Friday, October 23, 2009

Learning to Cook

Over the years my husband has taken on the role as house cook while I have been the baker. My hubby likes to cook and Lord knows I wouldn't want to take away something that makes him happy..wink, wink! But, now that I am a stay at home mom, cooking a meal for my family is apparently the right thing to do...sigh!! So, I must learn to use ingredients other than sugar, vanilla and butter! And so I have tagged pages in the MANY cookbooks and cooking magazines that I have always been obsessed with (weird, huh?) and started trying out recipes.

Tonight I made Cannellini Soup and Oven Chicken Salad. I started this about 5 minutes before twin feeding time...note to self: must learn to schedule my day! It was a very hectic night but for the most part the food was good and the hubby was impressed!

Cannellini Soup

3 15 oz. cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
6 cups chicken stock, veg. stock or water
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped in a medium dice
2 ribs celery, chopped in medium dice
4 ripe tomatoes, cut in small pieces (I used 2)
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Place beans, stock and garlic in a large pot. Bring to boil, reduce to low heat and cont. cooking for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2.Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. When the skillet is warm, add olive oil and saute the onion and celery for 5-6 minutes until soft and translucent. Next, add the tomatoes and salt and continue to cook another 3-4 minutes.

3. Add the vegetable mixture and parsley to beans. Cook another 15 minutes or so to meld the flavors together. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.




Oven Chicken Salad

2 cups cooked chicken, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups celery, thinly sliced
2 cups 1/2 inch bread cubes, toasted
1 cup light mayo
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 tsp dry minced onions
1/2 tsp salt

1.Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 2 to 2 1/2 quart oval baking dish with nonstick cooking spray

2. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, celery, 1 cup of bread cubes, the mayo, 1/2 cup cheese, the almonds, lemon juice, minced onions and salt. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Top with remaining bread cubes and cheese.

3. Bake for 20 minutes, until bubbly, Serve warm or at room temp.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Things I Don't Need...But Had To Have

Since starting with Kraft 2 years I have accumulated some "Kraft Cash" from various sales contests. I never really kept track of the "dollars" until 2 weeks ago when I told my boss I was not coming back to work. I scurried to find my password to the website so I could redeem my "dollars" before it was too late. After hours of looking through an online catalog of things I could purchase with my dollars I came across a few Must Have's.

The first item added to my cart was the Charlie Brown Holiday Collection on dvd. God these shows bring back warm, cozy, wonderful feelings. I remember being so excited when they would come on as a kid...sitting on the couch snuggled in a blanket, knowing that the holidays were right around the corner! And, to this day I still watch them every year always wishing I had kids to pass that feeling on to! Instead, I have tried to pass it on to my niece and nephew. Every year they come over sometime in December and stay the night with Aunt Amy and Uncle Joe. We light a fire in the fireplace, drink hot chocolate, decorate the tree in the room they sleep in, light a fire in the fire pit, go look at Christmas lights and watch a Charlie Brown Christmas!

Well, now I have my own children who will snuggle on the couch to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas. I know these shows come on every year and I can dvr them and watch them over and over but that just wont do....I HAD TO HAVE the box set!




My niece and nephew watching A Charlie Brown Christmas at our house



The second item I added to my cart was a Keurig single cup coffee maker. I have eyed these things for years! What a cool idea...make different requested coffee's for your guests or family with the touch of a button. If someone wants decaf, another wants flavored coffee or cocoa then all I have to do is insert a little cup of grinds and it's done...no multiple pots of coffee...GENIUS (it doesn't take much to impress me)!

The coffee maker came with a box of k-cups to try. There are all types of roasts, flavors, teas and cocoa. There are also many more to chose from on their website! Too bad I don't like coffee!! I already own a hot chocolate maker, a coffee maker and an espresso maker...I add TONS of sugar and milk to coffee if I do drink it or I add chocolate and whipped cream. So do I need this appliance? Some would say no...but it makes Hot Chocolate and Chocolate flavored coffee so I HAD TO HAVE it!!




The other items that I had to have were a Dirt Devil Broom Vac to add to my collection of cheap, no suctioning stick vacs, a set of cookie sheets for ALL of the cookies I plan on baking this year and lastly, Samsung's version of the Ipod touch. I actually had nothing to do with the last item..my husband decided he HAD TO HAVE it!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Happy Early Halloween!

I couldn't wait till Halloween to post this picture. Another blogger mentioned the website Picnik for fun editing so I had to go play. I could spend hours on this website...it's alot like photoshop but free!!!


Friday, October 9, 2009

Things that make me happy

1. The boys have slept 10+ hours the last week...YAY!!!!! I never thought it would happen!

2. It's 57 degrees in Houston! I want to light my fireplace and make pot roast. I am going to sit on a rain soaked chair in the backyard when I finish this and enjoy the cold weather!

3. It's holiday time and I have kids!! I love the holidays and every year I have tried to create memories for my nieces and nephews, now I get to start doing that for my own kids! I will carry on traditions and create new ones. I would love to hear other blogger's holiday traditions.

4. On that note...we are taking the boys to the pumpkin patch tomorrow. They will have no memory of it but I will and there will be 47 pictures for them to look at when they are older!

5. There are some new shows that are actually good this seasons. I am really enjoying The Middle and Modern Family.

6. Speaking of tv...I am so happy that Roseanne is back on Nick at Nite...granted it's on at 2 am but I still find myself awake at that time.

7. I decided to be a stay at home mom....while this makes me happy, it also scares the crap out of me.

8. Alabama football!!! We are ranked #3 just after Texas....my husbands favorite team. We are hoping they both go to the championship game...the boys will surely be clad in Bama outfits!

9. We left the boys for the night at grandma and grandpa's last weekend so we could go enjoy some dinner and drinks with friends. I was so nervous and sad but really needed to go out and unwind. We had a great time and jumped that hurdle.

10. My pets...my first children. My cats don't really have an opinion on the boys but my dogs are wonderful with them. I feel guilty alot because they don't get all of our attention, they have to share it now. But, they are getting more used to the new family dynamic and we shower them with love everyday.





Thursday, September 17, 2009

Roll Tide!!!

They better pick Bama in 18 years or mama is going to be very sad!!














Monday, August 31, 2009

I can see clearly now....

Whew....that was rough. Anyone who says that post partum depression is not real has no idea what they are talking about. It is very real and very difficult. My first 2 weeks home were okay other than the lack of sleep and getting adjusted. Then it hit me...I had a knot in the pit of my stomach from morning till night. I had no appetite and could not fall asleep to save my life. I have no doubt that the lack of sleep made things 100 times worse....no sleep will really screw with your head. I was probably getting an hour of sleep a day for 5 weeks. My mind would not let me fall asleep....I felt like I was living in a bad dream, nothing felt right or comforting. My house felt strange, I felt different, public places felt like another world. I would leave the house alone and panic to get home...I felt dread wherever I went...I felt like someone had died, that's how bad I felt. Maybe it was the old Amy who had died and I couldn't grasp that concept....couldn't adjust to the new Amy, the Amy who was responsible for 2 little boys, the Amy who would never have her much needed quiet time, the Amy who used to sleep 10 hours a day. I would look around at everyone and wonder if they had ever felt this way....wondered if they had a hard time. Luckily, one of the few things that gave me comfort was holding the boys.

I felt awful. I felt like I was out of my mind. I felt guilty. Here is something I wanted so badly...something I tried for for 6 years and now here I was feeling dread. How dare I?? But I had no control over it. I cried everyday...felt hopeless. Thank God for my husband who was 100% understanding and who took the reins and cared for those boys when I couldn't deal. No doubt they bonded to him first...the patience that man has is amazing. When both the boys would be screaming and I would be crying he was rocking and calmly talking. I have never seen a more hands on dad...ever.

Well, everyone said it would get better with time (thanks again to those who encouraged me in the blog world). It did get better...with time and Zoloft!! Thank God for Zoloft...and ambien!! Slowly things began to get more routine and my new life became "normal". I finally started to sleep and then my whole world changed. The rain was gone. I was enjoying my boys and being a mom.

The boys are now 11 weeks old and they make me smile everyday...they also make me exhausted, make my blood pressure rise, make me panic with worry for them...but I smile everyday. They too are smiling everyday which makes me melt. They are turning into people...not little fleshy blobs!! They slept 7 hours one night..but they are now back to about 5, but we are making progress. I can't wait for them to interact with us...to be excited about things.

So, that's my story. I hope it may bring comfort to someone else who is feeling depression. I am a firm believer in misery loves company...it's nice to know you are not alone..nice to know you are not crazy.












Sunday, July 26, 2009

so-so

Just wanted to thank you all for your comments and support. It helps to hear other people's stories and feelings. I had no idea what I was in for.....but, with meds and time each day is a tiny, tiny bit easier.