Summer Olympics

Watch out 2024 Olympics - she's already training!

Sunny weekend

This last weekend was awesome. Sunshine on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, temperatures getting up to the low 70's - perfect weather. Saturday we went hiking with my grandparents and just enjoyed relaxing at their home. MaryP loved playing in their back yard. They also have a lot behind their yard with trees and little paths to walk on - as a kid I remember feeling like it was a mini-forest. She was in heaven being able to run around and explore and we had a fantastic time just relaxing and visiting.

That evening we met up at Alki beach with one of Wood's HS friends that he hadn't seen in 10 years. We even managed to get a good parking spot - parking was nighmareish, so it was nothing short of a miracle to find one! The friend and his wife have 2 little girls and we enjoyed socializing near the beach where the girls could play. The only bad part was that the restaurant we chose to eat dinner at was not kid friendly (at all) but we made up for it with ice cream cones afterward. Next time I think we'll stick with fish and chips. We didn't start heading home until 8:00 but I had no idea how late it was because it was still light out. I love summer.




This comic made me smile because it is cloudy and rainy again today and I am anxious for summer to really be here, but it sure made me appreciate this last weekend that much more!

Evening the Odds

It appears that things will be evening up a bit around here - our little boy was very cooperative for our ultrasound and we were happy to find our the gender - I like having a "he" rather than an "it" or "the baby". We are excited to have a boy, and no, we don't have a name chosen. Although Wood has thrown some fabulous ideas out, like Alfonzo or Leonard Nemoy. Our boy seems very healthy, which is fabulous, and very active, which I guess is fabulous. I have a hunch that he and his sister are going to keep me on my toes! He was quite wiggly during the ultrasound and now that I can feel him, he is pretty active. I liked this picture the best because it is a good profile but more than that you can see his little hand just above his head pushing up on my uterus. And I feel like he is saying "hey, I need a little more space to move around here - I have places to go!" which makes me smile.


MaryP doesn't really understand boys vs. girls or the fact that we have a baby joining us in 19 weeks. She loves baby dolls and our neighbor's little baby boy, so we'll see how she deals with the new addition.

Preparing for a primary singing time a few weeks ago I needed a car or truck or something as part of an object lesson/teaching and the only thing I could find was MaryP's ABC's bus her grandparents sent her. We have a serious lack of cars, trucks, and heavy equipment - though we do have a puzzle with an assortment of vehicles that MaryP can identify. I guess we'll have to get a little more manly around here!

Our busy girl

A while back I posted about some fevers MaryP had been having. They were gone for the entire month of March and I thought maybe we were in the clear. But this last week she had another stretch of fevers (only getting up to 104 this time, so not so bad) that were otherwise symptom-free. I was frustrated by this but we just watched her and by Friday the fevers were gone. Woo-hoo! Then on Saturday she started acting sick again and the fever was back on Sunday. Nuts. To add to that, on Sunday you could tell she was feeling miserable and she would stop mid-playing and just stand there and start crying an "I'm hurting" cry. No mother likes to see their child hurt and it is hard when you have no idea why. Is it your thoat, your ears, your stomach, what???

So, we took her to the doctor today (of course she was feeling better) and thankfully this time the doctor we saw suggested a blood draw and catheter. Neither of which were very fun for MaryP. But she was really a sweetie about the whole thing and even talked to the nurses (between sobs) while they were taking her blood. It didn't help that we had to swaddle her and pin her down. Anyway, long story short, she is healthy as a horse, everything looks normal which means ..... she is just one of those kids that gets fevers. Your kid and my kid may get the same thing and yours may act a little whiny for a day or two, and mine will spike a fever. Go figure. The pediatrician said she would probably grow out of this, which is good. Maybe around the same time she can eat peanutbutter, and we'll just have a big party. In the mean time I am so grateful they did those tests - it gives me such peace of mind to know that there isn't something else going on - it's just her.

On another note, MaryP is a delightful, busy, busy, busy little girl. Busy getting into things she shouldn't be. Busy eating the toothpaste, some paint, stuff like that. Seriously though, she is a lot of fun. She is talking so much more, is extremely social and rarely shy. She is very good at being polite and asking "please" with most things. She LOVES the fies and sings (slides and swings) and asks for them every day. Sometimes when we get her up in the morning the first words out of her mouth are "fies, sings" followed by "coat, shoes!" She is ready to go. 6:30 in the morning is too early for me to go to the park, so she has to wait and hope it is not a rainy day. I plan on spending a LOT of time at the park this summer. I think it will be good for both of us.

*A note about the bag picture - she put this on her head and thought she was soooooo funny.
She also loves all things baby. She loves real babies and wants to hold them. And if she ever sees a vacated baby car seat she makes a b-line for it. She can be content for an hour playing with a baby car seat.

MaryP is such a spunky little girl. She loves people and will yell "HI!!" to as we pass them. It often gets a smile. A few weeks ago in the grocery store the lady at the fish -counter yelled "HI!!" back to her and so they went back and forth yelling "HI!!!" as I pushed her through the store until she was finally distracted by something else. One of the things I love about her is how excited she is about the little things. She has great vision and often picks out birds and such before I see them and will excitedly point them out to me.

MaryP loved hunting for Easter eggs, so Wood hid them for her over and over again. Dying eggs was less exciting to her. It sure was exciting for us when she accidentally dumped the red dye on Wood's lap and carpet. Whoops! We were able to get the dye out of his pants and somewhat out of the carpet. And a big thanks to Lysol for removing the dye from our kitchen table! I think she'll enjoy it more next year, and we will be more prepared!

She loves to pretend to read and will often end her stories in "bye". Here is a short clip I caught of her - she had been "reading" before I got out the camera. Also note that she pulled the chair over to the counter ... I am running out of safe places to put things!
She is just such a delight and blessing to our family!

A few good meals

It seems like we always eat the same-old, same-old, so I've been trying to spice up our eatin' around here. The following are three recipes we've tried recently and love.

Autumn Soup: *Thanks Bea for showing this to me. Credit goes to ward member MG for the awesome recipe! I love that it is so simple, affordable, and ridiculously delicious. Great with rolls too!

1/2 lb ground beef. Browned and drained - set aside
2 C. water or stock (Chicken or beef - I used chicken as per her recipe)
3/4 C. celery (* we didn't have any but the soup was still good)
3/4 C. potatoes cut into small pieces
1/4 C. chopped onion
3/4 to 1 C. chopped or shredded carrots

Combine everything except meat with 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/2 tsp basil. Add a small bay leaf. Add the meat and boil 10 minutes. Add 1 med. can diced tomatoes and simmer 20 min. more.

I know this sounds so easy (because it is) but trust me, you will love it!


Cream Cheese Enchiladas:

1 Onion chopped
1 Green pepper chopped
1 can sliced olives
1 lb mushrooms (*I don't like mushrooms so we omitted this)
1 sm. can diced green chilies
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese
12 corn tortillas
1 lb cheese (grated)
2 sm. cans enchilada sauce

Spread some enchilada sauce on bottom of a 9x13 pan, set aside.

Saute onion, green pepper, olives, mushrooms, and chilies together. Add cream cheese. Put mixture in shell* and top with cheese. Roll up, put in pan, cover with sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 min. Serves 4-6.

*For corn tortillas you want to cook them briefly in oil so they are golden, but not crispy, before using them. This was my first time, but you probably knew that.


Spaghetti - a meatless variation

My friend made this for me and it was soooo good. Just a variation on your typical spaghetti.

Spaghetti sauce (1/2 - 1 can)
Canned tomatoes
Vegetables of choice
Can of garbanzo beans (chick peas)
Black olives

Basically it's spaghetti sauce with the canned tomatoes to thin the sauce and veggies like carrots and peppers, etc for flavor. The garbanzo beans are in place of the meat and are surprisingly delightful in the sauce. I would never have thought to try them. And the black olives make the whole dish. We had this tonight and they were definitely our favorite part. Don't add the olives until the sauce is mostly done heating. We really enjoyed this change of pace for our spaghetti and will be having it again soon!