Baby talk...

Lauren loves her baby doll. A few nights ago we caught her on video having a nice conversation with "Dolly".   I just think she is so adorable!

Easy Orange Chicken

photo courtesy of blogchef.net

Ingredients

3-4 boneless, skinleess chicken breasts

flour

3 Tbsp. oil

3-4 cloves of minced garlic

4-6 chopped green onions

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

3 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of vinegar

cornstarch

1. Chop chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.  Season with salt and pepper and coat with flour.  The easiest way to do this is to put the chicken and flour in a ziplock bag and shake well until coated.

2. Heat 3 Tbsp. of oil in a pan. Add an even layer of chicken in the pan. Fry until golden brown. Repeat until all chicken is cooked.

3. If needed, add just enough oil to your hot pan to saute' 3-4 cloves of minced garlic and the chopped green onions. Saute' until soft.

 

4. Next add 3 Tbsp. of soy sauce, 3 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Continuously stir and heat until bubbly.  **If you prefer a thicker sauce, add cornstarch to sauce mixture to thicken**

5. When you have reached your desired consistency for the sauce, add chicken to the sauce and coat well. Serve over rice and enjoy!
**We substituted vidalia sweet onion (1/2 medium size) for the green onions because that is what we had on hand. It turned out great!**

Hot Fudge Cake

I made this cake for Kevin's grandma's birthday last Sunday.  Kevin's mom called us on Saturday afternoon and asked us to bring a dish for a potluck for Ruth's birthday.  We were in the middle of cleaning and organizing for the big move and had plans to hang out with one of my co-workers that evening for her birthday. I was somewhat frazzled and had no idea what to bring! We have not been going grocery shopping much and just eating what we have here because when we move, the will not transport anything that has already been opened. So we have been eating a lot of pasta, chicken, bread, peanut butter etc....

Kevin reminded me of the crock pot cook book he had recieved from his Uncle Mike last year for Christmas.  He started digging through it and we came upon the recipe for Hot Fudge Cake.  We looked down the ingredient list and then through our cupboards and realized that we had all of the ingredients on hand and that we would not have to make a last minute trip to the grocery store! Pheww!

This dessert was a hit and it was so simple to make that I wanted to share it with everyone. 

1 3/4 cup brown sugar divided

1 cup flour

3 Tbsp, plus 1/4 cup, unsweetened cocoa divided

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbsp. butter melted

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cups boiling water

1. In a mixing bowl, mix together 1 cup brown sugar,

 flour, 3 Tbsp. cocoa, baking powder, and salt

2. Stir in milk butter and vanilla

3. Pour into slow cooker sprayed with non-fat cooking spray.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together 3/4 cup brown sugar

and 1/4 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over batter in the slow cooker.

DO NOT STIR

5. Pour boiling water over mixture. DO NOT STIR

6. Cover. Cook on High 1 1/2-1 3/4 hours or until toothpick

inserted into cake comes out clean.

Serves 8

** We doubled the recipe (to serve 16) and cooked a little while longer,

keeping an eye on it and inserting a toothpick every once in a while. **

It turned out perfect.

It was delicious with vanilla icecream!!

I will definately be using this recipe more often! It was so easy, and delicious!  The best part for me was that it did not have any eggs in it so I could get up early on Sunday while Kevin and Lauren were still asleep and get it all made up. When we got to Kevin's grandma's I just added that powder mixture on top and the boiling water and let it cook while we ate dinner.  I hope you all enjoy! 

Less than 20 days....

...until we embark on our next adventure. I am very anxious for the move.  I am having a hard time with not being able to "plan".  I hate not being able to answer questions of "where will you be living?" and when will you and Lauren be joining Kevin".  I just answer "Good question". I'm sure I bug Kevin with the same questions everyday.  Leaving Minnesota will be quite bittersweet.  In a way things were really starting to get great here! We were getting settled into our new place, I was offered a promotion, and I was starting to really make friends ( it only took a year!..lol), so it's going to be hard to leave that aspect of it, however, knowing that there is something far better for us in Kansas gives me great hope.  Things will be different at the beginning and will take some getting used to, but I have no doubt that Kansas will be good for us.  We have already researched websites on how we can get involved and meet people.  Obviously Kevin will meet other men and women in his unit, possibly some with family that we can become friends with. I on the other hand have found several classes that would be fun to take (crocheting, basket weaving, scrapbooking, and all other sorts of crafty things!)  We look forward to finding a church that we can call home and possibly joining a small group.

We have found that Ft. Riley, KS is pretty centrally located as far as for our family. It's about an 8 hour drive (4 1/2 hours closer) for my parents, and 8 hours from Minneapolis.  We have other friends and family that we can visit too in a days drive if needed.  Amtrak trains run from Topeka (45 min away) to Galesburg, IL for a very decent price. I plan on taking the train if I come up to Illinois anytime without Kevin. It will be way easier than flying with a baby. 

So please pray for our family as we start this new adventure. Please pray that Kevin can make it safely (in my old car) down to Kansas in this blustery winter at the end of this month. Pray that my experience with the movers goes well and that all of our belongings make it to Kansas in a reasonable amount of time and in good shape, and please pray for Lauren and I that we travel safely when we leave for Kansas in early February.  And if I could ask for one more prayer request.. I applied for 2 dental hygiene positions right on the Army post. I am still waiting to hear back from anyone. I am praying that I can get one of these positions!
Thanks for all of your love and support. Please forgive me if I do not update often in the next month. I anticipate that things are going to start getting really busy soon.

Lauren 4 months old!

Our beautiful Lauren is now 4 months old.  I cannot believe how fast the time has flown by.  She has been such a precious gift and we wouldn't have traded her for the world.  It was One year ago this week that I found out that I was pregnant.  It was quite a shocker to Kevin and I.  1. We weren't trying. 2. I was told that I may have trouble in the future conceiving and 3. It was only 1 month after our wedding day!  We had a lot of mixed emotions when we first found out. Mostly I did...I was shocked, scared, angry. It took a few months for me to be really excited. Then I felt guilty for not being excited from the start. This little baby in my belly was a gift from God. A gift at one time I didn't know if I would ever get to enjoy.  I have an amazing husband who supported me, pampered me, loved me unconditionally even when the stretchmarks reached from belly to boobs! Not a day went by that he didn't tell me that I was beautiful. 
I just look at Lauren everyday and smile. She and Kevin are my everything!



Lauren's 4 month Stats:

      Weight: 15 lbs 5 oz.
      Height: 27 inches
                                                                       
                                                                        Lauren can now roll from back to belly and belly to her back. She prefers to roll to her right side. She can now sit up supported just a little by her back. She has no problems keeping her head up and neck supported on her own.  Lauren has been on cereal consistently for about a week now. She really likes banana's too!

Lauren is in the process of her first cold.  She ran a 100 degree fever one week ago and we took her to the Dr. He said her ears and lungs were clear and that it was just a seasonal cold. We have just been trying to help her symptoms with Vick's Baby Rub and a humidifier. The booger sucker and saline drops have become our lifesaver! 

Well..I hear the little munchkin stirring so I better head to check on her. I hope everyone had a blessed Holiday and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Lauren rolling over!

Lauren rolled over for the first time last night while I had her on the couch with me. I tried her again on her tummy this morning and she did it again, so I know last night was not a fluke! She is getting so strong and so big. Her legs are so long that we have to put her in 6 month pants. Lauren got to spend a few days at work with me this week. I am sure she will be glad to be back home with her daddy this week. I know we will be happy to have him back home. I just love Lauren's "Army Girl" shirt she has on. Kevin bought this for her before she was even born! He will be happy to see her in it when he gets home from drill this afternoon. I hope you all have a great week!