Giada has a Little Girl!

Giada de Laurentiis of Food Network fame has had a little girl. Jade Marie was born on Saturday, March 29. I must say I am a little sad about the lack of Italian flare in her daughters name. But being in my current position, of struggling to name my son, I understand the whole naming dilemma. It is much harder to be critical of a name after trying to name a child.

Thai Tom Ka Soup

So for weeks I have been obsessed with Thai food. I can't seem to get enough of it. I think about it during the day, dream about it at night, and talk incessantly about it to those who are in ear shot and willing to listen. So, the past few times I have been in San Diego I have visited my favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant called MeChai Thai. The food there is delicious. I can't thank Tyler and Katie enough for taking us there for the first time. The two things I always order are Tom Ka soup with Chicken, and Green Curry with Beef. Tom Ka soup is a red curry soup made with coconut milk, and Green Curry is pretty self explanatory. I have vowed to myself that I will never learn to make Green Curry because I want it to be a special thing that Garrett can always take me out on a date for:) Tom Ka soup on the other hand is a different scenario.

The Thai restaurant in Mammoth ("There is a Thai restaurant in Mammoth?" you say...) isn't that great. Garrett has taken me there twice during the pregnancy for a Green Curry fix, but I must admit is has been anticlimactic. I don't know if it's the outrageous price or if it's lack of ethnic feel, but something makes it fall short. And on top of that, they don't serve Tom Ka soup!

This devastatingly sad circumstance lead me to pursue a recipe for Tom Ka soup so that I could meet my own Thai need. I looked all over and even found a web-site named U Can Cook Thai . I wasn't satisfied with any of the recipes I found, they all seemed incomplete to me, so I did what any pregnant woman would do to fulfill her craving, I made it up as I went along.

Disastrous as it could have been, and probably should have been, the soup turned our wonderfully. I was so happy that I actually cheered, clapped and attempted to jump up and down. (Attempted is the key word, I am 8 months pregnant!)

So I decided to share the recipe I came up with in hopes that some of you will try a wonderful ethnic meal. I am sad to admit that I have no pictures of this great success, unlike my great friend Lydia who seems to always have her camera when undertaking a cooking challenge. However, I think her inspiration came from the Pioneer Woman, but that's another story.

So here it is...

Thai Tom Ka Soup with Chicken
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. Cooking Oil of choice
1 medium Yellow Onion sliced
3 chopped cloves of Garlic
3 small stalks of Lemon Grass cut and smashed (keep large enough so it's easily picked out)
2 1/2 Tbs. of Red Pepper paste (depending on how spicy you like it. This was about a 5)
3 Limes zested
4 c or 2 14.5 oz. cans of Chicken Broth
2 Chicken Breasts cubed
8 oz. quartered Crimini Mushrooms
2 small sliced Zucchini
1 1/2 c chopped Carrots
1 lrg. Green Bell Pepper chopped
2" piece of Ginger cut into matchsticks
1 14.5 oz. can Baby Corn
1 sm. can Bamboo Shoots
1/3 c of Lime Juice
2 14.5 oz cans of Coconut Milk
1 c Water
6 Tbs. Fish Sauce

Directions:
Heat the Oil in a large stock pot over med to med-high heat. Add. Onion, Garlic, Lemon Grass, Red Pepper Paste and Lime Zest and cook until fragrant, and the onions are translucent. About 5 minutes.

Add Chicken Broth and bring to a boil.

Add cubed Chicken Breasts and boil until almost cooked through, about another 5-7 minutes.

Add all the remaining ingredients, stir and return to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 25-45 minutes. The longer the soup simmers the more the ingredients mingle and get happy!

I must say that this soup made for one happy pregnant lady and for one happy husband. I can't wait to eat it for left-overs tomorrow:)

In pregnancy news, everything is good. I'll update on that soon. I promise

Belly at 24 Weeks!

19 Weeks

On Friday morning I went into Phil's office to give the secretary something and he was standing there on hold waiting to talk to someone on his cell phone. I began talking with Betsy and we took care of the business we needed to. Then all of the sudden Phil's eyes got really big and he proclaimed,
"You really look like you are with child. You must have popped in the last few days, because up until now I didn't think you looked pregnant."

Do you want to know what I thought? Well if not, I am going to tell anyways. I thought,
"Yes, Someone, other than Garrett after constant prodding, actually thinks I look pregnant!"
It was a small moment, but one that was very validating. The belly obsession continues, and its not looking like it will dwindle anytime soon:)

Yesterday was a tough day. Grant had his first slalom race of the season, and something happened in the 4th turn on the first run. He twisted his knee, blew out, hiked to get through the gate he missed and tried to finish. He told me he was in so much pain that when he got to the flats he just couldn't finish and ended up falling.

We ended up in the clinic and saw a great doctor, Dr. Price. He was optimistic that Grant had not torn his minicus, wanted to get and MRI to be sure. He was leaning towards a tear or strain of his Left LCL or lateral collateral ligament. Grant begins PT twice a week asap, and hopefully will recover soon enough to race well this season. He is such a good skier and it was so hard to see him thinking about the loss of something he has worked so hard for.

After the doctor we went to Subway for a treat, and while in the car he looks at me and says, "Well if I cant ski, I can hunt! I guess its not all bad."

Such a Higerd. If its not skiing then its hunting. I guess being 14 in Mammoth could be a whole lot worse:)


So I have been feeling the baby move a lot in the past few days. It has been so fun because I now know what to feel for. Whenever I am still I can feel the little one flipping around in there. The baby seems to be quite a little in utero acrobat. I am really enjoying this stage of my pregnancy.

So onto week 19 Development:

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and s/he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. The baby's arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on the scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing 6 million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

So exciting:) I cant wait to know if the baby is a him or a her. Whats your guess?

Garrett is Smart

So on Wednesday night Garrett and I were headed to Crowley for a bible study. He rushed home from Bridgeport, I fed him something quick, I believe it was left-over lasagna, put Gus in his kennel, and we headed out the door. While driving to Crowley he looks at me and says,
"After the baby comes I don't think we'll both be able to attend very many mid-week meetings."

I replied, " Yeah I guess so. But what made you think of that?"

He says, " Its not like were going to be able to put the baby in a crate and leave it for three hours."

I started laughing. He is exactly right. We will never be able to leave the baby at home alone, in a metal cage and head off to do something alone. I have no problem leaving the dog, and have no moral qualms about it. In fact, I am a strong proponent of crate training any and all dogs. I am so thankful to have such a brilliant husband who can show me the difference between our child and our dog:)

Anyway, I thought that was a funny little anecdote from our lives and thought you might enjoy it...

19 weeks and going strong. Ill post some development stuff tomorrow:)


Here is a picture of Gus as a 9 week old pup in his kennel, just for reference:)

Does Every Preganant Woman Think Things Like This?

So I woke up this morning thinking about the movie "The Abyss" , its an obscure 80's movie by James Cameron, and was wondering about Ed Harris' character and if he could really have breathed liquid oxygen. In the movie he must travel down into the abyss and its so deep that regular oxygen wont work. They fill his tank with liquid O2, and they tell him to breathe it in and his body will remember how to breathe like when he was in the womb.

Now I am not stupid enough to believe that this could actually happen, but it did get me thinking about my baby and how it will be breathing. Everything I have read suggests that the baby's internal organs are developing and that includes the lungs. Lung maturity wont be complete for a awhile but does the baby breathe while in the womb? I know the first breathe outside the womb is a big deal, its the moment everyone waits for, the moment that gets people worries if the baby doesn't scream.... Nevertheless, I am just wondering about it.

I am sure other pregnant mothers wonder strange things, but I think this might be an extremely strange one...

O Christmas Tree!

Last week sometime Garrett told me that he wanted to take me on a date to cut down our Christmas Tree this year. I was so excited because the last three years I have bought $20 trees from IKEA, and having grown up in Mammoth that is quite unacceptable.

Yesterday afternoon after church we loaded up Gus in the backseat of the cab of the truck, since it was 20 degrees outside and I refuse to have a frozen dog, and headed up past Bridgeport almost to Walker to hunt down a nice fir tree. This past week we received some snow, so it made it feel all that much more Christmassy. We played Christmas Carols and drank hot beverages. It was a really fun time.

We found our tree after hunting for about 20 minutes in the 15 degree weather. I wouldn't have lasted much longer. And besides I had to pee.

I wanted a picture with the tree too!

Look how cold we are... you can see it in our noses.

Garrett tying the tree to the truck...isnt he a handsome mountain man!

Grant came over to help us decorate the tree, and decided I was too picky about the lights so he left the light stringing to me. I guess I am more like my dad in some areas than I thought.

Here we are much warmer, and with a decorated tree.
If you look closely you might find some thing that could remind you of Gus
as Phil so delicately put it.

Merry Christmas, and I hope you love your tree as much as I love mine:)