Turning 4, Going to Disney

Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated Mia's birthday of turning 4.  It was a fun day with family at home & a swim in our community pool in the morning, followed by a small family party at our house that night.  Aunt Allison, cousin McKaber, Uncle Brian, Aunt Amanda and cousins Braden & Abby joined us. We had an impromptu Disney princess/female character theme (Tinkerbell, Belle, etc.) with strawberry cupcakes for all.  We have typically done a big party at our neighborhood park/community center in years past but this year we kept it a bit closer to home (literally).  Mia didn't believe she officially turned 4 until we sung her happy birthday and she had her cake.  Here she is at the moment of "officially turning 4":

a bit bashful now that everyone is singing to her

recap of Mia's 4th birthday

Keeping it low-key that day was the way to go, because a few days later we packed up several belongings, a cooler of food, our double stroller, and headed to Disney!  This was our first family Disney trip EVER (Greg & I haven't gone since college days) and Mia was more than thrilled about visiting the "happiest place on earth."  We took advantage of the FL Resident 3-day pass and stayed overnight at a nearby timeshare, which worked out super well.  All props for trip-planning to to Greg.  He really made sure we had a fun time and that all the essentials were taken care of.  

We spent Monday at Magic Kingdom, getting familiar with the park and seeing what our kids would enjoy the most.  Tuesday, we checked out Hollywood Studios and saw a couple of shows, including Disney Jr. Live on Stage, which was embarrassingly fun for all of us.  (If your child watches any popular Disney Jr. shows, then they will most likely highly enjoy that performance!)

This was actually taken our last day
at the park at the very end of our stay!  

Wednesday, we kicked it around our hotel at the pool and took monster naps to catch up on all the fun we were having, and on our last day, Thursday, we went back to Magic Kingdom.

Mia's favorite parts were the rides.  Gabe's favorite things about Disney were the curbs we let him jump on and off while Mia was on a ride, falling asleep in the stroller everyday, and meeting the Disney princesses (which, surprisingly, was NOT Mia's favorite part)!  

We brought all our own food to the park or bought it at Publix, and only got ice cream treats while we were there.  This was a major timesaver and advantage in our minds, because there was no waiting in line for food, no wasting of money on food no one really wants to eat, and no headaches from eating something our bodies didn't necessarily like.  Props to Disney on letting you bring your own food to the parks!  We'd highly recommend that.  

Walking into Magic Kingdom for the 1st time

Dumbo Ride

Gabe: Disney? NBD

Mickey's Philharmagic. Totally cool until the show started.
Then Gabe was terrified.

Waiting in line for It's A Small World

Killin' it on Barnstormer, Mia's favorite Roller Coaster

Waiting for Disney Jr. Live on Stage to begin

Mesmerized.  Mickey! Sofia! Doc! Jake!

Silly moments while we wait for Greg to finish a ride

Lounging around the pool

Finding ducks outside the hotels

In the words of my friend, Erin, "Owning Disney" despite the rain.
Ponchos didn't disappoint.

Gabe's feelings about the line for Peter Pan's Flight.

PeopleMover.  Also a good place to take a break.

Mia giving Greg a preview of age 15.

And age 16.

These princesses were SO nice.  So impressed with their hospitality skills.

Gabe had a thing for Aurora, Sleeping Beauty.

If you can't tell, even Greg & I are kinda jazzed.

We hands-down really enjoyed this trip.  Not coming from a long ancestral line of Disney-freaks, I set the bar kind of low for myself but was blown away by how much fun we all had!  Gabe is still in that meandering place where he doesn't really know what he is missing and gets tired enough that he'll fall asleep, so it worked out well with all that Mia wanted to accomplish.  

We are so thankful we got to go as a family, not only to semi-celebrate Mia's 4th birthday (!), but to also have a nice, quick getaway that provided good family times and even some relaxation. Hey, I might even call it a real "vacation," and that can be hard to do when traveling with little ones!  +1 for Disney. +1 for good family vacations.  

3 simple meals in 30 minutes or less

Bacon & Sweet Potato Hash
Photo by thebittenword.com at flickr

I like simple. And I like fast.  So this week while we've been sharing a car as one is in the shop getting some repairs, my typical late afternoon meal prep time has been squashed so that the kids & I can pick Greg up from work. We've enjoyed the time together in the car, but it means dinner must be made fast.  Slow-cooker meals would definitely work in these instances, but our mornings have been so busy too I haven't had the chance to throw something in there earlier in the day!  So, fast meals it must be.

These meals can be adapted for various diets, and you can go so far as swapping the type of ground meat, bacon or potatoes that are required in a few of the recipes.  

Here are 3 simple meals you can make in likely under 30 minutes!

Real Simple's Speedy Sloppy Joe's

(Potential modifications: using ground beef instead of ground turkey; using homemade salsa; using a different biscuit, bun or breading or opting out completely if grain-free.  We made them Monday night with hamburger buns instead of the tube of buttermilk biscuits.)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey; 1 cup of fresh salsa; salt & pepper; biscuits or buns

Serious Eats Bacon & Sweet Potato Hash

This is our new favorite and go-to meal!  We modified by only making the bacon and sweet potato hash; we did not make the eggs or avocado cream, but for even a more filling & complete meal you certainly could!  

Ingredients: 

1lb bacon; 1-2 sweet potatoes; 1 medium onion; butter; salt & pepper to taste

Modern Alternative Mama's Quick Beef & Potatoes

Very similar to bacon & sweet potato hash just variations on the ingredients list!

Ingredients: 
1 lb. ground beef (preferably grass-fed); 4 – 5 medium potatoes, thinly sliced; 4 tbsp. butter; 1 tsp. onion powder; Sea salt 

For any of these meals, I may steam or saute a veggie on the side, which hardly takes any time as well. 

What are your favorite quick & easy meals?

Hate Grocery Shopping? I did too.

When I was a wee one, I used to enjoy going to the grocery store with my mom. I remember being bummed if I somehow missed out on a trip to Cub Foods.  (Anyone from Minnesota? Holla at yer girl.)  I enjoyed rolling through the store, anticipating the foods we were going to put into our cart next, and looking at all the different colors.  Grocery stores are wonderful for the senses.  They can also be murder for the pocketbook if you're not careful, because there are literally deals and sales at every turn and on every aisle.

As I got older, those sales often threw me for a loop. I was talking with a mom today at Stroller Strides and the infamous buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO) deal came up.  What do you do with two, if you don't have the storage for it, or more importantly, don't even know how to use the ingredient?  Common sense says "skip it" but for some of us more sales-challenged people, it's hard to "pass up a good deal."

It is now much easier to avoid these temptations if I stick to my guns on two very simple reasons.
Want to know how?

How to love grocery shopping in 2 simple ways:

1. Have a meal plan.  
I'm using Plan-to-Eat now on a free trial subscription, and as I'm figuring it out I'm realizing I'm liking it quite a bit!  You plug in a recipe (either from a website or type it in), it mashes up all the ingredients for you and spits it into a shopping list.  It also lays it out on a calendar, which you can sync with iCal for Mac users.  I often grab recipes or menus from what I see on the internet, so using an online service for this just makes it a little bit easier. You can do the same thing with pen & paper, but what I like is that it grabs all the ingredients from your meal plan and organizes it by section of the grocery store. You can also edit your list if you already have those ingredients at home.  This could really cut down on planning and prep time for a busy mom.

2. Know what ingredients you tend to use, and what ingredients you always need to replenish.  
If there's a special stock-up sale on spices, butter, my favorite bread, or cheese (you name it), it's easy for me to justify the purchase. I will use these things.  But if there are special sales for dog food or cat litter, that's an obvious no-no (unless you're buying on behalf of someone else or donating to a special cause).  Or a type of food I've never really tried before, or a cereal I know my family probably wouldn't like ... unless you're feeling brazen, there's no need to feel like you must take advantage of the sale.  That's the store or the manufacturer trying to get YOU to buy THEIR food.  Just push your cart along and move on.  Sometimes, knowing what you need to have in your pantry requires a little research and prep-work.  I like following lists from certain websites or cookbooks that give you suggestions for what to stock in your pantry so you can make a meal almost anytime without having to run to the store.  It might also require almost knowing a few recipes by heart, at least, what ingredients are a part of it.

Photo Credit:
followpics.com

One of my favorite cookbooks, Everyday Paleo, lays out what you should keep on hand in order to cook paleo. If you're not sure what paleo is, in a nutshell, it's a whole foods based diet that avoids grains, dairy, and legumes, but puts lots of emphasis on grass-fed or pastured meats, nuts, fruits, veggies, and good fats.  Here's an example of how to stock your fridge or pantry with this kind of diet:



Not all my recipes are strictly paleo, but I think it's a good starting point for someone trying to clean up their diet or branch out a bit.  It's devoid of processed foods, which to me, is like Public Enemy #1 when it comes to healthy eating. If you can get the processed foods out of the way, you are making great strides in my book!

To branch out beyond that may require shopping at some places other than your typical grocery store (maybe a health foods store, or on Amazon.com - yes they sell groceries!, or through a food co-op). You can get fresh dairy, whole grains, bulk spices, farm fresh eggs, local or organic produce and more all through various co-ops in your area.  If you're local to South Florida contact me and I'll try to get you started, but eatwild.com and localharvest.org are just two places online you can start!

(Note: I have no affiliations to these websites, but I just know they help numerous people get their bearings when making the switch to real foods.)

Learning to enjoy grocery shopping also came along with learning to enjoy cooking and baking real foods. It is so much easier to shop when I know these foods are providing real nutrition for my family and are going towards our overall health.  Beforehand, when it was just a bunch of snacks or packaged foods, it really wasn't as fulfilling.
Now, for the most part, almost all the items I put in my cart serve a purpose, and because many of them are perishable, it encourages me to use them up before they go bad - which means more homemade cooking.

Man, I never thought I'd write a blog about grocery shopping, but here I just did it.

What has helped you become better at grocery shopping? How do you shop sales or the weekly ads? Do you only stick to your meal plan or do you veer off dependent on sales? Share below!

Santa Fe Chili - real foodified

One of our favorite chili recipes was introduced to us by our friend Jenn M. on the very day we moved into our house almost 4 years ago! It was so yummy, I immediately asked her for the recipe the next day and shared it with my mom as well.  We enjoy making this every year, but the more I have learned about food and additives, the less I have wanted to use the taco seasoning and ranch seasoning packets it calls for.  Thanks to Pinterest, google, and the interwebs, it fortunately hasn't taken me long to find easy homemade substitutes that DO NOT contain the abominable MSG or maltodextrin.  *Phew!  So now we can consume this chili guilt-free and without the neurotoxic side effect.  I sure hate getting headaches when I eat, don't you!?

photo credit: tasteofhome.com

Here's the recipe, which I found is originally from TasteofHome.com:

• 2 pounds ground beef (grass-fed if possible)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• the equivalent of 2 - 15oz cans of kidney beans, soaked (*rinsed & drained)
• the equivalent of 2 - 15oz cans of black beans, soaked*
• 3 cans (7 oz each) white shoepeg corn
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can diced tomatoes & green chilies (e.g., Rotel)
• 2 servings of homemade ranch seasoning
• 2 servings of homemade taco seasoning
• 2 cups water (or homemade chicken stock)
• Optional garnishes:
• sour cream, non-GMO corn chips, shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the ground beef, drain.  Add in chopped onion and cook until the onion is soft.  Add in the beans, corn, tomatoes, chilies, seasonings, and water/stock.  Cover & cook on high for about 2 hours.  Serve in bowls with additional garnishes if desired.   

*I soaked and cooked dry kidney beans and black beans to include in this recipe.  I used 1.5 cups of soaked beans to substitute for 1 can of beans.  So therefore, I used 3 cups of each type of soaked beans. That's a lot of beans!!!

The general rule of thumb is: 

1 15-ounce can of beans equals

• 1/2 cup dry beans, before cooking

• 1 1/2 cups beans, after cooking 

Read more at Dried to Canned Beans conversion.

Enjoy!

Guest post!

I'm not a mom of school-aged kids yet but I have packed a few lunches in my day for playdates, appointments, and such (thanks to my mom for teaching me how!) ... and today, I'm (*gulp*) doing my first guest post over at Modern Alternative Mama!  Come check me out! 

Hint: this does NOT involve Lunchables.

Organic or Conventional? 4 reasons to still choose organic

Organic or Conventional, what's the difference?
Well, according to the most recent news off the block from Stanford, apparently not much. This summary of the research, from a NY Times blog, explains, 

"A new study by Stanford researchers has added fuel to a debate about the differences between organic and conventionally grown foods. The Stanford report, an analysis of 237 studies of organic produce, meats and dairy foods, concluded that organic foods are no more nutritious than their conventional counterparts."

When I first heard the report, I initially thought, "Okay, well then I guess I shouldn't feel so bad when I do eat conventional produce, which is probably 40-50% of the time" (based on what I buy according to EWG's Dirty Dozen list).  But the more I got to thinking about it, the more irked I was. I don't believe the study was funded by outside sources, so hopefully there are no conflicts of interest, but here is why buying organic, when available and possible, is worth your while:

1. There's no "safe level" of pesticides for our bodies, regardless of what the FDA says. Yes, our bodies were created in an amazing way to weed out nasty things and release toxins, but the environment, processed foods, needless drugs and antibiotics often take their toll on our bodies, making it harder and harder for organs such as our livers to do their jobs.  Choosing organic means one less toxic thing we put into our bodies and one less thing our bodies have to wrestle with, and many have reported whether it's anecdotal or scientifically documented, improvements in health upon switching to organic.
2. Choosing organic means you're not supporting GMO or genetically modified foods.  These are foods, which as the name suggests, are genetically changed so that the foods are bigger, different colors, or so that apples won't turn brown when cut open.  GMO is a really hot topic right now, and if you want to learn more about it, see here: Millions Against Monsanto
3. Choosing organic can often mean you're supporting a smaller-scale family farm or at least a farm committed to not contributing to the toxic effect we all feel from pesticides and nasty chemicals in our land, water, and food.  I'm not a farmer, but the fewer chemicals we have around us, the better.
4. Pesticides are connected to ADHD and other diseases.  It is especially important for a pregnant or nursing mother to remove as many pesticides from her diet and choose organic when she can.  Occasionally, I feel silly for trying to ensure that most if not all of Gabe and Mia's fruits & veggies are organic (again, according to EWG list), but when I realize all the other things they're up against in this world, it's just one other protection I can offer.

There are surely more reasons than just these four, but they are the first that came to mind. 

For now, I'm going to continue to buy organic when I can, based on availability and finances.  It might not always be possible, and the Dirty Dozen list changes yearly, so things will always be in flux, but I don't think this new Stanford finding will change much of what I do.

What about you?  Do you buy organic?  Conventional? How has this new Stanford report affected your thinking about buying organic?

Pass the salad, please

Source

Me & Salads.

If I'm honest, we don't go back very far.  I never really developed a strong penchant for salads until my 20s, and even then, calling it a "penchant" might be one vocab word too far.  I enjoy them on occasion -- usually when someone else makes them -- and I had some cravings for salad during my last pregnancy.  Methinks it was partially the salad dressings I craved as well!

It turns out, much of the goodness of salads can come from the dressings themselves; that is, if you make them yourselves using good quality ingredients.

Wait, back that train up.  Did I just say the dressing could be good?? As in, good for YOU?  Yes, yes I did.  You no longer have to feel guilty about using too much dressing as long as you take the time to carefully control the ingredients when you're making these guys.  The good guys.

I just made a great salad from Publix Apron's Simple Meals, and a great Italian dressing via Penniless Parenting.

Here's the Salad, straight from Publix's website (from the meal grilled fish with gremolata and spring salad with parmesan):

Spring Salad with Parmesan
Ingredients
1 bag spring mix salad blend (4–6 oz)
1 1/2 cups shaved Parmesan cheese
1 cup pine nuts (or slivered almonds)
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing 

Steps

1. Place salad blend, cheese, and pine nuts in salad bowl. Cut tomatoes in half; add to salad.
2. Add dressing; toss and serve.

And as for the salad dressing, hop on over to Penniless Parenting - Zesty Italian Dressing.  Use this in place of store-bought dressing and you can avoid all the preservatives and vegetables or soybean oil commonly used in store-bought salad dressings.

Then, consume - GUILT-free!

We enjoyed this next to some spaghetti with meat sauce the other night. Yum!

What's your favorite salad or salad dressing combination? Do you make your own dressings, and if so, how?

Can you shop real food at a wholesale club and still save money?

For almost 4 years, we've had a membership at a local wholesale club.  We've used our membership for various things. In the beginning, it was certainly for gasoline, and various paper products.  We still use it for that today.  I previously used it on different food products like cereal, milk, juice or sports drinks, and other packaged or frozen snacks.  Throughout my gradual progression into real food, though, I obviously buy less and less or none of those products anymore.  We have kept our membership because we feel like the savings on bulk paper products and the gasoline was worth it, but I hadn't perused the store in quite a while until yesterday.  (Things had to get majorly simplified for me for a while after adding a 2nd kidlet.)

Shopping bulk also means bigger carts!

We went yesterday during the non-event of Tropical Storm Isaac here in southern Florida.  First of all, my kids were mesmerized. I don't know that Gabe has ever set foot inside BJ's, but he was entranced by the lights and all the items.  Mia thought all the displays were pretty interesting.

Once we got what we were looking for, we walked through the aisles checking out various products.  I was happy to see more natural or organic products stocked on their shelves.  I tried to capture both the product and the price in the picture on my smartphone (remember I was also pushing 2 kids in a cart), so hopefully you can view what it is and the price....

Honest Tea, 12 pack for $10.99
(Honey Green Tea; White Peach Tea;
Half Lemonade-Half Tea)

Applegate Farms nitrate-free
Center-Cut Bacon (3-12 oz packages bundled for $11.29)

Applegate Farms deli meats & cheese
2 packages bundled for $6.99

Daisy Sour Cream, 2 lbs for $2.99

Organic Butter (salted or unsalted),
2-1lb packages for $6.99

Brie, 12.3oz, $5.99 (this was for my friend Mo)

Organic juices, $3.49-$3.99

Organic lemonade, $3.29

32 oz. Grade A Maple Syrup, $13.29

Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate, 3lbs, $8.99

Huge bag of baking soda (13.8lbs), $6.69

Organic Basil 2.8oz, $3.49

2-pack (44oz. each) Heinz Organic Ketchup, $6.79
(might still contain MSG, but no High Fructose Corn Syrup)

Newman's Own Organic K-Cups, 80 for $39.99
(Source)

Would I normally buy all of these? Maybe, maybe not.  But at least I know that these are an option should I ever want to buy some of these products in bulk and just down the road from my house.  I'm all for finding the best prices on items, but occasionally convenience and proximity to my home win out over lowest price.

Note: I did not capture the prices on organic produce or dried fruits or nuts. Maybe next time!

These may not be the best prices on everything as compared to your traditional grocery store or natural health-foods store, but I know that there were some deals among those items, like the sour cream, the Brie, the basil spices, Grade A Maple Syrup, and the Applegate Farms products.  Compared to a very popular traditional grocery chain in Florida, and my local healthfood store, I know these were definitely better prices.
Also available are Newman's Own Organic K-Cups for $39.99, which can be used in Keurig Brewers.  That's a pretty good price considering you're not paying shipping ordering from the Keurig website.

What about you? Do any of these stick out as "deals" to you, or are you able to find many of these products at lower price at other stores?  If you are not part of a co-op or buying club, where do you purchase similar groceries?

Food you can USE // White Chili Recipe

One of our favorite meals around here is White Chili. It doesn't matter if it's the "dead of winter" (a laughable phrase here in Florida), or the intense heat of summer, we tend to enjoy it all year long. It is easy to enjoy it too, as it has some pretty simple ingredients.  I used to make this all from canned and premixed ingredients, but now I've upped my game and I use homemade or from-scratch ingredients when I can.

If you've tinkered in real food for a while, then you know that roasting a chicken and making stock from the bones renders several benefits.  The collagen in the broth (from the bone stock) helps several systems and functions in your body, and the broth helps your digestive tract. Not only is it good for helping you when you're sick, it's also great for keeping you from getting sick. Win-Win.

You might also know that soaking and cooking dry beans is also highly encouraged in traditional food prep, for lots of reasons. If you soak and cook your own white beans, then they will be ready to use in this recipe (instead of using canned).

And if you still have leftover chicken from roasting a chicken, you can throw it in this chili!  I love using something from the beginning to the end and feeling like I really got some use out of it.  Sometimes food bloggers say things like, "Roast a chicken for dinner, make stock overnight with the bones, then throw the leftover chicken in enchiladas or a chicken pot pie," as if it were really intuitive.  That intuition for me is gradually growing, but for a newbie, I could see how that would not be intuitive. But in this recipe, all you really need is your leftover chicken, diced up (and estimate at what 1lb is).

Here's the recipe, courtesy of my friend Angie (my notes are italicized):

White Chili

1 lb chicken, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp vegetable oil - I omit this or sub coconut oil
2 cans (15 ½ oz) northern white beans, drained - or 2-3 cups of soaked, cooked white beans
1 can chicken broth - 14-15oz homemade chicken stock
2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chilies - canned food is usually not recommended because of BPA, but I haven't found a better substitute - has anyone else?
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
8 oz sour cream - I use Daisy brand, available at most grocery stores
½ cup whipping cream - I use fresh, raw/low-temp pasteurized cream if available

Cook chicken with onion, garlic powder and oil until chicken is cooked
thoroughly. Combine the rest of the ingredients (which includes the chicken) except the
creams in a medium stock pot. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to a simmer. Continue
to simmer for 30 minutes. Add the creams. Stir all together. Serve with tortilla chips
and sprinkle with cheese.
Serves: 6


Enjoy!

Meal Stumps...

Now that the babe is here and we're almost 2 months into his life, of course our generous list of meal donors is over.  We were totally overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and feasted on delicious and healthy meals brought over by considerate friends. When the meals and Thanksgiving leftovers were over (it ain't over till the fat lady sings, and we were getting close to fat ladies over here), it was me vs. the kitchen and the clock. I'm happy to say we haven't succumbed to takeout as often as we did with Mia, but we could always use a little help in the planning, prep and cook time.  Here's what's on the docket this coming week.  You'll see some repeats and some new fellows:

Cheeseslave's Fettucine Alfredo -- I have always loved fettucine alfredo (except I often sub the fettucine for angel hair pasta), but whenever I ate it at a common Italian restaurant, I'd literally get sick every time.  So I never wanted to go back there anymore. Seeing that I can make this at home with quality ingredients really excites me!
Nourished Kitchen's Hamburger & Barley Stew -- I still had barley left over from when I made this a couple of months ago so we're going for it again!
Martha Stewart's Black Bean Soup
Wellness Mama's Bacon Apple Chicken

You might notice a lot of these are recipes I can make in the slow-cooker. This is becoming my new BFF.  Around 5pm I often don't have enough arms to tend to the chillun' or the food, so if everything's already brewing up in the crockpot, I'm good to go.

Other slow-cooker faves of late have been roast chicken, sweet potatoes, and white chili.

What's cooking in your kitchen??

And what are you making for the holidays? Inquiring minds would very much like to know!

Making a list & checking it twice

Spaghetti Noodle Brain: have you heard of it?

Girls have spaghetti noodle brains and guys have waffle brains.  For girls, everything's connected like a piece of spaghetti. For guys, each thing has its own separate compartment, much like a waffle. And never think for a guy that each box in the waffle is full of thoughts, because it's not!

I definitely have spaghetti noodle brain.  This is related to that, which is related to this, which means I need to do this, which means...AHH!! I'm going crazy. I have an iPhone, which often helps me with spaghetti noodle brain (I can "quickly" look something up if I'm forgetful at the store), and I also have a pen & paper at home so I can jot something down real quick if I need to. I'm a visual-verbal-kinetic person, so to remember the sensation of writing something down and then reading it really helps me stay on track.

So, now that you've taken a quick walk inside how some of my brain works, I say all that to say, I'm finally doing my freezer meal planning. Probably about 2 weeks too late, but hey, better late then never, right?

The Freezer Meal Plan

Currently I have 3 "grains/legumes" soaking: black beans, quinoa and lentils.  (In case you need a quick primer on how to soak said food items, check out Healing Naturally by Bee's cheat-sheet!)  I loved everyone's suggestions from the freezer meal suggestion post and am incorporating the recipes I already know first, and in time I think I might try yours as well.  So far a lot of my planned freezer meals are soups.  With winter coming often comes depressed immunity, so maybe I'm just psychic and am hoping my soups made with homemade broth will keep us on the up & up.  Because I'm pretty sure my sleeping won't :-\

Here's my plan, should the Lord will me to see that these recipes actually meet their fruition before bambino's born!

• Chicken Quinoa Stew
• Hamburger Barley Soup
• Black Bean Soup using "Sofrito"
• Lentil Soup
• Chicken Enchiladas (probably this recipe)

Last weekend, I already froze what we didn't eat of Wellness Mama's 5 ingredient Crockpot Chili - bean free, which was was super easy and tasty.

I'm also planning to soak great northern beans so I'll have beans ready for our White Chili recipe, and in my crockpot right now are chicken bones simmering so I'll have some more chicken stock to use in all these said recipes! (My freezer stash of chicken stock is quickly depleting).  

If I can be so productive tomorrow, I'm hoping to knock out maybe 2-3 of these recipes or at least get them started.  I accidentally picked up parsley instead of cilantro at the store so I won't be able to completely put together my sofrito just yet, but I can go ahead and chop the other veggies.  We ate that black bean soup with the sofrito last winter and it was really yummy!  Goes well with some kind of crunchy gluten free bread :D

-----

And speaking of the bambino, here's what I didn't tell you a couple of weeks ago, because it clearly meant NOTHING.

The Crazy Doctor's Appointment which nearly sent me into hysterics

I had my 35 week appointment 3 weeks ago and I had the Group Beta Strep test. This is a pretty important test because you are cultured to see if you are a carrier of GBS. If you are positive, the hospital protocol is to administer IV antibiotics during labor so hopefully you won't pass it onto your baby. Being a carrier does not necessarily mean you will pass it on to your baby or that he/she will get GBS, but it can be pretty serious if the baby gets it.  Fortunately, I passed my GBS test and was negative! I feel like I've had enough with antibiotics during my life so if I can avoid it one more time I'm quite happy. Well, while I was being tested for GBS, my doctor did an internal exam (um, hello! only 35 wks! -- was a little surprised to be honest) and told me I was already dilated about 2 cm, 50% effaced, and the baby was at the -1 station.  Her reaction really freaked me out.  She thought I would likely have the baby within the next 1-2 weeks.  As I said, I was only 35 weeks. Which meant at most, in her mind, I'd make it to 37 weeks. She then added, "Of course you could make it to your due date and then you'd be frustrated with me."

Well here I am, sitting on my heiny in my home, blogging, at 38 weeks.  And I'm not in labor.  And I have no idea how dilated I am at this point, or when the baby is coming.  But the doctor really sent us into freakout mode for a while, which was good because things needed to get done, but may have been a bit preemptive.  With Mia I never thought I would go early (and I hardly did, she was born within her 40th week).  I say it was preemptive because at 38 weeks, knowing I could totally go 2 more weeks and be just fine, I wake up every day and think, could this be it? Surely, I hope not, because I do not feel ready (must.stock.my.freezer)! And then again, other days I'm ready to get this show on the road!

The truth about labor ... and the bambino

I know, just as well as from hearing it with Mia, and from saying it to others, the baby will come when he is ready.  My chiropractor once told me some hormone between mom and baby sync up when labor is ready to start and before then there's not much you can do about it. So, I need to let things lie and just get on with my business.  The only reason I'd want him to come earlier is for health reasons, which is an entirely different subject---

This guy's growth is slowing down (he's still growing but no longer in the middle of his peer group with respect to weight), so we don't want him to fall too far down the percentile rankings.  Yet, all his other signs look good, including the amniotic fluid and his movements and breathing, heart rate, etc.  Maybe Greg & I just make small babies.  What more can we do?  I'm eating as much real food as I can stomach! ;)

Weekend Recap

And all of that to say, we had a great weekend and Halloween. Like another friend who is due any day (more so than I am), I'm glad we didn't have an October baby because it meant I got to experience one more fun weekend with Mia.  We took her to a horse farm way out in Oldsmar on Saturday and had a blast.  There was so much to do we literally couldn't do everything.  

They had plenty of farm animals to pet & feed, a hayride, "train rides," a pumpkin patch, hay to climb, pony rides, face painting, craft making, swings/playground, snakes, a tire swing...you name it, it was there.

A Zorse: offspring of a male zebra & female horse

And Mia was once again, Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween. But she figured out her costume this year, actually kept on the cape, and liked the hood.

getting ready for Kindermusik class

All prepped to "trick or treat!"

Cheesing with Braden in front of a totally decked out Halloween house

To tie this awfully long post back together, I'm still making lists, and still crossing off items. If I were to go into labor tonight, would I have everything ready? Not in my ideal world. We'd make do, though.  I'm 38 weeks, and this is Megan C., signing off.

Let's have a Nice November, shall we?