Little Things I Love

Gisèle told me that she had to go potty while we were at Old Navy the other day. I took her to their bathroom, and she DID have to go potty! Yay, Gisèle!

When Gisèle is making drinks for us in her kitchen ("Daddy drink a mocha, Mama drink a fap-a-chino!"), she pretends to rinse out the cup before making the next drink - with sound effects and everything.

She's funny on purpose now - not just by being cute. She called me "Miss Crystal" (one of her teachers) the other day while I was making dinner. When Jamie corrected her and told her it's "Mama," she then turned to him and said "Miss Crystal! No - Daddy!" And then to Miles - "It's Miss Crystal! No - is Miles!", grinning at us all the while.

"Mackie-n-morey" = macaroni
"Poppy-fulda-rosey" - Pocket full of posies (from Ring Around the Rosy)

Gisèle applauds us for things that we usually compliment her on - taking little bites, coloring nicely, etc. "Oooh - dat's nice, Mama!"

"Gisèle, are you telling the truth, or are you lying?" Her response? "ROAARRRR!!!"

Baked Lemon Pasta

This is yet another recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I LOVE this. It's great as a main course with grilled chicken and broccoli or asparagus added, and I think it would also be really good with shrimp. (You can also serve it as a side to whatever your main dish is.) It's easy to make and very different than any other pasta I've had. The Pioneer Woman uses salted butter in most of her dishes, but I prefer using unsalted. You can always add more salt if you need it,

Baked Lemon Pasta

1 lb thin spaghetti
4 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 whole lemon, juiced & zested
2 cups sour cream
1/2 tsp kosher salt
lots of grated parmesan (I think I use about 2/3 cup)
chopped fresh parsley
extra lemon juice

-Preheat the oven to 375.
-Cook the spaghetti until al dente.
-In a skillet, melt the butter with the olive oil over low heat. When the butter is melted, add the minced garlic and lemon juice. Turn off the heat.
-Stir in the sour cream, lemon zest, salt and parmesan. (add additional salt if you need it.)
-Stir the lemon sauce into the pasta, and transfer to an oven-safe dish.
-Bake, covered, for 15 minutes, then remove the cover and bake an additional 7-10.
-Top with chopped parsley and more lemon juice, and serve warm.

Little Sweetheart in Pigtails

Miles - 2 months old

Jamie took Miles in for his 2-month check-up today. (I stayed home with Gisèle, who's still sick.) Miles is 24 1/4 inches tall (90%), and weighs 11 lbs, 1 oz (25-50%.) Still long and skinny! He's doing great, and handled his immunizations like a champ. :)

Gisele is feeling a bit better today, and will hopefully be able to go back to school tomorrow. I'm ready to get back to work, myself!

What a Day

Today was my first day back at work and Miles's first day at daycare. Jamie got off on time this morning with the two kids, with only one small meltdown from Gisèle, who wanted to open the car door herself after I had already opened it. All in all, a good start to the day. Jamie checked on Miles periodically during the day and reported that he was doing great - lots of smiles, and he hadn't cried once.

As I was leaving work this afternoon, I got a call from Jamie. The daycare had just reported that Gisèle had a fever of 103. It was 4:15, and the pediatrician's office closed at 5:00, so I called to see if they could stay open long enough for Jamie to get there with Gisèle. Because of the high fever, they agreed. I met Jamie there, and he let me know that the 20-minute drive had been a non-stop crying fest from both kids. He fed Miles while I held a crying little girl who was obviously not feeling good. The Dr. did an RSV test that immediately came back positive, and he said that Miles was likely to catch it as well. We got the 2 kids out to the car and left in the pouring rain.

On the way home, the street we take to our neighborhood was inexplicably closed. We detoured to a farther route and sat with all of the other cars that had detoured. At one point, Jamie texted to ask "Could this day get any worse?" My response: "Don't tempt fate."

So far, the day is ending well, though. Gisèle is a bit cranky, but has pee-peed in the potty twice, and Miles has been in a good mood and is now napping. Jamie just brought a pyjamaed Gisèle over to say night-night, and I'll just have to say a prayer that tomorrow goes well. It'll be the girls at home (so much for me being back at work), and the boys at work/daycare.

I'll close with a photo of Gisèle in her Halloween costume since it fits the theme.

One of Miles's First Baths

Miles wasn't too fond of his bath the first couple times he got one - as documented here. He loves them now, but he used to holler all the way up until we got him dressed and cuddled up in a blanket afterward.

Enchilada Lasagna

Sorry - no pictures!

I made Enchilada Lasagna for dinner recently. It started out as enchiladas, but turned into a lasagna-type preparation to save time. (I always used to break all the tortillas by accident, anyway.) I used Mom's original enchilada recipe, but added in about 4 Tbsp chopped cilantro, about 1/3 cup of Mexican corn, and about 1/2 a can of (chopped) sliced black olives, since I had them on hand. Instead of rolling individual tortillas, I layered the cheese, sauce, and some overlapping corn tortillas the same way lasagna is layered. Much quicker, and tastes the same! Here's the original enchiladas recipe:

Enchiladas

15 corn tortillas
1 lb ground beef
1 onion (I use about 1/2)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar (I use an additional half cup or so on top)
2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
salt & pepper (to taste)
2 cans tomato sauce
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
1 clove garlic, minced

-Preheat the oven to 350.
-Brown the ground beef with the onion. Drain & remove from heat.
-In a medium bowl, mix together the beef, sour cream, cheese, parsley, and salt & pepper.
-In the skillet you used to brown the beef, heat the remaining ingredients (except tortillas) until simmering, and simmer 5 minutes.
-Dip each tortilla in the sauce, fill with beef mixture, and roll. Place into a 9x13 pan, and pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas.
-Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Post-Potty Ponderings

**Warning**

This post will contain graphic information about my 2 year old's potty experience! If you are not a proud Grandma/Nana or relative, feel free to enjoy the cute picture above and skip the actual story!

**

Gisèle was a big girl today! She told us that she needed to go to the potty (before going!), and let me pull down her pants and pull-ups without squirming. After sitting on the potty for 6-7 minutes, singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat a few times and reading a book v-e-r-y slowly, she got her silent-grunt face on, and went poo-poo. She and I were both thrilled! She pointed to the result of her efforts and proudly exclaimed (repeatedly) "I poo-poo, Mama, I poo-poo!!" She then proceeded to poo-poo again, and follow it up with a pee-pee. It was a very exciting potty time. :) It was then that I was faced with a problem: Prior to tonight, she had only pee-peed in her little potty. The one time she had poo-pooed, it was while sitting on her little potty seat on top of the normal toilet. What to do now that there was poo-poo in her little plastic potty?

I grabbed the box of (non-flushable) wipes nearby and let her use the first one to wipe herself. She did so, and then - before I could say anything - tossed it on top of the pile of poop in her potty. I sighed and used a couple more to finish wiping her, and tossed them on top as well. She turned around so I could pull up her pull-up and pants, and then it happened - she reached over and pushed one of the dirty wipes further into the poo-poo. "Gisèle!", I exclaimed, "We don't touch poo-poo! It's dirty!" She fired right back with "I not touch the poo-poo, Mama - I touch the wipes!" I tried not to laugh, got her down to bed, and then Jamie and I sat down to discuss the clean-up situation.

I contended that I had dealt with the potty time and child clean-up; therefore, it was Jamie's turn for cleanup of the actual potty receptacle. He had no qualms, but thought that we should compromise - I should throw away the used wipes and dump the poo-poo in the toilet; he would clean out the little potty. (I had to take him to see the potty site before he would understand why I was reluctant to touch the wipes to throw them away.) After all was said and done, the wipes and poo-poo have been taken care of; Jamie will do the rest when I'm done with this post.

Out of curiosity, how DO you take care of #2 in a little plastic potty? Should I line the middle insert with trash bags?? There has to be an easier (more sanitary!) way to take care of this!

It's been a while!

I'm sorry about the lack of posting! I completely ignored the blog in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, and have forgotten about it since. I received an email yesterday from two of my favorite people (thanks, Meme & Pepe!) that served as a reminder. I've loaded the most recent pictures from my camera onto the computer, so I'll try to start posting regularly again now. In the meantime, here are some more recent pictures of Gisèle and Miles!

Gisele-isms

"Shloss-cloff" - washcloth
"Fufon" - futon
"I suck!" - I'm stuck
"Lemmo-lade" - lemonade

A Big Sister Gift from friends

Some good friends, Randall & Lizzie Collum, brought us a meal after Miles was born. They were so thoughtful - they included a Big Sister gift for Gisèle! It was a paint-with-water book, which I haven't seen since I was little. As you can see from the pictures, Gisèle LOVES it! She was so excited when she saw the first colors appear as she painted. Thank you, Collums!

Big Sister Cupcakes

During a trip to Kroger shortly before Miles was born, we bought a cake mix. Gisèle helped by holding the box while she sat in the cart, and she asked if it was her birthday cake. We explained that she had already had a birthday and birthday cake, but that we could make a Big Sister Cake for her after Miles was born and came home. I assumed that would be the end of it, and she would forget about it immediately, but the first thing she said upon waking up the next day was "Where'd my big cupcake doe {go}??" And she asked it multiple times a day after that. When Miles was 2 days old, Jamie took the time to make Gisèle some Big Sister cupcakes. I added sprinkles. :)

Father and Son

Gisèle's Big Sister Tricycle

Since Gisèle is such a big girl now, and because she's such a good Big Sister, she got a special gift recently - a tricycle! She was VERY excited, and did a great job riding it and being pushed on it by Daddy.

Asian Grilled Salmon - 2 ways

This is one of my absolute favorite recipes. It's very easy, and SO good. Jamie and I generally buy a pound of salmon, cut into 4 fillets. We'll each eat a fillet grilled for dinner, and then have the other 2 cold on salads the next day. The marinade recipe is from Ina Garten; the salad is something I made up. We like to have the salmon with grilled asparagus (drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with kosher salt & pepper.)

Asian Grilled Salmon

1 lb salmon, cut into 4 fillets
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp soy sauce
6 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp minced garlic (I use bottled)

-Combine the Dijon, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic.
-Place the salmon fillets in a gallon-sized bag, and dump in the marinade. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before grilling.
-Grill over direct-high heat for 4-5 minutes; flip and grill another 4-5 minutes.
-Let rest a few minutes before serving.

Asian Grilled Salmon Salad

-1 grilled salmon fillet per salad
-mandarin oranges
-sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
-salad greens (I like spring mix)
-fried wonton strips (optional)

-dressing: mix together 1 Tbsp honey, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, and 6 Tbsp olive oil

Decorating Pumpkins

Gisele and her baby

Gisèle has gotten very used to seeing me nurse Miles. She's well aware that babies are too little to eat food, and all they can do is drink milk from Mama or from a bottle. We happen to have a small boppy that came with a play gym we used when she was a baby, and we've given it to her to play with. She fed her baby today, wisely choosing to use a bottle - but she doesn't have any play bottles to use. What she DOES have is... a wooden hot dog. From her play food set. The picture below is of very poor quality (blurry from my phone), but gives you an idea - this is Gisèle, with her baby laying on her boppy. Right after she said "Where'd my hotdog doe {go}??"

Miles - 2 weeks old

We had Miles's 2-week appointment today, and he's doing great! The jaundice is gone, and he's already 7 oz above his birth weight! He's 22 inches long (90%) and 8 lbs 7 oz (50%) - so he's long and skinny. He's caught on to nursing, and keeps me busy by wanting to eat every three hours (or sometimes, every 2 or every 1 1/2) all day. Gisèle still adores him, and wants to kiss his head all the time. She also loves to see him awake, loves to point out his little feet when he's asleep, and gets VERY upset when he cries. We're loving being a family of 4! I haven't managed to take many pictures yet of him awake, so enjoy these of him sleeping. :)

Jamie

Jamie turned 31 on Tuesday, and I didn't even have a chance to get him a card. We'll end up celebrating sometime in the next couple of months, but until then, I can at least share some of the many things I love about him.

He's funny - both intentionally and not. He has such a great sense of humor, and can make me laugh no matter how else I might be feeling. He also has messes up his words occasionally - coming out with things I call Jamie-isms (example: trying to say "Humphrey Bogart" and it coming out as "Hogey Bumfart.")

He's HOT - he has wonderful dimples in his cheeks and his chin, the most beautiful smile in the world, and amazing brown eyes. Not to mention his perfect fingernails. :)



He's super smart, and so good at what he does. I love hearing about how things are going at work for him - he does so much there, and it's so nice to hear when he's been recognized for it. I'm incredibly proud of him for getting his CPA studying and testing done, and passing! He's dedicated and hardworking, and he's mine.

He's an amazing father. I somehow fall more and more in love with him every time I watch him with Gisèle, and now Miles. He's so much more patient than I am, and Gisèle completely adores him. He doesn't hesitate to put on a pink polka dot hat, to allow stickers to be placed all up and down his arms, or to cheer along Dora and Boots on one of their adventures, just to keep Gisèle company while she watches. He's so gentle with Miles, and I can't wait to see them interacting as Miles gets older. He changes 99% of the diapers in the house, and is ready any and every time I need support.



He amazes me with the sense of responsibility he has for our family and our house. He is constantly working on cleaning, yardwork, bills, plans, lists, and spreadsheets, all to keep our lives running smoothly. He takes care of everything so that I don't have to worry about anything at all.

He takes such good care of me. He offers back and foot rubs; he lets me nap when I can instead of reminding me about things that need to be done; he checks to make sure my blood sugar is okay; he reminds me to take medicine for my headaches; he spoils me with birthday, anniversary, and Christmas gifts; he constantly tells me how much he loves my cooking; and he is free with hugs and kisses, knowing how much I love the contact.



Jamie, I love you!!