Third time's a charm?

So I guess now is as good a time as any to spill the beans...I'm pregnant again! I've kept it on the down-low until now in light of everything that happened with the last pregnancy. I've tried to "pretend" it wasn't real for as long as I could so that I wouldn't worry too much. I finally dragged myself into the doctor when I was 12 weeks. Luckily, everything looked just fine. I am now in my 15th week. There is a chance that we'll get to see the sex of the baby by the end of the month--I really hope so! If not, we'll have to wait another month.

I am really excited (and nervous) about having a 2nd child. Of course I want one--I just doubt my ability to keep my sanity with a newborn and a curious toddler at the same time. I may need to call in reinforcements! Otherwise, I haven't felt as sick with this pregnancy as I did with Jase (hope that means it's a girl); however, don't get me wrong--I have felt sick! It just comes and goes rather quickly, and it's usually worse at night. Yet oddly enough I'm not sick enough to keep me from eating. It has improved in the last couple of weeks, though.

My only big fear at this point is the flu. And the news media is NOT helping me feel any better about it. I am terrified of getting it--much more so than when I'm not pregnant. And I am worried about Jase getting sick. I have been on the fence about getting vaccinated (myself and/or jasey)--but for now have decided against it. H1N1 vaccine is just too new and untested for my liking, and as far as the regular flu vaccine, I've never had one before in my life--so I worry that I'll get one and have a terrible reaction to it which would cause harm to the baby...so that is enough of a concern to have me "just say no" to it for now. I will be pregnant this ENTIRE winter season, so that is just crappy timing. However, I am super pumped about a spring baby! I felt so "shut-in" when I had Jase in the late fall. It was cold, wet, yucky...couldn't go outside much at all. I cried a lot. This time around I'll be able to get some sunshine to help ward off those postpartum blues and let Jase run and play outside while I hang out on the porch with the newbie. Paints a nicer picture, doesn't it?

In the end I just keep telling myself there really isn't much I can do. I mean, I am doing my best to be extra hand-sanitizery after every store trip, church event, touching germy things, etc. And after all of that it's truly just in God's hands. It makes me feel better when I think of life that way. Do your best, and deal with what comes when it comes. Ok--easier said than done. Who am I kidding??? I am the world's biggest paranoid worry-freak alive!!!

Jase's 2nd Birthday Invites

It just occurred to me that I hadn't sent out Jase's invites yet because I hadn't even MADE them! ARGH! So I sat down at the computer, opened up Photoshop Elements and got busy as quickly as I could. I am a bit rusty in my skills, so it took me a while to remember how to do certain things. Anyways, just wanted to to post a pic of it. I just wanted something simple. I think they came out pretty cute. Roob requested a smaller party this year (last year's was BIG), so I'm trying to comply and not go too over the top. We'll see how well I can do that :) Now off to get all the other stuff done for the party...

Oh. I decided to go with a Veggie Tales theme just because Jase loves the shows SO MUCH. He requests "Bob & Larry" all the time!

Personalized T-Shirts

So I found the CUTEST t-shirt designs on etsy.com. The seller is "wtingle" and I love her stuff. Plus, she is one of the cheapest for these type of shirts. I just custom ordered one for Jase's 2nd birthday. Here's what it SORT OF will look like, but instead of the pumpkin it will have a number 2 on it. It's printed on a long sleeved white t-shirt. Cute, eh? Check out more of her stuff on her seller page on etsy. If you've never heard of "Etsy," it's a website where people sell any and every kind of homemade stuff. It is awesome!

Fun Halloween Food

How CUTE are these little mummy dogs??? Ha ha ha. I found these on Ourbestbites.com and it made me want to throw an awesome Halloween party so I could make some of her foods. Check it out HERE. Though I have to say, some of them gross me out!

Camping!

Pretty picture of our camp spot. Love that it was right on the water. Ahhhh...
We bought Jase a Mr. Potato head to keep him entertained when necessary. He loved it, but it's REALLY hard to pull the pieces in and out of it. Strange since it's made for 2 yr olds! Argh.
Photo opp during diaper change on picnic table. Hee hee.
This is how I "rough it" in the wilderness. I will never go back to tents!!!
Roob trying crazy tricks on this log with my child...oh man. but hey, it's a cute photo!

Homemade Soft Pretzels

This is a picture of the ones I made, by the way. How yummola do these look? They are supposedly an Auntie Anne's Pretzel knockoff recipe. (I just googled it.) I took Auntie Anne's recipe and added a few ideas after reading Alton Brown's recipe on Food Network.

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 TB plus 1/4 teaspoon yeast
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 2TB powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Bath: 4 cups warm water + ½ c baking soda

Egg wash: one egg yolk + 1 Tbsp of water

Toppings:
Salted: Kosher or pretzel salt
Cinnamon Topping: 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or cup. Let sit for a few
minutes until it's foamy. (I also added 2 Tbsp of the powdered sugar to this mix.)
2. Combine 3 c. flour, the rest of powdered sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Blend them together. Then add water with yeast mixture and vegetable oil. Mix on low-med for a few minutes until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. (you'll need to slowly add flour until it does this...I didn't quite need the other 3/4 c like the recipe called for). When it's ready, place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and store in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until dough rises to double in size.
3. When dough has risen, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Make a bath for the pretzels by combining the baking soda with the warm water
and stir until baking soda is mostly dissolved. (I used a stainless steel pot --make sure you use a non reactive pot such as this-- and kept it on medium-low heat the entire time).
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 8 even portions. Roll each portion on a flat non-floured surface (I sprayed my counter with a little PAM) until it is about 3 ft long. Pick up both ends of the dough and give it a little spin so the middle of the dough spins around once. Lay the dough down with the loop nearest to you. Fold the ends down toward you and pinch to attach them to the bottom of the loop. The twist should be in the middle. (**note, though it is FUN to make pretty twisted pretzels, I found it to be a bit more cumbersome and messy once you get to the "bath" solution. SO, I just cut up my "ropes" into 4" sections and made "pretzel bites." MUCH EASIER to work with.)
6. Holding the pinched ends, dip each pretzel into the bath solution. (I tossed mine in, then waited until they floated to the top--about 10 seconds). Put each pretzel on a paper towel for a moment to blot the excess liquid. (I found it was just fine if I removed the pretzels with a slotted spoon and dripped the excess water back into the pot before sliding pretzel bites onto my baking sheet). Arrange the pretzels on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray (I used parchment paper to make sure they didn't stick. I sprayed the paper with PAM, too. Worked GREAT). Brush surface of pretzels with egg wash (beat the yolk with the water). If you want salt, sprinkle pretzels with kosher salt or pretzel salt. DON'T salt any pretzels you plan to coat with cinnamon sugar. Bake the pretzels for about 5-7 minutes or until the pretzels are golden brown. Baking time will depend on how thick yours are rolled.
7. Now if you're like me, you will eat half the pan as soon as they come out because you are so shocked at how soft & chewy these are. MMM. I made a "nacho cheese" dip for my pretzel bites. I also did some cinnamon sugar ones (for those, just brush tops with melted butter then dip the pretzel in 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tsp cinnamon). These were so fun to make! Hope you like 'em, too!

Makes 8 big pretzels or BUNCHES of pretzel bites.

5 Years!

Aug 27th was our 5 yr anniversary. My mom watched Jase so the two of us could have a little "getaway." I had SO MUCH FUN. Thought I'd post a few pics from our wedding just to reminisce a bit...this is one of my favs:
Our first dance. We waited a loooong time to get married. I was so happy that I couldn't stop crying. This would explain why I am not looking so cool in this pic! Ha!
Cake feeding time!!! It was so yummy, too! My ol' boss made it for me as a wedding gift. It tasted and looked amazing (mom do not look too hard at this picture).
This was taken at our sit-down dinner (I really wanted to do one of these for some reason) before our reception. The food was excellent. And we were surrounded by close friends and family. Some great toasts were made that night. It went by too quickly for my liking! I was having a ball!
This is a pic of our hotel room we stayed in this weekend. It was sooo cute! And the bed was SO COMFY. Everything was clean, nice, warm neutral colors--I wanted to move in! We also tried a new fun mexican restaurant a friend recommended that was excelente (if I do say so myself). Roob was such a gentleman--opening my car door, being so sweet, and even surprising me with a cool pair of diamond stud earrings! I was so surprised I could barely talk! He got me good. I had so much fun this weekend. I want to go do it all over again. Here's to 5 years, babe. I love you!!!

Jasey is getting SO BIG

Jase found my cowgirl hat and was running around with it sitting sideways on his head. It was so funny!
I love this picture of him. He looks more like a boy than a toddler in it. And he is definitely all boy! Look at those dirty hands!
Jase has been surprising both of us lately with his vocabulary and speaking in mini sentences. He says things like "I got it," "Pippie barking (haha our dog barks a lot)," etc. One of my favorite things he says is "hamburger." He says it so cute! And he's learned that if we go to Walmart during lunch time I will get him a cheeseburger to eat while I shop. It's great b/c I can do 2 things at once. He is really starting to associate things with places we go--he recognizes when we are close to Grandpa's house, our house, the store, grandma's house, etc. When I take him to the local market by my house, he starts asking for a succer (they give dum dum's to the little kids). The other day he was running down the driveway and yelling "slow down, too fast" at the top of his lungs. I was cracking up (that is what I normally say when he runs bc he trips a lot)!

He has learned what "heavy" means. He says it whenever he carries things around. However, he has somehow associated "heavy" with "exertion" bc when he climbs up the stairs he'll say "heavy heavy" and we just laugh.

I weighed him the other day--he's 32 pounds. I think he's about 36" tall. I'm guessing. He's still in a size 4 diaper and wears 2T shirts and 24 month pants. However it does depend on the brand. Oh and his shoe size is about 6.5 - 7. He has a really long, big toe!

He has pretty much mastered eating with a fork & spoon. He will still drip a bit if it's something runny, but he does great with things like beans or grits. One thing he still hasn't figured out well is how to bite food. I still have to cut it into 1" pieces. I think it might be bc his front teeth are still a bit high and might be making it difficult to cut all the way through a piece of food.

Lately we've been singing him lots of songs and he loves that. We've started a little tradition of singing a few to him before we put him to bed. He's getting good at picking up on the words and trying to sing along. He does really well with "Twinkle Little Star" and also loves to sing the end of the "Moon Song" that goes "oh yes he does!" (but Jase just sings "oh does!!!") It's our favorite. He is also liking songs that have hand motions, like "Itsy bitsy Spider." He will do them with us.

I just can't believe how grown up my little boy is! He will be 2 years old in less than 3 months! I am planning on doing a "Veggie Tales" themed party for him since he LOOOVES those shows. If you're not familiar, they are animated vegetables that have funny voices and they teach some sort of principle like handling peer pressure, how to be confident with bullies, patience, self-esteem, etc. They are super cute & funny and filled with silly songs. I love them, too. Some of the longer films are loosely based on Bible stories, but done in a funny way. Anyways, the main characters are Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber. He'll run around the house saying "Bob & Larry! Bob & Larry!"

Jase has gotten really good at going down slides, swinging, and climbing things at the park. He is way more brave than I'd prefer! Sometimes the lil' daredevil trys climbing up the monkey bars or other "big boy" things and I'm afraid he'll fall and break something. He can even climb up a ladder to go down one of those old metal slides. We have a great park just a few blocks from our house. If I drive by anywhere close he'll say "park! slide! swings!" and want me to take him there. It's cute.

He also LOVES to go on bike rides with us. We have a bike trailer that we pull behind one of the bikes and we strap him in and go. He also loves to ride on the lawnmower when dad cuts the grass. As soon as he hears it, he'll run to the door and say "lawnmower. ride!" so I'll take him outside to ride.

He's pretty good at following basic things I ask him to do like "throw this in the garbage," or "throw that diaper away," "put your toy back," etc. I have been trying to teach him how to "help" do things as much as he can. When I mop he'll grab the mop and push it around the floor. Same with the broom. He even had a paper towel and was pretending to wipe counters when I was cleaning them. Ha ha. And everyday he repeats/says a few new words. He can really repeat almost anything you say! (Time to watch what I say around here). It's so fun to hear him talk. I love it. I really love the stage he's in right now. I love laughing at all the cute things he will say and do. It's so awesome.

Well, if you read all this you deserve an award. I have just been lamenting how much I've slacked on his baby book--so this is my way of trying to catch up!

Local County Fair Talent Show

I signed up for a local county fair's version of "America's Got Talent." They had varied acts of all kinds (well most of them were singing AND most of the performers were really young), and a panel of judges. I found out TODAY that I'd be the first to perform! Oh nooooo. First is always the worst. But I was glad to be able to get out there and shake the nerves quickly. My goal for this event was to improve my energy level with the audience and keep them entertained. I think I finally did that--though I don't have that part on camera. Oops. Anyways, mission accomplished!

EASY Shrimp (aka BBQ Shrimp)

There are many variations of this popular New Orleans dish. I have never tried making it before until today. In the south, we call it "BBQ Shrimp," even though there really isn't any BBQ sauce in it at all. Not sure how it got that name? But anyways...I wasn't able to copy and paste this recipe so you'll have to go "Pioneer Woman"to get it. But it's SO EASY and it was delicious! Roob and I wiped them out! You probably already have everything you need to make it, too-- lemons, salt, pepper, tabasco, worscestershire sauce, EVOO, and butter. WORD UP. I hope you like it as much as we did. Oh, and for you westerners, you must buy RAW shrimp with the shell ON. I'd recommend about the 31-40/lb size. I used smaller ones and they were a little hard to peel. We just ate them right off the cookie sheet and dipped french bread in the sauce. Amazing. With some sauteed zucchini (from my garden, thank you) and fresh tomatoes on the side. MMM.

VOTE for Jeanine!!!!!!

I must say that this show (so you think you can dance) has become one of my very favorites! What these dancers do is uhhhmayzing to me!!!! Jeanine has been my favorite from the start! I totally think she killed it tonight in the finale! If you watch the show, VOTE!!! Good luck Jeanine!

Baked Ziti Pasta

This turned out to be exactly what I wanted--creamy, cheesy pasta with a nice italian kick to it. Takes a bit to prepare it, but it's worth it for this comfort food. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 lb. whole milk or 1% cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
Table salt
1 lb. ziti pasta
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
20 oz. turkey Italian sausage (I used a 16 oz. package of pork Italian sausage)
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
green bell pepper, finely chopped (I added this ingredient just because)
5 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce (FYI, this is NOT spaghetti sauce, just plain tomato sauce!)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves, divided (I used half fresh, half dried)
1 tsp. sugar
Ground black pepper
3/4 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream (or whole milk) (I used cream)
8 oz. low-moisture mozzarella, shredded

Directions:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F. Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup Parmesan together in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta; cook until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5-7 minutes (mine took about 9 min but I’m at high altitude). Drain the pasta and leave in colander.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Crumble in the turkey sausage and cook until nearly browned. Add in the onion, garlic, (and bell pepper!) and continue to cook until the onion is softened and the sausage is completely browned. Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Off the heat, stir in 1/2 cup basil and the sugar, and season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and heavy cream. Transfer the mixture to the now-empty stockpot (the one you cooked the pasta in) over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cottage cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and 3/4 cup mozzarella to the cream mixture. Stir to combine. Add the pasta and toss to coat thoroughly with the sauce. (I was using my big dutch oven pot so I just tossed it all in there, then baked it in the oven in that same pot. It made so much I have no clue if all that would even fit in a 9x13 pan).

Transfer the pasta to a 9×13″ baking dish and spread the remaining tomato sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the top. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from the pan and continue to cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve. (I just sprinkled it with parsley).

HIV GANGSTA'

My cousin took this picture of this billboard off of the interstate in New Orleans. I still have the giggles about it so I had to post it on my blog! Is this NOT hilarious??? I can't believe this is legit! And hopefully you can read each of the "HIV Prevention Mobsters" names--if you can't, here they are "da Gonorrhea BREAKER, da Crabs ASSASSIN, da Chlamydia CRUSHER, da HIV Awareness ENFORCER, Lady STD KILLA, da Condom FATHER, da Trich TERMINATOR, da Syphillis ELIMINATOR, da Herpes HIT WOMAN, da HPV SLAYER." People, this is where I'm from. OMG. Too funny!

--also note: FREE condoms! YES!

Homemade Pudding Pops? Oh YES!!!

Ok I haven't tried these yet but I SO want to! Don't y'all remember pudding pops? Jello brand made them and they are SUPER hard to find these days. I follow a food blog that had a post about making homemade pudding pops and I was so excited about it! You can find all her recipes and varied pudding pop ideas here at OURbestBITES. I can't wait to try 'em!

PD Singing Videos!!!

This is one of the songs I did before David Osmond's concert. This is one of the songs I did at the Children's museum in the morning. I sang NINE songs in a row then! That's like 45 minutes! I am so not used to that! It really caught up with me by the end of the day. I tried not to talk all afternoon just to rest my voice a bit. This is one of my new favorite songs...I still haven't seen the movie but I want to!

Inspiration

I have to blog about what happened to me Saturday! A few weeks ago I was called by a lady (JanaRae) who is involved quite a bit with the community and is basically an event planner for Pioneer Day celebrations. She heard me sing at a church event (farewell) over a year ago. She had asked me to sing the national anthem at the big rodeo last year--but at the last minute it didn't work out. She promised to keep my name on file and call me for another opportunity in the future. Well she kept that promise and called me a few weeks ago, asking if I'd be interested in singing at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new exhibit at the Children's Museum. Of course! David Osmond was involved in that ceremony, and also performed before I showed up to do my thing. Another country western band was singing when I arrived. Their name was "Saddle Strings" and they were so cool! I loved them! They could not have been ANY nicer to me. They let me use their sound equipement for my "gig" and got me all set up on a sound check.

So I started singing. I think I sang 9 songs--about 45 minutes' worth. It was super windy (which was a bit of a challenge) and my huge sunglasses I was wearing kept sliding down my nose (so I had to fidget with them a lot--annoying)! BUT it was SUPER fun!!! I was pretty nervous for the first song, but as I kept singing I began to relax a bit more. My audience varied a lot since people were milling about waiting to get the free tickets to check out the new exhibit. There were some people that were so sweet and just sat and watched me sing ALL of the songs! One of those people was a middle-aged guy named Jerry. Little did I know Jerry would be my new BFF.

After I quit singing, he approached me. He introduced himself as JanaRae's husband (oh!) and said he had an idea. He wanted to see if David Osmond's people would be okay with me doing a warm-up performance before the show at the big ampitheater in town. (I was like, WHAT?) He just had one condition. I had to sing "Johnny & June" again. Agreed. So he grabbed his wife and they totally agreed it would be awesome--next thing you know she was handing me her cowgirl boots (no joke, she literally took them off her feet and insisted I wear them) and told me to show up at 7pm and plan on singing for a half hour. GAH! I was sooooo excited! I texted like everyone I knew to tell them my good news! The only problem was that I sang for so long in the morning, I could tell my voice was strained (I don't sing often enough to keep the vocal cords in good shape. But hopefully I'll change that problem soon). If I would have known about the evening's gig, I would have sang a few less songs to save the voice! Anyways, I tried not to talk the rest of the day (or as little as possible--y'all know that was a challenge for me. Roob kept teasing me about how nice it was. Hardy har har).

So off & on throughout the day Jerry would send me the cutest text messages with funny things like "livin' the dream" and other motivating things (how cool is this guy?). He also sent me contact info for the sound guy so I could get set up to do a sound check. So on our way down to the ampitheater, I text the sound guy letting him know I was arriving and to find out where I needed to be (this was about 6:45). He text me back "you are supposed to be here NOW." Uh, ok. It wasn't even 7 yet? So I get there and finally meet up with him. He was a bit more abrasive than I was prepared for...first of all he (and his other sound guy) were a bit frustrated that I had my songs on a CD and not on an iPod. They actually had to play the CD through an xBox (no joke)! Then he was all put out that he had to do a sound check with me AFTER they had opened the gates and started letting people take their seats. He also said to me "so look, if you're going to do this sort of thing for laughs and giggles, you need to be here HOURS before the show starts. The Osmonds have been here since 3:30." OUCH. I wanted to cry but I didn't. Just then Jerry showed up and kind of became the dad figure. He explained how he knew it was last minute and he was sorry for the inconvenience but that all they knew was to have me here by 7, etc etc. Then Mr. SOund guy got a little bit nicer, so that was good. Jerry looked at me and was like "just blow it off" so I really tried to do that and just focus on the cool opportunity coming my way. Next thing ya know the sound guy handed me a mike and walked away. So I was assuming it was sound check time.

I've done sound checks before, but never a "real" one, so I wasn't sure what to do. They started my cd and I began singing. As soon as I thought it sounded good, I said that into the mike and I stopped singing. I kind of stood there all awkward wondering what to do next bc not only was the song still playing, but also there was quite a big crowd of people just STARING at me. So a few bars pass and I look up to see the sound guy (they have the sound booth behind the audience at the top of the seating) freaking out doing all these hand signals at me (which I could only interpret as "keep singing!"). Well I wasn't sure where I was in the song AT ALL and had to just keep standing there all awkward until I recognized the music on the chorus. So I started singing again and finally the sound guy gave me a signal for "ok stop." Then he says into a mike "exit stage right!" and I wasn't really sure which right is stage right, so I quickly exited to my right to go hide in the wings. ARGH. What a stressful learning experience, right? Man!

Anyways, then I was trying to put on a confident face backstage bc I wasn't really sure where to go, what to do, where to put the mike he had given me, etc etc. Wow it was nuts. And HOT. I started chit chatting with the MC (he was a great guy) and one of the Osmonds (Nathan) started talking to me and said I sounded good out there. He also told me about his new CD coming out, etc. He was a nice guy. He was excited I was doing country music bc that is what he does. So he starts telling me all this stuff about being in Nashville and writing songs with all kinds of big names you'd know. I was like "oooh cool" because I can't even imagine how awesome that would be! Ok I'm getting sidetracked. Anyways, I still had like almost an hour before the show started. I made a quick bathroom run and that is when I discovered I had my shirt on inside out! LOL. So I had been on stage earlier with a big tag (it is pretty big, too) hanging off my hip! Lovely.

JanaRae found me backstage at one point, and took me into the Osmond's dressing room and introduced me to everyone in there. I got to meet one of the original Osmonds (Alan) and his sons (except for David). They were all very polite to me, which was nice. Then I just hung around by myself, mostly. Just waiting. The anticipation was really killin' me. FINALLY the show began and I went on! I sang 4 songs (it was supposed to be more like 6 or 7, but good thing it was only 4 bc my voice was running out on me during the last one). I was nervous & a bit stiff, but overall I wasn't as nervous as I had expected I'd be. When I was done I had to walk through some of the crowd to get to Roob & Jase. A bunch of people were telling me how much they enjoyed my songs (really? Awesome). That put a big smile on my face!

Then David came out and did his thing. I have to say I noticed that he had way more energy & audience interaction than I did. I made a mental note to step up my game next time around (hopefully there is a next time) and get the crowd a bit more pumped up. I had been so stressed out beforehand that I was totally focused on remembering the words (which, by the way, there were lyric cheat sheets taped to the floor for the Osmonds--nice idea) and singing as best I could. Overall today was really great and I was thrilled to have the experience. I got thrown into the fire, so to speak! But I learned sooo much. I've really been inspired to work more on this singing thing. I also plan on finding a vocal coach. I'm on the hunt. I'd like to keep getting help so I can improve my voice & my confidence level.

Hope you enjoy the videos!

4th of July Videos

1.) Jase throwing those "snap-its" or "pop-its." He loved those things!
2.) Some of the fireworks show with the family
3.) Jase holding hands over ears during show BUT he sure loved it!

Mushroom Orzo

I love the texture of this tiny pasta (orzo, if you're not familiar). I have to say that it's probably one of my most favorite things to eat as a side dish. This particular recipe was excellent!! If you don't like mushrooms, I think it would be just as great with most any other veggie (bell peppers, broccoli, peas, spinach). I'm going to keep this recipe around FOR SURE!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp canola oil
half of yellow onion
1-2 tsp. minced garlic
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Melt the butter with canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions, and cook until golden brown. Mix in orzo & mushrooms. Cook and stir 5 minutes or so, until mushrooms are tender.
2. Pour water and wine into the skillet, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Season with salt (careful on the salt since the chicken broth kind of salts it enough) and pepper. Cook 7 to 10 minutes, until orzo is al dente. I found that I had to add more liquid towards the end, so I just added water at that point. Stir in the cheese and parsley before serving.

*adapted from "Mushroom Orzo" on allrecipes.com

Swim Class: Highlights

Well swimming class has officially ended. Here's 3 short video clips of his successes and failures! :)

Amusement Park

On Roob's birthday we took Jase to his first amusement park. It was on a Friday and we thought it wouldn't be as busy that day. Pshaw! It was RIDICULOUSLY busy. We had to wait in line for at least 30 minutes even for the kiddie rides! Here's a cute close-up of Jase waiting patiently...
Here's his first ride. A cute little whale. I thought he might panic as I walked away, but he didn't. I think he was just in shock. Maybe he actually liked it. I think he did.
We met up with our friends Chris & Kami. That's their boy, Kaden, in the backseat. He is about 9 months older than Jase and does really well on the rides. I think Jase rode 3 rides before he had his meltdown. It was inevitable. Crowds. Lines. Heat. Rides. Missed nap. Yep, inevitable.
Here he is on the cars...he really liked the steering wheel feature. There's Kaden on his left for moral support :) We waited forever for this ride and it was over so fast! Whatever!
It was sometime after this ride that Roob tried putting him on the kiddie boat ride. That is when he lost it. Roob had to get out of the fenced area so the park worker was fiddling around with him trying to buckle him in, etc. My best guess is that Jase just panicked thinking he was being abandoned by us. Awww. But boy, did he freak out. Yes he did. We tried consoling him but nothing was working. Finally Roob got him a slurpee. That did it. But we knew he was done riding rides by himself. After a bit we took him on a train that takes you on a ride around the park. Everyone could ride together on that one. After that, Chris talked me into riding a scary roller coaster before we left. It was fun! It had the longest vertical drop I've ever seen! Weeeee! Then we went to dinner at Tepanyaki. It was really fun to hang out as a family all day. I hope Roob had a good birthday, too. I think he did.

Here we are waiting in line, again...