Food Lately

Here are a few recipes we're using around here lately! I love when people write posts like this because it's so helpful to me.  So I thought I'd return the favor.  

And I was starting to forget a few from two weeks ago...so I thought I better put them somewhere safe. Like the blog!

Here we go.

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore:  Trying tonight!

Looks super easy.  I'm away tonight so I try to prepare crock pot for us.

Moms Who Think

Chicken Asparagus and Mushroom Soup Casserole:

Keeper.  Yummy casserole type comfort food AND super easy.

Ours did take longer thank 40 minutes to cook the chicken though.

Simple Clean Living

Slow-Cooker Mexican Chicken:

A great variation of the slow cooker Taco Soup I make almost once a week.

Eat Clean Diet

Keep it Tight Tilapia:

Great flavor!  Seriously takes 10 minutes to cook.  Maybe 2 to prep!  Score!  Plus, we eat salmon so much I thought we needed a new fish in the mix.

Eat Clean Diet

Spinach and Chicken Sausage Pizza:


So so good.  I'm not kidding.  But I may have added lots more cheese than the recipe called for.

Clean Eating Magazine

Garden Veggie Stuffed Pita Pockets:

I've been making a variation of these for lunch every day!

I ended up only using hummus as the spread and using some grated prepackaged salad.  I need lunch to be a quick fix.  So this was the best option for getting in more veggies rather than me chopping away in the middle of the day, not going to happen.  They are so good.

Eat Clean Diet

Easy Granola Bars:

Yes, I made granola bars! And they are so good...even smushed up with milk! 

KidEats

And these 3 that I also posted about on our other blog...

Sweet and Salty Chickpeas

Carter calls these "Nuts."  He likes nuts.  And in a way, they remind me of nuts.  Crunchy, sweet, salty and addicting.

Thankfully, they are super easy to make.  We've been going through a batch in two days.

From: The Cupcake Project

No Bake Energy Bites

We call these "Cookie Dough" because I never actually have gotten to make them into the little cute balls you see above. It sits in the bowl and we pick and form chunks as we snack.  Lovely, huh?  But hey, it's egg free and got some goodness.  So eat your cookie dough without the guilt!!

Oooo.....just had a thought.  I need to try little chunks in vanilla frozen yogurt.  

From:  Smashed Peas and Carrots

Yummy Chicken Balls

Okay, now this is totally not my normal style of cooking.  Really just because it uses more than 5 ingredients and there are more than 3 steps.  (I'm not completely joking.)

So if I can make these and say, "They are EASY!"  

ANYONE can!

Eeek!  These made me so proud and excited!

From:  KidEats

Let me know if you try any of these!!

Potty Training (Continued)

After thinking about my post yesterday I realized I must have been on a Mommy High...which is better than a Mommy Low.  But I seemed to have forgotten some other "fun" details.  Let me clarify a little bit:


#1. 
PREVIOUS POST:
About every other day there is a bed time accident.  (Just tee tee).  But we're super fast at changing his sheets and cleaning him up now.  He now goes back to sleep quickly.


TRUTH EXPLAINED:
-I consider an accident when he is sleeping so deeply that he is unaware to wake up and yell at us in his sleep.  He'll just happen to wake up around 8:30am or when his nap is complete and discover he has indeed tee teed in his underwear.  Something that is just an all around accident and no true way of preventing it other than just good old fashioned practice.


-Other FUN bed time experiences that coincide with Potty Training:
Hearing your child winding down for 15 min on the monitor followed up by a "Mommy Potty, Mommy (grunt grunt=poo poo), Ahhhh!!!, NO, no!!"  When you arrive your child is standing in their bed pooping or has pooped in their underwear.  This happens also about every other day!  Yay!!! (I forgot to mention that one!)


I consider that poor communication on either of our parts.  Maybe I didn't run quick enough.  Or I was hoping to God he did really say he has to go Poop.  OR he let me know a bit too late.  But I guess I don't really call it an accident...just bad form.


#2.
PREVIOUS POST:
Only 2 public accidents.  Both to blame on me...not getting him to the restroom fast enough.  Tee tee, not so tragic.  Poo Poo, tragic.


TRUTH EXPLAINED:
You truly are on constant Mission: Keep Underwear Dry.  We do no just go about our day away from known potties for long amounts of time.  Every outing is executed with a potty plan.  Like:
1. We MUST get him to potty before we go.
2. We MUST find potty the moment we arrive.  And offer it.
3. Depending on what comes next, offer potty again before we travel to next stop.
4. And of course, go ever.single.time he asks.  


Just like you used to live by Mission: Nurse Every 3 Hours or Mission: Awake Time is Only 2 Hours or Mission:  Have Child in Bed by Second Yawn...Do you accept your new mission?  (You don't get a choice on this one, your instincts just agree with it.)


#3.
You will also get to experience other fun Mommy Moments like:

• Explaining, Demonstrating and Saying  "Ding Dong down!  Ding Dong down!" several times a day to your son.
• Saying  "I'll sing with you while you poo poo."  Followed up by various tunes...in a public restroom.
• Scrubbing a public toilet with soap, water and paper towels because you are about to have to do the unthinkable (see next bullet)
• Take your child's pooped in underwear, submerge your hands in the toilet and soak off all of the poop.  Because you have to bag it up and put it in your purse. (I was tempted to throw it away but this was at my work out place and everyone would know it was us.)

     My personal favorite!!!

• Teaching your son to crouch down in a 3-point-stance, called Football Stance in our home, after every poop.  Because you have to clean him up.  (This was John's idea.)  It truly is a little miracle.  Because Carter allows us to clean him with no trouble.  He even yells out "Football Stance" when he's all done!  He seems to think it's just a normal step in going potty.

Okay, did I write enough for today!  Whew!  Sorry to blab your eyes off!

Potty Training!

I couldn't let that last post stay on top too long.  Honestly, our lives are much too happy and filled with blessings to be sad or to let anxiety take over.

Let's talk about Potty Training!

Here is a little photo list of our journey over the past 2 months or so.

Here we are in the early stages.  He had been asking to go potty before bath for about a week at this point.

And this was the first daytime potty!
(I know.  I look hot.)

Christmas came and went.

Next, he had bee potting at least once a day.

And a few times in public places.

Sooo, without much research (totally not like me) I purchased the ebook:

http://www.3daypottytraining.com/

It was simple and not thorough like all the other parenting books I like to read.

But the method was simple, recommended by a trusted friend and he'd beed doing it for weeks.  So, what did we have to lose?

I began prepping him.

"Look Carter we only have a few diapers left.  When they are all gone we get to wear UNDERWEAR!!"

We bought lots and he picked them all out.

So the time came....

This was choice #1.

A single yellow car.

He'd been talking about his Soccer Underwear for days, so this major decision really stunned us all.

Hey ladies!!!

He's so little!!!  Ha ha.

And this is what potty training looks like:

Playing with no pants.

Notice new underwear.  We went through TONS during the first couple days.

Stickers galore.

Sticker Chart!

Yay you put your tee tee in the potty! Sticker.

Yay your underwear is still dry!  Sticker.

Seriously, the chart was more for me.  Because it got pretty discouraging a times being cooped up inside for 3 days.

We got a bit delirious at times.

This was the 5 millionth time he had to go tee tee before jammies.

This little shenanigan has stopped.  Thank goodness.

Thanks for being so patient mom!

(I like to tell myself that with this picture.)

Notice our nest in there.  It's sick, really, to think of the amount of time spent in that little space.  Daily.

Overall, I'd have to say he's doing great!!

Here is a little Pro and Con break down for you:  (some overlap onto both)

PRO

1. By the second night, he got it!  Since then he's been telling us when he has to go.
2. We no longer have to buy diapers.
3. About every other day there is a bed time accident.  (Just tee tee).  But we're super fast at changing his sheets and cleaning him up now.  He now goes back to sleep quickly.
4. Only 2 public accidents.  Both to blame on me...not getting him to the restroom fast enough.  Tee tee, not so tragic.  Poo Poo, tragic.
5. It's something that has to be done at some point.   Done.

CONS

1. About every other day there is a bed time accident.  (Just tee tee).  But we're super fast at changing his sheets and cleaning him up now.  He now goes back to sleep quickly.
2. 2 public accidents.  Both to blame on me...not getting him to the restroom fast enough.  Tee tee, not so tragic.  Poo Poo, tragic.
3. Instead of diapers you carry about 1-2 complete new outfits.
4. You run your washer much more.
5. You need to know where a restroom is at all times.
6. Some restrooms are sick...what do you do?  Still have to use them.

Like any new major milestone, it changes your days completely at first.  Then you adjust and figure it out agin.  I miss the ease and convenience of diapers but he is so proud of himself and is doing a fabulous job!  I couldn't have had it any easier as his Mommy.  

Thanks bud for going easy on me!

Love you little guy!!

Due Date

Our latest due date has come and gone.

Eli Michael McCoy's expected due date was February 3rd.

The day and weekend flew by with all kinds of drama...I didn't have a moment to sit and think.  Which is fine.

Friday started with Carter pooping in my exercise class, then was followed up with him having his tongue clipped.  The tongue thing was something we've been looking into but when the doctor said "I can clip it now." I was shocked, not prepared but answered "OK."

So snap, snap when my baby's tongue.  He was so brave.  It pretty much killed me.  They held him down and he kept his emotions in.  They numbed his tongue first, then snipped under it a few times.  When he got up he had the biggest tears in his eyes as he reached for me.  The only thing he said was "sticker." After all, the doctors had promised him one.

His tongue felt "hot" for the next 24 hours.

That night, he couldn't sleep.  He was up and in pain and couldn't be consoled. :(  So for 2 hours straight he cried in my arms.  Then he woke up pretty early.

Nap was almost the same.

Around nap time I started having strange heart feelings.  My heart was skipping beats and pounding so hard.  I called the nurse and to the ER we went.

Apparently, I'm fine.

It's been doing this every time I sit still or lay down.

They say it has something to do with anxiety.

AND I know where that is coming from.  Because since we said goodbye to Eli, my weeks have been spent in and out of doctor's appointments, having LOTS of blood taken and finally taking daily injections into my stomach.  It's been fun.

I found out that I have a blood disorder that can cause multiple losses, late losses and stillbirths.  My blood clots easier than most people.  I need to be aware of getting a blood clot and more importantly making sure a blood clot doesn't travel to my heart, lungs or brain.

So I'm on blood thinners until we decide to no longer try for a sibling for Carter ourselves.

Every, single, night John gives me an injection into my stomach.  And it's not pretty.  As if having a baby doesn't do enough to your tummy, add in a C-Section and now 5-million bruises.

I have to say, since finding out this news, I've had quite a few panic attacks.  My thoughts are no longer consumed with "IF" I can have more children, but more of "IF" I will be here for Carter and John.  I will.  I will. I will.

I really will.

Any who, I am usually very open, but just to let you know, I will not be very open on this matter or trying to conceive another child.  More for the fact that it causes too much anxiety to harp on it.  BUT if you do know of anyone going through something similar, like a loss or discovering they have a blood clotting disorder please send them my way.  I want to be here for anyone who needs it.  :)

Warning: If you raise your son in Canada...

...this too could happen to you.

Your child may pick up on the popularity of a sport called "hockey."  And even though you know nothing but teams put hockey puck in opposing goals, and the game is played on ice.  Your son will pick up on more than you could imagine.

He may start "playing" hockey with his food.  

Using a broken pretzel as a goal and a strawberry as the puck.

He may find a goal in random places like The Science Museum.  And could find a puck and stick in any short and long object.

You may think you lost him in the sporting goods store.  But really his senses just dragged him to where he belongs.  The hockey section.  He may be found staring in a trance like manner at a hockey mannequin, modeling the local teams hockey gear.

He could also shout out "HOCKEY" any time he sees someone wearing the same logo.

He will know, somehow, everything needed to play this game.  Like gloves, helmets and of course, skates.

So you may give in.

And purchase the smallest skates known to mankind. 

Then you find your weekends spent like the rest of Canadians.

Training your little hockey players.

Please note: the boy behind Carter is not quite 3.  Yes, he ready for the competitive league.

The helmet didn't budge, he knew, if the helmet came off, his hockey credibility would be ruined.

This boy is in love.  

He's getting ready for Little Tikes League next fall!!