Green Bean Casserole

4 cans French style green beans, drained

8oz package sliced mushrooms, sautéed in butter

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup (½ pint) heavy cream

10oz white Vermont cheddar cheese, cubed for easy melting

10 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and chopped

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 .Combine soup, cream and cheese is large saucepan and heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly until cheese is melted.

2. Stir in green beans, mushrooms and bacon, transfer to large casserole dish.

Busy Mom's Carrot Cake

1 package carrot cake mix (discard carrot package)

1 package instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

¾ cup vegetable oil

½ cup coconut rum

10oz package shredded carrots, chopped in food processor

8oz can crushed pineapple

Preheat oven to 350°

1. In large bowl beat eggs with cake mix. Add pudding mix, oil and rum. Mix well.

2. In a small bowl mix together carrots and pineapple (with juice).

3. Stir into cake batter.

4. Bake in 2 greased and floured 9 inch cake pans for 30 minutes or 9x13 inch pan for 35 minutes.

5. Cool completely and refrigerate overnight for flavors to develop.

6. Frost with preferred icing.

April 2011

April Highlights:

A visit from Nana

4/16 -  Alexander turned 4 months + Walk for Lupus

4/24  - Easter

4/28 Isabella, 17 months (I cannot believe she is going to be 1 ½ next month…insane!)

Of course a visit from Nana wouldn’t be complete without her buying out half the toy and clothing store. Isabella had tons of fun running around ToysRus showing Nana everything and was definitely over stimulated by the end.  Alexander of course had no idea what was going on, but thanks to Nana he now has some man toys and doesn’t have to play with only pink stuff! The kids now have enough clothes to last them until Winter, but since we won’t know where we are moving until the end of July we can’t buy anything past this summer for them. Kind of annoying because instead of stocking up on all the season clearance we are going to have to buy it all at full price, yuck.  And while Isabella is always wearing her appropriate month size, it is clear that Alexander will be wearing a size ahead haha. Most of you know that I was adopted, so for me it’s fascinating watching them and seeing how similar and how different siblings from the same DNA can be.

Alexander’s 4 month appointment went well! He is developing right on track and is 13oz and 1 inch bigger than Isabella was at this age…he’s our little chunky monkey!

Isabella has gone a full week of no accidents and asking to go every time so I think it’s time that we work on going potty everywhere we go since she is terrified of all potties that are not in our house. We no longer do potty treats, so maybe I’ll have to put some in my purse to bribe her with in the store! We aren’t going to work on nighttime potty until after we move. She is still in a crib and I know there is a lot of change headed her way so for now I’ll be grateful for only having to use 1 diaper a day (I guess technically 2 with nap time)

Of course in crazy Virginia weather fashion it was raining during the Walk for Lupus. The kids didn’t have a complaint, but that’s because they didn’t have to walk 3.1 miles in the rain, they were all bundled up in their stroller buntings covered by a rain shield. Oh to be a toddler again HA! I woke up that morning with a cold, so that made everything more miserable, but we ended up having a lot of fun and we were happy that we could support our friend. The day was complete with family snuggle time at home with hot chocolate to warm up afterwards.

Easter was a fun day! Isabella was too little last year to do anything, so it was fun to watch her open her Easter basket and hunt for eggs. Seeing her on her insane sugar high for the rest of the day just reinforced why we hardly give her sugar lol while it was funny for us to watch, we kind of felt bad for her too because you could see the wild look in her eyes and the fact that she didn’t know how to control how crazy she was being. Even our friends who came for Easter dinner noticed she had lost her mind haha. Needless to say she slept GREAT that night. We enjoyed having everyone over for Easter, but it was bittersweet as well. It’s the last holiday we will be spending with those people here in Virginia and we are so grateful that everyone was able to come!

April was a good month for me! The Dr. said that I have post partum stress disorder which is in between the normal “baby blues” and post partum depression.  She thinks it stems from the fact that this time around with Alexander, Josh and I didn’t have the same support system we did with Isabella and with jumping from 1 to 2 kids with Isabella being at such a young age that it's not a good idea for anyone to be "alone". That’s the military life for you though. People move, we move, “shit happens” haha but I have great resources now and a “plan of attack” to get back to normal…whatever that means! J

Bourban Pecan Cake

1  package betty crocker butter pecan cake mix (usually found at Walmart)

Bottom Layer

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 cups chopped pecans

2 eggs

Top Layer

½ cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

½ cup makers mark

Preheat oven to 325°

1. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. Set aside ¾ cup of the cake mix.

3. Prepare bottom layer:

In a large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, cake mix (minus the 3/4 cup),water, pecans and eggs. Mix well.

4. Spread batter into pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

5. Prepare top layer:

In a large bowl, combine butter, eggs, milk, sugar, corn syrup and reserved cake mix. Mix well and pour over first layer.

6. Bake for 40  minutes.

Welcome to our life...

Well I finally jumped on the blog bandwagon ha!

I decided that this is would perfect way to keep everyone updated on the goings on in our life since I always feel like I'm repeating myself and probably end up leaving stuff out when we talk! It's also a good way to share the recipes I get asked for.

 My goal is to keep this updated about once a month, but I'm not promising anything, as those with kids understand...life with two tiny ones can get hectic. In fact, as I'm typing this I have a certain handsome little man sleeping on me leaving me with only one hand to type haha

It's April in Virginia which brings rain, sun, and more rain. The weather this month is horrible 50's one day, 80 the next and although I am over the cold weather, I dread the summer months here. Hot and humid. yuck! Our time at Quantico has come to an end so thankfully this will be the last summer I have to endure here! Josh heads to recruiter school in July and we should be moving sometime in September. We are requesting Alaska so fingers crossed that we get it! Otherwise our choices are as follows: Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Texas, New York and New Hampshire. We wanted to take this opportunity and use it to live in a place that we would normally not be going during our Marine Corps rotation. It's all in God's hands though so no matter where we end up we'll bloom and thrive as normal. It's only ever for 3 years anyways!

Isabella is 16 month and quite the sassy little princess. She is talking up a storm and while she may not always know the words to say, it's amazing how she gets her point across. She has a love affair with food, but still a tiny little 19lb thing. Don't know where she got those genes from, but I'm jealous! and since "cup" was her first word she likes to scream it with gusto lol. I think it's exciting for her when she realizes that she is saying something and we understand her! She is pretty much potty trained now except for a few accidents here and there and at night so that's a huge relief to the monthly budget as far as buying diapers go!

Alexander is going to be 4 months on Saturday and growing like a weed. Seriously this kid is going to be huge. When Nana came to visit for a week he was wearing 3 month clothing and when Nana left he was wearing 6 month clothes. crazy growth spurt! He is my favorite baby in the whole wide world. Isabella is my pride and joy, but she was kind of a boring baby lol she never really smiled or laughed until way after 6 months. She spent most of her time just looking around taking life in. Alexander on the other hand loves to smile and giggle at me. It truly melts my heart.  He does take after his sister as far as tummy time goes though. Hates it. He is good for about maybe a minute and then rolls over and won't go back on his belly for anything. I used to worry with Isabella, but she turned out just fine so oh well, that's what they made bumbo's for right?

I love watching the kids play together now. Alexander just smiles at his sister like she is the best thing in the world. Of course he doesn't realize that when she is violently shaking him in the jumparoo or bouncing him crazy in the bouncer that she isn't playing, but ignorance is bliss right? Both of the kids are chatty things so I can't wait until they can really talk to each other, they are never going to shut up!

Josh is slowly counting down the days until he is out of here! Quantico has been fantastic for us as a family, and for him to get all the extra training done but it's time to move on. He is disappointed that he won't be able to be a Drill Instructor, but knows that he will thrive at recruiting because that is where God has placed him. He is enjoying the time he has with the kids now, since for the next 3 years that time will be limited  :(

As for me, life is actually pretty fantastic these days. Going from 1 to 2 kids has been easier and harder than I ever thought haha but I have learned a lot of the "harder" is from my own doing. I am a perfectionist at heart and once you have kids you have to learn to reevaluate what you consider to be "perfect"! I'm getting there, slowly, but surely and have a fantastic support system which is key. "Let Go and Let God" right?

Well I think that's a long enough update for now and I hear my little princess upstairs opening and shutting the drawer next to her crib so I'm going to take that as a sign that naptime is over!

- Christiana on behalf of the Rehm clan :)