Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I was in the mood to bake today... So I am baking Pumpkin bread!!!

Pumpkin Bread

Makes approximately 12 muffins, 3 small loaves, or 1 large loaf

1 3/4 cup (1 15 oz. can) pureed pumpkin

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

3 eggs

3-4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups chopped walnuts or chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, butter, and eggs and mix until creamy. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients except the nuts or chocolate chips. Mix 3 cups of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then add as much of the 4th cup as necessary to achieve the proper consistency (moist, but thick enough to stand a spoon in). Add the nuts or chocolate chips and stir in.

Pour or spoon the batter into greased muffin tins or bread pans. Bake on the center rack until a toothpick poked into the center comes out dry. At sea level, muffins should take between 20 and 25 minutes to bake, small loaves between 25 and 30 minutes, and full sized loaves between 50 minutes and 1 hour.

8 weeks Preggers...

All About Baby

Our baby is no longer a mass of cells, but he's looking more and more like a miniature baby-to-be. Our baby's face is becoming more defined: eyelids have formed, his nose is beginning to protrude, and his upper lip is taking shape. Where there once were only stubs, fingers and toes are starting to develop from his arms and legs. His heart is beating quickly (178 bpm) and strong inside his tiny body.

How Big Is Baby?

Our baby-to-be is now just over one half of an inch long. He's a little bigger than a dime.

Pregnant...AGAIN... For the long haul this time!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to keep you in the loop. I am 8 weeks pregnant now. This Little Peanut appears to be sticking. We had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and it was good. Today we got to see our peanut again! And we saw a strong little heartbeat. It was 178 beats per minute. Baby was 1.95 centimeters long. I cried on the way there but once I got there I didn't cry. I thought I would...I almost did, but I didn't. Jimmy is definitely excited now. It was so cool to see the heartbeat. There was no mistaking that little flicker. I saw it right of the bat and felt immediate relief. Jimmy was happy to prove to me that there was a VERY STRONG heartbeat. He said his kids are going to be big and strong. We were both happy to hear everything is right on track. The doctor said I am within 1-2 days of my due date (May 7, 2009). So that is really good. I posted U/S pics on my baby page (http://my.babyfit.com/aejones). Keep us in your prayers!

When He Whispers

My prayers for a healthy pregnancy are not going unanswered as much as God is responding in unexpected ways. I might be unaware of those ways right now, but God has a panoramic perspective of my life. He is not hiding that from me as much as I am often unwilling to listen. And through my stubbornness I have used the excuse of saying God is being silent, I can't hear Him...


However, sometimes when God seems silent he is surprisingly talkative - only whispering. He whispers so we are drawn closer to Him. Sometimes that means we don't always hear Him clearly, but God continues to speak drawing us into a deeper relationship with Him. It is only there in that intimate place that He will share with us HIS perspective and He allows us insight into His plan.


I hope that I can get to that place... That completely intimate place where God shares His plan for my life with me. If only I can learn to listen when He whispers...

Yogurt...

So Jonesie suggested I share with the world how much I didn't like the texture of Yoplait Thick & Creamy Yogurt....

YUCK! I almost puked at the texture...

A Beautiful Prayer...

I read this on Britney's babyfit journal. I thought it was beautiful and I just feel like I should make it my prayer too.

Father, we thank you that children are a heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward. children are your idea, Father. You thought up children and family and home. You instituted the family in the garden of Eden. You ordered children. You commanded them when you said to Adam and Eve, be fruitful and multiply. You said that the barren womb is never satisfied. Lord, the Word declares that I am wonderfully and fearfully made by you, therefore I'm perfect and able to conceive and have children. You said that I would be a fruitful vine by the side of our house and our children like olive plants around the table. We are not ashamed but happy because our quiver is full of children (or arrows as you call them).

Thank you, Father, that you designed and fashioned me to have children, that in the bible barrenness was the exception, not the rule, not your will, not normal, something against your plans and purpose. In your name, goodness, and faithfulness, every barren woman in the bible who was godly and believed your word became pregnant. You opened her womb and blessed her, and she gave birth to a precious baby just as I will. You make the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children.

Amen

4 Days Past Ovulation

I ovulated on Saturday. I am officially in the two week wait. I can test next weekend (July 26th). I am hoping it is positive, but if it is not I am OK with trying again.

It is the constant waiting that kills me. I wait to ovulate, wait to get my period or get a pos test, if I get a neg test, wait to start my period... It sucks to wait!!!

Thoughts on Becoming a Mother

There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better.

I will be better not because of genetics, or money or that I have read more books, but because I have struggled and toiled for this child. I have longed and waited. I have cried and prayed. I have endured and planned over and over again.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams. I will notice everything about my child. I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life.

I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream.

My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends will not see.

Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain.

I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body, I have been tried by fire and hell many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

I have prevailed.

I have succeeded.

I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort.

I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs.

I listen.

And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immerse power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard.

I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.

I have learned to appreciate life.

Yes I will be a wonderful mother.

- Author Unknown

Update - Babies and Life...

About a month ago (in May) I became pregnant. I tested with an early result test a few days before my period was due... It was Positive...

So anyway... This all caught Jimmy and I both by surprise. Jimmy more than me because he had no clue i was even considering taking a pregnancy test... We had talked previously and agreed that we may need to wait to have kids... BUT when we found out I was pregnant things quickly changed, and I mean quickly... It had to, we had no choice but to step up and be ready to raise a child. Jimmy was at work the day I found out I was pregnant and I felt bad because I called him with the news and there was nothing he could do because he was working... It was crazy. we both pondered it separately throughout the day and came home to discuss it. It turns out we both were more ready for children than we thought. It was a big relief because here we were... PREGNANT! We were happy, but reserved our excitement for a few days when we would have the pregnancy confirmed by a blood test.

Little did I know the at home test was "barely positive" by the time I got my blood test done at the OBGYN office my hCG level was only 7 ( if you know anything about hCG a level of <5 25 =" barely">25 = pregnant). The Dr told me to come back in two days to have my levels taken again... I didn't have to... That night I stated spotting and that progressed to heavily bleeding. I went in the next day to be told I was having an miscarriage AKA chemical pregnancy. The Dr says this is fairly common (something like 40% of all first time pregnancies end this way) and most times women do not know because their period just comes a little late, only really bad. He said it is most often due to some type of chromosomal defect in the blastocyst.

Because the Miscarriage occurred early on I didn't have to have a D & C. It happened naturally... It was definitely rough and very painful, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. I had prepared myself to have a baby and then it was gone... Just like that... This made me realize how much i really wanted a baby. I told Jimmy how I was feeling and he told me that he was basically waiting for me because I had always said I wanted to wait until after I get my masters degree... Well we talked more and have decided to try this summer to get pregnant... and stay pregnant...

So I guess we are officially trying to get pregnant...

So call me Suzie Homemaker... :)

Last night Jimmy and I decided to get creative. I had bought four canvases and some acrylic paints a couple of weeks ago and we put them to use. We went to JoAnn Fabric Store and looked at fabric we liked and took pictures of them. We then brought the pictures home and began painting the canvases to look like the fabric, only we used the colors in our house. Below are pictures of our "craft time." I think Jimmy did an amazing job painting his two canvases! I married such a wonderful and creative man! My canvases are...well... not as good. But we worked together and had a wonderful time. Today we will hang them up in our house.

Hump Day

Well, its Wednesday (Wednesday is the third day of the week in most western countries and the fourth day of the week in the Christian calendar, between Tuesday and Thursday)...half way through my SPRING BREAK, which is really no break at all; rather, it is a brief intermission between school work (UCF) and work at the school (TCHS), which is about as balanced as an upside down pyramid.
I feel, however, that I have gotten a lot accomplished this week... I went on a mini vacation with Jimmy's family and manged not to put my foot in my mouth even once the entire four days we were there. I bought curtains for ALL of the windows in my house and bribed my husband into putting them up for me (which required a lot of work and drilling thru concrete and metal). I completed 4 assignments that are due for my Nature of Autism Theory and Educational Practice class along with 4 tests that were to be completed by next week.

I am looking forward to Michelle and Nic coming to stay with us this coming weekend. It will be a nice ending to a somewhat successful week.

Weekend Getaway

Jimmy and I are staying at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. It is a great place to stay. I am having lots of fun. We are in a 3 bedroom grand villa with a lakeside view of Downtown Disney. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. We will be here until Tuesday. I will take lots of pictures and share when I get home. :)

Uncanny TP Play Time

Ok so most normal people would take pictures of their toddler playing with toilet paper, but if you know me you know I don't have any children. This is Harley, my only child. We couldn't find him and when we finally located him he was near the table hiding from us. He had found a roll of toilet paper within his reach. I couldn't scold him because it was the PERFECT opportunity for a photo. He was totally cute. :) If you'd like to see some other dogs playing with TP click here...

Scrappin'

In my previous blog today I mentioned that I have been scrapbooking my wedding. Here are a few pages from the book...

Hello Blogland

So it has been months since I last blogged. Not a whole lot has occurred since Christmas. Here are a few things... Nothing really interesting, but... this is what I am up to.

• I began my Master's Degree in January and it is totally kicking my butt!
• Memry went on maternity leave and I had to teach both her class and mine for 12 weeks.
• I have been slowly decorating my house. (I will not paint until I am in a house that I will be in for a long time.)
• Jimmy and I have been married for 6 months.
• I am addicted to watching LOST and American Idol.
• I am singing with the praise team at my mom's church.
• I scrapbooked my wedding.
• I have been cooking like crazy. It is so much fun!