Everyday Bailey

Thanksgiving Tree

2011-11-03T05:03:00.001-07:00

Everyday, leading up to Thanksgiving, we write something we are thankful for and put another hand-leave on our Thanksgiving Tree.

Halloween

2011-11-03T05:01:00.001-07:00

Spring Rain

2011-05-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

E's brother came to visit this weekend and boy did he pick a weekend. It rained almost all weekend. The boys played alot of xbox, we hit IKEA (for way too long for my taste with the kids), we did a little shopping, alot of eating and also made a trip to Delaware to put flowers on the grave of their grandparents.

A few more spring pictures, still more to come.

We planted a garden this year full of beets, carrots, lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes and more. Now that our "crop" has sprouted, this family of bunnies has suddenly taken notice of our goodies. (btw, that NOT my car)

One final note: We had to take E to the ER in DC rush hour traffic tonight for an allergic reaction to some sort of seafood. Once his tongue started to swell and his breathing got slower, we had to call 911 to meet us along the way to treat him since traffic was so bad. We are all blessed and incredibly thankful to have him home and healthy. We were minutes away from something truly terrible.

Mother's Day and Spring Pics

2011-05-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

The kids have started playing together this week. They will share toys, steal toys, feed each other and laugh and jibber jabber back and forth for small amounts of time. I love it! It's hilarious!

Someone took a pic for me at the baseball game the other night since I forgot my camera. That's E waving to the crowd as they introduced him and all of his accomplishments.

Rach enjoying the warm and vibrations of the dishwasher. What this picture doesn't show is overcome she is with her reflection a few seconds later.

Happy Mother's Day to me. Luke was sick and kept me up from 11-4 so Mother's Day was a complete blur of exhaustion since I was keeping babies at church that morning and then going to get pictures made of the kids that afternoon. All of that trouble and exhaustion was worth it though because the first batch of pictures are so cute!

We're Trying

2011-05-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

I know, it's been too long. After the baby, the holidays showed up and then E left for job training for 2 months, and then came home and had to write a thesis. Now, things are calm and seem to be alot more fun than ever. I keep avoiding the initial act of sitting down and starting over here on my blog, but it's time to get over it because I want to remember the things that we go through as a family. I can't promise a weekly recipe or a daily post but a weekly post (at least) is doable now. Quick catch up...

Rachel was a Ladybug for Halloween, Luke was...well...asleep!

Rachel met Santa this year. It didn't go well.

Here is our Christmas picture.

Rachel turned 2.

Then she met the Easter Bunny and did her first egg hunt.

Luke's first Easter...sadly this is the best picture is was able to get with the both of them.

We just ran our first 5K in since having children together. We ran the Nate Bruckenthal 5k that benefits a food pantry for needy military families. Our goal was to run the whole thing and we accomplished that goal with the kids in tow. Had a great time and we were very surprised to SO MANY old friends from from the past.

Here's Luke at 6 months. He has 2 bottom teeth, he sits up and rolls and scoots around EVERYWHERE. He keeps me busy.

E won "Employee of the Quarter" and was then asked to represent his service at the Washington Nationals baseball game for the Military Appreciation promotion. We got to go to the game free, he got a signed ball from the the players and he started out "playing" shortstop in full uniform.

WAY Behind with New Addition

2010-11-03T08:04:00.001-07:00

I know, I know...I am so behind. This past month and a half have been exhausting getting ready for baby, E starting his new job, this blood type diet, I started a Bunco group, baby coming a week and a half late (UGH!) and finally, the super long healing process from the C-section I didn't want but desperately needed. But after a long a wait, here's Luke Patrick (after my dad) Bailey.

No More Toys

2010-09-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I should buy anymore toys. She doesn't play with them...at all!! All she does is read. She follows us around the house holding books in the air, she reads outloud by herself or we are reading to her almost all day long. Here are 2 examples of what Rach reading out loud sounds like at our house.

Hair Fountain

2010-09-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

We finally have enough hair for the "Pebbles" look. And just in time too...that hair was so full of food and playground dirt galore. So now we can pull it out of her eyes.

Our New Friend

2010-08-31T00:27:00.000-07:00

If this little guy is going to continue to eat the rodents he finds in my neighborhood and keep them out of my house, he is my new best friend. E loved watching this beautiful bird have lunch on our neighbors back porch the other day. And honestly...I was slightly interested too.

Newest Bailey Diet Fad

2010-08-30T00:36:00.000-07:00

E is killing me. As if I don't have anything else to do, he wants to start a new type of diet. The Blood Type Diet. I found the book at a yard sale for a quarter and that's been the most expensive investment that I made in a long time. Now I have to practically throw out everything in my pantry stash (and I have a BIG pantry stash) because "It's bad for my blood type." Shoot me!!

Turns out, every thing that I am not allowed to eat, is beneficial for him to eat and vice versa. So cooking for this diet has been tricky (especially since I am pregnant and we have a little one to feed as well). But never in my life have I ever cooked with the most organic and strangest ingredients ever. (Now you know why I haven't started up What's Cooking Wednesday again...cause no one wants to eat xwhat I have been cooking lately....except E.) Spelt Flour?? Soy Powder?? Rice Milk?? Gluten-Free?? My first try with gluten-free bread (already mixed in a bag) actually turned out well for me and Rach (E can't have wheat or diary products). So we pulled out my neglected bread machine and gave her a test drive. It wasn't bad at all and now I have breakfast for the rest of the week for us girls.

However inconvenient and uncomfortable this change has been, I have to say that we both feel better and we both have lost a few pounds too. While I think a revert back to our normal eating is in our future since we have all come down with sinus infections (frozen lasagnas I made 2 weeks ago), things could always be worse.

However, we have finally turned a corner and have found a few things that will work for us all. I will let you know if I find any good recipes to share.

Summer Pictures

2010-08-18T04:57:00.000-07:00

I completely forgot that I hadn't posted any of these yet but these are Rachel's summer pictures. We went out to this orchard in the wine country of Virginia and it was absolutely amazing. Thanks again Lindsley. We will see you in the fall For Luke's newborn pictures.

Exhaustion

2010-08-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

Rach is still warming up to the idea of staying in her new big girl bed. Which for the present time, means I up a few times every night when a little person crawls into my bed and sticks their fingers up my nose while I am asleep. Sigh! While last night went well (mostly, because I shut the door to her room, against E's wishes), the three previous nights did not go well so I have been walking around like a zombie for a few days. While today is a little better, I still don't have the energy to get my pictures and thoughts organized, so here are a few pics from our most recent trip home.

Cutting the grass with PawPat

Getting geared up for the coming Auburn football season

There was also lots of water involved in our vacation. I think we got in water of some form everyday. We started with a week at the beach.

The middle few weeks were full of days in the backyard babypool. There were so many more pics of her in the babypool and they were all so cute but they were mostly naked pictures.

Then there were several trips to the splash park. That was the favorite.

L is for Luke

2010-08-13T02:21:00.000-07:00

The new nursery wasn't quite the challenge I was expecting. I am a girl and somewhat of a girlie girl at that, so decorating for a boy was something I didn't think I was ready for. But using the stuff I already had, we were able to do the whole room and only had to buy 2 blue storage bins and a blue changing cover. It still needs a few things (like some shells for the glass vases and brown houndstooth fabric for the headboard) but I still have 2 more months to shop for the rest. And, by the way, if you didn't catch the title, L is for Luke.

We kinda went for a seaside theme after I picked a whale for the art above the crib. But I really love the newspaper cutouts of the crab and the fish. One more storage bin of baby stuff (shown on the other side of the bed) to go through and the everything will be sorted. I just wish I was allowed to paint the walls.

It's Been a While Old Friend

2010-08-12T06:32:00.000-07:00

While I realize it's been quite a while since I have posted, we have been super busy. One long trip home for a vacation and a wedding and our lives got thrown into a crazy tailspin that carried over into our homecoming and has finally subsided for the present time. Quick catch up...

Rach is HUGE!! She loves books and can't get enough of them. She "reads" out loud all day long. I have no idea what she is saying but she is very passionate regardless. Lots of mornings at the playground, afternoons in the baby pool and slide on the backporch, and evenings falling asleep in her new big girl bed keep her exhausted. Speaking of her new big girl bed, my mom came up and spent a week with us and helped us put our house together since we are planning to settle in for a while. This included making a new big girl room for Rach and turning her old room into a "BOY'S" nursery. Pictures of the nursery later on...I don't want this post to be too long.

Me and E did some refurnishing ourselves with new bookshelves in the dining room (it's needs some decorating but their up and thats what's important to me), a huge garage cleanout, new upholstery on our ottoman (that had been attacked by an orange sharpie...Thanks Rach), setting up a makeshift office for E in our spacious laundry room, a new storage bin for toys, and a new dresser and mirror.

More pictures and updates to come...

It's a Boy!

2010-05-13T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it's gonna be...

This Week in Pictures

2010-05-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

SO Tired...so pictures will have to suffice! Also, Thursday morning...We find out if it's a girl or boy!!

Saturday we found some Leap Frog letter magnets at a yard sale for one of our neighbors and got an awesome deal.

All I have heard for the past few days, is "A...A...A...A" because Rach would rather walk around the house with the magnet in her hand pushing the button than listen to the song!

We learned how to color this week...and when I say color, I mean how not to chew on crayons!

She has finally decided to make friends with Maggie. She like to sit in Maggie's chair and bring her toys. It's even funnier to feed her the vegetables and meat off of her plate!! Lots of disciplining going at my house over that!!

Couch Potato

2010-05-07T05:18:00.001-07:00

I told you yesterday that I have a walker now. What I didn't tell you is that I also have a climber!! She can climb all of the towers at the playground, the stairs, the rocking chair and, of course, the couch. The couch seems to be a favorite though...As soon as she finishes her milk and gets a clean diaper in the morning, she grabs some toys and heads for the couch.

We also have a new, first word besides mama and dada...she likes to tell Maggie to "GO!" Or she grab ahold of my hand and says "GO!" because she wants me to walk with her.

I'm a Fainter!!

2010-05-05T05:22:00.000-07:00

Why E can't be in charge of taking our kids to get their bloodwork taken care of, I will never know. He has a stomach of steel and can take anything. Me, on the other hand...not so much. The sight of blood is a little too much for me. In fact, when I went to get all of my pregnancy bloodwork done, I passed out in the chair and had to be fireman hoisted over one of the techs shoulders and taken to a bed to lie down. Yeah...it's that bad!!

But Rach has had the "results of an upset stomach" for about 8 weeks now and we can't get rid of it. After changing her diet and her milk several times trying to check for allergies, samples were taken and bloodwork needed to be drawn.

Round one of bloodwork didn't go so well. They weren't able to get enough blood to do one of the three tests that had been ordered because she was screaming so loud and so incredibly tense. So we tried again this week and they were very successful. We sang and talked throughout the whole thing and she was fairly calm. She was rewarded with a pink bandaid wrap and some new Elmo stickers and then mom and dad got her a new play doctor kit for having such a rough week (because vaccines were needed too).

Did I mention she's a walking maniac these days??? I think she's carrying her play syringe and the little instrument that checks your ears.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Pavlovas

2010-05-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

Funny name...easy dessert! 3 ingredients plus whatever you want to put in there and 5 minutes and your dessert is ready to put into the oven. If you're looking for a dessert to make for company, this is a great one and you will really want to make it the night before because they take a while to bake. They are so cute and the mixing possibilities are endless as are the topping possibilities.

This recipe came from Cooking Light and was originally topped with Lemon Curd and Rasberries, however, my mom quickly turned her nose up at the thought of Lemon Curd (I don't think she's ever tried it though) so we added some vanilla and a tablespoon of cocoa powder to the meringues, topped them with chopped up Nilla wafers before cooking, then added some chocolate mousse and strawberries for the finishing touch. They were amazing. Go home and try them today. I guarantee you already have the ingredients in your pantry and fridge.

Pavlovas

1/4 teaspoon kosher-for-Passover cream of tartar
4 large egg whites
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Toppings of choice

Preheat oven to 250°.

To prepare meringues, cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Draw 4 (4-inch) circles on each piece of paper. Turn paper over; secure with masking tape.

Place cream of tartar and 4 egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually add 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.

Divide the egg white mixture evenly among 8 drawn circles on baking sheets. Shape meringues into nests with 1-inch sides using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle evenly with nuts.

Bake at 250° for 1 hour, rotating baking sheets after 30 minutes. Turn oven off, and cool meringue nests in closed oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven, and carefully remove meringue nests from paper.

Yard Sale

2010-04-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday all of neighbors and myself had a huge block party yard sale. And when I say block party...I don't think I stayed at my house long at all! I was at all of my neighbor's yard sale seeing what they had and buying cookies and lemonade from their kids! E had to head into work all day but before he left, he set Rachel up like a champ in the garage. She got a porta-crib, blanket, pillow, babydoll/paci, and portable tv from the car complete with a new Blue's Clues video. She stayed in the crib and watched movies all morning long until nap time. The whole yard sale went over much easier than I ever thought it could.

How much did I make? Enough to cover the amount I spent getting everything ready, the bassinet I bought from my neighbor for the new baby and plenty of books for Rach.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Granola

2010-04-28T05:43:00.000-07:00

E has an obsession with granola. And not just the oats and honey kind. It's got to be 100% quality and the man eats on this stuff nonstop all day long. He was eating me out of house and home because a good quality pack of granola is not cheap. He would take a bag of granola to work and then come home and have another bag for snack. Then after dinner, I would see him munching on another handful. My grocery shopping was having trouble keeping up with his need for a healthy snack.

Luckily, I noticed that The Happy Housewife was making homemade granola for her family. I thought to myself, "Self, if she can do this, you can do this!!" So here we have the first few versions of the Bailey Family Granola. You can almost hear my wallet cheering because its way cheaper and better for you to make it yourself than buy it. Oh yeah...did I mention it takes 3 minutes to make and 10 minutes to bake? Who doesn't have and extra 15 minutes a week and most of these ingredients in your pantry instead of buying boxes and boxes of this stuff! Another plus is to add local honey to work to combat seasonal allergies.

So far, we have made several varieties:

-Peanut Butter

-Dried Blueberry Apple

-Cinnamon Raison

-Currant (pictured above)

This week, I plan to make one more batch and I am going to try dried pomegranate-chocolate this time, as this is the last week of a 9 month project he's been working on...lots of brain snacks needed to make it through this week!! One more project to finish and then we can lead a normal life!! (why are you laughing?? I'm sure I could handle a normal life!?!)

Regardless of whether you think I could handle a real life or not, here's the recipe from The Happy Housewife:

Granola

3 cups dry oatmeal
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup wheat germ

First melt the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the honey and salt and briefly heat with the butter. Turn off the heat and add the oatmeal and wheat germ. Stir.

Pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet. Spread the mixture out evenly and bake it at 375° for 10 minutes. It will be a golden brown color. Remove from the oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.

***If you want to try the Peanut Butter version, add a 1/2 cup of Peanut Butter to the pot while you heat the butter and honey. Then add a tablespoon of cocoa with the oats and wheat germ. You will have to cook the granola for a little longer in the oven. (I cooked it an extra 5 minutes but it still needed a little more.)

Sesame Street Results

2010-04-26T04:28:00.000-07:00

I don't think it even mattered that she had no idea who any of the characters (besides Elmo) were in the show, she danced and clapped and screamed at the cast of the USO's version of Sesame Street Live the entire time we were there. While I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't sitting on a gym floor in maternity skinny jeans, the length of the show was perfect and allowed me to still have her in bed by 7:30, which was AWESOME!!!

Here are the pictures from our fun night...Thanks Carol for the tickets and the ride!!

We Are Home!!

2010-04-23T05:07:00.000-07:00

After spending ALL weekend cleaning house and grocery shopping and doing laundry, I am finally done playing catch up on my household duties, plus a few extras that required help from the maintenance department. What were those extras, you might ask. Well, let's just say that I have bird poop all over my laundry room that needed attending to. Yes, I said it. Bird Poop!!

I have a three time offender who likes to crawl through the outside dryer vent and then peck her way through my inside dryer vent to get out. Then she goes insane trying to get out of the laundry room which makes Maggie a little crazy too. Then we have to repair to dryer hoses and clean up the poop. Sigh! Why me?? As if I don't have enough to do these days.

But we are home and put back together nonetheless (and a little under the weather) and will try to stay current online for a while since there are lots of exciting things coming down the hatch in the next few weeks...E's graduation, the sex of the new baby, our next job assignment, a new walking toddler, spring pictures with Lindsley, new furniture and cheapo projects around the house that I have been putting off that I am looking forward to sharing with you all.

What's Cooking Thursday - Fruit Smoothies

2010-04-22T01:58:00.000-07:00

Need a new morning "pick me up?" Tired of coffee or are working towards cutting out the caffeine? Now that warmer weather is here, why not try a smoothie? We used to make them all of the time (back when I didn't have to go to work until 11am) but those early mornings slip away from you and speed becomes a greater ally than actual nutrients. So simplify your life by doing all of the prep work on the weekend.

Take all of your frozen ingredients and put them into individual serving bags so you don't have to measure out so many different ingredients every morning. Now you have minimized half of the work and just combine and blend. There is really no fuss because you can throw the blender parts in the dishwasher and throw your delicious smoothie into a to-go cup and head out for the day.

Here is my personal recipe and it makes about 2 - 2 1/2 cups so there is plenty to share.

Fruit Smoothies

5 frozen peach slices

1/3 cup frozen blueberries

5 frozen whole strawberries (because they are cheaper whole instead of sliced)

5 pieces of canned chunk pineapple

2/3 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

1/3 cup fruit juice

Add all ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth. You may have to stop blender and stir the mixture once or twice to breakup the chunks.

Makes about 2 cups.

Sesame Street

2010-04-21T04:35:00.000-07:00

I have several posts in the queue awaiting pictures, but E took my camera cable to work with him and I won't get it back until tonight...so in the absence of any other pictures, here is what else is going on at our house.

While Rach really hasn't shown an interest in Sesame Street as a whole, Elmo has really perked up some ears at my house. And while I was gone, my neighbor picked us up some tickets to go and see Sesame Street Live here on base brought in by the USO. This is awesome! And the building is only a few blocks from my house, so we can walk and not have to deal with parking. I am pumped. I just always wish they started those types of shows earlier. The show starts at 6:30 and Rach goes to bed at 7 so we will see how long she lasts.

Guess Who is Finally Coming Home Tomorrow??

2010-04-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

After 5 long weeks, sleeping in 6 different houses, and many MANY hours in the car, me and Rach are finally going home tomorrow. We haven't been home in 5 weeks and are in desperate need of some downtime at home. I'm thinking, so far, that I won't change out of pjs for the weekend. Looking forward to seeing E and Maggie again this weekend.

For fun, here are some pics of my dad and Rach on the tractor. While mom was away, the grandparents got her out of bed to go outside and play!!

Easter

2010-04-06T06:25:00.001-07:00

Guess who found some bunny marshmallows in her Easter eggs?

Rachel and her cousin, Brodie, being bribed with Easter eggs so they would sit still and let us get some pictures of them together.

My bed-head baby with the zhu-zhu pet that the Easter bunny left her in her basket.

Rachel got to wear squeeky shoes for the first time and was super amiable to walk EVERYWHERE!

Rach and Mom before heading to Easter services on Sunday morning.

Birthdays Galore!

2010-04-01T10:44:00.001-07:00

Me and E have birthdays about 10 days apart so normally we do a big night for the both of us. But since we are apart this time, he celebrated his birthday this week by eating Burger King and picking out his own gift. My first thoughts were "Am I that strict with food at home that he feels like he can't eat Burger King whenever he wants to?" But then I remember just how fast that stuff will kill you and my guilt is gone.

But for his birthday this year, he treated himself to a nice new Sony E-Reader. He had one that he bought a few years ago but Maggie and her bud, Neal, took notice of it this summer when it was left out and then the company changed the format of the files so he couldn't buy any new books. So it was time for an upgrade.

And I decided to go with jewelry for my birthday. And not jewelry in a gaudy expensive sense of the word. That's not my style at all! I am super simple and 100% plain (I heard my mother call me "plain" last night because I refused to big earrings and a big necklace at the same time). I wanted something personal and classic that I could wear with just about anything and decided on this necklace from Lisa Leonard Designs. Ladies...Listen Up....hint, hint...check out her stuff for a Mother's Day gift since it's just around the corner.

Well, we are still home for a little while longer. Rach is starting to get a little stir crazy in the house and I am having to get creative with new things to explore...Today, we had fun with the colanders. Luckily, the weather is finally warming up so we can go for a walk and hit the playgrounds.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Chicken and Eggplant Stacks

2010-03-24T05:59:00.001-07:00

Me, Rach and the family have pretty much eaten out every meal since we arrived back in our home state. Cheap, awesome Mexican food, grilled fish, fresh gumbo, crab craws, BBQ, sautéed shrimp, Panera Bread, breakfast buffets, Crawfish Po-Boys...oh the delicious food we have all eaten in the past few days. But no matter how the good the food is, there is always a part of me that says "OK, can we stay in tonight and eat a home-cooked meal?"

That's how I felt when we got back to my parents house. So me and Rach made a trip to the store and bought a few things to make Chicken and Eggplant Stacks for dinner Monday night. As I was putting the meal together, I suddenly realized that this was one of my favorite meals and that I haven't shared this one with you yet. I apologize because this is a meal that you can entertain with. Pair it with a Ceasar salad and creamy pasta dish and you have a winner. I took a picture of these before they were complete so that you can see what the stacks look like before I smother them in melted cheese.

Grilled Chicken and Eggplant Stacks

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

4 chicken breasts, halved, tenderized with a meat mallet until thin

Leaves from 2 rosemary sprigs, finely chopped

Salt and fresh ground pepper

1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch width slices

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/4 t. crushed red pepper

1 16-oz can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes

(regular crushed or diced tomatoes work too if you can't find fire-roasted)

1 package (8 slices) of provolone or mozzarella slices

Preheat a grill to high (Sometimes I will use a pan on the stove if I don't feel like messing with the grill). Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium sauce pan, combine 1 T. olive oil, garlic, red pepper and red onion. Cook over medium heat until onions are tender. Add tomatoes and heat thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Remove from heat.

Spray or brush eggplant slices on both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle slices with salt and fresh ground pepper. (I dunk my eggplant in some extra balsamic vinegar for a few seconds, but I really love balsamic vinegar so this is optional) Set aside. Combine balsamic vinegar and 2 T. olive oil in a bowl. Marinate chicken in mixture for about 5 minutes, remove from marinating bowl and sprinkle and rub the chicken with rosemary, salt and pepper and set aside.

Throw the eggplant on the grill until tender. Remove from grill. Place on greased baking sheet. Throw chicken on the grill. Cook until done and place chicken on top of eggplant on the baking the sheet.

Remove eggplant and chicken from the oven. Preheat broiler to high. Spoon about 2 T. of tomato mixture over the chicken and eggplant. Place a slice of cheese over each stack and return baking sheet to the oven until cheese is melted.

Travel, Travel ... and More Travel

2010-03-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry for leaving you high and dry for the past few days. Me and Rach made an impromptu trip home last week and the festivities haven't stopped. We have stayed in 5 different houses in the past 9 days and I am totally sick of packing and unpacking all of our stuff over and over again.

We spent last weekend with family shopping and eating and hanging out together. Then my parents showed up to take us to the beach for a few days, which was nice!! It was WICKED cold though! However, thank goodness for indoor pools and hot tubs. Rach swam like a little fish everyday. I can't say that she liked the sand and the waves though. Everytime we would take her close to the water, her little feet would inch backward at record speed or stop all together. We ate lots of seafood and watched a few movies. We did a little shopping and took naps everyday. Ahhh...that's the life!

We finally made it home (or what we call our hometown) yesterday where we were greeted by my sisters and their families, a feast for us all and plenty of cake to go around, all for Rachel's belated 1st birthday. She opened presents and played in the cake (again) and then tortured her littler cousin the rest of the night. Fun for all!

While I am super busy traveling around and visiting family and old friends, I will try to post a few things here and there while I am away. For starters though, here is a few pictures from the first part of our trip home and a video from last night when the cousins were introduced again...

Cat's Out of the Bag!

2010-03-05T07:22:00.000-08:00

It's tough to hide a secret when you are super excited and surprised and sick beyond words. I'm assuming that you can guess what my secret is by all of hints by this point. Yes, me and the mister are expecting our second little Bailey in the fall. We found out during one of the snowstorms so the new baby has been nicknamed "Snowball" since Rachel was "Sweet Pea." Too cute! I love that!

But my lack of blogging has been due to the fact that I can barely sit up straight without having to hold on TIGHT to my proverbial cookies!! Me and E have been so surprised by all of this. I had been telling him for weeks that I was pregnant and he had been telling me for weeks that I was crazy. Well, I showed him! As soon as the calendar started agreeing with me, he started changing his tune. Rach got a newborn Cabbage Patch Baby for her birthday so that we can start learning how to treat a new baby! No fingers in the nose, eyes, mouth, ears...she's super obtrusive.

Now that I think I may have "morning" (all day) sickness under control, I will try to post all of the stuff I had planned for this week, next week. Good stuff and it's all about saving money! Since I feel like I gypped you this last week, here are a few pics and a few videos to hold you over till next week. But you can guarantee that if I couldn't get around to blogging last week, I most certainly wasn't going to cook either, so no recipes for you this week. Videos and pictures will have to do for now.

Sickies

2010-02-26T08:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posting these past few days, but Everyday Bailey is feeling a bit under the weather this week, so have a good weekend and I will be back first thing next week with lots of good stuff you won't want to miss!

Party Like a Big Girl

2010-02-24T04:37:00.000-08:00

After a seriously long day of meal prep, wrapping presents, making cupcakes, running errands, surprise training days at work (thanks E!), talking to all of our relatives on the phone, and my gym class, I am glad that birthdays are over with today. We had to adjust our plans since there was lots of stuff going on that day. Just a quiet lunch at home with our family but we will throw her a party with all of the people who love her when we go home in a few weeks. Pictures and videos are finally loaded so I hope you all enjoy!

The Birthday Girl in her birthday clothes

Her birthday presents and birthday cupcake (pineapple cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream...delicious!!)

She actually didn't do too bad...there wasn't much cake and icing behind her ears and in her hair, etc. Nothing Maggie wouldn't (and didn't) lick off of her.

Opening Presents with Mama

She got a baby doll, some soft blocks, several books, some summer clothes and some play food.

Maybe the 101 piece set of play food was a mistake...that stuff is EVERYWHERE!!!
But then, I think it's worth it when she walks around the house chewing on her peas and spaghetti.

The Birthday Girl

2010-02-22T16:21:00.000-08:00

Well, the time has come to celebrate keeping my firstborn child alive and healthy for a whole year. I can hardly believe it's been a year. This time last year, I was huge and miserable with massive heartburn and elephant sized ankles. It was such a beautiful time...sniff sniff! Since it's a Tuesday, and we don't have any family in the area, we are just going to have a special family dinner with her favorite foods up to this point...and of course, her very own cupcake and plenty of presents. When did that little baby turn into this beautiful little girl?

In case you were wondering, here is what the Bailey's were doing last year!

Thank God It's Friday

2010-02-19T05:33:00.001-08:00

After all of the Ebay items I sold, today is the last day I have to make a trip to the post office! Hallelujah!! I am so tired of getting things ready for shipment and making the trip to the post office almost every day. While it was bothersome, I completely paid for all of Rachel's summer and fall clothes this year and I am quite proud of that!!

What else is happening here at the Bailey house? Well, the snow is FINALLY starting the melt (at least for our side of the street, our poor neighbors across the street will have ice in their driveway for weeks since they don't get any morning sun). The snow was nice but the 3-point turn in reverse just to get into my driveway was getting a little old. We are all ready for Spring!! Me and E were noticing that Maggie is getting a little pudgy these days. She is ready for Spring so she can get out and get more walks. Rach is getting bored inside. She would love to get out and go to the park but even the park is still covered in ice! We are going to try a toy swap today to keep things interesting (We swap out half of her toys every month to keep them fresh and new).

In other news, Rach took her first steps Wednesday morning. (I will post the video next week) She can't go very far but she is thrilled at the thought of her new found freedom. We also dropped the morning nap this week so I am just left with the afternoon nap for the next year. Sigh! So much for my morning shower!!

This is what I saw coming down the stairs yesterday. Evidently, Rachel wouldn't leave her alone during her morning nap so Maggie went and hid in the playhouse, that is, until Rachel came in there and kicked her out!

We took a little video of Dancing Rachel this week if you are interested in watching.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Getting Desperate

2010-02-17T04:25:00.000-08:00

Since we have had a few snowstorms in the past few weeks, I have been forced to get creative about my pantry items. I have a few meals already prepped in the freezer for E but I want them to stay that way for a while since I plan on going home for a few weeks next month (otherwise I will find alot of Starbucks muffin wrappers and Burger King cups lying around when I come home).

So Friday night, I tried really hard to come up with some random meals that I could throw together with things I already had in stock. But I thought I would share them with you since we all know we have those days where we need to go grocery shopping, there's nothing in the pantry or the fridge, but frozen pizza or pasta isn't going to cut it.

Banana Bread - I found a purely basic recipe and pulled some ripe bananas out of the freezer and let them thaw overnight. Amazing! I tweeked the recipe just a little and if you want to see my version, it's linked over on the right hand side of the page. INSTANT BREAKFAST! (P.S. If you are throwing super ripe bananas in the garbage, you are an IDIOT! Throw them in a food storage bag and put them in the freezer until you have the time or the need to make banana bread, blueberry banana nut brea d, banana muffins, souffléd banana pancake, etc...)

Chicken Pot Pie - I had a leftover puff pastry in the freezer (but you could make a few bisquick biscuits) that I thawed and threw on top of all of all the fresh veggies and garlic I had left in my fridge, some frozen peas, some shredded chicken from the freezer, and a can of cream of chicken soup and it was GOOD! I had second helpings!! And it was pretty. I love the way a puff pastry looks ... all golden and delicious.

Skillet Quiche - While I DON'T have a pie crust and have no intention of making one (I am watching my waistline afterall), I DO have eggs and plenty of onions, cheese and frozen broccoli. I also found a single potato hiding the back of my veggie drawer and threw that in for fun too. Voila! (I think I used spinach and mushrooms in the one pictured)
Two-Mustard Chicken - This one is so easy and cheap. We always have all kinds of different mustards in the fridge, honey and rice in the pantry, so this entire recipe is all out of regular stocked items. Just add chicken!!

Guess Who...

2010-02-16T01:58:00.000-08:00

Guess who is tall enough to reach her little hands up to the counter tops to get whatever she wants now?

Post-Valentine's Day

2010-02-15T05:36:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! We certainly did...Rach learned lots of new words yesterday and spent the whole day trying to perfect them. She was so amiable and would copy anything we told her to say. Everything was hilarious, everything was a conversation, she was just so funny!!

I spent Saturday prepping our special Valentine's dinner since we had church on Sunday morning. I knew if I didn't prep it early, we would be eating frozen pizza. Solution: Crock Pot Asian Pork Roast. Verdict: Oh My!! This pork was easy to throw together and I threw it in the slowcooker for 3.5 hours. It was SO TENDER and it just fell apart, which made me glad that I tied it first. There were also alot of leftovers for another dinner and then more for sandwiches another day. Asian food always seems so daunting to me since I am not used to that type of cooking (I always ignore that part of the grocery store) but I finally womanned-up and don't regret it. It hit every tastebud in my mouth, perfectly!!

For dessert: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake from Smitten Kitchen. Erika made this for my baby shower last year and after E tried it, he has been wanting this cake again for a while. I told him I was going to wait for a special occasion and Valentine's Day seemed to fit the bill. But a whole cake?? That's alot of calories...just for us!! No worries! I called my neighbors, divided the cake into four wedges and farmed it all out!! We were left with the perfect amount of cake for 2 people. This cake is amazing. Make sure you have milk stocked up in your fridge because it's rich!!

For the Fashionably Challenged...Like Myself!

2010-02-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

If you are anything like me, I have a tendency to get sucked into that whole "wearing yoga pants and a sweatshirt everyday" mentality. It's just so comfortable and so warm. When I first moved into the city and first started out as a SAHM (Stay at Home Mom), I wore gym shorts and a tank top everyday everywhere...cause I was going to to gym later so why waste time changing clothes??

But I have decided not to be that girl anymore. If I want to leave the house, I have chosen to be a little more fashion conscious. And since I always feel so unsure about making fashion choices, I had to turn to an expert. I started reading the blog, Ain't No Mom Jeans, and got virtually SPANKED for not caring enough about myself and my family to put on real clothes.

Since I am broke, I had to get super creative. My solution? 1 pair of Skinny jeans and 3 pairs of leggings, and a visit to Marshalls and Ross that reaped 7 long winter shirts for under 70 bucks. However, what do I wear on my feet? Boots, ballet flats...that's all I could come up with!! So I sent her my question about footwear, leggings and skinny jeans and she answered my question yesterday. Go check her out!!

If You're Keeping Tabs on Me...

2010-02-10T16:16:00.000-08:00

I was able to check off another items on my "List of things to do this Year." So far I have sold and shipped 55 items on Ebay (which is tough to do in a snowstorm). I used the profits and bought all of Rachel's clothes for the summer and the fall. I am so pumped that I am this far ahead of the game. Check!

Next on the list, buying something off of Craigslist. Check! Rachel has been determined to tear down the crib we have now (minus a few pieces that we lost in the move) so I started looking for a "low cost alternative." I found the cutest Jenny Lind Crib on Craigslist and me and E put it together today and rearranged her room since we no longer "need" a changing table. Rach was a little freaked out by the bed because the rails were higher (thank goodness, because she was so close to climbing out), but all is well now and she loves her new bed.

You want more snow pictures? You got em'!! At the end of the day, we had about 2 more inches on top of what you see here. The wind (at 45mph last night) sounded like it was trying to tear the house down. It was a long, loud night!! But the snow shoveling started early this morning and hopefully warmer temperatures are on their way.

Why am I hopeful that warmer temperatures are on their way? Because we are beyond bored stuck inside. I spent the last 2 blizzards organizing my house because I was bored. Now, I have nothing to do!! We are so bored, in fact, that we tried to teach Rachel to ride Maggie, and we tried to teach Maggie to like it. (neither happened)

Snowed-In Indefinitely

2010-02-10T05:41:00.000-08:00

What's Cooking Wednesday has officially been canceled for this week. Mostly because I can't get to the store to buy the ingredients I need, nor do they have any ingredients to sell me...so...

Nothing new this week...More Snow! As I watched E shovel the walk, I realized that in some places, the snow was as tall as his shoulders. Another day stuck inside. We are on a blizzard warning until tonight.

I have been keeping Rach inside since she has a runny nose, but E and Maggie have been out and about everyday, walking and playing and exploring. Maggie is such a snow-dog. She loves playing in the white wild. It's so funny to watch her bury her head in the snow and take big mouthfuls of it. Then she runs to the front door because she's cold and wants to go inside and warm up.

E and Maggie went outside to shovel the snow while I took pictures of them, all warm and toasty in the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee.

Rach thinks it's funny to talk to Maggie through the door.

More Snow

2010-02-09T06:23:00.000-08:00

More snow is in the forecast for today. Specifically, another 12-18 inches. I still have 3 feet in my yard. There is only enough room for one car (barely) at a time to go down our street. Kids haven't gone to school since Thursday. Good grief! Can you tell I am going a little stir crazy?

There are still no groceries at the grocery store that we can get to. Regardless, we are going to go and try again this morning. As of Thursday of last week, everyone began anticipating the snowy weekend and the addition of Super Bowl parties everywhere. Lines that curled up and down the aisles just to checkout. By Friday night, (I made one quick stop before the snow covered the street) as I walked through the produce department, I eerily looked at all of the empty bins where fruits and vegetables had once been and was completely creeped out. Everything was empty! And I mean everything. Had the Apocalypse hit and I was still here? There was no bread, dairy, produce, lunchmeat, cheese, chips, canned food...NOTHING! It was creepy. I stopped in yesterday while I was out to pick up some milk, and nothing had changed. The store was still empty. I also don't think we have gotten mail since Thursday of last week. Weird right? (Funny story, we took Rach on the sled and walked to the convenience/liquor store...plenty of milk...all out of liquor though...Hmmm).

Well, at least we are one of the lucky ones who haven't lost power. You always have to look for the silver lining! Wish us luck tonight.

Baileys On Ice

2010-02-04T10:29:00.001-08:00

Well, the GREAT BLIZZARD of 2010 hit this weekend and we are still shoveling snow 3 days later with no end in sight now that the snow is starting to turn to ice due to frigid temperatures. (Did I mention I got the car stuck in the driveway this morning? E wasn't so happy about that when he had to come out and fix it for me.) But 2 bowls of chocolate snowcream later, I am getting a little stir crazy inside. Maggie is going a little nuts, Rachel has a constant runny nose, E just finished writing his last report for a few weeks and I just finished proofing it for him. This great relaxing snow weekend just never took off for me. Here are a few pics from this weekend.

Why does this picture look blurry? Because the wind was blowing 30 mph at the time!!

My little sickie, keeping warm, watching Elmo

Mmmm...chocolate snowcream.

E built Rach an igloo to play in...

It took him a LONG TIME and here, it's finally done...

We rolled out the yoga mats so Rach could crawl out there herself...

We bargained with her and tried everything we could think of to get her to get in the igloo short of throwing cookies in there...

Finally, E got in there and was able to coax her in for a while 20 seconds, just long enough to get a picture...

But at the end of the day, it's more fun to slide off the top of the igloo...

And play dress up with Daddy than crawl in that igloo.

What's Cooking Thursday - Shepherd's Pie

2010-02-04T10:00:00.001-08:00

Better late then never on What's Cooking Wednesday.

I have an addiction to One-Pot meals. They are just so great and so easy. I love them. So here's another one for you to try if you like One-Pot meals like I do. Some how this Southern Living Recipe from 3 years ago made it's way into my recipe pile. It was Shepherd's Pie with a twist... Cheesy Carrot Mashed Potatoes for the topping. Something I have never tried and now I think I might keep that recipe and serve it as a side dish for some other meal. It was really good and got 5 stars from our dinner guests. One more thing I like about One-Pot meals...LEFTOVERS!!!

Southern Living's Pic...not mine.

Shepherd's Pie

1 1/2 pounds ground round (ground turkey worked well too)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 (8-oz.) package fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
4 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (14 1/2-oz.) can stewed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Cheese-and-Carrot Mashed Potatoes

1. Brown beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Remove ground beef from skillet using a slotted spoon; reserve 2 Tbsp. drippings in skillet. Reduce heat to medium.

2. Sauté onion, mushrooms, and garlic in hot drippings over medium heat 10 to 11 minutes or until tender. Stir in ground beef, peas, and next 4 ingredients. Sprinkle flour over meat mixture. Increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf, and vinegar, breaking up large tomato pieces with a spoon. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove bay leaf. Transfer mixture to a lightly greased 3-qt. baking dish or pan. Spoon Cheese-and-Carrot Mashed Potatoes evenly over meat mixture, smoothing with back of spoon.

3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: To make ahead, prepare recipe as directed through Step 2. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator 24 hours. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated, shielding with aluminum foil after 25 minutes to prevent excessive browning.

Cheese and Carrot Mashed Potatoes

1 (1-lb.) package baby carrots
1 tablespoon butter
1 (22-oz.) package frozen mashed potatoes
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1. Place carrots and 1/4 cup water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; fold back a small edge to allow steam to escape. Microwave at HIGH 8 to 10 minutes or until carrots are tender. Drain.

2. Stir in butter. Coarsely mash carrots with a potato masher.

3. Prepare potatoes according to package directions, using 2 1/2 cups milk. Stir in cheese, next 3 ingredients, and carrot mixture until well blended.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Ore-Ida Frozen Mashed Potatoes. Do not use refrigerated mashed potatoes.

My Misfortune is Your Fortune

2010-02-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

I am PEEVED!! I went to the grocery store this morning with all of my coupons spilling all over the place (as usual, oh, and Rachel throws up grape juice all over her white jacket, sigh), got my FREE MILK coupon in hand, bought my milk, checked out and...guess what?? My commissary wouldn't accept my coupon. Since I really don't shop anywhere else, my misfortune is now your fortune.

Somebody should be using these coupons, worth a maximum of $4 each and I have 3 of them. They are good for a FREE Gallon of White Milk, any brand, and it expires on 2/27/10. There is a slight catch though... you have to make a $100 grocery purchase. So, for the first three people who leave me a comment, I will send you my email address and get your mailing address. I will throw it in the mail today. I know...FREE MILK just for buying groceries like you always do.

Being an Everyday Bailey reader is finally paying off BIG TIME right??

Everyday Random

2010-01-30T05:28:00.000-08:00

If I actually cared about my twitter account, these are a few of the posts that you might have seen this last week...

E asked me to look for "Buckwheat Bisquick Mix" at the grocery store. And he was serious...(he saw a recipe for buckwheat pancakes in a tool and home repair magazine).

E got up early and made breakfast for us this morning. When I got up, I thanked him for his thoughfulness and his response was, "I had to get up early and send my mistress a text message, so since I was up..." to which I responded "So you were feeling guilty?" he says "No" and walked away!!

Later on, I asked him what him and his mistress were talking about that was so important at 6:30am on a Saturday? His response was "If you want to know, go get your own mistress!"

I have officially cleaned vomit off the floor 7 times in the past 24 hours...(Rachel throws up when she poops and I don't know what Maggie's problem is)...If I have to clean up vomit again today, I am going to vomit!...(and then have to clean that up too).

I listen to this Christian family online radio station in the mornings while I make breakfast and clean the kitchen, and if I hear Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" one more time, they are receiving a phone call from me! How is "If you want to be with me, you gotta rub me the right way!" suitable for a family radio station??

Have you ever been so addicted to Wii tennis that you find yourself blaming your bad shots on your Wii tennis-elbow and talking SMACK to the little robot people playing against you? I think I need therapy!!

And now a few pictures from a long week:

Nothing interesting about this picture except for the fact that when I went in to wake her up (because she had been asleep for almost 3 hours), all I could see were tiny little toes sticking out between the crib slats!!
We call this "The Great Snack Exchange." Rachel takes Maggie's milkbone, so in retaliation, Maggie eats her teething biscuit, then sits and waits patiently for her to become disinterested with the milkbone.

This is why we only eat ravioli on bathday!!

The New Playhouse

2010-01-29T03:10:00.000-08:00

I saw a playhouse on Homemade by Jill and immediately knew I was going need one for my little blue-eyed girl! I showed my mom and immediately she agreed. Without my knowledge, she completed the whole thing and gave it to Rachel at Christmas.

She walks around dusting my floors with the flowers she pulled out of her garden. It's so cute!

What's Cooking Wednesday - Brookies

2010-01-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

E came up with the name for these...isn't it cute? It's a blend between cookies and brownies...but it's also the nickname that my close family calls me. He threw it out there and it immediately stuck. However, these aren't "Brooke" originals so I don't know if I necessarily get to name them. They were first seen on Bakerella...she has the most beautiful confectionary treats on her site. If you want her step by step instructions in picture form, Go visit!! But I think they are Betty Crocker recipes.

Bakerella's picture...not mine!!

Back to the point...Did I mention we are talking about a blend of cookies and brownies today? Oh my. 2 of my favorite desserts rolled into one! I literally gained 5 pounds the first 2 weeks of January after I made these three times for several different events. The recipe makes an insane amount and no one can turn these down. Thank goodness I didn't make any insane weight New Year's Resolutions. This is my new "take to someone's house" dessert.

As if all of those reasons weren't enough to go to the store tonight and make these, here's another one. I used box mixes from the grocery store!! Nothing fancy. I know!! Isn't this great.

Go therefore and bake multitudes of BROOKIES and distribute them among all the peoples. (If that's not in the Bible, it should be, because if Jesus had tried these brownies...!!)

Brookies

1 box Betty Crocker® Original Supreme brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting, optional

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray, or grease with shortening. Make brownie mix as directed on box, using oil, water and 2 eggs. Spread in pan.

2. Make cookie mix as directed on pouch, using butter and 1 egg. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter; press down lightly.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. Frost with frosting, if desired. For brownies, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows.

List Progress

2010-01-25T06:11:00.000-08:00

I got a huge jump of my New Year list without intending to jump the gun, so-to-speak. What have I done already? Well, I am glad you asked.

I spent a large chunk of the day Saturday listing some of Rachel's old baby clothes on Ebay. It was a long day but I hope it will pay off in the end. Then I cleaned out her closet and drawers and found a whole new pile of clothes to get rid of again. So I expect I will be listing alot more this week too. If you are interested in any of the stuff I am selling, click here and mention that you are a reader and I will ship whatever you win for FREE. It's all little girls' clothes though.

Me and E have committed to turn the TV off for one week to make time for some bible study and prayer in our lives this week. So, last night, I couldn't sleep because, well, normally, I watch tv until I can't hold my eyes open anymore. So I tried reading a book. It was so good that expect to be halfway through the book by this afternoon. Halfway to having one of my 5 books read. I hardly ever read so I am pumped about that. Luckily, my mom gave me the entire set of 4 books for Christmas. And if I hear one more person tell me how wonderful the twilight series is, I may have to break down and read the first book. I know...I must be living under a rock if I haven't read those books yet!!!

The Last of the Holiday Pictures

2010-01-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

All iPhone pics...kinda grainy!

Rachel pooped through her clothes (while my Dad was babysitting...HA, I wish I could have seen that). Needless to say, the airline lost our luggage and carseat so other than the clothes she had on (the before mentioned poopy clothes), all she had to wear was a coat the next morning until I had a chance to go and buy her something to wear.

My dad prides himself on the elaborate display of icing on each and every hand-crafted and uniquely decorated Christmas cookie. It's just not Christmas unless there is at least 2 inches of icing AND SPRINKLES on each and cookie.

Mom and I took Rach shopping and while I looked around at a little baby boutique, Mom entertained Rachel (and herself) by trying different hats on the willing baby! She was so funny...she just laughed and laughed and thought the whole dress up game was hillarious!

I guess she was ready to go back home and see Daddy and Maggie!

The gigantic bowl of snow cream that me and E made during the big snow. Oh my! I couldn't stop making and eating snow cream the entire time there was snow on the ground. Besides, how often to I even get to see snow, huh?

101 Things....

2010-01-21T04:45:00.000-08:00

Forget resolutions, make a list instead! While I was shooting for 101 things I wanted to complete this year, I only ended with about 30. But those are still 30 things I plan to accomplish before the year's end. So here are a few I am willing to share with you all:

1. Make a dress. Not just any dress...this dress from My Mama Made It. I am going to do this! I already have the top shirt picked out and have been looking for the fabric for the bottom half.

2. Make Apple Dolls for charity. I saw these dolls on Homemade by Jill using Martha Stewart's how-to guide and can wait to find the nearest craft store and buy felt.

3. Get and a pay a babysitter at least 4 times this year. We have been staying in too much these days.

4. Make a painting for the family room.

5. Make a family yearbook for Rachel and her cousin, Brodie. Since we don't get to see our family members much, I thought it would be a good idea to go over names and faces to try and curb the stranger anxiety a.k.a. excessive screaming when she meets new people.

6. Go to a play, preferably an off-Broadway production here in town.

7. Read at least 5 books, and parenting books count.

8. Buy and sell something on craigslist.

9. Sell old baby clothes on ebay.

10. Go camping. And this time...not in my backyard.

11. Write a will...with a lawyer.

12. Update passport.

13. Put pictures in all of the blank frames around the house...and there are alot of them. I have just never got around to putting photos in any of my frames. It's quite sad. But now that I have several good ones, I need to get around to making that happen.

Well...I have a few more personal goals but nothing I want to plaster all over the internet. I hope you all have a wonderful new year and I hope you all achieve all of your resolutions for this upcoming year.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Green Enchiladas

2010-01-20T05:39:00.000-08:00

Let's play a game called "How many burritos can you jam into one casserole dish?"

While I love a good complicated recipe like the next girl, those long complicated recipes wreak havoc on my time management. The recipe says that it will take 30 minutes from start to finish and I am still chopping and measuring 25 minutes in. But I saw Rachael Ray make these enchiladas and take forever making her own salsa verde (expensive) and take forever poaching and shredding chicken. So I thought to myself, "Self, you could make something just as good, much faster (because I always keep a stock of shredded chicken in the freezer), for WAY cheaper (because green salsa cost $.72 a can at the grocery store)." Voila!!

Want to reduce the number of carbs you are about to inhale? Cut a quarter of the tortilla off before you roll them and put them in the dish. You save 9g of carbs in one serving and you don't even know it's gone.

BTW, this one got 5 stars at our dinner party/game night on Sunday. Why haven't I ever tried to make enchiladas before? What's my damage?!? These are Awesome!

Green Enchiladas

1 jar (14 oz) salsa verde (green salsa)
4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup canned green enchilada sauce (optional)
8 large flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups sour cream, divided
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Garnish: (optional)
raw red onion rings
chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, jalapeños and garlic, and cook to soften, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add chicken and 3/4 cup sour cream. Stir to combine.

Pour half of the salsa verde into the bottom of 9x13 medium casserole dish. Fill 8 flour tortillas with the shredded chicken mixture, roll them up and arrange them side-by-side in the baking dish. Spread the remaining sour cream over the top of the tortillas. Top with remaining salsa verde. Spoon enchilada sauce around the sides. Top with Swiss cheese, and then Jack cheeses. Bake 25-30 minutes until bubbly and brown on top.

Christmas Pics

2010-01-19T06:20:00.000-08:00

I completely forgot that I had this post completed and ready to go. Even though it's been sitting around for a while, I hope you enjoy!

E helping Rach open her presents. We put her in the jumper until we were finished to keep her occupied.

Moms, grandmas, sisters, babies, etc.

First, she had to get him out...

...So she could get in.

Riding SHOTGUN with PawPat

The "BEFORE DINNER" picture while they were both clean. She constantly wanted to stick her fingers in his ears...Weird!

This is the year Rachel discovered dog crates...

...and then Namaw taught her the art of bubble wrap.

The Babies in the Christmas pajamas Nanny gave them.

Rachel Figured Out how to Open my Kitchen Cabinets

2010-01-13T07:58:00.001-08:00

What's Cooking Wednesday - Hob Knobs

2010-01-13T07:38:00.001-08:00

E asked me to host an early QUICK dinner at our house every Wednesday night for him and his co-workers who have a late night meeting every Wednesday for a few weeks. Why? Well, he thought it would be nice to serve a warm, healthy, free meal at our house which is closer to their office (5 minute walk) than any fast food restaurant or their own house.

So every Wednesday night for about the past 2 months, we have had a variety of visitors around our dinner table. Since, they have to get back to work so quickly, I always have a kettle of hot water for hot chocolate next to a stack of to-go coffee cups as well as a dessert for the road.

We have already done and exhausted cookies and brownies, and brownies topped with cookies (more about those later...Mmmmmm) so I was struggling this week for ideas when I remembered E's favorite cookies from home (his mom's recipe). While I am sure that his mom's are better than mine, I quickly made a batch anyway. Emphasis on QUICKLY!!

There is old fashioned oats in this recipe ... so that makes them healthy, right?? I literally made these in less than 10 minutes and now have an awesome grab n' go dessert to keep E and our guests during their meeting tonight.

Hob Knobs

1/2 cup milk

2 cups sugar

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup peanut butter (I use Reduced Fat Creamy PB)

5 tbsp cocoa powder

3 cups old fashioned oats

1 tbsp vanilla

Mix milk, sugar and butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Stir. Bring mixture to a boil and let boil for 1 minute. Remove pot from heat and add PB, cocoa, oats and vanilla to the pot. Stir until all ingredients have been mixed. Spoon rounded tablespoons of mixture onto wax paper. Cookies will harden as they cool (about 1 hour). Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Christmas Finale

2010-01-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, let's get to the story that makes me cringe to think about. Since it snowed the night before I was scheduled to take off, my flight got cancelled and rescheduled 2 days later, AT A DIFFERENT TIME. Now, normally I wouldn't care, but this year, I am traveling with Rachel and it's ALL ABOUT SCHEDULING! So I got to the airport 2 hours earlier than my flight and thought I would have plenty of time. NOPE! I waited in line at the ticket counter for an hour and a half, then went through security. This is the part of the story where I get on my soap box real fast.

I am from the South. People helping people, holding the doors, smiling and saying hello and thank you. When a mother walks through security with an infant, stroller, diaper bag and carry-on, please TSA, offer to help her take off her (and baby's) coat and shoes, unload all food and drink and formula from the diaper bag, load everything on the conveyor belt, take baby out and fold up the stroller, throw it up on the conveyor belt, then find my boarding pass and ID to go through the metal detector, and then regroup once we were cleared. Let me say how much I loathe Northerners (sorry Northerners) for this reason...not one person helped me or was even understanding. I had more people agitated that I was taking so long than were willing to help me or go around me since I offered that to everyone.

Now that I am off of my soap box, I only had 15 minutes after clearing security to make my flight and, of course, my gate required a shuttle and LONG walk! I SPRINTED with baby and stroller and carryon and diaper bag. I made it with 5 minutes to spare only be delayed until Rachel's bedtime which made for a FUN flight. We landed, deplaned and made our way to baggage claim only to find out that they lost my luggage and my carseat. Figures!

Well, luggage and carseat showed up 2 days later, luckily I could wear my mom's clothes but poor Rach, she pooped through her clothes in and all I had to put on her was her coat while I washed her clothes.

The flight home was about the same. My flight got delayed again so we didn't take off until after 10pm. Rachel was beyond exhausted and the flight was SCARY! The wind was blowing 45 mph in 22 degree weather when we landed at 12:30am. I think I would rather give birth again then fly with my child well after bedtime ever again.

Rach enjoying the wide open spaces in the empty terminal. With 3 hours to kill, I just let her go and stayed close by.

Triple Threat

2010-01-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

I totally triple booked myself today and I am regretting every last second of it. First, I offered to babysit for about 4 hours for my neighbor. Then, I offered to take dinner to our other neighbors who just had a brand new baby girl. Then, I offered to host dinner for E and all of this co-workers. What a long day! Somehow, everything turned out ok, except for the fact that Rachel had CRAZY HAIR and only a diaper on when guests arrived for dinner.

So, since I took a quick quiche over to my neighbors last night, I have decided to share my/Paula Deen's recipe with you for an awesome Bacon Spinach Quiche that is my new GO-TO for when I have to take dinner to someone. I always struggle with what to take them so that I don't have to give my good dishes away (and hope they come back some day). Normally, I opt for Chicken Chili or Jumbalaya (something I can put in gladware) but if I can make a quiche, I can throw it in a pie crust from the freezer section of the grocery store and give it away guilt-free.

Food Network's Picture...not mine

Here's the best part...Frozen pie crusts come in a 2-pack and it's just as easy to make 2 quiches as it is to make 1 quiche. Can we all say "LEFTOVERS!!!" (I love leftovers almost as much as I love coffee). So to sum up, I love coffee, Rachel has crazy hair and this quiche AWESOME!.

Bacon Spinach Quiche

6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach, packed
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese (Swiss works great too, or whatever you have)
1 (9-inch) frozen pie crust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Layer the spinach, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then VERY SLOWLY pour the egg mixture on top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set

We're Back

2010-01-05T19:32:00.001-08:00

Well, we made it home...barely...lots of weather and ice and delays made for 2 VERY interesting plane rides. Just to keep me on my toes, the airlines thought it would be funny to reschedule all of my flights with my little one after 9pm. For the record, the fun just never stopped on one particular flight. I have come to the realization that I HATE FLYING now that I have a kid...and it's only an hour and a half flight home.

Back to our same ole schedule this week...Thank God! Groceries are bought and put away, suitcases are unpacked, and the symptoms of the 57 teeth that decided to come this week at the same time as a diaper rash and a cold have subsided so sleep is finally returning to normal.

Just a few Christmas and snow day pics to hold you over until I get my thoughts and pictures better organized.

E, who is old enough to be my ... much older brother ... sometimes treats me like a small child, and here is the evidence. He has a favorite Christmas book, Mr Wallaby's Christmas Tree, that he forgot to read to Rachel on our faux-Christmas Eve, so he made me sit on the couch with him so he could read the story to me.

Our Christmas tree, moments after Santa arrived.

She found the toys Santa left pretty quick. I sat her down to drink her morning milk as usual. I think she may have taken 2 sips before something blue and yellow caught her eye.

Me and E built a snow fort around the front of our house together while Rach took a nap. It totally ROCKED and was the BEST/ONLY snow fort in the neighborhood. Neighborhood kids started to congregate in our front yard trying to figure out what we were building. Don't adjust your monitors, yes, that is red sprinkles you see on top of the "rotundas." E is a little eccentric. I know enough not to question the way his mind works.

Holiday Break

2009-12-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

Teething is back and Christmas is here to wear me out physically, as if Rachel doesn't do a good enough job as is, so I will leave you with a few pictures from this weekend's snowfall and then I am heading home tomorrow for the holidays and plan to take a blogging break until the beginning of the year. So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Project Completed

2009-12-14T05:24:00.000-08:00

I have been working forever on finishing a project at home. This one was a new one for me. The stockings that me and E currently had were just some cheapo's we bought last minute at CVS a few years back and I really wanted something classier. I look at Ballard Designs and Pottery Barn and Pier One and I drool over their cute stockings and really wanted some. But it's just not in the cards for me this year. Maybe one day...So I went through my scraps of fabric and found an old curtain and decided to make our stockings this year...for FREE!!! It literally cost me nothing and I am super happy. It was so easy. If you have a sewing machine and a little bit of time, you can do this. So here are our stockings. Mine and E's match, Rach's is pink, and Maggie's is the brown furry one. I can't wait for Christmas now.

Our Last of a Snow Day

2009-12-11T05:33:00.000-08:00

We got snow...just lots of rain to go with it. Regardless, I was taking my baby outside to play. So we geared up and just went out for a few minutes but it was fun nonetheless.

She watched the snow fall outside the window for the longest time that day.

What's Cooking Wednesday -Belated - Energy Rice

2009-12-10T05:42:00.000-08:00

I can't remember where I saw this dish for the first time, but nonetheless, it's awesome, super quick and leaves me enough leftovers for lunch the next day. Long grain wild rice (energy), black beans (energy), pork (energy), and lastly green salsa (just for flavor and for fun). Seriously! It's that easy and you feel great after eating it. Going to the gym after work? Have a family at home that needs you to be motivated when you get home? EAT THIS! Protein Protein Protein!!

One extra perk, E loves this dish and gets excited when I make it because the pork is SO good and the flavors together are amazing. And I can't stress enough how quick this meal is. It literally takes less than 10 minutes to throw together.

1 can of black beans, drained

1/2 cup salsa verde

1 package Hormel Pork Au Jus

1 package Uncle Ben's 90 second rice (Long Grain Wild Rice works great!)

Cook the pork according to the package directions. Shred the meat and pour meat and juice into a mixing bowl. Add the salsa.

Cook the rice according to the package directions. Add rice to the meat and salsa mixture. Microwave the black beans for about a minute or until they are warm, then add to the rice and meat mixture. Stir all ingredients together. Serve.

Mt Vernon By Candlelight

2009-12-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

I am honestly TOO tired to do the research for the Tuesday gift ideas and I am too disorganized while getting ready for dinner guests tonight to do a What's Cooking Wednesday, so I am posting pictures instead. So sorry!

During the Thanksgiving weekend, my parent's got us all tickets to Mt Vernon by Candlelight. Mt Vernon is George Washington's home in Virginia and it was amazing. Our tour commenced right at dusk and it was beautiful. I highly recommend this tour if you live in the area or plan on visiting.

Rachel's first time to see a camel. This is Aladdin, the Christmas Camel. He was so tiny and was 2 years old. They told us that back in the Christmas of 1790, George Washington paid to have an 18th century oddity come to Mt Vernon. And that oddity was a camel, now called the "Christmas Camel."

Rach's camera face (or the excitement of seeing a camel for the first time).

While we waited for our turn to tour the property, carollers wearing period apparel, entertained the crowd by singing christmas carols while we all enjoyed cider and cookies.

Too Little Not To Late

2009-12-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

So I know it's been a few days and Thanksgiving has passed us all by and we are all looking into the future now towards Christmas (I know, I said it, Christmas...not "Winter Holiday") but I am still posting my Thanksgiving pictures today (Finally!).

Rach decided she wanted to chew on my sister's new wellies while she took a nap.

All of us at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

E carving my Thanksgiving masterpiece.

Rach was occupied for at least an hour chewing on my mom's beads.

She was also completely mesmerized by my dad's mustache.

Lets Talk Chicken

2009-12-03T04:19:00.000-08:00

While the Bailey house is recovering from a stomach bug (ugh! It's way more fun when you still have to be "Momma" but you physically can't get off the couch), I am going to leave you with some chicken tips until I can pull my life and my household back together.

How easy is it to buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store? SUPER EASY!!! BEYOND EASY!!!

So why not use the convenience to set your kitchen up for success? Do rotisserie the Everyday Bailey way!!

Step 1: Buy the chicken!

Step 2: Leave it on the counter to cool after you get home from the grocery store (only if you plan on pulling it apart immediately, otherwise, put it in the fridge until you are ready).

Step 3: Once the chicken is cool enough to pull apart with your fingers, pull the legs/thighs apart in once piece. Put in individual sandwich bags and seal. Put the individual bags inside a larger freezer bag and seal. Throw in the freezer.

Step 4: Pull the rest of the meat off of the bone, quickly shred with your hands, divide and put into 2 separate storage containers. Throw in the freezer.

**Steps 3 and 4 take 10 minutes. Trust me! You have time for this!

So let's review what you have done...

1. You have individual bags of chicken legs/thighs in the freezer. And if you don't eat them by the time you go the grocery store again, add to the freezer bags with more legs/thighs. Now you can pull out the exact number of legs/thighs that you need, thaw them over night in the fridge, and when you are ready for dinner, throw them in your toaster oven or regular oven for about 12 minutes at 400 degrees. Add a side dish, and you have dinner!!

2. You also have shredded chicken for casseroles, soups, stews, a green salad, pizza, pasta, chicken salad, the possibilities are ENDLESS!!! With this step, you have saved yourself SO MUCH time making dinner because now don't have to cook, cool and then shred the chicken before assembling your dinner. To quickly thaw, throw in the microwave for a minute to a minute and a half. Use, Eat, Enjoy!

Everyday Bailey Turkey Day

2009-11-25T05:11:00.000-08:00

My family is flying in on Thanksgiving so we are all celebrating a day late. The menu? I am so glad you asked! If you are still mulling over what to make or take to your own Thanksgiving celebrations, maybe some of these will help give you some ideas.

Blueberry Walnut Brie Puffed Pastry

Mushroom Provolone Bruschetta

Turkey

Gravy

Apple and Onion Stuffing

Sausage and Wild Rice

Cauliflower Faux Mash Potatoes

Sweet Potato Soufflé

Cranberry Sauce

Chess Pie

Apple Dumplings

What's Cooking Wednesday - Mexican Lasagna Showdown

2009-11-25T04:29:00.000-08:00

E and I have very different taste palates. He is "less flavor, more meat, more beans, more cheese, more fried foods" kind of guy. I am "more flavor, take or leave the meat, more greens, less beans, less fried, sauce on everything."

So I tried 2 different mexican lasagnas and, of course, we both liked different ones. So I have decided to merge my recipes and take the great things from both and make one awesome dish that we both like. But for you...I will let you choose. Here is the pictures and recipes for both lasagnas.

Both easy, both cheap, both awesome! So now the only question is...Which one will you make?

HERS:

Chicken and Spinach Tortilla Bake

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 chicken cutlets (about 1 pound)

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups store-bought salsa verde

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

4 large flour tortillas, cut into

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

3 cups baby spinach (about 1/4 pound)

2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then shred the meat.

Whisk together the salsa verde and ricotta; season with salt and pepper. In a greased 9-inch square baking dish, layer one-third of the salsa mixture, tortillas, chicken, onion, spinach and pepper jack; repeat twice. Bake until golden-brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

HIS:

Quesadilla Casserole

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup chopped onion

One 29-ounce can black beans, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved

1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Five 10-inch flour tortillas

8 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded

1 cup store-bought green enchilada sauce

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups black beans and mash into a chunky paste. Stir in the reserved liquid.

Grease a heavy, ovenproof skillet. In a bowl, combine the corn, parsley and remaining black beans. Place a tortilla in the skillet and spread with 1/3 cup mashed black bean mixture. Top with 2/3 cup corn-bean mixture and 1/2 cup cheese. Press to compress the layers. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, mashed black beans, corn-bean mixture and cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through, about 30 minutes. Transfer to the broiler and cook for 1 minute. Serve with the enchilada sauce.

Gift Ideas - Part II

2009-11-24T04:04:00.000-08:00

Do you know how versatile a muffin tin is? Do you? Yes, you can make muffins all day long but there are so many other things you can do with it...cupcakes, mini quiche, individual meat loaf, mac and cheese, cheesecake, and for thanksgiving, you can make individual servings of stuffing, potatoes au gratin...the possibilities are endless. The muffin tin is a staple in most houses but I ABSOLUTELY HATE cleaning and scrubbing all of the burnt little bits off the sides so that the nonstick status of my tin will continue to stay "nonstick."

Enter...silicone muffin pans.

This relatively new product is a cooks best friend. No more soaking overnight and scrubbing the sides for hours at a time. Just pop the muffins right out! Make sure you get a rack (sled) to go underneath it though...I ended up getting one without a rack to hold the pan straight and the pan flops over so I have to use 2 hands to pull it out of the oven everytime.

At Bed, Bath and Beyond they are $10-$13 depending on what size you get. And since those are so cheap, don't stop there, loaf pans, cake pans, baking sheets, utensils (Amazing!), bundt pans. There are so many silicone products out there. And don't forget to use that $5 off coupon that you always get in the mail but forget to use. Target also has several different sets in several different colors as well.

Also, check Amazon. They have lots of interesting products I haven't seen anywhere else.

Playing Catchup

2009-11-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

It's official! I now have a crawler. She's been scooting backwards for the longest time but last week she got excited about Maggie's tail and was determined to touch it. And forward motion began...

While the babygates are up and she is thrilled she can move about now, there is still lots of whining because she's stuck under the coffee table, lots of whining because wants to play in Maggie's food and water bowl, lots of whining because she can't reach the Christmas tree...Oh my! But it sure is fun to watch!

We are now eating solid foods. Mom is breathing a sigh of relief. It's SO NICE not to have to sit there with her and feed her every bite of food that goes in her mouth. So far she hasn't found anything she WOULDN'T put in her mouth.

Last update...we finally have enough hair for a tiny hair bow. While it doesn't stay in very long, I am still thankful for hair on this Thanksgiving week.

More to Come

2009-11-20T09:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posting this week. We have have four sets of dinner guests, 2 work functions, and symptoms of a new tooth (meaning a massive lack of sleep). But come back next week and I will make up for it with two new awesome recipes, more gift ideas for the aspiring cook, pics of Rach, and some other tips and projects. Have a great weekend.

More Baby Winter Shoes

2009-11-16T07:10:00.000-08:00

We talked about winter shoes/socks in one for babies for this winter. While I had a hard time at first, I got lots of comments regarding Etsy's choices. I don't know why I didn't think of that. am a huge etsy fan and have bought LOTS of stuff there. So here are a few favorites along with some others I found for cheap this week!

Cute little Pink and Brown Booties $23

Wool Plaid Baby Boots $28

Park Fountain Baby Boots $28

Baby MukLuk - on sale for $9.99 right now...I want to talk about these. So cheap and my baby loves these. We received some of these in a lot of hand-me-downs, but these are AWESOME and super cheap right now. They are basically socks with a leather sole and leather sides. So cute and so comfortable.

I featured Bebabean's sweater socx a few weeks ago, but I thought I would mention that they have free shipping all month long and they seem to be all restocked now. If you have a chunky monkey baby, order a larger size. My daughter has some serious calves and I can barely get them around her chunky legs.

The Upcoming Projects

2009-11-16T05:09:00.000-08:00

I saw this on Homemade by Jill and Martha Stewart and completely melted. My sweet baby needs one of these. She has a little baby she plays with that E calls "her Mama Doll" because he thinks the doll looks like me. But I don't care, she loves that doll and she loves her mama.

Looks at these? Aren't they precious?? I have lots of clothes in my yard sale pile to make lots of little accessories for the doll I make for her. Oh...how cute these are. I am so excited?

The Friday Wrap-Up

2009-11-13T07:19:00.000-08:00

-We had an awesome week. E was off of work and we played and walked and cooked and enjoyed having him home for a few days before the nightmare at work starts again next week.

-The Christmas Tree is officially up but I refuse to decorate it until December. However, lights don't count as decoration. Decorations are meant to go on the tree with ambiance...Some eggnog or apple cider, and a christmas movie playing in the background with the whole family helping.**Rach was able to reach the tree topper and pulled it into her playpen...She was so excited that she had her very own Christmas tree inside her crib.

-Rach is standing and pulling up on anything and everything. This makes nap time a pain since she pulls up in the crib and tries to suck on the babycam. Or she drops her paci over the side and can't reach it to put it back in her mouth so she cries FOREVER. This is the blurry picture we got this afternoon and it's something we are starting to see alot more of...

-I heard "MaMa" come out of Rachel's mouth this week. However, I say "MaMa" and she looks me in the eye and says "BaBa." She makes the M sound all of the time but just won't say it 2 times in a row. It's still beyond cute! We also started solid foods almost exclusively. Here is Rach eating some black beans and Maggie, assuming her usual position, standing by waiting for some chicken to fall her way.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Taco Melts

2009-11-12T06:26:00.000-08:00

Whoops! I forgot about posting What's Cooking Wednesday ...on Wednesday. Better late than never. But I had another project I was working on that I can't wait to tell you about in due time. But first, a little Tex Mex meal you can make ahead the night before and throw in the oven when you get home from work the next day. **As a side note, ... this is not one of my healthier meals, however, it is one of my tastier meals. Biscuit dough is a rarity at the Bailey house.

Tonight we are having Taco Melts for dinner. I am "not so much" about the ground beef, so whenever I can, I always substitute ground chicken/turkey or shredded rotisserie chicken for a leaner option. So take artistic/nutritional liberties with this recipe and make it your own. I also like to throw a mixture of corn, black beans and rotel tomatoes into the mix. What do you like? How about a little more heat? Pepper Jack cheese? Some veggies?

Taco Melts

1 pk. Taco seasoning mix

2/3 cup water

1 1/2 cup salsa

1 lb. Ground beef, cooked, drained (or shredded chicken)

1 can Grands biscuits

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan, cook the ground beef on medium heat until browned. Then, add taco seasoning mix, water, 1/2 cup of the salsa to the beef until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat.

Mix the remaining salsa and sour cream together in a separate bowl.

Press each biscuit into 6-inch round. On half of the biscuit, leaving 1/4 inch room on the edges to seal, top with 2-3 T. taco beef mixture, then 1 T. cheese, then 1 T. of sour cream-salsa mixture. Fold dough over filling and press to seal. Place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake 9 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with remaining salsa and sour cream mixed together.

To make ahead: Put taco melts on a greased cookie sheet and refrigerate. When you are ready to cook, make sure you let them thaw on the counter for about 20 minutes before cooking according to the directions.

Gift Ideas

2009-11-10T04:48:00.000-08:00

Have you drawn a blank trying to figure out what you want for Christmas? Starting in October and November, me and sisters start the phone calls and emails back and forth regarding what we are getting everyone and what we want and what our husbands need. I hate telling people exactly what I want, but none of my family is around me these days to know my taste and needs. So I am here to help you with those awkward conversations and give you a few ideas regarding gifts for the cook (or aspiring cook).

Every Tuesday until Christmas, I will bring you some gift ideas that are cost conscious. I would love to have some wonderful cast iron enameled cookware or Dutch oven, like Le Crueset, but for me, it's just seems impractical to spend $300-400 on ONE pot. Last year, E got me an off-brand one from Sam's. It's the best thing I have ever cooked with. LOVE IT and it was only $30-40. Kohl's has a line of Food Network and Rachael Ray Cookware with good prices and you can always get a good sale at Kohl's. If you haven't signed up for their email service, they will send you a $5 off coupon.

Check Amazon. They had some good prices on cast iron cookware as well. Also, Mario Batali and Paula Deen have their own "celebrity" cookware that is fairly reasonably priced.

Why do you want a cast iron pot? What can you do with it? The question is, what can't you do with it. Soups, Stews, Roasts, Chili, ... You can do anything with it! You can cook with it on a stove, in an oven, over a fire, it's just so versatile and cleans well too. I find myself using this pot at least once a week in the summer and twice a week in the winter time.

In the Spirit

2009-11-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas and I am SO ready to let the festivities begin! We have already started the Christmas music, today I rearranged the living room so the Christmas tree would fit, the baking has started, I am preparing my grocery list for my Thanksgiving meal, SO many things to get excited about. And none are more exciting to me than my trip home for Christmas. I am pumped!! I can't wait to see all of our family, for Rach to play with her cousin, to do a a little Christmas shopping. Ahhh...I love the holiday season! Have I mentioned that I am putting up my tree tomorrow? Don't make fun! You could do it too if you wanted! I took Rachel to Target yesterday and we hung out in the decoration department for the longest time because she was squealing at the all of the tree and yard ornaments that were all lit up. I can't wait to celebrate with her.

Here is my baby (who said MaMa to me this morning) practicing opening presents already by unloading the diaper basket 12 times daily. While I like that she moves around the floor these days, I miss the days when I could sit her down, and she would still be in the exact same spot when I checked on her a few minutes later.

Halloween Pics - My Little Sweet Pea

2009-11-05T05:58:00.001-08:00

What's Cooking Wednesday - Sausage and Wild Rice One Pot Wonder

2009-11-04T04:45:00.000-08:00

Why didn't I ever think of this?

Let me tell you about the love affair I have had with fresh thyme for some "thyme" now! Cheesy, I know. But I am not kidding. That flavor is unbelievable! So I am always looking for a good excuse to use it in anything and everything!

Since I had 1/2 a link of sausage in the fridge that needed to be cooked or thrown out, on a whim, I threw some stuff together, added some fresh herbs, the fastest rice known to man kind and I had one of the best meals that I have had in my mouth in a long while. It was so hearty and familiar and it just screamed "autumn" without having to add pumpkin. So much so, that I may use this same recipe with stuffing instead of rice for my thanksgiving meal! It's Thanksgiving worthy and comes with a turkey shaped stamp of approval from yours truly!

Uncle Ben's Ready Rice rice is like manna from heaven. I always seem to over cook or under cook the rice. This doesn't even begin to touch on the fact that rice takes FOREVER to cook. This rice is flavorful, super fast and comes with an online coupon!! You just tear the top open a bit, throw it in the microwave for 90 seconds and serve. Now I don't have to slave in the kitchen all day but E doesn't have to know that when he bites into his dinner!

Go home and make this tonight. It takes a total of 15 minutes to throw together and it's completely worth it!

Sausage and Wild Rice One Pot Wonder

1/2 package of smoked sausage, sliced into bite size pieces

1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup onion, diced

4 T fresh thyme, chopped

3 T fresh parsley, chopped

1 bag Uncle Ben's 90 sec Wild Rice

1/4 cup water or chicken broth

Fresh Ground Pepper

In a pot or large saute pan, cook the sausage at medium-high heat until browned. Remove the sausage from the pan and leave the drippings. Meanwhile, put the rice in the microwave and cook according to the directions.

Add the onions and mushrooms to the sausage drippings. Cook until tender, then add the thyme, parsley and garlic. Stir together for 1-2 minutes. Add rice and water to the pan. Season with ground pepper. Cook on medium until all ingredients are well blended and heated through about 3-5 minutes.

The Accident

2009-11-02T05:10:00.000-08:00

We had our first memorable accident this week. I saw Rach holding on to the coffee table. Her feet kept pushing further and further back meaning she was going to scrape her face all the way down the table when she fell. So I went to fix her legs and didn't make it in time! UGH! The sound of her face hitting the table and then the crying. I felt so bad for her.

Since then, I had E put the playpen in the living room so she could stand in there and fall down till her heart's content. Man, she loves it! She can watch Special Agent Oso and stand up at the same time!