Packing for Little Ones: Unexpected Uses

When packing for Cam before our trip to Florida, I had laid everything out and was just starring at it. It's all so teeny.
And the suitcase, while I needed the space, looked so big! I was just picturing everything being a jumbled mess by the time we got there. Well, remember back in this post I said to look out for a different way to use the Ikea storage boxes?
Well, the light bulb went on, and I decided to make these functional boxes work in one more way for me! Of course I didn't take photos when I packed for Florida, thus the delay in posting this. I recreated it for our up north trip.

I put in the first layer of items, neatly organized into the boxes.






Then the rest of the items lay on top.



They kept everything in place, and I loved how it worked! We'll definitely use this format in the future. Have you found an unexpected use for an item? I'd love to hear about it! Share it in the comments or on the My Happy House Facebook page!

Making Room for Baby: Family Room

I already showed you what changes we made in our bedroom to accommodate Cam, but it's pretty much a given that our family room had to change too. We've managed to keep our formal spaces (living and dining rooms) kid-free and we plan to keep it that way. And I don't mean they aren't allowed in there, those just aren't rooms we play in and leave toys. However, our family room will be just that. A space where we spend our time and enjoy one another...and fill it with kid schtuff. But at the same time, I didn't want it to look like Toys R Us threw up in here either. A happy medium needed to be accomplished.

First a quick look at the family room pre-Cam:




I wanted to be able to mostly put the kid stuff away if needed, and I also didn't want to buy any new storage items. Tough customer, I know. Here are our best solutions.



Not a ton different, huh? We pulled the couch back just a touch, which actually opened the space up a bit, but still gave plenty of walking space to get into the area. With that, we gained the space up by the TV to put any large toy Cam might be into at the time. At first it was the swing, currently it's his beloved jumperoo and play mat. Is it visually pleasing? Meh. But we're able to put it away at the end of the day and not have it in the middle of the room if guests are over.
And then see that little basket under the side table? That was my saving grace the first few months, and even now. Cam's room is on the 2nd floor, so going up and down the stairs multiple times a day was not in the cards. I created a little basket with the essentials- diapers, burp rags, wipes, diaper cream, hand sanitizer, a changing mat I borrowed from Carl's diaper bag, nail clippers and bulb syringe. All items that get used every day, multiple times a day. I can set it on the table for easy access, but it also slides nicely, as shown, under the table to get it out of sight.

Then there's all the little knick knack toys. I wanted somewhere to keep them that was easily accessible, so I re-purposed our wicker basket. Before it held a random assortment of blankets and electronic goods which have all received new, more appropriate homes.

So that's that. Our living room, post-Cam's arrival. We'll eventually have a play space for him in the basement, but this works for now and we aren't quite ready to do the basement transformation! Do you have a space you've had to transform for one reason or another? Share a link in the comments or on Facebook. I'd love to read about it!

Making Room for Baby: Bedroom

Since Cam arrived, we've had to make a few adjustments to say the least. One of my goals was to not let having a baby take over our entire house. Carl and I both agreed that we wouldn't buy anything just because it's on a "what to get when you're having a baby" list. We decided we'd buy the necessities and then see how things went. It worked out great for us, and I think we've done a pretty good job so far of keeping the house looking like there are two adults still living here.

I thought it might help to show the little (and some bigger) changes we've made. We'll start with the bedroom. I know everyone likes pictures, so I'll let them do the talking.

First, a little before. Not the best before, but it's the only shot I have:

And the after:

So there are the changes we've made so far in the bedroom since the little man arrived. I think we handled that room quite well, but I knew the family room would be more of a challenge. Stay tuned to see how we made that room baby friendly!

Do you have any tips on how you changed your bedroom to accommodate another family member? Share them in the comments!

Cam's Room- Final Touches

The last time I showed you Cam's room, we were missing two key components. 1. The rocking chair and 2. The middle photo for the wall frames. This post will be short and sweet, but here is the view from the door of the completed nursery. He isn't sleeping in here yet, but I'm certain he will like it once he is.




Also, for those of you asking for Mr. Cam updates, you can see them here on the My Happy Line blog.

Cam's Arrival Story

We're coming up on Cam's two week "birthday" so I figure it's time to share a little bit about how he came to be here. Leading up to his birthday, I was sick. Very sick. It started right after Christmas and I had to go through 3 rounds of antibiotics, one that I'm still finishing, to get better. I had days of begging him to stay put so I could recuperate and have enough energy to deliver him! So with that little background, we'll get into the delivery weekend. And as a warning, it's long as that's how these things usually go, but I promise there are some entertaining pieces to it and I'll reward you with a photo at the end. Although, I won't ever know if you just skip to the bottom to get the photo reward.

Friday, January 21st:
I thought my water might have broke, but was advised by the on call Dr. to sit tight and see what happened. I decided it wasn't anything that warranted me going to the hospital yet.

Saturday, January 22nd (Due Date):
I woke up feeling more sick than I had the day before, and I still wasn't sure about the whole water leaking business, so we decided to just go up to the hospital. We wanted to be safe rather than sorry. My Dr. (who was on call for the weekend) put me on a new antibiotic and confirmed that I was not leaking any fluid. Back home we went.

Sunday, January 23rd:
The feeling of being overdue is a strange one. All the while I was pregnant, I had a feeling he would be late, but when it actually was past my due date I was bummed. I immediately felt determined to get the baby out. I spent the morning cleaning (big surprise, huh?) and chilling with Gibson. Around 3pm having no new progress, I decided to step it up a notch. Literally. I started walking our staircase two steps at a time. Carl was certain I was going to hurt myself. After about 20 minutes of that, I worked up a nice sweat, but that was it. We had discussed going to Target to do some walking and to get me a Decaf, Non-fat, No whip Iced Raspberry Mocha, my beverage of choice during the pregnancy, but I told him I wanted to play our Michael Jackson Dance game for the Wii. He was pretty insistent on going to Target, but allowed me to get in 3 songs first.

Inserting side note story here that isn't key to the arrival of Cam, so feel free to skip this next part in parentheses or if you want a giggle, read on.
(Let me jump back. Carl had purchased a journal and decided it would be his "Cam journal." He started writing in it on Friday, assuming that I'd be going into labor any minute. I've never seen him obsess over something so much- mostly in a cute way. He wasn't sure what pen he wanted to use, what format he should go with or even if he should write on both the front and back of the pages. He finally settled on all his decisions. So I'm walking the stairs and he's writing in his journal. I get done with my attempt to get Cam out and sit down. Carl tells me we HAVE to go to Target. I told him I wanted to wait because I wanted to play the MJ Dance game first. He then replies saying that he already wrote in the journal that we went to Target and got Starbucks, so we really had to go. It was in pen, and that means it's permanent. I finally got him to agree to letting me play the game first and promised we would still go afterward. Heaven forbid we mess up the sacred journal! ;) )

Ok, so 3 songs later, I was, again a sweating mess. However, I was a sweating and possibly contracting mess! I started timing them casually and sure enough the 30ish second pains were coming just about every 5 minutes. I got reminded by my dear Carl that I had promised we would go to Target, and I agreed to go thinking that if these were contractions, the best thing to do would be to walk and keep them coming.

We get to Target, get our beverages and start walking. We had a few small things we needed to buy, so we grabbed those and then it started. The strong contractions. I had to stop multiple times in our walk holding onto a shelf or Carl for balance. We quickly moved to the checkout (where there was a freaking line for the first time ever!) and left. We grabbed a pizza knowing that there was a good chance we'd have to leave for the hospital soon and there was no way I wasn't getting my last meal!

We called the Dr. and she said I could either come in or labor at home for an hour or so. We decided to stay home and continue timing the contractions which were close to 3 minutes apart by this point. At 7:45p we headed out to the hospital. We checked in at 8:10p and I was put in a Triage room. I was dilated to 3cm and was already in quite a bit of pain. I attempted to walk around the hospital to move things along, but that didn't last for more than 20 minutes as the contractions were getting stronger and much more painful. By the time I was checked again around 10p, I was at a solid 4cm and was able to be admitted at that time. I am not one to tolerate pain well, and had made it clear to the nurse that I wanted an epidural as soon as possible. She worked very hard to get me in a room quickly, and I was extremely thankful for that!

It seemed like when I got in my room at 10:30p to the time that the epidural was administered at 11:30p took forever. I thought it was the longest hour of my life, and it quite possibly was up to that moment. Prior to the epidural I didn't want Carl to talk to me, look at me, touch me, nothing. He was so patient and understanding. However, after the epidural, I was a peach. I allowed our parents to come in and say hello and Carl was allowed to look at me again :)

I progressed along quite well after that. Not long after that, I was at 6cm and they broke my water, and there was unfortunately meconium in it. This basically meant I couldn't hold him right away, that he would have to be checked out by the Pediatrician immediately. By around 4am I was dilated to 10cm. The only other issue was that they were fairly certain Cam was posterior and were hoping to get him to flip. I endured the next 2 hours in a myriad of positions to coax him to flip, and thank goodness he did.

Just before 6am, it was time to push. And it was then that I realized waiting that hour for the epidural was like a freaking walk in the park. I'll keep the details to myself here, but after about an hour of pushing and 10 sutures to follow, a perfectly healthy Cam arrived at 6:40a on January 24th, 2011. (Just 20 minutes before my Dr. would have switched out with the next on-call Dr.!) He was a whopping 8lbs 14oz and 22 inches long. The nursing staff all commented on how big his hands were. Since I couldn't hold him right away, I just recall asking Carl if he was cute. Naturally, he responded with a yes. Although, I'm not sure there is any other appropriate response when your wife just had a close to 9lb baby and is in the midst of being sewn back together. :/

So that's the story of how Cam joined the Happy Household and we're still enjoying every day with him! This past week, we had a newborn session with the amazing Pazy Portraits and although we are waiting for the full gallery, here is a quick sneak peek into what we'll receive.

Lastly, moral of the story is, if you are pregnant and ready to get your baby out, just dance Michael Jackson style and your sure to have your baby in a matter of hours :)

I'm a Mom :)

I will do more of a recap later, but I'm just quickly announcing that Carl Mark II, or Cam as we will call him, arrived on 1.24.11. He was born at 6:40a and was 8lbs 14oz and 22 inches long. We are getting adjusted and recovering well, but this new mommy is in no shape to be blogging as I'm sure many of my mommy readers understand! For now though, you get eye candy :) Meet Cam!


Our first family photo:

This Happy House is most definitely happy and I can't wait to share more details with you. Well, I mean, I can, but only because I have to at this point. I'll be back soon.

The Nursery: Stage 2

Well, I was hoping we would get our rocker in sooner than the estimated time they gave us, but alas, no luck. So, I am going to share Stage 2 of the nursery and then once it's reeeeeeally done, I'll share the absolute final photos.

If you want to see Stage 1, go here first, but this was what it looked like before we bought the house.
Picking up where we left off, Carl finished the built in bookcase that he and his dad had started. It turned out even better than I could have hoped.

Then, all the manly time and attention went to the crib. I think there were times where they were really regretting taking on the project, but in the end, it was 100% worth it. Since I'm really not up on the woodworking verbiage, I'll let the photos tell the story.



Once the crib was done, we debated for quite some time about the dresser. My due date was fast approaching, Carl was getting swamped at work and the holidays were staring us in the face. We made the decision to just purchase a dresser rather than build one. We went with the popular Ikea Hemnes dresser which was especially good for us, because our guest room furniture is already part of that line. It'll make it easier to move furniture around in the future as necessary.

Then it was just a matter of final details. Carl installed a Rubbermaid Closet Organizer and a white room darkening cordless, wandless window shade. I wanted to keep things clean and simple, so no frills went into that area.

Once that was done, it was time for my vision to come into play. I had pictured greens and blues, but not really pastel. I was thinking more along the lines of aquas and teals. We centered the room around bedding from Land of Nod. The colors were exactly what I had in mind. From there everything just sort of fell into place. I spotted a lamp at Home Goods, chose the light green rug from Pottery Barn and had some prints created from an Etsy Seller. The only missing piece is a newborn photo which will be placed in the center frame above the crib. Well that and the rocker that we ordered when I was 28 Weeks pregnant...and the build time is 12 weeks, oops. Once that arrives, we'll be in really good shape, it's just a race to see which gets here first, baby or rocker :).

But enough chitter chatter, it's time for the good stuff.

First, the two pieces that took the most of Carl's blood sweat and tears. The finished bookcase, which is just begging for more books. I promise, we're working on our collection:


And the second time consumer, the finished crib, and a close up of the bedding. The two bottom drawers pull out to store extra bedding.

Now for the overviews. View of the room from the door:

View of the room from the corner by the crib:

View of the room in the corner by the closet:

View from the corner where the rocker will sit. That mirror used to be black and hang in our foyer, but was really too small for the space. It was repurposed by spray painting it white and fits nicely in the nursery.


And lastly, for now, the closet. This baby has more storage than his parents, and really more than we know what to do with right now, but I'm certain it will be filled in no time!
Up close:
We had so much fun putting together this room. Each step was carefully thought out, and this was probably the most work we've put into any room in the house. I told Carl we are going to have to stay here until we have all our babies, because I'm fairly certain I won't get this nice of a nursery if we move to a new house :) I'm so impressed with his work, he continues to amaze me day after day! Hope you enjoyed the big reveal.

Freezer Meals: Week 4

Freezer Meals are getting extended a touch. I wanted to work around my grocery shopping trip, so I split this week up. As I had mentioned before, with Thanksgiving, I wanted to keep the cooking light. I'll have one more round of them, at least. Carl says I should just cook like this all the time. HA! If you want to see Weeks 1, 2 & 3, go here and here.

Easy Beef Enchiladas- Click here for recipe- Do all the steps before baking. I put mine in the aluminum tins (6 enchiladas to a tin), cover and freeze. Thaw overnight in fridge and bake as stated in recipe.


Chicken Pot Pie (I tripled the recipe to make 3 pies)

• 2 Breasts of chicken- cooked in 1 1/2c chicken broth and shredded
• 2 pie crusts
• 1 bag of frozen vegetables of your liking (I like carrots, peas, green beans and corn)
• 5 Tbsp butter
• 1/3 c Flour
• 1 c Milk or Half & Half if you want it to be richer
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 1/4 tsp salt

Melt butter in large skillet and mix in flour, stirring constantly until you have a thick sauce. Pour in milk, salt and pepper. Add in the chicken and vegetables and stir to blend. Layer one pie crust in a pie dish, pour in the chicken mixture, cover with the other pie crust and pinch edges to seal. Cut the top to allow for steam to escape while cooking. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, but to freeze-stop before the baking step, flash freeze for 30 minutes, cover with foil and put back in freezer. When you are ready to eat it, thaw overnight and bake as directed.


Mashed Potatoes (4-2 serving bags worth)- Do I really need a recipe? I think I did like 10 smallish russet potatoes and threw in some butter, milk, salt and pepper. I froze them in airtight bags at about 2 servings per bag. I figure it's an easy side for the meatballs or just whenever I'm craving taters. I love love love mashed potatoes :)


Week 4: DONE! All I have left on my list is Classic Beef Stew and Cottage Pie. I'm really looking forward to eating the beef stew now, so that will be happening sooner rather than later :)

Are you still with me on this? Have any other great freezer recipes? Please do share!

Freezer Meals: Weeks 2 & 3

Time to play a little game of catch up on the freezer meal situation. I've been busting my belly in the kitchen the last two weeks and am feeling quite accomplished over here!

First, I should mention we are now the proud owners of this guy:

A 7 cubic feet chest freezer thanks to my parents! Hooray for early Christmas presents as this was obviously needed well before Christmas! Not only has it already come in handy for all our freezer meals, but it will be much appreciated when it comes to storing breastmilk and having a growing family.


Laughing Cow Chicken- Click for the recipe, however, do not bake the chicken. I did all the steps right up to baking, wrapped each individual breast in foil and then sealed them in an airtight bag. For cooking- I'll defrost overnight in the refrigerator and bake as normal. Just be certain to check your chicken temp to make sure they are cooked thoroughly! Also- I made sure to use fresh chicken breasts so I wasn't thawing, freezing and re-thawing the chicken.

Vegetable Lasagna- Follow the recipe up to the baking step. Freeze at that point. Defrost overnight and bake as usual. I used one of my disposable aluminum tins.

Macaroni & Cheese- Follow the recipe up to the baking step. Freeze at that point. Defrost overnight and bake as usual. I used one of my disposable aluminum tins.

Sweet & Sour Chicken- Follow the recipe up to the baking step. Freeze at that point. Defrost overnight and bake as usual. I used one of my disposable aluminum tins.

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes (from Smitten Kitchen)- after cooking, I just layered with wax paper and sealed in a airtight bag. When ready to eat, microwave for one minute.

Egg, Sausage & Cheese Strata-
6 slices bread, without crusts
1 lb. cooked browned ground sausage
3/4 lb. shredded cheddar cheese
2 c. milk
8 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 c. melted butter

Cube bread and layer in buttered 9x13 inch baking dish; add sausage and cheese in layers. Mix milk, eggs and dry mustard together. Pour over bread and meat. Pour butter over all. *Refrigerate overnight. Bake @ 325 for 1 hour.
*But to freeze-I refrigerated overnight and then put them in the freezer. Defrost overnight and bake as directed.

That's it for weeks 2 and 3. Since I've got a shortened week with Thanksgiving coming up, I've only got two recipes I'm planning on doing although I might get to more, time permitting.

Week 4:
Chicken Pot Pies
Beef Enchiladas

After those, I'll actually have enough dinners for a month seeing as I've been freezing about 2 dinners per recipe on average. I've just really got my fingers crossed that all this hard work is going to pay off in the end!!

Zombie Baby is a......

The cat is finally out of the bag now that the shower is over. Little Baby Boy H will be here in no time and we are getting quite restless in the Happy Household. But not so restless that we are ready for him yet! We still have lots to accomplish in the next 10 weeks. I've got to put together my next freezer meal post, but it might get combined with Week 3, because this soon-to-be-mommy is exhausted and I just might save myself some time by putting them together.

For now, I'll share with you a handful of our shower photos. Carl's cousin's wife (one of my most favorite people in the world) was kind enough to take the shots for us. She's quite the little photographer :)

We announced the gender of the baby through the filling of the cupcakes. Each table had one cupcake for each guest. One cupcake had the correct filling color (blue), the rest were incorrect. The person with the correct cupcake also won a prize. It was our way of giving something out, without playing any games. The cupcakes were set on cake stands and also served as our centerpieces. This picture was taken after some had already been eaten :)


I had requested a breakfast shower since I love breakfast and I liked the idea of it being early in the day rather than in the middle so people could still enjoy their Saturday.


You can't see them, but I was rocking some awesome knee high, pointy toe, black leather boots. I was told multiple times that "pregnant women don't wear heels" but I begged to differ! And my feet survived all the way to the end ;)



So for now, that's all I have for you as I lay on my couch. I just spent the last 2 hours in the kitchen working with 6 lbs of chicken turning it into yummy Sweet & Sour Chicken and Laughing Cow Chicken cutlets. I would say I need a nap, but I think that just means it's time for bed!

Freezer Meals: Week 1

For those of you that were looking for my recipes, some are in my food blog, others are just too simple to be in there. I'll share them week by week though. Some important notes:

• I am learning on some of these as I go. I've made all the recipes before, but haven't frozen them all in the past. On the new recipes, I am basing my instructions off other freezer recipes. Most are pretty simple though- you can typically defrost any item overnight in the refrigerator and then bake/heat as you would normally.
• I bought a bulk package of caterer's steamer trays and lids (30 sets) at Sam's Club for $14. If you have access to these, I would highly suggest them. Not only are they ridiculously inexpensive compared to buying at other stores, but the lids seal up nicely and they stack perfectly!
• Using disposable/recyclable containers is great for many reasons. 1. No fuss clean up when you are done. No dishes to do here, just toss/recycle your container. 2. You can (and should) write the contents and instructions right on the package.
• For each of these recipes, I was cooking double what the recipe indicated. That way, I'd have dinner for that night and the freezer meal, but only one clean up.

Pre-Week 1:

• Spaghetti Sauce
• Tomato Beef Chili

Spaghetti Sauce
-Don't tell my grandma. I totally cheat when it comes to spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti was actually something I hated growing up, much to my Italian family's dismay. Anyway, I've found a way to make it that is appetizing to me. But just make YOUR favorite sauce. They will all keep in the freezer. If you want something quick and dirty tasty, you can make my sauce.

1 Jar of Traditional Ragu
1 Small Onion, chopped
1 Clove Garlic, minced
1 lb Ground Beef (You can easily cut this in half if you like a less meaty sauce)
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (the measurement here is really loose...do what you feel is good)
1 lb Spaghetti Noodles

Brown ground beef with garlic and onion. Add sauce and seasonings. Freeze in a freezer safe container. The night prior to reheating, defrost in the refrigerator. Reheat in saucepan. Cook Noodles. Simple :)

Tomato Beef Chili (Click for recipe)
Follow the entire recipe. Pour chili into a freezer safe container. Defrost overnight and reheat in a saucepan on the stove. *A slow cooker would also work nicely!


Week 1:

• Meatballs
• White Bean Chicken Chili
• Creamy Chicken Spinach Pasta
• Florentine Stuffed Shells
• Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins (BOO! These got moved to next week...check back for them later)

Sweet & Sour Meatballs (Click for recipe)
After making meatballs, freeze (1lb makes 12 meatballs which is an ideal amount for the sauce recipe). Defrost overnight, and continue with making the sweet and sour sauce. The meatballs will heat throughout while simmering. There is also a savory meatball recipe here.
White Bean Chicken Chili (Click for recipe)
Follow the entire recipe. Pour chili into a freezer safe container. Defrost overnight and reheat in a saucepan on the stove. *A slow cooker would also work nicely!

Creamy Chicken Spinach Pasta (Click for recipe)
Think Bertolli, but better, because it's homemade and tastes far superior to anything you'd buy in a bag at the grocery store. Follow the entire recipe. Scoop the pasta into air tight bags (i.e. Ziploc or a Food Saver type bag is even better!) Defrost overnight and reheat in a skillet on medium low. Chicken broth can be added to make more sauce if it's a touch dry.

Florentine Stuffed Shells (Click for recipe)
Use an aluminum casserole tin and follow the recipe, but do not bake and do not add the final step of cheese. Cover and freeze after you have topped with the remaining spaghetti sauce. Defrost overnight, and continue the regular baking instructions. Note: I doubled this recipe and split the dishes into 3 pans (1 for dinner, 2 to save). It can still easily serve 2-4 adults depending on how hungry they are :)

*WARNING: Belly Sighting Ahead*

Here I am in action. Note the awesome casserole tins with lids and the instructions written right smack on the container. Genius I tell you!

That's it for Week 1 (&Pre-Week 1). Hopefully this will help some of you that were looking for the recipes. The others should be in my food blog as well, but you'll have to be patient for the freezing instructions until I get there.

So...are you joining me in some freezer meals this month? What's your purpose? Do you have a little one on the way? Are you anticipating a very busy holiday season and just want to have a leg up on the chaos? Maybe you just like the idea in general. Tell me your reasons!

Preparing for Baby: Freezer Meals

I mentioned previously that I'm working on freezer meals for when the baby comes. My plan is to basically cook double the month of November so we have roughly meals for a month after Zombie Baby appears. I know what I'm doing won't make our lives a breeze, but I'm hoping that it will help us not order pizza every other night or rely on our moms to come make us food while we are sleep deprived and figuring out this whole parent business. We'll of course have to shop for some of the sides and items like milk and eggs, but this will cut down significantly on our time in the kitchen as well as cleaning!

To prep for this, I bought a package of Ziploc containers as well as aluminum casserole tins with lids and pie tins. Then, of course, I figured out which meals I would make for each week which was more or less a guide rather than a strict menu plan.

Below is my overview plan. I'll do follow up posts with details, recipes and instructions for anyone interested in doing some prep cooking be it for a baby on the way for you or someone you know or perhaps you just want to have a stock of dinners in your freezer!

Pre-Week 1: (I had a few things to cook the week prior that were suitable for freezing, so I jumped the gun in October)

• Spaghetti Sauce
• Tomato Beef Chili

Week 1:

• Meatballs
• White Bean Chicken Chili
• Creamy Chicken Spinach Pasta
• Florentine Stuffed Shells
• Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins (these might not make it to January :) )

Week 2:

• Macaroni & Cheese
• Chicken Pot Pies
• Vegetable Lasagna
• Mashed Potatoes

Week 3:

• Sausage Egg and Cheese Strata
• Laughing Cow Chicken (Saved individually)
• Beef Enchiladas

Week 4:

• Classic Beef Stew
• Cottage Pie (Shepherd's Pie but with beef)
• Sweet & Sour Chicken

Carl isn't completely inept in the kitchen either, so hopefully between the two of us when none of these sound good or we run out, we still have some options. Some easy dinners I plan on having stocked in the pantry and freezer are as follows:

• Buitoni's Cooked Cheese Tortellini with Pesto Sauce (Both are kept well in the freezer for months)
• Polish Kielbasa with Zattarain's Jambalaya Mix (Freezer for kielbasa and pantry for rice mix)
• Waffle Mix and Turkey Bacon (Mix in the pantry, bacon in the freezer- btw- bacon thaws unbelievably quickly!)
  

So that's the plan. We'll see how well I can stick to it, especially with Thanksgiving thrown in there. Eek..the holidays are going to be here before we know it. I suppose I should get my butt in gear on preparing for those as well. What was I thinking have a baby in January? ;) So much going on in the next few months!