Week 18

Week 18:
I feel like I did some growing this past week.

Eric was clearing some photos off of his camera so I can use it for the December Daily project. (Starting tomorrow!) Found a couple of great shots.

October, 2008 in Minneapolis:

January, 2008- Eric took from the flight deck of a Horizon de Havilland Dash 8 flight. One of his last flights with Horizon. Mt. St. Helens:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eric worked all week taking travelers to their families, so we postponed our Thanksgiving feast until this evening. Most of it turned out pretty good. The only casualty was when I tried to make dinner rolls using Eric's mom's recipe. Eric filled me in on a few missing steps, so hopefully the next time I make them, they won't be as dense as hockey pucks.

Now for some recipes and shortcuts:
* Turkey- Had my mom make it and bring it with her when my parents visited at the beginning of the week. In my never-ending quest to avoid cooking poultry, this is the best trick I have up my sleeve. Thanks, Ma!
* Corn- Steamer bag in frozen food section.
* Dressing- Stove Top.
* Gravy- Made from packet mix.
* Cranberry Sauce- Ocean Spray, with whole berries.
* Mashed Potatoes- My first true success in making mashed potatoes. They have not been so great in the past. 6-7 potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Put in pot of cold water. Turn on heat and check frequently with a fork until they are mashable. Drain water. Have husband use electric mixer while I add a little half and half (somewhere between 1/2 and 1 cup) and butter (2 Tbsp) until the consistency is just right.

Dessert recipes from my friend Sandy:

* Double-Layer Pumpkin Pie

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. milk, divided
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

BEAT cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. milk and sugar in large bowl with whisk until blended. Stir in half the COOL WHIP. Spread into crust.

WHISK remaining milk, pumpkin, pudding mixes and spices 2 min. (Mixture will be thick.) Spread over cream cheese layer.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until set. If desire, top with remaining COOL WHIP just before serving.

*Cran-Raspberry Pie

1 pkg (3 oz.) raspberry gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 c whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 can (8 oz) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained
1 graham cracker crust
2 c mini marshmallows
1/4 c sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c heavy whipping cream, whipped

In a large bowl, dissolve the gelatin in boiling water. Stir in cranberry sauce and pineapple. Chill until partially set. Pour into crust. Refrigerate until set. Meanwhile, in saucepan, combine marshmallows and milk. Cook and stir over med-low heat until marshmallows are melted. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla. Transfer to a large bowl. Cover and let stand until cooled to room temp. Whisk in a third of the whipped cream until smooth (mixture will be stringy at first.) Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Spread over gelatin layer. Refrigerate until set.

Where's the Lefse?

Ma and I made our 2nd annual trek to the Sons of Norway Trollheim Lodge in Lakewood to purchase some Christmas goods.

I liked some of the onesies they were selling:
Where's the Lutefisk? (With a picture of a fish on it. For those of you not in the know, Lutefisk smells as bad as a stinky diaper, so it seems very appropriate for a baby.)
Made in America with Norwegian Parts.
Lil' Norske.
Where's the Lefse? (With a potato on it.)

Week 17

This morning Eric and I officially became members of the church where we were married 3 1/2 years ago. We've been interested in joining for a while, but could never put together enough Sundays for Eric to be home to attend the new member classes. This morning the women of the church led the service to go along with a craft fair and quilt show held on Saturday. Quite of few of the quilts were still on display.






On the babies front, here's a Week 17 photo. I've gained a little bit of weight each day this week, which is a good thing. Eric and I also toured the birthing wing of the hospital. It was an evening tour and we were the only ones who had signed up this time, so it was nice to get a private tour. I've had a few friends who gave birth in this same hospital and had heard good things. Eric and I were equally impressed by the facilities and accomodations. One of the twins books I've read suggested signing up for classes and tours in the 2nd trimester instead of waiting for the 3rd trimester in case bed rest becomes necessary. So, we're going to take three classes in December and one in January.

16 Weeks

6:30 AM - Beautiful sky before heading to school.

Eric returned last night and unfortunately had a snowy driveway to tackle.

16 weeks- not much change?

More Fall Snow

15 Weeks

Time to start the bump photos. At my appointment last Thursday, my fundal height (vertical belly measurement) was 20 cm. The number of centimeters is supposed to correspond to the number of weeks in a singleton pregnancy. Looks like I'm ahead of schedule- I must be having twins!

November 9, 2009