Weekend Recap!!

Thursday--Tyler & I went to Mom's house that evening. Where we visited with Patsy, Connie and April. It was nice to visit with all of them. And Tyler loved the attention! :)

Friday--We went to Mom's house to visit!

Saturday--Went into town to walk...I am so glad the weather is getting nicer! Just a little warmer and I will be able to take Tyler with me! :)
Malinda, Mom, Tyler and I all went to Jefferson City that evening. We went to JC Penney to get a sleep sack..struck out there...tried Kohl's...struck out again...so if anyone knows where I can find a sleep sack at, please let me know! :)
We ate dinner at McDonald's. Tyler did really good the whole trip, but he was starving when we got dinner. He ate the one bottle I had...so I had to feed him more in the restaurant.
We also went to Target to take some stuff back and to Hobby Lobby to return a frame. Overall, it was a wonderful trip, and I was so glad to get out of the house!

Sunday--We ventured out and went to church!! It was nice to go, since I haven't been since the weekend before I had Tyler. Everything was going good for a while. Then Tyler wanted fed again. He drank the whole bottle again and wanted more. What can I say, he is a big boy :)
After church Malinda and I walked around town, while Grandma (my Mom) watched Tyler.
When I got home Glen, Allison & Lauren came over, while they were here Chris also stopped by. We all had a good visit!
We haven't done too much this afternoon. Right now, we are watching All About Steve. I'm not a good movie watcher..cause I have barley paid attention to it so far!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

This & That!!

*I can't believe our baby boy is 2 weeks old today!! It already feels like he has been in our lives forever!!

*At first, Tyler wouldn't sleep unless he was held by someone. He sleeps good--luckily. But one of us had to stay up to hold him during the night. He is getting better now, fortunately! He has been laying in his cradle, bouncer and swing and actually sleeps. I am so thankful for this! I knew we wouldn't get much sleep after he arrived, but I didn't realize we would barley get any. But eventually that will change. I figure I better enjoy him wanting held now, since that doesn't last very long at all!

*I officially threw away my job list!!!!!! This is a big accomplishment for me. I decided that there isn't any reason to have to dust, vacuum, etc.. every week. I am doing my cleaning by how the house looks. If the floors look bad, I will clean them..and so on and so on. I want to spend all my extra time with Matt & Tyler!

*I have already lost 26 lbs since Tyler arrived!! I was pretty heavy when I got pregnant, so I still want to lose some more extra weight. I can't wait for the weather to get nicer so I can walk around town again--and this time I can take a stroller!! :)

*Malinda made us dinner the other night. She made chicken enchiladas, Mexican rice, and sugar cookies. It was all really good! I haven't had enchiladas in a while, so it was a nice treat. We always use Pastor Karen's recipe. They are the only enchiladas I will eat!
Thanks Malinda! :)

*Everything is going pretty smoothly so far! I hope that continues!

Some More Pictures!

Here are some from Matt's side of the family.

Great Grandpa Herb

Grandma, Lauren, Caleb, and Great Aunt Judy






Grandma

Grandpa and Caleb

Grandpa

What I Learned My First Week of Being a Mom

*There isn't anything wrong with asking for help. I am the type of person that would rather do everything myself. I don't like to show any sign of weakness. I realize now that I have to have help with Tyler, and there isn't anything wrong with that.

*Never pass up a prepared meal. We have been blessed with dinner 3 nights supplied by people from church, 1 night by my aunt Patty, 1 night by my parents, and this list keeps growing. I never realized how handy people making us dinner would be.

*You should take advantage of all the outside help you can get. My Mom and Sister have came out and watched Tyler while I napped, and offered to do it anytime I needed. Matt's dad also offered the same thing. I can't imagine not having the choice to just give someone a call if I need a break.

*Not everyday is going to be fun. You will have your good days and bad days, but they are all a blessing.

*I can spend hours just staring at the baby I helped create, wondering if life can really be this good.

*I have now found out what true unconditional love is.

*I'm not going to be a perfect Mother. No matter what you do, it isn't possible. And I am okay with that. I just have to be the best I can be, and everything will come together.

*Buy only the minimum amount of clothes. I am so glad that we didn't buy too many clothes. We bought enough that he wouldn't have to wear the same thing everyday, but not too many that we would have to change his outfit twice a day to get some use out of them.

*Breast feeding isn't as easy as it looks. Those first couple of days were hell in that department. And anyone that knows me knows that I have no patience. Luckily I stuck through it and now everything is going great!

*Tv shows, movies, magazines, etc... all seem so unimportant now. I would much rather spend time with Tyler than watch mindless tv or read the latest Cosmo.

*Not everything will come natural. My Grandma told me that this week. And it is so true. You kind of just have to go with it and do what you think is best.

*Holding a baby is fun, but holding your own is the best feeling in the world. I could hold him for hours! ....which is a good thing since that is how he likes to sleep during the night! :)

*That it is possible to make it on only a couple of hours of sleep a night. I have been running on empty some of the nights/days since he arrived. But have found that 'cat naps' are my new best friend!

And the list could go on and on. And we are learning new things every day. Being a mother is different than I expected. Some ways better and some ways not...but every part is a gift from God..and I am happy to be blessed with the opportunity to be Tyler's Mother.

Tyler's First Bath!

We gave Tyler his first bath at home today! It was more like a sponge bath, since the cord hasn't fallen off yet. He didn't really like it too much. But now he smells like Johnson & Johnsons!

My Valentines!

Today is Valentine's Day!!--And Tyler's first!! I didn't buy him an outfit that said 'my first Valentine's Day'...that seemed silly. But I did want to post a picture of him and Matt...since they are both my very special Valentines!!

We didn't do too much this Valentine's Day. We had breakfast/lunch from the Lion's Club breakfast to-go. And spent the afternoon feeding, napping, gazing at our son, etc...etc...

We had dinner catered in by a woman from church. Lasagna...it was so good..and nice to not have to cook! We also had dinner last night from another couple from church. All three of us are lucky to have such a loving church family!!

Overall it was a wonderful day! I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

Some Pictures!!!

Just a few pictures of Tyler's first week!!!

8 lbs 5 oz!!

First bath at hospital!

First time proud Grandma got to hold him!

Proud Grandpa's turn!

Aunt Allison and cousin Lauren!

Great Aunt Patty!

Daddy changing him! He does a great job at that! :)

Proud Aunt Malinda's first time holding him!!

Great Grandpa Howard!

Another proud Grandpa!!

Another Proud Grandma!

Pastor Karen!

Getting ready to head home!!

Welcome home, Tyler!!!

We're home!!

Our little angel!

One with his beautiful blue eyes open!

One of my favorites!

Sleeping peacefully!

He loves the swing Great Grandma got him!!

First time meeting Tippy!
(For those of you that don't know, we have a very special cat, Tippy. We got her when Malinda was in the 3rd grade. So she is like part of the family!)

Malinda loves holding him!

Grandpa is already talking about taking Tyler hunting and fishing!!

Grandma couldn't be happier!!

There is nothing quite like watching the man you love being a father. Priceless memories.

Adorable!

Cousin Caleb & Grandpa!

Uncle Chris!

More to come soon!!

Introducing...Tyler Jay Rowden!!

Tyler Jay Rowden

February 9th, 2010 @ 11:33 pm

8 lb 5 oz 22 1/2 inches

See pictures of our bundle of joy here:

http://www.runningincircles6361.blogspot.com/

http://www.our365.com/

(The link wouldn't work for the second one, but you can type the site into a search engine. And then put the hospital as St. Mary's, Jefferson City)

Our blessing ended up coming a week early! Everything went well, and we are adjusting to being parents! It seems like every minute we learn something new, but that is what it is all about! Tyler is lucky to have such a wonderful family..as are Matt and I. They have made everything a lot easier for us the last couple of days! And I am sooo lucky to have such a wonderful husband. Without him, I wouldn't be able to do it. He has been so supportive and helpful, especially with the breast feeding, which I am thankful for!

You will have to bare with me for a little while, since my blogging will be very random in the next few weeks...but I am looking forward to sharing pictures of our beautiful baby boy!

Slow-Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

I tried this recipe for dinner tonight. It was nice to come home to dinner already cooked and the house smelling good! I think I can mark this one as a keeper!
Slow-Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients:

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds)cut into 1-inch pieces

2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)


2 cups whole baby carrots

2 stalks celery, sliced (about 1 cup)

2 can (10 3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup water

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed


1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups all-purpose baking mix

2/3 cup milk
Instructions

Place the chicken, potatoes, carrots and celery into a 6-quart slow cooker.

Stir the soup, water, thyme and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour the soup mixture over the chicken and vegetables.

Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours* or until the chicken is cooked through.

Stir the baking mix and milk in a medium bowl. Drop the batter by spoonfuls onto the chicken mixture. Increase the heat to HIGH. Tilt the lid to vent and cook for 30 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked in the center.

'Gone Fishing' Trail Mix & Randoms!

*For the Super Bowl party yesterday I made Genies and this trail mix stuff. I got the idea from the Internet. But I added a variety of different things than the recipe. I figured it would be a good snack fro the kids..and it looks pretty!

I put...colored, pretzel, and baby cheddar gold fish, white chocolate chips, Reese pieces, and peanuts in it. My favorite part is the Reese pieces :)

On a side note:

*I can't believe that we only have about a week left! I does not feel like it should be February already! People keep asking if we are ready, and I think we are as ready as you can be. We are looking forward to starting the journey of being parents....the good parts and the stressful parts!

*Does anyone know a recipe for a salad that has: Doritos, lettuce, green onions, tomato, kidney beans and some kind of dressing? I am trying to figure out the dressing that is used. If anyone knows it will be a big help!

*We had a good time Saturday night with my family. It was relaxing not having to cook, since Mat & Malinda brought their fish frying supplies out--Thanks guys!!

*We are going to get our taxes done tonight. I will be glad to have them out of there way before the baby is here!!

Not too much else going on here! I hope everyone had a great weekend and had a good super bowl party!

Weekend Plans!

Today- Matt and I are heading to Jeff this afternoon to a doctor's appointment....which I am excited about! Only about 12 more days! Afterwards we are going to run by target to return some stuff, and hobby lobby to return a picture frame. And we will probably eat somewhere before heading home. Hopefully the roads don't get too bad!

Saturday- We are having my family out that afternoon to eat dinner. Mat and Malinda are bringing fish and their frying supplies, so I won't have to do too much! I am going to make some cornbread and cole slaw, Mom is making dessert and we are also frying some potatoes! I am looking forward to it!

Sunday- We are going to a Super Bowl party at a friends house that afternoon/evening. I'm not into sports at all, but it is fun to see everyone! I haven't decided what to bring to it yet...so many choices...!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Late Christmas Present!

I posted a while back about how Matt and I were going to have a another cabinet built for our bathroom as our Christmas present to each other. Well, it was finished last week and they came and put it in. Malinda's Mat works for a guy that owns a cabinet building business. And they do excellent work!

Now I have a place for all my towels! It was worth the wait!

Weekend Recap!

Friday- We went to the doctor, and everything is looking good still and on track!!

Afterwards we went shopping for the baby (we are pretty much all set now!). And we had dinner at Applebees! We had a great time, even though by the time we headed home the roads were horrible!

Saturday- Had Matt's family over to eat. We had a pretty good time. The nursery wasn't completely ready, but good enough!

I made chili and taco soup. Here are some pictures of the meal!

The toppings...excluding the cheese...I forgot to get it out of the refrigerator for the picture!

The 'sides'. Summer sausage, crackers and cheese. On my vegetable tray I had cauliflower, broccoli, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, green & red peppers!

The chili!

Here is the taco soup, along with the recipe. This is one of my favorites!!

Taco Soup

Recipe From: Weight Watchers

1 pound hamburger, cooked & drained

1 chopped onion and 1/2 green pepper

1 can corn, undrained

1 can black beans, undrained

1 can pinto beans, undrained

1 can chili beans, undrained

1 can diced tomatoes

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

1 cup water

Dump all ingredients and their juices into a pan and heat. Ready in about 30 minutes.

(You can add whatever kind of beans you want. I basically followed the recipe this time, but I didn't put that much green pepper and I added a can of red kidney beans.)

For dessert I made Genies...they are so good!

Sunday- Went to church and stayed for the church dinner. It was ham and beans, and I actually liked it! I didn't do too much that afternoon.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!