Monday, June 27, 2011

Storms again and Random thoughts

Two nights in a row we have been woken up and stayed awake due to huge thunderstorms.  Last night we woke up because there was amazing winds coming through and I swear it sounded like a tornado.  Both Dave and I jumped out of bed and ran to the boys rooms, but when we looked outside it was just windy, lightening, thundering and raining.  We turned on the news and saw that it was just a huge storm rolling through.  I think both Dave and I were up from 2-4 because the storm was so loud.  Luckily the boys slept through it.

Samuel is so strange sometimes.  Last night we put him to bed and about 30 minutes later we heard noise in his room and then it sounded like he opened his door, but he never came out, so we didn't even go over to his room.  Then about 9:30 we went to check on the boys before we went to bed.  Samuel's door was open.  He normally burrows down way in his bed at night and we have to pull him up and recover him up before we go to bed.  I went up to his bed and I didn't see him anywhere.  I heard a big sign and breath and it came from his bed, but he wasn't in it.  I looked under his bed and he was sound asleep under his bed.  We have no idea why he did that, but we had a good laugh.

The boys are really starting to play with each other.  They laugh, jump on each other and just have so much fun.  I love seeing them together.  Joseph isn't a cuddler, kisser or a hugger.  If he hugs you or kisses you then you are lucky.  He gives hugs and kisses sometimes at night before we put him to bed but it isn't a regular occurrence.  However, he LOVES to give Samuel hugs and kisses.  He loves his brother and I love to see that.  It makes me feel so good.

Samuel told me this morning, "You are my favorite Mommy."  A good way to start the day.

Pregnancy update:  Last week I was having a bad feeling week.  I was feeling huge, uncomfortable and not happy to be pregnant at all.  I worked out three times last week and I am already feeling a little bit better.  I am trying to keep it up this week. I think the working out really helps with my mental state.

This weekend I started having Braxton-Hicks contractions.  They are random and it is usually when I have been on my feet doing things for a long time.  When I finally relax I start having some contractions.  I have an appointment on Thursday so we will see what my doctor has to say about that.

Thank goodness this is my last pregnancy.  I don't think my body could handle being pregnant again.  I am so done with being pregnant.  Everything seems like it is falling apart.  My scar from when I got my appendix taken out is really hurting with this pregnancy.  I called the doctor last week because I was having pretty severe pain around the incision.  It went away after a day, but I had to ice it and take it easy.  My legs still look absolutely terrible and I am now developing spider veins on my left leg.

This baby is super active.  I think it is pretty comparable to my pregnancy with Samuel.  It barely stops moving.  Last night both Dave and I felt its foot come right across my stomach.  It was such a creepy feeling.  Whether it is a boy or a girl it is a wild baby right now.

Dave and I are still having issues picking out names.  We think we have the first names figured out, but we are trying to figure out middle names.  I am not totally set on the boys name, but Dave really likes it.  We will see.  We will continue to look and think of names.  If you have any good ideas let us know.  We don't want anything popular but nothing too crazy either.

I think it is going to be movie day today.  It is raining and yucky out, so we will probably be staying in.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Best Vegetable Cheese Enchiladas Ever

Tonight I made the best Mexican food ever.  I made Vegetable Cheese Enchiladas, Jalapeno Cilantro Rice with Sauteed Fresh Corn.

I will start with the easy sides.  Now I can't give you specific measurements because I kind of just throw things in, but I can give you estimates and you can alter it to your own liking.

Jalapeno Cilantro Rice


Brown Rice - (cook like you normally would, I made enough for 4-6 servings)

Take a small frying pan and put in some oil (about 1 tablespoon), turn on medium heat.  Add about two tablespoons minced garlic, half of a large onion chopped and two tablespoons jalapenos chopped (I used jarred sliced jalapenos that I keep in the fridge).  Saute everything until the onions are translucent, but don't make the pan too hot that it browns the onions or garlic.  You don't want to burn it at all.  Lower the heat if it starts to brown at all.

Once the onions are cooked turn the heat off, then add about two tablespoons or more of chopped fresh cilantro (I love cilantro, so I added a lot) and mix it all up together.

After all mixed, then add onions, garlic, jalapeno and cilantro to the brown rice and fluff all together.

It was absolutely delicious.  It had a great kick and tons of flavor.

Sauteed Corn


I used three ears of fresh corn.  I sliced all the kernels off the cob.

Use a medium frying pan.  Put about one tablespoon of butter.  Melt butter halfway in pan.  Add all the kernels.  Saute so that all the corn is covered in butter.  Then add a little fresh cracked pepper and sea salt to taste.  Saute entire mixture until hot.

Dave added the corn to his rice and mixed them all together and I tried it both separately and mixed and it both tasted great.

Vegetable Cheese Enchiladas


Enchilada Sauce
2 15 oz. can of organic tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Chili Powder
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Cumin (or more if you like cumin)
1 red bell pepper (or any other bell pepper) chopped

Combine all in a pot and cook until it starts to boil, then let it simmer for at least 5 minutes.  Once cooked, put enough sauce on the bottom of an 11x13 baking dish to have a nice layer on the bottom.  Then add some sauce to a bowl because you are going to dip the corn tortillas in the sauce on both sides before you stuff them.  The remaining sauce will be poured over the top of the enchiladas.

Cheese Mixture


One package of mixed Mexican blend cheese (I think it was 15 oz total)
A little more then half of a cup of sour cream
Two Tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley
Pepper
Cilantro (Add as much as you want or non at all)

Mix everything together in a bowl and set aside for stuffing of the tortillas later

Vegetables


1 cup mushroom, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped squash
1 cup chopped bell pepper
2 tablespoons garlic
half of a large onion chopped

Use a little bit of olive oil and heat in pan.  Add garlic and onions, cooked until onions are translucent.  Add all the remaining vegetables and saute until partially cooked (you don't want to overcook because you don't want it to be mushy in your enchilada).  Remove from heat and get ready to add to enchilada.

Assembly
Preheat over to 350.
Before you start to assemble you will also need a can of refried beans (I used Organic Refried Pinto Beans) and a can black beans drained.

For each corn tortilla:

Dip both sides in enchilada sauce, then add down the center a thin layer of refried beans, some black beans, some of the sauteed vegetables and then some of the cheese mixture.  It will be a full tortilla, but roll it over and place in baking dish seam side down.

Continue until you fill up the baking dish.  Put in as many as you can get.

I had a good amount of left over veggies, so I placed them all over the top of the rolled tortillas (remember that they might be juicy from being heated, so just drain the juice and pour only the veggies on top, not the juice).  Then pour all the remaining sauce over the enchiladas.

You will have leftover refried beans and black beans as well.  You could heat it up and have it as an additional side dish or put it away and keep it for quesadillas later.

There should be extra cheese mixture left over too.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.  Then add a little more cheddar cheese over the top to cover all the remaining enchiladas.  You don't need that much cheddar cheese because the cheese mixture really spreads when it heats up and melts.

Bake in 350 oven for about 20 minutes until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Let sit out for about 10 minutes before cutting into it.

Everything was so delicious.  Dave and I loved everything.  So good.


What a weekend!

Dave and I are exhausted.  We kept the boys so busy this weekend and I think we only really wore ourselves out.  It is like they have endless never-ending energy.  Not like you all want to know what we did all weekend, but I am going to tell you anyway.  I want to look back and remember how much we did when I was almost 7 months pregnant.

We went to the zoo three times this weekend.  I took the boys on Wednesday and they had so much fun Samuel wanted to go again on Thursday.  The weather was beautiful this past week and I loved the idea of spending a good 2-3 hours outside.  Samuel walked for a good hour and a half on Thursday, then he asked if we could leave because he was soooo tired.  We stopped and got smoothies for lunch and then both boys took great naps that day.

Friday we just relaxed.

Saturday we took the boys to the gym day care in the morning, went out to lunch and then spent about an hour and a half at the Museum of Transportation.  The boys ran around looking at lots of different trains and we rode the little miniature train.  (I will post pictures later.  I haven't had time to download anything).  Joseph took about a 10 minute nap in the car on the way to the Museum and woke up the minute we opened the doors.  By the time we got home that afternoon is was almost 3 and we didn't want to put either kid to sleep, so we forced them to stay awake.  They both were passed out that night by 6:30 pm.  It was awesome.

Then we woke up this morning, ate breakfast and headed to the zoo again.  We walked around for a good hour, rode the zoo train, Dave and Samuel checked out the sting-rays and we walked some more.  We ate lunch at the Boathouse in Forest Park, which has delicious food.  The brunch looked great, but neither Dave or I were in the mood for brunchy food.  We headed home and both boys took a pretty good nap.  When they woke up we loaded them up again and went grocery shopping.  We got home and Dave filled up the little pool in the backyard.  The boys all played out in the back for about 45 minutes while I made THE BEST DINNER EVER.  Luckily both boys were asleep by 7pm tonight, which was so needed because Dave and I are pretty much non-functioning.

So I really did make the best dinner ever.  I will post a separate post about the dinner because it was unbelievable.  

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Nesting and Eating

I think I am beginning to nest.  I was feeling the need to start serious organizing yesterday.  I am also really started to freak out about having three kids.  There is just so much to do.  First on the list:  BUY A CRIB.  We are going to set up a crib in my office connected to our bedroom and I really need to get a crib and a small changing table.  I think I am just going to get on Target's website and order a crib.  I don't want anything special.  We are planning to keep the baby in that room for a while and then move it to its own room.  I want to keep our guest bedroom until we are able to finish the basement.  If we could only sell our old house.  Keep your fingers crossed everyone.

I am really in the mood lately to bake and cook.  Yesterday I made veggie chili in the crockpot (Canned Diced Tomatoes, Black Beans, Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, Corn, Celery, Two Bay leaves, Cumin, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper) and had it cooking all day and then I made homemade biscuits (made with whole wheat flour and ground flax seed.  It was healthy and delicious).

I am trying to come up with more crockpot ideas because it is easy.  If anyone had good ideas let me know.

Tonight I am making lemon chicken cooked with Brussel sprouts and cannellini beans.  I will probably make some quinoa to go with it.

I have lots more ideas.  I am so sick of eating out.  Again, if anyone has yummy easy food ideas let me know.  I am all about tasty and easy for the summer.  There is just too much else going on.

Here is my list so far:
1.  Cheese Pizza and BBQ Chicken Pizza
2.  Whole Wheat Pasta with Cooked Spinach (with onion and garlic) and Tomato Sauce
3.  Taco Salad or Nacho Salad
4.  Breakfast for dinner
5.  Turkey Breast with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Veggies, Cranberries (I have really been craving a Thanksgiving like dinner for a while.  It is definitely a pregnancy thing).
6.  Quiches
7.  Tomato Pie (Pie crust with sliced fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic topped with Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese)

That is my list so far.  I am planning to add to it and just mark things off.  I need to have ideas or I never get motivated to cook at the last minute.  I am also flipping through lots of cookbooks for baking ideas.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Father's Day Weekend

Happy Belated Father's Day.  I have absolutely no motivation to post on the weekends, so this is a late tribute to all the fathers.  Happy Father's Day to my loving Dad, to my amazing husband and to my wonderful father in law.  I am not really in the mood to be all sappy today.  So I just wanted to say that I love you all!

I am so tired today.  I can't seem to wake up.  I am contemplating having a cup of coffee.  I am sure that isn't the smartest thing to do since it is almost 1 in the afternoon and I am pregnant.  So another cup of caffeine isn't probably a good idea, but I am having a hard time functioning.

We were really busy this past weekend.  We went to Innsbrook, MO for the weekend.  We got a house on one of the lakes and tried to relax.  It was really really beautiful.  The house we rented was very close to the water so Dave and Samuel could go fishing (which they did several times).  Joseph liked hanging out at the dock too.  We played games, ran around, went to the pool, BBQ'd and it wore everyone out.  It was really nice to get away and Innsbrook is only one hour from St. Louis .  We were planning to stay until Sunday morning, but we didn't really see the point in spending the night to just wake up and come home.  So we left after dinner of Saturday night.  Samuel fell asleep in the car around 6 and was so tired and worn out that I just put him to bed as soon as we got home.  Joseph was tired too, but I couldn't get him to go to bed until a little after 7.  They were so tired that they both slept until 7 am on Sunday, which was awesome.  The place we stayed at in Innsbrook didn't have shades on the windows, so if we hadn't come home I am sure the boys would have been up super early, so it was nice to get to sleep in a bit.

I think I am so tired today because I am just worn out from everything we did too.  It was a great weekend.  I am ready to do it again.

I didn't take as many pictures as I thought, but here are a few:

Getting ready to go fishing

Playing on the deck in the water

On the dock about to fish

They caught their first fish

Eating donuts for breakfast.  They loved them some powdered donuts.



On the pregnancy front.  I am freaking huge.  My veins are popping out like crazy and the cellulite has gone nuts.  My legs are so disgusting, I am embarrassed.  I have packed on a lot of weight this month.  I think my boobs have gained at least a pound to a pound and a half each.  They are huge and killing me.  I have gained 17 pounds so far and I am so ready to be done.  I am having some serious sciatic nerve pain.  My back hurts all the time.  Depending on what position I am sitting in, sometimes I can't get up and walk.  I am trying to exercise more and stretch because it makes it feel better and I am in such a better mood when I workout.  I worked out for 30 minutes today and hopefully I can get myself and the boys motivated to get to the gym all week.  Today they had no desire to go to the pool, so we headed home after I worked out.  I am going to try swimming soon. The swim team at the MAC practices every morning, but they are normally done by 10.  It is hard to plan swimming time, workout time, lunch time for the boys and nap time.  Everything has to be done by 11:30 or 12 so I can get them home and to sleep.

Samuel is still tired from the weekend so he is actually napping right now.  I have 30 minutes to get stuff done before I need to get him up.  Lots to do.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Conversation with Samuel

Samuel:  Mommy, give me some orange juice.

Me: Only if you ask properly.

Samuel:  Mommy, give me some orange juice please.

Me:  That still isn't a very nice way to ask.

Samuel:  Mommy, let me have some orange juice please.

Me:  How about asking...May I have some orange juice please?

Samuel:  No, I am not saying that.

Me:  Then you aren't going to get any orange juice.

Samuel:  Mommy, I can't say that because I only speak Spanish.

After I had a good laugh, I asked him to try to speak English and ask.  He finally did and he got his orange juice.

More Tulsa

Here are some more pictures of our trip to Tulsa.  








On Monday night I went to hear one of my former classmates speak about his new book that just came out.  I went to middle school and high school with Daniel Wilson, check out his website: http://www.danielhwilson.com.

His book Robocalypse, just yesterday was said to have gotten on the New York Times Best Sellers list and this is the first week it came out.  The book has been optioned by Dreamworks and Steven Spielberg has signed on to direct the film.  It is due out in 2013.

Anyway, he is really excited about the book.  My other high school friend that moved to St. Louis this past year and I went to his book talk and signing.  Then we hung out with him that evening.  I didn't get home until midnight which has totally screwed up my schedule this week.  I haven't recovered from the lack of sleep.

Oh here is a picture of my friend Robyn, Daniel and me.


Anyway, Joseph has been waking up around 6 am every day and I am beat.  He is usually really loud so he wakes Samuel up by 6:30/6:45 am.  It is making for very long days.  Samuel is no longer napping.  He has been great at letting me get some stuff done in the afternoons.

I am not motivated to do much these days, so this is the extent of this post.  Maybe when I have more energy I will post more.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

I've Exploded

I seriously don't know how I am going to make it through the summer.  I EXPLODED this last week.  I feel like I am retaining a ton of water, my stomach has at the least doubled in size, my boobs are getting huge and I don't even want to talk about the size of my ass.  It is actually frightening to see.

This week I have been in Tulsa.  The boys have been super busy playing tons outside everyday.  They have been exhausted.  They are not giving me a break on sleeping though.  They wake up at 6 am.  What is wrong with them.  Samuel has insisted on sleeping in the same room as Joseph, so they have been waking each other up.  This morning, Joseph woke up first and started saying "Samuel, Samuel!"  I tried to grab him before he woke Samuel up, but of course I didn't.  Then Samuel said he can't sleep because Joseph always wakes him up.  However, yesterday it was Samuel that woke Joseph up.  Oh well.  It is nice that they are sleeping in the same room and giving me a little bit of a break.

I have been staying up later then normal because it is nice to have alone time with my parents.  It makes for a long tired day.  The boys have been wearing my mom out.  She normally can stay up pretty late when I am in town, but this week she has been wanting to go to bed around 10pm.  I can relate.  They are busy busy boys.  

So far I have had a really nice trip.  I can't believe that the week is almost over.  It has been almost 100 degrees everyday here, which is absolutely miserable.  No wonder I am ballooning.  I am really going to have to watch my sodium intake this summer and drink tons of water.  I was soo good the first part of my pregnancy.  I hadn't gained much weight, but now I am making up for it.  I am not getting on the scale right now.  I am so scared of what I might see.

Here are some pictures, from our busy week.  Hanging out, sidewalk chalk and paint (the paint is super cool), swimming, dressing up and eating.








I am off to put my feet up.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Summer Summer Summertime

It is hot hot hot.  The weather went from chilly to 90's.  I seriously don't know how I am going to survive the summer.  I finally got myself some maternity bathing suits, so I am set to spend most of my days at the pool, but I am worried about the heat and how big I am going to be getting.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday.  I am almost 22 weeks and I have gained 10 pounds so far.  I feel like I have gained at least 20 more.  My body feels huge.  My stomach exploded in size the last two weeks.  I still look down and I can't believe I am pregnant.  Samuel is starting to ask me almost everyday if he is going to have a brother or a sister.  This morning he told me that he really wanted another brother, but that he knew I wanted him to have a sister.  I don't know where he got that because I have never said I wanted him to have a sister.  He is getting excited because he can see I am getting bigger and he always wants to lay his head on my stomach to see if he can hear the baby.  It is really cute.  I just love how loving Samuel is.

The doctor yesterday told me not to worry about my low-lying placenta.  She said that she is almost 100% sure that it will move as my uterus gets bigger.  I will have another ultra sound the beginning of my third trimester to make sure that everything looks okay.  The only option if it doesn't move is a C-section.  She said that she isn't worried about that at all right now.

My varicose vein in my right leg is huge and disgusting looking.  I am going to be so excited to take care of that sucker once this pregnancy is over.  My body has really changed with each pregnancy.  With Samuel I got tons of stretch marks, with Joseph I got my huge varicose vein and with this baby I am getting spider veins.  My legs are looking absolutely terrible, which is depressing to me since I will be exposing them all summer.  Oh well, it will all be taken care of at some point.

We have officially started summer break and I am looking forward to lots of fun projects with the boys, lots of swimming and hopefully lots of afternoon napping for everyone.

I am off to get some stuff done while the boys are taking a rare nap at the same time.