Practice Run

First off I just want to state that we are all fine, but we did have a bit of a scare this morning...

On our way to church we had the unfortunate experience of being rear ended while sitting still at a red light. Not exactly how we planned our Sunday morning to go. Thankfully our trailer hitch seemed to absorb most of the impact, but it was still enough force for our seat belts to tighten and my head to be thrown forward.

The woman who hit us immediately got out and apologized – she was swapping out a DVD for her daughter in the back seat at the time of impact. Her main concern seemed to be whether or not she would get a ticket. We were concerned about the shape of our vehicle and what this accident might mean for me since I am 25+weeks pregnant.

Daniel called the police so that we could file a report and I called my OB to see if we should be concerned. Thankfully the lap part of my seat belt did not tighten and the chest part compressed mostly to the left and above my belly. I was feeling fine with just a bit of tenderness where the seat belt had tightened, so my doctor and I agreed that I didn't need to go to the hospital. HOWEVER if I started to experience contractions or bleeding, I needed to call her immediately. Our other concern was that if I did have any problems, I was about an hour from the hospital – not really enough time for any type of worse-case scenario.

Anyways after the police left and Daniel and I had a chance to regroup, we discussed it further and decided that as a precautionary measure, we would feel better if we at least went to Chattanooga to spend the day. We wouldn't go to the hospital unless we really felt something was wrong, but if I did experience contractions or bleeding, we would at least be in the right city and not an hour away. My OB said that any problems would present within 24 hours with the most concern being in the first 1-4 hours after the accident.

So we drove to Chattanooga, hoping and praying that the worst-case scenario of a C-section at 25 weeks would not be on our day's agenda.

We arrived in Chattanooga around lunch, so we went to The Terminal {one of our faves}. Following that we went to see a matinee at the dollar theater. Finally we ran a couple of errands and decided that after 4 hours in Chattanooga with no signs of distress for me or our baby that it was probably okay to go home.

This little incident made me realize how little control we have over our lives and also how we are not prepared to be thrust into parenthood at this exact moment. If it were to happen that way, we would do what needs to be done, but I pray that God will give us a little more time to prepare for the entrance of this little one {preferably until November!}.

On a side note, this is the THIRD time Daniel has been rear ended in this Altima.

Veggie Lasagna

Last week my menu plans included this recipe for Slow Cooker Spinach Mushroom Lasagna from The Way The Cookie Crumbles. Unfortunately I bought the wrong kind of noodles and ended up cooking it in oven instead of my crock pot. I also decided to add sauteed squash to the dish and it turned out really well. So, here is my version of Vegetable Lasagna. Bon apetit.

Veggie Lasagna

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 9 oven-ready lasagna noodles
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1½ pounds white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 16 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 1¼ cups (2½ ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg
• 4 cups (1 pound) shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

• Heat oven to 425ºF.
• Saute zucchini in olive oil, then set aside.
• Saute onions, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil.
• Add spinach, cover and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. 
• Stir in crushed tomatoes and ½ tsp salt. Heat through, about 7 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, mix ricotta, 1 cup of Parmesan, basil, egg, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper together. Arrange 4 lasagna noodle pieces in 9x13 glass dish, overlapping if necessary, then dollop 9 rounded tablespoons of ricotta mixture over noodles. 
• Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella, layer zucchini on top, then spoon 1 cup more mushroom-spinach sauce over top. 
• Repeat the layering of lasagna noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella and mushroom-spinach sauce twice more. 
• For the final layer sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and remaining Parmesan.
• Cover dish with two layers of aluminum foil and cook until the lasagna is heated through, about 60 minutes. 
• Let the lasagna cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Porch Fan

Last weekend while I was out of town, Daniel was a sweetheart and installed a ceiling fan on our porch. We eat out there as often as we can and the fan makes a huge difference in how long it is comfortable to sit outside on a warm, humid evening. It also helps with keeping flies and mosquitoes at bay. 

We may eventually replace the other three lights with fans, but for now, having a fan over our outdoor eating area is a real treat.

Before

After

Also wanted to give a special thanks to Daniel's dad, Wesley. Hopefully the next time you visit I will be in town and we can enjoy a meal under the fan together!

Cousins

I have been sitting on some exciting news {at least for my family} for the last two weeks...

When I was in Nashville for my friend's baby shower, I stayed at my sister's house. She was a good sister and took me to Target to get a crash course on things that we would need to register for {vs crap stuff we don't need}. 

My sister was the perfect person for me to get advice from because we have similar views on money and what constitutes a necessity {not identical views, but probably closer than anyone else I know}. It should also be noted that she is a saint for doing this since she had just worked a night shift and was totally exhausted.

Anywho, after Target, we went back to her house and were discussing my ultrasound and other things related to pregnancy and my little man, when all of a sudden she asked me if I wanted to see her ultrasound...

Wait.

What?

It took a second to sink in. My little sister is expecting her second child in February!!! I knew they were thinking about it, but it happened pretty quickly. As Angela says, "Robert can just look at her and she ends up pregnant." Hah!

Anyways, I am incredibly excited for them. It will be fun to have kids that are only a few months apart and Izzy will have a blast being the older sister/cousin.

The only negative is that one of these days I am going to have to give back all of the maternity clothes Angela lent me!

For reference: Baby Moore {in utero} is 24 weeks old. Baby Stewart {in utero} is 12 weeks old. Izzy is 2 years old.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

There are very few recipes that I repeat but every once in awhile I get a craving for something that I really love to eat – maybe pregnancy is making me crave old comfort foods?

Tonight I decided to make a homestyle Tuna Noodle Casserole that I used to make when Daniel and I were newlyweds. It has tuna, elbow macaroni, shredded cheese, cream of celery soup, celery and onions. 

Sometime in the last 8+ years I have misplaced the recipe. Tonight I looked through all of my cookbooks and cooking magazines. Then I googled the ingredients that I remembered. All to no avail. So I made up the dish as I went.

Notes to self: In the future use less noodles and more tuna {recipe below takes this into account}. Also I found the dish to be a bit bland – either I used to cook more bland meals or I needed to add more salt and pepper. Maybe dry mustard would kick it up a notch?

I still can't believe my original recipe has disappeared – I guess that is a by product of rarely cooking the same thing twice. For now I will live with tweaking the recipe below in an effort to get back to the dish that I remember and love.

Homestyle Tuna Noodle Casserole

1/2 box whole wheat elbow macaroni

2 tuna packets {I prefer my tuna in sunflower oil}

3 ribs of celery, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

16 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1 can cream of celery soup

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350º.

Cook pasta as directed.

Saute celery and onions in olive oil.

Drain pasta.

Add sauteed vegetables, cheese and soup.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Put entire mixture into oven-safe casserole dish.

Melt butter and mix in bread crumbs. 

Add bread crumb mixture to top of casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.

I think I used to add a cup of frozen peas to it as well. If you have any tips on the perfect tuna noodle casserole, please share. 

*Daniel gave this dish a 4.64/5 stars. We both thought it was bland compared to my usual cooking. Maybe instead of trying brand new recipes all of the time, I will experiment with old favorites to take them to the next level.

Not What I Expected

Have you been following along at A Cup of Jo as various women share their experiences of working and balancing motherhood? It has been a fascinating read.

More than anything it makes me realize how much my life has changed in the last year and how much more it will change in the year to come.

July 16th of 2010 was my last day at my job. Daniel and I had finally sold our house and it was time for me to join him in Chattanooga. It was bittersweet. In the days that followed, I handled the closing of our house, loaded what was left of our things into the car and drove Sophie and myself to Tennessee.

It was time. Daniel and I needed to be together again.

I always thought I would somehow manage to work at least part time and still be a mom. I never expected that the economy would fail so terribly. That we would end up moving to a tiny town in rural Alabama or that I would pretty much exit the work force before the age of 30. I didn't expect "keeping house" to be my main priority after more than 8 years of working full time. 

In one sense this new phase of life has been a relief. There was a year where I worked two jobs {teaching at night and working as a graphic designer during the day}. That was too much. Then another year of trying to hold it together while Daniel went through a layoff and 365 days of being unemployed. That was tough.

And now, we expect our first born. 

I know my role will change. It is doubtful that I will find full-time work in the "real" world in the near future – believe me I have tried. Most likely my work will shift to taking care of our child. It is a scary thought. But at the same time, I am ready to have more purpose in my life. I am ready to embrace change. To learn new things. To do something I haven't done before.

It wasn't what I expected. I thought my life would be more like those I read about in the posts about balancing motherhood and work. Sometimes you just have to embrace the life you are given.

DeSoto State Park

Daniel and I have been itching to go hiking, but the south is WAY TOO HOT in the summer to hit the trails {especially if one of you is pregnant}.

 

Yesterday we had a cold front move through that cooled things off tremendously. It was in the 70s this morning and we decided that if we wanted to hike in July, we better find a place to go.

We wanted to stay within an hour's drive of our house, but this seriously limited our hiking options. 

 

We decided on a waterfall hike in DeSoto State Park. Namely because it was featured in Backpacker Magazine and had received a rating of 4/5 for scenery on HikingChattanooga.com.

I think we are spoiled because the best we would have rated this trail was 2/5. 

 

To be fair it would be the perfect place to go mountain biking – lots of old growth trees and well groomed trails without a lot of technical parts {Daniel won't let me consider mountain biking right now... I can't wait for spring to get here}. For hiking, this trail was a disappointment.

Since it was overcast and very few people were on the trail, we let Sophie run off leash for a while but ended up revoking her off-leash privileges when she ran away and wouldn't come back. Daniel had to chase her down and found her laying in a creek next to a family that was hiking the trail.

We completed a 3.5 mile loop that included a stop at Lost Falls and Laurel Falls. Due to low water levels, they weren't much to look at. 

I am really missing the open balds of North Carolina and Virginia and would be in heaven if we could do a big mountain hike out west... that is just not in the cards for us right now.

While the weather was cool, the humidity turned out to be wretched. I was glad to get off the trail, but thankful that at 23 weeks pregnant I can still get out and hike.