A week of yummy Pinterest meals!

This week, my first full week back at work and first week with Evan on formula, I decided to make life even more difficult by trying some new recipes.  Aside from the work load of preparing the chili on Sunday, I have to say I was impressed with how little time these all took and how delicious they all were!  And luckily, I was able to freeze two more portions of the chili for another cold winter evening.

Without further ado...

Sunday we woke up to a light dusting of snow on the ground and I thought, what better day than today to make a huge pot of chili.  So, I tried this recipe for Chili (Wendy's Style) from Pinterest and it was a huge hit in our house!

The chopping of the vegetables took the most time, but once it was on the stove, I let it simmer for 6 hours until the whole house smelled amazing and we couldn't wait any longer to devour it.

Here's the recipe:
Chili {Wendy's Style} Ingredients:

• 4.5 pounds ground beef, browned and drained
• 2 large yellow (sweet) onions, chopped
• 7 large green bell peppers, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic (I use jarred)
• 2 cans Ranch Style Beans, NOT drained (15 ounce cans)
• 2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained (15 ounce cans)
• 2 cans Original Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chili (10 ounce cans)
• 2 cans stewed tomatoes (15 ounce cans)
• 4 cans plain tomato sauce (15 ounce cans)
• 2 packages McCormick Mild Chili Seasoning (1.25 ounce packages)

Chili {Wendy's Style} Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot.*
2. Simmer for at least three hours (I let mine cook all day long).
3. Enjoy!

Monday, I knew I wanted to do a crockpot meal since Scott had a meeting after school and I would be on my own with both kids until it was time to sit down and eat.  So, I chose Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken since it was a very easy recipe and was dairy free.

The key was to use frozen chicken breasts instead of defrosted ones.  The chicken was perfect - not dried out at all like some of my experiences have been with chicken in a crockpot!  I served it with Trader Joe's frozen brown rice and some snap peas and we were good to go!

Here's the recipe:
Slow Cooker Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken
Ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda
2-3 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons water
Rice or noodles, cooked
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken (I used frozen chicken, thawed chicken works great too) inside slow cooker. Mix together brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper together. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. Take chicken pieces out of slow cooker (mine basically fell apart) and pour remaining sauce into saucepan. Place saucepan over high heat. Mix together corn starch and water, pour into saucepan, and mix well. Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze. Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two (it will continue to thicken as it cools down).
Serve chicken over rice or noodles and top with glaze. Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top if desired.


Lastly, today with Evan's pediatrician appointment for me after work and Scott needing to run to CVS for a few items, we came home and made a new breakfast for dinner recipe.  Crescent roll breakfast sandwiches.  We already had all the ingredients so we served it up with some hashbrowns and applesauce (totally random addition, but hey it's fruit!). 

Quick, easy, and delicious!

Here's the recipe:

1 can Pillsbury Crescent rolls
4 eggs, scrambled
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 strips of bacon, cooked
1 egg, beaten
Black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll dough on work surface; separate into triangles.
2. Top each triangle with bacon, scrambled egg and cheese. Roll up loosely as directed on can. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; curve into crescent shape. Brush with beaten egg; sprinkle with pepper.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Tomorrow I plan to make chicken fajitas in the oven.  Yes, I said in the oven.  Another Pinterest find that I'm hoping turns out great.  And with that...3 more weeks until Christmas break!  

Finding our new "normal"

It's with a heavy heart that today marked the day that I switched Evan to a hypo-allergenic formula and nursed him for the last time at 5:15am.  It certainly wasn't an easy decision to make.  In fact, it's been one that I've been dwelling on for the past 9 weeks when he was diagnosed with a Milk Protein Intolerance.  Knowing that I had to eliminate all dairy and hidden dairy, I forged ahead with nursing and gave it my best shot.  It's proven to be one of the most challenging sacrifices I've made.  From reading labels to checking for blood in his stool, it's been a long 9 weeks of really high highs and really low lows.

Every single day I questioned whether he really had MPI or whether it was reflux or some other gastrointestinal problem.  Because nothing is a sure thing with a diagnosis like this, it was a guessing game from day one when I brought his soiled diaper to the pediatrician.  I couldn't stop analyzing every detail of this situation and couldn't live with the fact that I had to indefinitely give up a major food group in the hopes that it would really improve his demeanor and his health. 

After four weeks of eliminating dairy during some of the hardest weeks it could have happened (my mom's birthday, my birthday, Sean's birthday, and Halloween), Evan's diaper finally tested negative for blood.  The pediatrician was convinced that my elimination diet was working and that I should continue.  However, I wasn't entirely convinced.  I would continue to see green stool that was either watery or mucousy.  Even though it didn't have blood, I still knew something wasn't right.  But, I kept trucking along.

With Thanksgiving approaching, I decided that I needed to make a decision one way or the other.  I was either going to keep breastfeeding and stop whining about his diagnosis and my new diet or I was going to give up on my goal of nursing him for a year like I did with Sean and switch to a very expensive formula.  I chose to eat what I wanted to at Thanksgiving dinner and the following day Evan already had diarrhea and broke out in rashes of eczema over his body.  Sunday morning, I broke down and realized that I couldn't continue like this.  Even without me cheating on Thanksgiving, he wasn't 100% well and with me being back to work full time I knew that something had to give.  The stress and pressure of watching every single thing I ate in fear of it upsetting Evan for 3-4 days was enough.

I had to weigh the options.  Would breastfeeding be better for him or would a formula that would meet his needs of his MPI be better?  And so, the decision was made to switch to the formula.  It would be what was best for everyone in our little family, but mostly for Evan.

I sent 3 bottles of formula and 3 bottles of pumped milk to daycare today in case he didn't take the formula.  But, rest assured, I received a phone call from his lead teacher at 10:30am telling me he took the bottle like a champ.  And the rest of the day he went with the flow and ate the formula, both at daycare and at home.  While bedtime was a little different for both Evan and I, he was still down by 8:30pm.  We're just treading water here as we find our new normal.  While I've cried a few times today already about this and still feel guilty every time I allow myself to think about it, I look forward to the rest of his first year knowing that I did this for him so that he would feel better.  No looking back now...

And with that, I'm off to devour my piece of birthday cake I froze for this very moment when I was no longer dairy free.  I had just hoped that it had been on his first birthday...

Some Pre-Thanksgiving Perspective...

It's the night before Thanksgiving and I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside thinking of all the wonderful people in my life that I have to be thankful for.  And all it took was one episode of Parenthood on the DVR, some 40 minutes to myself for me to kick the funky mood I had been carrying around all day to the curb.  When you're sleep deprived for almost 12 weeks straight it's very easy to fall into the mentality that "the sky is falling" in regards to everything in your life. 

I mean, come on.  I was so rudely awoken four times from the time I went to bed until the time I decided to get up this morning by my almost 3 month old.  Scott should have seen my meltdown this morning coming from a mile away.  But, it took me slamming a few cupboards and having short answers to all his questions to make my point.  I'm so beyond tired there needs to be a new word for it.  Something needs to give.

I then decided I would turn this day around and we would take the family to the Hands on Museum so we could spend some quality time together.  I'm not sure why I didn't take into account how tired I was before I toted around a wee one in the baby bjorn for a few hours and tried to get him to nap when it seemed like every toy or exhibit there made some sort of noise.  And in case it wasn't difficult enough, we were bombarded by an unattended preschooler who decided to bully Sean and take away every truck or car that Sean played with for close to 15 minutes.  I was surprised that Sean made it 15 minutes of that torture before he bit the kid.  At least the parent wasn't around for us to have to make amends with.

Finally, we thought it would be a nice evening to invite Scott's sister and her kids over to play in the backyard with a bonfire since it was so mild.  I would have loved to enjoy it as well, but Evan decided to have a poopsplosion out of his diaper, down his leg, and onto the carpet in our living room and he capped it off with crying for the rest of the evening.  I'm sure by my tone you can guess who had to deal with that.

But, as my sister-in-law and nieces went home and Scott put Sean to bed, I was able to put my feet up, nurse Evan to sleep, and catch up on Parenthood.  And within the time it took to watch that emotional show, I had some pre-Thanksgiving perspective slap me right across the face.  Everything we are going through right now with our growing and changing family is "just a phase", as my mom would say. It feels like it's never ending when you're living it every day, but I know 5 years from now we'll look back and think that my sleepless nights and Sean biting were nothing in the grand scheme of things.  I've been complaining a lot lately about how tired I am, how much I hate not being able to eat what I want, how I wish Evan would sleep, etc. etc.  Tonight, I just want to take a deep breath and reboot.  So, with Thanksgiving tomorrow, here's what I'm thankful for about the people I've been complaining most about:

I am thankful for Scott.  He may be so lucky to get to sleep through each night since Evan was born thanks to me breastfeeding, but he's an amazing Dad to our boys and continues to amaze me every day with how cute it is to watch Sean and Scott play together.  More importantly, even though Scott isn't always the most romantic guy out there nor does he always know the right things to say when I need to hear them, but he can always make me laugh.  Like when out of nowhere we thought it would be fun to have a banana throwing fight in the garage today when we got home from the museum.  Hiding behind car doors and all. 

I am thankful for Sean.  Sometimes I tend to dwell on things he does that frustrate me, often times forgetting that he is only 2 years old.  But all that aside, he truly is such a smart, caring, loving, energetic, and funny little guy.  He is such a chatterbox and I love listening to him because every day he shocks me with new sentences and funny expressions.  He just seems to be absorbing everything around him and is so fascinated with life.  Oh my gosh, words can not express how much joy he brings to our lives and how much I love him for exactly who he is, biter and all.

I am thankful for Evan.  I truly believe it when they say that no two babies are alike.  He is so different from Sean, and though sometimes that can be challenging like keeping me up all night and causing me to have to eliminate dairy in my diet, I love learning who he is as a person.  He is so snuggly and loving with a passionate personality that knows exactly what he wants and doesn't want.  He is observant and serious, but has a smile that melts my heart.  I look forward to each month over the next year watching him grow and learn.  I love him so much already and wouldn't make the sacrifices I have if it weren't for how much he means to me and how much I want to do for him.

After this lengthy rant, in conclusion, it's amazing what a little time to myself spent relaxing and watching a great show can do.  I guess at the end of the day, despite some of the setbacks we had today, I had a wonderfully exhausting day with my family.  It's all about the right perspective on things...

Gobble gobble!

With one week to go until Thanksgiving and my last week home on maternity leave, I had both boys do a turkey footprint to get in the spirit!

It was easy and lots of fun!

What you need:
- 6-7 different scrapbook pages or construction paper to make feathers.
- Brown paint.
- 2 sets of eyes.
- Crayons to make the turkey feet, nose, and gizzard.

And ouila!  You have a turkey footprint with scrapbook feathers!

And since we were in the mood for Thanksgiving, we decided to have a "breakfast for dinner" night last night and made some Pumpkin Spice Pancakes!  These were a great idea since I'm still dairy-free.  With some scrambled eggs and sausage patties to go with them, they were delicious!

Here's what I did:

I took my box of Hungry Jack Wheat Blends Pancake Mix (which is dairy free by the way!) and followed the directions on the box for 2 cups of pancake mix and 1 1/2 cups of water.

I added the following:
- 3/4 cup of canned pumpkin (Libby's of course!)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Mixed it all together, put them on my griddle with some canola oil spray, and sprinkled the top with maple syrup and chopped pecans.  Yum!

One week until Turkey Day!  Gobble gobble!

It's a Poopsplosion!

Yes, that's an actual word in my world.  You would understand if you witnessed what went down today.

This was no normal diaper leak.  

I feel like you can always tell by the sound of the eruption that comes out of their tiny body that it's going to be a disaster.  So, you rush them to get changed hoping that the sooner you caught it, the less likely it would get all over their clothes.

And you're always wrong.  It's already on their clothes.

When it goes up the back it's the worst.  You ask yourself, "How do I get the onesie off without smearing poop over the back of their neck/head?" or "Should I just cut the darn thing off?"

It's a stressful few moments as you make your game plan.

Fast forward to this afternoon.

Since I was changing him on the first floor and realized he would need a new onesie and sleeper, I cleaned him up as best I could and decided to make a run for it upstairs with him in tow without a diaper and his clothes hanging off him.

Big mistake.

The kid has only peed on me once during a diaper change so I thought my chances were good that I could be successful with this mission.

Instead, I heard another minor explosion and realized he pooped while I was walking to the stairs.

Now, instead of just changing his clothes upstairs, I needed to rinse him off in the bathtub because he has poop running down his leg and foot.  Not to mention it's running down the front of my jeans and made it on to the hard wood floor and kitchen floor.

I quickly ran some warm water in the bathtub, rinsed him off while holding him with his clothes still hanging off of him, dried him off, slapped on a new diaper and outfit, ran into my room to change my clothes, and prayed that while I was upstairs Bailey didn't encounter the special treat on the floor.  Who knows what she would do...

Luckily, she was still snoozing in her bed.  So, I threw Evan in his bouncer for a minute, grabbed a few Clorox wipes and wiped down the hazard zone as best I could.  That'll do for now...until Scott gets home and I can mop.

This whole process took 20 minutes and I now have laundry to hand wash the poop out of.

I can't be mad though.  Poor Evan had his 2 month vaccinations today.  3 shots and one oral vaccine.  All you can do on a day like this is laugh it off....and blog about it knowing that every mom and dad out there has had a moment like this, if not many moments.  :)

2012 Christmas Wish List

With the holidays quickly approaching, I've spent a portion of my maternity leave coming up with gifts for Sean and Evan from both us and from Santa.  Considering Sean had a birthday in October and was spoiled rotten by all (thanks everyone!) and Evan doesn't need anything, I've tried to come up with some things that are either homemade, take up less space, or are less expensive this year.

For Sean:

I'm going to make a bunch of games I saw on Pinterest that help with his letters, numbers, and words.

1.  I started with "Parking Lot ABC's".  $1 for the poster board.

I basically took a white poster board and markers and made parking spots around the board.  Instead of words like the blogger used in the picture above, I used all the letters in the alphabet spread at random.  I'm going to include a few Hot Wheel Cars with the poster board for him.

2.  Magnetic numbers fishing!  $14 for magnetic foam number set.

I bought some magnetic numbers on Amazon and will make a fishing pole out of a dowel rod, a string, and a paper clip like shown above.  It can start out simple with him telling me which number he pulled, then we can add things on like fishing for two numbers to learn his higher numbers.

3.  Memory Cards made out of pictures of cars, trucks, airplanes, etc.  FREE.

I'll simply cut the pictures in half, laminate them, and store them in an empty wipes container for him to get out when he wants.

4.  Fish in the sea counting game!  $3 for a package of Goldfish.

I used two empty egg cartons, painted them blue, added some scrapbook stickers of fish, and numbered one set 1-10 (leaving two blank to store his goldfish in) and 10-20 (leaving 1 blank for fish storage).  I'm going to include a package of goldfish with this gift!

5.  I figured that was enough games to last us through the winter, so the "big gift" from Santa this year is going to be his very own table he can play on for his cars!  He loves to slam his cars on our end tables and I'm reaching my limit with all the scratches and nicks it causes, so I bought a cheap black end table at Ikea for $9.99 and will have Scott help me build a garage with parking spaces, small pond, roads, and gas station on the table.  It's going to look similar to this table here, but much smaller! $10 for the table + whatever it costs to make the add-ons.

6.  Lastly, I'm going to get him a "car wallet" from Etsy so he can store some Hot Wheels and we can take them as we go.  Usually, we have them all over the car, in my diaper bag, all over the house, etc.  But, I'm hoping the wallet can be an easy thing for him to grab and feel as if he's got something he's responsible for bringing places like his blankey. $16

For his stocking we are going to give him another wooden stamp set by Melissa and Doug, a wooden lace up toy that helps teach him to feed shoe lace through holes by Melissa and Doug, and a Disney Car's activity set that comes with a coloring book, crayons, stickers, etc.  We'll probably throw in a few other things like Annie's cheddar bunnies, applesauce pouches, and other stickers.  And he's done!  We'll have spent less than $75 and he's got some cool stuff!

Now for Evan...

1.  A fuzzy fleece blanket that he can use eventually at daycare when he gets a bit older.  Sean had one from Carter's with blue elephants on one side and green fleece on the other and he loves it.  Still uses it every day at school to cover him up during nap time.  So, we'll get Evan one too. $22

2.  A Large Utility Tote from the company Thirty-One personalized with his name so he can have a nice bag for overnights to a Grandparent's house or trips up north over the summer.  Again, Sean has one with brown and white polka dots that we have used so many times and it's always been the perfect size to fit everything he needs.  We chose a black one this time with his name in a royal blue thread.  $42 with personalization.

Those are really the only gifts we're giving him.  In his stocking we will probably include a few small toys or teethers and maybe a few baby food products or accessories like bibs since he'll be 4 months old right after Christmas and we'll probably introduce a few solids.  I made all of Sean's baby food when he was a baby and plan on making the majority of Evan's too.  Again, we're spending less than $75 on Evan as well.  He will only have two items, but I don't think he'll mind.  :)

And that's our plan for Christmas this year...

Oh boy!

Evan's shirt says it best....Oh boy is he cute!!

Look at those baby blues!

Only 7 more week days that I have home on leave with this adorable baby boy and then I'm back to work.  I can't imagine leaving him at daycare.  The second time around isn't any easier it seems...

God bless baby Evan!

Yesterday, we welcomed baby Evan into the Catholic Church and he became a child of God.  It was an absolutely beautiful ceremony and a nice celebration afterwards at our house with family and friends.

I have to say...it was much more stressful getting things ready this time around with two little ones.  Evan wore Sean's Christening outfit from two years ago and Sean was excited to wear new dress clothes and dress shoes for the occasion.

Sean was in a great mood considering the time change and busy morning.  And Evan was wide awake and calm as can be.

The church was decorated beautifully for fall with pumpkins, gourds, and fall banners.  Our families and Godparents were all there to be a part of this special day.

 We asked Trisha, my best friend since middle school, and Eric, Scott's best friend since high school to be Evan's Godparents.  They've both been such great friends to us over the years and we know that they will always be in our lives.  It was a no-brainer that they would be good role models for Evan and a support system for him.

Evan did great during the ceremony and mass!  He stayed awake from the minute we arrived to the church until we put him in his car seat to head home.  Sean, on the other hand, stayed asleep for his entire baptism, including the part where the holy water was poured over his head!  I had to bounce Evan for 90% of the mass, but it was a small price to pay for a happy baby.

 

 Sean behaved really well considering he's 2 years old sitting through an hour and fifteen minute mass where he had to be relatively quiet.  He threw a small tantrum when Scott and I went up to the altar with Evan to do the ceremony, but the priest welcomed him up with us and all was well again.  I think he was ready for a nap after all of it...

We all went back to our house for lunch, cake and pie.  Of course the Lion's game had to be on, but it was a cozy afternoon with a log on the fireplace, the kids playing in the toy room, and Evan being passed around from family member to family member. 

Sean had a great afternoon with his cousins!  After two months, we were finally able to get a picture of all four of them together!

May God bless you, Evan!

Dia de los Muertos

One of the oldest and most important holidays celebrated in Mexico, Day of the Dead, is a confusing and difficult holiday for Americans to understand.  Dating back to the 16th century, when the Spaniards arrived to the land known as Mexico, the natives were practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death.  With skulls and skeletons as symbols for this holiday, it ended up being a collaboration of how the Spaniards celebrated All Souls Day and how the Aztecs and natives were celebrating the dead.  Since Americans are usually taught to mourn those that have died and have been taught that our ancestors who have passed away is a sad thing, this holiday is very difficult for some Americans.

Mexicans choose to celebrate Day of the Dead over a three day period that happens to coincide with Halloween.  A lot of Americans think that Day of the Dead is Mexico's Halloween, but it's very different.  Mexicans believe that on All Souls Day, November 1st, and Day of the Dead, November 2nd, their loved ones will come down to visit.  So, they create an altar as an offering to their loved one that welcomes them with their favorite foods, drinks, incense, flowers, bread, and adornments like skulls and skeletons.  If you notice, all the skulls and skeleton figures are smiling because these days are meant bring happiness.

Families will clean their homes and the grave sites of their loved ones who have passed away on October 31st.  This day is thought of a day of preparation.  They will also go into town to the market to purchase things needed for the altar such as copal, cempasuchil, pan de muerto, chapulines, and other things.  On November 1st, All Souls Day, Mexicans celebrate any children who have died by sitting at the grave site and telling stories, walking in parades, dressing up as skeletons and skulls, and spending time with family.  Lastly, on November 2nd, the entire day and evening is meant to be a celebration of other loved ones who have passed.  It's another day to spend with family at the grave site or by where they set up their altar.

Every year, for my Spanish 3 class, I have been lucky to take my class on a field trip to Mexican Town in Detroit to see the Day of the Dead displays at various shops, restaurants, and a church.  This year, even though I was on maternity leave with Evan, I was still able to go (thanks to my parents who watched Evan).  We went to St. Anne's Catholic Church, which always has a beautiful altar set up for different loved ones each year.

 

From there, we take the students to some authentic Mexican shops, a Tortilla factory and a welcome center for them to see products sold for Day of the Dead like sugar skulls, papel picado, and authentic altars.  

 Lastly, we end the trip with my favorite part: lunch buffet at Los Galanes restaurant and a trip to La Gloria bakery across the street!  I was shocked that I could even find a few things to eat with no dairy - like crispy beef tacos, chicken taquitos, chips, and salsa, rice and a churro!  Yum!

It's taken years of studying Spanish and teaching it to finally have a true appreciation for the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead.  While they are not being disrespectful or distasteful to the dead, they are choosing to celebrate the life and memories they had with those that were in their life.  Yesterday, on November 2nd, while in Mexican Town with my students, I couldn't help but think of the wonderful memories I have of my Grandpa Frank and my Nanny Bonnie.  Rest in peace.