Well, actually just a few ultrasound pictures from 2/25.  The ultrasound technician said that this was usually a fun ultrasound because the baby generally moves quite a bit, but this kid was moving so much and so fast that the technician could hardly keep up!  Because she had to find some particular things, I got to watch the baby for much longer than I would have had it been more sedate.  I got to see it smack its lips together and stick out its tongue.  Because the skin is still translucent, I could see all the little vertebrate in its back and its little pelvis.  So much fun.  I didn’t get the details on size or heart rate this time, but it was exactly the right size for 13 weeks 2 days.  Here are the pictures:

Here is a full picture of the baby (head, left; legs, right).  The placenta with the umbelical cord is hanging down from the top.

This one is pretty much the same except you can see its little toes, pointed out by the arrow.

Here is a profile.  This ultrasound was to check for a particular nose bone and fluid sack in the neck that indicates whether or not the baby is likely to have down syndrome.  We are grateful that all seems to be going well.

Here, you are looking down at the crown of the head and can see a hand with five little fingers.

So, the other day, I sat down to dinner and thought ‘Are these chicken strips kosher?’ Now, I am not Jewish nor do I seek to eat a kosher diet.  I just got to thinking about how you can’t have meat and dairy together in a kosher meal.  (It comes from that rule about not seething a kid in its mother’s milk).  In chicken strips, the chicken piece gets covered in egg~hence my question as to whether or not chicken strips are kosher.

To find my answer I, as usual, started with Wikipedia and then did a few other google searches.  Imagine my surprise to find that it CAN be kosher (as long as everything else is prepared according to kosher standards).  Eggs are considered neuteral and can be eaten with either meat OR dairy.  Who’da thunk?

A few other notes on the kosher-ness of eggs, even though they are neutral, they have to come from kosher animals (chickens, yes; ostriches, no).  Also, they shouldn’t have blood spots inside (this is adhered to with varying degrees of strickness, but is generally not a problem in the US with commercially produced eggs).

As some of you may have noticed, I haven’t made a serious (or less than serious) post in quite some time.  This is because I had a secret that was all I could think about.  Now it is time to let the cat out of the bag: I’m pregnant!  Thirteen weeks and one day pregnant, that is.  The EDD is September 1st, but we are hoping that our little one will join us just a bit early.  Matt and I are very excited.  Here are some pictures from our first ultrasound (in January, about 8 weeks 2 days):

The arrow on the left is pointing to the head and the arrow on the right is pointing to the bottom.  That is actually the legs sticking straight up.

The baby was 1.78 cm from crown to rump.  The bottom is on the left and the legs are pointing straight down.  Just below the head (which is on the right) is the umbilical cord.

There is a box around the baby’s heart here and the heartbeat was recorded at 176 beats per minute.

Everything continues to be right on and on track.

FAQ

1. Do you know the gender? Not yet, but we should find out at about 20 weeks, which is mid-April

2. What do you call it in the meantime?  Matt and I have generally stuck with “the baby” or “the fetus”, but Auntie Angel has taken to calling the little darling “Nugget”

3. When is it due? September 1st

4. Can I touch your belly?  Actually, people don’t ask this one, they just reach out and touch; but if they had asked, I would say NO NO NO!  I am strictly hands off!

“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”

(Whether refering to retaining the joys of childhood or reducing CO2 emissions, Wells hit the nail on the head)

“These taste just like some cookies that my grandma used to make…after she lost her taste buds.”

As promised, here is my mayonnaise recipe.  Unlike the many other proponents of homemade mayonnaise, I found it to be rather like regular, commercial mayonnaise.  Matt did not find it any more appetizing either.  I am still posting it, though, because I believe everyone should try making their own mayonnaise at least once…and maybe someday, you will run out of mayonnaise at a juncture when you can’t just run to the store!

Ingridients:

• 2 Egg Yolks (don’t forget to freeze the whites!)
• 1/4 t Salt
• 1 Tb Lemon Juice or White Vinegar (I tried both and there are only slight differences…do a half recipe of each to see what you prefer)
• 1 C Canola Oil (DO NOT use olive oil~it is GROSS!)

Combine the yolks, salt, and lemon juice/vinegar.  Whisk until smooth and light.  Add oil a little at a time (no more than a tablespoon) and whisk until fully blended.  I noticed that many recipes called for special oil adding tools so that you could add a continuous small stream and people warned that if you didn’t do it their special way, you would end up with an oily, lumpy mess, but it didn’t happen.  Just add the oil a little at a time and whisk thoroughly.  If it is too thick, add a little water.  If it is too thin, whisk more and add a little more oil.

After bringing you such astounding adventures as the journey of jello and the tale of TP, I couldn’t help but share with you some of the egg-citing things I have learned about eggs!  It all started with Matt (don’t these things always? j/k).  He doesn’t like mayonnaise and I found that many people who don’t like commercial mayo enjoy homemade mayo (my perfected homemade mayonnaise recipe soon to follow).  Several hours later, you find me surfing the net looking up the official name of the whites (albumen).  Here is some other interesting information about eggs (Bakers will be especially interested in the last three):

1. You absorb about 91% of the protein from a cooked egg that you consume, while you only absorb 51% if it was raw. (Wikipedia)
2. You can test an egg’s freshness by putting it in slightly salted water–fresh eggs will sink and spoiled eggs will float. (Wikipedia)
3. No matter the size of an egg (medium, large, extra large, or jumbo), the yolk size stays the same. (Joy of Baking)
4. 87 % of an egg white is water (so a jumbo egg has little increased nutritional value, just more water).  (Joy of Baking)
5. When a recipe calls for just egg yolks, you can freeze the whites!  Several people suggested freezing them in ice cube trays to easily identify the number of whites.  Good for up to 4 months! (National Center for Home Food Preservation)
6. When a recipe calls for just whites, you can freeze the yolks but they get a lumpy weird texture unless you blend them with 1/4 t sugar or a dash of salt (depending on what you intend to use them for).  Be sure to label them and adjust your recipe accordingly when you go to cook, otherwise you will end up with salty pudding! (National Center for Home Food Preservation)
7. 1 yolk=1 Tb (Joy of Baking)

One of the few things that Matt and I can’t seem to come to a consensus on is the appropriate way to hang toilet paper. I went online today to see if there was a traditionally accepted way. Wikipedia (my source of all random knowledge) did not seem to contain the answer (although it was interesting that when Europeans learned about toilet paper from the Chinese they thought it was unsanitary). I searched for “toilet paper roll over under” and discovered many polls on the subject (all of which, the majority of people voted for “over”) and several websites dedicated to “roll over” toilet paper and no websites for the “under roll.” One person commented that “all the etiquette gurus” (referring to Emily Post, Amy Vanderbilt, and Martha Stewart) say that toilet paper should roll under. After extensive searching, I could neither confirm nor belie this statement. The two best websites I found were Clearwired and Current Configuration. (I think the graphics on Clearwired are fantastic and very instructive!)

AKA Russian Teacakes; AKA Mexican Wedding Cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 C Butter
• 1/2 C Sugar
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 1 t Vanilla
• 1/4 t Salt
• 2 1/4 C Flour
• 3/4 C Osterized Walnuts
• Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together except powdered sugar. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place evenly distributed on a cookie sheet. Bake 14-17 minutes or until the bottom of the snowballs begins to be slightly golden. Sprinkle powdered sugar onto a piece of wax paper. Roll snowballs in powdered sugar while still warm.

For an alternative version, try Chocolate Snowballs using the same directions and the following ingridients:

• 1 1/4 C Butter
• 2/3 C Sugar
• 1 t Vanilla
• 1/8 t Salt
• 1/2 C Cocoa
• 2 C Flour
• 2 C Osterized Walnuts
• 1/2 C Chocolate Chips
• Powdered Sugar