7 months in bullet points

With all our serious posts lately, I thought it about time for fun stuff. Here are the happenings over the last SEVEN months (during the hiatus) with my sweet boys and other fun items.


AUGUST
• Life-changing, mind-blowing yoga immersion complete!
• Ang started teaching yoga to friends out of our home
• Aar and Ang started salsa lessons, again!
• Aaron sold his car – we became a one-car-family. Yikes.
• Carters came for a quick visit 
• Kaiboy turned one August 23rd!!! We planned a party at a local park, but a hurricane changed locations to our home. Charades and vegan cupcakes stood out – Kai’s first sweet dessert.





SEPTEMBER
• Kai started to walk (12 months)!!!!!
• Sunset beach trip and visit with the McCarthys
• Ang starts assisting a Power Yoga class at SyncStudio
• Ang’s 10 year high school reunion
• Aar wins season tickets at Duke BBall campout
• Aar picks up intermural football and Ang starts running with gals from church
• Cathy comes for quick visit!





OCTOBER
• A and K fly down to Gainesville to surprise Ang H. for her 40th!
• Time out for women in Richmond
• Ang’s murder mystery café rio birthday party extravaganza
• Kai waves bye-bye 
• Halloween – K is a dragon, Aar a knight, Ang a princess – best family costume for the ward!







NOVEMBER
• Aar starts a mustache for Movember
• Thanksgiving with Palermos and Sheffields
• Aar commences freak-out mode about preliminary exam
• Kai loves to dance – little squats and moving his arms in jerks
• Showers for Jennie, Ruth, and Janet  (not all Nov though)





DECEMBER
• Winston-Salem trip to see Anna, Cathy, and Old Salem
• Janae’s Wedding!
• Mom and Dad T come for visit – make trip to Jacksonville to see Andrew
• Aar birthday dinner with family and Aaron-trivia
• Foreign body in Aaron’s eye – yipes!
• Christmas, of course
• New Years dinner and games
• Ang starts teaching yoga weekly at SyncStudio and Patanjali’s Place
• Kai’s first words come in tumbles – duck, book, dada, mama, booyeah (thanks to Aaron)
• Kai manipulates toys and games better and better


JANUARY
• Ang gets the stomach flu and ends up in the ER
• NCSU Scholarship finalists review and interview help – Ang
• Aar passes the prelim!!! Back to normal….
• Zumba commences again
• Kai loves planes, birds, and dogs and pointing to everything
• Kai's first haircut





FEBRUARY
• Kai starts using a sippy-cup a lot more and getting more coordinated at feeding himself finger foods
• Kai starts making animal sounds for dog, horse, monkey, donkey, sheep, cow, elephant
• Kai starts using big boy carseat (convertible)
• Valentines= Partner Yoga and upscale Mexican dinner
• Ang starts yoga workshops and more subbin
• Duke vs State, with poor ending

Big Gulp of Mortality

A dear friend of mine from college was just diagnosed with leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow. He was told if he did not treat it, he would not survive beyond 6 months. If he did, his 5-year survival rate is 70-80%. Hearing about his cancer really shocked me - he is an avid athlete, a physician, and an all-around great guy...plus this type of cancer is not very common in folks his age. If anyone can lick this, he can. I was able to spend a bit of time with him at the hospital today, as he is receiving chemotherapy as an inpatient for a few weeks. The whole experience has made me think a lot.

What were his reactions when he found out? Faced with an uncertain future, is he scared? Does he look at his life thus far with pride, satisfaction, and happiness? Did he think of not getting treated? Did he have premonitions about it? Does he believe in God?

This guy was one of my first friends in NC, the first guy I dated at NC State, the first person to visit me in the hospital after the wreck. We've lost touch since college, but it was great/nostalgic/comforting to see him again. I've been thinking about the best thing to do or say. What would I want if I was in his place? My first thoughts were wanting to resorb all the great moments my life to buoy me up. Slowing down to self-love and work on healing. Developing a personal meditation practice to help me integrate all that is incoming and stressing. Surrounding myself with loved ones. Writing down all my thoughts, poems, blog posts, etc. Praying a lot.

The whole thing is scary. And I'm on the outside, not the inside. I can't seem to shake these thoughts, this acute awareness of mortality.

Four-Month Catch-Up

I have this issue with blogging- I want the posts journaling our lives to have nice pictures and pretty writing. So, I wait until these things magically happen...which they don't....then I realize I've forgotten everything weeks/months later. Hence, no updates for awhile. Before I get any further down this road, here is the catch-up post.

Kai at Bryce Canyon



MARCH
•Aaron started spring softball, and I started Zumba
•Wedding showers and birthday parties :)
•Aaron helped organize a Multicultural night at our ward with about 15 countries represented by natives or folks who served a mission there. Note: Aaron roped me into making a Mississippi booth (apparantly the equivalenet of a different country. At least I dowloaded lots of Blues music for us!)
•Aaron, Kai and I take a trip to Asheville - Aaron has a week-long epigenetics conference (hence, more scary things learned about the possible effects of Kai's environmental exposures to everything). I take yoga classes from Asheville Yoga Center and explore. It was our first time back since our wedding; we stayed at the hotel where part of our wedding party lodged! Lovely Asheville, maybe we'll live there one day...

APRIL
•Kai started crawling!
•General Conference meant lots of inspiration and sitting over the weekend.
•Farewell parties for friends and catching up with others visiting town :)
•I joined the ward Book Club and loved the first one - Moloka'i. Sadly, I realize this is the first time I've read for fun in years.
•Easter rocked: "Last Supper" dinner (fish, grapes, dates, and something green), read the Bible as a family, huge spread on Easter Sunday, watched inspirational videos, dyed eggs, and had an Easter Egg Hunt with Kai.

MAY
•Aaron, Kai, and I took a second trip to Asheville for Aaron's grad school retreat. More exploring/hiking with Kaiboy. We also won a costume contest for best superhero -we were all "supermen" with capes and the crested shirts.
•We spent Memorial Day weekend in Wilmington with my folks. The beach was beautiful, the traffic horrendous, the rented home artistic, the off-shore fishing fun (and a bit stomach-turning for me), the yoga studio and natural foods store awesome.
•Wedding guests! :)
•Mother's Day was pretty sweet. Aaron got me flowers and planted/cleaned our garden. We had a delicious spread at Mom and Dad's house and a small gift exchange.

JUNE
•Kai learned how to clap his hands! He is crawling up the stairs, and he is communicating through in series' of expressive grunts. Kai has become more social and started to smile/flirt/talk to strangers. He's finally getting over his aversion to men!
•Father's Day came with a homemade breakfast, dinner, and scanvenger hunt around Southwest Durham for presents. Aaron and Dad also went on four fly fishing lessons this month - my ploy to start them on a new healthy outdoor hobby! :)
•Rob (my oldest brother) came for a quick visit, lots of food, and Music in the Gardens.
•We vacationed for two weeks in Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Duck Creek Village, UT. It was one of my favorite vacations ever - especially with our great company (Towers family reunion and DC friend reunion) and lots of outdoor adventures (hiking, golfing, paintball, horseback riding, swimming, stargazing). We even got to hike the strip in Vegas a bit. Just got back yesterday and work is dragging after all the fun!



Zion Park from Angel's Landing

Aloha and a Bloody Good Time

Keeping with our theme of dinner foods honoring guests' heritage or interests, we had two fun dinners with friends - one Hawaiian and the other English.

Our dear fried Metta hails from Hawaii, so we asked her for menu ideas. The night was sweet, filled with good conversation and foods. Here's the lineup:


image

Oven Kalua Pork
Potato Mac Salad
Fresh Green Salad
Passionfruit Cake

We were in charge of the mac salad - ALL foods were amazing, but I thought the Prieto's beautiful cake creation was phenominal! Thanks for the great luau guys. :)




Next came a reunion with a couple of UNC Public Health classmates, Rebecca and Liz, along with their mates. Catching up was a lot of fun and long overdue. Liz was the guest of honor, having dual citizenship in England and the States. The English dinner fell on the day after the royal wedding - another fitting tribute. Goods included:

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Fish and Chips with vinegar for dippping
Brussel Sprouts with Shallots
Eton Mess (strawberry and cream dessert)
English Tea


Again, it was AH-mazing. We were in charge of the fish - One of our few attempts at skillet frying...it was delicious but very messy and somewhat dangerous, what with all the oil popping and whatnot. We used rice flour for the frying and it was glorious! Here, here HPM. :)

Россия праздник (Russian Feast!)

I translated that with Google so I don't know if its accurate...correct me, Russian enthusiasts?

A couple of weekends ago we had Alex, Olga, Kim, and Tyler (and baby Liv!) over for a Russian dinner. The first two are from Russia, recently married there and living in Durham. The second two served missions in Russia and are about to start PhDs in Russian. We wanted these couples to meet - turns out Kim served in the area where Alex is from and Tyler served in the area where Olga is from! Serendipitous, much?

We decided to celebrate Mother Russia with a feast and lots of good cheer. Here's the menu:

Chicken Kiev - lots of butter!
Vegetable oil, for frying
4 (6-ounce) thin cut chicken cutlets
10 blades fresh chives, chopped to about 2 tablespoons
A palmful fresh parsley, finely chopped to about 2 tablespoons
A palmful fresh dill, finely chopped, about 2 tablespoons
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
6 tablespoons chilled butter
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup plain bread crumbs
A wedge lemon
Plain, round toothpicks

In a large, deep skillet, heat 1 1/2 inches vegetable oil over medium high heat. Pound out cutlets to 1/4-inch thick with a small heavy skillet or a rubber mallet. Be careful not to tear meat (if needed - we didn't need to). Combine chopped herbs on cutting board with chopped garlic. Cut 4 (1 1/2 tablespoons) pieces of cold butter (!!!) and coat each piece liberally with the herb garlic mixture. On 3 plates, set out flour, eggs beaten with a splash of cold water and bread crumbs. Uncover chicken and squeeze a wedge of lemon over breasts. Place an herb-covered piece of butter on each piece of chicken. Wrap and roll cutlets tightly up and over the butter cubes. Discard pie tins used for breading. Secure stuffed chicken with toothpicks. Roll stuffed breasts in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Fry the Kiev bundles 7 to 8 minutes on each side until deep golden brown all over.

Haluski
4 cups wide egg noodles
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sliced sweet onions, about 1/8 inch thick
2 teaspoons brown sugar
6 cups red cabbage, sliced thin
1 teaspoon caraway seed
pepper to taste

Cook egg noodles according to package directions, then drizzle with a bit of oil to prevent the noodles from sticking together and set aside. While noodles are cooking, melt butter in large deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion, sprinkle with brown sugar and saute, stirring occasionally for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until softened and just beginning to turn golden. Add cabbage to skillet, stirring well to incorporate with onion, and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in caraway seeds if using, then cover, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn heat back to medium, add cooked noodles, salt and pepper, and stir well until noodles are heated though.

Russian Mashed Potatoes (c/o Kim and Tyler)

Apple Sharlotka and Russian Tea (c/o Alex and Olga)

Our Little Pumpkin, plus a Murder!

Our Halloweentime this year was pretty fun. My birthday is right around the end of October, so Aaron decided to throw me a Murder Mystery Party, "A Taste of Wine and Murder". (Thanks to my sis-in-law Ang for the game!) It was such a riot! We invited friends over to play the various parts in the game, each being a suspect. They were all such great actors and had fun costumes. At the end of dinner, we all had to guess who committed the murder. And our little Kai was a pumpkin for Halloween, both at the party and for a neighborhood trick or treat. The suspects:

Ralph Rottinggrape, Tiny Bubbles, and their Pumpkin
Marilyn Merlot, Bonny Lass,and Papa Vito
Hedy Shablee and Agent Bud Wizer
Suzie Martinelli and Otto Von Schnapps

A Class Prepared

Here is a pic of Aaron's and my Bradley childbirth class - more hippies who really really want to do natural childbirth. :) Notice the one night Aaron was missing (out of the 12), they took a picture!

The class was a great experience - glad we did it. It definitely helped both of us feel more confident about birth - heck, I listened to Aaron talking to our unwitting dinner guests about the amniotic sac the other night!

Only one couple has had their baby that we know of - the rest are due between Aug 1 and October. There has been talk of play groups...

Reactions and Showers

I've been taking note of folks' reactions to the belly for the last couple of months. At over 7 months pregnant, people can definitely tell my "condition" from a ways off. I have noticed the warmth that other mamas and older women immediately show me, it's in those soft smiles of understanding. I have noticed that the college-aged young women tend to look uncomfortable - perhaps its a reminder of pregnancy scares, inevitable weight gain, or future responsibility for this demographic. Men are a mixed bag - some are very chivalrous, some avoid eye contact (maybe its that future responsibility bit again), some are just a little more kind. And, for both genders, I do love the talkers/advice givers; they ask about Baby T's due date, Baby T's gender, my readiness for parenthood, their own experience with pregnancy and childbirth. Children always have something candid and honest to say about Baby T - usually adorable. Pregnancy is really a whole different type of connection to the world around you; it evokes varied, but typically very happy, feelings for people. For this reason it is interesting being in my shoes - just to see other's react to Aaron and my decision start a family and to the huge step in life we are about to take.

In party news, we've been showered. A couple o' times. Some friends from my ward threw a baby shower for Aaron and I in mid-June, which was fabulous. In my hastiness to get ready, I forgot to plan for picture-taking, and, alas, I have no pictures (save for the awesome and artful cake Carolyn made)! It was really fun to hang out with good friends and start the Baby T collection of goods.















Aaron and I also hopped off to a recent family reunion (my Mom's side) in the Georgia mountains. It was great to get away to the small Bavarian-style village, hike to waterfalls, visit with family, eat eat eat, and, of course, gets lots of belly pats. My sweet aunts (with help of cousins) threw Aaron and I a surprise baby shower. Woohoo! Again, it was great to feel supported in this big step and get help with Baby T items.

See my basketball?


Both Aaron's and my work groups have also wanted to be involved. My work group took another pregnant work colleague and myself to dinner and got us a super-sweet baby gift. Aaron's work group is planning a small shower in a few weeks.

The generosity is amazing! Thank you to everyone who has helped us get ready for little T in some way. :)

Preggo update: 33 weeks, less than 50 days until Operation Stork. Baby T is moving all the time (or, I feel it all the time now). I am feeling great still, have not reached the dreaded 3rd Tri discomfort stage yet. I did my last pregnancy jog on Saturday (I had been slowing down and spacing out jogs since the end of 2nd Tri) - and paid for it the whole day! I could barely move from ligament pain. So, now just low impact aerobics are in order. Aaron is getting more excited as the time draws near. He just melts my heart when he talks to little T every night. T loves it too - I can tell from the kicking.

Trimestre Tres! (+ travels)

We have entered into the final stages of pregnancy. Baby T is packing. People seem to be getting much more concerned about my "condition" lately - how I am feeling, how much I am sleeping, the weight of items I am lifting, and on and on. I feel great. I put in my "last" earnest run mid-week last week (yippee!). I had been hoping to run all through the second trimester and I accomplished it! At the end, it was getting little cumbersome and running was starting to cause slight round ligament pain (ligments that support the uterus), so I've decided to switch to long hilly walks and pool time for these last 3 months. I'm changing focus from aerobics to letting my body relax and get ready for birth. Yoga is always a must, although I'm now starting the transition to prenatal videos/classes.

This time is super-exciting, albeit pretty busy with decision-making (registering, buying baby things, childbirth classes, birth plan). Aar and I have been ingesting lots of birth stories and trying to prepare for a worst-case scenario/hope for a best-case. He really wants a doula with us, since he feels a bit nervous about being the sole coach. (Let me know if you have any recs.) Last, "nesting" is also taking place. I went out of town last week and felt very compelled to write down a detailed list of all foods we had in the house, all items Aaron needed to finish that weekend, and all the extra tips he could possibly need while I was gone. I've been eating up craft tutorials/making plans to start them. Sounds accurate, right?

And some pics for updating:

Anna and Garrett's Wedding - a beautiful bride in a perfect outdoors ceremony with brunch and small-town southern hospitality. We loved it!












Rob's Graduation for his Masters in History - Family gathering and amazing southern Cal weather. Can we move here for Aaron's post-doc?












Belly Pic, per many requests. (Week 27 and start of 3rd trimester) Behind the belly is idyllic Coronado Beach - ok, maybe here for Aaron's post-doc?

18 weeks + Quiche

Baby Towers is getting active, or at least, I can feel the activity. The first distinct quickening was at 16 weeks, but I can feel the baby pretty frequently now. The movements are still really faint, so if I am not sitting/laying still, I usually can't detect it. I love it, I love knowing this little baby is alive and moving. What a joy it brings each time! How did we get so lucky?

In other baby news, my body is rapidly changing now. I am definitely showing and definitely gaining weight. Running on Wednesday didn't go so great, I think mostly due to the weight. (running today was better though!) I know my body is in it for a good cause, but I find the transitions in eating/activity habits challenging sometimes. I miss wearing myself out with a hard workout. But, would I give up this amazing process for that? NO WAY!

The second pregnancy brunch was today. More empathy, fears, joys, and laughter were shared among the ladies. I love having this "support group" once a month. I am excited to learn new things and hear their stories. One of the gals is due next week, which is really exciting! It's almost like graduating.

Last, I wanted to share one of our go-to dinner recipes. It is super easy and delicious. You can also vary to your tastes pretty easily:

Easy Vegetable Quiche
















(Image courtesy of Steaming Gourmet)
Adapted slightly from allrecipes.com
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 - 1 onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 cups chopped fresh broccoli (you can also sub other veggies, we did half broccoli and half mushrooms this time)
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (we mixed in sharp cheddar with the mozarella)
• 4 eggs, well beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Over medium-low heat melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onions, garlic and broccoli. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft. Spoon vegetables into crust and sprinkle with cheese. Combine eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until center has set. Perfect!

Ramblin' 2010

(pic from Cartoonstock)

Aaron and I have been traveling a lot lately. At times, it has been great. At times, it has inevitably brought on exhaustion. We had planned on getting a lot done before Baby Towers comes to greet us (for the lifetime trip of parenthood). I haven't quite figured out the traveling-with-small-infant thing. So, in the meantime:

• late February: Ang travels to Fort Lauderdale for work. Packed schedule, but the humidity was a nice break for the NC snow.
• early March: Ang travels to Gainesville for work. She starts getting exhausted and zones out during her last interviews. On the plus side, she gets to see Haddocks and Towers (Aaron's fam) also located in Gainesville!
• mid March: Aar travels to Albuquerque to see his sister Ash and rocks it out with food, games, hunting, and family time.
• mid March: Both travel to Nashville for Susan and Lance's wedding. Booked flights the night before and survived on 2 hours of sleep. The wedding and "alone time" away together was totally worth it.
• late March: Ang travels to Tampa for work. Ok, these trips are getting a little old. Come home already.
• early April: Aar travels to Gainesville for our niece's baptism and nephew's ordination to the priesthood. Family time #2 - awesome!

We also have upcoming travels for Anna and Garrett's wedding in Sumter, Rob's graduation in San Diego, a family reunion in Georgia, visiting friends in DC, and a few other work trips. Of course, I am not including dates, due to pleaserobme.com. It looks like this crazy website is on hiatus, but they make a good point nonetheless. Read the story here... Where have you been ramblin'?

Pregnancy Talk over Brunch

Yes please!

A sizable number (around 10) of my friends are pregnant right now; I figure it must be the economy or some other outside factor. I thought, "Why not get together for an estrogen-charged monthly meeting to talk about concerns/delights/fears?" We had the first get-together last Saturday.

There were 6 of us there - all at different stages of pregnancy, different birth plans, different stories. Aaron was a bit outnumbered, so he managed to lay low. We had a scrumptious brunch lined up for the group. My sister-in-law Lauren's Egg and Sausage Bake saved me again (see below for recipe) and a few others brought delicious homemade treats. The experience was so fun and enlightening! It was hit with everyone. I am so lucky to have these friends, learn from them, and share experiences. Until next month...

Egg and Sausage Bake
(photo courtesy of Lauren Towers)

1 lb. of ground pork sausage
1 can of refrigerated biscuits
2 cups shredded cheese
6 eggs, beaten
3/4 cups of milk
dash of oregano
salt and pepper, to taste
Bell pepper, tomato, or other veggies (optional)

1. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside. Chop up veggies while sausage cooks.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. Cut up each biscuit into quarters and lay evenly in one layer on bottom of your pan. (there may be gaps in between dough). Combine cooked sausage, cheese, eggs, milk, oregano, salt, pepper, and chopped veggies. Pour over biscuit dough. Bake until bubbly and rolls are baked, 20-30 minutes.