Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter 1-2-3-4 Cake

Yesterday was my husband's birthday and he has a favorite cake from his childhood that his mom makes.  I've made it before but just used boxed cake mix to recreate it.  And while that is still yummy, it's not the cake he grew up on so this year I got the recipe from his mom and finally made it the "right" way.  In years past when I would ask for the recipe, his mom would always say nonchalantly, "It's just a 1-2-3-4 cake," like everyone knew what that was.  I, however, did not.  Hence the boxed-cake cakes I've made.  I looked up a 1-2-3-4 cake recipe online and found a version of it from Paula Deen.  But I like my mother-in-law's recipe better.  Thought it was worth sharing with you all...it IS pretty yummy!

It's a vanilla cake with peanut butter icing on the inside and chocolate icing covering it.  The cake you make from scratch but for the icing, I use good old Duncan Hines...with a peanut butter twist!

Chocolate Peanut Butter 1-2-3-4 Cake

Preheat oven to 375.

For the cake:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

4 eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

• Thoroughly cream butter and sugar. 
• Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. 
• Add dry ingredients alternately with combined milk and vanilla. 
• Pour into two greased 9" round pans.  
• Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes.

For the icing:

1 can vanilla icing (16 oz)

1 jar peanut butter (18 oz)

2 cans of chocolate icing

• Stir together the entire can of vanilla icing with nearly all of the jar of peanut butter.  I like to make the ratio of icing to peanut butter pretty equal, which is why I say "nearly all" of the peanut butter.  There is about two ounces more of the peanut butter in it's packaging but it's up to you. Add the peanut butter until it tastes delicious to you!
• Once the cakes have cooled, spread the peanut butter icing on the bottom cake. It will seem like a ton of icing...and it is!  But it's worth it.

• Be generous with the chocolate icing.  I used about a can and a half to cover the cake completely.

Voila!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake!

Semi-homemade goodness!  You can always make the icing from scratch too if you have a favorite go-to vanilla or chocolate icing recipe.  I don't though so I'm glad canned icing hasn't failed me yet!  Plus it cuts down on the time it takes to make this cake.  Simple and yummy?  Yes, please!

*Special thanks to my mom-in-law for this recipe and for raising such an amazing son.

So we have an interview set up with a pediatrician today...

...And I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to go over with her.  I mean, yes, it will be good to meet her and get a sense of whether we like her or not since we'll be spending a lot of time with her over the next year at least.  But it's a little daunting trying to figure out the right questions to ask and, really, the questions that I think are most pertinent.  I found this Pediatrician Interview Sheet over at BabyCenter and I think it's a good jumping off point.  There are a few questions that it poses that I already have the answers to, like yes, they take our insurance and yes, it's a group practice.  I've also read her bio page on the hospital's website, so I know a bit about her educational background and how long she's been practicing.  I guess the things I'm struggling with most are vaccination schedules...and whether or not I should be concerned with them.  The one vaccination that I've heard is really not necessary, especially in the beginning, is the Hepatitis B shot.  And I've also heard that the MMR shot caused concern in regards to possibly opening the door to autism but that those concerns were based on one study that has since been debunked.  I do like the idea of a modified schedule so as to limit the amount of vaccinations given at one time but I still need to learn more about that.  Vaccines are a hot button topic and I know that a lot of parents have strong opinions on them and it's a matter of figuring out the best option for you and your family.  So I'm just in the process of figuring that out.  One thing that I do know is that I believe they are important and plan on making sure that my child gets all of his shots.  I just don't know the best way for him to go about getting them.

If any of you have opinions you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about them in the comments....with, of course, respect given to anyone that might have differing thoughts.  No arguing please!  I'm open to hearing all sides of this debate.  Also, if there are any key questions that you think are important to ask our possible pediatrician, let me know!

Also, on a personal note, it's my Baby Daddy's birthday!  We are celebrating with a nice date night at one of our favorite restaurants...possibly our last date night for awhile!  Can't wait to get dolled up since I've been feeling like poo since this weekend.  Not sleeping well, uncomfortable in my body, cranky, ready for this baby to come out.  Maybe he'll decide he wants to share his birthday with his daddy...doubt it, but a very-pregnant-woman can dream.

Happy Birthday, Love!

Full on "Nesting" mode: A Cleaning Tip!

Yesterday I spent two and a half hours thoroughly scrubbing and cleaning and de-junking and reorganizing our tiny kitchen.  I'm talking taking-the-burners-off-and-scrubbing-the-gas-residue-until-it-looks-like-we-have-new-appliances kind of cleaning.  A tip I read on Pinterest that really helped with all of the grease and grime:

 Combine hydrogen peroxide and baking soda until it forms a paste.

I spread the mixture onto the burner plates and let it sit while I worked on other things in the kitchen and then scrubbed off months of grease with a damp sponge.  Not too wet though because the friction of the paste doesn't work as well when diluted.  I used the paste all over the kitchen to remove grime:  the oven, stove, sink, walls, cabinets.  And the best part is that there's no overwhelming odor of toxic fumes while you clean!  There is a slight white residue that is left behind after you get rid of all of the hard-to-clean stuff, so just use another damp sponge to rinse it away.

I read about this cleaning tip as a way to de-grease your cookie sheets and make them look brand new again.  But the combo works everywhere.  As my husband was doing the dishes last night (yes, he does the dishes - how lucky am I?) he said jokingly, "I see you installed a new sink."  That's how clean my kitchen looks now.  Will definitely be using this cleaning trick again!

And yes, I realize I am displaying classic "nesting" behavior.  Planning tomorrow on doing a great reorganization of my ottoman that houses all of my old headshots, scripts, office supplies, junk, etc.  Time to throw out a bunch of stuff, create room for new stuff and feel a little less disheveled.  It's a project I've wanted to do for awhile now and if I don't this week...who knows when I'll get the chance!  Certainly not after baby arrives...at least not for a long while.  Also, I think it's a productive way to deal with this nervous energy I've got going on.  I'm starting to get anxious/excited/nervous about delivery.  It's the whole "fear of the unknown" syndrome, I guess.  After all my researching, reading, watching documentaries and going to classes, I feel like I'm well-educated on labor and delivery.  But it's in an abstract way.  Like reading about and seeing pictures and learning the language of a foreign country of a place you've always wanted to visit.  Until you're physically there, you can't really experience it or know what it's like - the energy, the feeling, the emotion.  And the anticipation of your visit can be nervewracking!

Woo-whee! Babies are expensive!

We went out this weekend with one task in mind:  Buy Baby Stuff.  We wanted to "close out" our registries and get the remaining items that we thought seemed important.  Things like a swing, baby monitor, baby bath, baby carrier, etc.  And we did.  We got all of those things.  But I also realized that we had hardly any newborn-sized clothing.  Lots of three month or six month size.  But hardly anything for when he's brand new.  So we stocked up.  I'm suspecting that because we did so, he'll be a huge baby that fits into three-month-size right away.  But it's too late.  I snipped the tags and did the laundry already because, quite frankly, doing laundry sounds like the last thing I'll want to do once we get home.  We live in an apartment community and our laundry room is a fair little walk away.  Want to be as stocked as possible for that first week.  And, seriously, the newborn clothes are so itty-bitty and adorable.  They are hard to resist!

How could I resist that sweater? The answer is, I could not.

Now that we are stocked on the rest of our baby items - which, also, in case you didn't know (because I didn't but am glad I read it on a forum before we left):  BuyBuy Baby accepts Bed, Bath and Beyond coupons that are not expired.  So I got our baby monitor for 20% off.  Which is a heck of a lot better than just the 10% off you get for registry fulfillment, especially since it was the most expensive thing on our list.  I had a few BBB coupons I was able to use on a few of our other bigger ticket items too, which was great!

Anyway, back to the original thought:  Now that we are stocked up on the rest of our baby items, we're feeling as prepared as we are going to get.  I wouldn't say we are 'ready' because you can never really be completely ready but we are feeling prepared.  There will surely be items that we didn't think of or realize that we actually need once baby boy arrives but luckily BabiesRUs and Target are just a few minutes away, so I can send the hubby out if need be.  We also picked out curtains for the nursery, which had to be ordered because they didn't have the size we needed in-store, so as soon as they arrive I'll take some pictures and give you guys a peek of our jungle nursery space!

We also spent some time this weekend playing with the car seat - using a teddy bear as our "baby" to buckle him in and making sure we knew how to use it.  Our childbirth instructor recommended we all do this so that we aren't stuck holding up traffic trying to leave the hospital as we try to figure out the car seat for the first time!  I'm glad we did it too because there were a few little nuances that it took a sec for me to figure out and I'm sure I would have been reduced to a puddle of tears trying to figure it out as cars lined up behind us at the hospital.  We also installed the car seat base in the middle of the back seat.  Originally we had put it on the driver's side but then read and learned that the best place for the car seat is the middle seat because if you are in an accident where the side of the car is impacted, the car seat is more protected in the middle.  I first read this in the weekly emails sent from Lucie's List - which if you're an expectant mama, I highly recommend signing up for.  The email regarding car seats was incredibly informative and helpful - that one email alone makes it worth signing up for!  And then at our infant care class, our instructor reiterated that same philosophy of keeping the car seat in the middle back seat.  It was a little trickier of an installation because we had to use the seatbelt to secure the base instead of the anchors which are only available on the side seats but it was all good to learn and know.

Winston the Bear is ready for a safe car ride!

Again, feeling prepared.  Feeling ready is whole 'nother ball game!

(Speaking of ball games....GO RAVENS!  Very excited that my husband's hometown team is going to the Super Bowl.  Now we're just worried the baby might decide to be a Super Bowl baby...he'll be full term by then so you never know...!)

I think I'm overpacking

Overpacking has always been my thing.  When flying and checking a bag, the weight of my suitcase always seems to toe the line between 49.5 and 50 pounds, even though I feel like I packed "light."  The thing is, I like options.  I like to mix and match outfits.  I like to wear things that fit my mood.  Maybe I'm in the mood to wear the pink top instead of the navy blue one.  Why do I have to be so practical when it comes to my clothing options?  I read all the "tips on packing" in magazines and on Pinterest.  "Bring neutral items you can mix and match or wear more than once with a different accessory."  I try to adhere to this sound advice.  But then I always end up throwing a pair of heels in the suitcase that I probably won't end up wearing but just in case I get the urge to shake things up, I'll be glad I had them.  This happens about 1 out of 10 times.

And now I find myself packing my hospital bag.  Being prepared in case labor strikes at any moment.  And I consult lists from my childbirth class handbook and mommy blogs and I make my own list based on what I think works best for me based on all the advice.

And from that list I make another list of items that I'd like to buy to basically be used at the hospital and then discarded if they get too soiled.  I hear there are a lot of bodily fluids that happen during a birth and post-delivery so I don't want to bring anything I can't live without.  These items included:

• warm socks
• slippers
• robe
• PJs (button down tops and pants a size too big)
• granny undies a size too big (to better hold the pads and deal with swelling)
• flip flops for the shower
• a colored towel and washcloths (because I hear hospital grade towels are tissue thin)

And then there were the toiletry items:

• Depends (because they absorb better than pads and won't irritate potential stitches)
•  travel size shampoo, body wash, contact solution

And then there is the "comfort of home" items that aren't being bought but are being considered:

• A music playlist to get me through labor
• pillow
• smell-good lotion or an equally soothing scented thing
• all our electronics - phone, camera, chargers
• birth ball (which I did have to buy because I didn't have one)

And these lists are only the half of it.  You can see my handwritten list.  It goes on much further with reminders of things I need - glasses, extra contacts, headband, lip balm, nursing tanks, nursing bra, etc, etc, etc.

I think I'm overpacking.

Especially after going shopping, getting all the stuff I think I "need" based on my reading, laundering the new items and then going onto the WTE forum and reading a thread about hospital packing.  And several women saying, "With my first, I went out and bought all this stuff and then ended up just wearing the hospital gown, mesh underwear and robe they provided and not even touching the rest."  Or, "I thought I'd want PJ pants but they do so many checks 'down there' that it was a hassle having to keep taking my pants on and off."  And then I look at my pile that's ready for a suitcase and shake my head.  I'm still going to pack everything I got but I have a feeling that most of it is going to get untouched.  The good news is, I do love pajamas and feel like I can never have enough.  And I heard you pretty much live in your PJs the first few months of motherhood anyway so I'm sure it'll all get used eventually.

I'll give you the final inventory once it's all packed away this weekend.  And then post-delivery I'll let you know what actually got used - ha!  And if you have any tips on what you were really glad you had in the hospital or something that was a total waste, please share in the comments!  I'd love to hear real-life experiences!

PS - Two stories from my hospital-bag-shopping trip:

1. I was in Marshall's and ran into a woman from our childbirth class.  I remembered her due date because it happened to be on my husband's birthday (1/29) so we chatted a bit and I said, "You're due in two weeks, right?"  She says, "Oh, no.  Well I was but...Friday.  They are taking him out on Friday.  He's already 9 pounds so, you know.  I didn't want a c-section but they say this is best."  So she's having her baby TODAY.  Or has already had him!  Makes it all seem more real...

2.  When I was checking out at Target, the Depends were one of the items.  And they are one of those purchases you hope can go by without comment from the cashier as they discretely bag them.  That's never the case though, is it?  Somehow the teenage boy checking me out rang up the Depends twice.  And proceeded to hold them in his hand - highly, near his face, not at counter level - as he tried to figure out his mistake.  He couldn't figure out what he did wrong.  He's holding the Depends up in the air as the line behind me grows longer and he looks around for help.  I thought, Great, at any moment he's going to make an announcement on the loud speaker: "Assistance needed on Line 2. Rang up Depends multiple times."  Finally he pushed a button and figured out how delete the extra ring up himself.  But that was a long 30 seconds...

A Cloud-Themed Baby Shower!

Sing it with me now....It's raining babies, hallelujah! It's raining babies, hey hey!

Yay for babies! And yay for great friends that throw you and your honey an adorably themed baby shower!  Our shower was co-ed, which is the norm around these parts.  We have a lot of guy friends that we didn't want to miss out on the baby shower fun so it wasn't even a thought to have it be "just the girls."  Our friends Chelsey and Corinne hosted the bash and when we were discussing theme possibilities, the cloud/rain shower theme was a standout.  We rented a space in a West Hollywood park and made the place our own.

The centerpieces were mason jars filled with white tissue paper to anchor the cloud with rain falling on a stick.  The color scheme consisted of blues, whites and yellows.  Little tissue cloud poufs decorated the tables as well.

Chelsey made adorable banners that decorated the space.  She handcut all the letters and strung them on twine.

We had a few games in mind but time flies when you're having fun so the clothespin game was the only one we ended up playing.  And everyone loved it!  As the guests arrived, they were instructed to take three clothespins.  There were three words that were "taboo"through the afternoon - Boy, Cute and February.  If you heard someone say one of those words, you got to take one of their clothespins.  Everyone had fun trying to trick people into saying the forbidden words!  Also, the clothespins were all hand-painted blue, yellow and teal with white polka dots by Chelsey.

For favors, we made "Rice Krispie Clouds." Instead of cutting the rice krispie treats into squares, they were dropped by the spoonful onto wax paper to create cloud shapes.  Then they were sprinkled on both sides with powdered sugar.  Two treats per cellophane bag made a yummy snack to take home!

Our dear friend Lynn, who has her own cooking show The Can Do Kitchen, created the menu and prepared the food.  I've never been to a party where all the food gets eaten but this spread was a smash! Curry egg salad sandwiches, BBQ pulled chicken Sliders, cucumber sandwiches, mozzarella basil tomato skewers, asian slaw...it was all delicious.

Desserts were kept very simple.  Store bought powdered donuts, m&m cookies, chocolate cupcakes and a red velvet cake made sure everyone's sweet tooth was satisfied.

 One of the biggest hits of the afternoon was the Baby's First Alphabet Book.  Using a photo album and 4x6 cards, the book had the alphabet ready to go.  All it needed was artistic flourish from the guests!  Everyone picked a letter, drew a picture that corresponded to it and then spelled it out!  It was a fun way to get creative and let everyone get in touch with their inner child.  And now our baby has a hand-crafted book from the fun adults in his life!

Another hit of the party was the photo wall.  We decorated a wall space with some polka dot garland, had photo props available and a sign telling people to get silly.  The sign encouraged people to take pictures on their phones and if they had an Instagram account to use the custom party hashtag so they'd all be filed in one place.

We found props at Michael's.  Animal headbands, oversized glasses, monster hand puppets, and a stuffed boombox were just a few of the props to play with.  People followed directions well!

Overall it was such a lovely afternoon and we feel so lucky to have such an awesome and supportive group of friends!  Being a Florida girl, I love a little afternoon rain shower ;)  And now that the festivities have quieted down, we just wait...

A fancy brunch and a few questions for the mamas out there

Sunday was a busy day!  The morning started with a girls' brunch at the Four Seasons hotel, where my dear friend Kelsey treated me to celebrate the baby-on-the-way.  Kels lives in NY now but is out in LA for about a month and just got in yesterday...which means she missed the official baby shower last weekend. BTW...Can't wait to show you the pics from the baby shower tomorrow!!  Also, I keep going to write "the shower" instead of "the baby shower" and realize it sounds really strange..."Can't wait to show you pics from the shower!" just doesn't sound right.  And might lead to some unwanted google traffic...ha!  Anyway, back to brunch...we felt very fancy having brunch there!  Yesterday was the Golden Globes and it seemed like there were quite a few celebs staying at the hotel.  Pretty sure I saw Ed Norton having brunch in the inside dining room.  And out on the cabana, where we ate, Tony Kushner (screenwriter of Lincoln, very famous playwright) was at the table next to us.  All of the other celebs must have been in their rooms, getting primped and pampered for the big night ahead.  Hope they had a waffle with their room service because mine was delish!

The Ladies

In addition to treating me to my waffle, Kelsey got me and the baby the Jewel Lullaby CD.  I squealed with excitement when I opened it!  As a gal who grew up in the nineties, Jewel holds a special place in my heart.  I am an unabashed fan and had planned on checking out her lullaby CD, figuring I would love it.  Do any of you have this CD or an affinity for Ms. Jewel?  Or do you have a favorite lullaby/children's CD you'd recommend??  I would love to hear about it!  This little one seems to love music:  When music is playing loudly or someone is singing loudly near me, he starts to dance in my belly - which is pretty cool to me!  Would love to start a musical library for him!

After our leisurely brunch, it was time for the hubby and I to go to our Infant Care Class.  This is the last class of prep we are registered for before baby's arrival so I was excited to attend!  We were originally supposed to go on Thursday night but I was still feeling under the weather (did I mention that I had a cold all last week?) so we thought it best to reschedule - both for me and for everyone else in the class!  Unfortunately the reschedule time was during the NFL playoffs but that's what iPhones are for - checking scores during breaks!  We only cared about the Patriots/Texans match up because we're Ravens fans...and the winner is who we play next week!  Looks like next Sunday is going to be a rematch from last year...fingers crossed the Ravens pull off another upset!  

Ok, again, back to the class (I keep diverging from the narrative path!).  It was three hours long and pretty informative.  Because I read a lot (too much), I felt I knew a lot of the things discussed, which made me feel more confident about baby's arrival.  But there were also things that I learned, which was great.  For example, I've never swaddled a baby...

Meet our practice baby.  He didn't cry once. 

In fact, I've never really been around a swaddled baby or seen swaddling used.  And I've been around a lot of babies, I feel, so this emphasis on swaddling is new to me.  But now I know how to swaddle with a receiving blanket and since there are so many easy-to-swaddle blankets/pjs/etc on the market, I think we're covered (pun intended).  For you experienced mamas reading, did you swaddle your babies?  Did you find that it was soothing for them?  

Also learned more about SIDS prevention and while I already knew that you aren't supposed to have anything in the crib (blankets, stuffed animals, bumpers) I was surprised to hear our instructor recommend that the only bedding you should use is a fitted sheet.  No mattress protectors.  I asked about this because when we bought our mattress, there was an additional discount if you bought two mattress protectors so we went ahead and bought them, figuring we'd need them.  Even though the mattress is already waterproof, I thought it would be a nice barrier and a way to keep baby comfortable.  Our instructor said nay:  It can overheat the baby and if it's too plush that can be detrimental as well.  So I guess we get rid of the mattress protector sheet?  What say you, experienced mamas?

I have to confess that practicing changing our baby doll and swaddling him and holding him and watching videos of little infants got me a tad misty-eyed and anxious for our little guy to arrive.  I can't wait to meet him and hold him!  I have a feeling that these next five weeks are going to pull off that rare feat of time flying while simultaneously feeling like it's standing still.  I feel like there is a lot to get done still and, at the same time, I feel like we are ready.  I need to make a checklist of the tasks that I'd like to get done before the delivery...gotta put this nervous energy to good use somehow!

Tomorrow: Baby Shower scoop...excitement!

Surprise Baby Shower!

Every year, my husband's aunt has a Christmas party, the week after Christmas.  We've only been able to make it to one of these parties because our travel plans usually have us back west before the party happened.  This year we promised we would arrange our travel so that we could make it to the party.  It meant a lot to her and gave us an excuse to hang with the fam longer.  Plus, it just worked out well.  Christmas being on a Tuesday meant we could fly in the weekend before, leave the weekend after and get a nice visit in.  Meanwhile, my sister, who was visiting our family in Florida for the holiday, decided she would come up to my in-laws for the weekend and just hop on a train back to Manhattan, where she lives now.  I was so excited!  I hadn't seen her since July and getting to spend a little time with her in my truly pregnant state (I told her I was pregnant in July but the outside world couldn't tell yet) was exciting for us both.  Plans were made, I told her there was a Christmas party to go to on Saturday and she'd get to see all of the people she hadn't seen in the nearly six years since our wedding.  Then we found out that Dan's aunt has a cat.  And my sister is severely allergic to cats.  Like, throat-closing allergic.  This threw a wrench into plans.  We said we might not be able to go.  My mom-in-law was like, "It'll break Mary's heart if you don't come!  We'll just take two cars.  It'll be fine!"  And after talking to my sister, we decided it would be.  Little did I know that there was another reason she really wanted us at the party besides hurting the feelings of Dan's aunt...

We arrived, said our hellos and were ushered downstairs.  That's where the food was and we were told to get comfy and have some snacks.  Don't have to tell this pregnant lady twice!  We went downstairs and since no one else was there yet, we thought it would be a good time for my sister to give us some photography lessons.  She's a professional photographer and we just got a Canon Rebel, per her suggestion, so we can take nice photos when the little one arrives.  She was giving us the run down when our nieces arrived and came downstairs to hang out.  We took some pictures of them and then were getting more lessons when my dad-in-law started acting a little strange.  He wanted to borrow our camera and take it upstairs...when we were in the middle of learning all about light and aperture!  We were like, "In a minute..." as we exchanged confused looks.  And then we heard Dan's mom and aunt telling us we had to come upstairs right away.  I was thinking, "I thought dinner was being served at 2:00.  It's only 1:30..."  We again exchanged confused looks, shrugged our shoulders and headed up.

Surprise!

The living room had been transformed into a Christmas-y baby shower land!  Banners and presents greeted us, along with shouts of "Surprise!".  I was taken aback and the pregnancy hormones kicked in, so the tears started.  I'd never had a proper surprise party before!  I always wanted one but how do you tell people, "I've always wanted a surprise party" and then it actually be a surprise?  Doesn't usually work out.

Caution: Pregnant Lady Crying

It was an intimate affair with only the family members there who could make it in the snow. Yes, it was snowing this day.  Dan and I opened the presents together and felt very touched by the effort everyone made to make this day special.

Later we played a few baby shower games including the classic "Guess How Big Meagan's Belly Is" with yarn.  Here's my sister's guess:

Thanks a lot.

And I can't resist including one more picture from the day.  This is my sister getting freaked out as she feels the baby move.  I've talked before about the force of his kicks and it was so funny seeing her reactions when she felt it from the outside.

There's a whole series of these pictures with her in disbelief or covering her face in shock.  She couldn't get over it the whole visit.  It made me laugh a lot.

Overall it was a lovely afternoon full of fun surprises, gifts and laughter.  We're pretty lucky.

(And if you were wondering about that aforementioned cat allergy...  As we were leaving, my sister said calmly, "Could we maybe stop at a CVS?  I think my throat is closing." And then she started to wheeze a bit.  The cat dander had gotten to her!  Luckily, I have some freaky allergies of my own and carry Benadryl and an EpiPen at all times.  And there was a CVS across the street, so she was fine.  But later when we were talking to Dan's mom about the party she said that when we suggested we might not go because of my sister's allergies, she said she was thinking about the surprise shower and thought, "Over my dead body!" To which my sister responded, "Nope. Over mine."  Oh, near-death allergy humor.  Funny to us with severe allergies.  Not funny to our mother.)

Couple Supper Giveaway on Young House Love

A new year gives us all an opportunity to start over and make improvements.  For me, I'm resolving to enter into motherhood with openness and a sense of adventure.  But we'll get more into that later.  That's kind of lofty.  Most people resolve to eat healthier and exercise more - trust me, I've got that on my list too.  And if you resolved to eat better in the new year, here's a fun opportunity to make that happen.  Over at Young House Love they are doing a pretty sweet giveaway:  A year's subscription to Couple Supper and an 11-piece Cuisinart cookware set.  Total value is $640!

So what's Couple Supper?  It's this great meal planning service that provides a weekly menu, grocery list and easy-to-follow recipes, with the portions healthy and made for two.  The married duo behind it (who, full disclosure, I'm pretty proud to say that they're my brother and sister-in-law) realized that even when you're trying your best to eat right, sometimes the planning and shopping can be the downfall of your good intentions.  With Couple Supper you get the tools that you need to make four healthy and delicious meals a week.  You can learn all about it over at their website and if you're intrigued, you can try it out for free. You get a two-week free trial...and who doesn't love free??

If you want to enter to win the year's subscription and the sweet set of pots and pans, you have to head over to YHL.  The contest closes tomorrow, 1/9, OR once they reach 10,000 entries.  They're almost halfway there and the contest hasn't even been open for 24 hours yet, so don't hesitate!

Here's to making 2013 the best year yet!

I'm back! Kind of...

Excuse me...how did it get to be a WEEK INTO THE NEW YEAR ALREADY??

I feel like I have a ton to catch you up on and, of course, I'm battling a cold which has knocked me a bit sideways so getting to it all of it today is unlikely.  But I might as well start a list of what's been going on:

- Yearbooks

- Surprise Baby Shower

- Planned Baby Shower

- Nursery nearly complete

- Packing my hospital bag

And that's just the beginning!  Hope you'll come back tomorrow when hopefully I'll be feeling better and can start back on a proper posting schedule.  Until then, a sneak peek from the planned baby shower's photo "booth"...a fun project I can't wait to share more about!