Caden weeks 6 and 7

OOPS..I still haven't posted 6week pictures.
I can see big changes between weeks 6 and 7 for Caden and Riley seems to have grown leaps and bounds since Christmas.












The poor kids probably won't know their real names...there's Riley Rooster, Rooster, Reecy, Rieces Pieces, Sugar Boog 1 and Sugar Boog 3. Why 1 and 3? Riley made those names up based on their ages.

Sugar Boog 3's latest scam is to gather loot from the bathroom at night and put it in bed with him. The commander confiscated a decorative light switch cover, toothbrush and toothpaste the other night. He used to only smuggle toys, but his after bedtime excursions have expanded to the bathroom.

Sugar Boog 1's nightly routine involves getting up around 1:30 and 4:30 for a feast. He usually goes right back to sleep so I can handle this better than his extended day parties he was having.

Winter Wonderland....OR NOT!

The limbs of this tree were over the sidewalk so Ross just helped it out a little with the chain saw. The other trees fell on their own.



Our electricity went out last night. It was just as I was cleaning up the kitchen from the poppyseed chicken mess and Ross was putting Ratatouille in the DVD player.
It was pitch black! We gathered our flash lights (less one that Riley let the batteries run down on a while back ago) and stared at each other for a while trying to figure out if we should stay or go. I called the Holiday Inn Express and could not get through so tried a few more hotels close by. One said they had 1 floor available with power, but no heat. They were providing space heaters though. I was worried about getting the kids out and getting stuck or something worse so we decided to hunk'r down here and ride it out. WE bundled up, covered the windows, and started our night of "fun". We read some books, played a few games, and then cleaned out the refrigerator...of course! I tried to take pictures, but both of my camera batteries were dead.
Fortunately, our electricity came back on around 8am and the thermostat read 55 so it wasn't all that bad. We even had to shed a few layers in the night. I had us all BUNDLED tightly. Here are some of the pictures from today's Ice storm 2009.

Ross introduced Riley to ice sycles, but he thought Ross said "ice pickles" so that's what he ate the rest of the afternoon.
Frozen ice pickles in the ground



Caden (7weeks) didn't get what all the fuss was about. He was bored.

Here's a few more winter storm pictures.

miracle blanket

please let me know if any of you have used this before.
I have a friend that swears by it so I'm giving it a try.
What do I have to lose?..Her baby sleeps through the night :)
You can watch a video of how it works here

snow accessories

look at these cute snow accessories from lands end

and socks from rei

stylish sleep attire from here

VACATION!

OH YAH, OH YAY, OH YAY!
We are going skiing! Dodo and Grandaddy agreed to be babysitters/cooks so we are super excited! I can't wait!! Riley is going to learn to ski on the same skis that I did. We might just pull them out this weekend to stomp the snow bunny!
I'm on the hunt for fun toddler apparel!! Molly's mom..please send us some good websites from Denver.

Retirement.

DISCLOSURE: any pictures emailed to me may be used for blog material at any given time.

I can't wait to retire! The retired members of my family do it right! Solar has already pointed out how Nanny lives the good life by blogging, sitting by the pool with a cold drink, fishing, shopping, and cooking.
My mom has been retired for a couple of years. She can be caught shopping in Ft. Smith or Fayetteville, lunching with friends, watching the cooking network, and going in one direction or another to assist with grandkids.
Then...the Grandaddy retired on Jan 1 and things just got WEIRD! I asked mom in Dec. if she was ready for him to be home full time and even suggested that he might interrupt her business (and by business I mean the cooking network on television).
I like to call for updates. Sometimes they call to inform me of remote control debates that are occurring.
Grandaddy is the district governor of Rotary and to say he is wired, fired, and inspired about it does not adequately describe the energy and passion he has for rotary. I think he reads rotary magazines to Riley because one was sent back with him after a visit. He found it later and pointed out the "rotary wheel".
This rotary thing must have healing powers because grandaddy is known for his many ailments...(and I use that term loosely). He tends to have a thumb, knee, elbow, stomach bug, or sinus flaring at one time or another. Mom will frequently ask for an ibuprofen for her knee or hip so you can imagine my surprise when I saw this in my email with the description "that thing goes FAST"


And then there was THIS which caused me to look a little closer! Surely this is not my retired, mom (aka DODO) acting as the ONE ARMED BANDIT on a mechanical bull!


I thought they were in San Diego sipping coffee while visiting with other rotarians.
Apparently I was wrong! Who needed the ibuprofen first??

pancake molds giveaway

check out the fun pancake molds giveaway at that's just fabulous

A moment in time

I spent Tuesday being fascinated by all the people who went to Washington to watch history in the making. I have to think that I enjoyed it more from my living room where I got different vantage points without being crammed between 1.3 million people. Whether you agree with President Obama's views or not, I think everyone would agree that his daughters are absolutely precious and Michelle looked stunning. Kudos to her for using an up and coming designer instead of a big name for her dress. I can't believe she walked all day in those heels.
Riley was more interested in playing with his friends and Caden looking at the lights in the ceiling. I'll document the day in their journals so they can appreciate the significance later. Did anyone download America's Song from Oprah's website? It was available for 24 hours which will end this afternoon.
Speaking of Oprah, I almost fell over when Jill Biden embarrassed her husband by announcing he was also offered the secreatary of state position on national television. Really, it's not that big of a deal, but that is SO SOMETHING that I would have done!

Caden is 6 weeks old during this historic week. I can tell he's changing and beginning to fill out more. He still enjoys life through extended days...actually he's pretty disgruntled during his extended days because no one wants to hang out and entertain him at 2am. He's beginning to coo and smile during the day when he has an audience.
He weighs 9 lbs 6oz (which I estimated to be in the 25th percentile) and is 23.5in (roughly) or the 50th percentile. My official measurement involved laying him on wrapping paper to mark his length. That peaked Riley's curiosity. He asked if I was making a package so I told him I was measuring Caden. He rushed to my assistance with his black and decker tape measure to help, but I had to get my own tape measure because his only goes to 12 in.
According to Riley, Caden measures a 1.


Another funny worth noting...Riley's favorite song this week is "The Tiger Song"
as in EENY, MINY, MINEY, MOE, Catch a tiger by his toe....
(He makes me repeat it over and over to learn the words.)
and his favorite book is the "Eggs and Ham" book.

cheater, cheater, enchilada eater...

Does it make me a blog cheater for getting this entry ready, but not actually posting it? I thought it would be a grand idea to have a blog ready for a day when I don't have time to come up with anything blog worthy.

While the toddler is busy with his trash truck and the baby is sleeping during the day (instead of at night), I'm going to post this enchilada recipe that is to die for! It's labor intensive, but OH SO WORTH IT!

Chicken Enchiladas with sauce

Enchilada Sauce (makes 3 cups):
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 14 oz can chicken broth
1 8oz tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Chicken enchiladas
3 cups enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
corn or canola oil as needed
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt/pepper to taste
12 6' tortillas

Sauce: Heat oil in large saucepan, stir in flour and chili power, cook x 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a bioil and simmer x 10 minutes.

Heat oven to 350.
Prepare enchilada sauce
In medium bowl, mix chicken, green onions, 1/2 cup cheddar, 1/2 cup mont. jack, sour cream, chiles, and cilantro. Stir 1.5 cup of inchilada sauce, season with salt/pepper and set aside.
Heat 1/2 of oil in large pan, fry tortillas one at a time for 10 sec. on each side. Drain on paper towel
Spray 9x13 with cooking spray.
spread small amount of sauce on bottom of dish.
spread 2 heaping tbsp of chicken mix on tortilla and roll up. place seam side down.
pour remaining sauce over and top with remaining cheeses.
bake until bubbly (15-20min). garnish with sour cream, and onions.

I fixed this the other night and put the commander on portion control so we could freeze 1/2 of them. It makes quite a bit.

I fixed Tracy's salsa recipe to go with it...YUM! (it makes alot so I recommend cutting it in 1/2 using 3 cans of a tomato/rotel combination)
1 can mexican tomatoes (drain)
2 cans regular tomatoes (drain)
2 cans rotel (use one mexican)
1 TBSP garlic salt
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
cilantro to taste
1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste
blend in blender until desired consistency. add spices and salt.
refrigerate.

fun friday!

My mom came up today to do some shopping. We found the silver lining in this bad economy. I couldn't believe the sales!!!

After a full day of shopping, my inlaws came down so Ross and I could enjoy a date night. They had their hands full because the toddler went without a nap today...oh my!
I'm off to put away my fun purchases and get ready for a relaxing weekend.
Have I mentioned that I LOVE being off work! I stay busy with The Today Show, Good Morning America, the cooking channel and my new favorite "The Doctors". Throw in an infant and toddler and my days are filled with joy!

5 weeks

At 5 weeks, Caden is 8 lbs 9 oz. He is still experiencing extended days (it sounds better than he doesn't sleep at night!)
He was doing great at nights, but a diaper rash interrupted his sleep and routine.

Riley has changed his name to "CADIE"
He also likes to watch "101 Down Patience cause it's 'bout dogs" he says.
Words such as Cow, Cat, and House are all pronouced with 2 syllables.

24

jack bauer is back after 18 mos! i hope this season is worth the long wait. Chloe is back too!! I heart her!

Small town tourist attractions.

The "Humpin Cadillac Ranch" is in beautiful small town Arkansas. It happens to be in the next town from my parent's house.
It's very real! I couldn't possibly make up this attraction.


I don't approve of HC Ranch, but apparently they are trying to expand their fan base by adding a Disney Cars exhibition along the side of the highway. It would be wrong to deprive the toddler from his beloved Cars so we loaded up and went sight seeing.
There's the airplane..

Then we tried to distract Riley from the busy Cadillacs with Ramone, Doc, and even tractor tippin...



Luigi needs a new set of tires.

Riley and the sheriff of Radiator Springs.

Last, but not least...a broke down Tow-Mater in the background and Riley.


That concludes our field trip to the HC ranch with Disney Cars.