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Monday, 06 July 2009

Andy's getting so big!

Andy is growing up so fast it's crazy. He sits up on his own all the time. He usually keeps one hand down, but not always. And he is definitely mobile. He doesn't crawl per se, but he scoots around like a frog or something. He starts on all fours, then he kind-of lunges forward and falls on his belly. Then he gets up on all fours again. I'm amazed at how fast he can get places this way.

The best part of his growing up is that he said, "dada" for the first time yesterday. And now he just babbles non-stop. I actually think Livvy is talking sometimes because dada is so clear! The funny part is that Steve and I were talking about how Livvy's first word was definitely "hi" and that Andy's is definitely "dada."

He's still wearing 6-9 month clothes, but I'm thinking that the 9-12 month will fit soon. He spent sooooo long in 0-3 month, that it seems like he's growing out of these next sizes very quickly.

In terms of eating, we're still not all the way there on solid foods. He is very, very, very picky. If Andy doesn't like something, he will NOT eat it. He just purses his lips, and if you happen to cram it inside he spits it right back out. But, I've tried many things and we've found a few hits. I cannot mix rice cereal or oatmeat in with anything, though, because he will not eat it then. And plain veggies are definitely out. Yogurt, plain fruit (sometimes), and some of our mixed dinners work. Who knows. I just love watching him grow up!

Friday, 03 July 2009

New Furniture!

Our old couch was $150 courtesy of Salvation Army over 6 years ago. Two broken springs, a saggy seat, and a rip in the arm later, it has seen better days.

We talked about getting new furniture for a long time. We just couldn't decide how much we wanted to spend. We could get cheap furniture that probably wouldn't last, or we could spend money that we're trying to save for a house on expensive furniture. We decided on the former for various reasons I won't get in to now.

After a trip to the furniture, we found something we liked. We didn't get it right away because we wan't to make sure we really liked it. Even though it was cheap for furniture, it was still a lot of money. A week later we went back to the store and couldn't find the set. The salesperson told us that it was just taken off the floor and put in the clearance room because it was being discontinued. But, if we wanted, we could buy the floor model for really cheap. We quickly checked it over for tears, and since we didn't find any, we bought it!

Here is a before picture of the living room:

And here is the new furniture!

You are not going to believe it, but we got all 4 pieces for a total of $750. So, even though it probably won't last forever, we are very happy.

Monday, 29 June 2009

Will a cow eat a hamburger?

The radio station down here cracks me up. Seriously. I've only listened to the morning show a few times, and each time they do something crazy.

This morning, they posed the question "Will a cow eat a hamburger?" They refused to take anyone's word for it until someone called in with a cow and hamburger so they could do the experiment on air. After many people insisted that there was no way a cow would eat a hamburger, some guy called in. He was walking to his barn with a cooked hamburger complete with mustard and ketchup. The cows ate it!

The other day they played "Guess the celebrities answering machine." They called a random celebrity, blocked their number, and were going to play the answering machine on air. The problem was that Kenny Rogers actually answered his phone and they were flabbergasted. They started the conversation by saying, "You weren't supposed to answer!" It was quite humorous.

Steve said one day they called a random person from the phone book, and asked her if she had a pool. Then they told her to put the phone by the pool, do a cannonball with all of her clothes on while everyone was listening. Apparently she actually did it.

Anyway, these people are crazy. And I think it's funny. :)

Friday, 26 June 2009

Child care

One of the main things I've had to do since the move was find child care. The day care centers all seem to have wait lists for babies under 2 (and both of my kids are under 2), and they're fairly expensive. So, I decided to go with in home care.

I scoured craigslist and the Texas registered child care providers database. I had a huge list of people to choose from and didn't really know where to start. Most people I called were not taking more children. Some people did not want infants. Other people were really far from work and my house - these people moved to the bottom of the list. Sometimes after talking on the phone with people, I didn't really "click" with them and put those people on the bottom of the list too.

This last week, I met with some different people in their houses. I met a lot of friendly people, but one place in particular stood out. It seems like a rather odd situation, but if you met these people, you wouldn't think it was as weird. A woman, her twin sister, their husbands and their kids, all live in the same house. There are 4 kids total from the ages of 1 to 11. The husbands both work full time and the sisters stay home with the kids. They home school their kids and take care of a few other children. One sister home schools in the morning, and the other in the afternoon. The house is huge and in a really nice neighborhood close to work.

There are a few things that stood out. First, they seemed really good with kids. Their children were all incredibly well-behaved and listened to their moms. Also, they had a lot of experience. One sister managed a day care facility for about 4 years. And they've been doing in home care for about 10 years. I also really liked the fact that their house was clean. Strange, I know, but I think it says something about people. Plus, Andy is crawling around putting everything he finds in his mouth, so this is definitely a bonus. One of their kids was close to Livvy's age which was also nice.

Besides all that, I couldn't believe the great price and flexibility! I'll pay $30/day total for both kids. And I only pay when I bring the kids. So, if I have a holiday weekend and only bring them in 4 days that week, I only pay $120. I don't have to bring them in the summer to hold their spot, but I can if I want. It's just a dream come true. Granted, cost and flexibility were not at the top of my list of considerations for day care, but it's a great bonus.

Anyway, I hope it all works out as good as it seems. I checked references and criminal histories and everything seems to check out. Other parents were very happy with them. We start next week part time so wish me luck!
Recipe (for Jen)

I made Chicken Chow Mein last night and it turned out great! Here's the recipe.

2 chicken breasts, thawed and cubed
1 bag frozen stir fry veggies
1 bag lo mein noodles (can't remember bag size)
soy sauce
cornstarch
olive or canola oil
3-4 garlic cloves
1/2 of a medium onion

Mix 2 TB soy sauce and 1 TB cornstarch in bowl. Add chicken to marinate at least 5 minutes. Cut up garlic into thin slices. Cut up onion.

Boil water and cook noodles. Heat 3 TB (ish) oil in a large fry pan. Add chicken and marinade sauce. Cook about 6 minutes until chicken is almost done. Meanwhile, cook veggies according to package instructions. Add a little extra soy sauce to the veggies while cooking. When the noodles are done, drain and rinse in ice water or cold water to prevent sticking.

When the chicken is almost done, add garlic, onion, and a little more oil if necessary. Stir fry for about 1-2 minutes. Add noodles to pan (and veggies if there's room). Stir fry another couple of minutes adding extra soy sauce if desired and some pepper.

Mix with veggies and serve!