Getting Pinned

A quick note:

Bourbon & Boots is now on Pinterest. Are you? At the very bottom of the sidebar on the right of your screen, there should be a follow button that will take you to B&B's profile.

This is a separate account from my personal Pinterest, because I wasn't ready to go wild with the nursery pinning just yet for all the Pinworld to see. As such, just know that most of what you'll see is baby-related. If this isn't of interest to you, my feelings won't be hurt.

Just another place for pretty pictures and useful tips in my little corner of the interwebs.

P.S. if you're not on Pinterest, or you don't know what it is, that's ok too. Don't worry about it. We love everyone.

Peach Barbeque Sauce

After reading the Week 11 Cooking with Baby, my mom emailed to say that they had a bunch of fresh figs they'd been given by a family friend (and fig farmer, apparently). The letter of the week is F. So Figgy Focaccia made its debut at Sunday family dinner and a delicious time was had by all.

sans bleu cheese pour moi.

We can now enthusiastically recommend that recipe.
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As one of my favorite aunts pointed out, peaches > shrimp. This is true, so this week I opted to go with a peach recipe. However, I also acknowledge that peaches are seasonal, which limits the frequency with which one could enjoy this recipe. For a less seasonal option, I point you to this shrimp recipe, which we have made and enjoyed.

I have not made this exact peach barbeque sauce, but I did make a large batch of peach-bourbon sauce 2 or so years ago that I canned and gave as gifts—this recipe is very close, but probably better. If you make this (or any other featured recipe), send me a picture and I’ll post it.

This would be a good recipe for the kitchen-shy, as the chopping is really the most complicated part, and the measurements do not have to be exact. It looks like a long list of ingredients, but the recipe has only two steps. You can do it.

This sauce is from the Blackberry Farm Cookbook and would be excellent with pork—including ribs—or chicken. Or anything, really.

Peach Barbeque Sauce

makes about 1 quart

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 Vidalia (or other sweet onion), finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

6 peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped

½ cup bourbon (you don’t have to use your best bourbon, but make sure it’s something drinkable*. If you’re stuck, email me or BA)

not everyone has a bourbon bar? oh.

½ cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup honey

¼ cup Dijon mustard

2 tsp chili powder

1. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the onion is very soft. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in the peaches, bourbon, vinegar, honey, mustard, and chili powder. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 10-12 minutes until the peaches are tender.

2. Transfer the mixture into a food processor and process until very smooth. Cool to room temperature before using.

*As is the case with wine, you generally want to cook with something you would drink. From this spread, I would probably use the Maker’s or the Buffalo Trace (in decanter). If you only have Jack Daniel’s, as many people do, that will work just fine. Just know that it’s Tennessee whiskey, which is not the same thing as bourbon. For this purpose, that’s a technicality. That concludes this lesson.

13 weeks

How Far Along: 13 weeks. Now in the second trimester, which feels like an excellent accomplishment. 

Total Weight Gain: So I heard the general rule of thumb that ladies in the family way should gain "about a pound a week." I see several issues here. One: most sources currently agree that weight gain for a woman of normal BMI having a singleton should be 25-30 lbs (yikes). Or, as one friend's doctor put it "anything above 30 lbs is yours to keep." Thanks for that. However, a pound a week puts you at about 40 lbs, which obviously is not within the recommended range. Hm. But I'm more concerned about Issue Two: poundage per week implies a fairly constant, linear change. This is clearly not how it works. Really what I'm worried about here is that everyone ("everyone") says the second trimester is when it explodes--as people don't gain 12 lbs in the first 12 weeks--and you'll have at least one weigh-in that induces a crying panic attack. I think it's time to get back on the salad train. 

Size of Baby: This is my favorite size reference yet: baby is the size of a medium shrimp. We could have a whole cocktail buffet theme! And it's not a fruit!

If a non-fruit referent is whigging you out, have no fear. One could also say that baby is the size of a peach. It's a good Southern baby, after all. 

are the shrimp and peach really the same size? oh well.

Fingerprints have formed on tiny fingers (whoaaa). Baby's body is starting to catch up to the oversized noggin. Baby can open and close its fists and make sucking movements with its mouth. If mouth finds thumb, sparks fly. 

Maternity Clothes: White jeans still fit. And if they still fit past Labor Day, I'm still wearing those puppies. Etiquette be damned. I love you, white jeans--never leave me. However, I have also decided that it is wise to be prepared, at least in the pants department. This is probably good advice for life in general: always have pants. Thus, this weekend, I think I will be making my inaugural visit to the dreaded maternity store to try on jeans. I am not what we'd call a tall drink of water, so I usually need jeans hemmed. This takes a while, and I don't want to get into a situation wherein I am desperate for pants. Hopefully, after I have a sense of how sizing works, I can do the shopping from the safety of the internet. Sara has remained non-commital about this adventure, but here's a secret: she's DEFinitely coming. If you want baby-holding privileges later, you gotta pay your dues.

I also emailed a friend who had a January baby a few years ago to see if she kept anything. I remember her having cute stuff. While there is currently a proliferation of babies in this friend group, most people either gave birth in completely different seasons and/or have bodies like Gisele. This limits my borrowing options. Friends, just plan your future babies for Jan/Feb/March, because it looks like I'm going to have to build up a collection here. 

Gender: ?? Maybe I'll put up a poll soon. 

Movement: Definitely present, as we saw last Friday. Excellent form for future backstroke starts, but I can't feel it.

Sleep: Meh. Trouble falling asleep, and I think I'm sleeping more lightly--it feels like I partially wake up often. I still have some strange dreams, but they seem less vivid for right now. The body pillow has arrived, and I think I'm in love. This may merit its own post. I am already nervous about going out of town in November and not being able to take the body pillow. You can't take it on a plane, right? Right. That's crazy. Ok.

What I miss: Nothing, really. Doin' ok. Just truckin' along.

Cravings: None. Need to overhaul the diet (see above). 

Other crazy symptoms: Olympics withdrawal (oh, you too?). Aches and pains. 

Best Moment this week: This past weekend, we had absolutely glorious early-fall-esque weather. It was so nice to get in a little walking, porch sitting, and generally to be able to walk out the door without getting hit in the face with a steamy wet sponge sensation. As a personal rule, I always try to be mindful about never wishing time away--so I can't say that I want fall to be here right now--but it made me excited for all of the changes to come. 

And other things:

It's also nice to feel like I might be getting back in the swing of, you know, life. Monday night (after a day of work and errands, thankyouverymuch) I made dinner--nothing fancy, but it had been a long while since I could handle a kitchen full of smells. Eating out every night is probably not good for anyone's waistline, either. 

How's this for crazy: this week we also put Baby on a wait list for preschool (the program accepts children starting at age 1). So that's how that game is played. I will say, however, in our defense, this is being proactive about child care options so that we can both work, not born out of a belief that a child's Ivy League future begins in Pre-K. Baby's already brilliant, duh. So, assuming we get a spot (and that we take it), we should be covered in 2014. Perfect.

Looking forward to dinner tonight with a couple who is also expecting. We were due date buddies until  they found out she is having twins. Identical twins. Two babies that are the same. So it will be interesting to have a side-by-side comparison of one baby vs. two babies throughout this journey. Her due date target is now mid-January (she's a tiny little thing), which seems nuts. They'll find out in a few weeks whether they're boys or girls, but we have to wait a while longer--fewer ultrasounds for the singletons. Would you rather have 2 boys or 2 girls at once? I have no idea. Frankly, both options are terrifying.

The Girls

The canine ones, that is. The two beasts that we have allowed to live in our home. Lest anyone think they are being overlooked, I wanted to give a quick update on how their little lives have changed (and man oh boy...they have NO idea what is coming).

Scene: Tuesday morning, early hours. We are up, but pre-coffee. Workmen begin repairing the roof next door. It should be noted that we live on a hill, so the downhill neighbors' roof is essentially in line with our first-floor windows. This was a minor challenge for the humans trying to get dressed, but was apparently catastrophic for the dogs. It must appear that there are intruders levitating right at the top of our fence line (they haven't been too bothered by the workers at the uphill neighbors' house, so it has to be something about the sight lines).

As if this is not enough, today is the day the neighborhood yard man decides to return from his summer hiatus and cut the grass. In the back yard (THE NERVE). At this point, the threat level is nuclear. We are talking WAY above the typical Thursday Apocalypse (otherwise known as trash day). Madigan doesn't know whether to bark at the side of the house--levitating intruders--or stand on the couch and bark out the back window--large black man with lawn mower. Yes, they're racist; it's not my fault and I'm sorry. Abita has dissolved into a howling puddle on the floor, not really understanding what is going on and generally just doing what Madigan does.

I have no solution for this other than walking around, going about my business, trying to convey that I am unconcerned. Also, throwing Wheat Thins on the kitchen floor for momentary distraction. Maybe also some positive association (hey, those floating guys are ok because CRACKERS!)??

Generally, I can cope with chaos. I spend most of my days surrounded by preschoolers. I can tune out most of the insanity, though BA has a slightly lower threshold. It was at this point that I realized that something must be done. Given everything I've heard about sleep deprivation and emotional turbulence after baby arrives, I cannot imagine that these outbursts would go over well with a sleeping newborn upstairs. Sometimes, in the course of human events, mailmen come, the dry cleaning gets dropped off, the trash is collected, and the yard gets mowed. The dogs are going to have to learn to cope. And I know that some of this is my fault for letting this get out of hand, but I don't want to hear about it.

Long story not short, this is now on its way to our house:

maybe it's from 1986. But I still love Amazon with all my heart.

From the description:

The first section involves relationship building and the elmination of annoying behaviors that would be problematic in the presence of a young child such as counter surfing, door crashing, jumping up and so on.

What? What kind of lazy, inattentive dog owner has those problems? Le sigh. 

Furthermore, I also had to take Madigan to the vet today (for a routine checkup and shots, not one of her death-defying acts). I knew that the vet has a little one at home, so I asked what they did in preparation for that. He offered some suggestions; we shall see if the book agrees:

• No more dogs on the bed or couch. They were never allowed on the bed, so I give myself a big high five here. We're winning already! The couch will be a different story, but if we are consistent, I think we can make it work. It's actually something we've known is a problem, particularly with Abita, because she is not convinced that you love her enough unless she is sitting on top of you and licking your face. For obvious reasons, this will no longer be acceptable. 
• Some stuff about food and things. I kind of tuned this part out because we can't send the dogs out of the kitchen due to the layout of our house--the first floor basically IS the kitchen. But he was also talking about slightly bigger kids (i.e., once they can sit in high chairs) and making sure that the dogs don't snatch food out of little baby hands when baby dangles the yums off the high chair. So I guess for us this is more like no dogs in the dining room during dinner. First step is to actually have dinner at home and in the dining room to assess this one. 
• Front door training. He recommended putting a "do not knock" sign on the front door, because UPS guy just gotta knock, and dogs just gotta bark. We will also try to work on the dogs not rushing the door, because that is not pleasant for guests and not entirely safe when someone enters with their arms full. Squirt bottles are generally involved. 
• Baby stunt double. He said that they also introduced a baby doll into the house as it got closer to baby time. That way, the dogs started to see that the humans would always have something in their arms, or that baby would go in all the new swings and gadgets that pop up. 

Then all the usual stuff about bringing a blanket home with baby's scent and so on that I think is pretty much general wisdom. There's plenty of time until that phase, but it sounds like we'd better get started with the couch ban and some other new rules. The vet also said it is wise to start these early because then the dogs do not associate all the new rules (misery) in their lives with the baby's actual arrival. I don't know if dogs can experience resentment, but better to be safe than sorry. 

Finally, we were also sent home with this gem: 

oh how I love informational pamphlets

FYI, Madigan did very well at the vet and had a great report. Stay tuned for updates on Doggie Crackdown: When Life Gets Real. Your advice (or funds with which to hire Cesar Millan) is welcome. 

Introductions, Part 1

This is the first in a series of posts in which I invited other people to weigh in. I get tired of my own voice, so I thought you all might also want some fresh perspectives up in here. I started with a short list of questions for the aunts and uncle. Pretty basic stuff for the first round, but we'll get more interesting as time goes on. So without further ado...I present Auntie the First. 

1. Who are you, and what is your relation to Baby A?

I'm Sara, enthusiastic aunt-to-be of Baby A and newborn aficionado. 

2. What was your first thought when you heard about the impending arrival?

My first thought, actually, was "is it okay to cheer?" I was second-guessing whether my interpretation of the baby Predators jersey that my dad opened on Father's Day was correct. Am I jumping the gun? Could they have grossly underestimated Dad's jersey size? ...Look around at everyone else...gauge reactions...anddd...yes...go...YAY!

3. What would you like Baby to know right now?

We will only call you "it" for the next 4 weeks, everyone is very excited for your arrival, Jules is going to spoil you to pieces, I love you!

4. The biggest surprise so far has been...

How well Jessie has felt and how baby-like you looked on your 12 week glamour shot.

5. What advice do you have for the parents-to-be?

Don't make it harder than it needs to be. Accept the abundance of help around you. Get an epidural. Be sure you are the favorite patient of all the nurses on L&D. Utilize the inpatient nursery, even if you refuse to on the first night. Breast pumps appear to open doors. Get the bottle sterilizer. Share the baby with Aunt Sara. 

Commenting update

Update: I fixed it! If you want to comment on a specific post, make sure you have clicked on the post's title to expand it. This will show the comment form at the bottom of the post.

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As of right now, the option to add a comment is showing up on mobile view, but not on the main view (on a computer). Someone who is smarter than I am is welcome to assist with this.

12-week Photo Shoot

Overall, yesterday's appointment yielded a good report and a very entertaining show. The ultrasound tech, who was absolutely lovely, did her thing with her machine and monitor, but the image was also shown on a flat-screen tv on the wall where we could see it. It was nice to not have to lean around to share her screen, and we saw everything in a large and clear format (well, as clear as ultrasounds can be).

Basically, they look around and make sure everything looks the way it should. They also take some measurements to see whether they are within normal range, or may indicate that further investigation is needed. Finally, they take some blood (via finger prick, not a draw...I'm tired of giving up vials of the blood I've worked so hard to make) and smear it on a card. Apparently, they mail this card to a lab in New York and the blood work coupled with the ultrasound measurements creates a "risk profile." (Our reaction: you just showed us a 3-D image of the baby that is in there and went zooming around it a la The Matrix, but the blood card has to be mailed off? Technology disconnect.) Legally, ultrasound techs are not allowed to give you any diagnostic information that they may see on the screen--you have to wait for a doctor to do this (so, mom, ignore the following). But our kind lady said, "I'm not supposed to tell you anything, but this all looks totally fine. You don't need to worry."

We saw a head, and the little heartbeat (169bpm), and a tiny stomach...arms and legs and hands and feet...little fingers, too.

Just chillin'. That is a hand by the face.

These things take a while, as they zoom all around checking things and labeling all your parts. They also take the important measurements 3 times each to make sure they're getting a good read. All of this means that I was being mashed on for about 45 minutes (not painful, but uncomfortable by the end). As the show went on, Baby got more agitated that his/her home was being poked, and started moving around in protest. We saw lots of arm movement, and some full-body extension (picture a tantrumming child throwing its head back and arching its back). BA was in disbelief that I couldn't feel all the movement, as it did look pretty intense. I really couldn't--it's still pretty small--but the tech said it wouldn't be long. 

At one point, she was even able to get a head-on view (i.e., from the front/above), so we saw the whole face and a little mouth opening and closing. Screaming at us already? 

This one's not as clear, but I think I like it best because of the little nose:

Sweet face.

Primarily, it was a major relief to hear that everything looked good as far as they could tell. After that, it was really just fun to see the little peanut in there squirming around and doing things, looking much more baby-like. As I said, I can't feel any movement yet, and am not really showing, so it definitely made things more real for both of us to see Baby in there, doing his or her thing (dance moves and clapping, mostly). 

And for those who are wondering, she did look for gender clues, but there were none to be found. So we will all just have to wait and wager for a while longer.