One of Joshua's coworkers gave us this pumpkin last fall. I love using fresh pumpkin, and finally -- the very day I went into labor with Moshe! -- I found a quick moment to use it! (Good thing fresh pumpkins store well!)

Eliyahu (4, above) had a great time helping me scoop out the seeds. Standing on a stool next to the counter, the task kept him busy for quite a while!

I contemplated baking the pumpkin, since readers here have told me how easy that method is. But in the end I decided to stick with the familiar: cut the pumpkin into fourths and cook in a large pan (covered) with a couple inches of water until tender. I drain the water, remove pumpkin from the rind, and mash with a potato masher to make my "puree".

That same day, I made two pumpkin sheet cakes for Ruth's 2nd birthday. These cakes are really easy to make and always bring rave reviews!

I froze the extra pumpkin puree in Ziplock bags for future cakes and cookies. I never did get around to roasting the pumpkin seeds, but I figured that having a new baby excused me from trying to do "everything". :)

We thank Yahweh for a beautiful, peaceful birth of our little son Moshe exactly 4 weeks ago today!

I seem incapable of writing a short birth story. Although it's been weeks, I remember every detail. Most of those details make it into my story. Some do not. Use your imagination if you wish! ;)

Friday... the end of another work-filled week. Even though I'm tired, I give a hearty effort to have a productive day and be ready for a restful Sabbath.

This particular Friday, January 22, I am on my feet and busy about the house since our alarm went off at 4:50am. Our youngest child, Ruth, is turning 2 the next day, and Joshua's parents are coming for lunch at our house. Such excitement!

The children and I make a pumpkin sheet cake and a poppyseed chicken and asparagus casserole for tomorrow's birthday meal. We do our usual school work, laundry, cleaning... and everything else. By the time dinner is served and the kitchen cleaned up, I'm exhausted.

"I'm SO glad it's Sabbath!" I remark to Joshua, and he readily agrees. After playing with the kids for a while, we brush their teeth and send them off to bed. They were worn out, falling asleep quickly.

I drink several bottles of water. I must be dehydrated, because these Braxton Hicks contractions are rather strong...

I suddenly realize that I've been up for 14+ hours and haven't sat down, aside from dinnertime, a single time all day. I'm not surprised that my body feels so achey... a warm shower sounds like a good ending to the day.

As I comb my freshly-washed hair, I look at the clock. "Honey, what do you think about just heading to bed right now?"

"Well... it's only 7:15. I don't want to go to bed quite this early... How 'bout I read to you?"

Joshua and I snuggle close in our bed and he starts reading from The Promise-Plan of God by Walter Kaiser. His reading is interrupted with my questions, and I soak in explanations of systematic theology, covenant theology, and "promise plan".

But my mind is wandering. Another contraction? I really need to go drink some more water.

I go back to giving my full attention to the book, trying to comprehend what Kaiser is saying. Oy. I understand things much more quickly when I'm reading it with my own eyes!

And I'm so tired...

Hmm.

And if I am in labor, maybe I will be giving birth in the next couple hours! (Ha, ha. My previous labors have been 7 hours, 3 hours, and 85 minutes long.)

But... I'm probably not in labor.

"Tammy? Are you awake?" Joshua's voice pulls me from my fuzzy sleepyness.

"Ummm. I think... I fell asleep. Maybe we can read more tomorrow..."

I get up from the bed and head to the kitchen, drinking a bit more water.

Maybe I just need to walk around the house a little, and these silly Braxton Hicks contractions will subside. I wander between the kitchen and living room, tidying random objects and putting away the clean dishes I had washed earlier in the evening. But nothing subsides.

Rats. I am too tired to be in labor right now.

It's 9:30 pm, and Joshua puts aside his book. "Well, I'm going to bed."

It's 9:30 pm, and I'm feeling confident enough to break the news. "Ummm, Honey? I'm sorry, but I think I'm in labor right now."

Joshua's reaction is, of course, excitement! He suggests I call our midwife, and hops in the shower.

I call Charlotte, our midwife, at about 10 pm. My contractions are very regular (3-4 minutes) but not very long and I can still easily talk through them. I'm definitely in labor, but it's all so mild.

Maybe I'm one of those women who can dilate to an "8" without much pain! Wouldn't that be nice! Whee... what an easy labor.

I assure Charlotte that there's no immediate hurry to get here, but that I would like her to come soon since she lives an hour from our house. I convince Joshua to go to bed and get some sleep, telling him I will wake him when I need to.

I putter around... drinking my beloved pregnancy tea... pulling out the box of birth supplies... and getting more and more tired.

Read more...

I've been busy filling my freezer in anticipation of our new baby's arrival! :) We've been eating more fresh veggies for our meals, and the space that was previously occupied by 5-pound bags of Costco vegetables is filled with meals to lighten my load in future weeks. :)

I've already shared my breakfast menus and made-ahead mixes, so it's on to the rest: main dishes and easy meal ideas! :)

I've taken the plunge and frozen a number of fully made casseroles using the "mold technique" with my 8x8-inch glass dishes. Each dish should be one meal for our family, and I've made a variety of things in hopes that we can figure out what we do and don't like in a freezer meal! :)

For the past 4-6 weeks, I've made a double recipe of a dinner casserole a couple times a week (filling a 9x13-inch dish for dinner plus two 8x8-inch dishes for the freezer). This hasn't really been too much extra work (just extra ingredients!!). I use FoodSaver bags to seal all of my freezer food/meals since they are the BEST at preventing freezer burn and keeping food tasting its finest! :)

Main dishes completely assembled and frozen:

Easy Lasagna (unbaked)
Burritos with beans, rice, cheese, and beef filling (individually wrapped in foil, then sealed in a freezer Ziplock; will warm in the oven)
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese (unbaked)
Three-Cheese Baked Spaghetti (unbaked)
Beef and Spinach Quiche (fully cooked; will re-warm)
Saucy Broccoli Chicken Bake (unbaked, w/rice on the bottom)
Spinach Rice Casserole (unbaked)
My Mom's Meat Loaf (unbaked)

I've also prepared meal ingredients for the freezer. Due to limited freezer space and a preference for freshly-prepared meals, having pre-cooked meat, beans, etc. in the freezer is one of my favorite ways to make cooking "from scratch" so much easier! :)

Meal ingredients in the freezer:

Pre-cooked beef with diced onions (for lasagna, crockpot pizza, stuffed shells, and baked spaghetti)

Pre-cooked beef with onions, green peppers, and taco seasonings (for taco salad, spanish rice with beans, nachos, or burritos)

Pre-cooked pinto beans with Tapatio and salt

Pre-cooked beef with onions and spinach leaves (for quiche)

Leftover diced oven-roasted chicken meat (for cheesy chicken vermicelli, chicken lasagna, chicken pot pie, farmhouse chicken, poppy seed chicken and asparagus, chicken fried rice, or saucy broccoli chicken bake)

Having the meat or beans already cooked, seasoned, and/or diced makes all of the above recipes into "quick and easy" for me! :)

I also have a list of just plain easy meals. When my freezer is depleted of my fully-made freezer meals, I'll turn to this list for last-minute or not-planned-the-night-before dinners!

My list of easy dinners:

Baked chicken drumsticks
Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole
Grilled burgers
Easy pizza
Beans and rice
Baked beans
Meatloaf and baked potatoes
Rice lasagna
Baked cod or salmon 
Salmon potato casserole
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Italian Cream Cheese Chicken over Pasta

I had planned to freeze some soups, homemade bagels, pre-made garlic bread, etc. but my freezer space wouldn't accommodate all that. So, I tried to stick with main dishes and main dish ingredients, and will make soups or breads as time and ability allows when the time comes. :)

I feel so blessed to have food prepared ahead in the freezer -- much more food than I had with previous childrens' births. Cooking large amounts of ground beef, making a double batch of something, or just freezing the leftovers (like leftover chicken meat from a roasted chicken!) isn't double the work, with some extra effort and only a few extra dishes to wash. :)

I also tried to only make/plan things we really love to eat! :) I'll have to update after we've tried some of the casseroles, since most of those I have not frozen before. Freezing a casserole took some bravery on my part! :)

Do any of you have tips to share regarding post-birth meal ideas, freezer meals, or easy (from-scratch) meals? I'd love to have even more ideas! :)

Before our last child was born (nearly 2 years ago) I made extensive menu plans. These included 2 weeks of easy meals and 12 weeks of "regular" menus, rotating our favorites and including lots of meals that we prefer to enjoy on a more infrequent basis.

Even though I didn't follow the menus exactly as I had planned, it was so helpful to have already thought about our meals and have something on paper to turn to as needed! :)

This pregnancy, rather than making weekly menu plans, I have made lists of meal ideas. I've then set about preparing as much of these meals in advance as possible!

Here is my breakfasts list:

Breakfasts made ahead:

My mom's homemade granola (double batch!)
Cinnamon Crunch Granola (quadruple batch, already half eaten though!)
Breakfast Burritos (ran out of freezer space to make these)
Homemade waffles (no freezer space for these either...)
Homemade bagels (again... no freezer space left!)
Energy Bars (still need to make these)

Breakfasts partly made ahead:

Challah French Toast (our favorite; still need to make Challah and freeze the leftovers for this if possible!)

Easy breakfasts:

Scrambled eggs
Oatmeal
Cold or hot cereal
Whole wheat berry pancakes

Dry mixes made ahead:

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (done!)
Oatmeal Apple Raisin Muffins (done!)
Mocha Frappuccinos (for Joshua) (done but gone... need to do again!)
Hot cocoa mix (for me!) (done!)
Herbal pregnancy tea (on the list for tomorrow!)

Coming next: Lunches and Main Dishes

When Joshua brought home M&Ms last week, we decided to make some sugar cookies to decorate. :) Eliyahu (almost 4) was my cookie helper! He borrowed Yehoshua's hot pepper apron and chef's hat for the occasion. :)

We made Old-Fashioned Cloves Cookies, a family favorite. As I mentioned in the recipe notes, the ingredients for this recipe were originally taken from the book Household Discoveries by Sidney Morse, c. 1903.

When I was a child, we found the book at a rummage sale and my brother Phillip decided to try this recipe from it. We liked the cookies and nicknamed them "Cloves Cookies" because of the strong clove flavor. :) The original recipe didn't even give a baking temperature or time. :)

My idea was to use the M&Ms to make smileys on the cookies.

Eliyahu, however, thought they should be doggie paw cookies, and made up some hilarious doggie stories as he worked on the "doggie paws". :) He had a LOT of fun decorating the cookies, spending quite a while intently hunched over the tray of cookies. :)

I must say, though, that I don't recommend using M&Ms (or any other chocolate) on these Old-Fashioned Cloves Cookies as they are rather spicy and the flavor doesn't go well with chocolate at all!! :)

I've been making a concentrated effort to remember to drink my herbal pregnancy tea daily, and it really does help me feel better! I've been more relaxed, less tired, and just felt better overall. Whether it's the extra fluids, the iron-rich alfalfa, the swelling-reducing nettles, the relaxing peppermint, or the uterus-toning red raspberry leaf -- I don't know, but I'm not complaining! ;)

I still have plenty of herbs left from when I ordered a couple years ago. I mix up the (dry) tea and then brew it using an IngenuiTEA tea pot.

I really love the IngenuiTEA pot for brewing loose leaf teas! It is so SO easy and in the 3 years I've had it, I've used it hundreds of times. Loose leaf teas almost always taste a lot better than the packaged pre-bagged teas, in my opinion. :)

Kathryn asked:

I am getting conflicting reports about whether raspberry leaf tea is safe for pregnant women to consume. Some say only during the 3rd trimester, some say all throughout the pregnancy. Any comments would be appreciated!

I have most commonly heard that red raspberry leaf tea is safe to consume in these quantities:

First trimester -- 1 cup per day
Second trimester -- 2 cups per day
Third trimester -- 3 cups per day

If you have a history of miscarriage, you may want to avoid red raspberry leaf in early pregnancy.

Herbs (like most things!) affect people in different ways so what worked for me may not be best for everyone. This is why I hesitate to get too specific! ;)

Frozen Blueberries are one of my childrens' favorite snacks during hot summer days. Blueberries are naturally so sweet that they taste like candy to us! :)

The boys (ages 5 and 3) sit at the table with a bowl of blueberries and a spoon, instructed not to get their hands all blue (and certainly not to wipe it all over their clothes!). ;)

I usually pop the blueberries one by one into Ruth's mouth. She's good about keeping her mouth closed while she eats and not making a mess. :)

We get frozen blueberries in 5-pound bags at Costco for about $2 a pound. Besides eating them plain, we make blueberry smoothies and put them in oatmeal for breakfast! :)

After reading my other post about preparing for a new baby, a number of people have asked for more information about what I would consider to be necessary baby things to own.

So get ready for a photo tutorial of our baby stuff! :) We're currently a family of 5 living in a 900-sq.ft. apartment. Even though I didn't consider myself a packrat, I pared down even more when we moved here 6 months ago. Read more...

Like the normal 4-year-old boy he is, Yehoshua would love to run around the house with the pizza cutter, pretending it's his knife.

Yesterday's lunch of cheese quesadillas provided the perfect opportunity for Yehoshua to have some fun with the pizza cutter!

He cut numerous different shapes and then we had a little "math class" during lunch, talking about shapes. ;)

Surprisingly, the melted mozzarella cheese on crispy flour tortillas was almost as tasty as a breaded/fried mozzarella stick! We used flour tortillas and shredded mozzarella cheese, both from Costco. Yum!!

Amy is hosting Kitchen Tip Tuesdays for me today! Be sure to head over to her blog to read about making fresh strawberry limeade slushes, and you can add your links over there this week too! :)

My tip this week is about dealing with fussy eaters at the dinner table!

I've gotten a number of emails from moms wondering what to do with children who are picky eaters. One mom writes:

I have three kids age 6 and under. My husband is an over the road trucker and gone all the time. It's hard to come up with stuff that everyone will eat. No one likes hamburger. Not big on the veggies, although I do offer them. What can you suggest?

Our children actually eat some of whatever we're having for our meals. We have made them do this from the time they started eating solid foods (at about 10 months old) starting with whatever they were able to eat. I started with giving them some of whatever vegetable we were eating for the meal. Then fruit... that sort of thing.

Gradually they have developed a taste for most things, and they must eat at least a bite of even the things they don't care for. For the longest time, my boys didn't care for lettuce, so I would only make them eat 1 small leaf on their plate. Over the last year or so, I have gradually increased and they now are accustomed to eating 8-10 small lettuce leaves on their plates when we have salad at our meal. (For reference, my boys are currently 3 and almost-5.)

If they are being particularly fussy about a meal, it usually means they aren't really that hungry, and we let them wait to eat. NO snacks and certainly NO desserts until they have eaten the "real food" for the meal.

When a child is hungry, they become much less particular about what they will eat. ;) If my children don't want to finish their food, that is fine, but they do not get any sweets/dessert and when they are hungry later for a snack, they have to finish their food first.

It sounds kind of hardline, and I suppose it is. But this strategy has eliminated most mealtime issues and our children are happy, healthy eaters! :)

I know there are certain foods that my children may never develop a taste for, and that is all right. Since we are offering them several healthy foods at each meal, they can fill up on what they do like while still eating a little of what they don't like as well. (And in my experience, if given the option, children will usually gravitate towards the sweets/desserts and pass over the healthy stuff even if they like the healthy stuff!)

Anyway, I hope some of this info can be helpful to you as you go about deciding what changes to incorporate in your home to help mealtimes become less stressful! :)

Does anyone else have good tips to add on the topic of children and eating? I'd love to hear them! Even though what I outlined above has worked well for us, I'm all about new ways to make life more fun! :)

Also, be sure to head over to Amy's blog this week for more great kitchen tips! :)