Those new recipes...

Life has been very busy lately, so we've eaten leftovers, fended for ourselves, or eaten out a bit more than normal...and it took me 2 weeks to cook the recipes I included on my last meal post. All of the new recipes turned out great! Here are my tidbits...

Chicken Teriyaki and Brown Rice

This was delicious and made the perfect amount for me, Josh and Lucy. To save some time, I used Uncle Ben's Ready Rice that you cook for 90 seconds in the microwave. I was not paying attention and accidentally used soy sauce instead of teriyaki sauce, but it tasted great with the soy sauce. Next time I'll use teriyaki sauce for a different flavor. But soy sauce is definitely a great substitute. Quick and easy weeknight meal for sure (I prepped chicken during nap time)!

Chicken and Cream Cheese Taquitos

Yummy!! I followed the recipe to a tee. The recipe made 15 taquitos instead of 9-10, so it's a great recipe for a crowd. I went ahead and fried them instead of baking and they were nice and crisp! Quick and easy weeknight meal, especially if you use a rotisserie chicken!

Asian Spaghetti

This was awesome! We just had a little bit left over (probably not enough for someone to make a meal of it). I left out the mushrooms and snow peas and added chicken and asparagus instead. I cooked the chicken first in the pan, then added the other ingredients. You can use any veggie you'd like for this dish. Since I used about a pound of diced chicken, I double the amount of soy sauce, sugar and cayenne pepper. It does have a little bit of a kick (not too bad), so limit the amount of cayenne pepper you use if you prefer a milder version. Quick and easy weeknight meal (I prepped the chicken during nap time)!

Oven-roasted Sausage, Potatoes and Peppers

This was delicious and made the house smell incredible! I used uncooked chicken sausage and all of the spices that are optional in the recipe. Definitely use the spices and don't leave out the banana peppers...so yummy! I served it over Uncle Ben's Wild Rice. There's some chopping required for this recipe, but it didn't take too long. I prepped everything while the girls were napping, so all I had to do was pop it in the oven when we were ready for dinner.

Skinny Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili

Awesome recipe! I followed the recipe to a tee, expect I left out the jalapeño pepper. I also chopped the onion really, really fine. This soup had great flavors and it made enough for both Josh and I to eat it for lunch the next day! I prepped this the night before in the crockpot, so all I had to do was turn on the crockpot the next day. Super easy and really delicious!

Queen of the Sippy Cup!

Girlfriend literally figured out how to suck from a straw in a matter of seconds. It was shocking! I'm so proud of her...and really hoping this makes weaning from the bottle a breeze.  We're in no hurry...she's still my baby!

When one can't walk yet...

You improvise when playing at McDonalds.

What's for dinner?

Lucy has started asking me "what's for dinner, mommy?" It cracks me up every time...love that girl!  I picked our 7 meals for this week in less than 10 minutes...a new record for me!  Most are new recipes too, so I'll let you know how they turn out.

Chicken Teriyaki and Brown Rice

with veggie side

*New recipe

Chicken and Cream Cheese Taquitos

with black beans and fruit salad

*New recipe

Asian Spaghetti

with crispy edamame

*New recipe - I'm going to leave out the mushrooms (we're not big fans) and add diced chicken.  I've made the crispy edamame before - it's delicious - and great for an afternoon snack too!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

with salad

*I'm going to double the recipe this time.  Josh actually requested this again!

Oven-roasted Sausage, Potatoes and Peppers

with rice and fruit salad

*New recipe

Skinny Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili

with tortilla chips

*New recipe

Eat Out!

Also, the 2 new recipes I tried last week were amazing!  

Crockpot Cornbread Chicken Enchiladas

I was skeptical about this one, but it turned out great...really delicious and SUPER easy!

Slightly Sweet Sloppy Joes

I would recommend using a bit more meat, as they were a little runny...I used a slotted spoon when serving. Ground turkey would work well too.

Lucy's First Preschool Performance...

Even though she's not really looking at the crowd, I'll call Lucy's first official pre-school program a success!  We had so much fun last night at the annual auction fundraiser and dinner for Vista Ridge Discovery Preschool...we came home with some fun stuff and most importantly, lots of money was raised for the school! Way to go GiGi and Carolyn (Lucy's bonus grandmother...and who Lucy is dancing with in this video)!

June Marie :: 8 Months

Happy 8 months baby girl!  The days were a bit long this month (due to sickness), but it's hard to believe that another month has past.  We fall more and more in love with you everyday.  You're pretty awesome, love bug!

Size 3 diapers

9-12 month clothes

Sleeping

It's been a little rough this month in the sleep department due to those nasty ear infections.  Sweet girl, you had 2 more doubles this month....but tubes are in and hopefully they will stop this vicious cycle.  You've felt so bad for so long that your little body is use to waking up in the middle of the night.  It's been such a struggle for me, as I can't determine if you're in pain or just need to CIO.  Of course, I don't want to let you CIO if you're hurting, so you've been rocked quite a bit (and sometimes ended up in our bed out of desperation) during the middle of the night over the past 2 months.  But now that you have tubes and are pain free, the rocking sessions have officially come to an end.  Sorry June Bug...but mommy and daddy need sleep.  And you need to return to your old ways so we can move you into your big sister's room!  You're still taking 2-2 hour naps during the day, typically from 10am-12pm and 2-4pm...and going down for bed around 8pm and waking up between 7:30/8am.  Naps really haven't been a struggle, just nighttime.  But I think you're about ready to transition to 2 1.5 hour naps, so we'll probably start working on that soon.  You've starting flipping over in your sleep and sleeping on your stomach some...this worried me at first, but I've cooled my jets and don't watch the monitor all the time anymore.

Eating

Not much is new in the food department.  You're still taking 4 6-8oz bottles a day, typically at 8am, 12pm, 4pm and 7pm.  You've improved tremendously with solid foods.  You eat solids after your morning, noon and evening bottles. You typically eat the most at dinnertime and you prefer your veggies laced with fruit...I don't blame you, girl!  You love Mum Mums and you're starting to get the hang of yogurt melts.  We haven't given you much table food yet, because you've choked on a few yogurt melts and you don't have any teeth yet!  I'm so ready for table foods...baby food drives me nuts.  

Activity Time

You're a confident sitter now, so you enjoy sitting on your own and playing with all of your toys.  And you still really like your bouncer.  Your favorite activity (by far) is watching your sister...and laughing at her silly ways.  The other day Lucy starting throwing diapers up in the air...you belly laughed for days.  Mom throws a diaper up in the air, and I hear crickets chirping.  I get the memo, June...I'm not funny.  No big deal.  You love taking baths with Lucy and you love to swing at the park.  You and Lucy have a lot of fun playing in Lucy's bed too...Lucy loads it up with babies, books and stuffed animals and you go to town chewing on whatever you can get in your mouth. 

Milestones/Firsts

You have your first toothing coming through on the bottom.  The gum cracked about a week ago, so we're eagerly waiting for that booger to come through.  You're chewing on your hands a lot and drooling quite a bit, so hopefully we'll see some pearly whites soon (that tooth popped on 4/10/13)!  You started clapping a few days ago...you love to play Patty Cake!  You are in no hurry to crawl...no hurry at all.  I'll enjoy it while I can, I guess!  And we can't forget about your first surgery...hopefully your last.  You were so brave, June!

Personality

Despite all the ear infections and teething...you're a real trooper, June, and still the happiest baby on the block...easy going, laid back and a real joy to be around.  Just like your daddy...I think that's why I'm so soft for you!  

HAPPY 8 MONTHS JUNE MARIE!!

June gets tubes...

After 2 long months of June battling four back to back (to back to back) double ear infections (including one ruptured ear drum),  little miss got her first (and hopefully only) set of ear tubes this past Friday.  We went to the ENT on Wednesday afternoon and she was quickly scheduled for surgery first thing Friday morning!  Dr. Bauer said her ears were loaded with fluid and she completely failed her hearing test, so he was most concerned about hearing loss and speech delay.  Poor girl couldn't hear a lick...broke my heart to pieces. June was ready for TUBES...and we couldn't wait for Friday to arrive!

We arrived for surgery at 6:30am on Friday!  June was terrified.  Not really, just hungry (she couldn't eat until after the surgery).

All prepped and ready to go!

June was a big hit in the pre-op area...she wanted to chat with all of the nurses and doctors!

Getting a pep talk from dad...

About an hour after arriving to the hospital, it was June's turn! She was out of our arms for less than 10 minutes...it was so quick, thank goodness!  Dr. Bauer said the surgery went perfect and that he drained out gobs of fluid.

The toughest part was the 45 or so minutes post surgery.  She had a rough time coming off of the anesthesia (which is very normal)...she would go in and out of crying really, really hard.  She finally settled down once the medicine wore off and sucked down her bottle on the way home.

And she's out!  She was pretty happy for the rest of the day and took 2 good, long naps.

The morning after...I'd say she's pretty stoked that she can actually hear!!  Here's to NO MORE eat infections and sleepless nights...please!!!!!!!!!

June Clapping...

Yay June!

Lucy started clapping right around 8 months too!

Sunday Afternoon Meal Planning...

This whole menu planning thing is slowly starting to get a little easier for me!  Here's what's cooking at our house this week...

Papa Murphy's Pizza

with Salad

We love Papa Murphy's...especially when you can get a large pepperoni pizza for 5 bucks!

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage & Roasted Brussels Sprouts

with Garlic Bread

This will be my 2nd time to make this dish...definitely a new favorite!

No Peek Beef Tips

with Egg Noodles and Veggie Side

I use 1lb of beef (instead of 2) and it's the perfect amount of meat for Josh and I.

Slightly Sweet Sloppy Joes

with Sweet Potato Fries and Roasted Corn

I don't know why, but I'm a sucker for Sloppy Joes!  This is a new recipe I found from The Mix and Match Mama (Shay), Sean Lowe's sister!  Shay's blog is darling and I love that she cooks simple (and easy) meals...just what I need!

Crockpot Cornbread Chicken Enchiladas 

with Chips and Salsa

Another new recipe I'm trying from The Mix and Match Mama...I'll admit, I'm a little skeptical about this one, so we'll see how it turns out!

Crockpot Meatballs

with Rice and Veggie Side

I LOVE these things...and why not turn an appetizer into a meal?!  I use frozen turkey meatballs.

Eat Out!!

Now, off to the grocery store...blah.

March 2013 :: Insta-Dump

DQ ice cream date with dad...

June's thoughts on peas...

Bedhead at it's finest...

Play date with Berkley...

and Jett...

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Toast...a new Saturday morning tradition!

Girl talk...

Circle of friends...

Chloe turned 6...Lucy gave her a fake Pringle to celebrate.  Poor dog.

June's new favorite game is to see how many diapers she can pull out of the basket while I change her diaper.  That hiney...

Lucy at 5 months // June at 7 months...

June's first time in a restaurant highchair...

Park fun...

Playing with dad...

First time back in the pool since last summer...

All smiles...

First time to fly a kite...

Angel baby...

Cauliflower Crust Pizza...

A few of you asked me to follow-up on how the Cauliflower Crust Pizza turned out.  I followed this recipe that I found on Pinterest and I was pleasantly surprised at the end result.  The pizza was delicious and my picky-veggie-eater-of-a-husband actually liked it and said he would gladly eat it again!  Lucy is still recovering from the stomach bug so she doesn't have much of an appetite, but I think she'll love it once her appetite returns.  Next time I will double the recipe because the pizza came out too small to feed both Josh and I (it was a little larger than a personal pizza size).  Doubling the recipe will easily feed me, Josh and Lucy. Josh and I both like crispy, thin crust pizza....this pizza is thin, but didn't turn out quite as crispy as I would have liked.  It took about 30 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.  Overall, a success.  Now, I obviously would choose to eat i Fratelli pizza over cauliflower crust pizza, but I will definitely be making this healthier version again...Lucy will never know the difference (for now, at least).

What I learned...from a puking toddler

The crappy (pun intended) stomach bug hit Lucy this past Sunday morning...our first experience with a constantly puking toddler.  I'm so thankful we've been spared from it for the past 2 1/2 years...and I can only pray that it stays AWAY for a very long time.  It's been a brutal 3 days and Lucy is still not 100% on day 4.  Josh and I went into "attack" and "survival" mode pretty quickly on Sunday, Easter Sunday mind you.  Here is what we learned after being puked on several times...

1) Assume your position in one room...and stay there.

2) Cover every surface with towels and/or blankets.  We made a pallet on the living room floor with a water resistent picnic blanket (from Target - great purchase last summer - we use it all the time).  We covered the couch with large beach towels.

3) Time the stretches between puking sessions.  Lucy was throwing up every 30-45 minutes pretty much all day.

4) Learn your child's cues so you know when he/she is about to puke.  Lucy cried for the majority of the day, but right before she was about to puke, she'd start scream crying and saying "BB"....we have no clue what or who "BB" is.  

5) Have a plethora of paper towels and a large bowl on your pallet.  Lucy did not want to throw up in a bowl (she'd push it away before she was about to spew)....so we learned to catch the puke in paper towels and then transfer it to the puke bowl after she was done.

6) Wear old clothes (13 year old sorority shirts work great) and be prepared to do LOTS of laundry.  

7) Diaper only for puking victim.  

8) Have Pedialyte and/or Gatorade on-hand.  I will always have a stock of these after this experience.

9) Lucy LOVES when we go to Sonic or McDonalds for a drink...I think she likes drinking out of their cups/straws.  Having a cup like this helped tremendously, so she would continue drinking Pedialyte or Gatorade throughout the day to avoid dehydration.  She did start dry-heaving around lunch, which was SO sad.  KEEP THEM DRINKING so they actually have something to throw up.  This was tough.

10) Patience.  Patience.  Patience.  And try to laugh when you can.  It helps.

Insta-Dump :: Easter 2013

Our playgroup did an Easter Egg Lunch Hunt...everyone brought eggs filled with a "toddler approved" lunch item. We had to move indoors last minute due to bad weather, but it was still so much fun and the kiddos LOVED it!

June in her Easter shirt...

For Lucy's egg hunt at school, we filled our eggs with a yummy Easter snack mix (thank you, Pinterest)...and it was delicious!

Pre-School Easter Party...

I saw this clever (and easy) idea on Pinterest...Lucy loved it!

The Easter Bunny brought the girls matching chairs...

Some bunny loved her new chair!

June didn't mind the bunny ears...promise.  I just couldn't help myself...

Easter flashback...

How cute are these cake balls that Papa Billy and Corinne sent the girls?!

I'm sorry, but this just might be the cutest and sweetest picture I've ever seen.  And I hope the girls don't mind wearing matching Easter dresses until their 18...

Poor Lucy spent Easter day puking...

I've never seen her so pitiful...

June was a good sport and didn't let a little puke ruin her first Easter!

The day after Easter, Lucy was finally starting to feel a little bit better. The Easter bunny came while we were eating dinner....Lucy had fun hunting eggs but she didn't eat one bite of her candy.  Sweet girl. I guess that means more candy for mom.