Loving Him More

Well, here we are almost two weeks into this motherhood thing.  

Some things have been surprising. Like how my emotions are a complete roller coaster. And how I really can function on far less sleep than I could have imagined. How wearing baby spit up almost constantly is strangely becoming normal. And how naive I was to think I could get all sorts of things done on maternity leave. Right now, if I can keep BB alive, get a shower, and maybe sonin either small thing like pay bills or run a load of laundry, it's a good day. 

But the one thing I have found most surprising is how damn much I love The Boy from Texas.  You all know from reading this blog I obviously loved him before he became a dad. But the love I have for him now just blows that away.  

It started in the hospital where he was an absolute trooper. He kept me calm and was right in the middle of everything and when it was time to make a tough decision, he just made it and then held my hand. I fell in love with him all over again over the 14 hours of labor.

And then, when we got home, I kept falling more and more. Seeing him with BB, watching him hold his tiny head in his hands, hearing him tell that tiny baby how much he loves him....it's almost too much for my heart to handle. 

Then add in how he has taken care of me and the dogs and the cows and still going to work over the last 12 days, and, well, he should really be in the running for husband of the year. 

I waited a long time to find him. And we waited for what felt like a long time to be in the same zip code. Then we waited 10 months for BB to make his appearance. And I can say without a doubt, getting what we have together now was worth every single minute. 

Meet The Cast Monday #51: The Baby from Texas

Meet The Baby from Texas, named Braun, who will now be known as BB on the blog.

Photo by our amazingly talented friend, Britt.

 He made his grand entrance to the world weighing in at 7 pounds, 10.9 oz and measuring 19.5 inches long.  His dad and I are absolutely in love with this little guy.

And I've already got tons of new blog ideas....you know, when I can train this kid to let me have some blogging time!

Newlywed in the Kitchen Recipe #27: Mom's Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy

If there is one meal a good, country girl should know how to make, I feel like it's chicken fried steak.  I had never attempted this dish before.  It seemed complicated, messy, and frankly, my mom makes it a lot when we come over so I figured that The Boy from Texas could get his fill there.  But, in advance of us having The Baby from Texas, I felt like I should give this recipe a whirl.  My mom emailed it over.  It was less complicated than I thought, but was super messy.  So heads up on that.

The Boy from Texas Rating:  4

The Boy from Texas Comments:  Tastes like chicken fried steak to me.

My Rating:  5.

For steak:
Cubed or Tenderized Round Steak
1 C flour
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
1/4 C milk
1/4 Vegetable Oil

For gravy:
1/4 to 1/3 C flour
Milk


In small, put flour, salt, and pepper. Stir it.(I actually used an old cool whip container I saved.)

In another bowl, put eggs and 1/4 C milk. Whip with fork.  (Used another cool whip container.)

Put about ¼ C of oil in skillet. You will want to warm the oil in the pan before you place the meat in it.

Slice meat into small pieces.  (This isn't necessary, just makes it easier to be sure meat is cooked and somehow helps make breading stick better.  I'd say mine were probably 3" x 3".


Roll each piece of meat in the flour and shake off excess flour. Then roll the meat in the egg/milk mixture. Roll the meat again in the flour. Place the meat into the skillet of warm oil. Do the same process with all meat. Place lid on pan.

Let meat cook until batter begins to brown on bottom. Turn meat over, replace lid and cook until batter browns. Turn meat back over and cook a little more on each side. Then, remove lid and cook until each side has browned.  (To be sure meat it cooked through, you can just poke the center with a fork and ensure that juices are clear.

Set meat aside.

Remove excess oil and keep enough in pan to make your gravy.  (This is the kind of unhelpful instruction that makes me crazy from family recipes.  How much is enough?  How much is too much?  I didn't have very much left in the pan, so I just left it all in there).  Add about 1/4 or 1/3 cup of flour to grease. Use wire whisk to stir. Brown the flour good and then add milk (How much?  She doesn't say.  I just kept adding a little bit at a time until the consistency looked about right). Stir with whisk. Lower heat and let gravy thicken continuing to stir with spatula that has holes in it. If it gets too thick, add more milk.

Life Hacks #2

I got a big positive response to my first Life Hacks post, so I figured why not keep this little list going.  Here are a few more...

- Never pay full price at Hob Lob.  Now, the real life hack would be trying to make yourself never enter Hob Lob because let's be real, if you go in there, you are going to spend money no matter what.  But...you should NEVER pay full price for anything.  First off, there is always a 40% off one regular priced item coupon.  That's available in the Hob Lob flier in the mail (or they usually have them in the store) or you can pull it up on your iPhone.  So if you need to buy something that is not on sale, use your 40% off coupon.  But second, if you can afford to wait, the full price item you are looking at will be on sale within 2 weeks.  My Cousin Whitney is the one who informed me about this when she was wedding planning.  She watched and the sales in that store basically rotate ever three weeks.  So, if she found something she wanted and it was not on sale, she'd just check back the next two weeks and it would be 50% off.

- Have a card stash.  I'm a card sender.  And honestly a pretty good one.  I rarely miss a birthday or anniversary.  I try to always send baby cards and engagement cards.  And then sometimes have it together enough to send just because cards.  It's much easier to do this if you have a stash of cards rather than trying to hit up Target or Hallmark or wherever every time you need one.  I have a basket (OSU orange, of course) where I store all my cards.  I keep them organized by topic.  I just use little sticky notes to keep them separated.  It works like a charm and helps me keep up with events and have cards ready to roll quickly!

 

- Meal plan for the week.  This trick not only helps keep you from having to go to the grocery store multiple times a week (who the heck likes that??) but also helps you buy only what you need and not waste food.  Every Sunday, I sit down and make a meal plan for the week (Usually I do this for Monday - Friday).  I make a menu of what we will eat for each meal and then base my grocery list on what I need for these meals.  I have really found it saves a lot of time and money at the store if I know exactly what I'll be cooking and buy only that food.

- Remedy for forgotten name.  I'm hesitant to share this one because I've probably used it on someone reading this blog.  But, whatever.  Are y'all as bad about names as I am?  I'm a super visual person, so if I've seen your name written down, I will probably remember.  If I see your face, I can usually remember things about you (where you are from, how we met, what you were wearing the last time I saw you), but your name?  It's iffy if it will come to me.

One little trick I learned when you can't recall a name you should know is as follows.  Say you are chatting with the Unknown person and another person walks up.  You introduce the two and say, "Oh gosh, remind me of your name again?"  And when they tell you their first name, you say, "Oh, no, of course I know your first name, it's your last name I can't recall." (Even though you had no clue what their first name is.)  Then they'll tell you and bam, you're in.  Just make sure you remember it this time.  For example:

Say Alex, Bob and I are talking and I can't remember Bob's name.  Here's how this would work:

Tiffany:  "Alex, this is, oh gosh, your name is escaping me."
Bob:  "It's Bob."
Me:  "Oh no, of course I know your first name, it's your last name I can't recall."
Bob:  "Oh, Bob Jones."
Me:  "Jones, of course.  Bob Jones."

I'm always up for new life hacks....please share your favorites!

Newlywed in the Kitchen Recipe #26: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

This weekend I was hungry for zucchini bread and started looking for recipes.  I couldn't find any one that I really liked, so I ended up taking bits and pieces of several recipes and making my own.  I have to say, turned out pretty well!  One thing I like about this recipe is you can easily add or substitute other things.  If I made it again, I might add some shredded carrots.  You could easily add dried cranberries or raisins instead of (or addition to) the chocolate chips or pineapple.

The Boy from Texas Rating:  2.5 (he was grouchy)

The Boy from Texas Comments:  I don't understand this, you are putting zucchini in bread?  Wait, there are chocolate chips in here.  I don't understand, is this supposed to be healthy or not.  It doesn't make any sense.

My Rating:  4

 Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

(Makes 2 loaves)

3 C flour

1 t salt

1 t baking powder 

1 t baking soda

2 t cinnamon sugar

.5 t nutmeg

3 eggs

1 C apple sauce (you could use vegetable oil instead, but apple sauce works just the same and is healthier!)

1 C sugar

1 T vanilla

1.5 C grated zucchini

.25 C chopped pineapple

.75 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preaheat oven to 350.  Spray 2 loaf pans (9x5) with non-stick spray.

In large bowl, mix first 6 ingredients by hand.  One at a time, add each of the next ingredients, mixing well.  (Batter is going to be thick, that's okay.)

Put half the batter in each pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until a knife inserted comes out clean.  

15 in '15 Update: July and August

So....this will be the last list update before The Baby from Texas arrives.  Let that sink in for a minute.  Holy moly!

Summary (for those of us keeping score):
I've completed 6/15 items.
I've made at least some form of progress on 13/15 items.

Here are the details.

1.  Visit 2 new states.  COMPLETE!

Prior months recap:  Georgia (January), Iowa (April), Minnesota (April)

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2.  Print Instagram photos in Chatbooks.  COMPLETE!

I'm happy to report that the Chatbooks have arrived and are happily on our coffee table.  I now have photos from every day of 2014 and it's really fun to look back and see what was going on!  Special thanks to College Roomie for giving me gift cards for Christmas to pay for this little project!

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3.  Read 12 more books.  (5/12 complete).

Prior months recap:  Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist (February), St. John Paul the Great by Jason Evert (March), Before Amen by Max Lucado (April).

Babywise.  I've had several friends follow this book with their babies and they got those kids sleeping through the night before the mom went back to work from maternity leave.  I'm sold with just that prospect.  I think that for someone as Type-A as me, having a schedule for this baby is going to be helpful.  We'll see!

The Hardest Peace.  I learned about the author's heartbreaking story when she wrote a beautiful letter to Brittany Maynard about the author's choice not to end her life, but instead to live it out despite the terminal cancer that would eventually kill her.  The book, as you might expect, is heartbreaking, but it is also beautiful.  Repeatedly the author speaks of trusting God, even in the hardest, most impossible situation.


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4.  Run another half marathon.   Complete a post-baby 5K.  (No progress.)

Still waiting to be post-baby to start working on this one.  I'm eyeing a Turkey Trot over Thanksgiving, but that may be a bit ambitious....

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5.  Take a fun trip for The Boy From Texas' 30th.  COMPLETE!

We spent a few days at the beautiful Inn of the Mountain Gods in Ruidoso, New Mexico.  If you missed the blog recapping the trip, click here!

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6.  Plant flowers in our yard and the fun pots we got.  COMPLETE!

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7.  Cook 52 more recipes in the Newlywed in the Kitchen series.  (19/52 completed).

Prior months recap:  5 through end of February; 10 through the end of April, 14 through the end of June.

This month, I added recipes for grilled chicken salad; red, white, and blueberry pie, salsa verde chicken pasta, brisket dinner, and peach cobbler pancakes.



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8.  Finish Uncle Black Belt's book.  (Some progress made).

Prior months recap:  As of April, we had Chapters 1-4 finished and were just starting editing on Chapters 5 and 6.

No progress this month, but this is going back on the priority "to do" list!

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9.  Complete one Bible.com study a month.  (8/12 completed.)

Prior months recap:
January:  New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer.
February:  Breathe Spiritual Passion into Your Marriage by Gary Thomas.
March:  Praying for your Elephant - Praying Bold Prayers
April:  Discerning God's Will
May:  Hope
June:  Assurance
 
July:  The Lies of Busyness:  Devotions from Time of Grace
August:  Using Your Time for God

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10.  Complete 5 Pinterest projects (other than recipes).  COMPLETED!

Prior months recap:  Plant a ceramic pot garden (April), Plant a mixed plant pot (April), Send a birthday box to a friend (May), Make lavender bunches (June).

This month I wrapped up project #5 when I made baby shower folder gifts for College Roomie and the Oklahoma Girls. 


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11.  Knock off three more bucket list checkmarks.  (2/3 completed).

Prior months recap:  Meet a blog friend in person (January).

This month I crossed off my goal to stay at the Inn of the Mountain Gods. I had heard all about this place for years and had never been there.  It is absolutely beautiful and peaceful and I really enjoyed going for The Boy from Texas' 30th!

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12.  Order books/prints/canvases of our wedding photos.  COMPLETE!

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13.  Listen to the New Testament.  (Minor progress made).

Prior months progress:  Matthew 1-10.

I have got to get this in gear.  Hoping to use the motivation from the devotionals about spending time wisely and the lies of busyness to help me get cracking!

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14.  Pray Novenas for 12 friends and send them notes to tell them about it.  (8/12 completed).

Prior months progress:
January:  Novena to St. Anne for a friend suffering through infertility.
February:  Novena to St. Joseph for my single friends.
March:  Novena to St. Patrick for my friend and her growing family.
April:  Divine Mercy Novena for another good friend expecting a little one and a friend diagnosed with cancer.
May:  Novena to the Infant of Prague for two friends struggling with infertility.
June:  Divine Mercy Novena for a good friend going through a stressful time.

In July, I prayed a Novena to the Saint John Paul II for my friend taking the bar exam.  Goodness knows that's a stressful situation and I'm confident she knocked it out of the park!

In August, I prayed a Novena to St. Joseph for my friend whose husband is looking for a job.


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15.  Organize my pictures.  (No progress.)

My Baby Shower Gift: Baby Folders

Since just about everyone I know is currently knocked up (or working on getting there!), I tried to come up with a good baby gift idea that is useful and different than what most people buy.  When I saw this idea on Pinterest, I knew I had found my answer:  a baby folder!

A baby folder is the perfect gift for someone like me to give.  I'm super organized and as a lawyer, I feel like being on top of the paperwork is key to any new undertaking....like motherhood.  I love having one place to keep all of the baby-related paperwork and love even more that it's portable rather than just having hanging folders in a file cabinet.  When you go to the doctor, you can take the folder with you and have your paperwork all right there.

So, I bought some cute expandable file folders, some file folders, fun colored sharpies, and I went to work.

I used the following categories:

Birth Certificate & Social Security Card
Keepsakes
Photos
Pediatrician
Shot Records
Insurance
Nursing/Feeding
Parenting Articles
Receipts/Warranties
Manuals
Coupons
Miscellaneous

I must say, I was quite pleased with the final results!