Where Did Jena Go?

This pregnancy has been harder on me than all of the others combined. Each time before I would get slightly nauseated in the evenings about 5:00, but it would wear off after an hour or two. I never threw up, and never needed to take anything for it.

This time, the game has changed. I am so tired all of the time, and have no energy despite the fact that I am getting more sleep than I normally do. I am nauseated all. day. every. day. Yup, that means my stomach hurts ALL the time. After lunch (no matter what I eat) I become incapacitated. This lasts until I pass out "later" that night from sheer exhaustion at about 9:00. I can't do anything. I sit at my desk and try not to throw up. I get dizzy, light-headed, and flushed. Once I get home, all I can do is shuffle upstairs to our condo, drop my purse somewhere, and sit on the couch watching Hulu. It's all I can manage. No laundry, no dishes, no cooking. NOTHING. You don't want to see my house right now.... Everything has to wait for the weekend. We run out of dishes constantly. It's bad. So bad. Thank goodness for Todd. He has to do everything without me. He has been such a support. We normally share tasks for Rylin where one of us will feed her and the other will bathe her and get her ready for bed. More often than not lately, he has been doing it all, including cooking/fetching anything my poor stomach decides it must have NOW. When I want something to eat, I want it right then and there, otherwise it is unappetizing later. Leftovers are not options anymore, even if it’s something I was craving earlier.

Here are just some of the random things I have "craved" lately:

Frozen yogurt piled high with a plethora of fresh fruit

Beef jerky

Chili powder chicken taco salad 

War heads

Plain Hershey’s chocolate bars

Roast beef w/horseradish cream cheese and cheddar on croissant sammiches

7-layer dip (freshly made, NOT cold)

Simply Grapefruit juice

Pink jello salad

Chzburgers from Burger King (flame-cooked taste)

Karev’s chzburger and fries (resulted in a midnight McDonald's run)

Bean and cheese burritos (Todd calls these "wimpys")

Tortellini with pasta sauce

Spaghetti with pasta sauce

Pizza with pasta sauce 

Pasta sauce

Grilled cheese sammiches made with American cheese (yuuuuck normally)

Jamba Juice

Any chewy, fruity candy

Wright Family Top Ramen 

Orange sherbet

To combat nausea I have used:

Canada Dry (ONLY) ginger ale

Saltines

Whole wheat Ritz crackers

Junior mints

Jolly Ranchers

Watching TV and letting everything pile up

It is ALL worth it though. I am SO thankful that I have a very good reason why all of this is happening. I am looking forward to the 2nd trimester in 3 or so weeks and hope that I magically feel better and can feel more like Jena again instead of a lump.

Absent

I can't believe I have not posted something in so long. Rylin has been cutting 4 molars, one right after the other for the last three months. Hooray for getting up throughout the night to a screaming toddler. I've been so exhausted and my stomach has been borderline volcanic for some reason lately, so all I want to do when I am home is sit and watch stuff on Hulu. I have no energy today as I seem to be fighting off a cold or something.

But enough excuses!

I have SO many posts to write of delicious recipes and Allison family excursions. I have a whole file of pics I need to upload too.

I just wanted you all to know that I am not gone, just out of commission lately.

He Cooks: Nidia's Brazilian Marinade

Nidia and Tiago are from South Brazil which is a more city area. They are great people and we love to talk 'chop' with them. The other day Nidia made a marinade that ended up being for some chicken wings, but they say that this can be used in rice, with beef, chicken breasts, etc. She makes a three month batch at a time.

However Nidia doesn't speak very good English, so I'm going to have to fine tune the recipe a bit to see if I got it right. So expect some edits. OBVIOUSLY some of the proportions didn't transfer correctly. Right, so as I've gotten it from her:

Ingredients:

1. 2 Bell Peppers Finely Chopped
2. 3/4th cup salt (I think this is more like a teaspoon or tablespoon)
3. 5 cups finely chopped Garlic (Again, not sure about this one)
4. 5 Large Onions
5. Some Cheiro Verde. (Parsley? I think in this case, this means cilantro)

Pictures and results to follow.

I Also Should Have Known...

When I wanted plain Hershey’s chocolate bars (yuck).
When I was nauseated every evening.

When the top of both my boobs started hurting.

When I was thirsty ALL. THE. TIME.

When I wanted the same chicken taco salad for dinner every night.

When the weird dreams prevented me from sleeping well.

Because part of us already did.

YES! I am writing this to announce that we are pregnant and due June 19th!! :D

It feels odd to sit here and compose this knowing I won’t post it for another month. We are waiting to announce it to the world (i.e. Facebook) until we have our first ultrasound on November 12^th.

THANK YOU all for the kind and loving words of friendship and encouragement you have offered. They mean more than you will ever know or than I can ever repay.

In the meantime, stay tuned for more updates on our little bean.

He Cooks: Todd's Taco Salad

I've felt the need for a Taco Salad lately but Jena wasn't up for it until tonight, and hopefully in a way that would help calm her stomach. This is the result and it turned out pretty stinkin good. It has a lot of ingredients, but really you just throw them in and your good.

Time: maybe 20 minutes.
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Base:

• 2 defrosted Chicken Breasts chopped in about inch pieces
• 1 Packet of Taco Seasonings
• 1 cup frozen Corn
• Garlic Salt, Chili Powder.

Salad

• 1 Bag of Spring or European Mix Lettuce
• 1 Sliced Avocado
• 1 cup Mission tortilla Strips
• 1/2 cup black beans (drained)
• 1/2 chopped tomato

Dressing:

•  1/4 cup Sour Cream
•  1/4 cup Salsa

Directions:

1. Take the chicken breast and saute them in olive oil and 1/4th the packet taco seasoning until there is no more pink.
2. Add the Corn, and dust with some more taco seasoning, some Garlic Salt and Chili Powder.

3. To the side mix the Salsa and Sour Cream into a bowl.
4. Put the Lettuce on the bottom of the bowl or plate you'll be eating from, put the chicken/corn mix on top, followed by beans, chips, dressing, and avocado.

Eat!

He Cooks: Spicy Chicken Tacos

I've started experimenting a lot more, and this was one of those that really turned out. While granted we used this for a base for chicken tacos, it would work great in quesadillas, taco salads and quite a few other things.

Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Taco Base:

• 2 chicken breasts, chunked into 1 inch squares
• 1/4th cup flour
• 1/8th cup corn starch
• 3 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Homeade Taco Shells:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• tortillas

Taco fixings:

I shouldn't have to tell you what you want in your tacos, but we put:

• Lettuce
• Chopped Tomato
• Sour Cream

Directions:

1. Mix the flour, corn starch, chili powder, pepper together into a cup for sprinkling on the chicken
2. Begin saute the chopped chicken in the olive oil until there is no pink showing on medium. While sauteing sprinkle the mix onto the chicken. (I have to individually turn over the chicken pieces)
3. Finish sauteing the chicken.

In a separate pan,
1. Put the olive oil into the pan and let it heat a bit.
2. Using a pair of tongs, or very carefully with a fork dip the tortillas into the olive oil and let them fry for a bit.
3. Before they get hard and crispy, fold the tortilla with a fork in half.
4. Fry both sides.
5. Take the finished pieces out and let sit on a paper towel to get the excess oil off.

Stuff with Tacoy goodness.

He Cooks: Homemade Chicken Stir Fry

Hello plebs! I thought I'd a few recipes of my own here. I cook! Actually I do most of the day to day cooking but it's only fair, as Jena is very protective of her dishes! *laughs*

As a kid, I started making fried rices and experimenting a bit. A few of them worked out and our family actually ate some of my creations. I love Chinese food, and if it doesn't taste like MSG, so much the better.

As I've grown as a husband and parent, I've decided to refine some of the basic experimentation and actually make something presentable. The result is, I've figured out that Chinese food is ALL about the sauces. This makes making Chinese foodish dishes rather difficult if one is unable to figure out what is IN the sauce!

(Side Note: Our concept of 'Chinese' foods are totally Americanized for salt loving fat people. Namely me. I once lived with a VERY Chinese family I rented a room from and food was included. Fish heads and rice. THAT'S Chinese food. Well... maybe more than that, but rice is sacred and in every meal.)

The Stir Fry:

Ingredient List: 

Meat:

•     2 chicken breasts (cut into 1/2 inch squarish pieces)

Background:

•    1 package of chow mein noodles OR
•    2 cups of jasmine white rice

Veggie Base:

•    4 full carrots (I grate these with a normal cheese grater)
•    3 broccoli crowns (I pull these apart into the smallest parts)
•    1 can of bamboo shoots, drained
•    1 can of water chestnuts, drained
•    1 cup of fresh mushrooms, sliced

Sauces and Spices:

•     2 teaspoons corn starch
•     low sodium (we can't taste the difference) soy sauce, to taste
•     3 fresh garlic cloves (pressed or finely chopped)
•     powered ginger (to taste)
•     1 cup chicken broth
•     2 teaspoons sugar
•     olive oil

First, choose your medium and buy it: rice or noodles.

Second, start defrosting that chicken.

Directions:

1. Maybe a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a nonstick skillet with decent sides, on medium-high heat; add chopped chicken, garlic; stir fry until chicken is at least white and not pinkish on any sides.

In a separate pot, start the noodles, or rice cooker if using rice. Noodles should have some basic directions.

2. Add carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, chestnuts, bamboo shoots, 3/4 of the chicken broth, 1st round of soy sauce, and sugar. Let simmer for a few minutes to boil off concentrate down some of the chicken broth. At this point, chicken should start to brown a tad. Feel free to stir occasionally.

If using noodles, drain the pot, and move into a separate pan. Stir fry the noodles in olive oil and soy sauce until they are dry, sticky, and a tiny bit brown.

3. Mix together the cornstarch and the last of the chicken broth, this should make a thick sauce. Pour into the stir fry. Add the ginger powder on top to taste.

Serve on top of your background.