What Will It Bee?

By Natalie

 I saw these invitations on Etsy and HAD to have them.  My cousin Katy made me a beautiful cake. It was perfect. I LOVED IT!

Everyone gathered around as I sliced the cake to reveal pink or blue icing. I envisioned Micah and I slicing it together like a wedding cake. He told me I'm a little too weird for him.

 Awww, It's a boy!

 Isn't the bee on top so cute? Katy made it with fondant.

 Here's the bee crew. They bought me the surprise shirt in Canton, and they all coordinated their bee outfits. Right down to baby Harper.

 Here's the lovely bee girls!

 After the party, we promptly drove over to Macy's and bought some cute BOY clothes. And my MIL when on a shopping spree and bought home so many cute outfits.

20 Weeks- It's a boy!

By Natalie

We had our 20 week appointment on Friday, December 2nd. The 20 week appointment was awesome! I've only had one sonogram at 8 weeks, and at that point the baby looks like a little bean.  It was completely obvious that it was a boy. He was NOT shy at all. The sonographer assured us that she was 100% sure and to go paint the nursery. Everything else looks great, 2 kidneys, 4 chambers of the heart, and good looking brain. The baby weighs 13 oz, right on schedule for 20 weeks 2 days.

Now, we just need to choose a name. I'm open to suggestions. I haven't a clue.

Pumpkin Lasagna

By Natalie

I found this recipe on Food Lush, and Caitlin found it in Real Simple magazine. It's really delicious. As with all recipes I changed it up just a bit. I took this dish to work, and the ladies really enjoyed it. It's really creamy, and the pumpkin is not overpowering at all. 

Pumpkin Lasagna

• 1 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
• onion powder
• 1 bag of frozen spinach*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 cups of heavy cream
• 1 cups (6 ounces) grated Parmesan
• 1 1/2 18- to 24-ounce packages refrigerated cheese ravioli

1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. In a large skillet, over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the spinach and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 7 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper, and the nutmeg.
3. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, cream, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, and the remaining salt and pepper.
4. Place a layer of ravioli in greased 8x8 baking dish. Top with half of the spinach mixture and almost half the pumpkin mixture. Top with another layer of ravioli. Repeat with the remaining spinach mixture and all but 1 cup of the pumpkin mixture. Top with the remaining ravioli, pumpkin mixture, and Parmesan. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

*I originally used fresh spinach and then it didn't look like enough, so I added some frozen spinach to the mix. You can use fresh spinach, you just might want to use 2 bunches.

18 Weeks- Boy or Girl

 Baby is the size of a large tomato this week. Baby turned 18 weeks on Wednesday, November 16th.

Pumpkins in the fire place is an idea I stole from Pinterest.

I looked up some old wives' tales to see if it is a boy or girl.

1.  Heart rate- heart rate was over 140 BPM, so it's a girl.
2.  Key test- If you pick up a key at the largest part, it's a boy. Who picks up a key at the narrow part anyways? 
3. Mayan Tale- Mother's age + year of conception= 29 + 2011= 2040, even number means it's going to be a girl.
4. Acne- If you have acne during pregnancy it's a girl. Unfortunately I have acne.
5. Cravings- I want salt. Therefore I'm having a boy.
6. History of parents' kids- I'm a first born, I'll have what my mom had starting off with her second child, which is a boy. I'm having a boy.
7. Legs- I have tree trunks for legs, therefore I'm having a boy.
8. Chinese Calendar- Says its a boy
9. Dreams- Dreams show the opposite of what you are having. Therefore I'm having a boy.
10. Side you rest on- I prefer to rest on my left side, which equals a boy.
11. Hands- I show my hands with my palms up, so I'm having a girl.
12. Dad's weight gain- He hasn't gained any weight. We are having a boy.
13. Morning sickness- No morning sickness means it's a boy!
14. Breast test- Left is bigger, therefore a girl it will be.
15. Hands are dry- Mine are cracking. So it's going to be a boy.
16. Nose- My nose is staying the same, therefore I'm having a girl.
17. Baby Name- I can think of a girl name, but not a boy. So I'm going to have a girl.

It's a boy: 10
It's a girl: 7

We shall see on December 2nd! I CAN'T WAIT!

Crockpot Tuesdays

By Natalie

My sad little crock pot has been pretty busy. I use the crock pot at least once a week. Here's what I've been cooking lately.....

I posted on Food Lush about Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup

Low Fat cheesy chicken from Crockpot Moms on Facebook

I tweaked this recipe because I couldn't find all the ingredients. Pour a can of broccoli and cheese soup, 2 chicken breasts (I used frozen ones), and 1 can of cream of chicken soup. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. When I got home I boiled up some noodles, and then poured the cheesy chicken mixture on top.

BBQ porkloin is another one of my favorites to cook up. It's so easy. It's my go-to when I'm feeding a large crowd.

I also made Taco Soup which is one of my cold weather favorites. We've made this in my family for years, but not necessarily in the crock pot.  This is really a recipe that you don't need to cook all day. It usually takes me about 20 minutes to make anyways when I'm not using the crock pot.

When I cooked it in the crock pot, my only problem was that it was a little bit greasy. You can solve this problem by browning the meat before hand or skimming off the grease before serving it.

Taco Soup

• 1/2 pound of hamburger meat
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 can of corn (drained and rinsed)
• 1 can of green chiles
• 1/2 a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
• 1/2 a packet of Taco Seasoning
• Optional: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips

1. Brown the meat. Drain fat.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Add a little bit of water if looks to thick. Bring to a boil, and then let simmer 10-15 minutes.
3. Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips.

Casper

By Natalie

Micah had a bachelor party to attend in Houston, and I tagged along for the ride. This worked in my favor because I got to hang out with Shannon. When I arrived on Friday evening, I was a little worried she would want to go out. I had originally told her that I was going to arrive at 10-11, and when I showed up at her door at 9:30......Instead she needed help making Martha Stewart's no sew ghost costume. Except we totally had to sew, and there was lots of math involved. Don't you think it turned out cute?!  I'm a toga goddess. This was a spare costume I had in my closet. It has never been worn, and it fit. Golden!

I went down to College Station on Saturday, but that's all that I'll mention. I had a glorious time with Brandi and Shannon. It felt a little bit like a fish camp reunion because we were at Nick's tailgate most of the time. And we went saw Laura on the ramps at Kyle, and she shared some good news with us.

When Micah picked me up on Sunday he brought this luxurious "cupcake" with him. It was very tasty, and might as well've been called a mini-cake. Because it was HUGE.

On actual Halloween, we handed out candy for the first time since we've lived here. Usually we go over to the Gilmores, but Bryan was out of town.  Barley spent the entire night thinking he was getting visitors. Poor puppy.

How did you spend Halloween?

The Blathering Recap

By Natalie

Jennie wanted me to go to the Blathering. It was only $35 and in Austin so bit the bullet and signed up. I wasn't sure what to expect. I felt pretty good knowing that I would know several people through book club, and if all else failed I could just hang on to Jennie's arm.

On Friday, I took a half day and rode down with Julie. She is my kind of driver, she never stops. That's my rule in my car, except usually Micah needs to make a stop.

We walked in to a beautifully decorated room, and we got these adorable name tags. I felt a little overwhelmed by all the eyes on me when I walked in. It was great to meet so many people....finally!

The above 2 photos were taken by Kristie 

After Jonna and I were worn out, we headed over to Natalie's house, our gracious host. Natalie's house is really awesome, and her backyard is an oasis. But, before we made it to Natalie's we had to make a pit stop at Whataburger. Jonna had never been there before!

Saturday morning, some crazy pants people went on a 6 mile run. I attempted to sleep in with little success.

Jonna and I got moving and met up with the ladies at the Gypsy Picnic. The picnic was really fun! I tried Torchy's Tacos  and a HUGE do-nut. I couldn't even finish the do-nut. I tried some waffle fries and they were sub par. They were $4 and after my astute calculations I found each fry to cost about 50 cents. NOT WORTH IT.

Jonna & Jennie

Christina chowing down!

After the picnic, we walked all the way to the capitol building for the book fair. I will take full responsibility, it was my idea to walk there. This was such a bad idea. My foot swelled up to one fat sausage. I thought I was going to have to perform surgery to get my sandal off.  The book fair was a total bust. I thought it would be this giant room of tables with books and some authors. It wasn't like that at all. In fact the most interesting that happened was we saw this total hoochie pulling a Britney Spears. Not cool. We took a cab back to Jonna's car.

Being pregnant, I was hungry. We made our way over to Home Slice. We ran into some of the Blathering gang, but they were on their way out. Linnea was just arriving so she had a slice with us at the bar. She's preggo too, and very close to my due date. That brings the total to 4 pregnant people in our book club!!! After sufficiently being stuffed we went back to Natalie's for a little lie down. I contemplated not showering, but my feet were just too black.

For dinner, the organizers planned a fabulous dinner at Z Tejas. When I pulled up, I realized that I had already been there before. I went for my friend, Brandi's bachlorette party. She's also pregnant (2 weeks behind me!).

Taken by Jess (Me, Jennie, Jess, and Kristie)

Jennie and Kate

The dinner was really delicious, although I wasn't that hungry. I enjoyed the chocolate pie best.

I looked lovingly at the margaritas too. There was queso too! At dinner I sat with Elsha, Jen, Jonna, Kate, Jennie, Kristie, and Carissa. I mingled with Sarah, Jess, Elizabeth, Christina, and Erica. I wish I had mingled a little more. I feel like there were a few people that I didn't get to talk to at all. Jonna and I were pretty tired after dinner (it ended at 11!), and went back to Natalie's to catch some z's. Jonna also had a butt crack of dawn flight.

On Sunday, we met up at the Blathering living room for the last time for breakfast. I tried to chat with a few people that I hadn't met yet. I was so happy to see that Julie was there. I forgot to arrange a meet up with her to take me back to Dallas. Oops!

This was a great girl's weekend with some very lovely people! Check out the Blathering website for much more eloquent recaps, and the Flickr group for pictures. I didn't take too many pictures!

Berry Trifle

By Natalie

 
During an especially busy week, I needed to make a dessert that would be ready in 10 minutes. My co-worker had just the recipe. This is so easy, and a crowd pleaser. I made the trifle and took it over to Jennie's and my co-worker made it the next day and brought it to work for a birthday celebration. Micah pretty much demolished what was left over.

Berry Trifle

• 1 package of frozen angel food cake (Sarah Lee is preferred)
• 1 family size box of instant vanilla pudding
• 1 can of sweet and condensed milk
• 1 package of frozen berries
• cool whip
• Nuts for garnish (I used walnuts)

1. Cut angel food cake into 1 inch cubes. Layer half of the angel food cake on the bottom of the trifle bowl.
2. Place half of the frozen berries on top of the angel food cake.
3. Mix the vanilla pudding with 2 cups of milk and 1 can of sweet and condensed milk. Pour half of the pudding mixture into trifle bowl.
4. Layer again-angel food cake, berries, then pudding.
5. Top with as much cool whip as you desire and sprinkle nuts on top

Natalie's tips: I couldn't find Sarah Lee frozen angel food cake so I used one already made in the bakery section of the grocery store. If the berries have lots of ice deposits on them, place in a strainer and run them under hot water. Blot dry with a paper towel. If you can't find family size pudding, use 1 cup of milk and 1 can of sweet and condensed milk.

Decorating in my dreams

By Natalie

On Sunday, I took a luxurious nap. When I woke up I had a great idea for a nursery, if it's a girl. This is just a rough sketch. I like the idea of red & white. This would be the accent wall that the crib would be on.

The bedding could be something along this color scheme with a white crib skirt. I'm thinking white furniture.

This was the other idea I had with a pink accent wall. The color is hard to see in this picture.

If it's a boy, then Micah wants turtles. You have to understand Micah's love for turtles. He can spot turtles anywhere. I joined Pinterest to find some ideas! Here's what I found.

I consider myself pretty lucky. My mom is VERY creative and VERY talented.  When I showed her these sketches, she liked the tree one best. Then I told her that Micah wants turtles; she said she draws really cute turtles. PERFECT. Granny and Mom sew too!

What are your ideas? What do you like best?

Chicken Posole and Pumpkin Chip Cookies

By Natalie

This weekend we fell off the wagon big time. On Saturday, I had Whataburger AND Taco Bueno. Micah had Whataburger AND Chick-fil-a.  On Sunday, I was determined to eat at home. Except we had no food.

I checked my google reader and found the Chicken Posole recipe from Eat at Home. I had almost every ingredient except carrots. Her recipes are always HUGE; she has a large family. Be sure to half them! I tweaked her recipe just a bit.

Chicken Posole

• 2 frozen chicken breasts
• 1 can of hominy (if you don't have hominy, use corn)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of jalapeno salsa (you can find this in the Hispanic foods, if you can't look for chopped chiles)
• 3-4 carrots, sliced & peeled
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of chili powder
• salt & pepper

Add all ingredients to crockpot and stir to combine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

I served it over rice, I do not recommend this. You can serve it with tortilla chips. Sour cream and avocado would probably be good on top too. Since I did not have any carrots, I used frozen ones. This was a sad choice. Real carrots are much better!

For dessert we had Eat at Home's pumpkin chip cookies. Remember how I said to half every recipe? You'll want to half this one for sure. I made about 4 cookie sheets worth. Our co-workers are going to love us.  Having a double oven really came in handy!

What's your favorite fall dessert?

Run For the Son 5K, 10K

By Natalie

This weekend Micah ran a 10K and I ran the 5K.  My doctor brought up exercising at the 8 week appointment and said that I'm clear to do anything that I want. He said it would be fine to run. I haven't been running very much. I wanted to make it out of the first trimester before I got back into it. The first trimester I did yoga three times a week, and some swimming on occasion.

Micah is training for the White Rock half marathon on December 4th. This was his first official week of training. The training schedule called for 3 mile runs on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I thought this was a bit bizarre. I thought he would run a 4 or 5 miler on Wednesday. But, come race day he had no problem!

Neither one of us wanted to wake up and go to the race. At least we finished! I finished my 5K 31:38, and Micah finished his 10K in 1:02:25. Micah wanted to finish in under an hour. He was disappointed with his time, but I think I slowed him down the first loop. The 10K course was just the 5K course twice.

Before the race I had Chex cereal. After I crossed the finish line I had an orange. They were offering yogurt and breakfast burritos, which did not sound very good. When I got home I made us eggs sandwiches with a cup of hot mango tea.

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

By Natalie

As I grow older, I find myself becoming more and more like my parents. It's like we are related or something.

When I was growing up my dad would over estimate A LOT. He would say that he's turning 50 when he's only 45. He loves to round up.  I found this pretty annoying, why wouldn't he just say how old he is?  I understand it's hard being old and sometimes your forget EXACTLY how old your are. For most of a year I thought I was 27. Good thing I had Jennie to remind me that I was only 26. And this year when someone asks me how old I am, I say, "I'm going to be 30 in December." Why can't I just relish being 29 for a few more months?  Ask dad how far away  something is and he'll overestimate by an hour. This is SO me.  Micah would ask me how far away Austin is, and the distance would get longer by an hour every time he asked.

My dad loves to dance. He'll start snapping his fingers and dancing around the kitchen at a drop of a hat. He's not gifted with dance, and I'm not either. But, we sure try. If I watch So You Think You Can Dance, I'm leaping and spinning all around my living room.

My rule following comes from my dad. I follow the rules, and so does Micah. This is one area we can agree. Although sometimes I get a streak of my mom in me, and want to cut some corners and break the rules.

Y'all remember that personality test, Meyers & Briggs? My dad loves Meyers & Briggs.  He'll say this is my "E" coming out, or I have a "J." I always thought we were both the same (ESTJ). We have a little extrovert where mom and Jordan have the "I." Anyone else in 2011 still live by Meyers & Briggs?

I'm like my mom in many ways. We have the same smile. We look so much alike except she has blond hair. She'll tell anyone that I look like my dad. What do you think?

 Sometimes when I'm talking, I think I sound just like my mom. Not that I'm saying what my mom says, but my pitch and tone. A little bit creepy.

At work, I have to draw silly pictures a lot. I'm such a visual learner, so I assume all my students are too! My co-workers like my drawings, and I think this is hilarious. Compared to my mom I'm terrible at drawing.

My entire family is pretty avid readers. My mom and I's ability to tune everyone (SPOUSES!) out is a pretty nice trick while reading. I remember growing up I would have to put my hand on her book and say, "MOM!" to get her attention. Micah has to do this all the time, except he doesn't say, "Mom" more like "HELLO ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"

My mom is a special educator. I taught special education for 3 years, and then went back and got my masters. Now I'm a Speech Language Pathologist and work with students with special needs. Funny how things turn out, especially when my degree is in psychology.

I can't wait to see what my child will take from the both of us. Will the baby be a mixture or strictly like Micah? I hope my child gets my organizational skills, humor (I'M THE FUNNY ONE), and studiousness. From Micah I hope they take his smarts and attention to detail, but my ability to finish a task!

 This is me at 13.5 weeks. Baby is around the size of a peach. Don't mind my extra wrinkly shorts.

Roasted Tomato Pasta

By Natalie

I'm shopping in Central Market on Monday. I give Micah a ring.

Me: Can you make me some mozzarella this week?  I need it by Wednesday.
Micah: Sure.
Me: Are you sure? Because I can buy the mozzarella right now for $3.80.
Micah: I'm sure.

Well, guess what? Wednesday comes and there is no mozzarella to be found. I will cut him some slack because he has been telling all his friends face to face our news on Monday and Tuesday night.

Since we didn't have any fresh mozzarella balls. I used shredded instead. I found the Penne with Roasted Tomatoes and Mozzarella recipe from Foodie Bride. Because of my brain not working and my lack of ingredients I had to modify this recipe. It's really easy and comes together in about 25 minutes.

Roasted Tomato Pasta

• Pint of cherry tomatoes
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 lb of pasta, I used rotini
•  1/4 cup starchy water
• shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Slice tomatoes in half and place in a small baking dish. Sprinkle with olive oil and fresh basil. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes.
3. Bring a water to boil and add pasta. Cook pasta to desired doneness, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water. Then strain pasta.
4. Add a little bit of pasta water to the pasta. This will prevent sticky pasta.
5. Smash tomatoes up a bit, then poor entire contents of baking dish on top of the pasta. Add a bit more starchy water if necessary.
6. Garnish with shredded mozzarella.

This recipe can also be transformed by pouring the roasted tomatoes over navy beans!

BIG NEWS

By Natalie

I have been waiting for almost 13 weeks to tell everyone...I'M PREGNANT! This is such a hard secret to keep!!

I had a doctor's appointment at 4:00 on Friday, October 7th. We heard the heartbeat and were so thankful.  Then we packed our bags and drove to Katy to tell his folks!

I've been feeling fine. I want to eat everything and am pretty tired. Micah says this is nothing new, I'm always tired and hungry.  I haven't been sick, and hopefully I won't since I've made it out of the first trimester.

We are so excited and I can't wait until April to meet the little guy/gal!

Corn and Avocado Quinoa Salad

By Natalie

Have you jumped on the quinoa band wagon? I think it's pretty good if you add lots of spices and veggies. It can be bland if you try to eat it like rice. It is a great source of protein. I found Toasted Quinoa Corn and Avocado Salad on Ezra Pound Cake.

Let's get real, I don't have time to sit around and toast quinoa. I just boiled it like I normally do with all the spices.

Also, I don't have time to shuck corn and cut all the corn off the cob. I just go the easy route and use frozen corn. That I always have on hand. I just zapped it in the microwave for 30 seconds before I added it to the salad.

What's your opinion about cilantro and parsley? It's usually pretty cheap, but I don't like to waste my money on these herbs. When I buy them, I use about 1/8th of the bunch and the rest goes bad. So, I usually omit it from the recipe.

A few years ago you would've never seen me eat an avocado. Now I love them. I really like guacamole too. Wholly guacamole is one of my favorites. I don't eat guacamole at restaurants too often because it usually has GIANT crunchy onions. <shiver>

P.S. Do not forget to rinse the quinoa before you eat it! You will need a super fine mesh strainer.

Orzo Salad

By Natalie

This Orzo Salad has everything in it except the kitchen sink. Ezra Pound Cake suggests adding in pepperoni, cucumber, olives, red bell pepper, and basil. I added all of these additions except olives.

I goofed at the store and forgot to buy ditalini pasta AND navy beans. I made some substitutions, and everything turned out all right. I used orzo instead of ditalini and black beans instead of navy beans.

This pasta stays fresh for a few days. I had it for a few lunches.

Breakfast for Dinner

By Natalie

I was not in the mood to cook, and bacon sounded really good. I decided to make breakfast for dinner. I'm a BIG fan of breakfast. I could eat a bowl of cereal 3 times a day.  Right now, I show restraint and just eat cereal twice a day.
The cinnamon rolls are from a can. Gasp! They were so gooey and sticky. Say what you will, but cinnamon rolls from a can are delicious.

I poured most of the bacon grease out and just left a little bit to cook the eggs in. Micah was overjoyed with this plan. He LOVES bacon and especially eggs cooked in BACON.

What's your go to meal when you don't want to cook?

Indian Chicken

By Natalie
  

In Boston, we went to an Indian restaurant with the most delicious sauce. I wanted to eat the sauce with a spoon! I think I made something similar with this tomato-yogurt sauce. Micah said that it doesn't taste like the sauce at all. What does he know?

The day before I made zucchini pasta and had so many vegetables that I saved some to serve as a side with this Indian dish. I poured some of the sauce on the veggies to tie it all together. I also served naan. Bread is so good.

I used boil-a-bag rice as a short cut. I boiled the rice in chicken broth and one clove of garlic (minced). I'm unable to cook rice without making a huge mess. I pretty much only have boil-a-bag rice on hand.

You can find the recipe for Indian chicken here from Foodie Bride.

Mini Eggplant Pizzas

By Natalie

I found this recipe on Food Lush, the site that I write for on Fridays.  I was a little bit leary about this recipe, because I don't like eggplant.  I'm trying to be brave, so I thought I would try it.

And, I'm happy to report they turned out great! Cheese always makes things taste great.

I do need to remember to cook eggplant earlier in the week. I do all my shopping on Monday, and waiting 5 days to eat it, is a bit too long. Nonetheless, it still turned out great. Now, to convince Micah to taste some. He told me I'm supposed to make his pizzas on naan that we had leftover from last night.

Here's how I made it:

• 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
• handful of basil
• Italian seasoning
• mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice eggplant into horizontal 1/2 inch- 1 inch slices.
3. Place eggplant on cookie sheet, brush olive oil and sprinkle salt on eggplant. Cook for 6 minutes, turn and cook for another 6 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat tomato sauce in small sauce pan. Add 1 tsp of Italian seasoning and handful of chopped basil. Cook on low heat until eggplant is done.
5. Add sauce and sprinkle cheese on cooked eggplant.
6. Cook about 3 minutes until cheese is melted.