Friday, December 30, 2011

- belated Christmas update -

So, I've been off of work this whole week (hooray!), but I am totally that type of person that gets nothing done when I have time off! You would think with a week off, my house would be sparkling clean, I would have loads of blog posts scheduled to post, and all the other odds and ends that I have been meaning to get to would be done...WRONG! It's been a week filled with a lot of sitting around, playing in our backyard, and pretty much getting absolutely nothing productive accomplished! Not even the work that I brought home that I really do need to get started on...ugh! Budgets and financials and year end numbers...it makes my head hurt just thinking about it.

So, in spite of my lazy relaxing week, I finally made myself sit down to write a post. I know this is almost a week late, but here is our little Christmas update...

The Friday before Christmas we went over to a friend's house for dinner. Right before we left, Ellie just wasn't looking right. After I asked her if she was okay and I got a quiet, murmured "no", I sort of knew what was coming and attempted to run into the kitchen. But I didn't quite make it. Yup, she threw up all over me, herself, and our friend's floor....A LOT! I, of course, freaked out, but we finally got her cleaned up, and packed her into the car. I don't know how we made it home without another episode, but somehow we did (maybe God figured that me having to clean my leather bag that Ellie covered in throw up was enough...so he spared my car and leather seats!). Once we got home, it was non stop. For the first couple of hours, we kept changing her and putting her back in her crib, but after doing that twice, Matt and I realized that changing her sheets all night was not going to be an option. So I hunkered down in the bathroom with her, and held her all night while she would doze off in my arms, only to wake up 20-30 minutes later and start crying, and moments later would throw up again. It broke my heart so much to watch her getting so sick. There is nothing worse than having to watch your child suffer.  Needless to say, it was a long night, and this momma didn't sleep at all. I sat on the bathroom floor with her for almost 8 hours, while she got through it. Her Dr. assured us there was no reason to take her to urgent care since she wasn't showing any signs of dehydration, so we just stuck it out all night long.

After almost 13 hours of throwing up, she finally fell asleep for three straight hours, and when she woke up, her stomach seemed to be feeling better. She, however, was wrecked from the long night, and it took her almost 4 days to get back to her normal happy self. We completely canceled all of our Christmas plans, which was not fun to do. We ALWAYS spend Christmas with Matt's family, and my mom and my sister, but this year we didn't. We knew there was a possibility that Ellie could still be contagious, and I was just holding my breath expecting to get the same bug (considering she threw up on me all night long). There are other young kids on Matt's side of the family, and my sister is pregnant, so we didn't want to risk getting anyone else sick.

So, it was a very, very, very quiet Christmas. Ellie wasn't up for many pictures and I didn't want to force her, so here are just a few that I caught on Christmas morning...(the lighting in my house is horrible, and these pictures are definitely not in focus but I captured my girl opening a few gifts and that's all that matters!)



Overall, while it wasn't exactly what we had planned, it was still a great Christmas with the three of us...

Oh yeah, and this also helped make it a great Christmas...



Yup, my hubby is pretty amazing!!
A-MAZING...and so so good to me! Back off ladies...he's all mine! (I love you babe, so much!)

Ellie is finally back to her normal self and is feeling much better, and I am so relieved!

And of course, once she was feeling better, we had to snap a picture of the gigantic bow on her (since she is really the most amazing gift in our lives!)


 I hope everyone else had a wonderful (and healthy) holiday weekend!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

- i'm being featured -

To make up for my the fact that I lacked a recipe on my blog yesterday, come visit me over here at lovely Vivian's blog, where I am featuring a really good crock pot recipe...one of my favorites...

YUMMY!

Monday, December 26, 2011

- taking a Monday off -

Just letting you all know that I will be taking a week off from my "quick recipe of the week" series...

...because we had a rough Christmas weekend that included one sick little girl! So we are all just laying low and recovering today! I'll post Christmas updates later this week...until then, I sincerely hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Friday, December 23, 2011

- cans for comments update -


Thank you everyone for making Cans for Comments such a success!
Between my new followers, and all of the amazing comments I received, the grand total of cans that I donated was...(drum roll please)...

69!

I was so excited to bring all of those cans to our food bank. I know it will go a long way, so for everyone that helped me out...




The stack was as big as Ellie! 


We loaded all the cans in my car and donated them to a great cause. I'm sure a lot of hungry people will appreciate the food and it really made my day being able to do something helpful like this!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

- just checking in real quick -

Oh wow, turns out it's the holidays...which means life is getting super busy! I haven't had much time to blog, so here is just a quickie post!

A little update on my Cans for Comments...coming soon...stay tuned!

And here's something to think about this holiday season...

(Image credit d.ymig.com)

It's hard to complain after you read things like this.

I am so blessed!
 


Monday, December 19, 2011

- quick recipe of the week -

Okay everyone, it's December 19, which means it's the last day for Cans for Comments. At last count, I was at 59 cans, but I know we can do better than that! Keep the comments coming today please. Come on...let's get some more cans added to that total!

Today I am featuring another real life friend of mine! (see, I do have some real life friends! ha ha). For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, you already know my dear friend, Lisa. She is everything a friend should be and more! I am so lucky to have her in my life! And it doesn't hurt that she also has an adorable boy, and a sweet hubby as well. Lisa is a wonderful mom, a great wife, and a fabulous friend!


Unfortunately, Lisa doesn't write a blog (come on Lisa, jump on the blogging bandwagon!), so I don't have a new blog to share with you, but I do have a yummy recipe! She made this dish for for us, and it was the PERFECT football Sunday food!

Crock Pot Lasagna
1 lb fully cooked ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
3/4 cup water
1/2 box uncooked lasagna noodles
16 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
Italian seasoning to taste
Fresh baby spinach

Brown your meat and add the marinara sauce and the water. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes. In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, and Italian seasoning and mix well.

In the crock pot, lay down uncooked noodles (break if necessary to fit in the crock pot). Then add a layer of the cheese mix, a layer of spinach, and then a layer of the meat sauce. Continue with these layers until you have reached the top of the crock pot. Sprinkle some more mozzarella cheese on top. Cook on low 4-5 hours or until the noodles are soft and cooked thoroughly.

(Image credit Lisa)
(This is a picture before it was cooked...it looks MUCH better once it's been cooked! ha ha!)




This is seriously the easiest way to make lasagna, and it tastes just as good as oven-made lasagna. You could definitely add different veggies to this recipe as well. I made this the other day and it was delicious! We had a lot of left overs too, which is always a good thing.

Thank you so much Lisa! This is definitely a tasty recipe...(and thanks for being such an awesome person in my life!)



Saturday, December 17, 2011

- have you missed her face? -

So, other than the Santa photos I posted a couple days ago, it has been 17 days since I have posted any pictures of Ellie...have you missed her cute face? Yes? I thought so!
So here's a little photo dump for ya, since I have a touch of writer's block today. Hey, it's Saturday! My brain is not programmed to function on Saturdays...ha ha!





I have definitely resorted to bribing her with treats to get her to stand still for the camera these days. Hey, it works, so I'll just roll with it!


Our little one's passport came in the mail the other day! Exciting stuff! Her first international trip is just around the corner. I.can.not.wait!





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