The letter "H"

Annnd....it's July 1st!? With time flying by at such a fast pace, I figured I should update before another month gets by me. Being a lady who enjoys themes, and having recently introduced Olivia to an old school episode of Sesame Street (which, by the way, will not be viewed again any time soon), today's blog is brought to you by...the letter "H".

Health: As an avid reader of several health related blogs, I have seen a lot of posts regarding the super fantastical benefits of consuming grass fed beef gelatin. I've seen jellos, gummys, and recipes galore. My co-op happened to be selling a small 1 lb. bag of the stuff for a decent price, so I figured I'd give it a try. My first attempt was to make a sort of fruit leather. The end product was very rubbery and possessed a sort of...oh, I don't know...beefy flavor to it? After Olivia and I managed to eat some, the chickens enjoyed a super healthy, rubber snack that day. I in turn enjoyed some very hard shelled eggs in the days that followed.

With 1 lb. minus 4 Tb. of the gelatin left in the bag, and really wanting to partake of the benefits of the gelatin, I have settled on sprinkling a tsp of it over my yogurt and berries in the morning. Eaten this way, the taste is completely undetectable, and I have definitely noticed that my skin, hair and nails are stronger. Of course I noticed all of those things improve at the beginning of this pregnancy (with taking my prenatal vitamins), but the gelatin has definitely taken it all to a greater level. Most impressive. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Holiness: Our dear pastor continues to bring tears to my eyes each Sunday as he preaches through the book of Hebrews. Themes of Christ's supremacy, sufficiency, mediation, and faithfulness have pierced my heart in news ways as the buying and selling of houses, parting with friends, transition of moving, reality of pregnancy and mothering a toddler have left my emotions a bit vulnerable. In the midst of so much change, it's been the greatest comfort to be reminded that the Lord is holding all things together. He is our certainty as nothing is in our ability to control. What beautiful peace has come in the surrendering of fears, and resting in the Lord's hands. He has always (ALWAYS!) taken such beautiful care of us, and from this view, it's exciting to see what He's doing!

Home: For the period of time before our move, Andrew has had to travel a lot. It's been hard, but has also reminded me that my home is where he is...not this brick and mortar building where we keep our stuff. We've lived in some neat places, but what makes them so is being together, and the dreaming we've done to make it a home. I'm thrilled for our future place and what we'll accomplish to give it our own "us" flare, but more so, for the time (just a few more days!) when we'll be under the same roof for good!

Hugeness: If you've seen me lately, this "H" is pretty self explanatory. I'm huge. Well, not really, but at 20 weeks preggo, I'm beginning to feel like it. I'm stuck in a body where my brain still remembers my thinner self, but the mirror and tightening clothes scream "You're growing a human!". A friend of mine once said that there's nothing more feminine than a pregnant woman, so I'm holding that close as my round ligaments give way and I find comfort in full panel shorts and tops that accentuate my growing baby belly. This really is an awesome time in life, so while I'm not worried about sucking my stomach in, I'm going to enjoy it to the fullest.

One more thought on pregnancy...it's going by SO quickly. I don't know if it's been all the exciting distractions, having Olivia to keep me occupied, or what, but somehow we're already halfway done. I'm positively giddy thinking of how soon we will be meeting our little girl.

Hilarity: Life with a toddler is pretty darn funny. Here are a few Olivia-isms and recent conversations:

Driving in the car, I hear a small voice from the backseat:
"Mommy?"
"Yes, Olivia?"
"I have a boooooger! You pick it for me?"
*snickering to myself, I then hear*
"Uhh-ohh...Mommy....I have TWO boogers!"

Talking to her baby doll:
"Oh baby doll, you pooey! It okay baby doll...I change you!"

Pulling a green bean from the garden, Olivia always asks: "You wash it?" which means it needs to be rubbed off on one's clothing, with the ends removed before it's ready for her consumption.

10 minutes after putting Olivia down for a nap, I walk down the hall near her door and a vile scent hits my nose. I enter her room where she's standing up, diapered but undressed, and hear her declare: "I have a pooey Mommy! You change me?" I change her dreadfully messy diaper, and put her down again. No sooner have I closed the door, do I hear her scream "POOEY!!!" I reenter and discover that before her change, she'd managed to pull a turd out and smear it on the inside rails of her crib. Just lovely. Further clean up ensues before a peaceful nap, and much deserved break occur.

And for a not-so adorable story...ya know, just to remind any disillusioned folks that we have a perfect child. ;)

One morning last week, while preparing Olivia's breakfast, I ask her to throw away a banana peel. Being a sinful little two-year-old, the obvious response to such an unreasonable request was to hold her breath, turn red, and very, very slowly double over and crumple onto the kitchen floor. This act was followed by a few grunts and moaning thrown in for dramatic effect coupled with a bit of writhing. Not to be outdone, after this display, Mommy cut to the final scene where Olivia receives some loving correction, ends up happily obeying, throws the banana peel away, and is able to eat her breakfast.
*sigh*
Gotta love an early morning tantrum. :-p