bedside manner, birthing and BABIES

this is a partial vent...

but i'll end on a positive note, i promise...

today i went to my scheduled MIDWIFE appointment... i've been using essex county ob/gyn and so far my experience was PHENOMENAL!! well, today, the midwife i met w/was MISERABLE... terrible "bedside manner". typically i go to my appointment and the midwife comes in, introduces herself (if i haven't met her before - there are 7 so i have yet to meet ALL of them) asks how i'm feeling, how i'm doing, do i have any questions, etc... we talk for a little while, then she'll say, ok, let's check the heartbeat and will proceed to check the heartbeat...

nope, not today... the midwife comes in abruptly, says a brief hello, pushes me down on the table, lifts up my shirt and is about to listen to the heartbeat... i was in shock! no introduction, no asking how i'm doing, no asking what i have for questions...

i'm glad i can be assertive. i sat up and said, wait, can we discuss any questions i may have? the bummer was at that point i was flustered, i should have finished the appointment ASAP and left. alas, i didn't.
i started feeling emotional (i'm more prone to that these days w/all the hormones) and asked her a few questions. she was even rude in answering my questions, BUT the BEST news i heard all day was "i don't deliver."

i thought i misheard and asked her to repeat. "i don't deliver." fantastic, i thought, i'll NEVER have to have her at the hospital, where it really counts... relief!

i promised more promising news

and i USUALLY keep good on my promises...

see this picture

it's brooke, my sister-in-law, my nephew danny, little alpine and me

{Brooke, Danny, Alpine, Sara}

i'm so excited that they (danny & alpine) will be soooo close in age!!

{Danny & Alpine meet}

brooke's going in for a c-section tomorrow and i'll get to meet little danny in person. woohoo!!!

my due date is 10-4-10 - only 5 weeks after danny is born :)

caleb and i are headed out to western mass to meet danny, spend some time w/family and babysit for these adorable nieces - Julia and Hannah - who are going to be big sisters :)

{Julia cheesing it up}

{Julia & Aunt Sara ie me enjoying ICECREAM}

{Hannah cheesing it up OR being annoyed w/her aunt for taking a bajillion pics!}

{Hannah - the goofball}

{Hannah being well, Hannah}

yay for BABIES!!! and sisters who can experience this together. brooke is awesome!! she's been through pregnancy and  babies two times before, so she's a pro and has been giving me all kinds of good advice. and we have been able to commiserate about braxton hicks, hiccups and baby kicks!

{Brooke & Sara}

{Brooke & Sara}

can't believe our OWN due date is coming up... 5 weeks away...

{hubster, alpine and me}

sara's kitchen's faves - numero cuatro

so... i haven't posted in a while about my kitchen faves, so i thought it was about time to post one.

{image courtesy of cuisinart}

caleb and i received a FABULOUS blue dutch oven from a friend as wedding gift. it's made by cuisinart and i use it alllll the time. (it's similar to the one in the link, but a prettier blue)

a few PROS
- it's blue (my fave color - if you haven't already figured that out)
- it's like a crock pot without a plug... plop it on the stove, put in some ingredients, turn the stove on, and let simmer, voila... a few hours later, dinner...
- it makes the best chili
- it makes the best spaghetti sauce
- it can be put in the oven
- it can be put in the fridge
- and many many many more...

i could go on... but i won't, i'll spare you.

disclaimer: the dutch oven doesn't MAKE the chili or spaghetti sauce, it has SOMETHING to do w/the chef, BUT i don't think my chili or spaghetti sauce would be nearly as delish without this dutch oven.

caleb decided to cook for me one day. i was gone and came home to a messy kitchen (ugh) but all smelled delicious (he was redeemed). i sat down to a delightful meal (i wish i had pictures). it was a green salad, spaghetti and homemade spaghetti sauce.
now this was my man's FIRST attempt at spaghetti sauce, and he used the dutch oven... mind you, he didn't even know what a dutch oven was... i swear his spaghetti sauce was possibly, maybe, probably... better than mine... i know, it almost hurts to say it. my hubster is a good cook when he wants to be, which i benefit from. he enjoys experimenting in the kitchen... which is ok too when it turns out as delicious as that dinner was.
anyway, i asked him WHERE he found the recipe... he googled it and in reading the recipe, he realized it called for a dutch oven. he thought, where can i find a dutch oven? so he googled "dutch oven" and realized, SARA HAS ONE!!! and put ol' blue cuisy to use :)
which i was extremely thankful for

another day in another life...

... seminary...
...caleb started seminary in september and there have been many changes...

1. less money
2. more bills
3. more time on my hands
4. less time on caleb's hands
5. more time for friends :)

and with that i give you my seminary wives group picture :)



...we met every tuesday for 8-10 weeks...

...camaraderie as our husbands go through school...

101 reasons...

A Tribute to Caleb



101 Reasons Why I Love You
(in no particular order)

1) You make me laugh
2) You tell me I'm beautiful
3) You take me on adventures
4) You speak French
5) You speak Spanish
6) You're learning Swedish :)
7) You love God
8) You love the mountains
9) You love rock climbing
10) You're athletic
11) You know how to cook
12) You do the dishes most of the time
13) You do the grocery shopping
14) We take turns cleaning the bathroom
15) We read books together (Bible, etc)
16) You are passionate about your job
17) You love photography
18) You have an appreciation for art
19) You give fabulous back massages
20) You play w/my hair
21) You humor me
22) You can ALWAYS recognize a movie soundtrack
23) I can tell you part of a movie and you know the name of it, even if you haven't seen it (if I can't remember the name of the movie, it will bug me)
24) You came to Sweden with me
25) You proposed to me IN SWEDEN!
26) You took me rock climbing
27) You took me on overnight hiking trips
28) You let me take you snowboarding - even though you hadn't been in over 3 years!
29) You spend Christmas with me and my family after ONLY being together for less than 2 months
30) You support my dreams & endeavors
31) You bought me fabulous art supplies (see #30)
32) You have an awesome family
33) You have 3 sisters and I have 3 brothers - now you have 3 brothers and I have 3 sisters :)
34) You are the oldest of 4 (I am the oldest of 4)
35) You go along w/my crazy ideas sometimes, but you keep me grounded!
36) You make me waffles on Saturday mornings
37) You take care of me when I'm sick
38) You love sushi
39) One day we will make sushi :)
40) Did I mention you humor me?! ;)
41) I'm type A; you're type B - we work things out!
42) You balance me - see #41
43) You let me register for most things blue when we were doing our registry; it's my favorite color
44) I suggested you register at REI and you were SO excited
45) You CAME WITH ME to register
46) We had dates at the Derby Street Shops
47) We had dates in the mountains: in New Hampshire, in Maine, in New York and in Sweden - hopefully we'll have many more dates in the mountains :)
48) Our first 'kiss' was on top of a mountain at sunset
49) You proposed to me on another mountain top at sunset
50) You goof off with me!!!!!
51) Did I mention you make me laugh?
52) You have good ideas
53) You wear flip flops ;)
54) You didn't like to read when you were little; you've now read more books than me in the past year!!
55) You set goals and achieve them
56) You used to play soccer
57) You used to surf
58) One day you will teach me to surf
59) You get excited about the little things in life...
60) You appreciate the beauty in the world that God has created and you find ways to capture it on film
61) You gave me a beautiful picture of a water lily for my birthday that I will always cherish (see #60)
62) You were the one who couldn't keep their hair under control when we got married...
63) You had long hair at our wedding... I'm not sure WHY, but this is a good thing.
64) You came with my family to Maine; the last time my morfar EVER came to America :)
65) You don't mind if I wake you up in the middle of the night when I've had a nightmare, and then you pray w/me (for some reason, I've been having HORRIBLE nightmares lately - last time this happened was Fall 2003)
66) You are real
67) You give me fabulous hugs and kisses!
68) You buy good presents
69) This is good b/c I feel loved by cards, gifts, etc
70) The presents you give ALWAYS have a good deal of thought behind them
71) You get excited about going out for ice-cream, pizza, dinner, etc
72) You love going to the movies
73) You dislike shopping; unless it's for hiking or other athletic paraphernelia - then you get REAL into it
74) Which means you CAN relate about my love for shopping... when it comes to certain things...
75) You love my cooking (most of the time - but you don't complain if you don't like it) :)
76) You love that I experiment with cooking, right?
77) You go all out when you make your lunch for work
78) You look good in a suit, even w/long hair
79) You think outside the box!!!!
80) You are a good Youth Pastor
81) You care about your students
82) You love God (I mentioned it already)
83) You preach good sermons
84) You know how to play guitar - this is a PLUS and I wish you would play MORE!!!
85) I live in organization, you can live in disorganization - this is puzzling to me
86) You have traveled to quite a few countries and APPRECIATE America as well as have an APPRECIATION for OTHER cultures
87) You know that the US isn't the ONLY country that exists
88) You are diplomatic
89) You enjoy learning
90) You enjoy good conversations
91) We have enjoyable and inspiring conversations
92) We can vent to each other
93) We laugh with each other
94) We exercise together (not always, but sometimes, and it's fun)
95) You pour your life into your job (sometimes I don't LIKE this, but I really appreciate it about you!!)
96) We both love living in Ipswich
97) You spent your Tuesdays (day off) coming to see me and we usually had dinner with my family :)
98) You get along with my family
99) You give me cards that make me cry (I don't cry easily - for the most part)
100) You married me
101) You love me