Luke's Birthday Wish List

I know some people are needing/wanting ideas for Luke's birthday, so here you go! I'll probably continue to update this post as I think of things so you might check back on it every so often before you make your decision (if you haven't already). OF COURSE your ideas are welcome, this is just if you're having trouble coming up with something!

1. Toy fire trucks. I don't think he could wind up with too many.

2. Praise Baby DVD. Any of them. The one we have is wore out Luke loves it so much!

3. Farm set. With small animals wagons etc that he can easily hold in his hand.

4. Something that comes with a trailer. He's obsessed with things pulling trailers these days.

5. A tool/work bench. The kind where he can hammer things in, screw things in, take bolts off or somethign like that. He likes to put things, "right there".

6. Stickers

7. Small dump truck, semi, cement truck.

8. Toy motorcycle. Really into them right now, too.

9. School bus.

He doesn't need any clothes, but I know they're fun to pick out, so in that case either 18 or 24 month/2T would be fine.

Weekend

We had a great weekend at the lake. The weather wasn't perfect, but it was still nice to be out and we were able to boat and swim. The best part is, my dad flew his little 4 seater coop plane to Grove and met us on Friday. Luke was so excited when we told him we were going to go to the airport to pick up Grandpa! When we got to the airport Dad had already landed and was walking towards us, though he was still a good distance off. So I told Luke to run to Grandpa and he did. It was so sweet to watch. We mostly just hung around the house Friday night after we picked up my dad. Saturday morning was pretty overcast to start and we knew it would be too cold to swim right away so we went to the airport and "helped" Grandpa fill the plane up with gas. Luke got to taxi to get gas with Grandpa and Mommy, but on the way back, it was just Grandpa and Luke. We then came home and had a quick tour on the boat and then it was home for grilling hamburgers and eating outside. Luke had a nap, and even though I wasn't tired, I managed to nap for 1 1/2 hrs too! Then after Luke woke up we went back out and we all went swimming (Kyle and Dad were jealous of my water shoes. They come in very handy in a lake that is all rock and NO sand!!) and then Kyle and Dad rode the tube. Dad tried skiing, but didn't get up. We then went to eat at the Reingarten (German restaurant...Thanks Tara and Jeremy!!) and it was great. Sunday we went to church (Luke was overtired from his weekend and did NOT behave very well. He managed to have to sit in time out twice and get THREE! spankings). We ate and then took Grandpa to the airport and watched him take off. The ride home with Luke is still too painful to discuss.

Luke and Grandpa were great buds. Luke always wanted to sit by Grandpa, have Grandpa hold him, read to him...whatever. I have a feeling that some people are going to have to work extra hard to get any Luke time when we go to Nebraska for our visit at the end of September.

I, of course, forgot our camera so you'll all have to wait and suffer until I get pictures from my mom when she uploads them, whenever that will be. *hint hint nudge nudge*

Bedding? Check.

Luke and Daddy digging in the dirt.
I tell you what! If you're wanting bedding that isn't super babyish (me thinking I don't to redecorate in a year etc) or that is super girly...you've got your work cut out for you! I finally settled on this Little Boy Blue Baby/Toddler quilt...meant for a boy, but I think it will be perfect for our Little Miss. This will go with the brown chair and green crib and changing table she will be inheriting from her big brother. I can't WAIT for it to get here in the mail so I can start matching colors from it and planning Kyle's future paint job =)

Cute Luke Story: Tonight at supper, Luke was telling us what/who he wanted to tell God thank you for, as he does every night. Tonight he said, Traver, Mommy, then looked at Kyle. And just looked with this VERY mischevious grin and burst out in huge belly laughs. Because he was on purpose "forgetting" Daddy. Cracked us all up.

Swimming lessons start tomorrow as does the Lapsit program at our local library. Luke loves that program. They play, sing, play games and read a story. He has no idea how much fun he's going to have tomorrow! Now that Kyle will be going to the same gym we take swimming lessons from, mabye I'll be able to get some pictures of Luke swimming. He's very splashy.

PS I made the Italian Omlet tonight with Mom's hashbrowns and they were both a hit. I'll have to include the Italian Omlet recipe in my next Meal Plan post. Very yummy and very inexpensive to make. Me gusta!!

White Cake

Luke finger painting.

So. I made my white cupcakes for Body and Soul and they were a hit. I was going to use my grandma's recipe (because Grandma's recipes are ALWAYS the best), but I needed to double it and I didn't have that much shortening, and a 40 minute round trip drive to the store to get some didn't quite seem like the thing to do.

So, the internet saved me. I looked at several recipes, and this is the one I tried to follow, but let's just say I didn't really read the directions before I started and messed several things up (incorporated from different white cake recipes) so I'll tell you what I did. Maybe that means this is MY White Cake Recipe. I died both the frosting and the cake pink since we're having a girl.

Rachel Soper's White Cake Recipe

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup egg whites (takes about 5 or 6 eggs)

3/4 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla extract ( I use the good stuff...straight from Mexico)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare two 9 inch round or one 9X13 OR 18 cupcakes. For the cakes, they say butter the bottom and line with parchment paper. Since I did cupcakes, I didn't have to worry about that.

In a large bowl beat egg whites until stiff (actual recipe didn't say to do this, but I did). Set aside.

Combine butter and sugar for about 5 min, until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl combine remaining dry ingredients. Set aside. Stir milk and vanilla into egg whites. Add 1/3 flour mixture to butter mixture and then 1/2 of the egg/milk mixture. Then dry, wet and ending with dry. Scrape bowl often.

Pour batter into pans. Bake cakes for 25-30 min. Or cupcakes 15 minutes. Until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes then remove from pan. Cool completely and frost.

Rachel's Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 stick butter, room temp

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cap lemon extract

Powdered sugar until it's the consistency you want. About 4 cups.

And here she is!

It's a....

Girl!!!

We just wanted to be like Michael and Audra ; ) So now we'll start picking out names. I have ultrasound pictures, but our scanner is being stubborn so you'll have to wait to see her cute profile. She's healthy, has a brain and all her vital organs.

Nap

When I went to get Luke up from his nap today this is what he said.

"Monkey's eyes right there." Pointing to a spot inbetween the slats on his crib.

"Kick the monkey like this." Proceeds to show me how he kicked the monkey with a stomping motion.

"Monkey show me his toes."

"Monkey get out of bed."

"Penguin waddle side to side."

"Penguin out of bed."

My guess is as good as yours.

Recipe Plan

Here is a picture of Luke Brandon Hayes took. Luke ran right up to the camera instead of standing still. I think he looks so silly in this picture. It hardly even looks like him. It looks like he's looking into one of those crazy mirrors or something. Makes me laugh every time I see it.

I'm finished with the last meal plan. I didn't ever make Quesadilla Pie. The more I looked at it the more it reminded me of the Mexican Lasagna I make, which sounded better than their recipe. So, I'm starting off this meal plan tonight, making that.

New Meal Plan:

Mexican Lasagna

Chicken Fajitas

Italian Omlet

Cannelloni

Chicken with Garlic Tomato Sauce with Spinach Herb Twists

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Crockpot tomato basil Chicken

Broccoli Tuna Casserole

Cheese Salsa Mini Meatloaves

Grilled Chicken

Extras: Whole wheat pizza muffins, granola bars (didn't get to either of these last week), cupcakes

And of course, I'll make pancakes if I need to, and pizza and chicken strips.

From the last meal plan, I got several new recipes that I know I'll make over and over.

Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves (These are better than my other mini meatloaf recipe. Luke ate these pretty well...better than the others anyway =))

1 lb ground beef (I'm trying it this meal plan with ground turkey for a leaner meal)

1/2 c FINELY chopped onion

1 egg

1/2 c bread crumbs

1 1/2 c cheddar or mexican style cheese, divided

1 c salsa, divided

Preheat oven to 400. Mix first 4 ingredients with 1 cup of cheese and 1/2 c salsa. Press evenly into 12 muffin cups, prayed with Pam. Use spoon to make a slight indentation in the center of each. Bake 20 min. Mix remaining cheese and salsa. Top each mini meatloaf with the salsa and cheese mixture, bake 3-5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

Fierro Chicken Mom emailed me this recipe and it's great served with brown rice.

5oz softened cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

1 1/2 c shredded cheddar

1 (4oz) can green chilis

1 T chili powder

3/4 c enchilada sauce

3/4 c heavy cream

6 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9X13 with Pam. Put chicken in bottom of pan. Mix the rest of the ingredients. Pour over chicken. Bake 40 minutes.

Chili Cheese Fries Casserole

2 lbs diced potatoes

1 lb ground beef/turkey (I'll use turkey next time to lean this one up, too)

1/2 onion diced

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 T chili powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 T butter

2 T flour

1 1/3 c milk

2 cups shredded cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil diced potatoes until fork tender. Put in 9X13 prepared dish.

2. Brown meat with onion. Add tomatoes and spices. Simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Melt butter in pan. Whisk in flour and cook for a couple minutes. Whisk in milk and bring to simmer until thickened. Stir in 1 1/2 c cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Pour cheese sauce over potatoes. Top with chili. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

It's been awhile.

I ate dirt.

It's been a while since I've posted about the great deals I've been getting. I recently went to CVS and through a transaction (can't remember what I got now) I got quite a few Extra Care Bucks. So I went last night to spend them on some things that I needed. I got 4 gallons of milk, 1 jumbo pack of pampers (18.00...not cheap!) and a box of tampons, used coupons and Extra Care Bucks and my total was $3.55. AND I got $2.98 back in ECB for next time. Not near as many as I had, but who can complain when you got free diapers and milk!

Today I went to Target to get a list of stuff and here is a picture of what I got for free:

38 individual cups of cereal. I think Luke will be eating one of these every morning for, well, the next 38 days =).

Also, on a side note, I made Hubby's Favorite Casserole last night. It was NOT my hubby's favorite casserole. Kyle thought it was just okay (and really, I agreed with him. It needed more seasonings....oregano, basil...something). So I asked him if I should copy this one down to make again. He didn't think so. Not really a winner at our house. So if you try it, my advice is to really season up that tomato soup somehow.

Requested Recipe- Crockpot Tomato Basil Chicken

Crockpot Tomato Basil Chicken

From the kitchen of Aubrey Kingcade.  Thanks Aubs!!

4 frozen chicken breasts

1/2 cup water

salt and pepper

2 tsp basil

1 tsp minced garlic

1 can tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

pasta and parmesan cheese

Put all ingredients except pasta and cheese into crockpot. Coiok on low 3-4 hrs until chicken is done. Serve over angel hair pasta with parmesan. Easy peasy!!

Seen and heard.

Luke came into the bathroom holding his shorts.

Me: Where are you pants?

Luke: Took pants off.

Me: Why'd you take your pants off?

Luke: I no like them.

Oh yeah.

I felt the baby move for the first time two days ago.

Body and Soul Session

Weekend: We went to the lake this past weekend with Johnny and Cindy. Boy, does Luke ever love Isaac and Damian! He had so much fun playing with "the big boys". We spent a lot of time on the boat, tubing and skiing and swimming. Luke really liked to swim. He and the boys liked to throw rocks into the water. I think we all really had a good time. I took my camera...but didnt' take any pictures.

Luke said: Today in the car he told me he had an "injury". Yesterday at church Luke kept looking behind him and during communion whenever we would say a prayer he would look at the lady behind us and say, "Asleep!" And then when the prayer ended, "Amen. Awake!"

B&S: The new Body and Soul session starts (for the Quail Day Class (the one I co-teach at)) Monday August 24th. It's at the Quail Springs Church of Christ gym (May and Memorial). Right off the turnpike and very convenient to get to. We also offer childcare at this location. (So if you want in on that...let me know to reserve your spot now!!) Our classes are M/W/F from 9:15-10:15am. This is a really fun session with lots of great choreography. I'm really looking forward to this one. The session is 10 weeks long. Each class costs $3.50. You can prepay for 1, 2 or 3 classes per week. We have classes all around the metro for any make up classes you might have. That's the good thing about Body and Soul, they really go out of their way to make sure you get what you paid for. I know most of you who read this are too far away to even care about this. Sorry =) But Shanna...I think you should start coming! And Genevia...consider this a personal invitation. I think you would really like it. You can come to one class for free to try it out.

Meal Plan

It's been such a long time since I've posted a meal plan, you all probably thought I fell off the meal planning wagon. Well, I assure you. I have NOT. I merely suffered the cooking doldrums. Also known as first trimester tired/sick. Nothing sounded good, and even if it did, I didn't want to make it anyway!

But I'm feeling better now. I have some new recipes to try out that I found via blogs. I'll let you know if they're any good or not.

New Meal Plan

Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves

Fierro Chicken

Taco Salad

Quesadilla Pie

Chicken Fetuccini Alfredo

Chili Cheese Potato Casserole

Hubby's Favorite Casserole (not my hubby...that remains to be seen)

Grilled Chicken

Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts.

I'm also making:

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Granola Bars

Whole Wheat pizza muffins

I'll also do pancakes, pizza and chicken strips sometime. We'll see.