Mr. B

My little guy isn't so little anymore. He is rapidly changing into this big time personality that has a very big opinion on just about everything! For example, he has now learned the word "no" and anytime that he has to do anything he doesn't want to do he yells "no, no, no!" over and over again and shakes his head and kicks his arms and legs. 

In the past week he has learned the words:
-go
-help
-up
-no
-boo boo
-ow
-truck
-tractor

He is so very independent now and wants to try everything, even riding big brothers scooter. He can now climb on the couch and is a crazy man on it. I have pretty much banned him from the couch until he learns that he has to sit on it and not run laps and throw himself down and laugh hysterically about it. (would totally be fine had he not flung himself OFF the couch a few times doing this)  He now knows what it means when I say "go get your shoes on."  He goes and finds his shoes, brings them to me, and then sits down to have me put them on.  Speaking of shoes, I got both boys Keen sandals for this summer and let me just tell you, they LOVE them! I got Peytonn the green and blue pair and Bennett got the orange ones. I just love the bright, vibrant colors. My boys are true boys to the core so these shoes are great at protecting their feet and toes during all of their adventures. Plus, Peytonn can put his on all by himself. 

This week has been super hot for May. Every day this week has been in the upper 80's/low 90's. We have spent every afternoon/evening outside in the baby pool or sprinkler.  Thankfully, the part of our backyard closest to the house where the sandbox is located is shaded. It makes it very nice for the kids to play outside and still be somewhat cool and not have to worry about slathering on the sun screen. The kids very much enjoy playing outside and I usually get a lot of resistance when its time to come inside. I can't wait to take them camping for the first time. I am hoping we can do that this summer, but hubby still thinks they are too young.  We shall see.

Ahhh, Sunday...

Today has been a nice relaxing day so far.  We played outside this morning and then took a bike ride around the neighborhood.  Its supposed to get into the upper 80's outside today so I'm glad we got outside early.  Peytonn has an appointment on Monday at Riley Children's Hospital with an allergist.  They told us no anti-histamines for 7 days prior to his appointment. His eyes already are swollen and he is complaining that they itch and hurt.  I sure hope we find out what is bothering him so badly. 

The boys have been quite the handful the past week or so. Hubby is due to come home in the next couple of weeks and Peytonn is quite aware that Dad will be home soon.  Each time he gets into trouble and has to sit in time out, he yells "my dada!!" at me over and over again.  We're all just so ready to Daddy to be back home again and for life to get back to the old normal.  We have a lot of plans for this summer and I can't wait for all the fun (or chaos) we are going to have.

We are also planning for a garage sale in June. We have a lot of stuff that needs to go find a new home, or just plain move out of ours! We lack storage space so much and what little we do have is completely jam packed with toys, baby clothes, etc.  Not to mention the garage needs cleaned out and reorganized again.  The boys are just growing and changing so much in a short amount of time that we are going to need more space soon.  We've talked about eventually getting bunk beds and having them share a room, but I think that is still at least 6 months to a year away.  Bennett is still in his crib and I'm not quite sure that I trust Peytonn on the top bunk.  Maybe once we get pregnant with number 3 we can start transitioning them over to that plan. Plus I think it may be party central in there with the two of them.

As for now, I need to get back to the laundry and trying to get this place organized before hubby comes home. 

Pork Chops and Rice

Tonight I made a recipe called Oven Pork Chops and Rice from Mommy's Kitchen. The recipe is very simple, easy, and fast to make.

Pork Chops & Rice
4 - tablespoons butter
1 - cup long-grain white rice
6 - pork chops, bone in
(I used boneless sirloin chops)
Salt to taste
1 - 10-ounce can beef broth
3/4 - cup water
6 - onion slices, separated into rings
4-5 green pepper rings
1/4 - tsp pepper

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the rice and saute until it is light brown, about 5 minutes. Spread the rice in a 9X13 casserole dish. Season the pork chops with the salt and arrange them on top of the rice. Pour the broth and water over the chops. Spread the onion rings and green peppers over the chops and sprinkle with the pepper. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until pork chops are tender. Remove the pork chops to a plate and keep warm, then cover the dish and return the rice to the oven for an additional 15 minutes. If the rice is dry, add a bit more water before returning to oven (dependent on climate). I checked the pork chops after 45 minutes. The rice was almost done so I did not remove the pork chops. I just recovered the dish with aluminum foil and continued cooking an additional 15 minutes. Total time 1 hour and the pork chops and rice were both perfect. Serve the pork chops on a bed of the rice.

*The only changes I made were that I used Jasmine rice, chicken stock, and left out the green peppers simply because we didn't have any.  The Jasmine rice was amazing in this and the chicken stock gave it a nice flavor. I also used pork medallions instead of chops because again, that is what we had in the freezer.  I think this is a recipe that you can take the basic method and then add your own taste or flavors to.  I think some spicy chicken would be delicious in this recipe with the rice.  Or even add some lemon and oregano to give a Greek kind of flare.  The kids really enjoyed it and Bennett had seconds.  I liked the fix it and forget it kind of feel this recipe had to it.

Dinner

Yes, I'm already thinking about dinner. Today we have absolutely nothing that we have to do, so I have been thinking about what I can make for dinner. I needed to go to the store today for a few essentials (bananas and yogurt) so I figured if I found a recipe and needed anything I could get it while I was there. Turns out I found this awesome looking recipe and I only needed one ingredient. Wonderful!!

This my friends, is what we are having for dinner tonight:

I know, I had to wipe the drool away too! Its called Hot Sweet Drumsticks and I found the recipe on Pioneer Woman. I am really liking that website, she has such great recipes on there. She has a really great recipe for homemade (yes, really homemade) ranch dressing. I have made it a couple of times and it is fantastic, plus you can customize it to your own taste.

I already have the chicken thawing out and I got the apricot preserves from the store today and we are all set to go for dinner. I will pair it with some roasted asparagus from our co-op, a fresh salad, and some sweet potato fries. Yummy!!!

Garden

Our garden is coming a lot very nicely. The lettuce has really taken off and some are getting close to being harvested.  I did harvest some green onions today for our stir fry for dinner tonight.  Today I also thinned out the beets and transferred the one I pulled to a different spot in the garden.  The radishes are completely gone now, eaten and were delicious!

 
My flowers have also taken off this year. My climatis are doing great and are blooming beautiful flowers. Last year is hardly grew at all after I planted them and this year they have tripled in size.  They are just so pretty!

I just planted two more climatis at each corner of the fence in the back of the yard. I rigged up some string along the fence so they would climb that. They have solid, deep purple flowers.  We still need to add more mulch this year and finish the edging, but that will be done once hubby gets home.

18 month appointment

Bennett had his 18 month check up today. Here are his stats:

Weight: 23lbs 7oz  25th percentile

Height: 31 1/2 inches 25th percentile

Head Circumference: umm I forget, but I know it was in the 25th percentile

The doctor said he is really proportionate (duh, really?). He also has a stuffy/runny nose and some red bumps around his mouth. A little boy at the babysitter had Hand/foot/mouth disease this past week so I was worried it might be the start of that.  The doc said it is definitely not that (thank heavens!) but probably some dermatitis from his runny nose.  She has us some meds to put around his mouth and on his bottom until it cleared up.

Bennett was due for three shots today: MMR, Chickenpox, and Hep A.  I declined both the MMR and Chickenpox and opted only for the Hep A shot. 

He is just getting so big. He can say his own name now (bubba) but calls others that as well. Actually, he will lay in his crib some night and call out to "Bubba," as if he is going to answer himself. hehe.  He is feeding himself very well with both a spoon and a fork and his motor skills are great. He loves zooming cars and trucks around on the floor and even makes the "vroom" noise for them.  My little man is just growing up so fast. *tear*

Speaking of veggies...

Our garden is coming along quite nicely (minus the tomato and jalapeno replacements). The lettuce, green onions, and beets that I started from seed are doing great! And so are the radishes. The thing I like about planting radish is that they are ready often in about 30 days.  I harvested our first round of radishes from the garden today.

I went with a seed called "Fire and Ice" this year and they are long radishes rather than the short, round ones.  They were quite tasty.

But speaking of veggies and healthy eating, I made these tonight: Gooey Turtle Bars

Don't worry, they are totally fat and calorie free. (tehheeehe) And I totally followed the instructions and waited until they had completely cooled before eating. (Right!)  I also used natural peanut butter in place of the caramel because I didn't have any caramel. They came out delicious and very fast to make!

Eat your veggies, please!

We usually tend to eat more healthy. We always have a veggie with dinner and I try to incorporate them as much as possible into our meals. I have been slacking at offering the boys fresh snacks instead of easy stuff like crackers, cheese, nutrigrain bars, etc.  Peytonn really likes grapes and carrots.  Bennett will eat just about anything I give him, minus most veggies. Although he does have an obsession with green beans.  Today I decided that for lunch I was going to try and incorporate more veggies and healthy items.  So we had turkey roll ups, carrot sticks with hummus for dipping, and mandarin oranges. (mommy had spicy red pepper hummus while the boys has just regular)

Both boys loved the turkey roll ups, Peytonn ate most of his carrots while Bennett I think briefly glanced at his, Peytonn ate all of his oranges and asked for seconds while Bennett decided he preferred his oranges dipped in hummus.  Mommy ate all of hers. 

*I just want to note that this is probably the 5th time I have offered the boys mandarin oranges and this is the first time they have actually ate them. And Peytonn asked for more! It just goes to show that even if kids don't like something the first time you offer it to them, it doesn't mean down the road that they won't try it and like it.   I always put a little bit of everything on their plates, even if I know they don't like it or haven't touched it in the past. Peytonn finally likes broccoli after about 2 years of trying to get him to even touch his tongue to it. :) Kids are funny little things.