Thursday's Small Successes

I know I haven't done one of these in a while.  It's possible I've accomplished things, but sometimes I'm too tired to recall :).  It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that. (Danielle Bean at Faith and Family Live.  Head over there and share your successes, too!)


1. Anni and I survived our 6 day trip away from home.  This was a big deal to me - we not only had to fly, but I didn't have Daniel to spell me through her restless nights and I had to leave her (with family, but nonetheless) for a full day while I worked.  whew.  We're all settled back in and she has remembered she loves her daddy, so it's good.

2. This is really a baby Nugget success, but she's sleeping through the night again!  We're finally reaching the end of yet another family cold, and the sleep that has come with recovery has been blissful.  We did have to let her cry for a few minutes a couple of times, but it is never a full blown screaming (I just can't handle that, it's not in my list of mommy abilities), just some whines and whimpers as she drifts in and out.  She was waking up at one or two in the morning and only sleeping when being held even after diaper changes, milk and a whole lot of rocking.  The part that made us giggle?  One night after she had put herself back to sleep, I went in to check on her and she had fallen asleep sitting up!  Her new pulling herself up to sitting skill (and a recent half standing splits skill) might start making nighttime even more interesting.

3. I have felt really fulfilled in my work lately.  The six day trip was primarily to photograph a wedding (as well as a maternity shoot and family shoot), and I really felt like it was one of my best to date.  I've even proofed out the maternity shoot and have made good headway into the wedding thus far.  It's a really good feeling.  You can check out my work on my business blog.  

4. Oh, I thought of one more I just have to post... my loan is all nicely paid off!  I know I blogged about it before, but the money is officially out of my account now, and my loan online says. "Paid in Full."  YES!

A traveling we shall go

We've been back for a few days, but a few members of my family drove back with us and spend a couple of happy days exploring Denver and the mountains and immediately following their departure, we all came down with a cold and have been shuffling along ever since.  I was granted a beautiful nap today and so am ready to fill you in on our trip. 

It was both wonderful and difficult at the same time.  We were able to spend nearly a week with my family.  This was wonderful.  I love that we live in Colorado, but miss my family a lot (our phone records will attest to this). 

I was able to spend almost a full day with one of my older sisters, which is always good for my soul.  She's terrifically wise, beautiful and makes and sells the beautiful hats you will see in this post (don't worry, I'll be sharing info in a post to come very soon).  She also makes the best oatmeal cookies ever.  I am crossing my fingers that she'll share the recipe with me... because not only were they delicious, but they had whole wheat, and oats... yum!

 

She was also my baby's "faux mama" while I was there.  Stranger Danger is still a very real part of our lives, and our nugget did not want anyone but me to hold her... except Aunt Katie.  Because, see, the difficult part about us being gone was that Daniel had to stay behind to work and I did quite a bit of work while we were there (the actual reason for the trip) and so Anni needed to stay with my family (whom she doesn't see quite often enough to recognize from trip to trip).  Luckily, the combined skills of my mom and my sisters and the entertainment their babies provided, we made it through.  And, I was able to photograph some really beautiful events.  It was soul-stretching for me.  I love my job.  (Check them out on my photography blog.)  

I love that my family is close.  Even living 8 hours away, I always know that I have a village backing me up.  And when we're near, I always know there will be cousins playing, walks by the river to take and zoos to visit. 

Zuzana was utterly proud to be pushing Anni in the stroller.  (Katie made the cloche Anni is wearing in this picture as well.)

The zoo is a time-honored tradition in our family.  I grew up going to this zoo and now my mom and Charlie are there at least once a week (family zoo passes are incredible).   

 I was also able to spend some time with one of my bridesmaids and former roommates.  Cheese pizza on a Lenten Friday and catching up.  Lovely.

And, not only did I get to visit with my older brother's family, but I finally got a tour of the house they moved into in December!  I love it, it is very much them (and has many pieces that fit my brother's personality to a t). 

Miss Zizzy on the left was born only a few days after Anni, although she was patient and came on time.  I'm hopeful they're going to be great friends.

Celebration!

I am so excited!  We just got our tax refund (it looked so nice in our bank account for the brief amount of time it was there) and turned around and used it to pay off my student loan!  I was lucky enough to not have a huge loan, but it was big enough.  Daniel didn't have any debt, so I really wanted to get rid of mine so we could be debt free before we buy a house.  I really wanted to have it paid off right after college, but that wasn't exactly feasible, so we've been chipping away at it, trying to at least make double payments every month.  And there you have, it!  No more monthly payments!  Now, I do still need to pay my dad back a comparably small amount, but at least I can do that now (he's been very patiently waiting while I pay off my federal loans as his interest rates are about half the amount I was paying on those).  The college I attended was wonderful, but not exactly cheap: it feels good to have it paid off.  So, do a little celebration dance with me!  Debt-free is the way to be!

Family time

 

I hope your weekend was as lovely as ours.  Anni and I are going to be away from Daniel for nearly a week starting on Wednesday, so we spent the weekend just being together as a family.  And it was good.

Former Fridays: A Salute

 

I know, I know... how many times am I going to post today?!  But I realized it was Friday and I didn't want to forget.  So, today's picture is dedicated to all soldiers (especially Miss Tara)!  This is my maternal grandmother, Bernice.  I was never able to meet her as she passed away before I was born, but I have always thought she was absolutely gorgeous!  This was probably taken in the late 30's or very early 40's.    

10 months

She just grows and grows and grows!  Anni had her very last synagis shot today!  YAY!  Now we just have to pray that those that she's gotten will keep her safe from the big, bad RSV.  She has become proficient at the army crawl now and is even pulling herself up to her hands and knees and rocking back and forth.  We're going to have a crawling fool in the next month.  Plus, I think being able to get up on her knees will help her learn to pull herself up to sitting (she's quite good at sitting, but can't get there herself).  She'll also chatter nonsense when she's inspired (generally along the lines of "hi, heeeeeeeeeey, hi!)  She has begun a "dadadadadada," which is especially cute when she says, "Heeeey dada."  Yep, adorable.  Anni loves to be read to and her current favorite book is Hide-and-Peek.  It has a lot of textures, babies and mirrors and makes her a very happy girl.  Our little nugget is not so little anymore at 30 inches long (seriously, this girl is tall) and 18.8 lbs. 

Lenten Sacrifice

It's finally Lent!  Maybe it's something in my design, but I crave the structure of Lent.  I admit, I'm really not good at changing my routine and how I do things, so this will be good for me.  We decided that as a family, we're only going to eat a single serving size of things (and by "as a family," I mean Daniel and I.  Anni can eat as much grub as she wants).   That is so hard for me.  I just like to eat.  Tonight when I measured out how much pasta a serving was, I realized I eat far more than a serving on a regular basis.  It is definitely a good lesson in self control and sacrifice for us.  I'm also working on integrating a deeper prayer life into my daily life as a mama.  That is a continual project :).  I planned on this being much more introspective than it is, but that's okay. 

Mardi Gras!

Our Lenten sacrifices begin tomorrow, and I'm actually pretty excited for that, but I'll share all of that with you... tomorrow :).  Today is mardi gras, and we're having our very own little party.  We were going to go to the chili cook-off at our church, but Anni's cold stretches on, and getting her better sooner is worth being stuck at home a little longer.  So, barbeque beef, chocolate and relaxation it is.  It's snowing today and the smell of beef cooking in all kinds of tasty juices in the crockpot makes our little apartment that much cozier.  Plus, who needs sunshine outside when you have your very own sunshine to cuddle with inside?

I succumbed to the beauty of babylegs... they were half off with free shipping.  She loves that her feet are free :).

Food Chronicles: We still like to eat

Last week was my week to try new things in the kitchen.  Sometimes I forget one of my love languages is words of affirmation, until my husband utters sweet words that melt me down to my toes, "You're a natural cook."  Um, he just won a week of yummy meals with that compliment :).  So, I pulled out my little Food magazine that I get once a month (amazing gift from my big sis) and cooked a three days of meals from it:

Steak and potato salad - Oh, dear, heavenly goodness in my mouth!  I don't think you could go wrong, but grilled steak and roasted mini potatoes in a salad?  It was deeelish. 

Grilled chicken, onion and pineapple wrap with tomatillo sauce - still needs a little tweaking, but I did realize I love grilled pineapple.  This was my first time ever working with tomatillos, so I was rather impressed with myself.  and as per request - the recipe for this is at the bottom of the entry. 

And last, but not least was roasted eggplant relish with pasta.  This was lovely, but I'm not sure if I did it right.  The recipe said to scoop out the flesh of the eggplant while avoiding seeds, but it seemed as if most of it was seeds!  Still, mixed with some roasted tomato, garlic and onion... so delicious!

 
Want to hear the best part of all these recipes?  Not only were they good (and by good I mean delightfully tasty and filling), but they were part of the "Light" issue.  That's right... good for you!  I love finding really yummy food that I don't feel bad about eating, because, let's be honest.  I love to eat.

 and of course... don't forget to brush your teeth when you're all done :)


Turkey kebabs with creamy tomatillo sauce (The recipe calls for turkey, but we just grilled a chicken breast instead)
from Everyday Food Magazine
serves  4
(We did several things a little different, but this was the base recipe)

1 lb boneless turkey breast, cut into 11/4 inch-pieces
coarse salt and pepper
1/2 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 1/4-inch pieces
1 medium red onion, cut into 1 1/4-inch pieces
nonstick cooking spray
whole-wheat pitas or salad greens for serving
1 recipe Creamy Tomatillo Sauce


In a medium bowl filled with hot water, submerge four 12-inch wooden skewers and let soak 15 minutes.  Season turkey with salt and pepper, then thread 5 turkey pieces and 4 pieaces each pineapple and onion onto each skewer.  Lightly coat a grill pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high.  Grill skewers, turning occasionally, until turkey is cooked through, 14 minutes.  Remove turkey, pineapple, and onion from skewers.  Serve in pitas or over salad green, drizzled with tomatillo sauce.

per serv (with pita) 475 cal; 10 g fat (1 g sat fat) 38 g protein; 66 g carb; 11 g fiber


Creamy Tomatillo Sauce  


In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 pound tomatillos, husks removed, 1 jalapeno, stem removed, and enough water to cover ingredients by 1 inch.  Bring to a boil over medium-high.  Reduce to a rapid simmer and cook until vegetables are tender, 7 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a blender and add 1 medium white or red onion cut into 1 1/4 inch pieces.  Puree until smooth.  Add 1/2 bunch cilantro, stems removed, 1/2 cup buttermilk, and 1/2 peeled avacado.  Season with coarse salt,; puree until smooth.  (To store, refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 3 days.)  Makes 3 1/2 cups per 1/4 cup 26 cal. 1 g fat.
 

Former Fridays: Every day's a pool party

Yep, we totally had a pool when I was little.  And here we all are (can you find all 6 of us?), hanging out.  We definitely didn't take advantage of this pool like we should have and eventually it was taken out in favor of a backyard that didn't require constant cleaning and chemicals.  Still, it was a good life :).  I have a lot of memories of Millie beating us all out in breath-holding contests (she was amazing!) and races up and down the pool. 

On the move... again...

So, now that it's official, I can write my own little spiel about it.  Yep, for the third time in two years, we're moving.  Well, the second time was in the same apartment complex, so it wasn't too bad (except for the fact that is was right after Anni finally made it home from the hospital, so I was no help.)  This time, we're moving about half an hour away... which wouldn't be too bad, except it's half an hour (at least) further away from my family and from Daniel's (currently 8 hrs and 45 min. respectively)... which will probably cut our normal nearly weekly visits to a minimum.  So, those things are kind of a bummer.

Buuuuuuuut, there are definite upsides.  It will be good for FOCUS.  We will be closer to the mountains and the Mother Cabrini Shrine: I mean it is a really beautiful location (see above picture which I nabbed from the FOCUS website).  And, hopefully we'll be living in a slightly bigger place with a washer and dryer.  That in itself has some majorly awesome implications.  Separating office from Anni's room?  check.  Cloth diapers?  Maybe.  Not paying quarters upon quarters for laundry?  Check.  Are you picking up what I'm putting down?  Plus, there's the possibility we could live in the same apartment complex with some lovely friends.  I would absolutely love that opportunity for community!

That's about it.  Just a little post to let you know what's going on in our world.