We sing songs slow and fast all the time.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Happy B-day Sam
My sister-in-law's birthday was yesterday and we had Matthew sing in various ways and Jordan posted a little video for her on facebook. You tell me what your favorite part is. We really didn't coach him much and he was cracking us up with his antics.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
That's My Boy
We're nearly two weeks into having a daughter, and I have to admit that I (Jordan) am still adjusting to the idea. Don't get me wrong - I loved her from the moment I saw her, and I feel very blessed - but for me it was really easy with a little boy. Let's just say I'm definitely not picking out the outfits yet.
One thing that has surprised me, though, has been that the way I see Matthew changed almost immediately after Isabelle arrived, and I've come to love and appreciate him in new ways. For one thing, he immediately seemed much older and much bigger, just by comparison. He's also been amazing as a big brother so far. I haven't really seen any jealously or more impatience than usual, and he's really good with her. He's constantly telling us how cute she is, and last night when I was holding her on our bed, Matthew came over and gave her a very soft hug and a kiss on the head.
Isabelle might look a bit like Matthew did, but she's different in a lot of ways from how Matthew was as a baby. So far she's fairly mellow, and it will be interesting to see if that continues. Mellow has never been a term I've used to describe Matthew, and although sometimes his independent, stubborn side drives us a little crazy, he's a lot of fun to have around and makes us laugh a lot.
Today, for example, he crammed all of his fruit snacks into his mouth at once, and of course once we laughed he cheesed it up as much as possible.
After dinner (which he barely touched), I took him out for a walk to feed the ducks. He said the rule was "one for the ducks, and one for me (Matthew)," but in reality the ducks didn't walk away with much. I think he was making up for dinner.
Matthew loves to pick up rocks and sticks wherever he goes, and today he found this one, which served as a walking stick for a while and then as a sword (at which point we had to take it away to protect all involved).
Once we got home, we ran around in the yard for a while, and that was enough to finally wear him out, I guess. After eating a whole can of mandarin oranges, he curled up on our glider and fell asleep.
Now that I do see him as a bit older thanks to Isabelle, I have to admit that I'm tired of changing his diapers. This is a kid who can now use a computer mouse and (without help) open Internet Explorer, open the link to his Playhouse Disney games, and start playing, and yet he can't go to the bathroom. I shouldn't say that he can't, because I know he knows how, but he's being pretty stubborn about it. We're trying not to be too annoying about it, but he now is only allowed to play computer games when he goes in the potty. Surprisingly, he's chosen to stay in his diapers rather than play computer games. We'll see how long this lasts - I saw Ray and EmmaLee follow a pretty similar strategy with James a year or two ago, and he made pretty much the same choice for a while. Like most things, I think he just wants to do it on his own terms.
On a quick side-note, it looks like we'll actually get some limes out of our lime tree. We'll see how edible they are, but they're popping up all over our tree right now. Our orange tree isn't fairing quite so well, unfortunately, but it has a few little oranges starting to grow on it. I'm pleasantly surprised, anyway, because I thought it would be a few years before we saw any fruit.
One thing that has surprised me, though, has been that the way I see Matthew changed almost immediately after Isabelle arrived, and I've come to love and appreciate him in new ways. For one thing, he immediately seemed much older and much bigger, just by comparison. He's also been amazing as a big brother so far. I haven't really seen any jealously or more impatience than usual, and he's really good with her. He's constantly telling us how cute she is, and last night when I was holding her on our bed, Matthew came over and gave her a very soft hug and a kiss on the head.
Isabelle might look a bit like Matthew did, but she's different in a lot of ways from how Matthew was as a baby. So far she's fairly mellow, and it will be interesting to see if that continues. Mellow has never been a term I've used to describe Matthew, and although sometimes his independent, stubborn side drives us a little crazy, he's a lot of fun to have around and makes us laugh a lot.
Today, for example, he crammed all of his fruit snacks into his mouth at once, and of course once we laughed he cheesed it up as much as possible.
After dinner (which he barely touched), I took him out for a walk to feed the ducks. He said the rule was "one for the ducks, and one for me (Matthew)," but in reality the ducks didn't walk away with much. I think he was making up for dinner.
Matthew loves to pick up rocks and sticks wherever he goes, and today he found this one, which served as a walking stick for a while and then as a sword (at which point we had to take it away to protect all involved).
Once we got home, we ran around in the yard for a while, and that was enough to finally wear him out, I guess. After eating a whole can of mandarin oranges, he curled up on our glider and fell asleep.
Now that I do see him as a bit older thanks to Isabelle, I have to admit that I'm tired of changing his diapers. This is a kid who can now use a computer mouse and (without help) open Internet Explorer, open the link to his Playhouse Disney games, and start playing, and yet he can't go to the bathroom. I shouldn't say that he can't, because I know he knows how, but he's being pretty stubborn about it. We're trying not to be too annoying about it, but he now is only allowed to play computer games when he goes in the potty. Surprisingly, he's chosen to stay in his diapers rather than play computer games. We'll see how long this lasts - I saw Ray and EmmaLee follow a pretty similar strategy with James a year or two ago, and he made pretty much the same choice for a while. Like most things, I think he just wants to do it on his own terms.
On a quick side-note, it looks like we'll actually get some limes out of our lime tree. We'll see how edible they are, but they're popping up all over our tree right now. Our orange tree isn't fairing quite so well, unfortunately, but it has a few little oranges starting to grow on it. I'm pleasantly surprised, anyway, because I thought it would be a few years before we saw any fruit.
I have been resisting facebook for far too long. I'm pretty busy at work and when I get home from work (before having Isabelle) we were making dinner, playing with Matthew, getting him ready for bed, cleaning the house, and relaxing a bit before heading to bed. I usually would just check my gmail after I got home and that's about as much internet stuff I usually wanted to do. Jordan has been pressuring me for awhile to join, but I didn't want it to take over my life and honestly was too lazy to set-up my account. While in the hospital with Isabelle Jordan forced me to join facebook. He thought this would be a good way to help occupy my time while on maternity leave and pretty much said I have no excuses now. He set-up my account, asked people to be my friends and got me going. (Ok, Jordan was not this mean but did set-up my account and got me going).
Now I have to admit facebook is pretty fun and it's a great way to connect with friends and family and see what people are up to. I'm sure my usage will get slower when I go back to work, and am trying to juggle the responsibilities of 2 kids and the house but it's been pretty fun so far while my life is a bit slower.
So....even though it's taken me awhile to finally join I encourage you to sign-up and get going if you haven't already. I'll even be your friend!
If you are on facebook and I'm not your friend then ask me to be-I love having new friends!
Now I have to admit facebook is pretty fun and it's a great way to connect with friends and family and see what people are up to. I'm sure my usage will get slower when I go back to work, and am trying to juggle the responsibilities of 2 kids and the house but it's been pretty fun so far while my life is a bit slower.
So....even though it's taken me awhile to finally join I encourage you to sign-up and get going if you haven't already. I'll even be your friend!
If you are on facebook and I'm not your friend then ask me to be-I love having new friends!
Monday, April 20, 2009
10 days post birth
-Isabelle is regularly eating about every 3 hours. Pretty sleepy still and falls asleep every time she eats.
-Isabelle is a peeing and pooping machine. She has peed on us more in the last 10 days than Matthew ever did. Matthew maybe peed on me a total of 2 times ever. I think she must just get super relaxed when her diaper is off.
-I'm off my pain medicine and feeling way better than I thought I would 10 days after surgery. A week ago there were definitely not going to be any additional children in our future but now there's a slight "maybe" to 1 more child. We'll see.
-Matthew has been so great with Isabelle. He wants to see her, calls her "so cute" and is really gentle so far with her. I'm pretty impressed. He even finally held her today. Of course in the waiting room at the lab place and I didn't have my camera.
-We'll be starting the baby wise schedule system with Isabelle soon. We did it with Matthew and it worked wonders. He was a super happy baby and could put himself to sleep. Looking forward to starting this in a few days.
-Had Isabelle's follow-up PKU test today. I made Jordan take her in to get poked as I hate when babies cry from being poked. She was NOT happy! We took our first outing as a family of 4 and both kids did great! Our car was full.
-I am sleep deprived but somehow getting through it.
-I finally painted my toenails yesterday. Simple things like that make me happy.
-The swelling and water weight is slowly disappearing. My feet look somewhat normal today.
-We are now a family of 4 which seems so weird to say.
-We are attempting to potty train Matthew and are hoping that bribery with computer games will work. So far no luck he just chooses something else to do. Would I be an evil mom if I played his favorite games in front of him? Man is this kid stubborn....wonder who he gets it from.
-We are attempting to potty train Matthew and are hoping that bribery with computer games will work. So far no luck he just chooses something else to do. Would I be an evil mom if I played his favorite games in front of him? Man is this kid stubborn....wonder who he gets it from.
Isabelle does this 1 eye open thing. She'll either have 1 eye close later when going to sleep than the other or 1 eye opens sooner when waking up. She was drifing off to no mans land here. I love this cute bow/headband that I got as a gift. It doesn't squish her head and is super stretchy.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Newborns
We ended up leaving the hospital on Sunday and all of the staff thought we were crazy! My parents were at home to help with Matthew and I was feeling pretty good so we left after being there a little over 2 days. We were bored there and just wanted to be home with everyone. My Dr. told me yesterday when I got my staples out that I was very rare and most people want to be in the hospital for 4 or 5 days. I'm in a little pain but as long as I stay on top of my medicine then I feel pretty good.
Getting ready to leave the hospital. I found a cute girlie carseat cover and love it! Isabelle already loves her binkie.
Isabelle had pulled the covers over her head last night-silly girl!
Isabelle is so petite and seems so much smaller than Matthew ever was. He was born at 8 pds 12 oz., left the hospital at 8 pds 1 oz. and was almost back at his birth weight by the time we had his first check-up. He gained weight very quickly and was at 12 pds by 1 month I think.
I love Isabelle's little ears, tiny nose, fingers, toes and teeny tiny little mouth. I know she won't stay this way very long so I'm trying to just enjoy this newborn time. Right now we are feeding on demand and it will be nice in a couple of weeks when we can get into a routine. I'm hoping she'll be the kind of baby that will love a routine. She's pretty mellow so far and really only wimpers or cries when she's hungry and I don't get her quick enough or is naked. She really doesn't care if she's poopy or wet. Yesterday she had her first sponge bath and even though she didn't cry I could tell she was cold and didn't really love it. It will be better when I can give her a real bath once her cord falls off.
Poor girl-freezing even though the sponge was warm and I was washing her off with warm water. Her hair poofed out everywhere once it was dry.
My feet and legs are huge and swollen and I'm hoping this water weight disappears quickly. I'm sick of my feet hurting.
Super sweet photo I took of her this afternoon. She loves her little onesie dress gowns. They keep her super warm.
Getting ready to leave the hospital. I found a cute girlie carseat cover and love it! Isabelle already loves her binkie.
I had forgotten how much newborns sleep. Isabelle has been a great sleeper and eater since she arrived into this world. I am breastfeeding and she got in my milk in before I left the hospital. Although I am tired she's doing really good and has gained a little bit of weight. We went to the pediatrician yesterday and she's at 7 pds 3 oz. so she's gaining some weight back.
Isabelle had pulled the covers over her head last night-silly girl!
Isabelle is so petite and seems so much smaller than Matthew ever was. He was born at 8 pds 12 oz., left the hospital at 8 pds 1 oz. and was almost back at his birth weight by the time we had his first check-up. He gained weight very quickly and was at 12 pds by 1 month I think.
I love Isabelle's little ears, tiny nose, fingers, toes and teeny tiny little mouth. I know she won't stay this way very long so I'm trying to just enjoy this newborn time. Right now we are feeding on demand and it will be nice in a couple of weeks when we can get into a routine. I'm hoping she'll be the kind of baby that will love a routine. She's pretty mellow so far and really only wimpers or cries when she's hungry and I don't get her quick enough or is naked. She really doesn't care if she's poopy or wet. Yesterday she had her first sponge bath and even though she didn't cry I could tell she was cold and didn't really love it. It will be better when I can give her a real bath once her cord falls off.
Poor girl-freezing even though the sponge was warm and I was washing her off with warm water. Her hair poofed out everywhere once it was dry.
My feet and legs are huge and swollen and I'm hoping this water weight disappears quickly. I'm sick of my feet hurting.
Super sweet photo I took of her this afternoon. She loves her little onesie dress gowns. They keep her super warm.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Siblings
Since Matthew was our first, we didn't really have a track record in terms of what our kids look like. We have been very curious as a result about whether Isabelle would look a lot like Matthew or really different. When I (Jordan - have to tell you that since Karin usually posts here) first saw Isabelle, at the time a bit slimy and a bit purple, I thought she looked a lot like Matthew did. I still do, although now I see some little differences, too, when I put the two side-by-side. Isabelle is on the left and Matthew on the right:
Just a little bit of an update from Karin:
-Our day started off stressful because I forgot my ID/insurance info and didn't realize it until we were halfway to the hospital. We had to turn around and go get it as we didn't know if they would admit me with it or not. We ended up being 20 min. late, but had called. In the end I didn't even need it.
-My IV took 3 tries, since the first 2 blew once they were in. I have a huge bruise on one of my arms.
-I had to drink this stuff right before surgery that was HORRIBLE to help neutralize my stomach in case I threw up which of course I did.
-The spinal block wasn't too bad. I did feel the needle the first time it went in (you get a local painkiller first which didn't work completely). I was shivering out of control and they got me warm blankets which helped and then of course I threw up a couple of times. I was yelling that I was going to throw up the first time and even Jordan heard that while he was in the hall and giggled at me. I wanted to make sure I got something in time before I barfed.
-Once they started the first incision it was about 6 min. before she was out. It totally made me cry once I saw her and at first she was having a hard time expelling crap from her lungs (usual for c-section babies) so I was worried about her, but they took her to the nursery and Jordan went with her while I finished getting sewn up. She was doing great once they brought her into the recovery room with me.
-They didn't have any regular rooms available so I was in the recovery area for quite awhile-until just after 2 and was pretty nauseous and dizzy from the morphine and threw up 2-3 more times.
-I was pretty out of it the rest of the day. I felt bad when my parents and Matthew came to visit after going to the zoo as I could barely keep my eyes open. Matthew looked at Isabelle and then was just interested in his toy my parents had bought him.
-I finally started feeling better in the evening and that's when Isabelle decided she wanted to feed constantly until 1:30 am. We finally got a binkie at that time and got her to go to sleep so we could get in a bit of rest. They had me up at 5:00 am to walk so I didn't get much sleep last night.
-This morning my nurse gave me 2 percosets and I got super dizzy again which lasted for a few hours. I'm finally feeling better this afternoon. They took my IV out, my bandage off the incision, and I got to take a shower which felt great!
-I'm doing better than I thought and my nurse this morning (who is awesome) said that I'm doing really well and will probably get to go home tomorrow. I really hope so! I just want to be at home with Matthew and my parents. The hospital is getting old and boring already and my bum hurts from just sitting on this bed. ABC Family has been our best friend today.
Just a little bit of an update from Karin:
-Our day started off stressful because I forgot my ID/insurance info and didn't realize it until we were halfway to the hospital. We had to turn around and go get it as we didn't know if they would admit me with it or not. We ended up being 20 min. late, but had called. In the end I didn't even need it.
-My IV took 3 tries, since the first 2 blew once they were in. I have a huge bruise on one of my arms.
-I had to drink this stuff right before surgery that was HORRIBLE to help neutralize my stomach in case I threw up which of course I did.
-The spinal block wasn't too bad. I did feel the needle the first time it went in (you get a local painkiller first which didn't work completely). I was shivering out of control and they got me warm blankets which helped and then of course I threw up a couple of times. I was yelling that I was going to throw up the first time and even Jordan heard that while he was in the hall and giggled at me. I wanted to make sure I got something in time before I barfed.
-Once they started the first incision it was about 6 min. before she was out. It totally made me cry once I saw her and at first she was having a hard time expelling crap from her lungs (usual for c-section babies) so I was worried about her, but they took her to the nursery and Jordan went with her while I finished getting sewn up. She was doing great once they brought her into the recovery room with me.
-They didn't have any regular rooms available so I was in the recovery area for quite awhile-until just after 2 and was pretty nauseous and dizzy from the morphine and threw up 2-3 more times.
-I was pretty out of it the rest of the day. I felt bad when my parents and Matthew came to visit after going to the zoo as I could barely keep my eyes open. Matthew looked at Isabelle and then was just interested in his toy my parents had bought him.
-I finally started feeling better in the evening and that's when Isabelle decided she wanted to feed constantly until 1:30 am. We finally got a binkie at that time and got her to go to sleep so we could get in a bit of rest. They had me up at 5:00 am to walk so I didn't get much sleep last night.
-This morning my nurse gave me 2 percosets and I got super dizzy again which lasted for a few hours. I'm finally feeling better this afternoon. They took my IV out, my bandage off the incision, and I got to take a shower which felt great!
-I'm doing better than I thought and my nurse this morning (who is awesome) said that I'm doing really well and will probably get to go home tomorrow. I really hope so! I just want to be at home with Matthew and my parents. The hospital is getting old and boring already and my bum hurts from just sitting on this bed. ABC Family has been our best friend today.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Announcing the Arrival of....
Isabelle Sadie Stephens
Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz
Length: 20-1/4 inches
Here are a few pics, and I'm sure we'll be posting more in the coming days.
Born: April 10, 2009
Time: 7:31 a.m.Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz
Length: 20-1/4 inches
Here are a few pics, and I'm sure we'll be posting more in the coming days.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Less than 24 hours and counting....
I am....
-Anxious to meet our daughter.
-Wondering what she is going to look like. Will she have lots of hair like Matthew? I have had lots of heartburn (flavored Tums are pretty yummy) so if the wives tale is true (it was with Matthew) then she should have lots of hair. Will she look like Matthew?
-Nervous about surgery. Am I going to throw up in the operating room or recovery area? Will the spinal block and needle hurt? It's supposedly smaller than an epidural needle which was the absolute worst part of my whole hospital experience with Matthew. It hurt like he**, took 2 tries, didn't work on half of me, and I wanted to curse the Anesthesiologist out. I was so happy when I got the spinal block for my c-section and was finally out of pain (did I tell you I HATE pain?).
-Hoping for an easy recovery from surgery. I took so long to recover with Matthew because of pure exhaustion. I hadn't slept for over 36 hours when he was finally born and it felt like recovering from just exhaustion took forever. I am hoping since this is planned it will go smoother.
-Wondering how breastfeeding will go the 2nd time around. Matthew was so easy to feed and switched back and forth from me to a pumped bottle and a binkie very easily.
-Hoping she is going to be an easy going baby. Will she take a binkie? What is her personality going to be? Will she be a snuggler? Matthew really wasn't a snuggler, but was a pretty happy easy baby.
-Very worried about this transition with Matthew and the baby. How is he going to react to the change? Is he going to like her? Is he going to be nice to her? Is he going to be mean and grumpy which he has been lately.
-Worried about how I'm going to handle a toddler in the middle of his terrible twos/almost threes and newborn on my own just over a week after having surgery.
-Excited to have a daughter and pink domination!
-Looking forward to the couple of vacations we have planned while I am on maternity leave. It will be nice to get away and see family and to have them meet the newest addition.
-Praying that my grandma will not pass away before we can see her this summer. Her health has been up and down lately.
-Happy that my parents are coming into town today to help out with Matthew and the baby. It will be nice to have someone else here to give Matthew lots of attention. He loves Grandma & Papa!
-Wondering if this will be my last pregnancy. We won't know for a few years if we are going to add to our family. Our life is crazy enough as it is with me working and going out of town sometimes for work and a third child might send me/us (mostly me) over the edge.
-So glad to have almost 3 months off from work to enjoy the beginnings of her life. I didn't get to do that with Matthew and am glad we can all adjust together at home for a few months.
-Feeling so very blessed to have a supportive and loving husband to share this change in life and journey with.
-Anxious to meet our daughter.
-Wondering what she is going to look like. Will she have lots of hair like Matthew? I have had lots of heartburn (flavored Tums are pretty yummy) so if the wives tale is true (it was with Matthew) then she should have lots of hair. Will she look like Matthew?
-Nervous about surgery. Am I going to throw up in the operating room or recovery area? Will the spinal block and needle hurt? It's supposedly smaller than an epidural needle which was the absolute worst part of my whole hospital experience with Matthew. It hurt like he**, took 2 tries, didn't work on half of me, and I wanted to curse the Anesthesiologist out. I was so happy when I got the spinal block for my c-section and was finally out of pain (did I tell you I HATE pain?).
-Hoping for an easy recovery from surgery. I took so long to recover with Matthew because of pure exhaustion. I hadn't slept for over 36 hours when he was finally born and it felt like recovering from just exhaustion took forever. I am hoping since this is planned it will go smoother.
-Wondering how breastfeeding will go the 2nd time around. Matthew was so easy to feed and switched back and forth from me to a pumped bottle and a binkie very easily.
-Hoping she is going to be an easy going baby. Will she take a binkie? What is her personality going to be? Will she be a snuggler? Matthew really wasn't a snuggler, but was a pretty happy easy baby.
-Very worried about this transition with Matthew and the baby. How is he going to react to the change? Is he going to like her? Is he going to be nice to her? Is he going to be mean and grumpy which he has been lately.
-Worried about how I'm going to handle a toddler in the middle of his terrible twos/almost threes and newborn on my own just over a week after having surgery.
-Excited to have a daughter and pink domination!
-Looking forward to the couple of vacations we have planned while I am on maternity leave. It will be nice to get away and see family and to have them meet the newest addition.
-Praying that my grandma will not pass away before we can see her this summer. Her health has been up and down lately.
-Happy that my parents are coming into town today to help out with Matthew and the baby. It will be nice to have someone else here to give Matthew lots of attention. He loves Grandma & Papa!
-Wondering if this will be my last pregnancy. We won't know for a few years if we are going to add to our family. Our life is crazy enough as it is with me working and going out of town sometimes for work and a third child might send me/us (mostly me) over the edge.
-So glad to have almost 3 months off from work to enjoy the beginnings of her life. I didn't get to do that with Matthew and am glad we can all adjust together at home for a few months.
-Feeling so very blessed to have a supportive and loving husband to share this change in life and journey with.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
The Biggest Loser
We (mostly I) love this show and it's amazing the transformations that happen at the ranch. If you've never seen this show it follows a group of overweight people who go to a ranch to change their life and lose weight. Each week 1 person gets kicked off and the finale is 4 people and the one who loses the biggest % of weight gets $250K.
Anyways, there are these polynesian cousins this year that we've been following and I've really liked and rooted for from the beginning. Someone in my Bunco group early on said 1 of them was in someone's ward in Mesa that she knew. There were also hints here and there that I picked up on that they were Mormon and was pretty sure they were both from AZ.
1 of the cousins-Sione got booted last night and as we were watching the homecoming part at the end of the show I recognized his mom but initially couldn't place where from and then I saw in the background our home teacher. I finally figured out that his mom used to be in our ward and I had helped her with a project at an enrichment Super Saturday. She had brought me a little bag she had made for Matthew the next day at church as a thank you.
I asked Jordan to call our home teacher and ask what was up. He is Sione's brother-in-law (Sione is married to his sister) and told us that Sione lives in a ward in our town. Also, that episode was taped in February so not that long ago. We're so curious to see if we run into them here. Pretty cool-huh!
Anyways, there are these polynesian cousins this year that we've been following and I've really liked and rooted for from the beginning. Someone in my Bunco group early on said 1 of them was in someone's ward in Mesa that she knew. There were also hints here and there that I picked up on that they were Mormon and was pretty sure they were both from AZ.
1 of the cousins-Sione got booted last night and as we were watching the homecoming part at the end of the show I recognized his mom but initially couldn't place where from and then I saw in the background our home teacher. I finally figured out that his mom used to be in our ward and I had helped her with a project at an enrichment Super Saturday. She had brought me a little bag she had made for Matthew the next day at church as a thank you.
I asked Jordan to call our home teacher and ask what was up. He is Sione's brother-in-law (Sione is married to his sister) and told us that Sione lives in a ward in our town. Also, that episode was taped in February so not that long ago. We're so curious to see if we run into them here. Pretty cool-huh!
You can see his transformation here: http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/video/clips/week-14/1082506/
Monday, April 06, 2009
Inside-Out Pizza Rolls
I saw this recipe in the Rachael Ray magazine and it looked pretty easy so we bought some whole wheat pizza dough the other day at Fresh & Easy (love that store) and I made the meat filling this afternoon. Easy to put together and pretty yummy! I think this would pass the test for anyone who has picky eaters in their home (especially you Tiana).
Anyways, you could make your own dough (they include the recipe) and if you really want to cut corners you could use some nice thick bottled meat sauce. I liked making the meat sauce at home because I had the ingredients in my fridge that needed to be used up and I have plenty of leftovers to have spaghetti w/this sauce on Wednesday and possibly even have more leftover to freeze and make this recipe again. I also did not cube my mozzarella but had already shredded mozzarella in my fridge and used that. I think that is a better idea-if you like super cheesy I would double the cheese if I were you, it wasn't super cheesy (which I liked). You could do a cheese layer, meat layer, and then more cheese over the meat layer.
Also, if you have BIG eaters at your house you would either need to do a side salad to go with this or make a second roll. Jordan went running after work and got back late so we ate a late dinner and only had this-we're lame like that. My mom would be disappointed we didn't have a salad or more vege's on the side (there were onions, carrots, and a red pepper in our meat filling-so I figured I was covered) to go with dinner. :)
Also, if you have BIG eaters at your house you would either need to do a side salad to go with this or make a second roll. Jordan went running after work and got back late so we ate a late dinner and only had this-we're lame like that. My mom would be disappointed we didn't have a salad or more vege's on the side (there were onions, carrots, and a red pepper in our meat filling-so I figured I was covered) to go with dinner. :)
I'm wondering how this would be in a BBQ style with chicken, red onions, and mushrooms cooked in a BBQ sauce spread over mozzarella cheese. We might have to try that alternative.
So just an idea if you need one for your picky family or are just looking for something new to try.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Matthew knows something is up!
We are pretty sure that Matthew can feel something is up. He has been acting up all weekend long-he hasn't been obeying, he's doing naughty things, he throws out of control fits for unreasonable reasons and on top of that he's come down with a cold...and he had a bloody nose today.....ergghhh!!!
Anyways, the poor kid has also been cooped up most of the weekend because of General Conference and this afternoon after the last session Jordan took him out in the back to play outside. I wandered out and started taking pics. Matthew had a blast in the dirt and got quite dirty. Jordan brought him inside and gave him a bath and I decided to do some quick layouts of the pics because I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to do.
While working on the layouts our friends Todd & Briana (they live around the corner and Matthew adores them) stopped by to give Matthew a gift they had picked up on their cruise. They ended up taking him to see the ducks that wander the lake by our rec area and then across the street to the park. They stayed for dinner (yummy biscuits and gravy) that they ended up helping cook and got to witness the great side of Matthew having a meltdown because I ate part of his biscuit (which he wasn't eating). He ended up in timeout and promptly fell asleep and is out for the night.
All in all an ok weekend. We got a lot accomplished and things set-up and washed. I just need to pack my bags and steralize some bottles and finish up 1 work item and we'll be good to go. Dealing with Matthew and a new baby is for sure going to be interesting.
Layouts below and pic of Matthew asleep in the hall.
Matthew loves the squirt bottle and generally just playing in water. I love capturing sweet moments between these two. He is especially attached to Jordan lately and is pretty sad when he wakes up in the morning and Jordan has already left for work. Jordan went running yesterday and Matthew cried and cried big fat tears because he wanted to run with Daddy too but couldn't.
It was such nice weather today. This is why I love Arizona. It's been snowing and 40 in Utah and I get 80+ weather. My parents are coming just at the right time.
Journaling says:
Anatomy of an ordinary day played outside.
1. Pile dirt onto your feet.
2. Carry dirt from one place to another and throw it all around.
3. Put weeds into your water wheel and push around and around, repeat.
4. Rub dirt into your white shirt (one guess who decided to put him in a white shirt to play outside)
5. Spray daddy with water, run away from daddy and then spray him again.
6. Have a great time out in the sunshine.
Poor kid pooped and worn out from a long fun day!
Anyways, the poor kid has also been cooped up most of the weekend because of General Conference and this afternoon after the last session Jordan took him out in the back to play outside. I wandered out and started taking pics. Matthew had a blast in the dirt and got quite dirty. Jordan brought him inside and gave him a bath and I decided to do some quick layouts of the pics because I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to do.
While working on the layouts our friends Todd & Briana (they live around the corner and Matthew adores them) stopped by to give Matthew a gift they had picked up on their cruise. They ended up taking him to see the ducks that wander the lake by our rec area and then across the street to the park. They stayed for dinner (yummy biscuits and gravy) that they ended up helping cook and got to witness the great side of Matthew having a meltdown because I ate part of his biscuit (which he wasn't eating). He ended up in timeout and promptly fell asleep and is out for the night.
All in all an ok weekend. We got a lot accomplished and things set-up and washed. I just need to pack my bags and steralize some bottles and finish up 1 work item and we'll be good to go. Dealing with Matthew and a new baby is for sure going to be interesting.
Layouts below and pic of Matthew asleep in the hall.
Matthew loves the squirt bottle and generally just playing in water. I love capturing sweet moments between these two. He is especially attached to Jordan lately and is pretty sad when he wakes up in the morning and Jordan has already left for work. Jordan went running yesterday and Matthew cried and cried big fat tears because he wanted to run with Daddy too but couldn't.
It was such nice weather today. This is why I love Arizona. It's been snowing and 40 in Utah and I get 80+ weather. My parents are coming just at the right time.
Journaling says:
Anatomy of an ordinary day played outside.
1. Pile dirt onto your feet.
2. Carry dirt from one place to another and throw it all around.
3. Put weeds into your water wheel and push around and around, repeat.
4. Rub dirt into your white shirt (one guess who decided to put him in a white shirt to play outside)
5. Spray daddy with water, run away from daddy and then spray him again.
6. Have a great time out in the sunshine.
Poor kid pooped and worn out from a long fun day!
Friday, April 03, 2009
1 week to go
It was so weird to leave work last night knowing it was going to be July until I sat back at my desk. I had a long list of laundry items to get done before next Wednesday (technically my last day of work) and finished everything today but two small items. I'm hoping that I can just take care of questions/problems that arise next week and finish the few things I have to get done. I also wanted to make sure the bulk of my work was done in case something happened this weekend (which I hope doesn't).
Yesterday was also my last Dr.'s appt and it felt great knowing I don't need to go back in again and that I'm in the home stretch. I really am getting ready and can't wait to be done with this achy back and swollen feet. I know I'm trading those in for other pains and sleepless nights but I'm ready to meet this new little member of our family.
I've been feeling pretty blessed lately and am starting to feel weepy at little things. I've been pretty unemotional during this whole pregnancy but I think the reality of what's going to happen is finally getting to me. I had a surprise shower at work on Tuesday and the marketing group gave me some cute things and a nice GC to Target. I also got a really nice check from the owner of our company that I directly worked for-for a few years. Yesterday when I got into work there was a bag from Pumpkin Patch sitting on my desk. Inside was a cute box with a blanket, super cute hat and a very generous GC. Pumpkin Patch is one of my favorite stores in the mall, but I only really go there when there are sales because it's kindof pricey so I'm excited to spend that GC in the future.
I feel so blessed to work where I do that is flexible with my family life and have been so great to me during my pregnancy and especially recently. We really feel blessed as well with our babysitter situation and only hope that it can continue for awhile longer. Matthew loves our babysitter and she's so good for him and also enforces the limits that we place on certain things. He gets to stay at our house where he is comfortable, but also goes over to her house (she lives close) to play with her little brother and sister who are close to Matthew's age. Overall it's a really great situtation for us for now.
We have just a couple of things to wrap up this weekend and then I'll feel set and ready to go for next weekend. My butterfly poster came for her room and is in it's frame. It looks so good and I'm very happy with how it turned out and proud of myself for creating a cool work of art. My parents are coming on Thursday so that will be nice to have them here to look after Matthew and keep him company while we are at the hospital. I'm so excited for him to meet his sister. We had him tell her tonight that he's excited to meet her soon. He was also being crazy tonight so I had him tell her that he was her crazy big brother :).
Please don't forget to vote for Jordan. That would be an amazing blessing for him to be able to see 24-7 and not have to worry about his blindness right before/after he goes to bed or wakes up. He does so much for me and our family and has been carrying the brunt of the work lately so this would also be a great gift for all of his hard work. The procedure he would get would be permanent contacts so it's probably an even more expensive procedure that we can't afford right now. The procedure would also be by the Dr. who does the Suns/Cardinals procedures and is no $500 per eye doc. See the posts below if you don't know what I'm talking about.
I'm excited to post pictures of our newest arrival and have all of you meet her. The countdown is on!!!
Yesterday was also my last Dr.'s appt and it felt great knowing I don't need to go back in again and that I'm in the home stretch. I really am getting ready and can't wait to be done with this achy back and swollen feet. I know I'm trading those in for other pains and sleepless nights but I'm ready to meet this new little member of our family.
I've been feeling pretty blessed lately and am starting to feel weepy at little things. I've been pretty unemotional during this whole pregnancy but I think the reality of what's going to happen is finally getting to me. I had a surprise shower at work on Tuesday and the marketing group gave me some cute things and a nice GC to Target. I also got a really nice check from the owner of our company that I directly worked for-for a few years. Yesterday when I got into work there was a bag from Pumpkin Patch sitting on my desk. Inside was a cute box with a blanket, super cute hat and a very generous GC. Pumpkin Patch is one of my favorite stores in the mall, but I only really go there when there are sales because it's kindof pricey so I'm excited to spend that GC in the future.
I feel so blessed to work where I do that is flexible with my family life and have been so great to me during my pregnancy and especially recently. We really feel blessed as well with our babysitter situation and only hope that it can continue for awhile longer. Matthew loves our babysitter and she's so good for him and also enforces the limits that we place on certain things. He gets to stay at our house where he is comfortable, but also goes over to her house (she lives close) to play with her little brother and sister who are close to Matthew's age. Overall it's a really great situtation for us for now.
We have just a couple of things to wrap up this weekend and then I'll feel set and ready to go for next weekend. My butterfly poster came for her room and is in it's frame. It looks so good and I'm very happy with how it turned out and proud of myself for creating a cool work of art. My parents are coming on Thursday so that will be nice to have them here to look after Matthew and keep him company while we are at the hospital. I'm so excited for him to meet his sister. We had him tell her tonight that he's excited to meet her soon. He was also being crazy tonight so I had him tell her that he was her crazy big brother :).
Please don't forget to vote for Jordan. That would be an amazing blessing for him to be able to see 24-7 and not have to worry about his blindness right before/after he goes to bed or wakes up. He does so much for me and our family and has been carrying the brunt of the work lately so this would also be a great gift for all of his hard work. The procedure he would get would be permanent contacts so it's probably an even more expensive procedure that we can't afford right now. The procedure would also be by the Dr. who does the Suns/Cardinals procedures and is no $500 per eye doc. See the posts below if you don't know what I'm talking about.
I'm excited to post pictures of our newest arrival and have all of you meet her. The countdown is on!!!
Quick Voting Update
Thanks to everyone who's been voting. I found out today that the voting runs through the 10th, and you can vote once per day. Thanks again!
We're a week away from the baby (well, technically less than a week, since the delivery is scheduled for 7 a.m. on the 10th), unless something crazy happens in the meantime (let's hope not).
Jordan
We're a week away from the baby (well, technically less than a week, since the delivery is scheduled for 7 a.m. on the 10th), unless something crazy happens in the meantime (let's hope not).
Jordan
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Rock the Vote
So in the video challenge I managed to make it into the top 10, albeit against a couple of firemen (tough to compete w/ that) and a couple of people who went over the 60-second time limit (ergh). Anyway, if you feel so inclined, I'll take any votes I can get, given that I have to compete with people who run into burning buildings and a video of some kids rapping.
Here is the link: http://www.nba.com/suns/fans/vision_challenge.html . I think you can vote once daily, but I'm not sure about that yet. I believe voting was supposed to be open for a few weeks.
It's listed under "bitterlarry."
Thanks!
Jordan
Here is the link: http://www.nba.com/suns/fa
It's listed under "bitterlarry."
Thanks!
Jordan
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Announcing....two things
Everyone has been bugging us to tell them the name of our baby and since I'm so close to having the baby and everyone I know who was pregnant with a girl now has had their babies we're leaking the name today. Her name is going to be.......
Portia Capri Stephens
I know...kinda different but something we agreed on pretty easily!
APRIL FOOLS!!! Ha, ha! Like I'm going to tell anyone at this point.
We do have a real announcement though that Jordan was contacted about his video for laser eye surgery and is in the Top 10. He's getting his eyes evaluated this morning to make sure he's a real candidate for the surgery. Once we know all the details we'll post them on here because we need all the votes possible. The top two videos that get the most votes get free surgery and he really really needs this. We'll be doing a big campaign and will need you and all of your friends help! More details coming soon. If you missed the video the first time here's the link to it again.
http://jordanandkarin.blogspot.com/2009/03/wwwseethebestyoucanseecom.html
Portia Capri Stephens
I know...kinda different but something we agreed on pretty easily!
APRIL FOOLS!!! Ha, ha! Like I'm going to tell anyone at this point.
We do have a real announcement though that Jordan was contacted about his video for laser eye surgery and is in the Top 10. He's getting his eyes evaluated this morning to make sure he's a real candidate for the surgery. Once we know all the details we'll post them on here because we need all the votes possible. The top two videos that get the most votes get free surgery and he really really needs this. We'll be doing a big campaign and will need you and all of your friends help! More details coming soon. If you missed the video the first time here's the link to it again.
http://jordanandkarin.blogspot.com/2009/03/wwwseethebestyoucanseecom.html
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