Friday, January 1, 2010

for my mom posts

These pictures and video are for my mom, she didn't get to see some of the Christmas gifts she got for Karsten so I am posting up the pictures I took of him with them for her.

for mom 2


for mom


For my mom



Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Christmas Spirit

The Christmas Spirit

Fun videos to bring the spirit of the season into your home and day. Click on the link called The Christmas Spirit to view.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Off to AZ

Hi Friends-

We are headed to AZ for the holidays so if you would like to hang out, have a play-date, or what not please feel free to email, leave a message, post a comment, call, or whatever. Hope you each have a terrific holiday season! Pictures and updates are coming

Thursday, November 19, 2009

It’s here….November!

First week of November
So here we are already in November, it seems like this year is flying by faster than the last!

During the first week of November we decided to take a little adventure, we drove up into the mountains and had a little cook out, took the quad for a spin, and introduced Karsten to nature. Of course it had snowed so there was mud and snow on the ground. Karsten and I collected sticks and wood for our fire and Ryan took Karsten for a little ride on the quad (not a “real ride it was short and in a circle). Karsten got to try out his new snow suit that is HUGE on him but it is still pretty cute (yes I am biased). Karsten had a little bit of a cold still so being outside was a bit interesting in the cold air. We made hotdogs and smores…yummy. Overall we had fun and Karsten seemed to enjoy himself.

Second Week of November
The second week we didn’t do anything too exciting, Karsten turned 4 months old! He is 25 inches long (95th percentile) and 15 pounds 13 ounces (70th percentile)! He seems chunky to me because he now has baby fat but in all actuality he is pretty well proportioned, and just seems like a little man. We also started letting Karsten work out in his little exersaucer, he really likes it because he can stand up in it, one of his favorite things to do.

Karsten’s favorites this month:
1 – his Elmo, I went to Babies R US and they had toys on sale, I sat and held up a ton of toys and Karsten only reached for 2, an Elmo and a fish thing, we bought both and he LOVES the Elmo toy

2 – Pulling the blanket over his head, I look in his bassinet at night and half the time he has the blanket pulled up over his head, when he plays he pulls the blanket over his head, when he is tired he pulls it over his head, pretty much if you give him a blanket it is in his mouth or over his head

3 – Putting things in his mouth, honestly if he can get a hold of it he will put it in his mouth

4 – being held, he wants to be where the action is, especially during mealtimes

5 – snuggling, when he wakes up in the morning he doesn’t want to get up, he wants to be in bed with me and go back to sleep

6 – Talking, he is a little chatter box and loves to giggle, he loves to smile when daddy throws him in the air

7 – Carrying his blanket around with him like Linus off the peanuts

8 – playing in the exersaucer, he likes to stand up

9 – sitting in his Bumbo, he likes to be upright

10 – his swing, he loves to swing, to play with his toys in the swing, watch people from the swing, etc

11 – go on walks in his stroller, he seems to be a fan of the outdoors…he must be Ryan’s kid

12 – Christmas music….I know it might be a bit early to be listening to it but hey I like it…and so does the kid!

Things I love that happened in the past month:
1. Karsten sleeping through the night – YIPPIE
2. Karsten chattering and giggling
3. Karsten taking somewhat regular naps

Things I could do without:

1. Wrinkles on laundry…why does my dryer seem to just add to my workload?
2. Blowouts….every mother knows what I am talking about – thankfully I got those Tide stain release packets, they seem to take the stains out so we don’t ruin the clothing when this happens
3. Challenging mouthy negative people – really you are so miserable you have to drag the rest of us down with you?

Thanks to….
• Awesome family and friends who are there when you need them!
• An incredible husband who studies all the time and still finds time for us!
• My students…without you I wouldn’t have much of a job.

Sticks anyone?


Where's Waldo?


Taking a ride


Paparrazi in my bedroom!


Love to stand up!


Yummy!


Little Linus


Our Family


Riding with daddy


Karsten and Elmo


Drooling....


Daddy and Karsten


Mommy's little bear

Monday, November 16, 2009

Yummy soup

Over the past 30 days or so I have been working on some new recipes, thought I would share some of my spoils…..

Butternut Squash Soup
-Butternut squash (med - large; hopefully it isn't too hard)
-Bacon (2-3 slices, I like turkey bacon)
-2 cans of chicken broth or stock
- med. onion or a leek
- Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- Salt (I prefer sea salt or kosher salt to table salt) need enough to sprinkle
-Pepper sprinkles (I like fresh cracked pepper)
- nutmeg ½ teaspoon – 1 teaspoon
-brown sugar (enough to sprinkle)

1. Roast the butternut squash - turn the oven on to 400 degrees (be sure to pre-heat), cut in half and get rid of the seeds plus the stringy stuff with the seeds, place on cookie sheet with the insides up, drizzle over the EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper, roast for 25-30 minutes – you want the squash to be softer (When roasting I like to cover the cookie sheet with either tin foil or parchment paper so that I don’t have to waste my time scrubbing the pan afterwards)
2. Once the squash is done roasting take it out of the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes so that it is cool enough to handle
3. Take a melon-baller or a large spoon and scoop the squash out of the squash (you want the softer “meat”). Now I personally like to make this step a bit easier on myself so I take a stake knife and make shallow marks in a checker’s patter, like putting a grid on the squash, this just makes it a little easier to scoop out. You can make the marks either before or after the roasting step.
4. In a medium pot heat to medium heat (sauce pot or stock pot) drizzle some EVOO then add the onions (or leeks) that have been rough chopped (they don’t need to be the same size) as well as bacon that has been chopped into strips once the onions/leeks are translucent and the bacon should be cooked
5. Next add the squash that you have scooped out to the pot, then sprinkle the nutmeg, a little pepper, and a pinch of salt – heat for 2-3 minutes
6. Add the stock/broth to the pot, heat for about 5 minutes
7. Transfer the contents of the pot to a blender or food processor and blend it a bit – you want it to be a little chunky
8. Once blended it is ready to serve, it goes great with crusty breads, salads, or as a meal all by itself