Memories

20 years ago...

1. I was 8 years old

2. I loved wearing my hair in a french braid and shirts my mom painted for me. I remember one with denim hearts and jewels all over it. LOVED that shirt!!!

3. I wanted to marry Joey from New Kids On The Block...and I thought I would one day!



10 years ago...

1. I was a freshman in college.

2. My biggest stress was to stay in or go out! (Oh yeah and when would I fit in school work!)

3. I was driving around Nac. in my little purple Civic!

5 years ago...

1. I had been dating Zak for three years.

2. I had just started my 1st year of teaching kindergarten.

3. I lived at home.

3 years ago...

1. I was a newlywed.

2. Zak and I had just moved into our new house.

3. We went to Italy to visit my little sister who was studying abroad.




1 year ago...

1. We were praying for a baby. (Little did we know we were JUST about to find out one was on the way!)

2. Last September Zak and I had one of my most favorite weekends ever! We stayed at The Inn At The Ball Park and spent a fun fun weekend together watching baseball and being silly!

3.We got a puppy.

This year so far...

1. We found out we were pregnant!

2. I lost 30 lbs (and put back on a little too). What a pregnancy!

3. We met our son!


Yesterday...

1. We spent a lazy day around the house.

2. My parents invited us over for dinner.

3. I missed Amazing Race because ATT Uverse stinks!

Today...

1. Colton and I read books, played, and cuddled all day!!!
2. I made Chicken and Rice for dinner.
3. We watched Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother...we love those shows! ATT decided to work tonight!

Tomorrow...

1. I need to vacuum and clean the bathrooms.

2. I hope Zak gets to work from home again. ( He worked from home today and although we stayed out of his way it was nice to see him peek out from time to time!)

3. I think I'll go for a walk with Colton.

Next year...

1. I will be 29!!!

2. I want to go on a fun family vacation.

3. I want to stay at home with my baby!


I copied this from a fellow blogger...it was fun to think back about some of this stuff that seemed so long ago!

Trying Something New!

Ok, so I have never been much of a cook. Its not that I cant cook, I think anyone can read a recipe, I just hate it. I really really dislike cooking. I hate planning meals, I hate deciding what to cook, I hate not having one important item for a meal and having to run to the store after work to get it. Zak has always been so great with my lack of cooking. He is a GREAT cook and cooks for me on the weekend. I can remember many nights where I would call him and say, "I'm too tired to cook. We are having fish sticks and mac and cheese." His response, "Sounds good! I'm craving that. " GOD BLESS HIM! Since I'm so luck to be home now I decided, just this week, that I was going to try really hard to do more cooking. ( I know I've been off work for like 4 months.) I want to expand my meal ideas for when I go back to work. So, this week I tried two new recipes I found in magazines. I also made an old favorite that I totally forgot about. Last night I even baked my favorite cookies. I thought I'd go ahead and share my recipes with you. I'm always up for discovering new EASY recipes. I usually don't make them but I always print them out and put them in my cook book. Let me tell you that these are quick, easy, and much healthier than fish sticks and mac and cheese. Don't let me fool you, we will still have fish sticks and mac and cheese in the rotation.

Chicken and Sage Mushroom Gravy
1 1/2 lbs thin slices chicken

1/4 tsp salt

1/4teaspoon black pepper

3 tbls veg. oil

10 oz mushrooms

2 tbls flour

1 can chicken broth

1/4 tsp dried sage

1/4 tsp nutmeg

noodles and green beans

1. Season chicken with 1/8 tsp of salt and pepper. 2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in large skillet. Add chicken and saute on both sides until cooked. Remove to plate 3. Add remaining 1 tbsp oil and mushrooms to skillet. Cook 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over mushrooms and cook 1 min. Gradually stir in broth. Add sage nutmeg and remaining salt and pepper. Simmer 2 minutes. Add chicken and simmer 2 minutes. 4. Serve with noodles and green beans.

Lemony Chicken and Orzo

This one doesn't look too appetising but it really was good. I think it was Zak's favorite of the week. I wanted to cook zucchini with it but when I went to the grocery store they were out of all the good veggies. Next time I make it I think Ill make it with sun ripened tomatoes.

4 bonless skinless chicken breast

1/2 tsp salt and pepper (each)

1 can chicken broth

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 tsp honey

2 1/2 tbsp low fat sour cream

3/4 cup orzo

1. Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute in skillet 2. Pour broth and lemon juice into pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken, cover and reduce to medium heat for about 5 minutes. 3. Remove chicken from pot and set aside. Increase heat to high and cook sauce for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining salt and pepper; whisk honey and sour cream to broth. 4. Add 2 cups of water to pot and bring to boil. Add orzo and cook about 10 minutes or until pasta is soft and most of liquid has been absorbed. Stir chicken into mix.

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole (Weight Watchers recipe and the easiest meal EVER!)

1 lb extra lean ground beef

1 (15 oz) chunky tomato sauce

1 can refrigerated pizza crust dough

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425. 2. Cook meat in non stick skillet. Add tomato sauce and cook until heated. 3. Coat 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray (Do not forget this part!) Unroll pizza into dish making sure it covers sides. 4. Add meat and tomato sauce mixture. 5. Bake uncovered for 12 minutes. Top with cheese and bake anther 5 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Walnut Lace Cookies 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup walnuts

4 tbsp butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350. 2. Line cookie sheet with foil. 3. Stir together dry ingredient. 4. Heat butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup to a boil on medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and flour mix. 5. Drop 1 level teaspoon of batter onto foil. Use back of spoon to spread (very very thinly) into a 2 inch round. Repeat with rounds 1 inch apart. 6. Bake 8 minutes or until tops are bubbly. 7. Cool on wire racks. Peel from foil when hard. (If they don't harden put back in over 2-3 minutes)

I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!! I'm going to try more next week!

3 months old!

( Beware...This blog is long! Sorry about that! I just want to include everything so I can go back and remember. )

Wow I can not believe how fast this time is going! (I know I say this every month.) Colton is 3 months today. This morning he was so patient with me during our little photo shoot. He is learning to love the camera! I got him all dressed up and ready to go, I propped him up on the couch and before I could get the first picture in, he spit up all over his outfit! :) I decided not to change him for the picture because that's typical Colton,typical baby I'd imagine, plus you can't tell in the pictures.

Here are some of the things he's been up to this last month...

He now weighs 12 lb 5.5 oz

He is talking up a storm. At night we put him in his bouncy chair while we eat dinner and he just talks and talks. He also loves to talk to the singing star on his baby Einstein mat, it's his best friend.

He has started laughing when we play. He loves peek-a-boo and being bounced in his bouncer.

He loves to lay on his back and play. He kicks and "dances".

He really doesn't like tummy time but he can still roll over and he can still hold his head up at a 90 degree angle.

Just recently, he started squealing with happiness. I have to say this is the best sound I have ever heard!

He cries occasionally, but he seems to "scream" at you when he wants something instead of really crying.

He sits with support. He loves to sit in his bumbo but I feel like it's still a lot of work for him so he doesn't stay in it too long.

Music will calm him down anytime anywhere.

He can put weight on his legs when he is held up right.

He holds his head up very well.

He loves to cuddle and rock.

He has his fist in his mouth at all times if he doesn't have a binki.

On occasion, he will keep his head level with his body when he is pulled up to a sitting position.

He is not napping as much during the day. He sleeps when we get in the car and he will always fall asleep if we are cuddling and rocking but I think if we played all day he would be very happy...and AWAKE!

He loves to read. His Favorite book right now is Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

I thought he might be teething last week but I'm just not sure. I think he was just going through regular baby stuff. The little bit of fussiness he had has gone away. We have the teething rings in the freezer and teething tablets and Tylenol ready when he is. ( I did talk to his Dr. about it and she said it is extremely rare for a baby to cut teeth this early. She said she would only be concerned with his symptoms if he had a loss of appetite. His appetite has been pretty much the same and his mouth doesn't seem to bothering him as much so I guess all is well...for now.)

I have noticed lately that he wants to be held more than he use to. I have probably spoiled him a little because we spend a lot of time rocking and cuddling. Whenever I am not doing anything around the house I sit with him and we talk and sing and I usually rock him while I watch TV. I am trying to get him to be able to calm himself without always being picked up. If only we could figure out how to keep that binki in his mouth. He moves his arms around so much that he is always knocking it out. He also likes to play a little game with us. He spits his binki across the pack and play or just out of his mouth and fusses to see if we will put it back, just to do it again 10 seconds later and laugh! I have heard many people (Dr. included) say that you can't spoil a baby. I've hear that you cant spoil a newborn. I've also heard, that up to 6 months, a baby can't be spoiled. I do not agree with 6 months. Colton is becoming very spoiled when it comes to being held. I just have such trouble not loving on him every second I can.


I am sure there are so many other little things that Colton is doing that I don't even realize are milestones. He impresses me so much each and every day. We do have the occasional hectic, hard, frustrating day but all in all he is a very happy content baby with a pretty laid back personality. He definitely has his daddy's personality and not his mommy's. The past three months have really been a challenge for me (a good challenge). It is hard adjusting to life with a little one. I have always liked to be in control of situations. I need to know where I'm going and when I should be there and I am always on time. I have learned, very quickly, that Colton is now in charge of plans and timing! In the past months Colton has taught me how to slow down and enjoy things a little more. I try very hard to enjoy the moment and not worry about what is going to happen next. These moments pass way too quickly. I know now that I probably WON'T be on time, I may be covered in spit up, and I may be exhausted by the time I get there, but I'll get there eventually! I know that Colton's needs come before anything that I do. I love him so much and wouldn't have it ANY other way!

Happy 3 months baby boy!

Grin And Bear It!

We took Colton, for his first weekend away, to a log cabin resort in Burnet Tx. called Log Country Cove (http://www.logcountrycove.com/) on Lake LBJ. We headed out on Friday with my mom and dad and little sister. We had a blast! It was a much needed weekend away for all of us. I have to warn you that there are a ridiculous amount of pictures in this blog! :)



I already over pack now I have to do it for TWO!
Ready to head out... just waiting for Nanny, Grandad and Aunt Beck.
Colton loves the car!

Sadie got to ride up front!
The "Grin and Bear It " log cabin.
Out back with Aunt Becky.
Our family!
Nanny and Grandad.

Rock climbing. Swinging.
Sunset view from our cabin.
Morning coffee and a chat with Grandad. Colton laid like this on the couch for quite some time. He was as happy as could be and got so much love this weekend.
Out by the lake.

The water was way too cold to get in so this is as close as Colton got.
Sunbathing by the lake.
How Nanny and Colton enjoyed the lake.
Out on the jet ski.
Grandad and Aunt Becky on the jet ski.

Colton hanging out with the black bear. The cabin was covered in bears. They were everywhere on the walls, in the kitchen, on the shower curtains, on the plates, on the pillows...EVERYWHERE!!!
Out to dinner on Lake LBJ.
Making Smores.
Coltons first sink bath. He LOVED it once he got use to it but it took two of us to hold him up. He got very slippery!
Its been a long weekend! Colton was worn out and ready to get home. He slept the entire way home. What a good boy!

Teething?????

Colton turns three months next week and I am thinking he could possibly be teething. From what I understand most babies start teething around 6 months. I have actually heard that some babies (very few) are born with teeth. Can you imagine seeing your precious newborn baby, just seconds, old screaming his head off, with a little tooth!?!? I am queen of research (as most of you know) and online and in my books it says that babies can start teething as early as two months. I still feel like it's a bit early but this is what I've been seeing with my little guy...
1.He has been unusually fussy the past week or so. I say unusually because he not screaming or anything like that. He is not acting like he use to when he had a tummy ache or gas. He's just fussy, hard to settle, easily agitated. Its just not like him. 2.He is drooling a lot and trying to shove his whole fist in his mouth. 3.When I put my finger in his mouth he doesn't try to suck, he bites. He also rubs his tongue along the front of his mouth. 4.When I look into his mouth I can see two little white areas on the bottom part of his gums. (I'm not sure if these were always there but I have never noticed them before.) 5.I can feel a little bump when I rub my finger a long his gums.

I know it is normal for babies to drool and put their hands in their mouth but my instinct is telling me he might be teething. I tried to give him a frozen teething ring tonight. He was not sure, at all, about how cold it was so I had to let it warm up. Once it warmed up he loved having it against his gums and it actually calmed him down for a little bit. He has not been running a fever, that I know of, but other than that all of the signs are there. I guess we will just keep an eye on it, time will tell. Maybe it's just a little phase he is going through? Maybe it's normal three month old behavior? Maybe I'm just crazy? THAT could be it! :) I'll keep you posted.

Ike...The Aftermath (Many pictures ahead!)

We are doing just fine and have power (yippie)!!! Over 2 million people in our area lost power and we were told power could be out for two weeks. Thank goodness that was not the case for us. IKE has passed over our area and the majority of the rain was done by about 2 or 3 today. I have attached some pictures of Galveston and Houston (from chron.com) and also a few I took from our area in Cypress.

Tidal surge on I 45
Road leading into Galveston
Galveston on the Seawall.
You can see the Flagship hotel in the back ground. They lost a bridge connecting them to the seawall (it is on a pier over the water). People were actually staying in this hotel during the storm (crazyyy). There is a walk way that is still intact so people can walk to and from the hotel but the cars are trapped until the bridge is fixed, which they say could take months to fix.

This is the restaurant I ate dinner at the night of my prom in Houston. It caught on fire during the storm and is destroyed. (So sad!)
This is the JP Morgan Chase building in downtown Houston. ALL of the windows were blown out.

It looks as though the devastation to Galveston will take months even years to repair. Fortunately the storm surge was only about 10 feet, they were predicting it to be 20 feet. There are areas in Galveston that they have not even been able to access. I just hope everyone is safe! The Houston area also has a lot of clean up and reconstruction ahead of it. We are very thankful that our area seems to be okay. Our house looks to have a few loose shingles but its not near as bad as some of our neighbors. We also took in just a little bit of water at our back door from the rain beating against the door so hard. Nothing was affected inside by that though. There are small trees in our neighborhood that have been uprooted and a few fences are down. As far as we know that is the extent of damage in our area. Last night was really scary. Although I slept through most of it between 3 and 6 this morning things got really crazy. I could feel the walls moving against our bed. The wind sounded like planes taking off and you could hear sheets of rain against the windows. Zak stayed up all night and said that he watched the blinds in the living room move from the wind outside. He could also hear the walls popping inside the house. My parents and Zak's parents neighborhoods are littered with large trees that have fallen. My parents house was okay but Zak's parents house has a hole in the roof. Unfortunately a basketball goal also smashed out the window of Zak's moms car. Zak and his little brother went over today to help out where they could. I feel so bad that they had so much damage, I hope that they are able to repair things quickly and without too much hassle.

Here are some of our pictures.

Colton "hunkering down" for the storm.

As the storm rolled in about 9 last night.

This morning about 9.
Trees uprooted across the street from us.
Our house made it!!!

Mom and dad had no power so they came over for breakfast and coffee this morning around 10:30.

Sadie was not happy about the rain. We had to PUSH her out to potty this morning! Poor thing..her and Chloe had NO clue what was going on last night and they were both scared!

This evening my parents, Jerry and Glenda and my little sister came over for dinner and some much needed AC time. It seems that we were very very blessed when we got our electricity back on about 9 this morning. We have come to find out that very few people around Houston have power. As of 10 tonight my parents and Jerry and Glenda were still without power. Zak's parents got their power back right after the storm hit.

IKE

It look as though Ike is headed straight for us! Last night I was certain that it would veer off to our east but I don't think that will be the case. The forecasters are saying that it doesn't even matter if it moves, the impact we will feel is going to be great no matter where it goes at this point. Most people in the Galveston area have followed directions and evacuated. Some have not. We are already hearing stories of people having to be rescued. Let me just take a minute to say that I think people who did not evacuate and follow the MANDATORY evacuation are CRAZY! The news keeps showing people out and about taking pictures of the hurricane rolling in. Last night, one station interviewed a lady out on the beach with her 6 children. All of the kids looked to be 7 and under. One was even small enough to be pushed down the beach in a stroller. (Which I'd imagine was not an easy task.) If you are going to stay and tough it out at least don't put your poor kids into harms way!

On the Galveston Seawall

(I think this lady is a little too close! I'd imagine she moved away after this scare!)

I know we prepare for hurricanes that never hit but I'd rather be safe than sorry and its just what you sign up for when you live so close to the coast. Each time a hurricane comes our way the news media makes it a huge deal, leading to wide spread panic. This time though, I feel, things have been very different. Yes we now have around the clock coverage but that just started yesterday. Before that, they were really playing the storm down. I heard one channel say they were afraid of "crying wolf". Nature is unpredictable, I guess you just don't know what will happen. We all know how reliable the weather is. People are finally realizing just how bad it might be. The pictures we are seeing are amazing considering that Ike is still about 12 hours from making landfall. The pictures I have posted are from Chron.com. Streets on Galveston Island are already underwater. Houses are already getting water in them. There has not even been rain in Galveston, this is just from the storm surge ahead of the storm. Its exciting to watch the news and see what is transpiring but I have to admit its getting a little scary.

(Keep in mind that the storm has NOT hit and there has been NO rain when you look at these two pictures.)

Mayor of Surfside

Galveston Island

I feel like our area will be safe but, again, you just never know. They are predicting 60-75 mph winds in our area. (We are about an hour - hour and a half drive from the coast.) Winds like that could do major damage, specially in older neighborhoods with large trees. We spent last night and this morning picking up outside and moving every little thing inside. I can hear the wind picking up outside and its starting to get a little dark. Zak is napping in preparation for a late night. He wants to stay up to watch/listen to the coverage tonight as the storm hits around midnight. I will update later if we don't loose power, which I imagine we will at some point. I don't want to see people get hurt. I don't want to see families loose all of their belongings. I am keeping everyone in Ikes path in my prayers.