Katilyn is 5!!!!

Happy 5th Birthday, Kaitlyn!  How can you already be turning five?  These last five years have been nothing short of incredible.  You have really blossomed this past year and I have enjoyed watching you change. No longer are you the little girl who is pinned to my side or cries every time I leave the house.  In fact, you often say that you would rather stay home instead of running errands with me.  You have done a complete 180 from last year.
In the last few months, you have become very social and now engage with strangers with we are in public.  You are incredibly intelligent and amaze with how much you have learned this past year.  You love school (pre-kindergarten, as you are quick to point out) and dance.  You are an awesome big sister to Madi (most of the time) and I am positive that you we be great with your little brother.

This year we celebrated your birthday at Chuck E Cheese (again) with all of your friends and most of of your family.  You wanted a Rainbow Dash cake that was a rainbow on the inside too and I did my best to comply with your wishes.

You were so excited about your cape, tiara, and balloons.  You have asked for balloons for the last three years, but this is the first time we bought any.

You loved the ticket blaster, but didn't get any tickets.  Our Chuck E Cheese host felt bad, so he gave you 1000 tickets.

 On your birthday, we had chocolate donuts in daycare for breakfast and rainbow cupcakes for snack.  All of your daycare friends enjoyed celebrating your special day.  On Wednesday, you took mini cupcakes to school the celebrate.  This was your first time to get to celebrate your birthday at school.

We ended your birthday with presents and {more}cupcakes with Mama, Daddy, and Madi.

This Rainbow Dash was your favorite present.

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn Noel!!  You were (and will always be) our best Christmas present!

3 Months Pregnant with Baby K #3

I can't believe that it is already the week before Christmas.  The month of December always flies by and this year has been no exception.  So far this month we have decorated our house inside and out, visited Crown Center twice (Santa once), Union Station, driven through the Plaza to see the lights, and celebrated Kaitlyn's birthday (which we will celebrate again tomorrow).   While it's sounds like it been a pretty monthv (and it has in many ways), there has also been more than enough sickness. I caught David chest cold right before Thanksgiving and it left me without a voice for a week.  I was healthy for just two weeks before catching another cold and strep.  I'm hoping that the next month brings better health.

How Far Along: 3 months (14 weeks today)

Size of Baby: Lemon

Gender:  BOY!!

Weight Gain: just under 3 pounds 

Milestone: First sonogram and revealing the gender to our family and friends

Food Cravings: This is strange for me since I didn't have any cravings with the girls.  I have craved crushed ice, frozen orange, mozzarella string cheese, and just about anything salty. Cheez its have been my go to snack, but really anything salty especially pickles and chips.  I doesn't seem matter how much salty food I eat, I never get sick.  Unlike some healthier options.

Food Aversions: Coffee.  I gave up caffeine when I was pregnant with the girls, so I don't know if I would have an aversion to it before.  Up until week 9, I had no problem drinking one cup a day.  After that, it started tearing up my stomach.  Pineapple juice does the same thing.

Movement: I started feeling a few flutters around week 13.  They are very spratic, but since I've been pregnant before, I know they are definitely the baby.

Sleep: I have been sleeping great, just lots of waking up due to nausea or having to pee.

Clothing: Still my regular wardrobe, but some of my pants are getting tight.  They all still button, but I no longer have to wear a belt. Flowy shirts have been my friend.

Other Pregnancy Symptoms: Nausea, lack of energy, and feeling full no matter how much I eat.

What I Miss: Coffee.  It smells wonderful, but I'm still afraid to try it. 

Best Moment: Learning our the results of my extra testing (everything was negative) and of course, the gender

Looking Forward To: Watching the bump grow--except I for the lack of comfort that comes with that!!!  But....like I said before I definitely want to enjoy this pregnancy seeing that it's my last!!

Here are my bump photos from the past month!  Follow me on Instagram (@hklinginsmith) for a weekly (or biweekly) glimpse!

It's a ...

It's a ...

When I was pregnant with Kaitlyn, I had never heard of a gender reveal party.  We found out her gender at my 16 week ultrasound and shared the news with it's a girl balloons for our moms and photocards for the rest of our family.

When I was pregnant with Madi, I really wanted to do some kind of reveal with our family.  Since David couldn't make it to my 16 week ultrasound, I had the gender sealed in a envelope.  I had fully intended to share the news over dinner with our parents.  However, David really wanted to know so I opened the envelope while we were both at work and we found out together over the phone.

With this being my last pregnancy, I wanted to do something special to share the news with our family.  The girls (especially Kaitlyn) understand that there is baby in my tummy and I wanted them to be a part of the reveal.  When given the option at my 10 week appointment to either have a level II ultrasound or have an informed pregnancy screening done, I opted for the blood test.  I chose the blood test for two reasons.  The first one was because I would have to have someone (my mom) cover daycare for me if I had the ultrasound and that would be challenging with her end of the semester schedule.  The other reason was because the blood test could be done in the office and three of the abnormalities that it tested for were related to the sex chromosomes, therefore telling us the gender.

My appointment was during the week of Thanksgiving, so I expected the results to take a little longer than usual.  We impatiently waited for the doctor call.  After two weeks of waiting (we were told it would take one - two weeks), I couldn't wait any longer so I called the office.  Nurse Karen returned my call and said that everything was negative and the baby was healthy.  I was really happy that everything was normal (I assumed it was since no one had called.  No news in usually good news.), but I still wanted to know the gender.  When I asked about it, Karen said that it wasn't recorded.  At this point, I was pretty bummed.  I was totally prepared to wait until my 20 week ultrasound to find out, but when I was told we would know sooner I got excited.  She said she would try to have it added to the results, but couldn't promise anything.  She said that I could have another blood draw if they couldn't get it.  I definitely didn't want to do that because I already have to fight insurance to cover this required test.  Karen called back later that day and told me that she would have the results with in a day or two.  I was completely surprised when she called back at 5:15 pm the next day with results.

I thought about letting my mom find out for us and then having her bake cake, but ended up deciding that they best way to share the news would be to tell them at Kaitlyn's birthday party, which was on Saturday.  At the end of her party, we had both girls open the balloon filled box.

It's a Boy!!  Some how I didn't get a picture of the  box when they opened it.

We are so excited to be adding a little BOY to our family!  I look forward to adding a little blue to our pink and purple filled house.

Just a few of my favorite recipes

It's no secret that l love to cook and bake. Just take a look at David's facebook feed and you'll see some of our dinners.  I also love to try new recipes.  I'm always on the look out for something new to try.  I thought I'd share some of our favorites and since there are so many, I going to break it up into a few posts based on the type of food.  I'll start with a few Italian recipes.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs

I got this recipe from David's grandma.  Even though it doesn't taste just like hers, we still love it!  It's perfect for doubling and freezing for later use.

Sauce
Large can tomato purée (Whole tomatoes work too, they just need to be squished with your hands or ran through a food processor.)
Medium onion
4 cloves Garlic
24 oz Tomato paste
4 cups water (divided)
1 Tbs parsley
2-4 Tbs sugar
1/4 c or more fresh basil, chopped (2 Tbs dried works too, but fresh is better.)
1-2 Tbs Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Run onion and  garlic through a food processor.  In a large pot, cook onion/garlic mix in olive oil until the onions are soft.  Add the tomatoes and 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 45-60 minutes.
Add tomato paste, 2 cups of water, sugar, basil, parsley, salt and pepper.  Let simmer for 4-8 hours. The sauce will taste best if its allowed to simmer with meatballs.  Additional water can be added to achieve desired consistency.

Meatballs
2lbs hamburger
1lb ground pork
6 eggs
3/4 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 - 1/2c Bread crumbs
2 Tbs dried parsley
4 gloves garlic (minced)
Medium onion

Mix everything together and shape into balls.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat.  Cook meatballs for about 20 minutes, turning every 3-4 minutes.  To ensure that the meatball are cooked thoroughly, bake them in a 350F oven for about 20 minutes.

Manicotti

This is one of the first recipes I perfected.  I have been making this for years, but it's still one of my favorites.

1 box of manicotti noodles 

2c shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4c parmesan cheese

2T fresh parsley (dried works too)

1/2t pepper

1/2t salt

Ricotta cheese

1 jar of spaghetti sauce or 3c homemade sauce

Boil the noddles for just a couple minutes.  They're easier to work with if they're not quite done.

Mix all ingredients except sauce.

Put a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish.

Fill each noodle with cheese mixture and place in pan on top of sauce.  Pour remaining sauce on top of the filled noodles.  

Cover and bake for 45 min

Remove foil and bake for 15 min or until bubbles.

Can be served with extra sauce on top

Green Sauce Chicken 

I've adapted this from (recipe) from the food network.  This is perfect for a simple week night dinner or a family get together.  This is one of David's top 10 meals.

 

Shrimp with noodles and tomatoes

(Sorry, no picture.)
This is Madi's favorite meal.  I got this recipe from a coworker before Kaitlyn was born.  It is a quick week night meal.  It's also great with rotisserie chicken, though shrimp is definitely Madi's favorite.

-2T olive oil

-2 cloves of garlic (mined or pressed)

-2-3 cans of diced tomatoes with basil and oregano (drained)

-1/2c white wine (I've used apple cider vinegar when I was out of wine.)

-1c whipping cream

-2-3T dried parsley (1/2c or more if fresh) ( I usually use dried.)

-Cooked shrimp or rotisserie chiken

-1 package of angel hair or linguini

Cook the noodles according to the package. 

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).  Add the parsley and tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid is gone. Then add the wine and cook until the volume is reduced by half.

Add the cream and return to boil.  Let simmer until the sauce thickens.  Then add cooked shrimp or chicken and pasta.

That's all for this post.  I'd love to know some of your favorite got to recipes.

Next up...our second favorite, Mexican

1st Annual North Pole Breakfast

 Meet Sally

Sally is our Elf on the Shelf.  In 2014, she became a part of our Christmas traditions.  Her first year I did my best to move her every night, but it didn't always happen.  Fortunately, both of the girls were too young to really get into it.  Last year I was determined to move her every night and to be more creative.  While she did move every night, there were many frantic mornings making sure she moved and many of her moves lacked in creativity.   This year I am even more determined to make sure that Sally is in different place every morning.  To help with this, I have prepared a list of ideas to get us through the next 24 days.  Most of them are very simple, but I know that if I don't have a plan, I will never follow through.  Every morning since her arrival, the girls have literally jumped out of bed to look for her.  I so excited to watch their excitement grow as we make our way through the month.

This past Saturday marked the arrival of Sally.  As a special treat, she surprised the girls with our First Annual North Pole Breakfast.  I had a plan for the breakfast in my head for several weeks, but wasn't sure when it would happen.  Since our Thanksgiving plans changed (thanks to a horrible chest cold), I decided that Sally would arrive on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  I did most of the prep Friday night after the girls finally went to sleep and then set my alarm for 6:45 am to finish up.  I wanted to make sure that everything was perfect before they woke up.  

                                  

Presents first! Sally bought the girls their annual matching Christmas jammies which included a tutu. 

Next, the girls dined on snowman powered donuts, Christmas tree pancakes with sprinkles, marshmallows, and chocolate milk.  

We finished up our morning by reading the Elf on the Shelf book, which explains the elf rules.  

Baby K #3 - The Details

It's official.  We will soon be a family of five and we couldn't be more excited (and nervous) about it!  For over a year, we have been talking adding on to our family.  We even bought a mini van last summer because we were seriously considering it.  (The van was a great purchase even without having three kids.)  We ended up deciding that our lives were crazy enough with a two and a three year old and maybe it would be best to wait another year.  

We really wanted our next baby to born right around the end of school year since there would be more people available to help with the girls and daycare.  So we started trying in August with the hopes of a late May baby.   I was pretty disappointed when it didn't happen within the first month, but it was definitely for the best since I had planned to be in Nashville in September for Staci's bachelorette party.  

Since I knew I wasn't pregnant, I continued to work on some of our home improvements (painting the fireplace).  Three days before I expected to start my period again (which is when I found out with Kaitlyn) I decided to take a test.  It was negative and I was super bummed.  I really thought that it would only take a couple months to get pregnant since it only took two months for Kailtyn and none with Madelyn.  It looked like we wouldn't get the summer baby that we I had planned for.  

Since I wasn't pregnant, I thought that I might finish up some as well some of our home improvements.  I decided to paint the living room, entry, and hallway.  I started painting and was almost done when I realized that I hadn't started my period yet.  So that night (October 15th) I took a test and assumed it would be negative.  Then a pink line appeared.  Of course, I didn't believe it so took another one and it said the same thing.  Baby number three was in its way!   

HOW I TOLD DAVID

I really wanted to do something cute to tell David, but most of the things I saw online didn't work for a third baby.  Instead, I just showed him the positive test.  I think he was shocked at first, but then was excited!  He started texting family and friends (including my parents) as soon as I told him!  He even put it on Facebook with his film announcement.  It truly was an exciting week at our house.

HOW FAR ALONG AM I AND WHEN AM I DUE?

I am 11 weeks today and am due Monday, June 19th.  If this baby is born on its due date, then our kids birthdays will be 19, 20, 21.  If he or she is three days late, they will be 20, 21, and 22.  

WILL WE FIND OUT THE GENDER?

Yes!!  As cool as I think it would be to surprised in the delivery room, it's just not practical. We already have everything we need for a girl and we want to be prepared if its a boy.  With both girls, we were fortunate enough to find out the gender at 16 weeks.  It looks like we'll be finding out even sooner with this baby.  We should know within a week or two thanks to additional testing that is required due to my age.

WHAT DO THE GIRLS THINK?

Kaitlyn was very excited from the beginning.  She has been asking for a baby brother or sister for while.  It took Madi a couple days to be excited about it.  They were (and still are) really excited to share the news with there friends and almost every stranger they meet.  It has been fun listening to them talk about the baby and pray for it during their bedtime prayers.  Kaitlyn is hoping for a brother and Madi is hoping for a sister.

WILL THIS BE OUR LAST?

As much as I like the idea of having four kids, this will most likely be our last.  Kids are expensive and require a lot of our time.  We want them to able to experience things that we might not be able to if we have a fourth.  

HOW AM I FEELING?

This pregnancy has been rough.  For the first few weeks, I was just really tired.  Around week 7, I started having all-day sickness complete with vomiting.  With the girls, I only felt sick if I didn't eat frequently, but with this baby it doesn't seem to matter what I do.  I feel nauseous if I eat and nauseous if I don't eat.

This was their idea, but I think it might sum up their feelings about a new baby.

Just A Few Confessions

1) I can't relax when the house is messy.  I can tolerate the floors not being vacuumed or swept, but I cannot stand clutter.  The worst areas for me are the kitchen and living room.  To help reduce my stress, I try to pick up the living room and kitchen every night before going to bed.  The girls hate that I make them put all of their stuff away, but I love waking up to a clean, clutter free house.  

2) I hate bedtime!  There is always some kind of struggle.  The girls seem to think that this is the perfect time to watch another show, wrestle with daddy, hide in the closet, or decide that they finally want to eat their dinner.  They also have this terrible habit of insisting that I sit in the hallway until they are asleep.  Some nights they fall asleep quickly, but most nights I have to sit there way too long.  By the time they're finally asleep and I get to relax or get myself ready for bed, I feel like I have just completed a marathon.  

3) I used to be great about sending thank you notes, but for the last couple of years I can't seem to get them done.  Please forgive me if you don't get one.  I have the best of intentions.  Hopefully, I get better at this as the kids get older.

4) I don't enjoy working out.  I do, however, love the way I look and feel after I've worked out.  I have to force myself to workout, but I know that I have to because I have a bit of a sweet tooth.  I'm very fortunate that I have found a quick workout plan that I can do in 30 minutes or less during nap time or first thing in the morning.

5) I have a hard time buying clothes for my self especially if it's something trendy.  I love outfits when I see them on people, but I can't envision them together when they're on the rack.  I have just recently discovered that if I look online I can see what the clothes look like on someone.  This has been a lifesaver and has resulted in a few recent purchases.  

6) I get a thrill out of saving money.  I'm a tad bit frugal and love finding a deal.  I just recently tried jet.com after seeing so many commercials about it.  I really did save money and it was delivered to my doorstep within two days.  I also, just recently tired Walmart pick up.  This service might not have saved me any money on the things we needed, but it did prevent me from making any impulse purchases.  I can definitely see myself using this free service once baby #3 arrives.  There are also several money saving apps that I frequently use.  Ibotta, SavingStar, Checkout 51, Target cartwheel, and Walmart's savings catcher.  Most of these apps only work on instore purchases.

There you have it.  You now know a few more things about me.

Halloween 2016

At the beginning of the year, Madi told me that she wanted to be Cruella DeVil and that she wanted Katilyn to be a dalmatian.  I did what most mom's do and searched Pinterest for costume ideas.  When it came time to start making her costume, I thought that I should make sure that she still wanted to be Cruella.  Boy am I glad that I did because even though she was dead set on Cruella for months, she had now changed her mind.  She wanted to be Dorothy Gale and since I love themed sibling costumes, I suggested that Kaitlyn be someone from the Wizard of Oz too.  She picked Glenda the Good Witch.  I tried convincing Madi to go at the Wicked Witch because I thought it would be cute to have a good witch and bad witch, but she was set on Dorothy.  She did suggest that I dress as the witch and it's hard to argue with someone so cute.  Madi also asked David to dress as the scarecrow or a flying monkey and her grandparents to dress up as munchkins.  Here are a few pictures of there costumes.

Glenda the Good Witch, Wicked Witch of the West, and Dorothy Gale

As usual, we went trick or treating in our neighborhood with Grandma Kathy and Papa Dave.  The girls had a blast and we couldn't have asked for better weather.  In my 34 years of trick or treating, I can't remember ever being able to go without even a jacket.  It was an absolutely beautiful night.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been if had were a Friday or Saturday night. By 8:00 the girls were pretty tired (we had a very busy weekend with Staci's wedding) and they didn't want to get out of wagon. We hit up a couple more houses (if they were sitting in the driveway) on the way back to the house and called it a night.  Another Halloween is in the books and I can't wait until next year when we have another little one to add to mix.