It's Getting Hot Up in Herrrr

Growing up in the elementary schools of Midwest and Northeast suburbia, I've rendered my fair share of crayon art depicting the good ol' March slogan "In like a lion, out like a lamb." We used cotton balls for the lion's mane and for the lamb's wool - economizing at its best. Anyhoodles, down in Southeast Texas, I suppose the slogan would be "In hot as balls, out hotter than balls." [I won't be making a crayon drawing of that.]

Landon and I ran into the grocery store earlier in the week for a couple items and we are already hitting the walls of A/C shock. You know the kind: Where transitioning from 65 degree indoors to 95 degree outdoors throws your body into a goosebumpy sweaty confused state. After picking up our staples (milk, chicken, Snickers, eggs, etc), the car was a mini oven. It's too early for this:


Before you comment on the fact I haven't reset my trip meter in a while or that I should plan a trip to the gas station soon, I wanted to direct your attention to the temperature gauge reading 95 degrees.

The good news? Landon gets to lay around in his diapers (translates to less laundry - woohoo!) and when he does wear duds, he gets to try out some of his Japanese yukatas (kind of like a summertime kimono).

Happy Birthday to Ashmunch!

A birthday shout to Berlin-based Ashmunch! I don't have a present for you, but if you want to get me a gift for my 31st later this year, consider getting your buns back Stateside permanently.

I don't know if you remember this, but ten years ago we were roaming the streets of Boston, slightly inebriated and hoarse from singing at a piano bar, eating late night chocolate donettes. You don't recall? Let me help you refresh your memory with this grainy 30kb digital photo from 2001...


Actually, I stand corrected: those look like full size donuts. Woops. Happy Birthday!!!!!

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

Wow, so we achieved a random milestone this afternoon: Landon rolled over from his back to his tummy. It's rather random given that he hasn't really rolled over from front to back yet, which would be the "normal" first step in the progression of things. I love this kid; he's setting his own path... an individual already.



PS: His male pattern baldness is very evident in this video. It doesn't look quite so horrible in person and if you can believe it, it's actually starting to grow back in. [I dearly love how he has maintained the mini "rat tail" since birth, though.]

PPS: Although he oddly seems to have quite a muscular upper body (re: splashing video), the hand weights in the background are not his. I work out "the guns" (*cough* with 3 pound weights *cough*) while he works on tummy time.

PPPS: I'm so scared he can roll over now. I will be watching the video monitor like a hawk during naptime and bedtime. And so it begins...

Recipe Try Out: Crescent Roll Chicken Enchiladas

Because there is only so much I can write about Landon on a regular basis, I thought I'd try throwing in a few "Recipe Try Outs" once in a while to mix things up.

I will preface this with the fact that I am a "Semi-Homemade" kinda' gal. Unless it's a Sunday or there is a crock pot involved, I don't really like to spend more than 30 minutes throwing something together. I don't mind if something takes a while to bake - I just don't like doing a lot of prep work on most days (since that usually means more clean up, too).

Last night, we tried out Easy Chicken Enchiladas (ole!) which consisted of 4 ingredients:

2c shredded chicken
1 can (10oz) of red enchilada sauce
2 cans of crescent roll dough
About a cup of shredded cheese

Recipe is found in this Pillsbury link. I originally found it by going to www.crescents364.com to research how we could more frequently stuff our arteries with the buttery flakey goodness of crescent roll dough.


The verdict: It was easy to pull together and I think it tasted pretty darn good. It didn't puff up as much as I thought it would, so I will let it bake a little longer next time. With a side of corn and some sour cream and avocado, it was a thumbs up from me! Erik was a bit more hesitant with his verdict, noting that we could easily just put the filling in tortillas next time...and yes, that is true, but where would we get the buttery flakey goodness from?

Give a Warm Fuzzy Hug to Someone You Love

Today would have been my mom's 65th birthday. It is hard to articulate the emotions that linger. It was only a little over two months ago that she passed, but at the same time it feels so long ago. I ache horribly sometimes when I look at Landon laughing and smiling; I'm not a religious individual, but it helps to toy with the idea that she can look down and watch us play. I keep looking at Landon as if it was my mom looking at me as a baby 30 years ago and I feel so connected to the raw emotion that comes with that.


Although you always wish there was another five million chances to say "I love you", there are other random "if I had more time..." thoughts that pervade everyday life. Like breakfast potatoes: For the life of me, I can't make my breakfast potatoes taste like my mom's. I wish I could just call her up and ask what I am doing wrong with these spuds in a pan. I'm pretty sure the answer is to add more butter and that I have the pan too hot. I don't know - I guess I can figure things out on my own, I just rather hear my mom's voice deliver the answer. The irony doesn't escape me - for all the times I rolled my eyes and said "I knooow, Mom" when she was sitting in the peanut gallery, I now have a mirrored amount of "I don't know, Mom" questions.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - my mom gave THE best hugs in the world. It was a cozy, warm, pull you in and hang on kind of hug. Please dole out some extra fuzzy hugs today to help us celebrate her life.

We Have Lift Off

Erik had his first flight today in the T-45, which is the training jet down here in Kingsville. It went well! This comes after several classes and a busy week of flight simulator exercises (aka "sims"). It's a rather mini dent in the overall program and there are many many more flights to come, but it's been a pretty aggressive schedule thus far. If this is the pace, he will have his pilot wings by year's end and we will be house hunting soon enough!

Quote Log

After watching Erik assemble a "burrito" with leftover Manwich, pine nut couscous and Mexican shredded cheese blend...

Kate: "Well I guess it is a meat, a carb and dairy."
Erik: "Yep. I also wanted to add crumbled up tortilla chips but it didn't make sense because I'm eating tortilla chips later during the [Superbowl] game."
Kate: "Yeah, the chips don't make sense."

After observing me give lots and lots of Landon kisses one morning...

Erik: "We should set a limit of kisses so we don't create a Buster [re: Arrested Development character] situation. How about 50 kisses..."
Kate interrupts: "...an hour?"
Erik: "I was going to say per day, Kate. Even then, that's generous."

Coming up with a name for a Sunflower toy that Landon has been playing with...

Kate: Landon, we need a name for the sunflower. How about Steven?
Erik in the background: Why can't you just name her something like Sunny?
Kate: Too predictable. *eye roll*
Erik: Of course.

Regarding that last quote, I will admit I'm not very gifted at many things, but I do think I have a knack for naming inanimate objects (and their own special quotes). It's been my forte for a couple decades now. Landon's best buds for the moment are...

Olly the Owl ("hoot, hoot")
Henry the Hedgehog ("dig, dig, dig")
Fritz the Fox ("aah-ooo")
Richard the Raccoon ("scratch, scratch, nosh, nosh")
Fannie the Frog ("ribbity rib rib ribbit")
Elliot the Elephant ("hey Landon")
...and now Steven the Sunflower ("like, oh my gosh, hey Landon!")

There are also two sassy butterflies on his jungle mat named Princess and Orangello (pronounced oh-rahn-zha-lo) who like to call him "sugar."

Yep, being a full time mom sure does require a heightened level of intelligence.

Landon's Girlfriend Has Arrived

Save the date! I'm thinking a wedding could be in order around Spring of 2037. Little Vivian "Vivi" Armas was born on February 3rd, coming in at a whopping 6lb 14oz. She is such a cute mini nugget and I can't wait to get my arms around this little girl some day. Landon says the same thing - hey ooooh!


Proud parents are Emily and Sergio Armas, our partners in crime from Atsugi Japan. We will probably all be reunited again by this time next year in Anacortes, WA! It would be pri-tty pri-tty cool if Landon and Vivi end up being best buds. This would unite the Armas and Halvorson clans perpetually.

Congrats to Emily and Sergio - you guys rocked it out and now have a little bundle of precious baby girl in your arms. I'm sure you found plenty of ways to laugh along the way...

Splashing and Laughing

We finally caught Landon's giggles on camera! He thought splashing around was hilarious. I'm glad his dad taught him this life-changing skill.

Note: Yes, I had some trouble with focusing the camera and yes, the memory card was full so the video cuts off abruptly. Spielberg I am not.

We Can't Handle This, Ya'll

So it was 80 degrees on Monday and it's a nice chilly 30 degrees today. They are calling for snow in the next couple days - a "once every few years" kind of occurrence down in these parts. In fact, our power went out this morning when the mercury hit a nice balmy 42 degree mark outside; I guess it doesn't take much to bring down Texas power distribution. As our house interior crept into the 60s, we remembered Landon has a fleece suit we bought a couple months ago. At least he got to wear it once!


The power was restored within a couple hours. Right about the time we were abandoning ship to go roam around the Walmart to stay warm.

"Rain, shine or freezing weather: Nothing will keep me from chewing on my hand!"

3 Months!