Alina is TWO!?!?!

Okay, so when people tell you "it goes by SO fast...enjoy every moment!" and you are in the grocery store with a toddler who wants to stand up in the seat, or get out, or eat...or go home....you think...."yah, sure....okay"...but....they are SO right!

Two days before Christmas this year, Alina turned the big T-W-O and we couldn't believe it. We, or should I say I (who are we kidding...men do NOT plan for birthday parties) decided to go with Sesame Street theme....because Alina loves Elmo and because...let's face it, Sesame Street is awesome. So, I waited until the last minute to plan and decorate (as usual), and it didn't turn out professionally, but it turned out quite nicely if I do say so myself.

There were decorations...

There were games...

There was dancing...

There were gifts...

There was homemade cake (made by her Auntie Heather)...

But most importantly, there was family & friends...

Of course, Alina was tired and overwhelmed at her own party, but she did have a good time with family, and friends...and so did we! Thank you to all who were a part of her special day...in person or in spirit! Alina has been SO blessed by each and every one of you...and so have WE!

Wonder what shinanigans she will want for her party next year. Maybe I should start planning now! :o)

Sleep

Well, sleep. It is something I would love more of. It is something I don't get enough of. It is something that is needed for good health...mind and body. I LOVE it. Now, of course once you have a child, you get used to the fact that you will never ever sleep in until 9am again...oh who am I kidding...you will never sleep in until 8am again. For us, if we get to stay in bed until 7:30am, we are THRILLED! So, you either go to bed earlier in the evening to compensate, or you stay up until 9 or 10pm, watch the good TV shows, then go to bed, and are just tired 24/7 (a.k.a. what we do).

Anyways, once every few months, my body decides to shut down in the sleep department. I will never forget one year while I was working full time, (this was pre-child)...I couldn't sleep hardly at all for about 2 weeks. It was the worst 2 weeks EVER! I remember moving from room to room in the house at night since moving locations is supposed to help...I set up a bedtime routine...also supposed to help...I drank Sleepytime tea...all those things...but still cried every night, wishing I could sleep. I finally went to the doc and she put me on something to help me get back in the sleep mode. Sleep is habitual...so if you are NOT sleeping, this can form a new ugly habit. It worked and I quit taking the medicine (thankfully it was not habit-forming).

Well, like I said...every few months or so this problem creeps up on me. It is weird, because sometimes Simply Sleep tablets work, sometimes they don't....sometimes vitamins work, sometimes they don't. Well, since Christmas break ended, I am back on the "difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep" train. It is probably due to the change in schedule. Haha. Anyways, the other night, or should I say MORNING since it was 2am, I was desperate and took Nyquil since that was all I had left (note to self...do not take Nyquil at 2am if you have to teach children the next day). I was still "asleep" at noon. So, yesterday I went back to the Vitamin Shoppe. A guy there told me to use this "Advanced Sleep Formula." It's got Melatonin, Hops, Passion flower, Valerian root, and some other vitamins in it. I know Valerian Root works pretty well, so we shall see how this works. The nice thing about the Vitamin Shoppe, is that if it doesn't work, you can take it back and exchange it for something else within 30 days. :o)

Anyone else have a love-hate relationship with sleep? Have any tips? Sorry for rambling...but really...I am just tired....and non-sleepers are NOT supposed to nap during the day! So, I blogged instead.

Happy Snoozing!

A Christmas of Firsts...

Hello, Friends. Okay, who am I kidding...Hello, Leah. :o)

So, this year will be a totally different Christmas. Alina's first Christmas was coming home from the hospital at 2 days old. What a fantastic gift she was!!! The best gift ever, for sure.

Last year, she had just turned one. Once the present opening commenced, she got the idea pretty quickly and started enjoying the gift giving. However, she was still too small to really start any traditions, or do Christmas activities.

So, here we are...she will be two on the 23rd...TWO!!!! I cannot believe it! And then POOF! Christmas will be here again. I think I blinked and these two years just happened. We put up our little fake tree, and I got her to start getting ornaments out with me. She asks us to turn on the tree each day. Today we decorated some sugar cookies together. Alina had some FUN with the sprinkles! Wow. No bare cookies at our house!

What are YOUR Christmas traditions? I am always curious to know what others do as we try to plan ours. Creativity is not one of my gifts. But, I would love for Alina to know and understand the real reason for this holiday...Jesus Christ!

Have a BLESSED and MERRY Christmas!!!!

The sad, the new and the doggy.

So, as most of you know our sweet dog, Jack got out of our fenced-in yard last week, and we could not find him. It happened at night, and Joshua drove around until about 11pm searching for him with no luck. We called the Animal Shelter and then Animal Control the next day, and sure enough we got the call back that you never want to get. We were given a description of a dog that had been hit by a car and passed away...and the description fit our sweet Jack. We didn't get to say goodbye, or see him. They had already "disposed" of him since he didn't have his collar on. I mourned for that dog for days. I never realized how attached I was to him until he was gone. I have regrets, and things I wish we had done differently, but have been reminded of others that we saved him from being euthanized, he lived a fun life, and loved us.

I honestly thought we would go on with just Maggie in our house. Maggie is our 13 year old lab that Josh got as a junior in high school!!! She is the sweetest thing, but since she is so old, she basically sleeps all day. The house was too quiet, and sad without another dog. Maggie even looked sad! So, we went to Petsmart "just to look." Well, all the dogs were barking...all, but one! We walked over to the quiet one, and she was so sweet. We got her out of the crate, walked her around the store...she was terrified! We brought Maggie to meet her, and they seemed okay together...but I was still too sad and emotional about Jack and could not make a decision. So, we went home...thought about it, prayed about it, sought some counsel from our parents, family and friends about it. We went and visited her another time at the shelter. WOW. The shelter broke my heart! There are SO many sweet dogs, cats and other animals being put down simply for the sake of space. The cutest puppies you have ever seen are sitting in their little crates. This is a loud place...all the dogs want to be heard and seen when people walk through the doors. They are BEGGING for love and attention! Some are even flailing themselves against the little fence doors to make sure you see them! The floors are concrete, they have no beds, except for an elevated wooden "bench." They are not taken outside enough since there are so many dogs, so they poop and pee in their little cubicles. I could hardly stand it. Well, we saw this dog again and decided to take her outside. WOW. The minute you take a dog out, all the other dogs get very jealous and start barking like crazy. It was so sad. I wanted to take them all out with us! Well, after this visit we thought we should bring Maggie to meet this dog one more time. So, the next day we brought Maggie, saw them interact....and we signed the papers and took her home! It feels SO GOOD to save an animal's life. This sweet dog had been there since August and she was probably on the "next to go" list. She is such a sweetheart.

Please, please, PLEASE go to your local animal shelters and look for an animal there before you pay someone a ton of money for a puppy, or kitten. Shelters DO have purebreds, they DO get all of their shots and immunizations, they DO spay and neuter them and they DO have SWEET dogs, puppies, cats and kittens alike. You can also look at the Human's Society, or places that work with the shelters as foster homes for pets. All of these ways are ways of saving another animal's life. For every space taken, is more room for another.

‎"The HSUS estimates that animal shelters care for 6-8 million dogs and
cats every year in the United States, of whom approximately 3-4 million
are euthanized." If you are ready for the responsibility of a furry companion, ADOPT!

Oh I could be a spokesperson for this. Haha. I just have such a strong belief in animal adoption. If you have any questions about it, please ask me. One day, we will have lots of land and foster dogs. It will be great.

Anyways, here is the new Stone pup! She is about a year old. She is some kind of shepherd mix. She gets along well with Maggie, and Alina! She follows me around the house already. :o) We are working on a new name for her, so if you think of one, let me know!

White Chicken Chili Recipe

Hey, Friends! Well, I have been asked for the chicken chili recipe I have and love. I cannot take credit for it, though. My friend, Brooks Anne made this once and then I had to have the recipe. Debbie, if you're reading this...I need your recipe, too! I always loved yours as well.

Anyways, here it is....

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (4 oz) of chopped green chilies (near the Mexican foods in the grocery store)
3 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. ground Cumin
2 (16 oz) cans of Navy or Great Northern Beans (I use Great Northern)
1 (14 oz) can of chicken broth
1 1/2 cups of finely chopped cooked chicken breast

To top:
~Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
~Sour Cream
~Salsa

Instructions:
In a large skillet, cook onion in olive oil for 4 minutes, or until transparent. Add chilies, flour and cumin, cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add beans and chicken broth (do NOT drain beans), bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes, or until thickened. Add chicken, cook until hot.

OR if you want to use a crock pot -
Cook the chicken, and shred/cut it. Sautee' onions in the olive oil. Then put all of the ingredients in the crock pot and let it slowly simmer for several hours.

ENJOY! :o)

YUMMY Pampered Chef Dessert Recipe!!!

My friend, Amy Bell sells Pampered Chef and she hosted a party that I went to last week...and she made this! It was SOOO yummy I went home and made it the next day for my small group. Now something she did (and I did) to make this a little easier was we made this recipe as cookies, not a "pizza". So, we baked individual sugar cookies, and then put icing, apples and caramel on the cookies instead. Just an idea! Here's the recipe...

Taffy Apple Pizza
Ingredients:
1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 medium Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped (optional)
lemon juice (to put on the apples so they won't brown)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (or whatever the directions call for if you are baking individual cookies). Shape cookie dough into a ball and place in center of Large Round Stone; flatten slightly. Using lightly floured Baker's Roller(R), roll out dough to a 14-inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Bake 16-18 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes. Carefully loosen cookie from baking stone using Serrated Bread Knife; cool completely on baking stone. (This is where you can also buy refrigerated cookie dough, or cookie dough mix, make it and place the cookies on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven for however long the directions call for...this was quick for me...probably 7 0r 8 minutes of cooking if you buy the mix.)

2. Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, peanut butter and vanilla in Small Batter Bowl; mix well. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over cookie (once the cookies cool).

3. Peel, core and slice apples using Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer. Cut apple slices in half and arrange evenly over cream cheese mixture. (We dipped the apples in lemon juice so they wouldn't brown. I recommend doing this!)

4. Microwave ice cream topping on HIGH 30-45 seconds or until warm; drizzle evenly over apples. Chop peanuts using Food Chopper; sprinkle over apples. Cut into wedges. (Just FYI-I did not heat the caramel since I got the ice cream caramel topping in a plastic squeeze container, and I did not use peanuts in case anyone in my group had allergies.)

Yield: 16 servings (Or more if you do the individual cookie route. I recommend buying the cookie dough mix. It makes a lot more cookies, and is cheaper than the refrigerated dough! Or you can be Betty Crocker and make your own dough!)

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Nutrients per serving: Calories 300, Total Fat 17 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 25 mg, Carbohydrate 36 g, Protein 5 g, Sodium 270 mg, Fiber 1 g

Cheating with Banana Bread

Well, if you're like me and do not have a whole lot of time to sit at home and make bread, then you might want to try this recipe....banana bread for the breadmaker. I found it online (www.allrecipes.com) and have been pretty pleased with the results. The first time I made it, it turned out perfectly...and the second time I tried it, it did not. You do need to remove the bread pan promptly from the bread machine when it is done, otherwise it will keep cooking, and become dry. Anyways, here's the recipe....

Ingredients:
1/2 cup margarine
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Spray bread machine with vegetable oil spray (very important step!!!)
2. Premix ingredients in order listed above. Place mixture in bread machine pan.
3. Select the Quick Bread/Cake cycle. Press Start. Check after one minute to make sure the mixture is well blended.
4. Cook until cake cycle stops. Remove pan, and cool completely before removing bread from pan.
5. Enjoy! (Alina LOVES this stuff! It's a great quick breakfast, or snack.)

Broccoli Casserole

This recipe is YUMMY!!! It is also from the ACA cookbook. We have fed several friends this side dish and it is well loved. Here it goes...

Ingredients:

-2 pkgs of chopped broccoli, cooked
-2 eggs, beaten
-1 can of cream of mushroom soup
-1 tablespoon of onion, chopped or dry
-1 cup of mayonnaise
-1 cup of grated cheese
-Bread Crumbs

Cooking Instructions:

Mix broccoli, eggs, soup, onion, mayonnaise, and 3/4 cup of grated cheese. Put in casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and crumbs (up to 1 cup). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. ENJOY! :)

Yummy, Easy Pork Roast Recipe

Well, my mom said I should blog about this recipe that we have enjoyed several times now. I guess she thought it was really yummy. :) Oh and did I mention that it is SUPER easy?? The recipe is from the ACA (Asheville Christian Academy) cookbook so I do not claim it as my own by any means. Here it is...

Sweet and Sour Pork Roast

Ingredients:

-4-6lb boneless pork roast (okay, this much meat would be WAY too much for me and my fam, so get however much you want...and you can halve the recipe, or adjust it to the amount of meat you buy)
-1 jar Apricot Preserves
-1 Envelope of Dry Onion Soup Mix
-1 Bottle of French Dressing
-1 Cooking Bag (I get the Reynolds Cooking bags...make sure to look at the directions for the cooking bag and follow them! I know you will need 1tbsp of flour to put in it so it won't burst.)

Cooking Instructions:

Heat the preserves. Pour over the pork roast in the bag. Mix the soup and salad dressing. Pour over the preserves on the roast. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes per pound (check the pork..sometimes it takes longer than this to cook). ENJOY! Oh and we usually eat this with a yummy broccoli casserole...I will post that next...

The YUMMO recipe I promised to post!

Hey, Friends! Tweak this recipe however you like. That's what I LOVE about Rachael Ray recipes. They are easy, fast, and tweakable. :) For instance, with this recipe I do not use the edamame, scallions, or jalapeno pepper. I also use brown rice (in a bag), which I still boiled in chicken broth or stock to add a little more flavor. I also sprinkled a little teenie bit of ginger seasoning instead of buying ginger this time. I like to use what I have at home. All I had to buy this time was the pork chops. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have! (The juice it cooks in at the end is SO yummy. We keep what's left in the pot, and pour it over our pork and the rice.) Enjoy! :)

Teriyaki Pork Chops with Pineapple and Peppers

Serves 4

Submitted by

Rachael Ray

on 04/28/10

This traditional Asian pork dish served with rice and edamame is both sweet and spicy.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chicken stock, divided
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 cup white rice
• 1 cup shelled edamame
• 1 small bunch scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
• 4 thick-cut (1 1/2 inches thick) boneless pork shoulder chops
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 ripe pineapple, cut into chunks
• 2 red, orange or green bell peppers, cut into bite-size chunks
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce or reduced-sodium teriyaki sauce
• Juice of 2 limes
• 3 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
• One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced crosswise

Preparation

In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups chicken stock and 1 tablespoon oil to a boil. Stir in the rice and edamame and return to a boil, then cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer until the rice is cooked through, 15-18 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the scallions.

While the rice is working, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil, one turn of the pan, over high heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the pork chops to the skillet and cook, turning once, until just done, 7-8 minutes. Transfer the chops to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, one turn of the pan, to the skillet. Add the pineapple, bell peppers and jalapeño pepper and cook until crisp-tender and the pineapple is browning at the edges, 3-4 minutes. Transfer the peppers and pineapple to the pork plate.

Lower the heat under the skillet to medium-high and add the remaining 1 cup chicken stock, teriyaki sauce, lime juice, honey and ginger. Cook until reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Add the pork mixture, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with the scallion rice.

This is one of many "Yum-o!" recipes – it's good and good for you. To find out more about Yum-o!, Rachael's nonprofit organization, go to www.yum-o.org.