Banana Crumb Muffins

I've had banana's in the freezer for a while and knew I had to use them.  So, while spending a little too much time on pinterest, I came across this amazing looking recipe for muffins instead of bread.  Hubby and I love banana bread, but one loaf is a little too much for us and we seem to waste some.  So this time I went with the muffin's and they were a hit! 

If you check out the recipe, you will see what they are really supposed to look like.  I halved the recipe and my crumb topping went wrong.  But I won't complain, because the butter and sugar mixture caramelized and added some great flavor. 

Check it out and enjoy!....Banana Crumb Muffins

Week 28 update

At 28 weeks, I still can't complain! The biggest problem that I have is not being able to fit into my clothes!  It just hit me this week that it's time to invest in at least one more pair of maternity jeans.  And possibly give up some of my pre-pregnancy shirts that I have been trying to make work for the last few weeks.  And if you ask my hubby, his major complaint would be that I move too much at night.  I'm sure its a production if you were to watch me roll around and get in and out of bed!  Being 5'1 with a bed that is probably 3.5 feet tall is already a chore to get into without being pregnant!  But, at least I am sleeping good :)

According to www.thebump.com, baby boy is the size of a rutabaga.  1.5-2.5 pounds and 13.5-14.8 inches long.  He is-a-growin'!  They say that if he was born right now, he would probably be able to survive with a little help from the doctors.  His lungs and organs are pretty much fully developed now and his wrinkly skin is starting to fill with fat.  And I can't wait to see all those little fat rolls :)

I feel large this week, but I know I'm not and I know I have a long way to go!  Baby boy has been a-movin' and a-groovin' ALOT in the last 4 days.  I don't think he sleeps much, and I'm a little worried.

Oh...and the glucose test results came back normal! I am so relieved for baby and I.  Like I told my sis-in-law, all this worrying is just practice for motherhood :)  So, the cake coma will be coming! I will let you know how delicious the Butterfinger Cake is.  And if I don't get it made before next Sunday, I will be making it and sharing it with whoever invites us over for Super Bowl, or whoever comes to our house for the game.

Possible cake coma....

If all is well in my world after tomorrow's glucose test, hubby and I are going to be making this cake in celebration.  I just might be in a cake coma.  And if things don't go the way I hope, I will be saving this one (along with a bottle of wine) for after baby's born celebration.


Check out this recipe.  It's another take on Better Than Sex Cake, and it looks amazing! :)
Happy drooling!

Just when you think everything is perfect...

Here I am thinking that this pregnancy thing is pretty darn easy, I find out I failed my one hour glucose tolerance test.  No, this isn't the worst thing that could happen and it might not even be a problem.  But this is the first "major" issue I've had so far and it really upsets me.  My doctor said 15% of women fail the first test and about 1 in 5 fail the second test (which could have been his experience and not actual statistics).  But, this is when you start to think, what am I doing wrong?  Am I hurting baby boy without even knowing it?  Is this something that I could have prevented all along by eating better?  Is this something that actually didn't just develop, it's something I've had and never knew?  ....or, after failing the first test, am I going to pass this second one with flying colors and pretend this never happened? Either way, hubby and I are going to start eating better, watching our sugar intake, and doing more than sitting on our butts when we are not outside!  Or maybe that last one is just me...
So, wish me luck Thursday (or pray for me!).  I've heard people say an hour into the test they get really sick because of the massive amount of "sugar" they had to consume without eating anything before the test.  And I may go crazy sitting in lab for 3 hours!  Good thing I have my Kindle now and hopefully my dear friend Tania will be working that day and she can come visit me! 
Until then, I am going to try not to worry about it and pray that the first one was just a fluke! 

Week 27 update

I can't believe that I am 27 weeks along already.  Only 13ish more to go, almost single digits!  So many things going on trying to get the room finished and organized, finding things that baby definitely needs, and learning so much along the way.  We have our birthing classes next month and I'm kind of looking forward it them. 

At 27 weeks, baby boy is just around 15 inches long and weighs about 2 pounds.  His skin isn't nearly as transparent as it was 5 weeks ago and it is gaining pigment.  He is gaining more and more brain cells and brain activity can now be recorded.  This means hubby and I better get to reading to him and playing music for him.  He also has more taste buds now then he will be born with...just an odd little fact :)

And, at 27 weeks, I am still as happy as I was pre-pregnancy!  No problems, no concerns, and no major issues.  I haven't been sick, no swelling, and I sleep well.  The only complaint I can make is that my winter coat is on the verge of splitting when I zip it up and my coveralls are pretty much put away for the year.  I think the coverall part is more of a complaint from hubby because this means I won't be out helping as much when it's real cold out!  But, these are all things that come with pregnancy, and if my clothes and coats weren't fitting, I would say we had a problem.  I have been having a few Braxton Hicks contractions, but learned that they were brought on by trying to do too much.  I just had to learn to take more breaks while cleaning or helping hubby.  I am worn out a lot easier then I was before.  I can't continually clean the house in one day.  Grocery shopping trips are about the extent of my town trips.  No more spending the whole day in town walking around stores and wasting time!

I am still wearing SOME pre-pregnancy clothes and still have not bought new shoes just in case my feet do grow and/or swell.  I have no weird cravings.  I still enjoy all the foods I did before.  I do crave fruit more then I did pre-preg which I guess is a good thing.  I do know that after baby is here, I may go into a caffeine coma from drinking a few regular diet cokes in one day!

I took two pictures because at first, I thought stripes were deceiving, and then realized that black can be "concealing."  I feel bigger then I look.  And I do have a complaint....why does it seem that almost all maternity shirts are stripped!

Miracles

Every year, I buy a new ornament for our Christmas tree.  I try to find one with the year on it, but the only one I found for 2011 was very similar to 2010's Hallmark snowflake that we already had.  So, if I can't find one with the date, I look for one that reminds me of something from the year.  The "theme" of our year was just this....

Not that the baby process was a struggle or we didn't think it would happen, but baby Buzz is still our miracle! :)

Construction...

Working on a new blog format and background.  Possibly tweaking things randomly until I get it "just right."  Will change the title pictures after baby boy arrives to reflect the next dream I will be living!

Thanks for following my blog :)

Spicy Pretzels

My go-to recipe when I need to make a snack for a party or for hubby.
So easy and a crowd favorite.
Thought I would share this in time for Super Bowl!

Spicy Pretzels

1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix
1 tsp garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1 cup vegetable oil
2 bags of pretzels

Mix first 4 ingredients together.  Pour over pretzels in large bowl.  Toss to coat and spread on large baking sheet.  Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.  Toss every 15 minutes to evenly flavor and bake. 
*I only use 1 tsp ground red pepper because I think the extra 1/2 makes it too spicy.  Adjust flavors as you like.

Family gender announcement

I tried real hard to be creative when we revealed baby's gender to our families.  We thought about it for a few weeks and tried to come up with something good.  We had ideas like, fill a box with helium balloons in pink or blue and have them open the box, send appropriate colored flowers, or give them all an almond joy or mounds bar.  In the end, I think we could have been more creative, but the idea worked and it was fun!

We filled a neutral colored gift bag with candy bars, like Almond Joy, Snickers, Nut Roll, Hershey's w/ Almond, Peanut M&M's....and we attached a little riddle to the front of the closed bag. 
Look into this bag and see what you can find,
Herein lies the riddle to this baby that is mine.
All these things are similar and will try to help you guess,
The gender of our baby, so do your very best!
If at last you fail to see the secret that is hidden,
Check the bottom of the basket for the secret message written.

Then, the message on the bottom of the bag stated,
Our baby has 3 knees...
A right knee,
A left knee,
and a weenie!

Of course they didn't need the secret message, but it was too cute to not make them read it.
I think they all had fun with the idea and I'm glad we didn't just tell everyone.

We gave the bag to my MIL at our nieces birthday party and had her read it and open it in front of hubby's family.  They all guessed right away even though the first candy was a Snickers, which we thought was the least obvious.  A few weeks later, my 6 year old niece told me that she knew it was a boy when she saw all the candy had nuts, because boys have nuts too!  Her mom said, you are right, but don't be going to school saying that.  You gotta love kids honesty!

Happy Birthday!

Today is hubby's birthday!  I feel kinda bad because he got his present last week (a new TV...spoiled!) and we aren't doing anything special tonight.  Actually, we are cleaning out the butcher barn so that we can butch and make sausage this weekend.  What a great way to spend the evening.  I did get him a red velvet cake roll (delish!) and I'm hoping his mom is making him tuna casserole.  Let me explain, I do not like tuna, so he doesn't ever get this meal at our house, but he usually gets it for his birthday from mom.

So, even though we won't be doing anything real exciting tonight, I hope he has a great day and he didn't have to work too hard!   

Happy birthday, love of my life!  Buzz and I love you :)

Spinach and Artichoke dip

I wish I would have gotten a picture, but we devoured it before I could even think about it!

I found this recipe a few years ago and it has been sitting in my recipe box since.  I decided to try it one day and it was a hit!  So I made it again for Christmas at my in-laws.  Just thought I would share the recipe.  It is claimed to taste like Applebee's dip, but I think it has a different flavor.

1- 10oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1- 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1 cup shredded Parmesan-Romano cheese mix (or whatever Italian mix you can buy in your grocery store)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
10 oz jar prepared Alfredo Sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 oz softened cream cheese
pepper (optional)

Preheat oven at 350. Combine ingredients in a bowl and spread the mixture in a small baking dish.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until cheeses are bubbling and melted.    Enjoy!
*I've found the smaller the dish, the thicker the layer of dip, the less it cooks through.  An 8x8 is suggested.

I will be sharing a few other recipes I didn't get a chance to take pictures of later.

I hope you are enjoying the AWESOME weather we are having for January.  Too bad I'm not at home "sick" on this beautiful day!