Time to Make the Move

It's official it is time to make the move to our new blog. We have run out of space on this one... sad I know. So from now on we will be posting at http://thisminivanlife.blogspot.com/. Bookmark it, you know you cant live without us.

Daddy Issues

My son is having some daddy issues. It isnt your typical daddy issues, these are some attachment issues, basically he loves daddy the most, and who wouldnt he has a great dad... but the problem is when daddy has to leave... then he cant handle it. I understand that Daddy is awesome. I understand that Daddy has more time to play on the floor with him, while sometimes during the day I have to stop to do things like make dinner, do laundry, etc, and I even understand that Daddy is a novelty because he goes away during the day. What I dont understand is what to do about it. here's the thing, when we found out we were having a baby we knew we wanted one parent to stay home with Michael and we determined it would be me, which means someone (Brian) has to go bring home a paycheck. Now isnt a great time to change that situation, someday maybe but not today. So we need some help, how can we help Michael cope with the lack of Daddy. Not kidding, today and yesterday he screamed when Daddy left, threw himself on the ground and screamed for a good 10-15 minutes (Daddy! Daddy!) and then continued to whimper until Daddy returned, in both cases over an hour. So seriously, I want him to love Daddy but the whining and screaming... not so much.

Chicken Tortilla Soup... a Favorite

One of our favorite recipes is Chicken Tortilla Soup. I would post a picture to go with it but it looks like chicken tortilla vomit so at the risk of turning everyone off from the recipe we are going to leave what it looks like to your imagination. Trust me is delightful. I got the recipe from one of my freshman roommates, she had two awesome recipes meatloaf (which I never got sadly) and this. This is a winner... so delicious. I have made a few modifications over the years but all in all it is a good recipe, and yes easy and cheap enough (if you omit ingredients) that a college student could whip it up in their poorly stocked and filthy kitchen. oh and it feeds a small to medium sized army, but reheats really really well...no really.

Kendra's Tortilla Soup (edited)
1/2 onion diced
3 cloves garlic diced
4 c. low sodium chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 c (at least) cooked chicken breast (diced/shredded/whatever)
1/2 c monteray jack/cheddar cheese shredded
1-2 T sour cream
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
2 cans (no really 2) creamed corn (yeah that's right)
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 T cajun spice
1 shake (yeah specific) cayenne pepper
5-7 shakes Louisiana hot sauce
salt (to taste)

Toppings: limes, avocado, cheese (dont skip), sour cream (dont skip), tortilla chips (even stale ones work).

Saute your onions, garlic, and spices. Going to be honest I start with those spices and add more to taste later. But saute the onions for a bit with the spices in olive oil, add your garlic and cook until fragrant (you can smell it).

Pour the onion mixture (all of it), the chicken broth, and the tomatoes in their juices into the blender. Blend until everything is well blended and pour into the pot.

In the meantime cook your chicken. I usually just do mine in the crockpot... only for this recipe. So how do you do that? Put 2 frozen chicken breasts in your crockpot, pour some Monteral Steak Seasoning on them, cover, and cook on low for 5-6 hours (haha) or high for 3-4 or until the internal temperature reaches 165.  Shred/chop/cubed whatever shape you want the cooked chicken and set aside.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, start simmering your blended broth, add your beans, corn, sour cream, and cheese. Let heat all the way through and then add the chicken. Let that heat all the way through and then taste it. At this point I usually start dumping in spices. Start slow, a little bit of cumin goes a really long way, and Lousiana Hot Sauce, wow you better believe it. Okay when it tastes good let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve... with the yummy toppings. It is creamy and delicious... and fast if you do the chicken in a crockpot.

That's right this recipes knocks your socks off. Sit back, enjoy and have what I refer to as a "Dad Moment" (one of those moments where you congratulate yourself because let's face it, it's true you really are just that awesome).

Thankful

At the risk of sounding cliche and because let's face it I am behind the times, I needed to post about a few things that I am thankful for (because as this is our online journal in 15 years it might be fun to look back and chuckle).

This year I am thankful for so many things (dont I say that every year?) but to be honest we are blessed, and I wouldnt be thankful if I didnt mention a few of our blessings.

This year I am thankful for a sweet son who exerts his independence on a minute by minute basis, a husband that works hard, money in the bank, family even though they are far away, and good friends some of which live close enough to bother daily. I am thankful for our knowledge of the Gospel, thankful that we have the opportunity to go to church each week (despite what I may think as I am wrestling with Michael while we are there), I am thankful for the Plan of Salvation, for living prophets, and for the scriptures. I am thankful for my sweet blue minivan, for peppermint chapstick, for 6:30 bedtime for my munchkin, for country music, and yes on occassion Taco Delite. I am thankful for the beautiful weather we have been having, for our ability to communicate so frequently with friends and family who live far away, and for the upcoming christmas season. To say we have been blessed in 2012 is the understatement of the year.

Michael's New Friend

Michael is a fan of owls, as if his Halloween costume didnt give that away. He is so much a fan that he points them out wherever we go on everything from stickers to bedding... no really he LOVES owls. He isnt afraid of even the scary looking plastic owl scarecrows, so when we visit home depot or the garden section of Walmart (mostly just this one) he visits the plastic owls. The other day we paid the owl a visit while we were at Walmart but somehow he managed to get one in the cart with him... and started hugging it... and wouldnt let it go. I tried to pry it out from his death grip but I was somewhat unsuccessful and he started screaming. I looked at the price tag... and well for $10.97 it was worth it to buy it. He hugged it so tight, and there were real tears when they were seperated. The cashier looked at me like "you're kid is a weirdo!", but he lived through the seperation. He tried to take the owl in his crib with him but we stopped things there, now it sits on his shelf and watches him at night. He does carry the owl around during the day, and I will admit they have been known to spend some time together in the sandbox. he doesnt seem at all frightened of the scary yellow eyes, or realistic looking gigantic talons... he just loves it. CJ on the other hand... is terrified of the owl. She wouldn't come near it or him the first day and she continues to be skittish around the owl... maybe we should buy a few of them to guard our furniture from her scratching... no that would be more weird than the 

current situation. 

.

Just in case the movie didnt give the full effect of the owl here it is... yes creepy, but boy does he love it. 

the ear tufts are useful little handles...

yes he is hugging the scary plastic owl...

Please Understand and Stop Throwing Food!

A few weeks ago Michael and I checked out the book "Mars needs Moms" from our local library. I wish I had pulled a quote or two from it before turning it to post on this blog, but I got busy and didnt. I loved the book, Michael liked the pictures, but I loved it. I didnt see the movie so I cant recommend it, but the book was darling. 

For those of you who haven't read it let me give you a brief synopsis. The book centers around a little boy, Milo, and his mother. They disagree on more than a few issues (broccoli, siblings, etc), and for some reason Milo ends up getting sent off to bed early. Milo is angry with his mother as he sits and sulks in his room and then he sees the martians. Martians have come to earth to snatch a mom or two, they need tucking in and driving to soccer too. Milo's mom get snatched, he follows her to the ship and both end up on Mars. Milo's helmet breaks and he breathes in the poisonous Martian air, but just as he is about to... bite the dust, his mother sees him, rips off her own helmet and saves him. She ends up in a bad state, but as this is a children's picture book (that I liked) things turn out in the end, and yes in the end Milo ends up appreciating his mother despite her love of broccoli. 

I read the book (and didnt get teary because I am not that kind of person) and thought, "as cheesy as that book was I appreciate that someone, even if it is a random author knows that sometimes moms have rough days, but even despite the tantrums, disagreements, and the scrubbing that comes with the job, moms are willing to do whatever it takes to help their kids. I found this quote on the author's website and loved it "But our kids? I’ll take the bullet in a heartbeat. And I wish my children would appreciate this as they chuck their scrambled eggs at the ceiling.". Let me just tell you, when Michael has thrown his food at me, dumped milk on the floor, screamed instead of napped,  and shrieked "NO!" for the millionth time that day, I wish I could make him understand that Mommy loves him. 

Along the same lines as this cute book, but more uplifting I saw/heard these quotes from Jeffery R. Holland today, 

"I especially wish to praise and encourage young mothers. The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work.... But with night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue. Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island...Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones.

"May I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.”

“You are doing God's work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you, and He will bless you, --even--no, -especially--when your days and your nights may be most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master's garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and weep over their responsibility as mothers, `Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.' And it will make your children whole as well.”

So on that note, Happy Tuesday, despite what I may think as I scrub my floor, I am blessed, and life is good. 

Play Kitchen Advice

I am getting Michael a play kitchen for christmas. I know some people dont like them for boys, but I am a big fan of boys learning to cook too, plus who says a boys cant play with it- there are boys on the box! Brian says the boys on the box are to appease mothers like me and get us to buy the product, maybe true but we are getting one.

I had a play kitchen when I was a kid (I know not a great argument for getting one for a boy, but still) and we loved it, all 4 of the kids in my family (2 of which are boys). Plus they just seem so fun and Michael loves to help "cook" so we are going down that path.

I am torn, there are so many different options. I have purchased 2 but I cant decide which to keep, and now I have seen a 3rd that is so lovely too. So help is needed. I know not all children like play kitchens, but some do, any advice on what to get?

These are the three options I saw, two of which have been purchased, at least one is going back. All three sets come with accessories though some are better than others.

This one is hard to see. It is Baker's Corner brand, it was the cheapest (by a ton), but I am worried it is flimsy, will not hold up, and just wont be as fun because it falls apart. But the $30 price tag is super tempting. Oh the one I picked is red (the choices are red or pink). We are going for gender neutral.

 I saw this one yesterday at Toys R Us and it seems super fun. I like that it is red (shocking I know) but it has 2 configurations. One for when they are younger and shorter, and one for when they get a bit bigger. This one is bigger than the one above but not huge.

 This one (we also purchased) is the biggest and most expensive (shocker). I like the colors, I like that it has a ton of fun options, but it is big. I think this one might be fun as he grows but I am torn, does it really matter? is this one too big for the space? Will he like this one significantly more than the other ones? See my problem?

So I need some advice, vote, which one is your favorite, because yes he is getting a play kitchen and yes he is also getting a tool bench though that might not come until his birthday because really he is just one tiny guy.

Happy Halloween!

We had lovely Halloween, it was nice and sunny and warm, we spent the afternoon playing in the sandbox. 

We had to take a few (dozen) more photos of the Halloween costumes. Sadly I couldnt find helium filled balloons anywhere so we had to go without them this time. 

I had to get at least one photo of Mr. Frederickson with his glasses on... not one smile, not one tearfree photo, in fairness I think he was starting to get sick, but at the time I just thought he was really a grump. This time around we decided to go with the white hairspray, so at least he really looked like an old man when he ditched the glasses and walker. 

trying to get him to smile while chatting with Em didnt even help... nothing helped him

He was thrilled when he figured out how to get the glasses off... see the smiles. Yeah the glasses werent hurting he, he was just angry.

What a sweet tiny old man. The hairspray washed off right away, dont worry, no babies were harmed. 

He may not have liked wearing the glasses, but boy did he love running with them and shouting "no!".

We had a monster front door this year. So easy, I need to remember to do it again next year.

Love the elbow patches on the sweater.

See the glasses arent actually evil

Awesome festive pumpkins. Brian's was so funny because in the daytime it had a huge nose, but at night... nothing... I think I have better photos somewhere.

We needed a few photos this time around of Mr. Frederickson and Kevin where the full effect of Kevin could be experienced. We had to take a few to get a good one. At first he was devastated that Daddy/Russell was taking the photos instead of holding him.

but then he got over it. Dont you just love the Kevin costume? Not to brag or anything, but I thought iiit was so funny, especially given my aversion to wearing bright colors.

See it is possible to Michael to smile, and even be happy. Poor guy was probably feeling pretty crummy at this point. Dont worry he perked up with the first lollypop.

Get ready there are quite a few Mommy/Mikey photos. It turns out we have to take a LOT to get one good one (really that is my fault not the photographer).

We needed a few more photos of Russell and Mr. Frederickson. You would think this would have made him happy, but no the transition from Mommy to Daddy made him a little angry.

Dont worry he got over it pretty quick. Dont they look so much alike? I think they do.

Especially when they both have a happy face.

He was over pictures... poor only child

Brian tried to reason with him.

But he is 1 so that didnt work out too well.

Then Kevin came back. And had a scary face, but look at cute Mr. Frederickson.

He wanted to be free, so I finally relented. See the awesome pumpkin face? It was a couple days old by the time we took this photo, but it was a cool one.

Yes, by the time we took this photo Kevin was just the tiniest bit over Halloween and exhausted. Mr. Frederickson, well he was over Halloween at 1 that afternoon.

See what I mean, over it.

He loved walking down the street with Daddy, you know in preparation for trick or treating (which he did in the stroller).

He wanted to run in the street, what a mean Daddy to stop him.

We thought it looked like he was dancing in this picture, in reality he was running down the driveway, but it looks like he knows some sweet dance moves.

he thinks the driveway is fun/funny.

He wanted to run away... yes that is right, run, not walk, stroll, or crawl, run away into the street with the traffic.

The kevin costume took some time to make, I had to document it well.

we attached the walker to his stroller... which he hated... and lasted 1 house.

Overall, we had a lovely Halloween. We went trick or treating with our fun friends (who managed toe scape the camera), and we were home and in bed (well Mikey) but 8. Oh lovely. Now on to the next holiday. Happy Halloween, Bring on the Turkey!