The Best Husband Ever

So Bobby came home from doing a few things on Saturday proclaiming that he was the best husband ever. Naturally, I knew this already, being married to him and all. But I asked him what he was scheming and he told me not to worry about it.

Then on Sunday he said not to worry about meals or anything for next week because he would be cooking. And I thought, "Wow, I don't have to go to work next week and I don't have to cook!?" I thought that was going to be why he was bragging about being so great and I would have been totally happy with it...not having to cook for a whole week is a treat any day.

Sunday evening we were sitting in the living room, Bobby reading and me getting ready to putz around on the internet. I look at the computer and the recently downloaded list is on the screen and I see a flight confirmation on there. Hmmm...who's going somewhere? Me!!! Bobby booked me a flight to Phoenix for next Monday thru Friday to see my sister Annie and her family. How exciting is that! I had been really bummed out that we didn't get the chance to see them at Christmas and with both of us having babies coming we wouldn't get to see each other until maybe August. So today I went to my OBGYN office and got the all clear to go and next week I'm off to sunny Arizona for a few days.

Who has the best husband ever? I do!

The return of the internet!

We were without internet for the last 2 weeks! Yuck! Can I tell you how depressing it was? I felt like I was completely isolated from the world...who knew what was going on out there? My Dad would call and say my sister had posted a new update on her blog and I was ready to pull my hair out because I couldn't see it. We couldn't do video calls with her either and I was just about beside myself. And it made me realize that I don't really care about all the media and stupid information you can find on the internet. It wasn't all of that junk that I missed. It was being able to connect with my family and know what what was going on in there lives.

I guess that's what important huh?

Ruby Update

We had another appointment this week. We're now 30 weeks along, and it's amazing to think that in just 7 weeks this little girl will be considered full term and could be born! Ruby's doing great, her heartbeat was strong and healthy and all is well. We brought our birth plan along to give to the midwife and she thought everything was great and was very supportive of all our choices.

We're getting excited as we get down to the wire. Bobby's practicing labor coaching and we're feverishly reading and studying to get ready. I'm working on relaxation techniques and exercises to be ready for labor, and the nursery is almost finished (I promise pictures when it is!).

We can't wait to meet our little girl and for our friends and family to meet her too!

Lady

We all had fun playing with Bobby's mom's little dog, Lady. The last time Bobby and I saw her was in August and she was still teensy, so we were always worried about stepping on her, but now she's pretty much full grown and so much fun to play with.

Bobby enjoyed chasing her around the kitchen.



And Xax enjoyed getting a nice massage...although he soon realized it could be rather painful.



And then, when she was all worn out and done playing with the boys, Lady would jump up on my lap and enjoy a nice snuggle.

Christmas

We had such a great time in Utah for Christmas! We spent Christmas in Logan with Bobby's mom, which was lovely--lots of food! She loves to cook and gorge us with food, which suits both of us just fine.

Christmas eve was spent at my Grandma's house. I hadn't been to her Christmas eve party since I was probably 3, so it was a lot of fun spending time with everyone. We even had a visit from Santa.


Christmas day was spent eating good food, starting with breakfast. Bobby's family traditionally has a lox and bagel spread in the morning, so we enjoyed that plus lots of other goodies. Bobby's mom stays busy for several weeks before Christmas baking and cooking gifts, so we got to enjoy the fruits of her labors. Mmmm...


The rest of Christmas was spent relaxing, opening gifts and just enjoying being with family. We left Logan the day after to stay with my parents in Draper. We opened our gifts to each other, and Bobby and I got my mom and dad a chocolatier (a hot chocolate maker which my dad fell in love with when they came out to visit us). So every night we were there, Dad made us hot chocolate and we even had Tim Tam Slams again.


We are so grateful for such wonderful family that loves and supports us! We are thankful to have all of you in our lives! Happy New Year!

Another semester down

Bobby just finished another semester on Friday...now we only have a year and a half to go. Woohoo! This past week was pretty rough with him studying, taking finals, getting Xax and Shannon moved to Utah (we'll miss you guys!), me working and pregnancy making me tired. But now we can just relax and enjoy each other for a few weeks.

We're heading to Utah on Monday to spend Christmas with Bobby's mom and to see my parents. It'll be nice to take a much needed break and see family.

Christmas Candy

I decided it would be nice to make some goodies for the rest of the bishopric for Christmas. Bobby thought that sounded like a good idea and also wanted to include one of his professors. So I decided on a fruit/nut bark, truffles and peanut brittle. Mmmmm...there is just something about candy during Christmas time that makes me feel perfectly fine eating as much of it as I want. And just in case that doesn't fly, I can always say I'm pregnant and I have to eat it. The baby wants candy...now.

Ruby Update

I had another appointment today and everything looks great. Ruby's a strong little girl...the midwife was trying to hear her heartbeat, and Ruby was kicking and bouncing around and the midwife had a hard time keeping tabs on her. We laughed as we watched my belly move. It's hard to imagine that there really is a little person in there wiggling around.

I switched over to the midwives at the practice I go to a couple months ago, since I want to have a natural birth with as few interventions as possible. It was a great decision. The women that I've met have been great (there's four midwives on staff and I've seen two so far) and very supportive and I've felt more comfortable with them than the doctors. It's also reassuring to know that when I'm in labor, the midwife will be able to be there the entire time, and not have to run in and out. I really like that I'll be able to have that support.

Bobby and I have also started working on his labor coaching and my relaxation. I bought a couple books and we've been practicing some of the techniques and it's been a lot of fun. We end up laughing at each other a lot but I love that he's so supportive and I know he'll do great when our little girl finally decides to make her entrance.

And, of course, another belly shot...

Mmm...Cupcakes! aka Hi-Hats

I've had several requests for the cupcakes I made for Bobby's birthday, so without further ado...here they are!


Chocolate-covered Hi-hats
(from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans)

Cupcakes:
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped then melted and cooled
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the melted chocolate and then the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture looks creamy the has the color has lightened. Mix in the sour cream. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and water and mix until smooth.

Spray 12 muffin tin cups with nonstick spray (these are going to get big and spread over the top of the tin, so make sure you're prepared!) and then place liners in the tin. Fill each liner until the batter reaches almost to the top (you'll use about 1/3 cup of batter for each cupcake). Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. When done baking, remove from the oven, carefully loosen any tops that are stuck to the pan. Carefully place a wire rack on top of the cupcakes and then invert them onto the wire rack. Turn the cupcakes right side up and let them cool completely.

Filling:
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Combine the sugar, water, egg whites and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl or in the top of a double boiler (make sure the bowl is at least a 2 quart capacity). Beat with a handheld electric mixer until opaque, white and foamy. Put the bowl over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of a double boiler, if that's what you're using).

Beat on high speed for about 12 minutes until the frosting forms stiff peaks. Remove the bowl from the water and add the extracts and continue beating for another 2 minutes. Spoon the filling into a large pastry bag with a plain pastry tip or into a large gallon zip lock with 1/2 inch of a corner cut out(this is what I did, less mess and you can just throw the whole thing away when you're done without having to clean anything). Leaving about 1/8 inch around the edge of the cupcakes, pipe a spiral of frosting on each one, using about a half cup of frosting for each.

Place the frosted cupcakes onto a platter and put into the refrigerator while you make the chocolate coating.

Chocolate Coating:
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons veggie oil

Melt the chocolate and oil until smooth. Let cool for about 15 minutes. Make sure the chocolate is in a bowl that's small and deep enough so that you can dunk the cupcake tops into it.

Holding each cupcake by it's bottom, dip the mound of filling into the chocolate, let the excess drip off and then spoon more chocolate on if needed to cover the edge of the cupcake and any exposed frosting. Refrigerate until the chocolate has hardened, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least two hours. Serve cold.

Birthday Treats

For his birthday dinner Bobby requested Chile Rellenos. I've never made them before, but took on the challenge quite willingly. They weren't too hard to make and turned out pretty tasty. I just made basic ones with cheese, but perhaps next time will work on a different version with meat and other goodies. And Bobby's eating on the Red Plate we got for our wedding. One of the office couples when my dad and mom were on their mission got it for us. It's used by whoever did something special or is the had something great happen to them that day. So, Bobby being the birthday boy got to eat off the red plate.


I had been bugging Bobby for a couple weeks about what kind of cake he wanted. Finally he told me he wanted me to surprise him with some cupcakes from my cupcake cookbook. This coming from the man who, a very long time ago, told me that cupcakes did not have a place in his world. Then I made some for a ward picnic and he decided cupcakes might not be so bad.

So the ones I made were High-Hats. They were scrumptious! They're a chocolate cupcake with a marshmallowy topping dipped in chocolate. They were actually easy to make but a little time consuming and totally worth it when Bobby bit into it and groaned with yumminess.



And for a present, he got a video game. We've had a lot of fun playing video games together since we've been married. Many times he's told me how fun it is that I enjoy video games, especially since some of his married friends' wives don't exactly approve of said activity. We had a great time spending time together that night and celebrating his special day.

Happy birthday, Bobby! I love you with all my heart!