Motherhood Mania: Frozen

Why is it that kids don't cooperate on the days when you NEED their cooperation most? I don't understand it. I wasn't acting stressed or all grouchy this morning, so I thought for sure we'd have a good and easy time getting down for naps. WRONG! A former neighbor was around to do some work on their rental (their old house). She and I are about 2 1/2 weeks apart with our due dates, and I haven't seen her in FOREVER! We sat outside and chatted. I had laid the girls down but apparently they never slept. Lily and Iris crept outside while we were out there. My friend and her son left shortly after, so I got the girls back inside to lie down again. Addy had fallen asleep in her crib in the meantime and us coming back inside woke her up. I calmed her down and got the other 2 in beds. Then, everyone decides they have to use the bathroom twice each. Addy fell asleep again and was again woken up. I just went up to discipline Lily because she had the blinds open...and Addy was trying to fall back to asleep yet again. Iris is whining that she's bored. I just want to get some food made and frozen! Is that too much to ask?! :)

Regardless of the non-napping, I did get some breakfast items made and in the freezer this morning.

12 banana muffins
11 cran-apple muffins (it was 12, but i ate one. lol)
16 breakfast burritos (the recipe said it made 24, but i didn't want to skimp on the filling)

I put 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot this morning around 9:30 to cook for 6 hours, so they would be easy to shred for casseroles. They were done about an hour ago (not even 6 hours, but they were falling apart, so I figured that was good enough!). I shredded two and put it in the Green Rice Casserole. I just covered and labeled that and put it in the upright freezer in the garage. I am debating if I should just use the other 2 chicken breasts for tonight's meal or use the ground turkey that is thawing right now. I might just use the ground turkey to make more pizza burgers and freeze them. Those are easy, and I'm starting to get really tired....so anything easy is looking mighty appealing for the next freezer meal. :)

For dinner, I don't even know what I'm making. Maybe this Chicken Bake I got out of the America's Cheapest Family book. It's simple, too.....uses canned cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soups and a few other items. I could double it and freeze one, since I stocked up on those "cream of" soups last week.

Tomorrow, I'd like to make a huge batch of Steve's Killer Pancakes (also from the Cheapest Family book)....the recipes makes 48. We could have some for breakfast and I could freeze the rest. Just worried about how long it'll take me in the morning to make all 48. I guess I could just make enough for breakfast, take a break to eat, then finish after Arthur leaves.Who knows. I feel like I'm over-thinking this whole make ahead thing. :)

Ok, it's quiet right now. I should probably just lie down and not make any kitchen noise, so they can all rest (and me too!). It's so gorgeous outside. I wish I had the energy to plant my veggie seeds now. I can hardly bend down long enough to pour dirt into the pots. I wanted to make a raised garden bed this year, since our soil is awful and the patio area's soil never drains. Unless I can convince Arthur to make one, I don't see it happening. AND, I really don't see him making one. :) I guess I can just do big planters/pots again. One of my big ones is cracked, though, so I need to replace it. Then, there's the dirt I have to buy. And then deciding which couple of veggies to grow. Oh, and I really want to check out the farmer's market this Saturday in town. It is the first weekend for it, and I wonder if they'll have any tomato plants for sale yet.

I'm getting carried away. One thing at a time. For now, I need to decide on dinner and finish using up the meats that are out thawing or cooking.

Pleasantries of Pregnancy: Anxiety?

Last night when we laid down to sleep, I was thinking about grocery shopping (I think I was starting to dream) and pictured myself stuck in a line and couldn't get out. I felt trapped and like I couldn't breathe. I woke up and felt really weird, like I couldn't get a deep breath. Arthur was asleep, and I almost woke him up but decided to just do my lamaze breathing :) and finally felt better. It was so strange. I don't know if it's pregnancy related or if I'm just overwhelming myself too much during the day with getting things done that at night even my dreams are about my stresses. So strange.

I am so ready to have the baby. Physically, I am exhausted - I can't get comfortable at night, my legs are restless from about 6pm on and that has become very annoying. I remember having restless legs with the other pregnancies, but nothing like this. They ache and I can't get comfortable at night while we watch the news - I feel like I want them propped up, then I want them down, then up, etc. In bed, they feel heavy and just not comfy lying still. And I am so limited on what I can do around the house and with the girls. Everything makes me out of breath, bending over squishes my tummy, lifting hurts my tummy muscles. Mentally - I am so frustrated with my physical limitations, that I get grouchy pretty early on each day now. I have so many lists in my head, and they all seem like logical and necessary lists but I just can't do them. And stubborn me just doesn't trust anyone to do it for me. Emotionally - I am ready to cry by noon practically every day now. Yesterday I cried in the car after we shopped at Meijer and ended up spending more than I wanted to. I bought an extra five pound bag of white rice and an two pound bag of brown rice and a few other items to stock up on, so I knew it would be more but for some reason I just started crying in the car. I wanted to call Arthur so bad and just talk to him but I knew he had a busy day. I felt like I had wasted our budgeted grocery money. I still had 2 boxes of diapers to buy (one for baby, one for Addy - with a good Target deal...that ended up not working out anyhow because they were out of one of the sizes. ugh!), and I felt like I was running short on the cash. Plus, I had fresh food at our market here to buy still and a mother's day gift for the 2 Grandmas and a birthday gift for Iris' friend. And the list goes on! I just felt behind and that I'd never get back on top of the money thing.

So, as soon as Saturday comes (36 weeks!), I am ready. :) I'm sure my doctors would like me to wait until at least after my 36 week appt next Monday, just to be sure baby is ready.

I feel like my last few posts have been about my worries and stresses and needing to just BREATH. Perhaps I should start taking that advice. :)

Lessons in Love: Learning to Listen

I have found that I jump to conclusions when I hear one of the girls crying or whining. I always assume one of the others has done something to her, and I immediately start accusations. Not good. Because now I've noticed Iris has started to do the same thing. She assumes someone meant something bad if she gets bumped or pushed, and she retaliates or yells at Lily and Addy. :(

I always knew I needed to watch my actions because the kids would pick up on them and mimic them, but now I am REALLY starting to notice it.

For the past 2 mornings, I have been sure to get up by 5:45 like I have been saying I want to consistently do. It's been nice to get a quiet, relaxed shower and be able to dress and do my makeup without someone whining at me. :) I even had time to change our sheets this morning before the girls awoke. And I didn't feel rushed to make breakfast because my other tasks were done. The only thing I did not do either morning was my devotions. I keep putting them off until I'm ready for the day, but by then the girls are waking up and then I've pushed the devotion time back and don't get to it. I'm always sure the girls get their devotion time at night, but I know I need to be consistent with my time. It will definitely help with my perspective for the day.

Plus, devotion time daily will probably help with this crazy stress or anxiety I feel lately. I'm pretty sure it's hormonal right now, as I'm not one to be anxious about things, BUT spending time in the Bible and praying as the first thing I do each day would definitely be a big help.

Rejoicing in Recipes: Pizza Burgers

After a busy and full day of grocery shopping, I was rushing around at 5:00, trying to think of what to make for dinner (yes, that means I did NOT do my menu plan for this week). I remembered my plan to make pizza burgers to freeze for when the baby arrives, so I decided to make some for dinner. Always a great standby for a last minute meal. Very easy, and we almost always have the ingredients on hand.

Pizza Burgers

1 lb ground chuck (we used 1 1/2 lbs last night, so we could have lots of leftovers for lunch!)
8 oz pizza sauce (I used 10 or 12 oz of a 15 oz can for the 1.5 lbs)
8 Hamburger buns (we had 12 with our extra meat)
4 American Cheese slices, cut in half
4 Mozzarella Cheese slices, cut in half (you could just use shredded here, no big deal)

Brown meat. Drain. Add sauce and heat through. Scoop onto bottom half of buns, top with 1/2 slice of each kind of cheese. Cover with top half of bun. If making to freeze, individually wrap in foil and freeze for up to 2 months. If making all together for dinner that night, place on baking sheet and cover whole tray of them with foil. Warm in oven at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and buns and starting to get crispy.

We had this with a mish-mash of sides - chips, applesauce, grapes (all the individual ones that didn't fit into the bowl I had out to put the grapes in. lol), and some instant mashed potatoes. I know, INSTANT mashed tatoes? Well, I had gotten a couple free packages from Idahoan and we had one left. It wasn't going to feed all of us, so I just made them and set them out for whomever wanted them. They weren't bad, but they definitely were no REAL potatoes! :)

Motherhood Mania: Freezer Meals

I am behind on preparing freezer meals for when baby is born. I had this big plan to get several days worth of meals ready and frozen, so we can just bake them when we need them once we're home from the hospital. This did not work out....yet.

I am grocery shopping today, so hopefully I can get a decent amount of the fresh ingredients I need to make a few of the meals tomorrow.

At the church I grew up in, there was a thing where ladies of the church would bring a meal to the families that had new babies. And my family (immediate and extended) always brought food to each other when one of the family members had a baby. Now that I don't live close by, I'm kind of sad that my family can't bring me food (they are all GOOD cooks!). One of my cousins did make me a lasagna when I had Iris and gave it to my mom to bring out to us, and it was delicious. But, she lives 1 1/2 hours away, so I don't really think she'd be able to do that again. And I don't think our church has anything like my parents' church with the bringing of meals to families. Plus, I think it'd be weird if I asked about it....like I was looking for someone to make me food. :) LOL.

Anyway, this is my partial list of freezer meals I'd like to have done in the next few weeks. The cooking part won't be hard, and now that we have our upright freezer we have the space for them. It's just the part of shelling out the extra money over the next couple of weeks to get the ingredients. I suppose saving that money in a few weeks when I don't do any major shopping will make up for it. So, pray for me while I stress out over this for the next week or two. :)

Breakfasts:
Breakfast burritos
Cinnamon Rolls
Coffee Cake - mine
Country Morning Coffee Cake - from a blog
Muffins (blueberry, chocolate chip, apple, banana - maybe not ALL those kinds but at least 2 of them)

Dinners:
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Green Rice Casserole
Cheesy Potato Casserole
Pizza Burgers (16 of them, I think; this will be good for lunches, too)
Bean Burritos
Chicken or Pork Burritos
Lasagna Casserole (less prep-intense than regular lasagna)

So, I know that looks like a lot of meals. And it probably is way more than we'll need. If my recovery time is like my other 3 deliveries, I should be up and cooking or baking by a week after. BUT, since I've never had 4 kids :), I really don't know how I'll feel physically or emotionally.

I am starting to stress about food prices and I feel like I'm running out of time for things. I wanted to make freezer jam as well and make curtains for the girls window to block out the early morning sun. I haven't done either. Time to just breathe and get done what I can without stressing out everyone around me too! :)

Rejoicing in Recipes: Bruschetta Bake

It was Meatless Monday yesterday....and I actually remembered! :) I went with the recipe on the container of Philly Cooking Creme for the Chicken Bruschetta Pasta, except I made it without the chicken. I used canned tomatoes (with garlic and olive oil) instead of fresh grape tomatoes. The seasoning of the canned tomatoes was delicious with the dish. AND, my husband even approved of it...and he despises tomatoes. :)

Bruschetta Pasta

1 box pasta (I used rotini)
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 container Philly Cooking Creme (original flavor)
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes w/garlic and olive oil
Garlic powder, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Dried basil (no measurement here, just put a little in my hand - maybe 1 tsp - and sprinkled over the dish)

Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain and add remaining ingredients. Cook over medium low until heated through.

We had this dish with a salad and corn. The girls and husband loved it! Definitely a keeper!

Pleasantries of Pregnancy: 35 weeks!!

I am 35 weeks and 2 days! I feel like I'm holding my breath, just waiting for that 36 week mark this coming Saturday. :)

Nothing new as far as my belly....other than it's STILL growing! I go back to the doctor on May 9, so we'll see about weight gain then; I quit weighing myself here at home several months ago. Every time I weighed myself, I either didn't like what I was reading (lol) or it was way off from the doctor's scale!

At night, it has become very painful to roll over. I thought I found a comfortable way of doing it - not bending my knees too much and just kind of sliding my rear over and then tipping my body. That stopped being comfortable as of Saturday night. For some reason now, even that way of doing it hurts. So, I just say "ouch" and grunt while I throw my body over to the other side. :)

And now I'm getting up twice at night to use the bathroom! What is THAT about?! I don't remember doing that with any of the other 3 pregnancies! Such an inconvenience. :) BUT, it's all just to bring our little boy into this world, so I guess I'm ok with it.

Contractions are still growing more and more intense. I did have one night where I had 3 contractions in 20 minutes, but it was right after we got the girls in bed and I was starting to settle down on the couch....so I assumed it was just from running around all crazy with baths and getting the girls down. The 3 contractions were it - no other ones any time soon after that, so I didn't worry.

Arthur is still working on timing my breathing and practicing the 3 types of breathing with me - early labor, intermediate and active labor breathing. It really helped last time in delivery, so I want to be sure I use it again this time as long as possible. I still need to work on my focal point thing. I get too distracted when we practice because there's too many distractions here with the girls or the TV (I know, we should turn it off!) or housework. BUT, I'm confident I'll just stare at the clock in the delivery room like last time. I don't even notice the time or the numbers or anything, but the clock in there was a good height for my eyes to stare at.  And if that will keep me from focusing on the pain, I'll take it! :)

So, I'm actively counting down the days/weeks til this boy arrives. I can't wait to feel a little relief in my belly and diaphragm, as well as hold a beautiful new life in my arms. Something God has allowed Arthur and I to create and bring into this world! SO EXCITING!

Rejoicing in Recipes: Sopapilla Cheesecake

Yes, I have been posting WAY more recipes lately than updates on our daily activity. I have just come across so many new and yummy recipes from other moms' blogs and my favorite recipe sites.

Saturday when our friends were over, I made a Sopapilla Cheesecake. I was looking for something easy but not the usual cookie or cake. AND, I didn't want to spend forever making it. I had two packages of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls I was going to use this week to make wrapped hot dogs with, but instead I googled "cinnamon sugar crescent rolls" to see if I could find some kind of sugary dessert to make with them. I came across a few recipes for making cinnamon sugar twists, but then I noticed a cheesecake that is made using crescent rolls. Maybe I'm the only one that had never heard of this, but I was very intrigued! :)

So, HERE is the direct link to the recipe I used. I will also post it below. Very easy. Very yummy. Not at all healthy, but very worth the calories and fat! :) I liked it warm, but I'm also enjoying the leftovers cold!

Sopapilla Cheesecake (or Cinnamon Crescent Rolls, as it's called at the link)

2 cans crescent rolls (16 rolls)
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese
1 egg, separated
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. sugar
Cinnamon to suit your taste (I used 1 tsp with the 1/2 cup sugar)

Spray a 9"x13" pan with Pam. Spread 1 can of crescent rolls in bottom of pan. Mix cream cheese, egg yolk, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth and spread over rolls. Layer second can of rolls on top. Spread egg white on top of rolls.Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 10 servings.

So GOOD!

Homeschool Family's Planner GIVEAWAY!

I follow Confessions of a Homeschooler here on blogspot. Today, Erika at Confessions is giving away the Well Planned Day Planner!

Click HERE to enter! I am really hoping I win this! It looks like it would be a HUGE help this Fall when we start our homeschooling journey!!

Book Review: A Conversation with God by Alton Gansky

I received a complimentary copy of A Conversation with God by Alton Gansky through BookSneeze. The author has taken several popular questions and topics of Christian life and answered or discussed them from different points of view - God, Jesus, Apostles, and other Biblical figures.

I was intrigued to read this book, after reading the description of it online. While I found the writing style to be not one of my favorites, I did find the different viewpoints used very interesting. I am not a big fan of Mr. Gansky answering from God's viewpoint, using the first person. I understand he wrote it that way to be the same as when he answered from the other characters' viewpoints, but (to me) it was a bit much to answer as if in God's voice.

The topics covered ranged from Creation to End Times and from Salvation to Christian living. I did enjoy the variety of topics and found the answers from key Biblical figures to be important to know, in addition to knowing what God says in the Bible. I think Christians ought to know what important figures in our Christian history believed about key Christian topics.

Overall, I was happy with the content and the Biblical references to support the answers given. My only disappointment (and purely a personal one) was the use of first person when giving God's answer.