The first weekend in August, we decided to head out to our local orchard and pick some peaches. A friend had tipped me off that they had them for $0.90/lb. When we got there, however, we found out they were having a "Clean-up" sale to get rid of the last of the peaches. We scored 20 lbs of peaches for $0.45/lb!! Now, I'm not going to say it was easy picking - because there was a lot of overripe fruit rotting on the trees, but boy was it worth it! Ira had fun eating as many peaches as he could while Andy and I picked for about 45 minutes. I think he ate like 5!
After we were done picking the owner (who is a friend of Andy's family) and I were talking about how nothing compares to freshly picked produce. Then I found out an interesting fact. He told me that the sugar doesn't really set into the peaches until the last two weeks. The problem with store-bought peaches is that they are typically picked prior to that, then ripened on the way to the store. No wonder these peaches were so good and sweet!!!
We also picked 20 lbs of summer gold apples for $0.49/lb. Now they were easy picking! The trees were absolutely lousy with apples. I think we picked all 20 lbs. in about 5 minutes.
Then began the process of putting it all up! My oh my were we busy with that for awhile!
Now, not that I don't love fruit crisps, pies, and the like, but quite honestly, if we make them, we eat them, and who really needs to be eating that stuff all the time? So we were boring and just blanched and sliced all the peaches and froze them to be used in fruit salads or smoothies. Oh yeah, and I made about half a gallon of baby food out of them too. Unlike the baby food peaches that you buy at the store that are that nasty orangish/yellow/gold color, these are an absolutely beautiful coral color (I think the red is the sugar that sets in the peaches the last 2 weeks.) They will definitely be one of the later foods we introduce to Ruby - they are VERY SWEET!!!
We were also boring with the apples and just made applesauce. Although I must say, the applesauce is anything BUT boring! We didn't have to add any sugar, but we did add some cinnamon and some cloves. OH MY!!! It tastes and smells ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!! I also made some up into baby food for Ruby.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
My sweeties
My two kiddos all clean after bath time and ready for bed in their jammies. I am SO blessed!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Ruby 5 Month Stats
Ruby turned 5 months old on August 5th. I just don't know where the time goes! She is growing up SO fast!!
Height: 25.75 inches
Weight: 15 lbs. 13 oz.
Fun things she learned during her 5th month:
- grabbing (and sucking/chewing on) faces and Ira's hair; laughing at Ira;
- flipping to her tummy in NO TIME FLAT during diaper changes and stretching her neck/head just so so that there is no possible way you can get her back on her back;
-touching her own hair (she pets it - it is SO cute!);
-turning her head away while nursing so that she can check out what else is going on in the room;
-showing favoritism towards her little wind up clock/music box that the Easter Bunny brought her.
5 month pictures:
Height: 25.75 inches
Weight: 15 lbs. 13 oz.
Fun things she learned during her 5th month:
- grabbing (and sucking/chewing on) faces and Ira's hair; laughing at Ira;
- flipping to her tummy in NO TIME FLAT during diaper changes and stretching her neck/head just so so that there is no possible way you can get her back on her back;
-touching her own hair (she pets it - it is SO cute!);
-turning her head away while nursing so that she can check out what else is going on in the room;
-showing favoritism towards her little wind up clock/music box that the Easter Bunny brought her.
5 month pictures:
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Swimming Lessons
Ira got to take swimming lessons in July. Our little city pool just two blocks from our house offered lessons for 4 year olds this year for the first time. Andy and I were excited to have Ira take lessons and become more comfortable with the water (he wouldn't even really put his face in.) He took to lessons just like a FISH and will now go under without even thinking about it. I was really glad to see him love the water!
He didn't pass Level 1, and let me tell you, even though I'd told myself that it didn't matter whether he passed or failed, it was a little hard for me to know that he didn't pass - even though when I saw the skills required to pass, I knew that he was not proficient at them yet. It was just humbling. It made me realize that as Ira grows, there are going to be things that are hard for him and that he doesn't get right on the first try and that's okay. That's how he'll learn and become a man (gasp... tear...)
Okay, enough seriousness - here are some pictures of Ira at lessons. He's on the right of these pictures. I love how I captured him getting ready to go under, under, and coming back up.
He didn't pass Level 1, and let me tell you, even though I'd told myself that it didn't matter whether he passed or failed, it was a little hard for me to know that he didn't pass - even though when I saw the skills required to pass, I knew that he was not proficient at them yet. It was just humbling. It made me realize that as Ira grows, there are going to be things that are hard for him and that he doesn't get right on the first try and that's okay. That's how he'll learn and become a man (gasp... tear...)
Okay, enough seriousness - here are some pictures of Ira at lessons. He's on the right of these pictures. I love how I captured him getting ready to go under, under, and coming back up.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Swing swing!
Ruby got to swing in the baby swing on our swingset for the first time! She really seemed to like it! I am sure that once it cools down a bit she will be spending a LOT of time in it!
Look at those chunky cheeks!!
Along the same lines (swing batter!) Ruby went to her first baseball game in July as well! Andy's company had an appreciation evening at the ballpark and it was like a million degrees outside, so she was kind of fussy until the sun went down (and it cooled off to just half a million.) She liked hooting at the field and eating her squeaky toys. Not so sure that little miss is going to be miss outdoors gal - she kinda acts like she hates it or something. Nevertheless, I took pictures:
Look at those chunky cheeks!!Along the same lines (swing batter!) Ruby went to her first baseball game in July as well! Andy's company had an appreciation evening at the ballpark and it was like a million degrees outside, so she was kind of fussy until the sun went down (and it cooled off to just half a million.) She liked hooting at the field and eating her squeaky toys. Not so sure that little miss is going to be miss outdoors gal - she kinda acts like she hates it or something. Nevertheless, I took pictures:
Friday, August 20, 2010
Freezer Cooking Day cont'd
Put your baking panties on and get ready to cook up some more awesome freezer meals!
Manicotti Roll-ups (ninetuple batch)
48 lasagna noodles
7 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
8 c. cottage cheese
2 jars grated parmesan cheese
7 eggs
(for eating: 1-1.5 c. spaghetti sauce)
Prepare lasagna noodles as directed on the box, being careful not to let them stick together. (You may have to do them in batches.)
In a bowl, combine the cheeses and eggs. Spread a heaping 1/4 c. of cheese/egg mixture over each noodle. Roll up and place seam side down in a gal. freezer bag (8 per bag)
To eat: place in greased glass baking dish. Heat at 350-375ish until they are warm, then pour spaghetti sauce over the roll ups. You may top with additional cheese if desired.
Okay, so this one below takes the cake for being the EASIEST recipe! It goes together in no time flat!
Marinated Chicken (Quadruple Batch)
16 boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen
2 bottles Italian Dressing
8 large green peppers, sliced
8 large onions, sliced
In a gal. freezer bag, put 4 frozen chicken breasts. Dump in half of a bottle of Italian Dressing, a quarter of the green peppers, and a quarter of the onions. Fold the freezer bag in half (so the mixture only takes up half the bag) and stick it in the freezer, you're done!
To eat: cut bag off of frozen mixture, put in crockpot. Heat on low for 6ish hours (or as long as you like, quite honestly!) Eat over cooked brown rice (or white rice, whatever!)
French Bread Pizzas (Double Batch Supreme, Double batch pepperoni)
Supremes:
4 loaves French bread
2 jars spaghetti sauce
3 lbs. hamburger cooked with salt and Italian Seasoning
1.5 bags pepperoni
4 large green peppers, diced
2 large onions, diced
2 cans olives, diced
5 cans mushrooms
8 c. shredded mozzarella
To assemble: split loaves in half then cut in half (so you have 4 open faces) (an electric knife works SWELL for this!) Top with: 1/4 c. spaghetti sauce, spoonful of hamburger, 7-8 pepperoni, peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, and 1/2 c. cheese. Wrap in heavy duty foil.
Pepperoni:
4 loaves french bread
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1.5 bags pepperoni
8 c. shredded mozzarella
To assemble: spit loaves in half then cut in half (so you have 4 open faces.) Top with: 1/4 c. spaghetti sauce, 1/2 c. cheese, and 7-8 pepperoni.
1 c. butter
2 large onions, diced
2 c. celery, chopped
8 c. uncooked rice
8 chicken bouillon cubes
4 cans cream of chicken soup
4 c. milk
3 head broccoli, chopped
2 chickens, cooked and cubed (cook in crockpot for 6-8 hours on low)
1/4 c. Montreal Steak Seasoning
(for eating: 1 c. cheddar cheese)
Cook rice according to package directions, adding chicken bouillon cubes to the water. Saute onion and celery in butter. Add broccoli towards the end and cover briefly to steam broccoli slightly. Mix milk & soup. Mix all ingredients in a LARGE bowl & place in greased foil in 8x8 glass baking dish. Pop it in the freezer and when frozen, cover with excess foil and put it in a gallon freezer bag.
To eat: Peel foil off and put back in the 8x8 pan. Bake at 350-375 until warm, then top with cheese and bake until hot.
So there you have it! That's all the recipes we used for Freezer Cooking Day in July. We were pretty proud, because we spent $159.19 TOTAL (not per person!!) Some of it was from our gardens, and some of it we lucked out because we get milk and beef for free. That figures out to $4.82 per meal (not per person) for a 4 person meal. In my opinion - you can't beat that! Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from the day:
Manicotti Roll-ups (ninetuple batch)
48 lasagna noodles
7 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
8 c. cottage cheese
2 jars grated parmesan cheese
7 eggs
(for eating: 1-1.5 c. spaghetti sauce)
Prepare lasagna noodles as directed on the box, being careful not to let them stick together. (You may have to do them in batches.)
In a bowl, combine the cheeses and eggs. Spread a heaping 1/4 c. of cheese/egg mixture over each noodle. Roll up and place seam side down in a gal. freezer bag (8 per bag)
To eat: place in greased glass baking dish. Heat at 350-375ish until they are warm, then pour spaghetti sauce over the roll ups. You may top with additional cheese if desired.
Okay, so this one below takes the cake for being the EASIEST recipe! It goes together in no time flat!
Marinated Chicken (Quadruple Batch)
16 boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen
2 bottles Italian Dressing
8 large green peppers, sliced
8 large onions, sliced
In a gal. freezer bag, put 4 frozen chicken breasts. Dump in half of a bottle of Italian Dressing, a quarter of the green peppers, and a quarter of the onions. Fold the freezer bag in half (so the mixture only takes up half the bag) and stick it in the freezer, you're done!
To eat: cut bag off of frozen mixture, put in crockpot. Heat on low for 6ish hours (or as long as you like, quite honestly!) Eat over cooked brown rice (or white rice, whatever!)
French Bread Pizzas (Double Batch Supreme, Double batch pepperoni)
Supremes:
4 loaves French bread
2 jars spaghetti sauce
3 lbs. hamburger cooked with salt and Italian Seasoning
1.5 bags pepperoni
4 large green peppers, diced
2 large onions, diced
2 cans olives, diced
5 cans mushrooms
8 c. shredded mozzarella
To assemble: split loaves in half then cut in half (so you have 4 open faces) (an electric knife works SWELL for this!) Top with: 1/4 c. spaghetti sauce, spoonful of hamburger, 7-8 pepperoni, peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, and 1/2 c. cheese. Wrap in heavy duty foil.
Pepperoni:
4 loaves french bread
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1.5 bags pepperoni
8 c. shredded mozzarella
To assemble: spit loaves in half then cut in half (so you have 4 open faces.) Top with: 1/4 c. spaghetti sauce, 1/2 c. cheese, and 7-8 pepperoni.
Make-Ahead Butterhorns (makes anywhere from 24-48 rolls depending on how you slice it)
2 Tablespoons dry yeast, heaping
1/3 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
9 cups flour, divided
2 cups warm milk (110-115 degrees)
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
3-4 Tablespoons butter, melted
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add 4 cups flour, milk, butter, sugar, eggs and salt. Beat 2 minutes or until smooth.
Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto floured board and knead lightly. (Or, knead in mixer until sides of bowl are clean, then knead two more minutes.)
Place in a greased bowl, turning dough once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (1-3 hours).
Punch dough down and divide into four equal parts (When we made it for freezer cooking day, we made a double batch, then each family got a half of a batch. Some people divided their half into thirds, then made 24 rolls - because I'll warn you, if you make four equal parts, then 8 wedges from each part, the 32 rolls will be pretty big
Cut each circle into 8 pie-shaped wedges. (Alternately, you can cut a circle into 6 wedges, which are a great size for sandwiches.)
Roll up each wedge for wide edge to tip of dough and pinch to seal. Place rolls, top down, on baking sheets and freeze. When frozen, place in freezer bags and keep frozen until needed.
To bake: Take out as many frozen rolls as you’ll need and place them on a greased baking sheet. Thaw for five hours or until doubled in size. Bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned. Brush with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven. Remove and serve immediately or cool on wire racks.
1 c. butter
2 large onions, diced
2 c. celery, chopped
8 c. uncooked rice
8 chicken bouillon cubes
4 cans cream of chicken soup
4 c. milk
3 head broccoli, chopped
2 chickens, cooked and cubed (cook in crockpot for 6-8 hours on low)
1/4 c. Montreal Steak Seasoning
(for eating: 1 c. cheddar cheese)
Cook rice according to package directions, adding chicken bouillon cubes to the water. Saute onion and celery in butter. Add broccoli towards the end and cover briefly to steam broccoli slightly. Mix milk & soup. Mix all ingredients in a LARGE bowl & place in greased foil in 8x8 glass baking dish. Pop it in the freezer and when frozen, cover with excess foil and put it in a gallon freezer bag.
To eat: Peel foil off and put back in the 8x8 pan. Bake at 350-375 until warm, then top with cheese and bake until hot.
So there you have it! That's all the recipes we used for Freezer Cooking Day in July. We were pretty proud, because we spent $159.19 TOTAL (not per person!!) Some of it was from our gardens, and some of it we lucked out because we get milk and beef for free. That figures out to $4.82 per meal (not per person) for a 4 person meal. In my opinion - you can't beat that! Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from the day:
The Catholic Company Review: Simplify Your Life
Simplify Your Life by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker
Awhile back, I stumbled onto the Catholic Company's Reviewer program from a friend's blog. Anyone who has read this blog very much knows that I struggle with keeping things simple, so I chose this book hoping that it would help me simplify my life.
On the cover, the book says "30 Minute Read." Now for some reason, when I chose it to review, I was under the impression that it was a longer book composed of 30-minute lessons/chapters. However, the entire book is a 30-minute read. Initially, I was disappointed because I wanted something with more meat, but as I reread the book, I discovered that everything I needed to know really was there in a quick 30 minute read. How simple!
The book is divided into chapters consisting of different areas in which we can bring simplicity to our lives.
The first chapter encourages the reader to "envision what a simple life would look like for you" by imagining the "perfect" day. She says not to limit yourself by what you think is possible, but to allow yourself to listen to the master of imagination, the creator Himself. This was hard for me, because my mind kept saying "that's not realistic." But I think there really is something to really deciding what is important to you in your day.
The second chapter talks about simplifying the objects in our lives. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest ways to simplify our lives. Our possessions really do possess us if we let them. The author encourages you to ask yourself "Do I love this? Does this make me smile? or Would I regret it if I lost it" with each item in your house. It definitely lit a fire in me to go through our house once again and get rid of things that we really don't need/use.
Chapter 3 talked about simplifying relationships. Relationships are something that were scarcely on my radar screen when I thought about simplifying life, but really, they are something that can complicate life significantly. When I put this chapter into practice in my life, I ended up going through my friends on Facebook and paring down my list fairly significantly. Staying abreast of everyone that I've ever known's lives really was sucking up a lot of my time and energy.
The fourth chapter encouraged the reader to simplify "more stuff" which the author described as "the factors that are so big we don't consciously think about the on a regular basis." Things like: big ticket items in our homes, media/entertainment/communication, routines, and commitments. One statistic that the author shared was particularly thought provoking. "The average American consumes 34 gigabytes and 100,000 words over the course of about 12 hours every day." That is a LOT of information to consume. I have definitely made efforts to make sure that the information that I am consuming is worthwhile and important to me since reading that little fact!
The rest of the book focuses on simplifying your life from the inside out, by giving ideas for handling stress and by encouraging the reader to live a life of gratitude. She talked about looking for something each day for which to be thankful. I think I'd like to incorporate that into our dinner conversation somehow. It would be good for all of us.
One chapter which I didn't feel really made sense in the book was a chapter on the environment and taking care of it by recycling/reducing/reusing. Although I truly believe that those things are very important, the chapter just didn't seem like it belonged in this particular book. It was one of those "one of these things is not like the other..." things. It just didn't make sense for me in this book.
Overall, I was grateful for the suggestions in the book, and I think the author did a nice job highlighting the main areas in which we can simplify our lives.
This review was written as part of The Catholic Company product reviewer program. I have not received any payment for this review, but I did receive a free copy of the book Simplify Your Life. Learn more about joining the reviewer program here.
Awhile back, I stumbled onto the Catholic Company's Reviewer program from a friend's blog. Anyone who has read this blog very much knows that I struggle with keeping things simple, so I chose this book hoping that it would help me simplify my life.
On the cover, the book says "30 Minute Read." Now for some reason, when I chose it to review, I was under the impression that it was a longer book composed of 30-minute lessons/chapters. However, the entire book is a 30-minute read. Initially, I was disappointed because I wanted something with more meat, but as I reread the book, I discovered that everything I needed to know really was there in a quick 30 minute read. How simple!
The book is divided into chapters consisting of different areas in which we can bring simplicity to our lives.
The first chapter encourages the reader to "envision what a simple life would look like for you" by imagining the "perfect" day. She says not to limit yourself by what you think is possible, but to allow yourself to listen to the master of imagination, the creator Himself. This was hard for me, because my mind kept saying "that's not realistic." But I think there really is something to really deciding what is important to you in your day.
The second chapter talks about simplifying the objects in our lives. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest ways to simplify our lives. Our possessions really do possess us if we let them. The author encourages you to ask yourself "Do I love this? Does this make me smile? or Would I regret it if I lost it" with each item in your house. It definitely lit a fire in me to go through our house once again and get rid of things that we really don't need/use.
Chapter 3 talked about simplifying relationships. Relationships are something that were scarcely on my radar screen when I thought about simplifying life, but really, they are something that can complicate life significantly. When I put this chapter into practice in my life, I ended up going through my friends on Facebook and paring down my list fairly significantly. Staying abreast of everyone that I've ever known's lives really was sucking up a lot of my time and energy.
The fourth chapter encouraged the reader to simplify "more stuff" which the author described as "the factors that are so big we don't consciously think about the on a regular basis." Things like: big ticket items in our homes, media/entertainment/communication, routines, and commitments. One statistic that the author shared was particularly thought provoking. "The average American consumes 34 gigabytes and 100,000 words over the course of about 12 hours every day." That is a LOT of information to consume. I have definitely made efforts to make sure that the information that I am consuming is worthwhile and important to me since reading that little fact!
The rest of the book focuses on simplifying your life from the inside out, by giving ideas for handling stress and by encouraging the reader to live a life of gratitude. She talked about looking for something each day for which to be thankful. I think I'd like to incorporate that into our dinner conversation somehow. It would be good for all of us.
One chapter which I didn't feel really made sense in the book was a chapter on the environment and taking care of it by recycling/reducing/reusing. Although I truly believe that those things are very important, the chapter just didn't seem like it belonged in this particular book. It was one of those "one of these things is not like the other..." things. It just didn't make sense for me in this book.
Overall, I was grateful for the suggestions in the book, and I think the author did a nice job highlighting the main areas in which we can simplify our lives.
This review was written as part of The Catholic Company product reviewer program. I have not received any payment for this review, but I did receive a free copy of the book Simplify Your Life. Learn more about joining the reviewer program here.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Freezer Cooking Day
Towards the end of July, I was thrilled to host my first ever freezer cooking day with my little sis and a good friend. I've done freezer cooking days by myself before, but it was SO much more fun to share the day with other people!! Thanks go out to my awesome momma for watching our combined 6 kiddos (3 of which were 8 months and younger!) during the 9 hour day!
We made 37 meals total and butterhorn rolls. The count included:
4 pans of Chicken Enchiladas
7 pans of Shredded Beef Enchiladas
3 bags of Hamburger Stroganoff
4 bags of Marinated Chicken
34 French Bread Pizzas
6 Broccoli Chicken Casseroles
6 pans of Manicotti Roll-ups
64 Butterhorn Rolls
I'll include a few of the recipes below, and will post the rest in another post later!
Chicken Enchiladas (Quadruple Batch)
2 whole cooked chickens, shredded (I cook them in the crock pot for 6-8 hours, then shred 'em)
2 tubs sour cream
6 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans Rotel
1 can diced tomatoes
4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
30 tortillas
Comine the sour cream, cream of chicken, rotel, and diced tomatoes. Set back some to top the enchiladas with. Add the chicken to the cream mixture. Stuff the tortillas, roll them up, and place them seam side down on a greased sheet of heavy duty foil in a 9x13 pan (make the foil big enough to completely cover the pan as well as fold over the top of the pan once it's frozen.) Top with the remaining cream mixture and the shredded cheddar cheese. Freeze, then cover with the excess foil. Slide into a 2 gal. freezer bag and you aren't without your pan for more than a few hours!
To eat: heat up in the oven at 350-375ish for an unspecified amount of time (until they're done!)
Shredded Beef Enchiladas (ninetuple batch)
6 lbs. beef roast, shredded (again, I use the crockpot for 8-10 hours, then shred them)
2 large onions; diced
2 c. plain yogurt
4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
4 c. uncooked rice
8 beef bouillon cubes
4 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 T. parsley
1 T. black pepper
54 flour tortillas
Sauce:
6 cans tomato sauce
4 c. water
1/4 c. chili powder
1 T. oregano
1 T. cumin
4 cloves garlic, minced.
Prepare rice according to package directions, adding the beef bouillon cubes to the water.
In a large, large bowl, combine the shredded beef, onions, yogurt, cheese, tomatoes, parsley, and pepper.
Heat tomato sauce, water, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and garlic to boiling in a large saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Pour some into an ungreased pie plate.
Stire rice into beef mixture.
Dip each tortilla into sauce in pie plate to coat both sides. Spoon about 1/3 c. beef/rice mixture onto each tortilla. Roll tortilla around filling, place seam side down inside a 1 gal. freezer bag (8 enchiladas per bag.) Pour 3/4 c. sauce into a quart freezer bag and freeze flat.
To eat: heat up the enchiladas in the oven at 350-375 ish for an unspecified amount of time (until they're close to done) pour the sauce over the enchiladas in the last 5 or so minutes of baking.
Hamburger Stroganoff (quadruple batch)
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 c. butter
4 lbs. ground beef
1/2 c. flour
4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. pepper
4 cans mushrooms
4 cans cream of chicken soup
(when eating: 1 c. sour cream, & egg noodles)
Cook onion & butter on medium heat until transparent. Add meat; cook & stir until it has lost its red color. Add flour, salt, pepper, soup & mushrooms; cook 5 minutes. Cool a bit, then fill a gallon freezer bag half full. Seal the freezer bag and fold it in half then freeze.
To eat: cut bag from stroganoff, put frozen into a 9x13 glass dish and heat at 350-375ish until it is warm. Add 1 c. sour cream and stir, then put back in the oven until it's hot. Serve over hot cooked egg noodles ( we used about 1 bag.)
We made 37 meals total and butterhorn rolls. The count included:
4 pans of Chicken Enchiladas
7 pans of Shredded Beef Enchiladas
3 bags of Hamburger Stroganoff
4 bags of Marinated Chicken
34 French Bread Pizzas
6 Broccoli Chicken Casseroles
6 pans of Manicotti Roll-ups
64 Butterhorn Rolls
I'll include a few of the recipes below, and will post the rest in another post later!
Chicken Enchiladas (Quadruple Batch)
2 whole cooked chickens, shredded (I cook them in the crock pot for 6-8 hours, then shred 'em)
2 tubs sour cream
6 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans Rotel
1 can diced tomatoes
4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
30 tortillas
Comine the sour cream, cream of chicken, rotel, and diced tomatoes. Set back some to top the enchiladas with. Add the chicken to the cream mixture. Stuff the tortillas, roll them up, and place them seam side down on a greased sheet of heavy duty foil in a 9x13 pan (make the foil big enough to completely cover the pan as well as fold over the top of the pan once it's frozen.) Top with the remaining cream mixture and the shredded cheddar cheese. Freeze, then cover with the excess foil. Slide into a 2 gal. freezer bag and you aren't without your pan for more than a few hours!
To eat: heat up in the oven at 350-375ish for an unspecified amount of time (until they're done!)
Shredded Beef Enchiladas (ninetuple batch)
6 lbs. beef roast, shredded (again, I use the crockpot for 8-10 hours, then shred them)
2 large onions; diced
2 c. plain yogurt
4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
4 c. uncooked rice
8 beef bouillon cubes
4 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 T. parsley
1 T. black pepper
54 flour tortillas
Sauce:
6 cans tomato sauce
4 c. water
1/4 c. chili powder
1 T. oregano
1 T. cumin
4 cloves garlic, minced.
Prepare rice according to package directions, adding the beef bouillon cubes to the water.
In a large, large bowl, combine the shredded beef, onions, yogurt, cheese, tomatoes, parsley, and pepper.
Heat tomato sauce, water, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and garlic to boiling in a large saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Pour some into an ungreased pie plate.
Stire rice into beef mixture.
Dip each tortilla into sauce in pie plate to coat both sides. Spoon about 1/3 c. beef/rice mixture onto each tortilla. Roll tortilla around filling, place seam side down inside a 1 gal. freezer bag (8 enchiladas per bag.) Pour 3/4 c. sauce into a quart freezer bag and freeze flat.
To eat: heat up the enchiladas in the oven at 350-375 ish for an unspecified amount of time (until they're close to done) pour the sauce over the enchiladas in the last 5 or so minutes of baking.
Hamburger Stroganoff (quadruple batch)
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 c. butter
4 lbs. ground beef
1/2 c. flour
4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. pepper
4 cans mushrooms
4 cans cream of chicken soup
(when eating: 1 c. sour cream, & egg noodles)
Cook onion & butter on medium heat until transparent. Add meat; cook & stir until it has lost its red color. Add flour, salt, pepper, soup & mushrooms; cook 5 minutes. Cool a bit, then fill a gallon freezer bag half full. Seal the freezer bag and fold it in half then freeze.
To eat: cut bag from stroganoff, put frozen into a 9x13 glass dish and heat at 350-375ish until it is warm. Add 1 c. sour cream and stir, then put back in the oven until it's hot. Serve over hot cooked egg noodles ( we used about 1 bag.)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Grandma Orpha
Andy's Grandma Orpha (his mom's mom) passed away on July 21st. We got to go up to the hospital several times and see her during her last week on earth.
We also got to have lots of good conversations with Ira about life and death and Heaven. He was such a sweetheart after I got the phone call that Grandma died, he saw me crying and said, "Mom you don't need to be sad, Grandma's up in Heaven now!" Oh, to have the faith of a child.
Some memories of Grandma Orpha:
-playing Canasta on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Grandma was notorious (or famous) for finding entire red canastas in her hand "Oh looky here!" She also had a knack for having enough jokers and deuces to make every pile on the table into a canasta. You had to be patient to play with her, but you were rarely disappointed!
-going over to her house after high school football games to watch the news and see which station covered Conway Springs the most/best.
-visiting her at the retirement home and hearing her talk about how cold they kept it (it was always a brisk 90 degrees in her room!)
-finding notes that she left for the retirement home staff about how gross/undercooked the carrots were that day
-listening to stories of her childhood growing up in Northwest Oklahoma.
These stories include:
-her mother (or grandmother?) nursing a "gypsy baby,"
-exploring caves as teenagers that were so deep and dark that you had to crawl on your belly to get through them
-swinging over crevasses in said caves with a rope "and if you dropped a rock down the crevice, you didn't hear it hit the bottom"
-going to college at NWOSU and earning a teaching certificate
-teaching in a one room schoolhouse
She lived an amazing life of 93 years and she will be missed!
We also got to have lots of good conversations with Ira about life and death and Heaven. He was such a sweetheart after I got the phone call that Grandma died, he saw me crying and said, "Mom you don't need to be sad, Grandma's up in Heaven now!" Oh, to have the faith of a child.
Me, Grandma Orpha, and my mother-in-law, Marilyn years ago after my first concert as a Singing Quaker:
Some memories of Grandma Orpha:-playing Canasta on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Grandma was notorious (or famous) for finding entire red canastas in her hand "Oh looky here!" She also had a knack for having enough jokers and deuces to make every pile on the table into a canasta. You had to be patient to play with her, but you were rarely disappointed!
-going over to her house after high school football games to watch the news and see which station covered Conway Springs the most/best.
-visiting her at the retirement home and hearing her talk about how cold they kept it (it was always a brisk 90 degrees in her room!)
-finding notes that she left for the retirement home staff about how gross/undercooked the carrots were that day
-listening to stories of her childhood growing up in Northwest Oklahoma.
These stories include:
-her mother (or grandmother?) nursing a "gypsy baby,"
-exploring caves as teenagers that were so deep and dark that you had to crawl on your belly to get through them
-swinging over crevasses in said caves with a rope "and if you dropped a rock down the crevice, you didn't hear it hit the bottom"
-going to college at NWOSU and earning a teaching certificate
-teaching in a one room schoolhouse
She lived an amazing life of 93 years and she will be missed!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Oh my Garden! (rant)
Much to my dismay, the garden has just not been doing very well this year. (Which is a total disappointment, because last year we didn't get to enjoy much of our garden at all because the word "garden" sent me running to the bathroom to throw up (thank you Miss Ruby.))
Our butternut squash did well enough for me to make about 4 gallons of baby food for little Ruby-roo before it succumbed to the squash bugs that ate the pumpkins, squash, and zucchini plants to death. Grrrr!
After obliterating the squash, the stupid pests moved on to the tomatoes. We've probably picked about 50 total, and don't foresee picking many more this year. Boo-hoo! I was really looking forward to putting up a bunch of diced tomatoes so that we didn't have to buy them throughout the rest of the year.
The jalapenos and banana-peppers (which must have cross-bred with some habaneros from down the street because some of them are seriously hot as FIRE) are doing well, thankfully. But seriously, what can you do with a million jalapenos when you have no tomatoes to make salsa? Grrr.... We've resorted to purreeing them in the food processor and putting them in baby food jars then freezing them. It really is a great way to use jalapenos because you have total control over how spicy you make something with them (in chili, spread on a sandwich, on pizza, etc.)
The cantaloupe are also doing pretty well. I might or might not have eaten two entire cantaloupe by myself one afternoon...
The okra are doing crazy well, so we've enjoyed fried okra once and have sliced up several quarts of them to use later this year in gumbo. Hooray!
The cucumbers are also doing crazy well. We've probably picked no less than 100 so far. If you live nearby and would like some, let me know! They are very very good cucumbers!
Sorry if this post is negative - it just really bums me out that the garden is doing so poorly this year. Here's some pictures of the babe with some of the garden produce. Yes, we picked a pumpkin in mid-July - I don't know why it was ready that early, but we are going to enjoy it since it looks like the pumpkins will not be making it to Halloween-time!
Our butternut squash did well enough for me to make about 4 gallons of baby food for little Ruby-roo before it succumbed to the squash bugs that ate the pumpkins, squash, and zucchini plants to death. Grrrr!
After obliterating the squash, the stupid pests moved on to the tomatoes. We've probably picked about 50 total, and don't foresee picking many more this year. Boo-hoo! I was really looking forward to putting up a bunch of diced tomatoes so that we didn't have to buy them throughout the rest of the year.
The jalapenos and banana-peppers (which must have cross-bred with some habaneros from down the street because some of them are seriously hot as FIRE) are doing well, thankfully. But seriously, what can you do with a million jalapenos when you have no tomatoes to make salsa? Grrr.... We've resorted to purreeing them in the food processor and putting them in baby food jars then freezing them. It really is a great way to use jalapenos because you have total control over how spicy you make something with them (in chili, spread on a sandwich, on pizza, etc.)
The cantaloupe are also doing pretty well. I might or might not have eaten two entire cantaloupe by myself one afternoon...
The okra are doing crazy well, so we've enjoyed fried okra once and have sliced up several quarts of them to use later this year in gumbo. Hooray!
The cucumbers are also doing crazy well. We've probably picked no less than 100 so far. If you live nearby and would like some, let me know! They are very very good cucumbers!
Sorry if this post is negative - it just really bums me out that the garden is doing so poorly this year. Here's some pictures of the babe with some of the garden produce. Yes, we picked a pumpkin in mid-July - I don't know why it was ready that early, but we are going to enjoy it since it looks like the pumpkins will not be making it to Halloween-time!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Totus Tuus
Mid-July, our parish was blessed to host the Totus Tuus program. For those who don't know - Totus Tuus (Latin for totally yours) is a week-long Catholic Bible School Program. When I was growing up, my mom organized the Totus Tuus program for our parish. Each summer I looked forward to the program and to getting to know the teams (we always had 2-4 people stay with us and hosted 2 meals during the week.) I am blessed with many, many wonderful friends from the Totus Tuus program and I credit Camp Totus Tuus for much of my spiritual development in High School. So when I saw that they were coming to our town, I was eager to help out!
The one thing that was really needed was host families for the team, so Andy and I decided to keep the two girls from the team at our house. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Korbi and Christine throughout the week. Ira was positively in love with them and got up early each morning so that he could eat breakfast with them. Even though he wasn't old enough to go to the day program, Ira still got a lot out of Totus Tuus being at our parish. If you ever have the opportunity to send you kids to Totus Tuus' day program, or are financially able to send them to Camp Totus Tuus, I would highly recommend it!!
(pardon the red eyes, I forgot to edit this pic before I uploaded it!)
The one thing that was really needed was host families for the team, so Andy and I decided to keep the two girls from the team at our house. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Korbi and Christine throughout the week. Ira was positively in love with them and got up early each morning so that he could eat breakfast with them. Even though he wasn't old enough to go to the day program, Ira still got a lot out of Totus Tuus being at our parish. If you ever have the opportunity to send you kids to Totus Tuus' day program, or are financially able to send them to Camp Totus Tuus, I would highly recommend it!!
(pardon the red eyes, I forgot to edit this pic before I uploaded it!)Friday, August 13, 2010
Muddledness
I'll interrupt the numerous "catch up" blog posts that I have scheduled to bring up something that is fresh on my mind currently.
Awhile back ago, a very good friend and I had a conversation about raising kids and the topic of sex came up. She has studied the Theology of the Body somewhat extensively, and said how refreshing it was to be able to share the good news about it with her daughter. I had heard of JPII's Theology of the Body but had done no studying of it whatsoever, but, with two children now, I thought that being prepared for how I wanted to approach the topic of sex with my children would be a good idea. She recommended Christopher West's "Theology of the Body for Beginners" as a good starting point. Luckily, my younger sis had a copy of the book and happily loaned it and West's most recent, "Heaven's Song" to me.
It took awhile for me to get into TOB for Beginners partly because lately what I've read has been Berenstain Bears and Nursery Rhymes, and partly because whenever I would sit down to read it, I was inevitably interrupted by someone needing something. When I finally did get to read it, I found it fascinating and inspiring. I remember when I would read it in the morning and I would have those "Ahhhh" moments (you know the heavens open, etc.) where it really felt like I was learning something amazing. It was hard to then go about my day "as normal" because I just wanted that feeling again. I wanted to read more. Alas, my vocation as a wife and mother (in contrast to someone in a religious order) means that I must tend to my husband and my children and my household. And there's nothing wrong with that - as a Catholic wife and mother, part of my vocation is to go about my everyday duties in a prayerful, joyful way. Sometimes it's hard though, it feels as though there is somewhat of a disconnect between those "Ahhh" moments and the trifles (is that a good word for it?) of everyday life ("do you want the pink plate or the orange plate?" "please don't smother your sister" "it's not modest to undress for your bath in front of the living room window") And please understand, I am not saying this for any reason other than to put down in writing some of the muddledness/restlessness/unsettledness that I've been feeling lately. I guess I'm not so much to the reflecting state yet as I am the recording state. This is how I feel right now, the end.
In some of my thinking/praying lately, I have discovered that I am not the most critical person. By that, I mean that when I read something, I tend to agree with it (unless I blatantly disagree with it) without giving much thought to whether I really do or do not in fact agree with it. (Does that make ANY sense whatsoever?) The easiest way to say it would be to say that I am not a critical reader I guess. And I am trying to become more of one. That has made me realize just how unintelligent I am. Or maybe it's uninformed... I don't know, but I am realizing that there is a whole heck of a lot that I don't know/understand/have an opinion on. I guess I am a little envious of those who do have such well-informed opinions of things (with multiple resources to back up their opinion) I don't even know where to start to become informed in a way that I can understand but from a source I can also trust. This is where I was really digging Christopher West's TOB for Beginners. It was something I could understand and was from a source I trust.
Well then, this morning, upon recommendation from my older sister, I pulled up The Catholic Exchange's website thinking, "here is a place that I can come to learn about issues and form opinions on things" and what do I find but an article about Christopher West! How timely! But what I found sent my head spinning even FURTHER. The article was essentially a third writing on a topic I was completely unaware of, a debate between Alice VonHildebrand and Christopher West (although it's not a debate yet per se b/c West is on sabbatical I guess?) criticizing how West approaches and interprets the TOB. It all stems from an article written by AVH for the Catholic News Agency. Then a contributor for the Catholic Exchange wrote an article about that here. Where I finally stumbled onto the debate this morning is here.
I guess I don't even know what to think about it all. I'm still trying to form my own opinion on the matter. So far though, my inklings of opinions are as follows (and I reserve the right to change them as I find more out):
-I do not know a whole lot about Christopher West, only what I have read from "The Good News about Sex and Marriage"; and "Theology of the Body for Beginners," and a little bit of "Heaven's Song" but so far I have found him to be easy to understand yet thought provoking and insightful. I absolutely loved "The Good News about Sex and Marriage." It is a favorite wedding gift that I received and one that I too love to give. I am also enjoying the reflection questions at the end of each chapter in "Heaven's Song" Reading the books is truly a prayerful time for me.
-I do not know a whole lot about Alice VonHildebrand, only that I tried to read "By Love Refined: Letters to a Young Bride" and could not get "into it" and I read her article that she wrote for the Catholic News Agency. To me, in this article, she sounded more than slightly defensive and improperly informed on Christopher West's interpretation of TOB (at least from what I have read so far, although I'll admit, I've never seen videos/heard tapes/or attended a presentation.) Her article for me, was hard to understand (but I am only a person of average intelligence) I understand that Dr. Hildebrand is a philosopher, which means that her writings need to be read through academic eyes (mine are sorely out of practice, let me tell you.)
-Most of all, I think I am disappointed in the whole thing. I do believe that West's TOB for Beginners has led me to a deeper understanding of God's love for me precisely because of the language that he uses. I have read JPII's writings on numerous occasions and it is more than challenging for me to comprehend it sometimes. I guess to me it seems childish of VH to take such issue with West's TOB (as if he's infringing on her (or especially her husband's) territory or something.) She is certainly well respected and understood in the academic community (and I'm guessing although I don't know for sure, for good reason), but I don't think that is West's audience. I think he is writing to the average, everyday Catholic - namely a person like me. And quite honestly, I sort of think that they are saying the same thing in two different ways.
There is also a bit more about the debate on this website that is linked to in the Catholic Exchange Article.
Whatever the case may be - I just wanted to get my feelings down "on paper." This is far from a compendium on my feelings on the matter, nor a thorough reflection about my thoughts/insights on the Theology of the Body, but blogging about them has allowed me to clarify my opinion a bit, which is just what my muddled mind needed. I would be thoroughly interested to hear others' opinions on the matter, if you do take the time to read through the articles (which might take some time!) And sometime, I will have to share more of my thoughts on Theology of the Body.
For now, God bless!
Awhile back ago, a very good friend and I had a conversation about raising kids and the topic of sex came up. She has studied the Theology of the Body somewhat extensively, and said how refreshing it was to be able to share the good news about it with her daughter. I had heard of JPII's Theology of the Body but had done no studying of it whatsoever, but, with two children now, I thought that being prepared for how I wanted to approach the topic of sex with my children would be a good idea. She recommended Christopher West's "Theology of the Body for Beginners" as a good starting point. Luckily, my younger sis had a copy of the book and happily loaned it and West's most recent, "Heaven's Song" to me.
It took awhile for me to get into TOB for Beginners partly because lately what I've read has been Berenstain Bears and Nursery Rhymes, and partly because whenever I would sit down to read it, I was inevitably interrupted by someone needing something. When I finally did get to read it, I found it fascinating and inspiring. I remember when I would read it in the morning and I would have those "Ahhhh" moments (you know the heavens open, etc.) where it really felt like I was learning something amazing. It was hard to then go about my day "as normal" because I just wanted that feeling again. I wanted to read more. Alas, my vocation as a wife and mother (in contrast to someone in a religious order) means that I must tend to my husband and my children and my household. And there's nothing wrong with that - as a Catholic wife and mother, part of my vocation is to go about my everyday duties in a prayerful, joyful way. Sometimes it's hard though, it feels as though there is somewhat of a disconnect between those "Ahhh" moments and the trifles (is that a good word for it?) of everyday life ("do you want the pink plate or the orange plate?" "please don't smother your sister" "it's not modest to undress for your bath in front of the living room window") And please understand, I am not saying this for any reason other than to put down in writing some of the muddledness/restlessness/unsettledness that I've been feeling lately. I guess I'm not so much to the reflecting state yet as I am the recording state. This is how I feel right now, the end.
In some of my thinking/praying lately, I have discovered that I am not the most critical person. By that, I mean that when I read something, I tend to agree with it (unless I blatantly disagree with it) without giving much thought to whether I really do or do not in fact agree with it. (Does that make ANY sense whatsoever?) The easiest way to say it would be to say that I am not a critical reader I guess. And I am trying to become more of one. That has made me realize just how unintelligent I am. Or maybe it's uninformed... I don't know, but I am realizing that there is a whole heck of a lot that I don't know/understand/have an opinion on. I guess I am a little envious of those who do have such well-informed opinions of things (with multiple resources to back up their opinion) I don't even know where to start to become informed in a way that I can understand but from a source I can also trust. This is where I was really digging Christopher West's TOB for Beginners. It was something I could understand and was from a source I trust.
Well then, this morning, upon recommendation from my older sister, I pulled up The Catholic Exchange's website thinking, "here is a place that I can come to learn about issues and form opinions on things" and what do I find but an article about Christopher West! How timely! But what I found sent my head spinning even FURTHER. The article was essentially a third writing on a topic I was completely unaware of, a debate between Alice VonHildebrand and Christopher West (although it's not a debate yet per se b/c West is on sabbatical I guess?) criticizing how West approaches and interprets the TOB. It all stems from an article written by AVH for the Catholic News Agency. Then a contributor for the Catholic Exchange wrote an article about that here. Where I finally stumbled onto the debate this morning is here.
I guess I don't even know what to think about it all. I'm still trying to form my own opinion on the matter. So far though, my inklings of opinions are as follows (and I reserve the right to change them as I find more out):
-I do not know a whole lot about Christopher West, only what I have read from "The Good News about Sex and Marriage"; and "Theology of the Body for Beginners," and a little bit of "Heaven's Song" but so far I have found him to be easy to understand yet thought provoking and insightful. I absolutely loved "The Good News about Sex and Marriage." It is a favorite wedding gift that I received and one that I too love to give. I am also enjoying the reflection questions at the end of each chapter in "Heaven's Song" Reading the books is truly a prayerful time for me.
-I do not know a whole lot about Alice VonHildebrand, only that I tried to read "By Love Refined: Letters to a Young Bride" and could not get "into it" and I read her article that she wrote for the Catholic News Agency. To me, in this article, she sounded more than slightly defensive and improperly informed on Christopher West's interpretation of TOB (at least from what I have read so far, although I'll admit, I've never seen videos/heard tapes/or attended a presentation.) Her article for me, was hard to understand (but I am only a person of average intelligence) I understand that Dr. Hildebrand is a philosopher, which means that her writings need to be read through academic eyes (mine are sorely out of practice, let me tell you.)
-Most of all, I think I am disappointed in the whole thing. I do believe that West's TOB for Beginners has led me to a deeper understanding of God's love for me precisely because of the language that he uses. I have read JPII's writings on numerous occasions and it is more than challenging for me to comprehend it sometimes. I guess to me it seems childish of VH to take such issue with West's TOB (as if he's infringing on her (or especially her husband's) territory or something.) She is certainly well respected and understood in the academic community (and I'm guessing although I don't know for sure, for good reason), but I don't think that is West's audience. I think he is writing to the average, everyday Catholic - namely a person like me. And quite honestly, I sort of think that they are saying the same thing in two different ways.
There is also a bit more about the debate on this website that is linked to in the Catholic Exchange Article.
Whatever the case may be - I just wanted to get my feelings down "on paper." This is far from a compendium on my feelings on the matter, nor a thorough reflection about my thoughts/insights on the Theology of the Body, but blogging about them has allowed me to clarify my opinion a bit, which is just what my muddled mind needed. I would be thoroughly interested to hear others' opinions on the matter, if you do take the time to read through the articles (which might take some time!) And sometime, I will have to share more of my thoughts on Theology of the Body.
For now, God bless!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tea Party
No this is not a post about politics.
In July, Ira and Ruby and I had our very first tea party ever. Complete with (Decaf) Chai Tea and dress up clothes. Ira was thoroughly thrilled because he's never had tea before. I just really don't think the kid needs caffeine given that he already has an insane amount of energy. I was thrilled because I was able to fit into the dress that I wore to Prom. Huzzah! It's the little things really. After the tea - we had "Prom Dance" as Ira called it - where he serenaded me and Ruby on the drums to "I Love You Baby." Pretty appropriate! I LOVE my babies!!
In July, Ira and Ruby and I had our very first tea party ever. Complete with (Decaf) Chai Tea and dress up clothes. Ira was thoroughly thrilled because he's never had tea before. I just really don't think the kid needs caffeine given that he already has an insane amount of energy. I was thrilled because I was able to fit into the dress that I wore to Prom. Huzzah! It's the little things really. After the tea - we had "Prom Dance" as Ira called it - where he serenaded me and Ruby on the drums to "I Love You Baby." Pretty appropriate! I LOVE my babies!!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Ruby's 4 Month Stats (7/5/10)
So wow, July 4th was almost a month ago! I'll try and get you caught up on our lives!
The first week in July we had Ruby's 4 month checkup. At four months, here are her stats:
Weight: 15 lbs. 4 oz (80th percentile)
Height: 25 " (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16"
At four months, she:
- does this funny "inchworm" movement by putting her head on the floor and pushing her feet against the floor (thus pushing her bum up in the air) when she flattens herself back out, she has inched forward a bit. (Just picture Slimy on Sesame Street)
-loves to splash in the bathtub. She looks very intentional with her kicking sometimes (directing it at Ira with pointed toes.)
- Rolls both ways
-Grabs for toys and puts everything in her mouth
-Says "mmm", "nnn", aaaa (short a), and makes raspberries very proficiently.
Four month pictures:
Pretty smile
Her "disinterested" look that she gets most of the time the camera is out
"Here is my tummy" she says (in a very disinterested tone)
I do this same mouth movement. I think she looks a lot like me in this pic.
The first week in July we had Ruby's 4 month checkup. At four months, here are her stats:
Weight: 15 lbs. 4 oz (80th percentile)
Height: 25 " (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16"
At four months, she:
- does this funny "inchworm" movement by putting her head on the floor and pushing her feet against the floor (thus pushing her bum up in the air) when she flattens herself back out, she has inched forward a bit. (Just picture Slimy on Sesame Street)
-loves to splash in the bathtub. She looks very intentional with her kicking sometimes (directing it at Ira with pointed toes.)
- Rolls both ways
-Grabs for toys and puts everything in her mouth
-Says "mmm", "nnn", aaaa (short a), and makes raspberries very proficiently.
Four month pictures:
Pretty smile
Her "disinterested" look that she gets most of the time the camera is out"Here is my tummy" she says (in a very disinterested tone)
I do this same mouth movement. I think she looks a lot like me in this pic.
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