What's for Dinner?

Sometimes my sister will call me in the afternoon and usually if she calls between 4 and 5 I am getting dinner ready (while Adam hangs on my leg and practically pulls my pants down)  and she almost always asks what I am making and tells me it sounds yummy.  One nice thing about being on an extended maternity leave is having the time to find new recipes and try them out.  I am going to share what we had/are having for dinner this week.  This will help me because I can look back and repeat some of the meals and Beth (or anyone else) might want to try them out too!  If you click on the recipe it will take you right to the link with the recipe :)

Sunday- Chicken Parmesan and garlic bread
Monday- Mexican Chicken Casserole
Tuesday- Veggie Chicken Pitas (I am obsessed with these lately...so yummy!)
Wednesday- Bacon and Parmesan Pasta
Thursday-"wormy noodles" as Owen likes to call them... Mike has graduation so I am making something easy and they LOVE this frozen meal that I can easily heat on the stove.  It has broccoli, chicken, carrots and noodles with a garlic sauce.  They love it.  The smell makes me sick.  I don't like it at all.
Friday- leftovers or a frozen pizza since we're going away for the weekend and I know I won't feel like cooking

There you have it.  Our weekly menu :)

Oh, and if you're wondering how my boys like my meals... they don't (for the most part).  I used to be able to count on Adam to usually eat whatever I made, but now he's decided to jump on the picky eater train with his brother.  Sometimes they have leftovers or I give them part of what I am making.  For instance if I am making chicken mixed in with tons of other ingredients, I will take some chicken out before I add the other "toxic" things.  

Computer Hacking for Dogs

Hello, and thank you for reading my HACKED blog entry. My name is Elsie and I am a dog.  My parents are Boo and Judy.  On Saturday, they decided to go see their daughter Maddie in Baltimore and catch Orioles/ Nationals game.  Jason Werth is Judy’s favorite baseball player and is now a Washington National.  Judy was not happy with the Phillies for not signing Werth.  I haven’t seen her that upset since the time I had worms. 

            While they were gone, they put me in the care of our neighbors Mike and Sarah.  They’re nice people,  Mike is a really great guy with beautiful blue eyes, a warm smile and fantastic sense of humor, he works hard ..…(focus……)  and always has something planned for me. First, we had lunch. They had a yard sale and their son, Owen, was selling hot dogs.  He’s a good kid so I bought one. 

After lunch Mike decided to show me how to play golf.

Obviously I don’t have thumbs and cant grip the club.  But he was so excited I just couldn’t tell him.

After golf Sarah was scared I would run away.  Apparently she has never had a dog before.  So she asked  Mike to read me a book.  I was hoping he would read Clifford, or Snoopy or maybe even some Marmaduke.  Nope, he reads me “A Man, A Can, and A Grill.”  God Bless him, he tries……

After story time I was feeling like a nap.  Owen was hoping I could play Shoots and Ladders,  but I haven’t been this tired since Judy decided to hike to Lancaster and back, mow the grass, then take me for a bike ride at Middlecreek.  So Mike took me back to my place and I relaxed until dinner.  All in all it was a good day.  I was really glad to see my family that night.  It would have been great if they bought me a souvinir or two from the game, but the time they spend with me is just as special.  
 
Elsie (guest blogger)

Hotdogs & Lemonade

Finally, a beautiful, blue skied, warm day.  What a relief from the past ten days!  If you live in our neighborhood (or surrounding area) you would have had the privledge of hearing Owen shouting into a microphone at 6:30 this morning "Hotdoooogs & lemonade!" 

 

We had a pretty successful yard sale today.

Listening to Owen tell people to stop by our "lard sale" (in the microphone) was just as funny as the deep voice he used to sell his hotdogs and lemonade.  I was thinking about it and for some reason he has no problem saying the word "yes", but when it comes to words like "yellow" or "yard" he puts an -l at the beginning rather than a -y.  Hmm?  It's pretty funny for now. 

Part of the proceeds from our lemonade and hotdog sale went to Relay for Life which is taking place in our town this weekend.  Our family members, friends, and neighbors were all so kind to stop and be customers at Owen's stand.

 

We sold a lot, but still have junk leftover that we now have to bag, box, and take to Goodwill.  That's the part that stinks with yard sales. 

I was proud of myself for getting rid of baby clothes and some baby gear.  Some of the baby things still sit in our attic because I just didn't have the heart to get rid of it... yet.  Last night as I was going through the baby clothes, pulling out the sentimental things, like the outfits both my boys wore home from the hospital, and their baptism outfits, I got a big lump in my throat realizing we are most likely DONE with kids. 

Then, just so I didn't have a complete anxiety attack, I convinced myself that if I sell the baby clothes and things now, I will end up having another baby, but if I keep it all stored in my attic, I will surely never have another baby.  That's how it works, right?  For now I am perfectly content with two, but I just can't predict how I will feel a few years from now.  I know Mike is hoping I feel the same way I do now.  Complete.

 

Well, I am going to enjoy the last few minutes of naptime.  Both boys are sound asleep for the moment and lately that's a rare occasion.  I guess yardsaling tuckered them out!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

I didn't mind the rainy weather we had at the beginning of the week, but now that we are at the end of the week and it is STILL raining, I am completely sick of it.  It's getting depressing.  Last night we were all asleep by 8pm.  Part of that is probably because we no longer have a TV in our bedroom.  We took it out and last night I confessed to Mike that, as ashamed as I am to admit it, I miss the TV.  I'm not a big TV watcher, but if I am really tired, I enjoy watching it before bed.  I'm not one of those people that will fall asleep on the couch.  I hate waking up and having to go up the steps to bed.  Well I guess I will just have to get used to it.  I do find it's easier to fall asleep without watching TV beforehand.  Tonight, at 6:00pm, Owen told me he was sleepy and ready for bed.  Both boys were in bed by 6:20pm.  It's 7:24pm right now.  Mike and I agreed we could both go to bed, but we are going to try to stay up till 8pm.  ha!

Thank goodness for our front porch.  We've been spending lots of time out here.

Building forts.

These pictures make me laugh.  I didn't try it, but in every picture Mike is yawning.  See?  Proof that we are a very sleepy family in desperate need of some sunshine and warmer weather. 

Reading.

Playing games.

Tonight we had family game night.  Adam made it a little tricky since he likes to destroy things, especially if it makes his brother mad.  Mike finally took Adam down in the basement to play so Owen and I could play Shoots & Ladders in peace.  That game is torture.  It took us 35 mintues to finish.  Just when I thought one of us would finally win and the game would be over, someone would have to go down a stinkin slide!

Pretending to play a DS.

Owen takes this little farm animal fridge toy and sits on the couch and pretends it is a DS.  I have no idea what a DS is, but I know it is some sort of electronic device that Owen sees the older kids playing at daycare.  Owen said he is going to ask Santa for one for Christmas, but I highly doubt Santa will bring him one and if he does bring him one, he probably won't be taking it along to daycare.  Sorry buddy!  For now, it's funny to watch him as he is simply content "pretending" he has a DS and playing Mario Brothers.

Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, I am taking the boys to the zoo.  Pray for nice weather!

Adam is 15 Months Old!

Dear Adam,

Last week you turned 15 months old.  You are a big guy with an even bigger personality.  We think you are very cute and very funny.  Despite only saying a few words, you are always making us laugh with the silly things you do.  You have totally figured out your brother and know just what to do to make him mad.

Here are some things you are doing at 15 months old:
-  You weigh 25 pounds and are 32 1/4 inches long.  75th percentile for height and 60th percentile for weight.
-  You say lots of words like dada, please, eat, help, car, mama, shhhh, uh oh, all done, and peek-a-boo.  You can make some animal noises too like a cow, dog, and pig.  You sign help, drink, eat, please, and more and we don't know what we'd do if you did not know those signs.  They have helped you communicate so much!  You have started to say the words while you sign them and can sign two words together like "help please".
-  You've started blowing kisses and it's the sweetest thing.

-  You have a big appetite and sometimes you eat more than your brother!  Your favorite foods are watermelon, broccoli, noodles, yogurt, icecream, french fries, chicken, pizza, goldfish, cheerios, and baby food prunes, and spinach & potatoes.
-  You had peanut butter for the first time today and you were fine.  No allergy!
-  Weaning you from bottles has not been all that easy.  You are down to two bottles a day.  A small one before your nap and a big one before you go to bed at night.  Dr. S said it is not a big deal to still be giving you a bottle before bed and we plan to keep doing it until you no longer want it.  Daddy and I love holding and rocking you while we give you a bottle.  We brush your teeth afterwards and you enjoy that a lot too.

-  You are doing a  little better wearing your glasses, but still not that great.  We'll keep working on it.
-  You love playing outside.  You enjoy riding your tricycle and racing your brother, playing in the sandbox, and swinging.  It's amazing to watch you dribble a ball around the yard, something I'm sure you learned by watching your big brother and daddy.

-  You don't like when I leave you to go anywhere and you usually cry for a few seconds, but then you get over it.  Even if I am only gone half an hour you are so happy to see me when I get home. 
-  You like to sing and dance.
-  You are full of joy.  You love smiling, waving, and "talking" to anyone that will give you attention.

You are our little sunshine and we love you to pieces!

Simplify.

About a month ago, we decided to start simplifying our life a little bit.  As a result, our evenings are more enjoyable and laid back as opposed to hectic and rushed.  Mike had the opportunity to join a group of friends in starting up a business and he was super excited about it until he realized the time he would have to spend away from the boys (and me) in order to make it successful.  We both agreed that any amount of money (large or small) can not replace spending quality time together as a family especially while our boys are so small. 

We've been going through all our "stuff" and gathering things we don't need/use anymore for our neighborhood yard sale next weekend.  It's refreshing to get rid of things that are just collecting dust and taking up space.

The boys are finished with soccer and swimming and while we could have signed Owen up for another soccer season we decided against it.  He really misses soccer and can't wait to play again in the fall, but I am glad we are taking a break.  Mike also stopped his Krav Maga class that he was going to twice a week.  He would get home from work at 5:30 and have to leave by 6:30.  It drove me nuts, but I knew how much he loved it so we made it work and I tried very hard not to complain too much.  His shoulder has been bothering him a lot and he's going to get an MRI this week.  While I really enjoy having him home in the evenings, I know he misses it.  I also stopped going to Zumba twice a week.  Now that the weather is nice, I can get just as good a workout running on the trail once Adam is in bed.

We've also started getting more books from the library and reading in the evenings rather than watching TV.  It is so relaxing to sit on the porch and read.  We will probably get rid of all our channels and just keep basic cable since we don't watch much TV when it is nice outside.  Fine with me!  Today we talked about getting rid of the TV in our bedroom.  I think I'd be fine with that too, but we'll see:)

Mike was supposed to go upstate with a group of friends this weekend.  He was going to leave Thursday night and come home Sunday.  After being away the weekend before for just one night and getting the 5th degree from Owen, he decided to stay home.  He spent all day Friday helping his mom with yardwork as part of her mother's day gift.  Friday, Adam has his 15 month check up.  I will write more about that in another post.  Friday afternoon and evening we spent playing outside and going for a walk.

Since Owen took a nap on Friday we had movie night once Adam was in bed.  We watched "Cars" (Owen's new favorite movie).

Saturday morning Owen went to play at his buddy, Max's house.  It was Max's birthday so his parents got donuts for the boys and then they played.  Owen had a great time and was fine with us dropping him off even though he'd never been to Max's house before.  Then, Mike took him to his good buddy, Aiden's, birthday party.  Things didn't go as well as they did at Max's house, even though he's been to Paramount a ton of times and knew all the kids there.  Owen has been having a lot of anxiety when he is in a large group and there is an organized game or activity.  It's sad and frustrating, but we are working through it.

At this rate, I won't have to worry about him partying too much in college, that's for sure!  Thank goodness Mike was with him (rather than me).  He seems to have more patience in dealing with his meltdowns than I do lately.  In fact, the two of them have become almost inseparable.

I think it used to bother Mike a bit that anytime Owen was sad, hurt, scared, or tired he wanted me.  I was his #1 and as much as daddy tried, Owen always wanted me.  Well, now the tables have turned and Owen is daddy's best little buddy.  They do everything together.  When  Mike is gone, Owen misses him terribly, where as before, it didn't bother him when daddy was away.  He's even been more affectionate with Mike lately.

This weekend he didn't want me to give him any kisses, but had no problem with daddy's kisses.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mike and Owen.

He still will ask me to snuggle with him when he wakes up sometimes, but once he doesn't want to do that anymore, I will be one sad mama!

 Adam was up in the middle of the night last night.  He kept crying and usually if he wakes up and cries it is for a few seconds and then he falls back to sleep.  Not last night!  When I finally went in, I felt him and he was soaked from head to toe in pee.  Poor guy!  He was so cold.  Mike got up and made him a bottle.  As much as I didn't enjoy being woken up in the middle of the night and taking two hours to fall back to sleep, I absolutely loved giving him a bottle and having him fall asleep on me.  He hasn't done that in a while and I know it won't happen too much more, so I was soaking it all in. 

Adam was up bright and early at his usual time of 6am.  Mike let me sleep in while he took him downstairs (just another reason he should probably be in the running for the dad/husband/son of the year award).  We used to be able to let him play in his crib until we could get enough energy to get up, but lately he has been so loud.  He stands up and shouts over and over until we come get him.  We don't want him to wake up Owen so we go get him a lot faster than we used to.  Guess he figured us out!  He will throw his nunner, blanket, and bunny out of his crib one by one and yell "Uh oh, dada, uh oh" over and over.  He's a little stinker.  He totally knows how to push his brother's buttons too.  Owen gets all upset every time he loses his Lightning McQueen car (which is about 10 times a day).  Now, Adam has started taking the car when Owen is not looking and hiding it!  It was missing all day yesterday and we finally found it in the sippy cup drawer.  This morning he took it twice and hid it.

This morning we all went to church.  Adam did pretty well in the nursery.  After church and lunch, Owen and Mike went searching for "wocks" to build a rock wall.

Owen wore his camping hat and took his binoculars.  Right now, instead of napping, he's outside helping daddy and Papa with the wocks.

I hope your weekend wocked as much as ours did!

Lard Work

I used to worry that Owen was going to be one of those kids that did not like to get his hands dirty.

When I picture little boys, I picture dirt loving, grass stained, sweaty little bodies, but when Owen was little he hated to get dirty.  Anytime he fell he would try to get up without touching the grass and he'd fuss until we helped him.  He also hated getting sandy which made playing in sand boxes and going to the beach tricky.  I remember really wanting him to go all out and get super messy while he ate his first birthday cake.  He was scared of getting messy and when I put his hand in his cake he cried.

Well, he's come a long way.  In fact, today I watched from the window while he played outside in daddy's dirt/compost pile for at least an hour.

Then, I snuck outside to get some pictures of my boy enjoying dirt.

When he finally caught me watching him he told me he was looking for a treasure.  "A little, little, little blue ball."

Then, he told me he was doing "lard" work.  I think the REAL reason he was spending so much time sitting and sifting through the dirt may have had something to do with a cute, little fifth grade girl that lives in the house behind ours :)

 

Yesterday, as I was changing the sheets on his top bunk, I came across a pile, yes a pile, of sand.  Then I remembered he was making snow angels in the sand volleyball court at the park before we came home for naps on Monday.  It made me laugh and happy that my boy now enjoys getting down and dirty.

 

Speaking of lards, I mean yards...  Here are some up close pictures of flowers from our yard that I took the other day.

Bleeding Hearts

Gerbera Daisy

Rhododendron

Skip Laurel

Rhododendron

A pine tree that gets pretty pink cones (I forget the name, I have to ask Mike)

Wordless Wednesday

Mother's Day

We had a nice weekend.  The weather was perfect and although Mike was away Saturday to Sunday afternoon, the boys took it easy on me :) 

Love his little, chubby hand

We spent lots of time on our front porch and outside.  We went to the playground both mornings.  I know I've said it before, but I LOVE where we live.  I love our cute, little neighborhood, with mostly cute, little houses and the best part is the big, fun playground within walking distance.

Owen did his best to make sure I had a nice mother's day.  Every time we went for a walk and he passed a Dandelion, he would pick it for me "for mother's day".  This morning he told me I should put the flower in my hair like a princess.  So I did.  He also let me use his Thomas pillow all week "for mother's day".  Yesterday, he whispered something super sweet in my ear.  He even told me I could pick out his outfit today and he would wear whatever I chose.  How funny!  Adam gave me lots of snuggles, hugs, and kisses, but he usually does that everyday.  I feel so blessed to have two beautiful, healthy boys this mother's day and a mom that lives right down the road and is so helpful with our boys.

Owen has not been cooperative about me taking his picture lately so I tell him that Buzz Lightyear is in my lens and he looks really hard for him and then gets annoyed at me and tells me I was not being honest.   

Mike took a group of kids camping and Owen missed him terribly.  He asked me if he could call him a couple times and each time he would tell Mike how much he missed him and ask him to please come home.  I think my mama's boy is turning into a daddy's boy and I know that makes Mike very happy :)

Our neighbor went hiking and brought back a container of tadpole eggs for Owen.  I had never seen anything quite like it before!

We put them in Aunt Judy and Uncle Boo's pond and we'll keep checking for the tadpoles to hatch.

Aunt Maddie giving Owen a piggy-back ride over to her house

I also ordered some caterpillar larvae so we can learn about the life cycle of a butterfly too!  I can't wait!!