Well... it finally happened...

There I was, minding my own business while leaving the doctor's office on Wednesday and wham... contraction. 

Well, one led to another and wouldn't you know it, at the end of the contraction rainbow was my little pot of gold.

Did you know that fewer than 5% of the population are born on their actual due dates?  My daughter is one of them, I guess she had a plan all along and doesn't like to be late, just like her momma!

I'm just very thrilled to share the news with you and will be taking a week off from all blogging.  I have a few reviews to post, type up my little birth story, and some other random blogging to do.  For now though, I'm going to go back to our room and stare at my little cupcake!  Life is good! 

closing in on 40...

I just noticed on my google home page we only have 4 days till we hit our due date.  Funny thing is regardless of the contractions and that number, it still seems a world away that any day our daughter is going to be born.  My dad made a comment to us this past weekend how relaxed we were.  I think all the grandparents are more stressed than we are about it.  I do wonder if there will come a point that I too will get a bit freaked out.  For now, I'm not and just enjoying these last few moments before our lives change once again. 

In the last few weeks since being off work I've been keeping myself busy with lots of yoga, spending time with my new friends (all with bellies like mine) and doing random chores in the house.  I've prepared meals and even read most of the magazines that I've held off from the past few months because well, I had no need for ab workouts.  :)  The garden is blooming beyond belief finally and our flowers are brightening up our mundane backyard.  Things are in place you can say, now it's just a matter of adding that extra puzzle piece that's baking in my belly.  She'll come soon, maybe tonight or maybe on 4th of July.  For now though, I'm just happy. 

My Vigilante lasagna

I never made lasagna before.  I always thought it was super hard and had to make a ton.  A few days ago while flipping through my cookbooks I realized I didn't have to follow the norm and just do my own thing.  Armed with everything I needed in the cupboard, I decided I'd just go for it and what do you know, I did a great job.

Vigilante Lasagna (serves two)

1/2 package of ground lean turkey (can you any ground meat you want.  Beef NEVER enters this house so turkey it is)
1 small can of tomato sauce (the sauce can is thinner than paste but you can use either)
1 cup of water
6-8 lasagna strips (depends on how many rows you want)
Seasonings from garden or herb rack (I use the following: seasoning salt, savory, poultry seasoning, sage, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning)
2 cloves of garlic
2 chives (or mini onions)
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
1.  Boil some water for the pasta
2.  While that is going, heat up pan for meat with olive oil.  I don't measure it, but I'd say 1/2 - 1 tablespoon.  3.  Cook your meat, when it is 3/4 done, add 1/2 cup of water and all your seasonings (I do two or three shakes of each or a few pinches)
4.  When meat is done, add can of tomato sauce and the rest of the water.  Stir and taste.  If it needs more seasoning add more.  I usually add two or three shakes of each seasoning in it and taste until I can't stop eating it.  When you are happy with it, turn to low and cover to just simmer.
5.  Check your pasta, hopefully it is done. 

Time to put it all together:
Since it's just me and the hubby, I use French Onion soup bowl but I'm sure you can use a medium ramekin or small casserole dish.
1.  Add a little olive oil to the bottom of the bowls to it doesn't stick
2.  Order goes like this:

1. Sauce
2. Pasta (that i cut in half to fit)
3. Spoonful of ricotta (spread out to thin layer)
4. A pinch of Parmesan 
5. A bigger pinch of Mozzarella

3.  I repeat this 3-4 times until I get to the top of the bowl and then final topping of Mozzarella is thicker and thin a swig of olive oil on top.

From start to finish, prep work for it is about 30 minutes.  (photo of lasagna just out of the frig getting ready to wrapped for the freezer)

When it is time to cook, bake at 375 for about 30 minutes till the top is a golden brown.  Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving and enjoy!

Overhauling the house... CSN preview review

You'd think that the closer we get to KLM's arrival the less we'd be thinking about the house.  It seems like it's just the opposite.  The closer we get, the more we want to do with the house.  Part of it has to do with being home for so long.  Right now, all I can think about is remodeling our bathroom and backyard.  We have this vanity that just doesn't cut it for us.  It's modern but not very compatible for two people.  Then the shower toilet area, uggh... way to small.  After sitting down and starting to crunch time and numbers, we decided that this was going to be a job for 2011 for us and for now, try to do our best with it and focus on the backyard more.

  When CSN Stores contacted me to do a review, I had the opportunity to do another review from one of their 200+ stores.  This time I decided we'd get something for the backyard.  Something that would help us utilize our space and have fun at the same time.  We decided that we wanted to get a game set like this one:

Link

  It seems like it would fit perfectly on our small lawn and something really fun when we have guests over.  Something we'll be having a lot of when KLM finally decides to come around.  I can't wait to test it out!  I know the hubby will be excited to try it too!

38 weeks...

You'd think by this point I'm sick of being pregnant.  I actually like it, even at 9.5 months.  Sure I have the worst back pain since I was a senior in high school and granted my 85 year old grandma could outwalk me right now but still, it's been good. (as I type this, KLM is hiccuping up a storm) One of the things I noticed since being home the last two weeks was my wardrobe and what I wear.  You see, all I can stand wearing now are sleeveless tops.  I don't even remember the last time I wore a tshirt.  Just the idea of putting something on my arms is appalling to me right now.  My addiction even raged into my postpartum clothing went I finally went out and bought some nursing tops.  All tanks.  Yes, it's the summer so maybe that's that prompted it.  Still, you'd think at least one shirt would find it's way in there.  I wonder now if I wasn't pregnant, would I still be wearing tanks day in/day out? 

What are you go to clothes for the summer? 

Still here...

Sorry for being absent lately.  Adjusting to being at home was harder than I thought and well.  I've tried my best to not spend the days watching tv and surfing the web, I've also not spent time blogging.  I will resume mostly normal blogging starting tmw.


As for a PG update:  Baby KLM is still living in my belly.  Hitting 38 weeks and feeling a little big.  Well, I'm off to my prenatal yoga class.  To finally get SOME exercise.  In the meantime, enjoy these two photos taken from our amazing and talented photographer:  Mark Ayoub.  (I was 34 weeks pregnant in these)  I love them!