Enough With The Lemons

It's 10am and I'm sitting in my car in the garage. Both kids are in their car seats - the baby is sleeping and the toddler is watching a movie. 

It's week three of one of our worst reflux flare ups to date - I haven't slept more than two hours at a stretch since it started. Ten minutes after I coaxed the baby down for her first nap, the toddler woke her up again. Twenty more minutes of unsuccessfully trying to get the baby back to sleep and I turned to my last resort sleep weapon - going for a drive. Baby in the car seat, car seat in the car with strategic blanket to block any errant sunshine, toddler in the car in his seat, phone, wallet, run inside to turn off the quinoa in the rice cooker, retrieve the dog from the street after he pushed the door open and ran out, get in the car, notice keys are already in the ignition, and... nothing. 

Call Chris to ask for a jump, the toddler starts crying, run back inside to get the iPad to buy some time, find out that the back door on the car doesn't open if the battery is dead, crawl over the (crying) toddler to dig through the emergency box to find jumper cables, pop the hood, realize that I CANNOT find the exterior latch for the hood. Cry. Use the phone as a flashlight to trace the hood latch to the last place I expect it to be. The baby falls asleep mid-chaos. Try to jumpstart the battery, which proves futile. Send Chris back to work. 

Did I mention that it's only 10am? I've got lemons in spades, my friends. And I'm going to sit in my dead car sipping this new batch of lemonade until the baby wakes up. 

Update: The baby had a sneaky diaper blowout in the car while she was napping. The toddler had a diaper blowout while I was cleaning up the baby.

Update two: Just found a chunk of poop on the carpet, which was followed by a pretty solid ten minutes of semi-hysterical cry-laughing. Welcome to my glamorous life.

Mixed Metaphors

My good intentions keep taking off in some sort of hand basket and I don't dare ask where they've gone... but life continues in a headlong rush of crazy, funny, frustrating, exhausting, perfect happenings. 

Most days I don't feel like I have the time (or focus) to corral my thoughts into anything longer than an Instagram caption, but life is so good and I feel more encouraged lately than I have in a while. Reflux really does a number on my morale, but after yet another medication change it's been under control for a solid month. Not every day is great, but we're in my very favorite baby stage - the six to nine month "sweet spot" where Little Miss is not quite crawling/sitting, but actively participating and interacting with everyone. Watching her and Jr start to play together is pretty much the best thing ever.

Starting to reach!

One of us is not impressed with this adorable polar bear suit.

Checking out my new boot socks...

If you're on the floor, she's in your business!

His current favorite art activity.

My super helpful assistant...

"A child is a curly, dimpled lunatic."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have A Bite Of...

Taco Stuffed Peppers

Nothing like the stuffed peppers of the 80's, I swear!

Easy, healthy, and flavorful. Did I mention E-A-S-Y? 

These babies are a dream come true on hectic weeknights!

Ingredients:

3 peppers, any color

1 tbs avocado oil

1/2 lb lean ground turkey (or beef)

2 tbs diced onion

1/2 cup water

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 tbs taco seasoning (more or less to preference)

Optional: Cheese

Toppings:

Corn, fresh or frozen

Fresh tomatoes, diced

Black olives, sliced

Green onions, sliced

Yumm sauce

Sour cream

Salsa

1) Wash peppers, slice in half, and remove stem/seeds. Place in baking dish, cut side up, and bake at 400 for 8 minutes*.

2) While the peppers are cooking, heat the avocado oil in a medium skillet and brown the meat. Add diced onion, sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in water, cooked quinoa, and taco seasoning and simmer until liquid has reduced. 

3) Spoon the meat and quinoa mixture into the peppers, top with cheese if desired, and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

4) Serve warm with any combination of toppings. My favorites are corn, tomatoes, olives, green onions, and Cafe Yumm sauce. 

*This dish will reheat beautifully if the peppers are not overcooked. 8 minutes of pre-baking will result in al dente peppers. Add another 2 minutes to the pre-baking time if you like softer peppers or are not planning for leftovers.

Life Update:

We've stumbled our way into a functioning routine, which is a huge relief after the chaos of the newborn months. I've actually done grocery shopping and Costco with both kids (and no backup), Little Miss is tolerating car rides, and Jr is handling sharing Mama a little better. Sleep is still a precious commodity - naps are short, two night feedings qualifies as a great night, and sometimes the kids sleep in until 7am. 

Little Miss is growing (mostly) steadily and her personality is really starting to show. We're still fighting reflux at times, but things are getting better on the whole. She has learned to roll from back to tummy, started on solid foods, is starting to enjoy bath time, and loves playing peekaboo.

Grumpy snuggles.

Squash!

Houston, we have a roller.

Jr is a talking, dancing, singing machine. He's constantly picking up new words and parroting everything which, after months of focusing on his language skills, is an absolute delight. He knows all of his letters, is always looking for ways to be a helper, and has been determined to start doing things on his own/in his own way. Watching him gleefully run towards big kid independence is equal parts exhausting and amazing.

My grocery assistant was pretty thrilled with our cucumber selection.

I. Love. Christmas.

Finally making progress on the nursery artwork!

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

Thornton Wilder