27 Weeks

One more week and then I've made it to 3rd trimester. My blood pressure is still good, so yay me!

Merry Christmas

She's going to be the death of me!

Every time AM leaves my sight I find her standing on top of the counters. This little girl is so michevious I'm not sure she's going to make it to her 2nd birthday. I'm doing my best though to try and make it happen.

Just call us the sickies...

Mom - Still a bit of a cough, can mostly sleep if she has lots and lots of benadryl to help her sleep and breathe.

Dad (otherwise known as DA) - popped something in his back. Can hardly move and can't bend over at all. I'm putting on his socks and tying his shoes for him.

TJ - Fever and headache.

AM - Croupy, yucky sounding cough. Lots of tears involved.

Baby #3 - totally healthy and probably reaping the benefits (ie. antibodies) from mom being sick.

Debbie Downer

I really should just stick to recipes because I am such a downer at the moment.

When I'm pregnant I catch every stray germ that passes by my house. When I was pg with AM I had the stomach flu twice and 6 colds. So far this pg I have had the stomach flu once and I'm on my third cold. I've been coughing for 2 1/2 weeks and just as things have started to get better I'm getting a head cold. Aparently not being able to sleep at night for a week, then being awake from 1 am the night before and being hormonal isn't a good combo. I came apart at the seams this morning and DA had to come and work from home so I could take some heavy duty cold meds (ha! as if you can take anything really good when pregnant) and go to bed. Benadryl and I are good friend now. By the end of the week I bet we'll be best friends! It's taken all week to realize that it was a cold coming on and not that pregnancy induced stuffiness you hear about. (I never claimed to be smart!)

Anyway, I was given a blessing tonight that gave some comfort. TJ and AM sat on the couch the whole time with their arms folded. For AM it was quite the feat! She is the original wiggly worm.

Anyway, that is what we've been up to. Lots and lots of jammie days and hermit like behavior trying to get Mom better. Maybe someday it will actually work.

All Day Apple Butter

It seems all I am doing these days that is worth reporting is cooking. So here is my latest recipe.

I made this and it couldn't have been any easier. The more varieties you use the better it will taste. I used Braeburn, Fuji, Gala, Pink Ladies, and Granny Smith.
The original recipe can be found here. In my recipe below I adjusted the amounts of spices the original recipe called for.

All Day Apple Butter

5 ½ pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 ½ cups sugar
1 – 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place apples in a slow cooker. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt; pour over apples and mix well. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently as it thickens to prevent sticking). Uncover and cook on low 1 hour longer. If desired, stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Great new soup ... Beef Barley Soup

I was tired of all the normal soups I make so I went searching. I found this on recipezaar and it totally lived up to all the great reviews. We loved it.

Beef Barley Soup

1 lb stew meat

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

4 cups beef broth

4 cups chicken broth

3 cups water

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 large carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, sliced thin

1 cup quick barley

1 (1 ounce) package au jus mix

Heat oil in large Dutch oven and cook stew meat until just barely cooked through. Drain fat from meat. Add onions and garlic. Cook for few minutes.

Add broth, water, and seasonings. Simmer for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours for beef to become tender. Add veggies and cook for another 15 minutes. Stir in au jus mix and add barley. Cook until barley is tender. (If it's the quick barley it'll take about 10-12 minutes.) Salt to taste and serve.

Really yummy... Blueberry Muffins

I had some fresh blueberries and was trying to find a way to use them. I read this blog Recipe for Disaster? every now and again and they had just posted a recipe for blueberry muffins. Just in the nick of time! I tried it and they were awesome! I'm going to try another recipe this weekend and I'll let you know which one I like better.


To Die For Blueberry Muffins

From: Jennie

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

TJ makes me laugh

Tonight TJ had DA and I giggling through his bedtime prayer. He is so sweet and earnest, yet the things he says! First off, you shouldn't be in any hurry. His prayers are VERY thorough and long. But tonight he was listing off his usual things and then added he was thankful for mom and her knitting, and that Dad could go to work and go golfing. But what really had us giggling was when he said he was thankful for waking up in the morning and putting on clean underwear.

I guess we all have our priorities!

Google Reader and stuff

Where have you been hiding? Or am I the one who has been hiding under a rock? I finally set it up and I can't tell you how awesome it is to click one link and see all the blogs that have been updated instead of clicking each.... and... every.... link.... I have saved in my favorites.

I'm in love!

Not much to update on us. AM is still stripping and has acquired rather amazing skills in duct tape removal.

TJ is loving soccer and I saw a lot of improvement at the last game. A few times he was actually ahead of the crowd near the ball instead of running around at the back of the herd.

DA is still playing golf but the cold weather is hampering that a bit.

And I'm still taking care of it all. Nothing much changes!

Ugh!

TJ has been grounded since Thursday and it was extended for bad behavior. He is so on my nerves. Who's punishing who here?

Baby Update - 12 weeks

I had a good appointment today. My blood pressure is still awesome (108/64), baby's heartrate was 157, I gained 7 lbs (UGH!), and everything else is looking good. On October 16th we get to find out what we are having!

What am I supposed to do now?

To keep AM dressed during naps and bedtime we've been pinning her jammies closed. (yes, we have to change her into jammies for her naps now) Then we had to move the pin to the inside of the jammies. Now she has figured out that. What's next? How do I keep my daughter dressed and out of her diaper?

Really kid. Give me a break. I know you're smart, but you're trying my patience!

Okay...

So I found another site and I like it better than the background that existed for about 10 minutes. But I still want to know if there are any other sites out there.

Bored, Bored, BORED...

Anyone know of a place to get free backgrounds besides Delightful Dots and Cutest Blog on the Block? I changed mine (duh!) and I'm not satisfied. You know the fate of the world relies on the perfect background. Right?

Birthday's....

It's my birthday today and what is TJ doing? He's in the family room wrapping up his Mac and cars for HIS birthday. He asks when his birthday is nearly everyday and apparently waiting until it is cold and snowy is just too much to handle. He's convinced his is tomorrow and he's making sure he gets a present.

I love how kids think the world truly revolves around them. They come up with some strange logic to compensate for that thinking.

Pictures from this summer...

Enjoying her sour cream. Yum!

In the Dinosauer Museum at Thanksgiving Point.

In the Children's Garden at Thanksgiving Point.

Try to keep AM from stripping down completely.

At my dad's side of the family reunion. It looks like TJ and Graysen are the only one's who were there, but I didn't take a camera and I got these one's from my sister.

It was a 4th of July miracle!

T.J. actually ran through the sprinklers. Now, for those of you who don't know T.J. very well, he doesn't like to get dirty, wet, make a mess, or anything else you would think a boy would do. Now A.M. would happily do all the above.

Last year we tried running through sprinklers I grabbed his hand and got him to run through with me. However, I then had to dry his tears and get a change of clothing for him because he was wet.

So... it was a 4th of July miracle. We started out with the hose on the slide because T.J. actually agreed to that. Then it took me 10 minutes to talk him into getting his swim trunks on. But after that? He loved it! Then we moved to the sprinklers after that. And you know what? He liked that too. Maybe Mom knows what she's talking about after all.

The next hurdle is pools. He's been to two birthday parties in the past month and has refused to swim or get wet at both of them. But, it's all about baby steps.

Oh, and for the record.... I didn't get T.J. dressed. He chose the clashing swim outfit all by himself.

Thanks to Betty Crocker.... Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

I had Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies for dessert tonight. So... now that my butt is growing bigger, I thought I would share, so yours can grow bigger with mine. See what a good friend I am!
Brownie Base
1 box (1 lb 6.5 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme brownie mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box


Filling
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk


Topping
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray or shortening. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.)


2. In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, pouch of chocolate syrup, water, oil and eggs until well blended. Spread in pan. Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

3. In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over brownie base. (Make sure your butter is REALLY soft. Mine wasn't so my mixture was really hard and sticky. My brownies ended up being completely flattened because I was pushing down too hard trying to spread the stuff!)

4. In small microwavable bowl, microwave topping ingredients uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds; stir until smooth. Cool 5 minutes, or so; spread over filling. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set. For brownies, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

What's a Daddy to do?

This is what happens when Daddy is in charge of bedtime and can't find the safety pin that keeps AM from stripping naked.