more OAMC recipes

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 boneless chicken breast
2--14 1/2 oz cans chicken broth
1 tb. cumin
1 -- 14 1/2 can diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 can drained corn
1 can rinsed black beans
1 jar salsa (I like black beans and corn salsa, newman's own has a good one and so does Walmart)

Cook for 8-10 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high

When done take out chicken and shred, return to pot

Eat with Tortilla chips

to serve: put shredded cheese on bottom of bowl and add soup.YUMMY!! (I did not do this step and it was still awesome)

http://onceamonthmom.com/chicken-parmigiana/

Spaghetti- (this makes A LOT- you can use some of it to go with calzones, manicotti, chicken parm, etc)

3lb italian sausage

3 small cans tomato paste

3 chopped onions

3 chopped bell peppers

salt, pepper, garlic (or powder)

garlic

brown ground beef, drain fat. add tomato paste, onion, pepper, seasonings, water. cook on low 1 hour, add water to thickness desired.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/herbed-tomatoes-chicken-rice-69217.aspx

with this one, the cilantro and tomato to put on top didn't freeze well, but it was good without it

KING RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE

1 cup Onions -- diced
1 cup Green Bell Peppers -- diced
1/2 pound Mushrooms
1/4 cup Butter or Margarine
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 pound Cheddar Cheese -- shredded
2 cups Chicken -- cooked and diced
1 can Tomatoes with Green Chilis
1 clove Garlic -- minced
2 tablespoon Chili Powder
1 tablespoon Chicken Broth
12 Corn Tortillas -- torn into quarters

In a large pan, saut� onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms in butter, Add soups, tomatoes & chilies, garlic, chili powder, and chicken broth. Line bottom of a 9x13 inch pan with pieces of tortillas. Spread half the chicken over the tortillas and top with half of the sauce, then half of the cheese. Cover with another layer of torn corn tortillas, and repeat the chicken, sauce and cheese layers. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Serves 6

HOMEMADE SLOPPY JOES

2 pounds Lean Ground turkey
1 medium Onion -- chopped
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Prepared Mustard
1/2 cup Barbecue Sauce
2 tablespoons Catsup

Brown ground beef & onion in a large skillet and drain. Add other ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve on buns or over broken bread.

I added more ketchup and mustard than this called for because it tasted too "bbqy" to me, so taste test as you go :)

Chicken Chili

1.5 Lbs chicken
4 (16oz)cans navy beans
4 (4.5oz)cans chopped green chiles
1 C chicken broth
1 envelope white chili seasoning
Toppings: cilantro, cheese, avocado, tomatoes

Cook chicken at med high heat.
Stir in beans, chiles, broth, seasoning. Cover, reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 min.

http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/04/broccoli-and-cheese-stuffed-chicken.html this was really good, but next time I'll cook the broccoli a little bit before baking

http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/11/turkey-cutlets-with-parmesan-crust.html

http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/03/chicken-cordon-bleu.html

Taco soup-

2 lbs ground beef

2 cups chopped onion

2 15oz cans pink kidney beans

2 15oz cans corn, drained

1 14oz can Del Monte Mexican tomatoes

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

1 14oz can del monte tomatoes with chilies

2 14oz cans diced green chilies

1 small can sliced black olives, drained

1 pkg taco seasoning mix

1 1oz pkg ranch salad dressing mix

corn chips

sour cream

cheddar cheese

brown ground beef and onions in large skillet, drain fat. transfer to crockpot. add beans, corn, tomatoes, chilies, olives and seasoning. cook on low for 6-8 hours.- serve with corn chips, sour cream, and cheese

Brunswick stew- (don't drain anything)

2 large cans crushed tomatoes

1 can white creamed corn

1 can whole kernel corn

1 container bbq beef

1 container bbq pork

2 large cans chicken- white breast in water

1 medium onion, chopped

all ingredients in crockpot, low heat 1 hour

Porkchop casserole-

3 tablespoons olive oil

8 porkchops

1 1/2 cups rice

1 (10oz) can french onion soup

2 cups beef broth

1/2 cup chopped green onions

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder to taste

1 tablespoon butter

preheat oven to 350. in skillet, heat oil and brown pork chops on both sides. set aside. layer rice in casserole dish. mix soup, broth, green onions, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. pour mixture over rice. place pork chops over rice and liquid mixture. dab pork chops with butter. cover with foil and bake 50 minutes.

Corn soup- (I wasn't a big fan of this one, but here's the recipe if it sounds like you'd like it!)

1 large onion, chopped

1lb ham

1 link pork sausage

2 cans whole sweet corn

1 can cream corn

1 can stewed tomatoes in rotel

1 small can tomato sauce

1-1 1/2 cans water

2 large potatoes

brown onions with meat, cook 30-45 min. add corns, tomatoes, and cook 20 min. then add potatoes, 1 1/2 can water and cook 30 min. more

Gumbo

2 frozen cajun/creole seasoning mix

2 cartons chicken broth

1 whole chicken- deboned and cut up

1 lb sausage link

serve over rice

Manicotti-

1 8oz pkg manicotti

1 T veg oil

1 15 oz. carton ricotta cheese

1 16oz carton cottage cheese

1 cup mozz. cheese

1/3 grated parm. cheese

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 T fresh parsley

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce

boil manicotti, adding oil to water so they don't stick. meanwhile, mix ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, mozz, parm, salt, pepper, parsley and eggs. drain manicotti, run cold water over it. stuff each manicotti with cheese mixture. pour sauce around, cover and freeze. to serve- bake at 350 covered for 45 min. uncover and bake 15 min.

French bread pizza-

1 loaf unsliced french bread pizza (not sour dough)

3 cups spaghetti sauce

1/4 grated parmesan cheese

1 cup grated mozz. cheese

3oz pepperoni slices (1/2 package)

assemble on day it's served- put sauce in container, cheese in container, pepperoni in bag. wrap bread in foil. freeze together. thaw bread, sauce, cheese and pepp. slice bread in 1/2 length wise. layer sauce, parm. cheese, pepp. and mozz. cheese on each 1/2. set over to broil and/or 550. place bread on baking sheet and put in oven. broil until cheese is melted.

Red beans-

6 cans dark red kidney beans

1 onion chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

1/2 lb sliced picnic ham

1 T garlic salt

1lb smoked sausage

white rice

mix well ingredients together in a large boiler. add 3 cups water. cook on low for 2 hours. add water if needed. stir often while cooking. add sausage that has been cut into bite sizes. cook for 30 minutes. stir often. serve over cooked rice.

Chili Hamburgers

1lb ground beef

2 T finely chopped green bell pepper

1 T mincled onion

1 T chili powder

1 T chili sauce

1/4 t black pepper

1/2 t salt

4 hamburger buns

thoroughly mix all ingredients except buns. shape into 4 patties. freeze with wax paper between patties. thaw patties and buns, grill and serve on buns with shredded cheese (monterey jack)

chili verde-

8oz. dry pinto beans (1 1/4 cup)

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 4oz can chopped green chilies

1 tsp. ground cumin

3/4 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

3 cups water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup monterey jack cheese

1 dozen corn tortillas

1 11 1/2 oz. jar salsa

rinse pinto beans, soak in cold water overnight, then drain. cut chicken into 1" cubes, cook until no longer pink in small amount of water. combine with chilies and seasoning. refrigerate until needed. at same time, combine beans, water, bouillon cubes, garlic, salt and onion in large pot. bring to boil. reduce heat, simmer until beans are soft, about 1 hour. add more water if needed.

combine chicken and spices w/ beans. simmer 10 minutes. cool and freeze. to serve- thaw chili, simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

after defrosting/reheating- top w/ salsa and cheese, serve on tortilla w/ sour cream.

Chicken pot pie-

1 rotesserie chicken- deboned

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cans veg all

club crackers

combine first 4 together, put crackers on top & butter. bake at 350 for 15 minutes until crackers are brown. (when freezing, add crackers/butter just before reheating)

mexican lasagna-

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

2/3 cup water

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 15oz can black beans

1 can mexican rotel

6 flour tortillas

1 can refried beans

3 cups mexican cheese blend

cook beef, pepper and onion in skillet, drain. add water & taco seasoning, bring to boil. reduce, simmer (uncovered) 2 minutes. stir in black beans and rotel. simmer uncovered 10 minutes, place 2 tortillas in greased 13x9 dish. spread with 1/2 of refried beans and meat mixture. sprinkle w/. 1 cup cheese. repeat layers. top with remaining tortillas and cheese. cover and bake @350 for 25-30 min.

when freezing, just make the meat mixture- add the tortillas, refried beans and cheese after defrosting

Big Ideas

Over the past couples weeks I started thinking a lot about ways to save money and that lead me to think of some hobbies/activities that I really want to start doing.

One thing that I've been doing for a couple weeks is couponing. I'd like to get really good at it and be able to save hundreds of dollars in one trip, but I think I'm a ways away from that still. I've saved a good bit of money on my last couple trips and got a couple really great deals (free stuff, etc).

A couple more things that I'd really love to start doing soon-

• gardening: I'm planning on starting one soon... have to wait on some extra monetary funds to get this started.
• baking: I'm a big fan of baking in general and saw a couple yummy looking recipes for homemade bread. I'd love to start having more "from scratch" things in my house.
• sewing: I have a sewing machine and I've sewed a couple things, but nothing that required too much work or skill. I really would like to learn how to do it though, I'd love to be able to make cute dresses for the girls. Great money saver too!

Right now I'm working on keeping my house clean. With a 21 month old and a 7 month old, my life stays pretty busy, but it's starting to settle down some and I'm regaining control over my house!

I'm working with the flylady system. I'm on day 5 now and my house is looking pretty good :) Our bedroom is the last room to be cleaned, and that's on the agenda for this week.

Cooking Extravaganza!

This post is mainly just pictures, and explanations of the pictures :) To the left is my stocked freezer, full of all of these delicious meals. This time I made a list of all the meals I made, that way I can cross it off when we eat it and when I ask Andrew what he wants for dinner, and he says "what do we have?" I don't have to dig through the freezer to see what's left! I'm so smart... I know ;)












This is my chicken curry. We haven't eaten it yet, but I did a couple taste tests as I was putting the servings in freezer bags- pretty tasty! I was a little worried because mine does NOT look like the pictures from the blog I got the recipe from. I don't really know why. I think I might've burnt the flour/onion/apple mixture just a little bit, but I can't taste it at all, so I don't really know why it would've made SUCH a big color difference. Oh well. I'm looking forward to trying this one.... I'm always a fan of trying new things, and in this recipe I used several ingredients that I had never used before.








This is all of the ingredients for quesadillas. I've had 2 of these- they're GOOD! These and the calzones are my go to meals when Andrew's at work and I don't feel like making myself something. These you take out of the freezer, put in the oven for about 15-20 minutes and they're ready to eat. Not much thought required.







This is what's inbetween the layers of tortillas. It's chicken, cheese, tomatoes, green pepper, onion and a few different spices. I eat it with sour cream. Alexis even likes them, and for the most part eats the chicken and onions/peppers without even knowing that's what she just ate ;)














Chicken Tetrizini- this looks so good... another one I'm really excited about trying. I did a lot of recipes this month that had pasta in them. I didn't think that pastas froze well for the most part, but I got the recipes off of freezer meal blogs and the like, so I went with it. I'll report back :)







This is the cheese sauce for the mac and cheese... yum :) Alexis taste tested the mac and cheese before I put it in the bag. She seemed to like it- not a big surprise though, she would live off of mac and cheese if I would let her. Well, maybe mac and cheese and bananas....








Andrew was in charge of the girls for the day. After Alexis woke up from her nap, I heard lots of laughing coming from her room... so I went to see what was so funny. Osc (that's what Alexis calls our dog Oscar- Osc) and baby were going night night! Very funny stuff ;)








This is my stash of supplies as the cooking was first getting underway. I apologize for the unorganized order of the pictures in this post. I barely have the time to post this at all, so you'll just have to bare with me on this one :)









Meatloaf- in a crockpot! It was very tasty. However, I would either not cook it quite all the way. Or make sure it's 100% defrosted before reheating. I didn't have time to defrost it all the way, so I had to heat it longer in the oven and it was just a *little* dry. I dip my meatloaf in ketchup when I'm eating it, so I didn't really mind it- but if you make it, I suggest doing one of the above things to prevent it from being too dry.





Yummy calzones- canned pizza dough, cut into 4ths, add cheese and toppings- close and freeze (I wrap it in wax paper and then stick it in a freezer bag). Then I bake it straight from the freezer at 400 for about 30 minutes. Super easy for lunch or dinner when Andrew's at work :)
I also keep a jar of spaghetti/pizza sauce on hand in the pantry for dipping.






Stroganoff on the right and pizza pasta on the left. They both get things added to them after they're defrosted, but the hard work has been done and now they're sitting in my freezer.

It's gonna be a good month and a half of eating in my house! :)

Once a Month Cooking part 3

I didn't blog about part two, but this is the 3rd time I've done cooking for a month. I cooked in the beginning of January, again toward the end of February and tomorrow I'll cook again. It's nice that this "once a month" cooking is lasting longer than a month!

1. http://www.momsbudget.com/freezerrecipes/cheesyrotini.html

2. stroganoff (no "recipe" for this that I have written down. this is how my mom made it and she taught me without a recipe, but the jist is- 1lb ground beef, browned. add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 3/4 can milk, and 2-3 heaping spoonfuls sour cream. freeze w/ just ground beef and soup- when you defrost add the milk and sour cream. serve over egg noodles)

3. Brunswick stew

2 large cans crushed tomatoes

1 can white creamed corn

1 can whole kernal corn

1 container bbq beef

1 container bbq pork

2 large cans of chicken- white breast in water

1 medium onion

cook in crockpot 1 hour

4. pizza- mushroom and olives w/ cheese (I'm not freezing anything for this, just have the crust, mushroom, olives and jar of sauce in the pantry)

5. http://www.momsbudget.com/freezerrecipes/chickenquesadillas.html

6. http://www.momsbudget.com/freezerrecipes/seafoodpasta.html

7. manicotti (cooking this again from part 1)

8. http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/slow-cooker-cheeseburger-meatloaf-115338.aspx

9.http://www.momsbudget.com/freezerrecipes/lowfatpizzapasta.html

10. calzones (also from part 1)

11.http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/06/chicken-curry-over-rice.html

12.Chicken Tetrazzini
-3 c of cooked, cubed chicken
-½ c of flour
-2 c of milk
-½ c butter
-Can of cream of celery soup
-Small onion chopped
-1/2 c chopped bell pepper
-8oz can of mushrooms
-1 tbps basil
-1 c of chicken broth
-6oz of spaghetti
-1 sleeve of ritz crackers, crushed
-1/4 lb of shredded cheese
(You can personalize it and leave the onions/pepper/mushrooms out depending on your taste)
DIRECTIONS
1. Make white sauce of butter, flour, milk. Add celery soup and mushrooms, onion, bell pepper. Cook until tender.
2. Cook spaghetti in salted water until done.
3. Combine cooked spaghetti, white sauce and cooked chicken. Add basil and chicken broth. Put in 9 X 13 pan and top with crushed ritz and shredded cheese. 4. Cook at 350F until cheese is melted.

This meal makes a lot. We always get two meals out of it so you can actually put it in two 8 X 8’s or 9 X 9’s and freeze one. If you are freezing it, wait to put the crackers and cheese until you go to bake it to keep them from getting soggy.

(I, Sara, have not made this- the notes you see up there come from the person I got the recipe from :) )

13. mexican lasagna (from part 1)

15.http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/freezer-oven-mac-and-cheese/
16. kraft meatballs http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/jumbo-meatballs-95056.aspxhttp://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/jumbo-meatballs-95056.aspx
17. chicken tacos- cook chicken w/ salsa in crockpot- serve shredded w/ tacos (we actually went ahead and did this tonight, yum!)

I'll take pictures tomorrow and post an update after I'm done. My last endeavor took FOREVER. I had a lot of chicken recipes and wasn't very organized. So this time I have more ground beef, and I have a "battle plan" going in. Hoping it doesn't take too long because I have playgroup tomorrow in the morning and small group tomorrow night! And I need to make potato skins for small group tomorrow...

I stink at this

I can barely remember to brush my teeth... no wonder I forget about this blog!

My once a month cooking venture has been going great. I'm 4 months into the year and I've had to do it 2 times. I love it. I've already planned the menu for the 3rd cooking day, but I'm always looking for new meals that freeze well, so if you have any- please share! I'm also looking for cheaper meals to make too. This past month I made some yummy things, but I used a lot of chicken, which is expensive!

My focus the past few days has been on finances. We're cutting back a lot, out of necesity. I'd love to hear unique tips on saving money... in any area of life really!

Duty calls- my goal was to post a quick update and then head to bed, but Kaitlyn is awake, so I must feed her, and then get myself to bed.

Farewell!

Once a month cooking

Yesterday I spent all day at my friend's (Brooke) house cooking! She's been doing once a month cooking for about a year now, and I wanted to see exactly how she did it. So I loaded up all my groceries, cookware, 3 crockpots (I borrowed 2 from other friends), and my girls (and all their stuff!) and headed over to Brooke's house first thing in the morning. I got there at 9am and didn't leave until after 9pm! It was a long day, but I think in the end it will be worth it.
Brooke also promised me that in your own house when you're doing it by yourself it doesn't take nearly as long. She said she's normally done by 3-4pm when she starts at 8am. I had to stop several times to deal with the girls (bottle feedings, lunch, naps, snack, complete screaming fits from Kaitlyn that lasted a good 30 minutes), so I do think it wouldn't take as long if Andrew was home to watch Alexis and Kaitlyn.

We started the morning by chopping onions and green peppers. A good amount of the recipes called for either onions or peppers to be cooked with the meat. Then we started on the recipes, we started one meal in a crockpot, and one meal on the stove. Then we browned ground beef for another recipe. After a meat was cooked, we could start another crockpot going... we had a lot of crockpots! Brooke borrowed some from ladies at work, and her husband borrowed some from people at his work too.

most of our crockpots (we had 3 others that didn't make it into the picture)

I actually still have a couple things to do- our spaghetti sauce wasn't enough for all the things we were going to use it for, so instead of cutting out 2 of the meals, I'm going to buy 2 more cans of tomato paste and mix that (and some water) in. And my corn soup wasn't cooked by 9pm, so I just brought the crockpot home and let it cook on low the rest of the night.
I also need to put my calzones together, but that shouldn't take long at all, I just forgot my mozzarella at home, so I couldn't do it yesterday.

Here is what's on the menu for meals in the Gentry house for the next month---
taco soup
Brunswick stew
porkchop casserole
corn soup
gumbo (I won't attempt this one on my own- Brooke is from Louisiana ;) )
spaghetti
manicotti
individual pizzas (pepperoni)
red beans (this has red beans, sausage and ham... you make rice the day of to serve it over)
calzones
chili verde
chili hamburgers (these look good! they have green peppers, chili powder and chili sauce mixed it, I'm going to shred Monterrey jack cheese on top when we make them)
chicken pot pie
mexican lasagna (this is kind of a mexican casserole- tortillas instead of noodles layered in the dish)

it's going to be a yummy month!


this is what my freezer looks like now- I actually still have room for Alexis's breakfast stuff, some veggies, etc. And another pic a little bit closer up on the frozen meals. There are bags of veggies in the baskets too that you can't really see, but those make the baskets a lot fuller.

The night before I have to decide what we want to eat the next day and put it in the fridge to defrost. Depending on the meal, before serving I either put it in a casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes (give or take), or put it in a pot and stir for 15-20 minutes. Some of the meals I have to cook rice to go with it, or put it together (like the pizza). But these are much fancier meals than I would do on a normal night because they take too long! I'll report back in a month and let you know if it was worth it!

Back on the wagon

I'm jumping back on the blogging band wagon for 2010! I love being able to look back and see what has happened in my (and my family's) life over the past few months, and I feel like this is a great outlet to do that.

Since today is the first day of the new year I thought I would post about my goals for the year. I hate to use the term "New Year's Resolutions" because I feel like the definition of a new year's resolution is just something that you say for funsies and don't really mean! So, I'm saying that these are goals... not resolutions.

1. Run/jog a 5K- I need to be more active, and this is a great way to do it. I am going to start "training" on Monday. I'm looking forward to it (talk to me again Monday night and we'll see how I'm feeling!). I need to update my ipod with my new CDs I got for Christmas (yes, I got CDs. I still listen to music on CDs)

2. Start once a month cooking- I have a friend that does this and she's hosting a "how to" at her house next Friday. I'm really excited about this one. I feel like at the end of the day I'm drained from taking care of a newborn (is she still a newborn? she's 3 months old already! *tear*) and a toddler. I don't feel like cooking, and I definitely don't feel like cleaning up afterward! This way I can cook once a month, freeze what I cook and have precooked meals ready to go each day!

3. Limit my fast food intake to once a week- fast food is bad for you, we all know that. But I think it's unrealistic of me to say that I'll never have it again. There are some weeks that I don't have fast food at all, but then there are some weeks that things are so crazy I end up in the drive through several times. My goal this year is to not let that happen. Hopefully the once a month cooking will help with that.

4. Photo 365 I got this idea from my online mommy friend Jaimie. I love her blog, her blog inspired me to start blogging again. I'm going to take one picture every day in 2010. Not to say that many days I'll take more. If you follow me on facebook you know that I take lots of pictures! But there are days that I don't bring out the camera. This will also make me more intentional about the photos I take. I take tons of pictures of the girls, but hardly any of myself, or anything else for that matter! I'm excited about this one too.

So, there are my goals for 2010. I'm looking forward to see what 2010 has in store for me and my family.

On the move

Alexis started crawling at the beginning of May and is all over the place now! She's just recently (in the last few days) started venturing off of the carpet. When she first started crawling she wasn't so sure of the wood floors, but now if one of the dogs leaves the room she'll start to follow them until she decides they've gone too far.
She's also becoming more independent. Back at the end of April she started being really clingy and not wanting me to leave the room, ever! Now that she's more mobile I think she doesn't mind me leaving for a few seconds to go get something because she can follow me if she wants to, or she can find some trouble to get in ;)
She still doesn't have any teeth, but she's moving forward with big girl food just gumming it. She now eats table food at most meals (in addition to her formula). For breakfast she usually has a fruit or a waffle with some jelly (she's a fan of the jelly). For lunch she usually has a sandwich (grilled cheese, or some sort of veggie) and dinner a lot of times she just has little pieces of whatever we're having.
She's definitely growing up way too fast... I guess that doesn't stop. She's working on pulling herself all the way up. She's been able to pull herself up to her knees for about 2 months now. I think she's just lazy... she's so tall that she can reach most things just by getting on her knees :) So she stops there instead of working to get taller.

My pregnancy is going well. There are days that I don't even remember I'm pregnant... aside from the big belly. We've decided on a name- Kaitlyn. The middle name is still undecided. I like Grace or Charlotte... Andrew's not a huge fan of either of those, he likes Elizabeth (which is my middle name). I actually like it a lot too, but then her initials would be KEG and I just don't think I can do that.

If you're not friends with me on facebook, you should find me... I post pictures there on a pretty regular basis (at least monthly, but usually more often!)

Here's a couple from this month-

new videos and 9 month stats

Alexis hasn't stopped growing... she's still a big girl!

She had her 9 month check up on Monday, it was my favorite so far- no shots! They just measured her and answered any of my questions.

height- 31 1/4"
weight- 23 1/2 lbs

she's the size of the average 18 month old now :)




Here are a couple videos. The first one we went to the park and she "rode" the slide. She really liked it and did it several times, the last time she rode, we got it on video and she claps at the end!

The second video is her learning how to crawl, she finally figured out how to go forward, and is getting better and better!

March of Dimes- March for Babies

Hey guys, just passing this along for my friend Tina. She's raising money to walk this May. She's raising money in memory of her baby boy, Kevin. He was born in August of last year and died a little less than a month later (9-14-08) after putting up a hell of a fight. He was born with several health problems and God took him home early.

Tina is raising money so that some day soon all babies can live to see their first birthdays.

Please donate if you can, it's a great organization to support!


http://www.marchforbabies.org/tinapenny

Alexis's 6 month check up

Alexis is a big girl!

weight- 18 lbs 7 oz. (90-97th percentile)
length- 28 3/4" (above the 97th percentile)
head- forget the exact measurement, but it was above the 97th percentile

The dr. said she was as tall as the average 12 month old! She also said that Alexis was perfect, besides not wanting to support herself standing up. So I have to work with her on that. But she said that she wasn't worried because she's perfect besides that.
I asked how often she should be eating and the dr. said not to worry too much about that until 9 months. So I'm sticking with 1 meal a day for a little while She said formula was still the main source of nutrition until 9 months, so that's good!
I was also told that we needed to switch out our carseat... Alexis is getting so big!

Other updates- Alexis had a lot of fun on the cruise, she played on the beach and got lots of attention from everybody on the ship. She can almost sit up by herself now and is rolling all the time both ways. She LOVES the dogs and cats... it's funny to watch her interact with them.
Her next doctor's appointment is in April (9 month check up) and she doesn't have to get any shots then! woohoo! Her next set of shots isn't until her 12 month check up :)

The year in review...

I'm sitting watching tv... the ball will be dropping in 40 minutes! I thought I'd give everyone a recap of this year. It's been a great year!

January-
I turned 23 and had my first doctor's appointment. We got to see the little bean and everything started to become real!

February-
Happy Valentine's Day! My last day of work at Walgreens... yay! Went back to American Eagle part time

March-
I started this blog. We had the BIG ultrasound and found out we were having a girl! I started working on our great nursery and we got a fence in our backyard for our puppies :)

April-
I was nesting bad! Cleaned out the garage and completely rearranged so my big belly would fit in the car. Did my glucose test (yuck!). Started my birthing classes. Finished painting the nursery.

May-
Went to Gatlinburg on our babymoon. Finally finished our wedding scrapbook. Traveled down to Florida for my family reunion. It was my first Mother's Day... kinda, I think 2009 will be even better ;)

June-
I had my baby shower. Finished decorating the nursery. It's getting close to d-day! We aquired a new kitten, Butters!

July-
Alexis is here! July 24th 7:05pm 21" 8lbs 7oz. We love her so much! Unfortunately she had to go back to the hospital for jaundice, but she was home in time for August and Andrew's birthday. Andrew took 2 weeks off work, it was great to have him home.

August-
Alexis is one month old. Andrew goes back to work. The animals are adjusting well I think.

September-
Andrew went to play airsoft with some of his friends and I had a girl's weekend with Alexis and my best friend Sarah. It was Alexis's first roadtrip. Alexis started rolling over, holding her head up and smiling! She changes so quickly.

October-
Lots of fall fun and Halloween activities. Alexis is a princess for Halloween. We found a great church. We saw Wicked, leaving Alexis with her grandparents for the first time.

November-
Alexis voted in the election (or at least she helped mommy), we went to Mississippi to visit Andrew's family. Alexis and I went down to FL. for my family's Thanksgiving. Alexis started laughing a lot! Alexis also got RSV and we had to put her on a nebulizer :(

December-
Alexis is 5 months old and had her first Christmas! She had a great time and too many presents. We started Alexis on solids and she loves apple sauce and bananas!
Tonight Alexis is staying awake to ring in the new year with us! Only 15 more minutes :)

Merry Christmas!

and happy 5 months to Alexis! I can't believe Alexis is 5 months old already! CRAZY!!! Tonight we're celebrating Christmas with Andrew's side of the family. We're going out to eat with them to Ted's Montana Grill (yum!) and then going back to their house to open presents.
Tomorrow morning we're just doing our little family. I'm excited about that... I think it's nice now that we're a family to stay at home on Christmas morning.
Unfortunately, Andrew has to work tomorrow night, but he at least gets to be here for Alexis's first Christmas morning :)

Then on Saturday we're celebrating with my side of the family. My sister and her little girls are coming up and staying with my parents for almost a week. I'm going down there Saturday morning and then Andrew is meeting me there when he gets off work.

Alexis is a lucky girl... she gets 3 Christmases! We'll take lots of pictures and I'll probably post them on facebook sometime soon :)

prayer request

A friend of mine that I know through mymommytime.com posted this blog and asked her blog readers to pray... http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/ I thought the least I could do was to do the same.
This family needs your prayers. I can't imagine what they are going through right now. Please keep Kayleigh and her parents in your prayers.

quick update

I realized I haven't updated in a while, besides posting videos. Alexis had her 4 month check up right before Thanksgiving. She gots shots and got measured. She was 13 lbs 5 oz and 26 3/4". She's average weight and super, super long! Andrew of course is very proud that she's going to be tall like daddy (and mommy, but he doesn't include that when he says it).

After her check up we were able to start her on solid foods. The first cereal feeding is on youtube... I posted the video a while ago. She's liking cereal a lot more now. I've also started giving her applesauce mixed in with her cereal now. She LOVES that! she eats the whole bowl and then wants more.
We tried giving her peas last night, but I think they had too much texture for her, so we're going to try a few more things that are smoother and then come back to peas.

I'm getting really excited about Christmas! It's Alexis's first christmas and I know she won't remember anything, but it's been fun starting traditions. We're taking her to see Santa on Friday before our anniversary date (2 years!) and we've got her stocking and presents all ready to go.
I haven't decided exactly when to read them to her, but we're also going to start the tradition of reading the Christmas story and The Night Before Christmas every year... maybe Christmas Eve, but maybe Christmas morning before we open gifts. We'll see!

As mentioned above, Andrew and I are going out Friday night for our anniversary. Andrew's mom is coming up to babysit and we're going to see a movie (Four Christmases) and then we're trying out a new japanese steakhouse/sushi bar in town that's suppose to be really nice for dinner. It'll be nice to have a date night without baby in tow!

On Saturday I'm going to get my Christmas present done... I still haven't found anyone to go with me, since Andrew will be babysitting. In case you haven't heard... I'm getting a tattoo in honor of Alexis. I'm getting this vine, with the larkspur flower on it. The Larkspur is Alexis's birth flower. I wanted something to symbol Alexis, but I also wanted to be able to add something else for future children. So with this I figure I can add more flowers for my unborn children :)

100 things

Saw this on someone else's blog, and Andrew and I both did it :)

you bold everything that you've done...

1. Started your own blog (Sara and Andrew)

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (Andrew)

4. Visited Hawaii (A)

5. Watched a meteor shower (A)

6. Given more than you can afford to charity.

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain. (S and A)

9. Held a praying mantis (A)

10. Sang a solo (S)

12. Visited Paris (S and A)

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning (s and a)

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (S)

20. Slept in an overnight train (A)

21. Had a pillow fight (S and A)

22. Hitchhiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping (S and A)

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse (solar) (A)

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (s and a)

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise (S… A will in January)

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing (S and A)

40. Seen Michelangelo's David

41. Sung karaoke (S and A)

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (s and a)

46. Been transported in an ambulance (s)

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing (a)

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (a)

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (S and A)

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (A)

52. Kissed in the rain (S and A)

53. Played in the mud (S and A)

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class (A)

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen (A)

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching (A)

63. Got flowers for no reason (S)

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check (S and A)

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (S and A)

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (S and A)

l71. Eaten cavier. (S and A)

72. Pieced a quilt (S)

73. Stood in Times Square (S and A)

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (A)

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican (A)

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper (S and A)

85. Read the entire Bible (S and A)

86. Visited the White House (S and A)

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chicken pox (S and A)

89. Saved someone's life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous (S and A)- Sara- Hanson, Sara and Andrew- Mr. Belding J

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one (S and A)

94. Had a baby (S and A… S says A shouldn’t be included because S HAD the baby… but it doesn’t say gave birth)

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cell phone (S and A)

99. Been stung by a bee (S and A)

100. Read an entire book in one day (A)

more videos

we got one of Alexis laughing a bunch-




and one of her trying cereal for the first time-

videos

This is the mask Alexis has to use to do her breathing treatments... last night she started licking it-








in this one you can kinda hear her laugh. We were playing a game called "drop my paci and help me put it back in"





in this one she sits up by herself! look at those tummy muscles go!

Alexis has RSV :(

Alexis has been sick since Thursday/Friday, and it got worse and worse over the weekend. I called our insurance's nurse line yesterday and they said to definitely bring her to the dr. today.

She's had a bad cough, runny nose and wheezing when she breathes... the wheezing is the problem. So Alexis went to the dr. today and tested positive for RSV... which I guess is just a virus, like a cold... but it causes more wheezing, and if it gets bad enough can cause pneumonia or bronchitis and if it gets that far it can result in hospitalization.
So, Alexis had to do a breathing treatment in the office, which she hated and I hated for her. She screamed and screamed. We got a prescription for more meds and a nebulizer for her to do the treatments at home every 4 hours. So far I've done it at home once, it wasn't nearly as bad in the comfort of our own home. She was being poked and prodded at the dr's and to do the RSV test they squirted this stuff in her nose and then swirled a q-tip up in her nose. Poor little baby.

We have to go back to the dr's on Wednesday to see if she's getting better.

I hope she gets better because we are planning on going out of town for thanksgiving on Wednesday. I'm being optimistic and packing our bags today and tomorrow. I'm also baking cookies for the thanksgiving meal tomorrow. I can't do all that in the 1 hour I'll have inbetween her dr's appointment Wed. and when we're suppose to leave, so I'm just going to cross my fingers and keep praying!

So that's what's going on with us today. Alexis isn't having her 4 month checkup tomorrow since they're seeing her on Wednesday. If she's feeling better, they'll give her the vaccine shots Wed., but if she's like she was today she'll have to get them the week after Thanksgiving.

4 month and christmas pics

I just put up a whole bunch of pictures on my facebook... you can look at the pictures without being a member of facebook-

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033394&l=e099f&id=57700497

enjoy!