Watch out lady parts and babies! I'm coming for you!!

So, I've fallen in love again; hard and fast and with every cell of my being. In our nursing program, our nursing teacher gave us each experiences on the Labor and Delivery floor. The second I stepped foot on the floor, I felt like I was home again (in that not-really-home-because-my-house-doesn't-smell-like-amniotic-fluid-institutional-grade-cleaner-and-hospital-food kind of way). I was reminded of what brought me into this program in the first place; ladies' parts, blood, and baby! Not only was I reminded of how much I love babies and mommies, but I also found an answer to a question that had been slowly munching away at the deepest recesses of my mind. Do I really want to be a midwife or do I really want to be an Obstetrician? Did I decide to become a midwife because I was really drawn to the idea of empowering and accompanying women in one of the most exciting journeys in their lives, wanting to be there every second of every contraction, reminding them to breath, and helping them to achieve exactly the labor story they wanted....AND YES! Midwives give drugs!!..., or was I just a coward, afraid to take the MCATs, sure I would end up in some online medical school...or worse...at some Mexican medical school that advertised in bar fliers. Well, we watched a Cesarian Section, and I got my answer. I have NO DESIRE WHATSOEVER to become an OB. I most certainly do NOT want to be a surgeon. It was amazing, and I didn't get sick or anything, but it was so precise, so nerve-wracking. It's the kind of thing that you need to do every time with an underlying sense of fear because the second you get too comfortable you end up leaving a sponge in the wound or accidentally knick the bladder...or something even worse. I don't strive to live my life with a low undertone of fear permeating my professional career.

I realize that, professionally, I may still have to make rounds on a medical/surgical floor, with my only responsibility being emptying bedside commodes and delivering meds, but now I've been reintroduced to the light at the end of the tunnel...the light that hunted me down a year and three months ago, taunting me with it's allure and promise of baby cries and an invitation to attend the purest and strongest example of female achievement. Old people fanny...watch out! Here I come, and I'll be wiping you faster and happier than any other fanny wiper you've had in your life!

My first blog award - Thanks Heather!!

I got my first blog award from my sister (in-law), http://wwwtheadventuresofcrazymumcom.blogspot.com. She's just helping me to spread the love! Thanks again!

Here's a special award to all the bloggie mommies/ladies that I want to pass jive onto:

http://withlovefromthemotherhood.blogspot.com/
http://dbertoni.blogspot.com/
http://rjsadventures.blogspot.com/
http://athenalaughed.blogspot.com/
http://coffeeyogurt.blogspot.com/
http://icouldbeordinary.blogspot.com/
http://liegedavis.blogspot.com/
http://homesteadingthebackforty.blogspot.com/
http://www.loonybinblog.com/
http://ablogofherown.wordpress.com/
http://www.abrainlikemine.blogspot.com/
http://awomanswrites.wordpress.com/
http://www.blogher.com/blog/honeybeast
http://www.blogher.com/blog/debra-roby
http://www.innerpickle.com.au/
http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/

There's a huge mix in here! It ranges from mommydom to green thumb. Thanks ladies for giving me great things to read!

Just a few rules:
Accept this award and post it on your blog. Include a link back to the blog you received it from. Pass the award to 15 blogs you have recently discovered, and be sure to contact them to let them know they were awarded. Ok?

Yumminess from 14 Maple - Green Bean Casserole style!

So, being pregnant, I've found myself spending every spare moment I have in the kitchen. I want to cook and bake all the time. Since the urge to throw up in my soup pan has passed, I figure why not actually use it for soup (or Green Bean Casserole as the case my be)! My past few recipe adventures have been INCREDIBLE. I can't be sure that it's not because I'm pregnant, so you'll have to verify for me via comment on the next few recipes I post. I say this because I'm reminded of a pregnant Green Tomato Mincemeat incident with my sister. She ate SO MUCH of the concoction that I hadn't heard of in at least 20 years (my gram used to make it when we were REALLY young), that I was in awe. Later on we tried it again (I wasn't a huge fan), and her taste buds had completely changed! While pregnant, she couldn't get enough, but then after having my nephew, it was completely different. You'll have to let me know if my recipes are indeed delicious, or if my pregnancy is temporarily marring my judgment. I'd use my husband as a gauge, but he eats ANYTHING I put in front of him. He's of no use in this department! So, try away friends, and let me know what you think!

Green Bean Casserole (homemande)

1-2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 to 1 cup milk
2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 onion diced
1-2 cups mushrooms (depending upon preference...I prefer more mushrooms)
3 cups green beans cut into 2-3 inch pieces (fresh or frozen)
salt and pepper to taste
3/4-1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar, but you can use what you prefer)
3/4-1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

If you used fresh green beans, cook in 2 cups broth until softened, reserving broth. If you used frozen than heat up.

Preheat oven to 350. Add onion to a medium-sized saucepan, and add enough broth to just slightly cover the onions. Cook until translucent, about 5 mins. Add mushrooms and cook down about 5 more minutes, pouring in more broth if necessary to keep onions and mushrooms covered. When vegetables are soft, add flour a Tablespoon at a time until fluid begins to thicken. Add more if necessary. Pour in the broth and milk, alternating between the two, and stirring in between. Wait until sauce thickens before continuing to add more fluid. Stop when you've reached desired amount. It's not necessary to add all the liquid. Add cooked green beans, salt and pepper to taste (at this point you may decide to add hot pepper flakes, hot sauce, srirachi, sambal, or any spice as you desire...I know I ALWAYS desire, but it's delicious enough without it too). Stir together, making any necessary adjustments you'd like (more broth for thinner sauce and more flour for thicker...if you choose to add more flour be sure to counter with more salt. Flour eats salt!). Pour into oven-safe dish. Top with shredded cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and top is golden brown.