Survey says.... (Baby girl name edition)

Well, I know everyone is dying to know what name we have chosen, but you won't get that from this post. Sorry. That's one little tidbit we like to keep to ourselves, plus, I'm not 100% sure yet either. I think I will have to hold her first to know that it fits. With that said, the survey was very interesting and quite amusing to read some of the responses. It's so fascinating how we each have personal baggage with certain names, whether that's love or hate. I definitely have this with former students' names, or historical figures or celebrity figures.

Let me break down some of the highlights for you.

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the name.... 
Amelia- Earhart, airplane flyer lady, goes nicely with Ansel, Bedelia, sophisticted, Grey's anatomy, no, flower, adventurous
Denna- Jersey shore, my friend, Jenna, not sure, smart, dinner, weird, Dennis, denim jeans, Denny's restaurant, and old person
Elionwy (ay-lon-wee)- an elf, Welsh fairy, can't know for sure how to pronounce, unique, why would anyone name a kid that?, Ellen-we?, exotic, oh heck no, can you pronounce that again?, Africa
Estella- princess, witch, Marlin Brando, fat lady, rich, stately, classic, clothing, Mexican, stars, old
Freya (fray-uh)- another elf, yogurt, fry a hamburger, muppet, foreign, bewitching, a hobbit movie, Fritos, interesting, sounds like a foreign food, frayed material, lingerie, African, no
Mabel- makeup, cutesy tooties, fabel, solid, older, grandma, old woman, elderly, a housekeeper, granny, sweet, my alter ego in a skit, old lady
Marlowe- business, Psych, Raymond Chandler's novel, energetic, determined, gangsters, old man, Trump, cute, different, drunk, Barlow girls, Merlot, a boy's name
Maureya (muh-ray-uh)- Povich, maria spelled wrong, how do you pronounce this?, Indian princess, delicate, why?, new spelling?, never heard of it, unfamiliar, Go Murrary!, Maureen Ohara, one of my students, who was adorable
Mia- Fast and Furious, a dog, cats, Princess Diaries, nice, happiness, Sophia, Anne Hathaway, mamma mia, Farrow,
Sadie- Duck Dynasty, another dog, Hawkins, aunt, happy, homely, peppy, cute, dog, blonde ponytail, Love!, my dog, my cat, like
Waverly- Old Disney show, a town in MI that is ghetto, Ohio, fabric, snooty, precious, TB hospital in Kentucky, curtains, bedspreads, seductive, Wizards of Waverly Place, like the crackers

Over 90% of you didn't know anyone personally with these names:
Elionwy, Freya, Marlowe, Maureya, or Waverly

Over 75% of you knew someone personally with the name of Mia.

Around 50% of you knew someone personally with these names:
Amelia, Mabel, and Sadie 

Over 75% of you knew someone from pop culture with these names:
Amelia, Mia, and Sadie

The names that gave a creative, artsy vibe were: 
Waverly (50%), Maureya and Elionwy (38%) and Freya, Marlowe and Amelia (around 30%)

The names with a girly, princess feel were Amelia and Mia.

The trendiest names were Mia and Sadie.

The classic and timeless names were Amelia and Estella.

In rank order, with your favorite choices listed first: 
Amelia- 24%
Waverly-18%
Mia- 15%

Below 10% of you favored....
Denna 
Sadie
Elionwy 
Estella
Marlowe
Freya
Maureya 
Mabel

So there you have it! Now you have to wait another few months to hear the name announced when she's born. :) Thanks for participating; I enjoyed reading your responses!!

Re-purposed Pumpkin Snowman

You gotta love an easy craft that uses what you already have! Lo and behold, the pumpkin snowman. It's so simple too. I set mine up in front of my tomato cage Christmas trees for a nice little trio on my front porch.

Here's what you need:

• Two or three leftover pumpkins from Thanksgiving, still in solid condition
• White spray paint
• Black paint for eyes, nose, mouth
• Ribbon or old scarf
• Old hat

To make the pumpkin snowman:
1) Choose the biggest pumpkin to be the base or body of the snowman. Level off the stem if needed.
2) Paint both pumpkins white. Let dry.
3) Use black paint to add details on the snowman's face.
4) Stack the pumpkins. If they aren't sturdy together, you may need to find some kind of stick or wire to hold them together.
5) Tie the scarf around the snowman's neck and add the hat. Ta-da! You have your never-melting snowman!

Christmas Crafts for a 1 1/2 Year Old

Ok, I admit it. I'm a craft addict. Besides my scrap booking supplies, I have acrylic paints, canvas paper, puffy paints, felt, foam, glue, buttons, ribbons,  and lots of other odds and ends. The real question is, how can I get my 18 month old involved in a Christmas craft to send to the grandparents, and to decorate my own home? It is a bit of a challenge at this age! And let's be honest, I'm the one doing most of the crafting, he's just lending me a hand print. It's still fun though, and still a memory to treasure as he grows. I found a few websites with ideas (here and here), and used what I already had in my supply stash. We made snowflakes, reindeer, and Christmas tree art, which could be framed or used as a card. We also made a Christmas tree ornament. As a bonus, I made a Christmas tree card from the leftover scraps of felt.

1) Snowflake art
On 5x7 card stock or canvas paper, use the end of a pencil or round sponge to create a snowflake. I made a large"t" with a small "x" in the middle. Make a rough frame around the end of the piece with the end of the pencil. Use glitter glue to add dimension. With an older child, you could make dots with pencil for them to follow to have more independence. With my 18 month old, I had to do hand-over-hand to help him create the snowflake.

You can tell which one Ansel did.... :)

2) Reindeer hand print art
Set up plate with brown paint. Carefully dip child's hand in the paint, covering their palm and fingers. On a 5x7 card stock or canvas paper in landscape orientation, carefully spread child's hand on one side of the paper. Flip the paper around 180 degrees, and spread child's hand touching the other print. Clean up quickly (my son might have tried to lick the paint!) Add googly eyes and a button nose to create a face. Cut a 4 inch piece of ribbon and tie at one end. Glue across the reindeer's neck. You can add some detail for the antler with a small paintbrush.

3) Christmas tree hand print art
Set up plate with green paint. Carefully dip child's hand in the paint, covering their palm and fingers. On a 5x7 card stock or canvas paper in portrait orientation, carefully spread child's hand in center of paper. Clean up quickly. Add a sticker star at the top, and brown paint for the trunk at the bottom. I also added yellow dots with the end of a pencil across the top and bottom of the print.

4) Felt Christmas tree ornament
Cut an 8x11 piece of felt into four pieces. Take one piece and fold it in half. Cut triangles out of the sides to create the tree, and a rectangle out of the bottom to create the trunk. Or, trace the outline and cut it that way. Using puffy paint, help child draw garland on the tree. Let dry. Cut a small slit and thread ribbon through to hang the ornament. Add buttons with glue.

Bonus: Felt Christmas tree card
I had a ton of small triangles left from the ornament, so I glued them to make a card and added buttons for a trunk and star.

2nd baby, 2nd trimester update!

Time is certainly getting away from me. I'm already 22 weeks and definitely on the countdown. As I'm sure I've said before, pregnancy is not my favorite season. It is definitely worth it though, and I'm thankful to God for His blessings. We are expecting a girl this time, and I'm so excited! I'm definitely one to plan, and too often I make my own plans without seeking God's guidance. Our first, Ansel, was a boy, and I REALLY wanted a boy first. Then when we made the decision to go for #2, I REALLY wanted a girl. I'm so ready for frills, bows, lace, and lots of pink! Of course I have no control over the gender, so I was just delighted when we found out at the ultrasound a few weeks ago.

Let me be honest for a minute. I used to think I wanted four kids. Well, I still do. But, after my first birth, I just don't honestly think I could do it four times. They say you forget it, the pain. Let me tell you, I don't forget it. We almost didn't try for another just because of the first birth. But I keep telling myself the second had to be better...  Anyway, we have had so many people in our lives adopt children. An aunt and uncle, good friends from our time in Cali, and others. I see students at school who are products of the foster care system and need love. Adopting has always been in the back of  my mind. Going into this pregnancy, I was sorta bargaining with God. "Lord, if you give me a girl, I'll feel like I can stop having kids biologically and start adopting..." Yet, I came to the place where I finally said, "Ok, God, two is it for us. We'll look into adoption no matter the gender." Then to find out it was a girl- well, it was confirmation somehow. Maybe that sounds crazy and weird. Whatever the case, I still feel so blessed that God would give me a little girl this pregnancy. We probably won't adopt for another 4-5 years, since many times they recommend that your biological children be older than the adopted children, but it's so exciting to think about and prepare for.

We waited longer to tell everyone this time- I was already in second trimester. Everyone has their reasons on when to tell, and waiting was what we wanted to do. One reason was just that as a teacher, I wanted to get through first quarter without being the "crazy pregnant teacher." It was important to me to establish those relationships with students first before throwing something else into the  mix. Students certainly have lots of comments... thankfully, this time around they aren't quite so obnoxious. Pregnancy is just so public for me, and everyone wants to know every detail. And yes, it's exciting, it really is, but nine months worth of bad sleep can wear on me, and I guess I just get grouchy. So, we waited. I'm glad we did. It worked for us.

Pregnancy #2 has been a little different, at least in the first trimester. I definitely had a lot more nausea than I remember with Ansel. Thankfully no actual vomiting, and after I figured out that I just constantly have to eat (every 3 hours or so), it seemed to go away. As I entered second trimester, even if I skipped my evening snack for some reason, it wasn't too bad. Another thing that was similar was headaches in late first trimester/early second trimester, but they weren't as bad as with Ansel.

Other things are just like last time. I don't sleep well, partially because I have to get up to use the restroom, and partly because I just seem to toss and turn more. I bought one of those ginormous $50 pregnancy pillows, and it helped for a few weeks, then I ditched it. Maybe it will be of use in third trimester. I have kept up running, even about 2 miles at 20 weeks, with short walk breaks. I think I even felt better than last time, but it could be partly due to being earlier in the season. That is, it is warmer outside so it prolongs the running season. Last time I had to go to a gym to run by 15 weeks and that was a total drag to be indoors. However, I've definitely been slowing down in the last two weeks and am just hoping to make it to Thanksgiving time before I switch over to walking and strength training. As far as weight gain goes, I have gained 10-12 pounds (it fluctuates), but almost all of that is since second trimester started. I feel like it might be a little faster than last time, but I also popped out sooner, so my guess is that they are connected. I know I'm not quite as diligent and strict as I was with the first pregnancy, but my blood counts are almost identical, so maybe I'm just being hard on myself. :) That's my justification anyway. I would really like to stay closer to 25 pounds instead of 35 this time around. We'll see.

I'm trying to be really proactive about labor this time. I mean, I certainly was last time too. We did Bradley Method classes, stretching, exercise, all that. But Ansel was turned and I really think that's the reason I had back labor and 2 1/2 hours of pushing. So I asked the midwife what I could do. She recommended a chiropractor and also prenatal  yoga, so I am going to explore those options. I'm really watching my posture too, to try to give the baby all the advantages to being in the right position once labor comes. I just keep praying that God gives me peace through it because to be honest, it very nerve-wracking to me.

Well, I'm just a month from third trimester already. In some ways this pregnancy is going really fast. The next two months of holidays will fly by I'm sure, and then just two more months till March comes. I'm definitely going to be happy to meet her!

10 Freezer Meals in a Jiffy

After I used up all my meals from this post, I needed to make a few more to help me survive weeknights. Since I'm expecting baby #2, I am just so tired when I get home from work, and I don't feel like doing anything complicated. And I'll be honest, many nights I take a nap after dinner and hubby has one-on-one time with Ansel for an hour! Therefore, I knew I had to put a few more meals together to help me out on weeknights. I made less casserole-type dishes this time because they require more prep. I didn't repeat any expect for the chicken teriyaki, because it's so versatile (over rice,  over couscous, in tortillas, etc). Some of my inspiration came from this page on Southern Living, and some came from my Crockpot Bible, which I use constantly. I have several chicken dishes on here, but I always to try to mix them up with other meat dishes as well. *Note: a few of these I am trying for the first time, but I wanted to share anyway for the ideas!

Here's the dishes I prepped today:

1. Chili
2. Ham and Bean Soup
3. Beef Mesquite Wraps
4. Teriyaki Chicken
5. Chicken-Sausage Pilaf
6. Cheesy Chicken
7. Peachy Pork
8. Three Cheese Baked Penne
9. Buffalo Mac N Cheese
10. Tuna Casserole 

1. Chili
Follow your favorite recipe! Freeze in gallon freezer bags. Thaw the night before and heat in saucepan. Serve with  your favorite cornbread.

2. Ham and Bean Soup
3 cups dried beans (prepared); or 3 cans of navy beans, great northern beans, and garbanzo beans
1-2 cups leftover ham, chopped or slice in bite-size pieces
1 chopped onion or 2 T minced onion
Garlic to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Water

Combine all ingredients and add water as desired for soup consistency, around 2-3 cups. Freeze in gallon bag. Thaw and heat in saucepan to prepare. Serve with your favorite bread.

3. Beef Mesquite Wraps
1 package beef stew meat
1 package Mesquite instant flavoring
1 cup water

Combine in freezer bag. When ready to make, thaw overnight in fridge and cook in slow cooker 6-8 hours on low. Serve in tortillas with toppings as desired.

4. Chicken Teriyaki 
2-4 chicken breasts
6 oz pineapple juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Combine all but chicken in a gallon freezer bag and mix. Add chicken. Label and freeze. Thaw overnight in fridge and cook on low in crockpot 6-8 hours. Serve over rice.

5. Chicken-Sausage Pilaf
1 can cooked and diced chicken
1 lb sausage, cooked
4 cups chicken broth (or 4 cups water + 2 bullion cubes)
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup baby carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup uncooked rice and pasta mix (like Rice A Roni)

Combine all but rice and pasta mix in gallon freezer bag. Freeze. To prepare, thaw overnight in fridge and mix in rice and pasta mix. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours in crockpot, until rice is tender. Do not overcook rice or dinner will be mushy!

6. Cheesy Chicken
4-6 chicken breasts
2 cans condensed cheddar cheese soup (or 1 can cheddar, one can cream of chicken)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all but chicken in freezer bag and mix. Add chicken and freeze. To prepare, thaw overnight in fridge and cook on low in crock pot 6-8 hours. Serve over pasta or rice.

7. Peachy Pork
2- 15 oz cans of peaches, undrained
2 pounds pork blade or top loin chop
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Combine all but pork and mix well. Add pork and freeze. To prepare, thaw overnight in fridge. Cook in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. To thicken sauce, mix 2 T cornstarch and 2 T water, then add to peach mixture (remove pork first). Cook on high 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.

8. Three-Cheese Baked Penne
1 lb penne noodles, cooked and drained
4 cups spaghetti sauce
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesean cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
Panko crumbs (Italian seasoned)

In saucepan, combine spaghetti sauce, ricotta, and parmesean and cook until blended. Pour over penne in a 9x13 disposable pan. Stir to combine. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese and then Panko crumbs over dish. Cover pan with tinfoil and seal well. To prepare, thaw overnight in fridge. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until browned and bubbly in center.

9. Buffalo Mac N Cheese
2 cans condensed cheddar soup
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb macaroni noodles, cooked and drained
2 cans cooked chicken, buffalo flavor

In large bowl, combine soup, milk, minced onion, and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Mix well. Pour over noodles in a 9x13 disposable pan and stir to combine. Dump chicken evenly over top of noodles. Top with additional cheddar cheese. Cover pan with tinfoil and seal well. To prepare, thaw overnight in fridge. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until browned and bubbly in center.

10. Tuna Casserole 
1 lb cavatappi pasta, cooked and drained
12 oz can tuna
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups milk
1 chicken bullion cube
2 cups cheddar cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dried chives
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Panko crumbs
Parmesean cheese

Combine pasta, tuna, and peas in 9x13 disposable pan. Combine butter, soup, milk, bullion, salt and pepper, chives, and parsley, melting in microwave until blended. Pour over pasta mixture and stir to combine. (Note: if you like it cheesy, add 2 cups of cheddar cheese at this step) Top with mixture of Panko crumbs and parmesean cheese. Cover with tinfoil and freeze.To prepare, thaw overnight in fridge. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until browned and bubbly in center.


Please let me know if you tried and liked these recipes, or if you adapted any to suit your needs! Happy freezing!!

14 Freezer Meals in a Snap

As a teacher, I'll be going back to work next week. Where did summer vacation go?? I knew I needed to get organized so weeknights won't be too crazy for us. So, I took some of my favorite recipes and make them freezer-ready. It will be a snap to sit them out the night before to thaw, and then either throw them in the crockpot for the day or into the oven when I get home. Yippee for easy!

Since it's just the three of us- my hubby, my one-year old, and myself- I was able to split many of the casserole-style meals into two or even three meals. Dollar Tree has these great 5x7 foil pans that come with lids- 3 for $1! So the cheesy ham and potato casserole and pizza pie I split into three pans. Also, the scalloped potatoes with ham and broccoli, rice, and chicken casserole were split into 8x8 pans instead of a 9x13. For the sake of simplicity in the recipes, I'll let you divide them if you want to and not include that in the directions. Of course the crockpot meals are just in a gallon freezer bag until it's time to thaw and cook.

I'll list all the meals, then give directions for each. These are simple meals with everyday items, and I tried to include many meats instead of just chicken. I hope they make your life easier! 

1. Broccoli, rice, and chicken casserole
2. Scalloped potatoes with ham casserole
3. Pizza pie 
4. Lasagna
5. Cheesy ham and potato casserole
6. Sloppy joes- ground turkey
7. Tacos- ground turkey
8. Sweet n sour turkey meatballs 
9. Shredded beef sandwiches
10. Veggie beef stew 
11. Chicken teriyaki 
12. Pineapple salsa chicken
13. Pork stew with veggies
14. BBQ pulled pork

Before you begin, be sure to check all your ingredients and have disposable pans or freezer bags ready. To save time in assembly, think about what needs to pre-cook (like potatoes in the scalloped potatoes, spaghetti noodles, rice, and ground turkey) and start those going while you chop away at everything else. Another thing, not all these recipes include the vegetable for the meal, so be sure to keep veggies handy to serve with the meal. For me, this means pulling a can of green beans from my home-canned stash or thawing some frozen veggies from my garden. 

1. Broccoli, rice, and chicken casserole

4 cups cooked rice (prepare 2 cups dry according to package directions)

2 cans cream of chicken soup 

2 cups milk

1/4 cup melted butter 

1 tsp celery salt 

2 cans canned chicken (or cook and shred 2 chicken breasts)

1 bag frozen broccoli

salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package directions to yield 4 cups cook rice. Meanwhile, combine soup, milk, butter, and spices. Mix cooked rice, broccoli, and chicken in disposable 9x13 pan and pour sauce over top of  rice layer. Cover with foil and label. Thaw the night before and cook at 350 until warm in center, about 45 minutes. 

2. Scalloped potatoes with ham casserole

2 cans cream of mushroom soup 

2 cups milk

1/4 cup melted butter 

2 cups chopped ham (or turkey ham, or sausage) 

8-10 potatoes, cut into slices

salt, pepper, and minced onion to taste

Wash potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Boil in large saucepan until nearly tender and drain. Meanwhile, combine soup, milk, butter, and spices. Arrange potatoes and ham in disposable 9x13 pan and cover with foil. Label. Thaw the night before and cook at 350 until browned and warm in center, about 45 minutes. 

3. Pizza pie 

2 eggs 

2 cups mozzarella cheese 

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup cottage cheese 

1 cup melted butter 

1 package pepperoni

1 lb spaghetti noodles, cooked

2 jars pizza sauce 

Combine eggs, butter, parmesan, and 1 cup mozzarella in large bowl. Add noodle carefully. Layer noodle mixture into 9x13 disposable pan. Layer pepperoni pieces on top of noodles. Cover pepperoni layer with pizza sauce and top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil, label, and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook at 350 until warm in center, about 45 minutes. 

4. Lasagna- follow your favorite recipe- or- 

1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles, uncooked 

2 large cans spaghetti sauce

2 cups water 

3 cups cottage cheese

2 cups parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese 

2 eggs 

1 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon parsley 

Mix water and spaghetti sauce (water will absorb so you don't need to cook the noodles). Mix cheeses, eggs, and spices. Alternate layers of noodles, sauce, and cheese three times. Top with additional mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook at 350 until done in center, about 45-60 minutes. 

5. Cheesy ham and potato casserole

2 cans cheddar soup 

2 cups milk

1/4 cup melted butter 

2 cups chopped ham (or turkey ham) 

1 bag tater tots

salt, pepper, and parsley to taste

Mix soup, milk, butter, and spices in large bowl. Add tater tots and ham. Place in disposable 9x13 pan and cover with foil. Label. Thaw the night before and cook at 350 until browned and warm in center, about 45 minutes. 

6. Sloppy joes- ground turkey

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup ketchup

3/4 cup brown sugar

red pepper flakes (optional)

Brown ground turkey. Drain if needed. Add ketchup and brown sugar to ground turkey in pan and stir until dissolved. Taste test for the right amount of sweet or tartness that you desire, adding red pepper flakes for a kick if you like. Cool enough to handle and seal in quart size freezer bag. Label. Thaw and serve on buns or with tortilla chips and cheddar cheese. 

7. Tacos- ground turkey

1 lb ground turkey

1 package taco seasoning 

Brown ground turkey. Drain if needed. Make taco sauce according to package directions. Cool enough to handle and seal in quart size freezer bag. Label. Thaw and serve with tacos or tortilla chips and your favorite toppings. 

8. Sweet n sour turkey meatballs 

30-40 pre-cooked meatballs (I get the turkey meatballs from Aldi)

1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce 

1 can chunk pineapple, drained (save juice for chicken teriyaki recipe later) 

1 cup ketchup or 1 can tomato sauce 

Combine BBQ sauce, ketchup, and chunk pineapple in gallon freezer bag. Add meatballs. Label. Thaw and heat in microwave or in a pot and serve over rice. 

9. Shredded beef sandwiches1-2 lbs beef stew meat 

1 cup Italian salad dressing

1 package dry onion soup mix (or 1 tablespoon minced onion) 

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1 beef bullion cube

garlic, salt, pepper to taste 

Combine all ingredients in a gallon freezer bag and mix. Label and freeze. Thaw the night before and cook on low in crock pot 6-8 hours. Shred beef for sandwiches and serve on onion buns (or whatever buns or bread you have). 

10. Veggie beef stew 1-2 lbs stew meat

3-4 chopped, cubed potatoes

1/2 bag baby carrots

1 cup (or can) green beans 

1 cup (or can) corn 

2 pints tomato juice or stewed tomatoes (I used my home-canned juice)

1 beef bullion cube 

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon minced onion

salt and pepper 

Chop stew meat if needed. Combine all ingredients in gallon freezer bag, seal, and label. Thaw the night before and cook on low in crock pot 6-8 hours. Serve with bread or biscuits. 

11. Chicken teriyaki 2-4 chicken breasts

6 oz pineapple juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon ginger

1 tablespoon garlic

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Combine all but chicken in a gallon freezer bag and mix. Add chicken. Label and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook on low in crock pot 6-8 hours. Serve over rice. 

12. Pineapple salsa chicken

2-4 chicken breasts

1 can pineapple salsa

Combine salsa and chicken in a gallon freezer bag. Label and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook in crock pot on low 6-8 hours. Serve over rice. 

13. Pork stew with veggies

1-2 lbs pork stew meat or country style boneless ribs, cut into cubes

1 chicken bullion cube

1 cup water 

1 teaspoon marjoram

1 teaspoon parsley

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

5-6 potatoes, cubed

1/2 bag baby carrots

Combine water, bullion, and spices in a gallon freezer bag. Add pork, potatoes, and carrots. Seal, label, and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook in crock pot on low 6-8 hours. Serve with cornbread or biscuits. 

14. BBQ pulled pork

1-2 lbs pork stew meat or country style boneless ribs

1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (or your favorite sauce)

Combine pork and BBQ sauce in a gallon freezer bag. Label and freeze. Thaw the night before and cook in crock pot on low 6-8 hours. Serve on buns. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There you go!! Let me know what you think, and if you have questions leave them below! 

Garden 2015: First Picks!

I officially picked the first produce from my garden this week: zucchini and yellow squash. I have four plants each and they are doing great. I have blooms on my peas and green beans, and I think they will be ripe next. My tomatoes, peppers, and melon still have a way to go, but that's just fine. I can't can them all at once anyways. I'm still having trouble with worms on my broccoli plants, even though I have used diatomaceous earth quite a bit on them. The leaves just look like skeletons! 

Since it's been raining so much, I put straw down under some of the plants. I hope this helps, especially with the zucchini and squash. It's the first time I have used it, although my dad uses it every year on his garden, especially for the strawberries. I'm also afraid that my cucumber volunteers, which I transplanted, aren't going to produce. They were doing well at first but are now looking sorry, perhaps due to the rain as well. 

My tomato plants were very leafy, so I took my dad's advice to trim down some of the suckers. I'm hoping I didn't trim too much. It seems like an easy task, but I kept worrying I didn't get the right shoots. I figured that it couldn't hurt to try, since the past few years I didn't get much doing what I've been doing. While I try to read and research, sometimes I feel like the garden is such a trial and error thing.... some years are great for certain plants, but not others. I supposed I just have to figure out the climate, plus how the sun hits my garden and things like that. I really doing enjoy it! Well, everything but the weeds! 

Garden 2015

I have a good feeling about our garden this year. 

First of all, Justin, with the help of my dad (nailing boards) and our neighbor (designing the gate), put up and awesome fence with chicken wire backing. The posts are also cemented in the ground and it has a 8 inch barrier below the fence line to hinder those under-the-fence diggers. I'm hopeful that this will really help with our wildlife problem that we've faced the last few years. I also made some cute hanging baskets with marigolds and ivy just for fun. 

Second, I put the seeds (or plants in some cases) in about three weeks ago. We've had both sun and rain, and most seem to be doing well. For plants, I put in two peppers, four broccoli, four yellow squash, four zucchini, peas, spinach, parsley, green beans, tomatoes, honeydew and musk mellon. My first round of spinach didn't come up so I replanted this week to see if it would take, though I researched a bit and am worried I might be a little too late for the season. My melons didn't seem to take either, so I replanted those too. I did, however, has quite a few cucumber volunteers in random places, so I transplanted them and they seem to be doing fine. I am hoping to have peas in a few weeks. Green beans will probably be next, although I always seem to have trouble with bugs at the beginning, even though I used diatomaceous earth on them. Humph! Hopefully they will be alright though. 

Now it's just a waiting game and trying to keep up with the weeds, which I seem to have such trouble with! Gee thanks, Adam, for making us all struggle with the earth... 

Here's some pics of everything: 

  Left two rows: peas                                   Right two rows: broccoli, squash, zucchini  

 Left row: tomatoes                            Right two rows: green beans

1st Avenger Birthday Party

For Ansel's 1st birthday, we went with a 1st Avenger Party theme. It just seemed to fit since he was stuck in his helmet for half of his first year anyways! :) I had fun with a lot of the details, from the invites to the scrapbook table to the cupcakes. It was awesome to have lots of family come too!

1st Avenger Invites                                       Scrapbook Table  

 Drink Table

Food Area

Treat Table

 Photo Booth

Easy, No Bake, Fiber-and-Protein Filled Granola Bars!

Summer's here and that means more time to experiment in the kitchen for this teacher! So I tried these granola bars, and they aren't for the faint of heart. Chewy, nutty, sweet-n-salty goodness explode from this yummy bar. While they aren't low on calories or sugar, they do have a lot of other good stuff in them- oatmeal, flax seed, chia seeds, nuts, and sunflower seeds. You could certainly add more chia seeds or flax seed if you wanted to. I haven't tried substituting corn syrup for honey, but I'm sure you could do that as well. The best I could determine, one bar (recipe makes six) is about 360 calories with 4.5 grams of fiber and 7.5 grams of protein. You could of course cut into smaller pieces for smaller snacks.

Kate's Granola Bars

1. Line 4x8 loaf pan with aluminum foil for easy cleaning and cutting. Set aside.

2. In large bowl, mix to following and set aside:
1 1/2 c. oatmeal
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. crushed nuts (peanuts, mixed, whatever you like)
1 T. chia seeds
2 T. flax seed

3. In large saucepan, bring to boil and boil for 30 seconds:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. Karo corn syrup

4. Remove from burner and mix in peanut butter, working quickly:
1/3 c. peanut butter

5. Working quickly, add oatmeal mixture and stir until completely covered. Pour out into loaf pan and let cool. Cut into six pieces (for calorie count above). Store in airtight container.

If desired, drizzle with white chocolate melting candy.

I "Found" Poems!

Found poems are a really stellar form of writing. You can make them using text from just about anything. While I personally like using cut-out words from magazines, you can also use the page from an old novel, or just about anything in print. I like using words I find in magazines because I can cut out lots of options (nouns, verbs, prepositions), and then put them together into the phrases that I like. Using a page from a novel is more challenging, in my opinion, because the author of the poem should go in order of the text on the page, choosing just the words they want to write the new poem. While there are some general guidelines for the various versions of found poetry (see here and here), there is a ton of freedom to create. I had my students write found poems in class this semester, and I was so inspired that I wrote a couple of my own. One for a dear friend having a baby, one for my husband for Valentine's Day, and one for a single mom. I really like how they all turned out. Go try one yourself!!

Hara Arena Skybox Party Suite Review

For my husband's birthday, I rented the Skybox Party Suite at Hara Arena for a game. The website promised "the ultimate party or business entertainment experience in Dayton," so I was excited to surprise my husband. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

While I was happy with the communication while I was arranging the night, both via email and on the phone. It was explained to me that the party suite was private and we would have our own area. I asked for some simple decorations, balloons and a sign, along with pizza, sodas, and chips and dip. They didn't mind that I wanted to bring our own cupcakes to celebrate. I paid over the phone and was told that someone would be there to meet us.

However, when I arrived, I knew things weren't going to quite be what I expected. At the ticket window, the attendant found our tickets and told us to "walk through that way" to find the person who would take us to the Skybox. After proceeding through the gate, many vendors where around and, confused, I had to find someone to show us where to go. He led us around the arena to find the man I coordinated with, who took us up to the Skybox. We passed the "lounge area" that is advertised and it is in much need of repair. Overall it just looked run down- old carpet, needed paint- and there were actually issues with a leak and I could hear water dripping. We of course didn't have a large group so we went past that area and up a spiral staircase to the Skybox. I was surprised to find that this area was only about six feed wide and ran the length of the stadium. About a third of one end of this area was the "party suite." You can see the picture below. Nowhere near a suite in my mind!! We had to cross over people from the press reporting on the game to get to our area and it was definitely not sectioned off.  Looking up, you could see moldy ceiling tiles. Yikes.

Besides the appearance of the area, items that were specified in the email were not followed. I asked for balloons and a happy birthday sign. Simple, right? I guess not. I got a happy birthday tablecloth, cheap plastic centerpiece, plate and napkins, and sign taped to the overhead area. While it was better than nothing, I was disappointed. The pizza we ordered from the arena was tasty, but the chips and dip were in questionable plastic containers. Maybe I'm being picky, but they just didn't look nice.... for example, goopy reside remained on the outside of a bowl where it looked like a tag had been torn off. Not so appetizing.... Also, I specified root beer for the sodas and we got Pepsi and lemonade. I know that this seem small, but when they add up together it wasn't the special birthday that I was hoping for. At least I was only charged $50 since it was just the two of us, instead of the $100 the website listed. (To clarify, the pizza, chips and dip, sodas, decorations, and higher price tickets were in addition to that price.)

The game itself was entertaining to watch and I enjoyed that part of the evening. The view was nice from the highest point in the stadium. Next time though, I would save my money and sit in the regular seats! Now I know why there were no pictures posted on the website. The Hara Arena Skybox Party Suite definitely fell short of  my expectations. I wouldn't pay for it again.

8 Months Old!

Wow, I can't believe that Ansel is 8 months old tomorrow. It goes so fast, but I love seeing him grow up. It is absolutely fascinating to watch his little self get bigger, reach higher, smile broader, snuggle deeper. What a blessing!

After our meeting with the neuro-specialist, we mutually agreed that his torticollis was much improved and we did not need physical therapy any more. Of course we will still do therapy stretches and exercises at home, but will not be going to the doctor for therapy. (This will save a pretty penny at $100 a pop!) He's doing great developmentally, rolling, reaching, sitting up (when placed in a sitting position), picking up small objects, looking towards sounds, smiling, giggling, and saying "mama" and "dada" at random. It's so funny because he won't stay on his tummy for long before he is rolling across the room. He has also shown signs of wanting to push up to his knees in a crawling position, so I think that will be starting in the next month or so!!

Ansel is still breastfeeding four times a day, but eats solids at lunch and dinner. Lunch is usually rice or oatmeal with a fruit or veggie. Dinner is a kid-friendly version of what we are having. You should have seen him scarfing down pasta and sauce last night. He sure loves his food!

I continued to push his bedtime back little by little, and now he sleeps 11 1/2 to 12 hours. He's in bed at 7:30 PM and sleeps until 7:30 PM on weekends. During the week we usually have to load up to go to the sitters a little after 7:00. Still, what a great chunk of time! His morning nap is about an hour and afternoon naps are around 2 hours.

Since Justin has a Captain America frisbee/shield, I had to do some cute pictures. Here they are!

2015 Goals

I wouldn't say these are resolutions.... more like goals I'm aiming for. I figured that it would be good to document them. I'm not sure that the order is in any significance. Hopefully I can come back and update as the year progresses.

1. Read a book every day to my baby Ansel.
2. Love my husband and show him in every way I can.
3. Lose 10 pounds. 
4. Pay off my car and Justin's school loan (about $8,500 all together).
5. Go somewhere beachy for our 6th wedding anniversary and wear a bikini again.
6. Finish revisions and send my memoir to a publisher until it gets accepted.
7. Make it a year breastfeeding.
8. Run a 10 K.
9. Start my Doctor of Education.
10. Add at least $10,000 to our savings.
11. Start investing.  

Week 6 in the Cranial Remolding Helmet for Plagiocephaly

 Ansel has already worn the cranial remolding helmet for his plagiocephaly for six weeks! We are already seeing drastic improvements. In fact, if it did not improve any more, I think I could be content with it. (Except for his ear placement- more on that later) The back left of his head doesn't feel or look so flat anymore. Looking from above, we already see the parallelogram shape coming back into a circle. Guess it was worth the money!! :)

On Monday this week, Ansel was a little fussy in the morning. Usually we leave the helmet on all day until we clean it in the evening, but I decided to take it off anyway. To my chagrin, he had a "hotspot" as they call it. The skin looked like a bright red side burn and close to blistering. See below.  I decided I wasn't putting it back on until we figured it out. I gave it that day to air out, but when it was still red on Tuesday morning (even though the helmet had been off a whole day) I called the Hangar Clinic and they got him in right away. They shaved out some more of the foam on the left, and we put it back on. By the afternoon the skin just looked dry and a little flaky from whatever reaction it had. They also suggested using cornstarch if it seemed to be rubbing again.

I keep trying to figure out what caused the hot spot. Did he sleep on it and the extra sweat/no air irritate it? Did we not get that part clean enough in the daily wash? Was it too small because of a growth spurt? We still aren't sure, but I'm glad he's not having any more issues with the hot spot.

However, his head does seem dry, somewhat like the cradle cap that he had around a month old. We tried putting Aveeno baby lotion on his head as recommended by the specialist, but his hair is so long it just seemed like a goopy mess. It's kinda hard to rub lotion through hair, ya know? Then we tried to let it "dry out" before the helmet went on, but his hair still had the lotion in it. I don't know, I'm still not sure it was effective anyway. I just feel bad when he reaches up like he wants to scratch his head...poor baby. Tonight I just scrubbed it really good in the bath and I hope that helps. Perhaps it's just the dry winter weather.

His ears worry me too. They are still not aligned. I hope as his head keeps shifting they will move more into place. At least they are even horizontally if you are looking at him from the front. It's really just when you look at him from above that you notice one ear is closer to his eye than another.

Hopefully we only have to wear the helmet another two months or so, at least during the day when we go out. Overall people just ignore it, and those who do say something aren't rude. It's funny, actually, because they either think I'm trying to dress him up like a football player, or they recognize the Captain America logo. But they aren't rude so it doesn't bother me too much. I'm definitely looking forward to when he doesn't have to wear it though!! The whole ordeal is really an issue of me trusting God. And also realizing that maybe I put too much stock in a "normal" appearance... As the Bible says, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart."