Rough Nights

Ben is going through a strange phase right now where he is waking up in the middle of the night, most nights.  He will start by whining, then standing up and calling "MAMAAAAAAAA" and then he will sob until one of us goes in to get him.  The other night, I swear he fussed and cried for nearly 45 minutes before I gave up and went and snagged him out of his crib.

And as much as it can be annoying to have my own sleep disrupted, I have to admit how much I love seeing his little body stretched WAY out across our bed.  He always has a perfect little sleepy pout and crazy bedhead.

But this whole thing has me thinking about how some people actually transition their kids into BIG KID beds around this age?  Wow, and also WHAT!?!?!?!  Ben has never attempted to climb out of his crib, so I have a feeling that we will keep all 4 walls of his cage crib up until it's absolutely necessary.

Dance Party, Party of 1

Meal Planning: Week of THANKSGIVING

Review from last week:

There isn't too much to review from last week, considering that we had simple meals and left overs most nights.  On Wednesday, I did try to get creative and make Spaghetti and Mussels with Tomato and Basil, but I had a major fail when it came to storing the mussels after I purchased them and they were all open and dead when I pulled them out to cook them.  I suppose I should have researched "how to cook, clean and store mussels" before attempting to use them for the first time...

Needless to say, I am probably forever scarred and will not attempt to ever cook something like this again.  The good news is that the pasta itself was very delicious (and pretty) and fine on it's own.

A bit of a side story here, but we have really been struggling with getting Ben to eat what we are eating.  Most of the time, he will refuse to even try what I have made.  This usually results in him eating crackers for more meals than I care to admit, or holding out until we make him chicken strips or toast as a replacement meal.  

Before having kids, I was definitely one of those people that said stuff like, "I will never make a separate meal for my kid", and "I will have an adventurous eater".  (Insert eye-roll here).  Ben has never been the best eater.  And as a parent, you can't help but worry that your kid is going to starve (they won't) and you end up making them whatever you know they will eat.

BUT, in an attempt to tame the cracker-monster, we have been trying to not allow snacking between meals as much and if Ben isn't interested in dinner when we offer it, we wrap it up and try again in an hour.  In this instance, it TOTALLY WORKED, and it was so satisfying.  He straight up refused it when we sat down to eat the first time, but when I tried again a little later, he ate it all.  And had seconds.

(And I'm pretty sure this wouldn't have happened had there been mussels in his food, so, blessing in disguise).

 

The other new recipe we tried was Lemon Caper Chicken.  We added prosciutto.  Quick, easy and tasted great.

Here is what we have planned for the week:

Saturday: La Palmera.  Haven't I been saying this every week for a month?  Let's see if we actually do it.

Sunday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Monday: Left overs

Tuesday: Chicken Saltimbocca and Salad

Wednesday: Boboli and salad

Thursday/Thanksgiving: We are having a scaled-down Thanksgiving dinner this year, and instead of roasting an entire turkey, I plan to make this Crock Pot Turkey Breast.  I'm also going to make a loaf of bread (since it was such a hit the first time around), mashed potatoes and a vegetable.  My mom is making my favorite stuffing of all time, sangria cranberry sauce, and candied yams.

Friday: Left overs!  And (online) Black Friday shopping ;)

 

A Woodland Creature Baby Shower for Rachel

I'm not sure I can sum up this baby shower any better than Rachel already has, but from my perspective, this was a super fun shower to throw for a few reasons:

1) It was for Rachel, my BFF, who is carrying a little boy that I already love SO much.

2) I got to host it with Maureen, who is a legit professional at throwing showers.  Her attention to detail is unmatched and it was so much fun to brainstorm ideas and then make them happen with her.

3) I am in love with having people over to our house, PLUS, it gave me an excuse to start decorating early for the holidays.

4) Wine + Cranberry Margaritas + Soup + Pie + Carbs

 

 

 

A special shout out goes to Greg for not only entertaining Ben during the shower, but for keeping him out of my hair most of the weekend while we cooked and decorated the place.  Ben made a brief special appearance while Rachel opened her gifts:

And another shout out to this guy (Max)...

...who we hardly noticed was there during all of the shower planning, prep and execution.  But he was happy to smile or let you snuggle him any time you wished.

His Favorite Jam

 

His iPad skillz blow me away.

Related: We are starting to set some hard limits on his iPad time.

Meal Planning: Week of November 20th

Review from last week:

This week hasn't involved too much cooking.  One night we had bacon and eggs.  One night we had the slow roasted cherry tomato pasta recipe.  I added chicken and a side of asparagus with prosciutto. 

 

Tonight I'm made the Roasted Red Pepper and Prosciutto stuffed Chicken Breast we love so much, with a side of roasted beet and goat cheese salad.

 

 

Here is what we have planned for next week:

Monday: I'm going to assume that we will have left overs from the baby shower (although you never know!).  So it will either be leftovers, or take out :)

Tuesday: Chicken and black bean enchiladas. This is a recipe I have stolen from Rachel - chicken, (rotisserie to make it even easier) black beans, corn, enchilada sauce, cheese - all rolled up in a tortilla, topped with more cheese and sauce. Bake at 375 until it looks done. (20-25 minutes).

Wednesday: Left overs.

Thursday: Lemon Caper Chicken w/ a salad.

Friday: Orange chicken and salad.

Saturday: Out to eat

 

 

2 Year Olds Have A Lot of Feelings

They also get sick a lot.

They find joy in the simplest things.

And they make you laugh SO hard. (Unless you are a cat, in which case you probably aren't laughing).

They can make you feel like a kid again.

And they are your constant companion.