My Ride

Back in 2006 Daniel and I were newly engaged, I was back in the world of being a self sufficient adult living on my own, and the car that I was given (given but still had to make the monthly payment on) was nearing that last payment. I had dreamt of the day when I would write that check to my Mother knowing that I would be without a car payment. Then it happened, I realized I was an adult with an excellent credit rating surrounded by people who were buying new cars left and right. I woke up on a Sunday morning explained to Daniel that now that we were becoming a family we needed a bigger vehicle and because neither of our vehicles at the time were new enough to take on trips we needed a new one. "I will make the payment, you add me and the car to your car insurance and together we will have some new wheels!" is how we worked it out.

I had no clue what I wanted and throughout the years my tastes had constantly changed. The first car I wanted was blue Chevy Camaro, then I moved on to a cherry apple red Ford Mustang, then it was a hunter green Pontiac Grand Am, then I moved onto the Navy Blue Pontiac Grand Prix and somewhere between the Pontiac's was the red Chevy Monte Carlo. Now I could actually buy one of those on my own and I had no idea what I wanted and if I still wanted them. So we drove on down to the local Pontiac dealership and test drove the Pontiac Torrent which I liked but I also new I had more options in this big world of ours so we said our thanks to the salesman and said we wanted to continue weighing our options. We got into my car and then made our way to a Chevy dealership where we found the Chevy Equinox. We got there in time to talk to a salesman however not in time to test drive anything so we looked around, took his card and headed back to my place.

I am still not sure why I made the decision I did but I made one and I decided on the Equinox. I called the salesman arranged a time to test drive it and picked it up on a Monday night to "play with" overnight. By Tuesday I was in love and just knew that this was the vehicle for me, the vehicle that I knew was destined for when I became a mother, it was my Mommy mobile I explained. My loan got approved and in fact I bought the car at the right moment. While they were still reviewing my application Chevy came out with their 100% financing plan for qualified buyers and lucky me qualified. I was approved for a loan that would only include the cost of the car and absolutely no interest...YAY!! So by the end of the week this ride came home with me.

I was in love and I just kept telling people over and over again...it's my Mommy mobile, we needed something like this for when we have kids.

Well, here we are three years later and my dreams of becoming a Mommy have come true but it has left me with one serious question.

What in the hell was I thinking???

Seriously, it's big enough for the hubby and I and about two of our dogs and that's it. Now I am supposed to stuff in there a carseat, stroller in the back, and still be able to get groceries in there with all of that. And what in gods name am I supposed to do if we have to take a dog to the vet or some sort of event. There is no way I will be able to have all of that in this vehicle along with a dog! And there is no way we are taking two cars to one place and besides, no dogs are allowed in the 300m that has leather interior. Mommy mobile...honestly Katie you just wanted a new car and that's what you had to tell yourself to sign the papers and not throw up everywhere.

So now I am left with yet another decision...do I need to swallow my pride and eventually when the money situation straightens out, buy one of these?

A minivan???????

CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheesecake Brownies

I posted a whole dramatic playback of what my last few days have been like because of these brownies but after realizing it was really sounding like a whine fest and looking as if my hubby was driving me crazy, I deleted it. That was totally not the point, I just thought it was funny and thought everyone might as well. Going to keep it short and sweet tonight, I am seven minutes away from bedtime...LOL.

Anyway, Daniel had a carry-in at work today and after having to ditch the mini pumpkin cheesecakes I had originally come up with I decided on these. I didn't get to try one however he called me this afternoon asking for the recipe because everyone at work wanted it. That would make one think they were really good and honestly, has anyone ever met a brownie they didn't like??

Cheesecake Brownies~

Ingredients:

• 1 (21.5 ounce) package brownie mix
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened (I omitted)
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (16 ounce) container prepared chocolate frosting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Prepare brownie mix according to the directions on the package. Spread into prepared baking pan.
3. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and cornstarch until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture evenly over brownie batter.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is lightly browned. Allow to cool, spread with frosting, and cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator, or freeze in a single layer for up to 2 weeks.

Mental Note

Example A- Do not blog about dear daughter allowing you to sleep at night. If you blog about being able to rest peacefully she will then proceed to beat the holy heck out you for a good two to three hours at bedtime. This will then prevent you from falling asleep anytime before midnight leaving you very tired and restless when the alarm starts its obnoxious blare at 6 a.m. Also, please do not blame Bandit the dog for not waking you up when it goes off like he normally does, he was tired too and needed that extra full hour of sleep just like you did!!! And remember, your co-workers did not prevent you from falling asleep, use words when speaking to them instead of grunts and dirty glares!!

Example B- Do not brag about your perfect complexion. If you do, by the time you get home and then proceed to wake up the following morning, you will have a ginormous zit located in the crease of your chin right under your lip! Cover up anybody?

Example C- Never comment on how well you feel at six months of pregnancy. If you comment on how you wouldn't think you were pregnant if it weren't for the test and ultrasound pictures, you will wake up the next morning with very sore boobies as well as a very tender lower belly due to your unborn child's acrobatic maneuvers while she should have been sleeping last night.

Example D- You now know that your child does indeed like Olive Garden! You know this because you can now tell the difference between her liking Olive Garden and disliking Taco Bell. DO NOT eat Taco Bell again for at least the next three months!

Lastly, please remember that just because you are married now and no longer use your maiden name, your true last name will always still be Murphy. You can marry, divorce, and then remarry nine more times and you will still have the Murphy blood coursing through your veins. You have heard of Murphy's Law, you have lived Murphy's Law, you know why they named the law after your family!! In the future please remember this, as maybe it will keep you from opening your big mouth about how well things are going. You should know by now that if you show the good in your life attention, the bad will come barrelling through!! Can I get an AMEN from my fellow Murphy's??

Now on that note, we are broke as a joke and tickled pink about it! Did you hear me Mega Millions, we are broke and glad. Teach me a lesson and now make me rich beyond words, I promise I will be unhappy, well...at least until the new white Chevy Suburban gets delivered and the new house is done being built. I can be miserable with a home movie theater, gourmet kitchen, and jacuzzi tub, honest I can!!

Little Tidbits

Peanut, today marks the 25th week in which you have been growing in my belly. I swear I just took the pregnancy test yesterday and yet here we are just a mere 15 week until your big day. I thought in order to help Mommy's pregnancy brain from forgetting a few things I would mark them down here for you.

• I don't know if you really love Olive Garden or really hate it but this past Monday when I had Olive Garden for lunch you went crazy. Crazy to the point I had to ask you to settle down because your constant moving around was actually starting to get uncomfortable here while sitting at my desk. Chances are it's because you loved it because honestly, who can resist their salad and bread sticks??
• I think something about knowing I had only gained two pounds this entire pregnancy set my appetite off and running. The people at Frisch's are becoming my best friends. I have had two big boys in less than five days and the more tarter sauce on the burger the better!!! Does this mean you will love tarter sauce just like me? Your Great-Aunt Robin craved hamburgers with only ketchup and cheese while pregnant with your Aunt Heather and guess what...Aunt Heather will only eat hamburgers with ketchup and cheese.
• Even though you have become very active, you are actually allowing me to sleep. I am no longer uncomfortable and can actually lay titled on my tummy and even on my back for a little while. Usually laying on my back is when I feel you move around the most. Not sure if that means you like it or not, maybe that's your sign for me to roll over, but right now I am pushing it so I apologize if you don't care for it.
• You still won't kick for Daddy and he is actually starting to think you may not like him. You kick and kick and kick and then when Daddy places his hand on my tummy you stop, and then start right back up the minute he moves his hand. I told him he needed to talk to you more, we will see if he listens. Everyone else says it's because his hand is soothing to you, whatever people, it's because she loves her Mommy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
• I have decided that I will be breastfeeding you full time. Mommy has made herself a nervous wreck thinking about whether this was a good idea or not since I get the Remicade infusions but I have spoken to a lot of women on babycenter.com who get the same infusion and they all breastfeed without problems. Studies have shown the worse that will happen is your body will build an immunity to the medication and should you fall into the 2% of children who get the disease from their parents then Remicade will not be a course of treatment for you. Luckily most do not get diagnosed until they are in there twenties and I figure by then they will have much better medicines for treating this horrible disease. I am truly sorry if this turns out to be the wrong decision but honestly, this decision has been a tough one for me and for the life of me I don't know which one is better so I am going with what I think is best.
• Also, please do not think that because you are going to be breastfed that you will not have to use a bottle. I have decided that you will get the best of both worlds. Cousin Dylan refuses a bottle leaving Aunt Nikki to be the only food provider. The first time Daddy comes to me while I have shampoo in my hair because your hungry and crying like you might starve to death, there will be consequences. I want to be able to take a shower in peace and if that means Daddy has to nuke a bottle and feed you then so be it. I am also doing this for the sake of when I go back to work. My boobies will not exactly be at your disposal and Aunt Nikki's are not for lease, she will have to feed you somehow.
• Pretty much the one and only complaint I have right now is the heartburn/indigestion that I occasionally get. It gets pretty wicked sometimes and I would love to not be able to deal with it but the fact I am not a fat miserable pregnant woman right now doesn't really allow me an opportunity to complain. Life could be really uncomfortable right now but it's not so I need to hush. My back is fine, my boobs aren't leaky, and if I couldn't feel you move or have the pictures to prove you're in there, I would honestly question the pregnancy test and Doctors.
• Thanks to you I have the pregnancy glow I hear about so often. My skin is clean and clear and I swear a little mascara and a hint of blush and I can be out of the door and ready to go. No need for all of the other applications. Rumor has it that when you are pregnant with a girl the acne is worse. They say the baby girls suck the beauty right out of their Mom's, I think you have done the complete opposite, you have made me even prettier. Can I say that without being full of myself???
• Lastly, have I told you lately just how much I love you? You are not even here yet and I have this overwhelming love for you that I have never felt before. There have been a few Moms on the baby board you have lost their little ones. These kids weren't supposed to come out for another three months but for some reason they came early and weren't strong enough to survive. Addison, please stay in there until February!! I don't want to know what it's like to lose a child or to know that my body failed you somehow. I need you more than I think I have even come to realize and I don't think I would be strong enough to move on without you. When I leave the hospital I want to leave with you in tow.

Just a few more months and you will become a reality and let me tell you, we can't wait!!!

Another great appointment

We had yet another great appointment this morning. Addison was very cooperative when it came time to hold still for the heartbeat and it clocked in at 151. I was very proud, especially since she hasn't been quite as active this week which worried her Mommy just a tad. My blood pressure is great, my urine came back clean as a whistle and to top it all off I was informed of how much weight I have gained during the pregnancy so far...are you sitting down??

Ready....I have gained a whopping...two pounds. That's right my friends, I am six months pregnant and have only gained two whole pounds. I am not sure if God is playing a cruel joke where he's going to allow my weight to stay the same and then overnight I balloon up to the size of a beached whale or what. I told the Doctor it was because I was like a grizzly bear, I had already stored up enough fat that my body didn't need anymore for this baby to grow. She's knocked up as well so I don't know if she laughed because it was funny or laughed because she couldn't hit me instead...lol. Thinking about it though I think my weight gain or lack there of has something to do with the fact I had been on steroids for the past year. I think my body trying to go back to normal plus growing a little peanut in my belly has thrown everything off. I will be curious to see what the weight gain will be in any future pregnancies.

I did mention the gall bladder issues I had last week and she reassured me once again that even though I am miserable the baby is not affected at all. To be safe rather than sorry we are doing another ultrasound just to make sure it's still a normal size. If it doesn't come back bad then she pretty much told me I needed to suck it up and deal with it, not in those exact words though. Since the baby isn't affected the possible side affects of a surgery with an unborn child on board are not worth the risk. I guess since I have suffered with it this long, another three months won't kill me, especially since I will be rewarded so nicely in the end.

Since we forgot to ask during our last ultrasound I did remember to ask how the baby looked then. Was she normal in size? What is my due date according to the ultrasound? Is she healthy?
I got wonderful answers to each of my questions, she is measuring perfect, my due date according to the ultrasound stills says the 10th or the 11th (they still won't change it from the 18th though), and she is healthy as a horse!! I brought up my Remicade infusions and I was told because of them they wanted an ultrasound done every four to six weeks for the remainder of my pregnancy so that they can monitor her growth. That means I should be getting a better profile shot of my dear daughter. Since she wouldn't hold still last time they got her profile as her head was tilted so it wasn't the best.

Anyway, it's Friday which means I don't have to come to work tomorrow and plus I had a great appointment, what more could I ask for??

Not another chicken recipe??

Yes, I am about to share yet another grilled chicken recipe for you. I wasn't joking with you when I told you that my husband loves to grill and try out new marinades. It cracks me up when people say that they have put their grills and grilling recipes away for the season because I come from a long line of morons who like to grill in three feet of snow and Sunday night was no exception...well without the snow anyway. Daniel found this recipe in Low & Slow by Gary Wiviott and Colleen Rush and I must say, to date this has been one of our favorites. We made enough that we had a piece each for lunch the next day and Daniel said it was even better the next day, I thought it was awesome both days so I couldn't agree more. Some of you may have to wait until the new grilling season begins but for those of you who are willing to brave the cold elements like we are then please try this out!!

Once again my computer has hijacked my pictures. I swear I see the picture download into my folder and then when I go back to retrieve it...it's gone, vanished, no where to be seen. And then to make things even stranger, they magically appear days later like the picture for the chili dog casserole did.

Italian Marinade~

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup canola oil, we used vegetable oil
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. minced fresh oregano, or 2 tsp. dried oregano, he used dried
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt, he used sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup marinated roasted red peppers, drained and chopped, he used a couple of dashes of red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. capers, he omitted

Directions:

1.) In a medium bowl whisk together ingredients until the mixture is well blended.

2.) In a large zip-loc bad or large bowl with lid, add chicken to marinade. Allow to sit for 4-6 hours, turning the chicken once or twice to allow each side to evenly marinate.

Grill until no longer pink but still juicy!!


glitter-graphics.com

Meatloaf for a crowd

I absolutely love meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a side of green beans, it's the ultimate comfort food in my book and growing up my step-mom made the absolute best hands down. She is your typical home cook...someone who puts a little bit of this and a little bit of that into something therefore I was never given an actual recipe. I did watch her make it enough growing up that I had an idea of the ingredients. I think she only made it when I was around because after her pregnancy with my sister Nikki she had a thing about raw meat leaving her unable to touch the stuff. She would throw everything in the bowl and in I would go. Today though I despise that task mainly because the ingredients are so cold my hands about freeze off so tonight I used a potato masher and I must say, it worked pretty well.

Now I pretty much doubled my normal recipe because money is tight for us right now and I plan on having this as leftovers for awhile but you are more than welcome to split everything in half. Anyone else love meatloaf sandwiches for lunch??? I DO, I DO!!!


Katie's Yummy Meatloaf

Ingredients:

4lbs. lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups ketchup, Heinz please
2 C. italian bread crumbs
1 tbsp. black pepper
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 eggs
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 md. onion, finely diced
ketchup for topping

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) In a large mixing bowl add ground beef, ketchup, bread crumbs, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, garlic powder, and onion. Mix thoroughly. You can either use your god given utensils or use a potato masher.

3.) Divide evenly and place into a loaf pan. Smash down to get rid of any empty spaces. Top each loaf with extra ketchup and with a back of a spoon spread evenly.

4.) Bake for 1.5 hours or until cooked through.

The very first time I made this for my brothers and step-dad they were in heaven. My Mom's meatloaf didn't include any ketchup and as you can see mine has lots. Ketchup was a staple in our house. My brothers put ketchup on just about everything, turkey at Thanksgiving, and what is probably the worst...bologna sandwiches...gag me please!! So as you can imagine a meatloaf with ketchup in it was a winner in their book!

I really hope your family enjoys this, I can't even begin to tell you how yummy this is with mashed potatoes. Excuse me a second, I have to wipe up the drool!! And yes, that's more ketchup on top you see, as if there wasn't enough in the recipe I have to go and add more.