Waffle bliss!

In March Ashley made breakfast for Jamie and me and the waffles were so fabulous that we bought a waffle iron a short time later. Ashley's waffles were yeasted, a process where the batter sits over night and produces a light waffle. I found a recipe for yeasted waffles and have been able to make my own waffle fests.

I honored Jamie on Memorial Day with a waffle bar--I guess hot waffles are a paltry thank you for the time he sacrifices each month to the Navy reserves but it was something and I sure am grateful for his service but can't wait for it to be done. I made yeasted waffles with a splendid feast of toppings: freshly cut strawberries and mangos, cherry and fig preserves, lemon curd, real maple syrup, and my favorite: fresh whip cream with lemon zest! Hot waffles with fresh strawberries and lemon whip cream? Best breakfast EVER! Natalie and Sophie were visiting from North Carolina with Natalie's former mission companion Debbie. Jamie and I loved having visitors and it was fun to share such a lovely meal with them.

Here is the recipe for yeasted waffles, taken from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone:

2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tbs. sugar
5 tbs. melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. baking soda

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast into 1/4 cup warm water and stir in the sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Put the warm milk and salt in a large bowl, then add the yeast mixture and whisk in the flours. Cover and refrigerate overnight if the weather is warm or leave out on the counter if it's cool. Next morning, add the sugar, butter, eggs, and soda. Cook according to your waffle iron's instructions.

Cherry blossoms, in remembrance.

This year marked our first spring in our home and we were pleased to discover that our front yard tree yielded an explosion of white cherry blossoms. Looking out the windows to the tree gave the illusion of fallen snow because of all the delicate clusters of white. Tiny petal flakes painted our front yard in all white and the clean color combined with the perfume of lilacs made for a magical spring in VA.

The babies can kick, stretch, and kick!

I met with Dr. Tchabo today for my fourth prenatal visit. Time with Dr. Tchabo is always enjoyable and I always leave his office feeling grateful to be pregnant. He has labeled me a 'special mommy' now that my twin pregnancy is advancing. I was disturbed to learn how much weight I had gained...enough for Dr. Tchabo to ask if I had been eating too many cookies and pieces of cake! I wish. The highlight of the visit was when the babies kicked the microphone as we were listning to their heartbeats! Jamie and I looked at each other when we heard the ruffled noise and Dr. Tchabo laughed and said the babies were active. In fact, both baby babes kicked the microphones. Those are my boys!

Tchabo said it would be okay for me to fly to Utah in July at 24 weeks pregnant. Phew, that was a relief to hear. All of my reading on twin pregnancies has left me terrified and paranoid and fully expecting to go into labor any minute now or be on hospital bed rest for the next five months. No thanks! I do worry about being obscenely big and pregnant during the summer in the DC area and having to take the metro each day--no one is willing to give up their seat to a clearly pregnant woman! I'm getting really t.o.'d. Seriously people? My belly is huge and you push me out of the way to get the one remaining seat when you only have ONE stop to go? I guess I'll have to get alpha and P-squared (nickname for my turbo mom) on the metro peeps.

April and May Review

My last post was over two years ago and in that time life has changed tremendously. We bought a house, changed jobs, turned 30, finally went on our first vacation that didn't involve a trip to see family (Tulum, Mexico...LOVED it) , and most recently, got pregnant!

In April I discovered that I was pregnant with not one but TWO baby babes, Jamie threw out his back, and our home had a break-in. Enough.

On Monday we learned that we are having two boys, which was a huge surprise because of the three combos (b/g, g/g, b/b), we were least expecting two boys. Jamie's sister has twin boys and was super thrilled for us. Reactions have ranged from "Oh no. I mean, that's great" to "Enjoy the tranquility while you have it." I'm sensing a strong female preference from almost everyone we tell. I never could have imagined being pregnant with twins or being a mother to twin boys but I feel truly privileged to have the opportunity.

I am definitely feeling pregnant at 18 weeks. If the 'glow' of pregnancy means looking like I have radiation burns on my face due increased adult acne, then yes, I do sport the glow of pregnancy and it is NOT sexy.

Hopefully there are no surprises left for this pregnancy.