Mini Meat Loaves

This is one of my favorite recipes. It's easy, fast and oh so yummy.

Mini Meat Loaves


Prep Time: 10 minutes   Start to Finish: 30 Minutes  Serves 6 (2 loaves each)


1/2 c ketchup
2 T. packed brown sugar
1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork (or turkey)
1/2 cup Bisquick (I substitute with quick cook oats)
1/2 t pepper
1 small onion chopped (1/4 c)
1 egg

1. Heat oven to 450°F. In small bowl, stir ketchup and brown sugar until mixed; reserve 1/4 cup for topping. In large bowl, stir remaining ingredients and remaining ketchup mixture until well mixed.
2. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Place meat mixture in pan; pat into 12x4-inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise down center and then crosswise into sixths to form 12 loaves. Separate loaves, using spatula, so no edges are touching. Brush loaves with reserved 1/4 cup ketchup mixture.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until loaves are no longer pink in center and meat thermometer inserted in center of loaves reads 160°F.

Makes 6 servings (2 loaves each)

I like mashed potatoes with this and fresh cooked veggies. Can you guess what we're having for dinner tonight? 

HSG finished. Tubal Reversal Related

Yesterday I went in for a dreaded hysterosalpingogram (HSG) to check the state of my tubes. Since I've had two losses in 14 months I was concerned about blocked tubes, which is a possibility after a reversal. Scar tissue can build back up and cause the repaired tube to block making it impossible to become pregnant. 


I have been dreading this test. I have convinced myself that my tubes were blocked and that my surgery was a big waste. It seems like I've been on this journey for so long. It's not just the 18 months since having it, but also the entire year before that while I prayed and researched and had it on my mind. I was so filled with anxiety and fear. I helped calm myself, I said my favorite scripture over and over during the process. "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee" Psalm 56:3


The HSG is a series of xray pictures done while iodine dye is pushed through the uterus into the Fallopian tubes to see if it will spill out the end into the abdomen. Oh man, OUCH!! It HURT, a lot. I was told it hurts so I was prepared but still, I'm not real big on pain. The radiologist pushed the dye through and it was really neat to see on screen, the dye freely and quickly flowed through my right tube and out the other end beautifully. When it was time for the left tube the dye wouldn't flow through. It was determined that it was blocked. This is the tube that my ectopic pregnancy was in, so it could very well be blocked from that baby. Another possibility is that the tube spasmed shut; this is very common with HSG and a lot of women are told their tubes are blocked when they actually are not. I received a call a few hours before the procedure from Dr. Rogers my reversal surgeon. I was so surprised by this, she didn't know I was having he procedure and she called to see how things were going. She told me my tubes don't like dye and that they spasm badly when dye is pushed through. I was glad to know this. So it's a big possibility that my left tube is not actually blocked. 


I am happy with the results. One tube is all you need and I'm hoping my HSG did a good roto-rooter job on my tubes. It seems extremely common to become pregnant right after HSG because the dye flushes out anything that may be causing a problem. Perhaps I'll be back updating with good news in the next few months. 


Another friend who has had a TR was told her only tube was blocked and that her surgery was a failure. She did some research on natural ways to unblock tubes. It took her several months but she is now pregnant and expecting a sweet little boy. This is very inspiring and I have been doing the same things she had done for a while now. I hope this will help my left tube. 


At the end of the day, I know this is in God's hands. If he wants us to have a child, we will. I do hope it's in his plan for us. I really feel it is. Through all my prayer he paved the way to make this possible. Our bodies are imperfect and I messed mine up. I know he is greater than this and can heal my body. I honestly feel like someone is missing from our family, and I look forward to meeting her/him. 

She lost it!

Emily lost her first tooth yesterday. She's been working on wiggling it out for several weeks. She was delighted to find a dollar under her pillow this morning in place of her tooth.

She's officially a big kid!

Emily & Julia turned 6

Emily and Julia had their 6th birthday this week. They had their family and friends party today, it sure was fun. They wanted to have an, "Art Party". We decided to make all of the decorations ourselves and was it a lot of work, but it sure turned out cute.


This is their actual birthday. They wanted pizza for dinner and a strawberry chocolate cheesecake. Yum.

Opening the gift they received in the mail

Gifts from mom and dad. 

Emily loves to bake, she got some cookie baking stuff. 

Julia loves to help Daddy work. She got her own tool set and tool bag. 

August used her own money and bought the girls each a fish. They named them Oscar and John. 

The party is what they have been anticipating most for the past couple of months. We had a fun candy buffet and each of the kids took some home with them. Each kid was given an apron to wear and they had several different activities to choose from:

Create your own pom-pom animals; String a Fruit Loop necklace; Decorate a bookmark; Color some playdough and Face Painting. 

We did our best to stick to the rainbow colors or primary colors.

It was a very fun, tiring day.

Tubal Reversal Surgery Update

It's been 18 months since I had my surgery and I thought an update was in order.  While it may seem like 18 months has just flown, the time has gone by at a snails pace. Pull up a chair, here's my update.

I'll back up a bit and start at the beginning-ish. I had a tubal ligation done at age 26 after giving birth to my second set of naturally conceived twins. Pregnancy is very hard on my body, though I suppose this is true for 99% of women. It was a long painful pregnancy and I was sure I never, ever wanted to do it again. I do take full responsibility for my own decision and lack of research, however I do think that women under 30 should have better counseling before they are allowed to make such a decision.

Fast forward 3 years later, I was 29 and finally realizing I was experiencing extreme symptoms of PTLS - Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome. I was told my ligation was permanent. I remember a friend of mine had hers reversed. I talked with her, and then it took a full year to convince my husband and get the money together to fly out and have my body put back together.

I don't have full relief from my PTLS symptoms but they are definitely much much better. One of my posts on this can be found here.

3 months after the surgery in December 2010, we conceived our first tubal reversal miracle. This pregnancy sadly ended with the baby in my tube. My husband was very scared for my life and we took a couple of months off of trying. 7 months later, in August 2011, I conceived again. I had a better feeling about this one and did my routine blood beta tests to see if my hormone levels were increasing as they should; they were not. The levels were very slow to rise and as soon as I hit 6 weeks, I started bleeding and miscarried my second tubal reversal miracle.

That brings us to now, March 2012, 18 months after the surgery and 7 months after losing my 2nd little angel. I know it is in God's hands. I feel such a desperate anxiety to have a baby, mostly I want my two lost ones back. I can't describe how much my heart aches for them. I never could have imagined this heartache until going through it. I understand women have suffered through much more than I have, but I can only really relate to what I have experienced. I am so utterly grateful for the children I do have, please don't misunderstand.

I am learning how to not "try" to get pregnant but better how to just, live. When you want something so badly it's very easy to get so wrapped up in it and have it control you. I've spent so much time obsessing over this. It's so wrong, as a friend mentioned recently, it's become an idol. I've turned it into my every thought, action, feeling. I've gone through anger, depression, fear and desperation. I'm slowly emerging from that chaos into a better, more healthy way of thinking, hoping and praying.

My biggest support has come from my husband who always knows the perfect thing to say when I'm down. I have formed some wonderful, internet friendships with other women who have had the same surgery and are on the same journey. Some of them have had a worse experience, and some a very easy one with babies on the way. There are some women who have been told their surgeries have failed and by a miracle are now pregnant.

I want to share the good, bad and ugly of this. I know there is a woman, like myself, who is searching for someone in the same boat. I know there is a woman searching for information to decide if a ligation is best for her. If you're considering one, please do your research. I would strongly urge any woman seeking ligation to reconsider. There are other ways to prevent a pregnancy if you must. If this is you, and you want to talk, please feel free to leave a comment with your email and I will not publish it. I can also put you in touch with some very wonderful women who can help you with our decision.

Having said all this, I wouldn't change the reversal for anything. It made me complete again. I know God can overcome anything and if he wants for us to have more children, we are eagerly awaiting his blessing.