Friday, April 30, 2010

Just a Weekend

Only a weekend stands between us and Eric!  He's already begun his journey home because he had to go on a business trip within Nigeria before flying out on Monday.  It's hard knowing he's one step closer but it's still 3 full days before we get to see him.  These past 8 weeks have gone by so fast but I am more anxious for him to get home this time.  I just miss him so much and can't wait to see him on Tuesday!!  I'm really excited to see Maddie interact with Eric also.  She changes so much each time he's gone and this time she started speaking in full sentences and her imagination has just been blossoming.  It's one thing for me to tell Eric the things she does or says but it will be so fun to see how he reacts to seeing it in person.  He's going to fall in love with her all over again.

Another big deal while Eric's home is our ultrasound scheduled for May 5th.  We'll finally know if we're having a boy or a girl.  I had a dream last night that the ultrasound revealed another baby girl.  In all of my dreams last night it was a girl...she was still unborn, but we were preparing for another girl.  It's funny but that dream kind of makes me feel like it's a boy :)  When I was pregnant with Maddie I kept having dream after dream that I was having a boy.  Even after we had our 20 week ultrasound that showed a baby girl, I continued dreaming it was a boy.  Later in the pregnancy we went for a 4D ultrasound and I asked them to verify it was a girl, just in case something was missed earlier!  So I think since I dreamed it was a boy and I had a girl, this time I'm dreaming it's a girl so it must be a boy.  Thank God we'll find out in 5 days...this gender question is driving me crazy!  I don't know how women used to not know until the baby was born.  UGH!  :)  I love modern technology!! 

Fun in the Rain

We had some yucky, rainy weather off and on all day today.  Maddie kept asking me to go out to play in the rain so I finally gave in after dinner and let her go out.  I would've been happy just to stay inside, but it was a nice way to break up the evening!  I put her raincoat and boots on her and out we went.  She told me "play rain like Kai Lan does".  I guess she had seen an episode of Ni Hao Kai Lan where they played in the rain.  She had so much fun stomping and splashing in the water then running around in the grass. 

I have a cute video of Maddie jumping in the puddle and falling...but I don't know how to post a video to the blog.  I guess I could post a link to youtube.  I'll try it.  Sorry if it doesn't work :)  Click HERE to see the video (I hope).

Other than that, here are some pictures I took of Maddie having fun in the rain.  Some of the pictures are blurry because I didn't think to check my settings before starting to snap away...Oh well, you get it :)  After playing for a while with the boots on she decided she wanted to take the boots off so I had to get pictures of my little country girl playing barefoot in the mud!  Enjoy the pictures!










I REALLY wish this face was in focus!!  Imagine how cute that would be :)


Sunday, April 25, 2010

More Maddie-isms

Maddie's latest phrase is "I don't think so".  Well, she actually says "I think so" while shaking her head, which means "I don't think so".  If I ask her if she wants to go play in her playroom she'll tell me "I don't think so".  If I ask her if she wants to get a bath, she says "I don't think so".  It's really cute to see her learning new phrases.

Another one she started using is "I changed my mind".  One day she asked if she could go play outside.  I told her we had to change her diaper first then we could go play outside.  She thought about it for a second and said "I change my mind" and went about playing in the playroom.  She would rather give up playing outside instead of having her diaper changed!

Today Maddie bumped her head on the chair and she sat up rubbing her head and said, "I have a headache mommy".  It as so cute :)

I was in the kitchen earlier and Maddie came running in and said "I give Audrey snuggly keep warm".  I followed her and saw that she had put her snuggly on the cat like a blanket to keep the cat warm.  She's such a little sweetie!

Lately I've been turning on the radio in the livingroom instead of having the tv on.  Maddie's used to the station we listen to in the car and when she hears a song she recognizes she says, "I hear this song in car".  She gets so excited over it!  Then she heard the song I have as the ringtone on my phone and she told me, "This song Mommy phone!".

Maddie did really well with her chores this week.  She fed the dog all 7 nights and cleaned up toys in her playroom all 7 nights.  I gave her a "special surprise" (a small toy panda from a set) for getting a whole line of stamps for feeding Murphy and then after she cleaned the playroom I asked her if she wanted to have another panda for a special surprise for cleaning her playroom all week.  She said "I don't think so.  Candy".  So she had candy :)

Today while I was washing some dishes Maddie's head popped up from behind the ottoman in the livingroom and she said "Uh, what you smell?".  I knew that meant she pooped but I played along.  I sniffed at the air and said, "I don't smell anything.  What do you smell?".  She laughed and said "poo poos!"  Then she told me, "I do poo poos playroom" and she ran off to finish in the playroom.  Nice, huh?

Maddie's really starting to notice letters and numbers on things lately.  It's really neat to see her point out an "O" or a "Q".  She knows how to write the letter "M" but doesn't recognize it in print...that's weird :)

Maddie has an Elmo book where these 5 stars come in from outside to help him get ready for bed.  One star shows Elmo how to brush his teeth so every time Maddie brushes her teeth she says "Look Mommy, I a star!".  She loves watching herself in the mirror while she's brushing her teeth :)

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Funny

I've seen a lot of emails similar to this, but this one had quite a few I could relate to... (the italicized ones)

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? ), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

29. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.

31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my a*&^ everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

"I Feed Duck Sandwich ALL DAY"

Today we had our usual Thursday playgroup.  Today it was at a house near a duck pond so we all walked over to feed the ducks some bread.  It was Maddie's first experience feeding the ducks and she loved every minute of it!  A duck even bit her finger and she didn't seem bothered at all, she was just happy to be feeding them "sandwiches" (plain bread).  Here are some pictures from our day...

I actually got her to say "cheese" for a picture!

Her hair is finally long enough to put a clip in it :)

Having fun feeding the ducks

She had so much fun throwing the bread for them.

In this picture she was following the duck telling it "Come back duck.  Have some yummy snack duck." 

I think this was just before the duck bit her finger.  She just stopped tearing pieces of bread off and threw the whole slice down!

This is a really odd look on her face but she was running and was so happy because she saw turtles swimming in the water.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Sick Baby

Well, it finally happened...Maddie got sick.  She had an ear infection before but never had a fever with it.  She's had colds and stuffy noses, but she's never been sick.  This morning she had a temperature of 100.6 when she woke up and I didn't really worry about it.  In fact, I didn't even give her Tylenol because I had read with a low grade fever sometimes it's best to just let their little bodies work to fight off the fever, that way their immune system will strengthen.  I put her down for a nap around 10:30 this morning and she slept almost 2 hours.  When she woke up she was sweating from head to toe and her temp was up to 101.2.  I decided to give her the Tylenol in hopes that she would feel a little better.  It took about an hour and a half before she told me "I ok now".  Then she ate some saltine crackers and applesauce and drank some ice water.  That's all she ate all day.  She had another 2 1/2 hour nap in the afternoon and her fever never dropped below 100.  I gave her more Tylenol after the second nap and gave her some Motrin before bed tonight.  I'm really praying she feels better in the morning.  She never had any vomiting or diarrhea (Thank you, God!) but every once in a while she would just start crying for no apparent reason and want me to hold her.  If she still has a fever in the morning I'm going to make an appointment to see the pediatrician to see if she could have ear infections.  She'll also be able to let me know if she's working on those two year molars...

Please say a pray for us tonight!  Pray that Maddie will be comfortable enough to sleep all night so we can both be well rested for tomorrow.  Pray that her fever will go away and she'll be back to "normal" tomorrow.  I really hate taking her to the pediatrician because she just screams the whole time we're there.  I'm not exaggerating...it's screaming at the top of her lungs while trying to climb up and over my shoulders/head and telling me "go bye byes car".  Yes, she HATES that place and I hate that she's so afraid of it!

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Smart Girl

Maddie is so smart.  I know I say that at least once a day...but seriously, she is so smart!  Sometimes I forget how young she is.  I expect a lot more from her than I ever thought I would expect of a 2 year old.  It can't hurt to set my standards high for her, it can only make her more mature, right?  I know I'll be eating those words when she's about 12 and acting much more mature than I want her to be!

Maddie has chores now.  Yes, she's 22 1/2 months old and she has two chores she's responsible for.  She even has a calendar for each of her chores.  Every night she has to feed Murphy (the dog).  She gets the bowl, brings it to the garage, I put the food in it and Maddie takes it and gives it to Murphy.  She gets a stamp on her Go Diego Go calendar in the kitchen when she feeds Murphy nicely (like without dumping the food or putting it in her water).  Then when it gets close to bedtime Maddie is responsible for cleaning up all her toys.  I help out with it because I don't want it to take all night and she has so many toys out it would possibly take an hour or so to do.  She decides what she wants to clean up and does it.  When the first thing is done she picks the next thing she wants to clean up.  This is working WONDERFULLY and it only takes us about 20 minutes to get the entire playroom cleaned up.  Then she gets a stamp on her Dora the Explorer calendar in the playroom after the room is cleaned up.  If she refuses to clean up she doesn't get a stamp.  There were two nights last week that she didn't get her stamp and she cried both nights...I think she gets it :).  Well, I told her when she has a whole "line" of stamps (like a stamp every day) that she will get a special surprise.  Last night she had a whole week of stamps for feeding Murphy so I gave her two little plastic butterflies for her special surprise.  She was the happiest little girl in the world!  I emphasized that if she gets a whole line of stamps on her Dora calendar this week that she'll get another special surprise.  Let's see if she can do it!

Tonight when we were eating dinner I asked Maddie if she likes to eat mushrooms.  She said, "Yes.  Sometimes".  She didn't want to eat them tonight, I guess that's why she told me "sometimes".  This is the first time she's used that word for me so it was really cute when she said it.

Earlier tonight we were in the playroom and Murphy was laying on the floor in front of a chair.  Maddie reached down toward Murphy's back end and I didn't know what she was doing until her hand was all up against Murphy's butt.  I was on the phone with my mom at the time and explained that Murphy was laying just right so that Maddie's little plastic butterfly was RIGHT under her tail.  As Maddie reached for it the butterfly was getting pushed back so it looked like Maddie was reaching right into Murphy's "heiny hole".  Maddie said "heiny hole"?  I'm so glad I was on the phone with Mom when Maddie said that!  Then Maddie repeated "Murphy heiny hole" a time or two as I took her to the bathroom to wash her hands.  GROSS!!

One more thing that happened tonight that I thought was cute...after dinner we sat on the couch to watch tv and Maddie was looking through a cookbook I had on the couch.  She knew it was Mommy's book but didn't know it was a cookbook.  Then she got to the center section where they have pictures of some of the recipes and she got all excited and said, "It's a supper book!!"  Maybe she'll be interested in cooking one day :)

See Sarah Cook

Hey guys!  I started a new blog for my cooking...be sure to check it out if you're interested in hearing what's cooking in my kitchen (or on my grill).  I won't be sending this one in emails to anyone, so you'll have to check it out on your own...

http://cookingwithsarahb.blogspot.com/

Enjoy :)

Thursday, April 15, 2010

31 Years and Counting

I have to say that my 31st birthday was probably one of the best birthdays I've had for a long time.  My husband wasn't home with me but my baby girl was!  It was so amazing spending my birthday with her now that she understands what a birthday means.  When she woke up from her nap this afternoon and I went in to get her she even told me "Happy Birthday!".  It made my day :)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

What a Day

Well, I got my payback for making fun of Maddie's gas last night...the joke was on me when I found that she was having loose stools with that.  There wasn't any smell to it so I didn't know to change her diaper.  I don't know how much longer we were downstairs before I took her upstairs to get her ready for bed, but it was definitely a while.  When I opened her diaper I saw the poo along with a nasty red rash on her bottom.  I felt TERRIBLE!  She had another bm this morning and was just crying so hard when I was trying to clean her off.  I've been taking care of it as well as I can but it just seems to cause her more pain when I clean her off and when I put the diaper cream on her.  I feel so bad for her when she gets a diaper rash like this.  This is only the second one that she's had that's bothered her, so I guess overall we're pretty lucky.

My day only seemed to go down hill from the time we got up this morning...Maddie was grumpy, naturally from the diaper rash, and didn't agree with anything I told her.  I put her on the BRAT diet and she didn't want anything except the applesauce.  She probably ate 2 cups of applesauce for breakfast!  For lunch I made her rice, which she liked and said it tasted like popcorn.  I also got her to eat a banana.  I told her she could take a bath after lunch, thinking it would soothe her bottom a little.  Well, I put her in a lukewarm bath and she wouldn't even sit down.  She just started crying and wanted me to hold her.  UGH!

Naptime brought on another bm, this one more solid.  YAY!  The rash looked a little better but she was still in pain when I was trying to clean her.  I decided to just put some cornstarch powder on her and no diaper...yes, I'm brave.  To go along with not wearing a diaper, I decided today would be a good day to play outside!  Yes, I'm brave AND smart :)  I kept asking her every 5-10 minutes if she felt the pee pees and she kept telling me "no".  I started getting the grill ready for my delicious shrimp I had marinating all day when Maddie came walking past me and I smelled dog poop.  Yes, I had just picked up dog poop to be sure she wouldn't step in any or pick it up or anything and apparently Murphy thought it was nice of me to give her a clean place to poop...Nice!  So Maddie tracked the poop all over the back patio with her cute summer sandals (at least I hadn't left her barefoot today!!).  I sprayed off the patio and took the shoes off of Maddie.  Then I went inside to get Maddie a snack (before going inside I asked her if she had to pee in the potty..."no").  I go get a snack (applesauce again) and when I came out Maddie had peed in her pants.  Nice!  I changed her clothes (and then she spilled applesauce all over herself...oh well). 

At this point I sat down to put my shrimp on the skewers and noticed I had bought shrimp with the shells still on!  I never do that, but when I was in the seafood section yesterday was when Maddie was acting up and I was trying to get in her the shopping cart so I guess I forgot to check for shells on the shrimp...It seemed to take me forever to get the shells off the shrimp but I finally finished that and got them skewered.  I was so excited to get them grilled and have a delicious dinner.  Then I opened the grill.  THERE WAS NO FLAME.  All the distractions made me run out of propane.  AAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhh.  We went inside, changed clothes and drove to Chick-Fil-A. 

And while I was typing this, Maddie fell and busted her lip on the tile floor.  This day needs to end NOW!

Let's end on a cute note.  I was letting Maddie carry around a lemon today and she was just so happy.  She took the lemon to Audrey (the cat) and the conversation went something like this, "look Audrey, a lemon.  A lemon, Audrey.  Audrey...is this a lemon? Yes!  It's called sour".  (you have to read this all in a very excited toddler voice!)  I wish I had a camera crew following us around like a reality tv show just to record all the cute things she says!

Ok, it's 10pm now, I took a break from typing this to get Maddie in bed and to watch the Biggest Loser.  Now it's time for bed.  Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow!!!  Goodnight :)

Monday, April 12, 2010

Gassy, Gassy






Ha!  You probably thought this post had something to do with those black bean burgers, huh?  Well...no.  :)  Maddie has been so gassy tonight!  Thank God she didn't eat those burgers!  Every time she bends over she passes gas.  She has me rolling on the floor laughing so hard.  Every time she toots she says "excuse me" so at least she's got that down...

Today Maddie started saying "ayudame, ayudame".  Yes, she watches Dora and Diego on a daily basis.  Just a minute ago she was trying to climb into a clothes basket and was saying "help!  help!".  But since I was busy typing my blog I couldn't help her :)  When I didn't respond to "help" she started saying "ayudame".  She knows how to use it!  I'm amazed.  The funny thing is that she usually just tells me "help" but after she says "ayudame" she follows up with "help me".  Maybe I need to find cartoons on the spanish channel for her to watch every day!

Maddie's other newest phrase is "Momma, don't do that".  I don't know where she got it from but she's not saying it in a bossy way.  I've told her it's not nice to say that to Mommy and she repeats it in a higher pitched, super sweet voice.  She doesn't realize it could be disrespectful to say that to me.  I keep asking her where she heard it and she changes her answer every time.  She's told me tv, she's told me mommy and she's told me daddy.  I'm sure Eric and I have told Maddie "don't do that!" so I need to pay more attention to the things I say to her.

Well, I've been too busy cooking and taking pictures of our dinners to take pictures of Maddie :)  I'm planning to get some pictures in the bluebonnetts tomorrow so look for those.  Until then, here are some of her coloring Easter Eggs!

Mmmm....Black Bean Burgers

Tonight's dinner was delicious black bean burgers.  Yummy yummy!  If you like black beans and ground cumin, this is the recipe for you!  (I got the recipe from a girl in our playgroup who made these for lunch for us) I usually try to do a meatless meal every Monday night, just as a way to try to eat a little healthier. 

Black Bean Burgers

2 15 oz cans black beans
6 T Salsa
6 T finely diced green onion
3/4 C Red bell pepper
3 T cilantro
1 1/2 C breadcrumbs
1/4 C poblano peppers or 1 T jalapeno (I use jalapeno), diced
1 large, minced garlic clove
2 t chipotle sauce or 1/2 t hot sauce, or to taste
1 1/2 T lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Tortilla chip breading
1 1/2 C crushed tortilla chips
1 t cumin

Rinse beans in cold water and drain well for about 10 minutes. Add all ingredients except tortilla chip breading in large bowl and blend well, mashing some of the beans to make a thick mixture. Form into 6 patties (Although I find that there is enough to make more unless you make really big patties). Roll each patty in tortilla chip breading. At this point you can cover and refrigerate until you are ready to heat them. Heat skillet, saute in just enough oil to brown cakes and heat through.

I really enjoyed these burgers and I'm sure Maddie would to, but she had a late lunch and is refusing to eat anything...I'm filling her up with milk instead :) 
 
So, I've been so excited about cooking again lately that I've decided to start giving myself some challenges.  Next week I'm going to do all my dinners on the grill.  The meat and vegetables will be grilled and the pasta or rice will be done in the house...unless someone knows how to grill pasta :)  Here's the plan:
 
Sunday:  grilled Ham steaks
Monday:  grilled Portobello Mushrooms
Tuesday:  grilled Chicken (haven't decided on a recipe)
Wednesday:  grilled Hamburgers (this is the night we're gone late so I needed something easier)
Thursday:  grilled Pork Chops (haven't decided on a recipe)
Friday:  grilled Shrimp
Saturday:  grilled Garlic Lime Chicken
 
I'll let you know how they work out!
 
Some other ideas I've had to challenge myself are a week of stovetop dinners (I like to use my oven a lot), crock pot dinners (I HATE my crock pot, so this will force me to find some new recipes) and a week of Rachael Ray's meals.  You know how every day on her show she has a "that's what's for dinner" segment.  At the beginning of the week her website lists the menu for the week and the recipes/ingredient lists so you can do your shopping and be ready!  That one could get pricey (since she uses a lot of ingredients I don't keep on hand) so I might hold off on that for a while.  I'm open to suggestions if you have any!
 
So, the cooking itself has been fun but the cleanup has been less than exciting.  I really liked that Mediterranean Lemon Chicken because that clean up was SO EASY!  Now it seems I'm making recipes that require more chopping and prep work.  Oh well, at least we're eating real meals again!
 
Here are some pictures from tonight's dinner...
The mixture ready to form into patties

Dipped in tortilla coating and cooking in the olive oil

100% pure yumminess :)

Saturday, April 10, 2010

15 Minute Meal

Tonight's dinner was Saucy Chicken Marsala from my Weight Watchers "Comfort Classics" cookbook.  I didn't even realize it was a 15 minute recipe until I started to do my prep work earlier this afternoon.  (I like to do things like chop onions and such when Maddie's down for a nap).  The recipe turned out pretty good, but because it's a WW meal, it wasn't as good as what you might expect from a restaraunt...but it's good enough if you want a yummy meal for only 5 points!  I also cooked some whole wheat linguine to go with it so it was a pretty healthy meal all around.  Maddie's enjoying the pasta (just seasoned with salt and pepper) but isn't really into the chicken. 

I'm actually enjoying cooking again (for now).  I'm still giving myself some nights of "easy" dinner and I'm also going to break out the crock pot again this week.  We have a Wednesday afternoon playdate that we go to and don't get home until 5:00 or 5:30 so I usually end up driving through McDonald's or some other fast food place on the way home.  I'm trying to cut back on eating out because even just a quick stop at fast food for me and Maddie is close to $10.  It's just silly to do that when I'm capable of cooking at home.  I do enjoy burgers so I put burgers on the menu for two days this week.  Hey, I have to give in to those kinds of things or else I'll be right back at McD's!  Besides, I need to increase my iron intake for this baby I'm working on growing, right?  :)

This week should be a fun week for me and Maddie.  I'm going to try to drive up to Brenham one day this week to try to get some pictures of Maddie in the bluebonnetts.  She hasn't been a fan of the camera lately so I'm planning on taking a nice distraction so she will be occupied with that and I can just snap pictures.  Wish me luck!  Then we have a couple of playdates planned.  One at the library for story time, one at an indoor playground at a local church (although if it's really nice we'll probably cancel that and go to an outdoor park!) and then Thursday we're going to another park for another playgroup.  That one should be really fun because there's a nature center and sandy beaches!

This week is also my birthday!  Maddie wants to get Mommy a purple cake...I might stop at the grocery store bakery and pick up two cupcakes with purple icing :)  She also wants to have balloons so we might do that, it's been a while since we've had balloons in the house.  I'm going to see if I can get her to wear a party hat for pictures, too. 

Well, I'm being called to watch Gabba!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Baby Talk

I've been neglecting baby #2 lately...I don't remember the last time I posted about him/her (yes, we STILL don't know what we're having!).  Yesterday I celebrated 18 weeks pregnant and began week 19 of pregnancy.  It's amazing that in less than two weeks I can say I'm officially half way through my pregnancy!  Although our c-section is scheduled for September 2nd so I'll only go 39 weeks.  I had another prenatal appointment at the beginning of this week.  It was pretty insignificant.  I remember every time I had an appointment with Maddie I was so excited to share all the news with everyone and let them know things were going well and we heard baby's heartbeat.  With this pregnancy I'm still excited to hear the heartbeat but I'm just not as excited about the appointments.  They seem really insignificant compared to my first pregnancy experience.  I feel terrible when I say that because somehow it makes me feel like I'm being a bad mom by saying that.  Like somehow it means I won't love this baby as much as I love Maddie.  I know I will love him/her just as much, but I'm kind of over being pregnant and would just like to have the baby :)

We scheduled our ultrasound appointment for May 5th when Eric's home.  Even though I'll be 20 weeks on April 22nd I promised Eric I would wait til he was home so he could go with me.  I think I'm too good of a wife sometimes! :)  (Just kidding, sweetie!)  I really hope this baby isn't shy with his/her "business" so we can finally know what we're having.  It's been driving me C.R.A.Z.Y!

I still haven't really been feeling this baby move too much.  I was getting a little concerned because other women I know felt their second baby move a lot earlier than they felt their first.  I had felt this baby move before but not as regularly as I would like.  I talked to my OB about it and it's too early to worry about not feeling the baby move.  Some women don't feel the baby until 22 weeks so at least I have felt some movement.  I'm kind of hoping this is a good sign that I have a nice, calm, relaxed baby that isn't going to give me any trouble after it's born :)  (Wishful thinking, I know!)  I remember the first time I felt Maddie move was a pretty good kick so I guess I'm just not as sensitive to slight movements as some women are.

Well, I guess that's it for baby news.  My next appointment is May 5th for that ultrasound so unless anything major happens (like baby turns into an overnight soccer sensation) you'll probably hear more updates then!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

More Maddie-isms

If Maddie doesn't want to wear something all I have to do is tell her that Daddy bought it for her.  Then she stops fighting me and lets me put it on her!  Then all day I hear her commenting "Daddy buy this dress".  Tonight I tried feeding her steak for the first time.  She didn't want anything to do with it because it looked "different.  Then I told her that steak is Daddy's favorite.  She started eating it!  She even went so far as to tell me "steak Maddie favorite".  What a brat!  I knew daughters rebelled against their mothers at some point in their lives, but I had NO IDEA it was going to start this young!

Maddie and I got to do a 35 minute video call with Eric yesterday.  It was SO NICE!  Maddie was a little goof ball and kept popping her head up in front of the computer and saying "hi Daddy".  She was so playful and just being silly.  The call dropped at one point and she immediately said "see Daddy again, SEE DADDY AGAIN!!!".  Thank God we were able to get the connection back.  I don't know what kind of meltdown I would've had to deal with.  When we got the call back I thought it was best if we went ahead and said goodbye just to avoid an abrupt ending.  She was fine with saying goodbye.  When we hung up the call I asked Maddie if I could have a kiss. She said "No, Daddy girl".  Again...what a brat!

Maddie has started having a much easier time around people.  This past weekend we went to a going away party at a house we'd never been to before.  Maddie did great!  She stayed outside collecting pine cones while I went inside to fix us a plate.  She played near me but didn't get clingy.  She smiled when people talked to her.  She even gave lots of high fives when we were leaving.  It was pretty amazing.  On Sunday we went to a friend's house for Easter dinner.  Maddie had never met 4 of the 7 adults that were at the dinner.  By the time we left she gave "grandma" 2 hugs!!  My friend and I just looked at each other in awe, neither of us could believe Maddie warmed up to her so fast.

Today as we were leaving playgroup, Maddie gave her first hug to one of her friends.  She's usually the one the kids try to hug and she pulls away screaming because they're "in her space" or something.  Today I told her to give Julian a hug and she did!  Of course, little Julian informed his mommy that at last week's playgroup he had so much fun because he was kissing Maddie.  Hmmm...neither mommy saw that!  I guess he has a little crush :)  It's sweet...but he better back off my baby girl!  :)

This one's kind of strange, but I have to share it anyway...every time I say "ouch" Maddie says "Mommy booty hurt?".  I don't know why she says that!!  We don't even call her butt her "booty" except when we say "shake your booty", which is very rare.  If I stub my toe, Maddie says "Mommy booty hurt?".  If I cut my finger she says it, if I bump something or anything...any reason that makes me say "ouch" she says the same thing.  It's so beyond me as to why she would say this!  It was kind of funny the first couple of times she said it but now it's becoming too much of a habit and I'm not sure I like it anymore...

I'll leave you with that one :)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Kid Tested, Mother Approved

Tonight's dinner was a success!  Maddie LOVED the chicken!  Of course, she pretty much loves anything that has garlic in it so I should've known she was going to like it.  She seemed to enjoy the couscous even more than the chicken!  It's a pretty healthy alternative to rice and such so I approve of that, the only thing I don't like is how non-child friendly it is.  I'll be cleaning up couscous for days...

Overall, I'm really happy with our dinner and will definitely be making it again since it was so simple!
Here's a link to the recipe in case I've inspired anyone:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mediterranean-Lemon-Chicken/Detail.aspx

I made a few changes.  I didn't have a lemon so I used that "Real Lemon Juice" from the fridge.  I also didn't have fresh garlic so I used the jarred minced garlic.  I mixed everything together as a marinade and put the chicken in a Ziploc bag for about 30 minutes before putting it in the oven. 

Let me know if you try it!

Cooking

It's been a while since I've actually felt like cooking.  I mean, cooking more than a grilled cheese sandwich or some scrambled eggs.  Tonight I'm trying Mediterranean Lemon Chicken and some Wild Mushroom & Herbs Couscous.  I'm super excited that I'll have 2 dishes to wash with dinner tonight...oh wait, 3 because I'll have a knife to wash after cutting up veggies for a salad.  Ha!  Actually I'll take that back down to 2 dishes...the baking dish will go in the dishwasher too :) 

This chicken smells so good and was so simple to put together!  The couscous comes in a little box mixture and takes only 5 minutes after the water comes to a boil.  Does life get any simpler than this?

Here's a picture of the extent of the ingredients:


Yup, that's it.  The recipe had some specific measurements, I just threw stuff in.  That's how I roll.  I don't like having measuring spoons to put away out of the dishwasher later!  So, the chicken is cooking now and the couscous will go on the stove in about 30 minutes.  I'm really looking forward to a nice dinner with Maddie tonight!  I'll report back and let you know how it is.

Another food related thing I wanted to share with you is this yummy pizza topping

Eric bought this to add to his pizza sauce to give it a little more flavor.  I found a new use for it...I add it to my salads!!!!!  Most genius idea I've had in a while, I know :)  Oh my goodness!  It's so delicious, I can't even describe it.  The next thing I want to get for my salads are those new mini pepperonis, I think they're by Hormel.  Then my salads will be complete :)

Well, it's time to turn and baste the chicken...