He's Moving Now!

Look who's suddenly become very mobile!



He's been rolling all over for awhile now, but yesterday he actually started doing an army crawl, much like Leah did when she first started crawling (at just about the same age, I might add). Of course, he has to be motivated...








And guess who hates having to share her toys! (Even if she does look really cute in pigtails!)

All About Food

In an effort to save money and time, I have been trying to plan out menus and shopping lists for our family ahead of my trips to the grocery store, so I don't have to make more than one trip a week (which still never really happens, as we always seem to run out of something we need), and so that I have plenty of ingredients on hand to make inexpensive, yet healthy dishes. (The healthy part being the biggest challenge I still have yet to master.) I have always been the type of person that doesn't mind cooking, and sometimes even enjoy it, as long as I have the time. And even though I don't consider myself a gourmet chef by any stretch of the imagination, I can follow a recipe with the best of them and usually end up making some pretty good stuff. (Of course, it helps that I have a husband who would probably eat anything I put in front of him and would genuinely like it.-- Which also makes it hard to judge whether it's really good, or whether it's just something edible.)

My first step was to come up with a shopping list "template" so I could keep a running tab of things as I run out of them, and I can fill it in when I decide what recipes to make that week. I have been reluctant, until recently, to actually write out a day-by-day menu, and instead have been just planning 5 big meals per week, and then just choosing day-to-day which one to cook, because I never know how the day is going to go and whether I'll want to cook what I picked, etc. BUT, I recently found this Meal Planner w/ Shopping List that I really liked and have just this week started using it. (Of course, I adjusted the shopping list categories to best fit where I shop and what I usually buy, and made my own!) (Also, discovering that website opened up a whole other can of worms & I have gotten on an organization kick, even starting my own Household Planner Notebook, but that's a whole new post!)

For awhile I have been working on compiling my favorite recipes. I like to try new things at least once a week (or when motivated and not bogged down by two time suckers named Leah & Andrew), but I have a running list of things I know will turn out okay, are inexpensive, and will fill us up! Here are some of them, with links to the recipe on the site I use for all my recipes-- allrecipes.com.


Super Easy Chicken & Dumplings (I've found one great cheap option is to buy a whole chicken
and put it in the crockpot all day. Once I take it and shred it all, I can stretch the chicken for
2 or 3 meals.)

Beef Stroganoff

Chicken Marsala (I make this a lot for company w/ mashed potatoes because it can look a lot
fancier than it is!)

Italian Pork Chops (I am not a big fan of pork chops unless they are off the grill, but this is by far
the best pork chop recipe I've found-- gotta add some shredded cheese to it, too, though!)
(Also, this came from a site I haven't really used a lot, but would like to try to use more!)

Bean Quesadillas (Again, I'm not a big bean fan, either, but if I get bored of other meats, this is a
good one-- I usually use frozen mixed veggies instead of just corn.)

Mexican Lasagna

American Shepherd's Pie

Cheesy Meatloaf (The only kind of meatloaf Brett says he really likes.)

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

V-8 Vegetable Beef Soup


And then there are my "go-to" meals, ones that I can always fall back on if I don't feel like putting a lot of planning or effort into it:
Chili
Spaghetti
Pigs in Blankets w/ Mac & Cheese
Sloppy Joes
Cheeseburgers (add a packet of the dry Ranch dressing mix-- makes it amazing!)
Hamburger Helper
Tuna Casserole (spruced up with hard boiled eggs, peas, cream of mushroom, Ritz, etc.)
Breakfast (would have this every night if it wasn't lacking several food groups)


The hard part for me is always figuring out what to pair with them-- I don't like a lot of vegetables just by themselves (which is why I like to make a lot of casseroles or dishes with veggies already in them) so usually I end up making a great main dish with nothing to go with it.
I'd also like to start coming up with some even more extensive, or "fancy" dishes that I can serve if we have company (now that I'm a real-life pastor's wife), as well as some good pot-luck dishes. I'm thinking of starting my own "cookbook" or recipe folder as I come up with new ideas or gather them from other places. It's all a work in progress, but I'm so glad that God has blessed me with the ability to provide nourishment for my family without having to order take-out or eat out every night.

Vacation, Part 2

And now, the part without the kids (our first overnight trip away from the kids since before Andrew was born-- maybe even longer!):

We saw 3 lighthouses in the course of 24 hours. (And we took silly pictures of each one.) Not many people were around at any of them, but we managed to find people to take our picture at at least the first two. First is Hatteras.

Then later we took a 40-minute free ferry to Ocracoke Island. It took about 15 minutes to drive to the part of the island with civilization, and then 1 minute later, we were at the other end of the island-- it's that small! We didn't find much to do besides the lighthouse, so we got back on the ferry within an hour.

Dinner that night was an adventure! Nothing is really open during the off-season on Hatteras, but we managed to find a dive not far from our beach house. It was actually a bar, and there was maybe 4 other people there the whole time. We paid way too much for fish sandwiches. The atmosphere was crummy. But-- we didn't have to cook or clean, or feed anyone else! And we have a funny story to tell.

The next day on our way home we headed to Bodie Island Lighthouse. Apparently they are doing some construction on it right now, but that didn't stop us from getting out in the freezing cold wind to take some pictures!

We had such a fun, relaxing, and renewing time! We are so thankful to Mom & Dad for watching the kids for us (and they did perfectly fine-- maybe just a little whiny for them), and to Sharon for loaning us the beach house for the weekend.

Vacation, Part 1

The part with the kids:

The day after we arrived in the OBX for our long weekend (Brett took off a week between finishing at our old church & starting at Newton Grove), we headed to a beach house in Hatteras, about 1 1/2 hours from my parents' house. It belongs to a member of their church, who rents it out during the summer season. Since it's February, we got to stay for free! And it was an awesome house. Mom, Dad, and the kids stayed Sunday night, then headed out Monday, leaving Brett and I more than 24 hours to enjoy the place on our own.

Sunday was a beautiful day and Leah couldn't WAIT to get on the beach. No sooner had we gotten out of the car than she was dying to run to the beach. Since it is, of course, February, we were the only crazy people braving Hatteras and there was miles and miles of empty beach. It was so pretty!! (The top pic of Leah shows our house in the background.)

[This little man, who hasn't slept through the night in months, slept from about 7 until 4 am. In a bed that wasn't even his own!]

We enjoyed hanging around the house some that evening, eating dinner, enjoying the hot tub, and playing games. The next morning Mom & Dad packed up with Leah & Andrew and Brett & I headed out to Hatteras Lighthouse to do some sightseeing.

Andrew @ 7 months

Andrew's growing up so fast!! He has definately been doing some teething or something lately, because he's grumpy often and not sleeping well. He will usually go to bed around 7:30 or so but then wake up once or twice within the next couple hours. He's easily consoled with a minute or two of rocking and he'll go back to sleep until 3:30 or 4, when he wakes up wanting to eat. (And it's difficult to let this kid cry it out, because when he cries, he CRIES!) Then he's up again for the day by 6am. He's been napping pretty well in the mornings, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but then in the afternoon, he'll sleep maybe 30-45 minutes then wake up, want to "snack" then play and then maybe will eventually sleep another 30 minutes, or fight it even though he's tired. It's a little nerve wracking, but hoping it will pass.

"Napping is overrated."

He's up to 3 meals a day of solid foods, although with the teething he hasn't always been so hungry. He's tried almost all the fruits & vegetables and we've even tried some chicken (pureed, of course). Ideally I'd like him to have his "solids" just before nursing, but his schedule doesn't always work out that way (especially with his lack of sleeping) so often it feels like he's eating all day long. He still nurses about every 3 hours-- lately more like 2 1/2.

Sic 'em, Bears! (Showing off his Baylor jammies from Aunt Karen)

He's still not sitting up well on his own, but can do it if he has a toy or something to occupy him. (He did ride sitting in the seat of the grocery cart the other day-- he looked so big!) For the sake of time the other day, I tried bathing him at the same time as Leah. I had to hold him the whole time, so it was a little tricky, but still fun! We'll probably wait a little while to do it again.

It doesn't take much to make him laugh, as seen in this video, where I kept putting the paci on my head and letting it "accidentally" fall off...

Andrew is already very energetic, always has to have something in his hands, and-- like his sister-- he's extroverted. Both my kids are energized by being around other people. They act completely different, and then when the other people are gone, they're wound up. It's an interesting personality trait to see develop, especially since I, for one, am introverted. Andrew is very determined about a lot of things-- when he sees something he wants, he tries really hard to get it. And if I take a toy out of his reach, he will stare at it, almost willing it to come to him!

Valentines Day

Valentines Day was unseasonably warm, so we enjoyed some time outside. It was Andrew's first time really "playing" outside without being in a car seat or stroller. He wouldn't smile for any of his pictures, but probably just because he was too busy taking it all in. He does seem to love being in the fresh air.

When Daddy got home from work, both kids got a box of chocolates (Mommy & Daddy enjoyed Andrew's, but Leah is definately my girl and has already eaten almost the whole box!) and opened their cards from both sets of grandparents. Leah seemed to understand at least that it was a holiday, and loved coloring a card for her Daddy-- she was so excited to give it to him.

Brett & I didn't really do much to celebrate, but we'll have some time together on our upcoming trip to the OBX!

A House Filled With Laughter

Let it never be said that we don't have any fun around here!