Artist Madrid, Naturally

Here in the South it hasn't felt like Fall for two weeks now but I've been craving White Chicken Chili since I was pregnant! So I turned up the Air Conditioning, put a sweater on and got cooking! Hope you enjoy this yummy recipe as much as my family did:  WHITE CHICKEN CHILI RECIPE Cook Time: About 1 hour 10 minutes INGREDIENTS :    *1 lb boneless skinless chicken tenderloins *1 large yellow onion (diced) *3 cloves garlic (minced) *32 oz. chicken broth (I used low-sodium organic gluten-free) *2~15oz cans of Northern beans (drained and rinsed) *1~4oz can of diced mild green chiles -AND-  *1~ 4oz can of diced hot green chiles *1~15oz can of white corn *1 tsp salt *1/2 tsp black pepper *1 tsp cumin *1 tsp dried oregano *1/2 tsp dried parsley  *1/2 tsp chili powder *1/4 tsp cayenne pepper *handful fresh cilantro (chopped) *8 oz cream cheese (softened) *1/4 cup milk (I used fat-free) Note: If you want to turn up the spicy level, skip the mild chiles and u...

My Mom Rocking Baby Back to Sleep I want to give a shout-out to my mother during World Breastfeeding Week. She is an inspiration in many ways but here I will share just two: 1) My mother breastfed me until I weaned myself. I was sensitive to cow's milk (lactose intolerance) even as a newborn so my mom simultaneously breastfed and pumped when she returned to work. Non-milk formulas weren't as perfected back then as they are today. She would rush over to my grandparents' house on her lunch breaks to nurse me. And then she did it all again for my brother soon after. She is definitely a superwoman in my book. 2) My mother 100% supported me on my breastfeeding journey. In honor of postpartum traditions around the world (and in accordance with Covid-19 shelter-in-place laws) she stayed with us for the first 2+ weeks. When my little one woke up hungry but was too fussy to latch correctly, she was there helping me position. When I could not sit or lie down because of pain from my ...

**Originally Posted in My Birth Group back in December** STORYTIME: I am a naturally clumsy person and everyone knows this about me. During this pregnancy I have stumbled a few times but I always catch myself. And of course I move around cautiously at all times.  This past weekend my family rented a lakehouse at a nearby state park so we all can chill and take some professional family photos. We arrive and of course it's drizzling rain when it was supposed to be sunny. My dad,  husband and brother are unloading the cars so my sis-in-law and I take our dogs around back to patio because they aren't allowed inside the lakehouse. We are taking our time,  being careful and for once our pups are being complete angels when WHAP! I slip on a slick area in the yard (there was red clay hiding under the grass). I didn't even register I had fallen until I was on the ground and my whole body connected including my head. My sister-in-law is yelling if I'm okay and my puppy sits down ...

Miss Ayla is Here! She's actually been here for over a week but it's taken me awhile to post since I've been preoccupied with learning how to take care of a newborn. However I wanted to give everyone an one week postpartum update. Disclaimer: The new mommy brain has hit me hard so the only way I could do this in a timely fashion is turning my real responses from text conversations with friends into sort of a self-interview. So here goes... How are you doing? I won't sugar coat it: the healing process is rough but the adorable baby makes it all feel a little better.  Are you glad to be home from the hospital?  Yes! I got out of there as soon as possible. They let us go Sunday morning (less than 2 days postpartum). I'm grateful that my mom is staying with us a few nights to help out like they sort of do in hospital.  Were the first few days of healing as rough as people say?  Everyone has a different experience but for me... I don't know how second kid...

It's a fact that, as with anything body related, pregnancy will be different for every woman. However, I never considered this fact would include my baby bump. I thought that when the time came I'd have a round symmetrical tummy like we've all seen*. Once getting pregnant it didn't take me long to realize that a lot determines the shape of your baby bump including baby's position, your body type, position of the placenta etc. Since I'm a curvy girl a couple of things happened: 1) It took longer than I expected to "look" pregnant 2) Even when there's no denying I have a bun in the oven I have what is affectionately called a "B" belly. A B-shaped belly (vs a D-shaped belly) just means when you look at your reflection from the side your stomach resembles the outline of a capitalized B. It doesn't affect the baby's health or growth and is actually pretty common. So why have you never heard of this before? I think it's ...

Hi & Welcome 2020! Long time no post! We seriously need to catch up... But for now just wanted to let everyone know that I am doing well and will be posting again soon to explain my long absence. Until then here is a pic of hubby and I (with me sporting my baby bump).