First Meat

On Wednesday night we decided to go for the first meat (and I use that term loosely): chicken & gravy. Although I should call it "chicken". I've said in past posts that I make it a point to taste whatever he eats. I feel like I should know what it tastes like and I can't really explain why. The stuff I've tasted really hasn't been bad. I didn't even mind the bananas and I don't like bananas. But this is one I wish I hadn't tasted. It did taste like chicken. The most bland, nasty chicken I've ever tasted in my life. And it was grainy. How do they make chicken grainy? Apparently Grant was of the same opinion because he didn't like it at all.

In it goes...

Wow. Look at that face.

Turning his head away from the nasty chicken



We switched back and forth between the chicken and some
veggies. This was taken while he was eating the veggies.

 

Pretty sure he's gagging here...



Happy it's over (and quite messy)!

 Grant ended up not finishing the chicken and I haven't been brave enough to try it again since then. It's really the first food he's flat out not liked. The other foods that he didn't finish were because he didn't feel well. We're going to try it again this weekend only because the doctor said to try new foods for 3 days (in a row - but who cares) to make sure he's not allergic. I have a feeling that the other "meats" are probably going to go just as well. This stuff is gross and he knows it. I've heard other moms say that their kids didn't eat the "meats" as well as the veggies so I'm not worried about raising a vegetarian.

I Think...Is He?...Yup! He's Crawling!

Ok, so I have officially decided to call what Grant is doing crawling! I’ve gotten enough opinions from experienced moms who have validated my feeling that this counts as crawling. We have a video but I have no idea how to get that crap from the video camera to the computer so these pictures are the best that I can offer. He’s been doing something like this for a little while now but I didn’t know if it counted. But late last week and over the weekend it escalated to something that seemed much more like crawling so I put him in his little Superman outfit and grabbed the camera and video camera. He starts out really well. He goes a little way actually crawling then he sort of pulls himself across the floor like he's paralyzed from the waist down. He'll usually only do it in the direction of a toy or the phone or remote (just like a man). I've tried to get him to crawl towards me and he'll start out that way but then gets distracted by something apparently more fun than me. Oh well...baby steps :)

I'm gonna get the toys!

Handsome devil getting distracted by Mommy



I wonder if Superman drooled like that as a baby

 

So proud of his little self (all the clapping and excitement from Mommy helped)


 

We took off the cape and our Baby of Steel had a power nap

So it was kind of a big weekend because Grant sort of pulled up for the first time too. What's up with all these big firsts all at once? We put him in his crib to hang out while we were getting ourselves ready for bed and apparently he wanted to know where we went. So he pulled up using the crib bumper and got up on his little knees. So cute!



Peek-a-boo, I see you

 

Crying because Mommy is continuing to take pictures even
though he clearly wants to be picked up.




So proud of himself, again.



Evidently he exhausted himself and passed out.

Wow! Big weekend! We were just as exhausted as Grant was. Too bad he didn't sleep better Sunday night so we could have. He ended up in bed with Mommy sometime around 1:00 a.m. "Crying it out" is a great theory...but not in the middle of the night when the early alarm clock is looming in the not-so-distant future. But the rest of the week has been better.

Some more cuteness from the weekend? Grant and I went shopping on Saturday for some summer clothes which we both need. And both got some good stuff! My favorite thing I bought? Grant's new sun hat. How cute is this?

Such a cutie :)

What the...?

Because I am so far away from home my sister is left to deal with my parent's (and Gram's) belongings. She's planning to move into my parent's house within the next month so she's been there in her free time trying to figure out what to keep, what to get rid of, and what to store. She has discovered my mother's supply of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers - 13 boxes of them (2 per box makes 26 magic erasers) and her supply of disposable plates and plastic ware - some so old they had turned yellow and had to be thrown out. She found multiple open bottles of the same kinds of cleaning products which she meticulously combined because that sort of thing drives her nuts. And she has found the many, many ways in which that house will need fixing - not the least of which is the lack of insulation in the upstairs walls. But there is an explanation for all that. What there's not an explanation for is the picture (painting?) that she found behind my mom's dresser. Seriously, I think we'd both like to know where this came from:



My sister has decided to call him The Matador (is that what it is?). I sorta
think she should keep him. He's rather dashing, isn't he?



New Recipe: Creamy Stove-top Macaroni & Cheese

I was in need of a second new recipe for March and I was scouring the recipes I get in my e-mail everyday (literally, tons every day...I can't look at them all but I want to) for another main dish. One dish meals are my favorite like the Chicken Tetrazzini I made or the Lemon-Broccoli Rice with Chicken. But this time I decided to try a side dish. I love macaroni and cheese. Well, I love just about anything cheesy. But mac & cheese is awesome. There are about a billion different recipes for it and no matter how many times I make the same recipe, it always tastes a little bit different every time. This is a recipe that came in my e-mail from http://www.myrecipes.com/ and you can find the recipe HERE. 

Ingredients. I've never put some of this stuff in Mac & Cheese but I was willing to try it.



Boil & drain the noodles

 

Making the sauce (this is right after I added the cream cheese -
cream cheese in Mac & Cheese? How can that be bad??)



Add the garlic and Worcestershire sauce

Add the cheese

Oh so cheesy!



Mmmmm...

 

I served it with some frozen chicken tenders which were incredibly disappointing. Do not buy Perdue frozen chicken tenders. "Made with all white meat chicken" my butt. They were gross.



 Notes/Suggestions:

• You can use pre-shredded cheese but I prefer to buy the cheese in a brick and shred it myself. I think the pre-shredded cheese too dry and loses some of it's flavor.
• I used WAY more cheese than the recipe called for. It called for 1 1/4 cup so I went ahead and used 2 cups. Husband tasted it and said it needed more cheese...so I added 2 more cups. Yeah, I know...so what! But I suggest starting with what the amount of cheese called for and adding what you like.
• This recipe was super easy! Great for a weeknight. And because it's stove-top it's great if your meat dish or main dish has to cook in the oven.
• Experiment with the noodles! I plan to make it again and I think I'm going to use a different kind of noodle. Doesn't mac & cheese taste better when you have fun noodles?
• The recipe calls for the 1/3 less fat cream cheese but I had 2 packages of the regular stuff in my fridge. Of course it was yummy but next time I'll use the low fat stuff.

If you decide to try it, let me know! Enjoy!

Just Some Ideas...



This Mother's Day will my first Mother's Day. Last year doesn't count even though I was pregnant. Last Mother's Day was the day that started my Mom's three weeks of hospice care before she died. I'm really looking forward to this year (you can probably tell because it's March and I'm already talking about). I'm hoping for a nice weekend so we can have a cookout at a park. My sister is coming too! She says she's looking forward to spending my first Mother's Day with me...but I think she's way more excited about seeing Grant again.

So, since it's my first...I'm rather hoping that Grant will get me a present. Is that wrong? Oh well. But since he doesn't have a job, he's going to need Husband's help (*hint hint*). I thought that I would maybe give Grant some ideas, if he needed them.



I stole this one from my friend Elizabeth's blog. A coffee cup cozy (link HERE). I love the color of this one. I have two favorite coffee mugs and coffee cup cozy would be perfect for one of them.



I love this bag (link HERE). It's me but it's not me. It's just so cute, isn't it?



This is for me and Grant. It's an Ouch Pouch (link HERE) for my diaper bag. I saw this on
Etsy months ago and I will probably end up buying one anyway, I just love the idea of it.
A place to keep all the stuff you need for boo-boos...even a lollipop :)



A mommy necklace. This seller at Etsy has lots of cute necklaces, but I love this one (link HERE).



A picnic blanket! I love this one, I found it at HERE. I plan on our family haivng a
lot of picnics. It was one of my favorite things my parents did with us as kids.





Hahahaha! Ok, so I'm kidding and I'm not. I am the person who always said "I don't care how many kids I have...I will NEVER own a minivan!" Well, here I am with one baby and I'm lusting after them. I love love love the car I have now but I can't help but dream about the convenience of a minivan.
Ahhh...new mommy fantasies :)

So those are just some things a mommy may love. I've included the link in the caption so you can go to the seller's shop on Etsy or the listing on Amazon. I love me some Amazon. Present aside, I really am looking forward to Mother's Day. I'm hoping for a pretty day, yummy food, and great company. It's going to be a good day.