Christmas 2012

I am 95% finished with my Christmas shopping. We aren't doing adult gifts this year so it's been easy to knock it out for all the kids.

Here is what we have so far:

Avonlea:

Bennett and Peytonn:

The boys will each get a bigger item, but we haven't fully decided what those will  be yet. I keep asking them, but it changes daily. I have a few ideas in mind.

My Christmas present was 2 new pairs of jeans and a pair of boots:

Source: zulily.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I absolutely love Maurices jeans! The top pic is the Taylor jeans which I adore! I have 3 pairs. The bottom ones are new to me, they are the Maurices Denim Flex line and I adore them even more than the Taylor jeans. I got them in my original size since they are a straight legged jean and they fit perfect! I probably could have gone with the size down, but I despise tight jeans! The good news is the jeans are affordable: $29 for the Taylor and like $38 I believe for the Denim Flex. I bought them at buy one get one half off!

Hello and Goodbye

Hello to a smaller jean size! Goodbye 10 pounds worth of baby weight! Thank you Zumba and myFitnessPal! You're rocking my socks right now!

Thanksgiving menu

This is our 4th year hosting Thanksgiving. Its a lot of work, but I prefer it to traveling with 3 children to  several different places. I started hosting right after Bennett was born. So yes, I decided to host Thanksgiving when I had a 2 weeks old preemie baby. Again, it was easier than taking him to a million places. But I've really learned to enjoy it. I love cooking, so why not host a huge meal?!

Usually, I just roast my turkey the same way that I roast my chickens. But this year, I am trying something new. I decided to take the plunge and attempt to brine our turkey. I used the recipe from Pioneer Woman:

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Since I knew I had to work all day today and the bird needs to brine for at least 18-24 hours, I made the brine last night and put the turkey in it.  I used the Reynolds bags to place the turkey and  brine in. Then I put a layer of ice in the bottom of our cooler, put the bag of turkey/brine in, and another bag with ice on top. I placed the entire cooler outside where it was cold. I checked it this morning and the ice had melted a little, but it was still cold and plenty of ice left. We used a free range, organic turkey this year as well that I got from our co-op. It's ginormous! I think its about 18lbs, but I'm also feeding 8 adults and 5 children. Plus I want leftovers. I think it should be fine.

Our other menu items include:

*rosemary and butter yeast rolls* I make these every year and they are a huge hit!

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Courtney on Pinterest

*cornbread stuffing* Also an every year thing and a huge hit!

Source: food.com via Courtney on Pinterest

*cornflake potatoes* This is my grandfather's recipe and I have loved it since I was a child

*deviled eggs*

*Greenbean casserole*

*7-layer salad*

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Laura on Pinterest

*Mashed potatoes and turnips* trust me, you'll never know the turnips are in there!

Source: ahealthypassion.com via Courtney on Pinterest

*Homemade Pecan pie and pumpkin pie with real whipped cream*

*My mom's homemade sweet potatoes*

*Homemade gravy*

I think that about sums it up. I make everything from  scratch for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think the holidays warrant really good, homemade food! I don't mess around with the premade stuff.

I can't wait to gobble it all down!! But, I do plan to run that morning so I don't feel guilty about eating all that good food. :)

A million and one things

I'm sorry, an update is long overdue it appears. Things have been crazy busy around here lately with work and kids.

Bennett turned 4 at the beginning of this month. He had a wonderful party filled with family and friends. The star gift was a Nerf gun bought by my husband. (insert eye roll) Not my top choice and its spent more time put up due to pointing it at people and shooting it at people.


But he had a good party and that's what matters. He also got to celebrate his birthday at school and he loved getting to wear the birthday crown all day. He had his 4 year checkup and on his actual birthday. He weighed in around 33-34lbs. He's in the 25th-35th% for both height and weight. Poor kid is short like his mama. I talked with his  doc about his 'behavior' and she sent a referral for an OT evaluation. (Occupational therapy) We go today for that appointment. Other than that, he is healthy as a clam.

Things have been stressful  around here lately. Work this past week was insane, I worked 48 hours this week alone. I have a difficult court hearing coming up the week after Thanksgiving and that is just looming over my head. I have been so stressed and busy that I lost 5lbs this week. Yes, 5lbs in one week. Its not healthy, but having those 5lbs gone feels really good, I'm not going to lie. It was the jump start I've been needing. I've been religiously tracking on MyFitnessPal on my phone, which has really helped.

Speaking of phones, I have finally joined the iPhone world! Holla! Its much easier for everything to sink now with work. I live on my phone, its my life. I'm on 24/7 with work and this allows me to get fast responses. I am really loving the iPhone so far.

Does anyone have recommendations on cases? I've seen the Otterbox and I know it will protect it, but I need it to be slim enough to fit in my pocket. I have to take my phone everywhere so I  can call 911 in a drop of a hat. So it needs to be slim and sleek. Any suggestions?

Doc appointment update

Avonlea had her 15 month check up on Wednesday. Her stats were as follows:
Weight: 21.4lbs
Height: 30 inches

The issue: in 3 months she has only gained just over a pound. Although its not a huge concern at this point because she is still between 25th-50th % for weight. I knew she was thinning out and it was one of the things I wanted to ask the doctor about.


We already started giving her 1-2 Pediasure drinks per day and I wanted to know if that was enough or if she should be getting more. The doc said we were  doing the right thing. She also said that Avonlea should gain another pound within a month, and if she didn't then we could add another drink in per day, for a total of three. The doc asked about Avonlea's appetite and how she ate. One thing I am very thankful for is that none of my kids are picky eaters and they eat just about everything. Avonlea is no exception to that. I was more concerned about her not getting enough fat for her brain to develop since she was not eating that much dairy.

I've started to add some dairy back into her diet to see how she handles it. So far we have successfully added cottage cheese and regular cheese without a problem. The last 3 days I have given her about 4oz of whole milk per day to see how she does. So far, so good. I hope this will help her gain some weight. She has been stuff in 12-18 month clothes for about 4-6 months now.



She also is finally signing the word "more" back to me. I've been using it with her for month and all of a sudden she just started doing it!

Boo Bear

My little Boo Bear is 15 months old now!! And sassy, sassy, sassy!! It has like taken over her little body. For real. We're elbow deep into the shrieking and arching of the back if we're not getting our way or a toy is taken from her by her brother. It's awesome.




Here is what she is up to this month:
--still in size 4 diapers and 18 month clothes
--barely into size 4 shoes, still a little big
--finally walking!
--Eats just about  everything on this planet
--still on soy, almond, or coconut milk. Although I have been giving her the Pediasure drinks 1-2 times per day to help her gain some weight and they are safe for Lactose intolerance. Which leads me to think that might be her problem.
--sleeping mostly through the night, waking 1-2 times per night for a quick pop of the pacifier in the mouth
--she has become more attached to the pacifier. I'm not that concerned, we broke Bennett right before his 2nd birthday with no problem.
--I'm not sure what she weighs but she feels skinny to me. Hence why I started giving her the Pediasure. I plan to ask her doc about it at her appointment next week.

This past weekend we went down to visit my sister and my niece Evie. They were having their town festival and the kids loved it! The boys got about 3 bags full of candy from the parade.

They had a bunch of hand made items at the festival. I got this hand knitted hat and a pair of hand knitted hand warmers for me for $20 total. I had been checking out the hand warmers on Etsy and the cheapest I could find was $28, so these were a steal!
 

Here is a picture of my sister with the girls. Evie has a good 5-6 lbs on Avonlea now! But she is so stinkin' cute! Evie got the weight but Avonlea got all the hair! :)



*playing at the park*

Overall, we are well into toddlerhood. But its fun and exciting too, seeing all the different things she is learning. She loves to  wave and gives big hugs and kisses. She is a daddy's girl for sure!

Jeans

Avonlea is this skinny minnie now! I am having the hardest time finding pants that will fit her that are not leggings. She needs the 18 month length but the 12 month waist size. We probably have 1-2 pairs of jeans and the rest are leggings.

I heard of this store on Etsy that has adjustable waist AND length jeans! And they have cute fabric on the cuffs when rolled up.

They have designs for both boys and girls. The name of the store is Pomona Project. I just bought this pair and I'm hoping this may solve some of our problem. The price is a little salty at $28.95 plus shipping, but I am justifying it by the fact that they adjust in waist and length. This should cover multiple sizes in pants, at least two sizes which would be about $9.99 at Children's Place per pair of jeans. Plus, I think (and this is just judging by the pictures) the jean material on these hand made ones looks a bit softer and easier to move in.

I can't wait to try them out!

Recent recipes

I've been in a cooking funk lately. Normally I love cooking, but lately, it seems like more of a chore than anything else. And then there's the clean up. Ugh! Needless to say, its been quick meals or take out here lately for the most part. But, in all my agony, I have cooked up a few good ones off of Pinterest.

*chicken foil packets*

Source: bestlife4moms.weebly.com via Courtney on Pinterest

*Mushroom soup*

Source: blog.seasonwithspice.com via Courtney on Pinterest

*Chocolate mug cake*

Source: budgetbytes.blogspot.com via Courtney on Pinterest

*Baked Meatball Subs*

Source: recipenewz.com via Courtney on Pinterest

*Lemon Buttermilk Pancakes*

Source: pinlavie.com via Courtney on Pinterest

*Honey Lime Shrimp*

Source: thedoughwillriseagain.wordpress.com via Courtney on Pinterest

*Irish Beef Stew* (REALLY good!)

Source: laurenslatest.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Today is a better day!

Today is much better than yesterday. And I'm sure tomorrow will be even better! I'm getting there, back to my old self.

Yesterday was a little rough for me. I didn't sit and bawl my eyes out, but it was on my mind all day. I was sad, sad that I wasn't pregnant anymore. Even though this baby was a complete surprise and I may have had a slight freak out moment when I first found out, I was excited and happy to be expecting another little one. And then so quickly it was over.

Yesterday was just an up and down day for me. I was sad, but at the same time I know that maybe next time the timing might be better. I might be a little more prepared. I won't have a 14 month old and be pregnant  with my 4th baby. We might have a 4 bedroom house instead of a 3 bedroom.

I did a lot of praying yesterday, just to have a calm peaceful heart about all of this. Trying not to over think things and just be content with what is and what isn't.

And so here I am, with a brighter heart this morning. A better outlook on things. Ready to start a new chapter and move forward.

I'm changing my focus to the upcoming open house we have this weekend and maybe a few small things I could do to the house before then to *hopefully* snag someone to make us an offer.  And focusing more on myself and increasing my exercise and improving my diet. Doing some things for me.

But for now, I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone for their support and prayers. I truly have some amazing family and friends. I've had a lot of people checking up on me and I truly appreciate it, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you!

A weekend to remember..

This weekend the Hubby and I went down to Brown County. It's so beautiful down there this time of year with the colors of the leaves and the amazing views.




We stayed at this nice little bed and breakfast right in the heart of Nashville called The Artist Colony. The room was very clean and we even had a balcony that overlooked a  courtyard.

Nashville is just this cute little town with over 200 little shops to walk around to. I've been going to Brown County and Nashville since I was a little girl. We always used to eat at this corner restaurant called the HobNob. It's still there today and as good as ever!


That white building on the corner is it! There was a little band playing on the corner in front of the court house. The weather was great, sunny and in the 50's. We had a great time and some great food.

However, at the end of last week I started spotting. This was also about the time I would normally start my cycle so I didn't really think much of it. Saturday I started to bleed and it has continued since then. I went in for a blood test on Monday to check my HCG levels. My levels were in the negative numbers which  confirmed that over the weekend I had a miscarriage. I'm sad and disappointed. But I know in my heart it just wasn't meant to be and one day I will get the chance to meet that little person. Until that time, I can only trust that God has a plan for us and for that little person. I'll be ok and one day I can hope that God will bless us with another little one.

It's a good thing.....

It's a good thing we got the van because it appears as though in late Spring/early Summer we'll be welcoming baby #4!!!

WHAT?!

I know, I know! We were still debating on another baby and God made that decision for us. We were a little shocked but we feel truly blessed and are excited to complete our family.



I am totally bloated and feeling not so great already. I'm down 3lbs already. Surprisingly, evenings are the worst for me.

I am kind of not wanting to find out the gender of this baby, but Hubby still wants to. I feel like it would be a great surprise for our last little one. Plus, we already have boys and a girl, so we are happy with either gender. But who knows, maybe I'll change my mind in the coming weeks.

Until then, my focus is on either trying frantically to sell our house so we can get a 4 bedroom house. Or, deciding how we're going to work this. We always have the option of building a wall in our game room and adding a closet to make it 4 bedrooms. But I only want to do that if we absolutely have to. We'll see I suppose.

P.S. I feel safe posting this here for all 4 of you that actually read this blog. :) ha!

New ride

On Saturday this mama got a sweet new ride!! I have to say, never in a million years did I think I would be driving a minivan again. But, I was soooooo over the Jeep and the 3 acrossIcantouchmybrotherateverychanceIget carseat situation. I needed to separate the boys on a semi-permanent basis and still have room for groceries. And don't you worry, my husband definitely gave me the "I told you so" talk about the Jeep.

We ended up getting a 2012 Honda Odyssey. It has all the space and amenities I wanted. It drives like a dream, the boys are separated, and the kids can watch their "Mighty Machine" videos at a drop of a hat. I love, love, love it!!! And yes, my husband has already informed me that I will be driving it until it dies. Which, if Honda's name holds true, should be in about 15-20 years! Geesh! :)

But it has a very nice set up on the inside with plenty of room. It seats up to 8 people, but we took out one of the captain's chair in the 2nd row for easier access to the 3rd row.


We put Bennett all the way in the back, Avonlea in the middle seat in the 2nd row, and Peytonn on the driver's side captain's chair. This has worked out well. The kids really like it so far and so do I. I was smart and got the all weather mats to help protect the carpet (we all know how 3 kids can destroy just about anything!) and I haven't allowed them to eat or drink in the car. I'd like to keep it from being able to produce a 3 course meal at any given time.

I am very happy with our purchase and we got a good deal on it! I love the space and the features. It should last us a good few years, or 20! :)

An update of sorts

Avonlea turns 14 months in a few days! I can't believe it. She still isn't "walking" persay. She will take up to 8  steps at a time, but she is such a fast crawler that she prefers that method to get where she wants to go. She will walk while holding one of your fingers though. I have been trying to put shoes on her everytime that we go out so that she can get down and practice walking if she walks to. I'm not really worried about it. Peytonn starting walking around 14 1/2 months as well. Plus, she could totally walk if she really wanted to. If she wasn't even attempting to take any steps on her own, I would be a little more concerned.

She's still doing well on the soy milk. I have even given her almond milk as well and she will drink that too. I've tried a little experiment lately of trying to figure out just where the sensitivity is: with drinking milk or all dairy products. I made some beef stew with mashed potatoes the other night. The mashed potatoes had both cream  cheese and butter/milk in them. I gave her some with her beef stew. She gobbled it all down and didn't seem to have any sort of reaction to it. My next step will be regular cheese and yogurt and see if she has a reaction to that. I'm still too nervous to give her straight milk.


Her hair continues to grow and now looks like an out of control mop on the top of her head. Its so long it goes in her eyes and I want to trim is so bad, but I don't want her to have bangs. We've been clipping it to the side or putting a little pony tail on top of her head. When I give her a bath, it goes down past her neck on her back. She just has so much hair!!

She has also gotten both of her top front teeth, for a total of 4 teeth. There is another top tooth that is just about ready to pop through as well.

She can also climb the stairs up to the top bunk on the boys' bunk beds. She thinks she hot stuff!

In other news, my doc is a little concerned about my menstrual flow and I had to get blood drawn to see if there was a problem with my thyroid. All those tests came back normal. She would now like me to get an ultrasound to check for pollups or anything else that may be causing such heavy bleeding. I will most likely have that done in October.

Other than that, things are still busy around here. School is going great for the boys and they are really enjoying it. Peytonn got his first N.U.T.  slip (no uniform today) for turning in so many Box Tops. He used it yesterday and loved getting to wear regular clothes to school. Although I have to say, having the uniform to wear makes things super easy in the mornings. And everyone seems to be sleeping well at night. Hooray!!!

Recipes and more...

I made two really good recipes this week. Both involve chicken. We have a butcher/meat processing place here in our town and they sell the Miller's chicken that we usually buy through co-op. They have really good prices on chicken breasts, $2.99 per lb. This is free range, organic chicken. Their packages of breast are huge! I'm not even joking, its like the entire breast, so about 2lbs in each package. I actually got 2 meals out of one package.

First, I made this simple, one pan dish.


Place potatoes on one side, chicken down the center, and a veggie on the other side. We had fresh green beans, so that is what I used. You could also use broccoli or anything else your heart desires. You could also use sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes.

Then sprinkle on a packet of ranch dressing or italian dressing. I used italian because that is what I had. Then melt a stick of butter and pour all over the dish. I used about 1/4 cup of Earth balance spread because Avonlea was going to be eating it. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Now, I cut my breasts up because they were super thick and the kids were starving. So I baked mine at 375 for 35-40 minutes and it was perfect.

The second dish that I made was Sweet & Sour Chicken. I used a recipe off Pinterest.

Source: melskitchencafe.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I actually made the chicken the night before (the same night as the one pan dish) so that it would  be done and ready for dinner the next night. I doubled the sauce and saved half in the frig. So, for the night I made cilantro lime rice with jasmine rice and then sauteed chunks of green pepper, red onion, and pineapple in a saute pan. Once slightly tender, yet still crisp, I added in the chicken from the frig and the remaining sauce I had saved. I let it all bubble together and get hot. It was was super yummy!!

We also discovered this week that Avonlea can climb the stairs all the way to the top and also climb the wooden stair case of her brother's bunk beds. We have a gate at the top of the stairs and leading into the kitchen, but it looks like we now need one at the bottom of the stairs as well. My make shift gate obviously isn't working:


She's sneaky that little one!

Women of Faith

I had the  most amazing weekend! A good friend of mine (she was also my sponsor during my conversion) and I went to the Women of Faith conference in Indy. Let me just tell you about the atmosphere, picture thousands of women in one arena singing together and supporting each other in our journey's to Jesus. It was absolutely amazing! It was just so magical and inspiring to hear the stories and the faith. Needless to say, we've already bought our tickets for next year!

We had really good seats, not too close and not too far away. We could see really good.

Here is Mandisa singing her "Good Morning" song. If you've never heard it, you need to! It will definitely get you going in the morning. You might recognize her from American Idol from a few years ago.


Amy Grant also preformed, my personal favorite!! I've been listening to Amy Grant since I was little and to this day, I still listen to her Christmas cd from my childhood. Love her!


We also heard several people speak, Patsy Clearmont, Mark Lowry, Sandi Patty, Brenda Warner, and Marilyn Meberg to name a few. Such inspiring stories and people. Mark Lowry was hilarious!

We also got to witness the JesusPainter paint one of his paintings. If you've never heard of the JesusPainter, he tells the story of Jesus through this one painting. In the end, its Jesus' face. Here is the finished painting:


I got to meet Mike Lewis (JesusPainter) in person and he even signed my print and personalized it for me. I bought an 8x10 print of his painting to hang in our house. He does have a website where you can purchase prints or paintings.

Here is a video of him doing it in Times Square:


It was such a neat experience and I cannot wait to go back next year!


 During one of the songs, all that lit the arena was the lights of each individual. It was so cool!

Also, if you're looking for a new or different way to read the Bible, try The Voice Bible. You can find it on Amazon and there is even a Kindle version. It reads like a story and is very easy to understand and follow.  I got the Kindle version and I have loved reading it!

First week back..

The school year has begun and it went off without a hitch! Peytonn started kindergarten on Tuesday and he is loving it so far.


He is going to all day kindergarten. We figured after 2 years of preschool, he was ready for full day. Plus, he loves getting to eat his lunch at school and have recess.

*dropping Peytonn off on his first day*

According to Peytonn, what they do at school consists of playing, lunch and recess. I've tried to ask him what kind of work they do, like letters, numbers, etc. He says none of that. However, I know they are doing some work because his teacher sends those papers home. Ha!

Bennett starts 3 day preschool today. He will be going to the same class/teacher that Peytonn was in last year. This is a step up from last year when he went twice a week to the Montessori school. This school is more structured and I can't believe what they learn at such a young age. Peytonn was counting by 100's and into the thousands by the end of the year. Writing his name and recognizing all his letters, etc. Bennett is excited to start again!

As for Avonlea, she is doing great on the soy milk. Her bottom is completely healed and no longer red and raw.  I'm so glad her tummy isn't hurting her anymore.

*enjoying her first raw smoothie!*

The kids loooooove pancakes but most recipes call for milk and/or butter. I found a recipe on Oh She Glows for some vegan whole wheat pancakes. I adapted my recipe from her Peanut Butter Swirl Pancakes.

What I changed: I left out the peanut butter swirl, used maple syrup for the sugar, and I used real eggs instead of egg substitute because that was what I had on had.  I also saw on Pinterest how people were making pancake "muffins" with a piece of sausage baked inside. I thought that would be perfect for us on a busy school morning.

So, I thawed out some Morning Star "sausage" links and cut them each in half. I placed a piece in a each muffin cup that was sprayed with some olive oil. I then filled each muffin cup to the top with the pancake batter. I baked at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. 

These were super good and easy! I wrapped each "muffin" individually in plastic wrap and placed it inside a freezer gallon size bag. I then placed them in the freezer. They are all ready to go for breakfast, just a few seconds in the microwave and no need for messy syrup! Oh, and by the way, my meat eating boys loved the sausage. They even fought over the last piece. Just try it, even if you think your kiddos won't like it. :)