Happy Re-Birthday Kate!

I cannot believe we are celebrating this amazing milestone!

As I look back over the past year, part of me feels like we were watching Kate receive new life ages ago but another part of me feels as if it was just yesterday.

One thing is certain though, August 31, 2011 will forever be etched in my mind. Every little detail is so vivid.

I remember Kate woke up happy and was happy for most of the morning. It was the first bit of happiness we'd had in several days. I remember I tweet and FBd that she must know it was her big day!

She walked the halls with pride that day - told everyone hi, waved, smiled.  I really think she knew her little life was about to change.  We admired her door sign - something that isn't hung until transplant day!

I was a nervous wreck all day waiting for the cells to arrive. I even posted about some of the crazy thoughts I had. We weren't anticipating her cells arriving so late and every time her transplant got pushed back, I freaked out a little bit more.

Kate went to sleep and rested for a bit and around 8:30 we started prepping her to receive her cells.  It took Sleeping Beauty a while to wake up! She wasn't happy about being disturbed.

Anabell was our nurse and Dr Olive (to this day I cannot remember her last name - just her first) was the fellow who would be in the room for the entire cell infusion.

When her cells would brought to the room it took my breath away. Just a small bag of red fluids. Nothing fancy. Any stranger that saw it wouldn't stop and think about what that bag meant. It looked ordinary.

But it was so far from normal.

It was filled with LIFE.

It was filled with HOPE.

It was filled with DREAMS.

Seeing the gift that would forever change our lives, and let Kate go on to live, was a moment that took my breath away and filled my eyes with tears.

I was so emotional that I took over the camera and had Alex hold Kate.  I didn't want her to be scared or nervous and I thought my tears (ok let's be honest, my sobs) might freak her out a bit.

I will never forget the moment that we hooked Kate up to her cells.

On Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 9:57pm, the first of Kate's life saving cells reached her precious body.  I will always be thankful I caught the exact moment on camera.

New life began while I was snapping this picture. (The red line is her tube of cells.)

I hid my sobbing face behind the camera while Alex read Kate books and played Peek-a-boo Ocean on the iPad.  She was oblivious to what was going on!

And just like that, we were done! The quickest, yet most important 45 minutes of my life. 

Anabell snapped a picture of us - there is so much wrong with it - Kate is nearly cut out (and looks like she might kill someone), I was incredibly sick, two months pregnant with Will, and looked a hot mess, we were all so tired.

But it is perfect to me. Our first picture of hope!

Kate- you are an inspiration to so many. You are a FIGHTER. You are STRONG. You are SPECIAL. Momma and daddy are so proud of you and we cannot wait to see what the Lord has planned for your life!  You made it sweet girl! Happy re-birthday!

And to the amazing man that selflessly donated his bone marrow to save Kate - THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I will never be able to articulate how thankful we are for you. You are a blessing and an inspiration to so many. I hope that we are able to meet you, hug you, thank you, celebrate you in the near future!

Blog Sale Link up - Kate's Closet!

Sweet Leslie over at Lambert's Lately is hosting a blog sale link up! Basically, lots of bloggers are cleaning out their closets and posting things for sale! I'm jumping on board because we all know my kids have way too many clothes!

I will be breaking my things up into two posts - Kate's Closet and Will's Closet.  I have so many things I just thought this would be easiest! I might even do a third post with all of Kate's personalized things (leave a comment if you are interested they all have Kate or kBe monogrammed on them.

Here's how it's going to work:
I have posted pictures and sizing/ condition/ pricing of many things. Prices DO NOT include shipping. Shipping is $2.50 per item but will be combined if you purchase multiple items. If you have any questions, email me at lindsey.boggan@gmail.com . 

In order to purchase, email me the following:
*Please put Blog Sale Item #xx in the subject line.
*Include you paypal email address in the email so I can invoice you.
*If your address is not listed in paypal, include it as well.

Invoices are expected to be paid within 24 hours. If payment is not received, item will go to the next person in line or be relisted.

I apologize in advance if things sell quickly and I am unable to mark them as sold. We spent almost 12 hours in the ER with Will last night so I am exhausted and cuddling a sick baby. I will try my very best to keep this post as up to date as possible.

Items are listed in size order starting with 3m and going all the way up to 2T!

Happy shopping!

1. Gymboree (green) & Old Navy sweater dresses. All size 0-3m.

Excellent used condition. $8 for all three  SOLD

2. Tunic/ legging sets. Various brands (First Wish, Carters, Genuine Baby,

Just One You) but all 3m. GUC. $8 for all four. SOLD

3. Dwell Studio for Target dress & matching bloomers. EUC. $4

 

4. Gymboree Corduroy jumper dress. Size 0-3m. NWT. $7

5. Cherokee sweater dress w/ matching bloomers. Size 3m. NWT. $5  SOLD

6. Old Navy silver bubble hem bow dress. 0-3m. NWOT. $4  SOLD

 

7. Ralph Lauren pink cotton dress w/ matching bloomers. Size 6m.

Good used condition. $4  SOLD

8. Ginger Hares smocked fleur de lis dress. 6m. EEUC. $12  SOLD

 

9. Lilly Pulitzer Ruffle/ layered crab bloomer set. Size 6-12m but runs small.

EEUC. $15 SOLD

10. Lilly Pulitzer scalloped edge dress (no bloomers). Size 6-12m but runs small.

EUC. $12  SOLD

11. Ralph Lauren lot - Madras/ floral dress, madras swing top/ bloomers,

madras hat. All size 12m. EUC. $15 for lot  SOLD

 

12. Lilly Pulitzer Swing back dress w/ matching bloomers. 12-18m.

Runs small. EUC. $15 SOLD

13. Lilly Pulitzer scalloped edge dress w/ match bloomers. 12-18m.

Runs small. GUC. $15. SOLD

 

14. Ginger Hares smocked watermelon dress. 12m. NWT. $12 SOLD

 

15. Ginger Hares smocked turtle dress. Size 12m but is VERY long.

Fits more like an 18m. NWT. $12. SOLD

 

16. Smocktions smocked peeps dress w/ matching bow. Size 12m but runs big

and fits like an 18m. EEUC. $16 SOLD

17. Smocked Beauty smocked holly leaves/ bows dress. Size 12m. NWOT.

Fabric is thin & smocking is not very high quality. $8 SOLD

 

18. Gymboree sweater. 12-18m. GUC. $4

19. Gap ghost shirt w/ hood. 12-18m. GUC. $3

20. Gap quilted jacket. 12-18m. EEUC. $17

 

 21.Genuine Kids striped hoodie. 18m. NWOT. $4

 

 22. Smocked by Stellybelly ladybug a-line dress. 18m. EEUC. $12 SOLD

23. Rock n Smock Em smocked Mardi Grad dress. 18m.

EEUC. $15 SOLD

 

24. Smocked by Stellybelly smocked alligator bubble. 18m. EEUC. $15 SOLD

25. Remember Nguyen bloomer set. 18m. EEUC. $10 SOLD

 

 26. Rock n Smock Em polka dot dress w/ monogrammed K. 18m.

EUC (needs to be ironed). $12  SOLD

27. Petit Ami purple seersucker dress w/ monogrammed K & matching

bloomers. 18m. EUC. $14  SOLD

28. Smocktions smocked puppy dress. 18m. NWOT. $14  SOLD

 

29. Gymboree bubble. 18-24m. EUC. $5 SOLD

30. Gymboree floral dress w/ matching bloomers. NWT. 18-24m. $10

 

 31. Gymboree shorts set. 18-24m. EEUC (worn once). $8

 

32. Gymboree strawberry swing back bloomer set. 18-24m.

EEUC (worn once). $8 SOLD

 

33. Gymboree floral top/ tunic (cute w/ leggings). 18-24m NWT. $5

34. Lilly Pulitzer dress. 2T. GUC. $14 SOLD

 

35. Rosalina smocked cupcake ruffle pants set. Cupcake has 2 candles on it.

EUC. $17 SOLD



Four Month Well Baby

We finally had Will's four month well baby on Monday! I feel like it was way late but in actuality I was only 2 weeks behind his four month birthday.  I kept telling myself I would post his 4 month update when I had his official stats which I now have.  Too bad I never took "official" pictures- iPhone picture from his appointment will have to do!

Weight: 16.8 pounds (70%)

Length: 25.25 inches (49%)

He is getting so big! I mean look at these rolls! I just love them and will be sad when the temperature drops and they have to be covered up! Baby thighs sticking out of bubbles is one of the cutest things ever.

Here's what sweet Will is up to these days:

*Rolling both ways which means he can move around quickly!
*Taking 35-40 ounces of formula a day
*Eating two meals (lunch and dinner) of purees. Averaging THREE pouches a day.  The amount of food he consumes is insane to me.
*As of yesterday, he is getting up on all fours. Not rocking yet and definitely not crawling but he is getting ready! I'm betting he will be full on crawling within the next month.
*Exploring his voice! His current favorite noise sounds very dinosaur/ monster like.  Kate loves to walk around saying "him di-sor" or "bubba monser". She thinks it is super funny.
*Loves his sister so much! He is constantly watching her and laughing at whatever she is doing!
*Is sitting unassisted for up to a minute
*Sleep is hit or miss these days - 4 month wakeful and teething has interrupted his 12 hour nights but it still isn't too bad.

I can't believe we are getting so close to the half birthday mark! These part four months have gone by way too fast! I just want to press pause and enjoy this phase at a much slower pace!

Menu Monday!

I've always been hesitant to link up with Rachel for Menu Monday but today I am taking the plunge! I do a lot of cooking on the weekend so we never have a Monday - Friday menu; ours is more like Saturday - Thursday.  It's just easier for me to cook things while Alex is home. We normally eat left overs or I use something I've made in a different way later in the week.
I've realized that, regardless of the day I cook the meal, people are interested in what others are eating! I have ladies ask me for recipes on twitter all the time and I am always browsing other menus to get new ideas. So, who cares about what day I cook a meal? All anyone cares about is what that meal may be!



So, here is our menu!

Saturday: Eggplant Parmesan and fresh salad

Sunday: Hatch Chile Carnitas with Skinny Taste Broccoli Mac and Cheese

Monday: Skinny Taste Turkey Chili Taco Soup

Tuesday: Left over eggplant parm and salad

Wednesday: Baked Carnitas burritos with tomatillo sauce (totally

winging this dish - we'll see how it turns out)

Thursday: Left over soup

Friday:Take out (no clue what - we just always order out Friday night for dinner)

Because I know I will have questions - the Hatch Chile Carnitas came pre-seasoned from HEB (a Texas grocery store) and are AMAZING!  RUN to HEB and pick some up if you are a Texan! I put them in the crock pot with a diced onion and minced garlic. Cooked until tender. Then Alex moved them over to the grill (in a grill pan) and cooked them on low until there was a nice crust on the meat. Seriously amazing.
I've had several people ask for the Eggplant Parmesan recipe on twitter this weekend. It's something I threw together one night after reading several recipes on line. So, not completely original but there is no recipe to link! I don't measure when I cook - sorry! I probably should start doing that if I'm going to share recipes from my kitchen! Also I am absolutely horrible at telling you how to make things! So sorry! Feel free to ask questions if I haven't been clear!
Eggplant Parmesan
2 Eggplants (depends on size and how much you want to make
2 jars red sauce (or homemade which I normally use b/c I keep it in my freezer)
Plain breadcrumbs
Italian seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Red pepper flakes
2 eggs (depends on how many eggplants you use)
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Peel eggplant and slice into thin circles (I keep mine about 1/4 inch thick)
In a pie plate (makes coating easiest) mix plain breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, Italian season, garlic powder, pinch of red pepper flakes, and some Parmesan cheese together. Note: I always accidentally under season my breadcrumbs. Be sure to add enough seasoning - it takes way more than you think!
In a separate bowl, beat eggs
Dip eggplant slices into eggs and then place in pie plate to coat with breadcrumbs. Place on baking sheet.
Bake at 425 for 5-6 minutes. Flip eggplant and bake another 4-5 minutes.
Decrease over temperature to 400
In a baking dish (size will depend on how much you make), spread a thin layer of red sauce in the bottom. Layer baked eggplant, mozzarella, and red sauce until you have used all of the eggplant.
End layering with red sauce and top with mozzarella and Parmesan.
Bake until sauce is bubbly (about 15-20 minutes)
Broil for about 3 minutes to brown cheese.
I normally serve mine with some type of pasta as I never use all of the sauce I have frozen. You could easily half the recipe (1 eggplant, 1 egg, 1 jar sauce) if you don't like left overs or are making it for only 1-2 people. I have a husband that loves to eat and a toddler that LOVES eggplant parm so I make a HUGE dish of it.
If anyone is interested I can share my homemade red sauce this week or next! I need to think through it first because, like I mentioned, I don't measure and honestly have no clue how to even begin writing a recipe for it!
I'm thinking about starting to either label my recipe posts or have them all feed over into a recipe page up top. Would anyone use that feature? Dumb? Good idea? Let me know!
What are y'all eating this week? I'd love to hear so I can get some new ideas!