Shut Your Mouth Caramel Pie!

So my new obsession, along with everyone else, is PINTEREST.

I find myself on it whenever I have a moment of free time. Between laundry, dishes, feedings and diaper changes, pinterest is my break!

 I think I've gained weight since having Molly because of all the

wonderfully awesome recipes I've found.

Do you know how to make caramel with ONE ingredient? Yes, only ONE!

You simply take a can of sweetened condensed milk, take off the label and sit the can on its side into a pot, fill pot with water and make sure it covers the can completely. Boil the can for 3 hours rotating on its side every 30 minutes. Make sure there is water covering cans at all time. After the 3 hours, remove can and let cool for atleast 1 hour before opening. And Viola! You've got caramel!

I decided since now that I know how to make caramel, I would mimic the Ooey Gooey Caramel Pie from O'Charley's that is soooo yummy!

What you need: A store bought Graham Cracker Pie Crust, 1 Tub of Cool Whip, 2 cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk (make into caramel), chopped pecans, and chocolate to make into shavings or mini chips.

Once you have boiled the milk cans, let cool for atleast 1 hour. Open cans and pour into pie crust. Refridgerate until cool. Top caramel with the cool whip, top with pecans and chocolate shavings. See pictures below!

And just think, this only has 100 caleries per slice!

JUST KIDDING! I wish.

 

 I was so amazed when I opened the cans!

The finished product

My slice of pie, it was DELICIOUS!

Molly's Newborn Photos

Waaaaa!!   WAAAA!!!!  WAAAA!!!!

At six days old we took our first trip to Chapel Hill to have Molly's newborn pictures taken. A wonderful family friend who owns PS Studio,

Nan Friedman did an amazing job and had SO much patience!

Molly was not a happy camper while we were there.

As new parents we were still learning the ins and outs of soothing. I felt like we had tried everything; swaddling, rocking, feeding. She wasn't having it!The crying got louder and louder! My nerves were shot, but I held it as much as I could together. Running on little sleep and the stress of a 

crying baby at a photoshoot made me want to

WWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

In between the crying, Nan was able to get some wonderful shots. I love the one of Willie holding her and she's crying. Mostly because that's how she was the entire time we were there. I also love the one of Molly with her two cousins Wyatt and Cooper. They were sooooo amazed by her!

A funny fact about newborn photoshoots: you will get peed on!

Take a look at these amazing shots!



Welcome to the World Molly Anne!

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes in the second half of my pregnancy. I had to follow a strict diet, check my sugar levels 4 times a day, and inject myself with insulin once a night. As bad as that sounds, it really wasn't so bad. I would do whatever I had to do to keep my baby healthy!

Due to the diabetes, I had to have Fetal NST's (nonstress tests) twice a week, and had to have special ultrasounds to monitor her growth. People with gestational diabetes tend to have larger babies. If she were to get to 9-10 pounds they would consider delivering her earlier than November 30th.

On 11-11-11 we had an 11am appointment for an ultrasound. They estimated her weight to be about 7 pounds 9 ounces. I had been having some issues with high blood pressure for a few weeks, and my swelling was out of control! The night before, my feet were so swollen my toes were turning blue! Well, I mentioned this to the doctor, and she had one of the nurses take my blood pressure. After taking it, she told Willie and I to go sit in her office. The doctor came back moments later and said that my BP was 180/108! That was the highest I had EVER seen it! She said it was time for me to go to the hospital where I would be monitored, but more than likely we were going to have a BIRTHDAY!

After being monitored for a while with my BP high and semi high, they decided to induce me. I was warned this would most likely be a long process. I was settled into a room, and they decided to use cervidil to help get me ready for the induction. I did sleep a little that night, and woke up around 4 am to shower and eat some scrambled eggs. This would be my last meal until I delivered Molly. Once they started the Pitocin, I couldn't have anything to eat! So around 6am they started my drip. Later that morning my sister came to visit to help pass the time. The day went on so slowly and not a lot of progress with the Pitocin. My parents stopped by later that night to say hello and see how things were going. They left around 10pm. About that time, my water broke on its own! It was kind of scary. It filled me with emotion, I think because I knew I was one step closer to meet our little girl.

EPIDERALS are A-MAZING!!!!

I just don't understand how people can go through labor without one! It's a miracle drug! My contractions as soon as my water broke were INTENSE every 2-3 minutes. There was no way I could tolerate them for who knows how long for me to dialate another 6 cm!

Our labor and delivery nurse, Sharon, who was wonderful, told us to get some sleep. We would be having an exciting day when we woke up. We never made it to sleep. My blood pressure dropped really low, and the fetal monitor was showing that Molly's heart rate was really low. My nurse called something over my call button, and all of a sudden my room was full of nurses. It was pretty scary! The injected something into my IV to help my blood pressure rise. Within minutes we were both regulated. My doctor came into check on me, and said they were going to be monitoring closely. Not too much later did they decide to go on and book an OR. It was time for CSection. Mollys heart rate was dropping again, and they didn't want to take any chances.

By midnight, I was in the operating room on a table with a large cloth in front of me, with Willie all dressed in scrubs by my side. As I layed there, I prayed and just took in the last few moments of us being a family of two. Just minutes later we heard a our sweet Molly's first cry. It's an overwhelming feeling. A wonderful feeling.

Molly Anne Butcher

November 13, 2011

12:16 am 7lbs 3 ounces

20 inches long

Hello World!

The journey leading up to Molly

It was early in March of 2011 when we found out we were PREGNANT! Little did we know the journey that was in front of us and just how much our lives were going to change. I always wondered what that moment would feel like; the shock, the excitement, the nervousness! Our excitement outweighed everything at first. Once we made the first appointment to have our first ultrasound, the nervousness kicked in. I prayed that this was our time and that everything would be okay. That ultrasound was the moment we found out how precious life is and got to listen to the heartbeat of our little baby. At that time she was only a little speck on a screen, but she was our little speck! It was such an overwhelming feeling of pure JOY!

With each passing month, our excitement grew. I read books on what to expect. I thought of what the nursery would look like. What name we would choose for our baby. There were so many decisions to make!

By the time July came around, we were ready to find out the sex of our little bundle of joy. Would it be a boy? Or would it be a girl? We wanted to make it a fun event for all of our friends and family. We decided to throw a gender reveal party! We were so excited the week before the party. We were going to have the ultrasound tech write down boy or girl and seal it in an envelope, which we would take to a local baker (Edible Art). The idea was that Edible Art would make a cake that once was cut, would reveal the gender (based on the color of the cake)!! Well, the day of the ultrasound arrived and low and behold our little bundle did not cooperate! Of course, we had already mailed out invitations to all of our friends and family. Here we were, leaving the doctor's office with no piece of paper to turn in to the baker. We were a little upset at first, but then realized that my Aunt Debbie's daughter-in-law-ish, Katie, is an Ultrasound Tech in Elizabeth City. We called her and she offered to do an ultrasound to find out for us! She said that even if it took all day, she was going to find out what we were having. So, I traveled to Elizabeth City a day later and the baby cooperated! Katie called the bakery to tell them what color to make the inside of the cake (see photos below)!

The Invite!

Team Pink

Team Blue (aka the wrong team)

Excited Parents-to-Be

 

It's a Girl!!

There were tears and screams of excitement!!! It was so amazing to find out with all of our loved ones! It was about time we had a little girl in our family! Both of our families have grandsons / nephews! Just the thought of buying bows and pink things versus dinosaurs and blue things was new and exciting. I should point out that we would have been beyond excited and overjoyed if we were having a boy!

So, once we found out the gender, I spent weeks searching for the perfect bedding, furniture and decorations for the nursery. Finally, after searching the Earth (internet) up and down, we chose the pink and green (go figure) Penelope bedding from Pottery Barn Kids.

My sister, Robin and sister in law, Sarah, hosted a wonderful shower in Elizabeth City with family and friends. Also, my friends Sara, Lara Lee, and Nancy hosted a great shower in Raleigh for more family and friends. We received such wonderful gifts and blessings for our baby-to-be.

 

 All the wonderful gifts!

For the love of DIAPERS!!

The furniture arrived!

Molly's decal above her crib!

It wasn't long before we had the nursery ready to go. All that was missing was our sweet little baby girl.