A Day at the Park

Sleepy Baby

Grabbing his tosies

Yesterday, my friend, Kaye, came over with her sweet little boy who is just a little younger than Ryder. Her husband works with Pat and, sadly, was deployed when their baby was only 2 weeks old. We went to the park by my house and I was able to take some pictures of Ryder and some of Kaye and her sweet baby. I edited some on our other computer and those look a little bit better but I wanted to share some of our fun day.

We Still Love You

It's a sad night at my house. Is it at yours?
We still love the Tide.
Good thing? TURN BACK YOUR CLOCKS!!! One more hour to sleep AND church tomorrow morning AND the gym. So ready to lose the rest of this baby weight.
I'm thinking about trying to do a vegetarian diet until I lose the last ** lbs (alright...I've lost 50 so far but still have 35 more to go)
LETS GET HEALTHY LETS GET SKINNY!!!!!

ROLL TIDE ROLL

So tonight is a HUGE game... #1 LSU vs #2 Alabama. I married a die hard BAMA fan, so I'm sitting here dreading a loss because I know how rough it will be on my hubby for this team to not go undefeated. I'm stressed out and I'm not even a big UA fan...though it was nice to be able to jump on the band wagon for the 2009 National Championships :) (I'm still an FSU fan and bleed garnet and gold, but, come on! FSU isn't going near the BCS Bowl game for awhile....and that's okay...for now)
Any...if everyone could send up a quick prayer for BAMA that would be awesome...We know God lives in Tuscaloosa but we can still pray:)
GOTTA HAVE FAITH

Banana Pudding Pie

"...and I shut my mouth." Well, it's supposed to be sweet potato pie, but whatever. 

Yesterday was Ryder's half-birthday and I wanted to do something nice for daddy since he works so hard to take care of us. I know Pat likes banana pudding, so I decided to make him that for dessert and a nice dinner. It was a huge hit...Thought I would share the recipe with you...

• Vanilla Wafer Crust (recipe below)
• Vanilla Pudding (recipe below)
• Whipped Cream (recipe below)
• 3-4 medium bananas, cut into slices
• 20 vanilla wafers plus more for decoration (see note)

Vanilla Wafer Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups (about 30) crushed vanilla wafers
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

In a medium bowl, stir together crushed vanilla wafers and butter until blended. Firmly press on bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack, and let cool 30 minutes or until completely cool.Vanilla Pudding:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk together sugar, flour, eggs, yolks and milk in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 10-12 minutes or until it reaches the thickness of chilled pudding. (Mixture will just begin to bubble and will be thick enough to hold soft peaks when whisk is lifted. It must be thick and slightly bubbly to set up properly!) Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
Transfer to a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure to press the plastic directly on top of the custard so it doesn't get a "skin" on it. Refrigerate til completely cool. (Can be made up to a day in advance.)Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

 In a medium bowl, whip cream on medium high speed til soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat til thick and stiff. Don't overbeat or you'll have butter!

Assembly: Arrange half of the banana slices evenly over bottom of cooled crust. Spread 1/3 of cooled pudding over bananas, then layer with 20 vanilla wafers. Spread 1/3 more pudding over vanilla wafers, then add the remainder of the banana slices and cover them with the last of the pudding. Spread the whipped cream over the entire pie and decorate with more vanilla wafers if desired.

The layers from the bottom up should be: vanilla wafer crust, bananas, pudding, vanilla wafers, pudding, bananas, pudding, whipped cream

Refrigerate at least for 4 hours. Overnight is best. Consume within 2 days.

The Final Product

Vanilla Wafers after the food processor

...12 minutes later...

the start of pudding

the end...obviously I'm not a food decorator:)

I made dinner from fresh ingredients, too. An awesome new recipe for chicken that was sweet and spicy, fresh green beans, fresh corn and brown rice...

Hubby is so lucky to have me as a wife :)

6 Months Gone By....

I cannot believe that at this time, 6 months ago, I was about to leave for my last OB appointment before my scheduled C-section on May 6. Little did I know, I would be admitted to the hospital for a week and would be leaving as a mommy. My DR appointment did not last very long. I stepped up on the scale, found out I was 32lbs heavier than only a week earlier (YES- 32lbs in ONE WEEK). I was then hooked up to the NST machine and the nurse took my BP. She then quickly left the room.... UH-OH... My Dr. came back in and asked how quickly my husband could make it in to town. She then gave me the option of a C-section at 4:30pm that day or early the next morning. I prayed hard that Pat could make it in and we could do it the next morning...but plans changed and the risk wasn't worth the wait so my sweet baby boy was delivered at 4:28 pm a healthy 8lbs 6oz and 20in long. His lungs were POWERFUL (they still are).
Pat, sadly, was unable to make it and neither did my mom. I will forever be grateful for my sister, who was there for me through it ALL. One of the first people to know, the first to come over and tell me it would be ok-that this was a miracle and we should all be excited, the first to go to a dr apt with me, and the first to be by my side the three times I was admitted into the hospital. She was the very first, besides the Drs to see Ryder. Thank you, Katie, for being an amazing supporter and for being there for me when I needed you most.
Here we are, 6 months later, and I have the sweetest baby in the world. I cannot believe that my newborn isn't here anymore, but when I look at this sweet baby sitting up, holding his bottle, rolling over, eating, and trying to pull up, I can't help but be amazed and in awe at how God has blessed me. If you know our story, you know it could have gone a completely different direction and we could be in a very different place today. But God knew the future. He had plans for Pat and me. I held on to Him-though it was hard at times-and I will forever be thankful for my family--my extended and my immediate.

Waiting for surgery with my sister, Katie.

Holding my sweet Ryder for the first time before he was taken to the NICU

Only mommy and daddy could touch him for a week

Daddy was the very first person to get to hold Ryder for any real length of time

6 months later....

Happy and smiling

sleeping blonde baby

Eating prunes....yummy