Nathan and I have yet to settle on a name for our baby girl. We were just discussing tonight how we have a couple of favorites, but we're not ready to settle down and choose one yet. So I thought I'd ask you what you think.
Here are some names we like (in no particular order, for any of you who might be trying to guess which ones are highest on our list right now!):
Emma
Ella
Miriam
Elizabeth
Jane
Caroline
Evangeline
Lilah
Lydia
Lily
Susannah
A few things:
-I prefer names that are feminine and definitely for a girl, not names that could also be used for a boy.
-I tend to like classic names that are kind of elegant.
-I much prefer names that actually mean something.
-I'm interested in any other pretty biblical names you might come up with.
-I'm toying with the idea of a two-syllable name with either a "b" or an "n" in it, but I haven't found a ringer yet (two syllables because Lauren, Nathan, and Noah all have two syllables, and b's and n's because I think they go nicely with "Benesh").
As you can see, we have a ways to go to make a decision in the short amount of time we have left (only 7 weeks until the due date!).
Does all of that give you an idea of the type of names we like? If so, please leave a comment with suggestions. No promises, but I'm interested to see what you come up with. :)
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Noah is Two!
Today was Noah's second birthday! I can't believe it!
We had a little train party for him. And by "little," I mean that it was pretty much a play date with cake. But it was a pretty cool cake, and we had a pretty fun time. Our friends the Robinsons stopped by with their kiddos to help us celebrate.
We had a little train party for him. And by "little," I mean that it was pretty much a play date with cake. But it was a pretty cool cake, and we had a pretty fun time. Our friends the Robinsons stopped by with their kiddos to help us celebrate.
Here he is playing with some trains (of course) with his friend Nathan.
He's wearing the train conductor shirt that my parents bought him at Hermann Park, when we rode the train there over Christmas.
He's wearing the train conductor shirt that my parents bought him at Hermann Park, when we rode the train there over Christmas.
Here is the pretty neat cake we made him. For Christmas, my parents gave me a train cake pan that I had requested just for this occasion. I decorated most of the cars, and Nathan decorated the little scene. Noah actually got into trouble on his birthday morn because he could not keep his hands off it.
Tell me this kid is not a character. Look at that pose.
Happy Birthday, kiddo!
Happy Birthday, kiddo!
He didn't quite get that you're supposed to wait until the end of the Happy Birthday song to blow out the candle. So he kept blowing it out as soon as Nathan lit it. He loves to blow candles out and couldn't be told otherwise. Part of what made it so funny was that the candle was about two feet away from him, but somehow he had great aim with his blowing. The kid has some breath control, I'm telling you. Maybe he'll be a singer or play a wind instrument when he grows up.
Here he is with some of his booty.
That's my boy! Gotta love that face.
-----
Noah Thomas Benesh
born January 9, 2008
Noah Thomas Benesh
born January 9, 2008
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Rest of Our Christmas Trip
The remainder of our Christmas trip occurred mostly in Waco, with Nathan's family. We really enjoyed seeing everyone on that side of the family, opening gifts, playing games, and just hanging out. Noah and Nathan really enjoyed playing outside, even though it was pretty chilly--Nathan was helping his dad with some burn piles, and at times they'd take Noah out with them on the four wheelers (his new favorite thing ever).
(Obviously, I was having camera issues here, but I still thought this was pretty cute.)
And because we could not leave out a picture of Noah's new favorite activity ever, here he is with Nathan on one of the four wheelers. Don't let his expression fool you; he was having a great time. In fact, he got to ride them so often that he ended up learning how to turn them on--a two-step process--just by watching. It cracked us up.
One of the other highlights of Noah's experience there was going to Baylor's Mayborn Museum, where they had a model train exhibit. It was similar to the one we went to outside of Boston, only it was actually about four or five times as big and quite a bit more varied.
Noah loved this little exhibit, where he could push buttons to make the trains go.
We also toured around the children's area of the museum, which is quite extensive. I thought this little exhibit was pretty cool--it's all the Waco landmarks. Nathan and his parents took Noah the rest of the way through the children's section, but I was pretty tired that day, which accounts for the lack of museum pictures beyond this point. :)
Here are Noah and Grandpa, relaxing together.
(Obviously, I was having camera issues here, but I still thought this was pretty cute.)And because we could not leave out a picture of Noah's new favorite activity ever, here he is with Nathan on one of the four wheelers. Don't let his expression fool you; he was having a great time. In fact, he got to ride them so often that he ended up learning how to turn them on--a two-step process--just by watching. It cracked us up.
All in all, we had a great trip to Texas!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Cream Cheese Chicken
Hey peeps,
I have a recipe that I'm putting up on the blog more for my own convenience than because I think everyone will fall over themselves to make it. But I actually make this dish a lot, and I always have to go search for the recipe online then figure out how exactly I alter it again every time I make it. So I thought that for my own sake, as well as to share it with you, I'd post it here.
It's called Cream Cheese Chicken. I found this recipe on crockpot365.blogspot.com, where a woman used her crock pot every day for a year. In my opinion, some of the recipes on that site are only mediocre (she would probably agree, since most of them are new to her and she gives a review of each one after she posts it), but we like this one, and I actually make it a lot.
There are two versions of the recipe that she posts, and they are found here. Personally, I find them yummy but highly overseasoned, so that is the main difference you will see in my version of the recipe below. For one of her recipes, you use canned cream of something soup. For the other, you make your own cream of mushroom soup and use that. I have always made my own cream of mushroom soup, following the recipe she references, and it makes so much soup that it causes me to end up with about six bags of two-cup servings in the freezer (you can always split it in half, if you want). But here is the perk I've discovered: this is a no-brainer meal, because the two main ingredients are the cream of mushroom soup and chicken. The rest of the ingredients are things I always have on hand, like seasonings, onions, egg noodles, and cream cheese. Which means that when I am not sure what to do for dinner, or when I am totally uninspired and think I have no ingredients for something yummy, I can always reach into the freezer, grab some frozen chicken breasts and a bag of frozen homemade cream of mushroom soup, and I have a meal. Which is exactly what happened today.
So for our mutual benefit, below is the recipe for Cream Cheese Chicken, preceded by Cream of Mushroom Soup. When making my soup from scratch, I cook it in the crock pot the day before (or overnight), reserve the two cups I need in the crock for the following meal, and store the rest in 2-cup increments in freezer bags. Then, on the following day, I put the rest of the ingredients for the chicken dish in the slow cooker and let that cook until it's time to eat.
By the way, this makes a large amount of food--I have used it to feed a crowd before. And one more tip: rather than topping the egg noodles with the chicken at the end, I prefer to stir them in. They seem to combine better that way. Also, I usually serve this with fresh bread and a green veggie, and so far this has proven to be a toddler-friendly meal, at least at our house.
Enjoy!
-----
Cream of Mushroom Soup
original recipe found here
2 lbs. mushrooms, sliced
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 cups water
4 cups vegetable broth
1 quart of milk (to add later)
Put the mushrooms, spices, and lemon juice in to the slow cooker. Add the water and broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Carefully use an immersible hand blender and blend until smooth (or blend in the food processor/blender in batches). Stir in the milk.
-----
Cream Cheese Chicken
2 cups homemade cream of mushroom soup
4 frozen chicken breasts
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cloves minced garlic
1-1/2 blocks of cream cheese (to add later)
half a large package of egg noodles (about 6-8 oz.), cooked (to add later)
Put everything except for the cream cheese and noodles in the slow cooker. Cook on low for six hours, or until the chicken is cooked through. Shred the chicken with two large forks. Stir in the block of cream cheese. Turn the slow cooker up to high and cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is completely melted. Stir in the cooked egg noodles.
I have a recipe that I'm putting up on the blog more for my own convenience than because I think everyone will fall over themselves to make it. But I actually make this dish a lot, and I always have to go search for the recipe online then figure out how exactly I alter it again every time I make it. So I thought that for my own sake, as well as to share it with you, I'd post it here.
It's called Cream Cheese Chicken. I found this recipe on crockpot365.blogspot.com, where a woman used her crock pot every day for a year. In my opinion, some of the recipes on that site are only mediocre (she would probably agree, since most of them are new to her and she gives a review of each one after she posts it), but we like this one, and I actually make it a lot.
There are two versions of the recipe that she posts, and they are found here. Personally, I find them yummy but highly overseasoned, so that is the main difference you will see in my version of the recipe below. For one of her recipes, you use canned cream of something soup. For the other, you make your own cream of mushroom soup and use that. I have always made my own cream of mushroom soup, following the recipe she references, and it makes so much soup that it causes me to end up with about six bags of two-cup servings in the freezer (you can always split it in half, if you want). But here is the perk I've discovered: this is a no-brainer meal, because the two main ingredients are the cream of mushroom soup and chicken. The rest of the ingredients are things I always have on hand, like seasonings, onions, egg noodles, and cream cheese. Which means that when I am not sure what to do for dinner, or when I am totally uninspired and think I have no ingredients for something yummy, I can always reach into the freezer, grab some frozen chicken breasts and a bag of frozen homemade cream of mushroom soup, and I have a meal. Which is exactly what happened today.
So for our mutual benefit, below is the recipe for Cream Cheese Chicken, preceded by Cream of Mushroom Soup. When making my soup from scratch, I cook it in the crock pot the day before (or overnight), reserve the two cups I need in the crock for the following meal, and store the rest in 2-cup increments in freezer bags. Then, on the following day, I put the rest of the ingredients for the chicken dish in the slow cooker and let that cook until it's time to eat.
By the way, this makes a large amount of food--I have used it to feed a crowd before. And one more tip: rather than topping the egg noodles with the chicken at the end, I prefer to stir them in. They seem to combine better that way. Also, I usually serve this with fresh bread and a green veggie, and so far this has proven to be a toddler-friendly meal, at least at our house.
Enjoy!
-----
Cream of Mushroom Soup
original recipe found here
2 lbs. mushrooms, sliced
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 cups water
4 cups vegetable broth
1 quart of milk (to add later)
Put the mushrooms, spices, and lemon juice in to the slow cooker. Add the water and broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Carefully use an immersible hand blender and blend until smooth (or blend in the food processor/blender in batches). Stir in the milk.
-----
Cream Cheese Chicken
2 cups homemade cream of mushroom soup
4 frozen chicken breasts
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cloves minced garlic
1-1/2 blocks of cream cheese (to add later)
half a large package of egg noodles (about 6-8 oz.), cooked (to add later)
Put everything except for the cream cheese and noodles in the slow cooker. Cook on low for six hours, or until the chicken is cooked through. Shred the chicken with two large forks. Stir in the block of cream cheese. Turn the slow cooker up to high and cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is completely melted. Stir in the cooked egg noodles.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Facebook Permeation
Does anyone else think of their life in terms of Facebook statuses throughout the day?
Lauren Benesh . . .
Lauren Benesh . . .
- noticed today that I am starting to move a lot slower now.
- wonders if she will get the house cleaned up and organized in time for Noah's birthday this weekend.
- made bread from her new bread machine cookbook, and it was excellent.
- is still amused that Livvy got fat while we were gone.
- thought she was heading to bed early but finished her book instead.
- 's eyes are stinging because she's so tired.
- is thankful God loves this baby girl more than I ever could.
How the Cats Fared
We were out of town for a solid two weeks and left the care of our cats to a couple of friends. Here's what we found when we got back:
They are totally attention-starved, Livvy especially. She cannot get enough petting. It's annoying. I made the mistake of petting her for about a minute when I was still in bed early this morning, and then she took the next several minutes to walk all over both Nathan and me meowing loudly and licking us. Annoying.
They are fat! Well, not really fat, but they did totally pudge up while we were gone! What in the world?! We can't figure out why, exactly. Nathan theorizes it's a combination of them being depressed we were gone and the fact that the temp in our apartment was turned way down, so that maybe the cold temperatures made them instinctively put on a little more weight. Anyway, we were pretty surprised to see that they were a little more hefty when we got home.
Excuse me for the excessive use of italics in this post.
They are totally attention-starved, Livvy especially. She cannot get enough petting. It's annoying. I made the mistake of petting her for about a minute when I was still in bed early this morning, and then she took the next several minutes to walk all over both Nathan and me meowing loudly and licking us. Annoying.
They are fat! Well, not really fat, but they did totally pudge up while we were gone! What in the world?! We can't figure out why, exactly. Nathan theorizes it's a combination of them being depressed we were gone and the fact that the temp in our apartment was turned way down, so that maybe the cold temperatures made them instinctively put on a little more weight. Anyway, we were pretty surprised to see that they were a little more hefty when we got home.
Excuse me for the excessive use of italics in this post.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy New Year!
Hello again to the blog world!
Sorry I've been out of touch for the last week or two . . . actually, I'm not that sorry. :) It's been nice to take a technological hiatus. I've done lots of reading and a fair bit of crocheting. Wanna see what I've been up to?
Just before we left on our trip, I ran across some crocheting patterns for baby girl sweaters and dresses that a friend had given to me four or five years ago. At the time, I thought, "I am going to tuck these away and make them when I have a baby girl." Of course, I forgot all about them, so when I saw them again, I was so pleased.
So far, I've nearly completed this cardigan in an ivory/light yellow color. I got some blue and green ribbon to go on it:
And I've just started on this dress. Isn't it the sweetest thing?
I'm trying to take advantage of the fact that I'm currently bitten by the crocheting bug to get some things done. I am really terrible about getting excited about a craft project, starting it, then abandoning it halfway through when I lose interest. So I'm trying to complete these projects before the desire deserts me. They're so cute that I don't want to have them incomplete when the time comes for Baby Girl to actually wear them.
Sorry I've been out of touch for the last week or two . . . actually, I'm not that sorry. :) It's been nice to take a technological hiatus. I've done lots of reading and a fair bit of crocheting. Wanna see what I've been up to?
Just before we left on our trip, I ran across some crocheting patterns for baby girl sweaters and dresses that a friend had given to me four or five years ago. At the time, I thought, "I am going to tuck these away and make them when I have a baby girl." Of course, I forgot all about them, so when I saw them again, I was so pleased.
So far, I've nearly completed this cardigan in an ivory/light yellow color. I got some blue and green ribbon to go on it:
And I've just started on this dress. Isn't it the sweetest thing?
I'm trying to take advantage of the fact that I'm currently bitten by the crocheting bug to get some things done. I am really terrible about getting excited about a craft project, starting it, then abandoning it halfway through when I lose interest. So I'm trying to complete these projects before the desire deserts me. They're so cute that I don't want to have them incomplete when the time comes for Baby Girl to actually wear them.
I've also been doing some reading. I've read the first book of Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion series, though so far I think I like Redeeming Love better. I also received the last two books of the Emily of New Moon trilogy for Christmas, and I've started book #2. The Emily books are by the same author as Anne of Green Gables, and I like them a lot.
Other than reading and crocheting, I have enjoyed NOT having to cook or plan meals. I do derive a lot of satisfaction out of those things in my normal life, but it's been great to take a break from them for a short while and let others do the planning.
So, peeps, what did you do over your break that you enjoyed? Do tell.
(By the way, more pictures from the rest of our trip will be up sometime soon.)
Other than reading and crocheting, I have enjoyed NOT having to cook or plan meals. I do derive a lot of satisfaction out of those things in my normal life, but it's been great to take a break from them for a short while and let others do the planning.
So, peeps, what did you do over your break that you enjoyed? Do tell.
(By the way, more pictures from the rest of our trip will be up sometime soon.)
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