Friday, February 21, 2014

Melt in Your Mouth Chicken

Okay, this recipe is all that. I'm talking - easy, few ingredients and soo delicious! My husband asks me to make this all the time now. Even the most picky eaters, and even those who hate mayo love this chicken. I just don't tell them what is in it! ;) What I especially love about this recipe is that you throw it together, stick it in the oven and leave it in there for a while. I usually pair it with brown rice (or my newest fave, brown rice medley from Trader Joes!) and let that steam while the chicken bakes. It all works out quite well and I don't have to put much effort into it. Any veggie side will do with this, though I usually like to add something green to a dish like this. So, green beans, broccoli, salad, peas, etc.

Here is the link to this fabulous dish. Make it tonight! I'm almost sure you will have all the ingredients on hand. :)



PS: I usually use boneless chicken thighs, because those are my favorite!

I'm Still Here...

Wow, has life been busy. I have also been way too tired to get on here and catch up. So, I guess I will have to update in a nutshell... but we'll see. I tend to be long winded sometimes. :)

Sickness finally hit Layla. I was kind of expecting it at some point, sadly. I try to be flexible and let people hold her and play with her... that means germs are obviously spreading. And I do take her everywhere with me when I shop and such, so it was kind of bound to happen eventually. She's still so little and hasn't had a chance to build her immune system, so she caught the cold that's been going around. At first it was a dry cough, then it developed into a wet cough and congestion. The congestion is what really made me nervous. She would cough and gag and choke on the mucous and I felt so bad! I took her to the doctor on Monday just to be on the safe side. We ended up seeing a different pediatrician since Dr. Maalouli wasn't in. She basically said that Layla sounded fine and was holding her own. She gave me some suggestions and warned me of some things that might happen... like that she might throw up a ton of mucous at some point. And the doctor was right. Layla screamed for ten minutes before she threw up a bunch of gunk. The poor girl. :( She was so tired from that that she clonked out not a minute later on my shoulder. She is finally getting over it, though she still has a rattly cough now and then. I think everything is just trying to make its way out.

The good thing about Layla's cold is that it will make her stronger. I hated seeing her struggling all week, but thankfully it didn't last too long and her immune system is that much stronger from it. Surprisingly, she slept the best those few bad days while she was sick. She actually slept through the night! Now we are back to our usual schedule of waking up 1-3 times during the early morning hours. Sigh. I am exhausted and ready for some solid sleep. O.o

Last Saturday, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to visit us for a few days. It was so nice to have them here for more than a day, and it was also helpful to have them around while Layla wasn't feeling well.

Kyle just sent out his application to the Maine State Police on Tuesday. Now we begin the waiting game, once again, and see what happens this year. I will be so thankful when he is hired, so we can get through a year without wondering if we will be moving or not.

Last Friday was our Celebration of Love Banquet at church. It was a nice evening. Needless to say, Kyle and I never got to celebrate Valentine's Day together, though he did buy me flowers and a card. :) There was just too much going on this year to do anything special.

Last Friday I also rearranged my living room and dining room... all alone, in a few hours, right before my company came. Haha. I don't know if it was hormones or just sick and tired of the set-up, I just wanted it totally redone. So I completely switched rooms. I am liking the new set-up and am still working on organizing. I feel so much better now that that is done! Silly me.

I am so glad it is Friday. I know I don't work out in the world, but when Friday comes I am so happy I get to see my husband for the next two days! He is working lots of overtime lately, and it seems like I hardly see him before he clonks out at night. Now let's see how much cleaning and organizing I can get done before the weekend sets in... ;)


Monday, February 3, 2014

Catching Up

It's starting to look like winter again today. The snow is falling, and I am fighting to keep myself from falling asleep! I have already gotten my grocery shopping done for the week, and now the house is in desperate need to be tidied after the weekend. I always find my house falls apart on the weekends...

Layla turns 3 months old today! She is celebrating by taking a nap after being lugged through Trader Joes and out into the cold. :) There are so many daily developments that I lose track. I am not sure how much she has gained over this past month, but we will find out soon at her 4 month appointment. She loves to smile now, and is even smiling at strangers or people that she doesn't know. When we prop her up on a pillow or lay her on our knees, she is always trying to pull herself forward to sit up. She is getting very strong! Those little arms and feet are usually going crazy and sometimes I think it surprises her. She has that very ungraceful arm flailing that usually tends to whack me in the face from time to time. Pretty soon here, we are going to have one energetic baby crawling around the house! She is a lot of fun to be with and has made us laugh often. Definitely seeing more attitude as she learns more... that is usually scolded by a "no, no, no"! She knows how to cry/scream for attention until she is picked up. I'm hoping that we can get over that, because she is such a good girl otherwise.



Layla's pediatrician recommended I put her on Vitamin D drops because of the huge lack we have in this part of the world. Actually, everyone should be taking it, but we don't or we forget. I had forgotten to pick some D drops up for her in my trips to the store, so I stopped by Vitamin Shoppe on Saturday (after our trip to Starbucks!) to see what they had. The Enfamil brand is full of junk, so I wanted to see if they had other options. I did find some, but then I noticed they had DHA for babies. I was checking it out and saw that is contained Vitamin D in it as well and was the same price as the regular D drops! It is made from 100% wild Arctic cod and does not contain any "junk" or flavoring. I've heard cod liver oil is so good for you, so I am hoping this helps with her development and health.

She doesn't seem too happy right now, so I guess I will be off. I have been working on projects and recipes lately, but haven't had a chance to blog them. Hopefully I will catch up soon!

Enjoy the snow! :)