Oh, baby!

People often ask if I've had an easy or difficult pregnancy...and I never know quite how to respond. With your first child, everything is new, your body changes on a daily basis, yet you have nothing to compare the journey to. You, baby and body are paving the way, one day at a time. So I usually respond with a little shoulder shrug and a polite "I wouldn't always call this pregnancy easy, however it could always be worse!"

When I talk with my pregnant girlfriends and read horror stories about complicated pregnancies and difficult deliveries, I am reminded that I. have. it. good. Really, really good, in fact.  But then there are those crazy ladies. You know, the ones that seem to be living in an alternate universe and claim that they have never felt better than when they were sporting the baby bump. Never felt better? Those people confuse me. 


During my pregnancy, I have experienced almost all of the stereotypical pregnancy symptoms... Morning sickness. Swollen feet everything. Nausea. Baby brain. Running Nose. Dizziness. Bloody nose. Heightened gag reflexes. Migraines. Sleeplessness. Lower back aches. Constipation. Mid-back aches. Heartburn. The need to pee every thirty.two seconds... Fairly uncomfortable but also fairly common occurrences for a lady and her baby. 


At 24 weeks pregnant, migraines & backaches have become the very unwelcomed new norm and I have altogether forgotten what it feels like to not share my bod with another being. Yesterday as I was driving home from the grocery store I thought to myself, "At least I have not had to deal with those leg cramps I've read about on BabyCenter! That may be the only pregnancy symptom I have yet to experience, but hey, I'll take it!"


....Guess who woke up to a powerful Charlie Horse this morning? Are you kidding me, kid?  

Thanks, baby numero uno, for toughening your mama up and helping her experience the good, the bad, and the oh.so painful of pregnancy.

Home sweet Home.

I have been missing so many things about Seattle lately. The delicious, diverse, and reasonably priced restaurants. The artsy and always.crowded coffee shops. The hilly walks around town. The bright city lights reflecting off the always.present puddles of rain. The hustle and bustle of urban living. The lovely community. The fresh green trees and the vibrant blue lakes. Pike Place in all of it's crazy, touristy glory. I miss it all these days...but especially the coffee dates in coffee shops with ones that I hold dear. I really, really miss those moments. 

Macrina Bakery

Home of cozy conversations, delicious vanilla sugar lattes + morning glory muffins. Mmmm.

Yesterday I decided it was time to pull myself out of the Seattle.slump I was in by whipping up a batch of gluten.free morning glory muffins. I couldn't help but smile as the two dozen muffins baked in the oven and filled our casa with a warm, cinnamon scent. As I ate my muffin and waited for my husband to come home, I glanced out the window at the dry, brown hills of Eastern Washington...certainly not Seattle, but it's home for now. 

G.Free Morning Glory Muffins

1 1/4 c sugar

2 1/4 c rice flour

2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

2 cups grated carrots

1 large peeled & shredded apple

12 ounces crushed pineapple

3/4 c Craisins

1/2 c shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3 large eggs

3/4 cup canola oil

2 t vanilla

preheat oven to 350F. grease muffin pan or line with paper muffin cup liners. in a large mixing bowl combine first five dry ingredients. in a separate bowl combine carrots, apples, pineapple. Craisins, coconut, and nuts. stir to mix. add the fruit + veggie + nut mixture to the dry ingredient, followed by eggs, oil and vanilla. beat until combined. fill muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. eat & enjoy!