Wednesday, August 27, 2008

"BUH BYE"

We had to wake Gabe up Monday morning. Bryan changed him and I got his food ready to take to my moms. They were waiting in the garage for me and when I got down there Gabe was suggling with Bryan…it was SO cute. I got him in the carseat and we drove to my moms.
Gabe was SO excited to see her, he practically jumped out of my arms. We brought the bags into the house and Gabe looked at us and said/waved "buh bye". Aparently he knew we were leaving. SAD I've been replaced by Grandma. sniff

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Where are all the bee's???

THEY'RE IN OUR YARD!!!!

Bryan and I were working in the yard today. Gabe is napping. I was pulling weeds and Bryan was trimming some bushes. All of the sudden Bryan started dancing. He ran across the yard almost scramming some words of profanity. I asked what was wrong and he said "I'm getting stung by bee's" and got stung again as he said that. He ran to the backyard and I looked over at the bush he was trimming. Apparently ALL the bee's in the state have decided to live in that one small bush on the corner of our lot.

Now that I type this I can't stop laughing but at the time it was not funny. Bryan is mildly allergic to bee's and I was scared. He got stung probably 8 times. I ran inside to get Benadryl for him and needless to say we're not working in the yard anymore.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Family Camp (update)

Well I'm behind a whole week. This time last week we were on the road, finishing up errands and heading to the beach. We got most everything packed up on Thursday night. Got up at 7 on Friday morning and packed up the truck and got ready to leave. I wanted to be on our way by 10:30 at the latest. I think we left the house around 10:45. Not too bad.

Gabe was SO ready for a nap by the time we left so I knew that he'd fall asleep quick. He ended up only sleeping for a half hour. NOT GOOD! He was a holy terror the rest of the way to Fort Steven's. He normally is so good in the car, but he definitely didn't get all of his sleepies out in that half hour.

When we reached the turn off for Canon Beach and Seaside traffic was horrible. It was pretty strange. We got to our campsite around 2ish and unpacked. Dan and Randy helped Bryan set up the tent and canopy.

Speaking of the that, camping in a tent with Gabe was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. He would wake up in the morning and just putter around the tent. I had a bin of toy's and he would talk to us as we lazily tried to sleep a tad longer. Gabe slept through the night both nights. He was excellent! HUGE answer to prayer and thank you Target for the battery operated sound machine that T told me about. ((thumbs up))

After we unpacked we went to the beach. I froze…it was SO windy and the sun kept hiding behind the clouds. Thank goodness I had brought a coat for Gabe. He loved it on the beach. He played, got wet, ate some sand, piled a bunch of sand on his lap and used his shovel and pale. He was so cute. I wasn't that thrilled with how windy/cold it was on the beach. I love being on the beach and it was just not fun to me this time. :o(

Bryan threw a frizz bee for Calie and she started barking weird, just being weird in general. She was completely out of sorts the whole weekend which wasn't fun but OH WELL.

After we left the beach, Gabe and I went to take a shower. Gabe was completely sandy and sometimes you just feel icky after being on the beach.

We BBQ'd hot dogs for dinner and had chips and pasta salad with that. While we were eating Natalie and Rachael came over to love on Gabe. It was so funny. Gabe was totally flirting with these beautiful young ladies. Natalie stole Gabe and took him to the ice cream social in the other loop. We finished cleaning up dinner and then joined them. I took Jaden over there too. We had a huge group there and it was fun to hang out.

For the life of me I can not remember what happened after that. I know that I ended up getting Gabe's PJ's on and feeding him a bottle. We sat at my moms fire and I snuggled him close and he fell asleep right away. It was so sweet. I put him down in the tent, turned on the sound machine and took the monitor over to Teresa's site. We sat around and talked for a while and I think I ended up going to bed around midnight?

Saturday morning Gabe woke up early I think. I just got him out of his pack -n- play and he puttered around the tent. We had egg mcmuffins for breakfast. Gabe had a banana and eggs. Gabe wanted to walk around everywhere.
Calie was still driving us nutty so we all went on a long walk to Battery Russell. Gabe wanted to walk up the stairs and so he and I went up to the top. I almost had a heart attack a bunch of times just picturing him falling off the edge. I worry too much but needless to say we went down to the ground after that.

We walked back to the campsite and Gabe fell asleep right when we got back in the stroller. SO CUTE! I transferred him into his pack -n- play and then I went and hung out at Nate and Teresa's site. Around 2 Gabe was still sleeping, Bryan took a nap too and I helped Teresa decorate for Alexis's birthday party. It was such a great party and I think that Alexis felt very special...at least I hope she did.
Teresa did such a great job and they have this dinning tent thing and we filled it with balloons. The kids had a blast in it.

A little while later we made dinner and after clean up I went to take a shower and then we got ready for our night time...glow in the dark parade. Gabe and Jaden rode in Travis and Marcia's red wagon. It was so much fun.
I got gabe ready for bed after the parade and he snuggled with me in front of the fire till 11ish. As I walked from Teresa's site back to mine he had fallen fast alseep. I stayed up and had fun hanging out around the fire with friends. We laughed and had a great time. I went to bed around midnight again and as I settled into my warm sleeping bag it began to rain. I thought to myself "SHOOT". It lasted like 5-10 minutes though so not too bad.

Sunday morning Gabe woke up early again. We got up and I took him out and gave him breakfast (YUMMY breakfast cookies and a nana of course). I made coffee and we started packing up. I HATE that part of camping. It wasn't long enough that's for sure. I would have liked to camp at least 2 more days. It rained a little while we packed up and we left for home around 1. Gabe was out before we even got out of Fort Steven's and I was out before we got out of Seaside. HA Poor Bryan!

It was a great time with family and friends and I'm so glad we went. I love camping!

7 days till our next/last camping trip this summer!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

What's for dinner??

Cheesy ham and hash brown casserole

8 oz cooked ham, diced
32 oz frozen hash brown potatoes
1 can of cream of chicken (98% fat-free)
1 cup (fat-free) cottage cheese
1 cup (reduced-fat) sour cream
1 tsp garlic salt
1 serving seasoned salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

In the blender or food processor, blend cottage cheese, soup and sour cream until smooth.
Pour frozen hash browns into a 9x13 glass pan sprayed with PAM.
Sprinkle potatoes with garlic salt, seasoned salt and pepper.
Sprinkle ham over potatoes and top with your soup and cottage cheese mixture.
Sprinkle cheese on top and bake at 350 for 45 min to an hour.

This is SO easy and SO yummy! Gabe likes it too!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I "Heart" Gabe

I love Gabe. I mean Love, Love.

I never in a million years thought I could love this boy like I do. But Gabe... he has been an absolute blessing. He's my boy. My perfect baby boy. My crush. I LOVE him.

We are in that time again when everything he does is new and exciting. I could stare at his sweet little face for hours and hours and feel productive. I feel like every day a new part of his personality comes out, and I am getting to know him better.

I love that Gabe loves to be kissed. Every night I take him to the rocking chair, give him a bottle and kiss him for a good 15 minutes before I put him to bed. You would think he would get sick of it, but he doesn't. Last night he was taking my cheeks and giving me kisses. I curl him into a little ball and nuzzle his cheeks. It's the sweetest part of my day.

Another thing I love about Gabe is how happy music makes him. I loved music when I was little and to watch my kid enjoy it so much…it's so fun.

Gabe is loving shoes right now. Whenever he sees a pair of shoes whether it be his, mine, daddy's, Jaden's. He immediately wants to put them on. Monday night when we all got home Bryan had taken off his shoes and Gabe wanted to put them on. It was SO cute watching him try to walk in them. The shoes are practically as big as he is.

Another thing I LOVE about Gabe is lately he's taking our hands and leading us where ever. I call it a Gabe adventure. I love how his little hands grab mine and I know if he could talk he'd say something like "Come on mom I have to show you something". Monday night after dinner he took me to the front window and we "ooooo'd and ahhh'd" over something out there. HA

At night, the thing I love most about Gabe is how well he sleeps. I think he is magic. When I put him to bed, no matter if it is 6pm or 11pm, he will sleep for all the way through the night. He loves his bed. We have such a great sleeper just like mommy and daddy. I don't think that we can get this lucky twice so we shall see with the next one, but for now I am enjoying getting to sleep through the night.

I am enjoying this sweet little boy so much. He really is so good and happy, and I feel incredibly lucky that he's mine.

Thank heavens for little boys.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Family Camp (pics)

Pictures 1st
Update later












Wednesday, August 06, 2008

What's for dinner??

When I picked Gabe up tonight, Teresa was preparing dinner for her, Kambrie and her friend Amy. My friend Kate posted it on her blog and I have wanted to make it, but haven't yet. I was looking at the ingredients and I knew that I had everything in my house so I decided that is what I was going to make tonight. My house smelt SO good and it was FABULOUS! This is a must try!

Mexican-Inspired Turkey Burgers
1/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
3 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 lb extra lean ground turkey
4 hamburger buns (I think this makes about 8 small, 6 medium, 4 very large)

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except turkey. Mix well, then add turkey and combine well. Form into patties and either grill covered over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer reads 165 and juices run clear. You can also add lettuce, tomato, and if you have 1/4 cup salsa and 1/4 sour cream you can mix and add as spread.

Side Dish (same publication and page)

Oven Fries
4 medium potatoes (I like Yukon Golds)
1 T Olive oil
2 1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp garlic powder

cut potato into wedges. in large bowl combine oil and spices and toss with potatoes. Transfer to baking sheet 10x15 coated with cooking spray and bake at 400 for 40-45 minutes, turning once.

I also got a couple requests for a recipe that I made for Nate and Jenny on Sunday night. So here it is:

Foil-Pack Taco Chicken

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
4 tsp. taco seasoning mix
1/2 lb. red potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup salsa
3/4 cup shredded four cheese style cheese
1/4 sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 sprinkle chicken with seasoning mix. Place 1/2 cup of the potatoes on center of each of 4 large sheets of heavy-duty foil; top evenly with chicken, salsa and cheese.

Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and both ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place in 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

Bake 30-35 min. or until chicken is cooked through (165) Remove packets from oven. Let stand 5 min. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening. Serve with sour cream.

Side notes: spray foil to prevent potatoes from sticking to the foil. i didn't peel the potatoes but you can. i like having the skin on. you can use reduced fat cheese and sour cream

VERY TASTY! Enjoy!

Night at the fair

Janell and Julie took Gabe and Jaden swimming yesterday. Gabe LOVED it apparently. I can't wait to take him myself. They couldn't take pictures since they were both in the pool with the boys so that is a bummer. OH WELL they had a good time.

Calie had a wellness exam yesterday...Bryan and I dropped her off in the morning and picked her up after work. She's in good health. She's got a skin infection but what's new. We still have to give her allergy shots and she's OVER WEIGHT. She does not look over weight to me at all. We give her lots of exercise and she doesn't get any special treats or anything because of her allergy's. SO weird.

Last night we went to the Clark County Fair. We grabbed McDonald's on the way there so we didn't have to pay the fair prices for dinner and a fun time we had. We got flavored shaved ice, saw some lama's, Jaden got to ride 2 rides...Gabe was still too small, saw a huge snake and other reptiles, Gabe danced to live country music, saw some friends from church and fell asleep on the way home.





Monday, August 04, 2008

TGFW (Thank God for Weekend's)

So to add on to all of the other changes happening in our lives there lots happening at work.
We found out that our Project Manager is leaving. She took a job for Safeway corporate so now she'll be our client. I am sad. I really like her and just like the dynamic of our little team. So then that same day we hear that were no longer going to be on the Retail team and that we'll be joining the Target team. Course if we join them it's not going to be named the Target team because it's the Target team AND the Safeway team. So names are up in the air.
Plus one of the Admins on the Retail team has left as well. Friday was her last day and so I am taking over the Nike stuff plus this HUGE spreadsheet that she had put together for Trolley Square. I am going to be busy! I'm actually excited about taking this stuff on and being super busy. It will make the days go very fast! What I'm not excited about is that when they hire a new admin they will be taking that stuff away from me.

For someone who does not like change, I sure am going through a lot right now.

We have been going and going and going and going since last weekend. I could seriously sleep for like 2 whole days if I could. I am wiped.
Last weekend was full of fun and friends. James, Amber and Cameron came over for dinner Friday night. I had prepared the dinner Thursday night and put it in the fridge so that I could just put it in the oven when we got home Friday night. That was so easy and I'm glad I did that. Dinner turned out great and we had such a good time catching up with James and Amber. Cameron was shy at first but totally warmed up to us after 30 minutes.
Saturday Bryan went to work at Multnomah and I got a ton done around the house and hung out with Gabe. I had a very productive day which is always good. I had Teresa, Moo, Betty and Kimberly over that evening and Bryan had Gabe. We had a really good time. It was nice out so we ate outside on our deck. We had yummy food. Betty's cornbread souffle, my LHS (little ham sandwiches), chips and Moo's guacamole and for dessert Teresa made a to die for peanut butter pie. We had some wine and talked. We laughed and cried. It was a great time. Bryan ended up getting to go see The Dark Night with my dad and Nathan while my mom and sister watched Gabe. They had a fun time with the boys. They did finger painting which I am sure you know that the paint wasn't just on their fingers. HA I have a great picture that Gabe made me that I want to hang up in his rooom.

Sunday after church while Gabe was napping I met Teresa and Moo at the MAC counter for make overs. The weekend went WAY TOO fast but it was a busy one.

The week consisted of work, playing with Gabe, work, Baby-sit swap...we had Kambrie on Tuesday night and we had a blast. We were all completely exhausted, work, work, youth group, dinner play date at Kate's, work, work, work! I woke up on Friday morning totally thinking it was Saturday. That totally ruined my whole day. Why can't it ever be the other way around. Wake up on a Saturday thinking it was Monday or something and realizing it was Sat...now that would be SO much better.
Friday night we came home had dinner and played with Gabe. When he went down around 9 I left to go over to Kate's. She helped me set up a budget. Bryan and I are going to be more diciplined and live on a budget so I can get home and be the mother and wife that I've always wanted to be.
I got home around midnight and I ended up finishing the book that I was reading and didn't go to bed until 2. Not really smart when I'm already tired and needing sleep. But the book was SO good.

Saturday Gabe got up at his normal 7am time and we did our normal Saturday morning stuff. Breakfast, baby einstein movie, play time then nap. Did I take a nap...nope I took a shower and got ready for our afternoon fun activities. I made us all lunch and packed up the truck. Gabe woke up around noon and we met daddy at Gateway. We rode the train downtown. Well to Convention Center and then we had to hop on a bus the rest of the way because the Steel bridge is closed. A little adventure but totally worked out. We walked along the water front to The Flugtag where we were meeting Randy, Michelle and the boy's. The walkway was completely packed with people. At one point I looked at Bryan and said "Who decided to do this?" He just shook his head and pointed at me. HA Eventually the crowd thinned out a little but there was still a ton of people. I think they said that there were 60-80 thousand people there. NUTS! It was fun though. Gabe had fun with the boy's. It was fun getting to hang out with them. Afterwards Bryan and I decided to walk all the way back to the Rose Quater to catch the max. I think we walked 4 miles and it was so cool walking out the Steel bridge but by the time we got seated on the train I was exhausted. I feel SO old. I mean we just walked that shouldn't have pooped me out like it did. I was useless the rest of the night. Bad mommy. I put in baby einstein movies for Gabe and fell in and out of sleep on the couch.

Sunday I was in the nursery and we just had Gabe and Lily. That was fun and I had a good time talking to Edie. We decided to only go to 1st service so we could come home and get lunch ready for Nate and Jenny, but they didn't end up coming over till dinner. They had some family in town that they didn't know were going to be there. So we just had lunch at home and took naps. They showed up around 5 and didn't leave until almost 9. Jenny is going to be Gabe's Nanny on Wednesday's and Thursday's starting in September and so she had fun interacting with Gabe and it was just great to get to know both of them.

Funny about Gabe...right before Nate and Jenny left he walked up to Nate and I thought he was maybe wanting to give him a kiss because right after he walked up to Bryan and Gave him a kiss. But he then walked up to Nate again and was trying to pull up his shirt to see his belly button. It was so funny.

I am already looking forward to the weekend and it's Monday! Jenny needs sleepy!!!!!