Friday, September 21, 2012

Foodie Friday! - Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings!

Picture and recipe from Polish the Stars
 
This recipe is about as good as it gets - unless you have time to make actual dumplings. Though, I don't know many people that have that kind of time. Honestly, this recipe is one of our favorites! Plus it's easy. It's a win win! I made this for dinner on Wednesday night....it's just SO good, I knew I had to share it! Once again, I didn't have a chance to take a picture of dinner before it was devoured (I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing). So, this picture is from the blog where I found the recipe, called Polish the Stars. It's an awesome blog, so check it out!

Ingredients:

1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 cans (10.5oz) Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can (14oz) Chicken Broth
1 Medium Yellow Onion, diced
4 Large Flaky Refrigerator Biscuits (half a can)

Directions:

Place thawed chicken into crock pot. Top with cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, and diced onions. Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 8 hours. Do not stir while cooking.
 
Cut each uncooked biscuit into 9 small pieces and stir into the chicken mixture. Continue to cook on high for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from crock pot and shred with a fork. Return to crock pot and stir everything together. Serve hot.
 
Make this....like, this week!! You will not regret it! If you do make it, let me know how you like it!


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

What I'm Loving Wednesdays!

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather as much as I have!! I'm realizing now I haven't done a "What I'm Loving Wednesdays!" since I announced we were expecting. :( But, I have plenty to love about this Wednesday!
 
I'm loving that I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so maybe then we can FINALLY get some answers and know where to go from here. I know, it's a weird thing to be happy about going to the doctor, but I want to know what the heck is going on!
 
I'm loving that Parenthood is back on TV!! I love that show! It's the one show my husband and I watch together. We just love it!
I'm loving that the weather is finally a little cooler!! I love fall! I love everything about fall....and I'm so happy it's here!

Here are some of my favorite Pinterest finds that I'm loving this week:

I plan on making this for Kaitlyn to take out on Halloween! So cute!

I love these drawers! How awesome would these be?? Maybe one day. I'll add it to my list of projects for the house. :)

I'm going to go ahead and add this too! This looks simple enough. My poor husband, my list of projects for the house gets bigger and bigger each day!

This looks delicious! One of my favorite Scentsy smells is called Fried Ice Cream, and if this tastes as good as that smells....I'm in trouble!
 
All of these pictures can be found here.
 
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week!!

 

Friday, September 14, 2012

Happy Random Post Friday!

Well, I haven't been cooking much lately. I know, I know, shame on me! I would say I haven't felt up to it lately, but that would be a lie....cooking and baking is like my therapy. Well, and shopping. But my husband doesn't appreciate that as much as the other two. I don't have the slightest clue why?! :) So, this isn't a Foodie Friday post. Instead, I'm just posting about random stuff.

The first being Pinterest. Oh...Pinterest. I could literally spend hours on Pinterest. In fact, I probably do. There are so many neat ideas on there I want to try, so I pin them to one of my (29!!) boards, and most of them never see the light of day again. Does anyone else's Pinterest look like this?

 
I have 1,488 Pins....and I've done 10 of them. Maybe. I'm reminded of a Pin I saw a while ago that said "I need to find someone that would pay me per pin on Pinterest" and "Instead of organizing and cleaning my house, I pin ideas on how to organize and clean my house. The irony is not lost on me." There are so many other good ones that describe our relationship with Pinterest. Or, at least I hope I'm not the only one that can relate!
 
After thinking about this for a few days, I decided to start doing things. I started with my closet, trying to get it more organized. Now I'm moving on to Kaitlyn's art work. She brings home SO much stuff, I needed to figure out how to keep it organized. I'll be sharing that in a few days. So, slowly I'm making progress. Very, very slowly.
 
Also, Kaitlyn and I went to see Katy Perry's movie Part of Me.
 
 
At first I was a little nervous about taking my 6-year-old to see this - knowing some of it would be slightly inappropriate. Well, the good definitely outweighed the bad. I thought it was a great film. I know some people would argue Katy Perry isn't a true artist, or isn't a good influence on young girls. But, after seeing this film, I would say I don't agree with them.
 
I think it has a great message to all the young people out there. She has always been herself, not caring what other people think of her. So many of us try to be normal and just fit in, but Katy stresses the importance of just being yourself. That's something I've tried telling Kaitlyn so many times! Also, it has a great message on working hard for what you really want. If you dream about something, it can come true. You just have to work hard for it. This film shows Katy's struggles and success. I try telling Kaitlyn all the time she can be whatever she wants to be, she just has to work hard to get there. I think this film does a great job of showing that.
 
So, that's my random post. :) Hopefully next week I can get back on schedule!
 
I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!
 
P.S. In the time it took me to write this post (which was not long at all, like one hour!), my Pinterest pins are now up to 1,502. I have a problem.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Closet Overhaul

Okay, this post won't be as long or depressing as the last one. I wanted to share with you some of the projects I have going on around our house. I decided now would be a good time to get some stuff done! First up, my closet!!

When we bought our house nine months ago one of the things I loved about it was the size of the closet. At the house we had just moved out of the closet was terrible. My husband and I had to share one small closet. Not only was it small, the layout was awful. So, as soon as I saw the his and her closets in our new house - I was in love!

At first I didn't even think about doing anything with it, I was just happy to have my own space! After a few months it started to look like a mess. It was hard to keep organized, and the stark white walls were starting to look too sterile for my taste.

Check out the before pictures:





Pretty scary, huh?! Well, after a terrible week I decided I wanted to do something for me, and something that would keep me busy - and my mind off things. So, I took everything out of the closet, lined it with painters tape, and headed to Lowe's to buy some paint.

This is what it looks like now, at its mid-point.




Oh yeah, I also decided to buy a pretty chandelier. :) It's amazing what a little paint (and a girly light fixture) can do. Now I just need to figure out how I want it organized...then it will be done! I can't wait for it to be finished!

Friday, September 7, 2012

In a daze

I've been putting this blog post off for twelve days now. I know we won't always understand why some things happen...but that certainly doesn't make dealing with them any easier. My percocet induced daze helped me get through most of last week. Monday, August 27th I went for a checkup and for my third ultrasound. The week leading up to the appointment I had been telling my husband and close friends that I just didn't feel pregnant anymore. I had high hopes that my morning sickness had just decided to depart early. I didn't have any physical symptoms to lead me to believe I had lost our baby though, so I had that to hold on to. In my mind I was thinking that since I suffered a miscarriage back in February, I would be spared the heartbreak of another one and thought it was just my crazy, paranoid brain scaring me.

On the way to the doctor's office my husband and I were talking about anything and everything, just trying to keep our minds elsewhere. We were both obviously nervous about how the doctor's appointment would go. When the doctor came in she asked if I had felt any flutters or anything - since I was at the point where you can start to feel the baby move. I told her that I did feel something a few days before. I was in the bathtub, trying to relax my nerves, when I felt something move in my stomach. I jumped out of the tub, ran into the living room and told my husband I thought I had just felt the baby move! I was so excited - it immediately calmed my nerves and I just knew I was still pregnant! Right after I told the doctor this, she started the ultrasound. She kept moving the instrument around my belly where the baby was, not saying anything. Then finally she asked me if I had any cramping or anything - I told her no, none at all. I knew something was wrong, I just didn't want to believe it. At this point I started wondering why I couldn't hear the heartbeat. At our last ultrasound, I could see our little nugget moving around and could immediately hear the heartbeat - that wasn't the case this time. Finally the doctor said, "Well Lynsey, I'm not seeing good things today." My heart immediately sunk, and I knew I had been right. This is the first time ever that I wish I hadn't been right. There was no heartbeat, and the baby had stopped developing. Again, I don't understand why some things happen. Tears immediately started welling up in my eyes, then pouring down my face uncontrollably. I couldn't say anything for a few minutes, then she started talking about our options. We opted to go for a D&C and then they would send the tissue off for chromosomal testing. I hated to think that the baby we were supposed to be welcoming into this world on March 22nd was now being shipped off for testing - but I wanted answers.

Not a lot of people know, but on February 15th of this year I had the same bad news. We had just moved to this town three days before, it was Kaitlyn's birthday, and I was sitting in the ER being told I had lost our baby. The due date of that baby is a little over a month away now, and I'm not sure how mentally prepared I am for that. I was told how common it is for women to have miscarriages (as if that makes it any better!) and that I was perfectly healthy so there should be no reason for me to worry about this happening again. I left the ER, got in my car and cried for about 20 minutes, dried the tears, and then headed to Kaitlyn's school to take cupcakes for her birthday. That was the end of that. We had agreed that we would wait until after our vacation in June, then start trying again.

In July, when we found out were were expecting again we were over the moon excited!! We waited until we heard the heartbeat and got the go-ahead from the doctor before we told everyone our exciting news. I was really excited because five of my closest girlfriends were also expecting, and we were all going to be due within a few months of each other. What a cute pregnant belly shot that would be - I already had it planned out in my head! Then we had the terrible doctor's appointment twelve days ago - when reality hit me like a brick wall.

When we were leaving the doctor's office my face was noticeably red (I'm not a pretty crier) and I still had a steady stream of tears rolling down my cheeks. At first I was sad, then as the day went on I got angry, then even more angry. I couldn't understand why this was happening again. It's just not fair. Two days later I went in for the D&C. I was nervous before the surgery, but the staff at the hospital (St. John - Owasso) were absolutely amazing!! When I woke up from surgery I was in terrible pain. I told the nurse and she instantly gave me some morphine. That helped with the physical pain. A few minutes later I just started bawling, knowing our baby was officially gone. Again, the nurse was amazing and comforted me, helping me feel better emotionally. For the time being anyway. I went home, ate something, then slept off and on for the rest of the day.

I had everything planned out, the timing was perfect, and best of all Kaitlyn was super excited to be a big sister. Then sadness swept over me again when I realized we would have to tell her what has happened. How in the world are you supposed to explain that to a 6-year-old? By the way, we still haven't had the heart to tell her. That is going to be one of the toughest conversations, and I'm just not looking forward to it. Then anger came back when I started thinking about all the people that have kids, and either don't want them or don't deserve them. Why would God allow them to have a child, but not me? What have I done wrong to deserve this, and what can I do to change it? I was growing increasingly more angry/sad/confused/frustrated....everything. I still don't understand it. But, I know it's not my place to judge.....oh, and everything happens for a reason. That seems to be everyones favorite phrase to say to me these days. That and, well at least you have one kid already. Yes, that's true, and she's definitely a blessing! I love that little girl with all my heart, but that still doesn't change the fact that I want to give her a sibling, and I want to be pregnant again. Just because you already have one child, doesn't change the fact that when you want something so bad and it keeps being taken away - it hurts.

I won't lie, I still get angry/sad every once and a while. I go back to the doctor on September 10th to find out what our "options" are as far as having another child, and to see if they could figure out anything from the chromosomal testing. So, I'm trying to stay optimistic and hoping we will find out good news on Monday. Fingers crossed.

I keep reading this verse, hoping it will make me feel better....and it does, a little.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
1 Peter 5:10
 
    


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