Tongues and stuff

Wyatt's new favorite thing is sticking his tongue out. He does it all the time, and of course I think it's adorable. My favorite is when he sticks his tongue out and closes his mouth, though it's impossible to catch on film! The kid never stops moving!

He also crawls everywhere. He is fast, and tiny, which means I am afraid he will get lost! I picked up this, like new, pack and play to keep him contained every once in awhile when I need to get something accomplished and he would rather be trolling the house! It's worked out great thus far.

Natalie has been doing great at school and is really progressing in her dance skills. She has been working especially hard now that competition season is right around the corner. This year she is even going to have her own jazz solo! She will be competing in the last competition of the season, and also dancing in her spring recital. It makes me so proud that my baby girl will be dancing all by herself up on stage. She is turning into a beautiful and talented young lady!

Brady has been giving me a run for the money at school! He loves to play, problem is he doesn't always know when to stop playing and start listening. This has led to a few meetups with the VP at school. Luckily he is a cute kid, and he changes his behavior when told....most of the time. As far as academics, he is killing it! He started the year out barely being able to read and now he is in the most advanced reading group. He wants to read everything! He is trying to read every chapter book that Natalie reads, I am encouraging him to read all the "easy" books on our shelves before jumping into Harry Potter or something! I love that I have a reader on my hands. Now if only I could get him to work more on his penmanship!

Keith is in his {very} last semester of school. When he graduates in the spring he will have his Masters in tax law, and a few more letters after his name. Show off. But, seriously, I am so proud of all he does. Keith works 45-50 hours a week, plus school, plus helps out at home with whatever I just can't get to. He's the bees knees, and I try not to take him for granted!

Life is moving on, and moving fast. We are making it work every day, and loving it. It's hard work, but the good far outweighs the bad and as long as I get enough sleep I am able to appreciate it!

Testing, 1, 2, 3!

 I found an app (Blogsy) that may let me blog from the iPad, with pictures!! Let's give it a shot...

 

Found these amazing pillows at Costco. So soft and fluffy, and the most amazing colors. Of course they are $13.99, and there is no way I can spend that on a frivolous pillow, but they are so pretty! 

 

Wyatt is growing at a rapid rate. I seriously need it to slow down. In fact my brain has started to view every milestone he hits as a tragedy, so now I cry all. the. time.  Post-partum anyone? Why can't I just have normal baby blues instead of this weird manifestation? It's like my body is mourning Wyatt's newborn-ness and it's very difficult. I need to stop beating myself up for not being able to remember every minute detail of his infancy. He is amazing nonetheless. His smile makes me so happy, and if I could just play/feed/nap with him very day I would be completely satisfied. 

Sometimes I like to pretend that I am cute. Then I see my double chin and spare tire. Ah well, it's a work in progress to be sure. 

 

Texas forgot to have winter. It's been the strangest thing ever. We rode bikes and took walks all month long, and February looks to be more of the same. Either the world is gonna end this year, or we are gonna get slammed with ice and cold in a few weeks. I'm not sure which would suck worse.  

 

Getting it out

I've decided the reason I don't blog anymore is because I hate posting without pictures, but I can't do good pictures unless I am on the computer, but I hate getting on the computer. So I am in a bit of a pickle. I have decided that I need to blog. It's my release. It's how I record my thoughts, and how the kids are doing, and any other mundane things going through my brain.

So I am forcing myself to blog. And I am doing it on my phone, which means random pictures tacked on the end of what are gonna be, quite possibly, very random posts. But, I've got to do it. Lots of things rattling around in this Mama's brain. Time to get some of them out.

And now for pictures.

8 months

Tried to capture the sweetness of my little man at 6:00am today. I can't believe he is 8 months old. The time has flown by, but on the other hand I can't imagine my life without him. He is so special! (will post more details of his little self when the sun is actually up!)

Sunday morning snapshot

The light is dim. The big kids are playing legos quietly on the floor. Wyatt is sitting and smiling and playing on the bed. Mama is tearing up at the beauty of it all. (and taking a crummy iPhone picture to document the moment)

Funny little photo shoot

I love this silly boy!

Blogging from my iPhone...

Is this gonna work? Here are some cutie pie pics I have on my phone!

1. Wyatt listening to Brady read.
2. Sitting up all by myself!
3. All bundled for the cooler weather.
4. First time in the shopping cart like a big boy!

ketchup

Wow, I can't believe it's been two months since my last post (confession??). Time flies when you are raising three kids! Let's see, what has happened since I last posted?

My big sister, Sarah, got to come and visit for a few days (not nearly long enough) and it was amazing. I won't lie, it has been a long time since I have seen her (Brady had never met her, if that gives you an idea of how long!!) so I was so nervous. Looking back I have no idea why I was nervous! This is my big sister, of course it was going to be like I had just seen her a week ago. She fit right in to our family, the kids absolutely ADORED her and Natalie cried for days after she left. We hung out, she took the kids to the park, we took her to her very first IKEA visit, and just enjoyed being together! We need to get a webcam so we can begin some skyping! (We love and miss you Sarah!!)

My sister, Erin, moved in with us. She is staying here for awhile before taking off on her next adventure, whatever that may be! She has been a joy to have around, and I am not sure that I would have been able to survive the last few weeks without her help! Why? Because...

Keith broke his foot 5 (or 6?) weeks back and has been in a walking cast and crutches since then. There is something terribly sucky about being on crutches. Keith has one good foot, and both his good arms are occupied with the crutches. This means he is pretty much good for nothin'. Ha! He can't carry anything (even though he tries, freaks me out that he is going to drop or break something else, and subsequently gets yelled at. All in good fun though.), and he really needs to be elevating the foot at home during the evenings because he is unable to elevate it at work and school. So it's been tough. Hard on Keith because he is so active and loves to be moving and helping and feeling healthy. Hard on me because I have been man down for a month and a half. (I will never again take for granted how nice it is to have someone else take out the garbage and recycling, move the sprinklers, change my flat tire [thankfully a good friend stepped up to take care of me there] )

Kids have been doing GREAT at school. Brady is learning so much and is really growing in leaps and bounds with his math and reading skills. Now we just need to work on the whole "keep your hands to yourself" thing and the "stop when your teacher says stop" thing! He is such a good boy at home though, it's hard to get super mad at him when he changes his card at school! Natalie has been cruising through school like it's no big deal. She catches on very quickly, and for this I am ever grateful. She loves participating in her Girl Scout troop and takes dance lessons 2 days a week and is a member of the competition team. She is amazing and watching her dance makes me cry every time!

Wyatt is now 7.5 months and is the most joyous baby of all time. Every single person in this house is madly in love with him, and it's easy to see why. He will get ya with his adorable smile, his sweet baby coos, and his chubby cheeks/thighs/belly and his giant blue eyes! Love love my baby boy! Around month 7 he really started getting "mobile" in that he scoots backwards. He loves to back up! He will push up to his knees, but he hasn't quite figured out where to go from there, and I am not encouraging it! Just in the last few days he has really started sitting up on his own, he still weebles a lot, so I don't leave him unattended, but he's getting it and I am not too worried! No need to have him grow up too fast! Oh, and he hates baby food! We have tried so many types and he just isn't into it yet. He does love these little rice cracker things, but other than that? meh. I do keep trying though, because our goal is to have him eating at least one "meal" a day by Christmas! I will try and get a video of him attacking his cracker, it's hilarious!

And here are some random pictures to go with this random post!

My cutie pies at the pumpkin patch in Flower Mound.

 Brady has always been one to sleep if he needs it. I think this day he was sent to a time out and when I went to check on him he was crashed on the bed. He is such a big boy now that I just love to see him all sleepy and vulnerable (and quiet).

 Wyatt LOVES books. He will listen to stories as long as you have the patience to read to him.

I realized most of my good pictures are on my phone! Oh how times have changed! I will try and do another picture post soon with some more sweet ones of the kids!

On my trip to crazy town

Pretty sure I am going crazy in my old age. I am completely touched out, except it isn't people, it's things. Misplaced things. Things that are in my way or under my feet, but shouldn't be. When these things (ie. a sock, or a stray bathing suit, or any manner of toy) touch me or I step on them, it's enough to send me around the bend. This even happens when my clothes are too baggy (sweats and dresses)! My body literally cringes and I want to hit something. This can't be good. My solution is that I am constantly picking these things up, but then I am still having to touch them, and then I cringe! Ack! It's a deadly cycle. My only solution is that the children pick up their own things. Maybe I need a maid to help cure my craziness? Think Keith would go for that? Doubt it.

Oh and my ears are...listened out? Is that a thing? It should be. If someone talks too loud or too close to my ears it feels like an icepick down to my ear drum. Literally painful. Wyatt and I have lots of quiet time at home. I feel badly because I don't talk to him too much, I like to think we talk with our eyes. It's nice and quiet and everyone is happy, especially my (crazy) ears.

Told you. Cuckoo!

chicken pesto stuffed shells {yum!}

I have been very proud of myself lately in regards to my actions in the kitchen. I have been cooking "from scratch" a lot more, and trying new things instead of the same old enchiladas/tacos/nachos/spaghetti/whatever-else-I-make-but-could-never-name-even-under-gunpoint meals. Pinterest has helped peaked my taste buds in many of my cooking endeavors (jalapeno popper dip, stuffed bell peppers, cheesecake lemon squares, s'mores bars) and the other day I saw a picture of stuffed shells. Checked out the recipe, but it was too complex, or at least for this hectic Mama! So I made my own version, crossed my fingers, and prayed that the kids would like it (they hated the stuffed bells, of course).

Much to my surprise, they gobbled it up. I am talking dinner was over in 10 minutes, max. I call that a success, and they were relatively easy, I will definitely be making them again! I had to share my recipe here just in case you are looking for another easy, healthy-ish meal to serve your family. It also makes a lot, I made an 8x8 and put another 8x8 in the freezer, and I still have a bowl of the stuffing left, I just ran out of shells! Here is the recipe, I tried to write measurements, but when I cook as I go I mainly wing it. You can tailor it to your families tastes if you try this out!

Chicken Pesto Stuffed Shells
Makes 3-8x8 pans, or 1-9x13 and 1-8x8 (great for freezer meals!)
Prep time: 30-45 mins (or less, I am just a slow cook)
Bake time: 30 mins @ 350*

1 box large pasta shells
1 jar (or batch) of your favorite smooth spaghetti sauce (I think the absence of chunks in the sauce made the kids love it more)
16 oz grated mozzarella (use the block and grate your own, makes a WORLD of difference in taste)
1 small jar pesto (or make your own, but seriously? Who has the time?)
16 oz ricotta
1 1/2 C. (more or less depending how "meaty" you want it) cooked and shredded chicken (I did this step before hand, earlier in the day and it made the meal prep so much faster)

First step, cook and shred your chicken. Set aside. Set a large pot of water to boil for the noodles. In a large bowl combine ricotta, jar of pesto, 1/2 of the mozzarella. Mix well. Add the chicken and stir till all mixed together. Taste and make sure it's how you like it, you can add salt and pepper here if you so desire. I felt the pesto added enough flavor. Set this aside and finish cooking your shells, cook until tender, but not soggy, you want a bit of firmness to them. When noodles are done, drain and rinse with cold water. This helps them stop cooking and makes them manageable for stuffing (you don't want to burn you flesh off on boiling hot noodles!)

Set out your pans of choice. In the bottom of each pan pour a small amount of sauce and spread around to make a thin layer (I did one pan at a time so that I didn't have a sauced pan that I didn't use). Begin stuffing shells, each shell takes a heaping tablespoon or so of filling, you have a lot, so you can afford to be generous. Lay shells touching in your pan. (I got 15 shells in one 8x8). Top stuffed shells with a small layer (1/3 C?) of sauce and then top with 1/3 of the remaining mozzarella. Bake uncovered. Devour!

Of course the putting it together part is all how you like it! Your family likes sauce? add more! Cheese is your thing? Pile it on. It's the pesto in the filling that makes the dish! I hope you try this out and let me know what you think! Oh, and when I freeze mine, I completely assemble, cheese and all, and then freeze in your preferred method.

Not a great picture, but yeah, we dug in before I got the camera out! Yum, yum, yum! (If I do say so myself)