JuMBlE IX

*10/29/09....34 weeks and 3 days: I measured 35 weeks and have done very well on my weight. Or at least I think so anyway, but I'll keep the numbers for myself for now on ;) My scheduled time for delivery is at 5:30 for now and will more than likely change to be earlier in the day by the time it comes. But that all depends on if this bun decides to stay in the oven that long. And after months of talking about getting my tubes tied at the time of surgery I signed the papers to have it done. Then I get home and tell Jared about it and he doesn't think I should have it done. Silly boy, I thought we were both on the same page. But I don't have a problem with changing it next week when I go.

*10/30/09...NV day and the beginning of Ethan's track break. I'm hoping that I can keep him occupied here at home since I can't really go anywhere. We've got goodies to make for the holidays and cleaning before the end of the month.

*11/1/09...After about 2 months of eyeballing our checking / savings accounts I've finally started up our registers again. I figured out that you can upload past statements into Excel. So I did that and continued on w/ current info. I've kept a budget in there for years and have neglected that as well. Now that I am caught up we'll see how I do to keep up with these.

*11/2/09...Chili was made, eaten and frozen! I borrowed a Paula Dean recipe for Spicy Chili w/ Cornmeal Waffles. I added 1 can of petite diced tomatoes and a jalapeno cause I like the tomatoes and Jared likes it spicy. I also cooked it for about 1 1/2 hrs and to get the yummies out of the jalapeno. Jared still needed a little red pepper for his but I thought it was just right. None of us cared for the waffle combo. We will have our left overs over white rice, and we will toast the waffles with syrup for breakfast tomorrow!


*11/4/09...Red Beans and Rice were made, eaten, and frozen! I only have one more dish that I feel like making. Ham and Bean soup! It was a hit last year when I made it, I used the left over ham from Christmas. This year I bought ham steaks to use; I didn't care for the sweetness of the honey glaze on the ham in the soup. The boys didn't complain but I noticed it. My Red Beans and Rice is an updated version of my grandmas recipe. If you want the recipes I can post them for you, just let me know ;) I also have Snickerdoodle dough frozen so I can be ahead of the game for our holiday goodie bags. We are broke this year, so we are going to pass out treats instead of gifts. Your tummy will love us for it...just not your waist line!

White Chili

Here you go Christy!

1 lbs of Great Northern beans, soaked
1 med onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 4 oz cans green chilies
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 lbs boneless, skinless ckn breast
1 14 1/2 can ckn broth
1 cup water

Put beans in med pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer 20 min. Discard water. Cut ckn into 1" pcs and brown if desired. Put all ingredients in Crock-Pot. Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover; cook on Low 10-12 hrs / High 5-6 hrs.

To serve, fold a flour tortilla into a triangle (fold in half, then in half again) and cut the center out. Unfold and put the large part in your bowl (you'll have a hollow O in your bowl). Put chili in the middle, cut the remaining tortilla into strips and put on top of your chili. Garnish with cheese and sour cream. Enjoy!!!

**My modification: I have a huge pot that has a strainer insert so I put the beans in the bottom with all the spices (I have & used dried spices) and a whole chicken in the strainer part. Put in the pot and boiled all for 2-3 hours till chicken was done. I picked chicken off the bone (gross...and not one of my favorite things to do) and put directly into the beans. I ran out of chilies so I added a can of diced tomatoes and a diced red bell pepper. Let simmer for another 2-3 hours. I served the same way as above and it was yummy!!

***Tip: you can also cut down cooking time by using can beans.

Good luck all :)

jumBle VIII

This past month has flown by. It's crazy how easy it is to loose track of time. With so many things to do and to try and not forget what they all are I've really tried hard to keep everyone in line.

*I've started getting dinners frozen for Jared and Ethan so when I'm down and out all they have to do is warm it up and make some simple side dishes. So far I've got gumbo and shredded pork. Next on my list are red beans and rice, ham and bean soup, chicken enchiladas, white chili, and spicy chili with cornmeal waffles.

*This next week when Ethan is out on break I'm going to start making cookies, muffins, and candy for the holidays so we have something to pass out to friends and family. I plan on making the cookie dough and muffins and then freezing them till next month so they will be yummy and fresh.

*I have most of our holiday shopping done and wrapped. I need to get a few more things for extended family and one more gift for Ethan and then that is complete.



Here is the run down of things that have happened this month:

*All of my doctors appointments have gone well. Everything is normal and on track. I think now I will start going weekly.

*He/She feels huge. The butt or head is stuck in my ribs and the rest is all over the place. My hips are getting worse and it feels impossible to roll over in bed or get up from sitting too long. Sometimes it hurts so bad I want to cry, but I know it's almost over.

*We went for our hospital tour and I was very pleased. It looks like all of the things I missed out with Ethan I will be able to do for this one. Due to the hospital procedure I will be able to follow my mini birth plan which included: 1) spending time alone w/ Jared and baby for the first 15 minutes or so. 2) announcing the sex / name together. 3) I wanted to do the first feeding.

*I had a job interview, which I'm still waiting to hear back on. They said that it would be 2-3 weeks before I do. The pay was great and I start out with getting 3 wks PTO and good benefits. I would only have to work 4 days / week so I would have long weekends every week. The only down fall would be the hours, they are long and the drive is as well. But there is always good and bad....we can't have it all. So I'm hoping that either I get this job, or when Jared graduates he will get his job back because he would have all of the perks I mentioned. One way or another we need a joby-job!

*My Mom's ticket is purchased so she will be here for the first two weeks to help out and meet her grandbaby. I'm so excited for this. She is like me with her boys, she HATES leaving them so I know what she is sacrificing for me. But she didn't get to meet Ethan till he was about 4 years old. So this will be nice, and it will give me a chance to recover as well.

*Ethan pulled out his 9th tooth (I think) all by himself. Around here we use dental floss and yank until it comes out. I had to tie it on for him 3 times before he got it out. But it was a major accomplishment for him. We told him about the tooth fairy when his last tooth came out so the cat is out of the bag. But when she did come she left a $5 bill under his pillow. This year he got an ice cream-cookie sandwich and a book. At almost $10 later, we should have stuck with the $5.

*Jared only has about 6 weeks left and he's done with school. His Senior Design project is nearing the final stages and he has a really good chance of winning the competition this year. They will have the competition on Dec 3rd and last year the students got local news coverage. I can't wait to see him show off. He has worked so hard and how ever it ends he did an amazing job.

*Ethan has done a great job as well. His grades are coming up and I'm holding out for AB honor roll for his first report card. Last year didn't end so well and I know he is working hard. He and some other boys are on a program with the principal to help motivate them in the right direction. If he continues to do well then he will get to go on the 2 night-away from home-in California-school trip in April! Lucky Duck!!!

Nearly 8 months and a birthday

I went yesterday for my 8 month check up and I'm thinking this baby is going to be huge already! I'm officially 30 1/2 weeks and measuring 33 weeks. The doctor says that as long as it's within 3 weeks then it's normal. So far my only complaints are that my inner hips feel like they are going to pop out of joint and I'll be like a barbie w/ no legs. And after one trip up the stairs I feel like I've ran a marathon. They are making me miserable. Of course it is normal....so I will manage and count down the days! I found out yesterday that "technically" I'm in the high risk range (note air quotes around technically) he didn't make a big deal of it and recommended that I not worry, so for now I won't. Who knew that a previous C-section would put you in that category? The other main one is my glucose level, and the other reason was minor. I have to go Saturday and do the 3 hour glucose test so I'm thinking that my days of treats are over...right after I find out that they are going to finish building the frozen yogurt place by my house before Halloween! At least it was after my birthday and I got to load up on my cakes, brownies, and yogurt. Thank goodness for Ethan and Jared, they get to finish them off.

Lani took Ethan this past Saturday so Jared and I could have my birthday date night. He took me to Gandhi and Golden Spoon. They were both delicious and two of my favorites. Sunday I had a surprise birthday dinner at Olive Garden with a chocolate-chocolate variety cheesecake and a yummy dinner. I love family dinners and really hope that we can do them more often. The kids get along great and it's funny to watch the adults interact.

On Monday Rebecca came over and brought me lunch and brownies. I loved having her over, it gave me adult interaction and reminded me of our office lunch dates.

Then finally on Tuesday for my real birthday Jared and Ethan sang Happy Birthday and got me magic candles for a yummy french vanilla cake. So needless to say I was totally spoiled and loved every minute of it.

My 29 (Ethan was very careful to count them) magic candles that would NOT blow out! Our entire kitchen was full of smoke and we had to take them out and put them in a cup of water....and some of them were still trying to light back up!

It has started

*So far both Ethan and Jared are enjoying school. Ethan has done a wonderful job with very few mess ups. His teacher sees potential in him and we are all working together to make sure that his 4th grade year is excellent. Jared, as usual is loving his classes and is as busy as ever. We originally signed him up for undergrad classes and then his professors talked him into taking graduate level courses. So at the end of this semester he will have his BS out of the way and one semester of his Masters done. Which in the big picture is a great thing but grad courses are friggin expensive. So we roll with it and in the end it will all work out for the better.

*My unemployment is finally suppose to start coming in this next week so that little bit of money will help so we won't deplete our savings so fast.

*Now that Ethan is back in school and I'm home all by myself I'm freakin BORED!!! I miss working....I never thought I'd say that!! I start babysitting this week too...I can't wait. I love babies :)


*I had my 7 month appt and everything went well. All of the measurements were normal and sounding good. I had my glucose test done and will get the results when I go back on my birthday for my next appt. He/She is moving around A LOT and keeps me up at night already. 2 - 3 am is the new play time, it's about the time Jared comes to bed and then the baby goes nuts. Jared got to feel it the other night and thought it was amusing. For now all of the activity is a welcome feeling. It's the beginning of the little moments that I get to savor for myself. But again there are the moments that it kicks/punches super low and it hurts. I am ready for those ones to be over!

*I've started applying Jared for jobs now and will start again in November before he graduates. My hope is that these places will get irritated with me sending his resume out multiple times and will call him in. I've sent them to everywhere I can think of locally and started sending them to other states as well. Something has got to come through for us; I really don't want to move anytime soon so cross your fingers that someone locally calls.

Summer Break...

Is officially over. The boys are down stairs playing Guitar Hero and I'm in the office getting Ethan's' backpack ready for his first day of fourth grade. **HOLY CRAP** I remember fourth grade! Seriously, he has got to stop growing up so fast!!!!

I've been out of work since July 10th and really thought I would be bored out of my mind by now and it hasn't happened yet. But I have a feeling with both of them gone for hours a day it won't take long. I have a few weeks left before I start babysitting and I can't wait. So these next few weeks will be my test.

Over the break Ethan and I have kept busy. While Lani was in the hospital we spent most of our days with her so she wouldn't be by herself. We had a million errands to run and then we did a few projects around the house:

*We built shelves for my garage, and we only have half of it left. I've got a decent pile of stuff for Goodwill.

*We washed and cleaned up old baby stuff. So everything is sorted by age.

*And we've cleaned.cleaned.cleaned! That is one thing I'm hugely proud of. I love a clean house and I love that I can actually keep it that way (for now that is).

Relief

This past weekend after a week full of stress about work, money, and life in general....Jared and I came to the conclusion that no matter what happens we will always have each other and is what is important. Then I got some much needed belly rubs from him and I was all smiles! He is my rock and always puts things into perspective for me. I'm the luckiest girl in the world :)

We had our 6 month ultrasound and the baby is a mover and a shaker! He/she would NOT stay still. Ethan and I got a quickie glance at him/her...face, heart, ribs, hiccups...and since we didn't want to know the sex the rest was a blur. I go back in 3 weeks for another appointment but the doctor said everything looked good. Before leaving I asked the nurse if it was common for people to not find out the sex and she said that she could only remember 3 within the past few years. Everyone thinks I'm crazy for not finding out but I want that 2 second supprise at the end after the first cry. To me that is worth it.

Soapbox!

I just got off the phone w/ my credit card company and apparently because we have been such a good customer they raised out interest rate 7.9%. We had the option to cancel our card back in May and then we could have avoided the hike. Gee...how nice of them..I get the "You haven't done anything wrong but with the economy being the way it is, this is what we had to do. We sent the notice to everyone and your account is not the only one affected." So because they suck and the credit companies and banks screwed up they are making the 'good' customers pay for it!

JumbLe VII

-I think I finally got my unemployment figured out. What a pain in the rear! I'm hoping that from now on all I have to do is file on Sundays and not worry about it. I tried to file on this past Sunday and it told me that I had to reopen the claim not once but twice. Then on Monday when I go to reopen my claim it tells me that I already have one and all I need to do is file my weekly claim!

-I really thought that staying at home would give me more time to relax. So far all I've done is run. With Lani being in and out of the hospital and trying to get house work done I haven't quite gotten there yet.

-My goal for the rest of this week is to finish my garage and have some of our old stuff removed. So technically I've got today and tomorrow, because Jared is off on Friday and not much gets done.

-I found a shelf for my down stairs bathroom. I've been looking for about a month and found it at Ross on Monday. I absolutely love it.

-My belly is starting to get big now. The baby is moving around like a mini kung fu person! I think he/she got the hiccups early this morning I forgot what that was like.

-Now that I am home I'm hoping that I don't gain to much weight. I am a snacker so I'm trying to keep it down to one snack a day and so far I think it's working. I've never been the skinny-tiny kinda girl, but after loosing 25 pounds last year I really don't want to battle that again. It's still embarrassing that I actually had 25 pounds to loose. It took me way to long to loose the extra baby weight from Ethan that I would love to be back to myself by New Years!

Our first week out!

Time to PLAY!!!
Or so I thought...I had way more errands to run that I had planned. Every. single. day. this week we have done something that lasted the better part of the day.
Monday = Costco & lunch with Ian.
Tuesday = Lowes, work to see PR so I could finish processing out, & visited with Rebecca (who was nice enough to buy us lunch).
Wednesday = Dr's appt, get Ethans glasses fixed, lunch with Jared, & ice cream.
then.....
Thursday = stay home to clean and relax
Friday = Harry Potter and kettle corn here we come!

I had my 5 month appointment today and Ethan got to hear the heartbeat. Everything was normal. They think I may have another mild bladder infection...yuck, I hate antibiotics! But as long as the baby and I are safe that is all that matters. He/She is moving and kicking like crazy. Ethan is in love with the idea of baby, he read on week 19 the baby can hear when you are talking so when we were shopping at Kohls he kept making me stop so he could talk to the baby. "Hey buddy...Hey dude...Hey baby...How are you doing in there" Pretty cute stuff! I've only gained like 8-10 lbs, so I think that is okay.

Ethan and I had our first treat at Leatherby's and filled up on ice cream while we waited for them to finish his glasses. He got two scoops 1 Banana nut and 1 Rocky Road. I had the same but my old time fav's Chocolate Chip and Mint Chocolate Chip. It was very yummy and better than that it was COLD. I hate the summer time already and we are only half way into it.

**The only good reason for summer = it's to hot to eat full meals or anything heavy = no pigging out on account of baby!