Although he enjoys the classics, he can also appreciate the trends. Here is his reaction to hearing Gangnam Style playing in the other room. (Please ignore the whiny toddler in the background.)
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Musical Baby
Russell loves to dance. Always has. It's like he just can't help it! I think he's got music in his soul. This pleases me. :)
Although he enjoys the classics, he can also appreciate the trends. Here is his reaction to hearing Gangnam Style playing in the other room. (Please ignore the whiny toddler in the background.)
Although he enjoys the classics, he can also appreciate the trends. Here is his reaction to hearing Gangnam Style playing in the other room. (Please ignore the whiny toddler in the background.)
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Dinner
One of my goals this year is to cook more. I've never been much of a cooker. I love to bake, but I haven't done much of that since Caleb's diagnosis. It's been hard finding where food fits into our family. But now that Russell is over one year old, he's supposed to be eating primarily table food. And since he doesn't have any food restrictions at this point, I want him to be comfortable eating a variety of flavors and textures. Realistically, a good portion of what goes into his mouth comes right back out after a few chews. It's not a good habit for a FTT baby to have.
And then there's Caleb. Eating is a social thing, and even when he can't eat the same foods as us, he still benefits from having us all sit at a table together, modeling the use of utensils, chewing, etc.
And then there's me. I'm not picky in the sense that there are a lot of foods that I don't like. I like pretty much anything. But if something doesn't sound good to me at that moment, I have a hard time making myself eat it. So when we don't have something planned for dinner and Nate looks in the fridge and says, "We could have tacos...pasta...," then I'm like, "GROSS! Yuck! No way!" And I end up eating a granola bar that's about as healthy as a candy bar for dinner. Then an hour later I'm hungry and I eat more packaged junk. Another one of my goals is to be healthier--I have no intention of losing weight (although a few pounds would be alright), but I want to feel generally better. You know. Move more. Not get tired from pushing my lightweights in their stroller up the hill at the zoo. That sort of thing.
And then there's Nate. He loves to cook. He says that he's never cranky while he's in the kitchen cooking. It's his happy place. He contributes to our dinners a lot, and he's glad to do it. But I get the feeling that he'd be glad to come home to some dinner made by me, too.
Enter: The Menu.
Such a novel idea. Why did I never think of this before?
I came up with 28 meals that we all enjoy and organized them into five different weeks. Each week contains one or two meals that takes some effort to prepare, and the rest are easy to throw together. Most of them I don't even need a recipe for. Some days are empty, for eating out or for leftovers or for whatever else happens to be going on that day. I tried to put similar meals on different weeks (so we don't have lasagna and stuffed shells in the same week), but I also put many meals that use the same ingredients in the same week--such as southwest egg rolls and Mexican salad (both use partial cans of black beans, so we don't waste half a can of beans).
Each week has some leeway as far as what we make each day. I see other peoples' menus that say: "Monday: tacos. Tuesday: lasagna. Wednesday: fried chicken," and I think, "But what if Monday comes around and I really, really, really don't feel like tacos?? Or what if Tuesday comes around and I don't have enough time to put together lasagna??" I just know that sort of menu wouldn't work for me. So, each day I look at my weekly list and choose what I feel like eating that day, and what I have the time and energy to prepare.
And I know that I'll have all of the ingredients I need for everything on that week's menu, because I also put together a handy dandy shopping list so we can go shopping every Friday or Saturday. I even organized it according to where I will find the food in our local store, going from left to right, because nothing is more annoying than looking at your shopping list and realizing you have to go back to aisle 1 again, even though you're on aisle 8 already. Grocery store ping pong. What a pain.
And do you know what else I have found? We're saving a lot of money by not going to Walmart. When you go to Walmart for some spinach, you also end up buying some curtain rods and some shower cleaner and some baby clothes (because they're on sale and they'll look soooo cute on little Russell even though he has way more clothing than any 13-month-old should ever need). And we're saving our receipts so we can see just how much money we spend on groceries in a month. So far it's around $65/week (and we haven't used any coupons). When we see something non-perishable on sale, we buy multiple so that five weeks later we don't have to pay full price for it. Then, before we go shopping we look through our fridge and our cupboards and our food storage and cross off everything on our list that we already have. And throughout the week I keep the lists handy so I can add to them when I find something ordinary that we're running out of (like butter or oil or flour).
This is our third week using this plan, and I can't tell you how much I love it! It helps that my boys nap until dinnertime, so I have an easier time preparing food. I honestly think this could be a really long-term thing for me. It's not a phase. I can do this!
So, would you be interested in seeing the menus and shopping lists that I've typed up? So you can use them for yourself and save the many hours that I spent putting them together? Well, alright then! You're welcome!
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And then there's Caleb. Eating is a social thing, and even when he can't eat the same foods as us, he still benefits from having us all sit at a table together, modeling the use of utensils, chewing, etc.
And then there's me. I'm not picky in the sense that there are a lot of foods that I don't like. I like pretty much anything. But if something doesn't sound good to me at that moment, I have a hard time making myself eat it. So when we don't have something planned for dinner and Nate looks in the fridge and says, "We could have tacos...pasta...," then I'm like, "GROSS! Yuck! No way!" And I end up eating a granola bar that's about as healthy as a candy bar for dinner. Then an hour later I'm hungry and I eat more packaged junk. Another one of my goals is to be healthier--I have no intention of losing weight (although a few pounds would be alright), but I want to feel generally better. You know. Move more. Not get tired from pushing my lightweights in their stroller up the hill at the zoo. That sort of thing.
And then there's Nate. He loves to cook. He says that he's never cranky while he's in the kitchen cooking. It's his happy place. He contributes to our dinners a lot, and he's glad to do it. But I get the feeling that he'd be glad to come home to some dinner made by me, too.
Enter: The Menu.
Such a novel idea. Why did I never think of this before?
I came up with 28 meals that we all enjoy and organized them into five different weeks. Each week contains one or two meals that takes some effort to prepare, and the rest are easy to throw together. Most of them I don't even need a recipe for. Some days are empty, for eating out or for leftovers or for whatever else happens to be going on that day. I tried to put similar meals on different weeks (so we don't have lasagna and stuffed shells in the same week), but I also put many meals that use the same ingredients in the same week--such as southwest egg rolls and Mexican salad (both use partial cans of black beans, so we don't waste half a can of beans).
Each week has some leeway as far as what we make each day. I see other peoples' menus that say: "Monday: tacos. Tuesday: lasagna. Wednesday: fried chicken," and I think, "But what if Monday comes around and I really, really, really don't feel like tacos?? Or what if Tuesday comes around and I don't have enough time to put together lasagna??" I just know that sort of menu wouldn't work for me. So, each day I look at my weekly list and choose what I feel like eating that day, and what I have the time and energy to prepare.
And I know that I'll have all of the ingredients I need for everything on that week's menu, because I also put together a handy dandy shopping list so we can go shopping every Friday or Saturday. I even organized it according to where I will find the food in our local store, going from left to right, because nothing is more annoying than looking at your shopping list and realizing you have to go back to aisle 1 again, even though you're on aisle 8 already. Grocery store ping pong. What a pain.
And do you know what else I have found? We're saving a lot of money by not going to Walmart. When you go to Walmart for some spinach, you also end up buying some curtain rods and some shower cleaner and some baby clothes (because they're on sale and they'll look soooo cute on little Russell even though he has way more clothing than any 13-month-old should ever need). And we're saving our receipts so we can see just how much money we spend on groceries in a month. So far it's around $65/week (and we haven't used any coupons). When we see something non-perishable on sale, we buy multiple so that five weeks later we don't have to pay full price for it. Then, before we go shopping we look through our fridge and our cupboards and our food storage and cross off everything on our list that we already have. And throughout the week I keep the lists handy so I can add to them when I find something ordinary that we're running out of (like butter or oil or flour).
This is our third week using this plan, and I can't tell you how much I love it! It helps that my boys nap until dinnertime, so I have an easier time preparing food. I honestly think this could be a really long-term thing for me. It's not a phase. I can do this!
So, would you be interested in seeing the menus and shopping lists that I've typed up? So you can use them for yourself and save the many hours that I spent putting them together? Well, alright then! You're welcome!
________________________________________
WEEK 1:
Italian dunkers
Crock pot roast
Lasagna
Loaded baked potato soup (in blender)
Ginger steak salad
Breakfast for dinner (any combo of omelets, pancakes, French
toast, sausage, bacon, etc)
SHOPPING LIST:
O French bread
O pasta sauce (3)
O lasagna noodles
O pancake mix
O brown sugar
O hot dogs
O steak
O roast
O ground hamburger/chicken/turkey (choose for lasagna)
O bacon
O breakfast sausage (optional)
O cottage cheese
O mozzarella (2) and cheddar cheese
O eggs
O sour cream
O milk
O potatoes
O cherry tomatoes
O romaine lettuce
O jalopeno
O ginger
O green onions
O carrots
O garlic
O lime
WEEK 2
Pollo Asado
Quesadillas with pinto beans
Lentil and Kilbasa soup
Sloppy joes
Calzones
tuna melts
SHOPPING LIST:
O bread
O hamburger buns
O corn tortillas
O pinto beans
O tuna
O stewed tomatoes
O lentils
O sloppy joe sauce packet w/ necessary ingredients
O pizza toppings
O rhode’s rolls
O chicken legs (large pack)
O ground beef
O keilbasa
O mozzarella and cheddar
O sour cream
O ricotta cheese (optional)
O apples
O oranges
O limes
O lemons
O carrots
O garlic (4 cloves)
O onions (3)
O avocados
WEEK 3
Cabbage and sausage
Café Rio burritos
French dip
Crock pot chicken
a la king
Taco soup
SHOPPING LIST:
O hoagie buns
O tortillas
O 3 cans coke
O diced tomatoes (with green chilies, optional)
O diced green chilies
O red enchilada sauce
O a jus sauce
O black beans
O tomato paste
O chicken broth/bullion
O cream of chicken soup
O frozen peas
O corn meal
O brown sugar
O pork (for pulling)
O sausage
O chicken breasts (many)
O roast beef
O mozzarella
O biscuit tube
O lime
O garlic
O cilantro
O avocado
O peppers (optional)
O mushrooms
O onions (4)
O cabbage
WEEK 4
Stuffed shells
Pot pie
Mexican chicken salad
Twice baked potatoes
Southwest egg rolls
SHOPPING LIST:
O tortilla chips
O pasta shells
O mixed veggie can
O cream of chicken soup
O black beans
O frozen corn
O pie shell
O oil
O cumin and cayenne
O chicken breasts (many)
O ham/bacon
O ground sausage
O Mexican cheese blend
O parmesan
O ricotta cheese
O cheddar and mozzarella
O sour cream
O eggs
O ranch dressing
O salsa
O egg roll wrappers
O avocados
O potatoes
O romaine lettuce
O tomatoes
O green onions
O spinach
O cilantro
O lime
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WEEK 5
Random pasta with sauce
Hamburgers
Pizza biscuits
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Stir fry of some sort
Enchiladas
SHOPPING LIST:
O bread
O hamburger buns
O tortillas
O tomato soup
O enchilada sauce
O olives
O pizza toppings (pep, ham, pineapple, etc)
O pasta
O sauce (for pasta and pizza)
O pasta meat (optional)
O stir fry meat (chicken, shrimp, steak, or sausage)
O hamburgers/ground beef
O chicken breast
O biscuit roll or pizza crust
O milk
O cream cheese
O cheddar, mozzarella
O sour cream
O pasta veggies
O hamburger toppings
O stir fry veggies
O green onions
And there you have it! A convenient plan to help you be healthier, save money, and be more organized while feeding your family! Now I've got to go check on the roast in my crock pot. It should be ready just in time for Nate to come home from work and for the boys to wake up from their naps. :)
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Christmas Morning!
I didn't capture much of Christmas on camera, but I couldn't pass up sharing this video of Caleb's reaction to what Santa brought him. I guess 3 is a magical age on Christmas Morning!
Monday, January 21, 2013
My baby's first birthday party!
We had a cute little Monster party for my cute little monster just before his birthday. I didn't get any pictures of him opening his presents...I was trying to take in the moment. ;) But here are some pictures and videos of the rest of it:
Monster cake with cake pop eyeballs. Only friendly monsters were welcome at this first birthday party. ;)
He's not so sure about this....
Falling apart....
Real mean trick, Mom. What were you thinking, putting a cake in front of me??
We put the little white chocolate "monster teeth" in his mouth, and he enjoyed them. Kind of.
He thought about enjoying the frosting.
But in the end he was quite offended at the sight of that cake on his tray.
So we tried giving him a much less overwhelming "slice" instead of the whole monster. He took a few tastes and thought they were all right.
Eventually he ended up crying until we wiped off his hands and gave him some crackers.
Hey, it's his birthday...I suppose he just wanted to cry.
At least he was cute and happy in this one-of-a-kind monster onesie that I made.
Russell is ONE YEAR OLD!
I know, I know. This is more than a month late. Go ahead, call me a bad mom. Or maybe just a bad blogger. And then forgive me and take a look at what my adorable little boy is up to these days!
At 12 months, Russell:
At 12 months, Russell:
- Weighs 16lbs 5.5oz, which isn't on the charts
- Measures 27.5 inches, which is barely below the charts as well
- Has a head circumference in the 38th percentile
- Wears size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. He only has 3 wet diapers a day
- Can crawl, cruise, and scale stairs going both up and down. I quite love that he can go up and down stairs. Check this out:
- Can stand up in the middle of a room, without pulling up on anything, and stand for a few short seconds
- Loves the cat and dogs. They cheer him right up when he's feeling down
- Is pretty great at eating a good variety and volume of solid foods. He doesn't rip things with his teeth very well, so I have to cut everything into small pieces, but otherwise he does well. He isn't yet into the habit of throwing everything off of his tray, which I appreciate very much! When there's something that he feels very strongly about not eating, then he'll drop it on the ground or just put it off to the side
- Has a favorite breakfast of wheat toast with margarine and homemade apple butter
- Has a favorite lunch of green smoothie (made with yogurt, apple juice, spinach, carrots, peaches, blueberries, and strawberries)
- Drinks 8-12oz of formula each day from a Nuk sippy cup. I would highly recommend them (as would our feeding therapist)! They don't have a valve, so it's easier for a baby to drink when they're not entirely motivated to drink more. And it makes for an easier transition from the bottle to a cup. Russell will almost always drink 4oz when he first wakes up, and the rest of his formula is taken an ounce or so at a time. He is usually not very willing to drink at all by the evening. He's also very, very bloated in the evening. Poor boy. I wouldn't want to eat if I looked like that, either. I kid you not, every single morning when I get him dressed I see his skinny little belly and give it kisses that make him giggle. Then every single night when I undress him to put on his jammies I'm always, always surprised at how huge his belly looks. You'd think I'd be used to it by now
- Drinks water from a straw sippy cup. He often demands water while in the middle of a meal. Likes to keep his palette moist, I suppose. He probably only drinks an ounce or two a day, but it's somethin'!
- Is anemic. :/ The GI doc wrote a prescription for iron, but the pharmacy said that it was actually an over-the-counter med. But then I couldn't find it on the shelf. Hmm. So I've just been giving him a multivitamin with 100% iron, but he still sleeps a lot at night. It's not abnormal for him to sleep from 9PM to 11AM. Although, he has been having a shorter nap than he used to, and he always wakes up mad from his naps. :( I attribute it to teething
- Is still on reflux meds 2x/day. It seems to help him to drink a bit more formula, but it's hard to tell
- Has 12 teeth (I think). The front four on top and bottom, and one molar on each side on both the top and the bottom. He's still missing his eye teeth/canines/fangs/whatevertheyrecalled. I think it's weird that his molars have come in but the others haven't
- Claps when we say "yay!" and waves when we say "bye-bye." He even has a proper wave, with his hand facing outward
- Is very good with taking a bath in the kitchen sink. He doesn't splash much at all. We've recently moved him to the tub to take a bath with Caleb, just when it's convenient to have one person bathe both boys. But our bath tub is super deep and huge, so it's hard to reach him. I prefer the sink
In this particular sink bath, Caleb was concerned that Russell didn't have any toys. I told him he could get Russ a rubber ducky, so he ran upstairs and grabbed the big box full of bath toys from under the bathroom sink and hauled it all of the way downstairs, set it in front of the sink, and pulled out all three rubber duckies and gave them to a very happy little Russell.
- Still uses his mouth as a third hand, as you can see in the above picture.
- Points at EVERYTHING! This is very wonderful. This is how babies learn words. He points, I label.
- Loves books with big, colorful pictures and toy cars. He is quite good at pushing cars around the floor
- Will dance to any music. Even if I'm singing "pop goes the weasel" he'll dance. He's a dancing fool, I tell you
- Enjoys putting objects into containers
- Loves me more than anything. Very rarely does he want to go to anyone but me, although it has happened a few times. His face lights up every time he sees me. Although, he is better about being separated from me, which is sooo nice.
- Has a personality to match mine. Caleb's personality is so very similar to Nate. They do everything alike. Good thing I love them both. ;) But they're so busy and fun-loving and at times very exhausting, and I'm more calm and quiet. It's nice to have Russ around. Like me, he likes to have fun when he's feeling comfortable in a familiar situation, but he's also cautious and shy and quiet at times. He balances out our family. Oh, I do so love having him around!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Proud Mommy Moment: Operation Smile
Caleb saw this commercial a few weeks ago. Ever since, he has been talking about the "babies with owies on their lips." I told him that maybe he could draw them a picture and mail it to them to make them happy. I also told him that he could give them some money to help them pay for surgery so that their owies can go bye-bye. He picked all of the coins from his bank (two quarters and a dime) and one dollar bill to mail to them.
I asked him what he wanted to say in his letter, and he said, "A." Well...that's a letter, all right! So together we came up with this "message" for them:
Did you know that $240 is all it takes to give one potentially life-saving surgery? 1 in 10 babies born with a cleft lip/palate dies in their first year. That's because they can't suck, so they can't eat. I know what it's like to have a baby who can't eat. It breaks my heart to think that so many babies can die of starvation.
Nate's employer matches charitable contributions, so we donated $120 and they donated $120. So together we may have saved a life! If you want to help the babies with owies on their lips, you can go here. It feels so good to do it.
And it feels so good to be teaching my small child to think about others and to give of himself to help them feel better. I hope I can continue to use these opportunities to teach my boys, and I hope they continue to love to give.
I asked him what he wanted to say in his letter, and he said, "A." Well...that's a letter, all right! So together we came up with this "message" for them:
Did you know that $240 is all it takes to give one potentially life-saving surgery? 1 in 10 babies born with a cleft lip/palate dies in their first year. That's because they can't suck, so they can't eat. I know what it's like to have a baby who can't eat. It breaks my heart to think that so many babies can die of starvation.
Nate's employer matches charitable contributions, so we donated $120 and they donated $120. So together we may have saved a life! If you want to help the babies with owies on their lips, you can go here. It feels so good to do it.
And it feels so good to be teaching my small child to think about others and to give of himself to help them feel better. I hope I can continue to use these opportunities to teach my boys, and I hope they continue to love to give.
Russell's new tricks
Don't you just love it when babies develop their receptive communication skills? I think it's my favorite. :)
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