Detergent Under the Sink

I have always struggled with hand-washable clothing.  I have a special hamper for those items that need to be hand-washed, and I normally have TONS to clean.

But now I just keep a bottle of detergent under the sink, and instead of throwing the hand-washable item into a hamper, I throw it into the sink. And wash it. Right away. And hang it up.

I realize I may have to revisit this plan when Elijah starts crawling and opening cabinets, but I have at least another 4 months of clean clothing before that time comes.

Kind of amazing.

Introducing: Elijah!

So some of you Greek reading friends *might* have noticed that there was a Greek word hidden in our Greek alphabet...

But actually, it's the Greek version of the Hebrew name: Elijah!  He finalllly came at 41 weeks pregnant (whew!)

He is already 2 months old!

Many things to say about labor, motherhood, adjusting to life with this tiny beautiful boy who has consumed my life... but I'm also trying to protect the little one's privacy, so don't hold your breath.  There won't be a diary of every day of his life.  Well - there is.  But it won't be posted publicly on the internet.  You'll have to just settle for more of the domestic diva type posts. :)

Chicken Pesto

My amazing brother in law taught me this one...

First buy a pre-cooked chicken. Ours was $9 at our local grocery store.  Jake and I ate that for dinner 2 nights in a row.

When we were done, I pulled all the left over chicken off.  Do you realize how much chicken there is left when you're "done" eating?

The 3rd meal is easy. Leftover chicken bits, pesto, and noodles. Mmmm.  So very tasty.

Quick Dinner Recipe

When evaluating dinners, I have a pretty concrete system.

How good is this meal is answered with: How frequently would you like to eat this? So Jake says "Once a month" or "Every once in a while".

How easy is this meal to make is answered with "How many minutes standing up does it take me to make this meal after a long day at work when I'm starving." So something that I can prep in 10 minutes and put in the oven for an hour ranks higher than a dish I have to actively watch on the stove for 45 minutes.

But I might have a new way to evaluate meals.  "Would a woman who is 41 weeks pregnant be willing and able to make this?"

Well, with these Meditteranean Chicken Wraps, the answer is yes!  http://www.emilybites.com/2012/04/mediterranean-chicken-wraps.html

My friend Ruth Ann sent me this recipe this morning and it was SO easy and SO delicious.  If you eat hummus and feta and chicken, you need to try this.  I cannot believe I cooked something at 41 weeks pregnant! I deserve a medal!

And the answer to the first question, by the way... Jacob said this is an "Every day" meal.

Introducing: Abimelech!

Some of you know that my husband is a biblical scholar (If you're interested, read his blog here: http://jacobcerone.com/), and the running joke since we announced we were pregnant was what sort of terrible Greek or Hebrew name would Jacob name our poor baby?

Some of his suggestions:
Loami - meaning "Not my people"
Chesed - meaning "loved"
and Abimelech - meaning "My father is the king".

Abimelech won among our friends, and my poor baby has been referred to as Abimelech and "Bimmy".

So no one panic, we didn't have the baby yet and we didn't name him Bimmy.  We bought the baby a fish.

A few months ago, Jake and I discovered this amazing company called Back To The Roots, which has designed this really awesome aquafarm.  Which we purchased for the nursery.  We were informed at Petco today that this is apparently "a thing"... but here is our lovely new family member: Abimelech the Betta Fish in his aquafarm, all ready to meet our new little man and to help us grow some basil, lettuce and wheat grass. :) (We transplanted some basil from the yard... but there are 5 little pots up there.)


Setting up the tank:

Abimelech in the Nursery:

Take Out Menus

I'm running out of things to nest.  Seriously.

As of the writing of this post (to be published later), I am on Day 12 of False Labor.  I have contractions. They wrap around my back.  They are uncomfortable (although painful is probably too strong...)  I am nauseous.  Sometimes they are painful enough to wake me up. They last for hours, although they aren't regular.  And then. They. Stop.

It's emotionally exhausting.

So I've been trying to distract myself.   Here's my latest project.  Take out menus!

I have gone through EVERY RESTAURANT within a 10 mile radius and printed out their menus from their websites and written down their hours.  I made a list of all the fast food places nearby.  I even found out there is a service that goes to a lot of the restaurants in the area and will deliver to your house.  

So now, when we're sleep deprived, hungry, and grumpy, we don't have to say "What do you want? I don't know, what do you want? I don't know what do you want?"  We can just flip through the binder until we find something that sounds good.  Then it's just deciding who has to pick it up.

"You go get it. No you. No you. I'll give you a 5 minute back massage if you go. Make it 10 minutes."

Products I recommend: Gordon's Fish!

It's time for another rousing edition of "Products Domestic Diva Likes (but didn't get paid to tell you about)!"

This time: Gordon's Simply Bake Fish

I love fish.  I am also terrible at cooking it.  And my husband HATES it.  This does not really give me a lot of incentive to get better at fish cooking.  When tilapia was cheap, when I first got married (sometimes cheaper than chicken!) I got pretty good at this recipe that involved lime juice and peach salsa, but now that it's expensive, it's too depressing to pay for it and then risk ruining it.

Enter: Gordon's Simply Bake fish!  You just... preheat your oven, pop the little pouch in, and wait 20-35 minutes.

I've tried the tilapia and the salmon so far and both are delicious!

And the house doesn't totally smell like fish afterwards, so my husband isn't too annoyed with me.  :)

Lately this has been great for "Fend for Yourself" nights when Jake is willing to eat leftover pizza, AGAIN, and I just cannot do it.  :)

So there you have it. Easy, not too expensive, delicious fish.