Mom's Cooking

We've been enjoying my mom's homecooked meals. The top pic is a Filipino dessert called puto bumbong, traditionally a Christmas-time treat. It's made out of glutinous rice topped with a shredded coconut + sugar + butter topping. I guess the purple color usually comes from food coloring, but my mom decided to use Ube (purple jam) to give it that color. The whole thing is then steamed in a banana leaf. Hillsy is currently obsessed with these and has been snarfing these things down like it's his job. She also made the best Pancit (noodles) over the weekend!

It's advanced training for the little one, we're hoping that she'll be just like her mommy and daddy and will soon be demanding Filipino dishes!

PS. As promised, I wanted to share one of the many not so lovely moments of pregnancy - just so we're all clear that it's not all roses, black & white tummy portraits and lovely nurseries....

Here's an email that I sent out last night to a poor unsuspecting friend:
OMG My ass hurts, I've come down with the dreaded roids ;)
This has got to stop!!! I'm currently sitting on an icepack in my crack... Lovely.

Definitely a Oh Hells No! moment.

Happy Friday

Finally! I thought this week was never gonna end.

The Mr has been working hard all week so I'm looking forward to spending some quality time together. We're going out on a little date night later on :) Figured we should take advantage of the free nights/weekends we have left. I wanted to catch the new Leo flick then maybe grab a bite, then walk it all off with a nice leisurely stroll. With the exception of taking a trip down to IKEA and Buy Buy Baby to purchase some last minute items, we're hoping it'll be a nice and easy weekend! Maybe catch another movie tomorrow night! I know, such bad asses :)

PS. Oh my goodness. How could I forget... I have an Oh Hells No moment to share!!! OK. All my pregnant ladies out there (and those who have had the pleasure) - WHAT IN THE WORLD IS UP WITH THIS EXTRA LAYER OF "LOVE" THAT I'VE MANAGED TO GROW BELOW MY BUMP AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE GARDEN OF EDEN (CAMEL TOE MANOR)??? Please say I'm not alone in this. It's like a layer of padding right before the pooch. I now lovingly refer to it as PUFF-PUSS. I hope this too shall pass.

Smells like pork chops up in here...

I woke up this morning and I could still smell the chops from last night - not in a gross way, but not exactly the greeting I would want first thing in the morning (fresh coffee brewing, toast, pancakes or even sizzling bacon would be more like it!)

Oh hells no moment...
I also just noticed six or so teeny weenie clear bubbles (size of a pin) inside my bottom lip after eating breakfast. Fun times. They don't hurt or itch, I wonder if they're pregnancy related?? Thank goodness I have an appointment with my OB this afternoon so I'll definitely run it by her. Oh and has anyone ever used a doula before? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience!! You can either email me lifeflix@gmail.com or leave a comment.

BTW the pork chops were very easy to make, so in case you want to give them a try... I marinated six center cut pork loin chops (bone in and less than 1" thick) in a little bit of soy sauce (they weren't swimming in it, I pbly used 1/2 cup total), juice of 1/4 lemon, teaspoon of black pepper and two grated garlic cloves for two hours. Then I dredged them in flour, dipped them in egg and coated them with breadcrumbs. Pan fried each side for about 5 minutes each (very low flame) and served it with a simple salad.

12 Weeks to go

Hello third trimester. I have mixed feelings about you.

I'm happy coz we're getting closer and closer to meeting the little miss, who by the way hasn't been shy about making her presence known these days. She's quite feisty, kicking her dad in the ear every time he tries to listen for her heartbeat, waking me up with her tae-bo routine at 6am on Saturdays and Sundays or one of her favorite past times - parking herself right on my bladder or my ribs.

BUT the glory days of my 2nd trimester are long gone. Thank goodness I started working on the nursery early!
As promised, here are more "Oh Hells No" moments...

1. I can no longer see my feet.... and worst of all - tending the garden of eden has become a VERY dangerous task. I've decided that I should probably start seeing my favorite expert again.

2. My stomach is constantly upset. AND it seems as though I've suddenly become lactose intolerant. One day I was happily drinking milk, the next I was hunched over with pain thinking I was going through premature labor only to discover that constipation is no longer a problem. I'll leave it at that.

3. Back pain. Back pain. Back pain.

4. Groin pains. AKA "Round Ligament Pains". Basically a sharp/stabbing like pain right on the bikini line caused by the growing uterus. Walking tends to aggravate it even more (at least for me).

5. Starting to feel tired again + experiencing shortness of breathe from simple activities like going upstairs to my bedroom.

Rant over.

Bright side... the metal taste in my mouth that decided to linger on well into my 2nd trimester is finally gone, nightmares have eased, I now know how it feels to have boobs, I can eat what I want and I don't have to worry about sucking in my tummy and of course it goes without saying - all will be forgotten once I finally have the cute bundle in my arms and experience a love unlike any other!!

Oh hells no...

...going to bed with constant lower back pains these days. So I did a little bit of research to find the best one, figured I'd wear it while exercising...

Bought myself one of these bad ass mama jammas.
Oh ya ladies, yes I did, please no, don't be jealous. I'm SO bringing sexy back :)

Oh hells no...

Went to go sit indian-style in front of my big mirror this morning to put on my face (aka makeup) and noticed that my boobs were comfortably resting on top of my tummy. Oh hells no!

BTW, if you're the least bit squeamish or easily offended when it comes to reading about female body parts or bodily fluids and such natural occurrences - you may want to give yourself a 9-month break from here :)