Say Cheese! Its Week 15

Mamma and Baby Make Cheese

 My Dad and Karen got us a cheese making kit for Christmas.  You can make a pound of mozzarella or ricotta from a gallon of milk.  I love this because I can control what goes in my body using lower fat cheese and organic milk.  Baby has me craving cheese all the time!  Tonight I am going to make some bruschetta to go with our cheese.  So here it how you make an easy cheesy treat!

1. First take one gallon of pasteurized milk and add 1/4c dissolved rennet and 1/4c citric acid.  
2. Place the pot on the burner and bring it up to 90 degrees stirring constantly.  
3. After it reaches 90 take it off the burner and cover for 5 minutes.  This is when the whey and curd form.  
4. As you can see in the picture below, you then can cut the curds into blocks.

5.  Place the pot with the cubed curds back on the burner and bring up to 120 degrees stirring gently.

Next comes the fun part!

6.  Here I placed the curds in a microwave safe bowl and strained off as much whey as possible.  

 7.  Microwave the bowl for 1 minute and strain off more whey.  Then press the curds together into a ball.

8.  Next stretch the cheese into long strands until it looks shiny!

9.  Form the cheese into whatever shape you would like.  I chose to do a twist, but next time I will do a braid.  

 10.  Place it in an ice bath for 15 minutes to hold the shape.

Finished product!  Yummy!   Enjoy mozzarella in dishes like lasagna or serve with fresh tomatoes and basil.

Baby Update

How Far Along: 15 weeks, 3 days
Baby's Size: Apple
How am I Feeling: I have been sick for about a week with a sinus cold.  I finally broke down and decided to take approved medicine because I am not getting better.  Morgan has been taking great care of me.
Things I Miss: Wearing my skinny jeans buttoned (right now I have to wear them unbuttoned with an elastic band).  I am going to go get maternity pants before work starts back.
Next Appointment: January 2nd

14.5 Weeks

 Belly Talk

I call this picture "pregnant with a big dinner".  Mom just fed us some lentil soup at her house and I was stuffed before I took this picture.  Needless to say the baby is growing fast!  Already the size of a lemon and soon it will be the size of an apple.  We are at 14.5 weeks...didn't have the time or motivation to blog on Monday but better late than never.  

Morgan and I have been sick for the past few days and I have had a hard time getting to the gym.  Finally got there today for some jogging.  We have been busy buying Christmas gifts and it seems like every store I go in to I want to buy baby things instead of the things I go in there for.  I have noticed a bit of "mommy brain" lately, meaning I forget everything.  My office is covered in sticky notes because I cannot seem to remember a single thing.  

Proud Daddy! - At least one of us will still have their six pack after all of this  :)

Yummy Things

This week we went to Whole Foods and learned how to make homemade marshmallows.  They were delicious and so easy!  The recipe will follow soon.  We make hot chocolate with almond milk and let our giant marshmallows melt on top of them.  I would blame the baby for my sweet tooth, but I have always had it...

Coming Soon

We put an offer on a house!  Hopefully we will have good news in the next few weeks.  If not, then we will continue our search.  We are quickly outgrowing our apartment.

How far along? 14 Weeks, 3 Days
Maternity clothes? I am going to buy them after Christmas.  I am mostly just in need of pants and bras right now

Stretch marks? No
Symptoms: Bloating and sore muscles
Sleep: Great as long as I have my hubby and my body pillow
Best moment this week:  Whole Foods cooking class with my family
Miss Anything?  My abs...
Movement: Hopefully in the next month!
Food cravings: Say Cheese!
Anything making you queasy or sick: I felt sick today when I drove past a chicken truck, but those are just nasty
Have you started to show yet: I think my short waist is making me show kinda early, what do you think?
Belly Button in or out? In
Mood: Mood swings right now, just ask Morgan, he is a champ for putting up with me!
Looking forward to: Starting to look like I am pregnant

13 Weeks

Oh boy my body has changed!  You can see from these two pictures, having a baby will totally change an athlete's body.  Well at least it changed mine!  We are now 13 weeks along and could not be happier!  Although most of my pants no longer fit....I have found the B Band from Target to be very helpful when you have to wear your pants unbuttoned.  I have luckily not been sick (knock on wood), but I have been exhausted.  Finally last week I got some energy back and have been able to workout at least four times a week. Having a baby is already changing our lives and we are currently looking for a new home.  We will keep you posted on that one, but our one bedroom apartment is so small that I had to search for 10 minutes to find a blank wall to take the photo.  My body is hiding the light switch in the picture...

As you can see, I am in an awkward stage of showing, where I look like I had a really big lunch and not like I am pregnant.  Though I am sure it will come soon enough!  I am just trying to enjoy every minute of it.  I could not do it without Morgan and his amazing foot rubs :)

How far along? 13 Weeks, 0 Days
Maternity clothes? Not yet, I don’t know how much longer I can hang on.  I’m having to go with my pants unbuttoned most of the time.
Stretch marks? No
Symptoms: Fatigue, bloating, and constant thirst
Sleep: Great as long as I have my hubby and my body pillow
Best moment this week:  entering the second trimester! and hopefully getting in a workout tomorrow
Miss Anything?  Wine and cheese
Movement: Not yet
Food cravings: No cravings this week.  Last week I really wanted Thai food, which is still lingering.  My craving for sweets has started to diminish.
Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of hotdogs...ew...
Have you started to show yet: I have a short waist, so I am showing a little
Gender: We will find out in 7 weeks!
Labor Signs: No, just a little stretching and cramping occasionally...Dr. says this is normal
Belly Button in or out? In
Mood: Ecstatic 
Looking forward to: Gaining more energy! and starting to really look pregnant and not just like I ate a huge lunch