Nine Months Old

Ezekiel, you are nine months old! You have now been out in the world as long as you grew in my tummy! Here's what you've been up to this past month:

- You are starting to army crawl. It's a little hard for you to get any traction on our hard wood floor, but you have begun to push off on your toes and use your arms to propel forward. Especially if you're going after something you really want, like the computer or dirty socks or electrical cords; you know, the things we don't want you to have.

On the move! 

- You have learned how to use a fork! It has been challenging for you to pick up the food with your fingers and put it in your mouth (although you are getting better! Some of the food is just too slippery or small), but if I stab a piece of food and put it on your baby fork, you can pick up the fork and put the food in your mouth. You seem to really enjoy this!

- We have basically phased out baby food. I still give you cereal with fruit in the mornings, but unless we're going somewhere, you usually eat what we're eating. After this last box, I'll probably start making you regular oatmeal. And I might be able to start feeding you yogurt!

- You are about 28 inches tall and weigh about 16 lbs.

- I think your hair is starting to get a little curly. It is certainly getting longer! The ends are starting to curl up a little though :o)

- You are pretty much always in the big end of your bathtub now. You like to play with your bath toys and are pretty stable sitting there.

- We have just switched you to size 3 diapers. You are wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes. Although I did put a pair of 0-3 month jeans on you the other day. They fit you around the waist, but they are more like capris in length. Time to put them away I suppose.

- You went swinging for the first time at Gillham park last weekend. We had lots of fun!

- You helped Daddy with carving our Halloween pumpkin.

We love you so much Ezekiel! You are growing and developing so fast. We are proud of you and the little boy you are becoming. You have such a great personality and can't wait to see the little person you are growing up to be. Happy Nine Months!

To life... full of reaching your destination!

Friday's Foto

World's Best Scowl 

Friday's Foto

From the Meowth of Dora

One year ago today, I was given permission to write on Mom's blog. If you didn't read it, you can click here:  {Meow!}. Much has changed for me in the past year. Namely, a screaming, crying, helpless child. We used to spend blissful, quiet nights at home and each morning around 5 AM I would begin to pester mom and pop to wake up. I would jump on their stomachs from the headboard, pounce on their legs, and scratch at the door. Meowadays the child will sometimes beat me to it! It is quite shocking how they consistently choose him over me! And recently --the horror!-- if he keeps them up late, they force me into my kennel as I hear them say, "...don't want to deal with her in the morning...". I tell them I promise to be good, but they lock me in anyway.

The child appears to take a great interest in me. I captured this secret footage on camera one morning. Just watch how he attempts to deafen me with his screams and weaken me with his stare.

I do not know how I will be able to defend myself as he grows larger, but I must train daily. Each day I plot courses through the house. This new place in which we live has many creaky, wooden floors, so I have developed my stealth plan to avoid the creaks. This gives me the advantage of being able to either enter or escape from a room without notice. I have also been improving my hunting skills. I watch birds, moths, and others of my kind from my perch on the porch. I sprint back and forth along the wooden lookout to increase my speed and agility.

At times, the child has trapped me in a laundry basket or corner of a room. His skill at moving has increased in the passing weeks and my only defense is to bat at him with my paws. Although mom does not like me to do so.

I will update again when I can. I hope you enjoy a few pictures of me, while I head outside for some peace and quiet. The child is getting noisy...

Dora meowut!

About Me

I like to give updates on what I'm learning about life; how I'm trying to make changes for the better. I hope to inspire and encourage others through my honest introspection and revelation.

We've lived in Kansas City for about 8 weeks now. I love where we live. It's quiet (people from the country might disagree, but compared to where we lived... SO QUIET!!). There are so many trees and places to walk. I am loving the weather! Now on some of my walks with Zeke he wears a jacket and I drape a blanket over his lap!

I've lost about 5 pounds since we moved. I have also (just recently) decided to only weigh myself once a month. So far it's hard for me. I like to micromanage, analyze; I'm very detail oriented... to a fault. I came to the realization, I know how to lose weight. I really do. You consume less calories than you burn. It's really pretty simple math. But I've been a yo-yo for years. Losing the weight to watch it slowly creep up again because I'm tired of working so hard to lose it. I realized, I don't know how to eat, live, and manage a healthy weight. I want to eat well... not just less. It is actually helping me greatly now that Zeke is eating with us because I want him to eat good, healthy, well-rounded meals and so I do too! I have eaten more fruits and veggies recently, on a regular basis, than I have in a long time.

I take about 1, 30 minute jog each week. I'm also averaging about 5, 30 minute walks with Zeke.

Last week I started my first web-free Wednesday. I have found myself spending (wasting) way too much time on the internet, so I am planning to stay away one day each week. It was actually pretty tough, so I plan to continue until it becomes easier... and I'm spending less time on-line.

I struggle with Mommy-guilt -- a lot. I compare myself to everything and everyone. I feel like if I'm not following the guidelines in a certain book or not getting Zeke to sleep like someone else's baby or he's not eating this or he's spending too much time in his bouncer or, or, or... that I'm failing at being a mother. And I have to tell myself, you don't have to be perfect, you just need to take care of your baby and stop stressing out! It's hard. It's really, really hard.

I am thankful for Jeremiah and the way he provides and sacrifices for our family. I'm trying to encourage and support him more. It's so easy to take advantage of those close to you and forget that they need to hear your appreciation, often.

To life... full of taking time to learn about yourself.

Friday's Foto

I love having the time to make more than one thing in the kitchen. On this morning I had beef stew simmering on the stove and was waiting for my butter to melt in the microwave for my gooey butter cake! I also enjoy having my radio to listen to some tunes while I'm in the kitchen!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Clusters

I was in need of something sweet (surprise, surprise) after supper one night. I happened to see this recipe on the side of our HappyO's box. I had all the ingredients, I didn't feel like taking the time to bake cookies, and I'm always up for chocolate & peanut butter combos, so these fit my parameters.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Clusters 
**from the Best Choice HappyO's box

1/2 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. smooth peanut butter
3 c. toasted oat cereal 

Place corn syrup, chocolate chips, and sugar in medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently until bubbles break the surface. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter. Mix until smooth. Stir in toasted oat cereal until evenly coated. Drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper, forming clusters. Cool. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen. 

I was actually a little embarrassed because Jeremiah had asked for oatmeal cookies and I made these instead. I sampled a couple before he came home from work and thought they were mediocre. But I set them out for him anyway... and he liked them! I might not make them again, but they were a quick fix for my sweet tooth.

To life... full of HappyO's!

Friday's Foto

Hey you! How about putting down that camera and feeding me?!?! 

Orange Chicken

This was one of those recipes that was good enough to eat, but probably not worth repeating. We do eat a lot of chicken though, so it was nice to try something different. I'd rate it a 2 out of 5 stars.

Orange Chicken
*from my 5 Ingredients or Less cookbook

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I just made 2 pieces and reduced all ingredients accordingly.)
6 oz. can orange juice concentrate, undiluted
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried basil

Place chicken on a baking sheet. Broil 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from oven and place meat in a 9x13 baking pan. Reduce heat to 350*. Pour orange juice concentrate over chicken. Sprinkle with paprika and then with herbs. Bake uncovered 30 minutes, or until done and juices run clear when pierced with a fork. 

**I served it with brown rice and it was good together. 

To life... full of both fantastic and mediocre dinners!

Beef Stew

Jeremiah picked out Pioneer Woman's Beef Stew for us to try. We enjoyed it, but it turned out more like beef soup. Here's where I think I went wrong...

- She includes "1 can or bottle of beer" in her ingredients. We bought a bottle, but I think it may have been too much liquid.

- I'm still working out the kinks of my stove and oven. I believe my big burner doesn't work well below the medium setting, so I feel like it didn't simmer long enough (or at a high enough temperature) to cook down the liquids.

- I also was rushing a bit to get it done, so it probably could have used another 30-45 minutes of cook time.

Regardless, we liked it enough that I will make it again this winter and hope that it turns out more stew-like.

Beef Stew
*from Pioneer Woman's Food from my Frontier cookbook

3 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
2 lbs. beef stew meat
1 med. onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can or bottle of beer
4 c. beef broth
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (Can I just insert here that every time I see tsp. I think of Sleeping Beauty and when the fairies are making her birthday cake and she says, "Tsp? What's a tsp?") 
Freshly ground black pepper 
4 new potatoes, quartered
4 carrots, unpeeled, roughly sliced
2 T. all-purpose flour
Minced parley, for garnish, option (I didn't use this) 
Crusty bread, for serving

Start by heating the olive oil and butter in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Throw in the stew meat and quickly brown it on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove meat to a clean plate and set aside. Throw the onion into the pot, then reduce the heat to low. Stir the onion around to cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Then throw in the garlic and stir it around to cook for a minute. 

Pour in the beer, beef broth, worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, paprika, sugar, salt, and pepper. Finally, return the meat to the pot, cover it, and simmer the stew over very low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. If the liquid level gets too low, add 1 to 2 cups hot water as needed. 

Add the potatoes and carrots to the pot. Stir them in and continue simmering for 30 minutes more, or until vegetables are tender. To thicken the stew, remove 1 cup of the cooking liquid and whisk in the flour. (When I did this, I just got a bunch of flour clumps :/ I'm guessing maybe I shouldn't have just dumped it in, but poured and whisked slowly. Another pitfall I believe. ) Pour the flour mixture into the pot and simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until the stew is very thick. Add parsley at the end if desired. Dish it up and serve it with crusty bread and a very, very hearty appetite. (I served it with some garlic bread!) 

To life... full of cool weather and warm stew!