Back from the doctor. I gained 3 pounds in a week and a half, whatever. I've made progress though... last time I was a finger tip dilated and 60% effaced, today I'm 2 cm and 70% effaced, P's head firmly in my pelvis at -1 station. Woo hoo! But with where his head is, made the internal painful to feel around his head. So I'll probably skip that next time.

MA: People are so stupid. Who actually knows what ready to pop means? Glad you got a run in last night!

TN: Good for you on the stroller! Good luck in the tournament and enjoy getting your weekends back! Thats so nice of your coworker to offer you that parking spot.

sasha: I totally remember those last few weeks before having A feeling like you do now about being just DH and I. And we were broke so couldn't really do much. I still get jealous of couples without kids who can do whatever they want every once in awhile, but I definitely wouldn't trade being a mom. I'm also starting to lament the end of the one-kid lifestyle. Its going to be a lot more challenging to do certain things for awhile.

laura: I saw your post last night about the WIC and I don't think thats anything to be ashamed of at all. When we were kids my family was on the less well off side, we always qualified for free and reduced price lunches... I never really understood what that meant until years later. We never got to do sports or anything when we were kids because we couldn't afford it and my parents weren't interested in doing what needed to be done to maintain those kind of activities. I really feel like I missed out in certain aspects of those activities. I say do what you need to do to support your family and don't feel bad! People who think of these programs as "handouts" are jerks and don't know what its like to actually need those kinds of assistance. And on the shin splints... definitely good to be careful. I was trying to train for a half marathon that would have been seven months after I had A and ended up giving that goal up because I got some wicked shin splints. It ended up being another year before I could run a half, both because of the scheduling but also because of my training. Definitely good to slow it down now.

schmett: Glad your appointment went well yesterday. Wow thats gotta be tough to have such problems with having blood taken. What do you mean by making my link pretty? Put your text in here and highlight it and then use the button up in the tool bar that looks like a chain and paste the web address in there. The cookies were really good when they were still warm and they're even better cool. I have dark cookie sheets so reduce the oven temp and cooking time and end up with super soft cookies, so good!

yogi: I'm glad your swim went long. I swear, my bed is winning the battle of sleeping or going to the gym more often these days but I never regret it when I get myself there! Sorry you've had to stop the yoga. I've been doing body flow through pregnancy, is the les mills class thats a combo or yoga, pilates and tai chi. Its getting so hard now but I'm still trying to go just because thats the movement that feels good right now.

mann: I'm jealous of your weather! DH is obsessively stalking weather forecasts afraid I'll go into labor in a snowstorm... well I'm afraid of that too but I think DH is more afraid.

schmett:  A phlebotomist (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) friend of mine said they are always supposed to go for the veins furthest away from the heart first.  That way, if they blow it, they can move up, closer to the heart.  Hope your draw went well.

yogi:  Ah, how nice your swim must have been.  Thank you for the kind words.

TN:  How kind of that woman to give you her closer parking spot.  I would definitely take her up on it, especially with the ice.  Sounds like your former acquaintance would have benefited from learning my ways to use up milk.  Here are some of my easy ways to use it up:

It's easy to make it into yogurt, and what kid doesn't like yogurt with some fruit added?  You can also use it and WIC eggs and make it into a custard.  I shared that recipe a little while ago.  You can cook oatmeal (old fashioned rolled oats) with it, instead of water.  I've found if you add Ovaltine to it, you can drink a lot more milk than if it is given plain.  It can be used in a quiche (along with WIC eggs).  You can mix it with instant pudding.  It can be made into cottage cheese.  Gosh, the possibilities are limitless!

You can heat a gallon of it to 185F, then add 1/2 c vinegar to it, stirring all the while.  It will instantly curdle.  Strain it through a cheese cloth and let it drain for 30 minutes or so, until it stops dripping.  The result is "queso blanco" which is Spanish for "white cheese" and this cheese is highly versatile.  If you know how to use firm tofu, then you can use this exactly the same.  Cut it into blocks and add it to chili, soups, stews, pork and beans, baked beans, etc.  It's a great way to add protein to these dishes.  It can also be used as a meat extender in spaghetti sauce, or taco-seasoned beef.  It will not melt when heated.  Alone, it has a very bland, non-cheesy flavor, but it will take up the flavor of whatever you are cooking.  My kids find queso blanco showing up in more and more places when the cow first freshens.  She gives 7 gallons a day when she first starts out.  We can only drink so much of it!

There are so many wonderful things you can do with milk!

Mann:  I would LOVE your weather right now!  70F sounds like heaven!  My soap recipe is pretty simple, and I already have it typed up, so here it is, cut and pasted for you:

You will need:

3 c cool distilled water

2 c milk (goat milk, cow milk, even breast milk will work!)

1 ¼ c lye crystals (I get mine from Techni-Chem in Boise 208-375-7200)

12 c lard (I have tried less-expensive shortening, and it does work, but the soap takes a long time to set up and never really hardens like it does with lard)

3 T essential oil (optional)

Food coloring (optional)

Soap molds – you need enough to fit just over ½ gallon of soap.  You can use empty cardboard milk cartons, empty sour cream tubs, empty ice cream buckets, old shampoo bottles, glass 13x9 pans, pretty much anything that is not metal will work.  Prepare your molds by greasing very lightly with petroleum jelly.

Directions:

Wear rubber gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection.  Long pants and close-toed shoes are also recommended.  Work in a well-ventilated space, or outdoors.

Place water in a large stainless steel or unchipped enamel container.  Carefully stir the lye into the water, with a stainless steel spoon.  Never pour the water into the lye, because it may splash, causing burns.  The mixture will heat up quickly and become very, very hot.  Allow it to cool to 85F.  Then add milk and stir for 5 minutes or so.  Adding the milk sooner is okay, and will work, but your soap will be darker in color because the heat seems to curdle and caramelize the milk and makes the soap a creamy tan color.

Allow the milk/water/lye mixture to cool to 75F while stirring occasionally.  While waiting for the lye mixture to cool to the proper temperature, you can warm the lard.  The lard needs to be 85F, no hotter!  Try not to let it get hotter because it will take an eternity to cool back down to where you want it.

The idea is to get the lard and the lye at the desired temperatures at the same time.  This takes some practice, but don’t worry too much if one has to wait a few minutes for the other.  It should still work, but may take longer to become soap.

In a slow, steady stream, pour the warmed lard into the cooled lye.  Stir slowly, but constantly while pouring.  An extra set of hands is very helpful at this point.  Thus the reason I ask my friends to come and make soap with me in the winter time.  I use the outdoor temperature to help the lye cool, and have many hands available to make light the work.

Be careful not to add the lard too fast, or it may cause splashing, which would result in burns.  Continue to stir in one direction until the soap is the consistency of thick honey.  It will take 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the temperature of your work space.

When the soap reaches the thick honey stage, it is ready to be poured into your prepared molds.  If you are using essential oil or food coloring, you may add it just before pouring into molds.  Cover the molds with plastic wrap, and place several layers of newspaper around them to help insulate them.  The raw soap needs to retain its own heat while the saponification process takes place.

After curing for 24 to 48 hours, you can cut your soap into bars using fishing line or a long knife.  Cut in firm, long strokes, not a sawing motion, or the soap may crumble and break.  Separate the bars and allow the soap to air-dry.  Let it cure for 8 weeks.  Curing allows the lye in the soap to mellow out and makes the soap safe to use, even on the most delicate skin.  It is so gentle and nice and sudsy, I even use it on my face.

monk:  Yay for the progress!

Liz:  I'll tell you what will happen to your body in the next 6 weeks, lol!  You'll get larger than you imagined you could, and it'll be harder to move around than it ever has been in your life.  When you finally have had enough and then some, the baby will make his/her appearance and voila!  You'll skinny right down again and with some rest, you'll be back to full mobility and feeling normal once again.  Good job on the walks and bootcamp!

To everyone who responded about WIC:  I really appreciate the kind words.  I don't have a problem with private, local, and church-run charity.  I wish less of our wealth in this country was taxed to run programs that give to the needy, so that more would be available to be given in private, local charities (which have much more volunteer help, and less waste than government-run programs).  That's why it bothers me to be receiving in this way.  I don't feel it is the right way, but in this imperfect world, I still need to feed my family.  What kind of mother would I be if I let my children go without the food they need because of my pride?  On the flip side, there are many who feel that they are entitled to the fruit of someone else's labors.  They take advantage of the government-run welfare programs (and sometimes double-dip into private charities, just because they can), and they don't lift a finger to give back to their communities.  My sister-in-law is an administrator in her school district, and she says that when she was a special-education teacher in her early years, she encountered a student who told her that she (the teacher, my SIL) was not very smart.  When she asked why, the girl responded that when her mother wants more money, she just has another baby.  She couldn't understand why my SIL would be working for her money, when she could just have a baby.  YIKES!  My own parents pay enough in taxes to fully support two welfare mothers and their children, every year!  Anyway, thank you for the kind words, and I promise to raise a bunch of little taxpayers in exchange for the help we're receiving now.