Tick Tock

The clock is running down on my time for writing a new post this week!! This one doesn't count...it's just meant to serve as a reminder that I have to write tomorrow, or I'll have failed my challenge after just one week! Ahh...I think I will write a little bit about my experience with cloth diapers so far. I'm a little bit obsessed with them right now, so it's a good thing to write about. (-:

Tomorrow!

The Challenges

Challenge #1: Successfully take 335 days of pictures. (Started 1/30...it's hard to start anything 1/1 when you had a baby on 12/30!)
Progress: 4 down, 331 to go!

Evangeline's 1 Month Picture--1/30/11

1/31/11

2/1/11

2/2/11

Challenge #2: Write at least one blog post a week.
Progress: 1 down, at least 47 more to go this year.

Challenge #3: Continue learning how to become an excellent wife, as well as mother.
Progress: Working on it...(-: I love being a mom, and I STILL love being a wife. I'm even loving finding the balance between the two. Both are still hard, but both are incredibly worth it. Evangeline is almost 5 weeks old now, and we're settling in to a new normal...I'm going to start back nannying next week, and be able to bring the baby with me. I've also started taking Theology (that should make for some interesting posts) one night a week...that helps me feel like I still have a little bit of a life that's not centered around babies. d-: Evangeline is going about three hours between feedings, sometimes four at night...which means the most sleep I've gotten in a row for the past five weeks is about 3 1/2 hours. But I'm pretty amazed at how well I'm still able to function! The house isn't falling apart, I'm not bawling my eyes out everyday, and I think I'm going to be able to keep up with my classwork.

I'm looking forward to a new year (sorry I'm behind a month), and updating you on my new normal. (-:

A dessert recipe for your eggless friends

I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book that I got as a wedding gift...it has seriously been one of my most used gifts! (-: I knew a lot of recipes before, but when you start cooking for someone else more than once or twice a week, you need some variety.

Anyways, I made this recipe on a whim once, and it was delicious. Then I realized that it was perfect to make for my Indian friend who chooses not to eat eggs for conscience reasons. He loved it! It says in the cookbook that this was also a wartime favorite because it uses very little sugar, no butter, and no eggs. It's relatively easy to make too, so I figured I should share it! Here it is...enjoy!

This isn't it exactly, but it is pretty much how it looks...so much chocolaty goodness!

Side benefit of making this if you are pregnant: You can lick the bowl, because there are no raw eggs in the batter!!! WOOHOO!!! 

Brownie Pudding Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8x2 inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, granulated sugar, the 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, the baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir in the walnuts.


2. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar and the 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Stir in the boiling water. Slowly pour brown sugar mixture over batter.


3. Bake for 40 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool for 45 to 60 minutes. Serve warm (you don't have to, obvioiusly). Spoon cake into dessert bowls; spoon pudding from the bottom of the pan over cake. If desired, serve with vanilla ice cream. (that's all suggestions...you can eat it however you want!).

Sisters

Last night I went to a family's house for a party, and there are four sisters ranging from 5th grade to college. One of the sisters was wearing a cute jacket, and at one point all the other sisters started saying it made her look like a wise owl. You can tell they're all close, and they have that 'sister bond'...It made me think so much of me and my sisters. Spending most of last week with my family in Florida reminded me of how much I love have sisters.

On our way to do some Black Friday shopping

I've gone shopping with Adam a few times and...it's not horrible. But there is nothing like shopping with your sisters, or having your sisters there on Sunday morning to tell you if your church outfit looks cute yet modest. I found some cute maternity clothes at Ross on Black Friday, and my sisters sat outside the dressing room door as I tried them on, opening the door and asking for opinions for each outfit. You can be sure a sister will be honest! Like when I walked out wearing maternity leggings with a shirt that was no where near long enough to wear with leggings. The best was when I walked out with my maternity full panel pants on and a shirt I was trying on, and my sister Caley said 'The only problem is that it makes it look like your pants come up to here (pointing about 4 inches above my belly button)". I replied by lifting up the shirt and saying 'You mean like this?'. That got some squeals and looks of shock! Hopefully they will all be more prepared now for the day when they have to wear maternity clothes!

I also realized that I laugh more with my sisters than with anyone else in the world. Somehow we all just 'get' each other's humor...I'm sure it has to do with growing up together, and with the same mom and dad, who also have quirky senses of humor (especially dad!). The difficult thing is that when you try to explain that oh-so-hilarious conversation to anyone else, it just drops...no one else usually gets it, except maybe our brother.

My sisters had their hands on my belly almost the entire trip! Of course, that was after Tabi stopped screaming 'Ew, don't touch me!!' when she first saw me...after getting over that she probably felt the baby kick more than anyone else because she would sit with her hand on my belly while she watched Glee or something. I know some people don't like their bellies to be touched, but I must say I kind of miss it! I wanted my baby girl to bond with her aunts. (-:

Angel, my youngest sister, was the driving force behind my baby showers last weekend...which were amazing, by the way! Probably one of the best baby showers I've been to, and not just because I was the star of the show. (-: I love seeing how different all my sisters are, but how they work together so well. I really almost wished that the shower wasn't for me, because I wanted to help so much (I did help a little, but the organizing part was up to Angel, and that's the part I like!).

I plan on having several more kids, and I know I'll love them all the same whether they are a boy or girl. But I can't help hoping/praying that this baby girl will get at least one sister...they're the best!

I'm pregnant...what??!

Well, most people who read this blog probably already know that, but since I haven't updated in MONTHS, I figured I better make the big announcement. (-: I'll be 13 weeks on Saturday!

I decided that I'm not going to make a separate blog about the pregnancy, or write solely about that. I'm sure it will invade most posts, but overall I still want to blog about "becoming excellent"...not just being an excellent wife, but being an excellent wife while being an excellent mother as well!

Somehow I think that the mothering thing will come pretty naturally to me (not that it won't be difficult at times). The "wife-ing" thing not so much. Making a baby does make it more difficult to be the excellent wife to my dear husband. Not in housecleaning and that sort of stuff, but in the attitude. I seem to have gained a sense of entitlement. Basically, "I'm pregnant so I get what I want and if you say anything negative to me at all I'll cry."

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful, and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also provide a way of escape." 1 Corinthians 10:13

So for all you pregnant ladies out there (and those in other circumstances that are trying your "excellentness")...God is faithful, and always gives you a way out of temptation. For me, that way is usually the ability to keep my mouth shut.