Curry and Avocados

I'm interrupting my belated holiday posting with a real-time update tonight on all things baby!  As my bump keeps growing, the reality of baby #3 keeps increasing as well.  I sort of made myself get through the holidays first before I began really planning and preparing for this little one.   As January marches on however, this baby is making himself/herself known more and more!  

First things first, I shared one of my major cravings on Facebook tonight and promised I'd post the recipe here.  I made this for the first time when I was pregnant and waiting for Ava to make her appearance, but I've kind of forgotten about it for the last few years.  Until this pregnancy!  Suddenly the memories came flooding back and I dug through my blog archives to find this recipe again so I could resurrect it.  Friends...oh. my. goodness. It didn't disappoint!  I've made it several times now and I just love it more every time.  So here it is, please put this in your rotation and let me know what you think!!  

Crock-Pot Curried Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

 Main Ingredients:

-chicken breasts (2-4, I used 3 large ones last night)

-sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used 4)

-1 yellow onion, chopped 

Sauce:

-3-4 tsp. curry (I used 3 tsp. last night with only 3 chicken breasts and it had great flavor without it being spicy at all, which I did on purpose to prevent heartburn. The good news is you can totally control the level of spiciness based on how much curry you like or don't like.  Mine really was more of a sweet curry.)

-1 Cup orange juice (may want more or less depending on # of chicken breasts you use and how long you're cooking them in the crock pot. I used more than the 1/2 C they recommended because I let this cook for 6 hours.  I always use more liquid so chicken is tender and doesn't burn. 

***Edited to add, I didn't have orange juice on hand, it accidentally got used for breakfast that morning!  So instead I had some Orange San Pellegrino and I used 2 cans, just a little over 2 cups because I cooked it for 8 hours on low.***

-2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules

-1 tsp. salt

-1/4 tsp. pepper

Toppings:

-green onion chopped

-shredded coconut

-honey roasted peanuts

-raisins

 

Place chicken, sweet potatoes and onion in crockpot.  Combine the orange juice, chicken bouillon, salt and pepper and pour over ingredients in crock-pot.  Cook for 6-8 hours on low, or until chicken is done and potatoes are soft.  Serve over rice and top with toppings.  

When you cook it all day on low, the flavor is amazing the chicken just falls apart when you look at it.  SO, SO good!!!  I hope you try it and love it too!!  

 I'm happy to report that I am finally done with the 24/7 nausea and a stomach that turns at the thought of many food choices.  My cravings have come back but oddly I'm not giving in as much as I want to.  Sometimes I really think I would like to eat something but I'm just so tired I don't have the energy to get up and get it!  Being pregnant and having two preschoolers is not for the faint of heart.  I can't believe how draining a normal day is right now and how much older I feel this time around.  Ava and Carter are my little helpers though and they do love it when I'm in the kitchen looking for a snack because they've already figured out I'm a soft sell if they want one too!  In general I crave Mexican food, which I'm trying to avoid after I got sick eating fajitas over Christmas (insert sad face here) and anything fresh and cold.  Salads, veggies, fruit, yogurt and granola...those are some of my regular indulgences.  I'm in a Chocolate Malt-O-Meal stage, which I can't explain, but I love me a bowl every morning with some cool-whip stirred into it!  I become an 8 year old all over again but it just tastes so good to me.  Coffee is still not part of my day yet, which kind of makes me sad.  Every now and then I try a cup in the afternoon which usually goes well but I just can't bring myself to drink it in the morning yet.  Something about the smell still makes me queasy.  However, I have replaced my lack of coffee induced caffeine with a need for an ice-cold Coke in the afternoon.  I don't know what it is about drinks that are ice-cold but I them, even though it's below zero!  Occasionally my van just drives itself right on over to the nearest Fast Food drive-thru and I am powerless at the smell of french fries.  My kids are also loving when that happens!  Fortunately for Travis, with the absence of my constant nausea my desire to cook has returned again.  I'm making dinner most nights again although a few things I typically love just aren't doing it for me, like spaghetti.  I already can't imagine cooking for everyone with a newborn again, good thing I've got some time to get my head around that!  

In other pregnancy related news, today I am 16 weeks already!  

According to my bump.com app, at this week our baby is the size of an Avocado.  Which is pretty amazing when I think back to the first week and he/she was just the size of an appleseed.  Incredible.  

Hard to believe I'm starting my 5th month now, time is starting to fly. We scheduled our next appointment on Valentine's Day, when we get to have our 20 week ultrasound to find out if this little person is girl or a boy!!!  Isn't that fun??  I can hardly stand the wait, every day I'm trying to guess what this baby is and so are the kids.  

 Yes, I'm definitely showing now.  Number 3 does not leave much mystery! 

 My only complaint at this stage is that the same lower back problems I had with Ava's pregnancy have come on with a vengeance lately.  Thankfully I started some Physical Therapy today and pretty quickly my therapist could see just now much pain I've been in and how my sciatic nerve is causing all kinds of trouble in my hips and tailbone.  I'm confident that this therapy will help, it did help when I carried Ava. It's made life a little tricky lately, normal things like laundry and getting on the floor with the kids or even just trying to sit down on a soft couch or chair are not so easy.  My cute kiddos have been CHAMPS through this whole pregnancy, they are so great about doing what I ask them to or trying to help me when they can.  

 Ava has aged about 10 years recently and is already the classic first born.  The other day while Carter was napping and I was hoping to, she followed me to my room telling me a million things and then suddenly said, "Ok Mom, I'm going to leave you now so you can take a nap.  You get some rest and I'll check on you later, ok?"  Ha ha!!!  I did not argue with her!

And this big bro is also rising to the occasion.  He is trying hard to keep up with his big sister and wants to be just like his Daddy.  Mostly he wants me to know that he's NOT a baby anymore and he can do everything by himself.  I am embracing his new confidence and indulging him on his requests.  It helps me out to have him become more and more independent and I console myself with the thought of having another baby soon to start all over with!  

Over all, this is a great stage of pregnancy and we are excited.  I still can't believe the Lord has given us the privilege of doing this all over again but I am so, so thankful.  From the minute we found out this was happening, we've been excited and with every week we are more and more grateful for another blessing in our brood.  

You wouldn't waste a prayer on us as we try to figure out what our housing situation will be when this baby arrives.  Much to consider, much to trust the Lord with, and much that keeps me up at night if I don't intentionally give this to the Lord to sort out.  No matter where we live or how much space we do or do not have, the fact that we have three children and each other is a GIFT.  We have much to praise the Lord for and we are doing just that!  

Try the curried chicken and have a great weekend!!  

Christmas with Texie

We weren't sure she was going to make it after the ice-storm in Dallas, but thankfully Texie found a way to get to Minnesota for a Christmas visit in December! The week or so before Christmas, Trav's Mom flew in for few days to spend with us and the kids.  It was definitely a cold destination for a Texan but she braved the freezing temps and we had a great time! 

The kids were thrilled as always to have Texie at our house. 

It was especially fun to have her here for all things Christmas!  No cozier time to be in Minnesota (if you have to be here in the winter) than Christmas.  

 With a babysitter in the house, Trav and I were able to get out one night for what is becoming a favorite tradition of ours.  The MN Teen and Adult Challenge Christmas Concert is hosted by our Church and it is the most amazing night.  We love this ministry so much and it is incredibly moving to hear so many testimonies of people recovering from various addictions, only because of Jesus in their lives and the incredible program at Teen Challenge.  We sat behind a former student of ours who graduated from their program just a year ago, a student who was struggling with a drug addiction for several years and who had broken his family's hearts repeatedly.  It's amazing to see how his life has transformed since being in Teen Challenge and it was especially sweet to sit behind he and his family, this time watching as an alumni.  

Every year they bring an artist in to sing with their massive choir and this year it was Bebo Norman, whom I just love!  He is retiring and I knew this would be one of the last times I'd get to hear him live.  His voice and his music are just beautiful but his humble demeanor and his own testimony about his brother's addiction was especially touching.  Overall it was a sweet night and we were thankful to enjoy it together.  It's one of my favorite things to kick off the Christmas season! 

 Trav's Mom is always sending special things for our kids but because it was Christmas, this visit was especially fun and present-filled!  With a large and blended family our kiddos are the blessed recipients of many gifts from grandparents and aunts/uncles, in addition to Trav and I.  It's always nice when we can spread out the gift openings so that they can appreciate and enjoy each one.   

 Texie wanted to enjoy the looks on their faces when they opened her Christmas presents and we were happy to make that happen.  Our kids were definitely happy to make that happen! Ava loved these little figurines from one of her favorite Disney shows, Sophia the First.  

 And Carter was immediately smitten with this fire truck and the many lights and sounds it makes!

 Sweet thank you hugs...they love their Texie! 

 It didn't take long for those gifts to get opened and the playing to immediately begin.  

 Thank you Texie for the fun toys and the other clothes, shoes, and special things you gave the kids. 

We are glad you were able to come and enjoy the prelude to Christmas with us! We enjoyed it too! 

Preschool Christmas Program 2013

Hello Monday.  Hello Preschool Christmas Program.  Hello cutest girl in the Christmas tree dress.  

I'm going backwards today, posting some fun pics from Ava's first Preschool Program in December.  Although it's long over, I don't want to miss documenting it and remembering how cute it was! We were the classic parents in the front row, video camera and digital camera in hand, grinning like crazy people at the sight of our little singer.  Ava had been talking this up for weeks and weeks, SO excited for us to hear her class sing and to see her on stage.  It was thrilling to her that Travis, Carter and I would be there (as if we ever would have missed it!!!) and we were so happy to hear the "official rendition" of all the songs she'd been singing and teaching Carter for weeks.  I won't add much, the pictures speak for themselves. It was a precious program and we were proud of Ava, also we died at her "animated faces"!!    

I will add one funny note and that is, we are raising a VERY opinionated and vocal daughter when it comes to choice of clothing.  I imagined we'd be pulling out the "formal" Christmas dress to wear to this but oh no, little Ava put up a BIG fuss and insisted she wear her pink and green Christmas dress that she was a little bit obsessed with this winter!  I only have so many battles I'm willing to engage in and I decided this wasn't one of them, so pink and green it was!  We think she looks darling no matter what she wears and we did appreciate how easy she was to spot :) 

Good choice Ava, we hope you always march to the beat of your own drum! 

To all the relatives, enjoy!

Just doesn't get much sweeter than that!  

We loved it Miss Ava, one of our favorite memories of Christmas 2013.   Love you sweet girl!!  

Emerging

Hello world.  Hello 2014.  Hello Routine.  Hello reality.

Anybody else feeling like they are finally saying "hello" to a few things today?  Here in Minnesota, we are emerging today from the deepest freeze, courtesy of that pesky polar vortex thing that has wreaked havoc all over the country.  Today is my first day out of the house since Saturday night and I have to admit, it kind of feels nice to return to the land of the living again! I have so enjoyed my retreat from all things reality related over these last few weeks but it's good to get back in the groove of things too.

We have enjoyed a very unexpected and extended vacation this week due to the cold temps canceling so many things and my sister and brother in law being stranded after two cancelled flights.  We were all in Iowa over the weeks of Christmas and New Year's Day, and we returned Saturday night so that Trav could go back to work on Sunday and Stacie and Jesse could catch their flight on Sunday morning.  Little did we know that this incredible deep freeze would paralyze everyone and change up all of our plans this week.

We found out on Friday that our Governor was pre-emptively canceling all schools on Monday, something that is totally unheard of here in the frozen tundra.  We deal with horrendous temps and cold weather constantly, but that announcement was our first clue that we were coming home to a whole new animal when even the Minnesotans were freaking out! Stacie and I made an emergency run to Target on Saturday night in order to stock our empty fridge and bare shelves with something to eat and thankfully I had already ordered additional groceries to be delivered on Sunday afternoon.  Work was canceled for Trav on Monday and I was pretty thankful that we were getting one extra day to unpack the suitcases and acclimate a little bit before we had to go back to "normal life."

On Saturday night we started realizing that Chicago was getting hit with a massive snow storm, in addition to the polar plunge and suddenly my sister's flight was definitely in peril because of their connection through Chicago.  Before we went to bed that night we were realizing they weren't making it out of Minneapolis on Sunday and unfortunately, all the flights for Monday were already full.  We were looking at Tuesday afternoon now, which was stressful for them and their jobs, but kind of fun for the rest of us!  Christmas vacation wasn't ending after all!!

Sunday the temps began dropping rapidly and the wind started howling outside.  We had everything we needed to stay in for a few days and we all made the most of it.  We had two huge games to watch that afternoon, the Packer's were playing in the play-offs and immediately following, the Iowa Basketball team was taking on Wisconsin.  As if it couldn't get more exciting, Downton Abbey returned Sunday night with a 2 hour special!!

This was Stacie and I before the games.  Giddy with the prospect of a great day to be "iced in!" 

Unfortunately for us, both games were totally disappointing and nail-biters on top of that.  We were 0-2 in the outcomes and we each had raging headaches because of it.  What can I say??  We are our Father's daughters.  We don't handle losing well and we just can't watch a game without getting all kinds of emotionally involved.  It's best not to recap either game for my mental health, even 3 days later, let's just say by the time Downton Abbey rolled around we weren't even sure we could handle a 2 hour episode without commercials.  We had some stress.  

The silver lining of the evening however were the sweet friends we got to have over for dinner! Trav's great friend and his wife and adorable kids were in town for the holidays and they came over to see us for the night.  

 4 cute kiddos!

 Kristian was the first friend Travis introduced me to when we met, so fun to see them now as Daddies with 4 (almost 5) kids between them!

 Is that little face the sweetest or what??  

 Carter had the best time getting out allllllll of his cars, trucks, and trains for Caden to play with and see.  

Ava was totally smitten with little Miss Kenzie.  She is SO ready for a baby to be in this house and desperate for our baby to be a girl!  We had so much fun seeing our friends and catching up!  They are on their way back to Baltimore today but we are thankful they braved the cold to come see us.  

When we went to bed Sunday night this was the wind chill warning for our county.  

It was only death we were risking if we dared going out the next day! Ha! 

We did not go out at all on Monday, although Jesse and Trav made a few attempts at standing outside the front door in order to "really feel" what -45 feels like! Pretty darn cold is what it feels like! We enjoyed a long day of hanging out in our jammies, watching tv, eating, and taking down all of our Christmas stuff.  Ok, I enjoyed that part and was very grateful for Stacie's help! It was so nice to have a buffer day, although Ava was disappointed that preschool was canceled.  We were anticipating a return to normalcy on Tuesday but soon got the email that once again school was canceled and when Jesse called to check into their flight, again that was canceled too!  

We felt badly for them and the extra stress added to another missed day of work and another round of phone calls to inform their bosses they still couldn't get out, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was really enjoying the thought of more days with them!  It was the perfect thing to wait out a deep freeze and we did lots of laughing and relaxing, although Jesse and Trav did get some work in remotely too.  So thankful Jesse brought his work laptop and had planned to work a little over break anyway. 

 The worker bees, casual dress code in tact. 

 The spacial analyst and accidental weather hawk. 

Why not wear shorts when it's -25 outside???  We were very grateful for a working furnace, warm beds, a cozy house and plenty of food.  Nothing to take for granted! 

Today we did indeed take the South Carolina residents back to the airport and they did manage to get on a flight and are en route as I type.  We miss them already but we sure have nothing to complain about after an almost 3 week break with so many family members!  

So now it's back to normal life, back to reality, back to just the four (five) of us.  And I think I'm ready for that.  I feel very rested and blessed by a great vacation of laying low and just enjoying one another.  

2014 has much promise for us and I'm anxious to say hello to new seasons, hello to big challenges, hello to a new baby, and hello to all that I can't see yet too.  

Happy 2014 friends, hope it's warming up wherever it is that you call home.  Looking forward to saying hello to the blog world this year too, unbelievably, for my 8th year of blogging!!!  What?? 

It's official, this blog is practically geriatric by now :) 

Thanks for sticking with me and Happy New Year!  What are you saying hello to right now? 

In the Kitchen

I didn't get extremely ambitious this year when it came to Christmas baking and treat making.  My intentions were noble, but my nausea won out more than a few times. And because I knew I really couldn't do much about it, I was pretty ok with whatever happened, or didn't this year.  

But we did manage to do a couple of things and lucky for Ava and Carter, one snowy Wednesday night I decided it was too cold and I was too tired to get everyone to Church but I was game for making sugar cookies instead.  They were thrilled at the mention and went running for their aprons.  

**Sidenote, I probably should be making these more often. I took a little hiatus from them because they are labor intensive but my kids love them and they especially love us all working in the kitchen together. Carter told me no fewer than 5 times, "I just love helping you in the kitchen, Mom."  Gotta make that happen more often while he still loves it!

 I also don't want to forget the years of them standing on chairs to help me.  I know it won't be long before they're looking me in the eye and one day, towering over me too.

 Every time I pull the mixer out these two get slightly nervous that it's going to be loud and I guess, scary?  

 They are always pleasantly surprised once they hear how quiet it is and then easily entertained :) Also they become quickly fixated with sampling whatever we're mixing.  I can't blame them there. 

Cute little gingerbread girl...

 ...and Carter the transportation lover.  Is that apron not the cutest??  My Mom found that for him and he loves it.  Because it's not pink and girly, Travis can handle it on him too, so it's a win/win.  

 We made lots of classic Christmas cookies...

 ...and when they were finally cooled off these two wasted no time digging in!

 Here is where I confess my lame-mom status.  I didn't think to buy pre-made icing because I always make it from scratch and I like it so much better.  However, I had *just* enough energy to make cookies but none left to ice them.  I promised the kids we'd ice them the next day...buuuutttt that day never came.  I just couldn't gear myself up for the fiasco.  In an effort to appease them, I did pull out some cool whip and sprinkles, which they were delighted about.  I know, I know...it was lame and I failed in the cute cookie department, probably also in the fun department, but oh well :) 

They forgave me! 

 We watched Christmas in Rockefeller Center while we made our cookies and as soon as the lights came on the big tree, it was a magical night for all! 

 On another night when Daddy was home, we decided to make a very kid-friendly treat together.  

Once we explained what we were doing and told them they were going to be doing the most important jobs, it got pretty serious up in here, ha! 

 We are doing something right because these two took their chocolate unwrapping to a whole new level...

...we were cracking up over the concentration!  I need to plan activities with hershey kisses more often when I need a calm night :) 

 We made these yummy melted pretzels with regular m&m's and peanut butter m&m's.

 Trav taught them how to put pretzels on their tongue...we all have roles to play in this family.

 I handled the oven duties but these three were the handy helpers who made it all happen! 

They did a great job!  Yum! 

 Maybe the best thing we've done in the kitchen this year hasn't really involved food. 

 We unpacked our Jesse Tree again this Christmas and as soon as the kids spotted it they were thrilled to get started.  We weren't sure if they'd remember doing it last year but boy were we wrong.  We love this new tradition more than any other because it has given us an opportunity to bring spiritual conversations to our table every day.  If you're wondering what a Jesse Tree is, it's basically a way to trace the birth of Christ through the major characters of the Bible from the line of Jesse.  Jesse's family tree was the line that Jesus came from and so this is really a way of doing an a daily Advent activity that helps prepare our hearts for the gift of Jesus.  

 Each day we read about a character whose story points to Christ and teaches us some important truth about who God is.  We start with an empty tree on December 1st and then with every story we hang an ornament that represents what we just learned about God. 

My Mom picked this one up for us at a Church craft bazaar and I really love it.  It's extremely basic, in fact it borders on tacky, but the ornaments are hand-made and the booklet that accompanies it was written by a Pastor's wife from my hometown.  It's super kid friendly and it is the kind of thing I hope we pass down.  It doesn't really go with my decor or style, sometimes I look at it and think maybe I should make better ornaments??  But then I think about what purpose it really serves and I love that it doesn't catch your eye for its' beauty, but it certainly tells an amazing story and for our family, it's already been extremely meaningful.  

When we started it last year, we both thought it would be years before they kids really grasped anything but we were amazed at their excitement over it and the way they begged us to do it at dinner every, single night.  They don't always sit still and listen to every word, but we read it anyway and before we let them hang their ornament we try to give them a one-liner about what that ornament stands for and teaches us about the Lord.  

We had Trav's Mom here with us last week and one night as we were reading, I went through all the ornaments that we'd already done, one by one, to see what they remembered.  To all of our amazement, Ava could tell us what every one meant (some with a little prompting) as well as a whole lot of detail about each story.  Even Carter chimed in over and over to connect the dots and tell us what the ornaments meant.  It was really something.  At 4.5 and 3 God is using this humble tree to impress important truths on their hearts.  And on mine too.  For example, last week after Ava had disobeyed repeatedly and had some consequences she was less than thrilled about, I sat with her on her floor and asked her if she remembered what the apple ornament meant on our Jesse Tree.  She was able to recount that it stood for Adam and Eve and we hung it on our tree because we learned that even when we disobey, God still loves us.  As she summarized that for me I was able to take that one little truth and remind her that even when she disobeyed Daddy and I, we still love her and always will.  And even when Daddy and I disobey God, He still loves us and promises He always will.  It was such a sweet time for the two of us and it really made me ponder the depth of that truth.  I love that this little tree is setting us up for ways to unpack the Bible with our kids! Its' stock has risen greatly in our minds!

I'm grateful for the hands that put this humble Jesse Tree together and for the hours spent writing the booklet.  I'm sure there are fancier versions out there and I know Ann Voskamp has a beautiful advent book this year too, but in these years of little ones and great big truths, it is working well for us and it's definitely the best thing we are making in our kitchen! 

This is what our tree looks tonight, like after 20 days of ornaments.

 And there's that apple, fighting for the top spot with a heart, a silver tree and a candy cane.  

How about you?  Do you have any Advent traditions or a version of the Jesse Tree that you use?

Ours isn't incredible or the best one out there but we sure love it and we're grateful my Mom picked it up for us.  It's become a treasured part of our celebrating and something we look forward to every day.  Gotta love that!