It’s been almost SIX months since our sweet Zelie belle was born and I’m just now getting around to writing her birth story! I know you’re probably thinking “that’s crazy! In all that time you could even find a few minutes to type something up?”
Well, the truth is I probably could have, and that maybe I should have. We been so, so busy, but I’m sure I could have gotten it done over the course of well… Six months 😉
In all honesty, it’s not the whirlwind of life that’s been the only factor in my lack of blogging. Zelie’s birth was so emotionally and physically difficult for me that even thinking back on it is something I don’t want to do.
See, I thought I had experienced the worst pain I’d ever have with my kidney issues during pregnancy, but that turned out to be wrong. If you’d like the full story of what happened after the birth I’ll be happy to tell you. But in my blog, I’m just going to give you the good part, the part where I got to meet my daughter for the first time!
May 15th meant that I was overdue by seven days. I mean seriously, do those “due dates” mean ANYTHING? Anyways, I was still staggering around, trying to stay off the pain meds as much as possible which was hard because on top of the kidney pain, I had been in prodromal labor for about five days. I WAS TIRED. And oh so itchy from the bandage that covered most of my back and in so. Much. Pain. It was just constant. I was pretty used to it though so I was able to walk around and entertain Caidoc fairly well.
That morning started early ( as it always does around here a certain toddler) so I had planned to have a nice day taking Caidoc to a park. I had even made sure I was off meds long enough so I was legally allowed to drive- easier said than done. I had fed Caidoc but we were both still in our pjs when IT HAPPENED.
No, my water didn’t break, but I KNEW it was time. Let me tell you, everything they say is true- when you know, you KNOW.
I called Chris and my doula and my mom. I tried to keep calm for Caidoc which I did pretty well till Chris came home then I just started loosing it.
By the time we got to the hospital I was dilated six cm and was having contractions every two minutes, two minutes apart. I was not very graceful in labor. Chris stayed with Caidoc and my doula stayed with me till my parents showed up to be with Caidoc. I was SCREAMING for an epidural because I couldn’t take the pain on top of the kidney pain.
Let’s just say, my midwife is very sneaky. She kept saying she was ordering it but for “some reason it was taking awhile”.
Needless to say, I didn’t get the epidural I was promised. This made me very mad and I wasn’t very nice about it. I’d say I had a very “Hollywood” labor– LOUD.
We had got the the hospital around 8 am, I was in insane crazy fast labor for four hours and I pushed for 50 minutes.
I’m not going to bother trying to tell you labor or how pushing feels, it’s just something that isn’t really able to be adequatly put into words in my opinion. Especially because each experience is so unique. I’ve been told by some women that literally felt very little pain- that their labor was almost an endorphin high. For most women though, its the most pain they will ever feel un their lifetime. I tended toward the latter, haha!
I have the upmost respect for my pain tolerance now, as does Chris 🙂
Something I will tell you though, is that the elation, triumph and oneness I felt with that sweet little baby once she came out of me was the most amazing feeling in the world.
Nothing compares.
All I could think, amid all the clamor around me, was, “We did it baby girl. We did it.”
And we did. We both worked so hard and got the unmedicated, natural, VBAC that I had been aiming for for nine months. I felt victorious.
Right after she was born we brought Caidoc in. I know most people’s first child have jealousy issues, but we had worked really hard to make sure that wouldn’t happen and all that work paid off. Caidoc saw Azèlie and immediately held out his arms cooing to hold her. It was a wonderful sight.
(And, I’m happy to report, six months later, they worship each other. We are so lucky!)
Shortly after that Chris and caidoc went home to nap while my mom stayed with me. It was an eventful rest of the day, but–
in the end, all that followed doesn’t really matter, because my goal was a healthy, happy baby. And that’s exactly what I got.
Remember how I said, “The worst was over” when I was talking about my daughters pregnancy? I wasn’t quite right about that.
FYI– don’t read unless you don’t mind some gross body talk!
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After the kidney tube was place, it pain was suppose to stop; the pressure on my internal organs should have been completely taken care of. There was even mention that I might not have to have the tube in for the rest of my pregnancy. That news elated me since I could tell emptying the bag and general day to day was going to get more difficult. I didn’t realize how difficult at the time.
That last month and a half was most mentally draining and physically depleting period of my life. It sounds so dramatic when I put it that way, but it’s the truth. I can’t even go into all the details of the day to day because I just don’t like remembering how hard it was. Why was it hard?
The kidney surgery caused some problems. Shortly after the tube was placed some of the pain did go away. But later that day, I discovered I could’t stand upright. I physically could not straighten my back (think Quasimodo) and no one could figure out why. Since the midwives, urologist, OB, and radiologist couldn’t figure out why the tube was not helping my back or kidney pain, Chris, Caidoc and I were in the hospital for appointments and evaluation several times a week and always, always refilling my pain meds. I was on as much Oxycotin, Oxycodine, and Ibprophen that they let pregnant women have.The full body spasms kept happening but usually only at night.
Night was the hardest time, because I had to sleep sitting upright, or my bag wouldn’t drain and my kidney would back up. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep much. I couldn’t lift Caidoc, or much over 5 pounds. I couldn’t get all the way in a shower because I had to keep the bandage dry so I had to most clean myself with wet wash cloths. The bag I had to drain several times at night and many time during the day– several people have asked me if I still had the sensation to pee, and yes, I still peed regularly too, mostly because I was pregnant so I had a lot fluid in me and very little room to store it. Because I was so hot already from being pregnant I was getting night sweats. Due to these sweats the bandage over the tube started pretty much rotting my skin. That patch of my back smelled and it itched like crazy despite changing the bandage.
Because of the pain meds I couldn’t drive. At all. Which meant I rarely left our apartment. I felt horrible for Caidoc, our poor rambunctious boy was going crazy having to be stuck at home with me. The place was a mess since I couldn’t really clean or even do much than walk to the kitchen to fix Caidoc food.
All the doctors kept telling me the same thing; “Well, you could just have a c-section and end all this now.” But since my midwives and I were not entirely convinced the baby was causing the problem–since the tube should have elevated the kidney blockage– I kept telling them no. But every night when I was propped up in bed shaking from pain and exhaustion, I cried, and cried, longing to have the baby out. But every morning I would remind myself how miserable the recovery from Caidoc’s c section was and that I should just try to hold on a little longer. This baby wasn’t ready to come out.
There were complications being on so many pain meds. I was told there was high risk of the baby coming out with drug withdrawal in I stayed on narcotics till she came out. There seemed to no other way to deal with this amount of pain and still function and care for Caidoc, but I couldn’t stand the thought of our daughter being born with withdrawal so I started researching natural remedies. To keep a very long and arduous narrative short, I’ll talk about what did help me cope with the pain. I tried all sorts of things, pain meds, yoga positions, moving the baby, walking, not moving, laxatives and enemas (it was suggested to me that other ares of the body might be under stress and swelling..yuck), acupuncture, and seeing a chiropractor. The only thing that helped was the chiropractor. I went several times a week and he could straighten out my back each time and it brought relief. But usually, nighttime reset everything, and by morning I was back to being hunched over.
During the month and a half I had the tube in my back I kept trying to wean myself off the meds, knowing it would be better for the baby that way, and probably me as well. When I felt the meds starting to wear off panic would overcome me and I’d frantically dose again because I was so terrified of having full body spasms and ending up paralyzed on the floor again. I was able to do a pretty good job of cutting down the dosages. It was very hard mentally and physically.
I’m standing with my feet really wide apart to I could stand up. I also just went to the chiropractor so I could straighten my spine. It was really difficult to find things to wear being pregnant with the tube and bag on my leg. I wore men XL sweat pants 90% of the time.
It would be wrong to let you think I suffered alone. Help came from so many people. It’s true what they say, when times get tough, you really do find out who your friends are. Chris was heroic. Getting Caidoc out and about, fixing food, driving to the hospital, explaining to work how he needed to come in late again because I needed help, and so many other littles thing I can’t even start to number. The moms group I am a part of in Kent arranged for meals to come every other day for two weeks. That was a godsend. Chris’s dad came over and would play with Caidoc. My mom, as you already know, is a saint. She came down with my younger siblings as often as she could, to take Caidoc and I to parks and out for food ( since I couldn’t drive or walk without assistance that was pretty much the only fresh air we got). My younger siblings would run around and entertain Caidoc while I was able to update my mom on how I was doing. She also did wonderful research on what could possibly be going on, which is how we finally figured out the problem.
My grandpa is a retired urologist. One of the best and most knowledgable physicians out there. How blessed we are to have him as a resource. After hearing about the situation from my mom, he was as equally puzzled as to why the surgery wasn’t relieving all the pain. It took a couple weeks of questions and research but he said he believed that, by no one persons fault, the tube that was placed had poked or pierced my a dorsal nerve on my spine. It was a one in a million type situation but I had all the symptoms. Unfortunately, the only way to deal with it was to do..nothing. Hopefully, the tube being removed after the birth would lessen the damage but there was a chance the pain wouldn’t go away even after that. As fearful as I was that I would have to go on feeling this way even after birth, I was comforted a little by my grandpa saying that if I could stand this pain, natural child birth would be a “piece of cake”. That made me kinda feel like a badass so I resigned myself to keep it together for the baby and for the natural delivery I knew I wanted.
That’s how the last month and a half of my pregnancy went. I kept praying and hoping for a natural birth, a fast labor, and a healthy, happy baby. I NEEDED that. I felt like I wouldn’t be able to handle a difficult recovery or a tough baby after all I had been through. Turns out, with a few more hurdles to overcome, that’s exactly what I got.
Since I didn’t hardly post during my pregnancy with Azèlie (okay, make that at ALL), I figured I’d finally explain everything that went down. During it all, I didn’t have the time or heart to keep people updated, although it probably would have been easier to follow for the readers. So, I apologize in advance if this is incoherent.
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I thought I had a pretty rough pregnancy with Caidoc, and by some accounts, I did. The whole nine months I was violently ill (let’s just say “morning sickness” doesn’t even begin to describe it, nor is it exclusive to “the morning” as one is led to believe) and I suffered intense mood swings. But I had no idea that I was going to find myself wishing my second pregnancy was as “easy” as Caidoc’s pregnancy. I was determined to have a successful VBAC with this baby. Caidoc’s labor resulted in a very emotionally devastating c-section and recovery. I was bound and determined to do everything in my power to avoid a c-section this time around. My husband, Chris, and my doula were well aware of my decision and promised to help make that happen, unless of course, the baby was in life threatening circumstances. I went into my second pregnancy very optimistic.
Needless to say, I was hoping I wouldn’t get too sick the second time around, and I didn’t! Right after three months, I stopped getting morning sickness and I was really positive and happy (as happy as a largely pregnant woman can be 🙂 ) during most of the pregnancy. The positive attitude was probably in part ruled by working out everyday, and completely ignoring the rising numbers on the scale. It was a much different experience than with Caidoc.
That all changed on April 7th.
That afternoon I had been feeling strange. I was 36 weeks and wanting the baby OUT of me, you mamas know what I mean! But this was different than the normal “fed up” with pregnancy feeling. My back was really hurting and it was difficult to move. Since I didn’t know what it felt like for labor to come on unassisted, I was sure this was it! I started panicking, thinking “it’s too early for her to come!” I tried to sit down and relax to try and stop what I thought were fairly easy contractions. I had been out for a walk with Caidoc and thought “maybe I just did too much” . By 3 pm, I was sure it was labor. The right side of my body was not responding to my brain and I had started vomiting.
Chris came home by 4 pm to take care of Caidoc who was getting slightly worried at my condition. I was able to lay down on my left side, if I tried to lay down on my right side I would start shaking all over and vomiting uncontrollably. So I laid on my left side, scared to move, counting contractions. A few hours passed like that.
By 7:45 pm, I begged Chris to call our doula. We told her all about my pain and the vomiting. She was confused by my description of, “it feels like one big contraction” since the process didn’t sound quite like normal labor but she tried to give us advice. From my description of the pain, she thought it was possible that the baby was not in the correct position, and that I should try to move her. I told her that I had been trying to move the baby with various things, being on all fours, being in the shower, etc. Since none of those techniques had worked and only made the pain worse, I stopped. The only thing that seemed to relieve anything was laying very, very still. We called my midwives who were sure that I was just dehydrated and told me to just try and drink as much water as I could. So, we decided to try and go along with the birth plan, which was to stay at home as long as possible.
At 8 pm I had another big convulsing episode after which I was sobbing and begging to go to the hospital. So we called my brother who immediately headed over. When he arrived at 8:45 pm he cheerfully asked how I was doing. I told him this labor thing was “no joke” and that we owed our mom “big time”. I was feeling a little better, and thought, “maybe I am making a big deal out of nothing, women go through this all the time” I was embarrassed that I wasn’t handling the pain very well. We decided my brother could go home, and I would try and wait it out longer. I fell asleep around 10 pm.
10:30 pm rolls around. I woke up because I couldn’t even move the left side of my body side anymore, let alone the right side. I was completely immobile and felt tears starting to roll down my cheeks from the pain. I couldn’t even poke Chris awake. I sobbed silently to myself for what felt like years until I finally managed to croak loud enough to wake Chris up. He tried to get me out of bed but I just collapsed on the floor. He called our doula in a panic and she headed over. Our doula arrived at 11:40 and helped lift me into her car to go to the hospital. We were calling my family to update them since they were on vacation which is why we had our doula come get me in the first place (we didn’t want to bother my brother again, poor guy!).
We arrived at the hospital and a wheelchair was brought out to me since I could not stand or walk on my own. We get rushed to the birth center to get checked out. I remember on our way down the halls a jolly old man sitting in the lobby called out, “Good luck mama! You got this girl!” I wanted to say thanks, but I just threw up everywhere instead. In the birth center the nurses and midwives were very calm, telling me that it was clearly dehydration causing all the pain and contractions. My doula and I were skeptical, but I was in no position to argue since I could barely focus enough to listen to what they were saying. They put me on an IV at 1:45 am. At 1:55 am I start vomiting and shaking uncontrollably, and this time it doesn’t stop. The midwife rushed in and tells my doula she is ordering an ultrasound because she wants to make sure my c-section scar isn’t rupturing from the inside.
At 2:10 am I get an ultrasound, which I have to lie on my back for. Since I couldn’t straightening out my back to lie down I was tied and held down my the nurses so the ultrasound technician can take a look at my uterus and ovaries all while shaking violently. Fifteen minutes later the ultrasound is done and…nothing. I am not dilated, my cervix is thick, the baby is doing great. The midwife just looked at me and said, ” I just don’t know what could possibly be going on.” I teared up, while the nurse rolled me back over to me left side, “how could they not know what’s going on?” I thought, “this is their JOB!” I started crying because I was so tired and in so much pain. The thought that this wasn’t labor, and that no one had no idea how to fix it was devastating. This was the worst pain I had ever experienced in my life and there was no end in sight.
The midwife decides to give me a dose of morphine to see if that helps, so they plug that into my IV fluids but nothing happens I continued to shake. By this point my muscles were getting so sore from the convulsions that my limbs started to get stiff and I was losing control of even being able to move my head. At 2:40 am a second bag of IV fluids and another dose of morphine is given to me, but again…nothing. I remember the nurses and midwife being slightly disturbed that the morphine was having little no no effect on my condition. I stayed just shaking and dry heaving tied to a bed for awhile while by dear doula rubbed my back.
By 4:25 am a third dose of morphine was given to me and an second ultrasound was ordered. I had no idea what the midwives and nurses were doing during that time, but I guessed they were just hoping that I would stop shaking or the IV would hydrate me enough to stop the contractions and intense pain I was feeling. It was only later that I found out they were consulting with two different OB’s, the on-call urologist, and a surgeon from the radiology department.
After a much longer ultrasound, finally there was a lead. There was some kind of blockage of my right kidney. The baby had decided to position herself directly on my kidney, causing it to swell. I distinctly remember feeling an intense sense of relief even through a blinding amount of pain, because at least there was an ANSWER for all of this agony. So all that fluid they were pumping into me and telling me to drink? Exacerbating the situation immensely. I was not dehydrated, I was filling up with fluid from my swollen kidney that was putting pressure on all my other internal organs. By 5:20 am I was given a third dose of morphine and told I was going to see a specialist as soon as he got in in the morning, but as far as they could tell, I was either going to need a c-section, to get the baby to move, or a by-pass surgery in order to be able to move for the remainder of my pregnancy.
After being admitted into a room, and set up on a morphine drip, it was 5:40 am and after about 20 minutes of the morphine I only had occasional spasms. I still couldn’t move from laying on my left side, but it was a welcome relief to be untied from the bed. I could tell my poor doula was exhausted and stressed, and I’m sure I didn’t look too good either. I told her to go home but she refused to leave me alone. After conveying to Chris that I thought she should go home, he arranged for my sister-in-law to come so my doula could leave to go home (Chris was still at home with a sleeping Caidoc).
At 7 am my dear sister in law arrived and my doula went home. The morphine drip had really kicked in and I remember laying in the bed feeling like quite a bother to everyone and incredibly grateful for all their help, but other than that, I was just feeling very fuzzy. My doula told me later that I was still shaking during that time and still couldn’t sit up or go to the bathroom so I had a catheter placed. I don’t really remember any of that. Sometime during those morning hours I fell asleep.
My family had been contacted during all this time, but since they were on vacation we tried to up off bothering them for as long as possible. Of course, my mother came rushing back as soon as she heard I was in the hospital. She came right to the hospital and took over for my brother (who had taken over for my sister in law) while I was asleep (or incoherent, I don’t really remember). Once my mom got there I felt an emotional gasp of relief. Mom always knows best. She talked to the midwives, the urologist, and OB and knew all the right questions to ask. Mom knew I wanted a VBAC and discussed what other options I had than the c-section. She stayed with me all day. Whoever says a mother can’t possibly give enough attention to 11 children is wrong. I got 13 solo hours with my mom that day. There is always a silver lining.
That day was filled with questions and confusion and back-and-forth talk. Finally, we decided that I was going to have surgery, to drain my kidney so I could continue my pregnancy normally. I was assured by the radiologist, urologist, and midwives that it would bring an end to the insane pain I was experiencing. The surgeon who had to perform the surgery wasn’t able to see me till the next morning. I begged to go home that evening, around 8 pm and my mom made sure that it happened, much to the irritation of the midwives, who were sure I needed to stay on the morphine drip all night, and in retrospect, they were probably right. My drug induced determination was probably much to blame for the insistence (I was on as much morphine as they were allowed to give a pregnant woman). But we came to a compromise that I would take home several doses of pills, Oxycontin, Oxycodine, and morphine so I could try and rest for surgery the next day. My mom took me home, made sure Chris knew that I needed the drugs every hour and then went home to try and get as much sleep as possible. Probably she got next to none, because she was up at 4 am in order to take me into the hospital for surgery.
Mom arrived around 5:30 am and helped me hobble to the car. Needless to say, we are both really tired. Mom had spent most of the past two days either driving, sitting in a uncomfortable hospital chair, or tracking down different doctors to talk to. I had been having contractions and spasms all night. We got to the radiology department and waited in triage. I was so excited to have this tube placed at be DONE with the pain! I was worried about the amount of pressure the baby was under too. She had been setting off regular contractions for a couple days now and that couldn’t be easy on her, especially since there were a result of being under stress in the womb, not labor contractions.
The surgery I got
The surgery was pretty short, but since they couldn’t put me under, I felt everything. There wasn’t too much pain, at least nothing compared to what I had been feeling lately, so that didn’t phase me. The feeling of something sliding into my back was nerve racking and strange. When I came out of surgery, the nurses explained how the tube would drain my right kidney into a bag strapped to my leg and should bring me back to normal, i.e, I should be able to stand, walk, and carry on my day without any side effects. I was very optimistic that this would solve the problem. A couple hours later, I was better. Not completely, but I was feeling like I could walk, as long as I had all the narcotics in my system and the contractions had finally stopped. I could feel when the drugs started to wear off because it felt like my abdomen was going to explode and my back was going to snap in half. So, with the doctors permission, Mom took me home because..
There is seriously nothing better than a strawberry rhubarb crisp on a summer evening. Topped with a little vanilla ice cream,wowza, you might as well die, because you’ll be so happy. I made this crisp allergy free, so as long as you got some dairy free ice cream to go with it, you’re set! I usually just eat it without ice cream since it, *ahem* is fairly loaded with sugar, and dairy free ice cream can be pricey. It’s taken me awhile to master this recipe since I use chia seeds and coconut oil, both can be fickle with baking.
Noms
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients:
Filling:
2 pounds rhubarb stalks, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 1/4 cups of white sugar
1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
3 tablespoons chia seeds
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping:
3/4 cup of coconut oil
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose wheat and gluten free flour mix
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats (I recommend Bob’s Red Mill Old Fashioned Rolled Oats)
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375. In a bowl, toss the rhubarb and strawberries with the white sugar. Add the chia seeds, lemon juice and vanilla to the fruit and stir. Transfer the mixture to a 9-by-13-inch glass pan.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl. The coconut oil should stay solid for mixing. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix the ingredients together until large crumbs form.
3. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the filling and bake for 1 hour.
We have a little saint! I know these are out of order since her birth story should probably come first, but…it’s not ready yet. So, enjoy these lovely pictures taken by the fabulous Anne Black.
A special thank you to Azèlie’s wonderful godparents, Maureen Ryland and Conrad Black for being with us that day. We are blessed that she has spiritual role models such as yourselves. Chris and I are grateful that she will have the extra prayers and love from you both.
Yay for filling allergy free food! Seriously, it is so hard to go back to cooking without wheat and dairy again. Since Caidoc outgrew those allergies (he still has an egg allergy) I was able to use those things in baking and cooking again. Man, it is a LOT easier to just throw in regular flour to baking and not worry about the levening effect. I’m not going to lie, I missed butter something’ fierce. But, now that lil’ Zèlie is having all the same reaction Caidoc had we’ve ditched wheat and dairy along with eggs. Well, Caidoc and Chris still get a good amount of wheat, just because it’s easier for lunches ( I still can’t master a good wheat and gluten free sandwich bread! Argh!).
Anywho, allergy free summer cooking is much easier than allergy free winter cooking because all the amazing produce is fresh and available for cheap. I had some avocados and a giant cucumber on hand so I decided to make a pasta dish for dinner using the avocado as the base for the sauce. I’m really into avocados lately. I have no idea why since I generally am not fond of..well, vegetables, but, like I said, not a lot of options with the allergy free eating. Husband really liked this dish, which was a plus, since I made it for our anniversary (it would have really been a bummer if it sucked…”happy anniversary, here’s come crappy food…”).
Tips:
I got the noodles at Costco, they were a pretty good deal since they were in bulk, otherwise gluten and wheat free pasta can be expensive. A friend of mine recently suggested using ribboned veggies as noodles such as carrots. I’ll have to try that as I’m sure it be yummy and even cheaper. Double whammy.
Don’t skimp on the seasonings- you need them to liven up the blandness of avocado and cucumber.
Meat is optional. I was trying to add some meat mostly for my toddler’s sake…Also, I had one lone chicken breast just sitting in the freezer and it was bugging me.
I highly recommend using a hand blender for the blending portion. If you don’t own one, buy one. It will change your life. I mean it.
Obviously, I believe in drenching noodles with sauce.
Avocado Cucumber Pasta
Ingredients:
1 sweet onion
1 large cucumber
1 large avocados
1 chicken breast (optional)
6-8 cups of cooked rice noodles (or other type)
4 T garlic powder
3 t seasoning salt
1 t pepper
1 t oregano
2 t parsley (fresh is a plus)
1/4 olive oil
1 t lemon juice
Directions:
1. Diced the onion and the chicken and sauté with olive oil and all spices on medium heat till chicken is cooked through
2. In a separate pot, cook noodles
3. Peel and pit the avocados
4. Blend avocado and lemon juice
5. Peel and dice cucumber then stir into avocado puree
6. Combine onion and chicken with avocado and cucumber, mix throughly.
7. Top noodles with sauce
Yes, it’s that easy. Husband says that it’s good cold too, so even better for left overs on these hot summer days. Enjoy!
Time for another food post! I’ve been really into food again lately. Maybe it’s because I love food, love cooking, or perhaps because we are figuring out new food allergies of our littlest one. Whatever the reason, I’m in a time where I have been cooking up a storm, after all, who doesn’t love to cook during farmer market season?! All those fresh veggies and fruits add so much flavor and color to food! So, today, that’s exactly what I got for ya 🙂 Flavor and color!
This dinner came together randomly. I like to cook for my husband because he’s not picky, and gives honest feedback (okay, it might not always be honest, sometimes something turns out horribly and he still eats it with a cheery face!). But, he is really good at telling me things he likes, which is actually helpful since I don’t have to spend time guessing, and then striking out…like I do with a fairly persnickety two year old :/
It just so happened that at the farmers market this weekend I was able to find almost all of husband’s absolutely favorite vegetables. He has also been hankering for baked potatoes recently. So, while husband had Caidoc at his Saturday morning MyGym class, I was able to zip over to QFC with Zelie and grab some potatoes to top off the ingredients for dinner that night.
Let me tell you, it was a magical dinner if I do say so myself. The best part? EASY! FAST! and, FILLING! I don’t even like half the ingredients normally, especially avocado (crazy, right? I HATE guacamole) but I couldn’t get enough of this dish. Husband named it for me; Southwest Baked Potato. So, if you are looking for a quick, but super healthy summer dinner, packed with flavor and popping with color, look no further 🙂
Southwest Baked Potato
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
1/2 red bell pepper , diced
1 /2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup of diced green onion
1 large avocado
1/2 medium sized sweet onion, diced
2 t. lemon juice
1 t black pepper
1 T of garlic powder
2 large golden potatoes
Olive oil
Sea salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Take both potatoes and place on a cookie sheet covered in foil.
Slather them with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Poke with a fork several times.
Wrap them in foil and place in oven. Bake for 1 hour.
While potatoes are baking, peel avocado and mash it up in a bowl with spices.
Add all veggies and lemon juice and mix thoroughly.
Set aside, covered.
Once potatoes are soft (poke with fork to check), unwrap and cut them horizontally and vertically.
Divide veggie mixture on potatoes. Serve immediately.
It’s been far too long since I posted, but I have some pretty good excuses. I went through quite an intense last couple months of pregnancy, followed by a whirlwind of a birth. That’s all later though, since I’m still trying to figure out how to explain and phrase it all. In the mean time– something cheery!
Our darling, wonderful, not-so-little boy turned 2! I love him so much. His birthday party was early (to avoid collision with the birth) and was car/truck/construction themed. He loves all those things so much I couldn’t pick just one 🙂 I might have gone overboard since I threw myself into any kind of distraction possible with everything that was going on with the pregnancy. I think Caidoc liked it and I know he had a blast with all his little buddies.
DecorDecorDecorYummy!
Having fun at the farmDecorWelcome!BouldersThe spreadDecorgoats!
We had some difficulty getting a good group picture because there were so many kids! But I think with the collage we got everybody 🙂 I’m really happy we ended up doing a big party for him though, because I ended up being in the hospital for the actual day of his birth–which made me feel like a terrible mommy. But I think I can cut myself a little slack since we gave him the best present we possibly could that day (but more about that next time..).
**(the pictures were not so great 🙁 We will remedy that next time!)**
Happy Birthday my wonderful kissy squish! Momma loves you more than you’ll ever know.
So far, it has become a tradition to celebrate Husband’s birthday in Chelan at the Fire and Ice festival. Now, generally speaking, I think it’s more catered towards a childless crowd, since it boasts a wine walk, beer garden, and various other drinking related events that are past the wee one’s bed time. We still have a great time though, because if nothing else, we get away from work for a weekend! Oh, and they got smart and now allow kids in the beer garden 😉 I’m guessing sales went WAY up!
My boys
Some of the FamilyLydia and CaellianneDon’t be deceived by the lack of snow, IT WAS SO COLD!happy familyice sculpting
digging it!Parade!love them!huge bonfire for those doing the polar bear swim!
