Attempting to catch up here

Once again I have fallen off the blog bandwagon.

I blame the great stomach bug of March 2017. I started it, C got the worst of it, and after several days of sickness followed by several days of disinfecting the entire house things went downhill on here.

J had yet another C17 course to complete and he left in April. So we were scrambling to spend time with him and drum up a great, early, Easter for the kids with Dad.

After that I was the solo parent for several weeks. Forget the blog, I was just making it through every single dinner time a day at a time. Once our weeks alone were done it was travel time and we were in Ohio. From Ohio it was back home, but with family visiting for several weeks.

We celebrated a very important third birthday, and a big promotion for J amongst all that back and forth.

We are now wrapping up two week of stay-cation. J took two weeks of leave; but rather than travel we hunkered down at home. My in-laws visited. We made several day trips; the Philadelphia Zoo, multiple beach trips, and just today we went blue berry picking at a local farm.

I've got about half a dozen really important posts I want to catch up on now. JM first birthday! C's birthday. Easter. Our trip to Ohio. The various fun family things we've done these past two weeks.

I'm currently downloading and organizing photos from my phone. Over a thousand of them, just since the start of April. Incredible. Once that is done I will start getting those posts done. And maybe, just maybe I can keep current the rest of the summer.

But don't hold your breath; the kids start swim lessons next week. Every day for 6 weeks! Heaven help us all.

Here are just a very few of my favorite pictures spanning March until just a last week.

February Roundup

• Firsts

James is walking with a push toy. It only took a few days for him to master the skill and he's fast!

We also had the mother of all thunderstorms one night this month. I don't ever remember a big storm like that in February. The weather has been very strange, unseasonably warm and we're loving it. 

Catherine had her first Little Debbie cake. Healthy; no. Delicious and priceless watching her eat it; absolutely.

JM first Valentine's Day. It was fun because C was excited about it this year, and she made special valentine's to send to family.

• New Food

I made change your life chicken from a blog I "follow". I actually only occasionally glance at my blogs lately. I just don't have time. J has been gone a lot this month and we're all ending the month with a bad cold virus. Anyway, the chicken didn't change anyones life but it was easy and good.

Recipe: 

• chicken thighs with the bone and the skin
• two handfuls of vegetables per person
• olive oil, salt, and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty foil. Your pan needs to hold your vegetables comfortably - not too close together, not too far apart. Heavy duty is less likely to tear, i.e. to get dirty from chicken grease.
3. Cut your vegetables, and toss with olive oil, more salt than you think you need, and black pepper. These are the sizes to go for: large bite-sized. Carrots take the longest, so make those thinner than the rest. Consider cooking speeds with the vegetables you choose. Green beans don't need cutting, so those get tossed with the rest.
4. Peel the skin back from the chicken. You want to generously season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper, but you want to season under the skin. So pull back the skin, season, and fold the skin back over.
5. Pat the chicken skin dry with a wad of paper towels. This is how you get magic crusty chicken skin. The best order is to place the chicken skin side down on the vegetables, season, flip, pull back the skin, season, put the skin back, and pat dry.
6. Place the chicken skin side up directly on top of the vegetables. Here's what happens: the fat from the chicken skin will seep into the vegetables underneath, imparting flavor and moisture while the exposed vegetables get a tiny bit charred.
7. Bake at 500 degrees for 50 minutes. 

• Latest Reads

I finished Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J.B. West. Excellent!

I also read You Learn by Living by Eleanor Roosevelt. Good; there are very wise and wonderful bits, and others a bit cliche and repetitive. 

And Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin. This was more intense than I anticipated. It also took a little getting used to because it's translated into English. The writing isn't brilliant, but I'm certain it has to do with the translation. The story is engrossing.

I'm currently reading 2 different books: Pride and Prejudice, the audio book version read by Rosemund Pike which is truly superb. Also, finally reading Blue Like Jazz (it's been on my 'to read list' forever) which is brilliant, convicting, and hysterical. 

C unearthed Goodnight Mr. Darcy from our home library and we've been reading that a lot. JM is also enamored with The Wheels on the Bus Raffi board book that we have. I got several Sandra Boyton books out of the library this month and C really loves them. We've read The Going to Bed Book before, a new favorite of hers is Happy Hippo, Angry Duck. 

• The Good

C and JM went to their first super bowl party. C was super excited! JM, not so much but he was surprisingly social during the whole event. 

Valentine's Day, or I Love You Day. I went and got donuts and we delivered flowers to Amanda and I got chocolate strawberries from J. It was a fun day.

We survived J being gone a lot this month, like a whole lot. And we have a pantry full of food and beer from Belgium and Germany now. 

I also had a nice birthday complete with a cake from my favorite bakery back home, new tea, books, balloons. My sweet neighbor Amanda and her daughter made a delicious dinner for me and came over to celebrate since J was gone on the day of.

• The Bad

So sick. We have been dropping like flies. A virus that started with a fever, then morphed into a horrific cough and cold and sorta has ended with a rash. Except the kids are still coughing. I say ended because after a week we've finally gotten back to James sleeping at night.

• Visitors

My childhood friend, her son and my Momma made the road trip over for my birthday this month! 

• Favorite Photos
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

JM: 11 Months

January - February 2017

Weight:

Length:

Eyes: Blue with a little brown in the middle

Hair: Blonde, but maybe getting darker

Daytime: Mostly naps are 1 hour morning and afternoon if we're lucky. I tried 1 nap; that was a flop. When I manage to space them out closer to 4 hours apart he sometimes does better and sleeps longer.

He has a new tooth and we think is working on at least one more. So he has been a little more clingy and fussy. But he'll still go everywhere in his walker, and play by himself happily for awhile.

It's harder to have both kids down playing together because JM is in a rough bite/pinch/etc. phase but he doesn't know he's hurting us. And C wants to hug him and pick him up and generally drag him around like one of her dolls which he does not appreciate.

Nighttime: If he goes down sleepy but awake we have a better night. He will cry; if he is still crying at 5 minutes we go in a pat and sing to him without getting him out of bed and he typically goes right to sleep. He usually wakes between 12-1 to nurse then sleeps until sometime in the 5 o'clock hour on a good night. So it's progress. But we're still longing for an uninterrupted night of sleep.

Eating: This kid loves to eat. He is also a a big snacker. If we are having a snack; he needs one too! He has started drinking milk from his cup. I stopped his mid-morning nursing session so he's down to 3 times a day and once at night. He hasn't liked meat as well lately unless I mix it with something else; veggies, mashed potatoes, etc. Still a big pizza and taco fan.

Other fun stuff:

My Favorite Picture(s):