Family Reunion

Hold on to your hats! Here are A LOT of pictures.

Dinner was good! Enchilda Bake

Thanks to this site we had a yummy dinner tonight. Even Tornado loved it.

Enchilada Bake

1 can (19oz) mild enchilada sauce, divided
1 can (15.25oz) corn, drained
1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed
1 lb. shredded cooked chicken
2 tbsp cilantro
12 corn tortillas, divided (I used flour tortillas)
1 ¼ C shredded Monterey jack cheese, divided (I used sharp cheddar)

Heat oven to 350. In bowl, combine ½ can of encilada sauce, the corn, black beans, chicken, and cilantro. Lay out tortillas and put filling in tortillas. Add cheese and roll up. Put in 9x13 dish, cover with remaining enchilada sauce. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes more.

Small Girl!

Bubbles had her 6 mo. check up today and I found out what I already knew. She is a long, skinny girl. She weighs 13 lbs, 3 oz. (15% percentile) and is 26 3/4 inches long (90%). The doctor says she is doing well. He was surprised that she already had two teeth and is almost crawling. He showed me that she is a lot closer to sitting on her own than I thought and said that she is a doer and isn't going to be content just sitting around being a baby. Even though I already knew that, I was hoping to have a few more months (hah!) before I had to chase a baby around the halls of church.

She's a strong baby too. Yesterday she pulled herself out (yes OUT) of her exersaucer and dumped herself on the floor. I couldn't believe it. Neither could her Doctor. I came upstairs (I was putting a video in for Tornado) just in time to see her fall on the floor.

Not so fast...

Okay, so I'm totally procrastinating packing for girls camp and putting together stuff for the skits. So here I sit typing up an update.

Tornado is doing so well with potty training. In fact I think it's complete. He hasn't had an accident in weeks now. He's loving his Disney movies, though I think we need to watch them more sparingly. It took a week to convince him that he was a Prince, not a Princess. Now I am the princess and he is the prince.

Bubbles had her second tooth come in and is probably a week away from crawling. She's getting up on her hands and knees and can scoot all over the room. I don't know where she thinks she's going, but she's in a hurry to get there.

Goin' to Camp this week

see you all when I get back!

I forgot!

While on our trip Bubbles got her first tooth! It popped through Saturday night. Now we are just waiting for the second one to pop through.

This and that...

This weekend we got together with my father's side of the family. I had a great time seeing everyone again. Some of the Cousins and Aunt and uncles I hadn't seen in 10+ years! Bubbles went with me and was such a good girl! I can't tell you how many times I woke her up to stick her in the car and go some where.

As much as I enjoyed my weekend I missed my Tornado and DA. DA works so much and to have him home all weekend and not be here made me a bit sad. Especially since we got a late start that morning and didn't make it home until after 6:00 pm.

But now that I'm back in the real world I need to get busy! My sister is getting married this weekend and then I am going to girls camp next week. I've got so much to do I'm not exactly sure where to start!

Pictures of the kids

I don't have much to say except I've been sick for two weeks now, but I'll spare you the details! So here are pics of the kids.

Bubbles is now 4 1/2 months old. She is getting to be a big girl. She is happy and content.

She LOVES her toes.
Tornado loves to play with his soccer ball. He is a bit confused though because he keeps saying he is playing baseball.

I could have lived without that...

Tonight I heard Bubbles grunting so I looked over at her. I'm thinking "great, another poopy diaper" and then I see it. Bubbles in her bouncy seat sitting in a puddle (yes, puddle) of poop. In her brand new outfit. (I don't think it's ever going to be the same) I picked her up and it was dripping down her legs. YUCK! Tornado never did that and it wasn't something I really felt like I missed out on.

Bubbles is making sure that I don't miss out on anything baby related but I think I need to tell her "Thanks, but no thanks."

Huh.

Tornado just informed me that the dog is eating the playdough. I didn't even know we had a dog....

Ants are the bane of my existance...

They have invaded. AGAIN! I swear they are invading every time I turn around. I kill the ants off but they always come back. I already vaccum my dining room and kitchen 2-3 a week. What else am I supposed to do? I wish I could keep my floor crumb free but I have a three year old. Crumbs are a way of life!

I spoke too soon

Tornado did go stinkies on the potty today and earned his soccer ball, but later peed his pant. -Not even 30 seconds after I asked him if he needed to go. All you moms can imagine what his answer was.

On a different note... I finished The Host (by Stephanie Meyer) today. I loved it! I liked it more than the Twilight series.

The Potty Train....

That what Tornado thinks he's going to ride once he's done potty training! He's fascinated by trains so we are going to take him on one, but I don't think the people at the Heber Creeper would like being called the Potty Train.

It's going really well. We've been potty training for 3 days and haven't had any accidents for two days. We are still struggling with going stinkies in the potty (saves it for his naptime when we put him in a pull-up) but we don't have to remind him to go potty at all. He does it on his own. We've been able to go out to dinner and to stores with no accidents. He must be really good at holding it.

I'm crossing my fingers that this continues. I'm a bit worried about Sunday at nursery though. While we were out Tornado needed to go so I took him to the bathroom. He took one look at the toilet and refused to go, waiting until we were home. I'm not sure how to overcome that one!

Milestones all over the place

Here at Sugar for the Soul we are hitting milestones all over the place!

Tornado is on his 2nd day of potty training (and doing awesome!) and he learned to pedal his bike yesterday too.

Bubbles is rolling over all the time (started yesterday) and is keeping mom busy rolling her back over on to her back.

Mom is learning to sew and about to cut the material on her first project, jammie pants for DA. Cross your fingers for me!

Another Yummy idea.. jazzed up mayo

While reading the latest edition of Kraft Food and Family magazine (gotta give credit where credit is due) there was an article about some herbs you can add to mayo to jazz it up. They suggested dill and basil. I took it one step further and mixed miracle whip (didn't have mayo), fresh green onions (minced), and some dried dill together.

It was SO GOOD! It made my turkey, lettuce and tomato sandwich taste so much better!

Oh so good.... Spiced Citrus Chicken

We've had this twice in the last week because I've liked it so much!

Spiced Citrus Chicken

¼ cup Olive Oil
¼ cup Lime Juice
¼ cup Orange Juice
¼ cup Lemon Juice
1 ½ Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 ½ Tablespoons Paprika
¾ Teaspoon Cayenne
½ Teaspoon Pepper
½ Teaspoon Salt

Reserve a bit of the marinade to baste with and marinate chicken for 5-6 hours. BBQ until done. Enjoy!

Tornado's Prayers

They are sweet and truly from the heart of a little boy. When praying he repeats things after DA or I as we help him learn to pray and usually quickly injects his own items. This week in prayers he has been thankful for peanuts, dirt, shovels, baby sister, nursery, and Grandma and Papa.

Little bit of this.... Little bit of that...

Tornado T and I were cuddling in bed this morning when Bubbles woke up. She was a bit unhappy while I was hurrying to get dressed and visit the bathroom. Tornado T went in to give her a binky and when I got in there I noticed she wasn't crying anymore. Tornado had crawled into the crib and was playing with her until I got there.


This is a blanket my mom made Bubbles. I've been meaning to post a picture of it for a while now. She did such and awesome job!


This was a gift from a friend. It looks so good. Slowly we are decorating Bubble room. It's been pretty sad looking up until now. I guess that is what happens when the room isn't ready for the baby to come home.

What Baby Bubbles thinks about professional pictures...

Tandoori Chicken

I got this recipe out of the newspaper. It was submitted by an Indian restaurant owner. It was really good and easy to make. All ingrediants were easy to find except the Garam Masala. I had to go to a health food store to get that. If you don't have a food processor a blender should work just fine.

Instead of doing skewers, I just cooked the chicken breasts on the bbq.

ROYAL INDIA CHICKEN TANDOORI

2-inch piece ginger
4 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)
1 cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons vinegar
3 pounds chicken skinned thighs and drumstick ( I used chicken breasts)
1 small onion, sliced
1 lemon, cut in wedges

Grind ginger, garlic, paprika, turmeric, garam masala, cayenne pepper, oil and salt in food processor. Mix this paste with the yogurt, lemon juice and vinegar.

Marinate chicken in the above mixture 8-12 hours. Place chicken on long metal skewers. Place the skewers on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Cook in oven at 400 degrees on baking sheet for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook an additional 10 minutes. Serve with sliced onions and lemon wedges.

Serving suggestion: Serve with basmati rice and naan bread.

No you aren't lost.

I've changed things up a bit. I decided one day after another sounded negative (it's a blog! Why am I putting so much thought into this darn thing?) and tried to go with something new. I get bored easily so don't be surprised if I change the name again. If you have any suggestions for a title let me know! As for the kids, DA doesn't want me to put their names on the web and since they are his kids too, I am complying. ;). I was tired of just calling them by their initals so I came up with new names. Tornado T really is a whirlwind of energy and destruction, and we really do call the baby Bubbles. She blows bubbles all day long.

So easy, really yummy.... Oat Bread

Oat Bread

1 C.Oats
2 C. Boiling Water
1/3 C. warm water with 2T yeast (activate yeast)
1/2 C. Honey
1 T salt
2 T melted butter
1½ C. Wheat Flour
3 C. White Flour

In Mixing Bowl add oats and boiling water to soak and soften. While still warm add honey, salt, butter and yeast mixture. Mix together and then add flours continue mixing until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Let rise until double.
Spray 2 loaf pans with Pam and dust with oatmeal.
Put dough in pans lightly drizzle with honey and oatmeal. Let rise until dough reaches the top of pan. Bake in preheated 350* oven for 30-40 min.

So helpful...

T thought baby A needed something to play with so he took care of it for me.

What country should you be living in???

Apparently I shouldn't be living in the west. I should be living in Spain. Take the quiz and find out where you belong!

http://www.youthink.com/quiz.cfm?action=go_detail&sub_action=take&obj_id=1435

Which country should you REALLY be living in? Spain Usted es el español! You have a passion for fine foods and beautiful scenery - as well as feeling a great love for your country and fellow citizens. You wish to remain independant in a world which is hard to stand out, and you are doing it well. Ibravo!

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

T's working hard

and then hardly working. T decided work was a lot more fascinating when watching someone else...

A's blessing day

A's blessing day! She was so good. She didn't cry at all and promptly fell asleep right after she was blessed.

Not a fun week

This morning my teeth hurt, my nose won't stop running, I can't stop coughing, and I haven't had a nap in 3 days. I can't take any cold medicine because I am still nursing and don't want my milk to dry up and I can't suck on any cough drops because they'll stick to my braces.

I'm not a happy camper.

Laugh all you want...

Don't laugh too hard at my awful pictures. But when you are taking photos of yourself this is the best you can get.

My new braces

If you look hard you can see where a tooth used to be. Good times.

I'm glad T won't be driving anytime soon!

Because he's not that great of a driver. You should have seen how many times his driver was thrown from the car or rammed into a tree. Not to mention the fact that both trucks were on fire most of the time he was driving.


And some love from baby A.

Ridiculously Easy... and good... Beef noodle bowl

The only changes I made was to double the sauce and I used pre-cut broccoli and carrot stir-fry veggies. I also used steak that had already been cut into stir-fry strips.

I made this in less that 20 minutes while being pestered unmercifully by my three year old and stopping umpteen times to put a pacifier in the mouth of my screaming 6 week old.

-Oh, and giving credit where credit is due, I got this recipe from K*raft magazine.

Beef Noodle Bowl
1/2 lb. linguine, uncooked
3 cups broccoli florets
3 carrots, peeled, sliced
2 tsp. oil
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
1/4 cup K*RAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
1 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce

COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, adding vegetables to the boiling water for the last 2 min.

MEANWHILE, heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add meat; cook until browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing and teriyaki sauce; cook 2 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

DRAIN pasta mixture; place in large serving bowl. Add meat mixture; toss to coat.

Stupid, stupid dogs and their stupid owners!!

I'll be the first to admit that I am not a dog lover. Other people's dogs are fine as long as they don't lick me, jump on me, or bark all day or night.

Last night I would have had uninterrupted sleep from 11:00 to 4:00 if it weren't for a stupid, damn dog. At 12:30 I am dreaming and this weird sound woke me up. I run down the hall staggering because I thought Audrey is either whimpering really weird or is having trouble breathing or something else catastrophic. She's asleep. As I wake up a bit and make a bathroom stop, I realize that the stupid chihuahua down the street is barking its head off. That's the sound that woke me from a deep, deep sleep.

Who lets their dog bark for 10 minutes at 12:30 in the morning????

Oh, I know. People who tie their dog up on the front porch to bark at every person, child, car, leaf, and bug that goes past the house.

GRRR!

Baby A's first day at Church

She looked so sweet in her dress.

So, so, good! Simple too! Penne Arribiata

This was so easy to make and it tasted so good! We had it for dinner tonight and it was so good. Thanks to MOF Les for sharing it!

Penne Arribiata

1 T. olive oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 onion chopped
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes- increase or decrease to change spiciness
1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
Salt if needed
1 pkg penne (12-16 oz)

Sautee onion and garlic and crushed red pepper in olive oil. When onions are clear/soft add tomatoes- Simmer for 20 minutes. In the meantime cool penne. Drain. Mix with sauce. Top with mozz and parm cheese.

Will winter never end?

It seems like it has been winter for 100 years now. Being stuck home with a new baby to avoid germs isn't helping either. Add to that a three year old who desperately wants to play outside all day every day.

I might go insane!

T's Third Birthday

I realize it looks I posted every picture that I took, but I didn't. Honest.

Pictures from T's 3rd birthday party. Since baby A was only a week old we kept the party small. Really small.

If you think it looks like T had been bawling, you would be right. We had a trauma, a tantrum, and a melt down before our little party. That's what happens when you peek at your presents while Mom is wrapping them! You still have to wait!

The box from Nana and A that T had been dying to open for 2 days.

Baby A, the little party animal.

The most beloved Trash Can Truck and reason for the trauma, tantrum, and melt down.

He loved the candles that kept lighting themselves!

Baby A's birth story is now up on the other blog...

http://addingonemore.blogspot.com/

Our baby girl...

I know most of you probably read my other baby blog but I think once I post her birth story I am going to retire the other blog. I'm pretty sure now that we have Miss A we won't be adding anymore to our family. But.... never say never.

On bedrest.....

http://addingonemore.blogspot.com/

Well that was short lived....

We aren't potty training anymore. Each day it's been getting worse and worse. First he stopped telling us he needed to go (only happened 3-4 times anyway), then he refused to even consider sitting on the potty. Not even the much loved truck he got for sitting on the potty the first time could convince him. He didn't even care that we took it away. So... we are waiting until after the baby is born in February.

I'm kind of disappointed, but kind of relieved too.

It's over...

Christmas that is. We had a great visit with family, but I'm glad that things are returning to normal. I'm to tired to add extra stuff into my day. If I ever get around to downloading pictures I'll post some.

The biggest thing that has happened is T has FINALLY started peeing on the potty. All it took was the promise of a truck. Who knew? We've had a few really good days, but I'm not ready to take away the diapers. Until he tells me he needs to go potty (instead of me just taking him every hour) we are sticking with pull-ups.

So, so tired...

I am so done with this whole Christmas thing. My tree is only half decorated but I can't seem to make myself finish it. Presents are wrapped and under the tree but I have a few I need to mail but I keep forgetting!

My MIL is coming for Christmas and I have a list of stuff I want to clean/organize before she comes, but she just may have to love me anyway inspite of dusty blinds and curtains, and windows that need washing.

I just need the hoopla to be over so I can sit and do nothing. I am out of Dr. Pepper and that seems to be the only way I can get things done.

Baby girl is huge and heavy it seems. And still un-named.

Girl Night Out...

I went out with my sisters and niece tonight and it was so fun! We saw the movie "Enchanted" and I just loved it. I'm glad I didn't see it with DA (like I would have ever been able to get him to go) because I didn't have to listen to the constant mocking of a boy watching a chick flick. I love him, but it's difficult when chick flicks are involved.

Something is wrong with me...

My Christmas shopping is all done and I am planning on wrapping gifts this afternoon.

My saving grace is I am not listening to Christmas music yet, nor have I put up Christmas decorations.