Revenge of the Obedient Baby

I had been desperately trying to read Mockingjay for two days with minimal success.  I think by Friday night I was only halfway through it.  And I really wanted to finish it on Saturday.  So I had a pretty frank talk with Austin.  I begged him to take just one decent nap, allowing me to devote that time to nothing but Mockingjay.  And guess what my obedient boy did?

He slept from 9-10am (this alone would have made me happy).  And then from 11-12:30pm.  And then from 1-2:30pm.  I couldn't believe it!  This was a nap-record day for us.

I was able to finish Mockingjay (wow..by the way) and do 5 loads of laundry.

Wouldn't it be nice if that's where the story ended?  Yes, it would be.

But it isn't.

Saturday night Austin woke up every 2 hours.  Last night he woke up almost every hour.  I think he's seeking his revenge.  Let's just hope he's satisfied by now and sleeps well tonight.

At Nana and Papa Spader's

For Toren's day off this week we decided to drive up to Seattle to visit my grandparents.  They absolutely adore Austin and happily held him all day.  My Nana had given me two baby blankets for Austin a long time ago and they are perfect in every way.  I only use those blankets, so I end up washing them pretty much daily.  While we were there she made us two more!! I was so happy!  Thanks Nana!

While we were there my cousin Carmen came over with her little boy, Parker.  Parker is 3 weeks younger than Austin, and I have a feeling they will be the best of friends -- especially if Austin will stop trying to beat Parker up.  It was so funny.  He seriously wouldn't stop touching Parker.  I would take his hand away and he just put it right back.  I think this is evidence of years of wrestling matches to come.

And, just because it's irresistible, I'm going to include this picture of Austin on our drive home, snuggled up to his new blanket.

Three Months Today

Austin is three months old today.  I can hardly believe it.  It feels like we've had him FOREVER, though (in a good way...usually).  I almost can't remember life without him. At three months Austin...

...loves his Johnny Jump Up.
...won't nap for longer than a half an hour (unless your holding him).
...smiles ALL the time.
...is starting to giggle.
...loves to chit chat in his own language.
...is fascinated by himself in the mirror.
...is almost always sucking on his hands.
...can roll onto his side all by himself.
...loves to sit and stand up on someones lap.
...is growing lots of fuzzy, blond hair.
...receives at least one million kisses a day.

We can't wait to see what the next three months bring!

What a GREAT Day!

I'm incredibly busy every day.  By the end of the day I'm not quite sure what I've been busy doing, but I know I haven't sat down for any length of time (aside from during Austin feedings).  I feel like I am CONSTANTLY tidying the house.  But I never feel like I have time to really clean.  Today, I took the time. 

First I did all the usual things: make the bed, load any lingering dishes from last night into the dishwasher, put away everything that seems to just by lying about, fold laundry that I've been neglecting, etc.  But then...I scrubbed and disinfected every inch of both bathrooms and the kitchen.  I swept, mopped, and vacuumed everything.  Ok, I guess that's it.  Wow, it sure felt much more impressive while I was doing it.  I love the clean house feel, though.

Plus...

...My huge box from Diapers.com arrived today, in which were diapers and wipes at a cost cheaper than Costco.
...I got Mockingjay on audiobook.
...Austin took a nap today that lasted one whole hour (lately he's only been taking half hour naps and it's driving me nuts)
...Some friends delivered us a pie (which, in itself, would make for a great day).

Now I'm going to sit down with Mockingjay and a big slice of pie until my husband comes home (who probably won't even notice a difference). Phew..what a great day! 

I owe all of my cleaning success of the day to the Johnny Jump Up, my new best friend.

Football Season is...

...coming too fast!  We're not ready!!

Mastering the Chicken

I've never cooked a whole chicken before.  Never.  In fact, I've made it a point not to.  However, as I was perusing through the meat section of Safeway the other day I decided, now that I'm a mom, it was probably time for me to face my fear.  Plus, Foster Farms whole chickens were on sale for $0.79 a pound.  I couldn't pass that up.

 

I don't really have a good pan to cook a chicken in the oven, so I decided to use my crock pot.  Plus, you can pretty much put anything in a crock pot on low for a few hours and it'll be delicious.  I found a recipe online and got to work.

Step One: Remove giblets.  Wait, WHAT?!?  What's a giblet?  I think I've changed my mind.  This is why I've never cooked a whole chicken.  You have to do things like remove the giblets.

I had a mini freak out.  But then I gathered all my courage, found some surgical gloves, and removed those giblets.  I held my breath, gagged, and closed my eyes through most of it, but I did it.

Step Two: Add apple slices and cubed butter to the chicken's cavity.  Well, after the giblets, this was a breeze.  Soon my chicken was stuffed to capacity.

Step Three: Coat both sides of chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.  By now my whole chicken confidence was swooning.  I massaged that olive oil on my chicken sans gloves!

Step Four: Carefully place chicken in crock pot and top with dried onions.

Step Five: Cook on high for 2 hours, then low for 5 or 6 hours.

Step Six:  Enjoy!

I used to be the kind of girl that could never even eat meat off a bone.  Now look at me!  Removing giblets and massaging a raw chicken with my bare hands.  Who'da thought?!  Perhaps now I can truly call myself a housewife.

Also....If You're A Mom....

...you find yourself joyously singing Baby Beluga out loud even though your baby has been sound asleep for quite some time.  And then, once you catch yourself, you sing it 6 more times with all the gusto you can muster.

 

On the bright side I think we've found a replacement for The Ants Go Marching.