How life will change with 2 kids

Now that Christmas is over, it is all baby prep and spoil Niah. I have less than 3 1/2 weeks till my due date and plan to utilize every bit of time I have. I usually leave my Christmas decorations up till after the New Year but I have alot of things going in the next few weeks I used Niah's nap time to take them down today. I am one of those people that plan every detail and like to do it myself. I hate other people cleaning, organizing, or any other thing to my house, it actually stresses me out. Thankfully, my husband knows that and he has his jobs and I have mine and knows when I need help I will ask but until then he just lets me run with my almost obessive compulsive disorder. I think it is because my husband is very similar and when he works on projects he likes to work on them alone so understands my need of doing things myself.

Now, for my sweet girl, I have planned a mommy and Niah activity everyday until baby comes for just Niah and Mommy. I also have some Mommy, Daddy, and Niah activities planned. I want her to soak up her last bit of only child she has. I plan to have Niah very involved with baby after he comes and have lots of Niah and mommy activities planned for at the house while baby is sleeping. I really do not think that Niah is going to have a jealousy issue at all with the new baby but I want her to feel confident that her Mommy still has plenty of time for her. The hardest thing I think will be for Mommy and Niah, is that it will be Niah's first time sleeping away from home. Thankfully I will only be in the hospital 1 night (24 hours) and thankfully Niah's cousin, Kyah will be here for a distraction but it is still nerve racking and hard to think about.

While getting ready for baby I have come to several realizations with having 2 kids.

1. Traveling for the next 3 years will become almost obsolete. (I guess you save for those 3 years to start traveling with a bang). Probably limited to day trips and possibly an over night here and there but I am pretty sure for the sanity of everyone in the house it will be light traveling.

2. The everyday errands will not come with lots of extra luggage. I will now have to carry all of Niah's supplies as well as a newborn supplies, good news no bottle or feeding supplies.

3. That it is a good thing I am a planner and I can plan a day out well to make time for everyone and everything in the day.

4. That our car will be completely full with just our family; 2 car seats, diaper bag, mommy, and daddy. (It is a good thing we do not drive that often.)

5. That I am so glad that we never co-sleep with Niah and will not with this baby because it makes for a much better sleepers.

Now I am off to get things done. Started washing all newborn clothes, cleaning and organizing nursery, making list of essentials still need (the boring things like diapers), Installing car seat, and finishing up last purchases and details for Nursery.

Less than 3 1/2 weeks till I have this baby.

Here is a picture of the new baby from a few weeks ago at our ultrasound. Best ultrasound picture we have gotten between both babies, my babies always hide in my placenta

Here is my sweet girl!!

35 Weeks

This pregnancy has flown by and I am almost 35 weeks, less than 6 weeks to due date. I may have not had the time to blog and post every detail of this pregnancy like I did with Niah but this pregnancy was just as special to me as Niah's. I may of had to jot notes down in my planner and down on paper to later put inside the baby book but I have all of the note and details of the pregnancy so I will not forget. This baby already has a place in my heart.

I realize that coming home from the hospital will go a little different since this one is the second but I am ecstatic for that day. I have already began to think of little things to make it special for Niah and baby. I plan to let Niah be the first to hold the baby and take pictures with the baby at the hospital. I am also going to take on potty training Niah shortly after we come home with baby so that it will be Niah's big girl activity to focus on.

The anticipation of this baby is growing as the day comes near. I have absolutely adored every stage Niah has gone through and I am so excited to go through them with this baby and cherish every moment. I pray and think about this baby just as much as I pray and think about Niah and if you do not know me it is an over abundance (which I do not think is possible but I have been told). This baby has such a special place in my heart and I can not wait for the arrival.

This last week, I found a crib for just the right price and now Niah will not have to give up her crib. I am almost completely done with the bumper and now to start on a diaper stacker and the crib skirt. We hung the curtains, got the rug in, and got several adorable accessories from baby's Aunt Mary in Thailand to go in the room. I have been searching endlessly for the perfect pieces here and there. Despite the ugly boy clothes that stores have available I have been able to find, modify, and fix several adorable outfits for baby.

Crib with Bumper and you can see the carpet a little bit

This week I had an ultrasound and we are 100% sure it is a boy. Baby boy is just like Niah measuring big as far at uterine growth but actually only in the 38% for weight so a little below average 4% more than was at this ultrasound Niah. Thankfully that will put me with in a good spot since the doctor is pretty sure I can only deliver a baby pound over Niah. Baby has a small head, another blessing and answer to prayer because it could not be much bigger than Niah. Dr. says as of right now everything is on track for a normal delivery!! I got moved from biweekly appts to weekly appts. Baby will be here before I know it!!

Me at 35 weeks

The Nursery

Our lives have slowed down just enough for me to start focusing on a nursery for this little one. With Niah, we had a snow storm and and got snowed in and I was able to do lots of preparation for her in that week.

Here is my inspiration picture for the nursery. It will not be the same but I am using the theme and colors and going from there.

Luckily, the room is already painted so I do not have to worry about that. I have the material for the bedding and started making the bedding this week, I am almost done with the bumper.

I searched and searched for the perfect rug at the perfect price. I found a wonderful cyber Monday deal and got the rug for $50 for a 5x8. I believe it was a pretty good deal considering it was originally $300 and every rug I found was $300 or more. It almost matches the picture exactly

Matthew likes this light fixture. It is a little out of our price range so I have been trying to find one close to that and redo it to look similar. I have found a few on amazon.

I currently am looking at ordering a giant giraffe stuffed animal to go in the room as a decor item. The one in the picture is a Doug and Melissa product and ran close to $60 and I found one similar to that one just shorter for $20 with S&H. I purchased panel curtains and now since I am not allowed to use a drill on the wall, I am waiting for the husband to hang my rod. My guess is this weekend it will be done.

In Niah's room we have a maternity picture with the scripture "The Lord called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name" so I am wanting to do something similar in this room. This poor baby is going to get Niah's changing table and crib. Eventually I will move the crib back in Niah's room because it turns into a daybed and a full size bed. I plan on having the baby sleep in a bassinet in our room for the first 4 months and then do the transition of Niah to a toddler bed. My mom found Niah a beautiful antique dresser that I was going to refinish but my husband wanted to strip the paint and since I could not be around the paint stripper he willingly took on the project.

It is coming along as I find the exact right items for the room, slowly but surely. I found some adorable safari animal statues I am going to put on a shelf for $3 a piece and thankfully they were a neutral. I love basic neutral colors (my entire house is covered in it)

I also got a starting supply of preemie and newborn clothes. I do not think this baby will be early but the dr. does not think the baby will be over 6lbs and I am praying for the sake of recovery and my body it is not over 6 lbs (he is pretty sure I could not naturally deliver a baby bigger than Niah, it was pretty risky with her). I was unprepared for Niah and did not have anything to fit her so I already took the plunge and got some preemie outfits.

Right now the room is in shreds but I am excited for the end result.

Niah's 1st ER visit

Sunday, we went to church and then went to lunch and Niah was playing before we left. She started to climb these stairs as we were leaving and right before I picked her up she started crying. Matthew assumed she was upset because she wanted to play and not get in the car. I never put her in the car seat crying so I was holding her trying to calm her down and the car was anxious to leave. I said, "I think something is wrong she never cries like this." I reluctantly put her in the car seat and we started to pull away. Mary was sitting in the back and said I think something is wrong with her hand she will not grab my hand. Matthew pulled over at the gas station and I got her out. He tried to get her to lift her arm or grip with it, and she would do nothing. Matthew ran into the gas station bought some ice cream and tried to get her to hold the ice cream and she was not moving that hand. We knew something was wrong when she was not going for the ice cream!!

It was such a scary moment to know she never fell and was not sure what was wrong. I sat in the back with her as we headed to the ER and fed her ice cream and as long as she sat completely still she would not cry. I will admit I shed a few tears on the way to the ER, my baby was hurt! The ER was wonderful got us in quickly and the doctor came quickly looked at her arm and moved it. With in 1 minute of the dr. being in the room he said she had nursemaid's elbow and put it back in place. Relief rushed over me as I saw that Niah with in 5 minutes started moving her arm. With in 10 minutes or less she was back to her self.

We were so thankful for a good quick ER and Dr. That the Dr. was the same Dr. that sewed my foot up and we really like him and was thankful he knew what he was doing and did it quickly.

Here is my sweet girl

The adrenaline was high in both Matthew and I that day. We are so thankful how God has protected our little girl and that has been the only Er visit we have gone to.

Confession in the King Household

One of the many things that most people are shocked by is no one stirs in our house until after 8 am. Niah usually goes to sleep around 7:30 at night and we usually go to sleep between 10-11 but nobody wakes until 8 am or later. If Niah goes to bed late she will not wake up until closer to 9. I am very thankful for my little sleeper.

Niah is overall a good sleeper, she goes right to bed and does not wake in the night. There are those few exceptions such as if people are at the house she seems to wake once in the night. If she is teething, if I have been gone a few hours at night and someone else has watched her, or if Kyah is in town. She always wants me and the rule is she does not get out of the crib so if Matthew goes in there she will scream louder but the second I walk in she lays down and goes right to sleep. Lately, she has not been going to sleep very well and wants me to sit with her in her room. This just started and I have only done it 3 or 4 times but usually if I sit with her for 5 minutes and she is calm I can leave before she is asleep and she is fine. I figure I will go with it for a little while longer but not sure I want a bad habit to form. I did read about how 18 months is another sleep disturbance so I am wondering if it is related to that but either way she is still a wonderful sleeper! Niah goes down for a nap around 2 hours after she wakes up and sleeps 2 1/2 hrs to 3 1/2 hours.

Here is my sweet girl

Weekend in Project - Winter fur Vest

This weekend I got out the sewing machine and I am keeping it out because I have alot of sewing to do before now and when Baby #2 arrives but over the weekend I made adorable little vest for my little girl.

All it took was

A pattern
not even a 1/2 yd of fur material
not even 1/2 yd of lining
1 button of choice
and around 4 inches of cording.

I tweaked a patter we already had. The pattern was for a shorter vest but I wanted a longer one so I added 2 1/2 inches to the pattern.

I went to town and made 2 for my little girl for her pictures thur. I am going to make 2 for niece as well.

I think they turned out nicely

Here is a pic of Niah wearing it in our photo session with Yesteryear Image

18 Months and 30 weeks

Time is going way too fast. I can not believe my little girl is 1 1/2. She is growing up so fast ALREADY!! She amazes me everyday. She is talking up a storm and understands more everyday. She has such a desire to do everything that Mommy is doing. Favorite things to do is cook with Mommy, go shopping with Mommy (she gets very mad if I run in to a store and leave her in the car with Daddy), play with kitchen and shopping cart, and play with "nice Kitties." Every morning when I tell her it is time to get dressed she runs to get her shoes or ask for them and then goes to her bows and tries to put one in. Niah is very sensitive to the mood in the room and does not like a mad or tense or an anxious crowd, she reacts to the mood and gets upset. Kyah is her very best friend and wants to talk to her, see her, and look at her pictures. Kyah's name is said at least 10 times a day and even more if she has just seen her. She is usually a very good child every once in awhile she will throw a little fit when she can not have her way and a stern, No usually gets her to comply and is usually followed with crying due to hurt feelings (very sensitive).

I was going to start potty training around this time. She is definitely interested but I think I will wait till right after I have the baby and spend 3-5 days during the cold winter to stay home and complete the task. Right now she will tell me potty and I will put her on the potty. Unless she gets even more interested I will wait because I think it will be good to do it when I am not leaving the house at all.

Cute things she is doing:
* She has been saying amen for awhile now but recently started saying Jesus when I say lets pray. On the way to church on Sunday she just kept singing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

*Niah will now lift up my shirt and point at my belly and say, "baby," then rub my belly and usually say, "Nice Baby"

*One of our favorite things to hear her say is snack and she usually says "Snash" really over enunciated. Then she will continue with "Pease"

I will end with a picture
This is a picture from our photo shoot yesterday

This is Niah helping me with laundry

I am 30 weeks along and going to the dr. every 2-3 weeks until 34 weeks and then I get switched to weekly. I feel great with little to know problems. I do get annoying leg cramps in the night but I can handle that. I have gained a total of 14 lbs. Hopefully, at my appt. on Monday after the dr. checks me I will have some details. This pregnancy feels exactly like Niah's. Carry very high, and just like Niah my uterine growth up and down is up higher than most. Dr. is expecting a similar size baby as Niah. He thinks my uterus can not spread out to the right and left like most so it goes up as high as it can and that is why I have smaller babies. He also thinks that I would be on bed rest if I was to have a baby over 7 lbs.

I cleaned out the room that will be this baby's nursery. Poor kid is already getting hand me downs. I bought Niah a dresser and I am going to move the changing table over. Niah's crib turns into a toddler bed but I am going to buy Niah a toddler bed and move her crib over because toddler beds are way cheaper than cribs. We are doing a brown, beige, and white room. I will hopefully be starting to make the bedding next week. I have a few wood shelves I need Matthew to make to hang on the walls, need picture frames, and then we will be pretty much set. I plan to spend a lot of time in the next month getting ready.
This is me at 28 weeks

This is from our photo shoot yesterday

Caramel Apple Cider

My husband has actually been suggesting that we go through starbucks to get drinks because he loves their caramel apple cider. Coming down with a very sore throat and looking for hot drinks with out caffeine to ease my throat I decided to take a try at making Caramel Apple Cider.

I made 4 cups last night so this was I used

Ingredients

4 cups of Unsweetened Apple cider
about 4 tbsp of brown sugar
1 tbsp heavy cream
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp of caramel

I put the apple cider, cinnamon stick and brown sugar in a sauce pan and let the brown sugar dissolve. Once it was hot I added the heavy cream and caramel. I let it sit on the stove on med heat for about 10 mins. Then it was ready. I whipped extra heavy cream with a mixer to put on top and sprinkled caramel on that but you wouldn't have to. I left the stove on low until we drank all of it.

My husband said he could not tell the difference between mine and Starbucks so we had a happy customer.

Linking up with

Christmas List

I am a true lover of Christmas!! I love the decorations, the festivities, the programs, and the presents. I am even more excited this year because Niah will love Christmas and understand it more. Even though I am going to be extremely pregnant at Christmas (37 weeks), I have already started planning holiday activities for us to do with the little one. I am also so excited to decorate with her. I may have so much excitement I may climb on a ladder to hang lights and hope that my husband sees me and finishes the lights for me :-)

In my excitement I have started our Christmas list.

My list

* Dark Brown (expresso) picture frames 8x10 (I have white ones with a thick boarder in Niah's room from Hobby Lobby would like a few like that)
*Nikon 5100 camera ( I thought mom and Matthew could go in together on this one) I am wanting to stop paying an arm and a leg to get our pictures done professionally every 3 months and invest in a camera.
*rug Brown and white zig zag (Here is kinds the idea)

Contemporary Rugs design by Calypso St. Barth

*Diaper bag - something like this but does not have to be the same. neutral color - Leather type material, Dark color because we all know it will get dirty

*Baby book - that goes with brown and white
*Throw pillows for my bed - light and dark grey and white something like this

Niah's List

*Brown Ballet flats Toddler size 5
*The beginner puzzles with the big wood pieces with the handles
*Baby stroller
*fake makeup she loves to play with my make up brushes but the makeup needs to open
*mega bloks - they are easier to put together and take apart than other blocks
*Any sort of stack bowls, or containers
*Long sleeve shirts 18-24 months

Baby Boy's List

I included this because my mom asked and we got Niah gifts the Christmas I was pregnant with her :-) I am excited to think there will be 2 little ones next Christmas!!

NO SPORTS ATTIRE OF ANY KIND OR ANYTHING WITH ANIMALS

*I am looking for more neutral plain clothes to go with stuff I already have
make sure onsies are long sleeve (I like plain colored ones to go with the legs warmers and pants I bought) I bought preemie clothes already so stick with newborn
*Sweaters
*socks
*soft cotton hats for him to wear since he will be born in the winter the ped. said I will need to keep the soft indoor hats on him for the first month where niah was just the first week.... She said stay away from other materials because it will break out his head
*sleepers
*Bundle me for car seat

How God healed Niah and continues to use her

At Niah's 6 month well check up, I brought to my doctor's attention how I could not feel Niah's soft spot. She checked and said it was very small and that was a concern if all of Niah's soft spots were closed. She immediately scheduled a cat scan. Just 2 weeks later we were taking Niah to get the scan and yes it is a very scary thing to even think you have to do a test like this on your child. That night I headed to Springfield with Matthew for a healing conference held by Randy Clark and Bill Johnson. I held my baby girl in my hands and sang through worship praying that everything would be ok. The next day we went to one of the classes on healing and Bill Johnson said lets pray for healing in kids for illness affecting their brain. I held Niah in my hands and just began crying out to the Lord for Niah's head that if anything was wrong that He would fix it. I felt such a peace after that prayer.

We got the cat scan results back and were told all of her soft spots and one of her 4 suture was closed. We got referred to a pediatric neurologist and a plastic surgeon. The neurologist look at the ct scan and told us that when a suture closes it can prevent the brain from growing, cause swelling, and stunt her developmentally. She said she wanted us to see the plastic surgeon and come back in 2 weeks. The plastic surgeon appt. started with a resident coming in saying the suture was closed and usually results in surgery but the doctor would be in to talk to us. Fear came over me, this was my baby and surgery on her skull involving literally sawing her skull apart. The dr. came in and told us, this is the only suture that can close and not necessarily have to have surgery (immediately it was like God said I am in control, prayer answer #1). He was concerned how her head was already growing at a point in the front. He said that it would be based on how her head shape was, how it grew, and her development.

These are Niah's actual CT scans

The first one shows how the suture down her forehead has closed and how the suture following your hairline is starting to close

The next 2 pictures show how her skull is starting to grow at a point or triangle due to the suture closing. You can also see how small her soft spot is where the sutures meet

This last one shows how the back sutures are very defined

These last 2 pictures are what a babies head should look like with all 4 sutures and fontanels (soft spots)

We started making the drive to Columbia about every 3 weeks which is an hour drive. On the 3rd appt. the drs. were alarmed because her head growth had stopped she was not staying in the 12% she was in for head circumference and had dropped down below the 8%. We were just needing her head to grow a cm every 3 weeks and it was behind 2 cm. They wanted us to do another ct scan. I remembered how much Niah hated the scan and I really didn't want her to go through that again so I asked the dr if we could wait through 2 more appts and see what happens. They reluctantly agreed and I felt a peace about my proposal. After the 2nd appt (6 weeks), Niah's head circumference not only grew but she was in the 14% so it grew more than they needed. (God answered our prayers) Still going to see the Drs. for checkups about every 3 weeks, she stayed right on target with her head growth. They finally said why don't you come back in 4 weeks instead of 3. Then after 4 weeks they said why don't you come back in 6 weeks instead of 4. At that appt. they said why don't we just watch her growth on her head when your primary dr. measures it at her well check ups.

Instantly I felt God say it is done! He promised me over 8 months ago that he was going to heal her at that conference we went to right after her ct scan and now the drs are telling me there is no reason for them to keep seeing her. All I can think the whole time going through this even though I was scared was I am so glad I serve a God that is bigger than this!!

Now being released from the drs. for 3 or 4 months just last week, I was at a mall letting Niah play in the mall play area. I started talking to a mom that had a son just a couple months older than Niah. With in 5 minutes she was telling me how the drs. believe one of her son's sutures may be closed and could cause developmental problems. She had no idea I have been there and I saw the exact same drs. as her. I immediately began to share about Niah and let her pour her concerns to me. Her son had not yet had a ct scan and I was able to leave her with God is bigger than this and I would be praying that ct scan showed everything was ok with her son and that his suture was open. I have prayed for that little boy and mom everyday and I am believing that he is healed. I may never see that mom again but I know my God is bigger. I love not only how God heals but how he uses healing to reach out to other people.

Here is my sweet little girl!!

Faith Booster.... God always provides!!

I know that God always provides and I trust Him to help me with almost every big purchase, to make the right decision. I do not want to take for grant it the little things (that are actually huge for me), I love the little things.

I will start with my car. I bought a new car in 2008 (it was a year old) and it was only a year old. We have not had any mechanical issues and have put very little money into it since I got it (which is a blessing in its self) but in Jan. of this year Matthew realized some pretty bad rust in the body. He told me a car is not worth anything if it has rust. Well come to find out cars have a 5 year rust warranty, which neither of us knew. Perfect right, no my car was 16 days out of warranty when we took it to the dealership. The dealership filed a claim with Nissan and they said, sorry we can't honor. I called, nissan and they said sorry I can't honor it. A little stressed about the 4,000 it would cost to fix, Matthew and I prayed about it. I just couldn't let it go, 16 DAYS out of warranty. I decided to start a claim on the BBB. Before, I could even get all the papers signed and back to the BBB, Nissan saw the claim was filed and called me. Nissan not only fixed my car, detailed it, but provided a rental and we didn't spend a penny. That was HUGE, God worked, and saved us 4,000 that we didn't really have. God is not done answering my prayers on my car yet. Currently, I took my car to get my tires rotated and the car aligned. The guy tells me it is almost time for new tires, and I call the Husband (the expert in this field) and say hey they say the tires are worn. The tires were just bought at the beginning of the year with less than 12,000 miles on them. So we ask are they evenly worn, and the man replies yes. We explain how new they are and he says go back to the place you bought them. We bought them online and with some very frustrating moments we find the purchase and talk to the company. The company says call the tire company directly, the tire company say the company you bought them from. Finally, the company we bought them in says, "Send your tires in to us." What buy new tires and mail our tires in, I DO NOT THINK SO. I prayed about it and decided to call the tire company one more time. That was it a case was open and we just had to go to a local dealer. Total savings $700!!

Those are really big things that were huge savings in our lives that God blessed us and gave us favor but there are a million other things.

Today, in fact I sold a bag of my old clothes on craigslist for $45 and then went into the store and bought Niah some winter clothes (she may have not needed all of it but she will look so cute). Total price for the 7 items I bought $50. The great thing was that I had $5 dollars that I found in my pocket! I really always pray before I go to the mall for favor, wisdom in shopping, and great sales. It always works!!

A very small thing that happened the other day that was such a blessing was that I needed to go to the store and it was pouring down rain while I was in town, as soon as I pulled in a car right next to the door pulled out. All mother's that have kids in car seats know what a huge thing that is, to just have to make a small little jot to the door instead of crossing the whole parking lot while caring a baby in the rain.

A huge thing to me maybe not so big to others that I am so thankful for is my child has never had a fever or has been sick except for some minor runny noses (due to teething, I think).

I will not bore you with any more stories but I will tell you how incredibly thankful I am for God's blessings everyday.

I believe that as my husband and I give, God gives back. And I am so completely grateful for His blessings. Some may think this is so cliche to say but I am writing it because I honestly believe that and see it in my life every day.

17 Months and 24 weeks

This week Niah is 17 months old! She is so funny and full of energy. Some of her favorite things to do is cook, "organize" papers, and be outside. Her favorite toys are her kitchen, her car, baby dolls, purses and the golf cart. Her favorite playmate is Kyah (her cousin who is 3 weeks younger). Her vocabulary and comprehension has gone through the roof, at 15 months her vocab was at 30 words and it has close to doubled since then. She is quite sensitive and picks up on the mood in the crowd and gets upset in stressful or upset moods. She does not like anything too loud especially people that are loud. Niah hates it when anyone cries especially Kyah and will cry even louder than the person crying.

Some cute things she has done:

Kyah left yesterday and she has said her name non stop since she left and now I ask her, "Where's Kyah" her reply is, "I don't know" and throwing her hands in the air. Every single time I ask.

I have started talking to her about the baby and I point to the my belly and tell her, "Mommy's Baby" and then I will ask her later where is "Mommy's baby?" to see if she remembered she gets it right half the time. Tonight I said, "where is mommy's baby" instead of telling me she points at her tummy and said, "Niah's Baby." We will have to work on that one :-)

Yesterday in church when my dad (the pastor) got done praying he said, "Amen" and Niah as loud as she possibly could replied with, "Amen."

We absolutely love Niah and she is turning into quite an incredible little girl!!

I was 24 weeks pregnant on Saturday. I have to say this pregnancy has flown by. Now that I am past week 13 I feel great. I never get heartburn and most of the time if I do not look in the mirror I forget I am pregnant. This little guy moves a little bit during the day but gets active in the evening for about an hour. The dr. believes I will have a small baby again,(he does not think I could deliver much bigger of a baby and my biggest prayer is that he will be small. I prayed Niah would be just a little bit bigger than a low birth weight baby which is 5 lbs 8 oz and said I wanted her to be be 5 lbs 10 oz read here Ironically, Niah was 5 lbs 10 oz or not so ironic because God heard my prayer. My prayer is the same, that this baby will be under 6 lbs. I have also added that this baby will be just as good of a baby as Niah or even better (if that is possible.

Chocolate Souffle

I absolutely love Chocolate Souffle. They serve it at the resort we go to in Mexico and a local restaurant use to serve it until they got a new chef. It is such a comforting warm dessert that just melts in your mouth. I have not had the delightful dessert since Januarary so I decided I would make it.

I used a recipe from Food Network for the souffle and the cream sauce I kinda just put together myself.

Ingredients
7 ounces finely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus for preparing the molds
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
8 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Confectioners' sugar for garnish

Directions

Brush 6 (6-ounce) ramekins with soft butter, then coat with sugar. Put the prepared ramekins in the freezer. (This can be done a day ahead.)

Set an oven rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Put the chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside.

Combine the egg yolks and warm water in the bowl of a standing mixer or large bowl and beat until frothy. Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar, and continue beating until ribbons form, about 5 minutes. Very lightly fold the yolks into the chocolate mixture. (Rinse the bowl well, if using for beating the egg whites.)

Remove prepared ramekins from freezer. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer, or large non-reactive bowl, add the lemon juice. Beat on medium until frothy; then gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and increase speed to high. Beat until the whites hold a stiff but not dry peak.

Working quickly, fold about a third of the egg whites into the chocolate to lighten; then fold in remaining whites until blended. Gently ladle or spoon the souffle mixture into the ramekins, and place on a baking sheet. (Level off the surface with a straight edge, scraping any excess mixture back into the bowl.)

Immediately bake until the souffle rises about 1 1/2 inches from the ramekins, and the tops are touched with brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, dust with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately. It is important to take it out at the right time.

The Cream sauce - You put this sauce in the middle and all around.

Ingredients
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir first 3 ingredients together in a saucepan. Add butter, and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture begins to boil. Cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Serve warm.

This dessert is a little time consuming but well worth the effort and I highly suggest trying it out.
This is a picture of souffle that I had in Mexico

This is souffle that I made last night

Linking up with

Full Plate Thursday

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Confessions and Honesty about having a baby boy

Since I was a little girl, I have loved babies. Up, until my teenage years I use to say that I was going to have a 100 kids. Now, I am a little more realistic and I may not want to have a 100 kids but I do want to have an orphange, private school, or even be a foster mom (God is still working on the details of what exactly it is). I do want several kids, I think I would have 5 or 6 if I have the financial backing and time for them all. So we will see??

Anyways, I never really cared what this baby was or is, just that it is healthy! We went to the dr for the ultrasound and the doctor said, "Do you see that little displacement, (baby was face down so we could not really see a good picture), I think that is a penis." He then said it looks like a boy.

I was excited to have a baby and that this would be the first little boy. Then a couple days later, fear set in. I began to wonder, God, why would you trust me with a boy? I have done countless years of girls and women ministries. I have taught tons of purity conference and classes, I am the girliest of girls. In fact my friend, (Lauren Pachl) jokes that there is no one more lady like than me and I am so prim and proper. I know girls, I know how to teach a girl to stay pure, how to help build her confidence, how to teach a girl to grow in her relationship with the Lord, how to flourish the calling of God in her life, I know GIRLS! The more I thought about it the more I feared, God what were you thinking, this must be a mistake. I hate failing, (like most people), and I want to do everything with 100% of everything I have and so fear took over my mind as I was not sure I could do the task with a 100% excellence. I was never around boys, crude talk is something I despise and have hardly been around, bodily noises is something I am never around, and I am the most unathletic person you can meet. The more I thought about it, the more anxiety I got.

God always knows what he is doing! As I prayed about my inability and lack of knowledge of boys, God laid on my heart, "I always know what I am doing." I may not know alot about boys but God started to reveal to me that I know alot about being a lady and boys (eventually men) need to learn how to treat a girl like a lady. God began to show me the things I do know and how that applies to a boy. That one of the most important thing is to raise a boy in the Lord and show him how to treat a lady. That this world lacks boys/men with pure hearts that respect women and their bodies. That I need to raise a boy that takes responsibility and can take care of himself, I can remember going to college and all of these boys didn't know how to do their laundry, or simple tasks because there mom did it. Nothing against those moms but I believe a boy/man can take responsibility for their own laundry and other task. That even though I have a lack of knowledge of boys, I have a knowledge of what a Godly man is for a women one day and to start there. So several things came to my heart of where to start and I believe I will go from there.

I am not going to lie, I filled my kindle with several books on raising boys to get a little bit more knowledge of the journey I am about to embark but my number one source will be the knowledge that God provides me as I ask Him for wisdom. I have to remember God always knows what he is doing!! I may not be qualified at all of for the job but God will enable me to be the very best mom I can be for this little boy and I will have to rely on him.
This is my cute little girl and I am not sure why she is making that face but probably because she wants to go "bye, bye"

Here I am at 22 or 23 weeks.

Update to a picture

My mom got me a picture on sale at Old Time Pottery. We have all tree pictures in our living room and it went with the pictures great but it had this terrible cheap frame. I had it up for at least 6 months and get tire of looking at the frame. One day at Menards, I bought some rustoleum spray paint and decided I was going to paint it.

This is a before picture:

1. I took all of the staples out that was holding the frame in place. Which was alot harder than it sounds and the staples flew across the room.

2. I painted the frame and let it dry.

3. Instead of stapling it back my husband used some kind of sealant and glued it back together.

4. There you go it looks so much better now in my living. The great thing is that the picture cost $10 and the paint cost $4 so total cost $14 for a picture that matches our house perfectly.

I have been really slow about adding details and decor to my house because I hate spending a ton of money on things I do not need and love when I can find great deals. So It may take me 10 years to get my whole house decorated but slowly I will will get there.

Here is an after picture