Ghost Pancakes and Caramel Apple Explosion

October 6 was the Sunday of General Conference.  I got up that morning and made Andrew:

7. Ghost Pancakes

Pancake blobs with chocolate chip faces.  I tried to get fancy with the one on the bottom left by giving him a chocolate chip hem on his sheet but it didn't really work.  In the future, I'll just stick with blobs and faces.  Nom nom nom nom.

And remember all those apples that we picked the day before?

They were just perfect for making:

8. Caramel Apple Explosion

What a spectactular Fall treat!  There isn't much of a recipe.  You just slice up the apples (we like them thinner than what your standard apple slicer does) and cover with caramel, Magic Shell, pecans, and toffee bits.  You can top them with anything you would top a caramel apple with but these are our "go-to" toppings.  Don't forget to chill your apple slices in salt and cold water (see last year's post) if you don't want the apples to turn brown.  And we like to pop our finished product in the freezer for about ten minutes to let the Magic Shell harden all the way.

 

What a good way to curl up and enjoy the last session of General Conference!

Speaking of General Conference, I have had a few thoughts and they are rather politically charged so fair warning.

This Fall session of Conference 2013 will be remembered for many things including the "Ordain Women" movement.  There is a group of women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who feel that women should be ordained to the Priesthood and also serve in more leadership roles.  I don't really want to get into what they think and what I think.  But I will say this: I am grateful for the DIVINE and DIFFERENT roles of men and women in growing the Lord's kingdom here on earth.

I am grateful that Andrew holds the Priesthood and is able to administer to our growing family and many others as a servant of the Lord.  I love him so much for being worthy of that responsibility and for serving so selflessly.  Andrew doesn't hold the Priesthood to bless himself.  He can only bless others through it.

I am grateful that I am able to bear children and be a mother.  Andrew has no idea what it is like to feel our little baby girl growing inside, to be aware of this other being CONSTANTLY, to be so tied emotionally and physically to another human being.  I think that is why I wanted him to feel our little baby girl kicking--so that he could also connect with her.  But pregnancy is something that he will never physically experience.  It is such a miracle which he can witness but it's different for me as a mother.

I'm not saying this well at all and my thoughts are all jumbled as I try to record them.  But I do have a testimony of the divine roles that men and women play together in the work of the Lord.  I am grateful that we do not have equal roles but equal parts in the plan of salvation.

Additionally...

(You thought I was going to shut up, didn't you?)

Seeing our little baby wiggling around at her 12-week ultrasound, feeling her kick and squirm inside of me, and seeing how perfectly she was formed at her 20-week ultrasound made me see how ALIVE she was.  It made me believe more strongly than ever that it is such a blessing to bring these miracles to the earth.  They are precious souls that need to be cherished.  I feel that more strongly than ever now.

Apple Picking!

6. Pick fresh fruit at an orchard

Last year it was raspberries at the patch in Payson and this year it was apple picking at an orchard as we continue to rock our family's Fall Bucket List.

October 5 we joined Emily Bingham & her girls, Ryan & Michelle Samples and Cynthia Andrus at Gross Orchards in Bedford, Virginia.  It was a hot, hot, HOT Saturday morning before General Conference.  Upper 80s in October?  We are definitely having an Indian Summer here in Virginia.


Did I mention it was HOT?  We were both such a sweaty, gross mess!

We traipsed up and down the rows of the orchard looking for the perfect apples.  Andrew & I were on a mission to find our favorite--Honeycrisp--since they can be so expensive in the store.  However, I don't know if this orchard was exactly budget-friendly considering our little pick-your-own peck was $14.00.  This is coming from a girl who was spoiled by all the apples she ever wanted from her Grandpa "Apple Jack" Martin.

None of the trees were labeled and so we kept trying to guess the apples that were being picked.  It was a little tricky.  Eventually, Andrew and I gave up and filled our bag with apples that were already picked and sorted by the owners.

We gave our apples a little bath in the kitchen sink with some vinegar and water.  They had a good soak for about 20 minutes (a little trick I saw on Pinterest to remove any lingering pesticides) and a towel dry and now we know just what to do with them!  Stay tuned...

Week 22: Baby Girl Lets Daddy Know She's There!

October 1 was an exciting night in the Mitchell family!  I have been trying and trying and nagging and pestering Andrew to write this post for the last three weeks to no avail so you will have to hear my boring view.  It would be much more exciting if Andrew shared.

We got back from Rachel and Jason's wedding and Andrew had three tests ahead of him that week.  He was stressed out!  Not only were we exhausted from our mad dash across the country and back for a fabulous wedding (in less than 40 hours), Andrew was studying like crazy and coming down with a little bug of some sort that he had picked up over the weekend.  So, Tuesday night, I knew he was at his limit.

We were lying in bed while Andrew studied Clinical Practice and I was reading my first Agatha Christie novel, "Midnight on the Orient Express."  I thought it would be a good pick for my Utah book club being Halloween and a mystery and a classic, etc.  I was wrong.  Sorry, Lisa.  Sorry, Book Ends.  Not my fave. 

I digress.

Baby Girl (which is what we have started calling her since we still have zero names on the drawing board) was particularly active that night.  She was just rocking and rolling in there.  This lady is such a little spitfire, I tell ya!

I have been desperate for Andrew to feel her move and so I grabbed his hand and held it below my belly button.  He was used to this behavior from me over the last few weeks.  But she gave a good strong nudge and I asked, "Did you feel that?" and Andrew looked at me in awe and said, "Yeah.  I think so."  Then she nudged him again.  And a second later, another nudge.  In retrospect, I think she must have had the hiccups since the movement was so isolated and predictable.  I looked at Andrew and he was a little teary (I get to bust you out, babe, since you're not writing this!)  He gave me a big hug and said, "That was just what I needed tonight."

I was so glad that now Andrew could feel our little girl moving and shaking in there and share in the excitement that there really and truly is a BABY in there!

End of September

Just a few notes from the end of September...

Week 20 in my pregnancy finally brought the middle of the night dash to the bathroom.  I had been pretty proud of myself up for resisting the urge until this point.  I think our little baby girl gets a little wiggly when "her pillow" (AKA my bladder) get a little too firm for her so she starts giving it a few swift punches to shape it up and I end up running to the bathroom.  Thankfully, it's only happening once every night but let's see how long that lasts.

Week 21 brought the sudden and obvious baby bumpage I had been anticipating.  However, as quickly as it came, that cute little bump has continued to grow and rather quickly, too.  Too quickly.  I gotta slow this weight train down now or I will be in trouble.

This probably isn't helping:

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

This recipe is from Nancy McNabb and while it is a basic cookie recipe found on the back of any bag of chocolate chips, it is still my favorite of all time!  I have so many memories of Sister McNabb making these for us while we were hanging out with our friends watching “Mystery Science Theatre 3000.”

½ c. butter-flavored shortening                                  ½ c. butter

¾ c. brown sugar                                                         ¾ c. sugar

1 t. vanilla                                                                   2 eggs                                                 

2 ½ c. flour                                                                  1 t. baking soda                                  

1 t. salt                                                                        2 ½ c. chocolate chips

Cream shortening, butter and sugars together.   Add vanilla and eggs.  Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt.  Gradually stir in chocolate chips.  Roll into 2” balls and flatten on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350˚ for 8 minutes.

The trick is to use the butter-flavored shortening to get a nice, chewy, soft cookie.  Use a Silpat cookie sheet liner on your baking sheet.  If you don't have one already, run to your nearest Bed, Bath, and Beyond and buy one now.  How have you been baking without one?!   Let the cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  Ooey-gooey goodness!  This batch is still going strong eight days later and for a pregnant woman and her grad school-stressed hubby, I'd say that's not too bad.

September 21, we got back to our Fall Bucket List.

5.  Make Chex Mix
I looooooove Chex Mix!  I whipped up a batch for the BYU v. Utah football game which I didn't end up watching because it started at 10:30 EST.  I really, really, really hate Eastern Standard Time.  For many, many reasons.

I don't know if I have included this recipe before, so here it is:

SPICY CHEX MIX

1 c. margarine                                                               4 T. Worcestershire sauce                   

1 T. Creole seasoning                                                   1½ t. garlic powder                             

1 t. onion powder                                                         5 c. Corn Chex cereal                          

2 c. Rice Chex cereal                                                    2 c. Wheat Chex cereal                       

2 c. premium mixed nuts (no peanuts)                1 c. pretzel crisps

Heat oven to 250° F.  In ungreased large roasting pan, melt margarine in oven as it is preheating.  Pour margarine into a bowl and add Worcestershire sauce, Creole seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder, mixing well.  Pour mixture over cereal until evenly coated.  Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Spread on wax paper to cool, about 15 minutes. Mix in nuts and pretzel crisps and serve.  Sprinkle with additional Creole seasoning after baking for extra spice.

We ended the month of September with a dash to and from Seattle for Jason and Rachel's wedding.  It was gorgeous, it was fun, it was exhausting and we loved every minute of it.  Sadly, we were having too much fun to slow down and snap a photo or two so I will have to steal a few from Kelli (my fellow preggo!)  We love you both, Jason & Rachie.  We are so glad that we are all one big, happy family!!!

Week 20: Mitchell Baby Boy or Girl?

Hooray!  It was finally September 20 and we were ready to find out what we were having! 


All the cousins sent in their votes that morning!

Daddy voted!

Mommy voted!

Now we just needed to see what the ultrasound tech had to say.  We found out RIGHT AWAY.  You were extremely cooperative (and maybe a little lacking in grace) with your feet up over your head.

I saw your little cute tummy and exclaimed, "Is it a boy?"

Nope!  Sweet baby girl!!!!!!



Our ultrasound tech was extremely sweet and she patiently tried to show me those "three little lines" that tell us you are a girl.  I felt like Rachel from Friends ("Wait.  I lost it again!  I don't see it anymore!") 

We are so happy to have a little girl.  After we told Papa Mitchell, he said he was going to have to put a bounty out for the first Mitchell grandson!  We laughed about that one but are so happy to have a little baby girl on the way to join Uncle Cole and Aunt Emily's little girl.

You were measuring a little small but the anatomy scan was all normal.  You weigh about 11 oz. at this point.  I kept trying to push for a definite due date but since you were measuring small, they had you listed at February 11!  They won't change your due date since the 12-week crown to rump measurement is the most accurate way to predict a due date and that said February 5 or 6.  So February 6 it still is for us.

You were also a little more quiet at this ultrasound but I know it's because we caught you during your nap time.  You usually give me a break on all the kicking in the mid-afternoon. 

We think you are the sweetest thing in the world!

We decided to go celebrate with dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  We thought it would be the perfect place since that is where we went when we first moved to Lynchburg and I had my first craving for lemonade.

Halfway there, baby girl!

Our Facebook and Instagram announcement to family and friends

Gender Reveal FHE

For Family Home Evening on September 13, Andrew and I decided to try out all of the Old Wives' Tales to see if we could predict whether we were having a boy or girl.

First of all, I made Andrew write down some suggestions for names since I haven't been able to get any ideas from him up to this point whereas naming our baby has occupied my thoughts for some time now. 

He wrote down a few boys' names--mostly names that we had already discussed.  We feel pretty set on our first and second sons' names (let's hope we get two boys eventually!)  Under girls' names Andrew wrote "???"  I insisted he write something down and after ten more minutes of flipping through the pages of our baby name book, he gave up.  I had listed a few names myself but nothing that I really felt set on.  Let's hope it's a boy.

I am predicting that we are going to have a BOY.  Andrew predicts our baby is a GIRL.
1.  Shape of belly--girl
2.  The "ring test" (performed by Andrew)--girl
3.  Cravings--inconclusive.  I want pizza and hamburgers during the day and chocolate treats at night.
4.  Chinese Gender Prediction--boy
5.  Clumsiness--boy
6.  Sleeping on right side--girl
7.  Morning sickness--girl
8.  Drano test (yes, I peed in a plastic cup for this one)--girl
9.  Dry skin--boy
10.  Mayan Calendar--girl
11.  Dad gaining weight--girl
12.  Mom's guess--boy
13.  No headaches--girl

Our Gender Reveal FHE says we are having a GIRL.

Our Little Jumping Bean

August 27 was a pretty routine day as pregnancy goes.  16 weeks and 5 days. 

It's funny how I keep track of this pregnancy in weeks, half weeks, and even days.  Every day is a milestone for us and counts as one more day, one more set of 24 hours that our little baby is getting stronger and healthier and closer to being born.

I was putting on my makeup and for some reason I decided to lean forward to catch some natural light from the window.  Okay, here's the reason.  I'll admit.  I was scouring my face for unwanted pregnancy witch hairs I was reading about on all of my pregnancy phone apps.  There.  I said it.

Anywho.

I leaned forward and my tummy--but not my tummy--lower, even, did this strange slight flip flop. 

I immediately sat up.  That was weird.

I leaned over again to resume my examination.  Flip flop.

I shot up.  There it was again.  And as I sat pondering over that strange sensation, another little flip flop for good measure.

When Andrew got home from school that day, I cornered him.  "Would you agree that I am crazy in-tune with my body and hyper-aware of everything that goes on?"

Andrew measured my crazed look and very slowly emitted, "Ye-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-s."

"Like every tinge and crick and strain and gurgle...I am always feeling things, right?"

"Ye-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-s?" (This one ended in a question.)

I finally put him out of his misery with my line of questioning.  "I think I felt the baby move today.  I know it's early, but I swear I felt the baby!"

I knew it was early to be feeling the baby and so other than telling Andrew, I kept the news to myself.

A few nights later on August 30, as I was lying in bed on my right side, I felt the strangest little flutter.  The best I can describe it is like being next to someone in a swimming pool and feeling the ripples against your body as they swim away from you.  I held my breath.  A few more flutters.  And that was it.

The next night, August 31, I intentionally laid down on my right side. 

{Okay, I know that I'm not supposed to and that all my pregnancy apps were telling me to only sleep on my left side but it's kind of hard to restrict yourself to one position.  I sleep like a rotisserie chicken and constantly turn throughout the night.  This pregnancy thing is putting a cramp in my sleeping style.}

I was as still as possible and just waited.  I was hoping to feel those flutters again.  And there it was!  Fleeting and brief and bubbly.

After that I spent a lot of time concentrating as I lay down at night.  Searching for that same feeling.  And the reassurance that the little life inside me was THERE. 

After a few nights of nothing, I began to doubt that I had really felt anything in the first place.  On September 2, I lay there and started to rationalize away those little flutters.  And almost as in answer to those doubts, I got a distinct nudge right beneath my belly button.  As if our baby was saying, "Hello!  Yes, of course I am here and, of course that was me!"

I was overjoyed!  I called Andrew in to the bedroom and told him.  We were so happy!

September 3 brought steady flutters on the right side again and September 7, I felt three knocks  and then a series of nudges again beneath my belly button.  By September 9, I could feel our baby squirming around in there throughout the day and into the night (including some 2 AM wake up calls!)

I know that Heavenly Father is aware of my anxiety for this baby.  I know that many mothers feel that same "hold-your-breath-is-this-for-real" excitement during pregnancy and especially for those who have lost babies before.  I know that this is why I had such severe sickness and why I was able to feel our little baby moving and shaking in there so early.  It was the reassurance that I needed to know that yes, we were still pregnant and, yes, that life was vital and healthy.  I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father that knows my needs and blesses me in such unique ways.

By the way, this is what I look like at 14 weeks:

Really, there still isn't much of a bump--just belly that I had before

And at 18 weeks:

Maybe a bump beginning--but I need some tips on how to do sexy skinny flattering pregnancy photos because I am looking like a tank!

Week 18 hit me with a vengeance.  I was completely unprepared for the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth HUNGER that strikes.  Holy cow.  And every night at 9:00, it's time for a S'mores Pop Tart or bowl of chocolate ice cream.  Nom nom nom nom!

Labor Day BBQ

4. Have one last official BBQ on Labor Day!

(Note: If the weather is nice, you can keep grilling--this day is the bookend to the Mitchell family grilling season.)

September 3, 2013

Just a small family BBQ for two (or two and a half as Jessie Riley pointed out.)  Andrew had school that day so Labor Day kind of snuck up on us.  We had had a busy weekend cramming in lots of excitement as we began our Fall Bucket List for the year and so we forgot to spread the word that we were grilling.  The food was plentiful and yummy. 

Our complex has several nice patio areas for grilling.  It was woodland creature crossing as we were joined by all sorts of critters as we cooked up some tasty morsels.  Seriously.  It felt like we were in a Disney movie.

Our feast included BBQ ribs, grilled corn, potato salad and baked beans.  Let me include a yummy recipe from my Great Grandma Honeywell (via Grandma Martin AKA "Granny Slash") for baked beans along with some snippets of the emails that we exchanged as I procured this recipe the week before:

GREAT GRANDMA HONEYWELL’S BAKED BEANS

From Grandma Martin: “This originated with my mother and has evolved over the years.  It is another of those recipes where it’s difficult to be specific because so much is ‘to taste.’  [I] like mine on the sweeter side so I go heavier on the brown sugar than on the catsup—but please taste as you go!  Grandma Honeywell used to fish out the onion before serving, but Grandpa Jack liked the onion, so I left it in.”

2 cans Campbell’s baked beans                                  1 can dark red kidney beans, drained

1 T. molasses                                                               Brown sugar to taste

Catsup to taste                                                             ½ yellow onion, halved

3 slices bacon, cut in half

Mix baked beans, kidney beans, molasses, brown sugar and catsup in deep casserole dish.  Top with onion and bacon.  Cover and bake at 350° for 1¼ hours.

A final note from Grandma Martin: “That’s the recipe I use for our family get-togethers—seems quite enough with all the other goodies on the table.  I have such happy memories of the good times we had and it makes me very glad to know that my mother’s baked bean recipe is now a favorite with another generation hundreds of miles and years away."