So, this past week, we tried to do meatless tacos. We took 5 zucchini, two summer squash, half an onion, a can of corn, and about 1/4 of a green pepper, diced, and fried it all up with some taco seasoning. Stuff it all into a taco shell with rice (omit the rice, it didn't get cooked through *facepalm*) and beans, guacamole, and sour cream. Yum, right? They were not a hit. In fact, they were so not a hit, that Bug refused to eat one. This is the kid who will eat anything I put in front of him, and even he didn't like them. I ate a couple, because I was hungry, but I will not be trying this food disaster again.
We had leftovers, as we always do, and even though I was tempted to pitch them, I decided to see if I could maybe use them later in the week, maybe in a spaghetti sauce or something. Tonight I found my something. And it was so delicious, I have to write about it. And this may actually become a regular insert into our rotating menu. Yep, it's that good. What's extra nice is, I got to use up a couple other leftovers that were in my fridge and freezer, such as the last of my Christmas turkey, and real taco meat that we ended up making last night. There were enough leftovers to be able to have this again tomorrow, or get some dogs and do chili cheese dogs.
Chunky Chili
1 T oil
1 1/2 c turkey (+ 1/2 c leftover taco meat)
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 c zucchini-squash mixture
2 T Seasoning mix (recipe follows)
1 beer
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can kidney beans
In a deep skillet, heat oil. Add turkey, and heat through, then add the onion, garlic, mushroom, zucchini-squash mixture, seasoning mix, and beer. Bring to a boil, the reduce heat to medium, and cook until the mushrooms are softened (20 minutes or so) While that is cooking, in a crockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans. When the meat mixture is done, pour it into the crockpot. Cook on high 3 hours, or low for 6. Enjoy!
Chili seasoning mix
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Mix all together and store in an airtight container. Use 2 Tbsp for 1 lb ground beef.
Reflections of a loudmouthed, strong willed, Primal momma
Monday, January 24, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Happy Birthday my little Bug!
Thursday evening, I put a two year old to bed, and I awoke Friday morning with a three year old. Wow. Three years. I cannot believe how time has just flown past me. I feel like I could blink and miss all that I am living day by day. Three years old. My little bug is three years old.
I remember his birth like it happened yesterday. I won't lie, the whole ordeal was awful. Not because birth hurts, but because I was inexperienced, thought I had to follow doctors orders, that they wouldn't "let" me go past 41 weeks. I've grown and learned so much since then, and I would never take back his birth experience, for his birth led me to learn more about the body, and all that it can do.
My dear Little Bug. Happy birthday, love.
Little Bugs Birth story:
I know they say the memories of labor pain will fade with time, but, WOW that hurt.
January 13th, 8 pm
I'm admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay. I'm 6 days overdue, and it's time to get this party started. They hook me up to all kinds of monitors, and I receive a dose of Cervidil (Cervix ripening agent on a string).Then, I'm given a mild sedative to help me sleep (I can never seem to get to sleep in hospitals) I finally fall asleep at midnight.
January 14th, 4 am
I'm woken so I can grab a shower before getting hooked up to the IV for the Pitocin. They put the IV in my hand (which HURTS, I've never gotten one of those before, that needle is HUGE!), and they start my Pitocin at 5 mL an hour, but they come in every 15 minutes and up the dose until I'm at the highest they can go. I start having contractions, but they're mild to medium, and they're irregular. Finally, at 12:30, my doctor decides things aren't moving fast enough, time to pop the sac. Being hormonally emotional, not only did that hurt, it also made me want to cry. So I did.
Shortly afterwards, my contractions started coming every 2-3 minutes, and they were getting fierce. I was given a dose of Nubane, which lasted a bit over an hour, and helped me get a nap in (I was so tired). The pain woke me back up, and I requested more Nubane, but guess what? The second dose was not effective! Apparently, when you are on Nubane, and you go for seconds, it doesn't work.
Time for an epidural!
I was really feeling the contractions now, so I requested an epidural, and they called in the anesthesiologist. I was instructed to sit up on the edge of the bed and lean forward, and when I did, oops, there went my water! I had been lightly leaking amniotic fluid previously, but I guess gravity decided it was time to empty me out.
That made me cry.
After what seemed like an eternity, the epidural kicked in, and the pain was gone.
Then, my blood pressure dropped dangerously low. I mumbled that I felt dizzy, then blacked out. Shortly after, the baby's heart rate dipped to 50 (previously steady at 130-150). I remember asking what was wrong with the baby, but I don't remember much else. I vaguely heard the nurse yell out the door for ephedrine. The nurse said she thought he was laying on his cord.. Uh, babies lay on their cords in utero all the time.. Turns out that‘s probably not it… One of the lovely side effects they don‘t tell you about the epidural is that you can have severe hypo-tension, bad enough, sometimes, that it can kill you…
After that, I dozed off and on for a while.
The doctor had told me that we wouldn't even start laboring until after midnight because I was moving so slow, but at 8 p.m., they checked me, and what do you know, I'm 8 cm dilated!
Suddenly, I realize I can feel the foot of my left leg.
And I'm getting a little back pain in the left side...
Nurse?
This is where the second shift nurses drop the ball.
Half an hour of pain later, they FINALLY check my epidural, and what do you know? IT'S EMPTY. So what do they do? Refill it. Oh, thank you. Now the pain goes away, right?
WRONG!
They may have refilled it, once they let it empty out completely, but they didn't press the button to RESTART the flow.
Where the F*$# do they train these people?
It's time!
I go into full force labor, and I feel EVERYTHING.
It's time to push, and I feel EVERYTHING.
If that old nurse doesn't stop telling me how not to labor, I'm going to kick her in the face...
Since I had such a long day, I ended up getting an episiotomy (which I didn't want... until I DID), and they had to help me with the baby at the end because I couldn't push him anymore, so they vacuumed his head. My little boy came out with a loud scream, just one. With the next push, his body slid out. They placed him on my stomach, and as I looked into his eyes, I forgot about all the pain, the pushing, the annoying old nurse at the foot of the bed who almost got kicked in the face, I forgot about everything but the here and now.
Look at this beautiful baby, I think, Can that possibly be mine?
Mr. Daddy clips his cord, and they take him to weigh him, then settle him back into my arms…
January 14, 2008, 10:10 p.m.
7lb 7.7 oz (they rounded it to 7lb 8oz), 20.5 in long
I remember his birth like it happened yesterday. I won't lie, the whole ordeal was awful. Not because birth hurts, but because I was inexperienced, thought I had to follow doctors orders, that they wouldn't "let" me go past 41 weeks. I've grown and learned so much since then, and I would never take back his birth experience, for his birth led me to learn more about the body, and all that it can do.
My dear Little Bug. Happy birthday, love.
Little Bugs Birth story:
I know they say the memories of labor pain will fade with time, but, WOW that hurt.
January 13th, 8 pm
I'm admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay. I'm 6 days overdue, and it's time to get this party started. They hook me up to all kinds of monitors, and I receive a dose of Cervidil (Cervix ripening agent on a string).Then, I'm given a mild sedative to help me sleep (I can never seem to get to sleep in hospitals) I finally fall asleep at midnight.
January 14th, 4 am
I'm woken so I can grab a shower before getting hooked up to the IV for the Pitocin. They put the IV in my hand (which HURTS, I've never gotten one of those before, that needle is HUGE!), and they start my Pitocin at 5 mL an hour, but they come in every 15 minutes and up the dose until I'm at the highest they can go. I start having contractions, but they're mild to medium, and they're irregular. Finally, at 12:30, my doctor decides things aren't moving fast enough, time to pop the sac. Being hormonally emotional, not only did that hurt, it also made me want to cry. So I did.
Shortly afterwards, my contractions started coming every 2-3 minutes, and they were getting fierce. I was given a dose of Nubane, which lasted a bit over an hour, and helped me get a nap in (I was so tired). The pain woke me back up, and I requested more Nubane, but guess what? The second dose was not effective! Apparently, when you are on Nubane, and you go for seconds, it doesn't work.
Time for an epidural!
I was really feeling the contractions now, so I requested an epidural, and they called in the anesthesiologist. I was instructed to sit up on the edge of the bed and lean forward, and when I did, oops, there went my water! I had been lightly leaking amniotic fluid previously, but I guess gravity decided it was time to empty me out.
That made me cry.
After what seemed like an eternity, the epidural kicked in, and the pain was gone.
Then, my blood pressure dropped dangerously low. I mumbled that I felt dizzy, then blacked out. Shortly after, the baby's heart rate dipped to 50 (previously steady at 130-150). I remember asking what was wrong with the baby, but I don't remember much else. I vaguely heard the nurse yell out the door for ephedrine. The nurse said she thought he was laying on his cord.. Uh, babies lay on their cords in utero all the time.. Turns out that‘s probably not it… One of the lovely side effects they don‘t tell you about the epidural is that you can have severe hypo-tension, bad enough, sometimes, that it can kill you…
After that, I dozed off and on for a while.
The doctor had told me that we wouldn't even start laboring until after midnight because I was moving so slow, but at 8 p.m., they checked me, and what do you know, I'm 8 cm dilated!
Suddenly, I realize I can feel the foot of my left leg.
And I'm getting a little back pain in the left side...
Nurse?
This is where the second shift nurses drop the ball.
Half an hour of pain later, they FINALLY check my epidural, and what do you know? IT'S EMPTY. So what do they do? Refill it. Oh, thank you. Now the pain goes away, right?
WRONG!
They may have refilled it, once they let it empty out completely, but they didn't press the button to RESTART the flow.
Where the F*$# do they train these people?
It's time!
I go into full force labor, and I feel EVERYTHING.
It's time to push, and I feel EVERYTHING.
If that old nurse doesn't stop telling me how not to labor, I'm going to kick her in the face...
Since I had such a long day, I ended up getting an episiotomy (which I didn't want... until I DID), and they had to help me with the baby at the end because I couldn't push him anymore, so they vacuumed his head. My little boy came out with a loud scream, just one. With the next push, his body slid out. They placed him on my stomach, and as I looked into his eyes, I forgot about all the pain, the pushing, the annoying old nurse at the foot of the bed who almost got kicked in the face, I forgot about everything but the here and now.
Look at this beautiful baby, I think, Can that possibly be mine?
Mr. Daddy clips his cord, and they take him to weigh him, then settle him back into my arms…
January 14, 2008, 10:10 p.m.
7lb 7.7 oz (they rounded it to 7lb 8oz), 20.5 in long
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Let's see how many resolutions I can break
It's that time of year again, ladies and gentlemen. That's right, the time of year when we all resolve to lose a little weight, quit smoking, be nicer to our neighbors, and the like. FranklinCovey, an organization that teaches effectiveness training, productivity tools and assessment services did a study in 2008 about how long most New Year's resolutions last. The group surveyed 15,000 customers, and found that 35 percent break their resolutions by the end of January. The study says that 23 percent actually follow through on the resolutions. Of the ones who break the resolutions, 40 percent said it was because they had too much to do, and 33 percent said they simply weren't committed to changing their ways.
I didn't get into this with the last blog post because, well, I already got one checked off the list. Oh, and I wanted to be a little more specific with what I want from the following year. Without further ado, I present to you:
MY RESOLUTION LIST 2011
Lets see how may of these I canbreak keep
1:Potty train Get Bug to POOP in the potty (DONE!)
2:Lose weight Starting February 28th, walk one mile every morning. By May 30th, jog half of that.
3:Don't be such a bitch Call my parents and ask them to forgive me for being harshly judgemental. No one is perfect, least of all me, so why do I continually expect them to be?
4:Party more Starting mid-May, have a girls night in or out, a book club, or a dinner club with my closest girlfriends.
5:Make some close girlfriends Let down my guard so that I can be closer with the girlfriends I have.
6:Save money Learn how to can.
7:Cook more Make my own signature pasta sauce and sun dried tomatoes.
8:Make money off Get personal satisfaction from selling said pasta sauce and tomatoes.
9:Write more Try to keep at least a weekly blog going.
10:Defriend a LOT of people Delete all the people off my FB friends list who I, A) didn't like in high school, yet have in the list, B) aren't family, C) ARE family, but like to cause me drama or talk behind my back, and D) don't EVER talk to me or I NEVER talk to, or I have no desire to ever talk to again.
A LOT of you will not make the cut. If you are actually reading this, you're more than likely safe.
There you have it folks. My New Years Resolutions for 2011.
Do you do resolutions? How many of them do you keep?
I didn't get into this with the last blog post because, well, I already got one checked off the list. Oh, and I wanted to be a little more specific with what I want from the following year. Without further ado, I present to you:
MY RESOLUTION LIST 2011
Lets see how may of these I can
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
A LOT of you will not make the cut. If you are actually reading this, you're more than likely safe.
There you have it folks. My New Years Resolutions for 2011.
Do you do resolutions? How many of them do you keep?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Who would have thought I'd get so excited about poop? A new move? Oh and happy new year!
Happy New Year! Raise your hand if you were laid out on the couch New Years Day?
*raises hand*
Yep. 6 drinks. Apparently that is more than my limit. I celebrated the new year with good friends and Mr. Daddy, Bug slept right through it, and Little was in the wrap, being worn while momma threw back the girlie drinks. Played a little Wii Just Dance, and I gotta say-love it. I want that game. Oh, and the girlie drinks kicked my ass. It was 4 days later before I could even think about drinking again. And so, I started my new year by throwing up in the sink at 8 that morning, and recovering on the couch. Not exactly the way I pictured day 1.
Day 3, Mr. Daddy comes downstairs all determined looking, pen and paper in hand, "what can we sell?" We have been in limbo since he lost his job. We haven't been able to pay the house payment since September, and unlike a lot of people who just ignore the phone calls and let the bills pile up, Mr. Daddy has been in constant contact with the house company, and that may very well turn around and bite us in the butt. Apparently when you fly low on the radar, and just skip payments, foreclosure usually happen somewhere in 3 years. Since Mr. Daddy has been keeping in contact with them, we're no longer flying under radar. So, as of Monday, he decided that if we have to move, we gotta get rid of half of what we own. We own a lot of crap. The day was spent sorting, posting, and throwing away. Crazy.
Day 4, Mr. Daddy got a call about a job here. All this time, nothing. The day after we decide we're moving, he gets a call. *siiiiiiigh*
And Day 5: Poop! I seriously never thought I'd ever get excited about poop. Who does that?
Bug has been potty trained since July, but has refused to poop in the potty this whole time. Tonight, *drumroll* he pooped in the potty!!! Woo! Our conversation went something like this:
"Mommy, I gotta poop."
"Bug, I've got something new that we're going to try. I'll get you a diaper afterwards if you want, but first, we're going to sit on the potty for 10 minutes. I'll read you some books, and we'll talk, and you'll sit on the potty while we do it."
"I don't want to poop on the potty, I don't like it."
"Then don't, I'm not asking you to poop on the potty, I just want you to sit on it for me."
"Why?" Ah, the ultimate question.
"Because mommy wants to show you that the potty isn't scary. I don't want you to be afraid of the potty anymore, so we are going to just sit on it and read and talk. You don't have to poop, I just want you to sit, can we try that?"
"OK, mommy."
And that was that. I didn't even get to crack open a book, he had to pee, so I had to show him how to sit without spraying everything in front of him, and he decided to go ahead and give it a try, I guess. And with that, we are done with diapers! Of course right now, he still has a diaper at night, but no more packing an extra diaper for him, waiting in public restrooms for him to finish hanging out in a stall by himself. No more diapers! *happy dance*
When we came downstairs, we had to call his friend, C, and of course, Meemaw. Everyone is so proud of Bug. And tomorrow, we'll just stay the course.
And we'll also buy him that Kung-zhu pet I've been trying to bribe him with for the last 6 months. LOL
*raises hand*
Yep. 6 drinks. Apparently that is more than my limit. I celebrated the new year with good friends and Mr. Daddy, Bug slept right through it, and Little was in the wrap, being worn while momma threw back the girlie drinks. Played a little Wii Just Dance, and I gotta say-love it. I want that game. Oh, and the girlie drinks kicked my ass. It was 4 days later before I could even think about drinking again. And so, I started my new year by throwing up in the sink at 8 that morning, and recovering on the couch. Not exactly the way I pictured day 1.
Day 3, Mr. Daddy comes downstairs all determined looking, pen and paper in hand, "what can we sell?" We have been in limbo since he lost his job. We haven't been able to pay the house payment since September, and unlike a lot of people who just ignore the phone calls and let the bills pile up, Mr. Daddy has been in constant contact with the house company, and that may very well turn around and bite us in the butt. Apparently when you fly low on the radar, and just skip payments, foreclosure usually happen somewhere in 3 years. Since Mr. Daddy has been keeping in contact with them, we're no longer flying under radar. So, as of Monday, he decided that if we have to move, we gotta get rid of half of what we own. We own a lot of crap. The day was spent sorting, posting, and throwing away. Crazy.
Day 4, Mr. Daddy got a call about a job here. All this time, nothing. The day after we decide we're moving, he gets a call. *siiiiiiigh*
And Day 5: Poop! I seriously never thought I'd ever get excited about poop. Who does that?
Bug has been potty trained since July, but has refused to poop in the potty this whole time. Tonight, *drumroll* he pooped in the potty!!! Woo! Our conversation went something like this:
"Mommy, I gotta poop."
"Bug, I've got something new that we're going to try. I'll get you a diaper afterwards if you want, but first, we're going to sit on the potty for 10 minutes. I'll read you some books, and we'll talk, and you'll sit on the potty while we do it."
"I don't want to poop on the potty, I don't like it."
"Then don't, I'm not asking you to poop on the potty, I just want you to sit on it for me."
"Why?" Ah, the ultimate question.
"Because mommy wants to show you that the potty isn't scary. I don't want you to be afraid of the potty anymore, so we are going to just sit on it and read and talk. You don't have to poop, I just want you to sit, can we try that?"
"OK, mommy."
And that was that. I didn't even get to crack open a book, he had to pee, so I had to show him how to sit without spraying everything in front of him, and he decided to go ahead and give it a try, I guess. And with that, we are done with diapers! Of course right now, he still has a diaper at night, but no more packing an extra diaper for him, waiting in public restrooms for him to finish hanging out in a stall by himself. No more diapers! *happy dance*
When we came downstairs, we had to call his friend, C, and of course, Meemaw. Everyone is so proud of Bug. And tomorrow, we'll just stay the course.
And we'll also buy him that Kung-zhu pet I've been trying to bribe him with for the last 6 months. LOL
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