Chunky monkey turns five months old

2/27/10

Sheesh, I must really be having an off week for this to be two days late. I have been in a drowsy stupor from my dang cough keeping me up every night. Thankfully it is nearly gone now and my brother Tyler has it instead...probably a coincidence since I don't think you can pass germs to someone who's 60 miles away.

Anyhow, Luke had an exciting month--he learned lots of new things, grew another inch and packed on another pound and a half thanks to him starting solids. He is getting even cuter, too, which I didn't think was possible.


Weight: 17 lbs. 3 oz. (that's fully clothed--but still, what a chunk!!!)
Length: 26 inches
New skills: eating solids, grabbing his toes, reaching and grabbing for toys, laughing, sitting up with support

He gets distracted by stuff super easily now. It's hard to get him to settle down to nurse or take a nap. He has discovered toys and will grab anything within his reach to see if it's fun to chew on. And he has a new found love of food. Check out this picture from the first time he tried rice cereal:

He made that face every time he took a bite. Like, "What is this garbage you're trying to feed me???!" Then a few weeks later:

YUM!

Now he gets so excited when I put him in the high chair and bring over a bowl of "mush". He kicks his little legs the whole feeding and practically dives for the spoon. He is a much more satisfying child to feed than his sister was. Madelyn was incredibly nitpicky about baby food and would never eat more than two bites of anything. No wonder she's a bean pole.

The dear boy loves carbs just like his mother too, which I discovered when he seized a tortilla out of my hand a few weeks ago. I can buy valuable minutes to use the bathroom or eat lunch by plunking him in his highchair with a roll or a tortilla to suck on. They last longer on his tray than toys do, which he picks up, shakes, and then flings directly onto the floor.

We all adore our little butterball and are blessed to have such a happy, good baby. It's not going to be long before he's teething and crawling and throwing tantrums, so we're enjoying this golden age while it lasts...

Love ya, Luke!!

Ow. My body.

2/23/10

I have started working out recently. So to speak. Back in the day, I used to dance ballet and was in great shape. Then I had kids. GOODBYE flat stomach! I did bounce back somewhat after I had Madelyn and performed a ballet solo "en pointe" when she was only 5 months old. And even though I'm lucky enough to have gotten back into my pre-pregnancy jeans since having Luke, something really horrifying happens when I sit down--it seems my abdominal muscles have been stretched out so much that all my insides have no choice but to spill forth unceremoniously over my waistband.

So I finally broke out this ballet conditioning DVD that I bought years ago but never used because I am lazy.


It features Elise, a very blonde, muscled and annoyingly serene former ballerina who now teaches mere mortals at an oceanside spa in California. Elise wears a sports bra and capris and bare feet in the video, just to demonstrate how beautiful your body can become after only 12 years or so of continual workouts and no children.

So I pulled out my ballet shoes and gave it a go.

Let me just say that I much prefer going to an actual class in an actual studio, because then I would not have to keep pausing the DVD to get a screaming baby and/or argue with a certain 5-year old who wants to watch something else on the TV and thinks it's taking TOO LONG, MOM...

Elise does manage to give a pretty good conditioning workout, and I can recommend the DVD to any former dancers who enjoy very strong burning sensations in their quads. At least the good thing about ballet is you have to concentrate so hard that it sort of takes your mind off the fact that you are incredibly out of shape.

When I don't do the video (which is, let's face it, most of the time), I try to squeeze in some crunches or take the stroller up the hill to pick Madelyn up from school. Results have been coming slowly, but I have come across a new regimen in the past few days: a dry, hacking cough! Who'd have thought, huh? Keep it up for a few sleepless nights and not only will you be too tired to eat, your upper abs will get the workout of their life. I doubt Elise would have thought of that. Maybe I need my own video.

Who doesn't love a hand-me-down?

Madelyn, 4 1/2 months, June 2005

Luke, 4 1/2 months, February 2010

2/21/10

Just thought it was cute to see my two kids at the same age in the same car seat with the same toys. Although I'm rather hoping that by the time we have our next kid, the said "heirlooms" will be "upgraded" to something "new" and thus "not look like we're still university students trying to make it by with cheap baby products."

OK, that's all I have time for right now. The Olympics are back on.

For REALS

2/19/10

Have you been watching the Vancouver Olympics??? Well, if you haven't, take some time to watch a few videos. Dumb NBC won't let me embed them on here, so you'll have to click on the links.

I've seen this a half a dozen times and still can't believe how huge this kid goes. He literally gets over 40 feet in the air (the halfpipe is 22 feet tall and he flies another 20 above it--a good 5-6 feet higher than the competition). Click here for Shaun White's EPIC gold medal runs on the snowboard halfpipe. Mark was so excited. I think minds were blowing around the world at his awesomeness.

And for the most part, the men's figure skating competition was rather fruity and frilly, but USA's Evan Lysacek was able to wipe the smile right off cocky Russian Yevgeny Plushenko's face and win gold. HA! He had a breathtaking short program here and a technically brilliant long program here. He was pretty much the only one you could take seriously as an artist/athlete.

By the way, these guys are only 23 and 24. Is it just me, or do you suddenly feel like you've done nothing with your life?

There's more...

2/18/10

Whatever three step stools and confetti have to do with each other, it must be very tiring.

These pictures are just from the past six weeks. Must be nice to be able to just drop everything and Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Picture of the day

2/16/10

I love...

2/14/10

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all! Especially to my three sweeties!

And (I realize this is an awkward segue into commercialism, but here we go) here are some more things I love:

This is a really good brownie mix. I even like it better than homemade. I make it in place of dinner a couple times a month and we all go to chocolate heaven. I add walnuts because I think everything is better with nuts. I usually get it at Wal-Mart for $2-3. I wish I hadn't just finished eating the last batch.

I also pig out on these! A lot. I got spoiled in New Mexico with fresh tortillas, and these are the only things that have come close to the texture and taste that I remember. I was so excited when I found these at Wal-Mart and Smith's. I think a package runs around $2-4, depending on the size. They cook up in a minute in your frying pan.

I am a smell person. You might be one yourself. Somewhere along the line, Victoria's Secret usurped Bath and Body Works as my favorite place to shop for smelly lotions, body washes, sprays and lip gloss. You've got to try everything in their Secret Garden collection. Vanilla Lace, Sweet Temptations, Berry Kiss, Pure Seduction, Love Spell...

...and Candy Baby by Beauty Rush (also by Victoria's Secret). Smells like cotton candy--it's absolutely divine. That and Slice of Heaven, which is like vanilla custard. And guess what!! Everything's on sale!!! Click here to take advantage! Secret Garden stuff is 8/$35 (ends Monday) and Beauty Rush is 3/$25.

Okay, so this I like for its moisturizing capabilities and not for its smell. In fact, I prefer the fragrance free because the original smells like men's cologne. But you know how at some point during the winter you realize that your hands have turned into lizard hide? This fixes that. It heals and softens and isn't greasy or oily. 'Tis fabulous. You can get it at grocery stores for $5-6.

This is my secret mom weapon. This is the reason why my children's clothes don't have stains from every diaper leak and food spill. It's a "heavy duty laundry bar soap" and it means business. You have to take it to the sink and use a little elbow grease, but it absolutely works wonders, even on old stains. AND it's less than $2! Look at Smith's or Lins--I haven't found it at Wal-Mart. I've gone through half a bar just this month alone. Thanks, Luke.

I have naturally wavy hair, which means that on any given day when I let my hair air dry (or even better--sleep on it wet), I wind up looking like Robert Plant circa 1970.


I am not about to drop $15 for a bottle of salon shampoo, so I usually just buy whatever is a good deal at the grocery store. I can get a presentable looking head of hair if I blow dry it straight, but my latest foray into cheap shampoo left me very depressed indeed. That is, until I discovered this:

It says on the back you can compare it to Sebastian Laminates shampoo and conditioner. I've used almost every version of Suave before with underwhelming results, but I can honestly say I noticed that this left my hair slippery smooth! I still have to style it with a blow dryer, but the texture is much improved. It's less than $3 to boot.


And I can't believe I haven't mentioned this before, but my favorite band Angels and Airwaves just released a brand new album today called LOVE and you can download the whole thing for FREE! (Are you so excited you're going to pee your pants?? I am!) Their last album, I-Empire, is some of the best music I've heard by anyone, and I can't wait to hear what else they've come up with.

Click here to download!!! Thanks for making my day, guys! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Let me explain:

2/9/10

Try to follow along here. It might help if you are a über geek like me.

Owing to the fact that we were struggling students for almost eight years, Mark and I (Frodo and Sam) have a lot of debt. We have been clawing our way up the side of Mount Doom (brutal "real life") for the last year trying to hold things together. It has been very hot, miserable, and tiring.

We wanted to get rid of our credit cards (the Ring). Thanks to Gollum (moving, graduation, buying a house, moving again, PA licensing, car repairs, baby expenses, etc.), this has been very hard.

We finally got rid of the dang thing and it was destroyed forever.

...But then the whole mountain blew up and we had to run for our lives and perch on this little outcrop of rock waiting for "the end of all things." Any minute we might fall into the lava (delinquency on our bills). We need help to get us out of this nasty situation.

We know that Gwaihir the eagle (a big, magnificent flying chunk of money from the government) is on his way to pluck us out of the inferno and get us back on our feet. We are clinging on and hoping he will come soon.

And THAT is why our tax return taking four times longer than we expected is a big deal.

And while I'm at it...

I found this poster while I was looking for pictures for this post. I have to tell you, a grungy Aragorn just makes my day. Click here for a whole Aragorn gallery and have a happy time!

(Sound of stomach growling...)

2/7/10

I have been cooking a lot lately--a direct result of me not having any major projects in the works right now. Mark is bewildered but quite happy about it. He has given rave reviews of these new recipes I've tried, so I thought I'd share.

This soup is TASTY. And you probably already have a lot of the ingredients in your pantry.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

adapted from RaisinKane aka Patti on allrecipes.com

The original recipe calls for a can of beer, so I changed it to chicken broth.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped (I used half of a large onion)
1 (16 oz.) can red beans
1 (15 oz.) can black beans
1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8oz.) can tomato sauce
2 (10 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chile
1 (1.25 oz.) package taco seasoning (I use mild)
2 cups chicken broth
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions:

Place the onion, beans, corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chiles and chicken broth in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Shred meat with two forks; stir the shredded chicken back in to the soup, and continue cooking for 2 more hours. Serve topped with shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired. Serves 8.

Chinese Pork Ribs
From Taste of Home's Quick Cooking

As far as good smells wafting through my house, this one is one of the best. Madelyn even likes these. The second time I made them, I strained all the orange peel pieces out of the marmalade and just used the jelly. I liked it better that way. (Then you can always use the orange peel for my Chocolate Orange Cupcakes!!)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup orange marmalade
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 lbs. bone-in country style pork ribs

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, marmalade, ketchup and garlic. Pour half into a slow cooker. Top with ribs; drizzle with remaining sauce. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until tender. Thicken cooking juices if desired. Serve with white rice.

And for chocoholics (oh yes. You know who you are.):

Chocolate Mint Dessert
from Hershey's

I guess technically you could just use a cake mix and make the frosting, but I really like the way this recipe turned out. The cake was moist and chocolatey. It requires time for chilling, so factor that in.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups Hershey's Syrup
Mint Cream Center (recipe follows)
Chocolate Glaze (recipe follows)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350* F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Combine flour, sugar, eggs, butter, eggs and syrup in large bowl; beat until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Spread mint cream center on cake. Cover; refrigerate. Pour chocolate glaze over chilled dessert. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Cover; refrigerate leftover dessert. About 12 servings.

Mint Cream Center:

Combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter or margarine and 2 tablespoons green creme de menthe (OR 1 tablespoon water plus 1/2 to 3/4 tablespoon mint extract and 3 drops green food coloring may be substituted for creme de menthe) in medium bowl; beat until smooth.

Chocolate Glaze:

Melt 6 tablespoons butter or margarine and 1 cup Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips in small saucepan over very low heat. Remove from heat; stir until smooth. Cool slightly.

Mmmmm.

On another not so sweet note, I just found out that our big fat tax return check will not be coming for 6-8 weeks, as opposed to the 2 weeks that we'd been planning on. Apparently the Feds want the actual paperwork for the new homeowners credit mailed into them because there's been so much fraud going on. WHATTHEHECK!!!!!! GAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Why I always look so harried:

Yes, you

2/3/10

A typical scene on any given day, five minutes before we're supposed to be somewhere (or five minutes past the time we were supposed to be somewhere...)

Me: Madelyn, let's get your shoes on so we can go!

Madelyn: (ignoring me, engrossed in a Word Girl episode, tea party, leisurely bath, or eating lunch one noodle at a time)

Me: (scurrying around, gathering up her backpack, jacket, and holding a squirming baby) Where's your glasses??

Madelyn: Ummmmmm

Me: Look at the clock! We've got to go or we're going to be late!

Madelyn: Oh!...I don't want to wear those socks. Mom--can I bring my dinosaur to school today?

Me: No, it's not your turn for the sharing box. (shoving socks and shoes on her feet, cleaning fingerprints and who knows what else off her glasses)

Luke: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! How dare you put me down for one second!!

Madelyn: (trying to pick up the baby) It's OK, Mister...Mom! He slobbered on me!

Me: Get your coat on! (putting Luke in his car seat, which he hates) Let's go!

Luke: (sound of explosive pooping)

Me: It will have to wait, son...MADELYN! COME ON! (standing at the threshold, holding open the screen door, straining against the heavy car seat, diaper bag, and trying to close both doors behind me.)

Madelyn: (standing around looking at me as if this doesn't happen every day. Moves at a glacial pace. If it were summer, snails would be whizzing by at this point.)

Me: #&%$%^*@! Who took the car seat base out of my car?! (Apparently Mark, who wanted to make room for a Young Men's activity last night)

Madelyn: Mom, that's a bad word. (walking in figure 8's, leaping over puddles, and trying to dislodge icicles from the car and house)

Me: MOVE! Movemovemovemovemovemovemove!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Madelyn: (perching next to her car seat, thinking about moving in maybe a million years) The sun's in my eyes. You forgot my sunglasses again.

Luke: WAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

Me: (scraping just enough ice off the windshield so I can see to drive. That or eight inches of snow which has buried the entire car. Finally get both children in car seats. Drive exactly a block and a half to Madelyn's preschool. Race to get her unbuckled.) Be right back, Luke!

Madelyn: (Sits ponderously for a while before getting out of the car. Watches a few clouds float by.) Hey mom, guess what?...

Me: Hurry! Let's go!

Madelyn: Mom, can you hold this for me until I get back? (hands me a half eaten cheese stick)

Me: (trotting with her to the door of her preschool) Sure, honey. Whatever.


Don't even talk to me about how bad it's going to be in a few years. There is a REASON why we haven't signed up for any extracurricular activities yet!

Lalalalalala...

2/2/10

Something odd happened at the Grammys this year. Artists that I LIKE actually got nominated and won! Crazy, I know! I didn't watch the broadcast (I didn't realize it was on--I am kind of out of the loop TV wise), but thanks to the internet, I've caught up on all the hoopla. So here's some videos of songs/artists who raked it in. (Although, to be honest, isn't the whole "awards season" a little overkill right now? I mean, there's an awards show going on every weekend. At least musicians aren't quite as self-important as actors are. Unless you count Kanye West and P. Diddy, of course. Geez freakin' louise.)

First up is ♥ Keith Urban ♥, who won Best Male Country Vocal Performance for this song "Sweet Thing" (click here for a fantastic acoustic version). Mark and I would dearly love to go to one of his shows. If you babysit, we'll bring you back a concert t-shirt that you can snuggle with at night and have sweet Australian country dreams. Woops, got a little drool on the keyboard.....

We Yoders are very proud of Taylor Swift, who has lugged home about 150 different awards these past six months. Her album Fearless won Album of the Year, which is the granddaddy of all the Grammy awards. She was nominated for eight total and brought home four. Don't you wish you were that successful when you were 20? Well, it ain't happening. It's already 8 3/4 years too late for me. Her song "White Horse"won two Grammys, but this song is a mite more cheerful.

I don't listen to Beyoncé much, but you gotta admit this song kicks some MAJOR BOOTY. She cleaned up the Grammys with six wins (three just for this song) and this was awarded Song of the Year. To be honest, I really just love the dancing in this video. I know I posted it last year, but it's worth a second go round. Even in my prime as a dancer, I don't think I could have kept up with this routine. (Huff, huff, hufff...I'm out of breath just sitting here on my keester watching her.)

And of course U2...they were nominated for Best Rock Song, Rock Performance and Rock Album. This song is the reason ( "I'll go Crazy if I don't go Crazy Tonight.") I posted it a couple months ago, but the pure awesomeness cannot be denied.

And speaking of, I'd like to see an improved response to last year's request for a Bono t-shirt (last year's result: zero). My birthday is in 52 days and I wear a size M. Just sayin'.