10/31/12

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I was never really into Halloween growing up. A couple years before we had Olivia we started carving pumpkins, going to the scary theme parks and doing random things to celebrate Halloween. I still wasn’t super into it, but I felt like I was at least participating. Now, with kids, I absolutely LOVE this holiday. Watching them enjoy everything and get so excited is just an amazing feeling. Olivia definitely knows about Halloween and what it’s all about, so she gets really into it. She’s been asking for weeks if it’s Halloween yet. So, she was pretty dang exited this morning when I was finally able to say “yes”! Amelia participates and has fun, but I don’t think she quite understands it all yet.

Work went well today. I left early to pick up the girls and get everything ready to go. My in-laws had stopped over during the day to drop off a Papa Murphy’s Jack-o-Lantern Pizza (yay, saved me a trip!) and some treats for the girls. I got the girls in their costumes and took them outside to snap some pictures of them while I could actually hold their attention. My mom stopped over to bring the girls some treats and take some pictures, and then it was time to eat quick. Christian was able to get off “early” (aka, on time), which I was kind of worried about. We loaded up the stroller, blankets and coats in the truck and off we went. Luckily, we actually had some great weather this year. It’s been so cold, I didn’t know what to expect. I had the girls layered up…tank, long-sleeved t-shirt, sweater, two pairs of socks, leg warmers, pants and costumes…and they never ended up needing their coats, so that’s always nice.

We met Bella and her family over at Kari’s house so we could all go out trick or treating together – we love going out in a big group, it just makes the experience that much more fun. Bella and Olivia ran from house to house, Amelia straggling behind. Of course, Miss Diva Amelia had to do everything HERSELF, so she was quite entertaining all night. Bella was amped up and ready to go all night, but Olivia and Amelia started to lose steam and bundled up in the stroller – we did get a good hour and a half in though, so I think that’s sufficient. We now have two pumpkins FULL of candy…I think we’re going to have to finally dump out last year’s candy and swap it out! LOL. My camera was DOA when we started out, so I only got one group shot, and a shot from the first trick or treat house, but that will suffice!

We arrived home around 8:30, got the girls in their jammies, and Amelia passed right out. Olivia watched a video to wind down, and went right to bed as well. I wasn’t feeling too hot…I think I pulled something in my back when we were walking, my head was rapidly starting to hurt and I was freezing for some reason. So, I tucked myself into bed, hoping to wake up refreshed!

Another Halloween done…it’s hard to believe. Time to start planning Thanksgiving!

10/30/12 - Apple Pork Chops

Today was a pretty good day. I don’t know if ya’ll remember, or how much I really went into it, but a few months back my office at work was having a lot of trouble. Drama, fighting, a lot of childish behavior. Just, the works. It was high school times infinity. Anyway, we all had to meet individually with a staff counselor to answer some questions and explain how we were feeling/what our perspective of the issues were. Then, she was to take all of the information, evaluate it and meet with us as a group to work out some of the issues and give us some advice and information to move forward. Well, today was that group meeting. I was really dreading it, but I actually kind of enjoyed it. A lot of the things she talked about seemed super obvious, but I think it’s stuff that most people really don’t think about. Just, about how we act towards other people, how we interact, how our actions/words/moods can affect those around us. Now, I honestly don’t think it’s going to change anything in our office, but I still found it super interesting.

I left work early again today. First up, I had to stop into the license bureau. BOTH of our vehicles were due for new tabs (registration), and my car needs new license plates too (which, I think is super dumb – we shouldn’t need to get new plates). So, $193 later I was on my way out (and, I shouldn’t complain, seeing that Christian’s truck alone cost that much not too long ago).

Next up, a Halloween Party at the girls’ school. They were SO excited. All of the kids were in their costumes and there were a ton of people there. I only put the girls in their costume dresses, not any of the accessories or anything, so they didn’t look quite as exciting as some of the other kids. They had so much fun though. They decorated cookies, played some little carnival games, went “trick or treating”, did some face painting (doesn't show up well in the pictures).

Finally, we stopped into the store on the way home. Since I was sick yesterday, I didn’t make it to the store. I picked up a few items to get through the next couple of days…Amelia really isn’t into shopping, so we have to make it quick when she’s with, otherwise she starts getting way too antsy.

Once we were done, we made our way home. Christian didn’t get home from work until 6:30 – seems to be the new norm. The girls played and checked out their goodies from the party while I started dinner. We ate shortly after Christian got home, watched a little TV together and it was pretty much bedtime. Amelia was pretty refusal of bed tonight – she didn’t come out of the room, but she yelled at me for a while through the door. She finally undressed herself completely, and passed out. LOL. I watched a couple shows and went to bed as well.

Rico’s Update for the Day – personality wise, he’s still doing great, and seems a little better every day. He runs around, he’s playful, he follows me around and he REALLY wants to eat his old food – so there’s obviously some appetite there. However, there’s still no movement in the potty area. Today, I left him in the kennel all day. We have a litter box in it, and I left his food and water out for him all day. Today, I again mixed some of his fancy feast, with some prescription food and some pumpkin. He ate about half of it by the time I got home, and then a TINY bit more before bed, so at least something. He didn’t drink much water though, and, did not go to the bathroom. When he pee’s, it’s still just little bits – I don’t know if it’s because he’s having issues with that too, again, or just because he spends so much time in his litter box, that he just goes a little big every time. I think as long as his spirits are high, and his personality is there, we’re going to wait it out through the week before calling the vet. I’m just going to keep adjusting our process and see if I can find something that works.

Tonight’s dinner was Apple Pork Chops, with scalloped potatoes (lazy, from the box) and some leftover glazed carrots from last week. I needed something quick tonight – I asked a friend at work for a suggestion, knowing I had thawed out pork chops, and this is what he gave me Also, my two little mini-chefs helped me get tonight's meal going!

Ingredients:

• Pork Chops (I did three, totaling 15ozs)
• Salt & Pepper to Taste
• Olive Oil
• 2 Apples, with peel, diced
• Brown Sugar
• Cinnamon

Sides:

• Glazed Carrots (leftover, heated in the microwave)
• Betty Crocker Scalloped Potatoes (cooked in the oven, according to the package)

Directions:

1.      Layer a pan with olive oil, and warm over medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of each chop with salt and pepper, to taste. Once warmed, add the pork chops to the pan and cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on the size (I did 3 minutes).

2.      Layer a cookie sheet with foil, place the cooked chops onto the foil, wrap the foil around them and place the pan in the oven to finish he chops off. I timed it so I could put them in with my potatoes for the last 10 minutes.

3.      While the chops bake, use the same pan to cook your apples/topping. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add a little more oil, if necessary (I didn’t have to). Pour your diced apples in, sprinkle cinnamon, brown sugar and a little more salt and pepper over and stir until the seasonings liquefy. Let that warm, cook and tenderize the apples until the pork chops are over.

4.      Once the chops are cooked through, plate them and spoon some of the apples and sauce on top.

This was actually REALLY good. I would definitely make this again. My friend added onion to his (1 apple, 1 onions) – but, I do not cook with onion. He also added pecans, which would be good too. This meal was super yummy!

10/29/12

Monday. It’s always horrible. But, when you have to leave work early with a migraine, it’s just that much worse. I was actually planning on leaving a tad early anyway to do our grocery shopping, but instead, I just made my way home to rest it off. I thought I could rest for a bit, get a quick dinner done before Christian and the girls got home, and then run to the store. But, I never really shook the headache. I just laid in bed most of the night. We heated up some leftover pasta for the girls when they got home, and it was bedtime shortly after. I just made my way back to bed to rest when they went down. I hate when plans go array!

Rico’s Update for the Day – I did some research on how to relief constipation in cats. I read, and a few friends confirmed it works for them, that canned pumpkin works great for relief. So, on my way home I picked some up. I mixed it into his fancy feast/prescription mix, and put him in the kennel with it for a while. He was a little apprehensive about it at first, but ate a little bit. He actually pretty much licked as much pumpkin as he could from the rest of the food, so he must have liked it. I was really careful about not letting him have any of the dry food, and will continue to hold it back, no matter how much he cries and yells at me about it. I sure hope this does the trick! I thought about calling the vet, but I’d like to try some home methods first before we get pressured into bringing him in, which we REALLY cannot afford right now. Fingers Crossed!!!

I snapped this picture of Rico, cuddling up with me tonight. Such a sweetie.

10/28/12 - Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing

Today was a fairly low key Sunday, with some Halloween fun added in.

We were all up bright and early and watched some cartoons for a while. Christian made breakfast while I started doing some cleaning. I got some laundry started, cleaned up the bedrooms and kitchen, swept the entry and did my usual tidying up. After breakfast, I jumped in the shower, we got the girls ready and we were off.

We stopped back at the market down the street to pick up two more pumpkins. We actually found the corn pool this time, so the girls played in that for a while. Luckily that was in the green house, because it was COLD out! We picked our pumpkins, stopped at the jump house for a few minutes, then made our way home.

I started lunch for the girls while Christian started helping them clean out their pumpkins. Olivia dove right in this year and was all about it. Amelia was not really into it. She reached in a few times, and got mad at me when I took over, but wouldn’t do it herself. Drama queen. After cleaning them out, and eating some lunch, they went down for a nap. Christian and I carved their pumpkins, cleaned ours out and carved our own. They turned out great! Love carving pumpkins! Once we finished, he headed out to rake and mulch the leaves in the backyard. The girls woke up shortly after. They helped me do some picking up, switch some loads of laundry out and it was finally dark enough to light our pumpkins. They loved it…they were so excited, it was cute.

We had dinner, and relaxed for a while to finish off the weekend. Nothing like a productive, but fun family weekend!

Rico’s Update for the Day – well, this morning I noticed Rico going into the litter box a lot again. And, realized quickly his trips were pretty unproductive. I started to worry right away, but we kept an eye on him, and we think he’s constipated – so, that’s not good obviously, but not quite as serious. I’m guessing the stress of everything, changing his diet and all of that just took a toll on him. We’ll have to keep an eye on him and see if there’s anything we can do to relieve it. Otherwise, he’s doing pretty good. He’s playful and seems content, so he still seems to be on the mend. He’s still not eating great…we’re still mixing his prescription food with some fancy feast. He’s been sneaking some of the dry food too. I know we shouldn’t let him, but it’s hard when you really just want him to eat SOMETHING.

Tonight’s dinner was Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing with a Broccoli and Cheese steamer on the side.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Chicken Breasts (I did 3)
• 6oz Box of Stuffing
• Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
• ½ Cup of Sour Cream
• ¼ Cup Water

Sides:

• Veggie Steamer Bag (cooked according to the package)

Directions:

1.      Place the thawed chicken on the bottom of your crockpot. (PS, make sure to spray your pot with cooking spray for this one! I forgot…)

2.      Dump the box of stuffing on top.

3.      Mix together the soup, sour cream and water, then pour over the suffing.

4.      Over, cook on LOW for 4 hours. Done!

The stuffing is fluffy and perfect, the chicken is tender and falls right apart. I was amazed! The whole family ate this one up. YUM! Another keeper!

10/27/12 - Spaghetti Casserole

Today was a great day!

Olivia slept with me last night. Since we had such a late night, I wanted to make sure they could sleep in a little. They were up and at it around 8:30, so pretty good! Christian had to work today, so it was just me and the girls. We played for a while, had some breakfast and just spent the morning goofing off around the house. The animals basked in the warm sun all morning, and everybody seemed pretty content. Of course, that only lasts so long...the girls started getting pretty crabby and fighting with each other a lot, so I put them down for their nap a little early.

While they napped, I did a little picking up in the kitchen, played on the computer for a while and relaxed. Much needed down time! As soon as they woke up, I got them dressed and we left on a quick run to the store. Both of the girls fit into their Halloween shirts from last year, and Amelia can wear another of Olivia’s old shirts, so I wanted to get Olivia one more to wear this weekend. So, we stopped into Walmart to see if they had anything cheap. They did, and it’s super cute. They also had some other toddler clothes for really cheap, so I got her a couple more regular, long-sleeved shirts. I think if we get her a few more things for Christmas/her Birthday, she’ll be good for the winter. Now, I just need to figure out who needs boots, snow pants and winter coats! Ugh, it’s never ending!

Christian arrived home while we were heading out, so he showered and cleaned up a little. Then, we got to work on today’s Halloween fun. First up, we made some Halloween Cookies. Pumpkin Spice cookies with whipped frosting and sprinkles. OMG, they were to die for. Definitely taking those to work to get rid of them before I eat them all! Next, we built our spooky gingerbread house. Olivia was SUPER into it this year, it was really fun, and turned out really cute! We had dinner, followed up by some hot apple cider and pumpkin ice cream. Such a perfect day!

We gave the girls their baths and sent them off to bed,  then settled in for a couple of movies and some popcorn. We watched “Think Like a Man”. I wasn’t sure what to expect – but it was REALLY funny, and had some really sweet moments. I liked it a lot. We figured, it’s Halloween, so we should follow it up with a scary movie. We watched “Paranormal Activity 2” (for some reason, we don’t have 1 or 3…). It was definitely creepy. Not scary per se, but it really felt like you were watching real people, on real cameras and seemed so real. Crazy. I was creeped out sufficiently when it was over. I really want to see the other movies now though!

It was late, and it was a long, exhausting day at that point, so we made our way to bed. Love this time of year!

Rico’s Update for the Day – He’s doing well. He’s still not eating a ton, but seems to be getting more energy and personality every day. We’re continuing to mix his prescription food with some fancy feast. He’s still not really too interested in it. We’ve also continued to let him eat some dry food to make sure he gets some nourishment. We’ll have to cut that out soon though.

Tonight's dinner was a Spaghetti Casserole.

Ingredients:

• 8 ozs of Angel Hair Pasta
• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 13 oz Spaghetti Sauce
• 1 8oz can of Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 4 ozs Sour Cream
• 1 cup Shredded Colby-Monterey Jack Cheese

Sides:

• Frozen Garlic Bread - baked according to the package
• Frozen Corn - heated according to the package

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350.
2. Cook pasta, according to the package. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain. Stir in the spaghetti and tomato sauces and remove from heat.
3. Drain the pasta. Combine the soup and sour cream. In an 8" baking dish, layer the meat sauce, the pasta, the soup mixture and the cheese.
4. Cover, and cook for 55-65 minutes, until cheese is melted.

This one was just a pretty standard spaghetti casserole, just what you would think. Though, using the angel hair pasta gave it a little different texture, which we really liked.

10/26/12

FRIDAY!!! YAY FRIDAY!! I feel like I haven’t worked a Friday in forever, so that, plus our ultra-late night last night, made for a long day.  Luckily I was really busy though, so that helped. Christian continues to work a ton of over time (except, he did have to leave early [aka, on time] yesterday and Tuesday). We’re just plugging along!

After work, I picked up the girls, brought them home for a quick snack, then got them into their Halloween costumes. Tonight, we were off to a Halloween Party at an indoor playground/community center in Edina – Edinborough. Christian met us there, and we met Bella and her mom, Sara, there so the girls were really excited about that.  They had some trick or treating, some carnival games, a bounce house, face painting, toys in the gym and, of course, access to the indoor playground. The girls had a ball, and were exhausted by the time we left. We gave them another quick snack before bed, and they passed right out. Christian has to work tomorrow, so we made our way to bed, pretty much right away, as well.

Rico Update for the Day – well, he still isn’t eating a ton, but he’s getting much more active every day. Today was the last of his pain medication, so I’m hoping that he’ll feel better after that and won’t be so “sedated”. I mixed together his wet and dry food today at another attempt to get him to eat. Didn’t really work. He’s still so apprehensive about his wet food.  I would think most animals would prefer wet to dry food – I suppose it’s habit and what he knows though. Hopefully we can figure it out soon!

Here are some pics from the party….