Update

Thanks for those of you who were praying for my glucose test. I passed this morning and so we're very happy about that. Charlotte was kicking a lot due to the increased sugar intake and wasn't a fan of the doppler that they used to get her heartbeat. She kept moving away and kicking at it. She was kicking so much that you could see my stomach moving up and down. Hopefully she won't be camera shy when she's born because she's going to have to learn to love them around here.

On a sad note, please pray for my family. Our dog Lucky that we've had for the last ten years died yesterday in a really awful accident. It has been extremely hard due to the nature of her accident so please pray for us. For those of you who don't have pets you probably won't understand but she was a part of our family and was a great dog. I can't say more now but hopefully I'll be able to write more about her later in the week.

The Academy Awards

Was anyone else as impressed by the Oscar's last night as I was?  I typically read through awards shows and rarely make it very far into them without getting totally distracted but last night's show was fantastic!  I loved, loved, loved the tributes that the former winners did for the Supporting Actress, Best Actress, Supporting Actor, and Best Actor.  Watching Anne Hathaway during her tribute was great!  She was moved to tears and you can bet this pregnant girl was crying also! :)

And it seemed like there were a lot more fashion "hits" than "misses" last night.  Maybe I just caught the good dresses but Penelope Cruz's dress was fantastic.  And it was 60 years old!  I also loved Anne Hathaway's red carpet dress.  She had changed by the time she did the intro with Hugh Jackman and that dress was pretty but her red carpet dress was stunning.  And Hugh Jackman!  He was funny!  His montage routines were really well choreographed and were funny.

Overall, I was very impressed! I still didn't make it to the end of the show but that's just because it started at 7:30 and I go to sleep rather early these days.  It was a nice change to be able to kind of escape back in time because last night's show seemed to be sort of like what you think old Hollywood in the 50's was like.  Respect for fellow actors.  Playful jokes.  No war protests that I heard.

Happy Monday!

What I know about Jason....

Heater at Life at Sonic Speed is having a little girl who is due two days before Charlotte.  AND she loves Sonic!  So I pretty much feel like we're kindred spirits.  I enjoy reading her blog about her family.  She is friends with Kelly at Kelly's Korner which is how I got to "know" her.  Anyway, she posted this list of questions this week and since I've been thinking a lot about Jason recently in hopes of coming up with a unique, interesting, great, and cheap birthday present I thought this might be worth a try.  So I answered the questions and then pulled Jason into the study to get his reactions.  It was more fun than I anticipated!  

1.He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? 
Jennifer: Depends on the season.  In the fall he's flipping between the Braves, whatever football is on, and the History Channel.  In the winter it's just football and the History Channel (sometimes the Discovery Channel is thrown in also).  And in the spring and summer it's almost exclusively baseball but the History Channel makes it in sometimes.  

Jason: That's pretty accurate.

2.You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?

Jennifer: Caesar 

Jason: Correct

3.What's one food he doesn't like? 

Jennifer: Mushrooms, my favorite! 

Jason: I absolutely despise mushrooms with everything in my soul!

4.You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
Jennifer: Regular drink: sweet tea, "fun" drink: Sam Adams 

Jason: If you are really talking about "fun" drinks it would be the Scotch from New Orleans.  My regular beer is the Sam Adams seasonal.

5.Where did he go to high school? 
Jennifer: The "other" high school across town! :) 

Jason: For the record I'd like to state that we beat y'all at almost every basketball and baseball game for the four years that you were in school.  I was 2-1 pitching against y'all too!

6.What size shoe does he wear? 
Jennifer: 12...I'm guessing here 

Jason: 11, but my old baseball cleats were 12's

7.If he was to collect anything, what would it be? 
Jennifer: When he was little baseball cards.  Now, history books, maps, airplane books 

Jason: Those are right but what I'd love to collect are watches.

8.What kind of sandwich does he like?
Jennifer: Doesn't really like sandwiches but if he's getting one it's probably got ham and turkey on it. 

Jason: That's a hard one.  When we go out somewhere I usually get a club.

9.What would this person eat every day if he could?
Jennifer: This is a tough one, I'm going to go with Parmesan Chicken or Pasta with red sauce. 

Jason: I'd have to say shrimp.

10.What is his favorite cereal? 
Jennifer: Cinnamon Life 

Jason: Cinnamon Life, absolutely

11.What would he never wear? 
Jennifer: A popped collar! :)  Or anything Auburn or Tennessee...I could continue but I'll say sports items that are not for Alabama or the Braves 

Jason: I don't really like v-necked shirts or those non-collared golf shirts.

12.What is his favorite sports team? 
Jennifer: Alabama but I'm pretty sure the Braves are a really close second 

Jason: Well.... it is baseball season right now so I'm all in to spring training.  But I'd say that they are 1A and 1B.
*Just to note, Jason started fidgeting about this answer but when I told him that not saying that Alabama was his favorite team might lead to a divorce he decided that it would stay at the top of the list. :)

13.Who did he vote for? 
Jennifer: McCain

Jason: Yes

14.Who is his best friend? 
Jennifer: Me!! :)  If it has to be a guy I'd say Tripp

Jason: Yes

15.What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? 
Jennifer: There's probably too many things to name!  First, he wishes I wasn't grossed out if my feet touch the ground (as in even the floor in our house).  Second, he wishes that I wasn't really crazy about getting a parking space close to the front of the parking lot.  I could continue but out of my self-respect I'll end there! 

Jason: I've pretty much gotten over your feet thing, I guess you've trained me out of it.  But your pickiness on a parking place in insane!

16.What is his favorite color? 
Jennifer: Green

Jason: Yes

17.You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? 
Jennifer: Haha, I asked this afternoon so I know this one is right! White cake, chocolate icing

Jason: That's what I asked for

18.Did he play sports in high school?
Jennifer: Of course, why do you think I now pretty much hate baseball!?!?

Jason: Baseball

19.What could he spend hours doing?
Jennifer: Tracking weather online, watching football 

Jason: Those are right but I'd also add watching baseball and reading about baseball

20.What is one unique talent he has? 

Jennifer: He can name almost any plane with just a glimpse of it
Jason: I'm a very normal, untalented person

So I'd love to see what you know/don't know about your husband!  If you blog about this can you leave me the link to your post so that we can all check it out?!?! 

Have a great weekend!

Recipe Wednesday - Skillet Grilled Burritos

So I have no pictures for this recipe but I've had it at my parent's and I've made it once at home and it's really really good!  The recipe is from the most recent Southern Living if you want to see more about it.  It is super easy and makes a lot of food!  Enjoy!

Skillet Grilled Burritos

Makes 8 servings

2 c Chopped Cooked Chicken Breast

1 15 oz can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1 11 oz can Yellow Corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 c (4 oz) Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/2 c Creamy Cilantro-Jalapeno Sauce (recipe below)

8 8 inch soft Whole Wheat Tortillas

1. Toss together chicken, beans, corn, cheese, and 1/2 c of sauce.  
2. Spread chicken mixture just below center of each tortilla.  Fold in sides.  Roll up burrito.  Coat with cooking spray or olive oil.
3. Cooking option 1 (from original recipe): Cook in batches on medium/high heat in skillet pressing gently with spatula 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cheese is melted.
4. Cooking option 2 (my preferred method):  Cook in batches in panini press until golden brown and cheese is melted.
5. Serve with salsa and remaining Cilantro-Jalapeno sauce.

Creamy Cilantro-Jalapeno Sauce

1 c Light Sour Cream

1/2 c Loosely packed fresh Cilantro, chopped

2 T Diced Pickled Jalapeno peppers

2 t chopped Yellow Onion

2 t Dijon Mustard

1 t Lime Zest

1. Stir all together.  Chill 30 minutes before serving.  Store up to two days in airtight container in refrigerator.

Charlotte's Room!

Well, I still don't have the curtains any farther along than with the sides pinned but I'll get to them eventually.  But with the rug down, the wall color up, and the chandelier up I thought you deserved a few new pictures!

I love the pink that's on the walls.  It's called "Pink Ribbon" and while I think it's bright enough it's not overpowering. It's the perfect little girl pink!  And it goes so well with the rug from Pottery Barn Kids.  

Jason worked hard on Sunday installing this chandelier.  He also put the switch on a dimmer so that we can have it set low in the middle of the night!  The effect in the evenings is really nice.  I love the silver of the chandelier and the crystals.  It's so girlie!

I also got to pick up Charlotte's baby book last weekend.  I am so happy with the way that it turned out!  And the pages that they ordered for me to go inside of the book are really cute.  I'll add on pages with all of the cards, etc that she receives but I think it's going to turn out just the way that I want it.  

We start childbirth classes tonight so wish us luck!  :)  

There's love in the air...

I feel like this weekend was all about love for me!

It started out with a fantastic dinner on Friday night with Jason.  We enjoyed really good food and had an early reservation so we got finished with plenty of time to get Cold Stone and watch a movie.  Just to save you the effort, don't watch Nights in Rodanthe.  At least, not on a night when you want a nice love story.  We definitely didn't enjoy it.  But the rest of the night was great!  

On Saturday Jason and Tripp played golf and I started my day but running seemingly all over town running errands.  I picked up Charlotte's baby book and absolutely love it! I'll try and get a picture of it with some of the other things that we've got for her room this week.  After running errands I went to my friend Leigh's wedding shower.  You might remember this post that I wrote when she got engaged.  It was so fun to see her getting so many beautiful gifts (and many is an apt description, there were tons of gifts!!).  It was also really nice to get to catch up with some friends that I hadn't seen in a while!

Me, Leigh, and Tiffany

Tiffany and I met in our public speaking class probably freshman year at Alabama?  Then she lived with Leigh and they became very good friends.  Tiffany and I are honorary bridesmaids in Leigh's wedding along with a few other friends

After Leigh's shower Jason and I went to another friend from high school's wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding and fun reception!  Thomas and Hilary were the cutest couple!  Thomas is a fun guy and he definitely showed that by answering "I definitely do!" instead of "I do" during the vows and sweeping Hilary over into a dip to kiss her for the first time.  The reception was also a lot of fun.  It was so nice catching up with old friends and meeting their significant others for the first time.  You can only keep up with so much on facebook so seeing people on special occasions like this was really nice!

Overall we had a great weekend and I really feel like this Valentine's Day was a true celebration of love.  I hope your weekend was as much fun as ours was!

Bonus Valentine's Day Recipe Wednesday!

Happy Valentine's Day!

In honor of this day of love I wanted to share two recipes that I found this week that are the perfect treat to end a Valentine's Day.

The first I got was through an email from my Mom.  The email referred to it as "the most dangerous cake recipe in the world" but I prefer to refer to it as Coffee Cup Chocolate Cake due to the much less...sinister...connotations!  But sinister it is!  The fact that making the entire concoction takes roughly 5 minutes and can be made with things that are most likely already in your pantry makes this recipe something to only pull out when you really need a chocolate fix!  Also, don't let your eyes get bigger than your tummy!  Due to my ever expanding pregnant belly Jason and I thought that we would make two but we probably, together, ate one if that! The picture below is one cake served with Cool Whip due to the fact that we didn't have any ice cream but I bet ice cream would only make this dessert even better!  So, here's the recipe!

Coffee Cup Chocolate Cake

4 T Flour

4 T Sugar

2 T Cocoa

1 Egg

3 T Milk

3 T Oil

3 T Chocolate Chips (optional)

Small splash Vanilla Extract

1 large Coffee Mug

1. Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.
2. Add egg and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour in oil and milk and mix well.
4. Add chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla and mix.
5. Put in microwave and microwave for 3 minutes at 1000 watts
6. Don't worry, it's OK if it rises over the top of the mug!
7. Tip onto a plate and enjoy with ice cream or whipped cream!

The second recipe is one I saw on Bakerella's blog this week.  To see her post with this recipe go here.  Most of Bakerella's treats intimidate me but I knew that I had a Red Velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting in my pantry (due to a different recipe that I've been meaning to try for a while) so I thought I'd give this a try.  Making this didn't take 5 minutes but from start (getting out ingredients) to finish (having the sandwiches iced and in a container) it only took one hour!  Still pretty good for a fun dessert in my book!  To be honest I cheated and used canned cream cheese frosting intsead of making my own though so if you're making the icing like Bakerella instructs then it will take longer.  But these babies are yummy and well worth it!  The funny thing is that a girl from work sent an email out to the office saying that SHE made these last night and had brought them to work!  I told her that emails talking about treats in the break room usually make me sad since I work from  home but that today I had those exact same treats in my kitchen! :)  

So either use my amended/cheater version or go and see the real recipe from Bakerella's blog! 

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix

1/2 c Butter, softened

2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix until mix, butter, and eggs are combined
3. Drop spoonfuls onto baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart
4. Bake 10 - 12 minutes
5. Cool
6. Assemble with store-bought icing in the middle or Bakerella's Cream Cheese Filling

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

MIA...

I've definitely been MIA this week.  It's not even like I've been that busy so I don't know what my deal is! I guess it's that I haven't really done much other than chores around the house so I haven't really felt like I had anything to post about.  

I started on Charlotte's curtains last night and I'm really excited about them.  I found the exact same stripe fabric that Polka Tots is using in her bedding at Hancock's and I bought that for the curtains.  The best part was that it was half off!  I love it when things are on sale!

The rug also came in and it's so cute! (From Pottery Barn Kids)

I'm waiting to post pictures of the nursery until we get the chandelier hung this weekend and hopefully I get the curtains up.  It is going to be so cute! I'm so excited about it!  Getting all of these "things" and feeling her twist and turn makes all of this so real! I can't believe that we're almost to 25 weeks.  It has gone by so quickly!

We also got a new rug, finally, for the den!  It is amazing the softness difference between a rug from Lowe's and one from Pottery Barn!  I also love the how finished the room looks now that we have a nice rug.  

Jason and I are looking forward to a Valentine's dinner on Friday at a new restaurant in town.  I've heard a lot of great things about it so it should be nice.  Then I get to go to a shower for my friend Leigh on Saturday.  Her wedding is coming up and I am so excited for her!  We also have a wedding to go to on Saturday night for another friend from high school.  Let's hope he never forgets their anniversary since it will also be on Valentine's Day! :)  

This week I've also been reading Babywise and it's got me all kinds of stressed out.  Someone please tell me that if I need to rock Charlotte to sleep one night or if she falls asleep immediately after I feed her that her sleep patterns won't be off forever thus causing her to fail out of school because she's not getting the sleep that she needs!!  I know that it's a balance and every child is different but as the weeks get farther and farther along the counter and May approaches faster and faster I'm beginning to get worried that I'm going to accidentally do something wrong that will scar Charlotte for life!  Did you do the Babywise method and was it worth the effort that I'm sure it will take to let her soothe herself to sleep?  I'm afraid that since we aren't even strong enough to let Luca do that that we won't be able to listen to her whimpering herself to sleep!  I need advice! :)

I hope you're having a good week! I'm posting a bonus Recipe Wednesday in honor of Valentine's Day on Saturday.  It's a super yummy dessert that's really quick to make and the perfect size for you and your significant other!

Recipe Wednesday - Tortilla Chip Bake

This is another recipe out of the cookbook that Jason's grandmother gave me at one of our wedding showers.  It is a really great cookbook that has one of my all-time favorite desserts in it, Butter Squares.  Next time I make them (and I think it's going to be soon!) I'll post that recipe because they are divine!

This recipe was also really good and so simple that my only picture is of the ingredients.  Everything else is basic!  Enjoy!

Tortilla Chip Bake

8 servings

Ingredients:

2 lbs Ground Beef

1 medium Onion, chopped

1 10 oz can chopped tomatoes with green chilies (aka Rotel)

2 16 oz cans Chili Beans

1 10 oz can Cream of Mushroom soup

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 12 oz pkg Tortilla chips, crushed

8 oz shredded Cheddar Cheese

1. Brown beef with onion in skillet, stirring until crumbly.  Drain well.
2. Add tomatoes, beans, soup, salt, and pepper.  Mix well.
3. Layer tortilla chips and beef mixture in a 9x13 baking dish.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until cheese melts.

This was a really great recipe!  We enjoyed it with salads and more chips and salsa but you could also serve it with Mexican rice. The beauty of this recipe is that the prep is really quick and it makes a lot (I froze half of this recipe).  It's also filling and has lots of good stuff in it!

Let me know how it turns out!

The Trendy Tot

Charlotte's Elephant game day dress finally arrived yesterday and I have to say, it's even cuter in person than it was on Etsy!  Jen at The Trendy Tot helped me out so much by altering her 12-24 month size patter to a 3-6 month pattern.  The sizing matches up with other 3-6 month dresses that I have already so I'm hoping that it will be perfect for game day's in Tuscaloosa!

When Jason got home yesterday I showed it to him and his mouth dropped!  He couldn't believe how perfect it was!  Thank you Jen for making Charlotte so fashionable for game days!

I loved my shopping experience with The Trendy Tot so much that I wanted to show you some of the other cute outfits that they have!  Aren't they adorable?!?! And I think Jen said that she can move an applique from a dress to a shirt if you say, want an elephant shirt for your little boy to wear to games.  I also just love the blue jeans! Charlotte might need a couple pairs of these cute jeans!

I'm adding a section to my sidebar for my tried-and-true Etsy stores that I've loved working with.  So if you want to order from The Trendy Tot later you can find them easily on my sidebar.  Jen also has a separate Etsy store, BabyCheeks, that is oh so cute also!  Go check them out!

Harper is going home!

In case you're not keeping up with Kelly's blog she posted yesterday that they get to take Harper home today!  Almost exactly 3 weeks after Kelly and Scott went into the hospital to have Harper they are getting to take her home.  They still have some not fun times ahead of them since they'll have to stay inside and not allow visitors to visit Harper for a few months but they are so happy to be going home.

Go and visit Kelly's blog and leave her a note of encouragement and praise today.  God has worked a miracle in their family!  And also continue to pray for them.  Pray for safe travels home.  Pray for sanity in the months ahead as they stay isolated and at home.  Pray for Harper's 100% healing and for there to be no lasting trauma as a result of this.  Pray for the people who have accepted Christ because of reading about this situation.  Pray that Kelly, Scott, and Harper can continue to reach people for Jesus.

Thanks for being a part of such an awesome prayer movement!

Recipe Wednesday - Jambalaya

I was going to post this great new recipe that my Mom found but I didn't have time to make it so I'm saving that until next week (big suspense, huh??) and am posting a great recipe that I found! :)

I don't know about you but Jason and I love pretty much anything seafood.  A while ago I was flipping through a cookbook that Jason's grandmother gave me as a wedding shower gift and I found a great Jambalaya recipe.  I've made it before but I made it again this weekend to get some pictures for you.  I was reminded again of how good the recipe and HOW MUCH it makes!  Unless you are having guests over always make a half of a recipe because it makes a ton of food!

As a side note, I've decided that when I have multiple picture of a recipe I'll post them here but I'll post a version with only one picture on my recipe blog.  That way if you're pulling a recipe off of the recipe blog it will be in an easily print-able format while the ones here will be a little more informative!  Some recipes, like this one, are so easy that there are only a few recipes.  But if there are more detailed steps then I'll include more pictures!

So, here's the recipe for Jambalaya!

Jambalaya

Ingredients:

2 cans French Onion Soup

2 cans Cream of Celery Soup

1 Large Jar Sliced Mushrooms

1 can Rotel

1 cup Chopped Onion

1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped

3 Green Onions, chopped (I omitted these this time because I forgot them)

2 lbs Smoked Sausage, Chopped

2 lbs Peeled, raw Shrimp

2 cups Uncooked Rice

Combine all ingredients in large dish and cover tightly with foil.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until hot all the way through and rice is cooked.

Serves 10 - 12 

Remember, I made a HALF recipe and it filled the oval baking dish that I was cooking in to the brim!

Enjoy!

Oliver Handmade

A week or so ago a friend from work (thanks April!) sent me to this super cute elephant dress on Etsy thinking that it would be perfect for Charlotte to wear on game days.  So I started looking at other Etsy sites and found Oliver Handmade.  I loved everything that they had but Elsie the Elephant was just calling Charlotte's name!  So I ordered a long sleeve onesie for her and asked that it be monogrammed.  

The onesie came in the mail today and it is quite possibly one of the cutest outfits that Charlotte now has!  I was so pleased with how neat the name looks.  And the onesie is so thick! It isn't really thin like some that I've seen.  

So I thought I'd show you Charlotte's new outfit and some of the other favorites from Oliver Handmade.  The best thing about the items is that most of them can be made into any size onesie (short or long sleeve) or a t-shirt.  So those of you with little one's who aren't wearing onesie's anymore can still enjoy!

And they have so many other cute designs also!  My favorite part is that it's all hand made.  I could get 5 different outfits all monogrammed with Charlotte's name and they might all look different!  I think it's so neat and special to have clothes that are so unique!  So, go and check out Oliver Handmade's website!  I'm sure you'll be as pleased as I was with any purchase that you make!

P.S. A stay has been passed on the enforcement of CPSIA so Etsy owners can continue to sell their merchandise online.  Congress is still working to get the law changed so that it won't affect Etsy store owners but for the next year they'll still be able to sell their products.