The Crafty Nest

 Check out The Crafty Nest, they are having and awesome giveaway for a woombie!

Zachary's birth story!

Zachary Bryant was born on Thanksgiving morning at 12:02 am! 7 lbs, 6 oz and 19 inches long. I was really hoping he'd wait a little longer since we had house guests coming for Thanksgiving, but he's like his Daddy....doesn't listen to Mama LOL.

I woke up at 5:15am on Wednesday morning with contractions that didn't feel worse then cramps, and they were about 20 minutes apart. I had a doctor appointment at 9:45am anyway that morning so I thought I'd just wait until then and see what happens....and I continued to have contractions around 20 minutes apart the whole time. I made sure I was packed for the hospital because I just assumed he'd send me there after the appointment. The doctor checked me and said I wasn't dilated or anything....that he even expected me at my appointment next week. He must of thought I was just having Braxton Hicks or something....but there was no way I was lasting another week with that pain. We went to Target after that to pick up some groceries, just in case I did have to go to the hospital and I was having contractions about every 10-15 minutes. Even while I was looking at the spices (stupid Target didn't have whole cloves or allspice....but I could of missed them since I wasn't fully concentrating lol) I started to have a contraction and the woman next to me was like "are you all right?". After about 30 minutes we left and drove around for a bit, Craig was showing me a new park to take Ethan to, but I wasn't really paying attention at the time so I'm not 100% on where it is heh. By now the contractions were getting worse each hour and getting closer together, so I basically laid on the couch the rest of the day timing contractions and trying to "breathe" (haha like that could happen in the pain) through them and stay calm.

At around 7:00 Craig made me call the doctor because the contractions had been 8 minutes apart for 2 hours and they were getting horribly painful. The nurse I spoke to said to hurry to the ER because with second babies the labor can come on quickly, and to not listen to the doctor who said I'm not in labor lol. The house was a disaster since I was on the couch all day and Craig was at my side almost the whole time, so Ethan had created a hurricane of toys/mess because he was bored. So I'm trying to clean up a bit while having contractions and even in between them I just am feeling sore.....but we left for the hospital by 7:30. That's after waddling to the car going the speed of a snail. I called my Mom and let my parents know that I was on the way to the hospital, and my poor Mom had already started cooking Thanksgiving dinner so she had to stop so they could "run" (we're about an hour away!") up here to get Ethan. On the way to the hospital I started to feel a lot of pressure down there and I just kept thinking of all the TV shows where the woman delivers in the car so I started praying that it didint' happen that way!

We get checked in and I'm in the labor room by 8pm. Ethan of course gets some stickers and a coloring page from the ER check in nurse....how does he manage to always get stickers wherever he goes? The nurse checks me and said I'm about 3cm dilated so they will come back and check me in an hour, and if I haven't progressed I can go home if I want. After the hour has passed she checks and I'm at 5cm! Needless to say, she said I needed to stay and we get me all hooked up and she asks if I want an epidural. I told her I wanted to wait just a little bit to see how I can handle it while we get everything else all hooked up. Well about 2 hours later I was more then ready, but of course it takes a little while for the anesthesiologist to come, so I think he was there by like maybe 10:30pm. The whole time I felt like such a baby because I'd be moaning so much during contractions, I even had some tears on some of them.

After I get my epidural (after having the worst contraction ever while he's inserting it....I was trying so hard to stay still, I kept thinking "don't move, you don't want to be paralyzed!" lol) I started to feel some relief even after about 5 minutes. By 20 minutes I was aaaalllll gooooood. I was calm and relaxed, but yet I wasn't dead weight like I was with Ethan. I could actually move my legs and body, even though they felt tingly....yet I couldn't feel the contractions!! The anesthesiologist did it perfectly. Well....almost perfectly. The epidural was PAINFUL, it wasn't with Ethan....but man it hurt this time. The nurse later told me that that anesthesiologist tends not to numb it as much as he should. Here I am over a week later and when I move a certain way I can still feel slight pain where it was.

When the nurse came in to insert the catheter, she also checked to see how I was progressing at the same time. I was 10 cm dilated!!!! I was shocked. Like, very shocked that it had happened that fast. The nurse estimated that I was probably 8cm-barely 9am dilated when I got the epidural, and if I had waited any longer I would of missed my chance.

whew. I made it! *wipes sweat off brow*

So I started pushing, and I pushed through I think 2 contractions before they had me stop and wait for the doctor. I hate waiting for the doctor to get there because I can FEEL the baby in the birth canal and it's a very uncomfortable feeling. I never wanted to watch the birth, but I did reach down during this time to feel what was going on.....and I don't know what I felt but what I pictured was a big swollen mess so I'm glad I didn't see it haha. We waited 20-30 minutes for the doctor to get there, and I pushed through 2 more contractions and I hear Craig say "There he is! Your almost there!, I can see him!" and I'm shocked that it's been that fast (I pushed for an hour with Ethan, and I ended up with an episiotomy and forceps)  and then out he came! I only tore slightly and needed just a few stitches and geez...the recovery is a billion times better then it was with the episiotomy.

I immediately got to hold him for about 5 minutes before they cleaned/weighed/measured all that good stuff, then after that he nursed for AN HOUR! It took Ethan 8 days to latch on. Zack hasn't unlatched since haha.

I think some of the times are off because I know I had the epidural for less then an hour. This labor was a billion times easier then Ethan's, even if it was more painful. I'm not sure how long I was in labor for, since I wasn't dilated even at 10:30 that morning....but it was quick!

Ethan is adjusting okay, he goes from giving Zack lot's of kisses to hitting him and throwing a ton of tantrums, but the tantrums could also be because he's just about 20 months old now and is getting to that age. It's hard for me because I have to nurse Zack 70% of the day and I can tell Ethan is bored, so I feel very guilty but I figure it's just a phase and if it's not raining we could go for walks or something. But still...that Mom guilt sucks :P

I'm just glad we didint wait for the contractions to be 5 minutes apart for an hour (like the doctor said to do), or wait any later because I would of had the baby at home!

It's getting close, I'm 37 weeks and 2 days! At my last ultrasound I was measuring a week ahead, so I could be 38 weeks!!! I can't wait. I know I'm going to be completely exhausted, but I cant wait to meet Zach. Or Zac, we haven't decided lol.

As soon as I can find my camera charger, I'll post the fall garland I made out of silk leaves, pom poms and those bendy felt sticks...I cant recall the name at the moment.

Here is the meal plan for the week:

Monday:
Asian Peanut Butter Pork. I omitted the onions and chopped peanuts, and added in some bell peppers. We ate it with coconut rice...and it was amazingly good! Even Craig liked it, which shocked me. Ethan hated it so he ate pears, sweet potato fries and garlic bread. He has weird taste.

Tuesday:
Chili Chicken Sandwiches with fries

Wednesday:
Lemon chicken with roasted potatoes and green beans

Thursday:
Chipotle Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Friday:
Leftovers

Saturday:
"Goop" baked beans + onions + garlic + spicy mustard + worchestershire sauce + corn

Sunday:
Easy Chicken Chilaquiles

Princess Leia Beanie

Here is the Princess Leia beanie! If I wanted to make it super nice and had tons of time, I would do it all in single crochet....but it's all done in double because I thought I needed it done by Wednesday. To make the buns I just crochet a long line (like a mini scarf), sewed it into a tube and stuffed it with polyfil.

I made these amazing tasting Pumpkin Apple Strudel muffins that I brought into Craig's work. I ended up making them into mini muffins because it would be faster, and I think they are cute that way :)

BUT, I didn't notice Ethan had swiped my bottle of cinnamon from the counter. I thought he was just playing with his toys over there...but nope, it was the cinnamon. This is the aftermath:

This was just in the living room. It was also all over the hallway leading to the kitchen...and you can see some of it on the corner of our leather ottoman. He was covered in cinnamon and had orange feet, but at least our house smells good! I'm in the process of trying to get the orange color out of the carpet though :(

Menu Plan

I LOVE that it's finally feeling cool outside! No more 90 degree heat, woohoo! Last night was the Halloween carnival downtown and we were planning on going, but by the time Craig got home from work there was only a half hour left of it :( I would of just taken Ethan myself, but by the end of the day my back is killing me and I have bad sciatica....yay for pregnancy. Ah well, there is a Halloween celebration at Superfranks on Friday, and on Saturday there is something at the Great Mall...so we can take Ethan to either of those hopefully.

I also finished my Princess Leia beanie on Tuesday, I'll take some pictures and put them up ASAP. It's FAR from perfect because I was in a hurry (for the carnival lol) so I used double crochet on the bun part, but I really should of used single crochet because you can see some stuffing showing through....and the whole thing is just a tad to big. But I still like it :)

Here was our menu for the week:

Monday:
Sloppy Joes using plain 'ol manwich because I accidentally opened the can on Sunday instead of the chili can. Oops. Along with corn on the cobb.

Tuesday:
Some leftover frozen BBQ beef that I had frozen and thawed. It was just a pulled pork recipe I added some Sweet Baby Ray's to.

Wednesday:
Slow Cooker Spinach Pesto Lasagna. SO GOOD! I wasn't sure how lasagna would be in the slow cooker, but it was excellent. I've been trying to do one meatless dish a week to save up some money, and this is perfect...both Craig and Ethan loved it!

Thursday:
Leftover lasagna.

Friday:
Cinnamon Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin Sage Grits. I've never made this but I've had the recipe for a long time and it looks nice and fall-ish :) I don't think any of us have had grits though!

Saturday:
Slow Cooker Orange Teriyaki Chicken. I'll probably make this early on in the day to much on this weekend. This might change though, I hate to make a big amount of food when I have dinner planned the next day. I might do Rachael Ray's Pumpkin Penne instead, we'll see.

Sunday, Halloween!:
Pumpkin Chili (variations on this recipe)
Cranberry Cornbread
I'll probably make other Halloween themed treats today too :)

Dinner Review and Updates

Dinner last night was slow cooker chicken cordon bleu, and it was a big hit woohoo! I like when slow cooker things are a hit, it's so easy lol. The only thing I did differently was sprinkle pepper, garlic and rosemary on top of the chicken before I poured the soup on. Craig requested that this goes in our "rotation", and Ethan ate a bunch of it! Ethan also ate a bunch of the broccoli and cheese which surprised me though.

I received a sample in the mail of Quaker's Life Cinnamon Roll Raisin Pecan bar from Walmart, and I just ate the for breakfast (I'm sure I'll have a second breakfast in about 2 hours or so haha) and it was good! I was worried that it was going to be to super sweet, but it was just lightly sweetened and the cinnamon flavor really stood out. Only 150 calories so not bad at all.

I've got the beanie part done of my Leia beanie and I'm about half way through the first bun, that is if the technique I'm doing to create it actually works lol. I've never seen a crochet Leia beanie pattern so I'm just making one up for Halloween. I figure I'll just wear a white tee and some jeans and be done with it....I need comfy since I'll be almost 36 weeks pregnant :P

For the past week I've been wanting to change my polish color to China Glaze Ick-A-Bod-Y for Halloween, but I'm dreading/procrastinating taking off Zombie Zest....I'm worried since it's a glitter it will take forever, and it's so hard to reach my feet now a days! Maybe we can see if we can squeeze in a pedi somewhere, but who knows....I hate checking the bank to see how the money is going lol.

The Friday before Halloween I'm going to take Ethan into Craig's work in his costume, and I'll probably make some candy corn Halloween bark to bring in since I have a bag of candy corn because I wasen't able to get around to my candy corn wreath. I'm not complaining though, I filled up my crafting time with Etsy orders! :) I LOVE the way candy corn looks, it's so festive....but I just cannot get into the taste. I really wish I could because I enjoy looking at it lol, but I guess it's better for the waist that way!

Meatloaf

I know everyone has a meatloaf recipe, but I made this one last night (based on Pioneer Woman's of course) and it was so good! I only use 1lb of meat because 2lbs just makes way to much, we always have leftovers with 1lb, so it's hard to find recipes that we can use.

Meatloaf:

1 lb ground beef
1 diced onion
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp dry mustard
Black pepper to taste
1/4 tsp seasoned salt - I used Lawry's
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 tbs worcestershire
1/2 cup ketchup
6 strips bacon
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup dry seasoned breadcrumbs
1/3 cup oatmeal


You can use all breadcrumbs or all oatmeal if you'd like, but I like the flavor and texture of both together.

Sauce:

1 tbs spicy brown mustard
1/3 cup bbq sauce
1 tbs brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the ground beef, parmesan, seasoned salt, black pepper, parsley, onion, dry mustard, worcestershire, ketchup, eggs, breadcrumbs and oatmeal into a large mixing bowl. Mix with your hands, it's easiest....even if it is messiest.

Place loaf shape on a broiler pan, adding foil to the bottom for easy cleanup.

In another bowl, add brown mustard, bbq sauce and brown sugar and stir to combine. Pour over top of loaf.

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Bake for 1 hour.

I served it with corn on the cobb (Ethan's favorite!), and these Green Giant Roasted Red Potatoes, Green Beans & Rosemary Butter Sauce, which was so good!

Brobee Beanie Pattern!

New pattern available in my shop, the Brobee beanie! Brobee is a green monster from Yo Gabba Gabba who has crazy arms and gets kids to eat with a song called "Party in my Tummy".

Basically, he's the best character :P

Get it here!

Cupcake wreath and cupcake beanie!

Here is another custom cupcake beanie! Chocolate cake, lavender frosting and multi colored sprinkles, although it was hard to capture the sprinkle colors in that light.

 

I'm also working on creating custom wreaths with custom appliques. Here is a cupcake one for my kitchen, but I think a felt cupcake applique would look better! You'd be able to pick the colors and whatever type of applique you'd want (cupcake, hearts, flowers etc). I think it's pretty fun :)

I made this monster wreath back in 2006, and I know it's a terrible picture...but it's Halloween decor! I'll have to see about getting a better picture :) All I did was cut 2 circles out of fun fur, cut slits in it for the eyes....and I hot glued it all together and stuffed it with plastic grocery bags.

Need Coffee!

That quesadilla casserole I made last night was sooooo good! Even Ethan liked it, and he's super picky! The only thing I did differently was I added a can of refried beans into the mashed bean mixture, added cheddar along with the jack cheese....and topped the servings with sour cream and salsa. Mmmm, I'm glad we have leftovers for lunch today.

I discovered a new craft that I want to make the boys....a quiet book! They are all over the internet, and I'm just discovering them this morning lol. They look incredibly time consuming, but I bet Ethan would love it. I was thinking I'd make him a Christmas themed one, but I'm not sure I'll have time with all the gifts I've planned to make them.

I'm really hoping that Kohls will still have this Halloween Cupcake Cookie Jar after Halloween! I wanted to wait until it was super cheap, but I might pick it up since there was only 2 left last time I was there. 

I need some coffee before I can continue life, brb.

Crochet Christmas Gift Ideas

I've barely posted lately because this third trimester is wearing me out! It wasn't this bad with Ethan, but I could nap whenever I wanted to then....now I have an 18 month old to take care of :)

Since money is tight this year, I'll be making a lot of Christmas gifts for the boys. So far I plan on making these:
- 3 crochet lightsabers (1 for Craig, he'd kill me if I didn't make him one too haha)
- Gigi Giraf. I've started this one for Zac but it's on hold until I finish up 1 more project
- Desmond the Moose for Ethan, this designer has such awesome patterns
- Some textured/colorful stuffed crochet blocks for Zac
- Some felt/crochet play food for both

That's just what I have on my list now, I'm hoping that's do-able lol. I have a bunch more I'd like to make...but I'm trying to be realistic since I'll have a newborn soon :D

I also plan on getting us some nice stockings since ours are from Dollar Tree, but Craig wants me to crochet some. I'd love to, but I don't have time to do everything I want to already haha. Target usually has pretty cute stockings though, I cant wait until all their Christmas stuff is out!


Meal plan for the week:

Monday:
Garlic Chicken, corn on the cobb and rice pilaf

Tuesday:
Quesadilla Casserole
This probably will have leftovers, so it will screw up my weeks plan lol

Wednesday:
Slow Cooker A-1 and Dijon Steak
Mashed potatoes
corn on the cobb

Thursday:
Meatloaf
Broccoli and Cheese
Garlic Toast

Friday/Sat:
Slow Cooker Pesto Spinach Lasagna

Sunday:
Zippy Orange BBQ Chicken Pockets, I haven't decided what to serve these with yet though!

Super Awesome Iced Mocha

So I discovered Burger King's Iced Mocha's....they are so good! But they are like $2.50 each and with a new baby coming that just seems like such a waste of money, so I made up my own. It's not an exact replica, but it's tasty :)

Iced Mocha

- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons chocolate milk mix (I use Quick, but something like Ovaltine is probably healthier)
- 2 tsp Splenda
- 2 tsp instant coffee powder
- Half cup water (optional) but I my iced coffee a little thinner
- Ice cubes

Just pour everything but the ice into a nice big glass and stir stir stir until it all dissolves. Add the ice and a straw and be happy that you didn't have to leave the house, or spend $2.50 :)

Pumpkin patch this weekend!

We are taking Ethan to the pumpkin patch for this first time this weekend! Hopefully today, but who knows since Craig works today. I cant wait to get pictures! I am planning on getting a cute shot with a pumpkin and printing it out to send to family as a Halloween card, but we'll see if Ethan feels like cooperating :)

I have some projects that I'm almost done with that I'll be posting this next week, and I'm hoping one of them will be either a candy corn wreath or candy corn garland....if I can get around to it between my Etsy orders. I cant believe the baby will be here next month!! I'm so excited to meet him, and I'm excited to not be pregnant anymore LOL. As much as I love feeling the baby move, I cant wait to get my body back. I got pregnant in 2008 with Ethan, had him in 2009....breastfed him until May 2010, and by then I was already pregnant with this one. So I'm kind of excited to be done being pregnant and nursing for a little while, just be back to myself :) That is until baby #3!

I went to Sally's to pick up China Glaze nail polish in Ick-a-body to wear as a Halloween pedi, but all the polish was on sale for like $3.29 so I ended up picking up the other 2 colors of the Awakening collection! I'm really loving Zombie Zest, and normally I'm not a fan of greens. I might even do a Zombie Zest mani this weekend since it's so awesome.

Meal Plan for the week:

Saturday:
Ground Beef Stroganoff and green beans

Sunday:
Grilled burgers and fries

Monday:
I'll be at my parents house for my Mom's birthday so it's crockpot day!
Chicken Enchilada Chili that I will add in some corn, cheese and sour cream

Tuesday:
Leftover chili! Maybe with some cornbread or something too.

Wednesday:
Pork Apple Potato Saute

Thursday:
Penne with Ricotta and Bacon

Friday and Saturday (leftovers on Saturday):
The infamous "Goop" which is just 2 cans baked beans, 1 can corn, 3 tbs bbq sauce, 2 tbs spicy brown mustard (or Dijon if I have it), 2 tbs worcestershire and some salt and pepper. Topped with a dollop of sour cream!

RIP Slow Cooker :(

I woke up to the sound of a bunch of mugs and glasses falling out of the shelf when Craig was grabbing a mug....which I knew would happen one day since they were all stacked up. A few broke, I don't care....but they fell onto the lid of my slow cooker and it broke in half!

*cries*

I use my slow cooker at least once a week, it's my favorite kitchen appliance :(

The crockpot website shows there are no replacement parts for my model, and it looks like my model is an older one anyway, so maybe this is a good excuse to get one that has a timer on it! I always wanted one that I could program and be gone all day, just in case. There has been a few times where the meat was a little dry from being overcooked, so this would be awesome. I'll just wait until Kohls sends me a coupon and do it that way.

To celebrate the first day of fall yesterday, I had some peppermint mocha creamer in my coffee (yum!) and I made Rachel Ray's Apple Chicken Chili, which I ended up botching. Oops. The recipe calls for canned beans, but since I have a TON of dried beans I thought I'd try that, so I soaked them overnight.....but I didn't fully read the directions so I didn't cook them before using them in the chili. So the beans were still kind of hard lol. The flavor of the chili was nice though, it was super mild so next time I think I would use cheddar cheese and add some more spices in....but I was still kinda disappointed in the result.

Ethan and I went to Kohls yesterday just to do some window shopping, and they have some Christmas stuff out already! They have *the* cutest strawberry and coffee cup ornaments that I might go back and pick up today :). Craig is hopefully going to be able to work from home after 9am today, so maybe I can go back by myself and just get a little break to do some browsing. Ahhhh that sounds wonderful.

Review: Glucose Tolerance Drink

Just kidding.

I had to take my gestational diabetes test yesterday, which actually was kinda nice because Ethan stayed home with Craig and I brought my crochet for an hour of uninterrupted crafting time. I got to finish a whole beanie!

Today I think I will brave the library, they have a baby/toddler story time....I know Ethan wont sit there and listen, but he would like to see the other kids and just get out. We try to go somewhere every day because I'm always worried he's bored. He probably is int but I always freak that he needs more stimulation lol.

Dinners this week:
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings. Which was amazing by the way!
Louisiana Red Beans and Rice
Tacos
French Dips


This is just a quick post because Ethan is waking up. Have a great day :D

Meal Plans and I love William Sonoma

I hate when I cant go back to sleep after Craig leaves for work, but at least I can do some window shopping online!

Williams Sonoma has some of THE CUTEST stuff. Seriously. Halloween pancake molds? Star Wars cookie cutters? Mugs that have tops so they look like pumpkins?

To bad they can be $$$$ too.

I have quite a few projects that I need to start working on, 1 is a custom order from Etsy, the pumpkin crochet-a-long, and I STILL haven't finished Ethan's Brobee beanie. I've just been so exhausted at the end of the day I am even to tired to crochet!


Tonight for dinner I'm making Honey Mustard Mozzarella Chicken and Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potatoes. Craig is not normally a fan of sweet potatoes but I love them so we can have them every once in awhile :P Ethan is even starting to like them!

I made lasagna earlier this week and we've been having leftovers on that (that's why I heart lasagna), I'll post the recipe once I get it all down....I tend to just throw things in lol. Tomorrow we'll be having  Tex Mex Cheesesteaks again, I cant help it, they are just waaaay to yummy!

Sunday is tacos. We usually just marinate in salsa and some seasonings, but I have a Baja Chipotle marinade that has been wanting to be used, so I think I'll try that. Just top them off with cheese, sour cream, avocados and salsa and it's mmmmmm.

I've been craving the WEIRDEST things this pregnancy. I barely craved anything (but sour things, soymilk and chocolate) with Ethan...but this time around I've been wanting pumpkin. I normally am not the hugest fan of pumpkin, but for some reason anything pumpkin sounds amazing. To bad I cant find canned pumpkin in the stores, so I've been having to make due with pumpkin Pop Tarts and pumpkin butter lol. I was craving chocolate badly over the summer, but luckily that's gone. Now I want red beans and rice, and I've only had it once. Pregnancy is so weird.

Blogger is being all wonky.

I think I'll take Ethan to the Harvest Festival at the fairgrounds today, he'll love to see all the people. It looks pretty cool from the website, and I have a free ticket! Although trying to wrangle him by myself in a crowd does not sound fun lol.

Treasury!

Thank you BittyBellaBeads for adding my cupcake beanie into your treasury!

I'm hungry.

If you play World of Warcraft, you'll understand that reference.....which means, my account got hacked! No idea how, but all my stuff and gold was gone when I finally was able to log in. Not only did they take my stuff, I got a 3 hour ban because they were spamming for gold selling sites. Yay. Luckily I was able to get everything back, but it still sucks.

Craig had a 2 day weekend last weekend! It was so nice just having him around, and you can tell Ethan loved it too. We took him to the fountain downtown to play, but he mainly just likes to people watch....along with doing his "yoga pose" lol. We leave for LA this weekend and I'm so excited to take him to the beach again!

I'll be bringing crochet down for the trip, so I'll probably start on my Pumpkin Crochet-a-long, and maybe Ethan's hoodie that I've been wanting to work on.

I've also had this Babette Blanket in my que on Ravelry for at least a year, and depending on finances this month I might get the yarn. We really need a blanket for the couch and I think this would just be to cute!

Dinner last night was Slow Cooker Marmalade Chicken Curry which was amazing, even Craig liked it! It was a little to spicy for Ethan though so he just had rice, a chicken strip and peas and carrots. This week has been a "use up what we have" week and so far so good! Last night I made Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta which was soooo good, but sooooo fattening with all the heavy cream I used lol. Ethan LOVED it though! Tonight will either be sloppy joes or meatloaf...and I'm leaning towards meatloaf since we dont have any cheese and we only have regular bread. Tomorrow is payday though woohoo!

Halloween Witch Amigurumi Cupcake

A freshly baked blushing cupcake ready for Halloween! Purple frosting with spooky green swirls and a sweet witch hat!

Cupcake measures a little over 5 inches high from bottom to tip of the hat.

Now I want to make a bunch more like pumpkins and mummies! We'll see what I have the time for lol :)

Cupcake Beanie!

It's 10am and I've already cleaned the house and Ethan is napping! He actually started saying "ni nigh" (night night) over and over and brought me his bottle....so I asked him if he wanted to go lay down in his crib and he said yes! I was SHOCKED lol.

I suppose I should go shower now why he's sleeping but it feels so nice just to relax for a moment.

My aunt, her fiance and my cousin are coming over sometime today to see our new apartment and Ethan. They are bringing pizza and beer....I miss beer :P

Here was a custom cupcake beanie with rosette sprinkles I shipped out this week.



Next weekend we are going down to Laguna Beach to visit Craig's grandparents! I cant wait to take Ethan to the beach! We took him for Memorial Day and he LOVED it, he didn't care that the water was freezing. I would bring my swimsuit and go in the ocean, but I swear....every girl down there is tan, thin and in a bikini. Here I am pasty white and pregnant LOL.

This week dinners are going to be CHEAP since we had to spend some money on the car that we didn't really have, so I'm thinking things like spaghetti, garlic chicken and "goop". Goop is such a terrible name for the dish but it's so easy and inexpensive! I'll post a recipe soon....you will laugh at the ingredient in the "recipe" :P

I joined the Pumpkin Patch Crochet-a-long at Itsy Bitsy Spider Crochet! I have some ideas for pumpkins, one of them is if I can find sparkly yarn....make a glitter pumpkin!

Treasury!

Yay thank you MoMmAB7 for including me in your kids Halloween costume treasury!

Cupcake Beanie added to shop!

I realize these pictures are terrible, I'll have to get some better ones in the morning light....but here is a cupcake beanie I was *aaaallllmooost* done with for the longest time, so I finally thought I'd finish it to add to my shop! It's a super soft light aqua cake base with soft fuzzy white frosting and pink button sprinkles!









Here is me at 26 weeks! I'm so much bigger then with Ethan....but I'm also about 15 lbs heavier to start with LOL.

Super Easy Unbaked Cheesecake

I've been making this cheesecake for Craig for awhile now....he always requests it for holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, or when he wants a cheesecake. Which would be all the time if I let it lol.

It's not that pretty, but it's light, fluffy and extremely easy to make and very tasty!

Note: This is a very whipped cheesecake, it wont firm up like a regular cheesecake. Some find the filling to sweet so you can lower the sugar if you'd prefer.

Graham Cracker Crust:

- 6 tbs butter (yes it's A LOT, but I find the crust doesnt stay together as well with less butter. Use less if you want, it will just make it a bit more crumbly but still taste good)
- 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup sugar - I like to mix brown and white

Cheesecake:

- 1 8oz package cream cheese
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar - I've used a mixture of powdered and regular to make it less fluffy before

1) Mix together graham cracker crumbs, margarine, and sugar in a bowl until well incorporated and crumbly. Press into a pie plate, going up the sides as much as possible.

2) Beat whipping cream in a bowl until fluffy. Add in the cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla and powdered sugar and beat/whip until light and fluffy. Pour into the pie crust and smooth with a spatula.

Refrigerate 2-3 hours until firm, or if you want some asap....freeze for 30 minutes :)

Tex Mex Cheesesteaks

I don't often make Rachael Ray recipes, the ingredient list always seems to be long, with ingredients I've never bought.

Fennel?

Shallots? (onions are so much cheaper :P)

Dill? I know that's not weird, but I really HATE the flavor of dill. I have no idea why....it's such a common ingredient, but the taste is so off putting to me.

I used to have a subscription to the Rachael Ray magazine a few years ago, and had saved all the magazines. Now that I have 2 (well, 1 and a half) kids I needed more space on the bookshelf! So I've been going through and pulling out recipes that I'd actually make.

This Tex Mex Cheesesteak I made last night, with a few modifications.

I have to say, I think it's better with my modifications, even if I've never had it the normal way :P Craig said "See this is the stuff I like, not things with fruit". If I made black bean tacos with pineapple, he'd say "these are ok, but I like regular better". AAAHHHHHH. He just likes boring 'ol same things, while I like fun and new foods. *sobs*

He doesnt like sweet potatoes or pumpkin, but as soon as I see pumpkin in the store I'm cooking with it....I'm pregnant and I'm the cook so we are having what I want sometimes! ;)


Here is the original. Here is my recipe:

• 2 Hass avocados
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Coarse salt - I used sea salt
  
• 4 soft hoagie or kaiser rolls, split (toasted if desired). I used french.
• One 12.25-ounce box thawed frozen steak for cheesesteaks, such as Steak-umm
• 1 small onion chopped into strips
  
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tbs butter
  
• 1 teaspoons chili powder
• 6 ounces Jack cheese, 3 oz cheddar cheese - shredded
• 1 tomato, sliced, for serving
• 1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/3 tsp cumin
  

1) Mash the avocados with the lime juice and add salt to taste. Arrange the rolls open on plates and spread the avocado mixture on the roll tops.

2) Add the butter and onion to the saute pan and saute until onions start to soften. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Cook 3 portions of steak over medium-high heat, seasoning lightly with all the seasonings, for 1 minute. Flip the meat, sprinkle with some cheese and push off to the side of the pan. Continue adding meat, seasonings and cheese to the skillet until all of the meat is cooked and topped with cheese.

3) Place a few tomato slices on each roll bottom. Divide the steak among the 4 sandwiches and set the roll tops into place.

You could add hot sauce and use pepper jack cheese like the recipe called for, but I wanted to make sure Ethan could have some.

He did have a few bites!

These seriously are so amazingly good, I'll probably be making them again next week.

Orders shipped, now do I nap?

Woohoo big order is all shipped out and I just got another order for a cupcake beanie! I think I'm also going to make my niece (that's so weird sounding to me lol) one for her 1st birthday.

Now I cant decide if I want to have a cup of coffee and get stuff done around the house....or take a nap. Ethan might be up at any time but I'm exhausted, so I'm thinking nap.

Even though the crafter in me says more coffee!

*yawn*

Or maybe sleep.

My parents came up for a few hours today so I was able to get a few errands done, like going to the grocery store and getting enough (well, almost) groceries for the week!! AND it only took half an hour! If Ethan was there it would of been an hour, minimum lol.

Recipes I'm making so far this week:
(I didint get to a few of these last week, there were substitutions so I'm making them this week)

Tex Mex Cheesesteaks
Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta
Chipotle Orange Pork Tacos
Bowtie Lasagna

Coffee Cozies

I FOUND MY CAMERA CHARGER! And a few other things I was missing (thank you for keeping them safe for me Ethan) in a box that I would toss Craig's random computer parts in....Ethan must of saw me doing that and thought he would "help" lol. So I was able to take a few pictures of the coffee cup cozies I've been working on for my Etsy shop.

Because I love Battlestar Galactica, a show I never ever thought I'd watch. EVER.



A cute little ghost friend cozy that has a sparkly gray outline, I love this one :)



This Pumpkin Patch cozy has Jack 'o Lantern faces drawn in puffy paint all throughout!



I have a few more Halloween themed ones planned, but I really do need to finish Ethan's Brobee beanie!

But first it's time for breakfast.

Just a quick update...

I still haven't found canned pumpkin anywhere! That makes me a sad panda. I have a few recipes I really want to try out....I still have 1 store around here that I haven't checked though lol.

I finished my Etsy order (ships today) and I'm working on some Halloween themed coffee cup cozies (java jammes, coffee sleeves....etc) for my Etsy shop because I wanted to change it up from so many beanies. I'm still working on Ethan's Brobee beanie, but I needed a little break. It's not like he'll wear it anyway lol. My plan for Halloween is to make him this R2D2 costume, but now I'm not so sure since he wont wear hats, at all. I had thought of putting ties on it so he couldn't take it off, but not only would he HATE it, he still probably could take it off.

So we'll see, we still have awhile until Halloween :)

This is terrible, I cant find the charger for my camera battery anywhere!!!! I'm pretty sure I've seen it since we've moved but I have looked EVERYWHERE and cant find it. I probably put it in a "safe place" somewhere :(

Halloween Project Ideas

I hear Ethan snoring on the baby monitor lol. Yesterday I took Ethan downtown to the fountains to let him play in them, and we were there an hour! I didn't think he'd play that long and it was 105 degrees out but he was having so much fun splashing and following the other kids around. Then I took him to the mall to check out The Childrens Place for some gifts for his cousin and our friends who are having a baby. The mall took FOREVER because he had to touch everything and he was walking sooooo slooooooow lol. I also wanted to go to Bath and Body Works to check out there Halloween stuff but he was getting to tired/cranky so we left.

I've started to save pictures and ideas for Halloween decor since we don't have any! We'll see if I can actually get around to making any of it, but here are some things on my crafty wishlish:

(These had to be fast and easy so I could do it while Ethan naps)

- No sew felt pumpkin pillows
- Jack o Lantern Pom Poms: Could be cute in a glass jar or strung up as garland. But I'd rather buy already done orange pom poms.
- Vintage Halloween Banner: Or some sort of Halloween bunting
- Big Spooky Ornament: This would be cool just hanging in the living room or something. Needs more glitter!
- Halloween Lanterns: I always see these at Dollar Tree so this could make fun garland too!
- Felt Cat and Pumpkin Wall Hanging
- Jack the Hoop-o-Lantern: I am in LOVE with this! So creative!
- Spiderwebs: While I normally would never ever put any spider related paraphenalia in my house (hey, I even married a professional bug killer) this is such a cool technique that I am tempted to try it out.
- Birdie Witch: How cute would a mobile of these be?
- Boo Footprints: These would be really great Halloween cards.
- Halloween Art: A tutorial on how to paint a Halloween scene! I'd love to try this!
- Printable Skeleton Decoration

Craftster ideas (you might need to sign up to view):

Spooky Feathered Wreath : I already have a "monster wreath" but this one is waaaaaay cooler

I'll keep updating this post as I find new ideas so I have them all organized in one place. As you can see I like cutsey Halloween stuff, no gore allowed here :P

I'm not a fan of carving pumpkins, I HATE cleaning them out lol.....in years past I usually just glitter or paint them. While glitter is my favorite, I think that would be a bad idea with a 18 month old around....so we probably will just paint a few.

Ethan's awake, I'll finish later!

Meal Plan

Here is what I'm thinking for dinner this week:

Monday:
Butter Chicken

Tuesday:
"Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich"

Wednesday:
This depends on if I can find canned pumpkin in the store...I haven't seen it yet but we'll see!
Pumpkin Chili
If not, then Bowtie Lasagna

Thursday:
Either leftover pumpkin chili, Bowtie Lasagna (or if there was no pumpkin and I made the lasagna lol) Chipotle and Orange Pork Tacos

Friday:
Leftover pork tacos

Saturday:
Takeout

Sunday:
Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta

A few days ago I bought a binder and some page protectors to make my own cookbook, and it's already getting super full! I've only really been cooking about 2 years, and I've made a few yummy dishes that I wish I had kept around the recipe....I tend to just make it off the website and then forget. But that is a problem no more :)

The French Onion Soup I made yesterday was pretty good, I've never had real french onion soup so I have nothing to compare it to. The only changes I made from her recipe was I only had red onions in the house, I added some worcestershire sauce and a little bit of flour. Oh yeah and I did saute the onions in the butter for a few minutes before putting them in the slow cooker, I just wanted to make sure it would be done. I had made this soup (although I'm not sure if it was this recipe) before and I remember it being reeeallly good....but I also kinda remember adding in more ingredients, like beer. I wonder if it's in my AllRecipes recipe box lol.

I think I love Pioneer Woman

So far I've made 2 Pioneer Woman recipes, and both were amaaaaaaazing. I made the sloppy joes pretty much as written but the spaghetti chicken I changed a bit....I needed a quicker version since I didint start it until like 5:30pm lol.

I have a feeling her recipes will be overtaking our house for weeks to come.

Here is the original recipe.

I just sauteed the chicken in a skillet instead of boiled it, then added some onions, garlic and mushrooms to caramelize a bit.

I only had cream of mushroom soup and yellow bellpeppers, and no pimentos.

When I was mixing it all together, I just added maybe 1/2 cup chicken broth instead of a chicken broth/pasta water mix. In fact I just boiled the spaghetti like normal and didint do anything besides salt the water.

I also baked it at 375 for 20 minutes to speed it up and it was perfect.

It's a VERY rich recipe but super good!

Tonight is going to be French Onion Soup and either leftovers or enchiladas tomorrow....and I'm betting there wont be much leftovers lol.

As I'm typing this I just discovered the PW has her recipes in a printable format! And I'm out of printer paper! Arg!

Be right back.

Back, printer is full and all is ok again.

I've been in such a holiday mood lately...mainly for Christmas because we'll have a brand new baby then! I'm going to be so exhausted, but Santa will still be bringing Ethan special presents and my apartment will still be getting decorated! I don't have much in the way of holiday decor (for any holiday) but I'll just have to keep my eyes open at Ross and Dollar Tree to see what I can do.

Pretty Things

I've got quite a few projects in the works at the same time that I need to finish up this week....if Ethan (and the house) lets me!

- An order of 4 Ninja Turtle Beanies that I'm about midway done with
- Brobee beanie that is half done. It's for Ethan but I think I'll start adding those to my Etsy shop too
- A cupcake beanie with a purple top and brown base...I started this before the other beanies just to have a finish hat in my shop!

I cannot wait until I can get the Urban Decay Naked Palette! I am waiting until I have some more money saved up in Paypal....but this palette is just gorgeous. It's exactly what I need....all neutrals! But perfect neutrals :)



I've also heard great things about Sephora's Body Self Tanning Tinted Bronzing Mist. I'm super pale so having some color just makes me look a little bit more "alive" lol.

I'm also super interested in L'Oreal's Lash Boosting Serum, I've heard nothing but good things and I could really use it....my lashes have gotten pretty thin and they seem to be falling out! I'm not sure if it's related to all the pregnancy/breastfeeding hormones or mascara, but I noticed it the other day and was surprised.

Today my husband and I have been married 1 year! We've been together 6 years, engaged 5 years (the wedding itself wasen't a huge priority to us....we were just happy being together) , and now we have 2 kids! It was a rough start living with his mom and then my parents before getting on our feet, but now we have an amazing apartment and a happy little family and I'm able to be a stay at home Mom. I love it. Although after Ethan starts school I will probably go back to work part time just to get out of the house a bit.....if we can afford the daycare lol.

We aren't done having kids I dont think, but we arent even really talking about it until Ethan is in school!

Meal Plan Monday

Here is the plan for the week, although usually throughout the week it changes some lol.

Monday:
Pioneer Woman's Sloppy Joes
Frozen sweet potato fries tossed with basil/salt/pepper and a dipping sauce:
¾ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
¼ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon lime zest

Tuesday:
An enchilada recipe similar to this one, I'll post it once I make it

Wednesday:
Leftovers!

Thursday:
Chicken with Scallion-Lime Sauce and Sweet Carrot Rice

Friday:
Slow Cooker French Onion Soup
Easy Quiche

Saturday:
Hopefully leftovers, if not then Chicken Spaghetti

Sunday:
Either leftovers or takeout!

Garlic Chicken

This is Craig's favorite dinner it seems like since he always requests it! It's super juicy and moist and I usually just serve it with rice pilaf and a veggie. Ethan doesn't like the chicken of course :P

- 3 Chicken breasts (I use the bags of frozen boneless skinless, so just defrost enough for your family)
- Italian Dressing
- Lawry's Garlic and Herb Marinade
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
- 1/2 cup flaxseed (optional but I like to pretend it's healthy then)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup white flour

Place chicken in a plastic bag (I sometimes do this while it's still frozen) and cover with 1/2 italian dressing and 1/2 Lawry's marinade.....enough to cover and add the minced garlic. I marinate it at least 4 hours.

Take 3 bowls and in them place:

Bowl 1: The 2 types of flour
Bowl 2: 2 eggs, beaten
Bowl 3: Bread crumbs, garlic powder and flax seed

Dip the chicken in the flour, then egg then bread crumb mixture.

I usually cook the chicken in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, but if I dont have the time I'll just cook it on a medium heat skillet for oh 5 minutes on each side or so....however long it takes.

Then eat :D

Pesto Chicken

This is the easiest recipe ever and it's so tasty! Even my 16 month old eats it and he's incredibly picky. I need to start measuring things and taking pictures now lol.

Pesto Chicken

- 3 defrosted chicken breasts or however many feeds your family (I just buy the frozen bags of boneless skinless)
- Half a jar of store bought pesto. I dont have a food processor so I dont make my own although I'm sure it's tastier if you do
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Parmesan cheese (I have the cheapy kind in the bottle)
- Enough cooked spaghetti to feed your family, I use whole wheat

Preheat oven to 350

In a seperate bowl, combine pesto and sour cream.

Place chicken in baking dish, pour pesto mixture over and toss to coat.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes or until chicken is done.

Make spaghetti according to package directions.

When the chicken is done I like to cut it up into bite sized cubes, but you can leave it whole if you'd prefer. I just toss everything in a giant bowl, sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese and serve. Super yummy!

I also make my son and husband garlic bread to go along with it....if I remember to buy it I even will serve a garlic loaf sometimes lol.

Carrots with Curry Orange Sauce

I made this the other day and I was really impressed! Craig loved them too, Ethan wouldent touch them (but he's that way with veggies). It's from a little "Love Your Heart" American Heart Association Cookbook that I have no idea where I got it from.

Serves 4, 1/2 cup carrots and 1 tablespoon sauce per serving.

4 Medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/8 inch slices (I used about a half pound baby carrots uncut)

Sauce:

1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin (I didint have any)
1/8 tsp salt (I used Kosher so I used a little more salt)

In a large saucepan, steam carrots for 7 - 8 minutes, or until just tender. Pour into a colander and drain well. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the orange juice to a boil over medium high heat. Boil for 1 1/2 minutes, or until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining sauce ingrediants, mix in carrots.

Recipes and no sleep!

It's 6:30 am, I've been up for almost an hour...and Ethan is not even awake! My sleep has been so terrible lately, I wonder if it's pregnancy insomnia.

Actually I think one of the reasons why is that I haven't been able to craft as much and I have so many ideas floating in my head that want me to make them now that it's hard to suppress the creativity LOL. I think I need to start making little beanies for ball joint dolls because they are small and quick....except I only know of my cousin who has one but she lives an hour away! Maybe I'll have her compare her dolls head size to a fruit so I can make some here, mail them to her and she can take pictures for my Etsy shop. We'll see :D

Here are some random recipes I've made lately:

- Crispy Chicken with Creamy Orange Sauce: I marinated mine in a marinade of lemon, lime, garlic, orange juice...and uh I think that's it. I kinda just threw things in there. It was amazing. Ethan wouldn't try it.

- Slow Cooker Sweet Mustard Roast Beef: While I personally didn't care for it (I think I just don't like roast beef to be honest) my husband said it was really good with a mild sweet flavor that went well. My 16 month old tasted it then threw it across the room. But he hates meat so don't take that as any indication of flavor ;)

- Cheesecake Brownies: BEST BROWNIES EVER. I used Ghiradelli double chocolate brownies and added vanilla into the cheesecake mixture. They are super rich but soooooo good.

- Quinoa and Black Beans: This was terrible. I think my taste has been off this week too but I thought this was disgusting. So I added in some cheddar cheese, lime, salsa and sour cream and made it "southwestern". I thought it was ok - Craig liked it and Ethan...again, wouldn't touch it.

- Quinoa with Sweet Potato and Mushrooms: I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dish. But I love sweet potatoes, in fact I think I would make them almost nightly in different forms if I could....but Craig doesn't like them! How insane is that?! (he did also say he didn't like pesto but he requests pesto chicken almost weekly) He did like this dish though.

- Sweet Potato Burritos: This sounds so weird but it's SO GOOD. Craig of course didn't like it but it was one of my favorite meals yet.

- Spinach Ricotta Bites: I made these in the hopes that it would get Ethan to eat some veggies.....but nope it didint work. I think these make a tasty little snack but Craig just said they're alright. Can you tell we have different tastes? :) I added cheddar cheese and bacon to mine.

- Spicy White Lasagna: This was really really good, and normally I'm not a fan of sausage. Ethan even ate it!

Since I REALLY need to start writing my recipes down, I thought I'd post them on here to start off so I at least have them somewhere so I don't forget. I'll post these recipes soon, but here are some staples around our house:

- Pesto Chicken: It's just chicken that I bake with a half a jar of pesto, sometimes I even mix in sour cream if I'm really feeling daring. Then I mix it with cooked whole wheat spaghetti and yummyness ensues. Ethan actually ate the chicken last time I made it!

- Pulled Pork: YUM. This recipes was originally from Makeupalley, but I tweak it a bit and add less vinegar (Craig likes it that way) and just randomly throw in the spices for the rub. I'll look it over and see what I do so I can post it.

- Meatloaf: I used to just use those seasoning packets but that seemed so dumb since I have all the seasonings here. So last week when I made it I added my own seasonings, garlic, Italian breadcrumbs, worchestire and um...I'll have to check on the rest lol. But it was so much better then just a seasoning packet.

- Garlic Chicken: This is Craig's favorite recipe that he ALWAYS asks for when I ask him what he wants for dinner. It's evolved quite a lot so it's not quite as garlicky as it used to be....I like it better that way. I marinade chicken in a mixture of Italian Dressing, garlic and Lawrys Herb and Garlic Marinade which I really hate to use since it has high fructose corn syrup...but it makes for tasty chicken. Then I coat the chicken in a mixture of half whole wheat flour, half white flour, then egg, then a mixture of Italian breadcrumbs/flaxseed/garlic powder. Depending on how much time I have I either bake it at 350 for 40 minutes, or just cook it with some olive oil on the skillet. It's super juicy and flavorful and Ethan even took a bite of it last night when I made it!

I think this is the original garlic chicken recipe.

- Tacos: Tacos are easy around here, it's either chicken or that strips of beef ("sandwich meat" I think it says on the package) that sometimes I marinade in a mixture of salsa/lime/beer/garlic...but most of the time this is a last minute meal so I just throw the meat on the skillet with some taco seasoning and onions and call it done. We put it in a tortilla with lots of cheese, salsa, and sour cream. Super easy.

- Lasagna: I just use the directions on the box of whole wheat no cook lasagna noodles LOL. I do add in more seasonings, cheese and use more sauce and no water.

We're here!

We are finally in our new place! As soon as we finish some more unpacking (and I find my usb cable) I can post a few pictures. It's so HUGE compared to our last apartment, it's amazing. I am not dreading doing dishes now that we have a normal sized dishwasher, and I love that there is a washer and dryer!!! I'd wear my clothes at least 3 times before I washed them *is gross* because it was so expensive.

Ethan is getting used to his new room finally, I think we need to get him some decorations up so it's not so bare. The first night he slept in it he woke up probably every 1.5 hours and cried until finally I just brought him to bed with us...which made Craig sleep on the couch since Ethan kicks Craig all night lol. I think Ethan doesn't want to share a bed with daddy. Last night he slept much better, only woke once...and he's napping right now! So after this post I am going to attempt to install some child safety locks on the drawers so the contents will actually stay IN them. Ethan already pulled a bunch of pots and pans out of the cupboard at oh 6:45am before I could stop him....I'm sure our downstairs neighbors love us <3

We went to Babies R Us yesterday to get some gates (which we are returning since they don't fit right bah) and they had Halloween stuff already! I love Halloween, not the creepy gory stuff, but the cute and vintage stuff. Ethan was touching all the costumes on the rack until he found a fuzzy monkey costume that he pulled off and carried throughout the store, hugging and cuddling it lol. He wasn't happy when we put it back.

At 12:30 we find out the sex of the baby!

Apricot Balsamic Glazed Salmon

On Father's Day I made Apricot Balsamic Glazed Salmon from the book Cooking For Two: Efficient and Delicious Meals. I was so looking forward to it, and I hate to say it....it was disppointing. There just wasen't much flavor at all. Ethan ate a bite, Craig didint like it much.....so it was a negative :( It sounds so good though! Next time I would marinate it, although I'm not sure what would go good with this. I would love to try it again though.

- 1/4 cup apricot preserves
- 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 (6oz) salmon fillets, skin removed

Heat oven to 425F

Line shallow baking pan with foil, spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In small saucepan, heat preserves, vinegar, ginger, garlic and salt over low heat 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, cool slightly.

Place salmon fillets n baking sheet, top with apricot glaze. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until salmon just begins to flake.

Swaps, Amis and Iced Coffee

I haven't been able to post much between needing a new router (we had no internet), having no usb cord to upload pictures.....and taking naps with Ethan instead of posting lol.

We're moving on the 15th! The place is AMAZING! It's huuuuuuge compared to this place, 3 bedrooms (1 downstairs though which sucks), townhouse style, a FULL SIZE dishwasher, it's just awesome. We couldn't be more excited!

I created a prototype for a White Chocolate Dipped Strawberry drizzled with Strawberry Cream that I'll be selling in my Etsy shop, but it's not exactly perfect. I don't like the wave in the white chocolate (I thought I would) and there needs to be more area that's dipped. But here is a picture!



The "One Tiny Sea Creature" Swap from Craftster is also complete, so I can post pictures. I crochet "Willy the Whale" pattern from Shop With Denise. The pattern didn't include any information on yarn size or hook size...so it took me 2 attempts to get the whale down to a smallish size! I normally use a G hook, but it's still bigger then I wanted. I wish I knew what size hook she used to get that cute little whale. I also crafted a starfish out of felt, fishermans netting and embroidery pearls.....and eh it didn't turn out how I wanted. I was kind of rushed and I couldn't get the starfish to glue together all the way...but it's close!





I was super spoiled by my partner, Rippledwater! She painted a box with my username on it, and inside is a sculpy octopus with stitch markers of my favorite sea creatures! It's amazing and I love it :)



This is totally random but here is a great iced coffee recipe:

- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 6oz warm water
- 1 tbs vanilla pudding mix
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tsp sugar

Mix the instant coffee with warm water, then add pudding mix and stir. Add the milk and sugar with some ice and drink up! It's so good, no need for me to run to Starbucks now when I need ice coffee!

Mall Trip!

I took Ethan to the mall yesterday, and it was so fun! He was really well behaved, by that I mean he would sit in his stroller haha and he seemed to have a good time. We got him a couple of new clothes from the Childrens Place:

Links because I didn't have time to save/upload/crop etc:

Jammer Shorts in charcoal gray $8
Surfing Festival Tee $7.50
and pirate themed footie jammies that I couldn't find on the site $6

I should of gotten a couple of pairs of those jammies while they are on sale! But I have a flat tire right now that needs to get fixed. I had only gone into that store once but never bought anything and I didn't even realize how cheap it was! I was expecting it to be expensive like Gymboree, so now I'm addicted LOL.

I had actually gone in to get him this surfer hoodie, but they didn't have any hoodies in store! :( I haven't decided if I will buy it online yet, he has 1 maybe 2 hoodies that are big enough to last him through summer.

Forever 21 has some amazingly adorable necklaces online right now, which I LOVE because wearing necklaces keeps Ethan occupied when we go out! I actually went in to see if they had this mermaid charm necklace




which of course they didn't, but I did finally get some stud earrings! I never ever get to wear earrings anymore since all I have are dangles and Ethan pulls on those. ouch. So now I can wear them again woohoo!

After awhile he was getting kind of antsy so I let him out to walk with me, he was just pushing the stroller basket with me and looking at all the people. He did keep getting distracted by the mall directory, he loved all the colors lol. The only store he actually tried to go in was Victoria's Secret! I don't blame him, it's colorful and pretty in there. Ethan did get excited when we passed some bras in Motherhood Maternity though haha. On our way out we stopped and got a Orange Pineapple Coconut smoothie to share yum!

There isn't much I'll need for the new baby (unless it's a girl and I'll need a meeelllion cute little outfits because they are so fun) but there are a few things that I didn't have the first time around:

A shopping cart cover. They are expensive for what they are! But I do wish I had one, Ethan biting on the shopping cart is gross, and sometimes the carts are really hot or wet so I always put a blanket down anyway. Plus if I could attach toys in it maybe he would want to stay in the cart instead of walking around!

A video monitor. Yes we are only in an apartment so I don't need a sound monitor, but it would be great to be able to check in on them when they are sleeping to see if all is good. It also would of been a lifesaver when we were sleep training Ethan to see if his fussyness was normal or if it was "Ahhh I'm stuck in the crib slats!". Opening the door ALWAYS wakes or disturbs him so I think a video monitor is a must.

A remote control crib mobile. I had one that you had to wind up and it only lasted 3 minutes, plus it was really boring. I've heard a lot of good things about the Tiny Love Classic Mobile and the Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Mobile. This time around we will have more crib time so the baby can get used to it.

Swadding blankets! We never really swaddled Ethan because he seemed to fight it so much....but maybe we were just doing it wrong. I think swaddling will also help with not wanting to be on me 24/7 like Ethan. Not that I didn't love it, but I'll have Ethan to take care of too! :)

I'll also need a double stroller, and a new infant tub (I think ours was missing a piece anyway, it never worked to well).

That's all I can think of for the moment since we still have Ethan's infant seat, Pack n Play (which the baby will sleep in until Ethan is old enough for a toddler bed or the baby outgrows the PnP), and little items.

I have my next doctor appointment on the 28th and I'll be around 17 weeks so hopefully I can schedule my ultrasound then!

Death of a computer.

My computer is slowly dying.

Piece by piece.

It started a few months ago....first, the sound went out. Then my copy of Windows wouldn't authenticate so I couldn't download Windows updates. Then for some reason I have to allow EVERY program that tries to run when my pc starts and any program I try to start up.

Then I couldn't watch my home videos without a huge error in the way, and viewing my pictures doesn't work sometimes.

Now I cant get internet.

Luckily I have Craig's PC but still....mine's pretty new and still under warranty. So we are going to try reformatting and if that doesn't work, well then it's up to Craig since I don't even know where the computer was bought hah.

Tomorrow is my cousin's high school graduation party...and I'm excited because I'm taking Ethan swimming! I have a feeling I'll be in the pool aaaaallll day. This time I'll remember to put more sunscreen on since I still have a slight burn from the beach on Memorial day weekend.

BUT that also means I have to do one of the most dreaded things ever......buy a swimsuit. I had a fine tankini that served it's purpose, but now doesn't fit since I haven't lost all of the baby weight from Ethan yet. So I thought I'd go to Motherhood Maternity and check out there maternity suits since I'll be pregnant all summer and we have a pool at our apartment. I hate wearing swimsuits so this is not going to be fun. But I'm doing it for Ethan so he could have a good time so I have to :P

I joined a "One Tiny Sea Creature" swap on Craftster that I should get started on. I wont say to much just in case my partner reads this....but I am loving the idea for this swap since I can make something tiny and cute in a quick amount of time when Ethan sleeps!

Speaking of which, I need to go get some housework done since he's napping!

I'll take a vallium mocha latte to go please!

Ethan is (hopefully) down for a nap, he's not crying yet so we'll see! If he is...ahh...I can nap too. I don't know how much longer I can raid (on World of Warcraft), we raid every Friday/Saturday night until about midnight. It's a ton of fun but Ethan wakes up at 6am and I am just to exhausted all day then. We've tried playing with his bedtime so he hopefully wouldn't wake up so early....but nope, it's pretty much between 6am-6:30am every morning.

*remembers the days when he slept until 9*

*also remembers when he stayed up until midnight*

I think I'll take his 6am wake up instead lol.

How awesome are these Star Wars Cookie Cutters?!


If I knew anything about piping royal icing I would consider getting them for future Ethan projects (birthday cookies at school? :) BUT...I have no idea how to do that. I can barely frost a cake. So I'll just have to live vicariously through Flickr pictures.

My little garden is doing great, nothing is dead yet! My African Daisies aren't looking the *best* but I think they need a bigger container, and Ethan kinda fell/smooshed into them so I'll re pot them soon. My pumpkins haven't grown yet but it's only been about a week...and my coneflowers never sprouted. I didn't actually think they would because none of my seeds sprouted last time either. I'm dying to plant my Fairy Eggplant Hybrids but I'm waiting until after we get back from Memorial Day weekend/grandpa's 80th birthday in Laguna. I'm going to have to get some of those Aqua Globes so my plants to get to thirsty, I saw them at either Walmart or Home Depot for $10.

What I'd REALLY like to do is get a mini/cheap/handheld drill at Walmart so I can drill holes in the caps of water bottles and then I can make my own little irregation system! I'll have to see what I can find at the store. I saw at walmart.com they had one for $20, but I think it was online only.

My aunt mentioned giving me her AeroGarden! I guess she doesn't use it anymore, but that would be awesome! They are way to expensive to buy, but I've always secretly wanted one. My husband says we don't have the room....but I'm the one who cleans/organizes the house, so I'll find the room :)

I'm worried that our new apartment wont get full sun though! Our current apartment has full sun ALL day. It would be very unfortunate if it was complete shade, I don't know what I would do. Also, I'm hoping that the new place will have room for my Topsy Turvey tomato planter! I've had it for like 2 years lol, but I have no place to hang things on our balcony here.