Tax Break

Well, only for me...this week! I'm on a mini vacation from doing our taxes. On Monday night, I had Ben look at what was confusing me...made me feel a little better that he ended up being just as confused as I was! Ben left for work Tuesday morning, armed with copies of all sorts of papers... The one number left that we needed wasn't in the box the instructions said it was supposed to be! To make a long story as short as possible, the W2's were printed wrong (oh, great!). New W2's are being reissued to us...we hope to have them by the end of this week. Then, I can begin the paperwork process all over again! I'm glad we're realizing it now, instead of at the beginning of April! What a mess that'd be!

I tried a new recipe last night that Stacey had given me. It was good...but, a little time-consuming. Maybe I'd make it again for company...but, it was too much work (aka DISHES) for just me and Ben!

Here it is if you're ever feeling ambitious:

Chicken Cheese Lasagna
Taste of Home

1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups (16 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dries oregano
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 cups (15 - 16 oz.) ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon minced parsley
9 lasagna noodles, cooked & drained
2 packages frozen spinach, thawed & drained
2 cups fully cooked chicken, cubed

In saucepan, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Stir in flour and salt; cook until bubbly. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, and pepper; set aside.
In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, parsley, and remaining mozzarella; set aside. Spread 1 quarter of cheese sauce into a greased 13x9 pan. Cover with one-third of noodles. Top with half of ricotta mixture, half spinach, and half chicken. Cover with 1 quarter cheese sauce, one-third of noodles. Repeat layer of ricotta, spinach, and chicken. Cover with remaining noodles and cheese sauce. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 F for 35-40 minutes.
12 Servings

*Stephanie's notes: I only used one pkg of spinach -- that was enough greenery for us! LOL


And, now for what you are probably more interested in: a few pictures of Megan. I'm going to start posting a few of my favorite older ones here and there, since I never got around to it on freewebs. But, these were taken yesterday...

Megan helping mama by being good! (I was changing the sheets on her crib and she entertained herself -- as well as kept a close eye on me!).

Happy Monday!

We had a very busy weekend, which is typical, as well as a busy start to the week! On Saturday, we spent the afternoon at Ben's parents'. Ben's aunts and uncle were also there to see Megan. Most of them hadn't seen her since she was about a month old. She's certainly changed a lot since then!

We came home Saturday night to a dark house! No electricity! It was really interesting trying to feed Megan some cereal and then getting her clean and into jammies by candlelight! The lights (and heat!) finally came back on around 10 pm.

I'm giving Megan a cup to "play" with. She's interested in holding her bottle, but hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet. I figured I'd try to start transferring her to a sippy cup before I need to buy bigger bottles! She had fun looking at her pink cup and chewing on the spout...but, looked a little surprised when water came out. She'll catch on in no time!
















Megan and I went grocery shopping this morning. The wind was soo cold and I'm glad we're back home! Even though it was chilly and most days, it's just so much easier to go through the bank's drive through than go inside, I was finally able to open a savings account for Megan today! It's been on my "to do" list since she was born, so I thought I'd really better get it done!

So, the rest of today will be spent putting away my groceries and getting some laundry done.

Here's a picture I took of Megan yesterday just before we left for church (notice a shoe missing...she spends the entire time she is sitting, trying to kick them off of her feet!):

Just another day...

...in the Peck household. Really, my blog could get pretty boring! Megan was a bit cranky yesterday...I think her gum was pretty swollen. No tooth yet.

I took the first picture during her nap yesterday. She usually sleeps on her belly, but, the last couple of days, has been on her side up against the bumper. I took this picture because of her arm up over her head. She slept like this in the incubator on the day she was born...but, I've never seen her sleep like that again. She's so cute.




Megan and our kitty, Ginger sharing a loving moment! LOL! Really, Ginger does very well with Megan. Ginger was quite jealous when we brought Megan home, but, never showed any aggression. She was a pouty kitty instead. Now, Ginger is very tolerant, and even lets Megan touch her.

So, that's a few pictures to share with you. For the next couple of days, during Megan's naptimes, I'll be busy trying to work on our taxes. Last year was pretty easy - and, my first year doing it myself. This year is starting to look a bit confusing. Part of our health insurance this past year was using a Health Savings Account... and, the paperwork and forms for that have me a bit overwhelmed. I'll give it a few days to see if I can figure it out...if not, I'll be visiting our old tax preparer!

Have a great day!

Fixing a broken link

Clicking on the image in the other post didn't work...I'm trying again!

Daddy or Mommy?

I've been wanting to do this for such a loong time! So, who do YOU think Megan looks more like? Mommy or Daddy? (Click on the image for a larger version). I find it funny who thinks what...so, I thought if you could see some baby pictures of us and Megan side by side, then YOU could decide!

And the leg rolls weigh...

well, who really knows? But, ALL of Megan (au natural aka diaperless) weighed in at exactly 14 1/2 pounds today at her doctor's appointment. I was pretty surprised...I really thought she was at LEAST 16 pounds...I don't know why, but, according to her diaper size 3 package, I thought she'd be heftier.

Doctor Terwilliger says Megan's looking good and is "a doll." (We already know that, of course!) She did really well with her 3 shots this time...there was even a student nurse who didn't quite get one of the shots in, and the "real" nurse had to poke poor Megan again. But, Megan only cried a little bit...I was very proud of her!

Megan won't see the doctor again until she's 9 months...and, it'll be a no-shot visit! Yay!

Here are some pictures I took of Megan "reading" a few weeks ago. They're some of my favorites!

Trying a new approach...

I'm really having a hard time keeping our freewebs site current. Updating through freewebs is a bit difficult and time consuming. I thought I'd experiment with a blog site and see if it's any easier. So far, it appears to be much easier to upload photos...

So much has happened since I last updated freewebs! Megan is now 6 months old! Hard to believe, isn't it?! Just last weekend, she began sitting all by herself! We're so proud of her!

Megan has moved on from rice cereal... now her breakfast of choice is oatmeal mixed with a little fruit juice. She's also tried just about every baby food available and loves sweet potatoes and apples/blueberries the most. Although, I think she'll eat just about anything! Megan has only turned her nose up at butternut squash...made her cheeks turn rashy, too.


Here's Megan's 6 month picture taken January 6. Tomorrow is her 6 month appointment...we'll see how much those leg rolls weigh!