Arielle at 3 months

Some baby is...

...3 months old already

...is babbling away with her "agoos" and gurgling "ahhs".

...is trying to roll over already and will probably be successful soon!

...still has blue eyes! Let's hope they stay.

 

...tries to do crunches if I sit her up in a chair or her bouncy seat.

...reaches for toys and tries to grab them.

...can push herself up during tummy time, but is still not a big fan.

...still loves her bouncy seat.

...is so cute in stripey tights and pink patent leather shoes!

...is starting sleep training for nap time and is doing great so far.

...has such a good temperment and rarely cries.

...is having a growth spurt at the moment but, when she's not, sleeps for 4-5 hour stretches at night.

...is mommy's sunshine. Not my only sunshine, but mine just the same.

Wordless Wednesday - Faces of Nate

My Stir Fry

I often cook following a recipe...the first time I make something. I usually do this because I have no clue when it comes to proportions of ingredients. But after the first time, I will generally mix things up and make a dish my own. This stir fry has evolved over the last few years and everyone in our house loves it. So, that being said, I am estimating the amounts of things. Feel free to follow it or mix it up yourself!

My Stir Fry:

2 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
1 teaspoon grated ginger (buy one piece and you can keep it in the freezer for 3 months!)
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 small yellow onion diced
1 bell pepper chopped (any color, I usually use red)
1/2 c of snap peas whole
1/2 can of water chestnuts
1 cup bean sprouts
4 scallions sliced
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs soy sauce (I use low sodium)
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp chili paste (optional: if you like it spicy! You can always add it at the end after removing the kid's portion. That's how I do it.)
pepper

For the sauce:
3 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs Hoisin sauce
2 tbs brown sugar

Ok, so I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but what makes this dish so easy is that you can substitute or leave out any of the veggies and use what you like. That is just what I like to put in it. If you are in a pinch and don't feel like all of the hoopla of chopping (really only takes 10 mins all together to prep) then grab a bag of stir fry veggies from the produce section. It will probably be near the bagged salads.

First cut the chicken into cubes and put it in a bowl with sesame oil, 1 tbs soy sauce, a few grinds of pepper and grated ginger. (You really don't need to measure the ginger.) Let that marinate while you chop your veggies up.

Chop all veggies. Add vegetable oil to the pan (You can use a wok, but I don't have one. I have a pan that sorta looks like a wok, so I use that.) and heat on medium high until you see the oil start to glisten. (The key to this is a hot pan and hot oil) Toss in the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add 1 tbs vegetable oil to your pan and put in the yellow onion & pepper. Cook for 2 minutes and then add in the mushrooms and cook for another 2-3 minutes until they soften. Add the water chestnuts, snap peas and 1 tbs soy sauce and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add chicken back in (make sure to pour the juices in too) and make a hole in the middle of the chicken and veggies by pushing the contents to the edges of the pan. In the hole add remaining 2 tbs soy sauce, hoisin sauce and brown sugar (add the chili paste now if you are putting it in). Stir the sauce frequently and let it bubble up until it starts to thicken. Stir the veggies and chicken into the sauce and turn off the heat. Mix in the bean sprouts and scallions and you're done!

This usually takes me 30 minutes or less from start to finish. It is the perfect week night meal for me to make when I get home from work.

I serve it over white rice. The trick to getting your picky eaters to eat this dish is to cut their pieces up really small and mix it all in with the rice! Nate has no idea he is eating peppers and pea pods because I do this. Now I'm hungry and going to make this for dinner tonight.

A few of my favorite things

That is what I get to swap with someone, thanks to Mamarazzi! It's time again for her Favorite Things Swap! I'm so excited. It was so much fun last time.

Babble On

Pictures can only show so much. I realized I have been a slacker this time around and had yet to take a video of little miss. She has started "talking" to me a lot these days so I wanted to get it on film. Um, can you still call it film when it is digital? I guess not.

Her shirt should say, "I love drooling". Oh, and don't be jealous of my super 90's video editing skills!

Random Ramblings

Today is not Monday. I know you know that, but this morning when all heck was breaking loose and I was scrambling to get out of the house at a reasonable time, it didn't feel like Thursday. This is most likely to do with the fact that I took yesterday off to take care of my sick baby (and self too). Needless to say, I'm happy it's Thursday. One more day until the weekend woo hoo! Here are my random thoughts...

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I made yesterday productive, even though I didn't go to work. I had tons of shirts and onesies that I made for craft shows that I have been meaning to get up in my Etsy shop. Not to mention the Baby Bjorn cover that I made for Heather, like a million days ago, and still hadn't taken any (decent) pictures of to post. I took pictures of all of them and got a huge chunk up in my shop! Go check it out! http://www.punchkinwear.etsy.com/

I'll wait....

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This morning, on the way to daycare, we were listening to Natey's Kidz Bop CD. He likes it. I tolerate it. Arielle is too little to care. After I dropped him off I decided I didn't want to listen to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun sung by one adult and a slew of kidz, so I switched to the tuner....only to have it playing the exact same song (this time by Cindi of course). I guess the universe was trying to send me some subliminal message that I just wanna have fun. Who knows.

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I made crack cookies again. Dang it Brooke, why did you ever get me addicted to those things. Of course they aren't really made of crack, but they might as well be. Who knew turning Funfetti Cake mix into cookies and frosting them with sugary goodness would be so harmful to your health diet. Someone knew. Stupid, chubby Dough Boy. Just because you're all squishy, doesn't mean you have to drag us down with your cookies and busciuts. Jerk.

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Ahem, I am done now.

Have you seen her?

No? Not lately. Sorry. I stink at picture taking since I have been back at work. I'm lucky if we get dinner at a reasonable hour these days. So before I have a mutiny on my hands, here are a few photos of some baby who:

...turned 11 weeks old on Monday

...does not have red hair like it seems in this picture

...is smiling more and more each day, just not long enough for me to catch a great shot!

...is starting to reach out and grab things

...gets this look of concern quite often

...is currently fighting a crappy cold that her brother so nicely shared with both of us. Well, at least he shares something, right?

Random Ramblings

Now that I'm back at work, and know what day it is again, I have my Thursday ramblings to look forward too! Here's the stuff that is pinballing around in my noggin.

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First week back at work has been super hectic. I was still not fully adjusted to home time with two kids, let alone getting them ready, hauling them to daycare, getting myself to work on time, picking them up, cooking dinner, doing bedtimes and did I mention I got a cold the 2nd day I was back at work. I have gone to bed at 8 and 9pm the last 2 nights. Hopefully this cold will pass quickly and I can enjoy the time I have home with my kids this weekend.

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On that note, I miss them terribly when I'm at work. When I went back after Nate was born, it didn't seem this bad. I think it was because he was a challenging newborn and I craved adult conversation and loved my job. Now my job is eh, Arielle is such a good baby and I want to be around them all of the time. Well, maybe a night out with some wine would be nice, but you get my point.

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I can't believe that it is February already! Time flies when you are not at work! Three months has never gone by so fast! Only 3 months until baby Lilah makes her appearance and 5 months until we get to make our trip as a family of 4 (God help me, I need a Xanax just thinking about that flight) to WA and OR to see my family! The last time we were all together Heather and I had a boy a piece and now we'll both have one of each!

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I will post some more pictures soon. I have been slacking in the picture taking department!

My son the caveman

My kid is a great eater...for the most part. I don't make separate meals for him if he doesn't want to eat what I prepare. If he doesn't eat, he must not be that hungry. I mean, look at him, he's not starving! Don't get me wrong, if I am cooking something that is not kid friendly, I will modify it for him. I make slammin spicy turkey tacos, but I just take his portion out before I add the jalapenos. I think the biggest fight we have is when it comes to eating meat. If it is all mixed together, like the tacos or cut up small and put in with the rice and veggies for chicken curry, he'll eat it. When it is in pieces and sitting by its lonesome on the plate he wants nothing to do with it. He'll always eat the breaded variety of anything, aka the dreaded chicken nuggets, but that was about it.

Until.....we discovered something by accident. Apparently my kid has a caveman gene. Yup, he'll eat any meat as long as it is attached to the bone. We first discovered this at my BIL's wedding. They had a picnic style lunch after the ceremony and they served smoked chicken legs. At 2 months shy of his 2nd birthday, Nate chowed that thing like there was no tomorrow. I had to wrestle the licked clean leg out of his hand before he started trying to suck the marrow out. {Sorry if I just totally icked out any vegetarians} Had I taken the meat off and offered that to him, he wouldn't have touched it! Next we discovered his love of "BBQ" (ribs) that he will only eat if we hand him the whole kit and caboodle.

The other night we made the discovery that this also applies to lamb. I have tried to serve it to him several times to no avail. I usually don't buy the rib chops, but they only had one pack of loin chops, so I got both. After fighting with him because he only wanted to eat his rice and asparagus, the hubbs suggested handing him the rib chop in its entirety. He ate 2 whole rib chops (not that they're that big) and was asking for more. Who knew that all of this time, the kid just wanted meat that had a handle?!

I'm back

Ok my lovelies, I'm back. Yeah, I know I didn't really leave, but I have been mostly absent. Today is my first day back at work. Isn't it sad when you have to get back to work in order to find the time to blog??!! I thought I would be a blogger extraordinaire when I was on maternity leave, but I found I had lots more to do than park my bum in front of the computer. Much to my chagrin, I have been neglecting my buddies. Fear not, the reading will commence again, the commenting will be back in full force and the crying because I dropped my baby off into someone else's waiting arms will lessen over time.