My favorite time of the day is...

5:00 in the evening. That means I can clock out and go home.

Fridays are even better. I love just sitting here and knowing I don't have to be anywhere or do anything for the next 48 hours. Oh sure I have a literal mountain of laundry (and dishes) to catch up on, but I can do all that in my PJs and enjoy Rylin playing with her Christmas loots around me (more on that wonderful weekend later).

But for now I am content to sit here and finally write a happy post and enjoy the tempting smells emanating from the kitchen. Todd is making one of our favorite meals. Oooh that reminds me I need to post the recipe for our beef stroganoff. Trust me when I say it's good. I've had people say that they detest stroganoff and then begged us for the recipe. :)

I hope you are all enjoying your Friday evening as much as I am!

Blargh

Today is not a good day.

I am STILL not feeling any better in the evenings.

My house is still a disaster zone.

Todd has finals this next week so he is a giant stress ball. Which makes him sicker than normal.

Rylin has some kind of respiratory infection so she is whiny. And clingy. And whiny. And whiny.

Rylin was up every 45 minutes last night from 8:00-1:30 crying and coughing and whining. I gave her some Tylenol around 1:30 and propped her up with my own pillow. She finally fell asleep around 2:30. I finally fell asleep around 4:00 and was back up again with her promptly at 8:00.

She has been whining ALL. DAY. LONG.

She pooped while in the bathtub this morning (her new favorite thing) and I ran out of hot water cleaning it up before she could get rinsed off so she got cold water for that.

I gave her a spanking (her second ever) when she wouldn't calm down long enough for me to put a diaper on.

As of this moment she has a poopy diaper that I am too sick to change, and a runny nose that needs wiping, and is leaning against the easy chair whining.

I just threatened her with another spanking if she didn't stop pointing and yelling "NO" at me.

She just got put in time out. She is still whining, coughing, and crying.

Nothing sounds good to eat anymore, and I am starving.

I made a big pan of funeral potatoes that smell and look wonderful. I took one big bite and it was heavenly. Then I tasted awful freezer burn from the potatoes. They are ruined. There is no saving them. I have to throw the whole pan away. I HATE throwing food (money) away. 

Those are the only thing I can eat right now, and the store is closed because it's the Sabbath.

We didn't make it to church today, obviously.

Rylin only took a nap for 1.5 hours. I passed out for 1/2 hour of that as soon as I sat down somewhere.

I want to crawl somewhere away from the whining and cry.

But I can't because I need to be here. I haven't even showered yet and it's 5:00 p.m.

I can't survive another night like last night.

I don't know if I will be able to make it to work tomorrow.

We've prepaid for daycare and I doubt they'll take her like this.

Anybody want to come to Rexburg and take over?

Or at least bring me some funeral potatoes?

Please?

Where Did Jena Go?

This pregnancy has been harder on me than all of the others combined. Each time before I would get slightly nauseated in the evenings about 5:00, but it would wear off after an hour or two. I never threw up, and never needed to take anything for it.

This time, the game has changed. I am so tired all of the time, and have no energy despite the fact that I am getting more sleep than I normally do. I am nauseated all. day. every. day. Yup, that means my stomach hurts ALL the time. After lunch (no matter what I eat) I become incapacitated. This lasts until I pass out "later" that night from sheer exhaustion at about 9:00. I can't do anything. I sit at my desk and try not to throw up. I get dizzy, light-headed, and flushed. Once I get home, all I can do is shuffle upstairs to our condo, drop my purse somewhere, and sit on the couch watching Hulu. It's all I can manage. No laundry, no dishes, no cooking. NOTHING. You don't want to see my house right now.... Everything has to wait for the weekend. We run out of dishes constantly. It's bad. So bad. Thank goodness for Todd. He has to do everything without me. He has been such a support. We normally share tasks for Rylin where one of us will feed her and the other will bathe her and get her ready for bed. More often than not lately, he has been doing it all, including cooking/fetching anything my poor stomach decides it must have NOW. When I want something to eat, I want it right then and there, otherwise it is unappetizing later. Leftovers are not options anymore, even if it’s something I was craving earlier.

Here are just some of the random things I have "craved" lately:

Frozen yogurt piled high with a plethora of fresh fruit

Beef jerky

Chili powder chicken taco salad 

War heads

Plain Hershey’s chocolate bars

Roast beef w/horseradish cream cheese and cheddar on croissant sammiches

7-layer dip (freshly made, NOT cold)

Simply Grapefruit juice

Pink jello salad

Chzburgers from Burger King (flame-cooked taste)

Karev’s chzburger and fries (resulted in a midnight McDonald's run)

Bean and cheese burritos (Todd calls these "wimpys")

Tortellini with pasta sauce

Spaghetti with pasta sauce

Pizza with pasta sauce 

Pasta sauce

Grilled cheese sammiches made with American cheese (yuuuuck normally)

Jamba Juice

Any chewy, fruity candy

Wright Family Top Ramen 

Orange sherbet

To combat nausea I have used:

Canada Dry (ONLY) ginger ale

Saltines

Whole wheat Ritz crackers

Junior mints

Jolly Ranchers

Watching TV and letting everything pile up

It is ALL worth it though. I am SO thankful that I have a very good reason why all of this is happening. I am looking forward to the 2nd trimester in 3 or so weeks and hope that I magically feel better and can feel more like Jena again instead of a lump.

Absent

I can't believe I have not posted something in so long. Rylin has been cutting 4 molars, one right after the other for the last three months. Hooray for getting up throughout the night to a screaming toddler. I've been so exhausted and my stomach has been borderline volcanic for some reason lately, so all I want to do when I am home is sit and watch stuff on Hulu. I have no energy today as I seem to be fighting off a cold or something.

But enough excuses!

I have SO many posts to write of delicious recipes and Allison family excursions. I have a whole file of pics I need to upload too.

I just wanted you all to know that I am not gone, just out of commission lately.

He Cooks: Nidia's Brazilian Marinade

Nidia and Tiago are from South Brazil which is a more city area. They are great people and we love to talk 'chop' with them. The other day Nidia made a marinade that ended up being for some chicken wings, but they say that this can be used in rice, with beef, chicken breasts, etc. She makes a three month batch at a time.

However Nidia doesn't speak very good English, so I'm going to have to fine tune the recipe a bit to see if I got it right. So expect some edits. OBVIOUSLY some of the proportions didn't transfer correctly. Right, so as I've gotten it from her:

Ingredients:

1. 2 Bell Peppers Finely Chopped
2. 3/4th cup salt (I think this is more like a teaspoon or tablespoon)
3. 5 cups finely chopped Garlic (Again, not sure about this one)
4. 5 Large Onions
5. Some Cheiro Verde. (Parsley? I think in this case, this means cilantro)

Pictures and results to follow.

I Also Should Have Known...

When I wanted plain Hershey’s chocolate bars (yuck).
When I was nauseated every evening.

When the top of both my boobs started hurting.

When I was thirsty ALL. THE. TIME.

When I wanted the same chicken taco salad for dinner every night.

When the weird dreams prevented me from sleeping well.

Because part of us already did.

YES! I am writing this to announce that we are pregnant and due June 19th!! :D

It feels odd to sit here and compose this knowing I won’t post it for another month. We are waiting to announce it to the world (i.e. Facebook) until we have our first ultrasound on November 12^th.

THANK YOU all for the kind and loving words of friendship and encouragement you have offered. They mean more than you will ever know or than I can ever repay.

In the meantime, stay tuned for more updates on our little bean.

He Cooks: Todd's Taco Salad

I've felt the need for a Taco Salad lately but Jena wasn't up for it until tonight, and hopefully in a way that would help calm her stomach. This is the result and it turned out pretty stinkin good. It has a lot of ingredients, but really you just throw them in and your good.

Time: maybe 20 minutes.
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Base:

• 2 defrosted Chicken Breasts chopped in about inch pieces
• 1 Packet of Taco Seasonings
• 1 cup frozen Corn
• Garlic Salt, Chili Powder.

Salad

• 1 Bag of Spring or European Mix Lettuce
• 1 Sliced Avocado
• 1 cup Mission tortilla Strips
• 1/2 cup black beans (drained)
• 1/2 chopped tomato

Dressing:

•  1/4 cup Sour Cream
•  1/4 cup Salsa

Directions:

1. Take the chicken breast and saute them in olive oil and 1/4th the packet taco seasoning until there is no more pink.
2. Add the Corn, and dust with some more taco seasoning, some Garlic Salt and Chili Powder.

3. To the side mix the Salsa and Sour Cream into a bowl.
4. Put the Lettuce on the bottom of the bowl or plate you'll be eating from, put the chicken/corn mix on top, followed by beans, chips, dressing, and avocado.

Eat!