Sunday brunch

That first picture is awful and hilarious! I like how EK accidentally got in it to give Rene a perfect elbow head.

This Sunday, our sweet friends came over and we all cooked brunch together. EK made banana cinnamon waffles, Rene cooked up the bacon, and Selena prepared an awesome sweet potato hash and sautéed kale. (I assisted and cleaned as we went.). Our kitchen is fairly small, but I think it was especially nice to "dance" around each other as we cooked.

The food turned out insanely delicious, too. One of the many perks this second trimester is that food now tastes especially good--complete opposite of first trimester! I also find myself very much enjoying things that would have me gag in the past (pre-pregnancy), like bacon fat in the sweet potato hash. All I can say is, NOM.

I hope you are enjoying the extra joy and excitement in the air already from the holidays. Last night, I went to yoga then hopped on a red-eye for Hilton Head, SC. I love how there are white rocking chairs in both the NC and SC airports. I'm a little delirious, but looking forward to seeing family and the ocean!

Things that go bump in the night

This is for my wonderful mother-in-law who recently requested a profile pic of the baby bump. The bump has definitely made it's appearance since right around 16 weeks (today I'm 18.5 wks) and I absolutely love it!

I got a little dressed up because Eric and I went to a friend's karaoke birthday party downtown. We had our own private room and it was so hilarious! I love karaoke because people get to unleash their silly.

Highlights of the evening: EK singing Bulletproof by La Roux (that song is so danged catchy and great!) with dear friends, Birthday Boy singing Beyonce, Jason nailing Hello (Is It Me You're Looking For?) by the one and only Lionel (I command you drop everything you're doing and watch that video in its entirety RIGHT NOW), Carol picking Last Christmas by Wham!, and Chia singing Debbie Gibson. There was also this guy who completely impressed me by choosing Mariah Carey, Halo, and multiple other lady-centric hits that I just did not expect him to pick. I love it when people are confident enough to own liking things that are just plain awesome. Case in point, I thought Eric was at his cutest last night when he choose to sing Brittany Spears, Toxic by his lonesome. No shame = HOTTT.

I took the second pic around 4 months ago when I was in the dressing room at Target, deciding whether or not to get the dress.  (Didn't mean to look so serious, but was just using a pic to see how the dress looked.  Do y'all do that, too?  I mean, the mirror's right there, but since my trusty iphone, I now need to see how potential clothes photograph before I buy them.  Crazy?  Definitely!)  The exciting thing is that this must have been just around the time we got pregnant!  I like to think about how there could have been a tiny bean growing in the belly and I didn't yet know.

Three Boos

Cuteness increases exponentially when husbands fall asleep with their glasses on and snuggling cats.

Fall sniffs

Our friends Jason and Carol kindly gifted us a bag of apples from their backyard tree!  I was so excited to get these and decided since I've been baking quite a bit lately, that I'd take a break and make some unsweetened applesauce in our neglected slow cooker.  It was so easy and so sweet--adding extra sugar would have really been unnecessary.  I left the skins on because they're good for you; they also added a nice texture. 

All I did was chop apples, add the juice of a lemon, a teaspoon of vanilla, a little water to just barely cover the bottom of the slow cooker, and a liberal sprinkling of cinnamon.  Then I set the slow cooker on high, let it fill our house with wonderful smells for 4 hours, and used a potato masher to mash away.

Now that the slow cooker is out, I'm ready to try more recipes that will fill our apartment with delicious fall sniffs.      

P.S. Tonight we're going to see Jens Lekman at The Fillmore!

Cutest Halloween Candy

Miniature gummi bears!

Bun warmers

Four months

Tomorrow is my first "centering" meeting with other expecting mamas, their partners, a midwife, and an obstetrician. At our first UCSF appointment with our midwife, she gave us the option of continuing to meet individually with her or to try centering. The latter is meeting in small groups with other mama-to-be's to discuss the goings ons of pregnancy. She told us it was more commonly practiced in Europe, but has been growing in the US. The idea is that you learn more from your peers and through discussion than from only listening to a doctor or midwife.

This idea is completely in line with my teaching philosophy and how I was trained as an educator.  In my classroom last year, we constantly placed the students in small groups to work with and teach each other. They truly did learn more and were so much more engaged!!

The midwife and obstetrician will facilitate our group, while still meeting with each mother individually. My prenatal yoga teacher shared with me that centering and the bonds she formed with those in her group were some of her favorite parts of pregnancy. I hope my experience is similar!

(P.S. On a trip to Goodwill today I found these MUCH needed maternity jeans for $5. Also, it was too difficult to pass up new,  red Ava Kork Ease platforms for $9. Score!)