Our Baby Boy is Here

Zander Paul arrived on 11/23/10 at 5:56pm. 7lbs,7oz and 19.5".

We are in LOVE and SO thankful for him!

Naughty Chicken and Rice

This is my kind of comfort food. I woke up this morning feeling a little crummy. Didn't sleep well last night, had braxton hicks from 3:30-5am! Tried to time them in case they were the real thing but fell asleep. Then at breakfast I started bawling my eyes out because my toaster strudel was still frozen in the center! My husband came to the rescue and remade it for me.

I will survive these last 2 weeks or less of being pregnant!
And I felt like I deserved some creamy and totally fattening rice for lunch.

Naughty Chicken & Rice
(I came up with this recipe after mixing up a few different versions I found online)
It's naughty because there is butter, cheese and sour cream in it!

1 cup of already cooked chicken (shredded, canned, I may have used baked nuggets. Don't judge! I'm 38 weeks pregnant and hungry.)

1 stick of melted butter

salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried basil, any spice you want to use to season the chicken

1 cup of uncooked long grain white rice

28 ounces of chicken broth

1 can of cream of somethin' soup- I used cream of celery but you could use cream of chicken or mushroom.

1 cup of sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375. Layer the chicken into the bottom of a casserole dish. Season the chicken. Then pour on the melted butter.

2. Pour one cup of uncooked rice over the chicken/butter.

3. In a small bowl mix together the chicken broth, sour cream, cream soup. Then pour on top of the chicken and rice.

4. Now put in oven and bake for 1 hour. Take it out and sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 10 more minutes. Then it's done! The edges are my favorite part, they get all chewy and crispy from the cheese. Yum.

Grab some Hot Tea and a Good Book

There's nothing more relaxing on a cold day than some hot tea and a good book. What's your favorite hot tea? I really like Bigelow's Pomegranate Pizzazz right now. Here are some of my favorite books that I read over the past year and a link to some book reviews I did.

What kind of books do you like? I seem to always pick a book from the Young Adult section. Ever since I read the Twilight Saga I can't get enough of books with a similar feel. If you enjoyed Twilight you would probably like the House of Night series as well. I've read all 8 HON books and am waiting for the next one to come out. Also, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare are awesome books! My sister and I have really enjoyed them.

I also enjoy the very girly, Chick Lit books. Anything by Sophia Kinsella is going to be a fun read!

Hope you all enjoyed a little peek into my library! Oh and has anyone read Fire by Kristin Cashore? I loved Graceling so much but am not sure if I would like the direction the next book is going.

Falsies Mascara

Falsies Mascara by Maybelline

I'm wearing it in black. Or maybe it was dramatic black. I don't remember. But I always buy black mascara. Here's the results after curling lashes and 2 coats of mascara.

I liked it okay. It's got a delicate brush on it and it gets soaked with the formula. Be prepared to dab some off the wand. The brush has a slight curve to it. My lashes do not look anything like the Maybelline model's. Hers are most definitely Falsies! Anyway, I like it enough to finish the tube. It'll do for now.

On a side note. Look how long my hair is getting! It's only been a month since I got it trimmed. My hair and nails grow like crazy when I'm pregnant. That and the prenatal vitamins I take daily.

- Jill
ps. 37 weeks pregnant! I'm getting a lot of braxton hicks but they are random and I'm 3cm. Every night I go to bed wondering if this will be THE NIGHT I meet my little boy!

36 Weeks and some Pictures

Nope, no baby yet! I certainly have gotten behind on my blogging. Here's a pregnancy update. (and YES, that's my big belly up there!) Last week I was 1cm dilated and 75% effaced at my 35 week appt. I have my 36 week visit tomorrow. Were so close to meeting our little boy! I've washed and organized all his baby stuff. As for how I'm feeling, my body is so tired. My feet are so swollen and I have "sausage toes". When I'm out running errands people keep asking if I'm due this month. I sure wouldn't mind having a November baby! I'll be full term next week.

I made a collage of some of my Baby Shower pics. Friends, Food and Family always equals fun!

Baby Shower by thelilmermaid24

(CLICK to Enlarge)