Out with the Old, In with the New

First of all, HAPPY 2010* everyone. I hope that your Christmas and New Years were good ones. Ours was fantastic! Lots of family, fun, food and rest.

*(That's twenty ten, none of this two thousand ten junk!)

2009 wasn't a half bad year for us. Sure we had our share of ups and downs, but considering we started the new year with a tiny little man and now we have a precious little toddler and we are happy, that's all that matters. I saw my son turn 1, have two seperate ER visits, be (mostly) diagnosed with asthma, be diagnosed with allergies, start walking, and now he's a jabbering fool who can actually use a fork and likes to throw his plate on the floor. Not too shabby. Parker's a true toddler now and growing physically and mentally each day. Our saw my marriage have a bit of a bump, but now it's stronger than ever. I saw my husband get another raise and watched him grow. And I saw myself grow tremendously, get a job I adore, a car I love and new friends to last a lifetime. All in all, 2009 wasn't too bad.

BUT OUT WITH THE OLD....

AND IN WITH THE NEW....

2010....day 2 of this year and already it's been pretty darn good. My step - sister had my nephew Dalton yesterday (1-1-10) at 9:13 am (he was the first baby born in that hospital in the new year. He's currently in the NICU for some lung issues, but is doing well. He was 7lbs, 6ozs and 19 inches long. He's a cute little man! I got to see many of my friends happy when the Bucks made dinner out of the Ducks in the Rose Bowl! And today, I got to enjoy a quiet afternoon with my two men and I get to go on a date tonight to see Avatar in 3D - so that should be fun. Oh and I get Chipotle for dinner. Some of you may not be thrilled, but I am!

I am looking forward to 20-10. I am not sure what all is in store and I am sure God has some plans that I may not enjoy, but nevertheless, I am excited. My baby boy, born at only 29 weeks, will turn two in May. He's car seat will FINALLY be flipped probably in the next few days. I will celebrate my 5 year wedding anniversary on Aug. 6 with a trip to either Chi-town or NYC. I will get to see my youngest brother, Brandon graduate from high school in June. And who knows what else really. I do look forward to it.

Oh did I also mention that the first meal I made in 20-10 was a delicious slow cooker full of ham and bean soup? Without a recipe? Yah, I am that good! We had a ton of left over ham from Christmas and I wanted to use it up and do something different. I happened to have some dry navy beans so I thought...hmmmm....let's try. It was easy peasy lemon squeezy! Want me to share what I did? Well fine, you twisted my arm...yeesh.

Ham N Bean Soup A'la Deni:

1.5 cups dry Navy Beans
Ham (I would say I had probably about 1.5 - 2 cups once I chopped it up)
1/2 an onion, sliced,
1 piece of celery chopped
6 cups of water
1.5 bullion cube (beef)

****The Dry beans need prepped first. I just did mine by soaking over night in a big bowl with 5 cups of water. I leave it on the counter and vent the lid a bit.****

I mixed all the ingredients in the slow cooker, added some spices, rosemary and thyme and pepper and cooked on low for 6 hours.

That's it folks. I mean, obviously their is the prep and all, but that's it. The beans cook great in the sc** and it ends up being yummy. I started out with 4 cups of water, but once the beans expanded I added two more. It made the soup not to thin and not too thick.

**slow cooker

Well that's my first recipe of 20-10. Let's write that one down in the record books! :)

I'll update again soon!

Scattered Brain

I am at a loss for anything horribly important to talk about today so I am going to make this a scattered post.

 - I can't believe my little critter is going to be 5 months next week. How on earth did he get so old? I adore my son, more than I ever thought I could have. I always knew I would love my children, but whoa baby is this love deep! He astounds me more and more each day. He laughed the other day for the first time, it was amazing...hasn't really done it sense, but he sure smiles a ton. He holds his head up well and I who knows if he is going to start crawling soon, he sure acts like it. Also, I think he is working on sitting up some! I had him on my lap and let go and he sat there for a couple moments before falling forward (no worries, I made sure my hands were there in case he went back! Thinking back to the day he was born, so little, so perfect, a 2lb blessing, now he is so big, so perfect and has tremendously smelly diapers! My little 8lb stinker :)

- I am so excited, today I found out that the FLOWER FACTORY is now doing membership for anyone and it's free. It used to be just businesses and you could get it through your place of employment, or an organization you were a part of. And now for a limited time, they are offering it to anyone. I am going to go in tomorrow or Friday and get it and look around! Oh man am I pumped, it's where we got my baby shower stuff and I got my cafe mocha kitchen clock there!!!

 - My play group is going to help a charity out this winter. It's called Patches of Light and we are going to do their hug bags. I am getting really excited. I think it's a great outreach! I think we may also try to adopt a family for christmas, I need to look into that more.

- I just found out that National Free Burrito Day at Chipotle is Oct. 31-Nov. 1. I am going to be in Indiana, but there has to be a Chipotle in the area we can go to! And all you need is to wear something made out of foil...I am thinking a necklace!

- I am getting really excited for Friday! First, in the morning, I am going to the Open Gym at the Dublin Rec Center. I get to see my friends from church and hang out and talk. Yah, Parker is a bit small, but it nothing else, it's a great time to just connect with others. And then later that night I am going bowling with the mommies in my play group. A mom's night out! I am looking forward to it and my friend Jen is watching Parker!

I am going to bid you a fond ado and enjoy some Gilmore Girls!