Skillet Enchilada & a Blue October

Ingredients

10-12 corn tortillas
2 cans chicken breast, drained
1 can Rotel
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can tomato sauce (the smaller can)
shredded cheese

Instructions

1. Tear the tortillas into small, bite-sized pieces.
2. In a large skillet combine the tortilla pieces and the chicken. Heat until it's warm.
3. Add in the Rotel, enchilada sauce, and tomato sauce, along with some shredded cheese.
4. Stir everything and heat until hot. It takes about 5 or so minutes.
5. Add more cheese on top and serve.

Okay, so as you can tell... I wrote this one from memory. Definitely does not sound as proper as the other recipes I've shared. But let me tell  you.. this one is so quick and so easy. It's also good left over. And for me to say that is huge.. I normally don't eat left overs. Although, I'm learning to love them.

On another, totally separate note... THE ROYALS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES TONIGHT. I'm seriously so stoked. It's been 29 years since the Royals made it. That's 1985 people. And our team is absolutely amazing. Not just as players, but as people. They truly are becoming America's team. I love it. I'm very ready for the game tonight:

I am so ready to cheer the boys on tonight! And I could not help but laugh at the fact that my Royals shirt is almost too short to for my belly! Used to fit perfectly, and now my belly is too big for the shirt. Good thing I have tons of tank tops to layer with! Can it just be February already?  

New food, among other things.

So lately, Matthew and I have been really working on expanding our cooking expertise. With Matthew being so busy with his classes, I've really tried to step it up in the kitchen. Matthew has almost always been the only one to cook in our house, except for a few recipes that I got from my mom. But he has physical training three times a week and at least an hour of homework every single night. I don't think it would be fair to expect him to come home and cook every single night - especially because some meals take a bit of time to cook. And living off Hamburger Helper just isn't healthy.

One of the ways that we really work on this is by creating a menu every week. Every Saturday I sit down and make a menu and a grocery list to go along with it. This not only takes the stress out of trying to decide what to eat every day, but also helps us save money. We go shopping only once a week, rather than a couple different times. Having a grocery list that contains only ingredients for our dinners and then some stuff for lunches really saves money. It also saves time for us because we don't just wander the isles trying to decide what we may want four days from then. Here's our menu for this week:

Sometimes we end up moving stuff around.. and we are this week, but it all gets eaten in the end :) A few friends have been asking for recipes, and I figured rather than send them out individually every single time, I could start collecting them here! So today I'll put three different ones on here - Creamy Tomato Spinach Tortellini, a green bean casserole, and pumpkin bites.

Creamy Tomato Spinach Tortellini

 Ingredients

1 bag regular sized Barilla three cheese tortellini (8 oz)
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon onion flakes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Boil tortellini until it's done.
2. While the tortellini is boiling, chop the spinach roughly.
3. Heat a large skillet using medium heat and put the two teaspoons of minced garlic into it. Sautee it briefly until fragrant.
4. Add into the skillet the can of diced tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, dried basil, and onion flakes.
5. Cook and stir over medium high heat until the mixture begins to bubble.
6. In another bowl, combine the flour and half-and-half. Whisk until smooth.
7. Add the mixture into the skillet along with the Parmesan cheese.
8. Heat through and reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook until mixture thickens, about five minutes.
9. Add in the drained tortellini and mix together. Then serve.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/3 cup French's French Fried Onion
2 cans green beans, drained

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix soup, milk, and pepper in a bowl.
2. Add in green beans and 2/3 cup onions. Transfer to a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. 
3. Bake for 30 minutes. Top with remaining onions. Bake another 5 minutes.

Pumpkin Bites

Ingredients

1/2 cup egg beaters
1/2 cup water
1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin
3/4 cup cinnamon chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
3. Spray mini muffin pans and fill with the mixture.
4. Bake for 18 minutes.

I, sadly, did not think to take a picture of the pumpkin bites last night as I was making them. So next time :) I will say that none of these recipes are of my own making. I find them on Pinterest, in a cook book, or I get them from friends/family. I basically just want to put them here in a common place so everyone can have access. If you try them, let me know!

Other than cooking new meals, Matthew and I have been spending some fun times with friends! Getting to know everyone here has been my favorite part of being in California. On Saturday we carved pumpkins with several friends!

We had such a wonderful time!

As well as trying new recipes, I've been trying to get crafty. Not only have I been knitting like crazy, but I've started some projects for Phoenix! Here's the beginning of my favorite one:

 I'm hoping this project turns out so cool. Once it's completed, you'll see another picture! But seeing as this post is probably the longest one I've ever written, I suppose I should wrap this up! Be looking out for those new recipes :)  For now, I'll leave you with this... [24 weeks]

Doctor appointments...

Have never been so fun!

I've always hated going to the doctor... until now. Especially these last two times. Being able to see Phoenix on that ultrasound... it's amazing. It's beautiful. And it's even slightly terrifying.

Here's the sonogram pictures from today:

Isn't it strange how something black & white and grainy can be so cute? I love these profile shots - seeing his little nose is adorable. I can't wait to actually be able to boop his nose! He kept touching his face and moving around. And his mouth even moved as if he were chewing! Already practicing for when he's in the real world :) My, oh my, it's amazing how even though he's so small, he's so efficient. I got to watch his four chamber (that's right - FOUR CHAMBERS) heart beat and it was wonderful. The doctor said that Phoenix is completely healthy - which of course was so nice to hear.

I still have 18 weeks to go, and I'm already SO EXCITED to meet Phoenix. I can't wait to watch him grow up and develop his own personality. I've heard that boys are so adventurous and so much fun to raise. But even with that... I get so nervous. I mean, mini panic attack nervous. I know absolutely nothing about raising a baby! Especially a boy. He's going to be 100% dependent upon me and Matthew. But I feel like he's reallllly going to be dependent on me, since I want to breastfeed. I've had numerous dreams where I've forgotten to feed my baby. They're so scary, and they make me so super nervous. I don't know how I'm going to do this. Am I truly ready to be a mom?

Sometimes I can't even believe I get to be a mom. I thank God every day for giving me this beautiful gift. It's such a blessing and such a miracle. It amazes me every day that my body is growing this human! I mean, come on! He started from one tiny, itty bitty cell, and now he's an 8 inch long, one pound baby! How does this even happen? God has made us so beautifully and even though I may complain about the aches and pains, I feel so lucky that I get to carry Phoenix until he's ready to make his entrance into this world.

Why I Withdrew From Grad School

Last night, I withdrew from my two grad classes. I'm officially not a student anymore. Now.. before anyone jumps down my throat about this... I've thought long and hard about this.

Last spring when I was accepted into this program and registered for it, I never had any idea that I was going to get pregnant. Had I known, I never would have signed up for the courses. Once I was signed up, I thought I'd just stick with it. But a couple things within me changed.

I'm just not as passionate about it as I was. Every time I tried to do my school work, I wanted to scream and cry and throw a fit and not do it. Doing the research did not spark a fire like it used to. I am not a person to force myself to do something that I am not passionate about. I could not bring myself to write a paper or read the chapters or anything.

It was once I recognized this that I realized something else. I did not want to be a student anymore. Being pregnant and preparing to be a mom has changed everything for me. It's made me rethink my priorities and rethink what I want for myself and my future. For as long as I can remember, I've been career focused. I wanted to get as high degree as I could and have a steady and awesome career. But now that I'm only a few months away from giving birth to our first child, all of my wants have changed. I'm no longer career focused. I want to be a wife to Matthew and a mother to Phoenix. I don't want to be a student anymore. I no longer want a career - I want to be a stay at home soccer mom. I want to be there to watch my children grow up as much as possible. I have the opportunity to do so, and I'm not about to throw it away. I've always been family oriented - it's how my parents have raised me.

These two factors led me to making the decision to withdraw from my classes. Matthew has been so wonderful and has supported me 100% in this decision. My professors were extremely nice and told me that I am always welcome to go back to the program in the future. This was totally a personal decision, and one that I did not take lightly. But as soon as I withdrew, I felt a million times better. I'm now free to do what I really want with my time. Technically, I suppose I'm a "grad school dropout", but I certainly don't feel that way. I am re-prioritizing, and putting myself and my family first - and that's the best decision I could ever make.

So it's been a while...

I suppose it's been a while since I've written anything, and I apologize for that. Things have been a bit crazy. Life is pretty different now, I'll admit. I mean, I've only moved 2,000 miles. No biggie!

Let me try to think of some of the biggest changes: move to California, baby's gender reveal, getting our stuff & setting up our home, and hospital trip #3. Wow. Lot's of stuff.

So I now live in California! It's been a pretty big change coming from Springfield, MO to Seaside, CA. It's always nice here. Mid 60s to low 70s every day. It's gorgeous. The drive was crazy - so long, but definitely interesting! My wonderful dad drove out with me - it was so fun. The cats were a lot better than I thought they would be! We only had one accident in their cages in over 30 hours. Boo yah. My dad and I were exhausted for over a week after we drove out. (Btw, we drove straight through - no big deal) It was so fun to venture into states that I have never seen before. We went through Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California. It was great. Sure, there were some super boring parts, but lucky me - I got to sleep through those :) One of the weirdest things about living in California is being 2 hours behind pretty much everyone I've ever known. It's changed how I converse with people and it's even changed how I watch my tv shows! My mom gets to watch everything before me. Like hours before me. It's strange! Being in California has been amazing though, mostly because I'm back with my husband. Being apart for several months was hard. I have so much respect for the spouses who are apart from their husbands/wives for a year or more. It's so hard. I feel so lucky that I get to live with Matthew again. He starts class this Thursday, and he's getting really excited.

After I got to California, I found an OB. Luckily, he was super nice and I loved him! (If anyone in the Seaside/Monterey area needs an OB - check out Dr. Stephen Walker. Seriously, he was great.) Anyway, I was really hoping that I'd get to find out the gender of our baby as soon as possible. I was originally supposed to find out on September 5, but then I moved. I didn't think I'd get to find out at this appointment since it was my first one. But I was wrong! We did an ultrasound and found out that Baby Gleaton is a.... BOY! We are SO EXCITED to be having a boy. His name will be Phoenix. Matthew came up with it. Isn't it awesome!? So now we are starting to get things ready to bring our  baby boy into the world.

About 3 weeks after I arrived in California, our stuff finally arrived! Living in an empty house for three weeks was harder than we expected, that's for sure. But we managed. The movers got here around 8 and left about 12:30. Didn't take them too long to get everything off the truck! And we've been very fortunate - there were only a few things that were slightly damaged. Matthew and I have been busy unpacking everything. And by Matthew and I, I mean mostly Matthew. Sadly, I cannot do a whole lot because of the baby. Our home is definitely coming together. Slowly but surely. We made a big step towards this by getting cable and internet! We are so excited to have AT&T UVerse. I have a DVR finally!! Yaaaay :)

Hospital trip #3 of the year 2014. Yikes. Whew. I can't even handle this. On Sunday afternoon, I started having some chest pain. At first I thought it was just heartburn and that I was going to have to just suffer through it. But by Sunday night, I started thinking that maybe something else was wrong. I was in so much pain - I could hardly breathe and I was crying and it was just a mess. Finally, I asked Matthew to take me to the ER. I had taken my heartburn pill and tums and it wasn't working. We arrived at the ER around one in the morning. They rushed me right in and started doing tests. They immediately did an EKG to rule out my heart. Then not long after the doctor came in. By this time I had started noticing that the pain was only on one side of my chest - my left side. So the doctor ordered a blood test to check for inflammation and/or a clot. It was difficult because there's so many things they can't do due to Phoenix. After waiting around for a few hours, the blood results were back. No clot, but inflammation. My doctor diagnosed me with costochondritis. This is when the joints where the ribs meet the sternum become inflamed. It has been said that the pain is comparable to a heart attack. Normally, they will give narcotics to help, but again, because of Phoenix, I can't take them. So I've been taking it extremely easy and taking Tylenol. Thankfully, I'm starting to feel better. But from what I've heard and read, this is something that could follow me through the rest of my pregnancy. So cool.

So, it's already been quite the adventure in the last month and a half! But I've fallen in love with California. We've met some amazing people since being here and we have a social life! In fact, we have a dinner date tonight with some new friends. I'm very excited. I'm never going to want to leave this wonderful place and these wonderful people.

Sometimes things don't go your way.

It's only Tuesday, and this week has already been hard. Yesterday, all of the plans Matthew and I had made not only came to a crashing halt, but completely crumbled. For those who don't know, Matthew dislocated his shoulder a couple of weeks ago. He was originally told that even though 4 weeks of physical therapy was suggested, he wouldn't have to complete the full four weeks (because then he would miss his ship off date for California). Since we had been told this, we made plans as if he were shipping off on the 3rd of July (because we were told he would).

But yesterday, all of that changed.

He was told that the information he was given was wrong. He does, in fact, have to complete all four weeks of physical therapy. Matthew will not be medically cleared until July 14, four days after his class start date. This could, and more than likely will, change absolutely everything. We are losing the housing we were supposed to get; Matthew will remain in Texas until probably September (or maybe longer); Matthew will probably lose his language of Korean and will be given something different; and we have absolute no clue when we will see each other again. We went from seeing each other in less than two weeks to not knowing the next time we will see each other again.

Yes, I understand it could be worse. I get that. I know that everyone has their own problems. But telling me that isn't going to make things better for me. Because in my own little world, everything seems to be crumbling. I don't care how self-centered that sounds - it sucks. Yes, I understand that this is the military, and these things happen. That doesn't make it suck less. (And may I add that Matthew's instructor has never seen this before - obviously not very common.)

There is a chance that Matthew could be stuck at Lackland anywhere from a month to six months or longer. We just have no idea. I am petrified that it will be too long of a time. If it isn't soon enough, I will not be able to travel to California until after our baby is born - which means that Matthew would miss the birth of our first child and may not even see me while I'm pregnant. I know that this sometimes happens when you're a military spouse, but personally, I'm not mentally prepared for that.

Being pregnant and alone is one of the scariest things I've ever done. Yes, I have an amazing support system - my family and friends are being so helpful. But when it comes to day to day, I'm pretty much alone in Springfield. Pregnancy is scary as it is, and not having Matthew here to help me through it is hard. My body is doing things I didn't know were possible. I am so hyper-aware of my body that it sometimes makes me paranoid. I'm so afraid that something will go wrong, and he won't be here to help me through it. I seriously admire all the single moms and military wives who do everything on their own. It's scary, and it's hard, and it takes a lot of strength.

I'm not writing this blog to complain, or throw a pity party. Believe me, I am still so thankful for everything that I do have. Sometimes it's just hard to keep your head above the water, when everything seems to be going wrong. For me, the best thing to do is write it out. If you don't agree, then you don't have to read it. I know that I am so lucky to even be pregnant, and to be married to the most amazing man. But I also know that being a military spouse is different than I ever expected. No amount of advice or anything beforehand can prepare you for what's to come. Again, I'm not complaining - I'm just learning that things are not always what they seem.

New titles.

This last year has been a wild and crazy ride - and I didn't even realize it! My current "titles" include: cat mom (times 3), wife, military spouse, college graduate, and now... MOM!

Two and a half years ago I said I was never getting married. Now here I am, extremely happily married and pregnant! I got my positive test on Wednesday:

I have my doctor's appointment on Thursday and Friday! I can't wait - it will make it super official.

We told our parents this weekend! Well, I did, anyway. Matthew is still at Lackland in San Antonio. All parents are super excited, as is our friends! We've gotten some amazingly good responses to our news! I was really nervous about it, but it seems that it was all for nothing. Everyone cannot wait for Baby Gleaton to be here!

Speaking of Baby Gleaton, he or she will be arriving sometime in February. Those fun online calculators estimate about February 10. If I were to be early it could be on Matthew's birthday (February 7) or if I'm late it could be on Valentine's day! But we shall see. I already can't wait to know the gender, but we have to wait until September!

I know there have to be some people out there who think that I'm too young, or we haven't been married long enough. But to those people I say: I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK. Matthew & I are so excited about this, and personally I believe that Matthew and I will be awesome parents. This is the next step for us and we are taking it (obviously).

YAY FOR BABY GLEATON!