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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Freezer Friendly Foods from Martha

I think I may attempt this one ...

Mediterranean Tuna-Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

Serves 8

  • 1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for baking dishes
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 pound wide egg noodles
  • 2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 5 cups whole milk
  • 4 cans (6 ounces each) tuna in olive oil, drained
  • 1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained and thickly sliced
  • 5 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil two 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dishes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until 2 minutes short of al dente; drain, and return to pot.
  2. Meanwhile, in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add bell peppers; season with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer.
  3. Remove from heat; add mixture to noodles in pot, along with tuna, artichoke hearts, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper, and toss. Divide between prepared baking dishes, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes. 

    To Freeze: Prepare through step 3; cool to room temperature. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, and freeze up to three months. 

    To Bake from Frozen: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, covered with foil, until center is warm, about 2 hours. Uncover, and bake until top is browned, about 20 minutes more. 

    To Bake from Thawed: Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake, covered with foil, until center is warm, about 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake until top is browned, about 20 minutes more.

alt recipe from jamie;
I use noodles (tried whole wheat and liked them in this), a can of tuna and a can of cream of mushroom soup.  Then I topped it with cheddar and broiled.  I think I might add peas.  

Monday, September 29, 2008

Jessica's Post Baby Body ...

omg - gag me. 
gag me with a fricken baby spoon ...
she makes me sick.
;P


kidding. ONLY kidding.






Saturday, September 27, 2008

so frustrated ...

My computer is having issues - font issues to be specific.

On certain sites the fonts dont view correctly and are therefore completely illegible.

Since Im not the slightest bit tech savvy or even close - I havent been able to fix it. Ive tried several things that might have just created more problems.

Im really hoping someone will randomly know how to fix this. This is what it looks like ... 
(and it happens on Craigslist, Wikipedia & other random pages.) 

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Cant Stop Thinking About ...

Peanut Butter M&Ms ... dammit if i had some change id take it straight to the store right now & buy some ... 

I guess i could bust out the debit card. 

but then the calories are REAL. if i scrounge up some spare change its like they never happened at all

For Those That Take The Time To Read My Blog ...


:)

Getting Very Anxious/impatient/Restless/Antsy

Im really looking forward to my Dr. Appt on friday.
Even though it doesnt tell you much - Im curious if im dilating yet or if anything is happening.

The Dresser has shipped - I'll be so happy to get the room finished. And the Glider shipped too.

So all in all - im just waiting. 


Monday, September 22, 2008

Another Necessary Baby Purchase


Kalina & I picked these up yesterday from Lullaby Lane! 

Mood Swings? Ya think?

Hahahaha.

So my sister called me and wanted to know who the heck rubbed me the wrong way with their advice after she read todays earlier posting.

Honestly - No One! But Ive heard so many moms jump on other moms about what they "should" do. (Plus I spend too much time on thebump.com where moms rip each other apart for breastfeeding or not, epidural or not, BPA free bottles or not.)

I honestly appreciate motherly advice and suggestions and I guess my post seems quite the contrary ... its just the judging that is hard to handle. 

Then she proceeded to tell me that my 9 month mood swings are right on track as I so effortlessly segued  into the sweet story about the elderly lady. :D

haha. Thats one thing I can appreciate whole heartedly about other mothers - theyve been there, done that and UNDERSTAND.  

Thanks for loving me anyways Alexa! :) 


Nursery Photos Coming Soon!

I just ordered the Glider and the dresser! wooo hoooo!

Now I just have to wait for her to get here :D

I'll post pics of her room when everything gets here ... probably later this week. 

Caution; Results may vary from child to child.

Yesterday my sister-in-law said something that I think is so important to remember. Being the mother of 3 she said, "Each child is so different, what works for one doesn't always work for the next." She explained how each baby was entirely different when it came to soothing them. 

While I only have one so far, I have seen this to be true - we are all unique individuals from day one so I suppose this seems awfully rudimentary. Some babies love swaddling, others dont, some breastfeed well, some dont, some mothers dont want to breastfeed at all, some babies are more vocal than others, blah blah blah - the list goes on and on and on. And no two babies share the same unique combination of likes & dislikes - not even siblings as my sister-in-law pointed out. 

Having said this, Ive noticed pregnancy and new babies tend to elicit endless parenting advice.The advice comes from family members, friends, strangers, parents and even those who have never parented at all. Sometimes requested, most often not. Personally I love hearing about what worked for others and the challenges they faced as a Parent (or aunt/uncle, babysitter/nanny, etc etc). 

What I dont understand is when a person believes #1; you definitely need their advice and #2; that their advice WILL work and solve your dilemma (wether you knew you had a dilemma or not).  Or, Better yet, they believe it is the holy grail of parenting. Rarely does anyone know a child as intimately as a parent does. Why do people invest so much in their advice that they believe it to be a solution for all? Why judge another mom for the fact that it simply didnt work for them or their child? 

Instead of swapping possible solutions - moms become these know-it-all, judgmental, mud slinging, sleep deprived scary people, no??? My solution? I plan on navigating through and basking in the times when I find something that DOES work for me or my child. Dont get me wrong - Advice is good - judgments made based on taking or not taking the advice; BAAAAD. 

***********

However ... On a sweeter note - I also had a stranger approach K & I yesterday and say "Looks like youre going to be a big sister!? Is it a little brother? or a little sister??" K answered her and told her that it would be a little sister - the lady replied by telling us "I waited 10 years for my little sister and it was the best day of my life!" She was incredibly sweet and proceeded to tell us all about how her mother had to pry that baby away from her and that her sister is still one of her dearest friends. I wanted to cry right then & there but resisted for fear of embarrassing my daughter. I can only hope that my girls will love & appreciate one another in this way - it is truly among the greatest of blessings to have a sibling. 

**********

and FYI - I'm NINE months on Friday!!!!!!!!!

Friday, September 19, 2008

35 Weeks Pregnant!

Only 36 More Days Til my Due Date ...

How your baby's growing:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds. Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

How your life's changing:


Your uterus — which was entirely tucked away inside your pelvis when you conceived — now reaches up under your rib cage. If you could peek inside your womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now. Your ballooning uterus is crowding your other internal organs, too, which is why you probably have to urinate more often and may be dealing with heartburn and other gastrointestinal distress. If you're not grappling with these annoyances, you're one of the lucky few.

Check out My Little Reader ...



My Gorgeous Bday Flowers!

Thanks MOM!!! Youre The Best!!!!!!!



Thursday, September 18, 2008

Before Getting Pregnant ...

If only you'd known you were going to trade... 


• Monthly PMS for nine months of weeping 
• Lacy thongs for cotton tents 
• Sex for gas 
• Zinfandel for Ovaltine 
• Birth control for laxatives 
• Going to the gym for getting up to pee 
• Your waist for a hot-air balloon 
• Kickboxing for kick counts 
• Your innie for an outie — a way-outie 
• Sleeping for groaning 
• Freedom for the most intense love you've ever known


D Better Make It Home In Time ...

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

having a seroius craving for this ...

http://elegantlydomesticated.blogspot.com/2008/01/sweet-ending-with-tangy-finish-meyer.html

Explain to me One More Time ...

exactly HOW she is going to get out of here ?!?!?!?

But thats not the only thing on my mind this week ... mostly I've been praying for patience.
... just in case my prayers for a sleepy, non-colicky baby arent heard.

I know its an absolute waste of time to be scared - but I am. Scared Sh**less. 'Scuse my french - there just is no other way to describe it. The fears started out small this week and have grown substantially ...

After we overcome this spacial challenge of getting her to the outside world - Will this baby be too big to fit in all the newborn clothes that I have already ripped the tags off of and washed??
Will I ever get sleep again after she comes and before she starts Kindergarten??

Will I be reduced to a stressed out mess of a woman that cries, washes pint size clothes and barely takes a minute to shower because her main job is to be a walking feed bag???

and dare I ask -

Will my backside EVER look like it did 9 months ago?

Yup - I said it. Call me vain - I dont care. These are my fears and thank GOD that these are the worst of them.




Monday, September 15, 2008

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Back from A Baby Spending Spree ...

The final fun purchases of this weekend were the following:

A Moby Style Wrap from Etsy Seller Loveyduds;


and A 'Hooter-Hider' Style Cover from Etsy Seller Tinkiwink1;

(This is the fabric I chose)

Our Weekend ...

K & I put together our Graco Sweetpeace - and are very excited about putting Baby Brooklyn in it! It does all sorts of crazy stuff - Rocks, Swings, Vibrates, Sings, Hooks up to the Ipod and has lots of different sound setting including water, heartbeats & white noise sounds.


While we were inside - D was outside working on his own project - the body is now on the FRAME! Not sure exactly what hes doing but looked like he had fun doing it ... :P







Friday, September 12, 2008

34 week appt

Today I went in for my 34 week Dr. appointment. All the standard stuff - and it all looked good. Blood Pressure, Heartbeat, Fundal Height, Weight Gain & Urine - passed all with flying colors. However, She asked if I was still getting a lot of Braxton Hicks to which I said yes. I keep myself very hydrated but they still are strong enough to wake me out of my sleep. Not painful - just uncomfortable. So my Dr. decided she would do an internal - 'just in case'.

uh - 'scuse me ... Just in case what?!

She said that she just wanted to check to see if there was anything 'happening' down there.

So she checks me and lets me know that while the baby has definitely 'dropped' and is in fact sitting low in my pelvis, however my cervix is still closed (not dilated at all). She said from this point on they really wont do anything to stop labor, *if* I were to go into labor. Whoa there Doc! - Im not ready for this baby yet, I tell her. She laughs and assures me that she does not have any reason to think the baby will come early and that it would, of course, be ideal to 'cook her' a little longer.

So I leave there anxious and excited - and head to Target. I bought diapers, wipes, a couple bottles and a 'Going Home Outfit'.

I think I'm ready now.


Heres the Outfit;




Old Navy has Nursing Tops & Tanks!

WOW! This is such a good find!
check these out and theyre completely affordable!


Look What I Got!!!

My coworker who had a baby last year gave me some AWESOME handmedowns today ...


Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Unexpected Gift

My sweet coworker brought in a completely unexpected gift for me this morning! She said she won a Wendy Bellisimo Moses Basket from parents.com a while back and said it was mine if I wanted it! wooohooo! Its GORGEOUS! and wont take up too much space either - since space is quickly becoming an issue with all this new baby equipment we've began acquiring.

Its brand new! and she also brought in a few other goodies that are gently used - such as a bath thermometer. Im overwhelmed by how kind people have been to me and this baby! Combined with good ole pregnancy hormones it makes me feel overly emotional and SO BLESSED!

and to top it all off this morning - I got SLEEP last nite!!!! GOOD sleep. **sigh** life is good.



Wednesday, September 3, 2008

aches & cramps & pains - oh my

She must be going through another growth spurt because im cramping and feeling achy-er than ever ... 
Whats another couple inches for the shower though right ??? ;) 

Its not a problem until I have to sit all day ... then it starts getting uncomfortable. And then I start to get grumpy. :(

On a brighter note - my friend Lea called to say she just got ENGAGED!!! yayyyyy for love & wedding planning & sparkly new engagement rings ;) 

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

32 Week Appt Update

Fridays appointment went really well ...

BP is still looking good
no weight gain this time
measuring on track
heartbeat was strong 

:D