Tasty Tuesday

I have my friend Kari from Bemidji to thank for this recipe.  Kevin and I both LOVE this dish and it is so easy thanks to McCormick One Dish Spice packets!!  It's so convenient to not have a sink full of dishes, a counter full of clutter etc.  You can have this prepared in about 10 min and dinner on the table in less than an hour.  I hope you all enjoy! 

Salsa Chicken and Rice

Prep Time: 10 minutes


Cook Time: 50 minutes


All You Need

1 pkg. McCormick® Salsa Seasoning Mix
1 ½ cups uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1 can (14 ½ oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 ¾ oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 ½ cups water
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


PREHEAT oven to 375º F. Place rice, tomatoes and corn in 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Top with chicken.

MIX water and Seasoning Mix until well blended. Pour over chicken and rice. Cover with foil.

BAKE 45 min. or until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender. Remove foil. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 min. longer or until cheese is melted. Cut chicken into serving-size pieces. Stir rice before serving.

Serves 6

Happy Father's Day

"The Military Child" (Taken from "The Soldier's Wife")

"Away from the home of her childhood she marched at her Daddy's side.

For her momma chose a wide and winding road when she became a bride.

And sometimes the road was a hard one, so different from what she had planned;

And sometimes she wept for the home she had left as she lay in a foreign land;

And sometimes her steps would grow weary as she followed the drum and the horn;

But she set about making the world her home because she was military born.

Mom learned to build a hearth for them wherever her dad was sent;

And she knelt to plant a garden every time he pitched their tent.

Yes, she always planted a garden though she never saw it grow,

For she knew before the flowers came that she would have to go.

But she left each garden gladly though it made her heart beat wild,

For she hoped it might bring comfort to another military child.

To the hardships in her young sweet life she learned one simple truth,

A promise that once was spoken in the ancient words of Ruth:

"Wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you lodge, I will lodge;

Thy people shall be my people and thy God shall be my God."

She shared Dad’s joys and sorrows as they lived where the military bid,

For she was proud Dad was a soldier

And she a military kid."

 

Author: Adapted by Karen Marshall

 

 

**Kevin, if you are reading this.  We love you very much.  Never in a million years would we have guessed how our lives would change with the addition of our little girl.  I know she loves you more than anything. I can just see it in her smile and hear it in her squeals everytime you walk through our front door after a long day at work.  It warms my heart to see you interact with each other.  I cannot imagine my (our)  life without you.  You are the most amazing, loving, caring, nurturing and BRAVE father.  We are so proud to be on this journey with you, proud to call you my husband, proud to call you my American hero, and even more proud that you are Lauren (and little girl #2's) Dad.  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! **

"You expect me to hold my own bottle mommy?!  Not fair!"

Tasty Tuesday

Ok...so I am a little un-prepared this week. We haven't made any specific recipes for dinners..and last night we just had salads.  Although, Sunday...I did make these delciously, addicting, and amazing scotcharoos!  They are one of mine and Kevin's favorite treats.  Please don't judge that I have ate half of the pan in 2 days.  You would eat them too...admit it!

credit

1 c. corn syrup
1 c. peanut butter
1 (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
1 c. sugar
6 c. Rice Krispies
1 (6 oz.) pkg. butterscotch chips

In large saucepan, cook corn syrup and sugar over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is almost dissolved.  Remove from heat right before the boiling point and when sugar is almost dissolved. (If you heat the sugar too much, your bars will be really hard and not chewy..so make sure you watch your sugar/syrup mixture while it is heating!) 
Stir in peanut butter. Mix in cereal.

Press in buttered 9x13 pan. Melt over hot (not boiling) water chocolate chips and butterscotch chips, stirring constantly until smooth. ( I am lazy and I use the microwave in 30 second increments, so not to burn the chips)  Spread over cereal mixture. Chill until firm, about 15 minutes.

I use a whole 11oz bag of chocolate and butterscotch chips.  You can never have too much chocolate topping! 

Hope you all enjoy!!!

Really?! REALLY?!

Ok, so it's almost 3am.  I can't sleep.  Too much on my mind, not to mention they are firing weapons at the range this weekend, so every few minutes my windows and wall decor rattles.  I have become used to it over the last few months, but tonight it is keeping me up along with a lot of other things. 
First...I caved and let Lauren sleep with me tonight while Kevin was gone. It's a comfort thing.  When he is gone, I usually shut and lock the door to our bedroom.  I can't do that if she is in the other room...so she is right next to me.  Well at about 12:45am or so, she started to get restless...I tried to give her her pacifier, that didn't work.  She just wanted to be held. 
Then Kevin called.  I had mentioned in the previous post from earlier today that he was working a 24 hour shift. He had to do staff duty at the barracks.  Basically he and two other guys sit there, answer phones and make sure the soldiers in the barracks don't do anything stupid.  Well, around midnight, Kevin got a call at the barracks from a soldier, who was drunk and needed a ride.  Apparently the guy was at one of the gates to get on post and had already walked from who knows where off post, to the gate.  So, Kevin went to get him.  On his way there he got pulled over by an MP (military police) for going 44 in a 35.  Kevin explained he was on staff duty and heading to get a drunk person to avoid getting this other guy in trouble and possibly injuring someone else.  The officer thanked him for what he was doing and said it was great but that he still was in a hurry and needed to slow down and gave him a $79 ticket!  I am kind of irked!  So is Kevin.  Yes, he WAS speeding..but come on, REALLY!?!?! I told Kevin he should contest it, or atleast tell the drunk guy that the Erickson Cab Fare is $79 for emergency late night drunk pick ups! 

So anyways..back to Lauren.  She was wide awake, so I decided to change her diaper.  I tried to lay her down in her crib and that didn't work, I tried to lay her back in our bed, and that didn't work either.  I soon realized it was because she had leaked out of her diaper on our bed.  REALLY!?! It's 2am!  So off the sheets came.  Down a blanket went.  In the pacifier went and out like a light she went.  BUT now I am wide awake...and hungry. GRR!!

HEAT WAVE

It has been so hot here in Kansas!  I am not used to this heat.  Nor, do I particularly enjoy it while being pregnant either.  Thank goodness for air conditioning!  Kevin got off early Friday, so we went to the pool.  It was so nice!  The cool water felt amazing in the near 100 degree heat!

Lauren was loving the water as well.  She loved playing in the little fountains that they had in the shallow end. 

She especially loved spending time with her daddy since he is working a 24 hour shift Saturday/Sunday.

Overall, we had a great time!  Lauren was passed out asleep before we even left the parking lot.  She ended up napping til 6pm...which made for a very late bedtime. Oh well!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend as well.  Lauren and I ventured to Target, then to the pool again today.  The temp was nice and hot again but the water was super chilly.  I bought her a floaty ring thing to sit in, but I about passed out trying to blow it up.  I guess Kevin will have to tackle it when he gets home.  Right now, Lauren is napping, I managed to sneak in a shower, and a blog, and hopefully a little couch time before she wakes up.  I think we are meeting Kevin on post later for supper.  Laundry can wait for another day.

To Ferberize or not to Ferberize...

Ugh...how about we meet in the middle.  Up until recently we either held Lauren til she went to sleep or laid her in between us until she calmed down, fell asleep, and then we would transfer her into her own bed for a full nights sleep.  It dawned on us recently that we were going to have a very crowded bed in a few months with the new addition and that we better figure something out before the new little girl arrives!  Before Lauren was born, we would have just said "oh let them cry themselves to sleep"..not so easy when you have one of your own.  Obviously, she is 9 months and we still haven't made her do it.  We just can't. I can't hear the whales and see the tears and just leave her there.  I can't. I won't.  It might work for some and that's great. I won't do it.  I know when my child is tired.  I would rather let my child run out their energy while we are still up than put them in bed and just let them scream themselves to sleep. 
The last two nights, we have not rocked Lauren to sleep.  We have just waited til she shows signs of being sleepy (i.e. rubbing eyes, wanting to be held etc.) and then we took her to her room, put her in bed with her dolly and sea horse, kissed her goodnight and left.  We kind of got a scolding...not whaling tears or cries..just whines and the shaking of the side of the crib like.."Hey...people! Come get me!!"  I'm sure you parents know what I am talking about.  The intermittent yells were each a few minutes apart and slowly got further apart and stopped after about 15 minutes. She was sound asleep. Yay!  This was hard for Kevin and I to do.  Lauren has never been much of a crying baby. She has been so good since she was born, so any sort of crying, whining etc. just breaks our heart.  She has also been sleeping through the night since she was 8 weeks old, with the exception of a few teething/sick nights and the occasional I lost my pacifier whimper but right back to sleep she goes.  So before now, we never really felt the need to let her put herself to sleep. 
Lauren now knows how to pacify herself for the most part.  She still loves to be held.  I try to snuggle her as much as I can during the day.  I don't like to see her big brown eyes, teary and sad looking up at me as she yanks on my pant leg.  Overall, we are happy with the results of the last 2 nights.  Our method works for us right now.  No tears from mom and dad or Lauren, and Lauren sleeping soundly through the night without even a whimper! 

It's a girl, 30 years, and 9 months!

Phew!! It has been a while since I have updated.  We have been super busy and had some computer problems too.  We had a few days of no internet service followed by our computer crashing. After a full system restore, we are back up and running.
It's a girl!
Last Tuesday, we had an ultrasound and found out that we are having another little girl.  We are due Sept. 17.  I am 25 weeks along and feeling great!  I am getting more tired as time goes on, and my heartburn is starting to reappear but other than that, I am good!  The ultrasound showed 2 legs, 2 arms, 2 kidneys, a liver, a beating heart with all four chambers working the way they should.  I forgot to ask how big the baby was at this time! Oh well! I guess it will just be a surprise.
I did ask the ultrasound tech how she could tell it was a girl.  I can't ever make out much of anything on the fuzzy 2-d black and white picture.  She said, and took mouse on the screen and pointed to another blurry image and said.. "See this is the labia"..and I said "uh.. ok"..she then said "Back in the day they would refer to it as a camel toe, does that help?!"  ...I was a little taken back, my eyes got big, I looked at Kevin, inside dying laughing...I just said "Sure"...What I really wanted to say is...."Camel toe lady?! LOL seriously?! I know what a labia looks like, I have 2!  How about hamburger buns, that seems like a better term for my unborn baby".  But I didn't..I just sat there, trying not to laugh...if I did, I would have peed my pants because she was taking forever and I had a full bladder!
 I probably won't have another ultrasound for the rest of the pregnancy, unless there is an emergency.  My BP is still elevated but not in the danger zone yet.  We will continue to monitor my BP plus Kevin and I have to be aware of any sudden swelling in hands and face etc. 
Kevin was really wanting a boy, and I assumed I was having a boy since this pregnancy so far has been completely different than when I was pregnant with Lauren. He is super excited though to have 2 little girls so close in age.  They will be best of friends, and not to mention we will be able to use all of Lauren's clothes for our new baby girl! This will save us a ton of money in the long run.

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30 years

30 years ago on Memorial Day.  My husband Kevin was born.  He is my best friend, and the love of my life.  I truly think him being born on Memorial Day is the reason he is such a great patriot today.  I am so proud to call him my husband. 

When we first started dating, he said that he wanted atleast one child before he turned 30.  At the time, I was like "yeah right!..we need to wait a few years!" ...but now we do have our precious Lauren and another little angel on the way.  So in a way he got 2 children before he was 30. 

Kevin is such an amazing father. I love to see him interact with Lauren.  They have a special bond that will never be broken.  Happy Birthday Kevin.  I love you!!

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9 months!

Happy 9 months to my beautiful daughter Lauren Grace.  She is getting so big! 

This is how I found her yesterday in our living room.  She had climbed up on her pack and play.  We had left it there when unloaded the car.  I was in the kitchen and I looked around the corner to check on her and there she was just hanging out and all smiles!! I about had a heart attack.  She is growing up too fast!  I decided then that I would just set up her pack and play in the living room so that I didn't have to wonder where she was all the time, and low and behold the stinker would dig her little feet into the side of the mesh and crawl up the side!  She is like a little monkey.  She drinks about four 6 oz bottles a day.  We still can't get her to hold her own bottle or sippy cup yet.  We call her Miss Lazy Pants when it comes to eating.  She likes it all done for her.  She will hold her bottle and when we try and help her tip it up, she just lets go completely, puts her hands behind her head and figures that we'll do all of the work.  She usually eats cereal mid morning, fruit and some puffs at lunch with sippy cup of water or formula, afternoon snack is usually a bottle and then a long nap.  Dinner is usually whatever we are having plus a jar of veggies and fruit.  Last night she had all big kid food for supper!  She did really good and ate it all! We were so surprised and happy.  It's so fun to watch her use her little fingers to pick things up and get them to her mouth. 

She is just too much fun now.  On our way home from our little road trip to Illinois for Memorial Day weekend, she just started giggling out of no where.  Kevin and I couldn't quit laughing.  It was the cutest thing in the whole world!  I just love how grown up and independent she is getting.  I love that I can put her on the floor to play and she is content for long periods of time. 

I hate how she cries though when I drop her off at daycare.  It breaks my heart!

I know it will get better!

Well I can hear the stinker in her bed.  I am very happy she slept til 8am today and was not up at 5:30!!

Hope you all have a good day.  I will try and stay updated more now that we are back into the swing of things here in KS.