Getting prepared

I haven't been sleeping at all the last few nights.  Last night I was so comfortable on all my pillows, but the baby was super super active.  It was kicking like crazy and the foot finally reached my ribs.  It was kicking and kicking way up in my rib cage and that freaks me out because I think there might be a possibility that it could crack a rib.  Samuel kicked super hard too when I was pregnant with him and now this baby I feel like is just as strong.  I finally fell asleep around 4 am and then Joseph was up at 6:15.  Needless to say, I am very tired today.

Joseph is off to school today, which will be a nice break.  Samuel has his pre-school open house this morning.  We get to meet his new teachers.  He is so excited and it makes me happy to know that he is really excited to start school again.  He told me today that he is ready to start counting in Spanish again.  He is also really mad that today I have to stay.  He wants me to drop him off and then pick him up later.  

Hopefully Samuel will take a nap this afternoon.  Joseph has started a new thing in the morning.  When he wakes up and goes out of his room, he runs to Samuel's room and yells "Samuel, wake up!"  I tired to get him to be quiet this morning (since I finally got him up around 6:30), but he was yelling for Samuel and therefore woke Samuel up.  It is really cute to see both boys in the morning together. They always give each other a really big hug and kiss.  Too bad it doesn't happen around 7 or 7:30 in the morning.  I am not asking for much.  I would love it if they slept in even later, but 7 would be great for me.

Yesterday I was so excited to make a roast in the crock pot.  We don't eat that much beef around here and I was looking forward to having a nice roast with potatoes and carrots.  I got everything ready in the morning and the house smelled so good all day.  Dave got home from work and took the beef out and started cutting it up.  There were a few pieces that had a good amount of fat in it, so we threw the two pieces to George for a little snack.  Within about two minutes George was puking all over the floor.

Dave and I looked at each other and we both had the same feeling.  We weren't about to eat that beef if it made George puke immediately after eating it.  We threw everything in the trash.  I was so grossed out it was hard to even have an appetite.  I made a quick dinner of spinach salad with tomatoes, garbanzo beans, almonds and fresh goat cheese and a grilled sandwich with Manchego cheese, tomatoes and provel cheese.  It ended up being a really good dinner, just not what I intended.

Today the goal is to relax and get more stuff done around the house.

So Hot!

It is just unbearably hot outside.  At 11:30 we were coming home from the gym and it was 101 degrees and I called the weather line and it is 60% humidity.  It is just miserable to go outside.

The last two days I have taken to boys to the gym daycare and I have gotten some alone time.  Yesterday I swam in the pool and did just a very slow breast stroke so I didn't get my heart rate up and then I sat out for about 15 minutes to dry off.  It was so nice and relaxing.  Then today I went and did some arm weights and squats, read a little bit of a book and then got them.  It was great for everyone.  They got playtime inside with other kids and I got alone time.

Tomorrow I am checking out an Early Childhood Center at the Jewish Community Center for Joseph.  I can sign him up two days a week from 9am-3pm (Monday and Wednesday).  They have an educational curriculum and lots of playtime.  They feed him lunch and give him an afternoon nap.  If I like the place I am going to sign him up.  He needs to be in some type of school before I send him to the International Spanish school that Samuel goes to.  Joseph will be able be able to start at that school next September.

I am getting more and more frustrated with fixing meals around here for the boys.  Joseph is completely boycotting meat.  He will only eat chicken that I have in my homemade chicken soup and that is it.  He is also refusing to eat tofu.  I also keep him on a higher fiber diet, which is really hard.  He isn't supposed to eat (and he really doesn't like it anyway) cheese and bananas.  He loves cauliflower, bread, eggs and smoothies, some veggie things, but that is about it.  Meals are just getting harder and harder to figure out.

I have been making smoothies everyday for them.  I am trying to mix up the fruit to give a variety.  Every meal I make, half of it gets thrown on the floor.  It is so frustrating.

Samuel on the other hand has decided he wants Salami for every meal.  He wants salami sandwiches for lunch and dinner.  He doesn't really like bread, so he will eat a few bites with the bread and then just eat the salami.  Today he mixed it up a bit because he wanted Salami and Turkey on his sandwich.  He took about 5 bites with all the bread and everything and then just ate the meat.  Samuel is a pretty good eater.  he makes good food choices, but he only eats when he is hungry.  If he isn't hungry at lunchtime or dinner time he just won't eat.  That is annoying too.

Anyway, last night I needed to use up Ricotta cheese and fresh mozzarella cheese I had in the fridge so I whipped up this very yummy pasta dish.  Dave and I thought it was great and of course neither of the boys ate any of it.

Fresh Spinach and Fresh Mozzarella Pasta Bake

Saute two tablespoons of minced garlic and half of an diced onion in about a tablespoon of olive oil.
Chop up a ton of fresh spinach and add that to the garlic and onion mixture when the onions are translucent.
Cook the spinach down
Add two jars of Pasta Sauce (I used an organic Garlic Marinara Sauce)
Cook until a little bubbly
Add one small container of Ricotta Cheese
Cube up some fresh mozzarella cheese and add to sauce

Cook a container of whole wheat pasta (I used leftover pasta I had in the pantry (Rigatoni and Fusilli) in boiling water for 9 minutes then drain

Put a little bit of sauce at the bottom of a baking dish (11x13) to coat the bottom

Add pasta to sauce mixture and make sure all the pasta is covered in sauce

Put everything into baking dish

Cover all the pasta with thin slices of fresh mozzarella cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until all the cheese is melted and it is bubbling.

It was super creamy and delicious.  It was great for leftovers too!

Happy Independence Day!

Hopefully everyone is enjoying the long weekend.  Our plans have been somewhat disrupted because Joseph has had a fever all weekend.  He woke up with a fever on Friday morning and he hasn't gotten rid of it.  The highest it has reached is 101, but it has been around 100 the whole weekend.  He is coughing and has a runny nose too, but other then that he is acting completely fine.  He is running around and not even acting sick.  Samuel has a bit of a cough too, but is also acting coming fine.

They are both napping right now, which both Dave and I needed desperately.  They have been waking up at 6 am.  What is wrong with them?  How do you get kids to sleep in later?  Joseph goes to bed between 6:30 and 7 at night (we can't get him to stay up any later, he literally can not function by 7) and Samuel goes to bed between 7 and 8 depending on if he took a nap or not.  They do go to bed at a reasonable time, but my gosh can they not sleep in later.

Other then not much sleep and dealing with wild children all weekend, I have been cooking up a storm.

On Saturday night we had grilled Bone-in Rib-eye (which was absolutely delicious), crab cakes, roasted fingerling potatoes (oil, garlic, rosemary, onion powder, cayenne pepper, pepper and salt all tossed with the potatoes and put on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes), grilled zucchini, squash, and portabella mushrooms.

On Sunday night we had roasted turkey breast (cooked in the oven in a roaster with celery, carrots, onions, rosemary and brushed with oil, seasoning salt, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and parsley cooked at 325 for 2 hours), garlic mashed potatoes and fresh green beans.  It was super delicious.  We had a lot of leftover turkey, so I sliced that up and we will use it for sandwiches for the rest of the week.  Yummy.

Tonight I am making Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers.  I am going to post pictures and the recipe at Table for Two.

From now on I am going to try to post all my food related items at that blog.  It is easier to keep it separate from all my family stuff.

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

Every night Joseph wants to lay down with Samuel on the couch.  They are so cute together.

On the train at the Museum of Transportation

Joseph isn't much of a hugger but he loves to give Samuel hugs.  I LOVE this picture of the boys.

Check out that height difference

More hugs!

Best Vegetable Cheese Enchiladas Ever

Tonight I made the best Mexican food ever.  I made Vegetable Cheese Enchiladas, Jalapeno Cilantro Rice with Sauteed Fresh Corn.

I will start with the easy sides.  Now I can't give you specific measurements because I kind of just throw things in, but I can give you estimates and you can alter it to your own liking.

Jalapeno Cilantro Rice


Brown Rice - (cook like you normally would, I made enough for 4-6 servings)

Take a small frying pan and put in some oil (about 1 tablespoon), turn on medium heat.  Add about two tablespoons minced garlic, half of a large onion chopped and two tablespoons jalapenos chopped (I used jarred sliced jalapenos that I keep in the fridge).  Saute everything until the onions are translucent, but don't make the pan too hot that it browns the onions or garlic.  You don't want to burn it at all.  Lower the heat if it starts to brown at all.

Once the onions are cooked turn the heat off, then add about two tablespoons or more of chopped fresh cilantro (I love cilantro, so I added a lot) and mix it all up together.

After all mixed, then add onions, garlic, jalapeno and cilantro to the brown rice and fluff all together.

It was absolutely delicious.  It had a great kick and tons of flavor.

Sauteed Corn


I used three ears of fresh corn.  I sliced all the kernels off the cob.

Use a medium frying pan.  Put about one tablespoon of butter.  Melt butter halfway in pan.  Add all the kernels.  Saute so that all the corn is covered in butter.  Then add a little fresh cracked pepper and sea salt to taste.  Saute entire mixture until hot.

Dave added the corn to his rice and mixed them all together and I tried it both separately and mixed and it both tasted great.

Vegetable Cheese Enchiladas


Enchilada Sauce
2 15 oz. can of organic tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Chili Powder
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Cumin (or more if you like cumin)
1 red bell pepper (or any other bell pepper) chopped

Combine all in a pot and cook until it starts to boil, then let it simmer for at least 5 minutes.  Once cooked, put enough sauce on the bottom of an 11x13 baking dish to have a nice layer on the bottom.  Then add some sauce to a bowl because you are going to dip the corn tortillas in the sauce on both sides before you stuff them.  The remaining sauce will be poured over the top of the enchiladas.

Cheese Mixture


One package of mixed Mexican blend cheese (I think it was 15 oz total)
A little more then half of a cup of sour cream
Two Tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley
Pepper
Cilantro (Add as much as you want or non at all)

Mix everything together in a bowl and set aside for stuffing of the tortillas later

Vegetables


1 cup mushroom, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped squash
1 cup chopped bell pepper
2 tablespoons garlic
half of a large onion chopped

Use a little bit of olive oil and heat in pan.  Add garlic and onions, cooked until onions are translucent.  Add all the remaining vegetables and saute until partially cooked (you don't want to overcook because you don't want it to be mushy in your enchilada).  Remove from heat and get ready to add to enchilada.

Assembly
Preheat over to 350.
Before you start to assemble you will also need a can of refried beans (I used Organic Refried Pinto Beans) and a can black beans drained.

For each corn tortilla:

Dip both sides in enchilada sauce, then add down the center a thin layer of refried beans, some black beans, some of the sauteed vegetables and then some of the cheese mixture.  It will be a full tortilla, but roll it over and place in baking dish seam side down.

Continue until you fill up the baking dish.  Put in as many as you can get.

I had a good amount of left over veggies, so I placed them all over the top of the rolled tortillas (remember that they might be juicy from being heated, so just drain the juice and pour only the veggies on top, not the juice).  Then pour all the remaining sauce over the enchiladas.

You will have leftover refried beans and black beans as well.  You could heat it up and have it as an additional side dish or put it away and keep it for quesadillas later.

There should be extra cheese mixture left over too.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.  Then add a little more cheddar cheese over the top to cover all the remaining enchiladas.  You don't need that much cheddar cheese because the cheese mixture really spreads when it heats up and melts.

Bake in 350 oven for about 20 minutes until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Let sit out for about 10 minutes before cutting into it.

Everything was so delicious.  Dave and I loved everything.  So good.

Nesting and Eating

I think I am beginning to nest.  I was feeling the need to start serious organizing yesterday.  I am also really started to freak out about having three kids.  There is just so much to do.  First on the list:  BUY A CRIB.  We are going to set up a crib in my office connected to our bedroom and I really need to get a crib and a small changing table.  I think I am just going to get on Target's website and order a crib.  I don't want anything special.  We are planning to keep the baby in that room for a while and then move it to its own room.  I want to keep our guest bedroom until we are able to finish the basement.  If we could only sell our old house.  Keep your fingers crossed everyone.

I am really in the mood lately to bake and cook.  Yesterday I made veggie chili in the crockpot (Canned Diced Tomatoes, Black Beans, Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, Corn, Celery, Two Bay leaves, Cumin, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper) and had it cooking all day and then I made homemade biscuits (made with whole wheat flour and ground flax seed.  It was healthy and delicious).

I am trying to come up with more crockpot ideas because it is easy.  If anyone had good ideas let me know.

Tonight I am making lemon chicken cooked with Brussel sprouts and cannellini beans.  I will probably make some quinoa to go with it.

I have lots more ideas.  I am so sick of eating out.  Again, if anyone has yummy easy food ideas let me know.  I am all about tasty and easy for the summer.  There is just too much else going on.

Here is my list so far:
1.  Cheese Pizza and BBQ Chicken Pizza
2.  Whole Wheat Pasta with Cooked Spinach (with onion and garlic) and Tomato Sauce
3.  Taco Salad or Nacho Salad
4.  Breakfast for dinner
5.  Turkey Breast with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Veggies, Cranberries (I have really been craving a Thanksgiving like dinner for a while.  It is definitely a pregnancy thing).
6.  Quiches
7.  Tomato Pie (Pie crust with sliced fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic topped with Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese)

That is my list so far.  I am planning to add to it and just mark things off.  I need to have ideas or I never get motivated to cook at the last minute.  I am also flipping through lots of cookbooks for baking ideas.

Need to be productive

I have taken off the last few days of all house things.  I have been burnt out on unloading boxes.  However today I am feeling like I am ready to be productive again.  I am taking a little time now while the boys are asleep to relax and watch a little Bethany Ever After.

A few things:

Joseph has become obsessed in the last two or three weeks with his blankies.  We have always had about four or five small little blankets in his bed with him and he never cared about them.  Then all of the sudden the last few weeks he can't go anywhere without his little blue soft blanket.  He has to be squeezing it when he goes to bed and wakes up clutching it.  It is really cute.  I will get a good picture and post it soon.

I made this delicious recipe about a week ago.  I pulled it out of a magazine and it was wonderful.  It is completely vegetarian.  Dave loved it too.  It says that it serves 4 to 6, but I think it serves more like 8 to 10.  Just a warning, it does take some time to prepare.  The chopping of all the veggies and sauteing of everything takes a while, so you need at least a few hours to prepare.

Caserola Milanese

Polenta


6 cups    water
2 cups    yellow cornmeal
2 oz        butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper taste
2 oz       grated Parmesan

Filling


3 cloves   garlic, minced
4 cups      chopped onion
3 Tbsp     olive oil
2     carrots, diced
3  celery ribs, diced
1/3 cup   fresh basil
2 tsp dried oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups  diced eggplant
1 1/2 cups diced zucchini
1  bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups canned plum tomatoes
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3 cups fresh mozzarella, shredded

Preparation - Polenta


Bring water to a boil and gradually add cornmeal in a thin stream, stirring rapidly.  While continuing to stir, add butter, salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes (it didn't take this long at all, just watch it), stirring often.  When the polenta mixture has thickened, add Parmesan.  Pour mixture into a buttered 12 inch casserole dish and let cool.  Refrigerate.

Preparation - Filling


Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Saute garlic and onion in oil until translucent.  Add carrots, celery, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and continue to cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until carrots are bright orange.  Add eggplant and saute for 5 minutes.  Add zucchini and bell pepper, cooking until tender.  Add tomatoes, tomato paste and red wine.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan.

To Assemble


Spoon filling evenly over cooled polenta, top with mozzarella and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until cheese begins to brown.  Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Recovering Weekend and Mexican Pizza

We spent the whole weekend recovering.  The boys are almost 100%.  They each have a little bit of a cough, but other then that they are feeling much better.  They are both sleeping all night, which is helping me recover from my minimal sleep a few weekends ago.  

Here are some pictures of the boys hanging out while we were stuck at home. 

Mexican Pizza:

Out family LOVES Mexican food.  I have been getting kind of bored with just making the regular burritos and tacos, so I decided that I wanted to try to make a Mexican pizza.  It turned out delicious.  Dave and I were the only ones to eat it because Samuel prefers to make his own burritos with all the sides.

Here is what I did:

I used a Whole Wheat Bobli pizza crust.

I warmed up some refried beans, so it would be easier to spread on the pizza crust and I put that on as my first layer.

I cooked some ground turkey and added a tiny bit of taco seasoning.  I wanted just a little bit of flavor, but I don't normally like to use taco seasoning because of all the sodium.  In retrospect, it was not necessary to use taco seasoning at all.

Then I added a blend of Mexican cheeses (you can buy that at the store).  I didn't realize that I put low fat cheese on the pizza until I put it all on.  That was a mistake because it didn't melt well at all.  However it still tasted really good.

Here is the pizza after it came out of the oven:

List of the toppings: Cool Ranch Doritos, Sour Cream, Salsa, Guacamole, Romaine Lettuce and Chopped Tomatoes.  

Then we layered, first with the sour cream:

Then with the Guacamole:

Then the Salsa:

Lastly, the romaine lettuce, tomatoes and crumbled up cool ranch Doritos.  It was delicious and easy.

Here is Samuel assembling is burrito and chowing down.  Mexican night is always a success.

Accomplished

I feel like I actually accomplished something today.  Samuel went back to school, which was a relief to all of us.  Joseph took a great morning nap, for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, so I was able to get lots of stuff done in the house.  I am feeling very overwhelmed with the amount of packing we are going to have to do to move.  It seems like I am filling up boxes, but nothing seems to be disappearing.  I filled up four boxes today and put them out in the garage.  I am trying to organize by area and emptying out drawers full of junk.  It is actually a good feeling to find useless things and just throw them away.  I am hoping I find more of those things.  I am one of those people that keeps everything.  I become emotionally attached to lots of junk (don't worry you don't have to call on the Hoarders show).  Luckily I have Dave that doesn't mind throwing things away or donating them.

So yesterday was an interesting day.  We were busy all day playing games and watching movies.  I have been craving homemade coleslaw for about a week because I was watching the food network and Paula Dean made a delicious looking coleslaw, so I wanted to make some myself.  It was DELICIOUS.

I call my coleslaw: Falling Down the Stairs Coleslaw (I'll explain the name later)
Cut up half of a regular cabbage
Cut up a whole red cabbage (it was pretty small)
It made about 5 or 6 cups of chopped cabbage
Mixed together:
1 cup light mayo
about a teaspoon pepper
a few dashes of Kosher Salt
about a teaspoon celery seeds (add more to your liking)
about 2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard (I used the stone ground kind)
Champagne Vinegar (I bought this at a local olive oil store.  I was looking for white balsamic and they had this.  A little bit goes a long way).  I mixed in the vinegar until the dressing was smooth and easy to pour.
I poured it over the cabbage and chilled it for about an hour.

We made turkey and corned beef rubens.  They were so good.

Here is the story behind the name.  I was so excited about making my coleslaw.  The boys were up and playing in the kitchen while I was mixing everything up.  As I am pouring the dressing over the cabbage, I think oh my gosh, where is Joseph.  Then I hear a loud thump coming from the living room.  Joseph must have high tailed it upstairs and then fell down them and knocked him poor little head on the wood floor.  I felt like a terrible mom.  I have no idea how high he got up on the stairs and I don't know how he fell, but he had a small bump on the back of his head.  He had no bruises or scratches anywhere else.  I woke him up at nap time to make sure he didn't have a concussion and then he was up every 4 hours in the middle of the night.  He is perfectly fine today, but I think he is getting a cold, so he is cranky anyway.

I know you are wondering why I don't have a gate on the stairs.  Well, all of our gates are in storage and we are going to get one this weekend.  He normally is never out of my site, so I haven't been that worried about the stairs.  But Joseph is a wild man and I need to be more vigilant.

On another note, I have a serious question to all you moms with kids who go to school or interact with lots of other kids.  As you know Samuel is in school and goes now 5 mornings a week.  He has come home now twice with scratches.  One was a huge scratch on his face and then today he came home with scratches around his neck.  The Director came out with Samuel after school and told me about the scratches.  Apparently a little boy in his class (the smallest tiniest boy) will not leave Samuel alone.  She said that he is always grabbing him and squeezing him and obviously hurting him.  She said she has already talked to the little boys mom and they are working with him to stop.  I asked what Samuel does and she said that he doesn't cry he just gets really annoyed and tries to get away from him.

So my question is...What do you do about the situation?  What questions do I need to ask the teachers?  What steps do I need to take?  What advice do I tell Samuel?  (I ask him what happened at school and only once did he tell me about the little boy.  Most of the time he doesn't say anything).

I have a hard time figure out what to do as a parent.  Please give me advice!!!!!!

That is it for now.

Weekend Approaching

I survived Mother's Day out on Monday, but Joseph barely did. The ladies said that he cried almost the entire time, except during his 20 minute nap and then about 30 minutes after he played in his crib and then cried the rest of the time. Poor kid. He was so tired Monday evening that he went to bed around 6:45. Samuel had a great time and played very hard. He was also exhausted by the evening and asked us if he could go to bed around 7:15. It was awesome. Dave and I got to have alone time starting at 7:30. Hopefully this will continue because it would be nice to start off the week with the kids going to bed early.

After only one and a half weeks of Spanish school, Samuel said his first word this morning without being prompted. I took out his school uniform and he said, "I go to school and say Hola!" I think that is pretty good. The only problem is that Hola is about the only word I know in Spanish other then counting 1-10. Should be interesting when he starts really talking in Spanish because I will have no idea what he is saying.

Joseph is getting much better at standing, but he can't pull himself up and he isn't really interested in crawling yet. I am sure one of these days it will just happen. Here he is standing, he was pretty happy with himself:

Samuel was really enjoying his cereal yesterday:

Samuel has been going through a non-cooperation phase when it comes to pictures. He doesn't really like to look at the camera and won't smile on command like he used too. Well, yesterday I was taking pictures of Joseph and I asked Samuel if he would pose for the camera and these are the funny pictures I got of him. He actually put his hand under his chin on his own.

Lastly, I have been making some awesome food this week. I liked the curry the best and Dave loved the Ragu. Here are the recipes. They are super easy and very tasty.

1. Fall Vegetable Curry with Cashew Basmati Rice

2. Mushroom and Sausage Ragu with Polenta - I used spicy chicken sausage instead of the turkey sausage

3. Cider Glazed Chicken (I didn't make the rice even though it sounds really good). Instead I made cous cous with Feta Cheese, Tomatoes and Shallots. It was delicious.

It has been a great eating week and I have been feeling super healthy and satisfied. I only have about 45 minutes until I have to pick up Samuel from school, so I am off to do some house stuff.

Headless Chicken

I feel like I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off. For the past two days I have been so busy running errands and just doing stuff around the house and kid stuff and I am pooped.

Yesterday, I didn't sit down until 3:05 pm and that was to feed Joseph and then I left the house at 3:25 to pick Samuel up at mother's day out.

I did make an awesome dinner last night. I made a Chuck Roast. It was one of Barefoot Contessa's recipes called Company Pot Roast. It was delicious, but the recipe called for too much salt, so next time I won't use as much. It took about an hour or so for the preparation which took me about an hour and a half because I had to stop and take care of Joseph. I will make this again for sure.

Today we have been super busy as well. Last night Joseph slept for 6 and a half hours (this is the third time in two weeks). However, when he woke up at 3 am he was really restless until about 6:30. He had been really congested, but this morning he was coughing a lot. I got a little nervous because I was worried that his cold had moved from his head to his chest. I called the doctor and they wanted me to bring him in just to listen to his chest and check his ears. I was able to get Joseph to take a nap and I got Samuel to watch some cartoons in my bed and I jumped in the shower. After the shower we got all of our stuff together to go to the doctor. I gave myself enough time to run by Starbucks because I desperately needed a Chai Tea Latte.

So we got to the doctor and everything is fine with Joseph, he just has a little cold. I feel like I have been overreacting or super cautious with Joseph, but I don't want to take any chances. Since Samuel seems to get every cold possible, I want to make sure that he doesn't pass it along to Joseph. Anyway, after the doctor we headed to the park for a little over an hour. Samuel desperately needed some serious running and jumping time to wear himself out. Thank goodness we did that because when we got home Samuel ate a quick lunch and then he was off for a nap. I am really trying to get Joseph to start sleeping in his crib, so yesterday and today I am trying to get him to nap there. He has been up in his crib for about 45 minutes now and I have gone up twice to try to calm him down. I think he is finally asleep, but we will see how long that lasts.

Here are some cute pictures of the boys. I love taking pictures of them together:

Dave and Joseph:

Look at those big huge eyes. He is 7 weeks now:

Samuel really hates eating bread. But, I just discovered this morning that he loves Matzo, especially with peanut butter and honey. By the way, Happy Passover everyone!!!

Some more pictures of Samuel and Joseph this morning. Here they are trying out new dance moves (Megan, check out that shirt, that one is for you!):

This Samuel giving Joseph his big hugs. You can see Joseph's eyes about to bug out of his head because Samuel squeezes so hard. I have to keep an eye on Samuel.

Source of Crankiness

Yesterday I ended up going to the doctor because I couldn't get rid of this cough that I have had for a while now. I kept thinking it was getting better, but it really wasn't. I have been worried that I would cough so much that I would break my water or I would just go into labor and I would have to deal with a cough while having terrible contractions and trying to push a baby out.

Anyway, I went to the doctor and I most likely have bronchitis or pneumonia or some really terrible chest cold. He couldn't be sure because I am not going to have an X-ray done. He put me on antibiotics and I have to go back in a week. If he still hears a bunch of stuff in my lungs then he wants to do an X-ray. Hopefully (keeping my fingers crossed) the antibiotics work and I am better in a week. I really really don't want to have an X-ray. It is crazy because I feel perfectly fine except for when I have a coughing spell. Then my chest and stomach really hurt. The medication made me a little nauseous yesterday and this morning, but I only have four more days to go. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the cough goes away in a few days.

So I think that is why I have been so tired and irritable. Other then being 27 days from my due date.

Also, Dave hurt his back after working out at the gym on Tuesday. He is such an old man (I love you Dave!). Anyway, he hasn't been able to do much at all (like pick up Samuel, lean over or anything), since Tuesday which has been a little draining. He is feeling better today. He thinks he just strained a muscle in his back, so it just needed some time to relax.

Thank goodness it is Friday and a long weekend. I really need that right now.

I am really excited about what I am making tonight for dinner. Once of Dave's new years resolutions was to try new things, specifically food related. He doesn't really like mushrooms, squash, zucchini and he hates to eat fish, but he has agreed to try them all and see if he likes them this year. I have already made several dishes with mushrooms, squash and zucchini, but I am going to try a fish recipe tonight to see if he likes it. We may be ordering out, who knows.

So here is the menu:

Lemon, shallot and white wine Pan Seared Breaded Sole

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Sauteed Broccolini

I am so excited, I know it will taste delicious and hopefully Dave will like it too. I will post a picture if I remember to take one.

I think I am going to lay in bed and read a little while Samuel is napping. Have a wonderful weekend.

Baby does not like Veggies

The past couple of days we have been making healthy dinners with lots of veggies. Last night we made chicken and veggie kabobs (pictures below), it was mostly veggies and a little chicken. Anyway, I was in terrible pain last night. The baby hated dinner. I thought it tasted great, but it would not sit still. It kicked and moved more last night then it has my entire pregnancy. Yesterday, I am pretty sure that the baby dropped a little because I began having some really sharp pains pretty low, then with the movement last night I was miserable. I barely got any sleep and I was having two really strong contractions every hour. I am not eating many veggies today. I don't think my belly can handle it.

On a positive note, the food we have been making has been delicious.

Monday night we had Roasted Veggies Sandwiches with Mozzarella cheese:

We used: Red onion, yellow bell pepper, zucchini, squash, mushrooms and tomatoes. Fresh Mozzarella cheese and we bought a Tuscan loaf of bread from Whole Foods and sliced it into think slices (next time I will use a heartier bread because the juices from the veggies made the bread a little soggy).

We headed up our indoor grill to about Medium, lightly brushed all the veggies with good olive oil and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. We grilled them about 4 minutes on each side until they were pretty cooked.

We lightly brushed both sides of the slices of bread with olive oil and seasoned with a little bit of garlic salt and basil. We grill both sides of the bread so it was nice and toasted. While on the grill we added the mozzarella cheese so it would melt a bit.

Then we assembled the sandwiches (we didn't grill the tomatoes) piled on all the veggies and ate it up. Here is the final product:

Chicken and Veggie Kabobs:

We used: Chicken, zucchini, squash, red onions, green red and yellow bell peppers, mushrooms and pineapple.

We tossed all the veggies and chicken in olive oil and a seasoning mix (which I think had paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder).

We loaded the skewers and then loaded them onto our indoor grill. It took about 30 minutes total to cook them all thoroughly.

I also made a packed of mixed brown rice, that Samuel LOVED. He ate tons of rice, chicken and pineapple. He even tried the zucchini. The first bite went down fine and the rest were spit out immediately.

Here are some pictures of the cooking process and final product:

Lastly, Samuel had to have cereal last night (maybe because he turned 22 months yesterday, he was ready to start acting like a big boy). We have never given him a bowl of cereal before with milk in it, but he was signing for milk when I gave him a bowl of the dry cereal, so I thought what the heck, he may like it. He LOVED it. He ate two pretty good size bowls. He ate with his spoon and barely made a mess. Dave and I were cooking the dinner last night and I looked back to see how Samuel was doing with his cereal and he had the bowl up to his mouth drinking the milk. I grabbed the camera as fast as I could and I got some great pictures. How did he know to do that? I couldn't tell you. Here are some pictures of our big boy:

Hot Hot Hot

I know it is only 13 degrees outside and with the windchill who knows how cold, but I am so freaking hot. I guess my hormones are raging because I am hot all the time. I had a doctor's appointment this morning and I was sweating in the waiting room and another lady was there and she was freezing (with her coat and hat still on). As soon as I got in the room to wait for the doctor I stripped down to just my tank top. The nurses were laughing because they said they were all freezing in the back and I finally comfortable.

So, I have gained 31 pounds total. I feel like I am retaining water today because I ate some chips last night and I think I swelled in the middle of the night, but I don't even care because I am entering the home stretch. The baby's heartbeat was 160 bpm. That was the fastest it has ever been. The doctor measured me and then pushed around on my stomach and I think it got the baby agitated because it wouldn't sit still and that could be a reason for the high heartbeat. Anyway, I think I am going to take a guess that I am having a girl, but it is still 50/50.

I have been having some really hard and long contractions. Some of the contractions are really painful. Since I have been having so many contractions, the doctor gave me a pelvic exam and the baby's head is still down, but hasn't dropped much at all. My cervix is dilated to 1cm, but it is still very thick so there is no chance of going into labor in the near future. Pretty exciting though, only 9 more cm to go. I go back to the doctor in two weeks and then every week after that.

I think we pretty much have everything we need for the baby for now. I just bought some diapers and I think we are set. I can either get more stuff of wash more clothes depending on the sex of the baby.

Dave and I bought a grill pan to put on our stove this past weekend, so we planned some yummy meals this week.

Sunday we had Turkey Meatloaf with brussel sprouts and honey glazed sweet potatoes.

Monday: Roasted Veggie Sandwiches with Mozzarella cheese and a spinach salad

Tuesday: Chicken and Veggie Kabobs with wild rice

Wednesday: Steak Tips with peppered mushroom gravy on top of egg noodles

Haven't figured out the rest of the week yet.

Here are some pictures from the last week:

Snowfall on Christmas (not much snow, but Samuel liked it):

Samuel got a backpack from Uncle Izzy and Aunt Kay for Hanukkah and Christmas, he loves it:

His name of the back is so cute:

Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Laura got Samuel a tricycle for Christmas and he loves it but hasn't really figured out how to peddle by himself:

Our new washer and dryer:

Baby Room and new furniture:

Holiday Time

It is really beginning to feel like the holiday season to me. I really just want to shop and bake. When December 1st hit, I really started to freak out. We only have a little over 2 months before the next baby comes. This pregnancy has really flown by and I am starting to freak out. We have nothing ready.

If we don't sell our house in the next week or so we are taking it off the market. That will make me feel much less stressed. I want to feel settled and ready when this baby comes and right now I don't. We have a lot to do in this house and especially if we end up moving. We will see how the next week goes.

On the baby front, this baby has become extremely active and mostly at night. It starts moving right after dinner and then doesn't stop until around 2 or 3 in the morning. It isn't really kicking super hard (yet), but it just doesn't stop moving. The foot is sitting on my right side and it moves up and down the side of my belly. I am pretty sure the head is either down or stuck on my left side. I don't get that much activity on my left side. I think it is in a strange position right now. I wish it would adjust just a little bit. Starting Monday I think I began having some Braxton-Hicks contractions. I have just a few a day, but when I have these contractions my back also hurts at the same time. My next doctors appointment is on the 14th, so I am sure a lot will change by that time.

The Spaghetti with Homemade Meatballs turned out great. I made wheat rigatoni pasta and surprisingly Samuel ate a ton of it. He doesn't like to eat bread, pasta, potatoes all the most yummy things. But he inhaled the wheat pasta. It was a pretty easy recipe, but for some reason it took me about an hour to prep and then another hour to cook it all.

Speaking of food, I am starving now. I am going to eat some breakfast before Samuel wakes up.

Potty Time and Food Time

I know the caption above doesn't really go together, but Potty Time and Food Time are the two things that have consumed my life for the past 48 hours.

Since were out of town last week, I didn't really do much cooking. Even though we didn't eat out much, I have been wanting some home cooking.

I have been making some pretty yummy stuff.

Sunday: Stir Fry Veggies with Brown Rice

Monday: Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce, Brown Rice and Fresh Green Beans

Tonight: Homemade Meatballs and Whole Wheat Pasta, Spinach Salad and Bread with Goat Cheese, Fresh Thyme and Honey (you put the goat cheese and thyme on the bread and drizzle with honey and then broil it in the oven. It is delicious).

I have never made homemade meat balls before. If they taste good tonight I will post the recipe.

I haven't decided what I am going to make the rest of the week, but when I do I will post it.

On the potty front, Samuel has been going pee pee in the potty (and doing his dance) almost everyday. I never ask him if he wants to go, he just pats his pants and says Mom and then runs to the bathroom. He has a potty seat in the downstairs bathroom that sits on top of the regular toilet and then a little potty in his upstairs bathroom. He gets so excited to go. I am letting him take the lead. I don't want to put any pressure on him to go. Today he was going so much and he threw a fit when I tried to put a diaper on him. So I asked him if he wanted his Big Boy underwear (they are just cotton training underwear). He got so excited and went straight to the dresser where I keep them. I took some pictures because he was super happy with himself:

I told him to try to tell me when he needed to go potty and he did, but only after he had gone potty in the underwear. No big deal except I only have two pairs. So when he peed in both of them I wanted to throw them in the washer. He wasn't happy at all, until I told him that they would be clean by the time he woke up from his nap. He put them in the washing machine and was satisfied.

I was in a picture taking mood today, so here are a few more of Samuel: