Hello, Goodbye, I don't know why you say hello, I say goodbye

Excuse the random title of this post, I have the Beatle's songs in my head. 

Well I have quit this blog for awhile, which kind of saddens me. I do LOVE blogging although I made a private blog as a journal for my little Owen that I am going to devote my time to now. I really want to document his life. I don't feel comfortable posting pictures of him on the web for just anyone to see. So for now I won't be posting on this blog but I may post recipes or random things every great once in awhile.

So tah tah for now:) 

Owen's Special Day

Yesterday, 10.14.12;

We had Owen's blessing day yesterday! He looked so precious in his little suit! I am so grateful for all our family that joined us for this special occasion! 

The whole day was beautiful. The weather was fantastic and I just felt so blessed all day. Tay gave him such a sweet blessing and my Aunt Patty wrote it down so I won't forget the sweet words that were spoken that day. 

Well my love for this little guy keeps growing everyday. He is everything I need. When Tay gets home and ask me how my day went I always say great! I have not had a bad day since he was born (I am sure that will change once he is a toddler:) I can honestly say being a mother is MUCH better than I thought it would be. I have always wanted to be a mom but I knew it would BE WAY HARD. I know it will be once he is older but now he is just the sweetest thing ever. He is a really good baby. He has been sleeping through the night since 4 weeks. Another thing, I am proud of is that we have not spent one dime on him since he was born. Yep I feel blessed. I was kind of worried how we were just going to live off Tay's income but we have managed to financially support ourselves for a year with just Tay working. I have learned to fully put my faith in God as we pay our tithing and live accordingly, things really do work one way or another. 

My heart is full of joy, love, and gratitude, now I know what other mothers mean when they say it really is impossible to know how much you can love someone until you have one of your own. 

Owen, the more I serve you the more I love you! I thank the Lord everyday for your sweet presence in my life.

I have been slacking on blogging because I was introduced to instagram. I also am busy being a mom, wife, and student. But this was a very special day and I wanted to write about it:)

Food= Happiness

Well I have been fortunate enough to receive meals every night since last night (which has been heaven, food really just makes me so happy, ask my husband he can testify). 

I am now back to thinking up meals and making them. Which I don't mind making them at all, it is the coming up with something to eat. I still have my freezer meals that I made but I want to save those for nights that I don't have time to cook. 

Anyways I have been meaning to post my bread recipe (actually it is my Dad's recipe)

(this is for you Dallas)

Whole Wheat Bread

(I actually use a bread maker because it is so easy and makes our condo smell amazing.)

Ingredients:

1 c. of cold water

1 tbls. of black strap molasses

2 tbls. of lecithin

2 tbls. of olive oil

2 tbls. of honey

3 c. of freshly ground whole wheat flour

2 tsp. of dough enhancer

2 tbls. of gluten

1 tsp. of sea salt

1 tsp of yeast

Directions:

place ingredients in the exact order as given above into bread pan. 

after you add flour make a little circle in the middle place dough enhancer, gluten, and sea salt on each side of the circle. in the circle place the 1 tsp of yeast.

place in bread machine 

set for baking

Press:

Menu: 3

Color: light

Loaf: 1.5

START

Bakes for 3 1/2 hrs. 

That easy!

 (I don't know what type of bread machine you have so the buttons might not be the same).

Oh and have I mentioned that I love being a mom!? This post has taken me forever to write because I keep stopping to munch on my little guy's face. I really can't leave him alone. Luckily he doesn't mind being kissed all the time. Tay and I take turns munching him. 

LOVE MY BABY BOY! 

A Slice Of Heaven

I am so grateful I am able to stay at home and be a mom to this innocent, sweet, loving baby. I was worried that I would miss our single life with no baby, but this little boy has added so much joy and happiness that I didn't know I could feel. I am so grateful for the time Tay and I got to have with just each other but this little guy has added so much to our marriage and I am grateful for that. I look forward to all the stages, even the  hard ones that I know will come with being a mother, but luckily I am not alone. I have the loving Lord that entrusted us with one of his children and my supportive husband. 

Little Man

I feel so blessed that we have a healthy little boy. That was really the biggest concern that I had. Everything went so well I only had to push for 40 min (which only seemed like 20 min.) Granted I have never felt so much pain in my whole life with contractions but after I got the epidural (after waiting for hours) that is when everything just seemed to go perfectly. We were in the hospital for 3 days and I really didn't mind it, I was actually scared to go home in case anything happened to the baby, there was not that red nurse button on my bed that I could press if I needed anything. Well once we got home, we settled right in, Tay and I eased into parenthood a lot easier than we thought. 

We honestly just can't get enough of our little person, he has brought such a sweet spirit into our home. I love to sing him hymns every night and morning. He really is such a pleasant little baby. 

Here are a few pictures of our first few days at home:

His first bath at home:

I just can't get over how little he is, Tay and I just stare at him all the time. He looks like a little doll sometimes.

He sure loves his swing.

All bundled up ready to go to his first doctors appointment. 

Well to say the least I love this baby so much. I love this little new born stage and I cherish everyday because I am worried it will go by so fast. 

Freezer Meals

Well I have been extremely productive the past 2 weeks, organizing, cleaning. I am now out of things to do so I decided to take my sister's advice and make some freezer meals. I was so excited to do this. 

I made:

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Goulash

Wild Rice Chicken Casserole 

Spinach Lasagna 

Healthy Corn Muffins

& yummy homemade maple syrup 

Here are the recipes:

 Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas:

1/3 c. honey

¼ c. lime juice

1 tbls. Chili powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded

8-10 flour tortillas

1 pound Monterey jack cheese, shredded

2 cans green enchilada sauce

1 can green chilies

¾ c. sour cream

Mix the honey, lime juice, spices, green chilies, sour cream, and chicken.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spary. Fill flour tortillas with chicken mixture. Pour enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min until brown and crispy on top.  

Source: I have actually taken 3 different recipes and combined them to create this one. 

Goulash 

1lb ground beef

1 can tomato soup

6 oz can tomato paste

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni  (I used whole wheat noodles)

2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (more to taste)

1 can (15oz) corn, drained

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1-2 cups shredded cheese (depending on your “cheesiness” preference)

1. Brown Ground beef with onion powder and garlic powder.  Drain.

2. Cook noodles according to package, drain

3. In a large bowl, combine soup, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, noodles and ground beef.  Stir in corn.

4. Transfer to an ungreased 8X8 freezer baking dish and top with cheese.  I buy the foil pans.  Easy peasy and you wont be missing a pan while this meal is in the freezer waiting.

5. Cover with foil.  I like to use heavy duty foil and double wrap it to prevent freezer burn.  Label and freeze.

Cooking instructions: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until heated through and melted cheese.

source: Joyful Momma's Kitchen

Chicken and Wild Rice

1 box wild rice with seasoning packet (4.3 oz)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can water

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, uncooked

1. Mix together rice with seasoning packet, both cans of soup, and water.  Stir in mushrooms. (don’t need to cook rice before just put it in.)

2. Pour in to 8X8 freezer dish, I use the foil pans.  Top with 6 chicken pieces and sprinkle with slivered almonds.

3. Double wrap in heavy duty foil, label and freeze.

Cooking Instruction: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour until chicken juices run clear and rice is tender. 

source: Joyful Momma's Kitchen

HEALTHY CORN MUFFINS:

Take one can of white beans (do not drain) blend in blender to thick paste. This makes about 2 cups. You can freeze the rest for later use.

In a medium bowl mix together:

1 c. of pureed white beans

1 c. applesauce

1 c. honey

4 tbl. Oil

1 c. milk

2 eggs

In a larger mixing bowl whisk together:

2 c. whole wheat flour

1 ½ c. corn meal

1 tsp salt

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Pour liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir gently to combine. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Spray muffin tins well and fill about 2/3 full. Bake at 375 for 15 min. 

Source: Janie Smith 

Homemade Maple Syrup

*Makes about 10 cups (2 1/2 quarts) of syrup

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups granulated sugar

1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

4 cups water

2 teaspoons pure maple extract

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

In a large 5-6 quart pot, combine the sugars, honey and water. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to low so the mixture gently simmers. Cover the pot and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for 20 minutes before stirring in the maple and vanilla extracts. Let the syrup cool in the pot for another 40 minutes, or so, stirring occasionally, before filling jars/containers. Once the containers are filled, let them cool to room temperature uncovered.

Store covered in jars or other containers in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 2 months in the refrigerator. 

Source: Melskitchencafe.com

Well your welcome, all of these are fabulous recipes! Great for nights that you are in a hurry or even if you are not in the mood to cook.

Side note:

I am so ready for our little guy to come! 

We even have the car seat and a bag packed for him and me in the car ready to go! I am seriously ready to meet him! We are hoping he will come tonight or sometime this weekend but who knows he might even make me wait to see him next week.

Face Time

 Like all mother's expecting I am extremely curious what our little man will look like. 

I was organizing all of our stuff and came across some pictures, I am pretty sure our little guy will look like his daddy. Tay was so adorable so I would not mind that one bit:)

This is random but here is a little collage of Tay and I from high school till now. Both of our hair colors have totally changed I was way blonde and Tay had black hair.

 I like marriage on us, I am much happier (I won't speak for Tay but hopefully he would say the same:).

Here we are now 2 1/2 years later and having a mini us. 

Knowing Tay since I was 14 I did not think my little crush I had on him would turn into spending my life time with him, so grateful we have each other.

Okay side note:

I really am in need of a good book since school is out. I went to the library and spent an hour looking and came out with a couple of parenting books but what I really want is just a good enjoyable book to read that is more mindless reading. Any suggestions??