Do you have a pregnant wife or a yippee little dog?

When I got pregnant I quickly found our queen bed just wasn't going to cut it. So along with the king mattresses came a super duper tall king frame. And the more pregnant I got, the taller the bed seemed to become. In the mornings Audrey goes from side to side trying to climb her way up Everest. Then one day (for my benefit and his amusement) Barker put this on my side.....

Yes, it's the stool Audrey uses to brush her teeth. But when you walk into our room it looks like we have one of those yippee, obnoxious little dogs that need the bed step stools featured in Sky Mall.

With each passing the day bed grows taller, the belly bigger, and the self esteem lower. 

Sigh.

Old Fashioned Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Next on our list of successful and easy new dishes we tried this week was Old Fashioned Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti. Only I had no intention of doing the 'old fashioned' bit. Old Fashioned means cooking a whole chicken. Barker made this for lunch after church on Sunday so we didn't have time to go the whole chicken route, so we just used chicken breasts. My friend Corey and his wife came over for lunch and everyone ate it so it couldn't have been too bad. It made a ton so this is a good dish to freeze or take to a family, and it's very kid friendly. We used much less chicken and shredded cheese and it was still more than enough to feed the 5 of us, plus left overs.

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 1 whole chicken fryer
1 - 12 oz package spaghetti noodles
1 - 16 oz (1 lb) package Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 - 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 - 14 oz can chicken broth or 2 cups reserved broth
1 - stick margarine (1/2 Cup)
1 - 8oz package shredded mild or sharp cheddar cheese
1 - small onion, chopped
3-4 celery ribs, chopped
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped

Fill a big stock pot with water. Clean and rinse whole fryer or chicken pieces. Add chicken, I like to add a little seasoning salt, pepper and poultry seasoning while the chicken cooks. Wash hands after handling chicken. Let chicken come to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer chicken until done. Cook whole fryers about 2 hours and chicken breasts or pieces 45-50 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and place on a plate to cool. Drain the broth through a strainer and reserve. Cook the spaghetti per package directions. Instead of cooking the spaghetti in water, we are going to use the reserved chicken broth.

Add spaghetti and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer noodles until al dente. While spaghetti noodles are cooking start de boning the chicken (make sure it is cool enough to handle) or break chicken breasts to smaller pieces. Chop up all the vegetables and set aside. Melt margarine in a small skillet and add the vegetables. Sauté’ vegetables until they are tender and translucent in color. When noodles are done drain and set aside.

If you are not using canned chicken broth, reserve 2 cups of the cooked broth. In a large bowl combine Velveeta cheese, chicken broth and cream of chicken soup. Place in microwave and cook on low for 5-7 minutes or until mixture is smooth and cheese is melted. (You can also use the defrost setting).

To the cheese mixture add cooked vegetables with butter, spaghetti noodles and chicken pieces. Stir to combine. Spray a 9x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and add combined mixture. Top finished casserole with 8oz of shredded cheddar cheese. Place casserole in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and casserole is bubbly. Remove from oven let cool and serve.

Thanksgiving 2011: Full of Firsts

Thanksgiving was full of firsts this year. I'm too far along in my pregnancy to travel more than an hour (by this point with Audrey I was already dilated to a 3! yikes!) but all of our relatives, save for my little brother, live more than an hour from us. So instead of risking having this little guy early and him ending up in the NICU, for the first the first time in our nearly 5 years of marriage, had Thanksgiving here at our house. And boy did it wear Audrey out. She was so wired I didn't think I'd be able to get her to nap at her usual 2:30. By 3 she was still trying to talk her way out of it. So Barker walked her to her room. She crawled up in bed and covered her head with her blanket. And she didn't wake up for 5 hours! Yes, you read that right. 5 hours! So she got up at her bed time, ate some left overs and requested Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving special. 

This isn't the first time I've been pregnant at Thanksgiving, but it is the first time I've been aware of it. I was pregnant at Thanksgiving 4 years ago but didn't yet realize it. I found out the following Wednesday after one of Barker's friends called me and said his wife had dreamt 4 days in a row that I was pregnant. So I did some math, realized I should take a test, and received the best test results of my life!

While Audrey was eating her left overs her daddy was out battling all the deal crazed people for the black Friday bargains that now start on Thursday, a first for him. We don't usually do black Friday but he saw a few things in the ads that he thought might be worth going and seeing what all the fuss is about. He went out into the madness for 2 items that went on sale at 10pm. By 9:58 I received a text that he already had the 2 items he wanted. By 10:05 he had checked out and loaded a Power Wheels white convertible battery operated car for Audrey and a super cute 50's style beach cruiser bike (that I've been wanting since we lived in Arlington) into the truck for me and was headed home! Easy as pie. And no, I don't plan on riding a bike 9 months pregnant but hope to find one of those carts to attach behind it to haul the baby in while Audrey and I struggle to keep up with her Daddy (on our new rides) who runs laps around this neighborhood. And by voluntarily missing the last (for the foreseeable future) Texas and A&M game to fight the black Friday crowds for his daughter, he definitely scored some major points in my book! So this Thanksgiving, like every day, I'm thankful that my daughter has such a wonderful Daddy!

And per my previous post, here are the new recipes I tried today. The lighter green bean casserole tasted like your typical green bean casserole. No bells or whistles. But, I couldn't tell it was made with much less fat. So that made it a success in my book. But I wasn't so crazy about the cheesy corn dish. It gets rave reviews online but all I could taste was the roasted garlic. 

Lighter Green Bean Casserole

  Recipe Courtesy of Bobby Deen and the Paula Deen Test Kitchen

1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces   (about 3 cups)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 (8-ounce) package mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Paula Deen’s House Seasoning
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can fat-free cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup french-fried onion rings

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with nonstick spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, about 6 minutes. Drain.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the mushrooms, onion, and Seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms and onion are very tender, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cooked beans, soup, milk, 1/4 cup onion rings, and 1/4 cup cheese; toss to mix well. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup onion rings and 1/4 cup cheese. Bake, uncovered, until the filling is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes. 

Cheesy Corn and Bacon Casserole

4 slices bacon, finely chopped

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ cup flour

3 cups milk

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

2 oz. Velveeta, cubed

2 cups grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1 tsp. paprika

3 lb. fresh or frozen corn kernels

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 375°. Heat bacon in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium heat, and cook, stirring, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add butter and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in milk, and bring to a boil; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, Velveeta, cheddar, and paprika, and cook until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in corn; season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a 9″ × 13″ baking dish and bake until top is golden brown and bubbling, about 40 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Buying Some Time

I was talking to a friend of mine the other night and she said something along the lines of "It never crossed my mind that my son would arrive 3 weeks early." And then it hit me, I'm on deck. And unprepared. So I spent the next few days at Target and Buy Buy Baby buying all the 'must haves' off my registries. I focused on things he'd need on arrival and I'll worry about things he'll need when he's a bit older at a later date. But Audrey and I shopped til we dropped. So now that I've bought the necessities, that should ensure he stays put a good two weeks after his due date.

25 Pounds

I've have friends who have stated that their doctors have told them while pregnant "Have fun! You're eating for 2!" I've never had that doctor. The doctor that cared for me while I was expecting the first time, and my current doctor are on the same page and both told me to gain 25 pounds while pregnant. What they didn't do was tell my husband to not make yummy new dishes! 

He has been home a bit more lately but for months he was working long hours so Audrey and I were stuck here with just me to cook for us. And I hate to cook. Not because I can't read a cook book, but because if I make something I swear it doesn't taste the same as it would if the person next to me made it. So it's not fun to go to the store, buy the ingredients, slave over a stove just to taste nothing. Pisses me off. So I loathe cooking. It's seriously like I can't taste it. Very strange, I know. But my dad is the same way. He'll make us something so yummy and Barker and I will chow down. He'll let his plate sit there for an hour before he reheats it because, like me, he swears he can't taste it if he eats it right off the stove. 

So since it was just A and I here at night for a while there I was mostly making small, vegetarian dishes. I'm not perfect but I do usually try to eat well and if I eat something bad I try to keep it to a kid's portion and live by the motto that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. But when you're pregnant that kind of thinking has to go out the door. So I started trying new things. Simple things that I couldn't ruin and that she would eat, being a 3 year old, meaning nothing too spicy. 

Now that Barker is home in the evenings again I've kept it up and we've been alternating new dishes, trying to get out of the habit of making the same old meals we always make. So I thought that as we tried and liked new recipes I'd add some of them here, in case anyone else was looking for a couple of new, easy dishes. But I can't include any of the new breakfast dishes we've tried cause I'm usually the one cooking breakfast and I'm too tired to remember to keep the recipe. Sorry. But my brain doesn't start working until around 10:30am.

As I write this entry it's the week of Thanksgiving. Barker had the idea to try a new dish daily over the long weekend. So as we try those I'll update the blog. I will not, however, want to update my weight at the end of the holiday. When we picked the recipes we didn't google 'low cal or low fat'  Uh oh. As of today I'm on track to go over my recommended 25 pound weight gain by 3 pounds if I go all the way to my due date, which I figure isn't a big deal since I started out underweight according to the Center for Disease Control. So if this long weekend of trying new recipes goes well my doc might not be all that pleased with the scale. Oops! But with the holidays being here I'm sure he'll be giving the weight gain speech to 95% of pregnant women that waddle through his doors. I've been lucky and have never received a weight gain speech but once you taste the chicken enchilada pasta you'll wonder how I've managed to be so good with my pregnancy weight.

Hawaiian Ham Sliders

Start by chopping or grating an onion. get a pretty fine mince.
Melt a stick of butter and then add the onions to the butter.
Add three tablespoons of Dijon mustard to the onions and butter.
Add two teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce and stir completely.

Then add three teaspoons of poppy seeds and let simmer for a few minutes, until onions are soft.

Grab a package of the Hawaiian Sweet dinner rolls and cut the entire thing in half length wise.

Place the roll bottoms in a aluminum foil lined 13 by 9 pan. Spread the onion mixture on the entire bottom. You will want to save about 1/4 of the mixture back.

Grab some shaved ham, about a half a pound, and seven to eight slices of Swiss cheese. Put the ham on top of the onions and then add the slices of cheese.
Add the roll tops on the cheese.

Now, with the remaining onion  mixtures, spread over the top of the rolls.

Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate until ready to use. Bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes, covered with foil. 

When you remove from the oven, slice down the roll lines.

 

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu 

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
4 ounces sliced ham
4 ounces sliced Swiss cheese
1 (8 ounce) package dry bread stuffing mix
1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk in a small bowl. 

Pour enough of the soup into a slow cooker to cover the bottom. 

Layer chicken breasts over the sauce.

Cover with slices of ham and then Swiss cheese. 

Pour the remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers. 

Sprinkle the stuffing on top, and drizzle butter over stuffing. 

Cover, and cook on Low for 4 to 6 hours, or 2 to 3 hours on High. 

Southern Living Cottage Pie

• 1 (19.5-oz.) package sweet ground turkey sausage, casings removed*
• 2 (14.5-oz.) cans diced tomatoes in sauce 
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped**
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt-free garlic-and-herb seasoning
• 1 (24-oz.) package refrigerated garlic-flavored mashed potatoes
• 1 (8-oz.) package shredded Italian five-cheese blend
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1 cup French fried onions 

• 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 6 to 8 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain.
• 2. Stir in tomatoes and next 3 ingredients, and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Transfer sausage mixture to a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish.
• 3. Stir together mashed potatoes, cheese, and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. (Mixture will be dry.) Spread potato mixture over sausage mixture in baking dish.
• 4. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbly. Top with fried onions, and bake 5 more minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
• *1 (1 1/4-lb.) package ground chicken sausage may be substituted.
• **1/2 tsp. dried basil may be substituted.

Corn Casserole 

1 (15 1/4 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained 

1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream-style corn 

1 (8 oz) package Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 cup sour cream1/2 cup butter, melted

1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar

 Preheat oven to 350˚F.  

Grease a 9- by 13-inch baking dish or large casserole dish. 

Mix together the corn, Jiffy, sour cream and butter in a large bowl.  

 Stir in the cheese.   

Pour into the prepared pan.   

Bake for 55 minutes, or until golden brown and set.   

Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

 *My dad makes a similar dish as a meal with chorizo and jalapenos or green chilies but I just made this version as a side dish for a garlic and sausage dish B made. I remember way back when Barker and I first started dating I was really craving my dad's chorizo corn bread dish one night but my dad wasn't due back in the States for several months, so I emailed him and had him call from Afghanistan to explain to my new boyfriend (whom he'd never met) how to cook for me. He probably felt so bad for Barker right then and there, from the other side of the planet. That, or relieved that someone else was willing to cook for me. : )

CHICKEN ENCHILADA PASTA

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 {4 oz.} can diced green chilies

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 {10 oz.} cans green chili enchilada sauce

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese

1 cup sour cream

Penne pasta

Optional toppings

Avocado

Green Onions

Black Olives

Tomatoes

Sour Cream

Cook chicken, drain, and shred.  Meanwhile boil pasta according to package and chop the veggies.  

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for about 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic & red pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes. 

Add cooked chicken, green chilies, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauces.  Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through.  Now toss in the sour cream, but whatever you do, DO NOT bring to a boil!  Cook on low heat or the sour cream will curdle. Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through.

Drain pasta & return to pot.  Pour sauce over pasta and mix well.  Serve and garnish with avocado, tomato, green onion, and a dollop of sour cream.

Getting Ready for Baby Love

We really have been awful about getting this nest ready for baby #2. We had Audrey's nursery painted and decorated by the time I was 7 months along. And by we I mean Barker and Driscoll. This time I hit 8 and hadn't even picked a paint. Barker has worked non stop since July so everything else has been put off. Now things have finally slowed down a bit so we had a few hours to run and grab some paint and he and Audrey got to work. I supervised. Don't get me wrong, I've been doing my part. For one, I'm carting his heavy self around. And I've been buying things for him here and there all along. I created two registries so I'd have a list of what I needed to pick up, and so that I'd hopefully snag some coupons from both Target and Buy Buy Baby. And boy am I glad I did, cause I can't remember a thing lately. Had I not made those lists I'd surely have 3 diapers and one sock the day he arrives.

Audrey painting her brother's room. For those of you on a budget, here's a tip...child labor is cheap and much cuter than all the contractors I know.

Barker helping Audrey with home improvements. 

I'm hoping he got lots of paint on this shirt. I put most of his nasty old college and fraternity t-shirts in boxes in the top of our closet long ago but he will occasionally bust one out to paint in. This one is the worst. It's from some softball tourney in New Orleans. It will become a shop towel once our kids learn to read. 

When they finished painting I loaded them up and we went to the Celina Hot Air Balloon Festival. It's the only hot air balloon festival in the area that features invisible balloons. That's right. Not a balloon in sight. Awesome. I'm assuming it was due to wind. I don't know. But we still had a good time. There was carnival food and super unsafe rides. What could be better?

I saw a kid not much larger than Audi ride the pirate ship. She loves pirates so we asked her if she wanted to ride with daddy. I obviously cannot partake. She said sure, gave her tickets to the carny and got a seat.

She didn't appear to know what to expect before it started.

But quickly learned this was a bad idea. The look on her face the first few times it would swing back down was hysterical. Like any good parent I snapped and laughed away. But she enjoyed it and at the end was all smiles.

We went to get some hot chocolate and a grilled cheese for her afterward and I showed her the pics on my camera. She pointed at the pic of the pirate ship and said "That pirate ship made me nervous." We busted out laughing. She later said she liked it, but then reiterated that it made her nervous. The poor thing is a worrier. More and more like me every day. How will the world cope with two of us?

After some delicious (and super bad for us) fried food we hit the carousel.

And the swings.

Oh, and the little train.

But her night wasn't complete until I found a guy selling those light up cheap toys on the way out.

I'm cherishing these days that it's so easy to make her smile. The look on her face was worth a million bucks. She was over the moon to have a little light up toy. I also love the look on Barker's face. I call it his 'Tony Romo- I have no idea what is going on here' look.

She only briefly put it down to have some hot chocolate we got at McDonald's to warm up with on the way home.

She drank all but the last sip or two. I found that out when I tried to take a drink. She grabbed it back and said 'It's empty.' I agreed and replied 'You drank it all.' Her response: 'No, you drank it all.' ha! But in the end I'm glad I didn't or I would have been up all night, oh no, that's right, I was anyway. Cause boy did I pay for all the walking around. I knew I would but I also knew that Audrey would like the festival enough that it would be worth it. I swear this new baby is hard to please. If I walk too much, like for a couple of hours, I'll have some discomfort in my pelvis later. But if I sit up straight, say in the car or in a restaurant, he's protesting after just a few minutes. It's even started when I take Audi to school and back which can't be more than a few miles round trip. But church is the worst. Holy moly he rolls around the whole time we're at church, shoving hands and feet every which way. He's relentless. And apparently some nerve is quite a comfy pillow for him so he shoves his head up against it when I'm not laying down or at least at an incline. Picky, picky little guy. He must be cramped in there. But I don't mean to sound ungrateful. Don't get me wrong. This pregnancy has flown by, as I knew it would, and I do wish it would slow down a bit so I could enjoy this time in our lives a little longer. I'm very thankful to be adding to our little family of 3 and I realize most women have it much worse than me when it comes to pregnancy. I'm perfectly healthy and don't suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, or any other dangerous or painful condition. I've been very fortunate in both of my pregnancies and am perfectly content to not walk non-stop for 3 hours if my ligaments aren't on board with the idea.

Kindness of Strangers

 A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked if she could practice outdoor family and maternity photography on us. She recently got a camera and lenses, and started taking lessons. We had planned on hauling A to a pumpkin patch anyhow so we met Jessica at the Arboretum and she snapped away. I've uploaded just a few of my favs here.

I should mention I was 7 1/2 months along at this point. And I'm still about the same size. A friend of mine was complaining recently about all the rude comments you get when you're pregnant. (Personally I'd take her rude pregnancy comments over the obnoxious comments you forever get about your kid you get once they arrive.) But my friend is due in February (and beautiful) and a total stranger told her that she'd never make it to February. Ouch. 

I've been fortunate. I get the opposite. I have total strangers come up to me everyday and tell me I'm the cutest pregnant person they've ever seen, which is odd for me because I've never been 'cute'...to me 'cute' is like a Gerber baby. Baby cheeks and ringlets. And it would never cross my mind to stop a stranger to compliment them on their appearance. I may admire some one's coat in passing but I never think to stop and tell them. Just last night I went to dinner with some friends and as soon as I walked in they all said the same thing, you look so cute! I just laughed and stammered out "Really? Cute? ha. Thanks." Cause I just don't think I could ever see myself as cute. I just feel silly with this belly. And I'm so awkward with compliments. I've always been tan and tall. Not what I typically think of as cute. But hey, I'll take cute over the comments other people get. I don't think you'll see these pics Jessica took and think 'cute' cause I've never been photogenic. But if anyone sees me and really does think 'cute' then I'm highly flattered cause when I see most pregnant people I honestly think 'Whoa. She looks miserable. I hope I don't look like that!' I know that's awful, but it's the truth. I just see cute differently, apparently. Guess that's why I assume my husband is missing with me every time he tells me I look great.
However, after strangers stop and compliment me they then ask the question 'How much longer do you have?' And when I tell them they're shocked and tell me how small I am compared to everyone else they've known to be pregnant. The first time I was expecting and got the 'but you're so small' comments I worried, thinking I was going to have some 4 pound sickly baby. Not that I should expect to have a 13 pound baby. I was just 6 pounds, but I arrived at just 37 weeks and my mother was only 108 pounds. Then Audrey arrived at 7 pounds 10 ounces. So now I don't stress about the 'small' comments. Last time Baby Love was measured, he was big. And my doc measures my belly every 2 weeks and it's always normal, right on track, exactly the size it's supposed to be. I'm not sure why the belly looks small to everyone. To me it looks huge! Either way, hopefully Baby Love arrives at a nice, healthy size. 

I don't know why every woman looks so different with each pregnancy but I sure am glad that I get such nice comments daily from total strangers, since people feel compelled to comment. But it still catches me off guard. I'm used to people coming up and saying 'Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you but I just have to tell you that your daughter is beautiful.' Because most people are nice to kids. But it still shocks me that they are now complimenting me and Audrey, instead of just her. I've taught her to say thank you when people tell her how cute she is but I've always had a hard time saying thanks. I'm getting better about it but I've forever been insecure and bad about taking compliments. Even when my own husband compliments me my first thought is 'are you being sarcastic?' But I'm learning to say thank you, I'm just a slower learner than Audrey. I may be caught off guard at first and blush, but I eventually will sputter out a thank you. I do appreciate the kindness of strangers.

Okay- back to the pics. These pics made me realize that my dear husband might be in need of some smaller clothes for Christmas. He always loses a ton of weight when I'm pregnant, making me look bigger. Thanks babe. But seriously, these casual clothes make him look like a little boy dressing up in his dad's duds. I'm used to seeing him in a button down daily and the most recent batch he bought of those were all slim cut, so I didn't realize he'd dropped enough weight to make his clothes not fit. Guess I need to pay better attention. Anyroad, Jessica is still learning but we were able to give her practice for maternity and family pics. And Barker provided photoshop practice, as he still had a black eye at this point.

 

 

 

Oh Christmas Tree

Audrey was so into Halloween this year but like most retail stores she has skipped right over Thanksgiving and moved onto obsessing about Christmas. She tried to make me buy a $300 baby Jesus at Hobby Lobby recently and won't stop going on and on about decorating the tree. I'm just not buying a $300 plastic baby Jesus or putting up a tree until the day after turkey day... but she just can't wait. And Barker and I can't seem to deny her a thing. So what was I to do? 

You guessed it. I caved and while she was at school I bought her her very own 4ft tree for her room. It's supposed to be very safe but it still makes me nervous, to be honest. But oh the look on her face when she saw it in her room. Pure joy. 'For me?' she exclaimed. So sweet.

She and her daddy put a few ornaments on it after dinner. Some turquoise glitter balls and of course, a yellow submarine and Sargent Pepper ornaments. She quickly pointed out that it still needs a star.

And then she did whatever this is. I don't know. Crazy kid. 

Merry Christmas, extra early.

A Princess For A Pen Pal

I recently heard that if you mail a letter to a Disney princess they will send you a reply on an 8x10. So Audrey and I sat down and wrote a letter to Cinderella on some of Audrey's stationary. I asked her what she wanted to say, then I paraphrased it and let her color on it. 

Then we bundled up (thanks Rebekah for the scarf, she loves it!) and took it to the post office. Hopefully she's not too busy with that prince of hers to write us back.

Happy First Birthday Kitten!

My niece Callie had her first birthday recently, hard as that is to believe. 

In typical first birthday fashion she quite enjoyed her cake and made out like a bandit.

The party was right in the middle of Audrey's nap time. She was so tired that we could hardly keep her awake in the car from our house to my brother's, and we only live 3 miles apart. 

My brother picked her up at one point and she just went limp in his arms and very nearly passed out. I'm telling you, when it's her nap time, it is seriously her nap time. The girl still needs her sleep. Yet another trait that comes from her Momma.

Sweet as Pie

I was making dinner recently and asked Audi if she wanted to help me make Daddy a pie. 'Oh yes!' was her reply. I put something in the fridge, then turned back to her and found out why she was so eager to help. 

  She is my daughter, through and through.

Do You Hear The People Sing?

I'm a very fortunate girl and the best husband in the world recently reminded me of that when he took me to see my fav, Les Mis, for my birthday! He scored major points by staying awake the whole time. A's fav song from the show is I Dreamed a Dream. And she sings it beautifully. Mine is On My Own. But unlike her, I don't belt it out. A movie version is currently in the works starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway. It is due out next year, as is The Hunger Games. I can't wait! My turbo nerd side is going to be out in full force next year. Yikes!
Anyroad, the same day Audrey got a cow hat. She was just as excited about the hat as I was about the show. Everybody wins!

She couldn't wait to wear this hat. I was getting her dressed for school one morning and mentioned that she had to wear pants that day. She said 'It's chilly? Oh! I need my cow hat!' Her brother got a dragon hat. It's just as cute.

The Halloween That Wouldn't End

Wow. Halloween was a marathon event this year. I think I'm still recovering, which is what I'm going to blame the lateness of this post on.

We had, I think, a grand total of 6 parties to attend this year. The first was the annual Arlington Mommies Meetup Group's Halloween extravaganza. We try to do a family costume every year. Last year I waited too long and couldn't find a decent Woody costume for Barker to wear in order to match Audrey who wanted to be Jessie. So last year he got a pass. But not this year. Oh no. This year was pure torture for my sweet husband. My costume options are always limited because I can't sew well enough to make my own and Halloween costumes you purchase are now all slutty this or hooker that. Seriously, I've seen slutty Big Bird. Big Bird! And I'm about as far from the slutty spectrum as it gets. I was in Mom mode long before I was a mother. So I instead had to work with what I had, which was a baby bump. So I took it and ran with it. And tah-dah! Our Gleetastic Halloween was born. On the show Glee there is a cheerleader who gets pregnant and puts the baby up for adoption. So I squeezed my bump into her cheerleading costume. There is also a coach that wears track suits every day and is never with out a whistle or megaphone, perfect for Audrey. And unfortunately for my gorgeous husband there is a guy on the show that looks an awful lot like Barker. He's only 3 years younger than us so I'm fairly sure he's not Barker's illegitimate child, but it still made for an easy Halloween costume.

 

Ain't nothin' but a Glee thang baby!

disclaimer: Please let the record show that the black stripe and white fabric of this outfit make me look WAAAAAY bigger than I actually am. Serious optical illusion. Yes, I'm pregnant but I still only look maybe 5 months along and no where near the 8 months I actually am and certainly no where near the 12 months this costume made me look. Ouch!

I do love my darling husband and since he was kind enough to humor me (or smart enough not to cross me whilst pregnant) I only forced him to dress up for 1 of the 6 parties.  So Audrey only wore her Sue track suit once as a costume, but has been wearing it other places. Since her daddy has a pair of similar pants, she thinks it's pretty cool.

The next party we attended was at Gabby's for the Providence group.

Since we weren't dressed up in our Glee outfits we let Audrey dress up as the Wicked Witch...see the red glitter shoes ; )

She kinda dressed up for the party at school. It rained so I stuck her in Wellies.

 And I think I left the hat at home.

Next get together was the annual Grapevine Halloween festival we hit up w/ Jo and the girls.

 Gray, Cam Cam and A

 I'll get you my pretty!

 Walking the streets of Grapevine. 

I should mention that this year Jo said she couldn't find any details on the city website about the festival. So we thought it wasn't going to be put on. But then Jo's mother in law said it was in fact being held. Yay! So we left my niece's first birthday party and hauled it over to Lazy Bones for dinner and to change A into her costume to trick or treat. However, Jo's mother in law must have gotten her wires crossed cause it was, in fact, not going on. We let the girls run around after dinner and someone clued us in that the festival had been moved to some winery or something. By this point it was after A's bedtime and she hadn't napped except for a power nap in the car. So we just went home. A was begging to go to bed as soon as we got in the car. No way she would have lasted through the festival anyhow. But the whole fiasco made us laugh and I figured Jo's mother in law deserved credit for getting us the details on the imaginary festival ; )  I'm sure Adam will give her a hard time about it every year at Halloween. ha!

Next up was the Providence Playgroup's party Shelley put on.

 Audrey played on the spinning metal wheel of death.

 And Vanessa made these creepy yet yummy deviled eggs.

Eventually the 31st rolled around and it was a good thing. I would have been Halloweened-out if I wasn't so looking forward to watching Audrey enjoy it. She was really into Halloween this year and asked a thousand times a day if it was time to trick or treat yet.

So when the big day rolled around she was pumped. Barker, being the doting daddy that he is, was sure to make it home in time to go with us to my friend Mickey's house. She hosted the party for my Prosper Mom's group and did a great job. I'm so thankful for all of our wonderful friends. We are very blessed in that department.

 

We trick or treated in small groups like last year, which I think is much safer and a lot more fun. Audrey was a real pro. She wasn't scared of the decorations and had no problem leading the pack to the front doors. She remembered to say 'trick or treat' and 'thank you' so she gets an A+ in trick or treating.

Along the way we ran into her sweet friend from school, Kylie.

 

So we made a stop at Kylie's for treats and hugs. 

It was the longest Halloween in the history of man but also the best I've ever had. It's so very rewarding to experience every holiday with your young child no matter if it involves candy, fireworks, gifts, flowers or leprechauns. I realize that these moments are fleeting and very soon she'll have kids of her own to take trick or treating, to watch fireworks with, to bake cookies for Santa with, etc. so no matter how pregnant and exhausted I was, I still enjoyed every single second of our marathon Halloween. And so did she. Audrey was too pumped to go to bed that night. She asked to go home and go to bed but once we got her there she couldn't stop talking about her glow sticks and all her treats in her basket downstairs. Best Halloween ever! (And a shout out to the best husband around. What a good sport.)