A Word on Saturday

What’s the word of the weekend?

Falling.

Falling down after learning to climb up on the fireplace

Falling off the picnic table (indoor chidren’s table)

Falling out of the ottoman

Almost falling off his changing table

Nearly falling out of his high chair

There is a lot of falling at our house and we’ve got the bumps, bruises and scrapes to show for it.

Needless to say we will be expanding our babyproofing efforts tomorrow.

 

Grateful Friday

1. Early morning hugs and kisses from my boy. (He loves to give kisses now and although they are big open-mouthed slobbery kisses, it makes my mama heart SING!)  Also: green strippy jammies. The holidays are creeping in a little early at our house and I am loving it.

2. Jack’s Grandme (Aaron’s mom) is here to love on her grand baby and spend time with us. They are having a special day together today.

3. Date Night! (maybe two date nights…see above)

4. Homemade chocolate chip cookies

5. The fact that even though Aaron and I went down with the stomach flu this week, knock on wood, Jack seems to have avoided it.

6. Good friends who call and check in, send kind emails, drop off cookies, watch my kid in a pinch and text ‘just because,’ but most of all make me feel loved and supported.

7. Inspiring blogs in everything from motherhood to home decor to cooking to just plain funny.

8. My house. I love it more every day.

Tell me, what are you grateful for today?

Day 11: It’s Getting a Little Harder

It’s a little more challenging to think of something to say everyday…so instead of writing legitimate content, how about I show you some crappy photos of how Jack and I spent our day?

Okay then, exhibit A:

I call this ‘attacking the dog with LOVE’

Jack probably tackles Remington at least 50 times a day. No, I am not exaggerating. He really really loves the dog. Rem is learning to tolerate.

Exhibit B: climbing in and out of stuff

I pulled the slip covers off the couch and ottoman this afternoon to wash them and Jack thought that was AWESOME! He climbed on and off the couch and in and out of the ottoman for probably an hour. Yelling. The whole time. (At least it was happy yelling. Happy yelling is actually pretty cute).

And when the day is winding down, and you’re too tired to climb anymore, sometimes you just get into a giggle fit:

And then ride your scooter your great-grandparents gave you for your birthday!

(yes, I know how scraggly his hair is getting; yes, I know it’s looking a bit mullet-esque, but I’m not ready to part with those curls…)

One of Those Days

Do you ever have one of those days where you just need a little encouragement? Maybe a little peace?

Then, my friends, here is a beautiful song that never ceases to settle my soul. I hope it does the same for you today.

How He Loves by David Crowder Band

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If his grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

That He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

Here’s a link if you want to watch the video.

Hamthrax!

And…it wasn’t food poisoning. It’s the flu. Or hamthrax (as Sundry so perfectly put it).

Aaron went down this morning. I put Jack to bed tonight with a 101 degree fever. We are a den of sick and germs and yuckiness.

Hummmppphhh.

Thankfully, for me at least, it was truly a 24 hour bug. I bounced right back today and spent a good portion of it cleaning, making soup, delivering Gatorade and trying to entertain a cranky baby.

I’m holding out hope that Jack’s fever might have to do with him getting the H1N1 vaccine today. Yep, me the mother who has freaked out over every single vaccine my child has received, slowed the vaccine schedule down significantly and spun myself in circles trying to make a decision about H1N1; today was the day.

I decided against the seasonal flu vaccine but we did H1N1 because ultimately I decided the risks of infection outweighed the risks of the vaccine.

So, I’m curious, what did you decide?  If you or your kids are eligible did you get the vaccine or do you plan to?

Amongst my circle of friends, it’s nearly 50/50 in who’s doing it and who’s not.

Lame Excuse

I didn’t blog yesterday because my day was broken into two parts: before I got food poisoning and after.

Two words: SO LAME

Libby and I, plus my godson Will decided to make a quick trip to Seattle yesterday. We had tons of fun dinking around University Village and I got some great ideas for Christmas presents.

The day would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the horrific stomachache that hit me like a ton of bricks almost as soon as I walked through the door upon returning home. Cue a few hours later and I’m huddled on the bathroom floor wishing for death.

I’m really really hoping it is a touch of food poisoning and not a stomach flu or H1N1 or something else, because I don’t want to infect Jack or Aaron. Thanfully, I am feeling a lot better today and hopefully will be back to normal tomorrow.

Blah. I can’t even begin to put words to how much I hate throwing up. So awful.

On a better note, Aaron and Jack basically had a whole weekend to themselves. They spent the bulk of both yesterday and today together which was super fun for Jack. They went ’scoping’ for birds in the lower valley yesterday, went out for donuts this morning (and gatorade for me) and did lots of yard work this afternoon. Jackson loves to ride around in his wagon and it keeps him contained for a few minutes. My husband is a trooper. He was supposed to go hunting this morning, but that obviously went out the door.

Cross your fingers for us that this bug or whatever it is stops with me.

And, I’ll be back to my daily posting tomorrow.

A Day To Be Grateful

A few of the blogs I read are posting 30 days of gratefulness on their blogs this month. I love this idea and on this sunny crisp Friday, it seemed like a good day to reflect on what I’m grateful for.

• Waking up early enough to get a work-out in before starting the day. (Because I’ve finally stopped nursing, I’m noticing that getting in a daily workout is vital to managing my weight and keeping my appetite in check). Now if I could just stop eating the leftover Halloween candy!
• Sweet grandma-type ladies who took excellent care of Jackson while I went to MOPS this morning. They loved on my boy like he was their own grandbaby and it made my heart soar he was in such good hands.
• Red cups at Starbucks! We had an impromptu quick playdate at Starbucks with one of Jack’s favorite friend’s Jillian. Jack and Jillian are two weeks apart in age and it’s been really fun to watch these two grow and change over the last year. We shared a pumpkin loaf, let the kids roam in the grass and caught a few minutes to catch up. Very fun!
• Nap time! I’m sneaking in a few minutes to blog, email and watch Barefoot Contessa while my boy snoozes.
• Date night with my husband tonight.
• The weekend ahead. Hopefully it includes a morning to sleep in, homemade pumpkin waffles, long walks in the neighborhood, some cooking, reading, playing in the backyard and maybe even a little cleaning. And of course, church, a trip to Starbuck and lazily reading the Sunday paper.
• More than anything, I’m grateful for our health. I reconnected with a friend on Facebook who recently miscarried twins. My heart broke for her loss and made me want to scoop Jackson up and cover him in hugs and kisses. It was a tangible reminder that no matter how frustrated or hard the days can be, I get the honor and blessing to be Jackson’s mother. And for that, I am grateful.

 

Screaming

Jack is in a delightful new phase where he screams constantly. Sometimes he screams in joy and playfulness but mostly he just screams in frustration.

Tonight he screamed because I picked him up. Then he screamed when I put him down. Lather, Rinse, Repeat over and over all day long.

Sometimes he screams because he doesn’t like the food I put on his tray, or because he gets his toy stuck behind the couch or I close the closet door when he wanted to close it himself and the list goes on and on…

So tell me. What can I do about this?

• Teach him more sign language so he can communicate better?
• Laugh when he throws a tantrum? (That’s what I’ve mostly been doing and it does seem to help, sometimes he goes from an arched-back tantrum into belly laughing.)
•  Put him in his crib for a timeout?
• Take up drinking?

 Help. Our eardrums are depending on it.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

I love Trader Joes, particularly the almost whole wheat pizza dough you can buy in the refrigerated section. It’s not too dense, bakes up perfectly and has a subtle sweet buttery taste.

I don’t live anywhere near a Trader Joes, so it’s a special treat when we go to Seattle, to stop in and load up with all our favorite goodies before heading back across the mountains.

Last week, I was in the mood to make pizza but didn’t have any dough in the freezer. So, I broke out my favorite Cooking Light cookbook and found a recipe for whole wheat pizza dough.

I was a little nervous because I had to mix the yeast myself, let the dough rise, ect. Thankfully, the process was surprisingly easy. Time consuming, but easy.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough:

• 1 package dry yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (100 degrees)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• Cooking Spray

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups flour, whole wheat flour, olive oil and salt to yeast mixture, stirring until well blended. Turn dough out onto a flour surface and knead until smooth and elastic. (This is really important!!) Add remaining flour 1 tablespoon at a time to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

2. Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place (like stove top) for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. This makes two crusts. Freeze extra crust and when you are ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Cover and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle on a floured surface. Top and bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

We topped ours with jarred pesto, grilled chicken, roasted red peppers, grilled onions and mozzarella cheese. When the pizza came out of the oven I sprinkled a handful of parmesan and a couple of tablespoons of fresh chopped basil from the plant I keep in my window sill.

Everyone in my family loves this recipe and Jack gobbles it up minus the onions. I am always super intimidated by anything to do with yeast…but this was really easy and delicious. Not quite as good as Trader Joes but I think I’ll keep tweaking until it is!

Proof He Did Have Fun

 For a few minutes at least…okay scratch that…he wasn’t crying.

I’m sorry, I just can’t get enough of that little frog. This was snapped by some friend’s of ours and I couldn’t resist posting. Also, I think my husband is adorable.

Check out Jack’s fat rolls being squeezed by his socks.

Love it.