ME time is my favorite time.

Somedays I feel like I can barely stay afloat. Being a mom is tough stuff. It doesn't matter if you have one kid or 20 kids. 

It's demanding 24/7. Break time and "ME" time is, well, let's just face it. It's non existent. 

Since having my fourth baby, I have noticed how stressed I am. How much anxiety I have when I'm out, alone, with my four minions. 

I finally realized this while I was sitting in a movie theater with all my kids.

Here's how my/our outing went.....enjoy.

I was watching my 2, 4, 5, almost 6 year old, like a hawk. Telling them to stop climbing on the seats. Stop talking so loud and telling me you're starving. We JUST ate! Stop getting up and trying to run down to the movie screen. Stop throwing a tantrum cause you can't touch the movie screen. Oh no, the 4 year old needs to use the potty. The 2 year old doesn't want to come because she finally noticed, Wreck It Ralph was on and she was being quiet.

The stress level right now is pretty high. I'm sweating. And not just because I have a 19 pound 5 month old strapped to me. Do I leave the toddler with the 5 year old while I take the 4 year old potty? Do I make them all come with me which will cause them to throw fits and tantrums and disturb everyone in the theater? Or do I tell the 4 year old to hold it, which could lead to her peeing her pants or throwing her own fit cause she can't go potty? Do I just leave the theater cause I just can't handle this by myself?

I had to go with draggin' everyone with me cause there are creepers out there people. Never leave your kids alone. Never. Not even when they are 12 or 15 years old.

There were a couple stares and shushes from people as we left, but I made it to the porcelain throne with my gaggle of geese in one piece. Everyone went potty. Whew, made it. Now to go back to the movie and enjoy. Wait. We have to walk past the devil pit. A.K.A. Refreshment Area.
One word....POPCORN. I know it's tempting for the kids 'cause gosh darn it, I want to stick my head under that popper and have the hot kernels of saltiness flow into my mouth like the Niagara falls. YUMM.

But we can not get any. :(  Mean mom, I know.

Scarlett is going buck wilded. Screaming, rolling around like she's on fire. All the fun stuff I love for her to do in public. The big kids whine but there is minimal tantrums and guide them to the movie. There is about 30- 40 minutes left of the movie. The credits start rolling. I try to get out of there as soon as possible cause it's lunch time and very close to nap time. That equals not fun when you are out with monsters. I mean kiddos.

There is a small arcade area on the way out, thank you Satan, and the kids pretend play on it for a few minutes cause I'm not the most meanest mom after all. It's time to go. It's time to drag my tantrum throwing toddler to the car, along with a crying 4 year old and a pouting 5year old. Thank The LORD Thatcher was amazing while we were out that day cause He would have broke me for sure. The Hulk was on the brink of coming out. 

We get to the car. Everyone is strapped in. I sit in the drivers seat with the AC on blast, blowing on my face.

UGH! Being out with my kids can be so stressful! Sometimes it's great! Sometimes, I want to just scream and cry with them in the car. That has happened more times then I would like to admit. 

Before Thatcher, I knew I was feeling run down, stressed and overwhelmed at times, but I would have NEVER confessed to it. 

I put on my mom pants of, I've-got-this, and pulled my hair up into a mom bun called, I-know-What-I'm-Doing, and try to get through each day. 

Moms, it's ok to ask for help. I am now just at the point of asking for help. I wish I would have gotten over myself and stopped putting on a happy, strong face sooner. That mentality will only get you so far.

My super duper amazingly awesome friends came over one day and played and watched ALL MY KIDS, plus their baby who is under a year, for a whole entire morning!!! They said,"Hey, we are gonna come over so you can have some "me" time. You can leave, Go back to your room and nap, watch tv, take a shower. Do whatever YOU want to do."

Everything inside of me was saying, "GO! Run far away for the morning!"

But I had the feeling of guilt pulling me to stay and help them watch my kids. Don't they know who much work it is? Why would they offer to do this? That is craziness! Especially since they will have their babe with them.

I went back to my room. Nursed Thatcher to sleep and sat in my room for about 20 minutes going back and forth on what to do. Should I stay or should I go?

I put a dress on. Braided my hair. Slapped on some mascara and grabbed my keys.

I sat down at Panera ALL. BY. MYSELF. It was glorious, people! I didn't have anyone talking to me. No spilled drinks. No crying cause their chips fell on the ground. No sibling arguing going on in the background. No baby strapped to my chest.
Nothing.
Just me, my, You Pick Two and Raspberry Tea.

I thought to myself,"I want to have this stress free feeing in my life more!!!"

I can not tell you the last time I went somewhere just to sit by myself. Just for me. Now, I've been by myself waiting at a doctors office cause I had Strep throat. I've waited in line at Chipotle, picking up dinner by myself. Chris and I have had many date nights by ourselves (which is another must in my life) But I can NOT remember the last time I just went some place for me. Brittany Leigh Bryant. By myself. Doing nothing.
That's when it hit me how stressed I am. How much I need to let go of holding onto, I-GOT-THIS-UNDER-CONTROL, and I-GOT-THIS-BY-MYSELF mentality and ASK FOR STINKIN' HELP!!

I came back for my lunch date, with Brittany, so refreshed. I could almost cry 'cause it saddened me I didn't do this sooner. I've had people offer to watch or hang out with my kids while I grocery shop or just go to target by myself and I've never taken them up on it. The pressure of guilt always held me back. Why would they offer to do something SO stressful? They don't know what they are offering. Clearly they have hit their heads on a 2x4 cause my kids are no Brady Bunch.

Guess what? They DO know what they are offering. They would not offer if they don't think they can handle it. And, if it is too crazy and stressful, I'm pretty sure they wont ask again. That's OK! You got some quality ME time in your life. What a blessing! Receive That blessing, friend!

I've been freed from my guilt and stubbornness.

You should be free as well.


'Til Next Time,

BB 

Thatcher Grey's Birth Story

January 27, 2015

Normal Tuesday for us Bryants.
Woke up at 6:45am...still pregnant. 40 weeks and 4 days knocked up. Feeling too good to be having a baby anytime soon.

Got the morning started just like I do every day.

....Coffee....

Sippin' on that black liquid magic waiting for the first sound of the kiddos rollin' outta bed.
The 15 minutes of alone quiet time is quickly swallowed up and replaced with morning snuggles, bed head and bad breath. Breakfast was brought to us by our good friends at Kellogg's.

PBS kids is playing on the tube while Zeke gets dressed for school. After we go back and forth on what he can and can not wear to school, his little naked booty is dressed and ready to do his "everything is awesome" hair.

Shoes are on and I do one more check of his school agenda just incase I missed something.

Like..... early release day and Zeke gets stuck waiting in the office for an hour and a half.  Oops! Pregnancy brain? Sure, lets go with that.

Once he is dropped off, the girls and I come back home and do our thing. Which for me, this day, is CLEANING!!! Nesting was in full force.

My house was already clean and spotless from the day before but something in my pregnant waiting brain was screaming, " YOU MUST CLEAN AND RE CLEAN EVERYTHING!"

That's what I did.

Last Belly Shot!

This was what I did until 12:00. Got lunch together for us girls and took a big ole nap. I knew my days were numbered on being able to take a nap for a while.

I was having a ton of Braxton Hicks contractions all morning but I was also moving around cleaning. Getting up and down and leaning over tubs, scrubbing the clean away replacing it with an even cleaner clean. So I just chalked it up to that. Woke up and picked the boyo up around 3:00pm

When we get home, it's snack time and I look over Zeke's school stuff for the day. Still having BH's but they were more annoying then painful.
I knew this was NOT labor and to just ignore it the best I could.We played and probably snacked some more. Dinner got started, the husband came home from work and we devoured our sweet potato burgers.

Bed time routine got rollin and soon enough, it was bed time! Sometimes, this is my favorite part of the day. :)

Now it was time for me to clean up my mess in the kitchen and relax on the couch with Mr. Bryant.

Can't remember what we were watching but we watched a couple shows and it was Mr. Bryant's bedtime.

I wasn't quite tired yet so I stayed up and made sure the house was all good incase we have a baby in the middle of the night.

I folded into bed around 11:45 pm still having the annoying BH's that I have been having for weeks now.

I woke up to roll over to my other side cause my hips were achy and asleep. As I rolled, I got crampy and felt like I had to use the potty. Got up and the feeling went away. Looked at the clock and it was only 12:08am.  I felt like I had been sleeping for a couple hours but it had only been 20 minutes since my head hit the pillow. I didn't think much of the campiness in my half asleep brain. I layed back down and try to go back to sleep. Well, about 10 minutes later I got hit with the same feeling. Then it hit me in the head like a person at a golf game who didn't hear, "FOUR!"

These are contractions. Real life ones. Not those fake ones I'd been having for weeks. No, these are the real deal Holyfield!

This is how my uterus was feeling.

I start to time them to see if they are consistent enough to wake up the husband and call my birth crew.

For the next hour, I was trying to relax , even go back to sleep cause I knew if this was "it" I needed rest. When a contraction would come I'd record it in my labor app. They were consistently 15 minutes apart lasting 30 seconds.  Now, since I tend to have fast labors, I wanted to text my midwife just to give her a heads up that  she might be getting a page that I'm in labor snd she needs to come to my house.

This was the text I sent her.

I then texted my birth crew and called my mom to let them know what was up and that I was going to be up laboring if they wanted to wait with me. They said they were on their way and would be there in the next 30 minutes.
I officially woke up Mr. Bryant and said, "This is it! I texted everyone including Sharon. They are headed over now. We'll call Sharon when we think it's time for her to come. Better get that coffee started."
I rushed to the bathroom to put my contacts in and brush my teeth before I really got into labor and couldn't do it. I have birthed one time with glasses on and it was not fun. They kept sliding off my nose. SO annoying. Brushed my teeth cause who wants smelly breath? Not this girl.

Kim, Jen, my mom and Brittny and her babe, Easton, strolled into our bedroom a wee bit before 2:00 am.
Britt used the contraction app to time mine and Chris started my birth music. Kim helped manage getting the bed ready for birth or after birth with momma and baby.

 I was feeling really good at this point and excited to meet my sweet Kudos. Laboring over the birth ball, breathing through contractions and having fun in between them.

Love how Jen and everyone has fun around me. I'm the type of person who can not talk during contractions but I don't care if you do. So they would laugh and tell me sweet things or just random funny things to get me through the first phase of labor. For me, the easiest part. :)

Round 3:00am, my labor got a little bit more intense. Contractions are closer to 5 minutes apart, lasting a minute.  I'm starting to make my low moaning noises to get me through the contractions. I start to notice at this point, my contractions are starting in my back, then traveling to the front.  Never had contractions like this. I know lots of momma's who have had back labor and they say it horrible!!
This wasn't horrible, just different. I told everyone ,"Man, my back hurts in the beginning then it goes to the front. I don't think it's back labor though."

My birth crew looks at each other like, umm girl is having some back labor!

In the second half of the 3:00 hour, I needed to stand. I could no longer lean over the yoga ball or be on my hands and knees.

This is when my birth crew tuned in to where I was in labor and turned down the humor, upped the support and let me really start surrendering to this race I had to run. I've never been one to need physical touch in labor but this time I was asking people to touch me. I was putting my hand out for someone to hold it. Jen did LOTS of counter pressure on my hips which is her spiritual gift :)
Chris was the most supportive partner ever! He was tuned in to my wave link and would say the right things at the right times. Rub my leg or hum along with me.

::SEXY SOCK ALERT::

Contractions were getting more intense. They way it's suppose to go. The question of when to call Sharon started to float around in the background. I knew I didn't want to wait too long just incase this babe decides to come really fast. No unassisted births for me if I can help it. But then you don't want to wake someone up in the middle of the night to come over to early and have them wait. Ugh I battle with myself every time! Its so silly but it's true.
I know Sharon has this crazy midwife sensor of when to come to births sometimes. I knew I would feel it in a contraction and then have them call Sharon.

You hit a point in labor, at least I do, where I need my midwife right that minute. That's usually when we call:)
Sure enough, I was in the middle of a contraction and it changed. Got super intense and I knew I needed Sharon to come now! As I finish that contraction, guess who called? SHARON! How crazy, right?  She was gonna head our way.

I wanted to get in the tub at this point but I was waiting for Sharon to check me first. I didn't want to have to get out of the tub once I got in. When Sharon walks into the room, I just feel this peace come over me and usually get hit in the face with reality that I'm going to have a baby, SOON!

She checked me and gave me the ok to get in the tub. She didn't tell me how dilated I was, which is usually a sign that you have a bit more to go until go time....pushing the babe out.

As I get in my tub, Sharon let the birth crew know I was 5 cm dilated. Halfway there. I'm so thankful she didn't tell me where I was because I would have felt like I couldn't do it anymore. I felt like I was almost done but in fact, I was only halfway there. Our bodies are crazy though and truly unpredictable in labor. You can progress really fast at any moment.

The hot water in the tub is magical I tell ya! It was helping with my back so much! I labored in there for another hour with contractions becoming more intense and closer together. 2-3 minutes apart, lasting over a minute. Every now and then getting a double contraction. They are just lovely.

Chris and Kim listening to me sound like a cow and giving me support.

At this point, my back was REALLY starting to hurt. I was feeling lots of pressure there and burning. I didn't really have the urge to push yet. I felt like I was in limbo. You would think that on the fourth baby, He would just come out with a sneeze but he had other plans.
I wanted to push because of the pressure but my body wasn't ready. I kept saying, "I don't know what to do. I'm feeling a little pushy but my body isn't pushing"

Sharon checked me in the tub and said I was complete...YAY... but had a little bit of cervics that was in the way. She said she thought I could push past it if I wanted to or just wait for my body to start pushing.

I wanted to get this babe out! Be done with the pain. Finish the race and hold my prize.
With the next contraction, I tried to push. I felt like a first time mom pushing her baby out. I couldn't figure out how and were to push. You really have to dig deep into the push and I could get my feet on the ground, so to speak, to give it my all. Plus, my back had a ton of pressure on it. At this point, it hurt non stop. During contractions and in between. I was trying to breath and focus on my birth music in between contractions. I remember Jesus Cultures,  Might Breath Of God, song came on and it helped me refocus on my race and why I was here, in that moment. To bring this sweet boy earth side.

His love and grace blew over me. Calming me in between pushing. Surrendering.

Chris was amazing! Sweet and supportive. Giving me water and a gentle hand to hold....or squeeze like bloody murder!

I wasn't getting far pushing myself. I felt like I may need some help from Sharon. She could sense it too. She asked, if on the next push, She could hold back the little bit of cervic left and then I should be able to do the rest. I said ok. Contraction started to build and she started to help. HOLY GUACAMOLE! That was super intense and it took everything inside of me not to punch her in the face. I wanted to grab her hand cause Lordy it was pretty painful. I knew it was necessary though so I went with it.
I felt like i was pushing for hours but it had only been 15 minutes. I was pushing with all my might. Sweating like a beast and outta breath like I was running a marathon. Oh wait, I kinda was. :)

It was pretty intense and to add to it, Thatcher was moving like a mad man! I felt like he was spinning and wiggling the whole time. I was say, "Stop it! Not you Sharon, the baby cause he is moving!" She could feel his head moving while she was helping me get past the last bit of cervics.
FINALLY, he was pushed past and was right at his exit. My water decided to break then and Holy mother of Zeus, was the pressure on my back more present then before. Midwife checked his heart rate after and he was doing fine. I just need to jump, or shall I say push, past this last hurdle to meet my son.

The song Grace came on and I started to push with my whole being and three minutes later.....Thatcher Grey was born.

As he came out Sharon told me not to pull him up right away cause his cord was wrapped around his body, twice! She also told me that he was OP - Occiput Posterior. Meaning, he came out sunny side up.
The reason why my back hurt so bad is cause the hard, boney part of the back of his head was up against my tailbone. Normally, they are face down with the smushy side up against your bone. That's why he was so hard to push out. He was not in the easiest way to get out. I had to work hard to get him out. I did it though and he is worth every second of the race!

My Prize. My fourth baby. My Baby Kudos. My Thatcher Grey Bryant.

Just me and Thatch hanging' out with the amazing midwife that help him out! Love you Sharon to the moon and back! You will forever have a special place in my heart!

7 pounds of perfect baby love.

P.S. When it's your forth baby, you multitask right away. :)

35 week- 40 weeks pregnancy

From about 35 weeks on in Baby Kudos pregnancy, I went into nesting beast mode. Life wasn't too crazy but I honestly was focusing on getting our little family ready to meet this sweet boy. That's why I never updated you guys on how everything was going.

Since then, I have had a babe and he is almost 6 week old!! Ahhh time flies when you are going off of no sleep and snuggles.

I DO plan on writing his birth story for you guys as well. That just might take me a while. I'm nursing a newborn right now as I type. Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors.

So how did the home stretch go in my pregnancy?

It went great! The usual achey hips and back, feeling like a baby is gonna pop out of you at any minute and ton of Braxton Hicks getting' my body ready to birth this sweet boy. I would get waves of morning sickness here and there but it never stayed. Thank you Jesus! Other then that, I was feeling great. I kept saying I felt too good. Meaning, I knew this babe was gonna take his sweet time coming to meet us.


I would wake up feeling like this...happy and pretty well rested. Not going into labor anytime soon.

Then by the the end of the day, I felt like this...fat and ready to have a babe.

Add caption

Week 37 came and I was so thankful to make it full term. That meant I could have an out of hospital birth like I was wanting. I got the birth kit set up along with the other supplies needed for a home birth.

Junk gets real when you set up things for a home birth. Excitement and nervousness start to flood over you. The official countdown has begun. You're turning third base and see home plate in plain sight. This is the longest shortest part in pregnancy.

Nesting was taking over my life. I was a cleaning fool! Cleaning and organizing everything. Then recleaning it cause I needed my house to smell clean at all times incase I went into labor. I would get so upset when I had to cook dinner cause it would smell like food not cleaning products. haha



Weeks would come and go. Each night going to sleep wondering if I would wake up in labor.

Week 36 came and went.

Week 37 came and went.

Week 38 came and went.

 Week 39 came and went.

 And finally, I made it to 40 weeks for the first time ever. I've never made it to my due date. It was so fun being in the unchartered waters of pregnancy.

I made in all the way to 40 weeks and 5 days. January 28, 2015 when our sweet little man decided that day would be his birthday.

I was so nervous that he would come on one of his sisters birthdays. He had just two days he couldn't come. The 13th, Scarlett's birthday and the 26th, Evey June's birthday.

I just didn't want them to share a birthday and The Lord answered my hearts desire. 

Birth story to come. Every time I get a chance to write it, it's a choice between writing it or taking a nap with my newborn. I choose the nap every time :) Sleep is precious and seems to be a rare thing lately so I will soak up every moment of shuteye I can get.

Til' next time
BB

Midwife Monday....on a Friday ::34WEEKS::

5 weeks people! 

5 weeks until I'm due with this baby boy in my belly.
I'm currently 35 weeks, but today I'll update you on my 34 week life.

Time, where are you going?

Like I say in every update, I feel like I just found out I was pregnant. 

This Monday, I went for my 34 week midwife appointment. Here are a couple updates.

• I have gained a total of 33 pounds. Which, again, is really good for me. I usually blow up at the end. That hasn't happened....yet.

34 weeks with Baby Kudos.

• My Iron level has come up one whole number!! I'm at a 10. Which is awesome because now I can officially have an out of hospital birth. I'm still taking my iron supplements to get my level even higher. The higher the better. 

• He is head down and his booty is up in my right ribs. His heart rate was in the low 140's as well. Great position and great heart rate. :)

• While my midwife was doing the belly measurement, she noticed that my belly hasn't grown at all. In fact, it actually went down one cm. Two weeks ago, I was 32 weeks but measuring at 31 cm's. That is in a normal range. You can range from one to two cm's, plus or minus the week you're on. So this Monday, I was 34 weeks, measuring 30 weeks. I'm gaining weight and He has been moving like normal so that is all good news with measuring smaller. She wanted me to get a growth scan and fluid level check just to make sure everything was going good in there.   Sometimes, bellies can measure smaller because the baby is low or just in there a way that isn't great for measuring.                                                                                                                        I went today, Friday, with a tiny bit of, "Oh no, what if they find something wrong?" I was not going to worry until there was something to worry about. I wasn't even going to go there. The scan went great and Kudo's looked awesome. All his measurements were on track except his belly. It was measuring a week behind. She wasn't worried about that since everything else was right on. He may just have a tiny tummy.  My fluid levels were all good too. Nothing to worry about. Phew, this momma's belly feels better knowing he is perfectly content growing in my womb and he's getting everything he's supposed to be getting.  It was funny because the ultrasound lady said sometimes with first babies, you are smaller. I told her this was our fourth and her face was shocked. :) After seeing his chunky face and that he has hair, I AM SO EXCITED to meet this boy. I've only seen the skeleton looking babes around 20 weeks so it was extra special to see his face today. Looks like a Bryant. That's a relief! ;)

  

  You can see the difference in each picture. I was pretty large at this point with the others. 

• I am still planning on having him at home and HOPEFULLY having a water birth. I will pick the tub up around 38 weeks. I purchased my home birth kit this week, which has me even more excited to meet this boy!

As long as everything keeps going good, we will hopefully have Bryant number four with us by the end of January 2015.

Oh, the ultrasound lady also said he weighed 5 pounds even. So, if that number is correct, which it's know not to be, we will have a 7 pounder. I'll take it!  

Keep growing baby Kudo's!

'Til Next Time

BB

Kudos To You!

Are The Bryants really naming their 4th kid Kudos?

My BFF, Kate Middleton. I call her The Dutch. We're pretty close. She got married on my Birthday, so that makes us practically sisters.

I knew they where getting hippier and hippier,  but that's just a little too much. They're not even celebrities, they don't HAVE to name him something weird.

Have you thought these things since I called my in womb baby, Kudos? Well, you are not alone if the answer is yes.

Chris and I have a name or two that we both love. I just can't 100% lock in on one of them. Kudos is NOT one of them.

You can all sleep better at night now. The truth is out.


Kudos is not only an incredibly delicious and surprisingly nutritious granola bar, that comes in a variety pack of candy bar flavors........

It's a word for giving someone praise for an exceptional accomplishment........

It also makes you sound like a complete dork. But I think that's my personal opinion.

I have decided to nickname this babe Kudos, because a certain Poppi in our family hates that word. So,  it's my duty as his loving daughter, to use it as much as possible. Including nicknaming my baby Kudos.

Boy names are hard!!

'Til Next Time.
BB

Midwife Monday....on a Tuesday ::30 WEEKS::

30 weeks people! 


30 weeks down and 10ish to go. How is that possible you ask?

 I have NO idea!

This pregnancy is flying by faster then The Blue Angles.

This is The Blue Angles, moving really fast. :)

::Pregnancy Updates::

• I went to my Midwife yesterday for my last every 4 week check up. Now, I go every 2 weeks. Once I hit 36 weeks, I'll see them every week.  That's how you know you are getting closer to the end. Other then feeling like a baby is about to pop outta ya any moment. That's another sign, and you can't really ignore that one.

• I have gained a total of 23 pounds which is REALLY good for me. I usually pass that number in the second trimester. It's just weird how your body is different with every pregnancy. But there are two holidays coming up pretty quickly that will have me packing' on the pounds like a sumo wrestler.
  

• I've taken my Glucose test since my last pregnancy update and that was spot on. Blood pressure and urine are looking good as well. 

• Baby Kudos is low. and when I say low, I don't just mean he is pushing on my bladder low. This boy is already head down and underneath my public bone. His head would not wiggle when Christy, the midwife, tried to move it. He has always been low and comfy up against my bladder and public bone. Even in the ultrasound at 20 weeks. I wonder if he will be a snuggler like me?

• His heart rate was in the low 130's, like it has been since it started beating. I love love LOVE hearing his little heart beat. Especially when the poke my belly and it goes up. Like, hello. I'm trying to grow here. Stop messing with me.

• I had my hemoglobin tested Monday as well. It was pretty low. Like, at a 9 and they need it to be at the very least a 10, to have a home birth. So, it's low if I were in the window to birth this babe right now. BUT I still have some time to bring it up. I've been taking an Iron supplement but not everyday. Now, I'll start taking it twice a day and get my iron tested again in two weeks to see how my body is soaking up the supplements. I'm really confident the supplement will work cause I've had low iron with all my pregnancies and its done the trick every time. Hemeplex is the brand I take.

It's in pill form, which is awesome compared to the liquid one. That one tastes like sewage/garbage that's been sitting in an old rusty pan for 58 years. It's gross but it does the trick, if you can't get the pills. Just don't puke it up cause that junk ain't cheap.

• I have been having Braxton Hicks like a mad woman but it's mostly when I am doing too much. Natural CALM is great for when I need to just chill out and rest for a bit so my body can calm down. It's hard somedays to rest with two kiddos during the day and then three in the afternoon BUT i'm trying my best. Not being a clean freak and clean every two minutes is hard. My husband has been great helping when he gets home. Finishing dinner that I've started or switching laundry. Sweeping up the days mess under the dinning room table. Scrubbing a few toilets here and there too. He is pretty great. I think I'll keep him.

30 weeks. Not the best picture but belly is getting out there.

I think that is it as far as this pregnancy goes. I'm uncomfortable and ready to hold this boy but I know it will be over soon enough and I'll get to see his little face for the first time. Hear his cry and make sure he really is a boy. :)
I hope he doesn't end up without a penis. That would be pretty awkward for him and us.

Till Next Time
BB

A Fail?

Last night I used coconut flour for the first time. I was a little nervous cause I heard it can be tricky to cook/bake with. It absorbs a lot of moister and you have to get the correct measurement or else it will fall a part or taste nasty.

I wanted to start slow.

I decided on Zucchini Pancakes.

I got the recipe from here.

Looks simple enough, right?

So I shredded my Zucc's and cracked my eggs. I made two batches of this so I just doubled everything.

Added the coconut flour, then added some salt and pepper.

I also added some cumin. I thought that would taste good with everything.
not a lot cause its pretty potent.

Here is what my consistency looked like.

Next, I heated up my skillet with some EVOO. 

I knew they needed to get brown and a wee bit crispy on each side, so I watched them like a hawk! Making sure they didn't burn. I tend to do this more often then not. 

This would be my, " I'm nervous about cooking new things", face.

I think it was about 3 minutes on each side. Flip 'em over and cook the rest of the way. 

They turned out way more egg-ie then I thought. I think next time I'll add less eggs. It came out almost like a frittata. Which isn't a bad thing. It just wasn't what I though they were gonna be. 

Next time I make 'em, I'll add more veggies and seasonings. They were a little on the bland side. I get so nervous about over seasoning that I tend to not add enough. Especially on something you can't taste test before you cook. You know I love eggs but I'm not a fan of salmonella poisoning. :)

Notice the healthy, grain free dinner with a jar of candy corn in the background?

Here's the finished product. Plated up with alfalfa sprouts and gorgonzola cheese. It would have been really good with a type on sauce on it. Or if you are like me, add some Ketchup. The gorgonzola cheese got all soft and somewhat melted over the pancake. YUM-O!!

So, it might have been fail if you look at the original recipe.
I'm not gonna say it was a complete fail cause it turned out pretty good.
Next time, they will be even better!
Onions and basil and garlic maybe? That sounds really good!

'Till next time
BB