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I was asked in a client interview last week what I thought was the most important thing for a birth plan.  I thought hard.  I was kind of caught off guard.  I don't think anyone has ever asked me that exact question.  But I managed to come up with my answer after a long pause.  Flexibility.  A willingness to deviate from your plan.  Birthing is so very unpredictable.  You just never know how things are going to go.  Labor and delivery always seem to deviate from even the best-laid plans.   I continue to be surprised and shocked with nearly every birth I attend.  Something always surprises me.  The woman I thought would go "all natural" asking for an epidural within minutes of entering the hospital.  The other woman, who I gave about, oh, one chance in a million, for going all natural pushing her baby out without any drugs or interferance of any kind.  Short umbilical cords.  Heart-shaped uteruses.   Inductions.  Magnesium sulfate.   Things rarely go according to plan.

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When most people think of bran muffins, their response is usually "bleh."  I understand that.  I've had some truly terrible bran muffins in my time.  But these are my mom's recipe.   And every year when Fall rolls around, the leaves start changing and the weather turns cold, I turn to this recipe.  It's a comfort thing, I guess.  Autumn and the thought of the holiday season makes me feel nostalgic and I start wanting to do all these mom-ish type things, like baking and making ornaments.  But these bran muffins really are good.   They crisp up a bit on the outside and stay moist on the inside.  The dough will keep in the fridge for up to 8 weeks so you can make them fresh whenever you like.  

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Been awhile since I've posted a recipe.  I think it's because we've been grilling so much all summer and veered away from all the cold weather soups and stews.  This is a recipe from Real Simple's current issue (October 2011) and is easy to throw together on a busy day.  

Here's what you need:

4 cups romaine or other lettuce
1 cup sliced roasted red peppers
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Cream Cheese
Sliced salami or Prosciutto (8 ounces)

Here's what to do: 

• Toss the lettuce and the roasted pepper ina  bowl with the oil and vinegar.  Season with salt & pepper
• Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on 4 tortillas
• Top with lettuce mixture and sliced salami or prosciutto

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This has been a year of girls.  Every single birth that I have attended as a doula in the last year, with one exeception (yay, Baby C!), has been a girl.   And my next client, due in a couple weeks, is having a girl.    My two closest friends have recently welcomed new nieces, Morgan & Elisa.  And I've got 4 wonderful nieces myself who are dearly loved.  So when I read this article by Lisa Bloom, I thought of them (below) and of all the little girls that I've seen come into the world in the past year.

Here are a few of the paragraphs that really struck me.   Read more »