Philadelphia Marie Came to Be

I decided that I had better sit down and write out the birth story for our latest addition before details become a bit hazy... so, you'll have to excuse my typos and any major grammatical/spelling errors that I make as I am still sitting in the hospital and severely sleep deprived (we all know that you sleep more at home than you ever will in the hospital!)

My parents were super sweet and surprised me, calling on Friday to say that they were on their way to Vegas. Originally, they didn't believe they would have the money to come but they somehow managed to make it work. Their arrival made it possible for the Little Diva to stay home with them instead of us having to drop her off with someone. I had so many offers (as the Little Diva is a very popular little girl) and I am extremely grateful for each and every one of them.( I am also extremely grateful for the people that took care of her when we went into the hospital thinking that I was in labor...)

So, what led to Friday's surprise and Saturday's warrior????

6 lbs 4 oz, 20.5 inches long, born at 8:22 PM 

Sunday.

Sunday, September 2, was NOT a good day.  I felt gross and funny, but opted to try to go to church. While we were sitting in sacrament meeting, I started getting dizzy and had a cold sweat come over me. I thought I was going to pass out. Jeff could tell that something was wrong, but after denying it, I finally realized that I couldn't take any more. I leaned over and told him that we needed to leave ASAP. So, right after we partook of the sacrament we were out in the foyer and then off to the car. Jeff helped me up the stairs, and took care of the Little Diva (who went down for a nap) while I laid in our bed and tried to get the world to stop spinning.  He even made me lunch!  I felt this way for the majority of Sunday...then the contractions started...I'd been having contractions off and on for weeks, but this time they seemed different...but I waited it out.

I contracted all night, only getting about 30 minutes of sleep tops.  I decided that they were close enough together and consistent enough that we needed to go to the hospital. Of course, we were so blessed because the Olson's came to the rescue just like they said they would and took Faith early in the morning so we could go. We go to the hospital, they hooked me up to machines, and we waited....they were only going to keep me if I was progressing...well, the contractions were really hard, in fact, they were so hard that the nurse had to come tip me on my side because baby was NOT liking them...an hour rolled by, the nurse checked and was flabbergasted! I hadn't progressed at all...she sent me home but assured me because of what she was seeing that we would be back later that afternoon...

Obviously, since Philadelphia Marie is a Saturday baby, that didn't happen...

I contracted 3-5 minutes apart, with each contraction lasting a minute to a minute and a half,  regularly until Wednesday night.  I saw my doctor on Tuesday and when he checked me and realized that I STILL hadn't made any progression and my contractions were showing no signs of stopping, he was kind enough to take pity on me and schedule an induction for as soon as he could.  He even tried to see if there was a way he could fudge the dates a bit so that I could be induced on Thursday instead, but he couldn't get around the fact that everything had thoroughly been charted with my due date as Sept. 15.  Saturday was the earliest he could schedule the induction because of medical board policies and rules... Fortunately, the contractions did taper off to be 10-15 minutes apart on Wednesday night, so I was able to semi function after that, but they were still painful, so Saturday wouldn't come soon enough.

Wednesday night, my phone was ringing and it was in the diaper bag. I tripped in my living room and felt a gush of fluid when I landed halfway on  my stomach, hurting my leg! Again, we made the tour to Labor and Delivery. I am so grateful to the Moores and the Olsons for again, being so willing to come to my aid. The Olsons ended up winning the pleasure of Faith's company for the night...I wasn't convinced it was my water breaking, but Jeff was...it ended up not being my water being broken, but they did keep me in the hospital pretty late to monitor and make sure baby was okay from the fall...it was this night that I began to appreciate the fact that we had to schedule the induction at a different hospital. The hospital we were at (which was the hospital we were originally going to deliver at) was so busy that they had a post-partum mother recovering in a labor triage suite...So, while we were sitting there listening to our baby's heartbeat (and I was enjoying the added awesomeness of my contractions picking up again...) we also were listening to a new mother tell her birth story to friends and family and her fussy newborn (it was a very harrowing story, actually...so at least it passed the time as I breathed through pain...) The nurse took pity on me and offered me an Ambien because she could see how much pain I was in...I took it gladly, and the Olsons were kind enough to keep Faith overnight.

Thursday and Friday couldn't seem to go fast enough...especially Friday after we found out that my parents were coming...

and then, even though it seemed like it took forever, Saturday had magically arrived.

We had quite the eventful morning, preparing my parents for taking care of Faith and giving them all the information that they needed...and then we were off for our 9 AM induction appointment.

The hospital was a little late bringing us back for the induction and, other than it taking 3 attempts to get an IV going (OUCH!), things seemed to be pretty normal.  I handled contractions pretty well for the first 3 or 4 hours, but I'd already prepared myself and I knew that I was going to ask for the epidural this time as soon as the contractions were bad enough that I was crying and had the thought of , "Jeff, help! Come save me." (P.S. I love the fact that in my irrational states of pain I believe my  husband can make it go away...just shows how much he loves me and how much he takes care of me that my subconscious would believe he could make it better.)   I actually didn't get to that point until about an hour after they broke my water to get things moving.  Apparently, I hadn't had enough IV solution yet for them to give me an epidural (I don't think they were expecting me to get to a 3 as quickly as I did after they broke my water.) So the nurses had to quickly hang some saline bags and turn up the drip on them so that the anesthesiologist could come in and work his magic.  Jeff was surprised I didn't try to hold out longer, but the nurses were right in sync with me and said, "Daddy, I can promise you that once you do this once, you understand that its not worth it to try to be a hero..."  In between contractions, I laughed with them because that was the exact reasoning I had in my head at that moment in time.

The first time I'd had an epidural, they had me lay on my side in the bed. This time, I got to experience it sitting up. The anesthesiologist and nurses said that I would like sitting up better...they were wrong...I can honestly say I prefer laying down. It was harder for me to stay still and in the right position sitting up. I blame it on my opera singing ways- its really impossible for me to sit with slouched shoulders for very long, I naturally start trying to sit with good posture, its just ingrained in me at this point. It also took the anesthesiologist much longer to get it in than my last epidural experience...but he was super nice and was cracking jokes the whole time to try to put me at ease and that was nice. The anesthesiologist I had with Faith in Idaho was nice, but he didn't talk much while he placed it so I really didn't get the glimpse of his bedside manner that I got of this anesthesiologist's.

The epidural also took longer to take effect this time (with Faith, the numbness was almost immediate. This time it took about 20 minutes.)  I was good for an hour or two, and then it completely wore off on half my body. Of course, at this exact time, baby started not tolerating the contractions well, so they started flipping me on my side to see if they could get me in a position that baby would like better before turning to the oxygen mask.  They started by flipping me on the side where the epidural wasn't working to see if they needed to tip the medicine to that side...it didn't work...and then I got to sit through about 45 minutes on the other side with no epidural on half my body... Finally, I said I couldn't take it anymore and the nurses could see that flipping me back and forth wasn't working to fix it, so they called in the anesthesiologist. He was kind enough to give me another dose and they flipped me back over to the side that wasn't working to see if they could drip the medicine that way. They also had to put the oxygen mask on me to see if they could keep baby's heartrate up during the contractions because it kept dipping...they even brought a surgical nurse in for consult just in case (talk about wondering if I was headed for a C-section)...Fortunately, both measures worked, but I was WAAAAY WAAAAY numb (like more numb than I'd been when I had the epidural with Faith.) My legs were completely dead and the oxygen was doing its magic and baby's heart rate was staying up for the most part.

About 20 minutes after the new dose of epidural took effect (affect? Sorry, I know there is a difference and I'm sure I'm getting it wrong, but I am too tired to want to look it up to make sure I'm using the word right...grammar nazis, forgive me.) The nurses came parading into the room, based on my contraction pattern and baby's heart rate they decided they needed to check me...lucky me...I was complete...complete and so numb that I couldn't feel to push...I thought I was sunk for sure and that I would have to give up the champion pusher medal that I'd won with Faith (she was out in 30 minutes after the midwife got there to catch her.)

It was also shift change. The sweet nurses I'd been working with came to say goodbye and my new nurse came in.  She was so sweet and so positive! She looked at my legs and moved them and said, "WOW! Those are dead legs! Okay, we will get through this, because you are complete and baby is in position for you to push- you have labored down as far as you can go. We can do this and I am going to help you!"

By some miracle, even though I couldn't feel a thing, I was STILL worthy of my champion pusher medal. For about 20 minutes, the nurse would tell me when I was having a contraction and try to give me a reference point to push to and the look on my sweet nurse's face was priceless. She got up and said, "I'm going to go call Dr. Kramer, apparently you really know how to use your muscles in your abdomen and around there because if I have you push anymore I am going to have to catch this baby." She called the doc and came back in to sit with me. By this point, I was starting to feel the pressure, so I knew I needed to push  but it wasn't overwhelming like it had been with Faith, so I knew that I must be really super numb.  We waited for 30 minutes for Dr. Kramer (darn Vegas traffic) while my nurse monitored my baby's crowning head, just in case she did have to catch her.

Dr. Kramer arrived and said, "I thought you were going to wait until tomorrow to have this baby, but I guess I can deliver you now. I can live with that." We all chuckled, he got things ready and 4 pushes (and some chastising from the doctor for pushing too hard when he needed me to just push a little- I mean, the man was trying to keep me from tearing and I was making it near impossible, especially because baby's head was much bigger than he'd anticipated...) later, Philadelphia Marie was here.  Dr. Kramer was a champ and stopped my crazy pushing ways just in time to keep me from tearing beyond superficial wounds...and just like that it was over.

Of course, about an hour later when they wanted to move me from the labor suite into my recovery room my poor nurses got to have a "Weekend at Bernie's" moment when my legs wouldn't work and they had to be on either side of me to get me into a wheelchair to move me...and then I had the fun of dealing with post partum contractions (which, in my estimation seem worse than the contractions when you're in labor!)

The first night was tough. They forgot to order my pain meds and so they had to wait for the pharmacy to draw up the orders and so I was in tears and begging for Jeff to save me (literally, I woke him up begging him for help and he could do NOTHING, poor guy.). They finally came with the meds but a few minutes later I had a wave of nausea come over me along with those awesome post partum contractions that was so bad that I thought I was going to toss my cookies everywhere...the nurse came and gave me some IV nausea medicine.

The pain pills didn't seem to be working, but eventually exhaustion won the battle and I fell into a restless sleep. Around midnight they brought baby into the recovery room to stay with me and all I could think between contractions was, "Yeah, right, there is NO way I am getting out of this bed..." but I let them leave her and it all worked out anyway because she pretty much slept the whole night and finally, the pain meds kicked in.

Since then, I've been in very little pain  (as long as we've been staying on top of my pain meds), I haven't been swollen at all (My legs and feet were so swollen with Faith that my toes looked like sausages...), and I've been able to nurse...so, all in all, things have been much easier this time around.

So...What's in a Name?

I've had a lot of people asking about Phillie's name.

Here is the truth...around 20 weeks, after we found out we were having another girl, the great debate began. Jeff and I have all of our boy names agreed on, but we struggle when it comes to agreeing about girl names.  After a few days of throwing names out there, I was wondering if we would be in the same situation we were in with Faith- having a baby but no name for her and crotchity nurses getting testy with you because you haven't picked one yet.   One particular day, I had put Faith down for a nap and decided to try to see if I could nap myself because I wasn't feeling well...I had a dream. I don't remember much of the dream, except the end. Jeff was holding the baby, I was filling out the birth certificate and I said, "Jeff, are you sure that you're cool with this being the name?" and Jeff saying, "Yep, this is it! Its the name!" as he held the baby and looked down at her lovingly...and I filled out the name Philadelphia Marie Nielson on the birth certificate.  I woke up and laughed to myself....Philadelphia...right... I told Jeff when he came home from work and we both laughed about it...but then, I just couldn't shake it.

For 2 or 3 weeks, I kept thinking of names but coming back to Philadelphia Marie, it wouldn't leave me.  So, finally, I brought it up to Jeff one night. I told him that I hadn't been able to shake the name since the dream and I said, "Seriously, tell me what you think of the name." and his response was something to the effect of, "Actually, I really like it, if I'm being honest." I said, "Well, should that be her name then?" and he said, "Yeah, I think that would work for me."

And there you have it...Phillie had her name.  Of course, we didn't tell anyone. We didn't want a lot of opinions about it because I think we both just knew...it felt right. The sense of urgency and the desire to even think of other names was gone...We knew we were waiting for Philadelphia Marie...

And boy oh boy was she worth the wait. :)

Hugs and Loves until next time Darlings!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Marinara

This is kind of a take on Chicken Parm...but its so easy and so restaurant quality delicious, its almost criminal NOT to post the recipe and share.

As my camera is packed away awaiting my induction on Saturday, I couldn't get a picture of it, which is a real shame, because it really does look like something you'd get at a restaurant and just looking at it definitely made me and hubby drool!

Here's what you need (this makes 4 fairly decent sized portions- if you have big eaters in the house, you may want to double it...)

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts butterflied in half
1/4 c mayonnaise (NOT miracle whip, it will be too sweet.)
1/4 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c plain bread crumbs
1/2 TBS onion powder
1 TBS garlic powder
1/2 TBS garlic salt, plus more for sprinkling later
1 TBS dried parsley flakes
1 jar your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used my homemade freezer sauce that we love, it was a quart of sauce)
linguini/spaghetti noodles (whatever floats your boat.)

Heat your oven to 425 degrees. Place the butterflied chicken breasts on a greased cookie sheet or other type flat baking pan (I used my pizza pan because it was handy and a squirt of Pam)  In a small bowl mix the mayo and parmesan cheese. Spread this mixture over the top of the chicken breasts, coating them generously. Once that bowl is empty, you can go ahead and use it to mix the bread crumbs and the spices, then sprinkle them generously over the chicken.  Sprinkle with one finishing touch of garlic salt.  Bake for 15-20 minutes. The crust will get golden and then chicken should be cooked through.  (See what I mean EASY...you could also just use Seasoned Italian Breadcrumbs instead of making the breadcrumb mixture if you want to make it even easier. I didn't have Italian Breadcrumbs on hand, so I improvised...but I'm so glad I did...)

Boil your pasta and heat your sauce while the chicken is baking.

To plate, put a bed of pasta down, layer with sauce and then place the chicken on top....

DEVOUR and contemplate seconds... or thirds, or fourths(because its that good...)

SO easy, SO delicious...you'll never want to go to the trouble to make traditional Chicken Parm ever again.

Bon Appetit Darlings!

While you were sleeping

Its 8:00 PM and my house is silent. I'm sitting here wishing I could sleep, completely drained and exhausted, but I have no such luck...

The cupcake in my belly is being very indecisive. One hour she wants to come and for the next 2 the constant, steady contractions go away...

In between periods of pain, I take a moment to drink in the pleasure around me.

I look at my sweet, loving husband. So dedicated, strong, smart, loving and amazing...he too is exhausted...every time I get out of bed to walk around to alleviate pain or to use the restroom, he stirs.  He doesn't say it, but I know he is on edge...its in his nature to be at the ready, waiting for when he's needed...its such a blessing. His handsome features are casting perfect shadows in the darkness next to me, and I am completely at peace knowing he is there. I am so blessed...

I make the trip across our townhouse to the other bedroom and check on my Little Diva...she is usually asleep with her little bum up in the air, her face buried in her comforter. I pull it gently from underneath her to make sure she is able to breathe and find her pacifier. I rest it next to her head so she can find it easily if and when she wakes up.  Its frustrating, but she still isn't sleeping through the night. I've tried everything, but to no avail.

We will have a few nights here and there where I miraculously get a full night's rest, but for the most part I hear her cries and end up relenting after about 10 or 15 minutes, and give her a bottle to get her back down...after attempting for a week to let her cry it out, I've just figured out that I get more sleep if I give her a bottle when I know she won't go back down on her own...there are those precious nights where I get lucky, she will find her pacifier next to her head where I left it, and lull herself back to sleep again...so I listen and wait...hoping that if I have a late night full of contractions she will surprise me and slumber peacefully.

However, as I pull the comforter out from underneath of her head, I always look down and marvel at her, and remind myself how lucky I am that she is mine.Once upon a time, she was only a dream...an unattainable dream...so was Jeff...and here I am in such a short time getting everything I had prayed for and more.

We may not have a lot of money in the bank, we may not be able to take fancy trips, and we may not be able to buy all the gadgets and gizmos that everyone says we must have...but we have each other...there is a "we"...Its crazy to think that 2 years ago when I was meeting Jeff for the first time I was convinced that it was always just going to be "me"...that I would have to find other ways to make my life fulfilled and happy because marriage and babies just weren't in the cards...Heavenly Father must have been laughing so hard.

The contractions are back...not super strong, I'm not even sure that they're steady, I'm not really timing them...for now my unattainable dream is waiting for Faith's best friend to arrive...thinking that its going to take a miracle and medical intervention to finally bring her here...but, she's coming...she will be a part of the "we"...she will be another perfect little creature to marvel at in the still of the night, another testament of not only my sweet husband's love and devotion, but the love of a wonderful Father in Heaven.

Life gets hard...I've experienced my share of bumpy roads, but if I can testify to anything its this truth:  God will always bless us. He loves us.  We may not get what we want right away, but if we are patient in our trials and wait for him to reveal our course, in due time we will see brilliant light...our lives will be illuminated.

Try not to be bogged down by what you don't have, you will fail to see the amazing things He is giving you as you read this.

Hugs and loves until next time darlings.

Spicy Chicken Penne With Spinach

If I had known that this recipe was going to turn out as delicious as it did, I probably would have taken pictures as I went....

Ever since I tried Pioneer Woman's creamy tomato pasta a few blogs ago, I have been looking for a chance and a way to use the recipe again in a new way.  I found a recipe on Pinterest the other day that used a similar sauce for a spicy chicken dish...Well, me being me, I can't just leave it at the recipe that I'm given...I just have to adapt it.

Of course, I put my own spin on Pioneer Woman's sauce this time too... it was marvelous darling! Simply marvelous!

...really, the picture doesn't do it justice...

Here's what you need to do:

Boil water in preparation for cooking the noodles- I used 1/2 of a 13.25 oz box of whole wheat Penne. Cook according to package instructions.

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast cutlet, partially frozen (this makes it easier to slice)
1/2- 1 TBS red pepper flakes
1 TBS garlic powder (you could use 2 cloves garlic, minced if you want to make it fresh, but I was hungry and wanted dinner without garlic hands...)
1/2 -1 tsp garlic salt (to taste)
1/8-1/4 tsp pepper (to taste)
1 cup fresh spinach, stems removed and chopped (can use frozen spinach if you don't have fresh on hand.)

Slice chicken into thin, bite sized pieces (you want them to be about as thick as a silver dollar.)
Add about a silver dollar sized portion of oil to the bottom of a  skillet and let it heat. Pour in your red pepper flakes and let them cook a bit to release some spice into the oil. They will start to turn slightly brown- this step literally only takes 30-45 seconds (you don't want them to burn). Add the chicken and sprinkle with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Sautee chicken until cooked through.  Add the spinach and toss together. Let the chicken mixture cook until the spinach is slightly wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate sauce pan, mix:

1/2 c parmesan cheese
1/2 c milk
1 TBS garlic powder

Let this mixture come to a boil, stirring frequently. It should thicken on its own as it cooks.

Add to this:
1 c of your favorite pasta sauce and cook together until heated through. (I make my own freezer pasta sauce. The last time I made a batch, I made it even more delicious by letting it cook in the crock pot all day long...we've vowed that A) We will never purchase store made pasta sauce again and B) I will forever more make it in the crock pot.... I just added a quart bag of my sauce to the mix instead of measuring out a cup.)

Remember those noodles? They should be cooked by now if you've been multitasking. Drain the noodles. Toss in the chicken mixture first, making sure that it mixes throughout the pasta then add the sauce mix and toss together.

Serve with extra parmesan cheese on top if desired. Pair it with a salad or some veggies and an awesome dessert and you have the makings of a date night if you really want it. Seriously, to us it tasted like something we'd order in a restaurant!

All together, this was a super easy dish to make. I literally had it done in 30 minutes (seriously, I started at 4 PM and it was done by 4:30...I had initially thought it would take longer to come together but I proved myself wrong.)

This is on my list of "make again" things and Jeff is super excited to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. (I will have to remember to save some for myself...) It easily made 4 large servings or 6 not so large servings if you're having salad and breadsticks (or just salad if you're watching the carbs like me.), so this will easily feed a large family with small kids.

Bon Appetit darlings...I'm always happy to share my culinary ventures...

You Know You're a Nerdy Mom When....

We've been struggling to get Faith to sleep through the night. We'd had a few weeks of success here and there, but, without fail she was waking up at least once during the night for a bottle...

Well, with my increasingly pregnant state, I found myself at the end of my rope...plus the Little Diva decided that she wanted to start acting like a newborn again, waking up every 2-3 hours screaming for a bottle.

...and I'm thinking, "I love you to death, and thanks for the preview, but I need at least 1 decent night's rest before your little sister gets here."

It had to end.

I called my older sister to complain and get advice. She is a labor and delivery nurse and is pretty much my guru when it comes to all things baby.  Her reaction, "Oh no she doesn't! She's just doing it because now she knows she can. You've got to nip that in the bud."  She then proceeded to give me her sage advice...

I also had another idea, beyond her advice, that I believed would solve the problem, but it seemed so simple it was almost too good to be true.

So- we tried my sister's advice...and I got to stay up and listen to the Little Diva scream for 45 minutes before she finally gave into exhaustion. She didn't cry out again, so I suppose it worked for that night...

However, I lucked out and we had the money so we could try my plan of attack.

We moved Faith into the new crib...she is ALL OVER THE BED when she sleeps.  I swear, you check on her throughout the night and you never find her in the same position.  I also had noticed that in all her tossing and turning, she kept banging her head, hands, feet, and body against the bars of the crib.  She'd also stick her feet, legs and arms out between the bars and scream because she couldn't move the way she wanted to.

I was terrified to try crib bumpers because it had been so ingrained in me that you didn't install or use them until your baby was at least a year because they are a suffocation hazard...but I had to do something to protect her head (since she's getting to be more of a daredevil during the day...I think she will be out of bumps and into the concussion zone soon...), and to keep her pacifier inside the crib...She likes to throw it out on purpose to make me come in and take care of her.

I scoured Craig's List first and was, once again, disappointed with the finds.  Some people really need to look at what their bedding is going for BRAND NEW before they post it to sell it...seriously...I'm not going to pay for something used that I can buy cheaper or for the same price BRAND SPANKING NEW!

I started cruising websites for stores in our area and realized that it would likely be best to buy a bedding set with bumpers new.

We lucked out at a local store and found a sweet little bedding set on clearance for $40.  I wasn't sold on it, I wanted to just buy a bumper that you could purchase separate from another bedding set and some sheets...but the Little Diva will be heard...we held them up and she fell in love with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Piglet all delicately stitched and looking oh so cuddly...it was that or owls...I ended up being very glad that she picked what she did, and I think she was too.

Of course, now I have to change my nursery theme, but we haven't had time or funds for me to pick up the crafting stuff that I need yet anyway...which is just as well. Hopefully, I will be able to get it done before the new baby moves into the nursery with Faith.

I wish I'd been able to get video of her laying in her bed with all the bedding set up for the first time. She rolled around and you could tell she was lavishing in the soft, cuddly awesomeness of her new digs. If it had bedtime, I'm sure she would have gone down right then and there.

Lo and behold, the last few nights- she's slept like a log! She actually doesn't even move from the spot that she finally lands in to fall asleep...I have been up to check on her (remember- suffocation hazard...and I'm a mom, I worry about random stuff like that... she handled it like a pro)

Of course, now that she's sleeping through the night, I've been up having contractions every other hour pretty steadily (I'll contract for an hour and half or so with timeable contractions and then they stop for an hour or 2...its AWESOME....)

Its so funny how I am so excited about clearance bedding- but such is life...

What else am I excited about? What else is filling my time...

Our new cloth diapers came in the mail today.

I piled them up all neatly to take a picture of them, and then Faith decided that she wanted to snuggle up with the soft microfleece liners....of course, I had to turn it into a Kodak moment...

The company made a mistake and sent us double the order. We didn't get charged for them, so I am going to email them tomorrow and tell them about the mistake and that we will gladly pay for a 24 pack instead and they can charge us the extra $48 for the extra diapers. It will be about the same cost to ship them back to China, so we may as well keep them and get some use out of them... They're super cute, and I'm super excited to use them...like super nerdily excited.  I even bought some in a Halloween pattern so we can use them for my upcoming favorite holiday....and you'd better bet that I'm already perusing Pinterest to find cheap/free DIY ways to decorate my house.

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday...ever since I was a little kid and my dad told me that Halloween was the world's way of celebrating my birthday a week late... (I was born on my parents' anniversary, so they went out for their anniversary and I never really got much of a "party" of my own.  My dad's birthday was the 28th of October, so he would get us a joint birthday cake. When you're 5 and your dad says that Halloween is to celebrate your birthday- you believe it, okay! Ever since then, its been my favorite holiday...even more my favorite than Christmas...)

So...that's what I'm nerding out about...I think its safe to say that in 2 years I have fully made the transition from single lady (with no one to put a ring on it...until Jeff found me...) to mamma...

(I'm also nerding out about the homecoming outfits I've made for Faith and the new cupcake, but I only want to share pictures of those when they're being worn...sorry.  I'll even consider posting a tutorial about making the no sew tutus and all about it...we'll just have to see how overwhelmed I am after the new baby gets here....)

I'm hoping that tomorrow the Little Diva will be cooperative so I can find time to finish my crafts for the Divine Miss Cupcake's newborn photos and figure out the crafts for the Little Diva's 1 year photo shoot. I have an idea of what I'd like to do, but I also don't want to spend a million, zillion dollars to do it, so I am going to see if I have stuff to use to make things as opposed to going out and buying them.

I feel so bad. I have so many wonderful tutorials and crafts I want to make and between sleepless nights and contractions I just have no motivation...I promise I'll do better darlings.

Hugs and loves until next time.

Teriyaki Meatball Bowls

I must say that I was pretty pleased with tonight's culinary endeavor. It got the "Jeff Approved" stamp, so I think it turned out just fine....of course, he had to say that it wasn't as good as the best teriyaki he'd ever had in his life while he was on his mission in Washington, but he did say it could put other restaurant teriyaki to shame.

In short- I must remember this teriyaki sauce recipe to use with other types of meat and other stir fry endeavors in the future...

The meatball recipe I used was FANTASTIC. I'd saved one from the sauce and put it into the Little Diva's fresh food feeder, but once I bit into them, I was wishing I hadn't. They were perfectly soft and moist and flavorful. I have no doubt in my mind that she would have been able to gum the meatball without choking because it was so soft...alas, I was too late. However, she thoroughly enjoyed chomping on it through dinner time and even came to me a few times to ask for a swig or two from my water glass (the kid LOVES ice water more than pretty much any other beverage on the planet, she especially loves it when I hold the glass and let her drink MY ice water...)

Anywhoo....you're all probably thinking, "Stop blabbering on and give me the recipe already..."

OKAY...geez, don't get your panties in a twist- I was getting there!

For the meatballs:

1 lbs ground beef
1 egg
1/2 c plain bread crumbs
1/2 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS garlic powder
1 1/2 TBS onion powder

Mix with hands. Form into 1/2 inch balls and place on baking sheet or into 9x13 pan. Bake at 400 degrees until browned (30-40 minutes * Note* I have a gas stove and I only needed 25 minutes for them to cook through. I did let them sit for about 5 minutes before adding them to the teriyaki sauce.)


While the meatballs are baking, make the sauce, rice and veggies.

Teriyaki Sauce:

1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c water
1/2 c brown sugar
1 TBS sesame oil
1/4-1/2 tsp ginger (to your taste)
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS corn starch (mix in enough water to make easy to pour.)

Put all sauce ingredients into saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until sauce thickens, set aside.  After meatballs are done cooking, add them to the sauce and stir to coat.

Rice:
Prepare according to package (we used brown rice because its healthier and a little more low carb friendly, but you can use whatever kind you want.)

Veggies:

Heat a pan, add sesame oil (or vegetable oil) to coat the bottom of pan (*Note* If you enjoy making stir fry, just invest in the sesame oil. I broke down and purchased some about 3 months ago and I swear I use it on a weekly basis. It just adds a certain something to Asian cuisine. I even use it in recipes that call for olive oil or vegetable oil instead. I just adds a warm hint of nutty goodness that tastes more authentic.)  and add your veggies. I used:

1/2 bell pepper, julienned
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
1 crown broccoli, chopped
1 cup of fresh snow peas
3 stalks green onions, diced.

I added the peppers first (because I like them more on the "chewy" side) then the broccoli and let them cook together for a little while. I added the snow peas and sprinkled them with some onion powder to add a little more flavor and let them cook a little longer. I added the green onions at the last minute so they wouldn't over cook and lose their flavor.

To prepare:

Put a bed of rice on the bottom of the bowl, put the stir fried veggies on top and then top that with your meatball deliciousness. If you have it, I would even recommend sprinkling it with some toasted sesame seeds (we didn't have them, but I think it would have added some "spunk" to the dish).

And, in case you had any doubt...just look at the face of one happy customer from my kitchen...chomping away on her meatball like any good carnivore in training...she looks pleased, so I think you will be too.

Bon Appetit

Hugs and Loves until next time darlings.

Sisters...

The thought struck me like an arrow the other day....

Faith has started, of her own volition, crawling up to me when I'm laying on the floor with her. She smiles and then proceeds to pat my belly.

The funny thing is that Jeff has really only had her pat my belly once or twice, and to be honest I didn't think she got it...

But now, she does it unsolicited, smiles, and coos at my belly...

She is going to have a sister...and I'm pretty sure she knows it.

  All through this pregnancy I've felt so guilty about having another baby so soon...wondering why Heavenly Father decided to bless our little family to grow so soon, worried about the impact it will have on my darling Little Diva.  I love her so much, and the thought that I was robbing her of precious "mommy and me" time was almost too much to bear at times...but considering the changes I've noticed in her in the last few weeks, I can only say that I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father knew what he was doing.

She gets bored pretty easily these days and isn't satisfied unless I'm sitting on the ground with her. I don't even have to play with her, she just wants someone to be there next to her so she isn't alone.  She sees other kids or other babies and she just wants to be around them. Of course, she flashes that signature charming smile and hypnotizes them into playing with her, but I think she would be perfectly content even if they just let her sit with them and all did their own thing.  She is friendly and wants to be loved and have a companion.

I often joke that Heavenly Father denied their application to be twins and gave them the next best thing...but sometimes I have to wonder if there is some truth to my joke.

Especially as she is patting my belly and talking to it like she is talking to an old friend.

What a blessing it is to have siblings. Someone to play with, someone to love you, someone to teach you, and someone to make you feel special.   Families are one of Heavenly Father's neatest earthly creations. We learn so much from each other and we can all help one another through the toughest times imaginable, bonded by an earthly blood link, and an indescribable spiritual tie that makes us love one another instantly....

As D-Day looms closer and closer, and I start getting nervous and sometimes terrified about what the next few months will bring, I can't help but be calmed by this knowledge...things won't always be easy. I'm sure I will split up my fair share of battles over dolls and clothes and makeup as the years pass, but I am so blessed to know that my girls will have one another.  I can only pray that they will be able to develop a close relationship as they age like I've been blessed with when it comes to my sisters. We may not have always understood each other growing up (heck, we don't always understand one another now) but we know that we can turn to each other and that we will do all we can to help one another.

I pray that I have the strength to be as great a mom as my earthly mother has been...she worked so hard as we grew up to make sure we were playing together, including one another (even when we didn't want to) and were showing our love to everyone in our family. I credit her with my siblings not only being my siblings, but my best friends.

Lord, give me strength, give me knowledge and give me intuition...

How am I feeling right now? A mixture of terrified and excited.... but perfect love casteth out fear...so I am working on remembering that perfect love is inherent in families...it comes because of our spirits, it comes because of the light of Christ, and if I set a good example and have faith in my beautiful children's bright spirits, I know we will make it through and be better than ever.

They were meant to be sisters and they were meant to be close...these are two things that are very apparent to me...the rest will work itself out...no matter how much I may fumble along the way.

Hugs and Loves until next time darlings!

P.S. For those of you who don't see my pics on Facebook...here we are at 34 weeks (well, almost 34 weeks...33 weeks and 4 days...) Yes- I pretty much feel like a whale...but a grateful whale. My body is amazing and doing something that I had been told once upon a time it wouldn't do...hooray for the blessings of Heavenly Father. He truly does bless us with everything we pray for and the righteous desires of our hearts...we just have to be willing to work with his timetable...he has the master plan and he knows best. I was so silly for ever being frustrated that things weren't working out the way I wanted them to when I wanted them too...I defer to the big guy- he definitely knows better than me....I was wrong and he was right. I'm not afraid to admit it. All we can do is pray and wait for the time to be right.