Mind Blowing

For starters I keep having lots on the mind. First it's about school, what should I do. I've thought about this long and hard and still am waiting for God to tell me. I am very confused in that. I want to earn money and be like every one else. I want to have a nice home and to be able to provide some money for my little one and myself.  A lot of people tell me I should love what I will do and I should do something I love. Well for starters I'm crafty, and I love to take charge in things. I like to organize, though you wouldn't know with my house sometimes. I love my little girl that is for sure. So do you see my problem?

Second thing on the mind, what is my next move? Where do I want to be in like 5 years? What will I be doing? Where will we be living all good questions. I don't really know the answer to them either. I don't mind my house and I don't mind where I'm living. But I do know that I'm going to want a bigger family. Lets face it we are cramped in our house already. So it's either move or start throwing things out. I don't think it's going to be the second one. I know where I'd like to live and what kind of home I'd like to have but once again the problem is no money. My dream home would be to live on a couple acres of land. Get a dog and some chickens and call it good. I would also like on that land a nice house with a 2 stall garage high ceilings and a couple of bedrooms. Possibly a fire place put in somewhere around there as well. But I am dreaming now. That's ok to dream right?



Next on the list in my head, my weight. I know everyone says it's not the scale that matters it's the person, but if the person doesn't like the scale we've got problems. Now I would not call myself lazy I do move a lot and I do work at Russ' so I am move quite a bit. Unfortunately it's not in the way I need to be moving let alone eating. It's so easy to eat junk food because it is quick and easy to make. When you are not eating as a family when working till 9 it also makes it a lot easier. I've tried going to the gym almost every night and eating well, but I just couldn't seem to loose weight. People tell me that's because you have to do it in the morning or mid day but who has the time or the energy to get up in the morning. I'm not really a morning person my husband, mom and sisters can vouch for me. I've tried being on diet such as my fitness pal, carb counting and so on but I always feel hungry. It's this constant battle with myself. I see other people doing well at their diet and loosing weight, it makes me just eat more to make myself feel better. I just want to be fit for myself and for my daughter. I have found that if a child is not raised to eat healthy they will not be health and will be stuck in the hole I'm at right now. I don't want that for Olivia!

Wow ok so I hope people don't judge me for what I say on here! I'm sure everyone has their problems and possibly the same ones. It's hard to talk to people about  problems like mine. But I want to say that I'm trying. It's a slow pace but it's going and I know with God's help and people I can do anything. God has called me to honor my body and my mind. I hope to do that and share with everyone how I'm doing!



She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.
~Proverbs 31:35~

Chicken

First I started out with my crock pot and a chicken that I bought from Sam's club. They come in packs of two.

I placed the chicken in the the crock pot

This picture is of my chicken, the wings actually have to go down for extra juiciness.

 

I realized it was upside down and put it the other way....

Anyway I put little slices of butter on it you can melt it before hand or do it this way.

Then I sprinkled it with Montreal Chicken Seasoning, you can find this at just about any store, but if you are looking for one this size I've only been able to find it at Sam's Club. 

I cut onions in half and placed them on the top of the chicken. They will add to the gravy taste if you choose to have some. They also taste very good! 

Cook on low from 6-8 hours or you can cook on high from 4-6 hours

There is no need to add any liquid the chicken juices provide plenty!

DO NOT REMOVE TOP this will release the pressure and it won't cook correctly

Here is a picture of the final look of the chicken after removing the juice.

Here is our version of the chicken gravy. I just took the broth from the chicken and put it in a pan heated it to boiling temperature. Turned the burner off and put some cornstarch in to thicken it. 

Well that's all folks until next time! 

Life as a Mother

A lot has changed since Olivia has joined us outside the womb. 

We have already been through a scare with Olivia having to go to urgent care. Where she went through many test to find nothing. 

Eric and I both have been up all night with our little girl in pain from teething and the stubbornness of not wanting to sleep.  

But to be honest it was all worth it to us. 

We are so proud to be parents to this little girl!

To be honest I feel like God sent her to us when we needed her the most. Now I'm not saying things are easy but they are an adventure each and every day!

I don't know how someone could not love a face like that one. I'm so thankful I just wanted to share that with everyone. I have a lot to look forward too as she gets bigger. 

One thing that we are learning as new parents is always take extra outfits. 

On our adventure out one Saturday morning while garage seeking we found ourselves in a sticky mess! 

Miss Olivia had squirmed and wiggled her way in just such a spot where her diaper had gotten caught on her latch strap and well the diaper wasn't there to catch anything. We had arrived at our destination not thinking that it was that bad we were going to just quick change her in the car....we thought wrong. When unbuckling her we found that fun sticky stuff that no one wants on their hands or in the car seat. 

Thankfully I had an awesome mom along to help with the mess. We proceeded to get her stripped of her clothes right on some grass. We put her clothes in a bag to wash later and then proceeded to get the car seat all washed up. After all the scrubbing we then turned to my little girl who was enjoying herself and had get her all cleaned up. Let me tell you she really just needed to be thrown in the tub but what do ya do when there isn't one around. That's right you get a bunch of wipes and you start wiping. After a while we got her all cleaned up. Unfortunately we didn't have anything else to put her in, but looking though some clothes at this garage sale we found an outfit that worked and we put her in it. Well worth the $1 given to put her in some clothes. 

Long story short new time mothers and maybe old ones don't forget extra clothes.

For the most part I try to leave an extra pair of pj's in there and an extra pair of clothes. It is well worth the little room they take up in your diaper bag!

Our new venture soon is going to be camping with a 7 month old. 

This is were we are going to take our daughter to the great outdoors. I'm sure it's going to bring lots of stories with it. At least now we know how to set up our tent properly. 

We are so blessed to have a big enough tent where we can sleep on one side and our baby girl can sleep on the other. 

I'm not sure how it's going to go, we've only been on a trip with her to Florida and we had more protection from the elements there. So if any mothers out there want to give me some hints I'm all for it! 

Till next time

Bri