Pregnancy Journal 22 weeks

Well I’m at the end of my 22nd week.  This week I have feel great!  I’m in the mood to clean, organize, and get rid of stuff!  I’m coming to the realization that less is more when it comes to stuff, so I’m really trying to analyze how much we need vs. how much we have.  Now if I could get everyone here on board with this, it’d be a lot easier :)  Why is it when you make a pile of DI stuff all those things automatically become everyone’s prized processions that they haven’t touched in YEARS!  I know I should just get rid of stuff quietly and not let everyone else know, but I think it’s a lesson my kids need to learn…how to get rid of stuff and realize they don’t need it.  Okay. Enough of that soapbox.  Moral is: I feel good!

I feel huge.  I don’t think I’ve ever been this huge this soon.  It could be b/c it’s a girl or because I love sweets and treats!  Oh well I’m truly enjoying my growing baby bump.  And just for the record, I am trying to make a conscious effort to eat better and to exercise.

The little lady moves all over the place now!  Darrin and kids have all felt her in the last couple weeks.  I thought that girls would move less or move in a more dainty way, but not so!  She kicks and punches with the best of the other kids!  She has three brothers she’s going to have to fight back, so it’s probably good :)

We really haven’t bought much girl stuff yet.  But because of Darrin’s denial that it’s a girl, I have to keep all “girl stuff” receipts, so we can return it all when it really is a boy.  Friends have been so generous, and we’ve received several girly gifts already!  I did buy a infant car seat on Saturday using the Babies R Us trade in event since our other one was expired.  The practical side of me wouldn’t let me buy a super girly one, so gender neutral it is!  It’s a cute one anyway! 

Andrew

Andrew is six.  He’s in kindergarten.  I love his little personality that is evolving.

He’s doing very well in school and starting to read lots of words.  He likes to go to the library and pick out Star Wars books.  He is getting good at sounding words out.  The other night I got in bed, and there was note on my pillow that said:

Mom biy me sum ribs.

Andrew has been begging me to make ribs for dinner for the past couple months.  So he thought he’d write me a note to remind me.  I love how he loves “grown up” food and prefers it over PBJ or chicken nuggets.  He’s always been our good eater!

Andrew LOVES to play the Wii.  In our family we don’t play electronics or watch TV during the week…only on Fridays after school or Saturdays.  He lives for those days that he can play.  His game of choice right now is Star Wars Legos.

Andrew has made several little friends at school, and a couple of them ride the bus home with him.  A couple weeks ago these little friends started giving Andrew little toys and trinkets to “borrow” for a couple days.  He’s always very good at taking care of them and returning them when he’s done.  I realized this trading thing had gone too far the other day when one of the little girls gave Andrew a big bottle of lotion to borrow.  A bottle of lotion??  I can see her needing something to give him and quickly grabbed the first thing she saw and stuck it in her bag…I thought it was hilarious.  And to make things even more funny…Darrin borrowed Andrew’s back pack to take to his soccer game.  When Darrin was ready to leave for work the next morning he realized he had left his wallet in Andrew’s back pack.  We waited for Andrew to get off the bus, and luckily he still had it.  He did admit that his friend asked to borrow the wallet and take it home, but Andrew said “no.”  Can you image if he had let him???  I just laughed and told Darrin maybe he should buy his own soccer bag.

Andrew is going through a “worry phase” right now.  He often can’t sleep because he lays awake worrying about fires, robbers, bad guys, and who knows what else.  Hopefully he’ll be past this stage soon.  It breaks my heart to see him worry so much.

Andrew claims he doesn’t feel cold and refuses to wear long sleeves.  He also refuses to wear a coat, but luckily here he can get away with just wearing a hoody.  He hated jeans for awhile and wouldn’t wear them, but he recently changed his mind about that, although athletic type pants are still his top choice. 

In Nov. Andrew quit Taekwondo but had a great experience doing it.  We loved the studio that he went to and Master Null was great.  Maybe some day he’ll get back into it, but right now he’s super excited for spring soccer to start. 

Chicken Pot Pie

Anyone that knows me even a little bit knows that I have an obsession with chicken pot pie especially the chicken pot pie from Marie Callendars.  Not the frozen ones…the ones from the restaurant.  I about had an emotional break down when a friend called me last year to tell me that our Marie Callendars had recently closed.  I was devastated.  Over the years I’ve tried lots of different recipes for them.  None of them compared to the real thing. 

Well, last night I came upon this recipe.  I made it.  It was amazing!!!  It was the closest thing to the real thing that I’ve had in a long time. 

If you like chicken pot pie even just a little bit you have to try this recipe.  You won’t be sorry :)  Even Darrin claimed to like it, and he’s not normally a fan!

I did tweak a few things. 

• I used chicken from a rotisserie chicken…I threw it in with the peas. 
• I also added potatoes.  I boiled them with the carrots and celery. 
• I used the Krusteaz pie crust mix to make my crust.  I’ve never had much luck making one from scratch, and I like the way the Krusteaz one tastes.

Enjoy!!

 

Chicken Pot Pie (click here to go the website)

INGREDIENTS:

***Filling***
2 cups water
14 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cubed
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup butter
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup frozen peas
***Crust***
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
5 tablespoons cold water, more as needed

PREPARATION:

To make the filling: In 4-quart saucepan combine water, chicken, carrots, celery and onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken bouillon, pepper and butter. Dissolve cornstarch and flour into whipping cream and stir into chicken mixture. Simmer 3 minutes stirring frequently until thickened. Add peas and set aside.
To make the crust: Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine flour and salt. Using pastry blender, cut in shortening until particles the size of small peas form. Sprinkle one tablespoon of water at a time over flour mixture and toss with fork to blend. Add enough water to hold the dough together. Form into 2 balls. Roll out bottom crust on floured surface to 1 inch larger than inverted 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Lift dough off floured surface by rolling onto rolling pin and unroll over pie plate. Ease the dough into the plate loosely and press in place. Trim bottom crust even with edge of plate.
To assemble: Pour filling into bottom crust. Roll out top crust, cut slits for steam to escape. Cover filling with top crust and fold top crust under bottom crust. Seal crust and flute edge. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Let stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Family and a wedding

Over the weekend of Jan. 14 we had tons of Darrin’s family in town for our niece, Brittany’s, wedding. 

A temple wedding is always a great event, and despite the rain and snow during the weekend, everything was beautiful! 

We had a great time hanging out with family and, of course, the cousins love playing together.

Living away from Darrin’s parents, this was really the first time I felt the hole of them being gone.  Every time the sealer mentioned the word grandparents in the temple, I just bawled harder.  They were truly missed during that weekend, but know that they are doing a great work in England.

Congratulations Brittany and Stuart!!

Pregnancy Journal Feb. 3 (20 weeks)

Darth was right!

So we’re still in shock over here!!  Darrin is pretty sure the tech is wrong, and it’s boy.  He’s hesitant to let me shop cause he’s so sure she is wrong.  But he’ll have to get over it :)

I’m not an expert of girl ultrasound pictures…but supposedly dots mean girl, and we have dots. 

The kids were great during the ultrasound! 

To celebrate afterwards, we went to Krispy Kreme! 

Soooo weird to think of her as a girl and call it “her”!  I think I’m getting used to it though!

Sooo happy!!!

Pregnancy Journal Jan 29 (19 weeks)

Well, we are almost half way!  Our ultrasound is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 3rd.  The kids are out of school that day, so we’re planning on taking them with us to hear the big announcement!  We are really excited, but also hope and pray that the baby is healthy. 

We will be happy with a boy or girl.  A boy is much more practical.  We have boy clothes.  Boy toys.  And a bedroom arrangement perfect for a boy.  But, on the other hand, a girl would we super fun!  AHHHHH!!  I just can’t wait!  I think if you ask the boys, they all are pullin’ for a boy, but I can see them loving a little sister too.

Darrin and I talked about names the other night.  We came up with a few that we liked.  I’m hoping to pick the name before the baby is born just cause we’ve never done that before, and I think it’d be fun to be able to call it by it’s name in the months leading up to it’s birth. 

My cravings are also setting in.  Right now I LOVE sopapillas!!!  I realized how easy they are to make, and I think I’ve made them 5 times in the last 8 days.  Mmmmm!  They’re just so good!  The funny thing is I put honey on them, and normally I don’t even like honey!  They totally take me back to my days as a kid going to eat at Casa Bonita! 

Well, friends stay tuned for Friday!!!  It’s a big day :)