Coming Soon to a Homestead Near(ish) You...
I was going to do a ceremony and a whole blog post addressing my fears, and then the other day...they were just gone. Some kind of awesome mommy-mantle descended upon me and I knew that everything would be not only "just fine" but wonderful. A million what-ifs all were just gone. I have this awesome feeling of peace. Doesn't matter if the birth is too fast and no one makes it, doesn't matter if baby could be sick, doesn't matter if I tear (never have all that much before, but still), doesn't matter if, if, if. I'll have my baby soon, and it's all good.
It's a rather beautiful feeling. I don't even know why I've been stressing so much, although I do suspect that the work situation and having no real support system close by is probably a big part of it. But no more. It's all good.
Very nice.
So, we're now preparing - for real - for baby. I've been buying something, even just a small something, each week. When the check is tiny, as it often is since I have few hours, I pick up a $2.50 onesie. Got a larger one and splurged on this beautiful thing, and I'm trying not to bug out since I expected it here by now. It's all good. I have a tote that I'm collecting baby things in. Been getting the laundry under control (even unpacking stuff that is STILL bagged up) and found some little socks and a shirt or two for hand-me-downs. A neighbor lady, who we've only just met, apparently loves yard saling and brought us a whole bag of stuff. Lots of clothes (many 'girl' outfits, some of which Josh is veto-ing if it's a boy, even though I rage against the whole blue/pink gender divisive thing. Oh well. At least I think I'm winning on the cloth diaper & circumcision debates). She even gave us a car seat! That will save us a large chunk of money. I'm nervous about having a used one from a family I don't know. There's no way of knowing if it was ever in a car accident or anything. But it's pretty much the same kind we had for the girls, and Josh says it looks perfect, except that the cover is all stained and ugly. Gonna see if I can find a new cover, but if not, STILL - it's a car seat! So nice.
Now we're on a mission. Josh has not-so-tactfully pointed out that "nobody" likes my freezer experiments. Overlooking the fact that Noodle Stuff is a family favorite and I think it would work great freezing, as well as the fact that the girls actually love my tuna casserole (Josh doesn't eat fish) and will even eat up my soup if I catch them in an agreeable mood...that basically means Josh doesn't like any of them. But now he is on a mission to start fixing "edible" freezer foods to stock up on so he's not overwhelmed with everything when the baby comes. Because, even though I think I could still cook, apparently he doesn't. Ha! Well, he is a better cook than me. I won't lie. He just wants to try some new stuff.
So...what are your favorite freezer meals? Josh will not eat any seafood, but the girls & I will, so I'm not ruling those out. I had a little 'freezer meal' recipe book (from Taste of Home or something) that I was working our way through, but we found very few recipes that *everyone* liked. We plan to start experimenting between now & August, and hopefully stock up on several winners before Guillermo comes. Hit me with as many as you can!
Also, I'm hoping to use up some of these millions of eggs on egg salad, which I have never made. We have family coming into town for the girls' recital though, so I'd like to have side dishes fixed ahead of time. Any favorite egg or potato salad recipes? I have made potato salad before, but never egg salad. Thought I might do both this round.
Thanks for any help!
It's a rather beautiful feeling. I don't even know why I've been stressing so much, although I do suspect that the work situation and having no real support system close by is probably a big part of it. But no more. It's all good.
Very nice.
So, we're now preparing - for real - for baby. I've been buying something, even just a small something, each week. When the check is tiny, as it often is since I have few hours, I pick up a $2.50 onesie. Got a larger one and splurged on this beautiful thing, and I'm trying not to bug out since I expected it here by now. It's all good. I have a tote that I'm collecting baby things in. Been getting the laundry under control (even unpacking stuff that is STILL bagged up) and found some little socks and a shirt or two for hand-me-downs. A neighbor lady, who we've only just met, apparently loves yard saling and brought us a whole bag of stuff. Lots of clothes (many 'girl' outfits, some of which Josh is veto-ing if it's a boy, even though I rage against the whole blue/pink gender divisive thing. Oh well. At least I think I'm winning on the cloth diaper & circumcision debates). She even gave us a car seat! That will save us a large chunk of money. I'm nervous about having a used one from a family I don't know. There's no way of knowing if it was ever in a car accident or anything. But it's pretty much the same kind we had for the girls, and Josh says it looks perfect, except that the cover is all stained and ugly. Gonna see if I can find a new cover, but if not, STILL - it's a car seat! So nice.
Now we're on a mission. Josh has not-so-tactfully pointed out that "nobody" likes my freezer experiments. Overlooking the fact that Noodle Stuff is a family favorite and I think it would work great freezing, as well as the fact that the girls actually love my tuna casserole (Josh doesn't eat fish) and will even eat up my soup if I catch them in an agreeable mood...that basically means Josh doesn't like any of them. But now he is on a mission to start fixing "edible" freezer foods to stock up on so he's not overwhelmed with everything when the baby comes. Because, even though I think I could still cook, apparently he doesn't. Ha! Well, he is a better cook than me. I won't lie. He just wants to try some new stuff.
So...what are your favorite freezer meals? Josh will not eat any seafood, but the girls & I will, so I'm not ruling those out. I had a little 'freezer meal' recipe book (from Taste of Home or something) that I was working our way through, but we found very few recipes that *everyone* liked. We plan to start experimenting between now & August, and hopefully stock up on several winners before Guillermo comes. Hit me with as many as you can!
Also, I'm hoping to use up some of these millions of eggs on egg salad, which I have never made. We have family coming into town for the girls' recital though, so I'd like to have side dishes fixed ahead of time. Any favorite egg or potato salad recipes? I have made potato salad before, but never egg salad. Thought I might do both this round.
Thanks for any help!