Tucson Fun

Really, how can you NOT love Tucson??? The city itself is getting too big for my taste, but as far as the desert goes, Tucson is unparalelled in natural beauty. It surpases Phoenix BY FAR in my opinion - especially the North/Foothills part of town. Sure, it's HOT, but it's a DRY HEAT right? =)

Other than the schedule shake-up and resulting tired/crankiness, we're having a good time. I'm pretty worn out from taking care of the boys night and day without Brad, and I MISS my Honey, but we're making some fun memories with the grandparents! Eli is so in love with my mom that most nights he won't even go to sleep unless he cuddles in her bed with her or she comes and reads stories in our room. He's a big fan of grandpa too - they've been playing trains all morning to both of their delights. We were able to spend some time with the extended family in Casa Grande as well - it's so wonderful to see your children bond with family you know and love, but don't get to see often enough!

I also made a trip up to Surprise with the boys to see some old friends and check on the house. It was great to reconnect with such wonderful people! The drive itself gave me butterflies and misty eyes - seeing the area evoked a feeling of homesickness and nostalgia. It was nice to see the house in better repair, though it's still not quite to my own personal standards of cleanliness, which got me ticked off all over again. We stopped by after the get together and my kids were already worn out and cranky, it was 115 degrees out, and I was trying to clean up a few things that caught my eye while sweating to death with sobbing kids hanging on me. I'll be glad when we're through with the rental business, though that may not be for some years to come.

Silverbell Lake

Playing with thorny sticks.

Chasing Ducks
Hot enough for ya?

Peter Piper Pizza - Our Fav!

Sleeping with Grandma

Playing in the Wash

Barbies!

Flight

Well, I survived a plane trip alone with two kids on Saturday! The boys and I flew to Tucson to visit my parents for a couple of weeks. I tend to get airsick and am not a huge fan of flying - I would much rather make a 12 hour road trip than fly - no kidding! Especially when you consider the fact that the airport was over a two hour drive, then we waited in the airport for nearly three hours because our plane was delayed, then the flight, layover, and another flight for a nearly four hour total, then getting baggage and carseats into my dad's truck and a 45 minute drive home... it all makes for a 10+ hour day anyway. Not that I'm complaining =). The kids really did well considering. I just kept the candy and crackers freely flowing, all while trying to keep my eyes glued to the window so I got sick as little as possible. Of course there was the inevitable poopy diaper change MID flight, and the dropped snacks and toys, and the tired Owen tantrum, and the bruises on my forearms from carrying the carseat on and off the plane, but really, I'm not complaining! =) When we finally arrived in Tucson and I walked off the plane with Owen on my back, bags and carseat in my arms and Eli clinging to my legs, another mother on the flight made a comment about "mother of the year award." Ha ha. We were a sight, but THANKFULLY I was able to use Owen's carseat on the plane (especially since the second leg of the flight was FULL) because it made all the difference. If I'd had to hold a squirmy, crying baby I probably would have ended up puking for sure.

Now we're here enjoying the sunshine, the grandparents, the dogs, and jetlag and schedule upset. Traveling with kids is an olympic event!

Waiting with Daddy

Ready to Fly!

Awesome Toy Area Courtesy of Grandma

Early Morning Walk with Grandpa - Who needs a double stroller?

Beautiful Tucson Morning

9 Months

Time for another marathon post! I know I say this every time, but I CAN'T believe how fast little Owen's first year has gone. It's probably because we've had so much adventure and change lately. We found a neat little family practice out here that I'm going to take the boys to, and Owen had a checkup on Monday. Owen, aka "Chunka" and "Owenewskie" is almost 25 pounds and 30" tall! He's getting to that phase that we hit with Eli when people look at him and wonder why in the heck I'm still carrying him around - not realizing he is as young as he is.

One major difference though is that Owen is trying hard to WALK. Eli didn't bother until 15 months, but Owen has been at it for nearly two months. He DEMANDS to be walked ALL DAY. Owen honey, I love you, but this activity is wearisome for your mama! At least he is starting to be able to hold just one hand instead of two, but in all truth we spend HOURS a day just walking laps around the house. He bawls when I don't let him try the stairs. My back will be thankful when he can finally do it on his own! As for crawling? FORGET IT! Owen HATES being on his belly and throws a royal tantrum if he ends up in that position. His mode of movement is to sit on his bum and use his feet to spin himself around and around in circles. We joke that he is going to wear holes in the carpet! Oh and his feet - he uses them like little feelers. Anything new that he comes across he has to touch it with his feet, it's so funny! He's actually quite the soccer player already!!!

He got his two bottom teeth at 7 months, his two top at 8 months, and is working on the next two top ones. He loves to BITE with his teeth (he has attacked Eli on more than one occasion) and he loves to EAT! This kid will eat ANYTHING you put in front of him, and he gets extremely offended if you have food and don't share. He'll eat oatmeal, avocado, squash, pasta, lunchmeat, beans, salmon, broccoli, lettuce, chips, bread YOU NAME IT! The kid can EAT! Hopefully he keeps it up. As of now, he out eats his big brother.

Owen also loves BIG BOY toys. Forget the basket of baby toys we have - that stuff is junk. He wants anything that Eli has - especially big trucks and things that make noise. He also loves books - especially ripping pages out of them. He has a good time looking at himself in the mirror, and he gets a kick out of bathtime... in fact that's the ONLY time I can put him down without a scene. That's right, for all of his adventurousness the child is a CLING-ON. If I even twitch a muscle or look like I might be THINKING about setting him down and walking away, he pitches a full on fit. Now, I love baby holding etc but remember he's 25 POUNDS?!?! Oh man! I have a lot of neck/headaches from lugging him around, and I'm totally worn by the end of the day from all the shrieking and crying he does (because I DO have to put him down once in a while - a girl has got to use the bathroom and get lunch now and then). I have been using my wraps more lately just to give my arms a break - it has become the ONLY way Owen will go to sleep for a nap unless we are in the car. He just wants to be up and involved all the time.

Eli and Owen are still developing their relationship - sometimes they play together and it's adorable - oftentimes they push each others' buttons (already!) and it's maddening! I do think Eli gets the raw end of the deal because Owen is pretty demanding of my time lately. So he does tend to torture Owen as an attention getter, which gets him in trouble. I try to say proactive and positive (Eli responds well to praise) but sometimes a mama's brain can get too fried to think of anything better than "everyone knock it off!" But I do love my little "Chunka!" I love his silky blonde hair, his funny faces, his giggle, his determination, and getting to cuddle him next to me all night when he's actually still and quiet. He is a pretty good sleeper - goes to bed around 9pm and nurses once before midnight, then usually not again until around 6am. I also love that he can say "MamaMOM!" when he wants me, and he can say "Dada" and "Uh Oh!" Even though he is DE-MANDING, he is also ADORABLE and part of what makes our family unique!

Pesto

Thank you, friends for the Pesto recipes! I spent the better part of an entire day last week harvesting and plucking the basil, and whipping up a TON of pesto! Our freezer is FULL! I even left a bit to keep growing so I can use it in other dishes. For some reason I thought that I didn't like pesto, but I must not have ever really tried it, because it's yummy, and it sure makes the house smell good while you're making it! We've had it on pasta, so now I've got to try it as a pizza sauce and a dip for bread... any other ideas?

The Harvest

Plucking Leaves

Garbage Bouquet
The Dish: Whole Wheat Penne, Red Potatoes, Fresh Green Beans and Pesto!

Recipe I used:

Makes 1 1/4 cups; Prep time: 15 minutes; Total time: 20 minutes

½ cup pine nuts or walnuts

4 cups loosely packed fresh basil or parsley leaves

½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove

Salt and pepper

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until golden and fragrant, tossing occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

2. In a food processor, combine toasted nuts, basil, Parmesan, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Process until finely chopped. With machine running, pour olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth.

Note: If not using immediately, the sauce should be refrigerated; cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the sauce to preserve the bright color. This sauce will keep for up to three days.

Precious

Eli still creeps into our bed sometimes in the middle of the night. This morning I got up to use the bathroom, and when I came back, this is what I found:

Eli saw this picture and said "E-I, Owen 'nuggle da bed!"

Cantaloupe

A freshly picked, perfectly ripe and sweet melon from the Garden. I've never been a huge fan of cantaloupe, but now I know someone who is!

Yum

I'm really not much of a cook. In fact, it's downright laughable that I am even attempting to post about food I have created, but then again you can't grow unless you stretch yourself, right? I have never really enjoyed cooking, but I DO enjoy eating tasty, healthy food. AND we've had access to some fresh garden goodness this summer, so I've been experimenting. I should post each of these separately, but that would take forever, so here you go.

Veggie Pasta

While boiling up the whole wheat pasta, I cooked up some garlic and onion in a skillet with olive oil, then added a cucumber (would also be great with zuchinni) and grape tomatoes until they were just warm and tender - not soggy. Then I tossed in some fresh basil. Added sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Ate it with Pumpernickle bread and hummus. Brad asked me to make it again!

Bella-Burgers

Marinated a couple of GIANT portobella mushrooms in some soy sauce, fresh minced garlic, and cracked black pepper (would have been good with some EVOO as well but I forgot to add it). Grilled on my little foreman. Topped with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, spicy mustard. Thick and hearty - nice alternative to ground beef!

Zuchinni Bread

I forgot to take pictures of the bread. The squash pictured were given to me by my neighbor - they're HUGE! I had ONE like that from my garden before the bugs killed it - and that one alone yielded 8 CUPS of shredded zuchinni. I made 3 dozen muffins and a loaf (from just the one zuchinni!) with a recipe from this blog . I adapted it by using half whole wheat flour and a little less sugar. It was great!

Cheerios

Eli is learning to do more and more things "by the self." Just today he got brave enough to go down the slide without holding my hand. And this past Sunday (the same day he prayed for the first time) he figured out how to get his own snack while Daddy and Owen were sleeping and Mommy was checking email. What a resourceful little guy....

PS - don't you love our classy dining set? We are borrowing it until I finish working on the one I got off craigslist... which might be never with these two handfuls around! =)

Prayer

Eli said his very first prayer at dinner today.

"Heavy Fader.... have a good day .... play with friends .... Amen."

I love that boy!

Toad

We're all feeling a bit better around here, and spent some time enjoying our backyard this week. I even found a sandbox for FREE that someone was throwing away - one of those cute turtle shaped ones with a lid. We had a bag of sand sitting around that the homeowners left, so the whole awesome sand set up was FREE. Did I mention FREE??? I LOVE free! Lol. Also free this week - an adjustable height basketball hoop by Little Tikes. People throw the craziest things away around here - Fridays are trash days and yardsale days around here, so if you go driving around to the sales you'll inevitably find free stuff along the way....

But this post is about the TOAD. We have a little visitor in our backyard. He's dug a little hole right by our garden box and is hiding out down there. It's been 3 days and he's still there! I was playing soccer with Eli and just caught a little movement out of the corner in my eye. At first I was scared to look in there - what with giant wolf spiders around here and all - but it's just a little toad. He doesn't scare me... though I won't be reaching in there to dig him out anytime soon =). Eli's had a blast going out to check on him everyday. We could have used his presence a few weeks ago to help out with thos darn squash bugs in the garden! Oh well.