Festivus

It's been a busy vacation so far. I have been pet-sitting and shipping out Zip-Its while on vacation from my normal job.

Grandma Susan and husband Richard have come for a visit. They arrived Tuesday and after spending time playing with the kids we went out to eat at Thai Ploy for dinner. It is nice having multiple people to share orders with, we got some old favorites and also tried a new dish.

Wednesday morning we had biscuits and gravy for breakfast, with fruit and toast. Richard fixed the plug in our bathroom sink. For a late lunch we had turkey sandwiches (vegetarian), chips, nuts, fruit and the Little Debbie cupcakes that I had won from the drawing on facebook. Richard would not eat one, he said he knows what's in them. I will admit, 250 calories seems a bit excessive for one little cupcake and I am sure there is nothing nutritionally beneficial about them. I am not sold on them and do not plan to ever buy them again. Wednesday evening my mom came over and we all played Apples to Apples and had a rousing competition develop between Susan and Karen, coming down to a tie-breaker of which I was the judge.

Thursday (today) we had fried eggs with pepper jack cheese on english muffins for breakfast, with fried potatoes and fruit. Levi was supposed to be taking a nap and Ellie was acting tired so I tried to get a nap in too. Well Ellie decided not to sleep after all and grabbed my nose and scratched it up pretty good (again) with her razor sharp little nails. In the meantime, Levi finally went #2 on the toilet! How exciting! I told him we could have a party later to celebrate, and what did he want to eat? Pizza, he said. Awesome. So now I am making dough for pizza for dinner.

This afternoon Susan, Richard and Karen (Oma) took Levi out to the Children's Museum of Walla Walla. When he got back I asked him if he had a good time. He said "Uh, it was O.K." I asked him where he had gone. He replied, "To Wal-Mart, to Andy's, and to the Kid's Museum" He told me he had gotten some Teddy Grahams again.

I guess while they were speed-walking laps in Wal-Mart they ran into the Arns family. Later Susan asked Levi "Do you know that little girl, what is her name?" Levi's response? "Yes, she is the girl who fell into the toilet."

Happy New Years, everyone be safe!

Christmas Day

Ellie is starting to do an army crawl. It is good to see her getting more mobile, I was starting to worry that she would walk and never crawl!

Christmas morning dawned cold and without snow, but that was ok with me because that meant the roads were clear for driving out to do the other jobs I have to keep up with. I got the stockings down and we all had fun opening the contents first thing in the morning. We all got a lot of tasty treats :) Then I had to drive out to the chores but I was back by about 9:10 am and my mom was there. Matt started in on breakfast - eggnog pancakes, scrambled eggs, prosage links, crispy crowns (potatoes), grandma Joyce's applesauce, mandarin oranges, oh yes we had quite a feast planned.

Jerry and Gail arrived and Gail made up some sweet potato pancakes as well. Everything was so good, it was a great way to start the day.







After breakfast my dad called so I talked to him for a bit and then we read A Christmas Story book. Time for presents! Levi helped to read the name tags this year, recognizing his own name easily, and passed out the gifts. Grandma Lille had sent clothes for the kids and also a motorized car for Levi that is really fast on our hardwood floors. Grandpa Don sent a sweater for Ellie (zips up the back) and a child's horseshoe game for Levi. Grandma Venetha dropped off a bag of goodies before her trip to Idaho for the holiday, and that included a motion-sensor "Baby's First Christmas" bib that lit up. Grandpa Jeff had sent some nice sweaters for Levi, and also some Thomas DVDs with matching wooden trains for his collection. Ellie got some cute pajamas and a hooded jacket. Jerry and Gail gave us some fancy peanuts. We presented the parents with their annual book of the kids photos from Shutterfly. It was a really nice Christmas morning.



The three generations had a great time playing with Levi's wooden train set, incorporating his new turn-table.


After Levi's nap we went to Oma's for Christmas dinner. She served up vegetarian turkey loaf, baked potatoes, and Gail brought a relish plate of raw veggies. Afterwards we opened presents from Oma. She got Ellie a bunch of cute clothes and some cool new pajamas for Levi. Matt and I made out pretty well too. We watched some Christmas videos for Levi and most of us fell asleep on the couch. A nice relaxing evening!

Christmas Eve Day

Christmas Eve is upon us and I don't feel ready!

I worked until 5 pm tonight and then came home and helped straighten up the house. I asked Matt if he would like to invite the parents over and he thought that sounded nice. So we had our dinner and then my mom came over. We told Levi we could all open one present on Christmas Eve, so after we ate he picked out one he has had his eye on for the past two weeks! It was a turntable for his trains and once he saw that he couldn't think of much else. Matt opened up a movie and I opened up my other gifts from my Secret Santa (model horse) partner. A beautiful bay Arab mare, and chocolates! Treats for the dogs too! She thought of everyone, I am impressed. Ellie didn't open anything but rather enjoyed trying to wrestle the bubble wrap away from me!

I had to step out to do some other work for a little while but while I was gone my mom and Levi made some sugar cookies and she said he did all the cutting of the shapes and decorating them.



When I got back Jerry and Gail were also there and everyone seemed to be having a very nice time visiting. Matt served up hot apple cider and I read Levi his choice of Where The Wild Things Are and then Matt's choice of The First Christmas. I brushed Levi's teeth and got him into his PJs and then he came back out to say goodnight to everyone. My mom left and then Levi tried on Jerry's santa hat. I found him another one - photo op!



Jerry and Gail said goodbye and went on their merry way.

Levi and Matt then got involved with playing with Levi's wooden trains and it was so nice to hear them planning out their railways and using the new turntable. They were having such a nice time I didn't want to spoil it with the word "bedtime." It is Christmas Eve, after all :)

Milestone

Today Ellie sat up on her own.

Weekend update

More good news on the potty-training front. Today I prompted Levi just about every hour to use the toilet and he happily agreed. He is really getting the #1 part down. The #2 part, not so much. But I am still pleased with the progression thus far. He is pretty proud of himself every time, so I think it's been rewarding for him as well.

Today Oma came over for a visit and to play with the kids. Levi was a bit cranky when she first arrived (it's hard to wake up from a nap) but they soon joined forces on some puzzles and then laid down railroad tracks. It was a fairly mellow day.

I started making pizza dough about 5:30 and we assembled Thai pizzas at 7 pm so we could be ready to watch the Survivor finale at 8 pm. Levi sat quietly for almost an hour and then Matt put him to bed.

Ellie didn't go down until about 10 pm so I am hoping she sleeps better tonight. She has been getting me up about 5 times a night lately.

Yesterday, driving home from my horseback ride, I started having some vision problems. It only lasted about half an hour but was followed by a very bad headache. Freaked me out a little bit. I am hoping it is related to sleep-depravation and not something more serious.

Potty progress

I haven't posted much at all about potty training progress, or lack there of, so I will catch you up to speed.

I was in an art conference this morning at work, so I missed a very special call.
9:55 am 12/18
When I checked my messages I heard a little voice
"Guess what I did?"
(whispering) "I peed"
(prompted) "Talk to you later"
(again, prompted) "Love you, bye!"

I called Matt to get the whole story. Last night I noticed we had only one diaper left for Levi in his size. Well after Ellie's bath I got confused and put this big diaper on her. (Really now, size 5 and size 3 and I can't tell the difference?! Maybe I will just blame it on sleep depravation). So after Levi's bath I felt really bad when the diaper I thought was his last one was actually Ellie's. I put it on him anyway.

This morning I changed him into underwear. I asked him "which pair? boxers or the blue ones?" He chose the boxers.

Later that morning Matt went to pick Levi up and noticed he twisted away from him. Matt asked what was wrong, and if he needed to use the toilet. Levi said "yes, I think so."
So Matt accompanied him into the restroom.

(Back story) We had been using a little kids potty chair but with the house being for sale and everything it was just too cluttered in the bathroom, and Levi never did much of anything on it anyway, so we took it out. We have a step-stool now instead for Levi to stand at the big toilet. We have had a handful of successes but mostly Levi has anxiety about using the toilet and I have to sit there on the floor and talk to him to distract him for about 10 minutes before he can relax and forget about it and pee.

Well not today. When Matt asked Levi if he needed to pee, he said "Yes, I do."
And when Matt asked him if he wanted to be told a story, he said, "No thanks."

Levi said he wanted new underwear as Matt was pulling them up.
Then he pointed to them and said "There's a little bit of liquid in there - just a little bit."

Yay! A small victory!

We still have a long way to go but at least now I feel like there's some hope.

Meal Idea #4

Chicken Cacciatore

1 can vegetarian chicken, diced
1/2 c. oil
1 onion, minced
1 large can of chopped tomatoes, I like Del Monte basil & garlic, or a jar of homemade canned maters
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Saute onion and chicken in oil
Add other ingredients
Simmer until soft and blended
serve over rice

This is a quick and easy meal that has fast become a favorite. Just think of all that lycopene!

Meal Idea #3

Eggplant Parmesan with spaghetti, cottage cheese and broccoli. I get a lot of grief at work from co-workers who think it's incredibly weird that I eat cottage cheese with spaghetti. I'd like to know what you do!


My eggplant recipe doesn't actually have any Parmesan, unless I happen to have some of the grated stuff on hand. I slice my eggplant, dip it in beaten egg, then dip it in bread crumbs, then let it fry in olive oil in a skillet. Once browned, I transfer it to a baking dish and top it off with spaghetti sauce (Ragu's super chunky mushroom is an old favorite) and grated mozzarella. If I have fresh mushrooms on hand, I sauté those and add them too! It all goes in the oven at 350 for about 20 min.

Meal Idea #2

This recipe was a big hit at our house and I even overcooked the potatoes! I also was a little short on cheddar so I substituted a little mozzarella on top. We served this up with a vegetable - Matt made Chesapeake corn, and also Swiss Steak (vege). I don't agree that it serves six - I could have been way off in my guesstimate of 1 1/2 lbs of potatoes but we ate it all. It also does have a bit of a spicy kick to it.



Pimento Cheese Potato Gratin
by Matt Lee and Ted Lee

serves 6 • time: 10 minutes preparation, 35 minutes cooking

3 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 1⁄2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1⁄4-inch thick rounds
3⁄4 cup heavy cream
3 shallots, finely diced (scant 1⁄2 cup)
1⁄4 teaspoon crushed dried red chile flakes
1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
One 9-ounce jar roasted red peppers or piquillo peppers, with their liquid
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)

1 Heat the oven to 375°F, with racks positioned in the middle and the top third of the oven.

2 In a 3- to 4-quart stockpot, bring 2 quarts water and 2 teaspoons of the salt to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Then drain, and set them aside.

3 Combine the cream, shallots, chile flakes, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, the black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the jar of roasted peppers in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the chile flakes have begun to stain the cream, about 2 minutes. Add half of the cheese and stir until it melts, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.

4 Layer roughly a third of the potatoes in a 6-cup baking dish, overlapping them slightly so that they fit in an even layer. Scatter half of the roasted peppers on top of the potatoes (cut up any peppers that have remained whole so that they lie flat), and repeat layering potatoes and peppers until all the peppers and potatoes have been used. Pour the cream mixture over the potatoes and peppers, and agitate the dish to distribute the liquid throughout. Cover with aluminum foil and bake on the middle rack for 15 minutes.

5 Uncover the dish, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, and place the dish on the top oven rack. Bake for 8 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and gently browned on top. Serve immediately.

Meal Idea #1

Meal idea:

Baked Salmon (topped off with a little fresh ground black pepper, salt and garlic salt)
Salad greens with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts and capers
Stuffed Green Pepper - rice is Uncle Ben's 'Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil' Long-Grain and Wild Rice

Secret Santa!

I signed up for a Secret Santa exchange with some other fellow model horse hobbyists. My box arrived from my secret santa today! Her name is Amy Wilkerson.

I could not believe the LOOT!! WOO HOO!!

In this little bag was a SM Dapple Gray Morgan Stallion for me, and a hoofpick for Sinwaan (in our color - red!)

This cute little crazy horse was a dog squeaker and they loved "getting it"

Here is the other dog toy

Levi enjoyed using the hoof pick on Buddy.

The horse treats for Sinwaan were also a huge hit!

I am going to try very hard to exert self-control and wait until Christmas Eve to open the rest of the presents!! Thanks Amy for the awesome package of goodies!!