Survey

Couple questions for you lovely readers out there, daddies non-excluded.

1. What was the hardest thing for you physically with welcoming a new baby?
2. What was the hardest thing for you emotionally?
3. What is one thing you wish you'd done before your baby arrived?

Tasty Thursday: Halloween Chex Mix

Need.to.make.ASAP.

Halloween Chex Mix

8 oz. white chocolate baking bars, chopped
4 cups Corn or Rice Chex
2 cups mini pretzels
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup candy corn
1/4 cup black and orange candies/decors

Instructions
1. Melt the chocolate baking bars in a microwave-safe bowl for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth.

2. Slowly stir in everything else until coated.

3. Spread on wax paper until cooled.

4. Break into chunks and serve.

Without Words Wednesday

I spy Snooki.

Source: maryelizabethinspire.tumblr.com via Noelle on Pinterest

Olive Biffs

Too cute/funny/oh-no not to post. Poor thing, she was okay, just startled. You see, she really thinks she ought to be walking by now. When it fails, she gets really disgruntled. Ha. JK.

Sock It to Me.

Need.these.socks. All of them. As soon as possible. However, I haven't yet convinced myself that $30 isn't a lot for socks. These are so supremely adorable, and I want them for the quickly-approaching sock weather! How sweet would Olive's little toes be in them? Trumpette rules.

Oops, how did these make their way into this post? Oh, because they're awesome. Moon shoes!

Stand By Me.

Holy schnikes. Olive is standing. STANDING. She just learned to crawl like, 5 minutes ago. How does this happen?

I walked into her room and she was standing in her crib. What?! Then, to brag, she pulled herself up on the coffee table (installing corner guards as we speak), my leg, the couch, and the bathtub. Overachiever. She can also clap, say Mama (for real, she summons me at 4:45am everyday and it sure makes pretending to not hear her harder), and likes to squeal and laugh in the car. I know I say this with every stage, but this is my favorite age so far. 9 months rules.

She is growing so fast...oh, my!

Tasty Thursday: Stuffed Peppers

I make these in regular rotation...they are delicious and (basically) good for ya! Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

6 green bell peppers

salt to taste

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup chopped onion

salt and pepper to taste

1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup uncooked rice

1/2 cup water

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup

water as needed

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.
1. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.
3. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Without Words Wednesday

Source: facebook.com via Noelle on Pinterest

MAMA!

Okay, I realize it's probably NOT her intention to break my heart into a million little pieces with this adorable little mimicking game...but let me just believe...just let me.

Blessed.

I'm scared that something bad is going to happen to my family. Why? Because I've been incredibly blessed for my entire life. Not spoiled, but blessed. There's a difference. I see so many people and babies with problems and health issues every day, it petrifies me to think about what it would be like to have to go through that. Am I sitting on a ticking time bomb here? Is bad bound to happen to those who experience lots of good? Is the silver lining in the eye of the beholder and perhaps I just notice more positives? Regardless, I need to stop complaining about stupid stuff. My 'problems' are things many would surely love to 'worry' about.

Thank you, God, for everything, seriously.

Tasty Thursday: Mexican Bean Salad

Mexican Bean Salad

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn kernels
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine beans, bell peppers, frozen corn, and red onion.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and black pepper. Season to taste with hot sauce and chili powder.
3. Pour olive oil dressing over vegetables; mix well. Chill thoroughly, and serve cold.

Without Words Wednesday

We're in trouble. Soon.

PPW

Weight update:

Still on WW, and surprisingly liking it. I have never 'dieted' before, but I knew I didn't want something that would cause you to gain all the lost weight back after stopping the diet (no-carbs forever? no way.).

My struggles:

• Time to work out. It's extremely hard getting up at 5am, getting Olive to daycare, getting to work, going to pick her up, getting home (by this time, it's 5ish), doing all the house stuff that needs to be done (I refuse to save it all for the weekends, I want my play time, too!), feeding/changing/bathing the baby and possibly myself...needless to say, I'm wiped by her 8pm bedtime and running on the treadmill is just too impossible at that point in time. Hoping the routine will settle more into place and exercise will become more feasible.
• Cream in my coffee. Can't give it up. Worth the 2-3 points per day.
• Wine. See above.

My non-struggles:

• Eating less crap/eating healthier: I love it. I feel better when I eat healthier. Luckily I am not one to sit there and crave cupcakes or brownies or whatever.
• Eating less in general: I enjoy not having to unbutton my pants after every meal, what can I say?

As of today, I have lost 40 pounds since I had Olive (yep, that's how much I gained). 10 of which were in the last 2 months.

Drumroll....

I am officially back to my pre-pregnancy weight, at 8.5 months after my daughter was born. They weren't kidding. It's not easy to do. I am still going to keep on truckin' though, because a) my body looks, and will probably permanently look, different...need to, eh, firm it up a little? b)my pre-pregnancy weight isn't my ideal, so that's my ultimate goal. This means losing about 15-20 more. Yeeps. Anyway, for now, I'll take this little motivation and go with it!

Labor and Delivery Jokes by Noelle

I don't know why I was thinking about labor and delivery today. Oh, I know, it started with me putting on a sweatshirt that I haven't worn since I was holy-crap-as-big-as-a-house big. I remember putting on this zip-up sweatshirt and the zipper busting in front of several staff members. Yeah. Anyway, I was thinking about what it was like to be huge, and then labor and all that. Random, whatever.

I don't know why I haven't written about this before, but it's fairly funny. I was the labor and delivery jokester throughout the part after the epidural only the whole ordeal. I will try to recap some funnies for you.

• Anestheologist walks in. I clap and tell him I love him and after he drugs me up, I take a photo with me hugging him.
• While pushing, I asked if "it was working."
• I toted my modesty and shyness while spread-eagle on the table.
• While the delivery bed was being raised, I said, "To the mothership!" (because it felt like we were going to the ceiling/alien spaceship)
• I quoted National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (we watched that and Anchorman throughout the labor)
• I quoted Baby Mama and told the OB-GYN to "just spray some Pam down there"
• I insisted we not use the elevator because it was a "cervix elevator only" (no one laughed but me. hysterically.)
• As the nurses were helping me pee after labor (yeah), I asked them how their day was going.
• I asked the nurse whose baby this was, but that got me a really concerned look and I stopped.

Remember, there's always room for jokes.

Peed In My Car

As a parent, there are times that find yourself in a situation and you wonder, "What does every other parent in the world do when faced with such a situation?" And then you act on the situation, only to reflect later and decide that perhaps your decision isn't the popular choice among all the other parents out there.

Case in point:

Olive and I took a roadtrip to see my parents today (2 and a half hours away). Michael had to work, so he stayed behind. One must-have for any car ride is a Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee. I usually don't have a problem holding the pee until I get to my parents' house. Today, however, was different.

Olive is cutting her third (!) tooth, so she was extra fussy in the car. I had to stop about 4 times to feed and replace the bink, give the lovie, etc. So, with all the extra stopping, my need to pee came a little early.

I was about 45 minutes from home. There was one gas station in sight. I needed to go. Now. With all this focusing on the baby, I didn't feel the Niagara Falls of urine that had been building up and was now knocking down the door. How was I to go pee in a gas station with a baby? (What do other parents do when this happens?!) Hold the baby while trying to squat? Set the baby on the hepatitis-covered public bathroom floor? (NO) While I was trying to decide, I cast my eyes down to the cup holder in my Subaru. I see it. A huge, empty, plastic coffee cup. I see baby wipes sticking out of the diaper bag. Suddenly, the brightest idea strikes me. I am going to take a piss in the backseat of my car.

Backseat. Pants down. Pee is impending, turn around and pee while staring out the back window of my car (I don't know, it just worked better that way). I was getting worried because the pee was starting to fill up the cup and what if I peed all over the seat? My pants? What would my parents think if I showed up soaked? What if the cops showed up and ticketed me for urinating in public? Wait, is my car public? So many questions...

It was the longest 30 seconds of my life. What DO people do? I'm sure this can't be normal...can it? Anyway, I found a new level of humility today and I hope my daughter won't remember the time her mother squatted in front of her in the backseat of the car.

Stands With a Fist

So, usually Olive likes to nap for about a half hour when I get home from work/get her home from daycare. We were going through the usual routine yesterday: changing, cuddling, singing, then ever-so-gently laying her down for a nap. I know, pretty much without a doubt, she'll cry for 10 seconds and then zonk out. Well, she kept crying this time, so I went back into her room to get her and
SHE WAS STANDING UP IN THE CRIB.
I think I did a triple take. Immediately called Michael and was pretty excited about it all, sort of panicked, and asked him to lower the crib ASAP.

When did this baby get so big? Seriously, when did this happen?

You're Awesome.

Do you like my blog? Even if just a little? Would you be so kind as to spare a click? No information, no typing, just a teensy little vote. Thanks! You're awesome.

Tasty Thursday: Blue Cheese Burgers

Don't slave away on Labor Day (hehe, that kinda rhymes)....make these easy and delicious burgers!

Blue Cheese Burgers
Serves 12

Incredients

• 3 pounds lean ground beef
• 4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup minced fresh chives
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 12 French rolls or hamburger buns

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, blue cheese, chives, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt, and mustard. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat grill for high heat. Gently form the burger mixture into about 12 patties.
3. Oil the grill grate. Grill patties 5 minutes per side, or until well done. Serve on rolls.