Ultrasound

21 weeks

We had our 20 week ultrasound today. We went into it knowing we wanted to find out if the baby is a boy or girl so before we dropped Ben off at my mom's house we asked him "do you think it is a brother or a sister?" Usually when we ask this question he shrugs his shoulders and mumbles something that sounds a lot like "I don't know", but today he said "ter" (sister). He must have big brother intuition because the baby is indeed a little girl. We are going to name her Madeline Rose and everything is looking good and healthy. We are so happy and can't wait to meet our little girl in about 19 weeks.

Recipes

Yesterday was all about recipes. I have had the urge to bake a lot lately, so I was searching for a banana muffin recipe yesterday and found the website http://www.allrecipes.com/. this website is amazing. There are so many recipes and they even send you a "recipe of the day." this is perfect for my quest to become a better cook.
Later in the afternoon I decided to make play dough for Ben, hoping he would actually play with it, and not just try to eat. I used the recipe we use in the preschool and it went great and Ben loved it! He didn't even try to eat it once. I thought I would share the recipe with you, especially those with little ones who love to get messy.
Kool-Aid Playdough
2 pkg. kool-aid (unsweetened)
2 1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. salt
1 Tbsp. cream of tartar
3 Tbsp. oil
2 C. boiling water
Mix dry ingredients, add oil, then boiling water. Mix, then knead, and have fun!

Lastly, for my friend Erica, I said I had a great whole wheat pizza dough recipe. I actually cheated and it is one I found online... but, here it is. It is my favorite pizza dough and use this recipe anytime I make pizza.

Documentary

I just finished watching an excellent Netflix find. The documentary is called "Unborn in America." I highly recommend this film. It focuses on the pro life movement, but there is no hidden agenda like many things in the media. Pro lifers are not made to look crazy, and neither are the opposing pro choicers in the film. It is a very neutral film focusing on many aspects of the pro life movement and it was very refreshing to see such a film. The only downsides were foul language, graphic images, and the fact that I was teary eyed through the whole film.

Forgetful

Sometimes I forget that I am pregnant. For example, on Thanksgiving I was thinking of bringing a bottle of wine to dinner, and I was trying to think of who would actually drink it. I thought "Grandma will, I will... " Oops! Thankfully I remembered I had a little babe inside me and stopped myself.
The latest example of this happened last night. We had gone out for pizza and when we came home I went to put my pajamas on. I looked in the mirror and in shock thought "did I really eat that much pizza? How did I get so fat so fast?" Again, I had to remind myself of the baby. I think this baby may be stealing my memory.

Football!

Yesterday Ben and I were listening to a nice CD, playing with puzzles, when he spotted my husband's Sports Illustrated from across the room. He picked it up, looked at the cover for a while, turned to me with a huge grin on his face, and pumping his fist yelled "football!" The cover had some football player on the cover (don't ask me who... I'm not exactly into football), and I asked Ben if he wanted to look at the football pictures in the magazine. He got so excited and climbed in my lap, and we looked through the entire magazine. Every time there was a football picture Ben would yell "football!" I am just hoping this next baby is a girl... I think two football nuts is enough for this house.

Sneaky Chef

I tried to be a sneaky chef at lunch yesterday. I was making macaroni and cheese and in my desperation to get my child to eat vegetables I mixed in some peas. Since Ben is still learning to use a spoon I figured anything that ended up on the spoon would end up in his mouth. It worked for a little while... I think Ben ate maybe 5 peas. Then, my too smart for his own good kid, figured out I was trying to trick him and would pull the peas out of his mouth. Then, he gave up on this and just smeared the macaroni and cheese all over his tray. I think maybe he was trying to pay me back by tricking me into thinking he ate a lot. It didn't work. When I took off the tray he had a lap full of macaroni and cheese and peas. I am sure if we had a dog, the dog would have had a very nice lunch.

Baby kisses

We are always trying to help Ben understand that there is a baby in mom's tummy and he is going to be a big brother. When we ask him where the baby is he points to his belly, which is when I usually point to my ever growing belly and say "no, the baby is in mom's tummy." Last night we asked him to give the baby kisses, and he did! At first he just kissed the air like he usually does, then he actually kissed my belly. I was very touched and thought he finally understood where the baby is. Then he kissed my thigh and began to see it as a game, cheering for himself after every kiss. Oh well, at least Ben learned to give real kisses and I can still think that he gave the baby kisses, right?