OMG, so tired of being without internet!!!

Okay, so once again big Dan has no internet.  Is our internet at home down, you ask?  Nope, Jeremy has access.  Is your computer jacked up again?  No, works just fine.  So unfortunately no excuse to buy an ipad.  But for some odd reason our router out of the blue just decided to stop working a week or so ago.  So I apologize again to all my faithful readers.  I'm not being lazy, in fact I've been dying to get on line.  So today I decided to leave the kiddies home with Jeremy while I enjoy a great big chocolate chip cookie and a wild berry smoothie from Panera Bread and use their WI-FI.

 The latest:
  Reese is done with dance class and not a moment too soon.  Although she herself has seemed to enjoy it this year, I have not.  I can't even begin to vent all my frustrations with the class this year, but long story short, there has been one right after another.  To top it all off, the night of the recital (this past Thursday) on our way to the program we almost drove straight into a tornado.  After seeking shelter from the hard hitting hail under a banks drive thru, Jeremy and I decided the safest thing to do was to drive back home, hoping that the recital would have been cancelled anyway due to the weather.  BUTTTT, that would have made too much sense I guess and when I called the following day to ask, my answer was, that the show indeed did go on for all that were able to make it and that the dance studio would get back to me once they had made a final decision on whether or there would be a second one rescheduled.  Nice!  Thank goodness Reese happened to be too scared on Thursday night and was glad to be home safe.  I mean, I'm not glad that she was frightened, but she seemed to understand why we turned around and she was glad to be home.  She is hoping for a reschedule too but she's not asking about it constantly and I think she understands it's probably not going to happen.  At least we could able to make it to the rehearsal the night before and get a couple of pictures.  But at this point even if we get a call back with a rescheduled date, I myself might be in the hospital birthing a child.  Which leads me to the latest of the latest.

 Due Date:
 No, my due date hasn't changed but my last doctors visit consequently also last Thursday, went well.  I was checked by my doctor who said I'm now 2cm dilated and 60% effaced.  The 2cm dilated doesn't get me too excited although, I've never been this dilated this early with any other of my pregnancies.  It's the 60% thinned out already that has me slightly panicked.  I mean I only have 40% more to go and then I could dilate in a snap!  I ain't makin' it to the 20th of June, kids.  I'm just hoping Logan can enjoy his 4th birthday on the 5th!  I know that the baby will come whenever the baby wants to come, but I pray nightly it'll be several days after Lo's b-day. 

The best part:
 My new ride.  Go ahead, laugh, snicker, mock me if you will.  But, I LOVE my new van!!  Oh, I miss the Explorer don't get me wrong but there aint a thing to dislike about my new Town and Country.  We bought it last Monday evening and even Jeremy is happy with it.  So here is a picture that Reese took just this afternoon so it will count for my 37 week preggers pic (which 37 weeks is technically on Monday) 

So that's the latest news and hopefully Jeremy can work on getting me my internet back up.  But if you know him, you won't be holding your breath.  Hope eveyone is planning for a good Memorial Day fun!  As for me, I'm going to try to stay off my feet as much as possible....witch, isn't possible...hahaha

I'm not sure what happened, but when I went to my blog page this afternoon I noticed that my lastest blog on one of my dinners is not only gone from my blog page but also is missing from list of post written.  So a little recap, two night ago I made a mexican inspired dish that I titled "Ball!" because it wasn't a knock out likeI had hoped for, but it's wasn't a complete waste like they have been in the past.  I mean, Jeremy ate it!!

 Last night was somewhat the same.  I tried my hand at Chicken Fried Steak and a Sweet Potato Casserole.  I was really bummed at the kids reaction.  I really thought they would be excited to dig in and do so.  The sweet potatos were cooked with maple syrup and sweet carmelized onions...mmm.  I thought they turned out fabulous and will be making that dish again!  My steaks were a different story.  I ate a little more than one but my kids barely touched it.  The steak wasn't bad, but I'm not very good at frying I guess.  The breading either came off during cooking or it fell right off with cutting.  It really didn't seem worth all the work.  So not sure how often I'll be doing that.  I know, practice makes perfect.  But it takes alot of time for a dish like that, at least for me it did.  We didn't even eat dinner last night until 7pm!!  So we'll see.  Anywho, I did think the plate at the very least it looked good and so here's a pic

Ball

So I tried again tonight for a better dinner.  Tonight I had the help of Shay, thank you dear.  She helped me buy all my ingredients for tonight's Mexican inspired meal and then walked me through the cooking process over the phone.  Since I didn't get to have any guacamole last night and I remained bitter about it, I tried again.  The main course was a chicken stir fry with sauteed peppers and onions served on top of saffron rice.  Mmmm, sounds delicious...and it could have been.  Now, I'm not going to go as far as to say I screwed this dish up like last nights but overall I give myself a C+

 Let's start with the positives. 

1. Jeremy came home early tonight so he got to eat a hot meal and for the most part, he liked it.  He at the very least ate until he was full and didn't feel the need to make a "secret" McDonald's run. 
2. The kids liked it.  Reese really enjoyed it and gave me more credit than I deserved.  She told me I made a really good dinner and that she loved me because I had all the right ingredients.
3. Most everything was eaten.
4. As of yet, nobody has explosive diarrhea.

Here are some of the things about tonight's dinner that should have and could have gone better:

1. Oh for heaven's sake, I undercooked the rice.  It wasn't horribly underdone, put Jeremy and I didn't eat what was on our plates and although the children ate some, we didn't really expect them to.  When I told Shay over the phone that I would buy two packets just in case I messed it up, I didn't really think I would pull such a rookie move!
2. Although the guacamole was better than last nights re-fried beans, it was bland.  I had to add more spices to it after we tasted it at the table and even then, it wasn't quite what my taste buds were looking forward to.  But we did eat it all.
3. Overall, the chicken stir fry could have had more flavor.  I put in both cayenne pepper and cumin but it still was missing the kick.

 So that was tonight attempt to making a good dinner.  Oh!  And I made smoothies for dessert.  But wouldn't you know, they could have been better.  I mean, how hard can it be?!  But, they were on the thick side and it was embarrassing because Jeremy was home this time and these were the first smoothies he had of mine.  Errr!

Tomorrow night.  Chicken Fried Steak with a Sweet Potato Casserole.  We shall see!!!

Kitchen Nightmares

So, Big Dan strikes in the kitchen again.  Okay, for those of you who don't know, I. am. not. a good cook.  In fact, to say that I "cook" is a compliment.  I try, that's about all I have to offer.  So, if you think your skills are bad, please continue reading and I promise to increase you confidence dramatically!

 During our first year or so of marriage and before kids I made Jeremy a pan of lasagna.  To my surprise, he was impressed and actually enjoyed it.  Enjoyed it enough to verbally tell me.  For those of you that don't know Jer, he  A) Is a chef and  B) Doesn't sugar coat the truth for anyone.  So when I was given a real compliment from my husband, it really boosted my confidence and I therefore began a list of things I could actually  make.  The list looked like this:  Lasagna.

 So a couple of weeks later I decide to make the lasagna again.  If I could make it once, surely the second time would be even better, right?  I was having fun in the kitchen, singing and dancing with the radio while cooking.  All was going really well.  I began to layer, sprinkle with cheese and then I popped it into the oven.  I stood up, closed the door to the oven and then noticed the entire pan of meat was still in the pan sitting on the stove.  Yep, I just successfully cooked ground meat...for a meat-less lasagna.  This particular example is really just an icebreaker.  I remember this night mainly because I was able to laugh at myself.  Jeremy really would have never known if I hadn't told him.  I was able to shove the meat in between the layers once I realized I had left it out to begin with.  My next cooking tails are ones only I could tell.

 Like the time I used chicken broth for the first time.  Weeks later, I finally realized what was causing that awful smell from my cabinets...yep, the chicken broth.  The way I saw it was, I just put it back where I found it.  It never dawned on me that once it was opened it needed to be refrigerated. NE-VER.  Even after finding it, I had to make a phone call to Shay just to be sure.  I mean, maybe it was just a bad box? 

 My next adventure, Corn Flake encrusted chicken.  The recipe called for Kellogg's corn flakes to be used like a breading.  So I used them and it came out super sogging.  Poor Jeremy actually tried to choke it down.  I think it was because he really couldn't believe that I purposely not crush up the corn flakes.  Again, I really thought I was about to embark on another awesome dish that other would be envious of. I just dipped in my egg coated chicken breast straight into a bowl of dry corn flakes and then set it on a pan to bake in the oven.  Yes, I was reading the recipe while cooking.

 So tonight when I screwed up again, I don't know why I was so surprised.  I decided that I wanted tacos for dinner tonight.  Then I decided I would add to the menu with homemade guacamole and re fried beans.  No big deal, a little research on food network.com and voila, an easy yet tasteful dinner for everyone.  Oh but nooooo, not for me.  First the guacamole proved to not want to corporate.  My first mistake was probably forgetting my cell phone while at the grocery store.  Why?  Well, upon approaching the avocado in the produce section, I discover two different kinds.  "Western" and some other.  "Western"?  What the heck?!  Great no phone, so I can't call Shay and ask literally what direction should I go in.  The other avocados were bagged in a bundle of 4 and were much harder than the "Western" ones.  So obviously which ones do I choose?  Note, I asked which ones I chose?  Yep, the harder of the the two, even though I plan on making guacamole in a couple of hours.  Needless to say I didn't get very far upon realizing I wasn't getting any dip with my chips.  It took me an hour just to spoon out two avocados for goodness sake!

  A few hours later I mash up my pintos for re fried beans, served them and they tasted like crap.  When talking to Shay later about what happened, she begins to go into detail about next time.  "Next time, before you go to fry them....blah, blah,blah".  Me:  "Wait, did you just say you fried them?"  Shay:  Laughter, "Yeah, hence re-fried beans" more laughter.  Me:  "Yeah, I just boiled my beans for a couple of hours and then mashed them up"  Shay:  Just laughter.

So, I hate to cook!  I suck at it and clearly don't understand it.  Maybe I just start buying cook books for kids.  Maybe then I'd have better luck.  I hope this post brought a smile to your face.  It was meant to poke fun at myself, mainly because I don't have any expectations of getting any better any time soon.  I will keep trying but I think I know myself pretty well.  And don't feel too bad for my kids, I can make mac and cheese...sorta :)

34 weeks!!!

Soooo, I weigh in this Thursday but, Monday night I don't care.  I should, and tomorrow I certainly willl, but sometimes when the ice cream calls, I just have to answer.
 Well, I'm 34 weeks today and it feels like I could go at any time.  Not physically, but mentally I worry for some reason that any minute could be the minute.  I guess it's my nesting phasing kicking into 5th gear.  Jeremy and I are getting things together as quickly as possible but I feel like it can't get done fast enough.

 According to my "fetus as a fruit chart" since last week I'm carrying a fetus the size equivalent to a cantaloupe. A cantaloupe!!  I am beginning to feel uncomfortable more often during the course of each day.  The nights are the worst.  This kid is the most active when I'm ready to go to sleep.  And I go to bed pretty late!  It's hard to bend down now a days and so Reese and Logan have both had their turns putting on mommy's socks for her.  Logan seems to hate it.  It's all good when he needs his butt wiped after a #2 but, ask him to put clean socks on my clean feet and suddenly I'm the disgusting one.  Go figure, but that is so Logan!  Last weekend when Brooke got pooped on by a bird through the sunroof while I was driving, when asked to help and wipe her face until I could pull over, Logan's response was "No way, that's not my job!"  And Reese was of course no help because she was too busy gagging...weird!  Pour Brooke, although this story has made her everyone laugh.  I mean what are the chances in the first place?! 
  After this weeks doctors appointment, I have one more that is two weeks away and then I will start going every week.  Wow!  Baby will be here before we know it!