I promise...

I will start updating more often. I just haven't had a lot to blog about. I mean...how many times can I complain about how cold it is and how lonely I am? I resolved that it wasn't going to get any better until I did something about it. So I did! Miss K is now taking gymnastics. She is a "tumblebee". Today was our first day. No tumbling was involved for us. She just ran around and picked up all the plates that Miss Linda put down for "spots". But she was SUPER cute looking in her little pink leotard. Looking forward to going back next week. The mommies and kids that we met were really nice.

So, we had a "blind" playdate on Tuesday. It went okay. The little boy is older than Miss K, but she is bigger than he is. But he kept tackling her and kissing her. She wasn't having any of it. His mom finally convinced him to give me the hugs instead of Miss K. She was fine. Until another little boy decided that she was his type and he chased her all around the play area until he caught her and gave her a kiss. Then he was so excited he did a little dance and clapped his hands. His mom and I got a good laugh out of it.

Tomorrow we are going to spend the morning doing laundry and getting stuff packed for our trip to Nashville. I am looking forward to going home. We are going to try and get some stuff done on the house and visit with friends. Lots to do! Then in the afternoon we have another "blind" play date with a little girl.

Thought I would share this photo of Miss K. Monday night I was taking a shower and Brian was "watching" her. When Iturned the water off, K ran to the bathroom to hand me my towel. I yelled for Brian. K took a tub of Vaseline and covered her face, her head and her PJs. We washed her hair 5 times that night and 3 times with Dawn the next morning and it wouldn't come out. So, I went and bought some Neutrogena Anti-Residue shampoo and planned on washing her hair with baking soda and that shampoo. The little trouble maker got into a new thing of Vaseline that I bought when I bought the shampoo! I totally forgot that it was in the Target bag. This time she only got a little on her clothes and her hair. Most of it was on the carpet, coffee table and the dog. Thankfully, the baking soda and shampoo seem to have done the trick.

Can you believe that tomorrow is March 1st? This year seems to be flying by!

Blog ya later!

I am not sure what I feel...

I recently found out that one of my friends is pregnant. (Congratulations Jennie!) She is having twins. I don't evny her that, but I think I am jealous that she is pregnant. WHAT? Where did that come from? If any of you were around me when I was pregnant, you know it was NOT a pleasant situation. I was sick for 38 weeks straight. I had morning sickness at the hospital. Then there were the daily shots in the tummy. Overall, I HATED being pregnant. HATED it. Hated everything about it. When K would kick me, I would get sick to my stomach. Are you getting the sense that I didn't enjoy being pregnant? I remember being at my OB's office for one of my twice weekly non stress test. She walked in to check the monitor and I busted out crying and BEGGED her to send me the hospital and induce me. I was only 36 weeks and she was not doing to grant my request no matter how much I begged and pleaded. I know by the end of my pregnancy, she was ready for me to done too. Hollye = not a good patient. It is not something I would every willingly do again. Right??? I mean, the outcome was amazing. I've got this beautiful, funny little munchkin running around my house calling me "Hawee" and giving me sloppy kisses whenever she gets the urge. I can't even describe the feeling I get when someone tells me that she looks just like me. (Even though I think she looks like Brian.)

I am not sure what I am feeling. I need to sit down and have a long talk with myself about it. Brian just tells me that he will be happy with whatever I want. And I know that is true. He loves K like crazy. And she is a handful. Then there is whole doctor "you shouldn't have another baby" thing I need to deal with. The oncologist said no more. Guess I need to do some research on that. Then there is the whole heart issue. Some of you may or may not know this. K is not my first child. My first child, Jonah had a heart defect that was not compatible with life. And even though K does not have anything wrong with her heart, the defect is hereditary and the chances that another child would have it actually go up after you have one heart healthy child. When I was doing the research on Jonah's condition, I came across families that had more than one child with a heart defect. And not minor ones. Major life threatening conditions.

Lots of things that need to be considered. And before anyone says "all pregnancies are different", my pregnancy with Jonah was just as bad as K's, but without the shots.

Okay...I am off. All my scrappy Tennessee friends are hanging out at J's and I am jealous. I am gonna go scrapbook with my dogs for company. Pity Party for one!

Still cold...

For some reason, it is wicked cold outside right now. Brian came in from walking the dogs and I thought he had frostbite on his ears. Crazy!!!

Today was another PJ day. Both mommy and baby were sick. We both took a nice long nap.

So, yesterday we headed to Panera for lunch. Now, while I am not as obsessed with Panera as Sherri is, I do love their creamy chicken and wild rice soup. I love it even move in a bread bowl. So, came home and hunted for the recipe on line. I found something similar to it.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice
(like Panera)

INGREDIENTS
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded
1 (4.5 ounce) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream

DIRECTIONS
In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.
In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.
Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.

Guess what I will be making this weekend? :) I am going to run by Panera and pick up some bread bowls. I need to grocery shop this weekend. I need to find Wal-Mart around here. Groceries here are more expensive than what I am use to. I thought I was crazy at first, but I found a receipt in my purse from before we moved and I bought some of the same things and they were more expensive.

Saturday my husband is taking me to Hobby Lobby. Yep..you read that right. The nearest HL is an hour away. I don't even know if this store is even worth is, but we are going to try it out anyway. We've got a ton of errands to run, so we will just make a day of it. I've already told Miss K if she is good, we will go and get Beary Bear a new outfit at Build-A-Bear. He is still wearing his V-day pj's. He needs some new clothes.

Okay...off to bed. Blog ya later!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi there! I hope that your Valentine's Day is full of love and chocolate! We are having a PJ day here in Michigan. We got about 6 inches of snow yesterday, so we are staying in for the day. I've got plenty to work on, so that's a good thing.

So, yesterday K and I went to the mall. This place is just like Opry Mills. But..they have a Gymboree Outlet. YES! I got Kennedy 5 outfits for $70. These are for next Fall. They are putting their spring stuff on sale Thursday. They also have what I think is the biggest ever Children's Place. It is..SERIOUSLY 10 times bigger than the one at Cool Springs. They have all the new stuff and then they have a ton of stuff from last seaons for 99 cents! Everything that was on clearance was an additional 50% off. We played in the play area and she was so funny. She hadn't seen any "kids" since she was in Nashville. She played so hard. I have GOT to find some friends for her.

On the way home I started thinking...I've not seen a Chick-f-la since I got here. Well...there is a reason for that! The only one in this area is at the college and that is it! The next one is like 150 miles away. I AM GOING TO DIE! How am I going to scrapbook without my sweet tea? Oh well!

So, today I am 35 years old. That sounds so old. We are going to try and go out for an early dinner tonight at some place easy...like Chili's. Let me tell you...having a birthday on Valentine's Day is not fun. You can never go out to dinner without it being a major hassle. I think we are going to dinner at like 5. Okay...I must go. K is emptying out all the drawers in the bathroom and bringing it all to me in the living room. She is so helpful!

So, check out these vidoes I took of K yesterday. She is a HOOT.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Catch Up

Well, we made it to Michigan. Miss K did great and made herself at home from the minute we walked into the door. I think she likes the fact that everything is on one story. The weather has started to heat up. The night we arrived, it got down to -8. And the heat wasn't working. It actually got up to 22 yesterday...a heat wave! The furnace was fixed the day after we got here. It's all good now. Here is a photo of her on the plane. As much as I complain about the crazy Doodlebops, they kept her entertained the entire flight from Nashville to Detroit.

While Miss K is adjusting just fine, I am having a hard time. I don't want to go outside because it is FREAKING cold! I've been to the grocery store twice and both times were bad experiences. Nothing like having some one make fun of the way you talk. I asked some jerk who worked there where the pie crust were. He laughed in my face and then mocked me. I have not made any friends here because honestly it is too dang cold! I did post something on 2Peas looking for someone in the area that I am in. I got a response from someone, so I am hoping to join her group for a crop later this month. I am going to check out one of the scrapbook stores next week. The maid comes on Tuesday, so Miss K and I will head out and run errands and do our grocery shopping.

I've not been spending much time on the computer these days. K and I usually try to turn the webcam on first thing about 8ish so that we can talk/see my dad in Qatar. Then I usually don't get on the computer until K is napping or down for the night. I realized I was spending WAY too much time on my computer and not enough time doing things that needed to be done. I'll blog more about that later.

Brian brought all my scrapbook stuff in last night and put my bookcase back together. My table is all set up. We are headed out to visit my inlaws for the weekend. I can't wait because we are celebrating my birthday early. So, when we get back, I am going to get everything wiped down and organized. i can't wait to actually start scrapbooking again. It's been a LONG time.

Well, I gotta run. I've got a load of diapers in the washing machine, a batch of cookies waiting to go into the oven, a suitcase that needs to be packed and a child that just ran pass and made it apparent that she is in dire need of a diaper change.