WIAW #15: A Two-for-One Deal

I hate to admit it, but I've had a serious consumption issue with baked goods lately. Actually, the truth is, I've had a problem with cookies, cake, chocolate chips, peanut butter on a spoon, frosting on a spoon, the list goes on. Last night the husband noted that all of our silverware was in the dishwasher, yet the entire top rack was empty.

Basically, if you can put it on a spoon, I've been putting it in my mouth. Not. Good.

Meatless Monday: Pepper Polenta and Red Sauce

I'm realizing, more and more, that the iPhone photos aren't cutting it. I'll fire up the Canon again soon.

Sundays are for waking after the sun has risen, listening to in-the-spirit morning radio programs, dressing for church, playing ball in the backyard, eating brunch, pushing a stroller in the park and taking an afternoon drive with your sunglasses on.

Then again, maybe that's what Sundays are all about. Maybe not.

Maybe Sundays are about watching it rain, putting away groceries, folding laundry and ripping open the cardboard on a mixed case of Saranac. Maybe they're about watching babies roll around on a homemade quilt from their great-grandmother, stopping them only long enough to pull their tiny hands away from the dogs' tails.

Two things I know for sure, though: Sundays are for family. And Sundays are for red sauce.

10 Things You Should Never Say to a Mom of Multiples

During undergrad I earned myself the nickname "The Clam." It wasn't exactly one of my favorite monikers, but I couldn't really argue with my girlfriends who found it fitting: If I found myself in a situation in which I didn't feel like talking, I wouldn't. I'd clam up. But I didn't really consider myself being "clammy." In my mind, if I had something valuable to contribute, I would. If not, I simply wouldn't.

I don't like telling people when I think they're wrong. I don't like confrontation. I generally don't like strangers. Maybe I'm awkward.

It's this demeanor that has forced me to let a lot of things go, for example, when someone says I look tired. Gee, thanks for telling me you think I look like crap today. I have three infants at home. Or when a total stranger comments on how I "look great for having triplets." So had I birthed only one baby I'd have no excuse not to be back in my size 4 jeans already? 'Cause I'm wearing a size 6 at the moment. I think that's pretty dang good.

WIAW #14: Creamy Oatmeal + Other Eats

You'd think that by now I'd be sick of oatmeal for breakfast every single morning. Surprisingly enough, though, I haven't tired of it yet. I guess maybe that's because I rarely eat just old-fashioned oats and water. There's usually a serving of fruit-flavored yogurt, applesauce, apple slices or milk mixed in with my usual dish.

But last weekend I went a new route, thanks to Pinterest, and mixed eggs - yes, eggs! - into my oatmeal. (Confession: I spend way too much time on Pinterest in the middle of the night. It helps keep me awake during 3 am-pumping sessions.)

WIAW #13: Happy Birthday, Now Eat Your Veggies

 

The truth is, I started writing this post about three weeks ago. Such is life. Thanks for the cake, Aunt KiKi!

My issue with birthday cake is that when it's in the house, I eat it. I'm not sure what the husband's issue with cake is, but he's good for a slice right after the candles go out and that's it. He doesn't care a bit for leftover cake. And that leaves you know who to finish off the Pyrex.

Last weekend was A couple of weekends ago, our lives were filled with a lot of birthday cake, in addition to candy-coated and peanut butter-filled eggs. It's an understatement to say this girl needs a break from the sweets. (No, lactation cookies do not count, thank you very much.) So I got myself all excited for April's WIAW challenge, thinking it might be to eat more veggies, as it has been previously in April. Let's be honest: Who doesn't need to eat more vegetables? I know the husband and I definitely do.

But, April isn't eat-more-veggies-month this time around. That's cool. I've taken this opportunity to look at my diet overall and try to incorporate more fruits and vegetables throughout the entire day - not just at dinner. (C'mon, who else is guilty of waiting until dinner to eat their vegetables for the day? This girl, usually.)

So here's a look at the healthier things I've been eating lately.

Strawberry Crisps Topped With Oats

iPhone photos lit by the microwave hood light? Not that flattering.

My desire to eat oatmeal is becoming a bit scary. A bowl for breakfast every day? Check. Lactation oatmeal cookies? Almost always eaten in twos. Oatmeal smoothies? Don't tempt me.

All I had to do was read that oatmeal is good for your milk supply and I was hooked. Now, I have no idea whether it's my morning oatmeal or the brewer's yeast in the cookies that's helping me maintain my milk supply enough to feed triplets, but I don't plan to mess with the system anytime soon to find out. 

If there's anything I've learned since becoming pregnant with triplets it's this: If the method works, don't mess with it. 

Guinness-Sauced Sundaes & Happy Feet

St. Patrick's Day Feet From left: Baby Baby, Firstborn, Little Man

Guinness cupcakes, corned beef and cabbage, Irish coffee, Bailey's brownies: Are you tired of hearing about St. Patrick's Day yet? Me neither, which is exactly why I have no shame posting about the holiday a whole day late.

I was dying to serve a Guinness dessert to the fam last week. (We were lucky enough to spend spring break with my momma, stepdaddy, Big Little Brother and his fab gf.) Naturally that meant I pored over Pinterest during my wee-hour pumping sessions until I found something that A) sounded delicious and B) used Guinness.

Trying to Embrace Sleepless Nights

The last week has been rough in the sleep department for our house. Well, actually, I should rephrase that: Our firstborn has been sleeping like an angel for the last week and has enjoyed multiple nights of uninterrupted rest. Everyone else in the house is about to lose it. Thank you, sleep deprivation. I missed you - not.

After we brought the babies home in November, nights became long. (Yes, I carried those triplets 36 weeks, and we welcomed our sweet babies in November, though I'd planned all along to meet them in October.) The husband and I were so blessed that we didn't spend even an hour in the NICU. The downside to that? (Can there be a downside to that? Yes, there can.) We returned home with three tiny infants and a recovering momma - and not one of those babies wanted to sleep when it was dark outside.

WIAW #12: Oven-Roasted Broccoli

I'm going to start answering to "Cookie Monster."

It has been a super long time since I've photographed everything I've eaten in a single day. I think that's probably because when I was carrying our trio, what I ate in a single day was super scary. 

I ate a lot. And I got really big (50.5 inches in diameter, to be exact). But I made really big babies (for triplets, at least). So it was totally worth it.

Now that I'm feeding all three of them, I still eat quite a bit. I don't count calories. I don't always think before I put food in my mouth, unless it has to do with how much I can eat in a given timespan: How much longer will the babies be happy? What time are they going to wake up? When do we need to feed them again?

And, no, I have no idea when this is all going to catch up with me. All I know is that I have 10 more pounds of baby weight to lose before I'm back to where I was when I started. I guess if I think I'm going to get there sooner rather than later I should probably be eating more veggies.

Meatless Monday: [When You Need] Pasta & White Beans

I spent $2 on orange juice one morning last week. In fact, I spent $2 on 12 oz. of orange juice. That’s absurd. But I woke up with a little scratch in my throat, and if the momma bear gets sick, this whole ship is goin’ down. So I needed the orange juice.

Needed. It.

It was a need like the need I had to get a Snickers bar out of the vending machine while working last weekend’s consignment sale — a need like the need I had to eat this simple and delicious pasta dinner.

Well, Hello!

 

One of our absolute favorites

Slainte!

Cheers to ending what was fast approaching a six-month blog hiatus. If you ask the husband, he’ll tell you he doesn’t have any recollection of what happened in December. Apparently the second month of parenthood is a complete blur for him. I remember most of December, but I’m not sure why I barely wrote in August and never sat down to write during the months of September or October. Come to think of it, I was sitting a lot! I wasn’t cooking much, though, and maybe that’s what fueled the lack of posts. The husband was cooking and I was just growing – and growing and growing.

Mini Vans and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars

Hello, my name is Meghan and I drive a mini van.

Wow. Getting that off my chest feels a lot better. Are we still friends? I hope. Because driving a mini van and spending a lot of my recent time washing baby clothes has made me feel like I need to do other Mom stuff, like, you know, bake.

Momma left me a couple of magazines she bought for her flight down here, and when I was going through my overwhelming stack of periodicals I found a what I thought looked like a pretty tasty recipe in a Health magazine she left.

DIY Baby Mobiles

All three baby mobiles are finally finished!

When the husband said he wanted the babies to have mobiles I thought it was a pretty sweet idea he was getting into the whole registry thing. And then I saw how much mobiles cost.

Maybe you have kids and you'll say a $60 musical mobile is worth it, but I just can't buy into that philosophy at the moment. I can't imagine spending that amount of money on a mobile let alone registering for three of them and expecting someone else to buy them for our babies.

So I turned to Google.

Stuffed French Toast

Lazy weekend mornings when the husband's golfing are for sleeping in with brown dogs. They're for watching bad television the husband would never watch with you and downloading photos you've been letting sit on your camera for far too long.


Mornings like these are for making yourself a good breakfast and topping it with your uncle's homemade maple syrup so when you sit very still in your recliner with you feet up, you can feel the tiny humans in your belly go crazy.

Babies' Room Sneak Peek

One mobile down, two to go

I never understood those people who find out the sex of their baby before the baby is actually here. My dad always told me there's no other surprise as huge as waiting until that moment when your tiny baby is born and hearing, "It's a girl!" (Or, in my parents' case, when their rather-large baby was born; I weighed in at more than 9 lbs.)

Aside from gender, though, I really never understood parents-to-be needing to name said baby before its arrival. My mom and stepdaddy spent days after my brother's birth - yes, days - discussing his name before they finally made a decision.

Those people made no sense to me. And then the husband and I became those people.

I mean, how in the world are you supposed to buy stuff for triplets without knowing if they're boys or girls - or if you've got a mix of each? How do you decorate a room for three and stick with gender-neutral tones when you aren't a fan of yellow? Sorry. I just can't do yellow.

We had to find out.

Meatless Monday: Eggplant "Sandwiches"

I like to think Eggplant "Sandwiches" are good for growing babies.

I almost ate an entire eggplant one day last week. You see, I let the husband eat four slices. So I can say I didn't eat the whole thing myself.

But let's be honest here: I could have.

Super Easy Blackberry Cobbler

Blackberry Crumble

We just survived the hottest weekend on record for East Tennessee. I know plenty of people see 100+ temperatures on a regular basis. But we aren't those people. And I'm willing to best most of those people aren't carrying triplets.


Then again, maybe some of them are. (That's one of the things I like most about carrying multiples. Everywhere we go, the husband and I are walking around with our very own secret. Seeing the look on someone's face when they say "baby" and I correct them with "babies" never gets old.)


We had one night early last week where it was only 85 degrees, so I made the husband a little treat. He'd bought blackberries at the grocery store and told me he wanted a cobbler. I'd never made one before, but how hard could it be?

WIAW #11 [Cake and a Big Reveal!]

Congratulations, Sissa & A.J.!

Who eats four pieces of cake at a time? This girl. Now I know cake doesn't necessarily fall into the "sensible snacking" category, but there's something I've been keeping from all of you for the last couple of months. And I think once I tell you, you'll let me off the hook for eating more cake than vegetables last Saturday.

The truth is, I've been snacking a lot lately. I've eaten mini pizzas, affectionately known as Tomato Cheese Dreams at my old high school. Sometimes I cut up carrots like fries and heat 'em up in the oven until they're nice and hot and crispy. I sprinkle them with Mixed-Up Salt and snack away. And I've been drinking a lot of milk.
Think you've figured me out yet?

Catching Up ... Almost 3 Weeks Later

Hi, guys. Sorry I haven't been around in forever. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I promise. I haven't gotten rid of the husband or decided to give up on cooking, either. Things have just been hectic around these parts lately. 

We had birthdays.

What I Ate Wednesday #10

Last night we were supposed to have BLTs with chicken for dinner. (The husband didn't think a BLT would provide me with enough protein, so I agreed we could have chicken on our sandwiches, too.)

So I start cleaning and seasoning the chicken breasts, and the husband gets out the grill tray and tells me he's going to cook the bacon on the grill.

I don't think anything of this; I don't stop him. In fact, I watch him clear a space on the counter, delicately separate the bacon slices and perfectly arrange them on the tray.

Can you tell where this is going?