Taco Pasta Bake

Oh. My. Gah. This was the quickest and easiest thing I think I've ever cooked. And I LOVED IT. So did the hubs so yay for me (and Pinterest)!!

This meal took me 15 minutes to prepare. And to me that is priceless!

Taco Pasta Bake

What you need:

• 1 box of Ziti pasta
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1/2 package cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese

Ok. So as you see, I added a few ingredients of my own. And so should you!! You can't have a 'Mexican dish' without Rotel and refried beans!! Kidney beans would've been great too!

What you do:

• Boil your pasta
• Brown ground beef (I cooked mine ahead of time & froze it) & drain
• Mix taco seasoning & 1 cup of water to ground beef for 5 minutes
• Add cream cheese, Rotel and beans. Simmer on low until cheese is melted.
• Put pasta in casserole dish; mix in 1 cup shredded cheese.
•  Top pasta with beef mixture & gently stir it.
• Top with remaining cheese (PLUS A WHOLE LOT MORE FOR ME)
• Bake at 350 until cheese is melted.

For real, this was so simple and delicious! Especially since I had precooked my beef! Toss together a salad and a side of corn. This was perfect. It was cheap and easy and my kinda supper!!

The perfect one is awake from her nap so I'll have to cut this one short! But you should definitely cook this for supper one night this week! Your family will love you!

Prep Time: 15 minutes (if you precook your beef)
Yields: 6-8 people

Chicken Lo Mein

You call it a One Pot Wonder. Everything goes into one pot and you cook it at once. Pretty convenient if you ask me! Tonight, well today at lunch, I tried this recipe, Chicken Lo Mein. I must say, it was a pretty quick and easy dish. And tasty!

Chicken Lo Mein

What you need:

• 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used 2 breasts)
• 1 - 13.25 to 16 oz. box of linguini or fettuccini pasta, broken in half (I used whole wheat linguini)
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut in thin 3" long strips
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut in 3" long strips
• 1 bunch green onions, white part sliced and green part cut in 3" long strips
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t corn starch
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 t EVOO

What you do:

• Add the chicken, then the pasta, then the remaining ingredients to a large stockpot and cover. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir and reduce heat to medium-low. 
• Cook covered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.Cook until most of the liquid is gone and chicken is cooked through.
• Remove the lid and let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Prep Time: 15 min.
Yields: 4-6

Veggies cut in 3" long strips

 

If you do not have a garlic press ~ INVEST in one!

I am a control freak. So 2 things happened in this recipe. 1 - I boiled my chicken separate while I was slicing and dicing. And 2 - I added more liquids than it called for. I definitely would add more liquid but not as much as I did. I added the rest of the water I boiled my chicken in. Didn't hurt the meal. Just made it very juicy. Oh and I also added 1/4 cup extra of soy sauce. If you add more broth/water, then definitely add more soy sauce.

This meal was stinking good! It was very different from anything else I've ever cooked. I would, however, "modify" it to fit our family a little better. Next time, I will add more chicken and possibly some shrimp. I will cut the veggies into smaller pieces. And I will add broccoli, sliced yellow onion and water chestnuts for sure!

As far as price goes, I came out of pocket on this meal just under $10. I already had the chicken and the seasonings. And I will be able to get a lot more uses out of the cornstarch and soy sauce. We've eaten off of this meal twice and there's still at least two more servings in there!

I give this meal an overall 4 Stars. Definitely something you should try at least once.

Thanks for reading! 

5 STAR Food

I've been really excited all day to cook this meal and share it with y'all! I cooked Parmesan Baked Tomatoes and French Onion Chicken Sandwiches and both were fantastic! My husband likes everything and anything but he still really, really enjoyed this meal.

Let's not wait any longer. Here's the DL.

Parmesan Baked Tomatoes

What you need:

• 2 tomatoes
• 1/3 freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 t. oregano
• salt & pepper
• olive oil

Here's what you do:

• Slice tomatoes and place on baking sheet
• Sprinkle with cheese, oregano and salt & pepper
• Drizzle with olive oil
• Bake on 450 for 10 minutes

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Yields: 12 slices

Ok. Walmart only had tiny, baby tomatoes so I used 3 tomatoes. Recipe called for 1/3 cup of cheese; I probably used more like 2/3 cup. But this was a very quick and easy dish. It tasted like pizza!! It was very good but I'm not a fan of cooked tomatoes. It's a texture thing I do believe. Will I cook this again? Yes. My husband LOVED these. Bonus for me because this was as easy as fixing a bowl of cereal! It wasn't a cheap meal per say. The tomatoes were $2.50 and the cheese was $3.25 for the bag but I only used 2/3 of a cup! I already had the oregano and s&p and olive oil. $6 for only one dish isn't that great. Sorry penny pinchers!

I give 5 stars for the taste, 1 for the texture and 2 for price.

French Onion Chicken Sandwiches

What you need:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
• 1 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 T granulated sugar
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 4 sandwich-sized King Hawaiian buns
• non-stick cooking spray

Here's what you do:

• Preheat grill to medium-high heat
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sugar, stirring well to combine. Cook the onions for 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until deeply caramelized.
• Pound the chicken breast halves until they're about 1" thick. Coat with the nonstick spray, then place on the grill. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, turning over once halfway through.
• Top the chicken with the cheese, cover once more and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
• Build the sandwiches by dividing the spinach among the buns, place the chicken on top followed by a generous helping of the caramelized onions.

Prep Time: 5-7 minutes
Yields: 4

I didn't really know what this recipe meant by halved but I sliced it and made 2 out of each breast. Think butterflying the chicken. I also don't like Swiss cheese so I used Pepper Jack cheese. I used an electric skillet to grill the chicken. I have no clue how to operate a real grill! Oh, and I used regular hamburger buns because I didn't see that it said use delicious ones.

I doubled this recipe thinking we'd have leftovers and we definitely did not. Not because we're little piggies or anything. The chicken I bought was on sale for a reason & it did some serious shrinking. I ended putting a whole breast on each sandwich.

THIS SANDWICH WAS HEAVENLY. No. For real. I loved it so much and so did James. The Hawaiian rolls would have taken it over the top. I spend about $8 on this meal. The cheese was $2.74 for 10 slices but I have another meal I will use the rest on. The bag of onions was $5 but I have a lot of onions leftover. The buns will be used in another meal also and so will the spinach. I will buy better chicken next time. This sandwich is worth the extra money on good chicken.

I give 5 stars for everything concerning this dish!! It will be a weekly meal in the Sharp house!

These were the most simple dishes. I started cooking at 4:07PM and was done at 4:59PM...and that was making sure everything was picture perfect. I had to make sure each onion and tomato slice was perfect. And I also took a ton of pictures to make it look all fancy and professional for y'all.

I absolutely loved this inspiration I had! Can't wait for the next recipe!!

Until then...

Feeling inspired...

When I feel inspired, I better jump on that train while it's at the station. Once it leaves, I never think of it again.

So, last night, as my insomnia kicked in, I decided to check out some meal ideas on Pinterest. I hadn't been on in a few months and holy mother of Elsa!!! Have the meals always been so enticing??? 

I love to cook. It's probably one of my favorite things to do. I also love to grocery shop. I know, I know. I'm insane. So take these two things, combine it with Pinterest & my new blog...BAM!!! Inspiration!

Here it is. During the month of June I'd like to try several different recipes a week, document the whole she-bang and write a blog about it. I'll give tips, how to's, try it or don't try it, pictures, shortcuts, etc. I will be incorporating the freezer meal fad with my meats to see if it's worth the time you save vs. quality and taste of the meat. And, for all you penny pinchers, I will try my best to do cheap-ish meals. I will be scouring Walmart for the best prices I can find. :)

Exciting right?! You better believe it!!

Warning: I do not cook very healthy. I do not use organic, gluten-free, low fat or any other healthy ingredients. I do, however, use fresh and frozen vegetables. That should win me some points, right?

Until we meet again...

#TBT

Here we go. It's Wednesday, May 29, 2013. I wake up around 11am and think to myself, "Flo should be in town Sunday but let me go ahead and take a test, ya know, just for the heck of it."

Catch up: I took my last birth control pill at the end of April. We were going to try and have a baby! I mean, I was almost 30 and you know folks can't be having no babies this late in life. Plus, we had both been hippies back in the day, if you know what I mean, and that can cause sterilization. So, I had made up my mind that it would definitely take us forever to get pregnant. Surely.

Back to Wednesday. I tinkled on a stick and it said yes. Well, actually it said "pregnant." I was shocked. How could I be pregnant?? I've only been off the pill for a month! It was supposed to take 6 months for this to happen. Right? Wrong. Way wrong. So, here I am, pregnant.

Oh. My. God. I'm pregnant. What am I going to do? I don't even like kids.

Complete fear.


Oh. My. God. I'm pregnant. Ahhhh...I'm having a baby!

One thought later, complete happiness.

I've learned that hormones are in complete control of your mind, body and soul once you conceive. One year later ~ hormones are STILL in complete control.

Thank God James would be home for lunch in like 15 minutes. For 15 minutes I paced, cried, had a cheesy grin, paced some more, went back to look at the test, shook like a leaf and tried to think of a clever way to tell him. He walked through the door, I held up the test and blurted, "You know what this says?"

So special. So clever.

I finally convince him that I was for real and not playing a joke on him and we called our parents. Neither of them answered, so I took a picture of James poking his belly out like a pregnant woman & I held the test out in front of him and we sent them a picture. (Kicking myself that I didn't save this picture somewhere.)

They answered then.

I knew I wasn't very far along so I didn't want to tell a lot of people. I wanted to get out of the 'danger zone.' I had never been pregnant before and didn't know if I could even carry a baby. Plus, I had only taken one pregnancy test.

Remember what day it is? Wednesday. Know what event takes place on Wednesdays? Church.

Fast forward to 6 pm. Just getting ready to start church and our pastor walks up to me (in front of everyone) going on about me being pregnant. What the crap? I haven't even told my family. Here he is telling our church. I scan around looking for James and see him, phone in hand, showing people the picture. Dude, for real? Of course, I had a meltdown. We left church. I flipped out on him. (Hormones...)

So we had to make hurried phone calls to our family and tell them before the church grapevine took our precious news public.

This is pretty much how I remember this day.

I am completely in love with this little girl. I am completely in love with being her mommy. I can't imagine life before May 29, 2013. I can't imagine Irelyn not in our picture. She is the sweetest baby. I know I will fall more in love as she gets older. But today, one year later, I can't imagine being any happier.


My life isn't perfect but it's perfect for me.

Happy Throwback Thursday!!

I was 5 weeks when I found out. This ultrasound was at 7 weeks.

I'm baaacccckkkk...

So, several of you have requested that I keep my blog more updated than I have been. 

Ok. I hear you.

Let's talk about my worst enemy right now...the 'baby weight' I gained while prego. All 65+ pounds of it. 

(Did I mention Irelyn weighed only 7.3 of those pounds?! Ha)

Do I regret my inner fat chick way of thinking? Hmmm...today I regret it. When I'm drinking an ice, cold DP and eating hot fries...no. Not. A. Single. Regret.

Here were my thoughts on eating & pregnancy: 

"Eat what you want, when you want. You only have this excuse once. And besides, you can take Plexus after you have the baby and lose it all anyway."

No one told me that baby weight tends to hang on a little tighter than regular fat. And I had forgotten that I gain about 10 extra pounds on birth control.

So, in dishonor of my inner fat chick, I cooked a 'healthy' meal tonight. And it was actually very tasty!

James called it 'Shrimp Étouffée.' A true Cajun would laugh in his face.

What you need:

- 1/2 to 1 pound of steamed shrimp (my local grocery store steams & seasons them for you!)

- 1/4 to 1/2 box of whole wheat rotini pasta

- butter (I don't know the healthy version of butter.)

- salt, minced garlic & minced onion (seasonings)

What you do:

- Boil your pasta; drain (duh!)

- Peel your shrimp*; add to pasta

- Pile on the butter (Again, I don't know the healthy way to do this!)

- Add seasonings to your liking

*This shrimp is a little pricy. Well, more pricy than the frozen, tiny ones. You can use whatever shrimp you'd like!

I made way too much! 4x this recipe! But this would feed 3-4 people.

So this was missing something. James decided to add cream of mushroom (yes!), shredded cheese (nah...not cheddar anyway) and milk (yes!). **Taste the original before adding these ingredients.**

But that's totz not all. I made veggies!! 6 of them and they were delish!!

What you need:

- 1 red bell pepper (cut in strips)

- 1 small onion (sliced however)

- 15 (+/-) baby carrots

- a lot of mushroom slices

- 1 squash (sliced)

- 1 cucumber (sliced)

What to do:

- Throw them all in a baking dish. Add butter (I got a little crazy with the butter). Season with minced garlic and salt (or whatever seasonings you'd like).

- Bake at 350 forever. Jk til the veggies are tender. I forgot to time it :) Maybe 30-45 minutes. This feeds 4-6 people.

This was a pretty good meal. My inlaws and husband loved it! I wanted a cheeseburger. Ha. Nah. It was very good! We will be having this again!

And the perfect one is still perfect. I'll write more about her next time. She's rolling all over the place now. She always has a smile on her face and is the most pleasant baby I know! 

Irelyn McKenna - 14 weeks old

What a weekend!

Ok so first off, James and I had a date night Friday night. I started getting ready around 4pm (bc I haven't quite mastered how to manage time with a baby). James got in at 6:30. We were both ready by 7:30. "Then why," you ask, "did we not leave until 8:30?!" 4 words: IRELYN MCKENNA JAMES SHARP. She has never eaten 5 oz. so slow before! It took her so long to drink it, I didn't even bathe her. Just wiped her down & suited her up. We went to Longhorn (especially for their mac & cheese) and had a wonderful family date night. Got home and in bed well after midnight. 

Did I mentioned I had plans with the sisters-in-law to go garage sale'ing at 6am?!? Also, did I mention that we were all taking our sweet, little angel babies?! I mean the weather has been beautiful all week. Sunny and 75!! So, this is how I dressed my perfect one...

You know, just a little cardigan because it might be cool that early in the morning! (This outfit has spaghetti straps!) WE FROZE OUR BOTTOMS OFF!!! The babies were bundled from head to toe like we were slap-dab in the middle of winter. 

No worries though. We were back home by 3pm. Ha! In your face, you other garage salers!! We totz outdid you!!

Why do I always feel the need to be a one-upper? I hurt no one but myself. I WAS SO VERY TIRED. And I didn't even get any good buys at the sale. Lesson learned. I napped for about an hour before my life as a mother & wife was to start again. 

And then we got invited to go eat with some family. So, of course, we said yes! And again, didn't get in bed to well after midnight.

And what do ya know? 6am rolled right back around just like it did the morning before. This time I had to get up and make myself all beautified! We have practice at church at 8am. I went to practice with no makeup bc I ran out of time. Seriously?! 2 hours wasn't enough time? Please tell me that time management gets easier!!  

So after church we had a little get together with the church staff and didn't get home til around 3. By 5 I was passed smooth out. Woke up at 8pm and stayed up until last night (Monday) til 9:30. 

Again (hopefully) you're asking, "Why?!"

Well, when I woke up Sunday night, the rest of my family was asleep. So I'm thinking it's a perfect time to get some much needed house work done. And I did. And it was fabulous. Around 4:30 I decide to go to bed. But when I went in there, James was awake and we decided to work on some videos for our worship team. Layed back down around 6:30 and at 7, the perfect one woke up to eat. Only she wasn't just hungry. I have no clue what was wrong but she cried, ate and slept off and on til 10:30. I couldn't do anything to calm her. I gave her some Gripe Water. Nothing. So I give her some Tylenol. And I found out very quickly that she inherited her gag reflex from me!!! She puked ev.er.y.where. And lots of it. I bathed & dressed her and decided this time I'd put her medicine in this little medicine bottle thing. It's like the tiniest bottle ever. Well, about half way through, she pukes some more. I clean her up again and she fell asleep and was perfect once more. I have no clue what was wrong with my sweet girl.

James got home last night and was sick as a dog. Are you serious? I was so looking forward to him coming home and taking over baby duty so I could GO TO SLEEP!!! So I put him on the couch with a trash can and a bottle of water. And at 9:30 I fed the little girl and we went to sleep. Woke up at 11:30 to eat again (she also inherited her appetite from me). And, listen up...WE SLEPT UNTIL 8:30 THIS MORNING. She ate another bottle and we all went back to sleep until 11:30. 

Here's the most amazing part. I was crying and I prayed and asked God to please let her go to sleep. I didn't realize she was hungry bc she had just eaten. So after about 15 minutes of her crying - and me arguing with God that I wasn't going to pick her up - I picked her up and fed her. And He answered my simple little prayer. We all got some much needed rest and it's all because God cares enough about his babies that even when we cry and throw a fit in the middle of the night, He gives us what we want (and need)!!! 

My family is perfect for me and we are so blessed. I don't deserve this life but God gives us grace even when we don't deserve it. 

Now here's a simply and oh-so-yummy recipe for you faithful followers!!

We'll call it...

Fried tators & sausage

You'll need:

1 medium onion (big chunks)

3-4 medium potatoes (cut like French fries)

Package of beef link sausage (chopped in bite sized pieces)

*Richard's is the very best!!

I took one boneless chicken breast and chopped it up and seasoned it with salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Cooked it in a little veggie oil. When the chicken was almost done, I threw in the sausage and cooked it another 5 minutes or so.

Take it out and drain the oil from it. Don't pour the grease out of pan. Scoop out the meat and put in strainer.

Salt & pepper the potatoes and onions. Pour them in the pan you did the meat. Cover and let them cook for about 15 minutes and add your chicken and sausage. Cover and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. And voilá!! (Feeds 3-4 adults)

Roasted cabbage 

Oh my goodness. This was heavenly. I took a head of cabbage and sliced it and brushed it with oil, salt & pepper. Roasted in the oven at 400 for about 20 mins. It was initially supposed to be just a side dish but it was so good mixed up in the fried tators & sausage!!!!

Enjoy!! And let me hear some feedback if you decide to cook this! It's a husband favorite!!

Valuable life lessons

I should've posted this along with the last blog.

A few nights ago, I put some cornbread in the oven. 11-13 minutes later I got it out and sat it on the stove. I cut it and was starting to butter it and popped a little crumb in my mouth. It tasted burned. And it was perfectly, golden brown. Confused, I tasted another bite. Still tasted burned. It was even started to smell burned. So I cut it and sure enough the entire bottom was solid black. The burner it was sitting on was on high. Seriously?!? So I throw a few Sis Shuebert rolls in the oven (bc supper is now getting cold). James jumped in the shower and I fell asleep on the couch. 20 minutes later I remember the rolls. And what do ya know?! They are burned. Hard as rocks. Lol well I'm the type of girl that needs two things with a meal: meat & bread. So I put some more SS rolls in there and stood in front of the stove until they were done. 3rd times a charm!

Point of this story is: juggling life with a newborn is messing me up!!!! I'm learning day by day...actually I'm learning randomly throughout each day...how to balance my new life. What an exciting journey!!! I love each and every second of it.

Another valuable new mom lesson: always have a bag of Sis Shuebert rolls in the freezer!!! 

Much love, friends!!!

Hanna

Nobody told me about this part...

I. Am. So. Tired. All the time!! And I can't seem to get caught up on anything. And it's not like I don't get any sleep. She sleeps pretty good. My house looks like a tornado blew through here. My best friend asks me every day if I bathed Irelyn. Ha. She's lucky to get fed & changed on time. Will I ever catch back up on my energy or will I just get used to functioning like this?!

In other news, the perfect one is still perfect. She's 2 months old now & weighs a whopping 12.1 pounds and is 24 inches long. She eats anywhere from 5-8 oz every 2-3 hours. Probably why her cheeks hang down to her shoulders. But we gotta start her somewhere, just incase she wants to play in the WNBA. I mean, skinny, fragile girls aren't basketball champs!!!

Enough about her (for now). I know I'm not the only one juggling kids, a husband, a house and a job. So I wanted to share a new (AND SUPER EASY) recipe.

3 ingredients: chicken strips, butter and ranch seasoning. Here ya go.

Thaw chicken. Heat butter in a pan. Roll each strip in ranch seasoning - I mean cake it on there - and then cook it. It's so very delicious and it takes no time. It has saved me in a pinch a few times since the perfect one arrived. Give it a try. If you like it (and like the idea of me posting easy recipes), let me know!! I love to cook and have a lot of simple solutions for all you busy women!!

Until next time...

God is control...

And it's so hard for me not to micromanage Him. Sounds silly but I do!

So many sick babies right now and I'm doing everything in 'my' power to keep my little girl from catching anything. I keep reminding myself that 'my' power isn't mine at all. It's the Great Physicians power. And He is in control of everything.

God, You already took the stripes for these sick babies to be healed. Heal them now! You are our Healer. And you want us to walk in complete healing. 

Scarlet Johnson needs a miracle to happen today! Heal her little body. Dry up the cough and any infections that may be causing her to be less than you created her to be!! Give her parents peace and the doctors wisdom to treat her. 

And little Jesse. Satan is liar. Jesse is yours. Heal his body. Clear up his lungs and make him whole again. Keep Matthan safe and healthy. 

Thank you!!! In Jesus' name!!! 

These are my confessions - Part 1

I debated on admitting this or not. My shameless side says 'tell em' and my other side...well I don't have another side!!

But first I must tell you, I do not have on a hormone patch and I was super sleepy last night.

Here it goes. I got mad at my sweet, innocent, flawless baby girl last night. Mad may be a little harsh. I was annoyed. Annoyed that she wanted to sit up and hang out. And I literally mean sit up. She likes to sit and look around. And at 2 am that means she wants the light on so she can see. 

(Did I mention my incision hurts like crazy when I sit for more than a few minutes???)

Finally after like 2 hours, I melted down again. I started crying and woke up James. He got her and put her on his chest and...this is not an exaggeration...she immediately went to sleep. What? Am I serious? Yes. 10 seconds on him and she was out. So this led to a completely different sob story.

My child doesn't like me. Yes, I know this silly. But at 2am that's all I knew was silly. I decided it was because I had a c-section and have had an awful time recovering. I haven't been able to be her mommy and she doesn't know me. So I cried. I was jealous that James could take care of her in a way that I couldn't. I mean, I carried her for 9 months (felt like 2 years). I gained 60 (+/-) pounds. I had a major surgery to bring her into this world. I'm the one having to recover from all this mess. Why in the world would he be the one she wants for comfort?? Oh I know. It's because I'm being punished.

And while I'm having my pity party that NOONE wanted to attend at 2am, I decided all this could've been prevented if God had not made me have a c-section. Hey. I'm just being honest. 

At 5:30 this morning, I was still upset. I got up and fixed another bottle all the while thinking 'I'm hungry, too, ya know?' 

But then I went back to the bedroom and picked up my gift from God and every negative emotion and self-pity feeling disappeared. I apologized to her and to God for acting the way that I did. I mean, she's a baby. And she gets hungry every 3 hours. And she's a night owl. 

I want to learn to cherish these 2am wake ups with just the two of us. I want to remember to appreciate the fact that I have baby to wake up to and hang out with for hours. And most of all, I want to teach her, by my example, how to be patient and compassionate and loving. 

Just so you know...she slept from 5:30 to 10:30 this morning :)

And now here's another example of how great God is. And that He's always on time. And that He will never leave me or forsake me. 

I was listening (because I'm lazy) to 1 Peter 1 this morning. Several scriptures stuck out to me. 

'So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.' (1 Peter 1:6, 7 NLT)

Waking up throughout the night may not be a big deal or a serious 'trial' but this scripture did speak to me. My faith is being tested. Not to see if I can take care of Irelyn. But I think my patience, my temper and my annoyance levels are being tested. I am more than a conqueror and this too shall pass!

'So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.' (1 Peter 1:13-15 NLT)

My old ways (talking about before Irelyn) are selfish ways. I like to sleep. A lot. And I don't normally wake up for anything. My old ways, I get annoyed and aggravated so easily. I know that this chapter in my life is going to change me. But I want to be submissive to God's word and go through the change willingly...and not waking up crying and throwing a fit at 2am!!! 

'Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.' (1 Peter 1:21, 22 NLT)

I do trust God. My faith is in Him.

Sometimes I just need a gentle reminder. 

Even if that reminder is crying to the top of her lungs in the wee hours of morning. 

Or like right this minute, I smell and hear a gentle reminder taking place. Thank you, little girl!!!

Until next time...

Sleeping Beauty and the 1st man she will ever Love.

One month...

My 4 week old just asked me if she could go to the prom. Seriously?! Where has the time gone?

My sweet newborn is a month old. Tomorrow she will be six months old. Before you know it, I'll be my mom and Irelyn will be having babies!

Stuff just got real!!!

She's getting so big, too. Other than sleeping, eating and pooping, she's still not doing much. She's learning to focus. I keep telling her that if she crosses her eyes, they will stick like that!!!

Hey...that's what I've always heard. 

She is the grunting-est, noisiest baby I've ever been around. Even in her sleep she makes humming, cooing noises. It's so sweet and so easy to listen to for hours. 

Hey...don't judge me!! It's the only entertaining thing she does.

I still can't figure out why God allowed me to be her mama. I hope I raise her exactly as He wants!!

Happy 'One Month' Birthday, my sweetest girl!!! I love you forever.

Another Meltdown

Have I mentioned that I have random meltdowns? I have a hormone patch on my hip. Example: Sunday, mom cooked roast, potatoes and carrots. Delish!!! I smelled it all morning and I was in heaven  when she brought me a plate. Remind you...until this past Monday, I had to eat laying down. Needless to say, I spilled gravy juice all over me and the yummy, clean sheets that had just been washed. So, I cried. And yelled. And refused to eat my food. 

I asked James to just take my plate away because I was sooooo not hungry anymore. He asked, 'Are you gonna want this food when you're fit is over?' (Paraphrased) Well just so you his comment made me even more mad. Looking back I know it only ticked me off because he was right!! And after about 10 minutes, I finished my plate...and had seconds!!!

Well today I had a minor meltdown. But this time I had a right! Right? I uploaded all the pictures from my iPhone to my laptop. I organized them all nice and neat in an 'Irelyn McKenna' folder. I've even uploaded and printed them at Walgreen's. But today when I tried to upload them, they're not in my nice and neat folder!! What the hey?! And when I tried to upload them from my iCloud and they're locked and I can't do anything with them. End of rant.

Just sucks that my baby's first 3 weeks are locked in a magic Apple vault. FOREVER!!! 

It's a great day!

Today is a good day! I was on baby duty again last night and the little girl must've known I wasn't up to par! She slept from 10:30 pm to 5:30 am! Yay, Irelyn! Keep up the pattern.

I think I'm coming to the end of needing 'round the clock' care. I've needed, enjoyed and probably gotten a little too used to the assistance!! I have the best family and friends a girl could ask for! My husband and mother have been over the top. My inlaws have been here every day to help with Irelyn while James & mom worked. My 'other mother' has been AMAZING, too! And my very best friend, even though her enormous plate is overflowing, has babysat me and my best girl and brought us prizes and treats many times! I really am blessed! There are many more people to thank...so THANK YOU!!

It's gonna be so very nice to be back home too! My mom's house is great but I'm so ready to be back to reality. Did I just say that?? I'm living like a queen...live-in nanny, live-in maid, live-in personal assistant...haha, don't kill me, friends!

Still haven't gotten much "mommy" time so these first few blogs might not be that interesting. But, from what I hear, I will have lots of entertainment coming your way! 

Stay tuned!!!

       Pictures of my support team from hospital the day my best girl was born!!

My very supportive husband.

Kiki fixing my hair before surgery.

My beautiful, amazing mother.

The bestie making sure my face looks good!

Erin and I just before I met my best girl!

My mamaw and me

Shelby and 'my other mother'

Molly-Claire, Gracyn and mom

Erin and my brother, Brent

3 weeks old!

My baby girl is 3 weeks old today (2/24/14)! She had her first 'photo shoot' but got a belly ache so we had to postpone.

I've been on strict bed rest for a solid week and today Doc said I could get up and walk around for a minute and I have taken full advantage of that!! Probably gonna regret it tomorrow though. I've been 'walking around for a minute' most of the day!

But I don't care one bit. I got to spend the afternoon with my sweet pea. For the first time ever, I got to sit up and rock her to sleep. It was so precious to me. Of course she only slept for about 20 minutes and daddy had to take over baby duty. I still got my moment.

(Sorry didn't publish this on the right day. Should've been posted on Feb. 24 and there was more but I started hurting and had to stop...)

This one is for you, my best girl :)

Welcome to the world, my sweet Irelyn McKenna. You were born February 3, 2014 at 6:21pm by c-section. You weighed a whopping 7 pounds and 3 ounces and were 20 1/4 inches long. I had to have a c-section because you and I just couldn't get on the same page when it came to delivering. I had no contractions...EVER. No dilating or thinning. And we found out after delivery that you were sitting comfortably - ALL ABOVE MY BELLY BUTTON. You were content being tucked away, safe and sound from this crazy world. The first thing I heard about you from the doc was, "Oh what a pretty face. And a head full of hair." It was black and doc was right. There was a ton of thick, gorgeous, black hair. I immediately seen Gracyn in you. 

Since we've been 'home,' I've been on bed rest and it breaks my heart not to be able to tend to you like I should. I had some complications from surgery and it's taking me a little longer to heal. (Don't worry. You're worth every single bit of it.)

I have never loved another person the way that I love you (besides your daddy). And since you've come along I have a new love for him. Speaking of your daddy, he such an awesome daddy. He loves you so very much. He's the one doing most of the feeding, changing poopy diapers, burping...you know, all the typical newborn stuff. He sings to you. He plays the guitar for you. He reads you stories. And he even tells you stories from the bible. You are one very blessed little girl. You look a lot like your daddy too! You have his lips! You're a messy eater like him. You're a night owl like him. I couldn't imagine you having a better dad than the one God gave you.

That pretty much sums up your first few weeks in this world. You sleep, eat, poo and grunt and groan nonstop. I love you, my sweetest blessing.

Now, my journey through motherhood.