Belly Talk

I'm literally gaining weight by the minute. Hmmm, perhaps it has something to do with the aforementioned cinnamon rolls and donuts?  Just a thought.  I am only 14 weeks along, and already I have quite a pooch going on here.  I guess 4th babies just come faster. I am hoping that is also true in labor :)

I gained 50+ pounds with my other 3 pregnancies.  Yikes, it was hard to look at the scale towards the end.  You might remember how hard I worked over the summer training for my triathlon.  It has been difficult to see some of those pounds show up again.

Now that the 1st trimester fog is behind me, I have decided to get serious about staying reasonably fit during this pregnancy. I don't love the gym.  It is okay when I am feeling tip top...but with my belly and less-than-cute fitness wear these days, I'd rather do what I can at home. Not to mention the cost savings.

This book rocks!  It has specific circut-training workouts for each trimester and a great section on post-partum fitness and diet.  It is totally doable at home and I found it to be a realistic program. I highly recommend it.

I checked this video out from the library last week.  I love it. There is a great 40 minute conditioning workout with modifications for all three trimesters AND a 20 minute partner workout.  The partner doesn't really workout per say, he just supports you.  The instructor wears a tank top and boxer shorts and the "studio" is a living room.  Love that.

Finally, with my ballet background I always love a good yoga session.  This prenatal yoga was great.  Not too strenuous, I use it for a slow-paced workout on the weekends.

I've kept up with my swimming a couple times a week. It feels great to be weightless in the water.  There are all shapes an sizes at the YMCA on the mornings when I am there.  Me and the grannies kick it during the 6am lap swim. I really enjoy it.

So, here's to a growing belly...but not a growing booty.
 

handiwork

Donut day. Lovely friends, lovely confections.

Kneading.

Rolling.

Cutting.

Assembling.

Cooking.

Best of all...eating.

We also made these lovely corn husk dolls. 

I bought the corn husks from the grocery store.  I found them in the Hispanic foods section.  They had to be soaked in water overnight to make them more pliable.  I think these are wonderful. So simple and sweet.  The girls actually played with these all afternoon. Instructions here.

It was good to put our pencils down for a day and work with our hands.

an early winter?

We woke up to this one day last week.

It began the night before, so I guess were weren't entirely surprised.  There wasn't much- just a little dusting.  But for the girls, it provoked some excitement. 

A simple holiday soon commenced.  Just a little celebration to go with the first snow of the season.

I had been looking for an excuse to make the Sticky Pecan Carmel Roll recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  I mean, how dangerous can it really be to have cinnamon roll dough at the ready any time you get a buttery whim? A cozy snow day was just the right opportunity.

Let me tell you, it can be very dangerous.  There is another lump of dough in my refrigerator waiting to be transformed (the recipe makes enough dough for TWO pans of sticky buns, so knock yourself out).  I used the challah dough recipe.  Also, I didn't have pecans on hand so I just chopped up some walnuts and they worked fine. I did most of the work the night before. I made the dough, let it rise, rolled it out, filled it, and cut them into rolls.  Then, I put it in the fridge overnight (covered in plastic wrap). In the morning, I let it rise on the counter for about 40 minutes, then baked them. I'm thinking these would be perfect for Christmas morning. They were gooey and flaky all at the same time, and I'm sure that we won't wait for the next snowfall before we eat these again. Pure heaven.