Nine months and finally getting the hang of it.

9 months.  That's how long it took Avery to fully grow and develop inside my belly before it was safe for her to come out and join her mommy, daddy and world full of people that love her.  And that's exactly how long it's taken me to adjust to life with her.  Don't get me wrong, I accepted the fact that I'm responsible for another human being the second they laid her on my chest, but after 9 months, I have finally gotten to the point that I can not only live with a baby, but can actually function while doing so.  We've found our "groove."  I know what works with her, for the most part, and I've figured out what I can accomplish on days we're together.  I know that in the mornings, she's pretty clingy and fussy and I won't be able to get much done until she's woken up from her morning nap.  I know when she should take naps (10 and 2).  I know how long those naps should approximately be (an hour and a half to two).  I know which toys are her favorite (Violet the talking puppy and Minnie Mouse).  I know how she acts when she gets sleepy (randomly laying down and patting the floor) and what I should do when she starts getting sleepy (find a pacifier and turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse).  I know when I can start to do laundry while she's sleeping (after 20 minutes, she's really asleep and is oblivious to noise).  I know what to do if she's uncontrollably screaming (turn on Elvis).  This feels good.  In November, I was feeling like I would NEVER get to this point.  I was drowning.  My house was disgusting, my kid wasn't on a sleeping schedule and never, ever slept and I felt so out of control.  That seems like so long ago.  No, my house isn't spotless, but I do keep it picked up.  I do several loads of laundry during the week and catch up on the weekends.  I put things away after I use them.  I pick up Avery's toys at the end of the night.  Lately, I've begun to focus on the design of my house again.  I rearranged my living room furniture, switched out tables and lamps and have several home projects on the horizon.  No, my baby still doesn't sleep, but we're working on it.  After trying almost everything else, we're going with something new.  Avery's sleeplessness and waking up around 12:30 am every morning was making Marty and I both exhausted....and was making me crazy.  Somehow, we discovered that Avery slept really great with Marty on the couch.  So for awhile, we did that.  She started out in her crib every night and when she woke between 12:30 and 2, she'd go to sleep in the living.  It wasn't ideal, but it was working....and more importantly, everyone was sleeping.  Recently, she started getting really restless at night and she and Marty weren't getting a good night's sleep.  So we've started a 4 step process.  First stage, go in to her when she wakes and is crying, pick her up and rock her until she's settled and sleepy and then lay her back in bed while she's still awake.  If she cries, repeat the process.  Do this for several nights until Avery "gets used to it."  Second stage, go to her when she wakes and don't pick her up.  Just talk to her, pat her, rub her back, but don't pick her up.  Third stage, go to her and talk to her by using calming words, but don't touch her or pick her up.  Fourth stage, go to her and talk to her from the doorway, but don't go in the room to her.  After 4 nights, it seems to be working.  Last night, she slept from 9 to 5.  EIGHT HOURS.   Completely unheard of in the Gaddie household.  I don't want to talk much more about it because I'm afraid I'll jinx it.  Just cross your fingers that it wasn't a fluke. Since we're getting on a regular schedule, I'm feeling more crafty again and I have SEVERAL things planned as far as house projects go.  I hope to start a new series on this blog, along with the the supper club.  Stay tuned. :)
I'm doing something different for this week's menu.  Instead of going out and buying ingredients, I'm utilizing different things that are in my pantry.  Seems stupid to buy all new food when I have a semi-stocked pantry full of food that needs to be used.  This week's Super Messy Supper Club menu:
Monday:  Lasagna roll ups (due to unforseen circumstances last week, this was never made).
Tuesday:  Shake and bake chicken, green beans and biscuits.
Wednesday: Beef with broccoli
Thursday: Spaghetti and meatballs
Friday:  BBQ chicken sandwich (chicken breasts in the crock-pot, bbq sauce, low for 6 hours)
Saturday:  Derby party!  I need to find a good side dish or appetizer recipe to take to the host.  Suggestions?

Here's to looking forward to getting the hang of this mommy business as Avery gets older!

My cooking journey....sort of.

Well, I hoped to have better news on the cooking front.  Like everything in life, I've had to be flexible and unseen things that came up this week prevented my "6 out of 7 day cooking project."  Friday, I published my blog post, went to the grocery and was fired up for my newest quest to be a super mommy.  Friday, I made Chicken Bacon Pasta.  It. Was. Fabulous.  Naturally, I took the recipe and changed a few things.  We don't have a grill (yet....I hope to have a grill one day soon) other than the dinky countertop, fat-reducing grill that doesn't ever cook my chicken completely or evenly enough.  So I decided to pan sear my chicken.  Salt, pepper, olive oil and a skillet.  Couldn't be easier.

Mmmmm...

Holy pots and pans Batman.

As I was pan searing chicken, boiling water and making a white sauce, I was so excited.  For too long, I've had the attitude that the cleaning, cooking and baby raising shouldn't be all my responsibility.  I shouldn't be the one to provide meals, clean clothes and a happy baby every single day.  I'm not sure what happened, but a light bulb has gone off and I've realized that taking care of my home and making sure my family is happy and well-fed shouldn't be a chore, but a priviledge.  Yes, I still strongly believe that my husband should help out around the house, but it's my responsibility.  When someone walks in my house and sees that it's filthy and I have an empty pantry, who does that reflect on--me or Marty?  As unfair as it may be, it's me that would look bad if we didn't live in a well-run home.  And I'm accepting that.  I was looking at cooking as an exciting activity and not a chore.....finally.

Why is it that my dish is never as pretty as the picture??

So back to the cooking.  The sauce in this dish is fantastic.  I didn't have red pepper flakes, so I would recommend a little more salt in the dish if you choose to leave that seasoning out.  Since we're huge fans of broccoli in this household, I decided to throw some in to give us our veggie serving for the day.  Successful dish.  Marty gave it his stamp of approval and said he'd eat it again (always how I measure my success). 
Saturday night, I found this awesome recipe for gluten-free crust-less pizza.  I was PUMPED.  For about two years, I've been watching my gluten intake due to a gluten "intolerance" that was diagnosed after some pretty intense stomach pain.  For the most part, I'm okay to eat breads and pastas, although I can't have a whole lot of wheat breads.  But pizza is 100% off-limits.  One slice will send me crawling right to my heating pad.  So when I found this recipe, I was excited to try it.  I chose to make my pizza with sausage, pepperoni and green peppers.  While the taste of this pizza was pretty great....it wasn't really a pizza.  The crust is made mostly of cream cheese that I baked before adding the pizza toppings.  Even after baking first and leaving it out to cool, the "crust" wasn't firm enough to pick up and eat.  The dish basically ended up being more like a pizza casserole.  Forks were needed, but the taste was great.  Even though it wasn't what I was expecting, I definitely recommend the recipe for anyone trying to live the gluten-free lifestyle.

My little kitchen helper :)

And unfortunately, this is where my cooking story has ended.  Sunday night, we exercised the "see-food" night and fended for ourselves.  Monday, I was ready to fix my chicken nuggets and mac and cheese.  When I got home, I realized that I didn't put out any chicken to thaw out.  Oops.  So Marty ended up eating the leftover chicken bacon pasta (another plus to making dinner...leftovers....and saving money!) and I made myself a grilled ham and cheese.  I cut my losses and swore to get back to cooking the next night.  Tuesday night, Marty and I ended up going to my parent's house to visit and ate over there.  No biggie, go with the flow, try again Wednesday......until I woke up this morning with a massive migraine and Marty ate at his sister's house so I don't have to make dinner tonight.  I'm disappointed that I'm not getting to hone my cooking skills, but isn't that what life is all about?  Being flexible and rolling with the punches?  Cooking 6 nights a week sounds amazing on paper, but you don't factor in those nights that Avery needs to spend just a few more hours playing peek-a-boo with Granddaddy and Grandma's house or illnesses that make walking from the bed to the bathroom painful, much less pulling out pots and pans to make a homemade dinner.  It doesn't make me a terrible mom that we had some dinners away from home or that I might have to make a McDonald's run later to feed myself.  I know my family is still happy and I promise to return to cooking tomorrow night....no unforseen circumstance provided.