New Recipe

Week 1 of my Tasteful Tuesday challenge turned out to be pretty good! I will share the recipe, it was really easy! Week 2 was fajitas, which I LOVE and have made before BUT I have never made fajita seasoning from scratch so that was counted as my new recipe. I found a few recipes for the seasoning so I did a little combining to make my own and it turned out delicious, but now I can not remember exactly what it was because I forgot to write it down as I went. Anyway, Creamy ranch pork chops....

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 4 boneless pork chops, 3/4-inch thick (about 1 pound) 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free) 3/4 cup milk 1 package (1 ounce) ranch salad dressing mix Paprika Ranch-Style Rice 1. Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until well browned on both sides. 2. Stir the soup, milk and 1/2 package salad dressing mix in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the pork is cooked through. Sprinkle with the paprika. 3. Serve with the Ranch-Style Rice. Ranch-Style Rice: Heat 2 1/4 cups water and the remaining salad dressing mix in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil. Stir in 1 cups uncooked regular long-grain white rice and cook according to the package directions. Serving Suggestion: Serve with a vegetable blend. For dessert, serve chunky applesauce topped with cinnamon. Makes: 4 servings.

Tasteful Tuesday

Do you ever feel like you cook the same rotation of meals? I sure do! The other night, I was apologizing to Tobin for that and decided I need to be bold and try new recipes. Between us both working 2 jobs and mutual life gets a little crazy and our "relaxing " evenings at home together exist only on Tuesday! So, I will be trying a NEW recipe EVERY Tuesday! If it is a good one, I may share it. Tonight, creamy ranch pork chops with ranch style rice... sounds good and easy. Wish me luck because I NEED IT! (Cooking is not really my thing)

At 12 weeks

At 12 weeks old, Maylee is learning and growing SO much! Here are some stats from her Dr. appointment yesterday:

12lbs 14oz (60th percentile)

24 1/4 inches (90th percentile)

*Maylee is cooing and smiling (pretty much all the time)

*She holds her head very well and turns her head when she hears something

*Now focuses her eyes and follows objects

*Is starting to grasp objects

*Maylee IS the spit-up queen!

*She is not so much a fan of tummy time. She can only handle it for a few minutes at a time.

*Loving to suck on her hands therefore... LOTS of drool

*Loves bath time. She loves to splash and kick!

*She was doing great at sleeping in her bassinet, then we moved her to her crib. She has had a few rough nights... but sometimes she sleeps 8 hours. She is getting the hang of it though.

We sure love Maylee and honestly cant even imagine life without her. She brightens my day and reminds me what really matters. Yesterday Maylee got her shots.... So last night was rough to say the least. She was fussy all night and would wake up every 2 hours! She would just cry and cry and cry. I was NOT happy about it this morning because I am the one who wakes up with her. (Tobin has conveniently learned to sleep through her crying...) Well, I left for work in a bad mood and had a bad day at work as well. I was just being grumpy. But as soon as I got home I saw Maylee and she immediately began to talk to me and smile.

That changed everything.

NOW I KNOW

I thought I knew what LOVE was....

But NOW I KNOW WHAT LOVE IS

Life with a baby

Life with a baby is different, thats for sure! We would not change it for anything. Maylee is such a blessing and so darn sweet, we just love her so much! We are adjusting and getting the hang of things now... I think. We have not really gone and done much in the past 2 months but we have absolutely loved being at home with Maylee. A few of my thoughts about parenthood.....

*The first month was way harder than the second month

*Until she is a little older we get to have date night at home, with all 3 of us! AWESOME!

*If you want to go anywhere plan for an extra hour or so just to get ready and get out the door.

* Also, if you want to go anywhere plan on taking a million extra things. Who would have thought a baby needs so much "stuff"

*So much time and effort is put into something so small!

*She seriously gets more beautiful every single day!

*I have a lot more thoughts, but I will save those for another time. Now the past 8 weeks in pictures. ENJOY!

Our little family

Maylee after her bath (she looks like an alien baby)

Sporting her ISU colors

1 month old already!

A ladybug dress for our Maylee bug

Starting to really interact with her toys

LOVES her swing

Maylee still sleeps in our room in her bassinet but she naps in her crib!

Blessing day with cousin Morgann

Beautiful girl

2 months old!!!

Stylish :)

Starting to give BIG smiles!

Little Miss Maylee

Friday, January 7th came and went.... No baby.

Saturday, January 8th came and went.... No baby.

Same story Sunday and Monday.

Monday the 10th I had a Dr. appointment and at that time, He gave us the option of inducing. We were anxious for her to arrive and I felt like my body was ready. So Tuesday, January 11th at 4:00 am, we called the hospital like were were supposed to. They said, Sorry! We are not ready for you, we will call you back. So FINALLY at 10:15 they called back and said come on up! We were so nervous but excited. By the time we got to the hospital, got checked in, and they started my IV it was 11:45 am. So, that was it... labor was started and we didn't know what to expect really. Yeah we took a birthing class, but those mothers shown in the videos are SO dramatic and intense! This was totally different. The nurse told us since I was a first time mom, and I was being induced, we would be AT LEAST 12 hours, but could be a lot more. Well, I guess I did pretty good to have her at 8:45 pm! 9 hours....Take that nurse! Anyway, the point of this is to introduce our sweet little girl!!

MAYLEE ERIS GIRAUD

1-11-11~8.0 lbs~20 inches~8:45pm

We kinda like her! Being a mom is hard but so amazing! I LOVE it so much and couldn't do it without a great husband like Tobin!

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?! I feel like a little kid... I am ready for January to be here, but then again I don't want to miss out on all of the excitement along the way. I really am excited for the next few weeks. Tobin has finals the next few days, then all of our siblings will be here for Christmas! There are always so many good times had during the few weeks of "Christmas Break" that I don't want to miss out on this year, but like I said... I am ready for January.

Whenever I ask a pregnant friend "How are you doing?" It seems I always get a 30 minute answer of how miserable and uncomfortable they are, and how much pain they are in and yada yada yada.... Then, I regret ever asking. Not that I don't care but.... seriously. So, I have really tried to not complain TOO much to anyone, even my loving husband. Well, I am going to take just a minute and complain....

Tobin told me a few weeks ago (in a loving way of course) that it seems like I had doubled in size over night! And let me tell ya, I sure feel like it! People have said to me several times "Oh that last month is not fun." And I really am seeing what they mean. Its hard to sit, its hard to stand, its especially hard to sleep. I can handle it though, about 3 1/2 weeks to go... It will be worth it I am sure! Ok, thats my 30 minute answer of complaining. SORRY!

A few more pictures....

32 weeks

35.5 weeks

Oh I almost forgot, a few pictures from my baby shower! Thank you to everyone who came and helped, we had so much fun and we got very spoiled!