Return of the Posts

HI! I have been willfully neglecting this blog for about five months now. Not that I was out to set any record. I feel like I owe some updates/pictures for anyone who still bothers to check. Of course, I am going to shamelessly promote this new post on Facebook, so...if you're reading this because my FB status told you to, well done. (I'm virtually patting you on the head right now)

Summer was awesome. We had a really nice routine of the YMCA in the mornings, lunch, then a movie for Wade while I did stuff, then dinner prep, dinner, and then whatever our evening plans entailed.

Lucy is just growing and growing. She's eating "people" food a lot now. She is also babbling like a dickens and is doing "sooooo big." I am wrapped around her little finger, she is just so charming.

Wade has turned into the best little guy. (of course I think this...I'm his mother) He is potty trained now (pretty much in one day, thankyouverymuch...whatever, it was totally him, not us!), and you can see how proud he is of his underpants in the picture. He also asks how Kevin's day at work was, checks in with me every so often to see how I'm doing, and generally tries to make sure Lucy is laughing at him. This effort can quickly turn into him knocking her down or bopping her a little too hard over the head. Violent Acts Toward Lucy (VATL...right...I tried to think of a cool acronym, but I'm too tired for that crap) are the main source of Wade's time-out sentences. And speaking of time-out...

So far the whole "no spanking" thing is working out great. I have to say that as 3 rolled around and Wade gained the ability to express his thoughts and opinions (read: Mommy and Daddy can no longer bang the proverbial gavel and have their way because nobody has the capacity to show opposition) I was having my doubts. Wade has his own sense of logic and justice, as do most three-year-olds, I would assume. Most frustrating might be when he desperately wants something, and we are trying to give it to him (ex: I want my flip flops, not my shoes), but he is in total melt-down because he is SURE that we are really trying to thwart his efforts to attain his want. Here is the conversation:
"I wanna wear flip flops out side."
"Okay, let's just get th..."
"NOOOOO..AAAHHHHHGGGGG (general sobbing) I want FLIFLOOAAAAAHHH"
"Alright (trying to be gentle and encouraging), here they are, lets put them on."
Mindless screaming about flipflops.
Effort to clarify that we are indeed able and willing to provide flip flops on feet.
More mindless body thrashing for flip flops.
Time Out.

I have to say that Kevin has really gotten good at the time out. I am now getting better, and I have to say that Wade is doing well with it now that we have ourselves in a predictable routine. In my support of the "time out" I was really amused at another mother at the Y a few weeks back. As we were leaving, a little girl from Wade's class and her mother were also headed out the door. Before we parted ways to our respective cars, the little girl (who, I should add, is not that little for her age...kind of a ginormous three-year-old) gave Wade a good shove. Noone was hurt, and truthfully, I didn't even see it happen. I just felt Wade trip into me a little bit. I turned to see what Wade wanted/tripped over, not realizing that he had been pushed, only to see the mother of this child slap her hand sharply and say "We do not hit." I almost started laughing (luckily, I was able to control myself). She must have meant: "You do not hit. I, on the other hand, may hit you when I deem it necessary as punishment for you hitting. But don't hit."

Okay, so I have drifted to a hot-button issue. I will not apologize. Ha. Do, however, feel free to comment or get your own blog so that you can post your hot little opinions. Lovely.

And for my spanking mommy and daddy friends, I am just getting my ya-yas out, and I think you are excellent parents and I believe that every parent has to do what works best for them and their children.

Let's diffuse any bad feelings here with some more recent pictures of my (unspanked) kids. These are from May, June and July. I will try to make some slideshows...but no promises. *grin*

1st Run!

I found a double jogging stroller on Craig's list. It was up by my parents, so I had them pick it up for me. They brought it down three weeks ago and I've taken it out several times. In a word - awesome! I am so happy with it! Not such a bad thing that it put the kids to sleep, either!

Nugget's Kin

Our dog, Nugget, is an Austrailian cattle dog, or a Red Heeler. He is fat and lazy because we are bad dog owners. I got this email from my dad, and I showed it to Nugget in an effort to inspire him to become a better dog. So far, he hasn't done anything to change his slovenly ways, but I'm waiting for the inspiration to settle in. Any day now, I'm sure I'll wake up to Nugget organizing a training program for himself with the neighborhood rabbits.

Go to this link to see some Extreme Sheepherding!

http://www.wimp.com/sheeplight/

Just a few pictures...slideshow will follow!

We've had some great weather, and we've been taking advantage of it with lots of visits to the park and other outdoor venues. Wade loves swinging on the baby swings (so he can put both hands up, and also so he can have me sing "Alphabet of Nations" from They Might Be Giants "Here come the ABC's" album) and sliding down the slide. This particular day, he was climbing up one slide and running to slide down another. All in all a very happy time. The bloodied lip photos are from a spill he took at Fit n Fun (not fit or fun that day). We ended up going to the emergency room, but left before we got seen as we realized that it was not that serious. Grisley. Nothing a little pants on the head couldn't fix. :) Oh, and the picture of the bedroom is the re-do I did for our room. We're trying to neutralize our house for selling it next year. I like the way this turned out!

Turkey Tenderloin with Red Potatoes

I made this for dinner last night and it was lovely. Just lovely. I bought a Perdue package of two turkey tenderlions, so this yielded leftovers for us.

Ingredients

* 1 package turkey tenderloin (or however much you want to make)
* Salt and pepper
* 1 tsp. canola oil
* 2 T. butter, mixed with 1/4 t. salt and 1/4 t. ground pepper
* about 1/4 cup maple syrup
* about 1/4 cup dijon mustard
* 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, stripped and chopped

* 1 smallish sack red potatoes/new potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch slices
* 1 t. canola oil
* salt and pepper
* 1 - 2 cups chicken broth
* 1 t. dried tarragon

Directions

1. Set rack to center position and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Set a roasting rack or oven safe cooling rack in a pan with sides (13x9 or jellyroll pan).
2. Heat 1 t. oil in large skillet pan over med/high heat until just smoking. Season tenderloins all over with salt and pepper. Brown turkey in oil, about 3 minutes per side.
3. Transfer turkey to roasting rack and poke a few slits in the top. Dot with butter mixture and place in oven. Pour enough water into pan to cover bottom.
4. Mix dijon and syrup together and chop rosemary. After 20 minutes of roasting, baste tenderloins with syrup mixture and sprinkle with rosemary. Return to oven. Roast 20 minutes more, basting every 5 minutes or so to create a glaze on top of the turkey, until meat registers 160 degrees F.
5. Tent meat with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. Cut crossways and serve hot!

1. While turkey is in oven, heat 1 tsp. oil in same pan used to brown the turkey. Add sliced potatoes and allow to cook until browned and crispy. Flip and stir for even browning. After about 5 minutes, salt generously and pepper.
2. At about 15 minutes add 1-2 cups broth to pan. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for about 8 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. In the last minutes of cooking, season with tarragon. Serve hot with turkey.

These dishes pair well with steamed asparagus! Enjoy. :)

"Never compare your kids..."

So....let's compare these little suckers, shall we? Here, we have Wade, Wade, Lucy, Wade, Lucy. All at the same age for comparison's sake. Pretty cool, huh? I have more Lucy pictures on my camera, so I will post more comparison quizzes soon - maybe without the clues/names next time...tricky.

Lately, Lucy has been very good - lots of "whaas" and "aahhs" in a nice conversational tone. She is getting better at taking a pacifier (thanks to Kevin's efforts), which makes it easier for her and her caregiver who can't provide a boob. Wade is also doing great - and is protective of Lucy around "strangers." We saw a friend of mine at Target, and when she touched Lucy's foot, Wade was piping right up (with a big scowl) "Don't touch Lucy, don't touch My sister!" Charming.

Turkey Chili ala Rachael Ray

This recipe is a fast and loose modification of a chili that Rachael Ray did on her show. My version has 3 weight watchers points per serving. Not bad! Ground beef or pork can be substituted for ground turkey breast (although the points will probably change if you're worried about that).

Ingredients

* 1 T. canola oil/vegetable oil
* 1 lb. ground turkey breast
* 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
* 3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (pressing is faster)
* 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped fine
* 4 ribs celery, chopped
* 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
* 2 T. chili powder (about 2 palmfuls)
* 2 t. ground cumin (about 1/2 palmful)
* salt & pepper
* 3 T. tomato paste
* Hot sauce, to taste (I prefer Frank's red hot sauce)
* 2 T. Worcestershire sauce
* 2 cups fat free chicken broth/stock - low sodium OR 1 bottle dark beer, such as Negro Modelo. (the beer option adds points)

Directions

1. In a large stock pot, heat oil over med/high heat until very hot.
2. Brown turkey breast in oil, breaking it up as it cooks.
3. When meat is mostly cooked, move to one side and add onion, celery and jalapeno to the pot. Season with salt and pepper (a good 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of salt) Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Add chili powder, cumin, garlic and tomato paste. Stir and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds - 1 minute.
5. Add broth/beer, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and kidney beans. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve hot! Yummy with cheese, oven fries and salad!

more lulu pics

Here's Wade and Kevin in the pool. It's one of Wade's favorite things to do. And here's Luce in the little outfit that I wore home from the hospital (as a baby, not home from delivering her...). Things have been going swimingly. She is still sleeping and eating really well. She has had a stuffy nose that she caught from Wade (how nice of him to share). Fortunatly, saline drops and a bulb syringe have been doing a nice job of clearing her up enough to eat. The bath was her first - she was not happy to be a part of it. Now that her cord is off, at least her bathing happens faster. In other news, Wade's big boy room is slowly coming together. Kevin just installed a guard rail on Wade's toddler bed, effectively making it nearly impossible for Wade to fall out of bed. Wade is excited about the play rug we got for him - so much so that he was peeved at me when I set Lucy down on it. ("no mommy, that's MY mat.") We also installed night lights in the new room and on the way upstairs. We are going to try letting Wade sleep in the room for the first time tonight. I have my doubts about how well it will go...we'll see. More to come - maybe a recipe...if you're lucky.

Baby update!

Lucy is just over a week old now, and I finally have time to put up a quick post about how labor/delivery went and how our first days together have been.

I went into labor on Friday at around 9:30pm - although I didn't really know that was the start of things until later that night. My contractions were light, but just regular enough that I had Kevin pack up the last remaining things for the "hospital bag." Good thing we did that, because at around 1:30am, I woke up to some strong contractions and we practically ran out the door. Elsa was staying with us, so luckily we didn't have to worry about who would watch Wade (I can't imagine having to delay that epidural any longer!).

We got to St. John's by 2:20, and as Kevin wheeled me up to the nurses station, (we made one wrong turn, as our "tour" of L&D was supposed to be the following morning) I informed them that I was in labor and would like my epidural asap. By 2:30, I had about 4 nurses swarming my room to get my info and start my IV line. I think I must have asked for that epidural about 5 or 6 times, but I wasn't particularly worried about being a nag. I finally got it by around 3:15, and after 3 tries, it was working like a charm.

The rest was super super easy! Kevin and I hung out and the nurse checked me every so often. A little before 6:00am, the baby's stats changed, so the nurse checked me and said that I was ready to push. Then, she rolled me onto my side and told me not to laugh, sneeze or cough until the doctor arrived (I probably waited about 15 minutes before she got there.) As soon as that happened, the legs went into the leg-holdy things and I got to push through 2 contractions. Quick as that, Lucy was out and on my chest while they cleaned and suctioned her. I couldn't even believe how fast it all was - especially after the loooooong induced labor I had with Wade.

Kevin and I got to the postnatal room right in time for the nurses to whisk Lucy off to the nursery to get bathed and warmed up, so we ordered breakfast. It was like we were on a date! We had lots of visitors in the hospital - my parents came down from Chicago, Elsa brought Wade by, and Megan and Eddie came into town to meet Lucy. All of our local family and lots of our friends were also able to make it over to see our new baby girl. Anyhow, we feel so blessed and happy to have her and for her to have such a wonderful welcome from everyone.

Elsa was here to help out for Lucy's first week at home, and now my mom is in town for this next week. I am so grateful for the extra sets of hands - especially to help play with Wade. Lucy has been a dream baby. I never even realized how difficult Wade was until she came along and has proven herself to be the anti-Wade. All she does is eat, sleep and poop. I used to think the phrase "sleeping like a baby" was highly misused, since by Wade standards, that would mean sleeping lightly in short intervals. Now I know that it can really mean sleeping soundly through anything for long amounts of time! I LOVE IT!

Anyhow, here are some of the pictures I have uploaded to the computer. There are more to come, and I will post a slideshow soon, but these are it for now!