Holy bloatedness!

I don't even think that's a word, but talk about BLOATED today! My jeans have been fitting fine, I only notice them a bit tighter on my tummy when I sit down. Today I have court for work and I needed to wear dress pants. I couldn't even find a pair to button up!!!! Really?! At 5 and 1/2 weeks I can't even get the button to meet the hole! Awesome!!!

I sent the 2 pairs of maternity pants back to GAP last week to exchange them and I was hoping they would have come back by now. But nope, just got the notice today that they received them and would send me a shipping notice when the new pants shipped.

What's a girl to do????

I remembered that I still had a bella band from when I was preggo with Bennett.  I located it shoved to the back of my drawer and pulled it out.  I zipped my pants up and put the bella band over the top to help keep the button area closed and not so chunky looking.  This is never a good sign!! Too bad they won't let pregnant women join Weight Watchers! (Don't worry, I already checked!)

This mama will be attending Zumba every Monday and working out at home the rest of the week or at the YMCA. I do not need to gain any weight with the pregnancy. Goodness!

5 weeks

How far along? 5 weeks

Due Date: According to my LMP August 29, 2011.  According to Fertility Friend and my ovulation date, August 28, 2011. Not much of a difference

Total weight gain/loss: +5lbs thanks to the holidays. I am going to Zumba tonight to help take care of some of that!

Maternity clothes? Not yet. My jeans still fit fine.

Stretch Marks? Not yet. I do have a few light ones on my sides from the previous pregnancies, but none on my belly.

Sleep: exhausted!!! I can easily sleep 10+ hours at night and still wake up exhausted and with swollen eyes.

Best moment this week: My sister finally announcing that she is pregnant as well!!! She is 4 weeks ahead of me and we both are due in August! Oh, and we have the same doc and deliver at the same hospital. This should be fun! :)

Movement: still too early for this

Food cravings: food in general....does that count? :)

Food aversions: sweets

  

Gender: unknown

Labor Signs: too early

Belly Button in or out? Innie and has never popped out. Although, I've never made it past 34 weeks so who knows if I make it full term.

What I miss: being able to go out for drinks with the girls. I miss my margaritas!

What I am looking forward to: my first doc appointment next month and sharing this experience with my sister.

  

Milestones: Our baby is the size of a sesame seed and his/her brain and heart will develop this week. How cool is that?!

*I am not afraid to share our pregnancy so early on. I feel (and this is MY opinion for myself) that pregnancy is a complete joy to share with the world. Yes, I may have a miscarriage, but I'm not ashamed if that should happen. Sometimes it does and it's in God's hands. I will share and be overjoyed while God has given me this opportunity to carry a precious little baby. If He decides to end my pregnancy, then that is His will. 

It's over

Christmas that is. We have so many places to go on Christmas that it almost seems never ending sometimes. We had a wonderful Christmas and are very blessed with the great family and friends that we have. 

The boys got lots of wonderful toys. Peytonn was very excited to receive a big boy Razor scooter from Santa. Both boys got new Keen sandals for the summer. They also got lots of trucks, tractors, and big blocks. 

Hubby and I didn't exchange gifts because we bought a new T.V. last month and that was our anniversary and Christmas present to each other.  Hubby got some giftcards to Lowe's and some clothing as well. He also got some accessories for his truck.

I got some great items as well. My favorites are the new Vera Bradley baby bag that I got from my sister.

I also got the cookbook from Pioneer Woman. Love it!!!

I absolutely love her recipes and this cookbook. It is designed very much like her website where the recipes have a complete step by step tutorial for the recipe. So far I have made 2 recipes from the cookbook: Chicken spaghetti and Chocolate Sheet cake. Both were excellent, as expected! Every recipe that I have ever tried of hers is wonderful. I highly recommend you check out her website: Pioneer Woman

And it begins..

I had my first moment of "I think I'm going to throw up!" this morning. Actually, it stated during the night. I just remember throwing the covers off at 2am and running to the bathroom. I stood over the toilet and kept spitting. Finally the feeling passed and I was able to walk back to the bed. I don't know if I just got too hot while sleeping, but I remember being extremely hot when I ran to the bathroom.

Then when I woke up at 6am, I still felt like crap and that I might throw up. I wasn't able to eat any breakfast. I was able to get my Prilosec and Vitamin C pill down with some water before even the water made me want to throw up.  I took my 3 vitamin pills and my Omega pill with me to work in the hopes that I would be able to take them later.

It was really hard to pack my lunch this morning when I couldn't even stomach any breakfast. I just packed a few ravioli left over from last night and a salad. Nothing too heavy or big, in case I still wasn't feeling well.

I called the doc about my heartburn.  They told me to do a 14 day cycle of Prilosec and see if that gave me any relief. If not, then I could call back. I am on day 2 and no relief so far. The package says it can take up to 4 days. I also have this constant knot in my throat. It makes me feel like something is stuck in there and that I am choking.  This is bad, but I almost wished I would have thrown up so that maybe it would get rid of this knot in my throat.

I've also fell asleep for the past 2 nights with Peytonn at 7:30 or 8pm. I then just crawl in bed and sleep the rest of the night and still wake up with bags under my eyes at 6am. I am just so exhausted! Now I remember how exhausting the first trimester is!

I also got my maternity pants in the mail the other day. I got my ususal size in Gap jeans. They barely fit, I mean I could get them up, but definitely not cute! So I exchanged them for the next size up. I really like the fit of the dress pants, they are very relaxed through the hip and thigh, which I like. I would highly recommend them!

Maternity pants

I wrote a little bit yesterday about buying some maternity jeans and pants. I currently have none because I gave all of my maternity clothing away after having Bennett.  I own 3 pairs of the Long and Lean jeans from Gap and they are my absolute favorite jeans, EVER! I just adore them. They fit in all the right places. I am kind of sad that eventually I won't be able to fit in them anymore. So, I went searching on Gap's website to see if they had anything similar in maternity jeans. Sure enough, they have Long and Lean maternity jeans!!! Score!

I got a pair and I am glad I did last week when they were $10 cheaper than they are now. I also got them in the Demi panel, instead of the full panel. I had the full panel when I was preggo with Bennett and they always slipped down. I felt like I was constantly pulling my pants up. I am hoping the Demi panel fits a little more snug and will keep them up.

I also got a pair of black dress pants for the days that I have Court. When at Gap last month, I tried on their Perfect Trouser Pants and I really liked the fit. It is similar to the jeans that I adore. To my surprise, they also have them in maternity pants. I also got the Demi panel as well and glad that I got them last week when they were $20 cheaper!!

I think comfortable pants that you feel good in are so important! Especially when you are pregnant. No body wants to be uncomfortable. It is so worth the money when you are going to be wearing them for at least 7-8 months.

Adversions

Surprisingly, it has started already. I brought a ham sandwich for lunch today (don't worry, it wasn't lunch meat ham, it was real ham). I ate about 3/4 of it and then it started to not taste too good anymore. The heart burn hit hard again today. I called my doctor's office and they told me to try Prilosec and call back if that didn't give me any relief.

I came home from work and immediately went to the area of my pantry where I keep my home canned items. I rifled through them until I found the pickled beets I had canned a few months ago. I opened them and had that "oh my gosh, these are so good!" moment. It was amazing!

And sweets don't sound good at all! I am a total sweets person, not a candy person, but a dessert person I guess. I love to make cakes, brownies, cookies, etc. But right now (thankfully for my waistline!) they don't sounds tasty at all.

I've also found that the best thing to give me a few moments of relief from the heartburn is a nice hot cup of my pregnancy tea. I drink a cup every night, but I might start taking some to work with me to help during the day.

I also gave away all of my maternity clothes after I had Bennett. What was I thinking?! I ordered 2 pairs of pants from Gap the other day because I know sooner, rather than later, I'm going to need them. Now when I get dressed and nothing will fit, I will have some comfy pants to put on. I still don't have any shirts, but I don't think I will need them for a while. I have plenty of longer shirts that should do the job until about 20 weeks or so.  I am also hoping to maybe get some gift cards for Christmas which might allow me to get some new clothes.

I'm also itching to  buy some itty bitty newborn fluff! But I am trying to hold off until we find out the gender of the baby. I have had blue or green for so long, that if it's a girl, I would really like some pink and purple diapers. Hopefully I can stay strong and wait!

..and baby makes 5!

That's right, we're expecting baby #3!

We found out on our 4 year wedding anniversary, December 16th! We are very excited and apparently Peytonn has no problem telling people that mommy has a baby in her belly. Even before I knew I was pregnant!! Such a smart kid! :)

Everyone keeps asking me if we are hoping for a girl. We were praying for a baby and we'll take whatever God gives us.  This pregnancy already feels different than the last two. The heartburn has hit hard, even before I knew I was pregnant. It is pretty much constant, even in the morning before I eat or drink anything. I've tried over the counter stuff and the next step is calling the doc. Nothing has even helped so far.  I am wondering if there are certain foods you can avoid to help with it or if its just going to be everything. Hmmm.....any suggestions?

A few recipes

I love finding new recipes and trying them out at home. Today I am going to share two recipes that I recently tried and the family really enjoyed them.

The first recipe is Ground Beef Stroganoff. I got this recipe from Mommy's Kitchen when she posted her December meal plan. The beef stroganoff that I remember was basically Hamburger Helper (gag!) and I pretty much have never been a fan of Hamburger Helper. I was reluctant to try this recipe because it does use ground beef, but it had some pretty good reviews. I thought I would give it a whirl.

Ground Beef Stroganoff
1 - lb. hamburger
1 - can cream of mushroom soup
1 - packet brown gravy mix
4 oz - sour cream
2 - tbsp. chopped onion
salt & pepper (to taste)
1 - small can sliced mushrooms
Egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes

Brown & cook hamburger with chopped onion, salt and pepper. While the meat is browning, Start the noodles, rice or mashed potatoes to cook. Drain off any grease from the hamburger. Add cream of mushroom soup, gravy mix (prepared accord. to packet directions) mix together and simmer over low heat about 10-15 minutes. Add mushrooms and the sour cream mix until thoroughly blended. Serve over cooked noodles, mashed potatoes or rice.

*I did make some substitutions/changes according to our tastes and what I had available. Instead of canned cream of mushroom soup, I had some homemade in the freezer. I pulled that out and used about 2 cups of homemade cream of mushroom soup. (trust me, it tastes sooooo much better!) I also didn't have a packet of gravy mix, so I just added some beef base to the mixture and it tasted great! I left out the sliced mushrooms because my cream of mushroom soup had pieces of mushroom already in it. I also added a bit more than 4oz of sour cream. I didn't measure it, but maybe about 6-8oz if I had to guess. We like ours creamy. I also threw in about 1/2 cup of frozen peas to the mixture and let it heat thoroughly. I served mine over no yolk egg noodles. 

The kids and hubby really enjoyed this. As for me, I thought it was much better than Hamburger Helper and was a quick and easy dinner that pleased everyone.

The next recipe I am going to share is from a cookbook. The cookbook comes from a local hospital's Labor & Delivery Unit. This was shared by my friend Kim, it's titled Mom's Famous Lasagna.  I made this for the first time on a week night when a friend and her two boys were coming over to play and eat dinner with us. We all really enjoyed it and I think it's my favorite lasagna recipe that I have found so far. I am making it again for dinner tonight.

Mom's Famous Lasagna

1 lb ground beef

1 packet spaghetti sauce mix

1 can (14oz) petite diced tomatoes

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

2 cloves minced garlic

1 egg

1 cup cottage cheese

2 pkgs sliced mozzarella cheese

8 lasagna noodles

Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain off fat. Add the packet of spaghetti mix, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and garlic. Simmer for 40 minutes covered. (I did not do this the first time I made it and it still tasted great!) Meanwhile, cook 8 lasagna noodles as directed on box. Mix together the egg and cottage cheese in a small bowl.  After the tomato sauce has completely simmered, place a small amount of sauce on the bottom of the 9x13 pan. (just enough to keep the noodles from sticking to the pan) Place 4 noodles on the bottom of the baking pan, followed by 1/3 of the remaining tomato sauce, then half of the sliced cheese, then half of the cottage cheese mixture. Repeat the next layer beginning with the last 4 lasagna noodles, then sauce, then mozzarella cheese, and finally the cottage cheese mixture. Top lasagna with remaining sauce. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. 

We had this entire lasagna eaten in 24 hours. That doesn't happen often! This time, I am simmering the sauce for the 40 minutes. I am also adding some onion, green pepper, and mushrooms for a chunky veggie sauce. I also added a bit more than 1cup of the cottage cheese. We like the cheese mixture. I really recommend that you try this recipe. It is so good and a crowd pleaser!

Faaaantastic

Would be the word I would use to sum up our meal yesterday. Everything came together perfect, we ate on time, and the turkey was nice and juicy.  Everyone raved over the pecan pie, the layered salad, the turkey, the spicy sweet potatoes, and the cornflake potatoes were the best I had ever made! Now we have about 100lbs of leftover to consume. (Ok, maybe not that much, but it seems like it!)

Last night after all of our guests departed, I went and played Bingo with my friend Ginger. My husband called me old and said I needed to trade my vehicle in for a Lincoln Town Car. I gave him the look of death and went and had fun! Ginger won $150 with one Bingo! I was not that lucky, but I did have fun and would like to do it again. When I left the Bingo place, Toys 'R Us was already packed at 10:20 at night! Hubby had to work today so I didn't dare go shopping. I did venture out to Target around 10am and yeah it was busy, but I really just needed milk. I thought I might browse around but 20 minutes into our adventure, Peytonn had his first melt down and then proceeded to scream through the store. I left our cart in the middle of the aisle and walked out. Without my milk!

I stopped at Meijer (considerably less busy than Target!) to get milk. I get the boys inside and realize Bennett took his sock and shoe off of one foot in the car. Nice! I grab my milk and head back out to the car. The boys are whiny and so I did the unthinkable! I got them both junior chocolate milkshakes from Steak N Shake. Silence!!!!!!!! Ahhhh, it was fantastic! We ate lunch when we got home and then we all laid down for naps. Mommy definitely needed a nap!

Note to self, no more Christmas shopping with children in tow. Bad idea!!

Thanksgiving Menu

We are hosting Thanksgiving again this year and I have been trying to come up with our menu. I think I may have it done and now I just need to make out my grocery list. (nothing like waiting until the last minute, you know!) Here is the menu so far (I am linking the recipes I am using that are online):

Turkey (still deciding if I want to try brining it this year, if so, I have linked to the recipe)
Cornbread stuffing (I made this recipe last year and everyone loved it!)

Green bean Casserole (trying out a new recipe for this. Just a bit different)

Spicy Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes
Yeast Rolls (I prefer Rhoades)
Deviled Eggs (my MIL is making these)
Cornflake Potatoes (this is my favorite from my childhood. This recipe is similar to mine. However, I top it with crushed cornflakes and some melted butter.)

Layered Salad (its always good to have something cold and crispy. Love this salad!)

Pumpkin Cream Pie (A little something different)

Pecan Pie

I plan to make some dishes ahead of time and then they are ready to go Thanksgiving Day. I plan to have my guests bring some appetizer dishes. It should be a yummy day!!

Italian Beef sandwiches

Tonight we are having Italian Beef sandwiches. The recipe is super easy and tastes really good. I put mine into the crockpot and allow it to cook all day while I am at work. Its so nice to walk into the house after work and smell dinner and have it ready for you.  

Italian Beef

1 beef roast (you can make this whatever size will feed your family)

2 cups beef broth (or water)

1 large jar of pepperocini peppers (I buy two jars, one jar of the whole peppers and one jar of the slices to put on top of the sandwiches)

choice of seasonings

slices of cheese (we like provolone or mozzarella)

Place the beef roast in the crockpot and pour the beef broth over the roast.  Sprinkle on your choice of seasonings, I used some season salt, smoked paprika, and pepper. Pour a jar of pepperocini peppers (I used the whole peppers) into the crockpot, juice and all.  Cover and set on low to cook all day or on high to cook for 4-6 hours. 

Once cooked, shred the beef and return it to the juice.  Place meat on hoagie roll of your choice, top with a slice of cheese and sliced pepperocini if desired.  We also will toast ours after the cheese is on. 

These are so tasty and just plain easy! As you all know, I just adore Pioneer Woman. She also has a recipe that is almost exactly like mine. The only difference is that she adds a package of Italian Seasonings to hers. I prefer to add my own seasonings because I don't enjoy mine too salty. On her website, she calls these sandwiches Drip Beef, Two Ways and has two different recipes to prepare these.

Family Pictures

I had an old friend of mine from school who is a photographer take our family pictures yesterday. She did such an amazing job!! She was great with the kids and has a really great eye for pictures. She posted two sneak peeks on Facebook last night and I am in absolute LOVE with them! I cannot wait to see the rest of the photos!

You can find her on Facebook here: Studio Rebekah Photography

Or she also has a website and blog here: Studio Rebekah

The grand debate

So, hubby and I have been debating on whether or not to move the boys into the same room.  We only have a 3 bedroom house and no basement, which means we are stuffed to the gills in our storage space right now.  It would be nice to have that extra room for storage and possibly in the future, a third baby.

My question to those of you who may have children that share a bedroom is, how does it work out if they have different sleeping habits? My concern is that it's going to be a party for Bennett and Peytonn won't get any sleep.  Bennett is very much a solo sleeper and is very easily distracted by others in the room while he is trying to fall asleep. 

We would not be getting bunk beds because frankly I don't trust either of them with anything elevated off the ground very far.  Neither one of their beds are on the bed frames for that reason. We simply have the mattress on the box spring on the floor.  It has worked out fine thus far and the kids are able to get in and out of their beds by themselves. 

So, any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated!

Can you believe it?

Bennett is going to be 2 in just a little over a week?! Man did that time fly!!!

Let's see what's been going on with Bennett lately:
--he keeps getting teeth! I swear each week he has new ones starting to come in.
--he eats like a horse and will eat just about anything and everything!
--he repeats everything we say. His favorite phrase is "ka chow" from Lightning McQueen and his favorite word is still "no." He pretty much answers any question with "no."
--He has moved to a big boy bed and loves it!
--He is still a great sleeper and occasionally wakes up at night.
--He loves to run and play and try anything his brother attempts. This includes but is not limited to climbing on the back of the couch, jumping from the coffee table to the couch, trying to scale the kitchen cabinets, and scaling the changing table successfully and pulling all the wipes out of the container.
--He is wearing 24 month to 2T clothes and is wearing a size 8 shoe.
--He loves to brush his own teeth and watch anyone else brushing theirs.
--He is obsessed with gum (no, I do not let him chew gum!) and will come up to you and say "ahh!" so you will open your mouth so he can see the gum.
--He has hit the terrible two's and some sort of meltdown occurs daily. This is slowly getting better.
--He listens a lot like his brother (in one ear and out the other!)
--He is the most funniest kid I have ever encountered! He makes the funniest faces and really knows how to get his groove on!
--He tells me when he needs changed and likes to sit on the potty. I assume he will probably potty train sometime this winter or spring.


Bennett is very entertaining and strong willed. He likes to be independent and do things on his own. He is such a joy to have in our family and everyone he meets just falls in love with him. Happy 2nd Birthday my little man!

Garlic Knots

I posted earlier about wanting to make the Garlic Knots from Annie's Eats. Well, one weekend while my sister was in town, we decided to make them. They were really good and pretty easy to make. The only trouble I had with mine was that my kitchen was a bit on the chilly side and it took them a little extra time to rise. In the future, I will just put them in the oven at 150 degrees and let them rise in there.

These are my rolls after they have risen and are ready to go in the oven. Such yummy goodness!

Butternut squash

Since it's Fall time, butternut squash is pretty much everywhere. I grew up eating butternut squash and I absolutely love it! My favorite way to eat butternut squash is to cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and then roast it in the oven until tender. Then I scoop out the flesh and mix in some butter, brown sugar, and salt. Its so yummy and a great side dish.

We have received a lot of butternut squash this season between the Farmer's Market and Co-op. Therefore, I have been looking for new ways to use the butternut squash. Some of the different ways that we have tried are peeling and dicing it, then roasting with potatoes. Or more recently, I found a recipe for butternut squash lasagna. The picture looked really yummy, so we gave it a shot.

 Here are the main ingredients:

--milk (I used whole)

--lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)

--frozen spinach

--cheese

--butternut squash

Butternut Squash Lasagna

3 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and but into 1/4-1/2 inch slices

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter or margarine

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup all purpose flour

4 cups milk

1 tbsp fresh rosemary (or dried)

9 no boil lasagna noodles (I used regular and boiled mine first)

1 1/3 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup whipping cream (I omitted this)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, toss butternut squash with olive oil and 1/2 tsp of salt. Roast for 20-30 minutes until tender. Remove from oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. *This is when I boiled and cooked my lasagna noodles. If you are using no boil noodles, skip this step.

2. In a large saucepan melt butter on medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minutes. Stir in flour and add 1/2 tsp salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. *I cooked my frozen spinach and then squeezed out the excess liquid.

3. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Spread about 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Layer 3 noodles. Lay a couple of slices of the butternut squash, then some spinach.  Add about 1/3 of the remaining sauce over the squash and spinach, then top with a 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese. (I used cheddar instead)  Repeat layers ending with the sauce on top with cheese over the top. 

4. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 10 minutes until edges are bubbly and top is slightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This lasagna was really good. You can easily add your own flavors (like I added the spinach) or exchange ingredients.  The kids really enjoyed this and it was easy to get them to eat their veggies.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we made the trip north to my hometown to meet up with my friend Jen and her little girl, Hannah. I worked until 11:30am and then picked the boys up, hoping they would nap on the hour and a half drive.  Wrong! They both only slept for about 20-30 minutes and that was it. All. Day. Long. Therefore, the boys were wild, whiny, and wanted nothing to do with pumpkin picking at all.

 The stare down!

 Yup, this is pretty much as excited as they got. Even though Peytonn has been talking about the pumpkin patch for days. He just was not interested when we got there. Bennett pretty much just wanted to push the stroller or run down the road.

This was the look Hannah kept giving the boys on the tractor ride back to the farm. I don't blame her one bit, those boys were wild!

Peytonn did tell me later that he had fun at the pumpkin patch and they did drink some apple cider on the way home.  After the pumpkin patch, we went to visit some family. We didn't make it home until almost 8pm! I am exhausted and so are the boys. I hope they sleep well and sleep in! (I'm not holding my breath on the last one!)

Apron

I am thinking I would like to get an apron. I always seem to ruin my shirts by getting something splashed on them while cooking. Perhaps this will help save my shirts. I started looking through Etsy for a nice apron. I've found that there are some aprons that pretty much make me think the purpose of them is to seem as though I'm not wearing anything underneath. I want an apron to save my shirts while I am cooking, not hoping to seduce my husband in the kitchen while my kids play in the other room.  I don't need anything poofy or frilly, just a nice plain apron will do just fine.

Here are some that I found that are possibilities:

I think I may want a full length apron to get the most protection, but I really like the patchwork apron. What do you think?

I want these!

How yummy do these look?

Annie from Annie's Eats just posted these Soft Garlic Knots. They look so good and not to hard to make. Maybe this weekend I will try them with some homemade soup of some kind. Here is the recipe: Soft Garlic Knots

French Onion Soup

All week long its been in the high 80's-90's here. This weekend it dropped to 72 on Saturday and down to the 50's today. Its the perfect day to make a warm pot of soup.  I came across the Pioneer Woman's recipe for French Onion Soup.

It just looks amazing, doesn't it? I am making it right now and it smells amazing!! The recipe is easy and I had all the ingredients, minus the white wine (I am substituting beer instead). Yummy!!!

ETA: This was so yummy!! I kept mine on the stove instead of putting it in the oven for an hour to brown the onions. I made it all in about an hour. I also served mine with fresh from the oven beer bread and shredded some good cheddar on top to melt. It was out of this world!! The boys ate it as well and hubby had 2 bowls. 

New shoes

Today I went shopping for new shoes for Peytonn. He doesn't have any fall/winter shoes for this year, just his Keen sandals.  I've been looking online at different stores (6pm.com has great name brand shoes for really good prices!) for Keen shoes because the boys have loved them so much this summer.  I found these really cute shoes made by Keen, but 6pm didn't have his size.  He is now wearing a size 10 and I wanted to make sure that they lasted most of the winter.  My sister came into town today and we took the boys to the mall.  Trek 'N Trail has an amazing selection of kids Merrell and Keen shoes! I found the shoes I really liked at the store and they were having a 15% off sale as well.

They are called Coronado by Keen.  I love the blue color!! In the past we have stuck to brown because it goes with everything, but this year I wanted something a little more fun. Peytonn can put them on by himself which is important for school when he changes his shoes.

And speaking of shoes, I thought for sure that Peytonn's old brown Merrell's that were a 6.5 would for sure fit Bennett through the winter.  WRONG! I put them on Bennett today to wear and his toes are completely at the end of the shoe. Luckily, I bought P a pair of size 7 slip on shoes last Christmas that he outgrew before Christmas even came, so he never wore them.  They fit Bennett really well. I don't know if they will last the winter or not, but at least he has something to wear at the moment. I may get a pair of the Coronado's for Bennett in the near future. They sure are cute and super comfy for the kids!

Chicken Salad

I adore chicken salad, but I have *never* been able to make it at home and have it taste anywhere near delicious. (Trust me, I've tried!) But then I discovered Pioneer Woman and her great recipes. I swear, *everything* I have ever made using a recipe of hers is absolutely delicious in every sort of way! I saw that she had a recipe for Chicken Salad so I decided to give it a try.

Here you can find a step by step guide on how to make her recipe on her website.  It's pretty easy to make and the result are great.


Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
• 2 stalks (to 3 Stalks) Celery, Chopped
• 3 whole Green Onions, Chopped
• 2 cups (to 3 Cups) Grapes, Halved
• ½ cups Mayonnaise
• ½ cups Plain Yogurt Or Sour Cream
• A Small Handful Of Fresh Dill, Minced
• 1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Brown Sugar
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Rinse chicken thoroughly and place in a large pot of water. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is done (about 45 minutes to an hour). When you are ready, remove the chicken from the pot and place on a plate. With your fingers or a fork, pull all of the meat off the bones, chop into bite-sized chunks and set aside.
Chop all of your fruits and veggies and place them in a bowl with the chicken.
In another bowl mix mayonnaise, yogurt (or sour cream), lemon juice, brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste.

Add fresh herbs (dill, oregano, cilantro…whatever makes your skirt fly up) and if you’re feeling a bit brazen throw in a dash of cayenne pepper!
When the dressing tastes just right (you must taste test for appropriate saltiness especially), pour it over the chicken/veggie/fruit mixture and stir gently until everything is thoroughly mixed. If you are feeling naughty add a sprinkling of bacon bits.

Allow the salad to chill for several hours (or even overnight). Serve on a bed of lettuce or in a sandwich or heck, eat it straight out of the bowl with a serving spoon.
Try it soon – you’ll love it!

*Here are the changes that I made:
--used chicken from a roaster I made earlier in the week
--used dill and chives
--used sour cream and mayo
--added about 1/2 cup of chopped apple instead of the grapes
--omitted the celery b/c I'm not a big fan
--added in one seeded and chopped jalapeno
--added some season salt and other spices to my own taste
--added chopped almonds
--I left out the bacon bits
--made mine at night and let it sit over night to have the flavors mend together

I served mine on croissants and got rave reviews from both hubby and the boys. I will definitely make this recipe again!

Big boys

We made a few big changes this week.  First, we moved Bennett to a twin size bed from his crib. It has gone pretty well so far. He gets out of it now and again when we first put him down to bed, but after we take him back and get him all tucked in again, he is usually good to go and falls asleep.  He will then sleep all night in it. He is the definitely the better sleeper of the two boys.

We've also been using under wear more with him while we are home.  He will go on the potty, but hasn't quite grasped letting us know *prior* to him going potty.  But he will tell us "pee pee" or "poo" if he has to go. I imagine it will be this winter sometime that he will potty train.

Speaking of potty training, Peytonn has been potty trained since last summer but he still wears a diaper at night.  We ran out of diapers last weekend and decided that we would try to train him at night.  He has done awesome and hasn't worn a diaper all week.  I wake him up twice during the night to use the potty and we've had only accident (which was my fault because I only woke him up once).  We officially now only have one in diapers! Yay!!

 

We've been getting out diapers lately from Amazon. (Yes, I'm taking a break from cloth) We get a box of 180 diapers for under $25 shipped to our house. I absolutely LOVE subscribe and save from Amazon. I get 30% off with free 2 day shipping. You can't go wrong!

Sundried tomato pesto stuffed chicken

The name says it all. It was easy to throw together and was pretty tasty. I made my own sun dried tomato pesto because I had sun dried tomatoes on hand, but you can certainly buy some at the store. Here is the recipe I used for the pesto: Sundried Tomato Pesto

The changes I made were:
--used dried tomatoes instead of oil packed
--used only 1/2 cup parmesan cheese instead of the full 1 cup. (This still made it a bit too salty for me, so I would only start with 1/4 and add more from there depending on your tastes)
--used dried basil instead of fresh because it's what I had on hand

After making the pesto, I pounded out some chicken breast to about 1/4" thick. Next, I mixed about 4oz of goat cheese into some of the pesto mixture. (You can certainly leave out the goat cheese if you are not a fan. You could also substitute cream cheese) I spread this mixture onto each chicken breast and then roll of the chicken. Place them into a greased 9x13 pan and baked at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is done. Mine only took the 30 minutes.  I served the chicken with jasmine rice and steamed broccoli.

We all really liked it. Again, the only issue was the pesto was a bit too salty for our tastes, but that is easily adjustable for the future. I saved the remaining pesto (make sure you separate some pesto for your chicken so you don't contaminate the whole bowl) and put it in the fridge for future use on pasta, chicken, etc. The kids gave it a thumbs up!

my boys

I haven't really blogged recently about the boys. They are changing so much every day and some days they turn my world upside down!

Peytonn just started preschool and is loving it! He asks everyday if he can go to school. That makes me feel so good that we chose the right school for him.  He loves to play outside in the sand box, water my plants and flowers for me, and help his daddy around the yard. He is growing so fast and wants so badly to be independent. He is mommy's little helper and loves to help with laundry and cleaning. (He'll make a great husband one day!)

And then there is Bennett. My sweet little boy is getting so big and very independent these days. He is saying new words everyday and asks for things by name. He calls us "mommy" and "daddy" now instead of "mama" and "dada."  He wants to do everything that his older brother does and mommy has to remind Peytonn that his little brother is watching him. He also loves to play outside in the sand box and find little pebbles and stick them in his mouth.

Both boys love to go to the Farmer's Market with me every Saturday. Recently, we got some good old Indiana sweet corn from the market and the boys just loved it. They have really taken to corn on the cob this summer and I am just loving watching them devour it. Bennett has even stole an ear and eaten it raw.

These boys sure do love their corn!

A slight obsession....

I may have a slight obsession with spicy things right now. And by slight, I mean, out of the 10 or so jars of jalapenos that I canned this summer, I am on my last jar.  GASP! I know, I cried a little too when I discovered this. But the good news is, I just picked a bunch of peppers from our garden tonight and I am going to get more at the Farmer's Market on Saturday and I will just pickle myself some more.

I have to say, the recipe I used was absolutely wonderful!! They had really good flavor and the peppers had just enough spice to satisfy me. I hope I can find the recipe I used to make them. I think it may be stored on my work computer.

ETA: After looking in the most obvious place EVER (my blog!) I found the recipe for the jalapenos. You can find it here. I highly recommend it!!!

This really makes me want to dig into the jars of pickles and green beans. Oh the torture!! Should I wait longer, or should I just do it? You know, I canned all of these things to eat in the dead of winter and it's not even fall yet and I can't keep my hands off them. I'm doomed!


In other news, Bennett is cutting what seems like a million teeth all at once and has been a holy terror lately. He is sleeping pretty decent (thank goodness!!) but when he is awake, he is like a monster! Pretty much my day consists of Bennett constantly repeating the same phrase...."Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" And then when I look at my precious little child and say, "yes Bennett, what do you need?"  He just stares at me as if to say "oh nothing mommy, just wanted to make sure you were still listening."  He has been extremely clingy and follows me everywhere. I hope this is a short stage!

Peytonn started preschool this week. He absolutely loves it and I am so happy! He goes 5 days a week for 3 hours. We are also having a hard time getting him to stay in his own bed. This seems like a never ending battle with him, we go through this roller coaster every few months. Maybe when he's like 15 it will no longer be cool to sleep with mom and dad. But, that is all for now. :)

Good deals

Over Labor Day Weekend we are heading down to the lake in Kentucky for a family gathering. I have a swimsuit but not really one that I would like to wear boating (or should I say, that I think would stay on during tubing or water skiing).  I knew there had to be some sales going on right now for swim wear, so I started searching.  I found a one piece at Old Navy on sale for $16.99:

Old Navy also has 25% off right now with coupon code ONFALL for any order. I think total I paid just over $11 for this swim suit. Such a deal!!

I also need to find a life vest for Bennett. Peytonn already has one, but I need one for the little guy. Hopefully I can find one in his size for a decent price.

I've also become a member of Groupon. So far, they have had some great deals. You should check it out!

And one last good deal. As you know, we cloth diaper. However, for long trips or just needing a break, we do use disposable diapers.  Amazon has THE best deals on diapers. Right now, if you subscribe, you get an extra 30% off the box of diapers.  I just bought a box of Luvs diapers (180 count) for $24.88. That's not a bad deal! They also have Pampers and Huggies.

A new, stronger ME

The title says it all. I want a new, stronger, healthier ME. Not only for me, but for my children and my husband. I want to run and play with my kids and take them hiking and all the things that active people do....without dieing! After much research and consideration, I decided to start the P90X program. I chose it because it's a start to completely changing your lifestyle. It teaches you how to eat a healthy diet to feed your body what it needs and it also tones you up. Yes, I hope I lose weight on this program, however, toning my body and getting it healthy again is what I look forward to most. The number is not so much my concern, it's feeling good in my skin.

I started changing my diet at the beginning of the week before the P90X program came in the mail. I have lost 4lbs already. (Yay!)  I received my program in the mail on Wednesday. I took a few days to read through the whole program and the nutrition guide. Tonight I started the first video. I am doing the P90X Lean program.  I really enjoyed the first video, I sweated my butt off, but I felt really good at the end.  This is not the workout to do on your lunch break from work. Trust me, you will want to shower afterwards (and probably collapse!).

I am excited to see how the rest of the first 30 days pans out. I've heard that if you can make it through the first 30 days, you really start to see the change. I am hoping I can keep my commitment to myself and my family to make this change!

Coconut bread

I haven't made any homemade bread in a couple of months and I have to say that I miss it. I miss the house smelling of rising yeast and then the aroma of fresh baked bread. Oh, and then there is the taste, the warm fluffy taste of fresh baked bread. *sigh* Of course I immediately went searching for a bread recipe to make today. I stumbled across this website/blog called The Knead For Bread and discovered this wonderful gem. It has many bread recipes of all sorts, not just your basic white/wheat bread recipes.

I have some tomatoes that I need to use up and found a recipe for roasted tomato bread on the website. I thought for sure I would be making that recipe today. But I kept scrolling through and found a recipe for coconut bread. I have never heard of such a thing, but man do I adore coconut, and who doesn't love coconut and bread? I had all of the ingredients for the recipe and decided to give it a whirl.

Coconut Bread

Dough:

• 2/3 cup coconut milk
• 2/3 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons shortening ( melted )
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon milk powder
• 4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg ( beaten )
• 2 tablespoon coconut (finely chopped)
• 4 cups bread flour

Topping:

• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3 tablespoon flour
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoon butter, soft
• 2 tablespoon coconut(finely chopped)

My substitutions:
--I used coconut oil instead of the shortening
--I left out the powder milk because I didn't have any


This bread was AWESOME! The topping is amazing and the loaf is fluffy and soft. I love how you roll the dough into balls and let it rise and then bake it. You are then able to just pull pieces of the bread off without having to slice it. Love it!! I think next time, I will add more coconut though to the actual dough. Did I mention how much I adore coconut?

Homesteading

We have always been a family that is conscious of the environment and learning how we can be more natural. This year we have really entered more into that adventure. As most of you know, I have been canning a lot this year. We have our own small vegetable garden in our backyard and we are also member of a CSA.  Plus, we attend the farmers market on a weekly basis. (We just really love our veggies!)  I have been trying to provide our family with fresh veggies now, and then preserving the rest for later. So far, we have quite the stock of canned items.

We have quite a few jars of salsa, dilly green beans, a variety of pickles, pickled jalapenos, blueberry preserves, pickled beets, and most of the small jars in the box are jalapeno jelly.  We have already given away some jars of the blueberry preserves and of the salsa. We got great reviews on both! I have also opened up both quart jars of salsa that I canned around the 4th of July. (The salsa was that good!)  I hope to preserve some more jars before the end of the growing season. I would like to can some jars of tomato sauce for sure (our tomatoes are super sweet and yummy!) and maybe more pickles.  Our jalapeno plants are starting to explode with peppers and our beans continue to grow as I harvest them.


My friend Melissa over at What.Today.Looks.Like told me about this great homesteading book by Jenna Woginrich. The title of the book is Made from Scratch. Jenna talks about a lot of great topics in this book and one of them is learning how to use old things for what we might need. For example, Jenna explains how she could go to the local store and spend $30+ on a new plastic coffee maker. Or, she could go to an antique or resale store and find a metal percolator in working condition for a lot less. After reading that, I got to think about the point she was trying to make. Why do we always have to buy new when there are plenty or good quality used items still around in working order. So, one day on my lunch break, I stopped in to one of our local antique shops downtown.  I wasn't even 10 feet in the door when I spotted 3 percolators! Score!! I asked the store owner to get them down for me and inquired how much they were. They all were marked at $24.  I asked if they worked and if they had the cords to them. His answer was yes to both questions. He also stated that he would give me any of them for $15! (You can't buy a brand new coffee machine for that!)  I picked one out and took one home with me. (Mind you, at this point I still had no idea how to make coffee in this neat new contraption!) So, what was the first thing that I did? Well, call my mom of course! :)  She of course made fun of me for getting so excited over a percolator and then explained to me how to make coffee in it.

I took my shiny percolator home and washed it out really good. Then in the middle of the day, I made my first pot of coffee. It was fabulous!! I love how you can watch the water and coffee spout at the top and the boys also enjoy the free entertainment of this function. It's also nice to know that you can still find cords and other parts online or in antique shops.

I am really enjoying Jenna's book and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in homesteading. I think my next antique adventure might be a nice metal cheese grater. I know, I'm wild...right!? :)

More delicious recipes!

Everyone loves a great recipe and it's always nice to find new meals that you can enjoy with your family and/or friends. I have gotten more great recipes from The Pioneer Woman lately and I thought that I would share them with you. The first is a recipe for rolls. These are some of the most delicious rolls I have ever tasted and I made them right in my own kitchen with little, to no effort! (I mean, who doesn't like a recipe like that?!)

Buttery Rosemary Rolls

These were simply AMAZING! I made them in my cast iron skillet and the bottoms almost get buttery crunchy! Yummo! You have to try these, trust me!! Plus, they are uber easy. Just place your yeast rolls in the pan in the morning and let rise all day. They are ready to bake for dinner. Easy peasy!

The next recipe is what we had for dinner tonight: Mushroom-and-Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

These looked so good that while at work, I had to text my hubby and tell him to take some hamburger out for dinner! I even made a trip to the store for buns and mushrooms.  I used the Hawaiian rolls as our buns and used fat free half and half in place of the cream.  I also seasoned my meat with TS seasoned salt (also amazing!!) and some Worchestershire sauce. I served ours with sweet potato fries.

These sliders were gobbled up and Peytonn even asked for a second one. The fry sauce was pretty good. I kind of did my own thing and added some mayo, ketchup, TS fiesta dip mix, and TS Bayou Bourbon Glaze in a bowl. It was kind of spicy/sweet...loved it!

I hope you and your family/friends enjoy these recipes! I know that we did and will definitely be making them again soon.