Thanksgiving

Goodbye November! We had a nice Thanksgiving. I made my first homemade batch of bread! It came out awesome and I am so proud! It was a honey oatmeal bread. Delicious! We went to Eric's grandparents for a dinner. Always delicious; ate too much. It was a nice afternoon with his family. Afterwards, we went to my parents, Eric couldn't stay for dinner since he had to pick up our friends from Canada that are staying with his parents for shopping.

My mom, brother, and I ate quickly then had to go to Wal-mart. Yup. We were those people who would rather spend Thanksgiving shopping than with family. Oh, well. We love it. Eric, Victor, and Natashia met us there. I had to wait in line to score Eric's Christmas present; a 60 in. Vizio led smart TV. We got it! haha He was so excited, they were running late so I had to make sure I was front and center! My mom got a lot of gifts off her list, which I was glad about. It was a fun night. The crowd wasn't bad and there were no fights at our wal-mart. 

After loading the TV, we headed to Dickson City to do more shopping. 10 minutes shopping in Old Navy and an hour waiting in line to check out. Ughh but we got 200$ worth of clothes for 88$ so I guess I can't complain. haha

Ben enjoyed his first Thanksgiving. We didn't let him try any food and it bothered the grandparents but they will get over it.

That was our day! We scored a lot of great gifts at great prices, enjoyed lots of time with family and friends we don't see enough, and just enjoyed each other.

A Few Recipes.

So, here are a few of my own recipes that we enjoy that are almost weekly staples in our household. Most of these recipes are for 2 people but are easy adaptable. 

Chicken Parmigiana 

2 Large boneless skinless chicken breast sliced in half.

32 Oz. sauce (whichever you prefer, we like meat flavored)

2 Cups Mozz cheese

3/4 Cups Parm cheese

2 Eggs

1.5 cups bread crumbs (we use seasoned panko I add garlic powder, onion powder, Salt, and Pepper)

Olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 350.

I slice the chicken in half lengthwise then each half in half width wise, dip in egg, then in breadcrumbs. Add olive oil to a pan on Med-high heat. I fry the chicken until fully cooked about 6 minutes on each side, cooking times will vary depending on thickness of chicken. 

Pour half the sauce into the bottom of a baking dish, add the chicken, sprinkle with parm cheese, cover with the remaining sauce.

I bake the dish, uncovered for 15 minutes then add the mozz cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melted but not quite browned. Serve with spaghetti. 

My Favorite Meatloaf

2 Lbs. ground beef

1 Egg, lightly beaten 

3/4 Cup breadcrumbs

2 TBSP ketchup, plus more for top

2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1/2 onion, diced

1 Tsp. crushed garlic

Salt

Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375

Mix all ingredients together, form into loaf pan or if your like me and don't own one yet (I know, right!?) form a loaf and use a baking dish. Once formed, rub top with ketchup.

Bake for 1-1.5 hours. 

Beef Stroganoff

1 Lb. ground beef

1 onion diced

1 Lb. egg noodles

1 10.5 can beef consume

1 10.5 can beef broth

2 TBSP flour

1 10.5 can cream of mushroom soup

2 TBSP ketchup

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

8 Oz. sour cream

 

In a large, deep pan, brown ground beef with onion, drain fat. add back to pan. Add beef consume and 1/2 can of beef broth. In remaining broth, mix flour, add to pan and stir to thicken. Add in ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and cream of mushroom soup. Remove from heat, add sour cream until mixed. Boil egg noodles. Add beef mixture to noodles. We serve ours with mashed potatoes on the side. 

Just a few for now! Will add more and ones I have tested from Pinterest.

It Snowed.

Well, it snowed here in lovely NEPA tonight. We ended up with just a tad over an inch. I know it has snowed more in other parts of the country already but I HATE the snow! It's pretty to look at from the comfort of my warm home out a window. But I hate being or driving in it. I am not prepared to drive in it with Ben! Now, I am a pretty good driver in bad weather but it still frightens me to no end and I am tense the whole time. Ughh!

I think maybe we will become hermits this winter since Ben is still so little. It's too cold to take him out in it anyway, right?! My fear controls my life, as much as I wish it didn't, the things that scare me, control me. I'm flawed but I deal with it.

On the other hand, I can't wait until Ben is old enough to play in it! I can't wait until he and Daddy make snowmen and have snowball fights and make snow angels! I say he and daddy because I will be watching from the comfort of my warm home. I will have hot cocoa ready and waiting though!

It is suppose to warm up this week though, like, in the high 50's warm! NEPA is such a finicky area with weather. Maybe one day we will get to move south. Eric and I would love to move to one of the Carolina's but he has an amazing job here and all of our family is here so for now, we are here, in our little town in the cold.

Little of This, Little of That...

Ben had his 4 month well check today! I can't believe he will be 4 months old on Friday! Where did the time go?! He is doing great! 15 lbs 8 oz and 26 inches. Happy and healthy! We couldn't of been more pleased with his progress and neither could his pediatrician! He had to get 3 shots and 1 oral vaccine this time. He did so much better then his 2 month shots! Only cried for about a minute! Our big boy! We do have to take him back next week to get his 4th shot, they didn't have it in stock today.

Ben ended up getting a low grade fever so we had to give him Tylenol to help it go down and help with is pain. Other than that, he has been super happy! He rolled over for the first time tonight and can now be carried on the hip! Such a big boy! he will also sit on his own for a minute or two before slowly teetering to the side. It is so cute. :)

Eric is busy at work with meetings and new programs going in so he is pretty tired when he gets home but he still spends time with Ben, feeds and bathes him and also gets up with him in the middle of the night so I can sleep. Such a great guy, we are lucky.

Eric and I are still trying to get over our coughs but luckily Ben has not caught it! I can't wait to be rid of it.

I am going to be going to talk to a Dr. in the next couple days. I have been feeling a little depressed I suppose. Eric thinks it would be good, I agree. It was hard to admit my feelings of distance and sadness to our baby to him, but I am glad I did. Don't get me wrong, I love my son, more than anything. But I feel disconnected to him lately since he has stopped wanting to nurse out of no where. I think not knowing he would do that and being unprepared emotionally for it took me by surprise. I cherished our bonding time and looked forward to his bedtime feeding. So, I have been feeling slightly out of sorts and it's best to catch it and work on it now then to let it go thinking I can just get over it myself. Postpartum depression can show up anytime in the first year. Mainly in the first 1-3 months and I have been feeling this way for the past 3 weeks now. I am hoping Ben is just going through a phase and will want to nurse again, soon. I pump while he isn't nursing so he can still get breast milk but it just isn't the same.

Well, that's all for now!

Where Did October Go?!

October has come and gone! Halloween was fun! Ben was a "mischievous monkey". We took him into town to the little Halloween parade with my sister, brother in law, and their daughter. Ben didn't win the costume contest, but he definitely won first place in my eyes, but I suppose I am just a tad bit biased. Eric is currently sick so I am in super sanitize mode. The baby had a stuffy nose for two days but that is all! Fingers crossed it stays that way! I am sure to catch it a week after Eric is all better, that's usually how it goes.

I have been testing out some more recipes I have found through pinterest. I will do a post on them when I have more time! But, so far, all delicious! Man, I love pinterest and Eric does not complain when I spend 3 hours looking at recipes and pinning. The way to a mans heart...

I am so excited that Catching Fire comes out in 21 days!! Eric and I are going to see it at 9 PM. Baby is having a sleepover with Aunt Ashley, Uncle Joe, and Madeline so we can have a date night and sleep in a bit since we won't get home until late. Thankful for all the family Eric and I are surrounded by, they are always willing to take him for a night or couple hours so we can have our time together. He is so loved!

Eric and I went to see a Giants game with our good friends Brad and Heather, they have a baby 5 weeks older than Ben so that's nice. It was so much fun! I was so nervous about leaving Ben overnight for the first time but he did great and so did I! We had a blast, tailgated for a bit and grilled and our seats were awesome! Right behind the end zone. Such a great night and Eric was so happy to be at a Giants game since he didn't get to go to one last year. The drive isn't bad, either; only about 2.5 hours.

That's all the news for now, I suppose! Eric and I still make it a point to have a date every week and it has helped us to stay connected. We also spend at least an hour together after Ben goes to bed to catch up and relax together.

 Ben with his cousin Maddy at his first sleepover!

having a blast!!