Weekend Update 1.10.10

Not much to update for the week/weekend other than the trip to Halstead to have Christmas with the Muellers! Pictures to follow, as usual. Enjoy! We sure did!

We headed out on Saturday. Peter was pretty decent in the car. Better than screaming the entire time...

Sunday morning Eric and Debbie showed up bright and early, to start on dinner (Eric's job for the day) and have the family Christmas before everyone else showed up.

Jumpin' with Aunt Debbie.

Checking out the goodies from our stockings.

Grandma and grandpa discovered the way to Peter's heart - baby Cheetos.

Peter got lots of goodies.

Once set to roam as he pleased, he made a beeline for his other love in life - gift bows.

Sayin' hi to grandma.

He loved those bows.

Scott helped Eric prep dinner.

Yay, bows!

OPERATION ATTACK MOMMY'S FEET MMMPFFMMFFFFMFFFF...

Still with the bows.

Passed out after ODing on bows.

And then the Haury family showed up! Peter had lots of fun with the other kids.

The spread: Eric made smoked mushroom risotto, homemade parsley gnocchi in cream sauce, balsamic carrots, pasta salad, roasted pork tenderloin... We were spoiled.

It took 3 adults to figure out how to set up the doll Pack-in-Play. One of which has much recent experience setting those things up...

It seemed like we just got there and then we were off back to Lawrence. On the way home there was an insane amount of geese in the sky, I got a few shots.

Snow Day

We got more snow, more to pile onto the already-several-inches hanging around. The city is still not plowing. Or sanding, which they promised to AT LEAST do that, whatever. To top that off, the windchill hovered around -16F, and winds were a-blowing as they usually do in Kansas, so drifts were everywhere. I called daycare only to find out that they have knee-deep drifts on their street and the city hasn't plowed a thing (shocker, yes?)...

And you know what? That's it, I'm taking a snow day. Just me and a huge pot of coffee, my slippers, and my pint-sized sidekick. Pictures (oh yes, many many pictures) follow. "My Favorite Things" Thursday will just have to be put off for a day, because we're taking a Snow Day around here, thank you very much.

Peter got dragged back into bed with me when he woke up at 4am, and we crawled back out about 7am. Then had some granola and fruit for breakfast...

After breakfast we played a little bit, and checked out the snow from the comfort of our cozy house.


Peter got a little slap-happy playing on the bed with his Ugly Doll, which meant one thing...



Nap time. He slept for 2.5 hours at his first nap, which meant I could check in at the office and get some work done.


Afterwards we played some more. Peter's really getting into his stacking toy; he used to just like to see it flash its lights and play music, but today he was intent on re-stacking the rings and topper. Adda boy.

We had a snack after that, some Puffs and apricots.

OOF, FULL TUMMEH.

It was about 1pm that we finally decided to maybe get out of the PJs. I brought down some clothes, and go figure: too small. Peter was more than happy to play in the nude (well, and socks) until I was able to find something else for him to wear. Especially after he discovered (and dragged out) the stash of Puffs I hide away in the emergency diaper bag...

Finally, some clothes. Then more playtime in on his mat.

He looooooves this corner of the kitchen, he usually hides there and plays while I putter around in the kitchen doing dishes or whatever. He's also usually pretty quiet, which gives me a heart attack when I turn around and can't see him.

After some vigorous playing on the floor, it was time for the afternoon nap.

And then time for my favorite Snow Day activity: baking cookies! Thanks to Joylyn for the cookie mix, they came in handy when it's too gross outside to make a run for supplies. Peter cheerfully snacked on Baby Cheetos and supervised.

Peter practiced his baton-twirling skillz.

Mmm, M&M cookies.

Official Cookie Taste-Tester.

Then we blew some time on Facebook...

Later we went up to his room to goof off. Beah was not kidding about that toy she bought him: he always bee-lines for it when we get upstairs. It's like the thing is sprinkled with baby crack.

We read a book to while away the time until Dad got off of work.

We took our 7-Month picture. This was one of the better ones, believe it or not. The kid, he is getting pretty mobile. More time was spent trying to keep him on the chair than trying to take pictures.

Um, and yeah he really loves those baby Cheetos.

Oh my gawd, DADDY! Finally! And only a short visit, sadly - then Scott was sent away to shovel and run errands. Boo.

We had some dinner. Peter is all about feeding himself. After he ate everything, I gave him his bowl to play with. I'm telling you, he kept himself busy for 15 minutes. Who knew that pretending to feed yourself could be so fascinating.

After dinnertime, it was off to the Bedtime Routine. First Bath...

... Book...

... Then some milk, and Bed.

The end. Goodnight my doots. Thank you for today.

Weekly Update 01.03.10

Hiya! It is a brand new shiny decade, people, so let's get down to it. Lots to speak of this week.

For New Years, we played it simple. We opened a bottle of Belgian Red, pulled together a cheese/meat tray, and rented The Hangover. Even though this all occurred well after his bedtime, Peter made appearances several times throughout the evening - he had a cold and kept waking up from the coughing and snuffling and general all-around yuckiness that goes with it. Sometimes I curse the fact that there isn't a baby decongestant, but then again it would probably be as worthless as the adult versions, so never mind...

We headed to The Legends one day, to take in the post-holiday sales and just have a nice day out of Lawrence. The weather up here has been chillier than most years, the high for the day hovered around 4 degrees (plus wind!) so we were all rather bundled up for the day of shopping. I got some work clothes and Peter got a whole slew of new duds - thanks to his latest growth spurt, which left him with a mere 2 pairs of jeans that fit over his rump, one of which was suspiciously girlie-looking even though it is from the boy section I swear...

We had some Yard House before leaving, I mean really we can't visit The Legends without stopping so there shouldn't be any shock there. We enjoyed the Poke Stack, Peter helped us eat our chicken nachos, and he apparently wanted some beer as well. As to be expected, we were the Stooooopid New Parents and laughed and took pictures. Here are the last 2 pictures taken, right as Peter swiped a hand into the glass and poured it directly into Scott's lap. Okay, then! Dinner over, let's get a-going...

My sweet coworker Kristen got married this weekend. The whole family got spiffed up for the ceremony, then I went to the reception solo. Er, somewhat - the boys waited for me in the car. The weather was crummy and sadly, so was the sickness that invaded Mr. Peter. Even after I took him home to calm him (and get him to sleep) he just was not doing well, still the wicked cold I would guess (with a nice side of More Teething).

So, I stopped in to drop off the gift and say a few hellos to co-workers, and then sadly I left the very-gorgeous reception and headed back home with my boys. Didn't even get to say congrats to the lovely couple, as they were still off taking pictures. I probably could have just left Scott with our sick kid and then hope the dear thing didn't get worse while I was away, but something was tugging at the old heartstrings and I just couldn't leave him. So there I sat all dressed up with full makeup and pretty hair, rocking the boy child to sleep. I am officially a mommy, yo.

Speaking of Peter - he has this strange habit of rocking on his hands and knees and then, after building decent momentum, launching his entire body at things head-first. Usually it is something benign like the carpet or my chest (lovely). This week, however, he did it to a toy phone. He was at daycare when The Incident occurred and they were quick to scoop him up and ice his eye, but it did little to stop the damage - Peter received his first shiner, something fun to note in the baby book.

And now, it's time for my (admittedly, much too short) list of New Year Resolutions:

• Buy 30-Day-Shred and ACTUALLY DO IT. Or at least watch it while drinking Crystal Light instead of beer.
• Get the kid over this embarrassingly bad habit of only falling asleep while nursing. Hmm Daycare, I have no clue why he has so much trouble falling asleep while under your watch...
• Only wear my hair in a bun or ponytail every other day. Instead of every single day excluding weekends.
• Actually call people on the phone instead of just assuming they read the family blog.
• Put more money in the bank in lieu of spending it on so much hipster babywear.
• Stop swearing while at home (this one is iffy at best).
• Eat ice cream at least once a week (dudes: eating dairy helps you to lose weight!).
• Be more diligent about cleaning the house. Peter's gonna help me out with that one.
  
  

All done, I warned you it was long. Next weekend we head to Halstead, so there should be lots of fun to post soon.

Steel Cut Oats with Candied Bacon

Scott and I have decided to eat healthier for the New Year, that means no more lazy weekend breakfasts cooking up greasy eggs and fried potatoes with buttery toast. We probably should ingest more multi-grains and egg whites and I don't know, maybe work a veggie or fruit in there. Yeah, sounds exciting right? Who wants Blah for breakfast, though?


Enter: steel cut oats. Breakfast oats of all kinds, in general, are super-good for the body: they contain cardiovascular antioxidants, they lower cholesterol levels, and inhance your immune system. Also help to stabilize blood sugar, for those diabetics out there.

I prefer steel cut oats over rolled oatmeal, though - they are chewy, which probably sounds kinda gross but actually is really awesome. The oats "pop" in your mouth and once you try the stuff, you will not be too terribly impressed with Quaker oatmeal any longer (which, by the way, is steel cut oats that have been cooked, rolled flat, cooked again, then rolled even flatter. Buh-bye, texture).


Now, to ease us into this new healthy-mornings lifestyle, I must admit I added some candied bacon. Er, not the healthiest. But! You can stir in all sorts of good-for-you stuff into your oats instead, like fruits or Truvia or heck, leave it plain. It's yummy plain too. And even Peter likes steel cut oats, which makes breakfast-time about as easy as can be.



Steel Cut Oats with Candied Bacon
(from Matthew Amster-Burton's Hungry Monkey)

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. butter
1 c. milk (I use 2%)
3 c. water
1 c. steel cut oats (check the bulk section of your market to get it on the cheap)
1/4 tsp. salt
8 slices thick-cut bacon
1/2 c. brown sugar


Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Combine the butter, milk, and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the oats, reduce heat to low, and simmer UNCOVERED for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the candied bacon. Take a baking sheet and completely wrap it in aluminum foil. Put the bacon on the foil and sprinkle with half of the brown sugar (1/4 c.). Slide the bacon into the preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes. Then flip the bacon strips, sprinkle with remaining brown sugar, and bake for about 8 more minutes - you want it to be firm and nicely lacquered. Cool until set, then cut into pieces.

Once the oats have simmered for 20 minutes, add the salt and give it a stir. Allow oats to continue simmering for another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes, to set up a little more.

Serve oats in a bowl sprinkled with brown sugar and topped with a generous portion of candied bacon.



And PS - thanks to Julie for suggesting the book that provided this little gem of a recipe. :)