Happy Birthday, Baby!

Happy Birthday, L!! He's my guy, who, after nine weeks of bedrest, was born on 9.29.09 at 9:11pm. The doctors and nurses tried to get me to wait a little while longer so he'd be born at 9:29pm, but he was ready to come out! The days following L's birth were some of the most blissful days of my life and I will always cherish them. I was able to have L in my hospital room whenever I wanted, we could hold him and feed him from the minute he was born. It was the most wonderful experience and we were able to appreciate that after what we went through when N was born. Having a healthy baby meant the world to us, still does! I can't believe two years have already gone by.

L is attending a little preschool program at a church nearby. He only goes one day a week, but that's just right for him for now. He loves it! He took treats (chocolate pebble krispy treats) to school to celebrate. The teachers sang Happy Bday to him and gave him a cardboard/paper hat to wear all day. All that celebrating at school wore the little guy out, so he fell asleep in the car 3/4 of the way home. He took a great nap, the sun came out, Brother got home, so we headed outside to play with the neighbors.

Tonight we kept the celebration low key since we'd already had his family party last weekend. I made brownies (no cake mix on hand, oops!) for us to eat. I put two candles in the brownies, lit them and we sang Happy Bday to L. He blew out the candles and immediately said, "Again." So we sang to him and he blew out the candles again. We repeated that four or five times before we told him we had to stop.

After playing for a while, it was time to get ready for bed. N read the entire "Birthday Monsters" book written by Susan Boynton to L before bed. And he only needed help with a few of the bigger words. He was even able to sound out the hyphenated words by himself! So proud!

Happy Birthday, Big Guy! Mommy, Daddy and N love you to pieces.

"Lasagna"

I had a brain storm a few weeks ago. It was brought on by a recipe I saw in Rachel Ray's magazine for Mexican flavored lasagna. She used corn tortillas in the Mexican lasagna instead of lasagna noodles. I made a simplified version of her recipe and it was good. I then wondered if I could make Italian flavored lasagna using rice paper for spring rolls in place of lasagna noodles. I tried it tonight and it was delicious. Here's what I did. (I did not soak or rinse the rice noodles as the package calls for.)

1 tube Italian flavored ground turkey meat

1 Jar Bertolli Tomato & Basil Spaghetti sauce

Rice paper for Spring Rolls

Small curd cottage cheese

Shredded mozerella cheese

I browned the ground turkey in the skillet and drained the fat off of it. (I actually made this the day before so all I had to do for dinner tonight was assemble everything.) Grease 8x8 pan. Spread some of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the 8x8. Place one Rice sheet of rice paper on top of sauce. Spread spaghetti sauce on top of rice paper, then top with ground turkey, cottage cheese, mozerella. Repeat as thick as you want your lasagna to be. End with spaghetti sauce and mozerella on top of rice paper. Bake at 350 covered with foil for 30 minutes, remove foil, bake 10-15 more minutes or until cheese is browned. Eat. Yum!!

This recipe didn't stay together in layers like your "norma"l lasagna would, but it still tasted great. L even ate it. N tried it, but didn't like it, but he's a super picky eater!

Translation Please

L's vocabulary has exploded in the last few weeks. It might be a coincidence or it might be a direct result of N being at school and L having more chances to talk. ;) Some of his words are very clear, but quite a few of them require some translation from Mommy and Daddy. Here are examples.

Gook=book

Fide=slide

Fuffin=Muffin

Busssssss= Bus. For some reason he's always drug out the "s" at the end.

Doh=Window.Usually said when asking me to roll his car window down.

Bar bar = Granola bar

Bocci Cuck=Garbage Truck

Rink=Drink, specifically a Capri Sun Water

Mama=Mama has always meant a sippy cup his soy milk in it

Ba ba=bottle (He only gets these before bed, but begs for one every morning)

Bump cuck=Dump truck

Aa-ho= Back ho, excavator, any tractor really

Ee-peem=airplane

Ta-tter = tractor

Boon said while signing for more=more

More=Now he says more!

poon=spoon

pack pack=back pack

Fuffin=Muffin

La la=Banana

Datty=Most of the time he says Daddy, but sometimes he says Datty to be silly

Knee=knee and foot

Hop hop=bunny

Ben=is the name of his beloved bear that my twin sister got him. His original name was Harry 'cause my sis got him at Harrod's in London. However, one morning, L woke up and declared a name change and we've refered to the bear as Ben or Benny ever since.

And the cutest thing he says right now is Chocolate milk. It sounds more like "pocket book." It took me a long time to translate this one, but we're clear on it now! Oh and he also says Chocolate chips. It sound more like "pocket peeps."

Mommy's Pit Crew

I have made many attempts to ask the boys (Daddy and the boys) for help with chores around the house. I want to teach the kids how to take care of the house and of their belongings and I want the help so I have time to do other things. One routine we recently started has been working. Yay! Every night after supper "Mommy's Pit Crew" takes action. We all take our own plates to the kitchen sink, the boys move the dining chairs into the living room and N squirts the kitchen table with cleaner. N was a little over zealous with the cleaner at first, so we now tell him that six squirts of cleaner (Clorox Anywhere) is enough to cover the whole table. The boys each get a paper towel and run around the table race track style until the table is wiped off. They then race to the garbage can to throw their paper towels away. The boys take turns with the "stick vacuum" and the broom sweeping the floor. Once the kitchen chairs are back under the table the job is done. I put dinner away and fill the dishwasher while they run around. I appreciate their hard work!!

New Fav: Cream of Rice

In my attempt to eat gluten free (or with minimal gluten), I have been forced to try new foods that I probably would not have otherwise even considered. Yellow squash, zucchini and fresh mushrooms are now a staple in our house. Rice can be found in my pantry at any given moment. Believed it or not, before going on a GF diet, we rarely ate rice! I'm actually intrigued with rice. I would like to experiment with different types to make breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert recipes (rice pudding). Speaking of rice...I recently discovered something that I am now in love with. You've heard of Cream of Wheat, right? Well, Cream of Wheat is obviously no longer on my grocery list due to the gluten in wheat. However, there is such thing as Cream of Rice and it is yummy and versatile. I've discovered that a warm bowl of cream of rice flavored with brown sugar, raisins, a pinch of salt and a smidge of butter is soooo good. Oh, and a splash of vanilla flavored Silk makes this a tiny bit sweeter and creamier. Mmmm....Sometime soon I'd like to make a savory version of cream of rice using breakfast sausage or diced ham, scrambled eggs and a little shredded cheese. I guess cream of rice is somewhat like grits in that you can make it sweet or savory. Thinking of grits makes me think of polenta. I want to try to perfect making mush (polenta) the way Grandpa H liked it. He liked his sliced, pan fried and drizzled with maple syrup. It's interesting how certain foods make you think of certain people.. Grandpa also liked butterscotch pie. When I was a kid there was a lady in my hometown named Lola who made and sold her fabulous homemade pies. Every year for Grandpa's Birthday Mom would phone Lola and ask her to make a butterscotch pie. I didn't care for the butterscotch pie as a kid, but I'd try it again to see if my taste buds have changed. :) I think Mom also made polenta for Grandpa's Birthday. Did we eat polenta and butterscotch pie in the same meal? Sounds weird doesn't it. I'll have to ask Mom about that.

Friday Funnies: Flashback

These are really old Friday Funnies below. I found them in a post I created that I hadn't published for some reason.

Yesterday as the boys and I were leaving Qdoba a man offered to hold the door open for us. He was a Caucasian man in his late 50's dressed really nicely in a suit. As he held the door open, N stopped in his tracks and made a funny face at the man. I motioned him along and said thanks to the man. When we got outside my son said, "Mom! That was President Obama!"

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The other day N was picking grass, rocks and leaves off the bushes to make something. I asked him what he was making and he said, "Chinapple Soup." When I asked him what was in Chinapple soup he said, "Apples, a little vanilla, some flour and chinese food all mixed together."

I was exercising at home the other day. N was in the basement with me. I was doing push ups in front of him. He was watching very closely and after a while said, "Mom, you're awesome!"

N sees the commercial on TV for Lumineers on the channel he watches. The other day he told me he needs lumineers 'cause he hides his smile. (This is what they say in the commercial).

We watched the movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." Later in the day N and I were pretending that food was falling from the sky. I said I was catching meatballs and he said he was catching Laughing Cow Cheese. He took a pretend bite and laughed. He said the laughing cow cheese made him laugh!

While playing Legos N said, "Agggh! I'm so thrustrated!!! I can't get this to stay together!"

One more step

Today N took one more step towards being all grown up. (Sniffle, sniffle from Mommy). I have been parking my car and walking him into the school every morning. Your other choice is to drive in the drop off line and let your child out at the front door of the school. The child has to get their seat belt off, get their backpack on, open and close the car door and walk into the building by themselves. The doors of the school are a bit heavy, so the child has to be able to open the door (or wait for an older kid to open it for them). N's been wanting to do this, but I have not been allowing him to do it because he's my "dee-dawdler." He moves at his own sweet little slow pace and I didn't want to hold up the drop off line because of it. This morning he asked yet another time if he could walk in by himself. I talked to him about it, told him all the steps to getting out of the car and asked him if he could do them and he said yes. I told him we could try it today. I also told him I wouldn't be able to hug him before he got out of the car. He immediately gave me a big, long hug, jumped in the car and said, "I'll miss ya Mom." He was determined to do it. So, I let him do it. He did a great job. Before he got out of the car he asked me to roll down his window so he could yell Goodbye to L. I did and they exchanged their farewells. N said, "See you when I get off the bus." Then he walked into the building... I must admit...Part of the reason I didn't want him to walk into the building alone is 'cause I like to walk him in and I like to see him get to the gym for my own peace of mind. I guess I just need to let him grow up a little bit more and be a little more independent when he's ready to take those steps. As long as they're baby steps I guess I'm okay with it. :)

Welcome Home, Honey!

Two posts two days in a row? I know, I'm surprised too. So, if you didn't see Friday's post, check it out after you read this one. :)

D went on a work trip this week. He doesn't travel much, but, when he does, he tries to be gone the fewest nights possible (Is that too many commas in one sentence? Apparently I need to revisit high school grammar.). This time around he planned it so that he'd fly home on a Thursday evening, but he wouldn't be home until midnight or later. Fortunately his flight went faster than he thought and he arrived at the airport early. He texted me when he landed at the airport and told me he was on his way home....problem is, for whatever reason, his phone did not deliver the text message (or I didn't recieve the message) for nearly an hour after he sent it. The drive from the airport he landed at is about an hour from our house. So, he landed at 9:45 pm and sent me the text. I recieved the text at 10:45 thinking he wouldn't be home until 11:45. I got the text just a few minutes before he got home, but I wasn't expecting him for another hour. I had gone upstairs to get ready for bed when I heard "someone" rustling around in the kitchen! I thought someone was robbing our house! I was shaking like a leaf I was so scare, so I called 911! No joke! I called 911, I gave them our address, told them someone was in my house and I was ready to gather up the boys and, I don't know, hide in a closet or something until the police arrived. At the same time that I was on the phone with the police, I called D. I don't know why I thought I was going to call two people at once and I don't know what I thought D was going to do, but I called him. And it's a good thing I did because when I called him, I heard his phone ring downstairs! I hung up and called him again and put together that the "robber" in our house was not a robber and was, in fact, my husband! (I was calling D's cell phone while still on the land line with 911) He started walking up the stairs to ask me why I was calling him and I quickly told the dispatcher I was so, so sorry that my husband got home early from a business trip. I told her the person in my house was not a robber and we did not need the police. She asked me if I was sure it was my hubby and when I said yes she and I both let out a big sigh of relief! Phew!! How's that for a welcome home?!

Friday Funnies

A couple weeks ago the boys and I were stopping by McDonald's for lunch. On the way there N and I were talking about what we were going to order. When I asked him if he wanted white pop (Sprite), water or milk he said....."Actually, Mom. I'll have a beer." I laughed for a couple minutes, then I did the adult thing and said, "N you can't drink beer until you're a Daddy...."

We have a tradition of eating McDonald's for breakfast on Saturday mornings. Every single time we get McD's for breakfast we ask N what he wants and he always says a Happy Meal (HM). Then we have a conversation about how McD's does not make HM until lunch time. N came up with a solution for that. He said, "Mom. I want to tell you something. You should go to McD's at night and buy a Happy Meal. Then you should warm it up in the morning so I can eat it for breakfast. Then I would have a Happy Meal for breakfast!" I do appreciate his problem solving skills. :)

Something has happened to the Leapstar my sister so graciously handed down to us. I bet this Leapstar is a 11 or 12 years old as it was given to my nephew when he was old enough to play it. N and L have enjoyed playing with it. However, it is now on the fritz. N and I tried yet another time to put new batteries in it to see if that would revive it. What N doesn't understand, or won't accept is that the machine could possibly have just burnt out. After changing the batteries I left the Leapstar and our little mini screw driver on the kitchen table to research online for possible ways to fix it. In the five minutes it took me to do so, N had started to disassemble it. I turned around and he had half the screws out of it! I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I want to see it's blood vessels so I can figure out what's wrong with it. (And without skipping a beat continued with) Can I have another screw driver?"

N is getting the swing of eating lunch at school.The school serves a variety of food options and does a pretty good job of including fruits and veggies with each meal. My son, however, is a picker eater. I have looked at the lunch menu with his choosy tendencies in mind. I see several things he would like, but there are very few days that he would like the entire meal....or even enough of a meal to fill his belly. I sat down with him and looked over the menu for September to see if he wants to try anything. We found five days of the month that have a meal (or most of a meal) that he wants to try. N told me, "They have teeter tots at school, Mom. I want to try those teeter tots...Oh and the cheeseburger looks good." Low and behold "teeter tots" and cheeseburgers are served in the same meal this month! Yay! We have ourselves a winner! It's a good thing I enjoy making his lunch 'cause we'll be doing that most days. :)