Visiting in Carlsbad

During our Easter weekend trip to southern California, we had the chance to meet up with Erin, Lindsey, and baby Ryan for breakfast before heading off to Legoland. As usual, our time together was much to short, but it was lovely to meet and dote on sweet Ryan, catch up with Erin, and watch Lindsey play with Owen, Charles, and Gianni. So fun!



Baby Ryan was sleeping off to the side in his stroller and we didn't get much cooperation from my kiddo for the group photo (as usual), but still, we captured the moment!

P.S. How great does Erin look after only 8 weeks post-partum?

Soccer

I'm so behind on posts, ah! Oh well. Free- blog writing- computer time- has been and will continue to be limited, because of a temporarily intense work period. But if it wasn't for work, I'm sure I'd find some other excuse to use like the beautiful weather we are currently experiencing. Ha!

I have so many little tidbits to catch up on... Tucker's 15 month appt, Tucker's 1st hair cut photo, Easter, a trip to Legoland, cooking, and probably a zillion other special memories I'd love to capture. Tonight, however, I've decided to write a quick note about soccer.

Last night I played in my first soccer game in over five years. I played indoor with a few of my girlfriends on a very friendly and supportive, low key team. It was great fun, but I am out of shape, very out of shape. Indoor is always intense, but it hit me even harder than I expected.

I think I was only in for about 90 seconds before I had to sub out the first time and in total I probably played less than 8 or 9 minutes of the full 40 minute game. My heart was racing and my legs were burning so badly. I actually fell twice on the field because my legs were so weak and wobbly. I tried to run fast and then faster but I know I was at least 10X slower than I used to be and I'm not really sure if I'll regain my speed. Breathing was nearly impossible and I spent most of the game panting and convincing myself not to vomit.

Silly as it may sound, aside from those nasty side affects, the game was great fun. I slowly but surely started to remember how to play the game and actually made a couple of passes that weren't absolutely embarrassing. The girls were encouraging, so I decided to commit to play on the team for the season. I am hopeful that by the end of the season, I'll be able to play a full five minutes without needing a sub. It probably sounds like a simple and rather weak goal, but after last night, this really feels nearly impossible right now.

P.S. Yes.... I'm very sore today!

Almost weaned, almost sleep trained

A couple weeks ago, I had to travel for work. for the first time since Tucker entered our lives. I was nervous and anxious about it for a long time. I missed my boys terribly, but they all did great and I had nothing to worry about. Tucker pretty much learned how to sleep without me and through the night while I was away. Of course, it was short lived. He's now back to waking a couple of times during the night, but that's okay. We're surviving and getting enough sleep most nights. Owen was great for Kris and it was so fun to be able to talk to him on the phone, even if it was a very short conversation.

I thought the trip would be the way I weaned Tucker, but nope, as soon as I arrived home he made it clear that I was off base. For the most part, I'm just nursing him in the late evenings before bed and in the early morning.

Tucker is 14 months

Happy 14 month birthday Tucker!

Tucker is my
Totally sweet
Unique
Cute
Knowing
Energetic
Really really loveable
little baby boy.

He now has 3 1/2 teeth, long curly hair, little to no separation anxiety at day care, a major love for the outdoors, a clear ability to say Daddy which he seems to say for both mommy and daddy, a growing interest in books, a new bed in the room he now shares with his big brother, a new favorite game where he loves to stack blocks and books, a desire to climb on anything and everything, a serious love for going fast down big slides and jumping on trampolines and in bounce houses and going for rides on tricycles, an ability to understand his parents when they ask him to go get his shoes and his jacket or to run to his mommy or big brother for a big hug, an understanding that when the garage door opens after school he can run very fast to the door with his arms open and greet his Daddy, and luckily for his parents, a personality full of love and happiness and a fondness for cuddle time.

Tucker we love you so much.

First time on a snowboard

Back in January, we took Owen and Tucker up to the snow so that Owen could try snowboarding. We went to Soda Springs which really caters to kids and had a blast.

Once he had a few sled rides, a few tries down a little hill off to the side, and a few bites of snack, he really got into the fun of going up the moving carpets to the top of the hill. We took turns running down the hill with him, holding his hands as he got the feel for it. By the end of the morning, he would let go for a couple of feet towards the bottom and crash into the big soft foam squares scattered around the training hill.We made a game of it and Owen really enjoyed it.

Here is a short, albeit a little bit shaky, video of Kris running down the hill with Owen:

Mommy, "I am going to break"

Today my first born, my little cutie pie of a boy turns 3 ½ year. I have no idea how this is possible. I love him so much it hurts. I don't understand how I can love him more and more each day, but it really is true. I feel so grateful and so lucky to be his mommy.

In honor of his half year birthday milestone, here is a silly little story from last night.It was almost bed-time and I was helping Owen change into his pajamas. As I helped him take off his shirt, he told me he was cold and then started to say, in an agitated manner,

“I’m going to break. Mommy, I’m going to break. I need my PJs. I need socks.”

We went about the routine… brushing teeth, putting on a night time diaper, finding his PJs. With intense focus, he kept on, "Mommy, I’m going to break.” Finally, to his relief, we start to put on his PJs. Very happily and with a very big smile he says, “Mommy, I have my PJs on now. Now I won’t break. I’m warm.”

Finally, it clicked and I figured out his reference. Three nights ago, after a bath, Owen was running around in his birthday suit. He was playing and having a grand-old time, but at one point, he stopped and gave me a hug. I noticed his hands and feet were icy cold, so I jokingly said something like, “Owen, you are freezing. You are like an icicle. You are going to break if you don’t get dressed and get warm soon”. We raced to get him dressed and never said anything more about it. I never thought twice about it, but Owen did. He was very relieved to be warm enough not to break! Ahhh, I LOVE this kid.

Oh yeah, and on my way out the door today after he ran over to give me a third hug. He sat back down at the table and quietly told his Daddy, "I love Mommy".

Happy 1/2 year birthday Owen!

Cooking - 2011

I've decided to keep a running list of the new recipes I try out during 2011 to help keep me accountable for my NY resolution. I think it will be nice to have one spot to track my thoughts and notes.

My goals: 1) 2 new recipes a month - one that's a crock-pot dish and 2) minimize restaurant outings - stretch goal of 12X/year or less.

2011 Plans: Lettuce wraps - recipe involves peanuts - so even though I'm anxious to try it, I need to time it well for Tucker, since he's still on the no peanut regimen. Quiche. Homemade pizza. Chicken Cacciatore. Thai Pineapple Fried Rice and Yellow Curry.

February:

Tortilla Soup- 5 stars! Excellent! It was delicious! (PW recipe). I ended up using store bought tortilla chips instead of homemade, but am anxious to try the homemade tortilla strips soon! I may also add corn next time.

Chicken & Dumplings - 3 1/2 stars. I have never had chicken and dumplings but over the last month I have heard or read about the dish from a few different sources and I became quite curious. Until recently, I always thought this was an Asian dish- boy was I off-base. I think I followed the recipe very well and the meal was very tasty. This was a PW recipe and she uses cornmeal in the dumplings rather than buttermilk. Next time I try this, I want to try a more traditional take on the dumplings by using buttermilk.

BBQ Chicken in crock-pot. It is quite possible that this meal hit the top 10 favorites for Owen and Tucker and also one of the easiest meals I have ever made. I used apple cider instead of water or chicken broth in the crock-pot with frozen chicken breasts. Cooked on low while I was at work. Came home. Added bbq sauce and served with veggies, fruit, and bread. All 3 of the boys had seconds. I can only imagine how good this would be with homemade sauce.

Roast Chicken with veggies- 5 stars! My hair stylist and I usually spend the majority of the time it takes to cut my hair - talking about cooking. She inspired me to make the Barefoot Contessa's roast chicken. It was out of this world. I have always wanted to make a full-bird recipe and I'm so glad I finally did it. It is easy and will become a a regular for us.

Smashed potatoes (PW recipe) - very good. I cooked a giant bag of potatoes so the timing was off and the portions required for the recipe were a bit off, but they were still very good. Next time, I'll try to actually follow the recipe to see if I can make it great. Kris enjoyed them more than regular mashed potatoes which is no surprise since the recipe called for bacon.

Chicken Fried Steak- "F" (PW recipe) The "F" grade has nothing to do with the recipe. Nope, it was all me. It may have something to do with the fact that I have never had it before - but let's be honest, that's just a poor excuse. I did consult my local resident/good pal/great cook/local PW (Kristi) after the fact and she reassured me by telling me that perfecting this meal is much harder than it looks. I couldn't agree more. She asked me what went wrong, and I wasn't exaggerating when I wrote- everything. I think I messed up on every step: the meat was not tender enough, I didn't use enough flour or seasoning for the flour or meat, and I didn't use the right pan and was very short on the amount of oil used. I also burned the second batch before the meat cooked through and that made it impossible to make a good gravy. I tried to switch pans to finish cooking the meat in a non-scorched pan so I could attempt the gravy - bad idea. It was just terrible- actually it was beyond terrible. Somehow, we managed to eat a few bites, but most of the meal ended up in the trash. Good thing I had a side of instant stuffing and some rolls and veggies for us to eat. Thanks to Kristi's encouragement, I will try it again, but I don't think Kris is very excited about me taking this one on again any time soon.

Other - I made a few other really nice meals during the month - sausage/tortellini/veg soup- batch was super - but in the future I will make it with diced tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes. Neither of us want to eat giant chunks of tomato. RR Pesto Pasta - why has it been so long since we made this dish? It's been a favorite for a long time, but it's probably been more than 2 years since we last made it. It's on the "standard" list again.

We did eat out twice during our vacation. Once was when we were actually on vacation - we grabbed fish and chips when we met up with Brian & Andrea and the other was on our drive home after we exhausted all of our snacks. The restaurant was an old diner with out of date decor but incredible, all natural home-style food served up in gigantic portions. Definitely a good choice for one of our few restaurant experiences this year. Kris doesn't want to count either restaurant trip in our "12" because he says vacation restaurant trips are separate. I kind-of agree since I was loose on my goal definition on purpose, but we'll see how we're doing as the year progresses. Really, I'd love to hit less than 12 for the year all-together.

January:

Apple Granola cookies - fun to make with Owen. want to try to incorporate whole wheat flour sometime. Will make again.

Pork Carnitas - easy and very yummy - topped with enchilada sauce to make it extra good. will become new standard for our pork carnitas meals.