Back to Life

Hi friends!  I'm happy to say that we've hit the second part of pregnancy and life seems to be getting back together.  As I told hubby on Sunday, "I'm BAAACCCK".  He raised his eyebrows and gave me a we''ll see kinda look.  Life at home has been forced to hit a bit of  standstill the past 10 weeks, and in that time only the necessities of children-raising were being focused on, and the laundry.  And that not quite as effective as normal.  Meaning there was an awful lot of baskets that never even made it back into the drawers folded....

Now that the morning coffee has been brought back into my life and my breakfasts and lunches stay where they ought to, life can more ahead at full steam. I've come to appreciate how energy and food have such an impact on our lives.

The first thing to change was to set the kids right, our conversation yesterday morning went something like this.

Our alarm had yet to go off and I was in the midst of the "it canNOT be morning yet, I just fell asleep, poor me," stage and there were two kids standing beside me.  The third was not, simply because we have yet been brave enough to move that little girl to a big bed.  These days I'm all about confinement:) 

"I'm hungry, I want breakfast, NOW" they demanded.

I jumped out of bed, said "Absolutely NOT, Mommy is BACK and you guys go to your rooms, get dressed and wait patiently for me to call you.  And I will call you when Mommy is ready to have three hungry animals stampede into my kitchen...."

And they did, and it was a very beautiful moment when Drew looked at me and smiled.  He didn't have to say it, I knew....Mommy is back and life will go on as usual.

And the past 10 weeks of life standing-still, we're good with that.  In the big scheme of things its only a short time and it will happen again, post-baby.  The trick is knowing when it has come to and end and knowing when to gear back up and re-appear into this life of motherhood, full steam ahead.

I'll be back later this week, but for now I have a house (and kids and dog) that needs to be put back in order:) 

And now for two pictures, brought to you by iphone.  I'm in love....oh and we're renovating our basement, Drew has a very serious helper who is determined to start work in the near future.

Family News and a Recipe

Family pictures make me laugh.  My Mom took this one of us on Christmas Eve, I was reminded that procrastinating is never a good thing and well, getting a family picture done on the Eve before Christmas is a sure way to not hand out Christmas cards (grin).  

And when I look at this picture I'm reminded that by the time we need to think about family pictures for a Christmas card in 2013 there will be another baby in our family.  July 2013, DV, we will be welcoming baby number 4 into our family.  The kids reactions were quite hilarious.  Kaylin jumping up and down, running to gather all her dolls to practice holding a baby, Jacob nodding and staring at my tummy very thoughtfully, and Maddie.  She shrugged her shoulders, said "o-tay" and walked away. 

We've hit the second trimester and I'm thankful that, although the nausea remains I'm no longer as sick as I was.  I'm also thankful that the kids always let me catch a 20 minute nap at some point in the day. 

And now a recipe... 

A friend introduced me to a new chili recipe, which is by far one of the best that I have ever made/had. Its made my list of good dinners to pass on to other families.  I add some fresh rolls and some baking.  I've had good reviews from this recipe and although I don't have pictures (the last three times I made it I forgot) I'm sharing it. 

Ladle me Red (from the Looneyspoons recipe collection)

1 1/2 lbs of extra lean ground beef ( I use 2lbs usually)
2tsp of minced garlic
1 cup each of diced celery, green bell pepper and red onion *note1*
1 1/2 tbsp of chili powder
1 1/2 tsp EACH of ground cumin, and dried oregano
1 tsp of ground coriander
1/2 tsp of black pepper
1 can of (19oz/540ml) diced tomato undrained (you can use a large can if you want)
1 can (14oz/398ml) tomato sauce (I prefer low sodium)
1 cup of beef broth (again low sodium)
1/4 cup chopped celery leaves 
1 tbsp of hickory flavored bbq sauce (or whatever bbq sauce you have on hand)
1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed (19oz/540ml)
1 can of beans in tomato sauce 
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I skip this - our family does not love the taste of coriander)
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice (if I don't have it in the house I skip this as well)
2 tsp of liquid honey

* Cook beef and garlic in a large, deep, non stick skillet or pot over medium-high heat until beef is no longer pink. Stir in the celery, onion and green pepper. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes, or until veggies start to soften

* Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, coriander and black pepper. Add undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, celery leaves, and bbq sauce. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20minutes, stirring occasionally

*Add beans and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro, lime juice and honey. Serve hot.


Enjoy your weekend all! 

Christmas Recap

And just like that its 2013.  It always surprises me how quickly the holidays come and go.  Christmas parties and family gatherings make the days fun and go by so quickly.  And this holiday it was good, the kids had few meltdowns, it was easier packing them and going, and they're finally getting the whole sleeping-in thing after a late night.  Drew was home for the time between Christmas and New Year's and we enjoyed every moment.  Its wonderful to have a break from routine, to just wing the days and see where they take us.  And as much as I loved that time, I'm thankful that we're getting back into routine.

Our Christmas celebrations start early with a birthday, Maddie turned 2 on the 20th. 

And birthday celebrate we did, I worry that Christmas will overcome her birthday so we made effort to decorate the house with balloons and set her day aside and it was fun.  We keep the second birthdays pretty low key, Grandparents stop by for cupcakes and coffee and some of my nieces and nephews came over the next day to help us finish those cupcakes.  And this little girl was on cloud 9, having the attention to herself.  Dolls became the unexpected theme this year and she has been busy dressing, cuddling and hugging those little people.  The best part?  How excited Kaylin and Jacob made the day, they spoiled her and loved her and that my friends, is one of the best parts of motherhood.  Seeing your children come together and celebrate each other. 

And then it was Christmas.  We bounced from house to house that week from one family event to another and were energized by being surrounded by friends and family. It was wonderful watching the kids get to know their cousins/second cousins and watching them play together?  Awesome!   Our own family Christmas is pretty low-key, we buy a few gifts for the kids and spend the morning together.  Drew gifted me with an iphone, which I am loving.  

And this is how we looked by the end of the holidays!  

I'll be back later this week with a recipe and some exciting news, but right now I'm off to the library to bring home stacks of books for winter reading!