pregnancy thoughts...

i'm officially half way there! 20 weeks today and feeling great.
only 2 days left of school and then a long weekend with c in austin!

this is what i'm thinking about lately:

could that be a little more sour? k, thanks. (can't get enough of it) salt and vinegar chips, i love you.

i would really like for my belly button to remain an inny but it gets closer to the surface every day. weird.

to make my airline ticket seem like a good deal, i divided it by the number of people i love that i will get to see and then by 180 because that's about how many days it's been since i've seen them. then i multiplied it by 4 because that's how many days i get to see them this trip. total steal at only $1.27 a something.... i don't do math.

i lay in bed wishing i was matilda or hermione so i could use magic to clean by room from the comfort of my new bedding. then again, look at the weasly's house...

2 days away from finishing "the dreaded first year" of teaching! wasn't as bad as i thought.... it had it's moments.

my face looks like it did when i was 15. what happened to "pregnancy glow"?

summer!

-les & baby hokie

my sweet sister

Yesterday was a wonderful day for my family. My sweet sister Carrie is now an official graduate from Texas A&M university. I am so excited for all God has in store for her life. I know that God's will for each of us is different and unique but I know for sure that her path laid our by Him is going to be beyond unique. She is working at a camp this summer in Colorado and then next year is doing The World Race which is a mission trip of 11 countries in 11 months. I am so proud of her and know that she will have the time of her life experiencing that!

huggin' toilets n' trashcans

Clearly this is not a sweet mother's day post. I did have a wonderful day yesterday but more on that when I upload pics. Last night was the worst night I may have ever had. I don't EVER remember being this sick in my life! I, of course, will spare you the details but there was talk at one point from a 24 hour nurse of going to the ER for and IV to avoid severe dehydration because it would be really bad for me and Baby Hokie. Ughhh. It is currently 11:00 am and I have two saltines in me and am feeling much better.

Let me just say thank you to my wonderful husband who stayed up with me all night and took care of everything. He is so super and God could not have picked a better husband for me! Love you honey!

-L

if you are what you eat, then i am cheesy

This week was a loooooong one. I was super sick Monday and had one of the worst days EVER on Wednesday. However, in between those two days I somehow mustered the energy to cook for an entire village.
Tuesday night, I came home and had an excess of energy that I decided to pour into cooking. I bought and prepped 5 meals that night complete with sticky note instructions on top of each of how to bake them. Genius! As much as I would like to be, I'm not much of a planner so this is progress. Dinners included Chicken Parmesan, BBQ Chicken, Garlic Lasagna, Oven Baked Pork for Pork Sammies, and Breakfast Tacos (not made ahead of time, just got all the stuff to make them).

Here are some pictures of the prepared meals ready to be shoved in the oven at a moments notice and enjoyed 35 minutes (about the time of an Office and a half) later.

Here is a recipe to help those who are not planners or baking geniuses feel like they are:

Chicken Parmesan
8-10 chicken tenderloins
bread crumbs (I use Italian)
1 egg
1 jar of pasta sauce (use your favorite)
1 bag (2 cups) of shredded italian blend cheese
A smidgen of garlic powder

Heat up a skillet with a little bit of EVOO. Place each piece of chicken in the egg wash and then coat in bread crumbs. Cook over medium heat until cooked through.
Place the chicken in a greased casserole dish in a single layer.
Pour the pasta sauce over the chicken and then some garlic powder and then all the cheese over that.
Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees F.

I served it with a delish spinach salad with homemade Italian dressing that was to die for. Now when I say homemade, I mean kinda sorta homemade. Check out this new product that I am in LOVE with.

It was $1.99 at HEB and is the best dressing I've ever had. I used apple cider for the vinegar part and EVOO for the oil. 

17 weeks... hello little turnip

Baby Hokie,
You weigh 5 ounces this week and your soft cartilage is turning to bone. I'm loving you more and more each day and can't wait to meet you. Your dad is excited too. He says hello to both me and you every day when he comes home from work. It is so sweet to see how much he loves you already. We get to meet you in 161 days! Enjoy this time because as my students said, "Mrs. Hokanson, your kid isn't gonna get away with anything." ::smile::

Another one also said today, "Mrs. Hokanson.... umm, did you not wear makeup today?" ::sigh:: What a goob!

holy guacamole

Just in typing that title, the guacamole part made me hungry :)

Um... baby registries are crazy! There are a million and one choices and a million things this tiny little person needs! It's a pretty amazing thought though that in these next few months all this sweet blessing needs is prayer and me. That sounds somewhat conceited but really it only shows how amazing God's plan for creation is. Although pregnancy has already had its ups and downs for me, it really is an amazing process that could be orchestrated by none other than our amazing God. I love the thought that my God is her/his God already and that He already knows everything about this little life.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.—Ps 139:14