Cooking

I always cook our family meals (comes with the stay at home mom thing for me), but I really haven't been INTO it as much since we've been here in Germany. German kitchens are very small, for one. They are only just now picking up on the concept of counter space and my house is old and hasn't been updated to that point. We bought a little chef's cutting table that goes next to the stove, but it offers only a bit of cooking space. In any case, between that and just being pregnant and not in the mood to get fancy, we've been going the baked meat item with steamed veggies and side carb route for months. No bread baking or cook books for me here lately.

For the past week, though, I've had the urge to get creative with dishes containing more than 5 ingredients. About time!! We had some friends over last night and I made a white beans and greens casserole with turkey schnitzel. Today's breakfast =s oatmeal banana nut pancakes, and I am making a potato, spinach, and lentil ragout for diner. I am finally excited about cooking again! It feels good to rediscover something that I love to do.

I have a special place in my heart for Betty Crocker, but in light of keeping things light for Miles' recent body building campaign, I have been using the American Medical Association's Family Health Cookbook. I haven't made a single one of their recipes (even though some of them sound down right eccentric) that the whole family hasn't loved. It rocks. Last I checked, Amazon has the hardcover for under eight bucks (usually a $30 book, to boot). I recommend it in a big way.

http://www.amazon.com/American-Medical-Association-Family-Cookbook/dp/0671536672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253693890&sr=8-1

Crazy Kids

All children have their quarks. They change through time (sometimes) but they can be pretty cute while they last. Lea calls all things that write "Yellows". It doesn't matter if it's a marker of a crayon, it's a YELLOW. She knows a few different colors, but if is a blue crayon, it's a blue yellow. Huh. She also puts things (mainly acorns) down her shirt front and calls it a pocket. It's adorable. Those are just a couple that stand out right now.

In any case, I think these things are so cute, I am curious about the cuteness of my readers' kids. Lets share the quarkiness.

Another zoo trip

Some pics of Lea at the zoo.



She has places to go, you know



At the monkey house:
"Monkeys? Open?"



Still at the monkey house:
"MONKEYS!!! OPEN!!"



Once again with the places to go.



Thinking deep thoughts. About monkeys.

Coconut Oil

I have been a nut (no pun intended) about this stuff lately. Trying to stay away from parabens and harmful chemicals that are common in the household, I have gone to the basics for hygiene purposes. In any case, coconut oil is a great moisturizer and hair conditioner. A friend got me hooked on using it and a week later, I have no dandruff (I normally have a pretty dry scalp) and I smell like an almond joy bar. Yum. Anyways, here are some benefits to coconut oil:

Hair Care: Coconut oil is one of the best natural nutrition for hair. It helps in healthy growth of hair providing them a shinny complexion. Regular massage of the head with coconut oil ensures that your scalp is free of dandruff, lice, and lice eggs, even if your scalp is dry. Coconut oil is extensively used in the Indian sub-continent for hair care. It is an excellent conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair. It also provides the essential proteins required for nourishing damaged hair. It is therefore used as hair care oil and used in manufacturing various conditioners, and dandruff relief creams. Coconut oil is normally applied topically for hair care.

Stress Relief: Coconut oil is very soothing and hence it helps in removing stress. Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing mental fatigue.

Skin Care: Coconut oil is excellent massage oil for the skin as well. It acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins including dry skin. The benefit of coconut oil on the skin is comparable to that of mineral oil. Further, unlike mineral oil, there is no chance of having any adverse side effects on the skin with the application of coconut oil. Coconut oil therefore is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. Coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. Therefore coconut oil forms the basic ingredient of various body care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc., used for skin care.

Premature Aging: Coconut oil helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.



Curious? You should grab some. If you don't end up liking it on your skin, you can use it to fry up some awesome coconut shrimp. Cooking with it is good for your heart due to its lauric acid content.

Sex

Perverts. I am talking about the baby's gender. We went in for the big ultrasound today and found out that the baby is a boy! I am pretty excited about this. Lea has been calling the bump "baby sisser" so we're going to have to turn her around on that. It's going to be the first boy in our families for this generation, so the grandparents are psyched. To be truthful, I didn't really care about the outcome one way or the other, but I have been very anxious (for some reason) just to know. Part of it is that I was tired or referring to a human being as "it" as opposed to "he" or "she". So all is well in my world. This is all.