Baby Johnson: 29 Weeks

29 weeks down, Nine or ten to go….  I cannot believe we’re almost officially in the single digits as far as when this baby will be here…  next week it will FOR SURE be 8-9 weeks, and that is crazy to me.  I’ve got SO much to get done before she gets here, I really need to get moving.

Newsworthy items for this week:

• Cravings for cheeseburgers – especially McDonald’s double cheeseburgers have been HIGH.  Normally I do not like these AT ALL, so I have no idea why I’m wanting them now…..

• Work in Kate’s room is coming along.  Painting is getting closer and closer every day.  I just really need a weekend at home to bust out lots of it.  An hour per day isn’t getting me as far as I’d like.  Hopefully next weekend I’ll be able to work in there several hours and make some real progress!

• Milkshake consumption = zero this week.  I haven’t had one and I haven’t wanted any.  I have had ice cream nearly every night though, so not sure that’s too different.

• My blood pressure was a bit high at my endocrinologist appointment on Tuesday.  She’s not worried about it yet, but says if the OB wants to put me on medication, go for it.  She says it’s not pre-eclampsia, sounds to her like pregnancy induced hypertension, so that’s a good thing.

• Cooper finally got to feel baby Kathryn kick!  She was pretty active the other morning when I was brushing his teeth, so I put his hand on my belly and he felt her.  He was soooooooo excited.  I think he’ll be such a good big brother.  He just lights up when he talks about her!

That’s it for this week.  Onto the comparison pictures….

Last  but not least – the weekly progression pictures….

Randoms & The Easter Bunny Visit

It has been a rough morning and I see it being a long day.  Hoping it gets better, if I can stay awake that is…….

1)  My day started around 3:30 this morning.  Cooper woke up and was yelling “Mommy” over and over again.  So I race in his room to find out what’s wrong.  He had lost his teddy bear and couldn’t find it.  It was right next to his pillow, so I’m betting he was just asleep and didn’t really search very hard for it.  I’m just glad he hadn’t peed the bed.  I made him to potty and found his teddy bear and he went right back to sleep.  Mama however, did not.  I think I snoozed some in the 4am hour, but it wasn’t long – cause I am a clock watcher and kept checking it.  Not smart.

 

2)  Cooper was a complete stinker this morning.  He’s obsessed with playing hockey.  He plays with some plastic golf clubs and usually a foam baseball as his puck, and a bicycle helmet as his hockey helmet.  Well, each morning he wants to play, but we generally do not let him until he’s gotten his 4 morning items complete. (1) bathroom 2) brushing teeth 3) changing clothes 4) eating breakfast)  Once he’s got those items finished, he’s allowed to play whatever he wants until it’s time for us to go.  The problem is, that Cooper spends all of his playtime playing with his food and not eating, so he generally misses out on his hockey time.  Today, it really bothered him.  How do you explain to a 3 year old, the faster you get your 4 things done, the more you get to play?  I’ve tried explaining several different ways, and so far, nothing has worked.  I guess he’ll eventually learn.

3)  Tonight I have to boil eggs.  I need to get them ready for tomorrow’s Easter Egg dying session with Stephanie, Ryan, Kampbell, Andrew and Cooper.  I’m looking forward to it.  Should be fun.  We’ll dye them with Kool-Aid again this year, since they turned out so great last year.

4)  A couple of days ago, I cleaned out Cooper’s closet.  It was time.  I hadn’t done it in a long time.  I have an entire new wardrobe to fill up that closet now, lots of spring and summer clothes, so it was time to do a major purge.  He had clothes in there that were still 18 months size.  CRAZY.  They were all things that really shouldn’t have been 18 months – in fact, some of them he wore through the summer last year.  But still, I should have gone through them before now.  Oh well, such is life.  I finally did it – and now it’s just time to get the new clothes in there.  I’m thankful that we have someone to hand the clothes down to, so that they can be used again and I don’t have to mark them to sell at a consignment place! J  Win/win for me!

  

5)  We need to do our taxes – I dread them, and we just need to sit down, bit the bullet and get them over with.  This is the latest I’ve EVER waited to do them, and the more time that goes by, the less I want to even touch them.  But, time is creeping up on us and April 15^th will be here before we know it.  Time to get them done.  Especially before the madness of baseball season starts.

 6)  I have a love/hate relationship with Flex Spending Accounts.  We use Flex Spending for our dependent care, and while it saves us all kinds of money in taxes, it causes me extra work, and I don’t like that part.  I have to remind myself that the tax savings is worth it.  And it is, I know it is, I just despise extra work. 

 7)  After work yesterday, we took Cooper to visit the Easter Bunny.  Like every year prior, he was scared to death.  Daddy always comes to his rescue and sits with him in the picture.  This year, he actually smiled!  I was shocked!  Then he gave the Bunny a high five, I’m telling you, it was a miracle. 

 Complete Randomness today, at least there were a few pictures, right?  Have a great Thursday everyone!

So What! Wednesday

Linking up with Shannon today, another expectant Mommy!

 

Today…. I’m saying So What!  if….

• I’m as big as a house?  I’ll work my butt off and get back on weight watchers when this child is born.  It’s taking 9 months to gain this weight, it’ll take a least that long to lose it, and I’m OK with that. 
• We have to make Cooper go and get his picture taken with the Easter Bunny tonight.  It’s tradition and darn it, cry if you want kiddo, you’re gonna get the picture.
• I backed the van into the garage door last night.  It wasn’t opened all the way and I think we’ll have to get a lot of it replaced.  I’m a dork, what can I say, accidents happen.  The van is ok though, thank goodness.
• I baked cookies on Monday, and I’m going to bake some banana bread tonight, I’m being a baking fool this week.
• My house is a disaster.  As long as Holly isn’t coming to visit, I think we’ll be ok!
• I ordered 3 maternity shirts from Old Navy last week, they were cheap, and I wanted something fresh.  Who cares if I only have 10 more weeks that I’ll be wearing them?
• I don’t have a single Easter basket item purchased or anything to fill the eggs with yet.  I will do it, sometime between now and Sunday, I promise I will.
• I fall asleep after I eat lunch nearly every day?  I set an alarm on my phone and I don’t use more than my lunch hour, so who cares?

 

 What are you saying So What! to on this Wednesday?  Link up and tell us!

Finish This Sentence with Holly & Jake!

Of course I'm linking up with Holly for another awesome Finish this sentence with Jake!

I really was going to skip this, but it looked too fun, and I can't skip out on a linkup with such a great friend!

1. If calories didn't count, I would eat... (exactly the way I am living right now while pregnant) - anything and everything I want.  I wouldn't turn down anything.  I know I'll regret this once Miss Kate makes her appearance, but I'm enjoying my last pregancy....

2. On my Prom night....  My junior prom sucked.  Yes, I liked my date, and we were dating at the time, but he wasn't who I really wanted to be with.  He was a good guy, he got us a limo and he paid for everything, but it still wasn't awesome.  My senior year, I was with a guy who I thought I was going to marry (how young minds work, I'll never understand, sooo dramatic).  I had a great time, another limo, we ate at Ruth Chris, and I was with some great friends too.  Lots of my girlfriends and I had these pictures taken.  Funny how I have no idea where the picture is of me and that guy I was with, huh?!?

These were my BFFs. 

This was the big group of girls I hung out with.

3. When I go to the store, I always buy...  Bananas, Apples, LOTS of fruit. 

4. Family functions typically... Are pretty awesome, and drama free, as long as that one family member isn't there....

5. I think my blog readers... Are great!  I mean, I'm a pretty boring girl, I write this for me and for my records and the people who want to read about me, I love them!

6. I'd much rather be..... Sitting around eating and talking with my friends, taking Cooper to the children's musem or having a date with my husband.

7. I have an obsession with.... Chapstick, my iPhone, and my family.  I have no less than three chapsticks at work, one in my coat, my purse and all over my house.  My iPhone pretty much never leaves my side, unless I'm taking a nap, and my family.  I cannot get enough of them.

8. My work friends....Are like an extended family to me.  It is one of the biggest reasons I've worked at the same place since 2004.  I cannot imagine changing jobs and leaving them.  Plus the fact that I have the worlds' best boss. 

9. When I created my Facebook account.... In 2008.  I'm not really sure why, except Tim and I both created them to keep tabs on the kids and MySpace was not very popular anymore. 

10. My least favorite word is... Weiner.  I just don't like it.  In reference to hot dogs or otherwise.  Yuck.

11. I really don't remember....  When I was little.  I'm talking like before kindergarten.  I have some memories, but not a ton.  I remember soccer, picking cherries/raspberries with my grandpa, Easter egg hunting at home, my mom's cinnamon rolls on Easter morning, and my grandma's pancakes.  I know there has to be more, but when I think about being little, these are the things I remember. 

12. Justin Bieber.... Honestly doesn't matter a whole lot to me.  I don't have a young child who is obsessed, so unless he's popping up in my People Magazine wearing sagging pants, I don't give him a second thought.  When he is popping up, I want to tell him to wear his pants the right size - UGH - seriously, wear your own sized pants dude.

That's it for me, wow, 2 posts in one day! :)  That's what happens when Monday is a snow day I guess.  Happy Tuesday Ladies and Gents!

Babymoon Weekend

This post is going to be picture free – I really just want to recap our weekend – it’s a long post, feel free to turn away now if you’d like – If I get ambitious I may add the very few pictures that I took later on, we’ll see.

This past weekend, Tim took me away for the weekend.  We went to Louisville, KY and it was just the two of us.  Our first time being away from Cooper for 2 nights in a row.  Probably the last time we’ll be without a child for the next 18+ years……

Anyway, my mom and Shawn were so awesome to keep Cooper for the weekend, and because I knew they would take such great care of him, I didn’t worry, at least not too much.  Granted it helped that where we stayed was about 30 minutes away from where they live, so we weren’t too far away if they needed us.

So when we dropped Cooper off at their house on Friday night, we went to dinner at one of my favorite places (since I grew up in this area, I have several), Kingfish,  and it was packed!  I was in disbelief, because we were a little late for the “dinner” crowd, but then I was quickly reminded by my mom (yes, I was already checking on Cooper), that it was lent, and it was a Friday, so that explains it.  We didn’t have to wait long though, thankfully, and we had a peaceful kid free dinner.  Then we went to see Silver Linings Playbook, which I thought was ok, but definitely not the best movie I’ve ever seen.  I actually thought it was kind of slow.  Anyway.  By the time we got back to the hotel, I was pooped.  Tim stayed up to watch some March Madness and I was zonked out.

Saturday morning, we had big plans to visit Lynn’s Paradise Cafe for breakfast, but those plans were quickly squashed due to its closing in early January this year.  We were disappointed to say the least.  We’d only visited there once before, but it was so delicious, it left a lasting impression on us and we knew that we had wanted to come back – guess that won’t happen unless someone decides to buy the business.  So, I did the only thing I knew to do – I solicited advice on Instagram and Facebook to the locals (blog friends and old school friends/family that live in the area)…..  I only had a couple of suggestions, but we chose one and off we went.  The Café won us over.  We didn’t end up ordering breakfast food, but what we did order was delicious.

After that, we headed to Bardstown, KY to visit a couple of bourbon distilleries.  Exactly what every pregnant woman wants to do, right?  Visit where alcohol is the main attraction?!?  Well, I don’t enjoy bourbon when I am allowed to have it, so it wouldn’t have mattered when we visited there.  We visited the Jim Beam distillery and the Heaven Hill distillery.  Both were pretty neat.  Tim’s favorite bourbon (at least I think it’s his favorite) is made by Jim Beam (Knob Creek) – so he was happy to do a tasting of a couple of Knob Creek bourbons he hadn’t tried before, and he stocked up on some to bring home. 

Later that day, we decided to go to the Louisville Slugger Museum.  Tim LOVES baseball.  And since that crazy time consuming sport is about to start, what better way than to visit where they make all of those bats?  I must admit, it was pretty fascinating seeing how they produce hundreds of thousands of bats for all of those major league players along with the minors and everyone else who uses a wooden bat.  The tour itself was pretty entertaining, with the one downside being that I had a very difficult time breathing while in the factory portion of the tour.  They have this hot mist humidifiers going constantly to keep the wood the correct humidity for carving and it was difficult for this hugely prego woman to breath.  Once the tour was finished, they gave everyone a miniature bat and we were outta there.  If you’re ever in the Louisville KY area and are interested in baseball, this is a definite do.  The tour was short and sweet (only about 30 min) but there were other things to do there for kids and adults alike, I cannot wait to bring Cooper back here once he’s a bit older.

Did I mention that baseball season is about to gear up in our household?  Tim is an umpire for high school baseball in the Indianapolis area, and he’s booked solid (6 days per week with double headers every Saturday) from the second week of April through the end of May……  Lots of single mama time coming for me in the next couple of months. 

Anywho, back to our weekend.  I was exhausted by this point in the day, so we headed back to the hotel,  and I took a short nap and did some FaceTime with Cooper and my mom.  Dinner was next, and we went to The Old Spaghetti Factory, which was a short walk from our hotel.  I have a love/hate relationship with that place.  I love the salad and the spumoni ice cream, but generally think their other food is quite bland.  Tim and I hadn’t been there in a couple of years, so it was nice to try it again, but I have a feeling it’ll be awhile before we go back, if we do.  Oh well, it has a nice atmosphere none the less.

The last part of our day consisted of a comedy club trip.  We generally enjoy comedy clubs.  I’ll admit, it takes me awhile to get out of my prudish ways, but once I do, I usually find the comics pretty funny.  That was the case with this comic.  Claude Stuart was outrageous.  I mean he has the most energy of any one person that I have ever seen.  I don’t know if he was on something, or if he’s just generally that nuts, but it made for a comical evening.  I had a great time out with the husband. 

Then back at the hotel, while Tim watched more March Madness I again crashed!  This pregnant stuff makes a girl tired! 

Sunday morning – after we got up and got moving, we had reservations to the revolving restaurant at the top of our hotel for Sunday Brunch.  My husband is probably my hero for dining there by the way…. He is deathly afraid of heights, so we didn’t sit in the revolving part of the restaurant, but he did make it being up 25 floors and having panoramic views of the city and river.  I love this man!!  Back to the brunch….  Oh my goodness Ladies….  That brunch was fantastic.  I just wish my stomach had the capacity to hold as much food as it used to, lol.  Not really, but I did that morning.  Tim and I both enjoyed made to order omelets and so many more of their delicious dishes before moving on to dessert.  It was incredible.  Please eat here if you come to Louisville.  That’s all.

Next we headed to pick Cooper up and visit with Mom and Shawn for a little bit, then back to reality in Indianapolis, where we were in for about 7-8 inches of snow that started Sunday afternoon and went through Monday afternoon.  OH reality, aren’t you awesome?!? 

Baby Johnson: 28 Weeks

Twenty-eight weeks.  It’s going so fast, I can hardly believe it. 

Let’s get right to it, lots going on this week. 

• I had my third trimester ultrasound this week…  Here are pictures of my pretty girl.

• Katy measured 2 lbs 8 oz, she measured one day ahead of schedule, 27 weeks 5 days, when she was really 27 weeks 4 days, so not too shabby.  Heart rate was 146.  Pretty perfect.

• Doctor says everything looks great, keep on keeping on.

• I have painted in her room every night this week, except last night, I was exhausted and just needed a little break.  I plan on plugging and chugging on it as much as I can the next couple of weeks, because once baseball really gets going, I’m going to be single parenting 6 days/week…..  Literally, 6 days/ week.  Starting April 8^th, Tim doesn’t have a day off other than Sundays for two months.  It’s expected and it will be fine, it’s just becoming reality really fast.

• This week has been busy, and I’m really looking forward to this weekend.  This is the REAL weekend away.  We’re going to stay in a nice hotel and have fun enjoying each other without a child for an entire weekend.  Cooper will be safe with my mom and Shawn and that’s a relief.

• Food Cravings this week:  Reese’s Cup blizzards.  I’ve only had one, and I don’t plan on having anymore, but goodness, they sound delicious.  I’ve not had a single milkshake all week.  That may change tonight.

• Cooper’s still obsessed with Hockey, loves talking about when Katy’s coming out and is scared to death of the Easter bunny. 

Cooper/Katy comparison picture:

Finally, the weekly progression photo:

One last thing, I have to add, since my beloved Hoosiers play today….

LET’S GO IU!!!

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend All! J

Accidents........

I’m talking peeing in the bed type of accidents today.  I need tips/advice ANYTHING to stop this trend that’s going on with Mr. Cooper.

Tell me, how does this sweet boy all of the sudden decide he’s going to pee the bed 4 of the past 6 nights?

Let’s go back in time….  Cooper’s been sleeping sans pull-ups for about 3 months now.  It seems that when he switched daycares and started preschool, something clicked for this kid.  He started using the bathroom for both pee and poop without any accidents.  Then soon after, he decided no more pull-ups at night time.  I was a proud mama. 

Until this week, he’d only had ONE accident.  And that one was not his fault.  To be honest, I’m not sure any of these have really been 100% his fault – but I digress. 

You see, our method is this…..  We make him pee before he goes to bed between 8 and 8:30.  Then, Tim wakes & takes him pee again between 10:30 and 11.  After that, he’s been golden.  Only the one accident.  The one accident he did have (about a month ago) was because Tim fell asleep and forgot to take him pee.  He woke us up around 3am that morning and slept in our bed after we changed his clothes.  I learned from that night on, we would not be forgetting to take him, and that he would not be “sleeping” in our bed anymore.

He’d been good, zero accidents since that one.  Until last Friday night.  Then, for whatever reason, he started a trend that I want to reverse IMMEDIATELY.  The little man peed in the bed Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night and again last night.  AHHHHHHH!  And guess who hears him when he cries, therefore is the one who goes to change him, his sheets and the rest of it???  Yep, that’s right, this girl. 

It wakes me completely up, and I have a very difficult time going back to sleep once I’m awake for some reason.  So, Monday, I slept in and went in late to work.  Today, I didn’t, I’m going to Coop’s school for lunch today with the Easter Bunny, so I cannot afford the extra time away from the office. 

This is our plan of attack:  First, I’m not entirely sure that we just haven’t been giving him too much to drink at night, so we’re going to cut back on drinks, but something else has got to give.  So, since Cooper doesn’t really wake up when Tim takes him potty between 10:30 – 11 each night, we figure we’ll just take him once more sometime after 2am to try to break up the nights.  I normally wake up to go potty myself due to this baby girl sitting on my bladder anyway, so I’ll just wake Tim up and he’ll take care of Coop.  We’re *hoping* that this solves our problem. 

Did this happen to you/your kids?  Any advice you can give me? 

Today is Spring?

I don’t know about you, but this…..

……..does not feel like Spring to me.

Couldn’t we at least make it to an AVERAGE high?  I’m only asking for 49 degrees here….  46 on Saturday isn’t going to cut it, come on!

Oh well, maybe we’ll get to an average March temperature in April?!? 

Since today is officially “Spring” I will leave you with the little rhyme/poem that my husband makes sure he says the first day of Spring every year. 

Spring is sprung, the grass is ris.
I wonders where the birdies is.
They say the birds is on the wing.
Isn't that a funny thing?
I always thought the wing was on the bird. 

Miscelanny Monday

I’ve got some randoms to share with you – so I figured why not link up with Carissa and share them via a link-up?

Proud as punch of this man, my dear sweet hubby.  He’s been working out and counting calories to shed some weight for several weeks now, and he’s gotten below his first goal.  I am seriously so happy for him!

This little guy was so cute this weekend.  We were headed out for my grandma’s birthday (Coop’s great grandma) and he wanted to make her a card.

Tim teaching Cooper to do push-ups.  I really cannot get enough of these guys.

Cooper content as can be, watching a movie while we are on the road to the party. (For the record, he’s only allowed to watch movies in the van when we are going to be on the road over an hour.)

Last but not least….. a sneak peek at Kathryn’s room.

I cannot wait any longer to give you a peek…

It’s not a large peek, but maybe you’ll have an idea…  More to come once it’s complete!

Happy Monday folks (if that’s possible…..)

Baby Johnson: 27 weeks

This week is 27 weeks!  Yup, that’s right, 27.  Sooooo exciting!  Today, one of my work friends Jill, is having her baby, she is the last pregnant person I know in my non blogging world who is having her baby before me.  I’ve got 11-12 weeks to go…  I cannot believe it.  I probably say that each week. 

Events over the past week/month:

• I’ve baked lots of cakes.  And I’m baking another one tonight.  So many birthdays in the last month.  Which means lots of cake consumption.  I’m loving it, but I’m not sure it’s the best thing for me.
  
• Due to cake consumption, milkshake consumption has been down this week, which is definitely good.
  
• Progress on Kathryn’s room has been little.  I did finish one wall last weekend.  I spent 3.5 hours in there last Sunday and I only worked on the “details”  but you know what, it looks awesome.  I cannot wait for the rest of it to be done.
  
• Last weekend was the Surprise Sprinkle that Holly and Aly threw for me, read more about it on my blog here, and on Holly’s blog here.  It was amazing.
  
• We’ve been going, going, going every night this week.  Monday night Cooper and I went to Denny’s to eat breakfast for dinner, then to the grocery store to get stuff for Erica’s cake.  Tuesday we visited with Steph and Kampbell.  Wednesday we had dinner and cake to celebrate Erica’s birthday.  Thursday was our only night at home this week and it was wonderful.  Tonight will be cake baking for my grandma’s birthday celebration tomorrow. 
  
• Cooper is obsessed with playing hockey and has been waking up super early every morning just so that he can play before he has to get ready for school.  Kathryn, your big brother is so silly and I cannot wait for the two of you to be friends.  He’s such a sweetie and I know you’re going to love him and he’s going to love you to pieces too.  He’ll give you sweet kisses and try to give you bear hugs. 

27 week comparison picture below.  I don’t even want to address the size of that belly, so I won’t.

And finally, the weekly bump progression.  I cannot imagine how big I’m going to get in the next 11-12 weeks.  Eeks!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

I've been shopping......

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Not buying too much, but yes, shopping.  Shopping for me, shopping for Cooper, and shopping for baby.

For Cooper:

Booster Seats.  Cooper is now big enough to sit in a big boy high backed booster seat.  I can hardly believe it.  But you know what?  He loves it.  This is the one we got him, he loved it so much for my van, that I got another for Tim’s car.

These color wonder paint brushes.  Since we’ve been painting Kathryn’s room, Cooper has been wanting to paint with brushes so badly.  I haven’t bought these yet, but I think I might very soon.  He’ll love them!

For baby:

Chevron crib skirt.  I’m not quite sure yet if my mom and I are going to try to make one of our own, or if I’ll buy one of these, or if this is even the best color, but I know that I want chevron curtains and a crib skirt. 

For me:

Mommy’s necklaces.  I cannot wait to have one of these around my neck with my baby’s’ names on them.  I really like the first one because of the pearl and heart, but I like the second because it’s matte and the chain is better (in my opinion).  So, we’ll see.  Maybe one day…..

Layered Squares Necklace - Sterling Silver

Hand Stamped Necklace - Personalized Sterling Silver Layered Charm Jewelry - Square Stack Duo

Have you been shopping/buying anything lately?  What’s on your everyday wishlists?

Mint Chocolate Cake

I love to bake. It's one of my favorite hobbies. I especially love cake baking. So for everyone important in my life, I bake them a cake for their birthday. Yesterday just happened to be my best girlfriend's birthday. I actually call her my sister from another Mister (and Missus) because she is just like the sister I never had. I love her like family and her mom and pop are my second parents.

So, back to the cake.... Erica loves mint chocolate. So when I asked her what kind of cake she'd like, I wasn't too surprised she asked for this kind of cake. I searched the web, and found a few recipes. Usually, once I find a few that are pretty similar, I take the one that sounds the best to me and go with it as long as the comments/reviews are good. The recipe I used for this cake came from Bird on a Cake. Hers looks much better than mine, but hey, I gave it a shot. See below for recipe and then head to her site to see a prettier version!!

Andes Mint Chocolate Cake

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (OR 1 c. milk mixed with 1 T. vinegar)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chopped Andes Mints

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of three 8 inch cake pans with wax or parchment paper and spray the sides of the pan with cooking spray. Bring some water to a boil and keep it simmering while you mix the other ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat with mixer until combined.

Add 1 cup of the boiling water and carefully stir until it is mixed in. Beat for 1 1/2 minutes with mixer. Shake the chopped Andes Mints in a ziploc bag with a tablespoon of flour, until they are lightly coated. Fold the mints into the batter and pour into prepared pans. Bake for 25-35 minutes (until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean).

Mint Buttercream Frosting

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• green food coloring
• 1/2 cup milk (may use less - I should have used 1/3 cup maybe, my frosting got pretty thin with a 1/2 cup)

Mix butter, sugar, vanilla, peppermint and food coloring on low speed in large mixing bowl. Gradually add milk until you reach the desired consistency. Keep covered.

Ganache (cut this in half I didn't and will be sure to next time, I had a lot leftover)

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the chocolate chips in a metal bowl. Heat cream over medium heat. Watch it closely and immediately remove from heat when it starts to boil. Pour over chocolate chips. Let stand for 1 or 2 minutes. Then slowly stir the mixture until all the chips have completely melted. Stir in the vanilla.

Enjoy! I cannot wait to dig into it tonight!

Posted with Blogsy

Top 10 Tuesday: 10 Must Have Items for Daily Function

Linking up with Trista today for Top 10 Tuesday!  Today’s theme is 10 must have Items for Daily Function. 

This list is going to be quite random, but these are definitely 10 things that I very rarely can live without.  I’m really going to talk about ‘things’ too.  Of course I can’t live without my kiddo and my hubby.  Although, I could probably do it for a day or two if I had to….. Anywho.  Back to the list.

1.    A toothbrush and toothbrush.  This is probably a “duh” but seriously, my mouth feels terrible if I don’t brush.

2.   Skim milk – I love, love, love milk but only SKIM.  I’ve been drinking it since I was a kid and the other stuff tastes like cream to me. (Although, I do use Cooper’s milk in my milkshakes from time to time.

3.  Coke Zero – Yum.  Since I’ve been pregnant, I’ve not been drinking many of these, but one a day is necessary.

4.  Chocolate.  Gotta have it.

5.  Blistex Complete Moisture – I’m obsessed with this stuff and I use it all day everyday all year.

6.   My glasses – I’d be blind as a bat without them or my contacts, but I’ve got to have my glasses at least during the night when the contacts can’t be in.

7.  iPhone!!! – I’m an iPhone junkie.  I admit it. 

8.  iPad – I’ve got it bad folks, I hardly use a real computer anymore, between the iPad and my iPhone, I’m a little Apple Junkie.  Tim has even considered giving me a Macbook for my push gift after Katy is born…. We’ll see.  Jewelry might be good too…. Hmmmm…. LOL

9.  A shower.  A shower makes me feel so much better – I prefer them first thing in the morning, but anytime of the day helps.  I just gotta have one.

10.  Water – Yes my top 10 list contains 3 different drinks, and YES water is part of my top 10.  I love water.  It’s so thirst quenching and it’s gotta be super cold!

That’s my top 10, what are the 10 must have items for you to function daily?!?

SPRINKLE SURPRISE!

If any of you follow Holly or Aly on instagram, you've heard about the Surprise Sprinkle that they along with my step-daughter Stephanie threw for me over the weekend.  Oh my gosh ya'll, I cannot tell you how surprised I was.  Let me tell you the back story.

For weeks now, Tim has been telling me that he was taking me out of town for the weekend after our anniversary.  Our anniversary was last Thursday, so I was pretty excited that we were leaving Saturday morning and weren't coming home until Monday afternoon according to Tim.  Well.... turns out, this was not exactly the weekend we were going away..... 

Thursday night and Friday night, Tim cleaned.  He cleaned like we were having a party or like my Mom was coming to stay.  Which was his story.  My mom was coming to watch Cooper for the weekend, while we went away for our trip.  So I didn't think much of it while he cleaned like a crazy man.  Cooper and I even went out with Erica, Mel, Bill, and Mary Friday night so that he could have the house to himself to get more cleaning done.

He had me pack on Saturday morning.  He told me what to wear and what to pack - since he knew the activites we'd be doing and I didn't.  I thought nothing of it.  He wouldn't tell me anything about where we were going except that we were heading south.  He told me we had a lunch reservation in town then we were heading out.  So we packed up the van on Saturday and made our way out. 

He pulled up directions on his iPhone to the Greenwood Park Mall, and the app told him exactly how to get there.  I knew as soon as she said Greenwood Park Mall that we were going to Bravo! to eat.  It's my favorite restaurant. 

When we pulled up, we parked next to a white Toyota Venza that just happened to have Missouri license plates.  I just randomly told Tim, that looks like Holly's new car, Vivian....  I think about this point, his head started to explode, because of all of the places he found to park, it was next to Holly's, but he played it well.  He said something like "Emily, do you really think Holly is here? Why would she be here?"  I knew in reality it was just the biggest coincidence but I just had to take a picture and text her because I thought it was hilarious.

Well, when we got into Bravo!  Tim told the host we had reservations, and he took us back to the big surprise... 

I was pretty surprised.

Then I saw Holly:

You can see for yourself how the entire thing played out, I cannot believe I'm sharing this video due to the fact that I PUSHED Aly out of the way and COMPLETELY ignored the rest of my friends/family to get to Holly to give her a hug.  I was just in shock that she was actually there.  I couldn't get over it and couldn't see anyone but her for a minute.....

Once the shock wore off, I was super excited to see everyone!  I couldn't believe that they had done this for me.  They had been on covert operations for a couple of months planning this entire thing.  Holly contacted Stephanie to get addresses for her, and they went to all kinds of trouble arranging everything.  Then they showed up, all three of the fine fine ladies decorated and made this a supremely special day for me.  My closest friends were there, my mom was there and my second mom Mary was there.  I am a lucky lucky girl.

I need to give a shout out also, to Kristen, for designing and providing the invitations to Holly.  She wouldn't let Holly pay her a cent for them, and she even designed a game for us to play!  If you are ever in need of some custom invitations, cards, thank yous, etc, please contact Kristen's Little Laws Prints!  She's awesome!  I contacted her on Saturday after the party and she designed some Thank Yous for me, and as soon as I get them from her, I'll be writing them out and sending them to all of the ladies who were there for me!

Here is a mock up of the invitation.  Insert Emily Johnson for Savannah Morrison and Katy for Jensina and then the address of Bravo! As well as Holly's info for the RSVP stuff and you've got the picture.  She changed all the info on this one to post on Facebook so that it would still be a surprise.

Here's a picture of the entire group of ladies in attendance.

Holly, Aly, Stephanie, I love you ladies and appreciate all that you did for me on Saturday! 



Meal Plan Monday

Another Monday, another meal plan……..

I’ve gotta tell you, I am just a little bored with these posts, I may condense these to once per month depending on how well we continue to stick to our monthly meal plan.

This week’s plan is as follows:

Monday: Breakfast: Eggs, Pancakes, Turkey Sausage/Turkey Bacon, Perhaps these 7-up biscuits that I love so much (and they are so EASY)

Tuesday: Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole (this should make enough to either freeze for another meal OR bring for lunches the rest of the week, I’ll try to post the recipe soon)

Wednesday: Spaghetti with Jennie-O Italian Turkey Sausage & Salad

Thursday: Kielbasa & Potatoes/Onions & Green Beans (roll-ver from last week we didn't have this for whatever reason)

Friday: Hamburgers & French Fries (roll-over from last Friday night - we didn't end up having them)

So tell me, what’s on your meal plan for this week? 

Baby Johnson: 26 Weeks

Twenty-six weeks today!  Woo hoo!  Between 12-13 weeks left depending on when our doctor is on call and when they think I’ll be ready to go!

This week’s happenings:

• It’s been a busy week!  Seems like we’ve had something going on about every night – even if it’s just stuff around the house. 

• We went to the Indy Kids Consignment sale last night and picked up Cooper’s new spring/summer wardrobe and a few things for Miss Kathryn.  She doesn’t need as much because we’ve had lots of hand me downs from some great people!  (Steph and a co-worker) 

• Yesterday was our anniversary, and we’re going to celebrate this weekend with some plans that I still know almost nothing about….. 

• Barely any  progress in the baby’s room since last week – Tim did some touch-up work on a couple of the flowers, but that’s been about it.  I really need to get my rear in gear and get in there soon.

• Milkshakes are still my friend, almost nightly. 

• Kathryn is kicking all of the time now.  She’ll be the most still while I’m at work sitting and not moving around as much, but she’s been waking me up around 5am the past few nights kicking away.  I’m loving it and I know I will miss it when she’s here.  I know actually having her will make up for that though.

Here’s the weekly comparison picture.  I’m a house compared to 26 weeks with Coop, but I still think my face looks thinner.  And, I look like I have an ombre hairstyle, when in reality, I haven’t dyed or put highlights in my hair in a couple of years, so it’s all natural….

Last but not least…  the weekly progression to becoming the size of a house.

Finish the Sentence.......

Linking up with my girl Holly for a fun Friday Link-up!

1. People always tell me....  How cute Cooper is, everywhere we go, someone is telling me what an adorable little guy I’ve got, people, I KNOW! =)

2. In the movie based on my life...  I’m skinnier more fit and have longer legs.

3. Typically, I end up regretting....   Silly things, like stealing a gift away from my boss at the white elephant gift exchange at the Christmas party, especially when he hasn’t done my annual review yet….

4. I always ask to leave off the....  Olives

5. Kim and Kanye really...  should go and hide, who cares about them anyway? 

6. My Parents always reminded me...  To be considerate, say thank you, and to wash my hands before dinner.

7. Every single day I.....  Take a shower???  Hug my husband and my child??  Lots of things.

8. This one time in College..  I chipped my tooth on a beer bottle, how sad is that?

9. My grossest habit is...  Picking scabs.  I cannot leave them alone.

10. My latest white lie was...  Telling the husband that I wasn’t getting him an anniversary card.

11. I know all the words to...  Men in Black by Will Smith

12. When I grow up...  I want to go to Disney World!

13. Sexy time is...  better left private.

14. I will never, ever...  oh who knows.  Like black licorice???

15. I think it's hilarious...   When Tim spills a bottle of water on himself while lying in bed at night.