Sledding and Painting

This past weekend my parents came out to visit. They arrived Friday early afternoon, and the weekend didnt start out as planned. Reese started complaining of an ear ache about an hour after my parents arrived. She is still coughing from all the junk she had last week when we went to urgent care for possible croup. But, after an hour of complaining and crying her ear hurting, I took her to Urgent Care while my parents stayed with Preston. Sure enough, double ear infection and she had a fever. I had no idea! She was fine all day and then all of a sudden she was saying her ear hurt. So, she is on 10 days on antibiotics. Within the first 24 hours, she started to feel much better. Her cough is pretty much gone now as is her runny nose. 

I had roped my Dad into painting the playroom for us, so that consumed our day (and by our, I mean his) day Saturday. The kids had fun helping out a bit, and Reese did a pretty good job! We also had 4 inches of snow Friday night, so we got to sled outside on the hill in our backyard (finally!) They had a blast sledding. We went sledding more on Sunday and the kids just loved it. Here are some recent pics:

Painting during one of the super cold days we were stuck inside!

It's more fun to paint on yourself than the paper!

Preston LOVED Poppa's boots- he carried them, wore them, and even slept with them all weekend.

Our snow adventures!

 Poppa's painting helpers

Recipe Edition

I always love when I find a good recipe or when a good one is recommended to me, so I thought this post could be dedicated to a few good recipes I have made lately.
First- update on Reese. She is still coughing, but her fever broke, so we did not go in for chest x-ray. I was given a steroid prescription for croup, but did not fill it because he cough is getting better, but is not yet gone. Glad the kids are finally on the mend though, that's for sure.

Recipe #1:
Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita Soup- Serves 5
Super easy recipe- and I love anything you can toss in the crock pot and eat anytime you want.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 4 hours

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 avocado
1 can black beans
1/2 tsp of dried cilantro (I did not have this, and it tasted just fine)
2 cups frozen corn
1 green onion
lettuce
tomatoes
2- 10.75oz can cream of chicken soup (I used Campbells Healthy Request)
1 cup salsa
1 tsp. Cumin
Tortilla strips (found by the salad dressing)
1 cup cheddar cheese
Sour cream
1 1/2 cups water

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Add chicken to the bottom.
In medium size mixing bowl, mix cream of chicken soup, salsa, corn, black beans, water, cumin, and cilantro. Pour over the top of chicken.
Cook on low 4-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Place back into slow cooker and add shredded cheddar cheese. Serve with favorite toppings (sour cream, avocado, tortilla strips, tomatoes, etc.)

Disclaimer- this is Reese's bowl, that's why the portion looks so small :)

Recipe #2 
One Pot Pasta with Spinach & Tomatoes- Serves 4 (we had just enough for us- no leftovers!)
Total time: 29 minutes

1 Tbls. olive oil
1 chopped onion
6 garlic cloves finely chopped
1- 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried oregano
8 oz. spaghetti noodles
1/2 teas. salt
10 oz. fresh spinach
1 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

Heat dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat- add oil. Add onion and garlic to pan, saute 3 minutes or until onion starts to brown.
Add tomatoes, broth, oregano, and pasta- in that order. Bring to a boil. Stir to submerge noodles in liquid.
Cover- reduce heat to medium-low and cook 7 minutes or until pasta is almost done. Uncover, stir in salt.
Add spinach in batches- stirring until it wilts. Remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese.

This was really good- but next time I would add more broth as it was a little dry in my opinion. I may also add more tomatoes and spinach!

Recipe #3
Chicken, Broccoli, and Brown Rice Casserole- Serves 4
Total time: 30 minutes

2 (3 1/2 oz) bags boil in bag brown rice- Uncle Bens brand
1 Tbls. olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
8 oz. presliced fresh mushrooms
8 oz bonelss skinless chicken breasts
3/4 teas. salt
1/4 teas. ground pepper
1 (12 oz) bag microwave in bag fresh broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups lowfat milk
3 Tbls. flour
3 oz. sharp cheddar cheese- shredded

Preheat saucepan to high with water- Follow directions according to rice package; drain.
While rice cooks, heat large 12 inch skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to the pan, swirl to coat. Add onion, mushrooms, and chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until chicken is cooked.
Cook broccoli in microwave according to package directions. Open and release steam.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk or fork until smooth.
Stir milk mixture into chicken mixture in skillet. Cook 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.
Stir remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, rice, and broccoli. Sprinkle with cheese.
Cook one minute or until cheese melts.

There ya have it- three really easy, pretty healthy, under 30 minute (prep) meals. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! We are celebrating today by wearing red, eating heart shaped cookies (made by Nana) and heart shaped brownies (made by Grammie) and relaxing while its cold and windy outside. Unfortunately, we are living in a germ infested house right now, so we are taking it easy and hoping our health returns soon.
Kyle jetted off to Philadelphia last Sunday to an executive education class in Mergers and Acquisitions at Wharton School of Business (the top business school in the country.) I was very proud of him for getting accepted into this class- only 40 attendees got to go from throughout the US and Kyle was one of them! He spent the week in what was a semesters worth of information packed into one week. He was in class/sessions everyday from 7 am to 8-9 pm, along with doing homework and case studies. It was intense! He was very grateful to go, and learned a lot throughout the process.
Of course, while he was gone, the kids got sick. I mean, why not?! Preston came down with a cough/runny nose on Sunday, and by Tuesday, he was feeling really bad. I took him to the doctor in fear of an ear infection, but it was just a virus and he is still coughing today. It's not nearly as bad, but it is taking forever to go away. I spent a few nights sleeping on his floor as he was up every few hours or more coughing and not being able to catch his breath. He was doing better on Thursday, so he got to attend his Valentine's party at school, as did Reese. Reese woke up with a little cough on Thursday morning, but nothing I would keep her home from school with. But, come Thursday afternoon (after school) she started feeling really crummy and had gotten a fever. Her cough was much worse than Preston's and she had no appetite and was pretty tired. She slept so awful on Thursday night. She was up about every 40 minutes coughing and when she would fall back asleep, Preston would wake up coughing. It was the worst night ever. I think I got maybe 3 hours of sleep total- but not more than 40 minutes at a time. It was worse than having a newborn! Yesterday we hibernated and laid around watching movies trying to get better. Last night was again super rough for Reese. So, this morning I took her to the walk in sick clinic. I have to say, I love our peds practice. They are open 7 days a week, and have same day appointments. The sick clinic was from 8:30 - 10:00 today, so we went and had her checked out. Strep test was negative but the doctor was worried about croup or pneumonia.  She gave me a steroid to start if Reese doesn't get better in the next 24-48 hours, and then we have to go back in for a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. So, again today, we will hibernate and lay around trying to get healthy. I luckily haven't gotten it yet, but Kyle has had a cold for over a week now, coughing as well. I am drinking lots of vitamin C and washing my hands like crazy!
So, a rough week in general for us while Kyle was gone. It always seem to go that way. I am so exhausted so hopefully getting some naps in today.
Hope your family is healthy and staying warm today as you celebrate Valentine's Day!!

Catch up

Time for a little catch up of what's been up in our house. Let's see. Kyle has been traveling a bit more than usual this past month. He was in Orlando for a few days, and also in Atlanta for a convention this past week. Next week, he heads to Philadelphia for a class in mergers and acquisitions. He got accepted to the Wharton School of Bushiness for a week long class. It's the number one business school in the country and he was selected to participate in this class through an application and interview process. Proud of him for getting accepted! So he will leave Sunday and come back next Friday. Then in 3 weeks he heads to Brazil for a week for work. So February will be a 50% travel month- more than we have had in a long time. Praying for sanity and no sickness while he is gone. Last week, while he was in Atlanta, of course Preston came down with an ear infection, limiting my sleep for a few nights, which I ended up just sleeping on his floor for two nights since he was up every hour crying.

We had a Super Bowl party on Sunday and the kids had a blast watching the halftime show. A bit disappointed in the commercials this year- they were all so serious. What happened to all the funny ones?! We were hoping for a Seattle win, but ohwell. What an ending.

We have a fun weekend lined up. Gary and Julie (Kyle's parents) are coming out to visit. I head to Springfield, IL on Saturday for a girls weekend with my friends from college. Kyle flies out Sunday morning at 6 am for Philadelphia, so luckily Gary and Julie will be here until I get home on Sunday.
Should be a fun weekend for everyone!

Reese and Kensley. We went to a birthday party and they both had the same dress on!

Attempt at a family selfie. Preston (usually oppositional) didn't disappoint and wouldn't be a part of the picture.

My mini football brownies for our party. We had so much yummy food- I ate way to much!

All the kids during the halftime show. 6 adults and 8 kids (all ages 5 and under!!)- we were out numbered!

Reese, Lilyanne, and Kensley

Sanity? What's that?

This post is dedicated to a special two year old boy. Preston Lee Montgomery. Where or where to begin. This little bundle of energy is running me ragged lately! Here are a few words to describe him right now. Energetic, rambunctious, loud, stubborn, independent, wild, fast, climber, hitter, talker, crier, and last but not least, crazy. Okay, so I know there are more (like lovable, cuddly, sweet- but those aren't popping to the front of my mind right now!) I have really been struggling with this little guy lately. I'm not sure if it's just a boy, or if its just Preston. He is constantly on the move. I mean, ALL THE TIME. Here are a few examples:
-Yesterday, Preston was standing in the kitchen. I walked into the living room to turn off the lights, and when I came back he had taken off his pajamas, taken off his diaper, climbed on the counter, and was getting into the fruit bowl.
-I was making lunch a few days ago, and while I was making sandwiches, Preston had managed to pull out all of my boxes of noodles in the pantry, and proceeded to dump them all out on the floor. While I was cleaning the noodles up, he then went to the game cabinet, got out all the crayons, and dumped those all on the floor. Ok- here we go again. I cleaned up all the crayons- only to find he still had one and was coloring on the wall. UGH!
This stuff happens on a constant daily basis. Reese never did this! It's almost to the point now where he knows how to push buttons, and he knows whats right and wrong, he just wants to get a reaction. For instance, his new favorite word is "poopy" {shudder} I cringe when he says it, especially in public as we go up and down aisles at a store and he is singing "poopy, poopy, poopy" loud and laughing at the same time. This kid! He knows its a potty word and he isn't supposed to say it, but he does it to get a rise out of me- which it where I begin to ignore him in hopes he stops. Last night when I was putting him to bed, I said "what are you thankful for today Preston?" and what do you think his response was? "Poopy!" I turned and walked out- little stinker. He is now talking quite a bit, forming 4 and 5 word sentences and having "conversations" with us. I just wish those conversations didn't include the word poopy!
So, I feel like the past few weeks my sanity has flown out the window, and I am hoping will return to my house shortly. Until then, I will continue chasing around a crazy 2 1/2 year old boy, picking up messes, cleaning walls with crayon, and hearing the word poopy until he decides it isn't funny anymore. Lucky me, right!?

Comparison

First, I forgot a few of my favorite things in the last post- so I'm going to add two more :)

1. Kind Bars
All Natural, Non GMO, Gluten Free, No Sugar Alcohols, Low Glycemic, Low Sodium, No Trans Fats, No Sulphur Dioxide, and Hydrogenated Oils
So, basically, a healthy granola bar. I love these as a mid afternoon snack to keep me held over until dinner time. Plus, they have 7g Fiber and 6g Protein- with only 5g Sugar. And they are actually really, really good! They come in all sorts of flavors- but the Almond Caramel is my favorite.

2. Scrabble Name Wall Hanging

I just love this wooden art piece! My mom and dad gave one to my sister and I for Christmas and they are SO neat. A girl that I graduated high school with and her husband make these. So cool and I can't wait to get it hung!

Ok, so now on to today's post. Comparison. I have been struggling a lot lately with comparison. Mainly, within my two children. I know, I know- you are not supposed to do this. But I just can't help my self, and then have feelings of guilt that I may not be doing as much with Preston since he is the second kid and I am so much busier than I was when I just had Reese. With Reese, we would spend time each night reading with her, singing songs, practicing letters and colors- and we are lucky to get one book in before bed with Preston. I can't imagine what people do that have 4 and 5 kids! Preston is no where near talking as much as Reese was at 2 1/2. He is just now saying 3 word sentences- at this point, Reese was spouting off huge sentences and having "adult" conversations with us. Reese also knew all her colors, numbers to 10, and could sing the whole alphabet by now. Preston, well he can sing a few songs- but isn't grasping colors and is no where near close to knowing his numbers. I know it is still early, and he is boy, and we all know they develop slower- I just struggle with the fact that I am staying at home- and even though I work with him- I wish I had more time in the day to devote just to him and working on these things. I guess this is all coming to a head right now because I have to register Preston for preschool by the end of the month. Technically, he has to be 3 by August 1st (which he will not be- he turns 3 August 19th) to move to the 3 year old room. Otherwise he repeats the same two year old class he is in right now. I have the choice whether I want him in the 3 year old room or not- because of my relationship with the director. First off, he has to be potty trained to be in the 3 year old room- which again, we are not even close to. And don't know if he will be by September. I just hate to have him repeat the same class again, as I feel for him to mature, he really needs to be with older kids to learn from them. Decisions, decisions. The director said I could register him for the 3 year old room, and if he isn't potty trained, or I change my mind, we can always stick him back in the 2 year old room he is currently in. So, I feel like that is where this whole game of comparisons may be stemming from.

On another note, we had our first snow this past week, along with the frigid temps I'm sure you are all experiencing. Reese had 2 hour delay Tuesday, and no school Thursday. It snowed Sunday night, and before the temps go too cold Monday, the kids got to play in it for a bit. Reese loved making snow angels, and Preston liked helping shovel.

Here are a few pics from our week:

Preston and I had a lunch date at Chick-Fil-A while waiting for Reese to get out of Pre-K

Diaper Head! He walked around all morning with a pull up on his head :)

My little artist. She is, so far, the creative one in the family. She could color, draw, and paint for hours and hours. She is becoming quite the artist, and I love saving her artwork to show her when she gets older. (The three pictures painted below that are crazy are Preston's- Reese did a great job making a mosaic of colors on her paper.) And yes, even in 0 degree weather, the girl begs me to wear a dress when we are at home!

These are a few of my favorite things...

(Sung in the Sound of Music voice) :) With Christmas and New Years past us, the holiday blues have set in as we are all deflated by the passing of yet another holiday season. A realization that I spent too much money, drank to many cocktails, and ate way to much food. My spirit has deflated- but my waistline has not :) More on that to come.
I figured to lift my spirits during this dreary weather (I swear we haven't seen the sun in almost a month), I wanted to do a positive post and post some of my current favorite things. So, here it goes.

My Favorite Things (at this moment)

1. Cookies from Taylor's Bakery.
I picked these up on New Years Eve so the kids could have a special treat on New Years Day. Taylor's Bakery is very well known in Indy- and it located in Fishers only about 10 minutes from our house. We got Reese's cake there for her 3rd birthday, and it was delicious.

2. Moscow Mule- my current favorite alcoholic drink.

First, they are served in cool copper mugs which keep them EXTRA cold. Pretty simple to make. Its vodka, ginger beer, and a slice of lime. We had them at Friendsgiving, and they were delicious.

3. The best dish towel EVER- Shaggies.

I've never cared much about dish towels/cloths....until now. These are amazing and will transform the way you do dishes. Haha, ok so that might have been a bit much. BUT, they are pretty awesome. The are so thick and get softer with each wash- I just LOVE them, My mother in law requested some for Christmas, so when I got her some, I picked up two for myself- and I'm addicted. They come in various colors and three sizes (small rags, regular cloths, and dish towels). They are a bit more expensive (I think this regular cloth was $2.19) they are worth it. The only place, besides online, that I have been able to find them is at The Red Barn in Lena, IL> that's where I got mine. Try them- you won't regret it!!

4. Little Tykes Trampoline

Best present Santa brought- goes to the trampoline. Amen for this thing on these cold days when we are stuck inside. It saved my sanity a couple of times today.

5. Sharp Objects.

If you have read Gone Girl by Gilligan Flynn, you will like this book by her. A bit disturbing-  but a great fiction read. I read it in two days!

6. Visits from family

Beyond immediate family, this is the first time a cousin of ours has visited us in Indy. It was so great to have my cousin Elyse, her husband Pete, and their son Bennett hang out with us last Saturday afternoon and then out for dinner at a GREAT BBQ place Saturday night. I enjoyed spending time with them- as did the kids. When we said our prayers before bed that night, Reese said she was thankful "she got to hold baby Bennett." 

So those are a few of my favorite things. I hope you enjoyed them! Back to the more depressing news, my non-deflated waistline - haha. Back in the gym this week to work off those extra holiday pounds and realize how hard it is to get back into it after you take an entire week off! Ugh- 3 miles on the treadmill felt like 6! One step at a time I guess. 3 is better than none!

As I close the blog today, I want to take a minute and ask my readers to take a second a say a prayer for a great friend of mine back in Madison and her husband, as she lost her mom New Years Eve to a 19 month battle with cancer. Her mom was only 59, and fought a courageous battle. Please say prayers to support them during this time, as they are expecting their first child, a son, in April. Leslie and Ryan- you are in our thoughts and prayers.