Double Digits!!

Yep I hit the 10 week mark on this pregnancy.  So ready to be in my 2nd trimester.  I really would love to get some energy back to keep up with the other 3 I already birthed.  I am feeling pretty good actually.  I am really tired and usually in bed by 7:30.  That has put a kink in my Smallville Series watching since I usually watch an episode or 2 before bed.  Now I just pass out.  Since Doug is gone this week I at least have been trying to wait until the kids are asleep before I pass out.  The nausea comes and goes.  They gave me some Zophran to help and it does but I still get waves of not so fun moments.  I would like to say I am not moody but I know my husband and kids would disagree.  I have been a little crazy lately.  Ugh I hope nothing ever happens to Doug because there is no other man out there that could handle all this crazy.  Lol.  So the baby is about the size of a kumquat.  I feel huge already although I know I look like I have just put on some weight.  Bummer on that end.  My emotions are crazy.  I am so busy it usually is not too bad but I get moments where I really miss NC and all my friends.  Doug and I have been talking a lot about how many kids we really want and we are almost pretty sure this is our last.  I feel as if I am past the having kids stage in my life and just want to get on to the enjoying kids stage.  We will see.  There are days I love the idea of 5 but there are more days that 4 seems perfect for us:)  I crack up when people say "Wow 4 kids huh?  Nice big family."  If you look at family sizes in the US from recent years then yes but 100 years ago we would have been a small family.  Just funny the comments we get.  In NC having 4 kids was average.  I do not like California a whole lot.  When people hear about me being on my 4th their first reaction is that Taylor must be my youngest.  When I tell them she is in fact my oldest I get some pretty disgusted looks which makes me sad that society has made people think that having a lot of kids, especially all close together is a bad thing.  This really does make me sad.  Personally I am loving it.  My kids are close together so they will always have a playmate and I honestly love having a bunch a little people running around my house even though they drive me up the wall sometimes.  Oh gotta love that comment too.  If mommy is having a bad day then I get "Well then why are you having more?".  Really annoyed with that comment since apparently moms are not allowed a bad day....ever.  Trust me my good days outweigh my bad days.  Plus I have only once in my life heard someone say they did not like being apart of a big family.  Everybody else who has many brothers and sisters LOVED it.  Anyways sorry.  Just a little pregnancy rant.  Really I just try and avoid those people in my life now.  I had a lady in line at the store the other day tell me how cute my kids were and what a joy they were.  She commented that my oldest looked just like her dad and the younger 2 (she thought they were twins until one of them stood up) looked just like me.  When she found out we were pregnant with #4 she seemed so happy for us and told us what a huge blessing and congratulated us.  It was hard not to run up to her and hug her and tell her thank you.  Thank you for being happy for us and not acting like it was a bad thing!!!  It breaks my heart when people think that a new life could be a bad thing:(  Again people I have been trying to root out of our lives as much as possible.  So 30 more weeks to go before we meet Levy #4!!  We are very blessed and VERY EXCITED!!!

Chicken Crescent Roll Casserole!!

Okay first of all I obviously got this recipe off of Pinterest so I am not claiming this as me whatsoever and it is really really good!!  Here we go:)

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) cans of Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 3/4 cup grated chedder cheese or any cheese really
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• FILLING
• 4 ounces cream cheese (very soft)
• 4 tablespoons butter (very soft but not melted)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/3 cup onion finely chopped
• 2 large cooked chicken breasts, finely chopped (around 2 cups worth)
• 3/4 grated cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 2 cups grated cheese (for topping)

Preheat oven to 350
In a saucepan, mix the 1/2 cup whipping cream, can of Cream of Chicken and 3/4 cup of cheese.  Heat until cheese is melted (DO NOT BOIL)
For the filing, in a bowl mix the cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add in garlic powder. 
Add the chicken, onion and cheese.  Mix well!!
Add in the 2 tablespoons of whipping cream and season with seasoning salt and pepper.
Unroll crescent rolls and place a heaping spoonful in the middle and roll them up.
Drizzle some sauce in the dish your baking it all in and place the stuffed crescent rolls on top. 
Drizzle the remaining sauce on top and add last 2 cups of cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes!

Like I said I took this off Pinterest and it was really good!  I would tweek it but it did not need it in my opinion.  I am not sure if it warms up well but we will find out tomorrow!!
 

Crock Pot Breakfast!!

So I tried this recipe that I found off of Food.com and it turned out pretty good.  I will tweek it a little to my tasting.  Here is the original recipe and then I will put what I did a little different and what I plan to do next time. 

12 eggs
1 (32 ounce) bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1 lb bacon, cut into small pieces-cooked and drained
1/2 onion, diced
3/4 pound shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
salt and pepper

Directions

Layer the ingredients in crock pot in this order

1/2 the potatoes on bottom
1/2 the bacon
1/2 the onions
1/2 the cheese
potatoes
bacon
onions
cheese
Beat the eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper together.  Pour over top of everything.  Cook on low for 10-12 hours.

So a lot of reviews said it dried out WAY too fast so I went ahead and made it during the day to keep an eye on it.  A lot of people said if you have a warm setting to do it on that instead of low and it will be okay for that long.  I did it on high for 5 hours and it was perfect so I will try it for 10 hours on low to see how it goes.  Also putting salt and pepper on each layer is a good idea.  Someone mentioned doing that because of how bland it was and so I did that and it tasted good.  Also I feel like next time I will put more veggies in it.  I used green onion and red peppers this time but I think I will do more.  I am loving the veggies so I will probably try some other color peppers and asparagus and more onion.  Someone also mentioned doing a can of diced chiles on each layer of veggies.  I am going to try that next time too.  I also bought the pre cooked sausage and bacon to throw in and some people said ham was good too.  It is a good breakfast all in all and the kids loved it!!  It will serve at least 10 so I am making it for Doug to take to his class with Brecken Tuesday.  Also rolling it up in a tortilla and throwing some salsa on it would make a good breakfast burrito!!  Try it and let me know what you did differently so I can try!!!

Boy or Girl?

We have had a lot of people obviously ask us this question.  Do we want another boy or another girl.  Well I must say I am hoping for another boy.  Not that I do not love my girls but having 3 of them may send me over the edge.  Plus I would love for Brecken to have a brother.  Another question I have heard is "Are you hoping for a normal boy?"  I would LOVE to say I am shocked by this question but I would be a fat liar if I said the thought of having a "normal" boy did not skip across my mind from time to time.  Let me say that every single stupid time this crosses my mind I look at my son and think "How do you get more amazing that him though?"  Like I have said in posts before I cannot imagine what it would be like if Brecken was not the way he is.  I do not want to say that Cerebral Palsy is who he is but the things he has had to conquer has made him the amazing little boy he is.  Every time he says a new word or does something he has not been able to do my eyes fill with tears because of how awesome it feels to be able to share every single step of his journey with him.  So yes I have thought of what it would be like to have a son that can walk normal.  Talk.....tell me that he loves me in a normal 3 year old voice.  However you have no idea how much more it means when your son hugs you and you hear "A uv oo" in a slow and slurred speech because you know how much harder he had to work to say that to you.  He makes my family so much more then it was.  My girls are more accepting of other kids without a thought because they have also had to be with Brecken through all this.  I know I talk about Brecken a lot and everything he has overcome so here it is on my girls.  Taylor has been the most amazing big sister.  She helps me when I need it and makes sure she is constantly helping in every way that she can.  She goes to most of Breckens therapies to help him through it.  I am not kidding but she is sometimes the only one who can get him to do certain things.  She is his biggest cheerleader.  She pushes him to do things that she knows he can do and she is always trying to learn more ways to help him and asks questions about him all the time because she wants to tell her friends how strong he is.  I have had people mention that they think she had to grow up too fast.  Let me tell you that girl did grow up fast but not because we made her but because she knew what she had to do to be the big sister.  I love that girl so much and she is an amazing kid in every way and I could not be more proud of the person she is.  Now Bailey is pushing Brecken in a whole new way.  She loves to tease him and do things to him like grab his toys and run which in turn gets him up and going so she is helping in her own little special way.  Those 2 are amazing together too.  They may fight the most out of all 3 but I will walk in and they will both be laying on the floor with their feet in the air looking at each other and cracking up like they have the funniest secret ever.  Bailey is also the one that signs the most with Brecken.  Taylor pushes him in speaking with his mouth but Bailey and Brecken have this very cool connection where they can carry a conversation in sign.  I have had many people stop me in stores and tell me how cool that is and that they are amazed at how much they can talk to each other with their hands.  That Bailey bug has no idea how much light she brings to my life and I love her so very much  All 3 of my kids are so completely amazing and YES they drive me nuts but I would not have it any other way and I cannot wait to add another one to the mix:)

So back to the question of do we want a boy or a girl.  I cannot imagine my life without the 3 kids I have exactly how they are so this makes me know that no matter what the sex of the baby is or whether it is "normal or not, I will not be able to imagine life any different from what God is blessing us with.  Would I like another boy?  Yes.  Would I be happy with another girl?  Well if you have met the 2 amazing girls I already have been blessed with....how on earth would you even be able to ask me if I would be happy about having another girl!!  I cannot wait to find out and I am just so happy with our family already that all I can think is "It is just getting better:)"