My Brown Eyed Girl

Happy 8 months to my beautiful, busy, brown eyed girl!  Lauren we love you more than words can express.  You are going to be a great big sister!!

I plan on doing a photo shoot later this week, or weekend with Lauren.  Her allergies are acting up, so she is kind of snotty and crusty right now.  We bought an air purifier, saline solution and dug out the handy dandy booger sucker and she seems to be getting a lot better!! Her and I need to run some errands today and the pollen levels are very high, so let's hope that we don't trigger the allergies again.  They aren't bad enough that I think she needs antihistamines or anything. 

Lauren is just getting so grown up! Within the week she started pulling herself up and climbing over things.  One of the errands that we have to do today is run to Target and get the baby gate that we have been putting off until we absolutely needed it.  We need it now.  She can now crawl around our obstacles and over our road blocks.  It just stinks that the one that we need is $70! Why couldn't we just have normal size hallways!?

Lauren also can feed herself her fruit puffs and cheese/veggie puffs.  We have to break the cheese/veggie puffs in half.  They are like an inch long and she likes to shove 1 or sometimes 2 whole ones in at a time.  We are still working on her drinking by herself from the sippy cup.  She just will NOT hold it on her own.  If we hand it to her she just throws it on the floor or pounds it on her tray til there is water sprayed everywhere! If we hold it, then she gulps the water down.  She does well with the Nuby cups or with a cup without a stopper.  I cut the hole bigger in the Nuby cups so it was more like a cup and less like a bottle. She does so well with the faster flow.  Just makes for a bigger mess for me, but oh well..it's just water!!

Lauren only takes 3-4 bottles a day now.  I LOVE this! It allows me more time to chase after her! 

So pretty much my daugher is amazing but right now, she needs me! She is yanking on my shirt saying "come on mommy!"...well I pretend that's what she's saying..so I better go! It's getting close to naptime. 
Hope everyone has a great day. AND..   Thanks to Jill @ Merrick, Jill & Baby McLean for helping me figure out the new photo uploader!!

Help!

What's up with the new image uploader?  It doesn't have the option to upload files from my computer! Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thank you!

ALMOST 20 weeks..

I cannot believe that Friday I will be 20 weeks! This pregnancy has seriously flown by so far!  I hope now that I have said anything that it will be pokey.  I took a few pictures last weekend.  They aren't the best quality.  The lighting in our bedroom isn't the best and my flash wasn't cooperating.  Please excuse the dorky hand hold in the picture with Kevin!  I had set the timer and about lost my balance when I got in place for the picture! We look so dorky! hahahaha

and of course, it wouldn't be a belly post without my self portrait in the mirror!

Enjoy the belly posts when they are written because they definately won't be happening every week like I did with Lauren.  I just don't feel confident this time around. I barely had time to get back to my old self before I was pregnant again. The size of my belly and the number on the scale seems to be increasing twice as fast as last time.  It is frustrating.  Also, I just don't have the time to spend in front of the mirror getting ready and spending 15 minutes getting the "perfect shot" of my growing belly, like I did before.  Mostly because Lauren is doing this:

and this...

and this! This is an adorable picture of Lauren with mommy at the computer.  Daddy snapped the picture right as Lauren managed to rip the TAB key completely off!! Kid's are so crazy!!!

We are just thrilled to have our little girl back though.  We picked her up in Missouri yesterday.  I'm guessing she was spoiled a bit while she was there.  She is quite clingy today but that's ok.  We both soaked it up last night.  I feel like she has grown so much since she was gone and it's only been one week! But, she seems to be talking more, her hair is longer, she is almost crawling and she doesn't seem like a baby anymore! 

I just love her to pieces!

 

The wind is howling, the hubs is snoring insanely loud, I'm paranoid. My license sticker and registration are no where to be found.  Oh yeah, and they expire Friday..only way to get the replacement is in Illinois, we're in KS.  My weight gain is insane, and it's my own fault.  I am scared that my blood pressure will be high again when I go to the Dr, and again it's probably my own fault.  I wanted to do something fun and upbeat for my 100th post.  Instead I am full of tears and anxiety. 

Clear the mechanism

As Kevin Costner's character Billy Chapel, in For Love of the Game, would say: Clear the mechanism.  That is exactly what I am going to attempt to do today.  As women our brains are not always wired that way.  One thing connects to another and another and another and ANOTHER!  BUT my goal is to just focus on what is being said by the presenters, block out the distractions and really dig deep into our relationship.  Today's topic: The Number One Key to Incredible Sex.  After that session, we have a 4 hour personal practical exercise time before dinner.  boooya! 

 

and...We are going to the waterpark because we are staying HERE. 

and...We really miss this
<----------------------

Busy week ahead...

We have quite the busy week ahead of us! 
Today, Lauren and I are going to go to the store to pick up a few veggies for supper tonight.  Other than that we are just going to lounge and watch some cable tv!  It's so nice to have cable again, however, it was definately worth saving the money for over the last 3 months. We decided to not go for a digital package/hd/dvr.  We miss it dearly but we are saving about $50/month by going with just the basic extended package.  About 60 channels...and really they are the only channels we watch.  So no big deal.  I'm just happy to not be watching anymore trashy daytime shows on Fox. 
Next week, Kevin and I are attending a marriage retreat in Kansas City.  It is put on by the military.  It is a conference called Strong Bonds.  I think this will be a great experience for both of us and help us to grow in our relationship as husband and wife.  Of course that means we are going to have to spend some time apart from Lauren.  We are going to miss her but know she will be in good hands with my family in Illinois.  We are going to drive about 4 hours on Saturday and meet my mom and sister who will take Lauren back to their place.  Most likely there will be some spoiling going on.  She deserves it though, she won't be the only kid around for much longer. 
We will get home from our retreat later on Wednesday evening.  Thursday we have an FRG (Family Readiness Group) meeting on post, where we will plan our May BBQ and then Friday night we are going to a free concert at one of the hangars at the airfield on post.  We are going to see Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band.  We are both very aware of who Gary Sinise (Lt. Dan, CSI, Of Mice and Men) is...but we are not familiar with his music at all.  He is a huge supporter of the troops and frequently teams up with the USO for free concerts for the troops and their families.  I think we will have a blast. 
Saturday/Sunday we are heading back to Kansas City.  I have some things planned for Kevin's birthday.  His birthday isn't until May 27...It will be his 30th!  BUT things kinda fell into place, teams were going to be in town, and it's the thought that counts right?!! I will provide more details after that weekend. 

Sunday we will drive a few hours into Missourri and pick our munchkin back up.  I am going to miss her!  Right nowshe is snuggled up on my arm, watching me type and playing withvmy hair.  I just love times like this. 

My new diet: donuts and pizza

Not really! Just for today...I think! I'm not super inspired to write about anything today.  I have some ideas for upcoming days.  I'm not super inspired to do much of anything today.  Kevin's working all night again. I have a sink full of dishes and I don't feel like cooking for one.  I think Lauren and I are going to head out for donuts for breakfast and pick up a Papa Murphy's pizza fur lunch/supper.  Healthy..not.  Atleast I might get the deLite pizza, the extra thin crust makes it healthier..right?! 
Since we are on the subject of junk food.  Make sure to check out THIS post for a great coupon at Dairy Queen.  Buy one Blizzard and get a second Blizzard for $.25 !! That is a great deal.  I am excited to try their new "OOOOEY GOOOEY Caramel Brownie Blizzard"  You should check out Deal Wise Mommy's blog frequently.  She has some great coupons, both printable and for online use.  I have already recieved some of my great deals in the mail.  Check her out on on my reading list to the right.  She is constantly updating with deals, so she is ususally at the top! Well, I better go change my daughter's wet butt and brush my teeth and hair and try and find a grocery store with a good donut!
Oh and just because...

TASTY TUESDAY!

Today, I will be posting one recipe a great option for any left overs!

Cheesy Chicken Chili

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves
16 oz-jar of salsa; your choice of heat
2- 16 oz cans of great northern beans (optional)
8 oz Colby Jack or Pepper Jack cheese - shredded

1. Place chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker.
2. Cover with salsa.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 5 1/2 - 7 1/2 hours or until chicken is tender, but not dry.
4. Shred chicken in the sauce.
5. Stir in beans and cheese
6. Cover and cook another 30 minutes on Low.
7. Serve over cooked rice or noodles.

*I made this about a month ago for dinner. I cooked it on high for about 5 hours.  It was more the consistency of shredded chicken, not a "chili".  It was very, very tasty and super easy to prepare.  Nothing is quite as easy as crock pot meals!  We had quite a bit of left overs, so I decided to freeze what we had left and use it for another day.  It did great in the freezer in a freezer safe tupperware container.*

Cheesy Chicken Chili Enchiladas

What you will need:

Any left over chicken chili from previous recipe
6 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Colby Jack or Pepper Jack cheese
 red or green Enchilada sauce (optional)
salsa and sour cream

1. Remove chicken chili leftovers from freezer and microwave on high for 10 minutes until chicken is thawed.
2. Lay out 6 tortillas and fill evenly with chicken mixture
3. Roll chicken filled tortillas and place in pan
4. If you are using enchilada sauce, now is the time to pour over stuffed tortillas.  (We didn't have any on hand, so we didn't add any and it still tasted great!)
5. Top with shredded cheese and bake for 30-40 minutes until cheese begins to bubble and slightly brown.
6. Top with sour cream and salsa if you wish!

coming soon!

Ok, so I am a little behind today.  My TASTY TUESDAY recipe is on the way but currently my big ginormous cookbook is being used to weigh down my latest craft project for the next hour or so... so check back in a few hours and I'm sure you'll find something simple and tasty!  Promise!

Relaxing, fun, perfect weekend!

This weekend was fabulous!  We spent so much time together as a family.  I just love it when the three of us are together.  We didn't do anything we had planned.  No cleaning, no organizing, no moving boxes to the basement.  Yes, we still have two moving boxes in our bedroom that need to go to the basement.  If they weren't full of shoes and clothes that neither of us wear, then I'd just take them myself.  The whole "bun in the oven" puts a damper on that.  No big deal.  The boxes have somewhat became a part of the decor, or maybe just catch all for dirty clothes, blankets and towels.  Don't get me wrong, I like a clean and organized house, but my husband has taught me to relax and not be so anal.  I can save the cleaning for a rainy day.  No sense freaking out and organizing on a beautiful weekend that we actually all get to spend together. 
On Friday, Lauren and I got ready, and ventured to Hobby Lobby.  She did great in the cart!  She however would not let me snap a good picture of her.  She was too busy looking around at all of the cool stuff.  As I was loading up the car with my good buys and my good daughter, Kevin called and said he was getting off work early.  YAY!  We met him at home, had lunch and then the three of us played outside for a while.  We laid a big blanket outside and just let Lauren crawl around.  She always managed to crawl to the edge and try to eat the grass.  That evening, Kevin whipped up a few steaks, recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay.  Kevin just loves to cook and loves grilling season even more.  Over the last few years, we have acquired several Bobby Flay cookbooks.  We have not come across a bad recipe yet.  I will share pictures and recipes throughout the summer for your enjoyment.  I made baked potatoes....woooo!

On Saturday, we somewhat slept in.  They did.  I didn't.  My internal clock does not allow me to.  I always bring Lauren in in the morning to snuggle with us.  She just loves to curl up to Kevin and yank on his chest hair and stick her fingers up his nose.  He loves it.  I just know it!  haha.  Kevin was so great and got up around 9 and we threw on some clothes and were going to hit up some garage sales.  We never made it to any garage sales though...lol.  We were only on the hunt for some pajamas for Lauren.  She grew out of all of her pj's in the last week or so.  There was only one listed that had any baby clothes but they were boys.  When we got there, and did our drive by..it didn't look very nice. One place in our neighborhood barely had anything out..no clothes visible on our drive by, so we kept going and the 3rd place we couldn't find with our GPS.  We then made a trip to the post office and I waited in line for a good 15 minutes.  There were only 2 people working.  Out of the 20 people in line, I would say that 15 of them were mailing care packages to their loved ones overseas.  Women scrambling to fill out the customs forms before reaching the counter.  It made me so thankful that Kevin is home with us right now.  After that we hit up our favorite pizza place in town.  Lauren even got in on the fun.  I was talking to Kevin while holding my pizza slice and she reached up and grabbed it and pulled it to her mouth.  It was so funny.  She has cheese and sauce all over her little fingers.  I gave her some crust and cheese but for the most part she just had to eat her pureed peas..poor thing!  After pizza, I ran across the street to the Salvation Army to see if they had any kids pj's.  I didn't find any sets.  I wasn't too concerned, after all she was just sleeping in them.  I did find 3 pairs of pj pants, 1 pair of pj shorts, 2 shirts, a pair of jeans and a cute pair of pink khaki shorts for ....... $5.92.  The Salvation Army here sells 0-24 month clothes for 69cents! 2T-4T for only a $1.29.The jeans and shorts are in great condition! The pajamas are pretty faded, but who cares! She is just sleeping in them and most likely will have a leaky diaper a time or two in them.  AND 69cents sure beats buying a set of pj's for $7-10 at any other store!   I would highly recommend checking out your local store if you are into finding great bargains. 

That afternoon we took Lauren swimming again in her little pool.  She really loved it this time.  She even tumbled over, got a face full of water and she rolled back over and pushed herself up without a fuss!    She would just swim from side to side, pull herself up and look and the grass and then turn around and go to the other side.  It was so cute! We stayed out there for a good 45 minutes. She was starting to get sleepy though and was reaching for me to pull her out.  We rented some movies that evening and called it a night. 

Sunday, we got up early and went to a new church.  We still have not found a church that we will call home yet.  We liked this church but will most likely try the early, traditional service next weekend.  I like the fact that they have small groups, Mommy and Me play days and a lot of military families in the congretation.  They are even having a cookout for military families to meet!  I think we may be attending that to meet some people in the community that are in the same situarion as us.  After church, we went to a cook out at a fellow soldiers house on post. They don't know very many people either and invited us over for some brats.  Kevin works with Jay.  His wife Rachel is also pregnant and they have a 2 year old little girl.  Lauren and Savannah play really well together and Rachel and I seem to be able to hold a conversation, so that's good!  I think we might plan a trip to the zoo with them sometime this summer! It was nice to get out of the house and converse with people our age and just have a good time! 

Sorry about the terrible quality.  This picture was taken with my cell phone.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend like we did!!

not much going on...

There hasn't been much going on in our household!  Yesterday, Kevin was supposed to appear before the board for his promotion to E-6.  He has been studying and getting things ready for the last few days.  He was really nervous because he only had about a week to prepare for this.  Lauren got up early yesterday so she could give her daddy kisses goodbye! 

I was so nervous for him!  He text me a few hours later to tell me that they lost his paperwork and that he wouldn't go before the board until next month.  He was happy that he would have more time to study but at the same time, he just wanted to get it over with! 

Yesterday was cold and rainy all day!  I am talking a 50 degree difference from the day before.  That is insane! Needless to say, we were cooped up inside all day.  I am in desperate need of some cable television.  I am about to go nuts!  All I have been doing is clean, cook, change diapers, feed, play, facebook, blog, and repeat!  We do have bunny ears, but are only able to pull in Fox.  The only show that is worth watching is Martha Stewart at 9am.  The rest are just trash. Literally.  Judge shows..blah! Maury...holy white trash.  Oh, there is Dr. Oz at 1pm.  I turned it on yesterday right as they were explaining vaginal weights for kegal exercises. Umm...no thanks!  I think I will be calling today for atleast the basic cable package.  I can't handle it anymore.  Somedays I watch Maury, just to watch Maury..and then I wonder if my child's first words are going to be "You ARE the father!" or "Chicken Tetrazinni!" ..so then I turn it off! 

Today is supposed to be a little warmer.  At least the sun is supposed to shine.  There is a possibility that Kevin will be home around lunch time today.  I won't hold my breath..but it would be nice. 

I'll leave you with a picture of my munchkin, who has turned into quite the little diva lately! She is so goofy! I love her!

TASTY TUESDAY!

My hubby's favorite and recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law Kathy! Did I mention it's pretty simple to make?!

TATER TOT HOT DISH

Ingredients:

1 lb Hamburger
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 bag of tater tots ( I used oreida, but any will do!)
1 can of green beans, drained but reserve the juice
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of milk ( use soup or bean can for measurement
salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown hamburger and onions in skillet.  Add salt/pepper to season. 
Layer the bottom of your casserole dish with half a bag of tater tots.  Top with hamburger onions.  Next layer the can of green beans.
 In a separate bowl, mix together soup, milk and juice reserved from the beans.  Pour over the layers in the casserole dish.  Top with remaining tots.  Cook for approx 1 hour until tots are brown and dish is hot and bubbly! 
We just serve with bread and butter.  It's got meat, veggie and starch all in one!  It does take a while to bake BUT in that time, I can feed Lauren, clean up the kitchen from the preparations and get everything ready for suppertime. 
Kevin loves this..I made it last night and we are eating the left overs tonight again! Enjoy!

Beatiful Day, Beautiful Baby

Yesterday it was gorgeous here in Kansas!!  It was about 85 degrees, sunny with a nice breeze!  Storms were breaking out north and east of here but it managed to miss us.  I am so glad because I got wonderful day home with my two favorite people.  We started out the day by sleeping in.   Well, I didn't sleep in.  It's not something I can do very well anymore.  I have this internal clock that will not relax..ugh!  Lauren and Kevin both slept in until about 10:30am!  Lauren had woke up around 8am, had a bottle and was back down with her daddy at 9am.  It was nice to have time to get a few things done and just sit and relax.  I will admit that I did take a 20 minute power nap in there somewhere too!! We all got up and went grocery shopping.  Lauren was so good.  She sat in the cart like a big girl for over an hour without any fussing or complaints!   While we were at the store, a lady stopped next to us and asked Kevin how old Lauren was and we answered  7 months.  She then said "SHE'S HUGE!!"... I was kind of taken back.  I would never just say that to a stranger in the grocery store.  She's tall and yes, probably bigger than most kids her age but HUGE?..

Here is huge for ya' lady!!

I don't think this is HUGE..she's just adorable to me!!

Maybe I'm over reacting a bit...just maybe!

Anyway...we proceded to grocery shop, she continued to show off to all the bratty kids at how awesome she was, and the total on the bill was pleasantly a lot lower than I was expecting.  Gotta love the Army Commissary!! We spend about 30% less than we would at any other grocery store and no tax!!  ...so overall great morning!

We got home, put groceries away while Lauren napped.  Kevin made a quick trip to Target for diapers/wipes/sunscreen etc.  When we got home, Lauren and I were in our suits and ready to go outside!  It was absolutely beautiful out.  We had purchased a little pool for around $10 the night before.  We had filled it up earlier that day hoping the sun would warm up the water but it was still too chilly.  After daddy dumped a few buckets of warm water in, we were good to go.  She just loves the water!

Here is a cute video of our munchkin swimming around! 

After about 20-30 munutes we came back inside because her cheeks and shoulders were starting to get pink.  She was getting a  little hungry and sleepy too!  She came in and slept for a good hour, we had supper, went back outside to play with bubbles and then to bed! It was a great day! Lauren has been sleeping for 9 hours so far and I don't hear any moving around in her room..I think we wore her out! 

Cutest picture in the history of EVER!

Well, I think so!! Just thought I would share!!

Nothing cuter than a father and daughter on their first carousel ride together!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

I might go insane...

Someday you may just find me in the local psych ward singing "twinkle, twinkle, 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (in the stupid leap frog voice), and You are my sunshine, I'm a little teapot....etc.. as I rock back in forth in the room with my padded walls.  But I do it for this....

and this

If there were a fly on the wall to watch me dance and sing to "I wanna be like you" from The Jungle Book...ahhh that would have been hilarious to watch. Kevin would say.."Mommy is a dork!".  That's the usual reaction daddy gives me. 

  It makes my baby girl smile and giggle though, and that makes me happy too. 

I don't really plan on going to the loony bin...  Just funny how the songs stuck in my head now are no where near what they were 7 months ago.  I wouldn't change this life for the world!!