It's that time again!
Here are the stats: I'm at 36 weeks right now, 2-3 cm dilated.
I had Sophie at 36 weeks/5 days, which would be this coming Monday (August 3) if this baby were to be the same.
So, what are your guesses - when do you think we will meet Baby Boy Fisher?
(For what it's worth, my guess is August 12...)
Put your guess in the comments section! :-)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Homemade Ice Cream (in a bag)
So I've seen a recipe on a few different "Mommy Blogs" this summer for homemade ice cream that you make with in plastic bags and is ready in 5 minutes. Didn't quite believe it would be as good as they said, but I thought I'd try it.
I have to admit, it was pretty good! I used one part milk and one part half-and-half. We drink skim milk, so I think doing it with a higher fat milk or ALL half-and-half would produce a creamier product. Also, it helps to think of it more as a milk shake than ice cream. That said, it's ridiculously easy to make and would be tons of fun for kids to do!
One other note - I have always thought ingredients I had never used seemed exotic, and therefore expensive. Case in point: Rock Salt. To all you out there like me, rest assured - I picked up a 1-pound box of it for 89 cents. :-)
Here is the site I got this particular recipe from, but if you Google "homemade ice cream bag" you'll come up with lots of variations and ideas... I'm thinking chocolate next time! :-) Oh, we also put it in a bowl instead of eating it out of the bag - I hate getting melty ice cream on my hand as I'm trying to scrape the bottom...
Happy eating!
I have to admit, it was pretty good! I used one part milk and one part half-and-half. We drink skim milk, so I think doing it with a higher fat milk or ALL half-and-half would produce a creamier product. Also, it helps to think of it more as a milk shake than ice cream. That said, it's ridiculously easy to make and would be tons of fun for kids to do!
One other note - I have always thought ingredients I had never used seemed exotic, and therefore expensive. Case in point: Rock Salt. To all you out there like me, rest assured - I picked up a 1-pound box of it for 89 cents. :-)
Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup half & half or milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons rock salt
1 pint-size ziploc bag
1 gallon-size ziploc bag
Ice cubes
Step One: Put the first three ingredients into the pint sized ziploc bag. Seal well. Check and make sure that is is sealed well. Check again.
Step Two: Put the pint sized ziploc bag inside of the gallon sized ziploc bag.
Step Three: Fill the gallon sized ziploc bag with ice and rock salt.
Step Four: Shake your bags.
After about 5-10 minutes the half & half will thicken and you will have ice cream!
Take the small bag of ice cream out of the larger bag — you may want to wipe the bag off to get rid of the salt residue, especially for younger children who are not as neat. Then, grab a spoon and eat it right out of the bag.
Enjoy!
Here is the site I got this particular recipe from, but if you Google "homemade ice cream bag" you'll come up with lots of variations and ideas... I'm thinking chocolate next time! :-) Oh, we also put it in a bowl instead of eating it out of the bag - I hate getting melty ice cream on my hand as I'm trying to scrape the bottom...
Happy eating!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Thoughts on a Rainy Sunday
Several people have asked me why I've stopped blogging, or at least writing so much. There are many reasons for this. One, admittedly, is Facebook. I post a lot of thoughts there, so the blog gets pretty much ignored. Then there's the fact that I completely and utterly decompress to Jon, so by the time I think to write about a given topic, I've probably already talked about it to death! Oh, then there's the small matter of being in school full time right now (should have my BA next spring!!!), and trying to do what I can to get ready for a new baby next month. (NEXT month? What??? When did THAT happen?)
The other reason is actually similar to why Jon stopped blogging. I started this out to chronicle being a Chaplain's wife, and I have few new experiences anymore. It's just life. Redstone is different from Hunter, which was different from Stewart, but at the end of the day, it's pretty much the same.
And, honestly, many of the things I would write about, I'm not really comfortable putting out there in cyberspace for anyone to read.
After listening to a story yesterday on NPR, Jon and I had a conversation about what it would look like to move "back home." I'll admit, there are times moving back to Cedar Springs seems appealing. My parents now live 4 hours away from there, so it's not "home" in that sense, but it is where I grew up. Every time I visit, I wish I could stay longer. Most of our siblings live within a 45 minute drive of there, and what I consider my home church - the one I went to and worked at in my early 20s - is just 10 minutes away.
But could I do it?
When Jon was in Iraq the first time, our plan was to go Active Duty. Long story short, that didn't work out. He came home in May of 2006, and we weren't sure where life would take us. We ended up moving back to Atlanta to work. I remember being completely terrified of this. Away from Michigan? Away from my family? Away from home?
But you know, home isn't Cedar Springs anymore. Home is not Savannah nor Huntsville. We often say that home is wherever we both are, but when he is deployed, I certainly don't consider THAT home! Many people use the phrase "Home is where the Army sends you" - and I think that right now, I tend to agree.
I feel more at home with other spouses than I do with friends from Michigan. I feel like I could walk onto any Army post and be integrated quite quickly.
A couple weeks ago I was on the phone with a good friend from high school. We used to do everything together. She got married a year after me, had a girl 7 weeks after Sophie was born, and had a baby boy in March. In that way, our lives have remained similar.
But really, they couldn't be more different. She lives in the next town over from our high school, in a small community. She is happy with her life, and I'm happy for her.
But it's not for me.
My life is the Army now. Jon and I have talked recently about how intimidated I used to be by it all. The first few social functions I went to I was scared to death. I didn't know when to stand, when to sit, how to interact with people. It was all so unknown.
Not anymore. Changes of Command, Hail & Farewells, Coffees, FRGs, even Memorial Services - they're all a part of life. I can tell rank by glancing at a Soldier's chest (though I'll admit, I still have to mentally count rockers), Taps playing at the end of the day has become common, and all my friends know exactly what it's like to have a husband overseas. I am more comfortable here than I would be anywhere else. I appreciate the diversity of people I meet, and I realize that, regardless of rank and position, that's all they all are - just people. People who introduce me to worlds quite unlike mine, people who might look at things differently.
I'm not done blogging. You'll still get your Sophie updates :-) - and I'm sure many more once Baby Boy arrives! And I'll still fill you in about what's going on now and then - but as far as the "Army firsts" - I think those are getting fewer & further between. And I'm realizing that what it means to be a "Chaplain's wife" is different with every person, every post, every year. I have other Chaplains' wives as friends who view this ministry vastly different than we do, so their experience looks different. So, I'll keep telling my story - just don't be surprised if I continue to not update very frequently. (If you DO want to know what's going on in my life, though, add me as a Facebook friend - that's a better way! :-)
The other reason is actually similar to why Jon stopped blogging. I started this out to chronicle being a Chaplain's wife, and I have few new experiences anymore. It's just life. Redstone is different from Hunter, which was different from Stewart, but at the end of the day, it's pretty much the same.
And, honestly, many of the things I would write about, I'm not really comfortable putting out there in cyberspace for anyone to read.
After listening to a story yesterday on NPR, Jon and I had a conversation about what it would look like to move "back home." I'll admit, there are times moving back to Cedar Springs seems appealing. My parents now live 4 hours away from there, so it's not "home" in that sense, but it is where I grew up. Every time I visit, I wish I could stay longer. Most of our siblings live within a 45 minute drive of there, and what I consider my home church - the one I went to and worked at in my early 20s - is just 10 minutes away.
But could I do it?
When Jon was in Iraq the first time, our plan was to go Active Duty. Long story short, that didn't work out. He came home in May of 2006, and we weren't sure where life would take us. We ended up moving back to Atlanta to work. I remember being completely terrified of this. Away from Michigan? Away from my family? Away from home?
But you know, home isn't Cedar Springs anymore. Home is not Savannah nor Huntsville. We often say that home is wherever we both are, but when he is deployed, I certainly don't consider THAT home! Many people use the phrase "Home is where the Army sends you" - and I think that right now, I tend to agree.
I feel more at home with other spouses than I do with friends from Michigan. I feel like I could walk onto any Army post and be integrated quite quickly.
A couple weeks ago I was on the phone with a good friend from high school. We used to do everything together. She got married a year after me, had a girl 7 weeks after Sophie was born, and had a baby boy in March. In that way, our lives have remained similar.
But really, they couldn't be more different. She lives in the next town over from our high school, in a small community. She is happy with her life, and I'm happy for her.
But it's not for me.
My life is the Army now. Jon and I have talked recently about how intimidated I used to be by it all. The first few social functions I went to I was scared to death. I didn't know when to stand, when to sit, how to interact with people. It was all so unknown.
Not anymore. Changes of Command, Hail & Farewells, Coffees, FRGs, even Memorial Services - they're all a part of life. I can tell rank by glancing at a Soldier's chest (though I'll admit, I still have to mentally count rockers), Taps playing at the end of the day has become common, and all my friends know exactly what it's like to have a husband overseas. I am more comfortable here than I would be anywhere else. I appreciate the diversity of people I meet, and I realize that, regardless of rank and position, that's all they all are - just people. People who introduce me to worlds quite unlike mine, people who might look at things differently.
I'm not done blogging. You'll still get your Sophie updates :-) - and I'm sure many more once Baby Boy arrives! And I'll still fill you in about what's going on now and then - but as far as the "Army firsts" - I think those are getting fewer & further between. And I'm realizing that what it means to be a "Chaplain's wife" is different with every person, every post, every year. I have other Chaplains' wives as friends who view this ministry vastly different than we do, so their experience looks different. So, I'll keep telling my story - just don't be surprised if I continue to not update very frequently. (If you DO want to know what's going on in my life, though, add me as a Facebook friend - that's a better way! :-)
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