Monday, December 24, 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I'm baking up some Pecan Balls and making Christmas White Trash (I have no idea why it's called that, but it's good!). Now I'm feeling like it's really Christmas time! :)

Pecan Balls
http://www.beyondkimchee.com/pecan-balls/
This is my first time making pecan balls, but I was trying to keep my baking to a minimal this year and these were the one thing Jacob requested. They taste really good, although since this is my first time eating one I guess I'll have to wait and see what Jacob thinks about them to be able to give a good opinion on how they stand up to other recipes! The reason why I've never had one is probably because there's usually multiple chocolate desserts at Christmas time, and yes, I normally go the chocolate route. :) I'll definitely be making these again though, because even without chocolate these are yummy, and they're not too sweet like a lot of chocolate stuff so it's nice for a change. 

As for the Christmas White Trash...
http://www.cookingwithk.net/2010/12/christmas-white-trash.html
I made it a couple years ago and it was very good, but also very addicting! So, beware if you make it cause you might not be able to stop eating it! :) Plus, it's extremely easy to mix up, and is great for giving as gifts.

**********
 So, I know this is kind of a Christmas post, but I figured I should squeeze in a pregnancy update since I'll probably be taking a blogging break for a bit.
I thought Friday night I was going to have to call up the midwife since I was having a lot of contractions (that were actually pretty painful), but they never got regular so I waited it out and they finally went away. I did do a lot of walking that day and hadn't drank my normal amount of water so that could have triggered it, but I'm just hoping it actually did some work on prepping my body for the real thing....cause any dilating that can get done before going into labor would be awesome!
I feel like I've had more false contraction with this pregnancy than I remember with the girls, so I hope that's a good thing. Of course, I couldn't help getting a little excited that maybe Ella would come sooner rather than later, but I know it's wishful thinking. :)
I saw my midwife today, and everything was looking good. Ella had switched sides, but is still facing sideways instead of backwards, but at least she still has room to move so I'll keep trying to get her to turn the right way. I'm measuring at 36 cm, so I'm still behind, but at least she's growing. I was also thrilled to have not gained any weight they week, but I'll probably make up for it by next week....it's crazy how that works!
I'm also faithfully taking my Gentle Birth/5 Week Formula three times a day now.
This is definitely nasty stuff, but it's only 1/4 tsp three times a day, so I take it and literally gulp down orange juice as fast as I can to try and not taste it. Orange juice doesn't totally take away the taste, but it's definitely better than water or milk! I'm trying to follow the directions this time because with Bethany I never took it more than twice a day, but after an extremely easy labor I couldn't help but wonder how it might have been even easier if I had taken the whole dose the entire time! I'm looking forward to seeing if I have similar results with this labor...I know the midwife I used with Bethany (that recommended I use it) said that she's had first time mom's taking this that couldn't believe that labor was that easy, and after my labor with Bethany I can totally believe it because it was amazingly different and easier than my labor with Abigail! I mean really, I couldn't complain with finding out I was 10cm after I had been climbing stairs two at a time, laughing and talking, and then decided I was ready to just go to bed because I thought nothing was happening! I would definitely love to have a repeat of that. :) We'll see though...every labor is different, but I think this stuff really does help a lot!

Well, I should get back to the rest of my baking. :)

I hope everyone has a very 
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Sugar Cookie Day

When I was growing up we would make sugar cookies every year, and I always really liked coming up with fun ways to ice and decorate them. I've tried to keep up the tradition since getting married, but it doesn't always work with little kids. I thought about not making any this year, but obviously, I went ahead and made some anyway. :) I figured this year the girls might actually enjoy getting to help ice and decorate them, which they did!
Abigail's cookies.
Abigail did really well and took her time trying to carefully decorate each of her cookies, so I see a good decorating buddy in the future. :)
As for Bethany....
 she did ok icing her cookies, but she gobbled them down as fast as she iced them! I guess I can't really blame her because they are some of the best cookies ever. :)
Of course, both girls decided that licking the knife every few seconds was essential to icing cookies, so.....it might be awhile before their cookies are approved for consumption by others! :)

Even though I didn't make a lot of cookies, it seems like a lot when you're icing them by yourself. Plus, once the girls got done icing their cookies they got kind of wild....probably had something to do with the amount of cookies and icing they ate!
As you can see I kept them all pretty simple and didn't do any fancy stuff on them, but they taste good so that's what matters. :)
And, if making cookies wasn't enough I made a 7-layer salad and some chocolate-caramel brownies for a get-together tomorrow.
Yum!
 So, yes, by the time I had finished all that and cleaned up the kitchen my back and feet were hurting pretty bad. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though. :)

Well, I hope you all have a good weekend! I have another prenatal visit on Monday....yay! :)

Thursday, December 13, 2012

What I Got Today...

Nursing cover.
Yes, I know a lot of you might be wondering why I'm just now getting one since I've had two kids before. What can I say...I'm behind on the times, lol! I've always just used a blanket tossed over my shoulder, but for this baby I decided it was finally time to have a nursing cover. I'm pretty excited about it too...I mean really, the color is chocolate mint! ;)
I like chocolate colored things (and yes, I do love chocolate, but that's beside the point!), so when I saw this one with the mint green color I figured it would be perfect. Plus, if we ever have a boy I didn't want to be stuck with one too girly looking. :)
I got it from Amazon, and unfortunately they are a little pricey, but I definitely think it'll be worth it and it should last for a long time.
It also has pockets on the inside....
which I didn't realize when I ordered it, but that will be handy for putting a pacifier or nursing pads in while feeding the baby. Of course, I'll have to let you all know how I like it once I get to use it...which will hopefully be in a few weeks, but for now I'm just excited to have something that'll be much cuter than a blanket! :)

Now, I'm just waiting on my Gentle Birth to get here...hopefully it comes tomorrow because I need to start taking it! I'll tell you all about it when I get it though. :)

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Six Years!

Sunday was our six year wedding anniversary.....
it doesn't feel like it's been that long!
Being married to Jacob has been the best thing about my life.
He makes me laugh all the time...even when he's not trying, and we have so many fun memories that still make us laugh!
We leave little notes...
Pretty sneaky (#5 &6), but I got him back! :)
 in random places to surprise the other person....sneaking it onto lists is a pretty fun way to do it. :)
I wrote, "I love you the Most" in the shower one time to surprise him (which it did!), but what was suppose to be a wipe off crayon wasn't so he got to look at it for a long time! Of course, I hid the crayon so he wouldn't find it. :)
And since this is my blog I get to write it all the time for whenever he reads it!
I love you the MOST, Jacob!
I love being married to you, and you are the best friend I could ever have!











Wednesday, December 5, 2012

So...

I started off the day not very motivated, but I figured I should wash the breakfast dishes and then sit down for awhile.
Well, I washed the dishes and then for some reason decided the top (and outsided) of the fridge needed to be cleaned off. At some point, while I was doing that, I figured I might as well clean out the inside of the fridge too. By then I was on a roll so I went ahead and cleaned out the cabinet next to the fridge, and then moved on to our big cabinet (you can't see it in the picture, but its to the right of the freezer). 
So, here's the finished look. :)

 I should have taken a picture of the inside of the fridge, but I haven't been to the store in a week, so it's looking pretty bare....especially once I went through and threw a bunch of stuff away. Can I just say, "I love throwing things away," I mean, it really clears up so much space and makes things look so much cleaner!

Of course, while I was cleaning that section of the kitchen, I was also washing the sheets and blankets from the girls beds since that hadn't been done in awhile. It looks much better...
I just wish it could stay looking like that.....but, that's highly unlikely. :) What you can't see from this picture, is that all over one side of the mirror is covered in princess stickers....yep, and I have no idea how to get them to come all the way off. Lovely.

But, I didn't stop there, I asked Jacob to pull out all the baby clothes. I thought about waiting until tomorrow to get started, but I went ahead and reorganized the box, washed a big load of all the newborn stuff, and got it folded and put away! :)

Yep, I'm pretty pleased with everything I got accomplished today, and even though my back isn't feeling the greatest, I'm glad I got so much done. Maybe tomorrow I'll take it easy....after I go to the store. :)

I hope you all had a good day!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Thanksgiving Break Fun!

I know I'm late posting some pictures from our Thanksgiving with my family, but I'm finally doing it....so no complaining! :) Of course, I didn't get a picture of the kitchen full of food (yes, I was filling my plate and my stomach as fast as I could!), but trust me it all looked and tasted amazing!

So now, just enjoy some pictures of the kids and some of the fun....

The cute and adorable Logan(my nephew)!
Paige & Eden(my niece & cousin) playing in the leaves.
Logan & "the real photographer" Hillary (my sister).
Kaden & Logan (my nephews).



There was even game-playing in the pantry! :)
Lots of playing with toys happened.

There was also a lot of dancing and being silly that was video taped, but they'll probably just be added to our family videos so as not to embarrass some people! :)

While we were all home, my mom and sisters were all able to go out for our "girls coffee time," which was as fun as usual...although, I'm sure we tend to be a distraction to other people with all of our laughing and talking, but they just don't know what they're missing out on! :)
We did have the exception of one boy tag-along, but he was a cutie so we didn't mind!
Logan!
He got tired of girl-talk though, so he ate cookies. :)
 I didn't get pictures of everyone while we were out, but I did get a couple of some of my sisters....of course, I have tons of crazy, silly pictures, but I'll refrain from posting them!
Hillary & Kayla
Hillary, Kayla, Janessa, & Adalie (4 of my 6 sisters!).
 It was definitely a fun little break, and it was awesome to all get to be home together...just a few more weeks and hopefully we can have a repeat! Hurray for Christmas/New Years break! 

Monday, December 3, 2012

Pregnancy Update

Well, I had another prenatal visit with my midwife and time seems to be going by faster now that I'm seeing her every two weeks. In two weeks we'll be down to once a week visits since we decided to do another two weeks this time....we're getting closer though! :)

Little Miss Ella is leaning towards being posterior, and boy was I feeling it last night when my back was killing me! I seriously felt like an old person when I would get out of bed to use the bathroom...ugh, not fun. Hopefully she turns herself around soon so it gives my back a break. I already deal with (what we think is) Costochondritis, which is an inflammation of the cartilage around my ribs, and it causes really horrible rib pain, so combining the fact that my ribs hurt no matter which side I lay on at night, and the back pain, makes for difficult sleeping.
Other than the sleeping situation, I've been feeling pretty good though so I shouldn't complain too much! :)

I'm measuring at 33cm, so I'm definitely measuring behind since I've only grown 2cm in the past month, but the midwife said that a lot of the time when the baby is posterior it can make you measure smaller too. I'm still guessing I'm around 35 weeks, but no matter what we're getting down to the finish line!

She's staying very active, and evening time is definitely her favorite time to do crazy acrobatic stuff, which can be very entertaining.....although, occasionally she'll surprise me with some power kicks which make me randomly jump. :)

As for staying busy this week, I'm planning on going through the baby stuff and washing it up, so that should take up some time :) Plus, at some point during this weeks, or next week, we'll probably start doing some Christmas decorating...I don't know who is more excited, the girls or me!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Thanksgiving Desserts


I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! It went by way too fast, but it was definitely wonderful to get to spend time with family.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at my grandparent's house, and even though it was a smaller crowd than normal it still consisted of two big fried turkey breasts and one whole roasted turkey. We were actually able to convince my grandma that we didn't need a roast too since normally we have multiple turkeys, plus roast, and the occasional ham! So, yes, there was a lot of food to eat, but I stuck mainly to the turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, and corn....yum, that actually sounds really good right now too! :)
For dessert, we tried to keep it smaller too.

Pumpkin Pie...
LIBBY'S® Famous Pumpkin Pie
http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18470/libbys-famous-pumpkin-pie/detail.aspx
  Which I just use the recipe from the LIBBY'S Pumpkin can, but I made the crust gluten free (since my grandma can't have gluten) and it's such a good crust people don't even know it's gluten free!

And, Pecan Pie...
Classic Pecan Pie
http://karosyrup.com/recipe_details.asp?id=485
 Again, I just use the recipe from the back of the Karo Syrup bottle and made the crust gluten free, and people loved it!

Then, because there are so many chocolate lovers in my family we had to make something with chocolate, so we give this Mississippi Mud Pie recipe a try....
http://bakemeblush.blogspot.com/2011/09/mississippi-mud-challenge.html?showComment=1315625768659#c7545815830188198170
 I thought it was amazing! It's very rich because you use darker chocolate, but it was sooo good. It's actually all gluten free except for the oreo crust, which if you can find gluten free chocolate cookies it would be completely gluten free.

We also whipped these little Rolo cookies up real quick just to have something a little more kid friendly.
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/07/rolo-cookies.html
I didn't try them...yes, I only had eyes for the Mud Pie....but they went pretty fast and the kids seemed to like them. I think they probably are best warm, but for being a 4 ingredient recipe they were definitely worth making.

 Needless to say we were all very full from our Thanksgiving meal, and I think Ella enjoyed the turkey dinner, so I might have to do a mini version soon! :)

I'll be posting pictures of some of our Thanksgiving activities soon!

***For any of you that might be interested in the gluten free pie crust I use, whether for yourself, family, or friend, here is the one that I use...
 
 You can buy it at a lot of Wal-Marts, most health food stores, and online. It's only about five dollars, so it's a good buy since it makes 4 pie crusts for 8-inch pie plates. It also tastes good and people won't even know it's gluten free!

Monday, November 19, 2012

It's Monday Everyone!

Only three more days until Thanksgiving! And only two days until we head down to spend the rest of the week with my family! :) This week will probably go by so fast, but it'll be so much fun to get to spend it with family.....and I'm going to try to remember to take lots of pictures...oh, and videos!
Yes, I'm definitely excited, if you couldn't tell. :) There's going to be lots of:
talking, 
laughing, 
staying-up-late, 
girls coffee time, 
Black Friday craziness (who cares if all we have is a Wal-Mart...we make it fun!),
random, silly videos,
and of course, lots of good food! :)

So, as I was looking back on pictures from previous Thanksgivings I came across this one...

This was taken 6 years ago...just a couple weeks before Jacob and I got married!
 That seems like such a long time ago, and I can't believe how young some of my siblings look...lol, well, I guess we were all 6 years younger! :)

Now for the more current picture of us all with the addition of grand-kids.
April 2012

 The family has definitely increased in numbers, although the girls still outnumber the boys, but it's starting to even out a little, and I Dad has enjoyed having more guys around. :)
I think Dad looks exactly the same, and Mom actually looks younger in this picture....I don't think most people would guess they've had 10 kids and 5 (with one on the way) grand-kids. :)

I am definitely blessed with an amazing family, and I love them all so much!

I hope everyone is having an amazing Monday-before-Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Pumpkin & Cream Cheese..it's on my mind

Well, today is just one of those days where I don't really feel like doing anything. I feel like I should be motivated to do something, but I just can't get myself going. Ok, well I did do dishes and things are picked up around here (for however long that lasts before another Abigail-Bethany storm hits), but that's about it.


With Thanksgiving right around the corner I'm getting the itch to bake....ok, ok, I almost always have the itch to bake, but sometimes it's worse than other times. I'm going to blame it on the pregnancy. I mean really, the one time I would like to not want to make all these yummy things I'm, of course, really wanting to try them all out, and there are far too many yummy looking things out there just waiting to be made!
LIBBY'S® Pumpkin Roll
Libby's Pumpkin Roll (recipe on pumpkin can)
These kinds of rolls look hard to make, but they're actually pretty easy. I've never done a pumpkin one before, but I'm thinking now would be a good time....plus, it just sounds really good. :)

As for these....
pumpkin spice muffins!
Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
they sound so good! The recipe is from the Pioneer Woman, so I'm thinking they will be good....and, seriously, it's pumpkin and cream cheese! Those two things just taste amazing together!

I've made this Pumpkin Cream Trifle before...
http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2010/11/pumpkin-cream-trifle-2
but it's easy to make, looks beautiful, and it's amazingly good. Family and friends will love it, so if you're looking for an easy and delicious dessert to make for Thanksgiving I would highly recommend this one!

I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, but for those who are, I think these are super cute and would be something fun and different...and maybe, just maybe I'd give them a try. :)
Mini Pumpkin Pies...perfect for Thanksgiving!
http://www.bakerella.com/pumpkin-pie-bites/
Alright, just one more and I'll be done with my craze on pumpkin and cream cheese....besides you're bound to be wanting something with pumpkin and cream cheese now, aren't you? Ok, maybe it's just me...it's the pregnancy remember! ;)
http://dreamydesserts.blogspot.com/2008/10/pumpkin-whoopie-pies-with-creamy-cream.html
I like whoopie pies a lot, and these have pumpkin and........

......oh yeah, you know, cream cheese. It's a deadly combination, but don't blame me, blame these people that come up with these mouth-watering recipes....I mean really, what were they thinking!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Veterans' Day




I don't usually post on Sundays, but today is a special day for those veterans who have served and are still serving these United States of America.

I think some people don't realize the sacrifices that these men and women have made since we're able to sit safe and sound in our homes, but read your history and know that we're where we are today because of those who've sacrificed everything to give us the freedom's that we enjoy today.

We should pray, not just today, but everyday for all those who are serving in our military, and  for their families.

I'll never forget how hard it was to say good-bye to Jacob when he left for his deployment. Abigail was 9 months old and I was over 5 months pregnant with Bethany.
Abigail with Jacob the day he left for his deployment.
 There are families that are constantly saying good-bye to loved ones. They don't always know when they'll come home or if they will, they miss out on parts of their kids lives and have to hope their kids will remember them when they come home. Talk about what a huge sacrifice these men and women make just in having to leave their families, let alone knowing they might be sacrificing their lives in the battle zones to keep them safe. Even those that stay in the States are giving their lives over to the military everyday, so just take some time to pray for all those who have, and are still sacrificing everyday, to keep your family safe.
Abigail and Jacob getting to know each other again.
Getting to see Bethany for the first time in person.
I can't ever think about these men and women deploying without thinking of those that they're leaving behind and how hard that is. I'm thankful that Jacob only had a 6-month deployment, but the normal is generally 12-18 months, and so many things can happen during that time. I mean, when Jacob left Abigail was crawling and I was pregnant...when he got back Abigail was walking and starting to talk, and Bethany was almost 3-months old...talk about an adjustment.
I'm thankful for Jacob, and all that he did while he was in the Air Force. There were definitely some hard times, but we have some many good memories of those years in the military too. I'm very proud of you, Jacob, and....

I love you the very MOST!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Pregnancy Update

Hurray for pregnancy updates! :)

Things were looking good this time, especially the iron. Three weeks ago it was 7.8 and today it was up to 10.1, so hurray for that! Of course, it still needs to go up at least another point or two, but at least it means we're on the rise. :)

I was measuring at 31cm, which I was excited about since I've been thinking I've been measuring smaller than I am and it seems like Ella's starting to catch up (maybe due to my iron going up). Of course, I still don't know for sure if it's accurate because with Bethany I was measuring 31cm when I was actually 33 weeks.....so, we'll just have to see. :)
No matter what though, I'm down to around the last 10 weeks so I'm excited!

The downer for my prenatal visit....having to get on the scale. Does anyone like that part, cause I sure don't. I have to work to see the actual numbers on the scale now that the belly hinders my view and I guess I could just not look, but for some reason I choose to torture myself and make the effort to peer over the belly to the ever rising numbers. Yep, I'm up a total of 29lbs for this pregnancy....and I still have weeks to go. :( I'd like to say I have these huge babies.....but unfortunately I have small babies because I believe my body is a fat hogger and doesn't like to share.
Seriously though, I guess I'll have to pass on the majority of the sweets this holiday season.....being pregnant around the holidays are not the best combination....talk about the most tempting time to eat lots of desserts. :)

Well, that was about it for my prenatal visit...everything really looked good and I'm officially down to every two week visits from now on! Exciting! :)

I better get back to making my potato soup or we'll be having no dinner tonight.....um, actually it might be bacon-less potato soup since I tend to eat about half the bacon. I mean really, how can anyone pass up crispy bacon just sitting there? Actually nevermind, I might be the only one.....and here I am complaining about weight gain.

Honestly though, it's the bacon's fault....and the cheese....ok, and the bread, I seriously love bread!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Random Thursday

It's the first day of November everyone! 

That means I only have 2 months to go till Ella's here....maybe less, which is what I'm hoping for! :) I already feel like I've been pregnant forever...and I'd totally forgotten how frustrating it is to try and bend over and pick something up off the floor. It's a workout just going around the house to pick up things off the floor...not to mention trying to bend over and put on the girl's shoes(or mine for that matter)! 
Ella seems to be doing well, although she's definitely getting crowded in there and stronger because she can sure make me jump when she starts pushing. I mean it actually hurts when she starts pushing really hard! I'm thinking it's probably a foot since it's always near the top of my belly and towards the right, but man, she must have some long toenails or something!

Abigail and Bethany keep asking when Ella's going to come, and of course, making plans for what they're going to do with her, so they're definitely excited. :) 
Here they are this morning as we were having our 'morning talk'.

 It's always entertaining to sit and talk to them because they're usually both wanting to talk at the same time but then getting mad at each other for interrupting. So this morning Bethany got into her preaching mode with Abigail (because Abigail kept interrupting her), and it was funny because she had to tell me how Aunt Kayla told them they're not suppose to talk when someone else is talking and that they have to wait till the person is done talking! Then she went on to tell me that Abigail was being wild, but when I told her she was too, she said, "I am not being wild, I'm just sitting here talking to you!"  And, yes, when she told me that she was looking very serious like she is in the picture...hehe, it's hard not to laugh when she gets all serious! :)

Well, I really need to go make my spinach smoothie, but instead I keep thinking how yummy this Chicken Alfredo we had last week would be!
Yum! I know this picture doesn't do it justice, but I was starving so I had to eat first and then take a picture when I was putting the leftovers up....I'm pregnant so give me a break! :)
This stuff is so good though....I used whole wheat, whole grain pasta (so a little of it was healthy), and then I made the alfredo sauce using the recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook, and grilled up a couple of chicken breasts (cut into strips). For the mushrooms (they're what makes it!) I cooked them up separately with olive oil, a little salt and pepper, garlic powder, and Tony's Creole seasoning (which is a must when cooking mushrooms). Then you mix everything together, including the liquids from the cooked mushrooms, and you eat it....trying to only stick with one helping! Yes, it's that good, plus reheated leftovers are amazing too, and I'm not a big fan of leftovers. :)

Ok, I'll quit procrastinating and go make my green smoothie.....

Oh, and I wish I could have gotten a video of the girls just now because they were dancing around with their big teddy bears, which they were calling their husbands! Life is never dull around here......

and yes, I know that was totally random, but hey, it's a random day. :)

Alright, I really am going to go and make my green smoothie now, but can I just say first that I prefer pink smoothies.