Chicken Taco Chili

I am a sucker for a good crock pot recipe!

This is why I LOVE Pinterest.

Tonight, my parents are coming over for dinner so I am trying

Chicken Taco Chili in the crock pot :)

 

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 16-oz can black beans
• 1 16-oz can kidney beans
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 10 oz package frozen corn kernels
• 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
  24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• chili peppers, chopped (optional)
  1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream.

34 weeks and future changes

I am 34 weeks pregnant, feeling it in every aspect of my life.. and getting so anxious to meet my sweet, sweet girl. So in the world of 34 weeks pregnant.. my body aches.. I wake up with pain in my hips, even with using a body pillow.. it takes me longer to get up the stairs (lol) and getting in and out of my car is annoying. I have been trying to get a workout in here and there but I just do not have the same sort of energy as I did before, if I workout one or two times a week I consider that a good week. I may try to take Zumba or something this weekend, get my big belly moving around...Im sure it would be entertaining for others in the class at the least.
There are alrdy a few things I feel that if Dan and I decide to have a second child I would do differently. The biggest thing is the doctor I am seeing. The company, May Grant... although they are all really nice etc.. they don't guarantee you who will be delivering you. I have been seeing the same one Midwife my entire pregnancy yet she might not be on call the day I go into labor so I could have a doctor/midwife that I have never met before. That is becoming really unnerving to me. Especially as they are telling me to get a birth plan together etc.. How can I even trust my birth plan will be followed when I don't even know the dr/midwife? When I have brought this up to the midwife I see, she insists that all of the professionals there can be trusted and they will have me and the baby's best interest at heart. I have considered switching doctor offices recently but this far into the pregnancy, I don't feel comfortable starting all over with the appointments etc. May Grant is also so big and they see so many people that I am feeling like just a number in their office. I think that depending on how this labor/delivery goes maybe I would switch to a more private midwife office or something for baby #2.

Anywho, to finish this off, a picture of baby at 34 weeks, she should be about 4.5-5 lbs and 16-19 inches long. My little Victoria, I am dreaming of you everyday and cannot wait to meet you :)

Donna Banana

My sister, her husband and her doggies live in Maryland at the Andrews military base. They have been living there for over a year and I finally got to visit. They live in a super cute townhouse. I have never been on a military base before but this one was GORGEOUS. It is a town in and of itself, you would never have to leave there if you didn't want to.. everything from a hospital, to parks, to a movie theatre etc.. it was gorgeous!
Me, my Mom, my Dad, my cousin Haley and my Mammy all took the drive together. It took us about 2 hours to get there and then the same on the way back. Driving in the car anywhere more than a half hour away is not fun in general, but especially not pregnant.
Once we got there we got to check out her place, she decorated baby Samanthas nursery in Winnie the Pooh which is so cute. They unfortunately cant paint or anything without having to paint it all back when they move out so they opted out of the painting and are going to hang wall decals. My sister and her husband are both computer junkies so they also have an office type room which has two computers and THREE monitors... lol. They are crazy.
Anywho, we all went out to IHOP for lunch which was really good. I got some pictures with my sister which I posted on Instagram because I hate myself in them but I still wanted them posted somewhere lol.. we are built really differently in general and are also carrying really different with pregnancy. We are on track to gain about the same weight but my sisters weight has distributed on her body much more evenly than mine and I have a ton more water weight than she does, my face, hands are feet are so swollen and her face looks exactly the same as before pregnancy lol.
Seeing my sister pregnant is so weird! We have never had much in common which is fine, I was always the girly girl, the loud mouth, the social butterfly..she was always the quiet, introverted and go with the flow one. Us being pregnant at the same time is fun because I feel like it gives us a new female bonding experience to share that we haven't gotten to in the past.
She is due in a week!!! Her induction date if she doesn't go into labor on her own is February 14th. I hope she goes soon but I do think itd be really cute to have a Valentines baby :) Keep your fingers crossed for Banana and her husband! The end is near and I am so jealous!

The movie star treatment

I had a baby shower yesterday thrown by my dearest friends, Courtney and Megan. The theme of the shower was Movie star haha. This is awesome on so many levels. I am a tad celebrity obsessed... when I say tad I mean I got 38 out of the 40 celebrity related questions right! I am crazy lol.

The decorations were awesome, they had a red carpet rolled out.. a wall of paparazzi.. and then everyone wore a VIP celebrity tag around their neck. Each tag had the picture of a celebrity mom on it. So once I got there, everyone got pictures taken with me, we used props like sunglasses, coffee mugs and baby strollers..you know, what every celebrity mom needs!

For food they had tons of finger foods, meatballs, soft pretzels, tomato pie etc..

Dan, Victoria and I got so many gifts. Everyone was so generous. =)

I left the shower exhausted, happy and content. We are so lucky with the amount of support we have gotten from everyone...and all of our friends genuinely love this little girl so much already, as if she was their own! What a lucky little gal!

Breastfeeding 101

Warning: I say the words nipple, boob, vagina and breasts in this post.. so if you are a 16 year old boy, or maybe a 28 year old with the maturity of a 16 year old boy, beware! This will make you laugh.. or cringe..

 

This morning I took a breastfeeding class offered at the local women's hospital. I want to breastfeed and I have heard a ton of horror stories. For some reason, people seem to be quicker to tell you a horror story then a good one.. plus, I grew up in a non breastfeeding family who thinks breast milk isn't filling enough for a baby... and I knew I had to learn the facts for myself.
In 25 years, my breasts have not been used for anything more than uhm...decoration? fun?.. So in a way, it sorta freaks me out to think that my child will be sucking on my boob, eating. Its almost a vulernable feeling like, I carried my child INSIDE of me for 9 months, pushed her out of my vagina, and now she eats from my boob...talk about completely taking over a persons body and life.. no wonder Mommy's and babies are SO connected...and on a side note, I am also that much happier she is a girl.. for some reason, the thought doesn't weird me out as much that she is a girl completely taking over my body then if she was a boy lol.. oh my, I really hope I am not the only one who thinks these random weird thoughts lol.

Anywho, so I want to be a breastfeeding mom. The class was amazing. I learned so many new things and the instructor did a great job boosting my confidence in the success rate of breastfeeding and just knowing I need to have some patience, especially in the beginning. Some notes from my breastfeeding book:
*Babies can be breast fed exclusively with NO other foods for at least 6 months before introducing cereal etc.
*Breastfed babies have a stronger immune system than non breastfed babies
*Its a great bonding experience
*On average a breastfeeding mom burns 750 calories a day from breastfeeding
*A mothers milk changes as the baby gets older to become more of what it is the baby needs
*Children who were breastfed have higher IQ's than non breast fed babies

Breastfeeding is great for a child, whether you can do it for 2 weeks, 2 months or 2 years.. the benefits last a lifetime :)

Pregnancy 'Glow'

I would definitely say it was a glow the first few weeks.. making it past the first trimester, knowing my baby was healthy... knowing we were starting our family, I feel like I grinned from ear to ear all day everyday. I had ZERO morning sickness.. so I had no reason to do anything other than enjoy being pregnant.
Fast forward to 32 weeks. I am feeling HUGE. My nose is spreading. My hips hurt at the end of the day. My feet hurt. I hate wearing pants. I sweat a lot.
I get it. Trust me, I know this is what is supposed to happen. I know that mommy growing is baby growing. That does not make looking at myself everyday any easier.
I know I can lose it again. Once Victoria is born I can really focus on eating healthier, getting back in shape, if anything it will be almost fun getting to recreate my body. I want my daughter to be proud of me, I want her to think I am the prettiest mom ever. I want my husband to be even more attracted to me then before I had our baby.
I am surprised at how many people feel totally comfortable to tell you exactly what they think as far as your weight goes. "You look great, you have only gained in your stomach and face".. "the whole rest of your body doesn't look bigger at all"..."Youre going to be skinny again right after you give birth". I truly appreciate how everyone is only trying to make me feel better. I know everyone only has the best intentions and it is my own openness that makes people think they can make those comments to me. I think I prefer the -lets pretend I haven't gained weight at all and not even acknowledge it- way even more. I am still debating not going in public at all after February 1st. We will see lol.
On a side note...below is a picture from my shower that my parents hosted yesterday. Please take note of my niece Isabella. Girlfriend LOVES cake. It was so cute, I cut the first piece and said "Who wants the first piece?" and she immediately picked up her plate and handed it to me. SOO CUTE.. And of course, she got the biggest piece of all. Man I love that kid.

Guilty Pedicures

I LOVE pedicures. Like legit, I keep a pair of flip flops in the trunk of my car at all times just in case I get the pedi rush. There is NOTHING more relaxing to me than sitting in a massage chair having someone take care of my feet, polishing them, making them oh so pretty..giving them a nice little massage and a little leg rub, heaven. I hadn't gotten one since probably fall. I was taking care of my own nail painting as I was trying to save money, $20 adds up every couple of weeks. Today, I took the plunge.. I was having some guilt in feeling like maybe I shouldn't be spending any money on myself with the baby coming.. and then it hit me, I have not spent money on myself in I don't know how long.. my money right now goes towards bills, the baby, savings, etc. If there has been one thing I have promised myself in getting pregnant and becoming a mom its that I really don't want to lose myself in my child. I want to take care of me, I want to do things I like to do, I want to do things that make me feel good about myself, that make me confident, that make me happy(all within reason of course)these things will only make me a better wife and mother. So to all the mommys out there, splurge on yourself! You are more than deserving of that cute new top you saw at the mall last weekend, the glass of wine with your girlfriends, the pedicure on a Friday afternoon! Enjoy!

Childbirth 101

So we had our first childbirth class last night... the good thing is, so far, I am not scared and I still want Victoria to come out lol. We went over dilation of the cervix, played with a balloon.. which I was getting a drink during that time so I kind of missed what that was supposed to represent lol.. and got a tour of the Womens and babies hospital. The hospital is really beautiful. They just added a new maternity wing not too long ago, the rooms are private, bathrooms are big and there is plenty of room for visitors. Is it awful that I don't want visitors until I have had some sleep? Just knowing how exhausting the entire day of delivery is going to be makes the idea of visitors awful to me lol. I want to be showered and have make up on before people come see and want to take a million pictures.
Like 20 minutes into the class I whispered to Dan "I cannot believe we are sitting in childbirth class right now".. I remember he and I talking about us having a baby and when we decided we were ready etc and its funny because I really don't remember thinking about anything other than the fact that I wanted Dan and I to have a baby. I kind of forgot about the whole being pregnant thing, the whole giving birth...preparing for the baby, baby classes, breastfeeding, etc.. and now its all sort of hitting me at once as baby girl is getting closer and closer to being here. I am so anxious to see her sweet face. Will she look more like me or Dan? Will she be dark like Mommy or fair like daddy? What will her temperament be like? Oh sweet girl, I hope you know just how loved you already are... :)  
And now for everyone's pleasure.. lets check out a dilated cervix.... LOL

A lovely surprise!

Sundays are normally my lets-lay-around-and-do-nothing days. Today was an exception. I had breakfast plans, was working an open house in Lititz and also had a staff meeting at Hollywood Tans, although I wasn't loving the idea of being so busy, I had a pretty chill Saturday and the house I had the opportunity to cover in Lititz was gorgeous and it was the first time it was having an open house so I was excited to see the turn out.
I went out to breakfast with my best friends which has been our new once a month ritual together. I LOVE it. It is so fun seeing the girls, we are all usually out of it, in sweats, hair on top of our head and we just chit chat and act silly. I left there around 11 to get to the HT meeting... we had a pretty typical meeting for the first half hour, talking about our store move, any new specials we have coming up, etc... and as one of the girls had to leave.. Cupcakes were brought on a tray and two perfectly wrapped gifts also. I was SO surprised!

 

My HT ladies, Shenoa, Lacie, Sarah, Sara and Amanda got me a baby tub off of my registry, a  bath time book, a rubber ducky and a baby kit including lotions, soaps, etc. I was completely surprised, and I NEVER get surprised.. I am such a control freak I tend to dig until I know everything and this may be the first time ever that I was completely blind sided. It was SO sweet, I cannot get over how much the ladies made me and sweet Victoria feel so loved. I am so blessed. 

A perfect fit

Have I ever mentioned how much I love being a real estate agent?

That this is the first time in my life I feel like I have a job that is a career?

That I love having a career where I get daily interaction with others?

That I love getting to help people move onto the next chapters of their lives?

Have I mentioned that I love looking at houses?

That I can dream up the exact house that will be perfect for my clients?

That I imagine their life in the home?

That my clients happiness is my happiness?

 

I am so lucky to have found real estate and for the support I have received in my career.

2013 is going to be a fabulous year!!!

 

 

 

 

Crock pot Mac and Cheese

At 30 weeks pregnant, I have officially decided I will no longer cover closing shifts at La Fitness. Working until 11 p.m. is just too exhausting for me, by the time I get to bed its about midnight... so at least until after the baby I will be working about 10 hours a week there, day shift only. This means one huge thing...

I may officially be taking over as the head chef of our home.

*insert dramatic music here*

Whatever, I'm really not that bad lol, Dan is just better.. and faster.. and really enjoys cooking so he usually takes over the cooking in the house. This will be week one of me officially taking over and tomorrows menu includes: Jack Daniels marinated sirloin and crock pot macaroni and cheese! The steak was buy one get one free at Giant so other than cooking that I don't need to do anything else, below is the recipe for the mac and cheese.. ENJOY!

CROCK POT MACARONI AND CHEESE

8 oz. macaroni 3 c. sharp grated cheese 2 eggs 1 large can Carnation evaporated milk (not condensed milk) 1 1/2 c. regular milk 1 stick butter, melted Cook macaroni and drain. Add cheese, pour in crock pot (sprayed with PAM or oil). Add butter. Beat eggs and mix with both milks; add to macaroni mixture. Mix and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.Note: To make more, use 16 oz. macaroni and add some extra milk.



The best Ang

You know the kind..the mom who looks like she has it all together, the one who's hair is perfect, who was a size 2 within a month of giving birth... the mom who looks so happy, so proud, like there isn't anything she couldn't do while holding one child's hand and having a baby on her hip??....
Am I going to be that mom? I already feel like a mom in so many ways. My decisions, my thoughts.. is the baby ok? Is she comfortable the way Im laying? Did she move as much today as she did yesterday? Is she going to think I am doing a good job? Will she feel loved everyday?
I hope I remember to always be patient.. to always tell her I love her. I hope I am the mom she is proud of. I hope I am the mom that I am proud of.
My entire life I have wanted to be a wife and mother. I am experiencing an almost scary too-good-to-be-true feeling. My husband is amazing. He and I get each other on a level that I didn't know was possible. He lets me be me. He brings out the best in me. He always believes in me and supports me. Now here we are and he is giving me the greatest gift, that of motherhood.
Being a wife has been an adjustment, but in our marriage it has been a team effort. The same way I am learning to be a wife, Dan is learning to be a husband so we have each other for support. I guess I am just nervous that as a mom, what if I don't do a good job?...baby girl cant do anything about who her mother is! She has to take me for what I am, good or bad.  I guess that's another beautiful thing about children though, they love you unconditionally.
Adding our sweet Victoria to our life is going to be amazing and I will continue to dedicate myself to my family and my life. To be the best wife, the best mother, the best Ang that I can be.



A not-so-new-years-Resolution

This year I really do not want to make a "lose weight" or "eat healthy" resolution as they are so.. typical, especially for me. This year I want to spend the year just appreciating my life. My husband and I are about to embark on what is going to be one of the most exciting and also trying times of our lives. I want the two of us to make sure we are patient and appreciate each and everyday with each other and with our sweet girl. The late nights and exhaustion are going to be really tough but I know they will be so worth it. With everyday that passes, that will be one less day we have with our child as a newborn.. one less day that she will need me, one less day that I can just keep her cradled in my arms. My husband and I will be coming up on our 2 year wedding anniversary and as that approaches I want to make sure we are still putting each other first, still making alone time a priority, still having fun with each other.  I am SO excited about 2013, one of the scariest but BEST things about life is you never know what is coming your way, but with my husband and my sweet girl, nothing will be able to bring me down :)