Dip Recipes

I love making dips, especially during football season. These two recipes seem to be the all time favorites at our house. We've had several people ask for these recipes just in the past week! So, here you go.

Bacon Swiss Dip

Block of swiss cheese, grated
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup to 1 cup of mayo
6 slices of bacon, cooked

Mix the swiss cheese, cream cheese, and mayo together and put in a small casserole dish. Cut the bacon into small pieces and scatter on top. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve with Fritos or crackers. SO DELICIOUS AND SO EASY!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Rotisserie chicken
8 oz. cream cheese
Bottle of Frank's hot sauce
Bottle of Ranch dressing
Cheddar cheese

I use a rotisserie chicken for this recipe just because it is easy and I'm not a fan of boiled chicken or canned chicken. You can use either of those just as well, however. Also, I don't normally measure the cheese out--I just use a bag or half a bag of the already grated stuff, but you can use whatever and put however much you want to put in it. Cut the chicken into small pieces, and mix the chicken and remaining ingredients in a crock pot. Or, you can put into a small casserole dish as well and bake it. I just prefer to use a crock pot so it will stay warm. Serve with Fritos. This one is a little bit heartier than the bacon swiss dip and has a kick to it! It is delicious as well!

I think I will try to post recipes every so often. If anyone is like me, I am always in a rut when it comes to cooking and I am always looking for new things. I also have a husband who likes to have a meat and two veggies every night, so it is extremely difficult! This has subsided a bit since Hudson came along, but I still try to do a good meal (meaning meat and veggies) 3-4 times a week. I would love for other bloggers to put up recipes as well. I know we can all use the help!

6 Month Pictures (at Almost 7 Months!)

I had Hudson's 6 month pictures taken this afternoon at Portrait Innovations. He's just about 7 months now, but close enough, right?!?! Since we spent an arm and a leg on his 3 month pictures, I decided we would go a little cheaper this time. I think they turned out great!

Below are just a few of the many that they took. The good thing about having them done at Portrait Innovations is that you get the CD so we have all of them. I wish I could have had all of them printed there, but I had to draw the line somewhere!

He just about did a nosedive off this chair!

His hair really looks red in these pictures!

I know, cheesy background, but it turned out better than I thought it would!

The nice lady thought the bath tub and the 90 year old rubber ducky would be cute. I had other thoughts, but had to play along. I didn't want to hurt her feelings!

How do you pick just one?!?!?

Grease!

Joel and I had a wonderful night out on the town last night! We had a yummy meal at Botega and then went to see Grease. It was so fun! Joel was one of maybe 5 men in the audience, but he hung in there pretty well and actually said he enjoyed the play! Not really believing that...but, he knew I was loving it so he did a good job of playing along!

The best part of the play was getting to see TAYLOR HICKS! He had a very small part in the play, but of course the Birmingham audience made him feel right at home and he did great! We laughed because his entrance onto the stage was through an ice cream cone and he wore this sparkly outfit that was skin tight...only Taylor Hicks could pull it off! His part wasn't until after intermission and when he finally came out, I was like a giddy little school girl. I don't usually get like that, and I was never really a Taylor Hicks fan, but he is such a performer that it was hard not to get excited! We were all a little sad when his song was over, but he did come out after the play and do an encore of one of his new songs and that was really good. We didn't get home last night until after 11 so needless to say, we are exhausted today! An extra thanks goes to Joel's mom for keeping Hudson so that we could go out! She is probably struggling today as well!

On another note, today was the first day that Hudson cried when I left him at daycare. I had a lump in my throat as I walked out the door, but I knew if I stayed any longer, it would just make the situation worse. It was not even a fussy cry--it was the full out screaming type of cry that just breaks my heart. I hope this is not a regular occurrence because it was not fun! Luckily, today is my Friday and I have all weekend to spend with him! Yay!

The "Bridesmaids" Song

My parents bought Hudson this Fisher Price Ocean Aquarium for his crib a couple of months ago. It is so cute, and Hudson really likes to look at it.

When they gave us this toy, they said that they heard that babies can learn how to turn it on in their crib and can entertain themselves. It has a button on the bottom front that babies can hit and it will turn it on and off. I am all about gaining a few extra minutes when he wakes up so I thought this would be great! We turn it on every night when we put him down, and we also turned it on for naps. It will stay on for about 15 minutes and then automatically cuts off (he's usually asleep by the time it cuts off). It plays what I call the "Bridesmaids" song (you all know the song I'm talking about), and it makes bubbling noises and the fish actually move. It does have other songs on it, but that's the one that it is always set to. Hudson is absolutely mesmerized with this aquarium and it really seems to calm him down.

Until last night, he didn't know that he had the power to turn this toy on and off...but, he figured it out last night, ALL NIGHT LONG. It started at 10:30 pm. He would turn it on, let it play for 5 minutes, and then turn it back off. Keep in mind, we can hear everything on the monitor. He did this every few minutes until 1 something and Joel finally went upstairs and turned the thing off so Hudson couldn't turn it on anymore. He was wide awake and having so much fun! On a side note, both Joel and I act like we are asleep so that we don't have to be the one to make the trek upstairs...that's why we lasted until 1 something before doing something about it! Anyway, I have had the Bridesmaids song in my head all morning long so far!

I guess a month ago I would highly recommend this toy, but now, I'm not so sure! It had such great potential until Hudson got smart! I didn't think that he would be up all night playing with it instead of sleeping!

Happy Monday to everyone. I feel like we are living in an aquarium these days with all this rain! Where is the sun???

Dimple

There just might be a dimple on this cute boy! It might be a shadow, but it sure does look like one! We've been thinking that he has them, but his cheeks are so fat that sometimes it is hard to tell. His mama sure would be happy if he did have them, but if not, I'll survive. He's still so darn precious!

War Eagle! We are super glad we decided to stay home this weekend and not go the game...it is a hurricane down there right now! It is hard to believe that Joel and I DROVE 13 hours to West Virginia last year for this game. Wow, we hope we never ever have to go back there again! Those people were so rude! I have never been yelled at and cussed at like we were at that game. The campus was awful too. It is nothing compared to Auburn's beautiful campus (or even Alabama's for that matter--no comparison!). Oh and there is NOTHING in West Virginia. Nothing.at.all. I will say that there was some pretty scenery! And, Joel and I named Hudson on this trip so it was good for something!

I think Hudson is the cutest baby in the world even if he has been a little stinker today! He doesn't look it in these pictures, but he was NOT happy today at all! Here's to hoping tomorrow is a better day!

Updates

I've been a little slow on the blog recently, so I apologize about that. Honestly, there hasn't been a whole lot to blog about. I took most of last week off work since Hudson had his surgery last Friday and they didn't want him to be at daycare that week for fear he might get sick (they wouldn't do the surgery if he was sick). My friend Allyson was here for part of the time. She gave me a much needed mommy's night out last Wednesday! We met some girls at the Tavern for some wine and good food, and that was a ton of fun. Joel was out of town all last week, so I needed the little break! Then, last weekend, we were pretty much cooped up in the house so that Hudson could get better quickly. Which, by the way, we have got the toughest kid on the block! We only had to give him pain meds the first couple of days and then he was fine! Thank goodness for that! He went back to daycare on Wednesday of this week and things are starting to get back to normal. I don't think daycare was too pleased that he was SO off his schedule, but that's what you get when he's home for almost a week and a half! Oh well!

Hudson slept in our room the night of his surgery through a couple of days ago. We didn't want him being so far away from us, so he slept in the pack n play. It was funny because for the first couple of months of his life, he slept in our room. We were so happy when he finally started sleeping in his crib upstairs because, a. it meant he was sleeping most of the way through the night, and b. we didn't have to tiptoe around all the time! Anyway, having him sleep in our room these past few days really made us miss those days. Then, on top of things, I met little 6 week old Katelyn Kline this past weekend and wow, it gave me major baby fever! I just don't remember Hudson ever being that small, and she was SO sweet! They grow up way too fast. I know I have said this before, but it is really amazing how quickly you forget those first couple of months that were SO hard with a baby. I can't even believe that I am having these thoughts! Go away! We are not having another one any time soon!

Hudson has become a little roly poly over the past few weeks. He started rolling over right at 3 months, but he wasn't really interested in doing it that much, and when he got on his tummy, it was terrible! Well, over the past couple of weeks, he has decided that he would rather sleep on his tummy in his crib. We put him in on his back, and he rolls right over. It is so frustrating! I know that all the books say that when they are old enough to get themselves in that position, it is no need to worry, but I do! We spent the first couple of nights going in his room every few hours and turning him back over, but we have since given up on that! Now, he rolls across the den floor all day long too! It is hilarious. Forget crawling...he just rolls to where he needs to go! He is still wanting to crawl, but has not figured it out yet. He can almost get up on all fours, but that's about it. Allyson and I visited a friend of hers last week who has a little boy a few weeks younger than Hudson and he was already crawling. It has given me a complex, but I know he will crawl when he wants to. I do think it is still a bit early...this other child must be really advanced for his age!

The other day, Hudson was sitting in the den and our dog, Chloe, decided she wanted to play with him. She crouched down and started barking at him. Joel and I both thought that the bottom lip would quickly come out and he would start screaming because she was scaring him, but instead, he laughed so hard at her and didn't stop! It was so funny! I ran to grab the video camera and of course, the batteries were dead. It never seems to work when I need it! Anyway, I'm hoping it will happen again so I can put a video on here. We were laughing so hard at the two of them.

I have a little update on the last car that landed almost in our backyard (I had a post about it about a month ago). Anyway, we had heard that it was a teenager, but apparently, our next door neighbor heard it happen in the middle of the night and she drove out to the road to see if everyone was ok. She also called 911. Well, she couldn't find anyone near the car, so she went home. When she got home, there was a girl in her 20s or so in her driveway, drunk as a skunk. She had one shoe on (the other one was in our backyard!). She said that she needed to go inside. Our neighbor took her into the house and the girl called her husband, who said there was no way he was coming to pick her up. If you read the original post about this, we also found a MAN'S flip flop in our yard. She was not alone...maybe explains why her husband wouldn't come pick her up! Ha! Oh and our neighbor said the girl just kept the one heel on the whole time instead of taking it off...she said it was so funny watching this drunk girl with one heel on walking around. What an idiot! Anyway, the Trussville police finally came...note...Trussville police...we live in Vestavia. They couldn't do anything becuase they weren't in their jurisdiction, so they told the girl to get out of there fast before the Vestavia police got there because they would give her a DUI. Aren't you so proud of our 911 and police system? First of all, if there really was an emergency, I wouldn't want to wait for the Trussville police to get there when there is a fire department right in our neighborhood. Secondly, I'm so glad they just let people go who are in no place to drive. This is why people get killed by drunk drivers! Enough of my soapbox, but it really makes me mad. Anyway, the girl got a friend to come pick her up and that was that.

Sorry, this ended up being a long post. I guess I did have more to blog about than I thought! We thought we might go the Auburn game this weekend, but decided not to go. These late games are killing us! I used to love the night games, but now with no place to stay and a child, we just can't get home at 2 am and then be up at 6 when he wakes up. It is too hard! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

We Survived

Hudson had to have surgery yesterday morning. It was nothing major, but he still had to be put all the way under and that is what scared us the most! We had to be at Children's Hospital at 6 am yesterday morning (and we couldn't feed him after 3 am, so I got up at 3 to give him a bottle just so he wouldn't be starving while we were waiting at the hospital), so needless to say, we had a long day! He got to go home yesterday so luckily we did not have to spend the night. He came out fine though and seems to be doing well. He was so pitiful yesterday, but today, he is doing much better. He is in his Auburn gear and is ready for the game tonight!

Thanks to everyone who called us and sent us messages yesterday. We really appreciate you keeping us in your prayers. I'm so relieved it is over! We knew since he was a day old that he was going to have this procedure done at 6 months, but that still didn't make it any easier! We have had a very low key day today, and we are looking forward to watching the Auburn Tigers play tonight! WAR EAGLE!!!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great Labor Day weekend! Joel and I headed up to Mentone on Friday. We had a wonderful dinner Friday night at the Mentone Springs Hotel, and then Joel headed down to Auburn Saturday morning for the big game. I was a little sad that I was missing the first game, but I have a VERY good reason to stay home this year! I stayed in Mentone and hung out with my parents on Saturday. Below is a picture of my dad and his mini-me at the art show in Mentone this weekend! Believe it or not, this was the only picture I took this weekend. Hudson was decked out in his Auburn gear. It was a little chilly up there, so I had to scratch the cute smocked outfit for the warm up suit. He still looked cute though! The smocked outfit may have been a bit much for Mentone too! Ha!


Auburn had a big win Saturday night! It was such a nice surprise to see Auburn actually play well! It was very exciting...and I think we may have found a new running back to boot! Yay! We tried to stay up to watch the end of the Alabama game, but we were exhausted and it looked like Alabama had it wrapped up. Sadly, we are going to have to listen to the Tide fans gloat for another few weeks--that was our only hope for a loss for the next few weeks! I just can't make myself root for Alabama. It is a problem, but I know they probably feel the same way about Auburn!

Sunday, I drove down to Weiss Lake to meet up with Joel and his family for a day at the lake. It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people there and I think Hudson had had enough of people he didn't know getting in his face...we had to leave right after dinner because he was about to have a major meltdown. Poor thing. He did so well all weekend though so we couldn't complain. He is so adaptable thank goodness! Joel and I drove back up to Mentone for the night and then came back to Birmingham today. I'm sad that the long weekend is over. It was so much fun being with my little family!

Allyson, my good friend from college who lives in Texas is coming to visit this week. Joel is going out of town tomorrow through Thursday so I'm thankful that this is the week she is coming so that she can keep me company while Joel isn't here. She will be staying with us for part of the time and we gave her our Auburn tickets for this weekend since we will be stuck at home (more on that later!). Anyway, I can't wait to see her and can't wait for Hudson to meet her!

6 Month Stats

Weight: 19.4 oz. (75th percentile)
Height: 27 1/4 in. (75th percentile)
Head: 17.5 in. (Woohoo, on the chart this time! I don't remember the percentile though...probably 90th or something like that, but hey, at least we're not off in left field on this one this time!)

Well, as I had suspected, Hudson has dropped a little on the weight and height percentile chart. I thought that might be the case because he has been in the same clothes for a long time now and to me, he didn't look like he had grown all that much since his 4 month appointment. Don't get me wrong, he's still a chunker, but we're not in the 90th percentile like we were before! Dr. Cortopassi said this would happen too and his growth will probably slow even more once he gets moving. He said all is well though and we have one healthy little boy!

Hudson did great on his 5 shots too! He cried a little, but nothing like the last time. I was relieved because I had him by myself this time. Normally, Joel comes along too, but he didn't this morning. It was fine though! He got part one of the flu shot and we have to go back in a month for the next one. The doctor also said that he will have to get the swine flu shot as well, but it is anybody's guess as to when that will be available. Speaking of the swine flu, we are lucky at Greenvale that there is a wellness center that is not a part of the regular doctor's office, so when we go for Hudson's well baby checkups, we don't have to enter into a room full of sick children every time. The doctor said that they are treating over 250 kids a day right now...and just yesterday, there were TWENTY confirmed cases of swine flu, with a couple of kids needing to be admitted to the hospital. So...we are steering clear of that place for a while!

Hudson has been pulling at his right ear for the past week or so, and I asked Dr. Cortopassi about that because I didn't want it to be another ear infection. His ears were perfectly fine, and he said that he will probably be getting a tooth on the right side soon if he's pulling on his right ear. He said that when a tooth comes in, it makes the whole jaw hurt and the ear is just the easiest thing for babies to pull on. So...any day now would be great! I gotta say...I'm not a huge fan of teething!

Dr. Cortopassi also said to start feeding Hudson solids two to three times a day now and see how he takes it. I was a little worried about doing that before because I really don't think Hudson knows his limits when it comes to eating and I didn't want to overfeed him. He did say that baby food doesn't have many calories in it, and his main nutrition is still the milk so I shouldn't worry about that. This solid food stuff really makes me stress out though. I want to be told when to feed him and how much at a time. Nobody really tells you that. They just say it is up to the baby and every baby is different. Well, that doesn't help me much! I'm sure I will get used to it though and laugh at myself a few months from now at stressing over this. This motherhood thing is hard!

Besides going back for the flu shot, we don't have to go back until Hudson is 9 months old. I'm so glad everything went well! Hudson is doing great!