A great weekend

We had a really great weekend around here.

To start off Kaitie and I opened up SpokaneMothers.com around midnight on Friday (or as close to midnight as we wanted to stay up!) and wow did we get a response! We are swamped with membership applications already, after 2 days! And we haven't even really promoted yet. We are both really excited about this new group and feel so blessed to see it blossoming so soon. I'm hitting both malls today promoting, so hopefully that will bring us even MORE new members!

And then with all of THAT work behind us, Josh and I were able to have a very relaxing valentines day. I got flowers:
And we started eating Josh's birthday cake a day early:
I suppose that's what I get for making the cake a day before the party, lol. After I frosted it we where both just standing there in the kitchen...giving eachother and the cake the eye. Lets just say we have NO self control in this family when it comes to sweets. Next year I will be making his cake an hour before guests arrive and NO SOONER.

We also ate some delicious home-made sushi. We LOVE sushi and can easily spend a good $50 dollars on the stuff so making it at home seemed like a pretty good idea. It was easy and if you stop by Wed I'll even show you how.

Then Sunday was our weekly sunday dinner/birthday party. We ate WAY too much potluck chinese food and then came up with an AMAZING idea for a bed and breakfast that Jen, Adria, and I are going to run, you know, just as soon as we get the million or so in start-up that we need. We also reminisced quite a bit about the summer of "Josh and the girls". I've been reminiscing quite a bit lately, in fact. Maybe I'm getting soft?

And today the greatest news of all. I went bathing suit shopping while Josh watched Zeke (wait for it...wait for it...) and FOUND ONE I LIKED! Yes folks, a bathing suit I liked, not just a bathing suit I settled on after many desperate hours spent in dressing rooms (crying) and many days of going home emtpy handed (and crying) because I couldnt bear the thought of trying on any more suits. I found this miracle suit on my first store, it was only the 3rd I'd tried on! And I didnt even cry once. And that is a first for me on both counts. And on top of everything, it was only 50 dollars. Which is more then I will spend on anything else but WAY less then I would spend on a bathing suit that didnt make me cry.

Either bathing suits have gotten more flattering or my expectations for myself have gotten less flattering. Either way I'm happy.

A tale of peril and woe

I have been called fearless...audacious...bold... I had my wisdom tooth removed; sans anesthesia. I gave birth to a 9 1/2 pound baby; vaginally. I made my husband cut his hair once. I killed a scorpion with a shovel. I wax every summer. Minstrals have been known to sing of me.

But today. Today I almost met my match.

Now those of you that are parents will know what I mean when I say the words "blow-out". Many of you will even ask, as did my husband, "Was it a bad one? Was it a throw-away-the-outfit-and-cut-your-losses-blow-out?" And I would answer no...oh no it was so much worse. This was a burn-your-house-down-and-count-yourself-lucky-blow-out. This was epic. Minstrels will never sing of this day, out of respect, for the dead.

Let me set the scene.

Zeke had just finished eating no less than a cup and a half of applesauce for lunch. It was roughly a half hour passed his nap time and he was still going strong playing underneath the table with a spoon. I was on I.M. with my husband. Probably complaining that Zeke wasn't tired. I don't really remember. My memory right before the "event" is a little fuzzy.

But that is when it happened. And it started with a smell. The words "chemical warfare" came to mind, but then I also heard a noise. Grunting. And something else I don't think I have the stomach yet to describe.

I quickly told Josh I was going to change a diaper and then force Z to take his nap. The naivete! I still didn't know what I was up against.

Panic began when I laid Zeke down on his changing table suddenly to notice there was poop all the way up my arm. My arm! And my shirt! Another white shirt gone.

I breathed slowly. I started repeating my birthing mantra. I took off my shirt. "I can do this," I told myself. Just breathe thru it.

But then I looked down at my son.

It would be more logical to name the places of his body that were NOT covered in feces. But it is more therapeutic to name all the places that were. So it had gone up his back all the way into his hair line, where it looked like he had smeared it into his ear and across his face while I took my shirt off. He was now rubbing both hands in it and I used my last ounce of strength to throw a binky in his mouth before it went THERE. At this point I think I blacked out for a few seconds.

It was only when I came back that I noticed it was also seeping out of both the leg-holes of his jeans. Into his socks. Where is the safe exit point!?! I really started to panic now. Usually if the poo goes down I pull his onesie down, if it goes up I pull the onesie up! I contemplate scissors. I dont think I can carry him into the kitchen to get some. I dont want to touch him at all, to tell the truth. Nor do I want to have to throw away my good scissors.

Meanwhile Zeke is having a grande old time playing with his own poop but is starting to get impatient to get back to the ground. He starts flailing around, which is just splattering it all over the carpet, the walls, me... I have to think fast. Its time for action.

I hold my breath, say a prayer, and as quickly as possible take off all his clothes using only two fingers. The sight I behold cannot be explained in words. Wipes seem ridiculous.

I pick him up, holding him as far away from my body as possible, and carry him to the tub. I resist the urge to physically throw him in and start the water. Soon I have to start washing. I begin with throwing cups of clean water at him from afar. That helps. It gets him at least to the point where I can safely touch him. Soap, water, q-tips in the ears.

Ok, I am breathing. I am able to dress him and put him down for a nap. Then I tackle the mess on and surrounding his changing table. A hero's battles are never done.

Button Tutorial

So here is the promised button tutorial. Its so easy. Really. So ridiculously easy.

First you have to design your button. You can use photoshop, or scrapblog.com, or even paint. Make it whatever size you like because you will re-size it later. And save it as a JPEG. That means it will be yourbutton.jpg.

NOW the easiest thing to do is to save your button on photobucket. Its free. Resize it here, they have pre-set sizes you can use. Now on the right side you will see a box titled image link code. Copy and past the HTML code.

Now the last step, instert that code and your blog's URL into the following:

<center> <a href="http://www.yourblogURL.com">

<img src="yourphotobucketcode" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Yes, yes, it is THAT easy. Put that code in your sidebar and there is your button!

Any other tutorial requests? E-mail me at TheCocoCafeMail@gmail.com!

WFDW

So What is for Dinner this Wednesday? It's Veggie Soup! A total fav. of mine because I rarely end up leaving it as JUST veggie soup, I always have to throw something extra in to spice things up. But let's just start with the basic recipe first and then get crazy with the add ins!

So the first thing is first! Cook some carrot, celery, onion, and garlic in about 3 cups of water. Keep it at medium for about 10 or so minutes, or as long as it takes to prepare the next ingredients.

Now add tomatoes crushed with a spoon (or of course a can of crushed tomato), green beans, a box of chicken broth, salt and pepper. Let it boil, and then simmer for another 10 or so minutes, or again as long as it takes to prepare the last ingredients.

Last add zucchini and spinach, bring it to a boil once again and simmer it again for yet another 10 minutes. Oh and if you want to add in any small noodles, rice, or orzo this is the time.

Now that is basic, simple, and delicious vegetable soup. Its fat free and can be frozen for later. I love it.

But I also love to spice things up. So sometimes I add a little something more. Or even more often I take half of this soup and the next day add a little something more.

Suggestions? Add red potato, chunks of a firm white fish like cod, dill and feta cheese to make a delicious Greek Fish Stew.

Or maybe boil it a few minutes with some shrimp, snow peas, a pinch of red pepper, and rice noodles. Then right before serving add a 1/4 cup of coconut milk and some lime juice. This makes a spicy Thai Shrimp Soup that even Zeke devours.

Want something a little simpler? Add kidney beans, basil, and shell noodles to turn your veggie soup into Minestrone.

The possibilities are seriously endless.

Zeke has news to share

Zeke has some exciting news to share! Last night, 2 days before he hit 8 months, he said his very first word! You know, his first REAL word, because dadada ect. doesn't really count.

And guess what that oh so special word was? Guess.

It was duck!

And there is even a sidways video of him saying that very word. Because believe me, we made him say it over and over again. By this time he was a little tired of it, to tell the truth.

A question for bloggers

What is the worst thing you've found your child doing while you are ignoring them giving them healthy independent play while you blog?

At the top of my list...this month?
Eating dirt (see above)
Climbing stairs
Throwing toys in the toilet (see this post)
Unrolling an entire roll of toilet paper

Although Ezekiel isn't ALWAYS being bad while I blog. While I wrote yesterdays post about my parents visit he learned how to use a kitchen chair as a walker.

A parental visit

My parents came to see Josh and I (and Zeke of course!) this weekend. It was a fun time. And full of good eating. We went to Tomato Street for dinner last night and then Franks Diner for breakfast this morning before they left. Two of the best places to eat in Spokane if you ask me.

I am spoiled.

And probably a good 10 pounds heavier now.

Zekers, for his part, behaved atrociously at dinner last night, but then he was nothing but a sweetheart for us this morning. And although the thing he wanted MOST was milkshake, he ate toast and egg and apricot and hashbrowns and biscuits and cheerios and grahamcrackers and everything else that we would hand him. I guess he was afraid Grandma and Grandpa wouldn't come back if they thought he was always so naughty. He filled up so full that when we came home the two of us took a 3 hour nap!

Anyways, hopefully Grandma and Grandpa come back soon. We miss them already.

As you can see, I started Twittering this week as well. So look for my Tweets on the left sidebar. At first I'll admit I thought it was a little silly, but its addicting! A lot like Facebook but better. So if you happen to have a Twitter account you should follow me. And if you don't have a Twitter account, well, get with the times people! Its the newest thing after all, lol.

And I also updated the verse of the week, so check that out while you are at it. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to You. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:12-13

Another thing to look for this week? A new blog tutorial! I got so many great e-mails and comments on my tutorial on how to give your blog 3 columns that I decided to write another one on how to make a button for your blog! And its EVEN easier. Can you use paint? Can you cut and paste? Then you can make your blog a button. These tutorials are so fun for me to write that I am asking YOU to please suggest some more for me! What else would you like to learn to do for your blog? Leave a comment or E-mail me at TheCocoCafeMail@gmail.com!

Its a....tooth

Ezekiel had an awful night last night. I mean, really awful. Tossing and turning and crying and would. not. sleep. We moved him into our bed around 1 and he STILL wouldn't sleep! He was tired. He WANTED to sleep. I wanted him to sleep. Josh wanted him to sleep. We tried everything. And he never did sleep more than an hour at a time, Tylenol induced or not.

Then Zeke grabbed Josh's finger to chew on. And Josh felt....a tooth!

Its too small to take a picture of right now. Not to mention Zeke absolutely refuses to let us look at it without prying his little mouth open and holding his tongue to the side. But you can definitely feel the sharp little bugger poked thru last night. Finally. He is almost 8 months and I was starting to wonder if maybe he was toothless, lol.

Anyways, Whats for Dinner Wednesday will be added to this later today. And it will be worth the wait (as if anyone is at the edge of their chair). It's General Tso's Chicken. Because I got a new (to me) rice maker. And even though I've always said I don't see the point in rice makers when you can just make your rice on the stove, now I am obsessed. I've eaten rice literally twice a day for a week now. And Josh refuses to eat "just" rice for dinner. So I have to make things to put on top of it for dinner. Hence, general tso's chicken.

Actually now he has outlawed even me eating "just" rice. After I told him it was what I ate for both breakfast and lunch yesterday. I have to "indulge in the other food groups". But its ok, dont worry, he says fried rice counts as ok...its got peas.

-----------update--------------------------------------------------------
As promised....General's Chicken! I apologize for the absence of lots pictures. My camera died half through, lol. I had to plug it in and by the time it had batteries I was finished. I am making a resolution, however, to not only be better about taking pictures but to take better pictures. From now on. So wish me luck.
Oh and also check out the recipe on the sidebar. That will stay up all week :)

So the first step is to cut up some chicken into chunks. I prefer to use chicken thigh, personally, for this recipe. I think that's what most restaurants use, at least its always dark meat. But I'm sure breast would work too. Then you want to coat your chicken pieces in the following mixture (and I will even measure!): 1 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and 1 egg. Its going to be a really really really weird consistency. Trust me. You will want to add water. Dont. Just trust me. Its good.
Start some delicious rice in your wonderful rice maker at this point. Or make it stove-top. I like using short grained rice for this. Its sticky and wonderful. But I love jasmine rice as well. And minute rice is easy.

At this point your camera will run out of batteries. But dont stress about it. Just drop your chicken pieces a couple at a time in some hot oil to fry up. Take them out when they are crispy and set them to the side until they are all cooked.

NOW mix up 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup each of sugar, soy sauce, white or rice vinegar and cornstarch, a can of chicken broth, some green onion, garlic, and peppers if you want your chicken spicy (I use dried red pepper because its what I have in the house, thi chilies or bird pepper is more traditional). Heat in a skillet or wok until thick and bubbly. Stir in your chicken and serve it over your rice!

A harrowing adventure

We've been having adventures around here, lately. And Zeke has been getting into everything. Especially in the kitchen. Evidence: below. Zeke taking one of his bowls out of the drawer.
And yesterday Zeke decided to mix his love of getting into things with the new adventure theme and scare Mommy half to death while he was at it.

So here I was yesterday morning, waiting for some friends to come over for a playdate and working while I waited on my secret project. Which isn't nearly as secret as it used to be. And isn't being finished nearly as quickly as I thought it would, either. Apparently programming teams are rather useless. Never hire a programmer to do a web-designers job. But don't worry. I found one of those, or rather Kait was smart enough to think ahead and marry one a while back. Good job Kait. And its ok, everyone, it WILL be finished. Give me another week. Maybe two. And then there will be the big reveal.

But anyways, I was minding my own business is the point. Something that actually isn't allowed when you have a 7 month old son.

Because guess what Zeke was doing? Climbing my pantry. And pulling down an empty Mason jar. And smashing it. And cutting himself.

And obviously I heard the crash of broken glass, and then heard the scream, and ran toward my son. But it's equally obvious that by the time I reached him it was too late. There was blood everywhere, let me tell you. And even though I ascertained right away that it was a small cut on his finger and that there was no glass stuck in there, it was deep! It took a good 20-30 minutes for me to get it to stop bleeding. Long after Zeke had gotten over the pain and shock of his very first cut and decided he would rather play than have his finger held, it was still pouring blood. Which of course made it really easy to make him stay on my lap so I could keep pressure on his cut.

Finally it did slow down enough for me to put a band-aid on it, however. And Zeke went on his merry way while I swept up the glass and changed my shirt. Which was white. And is now ruined.

Time to re-baby-proof.

A controversial post

This Sunday we're going to get controversial. I know, I know. I HATE getting controversial. I really do. But I was asked recently how I could possibly support gay rights and remain a Christian. And while I answered privately, I also felt led to make my answer public as well. Because this is actually a subject I am quite passionate about (surprise surprise, can anyone find a subject that I'm NOT passionate about?). So here goes.

How do I, as a Christian, support gay rights? I think, honestly, its truer to ask why, as a Christian, I shouldn't? I mean, lets be clear and honest right here from the start. The Bible very clearly states homosexual acts are a sin. And I am a strict follower of the Bible. I am not, in any way, trying to say that it's not a sin. It is. It is a sexual perversion of what God meant sex to be. Clear and simple, whether you want to hear it or not that's what the Bible says.

But I don't think supporting gay rights is the same as supporting the homosexual act. It's all a matter of loving the sinner but hating the sin, really. Something we should all be really good at because we all have a lot of practice, its what we do everyday with ourselves. You are a sinner, my friend, as am I. Yet we love ourselves. And as soon as we learn to love others the same way we will all be a lot better off.

But anyways, this is my thing: We can hate that sin, as we should, without persecuting it the way we seem (as a church) to feel the need to. I mean think about it, its the number 1 worst attacked sin ever. And I don't really understand why. I don't know where Jesus said it was the worst sin ever, where He said to pursecute those outside the faith with this particular sin. Yet I see it everyday persuecuted above and beyond any other sexual sin. Ive never heard of anyone trying to make co-habitation against the law. That's a sexual sin equally bad in the eyes of the Lord. I've never heard of anyone trying to make it illegal for people in their second marriage to adopt children. And I hate to break it to you, Jesus said that any man to marry a divorced woman is committing adultery. Plain and simple, God never intended divorce any more than he intended homosexuality. They are both perversions of His plan, they are both sin.

And I really don't see what we think we are achieving with all this hatred. Except a bad rep maybe. I cant count how many friends and acquaintances that have told me this one issue has stopped them from joining the church. Just the fact that they don't want to be seen as or be surrounded by "haters". Really. Christians equal haters in these people's minds. That is so backwards to me. Christ was about love. About loving sinners above all. Yet all we are showing the outside world is Hate. Fear. Zelous Persecution of those different than us.

And we arent getting anywhere. Making it illegal for gay couples to get a legal marriage (because lets not joke ourselves, after the way we have behaved no gay couple wants to even ENTER our church, let alone get our blessings) does not in any way change our own marriage, their position of sin, or anything else. Refusing to speak to your gay daugther/sister/friend is not holy or right, its hateful and prideful. She has just as much right to not speak to you, your sins are equally dark in the eyes of the Lord.

Lets take this energy, I say, and turn it into something more like what Christ would be doing. Loving people. Hating their sin, yes, but loving them. Welcoming them in all their brokenness, in the brokenness that we ALL have, with open arms. When did Jesus get involved with the laws? When did he ever persecute anyone? Arent we supposed to be HIS followers?

And maybe, just maybe, if we change our ways, the gay community can forgive us. I like to believe they just might.

I went to the dentist and lived to blog about it

Well I wasn't supposed to go in to get my tooth removed until next Wed right? Right. But unfortunately (for me) I am really susceptible to bullying. And I allowed myself to get bullied right into moving my appointment date up. To today.

Yep.

And if you know me, you know that nothing, I mean NOTHING comes easily when it comes to me. Everything has to be the weirdest, most unique, most painful process anyone has ever heard of. I even remember my mother warning Josh he shouldn't marry me because of this. Unfortunately (for him) he did anyways.

So here is my story of going to the dentist. Squeamish people, don't read on. I'm talking to you, dad.

It was supposed to be so simple. Remove the tooth. Clean out the infection. Look at the jawbone to see if it had to be shaved down or not. Get out.

And it even started simple. It only took 4 doses of the numbing agent to get me numb...because...you know...that stuff just cant work for me like its supposed to...that would be too easy. And then the wiggling and pushing and pulling began. And Dr Stephan (who if you live in Spokane, and you are interested in holistic dentistry I would really recommend) just kept at it, I mean, it really went on and on and on and on. Until my crown broke off. About an hour later. Leaving the rest of the tooth behind.

There must be something we overlooked in the x-ray, says the poor dentist, I've seen stuck wisdom teeth before but not THIS stuck. So we do an x-ray. And while we are waiting for it to process I do a few cold laser treatments for my jaw...which is stretched and sore at this point from all the wiggling and pushing and pulling.

Nope, it seems the only thing we overlooked was the fact that this was MY tooth, and therefore could not possibly come out easily.

So we go to plan 2. Drilling. The plan is basically this: drill the tooth (or what remains of it) into 3 pieces, pry these three pieces as far apart as we can, pull out the middle, and then the sides. Sounds fun right? And it only took another hour and a half (and another 3 numbing shots). Because no matter how much he drilled and wiggled and stuck his tool in between the shards of tooth and pried them apart, they where stuck tight.

What can I say? Its lovely in my mouth. Who would want to leave?

Oh and I forgot to mention all the pus. Yes the pus that was literally shooting out of my mouth as soon as he broke through the tooth. There was a great big pocket of it.

Dr Stephan's comments during all of this: this was one for the record books; in 36 years as a dentist he has never seen such a difficult extraction; he is getting too old for these cases; at least I know that no matter how long I live, I will always have my teeth. Lol. I felt sorry for the guy honestly.

Anyways, they did come out at last. And let me assure you, those were some fatter tooth roots. And as the nurse showed me, they had "balls" sticking out on either side. Anchoring them on. So I got all cleaned out (didnt take long since most of the infection had already shot everywhere) and stitched up where my tooth and jaw used to be, given a few more cold laser treatments, a jaw massage, and sent home with: vitamins C and E, Milk Thistle, Kyolic Garlic, Traumeel tablets (a homeopathic anti-inflammatory), topical Traumeel and my very very favorite, oxycodein.

Here is to another 10 years before my next appointment.

Whats for Dinner Wednesday

Its Wednesday again. And let me tell you, I am exhausted. Even though it isn't even 11 yet I have already crossed out where it says "Mop Everything" on my list for today and replaced it with "Take a nap with Zeke". There it is right above "Refill Zeke's meds" and "Go grocery shopping". And if I wasn't out of Zeke's kidney medication I would cross those out too and replace them with "Take another nap with Zeke." Lol. I hate being tired. I stayed up too late working on my super secret suprise project with Josh. And I have a feeling it will be the same for the next couple nights. But then hopefully we will be finished and my associate and I will reveal it. You will all be amazed. And no the super secret project is not another baby. What a wierdo you are. I do NOT need a programming team for THAT one.

Anyways.

If it wasn't for the sock left behind, I would have never known who the culprit was... And in my defense, it was Josh that left the bathroom door open this time.
Look how big he is getting! I realized the other day that in 3 inches Ezekiel will be OVER half my height. That is scary to me. I mean, I always realized my son would be taller than me someday. But now that someday seems real.... Josh insists that Zeke wont beat his measly 6 feet. And that even if he does it will only be by an inch or maybe two. I say this kid is going to beat him by age 13 and go on to be at least 6'4".
He is ALWAYS pulling himself up nowadays. On everything. And much to my chagrin now he is always letting go. His balance is ridiculous, he falls down right away. But yet he keeps trying. I am NOT ready for a walker. I'm not even ready for a crawler and he's been doing that for months. Here's hoping he has an inner ear problem and will never learn to balance, lol.

Its almost nap time so I am going to go ahead and present this weeks...

Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Apples! Because hey, pork tenderloin was on sale. And I always buy it when its on sale. I always even look to see if its by chance on sale. Because I freaking love pork tenderloin. Which is strange. Because I'm not a fan of any other type of pig. Bacon, sausage, ham....ick. I will eat it but I'm not going to choose it. My poor husband.

So first you preheat your oven to 450 and rub down your pork with some butter (or olive oil), sage, salt and pepper. Or marinate the day before, that's what I did this time but its not necessary. Josh is just currently obsessed with marinating. THEN you melt some more butter (or olive oil) in a roasting pan (or a dutch oven like this, or a casserole dish, or pretty much anything that can then be put in an oven) add chopped up potato, onion, and some more salt and sage.

Push all that to the sides and stick your pork right in the center. Yum. I LOVE pork tenderloin. Stick this in the oven for about half an hour. It really depends on what size pork you used. Check the package for directions and bake it for that minus 20 minutes.

While its in the oven core and chop up some apples. Jonagold or Gala are my favorites for roasting. Then when your time is up toss them on top. Another 20 minutes and you are done!


Zeke LOVED this meal when I chopped it up in the food processor, which I didnt expect as he isnt a fan of apples. Maybe baking them tastes better then making them into sauce? Or maybe the added pork was the secret? Who knows, but he ate it all up.

Dentists...yipee

I forgot to blog about my trip to the dentist, I know, way exciting, huh? But it was pretty much the event of my day. That and planning but I cant really tell anyone about that yet, can I? Just know that I have a crack force of computer programmers working on something amazing for me, and for all of you that happen to live in Spokane.

So, anyways, I went to the dentist today. Zeke stayed at Kait's house, if you were wondering what I did with him during this adventure. I was really really worried about it, honestly. Because its been, oh, over 10 years since I've seen a dentist. I thought my mouth would be cavity central. Not to mention the on and off pain in my back tooth/jawline that has been bothering me the past few years, lol, yeah...years. The assistant looked at me like I was crazy. "So how long has this tooth been bothering you?" "On and off probably...3 years now?" "3 YEARS?" she repeats. I decided not to mention the shards of bone or tooth that have been breaking off since last Christmas.

Well, the results of my x-ray? I have NO cavities. What is that stuff Wolverine's bones are made of? That is what my teeth are made of, I swear. Even that back tooth that has been hurting all this time doesn't have a cavity. But the bone all around the tooth? Well lets just say that my BONES arent made of what Wolverines bones (and my teeth) are made of. My jaw bone is all infected and eaten away back there. In the x-ray you can see a big hole.

So they think if they remove the tooth (which is a wisdom tooth) and clean it all out then they can clear up the infection without removing any of my jawbone. So that is good. But they were trying to get me to do it TODAY. A 2 hour procedure that I will need a ride home from. Although I dont know why. I go to a holistic dentist and they wont be gassing me...I asked. Its enough to make a girl turn in her hippie ID for good, let me tell you.

So I'm sitting there trying to explain to them that I have a 7 month old at a babysitters, that my husband is at work and cant pick me up...they are trying to explain that my jaw is rotting away and cant wait a week. Something about the infection blowing up. I just repeat: baby, husband with job, cant do today. Honestly I figure its been hurting 3 years. It was LAST christmas that I noticed I was losing shards of bone or tooth, I wasnt sure which and didnt want to know since I didnt have any insurance at the time. It can wait 8 more days.

So next Wednesday I go in for "dental surgery"....gas free dental surgery... They will send me home with milk thistle for pain. Yes, milk thistle. I am serious. And Kyolic Garlic capsules as an antibiotic. Makes you appreciate the American Way just thinking about it. "Gas me," I feel like yelling, "and hook me up with some codein while you are at it. I change my mind! I will never carry my hemp purse or do yoga again! I will circumsize my son right away! I will make my husband shave!"

Lol, the internal struggles of naturalist.

Nighttime Parenting

I have realized that I have two night-time settings.

They are as follows:

Zeke wakes me up and I wander into his room to nurse him. He stops crying and smiles up at me as I arrive in the room and I think "oh how sweet he looks in the moonlight, how precious are these months". I nurse him and we look lovingly at each other. I softly stroke his hair and his chubby little cheek. I am so gentle with him, he seems so fragile.
He drifts off to sleep and I lay him in his crib gently. I know I should go back to bed but he is so quiet and warm and I love listening to his gentle snoring. I sneak another little stroke of his hair. He doesnt move. Then I grow bolder and kiss his forehead, and his little cheek, he still isn't moving. I consider just taking him into bed with me so we can cuddle all night. He is only little once, I reason to myself.
Then he snorts and moves. I freeze, Im not even breathing. Panic begins. Why am I still in here?!? He's going to see me! I run out of the room as fast as I can.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, ruins the mood faster then the little bugger waking up.

Or setting number 2.

I hear Zeke waking up. Not again, I think. Not yet. I stumble across the hall into his room and he smiles up at me as soon as I see him. Wide awake, I groan to myself and I growl to him "its not time to get up, go back to sleep." I snatch him out of his crib and stuff some boob in his mouth in hopes that he will fall back asleep.
It works and as soon as I hear his obnoxious snoring I almost drop him in his crib. Oh when will it end, I think, when will he sleep thru the night? I am so tired.
I consider crying it out. He is already 7 months I reason with myself. I've already stumbled back to bed, without even a glance behind to check to see if his blanket is wrapped around his head.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can fix the mood faster than waking up in the morning.

Grah

I am having one of those days where nothing is going my way.

I was going to go to the Airforce base Funspot with Kaitie and Amber and Jen but then I lost my drivers license. I have NO IDEA where it is. Worse yet I didn't know I had lost it until we drove all the way out there. Yes, we. EVEN WORSE Kaitie was driving me and Zeke. So I didnt just ruin my plans, I ruined hers too! Its not like she could leave me at the visitors center and go in by herself. Kaitie is too nice for that. So we went to Mc Donalds instead. Sorry Kait!

And then I bit my tongue! Just kidding. Well actually I did but its not really that big a deal. Not worth blogging about, lol.

Anyways, so I'm almost glad that I didnt get a chance to update my verse of the week yesterday. Because I could really use some time today meditating on it.

"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, in paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do and I will not leave them undone." Isaiah 42:16.

I love to think about that. Especially on frusterating days. I am the blind for sure and its comforting to know that I am being guided.

Sharing the Love

So to share the love a little bit, and to make the 3 hours I took figuring this out a little bit more worthwhile here is my very first EVER tutorial! How To Make Your Blog 3 Columned! I'm going to explain this as well as I can. Messing with your HTML isn't nearly as hard as it looks. Or as hard as my last post made it look. I promise. Really.

And hey, if it doesn't work out you can always go back to the way it was before. Or you can e-mail me at my brand spankin' new bloggy e-mail address. TheCocoCafeMail@gmail.com. And I will try my very bestest to help you out. I really will. You see, I dont work anymore. Enough said.

SOOOOO here goes!

Ok so unfortunately for some of you, you will have to first change your template to Minima. Please tell me you know how to do that. But if you dont, its ok. Go to Customize, then Layout, then Pick New Template.

Now go into Edit HTML. Here is where we get sticky. Almost all of the changes we are making are going to be under Outer Wrapper. So scroll down until you find that section. It looks like this:

/* Outer-Wrapper
------------------------------------------ */
#outer-wrapper {
width: 840px;
margin:0 auto;
padding:10px;
text-align:left;
font: $bodyfont;
}

#main-wrapper {
width: 410px;
float: left;
word-wrap: break-word; /* fix for long text breaking sidebar float in IE */
overflow: hidden; /* fix for long non-text content breaking IE sidebar float */
}

#sidebar-wrapper {
width: 220px;
float: right;
padding-left:10px; word-wrap: break-word;

overflow: hidden; /* fix for long non-text content breaking IE sidebar float */

}

Have you found it??? Now right after that last } you need to cut and past this baby:

#newsidebar-wrapper {
width: 180px;
float: left;
padding-left:10px;
word-wrap: break-word;
overflow: hidden;
}

Ok? Ok. Breath, your doing fine. That was the first step. And actually now you have a 3rd column. But you cant see it. So we better widen everything up.

So we need to find the code that looks like this (it should be above what we just messed with):

#header-wrapper {
width:660px;
margin:0 auto 10px;
border:1px solid $bordercolor;
}

change the number under width from 660 to 860. (hey you say, what if I want it even wider? well, my answer to that is you must have a wide screen moniter. As do I, as do I. But not everyone does. And this is the widest that my old school moniter downstairs can see. And maybe some of your readers still have one. I know some of mine do. So go higher than 860 at their peril.)

Now go down to THIS code:

#outer-wrapper {
width: 660px;
margin:0 auto;
padding:10px;
text-align:left;
font: $bodyfont;
}

Change THAT 660 to 860 as well.

Last find this and change this 660 to 860:

#footer {
width:660px;
clear:both;
margin:0 auto;
padding-top:15px;
line-height: 1.6em;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.1em;
text-align: center;
}


Very last step now. Go way down to the bottom and find this one:

div id='sidebar-wrapper'>
b:widget id='Profile1' locked='false' title=About Me' type='Profile'/>
b:widget id='BlogArchive1' locked='false' title='Arsip Blog' type='BlogArchive'/>
/b:section>
/div>

And add this below it (each line needs to start with < So add those in. If you dont then it WILL NOT WORK. I cant because then this post reads it as code. Lol, I dont know how to get around it)

div id='newsidebar-wrapper'>
b:section class='sidebar' id='newsidebar' preferred='yes'/>
/div>

You are *hopefully* done! Go add something to your new column and then look at your page. You may need to tweak some things around. Like your columns might be in the wrong order. As in two side columns on the left and your body on the right for example. If so you need to go back into your HTML to the wrapper section. See where it says float;right or float;left? That is what changes this. Or you might be all off center. That can be tweaked in padding: On my blog I had to add the line padding: 30px; right under

#main-wrapper {
width: 410px;
float: left;

Any other tweaks that need to be done? Mess around a bit or E-mail me and I will try to help. Every blog is unfortunately different. But this worked for me and should for you too! Now we are all programmers!

Note: A few REAL programmers read my blog. Please dont make fun of my sorry attempts into your field.

Coding

Bear with me as I re-do my blog. Yet again I wonder why I married a programmer if I still have to write my own HTML ;)

Oh yeah. so he can fix it when I destroy everything.

----update----


WHY IS EVERYTHING NOT PROPERLY SPACED MY OCD IS GOING OFF AND IM GOING TO PANIC ATTACK OH NO NO NO NO NO NO THIS IS WHY I DONT MESS WITH HTML!!

Panic attack aside how do you like the 3 columns...you know once I get the center one to scoot over to the left. I think I will wait on that for Josh to come home and work on colors for a bit. Or, you know, raise my child. A blogger aquaintance of mine once said we all have blog orphans. And it is so true.

-----another update----

My husband is wonderful. He fixed it in 3 seconds.

Naughty and Nice

Good Zeke:
And Bad Zeke:

I am getting a card adapter this weekend. But these pictures should be able to hold you over until then.

Technical Difficulties

I'm experiencing technical difficulties today. Basically the cord for my camera is broken, well the cord works fine but the camera is broken so that the cord wont work, if that makes sense. So I have to use the memory card to move pictures. Which would be fine except out of the 3 computers and 1 laptop we own only 1 that has a slot for a Pro Duo memory card. Because they are stupid. No one takes those cards, not Walgreens or Costco or anyone. But its the only card that works for my camera. And now the card reader on the 1 computer that used to be able to read that stupid card is broken!

I HATE my camera. Now not only does it take really blurry and over-flashed pictures but I cant even get my blurry flashed-out pictures off the darned thing! Lol, anyone have a spare Canon Rebel lying around? Or a spare few hundred dollars to buy me one? I wish right?

Anyways. I refuse to let it get me down. And Josh says if he cant figure out how to get my pictures on the computer tonight then he will buy me a converter for my card sometime this weekend. So it is a temporary irritation. I will just post words now and pictures either tonight or this weekend.

So Ezekiel has been an eating monster lately. For breakfast I always give him either rice cereal or oatmeal with a Zeke-approved fruit (apricot, banana, pear, or peach) either mixed in or on the side and rolled in cheerios to make them easier to pick up. It depends on what kind of mess I am wanting at the moment. And for dinner I've been giving him whatever we are eating chopped up into tiny bits in the food processor. He's eaten every dinner we've given him so far...fish and carrots, spaghetti, chicken casserole, steak and potato... And if we are eating something that he cant have (like pizza) then I give him a Zeke-approved vegetable (we are down to squash and sweet potato...Z no longer eats anything green).

And MAN has he been eating. A good 1/2 cup at dinner and probably more in the morning. Today he ate an entire pancake and 2 peach slices! I'm not sure if that is a lot for a 7 month old but it is probably 3 or 4 times what he was eating a few weeks ago so its a lot to me. And therefor I have implemented lunch this week. I never bothered before because he only ever ate a few bites at a time and I didn't figure it was worth it. But now that he's eating so much I can get 4 or so ounces in him even mid-day so I probably "should".

Its kind of a pain as Zeke I are often not home at lunch time (hence putting it off for so long, my breasts are always with me after all and always the right temperature). And since he still doesn't have teeth he really only eats soft foods, which aren't that transportable. It will be a lot easier in a few more months when he can eat pretty much anything. It would also be a lot easier if I swallowed my pride and allowed him to eat either A. jarred baby food or B. Gerber puffs. But since he is my first I still consider Gerber puffs a treat and a way to make him quiet at restaurants or while I do chores, not a meal. And I am so so sooo close to getting him where he eats "real" food that starting him on jars now seems silly. Also I'm not sure he would even eat it. He refused my onion and garlic free spaghetti and opted for mine the other day. Those jars are rather tasteless.

So lunch is a mystery right now. Since he gets a serving of grains and fruit every morning and then a vegetable and either another grain or a meat at night I should probably add more fruits and veggies though. Maybe I can get him to eat green beans again...or peas... Ha, don't count on it.

Any thoughts on my over-mothering?

On a side-note, this eating a lot of solids thing has really cut down on Ezekiel's nursing too. It's bittersweet. Its nice not nursing him constantly, ie in parking lots, in the mall, at restaurants, every 2 or so hours it seemed like sometimes (and really was sometimes). Now if I nurse and feed him before we leave he usually lasts until we get back. But I also miss it in a weird way. I know he's not going to wean but it feels like he needs me that much less...

Its also playing hell on my hormones if you dont mind the phrase.

but I better do a...And I think this week it will be Mac and Cheese!

Now Macaroni and Cheese is an emotionally charged meal. There are a lot of ways to make it and everyone likes THEIR way best, and will fight for their way to the death. For my part I love ALL mac and cheese. I love boxed, Kraft it is often seen in my home on weekends when Josh and I split it for lunch. I especially love Annie's. Yum yum. I also love the kind you make with velveeta. It is a guilty over-processed pleasure.

This is a recipe made with real cheese however. It is delicious and healthier...at least as healthy as mac and cheese gets right?

And sooooo simple.

First you boil your macaroni noodles.

Then while those are boiling you put some milk, some butter, and some cheese (Ok a LOT of cheese) in a sauce pan. Use your favorite cheese, or a mix. I usually do 1/2 cheddar and 1/2 mozzerella. Stir, stir, stir, until the cheese is all melted.

Now pour your noodles and then your cheese sauce in a casserole dish. Sprinkle it with parmesan if you like and throw it in the oven for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

A HAPPY post

"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34:8. Because He is. He really really is.

Great things about today:
1. Zeke's nose is really clearing up and he hasnt had a fever or tylenol in 12 hours, I think he is over the hump of his first cold! He *might* even be able to sleep in a somewhat horizontal position tonight. The last few nights he has had to be upright to breathe, which means I was also upright.
2. The whole family sleeping in and staying home ALL DAY. Sometimes you just have to miss church now and then.
3. Left over Cinnamon Wheel from Papa Murphys for breakfast.

Great things about this last week:
1. Zeke learned a new game! Now if you hide under a blanket he will lift it up and find you. Or alternately if you cover HIM with a blanket and say "where's the baby?" he will flip it off his head and laugh.
2. New Phone! Its the Voyager, and it has a touch screen plus duals as a MP3 player. Also now I can text and I'm so already addicted!! I'm so excited and LOOOOVE my husband for buying it for me. Among other reasons of course ;)
3. All my amazing friends. Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without you guys. I am so blessed to have the best support system of women anywhere.

And to finish: Naked escape baby.

Thanks

I know I'm a big ol negative Nancy lately. Its 1/2 Zeke's cold, 1/2 this awful weather (I always get depressed in the winter), 1/2 all the drama I've been dealing with, and 1/2 hormonal (as Zeke shifts to more and more solids and less and less nursing I thing my balance is being thrown off). I DO want to say that I really really really appreciate everyone's support, it makes a big difference in my life. And I know I need some non-mom-time right now and as soon as Zeke (and Josh now) feel better I am totally going to get some.

But even before that can happen I think I am going to focus on all the parts of my life (and motherhood) that I LOVE. And along those lines I will write a really really positive and uplifting post tomorrow morning to start off the week. And I'm also going to get rid of some parts of my life that I dont love, dont need, and arent useful. I'm not going to get into it on this blog for the sake of refraining from unnessisary gossip but after talking and praying about it with Josh I am going to quit the Mommy and Me Meetup group. I have LOVED that group and the people I have met from it but Josh and I decided that the bible says if your ear causes you to sin then cut off your ear, and I think that really makes things clear. M+M is no longer an uplifting part of my life so I am cutting it off.

Anyways, last negative comment for at least 1 week. Because my goal for this coming week is to keep it POSITIVE.

Drowning

I was asked today if I ever feel like motherhood is drowning me. In fact quite a few of us were asked and there was a truly awkward silence afterwards in which we all wanted to scream "yes" yet didn't want to admit it. We coughed, or looked at our baby, or asked her what she meant, but we knew. We all know, us mothers of small children. And it slowly came out.

For my part all I could think was "of course". Of course I sometimes feel that way. We all do. Because the truth is that raising children (and especially babies) is a miracle and a blessing and a joy but it's also often exhausting and tedious and suffocating and thankless and boring and smelly. And maybe we would all be a bit happier if we admitted it.

At the least we'd be better prepared. Because it seems like pre-child I heard a lot about the baby entering my world not me entering his, or not forgetting who I am and keeping up my interests, and similar hokey. And it is hokey. Because when that baby comes it may still be your world, honey, but all the rules just changed. And not forgetting your interests is fine and dandy but at the end of the day you don't have the energy to shower let alone read. I'm no April Wheeler or anything but of course I sometimes feel like I'm drowning. (PS is anyone else afraid to see that movie because the book was so good?)

Mommy buffet

Man oh man is Zeke being naughty lately. Can the terrible two's hit at 7 months perhaps? He is just becoming so defiant all of a sudden! Not to Josh, oh no, of course not, as soon as daddy says "no" Ezekiel is almost tripping over himself to obey. But mommy? When mommy says no it falls on deaf ears. Sometimes he will look at me before continuing on his merry way, sometimes even smile and go faster, usually he just ignores me. And I'm the only one that spanks him!

Lets just say this week has been very tiring. A long string of "no, thats not yours" and "no, don't do that"'s. And as devoted to extended breastfeeding as I am I can see why people wean their babies before toddlerhood now. Because it has been a big part of our troubles lately. One example: Zeke's desire, no no his INSISTENCE, on breastfeeding standing up. You see, he cant be bothered to stop and lay down while he's busy playing. So he climbs up me, pulls my shirt down, drinks while standing up for a few seconds, and then off he goes.

This seems really rude to me. I'm not a buffet here, buddy! So we are working on "table"manners, lol. And now that he's mastered the tippy cup we are incorporating that more. But Zeke knows where the good stuff is....oh well. Only another year or so until weaning time right?

Oh and I haven't posted any pics of Z lately you say? Yes, I know. Because they all look like this:

My crawling son LOVES the camera....to eat it that is!

I will keep trying, I promise.

And now for...

Chicken Cacciatore Stew!

First start some chicken cooking, while it cooks chop and add some potato and onion.

And while that cooks, chop up and add some red bell pepper and garlic. Wait another minute or maybe 2. Mine had no bell pepper because when the grocery list said red bell pepper Josh bought green. Who knows? I dont complain when he goes grocery shopping without me, especially when he takes the baby with!

Now add: a can of crushed tomato, maybe a splash of red wine if you have it around the house (sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t), some mushrooms, and enough chicken broth to make it a stew-y consistency.

Let this boil and then turn it to low to simmer 10 minutes. At this point you can add spinach (I didnt have any in the house) or top it with cheese. Parmesan: good. Romano: way better.

Dr Appointment

Today Zeke and I finally made it to his 6 month well-child appointment, at 7 months and 2 days but at least we made it right? It was our 3rd try and I was beginning to lose hope, seriously I was waiting all morning for another storm to hit. But the day was beautiful and off we went to see the Dr Morgan.

Ezekiel is 20 pounds and 30 inches. 75th and 100th percentiles respectively. All this crawling has really slimmed Z down! Josh and I were both expecting him to weigh a lot more. But it makes sense. While I have had to recently move him into 12 month pants (yet another growth spurt after Christmas, can you believe it?) they can get pulled off his skinny little hips pretty easily.

We got his 3rd DTaP and his 3rd Hib shots so we are done with those, yipee! (A 4th DTaP is sometimes administered at 18 months but we are not receiving that one) In fact, we are done with immunizations until he is 5 years old! I am so excited. At 5 he just needs his T booster and then he's done until 12 when he might be getting his Hep B and maybe even a Hep A, MMR, and Chicken Pox, I haven't decided yet.

I just LOVE partial immunization.

Seriously I do. And I recommend it as often and as loudly as possible to anyone that will listen. I am annoying that way. There are just so very many many options that I don't understand why people don't at least even consider them. I mean, you can do NO immunizations, of course. And most people know that but no one seems to think about doing just SOME of the immunizations. Or going ahead and doing ALL of them but spread out differently.

And I really really really recommend thinking about it. Because some of these shots are plain unnecessary. And sometimes they really overload those little systems with chemicals. I mean, you don't even want to KNOW what they are injecting into your kid. Mercury (yes some still have mercury, though many do not anymore), Aluminum, Formaldehyde, MSG, monkey kidney, aborted baby lung, guinea pig embryo, cows blood, and that's just naming a few. Ick. I don't use any vaccines with human or animal tissue, which means I have to be picky about brands. But if you are going to fully immunize you cant really get away from it. And even I have to put up with some chemicals. And this is where an alternate vaccine schedule comes in really handy. Because you can cut down on how much you give at a time really easily.

For example, Heb B is very very dangerous, and common. I can really see why you'd want your kid immunized against it. I might. But its blood transmitted, so it can really wait until at least 10 or 12. I dont see many kids shooting up or having unprotected sex before then. Same idea with Chicken Pox. Serious as an adult. Not so much as a baby. So why not wait?

Or say you dont even want to wait. You want your child to get immunized more or less on time. Well you can still protect them from chemical overload by going in to the office every month instead of every other. Most doctors will not only allow this but they wont even charge you for the extra visit. You just whip in, see the nurse, and whip right out.

My husband is home and hungry so I better get off. But If you have questions about this please please e-mail me. Lol, I LOVE talking about immunizing! I even have an example of a full vaccine schedule spaced 2 shots at a time. And a great partial schedule too.

PS While I will talk up partial immunization until the freaking sun goes down I know its not for everyone. And it has its risks. And if your child goes to daycare or if you are not breastfeeding until at least 1 year and hopefully more like 2 years you are taking even more risks. Breast milk gives a child all his/her mothers immunities and its the only reason I don't give Z the rotovirus vaccine for example. Partial immunization is also illegal in 2 states, Mississippi I think and Arkansas? I'm not sure on that. Anyways, what I'm saying is dont listen to me blindly any more than anyone else.

Verse of the Week

"These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." Deuteronomy 6:6-7. Josh and I have been talking about this verse for a while now. You see, we have been pondering and praying over what it really means to "teach them diligently", I mean in a practical way what exactly should we be doing? Of course Ezekiel, our only son as of yet, is not even 7 months old for a few more days, so these concerns are slightly premature. But we are planning ahead.

So far all we know is what it isnt, lol, isn't that typical? But we have figured out that it isn't as simple or easy as just attending church, or praying at mealtimes and bedtimes, and not even as simple as reading the bible together (although it of course includes all these activities). We really feel that even all that, as great as it is, isn't really enough. We are starting to realize that its so much harder then that and in the end its nothing less than living everyday, all the time, with and for the Lord, and then constantly telling your kids about it as you do. "...when you sit in the house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up."

And we know that we really want to be careful not to model great biblical principles but then forget formally teaching them. Or maybe worse to formally teach them but then not model them. And we really hope that we cananage it.

Lol

Lol, you have to love this video. I just took it an hour ago while we ate dinner (its banana all over Ezekiel's face). He was being so funny, shaking his head "no" to every question we asked.

Also an example, while I'm here and loading them up, from my very failed 6 month photo shoot. Seriously, this evil face might be the best I got. We like to call this his Jack Nicholson face.

Whats for Dinner Wednesday!

And now I bring you....

Stir Fry!!!

Yum Yum, I LOVE this meal. Josh and I sometimes make it once and then eat it twice. Because sometimes we don't know how to make it for two people, lol, we tend to have way too much. But we eat it one time Thi style with wide rice noodles and once with white rice, so its still different.

So very first if you want to use wide rice noodles (and I really suggest you try it because its freaking delicious) you need to soak them for about a half hour in warm tap water. You can buy them in the Asian food section at the grocery store, I get a box of A Taste of Thi brand. If you want it over rice then make some white rice.

While that is happening you need to cook some chicken (or beef, or shrimp, or crab, or whatever) in some sauce.






We used a combination of Sweet and Sour and Stir Fry Sauce this time (as well as Josh's secret ingredient but I'm not allowed to name it on pain of death of my website, sorry. I really believe him when he says he will shut it down if I tell!) We have been known to use pretty much anything as sauce, however, if its available in the house, Soy Sauce, Curry, Sesame oil with fresh garlic... Experiment with what you know you like. If you want to add some spice throw in some crushed red pepper (like you put on pizza), but not too much, a little goes a long way!

While your chicken is cooking chop your favorite veggies. We used green bell pepper, mushroom, baby corn, carrot, and water chestnuts. You could also use red bell pepper, broccoli, snow peas, ginger, green beans, bamboo shoots, or onion, I've done all that (except ginger, I'm allergic). I'm sure there are other veggies you could add as well that I'm not thinking of.

When your chicken is cooked add those veggies and stir it all around until they are cooked. I suppose I should note now that water chestnuts shouldn't be added until everything else is done, or else they get mooshy. If you are making it with noodles add the noodles to your pan as well. If you are making it with rice then just pour your veggies over it.



Yum!!!

Ok better go do some cleaning. I spent ALL day with Kait and Kim, lol, it was too good to get out of the house. Thanks girls.

We decided we are going to Seattle together too so I'm super excited, hopefully in April for some outlet store shopping. But if I cant go that time then Kim and I will take our sons to the zoo in July... Hmm...maybe I should ask Josh first before I announce it to the world, yes? But I know he will say yes because my husband is all too lenient when it doesn't have to do with secret ingredients (or kittens, he is a stickler when it comes to kittens) Plus I'm taking the baby on either trip, so, I don't see why not.

PS Im so mad. I bought a hutch off Craigslist and I was paying extra to have it dropped off which was was supposed to happen today and they sold it to someone else!!! Grr!

Such a big boy

I'm really being struck this week by how much Zeke has changed. He is such a big boy these days, and not just in size. Recently it seems he is becoming a much "older" baby. 6 months ago he was a tiny infant, just a few weeks old.

Now Zeke can: Crawl,
Pull himself up to standing,
Find his binky and put it in his mouth,
Drink (very messily) out of a tippy cup (only without the stopper),
Feed himself finger foods,
Play hide and seek (Ok, maybe not really hide and seek. But if I hide behind the couch or around a corner while he is looking, he will come and "find" me and then he laughs and laughs. Its our version of hide and seek),
Shake his head "no" when he doesnt like something,
Say da, ba, ma, ga, ra, grunt and squeal, and often a long combo,
Sometimes self sooth (lol, sometimes),
And he's starting to tell when he is being naughty (or atleast he knew when he was taking Jordyn's binky away it was naughty because when I came over he tried to give it back. Also when he has things he shouldnt have lately he will try to hide them from me)

What a change, right? And he is growing so independant now. He will play by himself for hours these days, every once in a while climbing up on me to put his forehead up against mine for a minute or two, and then off he goes again. I cherish those cuddly moments, they are getting few and far between!

Zeke loves reading books right now and his cars. And he really really loves computers, especially the laptop. We can't keep him away from it much to our chagrin! I guess that's what happens when he sees us both using them so often. He's also becoming very strong willed. Or I guess more honestly he was always very strong willed but its showing more and more as he gets older. I often wonder where the line is between understanding his needs and showing him who is boss. I pray that I'm getting it right. I dont want to break his spirit but I also dont want to spoil him, and with kids like Zeke that is a thin line.

Although Josh's "putting his foot down" is sadly working really well. Sad because I wanted to be right. What a horrible truth. I should just be happy that Zeke's midnight tantrums are over and we are all sleeping better. He will cry to Josh for, I dont know, 5 minutes top before he gives up and then Josh puts him back in his crib awake and Z falls back asleep. When I was getting up with him it was a half hour of crying, only to be stopped by the boob, so he was falling asleep eating and then I was sneaking him back into bed, and it was becoming more and more often. Now its less and less often and Zeke is only eating twice at night again, at around 2 am and then 5 or 6 am. Once a night if you count 6 am as morning, which I do not because we all go back asleep until a more resonable hour.

I've learned this night thing is never consistent, however. Zeke has gone weeks and weeks sleeping really well before only to revert again. I am not holding my breath. His teeth will start moving again soon, or he will get a cold, or night terrors, or SOMETHING. I've accepted the fact that now that I am a mother I will probably never be able to count on a good nights rest again. Not until Zeke is 30 at least.

Also, in unrelated news, Josh and I in the next week or two are going to start talking to people about getting a home loan. We want to buy this summer if we can manage it. Scary scary scary. We have no idea what we are doing. We are going (so far) to talk to Idahy (our credit union) and to Spokane Teachers Credit Union because we've heard so many good things about them. We want to know how much we can get approved for and at what rate (so we can decide how much we can really afford) and if there's anything we need to do to improve our credit (which is good but fairly non-existent because we are so young) before then. Then when they have given Josh and number and he has given me a number I can start looking around, which is the part that's fun. THEN I dont actually know what happens, craziness, I guess.

I love the idea of buying a home, I love the idea of staying in one place for 5 or 10 years. I am scared out of my mind of doing this wrong. Pray for us?

Ah...how I miss blogging

I know I've been MIA in the blogosphere as of late. Between the holidays and traveling and then all the snow and all the subsequent shoveling and the husband working as often as not from home (meaning I cannot get into the office where we keep the computers), I just haven't had the ability to get online. But hopefully that has changed, and the two weeks I took off from What's for Dinner Wednesday will be just that, two weeks. Because I have been making dinners, and even taking pictures, just not posting.

There have also been "things happening" in this life of mine. Like Josh putting his foot down. Lol. I got Zeke back on schedule from our vacation relatively fast. It took slightly less than a week to get him going to bed at 9, and while it used to be 8 I might like 9 better so I'm keeping it if I can. But Zeke has learned an exciting new bad nighttime habit in the meantime. When he wakes up at night instead of going right back down with a lullaby or a nursing session, he stays up to play. This is aparently the last straw for daddy. Zeke has been getting more and more stubborn, playing with things he knows he shouldnt be, throwing tantrums when we move him, ect. Josh has been patient. But now, suddenly, with this night playing he is "putting his foot down". Zeke WILL learn who is boss.

From now on out when Zeke gets up and refuses to be put down I am not to get involved. It is a battle (perhaps to the death) between the two men in my life. Each insisting on having his way. Zeke says that we will play with him when he demands. Josh says that Zeke will sleep when he demands. I can't wait to see who is more stubborn in the end. Trust me, updates will follow. I'm only sad that Zeke has slept excellently the last 2 nights since this new resolution of Josh's. I really really want to see him put his foot down to our 6 month old. Really, I'm being supportive.

And now for the verse of the week. "For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach." Hm, what joyful assurance. Because it sure seems like it, doesn't it? It's difficult unto impossible sometimes it seems; to obstain from gossip, to respect and obey my husband, to love everyone including my enemies, to spend my time reading the Bible when I would much rather veg in front of the latest episode of House or surf the internet. And that's the easiest part.

When you believe, like I do, that it isn't even what you DO that God cares about but WHO YOU ARE. Well that makes it 10,000 times worse doesn't it? Because often I dont gossip, often I attend church when I'm tired or read the bible when I'd rather be reading the latest Parent's magazine, often I volunteer and donate to charity and love my neighbors. But how often do I do these things because I "have to" or even worse because I want people to know that I do? How often do I not say a snide thing but I still think it. How often do I attend church but not listen? Oh the darkness of my soul. I can DO everything right but still not know God. We are all sometimes Pharisees, arent we?

But no matter how it seems, it is not too dificult, what He expects from us. It is never out of reach. We need only go as far as we can by ourselves, and then He will take us the rest of the way.