Mt. Vernon Fall Harvest Days...WW

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I won!! I won!!

Tasha at What's Happening Our Way had a Halloween hide and seek contest and I was the first to turn in correct answers and won a $25 gift card to Target. Yippee!! I can't wait to go shopping!! Thanks, Tasha, for the fun contest!!

Menu Plan Monday...

Well, last week did not go as planned. On Tuesday, I had just got Lucas up from his nap and was coming down the stairs carrying him. I thought I was at the bottom step, but wasn't and fell. I was able to catch myself enough to keep Lucas from getting hurt, but I hit my knee on the floor (leaving a nice bruise) and somehow twisted my ankle. I ended up at the ER because it hurt worse than any sprain I have ever had. They did x-rays and nothing was broken, but I've been limping around (I have a follow up appt. today at 4 PM). So, my husband helped out more with dinner (he made a huge pan of mac and cheese for lunch and then helped make a meatloaf to go with that for dinner) and we had leftovers and easier things (like hot dogs, etc...). So, I didn't get to some of my meals, but I still mostly changed my meals for the week to the ones that I had planned already.

On top of all that....I was behind on laundry before I hurt my ankle. However, we live in a 3 level townhome with the laundry room on the bottom floor and all bedrooms on the top level (where 99.9% of the dirty laundry accumulates). So, I was not able to move laundry up and down and I really didn't want to mess with it any way. I say I was behind on laundry....I had been washing it, and hanging the hanging clothes, but not folding the folding clothes. So, this weekend hubby helped me get caught up. He is more than happy to transfer everything over, but I do all the folding (mostly because I am picky). I sat on the couch and folded laundry for 2 HOURS!! I wonder how many calories you burn folding laundry....LOL!!

Also, we are still doing well with our October challenge of not eating out. Our month is almost over!! Logan announced almost daily that our month WAS over....he was not happy about the no eating out thing. Check back next week to see what we spent on eating out in Sept. vs. eating out in October!!! I haven't added it up yet, so I am anxious to see our savings!!

So...on to this week's menu!!

• Monday--Greek lemon chicken soup, grilled cheese sandwiches

• Tuesday--beef noodle casserole, salad, green beans

• Wednesday--pork roast, mashed potatoes, steamed Normandy veggies, old fashioned oatmeal bread

• Thursday--beef broccoli stir fry, Jasmine rice, egg rolls

• Friday--(husband's birthday)--Italian cheese balls, green bean casserole, salad, 3 layer raisin pie --->this is his favorite meal!! (I got the recipe for the cheese balls and pie from his mom!) Scroll down for recipes
  

• Saturday--(my birthday)--I'm planning leftovers, but hubby says we aren't having leftovers for my birthday--->truthfully, I don't mind

• Sunday--leftovers

• breakfasts: oatmeal, pancakes, cold cereal, or breakfast sandwiches

• lunches: hot dogs, mac and cheese, soup, ham and cheese sandwiches, or pb&j sandwiches
  

For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Italian Cheese Balls

1 c. fine bread crumbs
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts (these should be very fine..almost like bread crumbs)
4-5 eggs, beaten
1 med. onion very finely chopped
1 clove garlic very finely chopped
1 t. salt
1 t. sage
1 t. thyme
1 t. pepper
1/2 c. oil

Combine all ingredients except oil, mixing well. Form into small balls and lightly brown in oil only enough to set balls. Put in baking dish.

Sauce:
Spaghetti sauce or
mushroom sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup (perhaps cream of celery)
1/2 c. water
veg. bouillon cube
1 c. sour cream

Dissolve bouillon cube in 1/2 cup water. Add to soup and sour cream. Mix well.

Place sauce and 3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese over balls and bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

I usually double this recipe as we really like these and love having left overs!!


***These can be pretty labor-intensive, but I buy shredded cheese and get my walnut meal at Trader Joe's. It makes the process a lot faster!!


3 Layer Raisin Pie
(I have to say I am not a big fan of this pie...I prefer chocolate, but my husband and his family love it)

1 c. raisins, chopped
2/3 c. sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/3 c. water
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
1 T. butter
1 c. sour cream
1 baked pie crust

Combine: sugar, raisins, egg yolks, and water in sauce pan. Cook over med. heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil. Continue boiling and stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat and butter and sour cream. Chill.

Beat: 4 oz. cream cheese and 1/3 c. powdered sugar

Beat: 1 c. whipping cream

Mix: Whipping cream and cream cheese mixture together.

Cover bottom of pie crust with half of cream mixture. Cover with raisin mixture and them top with the rest of the cream mixture. Refrigerate.


Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
Pampered Chef
“It’s good for you” cookbook

2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
½ cup chopped onion
1-2 lemons
2 Tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 cans (14.5 oz each) Chicken Broth
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup uncooked white rice

Lightly spray 4qt. pot with cooking spray. Heat pot over medium heat and add carrots, onion and garlic. Cook and stir 2 min. Stir in chicken, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, ¼ cup lemon juice, soup, chicken broth and black pepper. Bring to a boil and stir in rice; reduce heat. Cover; simmer over low heat 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley just before serving.

Smart boy!!

Tonight Logan and I were talking. I've been lazy and STILL haven't taken down his "Happy Birthday" sign in the dining room. He kind of scolded me about them still being up because I told him I'd leave them up for a little while and it has been more than a little while. I told him that Daddy's birthday was coming up, so maybe we would just leave it up for Daddy. Well, Daddy's birthday is Nov. 2nd and mine is Nov. 3rd. Daddy told Logan that Momma's birthday is in one week. I asked Logan what he is going to get me for my birthday. He thought for a little bit and told me lotion. Then I asked him what he is going to get Daddy. Deodorant!! Smart boy....LOL!!

Having fun with Daddy....WW

Somehow last week slipped by and I totally forgot to do a WW. I didn't even realize it until Thursday!! Here are two pictures to make up for it!!




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A new favorite past time....

You may recall my post about Lucas' favorite past time. Well, he has a new one!! He loves to listen to music. However, he doesn't want to wear the FP3 player around his neck....he has his brother do it as he walks along behind him. He thinks it is the best thing ever!! Thankfully, Logan thinks it is pretty fun, too!!

Menu Plan Monday...

Things are still going pretty well with not eating out. I did break down last Thursday and bought us lunch while I was out running errands. We were at Costco and I spent a whole $5.50 on our lunch!! This week is more of the same....trying to buy as little as possible for our dinners. We were at Mt. Vernon all day on Sunday, and then did our grocery shopping after that. We still have some leftovers to use up from last week, but I did make all the meals that I had planned....this is the 3rd week in the row!! YAY, me!!!

*=new recipe

Monday--leftovers

Tuesday--beef noodle casserole*, salad, green beans

Wednesday--Italian chicken, salad, steamed veggies, homemade old fashioned oatmeal bread*

Thursday--steaks, mashed potatoes, green beans, banana spring rolls

Friday--taco soup over fritos

Saturday--honey mustard chicken, salad, mixed veggie/rice casserole (I will use a carrot, broccoli, cauliflower mix instead of just broccoli)

For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

I want an iPod!!

I just LOVE this!! I don't have an iPod, but this makes me want to run out and get one!! You can go to ifrogz and design your very own iPod case. I did this one for my husband's iPod and I love it so much!!

If you just can't think of a gift for someone and know they have an iPod, this would be awesome!! You can even get them for younger kids!! I'm thinking my nieces would love to have a gift certificate to here!!

Menu Plan Monday...

This week we tried two new things that I found on Sandra's blogs. The pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and pizza. We really liked them both! Lucas absolutely LOVES the muffins! If you like pumpkin, you have to try these muffins.



We also had a little family party for Logan over the weekend. We took him to the park and let him ride his new bike on Saturday and on Sunday we did cake and presents (minus the bike that he got on his actual birthday).



He turned 5, but it was only my second time to make a cake for him rather than buy one. This time I made a homemade cake, rather than using a box. It was my first time to use the recipe, so I was worried it wouldn't turn out right. However, it is very YUMMY!! Certainly not one for a diet though!! I doubled the recipe and used two 9x13x2 pans to bake it in. Notice how much butter is in this thing!! For doubling the recipe, I used 5.5 STICKS of butter!!! It is a very rich cake and you won't eat a very big piece. I kind of cheated with decorating it because I'm just not that talented. I used Playmobil pirates and I think it turned out pretty cute!!


This is another week with minimal grocery shopping. After this week I am pretty much out of veggies, so I will have to buy more next week. This is my 3rd week of planning and cooking off of what I have. This week for our dinners, I just have to buy ingredients for the cream sauce for my meatballs. I need to get bread, orange juice, and a few other things, but not much.

*=new recipe

Sunday--lunch--homemade pizza and homemade cake (we didn't have this Saturday...we took Loan to the park to ride his bike and got back too late)
--dinner--leftovers

Monday--Mexican spaghetti, salad, bread

Tuesday--buffalo/pork/cranberry sausage dogs, French fries

Wednesday--meatballs with cream sauce, rice pilaf, steamed veggies

Thursday--smoky Appalachian chicken, saffron rice, corn

Friday--steak, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies

Saturday--chicken and dumplings*

Sunday--leftovers


For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins

I saw this recipe over at Sandra's and just HAD to try it!! Oh, my, are they good!!

I did make a few changes. I used mini chocolate chips and I had some unsweetened applesauce on hand for another muffin recipe, so I used 1 cup of it in place of the oil. Very tasty!

I am sure I am not the first to do this, but I hate the mess that I make while making muffins. It never fails that I dribble the batter all over the muffin tin and really make a mess!! I got to thinking and came up with a great way to make muffin-making easier!! My dad always used a scoop when making cookies. It made the process faster and the cookies were more uniform in size. Well, I just so happen to have a larger scoop and I thought it would work great for muffins. I was right!! The process was so fast and I didn't make a mess at all!! It worked so great that I got ahead of myself. I had wanted to add pecans to half of the batter for hubby and me, but I got to scooping up the batter so fast that when I remembered the pecans, I only had enough batter left for a couple of muffins. If you like pumpkin, you have to try these!!

The finished product...

Happy Birthday Logan...WW

Well, his birthday was actually yesterday (Oct. 9). My little guy turned 5!!

Oh...just in case you see this...on the right side of the picture (Logan's left eye), see the vertical mark at the outside edge of his eye? He ran into the edge of a door!! I have no idea how he managed that!! He is one clumsy kid!! (Sorry, that wasn't very wordless!)










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5 years already!!

I can NOT believe that Logan is 5!! It seems like just yesterday I felt his tiny, warm, newborn body curled up next to mine!! Why does time have to go by so fast?? As we put him in be last night, I told him that I would see him in the morning and that it would be his birthday. He got out of bed several times and I asked him why he was up. He said he was excited. I asked why, expecting his answer to be that tomorrow was his birthday. NOPE!! He said he was excited about going to kindergarten. Poor guy thought that since he finally turned 5 he would get to go. Truthfully, this momma is glad that we have almost a year until that happens.

On Monday we took him to a bike store and he got to pick out his first bike. The last time we had him try a bike in the store, he kept back-pedaling and hitting the brake. He couldn't seem to get past that. Yesterday I expected more of the same when we put him on the bike to try it out. Nope....he knew exactly what to do. Of course, he does have training wheels on it, but it was his first time to ride a real bike!! I know, it may seem like we are slow, but until recently we lived in an apt. and it just wasn't easy to find places to let him ride his bike. Now that we are out of the city a bit (and in a home), we thought it was time.

I recently posted about my labor and delivery of Logan (along with newborn pictures of him). You can read and see it here!!

Menu Plan Monday--

Last week we tried steaks with pepper sauce and really liked it. I also made ham and cheese stuffed manicotti. I had made these in the past, but it had been several years. We really like this as well. I will post the recipe below. I've been bad about doing my reviews, but I wanted to add that we tried the orange chicken and really, really liked it. We'll certainly be having it again!! Logan isn't much of a meat eater...and he especially isn't fond of chicken. However, I made him try this and he loved it. He even told me about a week later out of the blue, "I like orange chicken"!!


Also, if you read my MPM last week, you already know that we are challenging ourselves to not eat out in October. I know it is only one week in, but so far, so good. I will update you each week and at the end of the month I will update again with a total spent on groceries this month versus last month. That is another area we are working on. Last week we did very well, but this week it was higher. I had a few specialty things on my list and bought a few things that weren't on my list, but all in all, I'd say I did pretty well. As you can see, I don't have any carry over meals....I made all of my meals last week!!

Another big thing this week.....Logan turns 5!! I can hardly believe it. Typically we have gone out to eat, but this time we are making his favorite food at home (pizza) and letting him help make a cake. He'll love that!! We are waiting until the weekend to celebrate. Actually, we haven't even bought his gift yet. We are getting him a bike....man is he going to be excited!! We don't have any family that lives real close, so it will just be us, but we will still have a party (pirate theme)!! My little monkey is growing up WAY too fast!!


On to my plan....


Monday--bacon cheeseburgers, sweet potato fries

Tuesday--(Logan turns 5!!) spaghetti, bread, salad, and some sort of special treat (we'll have his party on Saturday...with pizza and cake)

Wednesday--chicken, pasta, corn, asparagus

Thursday--Shepherd's Pie (scroll down in that post for the recipe)

Friday--pork noodle soup (recipe below), grilled cheese sandwiches

Saturday--PARTY TIME!!--homemade pizza* (tomato and cheese for Logan and Lucas; tomato, cheese, pepperoni, and sausage for mom and dad!), cake* (I'm taking a bit of a risk and trying a new recipe...I hope it turns out!)

Sunday--leftovers


For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Stuffed Manicotti with Ham and Cheese
(From: Great Taste-Low Fat by: Time Life Books)



16 manicotti shells
7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves (I used about 1 T. dried parsley)
2 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces
1.5 cups low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
3/4 cup reduced sodium baked ham, finely chopped
1/3 cup diced Provolone cheese
2/3 cup thin strips of Provolone cheese
14.5 ounce can no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, chopped with their juices
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped (I used about 2 T dried basil)
1/4 cup no-salt-added tomato paste
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/8 t. hot pepper sauce

1. Spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In large pot of boiling water, cook manicotti until almost tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a blender or food processor, puree the roasted peppers, parsley, and scallions until smooth. Scrape the puree into a large bowl and stir in cottage cheese, peas, ham, and diced Provolone. Spoon the mixture into a sturdy plastic bag (like a Ziploc) and snip off a bottom corner. Pipe the mixture into the manicotti and place the shells into the prepared baking dishes. (I just used a baby spoon to scoop the mixture and fill the shells. I used the other method the first time I made this and had trouble with the peas and ham clogging the hole.)

3. In a small bowl, stir together the tomatoes with their juices, basil, tomato paste, oregano, and hot pepper sauce and spoon the mixture over the manicotti. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, or until the manicotti is piping hot. Remove the foil, sprinkle the Provolone strips on top, and bake for 3 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted.

Asian Pork and Noodle Soup--great for using up leftover pork loin!!
(from a Betty Crocker cookbook that you find near the register...January 2002)

1 pound pork boneless sirloin or loin, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 t. finely chopped ginger root (I omit this)
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) chicken broth
2 cups water
2 T. soy sauce
2 cups (4 ounces) uncooked fine egg noodles--think thin like Ramen noodles
1 med. carrot, sliced
1 small red bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 cups fresh spinach leaves

1. Spray 3-quart saucepan with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add pork, garlic, and ginger root; stir-fry 3-5 minutes or until pork is brown (I skip this step because I use leftover pork loin when I make this.)

2. Stir in broth, water, and soy sauce. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Stir in noodles, carrot, and bell pepper. Simmer uncovered about 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.

3. Stir in spinach. Cook until heated through.

**This soup freezes great!!

Showers of Good Wishes!!

Pamela at Happy Panda is hosting a cyber baby shower for Susan and Janice at 5 Minutes for Mom. I thought I would join in on the fun!!

I don't have any pictures of me in labor. I don't even have any pictures of me with baby in arms right after they were born. With both of my boys, they were not handed to me after they born. With Logan, I think it was because I was at a teaching hospital. However, with Lucas, they handed him off to pediatricians for two reasons. One, I wasGBS+ and they wanted to get him suctioned really well. Two, they had given me some i.v. pain meds not long before he was born and they had to check him over.

Here I am after just giving birth...even though I didn't get to hold Lucas right away, I was still happy to have it over with!!


Here is the closest I have to just being born...(They had just handed Lucas over to me!!)..



Here are some pictures of me while pregnant. In the first picture, I was pregnant with Logan, my oldest son. I was 38 weeks pregnant. My husband was in the Army at the time and had just gotten off of work (the night shift). He had a formation that he had to go to, but I insisted that we go take these pictures at a park on post first. I was afraid we would run out of time later because I had a doctor appt. later in the day that we had to drive to. It was only about 30 miles away, but it was at the National Naval Medical Center in the D.C. area and traffic is unpredictable. So, we literally ran around at the park taking pictures because hubby had to get home and get in his Class A's before going to the formation. Later we went to my doctor'sappt. and they checked me....I was 4cm dilated. I wasn't having contractions and my water hadn't broke, so they allowed me to go home and get my bag, car seat, etc..., but made me promise I would come right back to the hospital. When I called the OB dept. to tell them I was on my way, they informed me that they were full and told me to call back if my water broke or contractions started. I did end up in labor that night, so this picture was taken the day I went into labor!! Good thing I insisted we take them. I told hubby that I could have baby that day and then we wouldn't have a picture. Of course, I didn't really think I would go into labor that day, but sure enough I did!!

Hubby likes to say that I am glowing in this picture. Not sure what really caused it to have that effect

This picture is my second pregnancy....Lucas. It was taken exactly one week before he was born.



As I already said, my husband was in the Army when I was pregnant with our first. He had joined one month after we married, left for basic, then AIT, then a year in Korea. He came home on mid-tour and we decided we would try for a baby. I was a bit nervous, but really thought with him only being home one month I wouldn't get pregnant. He returned to Korea on Feb. 2nd and on Feb. 14th I had my positive test!! He came home when I was 20 weeks pregnant and we moved from northern CA to MD (and we drove!!). As I said earlier, I went into labor with Logan at 38 weeks pregnant. I had just drifted off to sleep and the phone rang. It was my dad. I talked to him for a while and while on the phone, I started having contractions. After getting off the phone, they weren't going away. I woke hubby up and had him time them. Remember, he had worked the night shift the night before, then went and took pics at the park with me, then went to a formation, then to my doctor appt., then home to pack up the car with everything I would need at the hospital...so, he hadn't had any sleep in 24 hours. After a while, they were about 10 minutes apart, but I was not in pain during them. I called the hospital and they told me I wasn't in labor because I wasn't in pain. They said I could come in to be checked if it made me feel better. We drove to the hospital at 1 in the morning. They checked me and I was still at 4cm. They monitored my contractions and said they didn't seem to be strong enough to be real labor....I still wasn't in any pain.They had me walk the halls and after an hour, my water broke. They checked me again and I was 5cm....they admitted me. I got all settled in my room...still not in any pain. The doctor checked me again and I still hadn't made any progress. My nurse told me I looked like I was at a picnic, not in labor. After a while I started to get a little uncomfortable and I had to stay on my left side because my blood pressure was getting high. I had to go to the bathroom so bad, so they let me up. They told me not to push while on the toilet...LOL! I did not want to get back in the bed because I knew I would have to be on my left side and I was getting very uncomfortable. I got back into bed and the pain really kicked in. I started throwing up and the nurse offered an epidural. I had just been checked and was STILL 5cm. I thought it was going to be hours still, so I agreed to it. It took about 30 minutes from that point get the epidural and when they finished and laid me down, they wanted to insert an internal monitor because they still thought my contractions were not strong enough. Lo and behold, I was 10cm!! I went from 5 to 10 in about 30 minutes!! I was a bit disappointed that I got the epidural because I wanted to to it natural and I made it to 10cm and got the epidural just in time for the pushing. I pushed for about an hour and my sweet little Logan was born. At one point I opened my eyes during labor and there were about 10 people lined up on the wall watching me push. I closed my eyes again. After Logan was born theycongratulated me and all filed out of the room. I guess that is another joy of birthing in a teaching hospital. Of course, you can request that no one extra be allowed in, but it wasn't something that I thought to request. Now I know, if you don't want 10 strangers lined up on the wall watching you birth your baby, make sure your nurse knows that ahead of time...LOL!! After about 7 hours, they became very concerned about his breathing and took him down to the NICU to be monitored. Hubby was totally passed out on the couch and it was everything I could do to get him to wake up to help me out of bed so I could go to the NICU to see Logan. When we got there, he was on oxygen and had wires everywhere. He ended up having pneumonia and had to stay in the NICU for five days. On day 5, we were at home getting ready to go visit him for the day and the phone rang. It was his doctor telling us that he felt Logan was ready to come home if we were willing to give him oral antibiotics....UMMMM YES!! So, we drove down and got to bring our little bundle home!!! I forgot to mention that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 24 weeks pregnant. I was able to control it with diet and exercise and did not have any complications. I do have one note of advice. They started giving me an episiotomy , but didn't tell me to stop pushing. As they started the cut, I pushed and out came baby. I tore and needed stitches. A student got the honors of stitching me up. It took forever and he did a horrible job. Never again will a student give me stitches....especially down "there". I wouldn't recommend it to any one else either!!...LOL I was due on Oct. 23, 2002 and Logan entered the world on Oct. 9th, 2002!!



Just before we headed home!!

When Logan was one year old, I was diagnosed with type II diabetes. So, when I got pregnant the second time around, I had to be on insulin the whole pregnancy. I had to go to the doctor very frequently, too. At the end, I was having stress tests two times per week and reg. OB appts one a week. It was a very busy pregnancy. Because of the diabetes, they wanted to induce me at 39 weeks. I was scheduled to be induced on Feb. 26, 2006. My dad flew in on the 25th so that he could watch Logan for us. I was really busy on the 25th and we did lots of walking at Costco after picking my dad up from the airport. While we were out, my lower back was really hurting. We made it home and got Logan all tucked in. I was going to the bathroom often and thought maybe my water broke. Strange as it sounds, I kept feeling the urge to pee and was going to the bathroom constantly. The same thing happened when my water broke with Logan. Somehow it didn't just all gush out of me, but I had some control over it in the beginning. I told hubby that I thought my water had broke. Just as I was getting ready to call my doctor, a larger gush came and I knew my water had broke. Once again, I didn't seem to be having painful contractions, so I took a shower before heading to the hospital. This time we only lived a few blocks from the hospital. When we got there, we had to enter through the ER and walk all the way to the OB wing. With each step more fluid leaked out. When I finally got to the OB wing, they took me to my room and gave me my gown to put on. When my nurse came into my room, she only saw my husband. She asked if I was in my gown yet and I called out from the bathroom. I was sitting on the toilet because the fluid was leaking out non-stop and they didn't have my bed ready. So, I finally made it to my room and into my bed around midnight. Once again, I wasn't in any pain with my contractions. They didn't want to check me since I was GBS+, so I had no idea how much I was dilated. That was very frustrating to not know how far along I was. I was GBS+ with my first as well, and when I told them about him ending up in the NICU, they wanted to make sure I labored fast and that they suctioned this baby really well. My midwife told me that when I was begging for meds, they would check me. That finally happened and when they checked me, I was 4cm.....WHAT??? I really thought I was further along because I was in LOTS of pain now. They got me all set up for an epidural, but there was an emergency and the anesthesiologist couldn't get to me. They told me they could give me i.v. meds and I agreed to them. I was told that if I wanted to use the bathroom I had to do it before I got the meds because I couldn't get up once I had them. I went to the bathroom and the contractions were so painful I couldn't stand back up off the toilet. My husband helped me up and to the edge of my bed, but my stomach was so tight that I couldn't relax the muscle enough to lay down. My nurse finally gave me a little i.v med to relax me enough to lay back down. I laid down and she finished the i.v dose and gave me a shot in my rear. Once again, my blood pressure was high and baby'sheart rate was dropping with contractions. I had to lay on my left side to labor. I also had to be hooked up to an insulin drip and have my blood sugar checked every hour. After getting mymeds my body relaxed and things moved quickly!! My nurse came in and asked how I was doing. I told her that I felt like my body was pushing and I couldn't stop it. She said she would get my midwife. I think she thought I was kidding since I was checked about 15 minutes earlier and was only 4cm. She came back about 10 minutes later and the midwife wasn't with her. I told her the baby was coming and she got my midwife. Once again, I moved quickly. I went from 4cm to 10cm in about 30minutes . At 4:59 am, I was complete and ready to push, but they told me I had to wait for the pediatricians to get there. I pushed through two contractions and Lucas was born at 5:12 am.....three hours before I was scheduled to begin my induction!! No episiotomy, no tears, no epidural!! I didn't even feel like I had just had a baby....I felt great!!


This is about 3 hours after Lucas was born!

Logan was so excited to meet his brother!

Lucas had a head full of black hair!!


Oh...and as a side note...Apparently I am good at making 7 pound, 2 ounce babies, because both of my boys weighed that...even with one being born at 38 weeks and the other at 39 weeks!! And the only thing I allowed my husband to do while I was laboring was dab my forehead with a wet cloth. At one point while laboring with Logan, my nurse was lightly stroking my belly and telling me to relax. It really worked. When hubby tried it when my nurse left the room, he pushed down on my belly and exclaimed, "Oh my word!! Did you feel how hard your belly is?". Ouch!! That was it...he wasn't allowed to touch me after that. Just dab my forehead thank you very much!!

I would love any of the prizes, but my top picks are:
1.Signing Time
2.Graced Designs
3.Mom 4 Life

Here are some questions/answers for more fun:

1.Tell us your favorite baby name for a boy and a girl.

Well, I really love both of my boys names (Logan Wesley and Lucas Riley). For a girl, we really like Morgan Rae.

2.Tell us your favorite nursery rhyme and/or children’s book.

I saw that someone else also chose this. I really loved Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, too. I have fond memories of my Papa reading it to me.

3. What was the best/worst baby shower gift you received?

With both of my boys I didn't live close to family/friends. With my first I didn't have a shower and with my second, a group of internet friends chipped in and got me some homemade pampering products.

4. What did you like the most/least about being pregnant?

I really loved being pregnant. With both of my boys, my pregnancies weren't the easiest, but I just loved having that bond with my growing baby!!

WW...Fresh, Clean Boys!!

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, go here or here or here!

Menu Plan Monday....

Last Monday I woke up and was not feeling well. I ended up going to the doctor later in the week because I was not getting any better. Turns out, I had bronchitis!! They gave me a breathing treatment at the office and sent me home with an inhaler, antibiotics, and cough syrup with codeine to help me sleep (I went 3 nights with next to no sleep!!). I am feeling much better!! So, considering all that, I think I did pretty well with my meals last week. I do have two carryover meals. I have planned several weeks of meals and I am trying really hard to use what I have on hand and keep the purchasing down to a minimum. Each week there are only a few items that I need to purchase. It seems we have a hobby of grocery shopping and our cabinets and freezers are overflowing. We also eat out WAY too often. We've been doing better, but this weekend we ate out every day!! That has to stop. We are challenging ourselves to not eat out in the month of October. I've never done this before. But, when you are thinking about going out and there is honestly no place that really sounds good and no food you are really craving....it could be a sign that you don't need to eat out. So, we are following that and will do our best to eat at home in October!! So, on with the menu...

This week, the only thing I have to purchase for our dinners is lettuce and tomatoes for the taco salad.

Here are the carryovers from last week:

* = new recipe

--ham and cheese stuffed manicotti, green beans, salad

--leftover chicken divan, Jasmine rice (We really liked this. I've made a very similar version for a while.)

--steaks with pepper sauce*, Jasmine rice, steamed broccoli, buttery carrots

Added on for this week:

--taco salad

--southwestern scrambled eggs, sausage, toasted English muffins

For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!