Right Around the Corner...

After my doctor's appointment last week, I was standing at the check-out window getting ready to make my next appointment. My midwife came up to me and said "You know what, let's just go ahead and skip making next week's appointment and get you on the books at the hospital next week." WHAT?! Admittedly, pregnancy is not one of my most favorite times. I would much rather have my baby in my arms than in my belly. So I was definitely not devastated that she decided to put me out of my misery a week early without me even asking about it! With both Maryn and Brynna, I was overdue before they took pity on me and gave me some pitocin to get things moving. So, I am happy to announce that Miss Lauryn will be making her debut this Wednesday, July 2nd! Stay tuned, I'll try to get pictures of our new arrival up as soon as possible!

Nine Years Ago...

Yesterday Justin and I celebrated our ninth anniversary. Justin expressed the very thoughts I was feeling towards him in the card he gave me. "...We've grown up together, learned together, loved together, created together, and challenged each other. I don't think I could have asked for another person to do that with than you..." If I could travel back in time and thank the naive, eighteen year girl I was for picking Justin, I would. I don't know if she knew what she was doing, but I know without a doubt the Lord did when He brought us together. I simply love that man with all my heart and could not ask for a better companion to journey through life with. All the joys and bumps we've had and shared along the way have solidified the love we have for each other in a way that I never could have understood nine years ago. He truly is my best friend and I feel so fortunate I get to continue the journey, hand in hand with him.

Nesting

I was just talking to my friend Tracy about the insane nesting urge pregnant women get. She was telling me that she gets it really bad and that her husband knows that she is on a warpath against dust when she is pregnant. She even said that she even makes him paint all the trim and do touch-ups on the walls. (So I'm not alone, I've been looking at my trim with disdain! The only difference is, Justin will clean the kitchen, but paint the trim, yeah right!) She said she absolutely must have every inch of her house deep cleaned and spotless when she comes home from the hospital. It made me feel so much better, because I have been out of control OCD in my brain lately. We have either been on the go or I've just been too exhausted to do everything I would like to have done. So in my head, every crumb, every smudge, every weed, basically everything is like a big looming reminder of how much I need to have done before Lauryn gets here. Which let's face it, could be any day! It's just this crazy compulsion to CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! The world really would not come to an end if I went into labor and my carpets still look like Hansel and Gretel (a.k.a. Maryn and Brynna) have been on their crumb trail again. However, I have had visions of myself, in labor needing to go to the hospital and stalling so that I can scrub at the little corners of my faucets with a toothbrush. I'm sick, I know. I can't even voice these thoughts to Justin because I know he would think I'm a certifiable nut job. Oh well, I know I am... or just a very pregnant, nesting woman who can't help herself! Now, what am I doing wasting time on the computer when I have floors to mop!

Remember me?

Running, do you remember me? I know it's been awhile, we used to be such good friends, what happened? Things seem to have gotten in the way... working, family, home, and pregnancy... somehow we lost touch... you were always there for me when I felt like every ounce of me went to someone else... I could always count on you to clear my head, help me remember me... that person besides wife and mom... yeah it's been awhile since I thought about her... you gave me so many things... the satisfaction of sweat on my brow and at the nape of my neck... the feeling of euphoria after having gotten past the 'I hate this' phase... feeling air in my lungs and breathing hard... you pushed me and I loved that about you... you made me believe for the first time in my life I wasn't just a quitter, that I could stick it through... I miss listening to music that I love with you and imagining myself in wonderful places, places I hope I someday find, not just in my imagination... I miss stretching out muscles you pulled tight... I miss feeling muscles at all, really... I remember you made me feel strong and walk taller... I hope you can forgive me my absence... can we meet again soon?

More Leftovers Please!

I decided awhile ago that delivery pizza is one of two things, either overpriced or really just mediocre on the whole flavor factor. However, I had previously been intimidated by the thought of making my own dough. Which I don't know why, because I love to bake. But one day I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. I wish it wouldn't have taken me so long to try it, because it was SO easy! We had leftover Barbecue Bacon Chicken that we had grilled for dinner the previous night and I didn't want it to go to waste. So I threw together some dough. Then topped it with Barbecue Sauce instead of red sauce, mozzarella, sliced grilled chicken with the delicious bacon and sharp cheddar cheese that had been melted over the chicken when we grilled it, crushed pineapple bits and thinly sliced red onion. It was so easy and really had much better flavor than any overpriced, delivery pizza joint. And I got to use up my leftovers! I served it with another super simple, yet delicious side, Strawberry Spinach Salad. It is fresh, light and sweet, and let's not forget how proud Popeye would be of you. My girls gobble this up!

The recipe for the dough may look long, but it really only takes 5-10 minutes of prep to have homemade pizza dough. Throw your salad together during the 15 minutes the pizza is in the oven and you literally have a meal that only requires about 30 minutes in the kitchen all together. You'd be waiting at least that long for the delivery guy to show up, so c'mon give it a try!

CRUSTY PIZZA DOUGH
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 Cup warm water (when making any dough, keep it about the warmth of a baby's bottle)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. olive oil
2 1/2-3 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. cornmeal

Dissolve your yeast in the warm water. I like to add just a tiny pinch of honey to get the yeast activated. Let it sit for a few minutes until the yeast starts looking foamy.

Mix your salt and 2 1/2 Cups of the flour together. Add yeast mixture and olive oil in mixer. Then slowly add flour mixture. Add additional flour 1/2 Cup at a time as needed until the dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl.

Turn it out onto a floured surface and just work it with a light dusting of flour until it's not too sticky. Once you have it formed into a nice ball, spray a bowl with cooking spray, throw the dough in, turn it over once just so both sides are greased. Then cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place. (I throw mine in my turned off oven to rise.)

Then just forget about it while it rises for about an hour. After it's doubled, just punch it down. (Literally, just give it a punch or turn it out onto your table and run your knuckles through it!) Brush a little olive oil on your pizza pan or cookie sheet and then sprinkle the cornmeal down before placing your formed dough on the pan. You can either make a circular pizza or rectangular, whatever you like. Bake after topping at 450 for 15-20 minutes!

STRAWBERRY SPINACH SALAD

Dressing:
1 lemon
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1/4 sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds

Salad:
1/4 sliced almonds, toasted
1 1/2 Cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cucumber, sliced and cut in half
1 (6 oz.) pkg. baby spinach

For dressing, zest 1/2 tsp. of your lemon. Then juice your lemon to get about 2 Tbsp. of juice. Combine zest, juice, vinegar, sugar, and poppy seeds with whisk. Put in fridge until ready to use.

For salad, just combine spinach, sliced strawberries, sliced cucumbers and toasted almonds in a bowl. Drizzle with dressing, toss and serve immediately! So easy!

Dear Daddy

Daddy, we know that today you are far away.

But we don't want today to pass without you knowing

just how much you mean to us...From our very first breath, you've been there.
We've always known that we could count on you to offer a hand to hold...
arms to hug...

and a shoulder (or head) to rest on.

Sometimes we can hardly contain the love we have for you!

We're growing up a little more every day, trying and learning new things.

But it's nice to know you'll always be right there...

to help us steer our way through all the challenges we might come across.

We love the family Heavenly Father sent us to when we came here to Earth. We watch you and Mommy and we love the way you love her. We hope someday, when we're all grown...

We'll be able to pick one as good as you.

We're already learning so much from you...

and we know that the footsteps you create for us to follow will be ones that will help us our whole lives through. Thank you for all you do Daddy. For the how hard you work for us, for how you protect us, for always being there for us and mostly for loving us. We love you so much 'Big Guy'! Happy Father's Day!

All Our Love,

Your Daughters

Maryn, Brynna, and Lauryn

Comfort Food

Justin has been on the road or so busy with work lately that we haven't had the opportunity to spend very much time together as a family. He had to leave yet again this morning to head out for New York, so Justin decided last night that he wanted to cook his family dinner. (Can I just tell you how nice it is to be married to a man that likes to cook and is good at it!) One of our family's favorites is Chicken and Dumplings! It's his mom's recipe and is SO good! It's the kind of recipe that requires 100% focus while you're making it. So I don't make it that often, since usually I have kids and everything distracting me while I cook. So the fact that Justin was offering to make it made me giddy! After it came off the stove we sat there licking our chops! I kept taking bites and burning my mouth because I just couldn't be bothered with things like waiting for it to cool down! Just after we sat down a pretty good storm blew in and knocked out all the power in the house. So Justin lit a candle and we all sat there savoring each bite by candlelight. Brynna kept giggling and saying "This is cozy!" It was indeed very cozy and very comforting to be able to sit down as a family and enjoy such a delicious meal!

And since Justin was so good to me by making dinner and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards, I decided to return the favor. Justin is a certifiable chocoholic and when I was on my friend Tina's blog last week I saw something I knew he would love! So after the power came back on, I whipped it up! After the kids were in bed, Justin and I snuggled up on the couch and watched the finale of 'Next Top Chef' while we indulged in each rich and delicious bite! Wondering what it is? Well, let me just tell you! Click here if you want to see Tina's Brownie Trifle! Yum!