Hello my friends! It's me, checking in with a long awaited post! (WARNING : long post ahead! I'm behind on updates LOL)
For awhile there, I was doing pretty good at posting weekly. But then, pregnancy hit... and with it, all the tiredness and sickness that is typical with the first trimester. I had my doubts about being able to keep up with the blog while going through all that, and I was right. I kinda just rested and ate crackers for 3 months. But that's ok! It's to be expected. Despite how sick I was feeling, I was still no less excited about the prospect of having another baby around here!
Now, I am in the 2nd trimester, where things are looking up a bit! I still get some little bouts of nausea here and there, but luckily it has toned down a LOT. Like, 90%. I can work with that!
I'm still pretty tired though, and ideally take a nap once a day, and sleep in every morning (which I can do, since I'm a stay at home mom without a full time job! Hooray for that decision earlier this year. Timing worked out perfect). Luckily, my toddler is very workable when it comes to sleeping in. He chills out playing in his room until around 10am or 10:30am typically, then we both get up and have breakfast together. It works out perfectly for Pregnant Me.
Since I've been feeling better overall the past couple of weeks, I've had slightly more energy and more motivation to *do* some more things in my life. I'm trying to get back into some kind of productive routine now that I can. I have started cooking a little more, I get the place *generally* clean by the end of the day, and am even doing some Autumn and seasonal activities!
The most recent activity was going to Eckert's Grafton Farm! This is an apple orchard (although they grow other produce too - but their apples are by far their biggest thing they do) that is somewhat local to my area of St. Charles. People can go and pick their own apples and then pay for them by weight. I've been going to this place since I was a young child with my own siblings and parents. Over the years, they have added a lot more fun activities for the kids - like a play area and a petting zoo.
It was especially fun this year, because my son was old enough to participate in almost everything! When my husband and I went in 2023, my son was only 3 months old. I carried him around in a wrap, and he stayed asleep the whole time. We went up on the Grafton skylines afterward, which was quite fun and relaxing!
In 2024, we went with a few friends, and of course my son was there too - although he was still too young (less than 2 years) to really do anything with us. So it was another year where I was just carrying a baby around while picking apples.
But 2025 was different, and so so special! He picked his own apples and put them in the bag, he ate an apple whole while out in the orchard, and he was able to play in the kids area somewhat independently. He also sampled some apple cider, and of course eats a ton of apples from our stash that we brought home.
What's also special about 2025, is we picked two pumpkins as well! I had never been to a pumpkin patch or ever picked a pumpkin before! Which is surprising with how many times I've been to Eckert's, and how many times I have had the opportunity to do so. All in all, we came home with one big bag of apples (I think like 20-30 apples total) and two medium pumpkins (I got two that were small enough for me to easily roast in my oven. My plan is to roast them, then puree and freeze them to use in baking over the next several months).
I also think it's so funny that my son just learned how to say the word "Apple" and "Pumpkin". Just in time for the season!
So... what else has been going on?
❀ I Found a Midwife for my Pregnancy ❀
I never really talked about this situation on the blog... but my experiencing birthing my son was a very horrible one. In short, I didn't know what I was doing, so when I first got pregnant, I searched the internet and found any old OB/GYN who was near my area to go to. This turned out to be a horrible mistake. I ended up firing that OB/GYN halfway through my labor because she was so terrible. I was pushed and pressured to be induced and to get a C-Section for no medical reasons. It was a very painful experience, and frankly very insulting too. After I had my son, I did a lot of self-education on pregnancy and natural birth. I knew that I wanted to go for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) for my next pregnancy. At some point as well, I would like to start birthing all my babies at home. The only problem with a home birth at this point in my life is how pricey they are, and they don't take insurance. With us being on one income right now, that's just not doable, and I'd rather not make a decision that is going to stress us out financially down the road. So, I did my research and went to an appointment with an in-network midwife that I have heard a lot about in my area. My husband came with me to the appointment. We both felt really confident after visiting her, especially hearing her answers to all my questions. There's a lot more to that decision, but that's the basics. I already feel so much better in her hands than in my first pregnancy. I have a lot more education and tools at my disposal to speak up for myself when needed and make decisions based on what I want and what's best for me. I don't have any fear going into the next birth because of the education I've obtained about the subject (you might see in my "Read" shelf this summer, "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth", which is one of my favorite resources). Of course I will report back on the blog how everything goes with the next childbirth, which is happening in the Spring. Maybe I'll even post the entire birth story. :)
❀ Planning for the Holidays ❀
Me and my husband are brainstorming about what we want to do for the season - especially for FOOD for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We decided last year that we don't want to be a turkey family. I made my very first turkey and it turned out very good! However, it's just not my favorite. At this point in time, we are a very small family. I think I'd rather spend a little extra to make something nice for two adults and one toddler, than buy a big giant turkey that we can barely eat (even with freezing), in addition to turkey not being my favorite protein anyways.
We also made duck for Christmas last year, which was very good. But, it is expensive, and you don't get that much meat on the bird - kind of the opposite problem of turkey. And while it's *good*, it's not good enough that I want to do it every year.
I'm still brainstorming, but I'm seriously considering going a completely different, non-traditional direction for our holiday meals. I made osso bucco awhile back, and frankly that might be the perfect option. It's really easy to make, but it's luxurious and feels fancy and special, especially if you make it with the traditional silky risotto. The veal shanks are a bit pricey, but I liked it well enough that it's something I'm willing to spend the money on for a special occasion.
The other option I'm thinking (and who knows, I could do this for one of the holidays and the osso bucco for the other holiday) is scallops, with some luxurious, fancy-feeling sides, such as prosciutto wrapped asparagus, risotto, or something similar. I have made pan-seared scallops a few times now, and dang but they are SO GOOD. They aren't SUPER pricey either. I mean, pound for pound they are much pricier than your average fish. But they're not unbearably pricey that I can't do them for Christmas. They feel fancy and luxurious, and they are fairly quick and easy to make! This gives me more time and effort to put into a fancy dessert, a mocktail (I made this mulled non-alcoholic wine last year and it was so yummy!), and some fancy sides or appetizers.
So, all in all, I'm not sure what I'm going to decide yet. But I have some things swirling in my head that I'll probably land on soon :)
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This is not even to mention the seasonal foods that I'm planning on making NOT relating to holidays, or fanciness at all. I'm super excited for pomegranates to be in season - I really enjoy cracking them open and rolling out the little seeds with my thumbs - and then rinsing them and drying them. I don't like to eat the seeds plain, the texture gets to me a little bit. But I LOVE them as a salad topper. I absolutely love making this Quinoa Arugula salad that I got from Pinterest, but I will add pomegranates and crumbled goat cheese. It's amazing as the recipe is written, but trust me, the addition of the seeds and cheese just takes it so far over the top.
Also I'm very excited for citrus to be back in season! I love making citrus mocktails with fresh squeezed grapefruits (grapefruit is my favorite of all citrus for just eating plain - for cooking I like lemon and lime of course), and fresh squeezed orange juice to go with breakfasts. I also started a tradition last year that I plan on continuing - dehydrating citrus slices! I made some popcorn and orange slice garlands last year for decoration - and I plan on doing the same thing this year. I'm going to save a few for drink garnishes too this year.
One last thing on the food topic of holidays. I have been doing a lot of reminiscing of my childhood holiday traditions, and the food my mom used to make for the holidays when I was a little kids. Some of them I had no idea what they were called, I just described them to Google and was able to find some of the recipes! I'd like to bring at least a few of those back this year. Here are the main ones:
- 7 Layer Salad (If I remember correctly, we had this for New Years Day typically)
- Walking Tacos (with everything we know about microplastics and metals these days - I'll probably figure out an alternative to putting hot taco meat directly into the chip bags - while still trying to preserve the novelty! I also might try to find a more natural "Dorito" option - one that does have seed oils or artificial dyes.)
- Chili Spaghetti (which isn't a holiday dish, but just a regular dish we had that I want to try making again. It's great for kids LOL)
- Monkey Bread (we always had this on New Years Day for breakfast! I'll... probably do it for dessert LOL)
- Rotel Sausage Dip (definitely the most unhealthy of these LOL - we made this for New Year's Eve)
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad (not anything like a salad, more like a bar dessert, I don't know why it's called salad! My grandma would always make and bring this to holiday functions!)
- Hanky Panky Appetizers (THIS is the main one I had trouble finding! I only had the memory of it... I knew it was cheesy and had meat, and it was spread on some type of tiny bread slices. Luckily it's a pretty well known appetizer as it turns out, and I found the recipe!)
Those are some of the long lost recipes that I'd like to try and see if I want to bring them into my own traditions. I definitely know that I want to work in a lot of seasonal produce to my traditions. I want to raise my kids knowing how to respect and honor God's season and what He gives, rather than having to buy a bunch of decorations to feel Christmas-y, if that makes sense.
❀ Drinking Coffee & Eating Dark Chocolate ❀
As you know, I have been an avid coffee drinker already for the past 4 years. I took a little break from coffee during the first trimester. However, with the 2nd trimester I have been having headaches relating to the pregnancy. And one of the things that helps with pregnancy headaches/migraines is caffeine and magnesium. Hence, I've been going back to coffee and also Dark Chocolate! I also got some magnesium capsules. And I've only been taking them a week, BUT I haven't had a headache in that time, so it just might be working! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Time will tell.
❀ Reading ... But Only a Tiny Bit ❀
You guys, I don't think I'm going to make my goal of 25 books this year. Not with the pregnancy LOL. But I did just finish the Witch of Blackbird Pond which was my 17th book. Even if I end the year having read only 17 books, I feel like that's not bad at all. My goal *underneath* the 25 book goal was to just read more! And I definitely accomplished that. We shall see what next year brings of course. And who knows, maybe I will end up reading one or two more books before this year is out!
❀ Not Much Else ❀
Even though this post is long, I really haven't been *doing* that much since my last post. Which is one of the reasons I haven't posted an update post in awhile - I have nothing to report! But, as mentioned above, I'm working on changing that since I've been feeling better. And hopefully doing more will benefit my mental health as well - the trip to Eckert's already helped! Especially having the apples that we are now using to nourish our family and decorate for Fall - It's like bringing the experience home with you! My plan is to post again soon regardless, because I have some thoughts on the month of November that I would like to share soon.
Let me know what you have been up to in the comments!!
~ Amaris // ☆
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