Pink or Blue?

bearsI know you all are awaiting the results of ultrasound! But I figured that I’d just let everyone know it’s not until 2:15 this afternoon, and then I have a regular OB appointment immediately afterwards. I probably won’t be back home until between 4 and 4:30 assuming they’re right on time, so I won’t be posting until around dinnertime probably. Now they’re doing the sonograms right in my doctor’s office, and I love that we don’t have to go to the hospital for it. The hospital is pretty much right across the street, so it’s not a distance issue, but who wants to go to the hospital if you don’t have to?

Yesterday I polled my friends on Facebook and it seems that almost everyone is guessing “girl.” Now, I’m not sure how many of those are gut feelings and how many are people who just are hoping for me to have a girl since we already have two sweet little boys, LOL! Either way, it is very exciting and more than just hopefully finding out the baby’s gender, I’m just hoping that everything else looks perfectly healthy. That is the purpose of the ultrasound, after all. Getting to find out if the baby is a boy or girl is just an added bonus. Wish me luck and I’ll update you all later today!

Menu Plan Monday

menuplan.jpg

Amazing! I actually have a menu plan for this week. I can’t believe it, either. There are a few new recipes that I’m trying out. Originally I was going to make the scampi next weekend, but I remembered that I still have wine in the fridge from the lemon-olive chicken, so I’ll make it tonight to use it up. We’re scraping the bottom of our “cooking wine” stash (basically old white wine that is fine for cooking, but not for drinking). At the store we used to sell these little four-packs of wine (I know Barefoot and Vendange have them), so I am thinking of picking one up so I don’t need to open a big bottle of wine every time I need it for cooking. One small bottle would be enough for one or two recipes — perfect!

I’m also trying out this Zuppa Toscana recipe. It’s Drew’s favorite soup at The Olive Garden. I think I’m going to switch out the kale for spinach, though since I have spinach in the freezer from our CSA. The lemon butter fillet of sole is the other new recipe. We really need to get more fish into our diet, so this is yet another attempt. Here’s what I’m planning:

Sunday: Spaghetti & meatballs, tossed salad, garlic bread
Monday: Shrimp scampi, baked potatoes, tossed salad
Tuesday: Soup & sandwiches
Wednesday: Baked chicken, broccoli rice casserole, tossed salad
Thursday: Copycat Zuppa Toscana, tossed salad
Friday: Taco ring
Saturday: Lemon butter fillet of sole, green beans, tossed salad

I’m also considering making a batch of sourdough starter (thanks again Mike for the recipe!). I’d like to bake more bread this year and sourdough is not only a family favorite, but it’s also very healthy. I prefer it over whole-wheat, so it would be great to make my own.

For more menu planning ideas, vist Organizing Junkie.

My Kitchen Smells *Sooo* Good!

Yesterday I saw Sandra’s recipe for meatballs and decided that today I just had to make them. I’ve never actually baked the raw meatballs in sauce before, so I thought it would be something a little different. (I usually bake them seprately than plunk them in the sauce). When I told Drew about my plan for dinner he offered to make a big pot of sauce. Oh  yeah! I can make an okay sauce, but when at all possible, I leave that to my husband. He is without a doubt the best sandwich-maker and the best sauce-maker in the house. Amazing how a little thing like tomato sauce can turn my whole mood around 🙂

I’ve been a little cranky today because I have to go with Jake to this “Family Catechesis” thing for Sunday school this afternoon. Honestly, I just don’t feel like going. At the last one of these parent meetings I attended, I just felt overly preached at and that irritated me. Oh well, I have no choice. At least there is supposed to be food, LOL!Speaking of food, the lemon chicken with olives last night was quite tasty:

lemon chicken with olives

I forgot to add cumin, and I added a little chicken broth to the sauce. Overall, I think I could achieve the same thing just by using olives instead of capers when I make my usual chicken picatta. Not that this recipe was that different, but “my” recipe is one that I make a lot and can do nearly blindfolded, rather than have to pay attention to an ingredients list. But it went over well with everyone. Noah even ate some (though he insisted on dipping the pieces in ketchup — whatever it takes, right?).

Then, this morning I tried a recipe for, get this, a coffee cake that you bake in the microwave! It was actually really good. The boys didn’t care for it much because it is not overly sweet, but Drew and I loved it. Here’s the recipe:

Apple Walnut Coffee Cake
apple coffee cake

2 cups “Jiffy” baking mix (Bisquick would be fine too)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup milk
1 cup chunky applesauce

Grease an 8″x2″ microwave safe dish.*
Mix brown sugar and 1/4 cup walnuts. Set aside. In a separate bowl, blend baking mix, 1/4 cup walnuts, cinnamon, milk, and apple sauce. Beat with an electric mixer about 30 seconds. Spread into prepared dish. Spring with brown sugar mixture. Microwave on power level 10 (high), rotating dish every 3 minutes until top springs back when touched lightly and cake begins to pull away from the sides of dish — about 6 to 9 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on heatproof surface.

*I used an 8×8 Pyrex dish, but obviously use what will fit in your microwave.


It was a nice change for a lazy Sunday breakfast. Well, it’s time to make lunch and then get ready to go to this thing. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Watching the Snow

I’ve been waiting all day for the snow to start falling, and about an hour ago it began! Since this “weather event” is supposed to just be snow, that is fine with me. I’m sick of the cold already, but I understand that I live in upstate New York and it is January, and there is just no way of getting around the white stuff. As long as it’s not ice, I will deal with it. Drew and Jake are currently watching The Golden Compass, and I’m about to go back to knitting soon. I’ve been working on my menu for the week and there are so many new recipes I can’t wait to try! Tonight I’m making lemon chicken with olives from a recent issue of Real Simple magazine. Seems like a twist on chicken piccata, so hopefully it will go over well with everyone.

Yesterday I did end up going to CVS and I learned an important lesson: always, always, always pay attention when the cashier is scanning your coupons. I had a buy one, get one free coupon for the Children’s Throat Cooler pops that are on sale this month. The coupon wasn’t scanning so he punched in the numbers. While he was doing this, instead of watching the register, I was getting my credit card out of my wallet. Hours later when I got home and looked at my receipt I saw that he inputed the coupon only as $1 — not $4.99 like he should have! To say I was angry at both him and at myself is an understatement, but oh well. At least they were still free after ECBs and I didn’t lose money, really. And all in all, I still had a great trip. Here’s what I left the store with:

cvs 1/9/09

I paid $27.93 out of pocket and got back $21.98 in ECBs. Not too bad, I guess, and with the exception of the Throat Coolers, it was all stuff I needed. I do think the coolers might come in handy, though. (To peek into the shopping bags of other frugal shoppers, check out CVS SuperStars).

Well, I am off to finish this hat that is taking much longer than I thought it would. We have no real plans for tonight. Maybe we’ll pick one the DVDs we got for Christmas and watch that. All I know is that I plan on spending the even curled up in front of the fire! Stay warm 🙂

Say, “Ahh!”

knitty kitty What a week it’s been! Drew was in Virginia Beach on a business trip from Monday to Wednesday, and yesterday Jake had an appointment with the pediatrician. Before Thanksgiving Jake was complaining of a sore throat, so the following Monday I took him to the doctor’s to have it checked out. The nurse practitioner (who, honestly, I am not crazy about) saw him and tested for Strep. That came back negative. Then she wanted to do a test for Mono. I agreed to it but reminded her that Jake had Mono when he was five. Wouldn’t it be highly unlikely for him to have it again, especially without any other symptoms? Clearly, she was going to do what she wanted, so my question didn’t even matter. And of course the test came back negative. We were told to do salt water gargles and give him Tylenol for pain.

A couple weeks passed. The sore throat went away, but his tonsils still seemed quite enlarged, his voice sounded funny, and he’d started snoring and breathing really heavy in his sleep. Just after Christmas, he got a cold and suddenly things started to sound better, but because everyone was already freaked out over the possibility of tonsillitis, I made appointment to see his regular doctor. (And I had to argue with this nurse practitioner over the phone just to get the freaking appointment!)

So anyway, we finally went yesterday. I had started convincing myself that he’d need to have his tonsils removed, but according to the pediatrician, that’s not the case. Yes, he has tonsils that are quite large, but they are healthy looking and they’re not obstructing his airway at all. The heavy breathing/snoring probably has to do with a cold and/or stuffy nose that is lingering. The doctor spent a lot of time looking at Jake’s throat and then showed everything to me, so I do trust what he says. He even did another throat culture for Strep which again came back negative. So really, I did a lot of worrying for nothing! (As usual.)

I’m glad we took him though, because now I have peace of mind. I’ve been so stressed this week, and I’m just glad it is over! I was a wreck on Wednesday night waiting for Drew to get home. He and his co-workers drove this time (which was probably a good idea — with the storm, flights were cancelled and he would never have gotten home). While the snow/ice storm was nowhere near as bad as they were saying, I was still worried about road conditions late at night, when he’d be driving back from his boss’s house. And of course it wasn’t a big deal — he arrived safe and sound with no problems. But you know how it is.

This evening I think we’re going to take the kids out for a quick dinner (nothing exciting, probably just Burger King) and run a few errands. I want to go to CVS and Aldi for a few things. I seriously need to get back into The Drugstore Game. It’s been a while since I’ve done any major CVS shopping, but there are some decent sales this week so I want to go. Maybe we’ll stop by Staples, too. I doubt they have any of their $1 sale items left, but it’s worth a check. And it’s always fun to look at the office furniture. No, really — I love desks and hutches and everything. OK, maybe I’m weird, LOL!

Tomorrow they’re predicting another snowstorm, so the plan is to have a movie afternoon with the boys, and I want to do some knitting, too. Priority #1 is finishing up my dad’s hat, and that shouldn’t be a problem. Then I have some dishcloths I want to do and then I’m thinking of trying a shrug — I saw a couple patterns I really liked and I have a ton of extra yarn, so we’ll see. Anyway, hopefully I will have pics of the hat to post this weekend. Wish me luck as I start the portion with the DPNs. Eeek! I hate those things!

Good Morning :-)

home-making-housewivesWell, I’m trying to get back into the swing of a normal routine this week, but the weather doesn’t seem to be cooperating! Yesterday morning the local schools had a two-hour delay because of icy roads. Tomorrow’s forcast is looking rather bleak (a wonderous mix of snow/sleet/rain/freezing rain) and I have a hunch school will be cancelled. We live in a pretty hilly area — in fact, the school is up over a hill — so anytime the conditions look somewhat bad I  just count on school being called off, or at the very least a two-hour delay in the morning.

This morning I need to finish putting away the piles of Christmas gifts. The decorations are all down (oops — except for the wreath on the front door), but the toys are still all in the living room. Poor Noah got a tee-ball type baseball set for the spring and he is just dying to play with it. Considering that there are still a lot of icy spots on the driveway, and the rest of the yard is covered in snow, I think he’d need more safety equipment than just a helmet to help protect against injury! Only seventy-odd days until spring is here. Maybe I’ll get a January thaw. Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?

Let’s see, what else is new… a week from today is my ultrasound! Everyone is making me crazy asking about it, so there you go 😉 And yes, we are hoping to find out the baby’s gender. I think the grandmothers would go nuts if we made them wait this time. I still have to finish up my Dad’s Christmas present, too. I’m knitting him a wool watchcap, and I knew when I started it I should have just knit it flat instead of in the round. I’m almost to the point where I need to switch to DPNs and I just have a bad feeling about it. Hopefully it will all work out. If not, maybe he can wear it next fall! I also need to mend one of my maternity shirts. Of course it’s my favorite one that I wore all of two times! The hem at the bottom fell out in the wash, so that has to get sewed up. Other than that I have laundry (as usual) and I need to do a quick sweep of the house.

It would be nice to get myself motivated after I finish this entry so this afternoon I can just sit by the wood stove and knit or read. For Christmas, Drew gave me Knit One, Kill Two and A Deadly Yarn, both by Maggie Sefton. Either would be perfect for a cold winter’s afternoon! Well, I need to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer so that’s my cue… Enjoy your day!

Crunchy Granola

01.04.08 | crunchy granola

A couple weeks ago I read over Sarah’s recipe for granola. (Actually it’s her mom’s.) I couldn’t wait to try it, and today I finally got around to making a batch. I used walnuts, dried cranberries, and flax seed in my version. I omitted the sesame seeds, wheat germ, and wheat bran. I have to admit that it came out really good! Next time I might use maple syrup instead of honey. I’m looking forward to experimenting with different fruit & nut combinations. Since yogurt and granola is a breakfast staple (I eat it just about every other day), I think this will be a fun addition to my culinary repertoire. (Not to mention that it’s so much cheaper than store-bought!)

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone’s new year is off to a great start! Ours has been quite relaxing. Drew’s mom took the boys on the 1st and we’re picking them up later this morning, so we’ve been able to get some things done around the house, as well as actually sleep past 5:30 a.m. which has been really nice 😉

Yesterday I did a big grocery shopping trip. I’ve decided to make an effort to do more shopping at Aldi. Do you have one of these stores near you? They are significantly cheaper on many items and lots of frugality bloggers around the web have written about the store. It’s good for basics like snacks, canned goods, frozen items, and cheese. Their milk is priced extremely well, but they don’t sell 1% oddly enough, and that’s what we drink. Unfortunately their produce at my local store is not always the greatest but I am picky about my fruits and veggies anyway. I walked out of there yesterday with four bags full of groceries for $32. Not too shabby! Then I just filled in at a couple other stores.

Since shopping took me forever I decided to just pick up lunch on the way home. I was really craving a tuna sub, but the last time we went by, our local Subway franchise was being remodeled and wasn’t open. I didn’t want to risk that (don’t mess with a hungry, pregnant woman!) so I picked up some chili at Wendy’s.

We also got all the Christmas decorations down, watched some movies, and just took it easy. I’m not prepared for the craziness of real life to start back up this week, but I guess I don’t have a choice! Have a great weekend, everyone!