It's a Girl!

Yep! It's a girl!

We are truly excited... Craig nor I really cared either way! Having two girls will be so much fun & easier in some ways. Craig is already planning out the giant Princess Castle he is going to build some day. I know once they both hit the teen years it will be very INTERESTING, but we will have fun with it for sure. I, especially, will be excited once they get old enough to watch Grease, Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and many, many more musicals. I certainly won't mind taking them (and all of their friends) to any of the cheesy Disney Pop concerts they will surely want to go to. We will just have to make sure we live in a house that has a man cave somewhere for Daddy!

Many people (family) will be a LITTLE upset that it's not a boy, ONLY for my Dad's sake--since he had 2 daughters--and now 2 granddaughters :) But I know he won't mind at all. After all, girls can get golf scholarships too!!!

Here is a video of today's ultrasound in case you are interested. NO I have no idea what anything is!

Untitled from Jennifer Skinner on Vimeo.

Gender Predictions

I find out on Wednesday what the gender of the baby is! I know it goes without saying, but I am really just excited for the ultrasound to make sure the baby looks healthy so far! The extreme planner in me, however, is excited to find out the gender, so I can start making lists...

My girlfriends Jade & Nicole both made lists of all of the wives tales out there predicting gender, so I thought I would do the same. We both honestly do not care which one it is. We think a boy could be easier over the next, oh say, 20 years! But a girl will certainly be easier in terms of "STUFF" that we need... since we are up to our ears in pink around here. We think Ellie will be happy with a brother or sister and we'll have fun either way! Everyone says my poor dad deserves a grandson, after having 2 daughters and a granddaughter so far :) Craig's parents already have one of each, so they don't care either.


If you're carrying low it's a boy, high is a girl: High (1 point girl)

If the heart rate is greater than 140 it's a girl, less is boy: 150? (1 point girl)

If you crave sweets it's a girl, sour or salty is a boy: UM BOTH. (NO Point!)

If your husband puts on weight too it's a girl, otherwise boy: Craig has lost weight. Although I know it’s because he’s been busy at work and we do not have a Sonic (for milkshakes ) w/in 1 mile of our house! Also, the Mexican food in Indy is not too good, soooo… (1 point boy)

If your face gets round or full it's a girl, otherwise boy: nope, no change in face. (1 point boy)

If you get acne it's a girl, otherwise boy: Yep. (1 point girl)

If you are carrying out front it's a boy, to the side or in hips it's a girl: out front (1 point boy)

If the baby is very active it's a boy, less active it's a girl: very active already (1 point boy)

If you have bad morning sickness it's a girl, otherwise boy: None! (1 point boy)

If you are moody it's a girl, otherwise boy: LOL. GIRL. (1 point girl—should be 10 points based on level of moodiness!)

Chinese Birth Chart: girl (1 point girl)

Pendant test (over belly): Supposedly if it moves back and forth it is a boy, if it moves in circles it is a girl. Ours did not do anything! (No point)

Jade read something that said that the mom's gut instinct is correct 71% of the time. I don’t know if I’m just really hoping for a boy, or what, but I think boy. (1 point boy)

Aidan Hutcherson (in kindergarten) has a pretty good record of guessing gender. I think he is 4 out of 6 in the past couple years! He says boy. (1 point boy)

TOTALS

GIRL: 5
BOY: 7

I wanted to post an image of that gender symbol, but of course as soon as that popped in my head, so did Austin Powers' necklace... and since his is the symbol for male, it's only fitting! YEAH!

(image borrowed from movieposter.com)

HELP! I Need New Cookware and a GIVEAWAY!

Craig and I couldn't think of anything we NEEDED or really wanted for Christmas this year. We ended up just picking out some fun things for ourselves and then having the other one wrap them up. I know, LAME, but we both were happy with what we got… and let’s face it. Christmas is NO LONGER all about me, right? We had much more fun planning, shopping, wrapping & opening Ellie’s fun stuff!

Of course, 2 weeks after Christmas was over, all of the sudden, our pots and pans have started to crap out. This is no shock, of course, since we are using a set that Craig’s mom purchased him 5+ years ago. They were a decent set for a single guy, but for a family that loves to cook (and EAT), they are not cutting it. They have started to peel and scratch on the non-stick surface and are suddenly just getting really FUNKY. Luckily, we have about $250 in AmEx gift cards that we can use towards a new set… you know, since 2011 is the year of NOT SPENDING ANY MONEY SINCE WE ONLY HAVE ONE INCOME NOW!

I have been starting to shop for a new set, but honestly I have NO IDEA what to get. I know you can spend anywhere from $50 - $1000+ on a new set of pots & pans… but I need help!!! Do I go for the non-stick or the stainless? I love the look of the stainless, but I have heard it's hard to clean? What goes in the dishwasher? THERE ARE SO MANY QUESTIONS.

One place I have been window shopping and real shopping a lot online lately is: AllModern.com. They have everything from modern duvet covers to every kind of cookware (of course I’m really lusting after the All Clad and Le Creuset sets!). The company, CSN Stores, has offered to give one of my fabulous readers a $25 gift code to put towards one of their items on line. CSN has over 200 websites to use your gift code including, www.AllModern.com, www.Cookware.com and www.toysandgamesonline.com.



So, here’s how to win! Please leave me a comment (between now & Friday at midnight) with any helpful hints or suggestions you might have for me on what we should buy for cookware and I’ll pick one winner at random! Please note: CSN only ships to the US and Canada, and that there may be international shipping feeds to Canada that the gift code cannot cover.

***UPDATE***

We have a winner!!!!! I used the website www.random.org & typed in the names of the entrants. It regenerates a random list and the winner is the first on the list.......

List Randomizer
There were 4 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.Jade
2.Jenni
3.Mrs. Montti
4.Kristi
Timestamp: 2011-01-17 12:18:39 UTC

So, congrats, Jade! I'll send you the code in a seperate email. Thanks all, for the suggestions and for playing!

Hummus Recipe

I think I have promised this recipe to no less than 10 people lately!

My friend Carrie* who is my cooking muse (you might have noticed I've mentioned her once or twice on my blog), gave me a fabulous hummus recipe recently. I have made it about 6 times already and it is SUPER YUMMY.

I requested that she send me a recipe for it, because I have been craving hummus a lot throughout this pregnancy. Well, honestly, I just love hummus all the time and I was getting FED UP buying it at the grocery store. $3.99 for a little tub which Craig and I can eat easily in one sitting.

So, here you go!

Link to post on her blog: http://bitesizedbycarrie.wordpress.com/category/food-2/

Copied and pasted from her blog:




BSBC Lemon Hummus

1 can of Garbanzo Beans (same as Chickpeas people)
1/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 c. Tahini
1 Lemon, zest and juice
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 clove of Garlic, grated
1-2 tsp. Honey (not pictured)
up to 1/2 c. of reserved juice from canned beans, if you want thinner



Jennifer's notes: I added a little more lemon juice! I know, seems like a lot! But I like my hummus lemony. You might want to taste it first. I also tried making it w/ 1/8 c. EVOO but it wasn't as creamy as I would have liked--however, the EVOO is what adds calories, so if you don't care, go for it! It still tasted good. I did also have to add a little of the juice from the canned beans as well. I used Agave Nectar instead of honey, just because I didn't have honey around. My only challenge was finding TAHINI. I checked Traders Joe's--they don't carry it in the midwest, who then told me to go to the Asian Market--which was quite the fun adventure for me, but they were out! I ended up finding it at the Kroger at 71st and Binford in the International section. I bought a large jar of it and it should last me for 10-15 batches.


*I fully realize that I am getting slightly Single White Female-ish on Carrie, posting about her every day :) SORRY! Don't be afraid... well, not too afraid anyway!

Oprah

I have a serious confession. Although I do love Oprah, I have never really been a watcher of her show. If it's on, sure, I'll watch it, but honestly, I have never watched it on a regular basis. I love her positive energy, the topics she educates us on, and I completely respect her as a woman. I think she truly deserves everything she has in her life. Who else gives so much back to the world?

Oprah would probably NOT want to hear excuses, but I will say that her show IS on during work and school hours, which I have been doing for the last 20+ years of my life :) I am excited about the OWN network and will definitely watch that channel. Believe it or not, my husband is a HUGE Dr. Phil fan and he can thank Oprah for that!

So, recently, Oprah invited 150 of her "ultimate viewers" to attend a once in a lifetime trip to Australia with her. MY FRIEND CARRIE WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!!! OMG!!!!! Please check out her blog and read her fantastic recap of the trip. Also, be sure to bookmark her blog, she posts fabulous recipes on a regular basis. Since you are reading my blog, I'm going to go ahead and assume that you understand that the newest posts are always at the top of the page. So, if you want to read her full recap, you'll have to scroll down and start at the beginning.

I kept thinking I would become green eyed in reading her posts, but Carrie thoroughly appreciated every second of the trip (and everyone who helped make it possible for her) and she absolutely deserved it. I had a blast reading through her recaps and smiled the entire time!

In one of her recent posts, she links to Oprah's Top 20 Things she knows for sure. I just read this today and I believe all of these things.

This list inspires me.


1. What you put out comes back all the time, no matter what. (This is my creed.)

2. You define your own life. Don't let other people write your script.

3. Whatever someone did to you in the past has no power over the present. Only you give it power.

4. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. (A lesson from Maya Angelou.)

5. Worrying is wasted time. Use the same energy for doing something about whatever worries you.

6. What you believe has more power than what you dream or wish or hope for. You become what you believe.

7. If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that will be enough. (From the German theologian and humanist Meister Eckhart.)

8. The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you give.

9. Failure is a signpost to turn you in another direction.

10. If you make a choice that goes against what everyone else thinks, the world will not fall apart.

11. Trust your instincts. Intuition doesn't lie.

12. Love yourself and then learn to extend that love to others in every encounter.

13. Let passion drive your profession.

14. Find a way to get paid for doing what you love. Then every paycheck will be a bonus.

15. Love doesn't hurt. It feels really good.

16. Every day brings a chance to start over.

17. Being a mother is the hardest job on earth. Women everywhere must declare it so.

18. Doubt means don't. Don't move. Don't answer. Don't rush forward.

19. When you don't know what to do, get still. The answer will come.

20. "Trouble don't last always." (A line from a Negro spiritual, which calls to mind another favorite: This, too, shall pass.)

Oprah

1. What you put out comes back all the time, no matter what. (This is my creed.)

2. You define your own life. Don't let other people write your script.

3. Whatever someone did to you in the past has no power over the present. Only you give it power.

4. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. (A lesson from Maya Angelou.)

5. Worrying is wasted time. Use the same energy for doing something about whatever worries you.

6. What you believe has more power than what you dream or wish or hope for. You become what you believe.

7. If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that will be enough. (From the German theologian and humanist Meister Eckhart.)

8. The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you give.

9. Failure is a signpost to turn you in another direction.

10. If you make a choice that goes against what everyone else thinks, the world will not fall apart.

11. Trust your instincts. Intuition doesn't lie.

12. Love yourself and then learn to extend that love to others in every encounter.

13. Let passion drive your profession.

14. Find a way to get paid for doing what you love. Then every paycheck will be a bonus.

15. Love doesn't hurt. It feels really good.

16. Every day brings a chance to start over.

17. Being a mother is the hardest job on earth. Women everywhere must declare it so.

18. Doubt means don't. Don't move. Don't answer. Don't rush forward.

19. When you don't know what to do, get still. The answer will come.

20. "Trouble don't last always." (A line from a Negro spiritual, which calls to mind another favorite: This, too, shall pass.)

2010 Recap

Obviously, I have been thinking about how time flies... doesn't everyone at this time of year? 2010 was a MONUMENTAL and fantastic year for us, but of course had it's challenges, as well.

Here's a recap of our big events:

January: Grandma Patterson & Aunt Judy visit Phoenix. Ellie's first road trip to Tucson & Tombstone.

February: Ellie "watches" the Colts play in the Superbowl. Ellie got her first "cold" (and breathing treatments...boo!)

March: Enjoyed a gorgeous spring in Phoenix

April: Ellie's first Easter, Packed, packed & packed some more

May: MOVED 2000 miles away back home to Indiana, started a new job within 2 weeks

June: Julie and Bob's wedding in Florida, Craig started a new job

July: Ellie B turns ONE!!!

August: Steve, Scherry & Tate visit us in Indy.

September: Larry & Lisa's wedding in Grand Rapids, MI (I officiated!), conceived baby #2!

October: FUN fall times with friends & family

November: Hosted 2 Thanksgivings at my house, enjoyed eating for two

December: Crazy, fun holidays with friends & family, visited family in Texas, resigned from my job!

Here's to a wonderful 2011!

PICTURE-MANIA!!!!!!!!

Well, our laptop got a virus on it right after Christmas, so I just got it back today! I have also been SLACKING on uploading pictures lately. FUNNY how life changes when your baby starts to walk, eh???

So, here are links to lots of fun pictures from this holiday season! Family, friends, travel, etc. I sorted them into albums in case you don't feel like looking at all of them.


Lots of pictures from the end of 2010! Including Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas

http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3820037015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Our Texas trip:

http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3820058015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Pattersons (my mom's side of the family) holidays:

http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3820299015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/