Cathryn's Birth Story

This blog is called "A Little R&R," and I knew one day that name would be even more fitting when we actually had a little one running around. And that day has finally arrived. Here is the first story about our family's new addition.

I’ve noticed in recent years that my memory isn’t what it used to be.  My sister tells stories of our childhood, and I honestly can’t remember most of what she recounts.  So in an effort to remember Cathryn’s birth, I’m sharing the story.  I’ve labeled the different parts with subtitles since it’s LONG.

FINDING OUT THE NEWS

July of 2012 was incredibly busy. We were putting on an intense two-week training program for new teachers at YES Prep, and I was at work pretty late most nights.  Though we had been trying since May to get pregnant, we didn’t think July was going to be our month.

In August my mom came to visit, and I just kept thinking I must be getting sick because I was so tired.  Two days after she left I thought I should take a pregnancy test because my period was a little late and in some other ways I was just feeling different.  I made Reid go read the stick because I was just too excited and also a little scared to do it.  It told us we were indeed pregnant.  We waited another two days and took the test again just to make sure it was a real positive.  The “plus” sign indicating pregnancy came up almost immediately.  We didn’t even have to wait the full two minutes.

Picture from Mom's visit.  I was pregnant, but we didn't know it!

We shared the exciting news with our families over Skype.  They were excited to say the least! In the first trimester my mom was already sending boxes of gifts for baby!

As soon as we found out, I began researching health care providers.  Since I’ve been into the real food movement for the past several years, I’ve come across a lot info about natural birth.  I decided I wanted to try it.  In Houston there are 6 free-standing birth centers that are designed for those interested in un-medicated, intervention free labor.  I researched a few online and made a call to the one I liked.  We went there at what we thought was 10 weeks for a tour.  Two weeks later we had the “confirmation visit” where they do an ultrasound to confirm that you are in fact pregnant.  We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time and see the baby.  The midwives were very excited because usually people unsure of the conception date end up coming in when they are only 6-8 weeks pregnant, and there’s not much to see.  But our baby was measuring 12 weeks and they loved to see our “big” baby. We watched excitedly and could even see her stick her hand up to her mouth to suck her thumb perhaps.

THE FIRST TRIMESTER

The first trimester was accompanied by terrible nausea.  It wasn’t just morning sickness; it was afternoon and evening sickness.  Reid likes to eat bacon for breakfast, and I just could not tolerate the smell. He would have to close the door to the bedroom and turn on the fan over the stove.  I drank grapefruit Izze drinks as soon as I woke up in the morning to help settle things, but it was difficult for a while (later Jamie would joke that we should name our baby Izzy because she was half made up of that drink!). There was a two-week period where all I could eat or wanted to eat was Chic-fil-a.

I announced my pregnancy to my co-workers at one of our Saturday events.  I told them we were bringing a new member onto the team (we were hiring at the time), and them I held up the ultrasound photo.  It was nice to share with them as they were very excited, and well, it helped explain my constant sickness.

I started to feel the baby around 17 or 18 weeks.  It felt like little flutter or bubbles, almost like the movement of your intestines as it’s digesting.  Even now that I’m not pregnant, I sometimes feel my stomach or intestines moving and for split second I forget I’m not pregnant.  I remember the first time I could tell I was touching the baby’s foot.  Baby’s little heel was right up in my ribs.  I got teary eyed in the moment.  It felt so real that baby was coming soon.

THE SECOND TRIMESTER

At 20 weeks, just before we left for North Carolina for Christmas, we had the diagnostic ultrasound and found out we were having a girl.  While I was happy with whatever gender it would be, I have to admit I was hoping for pink!

In late January, we found out our birth center was closing and they would not be able to accommodate our birth.  I was really bummed because I liked that birth center because the midwives had privileges in the nearby hospital, and I wasn’t comfortable at the time with what might happen if I got transported and had a doctor I didn’t know.

I signed up for a birth class we were taking with some friends, and the teacher recommended Katy Birth Center.  I went to their “Meet the Midwives” event and one midwife had an opening for May.  I signed up immediately.  I was drawn to them because they really took a holistic approach to birth.  They emphasized herbs and nutrition as a part of your care.  Honestly, one of the things that most attracted me was that they did the 28-week glucose test with grape juice instead of making you drink that artificially flavored and colored glucose drink.  I thought it was great that they provided that alternative. At my first appointment with Melissa Bates, I knew I had a made a good decision.  She had me recording what I ate and drank each day and ensured I was keeping up with prenatal vitamins and some other supplements like Vitamin D and DHA.  I could tell she wanted to get to know me and my desires for our baby’s birth.  With her I really felt comfortable deciding to do a home birth instead of a birth center birth.  She helped me to believe I really could do it.  I figured if she didn’t mind coming to me, then I might as well labor at home.  So we decided to have a baby in our living room!

THE THIRD TRIMESTER

The nausea began to get better at 22 weeks, but I still had random bouts of sickness all the way through pregnancy.  I really felt great in my third trimester.  I only gained a few pounds in the last months.  Most of my weight gain happened early on when I was so sick and only wanted to eat carbs.  The only pain I had in the last weeks was a little hip pain from the widening.  Even up to the day she was born, I never wished that the pregnancy was over.  I was really starting to enjoy it.

This was thirty-something weeks along.  Feeling good!

On May 2^nd, my sister came to town hoping to be able to be there for the birth.  She was leaving on the 7^th, and even though the baby’s due date was the 3^rd nobody thought she would be here in time.

EARLY LABOR

I woke up the morning of the 3^rd after a full night of long and ongoing Braxton Hicks contractions.  I went to the bathroom and when I came back I just felt like something needed to happen, like I could change things if I got in a different position.  So I got on my hands and knees and rocked back and forth for a while.  When I got back in bed I immediately felt a change in the contraction pattern.  At 6:30 AM I got up to go to the bathroom, and when I lay back down I felt a little pop.  My water broke.  I ran to the bathroom, and from there yelled loudly, “my water broke.”  No one answered, not Reid from the bedroom or Jamie from the couch. I yelled again, “my water broke. Does ANYBODY care?!”  Jamie called back “Ronda? Did you just say your water broke?” She said she thought she was dreaming. We all knew none of us were going back to sleep.  I couldn’t believe it was happening, but I was going to have a baby.

So we texted Melissa to let her know, and she told me to take a shower and really do whatever I wanted.  She said since labor hadn’t started we had a little while to relax and then we’d have to do some work to get thing going. The next few hours were a funny sight. Because my water broke, Jamie and Reid were following me around with towels. We tried to go out for a walk, but that really didn’t work either.  Oddly it was a 55 degree day here in Houston, and so I was freezing out there, but thankful it wasn’t unbearable heat we’re so used to.

I started to have contractions that morning, but they weren’t really accomplishing anything.  Melissa came over around midday, and encouraged me to eat.  I wasn’t really interested but I knew I would need to energy later, so we had some Chipotle.  Contractions were uncomfortable, and though I had done some relaxation training, it was hard to relax through them.  Melissa recommended I take a nap to rest up for the more intense labor to come.  She and Jamie rubbed my feet, and according to them I did fall asleep, but I just remember being distracted by contractions. J

After the nap, Melissa checked and I was 3 cm.  I was really encouraged by this because I really though the contractions weren’t doing much and I was going to be less dilated.  Even still, it was time to really get active labor going.

ACTIVE LABOR

Melissa set up the birth ball and the breast pump.  I sat on the birth ball rolling my hips in a circle for one hour while I pumped both breasts.  Oh man, did that start some contractions! I remember squeezing my toes into the carpet for each one.  Melissa, Jamie and Reid were great.  They encouraged me so much.  My favorite position was putting my arms around Reid’s neck and just hanging during the contraction while he held me up. 

To encourage contractions further, Melissa had me sit on the toilet through three contractions. This was the worst of all pain. Ha! I remember telling Melissa early on in our visits that I wanted to do whatever she suggested would really move labor along.  In my birth class, we heard that many women pull away from the very positions that would bring their baby sooner. But on the last of my toilet-sitting contractions, I said “I don’t know what to do” and started to wimper.  Melissa quoted Scripture to me and encouraged me again.  I kept going.

At some point, maybe around 5 or 6 PM, I was 5 cm.  We did some more positions, including working with the rebozo on all fours.  During a contraction,  I would lean forward on all fours until my leg swere straight and my head was up high.  Then I would lean back until my arms were straight and I had my rear end back over my legs. This was also painful, but it also kept things going strong.  The rebozo made sure the baby was in good position, and the back and forth stretching really applied the baby’s head to the cervix.

Around this time, they began filling up the birth pool in the living room.  I couldn’t wait to get in! I had heard so much about how it can really help contractions, and it didn’t disappoint.  It was nice to have the water hold me up, and although contractions continued to get more intense it felt great to be free of some of the pull of gravity. 

TRANSITION

After an hour or so in the pool, the contractions got really intense.  I groaned through one of them, and that’s when I just thought I couldn’t do it any more.  I told Melissa, “I want to go to the hospital. I can’t do it anymore. I want to go.”

She reminded me that my hard work was going to bring my baby into the world.  Then she checked me and I was 8 cm….transition! Melissa told me early in our visits that when a mother says she can’t do it anymore that it’s like music to her ears. It means she’s going into transition and the baby won’t be long.

Since I was in transition, she told me to reach down, and I could feel baby’s head.  I got a rush of excitement and encouragement that she would be her soon! At that point I knew I could do it.  Not long after, I started to feel pushy.  I was still at 9 cm, with just a small lip left before ten.  I did two contractions on my left side and pushed on the third.  At that point I was 10 cm, and time for baby to arrive soon. 

PUSHING

Pushing was so different than I thought.  It was like this power came over me, and my body just took over.  Reid said I was groaning so loud that the neighbors had to hear it.  I couldn’t help it.  It kind of scared me how out of control I felt.  I wasn’t really in pain anymore, but I was scared of each contraction because I just thought the power of it all was going to tear right through me.  Melissa reminded me about how to center the energy down to get the baby out.  Reid was holding me up in the pool and Jamie was operating the camera.

Melissa told me that a lot of first time moms push for 2 hours and sometimes more.  I couldn’t imagine that, but I was ready for the long haul.  With the first push baby’s head was visible and I could feel her hair.  Not too long after, baby’s head was halfway out (ouch!).  Jamie and Reid could see her.  She crowned at 7:57 PM.  At that point, I pushed again, but baby’s body wasn’t coming.  Melissa had me move to a squatting position.  I pushed again.  Melissa saw that baby had her hand up by her face, and once she moved it out of the way, one more push and baby came out.  I didn’t really feel that she was out, but Melissa told me to sit back, and all of the sudden she was there on my chest, her eyes wide open. It was 8:05 PM.

So happy!

Jamie, Reid, and I were all crying.  It was so surreal.  I couldn’t believe she had just come out of my body and this little person was here looking at me.  From start to finish, pushing took 22 minutes and our baby was in my arms.

We sat in the tub just spending time together and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over her.  She had a ton of hair.  She made little whimpers but didn’t cry.  Melissa did her first check on while we were still in the tub.  This was such a special time. 

AFTER THE BIRTH

The rest of the night was a whirlwind.  My placenta was retained for 20 min (5 minutes more and it would have been a transport to the hospital).  I had some tearing due to baby’s hand up by her face, so we were dealing with that too.  The midwives - Connie, another midwife from Katy BC had come to attend the birth too - were so supportive and helpful.  Connie helped me get started with breastfeeding; they made sure I ate, and they even made up a healing herbal bath for us.  They did the assessment on the baby and she weighed in at 8 lbs. 1.5 oz and 20.5 inches. They called in another midwife, Natalie, to help do my repair, and after the bath they tucked us in for the night.

Hanging out after getting out of the tub.  We kept each other warm!

The next day Melissa did a 24-hour post-partum visit. Both baby and I were doing fine.  At that point we had decided on a name.  The naming process had been rocky.  We wanted a family name, and had it narrowed down to two.  We decided on Cathryn Victoria to honor my mom, Cathy, and Reid’s mom, Vicki. 

I really couldn’t have asked for a better birth experience.  Melissa was so confident and knowledgeable about how to get things moving and how to help me throughout. Active labor started at 3:30-ish and I had a baby by 8:05 PM.  That is so fast! I really was not expecting it.  I will never birth any other place.  Home with a midwife and my family is the best. I’m blessed to have had such a wonderful experience bringing Cathryn into the world!

  

Since that time I really feel like the transition to motherhood has been so much fun. Cathryn took to breastfeeding like a pro.  Jamie was a life-saver the first few days after the birth, and both she and Cathryn were enamored with each other from the start.  My mom and Dad came to visit on the 10th and stayed for five wonderful days.  They helped us rearrange the house and clean everything.  Grammy had been waiting so long for her first grandbaby, and she spent lots of time with her namesake, Cathryn.  She gave her her first bath and lots of cuddles.  Papa sang her his special lullaby, "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr." Ha! It was so special to have my Mom there to celebrate mother's day on the 12th. Three generations of us girls.

Grammy, Daughter, and Granddaughter

At almost three months, Cathryn is such a happy baby and cute too (even though I’m biased!).  On May 22^nd I lost my mom, so Cathryn is one special gift that reminds me of her, Grammy Cathy, everyday.   

Their first special meeting.  Grammy had been waiting a long time.

Real Food Meal Plan: Week of March 31st - April 7th

I've gotten a lot accomplished today including finishing my taxes.  Since I'm in the mood to cross things off my to-do list, I figured I'd share my meal plan for this week with you.

Last week was a meal planning fail.  We went out three out of seven nights.  Not sure what's wrong with me, but the thought of cooking just seemed so totally overwhelming this whole week.  We would have gone out a fourth night, but Reid saved the day on Thursday by offering to cook.  He's a whiz in the kitchen, and if he weren't a philosopher, I'd say he'd make a pretty good chef.  Lucky me! It was our 2nd anniversary this week, so I'm feeling extra grateful to be married to him!

Barring anymore of the too-overwhelmed-to-cook feelings this week, here's what will be on our plates:

Saturday: We ate leftover Chicken Fried Steak and mashed potatoes.  We cooked this on Friday, and it provided dinner for Saturday and lunch for Sunday too!

Sunday: Black Bean Quesadillas (didn't get made last week, so it's back on the menu this time)

Monday: Roasted Chicken** & potatoes (see recipe for slow-roasted pastured chicken below)

Tuesday: Crockpot Chuck Roast Supreme! This is by far one of our favorite (and easiest) recipes! I saved money by using the dry black beans that I cooked in the crockpot to make the Black Bean Quesadilla's above.  I saved time by making a double batch.  I'll use the second half of the batch to put in this dish on Tuesday night.

Wednesday: BBQ Chicken Pizza (with leftover chicken from last week and any leftover chicken from Monday, a little caramelized red onion, BBQ sauce, and mozzarella)

Thursday: Fettuccine & roasted cauliflower

Friday: L.O. (the chuck roast feeds us for four meals.  I'm expecting enough left overs to make it through Saturday)

Slow-Roasted Pastured Chicken

If you've never had a pastured chicken, you have to try it.  You won't find them at the grocery store.  You'll have to go to a farm.  If you're an NC friend, check out Ray Family Farms. They raise pastured poultry, hogs, and cows.  My Texas friends can find pastured chickens at Gramen Farm or the Houston Farmers Market.  They also sell them at Whole Foods, but I don't know much about the source. If you're not in NC or Houston, go to www.localharvest,org to find farms in your area.

Anyhow, the trick with pastured chicken is that if it's cooked the standard way it tends to be tougher than a regular grocery store bird.  The solution is slow-roasting, and I promise you that you won't regret it.  The end result is fall off the bone delicious chicken! It's also a very frugal way to use your chicken which I'll tell you more about soon.

Here's the recipe:

•  1 whole chicken

• Veggies for roasting (potatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes, turnips, rutabaga, squash, and onion are good for this purpose...don't use things like broccoli or other greens)

• 1.5 tsp salt* (*I really don't know the actual amount I use. I just sprinkle it all over the bird)

• 6 turns black pepper (6 turns of the pepper grinder...again, I'm not a precise cook)

• 1 stick o' butter (Just call me Paula Dean. You can get away with 3/4 of stick...but that's just no fun) 
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or water (or 1/4 cup white wine)

• Any other spices you like (optional)

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.

Cut up your veggies into bite sized pieces.  The best combo I ever made was potatoes, onion and squash.  Throw all the veggies into a dutch oven or a baking dish. Pour the chicken broth or water in over the veggies. Cut a few half-inch pats of butter from your stick o' butter and thrown them on top of the veggies.

Put the rest of the butter (about half a stick) in a small sauce pan to melt (don't use the microwave).  Once the butter is melted, put the chicken (breast side up) into the dutch oven on top of the veggies.  Pour the melted butter over the bird, making sure to cover all of the skin.  Then sprinkle your salt and pepper all over the bird.  If you like other spices, sprinkle those on too.  Thyme, basil, paprika, etc are great choices.  You could even do cumin and chili powder if you wanted a more tex mex taste.  It's up to you! It tastes great to me with just plain ole salt and pepper though.

Put the lid on your dutch oven (or cover the baking dish with foil, making sure the foil is not touching the bird).  Cook the bird at 275 degrees for 3 hours.  Then remove the lid and bake for another 30-45 min at 375 or 400 degrees depending on your oven until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and the skin is golden brown.  We bake at 400 degrees and get that nice rotisserie chicken look after 30 min (it actually gets even darker than the picture below. This is from many months ago, but it's the only pic I had).

We eat this roasted chicken almost every Sunday. To change the flavor profile you can also add some white wine into the baking dish.  You could squeeze a lemon in and put the squeezed halves inside the bird's cavity while cooking.  Try zesting the peel over the chicken for an extra zing. The skies' the limit!

I plan to post later this week about how making chicken this way can really save you money.  Stay tuned!

Real Food Meal Plan: Week of March 25th - 31st

Sorry this post is late!  I'm not doing anything new for dinner this week - just sticking with old favorites. 

Sunday: Third week in a row of oven fried chicken (see below for recipe) with roasted potatoes and kale

Monday: Crockpot Chicken Quinoa

Tuesday: Salmon Cakes with roasted beet salad and goat cheese* (Our Anniversary)
 *I'm pretty much changing this recipe so much that only ingredients that are the same are the beets and goat cheese.  If it's good, I'll try to remember what I did, and I'll try to measure.

Wednesday: Clam Chowder (I have a printed recipe.  Sorry no link.)

Thursday: Chicken Fried Steak (with spelt flour and lard instead of canola oil)

Friday: Black Bean Quesadillas

Reid and I have come to LOVE the oven fried chicken we've been making on Sunday.  If you'd like to enjoy it too, here's my recipe.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (pastured or organic if possible)
1 cup spelt flour (or another favorite flour of your choice, sprouted if possible)
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 t. paprika
1 egg
2 T. lard or beef tallow (optional)

It's cheaper to  by a whole chicken and cut it up yourself.  Just google "how to cut up a chicken" if you don't know how.  That's how I learned, and it's easy.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine the flour and spices in a bowl.  In a separate bowl whisk the egg with 2 T. of water.  Dip the chicken pieces in the egg wash then dredge each piece  in the flour mixture.  Place the floured chicken pieces in a baking dish (they shouldn't overlap) and bake for 45 min or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees.  Flip each piece about halfway through the cooking time

I like to cook my chicken in a 12-inch cast iron skillet.  I melt about 2 T. of lard in the bottom of the skillet then I put the chicken pieces in and put the skillet in the oven.  We get the crispy, most delicious chicken ever!

Real Food Meal Plan: Week of March 17th-23rd

Today was a fun day! Not because it was St. Patrick's day but because Reid and I vowed not to do ANY work.  We checked out the Farmer's Market, bought some sheets at Bed Bath & Beyond (our current set is literally threadbare), took a walk in the Heights, and had some afternoon dessert. 

Whole Foods was selling $3 bison burgers when we stopped in, so we got a cheap lunch as well. 

We found an awesome place in the Heights called Revival Market! They have REAL sourdough bread, low temp pasteurized milk, AND lard from grassfed cows! Woohoo!  We stopped there today to stock up :)

Needless to say, I'm excited about the menu this week! First I'll share what I got in my CSA box, and then I'll tell you where I'm going to use it.  Gotta get those veggies in!

CSA Box contents: strawberries, cabbage, kale, swiss chard, micro greens, spring salad mix, leeks

We already ate the strawberries like this:

Saturday (today): Southwest Casserole (with leftover pinto beans, rice, and half of a salsa jar from last week)

Sunday: a repeat of Fried Chicken this time with sauteed chard

Monday: Cornbread Casserole

Tuesday: Sundried Tomato & Spinach Mac & Cheese (except I'm substituting kale for spinach)

Wednesday: Ground Beef & Cabbage  (Gotta use that big ole head of cabbage somehow!)

Thursday: Spud Special Soup with leeks (so this will be more like a potato and leek soup...I'm improvising!)

Friday: Barbecue Chicken Pizza** (remember, the pizza I made last week? Well the dough recipe yields 4 crusts, so this is a second go 'round.)

I cooked pizza this past Friday, then I froze the other balls o' crust to be use for the next 3 Fridays.  And...the crust tastes like honey wheat. yum!

**Money saving tip:  if you notice, the Cornbread Casserole recipe calls for half a bottle of BBQ sauce.  So I decided to do BBQ pizza this week in order to use the other half.  This way I don't have to purchase ingredients to make regular pizza sauce. All I bought was a little red onion and a chunk of mozzarella!

The Cornbread Casserole is a new recipe, so I'm looking forward to checking it out.  I'm using Stubbs BBQ sauce.  It's not totally real food friendly (contains corn syrup and trace amounts of a few other suspect ingredients), but it was the best choice I could find without paying $6 for a bottle of sauce.

Real Food Meal Plan: Week of March 11 - 16

Here's a picture of last week's delicious quiche.  I didn't have quite enough frozen spinach so I cooked up some broccoli left over from the CSA box the week before (In sad news, we totally forgot to pick up our box this week.  They don't do reschedules.  FAIL.)

The black bean quesadillas were a HUGE hit, so we're doing them again this week.
Here's the plan:

Sunday: Oven "Fried" Chicken and garlic mashed potatoes
Monday: Ground Beef & Cabbage
Tuesday: Black Bean Quesadillas
Wednesday: Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
Thursday: Chicken Taco Salad
Friday: Homemade Pizza

The fried chicken turned out great tonight, and it was nice comfort food for us.  Both our teams lost their conference tournament championships today.  But the Heels and Cats are both top seeds for the NCAA tournament. We have lots to look forward to! March Madness has begun!

Real Food Meal Plan: Week of March 3rd-9th

This week we're keeping it simple (thus we have grains in almost every meal).  We received brussel sprouts, snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, lettuce, micro greens and strawberries in our CSA share this week.  Here's how we're using it all for meals:

Saturday: Spaghetti and roasted brussel sprouts

Sunday: Roasted chicken with turnips, potatoes and onions

Monday: Ginger Orange Beef Stir Fry with soaked rice

Tuesday: Fried (leftover) Rice (with left over chicken from Sunday)

Wednesday: Spinach & Mushroom Quiche with roasted cauliflower

Thursday: Black Bean Quesadillas

Friday: Left overs!

We'll eat left overs for lunch each day with a salad. I'll also be soaking some pancake batter tonight which will provide enough for breakfast for the next week and half (we eat eggs every day for breakfast too).  This grocery shopping trip I decided to cut out bacon because it isn't organic/pastured and still contains some additives I'd like to be rid of.  In the absence of this breakfast staple, Reid requested that we have some more snack food.  I'm attempting homemade hummus using soaked chickpeas with homemade tahini to be eaten with carrots.  Whole Foods also had a nice sale on organic potato chips (only three ingredients), so he's happy to have that too!

The Black Bean Quesadillas is a new recipe, so we'll see how it goes!

Real Food: My Saturday Strategy

I love Saturdays.  It's a quiet day when I can catch up on my personal life and wind down from the week.  The irony is that my favorite task on my day off is similar to what I spend lots of time doing at my job during the week.  I spend time each weekday morning planning and prioritizing my tasks so that I know what I need to do and when I need to do it to get the most important tasks done first and in the most effective manner at work.  Type A personality that I am, this kind of planning is downright fun for me. 

Recently I've honed some areas of household management in the same kind of way.  Reid and I are on  a tight budget.  There are things we're doing now that I would have once described as drudgery and kill joys like calculating expenses and meal planning.  However, I've found that spending 30 minutes to an hour of time planning each weekend can really save me A LOT of time and stress during the week.

Our Saturday mornings begin with a strategy session where Reid and I eat breakfast, update our budget, and my favorite part of all, plan the weekly menu.

We have a small white board on the fridge with a space for each day of the week (we found said white board out by the dumpster, but that's another story).  After we go shopping for groceries, I write the week's plan up on the board, and add any notes about prep work I need to remember to do days in advance.  Reid helps with some preparation too, and so his notes are starred. As a result of my meal plan, I'm never at a loss for what to cook each night, and I stay ahead of the game the night before to make sure I've thawed, soaked, or otherwise prepared for the next day's meals.  In a real food kitchen, planning ahead is a big key to success.

A lot my of Facebook friends have been asking about recipes I've posted.  So I've decided to share my meal plans here and update throughout the week with information about recipes that were particularly successful.  I'll also share my little tips and tweaks for saving money, improvising on ingredients, and saving time.

So, here's this week's plan. Many of the recipes I'm using are linked below:

Saturday: Creamy Fennel and Greens Soup  with bread
Sunday: Roasted Chicken with potatoes
Monday: Ginger Orange Beef Stir Fry with carrots, snap peas, and broccoli & sprouted rice
Tuesday: Crockpot Chuck Roast Supreme with left over rice from Mon
Wednesday: Crockpot Chicken Quinoa & Roasted Cauliflower
Thursday: Salmon Cakes with Sauteed Kale & Garlic
Friday: Left Overs :)

We just finished the Creamy Fennel and Greens Soup for dinner.  Not my favorite but it filled us up and was a good use of the beet and turnip greens we had left over from our CSA order last week.  The fennel was something I'd never cooked with before, so trying it in a soup was a good start. 

My only other new recipe this week is Monday's stir fry, which I'm sort of making up myself.  So we'll see what happens!

Gettin' Around

Just an update on how we're getting around these days... This Wednesday Reid had a five week follow up on his ankle.  According to x-rays it's healing nicely.  He has physical therapy ahead to slowly begin putting more and more weight on his left foot. The great news is his cast came off and he's in a boot.

Trying not to freak out about the circular saw being used to cut the cast off.  My physician's assistant sister assures me it doesn't cut skin.  I don't buy it.

Free at last.  He had some cuts from the original fall that didn't really heal completely while in the cast.  He's lost a lot of muscle mass as well.

He's happy because the cast was getting itchy.  It's much nicer to be able to take the boot off now and then for his skin to breathe.  In addition after four weeks of waiting, we finally received a temporary handicap parking tag from the state.  It's made trips around town much easier.

In the mean time Reid's come up with some pretty interesting ways to carry things and maneuver around:

Reid sleeps outside the covers with his leg propped up and covers up in his favorite quilt my mom made for us.  He left his quilt in the living room one night, and this is how he brought it back to the bedroom while on crutches.

 The greeter at Sam's offered Reid one of these motorized carts.  He heartily agreed.  He's been talking about riding one since he first got the cast. Dreams really do come true ;)

Making breakfast and packing lunch is a breeze rolling around the kitchen in a office chair! :)

Just Keepin' It Real

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind, and yet more evidence that life is what happens on the way to your plans.  I certainly wasn't expecting to receive a phone call on September 28th from my husband asking me to take him to the hospital to see if his ankle was broken.  I certainly wasn't anticipating the 9 hours it took to be seen in the ER.  I definitely wasn't prepared for his fractured fibula. And I certainly was unprepared for the serious adjustment it takes to getting used to life without a mobile husband.

So this week my living room looked like this:

And the kitchen, like this:

And this:

What you can't see are the three bags of trash that are just sitting by the door because, well, that's the husband's job.  I honestly have never been to the dumpster in this apartment complex before. 

In these past several days, I realized just how much Reid does around here.  He wakes up early and cooks breakfast for us while I get ready for work.  He washes almost all the dishes for the day, and  cleans out the dishwasher too.  He helps with cleaning and sweeping and mopping.  And even makes the bed according to my ridiculous OCD standards. And while I don't expect him to help as much as he does, it is always a blessing.

Now that he's got the cast and his ankle is more stable and protected, he's been attempting a lot on his own.  He uses this green chair to roll around the kitchen making breakfasts or lunch (I leave much earlier than him, and he's on his own for most of the day when he's not at school).

For the past two weeks I've been adjusting to life without Reid's help, and I know it sounds like complaining because let's face it it could be worse, but it's been kind of tough.  And some times I don't want to do it.  Work is busy (but good) and I'm behind in school.  In addition to his broken ankle, Reid is going through some hard things with school, and it just seems like things don't come as easy as they used to.  But Reid and I know that this situation is not out of the hands of our loving and sovereign Father, and we know this is in fact an opportunity to walk in faith.  I was listening to one of my lectures tonight (yay for getting homework done!), and the professor said, "Faith is acting on the truth that God has revealed to you."  God usually doesn't show us the whole picture of how things will turn out.  Instead He asks us to take the step we can see in front of us.  God has graciously and clearly shown us what's in front of us.  Reid will continue to work hard at school and trust God for the result, and I'll keep on doing what I can to care for Reid and our family even when some times it feels like too much.


I suppose that means I'll be taking out those three bags of trash :)

Houston Happenings: Eating

Here's an update on some of our other adventures.  Most of our week is spent at school (Reid) and work (Ronda), so our "fun" things have to wait for the weekend.  However, R&R happen to both be fairly content homebodies, so our trips to try a few new restaurants and our Saturday jaunts to Whole Foods are about as wild and wacky as it gets for us.  Right now it's too hot to go out much, but we're hoping to see more of Houston as the weather cools.  In the mean time, it's odd how excited we two can get about going to Whole Foods shopping.  I'm enjoying meal planning, and Reid and I both enjoy the eating.  I like to see how well I can purchase what I need for the meals I've planned while staying on budget.  Right now the only thing putting us over is a serious ice cream addiction I'm trying to break.  Haagen Daas chocolate peanut butter-it's just so good. ;) But I'm kicking the habit (after we finish the pints in the freezer that is...)

Here are some of our homemade creations:

Summer Gazpacho

Meatzza (Pizza with ground beef as the base) and plum salad. That green plastic plate is so fine dining!

Homemade Egg Drop Soup (one of Reid's favorites)

Cod with Roasted Tomatoes and succotash

Same succotash from above mixed with leftover quinoa and some nitrate-free all-beef hot dogs from Applegate.  Reid added a little cayenne to this wonderful frugal creation so that used up all our left-overs.

Skillet Lasagna (grain-free).  We used eggplant for "noodles." The basil came from our "garden."  Yes, we're growing basil on our balcony.  Couldn't keep Reid away from the dirt for long.  Of course I'm not complaining; I've already used basil sprigs in several dishes. This recipe has definitely become a favorite. 

Spiced Lentil Soup with Roasted Tomato and Eggplant.  I had an extra eggplant leftover because I over-estimated on the eggplant for my lasagna above.  I diced and roasted it so it wouldn't go bad. It worked out great because I threw it in this soup for some serious deliciousness.  The green stuff is wilted kale. 

Finally, I made peach cobbler over Labor Day weekend as a special treat.  I used almond flour for the crumbly part, so it's grain-free (and also sweetened only with honey. Except if you count the giant scoop of Haagen Daas Ice Cream).  It was delicious even if it did make a giant mess in my oven.

Duh, I should have known that juiciness would be running everywhere. 

In addition to Whole Foods, we have made a visit to a local farm.  Right now all the farmers are struggling due to the drought, and the produce at the farmer's markets has been really scarce.  However, I did discover that purchasing raw milk is in fact LEGAL in the state of Texas, so you better believe I was on the hunt for a quality source.  We found just what we were looking for in Tomball, about 45 min away.  We drove up to Gramen Farm several weeks ago.  They raise pastured cows, goats, and chickens.  It was amazing! We bought beef liver, heart, and some stew meat from a cow that had been processed the day before.  We also bought a freshly processed chicken.  Of course, we sampled their raw goat and cow milk.  Delicious! We bought a half gallon of cow milk and drink it in two days with meals.  The couple that owns the farm were people after our own hearts.  We took up so much of their time shooting the breeze about all sorts of health topics.  The farmer's wife makes most of their toiletry products and we ended up buying some of her tooth powder.  So yes, we now "brush" our teeth with powder.  And you know what, it feels like a dental cleaning after every brush. :)

Houston Happenings: Driving

I've been busy with my first weeks of my new job, but I wanted to update you with some of our goings-on!  One thing we do a lot of since we're trying to learn our way around is drive.

Houston is a labyrinth of loops and highways. 

On my way to work I have to drive on two different highways.  When I need to exit I often have to cross over several lanes without much warning to get where I need to be.  It can be fairly difficult when traffic is thick.

Scary! But I'm getting used to it now and have actually stopped cutting off the circulation in my fingers from gripping the steering wheel so tightly.  The good thing here is that our traffic in Houston is just like our thunderstorms.  It doesn't last very long.  You're never really stopped anywhere for long, and most of this time it clears up within a few miles.  And people actually use their blinkers for the most part! It's amazing :)

Thankfully, I'm getting comfortable weaving in and out of traffic lanes because we don't have our "foreigner" NC license plates as an excuse anymore.  We both are officially registered in Texas.  It was an ordeal getting our license plates installed on BOTH the front and the back, but the local Toyota dealership helped us out.

 

Reid and I are sporting our water bottles which we take every where.  That particular week the temps were up to 109 degrees.  It's cooling down to mid 90s now.  The weather is extremely dry even for Houston, and as you may have heard some pretty serious wildfires are spreading north of us.  Please lift up those affected in your prayers.  I'm hoping to update again soon about Reid's first weeks of school and some of our other adventures. 

I Got a Job!

So I kind of lied to you.  If you look back to some of my first announcements of our move to Texas, I told you that both Reid and I are going back the classroom - Reid to the U of H classroom and me to the public school.  From the beginning something told me I wasn't going to be in the classroom in the way that I had first imagined, but I dutifully filled out the forms (and paid the big bucks!) to get my teaching license transferred to TX.  After all we were moving across the country for Reid's school, and I needed to have all my options open.

Over the past two years working at a great ministry in Wake Forest, I learned a lot about my work style and the type of work that excites me. I love the organization part of it all, creating efficiency structures, and managing time to increase effectiveness.  Always an avid to-do list maker, I've finally discovered what I should have realized all along: I love to plan (and the feeling of checking things off that list!)! When I think back to teaching, I remember how much fun I would have lesson planning for the week (strange, I know) and thinking through all my plans for the first day of school.  So I think it makes sense that my next career move would push me further into this area of strength. I decided to pursue jobs that would allow me to use and improve on these qualities.

As I engaged in the job search process, I got some genius advice from my dad who helped me to use my network of friends and acquaintances from my past work experiences and Teach for America to connect with potential opportunities here in Texas.  Within a week of reaching out to some folks, I had filled out four applications for four jobs in which I had personally connected with the key decision makers.  None of these jobs were directly in the classroom.  All of them were office support/project management positions within the world of education and education reform.

So the process has finally come to an end, and I'm happy to announce I have a job! Yours truly is the new Teaching Excellence Alternative Certification Program Coordinator at YES Prep Public Schools! In the end, I had a total of four interviews and two job offers.  I took the job at YES, and I start on Monday! Reid and I are so thankful for how the Lord provided this great opportunity in such a short time after we've arrived here!

Just so you know what I'm getting into, YES Prep is a charter school network that exists to increase the number of low-income Houstonians who graduate from a four-year college prepared to compete in the global marketplace and committed to improving disadvantaged communities. YES Prep was the first public school system in the country to make college acceptance a graduation requirement, and what they require, they work really hard to help their students achieve! Currently 80% of Yes Prep graduates are  enrolled or have already graduated from college, compared to 25% of low-income students nationwide who enroll as freshman.

YES Prep seeks out highly qualified individuals to teach in their schools including many Teach for America teachers.  They support their teachers with the Teaching Excellence program which provides initial and on-going training. My role in the organization will be to help coordinate the Alternative Certification Program within Teaching Excellence to help first year teachers who majored in subjects other than education to  complete the necessary coursework and tests to obtain a Texas teaching license by the end of that first year.  The Teaching Excellence program is top rated in the state, and we will be working to make it top in the nation! I'm excited!

So in the end, I do get to be a part of the classroom.  I'll be supporting new teachers and helping them serve their students! I'm looking forward to this, and am so thankful that God has allowed me to do something that I enjoy and believe in!

Thanks to all our friends and family who have been praying! We realize that moving to Texas with no job seemed a little crazy! But our God is faithful, and He has provided!

Exploring

We have been out do some exploring.  This weekend we traveled to Dallas/Fort Worth area about 4.5 hours away for a friend's wedding.

It was beautiful and fun! Amy is a friend from way back, and we're excited for her and Rob! They are moving to Minnesota, far away from their home state of TX.  We understand a little of what they might be going through.

We've also explored more than our fair share of this city.  We've been lost a time or two - once on the way to an interview.  There are SEVERAL major highways that intersect here, and all of them have feeder roads that you use to access everything.  CONFUSING! Here's a nice shot of one little part of the city.  It does not do the 104 degree temperature justice. And the traffic is never this sparse!

We also visited Houston's large and fancy mall, the Galleria.  It seemed as though every designer had their own store in this place.  There was even an indoor ice skating rink.   We saw two different girls dressed in brightly colored dresses for their 15th birthday celebrations (I know this event has a beautiful sounding name, but I don't know how to spell it.  I definitely need to work on my Spanish.  German is not exactly useful here.).  I also saw three women at different times dressed in a full burkha.  There is so much diversity here.  And SO many people.  The world is here in Houston!

In the midst of all the new things we're experiencing, our apartment feels like a home and a refuge.  We were able to have our one and only friends here, Will and Jenn, over this week.  They've been in the city for a year and gave us the skinny on all things Houston!

We've been doing lots of little errands this week, and I have had some job interviews.  We're hoping to do some more touristy things later this week including a trip to the zoo and to Pearland (for some more shopping with less people hopefully!).  We may even throw in a trip to the National Funeral History Museum.  Some interesting stuff they've got going on here!

Home Sweet Home

For curious family and friends, here are a few pics of our new home:

Kitchen

Dining/Office (including Reid hard at work.  He's still working part time for his company.)

Living Room (from the Kitchen)

Bathroom

Bedroom (Including unmade bed.  I had just woken up.  This is the Real Housewives of Houston, folks)

Gigantic Closet (which we have filled to the TOP)

 All of this, including the nicely organized closet is thanks to our moving help: Jamie, Mom, and Dad. They stayed for a week helping us get settled.  They are a well-oiled machine.  The house was moved in and COMPLETELY unpacked in about 1.5 days.  Dad hung pictures and other fixtures.  Mom cleaned and unpacked boxes.  Jamie organized and put things away.  We are so thankful for their help!

A little Rest and Relaxation on the couch!