Hello Winter

Well winter has well and truly hit here in Canberra. It's only meant to get to 10 degrees today! Team that with a ferocious wind and dark threatening clouds and I'm sure it feels even chillier than that outside.

Life is going well for Squirt and I. Just on the count down to the big day. All this waiting and thinking and anticipating can really do a person's head in though. 'Will the baby come today?' 'Will my waters break at home?' 'Can I really achieve the calm birth that I pray for?' So many little questions and doubts and niggles swirl through your head when you're home alone and nesting.

I've been trying to keep busy though, well as busy as hubby will let me be since I have high blood pressure and the midwife has told me I should be resting. I have baked many sweet treats (chocolate slice, yum yum balls, jam drops, apple and cinnamon muffins) and I have written a list of things I should pack in my hospital bag. I have slowly gathered said hospital bag items and placed them on my chest of drawers..... where they have sat...... waiting for me to iron them.

I'm not that keen on ironing. But I'm even less keen on wrinkly crinkly flannelette pajamas. I can not sleep in flannie pj's that have not been ironed. Call me crazy (as hubby does) but it just drives me mad!! I also have shirts and other bits and pieces to iron.... maybe that could be my task for tomorrow. Stop procrastinating and start ironing. Bub's will be classed as full term Sunday so I really should be prepared.

We went and bought a 2nd hand moses basket on the weekend. We were originally going to just have bub's in the cot. But I stumbled across this little basket and it just was too cute to pass up. Just imagine a little newborn bub's all wrapped up and snug as a bug in a rug in this little basket..... cluck cluck!!

Bubs, hubby and I had some professional maternity photos taken on Sunday and I can't wait for them to be ready to pick up. I'm so glad we ended up getting them done. It was loads of fun, and now we'll be able to send some decent photos of the bump to family interstate instead of my headless belly pics in my pjs. Poor hubby's grandparents have gotten no bump pics because they've just been too boring to warrant sending up. Hopefully the professional ones will be super amazing and we'll just send a few of those up.

Well must keep pottering around the house. I hear the dishes calling my name!?

36 Week Bump Pictures

Soup, glorious SOUP!!!

I'm not that keen on winter. It's windy, your lips get cracked, the days are shorter, it's cold..... honestly I could go on. But the one thing I LOVE about winter is soup!!! There's just something so comforting and soothing about a nice warm bowl of soup on a chilly winter's night. So I thought I'd share my lentil soup recipe with you. Try it this week, you won't be disappointed :-)

Lentil and vegie Soup

2 small or one medium onion

3 cloves of garlic (or less if you're not keen)

some ginger (I only add this if we have it in the house)

1/2 medium sweet potato

2 carrots

Pumpkin if you have any

1 medium zuc

a handful of beans cut into chunks

a handful of brussell sprouts cut into quarters

1 cup frozen peas and corn

2 tins of brown lentils

2 tins of canellini beans (You can use whatever tin beans you like)

About 3 cans of tin tomatoes (I used a BIG tin of tomatoes and a smaller tin)

2 stock cubes dissolved in water

So you pretty much just cut all your vegies into equalish sizes so they all cook at the same time. Add a little oil to a big saucepan, add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until the onion is soft. Add the hard vegies(s.potato, carrots and pumpkin) and cook until just softening. Add all the other veg except for the peas and corn. Cook those until they are just soft. Then you add in all the other ingredients except for the peas and corn. Add enough water to cover the whole thing. Simmer until all the veg is cooked. Stir in the peas and corn and season to taste (You can also add some herbs if you have any. I add some dried mixed herbs but it's lovely with some fresh parsley). Serve with some crusty bread :-)

Stay tuned for some more tasty soup recipes. In the mean time here's the latest belly pics, enjoy!

35 Weeks and 2 days (1st June)

(My stupid belly button has decided to stay half innie half outie!)