Thursday, January 29, 2009

No Pics

I don't have any pics to post today. I dropped Savy off at preschool this morning and went to the gym. Then I came home and cleaned house until I was too tired to clean anymore.

I'm pretty sure I felt the baby moving last night...there was quite a lot of moving around for a few minutes. I felt a couple of kicks again this afternoon. It's pretty early, but I hear that it's possible to feel movement as early as 12 weeks on the second pregnancy. I didn't feel Savy moving until I was almost 20 weeks....she was quite the wiggle-worm too. Actually, she still is a wiggle-worm.

Tonight I had the sudden urge to get a fish tank...a small one for the bedroom. Then I remembered that feng shui experts advise against placing an aquarium in the bedroom. Should I risk it? If I put one anywhere else, Savy will be into it all the time. I have to go to PetSmart this week to get a new collar for Vita; I'll look at the aquarium options while I'm there. I'm thinking this possibly has something to do with the nesting instinct...or maybe because I'm craving Lenny's tuna salad sandwiches lately?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Snow

As much as I am hating the cold weather, a little snow makes it a little more bearable. Savy was so excited this morning when she looked out the window...she had to get dressed and go out to play.




The dogs liked it too.


Savy was determined to make a snowball.





She finally managed to make a decent one...here she is right after she threw it at me.



And here are pics of the house and front seating area...I just love the way it looks covered in snow.



I didn't think I'd ever talk Savy into coming back inside!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Best Maternity Jeans

I think I've found the best maternity jeans in the world...well, the best ones in my price range anyway. I know some people pay over $200 for designer maternity jeans, but my budget is a bit smaller. I've been walking around for weeks and having to pull my pants up about every 5 steps. I intended to make do with the jeans I already had from before, but I couldn't stand it anymore. I went to Motherhood Maternity yesterday and tried on their Secret Fit Belly style jeans, and they are awesome! I wore them today, and I've only had to pull them up a couple of times. I took some pics just in case anyone else is pregnant out there and in the same predicament...

Jon was in the bathroom getting ready for work this morning before I left for the dentist. I tried to take a pic in the bedroom (because Jon would make fun of me if he saw me taking photos of myself), but the lighting is terrible in there. When I got home and had the house to myself, I took pics in the bathroom where the lighting is better. I also used my new tripod that Jon gave me for Christmas...it's really quite handy. These are the bootcut style, and they actually come in petite too!



Here's a belly shot.


I cropped my head off because I had a really goofy look on my face. I always have a goofy look when I'm trying take a good photo....it's very frustrating. So I've decided that from now on, whenever I'm in a pic, I'm going to make a deliberately silly face. At least that way, I can say I meant to look stupid.



Another great thing about these jeans is the back pockets. I don't know if you're aware of this, but most maternity jeans have teeny tiny pockets that sit quite high on the booty. I didn't realize this until my 9th month with Savy when Jon very tactfully pointed out that, "Those little bitty pockets sure do make your a$$ look big." On these jeans, the back pockets are big, and they are situated low on the booty, so it doesn't make a bad situation worse. If you buy these, do buy them a little snug...they tend to "grow" because they're 2% spandex and very stretchy.


Savy saw me making funny faces at the camera and wanted to get in on the fun.



Then I wanted to try to take a nice pic of the two of us, but she still wanted to be silly.




Savy had a good day at preschool, and I got to go to the gym this afternoon. I'm so glad to be off this week!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Playing At The Mall....Again

We went to the play area in the mall again today. I'll say it again....I am sooooo ready for warm weather so we can play outside! Anyway, Savy had a good time.



This little guy really took a liking to Savy. He kept trying to hug her, but she kept squirming out of his hug and running away from him.



She had ice cream after we left the play area, then took a nap while I did some window shopping.

I almost forgot to post this. It's the first picture Savy has drawn that actually looks like something. This is a picture of a baby....Savy says the big red scribble at the bottom is the diaper. Isn't it cute?

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Savy's Favorite Casserole

It was so cold today...back down in the 30's. This is just unbearable after two days of such nice weather. On a brighter note, Savy has been using the potty like a pro! She has been dry without any accidents since she woke up on Friday morning...she was even dry when she woke up this morning. We're so proud of her!

It's my weekend to work, so I didn't do much of anything today. In fact, we were all pretty lazy today. After work I went to the market to get ingredients for a new recipe I wanted to try. Jon really liked it. Savy LOVED it! And when I say loved, I mean she ate THREE helpings....this is the girl who rarely eats more than 3 bites of even foods that she likes. Jon and I were shocked!

Savy's Favorite Casserole

Yes, I forgot to take the picture before we dug into it...it smelled soooo good and we were sooo hungry. Savy kept asking, "Is it ready yet...is it ready yet?" while it was cooking. This is all that was left when we finished.


3-4 cups shredded (cooked) chicken (I used 2 cans of Hormel "chicken-in-a-can" for convenience)
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 cup light sour cream
1-2 packets taco seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 cups lower sodium chicken stock
2 cups shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend)
1 bag nacho cheese Doritos, crushed

In a large mixing bowl, combine first 6 ingredients (everything except the cheese and Doritos). Spread half the crushed Doritos in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Then spread half the chicken mixture on top of them. Repeat with the rest of the Doritos and then the rest of the chicken mixture. Top with the 2 cups shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Oh, something else new....we finally got a new freezer. We've been waiting for Costco to get these back in stock. Last night we went and purchased one.



It's pretty big....7 cubic feet. It fit perfectly in that little space in the laundry room. Jon didn't have anyone to help get it into the house. He actually picked this thing up by himself and carried it into the house. And I don't mean dragged it or pushed it...he picked it up and carried it. He's such a big, strong man...just one of the many reasons I love him!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Another Beautiful Day

The weather was great again today....67 degrees and sunny! After the morning rush (I'm working this week) we took a very long walk. We must've walked at least 3 miles....well, I walked and Savy rode in the jog stroller. When we got home, Savy wanted to play with her sidewalk chalk.





She loves to play hopscotch...she always wants me to draw the squares for her.


It was starting to get a little chilly, so we didn't stay out too long. I'm so sad to hear it's going to be cold again tomorrow.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Warm Weather

It was 59 degrees and sunny this afternoon, so we took advantage of the nice weather. When Savy got home from preschool, I let her go out to ride her bike. She's getting pretty good at it, but she still doesn't quite know how to stop or slow down when she's going downhill.



After riding her bike, she wanted to drive her car. Some of the neighbors farther down the street were out in their yard. Savy waved and offered this little guy a ride...she is such a flirt!




Then they switched places, and he drove for awhile.



When she was done, we played outside with the dogs and Savy picked up a few sweet-gum balls.




I took a picture of Vita by the pet door for a size reference. When we first got her back, we left her in the sunroom one afternoon while we were in town. We never expected she would try to go out the pet door. When we got back, she had indeed gone out the pet door and was stuck in the cat run. Can you believe this dog fit through this door?!



She never tried that again!

Hypocrisy

Aren't liberals the ones who are sooo concerned about the environment? Quotes and pic taken from several blogs and news sites....


"Inaugural revelers are lucky they didn't get fined for littering. As crowds cleared the city Tuesday, their trash covered the National Mall and Washington Monument grounds after President Barack Obama's inauguration.

They left behind plastic bottles, newspapers, food wrappers, gloves and even American flags they had been waving. Trash bins overflowed with items people tossed."



"While Washington Democrats are busy crafting ways to spend billions upon billions of tax dollars in the name of climate change the Institute for Liberty has helpfully calculated Barack Obama's massive, inaugural carbon footprint.

Their analysis finds:

Celebrities, politicians, and bigwigs using 600 private jets will produce 25,320,000 POUNDS of CO2
Personal vehicles could account for 262,483,200 POUNDS of CO2
In the parade, horses alone will produce more than 400 POUNDS of CO2
The total carbon footprint for the Inauguration will likely exceed 575 million POUNDS of CO2
It would take the average U.S. household 57,598 years to produce a carbon footprint equal to that of the new president's housewarming party"

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Happy Birthday Mimi!

We had a busy day today. I woke up this morning to find that internet service was out for the entire area, so we had to go into the office today. Savy was very well-behaved while we were there. She also used the potty all day today and only had one accident (on the way home while she napped in her carseat).....I'm so proud of her! While we were at the office, we called Mimi to wish her a happy birthday.

I was pretty tired when we got home, so I didn't want to do anything fancy for dinner....that usually means we're having mexican.



In a large skillet combine 1 can Hormel chicken (drained), 1 can fat-free refried beans, 1 packet taco seasoning, chopped onions (I used frozen chopped onions), 1 small can diced tomatoes (drained), and some shredded cheddar or mexican blend cheese. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. In a separate skillet (or toaster oven) toast the large flour tortillas. Spread the filling onto the tortilla and fold in half. Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream.
This is so quick and easy to make. If you want more flavor, you can use rotel tomatoes, real onions, or peppers, but I like to keep it as simple as possible. Savy loves it, and we all know how picky she is!

After dinner, Jon and Savy drew pictures.


Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Snow

It was snowing this morning when we woke up, and Savy got so excited. She had to go check it out before we left for school...I don't think she remembers the snow we had last year. You can't see it in the pics, but it was coming down fairly hard right before we went outside.





We were disappointed that it wasn't cold enough to stick...it stopped just after I dropped Savy off at school.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Now Showing - Fayette County Fantasies

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Act II

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

And Now A Special Performance...

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Friday, January 16, 2009

I'm So Ready For Spring!

I'm grateful that we have an indoor play area nearby for these cold winter days, but I'm getting a little bored with it. Savy still has a good time though...I guess that's all that matters. I'm ready for warm weather so we can go back to the outdoor playgrounds, water parks, and go for long walks again!
This was one crowded rocket ship! All the kids tried to pile on it at once.



Savy and this little girl in the red shirt were big buddies today.



I imagine I'll be wishing for winter sometime around June....I can't believe I'm going to go through my 3rd trimester in the worst part of summer!

Savy is going to spend the weekend at Mimi's house, so she's going to miss her pre-school friend's birthday party tomorrow. She'll have lots of fun though...Pappi always gets her all the chicken nuggets she wants and ice cream too!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Mmmmmm

Some of you may not be breakfast people (Jen), but I am. I could eat breakfast food for every meal, and we frequently have "breakfast for dinner" around here. Tonight I made Creme Brulee French Toast.



I found the recipe on a blog called "I Just Made This"...I wanted to post a link, but I can't find the blog now for some reason. Anyway, here's the recipe.

1 stick butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
12 slices white "texas toast" style bread
8 oz cream cheese
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cup half and half
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
cool whip
sliced strawberries
cinnamon and sugar

Spread a thick layer of cream cheese onto half the slices of bread, then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top of the cream cheese. Put the other half of the bread slices on top so they look like sandwiches. In a saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place the sandwiches in the baking dish on top of the brown sugar mixture. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, half & half, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Pour evenly over bread in the dish. Let sit for 15 minutes until bread soaks up almost all the liquid. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes until puffed and golden. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve upside-down, topped with cool whip and strawberries. I forgot to serve it upside down. I also sprinkled powdered sugar on top.

This was delicious! Even Jon, who told me "I don't really like french toast," ate two helpings. Savy enjoyed it too...finally, something that everyone liked! And yeah, I know, this isn't on the healthy foods list.

Haircut

We didn't do too much yesterday. I took Savy to get a haircut at the local salon...she acted like such a big girl!



After the haircut, we went grocery shopping and came home. Here are some pics of Savy and her BFF Kiki taking a nap together...these were actually taken a few days ago. They just love each other...Savy asks for Kiki to come in first thing every morning.




Last night, we rode into town with Jon and went to Costco. On the way home, we noticed that the new KFC/Taco Bell combo restaurant was finally open, so we stopped and picked up dinner. A KFC that close to home is the LAST thing I need right now...it's gonna be hard to stick to my healthy diet! I spent extra time at the gym this morning to make up for last night, but it probably wasn't long enough.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

11 weeks

I had my second prenatal md visit today. The doc wasn't able to hear the heartbeat on the doppler, so I got another ultrasound. Once we got a picture, the ultrasound tech said, "I know why she couldn't catch the heartbeat with the doppler...this baby's a wiggleworm!" It was very active and kept putting its hands and feet out toward the sound....I got a very clear view of both hands and both feet. It took the tech a while to get a shot of the baby stretched out so she could measure the length, and even that shot is blurry because it was moving so much.



She said everything looks great! I've only gained 2 pounds....and I had shoes on this time (I didn't on my first visit when I weighed), so maybe not even that much. We'll be able to find out the gender on my march visit. I have a feeling it's a boy this time...anyone else care to make a guess?

Playtime

Yesterday I took Savy to the play area again. She loves going there, but I can't wait until it's warm enough to go back to the water parks. There weren't really that many kids there yesterday. And, yes, I know most of my pics are blurry...she's fast!



Action shot



Savy and this little girl sat together for awhile....then they chased boys all over the play area.



I let her play for a long time...she was worn out when we left.