Christmas 2011: Early Celebration with the Maxeys

Ugh, I started writing this weeks ago and have yet to post it (along with the other billion pictures I took over the holidays).  So, in efforts to share the fun in a "timely" - you're already laughing, aren't you? - fashion, I am going to provide only a little commentary and let the pictures do the talking.  I hope you enjoy seeing a little of our holiday doings, and I hope yours were as happy and fun as ours were!

We did Christmas a little early with my parents and sister because we weren't going to be able to get together for Christmas day like usual, and we wanted to be able to not have to move at break-neck speeds.  The kids appreciated this most of all, I believe, and were really able to enjoy their gifts.  Namely ...

... a Speed Race parking garage for Baylor ...

... and a new baby doll for Miss Mollie.  (She also got an insanely life-like stuffed dog from my sister and actually squealed with delight upon opening it ... of course, I missed all of that with my camera.  No matter, I've no doubt you'll become acquainted with Buddy the Dog very soon.)

Oh, and Legos!  How could I possibly forget the Legos?!

We polished a fun day off with a little Christmas movie viewing (though I can't remember which one, it was so long ago!).

It was a wonderful, relaxing start to the holiday festivities!  The kids got some great toys, Bryson and I were thankful for all the wonderful gifts we received, and I finally got to give some of the gifts I had been accumulating for nearly a month.  Thank you to the Maxeys of Grand Rapids for making the holidays so special, as usual.

Potty Training: At the End of a Rough Day ...

Yesterday was tough ... insanely tough.  Potty training two kids is possibly one of the toughest, most patience-challenging things I've had to do, and yesterday I started to crack under the pressure.  A couple times I just had to tune out the kids and breathe deeply, otherwise I knew I would break.  I'll be honest, after they finally went down for naps (an hour after they were supposed to) I broke down and sobbed for a while.  Between them just not listening to me, running back and forth between the one on the potty and the one refusing to go, second-guessing myself as to whether Mollie is ready for it or not, them acting out because new skills make kids do that, the house being a complete disaster area because all I've had time to do is deal with pottying, spending all my time in the smallest (and now smelliest) room in our house, and them ganging up on me I needed a good cry to get myself back on track.  Then came dinner ... *sigh*.

And after dinner, I sent them off to the living room with their dad to play and I spent some time frantically doing dishes so I could get to bed early to try to fit in my required eight hours of sleep (I have a sleep study today and tomorrow I have to "rest up" for ... it seems asinine to me but whatever).  All of a sudden I noticed this happening, and it made everything else about the day, all the stuff that made me cry earlier, disappear.  Make sure you have your sound on and wait for the end ... it'll be worth it, I promise you.

Yeah, he told her, "I love you."

After I recorded this, initially doing it just because they were playing together and being cute, I started to cry again.  This time, though, it was because all those fears I had when I found out I was pregnant with Mollie finally disappeared.  They're becoming friends, and they both know I love them (and I do ... so very much).  Sure, our house is almost always in some state of disarray, but my kids are happy and loving people.  That's all a mom can ask for, really.

Now on for another day ... I should really have this video playing on repeat so I can stay happy and sane for the marathon that is potty training.  Wish me luck!

Potty Training: A New Tactic

For the past two days we have been enveloped in the hell world of potty training.  The first day (Saturday) started off with much promise; we started off having Baylor use the potty every 30 minutes and we had a lot of initial successes.  I even noticed him squirming in his seat at lunch time, had him get down and go to the bathroom, and he actually pooped in the potty!  I went crazy with excitement, to say the least, and it was awesome to see so much pride in his eyes.

So, when the second day was nothing but resistance and accidents, Bryson and I were pretty broken-hearted.  By the end of the day, no matter what bribe we offered or praise we heaped on him, Baylor flat-out refused to use the potty and had a bunch of accidents, none of which he was overly upset about.  In fact, he wasn't upset about much of anything; he didn't get one of his beloved stickers because he didn't clean up and he didn't bat an eye, even though he is only one sticker away from a sticker reward.  (Long story ... sorry, it's part of the whole Asperger's/autism/etc. thing.)

Anyhow, I knew something had to give.  We'd tried rewarding him with peanut M&Ms, Hot Wheels cars, and a promise of a giant tub of Legos once he is finally potty trained.  We tried telling him all the awesome things he would get to do once he became a big boy - the true sign of a big boy being that he can use the potty and not have to be constantly reminded every half hour; things like not having to wear a diaper in the pool, getting to have an even bigger bed (which he hopes will have three guard rails), getting to get out of said bed to use the potty when necessary, not have to sit in a booster seat all the time at dinner, drink from a regular (non-lidded) cup, and more!  We told him that his sister, who he knows loves him most in all the world, is looking up to him and he needs to set a good example for her.  Yadda, yadda, yadda ... nothing worked.

Then I got an idea ... an awesome idea.  This mom got a wonderful, awesome idea.  (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I had to go grocery shopping last night, so while I was at Meijer, I picked up a small Lego set.  It was only $5.99 but you could make three different construction vehicles with it.  This morning I divided it up, piece by piece, into two ice cube trays (there were a few extra pieces that I'll have to put in later, but most of them fit).

When Baylor woke up this morning, I gave him the instructions and told him that if he wanted any of the pieces he would have to use the potty, or at least try.  If I said he needed to use the potty, he sat down, and had nothing, then he still got a piece.  If he sat down and peed, he got just one piece; if he pooped in the potty - since this has been a bit of a struggle - he'd get two pieces.  But if he told me that he had to use the potty and ended up just sitting there playing, he wouldn't get any pieces.

At first he liked the idea, then quickly he rebelled.  But, by the end of the day, he seems to have warmed up to the idea quite nicely.  I am cautiously optimistic to say the least.

Oh, and we got another treat today ...

Mollie, after seeing her brother potty train for the last two days, has decided that she no longer wants to wear diapers.  So, lucky me, I'm potty training two kids at once.  On the bright side, she only requires a little bit of praise to motivate her.  Yay!

Best case scenario ... by the end of all this mess (and, dear God, have there been some messes) we'll have two potty trained kiddos and a little extra money each month that won't be thrown away in the diaper pail.

Worst case scenario ... Mommy ends up in the loony bin.

It's a crapshoot, but my money's on the former right now.  (Knock on wood!)

Healthy Hint: Chicken with Peas and Quinoa

image via Campbell's Kitchen

I have signed up for a bunch of e-newsletters that get sent to me almost daily by cooking websites.  Most of the time they have at least one or two recipes in them that I think might be worth making and I file it away in my "recipes" folder in my e-mail account ... and never look at them again.  Effective, right?

Anyway, I found this recipe in one of said newsletters from Campbell's Kitchen, and after realizing I had all the ingredients at hand, I decided to give it a try.  It took me a few days to find a good night to make it but I finally did last night and I was pleasantly surprised with the results.  I'd never cooked quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") before - save for a microwavable package I got from Costco that lacked a lot of flavor - so things were a little rocky, but my husband stepped in and helped and we finally got it looking a lot like the picture above, which never happens.  So here it is!

Chicken with Peas and Quinoa

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken tenders (I just cut chicken breasts into smaller pieces)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (I just used regular paprika)
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 jar (24 ounces) Prego Veggie Smart Smooth and Simple Italian Sauce (your favorite red pasta sauce will do)
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed (I used an entire 16 ounce package and thought that worked well ... but make sure it is thawed completely!)

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well-browned on both sides.  Remove the chicken from the skillet, cover, and keep warm.

2. Add the paprika and quinoa to the skillet and stir to coat.  Stir in the broth and sauce and heat to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until quinoa is tender.*  Stir in the peas.  Return the chicken to the skillet.  Cook until the chicken is cooked through.

* You basically need to keep it simmering/boiling for at least 15 minutes.  The quinoa should be transparent when it is "tender" and you should be able to see a little white ring inside it.  That is how you'll know it's done.

My husband and I both decided that the paprika gets pretty lost in the tomato sauce, so if you don't have that it's probably not a big deal.  Next time I make this, I will probably leave it out, and then highlight some of the Italian seasonings already present in the sauce.

The nutrition facts for this dish are on the recipe's website page, but I will tell you that - as prepared exactly like the above recipe - it is pretty great for you!  Lots of fiber and protein, plus the added nutritional benefits of vitamins A and C and iron.

Check it out for yourself!  And have a wonderful day!

Healthy Hint: Veggified Tacos

Lately I have been switching up how I've been making tacos, a staple around our house since they are quick and easy and my husband is a HUGE fan of Mexican food.  It all started with the discovery of an awesome homemade seasoning recipe, found here, and continued to evolve when I suddenly ran out of frozen ground beef and had to sub in ground turkey, hoping my husband (a die-hard fan of ground beef) wouldn't notice.  To help hide the change, I decided to up the ante and throw in a bunch of extra stuff that he'd for sure notice, hoping that he'd skim right over the meat switcheroo.  Did it work, you ask?

Yes, yes.  It did.

And, not only was he pleasantly surprised that it tasted so good even though it was just lowly, healthy ground turkey, but we both agreed that it tasted even better the way I changed it.  So here it is, my "recipe" - if you can call it that - for veggified tacos.

1 lb. of lean ground turkey
2.3 Tbsp. of the aforementioned seasoning
3/4 cup water
1 green pepper, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1 can (14.5 oz.) of no salt added diced tomatoes, drained

Brown the ground turkey with the onion and the green pepper in a large skillet, then drain off the excess grease and wipe the skillet with a dry paper towel .  Add in the seasoning and water, stirring until the turkey, onion, and green pepper are all well-coated.  Add in the drained diced tomatoes and simmer over medium heat until the taco meat mixture is the right consistency (it might be a bit liquidy at first so you'll have to cook off some of the excess - plus it'll make it taste that much better to simmer all the ingredients together for a little while).

Serve them in your taco shells/tortillas of choice; we personally like the Chi-Chi's Whole Wheat soft tortillas, but obviously anything else would be fine, too.  Bryson even used the leftover meat mixture to make nachos the other day, and let me tell you ... it smelled heavenly.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we have!  Happy eating!

More State!

As some of you may know, Michigan State played in the Outback Bowl this weekend against the University of Georgia.  My parents and sister had us over to watch the game, and Amalia decided to become a true Spartan fan, learning how to say "Go State!", "Go green!", "More Sparty!", and "Sparty on!".  I actually took some video of a couple of the more dramatic moments of the game.

Yeah, we didn't score on the play in the video above, but we scored on the next snap so all was well!

In the next video, you'll get to witness the awesome and deafening experience of an excited Baylor.  Oh, and keep your eye on him after we score ... you'll know exactly when the word "touchdown" appeared on the screen

I didn't film us winning which was probably a good thing; we were all really excited and everyone but Baylor screamed and cheered and it hurt his ears so badly that he ended up sobbing.  So it was probably good that I didn't have my camera rolling that time.

But if you want to see an awesome reaction, and a snippet of the winning play, you can watch the video below of the MSU basketball team watching the game!



Go green!

The 2011 Christmas Picture!

Baylor, for whatever reason, has not been into having his picture taken lately, so getting this year's Christmas picture taken was a bit of a struggle.  But, as it turns out, our little man can be plenty motivated if he gets to watch Elf afterwards.  I promised him only a few pictures, and I meant it.  In fact, I snapped the winner right off the bat!

After that first one, there were a lot of forced smiles ...

... and can-we-get-this-over-with looks.

While they were watching the movie I tried to get a couple more, only to be met with a "Hey, you said we were done!" finger point.

It was all worth it, though.  And afterwards we got to snuggle!

Wouldn't Buddy the Elf be proud?

Christmas Cookies with Oma

Baylor and Mollie got to help Oma make sour cream cut-out cookies this year, and let me tell you ... they were into it!

There wasn't much finesse, but there was a lot of excitement!

And after the cutting-out was done, Mollie helped clean up!

It's so much fun watching the kids enjoy all the things I love about the holiday season!

The Jacques Family Christmas Tree: The 2011 Edition

Last year I decorated the Christmas tree largely on my own ... not my favorite thing to do.  So this year I decided to have the kids help me, particularly with the soft/unbreakable ornaments.  I turned on the movie Elf for a little extra entertainment, and as it turns out the kids would rather watch a movie than help decorate a tree.  Who knew?!  

Baylor mostly stayed on the couch, but Mollie was content to view the movie from many spots in the room.

Okay, so maybe Baylor did switch chairs.  But he was still pretty much a television zombie for the whole experience.

My two little "helpers".

In the end, the tree got decorated, the kids loved the movie, and I wasn't alone for the event.  Long story short, it was a success!

Maxey Family Christmas Tree: The 2011 Edition

This year was certainly a year of firsts when it came to the annual Maxey Family Christmas Tree Chopping trip.  After last year's difficulties and a little extra scouting, we came to the conclusion that we wouldn't be able to go to the tree farm we have been going to for as long as I can remember; they didn't have any Frasier firs in the height my parents were looking for.  So, we went to a new farm that my mom got a coupon for.  It was a bit farther away, but the selection was fantastic.

The second "first" of the year was that we had RAIN!  And lots of it!

Yeah, as it turns out, freezing cold with rain isn't a whole lot of fun to tromp around in.  But we did it and had some smiles along the way.

Here's the tree!

Christine provided cover for the kids while Bryson chopped down the tree.

The new tree farm had farm equipment and horses!  Were it not such a rainy day, we probably would have explored a little more, but the weather was miserable so we got out of there as quickly as we could.

The third "first" was that we didn't go to Real Food for our after-tree lunch as per usual; the line was too long there and the kids were too hungry.  So we stopped at Brandywine instead and had a little brunch!

A lot of things were the same this year, though ...

Dad still vacuumed up needles after the Christmas tree was finally in position.

Bryson still lounged on the couch for the most part, letting those who enjoy tree decorating really do their thing.

My dad still paused and laughed hysterically at his favorite part of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the movie we have watched during tree decorating for years.

We even got to enjoy the movie a bit before the kiddos got up!

Once the kids got up, we had them put on their ornaments, then they searched the tree for their favorites.

Those favorites mostly being those that make noise ... like the Charlie Brown one seen here!

Then, of course, we read How the Grinch Stole Christmas ... and Mollie snuggled with Santa.

Baylor, having woken up just before the end of Christmas Vacation and seeing the last little bit of it, was eager to watch the movie in its entirety.  And as much as I'd like to share the laughter with him, there are a decent number of words and phrases I don't want him learning just yet.  Can you imagine a three year-old walking around saying, "The shitter was full!"  Yeah, I think not.

It was a great time and the tree was gorgeous all the way through Christmas - unlike last year when all the needles fell off.

A very merry ... VERY belated ... Christmas to you all!