Baby Stuff Galore... and now it really sets in...

Yesterday, Brian's side of the family threw me a baby shower. It was small and intimate which is just how I like parties. Grandma was on a roll.... throw in her daughters and a character we often call Chrissy, and O M G... I laughed the entire time. Free entertainment is the best entertainment.

The food was amazing... there was pico de gallo pizza, sweet and sour meatballs, little puff pastries, spinach-artichoke dip.... and the cake.

Poor Grandma... haha she had such a hard time with this, but it sounds like she took it in stride. It all worked out. She requested a lemon sheet cake. When she went to pick it up, the cake was round. And had fondant on it. Apparently, they thought she said lemon cheese cake. It was delish! So, it worked out in the end... I <3 anything lemon, so score for Grandma!

We did one game and it was the very traditional, yet disgusting "Guess the Poo" game. I suck at this game, but it's still really funny to watch everyone stick their faces into diapers trying to figure out what the mascaraed chocolate once was... Grandma CHEATED! And she wasn't ashamed of it at all... LOL... the funny thing is, I don't even think she won... :p We got some cute pictures of her channeling her best "Gene Simmons"... Scrapbooking this is going to be a lot of fun!





The gifts were amazing... we got the crib and mattress as well as the high chair. Lindsey got little Kaylee a number of really sweet outfits (the ruffles on the butt were the hit)... And the mobile from Deanne and Katelyn... O M G.. how perfect! I can't wait to get it all up and in it's place.

Chrissy and I are due within a few weeks of each other. I have been wanting some good baby bump pix with both of us.. We definitely got that opportunity.... She's pregnant with her second boy. I'm definitely smaller, but I'm also hoping for a 6-7 pounder.. she's hoping for under 10... hahaha

Continuing the freezing process...

So, tonight I managed to exhaust myself... I stood way too long without proper shoes on... I need one of those rubber mats in my kitchen :)

Tonight on the agenda: Cook 2 whole chickens. EEK!
This was a super intimidating experience. A) I truly despise chicken on the bone. One too many bites of grizzle... ick... B) I'm not a fan of dark meat.. But, I got over it and did it anyway. Thank goodness I had 2 big stock pots so I could do both chickens at the same time.

Here's how easy it was....
Put chicken in pot. Fill with water to cover chicken. Cover. Boil/simmer for 90 minutes. (I turned it to medium after the water started boiling so it wouldn't boil over).

I swear... it's that easy. The house smelled AWESOME. It seriously smelled like I just made homemade chicken n dumplings or something... haha So, once the chickens were done, I got my strainer and the biggest bowls I could find and poured the stock into them. I set the chicken aside to cool and then went and hung out for a little while. I was planning on bagging the stock, so I needed to let that cool as well - I added some ice after about 10 minutes to help speed up the process. This is a perfect time for a nice break... And, if your husband is hungry enough - he'll start picking at the chicken (clean hands of course) and may even debone it for you!

Welp, that's exactly what happened... Brian got hungry and so he deboned the first chicken for me while I filled baggies with 2 cups of stock a piece. By the time we were done with both chickens, I had a little over 12 cups of cooked chicken and 34 cups of chicken stock. I marked the bags with quantity and threw it all (but 2c chicken) in the freezer.

With the 2 cups of chicken that I left out, I made a big batch of King Ranch mix or, you could leave it as is and it would be spicy chicken n rice... whichever you prefer. Basically, I cooked 2 cups of rice, 2 cups of chicken, 2 cans of rotel tomatoes and 2 cans of cream of chicken soup. I mix it all together and voila! I'm ready to freeze 4 meals... now... when you are ready to cook this, just let it thaw...

For King Ranch, you'll need tortilla chips and Velveeta to finish the dish. I basically layer chips, mix, cheese until the mix is gone... the last layers are chips and cheese... I put it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes to warm it up.

I'm almost positive that I pay around $2 for a thing of Swansons chicken broth (16 oz) and over $3 for a can of chicken (10 oz). Sam's Club was selling a pair of whole chickens for $8. I just saved over $60...

How dumb do I feel for not doing this before? Pretty dumb... but I had NO CLUE. The subject of "how to fix America" has come up quite often lately. (No, this isn't about to become political...)... I have been preaching (in a sense) that the fix is EDUCATION. This right here proves my point. My MIL gave me the information I never had before to save my family a lot of money. Is it as convenient as buying those cans? Not really, but it's so easy and so much healthier that in the long run, it will be more convenient. I'll make less trips to the store because I never bought more than a few cans of chicken at a time and maybe a pair of boxes of broth... Plus it gave the hubby and I time to just sit and talk while we pulled chicken apart. :)

Last night, I made 4 single servings of Beef Stroganoff to freeze for Brian's lunches. I'll post that recipe tomorrow. We also went ahead and browned 2 lbs of meat (we are using nalgi since Brian and his fam hunt for our meat... but there's nothing wrong with just plain ole hamburger). I'll be preparing the mix for the stuffed bell peppers soon. Time just got away from us tonight.

Surprises in the Mail!

Well... today was a good snail mail day! I knew one thing was comin' soon, but not that TWO things! My always lovely wedding photographer, Kelly Hornberger (www.kellyhornberger.com to check out her amazing work!) sent Brian and I a really cute baby book. I haven't seen anything like it.. it has little envelopes in it for the first hair cut and tooth (that falls out ofc.. haha)... and little pocked in the back for bigger mementos... Too awesome! I can't wait to start filling it in.

Then there's this:

I love my virtual family at the community I'm on. One of the lovely ladies on there knits. She does it for fun and is crazy for not setting up an Etsy shop. But, it's all good. Whatever makes her happy! It has definitely brought a smile to my face. She mentioned that she was getting ready to make something for little Kaylee. And this is what she created. I think it's absolutely adorable. Yes, it's pink... but she talked to me about it beforehand and I was so touched that she was even considering making something for Kaylee, I told her to go for it. It was the thought that counted and Kaylee will wear it and be damn proud! (can babies be 'damn proud'? ha! I don't know, but I will be).

So, to you, TSG, thank you!

Preparing to become more prepared.

That was the overall lesson and moral of the story Friday. I asked my MIL to help me because after cooking for myself for so long (and nothing healthy, mind you...) I lost ALL of my cooking skills that I developed when I was a kid. I'm having a hard time making bread which was my specialty! Sigh.

So, being the energetic, can-do, will-do type, she happily agreed. I wish I had that type of energy... haha Anyways... we went through several cook books and she pulled out recipes that she knew Brian would like and ones she thought we both might like. I'm not AS picky of an eater as I used to be, but I still have issues with anything I can associate with Hamburger Helper (ie: Beef Stroganoff or the likes...) But, Brian likes it - so that can be his take-to-work lunch. Win-Win!

So here's the freezable recipes I acquired... as soon as I get them prepared and feel confident that I'll do them again, I'll post them so I have something to refer back to... I seriously doubt I'll throw away any of the recipes though, so if there's one you want, just let me know and I can post it (I'll tag it so I know it doesn't work for me).

Chicken n Dumplings... basically - don't prepare the dumplings until you are ready to prepare the dish.

Beef Stroganoff... this will be a "Brian" dish, as I won't touch the stuff... :-D

Pork Tenderloin... the stuffed recipe that I posted on the Food/Recipe page is AMAZING. She's made it for us a few times.. so now I'm trying my hand at it. She also gave me a bag of seasoning to try out - the sample she gave me was pretty good, so I foresee that going well too.

Potato Casserole... another "hit" that she's sent home.

Smothered Burger Patties... haven't tried this yet, but it sounds good. Will report back later.

Chicken Tetrazzini... another "Brian" dish.

Brian also came up with one of his own... Stuffed Bell Peppers. The trick is - just freeze the stuffing... let it thaw THEN stuff the peppers and bake. Otherwise you either still have frozen stuffing or mushy peppers.. neither is pleasant.

MIL also shared a few helpful preparation tips... freeze everything you plan to actually cook. Cooked bacon... raw veggies (you don't have to blanch beforehand! Interwebs, you failed me.. this is why sooo many of my veggies have gone to waste.)... raw fruits... cheese... bread... shredded chicken... I'm also starting to make extra pancakes and waffles to freeze to give us a little variety. MIL is making us some breakfast tacos, but that is also on my list of "things to freeze." My dad got me a food saver for my birthday last year (well, kinda... I meant to go shopping with him and then life got away from us, so I got it at Christmas.. haha). But, I'm embarrassed to say, that I have yet to use it. That's all about to change. :) Thank goodness we have a huge deep freeze, but it is filling up fast... :p

Now this whole chicken thing will be a new thing for me. We went ahead and got 2 from Sam's for about $8/pair. I'm hoping to cook them tomorrow... I ***HATE*** chicken on a bone. I'm also not a fan of dark meat. Hahah it just grosses me out. But, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying it already cut up... so I guess I need to get over that and deal.

Next on my cost cutting agenda - start making menus... apparently, from what some of my virtual friends on a lovely community I belong to say this is the ultimate in saving time, money and energy. All of which I desperately need. How far will my OCD take me? God only knows.....

Until next time... :)

23 Weeks

I know.. I know.. I'm 25 now.. but this is the most recent clothed belly pic I have.

Slow updates...

I'm slowly updating the registries... check out Kaylee's Wish List if you are wanting to gift us something. We greatly appreciate it!

Because of some negative comments, I have gone ahead and added some clothing to give people an idea of what we're looking for. Please check it out and feel free to comment or message me any questions... we are very serious about the unisex stuff. Babies have no clue about fashion and we are not made of money to rebuy a wardrobe if we have a son next so we're hoping to make the most out of your generous offerings. Also remember, don't hesitate to go to resale shops instead of buying new. Recycling/reusing is awesome. Clothing and most baby items (toys, bumbo, exersaucer and other "equipment") can be cleaned to be safely used by another child.

Thanks for helping us out!

Getting Difficult to Move...

... like I used to. Man. I had no idea how difficult it would be just to change positions. I've always been relatively thin - basically meaning, I've never had a stomach... my butt has changed to several sizes bigger than I ever wished, but that's my own fault. :)~

Crossing my legs, rolling over in bed, just readjusting my position in a chair = HARD. And, I'm not even that big! By the time June gets here, I don't foresee much movement from me because I won't be able to. LOL

I have set my last day at work. So, if all goes well, I'll start my stay-at-home gig on June 4th. If I can get some guaranteed work, I'll be able to start sooner, but I don't want to get myself in a bind. We have an amazing budget plan in place. I'll always have to work, but part time will be able to tide us over until I can swing more hours. I'm very excited about this!

** Also, I haven't tried the laundry detergent cuz I can't get my bucket opened! I intended on asking the hubs last night to help, but we got side tracked with impromptu dancing to last.fm in the living room and making fun of each other. :)

*** Laundry detergent has been tested... and it's a success! woot! :)

Attack of the Laundry Detergent!

Yesterday, I finally made time to make the liquid laundry detergent. I got the recipe from Michelle Duggar's recipe page. I don't endorse her having 20 kids (and still wanting more), but I think it's great that she posts her recipes that work for her on her site.

Today, I will get to try it out and see if it completely ruins my towels or small blanket in the process. But, there's a certain level of trust with this recipe. The reason being - she uses it. And there's 22 people in her household. It has to work.

I will tell ya - you can indeed grate your fingers! So, if you choose to try this out, be careful grating the soap when it gets to the end, otherwise you'll end up like me and take off part of your thumb. YUM! I recommend grating the soap as fine as possible. It took FOR.EV.ER to melt on low-medium heat.


EDIT: I've tested it... and it works just lovely! Warning though.. it looks a little nasty when you open the bucket up after sitting... but it smells good! :)

--> Go to Recipe

Progress

FINALLY. I'm 6 months pregnant and have finally gained my first bit of weight! I'm fighting some fierce allergies and hip pain, but knowing that I'm actually keep weight on instead of losing it makes me much happier.

FHR is still in the 140s... Kaylee is still doing gymnastics... and I'm still tired. But all is great and we're hoping June just hurries up and gets here.