Let’s Get to Know Some of our 1/3 Moms!
Thank you, Christa Cottam, for
sharing your table with us!
Front row from left to right: Stacy Schieber, Melody Mike, Kelly
Leeper, Christa Cottam
Back Row: Julie Richard, Kelly Bebee, Amanda Peters, Wendy Sewell,
Margie Alford
Taking a Plunge…
By Kelly
Leeper
My plunge into motherhood moment happened last winter. My husband
and I were blessed to be parents to an adorable 20 month old little girl and
anxiously awaiting the arrival of the birth of our second child. It was the
day after thanksgiving, and it was the perfect day to spend outside decorating
the house with Christmas lights. In a matter of seconds my world went dark as I
discovered my husband broken and twisted lying on our driveway. He was
stringing the lights on the highest point of our roof over the garage when the
extension ladder gave way. He came crashing down 15 feet onto the unforgiving
concrete. Our wonderful neighbors sprang into action by calling 911, sparing my
daughter from the tragic scene by taking her inside to play with other
neighborhood kids, followed the ambulance to UNMC to offer a shoulder for me to
cry on and did their best to keep me calm and not go into labor. After 6 long
days and 3 extensive surgeries my husband was able to return home before it was
my turn to check into the hospital. Only 5 days after my husband’s last surgery
I gave birth to our precious second daughter via C-section.
Over the next three months I plunged head first into motherhood by
tending to all the needs of the toddler and newborn in addition to caring for
my husband. Regardless of how challenging things became I knew my family needed
me and I needed them. The whole experience has had its ups and downs but we
have become a stronger and more loving family today.
Before
I was a mother I never thought I would…
· Be accompanied to the bathroom by someone who sings the
"Potty Song" to cheer me on for going. (Wendy Sewell)
· Hold out my hand for my child to give me a booger because no
tissues were in sight. (Kelly Leeper)
· Would own a minivan! (Christa Cottam)
· Be okay with the fact that I would have to walk around for the
entire rest of the day with spit up completely down the front side of my
clothes. (Kelly Bebee)
· Have to "borrow" a linen napkin from a restaurant to use
as a diaper since we were all out and we were in the middle of dinner! (Julie
Richard)
Let’s Eat…
Monster
Bars (by Christa Cottam)
1/2 c. butter
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda
4 1/2 c. oatmeal
2 c. chocolate chips
2 c. M & M’s
Preheat oven to 350ยบ F. Cream the butter
and sugars together. Add eggs and peanut butter and mix. Stir in vanilla,
baking soda and oatmeal. Stir in chocolate chips and M & M’s. Put in an
ungreased jellyroll pan (12 1/2" x 17 1/2"). Bake for 15 minutes. Do
not over bake. Enjoy!
Suzi's sloppy Joes (by Julie
Richard)
1 lb. ground beef
1 can of chicken gumbo
3 squeezes of mustard
5 queezes of ketchup
Brown the ground beef, drain, then add the rest of the ingredients
to the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes.
Crust:
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg
Filling:
2 eggs
1 can pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Topping:
1 cup reserved cake mix
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
Grease 9x13 inch pan. Empty cake mix into bowl and measure out 1
cup and put aside. Add melted butter and beaten egg to cake mix in bowl. Press
into pan.
Prepare filling by beating 2 eggs, add milk and remaining
ingredients and pour over crust.
Prepare topping by cutting together the ingredients, and then
sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. or until knife
inserted comes out clean.
Broccoli-Cheese
Soup (by Wendy Sewell)
5 Tbsp. margarine
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk,
3 cups chicken broth,
1 bag frozen broccoli (cooked and chopped),
1 tsp. salt,
Pepper to taste,
About 6 oz. Velveeta cheese, sliced
Melt margarine in large saucepan, add onion, and cook until
tender. Blend in flour until mixture is smooth. Add milk, broth, broccoli,
cheese, and seasoning. Cook, stirring until all cheese is melted. Do not allow
to boil.
Blueberry Banana Bread (by Kelly
Leeper)
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. mashed bananas
1/2 c. quick cook oats
1 1/2 all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. fresh blueberries
Cream together the room temperature butter and sugar. Add eggs and bananas until well combined. Next add the dry ingredients to the batter. To prevent discoloring the batter, coat the fresh blueberries in a light dusting of flour before gentling folding into the mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 65-70 minutes. Check the bread often to prevent over-browning near end of cooking time.
Allow to cool for at 10 minutes before turning out of the pan and cooling on a wire rack. Excellent bread to freeze or devour while warm!
Let’s Play…
· Getting ice cream at Ted and Wally's downtown, for any of the
categories! With kids, Children's Museum, story time at the library, hitting
the park with sand toys in tow, working in the garden.
· This time of year, we like to rake leaves into a huge pile and
jump into them...or pile them up at the bottom of the slide. Afterwards, it's
fun to come inside and warm up with hot apple cider!
· Hiking at Hitchcock Nature Center in Council Bluffs, IA.
· My son loooooves the park right now and we can hardly go on a walk
and pass by without stopping. So that is our "thing" to do right now.
· Fun thing to do with friends is have them over for coffee in the
morning. The kids are all in good moods at this time, and it is a free fun time
to hang out and enjoy a hot cup of coffee!
· Pick up food from our favorite BBQ place in town and have an
impromptu picnic in the park followed by bubble mania. My girls go absolutely
wild over the bbq baked beans, corn bread, and bubbles the size of their head
· Fun date idea is a “stay-cation” with just my hubby in downtown
Omaha. Since we live out west we never seem to have the energy or desire to
fight traffic to enjoy that part of town, so I keep an eye out for
Groupon/Living Social hotel deals.
