Homemade Mac and Cheese

Maybe it's because I am tired of trying to find the tiny piece of paper I have this written down on even though I have it memorized, or maybe it's because it's too good not to share with you all, but here is my favorite recipe for mac and cheese EVAR. I don't even have a picture to share with you because I eat it too quickly.

Trust me when I say I searched far and wide for something that would hit the exact spot I was looking for. It had to be creamy (without using Velveeta [gross!] or cream cheese [who regularly has this on hand??]), and salty (but not too much), not bland (using the right brand [Tillamook] of cheese really helps), and easy to make (only 5 ingredients that you are sure to have!). I have one or two others that are really good, but take longer or need more ingredients. This is by far the easiest!

I'm a little biased about Tillamook cheese because it's all we ever had while growing up in Washington. I have completely converted Todd over and let's just say the love of good cheese runs in my family. If you take anything from my Blog, take this: SWITCH TO TILLAMOOK CHEESE NOW AND FOREVER. You're life will never be the same and you'll thank me later.

They're seriously not kidding with the World's Best claim.

At any rate, now that you know what kind of cheese to buy next time at the store, you are ready to make the featured dish of this post!

What you need:

2 Tbsp salted butter (yes, you can use unsalted but it will be bland)

2 Tbsp flour (yes, can use whole wheat or a combination, it just makes it more grainy and... chewy?)

1 tsp salt (NOT optional unless you want it bland)

1 cup milk (the lowest you should go is 1% or it won't be creamy)

1 cup (or more!) medium cheddar cheese, shredded (yes you can use mild and it will be bland, yes you can use sharp and it will be... tangy??)

What you do:

1. Cook your pasta. I'm pretty sure you know how to do this already. Use any kind you like, but I highly recommend rotini (spirals), conchiglie (shells), or anything that has a lot of texture and grooves that can hold more cheese sauce! Drain it (do not rinse) and set aside. Oh, and make any amount you want because having cooked pasta on hand is really never a bad idea.

2. In the same pot (less dishes!), melt the butter completely over medium heat.

3. Add the flour and stir until well-blended. It will look like a paste at this point.

4. Add the salt and stir until well-blended. Still paste here.

5. Add the milk and keep over medium heat, stirring until paste dissolves/mixes with the milk well.

6. Add the cheese and stir until completely melted.

7. Keep over medium heat and stir until the sauce thickens. Don't walk away! You might burn the bottom of your sauce and then you'd be very sad. So would I. You will know when the sauce is thickened because it will not be runny/milky/thin anymore.

8. Remove from heat and pour whatever amount you desire over dished pasta.

9. Enjoy and go back for seconds. And thirds if there's any left...

OPTIONAL (I have never been patient enough to wait for this but it's still way good):

8. Remove from heat and pour over pasta that you have placed in a casserole baking dish. Either your square brownie pan or a small rectangle pan will work great.

9. Sprinkle the top with even more grated cheese (as much as you want!). Do not cover!

10. Bake at 350 for 1/2 hour.

Scary

*This entry contains information regarding blood and other pregnancy related details. Read at your own discretion.*



I've written before that it's hard to be overly excited when you're pregnant after a loss. Every twinge or odd sensation sends me off into a spin of, "What was that?! Am I losing the baby?!"

It's especially bad because I know the stress is not good for myself or the baby. Telling yourself to calm down just doesn't seem to work. Distraction sometimes does.

I've been having a few episodes of what is called "spotting" or otherwise seeing blood when you're not supposed to. I called the Midwife and been directed twice now within the last month to come in and get checked out. Both times they have determined everything is "OK" and I might just have to deal with this throughout my entire pregnancy.


Awesome.


At least part of the making-sure-everything-is-fine process meant I got another ultrasound and saw the tiny little heart beating away. I also got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. It's "high" at about 160 which in old wives' tales means it's a girl. I'm OK with that. :) I hope we can wait to find out. Maybe. Part of me is worried the tech might blurt it out or not have us look away at the right time.

The nausea hasn't let up as much as I hoped. I am officially at the start of my 2nd trimester when everything is "supposed" to ease up. Meh. It's for sure not as frequent (meaning all day every day), but it's still often enough and severe enough to take me out of commission.

All that being said, I am so so so so so SO grateful that I am pregnant again, even with all the grossness. I continue to have friends and family members that are struggling with infertility and my heart aches for them. Infertility sucks, and there's really nothing that can be said to ease that pain.

So I will put my big-girl pants on and deal with the heartburn and the nausea and the bloating and the cravings and the exhaustion, because I know it is all. So. Worth. It.

Beanie

This is my first (I swear) knitted project. What you can't really see are the multiple dropped and added stitches. I just found a clever way to hide them. :) I even made the pom pom at the top!

 

I really enjoyed the process though and am looking forward to trying new stitches and maybe even making some fun things for the kids! 

Bow holder

I am not what I would call a creative person. I can do things, but I don't really ever come up with the original idea.

I saw a version of this with no back so you just saw through to the wall. I thought that was kinda blah, so I decided to add a cute print as the backdrop to match Rylin's other decor in her room.

This was SO easy and it gave me an excuse to get a mini glue gun. All I did was cut and glue the fabric to the back of the picture frame. I bought a cheap white one for no more than a few dollars. Then I cut and glued the ribbon at intervals that I just eyeballed. Then I put the frame together, threw away the glass, and added the bows. Voilà!

I am...

... a Time Lady. I have two hearts.

... spaghetti sauce. Not Ragu. The other one.

... embarazada. No, not embarrassed.

... a baker. Specializing in buns right now.

... sick. I have the Egyptian Flu.

OK, if you haven't guessed it by now, I am pregnant!! Due July 29th.

We found out while we were in California (I was 5 weeks along) over Thanksgiving break, but I had a feeling I was. Not just because of the nausea, or the cravings, or the sore boobs. I just had a feeling.

We told Todd's Mom we needed to go to the dollar store. She got confused as to why, so we told her we needed to buy some pregnancy tests. Her eyes got really big, she clapped her hands together and said, "Oh! Really?! I can drive you there and buy them for you!"

She was so excited to wait with us for the result. I wasn't given the option of waiting until the morning (hormones are higher then). The second line came up immediately, before I could even walk out of the bathroom. It was faint, but it was there. And that's all that matters.

We waited to announce it to the world because of the miscarriage. My midwife said it best, "Once you have a miscarriage, your innocence is gone." It's true. We both (even still) have that little dark corner in our minds that is terrified of losing the baby at any time. We aren't focusing on that though. Making it past week 7 is the first milestone. Hearing the heartbeat is the next. Because of insurance, I had to wait longer than I'd like for that to happen. It did today so here we are!

The head is on the left and the funny squiggly lines are arms and legs. We got to see the baby wiggling all around and even what looked like a bounce. AMAZING.

We aren't finding out the gender this time (if we can be that patient!). We already have one of each, and this will be our only chance of having that "It's a ....!" moment.

We wanted a girl first. Check. We wanted a boy second. Check.

We want a girl next, but both think it's another boy. We shall see.

We want four total with two of each. Lately though, it feels more like "We just want a healthy baby. Period." It took us 9 months this time. It finally happened the month I stopped planning everything. As I've said before, trying to make a baby takes all the fun out of trying to make a baby.

My age of 35 automatically puts me into the "advanced maternal age" group.

Blah.

Basically it means a bunch of extra genetics testing because of the higher possibility of birth defects. Oh and there's an increased risk of stillbirths for some unknown reason.

I'm also choosing not to focus on any of that.

I am focusing on a healthy, positive pregnancy. I have a midwife that I like. I'll get to labor in the jacuzzi again. I might (fingers crossed) get to have the water birth I've been wanting.

For now though? Hand me the saltines and the ginger ale.

Disneyland!!!!

We were SO fortunate and blessed to be able to go to Disneyland while we were in California for two days. The kids have been before, but they are so young I seriously doubt they remember any of the visits.

This time, everything was different. Rylin was not only aware of where she was, but she now had people she HAD to meet. I knew the day would mostly be spend meeting characters, and that was fine. Grandma Russavage (Todd's Mom) was able to spend the entire day with us as well!

We stopped for a quick bite to eat before heading in. Rylin wasn't sure about wearing her ears, but she obliged for a photo at least.

After stopping in my old stomping grounds and saying hello at City Hall, I found Todd and the kids outside in the Firehouse under Walt's Apartment.

We then headed to the new and adorable Princess meet and greet area. It's right next to the castle, and the whole area is themed to look like it could be the village of any of the Princesses. We waited in line for an hour. I know that doesn't sound bad, but it hardly moved, and kids REFUSE to stand still. Plus, I did get a little spoiled being a VIP Guide and not having to wait in any lines at all.

I hate waiting.

While waiting, I ran into another previous co-worker, Marcel. He is so good with the kids and knows every trait about every character. He is wonderful!

At any rate, we finally got to meet our three Princesses!

First up was Sleeping Beauty:

In case you can't hear the video, Sleeping Beauty asked if Rapunzel did Rylin's hair because it's braided. She also told Rylin she liked her outfit because it's pink, and that's her favorite color. Rylin correctly responded with, "Aurora" when I asked her what Sleeping Beauty's name was.

We then got to meet one of the most important favorites: Ariel!!

Rylin: Where's Eric?

Ariel: Oh, he's at work.

Rylin: He'll come back later? 

(She always acts surprised when Todd or I come home from work and says, "You came back!")

I asked Rylin if Ariel had fins or legs, and she looked under Ariel's skirt and proudly proclaimed, "Legs!" I then asked her who gave Ariel legs, and she said, "Octopus!" meaning Ursula. 

We may or may not have watched this movie recently. A lot. 

Then we met a less familiar face: Mulan.

Rylin wasn't as thrilled with this encounter, but that's OK. Maybe she'll watch the movie more now.  

Maybe.

And that was it for 60 minutes of waiting. If you ask Rylin though, it was all worth it. I wanted to head to Pixie Hollow next to meet Tinker Bell and her friends, but there was no way we could wait in another 45+ min line. Instead we headed to "it's a small world" and enjoyed the Holiday version of Todd's "favorite" attraction. ;)

It was time to head to lunch, so we met up with more of Todd's family at Storyteller's Cafe. 

Two seconds after getting there, this was Rylin:

She only woke up briefly at dessert because she heard someone say the word, "cupcake." She opened her eyes, grabbed said treat, and fell back asleep while still managing to eat it. Talent.

Rylin and Evan each got very special gifts from the World of Disney store after lunch from Anne and Great-Granddad Tucker. We had to say goodbye to them too soon because we had the most important Princess to meet still.

There was a mix-up with the tickets which was our only hiccup in the day. They were back in the car in the parking structure. By the time we would be back, our most favoritest Princess would be gone!

Todd headed to grab the tickets and I somehow managed to convince the nice Disney folks to let us in (my hand-stamp had come off via diaper wipes even) and I RUSHED all the way to the back of the park in order to get in line in time to meet:

MERIDA!!!!!!!

She held Rylin for the longest time. I've heard this before, and sweet Merida must have as well. "When a child gives you a hug, never be the first one to let go. You never know how long they might need it."

As crazy as it sounds, it was getting dark already right after this picture was taken. I was finally able to meet up with Todd and the rest of our group.

Rylin then requested to "go on the teacups!" She picked the yellow one.

We went and got Evan his very own pair of ears, and then we headed to our place to watch the Christmas Fantasy Parade!

 Santa Claus!

After the parade we switched over to DCA (the other park on property) and ate dinner. Grandma watched the two kids so Todd and I and his friend could go on the Radiator Springs Racers attraction. It was awesome!!!!

I didn't take any more pictures that night for some reason. Probably because I was too exhausted at that point. Hard to believe I used to pull 16 hour days in heels, tights, and a plaid vest. Ah, to be young again.

We had such a fun day and I swear I ran into everybody I know that still works there. It was amazing and Rylin is watching me post this and has comments for everything. "I saw Merida! I went on teacups! That's Disneyland!"

Mission accomplished.

Well hello there!

A good friend recently told me, "Yeah I follow your blog. There's nothing lately!"

Point taken.

Here's where I don't waste your time with excuses.

Here's where I update and try to remember what I haven't said yet...

We moved to Utah at the end of May. Hooray!!

We are in Taylorsville, which is about halfway down the Salt Lake valley.  It's perfectly central to all of our various loved ones.

This is the street we live on. 

I am in LOVE with Fall.
LOVE.

I am working back at the same Macaroni Grill (by choice) I was in 2002. I am a server/trainer again and they are looking to promote me to bartender (aka more $$). I love it just as much now as I did then. The people are amazing. There are even 4 still there from 12 years ago. If that doesn't tell you something, just know that the average restaurant turnover rate is maaaybe 6 months.

Todd started out working with me there, and quickly got to learn how to be a line chef. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough hours for him so he had to look elsewhere for steady work.

I won't even bother wasting time on mentioning that place, and I'll just happily relate that he is now working full-time at a much better and more stable company. He works for multiple insurance companies that provide Medicare part D Rx benefits, on behalf of CVS Caremark, on behalf of Xerox. Say that 5 times fast. I still get lost trying to explain it to people. At any rate, it's challenging and complicated work. He works M-F from 7:00-3:30 which makes it hard in the mornings, but nice at night so that I can still go to work.

Of course we now only see each other for an hour a day at the kid hand-off, but we're finally able to maybe start paying our bills.

My computer died a month ago, and most of my blogworthy photos are still locked in the hard drive, so you'll just have to wait for Evan's 1st birthday (from June) and Rylin's first day of preschool (waaaaah!).

Our car needed some major work done (2 grand worth?!) in November so we could go on our road trip to California and Las Vegas. I'll post separately about those (promise!!).

So that's our life for now. I'm home with the kids during the day while Todd is at work. Rylin has preschool on Mon and Wed afternoons. She took (and was not thrilled with) a ballet class for 6 weeks. I work at nights. We all have Sunday off, which is our family day of rest.

We're maybe (hopefully) looking to move into a house when our lease is up next summer, but a LOT has to happen before then.

Obligatory witty end-of-post comment.