Cravings

I've never really had pregnancy cravings. I just want to eat and eat. Pretty much everything sounds good and I find that the things I really like taste even better when I am pregnant.

To me, a true craving is something that you would typically never eat but that you cannot get enough of during pregnancy. Like turnip greens or spam or garden soil. If you hear a pregnant woman say, "I'm really craving chips and queso!" what she means is "I am in a phase of life in which I intend on eating whatever the heck I want because I am going to get fat anyway so get me some chips and queso right now and don't even think about giving me any lip about it because I am surrendering my body to grow this child so the least you can do is let me enjoy my fried corn and melted cheese in peace." I mean, who doesn't love chips and queso? When do you ever hear "Ugh! Chips and queso sounds like a horrible idea. No thank you!" Uh...you don't.

That being said, I have a current food crush that I am not quite prepared to label a "craving" but that I can honestly say has never appealed to me before and possibly will never appeal to me again.

Meet the Pickle Pack.



Excuse me...pak. It's picklicious.

Allow me to explain. A few weeks ago I was at HEB and I purchased some lunchmeat from the deli. It just so happened that that day, with purchase of lunchmeat, one received some deli cheese and one indivudual picklepak cup free. I'm not a big pickle eater, but it was free so I took it. And a few days later, I saw it in the pantry and decided to eat it with my sandwich.

And I have never looked back! That picklepak was amazing. Little-bitty kosher pickles (served at room temp, never refrigerated I have learned) have become a staple of my diet. Are my hands and feet a little puffy from the extra salt that my new pickle habit has introduced into my diet? Yes. Do I care? No.

So while I don't consider my beloved picklets a craving, I will say that I am glad I was pregnant when I discovered my love for them because it makes it seem so much more acceptable. Regular girl walking around with a little plastic up full of mini-pickles--weird. Pregnant girl doing the same thing--makes total sense. I could even have an ice cream cone in the other hand and no one would think twice.

Pregnancy. You get fat but no one dares question your food choices. I shall enjoy my last few weeks of this.

Lovest Thou Me?

Me: Judah, do you love Mama?

Jude: mm-hmmm. And Daddy. And Addie.(Asher) And Ninie.(Simeon) And Nonny.(Thomas) And Peh-pee. (Percy)

Project Lemonade

This is what I have dubbed our backyard beautification project. It's a bit of a lemon back there. But not for long. As I have stated previously, this is the summer of embracing what we have and making it work. As you can tell, Jude is totally on board.

Step one was the planting of our little garden. I am so pleased to report that we have a tiny little pepper on one of the plants and the squash and tomatoes are beginning to flower.



Step 2 is creating some sort of patio or deck. That is still in the works. We're trying to decide what we want and what will be most cost-effective. I'm leaning towards a low wooden deck--a little more visually pleasing than just a plain concrete slab and probably a little less expensive. But since I will not be the one doing the work, it's not really my call. I serve in more of an advisory role.

Step 3 is putting up the canopy/gazebo thing we ordered. This will be placed over our hypothetical deck. Now, I must tell you, I have a very accommodating husband. There is very little the man will not do for me and do for me with a cheerful, willing heart. But I may have found his limit.

This is the hardware that came in the box for the assembly of the canopy.



He is not pleased.



But he gets to work anyway. Because THAT'S the kind of guy he is!



And that's basically it. Project Lemonade is modest in scope. We have the baby pools happening and Kris has the wood to build the sandbox. We have the boys' little picnic table out there and some outside toys. They are already having a blast.




Take this afternoon for example. As Kris was cutting out the canopy from its ridiculous amount of packaging, Asher and Jude were splashing around the baby pool and running through the sprinklers. What could be more fun, right?



Let's hear it for cheap plastic baby pools! Woo-hoo!

Blue Skies/Smiling at me