Prego Picks: Edition 4

Because it doesn't matter how you look on the outside, if you're not feeling great on the inside...

I wish I was kidding...seems a little early to be starting sour stomach. There's always a silver lining though...there's now a new "minty fresh" Zantac tablet!

I've been making lots of trips to the consignment shop lately...oddly enough, I haven't been buying maternity clothes, but rather consigning them! It's really quite embarrassing some of the "get-ups" I wore while preggars with Raegen...poor kid, no wonder he didn't want to face the world!

I absolutely LOVE being pregnant in the winter time. Just layer me up in sweaters and knits...the weather is just perfect for that sort of thing! The below picture was taken just three days before I gave birth to Raegen {I was 40weeks, 6days}. It was NOT a maternity sweater, but I made it one! :)

Photograph by: unknown, but no doubt someone less than 4' tall!

I tried wearing it the following winter {when I was NOT pregnant} and I LOOKED like I WAS pregnant! It was a tad stretched...or maybe a lot. It got tossed. :)

I have a few other sweaters that I was able to wear though they were also not maternity. For whatever reason, most maternity sweaters are 10x too big and long enough to be a dress! Shouldn't maternity clothing make you feel better, not bigger?
My point? Shop the sweaters in the Women's section first!!

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The following is hands down my fave pick of the week...found at none other than, Kohl's! :)

It's an Apt. 9 Essential Shirred Turtleneck from the Women's department, not the maternity department.

Oh. my. dear. goodness. is it ever soft.

AND, it's the perfect length for a pregnant {expanding} belly.

It also comes in several colors and I'm not too proud to say that I bought it in

purple

brown

grey

and

black!!

Oh, yes I did!

Did I mention it's on sale for $11.99, plus my 30% off coupon, times two, divided by 12 = practically FREE!

It's THE perfect shirt to wear under fly-away cardigans and "normal" sized jersey dresses...like the one in this post.

from a bitty babe to a boy...

Happy Birthday dearest Tyler!!

It's so hard to believe another year has gone by...

We love you and hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Sew I have to brag...

My sister is pretty awesome.

And she's really pretty awesome when armed with her sewing and embroidery machine!

I just had to share her most recent creations. She also posted these on her blog, so go here to read the original post, or here to view all her designs and prices {there are five pages of pictures so you may have to scroll through to find her latest creations}.

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Girl's Thanksgiving Dress

{choice of colors, applique}

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Girl's Custom Thanksgiving Bow

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Newborn Thanksgiving/Turkey Dress
{choice of colors, applique}

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Newborn Custom Thanksgiving Bow with band

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Newborn Razorback Dress

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Newborn Razorback Onesie

{Hog design is located on backside of onesie}

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Pink Hog Bow

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Bulldog Bow

Not a fan of the Razorbacks or Bulldogs {you should be, right now the Dogs are 8-0!! woohoo! ;)}??

Just contact her, I'm sure she would love to create a custom bow to show your school spirit!

Angie Smith

If you're a fan of Angie Smith as much as I am, you should

go read her latest post,

NOW!

Let's play!!

We met up with our good friends, the J's, on Saturday night for dinner and play time. The boys always have so much fun together and I think we found our new "go to" place for rainy days.

Raegen liked the ride on the "choo-choo train!", but he was really hoping he could jump the tracks and take that Jeep for a spin!

The carousel was another big hit...so much so that Raegen snuck in the Exit gate and enjoyed a short-lived joyride. :)

Skee-ball...that's a whole other story. Anyone that knows Raegen knows he has quite an arm and prefers to throw over-hand, not under. Next time we take him I think I'll opt to wear a helmet. ;)

I absolutely LOVE the expressions on the boys in the next few pics...they were trying to decide on their gift to cash in their game tickets. They had 25 to spend and I believe they ended up splitting a piece of candy! :)

"Ooooh! Ahhhh!"

Many tears were shed when it was time to part...and the repeating of

"Wanna go to Loooke's house, pwease!"

I think we're over the hump.

Twenty-two!!

Your crockpot will thank me.

April's "should be famous" Creamy White Chicken Chili

Ingredients
1 lb chicken
1 med onion
1 T veg oil
1 1/2 t garlic powder
2 cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
14 1/2 oz. chicken broth
1 t salt
8 oz green chiles
1 t cumin
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t cayenne pepper
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 c whipping cream

Directions
In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chiles and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cream.

April spoiled us with this yummy recipe during our ski trip in January...I've been waiting for the weather to turn cold enough to make it at home! :)

Run, Uncle Marc, Run!!

This morning Uncle Marc ran in the Soaring Wings Half Marathon to benefit the Soaring Wings Ranch. He also ran the half last year.

Everyone lined up, ready to cheer him across the finish line...

I haven't heard the "official" time, but I believe it was 2:15 {the finish line time showed 2:17, but his "group" of racers didn't start when the clock started}...very close to his time last year.

His many supporters...

This year there was a jump castle and an inflatable slide for the kids.

Mrs. Melissa was brave enough to take Raegen and Jayson, but they never made it up the stairs to the slide. WAAAAAY too many kids. :)

We're proud of you Uncle Marc!!

Prego Picks: Edition 3

It's no secret.

If you've recently been or are currently pregnant, you've seen the "Secret Fit Belly" panel in maternity stores. A few weeks ago I showed you my brown leggings I purchased with said panel...oh, so comfy! The panel is also available for jeans, dress pants, and skirts.

I decided to splurge a few weeks ago and purchased these pants from Motherhood Maternity online. I'm not a fan of online clothing purchases, but I knew what size pants I wore from that particular store so I went for it.

They arrived Monday and I've been testing them out this week. When I put them on I instantly noticed the back pockets are relatively low, and I could feel them against my legs. Something I've never been fond of. However, the super comfy panel definitely made up for it, but it didn't take long for it to slide down, down,

d

o

w

n.

I was sagging so bad I could have made a gangster blush.
I've contacted Motherhood and they're going to let me return the pants. Thank you Lord!! :) I don't spend that much money on my normal pants!

I was discussing my dilemma with a friend, who has recently become such a fan of my fave Lee jeans that she is recruiting all her coworkers to try them too!, and she suggested I try a larger size of Lee jeans. Brilliant!! I had to go to Kohl's yesterday to get B some new pants so I grabbed about 15 different pair of Lee jeans for myself and hit the dressing room. I will spare you the gruesome details and just say it wasn't a match. :(

HOWEVER, Kohl's also carries the "secret fit belly" jean by "MOTHERHOOD" so I grabbed a couple of those to try on as well. When I tried on these, I knew I'd found a winner.

The pockets were perfect and the panel felt much more secure than the pair from Motherhood. I purchased them and plan on doing further testing today as I'm at home. I hope they're keepers!! I 'll let you know!

Oh. my. dear. yummy. goodness.

I tried another one of Kelly's recipes she posted on her blog...and my, oh, my was it delicious!! It may have had something to do with the STICK OF BUTTER!!

I made a few modifications, but generally stuck to the originally recipe.

Paula Deen's Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced {opted out...didn't want to take time to boil eggs!}
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots {used 2 cups of frozen mixed vegs}
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup {used the BIG family size b/c that's what I had in cabinet!}
1 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper, optional
1 1/2 cups instant biscuit mix {used a package of Bisquik biscuit mix...was more than 1 1/2c, but was fine}
1 cup milk
1 stick melted butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a greased 2-quart {I used a 9x13} casserole, layer the chicken, eggs, carrots, and peas. Mix the soup, chicken broth, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Pour over the layers. Stir together the biscuit mix and milk, and pour this over the casserole. Drizzle butter over the topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

This is one of those "perfect for cold weather" meals!!

Seeing Orange

Everything is orange!

We met up with Jameson and Mrs. Kim yesterday for some fun at the pumpkin patch...

there were pumpkins, pumpkins, everywhere!!

Once again we opted out of the corn maze and $5 per person hayride! :) The boys had plenty of entertainment with the animals, submarine, playground equipment, bales of hay, and logs to crawl over!!

They also had a great time playing in the sunflower field...they were almost too short to keep track of!

Me and my pumpkin

We always cut our own pumpkin from the field...

"We'll take one of these too!!"

Pumpkins, we now have plenty...cats, we have none...and we'll keep it that way! ;)

Come Smile!

The State Fair is a must in my family, so we all met up for some fun on Saturday. Maybe next year baby Izzy along with Aunt Kristen and Uncle Justin can join us!

First things first.

My, oh my, was there mud...double-D...MUDD! The "car parker pointer people" found us a nice muddy spot, then the tractor-tram picked us up right at the back bumper! I was relieved to not have to trek through the mudd in my new, super comfy, Naturalizer shoes!

{if you're preggars, you shouldn't leave home without them!!}

A fair must, our first stop was the FFA barn. We've been watching those ducks slide off that tin roof for nearly 30 years now, but it's still entertaining! Though I must say this year the ducks were a tad too big and it wasn't much of a challenge for them to reach their food.

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Grandaddy and Mimi with all the kids

Raegen, Ben, Madisyn, Henry, Griffin, & Ty

we'll be adding no less than two more to that number next year!

Next we stopped in at the STARR Barn so the kids could see all the rabbits and chickens. We also got to see a few baby chicks and turkeys hatch! One minute he's a baby turkey breaking free from his shell...

and the next, POOF!

He's a full grown gobbler!!

not really.

Grif is such a sweet boy...what's that I spy in his hands?

Could it be some fresh picked flowers?

Uh, something like that...

I always love the sights, sounds, and SMELLS of the midway!

Bring on the funnel cake!!

I was a tad concerned when they dropped us off at the street and told us we'd have to trek through the mudd, the MUDD!!, to our car. {though they did tell us if we got stuck they had free towing...best $5 parking I've ever had. ahem.} Billy was quite the gentleman and decided to go get the vehicle and bring it to us. Genius!! I wasn't too sure about how that would turn out though because my new Explorer is not 4-wheel drive like my old one...

But he made it through just fine!!

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Raegen got to plant two sunflower seeds at one of the new "fun kid stations" in the FFA barn. On the way home he was able to reach the bag his "pot 'o dirt and two seeds" were in and decided to transplant them to a new plastic cup we got from the Hall of Industry {another must on our "places to see" list for the fair...I think it's the free pencils that keep drawing us back every year}. Sadly, more dirt ended up in his carseat than in the red cup and I never did find the two seeds...so no sunflowers for us!