I have 7 AMAZING recipe's so far for our Freezable Recipe post... keep them coming!

I'm trying one tonight that I'm SO excited for and have another yummy one planned out for this weekend.

Don't just wait for everyone else to send one... send one yourself :-)

Preparing Our Home... and our Bellies!!

Hi Friends! Happy Monday... or something :-)

One thing we did during our wait to bring Hannah home was make double meals and freeze one of them for later. It was SO helpful in those first few weeks home with her to have yummy meals ready to go. I also found it easy to help out when a friend or family member needed a meal, too!

History is repeating itself in our wait to bring home our next baby(ies) and while our hearts are MORE than ready to bring home the rest of our family, we are making preparations in our home, too! The nursery is ready, the closet is full of diapers and clothes and now it's our freezers turn...

I'm working on a HUGE blog post that consists of (hopefully) dozens of meals that freeze well. My hope is that everyone who is waiting for their sweet baby (through adoption OR pregnancy!!) or maybe just needs freezeable meal ideas for a Meals for Mom's-type of program will have one stop to make (here :-)) to find lots and lots of easy ideas.

Here's where you come in :-)

Will you email me one favorite recipe that you know can freeze well? And while you're at it, if you have any tricks to keep meals fresh while frozen (great containers, labeling methods, etc), pass them along, too!

I'll collect recipes for the next 6 days and will post them all next Monday. We'll keep adding to it and eventually have the longest, most helpful blog post ever :-)

onloanfromheaven@yahoo.com

(Frozen meals meant that we got to spend much more time loving on and snuggling with this sweet baby-girl in her first few weeks home!) 

Daily Deal

Happy Saturday, Friends!

Hannah and I didn't have much planned yesterday but really needed to get out of the house... can you imagine why?! (The snow isn't melting yet but the sun is out.... we're making progress.)

Michaels is one of my favorite stores but since I'm completely lacking the creative gene, I try to stay away because I get super overwhelmed BUT yesterday, I was SOOOO excited to see all of the new Valentine's Day and Dollar Spot things that Michaels has right now. Hannah and I stocked up on the cutest Valentine's Day craft that we're going to make for her friends and family ... and Joey loved the idea so much that he's really excited to help, too (which is good for Mommy because I have trouble with even the easiest crafts and he's a pro).

I am a complete sucker for anything monogrammed and the Dollar Spot was an inexpensive little slice of heaven for me; stationary, luggage tags, cute gift boxes, pens, bright colors, paisley, florals... all for $1. It took a little brain-power to go through all of close family and friends' names but I managed to stock up on some little Valentine's Day gifts, birthday presents, and even some Easter basket stuffers for Hannah!

The best part of our impromptu trip yesterday? All of their Valentine's Day stuff was 30% off and they have a great  20 % off coupon for your entire purchase!!  (It's the little things that get me SOO excited, can you tell?!)... So if you're like me and need some help with math, all of the Dollar Spot stuff I got ended up being only $.80 and the Valentine's kit that makes 24 Valentine's was less than $4.50! Can't beat that!

Do you have a lazy Saturday planned? Head over to Michaels and let me know what you find... it ended up being a fun, productive, and really cheap trip out of the house for me and Hannah :-)

I'll post pics of our Valentine's when we're done making them!

Have an amazing weekend!

Hot, Sexy, Sweet & Charming

Yesterday was my hot, sexy, sweet & charming husbands birthday... so glad he'll always be older than me :-)

Joey and I met through friends at the church he grew up in. I was the new girl in town and let me tell you... I DID NOT want to date this boy. He tried and tried and tried to get me to go out with him and I ignored him, dodged him at church, and I'm ashamed to say that I even stood him up!!!

Now don't get me wrong, I thought he was incredibly good looking, very polite, chivalrous, and well, he obviously liked me... and I was just mean. That's all I got... no excuses.

I was working at a Lexus dealership and Joey came in one day and asked for a 'tour'... yeah right. I gave him a tour and in return he gave me a ticket to the Rascal Flatts concert that was the next weekend. I took the ticket... and didn't show up. 

Again... no excuse.

A few weeks later my mom was in town and came with me to a friends' house for dinner and that was the first time she met Joey. Mom loved him right away! She and I were shopping the next day when he called me... and I pushed 'ignore'.

Still... no excuse.... and this time Mom wasn't too happy with me.

SO... one night Joey dropped by Lexus 5 minutes before I left for the night and asked me out to dinner. I was caught off guard and had run out of excuses so said "why not" (nope, he couldn't even get a 'yes' out of me!). We walked out to his truck, he opened the door for me, and as I hopped up to get in ... I SLAMMED my head into the door.

Nice, huh? That's what I get.

He was polite enough to walk VERY slowly around the car to give me a minute to recover. So much for a great first impression... oh wait! I had already ruined any chance for that :-)

Joey didn't give up. We went to an amazing Italian place for dinner and had a PERFECT first date... and we've been together since :-)

Joey proposed to me 1.5 years after our first date. We were helping my parents move into a new house and he was sharing a room with my brother. He came in my room early in the morning (umm... like 8:30) and sat on the edge of my bed with a moving box and said that my mom wanted me to open it so she knew where it belonged in the new house.

I threw the box across the bed (WHY IN THE WORLD did he keep putting up with me?!). Nope, I'm not a morning person. In my defense, Joey knew this and this was all part of his master plan... thanks, babe.

Anyway, he recovered the box and I realized that a big family Bible had fallen out of the box... and it was open to 1 Corinthians 2:1

"... each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband."

I looked up and Joey was holding the most beautiful ring (that was originally tied to the place-marker in the Bible but ended up lost in a sea of packing peanuts when 'someone' woke up grumpy... Joey was frantically digging it out when I was reading the verse and trying to wake up and put it all together).

To be honest, I can't remember all that Joey said but I did hear the words "marry me"... and that was the most important part :-) When we came out to the kitchen we were greeted by my teary mom and dad and my excited brothers.... and an hour later in came my aunts, uncles, cousins, and some friends for the most wonderful (and VERY well planned) engagement party!

Joey and I were engaged for 14 months and were married on the most beautiful Southern June day!

(Us and our first baby, Biscuit. She passed away when she was 1.5... 30 days before we brought our second baby home... Hannah)

He is my Prince Charming. He is my rock. He's a dreamer, full of integrity, attentive, and he is the most amazing Daddy! Joey sacrifices so much for me to be able to fulfill my dream of staying home with our kids. He works hard... but he plays harder :-)

Joey and I became parents over-night... we brought Hannah home with 13 hours notice, after 2 years of 'trying' and 3 months of 'waiting' (with our agency). We didn't have time to plan,  prepare, discuss... but he fell into his role like he was made for it! And he is. Watching Joey and Hannah together makes my heart melt... she's a daddy's girl and I wouldn't have it any other way.

(Our first family picture)

Our family isn't complete yet.... and Joey has much more "Daddy" to give. I simply cannot wait to see our family fully together and complete, at last.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY! Hannah and I love you more than Reece's Peanut Butter Cups... and that's a whole lot!

The Storm.... It's Here.

"Snowapalooza"... "The Blizzard of Oz"... "Epic Snow"... whatever you want to call it; it's here.

I'll call it cold. That's about all it deserves.

6 food snow drifts, 7-10 hours of interstate closed, people without power, cars buried under snow...

yeah, I'm over it.

Snow does something to me. Maybe it's being stuck inside. Truthfully, we couldn't go anywhere even if we wanted to. There's only so much you can clean, so many Dora episodes you can watch, so many princess dresses you can wear, and only so many nails to paint. Then, I go crazy.

Moving on :-)

Hannah refused to eat dinner last night. She ate her one bite, which was basically all we had asked of her so we were ok with that. But when she got super grumpy later on in the night, I knew it was because she hadn't eaten.

Me: "Hannah, what would you like to eat? A banana? Fruit bar? Cereal?"

Hannah: "Mommy, I NEED McDonalds!!!"

Me: "Uh-oh."

Well, that was my response last night but when I woke up this morning and saw what I knew was the beginning of a LOOOOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG couple of days, McDonalds is exactly where we went.

Sometimes, you just NEED McDonalds. I get that.

After McDonalds we went to WalMart to stock up, like everyone else, on the things that are necessary to get you through a couple LOOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGG days stuck at home:

~ Dog food

~ Diapers

~ A new Dora movie

~ And purple nail polish

** I'll leave it to you to figure out which of those 4 things match up with the 4 of us :-) HA! **

A neighbor got stuck in the cul-de-sac tonight when he was trying to pull into his driveway (yep, random post... random day). We were eating dinner and Joey ran out to help. Four big, grown men tried over and over to push, pull, run and push, pull and run to try and get his car up the driveway and into the garage....

and I stood by the window and cracked up!

Like, belly laughing-cracked-up. Crying-cracking-up. Hannah was belly-laughing, too (which only made me laugh even harder) but not because she knew what was going on. She just laughs when I do :-) It's SO MEAN when I look back on it but I couldn't help it. Something was SO funny about these big men and this tiny car.... the men won in the end but that tiny car put up a BIG fight!

Yep, crazy has set in.

So, Hannah refused to eat dinner again. McDonalds wasn't an option tonight... :-( She settled for a banana before bed. She didn't realize that you have to watch your back when you have food in this house....

"SWIPER, NO SWIPING!!!"

They're so cute :-)

So, the storm is here. Yes, it's a blizzard. Yes, it's epic. Yes, it's cold.

But... like every other storm in our life, we'll make it. And like every other storm, we'll come out stronger and fatter (because no matter what kind of storm is raging, food finds it's way in. Hopefully it's people food and not dog food, tho).

I hope it passes soon. Joey's nails are the only one's left I have to paint... and I'm pretty sure I know how that'll go over.... :-)



The Storms Roll In...

Though I typically refer to 'storms' when talking about life's ups and downs, this time I'm definitely referring to the 'historic and destructive' storms that are starting to rear their ugly head all throughout the country today, tomorrow, and Wednesday.

I'll be honest friends, I hate snow. I really hate snow. I don't think it's pretty. Well, I'll admit that it's beautiful lying in a field untouched, or gracefully covering the trees that hang over a country road. But that's the ONLY time it's pretty.

It's NOT pretty when mixed with slush and salt, and dirt or when it's sweetly covering a thick sheet of black ice or lies in patches as it melts on grass that's been dead for 2 months... nope, not pretty.

I'll admit that it's fun to play in. BUT, it's only fun for a little while and the amount of fun you have definitely depends on the company you keep when playing in it. For instance, playing with my super-fun husband and baby-girl in the snow is SO MUCH FUN!

BUT, peeling dripping wet, freezing cold clothes off your rosy-cheeked, teeth-chattering toddler is not so much fun.

SO... today we're hunkering down. Oh, we'll play in the snow tomorrow before the plows come and disrupt the beauty of untouched snow; when the only thing you can see in the middle of our cul-de-sac is our foot-prints.

But today, we'll read books about Spring and babies (because who doesn't want to read about babies?!) :-)), dress up in princess clothes, wear high-heels with pajama pants on, put princess crowns on bed-head hair, eat some (more) of this... and during nap-time, you'll find Mommy snuggled up on the couch watching

(who doesn't love Diane Lane?!)

...and drinking a steaming, hot cup of

Are you hunkering down for some nasty weather, too? What do you or you and your family do to pass the time? Do you have a 'comfort' you go to during a storm... any kind of storm?

White House Turkey

This is another family favorite! Easy to make & SOOOO yummy! It's named after President Nixon's favorite dish...

White House Turkey

* 1 lb. frozen broccoli

* Turkey or chicken slices or cubes

(I use a Rotisserie chicken or leftover turkey)

* 1/2 cup Mayo

* 1 can cream of mushroom soup

* 1 tsp. curry

* 1 tsp. lemon juice

* 1 box stuffing mix

* 4 Tbsp. butter

~ Layer broccoli on the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with sliced turkey or chicken.

~ Mix mayo, cream of mushroom soup, curry & lemon juice and pour over broccoli and meat.

~ Top with the box of stuffing mix and sprinkle melted butter on top.

~ Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes!

** I've added a new label to my recipes. If it's one that I find freezes well, it'll have the labels "Recipe and also "Freezable"**

You Know You're A Mom When...

I've read so many 'Mom' lists but I thought it was time I made my own :-) Here it is:

You know you're a Mom when...

~ You order chicken tenders instead of a Caesar salad when out for dinner because that way, your toddler can share with you.

~ You only eat half of your meal because you know that 'someone' is going to want some of yours when he/she is finished eating their food.

~ You've been in the car for 30 minutes by yourself for the first time in who knows how long when you realize that Dora has been playing over and over in the CD player and you NEVER NOTICED!

~ You put the car in reverse to pull out of the driveway and call your husband because the car won't move. Your husband says, "It might help if you turn the car ON." (Nope, this didn't happen to me ... yesterday.)

~ You're in the car and you're really thirsty but you're already running late so you grab the sippy-cup out of the diaper bag and drink right out of the sippy-cup... and hope the person in the car next to you didn't just see you.

~ You wake up in the middle of the night and miss your sweet baby so much that you get out of bed, slip into their room, watch them sleep for a while and have to seriously resist the urge to pick them up so you can snuggle and inhale their precious smell.

~ You and your husband go out to a rare dinner alone and the whole time you feel like something's missing. You check your purse for your phone, wallet, keys, lip-gloss, and finally realize that you're missing your baby... your most perfect accessory.

~ You would rather feed your family Mac N' Cheese and hot dogs (GROSS!!!!) for dinner than give up your 20 minutes on the couch reading books to your baby just so you can make a gourmet meal.

~ You would rather have Strep throat, a UTI, or a broken bone (just a few of the most awful things, in my opinion) than watch your sick baby suffer and not be able to fix them.

~ You open up your Chaptick and lather on more spit than lip-moisturizer.

~ You're comforted by the sound of your baby breathing through the monitor next to your bed.

And finally (for now)...

~You know you're a Mom when... you give up half of your chocolate, even though it's your favorite and a rare indulgence, just to see your child's messy face and be able to kiss it off :-)

Do you have any to add? I'd LOVE to make this list grow :-)

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

Yeah, I know. Sounds disgusting.... just stay with me.

My dear friend and fellow adoptive Mom over at Sophie's Hope posted on her Facebook this morning that she was making something delicious for dinner in her crock pot. Since I'm addmittedly a stalker, I didn't leave a comment but read through the half dozen comments people made and found out that she got her recipe from a blog called CrockPot365... ChaChing! This is my dream-blog come true, people and I just have to share the wealth :-)

One commenter mentioned a Cream Cheese Chicken recipe she got off of this blog and it sounded SO gross that I had to see what was in it... and now it's in MY crock pot! It got RAVING reviews and looks so weird that I had to try it.... and let me tell you, my mouth has been watering ALL afternoon! I can't wait until dinner!!! (So the truth is, I haven't actually HAD this dish yet but if if it tastes anything close to how it smells, it will be FABULOUS!)

Now, I'm not a meal planner but I'm working on it (ok, not really). I'm the mom who runs to the store at 4pm because I only have half of the ingredients for the recipe I JUST decided to make (AMEN?!? Anyone?). Needless-to-say, I didn't find this gem of a recipe until 1pm today but I just happened to have EVERY INGREDIENT! It's a miracle! All that to say...here it is:

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

* 2 cups cream of mushroom soup (i just used 2 cans)

* Frozen chicken breasts (enough to feed the people you are cooking for)

* 2 T. Italian Seasoning

* 1/2 tsp. celery seed

* 1/2 tsp. onion powder

* 1 T. sugar

* 1/4 tsp. pepper

* 1 tsp. salt

* 1 tsp. minced garlic

* 1 block of cream cheese (to add later)

~ Put all ingredients (except cream cheese) in the crock pot... even the frozen chicken

~ Cook on low for 6 hours (I started late today so I cooked it on high for 4 hours)

~ Shred chicken with a fork

~ Mix in softened cream cheese and cook on high for another 30 minutes.

~ Serve over pasta

That's it!! We're eating in about an hour so I'll let you know if it stinks... regardless, it smells SO good :-)

** Update: This was a HUGE hit with me, Joey, and Hannah! I'll definately make it again but next time I'll plan to use one can of cream of mushroom and maybe half or 3/4 of the cream cheese... and add canned mushrooms. Not sure why, it just sounds good :-)

Really Easy Egg Casserole

I've had some requests for more easy recipes so I'll switch it up a little and share a breakfast dish!

I'll be honest... breakfast casseroles intimidate me. Well, since we're being honest, anything having to do with cooking intimidates me. I'm getting better. I think. You better ask Joey.... wait, on second thought, maybe you shouldn't (he might share the meatloaf picture with you :-/)

Anyway :-) My Mom makes this Egg Casserole for Thanksgiving and Christmas morning and it's a huge hit every year. I had to bring a hot dish to Bible study  brunch a couple weeks ago and immediately called my Mom for this recipe and was shocked when it ended up being so easy! I would have started making this years ago, had I known. There wasn't even one piece left after brunch!

Egg Casserole

4 eggs

1 cup Mayo (I used fat-free)

4 Tbsp flour

1 cup milk (I used fat-free)

2 cups ham or sausage, chopped

2 cups cheddar cheese, grated (I used low-fat)

2/3 cups green onions

* Beat eggs until fluffy

* Add Mayo, flour, and milk beating well after each addition

* Stir in remaining ingredients

* Bake in greased 9X13 pan at 350 until firm

* Let set a few minutes before serving

Enjoy!! As always, let me know if you try it!