Pineapple! Upside-down! CAKE!!

YUM. I made this. Husband helped.


Let's talk about pineapples. Again. Because I've talked about them before... when I decided to grow one. For the record, the pineapple is still alive and well. He got a bit sunburned after I put him back outside on the first hot day of the year, and that's my fault. I should have put him under an umbrella or lathered him with sunscreen. But he's alright. Just kind of crispy in spots.

Pineapple has been on my mind for a couple of weeks now. Mainly because I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy and I keep hearing that eating pineapple will induce labor. I don't believe that. I believe Sofia will come when she's darn well ready, regardless of what I eat. Plus, I'm not a fan of home induction methods. One, some of them are ridiculous, and frankly, doing something to push the baby out before its ready is just a recipe for disaster. It can be bad for the baby and make you sick. I read about a girl on my birth board (because being on bed rest for weeks now allows me to watch the Casey Anthony murder trial and also spend countless hours on Babycenter.com) who ate like 7 pineapples over the course of two days. All she did was get a mouthful of canker sores and her baby was still 3 days overdue. Then there's the thing with people drinking castor oil. Seriously? Sorry, but I don't need to crap my brains out. It's my firm belief that the only reason that works on occasion is because it dehydrates you and if you do it close to your due date, it'll push you over the edge and out comes baby. But sometimes doing this to yourself can shock the baby, then the baby poops in the womb, and then you have meconium in the lungs....it's just not worth it. Be patient.

In any case, I'll eat pineapple in moderation just like any other food (except for Nutella, which I do not eat in moderation), and it will make no difference.

Today for lunch I made a pineapple grilled cheese sandwich. Don't knock it until you try it. It's really good and my grandma used to make them.

I also decided to make pineapple upside-down cake for July 4th. Some people seem to think that this cake is some sort of Hawaiian thing, but it's not. Not culturally anyway. It's purely American Housewife cake and it originated in the 1920s when the Hawaiian Pineapple Company asked people for unique recipes using pineapple. They received about 2500 recipes, many of which included different variations of this cake recipe. I'm pretty sure traditionally, you use a cast iron skillet (hence, also called 'skillet cake). You put the skillet on the stove, caramelize brown sugar and butter, put pineapple slices on it, then pour homemade butter cake mix over it and bake it, then flip it over onto a serving platter and have a mouth orgasm. I've had it that way and different ways and that's my favorite. But I don't have time for that. So I do it the way lots of other people do it. And that's with a cake pan.

On a side note, I need to emphasize that plain yellow cake baked in a sheet pan topped with pineapples is not pineapple upside down cake. It's yellow cake with pineapples on top of it, and calling that pineapple upside down cake is about as asinine as making lasagna using cottage cheese and calling it Italian. I've seen both of these things done at my church potlucks, and because I'm a Christian woman, I did not cause a scene. But I wanted to. Don't even get me started on this.

I am too lazy to make homemade cake mix, so I used a box of Betty Crocker Yellow cake mix. Sue me. I'm 9 months pregnant, it's July, and I don't have central air in my house.

Here is what I did today. Husband helped. :)

1 box yellow cake mix
2 sticks of butter
Brown sugar (enough to cover the bottom of the pan)
2 cans of pineapple rings (you won't use them all, but you will use most of them)
1 jar maraschino cherries

Prepare the cake mix as directed on the box, with one variation. It will call for 1 and 1/4 cup of water. First, drain the pineapple reserving the liquid. Use the pineapple juice from the can and top it off with water if necessary to have 1 and 1/4 cup of liquid. Put this in your cake mix instead of just plain water.

If you are using two round pans (or a round pan and a square pan like me, since I didn't have two matching round pans), melt two sticks of butter separately and put one in each of the pans. Sprinkle the butter with brown sugar. I didn't measure. I put a lot though because I wanted it to be extra caramelly. Put pineapple rings on top and place the cherries like so. Before you do the cherries, put them on a paper towel to drain most of the juice from them.




Equally divide the cake batter into each pan.


Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edges.

After about 5-7 minutes or so, flip each over onto a serving platter. Like this!


You can eat this warm if you want....with ice cream or whipped cream... or let it cool and get all crunchy on the edges. Super good. I could eat this all by myself. Look how excited Husband is!!

Identity theft

Maybe that's not what it is. But when someone lifts your debit card information and then jacks $500 from your bank account, it's some sort of theft.

So, to whoever did that to us.... I hope something happens to you.

• I hope you get hit by a bus.
• I hope that when you spend that money at that night club, that someone slips a mickey into your drink and then sodomizes you in your sleep and steals your shoes.
• I hope that you choke on your expensive dinner and die.
• I hope you get herpes from the hooker you are spending the money on.

I'm going to go and take a cold shower, because I feel incredibly violated now.

You're an asshole.

Nursery!

It's pretty much all done. Just have to hang up her curtains. Being home on modified bed rest has at least allowed me to somewhat participate in getting her nursery done. Husband did most of the work and my mom and dad came over this past weekend to help finish up. I just sat there and told everyone where I wanted stuff and it worked out nicely. It's so cute. Here are some pictures.


I've been feeling alright yesterday. I went against protocol yesterday and was gone for majority of the day. We went to visit Husband's parents and then went to my coworker's farm (where I'm also a CSA member) because I heard she had cute baby pigs and I wanted to see them. It was a really hot day and I spent way too much time not laying down. I started to feel pretty nauseous by the end of the day and was having awful "practice" contractions. I had to go home and I went straight to bed. Today is much better, probably because I've been off of my feet and it's breezy and cool outside.

I set up appointments to tour some daycare facilities in the area. It kills me that I'm going to have to put Sofie in daycare, but I have no choice. I can't quit my job and both Husband and I are working full time. I just have to get over it. I'm sure it will all work out and wherever we end up having her go will be a nice place with nice people to take good care of her. People put their kids in daycare all the time and as long as the parents are actively involved and keeping up on things, it all turns out just fine. I'm sure our situation won't be any different.

That's all for right now. I'm not feeling well - so I guess I'll get back to my bed where I spend 90% of my time. :)

Yay, farmer's market!

This blog today is going to have links galore. Because I'm lazy. And I like the link function.

I want ice cream. I need to go and eat some. Yes, it's early, but if bars in this area can open at 6:00am, then then what's so wrong with having ice cream for breakfast? Ice cream for breakfast is way more healthy than beer. Especially when you're pregnant. Ice cream has protein and calcium and other things.

My co-worker Judy is a gem. I love her and love that she has a farm and love that I get to participate in CSA at her farm and get yummy things once a week all summer long! She has a booth at the farmer's market this summer, so it makes it even easier with me being on modified bed rest. I can sneak away for a short while and go downtown every Saturday morning and pick up my CSA box rather than drive once a week to her farm which is way out of town.

What is CSA? Read about it here. I'm too lazy to copy and paste or explain it for myself.

Last week we got rhubarb, chives, green onions, lettuce, pickled green beans, and mint. It's still early in the season so we didn't get a lot, but I thought it was still a lot. We also picked up some organic strawberries, so I made a yummy rhubarb strawberry pie that weekend.

I'm super excited to see what we get today. As soon as Husband gets up. I don't know why I always wake up before him because I tend to fall asleep AFTER him.

I had nightmares all night last night which is part of the reason I've been up for a while. Maybe because I ate Mexican food for dinner. Who knows. I know I'll be taking a nap later though because I didn't sleep well at all. At least the baby was bouncing around this morning. That cheered me up a bit. And then I realized what day it was and I got even happier. Yay! Being home and not working at all makes it so I don't even know what day it is anymore. Every day is the same pretty much. I'm starting to get used to it. I just don't want to get too comfortable because that will make getting back into a routine even more difficult once I have to go back to work in September.

I just realized that I'm pretty much off for the entire summer. Just like when I was a kid in school. Sort of anyway. Okay, the only similarity is that I'm not in school or working. Other than that, it's nothing like being a kid on summer vacation.

July 4th is coming up! Did I ever mention that it's my favorite holiday? At least, it has been my whole life. Mainly because we'd spend every single July 4th weekend at the lake, boating and swimming and grilling and doing all kinds of fun things. Last summer was the first summer we didn't do that since my grandparents died and we had to sell the property. It didn't really sink in but I think this year it might; however, on the bright side, I'm not sad like I thought I'd be. I'm pretty preoccupied with the baby coming, I'm excited that I have two wonderful families to spend time with, and I can't think of any reason to be disappointed. Plus, Sofie will be at 37 weeks right around the holiday, which for all intents and purposes is considered full term, so maybe she'll grace us with her presence and we'll have a firecracker baby. Won't get my hopes up, but it would sure be nice. :)

Lies!! And baby things.

I think yesterday was false labor. My uterus is lying to me.

I've been doing some reading up on it, but I don't know for sure because what I had doesn't totally fit. It says in order for it to be considered false labor, the contractions have to be irregular in length and frequency. Mine weren't. Mine were very regular in length and frequency. But the fact that they didn't get stronger over time and ended (I think they ended...but I couldn't really tell I was having them in the first place so....) tells me that it was just false labor. Well, and the fact that I didn't have a baby today. I woke up with horrible cramping. That subsided a bit though. I don't know. I think I'll just not worry about it unless something major changes. I'll lay low today and help Husband get the nursery organized.

Husband put the dresser together last night. So today I will show him where to move the furniture (since I'm not allowed to help move furniture) and then we'll start putting all of Sofie's things away. We'll separate her clothes by sizes. We'll wash them. We'll fold them and put them in drawers. We'll hang her dresses. Oh! We need baby hangars! Maybe Husband will want to go to Target later. And maybe he can pick me up a treat. Like some chicken nuggets. :)

I find myself getting really excited when I think about the possibility of the baby getting here really soon! Either way, she'll be here in a month and I'm so excited. I can't wait to see her cute face and tickle her feet!! AHH!!!

Husband woke up at 4:00 this morning and sat up in bed. Then he stood up. I asked him what was wrong. He said he couldn't keep still. I was worried because he kept stretching his arm and I think I've seen too many medical shows where young guys wake up in the middle of the night with heart attack symptoms. He said no, it wasn't that at all.... but that he's just antsy because he can't stop being excited about the baby. I think that's adorable. I love him more every day. Seeing him get excited about being a father is heart wrenching, in a good way. And, it's kind of sexy. I don't know why. But it is. He seems to have the nesting instinct a lot more than I do for some reason. I think it's because I'm physically unable to do half of the things that need to be done and so he has adopted the urge to nest while I sit here and and tell him where to put things.

The nursery is coming along nicely. We got a lot done today. We currently have a load of her laundry in the washing machine. We separated it into three piles: pinks, whites, and darker colors. HAHAHA!!! There is SO much pink. I love it.

I am not going to take pictures until it's done. But once it's done, you will see it, and might love it as much as I do.

She wants out!

But she can't come yet. She needs to wait at least a week. And I think we can make it. I think we can make it longer than that provided I rest and stay hydrated. I hope anyway. Though I'm not going to blame myself if she comes early. Seems as though she is impatient just like me, her mom. I was never one who could handle waiting.

As a kid, I always had to find out what I was getting for Christmas. I'd always find the gifts. Then my parents got smart and hid them somewhere other than in our house. Then I got smart and went through their wallets and looked at the receipts.

In college, I couldn't wait for my grades like everyone else. I had to know what I got on my papers as soon as they were graded. My professors always complied. How could they not? I was standing outside their office. Back then I thought it made me look as though I was assertive and motivated and excited about my grades. Looking back, it was probably annoying to them.

I couldn't possibly wait to find out whether I was having a girl or a boy. I was mad when 13 weeks was too early to tell on the ultrasound. So when 19 weeks came along, I was super excited to find out. I wish I was one of those people who could just wait and be surprised, but it's not in my nature. It is who I am.

Apparently this baby can't wait either. She wants out now. I don't know why. She's not missing much. We'll be 36 weeks next week. I'd like her to wait until we are 37 weeks. I want her to be healthy. But she wants to come now. So thanks little girl, I'm back on bed rest to keep you in there. I have been really uncomfortable lately but nothing I can't handle. Figured it was normal. Even the occasional contraction, I felt was normal. But today on the monitor, it showed consistent contractions, 1 minute long, 2 minutes apart. Seriously? My midwife checked my cervix and I am around 2 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. This can mean nothing though. People dilate and efface weeks before they go into labor. But with these contractions, things could progress quickly if it doesn't slow down. So I'm going to focus on resting, staying hydrated, and taking a nice warm bath in hopes that they slow down and go away. If it gets worse though and they start to become longer and more painful, I'm going to have to call the hospital and probably go in. They won't stop her either. We're late enough that we can handle it, but I don't want her to come yet. Husband hasn't put her dresser together yet. In fact, it hasn't even been delivered yet. And her nursery is in shambles.

**UPDATE**

The dresser is here. Husband is putting it together now. :)

It's going to be business as usual, with a bit more resting than I have been doing. I probably need to stay away from shopping trips and spending a lot of time on my feet. That's okay. So what else is new. I just got off the phone with a friend of mine and we think that a 4th of July baby would be great. That would put her right around 37 weeks which would be fine. And she'd have fireworks and a big party every year for her birthday!

A few other things going through my mind:

• Does this mean I have to stop having sex?
• I'm afraid to go poop now. I mean, if I didn't even know I was having these contractions, who's to say I won't be clueless when I'm in actual progressive labor? Super paranoid.
  
• I'm craving Starbucks like no tomorrow. But caffeine is now officially off limits. There's always decaf though...hmm....
• I have trouble with my bathtub. I can't get out of it when I sit in it. I'll be going to my parents house tonight to utilize their hot tub. Don't worry - my dad turned it down to 98 degrees so Sofie doesn't get cooked.
• Whenever she comes, I'm excited to have the baby. I'm excited to not have heartburn anymore. I'm excited to try being a vegetarian again. I'm excited to lose weight!!!! I'm excited to kiss her.
  
• But I will miss feeling her little kicks. Or big kicks, lately.

The past few days....

.....have gone by very slowly. I miss being at work mainly because it makes the time go by so much faster. The weeks tend to fly by when I'm busy with my caseload which has made my pregnancy go by faster. Plus, being at work, it was nice to know that I wasn't burning up my PTO. But, it is what it is and I'm okay with it. I do wish that the time would go by faster though. Seriously, I asked Husband today, "I get paid this Thursday, right?" He said, "No, you just got paid last Thursday." I get paid every other Thursday. So it has only been 4 days since payday and I feel like twice as much time has gone by. I also feel like it has been a while since I was last at work, when in reality, I was just there last week Wednesday to drop off my FMLA paperwork. I miss feeling productive. Work is the only thing that has made me feel productive since I'm pretty much useless when it comes to anything physical (so really, anything here at home like housework or whatever). Husband is such a wonderful guy though. Every time I bring this up he tells me to stop feeling so bad, because I am very productive. "You are helping Sofie grow, and that's more important than anything else right now. That is a lot of work!" He's right. I love him. I'm so lucky. Every time I turn around he is doing something to help me or make me feel good about myself. I'm so happy, for a million reasons, even though I can't work right now or do certain things that I want to do. For me, it's a good trade off, to be home and know that the baby is healthy.

It also hit me how exhausted this last stretch of pregnancy can make a person. I've heard it from my friends who have already had babies, but now I know what they are talking about. I told Husband today that I'm sort of glad that my midwife took me off of work. I'm allowed to go out for an hour or so a day and I find that even after any type of errand or outing, I'm just wrecked and need a nap. That's not to say I couldn't handle being at work right now. I'd make it work by being busy which would most likely distract me from realizing how tired I am - but I'm really grateful that I don't have to worry about it. I'm grateful that I don't have to fight to drag myself out of bed every day and be to work at 6am five days a week. It sounds exhausting. And I'm grateful that I'm allowed to nap whenever I feel that I need to. And I don't have to feel guilty about it. I'm someone who would never have requested to be taken off of work early. I had planned on working up until I went into labor. I still would have, too. So in a way I'm glad that I was taken off of work against my will. At this point, it is definitely better for me and for the baby. I'm sure that once I'm ready to go back, I'll be really happy to be going back. For now, it sure is nice to just spend time with Husband and rest when I need to. Part of me hopes the baby comes before he starts his job on July 11. Then he won't have to miss any work to be with me at the hospital, and he can also be home with me and Sofie for a bit. But at the same time, it's best for her to stay in my tummy for as long as possible. She'll come when she's ready! :)

Today the agenda included getting the oil changed in the car and getting the car washed. I decided to go along with Husband so I could get out of the house. After that was done, I wanted lunch, so we went to get something to eat at the mall so I could also try and find a cute shirt (I didn't find one). The small amount of walking was nice, but I was really tired after that. Husband wanted to stop at Target and find something for the changing table. I ended up waiting in the car. We also stopped at the pet store to pick up cat food for Monster, and I also waited in the car. As soon as we got home, I took off my clothes and laid in bed near the air conditioning. Seems to be pretty typical for me after I do anything.

My next appointment is this Wednesday. We'll get to do our birth plan and I will have a NST. So more on that later.

Oh! I had a bunch of rhubarb from the farmer's market along with a pint of strawberries. So Saturday night I made rhubarb cake and rhubarb pie. I couldn't decide which one I wanted, so I made both. I really wanted to blog it but I couldn't find our camera anywhere. I looked in only one spot though. I was too lazy to look further. I figured if I spent too much time trying to find the camera, I'd use up my energy and not want to bake anything. So I have no pictures, but I will give you the recipes. I promise, if you like rhubarb, you'll really like these both. Cake recipe is from my Nana. :)

Rhubarb Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
3 cups rhubarb, chopped into half-inch pieces
1 cup of sugar
1 big tub Cool Whip

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F (or whatever it says on the box). In a bowl, mix rhubarb with sugar and set aside. In another bowl, prepare the cake mix as directed on the box. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan. Spread rhubarb mixture over cake and cover evenly. Cover the entire thing with the tub of Cool Whip. I know this seems weird, but trust me, it's going to be really good!! Bake uncovered for around 10-20 minutes longer than it says on the box. If you check the cake and see that it's really liquidy in the middle, keep in the oven and check every 10 minutes until you see it stop jiggling.

Let cool on the counter to room temperature and then store it in the fridge. Serve it with whipped cream. You can eat this warm right away or cold from the fridge. It's good both ways. Some people flip the cake over onto a platter, like a pineapple upside-down cake. If you do that though, treat it like a pineapple upside-down cake and wait until it's slightly cool and run a knife around the edge of the pan first so it doesn't fall apart and ruin your life. The rhubarb sinks to the bottom of the cake after baking and makes a yummy custardy caramelly texture and I could seriously eat the entire pan.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie

Pastry for double crust pie
3 cups chopped rhubarb*
2 cups chopped strawberries*
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 T flour or cornstarch
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash of salt
1 T butter

1 egg white, lightly beaten
**Sanding sugar

*try to make the rhubarb and strawberry pieces around the same size

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, toss together the chopped rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch (or flour), salt and nutmeg so that the fruit is all coated. Set aside and let stand for around 15 minutes.

Roll out pastry dough (or unroll the store-bought dough if you were like me and too lazy to make your own). Line your deep dish pie plate with the bottom crust. Pour fruit mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Brush egg white on the edges of the crust. Place the top crust on the pie and seal the edges together with the bottom crust. Flute the edges and cut slits in the top of the crust for air vents.

**If you want, brush the top crust with egg white and dust with sanding sugar (it looks pretty after you bake it). This is totally optional! :)

Bake for an hour. Store in the fridge after cooling.

I wish I had taken pictures. Oh well.