Freezer Meals

In January, my ward did an enrichment activity on freezer meals.  A couple of girls did demonstrations to show how easy they were to put together, and talked about how convenient it would be to have something in the freezer and not need to think about which ingredients you have and how much time it's going to take, etc, etc, etc.  When I left, I called my mom to tell her about how great this was and wouldn't it be perfect for when my baby came?  She looked up the book that the girls had used on Amazon and ordered it for herself, along with a couple of other cookbooks for make and freeze dinners (my mom really enjoys cook books.  She's always buying new ones, and gets emotional when she has to make room on her shelves by getting rid of some.  It's great for me, because she does the legwork and then passes on the good recipes).  After looking through her new books, she decided to order them for me and for my sisters-in-law.  The week before I had my son, I prepared a freezer meal every night.  Because most of the recipes make 2-3 dinners, we would eat one, and put the others in the freezer.  It didn't take any more time, either, to prepare 3 instead of just 1.  All of the ingredients were out anyway.  Add my husband's thoughtfulness of making frozen pizzas (he makes me pizza every week.  I love pizza!  Now we have some on hand for whenever I want one!), and we have enough meals for a good two weeks.  It has been FANTASTIC!  The RS brought in meals, of course, but they can't do that forever.  So having meals in the freezer and not needing to think about preparing anything has been wonderful.  I will get back to cooking one day, but until then, this works.  The freezer meals even taste good after they've been frozen.  And even when I do get back to cooking, I will definitely be preparing 1-2 freezer meals a week, because, really, it's awfully nice to know that you don't have to spend time in the kitchen when you have other things you need/want to do.  

He has arrived!

My baby was born on Wed. March 11 (he has his own blog, so no more details here.  If you would like an invitation and haven't received one, let me know and I'll send you an invite to see his blog).  We're now home and getting accustomed to life as a family of four, instead of three.  So far, so good!

One funny story about the whole experience.  When the nurse decided that I was ready to deliver, she sent word to the dr. and got the delivery room ready.  Halfway to the hospital (his clinic is attached to the hospital) the dr. got a call from the other hospital that he services, saying one of his patients was ready to deliver.  Since she was going  with natural labor, and I was on an epidural, he went to deliver her baby first (I had no problems with that.  Kudos to her for going natural!).  So the nurse then de-prepped for delivery, since she wasn't sure how long it would take the dr. to get back to my hospital.  He delivered the other baby, and made it from one hospital parking lot to the other hospital parking lot in 7 minutes.  I'm not sure which hospital he was at, but I'm pretty sure there are no hospitals within that range, if you stay in the speed limit.  He made it back in time though and then our son was born! 

Countdown

Well, we're down to less than 2 weeks.  The doc said he would induce me on the 11th.  Wow!  That seems a lot closer than the 18th!  People keep asking me if I'm ready, etc, etc, etc.  Are you ever really ready for a change when you're not totally sure what it's all going to entail?  I mean, we have clothes for him, a place for him to sleep, a baby bathtub, etc.  But does that mean we're ready?  I'm don't know.  I think we'll know we're ready for him when he comes home and there's no turning back.  Not that we'd want to turn back.   But we might find we're less prepared than we thought.  Or maybe we'll be amazed at how easy it is to go from one child to two.  My big wonderment is how our toddler is going to take to not being the center of attention.  She's enjoyed two years of stardom.  Being a big sister might not be as much fun as being the one and only.  We've tried to prepare her, but we'll have to see how much she's really been understanding.  

Note:  When he does come, he'll have his own private blog.  If you'd like an invitation, just leave me a note in the comments and I'll be sure to send you an invite.

New Blog

Because of my interest in photography, I've started a new blog, just for my photos. Because I know that all of you are deeply interested in my gorgeous art, I've decided to share the link with all of my loyal readers. I would love to receive feedback (positive and negative) on the photos, so that I can know what non-biased people think (because my husband is definitely biased when he says that every single picture is incredible!  Though having a biased opinion definitely helps my ego!). Enjoy!

changraphics.blogspot.com

Friends

I really like being in the west again. We're so close to so many of our friends! It's been great to be close enough that people can say, "We'll be in town. Let's get together!". Blogging and calling and emailing are all well and good, but there's just something about talking face to face with people that you know and like. It's nice to know also that they like you well enough to tell you that they'll be in town.

It's a bit weird to think that I left home nearly 10 years ago to attend college. But in those 10 years (and while still living at home, of course), I've met some incredible people. They're not all exactly the same as me, we don't necessarily have the same interests, but we're friends. And it's also funny how the same people can cross paths with you so many times. One girl was in a student ward with me, then I graduated and moved, and she showed up again in my singles ward! And that happened more than once! The Lord truly does have a hand in our lives, directing us to the people that we need, that will help us grow and develop.

I'm happy to say that I'm still friends with people from my freshman year of college, and the years since. And now that I've moved across the country and back again, and as my friends have moved literally all over the globe, we're still friends. I'm so grateful for technology that allows easy and convenient ways to keep in touch, because I'm a slacker when it comes to snail mail, even though I love being on the receiving end.

So, to all my friends, if you're going to be in the area, let me know! I'd love to get together! And to those that have already stopped by, thanks and come again anytime!

Civilian Health Care

Having just left the military, I was very much looking forward to civilian health care. I could choose my doctors, make appointments that fit with my schedule, be more than just a number, and have the doctors be real doctors - not nurse practitioners or some such.

And then reality hit...

For my first OB appointment we were in the waiting room for just under an hour - luckily there were toys for my toddler to play with. Like I've already posted, I liked the doctor, he was knowledgeable and listened to my concerns/answered my questions. And the long wait really could be attributed to being a new patient.

Today, my daughter's diaper rash is incredibly worse - for the second time this month. We decided that she ought to be seen, because even applying a thick coat of desitin at each change, it hasn't improved. We got a recommendation of a pediatrician, made an appointment and quickly got ready to go (they asked us to be 30 minutes early to fill out paperwork. No problem). I signed in and was told that i'd be called to get the paperwork. 30 minutes later (at the time of our appointment), they copied our insurance information. 20 minutes later, I was called again to fill out paperwork. An hour and ten minutes after our appointment time, (over an hour and a half of sitting in the waiting room - with no toys, and we were on the Well Child side of the waiting room. There was a wall to separate us from the Sick Child side) the nurse came to get us. She took my daughter's vitals and said the doctor would be right in. 20 minutes later the doctor made it in to check the diaper rash. She said that on a scale of 1-10, the rash was a 2 (may I never see a 10!) She basically told me to keep doing what I was doing, and that the rash should be looking better after the weekend. I asked what would cause such a rash to reappear so soon after the previous bad rash. She said it was caused by irritants in the poop. So why don't all kids always have awful diaper rashes? And why has it only gotten this bad this month and never before? I told her about previous rashes that I linked to my daughter's eating oranges and other citrus fruits. She said that the acid from those would have been digested out and wouldn't have an effect on her bum (like I was crazy for thinking that something she ate could be giving her diaper rash).

What was the point? 2 and 1/2 hours for what?

Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort

We took a field trip today, to the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort. It's run by the State Parks Division, not by the church, as I'd thought. It was interesting to read about the early history of the city and how it became what it is today. I was surprised to learn that there used to be an oasis somewhere in the area, which is where the city got it's name - Las Vegas meaning "the Meadows". The oasis is long gone, in case you were wondering. At the fort there was an area for demonstrating how to make adobe bricks (at least that's what we think that's what all of the tools, etc were for). There were a couple of old-looking wagons (the bolts were pretty shiny to have lasted so long...), part of the fort walls (not sure if they're original), some old farming tools and a few original adobe bricks.

New Doctor

Yesterday I had my first OB appointment out here. An OB was recommended by a lot of the girls in the ward, so I made an appointment with him. He looked a bit funny in his pictures (the ones with some of the babies he's delivered hanging in his exam room), but after talking with him, I like him. Luckily, because 2 months isn't that long to find a different OB. So he says I'm doing just fine, he gave me a prescription to get rid of the heartburn that is coming more and more often, and he moved my due date up by a week. He could seriously be my new best friend. Instead of 10 weeks to go, I'm down to 8! CRAZY!!!

Fun

For Christmas my husband gave me Aperture 2 (I've written previously about my free trial. Now I have the real thing that never expires). I've been having tons of fun with it and love to just sit and play. I'm nowhere near professional (yet) and I know that there are a thousand things that the program can do that I just haven't found yet. But those that I have found are really, really fun. Here are some of my favorites:




Here are a couple of the originals, so that you can see the difference.

New Year's Resolutions

Today is New Year's Day. The day when people around the world make specific resolutions to do/be better in the next year. As it goes, they are generally said to be forgotten by the end of January, if not sooner. I, for one, am one of those generalities. Sad but true. However, this year, one of my resolutions is to remember and work on my resolutions (if that makes sense). But how does one remember one's resolutions to work on them? That is the question that I'm asking those who read this blog. Whether you're a regular reader or just happened to read this by linking from person A to person B to person C and thought it looked interesting (I know you're out there!), please leave comments on how you remember your resolutions past January. I need your help!