Things. Are. Happening!

Hey y'all!!! If you're an average mommy blogger like I am, then you're already very familiar with the following phrase: Sorry I've been so MIA lately, but life has been crazy! Haha... seriously, though, unless you're Supermom Superblogger, you know what I mean here! I think we all have times when we inadvertently neglect our blog as life takes over for a little bit. Now is such a time in my life. Even now I reallllly don't have that much time to be blogging, but felt like I should do a quick catch up before life gets even crazier (and it's about to!)

The fam went down to Virginia Beach during the week ending with and including Memorial Day weekend for vacation (and a few job interviews for the hubby.) Back in November, we went out to San Diego to visit family for Thanksgiving, and dipped Gemma's little toesies into the Pacific, so she's technically already been to the beach, but this was her first "real" beach trip. She was cautious of the sand at first, but then ended up loving it! Daddy would build little castles for her, and she would smash them down. It was so stinkin cute. She got it in her bathing suit, mouth, ears, everywhere. For the record, it is very difficult to re-apply sunscreen to a baby who is COVERED in sand! (Note to self - get spray sunscreen). She was nooooot really a fan - at all - of the ocean however. 

Having all kinds of fun!

Like I said... Not. A. Fan.

Awhile back, a mommy blog friend of mine's son popped teeth while they were on vacation, so I was like, "Ooh, maybe GEMMA will finally pop some teeth while WE'RE on vacation!" But no, not a one. She is now 10 months and 4 days, and totally toothless. It's all good though. I'm nursing her, so I'm not really in a rush for her teeth to come in, but it does slightly limit what she can eat food-wise. I say slightly, because her lack of teeth doesn't really hinder her a great deal. She can really gum something down when she wants to. She's a bit picky on what she'll eat, but she lives fruit smoothies and is basically a carb-aholic. Pasta, bread, crackers, cereal, potatoes, bagel, pizza crust... if it's a carb, she loves it. Girl after my own heart :)

Aaaaanyway, as I mentioned earlier, my husband did some job interviews while we were down in Virginia, and I am SO EXCITED to announce that he got the job we were hoping for! So we have been, and are currently in crazy pack mode, as we are leaving for Virginia on the 26th because his job starts July 1st!! That's right, we are soon-to-be Virginia residents! Ahhh I am freaking out. It's going to be a really fantastic move for us, as we have lots of good friends already where we are moving, and we'll be a bit closer to various family members of mine :)

However, getting from point A to point B is crazy stressful! Any of you who have relocated to another STATE know what I'm talking about. Sooooo many logistics! I won't even go into it.

LASTLY, on Monday (the 20th), I'll be having a fairly major surgery. It all started over a month ago, when I ended up in the ER. So not fun. Well, several follow-up appointments, 2 ultrasounds, and a CAT Scan later, it has come to light that I have two benign dermoid cysts inside me. Either both in one ovary, or one in each ovary. They are bigger than tennis balls, oblong, and heavy. So yes, they are causing me pain. And yes, they need to come out. Unfortunately, due the the nature and location of the cysts, my OB will not be able to perform the surgery laproscopically as we had originally hoped. So it will be an open surgery, and although he said he will do his best to keep the incision as small as possible, the fact remains - it's an open surgery. It carries higher risks and requires a longer recovery time. 

So yes, you got that right. I will be having major surgery and moving to another state 6 days later. Enter: STRESS. But ya know, we're coping with it really well actually. I realize, God has been SO GOOD to us, and I trust Him completely. 

If you could please, offer a prayer for me and my family during this crazy time in our lives! I will try to update as soon as I can, but with everything going on, no guarantees on when that will be! As of now, all I can say is Praise God for all the blessings he has been pouring into our lives. Jesus, I trust in you.

Here's one last picture of Gemma enjoying the pool at our friend's house:

Broccoli-Stuffed BBQ Chicken

So it's been awhile since I've shared something from my kitchen, but fear not dear readers, the wait is over! I bring to you the latest, greatest kitchen creation to fill your hungry bellies! It is everything I love about food: scrumptious, healthy, satisfying. This particular recipe is for 2, but easy to increase if you have a bigger family than I currently do. One chicken breast per person, and increase the other ingredients accordingly.

Ingredients:
2 thick chicken breasts
2 stalks of broccoli
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (if you don't like them, omit them!)
1/2 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil
1/4-1/3 cup your favorite bbq sauce
salt
pepper
seasonings (I used oregano, chili powder, thyme, and nutmeg)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Take your chicken breasts out of the fridge to bring to room temp before cooking.
3. While that happily sits, heat up the butter and oil in a skillet. Chop the broccoli up and throw it in. Add your salt, pepper, and seasonings to your taste. Chop up your onion and basil, while you let that broccoli cook for 5-7 minutes. Next, add the garlic (grated or finely chopped), onions, and mushrooms and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Take off heat, and stir in the chopped basil and about half of your bbq sauce.
4. Butterfly your chicken breasts*, and place them into a greased baking pan.
5. Spoon your broccoli mixture into the chicken breasts. Pour the other half of your bbq sauce over the top of the chicken.
6. Cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken breasts. Start checking it after 20-25 minutes and bake until done! Serve on a bed of brown rice and with plenty of extra bbq sauce!

Yum!

*How to Butterfly a Chicken Breast:
Place the breast on the cutting board with the tip facing you and the thinner side opposite your cutting hand. Place your hand on top of the breast to keep it steady. Carefully insert the knife (you will need a VERY sharp knife - the sharper, the better!) into the thickest part of the breast, and draw it almost all the way through the breast. Be careful to make sure you keep the breast attached on one side. Open the breast like a book and, if needed, lightly pound the flesh until it's an even thickness.

Anybody Else Hate the Hospital??

Sorry I have been so MIA lately!!
This past week I ended up in the hospital, which was awful. Seriously... anybody else hate the hospital? Of course you start off being miserable when you get there because there is obviously something ailing you seriously enough to put you there in the first place. Then you get into your room, and people just start doing stuff to you. I was asking questions every five seconds about what they were doing to me, but not one person was offering up information on their own accord, and even when they would answer my questions, they would give me the most minimalistic, dumbed-down answer ever. And if I ever questioned the answer, they'd look at me like I was crazy! Sorry I'm not an animatronic moron who will just sit there while you poke and prod at me! Sheesh! 

When I first got there, of course, they were asking all kinds of questions about my current condition and medical history. During this time it came out that I am nursing my baby. They took a BUNCH of blood which I haaaaaaate. I so admire people who donate blood for good causes and all that but I cannot stand the feeling of blood draining out of my vein. It's so unnatural! 

After I had already been there for almost TWO HOURS, they finally get around to asking me if I'd like something for the pain. I was in quite a LOT of pain, so I said yes. Unfortunately, I didn't have any pain meds in my bag like I normally do. Rocky specifically asked them if there was a... well, not insanely expensive option for me to have. The nurse looked at him like he has two heads. 

Nurse: "What do you mean?"

Rocky: "Well, I just know the pain meds in hospitals can be pretty expensive." 

(we learned this after my hospital stay with Gemma)

Nurse: "Oh yea... uh..."

Rocky: "So I was just wondering if you had a cheaper version available of whatever you're going to give her."

Nurse: "Hm. I really just don't know! Sorry."

Cut to a few minutes later. The nurse comes in and starts doing stuff on the bedside table. I look over, and I see she is filling up three needles with three different things. Of course, never tells me what she's doing over there, so I HAVE TO ASK as usual. 

Me: "What are those?"

Nurse: "Oh this is blah blah. To help with the pain. And this is blah blah for nausea. And this is blah blah. That's the stronger pain medication for you."

(All three needles were already filled, so at this point I was pretty sure I was paying for all three of these things regardless if I refused them or not.)

Me: "Oh. Well... ya know, I'm not really feeling nauseous anymore at all."

Nurse: "Haha ohhh, you will."

Me: ?????

Nurse: "This blah blah normally makes patients feel nauseous so we just always give these medications together like this."

Me: "....o...k..."

She puts all three meds into my IV. Pretty much instantaneously, I felt SO WEIRD. I mean - weeeeeeird. This hot, pushing, swirling feeling crept all the way from the base of my skull down into the rest of my body. And then yes, I felt so nauseous. I felt dizzy and removed from the world. In short, I was high as a freaking kite. As soon as that feeling had taken over, I panicked! The nurse was already gone but it occurred to me that this was a VERY powerful narcotic, and I knew there was no way I would be able to nurse Gemma on it. Rocky went and grabbed the nurse for me. 

Me: "Uhh... this is making me feel really loopy. Is that normal?"

Nurse: "Well, most people do feel weird for a few minutes but it should subside soon."

Me: "Okay, well, am I going to be able to nurse my daughter on this?"

Nurse: "Ohhhh. I forgot you were nursing! Oh, egh, yea, I don't think you will be able to. Let me check with the doctor for you."

(20 minutes go by)

Nurse: "The doctor said four hours before you can nurse."

SERIOUSLY?! This, by far, was the most maddening part of my entire hospital experience. They KNEW I was nursing my daughter, but gave me a narcotic anyway! Mind you, it had already been over two hours since the last time I had nursed Gemma, and I wouldn't be able to nurse her till 7pm, which would skip her usual 5pm session and make her wait till before bedtime basically. I had brought a (very) small amount of food with me for her... just some puffs and a little bit of mashed apples and grapes. I was so angry with the hospital staff! Not only did they ignore our request for a cheaper pain med, they ignored the fact that I was a nursing mother, and they neglected to mention to me that what they were giving me was a NARCOTIC, even when I flat-out asked the nurse what she was giving me! She just told me the name of it (like that means anything to me!) and told me it was strong. Well, I consider Motrin to be strong, so how was I supposed to know just how strong she meant? Not to mention, I'm super sensitive to pain meds of any kind as it is, so I felt high for almost five hours, and the nausea didn't pass until the following afternoon. 

Deep. Breath.

Okay, sorry for the rant, but I'm hoping I'm not the only crazy one. Anyone else had bad hospital experiences? Where you just feel like the staff forgets you're an actual person and they just do stuff to you without even consulting with you? I mean, I'm sure these people aren't maliciously trying to treat you poorly, but you can tell they are just plugged into this system and they forget that we are not plugged into it! We get inserted into it against our will.

[For the record, I was in for an ovarian cyst, which has since ruptured and is decreasing in size. I'm feeling much, much better.]

Okay, and lastly, on a happy note, I'll leave you with this really cute song by Jason Mraz. I love finding songs by artists I like that can double as children's songs. It gives me hope that I don't have to necessarily be doomed to a life of The Wiggles and KidzBop to make my children happy :)

Weekend Windown and SOOC Link-Ups

I love weekends. My husband is currently in the kitchen whipping up cinnamon roll french toast. (That's where you make french toast out of almost stale cinnamon rolls from last weekend! I've never done it or had it, but the hubs is swearing by it... I'll let you know how it turns out.) Anyway, breakfast is totally his thing. And I'm more than happy to let him take over the kitchen while I relax on the couch for a bit.

Here's a SOOC (straight out of the camera) picture of Gemma watching the Royal Wedding yesterday. I totally put her princess skirt on over her pjs. It just felt like the right thing to do.

Hope you all have a great weekend! :)

SOOC Link-Up

Blog Hop

Wordless Wednesday: Secret Snacktime?

He is Risen!

Happy Easter everybody!!! May you have a joyous and blessed day!

"Death couldn't handle Him and the Grave couldn't hold Him!"

Putting Babies Through College

Money. Yeaaaaa. A lot of people have a love of money, but if you're like me, you hate it. It always seems to create more problems than it solves, and there never seems to be enough of it! Most families operate on some sort of a budget, and although it might seem a little bit early to add "College Savings" to that budget, it really isn't. It's never to early to start saving! (Even if it's just a little bit).

As I sit here looking at my 8 month old playing with a paper towel roll, I find it hard to imagine her starting college. But she will. Sooner than I know it I'm sure.

So. Here are a few tips for saving some of that degree-winning dinero.

1. Open a savings account of some sort. Can't save without a savings account. Well... there's always the ole stash-it-under-the-mattress gig, but there may be better options for you. In fact, there are lots of options out there for different types of accounts, and some are specifically for college savings. Talk to your banker about the best option for your family.

2. Once you've got the account set up, put some away every single month. The best way to do this is to set up an automatic transfer of the amount you're putting away, that way you're not tempted to "just wait till next month to start" or worried about forgetting to do it. Work this into your monthly budget plan. Even if you're only putting in $5 a month, at least it's a start. And getting into the habit of saving is very important.

3. When your baby receives any money as gifts (Baptism, birthdays, etc.), immediately put that into her account. It's her money, and that's the best place for it. Remember, you should already have an allotted category in your budget for her day-to-day expenses, like diapers and food. And as your kids get older, talk to them about the monetary gifts they receive. This is a great time and way to start teaching financial decision making early on. As kids, they're likely to want to blow it all on the newest video game but teach them the value of saving. See if you can work out a system where half of it goes to their savings and the other half is theirs to spend.

4. Windfalls. These may not come often, but when they do, boy does it feel great. Whether it be a tax return, winning lottery ticket, inheritance checks, or a generous gift at Christmas, there's nothing quite like the thrill of unexpected money. And since it's unexpected, in reality, you don't always need it right then and there. The best thing to do with unexpected money is put half of it - that's right, HALF, into your child's savings. Put thirty percent of it into your own savings. And then blow the other twenty percent. Splurge on a nice date, or new purse, or a set of congas. Whatever you fancy. And don't feel guilty about it! That's the beauty of unexpected money. 

5. Don't touch the account, other than to put money IN. Your future self will be very grateful. Once the money's there, it's there. I'm sure it may be tempting to dip into it a little bit when the kitchen sink blows or when your health insurance didn't cover quite as much of the hospital bill from your kid's broken arm as you'd hoped. But the goal is to have an emergency savings account of your own for times like that, so your childrens' savings accounts are free to happily grow over the years, right along with your children. 

I know there are some people who are not big fans of budgeting, seeing it as a limitation on their lifestyle. But in reality, budgeting, when done right, opens up more possibilities for your life! Sure, you may need to cut back on going to the high-end sushi restaurant for every date night, but the money you save doing so can be going towards saving up for a family vacation to the beach, or a down payment for a more comfortable car. 

And in this case, the security of knowing you will be able to help your baby, even just a little, when it comes time for her to go off to college. As a mom, I know I'll be grateful to have one less thing to worry and cry about when that day comes.