So 2 weeks ago, January 9, I picked the children up at daycare and Scarlett's teacher told me she sat up all by herself. She has been sitting without support for a while, but this was the first time she got herself into position. I think it is my first 'missed milestone' for either of the children. Well, at least the first that neither David nor I saw. So when I got Scarlett home I gave her a good talking to. I told her when she is going to do something new she needs to save it for us. :) She actually waited a few days and didn't sit up at home until the weekend after she started sitting at daycare. Maybe she didn't like that talking to?
She's also really close to full on crawling. She will spot something across the room & knows how to roll to get there, and recently she has started scooting. She gets up on her hands and knees great, so I know it will be soon that she'll be crawling around quickly.
Sunday I also found a tooth. She got it a lot earlier than Matthew got his first one, and the sweet little thing didn't show any discomfort or signs of teething. I think with her being sick last week that was all that we noticed.
Yesterday we decided to have movie night at our house - Matthew had gotten a copy of Cars (the movie) for Christmas (last year!) and a set of the cars from McDonald's Happy Meals. When Matthew woke up from his nap we popped popcorn and told him we were going to watch a movie. He walked around saying "movie....movie....movie" like he was all excited, but he didn't even know what a movie was. We got his toy cars together & he sat with David on the couch. I think he enjoyed the movie - he would pick up his cars as they came up on the screen. I enjoyed watching him more than the movie.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Recipe Friday - Mango Chicken
I figured since I posted about the Mango Splitter for WFMW I should share one of my favorite mango recipes this week. I am including the recipe as I received it & then putting some notes at the end about how I adjust it.
1/2 c sugar
1/2 mango
1/2 tsp ginger
red pepper to taste
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp orange juice
Heat 1st 5 ingredients to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the orange juice and simmer 2-3 additional minutes. Serve with baked chicken breasts and rice.
My notes: I adjust the sugar based on how sweet my fruit is - I usually think 1/2 c is too much. I use 2 mangoes instead of 1/2. We like mango! I also use more ginger and a good bit of red pepper - we like it kind of spicy too.
I have also put the ingredients in a crock pot with the chicken and let it cook on low all day, and sometimes I throw it all in a dish in the oven. That works too, and the chicken absorbs a lot of flavor.
Presentation - one of my favorite restaurants back in the ATL was a Thai place that served AWESOME mango chicken. I'd love to have their recipe, but this is as close as I've found. Anyway, they gave you rice on a plate and then on a separate plate had half a mango peel, like a bowl. They spooned the mango & chicken in the mango peel and it looked so pretty! Since I use my vegetable peeler to peel my mango, I haven't tried to make it look pretty when I serve it!
1/2 c sugar
1/2 mango
1/2 tsp ginger
red pepper to taste
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp orange juice
Heat 1st 5 ingredients to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the orange juice and simmer 2-3 additional minutes. Serve with baked chicken breasts and rice.
My notes: I adjust the sugar based on how sweet my fruit is - I usually think 1/2 c is too much. I use 2 mangoes instead of 1/2. We like mango! I also use more ginger and a good bit of red pepper - we like it kind of spicy too.
I have also put the ingredients in a crock pot with the chicken and let it cook on low all day, and sometimes I throw it all in a dish in the oven. That works too, and the chicken absorbs a lot of flavor.
Presentation - one of my favorite restaurants back in the ATL was a Thai place that served AWESOME mango chicken. I'd love to have their recipe, but this is as close as I've found. Anyway, they gave you rice on a plate and then on a separate plate had half a mango peel, like a bowl. They spooned the mango & chicken in the mango peel and it looked so pretty! Since I use my vegetable peeler to peel my mango, I haven't tried to make it look pretty when I serve it!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Board books don't go tub
Oh boy, what a day. Daycare called at 4:50 Tuesday to tell me Scarlett was sick. Sure enough, she got home & had a temp of about 101, a really snotty nose, and a cough. Not to mention she was pretty dazed seeming, and she's usually a bright-eyed, smiley faced baby. Yesterday morning she seemed to be feeling a little better, but still was in the zone, not smiling much at all, and I could tell she still didn't feel good. She wasn't running a fever though. She has also had a diaper rash that wasn't improving with Desitin, it was actually getting worse, so I decided to call the pediatrician. I also had a lunch date with a friend, so I checked with her on bringing Scarlett along. Had a lovely time at lunch, took a bottle just in case Scarlett needed to eat (nope, she was fine), headed home, Scarlett started screaming! I finally stopped the car to figure out what was wrong - she was hungry so I nursed her in the parking lot where I'd stopped. Why I didn't feed her the bottle at lunch I don't know, and why I thought I'd have time to get home before she wanted to eat I don't know. I really thought she'd nap the whole trip home. Nope!
Anyway, I then went straight to the doctor's office and they basically said it is a really really nasty cold, possibly RSV but she didn't think it was RSV. They want us to do breathing treatments for a few days and if she doesn't improve then they will know it is most likely RSV so the treatment will be different. Scarlett did great for the first treatment, but she has fought them since! Her diaper rash that wouldn't respond to desitin was actually a yeast infection, so it makes sense that the desitin wasn't helping. We got a prescription for the infection and for the meds for her cold and off to the pharmacy we go. Get there, it's going to be about a 15 minute wait, so I stick Scarlett in a buggy and start browsing. I love CVS and they had a lot of stuff 50% off. I probably would have gone crazy but I didn't have my purse, just the diaper bag, and my CVS card was in my purse. No card, no deal, so no shopping for me!
We got the scripts and then headed to the hospital to pick up the machine at the supply store. First, I've never been to this hospital before, even though it is the closest to my house. So I called David to find out where exactly it is. Get there and they charge $2 for parking! I figure I'm only going to be there 5 minutes and I'm way toocheap frugal to pay parking if I don't have to, so I left and went to another medical supply store that I knew had free parking. I quickly did the math in my head & the gas to get there & home wasn't going to cost $2. Don't most places usually give you the first 15 minutes free? ARGH!
By the time I finally got home I had to nurse Scarlett & go pick up Matthew. I felt like it had been a busy day running around to make sure she's healthy!
After supper I took Matthew for his bath, and he wanted to potty. First, he wanted to sit on the big potty. So I squat and hold him up while he sits. I guess we need to get an insert if he's going to want to sit there. (I made a typo and typed "shit there" at first...I didn't mean that but I guess it's appropriate?) Then he told me "all done" but wanted to sit on his potty. I am so patient I let him...and gave him the book that we usually read while he sits there. We read it (3x!) and then he tossed it in the tub, which I of course had already filled. I said "your board book doesn't need a bath" to which he replied "board books don't go tub". I guess that says it all, huh? Wet cardboard...yuck! I think I need to buy some tub appropriate books.
Anyway, I then went straight to the doctor's office and they basically said it is a really really nasty cold, possibly RSV but she didn't think it was RSV. They want us to do breathing treatments for a few days and if she doesn't improve then they will know it is most likely RSV so the treatment will be different. Scarlett did great for the first treatment, but she has fought them since! Her diaper rash that wouldn't respond to desitin was actually a yeast infection, so it makes sense that the desitin wasn't helping. We got a prescription for the infection and for the meds for her cold and off to the pharmacy we go. Get there, it's going to be about a 15 minute wait, so I stick Scarlett in a buggy and start browsing. I love CVS and they had a lot of stuff 50% off. I probably would have gone crazy but I didn't have my purse, just the diaper bag, and my CVS card was in my purse. No card, no deal, so no shopping for me!
We got the scripts and then headed to the hospital to pick up the machine at the supply store. First, I've never been to this hospital before, even though it is the closest to my house. So I called David to find out where exactly it is. Get there and they charge $2 for parking! I figure I'm only going to be there 5 minutes and I'm way too
By the time I finally got home I had to nurse Scarlett & go pick up Matthew. I felt like it had been a busy day running around to make sure she's healthy!
After supper I took Matthew for his bath, and he wanted to potty. First, he wanted to sit on the big potty. So I squat and hold him up while he sits. I guess we need to get an insert if he's going to want to sit there. (I made a typo and typed "shit there" at first...I didn't mean that but I guess it's appropriate?) Then he told me "all done" but wanted to sit on his potty. I am so patient I let him...and gave him the book that we usually read while he sits there. We read it (3x!) and then he tossed it in the tub, which I of course had already filled. I said "your board book doesn't need a bath" to which he replied "board books don't go tub". I guess that says it all, huh? Wet cardboard...yuck! I think I need to buy some tub appropriate books.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
WFMW: Mango splitter
I love fruit, and one of my favorites is mango. Unfortunately I always felt like it was a pain to prepare at home, and very frustrating to get all the fruit off the seed. Then I found the Oxo Mango Splitter.
This little tool is worth the price to me, considering it now takes me no time to peel and cut up a mango. I use my vegetable peeler to peel it, then use this to split it from the seed. There is a small amount of fruit left on the seed, but nothing compared to what was left when I used to do it with a knife. It is so quick and easy, and I don't end up with juice all over my hands from trying to cut the fruit away from the seed.
Matthew loves to chew on the seed when I'm done so I don't try to get the fruit that is left off. I've also been told that if you clean the seeds and let them dry out that they make a great baby rattle, but I haven't tried that! :)
So the Oxo Mango Splitter works for me. For more tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.
This little tool is worth the price to me, considering it now takes me no time to peel and cut up a mango. I use my vegetable peeler to peel it, then use this to split it from the seed. There is a small amount of fruit left on the seed, but nothing compared to what was left when I used to do it with a knife. It is so quick and easy, and I don't end up with juice all over my hands from trying to cut the fruit away from the seed.
Matthew loves to chew on the seed when I'm done so I don't try to get the fruit that is left off. I've also been told that if you clean the seeds and let them dry out that they make a great baby rattle, but I haven't tried that! :)
So the Oxo Mango Splitter works for me. For more tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.
Monday, January 14, 2008
AAAHHH! Calgon, take me away....
I am in such a funk. I really don't know what's going on, but I've been exhausted lately. I think most people would say it's because I have an infant & a toddler, but I really don't think it's that. I don't remember it being nearly this bad just after Scarlett was born. I think a lot of it has to do with how much David is working lately. He has some projects that he's working on that he'll have to do ongoing reports / updates for, so he's taking a long time now to prepare the data so that it will be easier to retrieve & update next time. That makes sense to me, but it's driving me crazy. He is at least coming home at a decent time most nights & working from home after we put Matthew to bed, but still...I get annoyed seeing him with the laptop night after night. Maybe he should marry it. Yeah, I know, that's a totally childish remark, but I feel like actually saying that out loud to him. Instead I'm trying to be the supportive wife.
I can probably also blame part of it on the stress of being unemployed, but I don't think that's bothering me nearly as much as it should be. David & I are still working on a budget, to make sure that I can be a stay at home mom. So until we figure that out, I am only skimming job postings, just to see what's out there. And what I see isn't much. There really isn't much that fits my qualifications that doesn't require travel, especially that is only part time. I don't want to work FT, and fortunately David feels pretty strongly that I shouldn't work FT too. So for now Matthew & Scarlett are still going to daycare 3 days/week. So I'm a SAHM / housewife for now...I could understand being tired if the children were home every day, but when I am here alone 3 days/week, I just shouldn't be so tired.
If every day was like today, I would understand. When it came time to put Matthew down for his nap, he said "NO, mommy" and pointed his finger at me! I put him down anyway, and not 5 minutes later I heard him up. I went upstairs to put him back in bed, and he did this little penguin-like run across his room to get away from me, all the time saying "NO NAP mommy." It was cute but I'm too tired for that. I put him back down, and not 5 minutes later, yep, you got it...up again. This time he had a messy diaper though, so I changed him & put him back down. 5 minutes later...yep! I think he's finally asleep though. I told him the last time "You don't want to make me come back up here." Empty threats, because really, what can you do to a 2 year old who refuses to take a nap?
Seriously, any ideas?
So today I definitely question if I want to be a SAHM! I am not sure I can do this every day. I am not sure I have the patience to do this day in, day out. I love my children more than anything, but I think I might be a better mommy if I have time away from them. That feels terrible to admit. I don't know...we'll keep praying & eventually do that budget so we know what our options are.
I can probably also blame part of it on the stress of being unemployed, but I don't think that's bothering me nearly as much as it should be. David & I are still working on a budget, to make sure that I can be a stay at home mom. So until we figure that out, I am only skimming job postings, just to see what's out there. And what I see isn't much. There really isn't much that fits my qualifications that doesn't require travel, especially that is only part time. I don't want to work FT, and fortunately David feels pretty strongly that I shouldn't work FT too. So for now Matthew & Scarlett are still going to daycare 3 days/week. So I'm a SAHM / housewife for now...I could understand being tired if the children were home every day, but when I am here alone 3 days/week, I just shouldn't be so tired.
If every day was like today, I would understand. When it came time to put Matthew down for his nap, he said "NO, mommy" and pointed his finger at me! I put him down anyway, and not 5 minutes later I heard him up. I went upstairs to put him back in bed, and he did this little penguin-like run across his room to get away from me, all the time saying "NO NAP mommy." It was cute but I'm too tired for that. I put him back down, and not 5 minutes later, yep, you got it...up again. This time he had a messy diaper though, so I changed him & put him back down. 5 minutes later...yep! I think he's finally asleep though. I told him the last time "You don't want to make me come back up here." Empty threats, because really, what can you do to a 2 year old who refuses to take a nap?
Seriously, any ideas?
So today I definitely question if I want to be a SAHM! I am not sure I can do this every day. I am not sure I have the patience to do this day in, day out. I love my children more than anything, but I think I might be a better mommy if I have time away from them. That feels terrible to admit. I don't know...we'll keep praying & eventually do that budget so we know what our options are.
Church update
We visited a nearby church yesterday. One of our big hurdles is that we haven't liked any of the churches of our denomination, so we decided to venture out into other denominations. Yesterday we visted a Presbyterian church. The service was very nice, the crowd seemed to be a size we feel comfortable with. I was actually surprised by how much different the service was than "what I'm used to", but pleased that we both liked it. The negative from yesterday's visit is that it was the pastor's last day. He was actually an retired pastor who was acting as their interim pastor while they searched. So next week it will be a new one - we will definitely visit again.
Another thing that surprised me was that the hymns were very different than what D & I are used to. When discussing it afterwards we each said we would have flipped through the hymnal to see if our "familiar favorites" were there, but since we took Matthew & Scarlett in the service with us our hands were full. A cool thing the church does is provide canvas bags for all the children - in the bags they have crayons & paper. One of the other children in the church brought Matthew a bag - I thought that was very sweet & welcoming! (Of course we always have a well-stocked diaper bag when we want Matthew to sit quietly, but still - it was a nice touch.)
Another thing that surprised me was that the hymns were very different than what D & I are used to. When discussing it afterwards we each said we would have flipped through the hymnal to see if our "familiar favorites" were there, but since we took Matthew & Scarlett in the service with us our hands were full. A cool thing the church does is provide canvas bags for all the children - in the bags they have crayons & paper. One of the other children in the church brought Matthew a bag - I thought that was very sweet & welcoming! (Of course we always have a well-stocked diaper bag when we want Matthew to sit quietly, but still - it was a nice touch.)
Friday, January 11, 2008
give mommy kiss
It's been a good day. Matthew hasn't had a tantrum yet today, he ate good at breakfast and lunch, and we had a nice chunk of "just us" play time this morning while Scarlett napped. While he napped this afternoon Scarlett & I had a good chunk of time together too. Then I got her down for a nap while he was still napping so I had some time to myself.
When Matthew woke up we played in his room for a while since Scarlett was napping downstairs. I was sitting on his bed & he said "mommy nap" - so I laid down and he brought me his puff (a stuffed dog), his paci, and his blanket. He went on playing for a few minutes and then came over & said "I give mommy kiss" and climbed up in the bed with me, kissed me, climbed down, and went right on playing. A few minutes later he repeated these steps but added a hug. I LOVE his kisses, but I will admit that his hugs can't be beat. He wraps his little arms around you and squeezes just a little, but then he also adds a little pat on the back...pat pat. So sweet!
I should be playing with him now (actually I am, we are drinking "tea" from a tupperware tea set* that was mine when I was a little girl) but I just had to take a moment to record this.
*About that tea set, ours is not primary colors - instead it is fashionable 70s colors - brown, orange, avocado, and yellow.
When Matthew woke up we played in his room for a while since Scarlett was napping downstairs. I was sitting on his bed & he said "mommy nap" - so I laid down and he brought me his puff (a stuffed dog), his paci, and his blanket. He went on playing for a few minutes and then came over & said "I give mommy kiss" and climbed up in the bed with me, kissed me, climbed down, and went right on playing. A few minutes later he repeated these steps but added a hug. I LOVE his kisses, but I will admit that his hugs can't be beat. He wraps his little arms around you and squeezes just a little, but then he also adds a little pat on the back...pat pat. So sweet!
I should be playing with him now (actually I am, we are drinking "tea" from a tupperware tea set* that was mine when I was a little girl) but I just had to take a moment to record this.
*About that tea set, ours is not primary colors - instead it is fashionable 70s colors - brown, orange, avocado, and yellow.
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