Breakfast at Gabrielle's

Monkey Bread

Perfect for Saturday mornings to pick at ALL DAY LONG and finish with toothpaste and a toothe brush!

Ingredients:
4 Cans of Philbury Buttermilk Bisquits
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup divided Brown Sugar
Lots of Cinnimon
1/2 Cup Melted Butter

Cut each bisquit into quaters (4 pieces each bisquit)
Fill bag with 1 cup sugar, cinnimon, 1/2 cup sugar. 
Dump bisquit pieces into bag and shake to coat each piece
Grease bundt pan and place pieces
Melt butter and stir in remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar, should look like brown glaze/carmalize
Pour over peice and bake for 35-40 minutes

Once done, turn over bundt pan onto flat surface immediately so glaze can run down sides. 

Extra dipping sauce for middle pieces required. 

Uncooked Dough

 

My Little Monkey's very own Monkey Bread

 

 

Breakfast at Gabrielle's

Wendy's WHO!

So, my husband has a thing for fried chicken sandwiches, especially spicy ones.  He loves Wendys sandwhiches, but lately they've tasted pretty frozen and what Wendy does I can do better!

Ingredients: Chicken

1 Egg
Thinly Sliced Chicken Breast
Sandwhich Rolls
All kinds of seasoning, the trick I used was sprinklingextra into my flour batter.  The flour I used was already lightly seasoned.
Head of Lettuce
2-3 Tomato

Ingredients: Special Sauce

Spicey Brown Mustard
Relish
Mayo
   

 

Happy Birthday TO ME!

I'm MEGA late with this post! May 14, this preggo chick turned 29 years old.  It was also the day of my doctors appointment so I wasted no time getting out of bed and into the morning sun.  I did my normal routine of getting my breakfast at the hospital and sitting in the break room until my appointment.  Everyone thought I was back to work, but I was there to get the go a head to get off of bed rest.  Driving into work that morning and for the rest of the day was PERFECT.  The sun was out (thank GOD the warm weather is here to stay), my family and I were alive and well and the doc informed me that everything look good in there and I can get back to business.  I decided to take one more day and return on Thursday (today) and just get myself together as this would be the last few days alone at home.  It was amazing! Besides being at home and it being my birthday, I really had a sense of fulfilment come over me.  Looking back to where I could've been at 29 compared to where I am now is such a blessing.  My home, my husband, my wonderful job, school, Gabrielle, my sister, neices and nephews, my well being, peace in my home, marriage, job, social life, church, FOOD.  I mean what else could I ask for.  It's days like this that I have to look back on when I'm having a bad day and say hey, all is well and GOD is good.  This morning I also woke up to a new birthday gift!

While in the hospital, I really had some time to take notes on what I really need during the next OFFICIAL trip to the hospital (hopefully after fireworks on July 4).  Not only do I need things, but my family as well.  For the record, when I say family, I'm referring to all 9 of us.  What stuck out the most was SPARE CHANGE.  My family will need a host of money for snacks galore.  Roger and I are the only ones to get free meals, and Roger gets it only because he used to work in the cafeteria.  So to accomodate everyone especially my little girl, I've gone ahead and put some money aside for them.  I have a huge bag of snacks for Gabrielle, coloring pages, markers, etc.  Is it bad that she also has a coming home outfit, lol...............dont roll your eye's, gotta love it! 

Gabrielle's bag is packed for Shawns house and my bag is packed for the hospital all ready to go.  I have a few things for Roger in my bag, but I'm for certain that he will make a trip home once or twice.  While at the hospital, the things I asked for the most were chapstick and my scarf.  So, to make things easier on myself, because I really hate asking every 15 minutes, I packed a very small tote bag that will I will bury somewhere in the bed once in my bed so I wont have to ask for it.

My SISSY POOH also treated me and the family to some good old GREASY food.  My order was cheese steak with provolone, mayo, onions and boy was it good.

Bed Rest at 32 Weeks!

This is where I shall lay for the next week.  Thursday after getting home from JUST getting checked at work, things started to take a turn.  After Roger got home from the gym, he found me home in a fetal position in agony. I assured him that everything was okay, considering Dr. Mong just told me that my cervix was not in a laboring phase and not dialted, just effaced to 50%.  Then after a while, I felt a funny feeling coming over me that really reminded me of when Gabrielle was making her entrance.  Your body actually goes into a transition.  I couldn't breath with these pains and they were getting closer together and lasting about 1 minute apart.  Everything Dr. Mong told me to look out for was actually happening.  WHAT!  I quickly downloaded a contration counter app and I was in complete shock, scared, crying hysterically and I refussed to go to the hospital.  My baby boy was only 32 weeks and so not ready to come out yet.  I coulnd't face the fact that this was really happending.  I told myself, "okay Jocelyn it's 4:00, lets wait until we go to work and have them make things all better.  BUT, when  I felt pressure and a bowel movement (TMI) coming on, I said oh no, gotta go.  As scared as I was, that is usually a first sign that things are getting into place. 

I placed the dreaded call to Shawn and she came over to finish sleeping with Gabrielle while we headed over to REX!!!!
Reaching the hosiptal, Dr. Roche was hot on my heals in no time, (love my docs) and checked me to let me know that I had actually effaced up to 75% from earlier that afternoon., but still no dialation.  She also saw that he was -2 station and head down.  He was really trying to come out 8 weeks early.  Well Jocelyn, Dr. Roche said, looks like you'll be staying over night for a while so we can slow things down.  I was given 1 shot in the BUTT of steroids.  This was to promote lung health for Braxton JUST in case.  I was also given magnesium to slow down contractions and it worked big time.  As the hours rolled away I was given jello after jello, yummy considering I hadn't eaten since Thursday  at 7:30 P.M and it was Friday around 2.  Cleared off the liquid diet, I went crazy ordering everything I could. Hey I was gonna get my moneys worth, did  I forget to mention the bill collecter was RIGHT on my heals while being pushed up the the admitting room with a bill in tow, uggghhh.. 
Anywho, Dr, Martin another one of my docs said things looked good and the baby was not stressed out by this at all so two weeks in the bed and that should be good, especially since my FFN came back negative.  A sad lip and a few protest she said okay maybe one week.  I have an appointment tomorrow to see what's going on and hopefully I can come back to work soon.  I'm so not ready to stay at home with out a baby right now.

Roger and Gabrielle spent Mothers Day on bedrest with me and it was great.

And my babies left me all alone this morning as if I was right in tow with them.  Gabrielle appropriately dressed, fed and ready to rock and roll. Go Roger!!!

100% Over it and 50% Effaced!

So lately, it's really been getting rough for me.  I can't breath, my back is killing me and 31 weeks is starting to feel like 42 weeks.  Well I take that back, 42 weeks is when my office will induce if you're over your due date and not a minute earlier.  So I rephrase the 42 weeks part, ugggggggg, it's ugly.  All I know is that it's extremely too early to feel this way. Yesterday during my lunch break, I decided to go out for lunch and when I got back to my building I almost fainted.  The nurses took my blood pressure, which was fine, but the were nervous about my facial color, PALE.  I had to lay down for 20 minutes or so before I could regain my composure. 

The VERY next day, those BRAXTON hicks that I've been talking about were getting pretty painful.  Sitting at my desk, drawing  a patient or just walking to the water fountain I'd have painful braxton hicks.  Not able to take it any longer, I decided to get checked and although I'm not dilated, my cervix has thinned out to 50% at which should actually be 0% at this point within the pregnancy.  They're not really concerned, and they wouldn't call it a "laboring cervix".  I just have to get plenty more fluids and REST.

31 Weeks With More to Go!

 How you doing..............are you feeling okay?  Oh yes, I'm just 31 weeks pregnant.  I can't say that I'm fine any longer or that I feel great.  I feel PREGNANT! I'm so not complaining or does it sound like it.  I know first hand that it can be worse, I see it every single day.  Doctor says that these are the pleasures of having a second baby.  My muscles, tendons, pelvic wall is not as strong as they were with Gabrielle.  Other words everything is just loosey goosey.  But hey, at lease we get our Boy huh.  I cant wait to see who he looks like, how Gabrielle will respond to him, the look on Rogers face, the tears in Shawnae's eyes and the love that will consume me once I push him out.  It will be as if I want to hold him forever.  I'm really looking forward to holding him and Gabrielle REAL close  to me. My family is growing and it's an amazing feeling. 

It feels way better than my back pain, protruding belly, tired and dizziness around 4:00 EVERYDAY, swollen knees (extra weight gain), sleeping with approximately 6 pillows (Euro and King), eating every 1 hour and constant worry!  When I get home all I want to do is sleep.  We've been eating lots of fast food lately and it's showing.  I have no energy to do anything besides sit on my coach and cuddle with Gabi.

Watching TV with my babies!

Belly Pics

HUGE, I know