Pumpkin Banana Muffins

This is one of my favorite fall recipes. It's what I would call moderately healthy. They're 100% whole wheat and don't have any oil, but they do contain a fair amount of sugar. However, they definitely are tasty. For my last batch I tried a tip that worked out pretty well so I thought I'd pass it along. If you have bananas that are starting to go bad just stick them in the freezer until you are ready for them, peel and all. Then when you want to use them just take them out to defrost, cut off the top of the peel and squeeze the banana into the bowl. I was a little skeptical when I tried it because the peels all turned dark black in the freezer, but the muffins tasted great.

Ingredients

4 C whole wheat flour
4 t baking powder
4 t cinnamon
2 t ginger
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
15 oz canned pumpkin
4 large eggs
1 C granulated sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
5 mashed bananas
3/4 C unsweetened applesauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray muffin tins or liners with cooking spray.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Combine pumpkin, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, bananas, and applesauce into a larger bowl and beat until smooth.
3. Gradually beat in dry ingredients until just combined.
4. Spoon into prepared tins (makes 36 medium or 24 large muffins)
5. Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted to the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Blog Tag

I've been blog tagged by Michelle to post 7 random things about myself so here goes.

1. Derek and I don't really rotate household responsibilities. There's certain things that each of us just does. Doing laundry, cleaning our bedroom, and cleaning our the refrigerator are tasks that I generally do. On the other hand he almost always cleans the bathroom, takes out the garbage, and mows the lawn. Since I've been pregnant he's pretty much taken over cooking and dishwashing too because I'm usually too tired after work (thanks honey!) Most other jobs though like cleaning the kitchen or living room we're each about as likely to do.

2. Our wedding anniversary is April 15. The date was set before Derek had even considered accounting as a career and it's purely coincidental that we got married on tax day, but at least I know he'll never forget it.

3. Many of my patients are senior citizens or disabled people whose main source of companionship are their pets. Unfortunately they are often to old or debilitated to properly discipline and care for these pets, especially dogs so I am frequently barked at, pounced on, and occasionally bit. One patient I had could only control her dog by locking it into it's small carrier, which is probably abuse but I know she really loves her dog and since her husband is dead and children are not close, he is all the companionship she has. Therefore, if I am ever independently wealthy I think an awesome charity to start would be one who rescues older and harder to adopt pets from shelters and trains them to be very obedient and gentle. Then we give them to the elderly and disabled and find volunteers that would come by daily to walk the dogs and make sure they were properly cared for. Maybe someday...

4. I am a terrible sleeper. If I'm woken up after I've fallen asleep it's often impossible for me to fall asleep again. Hopefully that changes when I have an infant to contend with.

5. One of my pet peeves are people who insist that girls are harder to raise than boys because you worry about them getting pregnant once they become teenagers. Would I not be equally concerned about a teenage son fathering a child? Are males somehow absolved of responsibility for the babies they help create? I think it would be much more disturbing to have a son who (at any age) abandons his parental responsibilities than a daughter who becomes a mother prematurely but is responsible for her actions and acts in the best interest of the child.

6. Another pet peeve are people who constantly predict the end of the world or Second Coming based on current events. Depressions, wars, famines, and natural disasters, while devastating and alarming, are nothing new in the history of the world, which is why every generation of Christians since biblical times has been predicting that the end is near. Our grandparents lived through a very major depression and 2 large world wars and history has recorded even darker times (like the entire middle ages). So while it never hurts to be prepared financially and spiritually, statistically it's more likely to come in handy for things like losing your job or being run over by a truck than the end of the world.

7. I've complained about many of the discomforts of pregnancy, but there is one great aspect about it- my skin. My skin is perfectly clear and flawless and my normally pallid complexion has a bit more color to it. Maybe that's the glow people talk about with pregnancy.

Now I'm supposed to single out 7 of you to post 7 random things, but instead I'll just invite anyone who feels like sharing to consider themselves tagged.

It's a Jungle In Here

With only nine weeks left to go I'm glad to report that the baby's room is for the most part ready. Initially I had planned on staying away from anything remotely babyish and giving the room a more contemporary/stylish look. After all the baby's not going to care for quite some time what his room looks like. Everything I liked though was way out of my price range and it seemed silly to spend a bundle on bedding and decorations that can only be used a couple of years. In the end I found someone selling this bedding set for a really great price and I couldn't turn it down. It's used but it looks new and I think the jungle theme will be fun and at least isn't too babyish. Overall I really like how the room turned out.

Also to get ready for our new arrival we noticed that Babies R Us was offering free carseat inspections so we installed the bases in both of our cars to get our new infant seat inspected (Thanks Mom and Michelle!). All I can say is that I can see why over 90% of carseats are installed incorrectly. We read the instructions and thought we had done everything right, but they still were able to give us quite a few pointers and showed us how to make sure the seat stays safe and secure. A couple surprising things I learned are that placing shelf liner under the base will cause less sliding and that heavy coats or wraps can decrease the effectiveness of the restraints in a crash. The only safe way to keep baby warm is to wrap blankets around him after he's strapped in or to use JJ Cole's Bundle Me wrap (it's the only brand that is proven not to interfere with the seat in crash tests). Anyway, if you have a carseat that hasn't been inspected it might be worth a trip to the fire station or hospital. If you're like me you might learn something.

5 Things That Make Me Drool

No this is not an early hint for Christmas, it's just a few non-baby related things that I think would be nice. It's actually fun to look forward to getting things that you can't afford now, but hope that someday you can. I feel sorry for people who make so much money there's nothing left for them to dream about. Anyone else have a list like this in their heads?

Normally this might not be necessarily on the top of the list except for the fact that my back hurts so much now. Ironically the time that I most want to relax in a jacuzzi is the exact time when I can't because the hot water may hurt the baby. A jetted tub's a different story though because I can set the temperature myself and make sure it's not too warm. Also one drawback to being tall is that with our current tiny bathtub I fold myself at awkward angles to fit into it and even then only about half of my body can fit under the water. Realistically of course it would be a long time if ever that we could afford one of these, but if I get desperate enough I may convince Derek to book a weekend getaway in a hotel that has one. Ahhhh.

The Nikon 55-200mm VR has gotten some great reviews for photo quality and has awesome zoom capabilities which is great for me as I tend to like close, detailed shots. Better yet it has vibration reduction which means that I can get clear photos without needing a tripod in lower light settings. One of the biggest flaws with my pictures is blurriness caused by camera shake because I don't have a tripod. At $220 it's one of the less expensive lenses available so it will probably be my next camera purchase.

Okay, so I probably could afford this one, but $40 seems like a lot to spend on 1 pan. Still, we got a set of these for our wedding that I really love. They're heavy, but they cook so evenly and nicely. The only drawback is that it only came with 1 saucepan and sometimes it really would be nice to use 2 at once. Unfortunately it never goes on sale but eventually I may just break down and get it anyway.

We have a space above our stove for a microwave, but no microwave to put there. It would really be nice considering that we don't have much counter space and that would free some up. Also our stove doesn't have a fan above it and buying a new range hood would cost as much or more than a microwave.

A Mediterranean cruise. Do I really need to elaborate more on this one?

The Final Stretch (Literally)

Now that I'm officially into my 3rd trimester I thought I'd post a pregnancy update as well as a picture of my growing waistline as requested by some of you. I had another ultrasound that showed not only that baby still appears to be healthy, but that he's also grown 2 weeks ahead of schedule (up until now he's measured exactly on target). If he keeps it up we can expect him to be pretty big which would be no surprise considering my family history.

The couple months of having energy and feeling relatively normal I had are now a thing of the past. It doesn't help that between an aching back, overactive bladder, and baby's nighttime acrobatic routine I think I spend more time tossing and turning than sleeping. And if you try to imagine how easy it would be to toss and turn with a bowling ball strapped to your stomach it might give you an idea of what a workout sleeping has become. Veteran moms have tried to console me with phrases that begin with "If you think you're tired now..." but somehow knowing that my next good night's sleep may be a year or more away isn't very comforting.

Truthfully though I really don't have much cause to complain. I may not be comfortable or well-rested, but I also haven't had any complications or problems that any other pregnant woman doesn't experience. And so far both baby and I are healthy which is really the important thing.

Finally, I'm planning on sending announcements/holiday cards but I need to update my mailing list. If you have moved in the past 3 years or are not sure if I have your address, please email me at aweil06@gmail.com if you would like to get an announcement. Thanks.

Compact Camera vs SLR

Last year, as many of you already know I became really interested in photography. Even though my pictures are far from perfect I do enjoy learning and experimenting with photography. Once people find out about my hobby I'll get questions about cameras, specifically digital SLRs. Lots of people figure that a more expensive camera will make getting good photographs easier which is absolutely not true. To tell the truth I still struggle to create an exposure with my Nikon D-80 that is as good in quality as a regular compact camera would do. In fact, the above picture was one I actually took with Derek's compact camera. Since it's something I get asked about somewhat frequently I figured I'd post a quick blurb about the 2 camera types and the pros and cons of each for any who are interested (if not just ignore this post).

Compact cameras are the standard kind pretty much everyone owns. Their main advantage is how easy they are to use. Whether digital or film basically all you need to do is frame your shot and press a button. The camera automatically adjusts all the settings for you and usually creates a pretty decent exposure, especially if there's enough light to avoid using flash. Most cameras actually do allow you to do some minor tweaking such as changing the white balance (warmer vs cooler tones), but most people don't want to bother with reading the instructions to find out how. Also as their name implies, compact cameras are much smaller and lightweight. Many can even be carried around in your pocket. Obviously this is much more convenient, especially in situations where carrying a large camera around your neck is either cumbersome or embarrassing.

Compacts have a huge advantage in regards to cost. You can find really good quality compact cameras for around $130-170 and if you pay much more than $250 or so you're probably overpaying for meaningless features such as unneeded megapixels. Just to give you an idea, a decent entry-level SLR with a basic kit lens will cost upward of $500. Additional lenses can range from under $200 to over $1000. If you add tripods, filters, flash equipment, and countless other accessories you can see why many professional photographers actually struggle to break even with the cost of their equipment. Of course you don't need all of those things, especially while you're still learning. My photographic equipment extends to the camera and kit lens which has been great for learning. The kit lens isn't ideal, but that forces you to pay extra attention to your technique. Also I have a much better idea what lenses would be most useful to buy now I'm more familiar with my shooting style.

Despite the high cost and decreased convenience, I really do enjoy using an SLR. For one thing you have precise control over depth of field, focus, shutter speed, white balance, etc which provides more room for creative expression. It's also easier to avoid using flash indoors or in lowlight settings. Flash can often cause unnatural glare or shadows or may startle young children or animals. Also in some settings flash isn't allowed or your subject is too far away, so it definitely is an advantage not to have to rely on it. Unlike a digital point-and-shoot which generally has a few seconds lag time between depressing the shutter and actually taking the picture, an SLR captures the shot almost instantaneously which is an obvious advantage for moving subjects. Also as was mentioned before you can change out the lenses based on what you are shooting. But of course before you can do any of these things you have to take the time to study the fundamentals of photography and read user guides and manuals and then practice a lot.

Whew, sorry that's such a long post and I hope I haven't bored you all. Really that just scratches the surface, but the bottom line is this: If you're really interested in spending more time taking pictures and learning about photography you might want to consider getting an SLR, but if you don't have the time or interest a pricier camera will probably be disappointing and a waste of money.

Inside and Out

What do painting your bathroom and planting shrubs both have in common. It depends on your point of view. If you are like Derek they are both unnecessary projects and a complete waste of time. On the other hand, if you are like me they are both imperative items on a rather large preparing for baby checklist. While at first they may appear to have nothing whatsoever to do with caring for an infant, the reasoning is quite simple. These tasks have long needed to be done but we could never find the time. I figure that if we can't find the time before becoming parents, we never will afterward and therefore better get done before.

The bathroom was our first project. The walls were all a boring off-white with mildew stains and peeling paint. At first I'd planned to paint the top of the chair rail blue and the bottom white, but as we were almost finished with the blue paint I realized this had been a mistake because it made our closet-sized bathroom look even smaller and darker. So we started over (and covering blue paint is a huge pain), but it looks much better this way and was definitely worth the extra work.Our flowerbeds have been our other major project of the past couple weeks. When we first moved in all the flowerbeds were completely overrun with weeds and filled with old landscaping fabric. Of course this all had to be completely dug up before anything new could be planted. My in-laws have helped us a lot with this when they've been out to visit, but there were still a couple beds in our back yard that we hadn't gotten around to. Also we had a pretty rough winter and a few plants didn't make it and some of those that did needed to be moved.

Derek was nice enough to rip up the 2 beds out back and transplant the cranberry bushes from under our front windows to there. The cranberries looked nice enough, but I wanted something that would grow tall enough to hide the faded bricks under the front window so we planted some baby shrubs in their place. Then there were some flowers that would have looked nice except they always looked wilted and dry, even with the sprinklers. Since I'm not the type to remember to water anything by hand I moved them to a shadier spot and planted some more drought resistant flowers in their place. It's kind of fun to see how tiny our new plants look to last year's. I hadn't realized until now how much they've actually grown.