Meal Planning

Pizza Bread


I am a huge Meal Planner for three main reasons: I am not creative AT ALL and need a recipe, it saves money and it saves time! For the past 9 months, my menu has been pretty boring due to all our dietary restricions (side of meat, side of starch, side of veggie, etc.). Since we are eating everything now I have experimented with two new recipes this week that turned out well. They are both yummy, fast and super easy. One recipe is of the pictures above. I made the Pizza Bread dough in my bread machine dough cycle (halved the recipe) and then followed the directions as listed (you can also hand make the dough). I froze one loaf for later eats. Blair, Bailey and I loved it and it was great twist up from pizza. I need to work on the dough staying together, but it tasted yummy all the same.

The next recipe was Crockpot Meatball Chilli. (scroll all the way down the page). You just dump the stuff in and walk away. No browning /draining ground beef! We all loved this as well and thought it had just the right amount of spice. I followed this recipe to the T, except using green pepper instead of red pepper (cheaper). I served it with sour cream/ cheese and a side of cornbread and it was good. Even better was it took 10 minutes in the morning and that is it!

Happenings....

Yesterday was a fairly low-key day. We did some errands, worked out at the mall and enjoyed each other. Here is Bailey "reading" my old photo albums. Do you see a *hint* of the attitude to come in the future?


Taylor...her hair has become a bit uncontrollable lately, but I think she is ADORABLE.
she is so, so, so, so
close! I think she might have even crawled one step yesterday.....but hasn't since. Any day now.

Guess who is eating EGGS?

We took both girls to the Allergist a few weeks ago and have some good news about Bailey. She has outgrown her EGG ALLERGY!! Yahoo! This past week she has had cookies, donuts, pancakes, muffins, and brownies :). We have eaten at church without worry of what is in the food. It is SO FREEING to be able to have her eat normal food. She loves "ncakes" as pictured above :).

Taylor's results were not as good. She is positive for Peanut and Egg (along with milk sensitivity). Due to this, I have weaned her and she is now thriving on her prescription formula, Elecare. The weaning process this time was MUCH smoother for both of us. She took right to the formula and her skin, behavior and sleep are all improved :). This makes for a happy Taylor and a happy Momma. While I am concerned about Taylor's allergies, the Allergist seemed to think she would outgrow hers as well eventually (based on the RAST levels). She is still not really eating much food yet, so this hasn't been an issue (ie-she hasn't been exposed).

Due to weaning, I am now able to enjoy a normal diet as well. Our meals around here just got a whole lot yummier!

My workout partner...

Bailey and I did Tae-Bo together the other day. I think she is so cute! What great motivation....

Taylor all smiles as usual....

Kitchen Renovation

Blair and Pete worked very, very hard over Christmas vacation to complete a pretty in-depth kitchen renovation. I finished it off with new decor and we all think it turned out really well.


Painted the walls a lighter green, hung new curtains, pillows for window seat. Spray-painted chandalier silver
Sanded and painted cabinets. Installed silver hardware. New curtains/ towels.
Installed new light fixtures.

Ta-da! Several weeks of hard labor= Successful Frugal Renovation (This all totalled less then $1000). Next up: New solid-surface countertops (will have this done professionally :)).

Look at ME!

My Taylor- this is how happy she normally is!


Look at my 2 bottom teeth! It was a lot of hard work getting these......
Hi ya!
look at me....
so, so, so, so CLOSE!

Pretty Girls

My two littles, all dressed up and ready for church!

Providential Friendships...

Jeremy and Rebekah

Rebekah and I (the men declined a boys-only pic ;))

In church, we have been learning about providential friendships. These friends bring you closer to the Lord and together, you display God's love to each other in emotional, physical and spiritual ways. Blair and I had great pleasure in going out to dinner (kidless!) and starbucks with two of our favorite people. We have not lived in the same area in over 4 years, but know that they will be lifelong friends. They have a little one (Sophie) that is 1 week younger then Taylor. What a joy it will be to continue to see how God shapes our lives in the years to come.

"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm" Proverbrs 13:20

yep, I'm a cutie!

Taylor is getting so much personality lately. She is so sweet, patient, loving. She gets upset, but not nearly to the level that big sis did. It is so strange for me to see how different they are, but I think it is good that they will grow up with different strengths/weaknesses. Bailey can get really, really happy and really, really mad. Taylor seems to be a little more even-keeled. She loves to be held and in these pics she was not only held by Grammie, but also looking at Skittles the cat and Rocky the dog. Oh, the joy!

Faces at Grammie's

Taylor caught her a creature.....


Bailey + chocolate bag....
Pure joy...
bad doggie beging a good doggie....
contemplation.....

Gainesville fun

Bailey and Grandma drinking soy milk together- CHEERS!

Grammie with 2 of her grandbabies
making a drum

Christmas at the Cellon's

Taylor (8mo) and Alice (11mo) playing with Alice's new walker car!

The aftermath. See Bailey's Nemo pillow on the chair Grammie made? Awesome!
Alice- I could eat her up!
Uncle Johnny with his loot
Aunt Lindz and Alice recovering from a stomach bug (that they joyously passed to everyone else except my immediate family- even my Mom and Dad got it somehow!)
Grammie, Bailey (with a Nemo fishy) and Poppy
Uncle Blair and Alice(poor pitiful alice was so sick)

ring-a-round-a-rosie

ring-a-round-a-rosie. pocket-full-a-posie. ashes. ashes. we-all-fall-down!

Bailey and Taylor love dancing with Grandma! (I think Grandma likes it too!)

Haiti

Many of you may not know, but I went to Haiti on a Medical Mission Trip in 2002. It was for only a week, but what a life-changing week for me. As a young nursing student, I saw poverty like that week that I still haven't seen since (even the Tsunami hit Banda Aceh was better off then regular day Haiti). My heart has been so burdened for this country. I have been to the Port Au Prince airport. Ya'll, it is the roughest airport you would ever see.....one bathroom for the whole thing. I did not spend much time in Port Au Prince excpet to fly in/out of, but it was a very crowded, very poor place to be. My prayers are that God will bring healing to this country that has known spiritual, emotional and physical desolation for many, many years. Blair and I are hoping to adopt a child from Haiti from Compassion. So many children are hopeless and despair there....I can't even imagine how many more are now orphans. God, save them!

Taylor 8 months, Bailey 28 months

Grandma Patterson, Bailey, Grandpa Patterson, Taylor
While we were gone, Taylor turned 8 months and Bailey 28 months. Here is what they have been up to:

Taylor-
*you are a master-sitter at this point and are VERY close to crawling. You love to play with your
toys and eat paper (yuck).
*you sleep from 7:30-7:30, waking up twice to eat.
*coo and say dada indiscriminately
*were eating some baby food, but since then have turned up your nose to any food other then milk, although you love water out of your sippy
*LOVE Snickers the cat and Bailey and think both are hilarious
*takes 2 naps a day
*you are a joy to be around and overall are a very content and smiley baby.

Bailey-
*you are talking up a storm and say pretty much anything. My favorite is when we pray and you say "Amen, Amen Taylor" for your sister :)
*love the Wonderpets, Dora, Blue's Clues and anything having to do with Nemo (every fish is a Nemo fish)
*moved from a crib to toddler bed (with about a week of rough transition)
*hop or run everywhere you go.
*love to color/draw/chalk/paint
*go very easy to daycare/church. You don't even want to say good-bye!
*are the apple of your parent's and grandparent's eyes.
*love hot dogs, oatmeal, pumpkin muffins, nuggets, and all fruit.

Merry Christmas

Uncle Travis and Aunt Natalie reading some of our new books to us






Bailey's new Little People castle with all her WonderPets and Little Blue keeping guard.