If you like Outback's Cheddar Bacon Fries...

Dear Lord in Heaven above, I made the BEST FOOD EVER FOR LUNCH!

So, I was hungry, and needed to head to town (which, I still need to do, I had to post this first), and I decided that, so I didn't get sick, I'd make some food. I'm at that point in my pregnancy where NOTHING sounds good... but I have to force myself to eat. So, I was wondering what to make.

I decided to make a Hobo's dinner in a frying pan. What I came up with is a dish that tastes JUST LIKE Outback's Cheddar Bacon Fries.

1 Large Potato (or 2 small ones)
2 slices of bacon, diced up
Shredded cheese
Ranch

I microwaved the potatoes (I used 2 small ones) for 5 minutes, while I browned the bacon bits in a stainless steel pan. I then scooped out the bacon from the skillet, drained the oil (but left the good little brown bits) and drizzled a LITTLE bit of olive oil in the pan. I cut up the potatos, and then fried them (they were mostly done, this was just to add a little crunch.). Then, I took them out, sprinkled the bacon on top, sprinkled cheese on top of that, and put a little bit of home-made ranch on the side.

Tastes.Just.Like. Outback's fries!!!

OH MY WORD I'M THIRTY WEEKS PREGNANT

Dear Lord, I'm having a baby.

In 7-10 weeks.

*wheezes slightly*

Really though, I couldn't be more excited. I've really sucked at keeping up with this pregnancy, so I thought I'd do kind of a catch-up post.

- I have gained __ lbs so far (I'm going to check it in the morning and update).
- I have 2-3 stretch marks, that we're going to have pictures of tomorrow as well.
- I still haven't swollen yet! Woohoo!
- I have sciatica for a day or so, call my chiropractor, and then viola! No more Sciatica!
- I have her Porta-Crib up, her cloths organized (mainly) and her dresser and cube storage organized! I just need to get her cloth diapers made, and her shelf up so I can hang her clothes in it (and give Carl and I a little more closet room). I also need to put up the decorations over the changing table and over her porta-crib.
- I have her carseat, just have to install it!
- I already have her diaper bag packed for the hospital, with like 3 changes of clothes for her. Sad, I know.
- I still have 2 big boxes to go through to have our apartment completely unpacked, oh, and the toiletries from 2 large bathrooms that I have to condense into 1 TINY bathroom.
- It's getting to where it's very difficult to sit up in bed, or roll over in bed. AND for the first time since first trimester, I had to get up and pee in the middle of the night last night.

Keevia:

Oh, wait, did I ever divulge my daughters name? I don't know if I did or not.

Introducing!! (Well, you know, as much as I can)

Keevia Lynn! Her name, (pronounced KEY-VEE-AH) means beautiful, and Lynn means light. So, I will soon be giving birth to my Beautiful Light. I've been deeply in love with the name Keevia since I was about 10 years old... We were originally going to name her Mackenzie, but I decided that I knew too many Mackenzies, so, Carl said "Why don't we name her Keevia?" and I think I fell a little bit more in love with him. :)

So, on the Keevia front...

- This girl can MOVE! I thoroughly enjoy watching my belly jump and wiggle.
She's most active when I lay down, and apparently when Carl comes to bed after I've already been in bed and am asleep, she gives her Daddy a little show. I've woken up to him laughing, with his hands on my belly, on several occasions.
- She doesn't like it when she has the hiccups. She'll tolerate them for small amounts of time, and then she gets ticked at them, and starts punching and kicking me. We're going to have to learn how to express our feelings in less, ah, brutal ways.
- She calms if I sing to her (she particularly likes anything from "Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang" *sniffles* I knew I was going to love her). But, if I play "the flat game" she gets ticked, fast.
- She loves piano music, and goes crazy dancing when we're in church and our pianist plays big classical arrangements.
- She has her cute little tush shoved up in against my sternum, sometimes so much so that I can SEE it.
- Her feet stay lodged in my ribs, almost at all times, and when I gently push against them, she kicks me, hard.
- She's the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I could not be happier, or be more in love with her!


Mkay, I promise a belly picture, an updated weight (well, at least how much I've gained thus far) and stretch mark pictures tomorrow!

Go, Stop and Go, I just hear static...

First of all, you have to be a pretty big Backstreet Boy's fan to understand the title of this post. Special kudos may go to anyone who knows/figures out what this post should be titled, by telling me the name of the song that those lines come from!


Anyway.


So, what do you get when you put me and my husband standing in our darkened kitchen at around midnight thirty last night? Especially when my hubby had went to bed around 10:30?

You get the after results of my midnight panic attack.

I think I've been having them for a few weeks, and just chocking it up to hormones. I went to bed last night, totally fine. Then, as I was laying there, I just NEEDED to feel safe. I NEEDED Carl to hold me (hard for him to do when he's already asleep). I started crying, and probably cried for a good 20-30 minutes.

Irrational fear has taken a hold of my life, and I don't really know why, or how it's done it. Whenever my husband or my Mom travels from my parents house to the apartment, and I'm not in the car with them, I start panicking. Heck, when my hubby and I traveled up here from my parents house on Monday, I had a mild panic attack in the car because I was positive we were going to wreck and die. Wednesday night, when it was midnight twenty and Carl wasn't home from work yet, I started to panic again. And my panic attacks are not just centered around cars and driving.

I was researching immunizations last night, and I think that may be what tipped me off. Just reading about the side effects that some of them cause, and trying to make informed decisions about my daughters future health care, apparently pushed me over the edge, and caused me to panic. I also have them about finances, I have them about clutter in our apartment...

I have them about anything I can't control.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what it all boils down to.

I, Shaina N., am a control freak. I didn't realize I had these qualities until a few short months ago, but I do. I feel the need to control everything in my life, and have it planned out to the minute details.

And ya know what? It's not been a big problem before, but now... oohh ho hoooo... Now, I'm due to give birth AROUND November 2nd. I don't have any inkling or idea where I'll be or when I'll go into labor. I PLAN on having a completely natural childbirth, but I can't control the circumstances surrounding her birth. I WANT a completely healthy baby, but I can't control that either.

So, I've recently been praying for peace, and for serenity. It helps, it calms my breathing and slows the tears, but I know that I now need to pray for God to take control, and then to relinquish that control. But you know what?

That's not easy.

I think that's the point though. I'm praying that by coming to this realization that it really is panic attacks, I'll be able to cut them off at the source. That, and I'm going to make an appointment to see my chiropractor and make sure no nerves are pinched...

But... I've come to realize I can't control everything, nor should I want to. Life throws us curveballs, gives us lemons, and sometimes just sucks, pure and simple... but God is in control, and always will be.

Kinda cool, huh?

A job, is a job, is a job...

We are finally living full time in our apartment.

Because Carl finally got a job!

Last Tuesday he put an application in at LiquorWorld and then on Thursday, after an interview, he got the job!

And there was much rejoicing!

He's still settling in to the job and the work, but it looks as if its successfully going to pay the bills. Which is all we were asking for.

In pregnancy news, this little lady is a mover and a shaker, and a squirmer. It constantly amazes me in how I can feel her little limbs swimming under my skin. I have an alien inside of me.

I have Braxton Hicks rather regularly, but not enough for concern, thankfully. Just enough for anonyance.

I am absolutely bone tired right now, and desperately need a nap. Carl's working a shift that causes him to get off very late, which causes me to stay up late with him. My sleep pattern is off majorly.

Also, them morning sickness that plagued me the entire first trimester is back with a vengence. I've discovered Ginger capsules though, and they seem to help.

Speaking of ginger, I'm off to take some... see if that makes it better!

Mmmm...

I made Lasagna yesterday. And it was good.

The End.

.....

Oh, wait, what? You want my personal recipe?

You mean the one I made up LAST time I made lasagna, that made my husband fall at my feet and worship me? That one?

Well... I guess....

Since you asked so nicely.

WARNING: Making this Lasagna one time will cause you to never want anyone elses lasagna ever again, unless its your Grandma's.

Shaina's Stupendous Spinach Lasagna
You will need:
Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles (or, the regular ones, you'll just have to follow the instructions on the box)
Hamburger (I prefer ground chuck)
Italian Sausage (2 links)
1 Box of Frozen Spinach
Cottage Cheese
Cream Cheese
Shredded Cheese of your choice, 1 package (I prefer mozzarella, or Colby Jack)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce of your choice (maybe even a big jar and a little jar, last nights was a little dry because of the oven ready noodles).
Various spices and stuff which I'll mention in the recipe.

Start off by browning the hamburger. Using a knife, run it down the sausages and cutting open the casings. Peel the meat out, and add it to the hamburger, continue to brown, making sure to crumble it all up. Add (these are optional), garlic, onions, italian seasonings, and a LITTLE bit of salt. Once the Hamburger/Sausage is browned, drain the excess fat/oil from the pan, then add the spaghetti sauce and let simmer.

While the hamburger is browning, defrost your box of spinach. Drain well. Add the spinach to a bowl, then add in 2-3 large tablespoons of cream cheese, 1-2 large tablespoons of cottage cheese (or ricotta if you prefer, I just don't like ricotta), and half the bag of shredded cheese. Mix well.

Start off with a layer of sauce, then cheese, then noodles. Repeat till you run out of cheese and sauce. End with the rest of the shredded cheese on top, with a little bit of italian seasoning sprinkled on top. I baked it in a 375ish oven (I don't really remember...) for 45 minutes. The noodles were tender, and the cheese was wonderfully brown!

Theoretically you should let it set for about 15 minutes to cool a little, but in reality we dug into it as SOON as it was out of the oven yesterday...

Enjoy!

Hey, if you make it, and like it, send me a shout to let me know!

Shaina

New Blog

Since I seem to have found a following in the Political post, and I have a heck of a lot more to say on the matter, I'm going to start a strictly political blog. It's coming soon, but I just wanted to let y'all know.

Thanks for all the comments, and concerns... I'll try to address them soon!

Carl got a job (WOOHOO!) and starts tomorrow. I have cable internet set up to come to our new apartment, but the dude's not coming until August 28th... so we'll have to see when/what happens with it getting started. I may have to hit the library some to just make sure that Carl's classes are okay. We'll see. Keep an eye open!

Oh, and P.S. if you follow this blog and don't want to follow the political blog, don't feel bad. I understand completely!

Thanks!

EDIT:

The blog's address is:

http://shainanaillieux.blogspot.com

Thanks!

Lets get Political

First, I want to state that this was the first Presidential election that I was eligible to vote for. I was not for Obama. In fact, I wasn't really for McCain. I did like Palin, but given the choice, Mike Huckabee was my top pick. I tend to be very Conservative, and in fact, I usually answer with Conservative instead of Republican or Democrat. I am a supporter of Small Government. I guess this counts as my explanation for the rest of this post.

I'm going to be perfectly honest. I'm scared. I'm scared about what our Government has in store of us, and I'm petrified of the total control that our Government is slowly trying to implement. What also scares me is that we are being called to be citizen informants on our fellow Americans. Doesn't this sound like some history lesson from the German Nazi era? Yeah, it does to me too. And don't take my word for it. Macon Phillips, a White House Representative is the person who sent out the plea, as you can see in the following paragraph. I'm even providing a link so you can see for yourself. Notice the address of the link, it's the White House blog! This is real people! Read the rest of this article here.

"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

Okay, so, say I'm having a conversation with my friend...or say I'm emailing a friend who has asked my opinion, or say, I'm writing a blog about Health Care... well, then, you should report me.

Does that seem right? Does that seem like Freedom? Does that seem like Free Speech? No. This seems to me like Government control. It seems to me that even our small thoughts and oppositions to the Government are beginning to be seen as a bad thing. What about our system of checks and balances? That's basically out the window as well, considering that the House, the Senate and the Presidency are all controlled by the same political party.

This health care bill scares me as well. I fear for my parents lives, as well as the lives of friends and family. In the bill there are sections that require Senior Citizens to have end of life counseling on a yearly basis, and to discuss very controversial things like the restriction of antibiotics. In England, after the age of 59, no person can have a stint placed in their hearts, nor can they receive life saving procedures if they have a heart problem. This is the type of health care system that is being purported for America. Heart disease is one of the greatest killers in our country, so we're just going to stop treating it? It all comes down to the restriction of coverage, and our Government have already proved this to be the case in how they handle Medicaid.

Under this new bill, a young family may have to undergo counseling before they are "allowed" to have a child. They will discuss the proper wait time between children, and may even force abortions for healthy children. Does this sound like China to anyone else? To a communist nation to anyone else? If they're going to do this for HEALTHY children, can you imagine what might happen to someone who is pregnant with a child who has Downs Syndrome? Or worse, someone who is pregnant with a child with a disease like Trisomy 18, or Cerebral Palsy? Those parents may never get to meet their children, simply because our Government doesn't think they have the right to live. Because they are nor productive to society.

What scares me the most however, is the lack of involvement our Senators and Congressmen are having in the decision of this bill. Many have stated that no, of course they haven't read the 1,000 page bill, and that they have no intention of doing so. They say that if they did try to read it, they wouldn't understand it, so whats the point? Sound unbelievable? I'm merely paraphrasing John Conyers (D-MI), who happens to be the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. And John Conyers is not alone. Regardless of what the bill says, or doesn't say, I want the people who are voting on it to read it, so at least they know what they are voting on. We're a country in an Economic Debt Crisis, isn't that what they keep telling us? So, shouldn't our elected politicians read a bill, that if passed, will put our country another couple of Trillion dollars in debt?

So, before you jump on the bandwagon of socialized- oh wait, I'm sorry, universal health care, take time and research it. Take time and write or call your senator or legislator and request that they take the time to read the bill. Raise your voice, the only way we're going to get change is if we start from the ground up.

I officially suck as a blogger.

I never update, I know.

I have some thoughts for some strong political posts coming up... there's a lot of issues that I think need to be brought to light for the sake of my future child as well as our entire country. So, stick with me if you want, it may get ugly :)

Other than just sitting here, worrying about the future, I've been pretty busy!

I finished my final online class with (by my calculations) a 93%! WOOT! This is especially impressive because it was an Introduction to Philosophy class, which the mere thought of makes my eyes cross. I still have some issues to iron out with my adviser, but prayerfully, that will be my last class.

I have been working like a mad woman this week. I made a baby hat, weeded through about 5 baby bootie patterns to find one I like(although I haven't made a set yet), and made about 5 scrunchie hair holders, and have spent hours researching cloth diaper patterns,as well as hair bow patterns. We have a local craft festival coming up labor day weekend, so I've been attempting to prepare for it. I plan on making baby and little girl hair bows, hand-crocheted scrunchies, and if the weather permits, face painting. I'll be approximately 32 weeks pregnant, so we'll see! haha!

I've also be successfully quilting this week. I quilted 4 quilts since Thursday!! All of our money right now is pouring into a wood and kit order for Carl so that he can hopefully set up and sell his hand-turned pens at the same local craft festival.

Carl still hasn't found a job, though its not for lack of trying. He has a ton of applications in, and on Monday he's going to put his application in for Buffalo Wild Wings - they're opening a brand new restaurant in Richmond and are doing "Apply in Person" for all positions starting 9 am Monday. Carl plans on being the first in line. We desperately need a paycheck PERIOD. To really survive, we need $800 a month, although me might be able to survive on $600 with some assistance from either me quilting or from my parents if I'm unable to quilt. We'll just have to see how I do over the next few weeks! I'm hoping to get good at this whole hairbow thing, and maybe sell some stuff on Etsy. That would be ideal.

I admit it... I'm scared to death... What with the Obamacare looming over us, to our lack of finances... I hate it. I hate not being able to give this darling little girl everything I want to.. She has everything she needs, and then some... but there's stuff I would love to be able to do... decorations I'd love to make or buy... I'd love for her to have her own nursery, her own room... that's just not possible, and I hate it. I started looking on Etsy for hair-bow patterns, and then got sidetracked, and then depressed... I just have to remember that I have three large totes full of baby clothes, half a closet full of baby clothes, a dresser full of baby clothes, over 25 flannel receiving blankets, an unknown amount of quilted blankets, and a brand new black garbage bag full of clothes that my mother in law sent today... I have a pack and play, a stroller, a carseat (and the one I wanted so badly!), 2 swings, a bouncer, a baby bath tub... the list goes on.. I have very few needs left (baby wash cloths, baby towels, cloth diapers, socks, slings) but still, I feel like a bad mother already. I know its just hormones, but eek.

Alright, my nausea is gone (with third trimester comes the wonders of first trimester all over again.. morning sickness, sore boobs...) and I plan on getting in bed verra soon.

Keep an eye out for my highly political posts, coming to a blog near you soon.