***Let me start by saying — I AM NOT PREGNANT!!***
Last year at this time I was just a few weeks pregnant. Crazy to think how fast the past year has gone. I am now a mother of not just one but two sweet little girls. Both my pregnancies were almost identical which is why I knew Amelia was a girl from the beginning. Just this past week I’ve had a few flashbacks of the parts of my pregnancy that weren’t very enjoyable. I was super nauseous from about week 7 through week 13, therefore, certain smells and even thoughts of certain foods made me even more nauseous. Recently 3 particular items have made me remember what those few weeks were like.
1. Dove deodrant the waterlily & fresh mint scent. Just a few days ago I put this specific kind of deodorant on. I totally forgot that I didn’t like it when I was pregnant. I wasn’t nauseous but I remembered what I felt like when I was nauseous. It was awful. I am throwing it away as soon as I finish this post. I will never use it again.
2. Radiator heat. This is a serious problem! This is the only type of heat we have in our house. It doesn’t really become an issue until it’s really really cold which I know will be happening sooner rather than later. Last week when it kicked in full force…oh that smell just couldn’t get any worse….I am so strange…I know because radiator heat really doesn’t smell bad. So there you go another pregnancy flashback!!
3. Thanksgiving food. This one is the strange flashback. I have had turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, rolls and the list could go on since thanksgiving, but for some reason the thought of eating all those items together mixed with stuffing might just send me over the top. It was actually thankgiving day last year that my nausea really kicked in. I can remember helping cook the food thinking this is just awful. I did eat but it was not enjoyable. Maybe since we’ll be at a different house this year it will help….let’s just hope at least.
Being pregnant is so amazing yet so bizarre all at the same time!
Ella is becoming more and more independent. That being said, I don’t always get to pick out her clothes or shoes anymore. I pull out an outfit and she tells me she doesn’t want to wear that. I pull out another outfit and she doesn’t want to wear that either. She has something in mind and she’ll find it. It’s fun to see her personality come out in deciding what to wear. She has to match her shirt and pants but the shoes don’t typically match. Most of the time I let her wear whatever shoes she wants but on Sundays I make sure they do match. This past Sunday she had on brown pants so when it was time to put her shoes on I pulled out her brown shoes. Well that was not what she had in mind. So Ella puts the brown shoes away and starts to put on her fancy high heel black shoes. The black shoes are cute and all but one of these days she is going to break her ankle if she doesn’t stop running in them. I tried talking her back into wearing the brown ones but it wasn’t going to happen. I ended up changing her whole outfit so that her fancy black shoes would match. I eventually get her completely dressed shoes and all and she puts her foot next to mine and says “just like mommy.” Yes, our shoes looked very similar, both with high heels and a bow on the front. And my sweet little Ella was so proud that she looked “just like mommy.”
Have you ever had such awesome neighbors you don’t know how to even thank them? This is our problem. Jim and Mae are in their 70’s and are so sweet and adorable. They are of course retired which makes them have a little bit of extra free time on their hands. Ella loves them and thinks of them as another set of grandparents.
It all started in the spring when Jim got rid of some of our weeds for us. Then he sprayed all of our poison ivy and removed it because he didn’t want Ella to get into it. Then he planted 3 tomato plants for us, then mowed our yard all summer, then got rid of some more weeds, then mowed our grass some more then just recently raked up all of our leaves. I’m just not fast enough, I had planned on raking the leaves Monday night when Adam got home from work, well, they were raked Monday morning.
On top of that they got Amelia and Ella a gift when Amelia was born and get our mail for us when we’re gone. Mae has a huge and I mean huge (hundreds) collection of baby dolls in her house and has given Ella 3 of them. I have made them cookies a few times and got them a giftcard a while back but I don’t feel like it’s enough. But I’ve decided there is nothing more I can give this sweet couple, they are just like this. They WANT to do these things for us. At one point I told Jim that I could take care of something he was doing in our yard and he told me that he has nothing better to do because he is retired. Which made me realize he isn’t doing these things to get some type of prize but because he just simply wants to.
I am awarding them with the 2009 Neighbor of the Year award!!
Adam goes to “cowboy weekend” every fall with his friends. They all dress up like cowboys, go hunting and make delicious food. This year he came back with a new recipe for us, Taco Chili. We made it last week and it was tasty. Here is the recipe below. Now understand I just threw most of this stuff in the pot so it’s hard for me to get you exact measurements but I’ll try.
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 green pepper (diced)
1/2 onion (diced)
1 can black beans
1 can corn (drained)
1 can chili beans
1 packet taco seasoning
3 tomatoes (diced) or a can of tomoatoes
tortilla chips
mexican cheese
1. brown beef & drain fat
2. add onions and green pepper - cook for a few minutes to make a little tender
3. add black beans, corn, chili beans, taco seasoning and tomatoes
4. simmer for 10-20 minutes or until everything is cooked
5. serve with tortilla chips and mexican cheese
Yes, I disappeared for 7 months from this blog but I’m back…for now that is. I don’t really have time to blog but I think It’s good for me to do every once and a while. Three different people have asked me to start blogging again, one lives in Marion, one lives in Wilmore, KY and one lives in Cincinnati. So this is for you Bambi, Kristen and Rachel.
1. My brother is now officially engaged! We are all so excited. Ann is a very sweet girl. I think they are planning a fall wedding. It still seems a little weird to me that my little brother is getting married…guess he isn’t as little as I thought. I’m hoping that they will live somewhere in the mid-west so we can see them frequently.
2. We found out last week that our 2nd baby is going to be another girl. We are excited, although Adam is a little nervous about a house full of girls :).
3. I think we’ve narrowed down our list of baby names and maybe even decided on one but I’m not ready to share until we know for sure. One hint - it does not start with an E.
4. Check out where we are going in June here. I am so excited and hoping I get to go. I’ll be 36 weeks pregnant so my doctor is a little worried about me going but I’m determined to find a way.
5. We are trying to plan a family trip (just the 3 of us) before the baby comes and we though we would go to The Smoky Mountains. Anyone have any suggestions on where we could stay that is cheap? We have thought about camping but I’ll be 7 months pregnant. Maybe we’ll just take an air mattress.
6. I am loving this warm weather and wish it would stay around longer. Ella and I have been loving hanging out at the park. She loves to swing. I spend 85% of my time pushing her when we go. I love hearing her laugh and telling me to push higher. I am thinking that maybe she is worn out from the outside air because last night when we got home from church she told me she was ready to go “night nights” and went right to sleep…very weird!
7. Adam and I are both continuing to love our jobs. Adam stays very busy and is great at what he does. I’m still working at the YMCA part-time and my most important job, taking care of Ella. Here recently I started teaching tumbling to preschoolers at the YMCA which has been fun.
I know I promised pictures from Ella’s b-day party but I’m having some technical difficulties. Hopefully soon I’ll get them figured out. For now here are a few recent photos Adam has taken with his phone.
So maybe I’m a little obsessed with thin mints this year. I told Adam I was planning on getting some more next time I saw girl scouts selling them and he reminded me that we came across a blog a few months ago that had a recipe for thin mints. Let me start by saying I have never tried them so if you hate it please don’t yell at me. The lady that posted it promises they taste just like them…so I guess we will see.
Thin Mint Cookies. These taste JUST LIKE the Girl Scout thin mint cookies
One package of chocolate bark
1 box of ORIGINAL Ritz crackers
peppermint flavoring
Melt the package of chocolate bark & add approx 1Tbs of peppermint (depending upon how minty you like it). Dip Ritz crackers in bark until covered, and lay on wax paper until hardened. Eat. Enjoy. Eat more. Maybe freeze some. Eat more.
It’s hard to believe that 2 years ago today Ella made me a mommy! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital and losing hours upon hours of sleep. Adam and I are so lucky to have such a sweet little girl be part of our life. I am amazed each day at how much she is growing and learning. Ella has changed our lives forever. I am so thankful God chose us to be her parents.
Yesterday we had an elmo birthday party for Ella. It was awesome to have both sides of the family here to celebrate. She got so many wonderful gifts and seemed to love them all. I’m looking forward to playing with all of her new toys with her this week. This week as I was getting ready for her party I realized I don’t think I spend enough time with Ella each week and time is flying by so quickly. I work part-time so I can stay home with Ella during the day but sometimes we get so wrapped up in going places and me trying the keep the house clean and cooking all the time I don’t actually sit down and play with her very often, although we are together. Beginning this week we are having more “Mommy and Ella time.”
Here it is 9pm and I want Mexican food so badly I can hardly stand it. I’m not talking about taco bell, but a Mexican restaurant where I sit down and they bring me chips and salsa and then a delicious meal filled with tacos, beans, rice and an enchilada.
I just got off the phone with a friend who is pregnant and she never has cravings….seriously!?!?! My mouth is watering….
Gretchen has finally come to grips with the fact that she lives in Marion, Ohio where she raises her daughters Ella and Amelia and babysits her husband Adam.
