I am in the first trimester of pregnancy. This means, for me, that I am very nauseous. Every smell is amplified about 100% and everything smells disgusting... none of this mixes well with a 24 hour stomach bug.
For the past three days, our house has been in a definite sick zone. I mean, seriously, how can four people be so sick at the same time? Gross.
It all started on Monday morning. I was sleeping soundly in bed, when all of a sudden, I heard a gagging sound coming through the baby monitor. Then... a cough, and a gush of something liquid. I ran as fast as I could up to Genesis's room, and sure enough, poor baby was sitting in a pile of vomit. I cleaned her up, took her and all of her blankets downstairs... started reading her a book and she started vomiting again. Oh gross. This time, she had been sitting in my lap, so it got alllll over me. I started gagging in turn, Gen started screaming, and the morning went on like this until about noon. She woke up from her nap and was fine. She hasn't vomited since.
In the meantime, I see on facebook that everyone in our church is also getting this same stomach bug. Just fabulous.
Ivy was great all the rest of the day, until we walked out of her room after tucking her into bed that same Monday night. Headed down the stairs, and heard Ivy scream "Mommy!!! I just puked!!!!". And lucky for me, she had just drunk a big glass of grape juice. Oh my goodness... everything was red/purple all over her bed and jammies. Poor girl spent the rest of the night throwing up about every 1/2 hour. Jake and I each spent a good amount of time "snuggling" with her in bed as per her request. She woke up at 7:30am on Tuesday totally fine and ready to eat a big bowl of oatmeal.
Jake woke up Tuesday with a sick stomach, so he called in to work. I woke up with an upset stomach, but that was most likely just my regular morning sickness kicking in the second I open my eyes. Jake spent the day running to the john and well just kind of layed on the couch, watching Dora the Explorer all day. Jake's mom brought us a big bag of movies from the library, along with some yummy popsicles and 7UP. My real sickie stomach started mid-afternoon, so my runs to the bathroom to throw up became more frequent. That lasted all night till about 4am. I have not felt that bad since.... I don't remember when.
So, today the girls are great. And Jake and I are definitely feeling better. Just in time for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I love Thanksgiving- I would have to say that it is my favorite holiday of the entire year. It's usually a little bit less stressful than Christmas (not having to be worried about having enough gifts and all the wrapping done- I'm not one for good planning or wrapping), and involves family sitting around a table full of amazing food, sharing stories of thankfulness. I love it. I am excited about tomorrow, as we are going to my husband's grandparents house. It will be our family, my in-laws, my bro in law (hopefully, because he has also been sick today with the same thing we have had), my sis in law (and new baby Phoenix who is 1 week old!), and my husbands aunt and uncle and their two boys. It will be a nice gathering, and for sure there will be some yummy food. I am in charge of a jello salad and a regular salad. Speaking of which, I have to go fix the jello salad in a minute... I will leave you with that recipe.
But, before I do that, I want to go back to where I said that I am pregnant. Our due date right now is July 4th. Wouldn't that be awesome? I also really love Independence Day, so I would be thrilled if baby #3 was born on that day. However, the likelihood of that is very very small, because with planned c-sections (which I will be having), they normally take the baby a week early (but, as of right now, I don't know what my current OB's stance on this is, so we'll see?)... so we're looking more at June 28 or something. After we had Genesis, Jake and I decided we definitely wanted another one sometime. So we are so thankful that God has granted our wish again. We were on vacation in Michigan when we actually found out I was pregnant, and it was a really fun way to end the week we had spent up there together. Babies are just unbelievably amazing gifts from God and we have both loved have Ivy and Genesis. I personally adore the baby stage, where as Jake likes it when they get to the age where they can play and understand him better :) I think most guys are like that. It's wonderful to dream about the future, someday when we are old and alone, that we have children "out there" who can come home for the Holidays or drop us calls/notes if they need us. We want our home to always be full of family and the love that goes with that. We are so excited!
Cream Cheese Jello Fruit Dish
1 box flavored jello of your choice (I love to try the weird ones)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 can mandarin oranges
1/2 can crushed or chunk pineapple
1/2 tin whipped topping
Follow instructions on jello box. Let jello firm about half way. Add softened cream cheese, fruit and whipped topping. Beat together (with electric beater), just till mixed. Put back in refrigerator, let firm up all the way. Yummy!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Kiwi
Here is an aerial view of Kiwi, the village I grew up in and where my parents have worked for the past 40 years. I just got the picture in an email from my mom a couple of minutes ago. I love it.
Kiwi is located at 5000 ft. in the eastern highlands of Papua, Indonesia. The tribe that my parents work with is the Ngalum tribe. My dad finished translating the New Testament in 2000, right before I graduated from high school. He is now working on the book "Systematic Theology" with his informants. My mother is a nurse and her old clinic used to be the little building at the top of the airstrip on the left hand side, but she has recently moved it down to our house, where my bedroom used to be. They have two years left before retirement.
The Peoria Rivermen... and some other stuff
Jake called on Friday afternoon from work, telling me that he was the proud owner of 5 Rivermen tickets. The Peoria Rivermen are Peoria's semi-pro hockey team. I was excited because I have never been to a hockey game, and I thought I would enjoy myself because I myself had been a seasoned street roller hockey player at the tender age of 12. So, we thought we might invite Jake's parents... I called my mother in law, and to my surprise, she did not sound so enthused. She said she'd rather babysit! So then I went over to my neighbors house to visit for a little while, and mentioned it to them, and they just kind of chuckled and told me how they used to go to Rivermen games when they first started dating in high school. I guess they weren't as cool as Jake and I had originally thought. So, we kind of decided that we weren't going to go. But then Jake called Victor (his bro), and surprisingly Victor and his girlfriend Lacey said that they would drive to Peoria and meet us for the game. Then I got a call later that afternoon from Naomi (Jake's sis), saying that she and Dustin had also gotten free tickets and that they would be joining us. Jake and I were excited once again- we had babysitters and a night out with our siblings and their significant others. Funny part is, Jake was the one who actually enjoyed watching the hockey game and I ended up talking with Lacey and Naomi the entire game... we didn't even realize the game had ended until we started seeing Jake, Vic and Dustin getting up out of their chairs, waving us to join them. It was a very fun evening though- my in laws actually kept the girls overnight so Jake and I had the whole evening to "ourselves". Thanks babe for getting the tickets!
I believe that Genesis is finally on then mend. It has been a very very long week, and I hope that this one is better. She has been fever free for 3 days now, and that is the most important part. Jake and I had taken her into the ER on Thursday night because we had caught her, on several occasions, turning blue in her lips and fingers. It made me panic a little. Her fevers had also been around 102 and 103 for about 3 days straight, and she was so sluggish... sleeping a lot, laying around, in a bad mood. We got into a room at the ER almost immediately, which was totally a God thing, because the ER was in Peoria and we figured it would be jam packed with people right around 5pm (when all Dr. offices close). The attending Dr. that did her final check that evening was awesome, and let me take a look at her ears... and they just looked awful- crusted over with blood, swollen to the point of bursting and bright red. She commented on how good Gen was behaving, because she must have been in incredible pain with those ears. They didn't really end up telling us anything new, except to rotate Tylenol and Ibuprofin doses every 3 hours to reduce the fever and to say that they thought the blue tinges in her lips and fingers were due to all of the heat that was needed at her core for the fever... leaving her extremities blue. I don't know if I agree with that theory or not, because for the past 2 days, without a fever she has continued to have the blue spells. Hopefully it's not anything else.
It's going to be a busy week. I have Pampered Chef parties tomorrow night and Tuesday night. My sister in law is getting induced at midnight on Tuesday if she doesn't go into labor before then. Her actual due date is today! We have Bible study on Thursday night, Dinner Fellowship on Saturday night (a church thing, where couples are grouped together to share dinners and get to know each other better every other month), family pics on Sunday afternoon. And then the week after that is Thanksgiving. Vic and Lacey will be home from ISU for a week, we have Thanksgiving with family here and then that Friday, we are driving to Ohio to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with my side of the family. Christmas will be here before we know it!
Speaking of Pampered Chef, I don't know if I have ever mentioned it before on this blog. I became a consultant back in August, basically just to get the kit for a good price and to make the money back to pay for the kit. And the shows just keep coming! It's been a fun experience, and I have definitely gotten to know a bunch of people better. I do love cooking, and they have some awesome recipes too. So, if you ever need anything from Pampered Chef, let me know, I'd love to hook you up with some good stuff!
I bought a winter coat yesterday. My only winter coat. I did not have a winter coat in Branson when we lived there because I really didn't need it. I would always layer and just wear sweatshirts and race in out of buildings really fast if it was really cold. But, I knew that when we moved here, it would be a completely different story. I hate hate being cold, and it is FreeZZZZing here. It's only 45 degrees today and I know it's going to get much worse... winter is hardly here yet. So, I noticed at Kohl's earlier this week that they had some really good sales on coats, and I just happened to get a 30% coupon (they are the best you can get!) that same day. I talked to my husband, asked for permission to get a coat, he said yes, and I was on my way. My new coat is a bright lime-ish green and black. It's pretty much the only color I looked okay in :) Ivy wanted me to buy the hot pink one, but I decided against it. I am 28... not 3.
On Friday night, our family gathered at great grandpa and grandma Witzig's house in Morton. Previously, we had all walked downtown Morton and meandered in and out of the stores along main street. They were having a kind of open-house type night, with snacks, goody bags and drinks... all leading up to the lighting of a giant Christmas tree in the middle of town. It was a beautiful night, and so much fun. The tree was gorgeous, and Ivy thought it was just so amazing that it had lit up all on its own after we all counted down 5-4-3-2-1, it magically lit up! Then we headed for grandpa and grandma's house for pizza and fellowship... and lots of laughs, as always. I am so blessed to have a such a wonderful family on my husband's side. Anyway, my whole point to this paragraph was to lead up to my recipe of the night. Aunt Darci had brought some absolutely amazing BARS (it's an inside joke) for dessert and I devoured 3 right in a row. So here is the recipe. Please go make some right now. You will know why.
I believe that Genesis is finally on then mend. It has been a very very long week, and I hope that this one is better. She has been fever free for 3 days now, and that is the most important part. Jake and I had taken her into the ER on Thursday night because we had caught her, on several occasions, turning blue in her lips and fingers. It made me panic a little. Her fevers had also been around 102 and 103 for about 3 days straight, and she was so sluggish... sleeping a lot, laying around, in a bad mood. We got into a room at the ER almost immediately, which was totally a God thing, because the ER was in Peoria and we figured it would be jam packed with people right around 5pm (when all Dr. offices close). The attending Dr. that did her final check that evening was awesome, and let me take a look at her ears... and they just looked awful- crusted over with blood, swollen to the point of bursting and bright red. She commented on how good Gen was behaving, because she must have been in incredible pain with those ears. They didn't really end up telling us anything new, except to rotate Tylenol and Ibuprofin doses every 3 hours to reduce the fever and to say that they thought the blue tinges in her lips and fingers were due to all of the heat that was needed at her core for the fever... leaving her extremities blue. I don't know if I agree with that theory or not, because for the past 2 days, without a fever she has continued to have the blue spells. Hopefully it's not anything else.
It's going to be a busy week. I have Pampered Chef parties tomorrow night and Tuesday night. My sister in law is getting induced at midnight on Tuesday if she doesn't go into labor before then. Her actual due date is today! We have Bible study on Thursday night, Dinner Fellowship on Saturday night (a church thing, where couples are grouped together to share dinners and get to know each other better every other month), family pics on Sunday afternoon. And then the week after that is Thanksgiving. Vic and Lacey will be home from ISU for a week, we have Thanksgiving with family here and then that Friday, we are driving to Ohio to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with my side of the family. Christmas will be here before we know it!
Speaking of Pampered Chef, I don't know if I have ever mentioned it before on this blog. I became a consultant back in August, basically just to get the kit for a good price and to make the money back to pay for the kit. And the shows just keep coming! It's been a fun experience, and I have definitely gotten to know a bunch of people better. I do love cooking, and they have some awesome recipes too. So, if you ever need anything from Pampered Chef, let me know, I'd love to hook you up with some good stuff!
I bought a winter coat yesterday. My only winter coat. I did not have a winter coat in Branson when we lived there because I really didn't need it. I would always layer and just wear sweatshirts and race in out of buildings really fast if it was really cold. But, I knew that when we moved here, it would be a completely different story. I hate hate being cold, and it is FreeZZZZing here. It's only 45 degrees today and I know it's going to get much worse... winter is hardly here yet. So, I noticed at Kohl's earlier this week that they had some really good sales on coats, and I just happened to get a 30% coupon (they are the best you can get!) that same day. I talked to my husband, asked for permission to get a coat, he said yes, and I was on my way. My new coat is a bright lime-ish green and black. It's pretty much the only color I looked okay in :) Ivy wanted me to buy the hot pink one, but I decided against it. I am 28... not 3.
On Friday night, our family gathered at great grandpa and grandma Witzig's house in Morton. Previously, we had all walked downtown Morton and meandered in and out of the stores along main street. They were having a kind of open-house type night, with snacks, goody bags and drinks... all leading up to the lighting of a giant Christmas tree in the middle of town. It was a beautiful night, and so much fun. The tree was gorgeous, and Ivy thought it was just so amazing that it had lit up all on its own after we all counted down 5-4-3-2-1, it magically lit up! Then we headed for grandpa and grandma's house for pizza and fellowship... and lots of laughs, as always. I am so blessed to have a such a wonderful family on my husband's side. Anyway, my whole point to this paragraph was to lead up to my recipe of the night. Aunt Darci had brought some absolutely amazing BARS (it's an inside joke) for dessert and I devoured 3 right in a row. So here is the recipe. Please go make some right now. You will know why.
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 c. butter
- 1/2 c. margarine
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Pour into a 9x13 pan and bake for 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Pour into a 9x13 pan and bake for 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
MIA
I'm just going to recap the last couple of days real quick. Not much interesting going on... just sick stuff.
I am exhausted, and I definitely feel like I have been MIA from life in general for the last couple of days. We have been kind of sickly household lately. Ivy and Genesis had coughs and ear infections while Jake and I were on vacation a couple of weeks back. They finished their antibiotics a couple of days ago, and seemed to be doing fine... until yesterday.
I had a sinus infection last week, that finally settled in my eyes. That was disgusting because it made my eyes all goopy and red; looked like I had a serious case of pink eye. (And I had to do a Pampered Chef party looking like this!) So I was able to get a prescription from my Dr. and the infection cleared up pretty quickly.
Genesis has a double ear infection... STILL... it's been going on for several weeks now, but has hit her very hard yesterday and today. Her fever was up to 103 last night and I think is up there again tonight. We couldn't get a very good temp. reading on her, but I'm thinking it was about 101 maybe. She's in bed now, but the poor thing had a rough afternoon and evening.
Ivy is healthy. She is at AWANA's right now and will be walking in the door in a couple of minutes. She has been great. And such a helper with little sis. I've never seen her give so many kisses to Genesis. Ever. Her memory verse for tonight was "Jesus called them, and immediately they followed Him" Matt. 4:21-22. She loves saying her memory verses.
Here is a recipe that a friend recommended recently. I have not tried it yet, but I think it looks good. It's for homemade coleslaw.
I am exhausted, and I definitely feel like I have been MIA from life in general for the last couple of days. We have been kind of sickly household lately. Ivy and Genesis had coughs and ear infections while Jake and I were on vacation a couple of weeks back. They finished their antibiotics a couple of days ago, and seemed to be doing fine... until yesterday.
I had a sinus infection last week, that finally settled in my eyes. That was disgusting because it made my eyes all goopy and red; looked like I had a serious case of pink eye. (And I had to do a Pampered Chef party looking like this!) So I was able to get a prescription from my Dr. and the infection cleared up pretty quickly.
Genesis has a double ear infection... STILL... it's been going on for several weeks now, but has hit her very hard yesterday and today. Her fever was up to 103 last night and I think is up there again tonight. We couldn't get a very good temp. reading on her, but I'm thinking it was about 101 maybe. She's in bed now, but the poor thing had a rough afternoon and evening.
Ivy is healthy. She is at AWANA's right now and will be walking in the door in a couple of minutes. She has been great. And such a helper with little sis. I've never seen her give so many kisses to Genesis. Ever. Her memory verse for tonight was "Jesus called them, and immediately they followed Him" Matt. 4:21-22. She loves saying her memory verses.
Here is a recipe that a friend recommended recently. I have not tried it yet, but I think it looks good. It's for homemade coleslaw.
- 3 cups chopped cabbage
- 1 unpeeled red apple, cored and chopped
- 1 unpeeled Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine cabbage, red apple, green apple, carrot, red bell pepper, and green onions. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Pour dressing over salad.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
My date day with my girl
I have been feeling lately like I have not been spending enough "quality" time with Ivy. Genesis requires more attention just because she is younger/smaller and she and I usually have more one on one time because of nap times, feeding times... etc. It's so easy for me to consider Ivy a lot older than she really is when I am with her all day long and we have regular conversations about lifes situations and forget that she is this tiny human being as well! She is so little still and I need to drink it up while I can before she goes off to pre-school NEXT year... which is so crazy to me. She was just born yesterday, it seems. I blinked and she is almost 4 years old. I am trying to "live with no regrets" as a wise person (wink wink, you know who you are) once told me long ago with my children. I don't ever want to look back and think, "man, I wish I would have played more, I wish I would have paid more attention, gone to the park more, enjoyed bath-time more, snuggled more, read more... etc". My elderly neighbor is Branson (she was a mother of 5) told me to leave the house alone, leave the clutter alone because it will always be there, but your children will be gone before you know it. The house will always need to be cleaned, laundry to be done, beds to be made... but 18 years goes by so quickly. Makes me sad. :(
Anyway, so last night I told Ivy that she and I would have a "Mommy/Ivy" day today. We would spend as long as we wanted together- go the mall, some fun stores, get some lunch wherever she wanted... do whatever we wanted! She was so excited. My mother in law said that I could put Genesis down at her house for her morning nap and would watch her while Ivy and I were gone (Jake was going flying with his dad, bro and bro-in-law and would not be home most of the day). So Ivy's first words to me when she woke up this morning was "mommy, when are we going???" I fixed pancakes, got the girls dressed, cleaned the kitchen up and we were on our way... first to grandmas house to put Gen down and then to the mall in Peoria.
We parked in JC Penney's parking lot, walked through the doors, through the women's department and out the entry doors into the mall just in time to see SANTA. He was sitting in a big Santa chair with his two elves standing next to him, just waiting for a little girl to go sit in his lap. Ivy started running towards him and as she she was running, he stood up and turned away... walking away from her and down the corridor toward the bathrooms. Talk about breaking the heart of an excited little girl! I asked one of the elves if Santa was gone for the day, but she said he just had to go feed the reindeer and he'd be back at 2pm (it was 11:30). My heart sank. There was no way we were going to be able to find 2 1/2 hours worth of stuff to do in the mall to wait out the time before he came back. And now, that was all that Ivy could think about. So, we meandered into Build A Bear, a store that I can't stand because of the outrages prices they charge for cotton stuffing, little outfits, shoes and other accessories to make the perfect little stuffed animal. Then we found several other stores to look around in, and Ivy was starting to have fun. We went to the food court and I asked her where she wanted to eat. "Chinese!!!" is always her favorite, and mine as well, so we got in line where they were handing out samples of Bourbon chicken. The food turned out to be really disgusting (in my opinion), but Ivy loved every bit of it, so I kept my mouth shut. By that time, it was about 12:30, and all she wanted to do was to check and see if Santa was back. I told her he wouldn't be, and that we had a while to wait still. But she convinced me to just go look and see if he was there. And sure enough! He was and there was no line. Again, she raced over to him and this time, got on his lap. He asked her several questions and she giggled and answered. I asked her later what the questions were and she said that he asked her what she wanted for Christmas- to which she responded, "a monkey" and he said, "a real one?" and she said, "no! a pretend one!" He also asked her if she had been good this year and she said yes. Hmmmm, maybe I should have answered that question :) Then he gave her a candy cane and she was happy to be on her way.
Our next stop was Toys R Us. She loves that store. We had to stop and play with the train sets, the Leapsters, the bicycles, etc. She did not want to leave, but I did, so I won. Not too fond of that store myself... once again because of the overpriced toys that I know I can find at garage sales for $2 during the summer.
The Fresh Market. It is located next to Toys R Us and is the most awesome store ever. Today was our lucky day. It was sample day! They had cheese, cheesecake, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry relish, wine, grapes, olives, coffee, cider, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Ivy loves the "sample people" at Walmart whenever we go, so she was really excited to see that there were lots of them at The Fresh Market today. We tried everything, and liked everything. :) A beautiful ending to a beautiful day with my beautiful daughter.
We finished up the day at my in-laws with pizza, cheeseburger soup, and a whole array of other snacky-type foods. My brother in law is home from college for the weekend, and he and Jake got to hang out most of the day... and he also babysat for me for a while later this afternoon when I needed to go and do some grocery shopping with his mother. The table conversation was fun and entertaining as usual tonight and I had to thank God one more time for bringing me to this spot in life, where I am just so happy and fulfilled. Life is good and we are so blessed!
Ivy has been hoping and wishing for a pink Christmas tree all year of her very own. Yesterday, Naomi and mom and I went to Kohl's to do some looking around and voila- I found the perfect tree for Ivy and Genesis. It is a pre-lit 3 footer (I think) and it is PURPLE... and it was half price! I can't wait to show Ivy and have her set it up upstairs between their rooms.
The weather is getting very very cold out and soon I am going to have to buy some serious winter clothing. I don't really own any because winters in Missouri are fairly mild compared to Illinois. I wore sandals year-round in Branson. Don't think I'll be doing that here. The girls are covered and have a pretty good winter wardrobe (thanks to garage sales this summer), and Jake's clothes are decent... but not mine. I am going on a girls only shopping trip on the weekend of December 4th to Chicago, so I need to buy before then. Cuz I'll freeze my patootie off up there while we are shopping.
Okay, man, I chattered on and on. I'll stop and go to bed. Goodnight!
Ivy and I made these Buttery Spritz Cookies the other day and they were so yummy. Here you go!
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Colored decorating sugar
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the salt, egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix in the flour until thoroughly blended.
Gently form the dough into a log shape. Following the manufacturer's instructions, fill a cookie press with the dough (you will probably need to work in several batches) and dispense the cookies at least 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Sprinkle with colored sugars and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container, up to 3 days at room temperature, 1 week refrigerated or 1 month frozen.
Anyway, so last night I told Ivy that she and I would have a "Mommy/Ivy" day today. We would spend as long as we wanted together- go the mall, some fun stores, get some lunch wherever she wanted... do whatever we wanted! She was so excited. My mother in law said that I could put Genesis down at her house for her morning nap and would watch her while Ivy and I were gone (Jake was going flying with his dad, bro and bro-in-law and would not be home most of the day). So Ivy's first words to me when she woke up this morning was "mommy, when are we going???" I fixed pancakes, got the girls dressed, cleaned the kitchen up and we were on our way... first to grandmas house to put Gen down and then to the mall in Peoria.
We parked in JC Penney's parking lot, walked through the doors, through the women's department and out the entry doors into the mall just in time to see SANTA. He was sitting in a big Santa chair with his two elves standing next to him, just waiting for a little girl to go sit in his lap. Ivy started running towards him and as she she was running, he stood up and turned away... walking away from her and down the corridor toward the bathrooms. Talk about breaking the heart of an excited little girl! I asked one of the elves if Santa was gone for the day, but she said he just had to go feed the reindeer and he'd be back at 2pm (it was 11:30). My heart sank. There was no way we were going to be able to find 2 1/2 hours worth of stuff to do in the mall to wait out the time before he came back. And now, that was all that Ivy could think about. So, we meandered into Build A Bear, a store that I can't stand because of the outrages prices they charge for cotton stuffing, little outfits, shoes and other accessories to make the perfect little stuffed animal. Then we found several other stores to look around in, and Ivy was starting to have fun. We went to the food court and I asked her where she wanted to eat. "Chinese!!!" is always her favorite, and mine as well, so we got in line where they were handing out samples of Bourbon chicken. The food turned out to be really disgusting (in my opinion), but Ivy loved every bit of it, so I kept my mouth shut. By that time, it was about 12:30, and all she wanted to do was to check and see if Santa was back. I told her he wouldn't be, and that we had a while to wait still. But she convinced me to just go look and see if he was there. And sure enough! He was and there was no line. Again, she raced over to him and this time, got on his lap. He asked her several questions and she giggled and answered. I asked her later what the questions were and she said that he asked her what she wanted for Christmas- to which she responded, "a monkey" and he said, "a real one?" and she said, "no! a pretend one!" He also asked her if she had been good this year and she said yes. Hmmmm, maybe I should have answered that question :) Then he gave her a candy cane and she was happy to be on her way.
Our next stop was Toys R Us. She loves that store. We had to stop and play with the train sets, the Leapsters, the bicycles, etc. She did not want to leave, but I did, so I won. Not too fond of that store myself... once again because of the overpriced toys that I know I can find at garage sales for $2 during the summer.
The Fresh Market. It is located next to Toys R Us and is the most awesome store ever. Today was our lucky day. It was sample day! They had cheese, cheesecake, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry relish, wine, grapes, olives, coffee, cider, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Ivy loves the "sample people" at Walmart whenever we go, so she was really excited to see that there were lots of them at The Fresh Market today. We tried everything, and liked everything. :) A beautiful ending to a beautiful day with my beautiful daughter.
We finished up the day at my in-laws with pizza, cheeseburger soup, and a whole array of other snacky-type foods. My brother in law is home from college for the weekend, and he and Jake got to hang out most of the day... and he also babysat for me for a while later this afternoon when I needed to go and do some grocery shopping with his mother. The table conversation was fun and entertaining as usual tonight and I had to thank God one more time for bringing me to this spot in life, where I am just so happy and fulfilled. Life is good and we are so blessed!
Ivy has been hoping and wishing for a pink Christmas tree all year of her very own. Yesterday, Naomi and mom and I went to Kohl's to do some looking around and voila- I found the perfect tree for Ivy and Genesis. It is a pre-lit 3 footer (I think) and it is PURPLE... and it was half price! I can't wait to show Ivy and have her set it up upstairs between their rooms.
The weather is getting very very cold out and soon I am going to have to buy some serious winter clothing. I don't really own any because winters in Missouri are fairly mild compared to Illinois. I wore sandals year-round in Branson. Don't think I'll be doing that here. The girls are covered and have a pretty good winter wardrobe (thanks to garage sales this summer), and Jake's clothes are decent... but not mine. I am going on a girls only shopping trip on the weekend of December 4th to Chicago, so I need to buy before then. Cuz I'll freeze my patootie off up there while we are shopping.
Okay, man, I chattered on and on. I'll stop and go to bed. Goodnight!
Ivy and I made these Buttery Spritz Cookies the other day and they were so yummy. Here you go!
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Colored decorating sugar
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the salt, egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix in the flour until thoroughly blended.
Gently form the dough into a log shape. Following the manufacturer's instructions, fill a cookie press with the dough (you will probably need to work in several batches) and dispense the cookies at least 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Sprinkle with colored sugars and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container, up to 3 days at room temperature, 1 week refrigerated or 1 month frozen.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Here and there
I don't really have much to write about tonight, so I am just going to ramble for a bit.
I had the best conversation with an old friend from high school tonight. We have been playing phone tag for a couple of days, and finally connected. She just found out that she is expecting their first child, and they are so excited. I could hear it in her voice, even when she was talking about other things. I am overjoyed for them. She and I had a really fun relationship in high school, where we were always laughing and talking about our crushes, about our dreams... We haven't stayed in touch very well since graduation in 2000, but we picked up right away as if there had been no time in between. It was great to talk to her.
I have a Pampered Chef party on coming up on Thursday night (I am a PC consultant). I always "practice" the food that the host wants to serve at her party beforehand so that I know the food will be good and I kind of know what I am doing while I am in front of a whole bunch of people. So on Thursday night I am making a Ham and Cheese Calzone and Nutty Chocolate and Caramel Brownies. I've already made the brownies before at several parties, and I know that they'll be amazing, but I hadn't ever made the calzone before, so I made that tonight for supper. I think that Jake at about 2/3 of the whole pan. So, it turned out really good, I guess :) I think there'll be some happy ladies at the party on Thursday night. And I'll be a happy woman if they spend a lot of money! Ha.
I had my appointment with my new doctor this morning. It went very well. She can't make any recommendations right now re: an MRI because she needs me to sign a release from my previous records from my neurologist in Branson. Now I just have to remember the name of my neurologist... it's been so long! She said that everything else seems normal. She's a Dr. of internal medicine and she has 9 children between the ages of 28 and 12! And her husband is a surgeon. I asked her how she managed, and she just said that she never sleeps, ever. Wow. I thought I was busy and tired.
To end with, here is a video that I found last night that I took of Genesis a while back, waking up from her nap. Makes me want to kiss her right now. I also have a recipe after the video, so look a little lower as well!
Katrina's Meatballs
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. instant rice
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 c. chopped onions (or less)
3 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chili powder
Sauce:
2 c. ketchup
2 tbs. liquid smoke
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Mix all ingredients together. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Add the sauce on top for the last 25 minutes.
I had the best conversation with an old friend from high school tonight. We have been playing phone tag for a couple of days, and finally connected. She just found out that she is expecting their first child, and they are so excited. I could hear it in her voice, even when she was talking about other things. I am overjoyed for them. She and I had a really fun relationship in high school, where we were always laughing and talking about our crushes, about our dreams... We haven't stayed in touch very well since graduation in 2000, but we picked up right away as if there had been no time in between. It was great to talk to her.
I have a Pampered Chef party on coming up on Thursday night (I am a PC consultant). I always "practice" the food that the host wants to serve at her party beforehand so that I know the food will be good and I kind of know what I am doing while I am in front of a whole bunch of people. So on Thursday night I am making a Ham and Cheese Calzone and Nutty Chocolate and Caramel Brownies. I've already made the brownies before at several parties, and I know that they'll be amazing, but I hadn't ever made the calzone before, so I made that tonight for supper. I think that Jake at about 2/3 of the whole pan. So, it turned out really good, I guess :) I think there'll be some happy ladies at the party on Thursday night. And I'll be a happy woman if they spend a lot of money! Ha.
I had my appointment with my new doctor this morning. It went very well. She can't make any recommendations right now re: an MRI because she needs me to sign a release from my previous records from my neurologist in Branson. Now I just have to remember the name of my neurologist... it's been so long! She said that everything else seems normal. She's a Dr. of internal medicine and she has 9 children between the ages of 28 and 12! And her husband is a surgeon. I asked her how she managed, and she just said that she never sleeps, ever. Wow. I thought I was busy and tired.
To end with, here is a video that I found last night that I took of Genesis a while back, waking up from her nap. Makes me want to kiss her right now. I also have a recipe after the video, so look a little lower as well!
Katrina's Meatballs
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. instant rice
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 c. chopped onions (or less)
3 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chili powder
Sauce:
2 c. ketchup
2 tbs. liquid smoke
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Mix all ingredients together. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Add the sauce on top for the last 25 minutes.
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