More pics of the baby!

Boy, y'all are really going to get tired of this kid! lol Anyhow, I talked to Berlyn, and realized that there might be some confusion for some of the members of the crochetlist that might take a look here, since they know (of) Berlyn by her actual name, which is Rachele. She said it was okay for me to put her real name on here, so that's how I'm going to be calling her!



So, anyway, here are some more pics of Tiny for you guys to look at!












Here's Tree holding Tiny for the first time!

My grandson...

And here is a picture of my new grandbaby:

He's soooo tiny! He is only 15 inches long, and I posted his weight earlier. He is doing well, though. He seems so out of proportion...his head, hands, and feet are so big compared to the rest of him! I think his official nickname will end up being "Tiny." My youngest daughter wants to call him "Tiny Tim," and Berlyn has said that's okay. : )

Book tag also...

Mouse tagged me, so I'm playing along! : )

Okay, the first book to hand is Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George.

Page 123 (funny, haven't gotten this far yet!), third sentence is:
Tobin winked at me as I approached, and I rolled my eyes by way of reply.

And the next 5 sentences are:
"Your Highness." I curtsied, my eyes downcast. When I raised them, I found that Luka had gotten to his feet and was grinning at me.
"Creel." He gave me a polite bow, clearly amused at my overly formal greeting. "I wanted to know how you were getting on here in Mistress Derda's fine establishment."
"I am enjoying my work very much," I said, hoping that he didn't notice how red and pricked my fingertips were.

And so now I tag Neo, Tah, Accipiter, OppieJoe, and LaMa.

Hmmm, all guys...lol

Meatloaf

Okay, someone was asking me how I make my meatloaf, which my kids LOVE (though they may be a little biased! lol), so I figured I'd put it on here for anyone who cares to try it. Mind you, the measurements are not exact, but more approximations. Oh, and remember, I'm cooking for an army, so the recipe makes a BIG meatloaf!

Shawna's Killer Meatloaf

5 lbs ground beef
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 10 oz (? not the tiny can, not the really big can) can tomato sauce
1 10 oz can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
3 eggs
enough crackers or bread crumbs to absorb the moisture and hold it together (I normally end up using 2 to 3 sleeves of crackers)
Ketchup or tomato sauce to cover the top of the loaf before it goes in the oven
Shredded cheese for the top

Mix together everything but the shredded cheese and ketchup for the top. Put it in a casserole dish (you'll need a good-sized one), then spread ketchup or tomato sauce over the whole top.
Put the meatloaf in the oven at 350 (sorry, I don't have a degree key, and it's in Farenheit, for those of you who use Celsius) for about 70 minutes, depending on your oven. When you can cut into the center of the meatloaf and it's not really gooey, pull it out, top with shredded cheese, and put back in the oven for about 5 more minutes--long enough for the cheese to melt.
Serve with mashed potatoes, and whatever other sides you like with your meatloaf.
Serves: A LOT!

Like I said, the measurements aren't exact, but I know that last night I used 2 cans of the cheese soup and it was pretty gooey--I had to use a whole box of crackers to keep it from being too moist. If you use just the one can, and it seems too dry, you can add a little more tomato sauce to the meat.
Hope you try it and like it. If you do, feel free to leave a comment!

New baby!

At 5:09 a.m. today, Berlyn delivered her little boy by C-section. He is 2 lbs, 10 oz., and about 11 weeks premature, but otherwise healthy! : ) He is already breathing mostly on his own, and will probably be off the respirator by the end of the week. Then, once he is feeding well and gets to a certain weight, he will get to come home...probably within a couple weeks of his due date.

I will be going up to see him and Berlyn later today, most likely, and will probably post more about him later. Berlyn is doing well, except for being sore from having herself cut open and having stitches, etc.

Stuff...

I was going to write a whole long serious post about "what if"...but, really, I've had a lot of serious type posts on here, and no one is responding to them. I don't know if that means no one is reading them, or if I'm just depressing them, and they're going out and committing some kind of ritual suicide somewhere in the wilds of Iowa or someplace! : ) Honestly, I'm not sure which I wish for more....or less, rather...lol
I've decided that I need to do some serious cleaning. I can no longer find all of my jewelry stuff--and considering that I want to sell jewelry I make, that's not a good thing! I think that I need to enlist the help of some friendly brownies (no, not the ones who sell cookies) or house-elves.
A bit of an update on Berlyn: She is doing okay, but she has to go in for monitoring of the baby every day. Baby is doing well, lungs are developing just fine, as is the diaphragm--he apparently has the hiccups a lot--especially when Berlyn is trying to do kick counts...lol
Dave is also doing well, all things considered. He's been having a few high-pain days, but other than that, he's okay.
And as for the rest of the crew, my middle son (he's 17!!) has just signed up for the National Guard. He's going to go in for training as a firefighter, and he ships out for basic on April 1st. I'm proud of him, but I can't help but be worried about him. I know there's the chance of him being deployed somewhere, but there's also the fact that when he gets home from basic, it will be right in the middle of fire season here, and I'm sure that he'll be called on to help put those out. Scary stuff...
My middle daughter is in college, but is trying to decide if she should come home and finish her degree here. I'd like it if she could stick it out where she is, but it's her choice to make.
My oldest son is looking for a job, and enjoying spending time with his daughter.
My youngest daughter is doing great in homeschool! We're still having a tough time getting her to write, though!
Okay, this has gotten long again. : ) I'm going to go for now, and check back later. Don't know how much later...lol
Y'all have a great evening!

Bummed out...

The jewelry only sold for $7.95, plus $6.50 for S&H. The materials cost me almost $20, plus my time. Guess it's only worth $14.45. : ( At least this time, anyhow. Apparently I posted it wrong, so there weren't many people who could look at it. I'll remember to do it right the next time. Also I will remember to put a reserve price on anything I sell! The guy who won got a STEAL!!! Ah, well, lessons learned, I suppose....
Y'all have a good evening!