Toodle-oo 2012!

2012 is coming to a close and what a year it has been.  Honestly, I don't remember much of it, it went by so quickly.  With all of the holiday celebrations and basketball practices, December has felt like a flash in the pan. 

Early in the month Jakob and I went to the Parade of Lights in Stillwater - AFTER we ate some alfredo sauce at Da Vinci's and had hot chocolate at Aspen.  Jakob's faves of the parade were the loud motorcycles and speed bikes, which weren't really covered in lights, but were cool anyway.





Jakob and Jimmy were introduced to smores one night while we were at Josh and Shawna's.  I asked them if they had something similar in Germany, but called it something else and they said no, they'd never heard of smores before.  How strange.  You'd think something like smores is a universal, but apparently not.  The boys hated them.  Just kidding.  There's chocolate involved, of course they loved them!

Smores education for the non-enlightened:  graham cracker, large marshmallow, piece of chocolate.  Roast the marshmallow over a fire then squeeze it between graham crackers and chocolate and pull it off of the skewer (or stick if you're doing this in the woods) and chow down.  If you've ever attended any kind of camp in the United States, you've probably had some variation of smores.

 

I also developed a Peanut Pooch.  This is me at 16 weeks.

We celebrated Christmas with in-laws and outlaws and Jakob had his first communion ever on the 23rd. He said he'd never heard of it before, but is sure his mom probably has. Our pastor gave an awesome message about what communion means and we all sang some Christmas hymns.  It was a beautiful occasion and as our pastor told Jakob, we were honored that his first communion was shared with us.

Last week we took Jakob to Click's Steakhouse in Pawnee.  If you're not from Oklahoma and you've never heard of Click's, you're excused.  If you're from Oklahoma and you've never heard of Click's, shame on ya!  Jakob ordered a prime rib, I think it may have been his first, and when they brought the food to our table his eyes literally bugged out.  He said he'd never seen a steak that big before.  Welcome to America where our motto is bigger is better!  And on the bigger is better note, Jakob said when he first arrived here that he wanted to put on some weight, which we thought wouldn't be a problem, given the American diet.  However, he's still a beanpole.  But, I think he's grown about 3 inches since September.

 

And what meal at Click's would be complete without dessert?  I had cheesecake, which was 3 stories tall and topped with cherries, D had coconut cream pie and Jakob had, what else but, the chocolate cream pie.  He said he'd never seen or heard of meringue before.  We're teaching him all we know.

We also spent an afternoon playing Monopoly.  Just so you know, both of these boys cheat.  They'll deny it if you ask and say that I played with a potty mouth, but don't listen to them.  They be cheaters.

 

For the last weekend of 2012 Derek and Josh went coyote hunting and then we went to Tulsa for some shopping and eating.  Miss Loren went with us and was super excited when she found out we were going to Bass Pro because she would get to see the fish.

 

Don't you love her boots?!  Too, too cute!  And they match mine.  :)

 

She also did a little laser hunting.  She'd never played before and didn't know how to aim.  I showed her how to line up the sights, but she couldn't close her left eye.  I'm going to assume that she's like her Daddy and will find that she is left-eye dominant.  We improvised.  I covered her left eye with my hand and she shot a varmint.  Then she tried to cover her eye herself; successful, she wasn't.

 

 

D is outside shooting coyotes again and really wants me to go outside to take a picture of his trophy, but it's cold and raining (praise the Lord!!), so I think I'll just stay inside.  Plus, I don't have on my mud shoes, so going outside just isn't going to happen.

 

Have a Happy New Year and an awesome 2013!

What I've learned about shopping for maternity clothes

1. Most stores (at least in my area) don't carry maternity clothes in stock. What?! A town of almost 50,000 people is within 25 minutes of my house and I can't find one store that stocks maternity clothes. "Buy online!" they say. "Pull my finger!" I say.

2. It must have been a man who said that you can simply buy a waist extender and continue to live in your normal pants for several months. This didn't work because the only way to get comfortable in my normal pants was to be completely unbuttoned and unzipped. If you were/are not that bloated, bless you. I tried the whole waist extender thing and I think I was more uncomfortable than if I'd just toughed it out and buttoned them up. I have kissed my jeans good-bye until sometime next fall.

3. It must have been the same man who said you can buy maternity pants in your normal size. I'm normally a size 10, but I have on a size 8 maternity pant from Old Navy. ???

4. While in the muffin top stage (this is when you're middle is beginning to grow but hasn't grown so much that you actually look pregnant, you just look like you've packed on a few pounds) do not wear form fitting maternity shirts. If they're too big for you to fill out, you'll just look bigger than normal. If they fit your muffin top, you just look bigger than normal.

5. Always, excuse me, ALWAYS, try the clothes on. I don't care what size the tag says that it is, if it's close your size, try it on. If you hold it up to your body and it's close to your size, try it on. I've come to the conclusion that the tag is a mere afterthought and it is not to be held to any kind of truth standard. And don't be surprised if your belly is one size, but your tatas, arms and rear are another size. EVERYTHING grows, not just your belly. Also, as another pregnant woman pointed out to me, the form fitting shirts are still made with skinny sleeves. As I mentioned, everything grows when you're pregnant, so those skinny sleeves might not fit your arms anymore. This is also why your normal pants no longer fit - even unbuttoned and unzipped, the legs are becoming waaaaay too tight!

6. Shopping in the "women's" department (this is not the same thing as the "misses" department) is a must do! And yoga pants with a V-front are awesome! Buy some leggings, cute boots and long shirts or tunics that are a size or two larger than your normal size and be cute and happy!

*Disclaimer: this is just a summary of my experiences and what has worked or not worked for me. You may have had better luck than me and you're not expected to follow my lead or agree with my opinions :)

Easy chili

My Grandpa Rex was well known for his cooking and chili was something he had numerous recipes for. When I was 16 he gave me a book of his most prized recipes. I've made one of his chili recipes for forever because it's my favorite, it tastes awesome and I'm so picky about my chili that I pretty much refused to eat any other recipe - they're usually too thick (I like a little juice in my chili) or the flavor is wrong. But, recently Mom shared a simple recipe that was very yummy! Here you go!

Easy Chili
2 lb hamburger
5 lb sausage
2 pkg taco season
2 pkg dry ranch season
2 cans Ro-tel
1 can ranch style beans
2 cans tomato sauce
1-2 cans water

1.  In a large pot, brown the hamburger and sausage then drain and return the meat to the pot.

2.  Add the taco and ranch seasoning and stir well.

3.  Add the Ro-tel, beans, tomato sauce and 1-2 cans of water (use the empty can of sauce) and heat through, approximately 20 minutes.

We like to serve chili over Frito's, topped with mustard, onions and cheese, AKA Frito Chili Pie. Years ago, my friend Ricky went off to college in the panhandle and met a boy from Illinois and when he came home with her, we were having Frito Chili Pie. He had NEVER heard of it. Sacrilege! I don't even know how it's possible that someone could have never heard of FCP. But, he's a Yankee, so I'll just chalk it up to that lol! He said they eat their chili over crackers (something I've never cared for), so we hooked him up with some FCP and now that he's married to her and has been converted to be a mostly-Okie, I think he's okay. Actually, we all love Travis. :)

The bananafana song

Monday, Monday bo bonday
Bananafana fo fonday
Me, my, mo monday
Monday!

I learned this song when I was a little girl from my friend Audrey's mom, Gail. She hauled a load of us girls around and took us to ballet class and led our Camp Fire Girls group for several years. Most importantly, she taught us how to make snocones with snow and Koolaid. It was a revolutionary day for me because I L-O-V-E snocones! I also watched "Jaws" for the first time at their house and it scared the poo out of me. I've never looked at water the same. Audrey also introduced me to Shel Silverstein and Wham! And I've never looked at music the same. Wake me up, before you go, go!

I have taught this song to my niece and my cousins over the years and it is hysterical to watch a toddler who's just learning to speak get entranced by this song and try to sing it with you. Normally, the only thing they manage to get out is "nanafana" over and over as they bop their little diapered booty up and down. I sing it all the time, using whatever word comes to mind.

Nut, nut bo but
Bananafana fo fut
Me, my, mo mut
Nut!

Girl, girl bo birl
Bananafana fo firl
Me, my, mo mirl
Girl!

Dog, dog bo bog
Bananafana fo fog
Me, my, mo mog
Dog!

I prefer to use names, though.

Nana, Nana bo bana
Bananafana fo fana
Me, my, mo mana
Nana!

Julie, Julie bo bulie
Bananafana fo fulie
Me, my, mo mulie
Julie!

Maddy, Maddy bo baddy
Bananafana fo faddy
Me, my mo maddy
Maddy!

And the more times we sing it, the faster we go! :)

However, I'm now going to have the Wham! song stuck in my head all day.

Easy chicken enchiladas

On Tuesday morning at 4:47 am I woke up and a thrown-together recipe for enchiladas suddenly appeared in my mind. I thought about it for a while and decided it sounded quite yummy and we would have it for dinner that night. Do you ever do that? Have a recipe idea suddenly just appear to you? I've never had it happen at 4:47 am, but it worked out this time.

On the amounts for the jalepenos, onions and cheese, I'm making a rough guess as to how much I used because I didn't measure it, I just eyeballed it for what I thought would be sufficient. You can always use less or more depending on your family's palate. We had black bean and corn salad, Ro-tel cheese dip and chips with the enchiladas. Jakob said it was the worst meal EVER! But, he was just kidding, he had seconds. For the cheese I used colby jack - it's one we like and we use it on almost everything. But, you could use pepper jack or whatever flavor floats your boat. Next time I'll try to remember to take a pic.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

2-3 large cans of chicken chunks, drained and separated with a fork
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 8 oz container sour cream
1 small can chopped green chiles
1/4 C jalepenos, chopped (make it easy and just use the kind from a jar)
1/2 C onion, chopped
1 C cilantro, chopped
2 C cheese, shredded
Salsa
1 pkg tortillas, soft taco size

1.  In a small saucepan, combine the sour cream, soup, chiles, jalepenos and onion. Cook over medium heat until warmed through and it has thinned out.

2.  Mix in the chicken and stir well. (I like a creamier enchilada so I only used 2 cans of chicken, but if you want more meat and less sauce, just add more chicken.)

3.  Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Lay a tortilla out flat, spoon about 3 heaping tablespoons on it and roll it up, then place it in the baking dish and repeat. If you have any leftover sauce mix, just spoon it over the top. (I'm not a tight roller, so all but 2 of my tortillas fit into my baking dish; the last two I put into an 8x8 baking dish.)

4.  Spoon salsa over the tortillas. Go as heavy or as light as you want. Remember, the more you use, the soggier it can become, so I only used 1 or 2 Tbsp over each tortilla.

5.  Spread the cilantro over the top, then spread the cheese on.

6.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

The Pencil Test

At my 11 week ultrasound, the radiology tech gave me her guess of what the sex of our little peanut is. I asked her if that was just a "guess guess" or if she could actually see something. She said it's an educated guess based on her training and experience, but we won't have confirmation until January or February. And you know, waiting just isn't any fun.

Last week while at Walmart with Mom, a friend told us to do the Pencil Test - which I'd never heard of, but Mom had. She said to tie a string to the eraser end of a pencil and hold it over my tummy and if it spun or made a circle it was a girl, and if it went up and down the length of my body then it was a boy. Have you ever heard of this? I confess, it stirred images of a craggy old witch chanting as she stood over some pregnant woman who just wanted to know the sex of her baby. But, considering that we don't know any witches and we don't chant, we decided we'd give it a try.

Mom and I went back to her house and she dug out a pencil and some string. She'd heard of the test, but was told to do it over my wrist. First, you have to understand that my Mom and I can't do anything like this without laughing and giggling the entire time. I videod to try to get the results on camera, but I think we laughed too much. I googled the Pencil Test and found some conflicting (and concerning) information. We decided the string was getting twisted and we weren't getting a true result, so we called my aunt Charlotte, because it was her relative that initially told Mom about the test and we figured she'd be an authority on the subject. She told us to stick a needle into the eraser and thread the string through the needle and hold it over my wrist. I'm telling you, this felt like the most hocus pocus thing I've ever done and we couldn't stop laughing about it. We never really got conclusive results, over my tummy or over my wrist.

I had D try it with me the next morning. He didn't giggle nearly as much as Mom did. I'm wondering if the person holding the string has to be like someone who's witching for water and have "the touch", because we got the same inconclusive results as the night before. I guess I will have to either find someone with "the touch" or just wait a couple of months to get word from the doctor. Based on our highly technical test results, I think the Pencil Test may be hocus pocus, but it gave us a good laugh. :)

Cheesy mexican chicken & zucchini soup

Last night we had homemade soup, salad, Hawaiian sweet rolls and cherry dump cake for dinner. It was yummo!! The soup was a minor tweak to a recipe on allrecipes.com (click on the link below to go to the original recipe). The only thing I added to the original recipe was 2 cans of cooked chicken (drained) and some salt. After you drain the chicken, pour it into a bowl and use a fork to break up the chunks. Last night, I forgot to add the cilantro and the soup still tasted awesome, so don't fret if you forget that step. I've made the soup before and added paprika to it and that was yummy, too. I also like to cut the stewed tomatoes into smaller pieces, just a personal preference - it makes the tomatoes go further. The Hawaiian rolls had a nice, sweet contrast to the soup, very complimentary to each other, in my humble opinion. Jakob said his favorite part of the meal was the dessert, which I have to admit, is also one of my faves. He had seconds. My family has been making dump cake for F-O-R-E-V-E-R. We used to have it every Sunday at my Grandma's house. The recipe is SO unbelievably easy, you will start using it as your emergency go-to dessert! Here's the goods on both the soup and the dump cake:

Mexican Zucchini Cheese Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut in 1/4 inch slices
• 2 medium yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut in 1/4 inch slices
• 1 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chile peppers
• 12 ounces processed cheese food, cubed
• 2 large cans cooked chicken, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large pot, and saute the onion and garlic until tender. Season with oregano.

2.  Mix in the chicken broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Mix in the zucchini, yellow squash, corn, and chile peppers. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes, or until the squash is tender.

3.  Mix in the chicken and cubed processed cheese into the soup. Continue to cook and stir until cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the cilantro just before serving.


Dump Cake

Ingredients

• 1 can of fruit pie filling, whatever flavor you like (cherry, apple, peach, etc and using the light or no sugar added variety doesn't change the yumminess of the dish)
• 1 small can of crushed pineapple
• 1 tablespoon of water
• 1/2 package of Pilsbury White Cake mix, dry (very important to use Pilsbury, it tastes waaaaaay better, I promise)
• 1 stick of butter

Directions
1.  Pour the fruit pie filling, crushed pineapple and water into an 8x8 baking dish and mix well.

2.  In a separate bowl, cut the butter into the cake mix with a pastry cutter until the butter is in small chunks and is well mixed with the cake.

3.  Pour the cake-butter mix over the fruit and spread it out evenly.

4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour until bubbly and the top is golden brown.



See? Wasn't that the easiest recipe ever? And since it only calls for 1/2 a package of cake mix, you can make two of them in different flavors to please everyone in your family! :)