Jan 9, 2010
Posted on Jan 9, 2010 in Everyday | 1 comment
Train delivering food at Fritz's
We had the most awesome day out! We enjoyed lunch at a neat little restaurant exclusive to KC that delivers your food via overhead trains (video below).
How cool is that?! Jack was completely enthralled watching the trains run back and forth overhead. (Of course, we didn’t bother with the cute little conductor hat they gave us because we know he gets a little violent if you try to put something on his head. Probably from all those weeks in the NICU when the nurses tried to put hats on him that were too small. Every time we’d leave the room and come back, he had somehow managed to get his hat off. *snicker* He was probably sitting there thinking that losing most of the heat through your head is a myth*, so quit with the hat already! )
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Dec 29, 2009
Posted on Dec 29, 2009 in Everyday | 3 comments
Our tree on Christmas Eve
Christmas was so much fun this year. The best yet, I have to say!
Once you have a child, it brings a whole new meaning to Christmas. I’ve always loved spending time with family (giving gifts, too, but mostly about the family!), but it becomes so much more when you have your own little ones. And FUN, too! In 2008, Jack was about 8 months old—far too young to enjoy Christmas, open any presents, play with many toys or even eat any of our food. It was wonderful in its own way—baby’s 1st Christmas and all that—but this year was so much more fun. It’s so great having a little toddler whose eyes light up when he sees a toy he really likes! 
As usual, I bought way too many gifts. I should have just bought 2-3, but I… errrm… I filled the tree. Was there ever any doubt that I would do that? I mean, I used to do that everyone else, so no WAY I’m slowing down for Jack! 
However, I really should have. Because once he opened a toy, he wanted to play with it for HOURS. I mean, he REALLY loved them. Which was fantastic! But it made me feel like an ass for buying him too many things. What we ended up doing was opening up one toy every couple hours for a couple days so he wouldn’t get overwhelmed.
I had to hang Cheeto's stocking, anyway
For the second year in a row, it was just the three of us*, and I loved that, too. Last year was great, too, but because of all the unexpected family drama with my mom, it was kind of bittersweet. This year, the only note of sadness was that Cheeto wasn’t here to enjoy it with us. I must admit that I hung his stocking anyway, and the sight of it hanging there every day brought me to tears on more than one occasion.
I also bought the most perfect little hand-painted ornament from Etsy. I buy a new one to commemorate the biggest thing that happened that year. (2001 we were married, 2005 we bought the house, 2008 we had Jack, etc.)
I forgot to get a picture before I packed it away, but the 2009 ornament looks like this. Isn’t it adorable with the mommy and daddy and baby birds on there with the first letter of our names on their chests? She also put two cat prints and yes, two dog prints on there. I emailed her and asked her if she could paint a halo over the Cheeto paw print. She did. And when I got that in the mail, I thought my heart was going to implode, too. But that is just one of the many ways I continue to include and honor him. But I’m not going to dwell on that, because overall, it was a happy holiday.
Moving on..
In looking at this picture, it’s clear that I need to learn how to make my own stockings. The two heart ones on the left were made by either my grandma or my mom (not sure which, but probably my grandma). They’re great and all, and used to hold sentimental value, but now they just make me sad. So they need to go.
Plus, I need to make one for Jack. I don’t want to keep buying a new set in a certain “theme” every year when we have a new addition, like Oliver. I’m sure it’s easy enough… just need to find a pattern and some fabric I like. Oh, yeah. And buy a sewing machine. Heh heh. That should be interesting. (Sidenote: I think I received a B in Home-Ec class in 7th grade. Wasn’t all that into the sewing. Still not for clothes and the like. But certain things need to be done, and I need to know how to do them, dammit! If I can learn how to cook—and be so great at it!—I can learn how to sew!)
I made our on-its-way-to-becoming-a-traditional-Christmas-dinner: beef tenderloin. That is one helluva cut of meat, I have to tell you. It costs about $70 for a 3-lbs., but oh.my.god, it is SOOOOOOO GOOD. I smear it with dijon mustard and some rosemary and thyme and it’s just to die for. I also made mashed potatoes and gravy, Hawaiian sweet potato casserole, brown and serve rolls, and a couple other things as well. Christmas is probably the best meal at our house all year, and I love it that it’s so much less work than Thanksgiving! What’s your favorite dish or side dish for Christmas?
It was a wonderful, relaxing, happy day. We were lucky enough for it to be a white Christmas, too!
Jack’s favorite toy was the lawn mower. Here’s some video of him pushing it around on Christmas morning.
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Dec 28, 2009
Posted on Dec 28, 2009 in Family Updates | 2 comments
I suck. I really, really do. I don’t know what my problem is, but it is seemingly impossible for me to keep this blog updated. I try… I think about it all the time. But something always happens… something urgent needs to be dealt with with work, I’m too tired, Jack wakes up early from his nap, I need to work out, I want to post photos that I don’t have readily available on my iPhone. –> Have you ever tried to blog with the Word Press iPhone app? It’s cool and all, but holy crap, as long as my posts usually are, it’d take me HOURS to type it all up. But I digress…
Here’s my 2009 Christmas card:
2009 Christmas Card
I personally find it quite hilarious. Especially the story behind it.
For every weekend in November and early December, I had tried to get Jack’s Christmas photos taken. The first weekend I had it planned, Jack was sick. The second weekend, I was sick. The third weekend, Jack had fallen down and had a big scrape across his forehead. The fourth weekend, something happened with Kelly. Finally, two weeks before Christmas, I took him over to Sears to get professional portraits done that they would put inside a photo card (easy-peasy, right?) Wrong.
Because whenever a small toddler is involved, nothing ever goes according to plan.
We actually made it to Sears. But for some reason I grabbed a cart on the way back. Big mistake. HUGE. Jack wanted to push it, as he always does. So I let him. But the Sears carts are weird and the bottom bar is too close to the ground (so close that Jack couldn’t even push it). He ended up falling over. So I picked him up and took the cart away. And then came the temper tantrum. OH.MY.GOD. It was the temper tantrum to end all temper tantrums. Within two minutes, his face was bright red, he was burning up, snot was running down his face, his hair was glistening with sweat, and he would NOT calm down.
The photographer actually asked me if I wanted to wait a few minutes and come back. Gee, ya think? (If I wanted photos of him screaming his little head off, I would have taken him to see Santa, plopped him down in his lap, and walked off. Bwahahaha. That would have been funny, but mean. So I didn’t do it.)
I thought I could still salvage the situation if I could get him to calm down, but no go. He was on a TEAR. So, I just gave up and left. The next day, I told my sister to put him in his sweater and get whatever photos she could get. (Babies are so much easier to photograph… they can’t MOVE. Heh.)
She didn’t get a lot of good up-close candid photos before he melted down again, so I tried myself again the next day. Not happening. Suddenly realized… it was the sweater. It was making him hot, itchy and cranky. So I yanked it off and I tossed it on his head. Which he thought was funny. And as soon as that sweater was off, he was back to his normal self, ready to pose and ham it up—as you can see from two of the photos on the card. Heh!
And I’m sorry I didn’t send a Christmas letter. Or even write a little note. I literally didn’t get those in the mail until the 21st, and I had to address them and send them out the same day. I’m beating myself up about this and how it’s rude not to make notes on cards, but I’m sure I’ll live and you all will have to forgive me.
2 comments
Dec 8, 2009
Posted on Dec 8, 2009 in Recipes | 0 comments
Low-Fat Chicken Burritos
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- 1 12 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups of salsa
- 1/2 t. chili powder
- 6 8-inch whole-wheat tortillas
- 3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 cups fresh spinach, shredded (optional)
- 1/2 cup nonfat sour cream (optional)
In large skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in beans, 1/2 c. salsa and chili powder; cook 2 minutes longer. Place tortillas between moist paper towels and microwave for 10 seconds. Spoon 1/2 c. filling onto each tortilla; top with 1 T. cheese. Fold each into a burrito. Serve with a cup of spinach, salsa, remaining cheese and sour cream.
Lime Chicken Fajitas
- 1/2 t. salt, divided
- 1 t. chili powder
- 1/2 t. ground cumin
- 6 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks or strips
- 1 1/2 cups julienne-cut green bell pepper
- 1 cup julienne-cut red bell pepper
- 1/4 c. lime juice
- 2 1/2 T. olive oil
- Head of romaine lettuce
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (optional)
- 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with a dash of olive oil or cooking spray. Combine 1/4 t. salt, chili powder and cumin in small bowl and coat chicken with it. (You can also put mixture in ziploc bag and shake chicken to coat, whatever you find easiest.) Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side. Add bell peppers and cook 4 minutes or until veggies are tender, stirring frequently.
To make dressing, combine lime juice, 2 1/2 T. olive oil, and 1/4 t. salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine lime-juice mixture and lettuce; toss well. Divide lettuce evenly among 4 tortillas; top with chicken mixture and optionally, the tomatoes and cheese.
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Nov 17, 2009
Posted on Nov 17, 2009 in Uncategorized | 2 comments
Today is Prematurity Awareness Day. Prematurity has been escalating steadily and alarmingly over the past two decades. In fact, the rate of premature birth increased by 36 percent between the early 1980s and 2006. One out of eight babies is born prematurely in the United States. This trend and the dynamics underlying it underscore the critical importance and timeliness of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign.
The rate of premature birth in America is higher than that of most other developed nations. New report card: U.S. scores a “D.” So does Kansas, with a pre-term birth rate of 11.5%.
You can help fight for preemies by donating to the March of Dimes. Or you can donate in Jack’s honor by
using this link.
Jack's first day of life; delivered 9 weeks early
