Make This Place Your Home

This week has been a whirlwind of doctor appointments, classes, and errands. Although it was busy, it was a blast at the same time. I saw all three of my doctors and everyone said that I am doing so incredibly well with this pregnancy. As well little Caroline is doing fabulous, which is always great news. It's still hitting me on a daily basis that I am pregnant, I really just can't even believe it. Something even more awesome is that I felt her little kicks this week for real, a little thing flicking me from inside. The hubs put his hand on my belly this last week and she started going wild, I felt so bad that he couldn't feel it. I am hoping as the weeks go on that it will really set in even more and I cannot wait to see her move from the outside.

If you watch any of my YouTube pregnancy vlogs, you can see that I have one heck of a belly already. Like a ridiculous belly for being a first time mom. I know I had a little bit of chunk before I got pregnant, but this belly is all baby now. At my OB appointment I was measuring 19 weeks at only 18 weeks, but the next day in the ultrasound little baby was also measuring ahead. So everything is falling right into place together. We got some really awesome photos of her as well, too bad they were after the first pictures were put onto the CD already. We have decided she has her daddy's nose and she has my cheekbones for sure. I know it will change and she will go through stages her whole life of looking like one or the other, but that's what we have concluded as of now.

Now the even funner part of the week was our cloth diaper class that we attended at our local cloth diapering store, The Green Bambino. It was all free and so informative. I thought I had a good handle on the whole knowledge of cloth diapering before hand, but was I ever wrong! It opened up a whole other world of diapers to me, and made it even more confusing for us to choose what we wanted. So armed with all of my new information I spent a good three hours researching and watching videos of reviews on different brands and types of cloths. I must say it is a little scary going into it because there is such a big up front cost, but I know it all comes back to you over time and with even more kids. We will be buying our cloth stash next month and I cannot wait to share it all. I will be doing posts and reviews on the diapers I purchase on here and on my vlog. I want to share the knowledge I have learned and show others it's not as gross or scary to actually do the diapering as it might seem.

After our awesome class we went over to Babies-R-Us and Target to do our registries. The baby shower probably will not be until January or February, but I also wanted to get it done before the holidays started in and we have to fight the crowds and other mommies for the scanner guns. We only registered items we know that they always carry such as swings, towels, bottles, etc. Also as it gets close to the shower date we will add little things here and there, but as far as large items on the registry we are buying the BIG stuff so we get exactly what it is that we researched for hours on end. Now to end the weekend we will be painting the room and I have a few photos of the "before" for you guys. I am hoping to do a mood board this week to show exactly what scheme we are going for and to put it all together.

I cannot wait to get everything all put together! I know she won't really be in her room that often at first, but I am hoping to use it for organization more than anything and for some nap times. It will probably be both of us napping in the room I am sure. Head on over to my pregnancy vlog on youtube! AdLandreth. 

Sweet Caroline

That's right, baby is a GIRL! We are so excited and happy. Really after all we have been through in the last couple of years either gender would have been the bees knees. I know the hubs is so excited to have a daddys girl though. He already has plans to take her on daddy dates to the zoo and museum, I can't wait to see their relationship blossom. It really is the sweetest thing. We are going to name her Caroline Leigh, I love love love that name and always have. Every Caroline I have ever met has been so sweet, so I figured it can't be bad. Also her nick name will be Cora or Cara, I like Cora a lot though. That was one name choice we had for her but I feel like her last name would be too long compared to her first name.

 I hope she forgives me for this one day!

Now we can go out and buy lots of cute, frilly, pink stuff! I hope I don't go overboard, her room at least won't be too crazy. I am so thrilled to get it started soon. She won't be in there much in the first place, but decorating is just going to be so much fun no matter what. I will be creating a mood board to show you all the ideas I have in mind for it and of course the whole transformation. Hopefully next week at our anatomy scan with the high risk doctor we can get some good 4-d images. I am so happy for our little family and how it is growing!

I am pretty sure she has her daddy's nose here. I love it!

Pregnancy Brain

So pregnancy brain is taking a toll on me and this blog. Every week I say at least once to myself I need to write about everything going on, then I forget by the end of the week. Sometimes in the middle of a sentence I just completely forget what I was saying and words fall out that make no sense. I have always been the person to walk into a room and forget why, so that's not new but it is worse. I have noticed a little more A.D.D on my part just because I will be listening to something or someone and trail off in thought or just blank out. It makes me feel terrible because I have never done that and then when I realize what I am doing I have to say something and have them go back. The only thing I am not having trouble remembering are the crazy pregnancy dreams that I have. Seriously these things are ridiculous, but kind of hilarious at the same time. I don't know if I should actually post any of them here or not, they are that crazy.

Last week we went to a "fun" ultrasound for ourselves. Any ultrasound is fun, but the doctors office ones don't always just stay on baby. We were trying to take a peek at what the baby is. I have had a gut feeling it was a girl and so has my hubs. It took almost an hour for us to finally see what we knew was there. The tech was so sweet and she really took the time to look at the baby and show us everything. She was about 80% sure it was a girl, which we did get one great shot between the legs and I have seen my fair share of boy ultrasounds. This one is not a boy, I am about 150% sure now that is is a girl. I am going tomorrow morning for my free re-do session to make sure that it is a girl. As well next week we have our anatomy scan at my high risk doctors office. So we get to see LOTS of baby this month, it makes for an exciting month between the millions of doctor appointments and classes I signed us up for. I am so excited for tomorrow because I get to take my nephew with me, he is 4 1/2 and has been begging to see the baby. I don't know if he will understand really, but it will be fun nonetheless and there always a game on the phone if he gets bored with it.

This month we have several appointments, a cloth diaper class, have to register, and finally paint the room! I will update after the ultrasound tomorrow and let you know if it is is a girl for sure! You can watch my YouTube pregnancy vlog updates here.

We're Back!

I have been on a hiatus, for longer than I expected. But, we are back with new projects and great news! I am hoping to posts a lot more on here than I have. We have quite a number of projects in the works to get done around here. Our first successful project came as a huge surprise though. We found out we are having a baby!

This all came as a huge shock to us. We have been working on trying to adopt for almost 3 years, but finally in February we decided to put everything on hold. Originally the plan was to focus on school and just that and our careers, a family would come when it was time. Well maybe it was the lack of stress on me, but I was finally able to really start losing weight and things started falling into place for me health wise. In May I saw both my Endocrinologist and OB, I asked them the same question, could we have a baby. Delightfully they were not hesitant to say yes! I couldn't believe my ears, my husband was so excited as well. Now I knew though it'd be a while before we successfully got pregnant, I figured we would try for months, and if nothing happened then we'd take a break and try again later. That was not in our little ones plans though, it only took the first month after getting the go ahead to try again. We had been hoping to get pregnant for years, even without asking my doctors, which I know isn't always the best course of action. We were hoping maybe they'd just jump on board with us if it happened. I truly believe it all fell into place when it was supposed to without hoping things would just happen to go right.

This is my favorite 3D/4D shot, I couldn't believe they gave us any the first time. Truly a treat!

Another awesome factoid about this pregnancy is the due date. Though it has changed on us a few times, the suspected ones fall on either March 8th or March 18th. How much more perfect can it get, there's a reason this blog is called home at eight. Now I know baby will come when they are good and ready, and basically we are just calling out March as a due date all together. Nonetheless I got pretty giddy when I was told those dates.

So projects you can surely look forward to are a baby room and we are hoping to paint our front door around October. I am doing pregnancy updates on YouTube, my username is ADLandreth. You can follow along throughout the pregnancy here or there. If you don't want the nitty gritty details about pregnancy, I'd suggest you only watch the "Update" videos or read it here. As always thanks for reading and leave any questions or comments below.

Ooooooh How Shiny....

Like any normal girl or woman, I love shiny things. It's not that they are distracting, well not always, but gosh darn they are nice to look at. That is one reason I just got some new pots and pans. The other reason being that our current set was looking pretty sad and a little broken too. Not to mention the good amount of non-stick fibers that are missing from the pans and more than likely have been ingested by us.

 Now look at this beautiful set of pots and pans we finally decided to jump the gun and get!
































Aren't they just gorgeous, too bad I didn't set this shot up while obviously making veggie spaghetti. The coolest part about this set is that it also came with a short and round 5 quart pot besides the one shown, as well as a set of stainless steel kitchen utensils. As well the lids to the pots have two different types of strainers on them. This means getting the noodles drained and back into the pot is not longer a hassle or hazard of life or death.


Now the best part, even better than the amazing beauty and love I have for these (I have been pining after them since August) is the price. The whole set was only $100 at good old Sams Club. Yep, that's it! And I am pretty sure these suckers will last a long time, so they will pay for themselves in time.

 I will be posting lots of cooking photos just because of these pans, expect a photo of grilled cheese sandwiches with only a corner of the sandwich showing. I hope you love your pots and pans as much as I do and remember to respect them. For they shut that monster in your tummy up with delicious food!

I will be back soon with more about my freezer meal adventures, with recipes as well. -Alisha



DISCLAIMER- I was in no way, shape, or form paid to purchase these items or mention them in my blog. The opinions stated are completely and 100%  my own. I also was not paid to endorse this product or that of the store I purchased them at. I just love them that much to do it! -Alisha Landreth of Home At Eight

Sew Cute!

      Yes, I just used a sewing pun in the title; but wait until you see these babies!

    I vamped up some cloth diapers for a friend before she had her bundle of joy and now I will teach you how to make some of your own. Personally I think I may just have to make some for myself just to use around the house. They are too cute to resist and super easy to not make them.

    Here is a list of supplies

• Package of Cloth diapers (usually they run about $10 for a pack of 5) 
• Cotton fabrics of your choice. You only need 1/4 of a yard, you will have plenty left over.
• measuring tape, white thread, scissors, and a sewing machine. 
• Iron and starch
• About an hour or two to finish them completely. 

First I measured the middle of the cloth diaper on which the fabric would be seam to. It measured at about 

51/2 inches.  Therefore I needed to have my fabric strips cut at 6 1/2 inches to have a seam for sewing. As well measure the length of the cloth which was about 20 inches so I cut at 21 inches. 

  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the fabric to perfect size, also sometimes I can go a little rigid with the scissors and I wanted these to be perfect. Make sure to keep measuring throughout the whole process. Next I took the cut fabric and lined them up on top of the cloths to make sure they matched. 

Perfect! Before you sew you need to fold under the edges for a flawless seam. I flipped the fabric over to the wrong side and folded each 21 inch side over by 1/2 an inch. Spray the edge with a good amount of starch spray and iron the edge down to keep it flat for sewing. On the ends of the fabric I tucked the corner in and folded over again to give a half inch seam that wouldn't stick out from the sides. I used a towel on the dining room table to keep everything in one space.

Sew a single stitch around the whole piece of fabric to keep the edges flat for sewing onto the cloth. Then one at a time place each piece of fabric onto a cloth diaper down the middle and pin it for sewing. I like to place the pins facing outwards so I can pull them out with my left hand while the other hand leads the fabric through the sewing machine. 

First I used a single stitch all the way around the edges on the seams to connect them in general. Lastly I used a zig-zag stitch all the way around to close the edges completely and to give it a little bit of decoration. 

 Now repeat as many times as you'd like! They are so easy to make and well worth it. I hope you like them as much as I do. If you have any questions please ask me and let me know if I left anything out that you need to know to make your own. Make sure to wash the cloths before you use them with your bundle of love or just around the house. Enjoy! 

A Month In A Day-Part One

      First off I must apologize for not getting this posted sooner. You can blame it on the colds and such going around, as well as my "awesome" immune system. That being said I think we both agree that you will be either loving this post for the amount of info or calling me crazy at the end. You could do both, go ahead. I will cheer on the crazy chants with you!

Last months freezer "haul". We ended up with about a weeks worth still left this month. 

This is only part one on what you need to get started and organized.

     Let's get started! What will you need?

•  Write down your goal for this new way of life. Is it to save money or time? Maybe it is both, map it out and let the whole family in on it. Make it a family decision and make the rules.
• A Calendar or list/planner for the month. Make sure there is enough space for each day to write the meals or ideas.This is an awesome meal planner by Mead. You can download this or buy the organizer books at Target. (There are so many helpful planners to print for free here!)
• What is your budget? : This is the biggest part of freezer meal cooking. Give yourself a budget with a little leeway for the first month. The first month will tell you almost everything you need to know about how your family eats and what they like.

• Dinner List: Write down all of the dinners and meals you know for a fact your family will eat. Do you know what you eat the most every month? Make sure this is on the list, it will be the go to when you're feeling like comfort food.
• Lunches & Breakfast: Are you going to try and make the whole months meals including all 3 meals for everyday? Or are you going to make these once a week, or every day. Make sure you know this ahead of time. Go ahead and plan them out too just so you know what you can expect on your grocery trip.
• Take an inventory of what you have in your pantry and refrigerator. Make sure you know what ingredients you have as well. 
• Find recipes and write down all of the ingredients you need to buy and what you already have. Make sure you duplicate the recipes so you buy enough of everything. 
• Plan a weekend to shop and cook. Usually I will take my Friday or Saturday and just go shopping. Then on Sunday I will cook all day. 

      Remember to have fun with this, it is going to make your life easier. I promise. Just thinking about this while you are cooking all day will make it a funner day. I usually have my iPad nearby and watch movies all day while I am cooking. I also found this great website for you guys with some very helpful tips. This goes straight to the beginners page for new freezer meal cookers. She has a download for what freezes well and what doesn't. I hope this helps! 

       Later this week I will post about getting the ingredients together and the cooking. I am doing my cooking this weekend. I promise I will not go this long again without posting. 

Have a fabulous weekend and let's get to cooking! - Alisha

Easy Peasy

     I am so excited about this blog post. All because it is about cooking ahead of time, or otherwise known as freezer meals. I know that this is becoming a pretty big trend and I want to be a part of it. We are starting our debt stacking in February, so I decided it was high time to cut in the grocery section. I know that most normal people would never cut down their grocery budget, but I am not anywhere near normal.

   Therefore I took to pinterest and searched for any recipes in bulk and tips on cooking for freezing. I did do an oopsy daisy by not taking photos of my stash after cooking. No worries, cooking weekend is this coming Sunday.  Let me tell you not to be overwhelmed, be excited! It may seem like so much to do in one weekend, but honestly is not. It took me only 3 1/2 hours tops for all of our dinners. We did make a few breakfast items but not two weeks worth.

Here's a list of the dinners I made:

• Spaghetti Sauce
• Lasagna ( From the spaghetti sauce)
• Five variations of boiled chicken with sauces and veggies
• Chicken Crescent Roll Ups
• Ground beef ready to mix with anything. Already cut up onions & green peppers
• Chicken Chimichangas
• Chicken crescent burritos. 
• Burgers

  We got exactly 14 dinners out of all of this, using a guestimation of servings sizes too. Since all the major things would be cooked already, we would just need to make the sides. In which case dinner is usually done in 10-15 minutes every night and we get to do other projects while it heats up. 

Here's some photos of the setup I had in the kitchen. Please excuse the blur, my lens is in need of a replacement!

My two main tools for mixing and cutting. The Kitchen Aid and the Ninja. It is basically a blender and food processor, I love it.

I actually had a total of 4 pounds of meat and about 5 chicken breasts. Along with so much cheesy goodness!

I use coconut oil to cook everything, look up the health benefits. You will be amazed. As well with my stock of other spices. I also decided to use up the rest of my free barbecue sauce from couponing.

Try this: put an onion in ice water for about 30 minutes before you cut it. This stops you from crying while cutting it!

The magic of the Ninja. I wanted to get the green pepper super small as well as the onions. That way I just added a small amount of each to the meat or chicken mixes.

I just used a small wooden spoon to measure out the amounts into each meal. Super easy!

   Next I browned  the burger, two pounds at a time. As well I had my hubs make me some patties from one pound of the meat. All you have to do is spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and then place the patties on it. Freeze the burgers until the middle if firm and pretty frozen. After that throw them into a freezer bag for ready to cook burgers that won't stick together. 

     After cooking the meat with the veggies added, I simply combined it with spaghetti sauce. To make my lasagna I covered my small bread loaf pan with foil, layers and layers of foil.  This keeps the food from sticking to the pans while it freezes and re-cooks. I used one lay of meat sauce, then a lay of whole wheat oven ready lasagna noodles. Topped with cheese and chopped baby spinach. I repeated those steps until it reached the top. At the very top I used just plain red sauce with some cheese and more baby spinach. Then I cooked it at 425 for 45 minutes. I wanted to go ahead and cook everything so when we want to eat it again we only have to throw it in the over for about 15-20 minutes instead. This fed us for two nights with pretty hefty servings each. 

     With the rest of the meat sauce and cooked beef I just put them in freezer bags for each meal. One tip I learned was to put all of the bags into a baking pan or cookie sheet to freeze initially. This makes them flatter and easier to store. Next on the list was the chicken dinners. I boiled all of the chicken breasts together for about 45 minutes. They were very tender and sure looked yummy! Then I cut 3 of them in half and threw them in bags with sauces and veggies. With two of breasts I made pulled chicken for the crescent roll ups and chimis.

 
The rolls ups basically consisted of cream cheese, cheddar cheese shredded, and pulled chicken. Along with any veggies you'd like. Then take little handfuls and roll them into a crescent roll and pinch the ends to close. I froze them on a pan first before throwing them in a bag together.

   I hope to put up a better post soon and with more ideas. As well I will have links to recipes etc. I helped one friend this weekend cook for her family, it was a lot of fun and felt great to help someone out. This has helped us tremendously since we have started school back. I hope this gets you on the bandwagon of awesome dinners too!

Some new projects

   As I said on my last blog post I would actually post about some of my projects with the Cameo. Well here they are. My sister and I needed to make baby shower invitations for her friend, we got our heads together and some idea starters off of Pinterest. The shower was for a girl, but we didn't want to make it so super girly. So after a ton of deliberation we got the colors down to a blushy pink and a shimmering brown. (The photos are not lookin so hot today, my flash was being mean!)

    It's really too bad you cannot see the shimmery-ness of the brown!

   Some vellum envelopes and kraft paper name tags to finish it off. As well this adorable confetti that just so happened to be pink gold and white with umbrellas! How lovely huh?!  The guests loved them so much we got a customer for wedding invites, this should be fun. I guess we are starting a small card making gig on the side.

  More to come soon, as well I will be painting our bedroom in a month or so, be on your toes! Are there any crafters out there who just finished a project they love?