Annie's surprise baby shower

One of the girls in the nursing program is due November 28th!!!!  We had a surprise shower for her yesterday!  She had no idea.  She thought she was coming over to study.  She was so surprised.  :)  We also knew the sex of the baby, but she didn't, so we all got to buy pink and then when she opened up the first gift she found out she was having a GIRL!  It was pretty emotional!  Nursing school has led me to some amazing friends!!!!  My girls!  This is just some of us because not everyone could come.  Our little nursing student family is the best!  I think last semester we were with each other more than with our own families!

Fried Okra

Remember how we started our own veggie/herb garden?  Well thus far we have enjoyed (and ate!) 3 jalapenos, 2 tomatoes, basil, rosemary, and 3 okra.  We fried up the okra yesterday and it was delish!  OK, don't let the okra soak in the salt water overnight!  It was a little salty.....even for me.......and I LOVE salt!  Sean also made homemade chips from tortillas yesterday, which were so good.  We have pumpkin seeds to make and we have to get our pumpkin gunk baked and pureed for our homemade pumpkin pies for T Day!!!!  BTW, I highly recommend growing a green thumb and starting a garden!  It's fun.  :)

Ingredients:


•1 pound okra pods, stem ends cut off, sliced 1/4-inch thick

•salt

•cold water

•yellow cornmeal

•salt and pepper

Preparation:

Put sliced okra in a bowl, sprinkle generously with sal; cover with very cold water. Refrigerate the okra for at least 1 hour. Drain; roll okra slices in cornmeal seasoned with salt and pepper until well-coated. Fry in a deep skillet in about 1/2-inch of hot oil until browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

Haircut!

So Daddy gave Ry a haircut this time.  Usually, we take a trip to International Mall and go to this kids haircutting place, which I LOVE to do, but it is a little expensive.  So after much convincing, I gave in and let Sean give him a haircut.  He did great.....well, both of them did great!  I forgot to take a before pic, but you can just look at the shagginess in the pumpkin carving pics!  Here is his during and after shots.  Great job Daddy!!!!!!

Pumpkin carving

We thought Ryan was going to get super messy and really just dig right in and play with the pumpkin gunk, but he didn't!!!!!  He thought it was kinda icky!

Instead he just wanted to eat it!

Still snacking!

Final product, all lit up and on our front porch.

Pumpkin Patch

Little tyke maze

YUM!  Cheeseburger!

Big people maze

Hay ride

Cow.......or as Ryan says "kitty cat"

Pig (aka kitty cat!)

Ry made a friend....and is pointing out pumpkins to him!

Zonked!  On the way home!

Our second year going to the pumpkin patch in Masaryktown, bout 2 hrs from our house.  Last yr when we took Ry, he was only 6 mos old, so this time he really got to enjoy it!

"PANE!"

Ryan LOVES planes so last night we took him down to the Albert Whitted Airport in St. Pete and ate at The Hangar.  It is a restaurant that overlooks the runway and you can sit outside and watch the planes.  The food was delicious, too.  Ryan had so much fun.  We even got to go out and check the planes.  His kids menu is a plane that you build and then it has the menu on the little plane (see pic one).  :)

Deep dish pizza casserole

Prep:  10 mins
Bake:  20 mins

1 12 oz Velveeta shells and cheese
1 # ground beef
1 medium grn pepper chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 8 oz can pizza sauce
1/2 cup Kraft shredded low moisture part skim mozz cheese

Prepare mac and cheese.  Brown meat with green pepper and onion.  Drain.  Stir in pizza sauce.  Spoon dinner into 8 in square baking dish.  Top with meat mixture.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 375 for 20 mins. 

Makes 4 servings.

We made this last night and it was super easy and Ryan really enjoyed it....so did we!  :)

Simpler Souffle

When I was pregnant with Ryan and Sean and I had taken our anniversary trip to St. Marys, GA, I got a baby cookbook.  We made simpler souffle last night.  I have to say that Ryan did not eat it, but I think it was because he wasn't hungry, not because he wouldn't have liked it.  He LOVES eggs.  We saved his to give him this morning, but I forgot it was in the fridge and I had already made him cereal.....so later today he can try it again.  Either way, Sean and I enjoyed it! :)

1 can (10 oz) cheddar cheese soup
6 eggs, yolks and whites whipped separately

Combine beaten egg yolks and cheese soup in a casserole dish.  Fold in egg whites.  Bake at 400 degrees for 40 mins or until done.

Swing!

Day at the park

Bradley Classes

Sean and I started our first of 12 Bradley classes last night.  I LOVE our teacher and the class.  It is held in her home every Sunday night for a couple of hours.  If you don't know, the Bradley Metod is natural childbirth.  We learned a lot already in one class.  I have to start Kegels, walking 30 minutes a day to build endurance, Tailor sitting, back stretching and practice my breathing techniques.  We also learned about nutrition.  I have to keep track of everything I eat for the next 2 weeks to count my protein, which is very important during pregnancy.  I also learned that drinking OJ everyday (the vit C, of course) can help prevent premature ruputure of membranes.  Never knew that!  We also went over stuff I already knew like dehydration can lead to preterm birth and things like that. 

With Ryan, we certainly did not plan to have an emergency C section.  That was a loss for me that I had to grieve over for a long time.  I am very thankful that C sections are in place because in my case it was absolutely necessary and all that mattered in the end is healthy baby and healthy mama.  I don't know what God has in store for us with this one, but I do know we can be prepared for a hopeful natural childbirth. I have always wanted to experience it without any drugs and this way, we are ready for it (as much as we can be), if that is what He has willed for us.  However. the ultimate goal again is a healthy baby and a healthy mommy. 

Ryan got to eat at the great gram's house with grandpa and then came home.  Adrienne took over from there and got to play with him and give him his bath and bedtime routine.  We hear he had a great time!  :)

Hashbrown casserole

HASHBROWN CASSEROLE


1 (32 oz.) pkg. frozen hash browns (2 lbs.)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/2 c. milk

2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. pepper

2 c. grated cheddar cheese

1/4 c. melted butter

3 c. cornflakes, crush cornflakes in Ziploc™ bag, pour

melted butter in & shake.

Spray casserole dish with oil. Layer 1/2 hash brown first. Then pour 1/2 of soup mixture = cream of chicken, milk, onion powder, salt, & pepper. Then half of the grated cheese. Repeat… Hash browns, soup mixture, grated cheese. Top with crushed, buttered corn flakes. Bake at 350 for 45 min.

Courtesy of the Duggars - http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html

We made it yesterday and it is super easy and very tasty and not super sized.  :)

20 week anatomy ultrasound

Day 30 — A motto or philosophy

This is sort of a response to this question, but also just something that I read from 31 Days with God for Mothers that I love.  It goes like this:

"What a relief to simply let go of my need to do everything perfectly-and instead just do everything for You!  You know I'll always make mistakes; You know that sometimes my best efforts will look like failures to everybody else.  Thank You that I can simply relax and trust You to work everything out according to Your plan."  -Darlene Sala

VERY comforting words for a struggling perfectionist!


Have a blessed weekend! xo