Much To Be Thankful For and Delicious Green Bean Casserole Recipe

This year I have so much to be thankful for. I am truly thankful for all God has blessed us with this past year and I try to not take it for granted. We had three wonderful Thanksgiving celebrations with the various sides of our families and ate way too much food.

I am thankful for my husband. Not only is he a loving husband, a great provider, wonderful dad, he also is my best friend and I truly enjoy spending time with him. I can hardly believe we've been together 6 years at the end of the year.

I am thankful for my kids. They truly are wonderful. They are polite, they are smart, they are responsible, and overall they are just great kids. I am so thankful God chose me to be their mom.

I am thankful for the new baby growing inside me that we will meet this spring. I have longed for another baby for many years and am beyond overjoyed that our new baby will finally join our family in a few months. This baby will be part hubby, part me, and something as a stepfamily we all have in common.

I am thankful to be living in Colorado again. I am thankful we now have so much family so close and to have lots of long time friends close as well. I love seeing the mountains everyday and going and playing in the mountains as often as possible. I love all the sunshine we get here in Colorado. I love the slower pace of life and the fact that strangers are friendly and take the time to smile and talk to you.

I am thankful for my hubby's job. Not only does he get to make beer for a living, his job allows me to stay home and raise our children, something I don't take for granted.

I am thankful we were able to purchase our first home this year. Not only is the home bigger and nicer than anything we ever though we'd be able to afford, it is close to hubby's job, in a neighborhood full of kids and really great neighbors.

I am thankful we have finally found a church here in town and I look forward to becoming more involved. This morning church refreshed my soul and changed my bad attitude and I really appreciate it.

I am thankful for so much. I know as college educated Americans hubby and I have more than most others worldwide. Thanksgiving is a great time to pause and reflect on everything we truly do have here in America.

And as an added bonus here is the most delicious green bean casserole recipe you'll ever have. I made it for our first Thanksgiving celebration and it was amazing!

Paula Deen's Green Bean Casserole

From: foodnetwork.com with my modifications.

Ingredients:


1/3 stick butter

1/2 cup diced onions

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

2 cups canned green beans (drained)

1 - 10 3/4 ounce can of cream of mushroom soup

1 - 2.8 ounce can of French's fried onions

1 cup grated sharp cheddar

salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to taste


1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) Melt butter in skillet and saute onions and mushrooms.

3) Add green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and fried onions to onion and mushroom mixture.

4) Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste, at a ratio of 2 times more salt than pepper or garlic powder. I didn't measure but maybe 2-3 good shakes of pepper and garlic powder, and 5-6 shakes of salt.

5) Stir well and pour into baking dish.

6) Bake for 20 minutes, then add shredded cheddar on top (don't stir) and bake for 10 more minutes.

7) Serve hot out of oven and enjoy!

Pregnancy: 16 Weeks

I can't believe it has been 6 weeks since my last pregnancy update.

 The baby belly is giant already!

 Whose belly is bigger mine or Phoenix's?

Already in love!

Due date: May 4, 2012

How far along: 16 weeks

Weight gain: 10 pounds

Maternity clothes: All maternity clothes. From about 10 weeks on I've been in maternity clothes.

Baby bump: 2nd pregnancies are no joke. My belly started rounding out around 6 weeks and I was obviously showing by 9-10 weeks. When I was pregnant with Brennan I wasn't showing this much until 26-27 weeks. Good thing I have Babycenter and Facebook so I can see my big bump fits right in with all the other 2nd time moms. Now if I could just get my family to stop teasing me about having twins we'd be good.

Gender: We aren't going to find out the gender. We are really excited to announce both the gender and the name on the day the baby is born. The waiting may kill the older kids and some of our other family members but we are super excited for the big surprise. My intuition from the beginning is that it is a boy. Hubby says he thinks it is a girl. We'll see in about 24 weeks who is right.

Heartbeat: We got to hear the heartbeat at my appointment on November 3rd. I was 13 weeks and 6 days. The baby had a nice strong heartbeat of 160 BPM. It was an amazing sound to hear and I loved seeing hubby's face light up when he heard it too.

Movement: I first felt the baby move on November 4th when I was 14 weeks along. I noticed other 2nd time moms saying they could feel the baby as early as 12 weeks then I finally read in one of my pregnancy books that 2nd time moms can sometimes feel the baby at 14 weeks so I decided to give it a try. Last time I was pregnant I didn't feel Brennan until about 20 weeks along. My doctor then told me to eat a snack, lay down and be still and focus on feeling the movement. I did the same thing this time and sure enough I could feel some nudges and even some tumbling going on. I still can't feel the baby move during my day to day activities but if I lay still and try to feel the baby move I can. The baby is most active right before bed around 9pm at night. I hope that doesn't mean we're going to have a baby who doesn't want to sleep.

Symptoms: Overall I still feel great! I noticed a significant boost in my energy levels around 12 weeks. I still get tired, especially if I do a lot during the day, but now instead of falling down in bed at 8pm because I can no longer function, I am tired but can stay up until 9:30 or 10pm getting done what needs done. I've had a few instances of round ligament pain but usually it is a dull ache if I do too much. I've had more headaches the past few weeks but not too many. The breast tenderness has subsided. The always feeling hungry has subsided too though I now try to eat a lot more protein especially in the morning so I stay fuller longer. My blood pressure has still been a little high. When I take it now it tends to be in the mid-upper 120's over upper 70's or lower 80's. I had 4 acupuncture sessions which helped. I'd continue those but we won't be meeting our deductible this year and will have a lot of out of pocket costs next year so I can't keep paying out of pocket for acupuncture. My original blood work didn't say I was anemic but the acupuncturist suggested adding a liquid iron supplement from Vitamin Cottage and I think it is helping keep my blood pressure down.

Exercise: I've been doing horrible with exercise since it has gotten cold. Brennan and I went on a 5 mile bike ride yesterday but on average I am only exercising 1-2 days per week. I'd really like to continue running my entire pregnancy so it is easy to pick up postpartum. There is a prenatal water aerobics class through the city I am going to sign up for. I figure paying for a class will be motivation enough to get me there and be 2 days a week of exercise. If anyone has any great cold weather/no exercise partner suggestions for keeping me motivated I'd love to hear them. I also have Your Shape on the Xbox and occasionally do the yoga or cardio but honestly don't love exercise videos.

Next Appointment: Friday, December 2nd. I'll be 18 weeks and I scheduled it for when Nate isn't working so he can come along too. Our ultrasound is scheduled for January 3rd. It is the standard anatomy scan since we won't be finding out the gender though I am excited to see the baby.

Here is the link to the Baby Center Your Pregnancy: 16 Weeks Some of the highlights are: get ready for a growth spurt your baby will double in size in the next few weeks. Your baby is the size of an avocado (4 1/2 inches and 3 1/2 ounces). His legs are more developed. His eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. He's even started growing toenails. His heart is now pumping 25 quarts of blood each day and this amount will continue to increase as he develops. 

Made In America

Last night was Phoenix's "Made In America" program at school. It was very cute and very entertaining with singing, speaking parts, props, and dancing. It also was just 30 minutes, the perfect length for a performance in my opinion. Phoenix is the first speaker at the beginning of the video. The song is the entire 3rd grade singing but I did zoom in on Phoenix during the song. She is in a red skirt, white shirt, and brown knee boots. Enjoy!

Happy 11th Birthday Wynter!

Happy 11th Birthday Wynter! Daddy and I love you so much and are so proud of the beautiful young lady you have become. Don't lose sight of who you are over these coming teen years. You are unique, beautiful, and compassionate and I know will become a successful young lady.

Love,

Mom

Bath time!

Cheeseburger smile! 3 years old, 2004

Me and my sister! 4 years old, 2005

My angel, Halloween 2007, 6 years old.

Our wedding, May 2008, 7 years old.

September 2009, 8 years old.

Beautiful! July 2011, 10 years old

Do Everything

By Steven Curtis Chapman



The music video is a little weird but just listen to the lyrics. I heard this song yesterday in the car and while I had heard it before it spoke to me. Sometimes as stay-at-home moms it feels like what we are doing isn't important. Especially for very career driven woman like me. At this point in my life I expected to be a high powered attorney not a stay-at-home mom but you know what I couldn't be happier. The song says, "...wonder sometimes does it matter at all. Well let me remind you it matters just as long as you do everything you do to the glory of the one who made you." It goes on to talk about it doesn't matter if you're a high powered executive, or a stay-at-home mom, or the guy flipping burgers, as long as you do it to the glory of God it doesn't matter.

Homebirth vs. Hospital Birth

Hubby and I are over the moon! We got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday. We were both so happy to hear that amazing sound. The baby had a good, strong heartbeat of 160 BPM. It is a great feeling to know everything is going ok.

A lot has happened since my 10 week pregnancy update and when I told you the story of how I almost got kicked out of my midwife's practice at my first visit. The background is we were planning a homebirth and found an amazing homebirth midwife that hubby and I loved. At my first appointment with her at 8 weeks along my blood pressure was high. My blood pressure isn't normally high so it was a bit surprising. It wasn't it a little high, it was through the roof high. I had to give up coffee and all caffeine, add supplements, add exercise, make diet changes, and add rest time into my day. I also started acupuncture and started monitoring my blood pressure daily.

At my 10 week appointment my blood pressure was still over the 130/90 maximum allowable under state law for homebirth so my homebirth midwife told me I had to transfer care. I was pretty bummed out but tried to keep a positive outlook on things. One thing about being a parent you quickly learn is a lot of things are out of your control. I while I was understandably disappointed that my plans for a homebirth were not going to work out I realized it was out of my control. I could either be really upset about it or accept it. My faith is a grounding factor in my life and I feel if something is meant to be it will happen and if it is not meant to be it won't happen. Maybe having a homebirth wasn't meant to be for me.

After getting the news that I had to transfer care then the stressful part started, I had to find a new care provider. Everything about homebirth sounded perfect for me and my family but incorporating some of those thoughts and philosophies into a hospital birth was going to be difficult. Hospitals are meant for saving lives and birth is a very natural process that women having been doing forever. In a normal birth there doesn't need to be tons of interventions and "life saving procedures" going on. During my first birth which took place at a hospital with an OB I loved I felt like I was forced or bullied into a lot of things I did not want to do. I felt like decisions were out of my hands and everything was "for the safety of the baby". The classic OB, surgeon approach is, "the only c-section you get sued for is the one you didn't do." The average U.S. c-section rate is 33%, the World Health Organization studies find the optimal c-section rate to be 5-10%, and my homebirth midwife has a 5% c-section rate. More isn't always better when it comes to interventions. These are just a few of the reasons I wanted a homebirth. Finding a new care provider who shared my philosophy about labor and delivery and it being a natural process that really needs little interference was going to be hard.

The first doctor we interviewed was the opposite of what we were looking for. My homebirth midwife recommend a family practice doctor. She said they are most similar to what a homebirth midwife can provide because they are not surgeons trained in complications of pregnancy, they provide care for mom and baby both, and generally are very supportive of natural, intervention free childbirth. I've only had female OB, midwife, and family practice doctors and much prefer female doctors over male doctors though I have seen a few specialists who were males that I liked working with. The first family practice doctor most highly recommended by the homebirth midwife was a male doctor in a 4 doctor, family practice group. Let me say, a lot can be said based upon scanning the practice's website, reading the doctor's bio, and looking at pictures. In fact, when I lived in Maryland I didn't go see the specialist my PCP suggested because they guy looked creepy in his picture. Instead I found someone else in the practice who has research experience in the area I was looking for and didn't look like a creep. He turned out to be an exceptional doctor and I was happy I chose him. I didn't think I'd like the family practice doctor based upon reading his bio and looking at his picture. He also looked creepy and something just told me I wouldn't like him. I scheduled a "meet the doctor visit" anyway and the visit was a train wreck from the beginning. We waited for over an hour past our scheduled appointment time. Hubby was furious and was ready to walk out before we even saw the doctor. The doctor's website talked about the work he did with low income patients and with the crisis pregnancy center and it suffices to say by the other clientele in the office we were not his typical patients. During the interview I felt he talked down to us and didn't listen to what we were saying. He couldn't provide me information about their c-section rates. He said they scheduled 15 minutes for prenatal visits compared to the 1 hour my homebirth midwife schedules for each visit. He then proceeded to tell me how dangerous birth is and that hospitals are for saving lives and that women should be giving birth there because women die in childbirth all the time (actual figure is 11 in 100,000 not all the time). Needless to say, I left his office very upset because if this was my best option I was completely screwed and was not going to find someone who shared my philosophy. I couldn't stand the guy so maybe moving to an OB who I at least  liked would be better than nothing. At this point I was even more upset than when the homebirth midwife told me I had to transfer care.

Hubby and I went home and regrouped and thought about what was important to us. For me having a female care provider who I liked was very important so I decided to eliminate male care providers from the short list my homebirth midwife provided. In our town there is a very large (20 OB) practice which almost anyone I asked had used to deliver their babies. People seem to love them and according to my homebirth midwife there are phenomenal OB's there who are low on interventions and there are OB's there that jump to interventions at every turn. Problem is they rotate call so you could see the fabulous OB your entire pregnancy and have c-section friendly OB overseeing your labor and delivery. That did not sound like it was for me. There was an all midwife practice that operated independent of any OB's in town but still delivered at the local hospital. I had considered them as an option before deciding on homebirth but was unsure with my high blood pressure if they'd be able to take my case. I decided I was running out of options. Suddenly being without a care provider at 10 weeks pregnant when you found the perfect one at 6 weeks was a little disheartening so I called the midwife only practice. The receptionist was extremely friendly and helpful and despite not being a patient she immediately put me on the phone with one of the midwives. The midwife spent 20 minutes talking to me on the phone about their practice and philosophy, specifics of my situation and medical history. She explained they handled all their high blood pressure cases in house and didn't refer out to an OB. She thought their office would be a good fit based upon what I was telling her and said of all the midwives in town that deliver at the hospital they were the most "crunchy, granola" which sounded like just what I was looking for.

Today was my first appointment with the new midwives and it definitely is not a homebirth. The practice is much more medicalized, my appointment was shorter, we didn't spend time talking about emotional well being, diet, exercise, family issues, like the homebirth midwife does. My homebirth midwife takes a very holistic approach and treats you as a whole person and all aspects of your life. We were able to hear the baby's heartbeat which was amazing but we spent most of the appointment talking about my medical history. The midwife did answer all my questions without rushing me and explained a little more about their office procedures. I got a ton more reading materials but interestingly enough almost none of it overlapped with what the homebirth midwife gave me. A different approach I suppose but she did assure me they would spend as much time with me in labor as I needed, I could eat and drink freely in labor, moving, walking, and changing positions is encouraged, routine IV is not mandatory but I can get a Hep lock instead, opting out of standard newborn procedures such as eye drops and Hep B shot are fine and all newborn procedures will happen right there with me, the babies cord is not cut until it has stopped pulsating (newborns who umbilical cords are cut right away lose up to 1/3 of their blood and have to make it up during those first few days after birth), and baby is immediately placed on my chest and encouraged to breastfeed. Would I still want a homebirth if it was an option for me, yes! Since it isn't an option though I think transferring care to a midwife only practice that delivers at the hospital is the next best thing. Next month I meet one of the other 4 midwives so I hope I like her as much as I liked the midwife today.

Pregnancy and parenting in general is an exercise in giving up control, something which I am not good with, but I'll make it through. Yesterday also marks the end of the first trimester, yay! Happy, healthy baby makes for a happy healthy mommy.

Trusting Your Intuition

This morning I woke up early to turn on the news reports and check the school website to see if school was closed. Last week we got 12 inches of snow and our district didn't close. The main roads weren't bad but there were tree branches falling left and right and power outages and my kids bus route isn't along a main road. The middle school bus got stuck, they sent another bus, which drove into a ditch. I drove the kids to the bus stop, waited for about 20 minutes, the bus ended up being 45 minutes late. I drove the kids back home and contemplated keeping them home for the day. I decided last week to be a responsible parent, load up my elementary daughter and drive everyone to school. The oldest two were a few minutes late and me and Phoenix hung out in the coffee shop across the street for an hour waiting for her school to start. I did not feel comfortable sending them home on the bus so I drove and picked up all three kids when the middle school let out. It turned out ok in the end but was a huge hassle and whether it was really safe was questionable.

Last night we got 7 inches of snow and it was still snowing until about 11:30am today. Total I think we ended up with around 9 inches of snow. This morning according to traffic reports the roads were a mess and people were sliding all over and spinning out. My older two kids get on the bus at 6:50am. I was definitely not comfortable sending them on the bus in those conditions. I also didn't think I could safely drive my sedan the 7 miles to my kids school. I woke up hubby and asked if he wanted to drive him in his Jeep or if he thought they should stay home. He said keep them home so I did. I hope that doesn't make me a bad parent but my children's safety is more important than 1 day of school for 3 children who excel in school and rarely get sick.

Maybe living in Maryland for over two years made me a wimp because in Maryland they close school with nearly every snowstorm and sometimes even close school when it doesn't seem necessary. The kids school district here seems to be of the opposite mindset not closing when it seems safer to do so. This is also the first year my kids haven't lived walking distance to their school and had to ride the bus. The way the boundary lines are drawn there school is 7 miles away. Maybe if it was a mile or two down the road I would've sucked it up and drove them, safe or not. Putting them on a bus in bad weather worries me a lot and since I don't work outside the home it is not something I am willing to do.

The crazy part is my kids' middle school is the district middle school for the mountain areas of the district and some kids ride a bus 1 hour each way to school in good weather. Last storm the highway to the mountain towns was closed and I suspect the same happened today. I guess those kids weren't going to school.

I previously lived in Colorado for 20 years and maybe I'm delusional but I don't remember back to back 9 inch plus snowstorms in late October, early November. I recall 2-4 inch snowstorms spread out a week or two throughout November-April with 2-3 bigger storms a season and a blizzard every few years. Maybe we're getting all our big storms in early this year? I have a feeling I may be in for a long winter!