FEELS LIKE HOME TO ME: January 2012

Monday was THE day. The day we could finally stop speculating on what baby #2 was and know for sure. A few weeks before the determining ultrasound, I decided I wanted to do something a little different, a little more fun and a lot more suspenseful. So that's just what we did.

Thanks to sites like Pinterest and Facebook, I'd seen where Gender Reveal Cakes had become popular. If you're not familiar, it goes like this: An ultrasound technician writes the sex of your baby down on a piece of paper and seals it in an envelope. The mom and dad then take the sealed envelope—if they can stand the suspense—to their favorite bakery. Once in the clear, a baker opens the envelope to find out if the couple's baby is a boy or a girl and bakes a cake accordingly. A cake with blue batter or blue filling is for couples having a boy, and one with pink indicates a girl.

Sound exciting, huh? Well it was!

But, instead of me or Drew delivering the news to the bakery, I had someone from the doctors office call my mom and tell her. So neither Drew nor I knew. Only my mom. Can you imagine knowing when no one else knew? Thankfully she only had to sit on this BIG secret for about 8 hours. Much longer and I think she might have imploded.

Fast forward to 6:45 pm. We invited family and close friends over to cut the cake with us. We'd all find out at the same time.

Here we go...

Mimi and Libby make the cut.

And what do we see?

It's a GIRL!

Total shock! I was very, very surprised! Libby had me convinced it was a boy. But I am so excited we'll have another sweet girl and so happy for Libby to have a sister!

I loved having sweet friends there to celebrate with us.

Then we all had cake.

We unsealed the envelope that contained the ultrasound pictures. You know, just to make sure.

Coop got Libby a Big sister ornament for next year's Christmas tree. She loved it!

It was a very special night. I'm so glad all the planning worked out. I can say I was honestly surprised. I highly recommend a gender reveal cake. It was such a fun way share our news!

Now I just have to get used to the idea of raising TWO daughters. Wow! Did I mention I'm still in shock?

9:58 AM
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Tennesse Trip

3:00 PM
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Fashion Notes

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing...until your clothes no longer fit and you feel fat. All part of the overall investment, yes. Last week was one of those weeks where big changes took pace. And by changes, I mean my belly has popped out and all my pants no longer fit.

I was missing my "normal" clothes and not loving the stretchy panel that adorns every pair of maternity pants. Then it hit me, I need to focus on other fashion accessories and not sweat the small...err big stuff!

Here are a few ways I've chosen to accessorize.

First off, I painted my nails a lovely, dark color.

Get in the Expresso Lane by OPI.

My mother asked me if I was "going goth". I promised her dark nails were in right now. I liked it so much I also painted my toe nails this color.

I've also tried something new to me - low lights. Long story short, my hair was a little too platinum blonde for my liking. I will always be blonde, I love it, but it was scaring me. So my hairdresser added some dark sections. I like it and it is a nice change for winter.

(I realized this the best shot of my hair from Christmas. I must try to hand my camera to other people more often. I have 234 of Libby and 2 of me. Noted.)

Once spring hits, I'll lighten it back up. But it's been fun to step out of my norm.

And my favorite accessory to play with has been pulling out my scarf collection. It's been cold and I love deciding which scarf to wear each day.

I usually wear my scarves like this:

Here are the steps:

Easy enough - it stays put and fits well under a jacket.

But my friend, Brook, taught me another really cute scarf-tying technique. Want to learn it?

You start the same way, folded in half and draped around your neck. Next you take ONE of the ends and put it through the loop.

Next you twist the knot you've created. Then you feed the other end through the loop.

Lastly, tighten and adjust. The finished product:

It's a great way to spice up an outfit, or in my case, distract yourself from a (boring at times) maternity shirt.

And please feel free to share with me any other cute ideas that can liven up my wardrobe for the next 4 1/2 months.

Happy accessorizing, friends!

10:27 AM
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Breakfast Casserole

Christmas morning I served breakfast casserole. I love having breakfast casseroles at showers and brunches, but have probably only made it for myself one other time. I found this recipe several weeks before Christmas and held on to it. It stood out because it was one you make in the crock pot - just my speed!

I prepped everything Christmas Eve and added it all to the crock pot before going to bed.

First I mixed 10 eggs with 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup milk, along with salt, pepper and dry mustard.

Then I browned 12 oz of sausage.

I chopped up an onion and bell pepper. Then I layered all the ingredients - half the sausage, onions, peppers and a layer of frozen hash browns.

Then I added a layer of shredded cheese - lots of it! Then repeated the layers.

The final step was to pour my egg concoction over the contents of the crock pot. I poured some, let it settle, then poured more. The crock pot was full.

I turned on low and cooked for 8 hours. When I woke up the kitchen smelled so good. I'll admit, I was a little worried about how the casserole would turn out in the crock pot. But when I lifted the lid early Christmas morning, it was perfect!

I cut the recipe down a bit (I used 10 eggs instead of 12, 12 oz of sausage and about 15 ounces less of hash brown than the recipe called for) and it made a huge amount. It served six adults and we ate left overs for two mornings. I also froze a large Tupperware container to pull out later.

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole:

12 eggs or 2 cartons egg beaters

1 (32 oz) bag frozen O’Brien hash browns (rinse to get rid of any freezer burn taste)

1 lb cooked & cut up bacon, ham or sausage (or a mix of them)

1/2 C diced onion (I added a bell pepper as well)
3/4 lb shredded cheddar cheese

1 C milk

1 C sour cream

1/2 tsp dry mustard

salt & pepper & other seasonings to taste

Directions

1. Spray 6 quart crock pot with nonstick spray.

2. Put ½ of the hash browns, meat, and onion mixture. Sprinkle on half the cheese. Repeat

3. Mix together eggs, milk, sour cream and seasonings. Pour this mixture over the top of ingredients in crock pot.

4. Cook on low for eight hours.

If you ever need an easy breakfast item that feeds a lot of people this is it! Of course you can add or leave out ingredients you don't like. If I can successfully cook this, then you can, too!