C'est jolie~mon clafoutis!

I don't know what got into me, but I was a baking fiend on Tuesday.  I just had this drive to cook like wild.  Now I didn't snap shots of my banana nut bread (which was a hit at Kyle's work~ he brought home an empty dish) or my Chex Mix (seriously, nothing too fancy there).  I did document two new dishes I undertook.  The first is a French dish that we enjoyed once with our friends, the Reindls.  Lauren, a pastry chef extraordinaire, introduced us to the clafoutis.  Kyle and I had a lot of blueberries and strawberries that we thought would be perfect in it.

My aunt Pam gave me this treasure.  Kyle & I love our Julia cookbooks.

She calls this dish a fruit flan, but I think it's inaccurate.  WordReference.com calls it "fruit baked in batter".  That's definitely a good description; it's like an enormous sweet and fruity pancake.

My back-up dishes after I broke that one the other day....

Yummy fruit & blended batter

Tiny treats

All we need is a dusting of powdered sugar and some friends to enjoy it!

As for a surprise dinner for Kyle, I whipped up a Giada recipe for twice baked potatoes.  I substituted some cheese and left out the prosciutto and parsley, but they were still awesome.

Underneath that layer of cheese is a ridiculous mixture of mushroom, onion, garlic, creme fraiche, more cheese and (of course) potato.  I need to make this one for Miss Foo sometime...

I think a natural segue would be to look at my belly.  After all these good eats, surely I must look more pregnant.  Seriously though, I am at the point where I can tell a difference from week to week.   I just feel really big all the time.  On a different note, I had lost some of my fitness momentum when it got so ridiculously hot this month.  I've been active but not really in a way I can keep track of.  This week I decided to hit the gym and get used to relying completely on walking on a treadmill in an air conditioned room.  I've also been doing some squats and lifting 5lb. weights to strengthen these arms for serious baby lifting and holding.

I didn't change out of my workout clothes before capturing these precious moments.

This may be the most comfortable outfit I own at this stage in the game (33 weeks).

I talked to a midwife this week who recommended I get a little more serious about planning for the natural birth (turns out my hope and dependence on alternative pain killers during labor don't hold a candle to that all mighty epidural...).  So with that, I turn to you, my web community, for tips and resources for going natural.  I'm not wild about taking another class~ are there videos you'd recommend for practicing at home?  I need to get serious about preparation at this point instead of just dreading having to bring this baby into the world the hard way....  Help me!

Why We Can't Have Nice Things (reprise)

It seems my pregnancy clumsiness is as effective as malicious, hungry squirrels...

The inaugural use of this dish was a bust~ Ha!

I'll let you in on a secret~ I'm going nuts in the kitchen today (and yesterday).  So far I've made banana nut bread for Kyle to take in to work to share with his co-workers and (gluten free) Chex Mix (or as we call it: Chex Mix a la KHud).  This dish was for a fancy French clafoutis.  No worries~ we have substitute dishes on standby so I'll reveal those results and maybe even what I'm making Kyle for dinner here later.  For now I'm just sad that I never used this dish before I broke it (with heat on the stove~ not dropping it).  Pregnancy brain made me a little careless I suppose... 

Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Kyle and I were thrilled to complete our porch updates recently so that we could enjoy a nice shady outdoor living space.  Between the super heat and crazy summer storms, we haven't been doing much porch sitting.  Perhaps our presence would have prevented some of the catastrophes my poor little bird feeder has endured recently.  Lame as it is, I have already blogged about squirrels attacking the homestead and squandering our birdseed on reckless living (or at least stealing it from our intended recipients).

Back in happier days, there was order and a perfect little bird feeder and patriotic drapeau.

Today I looked out my window and didn't see our feeder.  I thought Kyle may have taken it down since we had sporty weather last night.  Sometimes we take our flag down to prevent the wind from tearing it up.  Well, the feeder was nowhere to be found~ until I peered over our railing.  Lo and behold, it was in pieces on the ground below. *tear* I had hoped it had been the result of crazy storms, but deep down I already knew who was responsible...

A damaged little roof

The cruel critters tried to chew their way into the seed store.

They damaged a great deal of the house before they dropped it from the porch.

Less damage on the other side, but they still made their mark.

Aha!  Somebody chewed right through the cord causing my little bird feeder to smash to the ground.  This must be their revenge for me squirting them with a water bottle when I spot those crafty scavengers (yes, I'm the nut who runs outside spraying jumpy rodents who pillage from my porch).

WANTED:  Nasty squirrels who ate & broke my bird feeder

Free food has been revoked from all Norcross wildlife chez les Hamiltons until we can come up with an appropriate response...

Knick Knacks

Knick Knack Paddy-Whack~ We had a baby shower that was sort of a one last hoorah with friends before the baby arrives (and while I'm still able to sort of maneuver through a large group of folks).  Since we have most of the essentials covered thanks to our first baby shower with Hamilton friends in North Carolina, we thought it'd be nice to beef up baby's library.  After all, no Hamiltot of ours can live in our home and not be a lover of books.  Our friends chose some lovely stories they cherished from childhood and inscribed the covers for our little one.  I'm so excited that our friends and family will have had a part in expanding our boy's imagination. 

Aunt Foo selected The Velveteen Rabbit with original illustrations and even whipped up a velveteen friend for baby.  How sweet!

Knick Knacks and Thingamabobs~ Remember Kyle's Christmas stocking?  Well, it's been sitting for months in my sewing bag waiting for its finishing touches~ the bobbles.  I had been meaning to shop for odds and ends to sew onto it for ages but only got around to it when Kyle and I went to Babies'R'Us located conveniently next to a Michael's.  Behold my handy work...

Cutie collars and beaded reins for each tiny little reindeer

Not the fanciest, but Santa now has a bundle of candy canes thrown over his shoulder with a lovely ribbon.  This was the task I dreaded most and probably could have done better if I had been more strategic.  So long as Kyle approves, I suppose it'll do.

Trinkets for Pere Noel's staff

A classy button for his skate

Hard to see but there are beads in the center of the swirls

The final product~ next time you see this jolly old fella, he ought to be transformed into a sock sack.  I'm leaving him in the capable hands of Miss Foo (see velveteen rabbit above for her seamstress skills).

Knick Knack Knock Knees~  Or what I think are knees... This baby is super busy, and he's keeping me at the doctor a lot these days.  We visited 3 doctors this week.  We went to the dentist because pregnant women are at a higher risk of having dental problems (I have experienced a good bit of bleeding each time I brush).  We learned that I should make sure to get enough fluoride, and if I get infections in my gums it can lead to pre-mature labor and a low birth weight for baby.  Next we visited a pediatrician just up the street.  We met a very kind doctor who gave us great information about the services they offer.  He sounds smart because he has a sweet South African accent (being South African and all).  The only down side was that the front office staff were a bunch of sour pickles~ they need to get a little joy working around all the children.  On a brief side note, I've worked in both daycare and the front office for a healthcare center.  Both those jobs can be pretty taxing so maybe I can be strategic about praying for these ladies and learning about where they are coming from (I might also mention that I was inspired by this blog post by Pat Harley).  Finally, today baby and I ventured to the OB.  All is looking good & like a good little man, he has been head down for 4 weeks already.  He and I are on the same page so far about his exit strategy.  I need to practice my birthing skills though before the big day...

32 weeks and still squeezing into my jeans (but just barely).

My mom sometimes talks about "LRBs" or "little round bellies".  I think we have surpassed the little part, but I'm not sure a "BRB" or a "big round belly" would work....

Speaking of knocking knees, I am in love with Fred Astaire and delight in most of his movies.  There's a cute number (which features neither him nor Ginger Rogers) in the Gay Divorcee I'd like to share with you.  Seems like the casting office wouldn't hire any female dancers who weren't blond.  Brunettes need not apply...

Further Up & Further In

That's what Aslan would say, but I feel like baby makes me further down (i.e. less active & more sitting) and further out (as you'll see in the pictures below).  We are trudging through these hot days as best we can with lots of water and lots of resting.  I can't believe it's the last week of month seven already.  We are two short months away from delivery and getting to see our little man. 

My little Mr. Hamilton is round.

Time to kick up those swollen toes~ they look like gummy worms!

More Photos....

... and fewer words.  Since the thunderstorms in the ATL this evening have the baby busy (and me a little jumpy), I thought I'd post some more pictures from Kyle's and my recent trip to Charleston.  We are going no captions tonight since it is late....

Babymoon

Kyle and I love to travel.  I would say it's our favorite thing to do together, but it's really hard to pick one thing when I love everything we do together.  We selected Charleston as our babymoon destination so we could enjoy a little time on the beach, historical sightseeing, and (of course) excellent food.  Silly as it is, I also love staying in hotels where we are guaranteed to have cable (a luxury we don't indulge in at home to save pennies).  Where to start?  Let go with food...

Each place we ate had great seafood.  Kyle let me indulge in some serious fried seafood here at Sullivan's (on Sullivan's Island).  We split crab stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer and a plate full of fried shrimp, scallops, flounder, oysters, and devil crab for the entree.  Kyle loved a heaping side of hushpuppies.

Kyle's boss highly recommended Poe's Tavern for fish tacos.  We loved this place splitting an order of chips & queso, 2 mahi mahi tacos, and a burger.  Vacation eating is not for wimps; good thing Kyle brought a pregnant wife as his date.  We also learned that Edgar Allen Poe had lived briefly on Sullivan's Island; the restaurant website says, "Poe enlisted in the army under the pseudonym Edgar Allan Perry and was stationed at Fort Moultrie at the western end of Sullivan's Island for thirteen months beginning November 18,1827."

We went to Hank's in downtown Charleston on our last evening.  We both enjoyed she crab soup.  For entrees I ordered mussels (a girl really learns to miss moules frites leaving France and all...) while Kyle ordered "Seafood a la Wando".  This dish had 3 kinds of fish, shrimp, scallops, crab, and mushrooms served on a fried grit cake covered in a buttery cream sauce.  Woah it was rich.

 We learned a valuable hotel reservation lesson.  Kyle wanted to take the hassle out of staying somewhere far from the beach.  We stayed for two nights at a hotel right on the beach at the Isle of Palms.  It is beach-goers central.  Our first afternoon there, Kyle and I took a long walk up and down the beach~ a scene which can only be described as a real life Where's Waldo? illustration.  What we hoped would be convenient was kind of frightening.  The biggest motivation to find a calmer & less-populated beach?  Too many smokers along the Isle of Palms.  We happily spent the next two days on the beach at Sullivan's Island where we saw these things:

You may have to enlarge this one to get the full effect.  There was a man who had these huge kite sets and was doing all these impressive tricks with one set in each hand.  It was so fun and entertaining~ how does one get into rhythmic kite flying?

You can hardly see them, but we were visited by some dolphins in our cove one morning.

Bleh~ jellies were everywhere.  I thought I loved the beach, but these creepies have me thinking I only love the Gulf of Mexico...

A sand covered crab in its shell.  I managed to step on at least one crab and maybe two starfish that scared me out of my mind.  Ocean life is good to observe~ not to tread on.

Boldly going where perhaps no pregnant girl should go~ a swimsuit picture!  I unsuccessfully have been trying to tan over my running shorts tan lines for a while...  looks like I'll be rockin' paler thighs until summer '12.

My handsome hubby and all our new beach goods thanks to Target.  We got two beach chairs, two beach towels, and two Nalgene water bottles at great deals compared to the beach shops in the touristy areas.  Our little set up made spending time on the beach so comfortable and perfect for reading.

Happy Hams on our wide open sandscape

We weren't beach bums the whole trip~ we managed to get in a little culture.  We thought it'd be cool to visit Fort Sumter after having watched the Ken Burns Civil War documentary a couple of months ago, but we only ended up visiting Fort Moultrie.  The fort had an impressive victory against the British during the Revolutionary War, but since then had done little to preserve the safety of the homeland.  It has been decommissioned so now it's just a tourist sight where folks like we can pose with cannons.

Fort Moultrie

Kyle posing on the frontline of many a military conflict

We were trying to think of a way we could "Evel Knievel" that baby into this cannon.  We went for a cute pose instead.

We loved the large water mines and did the best explosion faces we could muster.  Kyle's working his explosion look all the way down to his calves~ what a stud!

With a helpful gust of wind that came right as I was posing, I think I look like I'm being blown away more than blown up... Kyle got a kick out of my expression.

Here are some other landmarks you may recognize from the area~

Ah, there's Fort Sumter off in the distance.

It was so sunny and hot at the Battery that we spent most of our time in White Point Gardens.

Pretty place

Every time I see a gazebo, I want to sing "Sixteen Going On Seventeen".

The yellow building is the old Exchange Building and Provost Dungeon.  We wondered if our friends in Metz would find this corner of architecture in Charleston similar to messin buildings.  The pinky-brown building definitely reminded us of Metz's post office.

Every port city has a custom house, but not all port cities have such a handsome fella to present their landmarks.

We meandered through the old City Market and thankfully made it out of there without buying something woven.

Lastly, I know this may sound weird, but we love hotel hopping on vacations.  Kyle found a deal on a very fancy hotel in town for our last night.  We say fancy because they had a wine & cheese hour, cookies and milk at bedtime, and an insane breakfast brought to our room whenever we wanted (I guess we think of food a lot).  It was a beautiful place to stay.  We couldn't afford to be there for the whole trip, but it's nice to go all out for one day.

Our room was the largest at the Harbour View Inn; it's exposed brick wall and tension rod date back to the 1830s.  I wanted to move in.

A basket full of pastries, a carafe of regular coffee for Kyle & decaf for me, cups of fruit, and a small glass of chocolate milk for my husband.  These were the best pastries we've had since we left France.

On the left side of this picture you can see our room's enormous window.  On the right side you can see the pier by the harbor.

We met a lovely man who took our picture on the rooftop terrace.

From the roof we could see the harbor as well as a fountain that children love to play in.  How fun!

It was a wonderful trip.  I loved celebrating two years of marriage with my sweet husband as well as getting in one last big freedom excursion before the baby arrives.  I was worried it wouldn't be very much fun for me because I feel so pregnant, but I definitely recommend traveling and babymooning (we were able to do it at 31 weeks or 7 months easily).  I loved all the quality time we had reading, doing Bible study together, exploring, swimming, walking, eating, watching Food Network and House Hunters for hours, and talking.  It was super restorative and such a blessing.  I have more pictures to share with you, but it'll have to be another post since this one is ridiculous.  A bientot!