My Little Drummer Boy

B loves one of my clients. My adolescent client was adopted from a war-torn West Africa. He is so neat and so much fun and is great with children. B loves his sessions. In fact, Daddy T has a hard time keeping B upstairs when he comes because we always do a little West African drumming. Once B hears the drums starting, he opens the gate, travels down the stairs on his bottom, and comes to grab a mallet and a drum from me. He thinks it is fun. I'll admit, he actually is pretty good at it and manages to keep a steady beat for the first 5 seconds. Guess he heard enough West African drumming while he was in my belly that it sounds so familiar to him. We had left the drums upstairs after my assessment, and B thought it was great fun to bang the drum as loud as he could. Thankfully, the red drum has a bass tone to it, so it actually sounds pretty cool...especially with wood floors and tall ceilings! He likes to play along with The Wiggles and his Sign and Sing DVDs.

Oh....and he had just woken up from a nap in these pictures. That explains the hair!

What Comes Ingrained in Boys...

I am constantly learning new things about boys, in general, everyday. Some fascinate me. Others I am shocked by. So what are a few that make my list?

1. Wiping their mouth on their sleeve. B has somehow learned to wipe his mouth using his shirt sleeve after EVERY bite that he takes. Yes, he does ask for the napkin and we gladly give it to him. However, the napkin is used AFTER he wipes it on his shirt. Poor kid has to change his shirt after almost every meal because there is so much food on the sleeve. So far it all has come out, though! The question I have is "where did he learn this behavior?" He's not around any child that does this. I would understand if he had an older brother or if his Daddy did it, but as far as I know, Daddy T's sleeves are all clean after dinner. At least, I'm assuming so. Perhaps I need to go check them before I throw them in the laundry....

2. "Huh?" B has learned this word very quickly. Once again, no clue where. He says it when you say "no," "go get...." and pretty much anything he doesn't want to do, like cleaning his toys. I find it funny, though, that there is no "huh" when you say "B, do you want to eat?" He just runs to his booster seat and sits in it and then starts signing (or screaming if it's a day when he's forgotten that he can actually communicate to me using words). Proof that boys have selective hearing and that it apparently comes on quite early. Who knew!

3. "Vroom, vroom." Car noises. Give a boy a car and he automatically starts making this noise. Odd! I mean, B was about 6 months old when he had a car and started to make this noise. No other toy evoked this sound...only toy cars.

4. Sweeping/Vacuuming. Okay, okay, I know that's not originally said about males, BUT I consider it proof that they actually WANT to help out their moms that do so much for them. Granted, it's not really helping in any form, but it's such a sweet gesture that I am planning on nurturing in hopes that my future daughter-in-law will love me so much for teaching him this that she will want to come and visit me as much as she can as a form of repayment. A mom can hope and pray that about her son, right? Please don't tell me MY son is going to get married and not come back to visit.

In response to #4, I was talking with one of my best friends that watches B for me one day a week. We are always talking about the married part for the boys because we can't imagine the day when they don't want to see us or when they don't want to come visit and spend as much time as they can with us. It absolutely breaks our hearts. (That is one reason I told Daddy T we have to have a girl at some point because I NEED at least one child that will come home for the holidays!) Anyway, I asked her precious baby E if he would always love his mommy and come home as much as he possibly could and he said "uh huh." Of course he had no idea what I just said, but my friend J loved his answer! Maybe E will work on B and I'll get the same answer from him!

Recipe Sunday

For those who like and appreciate HOT recipes, this is definitely one for you! I loved this recipe. However, B wasn't able to eat it and poor Daddy T thought his lips had fallen off. If you want it not so hot, I would suggest not using as much chipotle. I thought it was great, though, and so did my father-in-law. However, we LOVE hot food!

Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup
Yield: 4 servings

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
• 3/4 pound of chicken breast tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (14-ounce can) fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14-1/2-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained (we used diced tomatoes)
• 1 cup crushed tortilla chips
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
• (I always top it off with mozzarella cheese to my soups like this because let's face it...mozzarella makes it better!)

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add minced garlic and chicken; sauté 2 minutes.
3. Add chile powder and cumin; stir well.
   
4. Add water, salt, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil.
5. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
   
6. Top with tortilla chips and cilantro, and serve with lime wedges.

Nutritional Information

Calories:228 (21% from fat);Fat:5.4g (sat 0.6g,mono 2.5g,poly 1.7g); Protein:22.9g; Carbohydrate: 21.8g; Fiber: 3.5g; Cholesterol: 49mg; Iron: 1.7mg; Sodium: 873mg; Calcium: 62mg

*Taken from Cooking Light Magazine, August 2005

Pants on the Ground

I just couldn't resist sharing this on the blog. It cracks me up every time I see it. What a wonderful message to those who think it's cool to sag! I hope his song becomes a hit. I would definitely use it in my sessions!

But....he's a good boy!

I'm feeling a constant theme coming along in these posts! My child is a wonderful, delightful, curious child, but he is also becoming independent and isn't for sure how to tell me all of the things he really wants to tell me...except the things he can sign. Then there's the fact that he has not much of a toleration for the word "no."

I was teaching my Kindermusik class today...ironically, the Sign and Sing class. All was going well. B was playing with the hula hoop and trying to move his hips since he wasn't for sure what it was supposed to actually do. Then he'd move to the babies and proceed to show them where their nose and eyes were. Then he'd give the girls kisses. Wait....off to play with the boys! That means balls and throwing. As you can see, he was quite busy.

Like I said, all was well. Until.......how did you know something bad was about to happen?! Yeah...goldfish time. B LOVES goldfish. He could eat as many of those things as you would let him. Except for today. Except for at snack where he was supposed to sign "more" and "all done." Instead of signing, he became quite mad that he could only have one at a time. This led to him running over to a 16-month-old boy and hitting him. Lightly, but still hitting. Then he hit (still lightly tapping, but I still consider it a hit) the boy's mom. If I wouldn't have been the one teaching, we would have left right then and there. However, time out was the only option I had so I used it. I kept apologizing for his temper tantrums. Oh...I left out the part where he hit the chair and tried to turn it over. After being incredibly embarrassed (I've mentioned that we really do discipline and are working on this issue), he ended up in time out. He screamed for a bit and then quieted down enough to finish out the rest of the session with us. This is becoming quite a daily struggle! My little boy just doesn't know how to deal with his frustration.

Any advice from you experienced mommies would be great! That's it for now. I'm off to read some more books to get some more ideas and to once again, pray for patience!

See....I really AM a good boy......

Patience? Non-Existent!

I love being a stay-at-home mom most days. It is by far the hardest job I have ever done. Some days, it makes me desire to go to a job where I can work 9-5 without dealing with the impatience and the whines and the tantrums. However, I know I am where God wants me to be and I am glad that I get to stay home with my baby. I am given the opportunity to teach B right from wrong. I can teach him the importance of obedience and how not to throw toys. I can teach him animals and their sounds, as well as how to put puzzle pieces together. What I have not succeeded in teaching, yet? Patience! That's right. My son has NO patience. He is very curious and loves to take things apart to see how it works. When he goes to put it back together, he has about a minute of tolerance before he starts whining and breaking down. Example: he was trying to tie his shoe yesterday. He was studying the other shoe to see how it was supposed to work. He gave it a try, but when it just didn't look like the other shoe, out come the tears and screams. It's sweet that he wants to try, but these meltdowns are becoming, well....quite trying on MY patience! There are many times when I pray to God asking for patience so I don't over-react out of my own frustration. I think the hardest job a person will ever have is taking care of their children. Daddy T even agreed with me that my job was harder than his! I couldn't believe he actually admitted it, but after taking my place for short intervals, he gets it. Just knowing how much he appreciates what I do makes me want to do it even more. I'm raising our son while he's gone and when he comes home, we get to do it together! We know that it's a tough job and that it's not going to get any easier. We have so many questions, but we're learning as we go and reading a lot! Oh...and polling our parents as to what they did. Who knew our parents were so full of useful information! (Yes, Mom, I said that. Don't let it get to your head.) All of this to say what? That yes, today has been a trying day. It has been a day full of time outs and at times, even spankings. (Sorry, we believe in it and in no way do we consider it child abuse and in no way do we abuse our child.) It's been a morning of whining (partly from cutting teeth) and tears. But it has also been a morning full of hugs, kisses, and love. And those are what make my day easier and encourages me in my journey as a first year stay-at-home mom. I'm so thankful for this opportunity. And now..........NAP TIME!!!! (Yes...that is typed with a smile on my face!)

Recipe Sunday

Saucy Italian Orzo
Prep/Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 6 servings

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cans (14-1/2 oz. each) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic
• 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) beef broth
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 3/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach

1. In a Dutch oven, cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, tomato paste, orzo, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until orzo is tender. Add spinach; cook and stir until spinach is wilted.

(Taken from: Simple & Delicious Magazine-Jan/Feb 2010)

**We really liked this recipe. It had a similar taste to spaghetti, but we thought it was MUCH better than spaghetti. It is also slightly healthier because you aren't eating a lot of pasta. Very good! Definitely a keeper in the recipe department.

Daylight-The Aftermath

The view from the top

The ones that parked and walked to the lower parts of the subdivision close to 11:30....after seeing there was no way that they would make it down.

Our neighbors...minus the car from New York. He had chains so he could get to work this morning.

The other neighbors....and the truck in daylight. The truck was safe after the 3rd car hit the 2nd car. The 2nd car took out our neighbors water box.


Daddy T. was thanking God that he had just moved his car back a few minutes before this happened. Otherwise, his car would have been hit.

We'll see what tonight holds when it all refreezes once again. It doesn't help that it's below freezing all day and isn't going to melt much. We're not going anywhere, including a doctor's appointment! And poor Daddy T isn't about to go anywhere, especially since he can't. A lot of his coworkers had to park at the front of their VERY hilly subdivisions and walk almost 3-4 miles (at least) after dark last night.

Ice, Ice Baby

UPDATE: The newest addition to the car lot...and yes, the truck is there, but thankfully the car hit the other car and the drainage ditch stopped it from moving. The truck should be blocked, but the other car has to pretty much stay in the road because they can't move. What a mess! Although, much more exciting than the ballgame going on. I can't believe I just said football was boring! It's just that I don't care for Alabama and poor Texas lost their main man so there's not much to watch!

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The top of the hill...this college girl abandoned it after her road being blocked from both directions and seeing the pile of cars in the yards.

Our neighbors, complete with New Yorkers:)

Yup...the truck....with a car that would have hit it if it wouldn't have hit the water box and broken it first and then running into the drainage ditch. Daddy T was REALLY nervous until he ran out there and saw that it missed it.

Hard to see, but the pizza man's car is on the left and there are almost 9 cars in the other driveways.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Corny, I know, but that's all I got! We got some snow today. Problem is, that snow stuck really well on the roads. But then the sun started to shine a little. Problem again, the temperature got well below freezing again. The other problem? All of the snow turned to ice. Lots of ice! We live in an area surrounded my mountains and the valley. Not many people in our area are blessed with flat yards. Almost everyone has curves, hills, etc. That's the other problem. We live going down a hill. We've never had the problem of ice while living here and people here swear that it never gets icy. (I think they forgot about the ice storms a while ago!) Except for now. We've had cars coming down the hill and sliding, barely missing each other. Daddy T couldn't even get home tonight. Even at 4 p.m., cars were sliding into yards. Daddy T left his beloved truck two doors down from us. He slipped several times crossing the road. To top it off? A car wouldn't listen to us and tried to come down the hill. It came within a few feet of hitting Daddy T's truck. It took out the water pipe in our neighbor's yard and then did a loop, managed to miss a few cars and mailboxes and then hit the concrete. I can tell I am my father's child because in times like these he would have suited up, gotten on his tractor (or his truck) and helped get people out of the ditches (which he's done lots of times in the snow and ice). So, as I'm typing this, I am in my coat waiting for the next car to have to run outside to the top of the hill and beg them to listen to us and not chance it. The sad part? Most of those people live in the valley. A lot had gone grocery shopping. One family had two kids at home and the man and his 6-month pregnant wife had to walk back. Oh yeah, and they had just gone grocery shopping. Our neighbors offered their empty refrigerator, but thankfully they had a friend a few houses down that would let them park their car in the driveway. I think at this moment, we have parked over 10 cars. Including a pizza man! Many of them think they will be back early for work. Not a chance. Especially since it's going to be 16 (feels like 3 degrees) outside at 6 in the morning. The upside? What a great way to meet and talk to all of our neighbors! They are very friendly and helpful and we've all been out in our yards and in each other's yards trying to push cars around and help them get in a yard safely. Have I mentioned how much I love the South and how most people really do want to help others out.

Christmas Lights

I've been a slacker. Anyone who has checked in on my blog lately will notice that I haven't updated in a while, including my Recipe Sunday post. Hopefully that will change! I feel like I haven't had a chance to even sit down since December began. I have so many things that need to be done; however, today I decided to sit and do nothing for an hour. I figured that if B's body gets to recharge, then so is mine. With that said, the next couple of posts will be about Christmas so my family can see the pictures. Of course, friends can always see them. It's just that family tend to really want to see them!

B is feeling better because of his breathing treatments. We are still being very cautious about where we go and who we're around because he's very vulnerable to any child or adult that has a cold. The doctor said that it would probably turn back into bronchilitis if he's exposed to it. At least we know what the beginning sounds like so we can ward it off before it turns to pneumonia. We've been careful about the nursery since our pediatrician and several of our other friends pediatricians have strongly suggested not putting them in with lots of other kids because of all of the RSV and flu and strep throat, and apparently so much more, going around. I'm thankful our pediatrician is very cautious! Thankfully, our Sunday School class doesn't mind him being in with us and the class that he is in at church is very small thanks to everyone changing their child to the older class. It actually works out great because he's not exposed to more than 2 or 3 kids there.

We went to Rock City to see the Christmas lights one night before New Year's. It was the warmest of the nights and B had been off his treatment for a few days and we thought he would enjoy the lights. And he did! The picture below is of him seeing the lights in the cave for the first time.

Daddy didn't tell us he was taking a picture!






B loved the Christmas presents under the tree. His favorite thing to do was to pick them up and shake them. He also liked to stack them and sit on top of them. He only opened part of one, but it wasn't so bad that I had to rewrap it. I just hid it in the back and he forgot about it.

We went to the zoo to see B's friend, Hank. Seriously, he loves Hank and monkeys and pretty much most of the animals. Hank came over and sat beside B, which made him very happy. The zoo had a Christmas light show which wasn't much, but we decided to brave the cold since it would be something fun to do. It was the first chance for Daddy T to see how much B loves those animals. Daddy T and B rode the carousel afterwards. Okay, so did Mommy. I couldn't let him ride by himself!



This is a picture taken right before Christmas, probably around 12 or 13 weeks. I can 't remember for sure which one.

14 weeks this past week...

In baby news, this pregnancy is going well. I'm beginning to feel better since I am working out more and am figuring out how to maintain my blood sugar levels. We have a doctor's appointment Friday so we'll get to hear the heartbeat again. I've been able to feel the baby move for about a month or so, which is way earlier than with B. Daddy T hasn't felt it yet, but I can tell it won't be long. This baby moves a lot and is definitely getting stronger. Our big ultrasound is in February. Amazingly, we have so much to do, but I haven't had the chance to do any of it and am not too concerned about it. I know we'll get the crib soon, so no worries! Oh...and on top of that, we're trying to get the house sellable to be put on the market in the spring. Are we crazy or what?! We may quickly change our mind on that, but we'll see.