To Shark Week, I know your intention is to promote education and not fear, but it was a little disturbing to find out that the Great White Sharks in the Atlantic Ocean "summer" off the coast of Georgia. Eek! It was even more disturbing to find out that they have begun traveling into the Gulf of Mexico to feed on giant squid. I have always been afraid of dark water (I know, it's a phobia really... I don't even like the 2 feet deep water on the It's a Small World ride), but this makes me afraid of even the shallow/mostly clear/unexciting waves off the coast of St. George Island. Not sure if I will even again go deep sea fishing...
To Little T, Bless you! Thank you sweet baby for almost 8 hours of sweet, uninterrupted sleep, especially after the last few nights of waking up 5+ times per night. Can we keep this up?? Your mama feels like a whole new person.
To Long Dog, Are hiccups contagious? I swear that you get them from Little T and vice versa. It makes me wonder when they will get all three of us at one time...
To the Rescue Doctor Bee, Only one more day of Trauma Surgery before nine glorious days off. You can do it!! I know that it has been full of long hours, horrific cases, distraught loved ones, and stories that I always first hear about on the news, but I can say "job well done". I'm proud of you! You earned a new pair of Gel Scrubs. They will be delivered tomorrow. :)

To the Splash-Monster!!!, You have begun to thoroughly enjoy bath time and I love that it makes you so happy (and love a little less how wet I end up before it is all over). :) You can tell by the picture how much splashing is done by such a little man! I take such delight in the fact that you love to entertain me
To the Cancelled Picnic, Sad day that we won't be able to spend this Saturday afternoon at the lake with some of the most amazing people because of the nasty weather! I was really looking forward to it! Handsome Hubby and I now have a dozen chocolate cupcakes with chocolate mousse centers with mocha buttercream icing to eat all on our lonesome. To Trauma Surgery, you are getting a special snack for breakfast tomorrow! To Weathergirl, I'm told it will actually have stopped raining here by the time the picnic should have started. Here's to needing a "weathergirl" on staff at the church! I'm all for you moving out here. Maybe they are needing a weather professor at the James Brown Downtown College of Good Knowledge (which really is the best name choice anyway...)?? To the "Rain Tax", Really a Rain Tax?? Surely the citizens of this fine city should not be penalized for the weather. Especially when it was not our poor planning that has caused all of this poor drainage in the first place. I'll get off my political soap box now...
To the Ants that Invaded the Laundry Room, Poor Long Dog had to eat a non-dog food breakfast (He's not complaining) yesterday morning when I came downstairs to find a whole anthill worth of your guys crawling on his dog food container (note to self: it isn't actually an airtight container as it was advertised to be). It took nearly 2 hours, a half bottle of Windex, a roll of paper towels, a pair of purple dishwashing gloves, 3 Ziploc containers, a large amount of freezer space, and several interesting stares from Little T to reclaim Long Dog's food. But, eventually, SUCCESS!
To Handsome Hubby, At last...almost a whole weekend with you! I can't believe you just have to round today and tomorrow and we get the rest of the day with you. I think you are going to be very surprised by the big boy our little man has become! Here's to some major family bonding time! :)

Food Friday!: French Toast

Food Friday!: French Toast

"Brinner" is one of our favorite dinners at our house. Handsome Hubby loves it, especially my French toast...well, my Mama's French toast! The secret?!...the main ingredient: Challah bread. This traditional Jewish braided egg-bread can be found at your grocery store bakery and makes this breakfast (or "brinner") meal flavorful, rich, and fluffy, not to mention melt-in-your-mouth! It will keep you from every making French toast with any other kind of bread. :)

Ingredients

1 loaf of Challah bread, sliced in approximately 1 inch pieces
6 eggs (you can use 3 whole eggs, and 3 egg whites if preferred)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup Bisquick (or baking mix)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, beat ingredients together. Dip each side of the thick slices of bread into the mixture (mixture may need to be stirred occasionally since some of the ingredients may sink to the bottom of the bowl) and place in pan or on griddle over medium heat. Cook both sides, flipping only once, until golden brown. Serving suggestions: with fruit salad and maple syrup! MMmmmm!

To Long Dog, Who knew you love the handsome dog in the mirror as much as Little T likes the beautiful baby in the mirror? I set up a mirror angled on the floor this morning so Little T could see the ceiling fan while doing tummy time (in hopes that he might enjoy it more if he sees his favorite friend!), but you completely blocked his view as you gazed at yourself. You're so funny! I love my boys! P.S. I noticed you left the black beans in your bowl when I put some leftovers on your dinner. :) It took me awhile to learn to like them too.
To Little T,  Happy 11 weeks (plus 2 days)!! The ceiling fan may be your first love, but your airplane mobile must be your second, not counting Mama of course! I love hearing your laugh and coo, even if it is at the mobile in the middle of the night. :)
To the Employee at the Grocery Store, You may have thought I was completely crazy to do self-checkout of a major shopping trip with a baby in a Baby Bjorn strapped to my front, but I'm particular about how I bag my groceries... It was above and beyond your call of duty to unload my groceries, scan them, hand them to me so I could pack them in my reusable bags, and then load them all back in my cart. I commend you for your kindness, I was touched by your thoughtfulness, and I just wanted to let you know that you made my day.
To my Dr. Bee, You got home at 4:30pm today! Why?! Because it was your "turn". Ha! I loved having you home early, but I feel as though they must have given every one else at the hospital a turn first before allowing you yours. ;) Here's to more "turns" in the near future! It's amazing what you can get done when you get home so early...you took out the trash, took a nap, played with Little T, got a hair cut, and managed a grocery store run for the two items on my list that I forgot to get. I'm impressed!!

Food Friday!: Shrimp Scampi...two ways

Food Friday!: Shrimp Scampi

Happy Food Friday to you all! In an effort to not miss another Food Friday post, I thought I would at least quickly give you two links to one of Handsome Hubby and my favorite meals. Unfortunately I don't have a picture at the moment (although I did take one of this meal several months ago while still pregnant with Little T and despite the absolute deliciousness of the meal, I thought the picture looked incredibly unappetizing...), so I will rely on the food photographers of Southern Living and Cooking Light to convince you to make this dinner for yourself. :)

The Southern Living's recipe is one I found in one of their magazines several years ago and I make it often...It's my go-to shrimp meal when shrimp is on sale. I pretty much follow the recipe exactly, although I will often use Dreamfields' spaghetti noodles (low carb, high fiber pasta that has a happy side effect of lower sodium) to make the dish move a slight step in the "healthier" direction. I honestly don't think the pasta tastes any differently than normal pasta.

I made the Cooking Light recipe for the first time this week and was pleasantly surprised by how well I liked the meal with orzo instead of spaghetti noodles. Despite the fact that it uses nearly as much butter as Southern Living's recipe, let's be honest, I feel healthier eating it because it is a Cooking Light recipe. :)

Both recipes as absolutely wonderful ("Just fabulous!" as a certain relative would say...) and easy, quick recipes to prepare. Enjoy!

The Yawn...

To Little T, How is it that I yawn every time you yawn, but you seem unaffected when I yawn (and I yawn more than you do...)? Isn't that supposed to work both ways?? Side note...if you decided to sleep more at night, we would both yawn less. :) I can say thank you though! Sleeping from 7:30pm-7am and you only wake up 3 times now. One magnificent word: PROGRESS. 
To the 2012 Olympics, Hard to image the last time I watched Olympic sporting events was two years ago and The Swede was sitting on the couch beside me. I remember watching hockey every night for the duration of those winter games. To The Swede, I've decided you're one of the best people to watch the game with. I miss you! To Popmiester, I always thought it was cool that you played water polo growing up. Now after watching the USA men's game yesterday and the women's game today, I have realized that it is really rather impressive that you played. I know you used to say that some of the guys on your team would file their toe nails to a point, but it was completely different to watch the guys/girls beat up on each other!
To Food Friday (or should you be called Scrumptious Saturday? Supper Sunday? or Mmmmm Monday??), Better late than never! These days, I will sometimes wake up on Saturday morning and something about fixing breakfast (or a sweet comment from Weathergirl) will remind me that I neglected you for the week. Here's to having a queue of Food Fridays/Scrumptious Saturdays ready for publication for whenever I need them... :)
To the Doctor Husband, You have been working some ridiculous hours these days...making it home in enough time to kiss Little T good night (and read him a book!), eat a late dinner, and go to bed. I have enjoyed hearing about some of your Trauma Surgery cases, though I often get a summary from the evening news before you get home!

Two Months Old!

Little T is...

and pretty much the same size as Benny the Bear!

Weight: 12 lbs 9 oz
Height: 23 5/8 inches
Wearing: still in 0-3 month clothes (although he's grown out of some), and in size 2 diapers 
Loving: Trying to sit up, CEILING FANS, the baby in the mirror, "Old McDonald Had a Farm", animal sounds

The Proof...the bandaids look so big on such a little baby! And he wore his "Beware, I bite" onesie just in case he needed a reminder that he is a strong, brave boy! :)

To my Brave Boy, Honestly, I was a little worried what the afternoon/evening after your shots would be like... but, you did great! All in all, I think you getting your shots affected me more and you just remained my happy guy! New developments: you've found the baby in the mirror and you liked what you saw! :)
To the House Hunt, Yes! We've started our search. You may be a little intimidating (although not more than packing up all our stuff and moving it while taking care of a youngster), but I'm looking forward to finding the house we will make our home over the next 5 years! Lord, prepare a home for us! Give us wisdom and help us not to be close-minded. Show us where you would have us raise our little boy. 
To Handsome Hubby, Thanks for making dinner for us the other night! After all you did at work, it meant so much to me that you planned to make dinner...especially since you had to go to the grocery store before you came home. You certainly know how to make a girl feel special! :)

To the "Driveway" Doves, I love it that you have made my house your home! Though, I think your two precious eggs would have preferred a quieter home than along our driveway...I know we scare you every time we arrive home. Hoping your little ones hatch soon!
To My Little Man, You're 9 weeks old as of yesterday and you are getting so big (and BRAVE!). You were a trooper getting your shots this morning and really only did your "drama" no-tears cry for a few seconds before falling asleep for the ride home. I've even gotten a few smiles since we arrived home! What's new with you? You weigh all of 12 lbs 9 oz now (75th percentile for weight and height) and your favorite thing?: the ceiling fan. :) It really is your first love... You squawk at me when I get in the way.   
To Handsome Hubby, I can't believe you ended up with this weekend off while we were away! Thank you for spending that time cleaning up some of the yard debris from last week's storm. It looks some much better already!

Food Friday!: Frozen Butterfinger Pie

Food Friday: Frozen Butterfinger Pie

Handsome Hubby and I were craving a sweet treat the other day, and with the heat lately, we knew we wanted an easy, frozen dessert! I found this recipe on Cooking Light's list of 10 Best Ice Box Pies. It was delightful! I made mine in a 9 x 13 inch pan instead of a pie pan and with Reduced Fat Nilla wafers instead of the chocolate graham crackers. Delish! I think next time I might be tempted to use two cartons of frozen yogurt instead of just the one. Enjoy!

Ingredients


40 chocolate graham crackers or 1 box Nilla wafers (let's be honest though...it was 1 box minus the 10 or so that I ate as a snack while I made this dessert)   :) 
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted 
1 egg white
1 carton vanilla fat-free frozen yogurt (if desired, 2 cartons if using 9 x 13 inch pan)
3 tbsp light-colored corn syrup 
3 tbsp creamy peanut butter 
1 tbsp fat-free milk 
1 Butterfinger candy bar, crushed

Preparation 

Preheat oven to 350°. Place graham crackers (or Nilla wafers) in food processor and pulse until crumbly. I actually place them in a sealed gallon sized ziploc and beat them with a rolling pin until they are crushed. :) Then add melted butter and egg white to either the food processor or the ziploc bag and pulse/massage until moist. Press crumb mixture into a greased 9-inch pie plate or 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes and then place in freezer for 15 minutes.

While the crust is cooling in the freezer, let the yogurt stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to soften. Combine the corn syrup, peanut butter, and milk in a small bowl, and stir until smooth. Spoon half of yogurt onto crust. Drizzle half of the peanut butter syrup over the yogurt already in the crust. Then, sprinkle with half of chopped Butterfinger bar. Repeat the procedure with remaining yogurt, peanut butter syrup, and Butterfinger pieces. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for 3 hours or until firm. Enjoy! :)