Showering Baby Oliver

My beautiful cousin Jennifer is expecting her third boy this Spring, and we all gathered today to shower her and baby Oliver! We can't wait to cuddle him and we know he will be just as gorgeous as his big brothers!

My mom and I have thrown lots of showers but this was the first we have ever hosted at our home, so it was a little different but I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere. We went with a vintage toy theme and I think it turned out very cute! 

Buffalo Chicken Baked Potato Casserole

So Pintrest is awesome.  I've snagged tons of cute ideas off there this year and ended up with some great gifts and decor around the house, and in light of my success I decided to start trying some recipes.  It seems like we eat the same 4 meals over and over.  So I browsed Pintrest for hours and pinned the ones that looked worthy of my time and our picky eating habits.  My first attempt was "The World's Best Pork chops".  Sounds good enough.  WRONG.  A better name for these would have been "Are You Sure That Was a Pork chop?"  Total Pinstrosity.  Attempt number two, however, was a total success. Enter Buffalo Chicken Baked Potato Casserole.

This is seriously the most delicious casserole ever.  And who even likes casseroles?  The original pin came from Cook Lisa Cook but I down-sized it a little to make it more manageable for my small family. Either way, it is easy to half or double for however many your serving.

You will need: 

• 1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• 6 medium potatoes, cubed
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 TBS. freshly ground pepper
• 1 TBS. paprika 
• 2 TBS. garlic powder
• 6 TBS. hot sauce  ( I use Franks Buffalo Sauce)
• 1 bag Fiesta Blend Cheese or shredded cheese of your choice.
• 1 c. crumbled bacon
• 1 c diced green onion

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
Cube your potatoes and chicken.  Make the pieces similar in size.

In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder & hot sauce.

Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. 

Scoop your coated potatoes in your pan, leaving behind as much of the marinade as possible. 

Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until crispy & brown on the outside.

 

While your potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the leftover marinade and stir to coat. Put in the fridge.

Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees.  

 Add your marinated chicken to the cooked potatoes.

  Top your entire casserole with the shredded cheese, bacon, and green onions.

Stick the casserole back in the oven and bake for 15- 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly.  Serve with ranch or blue cheese.

** If hot sauce isn't your thing or you want to serve to younger kids, other chefs have used their favorite BBQ sauce as the marinade. 

It's Go Time - What to Pack

Sometime during your insane pregnancy nesting period you will pack a hospital bag.  If your anything like me you will pack and repack it 9 times after you read every singe blog and pin related to packing a hospital bag.  So I thought I would share what I ended up with when the time actually came.  If your having a home birth --God Bless You, your a total superstar and I'm jealous - feel free to move on to the next post.

First of all, its a good idea to pack your bag and the baby's bag at least a few weeks before your due date.  I packed mine at 35 weeks, was put of bed rest at 37 weeks, then didn't have the baby until 41 weeks.  Excruciating.  Oh well, at least I was prepared.

It's also a good idea to tell your significant other/birth support where the bags are.  I went into labor at my parents while we were watching The Grinch.  I was literally wearing pj pants and a Smurfs shirt circa 1982.  My husband had to load all the bags, pillows, blankets ect... and then come and pick me and my mom up.  After I changed my clothes of course...

Step 1:  Get adorable bags.  No, you don't need them.  You could take your stuff in a garbage bag and after the baby is here you could care less.  BUT before all this goes down, while your 19 months pregnant and puffy, buying super cute bags will make you feel better. 

YOUR BAG:

While birthing, you honestly don't need much.  Your vagina and some willpower. Post-partum is where it gets messy.  Literally. 

1) Underwear:  I packed was about 10 pairs of ginormous boy short underwear that I could throw away afterwards.  The hospital will of course give you mesh panties but they weren't supportive enough for me. My best friend swears by them.  Take a couple of your own just in case.

2) Pads:  I took some maxi pads but this is really unnecessary.  The pads you buy at the store don't stand a chance against the bleeding in the first few days.  Use what the hospital gives you and make sure you have a major supply of pads for when you get home.

3)  Slippers, slipper socks, and flip flops:  One for the room and one for the shower. Hospitals are gross.  DO NOT go barefoot.   

4) Bras.  I took two sports bras because I didn't have nursing bras yet.  My boobs didn't grow during pregnancy so I couldn't order any ahead of time.  If yours do, take your nursing bras.  Your boobs will hurt and your going to want some support for those girls.

5) Hospital clothes:  By all means you can stay in the gown the hospital gives you for your entire stay.  I felt ridiculous not having pants on when there were 13 people in the room.  So I brought some clothes.  I brought two nursing gowns, a pair of pjs, and a robe.  I highly recommend the robe.  I also had to stay in the hospital for 4 days -- oy vey--so I ran out of clothes and the hubs had to run home to get me more. 

6) Going home clothes:  Again, extra extra roomy nursing tank, sweats, and jacket. Your not going to win any beauty contests here ladies.  And heads up, those people who tell you they fit into their pre-pregnancy jeans the day they left the hospital are lying. 

7)  Miscellaneous:  Iphone, Ipad, chargers, camera, snacks, blanket and pillow.  This is important.  If your breastfeeding you will be up at 3AM and you will need something to do because let me tell you there is nothing on TV.  And of course you will want to share all those pictures of your new little squishy with the Facebook world.  I also thought I was going to starve to death the entire time I was in the hospital. I'm a picky eater and a nurse, so I don't mix well with hospital food.  The physical exhaustion from labor coupled with the extra energy require to breast feed made me ravenous.  My husband could not keep enough snacks in the room. Other people have told me they couldn't eat anything, so I guess it can go either way.  I also took my own blankets and pillows ( again the nurse in me showing through).  Hospital beds are hard.  And plastic.  Hospital pillows are plastic.  You've been warned. 

TOILETRIES:

This can really vary for everyone so I'll just give you a brief run down of what I took.  It actually worked out pretty well for me.

1) Deodorant. Duh.

2) Travel size shampoo and conditioner.

3) Travel size lotion and hand products.

4) Breast pads and lanolin (the hospital will give you these too).

5) Toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash.

6) Tucks pads and squirt bottle.

7) Make-up removing wipes

8) A little make-up.  I did mascara.  Your going to be in a lot of pictures.

9) Tons of hair bands.  I always lose those.

10) Chap stick.  I can't explain why but your lips get so dry during labor.  A must have.

BABY'S BAG:

This one is much more fun to pack.  Honestly, your kid doesn't really need anything while in the hospital but you.  So if you like to pack light, take a cute outfit for discharge day and call it good.  If your like me though, and can't wait another second to get a pretty pink bow on your new bundle you can pack a small bag.  Mine worked out perfect for me, I ended up with just what I needed.

1) Nursing cover if your breast feeding.  Lots of people in your room ALLLL the time. I also took some cloth breast pads and a nursing bracelet but didn't use either. 

2) Thick blanket if its cold out.

3) At least one receiving blanket. The hospital has tons of these but you will want a cute one in some of your pictures.

4) Burp cloths.  Also hospital supplied but I took some pink ones.

5) Clothes:  The hospital puts baby in those little white side button shirts which are adorable and make for easy access for the doctors and nurses.  But you have a whole closet full of clothes, right  And you can't wait  to use them.  The nurses love seeing the babes in their little outfits so bring as many as you want. After all it's your kid.  But also know its 100%  OK to leave them in the hospital shirts until you go home.  I took two gowns for the baby to sleep in and three outfits.  Each outfit included a matching hat, mittens, socks, and receiving blanket.  I know, over kill.  But she looked sooo adorable!  Until she had to lie naked under the bili lights for 24 hours.  Not fun.  You will want at least one cute outfit for hospital pictures.  Which reminds me, I need to order those things. 

6) Nursing Pillow:  Because nursing is hard, and your tired, and these things are a God send. 

7) Car Seat.  Gotta get that bambino home somehow!

Things you don't need to take for baby:  Diapers, wipes, lotion, brush, comb, nasal aspirator,baby wash, ect...  The hospital has all this and will give you tons.  Use it.  Then take the rest home with you and use it there.  Babies are expensive and you can use all the free stuff you can get. 

**Here are some other things I didn't take but others recommend:  Lozenges, cough drops, paper and pen, sleep mask, baby book, your own towels, address/phone book, pacifiers, special stuffed animal for baby, hand sanitizer, outfit for big brother/sister.

But don't just take my word for it!  Check out these other blogs that helped me decide what to take for the big day!

• Not That You Asked...
• Workman Family
• Pregnant Chicken