Chop Chop!!

Since everything seems to be getting bigger around here, I decided to make one thing smaller--my hair! My hair was pretty damamged from the initial bleaching process and had been breaking off for nearly a year, so I finally decided it was time to chop it off!


I think it's funny that people always assume that if you cut your hair when you're pregnant, it's because you think you won't have any time to fix it once the baby is born. Um, HELLO! This hair takes WAY longer to fix than pulling my all one length hair into a ponytail!!

Let it GROW!!

We worked furiously last week to get things growing at our house. It's a little bit early to be planting in Michigan, as the last frost date has yet to come, but we wanted an early start this year. We got a late start on our garden last year, thanks to Burpee and their not-so-phenominal customer service. We placed our order in mid-January and it was supposed to be sent mid-May and after several phone calls where I was told not to worry, our plants didn't arrive until almost mid-June. Needless to say, we did not order from them again this year.

The garden looks so sparse right now, but it is full to the brim! We planted TWELVE tomato plants to keep up with Midget's tomato addiction, four bell peppers, four banana peppers, four jalapeno peppers, two four feet rows of bush style green beans, four cucumber plants, two zucchini squashes, and two straightneck squashes. I'll post pics of the garden next week, as I missed my opportunity to take pictures and now it's super crummy rainy outside.

Here's the non-vegetable portion of our planting.

I have a container on my deck for the herbs I utilize the most for cooking. The Sage from last year survived, so I added Rosemary, Thyme, and Oregano.

I planted seeds in a deck railing planter of half Flat-leaf Parsley and half Cilantro.

Here's what I'm most excited about!! My Mother's Day present of a Perennial Herb Garden! We started with Lemon Balm, Bee Balm (a.k.a. Bergamot), Lavendar, Tarragon, Chives, Peppermint, Spearmint, and Chocolate Mint. We also added in a few Pansies for color and because the flowers are edible and look beautiful sugared on cakes and cupcakes.

Midget loves being outside and had a ton of fun with her little garden tools moving soil from one place to another. I love it when something so simple can keep her occupied for HOURS! " )

Baby Bump, er, Mountain

It's funny how I didn't feel big last pregnancy until I was less than a few weeks from the due date. This time, I feel HEEE-UGE already and I'm just past halfway there! I suppose the fact that I'm almost 60 pounds lighter has something to do with it.

Despite my feeling of general fat-arsedness, we've actually been gardening up a storm the last two days. We should be finished with our garden completely on Sunday, so look for pictures next week!

Also cultivating heartily is our little Peanut! We had our big ultrasound last week and here's a pic of Peanut's sweet little profile. We decided, once again, to not find out the gender. We didn't find out with Midget and it was so much fun! I honestly can't imagine knowing what to expect before the delivery!

Buggy for You Quiet Book

My friend's son turned two at the end of March. When I was showing his Mom the progress I'd made on the quiet book for my niece sometime in January, she remarked that she would LOVE having a book like that for Church. I knew that making a quiet book like the one for my niece was much too involved and difficult for me to pull off in a few months (especially considering my niece's took almost SIX months to finish). I started looking for patterns and found one that was perfect for a boy on YouCanMakeThis.com. It is made by CopyCrafts, was $7.95, and is called Buggy For You!

Here's the finished pages of the actual book I gave to my friend's son. I didn't take a picture of the back cover because there isn't anything on it and the firefly page is actually two little squares on the collage--the purple flap with stars and the firefly itself, which hides under the flap.

I'd highly recommend this and the other quiet book patterns available from CopyCrafts at the website above. It took me less than a week to get the entire book done and the instructions were clear and pretty easy. I think you could be a relatively inexperienced sewer and still be okay making this book. The most difficult part was doing the sewing required for all the letters on the cover. It took the longest, by far, of any page.

Midget was happy to help open the book and show her little buggy buddy his present. He really enjoyed the last page, which featured his picture! I got a call from my friend the very next day (Sunday) and she was THRILLED that he sat all through church without making a peep!

Finished Quiet Book

I FINALLY DID IT! I finished the quiet book I started back in October!! My brother called the same day I started my last post and confirmed that he and his family would be heading our way to visit. I finished the book the very last night they were here. How's that for procrastination??

I used two fat quarters and quilted the cover. I used extra wide double fold bias tape to bind the edges. All in all, I was pretty pleased with the book. I think the hardest part of all was just deciding what to do on each page inside of the book!



Here are the two previous updates I've posted on the quiet book.
Quiet Book
Quiet Book Update

HALLELUJAH! Cheddar Ale Soup!

I'm finally feeling better! I'm sure that one of these days, I'll get myself back into a regular schedule with blogging. I've been cooking again and doing a GREAT BIG craft project that I just finished this weekend and will post later this week.

If you've been hanging around here longer than a few months, you know I've been on a pretty successful weight loss journey (thanks to Weight Watchers) since November of 2008. Before I found out I was pregnant, I had lost 46 pounds. By the end of my first trimester, I lost another ten pounds--that's how gross I felt!! In some ways, it was quite exciting to see that number keep dropping, but also a bit horrifying. My doctor wasn't worried (and I still have at least another 20 pounds to lose in addition to whatever I gain once I deliver baby number two), so I tried not to be worried either.

I'm still trying to make good food choices a majority of the time, since I am determined not to wind up where I started. But I am allowing myself to indulge every once in a while and that's where this recipe comes in. It is UBER delicious, but not even close to a recipe I'd normally eat anything more than an itty bitty cup once a month! But for now, I shall eat a cup for lunch and a cup for dinner and maybe even a cup for breakfast. Uh, bleh, garp, urg. Nope. Still a little sensitive at times.

Now, without further ado...











Cheddar Ale Soup

1 tsp vegetable or extra light olive oil
1 large onion, chopped finely
4 carrots, chopped finely
4 celery ribs, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
16 oz pale ale, such as Bass or Sierra Nevada
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1 quart (4 cups) half & half
6 cups sharp cheddar cheese (block cheese that you buy and shred yourself melts MUCH better than pre-shredded cheese—it’s totally worth the work)
1/4 cup flour
optional toppings: sliced green onions, crumbled bacon, popped popcorn, crackers, croutons, whatever!

Heat oil in skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions, celery, and a pinch of salt. Sweat the vegetables for 8 –10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove veggies and puree in a blender or food processor, if desired. I like a little bit of texture, so I just used an immersion blender once the veggies were added back into the soup.

Melt butter over medium-high heat in the same pan. Add flour and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the roux is a golden color. Slowly add the chicken stock and beer, wisking to combine. Add salt, cooked vegetables, and stir.

Shred cheese and toss with 1/4 cup flour. This helps the cheese melt properly.

Add half and half to pan, stirring constantly and heat until the mixture is hot, but DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, one handful at a time, stirring after each handful to incorporate.

Ta-daaaaa! Your delicious soup is ready to eat, but tastes even better reheated! Top with whatever your heart desires and enjoy!

Quiet Book Update

I can't believe I'm still working on the Quiet Book for my niece, but I'm getting close to being finished. I finished the last three pages and have started quilting the cover. I really hope to be done within the next week or so. For the final pages, I made a hairstyling face and a Mr. Potato Head.

URF...

I have nothing to post about. I have no energy for crafts, no stomach for cooking, and no brain to think of anything witty or funny to say.

I made dinner on Saturday night for the first time in nearly a month (chicken, rice, and steamed veggies--it doesn't get any more boring than that) and spent the remainder of the evening laying on the couch, trying not to vomit. GAH. It's a GOOD thing I did the pantry challenge in January because I've blown all my savings from January this month on pre-made food...

Midget and I did have a great time at my service club's Valentine's Day Dance. As expected, I had to drag her off the dance floor when it was time for us to go. I enjoyed having a reason to pretty myself up and wear the gorgeous dress I bought from Bettie Page Clothing for my Stepson's wedding. Thanks to my nausea, the dress fit even better than it did in November, and I actually felt like a million bucks that evening!

Peanut's First Portrait

Here's our first glimpse of Peanut! Everything looks good at this point, but I am exhausted, hormonal, and sick. Just like my pregnancy with Midget, I have lost a bunch of weight this first trimester. I just do NOT want to eat! Nothing sounds good and then I feel sick when I eat, so I don't finish my food. Good thing I have plenty of stored fat to nourish this kid!

Challenge Check-in and HOLY CRAPOLI

Well, I figured I'd better check in with the challenge, seeing as it's nearly over and I haven't checked in for almost two weeks. Week 2 went fine. I spent $20 and change on groceries and I was feeling pretty good. However, week 3 did not go so well. I didn't plan well, fell into some old habits, and apparently was craving fruit while shopping and ended up spending $40 on groceries!! This last week, I got back in the groove and spent $23. I didn't feel too bad going $3 over since I bought a cake mix and frosting to make my hubby birthday cupcakes! Happy Birthday to my sweet hubby!

My total spent for the month of January was $103. This was quite a bit more than my original $65. However, I am definitely feeling pretty darned good, considering I normally set myself a $75 per week goal. That means doing the pantry challenge saved me nearly $200 in groceries for the month, so I'm not even CLOSE to feeling sad that I went $43 dollars over my original goal. I knew I'd probably hit $80 anyway, considering my required calcium increase.

Plus, I still have many, MANY meals I can make out of my freezer. I think I'll continue eating from the pantry for at least another week. Here's where I'm at on my list of freezer meals.

Broccoli & Ham Quiche (mix is already in the freezer), salad
Homemade Veggie Pizza & Salad
Chicken Pot Pie & Cut veggies
Chalupa (pork and pinto beans already in freezer) served over shredded lettuce with tomatoes, avocado and Spanish Rice
Turkey Sausage & Eggs Florentine scramble
Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs, Salad
Italian Wedding Soup, Homemade Bread
Turkey Tacos, corn
Crockpot Beef Roast and Veggies
Shepherd's Pie, salad
North Carolina BBQ Pork, Homemade Coleslaw, served on Buns
Spicy Pork, Vegetable Gumbo Soup served with Rice
Turkey Burgers, Oven Fries, Green Beans
Philly Cheesesteaks, Sweet Potato Fries
Hoisin Pork Stirfry (includes veggies), Rice
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, Peas
Turkey Chili, Green Beans

And now, for the HOLY CRAPOLI part of this post...

I'm going to be a Grandmother in October. At the ripe old age of 35. Yep. I'm still completely in denial. My stepson and his wife are pregnant and will be welcoming a baby approximately one month after we welcome the newest member of our family. So, little Peanut will become an Aunt or Uncle at the ripe old age of one month. I've already decided, thanks to Brandy of Not Your Average Soccer Mom, that I will be Mimi, at least until I'm 40. That way, I won't be required to stock up on Poligrip, Depends, and nylons large enough to give me elephant ankles.

Challenge Check-in and My Amazing Hubby

Well, week one of the Eat From the Pantry Challenge is over and I'm pretty proud of the progress I made. I took a trip to the grocery store and spent $20 and a few cents. I completely underestimated just how much dairy I'm going to need to eat while pregnant--the equivalent of one whole QUART of milk per day! I'm going to keep my budget at $65 right now, but I will mostly likely go over on dairy.

This week, I will have to purchase at least one staple--flour. I used the last of my flour last night making bread, and the flour is much cheaper than buying the bread itself. I can buy one loaf of bread or an entire bag of flour, which will make 12 loaves of bread using my recipe. Hmmmm, that's not a difficult choice.

Here's where I'm at on my meal list. I added two meals from my backup list because my husband asked for them.
Broccoli & Ham Quiche (mix is already in the freezer), salad
Homemade Veggie Pizza & Salad
Chicken Pot Pie & Cut veggies
Chalupa (pork and pinto beans already in freezer) served over shredded lettuce with tomatoes, avocado and Spanish Rice
Turkey Sausage & Eggs Florentine scramble
Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs, Salad
Italian Wedding Soup, Homemade Bread
Turkey Tacos, corn
Crockpot Beef Roast and Veggies
Shepherd's Pie, salad
North Carolina BBQ Pork, Homemade Coleslaw, served on Buns
Spicy Pork, Vegetable Gumbo Soup served with Rice
Turkey Burgers, Oven Fries, Green Beans
Philly Cheesesteaks, Sweet Potato Fries
Hoisin Pork Stirfry (includes veggies), Rice
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, Peas
Turkey Chili, Green Beans

Speaking of my awesome husband, look at what he made for Midget!

It's a learning tower! She can use it to wash dishes, help Mama cook, make cookies--all kinds of fun stuff that I used to put her on a chair to do! These sell for nearly $200 and he was able to make it for about $60 in materials. It could be done even cheaper, but he wanted to use oak to match our cabinets. Midget loves it so much and put it right to work washing dishes!






Speaking of Midget, I've barely put any Midget pictures on here lately. Here's an adorable picture of her while she was washing dishes.

Eat From the Pantry Challenge

After finding no room in my freezer last month to put Christmas leftovers, I realized I needed to clean out my freezer. When I read about Money Saving Mom's Eat from the Pantry Challenge, I immediately decided I NEEDED to take on this challenge.

I am a bit embarrassed that I could probably eat from my pantry/freezers for at least three months without really challenging myself, but I'm committing to the challenge for the month. I took a complete inventory of my pantry and freezers and wrote up a list of meals.
I started out with one dinner per day, but already the 2nd day of doing the challenge, I realized I don't need a dinner for every day. My husband will be traveling for work for much of this month, so I will be able to take advantage of eating lots of leftovers.

I'm watching a friend's 20-month old son this month, so I'll be feeding him as well, but he doesn't quite make up for what my husband consumes!

Here are my rules for the challenge.
1. One grocery trip per week with the purchase only of dairy, produce (mostly fruit and lettuce), and as little bread as possible.
2. I will need to break one time from the challenge for an Indian potluck I'm hosting. I will spend no more than $15 on my dish for the potluck (hopefully less if I can find a recipe using mostly ingredients I have on hand).
3. Grocery budget for the month of January is $65 (includes $15 for Indian dish).


I'm looking forward to this challenge and seeing how well I can stick to it! Especially with my current pregnancy and making sure I don't always give into temptation. Like today, when I just HAD to have a milkshake, so I loaded both kids into the car and drove to Steak 'N Shake and arrived two minutes after Happy Hour. I begged the guy to give me the Happy Hour deal (because otherwise I would have left) and thankfully, he did. Then I was bummed because my shake didn't taste nearly as great as I thought it would in my head.

As I mentioned above, 15 dishes should cover the full month for me and if it doesn't I do have a backup list of meals. The first meal I made, quiche, fed us for dinner, lunch, and will be tomorrow's breakfast as well!

Breakfasts will be cereal, eggs, pancakes, etc. I have plenty of all of these items to last at least a month.

Lunches will be mostly leftovers or if necessary, quick meals that I already have in the freezer or pantry.

Here's my list of 15 dinners, in no particular order, because determining the day I'm going to eat a meal?? Well, let's just say Hell hasn't frozen over yet. We eat fruit with every meal, so that isn't listed.


Broccoli & Ham Quiche (mix is already in the freezer), salad
Homemade Veggie Pizza & Salad
Chicken Pot Pie & Cut veggies
Chalupa (pork and pinto beans already in freezer) served over shredded lettuce with tomatoes, avocado and Spanish Rice
Turkey Sausage & Eggs Florentine scramble
Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs, Salad
Italian Wedding Soup, Homemade Bread
Turkey Tacos, corn
Crockpot Beef Roast and Veggies
Shepherd's Pie, salad
North Carolina BBQ Pork, Homemade Coleslaw, served on Buns
Spicy Pork, Vegetable Gumbo Soup served with Rice
Turkey Burgers, Oven Fries, Green Beans
Philly Cheesesteaks, Sweet Potato Fries
Hoisin Pork Stirfry (includes veggies), Rice

I'll let you know how I'm doing with the challenge. Unless I eat my arms from hunger...

Guess What Santa Brought Us???

Yep. I'm preggers!! We found out on Christmas Eve and are overjoyed to add to our little family! We should be welcoming a mini-midget around the end of August.

Merry Christmas!

Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque

I have my daughter-in-law to thank for this delicious recipe. I asked her what I should make for dinner for a friend who just had a baby and she suggested this recipe. I DETEST sweet squash soups and was a little bit concerned that it would be sweet, considering it has apples and apple juice in it. I switched out fat free half and half for heavy cream and I added the rosemary and coriander to make sure there would be a little more savory flavor--just in case.

It was delicious and only slightly sweet--perfection! There's something to be said for having a daughter-in-law in culinary school!

Butternut squash is so cheap right now and this delicious soup is perfect for chasing away the winter chills. It's filling and is only 1 WW point per serving (3/4 cup).










Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque

1 small/medium Butternut squash (approx 2 lbs)
2 Tbsp butter
1 C onions, diced
½ C celery, diced
½ C carrots, diced
½ C apples, diced
2 C chicken or vegetable broth
1 C apple juice or cider
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced or 1/4 tsp dried
1/4 tsp ground coriander
½ C fat free half and half
Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Slice squash in half, scoop seeds out (seeds may be toasted and used for garnish) and place cut side down on a greased cookie sheet and roast in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until tender. When tender, flip squash over, let cool slightly, and scoop out the roasted squash meat.

2. In soup pot over medium high heat, add olive oil and onions, celery, carrots, and apples. Cook for about 4 minutes or until softened and sweet smelling. Add the roasted butternut squash, the chicken broth, apple juice/cider, rosemary, and coriander. Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 15 minutes until all ingredients are tender.

3. Transfer soup to blender or use a hand blender to puree soup to desired consistency. Finish by whisking in the half and half. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Flat Turkey

My Stepson's wedding was Thanksgiving weekend, so we did a very simple Thanksgiving on Wednesday night. I didn't start cooking until about 4 and we ate at 7.

I spatchcocked our turkey, which means you cut out the backbone and break the breastbone so the turkey lays flat. Our 12 lb turkey cooked in 70 minutes! I know y'all have probably moved on and are getting ready for Christmas, but since it's all fairly non-traditional, this meal would be perfect for Christmas as well.

Menu:
High Roast Butterflied Turkey
Savory Butternut Squash Dressing
Mrs. Hoggle's Stuffed Cranberry Sauce
Roasted Brussels Sprouts (no recipe--just halve sprouts and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and roast at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes and top with toasted almonds)
Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie

Swaggity, Baby!!

Are you using Swagbucks? If not--you should be!! I signed up for swagbucks a little over six months ago and have earned enough Swagbucks for a bunch of Amazon.com gift cards!! I bought Midget's adorable Raggedy Ann costume and a Christmas present for her with my gift cards.


You can use your Swagbucks for TONS of different items, from gift cards to an iPhone--all for just using Swagbucks as your search engine! It's an easy way to get stuff for doing something you probably already do several times a day.

Best of all, you can refer your friends and family and earn Swagbucks for doing it. So, if you decide to sign up, send me an email and I'll send you a link to sign up.

Quiet Book

For the last month or so, I've been working on a Quiet Book for my niece. My brother, his wife, and my niece are in the process of moving to Rwanda to do missionary work. I wanted to make a gift for my niece that would keep her occupied on her long plane ride to Africa. Soooo.....

This has been a labor of love and I'm still not finished, but I hope to have it completed in a few weeks.

Here are the pages I have completed so far in the order they are posted. Well, I haven't titled any of them or sewed them togther, so technically they're not completed at all. Sheesh! Quit complaining! This has been a TON of work!

• Button My Flowers (three felt flowers to button)
  
• Dress Me Up (velcro shirt, skirt, and shoes)
  
• Put Your Hand in My Mitten (open on the bottom to place hand inside)
  
• Traffic Light (velcro lights to put in the right order)
  
• Snap on My Shapes (snapped shapes to match to sewn on shapes )
  
• Telephone (moving dial and velcro handset)
  
• Chalkboard (two pages--chalk oilcloth, chalk, chalk holder, yarn secured sponge eraser, and eraser holder)
  
• Noah's Ark (zippered ark with six animal finger puppets from IKEA)
  

If you need a crash course in sewing--do one of these! I've learned to applique, put in a zipper, sew on velcro, attach snaps--all in one project!

I still have three pages left to do, so I'll update you along the way!

I've used LOTS of inspiration, but here's a few of my favorite places to gather ideas on how to make your own quiet book.

Quiet Book Instructions in PDF format with patterns
Homemade by Jill's Quiet Book with templates
An entire blog dedicated to making Quiet Books

Happy Halloween

Hope you had a great one! Ours was a bit chilly, but we just put our costumes on over our coats and looked like puffy Raggedy Ann Dolls.

Witches' Tea Party

When I saw these invitations on Living Locurto, I was dying for an excuse to do a Witches' Tea Party. Thank goodness one of my friends was looking for someone to watch her kids!! I thought it would be a fun way to have a little bitty Halloween party, something I've loved to host since I was a little girl. I printed out the invitations, rolled them up, tied them with a little string, and delivered them to their mailboxes.

When the kids arrived, we read a short Halloween book from the library and quickly got to decorating the kids' witch hats. I found the hats, the foam stickers, and the cookies at the dollar store. Since it was a kid party, I made Russian Tea, which is Tang and Instant Tea simmered with whole cloves and cinnamon sticks. I spent about $15 in total on all the supplies. Not bad for a whole lot of fun! Even Lucy Wiener Witch enjoyed herself!

This post is linked up to Amy's Finer Things Friday