We had an exciting day today! I had been trying to find some swim lessons for Anya in Cullman after the lessons I had her set up for in Decatur fell through due to not enough children of the same age in the same class. I did a random search through google for swim lessons in our home town and came across a blog of another local mother that had her daughter taking private lessons. I e-mailed her about the classes and got to know her over several weeks and trading e-mails back and forth. We decided to meet at her church that had an indoor playground for a playdate today. Things went very well. Anya made friends with Katie immediately and they played very well together. They played for almost two hours on the playground and together as we toured the church grounds, which were very impressive and nice. Mirya, is Katie’s Mom, and we hit it off as well. I was able to tell her about many of my experiences in Vegas and we got to know each other better as its much easier to go into detail in person, than typing personal details, such as how Travis and I met, out in an e-mail. She’s an Alabama fan, her only flaw really 
, but I won’t hold that against her. I’m thrilled that Anya and I have each made a new friend and feel blessed to have met her!
In other news, Anya and I went to my 16 week OB appointment on Monday and things went well there as well. I’ve lost another 2 lbs, but the doc is not worried at all as the baby is growing right on schedule. The baby takes what it needs from me and since I had a little extra to spare any way its fine for my health too. My blood pressure is fantastic which was the biggest concern for me as I had such severe pre-eclampsia with Anya. I did have a slight bladder infection so I have to be on antibiotics for a week, but they are safe for the baby and me to take and just to clear up the infection and not cause any further problems its safest to go ahead and take the antibiotics. I also had to have blood drawn for the Quad Screen which shows if there is any need for further testing on the baby regarding downs syndrome, trisomy 13, and other genetic disorders. Anya got weighed by Dr. Wideman as well and she’s up to 38lbs now. She’s very good when we go to the doctor and likes to hear the baby’s heartbeat to which she always responds that “baby’s good”! We will find out if this one is a boy or girl next month at our ultrasound!
Love Felt At Last
Author Unknown
No more lonely cold nights or hearing that I’m bad
No more growling belly from the meals I never had
No more scorching sunshine with a water bowl thats dry
No more complaining neighbors about the noise when I cry
No more hearing ‘shut up’, ‘get down’ ‘get out of here’
No more feeling disliked only peace is in the air
Euthanasia is a blessing, though some still can’t see
Why I was ever born, if I weren’t meant to be
My last day of living was the best I ever had
Someone held me very close, I could see she was so sad
I kissed the lady’s face and she hugged me as she cried
I wagged my tail to thank her, then I closed my eyes and…..
died.
Just felt like sharing this poem again. Remember, almost 10,000 animals are euthanized every day in this country. The shelters simply don’t have room and people keep buying from pet stores and breeders. Keep the animals in your prayers today!
So, Travis and I attend cooking classes. They are held at a local church by a friend of ours. He has been a chef for more than 35 years and he’s very good. Our first class last year we learned how to make homemade bread and we have made several loaves of Italian bread since. Its delicious! We have also learned how to make French onion soup, several different chicken dishes, crawfish etoufee, rice balls, Italian stuffed steak, and so on. Last night, our cooking class was all about Mexican/Spanish food. Travis and I were responsible for making the stuffed peppers and chicken enchiladas. You work in teams of two and prepare 2 recipes each. 1 team did Spanish paella, which was a large recipe so they only did one, and the other team did caramel flan and pan cantine, which is a Spanish bread that has all the flavor of bruschetta, but without the tomato toppings. The bread was my favorite. Travis and I definitely felt like we did the most work though! The peppers took forever to cook. We had to roast them to remove the skins, prepare the ground beef, chop the tomatoes and onions, take the seeds out of the peppers, stuff the peppers with the meat mixture and cheese, and then bake the peppers. Everyone loved the peppers except Travis and I! We also did the chicken enchiladas and thank goodness the chef brought in a chicken that was already cooked! The enchiladas were interesting. You chop a jalapeno and a chile and simmer them on the stove until fragrant, then you add a block of cream cheese and a cup of colby/monterrey jack cheese and a half a cup of water. You let that simmer then add the cut up cooked chicken to the mixture and heat through. Then you roll the enchiladas with the mixture, top with more colby/monterrey jack cheese and pour a pint of heavy whipping cream over them in a baking dish. Then you bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Everyone loved the enchiladas except me, which I couldn’t really eat them because of so much cheese. The cheese these days tend to make a little sick, so I try not to over indulge! The caramel flan was very good and the paella was interesting. The paella surprisingly did not have a whole lot of flavor. It had mussels, shrimp, chorizo sausage, chicken, and scallops in it, but all you really tasted was rice and seafood, no real seasonings to it. Its a lot of fun though and we really enjoy attending these classes. We try new foods and learn new tricks in the kitchen; nothing wrong with that!
So, today, I really should be cleaning the house more. However, it is simply more fun to play with Anya, who has been learning how to cut and paste with a workbook today. I did actually start doing laundry today, I only have 1 more load to go, however, the reason I hate doing laundry is because I honestly forget about it. Maybe its intentional and maybe its not, but these days I do have more Mommy brain than others due to the pregnancy. “Mommy brain” as I like to call it is when you don’t remember things until later and you say things out of the clear blue sky that no one around you has a clue what you are talking about and “mommy brain” is also when you feel like things are just totally going over your head or in one ear and out the other. So, I have had a case of “Mommy brain” today. I’m thinking I should get out of the house tomorrow. I would love to take Anya up to Huntsville to a blueberry and blackberry patch to pick some fresh fruit. She loved the strawberry patch, however, with her allergy to strawberries she can’t really enjoy them.
One day I hope to have some fruit trees and a small garden somewhere in our backyard, however, part of me wants to wait til we get our second house before I focus on a garden.
Anya had a disappointing week last week at the Vacation Bible School at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. It was really for more of the 4 and 5 year old range, but even the activities they had for them did not seem age appropriate in my opinion. I’ve been talking more with my friend, Shell about home schooling and have also started reading another local Mom’s blog about some of her homeschooling experience. Its something Travis and I still consider from time to time. I think the most infuriating part of the homeschooling for me though is the attitudes I’m confronted with. Some people seem to believe that a child has to learn in a social environment. Travis and I believe that our children should receive the best education available to them and that extracurricular activities such as dance, sports, gymnastics, and piano would be a better social environment. Plus, homeschool is not the same as it was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Homeschooling has the cooperation of museums, zoos, libraries, and other facilities these days. There are co-op groups where you work with other Moms and children in the homeschool environment. So, with the decline of our public schools, and as Travis likes to say “the dumbing down of our children so that all kids learn on the same level” has put a really sour taste in our mouth about public schools. Why should my child have to learn at the same level that the slowest child in the class has to learn at? I’m still not sure private schools are not much better, although I have no first hand experience on private schools yet. And yes, we are still considering sending Anya to private school.
Okay, enough rant…
Yes, I hate doing laundry…