Posts (page 2)
I made hot dogs for dinner tonight and put sauerkraut on mine. Kate was intrigued asked for some. I said "Sure," thinking that she wouldn't like it. I should have known better since the girl does not have typical toddler taste buds and can down things like hot salsa, edamame, miso soup, broccoli, and pickles like there's no tomorrow.
She finished munching on it, looked at me and said "Mommy, more crap please." I said "Excuse me?" She pointed to her plate where the sauerkraut was and exclaimed "Katie love the crap. More please!!!" I about fell out of my chair laughing. I wish I had that part on video.
After I stopped laughing, I emphasized the correct pronunciation and she thought about it for a minute and said "Okay, sauerkrap. Katie love sauerkrap."She finally got the pronunciation down but still prefers to call it sauerkraut "crap." Take a look :)
Brad and I are in San Antonio this weekend. He has three speaking engagements and I tagged along for fun. His parents (Mimi and Poppy) are babysitting Kate while we're gone. We're so thankful for Kate to have two sets of grandparents that love her so much and shower her with incredible affection. I feel completely at ease leaving Kate in her grandparents' care which makes it possible to relax while I'm gone!
It's been wonderful to get away and spend time with just Brad! I like having him to myself :) While he's been preparing for presentations or speaking, I've been walking around town and reading Twilight (started yesterday and I'm on page 350 tonight. Read it!).
In other news, now that I'm 18 weeks along, I've been feeling Baby Garlando move a LOT. She (I'm referring to the baby as "she" even though we're still not certain) seems to think it's fun to squish herself up into a ball on the right side of my stomach when I'm laying down. I find this amusing because the left side of my stomach gets pre-preggo flat while the right bulges out like I'm smuggling a large mango. Every time she does it, I say in my best Arnold voice, "Its not a tumor!! (Sigh... I've always had a strange sense of humor).
I remember the feeling of complete awe when Kate would punch, kick, knee, or jab me while I was pregnant. I'm appreciative it feels the same way this time around. It's humbling and blissful to have carry a child. Not to say that sometimes I don't feel miserable with back aches, puffiness, and hormonal surges. I can't wait to see who this sweet baby will be and what she'll look like. I'm excited to see Kate as a big sister. She's very protective of those close to her and very loyal.
Speaking of sisters, I get to go to Boston with mine next weekend!!! Look at me, the continental traveler :) Woo hoo. Okay, that's enough rambling for tonight.
For the last three or four months, my friend Jaime and I have been trading meals each week. We make four family portions of the same dish. I keep two and give her two. It's saves a significant amount of money each week at the grocery store and I always have fresh and delicious home cooked meals ready to go. We usually steer clear of casseroles and try to find recipes with lean meat, whole grains, or vegetables.
Jaime and I bought a few books specifically geared toward freezer meals, such as Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer and Super Suppers. Since cooking lots of recipes from the freezer books, we have a pretty good idea of which meals can be frozen well. Now, we're adapting almost any recipe for the freezer. I highly recommend the first book, as it includes great information about storing food properly and saving freezer space.
Some of our favorite swaps have included: chicken tetrazzini, meatloaf, southwest pork and black bean stir-fry, homemade sausage and beef spaghetti sauce, meatballs, cranberry chicken, chili, broccoli bisque, chicken breasts in phyllo, brisket, chicken quesadillas, stuffed shells, and asian chicken lettuce wraps.
The weekly saver ads in the mail are a great place to find sales on overstocked meats. Usually we wait until we get the weekly saver on Tuesday before deciding what to make the following week.
Here's an example of the meal I am making for next week. I chose Paula Deen's Cola Basted Ham.
At the grocery store this morning, I bought:
cloves $ 6.49
Coke Classic $ 2.00
brown sugar $ 1.59
maraschino cherries $ 1.39
pineapple rings $ 1.29
12 pound uncooked cured ham $ 14.53
Total: $27.29
Okay, so the $27.29 feeds 7 people (sum of our two families) four times. This breaks down to $0.97 per person, per meal! Not too shabby, huh?
Of course this doesn't include a side dish (we just swap the main dish each week). We have yet to have a meal's ingredients cost more than $50. Even at $50, that's just $1.79 per serving for fresh, healthy food.
If you are looking for a way to save time and money, try new recipes, and eat nutritionally, try setting up a meal co-op with a friend :)
I like alliteration, okay? ;)
Here's a speedy Ottobre shirt I made for Kate the other day.
GIRL!!! Woo hoo :) Look how pretty she is:
If you're a frequent reader of my blog, you know that Brad and I are going to cloth diaper Baby Garlando :) Yesterday, Brad made a good point and asked why I haven't made any diapers for Kate! I think mostly because I would want to make her pink, frilly ones and if Baby Garlando is a boy, he would one day be donning pink, frilly diapers! Not that he would likely care. I think it might be funny.
Anyway, I decided to make Kate an AI2 Cloth Diaper last night. This is a DDU pattern in size large. It has a PUL outer layer, a hidden sherpa layer, and a cotton velour inner layer. The trifold soaker is one layer of terry covered with an old t-shirt. I serged the soaker layers together and it snaps right into the inner layer of the diaper. Removeable soakers are recommended for decreased drying time.
Brad insisted that I couldn't wake Kate up to try on the diaper last night after she fell asleep. Fine, fine! This morning, I told Katie I made her a "princess diaper" (tell the girl anything resembles a princess and she's sold) and asked if she wanted to wear it. She wore it for a couple hours and LOVED it. I think the cotton velour must feel divine on her hiney because she was doing her happy dance all morning while singing "Ooooh, so soft! My hiney soft!!!" haha. Anyway, I'm happy to say the fit of the diaper is great, the absorbancy is perfect, and it wasn't hard to make. More diapers for Kate (an eventually Baby Garlando) on the way. I still need to take pics of the newborn diapers for Baby Garlando. I'll do it when I'm done with a whole batch (2 dozen - yikes!!).
My friend commissioned me to make this baby sling for her girlfriend's baby shower. It's pretty much just like a hotsling but I added padding to one side because I remember when I used my hotsling with Kate, it would sometimes leave red marks on her legs. Anyway, the fabric (which I adore) is Michael Miller's Asian Toile. I seem to gravitate toward Michael Miller fabrics without meaning to. The recipient isn't finding out the sex of the baby, so I thought this print would work well with a boy or girl. Here I am with Kate giving the sling a whirl. (I didn't even feel like she was going to break my back).
I mentioned to Brad that I was tired of not sewing much lately, so in passing he suggested I start a new project. (I interpret said statement as "Take a long trip to the quilting store, drool over fabric, and buy stuff!"). Don't have to tell me twice, buddy.
Yesterday Kate and I went shopping and got the cutest, girliest Michael Miller fabrics and the pattern Britches and Bloomers. You can't really tell from my pictures but the bottom of the pants are ruffled and flare out a bit. I need a good tut for ruffling evenly, anyone have one? Maybe I just need to press more? Hmm...
Anyway, Kate will wear these Saturday when we have a party at our house. Please note the diva-like poses :)
So sorry for the embarrassing lack of posts lately. I have a good reason though! Brad and I are expecting baby #2 and I have been sick as a dog for more than a month now. I remember feeling nauseous with Kate and throwing up a lot, but I forgot how bad it was! I think most women must forget or everyone would just have one kid :) I have a great anti-nausea pill, Zofran, which helps a lot. However, insurance only covers 12 pills a month (don't get me started), so I have been using Phenergan and Reglan to help stretch the Zofran farther! We had our first ultrasound on Friday and it looks like Baby Garlando is expected to make his/her arrival by February 5, 2009. Kate keeps going back on forth about whether she thinks she will have a "brudder" or "sisser." Speaking of sweet Kate, she has been wonderful with me not feeling well. She has been watching more than her fair share of "Dora Boots" (Dora the Explorer) and the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" lately. A couple times I've taken her to the neighborhood pool, it's been 100 degrees and I've barfed. So, we've been parking it in the AC. She did get a lovely small indoor trampoline for her second birthday which has gotten tons of use.
So anyway, that's where I've been! I have made a couple newborn cloth AIO (all in one) diapers for Baby Garlando. I figure I'll cloth diaper this kid. Diapers are going up in cost 20 percent!! With gas prices sky high too, I figure why not make the darn things. It will give me a good excuse to sew and help the earth a smidge. I have three dipes done now and will post pics as soon as I have some more. Am I turning crunchy?
