*This post was orginally posted on A Well Crafted Party*

During this pregnancy I really have craved one thing more than anything else:

Peanut Butter! 

Before getting pregnant I could have gone through one jar of peanut butter about every 3-4 months. Nowadays we buy a new jar weekly.

So, when making a batch of cupcakes I thought it would be fun to make a cupcake that reminded me of a really good PB&J sandwich. And, let me say… these were the best cupcakes I’ve ever made. 

Basic White Cake Batter– your favorite recipe (or box mix*) will work great

Cream Cheese (2 boxes) Room Temp

Smooth Peanut Butter (4 Tablespoons) Room Temp

Butter (1 stick) Room Temp

Powdered Sugar (2 Cups-make sure it is fresh!)

A little bit of milk or cream

Jelly in your favorite flavor… I went with Strawberry

Strawberries for garnish

* If you use a basic cake mix try making it a little more special by adding in some extra vanilla extract

Cupcake Tin 

Cupcake Liners

Piping Liners & Tips

Small Cylindrical Object or possibly a spoon I used a Piping Tip

Big Bowl & Hand Mixer 

(or… if you are lucky enough to have one a stand mixer works great)

1. Bake Basic White Cupcakes according to your favorite recipe.

Let cool while you make your delicious peanut butter frosting!  

2. Make frosting by mixing together cream cheese, peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar. Add in milk or cream if needed to get desired consistency. This takes a LOT of mixing so be patient… it’ll be worth it. Then spoon into a piping bag fit with the tip of your choice. I used a larger star-shaped tip.

3. Take your cupcake and cylindrical object of choice and get ready to make some holes in your cupcakes. We are going to be filling these holes.

Use cylindrical object to put a hole in the cupcake’s center. And, by hole I don’t mean go out the other side… just need a big empty space in the middle of the cupcake.

I was going to use the insides of the cupcakes to make cake balls… 

but, instead I ate them. They were very tasty.

4. Fill holes with the jelly you have chosen. 

5. Pipe on peanut butter frosting and top with a strawberry for garnish!

(Or raspberry if you went with a raspberry jam…etc.)

I wanted to leave you with a quick sneak peek into tomorrow’s {Recipe} Post…

CUPCAKES! 

All who know me know that I {LOVE} Cupcakes. A lot.

I made these cupcakes a while back and will be sharing the recipes and tutorials with you tomorrow!

Yep, {Mommy Monday} on a Tuesday. I have an excuse… 

I’m Pregnant! 

—I was tested for GBS and my test unfortunately came back positive.

—I ended up in Labor & Delivery with “Practice Labor,” 

most likely due to being on my feet too long and getting dehydrated.

— I learned a LOT about hospital procedure and along with my diagnosis of GBS was very disappointed at my options (more on this later).

—My feet have swollen so large that I can’t wear any of my shoes comfortably. 

~*~

This is what I’ve been doing a lot of lately. My feet are HUGE. My hands are HUGE. My face is HUGE. I’ve been retaining over 5 lbs of extra weight in water a day. 

(As in, I weigh myself at night at am 5 lbs heavier than in the morning when I am less swollen. Possibly not the most scientific way of coming to this conclusion.) My midwife says that all my vitals are fine so this is just natural pregnancy swelling that happens in some women. Lucky me. 

I’ve gone from a shoe size of 9.5 to a flip flop size 11! I’m mainly walking around barefoot or in my new, ridiculously large, flip flops. 

Boy, does my husband tease me when I start doing something in the kitchen.

The plus side of these uncomfortable, huge feet? 

I feel a lot less guilty about treating myself to a pedicure!

*Wow… I keep writing and re-writing this post as it is very personal and very NOW for me. I think I will refrain from saying everything I want to say about the following topic of Natural Birth and Hospital Procedure… but, am more than willing to discuss them with anyone with any questions.* 

So, I’ve been very adamant that I want as a natural birth as I can possibly have. 

I was super happy when my very large HMO provided me with a Midwife that I really like and seemed to support my hopes for a natural delivery. We honestly can’t afford to do this without my HMO, so having these options available and ready to us seemed like a dream come true. 

I really don’t want to be induced if at all possible….this is a natural thing, right?

It’ll happen (for most women) when the baby is ready, right? 

I don’t like the risks associated with narcotics or epidurals so I am choosing to do it without. But, if induced the pain is even worse…and, let me tell you that practice labor stuff was no joke.

I was in PAIN and it wasn’t even the real thing!

I recently found out a lot about hospital procedure and 

was very disappointed in the information that I received. 

I was going to go into a big rant about hospital procedure just now… 

but, I know why they have procedures in place. They have to protect themselves. 

I get it, although I may not agree with the procedures, they do keep some women safe. 

I am not a very high risk pregnancy (although the diagnosis of GBS does put me slightly higher risk than some). I think I am more aggravated by the lack of information about these options/procedures until this late in the game. Maybe it is because it is my first pregnancy and I didn’t know to ask…. but, wow I couldn’t imagine how scary all this might have been if I hadn’t done the research or gone to the birthing classes! 

So, we are perfecting our birth plan at the moment. I’ve been researching several sites with materials on birthing plans. I’ve been reading up on all the drug options and possible options for drug intervention. I’ve been researching my diagnosis and my options. I’m just researched out in all honesty. But, the knowledge is making me much more comfortable with the idea of giving birth. 

I know it may not go to plan. I know that things may happen and I may end up with an epidural and a C-section. I know that I may decide I can’t handle the pain and I ask for a drug. 

But, I feel that with the knowledge in hand and a well-thought-out birth plan I will be more in control of the experience of the birth of my child.

Both the hospital and my HMO provider have stated on their websites (and in person) that they highly support women who come in with birth plans that have been well thought-out. 

I’m hoping to find that it is the case in my upcoming birth!

A couple of sources on birth plans that I’ve found very useful: 

Nursingbirth.com: Top Ten Dos for Writing Your Birth Plan

AmericanPregnancy.Org: Creating Your Birth Plan

www.birthplan.com

Also, both my hospital and insurance care provider have great guides for creating birth plans. I’d suggest checking your hospital or insurance provider’s sites and searching for birth plans.