Too Early!

Well, you know I went to the ER Sunday, they said everything was fine and stuff. Well, I kept feeling the cramps. I left work early Sun night. Took Bubbas trick-or-treating and couldn't walk a whole block. Wed, I sat on my butt for 2 hours at work doing my schedule and I still felt them. Well, today was my reg doc's appt, and they ran a urine sample, did my sugar test, then they asked me if they gave me anything for a bladder infection when I went to the ER. I said no, they had run a bunch of tests and said everything was normal w/ no infections. Then they put me on the monitor. I had 3 contractions. They did a vaginal exam after that and she said things there looked okay and took a sample. She made me take a second urine test and said those 2 tests are to determine if I’m in preterm labor. I also had some bloodwork done. I should have gotten the results Friday, but never heard anything. In the meantime I am on bedrest for 10 days until I know something for sure. :-/

7 Weeks

Sounds like we're having a baby.

We took a test the Sunday before going to Tennessee (June 5th), and it was negative. When we got back, I took another test. Positive! A couple days later, my brother-in-law gave me another one to take because he didn't believe me. I took it. Positive! Ha, Eric!

We finally went to the doctor's office today. Everything sounds normal. We're going for our first ultrasound next week. Tentatively, our due date is February 10th. Sounds like (and I hope not) Bubbas and this baby might be sharing a birthday.

Arroz con Whatever

Hey kiddos, what's been up? I haven't posted here in forever. I've mainly been sticking to my wedding planning blog nowadays (CLICKY). Anyway, someone asked for a Puerto Rican rice recipe. I'll post it here, too:

Here's what I do for PR rice. I'll use gandules in this recipe.

In a caldero, heat up about a tbsp or so of corn oil, just enough to slightly coat the bottom. Dice up some salt pork, just a little (about an 1/8 to a 1/4 of a whole square of salt pork you get at the store), and fry it. While that is cooking, take an empty clean can of gandules and fill it with rice almost all the way (I know, it's ghetto, but that's how my mama taught me, lol). Poor it in a bowl and rinse it to get out any rocks, black grains, and starch.

After the tocino is browned, turn the heat down (or even off so you don't burn yourself), add a tbsp of sofrito (I buy Goya, the frozen stuff with the blue label), a tbsp of Goya tomato sauce, a little bit of green pepper (I buy a couple, cut them in strips, freeze them, then add like two strips whenever I need them), half a Knorr chicken bouillion cube, and stir. Turn up the heat to medium after you add everything. Add a half can of gandules (make sure you rinse these, or they will taste too gandule-ey), and stir everything together. Now add your rice. Stir again. Add a half a sleeve of Goya Sazon and some Goya Adobo (I do this at the end because I find it holds more color this way). Stir it all up, turn the heat up to medium high. Add your water. You want to add just enough so the rice is fully covered and your gandules are barely starting to float. Not too much-- remember, you're not making soup. Oh and leave this uncovered.

As the water starts reducing, give it a last stir. The rice looks like it's starting to absorb. There's more rice than water now. It's ready. Turn the heat all the way down, and cover the pot. Give it 15-20 minutes. Check on it if you think you have to (stir it if you want, periodically). At the end, your rice should look good.

This is the recipe I use that my mom gave to me before she died. I haven't screwed it up too much. It tastes good, and I get lots of compliments. You can make it with beans, pork, chicken, or plain. Tip: If you make it with chicken, instead of using tap water in your rice, use the same water you used for the chicken. More flavor/less cook time.

Hope this works for you! :)

Wedding Planning

Isn't there a decent hall around here that doesn't charge an arm, a leg, and a first-born child? Of the "cheaper" halls we've looked at, which are not cheap, we really enjoyed looking at the Grecian Center and Crystal Gardens. CG is our top contender right now. I'd like to check out Portofino's, Woodlands of Van Buren, Stone Creek, and Downriver Italian American Hall. I wish Dearborn Inn or the Henry Ford were less expensive-- although Bobby doesn't want to go anywhere near Dearborn.

I emailed a bunch of venues in the past month or two. A lot of them don't answer. It makes me not want to have our reception there just because of their lack of customer service.

We've pretty much scratched the idea of an outdoor reception. We decided it would be too much work. I'm sure sober thoughts are still wondering about this though.

Puppy Scare

One of Lola Bear's siblings died today. Catlin had parvovirus and got very sick very fast. Lola Bear and Sassy have vet appointments on Thursday at 11:00. Fingers crossed for good luck.

Bubbas Can Now...

Wave good-bye,

Try to snap his fingers, and

Try to clap his hands.

New Puppy Baby!

So Wednesday night around 10PM, I was looking through Facebook statuses when I came upon an uploaded picture from Daniel. The caption read "Does any one want a puppy?" As soon as we looked at her picture we said yes. I commented back we wanted it. I met him Thursday morning at his new house in Delray, and she said goodbye to her two puppy siblings.

She was very shy around us at first. She just wanted to hide. After Bobby left to work, she opened up. She now lets Bubbas tug at her and runs laps. We love her sooo much. Now we just need a name. :)