Crib!

We spent most of last Sunday and this past weekend researching furniture, carseats and strollers. We found a set of furniture we liked at USA Baby last weekend but weren't able to make it to Baby's First Furniture to see all our options. After a trip there on Saturday, we decided on our original set. We thought we'd have to order everything and wait 8-12 weeks but they actually had the crib and mattress in stock.

So we brought it home Saturday night and put it together.
Ryan even let me help!
All done!
The crib looks pretty lonely right now! I'm very excited for the dresser to arrive and of course for all the bedding to get here so we can really start putting it all together, picking out accessories, etc. But, at least we have the essential item should the other furniture take longer than expected or should Cason come early!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

I love anything I can cook in a crockpot. Since work + commute makes for long days, its great to have meals that are ready when I get home. This recipe has been a big hit on a local message board for some time but it took me a while to get on the bandwagon. Not sure why but we were missing out for the past year. I am not sure who this recipe "belongs" to but I wish I did so I can give them credit.

Ryan and I both really like the way these turn out and its super easy. I told him tonight that I was glad he liked it because we'd be having it a lot after the baby is born!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos
1 chicken taco seasoning packet (you can use a reg. taco seasoning packet but the chicken kind is best)
6 FROZEN chicken tenderloins (or 3 frozen breasts)
1 container of fresh pico (or can of Rotel)
1/4 c. Olive Oil
1/4 c. Water

Cover the bottom of the crockpot with the taco seasoning.
Lay frozen chicken on top.
Pour Pico/Rotel over chicken.
Pour Oil and Water over everything.
Cook on Low for 4-6 hours. If home, turn meat half way but not necessary.
Shred chicken with a fork and stir into juices.
Let cook/simmer for 30 minutes more (if time is tight, I skip this step)

Serve on tortillas with a shredded Mexican cheese blend. Great for leftovers, too.

I always use Rotel because I tend to make this when I'm having a "what to cook" moment. I keep Rotel and Taco Seasoning in the pantry most of the time and there is always some frozen chicken in my freezer from sale days when I stock up. Fresh pico would go bad in our house so I never buy it.

As an aside, a neat tip I learned (from another source that I can't find anymore) is how to make your "big" crockpot smaller. Many people get the bigger crockpot with the programmable/digital timer which can be too big for meals for two. We aren't big leftover people (with some exceptions) so I like to just cook enough for the two of us on many things. What I learned is that you can put a covered casserole dish inside your crockpot to make it the right size for smaller portions. This way, the meat is in a smaller space and is able to continue to cook in the juices and not dry out. I use the appropriate size Corningware French White covered dish to hold whatever I am cooking (brisket, roast, pork loin, chicken tacos). Just place the casserole dish with the food you are cooking, covered, into the crock pot. Put the crockpot cover on and cook as directed. Works like a charm and since the casserole dish is smaller I can normally fit it in the dishwasher for easier cleanup. Here is a picture of mine (uncovered after cooking) for reference.

Monday in Woodforest

I woke up today in a funk. We stayed up too late last night budgeting for life after the arrival of Cason Philip and then I didn't sleep well...or really at all. My mind was racing and I was extremely uncomfortable (I'm a stomach sleeper and, well, that's just not possible anymore). So needless to say, today was not a good morning. I was tired and cranky and the water works started. It was just one of those mornings.

So the rest of my day just sort of had that same blah tone. I worked, tried to focus, put dinner in the crock pot, etc. And then things started to take a turn...

First, Ryan got home and said "Hey, come look", directing me to the garage door. And this is what I saw (well, it was sitting in the driveway... I didn't get a picture before Ryan brought it in).

Now to most of you, this is just a really big, new trashcan issued by the trash company. Nothing special. But to me, this trash can was probably the first thing today that made me glad I got out of bed. You see, we've been in this house for over 3 months but TODAY is the first time I've seen this trash can. This trash can symbolizes the end of bags of stinky trash sitting in the garage for a week at a time. This trash can symbolizes the end of waking up to torn up trash bags and trash on our driveway on trash morning (raccoons we assume). This trashcan symbolizes... well you get my point. Whatever was holding up delivery of trash cans to our new neighborhood was finally worked out and all is right in garbage world.

The trash can itself would have been enough to brighten my day but then there was more. We ate dinner and were cleaning up when Ryan said "It's pink outside... get the camera." And he was right. The sunset view from our back porch was beautiful. God is Good!

And we have a name...

After much discussion, only a few heated moments :), and a few days of testing it out, Small P finally has a "real" name...

Cason Philip

We've been mainly drawn to C names and kept coming back to Cason as one of a couple that we both equally liked. Also, we decided to look up the meaning when we were still deciding and there isn't much to find. But, a couple of different sites pointed to Cason being an Italian name that means "House". We felt this was just slightly appropriate!

Philip is Ryan's middle name, his dad's middle name, he grandfather's middle name and maybe it goes back further, we aren't sure. I was very drawn to the family history and we think it flows really well.

Nursery Selections - Bedding

Before we knew whether Small P was a boy or a girl, I really wanted to do a red based nursery. When we found out it was a boy, Ryan immediately commented that he didn't want a Blue/Brown or Green/Brown room since we have a lot of those three colors in the house already. So, red it was.

Finding a ready-made red bedding set proved to be a challenge. Most everything is blue/brown or green/brown. The few we did find were either very "themey" with characters or trucks or letters or something, or we just didn't love them.

So I started looking for custom bedding vendors on Etsy and came across a vendor that linked buyers to the site Premier Fabrics for fabric selection. While browsing the fabrics, Ryan and I fell in love with the Phoenix Collection of fabrics. In looking to see how to order swatches, I stumbled upon an interesting piece of information... this company, Premier Fabrics, is based in Mississippi and they have a retail store in Jackson! I immediately asked my Mom if she was familiar and wouldn't you know it the store is next door to their favorite Mexican Restaurant. I sent mom the fabrics we were liking and she went by and picked up swatches. The colors were great and we decided on the Phoenix for sure.

During some other searching, I came across a different vendor (ModPeaPod) that seemed to use the same Premier Fabrics prints but had a lot more pictures of her work that gave us some inspiration. Her prices were better too!

I saw this set on her website and recognized it as the same patterns that we loved just a different color scheme.
This helped us see that the fun "Illusions" print and the Stripe really go well together and we were sold. After a few questions back and forth (she was great to work with) the decision was made. Last night we placed our order. Our bedding set will be similar to the set above, but in these fabrics:


This set is a little different style, but is pretty close to how we are using the fabrics. Striped skirt, Illusions for all "print" areas of bumper and solid red where this set has baby blue.

We also ordered striped curtains since the room we are using for the nursery gets all the morning sun.

I'm so excited to get the bedding in. I really hope it turns out as cute as we are planning and I think it will!

PS: Thanks Mom for your help!

Family Room Changes

While we had both familes at the house for Christmas, we decided to move our big chair and ottoman from the bedroom to the family room so we'd have some extra seating. Plus, my mom was dying to make it her morning reading spot! We always planned to get a chair of some sort for the family room but wanted to do something upholstered in a fun print. Since Ryan's brother helped him move the chair to the family room and I couldn't help him move it back to the bedroom, we decided to play with the furniture arrangement to see if a chair this big would fit so we know what to look for.


Some pictures from before



And now...
All four pieces fit really well and I love having the chair in the family room. We still want to get a non-leather piece so we can move this one back to the bedroom and now we know what size to look for. I don't know WHEN we'll get the new chair since there are probably a few other things we need to be focused on first!

Christmas 2009

We hosted Christmas at our house this year. My parents, grandmother, niece, brother and his dog all came from Mississippi and stayed for almost a week. It was great to have my family see the new house and especially to spend some time with Grammy, James and Helmi as I see them even less than I see my parents. Admiral enjoyed having his cousin Gus around for several days too.

On Christmas morning, Santa came to visit and we opened gifts with my family. All of Ryan's family (parents, both brothers and their wives, and of course all the dogs) joined us for lunch.

It was great to celebrate our first holiday in the new house with both families. Here are some highlights.

Grammy and Helmi making Grammy's famous Lemon Pie.

Helmi in her adorable Christmas Dress

Santa came to visit.

Helmi helping Neanie open her gift... handmade by Helmi (with some help from James).







In the kitchen where I spent lots of time!

My first attempt at Grandmother's dressing.

Admiral getting his gifts.

My family

Ryan's family

All the dogs (I suggest you click on these to see them full size!!)

Fievel makes his escape and Clive TRIES to follow.

Playing Mouse Trap

Admiral and Gus relaxing in the sun.


For the full roll of pictures, click here.