Beautiful quote for Moms

Saw this beautiful quote today and thought it was just so fitting for how I feel today... 

"You will never have this day with your children again.

Tomorrow, they'll be a little older than they were today. 

This day is a gift. 

Breathe and notice. 

Smell and touch them; study their faces and little feet and pay attention. 

RELISH THE CHARMS OF THE PRESENT. 

Enjoy today, mama. It will be over before you know it." 

- Jen Hatmaker

Pacifier

Trying to ween Alex off the pacifier aka binky. 

Day care has been really good about taking the lead on initiating the challenge of taking the binky away. 

A couple of months ago some other parents, and myself, agreed to work on having the pacifier used only at nap/bed time.

Well, we were on a roll... We had the support of the teachers, and kept up our end of the deal at home. No pacifier until it's bedtime. Then, the lead teacher went on leave, and well. Everyone just forgot about the "no binky policy."

The lead techaer returend to work last week and she is ready to start back up with no binky!! Or as we have been recently calling it... The "bink-bink." 

The past few days Alex has been going down for a nap without the binky... He must be so busy during the day playing that he doesn't even ask for it during the day... 

He gets home and we attempt to say no to him also. Instead of having clean binkies on the the counter, we now have them hidden in the drawer. Also, if he looses the binky, we don't automatically run and get him a new one.  

Well, last night we attempted to have Alex go to sleep without the binky.  Not an easy task at all. At first he was ok, he was mumbling and talking to himself in the crib. Then he must have just realized that the binky wasn't in the crib. He started crying and did so for 14 minutes. It was rough!! 

We were so fortunate that we only had to use the Cry it Out method a few times. Alex was, and still is, an amazing sleeper!! Unless he is sick or under the weather, we usually have no issues with him!! So, last night not having the binky caused for a rough 14 minutes. Yes, it was just 14 minutes but it sounded like a half hour!! 

Now, the time has come to do research on how the assist with getting off the binky!! I received a message from the day care teacher and she informed me that he started sucking his thumb in replace of having his binky.  Now that is something that I will not be able to tolerate!! Binky can be out of sight and out of mind... The thumb is always there to tempt my little guy... That's one habit that I will not be starting!!

Take out Weekend

This weekend we did nothing but take out and leftovers! It was nice not to cook but, it will be tough to get back in the swing of things. Really thinking that I am going to start prepping meals and freezing them, then thawing them out during the work day so that they will be just ready to pop in when we get home. Printed out some weekly meal planning forms again so hopefully I can get back into using them. The one week (yes, it only lasted one week) that I did it was so easy! And we followed the schedule with the exception of a pizza night!! Just need to get organized and stay organized!!

 

Busy Weekend

This past weekend was just packed with activities! Didn't realize that we would be so busy until the weekend really got started.

We started a new session of Kindermusik and it is at a new, and later time. This new time will be a challenge. Alex is usually ready for lunch followed by a nap at just the time the class starts. Hopefully he will get adjusted to the new time because at this point he is not very active, and a bit cranky.  Probably doesn't help that we have been going to meet friends for breakfast before class. Although we enjoy the social time, I think having a full belly makes him tired! Just like with everything else, he will get used to it. It's nice to be able to meet with the other moms because it's not often that I get adult time. I would often take Alex to the bagel shop after class. Depending on his mood we would eat at the restaurant. If he was a little cranky we would to take out and head on home. Some times Jason would meet us there and we would all eat breakfast together. It was a fun tradition that we started, and gave us the chance to share a meal together in a family friendly environment. 

Since moving here, I have realized how fortunate I was for so many years to have such close and loyal friends. Another factor I didn't think through while making the choice to move away. It is extremely difficult when you move to a new place and don't know anyone. True, I grew up here and thankfully had facebook that kept me connected with old friends. I stayed in contact with a few people, but it takes much more effort rebuilding a friendship after having a 12 year gap! I mean, really, where do you start?? "Remember that time in high school..."  Not that realistic when you can't even relate to the person you once were in high school. People tell me that I need to get out there and meet new people.. Easier said then done when you work full time, have a toddler to raise & who always seems to be sick, family obligations which limit free time, and just no energy some days. 

Going to breakfast and joining a play group has been a lot of fun.  It even makes things more enjoyable because I already know the moms in the music class group. We went to high school together and were friends many years ago. Kindermusik has been the bridge of some needed Saturday adult socializing. Our kids are very close in age which also makes it a lot of fun. It's nice to be able to have face to face conversations with other Moms who may be going through same developmental or social experiences with their kids. Can never get enough of other Mom's stories and advice! Especially when the advice is from someone you know and can trust!

We finished our Saturday with a family dinner at Olive Garden. Alex enjoyed himself and got to see everyone. He ate bread sticks and spaghetti... Can't really go wrong with that combination! 

Sunday was meant to be a lazy day but ended up going out to lunch with a friend! Very nice surprise and I took advantage of getting out of the house!! Went to my favorite restaurant in town and had a couple mid day glasses of wine. Always so weird having drink on a Sunday afternoon. But, once again, the girl time was needed! Very fortunate to have been able to enjoy good company and food together. Just wish I didn't have laundry to fold when I got home :o)

Sunday evening we went to my dad's house for dinner... Had a wonderful pork pot roast that was just seasoned perfectly!! It was really good - and I'm not really into pork. Had fun with the family and finally were able to exchange Christmas gifts. A little late but every weekend something has come up. Or Alex has been sick, or my nephew! So, better late than never. 

Looking forward to this weekend coming up. I hear it's the super bowl?? I do not enjoy football but I will have to say that this is probably the first year that I don't know who is at least playing in the super bowl?!? Guess I will find out on Sunday!

 



 

Changes...

This year I hope to change many things in my life...

The past few years have been a transition... A transition that I still do not feel comfortable, confident, and fully happy with... Choosing to make the decision to leave two great jobs, sell a home, and leave behind family and close friends still has not settled well with me lately. It is a daily struggle for me to not think of where I could be in life if I didn't make such big decisions. Since it has been a few years of trying to transition, I feel like it's time to start really taking action and start moving in a different direction. 

Hopefully, I will begin blogging more as a release and to help me work through the choices I have made. I typically blog about my fun times with family and Alex. But, starting today I'm going to try and change things up a little and try and "keep it real". Maybe some posts will need to remain only for my eyes, but, somehow I have to start the process of really settling in with my "new" life. 

"Far from what I once was, but not yet what I am going to be..."

Rota... WHAT?

The illnesses just don't stop in our home! 

This time we are trying to get rid of the rotavirus. 

We were on a weekend trip with friends to an indoor waterpark. Everyone is so excited to get the weekend started!! We went to the grocery store to get goodies, packed our bags, and headed out to Kalahari! We get to the resort and are just amazed at how large this place is! Seriously, when they said resort, they really were not exaggerating!

We check into the hotel, meet up with our friends, and get swim suits on!! At this point we are ready. I even catch my step-son, Joel, jumping up and down in excitement -- we are just too thrilled to be experiencing something new! 

As we walk into the water park our mouths just drop. At first there were no words to explain it. We were overwhelmed but giddy! Grabbed our towels, and headed to our area. We get Alex into a life jacket and head out to have some fun.

Thankfully, Alex remained healthy for the most part. He really enjoyed the kids area, yet wasn't thrilled with the wave pool. Loved the water slide and the water swings. My little dare devil even liked the water falls that seemed to "turn on" out of no where!! 

We played with friends, ate some dinner, and then headed back to the room for some down time. Alex seemed to continue to do well. Was a little hesitant to go play with the other kids (he was the youngest) but that isn't uncommon for him. Alex is definitely an observer, slow to warm up to new situations. 

We attempt to get him to go to sleep several times and he kept waking up. Little did we know that he wasn't feeling well. We thought it was just new environment, and the other 6 children running throughout the hotel suite having a wonderful time giggling and screaming. As I get him from his pack n play, I hear something grumble. I look to my husband and said, "It sounds like he is going to...." Well, it was too late, I couldn't even get the whole sentence out. I froze, stood there while my son is puking all over the living room of suite!

My husband shakes me and says, "Get to the kitchen!!" I unfreeze and run to kitchen. That's when I realized that I had 2 other moms helping me out with Alex. At this point I'm still in shock... Maybe it was the merlot, maybe I was trying not to puke myself, or maybe I just had no clue what to do... 

So, we spent the next 12 hours tending to a sick baby. So crappy because we were not in our home with our conveniences. Luckily I packed 3 of everything so we had plenty of pjs, socks, clothes, and everything like that. 

Felt so bad that our weekend trip was over, although happy that Alex at least enjoyed water park. Two days later Joel and I were sick with the virus. We had grandma watch Alex since he couldn't go to day care - 2 days later, she had the virus. The other grandma has been watching Alex the past 2 days so we are hoping that she doesn't get hit with it this weekend - although he has been feeling much better. 

I swear... All of these day care germs are getting old very quick... I'm starting to feel that the expression, "kids need to get sick to build up their immunities" is a bunch of crap. At this point I surely do not believe that kids need to be THIS sick. The illnesses have been non stop since Alex's 4th day of day care. We have one good week (not even a full week) which ends with rotavirus. Something's got to give...

Chicken and Gravy over Rice

I needed something quick and easy to make so I did another crock pot meal. 

This was very easy. And although it didn't look anything like the picture, it wasn't that bad.

Chicken & Gravy over Rice 
(or as Pinterest called it Slow Cooker Smothered Chicken) 

INGREDIENTS:

4 each chicken breasts, boneless
12 oz mushrooms, fresh (didn't have fresh mushrooms so we didn't use them- plus my husband doesn't like them)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup   
1 can french onion soup  (didn't have a can of soup but had the packets. So I just followed the packet instructions and made my own soup and just used HALF of it.)
 
DIRECTIONS:

Cut chicken breasts into stew size chunks, and saute while washing and cutting mushrooms in half. Then simply add all ingredients to chicken and simmer for about 1 hour. You can also do this in a crock pot and simmer all day till dinner if your want. 

 If you wanted thicker gravy I would mix some corn startch in water and add to crock pot (if that's even possible?? who knows, this Mama Can't Cook!!)

We served this meal over rice and threw in some green beans (hidden in the mixture so that my son would actually eat them without knowing it).  

So frustrated

I received a phone call yesterday from my son's day care. Of course I was already concerned because the number came up as "blocked" on my cell phone. So as I answer it, I'm nervous to see who the person is on the other line.

I am informed that my child was bit in school by another child. That he was ok, ate lunch, and was napping. The staff member kept saying, "I just wanted to give you a heads up." So, in my mind, I'm thinking that it was a little bite, no worries. At no time was I informed that my son would need medical attention, or that he was in any type of distress to the point of needing to be picked up. 

So, after the phone conversation, I called my husband to let him know that "A" was bitten by another child, but seems to be ok. After he got the little details I had, he made a joke and said, "I hope he doesn't get a fever. He may turn into a Walker." This was funny since we are both into "The Walking Dead" on AMC.  After a few jokes, we get off the phone and continue on with our day.

I get home, and as soon as I close the door behind me my husband says, "Now, don't freak out..." I look for my son and start calling his name.  Soon I hear his little feet running over the kitchen floor with him excitedly saying, "MaMa, MaMa."  I look down and ask him where he got hurt. He holds up the wrong finger and there are no marks. I am relieved that this kid didn't leave a mark. Then my husband informs me it's the other hand.

So, I look at the injured finger and the anger just starts rising up. I am so angry that my child was bit so badly that it left 2 distinct teeth marks. Not to say that my son needed medical attention - no stitches were needed - but, my son's finger was badly chomped on. After cleaning it out, removing a flap of skin, and putting topical cream on it I slowly started to feel less angry. But then it got to the point where you could tell he was uncomfortable with the band aid and each time I touched his finger, he cried out "mama."

This morning when I drop "A" back to day care I brought neosporin and bandaids for him. Went to get the medical slip and there were none in the folder. Director comes out to assist and I just want to scream. Not necessarily at her, nothing personal, but I just hate to see such carelessness, or lack of attention in the classroom. Now of course I was informed that the biting child just walked up to my son, grabbed his finger and bit it. There was no other interaction besides that. But what kills me is one of the teachers gave me some lame ass excuse on what happened, the exact same excuse that was used 6 weeks ago when my son got scratched under his eye!! Since it was the same lame excuse, it leads me to believe that it is the same child that has injured my son for the 2nd time in 2 months. 

Once my blood stops boiling, I will calmly ask the school what actions were taken to address this behavior with the biting child's parents. I'm not expecting anything to be done, nor should anything huge need to be done. I understand the parenting role and who knows, tables may be turned and I may have the biting child one day. But, I need to know what policies are in place to correct aggressive behaviors. And I need to make sure that this biting and scratching child is keeping his distance from mine. 

I'm not trying to be that parent to teach their kid how to uppercut another kid!! (totally joking because I don't believe in using violence to stop violence - unless it's self defense, which is just not possible for a 17 month old to understand).

 

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

Made this with cornish hens on New Year's Day. Wasn't sure how it would turn out because the picture looked soooo good. But it ended up turning out just fine.

Very easy and we had plenty for leftovers. I didn't have yellow potatoes but had red ones... I also boiled the potatoes a little longer than what they suggested.

• 9-10 small baby Dutch yellow potatoes
• 3-4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil a large pot of water and boil the potatoes for 4-5 minutes. Remove from water and let cool. Once cooled, slice into quarters and combine with olive oil, garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper as well as the Parmesan. Mix thoroughly and place in a baking dish that has been sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.

Place into the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and taste, re season with sea salt, cracked pepper, or garlic powder if needed. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Enjoy.

For full recipe please visit:  
http://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2008/11/parmesan-roasted-potatoes.html

Cornish Hens with Garlic and ....

Had a little energy this New Year's day so I decided to take some time and make a meal. Kroger had cornish hens on sale before the holidays so I had them in the freezer ready to be cooked! 

It's so nice to have my new laptop so that when I'm cooking in the kitchen and following a recipe, I'm not constantly unlocking my password and checking the small screen.

So, I found this recipe on pinterest - of course. It sounded pretty basic so I decided to give it a try. I didn't have all of the ingredients so I had to work around it.... 

INGREDIENTS: 

2 Cornish game hens
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 Lemon (didn't have a lemon but had a lonely clementine that I used)
4 sprigs fresh rosemary (I have no clue what this even is so I didn't use it. I used rosemary from the seasoning jar we had)
3 tablespoons olive oil (didn't measure just used what I thought was enough)
24 cloves garlic (didn't have real cloves so I used the jarred stuff. we like garlic so I just scooped what I thought was needed - didn't measure)
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup white wine
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish (once again didn't have it, didn't use it)
PAPRIKA SPRINKLED OVER HENS

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). -- ( I USED CROCK POT. 4 HOURS ON LOW, 1 HOURS ON HIGH)
2. Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen (MY HENS WERE PARTIALLY FROZEN SO I COULDN'T PUT ANYTHING IN CAVITY).
3.  Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes (I USED CROCK POT).
4. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.
5. Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve.

I will have to say it was easy and turned out pretty darn good! 

For the full recipe please visit: 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cornish-game-hens-with-garlic-and-rosemary/