Andi – Page 60 – ANDI HAYS

Zesty Chicken & Rice Skillet

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Andi

Here is yet another meal from Kraft Foods. I have made this twice now. The first time I followed the recipe almost exactly. The only change I made was to use chicken broth instead of water and a bouillon cube. The second time I used brown rice (because that is what I had) and only green peppers (because that is what I had) and added onions per Chuck’s request. The brown rice took a little longer to soak up all the juices than the white rice did, but it was just as tasty!

This is a new go-to meal for me and you should definitely give this easy and flavorful meal a try!

I may have a greenish thumb after all!

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Andi

I went to check on my plants yesterday and found a tiny little tomato plant had sprouted. Today I checked on them to find all these!

These are all tomatoes. I also saw that an onion had sprouted.

There are a couple more that I can see starting to peek up through the dirt! How very exciting!

New do and a good deed

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Andi

The other day I got my hair cut. Here’s a quick little picture I took after I had it done.

It’s maybe an inch shorter than I would have gone, but if I got 8 inches off, I could donate my hair through Pantene. So I went for it! I love it so far. I need to play with getting it straight in the morning. But that will require that I dry my hair…and I never to that! 🙂 A new do is always nice for the summer. Now I just need the warm weather to go with it!

Gardening

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Andi

I’ve decided to try my hand at gardening. Well, other than lilies and other plants that don’t need much care! 🙂 Ow that I am home, I wanted to try growing some fruits and vegetables. I went this weekend and picked out some seeds to start planting and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

I got potatoes, a raspberry plant, onions, bell peppers (I forgot to get jalapeÃ±o peppers) tomatoes, spinach, cilantro, carrots….things that I actually eat. This way I thought I would be more excited about growing things that I like and would use. I hope it will be much more rewarding this way.

I can always try more things if these go well. We’ll see! But this seemed like a good start.

I planted them in this little tray and then added a cover to keep them toasty. I guess you just need to spray them with a squirt bottle. It actually works quite well.

My next task is to submit a plan for where the garden will be. We need to do that in the neighborhood. We are also planning to build a patio, so maybe we’ll send them in at the same time. The seeds aren’t quite ready to be outside anyway.

I’ll post some updates of my plants as they grow. Wish me luck! And send green thumb thoughts my way!

Maddie’s First Easter

Posted on April 25, 2011April 25, 2011 by Andi

Yesterday was Maddie’s first Easter. We went to my mom’s house for lunch and festivities. There was an egg hunt and egg decorating. And my mom went all out with the Easter baskets as she always does! 🙂 We had a good time and it was Maddie’s first visit to grandma and grandpa Terwilliger’s house. After being there quite a few hours, Maddie was ready to go home. She was overly tired and hadn’t been eating real well in a new place. So we quickly headed out. I am really learning that a baby dictates everything we do. Not that I didn’t know that, but when the baby is ready to go, you grab everything in a fury and go. 🙂

Here’s a little picture of Maddie that I took yesterday. She had a bunny outfit on with bunny socks. This outfit has a bunny hat that goes with it, but it’s too small for her. So I added this adorable bow. I can’t help giggling at her when I see it on her head!

I hope you had a great Easter. When I get the pictures my mom took at her house, I’ll try to remember to post those. 🙂

We’re In Trouble Now….

Posted on April 22, 2011April 22, 2011 by Andi

Look what Maddie learned to do yesterday!

So yeah….She couldn’t hold her head up this much the day before. And now she’s rolling. Yesterday I put her on the floor and this is what she did! We were so proud! Now we just need her to start talking, walking and using the toilet! Smile

Micro Twitter

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Andi

Babies need Twitter accounts, right? Well, mine does. Chuck had started one for Maddie before she was born and I forgot it existed until recently. So I am going to try to post things to it. Smile

I have added the Twitter feed to my right side bar under my Twitter feed. If you want to make a link of your own for somewhere, or follow her (“following” will only make sense if you know how to use Twitter), her link is here: @microhays.

2 Month Doctor Visit

Posted on April 19, 2011April 19, 2011 by Andi

Today was Maddie’s 2 month doctor’s appointment. She was 11 pounds, 6 ounces and about 24 inches long. She’s still a long little baby for her age! I don’t know where she gets the height from…it certainly isn’t from me!

She also got 3 shots today for various vaccinations and little vaccine cocktail she had to drink. After her shots, she cried and cried. I got her calmed down and she went right to sleep. She took a nap at home then woke up VERY upset. I finally consoled her and she fell back asleep. She was not happy with the world. After the second nap, she was a much happier baby and was full of smiles. She just needed some sleep. I put her to bed early, too. I am sure she’ll be herself again tomorrow. The funny part is that when Chuck got home, she was all smiles and he jokingly told me he didn’t believe she was upset at all! Ha!

The doctor thought Maddie was doing well and was impressed with how alert she was. She said we should record some of the cooing noises she makes since they won’t make those noises forever. I guess I should record more videos of her before she really starts talking! 🙂

2 months

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Andi

Our little Maddie is 2 months old! Maddie has been finding her hands a lot more and really likes to suck on her fists. Every once in a while, she manages to get her thumb and sucks on it for a couple minutes. It’s really cute. She will also grab your hand and has quite the grip!

Maddie is generally a happy baby. People who meet her can’t believe how happy she is. She had a little too much excitement this weekend and she got overly tired and a little cranky. But after getting lots of sleep, she’s back to her happy self.

We are starting to work on getting a schedule started for Maddie. We have been reading books and it’s best to start good sleep habits early. So I have been making sure that Maddie takes naps in her room so she knows that when she is in there it is time to sleep. She won’t just lay down and try to go to sleep on her own until she’s a couple months older, but everything we have read says to start early. So while I write this, Maddie is napping in her room.

Maddie is a great eater and the most obvious change in her this month is her chubby cheeks! People definitely notice them and you’ll see how chubby they are in her pictures. But to even out all the chunk she has, she’s also stronger and more wiggly every day!

Maddie has also started smiling a lot more. She likes a few noises and I like to laugh at her and she smiles. She also has this new fake cough. I don’t know if it’s her way of laughing or if she’s just being goofy. But it’s hilarious and I love her!

So here are the 2 months pictures I took:

Here is a link to the other 2 month pictures I took.

And here is a link to her 1 month pictures.

Fiesta Chicken Pasta

Posted on April 15, 2011April 15, 2011 by Andi

I have been making lots of meals from Kraft Foods lately. I made this the other night and it was really tasty. The things I did differently were to add 1/2 mild and 1/2 spicy salsa. It had a kick, but wasn’t overwhelmingly spicy. I also added a little more pasta and a little more dressing.

We both went back for seconds and I would make this again. Also, I have started keeping track of our meals. I put them on our calendars. I need to be better and plan a few days in advance instead of writing the meal on the calendar the day I make the meal. It’s a work in progress! 🙂