Peanut Butter Marshalaides

Perhaps you remember the Peanut Butter Marshalaide? Clark's marvelous peanut butter and marshmallow concoction? Well, I am enjoying one right now. And it's fabulous. A while back Clark formally wrote out the recipe, so I'd like to share that now with you. Behold:

Peanut Butter Marshalaide (by Clark)

Ingredients:
1 slice white bread
Peanut butter
5 Marshmallows (large)

Directions:

1. Spread a healthy portion of peanut butter on one side of the bread.

2. Tear marshmallows in half and place on peanut butter in a 3 by 3 array. (One half piece of marshmallow will be left over.) Miniature marshmallows can also be used to create a solid layer 1 marshmallow thick over the peanut butter.

3. Put bread into a toaster over and turn on using the ‘toast’ setting.

4. Toast until the marshmallows are golden brown. Remove immediately.

5. Eat immediately. The Peanut Butter Marshalaide is not too hot to eat. Trust me!

Now go make one. You won't regret it! (Unless you are allergic to peanuts, and then I strongly believe you will regret it, because you will see the joy of the PBM and not be able to partake. And that would be sad.)

Sweetest February

Welcome glorious February! I greet you with exuberance and joy! Because do you know what February means? It means I am 16 weeks pregnant and the worst is over! It means my bird chain has reached its end. It means I haven't puked in 6 whole days (6!), and I have every hope that I am done with one of the most draining experiences of my life. ("Until you have another kid," you say. "Shut your mouth," I respond.)

Also, February means Clark's birthday, Valentine's Day, President's Day, the Parade of Homes, and lots of visitors to the St George area. It's probably the best time of year to live here: the coldest part of winter (you know, the part where we get occasional frost) is about over, spring is starting to peek out, but you still have months before the inferno strikes.

But mostly this February is about feeling good. And gratitude. Gratitude for all the people who have brought us dinner, watched Julia for a morning (or 2, or 3. . . ), asked after me at church, and stayed at our house for a week or more to help out. Gratitude for the man at the pharmacy who let me cut in front of him in line, and then offered to walk me to my car, just to make sure I was alright. Gratitude for the nurse who volunteered to watch Julia for a 1/2 hour while I started my IV because I had no one else to watch her. Gratitude for a good doctor's office who did all they could to get me through this horrific time. (I am less than grateful for switching insurance companies December 1st, as that means we have 2 deductibles in 2 months, but I am grateful that we at least have insurance, so there is a silver lining in that, too.) Basically, we have been abundantly blessed. And the world has a rosy glow.

Thank you for finally coming, dearest, loveliest February.

Weekly Quote 2/1/09

"I never feel so good as when I'm eating."

Hey, look at that, this quote was provided by ME! And it's so true. New quote up!

My Kids

Thus far, today has been a pretty good day. I've developed a cough which isn't exactly "fun," but it's not too bad, and the nausea has been kept at bay. So I decided to actually post some pictures, amazing!

Here we have my 14 week belly (which is really just all my fat pushed out by the baby, who is still pretty small and pretty low in there):
I. Look. AWESOME.

I got a sneak peak at Baby Bing yesterday. I had an echo done, and after she finished up the tech asked if I wanted to see the baby. Um, OF COURSE I DO. So we got a nice shot of the back of Bing's head, and then a cute little wave. Stuff like that helps me to remember that it's all worth it in the end. I'd just rather be at the end :)

And here is Miss Julia, in her pigtail glory. I didn't put them in, Jen did, and they lasted another 20 minutes before she ripped them out. But at least I got a cute picture of her.

Good Grief.

I just want to feel normal again. I want to wake up and feel GOOD, and not puke, and be able to get my daughter her breakfast, and get us both dressed before 11am. I want to take her to the park and the library. I want to feed her a nutritious lunch, and get her down for a nap. And then I want to clean my house, and possibly work on other projects, before she wakes up. I want to be able to cook dinner. I want to go grocery shopping again! I want to plan our meals! I want to take care of things so my husband can relax when he gets home from work. I want to go for walks. I want to go to the gym. And it would be a bonus perk if I could sleep at night, instead of laying awake at 4am, praying that I can just fall asleep and make the nausea go away. I want to be able to do all these things. And most importantly, I want to feel happy. Like everything is right in the world.

But I don't. I feel like garbage. Nothing is right in the world. We're just barely cutting it (and that is with the massive amounts of help we've received). Yes, this is better than last time. Yes, things have improved over a month ago. But seriously. I hate this. It makes me want to scream. But I don't have the energy to scream.

Perhaps I'll feel better in 2 weeks. Please tell me I'll feel better in 2 weeks!

Julia-isms

Julia has been talking up a storm the last couple of months. Suddenly my daughter speaks in sentences. And pretty clear ones, at that. Also, she's funny. Here's a sampling:

-After someone started singing about the Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, Julia said, "I know that song. Two little monkeys, jumping on the bed. Mama said, No no, sit."

-"Julia, what color of hair does Mama have?" "Red." "And what color of hair does Daddy have?" "Marshmallow!"

-(Playing with a Happy Meal toy) "Turn it back on, it's not working!"

-When it's time to change a diaper/get shoes on/take a bath: "Ok, here we go. Let's see. . . "

-If you have a drink with a straw, beware: she will ask you for "sips" until the drink is all gone.

-The kid is obsessed with being safe. We went to the OB today, and she kept telling me, "Julia safe. Julia safe."

-We've discovered a new fear: feathers. And threads that look like feathers. We practically had a meltdown in the car yesterday because she found a loose thread on her car seat, which she declared to be a feather. We had to have a chat about how feathers come from birds, and birds are not scary, so neither are feathers. It seemed to calm her down, but I'm not sure she's convinced.

Alive.

Well hello, my bloggy friends! It turns out that I am, in fact, alive. I would not go so far as to say, "alive and well," but at least I'm alive. That counts for something.

2009 went out with a. . well, not a bang, and not a whimper. A cry of anguish? A barf? You get the idea. 2009 was a great year, many good times were had, but the last month and a half could be summed up in the word "survival." We're still surviving, but we've had lots of help, so we're making it. Sabrina has been here for the last week and a bit, taking care of Julia, dinners, and our house. They don't make better friends than that. Seriously. She leaves this week. Hopefully we've only got 3 more weeks of this garbage. I'm so ready to feel normal again. To be fair, this time around is better than last time, and my puking is generally limited to the morning, but it still isn't fun. I am very much looking forward to this being over. I'm seriously reconsidering the plan of 3-4 kids. 2 might be enough for me. But now is not the time to be thinking about that. Not the time!

Julia and Adie made me a bird countdown on Saturday. I've got a whole string of birds hanging in my front room, waiting to be cut off one by one. I think it's helpful.

And. . . that's about all I've got. If anyone wants to take Julia on Thursday morning or Friday morning, or next week, or the week after that, you just let me know :)

Weekly Quote 1/11/10

"Rachel somehow manages to dress like a grandmother and a toddler at the same time."

It's been a while, but I finally decided to grace you with another quote. Lucky you. This one was from Glee, and it is awesome. Anywho, new quote up!