Carb Overload

This past weekend, Erik took my nonchalant comment of "We should try making bagels one weekend" and indeed decided to make bagels.

[Why doesn't that work when I mention "We should go through the closet and get rid of some clothes this weekend" or "Wow, the toilet needs to be scrubbed this weekend?"]

Anyhoodles, here are the sesame bagels in all their glory. Erik did a wonderful job! They were extremely easy to make (thanks to the dough function on our bread machine) and the first batch soon spawned into a second batch to keep in the fridge for the week and also into a set of 4 bagel dogs. I looooove bagel dogs. Mmm, mmm, mmm. So as you could imagine, we ate a lot of carby bagel goodness this past weekend.

The Great Escape

I'm starting to liken Landon to Stewie from Family Guy as he seems to become more scheming week by week. But more like the cute cerebral side of Stewie; not the side that is always trying to kill Lois.

This past week's excitement came in the form of watching Landon sit up on his own (good job, buddy!), pull himself up on his own (great job, buddy!) and then try to swan dive out of the crib on his own (no no no, buddy!) all within a 5 minute time span. There is no real end to the video, since I abandoned watching his goofiness and ran to the nursery once I realized what he was about to do. Joy.



Update: The video is not working on some mobile devices for some reason. The link for the video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYgf838ln5E if you want to watch it from a YouTube app on your phone.

Hangin' With Dad

"Aawww, come on Dad... not in front of Mom."

My boys and their baby blues.

Are You Not Entertained?

Landon's foray into the swing game this weekend was... well, not very exciting. He just sat there looking quite bored. Or the oppressive heat may have had something to do with it. Either way, we will put the swings on the back burner for now and try to amuse him elsewhere.

"This is supposed to be fun? Yawn. My buns are burning. Next option, please."

One of my recurring lines these days is quoting the movie Gladiator in which Russell Crowe's character looks around the arena after a match, strongly posing the question "Are you not entertained?!" Yeah, we pulled that quote out a couple times this weekend.

A Real Parenting Site

I think there needs to be more stories told such as the ones found at www.longestshortesttime.com. I'm not trying to be a jerk and scare moms-to-be, but for all the times that someone says "Well better sleep now, 'cause you won't have time later! Mwah-hahaha!" when they find out your pregnant, I think you become numb to the fact that you should probably really be stockpiling zzz's as per the unsolicited recommendation.

The site is dedicated to stories about the trials and emotions that new parents experience during childbirth and during the first few months. No one is trying to sugarcoat anything and no one will tell you that all the pain and frustration disappears when your baby farts for the first time. Hallelujah to a forum for real experiences of the emotional spectrum.

Phone = Crawling

You know how people tell you that kids rather play with other objects other than their toys? Like the box a toy came in? Or that a 6 month old can differentiate between a play phone you give him versus the real one? Yeah, all of that is true.

Pears = Squinting

Recipe Try Out: Easy Meatloaf Muffins

Last night's dinner was so simple and easy; I will definitely be making these again. I actually like meatloaf, although I don't think the word "loaf" goes well with meat vocabulary in general. I find that meatloaf is fairly easy to make already, but the recipe below from Kraft (via stacymakescents.com) appealed to me because of its simple ingredient list and short cooking time.

It was very difficult to not eat a bunch of these! They didn't even need any ketchup for dipping - which is crazy to me since ketchup and meatloaf is like peanut butter and jelly, Sonny and Cher, Snickers and ice cream, diapers and wipes, etc.


Recipe:

1 pound ground beef
1, 6oz box stuffing mix
1 cup water
2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 cup salsa
3/4 cup shredded cheese

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and chili powder until well blended. Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.

2. Make indentation in center of each with back of spoon; fill evenly with 3/4 cup salsa.

3. Bake 30 min. or until meatloaves are done (160°F). Top with 3/4 cup cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted. Let stand 10 min.

South Texas in the Springtime

Meanwhile, in South Texas when we open our door this evening...


We were warned about scorpions, so this isn't a big surprise. This pairs well with the tarantula scurrying across the patio floor at the O Club on Friday night. Which also accompanies the small army of red ants that attacked my foot this morning while weeding. And its not even summer time yet. Have I told you that I keep my son under a net whenever we are outside?


In all fairness, I can find beauty in simple things around this interesting South Texas town. Like the field across from our house...


And the random old telephone booth that my neighbor insists on having outside at the end of his driveway (presumably as an art piece or a cozy place for scorpions to mingle)...


And the black-eyed susans that are doing their best to hang on in the arid terrain...

Pennsylvania in the Springtime

I love this photo that my brother took of my dad last week. It makes me miss home and it makes me miss springtime.

This I Can Do: Baby Food

I have inflated my mothering confidence this week as I stuck to my plan of making baby food for Landon. Contrary to popular belief, you can't just nibble on some Snickers and then regurgitate it onto a high chair tray for him to pick at, avian-style. That would be too easy. However, it turns out that pureeing your own baby food isn't that hard, either. And it is a lot cheaper... like 80% off, bargain bin prices... but organic!!!

Turns out that one butternut squash makes a sh*#-ton of baby food.

First off - baby food itself isn't that expensive. Fifty to sixty cents a jar for organic stuff down in these parts. A couple bucks for a box of rice cereal. A buck for a jug of nursery water. But these things add up when you have a baby who is growing a mile a minute. At our 6 month appointment, we learned that Landon was a little low on the weight scale for his age (like, 15th percentile low) so I'm not sure if I've been generating low fat milk somehow - which surely is impossible given my love of fast food - or if Landon's energy bursts are just continuing to burn calories. In any event, he scarfs down a couple jars a day in addition to a couple full servings of rice or oat cereal. Books say "just start with a tablespoon" - Landon decided to start with a cup. He gained half a pound the week after his 6 month appointment. Onwards and upwards.

Baby food: this I can do!

You Dare Threaten Me?

I cannot. stop. laughing. at this.

New Website Love: Pinterest

I don't know if I've been hiding under a diaper rock somewhere, but I just came across the website pinterest.com and I'm in love.

Basically there are different boards where people can "pin" neat ideas and things they have come across. You can pull the image or link from anywhere and pin it to the related board. There are a variety of design, recipe, repurpose, etc groups. The site is designed in a simple and clean manner which makes it even more of an obsession.

They even have a new app available, but hey, let's reign in the excitement here for a little bit first. I haven't personally pinned anything yet - I'm a lurker and have been following other groups silently.

I'm getting so many ideas and inspiration for everyday random things!

Happy Mothers Day

After our early celebration, Landon and I held down the fort for the weekend. A little bit of Taco Bell for moi, a little bit of puréed squash for baby.

Although I am able to joyfully reflect on my new adventures as a mother, it does come with much sadness at times as I reflect on the loss of my mom. I just have soooo much more respect for her role than ever before. If I could celebrate this day with her, I'm certain I would have taken the time to tell her that.

Someone posted on their Facebook page something about mothers in heaven and having God hand them roses and stars and sunshines and ponies - I dunno - basically something about a 10 on the scale of cheesy remembrance thoughts. Don't get me wrong: it made me cry (*cough* bawl *cough*), but if I could send my mom some presents for the day, they would be much more realistic.

So...Mom, here are your gifts for today:

- A bundle of fresh lilacs
- A new JD Robb or Charlene Harris book
- Some horrible DVD like Hotel for Dogs since I know how much you love talking dogs
- A new Landon picture for your locket
- ...And a handwritten note about how I have a newly increased appreciation for you as a mother - as I know now more than ever how challenging it is.

Alternative Mother's Day

As per standard military lifestyle antics, we had to celebrate Mothers Day on an alternative date this year (Erik will be gone flying one of the jets to a New Orleans air show this weekend). So today was Mothers Day in the Halvorson household. I heart random holidays!

My morning was nice and leisurely as Erik handled the baby boy in the morning so I could relax for an extra half hour in bed. It. was. awesome. After an internal battle of whether or not to stay upon the fluffy heaven of the mattress, I decided to emerge out of the bedroom to join my family. And I'm glad I did because my favorite type of donuts were available for consumption (1 for Erik, 2 for me!).


After reading some funny Hallmark thoughts from Hubby and Baby, I had fun opening up the packages. The first gift was the Zumba dance workout game for the PS3. I ironically opened it while I was finishing my second donut.


My other gifts were an Iced Tea Maker and a reusable iced beverage cup and straw. I love using straws and I consume a crap ton of iced tea (UNsweetened!) in the warm weather... so the gifts were perfect. I'll walk around the house kinda' looking like Nancy Botwin.


I'm super excited to read the new Tina Fey book that my dad sent. It wasn't even planned, but it arrived with perfect timing on our alternative date of celebration.

The evening was wrapped up with a steak dinner prepared by Erik and a dessert of cake and Snickers ice cream. I saved the ice cream for wallowing while we miss him this weekend.

Whenever and however you celebrate, Happy Mothers Day to all the mommas out there!

6 Months

Current Likes:
- Drooling
- Banging cups against high chair tray
- Kisses and tickles from Mommy
- Dancing and fist pumping with Daddy
- Gnawing on Books
- Drooling
- Carrots

Current Dislikes:
- Teeth erupting from gums

Sunday Funnies