Doesn’t that look yummy? And gourmet? Will made a spinach quesadilla (read: iron booster) for me not too long ago and I am hooked. These things take all of 10 minutes to make including cleanup.
Start with one large tortilla in a skillet (medium heat). Sprinkle half with Monterey Jack cheese. Add a big handful of spinach then sprinkle a bit more cheese on top. Fold tortilla over and flip as necessary until both side are slightly browned and your cheese is melted. So easy!
Besides fresh fruits and veggies what’s your favorite (healthy) quick cook snack?
compano: the 88 keyed instrument in our living room which is (apparently) a distant cousin of the compooter.
map: the how-to sheet of any board game
I change my mind: I know I just threw a big fit about how I wanted this thing this particular way but now I’m telling you that the way you wanted to do it in the first place is okay so there really wasn’t any need for you to go to all that effort to get it just right. Why don’t you change it back and do it the other way now?
Almost every weekend from Fall 1994 to Spring of ‘96, found me traveling home from college and back again. Those three hours of total drive time became a meeting place for me and God. Alone, without fear of what others might think, I found it easy to converse with my Creator. Many of those conversations turned to song. I would find myself praising His goodness and grace with lyrics I had never heard sung elsewhere. I always thought, “I should write this down when I get a chance.” But invariably the chance never came or if it did the words would be long gone having floated away with the melody.
Several weeks ago as I drove across town, contemplating the morning’s devotion, a song came unbidden to my lips. It had been so long since the Lord spoke to me in this way that I didn’t even consider stopping to write the words down. I simply basked in the marvel of the music. “Still,” I thought later, “it would be nice to have at least one of these songs written down.”
Fast forward a week or two. It is early and I am sitting in my devotion chair with my Bible opened and my notebook ready. But I am not reading. I am not praying. I am only reveling in the silence of our home and the blessed life I have been granted when the melody begins…
I can touch my toes! See, I told you you wouldn’t be impressed. But I am because after three days of rather excruciating herniated disc pain, I can touch my toes.
Now let’s see if I can still say that nine eight months from now.
Sister took some time yesterday to create a television from an old cardboard box. She and Brother went outside and rehearsed for some time their “Spring News Report” - all about groundhogs and shadows and such. Finally happy with the results they called me to watch.
Sis: Okay, Brother. Go over there and hide like we practiced.
Bro: No.
Sis (clearly annoyed): Broooother! Go hide like we practiced.
Bro (arms folded): No. I want to be the star.
Sis (with a voice that’s changed to honey): But Brother, you ARE the star. The groundhog is the most important part.
The inherent difficulty with inductions is that even though you may know what day and time your labor will begin you still cannot know the hour in which your baby will arrive. If your body has fully primed itself for labor then only the slightest bit of encouragement will get things going and you may find yourself with babe in arms before the day is out. Or if you have an overly zealous physician with an 8am tee time Jr is sure to arrive in short order. But suppose you are like neither of these, suppose you arrive at the hospital on your scheduled induction date with a body that has made no visible progress whatsoever and a baby who insists on hanging out up by your rib cage. Suppose your doctor is an easy going friendly sort who doesn’t even play golf. In that case, your name would be Jennifer and this would be your story.
Jennifer’s mother and myself accompany her to the hospital on Wednesday evening. After a short visit with “Nanny”, who had been admitted a few days before, Jen checks herself in and is settled in her room by 8 pm. “Settled” in this case means wearing the ever attractive hospital garb, two belly monitors (one for mom and one for baby), a blood pressure cuff, a heart rate monitor and an IV. The kind nurse who inserts the IV promises that she is usually very efficient. Usually. There is much talk of small veins and a couple of decidedly inefficient attempts but eventually soon enough the IV is in. Examination reveals that apparently Jen’s body has not been previously informed of the impending labor, I mean other than that big bump in front, so the doc prescribes some cervidil to get things started.
Thursday morning we are hopeful. The pitocin gets started and Jennifer finds an ally in one of the nurses - a friend from high school. Spurred on by the pitocin, contractions begin - weak but steady. Nine hours later our mother-to-be is declared 1 cm … almost. The pit is turned off shortly before Jennifer’s father, having traveled across the state, arrives and contractions stop shortly after.
Friday seems destined to follow Thursday’s pattern. The pitocin is started early (6am) and though contractions are steady and somewhat strong, progress is slow … disappointingly slow. 7:30 no change ~~~ 12:00 no change ~~~ 3:30 Contractions intensify and there is a slight change. Jennifer’s status finally moves from “almost” 1cm to “a clear” 1cm. After two days of hoping, she is deflated to say the least. The doctor suggests that perhaps her body needs a break and turns off the pitocin. “We can try again on Monday,” he says going out the door.
I remember there being a family discussion with phrases like “It’s all going to be okay.”; “The baby will come when she’s ready.”; and “God has a perfect timing for these things.” I remember Jennifer nodding and trying to smile through her tears and I remember watching in the background and seeing what no one else seemed to notice: little hills that continued to cross the monitor despite the loss of pitocin stimulus. Growing stronger with the passing minutes, these unexpected contractions begin to push their way on stage. “Notice Us!”, they demand and Jennifer does. Her despair clears, replaced by bouts of slow breathing and intense focus every 5 to 8 minutes. Within three hours 1 cm is long gone. Jennifer is a “4″. One hour more and she is a “6″.
Sometime around 6:30 all this intensity starts to wear and Jen opts for an epidural. The anesthesiologist is quickly paged and nurses scurry about getting things ready. All this activity triggers a natural “fight or flight” response and the contractions dwindle. Doc drops by to say, “hi” and breaks her water. The pitocin is turned back on. The epidural goes in around 8 and promptly starts to take effect … on the left side. All attempts to “even out” the medication fail so Jennifer returns to the only relief left in her arsenal: slow breathing and focus. A little after 9pm the room is quiet again but the damage has been done. A 10pm check reveals no change. Despair tries to return but we chase it out after a short skirmish and things get back on track. 12am 8cm ~~~ 1am Complete ~~~ 1:30 My friend transforms into Champion Pusher Woman. By 2:10 we see tufts of dark hair and a couple of pushes later we greet for the first time Miss Leslie Jean.
Leslie Jean
October 13, 2007; 2:22am
6 pounds 1/2 ounce
18 3/4 inches
“For this child I prayed and the Lord has granted me my petition”
I Samuel 1:27
This post concludes the About Birth series. Check out this page if you’d like to see more.
Hey there folks! I know I haven’t written in a while but I’ve been saving up. This promises to be a really exciting post… or really boring. I haven’t decided which yet. If it is really boring and you stay, you might regret it. But if it turns out to be really exciting and you leave; well, you might regret that too. Choices, choices….
About three years ago I swore off teflon and went in search of a better skillet. Will suggested cast iron and I was game so we got one. It pretty nice as far as cast iron skillets go - pre-seasoned and everything; but it was heavy and hard to clean and things stuck to it. That skillet and I made an uneasy truce and parted ways. My replacement came from Calphalon. I paid way too much for two incredibly easy to use hard-anodized skillets that worked marvelously up until about 3 weeks ago when they started to peel…just. like.teflon. Grrr! So, I am back to cast iron. It’s going okay so far. I’ve matured some since my last attempt and I’m more patient than I used to be. In any case, iron is said to be good for people like me so at least that’s a plus.
We’ve been doing some gardening around here. At least we’re trying. Sister and I started some seeds in March which means that we should be planting seedlings about now. “Should” would be the operative word here. We are not planting seedlings. Our cat found the seedlings to be irresistible. At least I assume that’s why she pulled them from their containers and used them to play kitty soccer around the house. Despite this ‘cat’-astrophe, (Oh, I am so clever.) we are undaunted. We have re-done our front flower garden. The morning glories went in today. And for veggies we will just have to suck it up and visit a nursery. Yep, it’s spring and things are growing, growing, growing.
Speaking of nurseries reminds me of the one we’ve been going to and that reminds me of the custard store just outside its gates. They have the most out of this world frozen custard. In particular, I like “The Salty Dog.” It has vanilla custard and caramel mixed with pretzels and roasted pecans. Mmm, the perfect blend of salty and sweet…. if you crave that sort of thing.
I tried my hand at bread baking again a couple of weeks ago. I really, really want to make all of my own bread but numerous disappointments have left me feeling like an inadequate baker and I was about to give up when I happened upon this recipe. It seemed easy enough so I tried it. And it worked! It really worked! I made two loaves just like she did because I didn’t want to mess with the recipe the first time out but it occurs to me that if you have the dough you could make all sorts of shapes in your oven: loaves, twisty things or even buns.
Finally, I can’t believe it’s April already. April is almost May and May is almost June and June is summer. Last year I promised myself that I’d lose some weight so for once in my life I’d actually look good in a swimsuit but let me tell you, I just don’t think it’s going to happen.
So. Boring? or Exciting? If you think you know what this post is really about leave your guess in the comments. Leslie, Jen & Jenni can’t play. Hmm, that would exclude 3 of my 5 readers. What the heck. You girls can join in too.
How’s this for a Fun Day suggestion? With all the green appearing in the backyard both children gravitated toward the one spot of brown. I let them, despite my personal misgivings about stains in clothing and such because what is the point of childhood really if not to unabashedly immerse yourself in the world around you?
the wife of my best friend and the mother of two incredible little teachers. Each day we explore our world and when there is time I come here to share our discoveries with you. My name is Toni. Thanks for stopping by.
