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Hanukkah!

Hanukkah Sameach!  Happy Hanukkah!  Erev Shabbat candles.

Friday night was the first night of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Dedication or the Festival of Lights.  Did you know Yeshua celebrated Hanukkah?  He not only celebrated it, he made a special trip to Jerusalem for the festival, according to John 10:22-23.  So what is this festival all about?  It’s about the preservation of a remnant of faithful Jews, at a time when many were assimilating with the Greeks.

There was a ruler at the time, Antiochus IV who called himself Epiphanes “God Manifest”,  whose goal was to Hellenize all the Jews.  He didn’t like it that they worshiped only their own G-d and that they had a special diet.  His plan to Hellenize them included building a gymnasium by the Temple, then desecrating the Temple and erecting a pagan god in there.  They were also forced to sacrifice pigs daily on the altar.  Antiochus’ army went from town to town forcing the Jews to renounce their G-d and to eat non-kosher meat and bow down to the Greek pantheon.  Many were willing to do it for the sake of not losing their lives, and “keeping the peace”, however there was a small band of faithful Jews who would not , regardless the cost.  There are stories of some famous martyrs, including a woman who watched her seven sons die and was killed herself for not renouncing their faith.  These mere 4,000 Jews fought Antiochus’ huge army of over 40,000 for three years, and in the end they won back Jerusalem, including the Temple.  It was a miracle by the hand of G-d.  They may have been few, but G-d always manifests his power through the faithful few.  Remember the story of Gideon?

So anyway, the faithful Jews entered the Temple, cleaned it out and wanted to rededicate it to G-d.  They only found one bottle of holy oil that was untampered with for the Menorah, which would only last one day, but they went ahead and used it anyway, even though they needed it lit for eight full days.  They story goes that the oil lasted the full eight days, yet another miracle by G-d.  This is why it is also called the Festival of Lights.  So the festival is observed for eight days every year beginning on Kislev 25.

As we celebrate this holiday, we are remembering and recalling G-d’s faithful hand in preserving His people, we are remembering the importance in not allowing the little things of the world to turn us away from G-d’s ways, we are remembering the martyrs of our faith, and we are remembering our role in society today.  Afterall, Yeshua said we are to be the light of the world and that our light should not be hidden.

Latkes!

As is usually the case with Jewish festivals, there are many fun ways to celebrate this holiday.  There is food, of course, which is usually fried food to remind us of the miracle of the oil.  Traditional are latkes, or potato pancakes, and sufganyot, or jelly-filled doughnuts.  Chocolate gelt, or coins, is also traditional.

Second night of Hanukkah

There is the 9-branched menorah called the Hanukkiah, with a branch for each of the eight nights, plus the middle branch, which is for the shamash, or servant candle.  It is interesting to note that the hanukkiah would not be lit if it weren’t for the servant candle, for it is this candle that gives its light to the rest of the candles on the hanukkiah.  Just so, it is through Yeshua’s light that we can be the light of the world, and it is through the servant that we can have light.

There is also a game the children enjoy playing which retells the story of Hanukkah.  It’s called dreidel, and it’s a four-sided top with a letter on each side for each word of the hebrew phrase “A Great Miracle Happened There.”

Since it’s only me who keeps the holidays here, I made us a fine dinner of roasted chicken and roasted veggies, latkes and beet salad.  Then I had vanilla ice cream topped with vegan peanut butter cookie crumbles.  Delicious!  The hubby always enjoys the latkes and has been asking for latkes since I made them last year during Hanukkah.  Maybe next year we will celebrate the festival together as a family, or with other families.

 

Baby Carriers

Part of my fun to-do list was to make myself a few of the carriers I’ve so often made for other friends who were having babies.  Now, after all this time, it’s finally my turn.  

So I’ve made two so far.  The first one looks similar to this one above, which my kitty is so kindly modeling for me, only it has a fitted pouch and white rings.  The one above hasn’t a fitted pouch and obviously it has burgundy rings instead.  I’m not sure which one I want to keep for myself just yet.  I made the first one with my old measurements, a size medium, but when I put it on it looks like the pouch is out of place.  Of course, I have a big belly in the way which could make a difference in the way the sling hangs, but since I’m not sure, I went ahead and made a second one without the pouch with the same fabric.

Once the baby comes I’ll sell one of the slings.  I don’t need two similar ring slings, that’s for sure.  I guess I’ll have to wait and see if the first one fits the baby and me well, otherwise, I’ll keep the second one and I might put in a fitted pouch once I lose the belly and can get better measurements.

And now, I’m going to work on a mei tai, which I’ve never done before.  It’ll be an olive green color with some really pretty asian-inspired print.  Let’s hope it comes out right!

Kitty will model it for me if it does… :)

 

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

With lows in the teens last night, our poor chickens are really feeling the cold.  They’re pretty cold-hardy chickens (one of the reasons we got them) but their feet aren’t feathered and when they get too cold, they stand around like flamingos, keeping only one foot on the frozen ground and the other tucked in their feathers.

We provide them with warm water every morning, to prolong the amount of time it takes for it to freeze throughout the day.

And we’ve got a little heat lamp that we’ll set up for them outside their coop for the next time it gets this cold.

Because even though they handle themselves excellently in cold weather,  remember the little fashion-forward chicken that’s molting?

It might be a little harder for her to keep warm these days.

 

Winter Fashions

Oh, what some females wouldn’t do for the latest winter fashions.

Even the other hens can’t believe it.

Molting.  It’s never pretty.

 

Pregnancy Update #5667

Top left: 31 wks, bottom left: 33 wks, top right: 35 wks, bottom right: 36 wks

It’s 6:15 in the a.m. and I’ve been up since 4:30, after only 3 hrs sleep.  This sleep deprivation thing must be nature’s way to prepare you for after the birth.  On the upside, this lack of sleep comes from heartburn, which may mean that my baby’s finally growing hair.  Or so they say.  Since I haven’t had much heartburn throughout my pregnancy, I welcome this (sort-of).  I always thought my baby would be born with a headful of hair, so I was a little surprised when I didn’t complain of heartburn throughout my previous months of pregnancy.  I don’t usually believe in old-wives’ tales but this one is one that has stuck with me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against having a bald baby, I just never really thought I, miss hairy peruvian girl, would have anything but a monkey-hairy baby.  And I’m totally fine with that. Now that the heartburn is here, I feel like I was probably right and there’s a certain comfort to it.

UPDATE: I tried once again to fall asleep around 7 a.m. and it finally worked, even though light was beginning to appear outside.  I got another three-hour stretch of sleep and I’m feeling pretty good right now.

The midwives made a house call on Monday, which is good since it’s nice to know where your client lives before they go into labor.  We talked about many things, one of which was my belly.  I have not grown much since last week (which is a relief to the midwives who would have ordered an ultrasound otherwise) and there is less fluid in there now, which makes the baby easier to feel.  This time they could clearly feel limbs and butt and back and head.  The baby is still in the pelvis head-down but it isn’t too far down, it seems.  I may yet have a couple of weeks!

I know I keep saying I don’t think the baby will last long in its watery world, but I’m still really hoping it will hold out until January 1st.  I really think that would be the coolest birthday ever and don’t mind one bit if I don’t get the tax write-off everyone is so excited for us to get this year.  I can totally wait another year if it means my baby will be a 01-01-10 baby.  No one would ever forget that birthday!

There isn’t much left for us to do before the baby comes.  At least, nothing of super importance.  The birth equipment is prepared, we know our birth space (or where we would like it to be), all our diapers and clothes are washed and ready, and recently received our car seat, strollers and cradle.  The cradle is super sweet and sitting next to our window in our bedroom for now, until we decide we need it.  I had to leave the swinging mechanism activated instead of holding the cradle in place because the I knew the cat was secretly hoping to make it her new sleeping quarters.  She got in once and it swung her about and she rushed right out of there, hopefully never to jump in again.

I have a third baby shower this month on the 13th thanks to my Soroptimist club.  I feel very blessed to have so many people in my life who wish to celebrate my baby with me.  There isn’t much left I need for the baby at this point, but I went ahead and updated my registries at target.com and weebunz.com.  The little things I can think of that I could use still are a bathtub, nail clippers, bulb suctioner thingy, and a changing pad for the dresser.  There are a few other little things, but they aren’t all that super necessary.  Oh, and baby socks.  I need baby socks.  My baby will be born during the coldest months of the year and I have only a couple pairs.  Poor baby.

Some of the things I’m still working on are a baby afghan I’m crocheting (as if I really needed another!), a few baby carriers such as a pouch sling, a ring sling, a moby or a mei tai, some nursing covers and I’m sure I had something else I wanted to do but it’s not coming to mind.  Pregnancy brain, I’m told.

If there are any men reading this, you’ll just want to skip this paragraph.  Seriously.  Are you gone?  Ok.  I’m pretty sure I’ve started leaking colostrum.  Last night I thought I had spilled water on my shirt when I got up in the middle of the night, but it was suspiciously in a very specific area.  It eventually dried and then a few minutes later I felt moisture again.  This morning there is proof on my shirt.  Is that even possible?  Doesn’t it seem too early to be leaking?  I hear that’s pretty important stuff so I hope not to lose any more until the baby comes.  :/

The baby is active as ever and my belly is getting more and more sensitive to its movements.  It’s a strong baby for sure.  Since it’s so active right now and since it will eventually become more space restricted as time goes by, I’ll try to put up a video of its movements while they are still big and dramatic.  Hopefully in the days to come.

Now is the time I want to prepare for the birth by making meals ahead of time and doing anything else that would make a baby’s entrance smoother for our family.  There is a post by Tammy from tammysrecipes.com that shares what she did to prepare for her second baby.  It has a lot of good information on it so I will be doing some of that in the weeks to come.  Cooking is getting harder, but I suppose it will be a lot harder with a new baby if I don’t get things rolling now.  :)

I’m so excited.

 

Winter Food

One of my favorite new things to cook during cold weather is Winter Vegetable Hash.  It’s a delicious combination of potatoes, squash, kale and other yummies all brought together in a delectable feast for your palate.  Whenever I make this dish for others I always hear compliments and “how did you make it?”  Well, I can’t take credit for the recipe, but I’ll sure take credit for making a meal people enjoy.

Here’s the recipe:

 

Pregnancy Update: Hungry Beast

I woke up absolutely famished this morning at 6:30 a.m. despite my late night run for chicken nuggets last night with the hubby.  Yes, I know that isn’t the best of foods to be eating during pregnancy but every once in a while it’s good for the wifey to participate in naughty food runs with the hubby.  It encourages affection.

This waking up famished has been happening a lot recently, although usually it’s at a more reasonable hour, say 8 a.m. or so.  It’s such a strange feeling, knowing that you’re soooo sleepy, but you’re also soooo hungry that it’s keeping you awake.  Not to mention the kickboxing going on in your belly.  So  you’re almost hoping the baby will be content with whatever nutrition it can sap from your body for the next hour or so until you feel like getting up and making a good breakfast.  No such luck.  Your mind joins forces with your stomach, making you feel guilty for making your baby starve.  You’re half-dreaming of scrambled eggs and toast, both sleep and hunger fighting for your attention. Your time limit has run out.  It’s now 7 a.m. and you’re still not asleep, so finally you pull yourself up out of bed (getting out of bed normally is no longer an option) by holding on to the headboard as you hoist your upper body up in a slanted position, a new skill mastered in the third trimester, and you sit and wait at the edge of your bed for a few seconds while the blood catches up to the rest of your upper body before standing up.  Getting up is a such a production now.

I was hoping this getting up too early thing wouldn’t start for a few more months, but it seems that  getting adequate sleep in the third trimester is a rare thing, too.  Mostly because the belly makes it hard to find a comfortable sleeping position, but I would also add the stuffy/runny nose thing makes it difficult to breathe, which makes it difficult to sleep.  And then, if you get a bloody nose, that keeps you awake as well.  Which I do get.  Fairly often.  At least once daily.  I didn’t used to think it was a big deal but it’s getting really old now and I think I might follow hubby’s advice and get my nose cauterized soon.

The swelling in my feet still happens, but I’m definitely blessed to be able to put my feet up whenever I want to.  My fingers are swelling, as well.  Making a fist is almost painful from the swollen tissue around my fingers.  It doesn’t look too bad and I can still close my hand, I just can’t make a tight fist.  My wedding rings haven’t fit in at least a month and a half.

I still have pains in my lower back after standing too long, but I got a prenatal massage finally, which although made me hurt a little, has kept the pain away from my back for almost three days.  That’s quite a feat.  It could also be attributed to the pain patches I wear on my low back, though.  In any case, it was fun getting a little professional attention.  I’m always so hesitant to do these things and then I’m always happy to have done them.

The baby is growing well, and at last week’s appointment the midwife said there was practically no uterine growth, so we are no longer concerned about twins or having to get an ultrasound.  You can believe my side of the family is a little bummed.  I think they really wanted the ultrasound pictures.  I feel blessed that I don’t have to worry about making that decision anymore.  So now I’m only measuring ahead by four weeks instead of five and I hope it was only due to some kind of fluid exchange or something like that.

The child is definitely an active little one, making my belly do all kinds of acrobatics during the day.  Earlier this morning (and even right now) the child was doing some kind of stretching, where it slowly but forcefully stretches out its little legs and makes my belly expand in a lopsided manner.  The shape of my belly changes constantly throughout the day.  It seems only I can tell the difference, but sometimes it’s easier to see than others.

I often ask the hubby to put his hand on the belly and speak soothing words.  When he does, the baby calms down and I think it falls asleep.  It’s cute to think the baby’s already reacting to it’s daddy’s voice.  I can’t wait to see how that works out once the baby is here in our arms.  We are both very excited to meet this little one already.  It seems it will have lots of personality.

Only about six weeks left to go!

 

Trip To The Northern Oregon Coast

Trip to the northern Oregon coast, last Sunday.

The pictures with the big rock are at Pacific City.  The forest-looking ones are at Cape Lookout.

 

Going Shampoo-less

Ever since the 29th of October, I have decided to do away with shampoo in the shower.  I still have half a bottle of conditioner, so that will take a little more time, but for the time being, I’m doing the no-shampoo thing (some call it no-poo, but I think that sounds gross) and just washing with baking soda and water.

My reasons for doing this are varied:  1) I don’t like spending so much money on “less-chemically” shampoos.  Even the so-called natural shampoos have a lot of strange ingredients in them.  2) To have a healthier scalp.  It seems that those who shampoo less have prettier hair and healthier scalps.  3) I am not fond of the idea of putting so many chemicals into our water.  There are already many things that our water treatment plants can’t remove from our water (mostly all the drugs people take in our counties, even prescription drugs) and I just don’t want to add to that pollution.  4) to “shampoo” less.  I want to be able to go longer without having to wash my hair.  Back in the day people would go a month or so without washing, right?  So why shouldn’t we?  I waste so much water just getting my hair wet in the shower because it’s so thick.  Rinsing off is another 50 tons of water.  If I can reduce that to just a few times a month instead of a couple-three times a week, I think that’s a noble goal.  My hair would have to still look decent, of course.

So far, it’s not pretty.  Right now my hair is not only oily, but feels too heavy, chunky and probably doesn’t smell very good.  My guess is that the baking soda is not washing off in the water.   It didn’t start off too bad, but since I only wash my hair two or three times a week, I couldn’t see the accumulation of it until this past washing.  I think my problem is hard water, as I have noticed some of my “symptoms” are similar to other’s with hard-water problems.

So far, my method has been to fill the shampoo bottle with water and add a few tablespoons of baking soda, mixing it up and applying it to my wet scalp, working it in and rinsing off.  Since that’s obviously not working, I’m going for Kim’s approach from Life In a Shoe and I’m going to boil my water first so the baking soda will mix properly in it.  I’ve now boiled four cups of water and have mixed approximately 1/4 cup of baking soda in it.  I’ll let it cool before pouring it into my shampoo bottle again and washing anew.  Hopefully this time the ick will come out of my hair and I’ll be back to report something more positive.

 

I’m Not Sure I’m Ready For This

The last two times I was at the midwife’s for a prenatal I’ve measured over my expected measurement.  Usually, your uterus measures the same number of centimeters as the number of weeks of the pregnancy.  Three weeks ago was the first time I measured over my expected measurement.  Up until then I was measuring exactly where I should.  So, at 29 weeks I measured 31 cm.  No biggie.  Just a little growth like that is totally normal.

At 31 weeks, my next prenatal, I measured 33 cm.  Seems just fine.  They felt for the position of the baby and could only really find what seems like one healthy baby.  Each midwife felt the belly and was confident enough to say it wasn’t likely to be twins and my growth was fine.

Then today I went back in because they wanted to take a look at my diet again since my blood sugar was so high last time.  They said I looked great and I told them I felt fine.  They measured my baby belly and exchanged some glances.  You know something’s up when midwives exchange glances.  Lisa asked Rachel, “what did she measure last week?”  ”Thirty-three.”  ”Huh.  I think I’m getting 37.”  She felt my uterus again, feeling for the fundus and stretching her tape measure over it.  A time or two she got 36, but in the end they decided it was definitely 37 cm.  I jumped 4 cm in a week.  That’s the kind of growth that makes one question whether or not there are two babies growing in there.

We talked about the possibility of it being twins or if it’s just a lot of water, a fluid exchange or a large baby.  Lisa suggested getting an ultrasound so that we’d know for sure whether or not there are two babies in there, but I just really don’t want to get any ultrasounds.  Thankfully, I don’t have to do anything about it now, but I need to be thinking about that as a possibility.

If there’s two, I’m fine with that and that’s not at all what’s stressing me out.  The thought of having to get an ultrasound to know for sure is what I don’t like to think about.  I mean, really, what’s that going to do?  There’ll still be two babies in there whether I have one or not, and truly the babies can change positions at any time between now and when they’re born.  If one is breech or sideways then it’ll likely have more room to move into a more favorable position for birth once the other one’s out, right?

Well, I have some time to think about things and to weigh my options before I make any decisions.  Getting two of everything won’t be a big deal, since we pretty much have a lot of people offering us stuff all the time.  We pretty much already have two car seats lined up, and if I get all the diapers I registered for at my next baby shower then we’ll be pretty set.  I mean, we’re planning to do Elimination Communication as much as possible, so hopefully we won’t be needing so many diapers anyway.  We just like to be on the safe side.  I have a few dozens already.  What else?  An extra bassinet?  Should be easy to get.  Clothes?  Everyone has baby clothes they want to get rid of.  I know two will be a lot more work than what I think, but I just don’t think it’ll be the end of the world or that I’m ill-prepared for the task.

Again, what I really don’t want is to have to go the “medical” route and get a stinkin’ ultrasound.  Not for my baby(ies)!  It just doesn’t seem natural.  And that’s not the start I want to give them in life.  Besides, there are questions that have been raised in my mind about their safety.  I know the medical community sees them as routine, but I’m just not convinced that they KNOW that for a fact just yet.  It’s often the case where practices are adopted as routine for years before we know their harmful effects.

And I just really. don’t. want. an. ultrasound.