My brother, Danny, is a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force. My oldest son calls that a "Stomp Stargent" -- My youngest son calls him Uncle "Ninny". Combined, it's pretty darn funny!
This afternoon, my brother came over to spend some time with us. I think it's going to be pretty rough on the boys when Danny leaves next week... While he was here, we all made brownies from scratch (thanks for the recipe, Abbi!!!), played games, watched movies, and just generally relaxed. It was nice to have him around just to hang out for a while, since we have a busy week coming up, including traveling to South Bend and the Children's Museum in Indy.
Evan had his check-up this week. Chunky Monkey is doing well. He got a great report, and he was a fantastic little patient! He was all smiles all the way through the appointment -- until he got his shots, of course. Below are the latest stats...
Weight: 30 lbs. 6 oz. 91st Percentile
Height: 33.5 inches 75th Percentile
I thought it'd be interesting to compare the boys' charts. Zachary's stats are in red, Evan's stats are in blue.
Weight
Height
It's been kind of a long week, and I'm really kinda sleepy, I'll say good night!
Zachary and "Stomp Stargent" Danny! (As Zachary says "Staff Sergeant"...)
My brother arrived from Hawaii this afternoon. My dad, Zachary and I went to Indy to pick him up. I had made the mistake of telling Zachary about the trip earlier this week. I have heard about nothing else all week...
"Mommy, can we go to the airport and get Uncle Danny in three minutes?"
"Mommy, if I'm a good boy, can I go to the airport with Grandpa right now?!!?"
It would be an understatement to say that Zachary had a fantastic day. He thoroughly enjoyed every part of the airport... from the moving walkway with motion-sensor lights, to the "big airplanes", seeing Uncle Danny -- and even the baggage claim had him salivating with the possibilities for adventure (he seriously looked like he was about ready to jump aboard!).
When we got back home, we met Julie, Dan, Marcus and Evan at Little Mexico. We will probably be doing a lot and I hope to have quite a few more entries while Danny's still around. In the meantime, just some pictures of my oldest son his Grandpa enjoying the airport.
Can you see it?!!? On my dad's Valentine's card... Zachary's first attempt at writing a word - "Grandpa"! I wrote it down for him, and he copied it on the card. If you look closely, all of the letters are there. Some parts are separated because he is a lefty... and I'm not really sure how to instruct a 3-year-old lefty on how to write yet... we'll have to work on that.
Helping Mommy play Bejeweled.
Papa Zachary pizza
See? SEE?!!? Playing together... NICELY!! Take a picture... because it won't last long!!!
School was cancelled today, and Marcus was able to work from home (great perk!), so I stayed home with the boys so Marcus could actually DO his work. I almost feel guilty for how much fun the boys and I had today... Played in the snow, made cookies, watched movies, took naps (all THREE of us)... and I even got laundry done! But hey, that's what vacation days are for, right?!!? And for once, I wasn't home because one of us was sick!! Alleluia!
1. Combine breadcrumbs and cheese in shallow dish. I usually cut the chicken breasts into two or three pieces to help cooking time. Dredge the chicken into crumb mixture to coat both sides.
2. Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add half of the chicken and cook until golden and cooked through - usually 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat #2 with the rest of the chicken.
3. Add tomatoes, garlic, olives, vinegar and red pepper. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened.
4. Remove from heat and discard the garlic. Stir in the basil. Spoon sauce over cutlets and serve.
This is, by far, Marcus' favorite dish that I make at home. Though the boys love the breaded chicken in this recipe, they aren't huge fans of the sauce (it is more for grown-up tastes), so when I make it, I usually just put spaghetti sauce and some cheese on their breaded chicken... so it's basically chicken Parmesan at that point... but it's a hit ... and very easy! I'm a big fan of it because it's really fast. It usually takes about 25 minutes from start to finish, even with the variation for the boys. If you try it, I hope you enjoy!!!
White Chili Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil 2 medium onions, chopped 4 garlic cloves 8 oz can of chopped mild green chilies 2 tsp ground cumin 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 3 (16 oz) cans great northern beans 6 c chicken stock or chicken broth 4 c chopped cooked chicken 3 c grated monterey jack cheese
Preparation: 1. Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat. 2. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes. 3. Stir in garlic, then chilies, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Saute 2 minutes. 4. Add undrained beans and stock and bring to a boil. 5. Reduce heat and add chicken and cheese to chili. Stir until cheese melts. 6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Today at work, we had a "Blue or Drew" tailgate event during lunch, in honor of the Colts and the former Purdue quarterback, Drew Brees, making it to the Super Bowl this year. We were to bring in a dish that we would serve while watching football. My choice was easy... one of my favorites, white chili!! It went over very well, and there were no leftovers! So, I thought I'd share this recipe with you out there as well. It's very simple, and always turns out delicious!
I'll leave you with a couple pictures of the little guys sleeping in their funny positions tonight...
Ever since he could turn over, this is how Evan sleeps.
And as for Zachary? Well, I'm not quite sure how he got this way!
A few ladies from my PMO days joined Julie and me in Indy to see another former PMO-er perform on Friday night. What a WONDERFUL evening! The food was great (the best coconut cream pie I've ever had... but it could just be that I hadn't been able to eat in two days), and the company was even better. We laughed over old times and caught up on each other's lives. Heather (the old friend we went to see sing) was fantastic as usual. I'm hoping that we can do this kind of thing on a semi-regular basis.
Julie & Brianna Johnson
Me and Julie Schmidt-Goecker
Heather Ramsey
Took the boys to see their doctor this week. Zachary's ears are healing nicely. Still a little infected, but they are a lot better than they were. Evan has finally been diagnosed with asthma. I kind of saw that coming, just because the poor kid could not shake the respiratory crud. After nearly a week of an extensive asthma treatment, he seems to be breathing (and sleeping) more comfortably!
Zachary waiting with Mommy in pre-op this morning.
Everything went very well this morning. Zachary was in great spirits most of the time. My old friend Sou, (who I haven't seen in person for almost 9 years), is a CRNA, and she rearranged her schedule so that she could be in on his procedure. It was WONDERFUL to see her again! She did get to experience the full range of Zachary's screaming, wailing and crying when she had to take him away through the double-doors. All I could do is stand there and watch.
The doctor said(and Sou concurred) that there was a lot of really thick fluid trapped behind his eardrums, so it appears that we made the right decision. When he came out of surgery, he and I got to cuddle for a little while in recovery before he was given the okay to go home... I think that was my favorite part of today...
Within about an hour, he was back to his old self again, and is none the worse for wear. I am looking forward to seeing the improvements in his speech and hearing over the next few months!
Now, backtracking... I gave the boys haircuts this week again. This is the truth -- as soon as I was done with Evan, he walked over to a hat sitting on the floor and put it right on his head! Apparently, he didn't like the new "do"!
Evan is ashamed of Mommy's workmanship!
Zachary loves his, though!
Evan is back on his breathing treatments several times a day now. Hopefully, he will be over this respiratory crud very soon!
Been a little behind on my updating lately. Last weekend, I went to South Bend to attend my cousin's baby shower. Of course, I forgot to recharge the battery in my camera, so after two shots of the set-up, my camera was done for the day! I was able to pull a couple of pictures off of Facebook, so I've included them as well.
It was wonderful to spend time with the ladies from my mom's side of the family. I miss my boys by the end of the day, of course, but it is nice to just be "Jackie" every once in a while.
Anne opening the gift from Julie and me.
Me, Anne's mother-in-law, Grandma Hall and my cousin Erin.
In other news, both of Zachary's new fish died, so we got to have *that* discussion with him. I knew they'd die eventually, but I thought they'd last more than two weeks!!!! I'll get him a new fish later... maybe a betta next time. I hear they are hard to kill! The day before the last one died, Zachary spent quite a while talking to it after dinner. It was super cute!
Zachary chatting with his fishie
A couple more tid-bits from this week. The first is Evan lounging, and the next is a video of Zachary's infectious laughter while playing a game with Marcus.
My little Buddha belly hanging out on the bean bag chair
Yesterday, we all headed over to Julie and Dan's house to watch the Saints/Cardinals, and then the Colts/Ravens football games. I'm happy to report that both the Saints and the Colts won. One step closer to that Saints vs. Colts Super Bowl that I'd love to see! We had a great time just hanging out with family. We don't get to do it nearly enough these days!
The boys, of course, were glued to Grandpa... it didn't hurt that Aunt Julie's near by!
The boys went to bed after the Saints game, and here they are right after the Colts game, when we got them up to leave!
Zachary goes in for his tube surgery on Wednesday. I am really looking forward to seeing if there will be a change in his hearing and speech! I'll keep you all updated! Have a great week!
Evan saw the ENT specialist again today, and he does NOT need new tubes for the time being!! Yea! We go back in three months for another check-up, but for now, his ear infections are healing on their own!
After the appointment, I took the boys straight home because the roads in our county were getting pretty bad. Butler University also closed due to the weather, so when we got home, Marcus was already there. I LOVE that Marcus is actually AROUND when he's HOME these days!!
We let the boys run around in the snow for a few minutes when we got home. Here they are!!
