Spring is coming!

I know in parts of the country, there is snow on the ground and snow falling from the sky. We actually had that on the second day of spring this year but it didn't stick around. In fact, by 3pm it was sunny and semi-warm. That is the good ole NW weather for you.

While it has been pretty chilly here, it is starting to get warmer and I didn't realize how happy I am about that. I am ready to wear a T-shirt and catch up on my vitamin D (mostly because I am tired of taking 4 vitamin D supplements a day!).

This past weekend, some we took some friends on a shortish (8 mile) bike ride to Birch Bay State Park. It was a very nice ride and the perfect distance for me right now. The sun was shining, you could see all the mountains and islands, and the temperature was grand. Afterward, we laid in our lawn for about 20 minutes and enjoyed a popcorn and fermented green bean snack. We usually don't do things like that on the weekend because we are always so chore oriented but it was definitely a nice break from things!

I have also started working in the yard. I harvested some nettles and made some nettle soup that was SO easy to make. The bright green color and light flavor just feels good for my body. Next weekend, after the next harvest, I plan on making pesto to eat with my 23 spaghetti squash sitting in the garage that have been waiting to be eaten since November.

Fun Fact: did you know finding maternity gardening-type pants is impossible?! Not that I really want to buy a pair for this year but still, it would be nice not to have to wear the same sweatpants overandoverandover. I guess I should just go to Goodwill and find something.

Plus, the daffodils are blooming and the trees are just starting to bud.

Now, if only I could go running and enjoy the weather (which I plan on doing after work today) then my regular spring enjoyment will be complete.

I do love spring and I forget that every winter when I am ready to hibernate and not see another weed for ever and ever! Amen!

Gunnahavababy Eetsaboy

Anybody remember that awesome Geico commercial where the guy calls his parents and says, "Bob Wehadababyeetsaboy"? That is the best commercial.

I think I forgot to tell you that we are going to have a baby BOY! I may have already spilled the beans without even realizing it but if not, there it is.

Mr Pepperworth and I both thought it was going to be a girl. We just had feelings. But, in the back of my mind, I knew I was usually always wrong about these things. Given a 50/50 chance, I am wrong 75% of the time. I'm pretty sure it's possible. Really.

Anywho, we are both really excited and when we were talking about our feelings when we found out it was a boy we realized we both had different reactions. The Mr realized he did want a boy. While I was also happy about the news, I realized that at some point, I do want a girl. However, after a few weeks of knowing it is a boy, I really don't have the same feeling but deep down, I remember that I do want a girl. But again, it is one of those things that doesn't really matter.

I am very glad we found out though. I think if I went the whole pregnancy thinking it was a girl and then HE is born, I would have had the same, "oh shucks" feeling at some point.(Just to reiterate, I am in no way sad it is a boy. I just had my mind set it was a girl.)

The name will remain a secret though. We have a couple of names right now that we are pretty fond of. I think we have a middle name already too.

3.5 more months or so!

Ty and I under the age of 2. Who knows what our kid will look like?!

Protein Packed Non-Vegan (sorry) Breakfast

Right now my favorite meal of the day is breakfast. I currently have a breakfast plan that is healthy, protein packed, and delicious!

This is what a breakfast of champions looks like:

- One egg white fried. I put pepper, dill, and nutritional yeast on one side. Then after I flip it, I put cheese on the other. After it is all done, I place it on a small bed of spinach.

 - Half toast. Dave's Killer Bread has 8g protein for one piece of bread. I eat half of one with butter.

- 1/3c oats. I buy gluten-free rolled oats and put boiled water over it and let sit while I cook my egg. Then I top that with a little bit of jam, vanilla yogurt, and flax seed (or Barlean's blackberry flaxseed oil - Barlean's is just 5 minutes away from our house).

- A little bit of locally roasted coffee with vanilla soy milk.

Baby sure does like this breakfast. Good thing I do too!

Cervical Polyp During Pregnancy

Note as of October 4, 2013: This by far is my most popular post. While I am glad people are searching for information regarding cervical polyps, I want you to know that this is my experience with one during pregnancy and I understand that everyone's experience with them is different. I still stand by my advice to check yourself but do see a doctor about it at some point. I will tell you that after my son's birth, my polyp seems to be gone so that is pretty cool. I hope your experience with them isn't horrible and just more of an annoyance too!

As the title indicates, this is a somewhat personal post. It discusses the cervix and blood. If you are not interested in that, or you are my father and think I should not be discussing this to the world, there is no need to read on. I want to post this though for other woman who want to read someone's else experience with cervical polyps because as I was looking into it myself, I didn't find a whole lot.

But first, a cat picture.

I am not sure if I will say the word vagina. It may come up though.

Here we go, you were warned.

Back in December, I started to have some random vaginal (ope, that was fast) bleeding. I was about 12 weeks pregnant at the time so it freaked me out a little. I frantically texted my cousin, who is due a couple weeks before me, and asked her if she experienced that at all. She reassured me that she did and it made me feel better. However, I also decided to do a self exam during that time and discovered a funny little lump on the inside of my cervix. It felt kinda like what that little hangy ball in the back of your throat would feel like if it was inside your cervix (yes, that is my best description). I googled some things and self diagnosed myself with a cervical polyp. Cervical polyps are little growths inside your cervix that tend to bleed. It isn't really known why they occur and you don't have to be pregnant to get them.

I let Christmas pass and then I called my midwife and described it to her. She asked if I was in the medical profession because most women wouldn't check themselves but I told her that, no I wasn't, I just was worried and wanted to know what the hell was going on. Seemed normal to me. She said it sounded like a polyp and they would check it at the next appointment in a week. If I started having other symptoms, stomach ache, more bleeding, etc, I should call back but otherwise, it would probably be safe to wait.

A week later they checked it out and said that I indeed had a little polyp and it would bleed now and then and it wasn't anything to worry about. It sounded like I was the first woman they knew with one. Even just this last week, the midwife told me she took it to her peer review group and they all said it was anything to worry about during pregnancy. So apparently, I was the first one. Fun.

Anywho, for about a month, I would bleed randomly very lightly and sometimes it was a fair amount of blood that would always freak me out a little. And recently, I haven't been bleeding at all...which is really nice, by the way.

So, while having a cervical polyp is hella annoying, it isn't anything to worry too much about. As long as I am not losing too much blood (and I haven't been close) and I don't have other symptoms, I needn't worry. Hopefully the thing will just fall off during birth. If not, I could have it removed after birth from an obgyn but hopefully it just disappears at some point.

If you suspect you have a polyp, just go ahead and talk to your doctor/midwife about it. Do a self exam too. It won't hurt. Be brave. It is just your vagina.

2013's Farm Plan

Here on the farm we are getting ready for the upcoming season. Well, not really we. I haven't done very much. I did go weed the side of the house one day. Then I got bored.

But, Mr Pepperworth has been diligently working outside doing what he can to get ready, which isn't a whole lot but some stuff. So far he has pruned the fruit trees, pruned the blueberries, ordered all the seeds, and weeded some beds that needed it. He drove the tractor around too but I don't really think that was all that nessecary, although, he'll say it was.

Anywho, because of the impending summer birth, we aren't quite sure what to expect. Baby is due right around harvest time which could make things interesting. We have made a decision to not do our local Farmer's Market this year though. It was something that I really enjoyed but I won't have the time and Mr doesn't want to do it so we are scrapping it this year. Instead, we will be selling a boxes of mixed produce to probably 5 people at Mr Pep's work. It will be easier for us and easy for our customers to pick up the ready-to-eat organic food. I am pretty excited about it actually. I think it will be fun putting it all together.

Because I am eating eggs again (well, some of the egg), Mr announced that we will finally be getting a few chickens. (The last of the pigeons died this week...well, not really died so much as disappeared...probably through the hole in the coop that I told Mr about 3 weeks ago. May they all rest in peace and sing with the angels.) Mr Peps is going to turn the pigeon coop into a small chicken coop which is pretty cool, especially since everyone thinks that is what it already is and that we have chickens. So, chickens will be a new adventure.

I also am excited to start some more flowers this year. I really do like growing flowers and having pretty bouquets. I probably won't start them until after March or April I am told to start them. I'll probably have a nice belly to work around but I am determined to get outside during those sunny weekends!

Most importantly, I hope the weather is better than it was last year. Because of the shitty spring, veggies were planted two weeks late and some things never properly matured leaving us with a bounty of unripe fruit. I would love to have a great harvest this year and since I will be home from July through September, I am looking forward to canning and preserving. (I know I will be tired and probably complain about it all later but right now, I am looking forward to it damnit!)

Here's to a successful 2013 harvest!