Finally~Part 1

A couple of things happened this past week that were definitely blogworthy.

• Josiah FINALLY started using the pedals on his tricycle (aka scooter or motorcycle). I took him out to the street last night, and he used his pedals the whole way up and down the street. I'm so proud of you, Mijo!

• Alayna is FINALLY tall enough to touch the bottom of her exersaucer..."good-bye old med school textbook--back to the shelf".

• I FINALLY finished crocheting a blanket (my 3rd one since learning how in January) for a friend who delivered a healthy and beautiful little girl on Thursday. This has definitely been a labor of love. I started this blanket in March (uh, only 6 months ago) so it would be something to work on and relax me while I was in labor with Baby M#2...too bad I was so exhausted from being up the night before laboring that I chose drugs instead so that I could sleep until "push" time.

• I FINALLY transferred my old iTunes Library (all 603 songs) to our new computer. It only took me 2 hours to figure it out. Thanks, Windows Vista!

• And most importantly....I FINALLY joined a gym. It's been about a year since I last "hit the pavement". I'm ready to get back into a regular exercise/running routine, and I'm MORE than ready to shed these last 20 pounds of baby fat. To help me be a little bit more accountable, I also joined a blogosphere weight loss challenge "Hot For The Holidays". I'm starting two weeks late, but it's better late than NEVER. My goal is to lose 10-15 lbs. by Christmas. And each Friday, I'll be posting regarding my loss (or gain--grrrr).

There are a few more items on my "to-do" list. So once I finish a couple more, I'll be back with another FINALLY installment.

Menu Plan Monday--Sept 22

I'm really excited about this week's MPM at I'm an Organizing Junkie. This week, everyone who participates, is encouraged to include at least one link/recipe for a family favorite. I just LOVE a new recipe, especially one that is tried and true and has received "two thumbs up". So here is our plan for the week....including a dinner out in celebration of my birthday.

Monday-- **Family Favorite** Bourbon Chicken (I made this last night, so we're having the leftovers)
Tuesday--Dinner out
Wednesday--**Family Favorite** Sesame Beef Stir Fry (see recipe below)
Thursday--Chicken Broccoli Fettuccine
Friday--leftover Chicken Fettuccine
Saturday--Tacos
Sunday--Breakfast (or whatever else is leftover from the week)

Sesame Beef Stir Fry
(pulled from the Eating For Life Cookbook)

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 pound ground beef (we use ground turkey only)
1 T. toasted sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced
1 c. broccoli slaw (found in the bagged salads section)
1 c. napa cabbage, shredded
1 T. lite soy sauce

Prepare brown rice according to directions.
In a medium skillet or wok, brown ground beef until no longer pink. Remove from skillet, drain and set aside. Heat sesame oil over Medium-High heat. Add garlic and green onions; stir fry for 2 minutes. Add broccoli slaw and cabbage; stir fry for 2 minutes. Add rice and soy sauce; stir fry for 2 more minutes. Return the cooked ground beef to the skillet with the rice and vegetable mixture. Stir ingredients until well combined and heated through, about 2 minutes.

Makes 2 servings.

Wordless Wednesday--Reflection

Visit 5 Minutes For Mom for more Wordless Wednesday pics.

From Atop A Stepstool

Before we moved from VA, my good friend Gina gifted to us one of their extra stepstools. I had been thinking about buying one for Josiah so that we could use it in the bathroom-to help him wash his hands without having to be hoisted up on our knee. Well, it sounded like a good idea at the time. This small blue stepstool is dragged ALL.OVER.THE.HOUSE. In fact, it's rarely ever in the bathroom.

Josiah has discovered multiple uses for his stepstool.....

• stands on top of it while playing his guitar--I guess he feels like he's "on stage".
• works as a seat, just his size, in the living room.
• helps him access the water/ice dispenser from the fridge.
• enables him to reach items in the pantry that are one more shelf up.
• crawling up into Laney's crib.
• crawling up into Mommy's bed.
• reaching for Mommy's toothpaste--he does go one step further by opening the tube and helping himself to a cinnamon-mint flavored snack.
• and it allows him to reach various items on the countertops. Last night, I found pepper in my cup of water. UGH!

Oh, toddlers, they're so resourceful.

Menu Plan Monday-Sept 15

Since it's been a while since I shared our family meal plan (I always have one, but I've not been very good about posting it), and things have been pretty uneventful in our home, I thought I would post our very uneventful menu for the week....I guess "uneventful" has been the theme of our house for the past couple of days. :-)

Monday--Rosemary Chicken w/couscous and steamed broccoli
Tuesday--Sesame Beef Stir-Fry
Wednesday--Potstickers (does it impress you that I'll be making them from scratch?)
Thursday--Bourbon Chicken w/jasmine rice and edemame (this has become a favorite of ours)
Friday--Leftover Bourbon Chicken
Saturday--Leftover Potstickers
Sunday--"whatever you can find in the fridge"

For more menu planning ideas, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Kiss My Baby--Vote For Laney

One of our local radio stations is hosting a "Kiss My Baby" photo contest, so naturally, I entered Alayna since I think she is soooo very kissable. And I would have entered Josiah, too, but his age made him "ineligible"....can you believe it, an old man already. :-)

While I don't normally enter baby photo contests due to the outrageously high number of submissions (okay, I did enter Josiah once in a BabyGap contest), I thought we stood a chance if we entered a local contest. And why not? The Grand Prize is a $1000 shopping spree at Babies R Us, a trip for 2 to South Padre Island, and a photo package at a local photography studio.

And it wouldn't be a contest if it didn't matter how many votes each photo received...so I'm asking for a little bit of help here. If you're comfortable with it, I'd really appreciate your voting for my little princess. Please vote here, Laney is Baby 137. And to make sure that the voting is fair, only one vote per computer is allowed.

6 Needles

I took BOTH kids to the clinic this morning: Josiah, for his 2 year check up and Laney, for her 4 month well-baby visit. I am pleased to report that our children are growing like weeds.

Here are the kids' stats:

Josiah

Height: 36.5"--between 75-90th percentile, which is where he's been since birth

If we follow the general rule of thumb (to multiply the height at 2 YO by 2), Josiah will be around 6' tall...no short Mexican here, folks!

Weight: 31 pounds--90th percentile, again-consisent since birth

Alayna

Length: 25"--75th percentile

Weight: 16 lbs 15 oz--95th percentile

Head Circumference: 16.5"--75th percentile

This is just proof that "the secret is in the sauce"/breastmilk-it does a body good. :-) For the last 3.75 months, Laney's diet has consisted of nothing more than breastmilk; however, this past week I started supplementing with formula (I had run out of frozen milk to supplement with). I also introduced a couple of teaspoons of rice cereal once a day for a couple of days last week, just to see if that wouldn't hold her over longer than her usual "every two hour" feedings. Nope. It doesn't seem to matter if I give her more formula, whether she eats more than 2 teaspoons of cereal or has 6-7 oz breastmilk during one feeding.....this girl wants to eat EVERY two hours.

While Laney really hasn't exhibited any interest in rolling over (in either direction), she has successfully reached a couple of other 4 month developmental milestones:

• when her hands on propped on her feet, she is able to sit for a few seconds--ALONE.
• she grabs/reaches for toys when dangled in front of her
• she grabs her feet
• she tries to hold her bottle
• when on her tummy, she's able to complete a full push-up (however, not for very long--she HATES tummy-time) and is able to rock on her chest
• she smiles socially

During this morning's appointments, BOTH kiddos received shots. Josiah is now all caught up on his immunizations. At his 18 month appointment, we waited to give him his MMR shot due to my being pregnant. Even though I had been vaccinated against Rubella as a child, we didn't want to risk it. If a mother contracts Rubella while pregnant, there is a significant possibility that the baby would die in utero or be still born....not a risk I was willing to take. Josiah also received the Heptitis A (contracted through food and water) vaccination (the first of 2) since we are so close to the border. And poor Laney, she was tortured with 4 shots. But they both did well.....Josiah got a sucker to keep the tears at bay while Laney received a feeding directly from the dairy. :-)

Alayna is sleeping now, and Josiah is watching VeggieTales.