Here is what you will need…

• 1 pound
  fettuccine noodles
• 1 12oz. package
  Johnsonville Three Cheese Italian Style Chicken Sausage sliced into ¼ inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon
  olive oil
• 1 cup
  frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
• 1 cup
  favorite Alfredo sauce
• 1/2 cup
  chicken stock
• 1/3 cup
  Parmesan cheese blend, grated

Cook the pasta as usual

in a big 10 inch pain (I use a 12 inch) add olive oil. Then add the chicken sausage. Right before it gets brown add in the frozen (or fresh) veggies…cook until done. Add in the Alfredo sauce and then chicken stock stir until bubbly.

Blend all together with the noodles….add some cheese on top!

Easy Peasy!

Enjoy!

I took little sweet peppers, cut the tops off stuffed them with mozzarella cheese and baked them on 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes. (I don’t really time things) Super good….but I bet they would be better on the grill….I will be throwing some on next time we cook outside! <3

Enjoy Loves!

Norma L. Brookman, 75, of Crescent Twp., went to be with her Lord on April 20, 2013.

Born in Wireton (Crescent Twp.) on August 16, 1938, a daughter of the late William and Magdalene Sullivan Neal, she was a lifelong resident of Crescent. Mrs. Brookman was a homemaker and a Protestant by faith.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, William H. Brookman Sr., on April 9, 1998; two children, Michelle and Michael Brookman in 1959, and a brother, Stephen in 1997.

Surviving are two sons, William H. Jr. and Diana Brookman of Crescent and Daniel A. and Susan Brookman of Penn Hills; a cherished granddaughter, Nicole Craddock (Andrew) of South Heights; a loving grandson, Jack Pierce Brookman of Penn Hills, and two great-grandsons, Xavier and Zayden Craddock of South Heights. She is also survived by three brothers, Daniel A. Neal (Lynnette), Leon A. Neal (Peggy), all of Crescent, and William H. Neal (Sherry) of Raccoon Twp., and many nieces and nephews. Also surviving are six very special people in her life, Tammy and Donald Scafidel and their children, Lacey, Krista, Kyle and Logan of Natalbany, LA.

At the request of the deceased, there will be no visitation or services.

Would I ever have surgery to get rid of my extra skin? HECK NO! First off, the scars of getting the skin removed are horrid…in my opinion when I see someone with scars down their arms from having the skin taken off it is an advertisement of “I have had weight loss surgery” and I do not want to be an advertisement. I also look at my skin as my accomplishment. I never had this surgery to walk around in a bikini, I have had 2 kids….my tummy will never be bikini ready. In all honesty, if it was not for the skin I would be able to wear one but again, never a goal to get in one, don’t care to try…! I also can get the illusion of having surgery and NOT having extra skin by simple products you get from your local Wally World. Yes….you can hide your skin from items from Wal-Mart….and this blog is to help ya’ll out to do that! I am going to share my secrets.

FIRST….just in case you didn’t believe that I had extra skin hiding under my clothes, I thought you might enjoy some personal pictures…I cannot believe I am doing this, but TA-DA….my “dough”….

This is the extra skin from my arms…

What my thighs look like from the extra skin.

This is what my thigh skin looks like pulled out…it’s a lot!

lovely tummy skin!!!

Okay, now that you see I do have skin I am covering up…I can start on my secrets!

Secrets for my arms….NONE…honestly they do not bother me that bad. My arms bothered me more when I was morbidly obese then the saggy skin does now. Who cares….be proud of it….and honestly no one notices arms unless you point them out…and since when does Nikki Craddock care what others think of her? You shouldn’t either!

LEGS! This secret for me is easy. SKINNY JEANS! They do not have to be super skinny but I make sure they hug my upper thighs. This way it accents my “curves” of the legs, but I do not “jiggle”. I do not like pants that are loose in the upper leg because they make you look bigger then you are to begin with, but hold in that jiggle…!

Tummy! I will say I am self conscience about my tummy. I worked hard to get down to 135lbs, so I want my tummy to be something to be proud of…and I do not like to wear shirts where you see my “rolls”. My extra skin makes me look like I have big ones, so I am careful about that. This is my secret…. High Waist Panties. This is all I wear out….in nude. I have them in every color, I love them! I do not leave my house without them on. For $13 they hold everything in making you completely flat. When I want to look extra thin, I use these ones that have more of a hold in the front.  These honestly make the biggest difference in the belly…if you do not own at least one pair of these…shame on you…because these are my life long secret! When I am around the house I wear cute under ware but when I go out…these all the way.

Another secret, I always wear a thick strapped bra. What is a thick strapped bra? I never buy a bra that only has 2 clasps in the back. I buy the bigger ones that have 4 clasps….which means the strap is really thick. This way you do not get that “back fat” look on your shirts in the back. I hate having back fat poke out under shirts…so thick bras are my secret for that. CLICK FOR EXAMPLE

I do these things for me, I could wear the sexy cute bra and panty sets but I would much rather hide my skin and make myself look less flabby. I do not do this for anyone else but me, to me using these secrets make me more sexy then a cute matching set would make me!

Here is what I can wear with my secrets “in place”….

What are some of your weight loss tips for me? I would love to try some!

I do not know what it is, but as soon as the little baby boo goes to sleep…the big one has to do something to wake him up. He won’t even know he is asleep yet, it just happens. I seriously want to pull out my hair by the end of the day. Oh here is a good one, when I just get the little one to sleep…I start to clean and the big one puts a guilt trip on me that he wants me to play with him and then looks at the little one because I give him more attention. I am trying to learn how to split my time but it is hard. There are days when I get the little one to sleep and I just want to zone out because I am tired of being the milk machine (yes I am still breast feeding) and tired of not getting more then 2 hours of sleep at a time.

Then we got the husband. Let me first start by saying this, I could never be a single mom…I couldn’t do this without the hubby, but I am still going to vent about the hubby. How is it that I can have the downstairs clean, breakfast done and cleaned up, lunch on the stove, fed the baby, showered (some days) all by 1pm and yet the hubby can’t even cook because the baby is up? Seriously? The other day the baby is crying and I soothed him back to sleep while taking a shit….no lie…I did what I had to do….and when I say soothed him back to sleep, that time he was in my arms and not even in the car seat! If people put a camera in my house to see what I do throughout he day, I think I could make a true reality TV show….because it is a comedy.

So…moms I need tips…how do you stay grounded and focused on your kids without wanting to scream and shout at them….? I sometimes have to go pretend to put clothes in the washer in the basement and just stand there in the quiet until they find me.

I hear the washer finishing….time to go back to mommyhood!

I WAS COMPLETELY WRONG.

I cannot get over how much I love this little boy. I love them both equally, but yet in different ways. I can already tell the personalities of both boys are different, and it amazes me how different yet alike they are. I just cannot get enough of this little bundle of boy, but at the same time I just love Xavier and how amazing he is with Zayden. I just sit and watch how Xavier gets upset when his little brother cries or fusses. It honestly melts my heart. Xavier always has questions about Zayden and why he does what he does or why I am doing what I am doing. I just wish I could convince Xavier to help me change diapers…I kid I kid! *smile*

This little baby has me laying awake just watching him sleep. The same thing that I still do when I am laying next to a sleeping almost 5 year old. These boys are the best. I cannot imagine life without either one of them. Zayden already feels like he has been here forever. I cannot remember what it was like without him in the house.

So… Nikki Craddock admits, I was wrong…and damn it feels good to be wrong!

Here are some pictures of my loves.

40 Weeks Pregnant!

I talked to my OBGYN about maybe just going ahead with a c-section, I talked to him the first week of January. I was miserable, tired, miserable, sleepy, a bitch, and did I say miserable? LOL. My vagina was so swollen my doctor wouldn’t even attempt to see if I was dilated or anything because he knew how much pain it would put me in. He kept insuring me, there was no need to even know because it doesn’t make a difference, when it was my time to pop, it was my time to pop. I was determined to try for a V-Bac, that is all I wanted but at that point in the pregnancy I honestly didn’t care. I could barely get around anymore, I wasn’t sleeping, and I just wanted to meet this little dude that was kicking the heck out of me all these months. The doctor couldn’t believe I scheduled my c-section so late (January 15th) just in case he didn’t come natural but was okay with letting me reschedule into something sooner. I was okay with this, but I was also upset because all 9 months I was so dead set on a V-Bac I was ashamed that my body just wouldn’t let me go natural. At this point, I was so miserable I didn’t want to be around anyone. No one at all, I just wanted to sneak in, have the c-section then tell everyone later that he was here. It might sound selfish on my part but I was that miserable and upset at my body. I just was tired and ready for things to be over.

The morning of January 9th got here, I was the first one (or supposed to be) in the morning. I

got to the hospital at 6am and was more than ready to go…..then I finally saw my doctor and he laughed and told me that I picked a busy day and I was going to be pushed back for awhile. I didn’t care, I knew that day was going to be the day I got to meet this little bundle of boy and I was okay with that. Around 8:30am I started to have contractions, they went all the way to 4 minutes apart. My doctor came in and checked me one last time to see if I was actually progressing, if I was there was still hope for a V-Bac…again…my body wasn’t even 1 cm…and I was well okay with a c-section. He told me I would be next and it would be

Last photo as a family of 3!

around 10:30 when I got into the OR. My mom took pictures of us (of course) being the last pictures of us as a family of 3….a family of 4 was on its way!

They bring me to the OR first to prep me. I had to get a spinal. They actually had to put it in 2 times. I was scared because I do not like anyone playing around with my spinal cord and it honestly hurt. I was crying but he got it in, they laid me down and put my arms out…and then the attack started. I got to the point I couldn’t breath and what was like a panic attack…I think from all the meds. I couldn’t breath, they gave me smelling salts and then I started to dry heave….do you know how hard it is to dry heave when you are paralyzed from the chest down. Thank goodness I only did it 2 times but it hurt soo bad. They finally let Andrew back when they got me stable….he comes back to me a sobbing crying mess because I was in a panic I was going to die (lol).

I am laying there and finally I asked my doctor “are you going to start soon” and he started laughing and said “Nicole we are almost to your uterus” haha…no feeling…not fun! Finally he said “Nicole you are going to feel a lot of tugging, we are going to get him out”. My whole body felt like it was going up and down (so much my clavicle hurt for a few days after). Then the doctor said “Nicole, don’t you ever be upset at your decision to have this baby c-section…this is a BIG BABY” then I heard the screaming and crying….Zayden was out…. all 8lbs 15oz’s of Zayden

Zayden Andrew Craddock

Andrew Craddock. It was the best sound, hearing this baby cry!!! I got to see him, they took pictures for us, it was such a nice experience. Andrew even got to cut the cord this time, which I was happy about because he didn’t get to with Xavier. Then they took me to recovery.

Recovery was okay, but I lost a lot of blood with clots and stuff…so much I actually had to get 2 blood transfusions, but I was okay. I didn’t even even know that I lost as much as I did. At one point I even heard a lady in the next room say “I am going to throw up” and when she did the nurse had to catch her baby because she puked and the baby came out…the doctor wasn’t even on the floor! LOL. I thought I was dreaming but the nurses told me what I heard was real! Thought it was cute and fun…!

So now that he is here, we are all adjusting. I am breast feeding, which I didn’t do

Big Brother/Little Brother Love.

that long with X but I am almost 3 weeks of exclusively nursing and I feel so excited to be able to say that I am doing it, and doing it well.

My weight….I am already down lower then I was when I got pregnant. I am at 143lbs….I only have 13lbs until my goal weight of 130. I swear the breast feeding is making the pounds fall off! I love it!

Soo…now this blog is going to have a new addition of fun baby stories and big brother stories! I hope you enjoy!

There was never a time in my elementary school days that I went to school thinking I was not coming home to my mom and dad. Then I got to middle school and high school and the school shootings started and there was that fear in the back of my mind, and we even had some scares…but nothing like this. There is no reason a child should have to go to school scared, and that is what is happening now. I am so upset for these parents.

After watching this event unfold today I started vacuuming and my 4 year old starting messing with the cord…or something soo little like that and I yelled at him. Then I broke down (yes it could be pregnancy hormones too) but I thought to myself “I am yelling over something soo little, these parents of these little kids are wishing they could yell at their kids over something stupid one last time”. I just feel for these parents so much.

I just hope that everyone with kids holds them and hugs and kisses them tight tonight….we have 20 more angels looking down on us tonight.

What has Nikki Craddock been up to besides being a mom, student, wife, incubator? LOL. Studying and praying I get a “C” in Anatomy (which doesn’t look likely) so I do not have to take it again in the summer, but oh well…this mama is tired.

Soo…because I have been so caught up in school I haven’t really got to think. Literally, I have not got to sit down and really think about dates and baby and everything that involves having a new baby. I am also soooo pro V-Bac, obviously, I have talked about it in my blog throughout the whole pregnancy. That is what I want, that is how I want this birth to go….blah blah blah. Well, now it isn’t looking so good to me anymore. Hey, a prego can change her mind right? Let me give a little background to why I wanted a V-Bac from the start….

If anyone knows me they know that almost 5 years ago I had a c-section with Xavier. Well, because of the c-section I almost died from blood clots that developed a few weeks later. That scared me…I mean I seriously almost didn’t make it. I do not write that lightly…I didn’t realize how bad it was til I was out of the hospital and it all clicked. I was even told I shouldn’t have anymore kids. My weight I am sure played a factor at the time, which brought me to having the Gastric Bypass…..then losing the weight, I found a doctor that told me having kids was not out of the question, I would just have to be on blood thinners and be monitored. Anyway, that brings me to where I am at…. 9 months pregnant.

Anyway, I decided on a V-Bac, my doctors are okay with it but are also okay with a C-Section, they told me it was completely up to me. I always wanted a natural birth, I want to experience that part of womenhood….a baby coming out of my vagina. Sounds nuts, but I want to experience that, always have always will. I also talked to my doctor and obviously not having major surgery would be good for me too, even though no matter how I have a child I will be on blood thinners after the pregnancy to prevent clots….so either way, again, I am on blood thinners. I hate when women choose to have c-sections without trying to have a natural birth (first time moms) there are a lot of people that say how they would rather be cut open, when there are women like myself that would kill to have a natural birth…just makes me sick. So that all being said, I want a V-Bac.

WELL….I got to thinking today about LIFE. Hey, I have a lot of time on my hands…and with school coming to an end, I have time to think. Here is my dilemma…and what I need help with.

My due date is January 9th. Spring semester starts January 7th. My scheduled c-section is January 15th if I do not go natural. If I wait til the 15th, that means I have to go to my 5 hour A&P class Jan7th, and Jan 14th….have the baby on the 15th, come home and be back in class the 21st.

If I opt for a c-section when I am 39 weeks, I can have the baby the first week of Jan, e-mail my teacher and miss the first class…because the first class is where we just go over the semester/syllabus I can miss that. So I will have 2 weeks of “no class” (still have to do my online classes) with the baby.

Okay, then I started to think…OMG my milk is going to take a few days to come in, and I gotta pump and get the baby used to the bottle….which is not going to happen right away….I cannot leave him for 5 hours to go to class if I wait for my Jan 15th c-section.

How am I seriously going to do this? I honestly do not know what to do. I want to just say “fuck it” and take off Spring, but then that messes with my aid and I cannot do that. I am sick over this because now I do not know what I want to do, except pray that I go naturally SOON! REALLY SOON!

Ladies, I need help, I need to know when milk usually comes in, how babies were about taking a bottle of pumped milk and when that started…I just need help, I do not know what to do!

Anyone please, I need advice….anything will help me! I am going to talk to my doctor next Friday at my 38 week appt. Please… anything is helpful!

First off, this mama is now 30 weeks pregnant…can you believe it? I have only gained 4lbs at my last doctors appointment, which I was very excited about but I have my 30 week appointment this Friday and I know that is going change. About a week ago my hunger has sky rocketed, especially at night and I just want to eat anything and everything. I am holding back and really trying to keep it healthy, but I let some things slide. I think the last time I blogged I was still getting sick. Am I still getting sick? Only if I eat sweets….I am still really watching the sugar and carbs and just keeping away from them, even though it is easier said than done.

I am more than half way through the fall semester. I am doing okay, but it is getting harder and harder to go to class because I am just exhausted. Now that I am in my 3rd trimester I cannot sleep at night, at all…I stay up and watch Private Practice on Netfix all night. I am passing all my classes, which is very good for me….especially Anatomy. Anatomy is the class that is taking all my time and I am having the hardest time with. It is hard, but I am determined to get through it.

The big change with me….I cut off ALL MY HAIR! Want to see…sure why not, because I am obsessed with it being short. I could of never done this if I was still 289lbs, I would of looked crazy, but now I look like a hot mama, and I love it. (yes i do have confidence) Oh what the hell….let me add some pictures for everyone to see!

I will post more soon, I promise….but I have to set a good example and school always has to come first! December 14th is my last day, so until then!