Checkup

Isabella had her 15 month checkup on Thursday. Everything looks good, I have a tall, skinny kid with a disproportionately large head! :) She's 21 pounds (25th %), 31 inches (75th%), and I can't remember what her head size was, but I know it was in the 85th percentile.

When a Mommy gets sick

Today I took Isabella to her 15 month checkup, then we met Monte for lunch, then we ran errands for most of the rest of the day, all with a fever, headache, and sore throat. The weird thing is that before Isabella was born I probably would have called in sick to work, and spent the entire day curled up on the couch watching movies, feeling sorry for myself, . . . And honestly, today I didn't even realize I felt that bad until now, when Isabella is in bed and I have a chance to think about it, and take my temp, otherwise I probably wouldn't have spread my germs around everywhere today. Isn't it funny how things change once you have kids? I told Monte tonight, "Mommy's aren't supposed to get sick." And when I think back on my childhood, I can't remember a single time that my mom was sick, and I'm sure she was! All I remember is her taking such good care of me when I was sick. The only thing I care about is not getting Isabella and Monte sick. There is so much going around right now, and Isabella's only ever been sick twice (although the bout after her birthday lasted a couple of weeks) . I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I'm realizing more and more what this parenting thing is all about . . . sacrifice, and not because I have to, because I want to.

Nicknames

Mommylife has a cute post today. It's about terms of endearment. Here's what we call Isabella.

When she was first born, for some reason, it was really hard for us to call her Isabella. We didn't know her gender before she was born, and I was positive I was having a boy so I guess I never imagined myself with an Isabella. Now I can't imagine her as anything else. Anyway, all the nurses during her hospital stay always called her "little dolly" or "dolly" due to her tinyness. For about the first six months of her life, Monte called her "Miss Baby". It was so cute, that's all he called her, even when he was talking about her. For example, "I think Miss Baby is hungry." :) I always called her "Baby girl" for the first couple of months. From there we went on to Smelly Isabelly (man, did she have some gas issues for a while). After that we went on to always using her full name for some reason, Isabella Ann. Now we only call her Isabella Annie or just Annie. One thing I have always called her is "Angel". I use that one a lot. Actually I don't think I ever call her Isabella, except when I'm talking about her or writing about her. When I'm actually talking to her it's either "Angel" or "Annie". It's funny because before she was born, we always said if we had a girl we would name her Isabella, but call her Belle. I still really like the name, but I can't imagine her as Belle. So how about you, I would love to hear what everyone's nicknames are for their kids!

What Isabella learned on this first day of Lent

How to pray.

Hopefully she'll be doing a little more praying in church tonight, and a little less squirming around with ants in her pants. But I doubt it.

As Requested

Crockpot Beef Stew

1 large can v-8 juice

1 can beef broth (14.5 oz.)

1/4 cup red wine

1 cup water

1 packet McCormick Beef Stew Seasoning (1.5 oz)

1.5 lbs. stew meat

4 potatoes , cut up

carrots

1 can peas

Combine everything except peas. Cook on low for 8-10 hours and add the peas no more than two hours before serving.

Note: I actually have never made it exactly like this. I basicly use what's on hand. For example, last night I used a quart of home canned tomatoes since I didn't have any V-8, I also omitted the beef broth since I didn't have any. It was still very good!

The Best Bread in the World!

I've been making this recipe for a few years, not sure where I got it. Believe me, this stuff is unbelievable!! Nothing can beat a slice of this fresh out of the oven, and it's so easy to make!

Beer Batter Bread

3 cups flour

5 Tblsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 can or bottle beer (12 oz.)

3 Tblsp. butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 375. Grease loaf pan. Blend flour, sugar, baking powder, and beer in large bowl. The batter should be lumpy. Pour into pan. Pour melted butter on top. Bake 50 minutes or until done.

We're having this tonight with crockpot beef stew. Yum! I just realized there's red wine in my beef stew. Hmmm, I guess we're going for an alcohol themed supper. :)

Winter Fun in the Sun

It was a balmy 28 degrees here today, but the best part was that there was no wind and the sun was shining. Monte suggested we take Isabella outside to play. I tried this with her once before and it went much better this time. She loved it! She was so scared last time when it was just her and I, she must just need Daddy there to protect her! I think she looks a little "geekish" in her sunglasses, I love it! :)