Knit Wit Girly turns Mommy

30 Days of Thanks.. Days 3 & 4

2011-11-04T17:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was thankful for an amazingly beautiful day, weather-wise.. instead of sitting home writing a blog post, I took my kids on a nice long walk and played at a park.

And today? Well.. today I am thankful for beer. And good friends who invite me to us to join them in the drinking of it. Hooray for Friday night plans!

Already?!

2011-11-04T16:33:00.000-05:00

Well, missed a day already on the NaBloPoMo project lol Can't say I'm surprised.. I warned you that I have alot going on right now. Oh well.. if I can at least make more of an effort to be present here on *most* days this month, it will be a victory for me!

Unfortunately, now that I've sat down to babble, nothing comes to mind. Perhaps it's the fact that the three year old who thinks she runs this house just woke up from her nap and is screaming at me because she is already being sent back to her room for bad behavior. Or the fact that I need to go change another poopy diaper because the almost one year old thinks it's time to unload lol

Either way.. I will leave you with this and call it a day (as I wait for my sitter to get here so I can go blow off some steam with some friends)...

30 Days of Thanks.. Day 2

2011-11-02T14:55:00.000-05:00

Today I am thankful for a medical professional who gets me. And who isn't afraid to drop an eff bomb to really drive the point home. Also? I'm super-thankful that my mother in law was able to come watch Thing 1 so I could feel free to drop my own eff bomb back to said professional :)

The 31st may have passed, but I'm still feelin' it...

2011-11-02T14:47:00.000-05:00

You may or may not be aware of this, but Halloween is my FAVE holiday. Ever. Seriously. Unfortunately I haven't had much energy/time/motivation lately, so I didn't really do much other than make sure my kids had a costume to wear, pumpkins on the porch (although uncarved :sadface:) and trick or treating in the neighborhood.

Since I haven't done any blogging as of late (posting or reading), I've missed oodles of awesome Halloweeny things. Bummer. The cool thing about blogging is that I can still go back and see what I've missed. Yay! So yeah, that's what I'm up to.

Check out this awesome video of a girl transforming herself into a pretty kick@$$ lion.. amazing! I totally wanna try it!And the same girl did this one on how to make a fabulous black eye, which I totally want to make my costume for next year. Such a simple idea with alot of PUNCH! haha - get it? black eye? punch? yeah.. ok.. I won't quit my day job ;)Ok.. off to check out what else I missed. Hopefully this entire month's blog posts won't be about last month's festivities, but if they are.. oh well - that's the beauty of owning your own lil piece of the interwebs haha

November.. 30 Days of Thanks

2011-11-01T18:12:00.000-05:00

For the last couple of years, I have tried to post at least one thing I am thankful for every day during the month of November on my Facebook status. I love seeing it typed out and remember to do it every day makes me more conscious of all of the wonderful things in my life. Really I wish I could make myself do this as a 365 thing, but let's be realistic.. a month of commitment might be more than I can handle at this point. Baby steps..

This year I decided to post this on my blog for two reasons..
#1 Let's be honest.. my blog is growing some serious cobwebs, so this lil project combined with NaBloPoMo outta help get things moving again.
#2 I'd really like a record of these small (or big) things that I recognize along the way.. thinking it will be a great reference for those days in the future that things might not seem so sunny, ya know?

Anyway, today I am thankful for my incredibly supportive friends and family. Without all of these amazing people, I am certain that I would not be surviving some current difficulties as well as I am, or just at all. You all know who you are.. thank you for everything you are doing/have done recently to help me. I love you and appreciate you more than you will ever know.

If you don't have your own blog, or don't feel like publicly participating in the 30 Days of Thanks, feel free to leave your thankful thoughts in the comments section here. I'm channeling the power of positive thinking and I believe in strength in numbers :o)

See you all tomorrow!

NaBloPoMo

2011-11-01T17:30:00.001-05:00

Happy NaBloPoMo! Get excited, people...

Today starts the first of 30 straight days of posts from me!

See - I told you this was exciting :)

Not feelin' it? Well.. too bad, cuz imma try my best to keep up. And if I slack, you can check out some friends' blogs who I'm sure will do a much better job than I at following the every day posting rules lol.... Hillary, Kristen, Jeanne (maybe?).. I know there are others. Heck, google NaBloPoMo and let me know if you find anything good out there on the interwebs. I could use some extra material anyway. Heh. And if you are reading this and are participating, leave me a comment so I can add you to my list of blogs to stalk---err---read this month :)

Today is just an intro to the event, so I'll leave it at that and save the updates and mindless jibberish for another day, ok? KThxBye!

In following yesterday’s theme…

2011-01-10T10:42:00.001-05:00

So many of you know that The Hubs and I got our first tattoos together awhile back (Sept ‘09)…

We had Ashlyn’s footprint from the hospital tattoo’d on the top of our foot (her left on our lefts) to symbolize our pride in how our lives have turned out together by showing that we would be proud to have our daughter follow in our footsteps. This is a big statement for us as we have both faced our fair share of criticism over some of the choices we’ve made over the years.

Of course, when we announced our pregnancy with Cooper, many asked if we are going to get his footprint done on our other foot. And our answer is YES! For me, this means pure excitement! For Jason? Not so much ;) See, this was our first tattoos, so we had no idea what to expect. I decided to go first and really, it just felt a little uncomfortable. I was chatting with Jason and Joel, our tattoo artist, the whole time and really was bothered very little by the pain. Jason, on the other hand, was SHOCKED when he took the chair second and felt a much greater amount of pain. I think he probably just has more nerve endings in his foot or something because it’s not like I have a high pain tolerance or anything. Anyway, this has him less than excited about getting a second done, but he’ll do it because how uncool would it be to have one of your kid’s footprint on you forever and not the other, just because you are afraid of a lil pain ;) So we had the hospital get some really good footprints of Cooper’s left foot and we can’t wait to go finish our statement!

This morning, Ashlyn pointed to my foot and said “footprint, mommy, footprint!”, so I told her about how that is her little foot and how we are going to get Cooper’s foot on the other side. She said “oh, nice” and then looked at Guinness (one of our pugs) and said “mommy.. guinness footprint”. Hmm…interesting thought, baby girl. Not quite the same statement, but interesting thought just the same :) And a quick google image search showed me that she wasn’t the first one to think of this…

I <3 it! :) Probably won’t ever do it, but I love it just the same :)

Pouty Punk Rock

2011-01-09T22:32:00.001-05:00

This morning in the shower, I somehow lost my nose ring. It’s the teeniest lil diamond (fake, of course) stud, and it fell out and must have washed right down the drain.

Now, I’ve had my nose pierced for years and this is the first time I’ve had this happen, but I knew it would close quickly, so today’s family excitement was set to be a trip to the tattoo parlor for a new one. Since Sundays are our only day with The Hubs home from work, we decided we would all go together, just so we could spend the whole day together as usual.

Clearly my kids can’t make their first trip to the tattoo shop wearing regular ol’ cute kids clothes, so I decided to pick out their ‘coolest’ duds for the adventure. Cooper wore his skull hoodie and skater jeans with a pair of converse hi-top socks to complete the ensemble and Ashlyn wore her hot pink fleece pants and I <3 Music tee.. very punk rock, if you ask me.

And since they were both wearing fun clothes, I decided to whip out my camera and try to get a cute ‘together’ pic to post on my Facebook page. Well, Cooper was very cooperative…

But Ashlyn? Not so much…

And that picture sums up her attitude for the rest of the flipping day…total terrible two terror!

So I gave up and we loaded them up in the car and on our way. I ended up getting a replacement fake diamond stud, as well as a new pink one (used to have a pink one but no clue what I did w/ it in the years that I’ve been wearing the diamond one) and a blue one for fun (they were really cheap). Successful trip (although let it be known that the kids actually waited in the car with The Hubs, so the outfits were just for my own fun haha), followed by a quick stop at Target for a return and some milk. Ashlyn was allowed to walk as long as she held Daddy’s hand, which she eventually refused to do, ended up screaming in the cart, Daddy gave in and took her out.. rinse and repeat. More tantrums and this time in public.. fun fun fun. NOT.

She did redeem herself after we got home and had some lunch…

Meanwhile, Cooper begged me not to ruin his bad-@$$ persona by showing what he had on under his punk outfit…

And there you have it.. a day in the life of the pouty punk rock kid and her pink-diaper-wearing bro. It’s all good in the ‘hood ;)

Presse Française

2011-01-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

So my parents gave us a GPS for Christmas this year. We were soooo excited! We’ve wanted one for a while now, so this was an awesome gift! So awesome, that someone else decided to get us one, too.. Jason’s parents : )

What to do.. what to do? Well, we kept the one that was a lil fancier and returned the other. That left us with a gift card to Wal-Mart, and we decided to split it, since the original gift was for both of us.

Ooooohh.. $40 of free money to spend on myself at Wal-Mart – fun! What to buy, what to buy?

Well, I’ve been missing having coffee on a regular basis for a long time now. If I use my regular coffee pot, it’s inevitable that I’m going to make more than I should drink and either waste or over-indulge. So I decided to treat myself to a small-sized French Press, after consulting with some friends on Facebook to confirm that this was the choice I should make (over a small-sized Percolator).

It came yesterday!! Yay!

Please grab a seat and come along on the adventure that is my first French Press experience…

Progress.. just in the nick of time!

2011-01-07T13:24:00.000-05:00

So this week in dieting has been challenging, to say the least.

I started out all gung-ho and then just kinda fizzled out. It's the end of the day that kills me.. after Ashlyn goes to bed, I just wanna eat eat eat. And I did. Almost every night :( And every morning I woke up and swore I wouldn't let myself have a repeat performance of the night before. Addicted to food much?

I just assumed that I wasn't losing anything due to the extra garbage I was eating, and vowed to try again next week. However, something told me to get on the scale last night before my shower and low and behold, I was down five pounds. Had to be a fluke. I was excited, but told myself it had to be a fluke and the weight would be back.

Fast-forward to this morning.. I decided that Friday would be a better weigh-in day for me than Monday. Partially because a bunch of my online friends are trying to lose weight and we've started a Facebook group to encourage each other, and they are weighing in on Fridays. But also because I feel like I can work really hard all week long and then weigh in on Fridays in the hopes that any loss I see will help encourage me to be good on the weekend, when I would normally run out of steam and give up.

So I hopped on the scale this morning, fully expecting that five pound loss to be a thing of the past. And it was. However, much to my surprise and delight, the number five had changed to a number SEVEN! Wootwoot!!! Seven pounds gone since Monday, WITH cheating. Imagine what I can do if I actually try!!!

Now I realize that in the first two weeks of dieting, it's normal to see a higher-than-normal loss due to water weight and such, and not to expect this kind of loss any more, but more like 1-2 lbs per week. I'm fine with that. This big drop is just what I needed to get back on track and make this happen!

So yeah.. YAY for the number of the week...Seven, seven.. I'm in heaven :)

Haettich Happenings, January 2011

2011-01-06T23:06:00.001-05:00

I decided to send out a 'what's happening in our world' email and figured I would post it here, too. Enjoy :)

Hi Family! Hopefully everyone is staying warm and feeling well, and being treated kindly by 2011!

Our little family is doing well and excited about Cooper's upcoming two-month check-up on Monday so he can get his first pertussis vaccine. After that we'll be able to start showing him off to everyone without the worry of him catching whooping cough from someone who might not know they have it. We sure did miss seeing everyone over the holidays, but I feel good knowing we did everything we could to keep our newest lil addition healthy.

Ashlyn is growing up so fast and amazing us with some new skill on a daily basis! She's also showing us more and more every day what a great big sister she is.. Cooper is one lucky boy to have her to watch over him and to show him the ropes!

Cooper couldn't be any sweeter, either. He really is such a good baby and a wonderful addition to our little family! He seems to be suffering from a little colic as of late, but so far it's not been nearly as bad as it was for Ashlyn when she was a baby, so hopefully it doesn't get worse and goes away sooner than later so he can continue to do more smiling and coo'ing and less crying.

Jason has some exciting news.. he applied for a supervisor's position at work along with seven other people and he found out the week before last that he got the job!! I'm very proud of him and so glad that he is being recognized for his skills and importance to the company that he works so very hard for. And in addition to working long hours to support our family, he has been coming home ready to help out with whatever he can while we all get used to having a newborn around and all of the extra tasks that come with it. Many nights of the week include dinner made by daddy and toddler care solely being done by him as well.

And while Jason is taking care of Ashlyn, I've been spending allllllll of the energy I can muster on nursing Cooper, keeping him in clean cloth diapers and just trying to keep him as happy as can be while he transitions from womb to world :) I'm happy to report that he is now sleeping in his crib instead of the bouncy seat or swing and this means that I'm back to sleeping in my bed instead of on the couch. Woohoo!!! And by sleeping, I mean catching a few zzz's in between his every three hour feedings during the night and every two hours during the day. It's quite demanding, but somehow I am finding the mommy super-powers to keep my eyes open and do what needs to be done. I've even been getting up earlier than necessary in the mornings after Cooper nurses at 6 or 7am to pump some milk. My freezer supply is slowly but surely building up and I'm confident that sooner than later Jason and I will be able to cash in one of our Christmas gifts from Gramma B and Pop-Pop.. babysitting and a night out complete with gas money, dinner gift card and movie bucks!! I'm really looking forward to that little break!

I'm including a link to a folder of pictures from January 2011 which I will be adding to throughout the month. For those of you not on Facebook, just click on the link and you should be able to view the pics and come back throughout the month to check for new ones... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=280258&id=634877339&l=9706374442

So, now that you know what's been happening in the Lakewood Haettich household, how are all of you???

Love always,

Jennifer

PS - Feel free to pass this on to anyone I may have missed. I'll post it on Facebook, too, for anyone I might have missed who might see it there. And Aunt Pat.. I apologize, but I misplaced the email with the extra address additions that you gave me at Christmastime. Hopefully you can forward this on to the others and maybe remind me of their addresses if I promise to add them to the list this time :) Thanks!

Suffering from Serious Scale Shock...

2011-01-03T14:02:00.002-05:00

holy freakin' shizzz, people.. just got on the scale to note my 'starting' weight and i think i might puke. seriously. like, i should purge the lettuce w/ tuna and fat-free italian dressing i just choked down for lunch. OMG.. guess all the crazy eating i've been doing over the last few weeks caught up.

i digress.. yay for a new year and yay for new goals and YAY FOR DIETING ;)

ok, so not really dieting so much as healthy lifestyle. i'm not sure when i'll start counting points, or if i will at all. gonna start with portion control and trying to 'make good choices' (i figure i tell ashlyn to make good choices all day long w/ her behavior.. maybe i should eat my own words.. and nothing else lmao!). i'm also gonna try to throw in some physical activity.. we'll see how that goes lol

wish me luck...

by the way - another way i decided to hold myself accountable.. writing my current weight on the bathroom mirror in lipstick. i figure that will be good motivation to make that number drop.. i don't want to be reminded of it every time i look in the mirror, i don't want my husband to be reminded of it EVER, and occasionally we do have people over who might need to use the bathroom, so they're gonna see it, too. ugh.. imma go drink a gallon of water and run up and down the steps for a few hours...

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-21T09:19:00.002-05:00

Testing.. 1, 2, 3…

2010-12-15T10:02:00.002-05:00

So my friend Robyn turned me on to Windows Life Writer to help with my complaints about uploading pics to Blogger and I thought I’d give it a try.

So far, it seems pretty great, but I’ll keep practicing with my next few posts and get back to you on whether or not it’s a keeper.

For now, please enjoy these two pics that were uploaded sooooo much easier than the old way haha………..

This one is of us in the hospital when we had Ashlyn two years ago.. such proud new parents!

And this one is when we had Cooper 5 1/2 weeks ago.. our little family is complete and so very happy!

"What's Wrong?"

2010-12-10T17:30:00.000-05:00

After yelling at Ashlyn for the fourth or fifth thing in a row in the last 5 minutes, we had this conversation...

Me: Ashlyn, why are you getting into trouble all of a sudden?
Ash: What's wrong?
Me: I'm frustrated because you keeping doing things you shouldn't.
Ash: What's wrong?
Me: You aren't being a good girl tonight.
Ash: (taking two steps closer to me) Mommy, what's wrong?
Me: Nothing.
Ash: (happy as can be as she walks away) Ok, Mommy!

Love that lil pumpkin!

Memories...

2010-12-09T14:32:00.002-05:00

Wow.. my blog used to ROCK! I just went back and looked at old posts from four and five years ago when I was a newbie blogger and I'm super-impressed :) Now, if only I could get back to impressing myself haha

First thing's first.. my biggest excuse for not posting much here is that I hate blogger's pic uploading tool. But whenever I mention it, I'm told to make sure I am using the newest version of Blogger. Does anyone know how I would go about making sure I am using the newest version? When I click on the lil "Add Image" icon, I get the same window I always have where you can add an image, one at a time, or add more, and then choose if they are to be centered or left, right, none and their size. I don't think this is the newest version cuz it's what I've used since the good ol' days of impressive blogging (when I had more time on my hands apparently lol).

So yeah, if anyone know how I can find this out, I'd be thrilled to hear.

In the meantime, I leave you with this adorableness (which has already been posted on Facebook, but not everyone who reads here has access there, so yeah..)..

I'm an Auntie!!!!!

2010-12-08T17:56:00.003-05:00

My little sister did the most amazing thing the other day.. she gave me a nephew!!!!

I've met him once for just a couple short hours and already I'm completely head-over-heels in love. Who wouldn't be with this lil cutie pie??...

Inspiration

2010-12-02T07:09:00.002-05:00

I have a handful of blogs that I love to read (as many of you do, I'm sure.. that's what blogging is all about.. writing your own and reading your friends') and I am constantly inspired by all of the fun things that others are blogging about.

My question is, when you are short on ideas for your own blog, do you 'borrow' some inspiration from your friends? Just curious what everyone's take is on this.

I guess I am having a hard time devoting the few extra minutes it takes to post a blog here and there when I feel like I am the queen of 'mini-blogging'.. with Facebook and a message board I frequent and post on daily, I just feel like I have nothing left to say that my readers haven't already read about me from my other outputs, know what I mean?

It's not that I think this is a bad thing, but it just made me wonder how others decide what to post where, and if you think it's ok to borrow ideas, or 'repost' the fun things you see here and there.

Perhaps full-on blogging (at least on a regular and consistent basis) isn't for me.. who knows? I do know that I really enjoy the 'mini-blogging' aka 'lazy blogging' that I do and I get tons of feedback in those other places, so perhaps that is why the traditional blog has lost some of it's luster to me. Hmm.. interesting things for my pondering mind.

This is not to say, however, that I would be satisfied if all of the blogs I know and love would stop posting and rely solely on the other places I have grown to love for myself. Cuz yeah.. that would just make me sad.

Ok.. off to ponder. Have a great day (or 10, since that seems to be how long it takes me to find my way back here to ramble some more lol) :)

Weekend Recap.. or not

2010-11-22T16:02:00.003-05:00

Thought I had a good go-to post for Mondays (thanks to the idea on my friend Shannon's blog, which I love.. her kids are such cuties!) by posting a Weekend Recap. Figured it would be a no-brainer.. just tell everyone about my weekend. Easy peasy.

Well, that only works if you did something over the weekend that is worth telling about lol

I mean, there was lots of the usual.. toddler and newborn care galore, and plenty of housebound boredom to report. But not a whole lot that really sticks out in my memory as something you all might like to hear about.

Oh wait.. Ashlyn did get to go with her Auntie Shops (aka my sister Melissa) to see a holiday lighting ceremony, which was apparently very fun, based on her video recap of the evening..

In other news, our neighbors always throw a HUGE party this weekend every year to celebrate the release of the French wine Beaujolais Nouveau and it's always sooo much fun! Unfortunately I wasn't able to go this year (nothing to wear.. it's a fancy event and I just wasn't up for getting fancied up so soon after having a baby), but I did make a run to the grocery store for a bottle of the wine to drink with my sister and neighbor in my living room while snuggling with Cooper after Ashlyn went to bed. The party was still going on when I woke up to nurse at 3:45am, so I was feeling a lil jealous and vowed to move heaven and earth to attend next year :)

Other than that, we really didn't do much this weekend. Besides our quick trip to get donuts (see yesterday's post) on Sunday, we stayed in the house and continued to adjust to having a newborn in the house again. I remember being pretty housebound with Ashlyn when she was born, too, but I forgot how wonderful and lonely this time can be.. it's rough being home 24/7 but so great to have my children here with me.. hard as it may be at times, I wouldn't change it for anything!

Perhaps next Monday I'll have a lil more to report. Until then, I will head over to someone else's blog to read about their weekend adventures and live vicariously through them :)

"Donut!! Mommy.. nooooooo! Donut!!!!!"

2010-11-21T21:34:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite things to do on Sunday mornings lately is to head to Dunkin Donuts as a family. Sunday is The Hubs' only day off, so we try to 'maximize' our family days and do stuff together, and this just happens to be one of those things that has become a weekly activity. Usually we go inside and order coffees for the two of us and a few donuts for us all to share. Ashlyn has definitely become quite the fan of the donuts and I think she gets just as excited as me for our weekly ritual.

Today (and last week), we went through the drive-thru instead of going inside to eat because we are trying to keep Cooper out of most public places until she starts to receive his vaccinations. We bought out donuts and 'Mommy Coffee' and 'Daddy Coffee' and promised Ashlyn that we would eat our donuts when we got home. She continued to ask for them, but eventually must have taken our word for it, because she stopped asking, content with the fact that the box of donuts seemed to be safe in Daddy's lap.

We had to make a quick stop at CVS and I noticed that they had a clothing donation box in the parking lot, so after I ran into the store, I pulled up to the big yellow box, popped my trunk, and put a bag of clothes and a shoebox of shoes into the box to donate. When I got back in the car, Ashlyn started yelling 'Donut!! Mommy.. nooooooo! Donut!!!!!' and pointing frantically at the big yellow box. Here the poor thing must have seen the shoe box and thought I had deposited her precious box of donuts. We quickly showed her the box and she calmed down, but definitely continued to ask about her donuts all the way home.

I think it's safe to say that I've created a monster with a slight Dunkin Donuts obsession.. not necessarily a bad thing, right? ;)

Need some help...

2010-11-19T09:50:00.002-05:00

So I keep opening up a new post only to draw a blank on what to write about. Usually at this point, I just give up and the blog gets all dusty for months until I come back with a big ol' apology and big plans for future regular posts. Rinse and Repeat.

Here's where you come in.. please post some topics/?'s you'd like to ask me (anything, but I reserve the right to ignore anything inappropriate lol) that I can turn into future blog posts.

Thanks in advance! Aaaaaand.. GO! :)

Childbirth + Breastfeeding = best.diet.EVER.

2010-11-13T13:44:00.002-05:00

When I was pregnant with Ashlyn, I gained 33 pounds total. Most of it was at the end when I was swelling like crazy. After I gave birth, I lost every bit of that weight by three weeks postpartum. I was THRILLED! Granted, I had plenty of additional weight that I wanted to lose, but the fact that I was able to shed those pregnancy pounds without dieting was awesome.

When I found out I was pregnant this time around, I had just lost 15 pounds by dieting. Then I gained weight steadily throughout my pregnancy and it appeared that I was going to gain the same amount as last time, just spread out over the nine months instead of all at the end. Also, I hadn't gotten very swollen this time around. Until the end.. then I swelled like crazy and packed on an additional 10 pounds bringing my total gained to 40 pounds. Yikes.

So far, in one week, I have lost 23 pounds! I have 17 to go to have lost all the pregnancy weight. Will it fall off in the next two weeks? I don't know, but I am breastfeeding, which is said to help, so fingers crossed!

Don't get me wrong.. after the 40 pounds of pregnancy weight is off, I want to lose an additional 18 pounds to get to my mini-goal, and ultimately another 25 after that, but that's a long-term thing that I'm not even focusing on right now.

And on that note, I'm off to find a snack while Cooper finishes his nap :)

It's happening already...

2010-11-11T11:07:00.002-05:00

Some of my mommy friends warned me with stories about their toddlers becoming more of 'Daddy's Girls/Boys' after baby is born, so I'm not surprised, but it sure doesn't make my heart hurt any less. For a couple days now, whenever I get a hug from Ashlyn, I tell her 'I love you' and she promptly replies with 'I love Daddy'. If I ask her to say 'I love mommy', she says 'No!!' and then repeats 'I love Dadddy'. Clearly I'm not holding it against her, but I will admit that although I can laugh it off for now, it still hurts.

Is it bad that I just bribed her with an M&M just to hear those sweet words? ;)

drama-mama

2010-11-09T21:02:00.002-05:00

so today we had to take cooper to the pediatrician. they were concerned with his bilirubin number (jaundice levels) when we left the hospital and said to bring him in today.

well, unfortunately, cooper seems to be taking after his sister with a gassy belly that causes inconsolable crying episodes that leave him not wanting to nurse or do anything else until it passes. so of course this had to happen right before i was getting ready to take him to his appointment today. i got all worked up cuz i wanted him to nurse before we left in case i wasn't able to find a place to do it there, and that led to us running late, me crying (also had some issues w/ back spasms right before we left, so that didn't help matters) and cooper being hungry. we got to the office and when we were called back, i ended up being extremely dizzy and thought i was going to pass out. the nurse made me lay on the table next to cooper and called out to the hallway 'NURSE! bring a bp cuff.. we have a mom down!'.. soooo embarrassing! my bp was fine and i eventually was able to get up (after the ped came in to check ME out (before my son.. way to steal the show, right?!) and they let me nurse him before heading over to the lab at the hospital to have his blood drawn.

they called back tonight to say his number looked great and not to worry, so it all worked out in the end. but geesh.. could i be any more of a drama mama?! ;)

Love & Thankfulness

2010-11-08T08:34:00.003-05:00

Whoa - what a wonderful weekend it has been! Our son is doing great.. so incredibly adorable and precious and our hearts our bursting open with all this love for him!!

Heading home today and I just can't wait to get Cooper settled and for his big sister to come home. I miss her more than words can describe and I can't wait to see her! She met her brother on Saturday and then spent the rest of the weekend with her grandparents. They are having such a great time spoiling her and laughing with her and my dad said "Tell Jen I'm sorry...because by the end of this weekend, she's gonna be all outta giggles!" :) We're so grateful that she has such loving people in her life to care for her and make us feel as comfortable as possible about being away from her.

I'm so incredibly blessed to have such supportive family and friends in my life and for that I am truly thankful.

Birth Story, part 3

2010-11-07T06:30:00.003-05:00

Warning: Graphic Content - Reader Discretion is Advised :)

Part 3

6:45 Finally got the IV and Pitocin. Let’s get this show on the road. According to Nurse Michelle, 2cm, 80%, -2.

9:30 Nurse Beth said 3-4 cm 90%, big decision made to break water.

10:15 House Doctor reevaluated at 3 cm and 60%. Water broken!

11:00 Nurse Beth suggested that I try to go on all fours supported by pillows to work through the contractions. It helped having Jen’s back rubbed through the contractions.

(Added by my sister – her and my husband were recording the notes at this point) *Jen is a bleeping rockstar. She is laughing while not in the “contraction moment” and breathing in complete control through the contractions. SO PROUD!!

12:00-12:30 epidural administered. Worked fine on left side of body, but right was not numb and contractions were extremely painful on that side. Anesthesiologist gave stronger dose of meds and then instructed me to lay on my right side for an hour so the meds could get to that side of my body and it worked!

12:45 Oxygen given to help with the baby’s heart rate, which was dropping during contractions.

1:15 Nurse Kathy examines. 6cm and baby is looking good.

4:00 Nurse Beth examines, 7cm. thinks there is a second bag of water. Off and on sleep before.

4:20 24 hours since we got up in the first place.

5:20 Jen has a small headache. Nurse Beth called Dr. Ekman to see if she could order up some Tylenol. Dr. said sure and also to have Nurse Beth examine her to see if she can break the four bag without using the “crochet hook.” (Nurse Beth gave it a “valiant effort at 3:45” but was unsuccessful)

5:40 Nurse Kathy came in to try to break the four bag and said that it must have ruptured on its own. 7cm still but is doing some good progressing.

5:50 moved from right side to left side to adjust. Baby was instantly happier. Jen said that she had some “who ha” pain and pressure that she could feel rectally. Nurse Beth examined Jen and said that it was a stretchy 7 almost wants to call her an 8.

5:56 call to Dr. (She is coming in) Pitocin was just upped. Jen is having very focused pain that is burny stretchy concentrated. (Nurse Beth is giddy right now)

6:00 Jen is having some “GOOD” breathe through contractions. (Just got the “I’ve got to poop pain”)

“He is like, I need to meet my friend and she leaves in an hour.” ~Nurse Beth

6:11 Nurse Beth examined Jen. Said she is 9cm. Jen is ready to push and are now waiting for Dr. Ekman.

6:31 Dr. Ekman arrives just in time to birth Cooper Joel Haettich. Jen pushed approximately 5 contractions worth.

Edited to add: Cooper was born with his cord wrapped very tightly around his neck. Dr. E looked very nervous as she quickly cut the cord to remove it. She handed Cooper to me but the nurses took him away pretty quickly to get him breathing after having that cord wrapped so tightly. Later, Nurse Shannon told me that she felt there was a definite *reason* that Cooper was induced that day after seeing the cord. Also, she explained later that she feels Cooper was probably sunny-side up while I labored, based on the back labor I was having when on all fours before my epidural. But then when Nurse Kathy was checking me, she could feel him turning and coming down, so she thinks that is why things progressed so quickly from that point on.

Birth Story, part 2

2010-11-06T14:59:00.000-05:00

Part 2

3:45 Needle for IV is at my arm, ready to pierce the skin, when a nurse comes in and pulls the plug..

There are too many women here delivering and not enough staff to accommodate, so I won’t be getting any IV or pitocin for a couple hours.

Everyone is being very very apologetic and keeping me updated, and I’m feeling pretty calm and patient because they keep reassuring me that they aren’t going to send me home. I just don’t want to think about how awful I will feel for The Hubs, my mom and my sister all taking the day off work for this, and then how tough it will be for me to work out all the childcare kinks again for Ash if this doesn’t happen this weekend.

6:15 Ate some dinner from the cafeteria and still just waiting. And waiting. And waiting. :)

Birth Story, part 1

2010-11-05T13:05:00.001-05:00

Baby Boy Haettich’s Birth Story

Alarm sounded at 4:20am. Sleeeeeepy.

Got dressed and went to Denny’s for breakfast.. pancakes, hashbrowns, rye toast and fruit.

Arrived at hospital as instructed at 6am on the dot. Was put in room 12 to wait as they were full and needed five mommas to discharge so I could have a room.
7:30am nurse offered for us to go home and come back at 11am to be put in a l & d room.

Went home to hang out with Ashlyn, Auntie Shops, Gramma B and Pop-Pop.

Came back to hospital and got call from nurse while we were in parking garage at 10:55am. She said room won’t be ready til noon. Decided to wait in atrium so we wouldn’t upset Ash by going home and leaving again so soon. Then went to cafeteria for scalloped tators, peas n carrots and a bag of chips.

Arrived back up at birthing center at noon as instructed. Was told room would be ready in 20 minutes and sent to triage to wait.

Was taken to room at 1:20pm.. it’s now 2pm and The Hubs is sleeping in the recliner while I’m too keyed up to close my eyes waiting for SOMETHING…ANYTHING to happen.

Noone has come in my room yet since she dropped me off and told me to put on a gown. I’m all unpacked, have nested in the room as much as possible, paced back and forth and am now sitting here all jittery wishing I had some ice water but not knowing where to get it or who to ask.

However…just heard a newborn baby cry. Sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.

To be continued…

Mixed Emotions

2010-11-04T14:48:00.002-05:00

Today has been full of tears and excitement...

It hit me this morning after I went up to get Ashlyn up for the day that this would be the last day I would spend with her as an only child. As of tomorrow, our family is growing by one and changing in more ways than I can even imagine, I'm sure.

As excited as I am to finally meet my baby boy (nine months is a really really really long time when you are talking about waiting to hold your child in your arms), I am really nervous about what bringing a new baby into our lives will do to my first baby and sad to see my days alone with her coming to a close. I mean, since the day I brought her home from the hospital two years ago, it's just been her and I all day every day (while daddy is at work, of course). That's a long time to develop routines and rituals. And I realize that that doesn't all have to change, but it's not going to be the same either.

So today I have asked her for more hugs than ever, and spent more time just staring at her in amazement at what a wonderful, perfect little person she has already become. I love my daughter with all of my being and just hope that whatever kind of stress bringing her brother home might cause her, the joy she finds in being his big sister will be 100 times greater.

Preggo Crazies at their finest

2010-11-03T06:15:00.003-05:00

So yesterday I had it in my mind that I needed to take a walk. I feel this way just about every day now. Not that I think (in my sane brain of brains) that it's going to help, but something tells me I just need to get a walk in every day. I was like this from the beginning of my pregnancy until the doctor warned me to slow down around 31 weeks when I was starting to dilate and progress too early. Once she took me off 'restriction', though, the intense urge to move came right back.

So anyway - a friend was stopping by for lunch, but I had a good 45 minutes or so before she would be there, so in a fury, I made a cup of tea (red raspberry leaf, of course.. been chugging that stuff for a couple weeks.. clearly it's not inducing labor for this crazy momma), got Ashlyn and I dressed and bundled up (since it was only about 45 degrees out, give or take a few degrees) and flew out the door to the garage for her wagon (the good stroller is in the trunk of the car which has been with my hubby for the last week and a half since it's way too cold and/or rainy to take the motorcycle and we're down to one car).

Picture this.. ginormous preggo lady holding a big mug of tea in one hand, pulling a 30 lb toddler in a wagon with the other, waddling and fast as she can around the block in a mad rush to the finish line aka 'please let my water break, please let my water break.. who will I call first, will I make it home ok, who cares - just PLEASE LET MY WATER BREAK!'. Yeah, I'm sure I looked crazy. And as you guessed.. my water didn't break. Oh well.. today's another day.

Speaking of crazy.. last night I was lying on the couch watching dvr'd Community and Parenthood (amoung my fave shows, right after Modern Family, Chuck, House and a pluthera* of others I won't bother listing right now - another post, perhaps) when I jumped up like a crazy person and demanded that my hubby pause the show.

Me: OMG I think the baby turned.
The Hubs: What? Why?
Me: Holy crap.. he has the hiccups and I can only feel him moving up high.
The Hubs: (staring at me, using all of his power not to roll his eyes, I'm sure)
Me: OMG seriously - he gets the hiccups alllllll the time and I can always feel them really low cuz that's where his head is. OH NO! He flipped, I know it. Crap. Now what????????????
The Hubs: (still staring, knowing better than to weigh in his thoughts)
Me: Shew.. ok, just felt his head move w/ them. And it's low. Oh wow.. that was really scary.
The Hubs: (pressed unpause and continued to watch the show.. such a good man to keep his 'girl - you are nuts' comments to himself yet again)

*pluthera.. since when is this not a word? i thought it meant an over-abundance of something, right? spell check isn't recognizing it. have i made this word up? seriously - i've used it for too long for that. what gives?

Expectations, Wishes and Eviction Notices

2010-11-02T09:57:00.002-05:00

So I had my 38 week check-up this afternoon.. an hour ago, actually.
I was expecting to hear that I had progressed from the 2-3 cm that I was dilated to last week, the 80% effacement from last week and the -2 station from last week.

Expectations denied. No change. Not one bit.

I was wishing for an induction date of this Friday (assuming that the membrane stripping that she did today doesn't put me into labor sooner). I'm done being preggo. I've been in what I consider extreme amounts of pain since before my 31 week appointment when we found out I was dilating and thinning, causing me to be on 'restrictions' trying to keep from going into labor early. She told me that she could induce me at 39 weeks. Friday is the 39 week 0 day mark.

Wish granted! If I don't go into labor before then, I will be heading to the hospital at 6am Friday, November 5th.

And that, my friends, is this baby's official eviction notice. If he choices to evacuate the dance floor earlier than that - GREAT! But at least there is a light at the end of my pregnancy tunnel now.

Now I just need to keep the nerves at bay.. ha ha ha. Easier said than done. I'm scared of being induced, but I'm just going to suck it up and push the fear aside cause I'm more than ready to meet my son and move on to the next part of this second baby journey :)

November already?

2010-11-01T12:07:00.002-05:00

Poor blog is so neglected. Since I was introduced to NaBloPoMo by my friend Kristen in a Facebook conversation, I thought I would jump on over to my own blog and give it some love :)

I'm not saying I will jump on the NaBloPoMo bandwagon, but I figure I can at least give a lil update and see if my blogging mojo bubbles up any.

My days have been filled with waiting, waiting and more waiting.. still pregnant and just can't wait for Baby Boy to make his debut! I had some pre-term labor issues back at the 31 week mark and since then have been hearing 'he could come anytime' since then, so my patience at this point (38 weeks 3 days) is pretty scarce. Was really hoping for another October baby (Halloween would have been awesome!), but cleary that didn't happen, so now I'm hoping that when my doctor strips my membranes at my appointment tomorrow, labor gets going! If not, we may be scheduling an induction for sometime in my 39th week. I really don't want to make that decision, so let's just cross the crossables that the stripping works (it didn't with Ashlyn, but lots of people have had luck with it).

In other news, speaking of Ashlyn.. she turned two on October 13th! I can't believe we have a two-year-old!! She's awesome.. seriously. I can't believe how much she is learning every single day.. she spells her name (thank you, My Pal Violet by Leapfrog!), counts to 15, knows lots of colors and letters and sings countless songs from her cartoons, toys and cd's.. it just amazes us over and over again every single day!

So that's the scoop on me. Hopefully I'll be able to post an update very very soon letting you know that my son has arrived! Until then, perhaps I can still jump over here to say hello instead of being such a stranger!

Important information regarding Baby Boy Haettich - New Information Added

2010-09-29T23:08:00.000-05:00

*** New Information Added ***

Our insurance (Medical Mutual of Ohio) is covering Jason's Tdap booster shot at a CVS Minute Clinic 100%, so he will be receiving his this weekend completely free of charge. If you are wondering if it is covered, call your insurance company and they will be able to tell you. FYI - You can call 866-389-2727 for a CVS Minute Clinic near you that administers the shot.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Family and Friends - Hope you are all feeling well and enjoying the fall weather!

As my due date is fast-approaching (Nov. 12th), I wanted to take a minute to give everyone a little information regarding a decision that Jason and I have made regarding Baby Boy Haettich...

After being advised by my doctor, we have done quite a bit of research about a pretty hot-topic right now, the vaccination against Pertussis aka Whooping Cough. At our very first prenatal appointment, my doctor informed us that our close family and friends will need to be vaccinated against this disease before handling the baby. We thought it sounded a little extreme, but took some time to do a little research and have found that whooping cough has become a serious problem again, especially for infants who have not yet been fully vaccinated against it. What they are finding is that the vaccines we all received years ago against this disease are now wearing off and adults are spreading this to infants without even knowing they have it. This disease puts many infants in the hospital and can even cause death. Here are a couple websites with some general information: http://www.soundsofpertussis.com/#/homepage and http://www.dhpe.org/infect/Per.html

With this information in mind, Jason and I have decided that in order to protect our baby from this in the best way we can, we are asking that anyone who would like to hold the baby in his first two months of life (before he starts receiving his own vaccine) get the vaccine before he is born. We're not saying that you cannot visit/meet him if you choose not to be vaccinated, but we are saying that without the vaccine, we ask that you not hold him. Obviously, if you are not feeling well, whether vaccinated or not, we ask that you please hold off on visiting until you are feeling better. And just like with Ashlyn, anyone who comes to visit will be asked to wash their hands or use an anti-bacterial hand sanitizer when you come over. These are just common sense things when visiting a newborn, especially during cold and flu season. ****** After researching further, we ask that if you are visiting the baby and are NOT going to receive the vaccine, please be sure to avoid close contact. This is an airborne disease and can be passed on before you even know you are sick or have any symptoms. We really don't want to exclude anyone from coming to visit after the baby is born, but are taking the precautions that our doctors have advised are best. Thank you for your understanding. ******

This pertains to all non-pregnant adults ages 19-64 who have not had at least a Td (tetanus & diphtheria) vaccine in the last two years. Jason will be receiving his soon and I will get mine before leaving the hospital after giving birth.

The Cuyahoga County Health Department is offering this vaccine (the Tdap booster - for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) for $12, and you can call 216-201-2041 to schedule your appointment. You can also contact your physician to schedule an appointment to have this vaccine/booster administered. CVS also offers this vaccine at their Minute-Clinics and accept medical insurance as well.

If anyone has any questions about this information, please feel free to contact me. With that being said, this is a decision that we have thought long and hard about, and although we know that not everyone may agree with us, we aren't asking for any negative opinions on the matter. This is a precaution that we have decided to take for the well-being of our child and we appreciate your respect of our decision.

Thank you for your time and please feel free to pass this on to anyone I may have missed or who might not check their email on a regular basis. I will also be posting this on Facebook for those who are users there to make sure we get the info out to everyone we can.

Take care and hope everyone is well! Love, Jennifer and Jason

*** This is being posted here as a way for me to remember, not necessarily for anyone to have to read. ***

Totally Random Dinner Ideas/Recipes/Food Notes

2010-08-13T12:15:00.002-05:00

A friend was asking for some quick and easy dinner ideas, so I am posting my 'Dinner Ideas' document here for all to reference. It's just a word doc I constantly add to on my desktop with easy dinner recipes, dessert ideas, etc. so when I'm stumped on what to make, I can just refer to it and make my shopping list. Hoping it will all fit here. Thank you to all of my friends who have shared their recipes with me over the last couple of year or so since I started putting this together..

By Christy..
cut up steak tips (I used fajita meat and cut it up) and saute in olive oil with some garlic. Add 1 onion, 6 large mushrooms (sliced), dried thyme, a bay leaf, 3/4 cup broth, 3 swirls of the pan of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup water mixed with 1 tbsp flour. Cook covered for 30-45 mins. Serve over noodl...es. ** can add sour cream at the end **
By Hillary..
Green Smoothies - from my friend Rachel -
Rachel Green Smoothie
...8 oz of water
1 handful of collard greens or kale
1/2 bag of spinach
1 banana (or mango, peaches -use 2-, etc)
1 1/2 - 2 cups of mixed frozen fruit.... See More
2 tbs ground flaxseed (optional)

Blend greens and water first, then add fruit.

so I used chard since that was what we had, and frozen peaches, strawberries, and blueberries, and added OJ. I'll prob add honey next time. Reese LOVED it! She drank 1/2 of mine!
Apple Crisp
This recipe comes from Mom’s, “Fannie Farmer Cookbook” and it is the one you always request from her at Thanksgiving!
• 5 cups peeled, cored, sliced apples - I prefer Cortlands
• ½ cup water (if necessary - see instructions)
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 cup sugar (white or brown, or a combination thereof; I like light brown)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon (use more…)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut in small pieces
• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Butter a 1½ quart baking dish, and spread the apples in it. Sprinkle with ½ cup water. (If apples are extremely juicy, omit water.)
• Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl or in a food processor. Add butter.
• Bowl: With a pastry blender or your fingers, rub butter into other ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Food processor: Pulse ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Spread mixture evenly over apples. (I generally don’t use all of the topping.)
• Bake 30 minutes or until the crust is browned. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
normally you make it w/ like 5 apples
so you can just do 1 apple in a bowl you can put in the oven
so peel/core slice apples (thinner you slice the faster it cooks)
then you can eyeball the topping
you could 1/4 the topping and then use what you want to on top
and throw it in the oven
so cut up apples - throw splash of water doen't need much at all

A to Z bread from Mom
3 eggs
1 c oil
2 c sugar
2 c A-Z
3 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
3 tsp cinnamon
1tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder

Beat eggs with oil and sugar. Add A-Z (grated or mashed) and vanilla. Sift together (I usually skip this) flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Evenly divide into 2 greased loaf pans at 325 degrees from 45 min – 1 hr.
Zucchini – 2 c
Bananas – 2 c
Apples (or apple sauce) – 3 c
Pears – 2 c
Cranberries – 2 c
Peaches – 2 c
Grated Carrots – 2 c
Pineapples (drained and crushed) – 2 c
You can also do a combination of anything…. And others not mentioned!

sarges rice
1 package of Long Grain rice, 2 cans of beef broth and 1 can of beef consomme and 1/2 stick of butter. you take all of these and put in a sauce pan and boil until rice is done. SOOOO Easy!!! It is SOOOO Yummy!!!

dyk shan uses bush's baked beans -vegetarian - drains liquid, adds brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, and lots of bbq sauce
dyk its yummy
Hil’s mac n cheese
½-1 package of pasta (I use ziti, but elbows, or whatever) – cook per directions
In a double boiler (pot w/ couple inches of water in it with a metal or glass bowl that fits over it) melt 4 Tbsp of butter. Add same amount of flour. Whisk together for a couple of minutes. Add about 2 cups of milk. Stir in pepper (to taste), 3 Tbsps of Worceshire sauce. Add ¾ lb of Velveeta (cut into cubes) or cheddar cheese shredded slowly and stirring constantly until melted.
Grease a casserole pan (I use 9x13). Put in cooked pasta. Pour cheese mixture over top and mix to cover pasta.
Cover w/ bread crumbs
Pour a little melted butter over top.
Bake 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

freezes great.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 c. buttermilk
2 or more drops red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.

Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).

Lemonade Buttercream:
3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Red food coloring

Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Pink Lemonade Cookies
Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened ... See More
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup powdered lemonade mix
1 egg
8 drops red food coloring
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup pink decorating sugar
1 Tbs. light corn syrup
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 to 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine butter, granulated sugar, and lemonade mix. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and food coloring; beat well. Gradually add flour and salt; beat until dough begins to cling.

2. Gather dough into a ball and shape into a 7x2 1/2-inch log. Wrap in waxed paper. Chill 3 hours so it's firm enough to slice.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place decorating sugar in a shallow bowl. Remove waxed paper from dough. Brush outside of the dough log with corn syrup. Cut log crosswise into 1/8-inch thick slices. Lightly roll edges of the slices in the pink sugar. Place on cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. Cut some cookies in half, if desired. Score the top of cookies with the back of a small knife to make them resemble citrus segments.

4. Bake about 8 minutes, or until edges are just firm. Let cool on a wire rack.

5. Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice; place in a resealable plastic bag. Snip a small hole in one corner of the bag. Pipe icing onto scored lines and add dots. Let stand until icing is set.

Stuffed Shells
Christy Herbert
Jennifer, I make mine with Ricotta, egg, salt, pepper, parsley, and parm cheese. Mix and stuff into large cooked shells. Form single layer in pan and cover with your fav marinara or spaghetti sauce. You can also cook meat, cool, and add to ricotta and stuff that way. Or add meat to the sauce....very flexible and YUMMY. Curious how Hil makes hers.
Hillary Smith Garver
Mine are pretty similar. I do a small container of ricotta and a bigger container of small curd cottage cheese (makes it a little healthier), and italian seasoning, and 1/2c or so of mozzerella cheese (shredded) and a good amount of parm cheese. Sometimes I do egg, sometimes I don't. Depends if I remember :) I just taste it to make sure it is ... See Moreseasoned enough and has a good consistency, you don't want it too runny b/c it melts even more in the oven. They are really easy to make and freeze. Then defrost in fridge and bake in oven. Wish I had some ready to go b/c yummy!!

From Hillary..
dyk potato salad:
5lbs of idaho potatoes (I used 2.5ish lbs of new potatoes and didn't peel them) peeled and boiled til fork tender
when they are done, drain them and immediately pour italian dressing on top i like to add a good bit b/c I prefer that flavor (it keeps it really moist) to mayo. chop a medium onion (i used red - but nana always used white) really small (i used the food processor). add. hard boil 5-6 eggs. MASH them (really makes a difference to chopping them). add. add salt and pepper. and just enough mayo.
dyk i know, real precise, right? sorry it is the best i can do as I wasn't give a "real" recipe w/ measurements
dyk i have to say it is REALLY important to make it the night before and refrigerate it over night. i was kinda like mmmmm i dont know about this on sat. but on sunday it was perfect! i didn't even have to add more mayo!
Per Christy – sub cheddar cubes & bacon crumbles for onions

Apple Crisp
This recipe comes from Mom’s, “Fannie Farmer Cookbook” and it is the one you always request from her at Thanksgiving!
• 5 cups peeled, cored, sliced apples - I prefer Cortlands
• ½ cup water (if necessary - see instructions)
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 cup sugar (white or brown, or a combination thereof; I like light brown)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut in small pieces
• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Butter a 1½ quart baking dish, and spread the apples in it. Sprinkle with ½ cup water. (If apples are extremely juicy, omit water.)
• Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl or in a food processor. Add butter.
• Bowl: With a pastry blender or your fingers, rub butter into other ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Food processor: Pulse ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Spread mixture evenly over apples. (I generally don’t use all of the topping.)
• Bake 30 minutes or until the crust is browned. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Barb Bouy’s Chicken Cattitori

"Really? Um, brown chicken then remove from pan. Add chopped onion and garlic til cooked thru. Add LOTS of chopped red/yellow pepper and LOTS of quartered mushrooms. Add the very large can of diced tomatoes and tom sauce. Season with salt, pepper, ital seasonings, and brown sugar. Simmer about half an hour with chicken added back in to be sure its cooked through. I think that's it!"

Mer’s Spaghetti Pie
Ingredients: (Serves 12, 2-9" pie pans or 1 9x13)
1 lb ground beef
1 t minced garlic
1 (16 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1C grated parm. cheese... See More
3 eggs
16 oz ricotta (or sub cottage) cheese
16 oz cooked spaghetti
2 C shredded mozz. cheese

1) Brown ground beef in skillet with garlic, drain well. Mix meat and spaghetti sauce in skillet, cook on medium low until heated through
2) Beat eggs and add parm cheese in large bowl
3) Add (cooked and drained) pasta to cheese/egg mixture and toss to coat
4)Spread pasta mixture in greased pan and press with spoon to resemble pie crust (including up the sides)
5) Spread ricotta cheese evenly over "pasta crust" mixture
6) top with meat mixture and top with mozzerella cheese and a sprinkle of parm.

Bake at 350 for 20 monutes, until cheese is melted and SLIGHTLY crispy on top! Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

MMMMMMMMMmmmmm!! I hope it turns out like my mom's because it's GOOOOD!!

Cheesy Taco Bake
Ingredients:: ... See More
3 C. cooked, chopped chicken (or black beans)
1 pkg taco seasoning
2 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 C. mild salsa
2 C. corn kernels
Tortillas

1.Combine chicken (beans) and taco seasoning, toss to coat
2. Mix with salsa, corn and 2 C. cheese
3. Place one layer of tortillas on the bottom of well greased 9x13. Add half of mixture
4. add another layer of tortillas and remaining mixture. Add tortillas and sprinkle last half cup of cheese on top. Cover tightly with foil

Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Well, Jeremy gave it two thumbs up and said he could eat it every night.......
so I think we might have a winner! I made it with black beans and
medium salsa, just enough spice, but not too much!

Pumpkin’s Chili
1lb browned & drained ground beef
23oz tomato sauce
1 can black beans
1 can med or hot chili beans... See More
1 can pumpkin
1 can corn
1 can chicken broth
1 pkt hot chili seasoning mix
cayenne pepper to taste
mix in pot, bubble to perfection!
serve w/ sour cream & cheese.

Italian Stuffed shells
* Using jarred pasta sauce, hubby wouldn't give me homemade recipe :(
12 oz Jumbo pasta shells
8 oz Mozzarella shredded cheese
12 oz herb seasoned spaghetti sauce
8 oz skinless chicken breast. Cooked and chopped

Cook shells according to box. Spray 9x13x2 cooking dish with cooking spray, butter or veg. oil. Place drained shells in dish. Mix together 1/2 mozz. cheese, 1/2 spaghetti sauce, and chicken into a bowl. Stuff mixture into shells and cover with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and slightly brown
* We like more sauce and cheese so we add more cheese into mixture or add ricotta into the shells. I served it with garlic bread or bread sticks

Beef Fiesta
1-2 lbs or ground beef, chicken or turkey
i medium onion
1.5 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1-2 tsp of chili powder
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of kernel corn niblets
2 oxo cubes with 2 cups boiling water
1 1/3 cups of minute rice

Brown meat with onion. Add all remaining ingredients and let simmer until rice is cooked.

Christa (HH Ethan)
Category: Desserts

Easy fudge (seriously takes about 10 minutes)

1 package semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 package milk chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt

Combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, mix and microwave a bit longer until all chips are melted and smooth. Add salt and vanilla and mix well. Grease 2 loaf pans and spread fudge in the bottom. Chill in fridge for at least an hour. Remove and cut into pieces.

Pumpkin Fudge

* 3 cups powdered sugar
* 1 cup butter
* 1 (5 oz.) can evaporated milk
* 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
* 1 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice
* 2 cups white chocolate chips
* 1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow creme
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Butter a 9"x13" pan and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, butter, milk, pumpkin, and spice; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling over medium heat until mixture reaches 234°F. (118 °C.) on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in white chocolate chips. When chips are melted, add marshmallow cream and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Immediately pour fudge into prepared pan. Spread evenly. Cool at room temperature.
This is by far one of the easiest crock pot recipes and my fave that I've tried so far:
4 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken (I used healthy choice cream of chick)
1 small onion
2 10 oz. cans of biscuits
2 tbs butter
Put butter, chicken, cream of chicken and onions in crockpot. Add enough water to cover chicken. Cook on high 5-6 hours. In the last 1/2 hour of cooking put biscuit dough on top. Continue to cook till biscuits are done.
This recipe is SOOO good. When I first made it I was skeptical that the dough wouldn't cook but it does :)
Great thread, btw, the crock pot is my new best friend :)

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Spinach and Beef Casserole
Brown your meat and season it how you like it. Put it in a big bowl with an entire bag of frozen spinich, half a bag of shredded cheddar cheese, and two cans of diced tomatoes. Mix it all together and then spoon it in the greased 9x9 Pyrex dish. Put the rest of the cheddar cheese on top. Bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and voila!
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Cowboy Casserole
I like ground beef in the crock pot with a can of tomato soup, some sliced potatoes, carrots... Pretty much anything. Brown it first, obviously. But it's yum. I think it's called cowboy casserole or something silly. Lol
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I make chili almost every weekend in the winter but I use ground turkey but here's my recipe ...
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn
2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 jalapeno, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
I throw everything into the crock pot and mix it up really well. After I brown the turkey, I add it and then let it cook for about 10 hours (or sometimes overnight) on low. Its great on its own with cheese or sometimes we eat it with tortilla chips and guacamole and it lasts a few days. You can throw anything in there really and it will taste great. Just don't overdo the chili powder unless you like spice. I put too much last time and we could hardly eat it! I had to throw in extra cans of beans! LOL
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Pork chops, big can baked beans, mustard & bbq sauce in the crock pot.
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We make a lot of chili in ours:
Hamburger meat (cooked in the skillet first)
Kidney beans
Pinto beans
Black beans (we love our beans!)
Corn
Diced tomatoes (unless my mom is there, she's allergic!)
Spices for seasoning
And the best part.... a package of Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning.
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My fav is just throw some boneless pork chops, bbq sauce and sliced onion cook on low or med, whatever the lowest setting on yours is. They come out soooo tender, I love it. I like to serve with mashed taters and peas :)
I do the same thing with country style pork ribs. Which is what we're having tonight
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I also do the hamburger soup thing...but it's usually when I clean out the fridge...brown some ground beef, drain, add cream of mushroom soup and what ever you have left over in the fridge, it's always different. We call it hamburger surprise cause we never know what it's gonna taste like.
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I love to make an augrautin potato type dish. Bear with me it is late and I'm not fully coherent!
1 bag of the cubed hash browns
1 can cream of mushroom (but cream of chicken would work too)
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded mozzarella or paremsean
1 cup water
onion and garlic to taste
then I usually add some sort of meat (chicken, turkey kilbasa or ground turkey- I don't eat red meat or pork but you could)
Add it all to the pot, stir it up so it is all coated though. Low 6-8 hrs. MMMM cheesey!
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These are Nacho Chicken and Rice Burrito type thingys.. lol They are soooooo good!

Ingredients:
2 cans cheddar cheese soup
1 cup water
2 cups chunky salsa or picante sauce
1 1/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cubed
10 flour tortillas (10-inch size)

Directions:
-Mix soup, water, salsa, rice and chicken in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 7 to 8 hours or until done.
-Spoon about 1 cup rice mixture down center of each tortilla. Fold tortilla around filling.
-Serve.
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French Dip
• 3-4 lb. rump roast
• 1 package Good Seasonings Italian dressing mix
• 1 package au jus mix
• 5-10 beef boullion cubes
• enough water to cover roast
I always put this in right away in the morning, I usually cook it for 6-8 hours. I serve it with french rolls. You have your meat and your broth all in one pot. And the left over meat I always make beef and noodles with or a quick stew.
I put the roast in the crock, without the netting that some meat markets put around the roast, sprinkle all the seasonings, drop the boullion cubes in and add water and let it be for about 6 hours, then I start checking it. I cook it on high if I want it ready in 4-6 hours and low if I want it ready with 6-8. I am usually home so I will vary the temps throughout the day if I notice it is getting done too fast or not fast enough. Its ready when the meat has fallen apart, sometimes I poke it with a fork to check it and most the time the fork falls through. Its actually a french roll hogie, it is in the bread isle. It is made by Sara Lee, but the package is clear and just has white and blue letters on it. I didn't know who made it until I was looking at the nutrition information one day, LOL. Don't forget the frozen egg noodles for the left over meat and broth, unless you have other plans for the leftovers. I always end up adding more beef broth, just water and beef boullion cubes to the noodles. All I do for the beef & noodles is I boil the left over french dip with extra water, quit a bit of water, in a large pot, then when it is to a full boil I add frozen egg noodles, about 40 minutes and supper is ready. If I feel ambitious I will put raw diced carrots in right before the noodles. Super easy, both meals. Sometimes I do mashed potatoes with the beef and noodles, it just depends how many noodles there are and how many people I am feeding.
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Chicken Pot Pie (with shortcuts)
1 lb. chicken breast
32 oz. chicken stock
2 sm cans cream of chicken soup
1 lg can homestyle mixed vegetables (these are the larger mixed veggies, but any type will work)
1 package pillsbury refridgerated pie crust
salt and pepper to taste
Bring pie crusts to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350.
Boil the chicken in about 28 oz of the chicken stock. Add salt and pepper to the stock before boiling. Remove chicken when cooked through, let cool to touch. Cut chicken in bite-size chunks. I find that kitchen shears are the best thing to use to do this, but a knife and fork work fine, too. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl, mix together veggies, chicken, cream of chicken soup, and remaining chicken stock.
Press one pie crust into the bottom of a pie dish. Fill crust with above mixture. You'll have some leftover to use or freeze for another pie, or toss if you wish. Fill crust nearly all the way full, but leave some room b/c mixture will boil while cooking. Lay 2nd crust across top of pie, crimp edges and cut some ventilation slits in the top.
Bake for about an hour, checking after 45 min. Pie is done when crust is a yummy golden brown.

Sausage Potato Soup

1 pound Bob Evans Italian Sausage Roll
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can (48 ounces) chicken broth (sodium free)
1 package (6 ounces) precooked chicken strips cut into pieces
1 package (20 ounces) Bob Evans Refrigerated Home Fries Potatoes
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 bunch fresh kale, washed, chopped into pieces

In soup pot, crumble and brown sausage with olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute’ for 3 to 4 minutes longer. Add salt, peppers, broth, chicken pieces, potatoes, and parsley. Bring to boil and immediately turn down to simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes add kale. Cover and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Refrigerate Leftovers.

Make 5-6 servings.

*** I don’t use the olive oil or the parsley and the last time I made it I added real bacon pieces, which makes it taste more like the Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana (the sausage soup)

Cabbage Rolls
Rolls:
-1 head of cabbage
-1 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
-1 cup cooked rice
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-1/2 cup finely chopped onion
-dash of nutmeg or cinnamon or cloves
Additional:
-2ish cups tomato juice (such as V8)
-sour cream or kraut (optional - for garnish)
Separate cabbage leaves from the head - tear off the hardest bit of the core and they'll be easier to work with. Then parboil or steam until tender. Drain and et aside to cool.
Pre-heat oven to 350' and grease a 9x12 casserole dish.
Mix raw meat with onion, rice, egg, and seasonings.
Place a portion (a couple tablespoons) of the meat mixture on the base of a cabbage leaf and roll up. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat for all leaves.
Pour tomato juice over top of the cabbage rolls - leave an inch of space from the top of the dish for the meat juices.
Cover with foil and bake for an hour. Serve alone or with garnish.
Alternately, you can brown the filling before you stuff the leaves, but it does make rolling more complicated. They're good with a little cheese thrown in the filling too, if you have some sitting around waiting to be used.
WW = 42 points for the whole casserole made with beef, 25 if made with turkey. 2 tbsp of sour cream is 1.5 points. Kraut is 0 points.

Ritzy Chicken
Ingredients:
• 2 sleeves Ritz crackers
• 1 can cream of chicken soup, or cream of mushroom
• 1 cup sour cream, regular or reduced fat
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 4 to 6 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked
• 4 ounces melted butter, melted
Preparation:
Crumble one sleeve of Ritz crackers in the bottom of a 2 to 2 1/2-quart casserole dish. Drizzle half of the melted butter over the crackers. Mix chicken with soup, sour cream, and broth. Pour over crackers. Crush the remaining sleeve of crackers over the chicken mixture. Drizzle the remaining melted butter over the crackers. Bake at 300° for 30 to 40

Kelly: basically you "fry" up stew beef (this is easier for me than trying to cut beef into bite-size pieces) with a clove of garlic and 2 tbsp of butter... in a seperate container mix up an 8oz container of sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, 2 tbsp of flour, 1/2 c of water.. drain off the beef when it's done, stick it back in the pan, poor the sour cream mix into the pan, let it simmer until it bubbles.. then pour it over shell noodles!

laurie: lol..you just make taco meat like usual, mix in some sour cream and refried beans and layer some on top of a tortilla with cheese and olives. make about 3-4 layers and bake it

KristenMcD: yeah, take the grapes off their stems and put them in a ziplock. cover with mt dew and throw in the freezer.'

Juicy Ranch Chicken
Chicken Breast (adjustable to how much you want to fix/eat)
Ranch dressing
Italian Breadcrumbs
First pour dressing on a plate and on a seperate plate pour breadcrumbs
I usually pat the chicken a bit with a paper towel then roll in Ranch then roll in breadcrumbs. Place in baking dish with sides. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. They are sooo juicy!
You can also cut up the breasts into bite size pieces or use tenders and do the same thing, with these you can also freeze after they have cooled down. You can place them in a freezer bag and have homemade chicken nuggets for your little ones. To reheat you can either put them in the microwave or warm them in the oven. My kids LOVE them!

Easy Apple Dessert
4-5 apples, cored, peeled and chopped
1 c. sugar
1t. cinnamon
1c. butter, melted and divided
1 8.25 pkg yellow cake mix (one box basically)
combine apples, sugar, cinnamon and 1/2 butter in an ungreased glass 13x9 baking dish. Sprinkle on cake mix; drizzle remaining butter on top. bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. makes 15 servings.

Beef Stroganoff ala Kelly. :) Ready??
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Here ya go, ladies :) This meal is a staple at our house. Rich has said over and over that this is his favorite recipe that I make :) Enjoy!

Kelly

Ingredients:
1 lb of stew beef (this is what I use.. you could use 12oz of boneless beef sirloin steak and cut it into bite-size pieces.. this is just easier for me)
1 8oz carton dairy sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 c water
2 tsp instant beef bouillon granules (you can leave this out if you can't find it/don't have it on hand)
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups sliced mushrooms (I'm not big on mushrooms so I leave these out)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp garlic/margarine
2 cups hot cooked noodles

Trim fat from meat. Thinly slice meat against the grain into bite-size strips (if not using stew beef). In a small bowl stir together sour cream, soup, and flour. Stir in water, bouillon granules, and pepper, set aside.

In a large skillet cook and stir the meat, mushrooms, and garlic in hot butter over medium-high heat about 5 minutes or until desired doneness. Drain off fat.

Stir sour cream mixture into meat mixture in skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for one minute more. Serve mixture over noodles.

Here is a simple one that goes over great, the original recipe was a cheeseball, but I didn't like it with nuts
• 1 pkg cream cheese
• 1-8 oz can crushed pineapple in its own juice (drained)
• 1/2 tsp lawrys seasoning salt (more or less to taste)
Mix together and serve with crackers, we like to serve this with wheat thins

Homemade Noodles
• 2 cup of flour
• 2 egg
• pinch of salt (or to taste, this may be omitted)
• a few drops of water (might not be needed)
Mix eggs and salt, add in flour with a wooden spoon until dough ball forms. Roll out on a floured counter top and keep working and rolling dough (adding flour) until it is no longer sticky. Roll out dough until it is quit thin because it puffs up when cooking. Cut your noodles with a pizza wheel. A pizza wheel saves time and is much easier.
Make sure you flour your rolling pin or it will be a huge mess.
Add into boiling broth, you will know they are done when the noodles float

Hot Dog Casserole
2 packages of hot dogs, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 package of hot dog buns
2 can of hot dog chili
cheese (as desired)
1. Preheat oven at 350. Spray bottom of cake pan. Tear hot dog buns into bite size pieces, enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
2. Put cake pan with hot dog buns in oven for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted.
3. When hot dog bun bites are lightly toasted, pull out of oven, and top with bite-sized pieces of hot dogs. Spread chili over top and finish off with cheese.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes and you're done. Top with desired condiments.

4-6 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup (I used cream of mushroom)
1 packet of liptons mushroom soup mix (dry) (I used onion & mushroom)
put in slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours
before serving add 1/4-1/2 c of sour cream
mix
serve over noodles (I used rice)
Left over sauce good on hamburgers
I salt and peppered the chicken, but it was a little salty, so I'd say just use pepper. Super easy and super yummy!

Made these for New Year's dinner for my family and they loved them!
2 cups peanut butter, divided (1 1/4 cups and 3/4 cups)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips, divided (1/2 cup and 1 1/2 cup)

GREASE 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

BEAT 1 1/4 cups peanut butter and butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar. With hands or wooden spoon, work in remaining powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs and 1/2 cup morsels. Press evenly into prepared baking pan. Smooth top with spatula.

MELT remaining peanut butter and remaining morsels in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over lowest possible heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Spread over graham cracker crust in pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until chocolate is firm; cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.

Crock Pot Lasagna - from Tiffany (loocyloocy) off the EC. Michalee sent me a link to an awesome thread full of slow cooker recipes from the old board, if anyone wants it. :)
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• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (12 ounce) package lasagna noodles
• 12 ounces cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
Brown the beef in a skillet, then add the onions, garlic, tomato sause/paste, oregano, and salt and allow it warm. In another bowl mix together the cheeses. Then in the crock pot, add a layer of meat mixture, then cheese mixture, then noodles (uncooked). Layer this until you reach near the top of the crock pot.
Cook on low for about 6-8 hours. I think that I usually add another layer of sauce on top of the last layer of noodles so that they don't dry out.

Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas:

Ingredients:
(this makes a shitload but you can easily halve the recipe. This is one of those setups where it’s as easy to make one as it is a billion.)
• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast – I used the kind that come individually frozen in a bag since they were on sale this week and used an entire bag
• Salsa – I used a BIG jar.
• Can of diced tomatoes pepper and onion flavor, drained.
• 2 bricks of reduced fat cream cheese – you can probably get away with the non fat kind but it won’t be as melty and I’m thinking I’ll need the comfort of melty cheese postpartum.
• Corn Starch (may not be needed)
• Chili powder (if you want)
• Cayenne (if you want)
• Any other Mexican-type seasonings that you like
• 2 packages of Mission Flour Tortillas size medium
• Big can of enchilada sauce
• Big bag of shredded cheddar cheese mix.
• Cooking spray
Step 1: Put the chicken, salsa, drained tomatoes, and half of the cream cheese in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. I didn’t even bother thawing the chicken first.

Step 2: The crockpot mixture probably looks nasty at this point. Don’t worry – it’s just part of the process. Mix everything together while pulling the chicken apart with 2 forks. Drain off some of the liquid if it seems too runny. Add in the rest of the cream cheese and wait for it to melt and mix in. If the mixture still seems too runny add corn starch as needed. You want it to be goopy and delicious. Like this:

Step 3: Flavor with any spices that you want to add. I threw in some cayenne and some chili powder to give it a little more kick.

Step 4: Spray the bottom of a baking dish with nonstick spray.

Step 5: Assemble the enchiladas.

I just put a spoonful of the chicken mixture down the middle and folded the tortillas Chipolte-style. Top, bottom, then the sides. Place them seam side down in the baking dish like so:

This made enough for two full pans!

Plenty for both dinner and the freezer. Also isn't my new glass tile backsplash awesome?

Step 6: Top the enchiladas with enchilada sauce and pile on the cheese:

Step 7: Cover with foil, label, and freeze. Feel smug about how prepared you are what with your ONE freezer meal and all:

OR

Step 8: Spray foil with non stick spray and cover. Bake at 350 for 25 min until cheese is bubbly. Uncover and cook for 5 min more.

I served them with a box of Zatarans black beans and rice. One pan was enough for Matt, Andy, and I to stuff ourselves silly and still have plenty leftover for lunches the next day.

So ok. I have a meal in the freezer, my house is clean, and as of today I’m officially on maternity leave. The missing trim pieces for the kitchen will be in and assembled tomorrow. So really I just need the actual baby. Seriously, kid, it’s about time to come out now.

cobbler fake-out. Yummmmm....
Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with a little no-stick cooking spray. Crack open a tube of refrigerated biscuit dough (use regular or butter; I do NOT recommend buttermilk biscuits for this) and take out 5 biscuits. Pat each between your hands until they're about 1/4" thick and place on the bottom of the pan. Pour in 1-1/2 to 2 cups prepared fruit of your choice*. Take the remaining 5 biscuits, pat them between your hands until they're about 1/4" thick, and place on top of the fruit filling. Bake 15-20 minutes until the top biscuits are golden brown. Serve warm immediately...or refrigerate for a few hours so the fruit juices soak into the biscuits (then reheat in the microwave).
*Use any fruit your family likes, canned or fresh. Canned cherry pie filling is good; I've also done this with peaches (peeled, pitted and cut into slices) and sliced strawberries (sprinkled with sugar or Splenda and allowed to macerate for 30 minutes to an hour; pour the juices into the cobbler with the fruit). I haven't tried it yet, but I'm assuming that blueberry pie filling and apples would also be amazingly good.

Johnny Marsetti
Boil 1 pound of elbow macaroni (I like using the jumbo, but regular size works fine) according to package directions, then drain. While pasta is cooking, dice 1 medium to large onion and brown, then add 1-2 pounds ground meat of your choice and cook thoroughly. After pasta is drained, return it to the pot, and add meat and onion. Stir in 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (or you can use the equivalent amount of homemade), and heat thoroughly. Finally, stir in 2-4 cups of shredded cheese (we usually use cheddar, but I just used monterey jack and it was great) and heat until the cheese is completely melted (the more cheese you use, the cheesier the dish!).
This either feeds a huge crowd for very little money, or creates tons of leftovers; if you don't need so much, it's easy to cut the recipe in half by only cooking 1/2 pound of pasta and adjusting the amount of meat, sauce and cheese to your liking. You can also make this healthier by using lean meat and low-fat cheese.

mom's spaghetti sauce. It's really good and really easy to make!
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can of tomato soup
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of oregano
parsley flakes
Brown the ground beef and onion together; drain. Mix the tomato paste, soup, garlic powder, oregano and 3/4 can (soup can) of water. Once that is mixed together, add the meat mixture and parsley flakes. Cook on low for one hour.
It's not completely homemade but it's better than store bought and so good! And if you use lean ground beef or even turkey, it wouldn't be too bad for you either!

Baked oatmeal
One way we save a lot of money is to make things from scratch. Not only is it less expensive, but it also is better for you and tastes yummy, too!
Baked oatmeal one of our very favorite breakfast recipes. It makes a big pan so we refrigerate the leftovers and use it for the following few days’ breakfasts! Just reheat in the microwave or oven. We often just spoon out in individual bowls and reheat in the microwave. Be sure to top with butter, brown sugar, and milk. Delicious!

Baked Oatmeal
1 cup oil (can substitute butter or applesauce)
1 ½ cups sugar (can reduce)
4 eggs
6 cups oats
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups milk
Combine all ingredients in order listed. Pour into greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 375° for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned. Can refrigerate overnight before baking. Serve topped with butter, brown sugar, and milk.
Yields: Approximately 8-10 servings
Or
Ingredients:
1 cup steel cut oats
1-2 cups dried cranberries (or raisins, dates, apricots-or any other dried fruit you like)
4 cups water
1/2 cup half&half
sweetener to taste
Prep:
Spray crockpot with oil. Combine all ingredients except half&half in slow cooker. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Stir in half&half and maple syrup, honey or other sweetener to taste. This makes 4 servings.

Or
I buy steel-cut oats at Outpost Foods in the bulk section for 89 cents a pound. In a small crock pot combine 1/4 cup steel-cut oats and 1 cup water. It takes about 1 1/4 hours to cook. When done add 2 T. pumpkin pie mix, 2 T. freshly ground flax seed (also bought in bulk section) 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Heat for another 5 minutes. Top off with 1/3 cup fresh blueberries. This will serve one.

Sloppy Joes:
1lb ground beef
1 cup ketchup
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp dijon mustard
onion powder to taste
chili powder to taste
red hot sauce to taste
Brown the ground beef and then drain. Then add everything and let it simmer for awhile. I usually keep tasting after I add the chilli powder and hot sauce. Then just toss it on some buns. Not sure how much it makes if you use regular hamburger buns because we usually use bigger rolls and it usually feeds 4 that way.

Hot Onion Souffle
12 oz softened cream cheese
1 C. Parmesan cheese
1/2 C. Hellmann's Mayo
12 oz. frozen chopped onions, drained

Mix all and put into baking dish. Bake 425 degrees for 15 - 18 minutes. Serve with crackers, chips, Fritos, celery...whatever you like!
(I like to add a little fresh chopped onion to give it a little more oniony zip and it serves well in a stone bowl or dip-sized crock pot to keep it nice and warm!)

dyk 4 chicken breasts, i packet of dry italian seasoning and 1/4c water in crock pot for 3 hrs (I added 3 cloves of garlic too...), then add 1 can cream of chicken soup (I used cr. of mushroom) and 8 oz of soften cream cheese, and 1 can of mushrooms drained (I omitted). cook 1 more hour... all on low. we put it over pasta. yummy

Jannett Lozada Ammons at 2:58pm June 2
Kay, season the chops with lime juice, garlic powder and ground pepper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sear both sides of the chops on a hot skillet to seal in the juices. Place the chops on a baking dish (single layer) and top each chop with a full slice of onion. Pour cream of mushroom soup (I only add 1/2 can of water b/c I like a thicker gravy) over the chops and bake for 40 mins.

I serve them over rice with lots of the gravy. Yummmmmmy.

Teriyaki Stir Fry with Noodles
Ingredients
3-boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-red bell pepper
1-yellow bell pepper
1-green bell pepper
3-carrots-sliced
1-medium onion
1-2 cloves of garlic(depending how much you like)
1 lb of spaghetti
teriyaki
Directions
1. start water to boil for pasta, cook pasta as directed
2. put a small amount of oil in a large frying pan (large enough all of your ingredients will fit when it is all cooked)
3. dice and slice your veggies, put in pan on medium heat
4. cut chicken into bite size pieces, add into the pan with veggies, turn heat up to a medium high, add some teriyaki sauce
5. after the meat and veggies are cooked and pasta has been cooked and drained add the pasta to the meat and veggies and add more teriyaki. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes and serve

Oven Fries
Baking potatoes, sliced like real French fries, 450 for 35 mins

Homemade Chicken Nuggets (thanks Amanda aka Kenzie's mom)
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 beaten eggs
hot sauce
2c flour
6 to 8 club crackers smashed in small pieces
season salt/pepper/garlic powder
Cut chicken breasts into small nugget size pieces. Add few drops of hot sauce to beaten eggs and coat chicken pieces. Mix together flour, crackers, seasonings.(I use a lot of seasoning, 2-3 tbs each but you can do more or less) Heat skillet on med-med high with oil or cooking spray. Coat chicken in flour mix then cook in skillet, turning every 3-4min, until chicken is cooked in center and the outside is browned. Drain on paper towels before serving. Enjoy!
Chicken Club Sandwiches
1/2cup mayonnaise or salad dressing18slices bread, toasted12lettuce leaves6slices (3 ounces each) cooked chicken18slices tomato (3 medium)12slices bacon, crisply cooked and drainedSalt and pepper, if desired
1.Spread mayonnaise over 1 side of each slice of toast. Place 1 lettuce leaf and 1 chicken slice on each of 6 toast slices.2.Cover with second toast slice, mayonnaise side up. Top with lettuce leaf, 3 slices tomato and 2 slices bacon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.3.Cover with third toast slice, mayonnaise side down; secure with wooden picks. To serve, cut diagonally into triangles.
Variation Pile it on! Sliced cheese, salami, fully cooked ham, hard-cooked eggs or bell pepper rings. Yum!Purchasing Yes, you can use deli chicken or sliced chicken from a whole roasted chicken picked up at the supermarket.

Deluxe Cheeseburger Salad
Ingredients:
• 4 sesame seed hamburger bun tops
• 1 small red onion, divided
• 2 plum tomatoes
• 3/4 lb 95% lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup finely diced dill pickles • 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 8 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
• 1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Slice bun tops into 1/4-in. strips (if bun tops are very thick, slice bottoms off horizontally before slicing into strips). Arrange in a single layer on Large Bar Pan ; bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove to Stackable Cooling Rack ; cool completely.

2. Cut onion in half crosswise using Utility Knife . Slice half of the onion crosswise into thin rings using Ultimate Mandoline fitted with thin slicing blade. Cut tomatoes into quarters lengthwise and slice crosswise. Set onion and tomatoes aside.
3. Cook ground beef in (8-in.) Sauté Pan over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles using Slotted Turner . Chop remaining onion half using Food Chopper . Finely dice pickles using Utility Knife . In Classic Batter Bowl , combine chopped onion, pickles, ketchup and mustard. Add cooked ground beef; mix well using Small Mix 'N Scraper® .

4. To serve, arrange lettuce on large serving platter. Spoon beef mixture over lettuce. Top with cheese, tomatoes and sliced onion. Arrange hamburger bun croutons around edge of platter. Serve immediately.

Meatball Meatloaf
I got some ground chuck - mixed in garlic powder, salt, pepper, minced onion (with micro plane) red pepper flakes, break crumbs, and parmesan cheese. All to taste and based on how much beef you use. Rolled them into little balls and baked at 375 for 25 mins. I took them out, cleaned off any of the blood that cooked out of them (the brown stuff) and threw them into meatball sauce. I made the sause by adding a small can of tomato sauce, some ketchup, honey, apricot preserves (I didn't have grape jelly) garlic powder, pepper, and a little rice vinegar. I didn't measure anything, I just added what looked/ tasted right. So maybe equal parts sauce and ketchup, couple spoons of apricot preserves, tablespoon honey, and maybe tablespoon of vinegar. I made some mashed potatoes and served the meatballs over the top. Taylor LOVED it. It was YUM

Italian Parmesan Chicken (thanks Hillary)
1 dry packet of zesty italian seasoning mix
1/2-1c grated parmasen cheese
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Mix first two ingredients, coat chicken breasts with mixture, place is greased shallow baking dish and bake in oven at 400 for 20-25 minutes, until done

The pork chops I rolled in crumbled club crackers.(I do a mixture of big pieces of crackers and finely crumbled) I added a handfull of parmesean, garlic powder an some italalin spices. Coat the pork chops in egg or lightly in olive oile and cover with cracker mixture. Then I just cook them in a skillet that has been coated in cooking spray and cook them (covered) on med lo-med and turn them often so they don't burn. (Amanda – kenzie’s mommy)

Dijon Pork Chops
Thick cut pork chops
Dijon mustard, any kind
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Using an oven save baking dish large enough so the pork chops don't overlap, place the chops in the bottom of the dish. Spread dijon mustard thickly on the top surface of the pork chops using a spoon. Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes covered, then uncover the baking dish and bake another 15 minutes.

Michalee’s Goulash
Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 medium sized onion
1/4 red bell pepper (I use red so it is another hidden veggie)
1 medium sized carrot (hidden veggie)
1 can of diced tomatoes or 1 large fresh tomato
1 46 oz can of tomato juice
1 tsp to 1 Tbls minced garlic (just depends how well you like garlic)
1/2 to 3/4 tsp pepper and seasoning salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 lb macaroni (we like to change different styles to make it fun for the kids)
Directions
Cook noodles as directed while you cook ground beef. Chop onion and pepper and cook with the ground beef. Grate the carrot, chop the tomato or open the can. In a large pan(big enough for all the ingredients to go in) put in the shredded carrot, tomatoes and garlic. Drain off the extra grease off of the ground beef and then add to the large pan, add seasonings and mix, add the noodles and then the tomato juice and mix well. I usually let this cook on medium until it starts to boil, turn it off and cover it. Put garlic butter croissants in oven, when the rolls are done, supper is ready :)
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The last few nights dh has been home real late so I have been just making something simple for kenzie and I. Last night I mixed together black beans, corn, cherry tomatoes(cut in quarters), avacado chunks, cilantro, lime juice and tabasco. It was really yummy!
Oh I left out the lime and tabasco on kenzies of course.
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I made chicken and noodles. not a soup....not much broth in the end.
wide egg noodles,
canned chicken
broth
I actually simmer the chicken and broth while the noodles are cooking then it's all ready once the noodles have been drained. We have been known to use other noodles and DH REALLY liked it when I use the pasta that's shaped like a bugel (Campanelle noodles).
it's that simple! and so good cold for breakfast as leftovers :D

smoothie ideas:
peanut butter chocolate banana:
1/2 medium bananas
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup lowfat 2% milk
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla protein powder
1 packet splenda sweetener
several cubes of ice
Beef Stroganoff in the crock pot
3 cans (10.75 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1 envelope (1 oz) dry onion soup mix
2 pounds beef stew meat
Combine soup, sour cream, water and onion soup mix in Crock pot. Add beef and stir until coated. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
---I added about a cup of some leftover uncooked macaroni elbows in during the last 30 minutes on mine b/c I wanted pasta too.
---Another thing I did was put in one can of cream of mushroom w/ roasted garlic for some extra flavor.

Crock Pot Chicken n Stuffing
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt & pepper
4 slices of cheese of your choice (I used mozzarella)
1 can chicken broth
2 can cream of chicken
3 cups stuffing mix
stick of melted butter
Place chicken in Crockpot, salt & pepper it, top each breast with slice of cheese. Add broth & soup. Sprinkle stuffing mix over top and pour melted butter over all. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.
It was SO good! The chicken just falls apart, you don't even need a knife. But next time I make it I'm going to use a crockpot liner b/c the cheese made a total mess!!!
Curry Chicken Tidbits
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cut in to 1″ pieces
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 tbsp dijon mustard (Dijonnaise is best)
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
Directions:
1. In a Pyrex/glass dish, microwave the chicken for 1 minute: set aside (note: I have skipped this step many times, so if you aren’t comfortable nuking meat, don’t worry about it!)
2. In a separate Pyrex/glass pan, microwave the butter and honey until both are melted
3. Remove from microwave and add remaining ingredients except chicken. Microwave again for about 30 seconds and stir to ensure that all ingredients are mixed.
4. Add chicken and toss to coat thoroughly.
5. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Turn/stir the chicken and bake for another 15 minutes.
6. Either serve over rice or noodles (with the sauce) or invert the dish on to a serving platter and stick a few toothpicks in the chicken and serve!
Enjoy!

Hamburger Rice - brown 1lb hamburger, cook 2c rice and mix all w/ 1 can mushroom & 1 can celery

Tator Tot Casserole - press 1lb raw hamburger into greased 9x13. cover w/ layer of tator tots or hash browns. mix 1 can mushroom & 1 can celery w/ 1/2 can water...pour on top. bake for 30-40mins on 350. last ten mins, top w/ cheese if desired.

Lazy Day Lasagne -
12oz cottage cheese
2c shredded mozzerella cheese
2 eggs
1/3c chopped parsley (dried)
1t onion powder
1/2t basil
1/8t pepper
mix all of above & set aside

1lb cooked hamburger
32oz jar spaghetti sauce
9 uncooked lasagne noodles
1/4c water
mix sauce & beef in pan. spread 3/4c meatsauce, 3 noodles, 1/2 cheese mixture, 1 1/2 meat sauce, 3 noodles, 1/2 cheese mixture, rest of meatsauce. pour water around, cover edges w/ foil. bake 375 for 45 mins. uncover, (jen’s idea – cover w/ addt’l mozz) bake 15 mins.

Pepperoni Casserole
8oz cooked elbow noodles
1lb cooked hamburger
1med onion
4oz pepperoni
8oz mozzerella cheese
1 sm can mushrooms
1 16oz pizza sauce
9x13 pan, layer 1/2 ingred then repeat
350, 1/2 hr

Chow Mein - Grandma Oddo's
1lb chicken, stew meat or veal (eww) cut up
1 lg can bean sprouts
1 lg can chow meain veggies
1 can mushrooms
1 can water chestnuts
celery & onion (cook until tender)
brown meat - add sprouts & veggies
cook celery & onion, then add to above
thicken w/ cornstarch - serve over chow mein noodles or rice w/ soy sauce

Oddo Sauce from Sicilia
Cover a fry pan w/ EVOO
Dice 1/2 onion & fry in heated oil until carmelized
Add 2 lg cans Contadina diced tomatoes
s&p to taste

Oddo Meatballs
1lb ground beef
1c romano cheese
1c plain breadcrumbs
3 lg eggs
garlic
parsley
salt
pepper
mix all and form into balls, place on large cookie sheet, bake at 350 for 30-40mins. add to sauce.

Macaroni Salad
1lb cooked noodles
8-13 hardboiled eggs - separate whites from yokes
chopped celery
chop whites & add to cooked noodles and celery
mash yolks in bowl w/ lowry's, pepper, 1 32-oz jar miracle whip and squirt of mustard...blend w/ hand mixer. add milk to thin.
mix all. freakin' enjoy!

Mom's Baked Beans (as made on August 24 2009)

Cut up a pound of bacon into bite sized pieces over medium heat, . Add to bacon, 1 diced onion (or 3 small onions diced). Sautee until the bacon is crispy. Add large can (53.25 oz) of Campbell's Pork and Beans or Bush's Baked Beans. Add 1/4 bag of brown sugar. Add BBQ sauce to taste (1/4 cup or so...) Bake at 350 degrees until Brats are ready or for about an hour. Enjoy by 1/2 spoonful mixed with Mom's Macaroni Salad. Delish!

Sweet Potatoes
peel & quarter sweet potatoes, boil til tender and save some of liquid.
1/2 - 3/4 bag brown sugar & 1-2 sticks butter
melt butter, add brown sugar
cook on low and when it's thick n bubbly, add potatoes w/ some liquid if too thick

Grandma Oddo's Meatloaf
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 c tomato juice
3/4 c quick oats
1 egg
1/4 c chopped onion
1/2t salt
1/4t pepper
mix all, pat into 8x4 loaf, top w/ ketchup, bake 1 hr at 350.
drain off liquid.

Broccolli Salad
1 bunch broc
1 c raisins
1 med red onion
12 slices bacon (cooked & crumbles)
1 c sunflower kernals

1 c miracle whip 1/2 c sugar, 2 T cider vinegar

break broc small bitesize pieces, mix all ingred, then add dressing

Hot Creamy Sausage Dip
1lb bob evans zesty hot roll sausage
5 thinly sliced green onions
1c sour cream
1/2 c mayo
1/4 c grated parm
1-2oz jar chopped pimento (drained)

brown & crumble sausage, drain. add all ingred. pour into quart baking dish. heat 20-25mins in oven til bubbly. put in hot crock pot. serve w/ wheat crackers.

Golden Potato Soup
6c cubed red potatoes
2c water
1c sliced celery
1c thinly sliced carrots
1/2 c finely chopped onion
2 chicken bouillion cubes
2t dried parsley flakes
1t salt
1/2t pepper
1/4c flour
3c milk
12oz american cheese (cubed - can cut up slices)
combine potatoes, water, celery, carrots, onion, bouillion cubes, parsley flakes, s&p in 4qt saucepan. bring to boil & reduce heat to low. simmer covered for 8-10 mins or until potatoes are tender. blend flour into 1/4c milk to form smooth paste. stir into soup. add remaining milk & cheese cook over med heat thickened, stirring frequently.

Cheeseburger Soup
1lb hamburger
3/4 c chopped onions
3/4 c chopped celery
3/4 chopped carrots
1 T butter
4 c chopped potatoes
3 c chicken broth
1 lb cubed velveeta cheese
1/4 c sour cream
2 T flour
brown meat in large skillet or deep pan & drain. add veggies & broth. cook til veggies are tender. melt butter, add flour. mix til smooth. add to hamburger & veggies. add cheese cut in cubes. mix til melted. add sour cream before serving.

Goulash
brown 1lb beef w/ onion. cook 1lb seashell or elbow noodles. add 1 lg can tomato juice (and one small can spicy v8 if desired).

JT's Goulash
saute cubed chicken breast, add cooked broc & alfredo sauce. add to tortellini pasta.

Aunt Jodie's Garbage Beans
brown...
1lb bulk sausage
3-4 slices bacon
2 med onions
1 c celery

1 can 16-20oz pork & beans
" " green beans
" " wax beans
" " kidney beans
" " lima beans
" " tomato soup
6oz can tomato paste
1 c brown sugar
simmer in crock for 6 hr or bake 1 hr on 350

Peggy's Best Fudge Ever
1 1/2 pkg choc chips
2 sticks butter
glob p butter
4 1/2 c sugar
1 t cream of tarter
1 t vanilla
1 lg can condensed milk
put chips, pbutter, butter in lg bowl. set aside.
put milk, tarter & sugar in pan on med heat. stir often.
boil 7mins exactly. remove from heat, add vanilla. pour over chips. beat til glossy.

Grandma Oddo's Veggie Pizza
2 pkgs crescent rolls
1 pkg hidden valley ranch dressing mix
2-3 c of : broc, green pepper, onion, carrots, cauliflower, tomato, celery, mushrooms
2 pkgs 8 oz cream cheese
1 c mayo
unroll biscuits & cover bottom of jelly roll pan. bake @ 350 until light brown, 6-8mins
cool, mix cream cheese & dressing & mayo and spread on dough. press chopped veggies on top. refrigerate. top w/ grated cheddar cheese.

Dorito Dip Recipe: Brown 1 lb hamburger with a small onion. Drain if necessary. Add 16 oz can refried beans, 8 oz mild taco sauce and 4 oz. hot taco sauce (sometimes I just use 12 oz of medium...seems much easier). Stir. Put is casserole dish and to...p with lots of cheddar cheese. Put in oven until dish is bubbly and cheese is all meltly. Serve with doritos. Deliciousness
Chicken Tetrazinni (serves 4-6)
2 cups spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
1 can cream soup (you can make your own with this recipe)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper (or red pepper, as I used this time since I had some given to us from a friend's garden!), chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
Saute onions and peppers in a little oil. Mix with the rest of the ingredients. Cool and put a freezer bag and freeze flat.
When ready to use, thaw and place in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until heated through. (I like to sprinkle with additional cheese.)
I doubled the recipe and split it into 3 freezer bags as it will be enough for three dinners for us.
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I just made stir fry (minus the rice for me) and it was awesome! I actually planned it last night so I went ahead with the chicken prep. I cut a chicken breast into small cubes and marinaded it in a ziploc bag with soy sauce, a little oil, some pepper, and two cloves of garlic I cut into bigger chunks so i could fish them out before cooking). I added a tiny bit of salt but you can skip this.
Today I put a tiny bit of oil in a pan and cooked the chicken (which absorbed all the marinade) on med heat. After all sides were slightly browned I took them out and added a bag of ready washed stir fry veggies from the grocery. It has sugar snap peas, broccoli, shredded cabbage and carrots. While that was sauteing I added a little cornstarch mixed w/ water and a little soy sauce for flavor. It thickens slightly. I add back the meat once the veggies are just tender and give it one last stir. Serve over rice (for the non dieters) or just by itself.

i made "lazy man cabbage rolls' the other day in the crockpot [could do reg ones as well..

just chopped up cabbage and onion put it in the crock pot.
put in some ground beef [broken up so its doesnt cook as a big lump lol
1 cup of rice
can of diced or crushed tomatoes poured over top
and about a can [from the tomatoes] of water poured over top
set on low and let it go

check on it at somepoint incase you need more water for the rice..i think i put mine to cook a bit too long and so rice was a bit mushy but still enjoyed it :)

most recipes call for can of tomato soup but i didn't see the need for the extra cals :)
its in the data base if you type in cabbage rolls you will see lazyman ones, i think it's like 2 Cups for 200 something cals :)

easy recipe to adapt to your own tastes.

I also do pretty much any kind of meat with soup

so like a roast with onion soup
chicken or pork chops with cream of mushroom soup

Curry Roasted Chickpeas from Canned Beans

1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Spray a baking sheet with canola oil and spread chickpeas out in a single layer. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until golden and crunchy, about 45-50 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 72 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (8% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 180mg Sodium; 3g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core / 1 Point.

I make a large glass of peppermint tea and I add some honey, a very tiny amount of lemon juice, and one to two shots of brandy.

Ground Beef or Turkey
Whole Box of Stuffing Mix
2 Egg Whites
Water (to make it more moist)

I put them in a muffin pan. I also top with Ketchup and Brown Sugar Mixed together. Cook for about 20-25 minutes...hope u like it

I know there's lots of recipes out there, but all I did was put the roast in the crock-pot, topped with a few rings of red onion and then a cup of bbq sauce. After 8 or 9 hours on low, I'll trim the fat and then pull apart and add more bbq sauce if needed. Serve on rolls. I may or may not make some cole slaw...Jerry's a die-hard fan of the "real" bbq pork sandwich!

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Cream Cheese Squares
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick of margarine... See More
1 egg

Mix and spread on bottom of 13x9 baking pan.

8oz cream cheese (softened)
2 eggs
3 cups of powdered sugar

Mix and pour over yellow cake mix.

Bake at 325° for 30-35min. Let cool for 2hrs before cutting into squares.

Hashbrown cheesy bake by michalee
1 lb shredded hashbrowns ( I use frozen)
1-8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
8 oz shredded cheddar
salt & pepper (optional)
garlic powder (optional)
onion powder (optional)

Bake in a greased 9x13 at 350 degrees until the middle is bubbling. Usually about 45 minutes to an hour. I cover mine with aluminum foil while baking.

Michalee’s Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bread
1 box yellow cake mix
1 sm. box instant cheesecake flavored pudding
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil... See More
1 cup mini chocolate chips

mix eggs, oil and water together til eggs are beaten. add dry ingredients, mix until batter is wet, fold in the chocolate chips. divide between two greased bread loaf pans, bake in a preheated oven of 350 for 40 minutes.

one of my favorite snacks in 1/2 c raw uncooked oats, 3/4 c plain non fat yogurt, 1 tbsp raw peanut butter (or regular reduced fat), 1 tbsp raisins, 1 tbsp dark chocolate chips. Mix it all together and have for breakfast or have it instead of icecream. YUM!
Jen I just put the chicken leg quarters in the crock pot w/ a bottle of Italian dressing (plus some water, if needed, to cover chicken) and I had it on HIGH (5)(my crockpot does temps 1-5, but I know there are some that are only Low, Medium, and High) and after an hour or two, I turned it down to 4/Medium High for 4 hours...yum, if I can say so myself! =)

Jackie Vineyard’s Mom’s Ladyfingers
Jackie Griffith Vineyard July 12 at 10:31pm
Here ya go Mama!

I used the Krustez bread mix. Just follow the instructions for the making the bread without the machine. I'm sure you can use whatever bread dough you like.

Let the dough rise for the day.

When your ready, use flour on your hands and the dough to help roll pieces into long strips (thus the lady finger part). You just put in between your palms and roll. I recommend rolling them all out before you start to fry them.

Warm up your skillet with oil and drop them in. You want to rotate them to brown on all sides. They will puff up and cook in just a few minutes. When they are cooked, just set them on a paper towels to absorb some of the oil. Use a pastry brush to apply the melted butter, and then roll them in cinnamon/sugar mixture.

My mom us to just fry them up and we would dip in syrup, jam and the like too.

Super easy and so addictive!
BBQ Pasta Casserole
3 cups (10 oz) uncooked ziti pasta
1 lb ground beef (I use turkey)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup, I use purple onion)

1 cup BBQ sauce
...1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, if desired
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 350* spray 2 quart casserole w/ cooking spray

Cook and drain pasta

In 10 in skillet cook beef/turkey and onion over med/high heat 5-7 minutes or until brown. Drain.

Return drained pasta to pan, stir in beef mixture and remaining ingredients except for 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Spoon into casserole dish and top w/ remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake uncovered 30-40 min or until hot in center.

Shyness be gone!

2010-07-27T12:03:00.002-05:00

So my pumpkin is quite shy.. always has been. I've been 'torturing' her for months by taking her to a local "Family Room" a few times a week to get her around other kids her age and let her play and interact with them. At first, it was torture for both of us, because she clearly hated it, and I hated seeing her so upset. We would only be able to stay for a short while until she'd had enough and left in tears many many times. But then things started getting better. Instead of her sitting in a corner by herself, sometimes staring at the wall, she began playing with toys and didn't even mind when other kids were playing within 15 feet of her. She still would never really play much closer than that, but it was progress. Just last week I was bragging about how when there's a fight between toddlers over toys, I never have to worry that Ashlyn is involved, because she's waaaaay too shy to take a toy from another kiddo. Well...that all changed this morning! Sure enough, she was stealer of a toy, and threw quite the fit when told she had to share. Aww.. my lil girl is becoming a real toddler ;)

In other news.. I sewed a skirt! Post regarding this matter will be composed and published shorting, including link for pattern and pics :)

Search Party

2010-07-25T10:24:00.002-05:00

So there are a few things that I'm obsessing about as far as items I want to purchase before Baby Boy arrives. I don't need much, because Ashlyn is only 21 months old and I haven't gotten rid of anything. We already bought another crib (used from a garage sale) so Ash can continue to use her's (also used - by her daddy and aunt when they were babies, as well as her cousins), a swing (since the one we borrowed is now being used by someone else), some boy clothes (used from a garage sale - go figure lol; I really hope my sister has a girl - she's due a month after me - so she can get some use out of Ashlyn's cutest clothes), and bedding for the nursery (used off ebay.. awesome deal!).

One item of particular concern for this purse-addict is a new diaper bag. I used two with Ashlyn. One was a backpack-style and the other was a typical tote-style. Both are adorable, complete with ASH and Ashlyn monogrammed on the fronts :) Now, don't get me wrong...it's not that I feel like I can't reuse these bags just because they have her name on them. Afterall, they will also still be used to carry her items as well as the slew of things I'll need to carry around for Baby Boy. Which is why I feel like I need a new bag. When A was a newborn, I was always having to carry extra bags with me because I couldn't seem to fit all of the necessities in the diaper bags that I had. There's just so much you need with a newborn, even for some of the short trips.. diapers, wipes, diaper pad, burp rags, nursing cover, extra outfits, diaper cream, tylenol, nose sucker thingy, sometimes bottles, bibs, not to mention wallet, keys, cell phone, other personal items for me. The list goes on and on! So if I have to carry all of that PLUS sippy cups, crayons, books/coloring book, diapers for A, snacks, etc., I just feel like I need a bigger dang bag, ok? Ok! :) Can you tell I've been fighting with myself about this one? And of course, my well-meaning husband's answer to this dilema is "Well, why don't you just use one of the other 8million tote bags you've collected over the years?". Well...because they don't have inside pockets, outside pockets, bottle storage, loops to hook keys and toys, etc. He wouldn't understand because he's never really taken A anywhere on his own where he needed to root through a bag for something that she needs. Also, he's not obsessed with bags and finding the perfect one, like I clearly am :)

So yeah, I've been searching high and low. When I find one I like, I scour ebay to find a good deal on a used one, even if it's a discontinued fabric that isn't 'just right', I'm willing to compromise to save a buck (or many many bucks). But I'm just not finding that perfect bag at that perfect price. It's sooooo frustrating to me. I love this one, but is it big enough? And it's just too expensive. I also love this one, but also too expensive, and I can't find pics of what the inside looks like, which is a must. So grr.. back to the search engine I go.

If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to share, including links if you have them. I know lots of my mommy friends has told me that they are happier with a much smaller bag, but I just feel like I know myself, and I know how much I insisted on carrying with me for A, so I can't imagine feeling like I don't need all of that for Baby #2 and A together.

Day 1

2010-07-24T17:24:00.002-05:00

Started a new project today.. so excited to see how it turns out!
Of course, the details of said project are a secret, so that's all I have to say about that. Bwahahahaha! ;)

Also have a practically FO that just needs ends woven in, but again.. secret.

I promise at some point in the near future there will be some details regarding one of these projects, but until then, I leave you with this bit of cuteness..

A link to the pics I've taken of Ashlyn with my cell in the last two months.. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=182853&id=634877339&l=8987ca272a

If you are my friend on Facebook, then you've probably already seen these, but if not, ENJOY!

A to Z

2010-07-21T00:59:00.002-05:00

Swiped from Amy due to insanely annoying pregnancy insomnia, mostly caused by insanely annoying allergies...

a. area code: 216

b. bed size: queen, but wish i had a king, and room for a king, which i don't

c. chore you hate: scrubbing the tub

d. dog’s name: two pugs.. guinness the fawn (tan) and dublin the black.. <3 my furbabies

e. essential “start of the day” item: internet, specifically yahoo mail, facebook & 2.0

f. favorite color: depending on the day, purple, pink or green

g. gold or silver: silver

h. height: 5′8″ now but was 2 inches taller ALL thru highschool.. bad back causing me to shrink already.. boo :(

i. instruments you play: clarinet w/ a lil side of flute and piano (back in the day - nothing now)

j. job: stay at home mommy

k. kids: daughter ashlyn sarah, 21 months, son name to be announced, due nov 12th

l. living arrangements: hubby jason, daughter ashlyn and puggers in a 100 yr old (in 2011) colonial down the street from our beloved lake erie, lakewood ohio

m. mom’s name: sharon jean aka sherry

n. nickname: jen in highschool, jenny to my grandparents and cousins (and noone else, so don't get any ideas!), luna to some, betty or betts to some others :)

o. overnight hospital stay: hmm.. i think just ash's birth and once when i was 14 for ovarian cysts.. i think that's it

p. pet peeve: oh, so many, but for list's sake.. judge-y people, specifically 'perfect' parents

q. quote from movie: i'm constantly quoting my faves, but for now i will use 'If you can't laugh at yourself, life is going to seem a whole lot longer than you'd like.' ~ sam, garden state

r. righty or lefty: lefty

s. siblings: a bunch.. half sisters (technically) melissa and samantha (grew up living with them), step-sister amy, half sibs melanie, jj, joseph, rachael, danielle

t. time you wake up: for now, between 7 and 8ish, depending often on when ash wakes up

u. underwear: um.. yes? i don't really get this one lol

v. vegetables you dislike: raw onions

w. ways or reasons you are late: usually just because of unexpected toddler stuff, i guess. i really really really hate being late, so i try extra-hard not to be. more often than not results in my being early, which is sometimes just as annoying

x. x-rays: many over the years.. wrists, ankles, knees, back, teeth

y. yummy food you make: my spaghetti sauce, lots of really easy dips (easy is my thing), brownies, iced tea

z. zoo animals you like: giraffes, seals, polar bears, baby monkeys <3

Your Pregnancy: Week 11

2010-04-23T06:43:00.000-05:00

Thought this was a fun way to track what's going on when with Baby #2 :)
Your Pregnancy: Week 11

Guess what?!...

2010-04-11T16:52:00.000-05:00

linkity links

2010-01-20T13:18:00.003-05:00

decided to post a few links to my pic folders on facebook.. you don't have to be a member of fb to see them, and since posting pics here is a p.i.t.a., i thought this might be a way for those of you who want to see pics of ashlyn (and occasionally one of me and the hubs and the pugs) to click and view :) enjoy!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127130&id=634877339&l=3cba63e0db

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105282&id=634877339&l=5836cf4cfe

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117141&id=634877339&l=f645b78b58

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116357&id=634877339&l=7f379b6e25

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109676&id=634877339&l=1a45db1a37

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=-3&id=634877339&l=d36001eb7f

15 Months!!

2010-01-13T13:51:00.004-05:00

Wow - I cannot believe my baby girl is already 15 months old!! In honor of the day, I thought I'd post a few pics for all to enjoy...

This lil girl makes me happier than I EVER imagined. That lil smile and those blue eyes are seriously the best things on earth!!

picture pages picture pages...

2010-01-06T12:16:00.003-05:00

so i think i'm gonna nix the idea of posting my 365 project here and just put it on the project site and on facebook instead ONLY because i have a hell of a time adding pics here without frustrating myself beyond belief. there must be an easier way to put them in my post and organize them within the text, but i just can't figure it out. grrrrr!

anyway, i set up a folder for them in fb, so if you're friends with me there, feel free to check them out. if you are on fb and not my friend, well why not?! ;)

here's a cute one that i posted of the pugs..
caught them cuddling together on the couch last night and was actually able to snap a pic.. sooo sweet!

biggest loser starts for me in two days! too bad i'm too broke to go out for some 'last supper' style fast food lol guess i'll have to make due with the junk in the cupboards. don't know why every time i diet i feel like i need to pig out before hand, but i do.

um.. that's all i got for now. gonna go listen to the great gatsby on tape and do a lil knitting.. working on my long lost irish hiking scarf and loving it! did i mention that one of my lil goals is to finish or rip out all of my UFO's in the first few months of this year? i want to be able to start new knitting projects guilt-free and i figure this is the only way to do it. i went thru my enormous stash in the attic and found what i believe to be all the UFO's. i brought them downstairs and put each one in a knitting bag hung in the closet, so when i finish one, i can grab another. here's hoping i can get these things outta here so i can work on something new soon!

2010

2010-01-04T07:34:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year!

Some things I want to do/keep in mind this year, aka My New Year's Resolutions:

Here are mine:

- Lose weight! I want to lose 30lbs by the end of April. I want to lose more after that, but that's my first big goal.

- Free up our schedule on a more regular basis so we can enjoy the quiet family time we love so much.

- Stop worrying about pleasing everyone around me and make myself happy for a change.

- Take more pics w/ my digi cam and less with my cell phone. I'm hooked on taking them to send a 'pic of the day' to all of Ash's grandmas and aunties, but then I end up with a bunch of blurry dark pics that aren't good for much other than sharing right away. I want to take more quality pics of her and....

- Keep up more with Ashlyn's blog on Shutterfly. If I'm not going to be sending as many 'pics of the day' via my cell, I need to keep up with putting pics on this site at least once a week maybe so family and friends can see her almost as often as they are used to with the phone pics.

- Blog more often!!!

So I have some plans that I'm putting into action to make these things happen...

-Organizing a huge Biggest Loser contest with a bunch of my friends/family through Facebook.. first weigh in is Friday 1/8 and winner will be the one who loses the most percentage of weight by 4/30. Hoping this will be a fun 16 week contest for all involved!

-365 Project.. So I've already been taking at least one pic a day since Ashlyn was born on 10/13/08 (ok, so I might have missed 5-10 days total in that time, but that's it!), but it's always with my cell. I want to try to do this w/ my digital camera, so here's hoping that by keeping this project in mind, I can make this happen, thus causing me to accomplish a couple different resolution goals...use camera more and blog more, and it might even help me update Ash's shutterfly site more, too! I'm not pressuring myself to post the pic EVERY DAY, but I will try to get on at least once a week to post the pics of the week...we'll see how this goes.

Here's my pic from day 1 (1/3/09)..

Here's Ashlyn surrounded by some of her FAVORITE toys - books!! She LOOOOVES to read...by herself, with us.. doesn't matter. As long as she has access to the 1387439875897549 books she owns, she's a happy girl!

So I did use picnik to edit and photobucket to play around and share, but I don't think I'll do this with every photo I take. Or maybe I will.. who knows. I love to edit/enhance photos, but the account I use for picnik belongs to my sis, so I'm not sure how long I'll have access to it when her subscription runs out.

As for freeing up the schedule and looking out for myself more, I'm not sure how to make that happen yet, but time will tell if it's something I can do.

What are your resolutions this year?

Happy Birthday!

2009-12-28T00:59:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to wish my sweet sweet Guinness Sue a very Happy 6th Birthday! Here's a pic from our shared birthday last year when she turned five and I turned...we'll say 29 :)

Oh yeah - and I just sewed the buttons on Ashlyn's sweater, so it's officially done! And I'm excited cuz we're going out to dinner w/ my fam for my birthday, so now she can wear it and I can show it off :) Yay!

Sneak peak...

2009-12-22T23:26:00.003-05:00

Oh my goodness...it's a Christmas miracle!!

What's the miracle you ask? Weeeelllllllll...much to my and my hubby's surprise, I FINISHED ASHLYN'S SWEATER BEFORE MY DEADLINE! Ok, that's sort of a lie because the buttons are pinned on instead of sewn, but that's because I need thread. But I can't believe that I actually finished a sweater, and by Christmas, which is good since that's her gift from mommy :)

Here are some crappy cell pics of it, just cuz it was easier than pulling out the camera and going for good lighting and whatnot - I promise I'll do that sooner than later. But for now I just wanted to share a lil peek of the sweater, and a pic of the cute buttons I found for it.. enjoy!

i wanna win one!

2009-12-10T11:23:00.000-05:00

oooh oh oh please let me win this one!!!
http://mckgiveaways.blogspot.com/2009/12/hp-touchsmart-giveaway.html

H1N1 Prevention Tips

2009-10-27T07:47:00.000-05:00

Prevent H1N1 (Swine Flu) - Good Advice

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist)
having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in
institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital ,
Tata Memorial etc... Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine
Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical
Centre, Malad (W).

The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is
important for all to know

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a
global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming
into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is
not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1
infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms
and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not
fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced
(instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official
communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any
part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't
trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/
nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple
gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has
the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected
o ne. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful
preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with
warm salt water.. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti
(very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose
hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in
warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C
(Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin
C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can.
*Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the
reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat
into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

I suggest you pass this on to your entire e-list. You never know who
might pay attention to it - and STAY ALIVE because of it.

Giving the blog another chance...

2009-10-25T16:05:00.002-05:00

I've been totally out of the blog world for a verrrrry long time. However, I'm starting a new project and thought that might be a good time to give posting another shot.

Found some yarn that I thought would make a pretty sweater for Ashlyn, so thought I'd give sweater knitting a whirl, too :) (I did start a Wonderful Wallaby for myself years back, but never got past picking up stitches for the pouch in the beginning, so it's still on the needles someone in UFO land, which is a HUGE community, by the way lol.)

Knitted a swatch for "The Twiggy" while watching the Browns get the pulp beat out of them by the Packers this afternoon and am just about the cast on. So excited to start something for my lil girl and really hoping I can stick with it and see it to the end.

Here's a pick of the swatch next to the pattern pic, and then one of Ashlyn looking adorable in one of her new winter coats...

By the way....she turned one last week (unbelieveable, I know!), so if this blogging thing picks back up for me, I'll have to post pics from her party...soooo cute :)

Sleeping Beauty

2009-07-17T05:43:00.000-05:00

bonus pic post

2009-02-27T09:08:00.003-05:00

forgot to add a few more pics to the post below...

ashlyn n mommy on 2/24/09

ash trying to eat my face yesterday

'yay - i heart my toes!'

4 mo appt

2009-02-27T07:48:00.003-05:00

just a quick update, more as a note to self than anything else..

ashlyn had her 4 mo check-up on 2/25, which makes her actually almost 4 1/2 mo, but who's counting, right? anyway, she weighs 14lb 2oz and is 25" long, which puts her in the 50th percentile in both catagories. her head circumference is 16", so she's in the 75th percentile there.

the doctor said that ashlyn is the first ashlyn she's ever met, that she was her favorite patient of the day and was thrilled that she was her last...said she was the best way to end the work day :) she also said that she will be crawling before we know it based on her head and neck control, and the way she handles tummy time (which ash still doesn't love, but is getting better at every time we try it...she started rolling from her belly to back, too, which is super-fun to watch and hopefully i can get it on video one of these days). she said she's developmentally like a six mo old, which is awesome to hear and set my mind at ease about how she measures up to other babies i read about her age.

she said we can start her on cereal around five months if we want, but that exclusively breast-fed babies really don't need the additional iron (or anything else for that matter) until six months. when the time comes, we'll try rice cereal first for a few days, then oatmeal (both single grain). once she's used to both, we might do rice in the morning, oatmeal at night (as rice is a binder and oatmeal should loosen things up - the two will help regulate each other). orange veggies like squash and carrots will be introduced next, one at a time for 3-4 days before a new one is given, then green veggies and finally fruit.

obviously that stuff is for my own records, and what better place to put them, right? the baby book you say? hogwash...who has time to actually write something down these days ;)

in other news, ash used to think her fingers were the coolest thing on her body, then it became obvious that her tongue was waaaay cooler and she stuck it out and showed it off to everyone. now she has moved on to bigger and better things...her toes! she found them yesterday and thinks they are awesome!

and since i've been awful about posting pics, here are some from my cell phone from this month (since i'm not as good about taking them w/ my camera for some reason...shame shame, i know)...

ol' blue eyes

ashlyn's first valentine's day!

four month pics - pic of a pic taken w/ the cell

that warm day we had on feb 10...took a walk in the moby wrap

Baby Chicken Dance

2009-02-08T18:35:00.002-05:00

Here's Ashlyn having a lil dance party with her aunties...

She'll be four months old on Friday and getting sooooooo big! I really hope to be able to blog more as time goes on, but things sure are pretty busy these days with baby girl to tend to. We'll see if I can start devoting a little time to it soon....
In knitting news, I finished her blanket FINALLY but of course haven't photographed it yet...soon, though. I think my next project will be a sleeve for my laptop...haven't looked up a pattern yet, though. Maybe I'll just wing it...any suggestions?

Happy Snowdays!

2009-01-12T00:06:00.002-05:00

this makes me laugh...

2009-01-02T13:27:00.001-05:00

what makes me laugh even more is that my sisters, brother in law and i were going to buy them to be funny until we realized that w/ shipping, they were $18/snuggie. we're dorks. and we know it lol

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-31T04:44:00.003-05:00

Better late than never, right? Right.

Here's the birth announcement/holiday card we sent out this year (designed by my fabulous sister Melissa aka Auntie Shops for her obsession with buying Ash anything she wants - not sure if the baby knows what she wants yet, but Auntie Shops sure does lol)...

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

too busy bein' a momma to blog

2008-11-15T08:48:00.002-05:00

ok, so i know everyone is asking for pix and details about ash's birth, but i seriously get online once every couple days and can barely read my emails, let along reply to them, and reading or posting blogs is out of the question lol

however, just to hold you over til i have some more time, here are some cute pics of ash taken w/ my cell phone starting w/ the most recent and working backwards...enjoy!

Our baby girl is here!!

2008-11-03T08:53:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I know this post is LONG overdue, but being a new mommy is time consuming and exhausting, so blogging (reading and posting) has been the last thing on my mind.

And yes, I said being a new mommy...as you probably guessed, our lil pumpkin has been born!!! Our beautiful baby girl made her debut on Monday, October 13th at 6:23pm, weighing in at 7lb 13oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. She's the most wonderfully precious thing I've ever laid eyes on and I love her more than I ever thought I could love anything...seriously! We named her Ashlyn Sarah and our last name starts w/ H, so she is often referred to by her initials and planned nickname, Ash :)

I don't have time to post anything in the way of her birth story right now because my lil princess just woke up in her bouncy seat next to me and is going to want to eat any second now, but I didn't want another day to go by without officially announcing her arrival to the blog world!

More posts to come when I get back on the computer for more than two seconds at a time :)

Our first family picture just after Ashlyn was born.

Ashlyn in the hospital w/ her cute lil mohawk hair-do and proud Grandpa B (my dad) in the background.

October 11th - My due date

2008-10-11T06:59:00.003-05:00

Me @ 40 weeks on my actual due date, just hours before completing the final touches on the nursery!

Well, I made it to my actual due date...never thought I'd be able to say that. Not that I've had any real reason to think the baby would come early, but you just never know and I guess everyone around me saying that she was going to come early made me think she just might. No such luck! Honestly, I'm ok with it, but now the anticipation is starting to drive me crazy! I mean, all I have to do is think about labor and delivery and new-mommy-hood now and the more I think, the more nervous I get. I'm sure it's completely normal. And although I'm anxious and can't wait to meet her, part of me is fine with her incubating as long as she wants. It's a strange feeling, really. I guess it just goes back to the whole nervous factor.

So anyway, here's a shot of my pregnancy tickers from today that are on my ivillage.com October Expectant Club message board profile (a website I've been completely addicted to since I found out I was preggers back in February - a bunch of mommies-to-be who are due in the same month and going thru the same stages of pregnancy at the same time...very supportive and informative, despite everyone's warnings to stay away from the internet for fear of putting unnecessary fears in your head at a time like this...you just take it all and filter out the stuff you don't need in your head, but otherwise, I love it!). Ignore the one that says I'm one day overdue...not sure why that one was off, but the others are all accurate.

Every week, babycenter.com sent me an email with stats about a typical pregnancy in that week, including a food (usually fruit/vegetable) size comparison to how big a typical baby is during that stage of the pregnancy. Well, since the day we found out we were pregnant (on Groundhog's day) and calculated our due date to be 10/11/08, we've been calling the baby "our lil pumpkin" (we love Halloween and fall and October!), so the fact that the size comparison for week 40 is a small pumpkin was just too cool (and I guess I should've known I'd be hanging in there til at least this week just so I could compare my lil pumpkin to an actual pumpkin). Anywho, every week I would post a pic of the comparison food on my myspace page in the photos section under a folder "How big is our pumpkin this week" so my family and friends could check and see the current size of the baby, or at least the typical size of one that week. Some of the pics I chose were hilarious (wish I could link the folder here, but my profile is private, so it'd be useless to some of you), but this week's is by far the sweetest...

So I cannot believe I'm teetering on the edge of becoming less pregnant and more mommy...this journey has been amazing for me and a dream come true and I feel so blessed already that I cannot imagine how my heart is just going to be bursting when this little girl is finally in my arms. Pregnancy hormones or not, I am a sensitive person who can usually cry at the drop of a hat, so just thinking about how happy I am opens the floodgates. At this point, I better buy some stock in Puffs Plus because I can only imagine how many tears of joy I'm going to shed during my new life as a mommy. It's something I am completely looking forward to and cannot wait to begin!

Dear Pumpkin,
Come when you want, but you can't stay in there forever, so please just know that when you decide to make your big debut, you are going to be making my life whole complete and making so many dreams come true. You are already loved so much and I am so excited to meet you and spend my life making yours as happy and wonderful as you've already made mine.
Love always,
Mommy

3 days and counting...

2008-10-08T05:23:00.003-05:00

My estimated due date to Baby H aka Pumpkin is just 3 days away!
A week and a half ago, all I was thinking was "c'mon baby...let's get this birth going!", but then I woke up Sunday morning with a nasty cold and switched gears to "ok baby...a little more baking time would be nice to give mommy a chance to get healthy", so here I sit...waiting for the cold to go away and the baby to come.
I'm fine with the waiting as I'm getting more and more nervous as the days tick on, but I'm so anxious to meet my little girl, so it's a toss-up. Plus, I'm still feeling sicky sick, so the extra incubation time is a good thing.
I'm on maternity leave now, as of this week, so I'm spending my time soaking up all the extra rest and pug-cuddle time as I can before life as we know it turns upside down. Here's a pic of the puglets cuddling w/ my belly aka the baby :)

They are really enjoying the extra lovin' from mommy this week, that's for sure! I've taken lots of cute pics of them cuddling on my belly because basically any time I sit on the couch, they are all over me...I think they can sense that changes are about to occur or something.

Despite spending lots of time on the internet, I just haven't had the energy to blog, but I wanted to share a post from my friend Jeanne with pictures from the AWESOME baby gifts my knitting group made for Pumpkin & I. They all worked on a pillow and blanket set to match the nursery and Jeanne knitted matching booties for baby and socks for mommy!!! They are the best group of girls and have seen me thru this pregnancy since it was just me talking about wanting a baby soon but not yet even trying to get pregnant. I love these girls with all my heart and the fact that they all got together and took the time to knit these items for my little girl just shows what a wonderful group of friends they are! Anyway, thanks for letting me borrow your post, Jeanne! Soon I will take some pictures of the blanket and pillow in the nursery to post, but for now my camera is packed away in the hospital bag, waiting for the big day!

Ok, heading downstairs to make some tea and either cuddle with the puggers or work on some knitting...a blanket for the baby that will obviously not get done before she's born, but will be done someday, I promise!

I also promise to post an update with lots of pics when the lil girl decides to make her debut...and when we can finally share her name with the world instead of always referring to her as "Baby H" or "Pumpkin" :)

9 years!!!

2008-09-11T04:19:00.002-05:00

just a quick post to say happy 9 year anniversary to me n my sweepy...can't believe how the time has flown, and yet how it feels like we've been together for a fabulously loving lifetime!

it's 5:20am and i've been up since 4 unable to sleep due to preggo back pain, so this will be a short post cuz i think i might be ready to lay back down (thank goodness i'm on vacation and can play catch up on the sleeping at some point during the morning/day), but i wanted to acknowledge the day before my preggo brain makes me forget my best laid plans today ;)

anyway, happy anniversary to us, and cheers (w/ some n/a juice, of course) to another 9!

love ya, baby! xoxox

Exactly how I'm feeling...

2008-08-31T03:24:00.004-05:00

heh.. um, yeah.. at 34 weeks preggo, that about sums it up ;)
lots going on, but just too darn pooped to blog about it lately.
working on the nursery in between holiday get-togethers this weekend, so hopefully i'll have some pictures to post soon...it's turning out better than i imagined so far and we've only just about finished the wall color. sooooo excited to load up the furniture and start organizing some shower gifts. my first of three showers was on august 17 and it was just beautiful and perfect!!! another thing i want to post pics of, but of course the camera isn't at the computer right now and there's NO WAY i'm making the trip downstairs and back to get it. although i might be making the one way trip down to the couch...it's almost 4:30 am and i am up due to uncomfortableness in bed. i wake up a couple times every night w/ excruciating back pain and the only thing that makes it subside is to get up. so i spend an hour at the computer surfing the net and then head back hoping to get a few more hours of sleep before the process starts over again...fun times.
and on that note, this post has come full circle, so i will end it for now and see how the couch feels ;)

happy labor day weekend, everyone - hope you are all having a fabulous holiday!!

ps...went to the dr last week for my 33 week appointment and had an ultrasound...baby h was measuring at 35 weeks in the 77th percentile w/ the extra size in in head...yikes! everything looked great and dr e said the extra size doesn't mean early delivery necessarily, but just bigger baby. instead of being just over 4lbs at that point like my baby.com email said a 33 wk bebe would normally be, our lil pumpkin was about 5 1/2lbs! i can't believe my lil girl is already that big!!! so excited, and nervous, all at the same time ;) i go back on sept 9th to start my one week appointments...can't believe how quickly things are happening now!! here's a pic of our lil girl at 33wks 3days...

i can't believe how much we are in love w/ this lil face already and how excited, scared and anxious we are to meet her!! xoxo to you, lil pumpkin!

10 years ago today...

2008-08-13T14:06:00.004-05:00

...my wonderful husband proposed! Wow - I can't believe I got engaged ten years ago already! Seems like just yesterday, and for the record, I'm more in love with him now than ever, so that's gotta count for somethin', right?

Not sure when this was taken, but sometime this summer

Thanks to my Jason for asking me to marry him ten years ago, down on one knee, in that crowded little car on the Sky Ride at Cedar Point! It was so romantic and sweet and I'll never forget it!

Love you so much, Sweepy! xoxox

Us at a Tribe game this summer

Watching our garden grow

2008-08-10T20:21:00.006-05:00

So this summer my hubby decided he wanted to grow some pumpkins and I wanted to try to grow some tomatoes. Since we have a small yard and no room for a real garden, we decided to use the front flower bed for the pumpkins (never did any thing with it after we moved in last year and all it needed was stump and weed removal and we were good to go w/ a clean slate).

Jason started some pumpkin seeds in a bowl (sadly I did not get any pics of this stage of the gardening) and then transplanted four of the growing seeds to the front bed. Meanwhile, my dad gave me four roma tomato plans and two cherry tomato plants that he had started from seed in his greenhouse (note to self - must take pics of the greenhouse he built and his magnificent garden that grows more and more each year and is now bigger than my entire back yard). I planted the tiny plants in pots and put them up on our balcony to grow safely away from the squirrels and chipmunks that roam the yard, not to mention from y sweet lil pugs, who I'm sure would find their way to them if allowed.

While the pumpkins were quickly taking over the entire front flower bed, the tomatoes were looking pathetic...hardly growing and one plant even got chewed up by what I assume was a bird. I realized that they weren't getting enough sun on the balcony, so I carried them (with the help of strong, non-preggo hubby) down to the flower bed on the side of the house next to the pumpkin patch growing just in front. Then we decided that we should just plant them there next to the house because they would get plenty of sun and I had no plans for that part of the flower bed anyway. Great idea...kind of. The tomatoes started growing just as fabulously as the pumpkins and pretty soon I saw a few lil green tomatoes - awesome. Then my sister warned me that she heard we shouldn't grow edibles next to the house because it's almost 100 years old and is likely to be covered in lead-based paint, thus causing the soil to be contaminated, thus causing the tomatoes to be lead tomatoes...boo. Anyway, we've still been watching their progress and watering when necessary, but I don't intend on eating them. I think I will try to get a home soil-test at Home Depot if they have them to check the soil to be sure, but I'm guessing it's probably not safe to enjoy my home-grown edibles this year.

I thought I would post some pics we took tonight for everyone's viewing enjoyment :)

Here's one of the first pumpkin we noticed growing, which is now a little smaller than a soccer ball..

And here's the second pumpkin that is more long and skinny, but bigger than the first...

Here's the first lil red cherry tomatoes...

And here are some green romas...

Here's Jason standing proudly by the patch (which appears to be not doing so well at the end near him...the leaves have all of a sudden gotten very dry looking, but someone said that maybe that's what happens to squash-type plants, so who knows what is happening...we'll keep watching and watering when necessary and see how they do.

Here's me next to my unruly tomatoes (dad explained over and over again how to 'sucker' them, or whatever it's called when you remove certain parts to make sure the good stuff gets all the water and nutrients, but they got kinda out of hand before I did anything and now it's too overwhelming, so I'm just letting them do their thing...hope that's not gonna hurt the lead tomatoes too much lol)...

And here I am "growing pumpkins", showing the one in my belly (we've called the baby 'pumpkin' from the beginning since she's due in October) and the one in the patch :o)...

I will try to keep posting pics/news about the garden and if anyone has any advice, feel free to give it as we are totally new to this gardening thing.

Hope everyone has a great week!

PS - Any of you bloggers using Blogger out there want to share how you post w/ several pics? Do you upload all the pics first and then fit in your text, or type first and them upload and move? I did the latter and it seems like such a pain, but I'm not sure if there's an easier method or not. Thx in advance.

I'm baaaack!

2008-08-07T04:54:00.001-05:00

So we FINALLY got our computer back up and running, AGAIN (long story, but it's taken three times in the shop...it seems to be ok, although I'm having a panic attack because it seems that an entire folder of pictures and other important things is gone...trying to calm down enough to wait for a decent hour to call the computer guy to inquire. Just keep repeating to myself..."If it's gone, it's gone, and there's nothing that freaking out will do to help." Oh man...I'm freaking out. Deep breaths...), but I don't have time right now for a real post.

Instead, I shall leave you with this, which I found on someone's blog and thought was appropriate...

Tagged - I'm it!

2008-06-22T06:42:00.002-05:00

Finally back online after having my pc riddled w/ viruses for months, so I'm doing a little catch-up blogging this morning and found that I'd been tagged by Rosie, so here goes...

Tag… You’re It

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
June 1998...I was living w/ my bf (now DH of almost 9 years!) and it was just two months before he proposed! The wedding craziness wouldn't ensue for another few months. Can't remember what I was doing, other than working at my new job for the last four months (been there 10 yrs and 4 mo now!) and just enjoying meeting new people there and living life. I can't remember if we were still in our first one bedroom apartment or if we had made the move down the hall one door to the two bedroom yet ;)

2. What 5 things are on you to-do list for today?
-cut up a watermelon
-mop the kitchen floor
-decorate the house/yard
-pray that the rain doesn't spoil all the fun
-hopefully enjoy the rain-free puggy birthday party we're having today! there should be four or five pugs here and about 15 people and we're letting the puggers unwrap their presents and then play in a baby pool and sprinkler while running crazy in the yard. i decided that i wanted to throw a birthday bash for my pugs before the baby comes (since i've always wanted to have a birthday party for them) and invited their puggy friends mookie and mulligan and their puggy friends maggie and iggy. should be craziness, but for now i'm just hoping the 30% chance of rain doesn't spoil it all!

3. List some snacks you enjoy.
right now it's anything fruit related..fresh fruit, canned fruit, frozen fruit bars, fruit candy, fruit snacks, fruit juice...guess that's my one big craving w/ this pregnancy. could be worse i guess.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
oh geez - who the heck knows! pay off some bills, i guess buy a new house, altho i do love mine and love where i live, and stay home w/ my bebe!

5. List the places you have lived.
-Bellevue, OH
-Sandusky, OH
-Huron, OH
-N. Olmsted, OH
-Olmsted Twp, OH
-Lakewood, OH

6. List the jobs you have had.
-Babysitter for years
-Groundskeeper at the campground at Cedar Point Amusement Park
-Pantry Chef at Sawmill Creek Restaurant and Resort
-Cashier, Courtesy Desk, Lay-away and Stocker at two different Wal-Marts
-A couple temp jobs in different offices
-Death & Disability Claim Analyst for New York Life Insurance Co

7. List the people you want to know more about.
- Anyone else reading this! I TAG YOU!

Thanks, Rosie, for the tag...good excuse to hop on and update everyone on a few things going on in my world (besides preparing for baby, of course...24 weeks preggo now and the baby is a foot long and weighs just over a pound!

It's a...

2008-05-13T05:31:00.002-05:00

Girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It took 40 minutes to get her to uncross her legs and show us 'the money shot' (as the tech called it) and I really thought we were going to be on the "green team" until delivery, but she was finally able to get her to cooperate. I am THRILLED to be having a little girl and can't wait to see her when she makes her debut (due date is still October 11th as she was measuring right on for 18 weeks 2 days). Dh is a little bummed that he's not going to get a boy (we only want one at this point), but I know he will change his thinking and be excited in no time. I have lots of pics, but I need to get to work and then hope that the internet at home cooperates later so I can upload them to attach. I just didn't want to keep everyone hanging, so I thought I'd post this quick to share the good news.

For now I will leave you with a pic of bedding we bought yesterday for the nursery. It's by Kidsline called "Birdsong" and I'm so in love with it :)

Hotdog or Cheeseburger?

2008-05-11T22:40:00.003-05:00

This is just a quick post (since the viruses on my pc are FINALLY letting me get online for the first time in weeks) to say that I am so so so so soooooooo excited because tomorrow we are having an ultrasound and will hopefully find out if this bebe is a boy or a girl! Can't wait and really hope the lil pumpkin cooperates and shows off the goods because we are dying to know! Our families and friends are all on pins and needles, so hopefully tomorrow afternoon we will have some definitive news to share. Neither one of us really cares what the sex is (obviously the first thing we care about is a healthy baby), but as far as gut-feelings go, I think it's a boy and Jason thinks it's a girl. Not sure why, exactly, but we both think we are right and I can't wait to see who is. The pregnancy ticker I have on my myspace a couple of weeks ago said that an ultrasound would soon tell whether the baby has a hotdog or a cheeseburger...we thought that was hilarious as did my fam, hence the subject of the post. Hopefully I'll be able to get online soon to share the news, but I'd love to hear some predictions while you wait :)

7 deadly sins--I mean 7 Random Things

2008-04-26T14:25:00.002-05:00

Knitterista tagged me, so here goes...

1 - I hate feet, but love love love baby feet. I mean, I wear sandals all summer and love to be barefoot, but I can't really stand to look at adult feet for long...they always just seem yucky to me and I don't really get people who have foot fetishes. However, show me a newborn or any lil one, really, and I can't help but unwrap the swaddle, remove the socks and look at those cute lil toes.

2 - I'm trying to become a self-proclaimed queen of the crock pot. Thinking now that I'm having a baby, I should probably try to become a little more domesticated (just w/ the cooking, not so much the cleaning so far...one step at a time, right?) and cook more meals at home as opposed to eating out most nights. But by the time I get home from work, the last thing I want to do is prepare a big meal from start to finish. Well...I found that it takes very little effort to toss some meat and whatever else into the slow cooker either in the morning or at lunchtime (I live around the corner from my office, so I walk home to visit the puggers on most days). Then, when I get home, not only does the house smell like food (a welcome change), but it takes no time to throw together a side dish and a veggie (I cheat and use alot of prepared or semi-prepared stuff...like I said...one step at a time) and call it a meal. Plus, then hubby is grateful and usually cleans up, which I really don't like doing either.

3 - I have a hard time typing short, to the point emails and posts. I mean, my friends can all send me quick little emails here and there telling me what needs to be said, but for some reason, I tend to be quite long-winded when it comes to my correspondence. Not really sure why, but I've tried to be more to the point, and it just doesn't seem to work.

4 - I can't stand eating at a tv tray (sometimes we eat at the dining room table, and other times we eat in the living room in front of the tube) if the hubby is watching something that I don't care for. I feel like it ruins my meal if I'm not engaged in something on the screen when I'm in front of it. This drives DH crazy cuz that basically means I have control of the tv whenever we are eating in front of it, but I feel like I'm wasting my good meal or something if there's something boring on, like sports that I'm not into, or something on the History Channel (I rarely find something on that channel that engages me, not sure why).

5 - I usually avoid people I know when I'm out shopping. It's not that I don't like talking to acquaintances, but for some reason, just not really while I'm shopping. If I see someone I know (close family and friends excluded), I will generally dodge them at most costs. Sometimes I think it's rude, but I have talked to other friends who do the same thing, so I guess it's just who I am.

6 - I am a girl of MANY collections. I've always been that way...when I was younger, it was seals (like the cute figurines and stuffed animals...I think it's cuz I did an independent study on them in like 4th grade or something, so people just started buying them for me), then it switched to frogs (I still display this collection in my home, although I haven't really added to it in years), then there's the knitting, knitting books, cookbooks (which reminds me - I need to look for the slow cooker one I know I bought years ago and never really used...), socks (I love any kind of cutesy cool socks and wear mostly maryjane shoes so I can show them off)...the list goes on and on.

7 - I have some kind of weird cleaning A.D.D. Like anytime I'm cleaning my house, I get VERY easily distracted. I'll be cleaning away in the kitchen and see something that belongs upstairs, so I'll grab it to take up, abandoning the kitchen, then grab a few more things to take up along the way, and before I know it, I'm upstairs cleaning the bathroom with a pile of stuff in the hallway that belongs in the office, bedroom, etc. Sometimes it takes me awhile to make it back down to the kitchen, so the rooms in the house very often get only halfway done.

Ok, there's my randomness. I won't tag anyone specifically, but would love it if you feel like playing along. Leave me a comment so I know to check yours out. Thanks for tuning in (hope you all don't think I'm a total weirdo now, or any more of one than you already did lol)! :)

Friday Smiles

2008-04-25T05:49:00.002-05:00

What is it about these cuties that makes everyone have to smile??

freebies - true lemon, plus an update on the pumpkin

2008-04-05T07:28:00.004-05:00

just signed up to get some freebies and found out that if i blog about the deal, i'll get even more. so here goes...

Get your free samples of True Lemon here.

Plus, if you are a blogger, you'll want to take note of this note from Tammy:

I read about this deal in the True Lemon e-newAnyone who blogs about True Lemon free samples and links to their free sample page can get 15 free packets of True Lemon/Lime/Orange for doing so! Just email them with the link to your blog post and give them your name and address. Oh, and you get to choose which flavors you want, too! :)

The free sample page to link to is: http://truelemon.com/gratitude-sample.html

And the email address to contact them is: customercare AT truelemon DOT com.

i got this link from this site and might be posting more of these things in the future. hope they aren't too annoying, but i love me some freebies and am gonna be looking to save money wherever i can (definitely on my mind these days, especially when i stop in the baby sections when i'm shopping and see how much diapers cost - YIKES! ;))

ps - speaking of baby, here's an update: went to the doctor after a spotting/cramping scare at about 10 weeks and had an u/s...all is well and had my next appointment this past wednesday. we got to hear the heartbeat and it was the most amazing thing ever! baby is doing great, i'm at 13 weeks today, and the morning sickness is so far not letting up, but actually getting worse. hopefully it won't be much longer, but i'm hanging in there. like all of my mom friends keep telling me, it'll all be worth it in the end! here's some pics of our lil pumpkin from the 10wk-ish appt...

so done with winter

2008-03-22T04:32:00.004-05:00

anyone else sick to death of the snow? it just keeps interrupting my plans and i'm beyond ready for spring. we got another 6" easy last nite...bah!!! anyway, i saw this on someone else's blog and hopefully i'm not offending anyone, but i gotta post it...

on a happier note, i'm knitting again - yay! was on a major hiatus when i wasn't feeling well, but now the morning sickness only strikes in some parts of the day, so i'm squeezing in some knitting here and there. working on a hat for the baby and hoping to finish it this weekend, along w/ a couple more to save for other bebes (found a super easy and sweet pattern for a newborn hat and some pretty soft baby yarn, so i might as well stockpile them, right?). feels so good to be at it again...didn't realize how much i missed it! hopefully i can post a pic next time. i'm also working on a baby blanket for the baby aka Lil Pumpkin, but my husband said it's the ugliest thing i've ever knit, so i'm reluctant to show anyone lol i figure that i'll get plenty of handknit blankets in baby/pastel colors, so i thought i would make one in the school colors for town we live in. thought it would be cute to use when we go for walks around town or to sporting events...why not let my baby show it's support, right? problem is, the school colors are purple and gold :) the yarn i bought was more like purple and yellow and it really is an ugly combination, but i still think i'll get compliments on it once it's in use. either that or i'll lie and say someone made it for me HA j/k...i would never. so maybe i'll post pics of that when i'm farther along.

here's a question...does it bother anyone that i refuse to use caps these days on my rambly posts? i realized that on the more thought out ones, i type correctly, but on the ones where i'm just rambling away with my thoughts, i can't be bothered. hope it's not too annoying. my other excuse is that i seem to have some arthritis in my right hand ring finger that has flared up again (dr thought maybe it was tendinitis, but i don't know) and it kinda hurts to type, so i'm lazy at the keyboard after typing all day at work.

ok, enough rambling. hey, at least it's some actual knitting content, right? hopefully pics next time, k? stay warm if you're in the snowy parts!

A Special Announcement!

2008-03-04T18:40:00.004-05:00

So I wanted to explain why I've been missing in action for almost two months...lots of things have been taking place and keeping me from blogging. Well, just one big thing, really, but that big thing has lots of things that go along with it.

Ok, enough beating around the bush, right? ;)

My big news is that my hubby and I decided that we wanted to have a baby, started trying at Christmastime and got pregnant the next month!! I'm two months along and due on October 11th with our lil pumpkin! We couldn't be happier and I had my first ultrasound today, so we finally felt like it was time share our big news!

The doctor said the baby looks great and we even got to see the heartbeat (boy, does that make everything seem soooo real!)!

Here's the first picture of our child...

Isn't that just the cutest lil bean ya ever seen? ;) The head is on the right marked by a "+1" and the doctor did confirm that there is only one lil bebe swimmin' around in there, so I guess the fact that my mom is a twin and it is said to skip generations will have to happen for one of my sisters :)

Anyway, I can't guarantee that the blogging will pick up from me just yet, but as I start to feel better (hopefully the all-day morning sickness I've been having for weeks will go away in the next month as I enter the second trimester), I hope to at least use this blog as a way to document/journal my pregnancy.

As for knitting, I haven't been doing any...hard to knit when you are dizzy and nauseous all the time lol However, I told myself that after my u/s, I would start a baby blanket, so I might get started on that soon, and then I'll have some knitting content to share.

Until then, hope all is well in your world!
xo,
Mamabear (as my dear friend Jill is calling me :) )

survivor

2008-01-10T22:47:00.000-05:00

no, this post isn't about the reality show. it's about me - i not only survived 2007 (which came with some crazy struggles, at the end especially), but i also survived my 30th bday! that's right...i turned 30 on 12/28 and while i thought it was going to be awful, i somehow made it through and am feeling pretty darn good about it!

ok, happy new year, first of all! hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! mine was very nice...lots of family and friend time for christmas, then more family and friend time for my bday and for new years. i feel more like it should be thanksgiving, because in these last few weeks, all i can think about is how thankful i am for the wonderful loving people in my life, including family and friends (both off- and on-line!). i am one lucky girl, that's for sure!

and i realize that this post is all over the place, but i haven't written in so long and my thoughts are pretty jumbled right now, so i'm just trying to get it all out so i can hopefully get sleepy soon and get some rest before i have to work in the morning.

speaking of jumbled, now i need to ask you all for some prayers....................

the title of this post isn't actually about me turning 30. i need to ask you all to say some prayers for my cousin. she is in her early 30s (i believe 32, but i might be off by a year in either direction) and found out the week before xmas that she has breast cancer. she found out the week of xmas that she has breast cancer in both breasts and scheduled to have a full mastectomy on 1/8 w/ chemo to start in february. the day before her surgery, she found out that there is cancer in her liver, so the mastectomy was canceled and she begins chemo next week. i feel just awful and helpless and the fact that there's nothing i can really do for her is killing me. the only thing i feel like i can really do is say as many prayers as i can and i ask that you do the same. she is a remarkable woman (one of the strongest i've ever known) and she has a strong faith and i really feel that all of our prayers will help her get through this and come out a true survivor. so please, say some prayers for her, that she will find the strength to get through all that lies ahead, and that she will indeed come out of this a healthy survivor.

Happy Festivus!

2007-12-19T06:44:00.000-05:00

Knitting books suggestions

2007-12-17T19:56:00.000-05:00

Friday night I went to my friend Carrie's annual Girls Nite In holiday get together. Every year we have a blast eating good eats, drinking good drinks (this year the specialty was Choco-Mint Martinis - mmm!), singing karaoke and just being silly girls.
A few of us at the party like the exchange gifts every year and this time we used elfster.com's Secret Santa feature to randomly draw names to do a secret santa instead of getting something small for everyone. The site is really cool - you can post anonymous questions for the person you are gifting and you can leave messages for the whole group, make wishlists, etc. Very fun!
Anyway, my gift was a couple cute pairs of socks and a $20 gift card to Borders Books. I think I might like to buy myself a new knitting book, but there are so many out there, so I need some help. Make some suggestions please : )

Thanks in advance and hope you are all enjoying the holiday season!

PS - My weekend was full of other great things, including my middle sister's graduation ceremony...more to come on that : )

pug vs peacock

2007-12-14T06:46:00.001-05:00

this vid was on cute overload and i had to share it - toooooo cute!

finally caught up and do you remember?

2007-12-09T09:28:00.000-05:00

so i've been totally behind on my blog reading (and posting, but i've already discussed that). so much so that i had something like 135 posts to read. this morning i woke up before the puppies and the hubby and decided to clean out my email inbox as well as my bloglines backlog. i had to skip over a ton, but i'm finally caught up and can start reading current posts instead of obsessing over the tons that i haven't gotten to yet. what a good feeling!

now for the do you remember portion...mark had an interesting post the other day and i thought i would post about it as well to see what others have to say about the topic. one of his readers asked what his earliest childhood memory was, which i thought would be an easy thing to write about. however, as i started thinking about it, i realized how not easy it would be for me. unlike some, my parents didn't have an kind of video camera when we were kids, so i don't have any home movies to watch, but my mom did take tons of pictures and like most families, we talk about old times alot when we get together. so when i try to think of my earliest memory, i'm not sure if what i'm thinking about is from my memory, or just regurgitated from stories i've been told.

the memory i'm thinking of (there are two, but only one i'll share) is from when i was two years old and was jumping on the bed, fell off and hit the corner of a dresser or nightstand and had to get stitches. i have a scar to prove that the event happened, and i've heard about it, but i swear i remember the pink blanket that was on the bed and getting told to stop by my mom when she walked in carrying a laundry basket. i think i remember falling, but that's it. i'll have to ask my mom if she remembers these details to confirm if i'm remembering them or making them up or what.

anyway, just thought it was interesting. does anyone else want to share their earliest childhood memory?

blah

2007-12-07T13:57:00.001-05:00

that's how i feel...blah. i've been fighting off a cold since last weekend and finally gave in on thursday. called in sick to stay home and nurse the cold. spent the day knitting on the couch w/ my puglets cuddling close. the younger one (dublin) had diarrhea in the morning and continued to have it for the rest of the day. then she threw up in the middle of the night. so today i'm taking another sick day, because i'm still feeling crappy, but more importantly, my poor baby is sicky, too. off to take her to the vet to make sure it's nothing more than a doggy bug. blah on being sick, and having a sick "baby" :(

BWO from here on out!

2007-12-03T18:21:00.000-05:00

I think I like this way of thinking, so I am officially declaring that from now on, I will also (thanks again for the idea, Jannett) be...

A Christmas Meme

2007-12-03T17:54:00.000-05:00

Jannette tagged me, so here goes...

Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE ! Just copy this entire post and then replace my answers with yours!

'Tis the Season to be NICE !

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

I like both, depending on the gift, how much time I have, and what's available.

2. Real tree or artificial?

We've had artificial for years because of living in apartments and not having a choice, so it didn't even dawn in me to get a real one this year. Maybe next...

3. When do you put up the tree?

Whenever we get around to it...haven't put one up in years (when you don't have kids, you can get away with that), so we don't really have any set traditions with that yet. I'd like to someday, though!

4. When do you take the tree down?

Haha...funny you should ask ;) The reason we stopped putting up a tree years ago is because we are both VERY lazy and one year the tree didn't come down until March or April...pathetic, I know lol

5. Do you like eggnog?

Freakin' love it, but the diet this year will probably keep me away from it for the most part lol

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

Probably my red two-wheeler w/ the sparkly banana seat.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

Nope.

8. Hardest person to buy for?

Both of our dad's...men are just tough I think.

9. Easiest person to buy for?

Both of our mom's...they have lots of collections so it makes it easy breezy : )

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

I think my mom would like me to say the little bag of coal that "santa" left me one year, but to my parents' dismay, I loved it! I can't think of a bad gift right now, so I guess that's good, right?

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Mail, but again...haven't really done that in years. Probably not doing it this year, either...time and money constraints lol

12 . Favorite Christmas movie?

A Christmas Story and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Oh yeah, and Home Alone!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

Usually sometime in December...sorry, Jannett...I'm one of the last-minute offenders lol I also pick up stuff throughout the year if I see something good.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Um...I plead the fifth.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Cookies! Any of the festive stuff that I don't usually get during the rest of the year.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?

This is a tough one...back in the day we used to put up an all black tree w/ purple lights and purple decorations (I know...we're weird lol). However, a few years ago I bought a small silver tree w/ fiber optic lighting and that's the one I'm putting up this year, so I guess that counts as colored.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch ;) (Are you getting the picture that Christmas hasn't always been the most wonderful time of the year for me? I'm not a total scrooge, but I do use "Bah Humbug" more frequently than some.)

18. Travel for Christmas or stay home?

Stay home, but we do travel 45 minutes to see my family on xmas eve...does that count?

19. Can you name all of Santa's' reindeer?

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen...but do you recall The most famous Reindeer of all...Rudolph : ) Are those right?

20. Angel on the treetop or star?

Sometimes an angel...sometimes a star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

DH and I usually open ours on xmas eve after we get home from opening gifts w/ my family and then we open with his family on xmas day.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

Definitely the snow...I'm not a fan.

23. What I love most about Christmas?

Spending time with family and friends and giving gifts (handmade or bought) to the people I love.

24. What's your favorite Christmas Memory?

Waking up super-early to sit and stare at the tree until we were allowed to wake our parents to dig in to the presents!

25. Believe or Not?

Hmm...I believe in lots of things! : )

Now, I think that I will Tag anyone who would like to tell us all about you and Christmas!

Thanks, Jannett...that was fun! Happy Holidays, all!

Temporarily Abandoned But Not Forgotten

2007-12-02T22:25:00.000-05:00

I know, I know...it's been quite a while now since I blogged. Things in my life have been chaotic to say the least. I'm experiencing the normal increase in busy-ness associated with owning a new home on top of working full-time and going to school twice a week. On top of that, the holidays make things a bit more hectic, yadda yadda. Anyway, I don't know if it's necessarily a matter of being too lazy to blog or just too busy, but either way, I thought I would drop in and say hi to everyone. I'm actually too busy to keep up on my blog reading, too, which makes me way more sad than not keeping up w/ the posting, but I do try to catch up every now and then. Hopefully my readers haven't written me off completely ;)

So, I can't really think of anything new to report...I'm working on just one knitted project for xmas, but I can't discuss it because the recipient may or may not be a reader here (or a reader might know the recipient), but I will definitely take pics when I have an FO and post them for all to see. Other than that one big project, my knitting has been close to non-existent. Guess I've finally let other things like housework and spending time w/ DH and the puggers take precedence for once.

I have some other personal stuff going on right now, but I'm not really comfortable disclosing it here, so I'll just say that I could use some good vibes/prayers. Thanks in advance : )

And just so this post isn't totally boring, here are some pics of the pumpkins my DH and I carved for Halloween, both in the daylight and at night (and also one of my sis Mel and I before passing
out candy on Halloween)...

Hope you are all having a wonderful start to the holiday season and hopefully I will find some time before too long to post again. Take care! xo

Mother of the year, spotted in the Cleveland area

2007-10-01T18:20:00.000-05:00

Oh man, do I wish I had a pic to go along w/ this short post. DH and I were driving home from Chipotle (love me a veggie burrito bowl w/ guacamole!) when we spotted two kids (youngish, probably 7 and 9) on scooters, carrying plastic grocery bags, each w/ a plastic grocery bag on their head! It was drizzling, but I freaked out and said to my husband "Don't those kids know never ever ever to put a plastic bag on their head, even if it is keeping their hair dry??!". I was so worried and thought about stopping to tell them that it wasn't safe. That's when DH stopped me to point out their mother (or I assume it was their mother) w/ another scooter kid following her, also wearing a plastic bag on his head as rain protection. Nice. Wait -- it gets better. While the third boy was fumbling w/ this scooter and grocery bags, his bag-hat must have caught wind and floated off his head. What do you suppose happened next? You got it, folks...mom bent down, picked up the bag-hat and PLACED IT BACK ON HIS HEAD!! I was like "omg, if only I had a video of that"...I no more than ended that sentence when another one of the kids' "hats" fell off and she proceeded to do her motherly duty of picking it up and placing it back on her head. Seriously??

Just a Sunday Football Funny : )

2007-09-30T08:22:00.000-05:00

Our Special Day

2007-09-11T06:01:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to stop in to say hi to everyone (summer is still busy busy, so blogging time has been minimal and limited to reading everyone else's instead of posting on my own, which I'm ok w/ right now...I'm sure I'll get back in the groove once fall/winter starts) and give a special anniversary shout-out to myself and my hubby...today is our 8 yr anniversary. I wish I had a photo to share, but we got married BD (before digital), so I'll have to dig out the wedding album one of these days and scan some pics to share at a later date. So, happy anniversary to us and happy Tuesday to everyone else : )

And in keeping w/ tradition, here's a pic from a luau we attended this summer...

PS - If you read the post from last year, you'll notice that we had a fabulous day for our anniversary. This year is a little different, w/ me being on vacation to get ready for our housewarming party on Saturday, Jason at work, Dublin w/ an afternoon vet appt and then me off to school tonight. However, we did go to dinner last night to celebrate (at our favorite restaurant called The Diner for, ironically, the same meal we had for lunch last year on our special day), and w/ the new house and the party coming up, we feel like we've been and will be doing plenty of celebrating to make up for not having another day together like last year.

Just a fun lil quizzie

2007-08-18T03:22:00.000-05:00

found this one on jannette's blog and thought i'd give it a try. it's fun to see how your answers match mine and just to take the quiz to learn some stuff about yourself...give it a try : )

Pay It Forward Exchange

2007-08-14T17:10:00.000-05:00

So yesterday I was reading my good friend Jannette's blo g and I read about the PIF Exchange. Since I'm always up for a fun exchange where I can give something great to someone great, I decided to join. Here is the gist of the exchange (taken blatantly from Jannette's blog who took it blatantly from Alaina's blog ;)).

PIF Exchange

This exchange is based on this gorgeous movie with Helen Hunt in it called 'Pay It Forward'. How many of you out there have had a chance to watch it? O.K. If you've yet to see the movie (as I do, and I will be adding it to my Netflix queue when I'm done typing this blog), this is what the PIF Exchange is all about......

"Here is how it works! I'll send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange! I don't know what that gift will be yet, and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week...LOL... but you will receive it within 365 days, that's a promise! and it will be something yummy!! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog..."

So the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog, will get something made for them by me! I can't wait to see who you are! I should be able to come up with something good for you all, just you wait and see! Let me know you want in and if you are among the first 3, you'll be in! I'll need your email address when you comment so that I know how to reach you to obtain your address, ok?

Join in and then just pay it forward!

list of things to blog about

2007-08-08T21:32:00.000-05:00

if i ever find the time, here's what i'd like to blog about:

-the move from last apartment i'll ever live in to house i plan to die in (never moving again!)
-my sister's beautiful wedding and everything about it, including lots of great pics
-the new house
-how the puppies like the new house and the cute things they are doing here
-the new neighbors who are all so great!
-dishrag tag
-other random summer things that are leaving me w/ no blogging time (bachelorette parties, bridal and baby showers)
-my first-ever enrollment in fantasy football (i barely know what a first down is, so this outta be good)
-knitting (imagine that - i'd like to talk about knitting on my knitting blog lol) and the fo's i've produced since i moved (there have been just a couple small things, but i have taken pics, so i'd like to post them)

so there, as soon as i find some time, i will start working off this list to make some worthwhile posts. until then, please accept my apologies for my lack of blogging in this busy crazy insane summer life i lead : )

until then, i leave you w/ this silly collage of pics of me when i was a wee one (my mom called me jenny-penny back then...she's the only one i would consider letting get away w/ calling me that today, and please note that i said "consider" hehe)...

Wikimeme

2007-07-15T12:23:00.000-05:00

For lack of energy to post something real for a change (I'm sure I will be able to start blogging again soon, but for now you'll have to deal w/ some fluff stuff), I tagged myself for this lil meme from Melissa's blog post.

So here's the rules:
Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday, then tag 5 friends.

And here are the results for my birthday, December 28, 2007:

Events:
1846 - Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state.
1981 - The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia.
2000 - U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years.

Births:
1954 - Denzel Washington, American actor
1960 - Raymond Bourque, Canadian hockey player

Holiday:
The third day of Christmas in Western Christianity.

I'm not tagging anyone, but if you need a little fluff for your own summertime blog-laziness, feel free to play along : )

Oh yeah, and here's a pic from one of the big events that has taken most of my time and energy lately (to be blogged about in more detail w/ more pics very soon!)...

My sister Samantha and her new husband Eddie on their absolutely perfect and gorgeous wedding day last Saturday 7/7/07.. she was the most beautiful bride I've ever seen!!
xoxo to both of them, while they live it up on their Punta Cana honeymoon in the Dominican Republic.

Inside House Pics

2007-06-24T22:28:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the outside of our new house (but will have one soon since we're moving in just six days!!), but here are some pics of the inside that I took when we were there for the inspection...

kitchen w/ the exposed chimney (one of our favorite things about the house)...

living room and staircase...

master bedroom...

bathroom upstairs w/ another exposed chimney...

backyard, taken from the balcony off of the office...

I wish I had more pictures to share (other than the inside ones that weren't so exciting), and I'm really sad that I didn't save the ones from their realtor's website before they were removed because those were taken so artfully and were a great way to show off the house, but I'm sure I'll take plenty more once I move in and get settled. Until then, these will have to do!

And now for something embarrassing to share...so today we spent about seven hours packing for the upcoming move. Part of my job was to pack the food cupboards in the kitchen. Now, it's well-known fact that we don't do very much cooking. This isn't something that I'm proud of, but I think it's kinda hard to cook for just two, especially when one of us (not me haha) is somewhat of a picky eater and the other (that would be me) is always on some type of restrictive diet in an attempt to battle the bulge. Anyway, to give you a little time line for this upcoming embarrassing find, we moved in together in Aug 1996. We moved into our current apartment in Nov 2003. We started in a one bdrm apt, moved to a two bdrm down the hall, then to a very nice (but very expensive) apt in another town, and then into the house we're in now. I only give this timeline to show how many times we've moved since our first apt in 1996. So I'm going thru the cupboards tossing lots of food that has recently expired when I come across t his...OMG! Seriously? Do you know when I must have bought this in order for it to expire that long ago?! I'm soooooo ashamed. Oh well...I guess it happens, but I could have sworn that this was purchased in the last three years lol Guess it's a good thing I didn't get hungry for some Cream of Wheat and just make some w/o checking the date first haha

Other than the packing and other random house stuff, I've spent my time preparing and partying for my little sister's upcoming wedding. Samantha and Eddie are gettin' hitched on 07-07-07 and my DH Jason and I are both in the wedding. Here's a pic from the bachelorette party last weekend, which was such a fun time...

(I'm to the right of the bride in the pink sash, and on the other side of her is my super-hip mommacita who partied just as hard as the rest of us - I was very impressed!)
We rented a party bus and had a joint bachelor/bachelorette party. My other sis Melissa (second from the left) did most of the planning and it turned out fabulous! Everyone had a great time and I wish we could do the night all over again at least once a year : )

And my final photo for this unusually long post is one of my girls, showing how big my baby is, and showing quite a strange look by Guinness (the fawn one)...anyone have a good caption for what Guinness or Dublin might be thinking in this one?

Finally some big news!

2007-06-21T17:47:00.000-05:00

So I think I mentioned that I had something really big going on awhile back, but I didn't want to spill it in case things didn't go through. Well, tonight I finally have confirmation that things went through in the way of the title being transferred on our very first home!!!!

We are officially Homeowners!!!

We started looking when we got home from vacation at the beginning of April and by the end of the month, we were putting in an offer on our first home. We are soooooooo excited and just can't wait to get our keys (which will be on June 29th - big moving day is the 30th) and get into the house.

We are moving 12 blocks from where we are now. The house is a colonial with three bedrooms and a full bath upstairs, dining room, living room and kitchen on the main floor and another full bath in the unfinished but very nice basement. There is a two car garage, perfect little yard that is already completely fenced in for the puglets and a deck! Also, a little balcony off the small bedroom (office) upstairs and a little patio next to the garage perfect for the grill and a fire pit.

All in all, the house is just perfect for us and we couldn't be more excited about our new adventure and proud that we finally pulled it together to get something we can call our own.

I'll save the pictures and more details about the house for another post (mostly because I'm sleepy and need to get to bed...it's another weekend full of plans and packing), but I definitely wanted to share my great news with all of my bloggin' buddies : )

PS - Happy First Day of Summer!!

Are you in, or are you out?!

2007-06-13T16:11:00.001-05:00

Oh man - this is right up my alley! I've participated in scarf circles before, but dishrag tag? I am all over this one!! Click here for details and SIGN UP! :)

(and I know, I know...I really need to learn how to post a button that you can clicky...someday I'll figure it out lol)

boo.. i missed it - again!!!!!

2007-06-10T18:35:00.000-05:00

well, yesterday was world wide knit in public day and i completely missed it :(

last year i remember making a big deal about wanting to knit in public but had a super busy day and never made it out. this year, i knew i'd be busy, but i still wanted to go somewhere to knit for a bit. wouldn't you know it, i completely forgot :(((

instead i took my girls to our monthly pug meetup for a strawberry shortcake social at one of the members houses. they were of the most well-behaved pugs there (i'm so proud) and we all had a great time! then we went to our friends' house for a cookout and had a great time drinking together by the bonfire. all in all, it was a really fun day and i guess i'm not TOO sad about missing wwkip day, but still...it would have been nice to participate. oh well...maybe next year!

here's a pic of the girls that i snapped at the meetup...guinness on the left and dublin on the right...

Cute Overload . com

2007-06-06T05:47:00.000-05:00

this post is for the lovers of all things cute in the animal world : )

these pics are from one of my favorite websites...

need a pattern (and happy bday erin!)

2007-06-02T20:46:00.000-05:00

So this weekend my DH is in Toronto playing in a hockey tournament (as of this evening, they were 3 and 0 and heading for the semi-finals in the morning - GO RENEGADES!), so I'm a single mom of two sweaty pugs...it's upwards of 85 degrees in Cleveland and without a/c, the pugs are pretty uncomfortable. Keeping them cool w/ fans and lots of ice cubes, though, so they are doing ok.

Anyway, back to me being left unattended this weekend...on Friday I found out that my favorite yarn store is moving and having a big sale...40% off everything in the store! Unfortunately, when I went to check it out, I found out that they are moving but are not sure where yet...hope it's still close by! Soooooooo...since noone was here to tell me no, I broke my own rule of a major yarn starvation until the stash diminishes and bought this...

It's two skeins of this pretty fuzzy yarn from Italy. It says it is "Espirit" brand, 100% Nylon and the colors are Powder Pink and Plum, according to my receipt. The store owner told me that it should be about 100 yrds per ball. Anyway, I was petting it while at the store to buy some discounted Brittney sock dpn's and decided I had to buy it...it's so soft and pretty :) Anyway, this is where you come in...I think I want to make myself a scarf out of it, but I'm open to other small project ideas as well. The suggested needle size is 6-8, if that helps. I would appreciate any pattern suggestions...

Other than hanging out with the pugs, I picked up the "Yarn Harlot - The Secret Life of a Knitter" book last night and have been enjoying it immensely!

Also, today was our niece's fourth birthday and I went to her Tinkerbell themed party tonight. Here's a shot of her in a fairy outfit she got as a gift, along with everything else fairy or princess related lol...

And here's one of the cake my sis in law Bex made for her...she's so crafty, that Bex :)

So Happy Birthday, my little Girly-Girl Erin and thanks in advance for any pattern suggestions you all may have :)

Oh yeah, and for you basketball fans out there, GO CAVS!!!!

Personal Movie Quiz

2007-05-04T05:24:00.000-05:00

Found this on my friend Mark's blog and thought I'd play along..

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.

Garden State…probably three times that many

2. Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in the theater.

I know I’ve seen a couple films more than once in the theater, but the only one that comes to mind right now is the original Toy Story back in the day lol

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.

Zach Braff all the way…he’s my current heart-throb and I love to see what he’s doing…probably going to see The Ex very soon (starts next Friday!)

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.

Can’t really think of anyone right now who I really dislike that much.

5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from.

I’m a HUGE quotes fan, so my husband, friends and I are constantly quoting movies! Garden State, Office Space, Dirty Dancing, Steel Magnolias, Overboard, Men In Black, Big Daddy, Happy Gilmore, Tommy Boy…just to name a few.

6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.

Chicago!

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.

Anything that I know the words to…I love singing (and no, I don’t have a great voice, but I don’t care lol).

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.

Garden State…made me think about life and what’s important, but made me laugh a lot, too.

9. Name a movie that you own.

See number 5, again, just to name a few.

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.

Hmm...not sure on this one. I’d have to really think about it.
11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?

Several, but I can only think of Toy Story 2 right now haha

12. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven't yet gotten around to it.

I belong to Net Flix, so anything I want to see, I just add to the list. Angela’s Ashes and Rosewood are both on the list to see soon.

13. Ever walked out of a movie?

I don’t think so, although I wanted to do during One Hour Photo w/ Robin Williams…hated it.

14. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.

Oh man…the last one was “The Last Kiss” with Zach Braff…not only did I cry, but I had to hold back sobs. I think I was PMS’ing (sorry, Mark) or something, so I’m sure that didn’t help lol

15. Popcorn?

Love it, but rarely get it cuz it’s real fattening and unhealthy there.

16. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?

Just a couple times a year now, but I used to go once a week when I was in high school.

17. What's the last movie you saw in the theater?

The Last Kiss

18. What's your favorite/preferred genre of movie?

Depends on my mood.

19. What's the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?

No clue, sorry.

20. What movie do you wish you had never seen?

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas…read the book twice but HATED the movie.

21. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?

Requiem of a Dream ~ and I still can’t say I enjoyed it because it kinda tripped me out when I saw it and it left me feeling all panicky and weird, but I might consider watching it again.

22. What is the scariest movie you've seen?

Hmm…this is hard. I love love love scary movies, but I can’t think of any that I consider really scary right now. I guess it depends on my mood when I’m watching it.

23. What is the funniest movie you've seen?

There are lots of funny ones out there, but for a good, stupid-funny one, 40 Year Old Virgin made me laugh out loud many times. Again, stupid-funny, people.

Sorry for the lack of posts...lots going on, but I can't share the biggest news just yet, so I'm not really writing anything until I do (and no, I'm not preggers, people!). Hope to be back in the blogging scene soon. Have a great weekend, all! : )

still alive

2007-04-07T18:47:00.000-05:00

oh man - being busy blows. we're back from vacation (had a fabulous time!) and now work, school and everything else is back in full swing. haven't even had time (or energy) to download pics from vaca, but when i do, i'll be blogging about my awesome trip and about the knitting i've been doing, which includes my first sock (i've turned the heel and am at the gusset - will be consulting w/ a friend on this part cuz i'm confused by my instructions) and Lion Brand's "Road Scarf" from a recent email from them. i started it on vacation cuz i thought it was cool that the designer made it while she was traveling. anyway, pics of the wips and my trip to come (hopefully sooner than later). also, i'm sllloooowwwlllyyyy trying to catch up on my blog reading, so if you haven't heard from me on yours, i'm sorry...i'll be there sooner or later : )
hope everyone outside of cleveland is enjoying their spring while we continue to get pummeled with snow :o/

Attn San Diego Knitters!

2007-03-14T06:14:00.000-05:00

Hey all - DH and I are heading to San Diego next week for the first time ever and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on where to go, what to do and if there are any good yarn shops around. We're staying in the Pacific Beach area, but we'll have a car, so anywhere is fair game. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions! : )

A Sheep in Sheep's Clothing

2007-03-10T20:12:00.000-05:00

Found this on Kate's blog...too cute!

Another awesomely nice knitter, folks!

2007-02-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

I received another gift in the mail from a fellow knitter...
This is a picture of me (sorry for the self-taken bathroom mirror shot) wearing my new fabulous purple scarf from my knitting blog friend, Mark!

I've been following Mark's blog since he started it in the fall when he learned to knit so he could knit scarves for his family for xmas. He caught on quickly and I think he fell in love w/ the craft...I'm constantly amazed at his speed of knitting and the quality in the pictures always looked amazing.

He asked me a couple weeks ago if he could knit something for me and I said of course...I don't usually spend time knitting things for myself and definitely appreciate hand-knits, so it was exciting to have something made for me : )

Here's his post about the details of the scarf...the yarn that he used is super-soft and the weight of the scarf is nice and heavy...I absolutely love it!! When I pulled it out of the box, DH said "That has to be the nicest scarf you own!" which is awesome because I own LOTS of scarves. I think I have to agree w/ him...this is definitely a favorite and it is going to get TONS of use!!

Here's a pic of the scarf on the hood of a purple Dodge something-or-other w/ a hemi (Charger or something like that...I can't remember) at the Cleveland Auto Show that we went to Friday night. The car was the exact same shade of purple, so I tossed it on top and snapped the shot w/ my phone. When I picked the scarf back up, a man behind me had his camera out to take a pic of the car and said "Oh, I thought that was part of the display...it matches perfectly." lol

So a HUGE thank you to Mark for this gift...I am so excited about it and am telling everyone what wonderful people the knitters I've encountered along the way are.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! : )

Knit Wit Girly turns Mommy

30 Days of Thanks.. Days 3 & 4

Already?!

30 Days of Thanks.. Day 2

The 31st may have passed, but I'm still feelin' it...

November.. 30 Days of Thanks

NaBloPoMo

In following yesterday’s theme…

Pouty Punk Rock

Presse Française

Progress.. just in the nick of time!

Haettich Happenings, January 2011

Suffering from Serious Scale Shock...

Happy Holidays!

Testing.. 1, 2, 3…

"What's Wrong?"

Memories...

I'm an Auntie!!!!!

Inspiration

Weekend Recap.. or not

"Donut!! Mommy.. nooooooo! Donut!!!!!"

Need some help...

Childbirth + Breastfeeding = best.diet.EVER.

It's happening already...

drama-mama

Love & Thankfulness

Birth Story, part 3

Birth Story, part 2

Birth Story, part 1

Mixed Emotions

Preggo Crazies at their finest

Expectations, Wishes and Eviction Notices

November already?

Important information regarding Baby Boy Haettich - **New Information Added**

Totally Random Dinner Ideas/Recipes/Food Notes

Shyness be gone!

Search Party

Day 1

A to Z

Your Pregnancy: Week 11

Guess what?!...

linkity links

15 Months!!

picture pages picture pages...

2010

Happy Birthday!

Sneak peak...

i wanna win one!

H1N1 Prevention Tips

Giving the blog another chance...

Sleeping Beauty

bonus pic post

4 mo appt

Baby Chicken Dance

Happy Snowdays!

this makes me laugh...

Happy Holidays!

too busy bein' a momma to blog

Our baby girl is here!!

October 11th - My due date

3 days and counting...

9 years!!!

Exactly how I'm feeling...

10 years ago today...

Watching our garden grow

I'm baaaack!

Tagged - I'm it!

Tag… You’re It

It's a...

Hotdog or Cheeseburger?

7 deadly sins--I mean 7 Random Things

Friday Smiles

freebies - true lemon, plus an update on the pumpkin

so done with winter

A Special Announcement!

survivor

Happy Festivus!

Knitting books suggestions

pug vs peacock

finally caught up and do you remember?

Important information regarding Baby Boy Haettich - New Information Added