Super Charged Sunday's 12-2-12

Can you believe it is December!!! HOLY CRAPOLA!

Today means there are only 23 days until Christmas!

Today the Bengals are playing the Chargers at 4:25 and I plan on watching as much as I can.  I will however be wearing my Bengals scrubs and I am sure getting updates from Chris with every score.  

This week we are becoming very creative with what we have left in the fridge.  Our goal, well simply what we have to do because we are flat broke, is to use up all of the things in our fridge and freezer.  Seriously, we have so much food that has just been sitting in there because we go to the grocery and buy other food and then what we had gets pushed back.  

I can't wait to show you the recipe I have for Wednesday.  It was the very first time I ever "winged" a recipe.  It was completely a fly by the seat of my pants idea and it turned out fabulous.  Chris even told me it was better than Chipotle!  That is a BIG compliment coming from him!

Another thing I am going to try on Monday sounds good I just hope I can make it work.  (It will be another fly by the seat of my pants idea.)

While my two favorite guys wait for me at home I am counting down the hours til I am with them again!

We have a super exciting week coming up for more than one reason!  

Stay tuned!

So What I'm Working!

I feel like I am always working.  I am trying to come up with some series' for the days I am working.  That way I can work on them the night before and then post them on my lunch break at work.

I have been doing this so far with my picture recipes that I post on Wednesdays(when I get to actually go to lunch).  And it seems to be working pretty well. 

I really do like posting everyday but I am in dire need for some suggestions.  My work days are every other Tuesday, every Wednesday, every other Friday and every other weekend. For now.

So far I have Super Charged Sunday's, which I typically do when I get home.

Picture Recipe Wednesday.  

Fun Tag Friday's.

So all I need now is one for Tuesday's and Saturdays.  

I am thinking of doing a Truthful Tuesday's.  Where I pick one topic and I put my 100% honest opinion into a post, but this makes me extremely nervous.  So I am searching for some better ideas.

Or I could decide just not to post those days, unless I come up with a cool idea while I am at work.

So do you have any ideas for me?  

What would you like to read?

Fun Tag Friday! Couch Potato Edition!

1.  If you could watch 1 TV show for the rest of your life, what would it be?

For me I would have to say Grey's Anatomy.  I can sit and watch this series time and time again.  I have seen so many repeats and I still get just as enthralled in it as the first time I ever watched it.

2.  What movie would you be caught watching if you were depressed?

I tend to just turn on the TV and zone when I am depressed or sometimes clean.  But like every girl when I am depressed I would probably watch The Notebook or The Lucky One.

3.  During the winter what kind of pj's would you bundle up in?

I love the flannel pj pants from Old Navy that come out around Thanksgiving.  They are so warm.  I usually pair them with a tank top, a hoodie and fuzzy socks.  Then when I crawl into bed I take the hoodie and socks off.

4.  Given the choice would you say you have a sweet tooth or a salty one?

I think I would say salty.  My go to snack while being lazy is some potato chips or popcorn.

5.  Which snack would make you smile by just looking at it?

Umm maybe mint chocolate chips cookies.

6.  Would you rather be curled up on the couch or outside soaking up the sun?

Probably lounging outside by the pool.

7.  If you were to get a text message right now, who would it most likely be?

99% sure it would be Chris.

8.  Are you into Reality or Drama TV? 

Probably more so Drama.  I think one of the few reality shows I watch is Big Brother.  And I consider the shows that follow around celebrities are more so drama. 

9.  What one person would you invite to come cuddle up and watch movies all day?

This question is not fair!  I would invite Chris and Alex.  Since Chris and I made Alex out of half Chris and half me, he does not count for another person in my eyes.  That and he is always with me if I am home. 

10.  What is your favorite hot drink in the winter?

Coffee!  I like french vanilla caramel.

11.  Do you prefer the blazing sun or the freezing snow?

I am 100% indifferent.  So long as there is shade in the summer and a warm place to go in the winter.  

12.  When getting on the computer which website do you visit first?

www.facebook.com and then blogger!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am uber thankful for the entire day I spent snuggling with my baby boy today.  

I must say it is the best way to turn around a bad mood.  It is also my favorite thing to do after work when I change outta my scrubs.  

He really is the light of my life. 

Although today I have a miserable little boy.  Fever, vomiting and fussiness.  So today I am also thankful for Tylenol and the fact that his fever never went over 100 degrees. I sure hope he is only teething.  

Women Connect 2012

Wow!  What a challenge.  Becky at From Mrs. to Mama

has started an amazing Link Up.  And I have no idea where to start.  

She has encouraged us all to be 100% honest and really open up.

So here I go.  

A little over a year ago I started this blog as a way to express myself in my favorite and least controversial way possible, writing.  I was not very serious about it, it was a just a fun outlet for me.  

I had 1 follower and a few people from Facebook read them when I shared it on there.  

Since Alex was born I have found a new meaning for sharing our lives and more importantly his.

When I started this blog babies were not even on the radar for Chris and I.  I had been told getting pregnant was going to be very difficult and it was 75% likely I was going to need medical intervention.  In fact I was almost at a point where I could say I didn't want kids.  Chris was on the same level.  We knew we were not ready.  

But God works in mysterious ways.  Despite the probable diagnosis and the methods of protection we were taking we got pregnant.  

That was over a year ago.  Over that year, I have grown so much as a woman, a wife, a nurse and finally a mom.  

Who knew how much one person could change over 12 months, all while someone was changing inside of me at a miraculous pace.  

Now each morning a pair of bright blue eyes stare at me until I wake up fully relying on me for everything.  That is a responsibility no one could ever know until it is placed into their arms for the first time, or until they hear the cry for the first time.    

But now as I sit here wrangling my teething almost 5 month old :/ I find myself always asking, "Is what I am doing good enough.  Will he be appreciative of me?  Will he grow up to be half the man his father is?  How on Earth will I ever cope if anything happened to him?"  

I never knew one little heartbeat could cause such a conflict of emotions within me.  On one hand I feel so grown up and mature, but on the other he makes me feel so young and innocent again.  And no one ever told me about the guilt you would feel each time they cry, or that you leave for work or even take a shower.  

Life is so different, in a good way.  And as cliche as it sounds Alex has done nothing but good things for Chris and I.  

So now that this is as disjointed as my brain is right now, good night!  I hope to connect with so many amazing women through this!

Picture Recipe Wednesday - Skyline Casserole

I will just warn you about 2 things in advance, this recipe is SUPER delicious and will shortly become a household favorite, and it is really easy!

Start with 2 cans of Skyline.

Pour the first can into your casserole dish.

Be sure that the you cover the entire bottom of the dish.

Add water if need be

But make sure it is not too much!

Then gather these ingredients.

In our house we like mustard on our cheese coneys so we add mustard.  Onions are also optional, but don't add them here.

After you have added your desired amount of mustard, place the hotdog on the tortilla like so.

Then begin to roll it up.

After it is rolled place it in the dish like this, but make sure the edge is down.

After you roll each hot dog and place them in the dish, this is what it should look like.

Then take your other can of skyline and pour it over the top of the hot dog rolls.

Now doesn't that look delicious already?!?

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

While you wait grate some cheese.  Like all of my recipes it is as much cheese as you like.  But make sure to leave some extra for when the dish is done.

Sprinkle on your cheese.

WAH_LAH!  

Did you leave extra?

You then cover the dish with aluminum foil, but DON'T let it touch the cheese!

Cook it for 30 minutes.

Take it out, remove the foil and you have Skyline Casserole!

Dish it up!  2 are usually more than enough!

And this is where that extra cheese comes in!  

Mommy Must Have Mondays

Must Haves For Baby:

We absolutely LOVE this Bright Starts Play Mat.  Alex will lay and play on this thing for a long time!  However I am afraid we will have to retire it soon since he is now able to pull the hanging toys so hard that he pulls one whole side of the mat up off the floor.

However it is soo fun to watch him cross his eyes and then focus on the toys and then work his fingers around them.  I will say this has tremendously helped his hand eye coordination.  

I also like the mat without the toy bars connected.  It is much softer, softer and in my opinion safer than the carpet.  

In my opinion this is a definite MUST HAVE!

Mommy Must Have

Every Mommy needs a little "Pinspiration"

This picture of the tree is just that for me.  I talked a little bit in my post yesterday about drooling over

"themed" trees and this is one of the main reasons why!  How beautiful is this tree?!?

I will be working on creating this masterpiece over the next few days, and really up until Christmas.  My plan is to keep all of our ornaments that are red or white, or mainly those colors and then adding the red and silver "balls" ornaments.  (Non-shatter proof) If I find any ribbon I like I may add some bows and such, but mainly I am just looking for simplicity and prettiness.  I will shop for more pieces after Christmas for next year.

Super Charged Sunday

I would like to say I got a lot done today, but I really didn't.  

I got some presents wrapped and under the tree.  I started making another gift today and I visited my parents where I picked up some ornaments for my friends who just bought a house.

And then Alex and I were lazy the rest of the day.

Since the Bengals were not on TV, of course I could not watch them I did however listen as much as Alex would let me.  They crushed the Raiders and that only makes me that much happier since that is the team Carson Palmer went to.

I am slowly in the process of decorating each room for Christmas.  I have found that my "style" if you want to call it that has changed a lot since Chris and I (I should say I), began our Christmas decoration collection. I have become pretty simplistic and wanting "order and matching" if that makes any sense.  We have a lot of ornaments that I have collected while growing up and they decorate our tree, but I walk into Hobby Lobby or see trees on Pinterest that have "themes" or stick to a set "color combo" and I drool over them. 

I think I am going to try and do a silver and red theme on the tree.  I found stockings at Kohl's on Saturday that I love.  They are a black red and white plaid with initials on them.  I LOVE THEM!

I think the red and silver theme would go perfectly with this.

I got 2 C's and 1 A.  Chris, Caity and Alex.  Then of course I got a Baby's 1st Christmas for Alex.  

So my project for tomorrow will of course be to decorate the tree and sob as I take down my childhood ornaments.  Maybe I will look for a tree to put in Alex's room sometime after Christmas to put all of those on next year.

Breaking Dawn Review

So now that it has been almost 2 weeks since the movie premiered and both of my good friends have seen it I feel ok with posting this.

WHAT AN AMAZING MOVIE!!

Since the day I started reading the saga I imagined characters and what they look like, act like and how they add to the movie.  

I don't think it could have come to a close better.  

The immediate connection between Bella and Renesmee is tangible, and from the start, whether you read the books or not, you know she would never hurt her.  Seeing Edward really come loose with his emotions and feelings towards Bella was intoxicating.  And the fight sequence was jaw-dropping!  Literally jaw-dropping.  With the group I went with there was not a closed mouth.  At one point my cousin turned to me and said, "This movie sucks!"  And then said after it was over, "That made the movie!"

I think this movie was well worth the $11.50 for the ticket on Thursday and the $10.50 I paid for the ticket on Saturday night also.

I give it 5 stars and recommend it to everyone! 

Now I am just anticipating The Hunger Games and Fifty Shades of Grey!

Thanksgiving Week Recap!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

What a busy day we had!  We got up early and watched part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and DVR'd the rest.  

We then left for Chris's families house.  (After stopping to get a newspaper with all the deals in it of course!)

We relaxed and talked while the turkey finished cooking.

Alex had his first mohawk on Thanksgiving!

YUMMM!

Alex before he had some sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes!

Our Thanksgiving craft!

Since I worked on Wednesday and Friday I was not able to do any shopping until today and still did not buy too much since Chris and I are done for pretty much everyone and I planned on  making everything this year.

Hope you all had a fantastic week.

White Chicken Chili (A Picture Recipe)

So here is the recipe for our White Chicken Chili.  It is so easy and so delicious!

Start by preheating your oven per the bags directions, in my case it said to preheat to 375 degrees.

You need to cook between 6 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Or more depending on how much you like chicken.  I like it but don't love it.

Then add 3 cans of great northern beans, no particular brands.

After you empty each can of beans into your pat, fill it with water.  Unlike my Momma's Chili you only have to fill the beans cans with water. 

Then put in 4 cans of Cream of Chicken (Healthy Request) from Campbell's into the pot.  

By now the oven should be preheated, so as per my bags instructions, I put the chicken in for 45 minutes.

Now add 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes.  I chose the mild because I wanted the chili to have a little bit of a kick.

Then add 2 packets of McCormick's White Chicken Chili packets.

This is what it will look like once everything is added in. While the chicken finishes cooking bring this to a boil, then turn it to medium until the chicken is done.

Then dice the chicken.

Until it looks like this.

Add all of the chicken into the pot.

After you add the chicken let it simmer for 3-4 hours.

Then serve!