From Grandmothers House She Came!

Grandma's here!  And boy did she get a surprise when she arrived.  As I mentioned before, our heater went out, no one would be able to deliver until the next week, and the weather started to dip to 40 below again!  So life was fine in the room with the stove, but the rest of the house was staying pretty chilly!  Here's the whole household in front of the stove: 

And then Fynn stole his Poppa's hat when he got home.  The little laddie's really into hats right now.  He'll start giggling when you put one one!

So it was cold, but clear at our house.  We had to drop into town to get some new work boots for Josh and immediately were engulfed in the ice fog.  Here's some of the sun right about noon time, as high as it gets in the sky these days.

And then just cute little Fynn ready for church.  More of him and Gramma Laine to come!

Chilly days like this are perfect soup days.  Hitch: Josh doesn't eat soup.  Solution: Mom and I call it "chowder" and gang up on him!  Hee hee!  I had experimented with this before and this is more or less what I came up with:

Loaded Cheesy Chowder

• 2 tablespoons butter
  1 cup diced onion
  2 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
  1 1/2 cups cooked sausage
  3 cups chicken broth
  1 cup heavy cream
  1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
  1 cup velveta cheese or similar
  1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
  1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  
  
  1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion in butter until softened. Stir in potatoes and broth, bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
  2.  Stir in cheese(allow to melt), cream, sausage, dill, pepper, salt and cayenne. Bring to a low boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, 5 minutes
  3. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy!

Friday Fun Finds: How to Be a Dad

When we woke up this morning it was 45 degrees in the house (and -25 outside!)  At some point in the night we had run out of heating fuel, and now the soonest anyone will be able to deliver is Tuesday.  I thank God for the wood stove and hot tea! 


So funny!  You've got to check out every post here: http://www.howtobeadad.com/

Baby Sign Language

I've decided to try to teach Fynn some of the basics of Sign Language as I've heard of so many benifits (the most appealing being less frustration on the baby's part as they can often sign before they can speak English).The thing is, I know none at all.  So we're learning together.  I just found this video of the basics to  a tune:

Baby Food

We had a yummy smelling kitchen this morning as yams, apples, and pears were separately boiled, then purred into a smooth goop.  Okay, that might not sound so appetizing to you or me, but it's enough for Fynn to get excited about!  I'm not a perfect natural mom, I often feed him store-bought baby food, but I like to make my own when I can.  Especially the fruits; Fynn will barely touch the store-bought fruits but if I make them myself, he gobbles them down.  It's fun for a breakfast treat on occasion.

This hardly calls for a recipe it's so simple, just basically take fruit or veggie of choice, boil if it's hard, then pop in the blender and puree until smooth.  I even leave the skins on some things like the pears (after washing, of course).The real question that kept raising it's head was what to feed him and when.  I found one great page just by blindly bumbling through Pintrest (Homemade Baby Food) and another link a public health nurse friend of mine sent me (Infant Feeding Guide.)  Both were so helpful and really lay things out clearly and are worth checking out.

Love, Tears and Gyros

Josh and I caught ourselves dancing in the nursery to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" yesterday!  Ah, how sweet love is!  We giggle often at how much our lives have changed and just how much we love being a family of three.
I often fret about my parenting skills, both presently and for the future.  I so want good things for my baby!  I pray every night for his protection, character, and future as well as daily blessings and that Josh and I would be the best parents we possibly can be for him.  One of the most controversial topics in my heart is the matter of sleep and crying.  Before I get into this, let me say that I realize every baby and parent, and circumstances are unique, but I just want to pose an alternate perspective.

It seems the popular thing to do is to lay your baby down for a nap and allow him to cry himself to sleep.  I have had numerous well-trusted friends and acquaintances tell me that this was the only way to do it if you want to keep your sanity and for the well-being of your child.  Really, if you love them, you'll let them cry.  I also read several books on the matter including Baby Wise.  They all seemed to rub me the wrong way and I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that this was not right for us.
So I went with my gut and always responded to my baby's cries and tried to comfort him.  Obviously he still cries, but I want him to know that I am there with him and won't ignore him.  I am extremely blessed to have a very minimal work schedule, so I actually enjoy getting up to check on my little guy.  He's had his phases of sleep difficulties, but generally sleeps pretty good.  Nothing to make me feel like I'm loosing my mind.
Then last week I found an article confirming my gut feelings in Psychology Today (you can read this great article here: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201112/dangers-crying-it-out).   There's a gajillion references and resources with it.  Here's a couple quotes:
" giving babies what they need leads to greater independence later"
"Babies grow from being held. Their bodies get dysregulated when they are physically separated from caregivers."
"(When allowed to cry) neurons die...Disordered stress reactivity can be established as a pattern for life...trust is undermined...(and) caregiver sensitivity may be harmed."
"caregiver responsiveness is related to intelligence, empathy, lack of aggression ordepression, self-regulation, social competence"
Will I do things differently with subsequent children?  Probably to a degree, but it is important to me that my babies know that I will be with them through whatever they're going through.


Okay, off the soap box.  How about Gyros?  I think Josh introduced me to these first at a little hole-in-the wall place on the way to Whidbey Island.  So amazing!  I don't know how to get the lamb the right consistency, but we found that they still taste good with chicken or moose!  Here's how we do it:

Tzaziki

·         8 oz plain yogurt

·         1/3 c chopped seeded cucumber

·         2 tbsp finely chopped onion

·         1 garlic clove

·         1 tsp sugar

·          

Combine ingredients and refrigerate.

Gyros

Ingredients

1 lb. Chicken breasts

Italian seasoning

Pita (4)

Tzaziki

Cilantro

Diced roma tomato

feta cheese

 

Finely chop chicken, smother in seasonings (I use dried basil, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic, onion,and thyme) and cook.  Place on warmed pita, cover with remaining toppings, fold and enjoy!  So easy, SO good!

Coal Mine

Josh got sent out to the Usabeli coal mines today.  All I can think of is this song:

Some girls like them gussied up
Wearing all that smelly stuff...
Don't want no white-collared man
Me, I like them calloused hands
...Sara Evans

Friday Fun Finds:

Re blogged from http://themanyadventuresofsarah.blogspot.com/