Trick or Treat

Have I mentioned that Halloween is my very favorite holiday? Well, in case you've forgotten, it is! I love it. I was so excited this year, because face it, last year wasn't that great. I was 9 months pregnant (had the little guy Nov. 2nd) and just not comfortable walking, standing, or sitting. Our night ended very early as I crashed in bed around 9:00 p.m.

This year was sure to beat it. Little Man's first Halloween, Little Princess with us this year, and my in-laws here to celebrate with us. I was stoked!!

UNTIL...about 3:00 p.m., after Little Man's party, he started coughing and wheezing. It wasn't like Little Princess's asthma wheezing, but still had me concerned. By 4:00 it was just getting worse. In my head I was contemplating calling the Dr, then my father in law advised me to get him to the Dr Monday if he didn't get any better. You know with this swine flu and all the crap going around you just don't wanna risk anything. Well once he said that it confirmed my fears and I decided that I should probably just call the dr now. We were planning on going trunk or treating at my parents at 6:00, so I had about an hour until we needed to start getting dressed up and ready to head out there. I called the dr. hoping that they would say he was ok and to just enjoy the holiday, but when I mentioned all the symptoms (he had vomited Thursday night, due to teething is what I had thought, but who knew at this point) she said he was border line. I didn't have to take him in because the Motrin was calming his fever. We talked a little bit more and I asked her what she would do if it was her child to which she told me she'd be at the ER right now...Needless to say I told her that's where I was heading then. My heart was hoping that due to a holiday it'd be empty in there and we could be in and out and nothing seriously wrong and we could celebrate this fantabulous holiday...

well, the waiting area was empty, no one was at the stations where you first come in...could I seriously be getting lucky this far? But as soon as the lady who took his info heard him she called for dr's to come right over and they rushed us down the hallways and into a room. My heart crashed and realized that something could be seriously wrong. I didn't want to admit it, but up to that point I had been acting pretty selfish in my hopes...you know just wanting things to work out so we could celebrate...but not really thinking about what this poor little guy could be going through.

After 3 hours in the ER and tests being done, we were released. He was ok, no swine flu, no pneumonia, just the croup and the rest was from teething. YAY!!

Well, we missed trick or treating...I mean Little Man and I missed it. Lover Boy and his family took Little Princess out to my parents and did the trunk or treating with them. She had a wonderful time and was so happy that they went with her.

Hopefully next year we will all be in good health and be able to celebrate together.

One year older and wiser too....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

A week or so ago we received a delightful call from Lover Boy's sister, Aunt Angela, asking us if it'd be ok if she came in town to spend Little Man's first Halloween with us. DUH, of course we would absolutely love it!! We canceled our other plans that we had for Halloween with friends and we're just so excited to have Aunt Angela come in town. About a week before she was coming, we were informed that their Dad would be coming too!! What fun!!

Little Man's birthday is 2 days after Halloween and we were planning on celebrating it on Sunday, Nov 1st so that my parents could be here for it (they were going out of town on the 2nd), but then when we got the exact days that Aunt Angela and Papa Joe would be here we decided to celebrate Little Man's birthday one day earlier, on Halloween, so they could be a part of the celebration.

I had big plans on how to do a fun themed party for him, but with life being life right now I didn't do the theme, which will be fine and we'll do it another year when he'll understand and be able to participate in the games. We just had balloons for decor, a happy birthday banner, and then I hung some pictures of him throughout this first year of his life. It was simple, but worked.



We were so happy that everyone except the Grandma's in Colorado and Great Grandma Ropelato was able to make it. Little Man's fever was still there, but would go right away with Motrin, so we kept him drugged up so he'd be in good spirits.

First we had pizza and veggies, while everyone got comfy (or squished). Then we did presents.
He had so many gifts, and wasn't into the whole unwrapping them and tearing through the paper. Thank goodness for big sister to save the day and be more than willing to step in and take over...Luckily for Little Princess before the party, Papa Joe and Aunt Angela got her some gifts to make her feel special too.:)

After presents, we sang "Happy Birthday" and brought in Little Man's very own cake. He didn't know what to think about that, it took a few minutes for him to dig right in and when he was done he let us know by pushing it onto the floor.
There was a big mess of cake so Lover Boy treated the remainder of our family that we left outside, our 2 doggies, to the left overs. Molly loved it and cleaned it all up.



My little baby boy is so big!! ONE YearR OLD! WoW!


My dear Little Man:
I've never been the type of person to just hold a baby constantly and not ever want to let go until the day you were born. I was so happy to have you. You were my rainbow in my life that had been lost and confused. You brought me so much happiness that first time I held you! It felt as though I was a first time mommy again. I couldn't believe the little miracle that you were. You were beautiful, a miracle. I wouldn't let the nurses take you to the nursery to sleep, you had to sleep with me. I really couldn't imagine you being away from me. You have continued to be one of my rays of sunshine. Your sweet smile each day just makes all troubles seem so insignificant. I love watching you grow and develop. My heart beams when I watch you and your big sister interact. I get chills constantly the instant she walks in a room and your entire face lights up and your chubby little legs start kicking in excitement to see her. What I really love, even though I sometimes sigh in frustration about it, I thoroughly love that you are such a momma's boy. It makes my heart happy that you just want mommy if I'm around. You are so sweet when you are playing and see me and crawl right on over to me and snuggle up to me, even though it's brief, I love that little snuggle. You have the ability to make everyone smile. You are so happy and love to laugh. Your laugh is contagious. You have a full hearty laugh that comes from your gut and no one can resist it. You will forever make people smile and happy. I love you busy little boy!!

Kids Halloween Party

Little Princess was thrilled to see her name along with Little Man's on an envelope left in our door. We had to hurry to open it, once open it revealed a Halloween party announcement. Excitement went throughout the house. You'd have thought the Grand Duke arrived with a letter inviting us to the Royal Ball.

Finally the day arrived to get dressed up and go. Unfortunately Little Man just started cutting teeth that morning and was running a slight fever, nothing a little Motrin can't handle. We got all "fancied" up and headed to the party.

My cousins did an amazing job! For $1 a child everyone was served a bowl of yummy yummy soup, rolls, and soda; then they had activities like decorating a sugar cookie, making a trick or treat bag, guess the monsters body part (you stick your hand inside a paper bag and try to guess what body part is inside), a blindfolded hunt through a bucket filled with popcorn for treasures.

Little Princess loved it. She was so excited to everything, however Little Man's fever started kicking back in while she was decorating her cookie, so we hurried and left. There were so many kids and families and everyone there had a wonderful time. I'm sad we had to skip out early but we did:(

Aren't the kiddos so cute?!! Little Princess is Morticia Adamms and Little Man is a wigger Dracula. The costume got dried (which it's not supposed to) so the hair turned into a fro, hence the name wigger Dracula.

3 recipes you should try, if you like chicken and tortillas that is

Over the pass few weeks, I've neglected blogging about my Domestic Diva adventures. I've cooked, but with a memory as fantastic as mine...hahah...I can't even remember what I've made.

We did have a delicious moist roast, some spicy fajitas, and a few other things...haha can't remember.

Here's 3 recipes of some of the yummy meals that we have had in addition to those others. They are all pretty similar as far as ingredients go, but just enough different too.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole (from my s.i.l. Natalie)

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts; cooked and diced
1 small can green chilies
1 stick butter
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pt. sour cream
1/4 c. chopped green onions
corn tortillas
1 1/2 c. grated cheese

Instructions:
Combine butter, soup, onions, green chilies, and sour cream. Heat and then add the chicken pieces. Butter 9x13 dish. Place a small amount of mixture to coat bottom of dish. Now layer corn tortillas, mixture, corn tortillas, mixture, corn tortillas, and mixture. Top with 1 1/2 c cheese. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.


Sour Cream Enchilada's

Ingredients:
12 Flour Tortillas
3 chicken breasts cubed
1 can green chilies
1 pt. sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
10 oz. salsa
4 cups shredded cheese

Instructions:
Mix sour cream, soup and salsa. Put thin layer on the bottom of pan and set aside a small amount to pour over tops of tortillas. Mix chicken, cheese and sour cream mixture and put in tortillas. Lay tortillas in pan and cover with remaining sauce an cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.


Tortilla Soup
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) chicken broth
1 c. diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t plus 1 T chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
3/4 t. dried cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
8 oz. chicken tenders, diced small
2 corn tortillas
12 oz. plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced; or 1 can (14 1/2oz) whole tomatoes, drained, seeded, and diced
1 T diced canned mild chilies
2-3 limes, juiced
2 T chopped green onion
2 oz. shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
1/4 avocado, seeded, peeled, and cubed
4 slices lime for garnish

Instructions:
1. In medium saucepan bring chicken broth to boil. Add onion, garlic, 1 t. cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper. Simmer over medium heat 5 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400.
3. Add chicken to simmering soup. Stir, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cut tortillas in half. Cut crosswise into 1/4 inch wide strips. Place strips on baking sheet. Bake in oven until crisp, 5 to 8 minutes.
5. Stir tomatoes and chilies into chicken mixture. Place over low heat just to heat through. Add lime juice to taste. Remove from heat.
6. Ladle soup into 4 bowls. Top each with green onion, shredded cheese, cubes of avocado, and 1 T chopped cilantro. Scatter tortilla strips over top. Garnish with lime slices.

A new roommate

We have a roomie!! Sergei moved in with us last week. He'd been wanting to move out of the house he was renting a room in for about a month. Since he started mentioning it I'd thought ok if Lover Boy asks, of course Sergei can move in with us. He's here every night anyways to have dinner, he's very handy and likes things to get done quickly, he'd give Lover Boy someone to talk to about computer stuff, cuz we all know I don't get it.

But Lover Boy never suggested it. Our house is full. It's 4 very small bedrooms, so each kid has their own room, then theirs our room, and the 4th room is the playroom because the bedrooms are so small there really isn't much room for toys at all. One night for who knows what reason, I blurted it out, "Why doesn't Sergei move in with us?". Lover Boys eyes lit up, obviously he'd thought of it, just didn't want to ask. I'm kinda mean and scary you know. He immediately called Sergei and offered him our house. Sergei came over the next day and said he'd move in the following day. YIKES! I needed to clean out the toy room and find somewhere for all those toys. We threw them all up in Little Princess's room. I eventually got them moved into the joint closet between her room and Little Man's. It's tight in there, but it works.

I do miss the toy room. It was my way to be a lazy mom. Stick the kids in their, pull out some toys, close the door and do my thing. LOL. But really that was the way at least 2 hours a day were spent. These pictures are of one day when I put Little Man in there alone. We had to take the door knob off because the door would jam and it'd lock the kids in there, so now I had a spy hole...look at how cute, he's just in there playing.

Well Sergei is moved in and getting settled. It's been such a blessing already having him here. He's tore out some walls in his bedroom and is re-sheetrocking them and adjusting the wiring. The financial help is obviuosly a major blessing, especially in time for the Christmas season. And he helps us with groceries. Sergei is an amazing person and we're all so happy to have him be a part of our family!

A good laugh

Do you ever see something that just makes you laugh?

Don't you love it when unexpectedly you burst into laughter?

Well, my friends I love it!

I was driving through the grocery store parking lot (a short cut to my house) and a man well into his thirty's was skipping out the store doors and across the parking lot. HAHAHAHA!! He was very tall and skinny and just looked so out of place to be skipping. I'm glad that he's having a wonderful day because he made my day wonderful now too!

I wish I had a picture to show you so you could laugh too...but just sit back and imagine....

You're laughing now right?! I sure hope so.

Adult Time

BAM...BAM...We had a heart thumping, head banging, kids screaming, arms waving, toe smashing, arm-pit stench smelling good time!

One of Lover Boys favorite bands, All That Remains, came to Salt Lake tonight so of course we had to go. He's suffered through 2 James Blunt concerts with me, so I thought I guess I owe it to him to go to one of his bands concerts...Let me just tell you I'm so glad that I did!!

Sergei had never been to a concert before and he loves this band too so the 3 of us went. We walked in and I instantly felt incredibly old. The kids there were SO young. There was one child with his parents, I'm not kidding he had to be Little Princesses age and not to pass judgement but...who would take their child to that concert. This isn't just a rock concert, it's a METAL ROCK concert; screaming and scary gruffy voices (which I will admit was pretty amazing listening to live), kinda not something I'd take the kids to and obviously didn't.

Lacuna Coil opened and I was stunned. She has the most amazing voice!! It was a nice mix of a soft feminine voice with some guy screaming and singing with an equally amazing voice. I just stood and stared at her, she is very talented and simply beautiful. This band is from Italy and funny thing is, I thought the man looked Italian, he kinda had one of those big Italian snouzers on his face...I'm gonna be getting their songs put on the Ipod ASAP, love them!

Then All That Remains entered. SO not what I expected. The singer came out all preppy looking, cargo shorts, blue sleeveless shirt with huge biceps, and a ball cap. His voice is soothing, that is until he starts into that screaming. The crowd was crazy, I felt like a giant. Those kids heads were only up to my chin, but that didn't stop them from moshing with the big boys. They jumped right in with 6' + guys and went wild. So funny to watch. Lover boy serendaded every song to me, which I absolutely loved. He really has such a good voice so hearing it in my ear was just delightful.

As we walked out of the theater the lobby was filled with parents picking up their kids. It made me laugh, am I really that old? hahaha

I thoroughly enjoyed my night with Lover Boy and Sergei. It was fun seeing them get so excited and have so much fun, and of course I had fun too:)

Friday morning: I just went and picked up the kids from my mom's house and she informed me that my dad spent a few hours yesterday with the band!!! AAAHHH! Lover Boy and Sergei are gonna be insanely jealous when I tell them.

All That Remains trailer broke down or something so they stopped at good old TJ Trailers to get it repaired. So my dad was able to spend a little bit of time talking with them. Too bad I wasn't working yesterday, LOL.