Roman's Baptism

This past weekend we had Roman baptized at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in our neighborhood. It was such a wonderful day! The weather was beautiful, Roman was so happy the whole mass and it was great to be with our families! Roman wore a baptismal gown that has been in the family for over 90 years! My grandmother wore the gown as well as my aunts, uncles, cousins and myself which made it really special.

Hamming it up during mass.

Godparents Aunt Andi and Uncle JT

 

 

This was the first time I have hosted a dinner at my house. I was excited to use my dishes and nice napkins for once. I used the sear sucker napkins I made a few years ago and folded them like bowties. I really enjoyed getting everything ready for the family dinner!

Zoodles

 

My new favorite thing to make is zoodles! A friend of mine posted on Facebook last week about them and I promptly ordered the Zoodle Slicer from Amazon and we have now had zoodles 3 times in the last week.

 

I love this little tool! It works like a pencil sharpener and is easy to store versus some of the larger vegetable spiral slicers.

 

 

 

I searched recipes and found this one for Zuccini Pad Thai Noodles. I made the sauce according to this recipe and  basically just made a stir fry with the noodles. Here is my recipe.

 

 

Spicy Stir Fry Zoodles

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts or a package of chicken tenders

2 zucchinis

1 red bell pepper (cut into thin slices)

1 cup shredded carrots

3 green onions

chopped cilantro to taste

ginger

cayenne pepper

 

Sauce ingredients:

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (or regular vinegar)

2 Tbsp fish sauce

3 Tbsp ketchup

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp sweet chili sauce

 

Directions:

1. Prepare sauce by combining ingredients and whisking together.

2. Cut raw chicken into small pieces. Sprinkle ginger and cayenne pepper over chicken for flavor. Pour a small amount of sauce onto chicken and let marinate a few minutes.

3. Use spiral tool to make zucchini noodles and set aside.

4. Slice and cut red bell pepper and green onions

5. Using a small amount of olive oil cook chicken until done. Remove from pan and set aside.

5. Add zoodles, pepper, carrots and green onion to pan. Sauté with sauce.

6. Once vegetables are almost cooked add chicken back in to the pan with cilantro. Toss together and serve.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Months

It's been 3 months since this little guy entered our lives and while the days (and some nights) are long, time seems to have flown by! Maybe it's still pregnancy brain, but I feel like I have already forgotten things that have happened since he was born. He's getting too big! I want him to stay small, but yet I can't wait for him to get bigger and hit all the milestones (sleeping through the night, sitting up, etc.) I am looking forward to the warmer weather and can't wait to be outside all summer with Roman.

Roman weighed 13lbs at his 2 month appointment, so he's is really getting big. He has grown out of so many little clothes. I feel sad already packing them up when he only wore them once or twice.

A friend asked me the other day if I loved being a mom and I truly do. I can't even believe I am a mom, but I get it now. I get all the clichés, for sure. I honestly never smiled more in my life. Nothing is cuter than a baby reacting to your smile and voice. It's a happiness I can't describe.  Pure joy. And it gets better and better. While my free time is gone and my life is completely different, it's awesome all the same.

I went back to work at 10 weeks and I am working from home 2 days a week while I care for Roman. It's difficult, to say the least, but it works for now and has turned out to be a great transition period for us. When I am at work, I wish I was with Roman and when I am at home a small part of me wishes I was at my desk. I'm pretty pleased with how it works for us.

Thankfully my mom has made trips up to see us every few weeks allowing Dan and I to go on dinner dates. Some friends even offered to babysit on Valentines day, which was another opportunity for us to get out alone. We have recently been taking Roman with us more to do things, but it always makes us so anxious. I'm sure it will get easier the more we do it. We are currently looking for babysitters in our neighborhood in anticipation of summer weddings and outings.

Overall things couldn't be much better and we are truly smitten with our little guy.

Baby's first pair of jeans

wearing a bow tie on Valentine's day

Baby shades

Roman loves bath time

 

Hanging out with Pancho

 

Getting better at holding and playing with toys

Spring Shoes

 

1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9. 10.

 

I love this time of year when you can pack your boots away! (Fingers crossed, no more snow!) I'm ready to transition into flats and sandals for the summer.

 

Last year I bought a version of these peep toe ankle boots in nude and I loved them so much that I want a pair of black now too!

 

I really wish I had an occasion to buy and wear these blue fringe heels. They come in black and taupe too. I would take any color!

 

BCBG makes a great knock off version of the Valentino Rockstud pump. Comes in 5 colors from DSW. Great price!

 

I have all the basic (black, nude, gold) flat sandals already so this year I am looking for some pretty colors! I really like the coral Steve Madden ones!

A Baby Story

I can't believe it's been a month since this new little person entered our lives. I have been meaning to blog, but just haven't had the time. We are overcome with joy and love for our new baby! The birth was unexpected, difficult, but amazing at the same time.

On Saturday December 20th I worked out and took pictures of my giant belly. We went to dinner and binge watched TV shows all night. I had accepted that the baby might not come before Christmas as I had hoped and that we might even still be waiting on New Years Eve. The due date was December 30th.

I woke up at 5am on Sunday December 21st to feel my water had broken. I was pretty sure and yelled  to Dan from the bathroom the good news. We called the doctor who said to take our time, but to head to the hospital. From some of my friend's experiences I knew we had a little time. We both showered, got ready, ate breakfast and finished packing. We headed to the hospital around 6:30 am.

We spent some time in triage to confirm my water had broken. I was not, however dilated. Once confirmed, we were admitted to the hospital and my contractions started. I labored for a few hours, but was still only dilated at 1. We began Pitocin to speed up the process after several hours of not dilating past 2. I continued to labor all day and finally made the decision around 5pm to get an epidural. I thought I was only dilated at 2, but I was actually at 5. The Pitocin had worked! Once I had the epidural, I felt SO much better! Seriously I don't know why people (and myself) force ourselves to wait. Contractions are awful!

I continued to labor, but felt nothing! Woohoo! Around this time the baby's heart rate was dropping as we continued with the Pitocin. Things got a little blurry for me during this time. They stopped giving me Pitocin and I had to wear an oxygen mask. Once things were settled we had to decide how to proceed. The nurses helped me lay in different positions to get the baby to drop and dilate more. Since backing off the Pitocin things were not progressing. We started the Pitocin again and monitored the baby's heart rate with an internal monitor. Again, the heart rate would drop.

During this time the doctor spoke to us about the possibility of having a C-section. We discussed our options and decided to continue to try some things to get the labor to progress. After a few hours we realized it wasn't working and the C-section was the best option. Admittedly, I did not want a C-section but knew it was the healthiest option for both the baby and I. After 20 hours of labor, I put aside my fears and went confidently into surgery.

I can't speak highly enough of our surgical team. From the nurses, to the anesthesiologist, and the doctor. It all went so well! I couldn't feel a thing, but was aware of everything going on. Everyone was so nice and so excited and happy for us. It was such a great experience!

During the surgery the nurses got all excited and started commenting on all the hair the baby had as they pulled him out. In my head I thought, here it comes they are going to say "it's a girl" but instead the doctor announced "it's a boy". I have never been so shocked and thrilled in my life. Dan and I were ecstatic! Our baby boy was born Monday December 22nd at 1:04am! He weighed 8 pounds and measured 21 inches.

Dan happily announced to our waiting families the good news and returned to me and the baby. I spent the night recovering from the C-Section. By morning we decided to name him Roman Oliver. Over the next few days our parents visited and the nurses took great care of us. We asked to leave early on Christmas Eve and made our way home as a family of 3.

Laboring

3 Generations

 Since being home we have had so many wonderful visitors! We celebrated Christmas with both of our families at our house and then had the quietest New Years Eve we have ever had.

We are certainly exhausted, sometimes frustrated but overall thrilled with our new son! We take a million pictures and comment "awwww" all day long at his every movement. What a miracle and blessing we have!

 

Roman is 1 month old today! He weighs 10 pounds and 2 oz.

 

Peanut Butter Fudge

This is THE BEST peanut butter fudge recipe there is! I promise. My mom has had this recipe for years and it does not compare the to microwave "easy" recipes out there. It's simply delicious. It makes a full 9x13" pan, so there's plenty to share or take to a holiday outing.

Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe
Ingredients: 
4 cups of sugar
1 stick of butter
2 T Karo syrup
2 cups peanut butter
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 tsp cocoa

Directions:
Mix sugar and cocoa well. Add syrup and milk. Cook on medium heat until it comes to a boil. Add butter. Cook until soft ball stage (see note below). Add peanut butter and remove from heat. Use a whisk to beat until it starts to thicken and lose gloss. Pour into buttered 9x13" pan. Cool in fridge. Cut and Enjoy!

*Note* If you have never made candy before on the stove top you might not know what "soft ball stage" refers to. I had no idea and I called my mom in a panic after waiting for what seemed like forever for it to cook.

Soft Ball stage refers to a specific temperature range when cooking sugar syrups. Soft-Ball Stage occurs at 235-245 degrees. (you do not need a thermometer) This stage can be determined by dropping a spoonful of hot syrup into a bowl of very cold water. In the water, use your fingers to gather the cooled syrup into a ball. If it has reached soft-ball stage, the syrup easily forms a ball while in the cold water, but flattens once removed from the water.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

I made this pie for our family Thanksgiving and it was wonderful! Last year I had a bit of difficulty making a pecan pie. For some reason it just wouldn't set. I was nervous about making another one this year, but this was such an easy recipe and turned out perfectly!

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Original Recipe HERE

Ingredients:
(1) 9" prepared (unbaked) pie crust
3 eggs
3/4 c. light corn syrup
4 T butter, melted
3/4 c. light brown sugar firmly packed
2 T bourbon
2 T flour
1 T. vanilla
1 1/4 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

-In a large bowl mix eggs, corn syrup, butter, light brown sugar, bourbon, flour and vanilla until well combined.

-Add pecans and chocolate chip.  Mix well.

-Pour into prepared pie crust.

-Bake on the bottom rack for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.

-After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 45 minutes.

Let pie cool at least an hour.

Enjoy!!!