Sunday, March 28, 2010

And how old is she again????

There's a joke here... Grandpa always jokes with Brianna about how old she is. There was Brianna, 3 years old, then Brianna 4 years old at 6 years old, well you get the jist of it! Well Grandpa say Brianna's cake and said I should have put Happy 4 + 4 Birthday Brianna instead!

It turned out to be a beautiful day considering they said it was supposed to rain so everyone was outside for the most part playing frisbee and just talking. We bought pizza and had Pizza before the cake and had to hurry into the cake because Brianna had two friends over for the party.

It was a very enjoyable day for everyone I think except we teased my dad to death!

Happy Birthday Brianna! I have loved you for over 8 years and we will always love you! You are a very special link to our family. Happy 8th Birthday!


Making special memories

I made two of these blankets; both sides are fleece, and I was able to "punch" holes all the way around the outside and fold them under in order to crochet them together... they will be warm enough to keep Gracie warm on those winter nights and they are large enough to spread out on the floor for playtime. I have more fabric that I will be making receiving blankets out of in the near future!


Saturday, March 27, 2010

Everybody LOVES BABIES!!!!!

Please click on the picture below to check out BABIES coming out this Mother's Day weekend!!! The more people view from clicking on my link the better chances I have at receiving baby products I will shortly need for our Gracie. You know it's been 8 years since we have had a child and I saved NOTHING, so by clicking on this will increase our chances to getting more things needed for Gracie!



A scare... ready to reveal...

Okay, so I only let a few select people know what was going on with my pregnancy;

I went into the doctor's at 16 weeks for a prenatal check up. They already had to do blood work, and the doctor suggested because of my age I should allow for the Quad Screen.

A week later, I received a phone call saying that the test came back positive that the baby could possibly be Down's. That day they scheduled me for an Ultrasound for the next week, but finding out on Thursday and waiting until Tuesday was killing me. I think all I basically did was sit in front of my computer and research the whole thing. I found that there were very few blogs on this and many people asking questions.

I was so nervous waking up that Tuesday morning. I was thankful Fireman took the day off to be with me and to help get the kids on the bus and drive me to the office for our first look at our fourth child. We picked up one of my friends who I knew was a big support through the whole ordeal. We arrived early, thankfully because I had a full bladder for the ultrasound. They walked us back to the room, and had a tv screen mounted so I could see, as well as the technician's own screen on the computer. She was very helpful for explaining what she was looking for and with all of the research I did when she mentioned it I knew what it was. We looked for the nuchal fold, one of the down's markers and it showed thin, Praise the Lord! As we went through she was printing out all of the photos. I was in tears from that point on until we were able to go into the examining room.

While she was setting up I asked that if she could tell what the baby was we would like to know. At 18 weeks, I prayed it would be obvious; as I really thought with my cravings this was a boy. I cried even harder when she told us it was a girl! Honestly, all we want is a healthy baby, but it would have been nice for our 12 year old to have a brother and also a chance at something he has always wanted; a roommate! Even though I cried, I cried from happiness because everything I heard pointed to a so far healthy child. I believe this child has a shy side, as it took everything me and the technician could do to get the baby to turn for a profile shot to look for the other marker; the nasal bone. It even resulted in me going to the restroom to try to get her to move around. Yes I will probably have a habit to break, sleeping on her belly, as she made a nice cushy place to sleep!

The doctor looked at the results, she called the lab and gave the results of the ultrasound to the lab and after getting new results came in and told me that the chances were better with the ultrasound that with the blood test alone. I told her off the bat that it did not matter if the baby would have down's or not that we would not terminate the pregnancy anyways, and she stated that she would not at this time recommend an amnio anyways. Before I left, she stated that we would need to schedule two more ultrasounds; a month apart just to follow the baby's growth and to verify everything would be okay.

That day, before walking into the appointment; we had our boy's name chosen, but later that afternoon we had settled finally on a girls name.... Gracie Lynne Mann. So our Gracie Lynne is already loved, already cherished and has already left footprints on our hearts!

First baby pictures:
I'll keep everyone posted as to how things are with the second ultrasound, and hopefully more pictures!


Memories of a Oroweat and Arnold Select Party

As part of www.houseparty.com, I was asked to preview and test these sandwich thins for the company.

I know I am posting this late, but due to my pregnancy, my work, my kids, and life in general I did not get them in really quick! My package came in really close to the day of the party and too boot we were snowed in and could not make it to the store until the next day, so we ended up with not many people, but I am still handing out the information and the goodies for people to try. Even so, we did attempt to hold the party.


With the party pack, there were coupons to purchase the breads, coupons & shopping bags for those who came to the party and hand out for those in attendance. I also received the plate in front of the packages in the above photo to make the sandwiches on. I also had recipes to share- both from the company and on my own.
I asked the participants to bring a pound of their favorite deli meat, 1/2 pound of cheese. We had 3 different 1 pound packs of cheese, 3 different deli meats; roast beef, chipped Turkey Breast, and Chipped Chop Ham. We also had all the fixings; ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, pickles, onion, relish, mayo, sliced peppers. I also had in store to show how the kids can make after school snacks on their own by supplying the supplies to create mini pizza's on their own.
I really liked how the bread is thin and round, as I am not particularly a bread eater. I also liked that it was only 100 calories. I don't think I would like to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with it, however on my next purchase I will attempt it! My husband ended up taking a sandwich to work with this bread and many of the employees made comments about the "round" bread! He really liked it and I feel better knowing he is eating more healthy...
As to the mini pizza's; the kids had a ball making them..
We purchased pizza sauce, pepperoni, cheese, and of course the bread. They did not need a knife for slicing with it already sliced. They were able to make some cheese only, pepperoni, and I also found a can of mushrooms my 10 year old added to hers. After dressing each side of bread, they microwaved 4 halves of bread in the oven for 1 minute's time. After letting them cool they dug in!


I think all of the kids made at least 1/2 of a "loaf" of bread of just pizzas. I am not quite sure if they enjoyed making them or eating them more. We did attempt pizzas out of the Honey Wheat, and they did not care for them, but honestly they have never ate any type of wheat bread before and used to the white bread. I am happy that they made these in the white also.

All in all, I will get these again. We are going into spring break and I love this idea for them to make their own lunches at home, so tomorrow we are planning a trip to the store to get more for them to enjoy. Oh and Fireman has been asking for more also! I found that these sandwiches are really good after you get the deli meat on them and before adding your condiments to microwave them and then dress as you want; plus I am following doc's orders as they do not want you eating deli meats cold when pregnant!




Thursday, March 25, 2010

BABIES - Coming to a theater near you Mother's Day Weekend

This looks pretty cute! The more clicks I get from everyone means more chances of winning baby items for our new little girl! Please check it out!