Post it Note Tuesday

That One Mom is now hosting Post It Note Tuesdays! If you'd like to make your own stickies, or want to read other peoples' Post Its, head on over there and visit her!

Share a Spoon - Cheese and Rosemary Breadsticks

Bread week! Yummy! Who doesn't love breads?? I certainly do, and my ever-growing belly can verify that! OK, so yes there IS a baby in there, but she likes the breads too! :)

Now, I have the BEST recipe EVER for Homemade Dinner Rolls. Seriously, they are the BEST!! My mother-in-law has perfected the recipe.
And, no joke here, I had to MARRY my husband to GET this recipe!!! (why yes, I guess I DID have ulterior motives ;))

It's a secret family recipe! VERY secret. And I am getting pretty good at making them!! BUT, if I shared it with you all, my dear father-in-law would probably string me up by my toes! So, you can't have it! But if anyone ever visits me, I'll be sure to make you some! :) The neighbors love when I make them, cause I make an extra pan for them!

The recipe I WILL be sharing is for some very delectable breadsticks. We got this recipe from a book called Everyday Italian. Hubby makes these usually while I make the homemade chicken alfredo. They freaking ROCK!!!! And they are pretty easy to make. Very worth it.

1/3 cup grated Gruyere cheese or Swiss cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary
1 {11 ounce} container of refrigerated bread-stick dough (like Pillsbury)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Chop the cheeses and rosemary together to mince and blend. Set aside.

Separate dough rectangles. Using sharp knife, cut each dough rectangle in half lengthwise to form 2 thin strips from each rectangle.

Lightly brush oil over the strips.

Coat each strip with the cheese mixture, then roll each strip between your palms and the work surface to form an 8-inch long strip.

Transfer prepared strips to baking sheets and sprinkle with salt.
[The breadsticks can be prepared up to this point 4 hours ahead. Just cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.]


Bake until breadsticks are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve and enjoy! :)




Now head on over to the very awesome Think Tank Momma's place to link up your favorite recipes and get some new ones!

Human Again...

 

She was made to feel human again.

To feel peace.

Patience.

Understanding.

She Happily took Everything that was offered, without giving much in return, regretfully.

Her very being emanated the savory taste of what she was capable of. The love she had inside that was dying to get out. To be shared with someone worthy.

Worthiness came. Worthiness left.

Did she recognize what she was looking at? Did she know what was there, hovering just within her grasp?

No.

Yes.

She cannot understand why she let it flutter away. Why she didn’t put up enough of a struggle to keep it in her grasp.

She hears voices telling her this is the way it is supposed to be.

She disagrees. And yet, does nothing to change.

She holds her head up. She hides her tears. She smiles. But She has slipped further into the void then she ever has before. She is lifeless and so far gone she feels nothing.

She believes God does give more than we can handle. But maybe He has His reasons. Maybe He is trying to make us stronger.

Crabby Ass

Lack of focus and the attention span of a three-year-old is making it very difficult for me to keep up with Blogging lately.

A thousand apologies to people I usually communicate more with. Not that I have many fans/followers/friends, but you know, just in case. I do miss reading other people's posts.

It feels like all I do is piss and moan about being pregnant, or just plain piss and moan, because I am after all, incredibly miserable. My BFF can verify that! :) I'm not nice, not even to her! She's the one who actually named this Post. It's actually what she calls ME lately! And I do love her, but my out-of-control emotions are even too out-of-control for ME!!! I piss myself off too often, send myself to time-out. But no one ever lets me STAY there long enough.

There are many parts of me unhealed and broken. And all I can do is take it "one day at a time" (a favorite line of mine imprinted in my head and heart by another dear heart). I am in an insane amount of pain on a daily basis, and nightly (yes, even while I sleep, or try to). And this tends to make me INSANE!!! Sometimes it is even difficult to walk! And I'm barely halfway through the pregnancy. So I believe I am in for some major misery, especially since my little button has REALLY started to grow!

I am ecstatic to be having another baby. I do really want a large family. I just wish I could WISH all the babies here!! Or let Daddy make a few!

 

And recently learning that the doctor who discovered the split in my pelvis after having my daughter (she was 10 lbs. 13 oz and had to be taken by emergency c-section) three and a half years ago COULD have actually fixed it and DIDN'T makes me one angry pregnant woman!!!

So, I am not going to stress about more than I actually need to at this time. I am basically declaring right here and now that I am on sabbatical from Blogging for a while. And from doing all the awesome art projects and scrapbook projects that are in my head. And from focusing on my company as much as I want to. And basically from focusing at all. I have the memory of a goldfish right now (3 seconds for those who didn't know). If I happen to make a post, I'll be ecstatic! But I'm not holding my breath on any major or minor accomplishments right now, save for making it through this pregnancy alive!

Can Anyone Explain THIS???

We had a very strange night last night. Something I can say that I have NEVER experienced before! Ever! Not even seen before!!

I had a horrendous migraine last night! So I was in bed early. Todd put the kids to bed then came to bed himself.

Around 1am Kaida woke up crying. I laid there a moment to see if she'd fall asleep again, cause often she does. Suddenly she starts screaming this blood curdling scream! My heart stopped and I jumped up and ran down the hall, opened the door to their room and flipped on the light. I looked instantly in her bed to see she was fighting with something against her wall up on the top bunk. Physically fighting with something I couldn't see! I ran over and yanked her off her bed and calmed her down. After a while she told me spiders were trying to bite her eye, the one that Draven had hit.

So I brought her to bed with me. We're laying there, calmly getting ready to go back to sleep, she's still awake mind you, and starts swatting the air and screaming again. This time it woke Todd up and this time she wouldn't calm down.

I told him, "She's wide awake and sees spiders attacking her." So he takes her and wraps her in his arms under the covers and tells her, "Daddy's got you, it's safe honey."

She calms down again and I snuggle up to them, so she's almost sandwiched between us. A few quiet minutes pass then she starts screaming again, swatting at the air, pointing at the ceiling shouting, "Daddy, LOOK!!!!" And he's trying to calm her and she's squirming like something is actually attacking her! I wanted to start crying, I was so scared for her and felt so helpless.

So we calm her again. She keeps looking at my face and feeling my cheeks, can't explain why though. I just telling her she's ok and she's safe. She starts screaming AGAIN! This time Daddy turned on the light and even with the light on she's screaming and pointing at the foot of the bed screaming, "LOOOOOK!!!!!" Daddy and myself kept trying to tell her she was still dreaming, but she was still so scared. The only thing I could think to do was put a happy movie in, Finding Nemo, and let it change her mindframe.

Well we had Draven in there at this point, all the screaming had him worried about Sissy. They were both wide awake until long after Todd got up to go to work. Probably because we had to leave the lamps on because the spiders were gone in light. And throughout the movie, Kaida kept looking around the room for more spiders! It was really an awful night!

I've never seen anything like it. And Todd and myself were so helpless towards helping her fight off these invisible spiders. Invisible to us anyhow. Mommy needs to do some serious research today.

Share a Spoon - Breakfast

Today is Share a Spoon day, hosted by Think Tank Momma! And YAY for me, I got to pick today's topic!! And it is breakfast! This is a healthy sweeter option for breakfast. Would be great for mommy and daddy with a cup of hot coffee and for the kiddos with hot chocolate or orange juice. It's also a nice comfort food! Can make it anytime really, cause Hey, for me, breakfast is good all day long!!! Enjoy!!!

BREAKFAST OATMEAL CAKE

Oatmeal Mixture:

2 cups dry oats

1 and ½ cups boiling water (might use just a little more, just enough to wet all the oats and keep them from clumping)

Combine ingredients and let sit while you do everything else. Mixture should be thick, but not clumpy.

Flour Mixture:

1 cup wheat flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Combine and set aside.

It helps tremendously to have a Kaida on the counter to stir the neglected ingredients while you make the next mixture.

Sugar Mixture:

¾ cup Splenda (yes splenda, not sugar, it’s healthier)

½ cup Packed Brown Sugar

½ cup Softened Butter

1 teaspoon Vanilla

Beat ingredients together well before adding the following ingredients:

2 eggs (add them 1 at a time, beating mixture in between)

Helpers are key in this recipe! Without them, you'd have less to clean up afterwards! :)

Next, add all Mixtures to Sugar Mixture, alternating Oatmeal Mixture and Flour Mixture, beating on low after each addition. Once all ingredients are combined, pour into a greased 9” foam spring pan (whatever that is!). I use a glass square pan and a bread pan because I don’t have an oblong baking pan to fit all the ingredients, and I like the cake to come out thick! You can also pour batter into Muffin Pans, but I am too lazy for that most days!

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. At higher altitudes (we are just over 6000 ft) it generally takes mine almost a full hour to cook. Just start checking it with a toothpick at 40 minutes.

Once the timer goes off the first time, baste the top of the cake/muffins with butter to add flavor and brown the tops better! I use the lower fat butters.

Some tips:

-Using splenda actually lightens the cake up and makes it fluffier, whereas using sugar really weighs it down and flattens it! In the image above, I used sugar because I was out of splenda, and it really flattened out my cake!!

-After the first time you open a package of Brown Sugar, seal it up in a zip-lock bag and stick it in the freezer. Then every time you need it, pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds and Wallah! It’s moist and soft again!

Now head on over to Think Tank Momma's place for some more awesome breakfast recipes!

Wordless Wednesday - Aspiring Little Arteests!

In this household, we LOVE to be creative! Even first thing in the morning before my little Medusa Head has been all dolled up!

For more Wordless Wednesday Posts, head over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

All in just an HOUR!!!

So most of the time, pregnant women go through a SLEW of emotions, drastically from one to the next: cold, HOT, ice, you get it!

Here are some examples of my freaking uncontrollable, ridiculous, absurdly changing emotions!
I wake up like this... every single morning. And very early I might add!! Very early.

And I am instantly in THIS mood:

And then when I go to get dressed, I feel like THIS:

And then for no apparent reason, I turn into THIS:

Which occasionally is offset by THIS:

And sometimes complimented with THIS:

But consistently enough, I totally feel like THIS. ALL. THE. TIME!!!

Shadow Knight

Blood pressure rises.

Heart beats uncontrollably.

Breath quickens.

Body tenses.

Eyes search for the culprit causing this emotional drama, but there is only darkness.

I relax back into position.

On my stomach lying safely in bed with the sheet barely draped over my back.

I feel the cool night air finding its way through the window above my head.

Then I feel the soft hum of his deep, raspy growl moving closer. Feel his warm breath on my back.

Fingers glide like a feather over my legs. Sheet slips off.

Body relaxes. Surrenders as his fingers slide up my back.

He brushes the hair from my face as he leans in to kiss my forehead. He runs his fingers through my hair, gently grasping it to direct my lips towards his.

A kiss.

A whisper.

Then nothing.

I turn and sit up. Look around at the empty bed.

He’s gone. Am I dreaming?

Share a Spoon - Quickies!

Yeah, I'm a few hours early on tomorrow's post, but right now, I remember!!! LOL! In a few hours I will completely forget that I am supposed to post this for Thursday!!!



I have loved this recipe since I was a kid. LOVE love love it!!! My mom made it best. It may take about an hour to cook, but really, the stove does most of the work! Try it, it's worth it.


Pork Chop Chile

Fry up bite size potatoes - (amount depends on how many peeps you're feeding and how much leftovers you're gonna want tomorrow)

Cut pork chops or pork loin into cubes and fry it (in separate pan from taters)

Combine with potatoes

Add: 

Tomato sauce 

Chili powder

Garlic powder

Onion powder or chopped onion

Other preferred seasonings for taste

1 can of drained whole kernel corn

Simmer for an hour till it’s thick

Make into burritos or serve in a bowl as is. (Yummy either way!!)

Cheese is optional

Sorry for the lack of photos here, I haven't actually made it lately! But it will look a lot like fried potatoes mixed with bites of pork in tomato sauce with corn!

:)

Enjoy!

Now go over to Think Tank Momma's place and link up your Quickie recipes!

A Pregnant Wave of WTF!!

Pregnancy.

Yeah, it's not for me.

I would LOVE to have a large family. But having to be the one who makes them... it's not working out so well.

I have a mostly healed crushed vertebra that still hurts like HELL!! If you've never broken anything, let me explain. Apparently, you use your back muscles for every single action the rest of your body makes. Seriously, not exaggerating there. I found that out when I was unable to use it at all! I have a split in my pelvis which I just learned COULD have been fixed but the doc at the time just gave me pain killers and sent me home. The pelvis issue prevents me from doing decent exercise and some days prevents me from walking altogether. I'm barely 4 months along. So as the baby gets bigger, which is inevitable, mommy enters deeper realms of HELL!!

So, aside from those pain levels, we have the ridiculous sensitivity to smells, to lights, to hallmark commercials, to too much of something I may LOVE, to too little of something I keep forgetting to buy, to my 2- and 3-year old's screaming and fighting 80% of the day, to sleeping, to country music, to my husband, to sitting for too long (like 30 minutes), to sex, to heat, to the sun, and to people who want to complain that THEY feel fat.

I'm a gemini, so I'm already hanging on a swinging door of drastically changing emotions. But now that I am pregnant, I can't even keep up with myself!! And I'm freaking cranky! I have no patience or tolerance for anything!!!! I piss myself off.

It's insane.

I also have a grave sensitivity to women who tell me how much they LOVED being pregnant. UGH! Go away! Not all of us are blessed with solid and constant delusions. I don't doubt there are many women out there who never have a single negative side effect throughout the entire pregnancy. But really, I don't want to hear about it when I am PLAGUED with them. Just lie to me and tell me you understand!!!

I love the outcome of being pregnant. I love my children and cannot wait to meet this busy little kicker. And if I could simply WISH the babies here, I'd definitely have more. But when the doc cuts me open to take out this wee one, my freaking tubes are getting tied!!

Fork in the Road

Have you ever encountered a fork in the road in this lifetime? One that could potentially alter your life forever in such a way that you wouldn't even care to look back?

You know that if you turn left, you'll be happy. And not just rainbow after the rain happy, you'll become this whole new person whom you know is hiding deep down inside happy. Dance in the rain, and laugh at the thunder kind of happy. Unconditionally happy. Happier than maybe you've felt in... maybe too long to even remember.

If you go right, you know things will just be easier. It's a familiar path, similar to the one you've been walking down. You know it's mostly safe, but it's not actually going to bring you happiness. There will be rain, but no one who is willing to dance in it with you. There will be thunder, but it will force you under your covers, afraid to come out. And there are many conditions on this path.

Choosing the correct path... happy seems...
Where do you go from here?

Either path you take gives you a broken heart. Either path leads to medium bumps of turbulence. And right now, the sun isn't shining down either path. No one can decide for you. No one even understands for themselves the fork you're standing in front of. In fact, everyone just thinks you're crazy for standing in front of it so long, unable to make your decision.

One of these paths is wrong. And the other one isn't right. You think maybe you should wander off in the field, creating your own path. But that way is going to hurt as well. There is no way to turn now that isn't going to leave your heart in pieces.

But any way you choose, there is something inside you screaming out. Something telling you to believe and to just know that you are strong enough to walk alone. And no matter what, your heart will go on.