MIL's Meat & Potato Pie

Step 1

Step 2

Despite being new to this whole mommy role, I've thoroughly enjoyed my role as a wife to Adam and hope to for many MANY years to come. In becoming a wife I certainly found myself reveling in the whole "domestication" process. Not that becoming a wife necessarily means that for all women, but it did for me. All of my creativity and energy became focused on pleasing Adam, but now this includes my son as well. I want to be the best wife and mother I can possibly be each day. At the moment, that's keeping the house clean, having a hot meal (or hot leftovers) on the table each night, and taking care of Caleb. As for tonight, I thought I'd share with you my mother-in-law's meat and potato pie recipe--more commonly known as Shepherd's Pie.

Step 2

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups frozen hashbrowns
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or any cheese you prefer)
•  3/4 cup diced meat (chicken, hamburger--I prefer Jimmy Dean sage sausage: 1 lb cooked)
• 1/4 cupped chopped onion (optional)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• Parsley flakes (optional)

Step 3

Directions

1.  Put oil in the bottom of a 9" pie plate and add frozen hashbrowns (I like to mix them up thoroughly) -- bake @ 425 for 15 minutes
2. Mix cheddar cheese, meat and onion -- immediately layer on top of cooked hashbrowns
   (I prefer to mix the potatoes with the cheese and sausage rather than layer)
3. Mix milk, eggs, salt, and pepper then pour on top of dish
4. Bake @ 425 for 30 minutes
5. Add parsley flakes (optional--I usually skip this)

   

   Step 3

**I never follow this to a "t"--in fact I always use a bag that contains 2 cups worth of cheese and I usually use a whole bag of hashbrowns that's just over 3 cups. It's good to let everything just overflow with this recipe. Oh and it's a-okay if the hashbrowns aren't frozen. I've used them completely thawed out before and it's worked just as well! When everything's done it'll look like the finished product below. This recipe can be tweaked and you may add vegetables to this dish to follow a more traditional shepherd's pie recipe, but if you fix it like this then I highly recommend adding something green to the side like green beans, broccoli, etc. Enjoy!

Step 4: The End :-)

Shopping Cart Cover & Crib Skirt

Shopping Cart Cover

I meant to blog about this several months ago, but simply forgot. This past fall, while nesting didn't exactly kick-in until a few days before Caleb was born, I did get into a super crafty mood with sewing. Most of the bedding and nursery items I saw on the Internet and in stores were extremely expensive. Who has hundreds of dollars to spend money on something your kid won't even care about?! So on the weekends, when I didn't have class and when mom didn't work, we'd get together and spend hours figuring out how to make all this cute baby stuff.

Crib Skirt

We made a shopping cart cover (featured to the left) and believe it or not, we took it to Food Lion, only to discover that it did not fit their shopping carts!!! But we've decided to keep it just in case it should fit other carts, or if I actually get in the mood to somehow fix it. I have seen several other shopping cart covers at Once Upon a Child for cheap so we may just buy one there instead.

To the right, is the crib skirt my mother and I made. The pattern we used was a bit girly, so we decided to use rick-rack that matched the fabric, however, we learned that we didn't need so much fabric after all since we were only using one color. And below is a picture of the crib skirt on Caleb's crib in his nursery, underneath one of the crib sheets we made during this time as well.

Crib Skirt on Caleb's Crib

It's been a while since we've made anything else. What with the weeks impending Caleb's arrival, I lost the motivation to sew anything else. However, now that I'm on maternity leave, I recently found some material I bought a few summers ago when I was in the mood to make blankets for some of my friends that I knew were having babies. So hopefully I'll be sewing those together soon and posting about them, too! 

Mr. Proffitt's Meatloaf

When I was in the 9th grade I had Ms. Stone as my Geometry teacher. I also had Mr. Proffitt for English 9 Honors. These were two of my favorite teachers and what's really neat is that they were dating during my high school years. It was my 11th grade year that Mr. Proffitt proposed and they were married during the summer. I was privileged to be one of the few students invited to their beautiful wedding.

Later, when I was in college, I came back to BHS (neither Mr. or Mrs. Proffitt were teaching there anymore) but I completed some of my practicum hours there with another one of my favorite teacher's Mrs. Holland, whom kept in touch with the Proffitt's. When I graduated college in December 2008, that spring I was filling out applications and sending my resume to any county that had a potential social studies position available. I was just recently engaged when Mr. Proffitt (who then became an assistant principal and was no longer a teacher) called me to say that there was a position available at the middle school where he was working. It so kind and generous of him to remember me and that I needed a job. However, after much prayer, the Lord told me not to take the job. That it wasn't the one for me. Instead, I took a job with Charles City--one I detested, but needed for much growth!!!

After two years at CCHS, I was called about a job back at my alma mater. And this time, Mr. Proffitt would be working there as an AP. I have enjoyed working with him these past two years. He's still as quirky and wired as ever! When Adam and I were married Mrs. Proffitt came to my bridal shower and gave us this recipe. It's taken me over three years, but I finally fixed it and it's absolutely delicious! Check it out:

Meat loaf before

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. grated onion
• 1/4 tsp season salt
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup 

Directions

•  Combine all ingredients in a bowl, spray bottom of a loaf pan, then put the meatloaf in the pan. It is to be baked at 350 degrees for 1 hour

Optional

• Top loaf with 1 can of tomato soup before baking 
• This dish is great with rice-a-roni, extra fine green beans and rolls

  

  Meat loaf after

Breastfeeding & Perseverance

You might be asking yourself, why the heck is she talking about this? I'm talking about breastfeeding because God has been faithful and good to us. If you didn't get the chance to read Caleb's birth story or the post about Brenner Children's Hospital then you can do that here and here. But if you don't feel like reading all that, let me just say that my son was taken via helicopter to the NICU at another hospital due to complications he experienced during birth. Because of that I was not given the chance to nurse him until two days after his birth. This made for a difficult experience.

Let me back up a little. Caleb was introduced to a bottle and to formula in the NICU because he needed food and at the time I wasn't physically able to be there with him. I am not upset that he was given formula, in fact, I'm very grateful that the nurses at BCH were able to feed his grumbling tummy. It was the worst feeling in the world when he was at Morehead with me and I watched his little mouth move and hear him cry because he was hungry and I wasn't allowed to nurse him. So, for those women in situations like mine, I'm glad formula is available to still provide the nutrients a baby needs. However, I was undeterred in my pursuit of being able to breastfeed my child. It's an experience I wanted to have, and it made me feel like it would help us to bond.

Courtesyof http://www.aabreastfeeding.com

So at BCH, the nurses created some privacy in the pod our son was in by setting up a curtain get-up around us and we used the Brest Friend pillow (see image to right) for support to hold him. Obviously I knew that my boob was to go in his mouth, but what I struggled with was getting him to latch. Latching, is when the baby "grasps" and actually gets a hold of the nipple, well enough to actually suck and get milk out of the breast. Because of nipple confusion he cried and cried and cried. He would not grasp my nipple the same as he did the nipple on the bottles the nurses gave him. I was offered a nipple shield (see image below) which helped, but without that, he would not latch. And even after we got home and continued to use the nipple shield, it would get wet from his saliva and the milk then it would come off. I started using a pump so that he would continue to get breast milk and it was neat being able to have other people feed him, but I still wanted that experience of nursing my son.

Medela Nipple Shield

Medela Soft Shells

With the encouragement of my husband and I mother I tried to nurse Caleb again. However, it was heartbreaking hearing my son cry out of his frustration and watch him struggle to latch. I too began to cry and felt frustrated and defeated. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. After talking with some friends who were determined to help me, I contacted a midwife in Roanoke. That was the best decision ever! She basically explained that my son had a posterior tongue tie (also confirmed by his pediatrician) and that it was causing his tongue not to reach out as far which made it difficult for him to latch. The second strike against was that she also explained that I had flat nipples. Whoa, say what?!?! I had no idea!!! She encouraged that I use soft shells (see image above right) to help ease the pain of the nipples toughening up and to help with my nipple issue. During our visit with her, she showed me a few techniques that could help Caleb to latch and some things we could do to help with his tongue tie. With her advice and tips, Caleb was finally able to latch, and he has been doing so ever since February 6th! Caleb now loves the booby and he doesn't struggle at all to latch anymore! It was a tough six weeks, and goodness knows I felt chained to that pump, but God through his love and kindness granted me a desire that I longed for and I owe him all the glory! Breastfeeding is as amazing as I thought it would be and I love knowing I can provide for my son, all on my own. I was able to persevere and I encourage other women out there to not give up! I felt embarrassed and allowed my pride to prevent me from seeking help, but learn from me and don't let that be you!

Happy 2 Months, Caleb!

 Caleb,

What a privilege it's been to watch you grow and start truly coming to life this past month! Your father and I have loved every minute of seeing your little personality starting to come out. It's hard to believe how fast another month has gone by, and this month you experienced a lot of firsts (see picture below)! We were thrilled to get out and about with you as the month of January kept us indoors. I'm not sure if we intended to keep you inside for six weeks like some suggest, but you didn't seem to mind spending day-in and day-out with your mama and daddy.  And boy did we get you out!

We had some company the second weekend of February (2/8)--we hosted a Pampered Chef party and later that night your Great Aunt Mary and her sons Grayson and John Wilson stayed the night with us. Your Aunt Mary is a superhero! She helped us with breastfeeding and gave us some insights into making it easier. She also managed to take care of you in the middle of the night and still get up early the next morning to fix breakfast and buy us some much needed items like baby wipes, soap, laundry detergent for you. What a joy and blessing she was to have around, we can't wait to see her again and for you to meet Caitlin!

Your first official outing was to Roanoke, but your biggest and first real trip was to your PawPaw and GramMarty's in Mobjack. Within a matter of minutes of getting there Great Granny and Great Grandpa stopped in to meet you. We stayed indoors much of the weekend since it was too cold to really take you out in your stroller, but we did take you out to eat with us for the first time with our good friends, your "Uncle" Marcus and "Aunt" Gina and their little boy (who we hope will be your best buddy) William. We also had breakfast with you Great Aunt Kim and Great Uncle Dru as well as with my cousins Ashley, Allison, and their families (your second cousins: Logan, Parker, and Madeline). You were pretty zonked for most of that visit since the car ride there was an hour to and from Yorktown. We made a quick pit-stop at Chick-Fil-A to meet Ethan & Ashlee, then we jetted out of there for the Leverett family get together. Though not everyone could make it, you met: Kelly, Gavin, Mallory, Peyton, Great Aunt Cindy, Great Uncle Dennis & Great Aunt Joanie.

The next day we took you to church for the very first time! There you met a lot of great and wonderful Christian people, who all enjoyed meeting you. You stayed in the service with us until you wet your diaper then the waterworks were on! However, April kept you in the nursery so I could sit and enjoy the sermon. It was like music to our ears to hear Van preach again! That day they had a special guest, Beky (a missionary to Togo whom you met in January) who spoke to the church and they hosted a luncheon immediately afterwards for her. You got passed around all over the place while we ate. When we finished lunch we drove up to Richmond to spend time with the Davis family. There you met Great Grandma, Great Aunt Kathy, and Great Uncle Maurice, Luke's friend Scott, and some of Adam's friends: Kyle & Fio (who recently got engaged) and Katy. We hung out at Uncle Luke's house while he, PawPaw, your dad, and Luke's tenant Logan put up the rock wall Uncle Luke has been dying to put up. We believe when you're old enough you'll probably climb that thing all the way to the top! Your dad got a call that he would actually have off the next day so we drove back to Mobjack that night and hung out a little more with your grandparents before jetting off to see "Uncle" Marcus and William again and then we headed home! We, and you, were completely exhausted and it felt great to be back in our own home again!

Some things we've learned this month include:

• How to distinguish the different cries you have (mainly between fussing and when something truly is wrong)
• You love getting your diaper and clothes changed 
• You love to coo (we figured that's your way of "talking" at the moment)
• You are always uncertain of taking a bath at first, but then you warm up to it
• When you're awake and in someone's arms you constantly like to look around to see what is going on---we've bumped heads on many occasions

Unfortunately, you did get "cradle cap" this month. It's basically really dry skin that apparently lots of babies get. It doesn't seem to bother you, but it is a pain seeing it all over your head.When we visited GramMarty & PawPaw though it started going away, wahoo! Your doctor's visit for this month went really well. We found out you're in the 11% for head circumference, 26% for weight, and 92% for height. So you're definitely long and lean--in fact it's difficult finding pants that fit you, we're hoping that changes soon! Don't forget to check out the collages keeping track of your stats, milestones, and fun facts for this month. We love you and can't wait to see how much you grow and change next month!

Love,
Mom & Dad

Brenner Children's Hospital

At Morehead, under the oxygen hood.

Immediately after Caleb was born, okay not immediately, but 18 hours after Caleb was born, he was transferred via helicopter to from Morehead Memorial Hospital in Eden, NC to Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital, and the building/wing he was specifically taken to was Brenner Children's Hospital.

Dr. Salvador (the pediatrician on call that observed Caleb throughout the day of the 27th at Morehead) was afraid Caleb was having neonatal seizures, apnea, and respiratory distress; and since Morehead wasn't equipped to handle such a situation, Caleb, according to her medical expertise, needed to be transferred. Adam and I had no idea that we should have possibly chosen a hospital that would be equipped in such a manner. We were at a loss for words. As soon as she left the room we balled our eyes out. No parent wants to hear that their child's condition/situation had worsened. When we somewhat pulled ourselves together we called our parents and siblings and urged them to come to the hospital quickly since we weren't sure when the ambulance was to arrive.

Here are the EMT nurses getting Caleb situated

Hours later, Caleb was picked up via helicopter instead. It was horrible sitting there watching the EMT nurses get everything situated to have him in the helicopter. And what was worse was the fact that neither Adam or myself (I wasn't discharged until two days later) were allowed to ride with him. Talk about your stomach dropping. It was such a disappoint that one of us couldn't be there with him. Since we knew that might be the case, Adam and I decided earlier in the day that since I wasn't able to go that he and his family would make the drive to be with Caleb. He was picked up around 7:30pm and made it to Brenner Children's Hospital in no time, whereas it took Adam and his family an hour to get there.

Caleb's humble abode at BCH.

Once they arrived, Caleb was taken immediately into the NICU. The picture to the right was his home for the next four days. The nurses were so sweet to personalize each baby's area; it proved how much they really do care about each individual patient!

Before Caleb even reached what would be his humble abode,  his heart rate and oxygen levels stabilized during mid-flight. Praise God! So when he did get to BCH and to "Pod D" the nurses began an IV on him, gave him a pacifier (which he absolutely adored, especially since Morehead didn't allow me to breastfeed him and all he had to "eat" was what they gave him through his IV), and wrapped all nice and cozy like a little burrito. When Adam and his family arrived they ushered Adam in to see him and that's when we found out about RMHC which you can read about here, but since they got their so late he and my mother-in-law stayed overnight in a parent's room while my father-in-law and brother-in-law stayed at Adam's aunt's house in Greensboro.

Adam "Daddy" holding Caleb for the first time.

The next day, Adam was able to hold and feed Caleb. This was the picture (featured to the left) that was sent to me while I was still at Morehead Memorial. It was so surreal and disheartening to be reminded that I was miles away while my husband was holding our son. Please don't misunderstand, I am not jealous/envious that my husband held our son first, but it hurt that I wasn't there experiencing that moment with him. Adam was anxious and excited about holding Caleb, and the nurses made sure that he felt at ease while doing so. In his own words, "They were reassuring and helpful." They explained everything to him and kept him in the loop. 

Marie "Mama" holding Caleb for the first time

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I finally arrived at BCH on December 29th, just two days after he was born and almost two days after he had been transferred. I felt like a little kid at Christmas. My best friend Hazel drove me to the hospital and when she dropped me off at the front, my husband was there anxiously waiting for me with a wheelchair (I still couldn't quite get around yet on my own). Once I was situated, he wheeled me around and got us to the sixth floor. I'll never forget how he beamed with pride at the nurses and staff while telling them that I was his wife and I was finally here! He rolled me through after washing my hands and I got to see my sweet boy after what felt like an eternity. Here's the picture of me holding him for the first time. How incredible and joyous it was being able to hold my son, it was one of the best feelings I've ever experienced! God was so good to not keep me from holding him any longer, because goodness knows my heart couldn't have taken it!

Our little baby burrito :-)

Though I was only there for two days, the nursing staff at BCH was phenomenal! They treated us with compassion, worked together as a team, promoted and encouraged parents to be part of taking care of the baby process. For example: I wasn't given the chance to breastfeed Caleb at Morehead and the nurses at BCH had this curtain-on-wheels get-up that basically sectioned off our area so that we were given privacy and I could try to feed him! They offered me tips and did their best to help him latch and when he struggled they found a nipple shield which helped him do so. It was the best feeling in the world when he finally latched, but that's a story for another post. I was just in awe (and still am) at the generosity of the nursing staff at BCH---they treated me and my family the way we expected and wanted to be treated, like we mattered, and we did! Their benevolence extended into every area of service, and we could not be more grateful! The doctors/fellows were great to include us in their rounds as well. We were able to talk with them directly, hear their thoughts, and ask any questions we had. Though we did not spend as much time with them as we did the nurses, they never rushed us as if they could only allot a specific amount of time to us and that was extremely important to me.

Finally on our way home!
Thanks BCH for the great care!

God blessed our experience at BCH so much. Not only were the nurses friendly and extended themselves to make us comfortable, but they also kept us informed as to every little detail about what they were doing, how they were going to do it, at the time they were going to perform it, etc. What Morehead lacked in communication, BCH certainly made up for! For anyone who finds themselves in a situation like we did, it is our hope and prayer that they too  will not have to worry about whom is with their child, but instead can focus on the progress of their child. Looking back, Adam and I both said that though we wish we could have changed our circumstances as to why we were there, it was nice to have some guidance and aide in learning how to truly take care of a newborn before we actually got home. It certainly made us feel more comfortable and ready when we did.

Ronald McDonald House

On the evening Caleb was transported to Brenner Children's Hospital, Adam and his family (and myself though I wasn't there yet) were worried about trying to find a place to stay and how affordable it would be. Would we have to spend $$$ to stay the night? Thankfully, and praise God for looking out of us, the nurses in the NICU told Adam and our family about the Ronald McDonald House across the street from the hospital. They offered a  room with  a queen size bed and a set of bunk beds as well as a pull out cot and a bathroom. Plus, the house comes with a well stocked kitchen which included plenty of meals and lots of cozy, comfortable seating to hang out. It became our home away from home. Check out the pictures below.

Source: http://picklesandcheeseblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/ronald-macdonald-house-in-winstonsalem.html

Best of all, they asked for a $10 donation for each night you stay. That was LOADS cheaper than any hotel we could have stayed in for the four nights we were there! Not only did they offer us a warm place to stay, but the house was still decorated for Christmas so it made the atmosphere that much more inviting. But that's not all! Not only was the RMH available to us but there was also a Ronald McDonald Family Room available on the sixth floor at the hospital to visitors, parents, and siblings of children that are patients in the NICU/PICU. This room offered food, drink, a place to relax, and use the Internet, all with only being a few steps away from our little one.

Our first family photo (outside a hospital)
at the Ronald McDonald House

Adam and I are so thankful for what the Ronald McDonald House Charities provided us with---a worry free experience while we were with our little one. The foundation is able to support itself from "individuals, organizations, and other corporate donors."  Though Adam and I had each heard of the RMHC (thanks to McDonald's) we were both naive and unaware of the good it truly did until we needed them. It is our goal and hope to take some of our tithes and give them to the RMHC. We want other families to be able to focus on their children and not have to worry where they may stay the night or get their next meal. The RMHC took care of us when we found ourselves in need. We hope to be a blessing to it and other families as well. Be sure to check out their website for more information by clicking this link: Ronald McDonald House Charities.