Best French Toast Ever

My son has pretty much hated life since the the arrival of his baby sister. He has been boycotting dinner in an effort to maybe control something in his life. I know he loves anything covered in maple syrup so I created this recipe for

Crunchy French Toast

Loaf of frozen dough baked up

4 eggs

1 cup of milk

1tbsp of honey

1tbsp of sugar

1tsp of cinnamon

2-3cups of crushed cereal (i used OH's)

He loves to help mommy in the kitchen

I baked up a loaf of frozen dough but if you had some time and wanted to make up your own that would be amazing I am sure.

Next mix the eggs, milk, honey, sugar and cinnamon in a med bowl

I used the food processor to grind up the cereal and placed that in a separate bowl

Dip the sliced bread in the egg mix then dredge in the crushed cereal

Fry up in the pan a few minutes on each side

The bacon is neccessary side dish, as well as real maple syrup (not the fake crap). It has a pleasant crunch to it and extra sweetness with the cerea coatingl. Even though my son helped me to make the french toast he refused to eat it. Oh well, he had fun making it, and spent extra one on one time with mommy.

Crochet Nest

The lovely ladies at

http://shuttersistas.wordpress.com

were able to have a photoshoot of my darling baby girl. In return I crocheted a prop for their baby shoots. The brown nest/cocoon I made and wanted to wait for the child to post a picture. I think it was worth the wait.

Photo shoot

This is how I spent my Saturday morning. Watching Erin (an old buddy from nursing school) and her sister use my newbie as a model for their photography endeavors. I can't wait to see the rest, this is only the first. I never even thought about how difficult it would be to take pics of a newborn, but these ladies were professional. We watched in amazement the patience and skill these sisters used to make lasting memories of our daughter. You can see more of their photos at http://shuttersistas.wordpress.com/.

Charlotte Alise LaQuay

She is here! Finally, my misery is over! I can't even begin to explain the emotions that I feel for this baby. I thought I could finally show off one of my crocheted creations.

She was born Thursday February 24, 2011 at 8:23 am. She weighed 8.7 lbs and was 201/4 inches long.

I find little personality quirks coming out already. She is a huge eater and is very good at it!

This time around I am enjoying the newborn stage mostly because I don't think I am as nervous as I was for my first born. I think being more relaxed, has led to a more relaxed baby.

She looks mostly like her father and I know I am partial but she is adorable.

decor

I have had a creativity slump. I have completed some newborn crochet projects which I prefer to show with a newborn adorning them (hopefully any day now).

My sewing machine would probably go into shock if I took the cover off from it.

But with all the awesome valentines day tutorial that I have been scanning in blogland. I came across a tutorial about making rosettes.

http://http//alittlelovelyblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/flower-wreath.html

Not having supplies for a wreath I decided to grab some cloth scraps and glue gun and sit on my rump to make this topiary for decoration in my living room.

I am pleased with the way it turned out, and has given me renewed faith in my crafting abilities.

Winter Blues

I am having a huge case of cabin fever! Besides the fact that I am uber pregnant, my son has the energy that I can't keep up with, and there is so much snow that outdoor activities have become tricky.

This is the driveway not even an area of plowed snow.

I can't wait till the 24th, not that the cabin fever won't increase with a newborn. But my parents will be here from FL, and my husband has at least 4 weeks off from work. So the little guy, who is already acting unlike himself will have someone to get rid of his energy.

I will be thankful when the weather improves and spring arrives. I also can't wait to not be gigantically uncomfortable. I hope out there in blogland that you are not sharing the winter blues!

photo ops

I am so thankful to have an old nursing school buddy that has a flair for photography, offer to come take pics of my newborn. She wants more practice with newborns, and it just so happens I have one arriving. I have been admiring her work for awhile now, and I am super excited.

She is being so generous to make the trek up north. I have not seen Erin since college graduation in 2004. It is going to be a wonderful time of catching up and watching her work her magic on my kiddos.

You can see Erin and her sisters work here

http://shuttersistas.wordpress.com

Scared &#!^less

So emotions have been hitting me hard lately. I know hard to believe that in my last trimester I am getting overly emotional. These emotions that I am feeling are new. I have been realizing that not only am I having a newborn but how that newborn is getting here. I admit that I feel cheated that I can't deliver vaginally. In know that my body would be so good at it.


Now though, I am getting nervous about having a c-section. I am ashamed to feel scared and anxious ( I am a surgical nurse after all). The last time I went through this I was exhausted from 10 hours of labor and pushing (plus drugs), I was totally out of it and don't remember the details.

This time I will be sober awake and aware of what is going on around me. I know my husband will be there but he is to put it nicely squeamish.

Another thing that will bother me is that I won't get to hold the baby, till after I am out of PACU. One of the things that I can recall is saying,

"Um....can I see my baby".

My whole family and husband got to enjoy him while I was sitting in recovery waiting for a spinal to wear off at least on hour.

Well in the end it is what is best for me and baby, and I will have a lifetime to hold and snuggle her. I just need to get over this fear.

scary face

Well this is the only preview that we will get of our baby girl. After stripping away the layers of umbilical cord this is what we got. I Kind of think it looks like flames/smoke or that she is a ghost. I guess that means more surprise on D-day. Ahh.....what a long five weeks it will be.

trying not to freak out

The thought of soon being a mother to a newborn, is starting to make me freak out. Remembering the sleepless nights, the constant attachment of a child to my breast, and total exhaustion. In an attempt to not feel overwhelmed I have been reminiscing of the past. I bought newborn diapers and placed them in the pseudo nursery, I had forgotten how tiny and adorable they are. Next I watched video clips from my son's first year. It is an amazing process to watch this tiny thing grow and learn so much in just a year. I am trying to view things in the whole big picture not the daily struggles of trying to survive the day without breaking down. In the end they grow up so fast. Watching my boy go from sitting up on his own, to eating his first solid foods, to crawling then walking, running, and talking, it has got me excited to watch this amazing process happen again.

I apologize for the photo montage, but like I said reminiscing is helping!

His first rice cereal

Crawling and trying to pull down the curtain

Not enjoying his first birthday cake

Seven more weeks and baby girl will be here. I am getting excited and trying not to freak out!

What is this?

Well is it a closet, or a room? That would be my baby girls nursery. She won't have a room but a closet with dresser/changing table. The dresser has significance because it just so happens that it was my changing table when I was a wee lass.

Someday she will have her own room she just needs to be old enough to move to the downstairs with her older brother. I have officially signed the consent for her delivery on February 24th. I have a sneaking suspicion that she will not wait till this date. I have been having terrible Braxton Hicks contractions that hurt, and apparently it's normal that they are more intense with your second pregnancy.

I am predicting Feb 19, 2011 that Charlotte Alise will arrive at 8lbs 10oz and 20 inches long. Till then we are ready and waiting patiently to meet our baby girl!