Disappointed

I did not get the position that I had the interviews for. This means that I continue in my role as teacher, lose the supervisory role that I worked so hard for and take a pay cut. I am really down tonight, but trying to turn this over to God. I have had 3 people say to me in the past hour, "Remember that where God closes a door, he opens a window!"

Please pray for me to have peace about this.

Monday

Can I whine? I am soooo tired! I wound up with the cold that the boys had last week, and am trying to get past it. So, besides not sleeping because I have to go to the bathroom, I couldn't breathe either.

I am sticking to my promise of trying to slow down. I did have to take the boys to school supply drop off this morning. Now I have like 5 workbooks to cover for Drew in clear contact paper by tomorrow. Target was out! Hoping Andy can pick it up on his way home. I did some minimal grocery shopping-just trying to stock up on some easy lunch options for the boys for the first few weeks of school. I don't usually buy single serve things because they are expensive, but my sanity is at stake here!

I am now going to try to put my feet up for a few before taking the boys to soccer. Pray for some progress when I go to the OB tomorrow...I am so tired!

Slowing Down

I learned something today. It is time for me to slow down.

As I sit here, I had another marathon day. Drew had his annual eye exam which is always a tad anxiety provoking. Besides his regular average, everyday vision loss, he has a form of corneal endothelial dystrophy. He has what looks like blisters on his cornea. So far, we have been very blessed that it is stable and remains out of his line of vision. We just need to take him back every year to see that there is no progression. So far, so good! Today was the exam and it all looks well. After that, it was off to get him new glasses. He does look handsome in them!

That was the morning and there was soccer practice to be had for 2 1/2 hours. I was wiped out afterward, but I had to keep Michael out of the house while Andy and the older boys left for our nephew's varsity football game (to avoid meltdown). Michael and I went and bought the new infant seat for the baby, and then met my sisters and their girls for dinner. We got home about 8:45, and I am exhausted.

It was at this point that I realized that I need to slow down. This babe is coming in 2 weeks or less, and I am utterly exhausted. I need to take some time to put my feet up, and I am planning to do so. I even canceled lunch with a friend for tomorrow. Even though I really want to see her, I knew that I would end up overdoing it. So, now I rest-because the time is coming where there won't be any!

Recipe Swap Thursday!

Starting off a little late this morning, but better late than never, right? Today I am posting a recipe I posted last year, but it is one of my favorites. It is my Mom's Beef Stroganoff. Enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff

1 small onion, diced
1-16 ounce package button mushrooms, sliced
1 T olive oil
2 T flour
2 pounds beef stew meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1-16 ounce container sour cream
¼ C Worcestershire sauce
Water
Egg noodles, cooked and buttered

Saute onion and mushrooms in olive oil. When onions are translucent, sprinkle in 2 TBSP flour and stir. Allow flour to cook through. Add in stew meat and brown. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cream of mushroom soup, sour cream and Worcestershire sauce. Add water as needed to loosen sauce. Place in a 325 degree oven for 2 hours or until meat is tender. Serve over buttered egg noodles.


This week, I am going to try add link you all manually until I figure a better linky system! Thanks for playing! Leave a comment in the combox, and I will add you!

This week's participants:

Aussie Therese: Quiche Loraine
Meandering Meghan: Miss Kate's Tomato Sauce
Heaven's Gift (Frizzy): Poblano Pickle Relish
Homeschooling4Christ (Jillian): Carrot Cake
Beyond the Black Stump (Grace): Macaroni Oven Bake

The Latest

I went to the OB today. Again, nothing. Seems this little girl is liking the cozy conditions. I think this means I may make it to see my boys off to school the first day next week, as well as Michael's birthday on the 2nd.

I actually slept for 7 hours last night. This is the first time in months that I have not had to get up at some point in the night. We had 2 1/2 hours of soccer practice in the hot sun yesterday, and I think it wiped me out! Yes, soccer season has started around here. Peter has 3 practices this week and Drew has 2. I am really looking forward to Andy's 2 weeks at home when the baby comes!

In other news, please keep my friend, Jamie, in your prayers (I know many of you are already). She was supposed to have delivered her fifth via C-section yesterday, and we are still waiting on the news.

Also, me dear, real-life friend, Lisa, is traveling out of state for her Grandfather's funeral tomorrow. Please keep her and her family in your prayers during this time.

Original Baby Gift

I want to thank my sister-in-law for this precious ducky (can you see the dripping sarcasm?). It will be a while before the baby sees this one, but Michael does love it and it is making me a bit crazy! Enjoy!

Good Weekend!

On Saturday, my nieces threw me a baby shower! It was lovely and they did a great job with the food and games and keeping things moving along. Our little girl is going to be quite the fashion plate-at least through 24 months as I got some really cute dresses up through that size! I am, though, waiting until this little one shows up to de-tag everything (still worrying that all the ultrasounds were wrong!). Thank you to my nieces for a great party and to my friends who came to spend time with me-it was a lot of fun!

So, yesterday, Andy and I were musing on when this little girl is going to make her debut. He and I both think that she's not going to wait until my induction date of September 10th. That got me to thinking...what do you all think? Let's have a baby pool! Leave date, time and weight (of the baby, of course!) and the person who is closest will win something-not sure what, but I will make it fun!

Good News!

I received an email today that I will indeed be getting a second interview for the new position where I work! I am very excited for the opportunity! The interview is on Monday at 12 Noon CST. Prayers are greatly appreciated!

I am so glad that I let this go to God yesterday after the interview. I did not expect to hear anything so quickly, so the email was a great surprise!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

So sweet!

Not the most flattering photo of me, but I wanted to share my baby boy snuggled up to my baby girl. I love that at almost 4, Michael still needs snuggle time. He fell asleep in my arms, and his sister proceeded to kick at him-hard! He didn't wake up once!

Poll

I am taking a poll about Recipe Swap Thursday. Please vote on the right and leave any thoughts to make it better! Thanks!

Updates

Thank you for all of the prayers for my interview. I think it went well-except for the question about a time when I struggled to build rapport with another teacher. I was stumped-it has never happened! I found out that there are probably about 80 candidates for the 15 positions. The next step would be to have a second interview if I am chosen to move on. She said that it would take at least a week. As much as I would like an answer like yesterday, I know that this is in God's hands now, and that's good. I am leaving it with Him and am going to focus on important things like this baby!

So, yesterday was a day I would like to have done without. I sent Andy out to our freezer for waffles (I know shame on me-not making them from scratch!), and they were soft, not frozen. I went through the usual panic and subsequent hormonal rant (sorry Andy) when I had to deal with what to do. Initially, he thought it was the compressor, and we thought it best to replace the unit.

After looking online, I called Andy at work, and he suggested we have someone look at it. One of the drains was clogged. Once fixed, it was fine. I am happy to report that we caught it before any of the food had to be tossed in part because Andy insists on keeping ice in there (like 60 pounds of it) during the summer. The repairman came right away, and by early afternoon all of the meat was completely frozen again. One thing that still stumped us-THE BREAD WOULD NOT FREEZE! Anyone have an explanation for this? By this morning, the bread and waffles were frozen again.

Nothing new on the baby front. A couple of weeks ago, I was having a TON of braxton-hicks, but now, nothing. I am still praying that I get the boys in school, and am still anxious, but am feeling more prepared. My nieces are throwing me a shower on Saturday, and I think I will make it to this one! I really do!

Prayers Today!

My interview for the new position at my job is today at 1 PM CST. If you have a chance for a quick prayer, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Stop the Abortion Mandate

Recipe Swap Thursday!

It's that time again! Today, I decided to share my breading recipe, and what I made this week because it was that good!

Growing up in an Italian household, pretty much any meat we had was breaded Sicilian style. Chicken, steak, pork chops, you name it. It really helps to seal in the juices and is just plain yummy! So, first, the breading recipe. I should note that these measurements are approximate as Italians do a lot of NOT measuring!

Breading:

1 1/2 C plain breadcrumbs
1/2 C grated Parmesan (add more if you like your breading cheesier!)
salt, pepper, and oregano to taste (probably about 1/4-1/2 tsp each)

You can make this in bigger batches and store in the fridge. When you use it, pour out what you need.

I made breaded chicken on Tuesday, and I have to say that it was one of those times that it was soooo good!

Here were my steps (and I use the same for pork chops as well)

1. Pour enough oil in a skillet to coat the bottom of a pan and heat at medium to medium high heat.
2. Dip chicken in egg, allowing excess to run off.
3. Place in breading, flipping the meat to coat both sides.
4. Cook in oil until both sides are golden brown.
5. Place in covered pan to continue cooking in oven.

On Tuesday, I had some huge boneless skinless chicken breasts, so when they were golden, I placed them in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes and then turned it down to 300 for another 30 minutes. Low and slow will help keep the meat moist and yummy. Again, I follow the same steps for pork chops. For steak, I dip in oil before the breadcrumbs and the either cook under the broiler or grill.


Now, I want to hear from you! Share your recipe, and fill out the Mr. Linky below. Please link back to me on your blog! Happy cooking!

What a day!

I want to start out by saying thank you for all of the great advice yesterday. In the end, I did end up unfriending them, and I have great peace about it. All of those prayers from you all are doing the trick!!!

We had a slow start to the morning. I have been moving a bit slower every day (HMMM...wonder why?). I got my laundry caught up for the moment, and then spent the afternoon at the dentist with all 3 boys. I was told that Drew had an "orthodontic mess" with his full under bite (already knew that-his Mama had that too), but was pleased to hear that as of right now, Michael has a perfect bite. Peter's already started the orthodontic road, so we are kind of in the middle of his. Speaking of, I need to make their next ortho appointments. I am thinking November would be good.

After the dentist, I decided to make a quick run to the grocery store for a few things. I know they say never shop when your hungry. I wasn't, but boy did walking down the aisles give me cravings. I bought myself some very yummy lunch options, as well as some good snacky things.

Speaking of food, I am going to do Recipe Swap on Thursday again. I would love to come up with a little button for it, but I swear I am brain dead right now in the html department-must be the pregnancy! Anyway, if you have a recipe you want to share, post it and come on over and link up! It's that simple!

Well, I am off to bed. I am not sleeping really well at this point, so I almost dread bedtime, knowing that I will be up and awake quite often.

I did get some knitting in tonight. I am working on a gift for Shawna who is due September 1st. You should check out her blog. At 38 weeks, she is so cute!!! Then, I am also working on something for Jamie, who may or may not deliver sooner than expected. Remember how I was on a reading roll a couple of weeks back? Now it is all knitting at every free moment! At least I can keep my feet up while I do it!

What would you do?

I am kind of struggling with how to handle a situation. Last week, I alluded to the fact that some friends have fallen out of my life. I am truly OK with it, but I feel like I am at a crossroads. With the exception of one, I hear from none in this group anymore since one of them cut me out of her life (granted I have not reached out either, but it has been for my own emotional health as I make it through this pregnancy).

Again, I am not mourning here. God has been so good to me as to put some strong women in my life (as I wrote about last week), both in everyday life, as well as the blogosphere. Here is my struggle, do I unfriend them on Facebook? Because of the lack of communication, I really feel like keeping my life a tad more private in regards to this group. I am struggling to make a decision...what would you do?

Leg cramps

I don't get leg cramps often, but did I wake up with a doozie this morning! It was my right calf, and I could not for the life of me get my foot to flex, so I used my left foot to push the right one up. It got rid of the cramp, but caused me to cramp in both front shins and my thigh! Who knew this could happen? I am very stiff and sore this morning. I pray for no more!

State Fair Cream Puffs-It's what's for breakfast!

We didn't make it to State Fair this year, so we picked them up from the State Fair drive-thru this morning. Good breakfast, huh?

Recipe Swap Thursday!

I am really excited to see all of the cool recipes we come up with! After my recipe, there will be a "Mr. Linky"-please feel free to add your link there (and link back to me too!)

This recipe is one that a friend gave me when I got married. It is really yummy and very quick!

Fetuccini Alfredo

1 box Fetuccini noodles

1 stick butter

8 oz Neufchatel cream cheese

1 C milk

1/2 C Parmesan

Broccoli, cooked (optional)

Cooked chicken cut into cubes

**********************************************************************************

Cook noodles. In a sauce pan, melt butter. Add cream cheese, milk and parmesan. Stir until hot. Add in cooked fetuccini. Add broccoli and chicken. Sprinkle extra parmesan over top, if desired.

Enjoy!

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Now it's your turn! Click on Mr. Linky to see the participants or to add your own link! (It will open in a new window).

Recipe Swap Thursday!

Just a reminder-tomorrow is the Recipe Swap! Send me an email (on my profile page) with your link and I will add it to my post! Looking forward to tomorrow's yummy goodness!

Updates

I saw the OB today, fully expecting that I would hear that I was at least at 2 cm. Well, I was SO wrong! Nothing, zilch, nada. This little girl is going to take her own sweet time. I am OK with that. Hopefully, it means that I will get the boys in school. I go back to the OB on the 25th.

In other news, after deciding last night that I did not make the cut in the interview process for the new position at work, I received an email this morning that I am getting an interview! It is scheduled for August 20. When I called my sister, she said, and how good, you never lost faith in Jesus for doing this for you. Truly, I didn't, but I did give up on THIS position preferring to think that it meant that Jesus had another plan for me. And He still may, we just need to wait and see, and pray.

God is good!

I just wanted to share with you what I said to my husband last night. It has been a long week what with my nerves and my Mom's anniversary. Andy has had a horrendous week at work. A server went down, and he has been working some really long hours. When he got home at 10:30 last night, I was telling him about some of the truly beautiful comments that I have received over the past couple of days.

Remember how I said a couple of weeks ago that I had a friendship fall apart earlier this year? I lost a couple of other friends in the process. I am truly OK with it. I know that in part it was God's way of protecting me, as well as protecting my faith.

So, I said to Andy last night, "God is so good! He has sent these wonderful, strong, faith-filled women into my life just when I need them most." That was all about you-you know who you are-thank you and thanks God!

Mama's Day

Five years ago today, my Mama went to Heaven.

I wanted to share the first pictures of my Mom with Peter and Drew.

Her grandchildren were everything to her-she offered up her suffering with the cancer so that her grandchildren would not lose their faith.

Here is Mom with Peter in 2000.

Mom with Drew in 2003.

I know she was with me in 2005 when Michael was born,
and she will be with me this year as our new baby is born-
her 26th grandchild.

I love you, Mama!

Nerves

So, I am starting to get nervous. All of these weeks of preparation are soon to come to a close sometime in the next month. I was doing some cleaning today in the room that will be shared by Michael and the baby. We have received a few gifts, and my nieces are throwing me a shower in a couple of weeks. Just trying to get everything in order.

As I am cleaning out the closet, a thought pops into my head...what if she is a boy again? Of course, in the end, it doesn't matter if baby is healthy, but last time, my mother-in-law and I had purchased several pink items which all were detagged, washed and readied for baby. When Michael was born, these quickly got swapped out for the clothes that Peter and Drew had worn. This time, I am afraid to cut tags. I have some items hanging in the closet, just waiting, just in case they need to be returned.

Then, there is the whole impending birth issue. I had 3 successful deliveries. Drew was almost a c-section because his arm was stuck near his head, and Michael was also almost a cesarean because he chose not to turn until 3 days before he was born. I am still nervous. I see the doctor on Wednesday. He will check me then to see if I have started to dilate. More than likely, I have because well, I have been known to walk around at 2-3 cm for weeks, but being at that point is making me nervous. It's just so close, and although I have had moments of feeling like this pregnancy is dragging, I am now feeling like I don't want it to be over.

I just need to breathe....and pray.

This boy...

I think my Michael is feeling some uncertainty about the impending birth of his little sister. Several times a day, he climbs on what is left of my lap and says, "Mom, I love your baby! Mom, I love you!" I give him a big hug and tell him that Mama and the baby love him too. Today, he informed me that yesterday, he was in my tummy. Oh, it may have been 4 years ago, but it certainly does feel like yesterday...

I am very thankful that I will still have Michael home with me this fall. I think that it will be good for him to have time with the baby and I, and to be able to be the big brother without his big brothers here (while they are at school).

Over the weekend...

Peter's new backpack arrived. He was very excited as he got to design it himself! We have been saving Coke reward points for a long time, and we had enough to replace his backpack. He got to pick the colors and design.

It even has his initials on the pocket. We ordered it about 2 weeks ago, and I worried that it wouldn't be here in time. We got an email this past Monday saying it had shipped-from China! We had fun watching it go from China to Alaska to Kentucky to here. Think he likes it?

Today, Andy decided that it was time to recover the bumpers on the side of our water bed (yes, we sleep in one-his parents bought him a queen size when he was in middle school-generous, huh? Andy's bad back causes us to still sleep in it, and really I do love it!). He asked if I could sew cuffs for the top of each side to make it look like the old one. I had a bit of a meltdown because my sewing machine has been giving me fits. I never took sewing, but always wanted to.

In 2000, my parents bought me a machine, and I have used it for a few things, but my frustration level the last time I used it caused me to used stitch witchery the last time Drew needed jeans hemmed. I could not find the instruction manual. My dear sweet husband found the manual online and helped me load the bobbin which was what I had been doing wrong the last time I sewed with it. Frustration over! The strips on the left were the first set I made (to Andy's specifications) only to find out they were measured wrong (ya' think!). I gladly made the right size which are the longer ones on the left.

Now that I realized what I was doing wrong, it makes me want to try a simple project again...maybe after I finish my current knitting project, and have a baby!

Expiration dates

Did you know that car seats have an expiration date? I bring this up because our infant seat, apparently, is about to expire. It was a hand me down that a friend (who is no longer a part of my life) let us use when Michael was born as we had needed to replace the car seat we used from Peter and Drew (my sister had borrowed that one from us, and it was in a car accident, and therefore not usable).

So, a few months ago, I had asked Andy about the seat, if he thought we should use it again. I had done some reading on it, and apparently the plastic breaks down when exposed to extreme temperatures. Well, in the 4 years since Michael was born, it has been stored in our garage, and subjected to very hot summers (well, except for this year) and VERY cold winters. When I asked him, he figured that I just didn't want to use it due to the fall out with said friend (I know I shouldn't be, but I am a superstitious Italian-thank my Dad for that one-who tries not to believe in people wishing harm, etc., but it is in my genes). Anyway, I pushed my thoughts aside, and decided that if Andy was comfortable with using the seat that we would, but I would invest in a new cover for it to give it a new look.

Then, Andy started reading about expiration of car seats...last night. He decided on his own that we needed to replace it. That he just didn't want to take a chance with our little girl. Now, I am on a hunt for a new infant seat. Any thoughts?

An Idea...

Would anyone be interested in doing a recipe swap of sorts? I just read this post, and I was thinking that I am in a cooking rut. We could pick a day next week (how about Thursday?) and all post our favorite recipes on our blogs, and I would be willing to link them up here...What do you think?

Prayers Please!

So, I found out tonight that my employer is in the process of narrowing down the applicants for the new position that is to replace the one I am losing. They had a lot of applicants. We were told that if we move on to the next phase (I am assuming an interview), we will hear something by Friday. If we hear nothing, then we have not moved on. If you have a spare moment, could you please say a prayer for me? Losing the position would not only mean losing what I have worked toward for 3 1/2 years, it also means a pay cut. Thanks so much! I am so grateful to have friends to lean on!

Toothless...I mean Wordless Wednesday

What I've been up to...

Over the past couple of weeks, I have literally been devouring books! I cannot seem to be able to put down what I am reading at any given moment. Of course, I do for the kids and daily stuff, but when I get me time, I cannot read enough.

My book club is next week, and I really felt the need to be done early. I had not finished the two previous books because of being so tired, so I also wanted to be able to sit down and say that I was all caught up. I am not usually delinquent in finishing the book, but the pregnancy has made me so tired! So, I was determined!

I thought I'd say a word about what I've been reading.

This month's pick (by my friend, Lisa) was "Rooftops of Tehran" by Mahbod Seraji. I won't say much about this one because our club has yet to discuss it, but I have to say that I read it in 2 days, and could not put it down. I am fascinated about books that take place in the middle East, and this work of fiction was no exception!

The month before we were to read "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Ann Barrow. It was my pick, and I felt awful about not having finished it. I have to say that initially, I had a hard time getting into the letter writing format and there were a lot of characters writing letters! By the second half of the book, however, I could not stop. I had no idea that there were islands between England and France nor did I know that they had been occupied by the Germans. This fictional book is based on the time after WWII. I really did enjoy learning a lot of the back story about this part of the world during that tumultuous time. Again, a great read!

The month before this one, my friend, Sydney, picked "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan. It is a fictionalized version of the real life affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney. I felt uncomfortable reading a book about infidelity, and perhaps that was why I had not finished by the time we met. Unfortunately, about a third into the book I had googled Frank Lloyd Wright to see how much of the story paralleled what really happened. It was very close and I spoiled the ending for myself which I won't do here. I did finally finish it, and again, infidelity aside, as it came closer to the proverbial train wreck that was about to happen, I could not put it down.

I am now in the middle of "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Piccoult. Again, this one is full of a lot of ethical issues, so I am not sure how I will feel about it in the end, but I will let you know when it is done.