One of These Things is Not Like the Other...

I found the top two pictures when I was doing a little project for Father's Day.  I just had to post them next to the most recent one of Steve and Max...

That's What Big Brothers Are For...

I think the pictures say it all...

New Recipes

Nothing exciting has been going on with us lately...good thing because we have had enough excitement with the meth lab and a new baby to last us quite a while.  We are loving the warm weather though and can't wait until summer break....

I have posted some recipes below.  They are really easy and FANtastic!  They have passed the James AND Steve test...which is saying a lot because they are both really picky.  I got these from my friend at work and she got them from Pinterest, so I have no idea of their origins...just know I didn't come up with them on my own.  :)

ENJOY!

Chicken Gyros

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, juiced
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 batch tzatziki sauce (see below)
sliced tomatoes
sliced onions
sliced cucumbers
lettuce
pocketless pitas

Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, oregano, and 1 tsp salt in a small bowl.  Add in chicken pieces and marinate in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Preheat the grill (or pan or broiler).  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and then grill over indirect heat until cooked through, about 8 minutes per side...depending on size.  Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes before slicing into strips...you might want to give it a little massage at this point...the chicken has been through a lot!

Meanwhile, warm your pita bread.  Top the pita with the chicken, tzatziki, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and lettuce.

Tzatziki Sauce

1 (32 oz) container of plain greek yogurt
2 regular cucumbers, peeled and seeded
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried dill
salt and pepper

Shred or grate the cucumbers, place them in a clean kitchen towel and then squeeze to get rid of as much excess moisture as possible.

Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumbers, garlic, vinegar, and lemon juice.  Salt and pepper to taste.  It's best to refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving so flavors can meld.

The sauce makes A LOT, so you could half the recipe and it would make enough. My sauce lasted me for a week, so one week I made chicken gyros and the next week I made beef gyros with chopped up stew meat.  

Baken Chicken Taquitos

1 Rotisserie chicken
2/3 - 1 cup of jarred or fresh salsa
1 cup shredded "mexican blend" cheese
1/3 cup sweet white and yellow corn niblets
1/3 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper
large pinch of chopped fresh cilantro
1 pack of egg roll wrappers

Remove chicken from the rotisserie chicken and chop into small bite-size pieces

Mix the next seven ingredients into the chicken and mix well

Add a few spoonfuls of the chicken mixture to an eggroll wrapper.  Fold in the sides first, then roll.  Wet the far end with water so it will stick to itself.

Spray a cookie sheet with butter flavor nonstick spar and arrange the taquitos.  Spray the tops of them with the spray and sprinkle with black pepper and extra cumin.

Bake at 375 degree for about 25 min or until golden brown.

I liked these, they were super easy and the kids liked them, but they were a bit dry and I'm not sure what to do to address that issue...the recipe also suggested adding chopped spinach.  Haven't tried that yet but it sounds good...what could be added so they wouldn't be so dry???

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Chicken Breasts
1 package ranch dip stuff
1 package taco seasoning
1 can chicken broth

Cook on low for 7 - 8 hours or until chicken is done.  Shred chicken while its still in the juice.  Serve with grilled veggies (I like red, yellow, and orange peppers, mushrooms, and onions).  Top with salsa, sour cream, olives, and my favorite:  Avacados.

YUMMY!!

Christmas Music

I have always loved Christmas Music with Mannheim Steamroller's Stille Nacht being my most favorite



...but this one is quickly moving in on the number one spot...

Does this ever happen at your house?

Does this ever happen at your house?

You run out of toilet paper, so you hurry and grab some and for some reason it never makes it onto the toilet paper holder...

And then before you know it, the roll is almost gone and you haven't even put it in the holder yet...

Maybe it's just me...

Survival Tips for Men: How to Ask A Question to a Woman

Feel free to substitute Diet Coke, Chocolate, etc...in for wine...

A mother's perspective

I try not to be this way and most of the time I'm pretty good about not freaking out when James is standing on top of something.... but there are those times...

Oh the Joys...

Baby number 3 and I still find this hilarious....and SOOOOO true!

How to Prepare for Nursing

Forget that old advice about "gently rubbing your nipples with a towel."

If you REALLY want to feel ready to breastfeed, here's what to do:

Day 1: Gently rub your nipples with sandpaper.

Day 2: At bedtime, set your alarm clock to go off every two hours.  Each time it rings, spend 20 minutes sitting in a rocking chair with your nipples clamped in a pair of chip clips.

Day 3: Draw branching lines all over your chest with a blue-green marker, then stand in front of your bathroom mirror and sing "I Feel Pretty."

Day 4: Open your already-crowded freezer and make room for five dozen plastic milk bags.

Day 5: Fit the hose of a vacuum cleaner over one breast and set on "medium pile." Turn off vacuum when nipple is three inches long. Switch breasts.

Day 6: Obtain "DO NOT CROSS" tape from your local police station, then wrap firmly around your chest. When your spouse asks about it, say, "Get used to it."

Day 7: Tape a water balloon to each breast and squeeze into a maternity bra. Repeatedly hook and unhook the nursing flaps with one hand while using the other to balance a sack of squirming puppies on your lap.

Day 8: Dine in the fanciest, snootiest restaurant you can afford, making sure to arrive with a big wet spot directly over each nipple.

Day 9: Record your mother proclaiming, "Just give the baby some cereal like God intended, and she'll sleep right through the night." Play in an endless loop at 1 am, 3 am, and 5 am.

Day 10: Slather your breasts with peanut butter, top with birdseed, and stand very still in your backyard.

Day 11: Go somplace public - a museum, a courthouse, the steps of your office building - and stuff a lifelike baby doll under your shirt. Use the doll's arm to suddenly hike the shirt up past your collar bone. Lower shirt. Feign nonchalant smile.

Day 12: Suckle a wolverine.

Congratulations! You are now ready to nurse a baby. Maybe.

By Melissa Balmain. Found in the October 2005 issue of Babytalk

The "new' normal...

We've been home for a week now and have been trying to adjust to the "new" normal...

having a third little dude in the house that needs just a little bit more attention than the other two...

Ready to go home...

Chilling after a good feeding

Hanging out with Cousin Luke and my beautiful sisters, Camille (in the blue) and Meredith (Luke's mom)...pretty soon those 4 months difference in age won't make a difference 

Molly loves her little brother and gives him lots of love and like to help take care of him

Even Sir Thomas does his job of looking after the baby...

Baby Max

Wow, where to begin...

Ok, so it wasn't HOURS of excruciating pain, (see Pregnancy Post), it was only about 45 minutes.

I'd ben having contractions on and off for several days and on Thursday July 26th, I had my 38 week appointment.  My doctor sent me over to the hospital to have some lab work done and to be monitored (I had high blood pressure again after several weeks of normal blood pressure) and at 9:00 pm he told the nurse to tell us to go home because everything was normal and I was only dilated to a 3 maybe 4.  Luckily Steve, and the nurse, convinced me to hang out for a while to "see what would happen" because the contractions were getting stronger.  At 9:30 the nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 5 1/2 and I was having a hard time talking through the contractions...good thing too because no sooner than that my water broke and then it all went on fast forward...or so it seemed.

Luckily the dr was on call, so he was close and able to make it in time (unlike Molly's speedy delivery).  First thing he said when he walked in the room was, "You weren't kidding, you do go fast!"  I asked for an epidural...both the dr and Steve said that I might as well push because it would take longer to get one than it would for the baby to come out...needless to say, Max was born at 10:18 pm after an intense 45 minutes of craziness...

   

Max was having problems keeping his glucose levels up, so he had to go to the NICU.   It was hard to see him hooked up to all the monitors and IV's. 

 It made both Steve and I cry. 

Welcome Max Oliver Duncan!

Thursday July 26th, 10:18 pm

5 lbs. 15 ounces, 19.75 inches 

We are so excited that you are here!

The Last Couple of Months...

...have been really busy for us...

...We've been out adventuring: getting the kids out biking, hiking, and camping.  The kids have been taking swimming lessons and learning to ride their bikes.  James is a pro at his two wheel bike and Molly is almost ready to have her training wheels taken off.  

They are awesome little adventure buddies!

In April, both Steve and I had the opportunity, through work, to visit Philadelphia, PA.  Steve got to see all sorts of cool historical sites and this is the closest I ever got to anything historical...that's the Liberty Bell as seen through the OUTSIDE window.

The "meth lab" has been decontaminated...woohoo! I have to admit, it was kinda fun to have this sign on the house...now we have to deal with cleaning up after the decontamination...will this ever end??

Steve has really taken to running.  He ran his second half marathon, the Riverton Half Marathon, in April and the Ragnar Relay with his work team "4Life for Life"in June.  He says he's not ready to do a marathon, but give him time...he won't be able to resist the challenge   :)

Hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are!

Pregnancy...

You know you’re 9 months pregnant when…

1 .     Elastic-wasted pants are all you will consider wearing.
2.     You lean up against the kitchen counter and accidentally turn on the dishwasher.
3.     Your 4-year-old daughter calls you a pregnant watermelon and you laugh because you know it’s true.
4.     You consider it a compliment when the same 4 year old gives you a side hug and says you have a small butt and a big belly.
5.     You get stuck in the half bathroom off the kitchen because the kids left the stepstool in the way and you can’t maneuver around the door to get out.
6.     Shaving your legs in the stand up stall shower takes more twists, turns, and creative positioning than a gymnastics meet.
7.     Despite your VERY competitive nature, you’re ok with the skinny brunette, who is wearing practically nothing, passing you on your morning walk/runs and you console yourself by thinking “I am participating in my own private race where I will win…so there…and just wait until I get back into shape!  I’ll show you who is queen of the road at 4:30 in the morning!”
8.     You consider varicose veins and stretch marks well earned badges of honor.
9.     You’re willing to let your kids do anything if they’ll just let you lay down and close your eyes for just a minute.
10. You are more than excited to endure who knows how many hours of excruciating pain in order to meet the little guy who’s been rooming with you for the past 9 months.  

Humble Pie

During down times, and to take my mind off other things, I often jump on blogger to read about what's going on in other people's lives.  Great distraction!  And of course I get a little frustrated that no one has updated their blogs recently.  Hello?  Don't you guys know that I need something to read?  Then I look at the last time I updated my blog....uh 3 months ago...uh yeah....eating a little humble pie...yes everyone else is just as busy (probably even busier) that I am and sometimes blogging just has to take a back seat for a while...

Almost Forgot...

I almost forgot to mention the newest member of our family...

Meet Sir Thomas...

Making a "craft"

My supervisor (and wonderful friend) from work gave me this magnet...

...It made me laugh because I am SO NOT crafty, yet I am surrounded by the most creative people every day (at work and outside of work)...

So this is MY claim to craftiness for a while... :)

Every day battle...

I like to be on time...it's just who I am...

...Before I got married, I was at least 10 minutes early for every appointment, engagement, commitment that I had...

...once I got married I settled for arriving 5 minutes early or barely on time...

THEN I had kids...

...now, I'm chronically late...

...FOR EVERYTHING...

...and amazingly enough, I'm ok with it :)

But I saw this on Facebook and HAD to post it...I could relate ALL too well...

Why is it that when you HAVE to be on time, like REALLY HAVE to be on time to something, one of four things happen whenever you try to put your child into the car seat...

They become:

...Or maybe these are just every day occurrences...

...It's a wonder we make it anywhere...

Baby Boy "Zeus"

I've been having high blood pressure during this pregnancy...(among other things...)

(I know some of you are thinking, "You? High blood pressure? Miss Type A? Shocking!)

...So I've been having follow-up ultrasounds to make sure the little guy is growing...

...This is one of my favorites...

...Couldn't quite get his face....he was too wiggly!

Falling in love with this little guy already!