Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007I can hardly believe we're coming up on Kami's first birthday next month! Crazy! So, I'm still slowly catching up on her little album! Of course I've got quite a bit more pages and pictures planned out, so I'll never really catch up; but, hey! Why would I want to do that anyway? I'm having too much fun! Some of these pages I completed while at a Crop a couple weeks ago, the others were done either late at night or while Kami was entertaining herself in her room, reading books. Which, by the way, I feel totally guilty about! Isn't that weird? Sometimes I feel like, if she's not at my feet crying to be picked up or entertained, I'm being a neglectful mother! Alright all moms out there, I'm seeking approval (or correction)...is it okay that my daughter can entertain herself sometimes, and when she does, is it alright for me to do something that I want to do. Ahh, anyway, I'm being norotic!
SO! Here are some scrapbook pages for your viewing pleasure! ('Chel, I included Bert on the SSL page just for you!)
Okay, so, how adorable are these???!!! I'm co-hosting a baby shower tomorrow for one of the sisters I visit teach each month and while browsing through a Rachel Ray Magazine (hmmm, sure do seem to get alot of stuff from her magazines....maybe I'll subscribe *winking at Drew*!). Anyway....when I saw them I knew they'd be perfect party favors for the shower. Check'em out here: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/content/38037/
I did cut them down a bit more then the template said, because I went with a smaller candy bar, but I thought they turned out so cute! I'm so excited!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007Kamden and I took a little walk outside today just around the apartment complex. I wanted her to feel what it was like to walk in the grass. It was a beautiful day! Not too hot, like it has been lately! So, it's just been to two of us these past couple days and she's done really well for me! She went to bed a little earlier tonight, I think because she didn't get all of her sleep last night and never made up for it in her naps. I'm trying to cut down on nursing, since we're approaching the one-year mark (and the Hawaii trip), and I tried not nursing her before bed. She does great during the day, but I guess it's still too soon to let go of the night-time feeding (at least when I put her to bed...when I'm gone and Drew puts her to bed, she does great). So, little by little, I guess!
Okay! Here's the pictures for today! I hope you all enjoy!
Okay! This is as recent as it gets! This is me, today! See? Smiling! ;^)
...but it's one of my favorites! This is a self-portrait of myself at about 31 weeks pregnant with Kamden. I think I love it so much because Drew was deployed at the time to Qatar for 3 months. Though my friends laugh because they say this just isn't me (I'm almost always smiling), to me, this portrait makes me look strong; and at the time it was taken, I felt strong. I can't believe it's been a year.
Sunday, May 13, 2007WOW! THIS IS SO COOL! Kamden and Drew got me a digital camcorder for Mother's Day! So, we were playing around with it today! I've been trying to get some still shots of Kami with her new toy, but they just haven't been turning out. BUT, that's okay because now you can see "live" for yourself! Anyway, Kami took her first steps this week, so Drew and I went out and got her this new toy to help her along in her new adventure!
Friday, May 11, 2007Hey Everyone! Not too much happening this week! Other than, Kami's started to walk! Wohoo! She took her first three steps a couple days ago, so we went out to the store and bought one of those toys that the baby can stand up and push to give her some practice with more walking. It's now her favorite toy! Although when she runs into things and gets stuck alot, which makes her mad. But, she doing better and better walking independantently everyday. It's amazing how fast babies pick up on this stuff.
Well, I thought I'd also share another Blog-worthy Recipe with you guys! This one I found in a Rachel Ray magazine a few months ago. The first time I made it, Drew was out of town and we had signed up for the Sister Missionaries to come to our house and eat. And of course since they are Sisters, I was able to keep the appointment and they were able to keep me company and join me for dinner for a couple hours! Anyway, they all loved the recipe, and it has since become a staple in our house! So, here you go! Enjoy!
Chicken and White Bean Stew
serving: 4
prep time: 10
cook time: 25 minutes
4 slices bacon, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound red potatoes, cut into cubes
1 32-oz container (4 cups) chicken broth
1 whole rotisserie chicken
2 15.5-oz cans small white beans, rinsed
5 ounces arugula (5 cups) *I didn't know what "arugula" was, but in the picture it looked
like, so I subsituted fresh spinach instead*
salt and pepper
1. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until cooked but not crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and chicken broth and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, pull the meat off the rotisserie chicken; discard the skin and bones. Add the chicken and white beans to the stew and cook until heated through. Just before serving, stir in the arugula (or spinach) and season to taste with salt and pepper.
See? Super easy! I love it because it uses a rotisserie chicken, so you don't have the cook time for the chicken, making this an extreamly quick dish! Sourdough bread and salad go great with this soup. AND, it even tastes great after being frozen!
Tuesday, May 08, 2007Yeah! I just had to post and tell everyone that reads my blog...my sister just had a baby boy today! I'm so excited for her! Congradulations, Rachel! I can't wait to see him!
Saturday, May 05, 2007...Easter? Okay, okay! Shhh! No telling, but I just barely got around to taking Kami's Easter photos! I haven't even had a chance to go through all of the photos and decide which ones I like the best (I took about 100 shots.....I love digital cameras!), but here are some of my favorites at first glance! I thought everyone might enjoy! Happy *late* Easter from all of us!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007Okay, here's some randomness for ya'll! So, got the "paper" (aka People Magazine) this past weekend and this week they're highlighting 100 Most Beautiful people; on the cover and for their spotlight is Drew Barrymore. In a question/answer article they asked her about things pertaining to being beautiful. And I love her response to their first question. It reminds me of something I feel but would have never recognized nor knew how to put into words:
Q: When do you feel most beautiful?
A: Right after Iv'e worked out and I'm sweating all over the place and my face is two different colors of white and red (note: I think my face is about 10 different shades of white and red) and my hair is half wet, half dry and I look like I'm about to have a heart attack. I feel like I've changed the shape of my body temporarily into something more flexible and strong.
Alright! On a totally side note, I've been wanting to record some milestones of Kami's before I forget them! Today Kamden is 10 months and 1 week.
She can:
She says:
Sunday, April 29, 2007Okay! Okay! A half marathon! Alright! Alright! A 5K......and I walked! But Drew DID run the half marathon this morning! And Kami and I walked the 5K for the 7th Annual OKC Memorial Marathon. We got up bright and early....we actually woke Kamden up for a change! Hahaha!
Anyway, it was a LOT of fun! It was so neat and emotional to see how many people came out! What was most touching for me was to see those people who had names pinned on their shirts of the people who they were running for and remembering today. Those who lost their lives in a senseless act of terrisom on a beautiful April morning 12 years ago.
So, Drew ran the half marathon in *we think* about 2 hours. Kamden and I finished the 5K Walk in about an hour! It was so funny, toward the end of the walk, we had the finishline in view and Kami started to get fussy. So, I was saying to her "Look, Kami! I can see the finish! We're almost done! We're almost done!" And with the saddest look on her face and her best pout, she looks at me and says, "A-Duh!" LOL! So funny! What a trooper! When we began the race, there were tons of people on the sidelines, of course, and because I had a stroller we were the last people to enter the course. And as we crossed the finish line there was one lady who yelled, "Yeah! Go Babies!" I thought that was pretty funny! I was laughing!
Anyway, here's some pictures of our morning!
Sunday, April 22, 2007So, we decided this weekend to take a trip to Little Rock to visit some very good friends of ours that we met while stationed in Germany! We had such a great time! And we miss Joseph & Kathy so much! So, it was nice to chat, laugh, play some poker, watch The Office and just be around some really good people!
A 5 hour car ride, and Kamden did GREAT!
Although, sometimes she didn't......
Kami loved to play in the fountain at the Clinton Presidential Library in downtown Little Rock!
Our friends!
Calling it a night....look at those tired eyes! We totally threw her off her bedtime schedule this weekend, but what a trooper!
Kamden discovered something new a couple weeks ago! If you keep pulling at this cool white paper, it'll keep rolling and rolling and rolling.....
Now when she's being extra quiet in the house while I'm making dinner or washing dishes, I know where to look!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007SO BIG! This is Kami's newest trick! It's so funny! I also think she's got a new word. Besides Dada and the occasional Mama, I think she's saying "Done"; because everytime she's sitting in her high chair and her food is all gone, I ask her, "Kami, are you all done?" and everytime she replies "D-uh". Everytime! I can't believe how big she is getting! Almost 10 month old! Where has the time gone???
Saturday, April 14, 2007You'll never knooooow who you'll meet! You'll never know who you'll meet on Sesame Street! Here's some pictures of the day of Sesame Street Live concert (LOL, Kami's first concert!). Grandma Feth come into town that weekend, and we only had two tickets so Drew and Grandma Feth took Kami to SSL, while mommy took some time for herself and went and saw a movie! I think everyone had so much fun!
This is the T-Shirt I made for Kami to wear to SSL! Cookie Monster's biggest little fan!
Grandma Feth and Kami at the show!
Disco Bert! No pigeons here, Auntie Rachel! ;^)
Thursday, April 05, 2007{Origional Posting Date: Friday, May 27, 2005}
OK, So. Every once in a while I'll get a itchin' to do some bakin'. Tonight, was one of these occassions. Drew and I are driving to Memphis tomorrow to meet up with his little brother, Dave and I thought it would be nice to bring some nice homemade peanutbutter cookies for the trip and to bring to Dave.
I'm mixing this and adding that, a dash of this and a dollop of what else? Peanut Butter. Voila! The masterpiece is ready to be baked in the oven. But first, the batter must pass the Jessica Taste Test.
"Hmmmm? Drew, come taste this. Does this taste right to you?" (Uh oh, never ever do I have to recruit my husband on things that are sweet)
"Hmmmm - it tastes like something else is overpowering it", Drew says.
"I think you're right. It's just not Peanut Buttery enough. Do you think I should just throw it away? It really doesn't taste right. Maybe I will bake one batch and see how it comes out."
The obligitory twenty minutes roll by (in the meantime, I check myspace. Yeah! Ali just told me a little of her html secrets - let's try it out). *BeepBeepBeepBeep* Timer goes off.
It tastes like - well, much like it did when it was batter. Now it's just warm and slightly crispy. I shake my head and bring the rest to Drew to taste. What could be wrong with these cookies? I look over the recipe - I didn't forget anything. Then something catches my eye on the Skippy jar. "Sell by February 03". *wrinkles nose* "Eeeeew!" Cross my heart, I never knew Peanut Butter could go bad. Well, at least the garbage disposal enjoyed it!
Have a happy weekend everyone! Cookies or not, we'll still enjoy ours!
{Origional Posting Date: Monday, June 26, 2006}
OK, if there were an actual Hippie of the year Award, I think it would most definetly go to my brother-in-law, Dave. I have to laugh every time I talk to him. And he's, oh, so fun to have debates with, since he is a self proclaimed "hippie"/"environmentalist", who, *ahem* not only flys airplanes, but he's in training to fly JETS (fuel burning) for the AIR FORCE (war fighting). AHAHAHA!!! See??? Just the though of it is making me laugh right now!!! Anyway, he bought this car [very ugly, might I add] that he's converted over to be powered by Veg. Oil. You guys have got to check out his blog!!! It's under "VegWagen" on the sidebar!
{Origional Posting Date: Friday, July 21, 2006}
OK, so I'll admit it, I'm a TLC (that's channel 183 on my TV) addict. I love watching home improvement shows (very inspirational for the nesting phase of pregnancy, by the way......Drew always knew when I watched one of those shows during the day while he was working because when he got home, something would be painted, reorganized, moved around, or put up on the wall) like Trading Spaces and Clean Sweep. Also among the shows I love to watch are Bringing Home Baby and A Baby Story (although I did go through a small phase during the end of my pregnancy when I just couldn't bring myself to watch it....it freaked me out too much!) and while I labored in my hospital room, I wondered why I hadn't written them and invited them along with my labor.
So, in my best effort and at the request of a friend (here you go, Alicia!) this is my Baby Story (and if you ever get Drew's version of this story, it's much more funny than mine):
At almost exactly 40 weeks, I had a doctors appointment on Thursday, June 29th. So, with my sister Mindy we made our way to the base hospital where the OB clinic was. That morning I was to meet another one of the three OB/GYN's docs (here, the way it works is you are seen by a nurse practitioner up until the last month of your prengancy when you are seen weekly by one of the OB/GYN's, then depending on who's on call the night you deliver, that is the OB who will be in attending while a resident on rotation, who you will meet the night/day of your delivery will be the one to deliver or catch or whatever they do down there!) here on base. My belly measuring too small for 40 weeks, the Dr. was concerned about the growth of Kami, and wanted to schedule an Ultrasound for 3PM that afternoon. That would be perfect timing for Mindy and I to do some Commissary shopping and then go pick up Drew, who couldn't make it to the Dr.'s appointment because of a lunch meeting with some guys he'll be working with in OKC. I was also dialated to 1cm at the doctors office, just enough for the doctor to strip some membranes (I believe my words when he did this procedure was, "HOLY CRAP!" and my eyes bulged from my sockets). So, after leaving the doctors office and feeling totaly funky, Mindy and I made our way to the Commissary. On our way home, we were stopped at a red right turn arrow. Apparently the guy behind me didn't see me stop because the next thing I know I hear and feel this incrediable *whack* from behind. A little in shock to do this myself, Mindy talked with the guy who hit us, as well as the police officer who arrived at the scene shortly after (more damage was done to his car than mine). After getting all the information we needed and after the police filed his report, we swiftly left for home (Mindy driving) to drop off the grocery's and pick up Drew (by this time it was about 2:30PM).
At the Ultasound, as I entered the room, I notified the Ultrasound Tech that I had just been in a fender bender accident about an hour ago and would he mind checking to make sure Kami's okay. He got this look of shock in his eyes and quickly escorted me back upstairs to the OB/GYN clinic to see if the doctor wanted to examine me before he did the US. We were told then that we needed to proceed immediatly to St. Elizabeth's Hospital (they don't deliver on base here anymore, and instead have a contract with one of the local hospitals here in town) for evaluation and monitoring. When asked if I was injured in the accident, I replied every time, "No, just this really bad back ache - but I'm not sure if that's from the accident or from walking around the commissary and being 9 months pregnant". At St. E's I as hooked up to a monitor for about 4 hours (which in the meantime, I did finally recieve my Ultrasound). The nurse pointed out that it looked like I was having some small contractions, but I didn't feel them. Weird. I soon noticed my back pains now going in spasims. When I said this, Mindy went and stood by the little monitor noticed that when I had a back spasim, the monitor detected a contraction. AHA!! THAT'S what a contraction feels like to me! Interesting!
So, after no improvement I was sent home from the hospital. By this time it was 10PM. After taking a bath, I layed down in bed to get some sleep. My back hurt too much, and I was too squirmy, I decided to go downstairs on the couch for a while. Back was still hurting. Whoever said that you should try and sleep through contractions during the early stages of labor, I swear has never been in labor! The back pains soon began to become more frequent and at about 12AM, I threw up. That's when I went to get Drew, who, still sleeping assured me I was fine. Unsatisfied, I then went to wake up Mindy. After hours of back pains, baths, trying to rest, throwing up and telling Mindy and Drew that I think my water just broke (nope, just peeing my pants!), I finally convinced them that we needed to go to the hospital. Even if they turned me away later, I wanted to get an IV to get some water in me (especially since it came to the point where I couldn't keep water down).
Arriving at the hospital at around 3 or 4AM, I was surprised to hear that I had now dialated to 4cm's! Just enough for them to keep me there! Yeah! Not dialated enough yet for an epidural, the nurse gave me some pain medication through the IV, which let me rest and also apparently say some wacky things and ask off the wall questions (refer to Drew's version of the story on this one, I don't remember what I said). Finally at about 7AM, I was ready enough for an epidural, which Mindy, Drew and myself now sing praises to - we could all get some rest now!). After than, it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. Then about 3:30PM, I was ready to push! With a room full of medical staff (the attending doctor, the resident, two nurses, and a medical student who by the look on his face as I began to push was the first time he'd ever seen a live birth, and Drew and Mindy I was good to go! Hmmm, so THAT is what the urge to push feels like! After nearly an hour of pushing, I asked the doctor (who by the way, just happened to be the same doctor who I saw the day before!) how many more times I was going to have to push; to which he replyed, "Oh, somewhere probaby between 5 to 20 more times." "5 TO 20 MORE TIMES??" I thought, "Nuts to that!". Kami was out in 3! ;^)
So, all in all, it was a good experience. Not one I'm ready to do again tomorrow (epidural or not, labor is labor and labor is hard work!), but one I'd do again!
