Week 30: Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole!

I ate my words today.

Yes, that's right.  That's my new minivan.  You know?  The one vehicle I said I wouldn't be caught dead in.  I'm now the proud owner of a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country.

Scott is still bug-eyed over what took place a few mere hours ago.  He traded-in his beloved Charger for a minivan.  I never thought I'd see the day.  The Jeep is now his and I'll be cruising around in my mom-mobile.  You really can't deny the many wonderful qualities this has to offer: DVD player, Nav, stow-and-go seats, automatic sliding doors, a back-up camera, and a heated steering wheel to name a few.  A heated steering wheel I tell you!?!?!  How can one resist that?

Okay, I'll calm down.  Because I have other news.

Our deck is finished as of yesterday.  Done!

Clearly, we need some patio furniture, a cover for our grill so we can finally put it outside, and some flowers or potted plants.  But, that's all on the agenda!  We're going to turn that lousy piece of grass in the front into a flower garden since there's steps on both sides of the deck.  I'd also like two potted plants on either ends.  But, just to have a deck is amazing!  Scott and I have sat in those sweet lounge chairs we've had since our Clawson days every night since there were enough boards on the deck to cover the length of the chair.  Now, if only I could find some time to soak up the sun during the day...

Since Scott worked most of last week to get the deck done, I was on kid duty.  No problem, considering we were experiencing fall weather in the middle of the summer.  What better time to take a trip to the botanical garden in Ann Arbor?  Nothing like packing jackets in July.

Saturday, we started with our usual Farmer's Market and muffins followed by a trip to Troy for a Build and Grow Workshop at Lowes that we've been meaning to go to for the past six months!  It was so cute!

Lunch, naps, and finally a trip to the rec center to swim for the rest of the afternoon until we grabbed a carry-out from Leo's for dinner on our way home.  Evan had his first taste of lemon chicken rice soup...not sure he loved it as much as Sean did/does.  They are so different!

Other honorable mentions from the past week would be some of the crafts I got around to making in the evenings.  In case updating Evan's baby book, working on his first birthday party, making 2 birthday slideshows for the boys out of the million pictures I took over the last year, and now planning Sean's birthday party isn't enough to keep me busy in the evening, I got around to making a Pinterest project I've wanted to make since we re-did the boy's bathroom.

I also felt motivated to make some cow letters for Sean's farm theme party we're having at Three Cedars Farm this fall.

$2 wooden letters from Michael's and a black sharpie did wonders.

One of the meals I made this week was new and something I recently pinned on Pinterest.  Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole.  I made this when the boys went to their "one school day" for the week while Scott was working on the deck.  It was a hit with everyone, but Sean.  But, then again, his eating habits have declined significantly the past six months.  He thinks chocolate cookies are an acceptable meal.  Ughh...

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 white onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
1 cup white rice
16 ounces wild rice
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup vegetable broth
4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Garlic salt
Salt & pepper

I love that there's no cream of whatever in this!

And I totally cheated and forgot to take pictures, so I'm using the original photo from the website.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat oil, onion, celery, garlic, and carrots in a pan over medium heat for 10 minutes. Prepare wild rice and white rice according to package instructions.

Stir in chicken, rices, and a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Reduce heat to low.

In a medium pan over high heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour, vegetable broth, and a sprinkle of salt & pepper. Continue to whisk until boiling. Add 2 cups of the shredded cheddar and continue to stir until melted. Transfer chicken and rice mixture to a greased 9×13 baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over rices and top with remaining cheddar. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

This was delicious and will make a great recipe for the fall and winter!  We had tons of leftovers too that tasted just as great the second time around.  I'll definitely be making this again.  Yum!

Okay, I'm off to go program my presets and hide all kinds of things in my stow-and-go compartments.  I finally get to make use of those pins on Pinterest about things you should have in your car for kids now that I have all this space!

There are these boys...

There are these boys who stole my heart.

They call me mom.

Seriously, my heart is melting when I look at these pictures from the Botanical Garden in Ann Arbor the other day.

How did I get so lucky?

Week 29: Greek Yogurt Apple Dip

My quest this past week:  toddler foods and snacks.

That's right.  I'm cooking for two toddlers now.  Since Evan is refusing to be spoon-fed for the most part (except yogurt and fruit purees because that kid could crush those down in a second), I've had to resort to many of the recipes I made Sean when he was a year old, plus some new ones.

Like this one.

Greek yogurt, peanut butter, cinnamon, and honey.  That's it.  Anything that calls for four ingredients that we always have on hand is a must-make in this household.

1 5.3oz container of vanilla greek yogurt
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of cinnamon

Done.  Slice up an apple and enjoy.  Everyone loved it.  Except Evan, of course.  No peanut butter or honey for at least another month or so.

Other things I've been making for the boys this past week include apple turkey loaf, sweet potato fries, zucchini coins, toddler muffins, and broccoli patties.  I also, for the first time, used my star shaped popsicle maker kit and made these fruit and yogurt popsicles.

These are my frequently visited websites where I spend at least 30 minutes a week trying to find new things I can make the boys:

www.weelicious.com - you can subscribe to a weekly email or download the app to your phone.

http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/index.htm#.Ue3QLo3qnEY - the ultimate website for baby led weaning or making purees.

Pinterest - obviously.

Parents and Parenting: The Early Years magazines.

Not only was it a boys cooking week, it was just a boys week in general.  We had four days in a row of play dates at lots of local spots!

We went to Tiny Town with a good friend, Marla, and her two kids.  As much as I love the idea of this place, I hate how crowded it gets and I especially hate parents that use that place as a time for them to socialize on the sidelines with their girlfriends while their kids run around like crazies.  Seriously, I'm not there to babysit other people's kids, nor should I need to step in and tell two boys to stop throwing balls at Sean's head and face while their mothers were sitting 10 feet from them.  Ughh...so we packed it up and came back to my house.  Much better.

The following day we had Amy and Eric come over after afternoon naps.  We made grilled chicken tex-mex salads and quesadillas for dinner and let the kids play outside in the pool.  It was really cute to see Evan and Brielle finally old enough to interact with each other.

The next morning we were off bright and early to meet up with my good friend, Kristen, her two kids and her nephew who is about to turn 3 at the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum.  We picked a perfect day to go since the art fair was going on.  The museum was all ours!  Lucky for us, considering we were attempting to entertain 5 kids ages 4 and under.

Finally, on Sunday morning I met up with a good friend, Lisa, and her daughter, Avery, who is two weeks younger than Evan.  The heat streak was over and it was a refreshing morning to get out and about.  Too bad Sean woke up on the wrong side of the bed...crabby patties.  Seriously.

I absolutely loved this week just focusing on the kids and their needs.  By Sunday, I think Sean had reached his limit of moving from activity to activity, but it was great to see my friends and let the kids all play together.
This week we don't have as much planned, but I'm itching to get out to Greenfield Village on Wednesday or Thursday since the temps are hovering around a perfect 75 degrees!  I'd also like to get to the Ann Arbor Botanical Gardens since it's free and there's so many cute things for the kids to do outside.  Maybe we'll bring a picnic lunch with some of these new meals I made for them.  Our deck should be done by the end of the day tomorrow.  Life is good!

'Til next week...

If you can't stand the heat...

don't decide to build a deck during the hottest week of the summer.  Seriously.

Temps over 100 degrees with humidity?  No problem for Scott.  He's on a mission.  We finally threw out all the quotes we were given by different companies for various types of material decks and got in touch with a family member's friend who was more than willing to help teach Scott the ropes of doing it himself.  Considering this would cut the cost by more than half, we were all for it.  Plus, Scott loves being Mr. Handy Man around the house.  And let's be honest.  Candy Crush and Ancient Aliens need a rest.

Step 1:  Rip out all of the bricks we had laying down and pull up the grass.  The only before picture I could find of the area with bricks from last summer.  Clearly, I don't like to photograph this section of our yard...hence the need for a deck.

Step 2:  Level the soil and dig holes for the foundation beams to be put in.

Apparently, playing in the holes is quite fun.  Especially when it stalls and prolongs bedtime because mommy has to run in and get her camera.

Step 3:  Have the materials delivered from Lowe's.  This was a highlight for Sean as he got to watch a big truck come right to our house and watch a forklift drop the materials.

Another hour or two moving each beam of wood into the garage overnight until Scott's ready to get started on the foundation tomorrow morning.

I cannot wait until this project is finished!  It has been something we've wanted since we moved in two years ago next month and it will really allow us to enjoy the backyard a bit more since we can finally put our lounge chairs out, buy some patio furniture, and plant flower beds around the deck.  I'm envisioning family dinners on the patio next summer with the boys already!

As if working on this project isn't enough, we're still dead-set on selling Scott's Charger and leasing a Town and Country mini-van.  We've posted his car on AutoTrader and we've parked it at a local elementary school that gets a lot of traffic that drives by it.  Tonight, I'm posting it on CraigsList.  We have one guy who is going to do a test-drive this week and my fingers are crossed we're able to sell it for more than the trade-in value as it would pay for the materials of the deck with the extra cash.  Either way, it's a win-win to get rid of the Charger.  We can use the money to pay off what little we owe on the Jeep, get us into a larger, safer car, and get into a way lower monthly payment on only one car.  Hallelujah!

In the meantime, I'm trying to relish in the last month or so of summer before we're back to school and daycare full time.  The boys have been keeping me on my toes, that's for sure.  My lower back is sore, I'm exhausted, and I have a whole new appreciation for stay-at-home moms.  But, seeing these smiles is what really keeps me going.  Today, we conquered the hands on museum while Scott worked at home and tomorrow, we're off to the zoo!  We are so ready for this upcoming week of temps in the 80's!  Although, I have to admit.  I've enjoyed the need for going to splash park, the rec center pools, and even our kiddie pool in the back yard every day to cool down...

Evan is 10 months!!

10 months old

19 lbs.

29"

The realization that my baby Evan is just 7.5 weeks away from being a year old has hit!  I'm in full-on birthday party planning mode.  His theme this year is The Very Hungry Caterpillar!  I can't wait to share all the things I've been creating from the invitations to the banner to the wall decor.  This is going to be one very special party!

Now about my little caterpillar, he's had another exciting month!  He is busy as can be!  Even though he's the world's fastest crawler, he prefers to be walking holding on to one or both of my hands.  His body is ahead of his feet though so when we get him to try on his own, he just lunges forward with his body.  He's able to stand by himself though for a good 5 seconds before he tries to move his chest forward and then his little feet.  I'm confident he'll be walking before his birthday, unlike his brother who started at 13.5 months.  It must be his need to catch up to what Sean is doing!

Speaking of his brother, the sibling rivalry has officially begun!  What Sean has, Evan wants.  What Evan has, Sean wants.  Sometimes it's adorable and they work it out to where they're actually playing together.  Other times it results in Sean sitting in time out for hitting, kicking, or pushing Evan over.  This is just the beginning I'm sure.  But, you sure can't beat sibling moments like this.  Their similarities are so evident in this picture.

Evan continues to add more things to his vocabulary.  He's been saying, "Mum-mum" for the past month and uses it appropriately.  If I walk away from him, he's always crawling behind me crying that out.  He's still good at saying, "Da-da", "Ba-ba", and added, "Na-na" to the list, which went over really well with Nana up north this past week.  He looks right at Bailey or at pictures of dogs in books and says, "Da".  Which is exciting to me since it seems like he's trying hard to say, "Dog".

He took his first vacation this month to Toronto and Niagara Falls and his first trip up north to the cottage for the fourth of July!  He was quite the traveler!  In fact, I was surprised that he was better about traveling and the pace of being on vacation than his brother was.  He went with the flow the whole time we were in Toronto and rarely squawked about being in the stroller or car for long periods of time.  Except for the drive home when he suddenly came down with the stomach virus he caught from his brother who had it driving to Toronto.  It's pretty hard to keep a sick baby content on a long car drive.

He was a fan of the cottage as well with the boat rides and playing on the beach.  I think his favorite part were the pontoon boat rides to get ice cream and the boat store.  We took a risk with his dairy intolerance and allowed him a few licks of moose tracks one night, mint chocolate chip another night, and cookies and cream another night.  Wow...we got ice cream a lot.  A little rash around his mouth never hurt anyone...

Amazingly enough, all the fireworks going on at night didn't wake him up. Although, he was up twice a night the whole week we were up north and the five nights we were in Toronto.  This little stinker is determined to have his middle of the night bottles.  He's really pushing us towards crying it out despite our fail with that a few months ago.  My tolerance for it is wearing thin and I refuse to start another school year of him waking up in the night.  I have a feeling August is going to be our breaking point.  In the meantime, I'm hopeful he grows out of it on his own.  Come on, Evan!

Other than the things mentioned above, he's really enjoying his summer at home with mommy and daddy.  So much so, I think we've entered the separation anxiety phase.  And, of course, it's only me he seems to be attached to.  Don't get me wrong!  I love all the extra snuggles, but it's quite a transition for me.  I went from only seeing the boys and getting to be around Evan for a few hours each evening and the weekends and now I'm home full-time and this little love bug just can't get enough of me.  I'd love to be able to get a potty break without someone whining at the door for me.  Ahhh the life of a stay-at-home mommy, I suppose.

On another note, he's eating like a champion too!  He's starting to refuse being fed by a spoon unless it's applesauce or a yummy fruit puree like mangoes.  Otherwise, he prefers all finger foods.  Normally this would be really exciting since it means I don't have to make any more baby food, but my freezer is stocked of all kinds of purees I've made and froze.  Realizing they're going to wind up in trash instead of his little tummy is a little disturbing.  Any ideas on how to re-purpose the purees?  As exciting as it is to not have to make the purees anymore, I spent the better part of yesterday cooking "toddler" food like veggie pancakes, apple turkey loaf, sweet potato fries, etc.  It's nice to have options when we are eating something Evan's not quite ready for!

All these advances in his eating means that, health wise, he's thriving!  We've gotten the eczema under control thanks to the warm and humid weather.  Aside from the stomach bug this past month he also ruptured his right ear drum from an ear infection that went unnoticed.  But, it's healed and we're hoping for a healthy month of July!  He cut his top two teeth this month as well!  It's so weird seeing him with 4 teeth already!  He's getting so big!

Stats:

• Size 3 diaper.
• All 12 month and 6-12 month clothing.  Some are a little baggy on the waist, but length wise it's perfect.
• Still taking around 30 ounces a day.  Usually it's still 5 bottles.  Some have been only 4 ounces when he was sick, while his bedtime bottles are somewhere around 8 ounces!  Holy cow!
• Eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a variety of foods now like meatloaf, taco meat, chicken we've grilled, chick peas, beans, peas, corn, etc.  
• Usually up only once a night, except when he's not at home.  The time varies...
• 2 naps.  A morning nap around 9:30am and an afternoon nap around 2pm depending on what time he starts the day.
• 7:30pm bedtime when we're at home, but on vacation he was up as late as 9:30pm.

Favorites:

• Throwing a ball!
• Snuggling with mommy.
• Feeding himself!
• Corn and watermelon are some of his favorites foods.
• Drinking water in a sippy cup.
• Holding his own bottle when he drinks.
• Playing in the water - splashing, dunking his face in the water, etc.
• Trying to stand up in the bath tub...sigh...I hate that phase.
• Walking while holding someone's hands or the furniture.
• Watching Sean jump up and down - he thinks it's hysterical when Sean jumps in front of him.
• Reading books.  This is new - he wasn't a fan of sitting still long enough to read a book, but now he will sit for a while and let me read to him!  Yay!
• He's now been exposed to Elmo youtube videos and he's mesmerized....it's starting all over again!  What is it about Elmo??
• Playing peekaboo where he hides his face with a towel or clothes and I say peekaboo.  I love that he can lead this game now!
• Waving!  So cute.

It's hard to think that at this age with Sean, we were moving into our house here in Plymouth.  That already seems like an eternity ago.  People at work constantly tell me how fast this all goes by and to enjoy every moment; the good and bad.  It really is true.  Evan's birthday party is August 24th...that's not that far away and it's time to start buying his gifts we'll give him and order the cake...ahhh!  My babies aren't little babies anymore!

Love you, Evie!  

Independence Week Recap and Week 27: Antipasto Pasta Salad!

I feel like we've been gone for an eternity.  We left last Tuesday evening around bedtime to head up north and beat the traffic for a week long celebration.  With the car jam packed with everything imaginable including two kids, a dog, and a well-stocked cooler, we had smooth sailing all the way to West Branch!  I guess I should mention that the days of Sean sleeping in the car are few and far.  We spent 40 minutes of the drive alternating between Scott and I telling made up stories about every construction type truck that exists.  Good thing exit 202 came.  I don't think I had any creativity left...

Wednesday morning we woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for a day full of sun, sand, and boat rides!  And we did just that!  In fact, that's about all we did for the next five days!

What a difference a year makes!  Last year Sean fought us tooth and nail on wearing his life jacket, on swimming in water that went past his knees, and getting on the jet-ski.  This year, he wouldn't take the jacket off, jumped off the dock in water over his head, rode on the jet-ski, the tube on the back of the speed boat, and even "swam" without us holding on to him!  It was great!  The one thing he didn't have any interest in this year was fishing.  Strange...

Evan seemed to enjoy being up north as well!  He would tolerate being on the sand and in the water for small spurts before he'd require being picked up, but that's progress.  He loved the boat rides, except when we forced the life jacked on him.  Why do they make those so that it's jammed up against their face?  It's ridiculous.  I remember we had the same problem with Sean's infant life jacket...

It was a hot week and weekend!  I definitely got some color!  I no longer look like a dead chicken.  Bonus! Sean got a little too much sun on Saturday and after his late nap he woke up a complete hysterical mess.  Thankfully, Nana was able to calm him down and get him excited for the fireworks.

We made the most of the holiday with fourth of July handprint t-shirts the boys made before we went up.

We kept Sean up late to watch the firework show the lake puts on and let him do sparklers and eat s'mores for the full experience.  He liked sticking his hands in the gooey marshmallows, but in the end preferred to eat only the chocolate.  That's my boy!  A choco-holic!

We celebrated AJ's second birthday on Saturday when Jackie and Josh stopped by on their way to their cottage on Torch Lake.  A couple hours of swimming, lunch on the deck, cupcakes, and presents.  It was a fun afternoon!

We ended the festivities by taking Sean into West Branch for a round of miniature golf at the Indian Adventures Golf Course.  We had the whole place to ourselves and it's a good thing we did.  Sean didn't quite get the idea of only using the club to hit the ball.  He thought picking it up and throwing it in the hole or throwing it in the water was more fun!  Not to mention he didn't realize the water was not for people.  I never imagined we'd be pulling HIM out of the water!  Oh well, it was worth it to see how he'd do with it.  Maybe next summer he'll be more ready for putt-putt!

All in all, it was a gorgeous week spent with family!  We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.  The sunsets were stunning, the food was delicious, and the kids seemed to behave themselves for the most part.  Except for Sean throwing Nana's iPhone in the lake...this kid...

Speaking of food, one of the recipes I brought up to try with hamburgers and hot dogs, was a new pasta salad recipe!  It's an antipasto pasta salad.  Such a great concept when you think about it.  Things like salami, pepperoni, olives, asiago cheese, and the typical ingredients like peppers and onions were a great combination!

Antipasto Pasta Salad

* 1 pound seashell pasta 

* 1/4 pound Genoa salami, chopped 

* 1/4 pound pepperoni sausage, chopped 

* 1/2 pound Asiago cheese, diced 

* 1 (6 ounce) can black olives, drained and chopped 

* 1 red bell pepper, diced 

* 1 green bell pepper, chopped 

* 3 tomatoes, chopped 

* 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix 

* 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

* 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 

Cook the noodles.  Toss with all the dry ingredients.  Mix the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salad dressing mix together.  Pour over the top, toss well, and refrigerate until cool.

I'm definitely keeping this one in the rotation this summer!