Pizza Cupcakes

A week or two ago my 4yr odl and I were playing restaurant where he was serving me up all kinds of yummy treats. Pickle burger, chocolate chip cookie milkshakes, and pizza cupcakes. When he served me the imaginary pizza cupcakes a lightbulb went on. And the next night that's exactly what we had for dinner! They were amazing so I'm sharing with you!

Ingredients:

Jiffy Mix Pizza Dough (Great because it's about fifty cents!)
Mozzarella cheese
Pizza sauce
Toppings of your choice
Cooking spray

First you will need to make your dough. If using the Jiffy dough, you will add water, mix, cover & set aside to rise.

Next chop up any ingredients you choose. We made supreme with onions, olives, green pepper, mushroom, tomatoe, & pepperoni.

Prep your cupcake pan by spraying it with cooking spray. I use Pam Baking spray. I am not sure what would happen if you got all crazy & busted out some cupcake wrappers. But baking the pizza in the pan makes it quick & easy to eat.

Now make small dough balls and press & stretch them into the cupcake pan. The dough can get pretty sticky so you may need to spray your hands with the cooking spray between making each dough ball.

Once you have filled your cupcake pan, place in a pre-heated oven (at 425 degrees) for 3 minutes. Note that during this time the dough will become puffy. Once you remove it from the oven you will need to use a teaspoon to press the center in and create a pocket for the toppings.

Now comes the fun! This is a great chance for the kids to get in on the action and create their own personal pizza cupcakes!

First sprinkle just a touch of cheese in each of the cupcakes. Next come the toppings. Now cover the toppings with sauce (as it bakes it will sink and cover the toppings. Finally, add a mound of cheese as the icing! We even used mini pepperoni rounds to top our cup cakes like cherries!

Now your cupcakes are ready to go in the oven! They will cook for about 12-15 minutes as they are smaller than a regular pizza. Once they are finished just let them cool on top of the over a bit and then pop them out for a fun hand held dinner!

I. Am. Minivan.

I'm gangsta. I think that's something you should know about me. I roll out- and I roll hard. I drive an Escalade. But I live in the suburbs
ghetto so I need a high tech anti-theft system on my ride so I don't get jacked. That's why I have the MomVan2000 Escalade Protection System. It makes your dope ride look like a minivan. So far so good cuz homies don't trip off my shiznit.

Does anyone need that translated?

Here's the deal yo, I am a mom. I have 3 kids & 3 dogs. I've come to terms with what this means in my life. It means that the skirts are longer, the shirts aren't as low cut, the language is a bit more PG, AAAAAAAAAAAND that a minivan makes sense. Is it my dream car? Yeah, not so much. But it means that when I pull up to my kid's school it doesn't look like the clown car at a circus!

A long, long, time ago in a land not so far away my husband needed a used new car. We only had 1 child at the time so he had his eye on a 2 door Acura sports car.

Me: "Really honey? We do plan on making more baby people some day. You know how hard it's gonna be for your 6'2" self to load and unload baby seats from that thing?"
Him: "Me man! Me smart! Sports car good for family! Minivan baaaaaad! Makes balls shrivel up." (Disclaimer: I may or may not have exaggerated some or all of my husband’s quote)

Skip to present with 2 more babies in car seats.

Husband: "I think I need a bigger car honey. It's hard to get the kids in mine. Can I borrow the van?"
Me: "Excellent idea honey. I'm so lucky to have a smart husband! Swoon!"

It's not just men. I have several mom friends who don't "see themselves" in a minivan. Why? They are practical and useful. And another upside is that the kids will, no doubt, ruin it by dumping juice and crackers all over it, leaving crayons on the seat in the sun to melt all over the place, and somehow leaving shoe prints on the ceiling of it. So by the time they grow up and move out you can get that dream car you always wanted.

So surrender. Just let yourself feel the pull of the momvan. It's good. So good. And say it with me. "I. Am. Minivan."

Bed Rest- An Honest Opionion

Look at this face. This is the face of my sweet baby who almost wasn't. I strongly feel that the only reason that he is still here with us is because my OB had placed me on bed rest starting at 13 weeks pregnant and ending at 36 weeks (when full lung development is achieved) after I hemorrhaged, had clots, blood pooling in the lining of my uterus and Placenta Previa.

I was recently interviewed for an article on bed rest that the Chicago Tribune was doing ( http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-bed-rest-20110129,0,6131409.story). The reporter read my blog ("My Book's Cover") about the financial aftermath of bed rest and got in touch with me through a few of the amazing bed rest support sites that knew of me and my story(Keepemcookin.com & BetterBedRest.org).

I was excited because this could be my chance to help the bed rest community and spread some awareness about the trials of bed rest but also the rewards. Now, I'm not naive and I went into the interview knowing that they may just use one sentence of our interview. (Margaret says "Bed rest sucks". The end) But when I read the article I was really displeased. Despite the things we spoke about and despite the reporter interviewing the amazing people at KeepEmCookin.com & BetterBedRest.org, she chose to steer the article towards information she accumulated that stated that bed rest was an archaic practice and that it really doesn't help mothers stay pregnant.

I beg to differ. Do I believe it should be "systematically" prescribed as it alluded to in her article? No. But when needed, it is the difference between life and death for a child. In my case, several of the conditions I was dealing with could have proved fatal to my baby (and potentially me) had I not been in bed. Placenta Previa is where the placenta attaches on top of the cervix and can cause preterm delivery due to the pressure the baby puts on the placenta & cervix as it grows. The blood pooling in the lining of my uterus could have caused premature rupture of the membranes (water to break) before 24 weeks. This would have been a death sentence for my baby.

Bed rest was vital to my son's survival. Was it hard on me as a mother? Absolutely. It was, in fact, the worst time of my life. But as mothers it's the choice we make for our children and our families. I think the best thing we can do for bed rest mommies is put resources in their hands. There is support out there. My OB did an excellent job taking care of me and my baby through weekly visits and regular ultrasounds. But the one thing he could have done to make bed rest easier would have been to put resources in my hand. To tell me about support groups like KeepEmCookin.com & Sidelines. To get me in touch with BetterBedRest.org which helps women attain grants to help with bills & such while they are out of work. Having these resources right away would have saved me some tears!

Now, I understand that these articles are meant to stir up debate and reporters look for the controversy in each story. But my concern is that articles like this will discourage women from following their doctor's orders and will result in dire consequences for the pregnancy. It may also discourage moms from looking for these resources. The truth is that bed rest works. I and my son are proof as are thousands of women out there each year. And to even insinuate that bed rest is not needed is dangerous. Since prenatal medicine has evolved, and that includes the prescription of bed rest, the infant and mother mortality rates have dropped drastically. We know how to take care of expectant mothers and their children. And as a mother who had to make the choice to be on bed rest (And it is a choice. No one can force bed rest.) even though it meant that I would lose my job, not be able to care for my other children, and my overall health would be under scrutiny for the next 6-7 months- I can say that I wouldn't change it. The reporter asked me if I think that things would have turned out fine if I hadn't stayed on bed rest and I told her I don't even let my mind go there. In my time on bed rest I met many mothers who never met their babies or only got to hold them for a few hours or days. So I won't question it. Because my son is here. He is healthy and he is alive.

Ingredients For a Great Husband

I was never that little girl who dreamed of her perfect husband, her perfect kids, and her dream wedding. Yet somehow I think I got all of them. Maybe it's not always perfect but I understand that the imperfections give you the chance to appriciate the true quality of the good stuff.

I met my husband in 1998. I wasn't looking for someone (isn't that always the story!) and he just kind of fell in my lap. I know it sounds cliche but I met him at work and went home that day and told my best friend that I had met my future husband. Here we are 12 years and 3 kids later.

My husband is my bestest friend. He is my soul mate in every dreamy and mushy sense of the word. Sometimes I forget that he is a whole separate person because he fits me so well that I forget he's not an actual piece of me! But let me please be clear that we don't have some annoying Hollywood romance where he is great because he brings me flowers, buys me jewelry, and wisks me off to exoctic locations. No, our romance is found in much more mundane but altogether more realistic ways.

So men- listen up! Here are the real ingredients to be a great husband:

1) He lets me sleep in.
2) He laughs at, with, & for me.
3) He truly thinks I'm awesome.
4) He supports everything I do- even the stupid stuff!
5) He thinks I'm perfect the way (and by way I mean size) I am.
6) He says he's wrong.
7) He yin's my yang.
8) He is ah-maz-zing with our children. HOT!
9) He doesn't ever yell at he because he knows I'd go OFF!
10) He calls me beautiful.
11) He is dedicated to our family.
12) He cleans up dog puke & poop.
13) He does the dishes. Super important since I am diametrically opposed to this chore.
14) He changes diapers.
15) He makes it effortless to love him.
16) He treats me like I am the sexiest thing on his radar- even if that waitress is clearly hotter than me.
17) He listens. I mean really listens.
18) He trusts me.
19) He doesn't go to bed, leave the house, or get off the phone without saying "I love you"
20) He takes care of me first in special husbandly ways ;0)

So gentlemen, you can see that it doesn't take a big bank roll or a PHD to be a quality husband. Just be a partner and best friend. Those are the ingredients.

Living In The Wake

January 23, 2010.

This is the day we lost my father-in-law.

When I say that I mean that in two ways. It is the day he went missing. And it is the day that he took himself from us. His body wasn't found for 3 days. 3 days of misguided hope and worry.

I was at work when I got the phone call that they had found him. I was immediately angry. I hung up the phone and the first words out of my mouth were "What the fuck was he thinking?!". I went into protective mode and was just mad. Mad for my husband. For my children. For his sons. But mostly for his wife. Who he loved dearly and she loved him. He sent her one yellow rose every Monday for as long as they've been together. How could he leave her? How could he hurt my husband and his brothers like this? How do I explain it to my children?

I. WAS. MAD.

But even so, I miss him. I miss him so much and I want him to take it back. I want him to call my husband and talk for hours like he used to. I want him to meet my baby and watch my kids grow up. I want him to be there when my brother-in-law gets married and has kids. I want him to grow old with his wife like he promised her. But something was so heavy inside him that these moments didn't stop him.

Sometimes depression is a visable beast. And sometimes it's a sneaky bastard. In this case, it was the latter. We were shocked. It was like having the wind knocked out of you and not being able to catch your breath again for a very long time. Someone said that depression is like cancer or any other disease. If it goes undiagnosed or untreated, it can be fatal. If we look at it this way, it makes it easier in some ways. But still hard.

I have a hard time with the word "suicide". I feel like it's a snapshot. Like if you say this is how your loved one died, that's who they are. Period. That's the only picture anyone has of your loved one. But my father-in-law was so much more. He was an amazing man. An amazing father, grandfather, husband, pilot, vetran, brother, friend, and so much more. I honestly don't have a single bad thing to say about him other than that I don't like the way he chose to die.

It has been a long year since he died. With my bed rest, we had so many things going on that we didn't get to process what happened until recently. Now the waves of emotion hit suddenly and without warning. We are left with questions, what if's, guilt, and incredible sadness.

In one bad moment and with one action, a wake was created. It ripples through our days and leaves us grasping for land. For any of it to make sense. Suicide is one moment. But it leaves the people you love living in its wake forever.