Diptacular 2012

Today I am linking up to Boomama's Diptacular 2012 to share a few of my favorite dip recipes and to, hopefully, get some great new ones for the upcoming football season - Go Heels!
An old favorite:
1. Chicken nacho dip This is a crockpot dip that is probably a little bad for the hips, but o-so-delicious for parties, etc. The only negative is that you have to cook the chicken before hand.
-3-4 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
-1 pound velveeta (cut in cubes)
-taco seasoning
-1 can rotel (drained)
-1/2 c green onions
-1 jalapeno (diced)
-1/3 c sour cream
-1 c black beans (drained and rinsed)
Combine all ingredients except the beans in the crockpot for 1.5-2 hours on high (stirring occasionally) and add in the black beans for the last 20 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips!

2. Spinach and Artichoke Dip
* 4 cloves garlic
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
 * 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
* 1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
* 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
* 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place garlic in a small baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until soft. Remove from heat. When cool enough to touch, squeeze softened garlic from skins.
3. In an 8x8 inch baking dish, spread the roasted garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, Alfredo-style pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese.
4. Cover and bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. Serve warm.

3. Pumpkin Dip
* 1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
* 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
* 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
* 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping. Chill in the refrigerator until serving. Tastes great with graham crackers!

Oh, and check out the Pioneer Woman's guacamole and pico de gallo - so yummy!:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/pico_de_gallo_a/

Happy Dipping :)

Transitioning to the "big-girl" bed

Well, it seemed to be one of those parenting things that you plan out and then it kind of just happens on its own... I was originally planning on potty training E before moving her to her big-girl bed since the bed frame hasn't been delivered as of yet. Well, we were in her room one night and I was getting ready to put her down and she spotted the twin mattress in the corner (we were just keeping it there until the frame arrives) and said that she wanted to sleep on that bed. So, I said "okay," and we proceeded to move the glider, etc. into the middle of the room and lay the mattress on the floor in the corner. She went to sleep on it that night and every night and naptime ever since! We are thrilled that she decided she was ready for this change on her own! I was honestly dreading changing beds because she really liked the crib and pack and play and I was just sure it would be a struggle. It really has been an easy transition and she has only woken up once during the night where she got up and came to the door to get out (hoping that will not continue, ha!). Looking back, I am really glad we did this before potty training too. She has some time to get used to the mattress before the frame comes in next week, and then once she is used to that we can start to potty train and there won't be any other major changes coming that may cause her to regress. That is, outside of the baby sister on the way, haha.

New room

Since we will probably be living in our 2 bedroom apartment until Aaron finishes seminary we will have the girls share a room. Of course this won't be happening until several months after baby M is born and is sleeping through the night. Their room is not very large and we will have to get pretty creative with our space, but I think once it comes together it will be a cute and girly little space of their own. Here is a picture of the bedding that we recently received (thanks Auntie Jane)!

These are from the Land Of Nod Website btw. And here is a picture of Emma's big girl bed that has been ordered and will be delivered in the next week or so:

I am planning on consigning or giving away Emma's old crib set along with the curtains, blankets, etc. I have that match. The only things I am going to have to replace will be the curtains and most of the hot pink accents in the room, and they will be replaced with either the light pink or lime green in the bedding. I am really excited about re-doing their room and making it a special place for both of them, I just hope I will have enough time to get it done. It is true what I have heard - it seems that with your first child you plan every detail of everything and have it ready months in advance, but with the second one you are much more flexible and may not have everything just right before baby comes along. That might be because I am more flexible and less worrisome this time, or it might be due to the extreme sickness that I am just getting over, haha. Either way, I still want to take the time to do and make special things for this little one just like I did for Emma. I will try and take some pictures as the room comes together and post them!

Potty Training?

Even though I said just yesterday that I would put off potty training a little bit longer it seems like our big girl is ready, so it might be sooner than later. I just have to brag on her a minute because this morning she slept in later than usual (mind you, this was like 7:30 because our normal morning starts sometime during the 6 o'clock hour), woke up with a dry diaper, and went pee pee in the potty!! I was floored! Although I'm still not sure I'm able to get around well enough to potty train, I think we will be buying supplies (rewards, undies, stool, etc.). PS: My amount of excitement over this small feat still amazes me, haha

Life Lately...

Baby/pregnancy news: Lately things here in the Swain household have been getting better little by little. I am 22 weeks along with baby girl "M" (We have a name picked out and will announce it soon), and every week I seem to be feeling a little better. The sickness that I seem to have so severely with my pregnancies has slowed down and almost to a halt, and yesterday I was able to have my PICC line removed from my arm. With a PICC line I was receiving additional calories/fluids, etc. every night, so now I have to be extra diligent in getting plenty of fluids and calories in everyday. Even though I seem to have tough pregnancies (my doctor said that one of my pregnancies equates to four or more normal pregnancies, haha) it is so worth it for my baby girls and I would go through it again in a heartbeat. We have continued to have friends help in keeping Emma during the day and I cannot even explain how grateful I am to these women for loving and taking care of our girl when I haven't been able to do so. I am hoping that it will only be one more week or so until I am able to do all of the things I haven't been able to do for so long. Emma news: We will soon (as soon as I can move quick enough) begin potty training with Emma, and then switching her into a "big-girl bed." I'm a little nervous about this since she is my first, but she has been showing signs of readiness for months. Thanks to her Auntie Jane, both Emma and baby girl, have new matching bedding which means that I get to redecorate their room! Emma will also start back at Mother's Day Out at the beginning of September, and we will get to go to her "Meet the teacher" Open House tomorrow night. Emma only attends one morning a week, but she loves it and still talks about her teachers from last year, so I know she is excited about going back and making new friends.

Fall Bucket List

Last year I wrote a post about my favorite things about fall, but I recently saw a "Fall Bucket List" on another blog and thought it would be fun to make one of my own. Since I am hoping to be feeling much better soon, and fall (my favorite season) is just around the corner, I really want to make the most of our family time before we have a newborn and won't be able to get out as easily in the winter. So, with that said, here is my attempt at a fall bucket list:
1. Take a family trip to the pumpkin patch.
2. Decorate our porch with pumpkins and mums.
3. Visit the mountains to see the leaves change.
4. Go with Aaron to a college or NFL football game.
5. Overuse my crockpot.
6. Invite friends over for game nights.
7. Teach Emma to carve a pumpkin.
8. Take a family trip to the zoo.
9. Make as many pumpkin desserts as possible.
10. Get the girls' room set up and decorated.

Happy Birthday!

August 3rd marked Emma's 2nd birthday! We are so thankful for our sweet girl and the wonderful gift that she is to us. We had a few family members that wanted to come to our house to celebrate, so we decided to make it a party while they were here. It was really nice for me because I knew I was still too sick to be able to go anywhere to celebrate. We also invited some of her church friends to a local ice cream shop to celebrate again that night. It was such a nice day, and I am so thankful that people offered to come visit us while I am stuck on the couch.

Big News!

Of course my blog has been neglected recently, but with good reason! Several months ago we found out we are expecting another baby! We are so excited about this new life that God has created and couldn't be happier. About a week or so after we found out we are expecting I started having severe morning sickness (just like I did with Emma). This time it was even more severe than last time and i have already stayed in the hospital twice and am currently receiving some home health help to get me through until the sickness stops. I had a pretty good week this week, so we are hoping it will continue. We found out at our 20 week appointment that baby looks very healthy and also found out that baby is a GIRL! Emma is thrilled that she is getting a little sister and already kisses my belly and talks to baby M every night. We would appreciate your prayers for this child and hopefully for less complications with this pregnancy than last time.