Chronicles of a Pregnant Mom Jan. 30,2008

Well we made it this far, what's a few more days? I'm only a week away from my due date, so I'm not "early" anymore. I am in the early stages of labor however. So I've been having alot of contractions, and the low back ache and the nausea, and then my feet and hands swell up. I know if I went and walked I would help the real labor to kick in, but I don't want that yet. My other kids I was walking, let me tell you. So this is kinda new for me. Usually I'm having the kid by now.

So still no baby, and it's still good. I know, I'm crazy. Most ppl are trying to get the baby out, not keep them in and this point. But it's what I gotta do right now. I think we'll make it though, I'm not worried, I have faith that it will all work out just fine. However it does, we'll all be fine.

I will post as soon as I can after she's born.

Oh and for you enjoy "warm" weather, come visit, it's only 6 degrees here today. Windchill in the negative teens again. I think it was a record setting day for school closings.

Jen

What's for lunch?

When I was visiting my inlaws a month or so back ( I see them all the time really!), we were there for lunch time and we were all having sandwiches. Well I have to tell you how they made these, because since than, I can't get enough of them. I LOVE lunchmeat sandwiches. Turkey, Ham and cheese are my favorites. So any variation on them are worth trying for me. Here's what they did.

First they had some really good bread YUM! I'm not sure what kind it was, but it was long like a french bread but really soft, not to sweet, but sweeter than regular bread. Anyhow it was good. I've used regular wheat since and it works, but the other was better.

SO separate your bread, or just get 2 pieces, butter each side and toast it in the oven. I use a regular oven at like 350, just until the butter is melted. If you have a broiler , that would work too.

After it's toasted, place on one side your meat and cheese. I like to use a variety of cheese and meat. Muenster, Cheddar and Provolone are my fav's. Ham, turkey, roast beef, corned beef and even the salamis if you like. Put it back in the oven and toast untill the cheese is melted and than bring it out.

Mayonaise, mustard, lettuce and tomatoes go on now, add your top and YUM! Enjoy.

Jen

Chronicles of a Pregnant Mom Jan. 25,2008

10 MORE DAYS!

I need/hope/pray to make it 10 more days. Mark will have some time off starting then, and will be here all day. That takes the worry out of, will he or won't he make it home? You see our hospital and babysitter is about 40 miles away from home. I just don't think I'm going to be able to load up the kids and make it there alone. At least that's the worst that could happen right? I know, it could be worse. But we are hoping that she'll wait till the 4th and I won't have to worry about it.

10 more days mean, 10 more days of sitting around and taking it easy which is difficult with 3 other kids here. My house turns into a war zone when I sit to much. My kids help ALOT, but I can't expect them to do it all, they are after all only kids. The oldest isn't even 8 yet. Just keeping the 2 yr old out of trouble is enough work. And I've officially hit that miserably pregnant stage. Sleep is very scattered, yesterday I woke up at like 4 am with really strong contractions (again), but couldn't get back to sleep, so I was up all day. I did squeeze a little nap in, but David wasn't sleeping, so I couldn't sleep really sound. It lasted only an hour too. When I don't get woke up with contractions, I wake up cause my leg. shoulder or arm is asleep, or my hip is stiff and sore. I'm not a side sleeper, so now is not a good time to try to, but on your back is worse. So I wake up to roll over and of course have to get up and go to the bathroom. This happens every 1-2 hrs. if I do sleep so heavy that I don't wake up, I am stiff as you can get when I do. [sigh], the joys of pregnancy. You see if I wasn't waiting for Mark, than I would be out walking, and if I was out walking, I'm sure we wouldn't make it. Even going to the store starts the contractions, and pushing the cart certainly doesn't make it easier. I had a huge relief yesterday, I had to get diapers, had to, couldn't wait any longer. Well my niece had a half day, so she came with me. It was so nice having someone else make sure David didn't lose his gloves and climb out of the cart, and push the cart, and chase him when he did make it out. It worked out very well. I truly thank her for coming with me. It was a huge help. I even got to stop and sit down and not have to worry about David getting board and running off. I know they have seat belts, but how they expect a child who can undo the clip to not get out is beyond me!

So we're trying very hard to be lazy and sit down alot. Walking across the house is tough. My belly actually is sore. The underside of my belly, from the weight is sore, when I stand up. My ankles and hands keep swelling up too. I've been drinking a ton, previous labors have started early due to dehydration, so I'm staying hydrated, which doesn't help the swelling either.

So my happy to be pregnant post are probably over with now LOL. I'll keep you all updated still, but it may not be pretty LOL.

So that's all for now. Time to go check the laundry, trying to not let everything get behind. I'll only stress about it later if I do. And I think I'm ready for some lunch, hmm 12:40 YUP!

JenD

Taco Bake

A friend suggested this recipe. It came from the Kraft recipe book which you can subscribe too. They send them out at no charge 5 times a year. They always have some really simple and great recipes in it. You can see them here, and find where to sign up to recieve them as well.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/FoodFamilyArchive/

Taco Bake

1 box mac and cheese
1 lbs ground beef
1pkg taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

prepare mac and cheese as on box then add sour cream. brown ground beef, drain and add taco seasoning simmer 5 mins.

put 1/2 mac and cheese into pan then all of the ground beef and 1of cheese and then the other 1/2 mac and cheese. bake @ 400 for 15 mins then top with salsa and rest of cheese. bake 5 mins more.

Wonderful wonderful

Great Mom clip!

I've seen this before, someone reminded me of it, so I thought I would post it. It is truly funny and true!

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=RxT5NwQUtVM

The Mom Song Sung to William Tell Overture with Lyrics

Homemade Chicken noodle soup

Being 9 months pregnant and all, I'm all about quick and easy these days. So when it comes to dinner I'm looking for a crock pot dinner, something filling but I don't have to stand over. Since it's barely got about 20 degrees today, I thought soup sounded really good, so here's what I threw together. I should add that soups are not my strength, they usually come out kinda bland. I think I figured out why. I always use broth, or buillion and seasonings, BUT a little tip I recently found out makes a HUGE difference when your cooking. A show called "Good Eats" aired a segment on spices and seasonings and pointed out that if you really want to get a good mixture of spices, use them separate and mix them yourself. Meaning, don't use seasoned salt, lemon pepper, and other blends BECAUSE (and you can look on the back and see), the first ingredient in all of these is SALT! So that means that most of the "blend" is salt. I was adding a ton of salt but very little of much else. So unless you get "Mrs. Dash salt free" look on the back of the bottles of any "blends" you use. Be sure to not salt extra.

Anyhow, so here's how I made my soup.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast (I use these frozen, the pre-packaged kind)

1 can of chicken broth (buillion has lots of salt too)

3 cans of water

about 1/2 c. baby carrots

1 1/2 onion, sliced

1 celery stalk, chopped

I didn't measure, but added probably about 1-2 t of each of the following spices

Garlic Powder

Rubbed Sage

Basil Flakes

Parsley Flakes

Mrs. Dash Salt-free Garlic & Herb blend

Old Bay Seasoning (this contains salt as well)

I then let all of this simmer in the crock pot for the day.

After the chicken was good and cooked, I pulled it apart into chunks with a fork.

When we were almost ready to eat I added noodles and mixed vegis. I used a frozen blend of bowtie pasta and mixed vegis, but regular egg noodles would work.

I simmered this some more till they were all cooked than we ate. The kids loved it and so did I. It was super good!

For those of you enjoying the down south weather, I just wanted to let you know, IT'S ONLY 4 degrees here right now!!!!! The wind chill is in the NEGATIVE TEENS! BRRRRRR

It's been like this all day, oh, well it did reach 10 degrees for a little bit LOL. It's suppose to be the same tomorrow. Bundle up if you venture out around here!

Just thought I'd share LOL.

Here's an interesting forward I got. You have to read it all the way thru, don't get discouraged and stop mid-way! Now I must say, I don't believe all the same doctrine as the student, but the underlying message is a very good one.

JenD


The physics of hot/cold, light/darkness in this little ditty are scientific evidence that sets an interesting premise for the otherpoints contained herein.

Please, let me know your thoughts.

A science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students,
"Let me explain the problem science has with religion." The atheist professor of
philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

"You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"

"Yes sir," the student says.

"So you believe in God?"

"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"

"Yes."

"Are you good or evil?"

"The Bible says I'm evil."

The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!"

He considers for amoment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good...!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could.Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. "He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"

The student remains silent.

"No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

"Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"

"Er...yes," the student says.

"Is Satan good?"

The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No."

"Then where does Satan come from?"

The student falters. "From God"

"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"

"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?"

"Yes."

"So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

Again, the student has no answer.

"Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred?Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?"

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"So who created them?"

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question."Who created them?"

There is still no answer.

Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.

"Tell me," he continues onto another student.

"Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"

The student's voice betrays him and cracks.

"Yes, professor, I do."

The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?"

"No sir. I've never seen Him."

"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"

"No, sir, I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Yet you still believe in him?"

"Yes."

"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"

"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."

"Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith."

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own.

"Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."

"And is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No sir, there isn't."

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain.

"You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, whiteheat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be ableto go colder than the lowest -458 degrees."

"Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

"What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't darkness?"

"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light,but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness,isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word."

"In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be agood semester. "So what point are you making, young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?"

"You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains."You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought."

"It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it."

"Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes,of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed."

Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.

"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, letme give you an example of what I mean."

The student looks around the room.

"Is there anyone in the class who hasever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter.

"Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable,demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir."

"So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures,sir?"

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith."

"Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues.

"Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"

Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestationsare nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God.God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does nothave God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

A quick recipe! Meatloaf patties

I put some meatloaf patties in the freezer yesterday. Of course we had some for dinner too. I thought I would share this simple recipes. It's really good too.

Make your basic meatloaf recipe.

Burger and/or sausage
chopped onion
chopped peppers
salt, pepper, oregano, basil or other seasonings

Crackers
Eggs.

Mix together and instead of putting it into a pan, make them into burger size patties. Put them in a pan with some hot grease and brown the outside, than add a can of cream of mushroom soup and some water. Simmer until the patties are done. Mmmmm.

You now have gravy to go with your potatoes, noodles or even rice. My kids love these.

I made them up and froze them raw. Well I put them on a plate and froze them separate, than put them together in a vacuum packed bag. Freezing them first keeps them from sticking together, and than you don't have to use wax paper and later try to pry them apart. You just throw them in the pan. So we now have ready to made meatloaf patties in the freezer. I also do this with meatloaf. I actually freeze it in the pan (after I coat it with oil). Than once it's frozen put it in some warm water to loosen the edges, then I put it in a bag and vacuum it. This means when we want meatloaf, all I have to is put it in the pan, cover it and throw it in the oven. Much better than waiting for it to thaw to form first.

So there's another great recipe. Now I have to finish sewing Amber's skirt.

JenD

Progress!

Well we got the crib up last yesterday. We did it while David was napping, so that made it easier. I let them try to use my drill, but it was to fast for them so they resorted to the screw driver eventually. But they did most of it, it was nice cause I didn't have to bend. Of course I did have to take part of it apart and start over, I forgot how it went together LOL.

Here are few pictures of them helping. After David woke up, he promptly tried to help as well.

All done! Now for our bags LOL.

Chronicles of a Pregnant Mom Jan. 16,2008

Well week 37 is here. 3 more weeks to go. We hope we make it mostly there, but you never know. These things just can't be planned. She has turned and dropped again, and my last 3 pregnancies have been like clock work. Drops at 6 wks before, than again 2 wks before. So it could be 2 wks. She's definately moving down and getting ready. I'm getting less and less comfortable by the day.

I've been working on getting some meals in the freezer too. Quick dinners after the baby is born. So far I have Lasagna, meatloaf (I freeze it raw), browned burger (for spaghetti, goulash, tacos etc), Chicken noodle soup (for dumplings), and I'm working on some stew meat for quick stew, hopefully. I've got more in the freezer for quick fixes. I always have chopped peppers, onions, celery, bananas (for bread and cake), squash, beans, and a ton others. So I think we're getting there. I'm going to put up the baby bed today. Oh and pack our bags LOL, I know I always had that ready by now too. I want to try to get our taxes ready to go too. I'll have to wait till after to get them out (have to wait for the W-2), but I can get it all around. And of course try to keep the house and laundry caught up so there's not so much to do after.

So here's the latest and greatest picture of me and my big self!

FREE Internet TV

I just found this on a homeschool website, this is really an awsome tool.

If you download the veoh player, you can search for example "The Magic School Bus", and it has 50 free full length episodes. I figured it was worth downloading the player just for the the episodes.

Here is the link to download the player:http://www.veoh.com/veohTV/getStarted.html

You can find tons of different channels that offer free videos on it, PBS, NBC, CBS, DIY and tons more. You can also do a search for contents of the videos, if you are looking for a specific subject. My kids LOVE The Magic School Bus and now they have tons to watch. It's worth the download for sure.

Enjoy!

Chronicles of a Pregnant Women Jan. 3,2008

Well I haven't posted on just the whole pregnancy thing lately, so I thought I would




Today I am 35 wks, which means I have 5 more weeks till my due date of Feb 7.


On Dec 19 at 33 wks she dropped, which usually happens between 6-8 wks before delivery. She will drop again probably 2 wks before. Now not all pregnancy's work like that, but I think that's the general rule. My boys were both really low to start with, so when they dropped, they were ready and also early. This one has been sitting up high (like our other girl was), so now that she dropped, she's not as low as the boys were at this time. Matter of fact I was facing bed rest with the boys. If I didn't chill out and do my best to calm the contractions, I was going to be in bed for good. Phew, glad that didn't happen. So considering the boys, I feel pretty good. Yes my back hurts and yes my belly feels heavy and uncomfortable, but I can stand this LOL.

Yes I feel HUGE! But surprisingly, not a huge as the last 2 times. This time around I've had the added joy of being borderline gestational diabetic as well. Which means I have to watch my sugar intake or it gets to high and could cause ALOT of problems. I think we've gotten that figured out for the most part, the watching the sugar is kinda hard. Chocolate and ice cream could be a staple when your pregnant if your not careful LOL. Yes pickles are good to, but NOT ON the ice cream LOL.

So that's it for now. I've still got to get the baby bed and all that stuff set up. Since we rearranged I'm not really sure where I'm going to put it yet. Either in my room or the office, upstairs doesn't seem like a good place yet. She'll probably be sleeping with me anyhow!

Well ta ta for now, it's back to school for me, well for the kids!