Keeping it simple...well, trying to.

This pregnancy is flying by. At the same time, last May -- when I couldn't even sip water without throwing it back up -- seems so long ago. I only have one more monthly appointment with my midwife before I move into the every-two-weeks phase, and I might get three of those before I go once a week if I haven't delivered by then.

Just, wow.

So things are looking good. Baby's heartbeat is strong, and Baby is moving a lot. I'm carrying absurdly high, which is exactly how I carried Suzannah. I'm so grateful for my midwife, who doesn't fret much about fundal height, and especially not in my case when it appears that this is simply normal for me. I've seen far too many women post on pregnancy boards and communities that their doctors recommended inductions or suggested possible C-sections based on that alone, which I find pretty horrifying since it's such an inexact "science," especially at the later stages (Oh no! Your baby will be too big! Surely, you can't birth her normally, so let's just scare you now so you won't give us too much trouble later!). I'm sure I'll be measuring, like, eighty-five weeks ahead the next time I go in. Whatever. As long as Baby's feet aren't in my esophagus, and I can still breathe, I'm cool with it.

The Braxton-Hicks are more intense this time around, but I haven't experienced anything painful or terribly uncomfortable. Matt does worry about me when I overdo it, though, and last night I went to bed at eight o'clock while he took over kitchen clean-up and all the nighttime parenting. The extra rest was wonderful, though, because I'm still trying to find my groove at school and it's taken its toll a bit. (Happily, though, I've been on top of my game enough this week that I don't have any weekend planning, just my very first stack of grading. Give me an hour with a pumpkin spice latte and it'll all be good.)

I feel like I have so many things to update about, but I'm a little overwhelmed by them. Either I think that no one really wants to read about, say, our foray into the realm of cloth diapering (you guys! We are really excited about this!) or what I'm into cooking these days, or I think I should really watch how passionate I get about whatever it is I happen to be passionate about, because someone might get uncomfortable or defensive or whatever. On the other hand, I'm getting over that, because every time I freak myself out and expect hate mail, I'm pleasantly surprised. (Then again, I have disabled anonymous comments here. I don't mind dissenting opinions, but I do think you should be brave enough to own your words.) And anyway, I like having a space to write, and I've been writing online in some capacity for over eight years now -- people come and go and not everyone in the world will love me. That's okay. (True confession, though: Sometimes I really do think I've let my desire to be liked override my desire to speak or write what I feel, and while I don't necessarily want to go out and alienate my friends and family, I don't want them to like me just because they think I always agree with them.)

Perhaps I am over-thinking this. I do that sometimes.

I'm trying to keep it simple tonight, anyway. Matt was home early, and we've spent a cozy evening cooking together while Suzannah runs a grocery store out of the family room. Okay, I am going to talk about cooking, which is probably really boring, but I love reading about this kind of thing in other people's journals: I've been really into roasting huge pans of vegetables -- carrots, broccoli, parsnips, brussels sprouts, zucchini, yellow squash, and whatever else I happen to feel like throwing in -- and we eat those for dinner all the time now. Toss 'em in olive oil with a little salt and pepper, roast them until the broccoli turns slightly black and crispy -- aww, yeah. We've had them with polenta, with brown rice and a little lemon juice, with chicken breasts cooked in white wine, and tonight Matt threw in some diced sausage and potatoes and we topped it all with carmelized onions. Next I want to try them with quinoa, a la Bread and Honey, my latest cooking inspiration. She calls it Hippie Chow, and it's so ridiculously simple and exactly the sort of thing Matt and I like to eat. It's so funny, though. When I was pregnant with Suzannah, I wanted Clucks 'n Fries from Red Robin. I wanted huge milkshakes and chocolate sundaes. Mostly, I just wanted food all the time, but I really never got over my morning sickness-induced distaste of vegetables. This time around, I thought for sure those aversions would stick around since I was so much sicker at the beginning of my pregnancy, but to my happy surprise, nothing has made my pregnant tummy happier over the last month or two than roasting up a ginormous pan of veggies that will last us through at least one full meal and several sides. (On the other hand, the takeout that I found the least repulsive five months ago is still on my DO NOT WANT list. I think this is a good thing. Huge pans of roasted veggies are infinitely cheaper, and also, I feel pretty great.)

(And on another side note: I grew up hating brussels sprouts, probably because you're supposed to hate brussels sprouts. But guess what! They are actually really good, especially roasted! You can even prepare them in ways that make them taste nutty and almost sweet. Want to know what else I've been eating? Sardines. That's right. I've never eaten sardines before because no one is supposed to like sardines. But they're full of protein -- and I've definitely been craving protein during this pregnancy; in fact, I still get pretty queasy if I don't eat it regularly -- yet lack the mercury content of tuna. And they're light and delicious, and I really need to get some good crackers to eat them with. Trader Joe's is my friend.)

Anyway, dinner was simple and fabulous. Our daughter is hilarious and sweet and full of hugs and surprises and imagination and laughter. After she goes to bed, we are going to eat cupcakes and watch Mad Men. Baby Winslow is kicking away. (Seriously, I love, love, love this part of pregnancy. Even though when a certain someone saw my belly jump a little the other day, she yelled, "Aaah! Alien Baby!") I'll save the processing of my latest anxiety attack(s) for another day.

Sublime!

I made this salad for dinner last night. Go on, click that link. It's definitely the most ambitious salad I've ever made, so much so that it seems misleading to call it a "salad." It's not difficult; it just involves a lot of chopping and tossing, but that's part of the fun -- I love the kind of "cooking" (this isn't really cooking, I guess) in which I get to just toss in handfuls of whatever looks good. I liked it so much that I decided to dedicate an entire blog post to telling you that you should make it too, especially before the end of summer, since it's really a perfect warm-weather dish.

My notes: I used all of the ingredients she lists, even the ones not included in the pictures (such as cucumbers and cashews, which were divine in the salad). The only one I would suggest leaving out, if you don't care for that little extra kick, is the hot peppers in the dressing (Mom, I'm looking at you).

Also, this makes a ton -- A TON! -- so you might want to pick up one of those little backyard wading pools for mixing it all together. Heh! Just kidding. Kind of. I started with what I thought would be a big enough mixing bowl, but I wound up digging out the huge plastic bowl we've rarely used (because it holds ten tons of stuff). Seriously. Mix it in the biggest container you have.

Also, the recipe for the dressing makes more than enough to coat the entire salad, so no need to go overboard with the oils and soy sauce.

Mine actually did look exactly like the picture. Matt thought I should take a picture of ours, but we've already eaten a couple of meals out of that gigantic bowl, and when it was all fresh and pretty it was sitting in the midst of a kitchen overtaken by messy cutting boards and bowls and pieces of vegetables. You'll just have to take my word for it.