turning the page

I used to work with a woman who would practically shriek with excitement every time she came into work and got to turn the page on her calendar.  It made me roll my eyes every.time she did it.  every time.  I was always thinking if you are so excited to see what the new month's picture is, why don't you just look ahead of time. 

But today, I had some of that optimism in me when I turned the page on our family calendar.  I didn't shriek with excitement about the pictures.  Since I made the calendar using family photos and I knew what the pictures were going to be, but I was excited about the prospect of a new month.  And a tad bit shocked that January was gone so quickly.

February decided to show off today.  I can't remember the last time we had weather in the 60's in February, I guess I could look it up but I'm too tired and I'm afraid I'll get distracted by something and not ever come back and finish this post.  So I'll just say I can't remember the last time...

The 'little kids' and I had to pick John up from school today as today was his first Lego Club.  It is part of an after school enrichment program and meets every Wednesday for the next 6 weeks.  He was excited but a little nervous to start it.  His biggest concern was that he wasn't sure he would know anyone.  As it turns out my friend Judy's son is in the club with him, so I'm hoping it will give me an excuse to see her.

The pick up line was WAY long and so we had some time to kill.  Spiderman Luke climbed up through the sun roof and then ordered me to start driving.  It took a while to convince him that 1) I couldn't go anywhere because I was in line to get John and 2) I wasn't going to drive with him hanging his head out the sun roof, he would have to wait for prom or some other event to do that.

Luke got bored so he started taking random pictures with my camera.  He usually pretends he is Peter Parker but today since he was dressed as Spiderman and didn't have anything on under his costume he had to settle for taking the pictures as Spiderman.

I think our string of nice days may be behind us, but it has been a nice break from the usual winter doldrums to see all this sun.  

The other day when the mail came, Luke had a letter from Spiderman.  Mark's sister Melanie and her husband Mike sent Luke a Spiderman pendant with his name on it and a note that was from 'Spiderman'.  I wish I had taken a picture of his face when I read him the note.  He actually believed that it was from the real Spiderman.   He was so excited about it that he had to wear it to school to show all his friends. 

I was going to write more about what I'm looking forward too in the month of February, but there is a certain little girl who seems to be out of her bed right now.  The other night the closet door in her room was left open just a little bit and when I went to check on her, I found her sleeping on the floor on top of a pile of stuff she had taken out of her closet (hello, run on sentence).  So I'm going to sign off for now and go check out my girl.

Happy February to you!!

family favorite: chicken pot pie

Here in the Mid-Atlantic the winter seems loooong.  January and February are my two least favorite months, weather-wise.  The days are cold, really cold, and windy.  We don't see a lot of bright sunny days and if we do it is usually too cold to go outside and play.  So this time of year I turn to comfort food.  I make a lot of soups and other meals that remind me of my childhood.  One of my favorite meals is  Chicken Pot Pie. 

I got this recipe years ago from my mom, who adapted it from a recipe she got from a friend.  I have tweaked my mom's recipe and just love how easy and flavorful this Chicken Pot Pie is.  In fact, it is my go to recipe.  When I sign up to make a meal for someone 9 times out of 10 I bring this meal.  The only time I vary it is in the summer months.  I have actually had requests from husbands for me to make this meal for them when they realize I'm scheduled to bring food for their family.  And while I like to think I'm a good cook, this recipe is just so easy that anyone can make it.

Chicken Pot Pie

The Ingredients

2 Cups cooked, shredded or diced chicken.  I usually use chicken that I have left over from a whole chicken or I cook it in stock using this method.  But I have also used rotisserie chicken in a pinch.
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 Cups frozen peas and carrots.  You can also use a large can of peas and carrots, but I try not to use canned vegetables because of the high sodium factor and they are the least like fresh out of all your options. 
1/2  - 1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 Cup butter
1/4 Cup flour
1 to 1 1/2 Cups chicken stock or broth
1 pie crust.  You can totally use homemade if you have it but in our house we use the store bought kind

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large pan saute onions and celery in butter over medium heat, until onions are translucent (about 4-5 minutes)
3. Add flour and spices, whisk until combined. 
4. Add chicken broth to pan and whisk or stir well.  I start with less broth and add more as I stir it, you don't want your pot pie to be too runny when it is finished cooking, so I always add more as I go.  Cook until it thickens and begins to bubble / boil.
5. Stir in chicken and peas & carrots.  Stir until combined. 
6. Taste at this point and adjust your spices and chicken broth if needed.
7. Remove from heat and spoon into pie plate or casserole dish.
8. Cover with pie crust.  Crimping the edges so it is completely covered.  Cut an X in top to vent.
9. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, until crust is fully cooked and light brown.

Tips:
- If you are making this to bring to someone I usually bake it until the crust is just done.  This way it won't be overdone when they reheat it.
- Since this is the meal I usually make for others, I go to our local party store and buy the metal 'to go' pie plates.  They are open stock and cost about $0.65 each (It is totally worth it to locate a party supply store near you that sells these items if you are taking meals to others or maybe just making freezer meals for your family.  In the grocery store these pans will cost you about $2 each).  This way, there is no worry about returning dishes or anything else for the new mom or family to worry about.
- I have also made the 'filing' and frozen it in a bag or pie plate.  Just defrost in fridge overnight and continue with remaining steps.
- If you make it in advance and then cook it later you will need to adjust cooking time.  It usually takes about 45 - 50 minutes to cook it if it comes out of the fridge.

I realize looking at these pictures why I'm not a food blogger.  In the first picture I didn't include the shredded chicken and I totally forgot to take a picture of the fully baked pie.  Oh well.

I serve this with a salad and rolls.  My favorite salad is a Caesar Salad.  I like the pairing of the garlicky dressing with the mild but flavorful taste of the Chicken Pot Pie.  I make my Caesar Dressing using the following recipe that I adapted from this Cooking Light Recipe.

Creamy Caesar Dressing

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, halved
1/2 Cup mayonnaise
2 T vinegar, I use red wine or rice wine
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 T water
1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Drop garlic through opening of blender or food processor while on.  Process for about 15 seconds until minced.
2. Add remaining ingredients and process until well blended.
3. Taste and adjust amounts as necessary.  I sometimes find I need to add more mayo or water to get the flavor or consistency that I enjoy.
4. Pour into glass jar and refrigerate at least 1 hour.  I like to make this the night before, if I can, so the flavors meld but you don't have too.

This is a great dressing to have on hand and I frequently double the recipe so I can use it multiple times during the week.

So that's one of my favorite comfort food meals to make.  Please be warned that if you are local and I sign up to make you a meal, this is what you are going to get {smile}. 

What is one of your go to meals to make this time of year?

hello there random...

Yesterday was not the best day for me.  I wasn't necessarily in a bad mood but I certainly had an off day.  I'm blaming it on lack of sleep.  One of my kids woke me up at 4:30 yesterday and today with bad dreams.  I really do hate that he is scared.  When he told me his dream, I was so sad that he was scared because it was bad. 



I wrote a really negative and whinny post yesterday.  I'm so thankful I got interrupted and didn't post it.  Not that I want to appear that everything is great all the time, because it's not.  But I really hate whining.  And I especially hate it when it is coming from me.

 I'm also thankful that I put off making a major decision yesterday because I would have made the wrong choice.

I told Mark even a trip to Starbucks for a skinny, vanilla latte and a trip to Staples for unnecessary office supplies didn't help my mood. However, spending time with my favorite superhero loving boy, watching Spiderman videos while dressed as Spiderman did help me {a little bit}.  Just to clarify, he was dressed as Spiderman not me...

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We had a family party over the weekend to celebrate all 3 kids birthdays.  The kids went to the basement and played while the adults watched football.  Between the games the kids opened their presents and then we ate.  I made Mexican - it was such a good choice because it was so easy and everybody loves it.  The only pictures I took were of the cake.

Luke picked a Spiderman cake (of course) and it was really so he could get a another Spiderman toy.  I let him pick the cake because John is having his first friend party in February and will get to pick any cake he wants then.  Even after explaining that to both of them and having them agree that it was a good way to do the cakes.  John still said 'it wasn't fair' and Luke said 'it's my cake not yours'.  I immediately wanted to call my mom and apologize for bickering with my sisters all those years...

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Grace has been doing a lot better with feeding herself at home lately.  We are starting with her after school snack and having her feed it to herself.  Which means, I put the bite of puree on the spoon for her, she takes the spoon from my hand, put's it into her mouth and then hands me the spoon back.  The first time she did it at home everyone cheered.  She loved it.

We decided to start with the snack because no one else is eating at that time and there is no time restrictions.  I am so pleased with her progress.  The picture below was her the other day feeding herself breakfast.  Not the healthiest choice but she loves cereal!

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My mood from yesterday is gone.  Which is a good thing because said child woke me, Mark and his brother up again this morning with another bad dream.  Both boys went back to sleep but neither parent did.  

Our hot water heater is broken.  I'm hoping it is just the switch mechanism that lights the pilot light since that is out and not that we need a whole new hot water heater. 

On the positive side, we have no plans for tonight so we are just going to hang out as a family.  I'm trying a new recipe tonight for Orange Chicken, if we like it I will post it.  We are also going to have family game night.  The boys have gotten some great new games for their birthdays and Christmas so we are having a lot of fun playing board games together.

Hope you all have a great weekend!  If you see me tomorrow and I still have a ball cap on, please offer to let me use your shower.  My family will thank you...

my birthday girl

Grace turned five yesterday.

It is so hard to believe.  I'm sure it is because she is still so baby-ish in many ways because of her delays.  But it is still hard for this mama to wrap her mind around the fact that my baby is five.  Which technically means that none of my children are babies.  Which makes me sad.  And for 1/2 a second I want a baby. really badly.  Then I remember that I love to sleep, am no longer twenty five and I totally hate the toddler stage.  I think I'll just love on my friends babies.

Yesterday was so much easier for me than Grace's other birthdays.  In fact, I would go so far as to say it was a good day.  Primarily because God is good and I was granted a measure of peace that has been missing from Grace's other birthdays. 

Another reason is was good was because we are seeing more of our little girl everyday.  Take these pictures of her playing the piano for instance.  She only started doing this a few weeks ago.  Prior to that, she never would have used her own hands to play music.  She would have guided your hand to the piano for you to play it for her.  But now, she plays it for herself every day.  And takes pleasure from the music that she is creating.  She is enjoying herself.

We have thought for a while that there was more to Grace than was being captured by the various tests used to test her ability and cognitive age.  Our struggle remains how do we reach what we know is inside when she doesn't talk or use any form of communication.  We still struggle with this, but now we are seeing evidence of what we have only previously guessed was there.  We are totally enjoying our daughter's personality as it blossoms.

 Happy Birthday my sweet girl.  Mommy loves you more than you will ever know.

milestone

This week marked seven years that I have officially been someone's mom.  I say officially, because it was the anniversary of sweet baby John coming into our home.  He stole our hearts long before that when he was referred to us and lived in my heart for months after our visit to Guatemala in October of 2004.

I can still remember our trip to pick him up.  So many details stand out in my mind with a clarity that is surprising.  Surprising because I am sitting here struggling to recall what I had for lunch yesterday however, I remember the sight, smell and feel of holding John for the very first time. 

I recall the panic that I experienced when we learned the airport in Guatemala was closed and we would not in fact be picking up our son that day.   We arrived the day after, it was a one day air traffic controllers strike.

I recall the outfit I was wearing when we went to the US Embassy in Guatemala City to finalize our paperwork to bring John home.  And what he wore too.

I remember riding in a cab through the city, holding John on my lap and praying that we were not going to die on my first day as a mom. 

I remember eating at Hacienda Real (my favorite restaurant anywhere) with Mark and John under the stars and thinking that I had never been happier.

I remember holding John as he fell asleep in my arms after hours and hours of him crying and telling him, that I loved him more than he would ever know. 

I remember walking into the Atlanta airport and the hearing the customs agent say 'Welcome Home' and wanting to weep or hug him.  I'm pretty sure I was crying.  And that hugging him wasn't a good idea.

But mostly I remember, being in awe.  Of thanking God for giving me this child to parent and praying that I would do a good job.  That I would be worthy of the gift I had been given.  

I had to beg and plead with him to get him to pose for this picture.  It sounds weird he said.  I asked him to do it for me.  Then I offered him a cupcake and a cookie.  But I think the price was totally right to get a picture marking this milestone in our journey as a family.

on my camera...

Last night I had an awesome night out with the women from our small group.  We ate, talked and laughed and it restored my soul.  I love these women and am so blessed to have them in my life and our family's lives.  It is so fun to have a night out with just women.

After I got home, I sat down to write a blog post.  As I downloaded my pictures for that post, I realized that there were almost 100 pictures on my camera card.  I did not take that many.  Here is a glimpse of what was on my camera...

Evidently, Luke decided to take some pictures with my camera over the weekend.  I love how he had his action figures in specific poses and captured some every day moments from our weekend.  I have a friend who is jealous of Grace's ability to do the downward dog pose so well and hold it for so long. 

I'm going to print some of these out for him and start an album for him.  He is also getting a camera for his birthday this weekend when we have a family party. I'm also going to start putting my camera away in a different spot.  Up higher.  Way up higher so he can't reach it...

random catch up post

I must say, I am loving January this year.  We have been having a lot of fun and our 2012 is off to a really good start.  I have been processing a lot so far this year and really do have a lot to say.  But for some reason, I haven't been blogging.  I'm hoping to change that by doing this catch up post and getting back to regular blogging.  I have an organizing series that is knocking around in my brain that I'm planning to start.  I'm thinking of linking to a few series already out there instead of hosting a blog series with links on my blog.  And I'm going to post my one little word soon.  Which I have done for several years.  In 2009 I picked present, in 2010 I picked simplify and last year I picked intentional (which it appears, I never blogged about).

For now, here are some pictures from the first nine days of 2012.  I just know it's going to be a great year!

Here are some more from Luke's birthday.   He got a new Spiderman costume and wears it every day.  Literally, every day.  We made Spiderman cookies to take to school using these Williams and Sonoma cookie cutters.  Mark's mom bought them when they visited in October and they just worked okay.  The other super hero's came out better.

 

We have been having warm weather, which I love.  The boys have re-discovered their love of our playset and have been swinging every chance they get.  Luke even decided he was going to learn to swing by himself now that he was six and he no longer needs a push to get started.  And as you can see, sister loves to swing too!

Grace is turning five next week.  I can't believe it.  Her personality is coming out in spades this year and she has become this funny, engaging little girl.  She is still seriously delayed in ALL areas but she just feels more present these days.  We are praying for some big changes for our daughter this year, which I'll post more on another day.  Right now we are beginning a major transition for Grace which will allow our family much more freedom in the future.

Sweet friends from church gave us this bed and the super cute butterfly sheets in the fall.  Well, Grace has been sleeping in it for the past three nights.  I can't begin to tell you what this means to me.  We weren't really planning on transitioning her right now since she still fits in her crib.  Originally, she was scared and would freeze anytime we put her in it but slowly she began to relax in it.  So we decided to just to just go for it and see what would happen.  And what happened was she fell asleep and stayed asleep in it all night long.  It is so cute to come in in the morning and see my baby girl sleeping in a regular bed. 

One of the most limiting factors when traveling with a child with disabilities or special needs is answering 'where will she sleep?'  A regular bed is just not safe for some children with intellectual or physical disabilities.  Well, as they grow a pack-n-play stops being the answer when they are too tall to fit into one.  This is the case with Grace, last year we had her sleep in a pack-n-play and she was really too big for it.  My fear was that we were going to have to say no to trips away or vacations where we couldn't rent a full size crib for Grace.  So the fact that she is transitioning easily into her big girl bed, means that our family will have the freedom to do the things that we want to do and not have to worry about 'where will she sleep?'  It is so much easier to bring bed rails than it is to bring a full size crib.

So as you can see our first days of 2012 have been great.  How about yours?  Is 2012 shaping up to be a good year for you?