Trader Joe's Tuesday: Banana Bread Mix

I know banana bread is the easiest thing to make, but sometimes your bananas aren't ripe enough or you just don't have any in the house. My mom used to always freeze old bananas for making banana bread later, but I always hate waiting for them to defrost. And don't try to defrost them in the microwave...just trust me on that one!

I love Trader Joe's Banana Bread Mix because it has a great flavor, I think it's because it uses some barley flour in the mix which gives a yummy taste and makes it surprisingly light. Sometimes I think banana bread is way too dense and heavy, but not this one! I love the texture and taste of this bread, and it makes your house smell heavenly.

Update on Sammy's legs

We had an appointment last week with Sammy's surgeon just to follow-up on his progress since the surgery. If you are new to my blog, you can read more about that here.

I can't believe it's been a year since his surgery (worst week of our lives!), but he is doing so well and has had little to no side effects. Before we did the surgery, his tibias were at a 24 degree curve. I am so excited to say that his legs are now at 15 degrees!! His doctor is quite pleased with the improvement and that the surgery is working for him, as apparently a lot of Rickets patients don't grow quickly enough for the procedure to work.

Last year the cold weather really affected him and he would be stiff and sore and unable to walk most mornings, I am hoping that this winter will be easier on him (and on me as it is tough carrying both he and Hannah).

We will continue to follow-up with CHLA every 6 months to do x-rays and see where he is at. It looks like we are right on track with the estimated 2 1/2 year time frame to have the plates removed. We still have to take care of his severe turn in, but we are going to deal with that after his legs are taking care of. I can only deal with one surgery (and the aftermath) at a time.

P.S. Hey! This is my 100th blog post!! YAY!

Our new family member

Yes, it's a bit early for me to announce, but I am already becoming a cow, so I am making it publicly known.

We are expecting baby #3 in February!

I will be 11 weeks on Wednesday, we've seen his/her heartbeat and everything looks really good. Also, we have decided that we aren't going to find out if it's a boy or girl since we already have one of each--and it's not like I need to buy anything in advance for this one. I figure it will be a fun surprise AND will save Samuel a ton of money by my not doing any shopping in advance. (No comment on how much shopping will be done AFTER he/she gets here!!)

So if you have seen me recently and have noticed that I am looking a little fat (you know you were thinking it), it's really that I'm pregnant and at that awkward "not cute round pregnant belly, just chubby looking belly" stage. As my doctor told me at my appointment, "well, it IS your third...let's just say that it's not like you'll be able to hide this one from anyone."

Sammy wants a baby sister (go figure) and Hannah doesn't have an opinion yet. Although I am a little concerned after today when I saw her giving kisses to her baby doll and I told her how sweet it was for her to give baby kisses and she replied, "No, I bite it". Great. Is this a sign of things to come?

I am officially stating for the record that I think it's a girl, just going on the mom vibe (I was right with Sammy and Hannah) and pregnancy symptoms so far. We'll see if I am right in February!

Fun Thursday!

So, Thursday didn't start out all that great with Hannah waking me up at 5am (partially my fault...she looked really uncomfortable in the position she was sleeping in, so I carefully moved her around, which woke her up.) I nursed her for over an hour hoping it would lull her back to sleep, but no such luck.

NOTE TO SELF: NEVER BOTHER SLEEPING CHILD NO MATTER HOW AWKWARD THE POSITION THEY ARE SLEEPING IN.

I was seriously grouchy for pretty much most of the morning due to my early morning faux pas and tried to plan the rest of my day knowing that Hannah would need to nap early to avoid the catnap in the car. (Plus, I wanted to nap as well, so I wanted to be sure to take full advantage of the nap time). Sammy wanted to go to Lacy Park to ride his bike around, but I just kept envisioning a grouchy Hannah (and a grouchy me) at the park and just couldn't face doing it.

I decided to put Hannah down at 8:45am, figuring she would nap until 10:30 or so and then we would go to the park. Nope. No nap.

I finally gave up at 9:30 and finally took a shower and got ready to go. We went to Lacy Park and had a great time. Hannah wasn't grouchy. It wasn't too hot or too crowded. We ate a snack, played a bit and left at noon to meet Samuel for lunch at work. We had a nice lunch and drove home and Hannah FINALLY fell asleep. YAY!! Perfect timing, because I could put her in bed when we got home and I could nap too.

Sammy usually will entertain himself on the computer while I nap and leave me alone (it's nice to have a responsible 4-year-old whom I KNOW won't get into trouble while I'm asleep and will wake me if he needs something. I will NEVER be able to do this when Hannah is 4).

But, no such luck today, he came upstairs every 30 minutes or so to ask me something, so I finally gave up on any hope of taking nap and decided to get ready for our afternoon outing.

Dana had mentioned this nearby park that has a wading pool in it that is perfect for toddlers. As soon as Hannah awoke, the kids got on their swimsuits and we were off. We all had such a great time as it really was the perfect pool for them. There was a lifeguard and they check the ph levels in the water every hour, so it's not yucky. Plus I didn't have to get in too, I could just sit with the other moms and chat. So great!

Everyone out of the pool while they checked the ph levels

Nice to sit and chat!

Look! I'm actually in this one!!! (Thanks Dana)

Does she have the best tan or what? It's sooooo not fair!!Sammy goofing off!

Lots of fun!

Thanks Dana for passing along the pool info--we had a great time! And thanks for sending me these cute pictures, they turned out much better than the ones I took.

I went to bed that night at 8:30 and it was so heavenly and luckily the kids didn't get up until 7:45 this morning. Ahhhh, I needed a good night's sleep!

Trader Joe's Tuesday: Mediterranean Creamy & Smooth Hummus

Why are my pictures always so lame? And this was the best of 8 tries!

Trader Joe's has lots of yummy varieties of hummus, but this is my favorite.

When you open it for the first time, it has a layer of pine nuts, olive oil and spices for you mix in before you eat it. It has such a creamy, delicious flavor and I love it with pita chips, pita bread or instead of mayo on a sandwich.

Check out the other varieties as well--I love the hummus quartet (for those of you who just can't decide) and the cilantro-jalepeno hummus as well. Yum!

Fun in Oregon

We had a great time in Oregon...

catching butterflies...

playing with trucks...

playing piano with Heidi...

playing in the backyard...

throwing a frisbee...playing the organ...going swimming...

being goofy...

lounging around...

playing with Louie...

more fun with Louie...

getting kisses from Louie...

catching more butterflies...

eating...

and enjoying the beautiful scenery

Thanks for having us Heidi and Co...we love visiting you guys and had a fabulous time AS ALWAYS!!

Trader Joe's Tuesday: Mango Lemonade

Ok, so I'm finally back doing Trader Joe's Tuesday. I almost didn't do it today since we just got back, but my product choice was pretty easy this time.

I have been craving this since the beginning of June, and EVERY TIME I went to Trader Joe's they were all out. I finally managed to pick some up in Eugene, OR on the trip, so my cravings were finally assuaged.

Check it out and see what you think! I totally love it!

So good to be home!

I'm going to do a fun recap of the trip in a post later, but I just have to say how nice it is to be home after being gone for two weeks. It was weird to not be online everyday and checking email/Google Reader/Facebook/Ebay, but after the first few days it was actually quite relaxing to not be at the computer all the time (like I am at home).

Here are a few more insights gained from the trip:

• Man, do I LOVE my bed. It is perfectly soft and always has a kitty waiting to cuddle. It is SO nice to be sleeping in it again. I missed it. Lots.
  
• I am so sick of fast food. I don't think I can eat it again for at least 3 months. And that includes In-N-Out. And that is saying something. Seriously, the thought of ANY fast food is making me want to vomit right now. Am I getting my feelings across? It's disgusting.
  
• My husband is awesome!!! He mentioned that he was going to clean the carpets while we were gone. Not only did he do that, but he also cleaned the upholstery on the whole couch, cleaned the ENTIRE kitchen--floor, stove, refrigerator and freezer, counters and sinks, both bathrooms AND washed and vacuumed my car. What a sweetheart!! Maybe I should leave town more often.
• My kids can eat a pound of cheddar cheese in less than two days. Just ask Heidi...
  
• As much as I love to read...I'm done for a bit. I need to update my bookshelf on the left to show the 7 books I read while on the trip.
• Taking a non-beginner yoga class when you ARE a beginner will have you feeling the pain for at least 4 days. And the pain will be in a new spot each day.
  
• Family Circle is a LAME magazine. So is Woman's Day. And I REALLY like Real Simple, so thank you Amy for the subscription!
• My kids will watch the same Max and Ruby episode for about 2 hours.
• You'll see a LOT of cows driving from here to Washington.
  
• I TOTALLY love Wii Fit! Even though I am soooo lame at it.

I'm sure there are a few more, but these are the ones that stand out to me. We had a great time, but it definitely is good to be home!!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Has it really been a year already? My sweet little girl has finally hit the terrible twos. Well actually, for those who know her--she has been in the terrible twos for QUITE sometime...but now she has "officially" arrived!

Since we are still in Oregon we had a small celebration here with Heidi and her family. We made some yummy cupcakes with girly pink frosting. They were delicious!




And Hannah got some fun presents. A pair of maracas (sp?), a harmonica, a recorder, a whistle (notice my theme?) and the Very Hungry Catepillar book from Heidi and family. The kids had a great time making music (I use that term lightly) and eating cupcakes.



Sorry no photo montage since I am not at my computer (we have GOT to get a laptop...), but you can always look throught the archives to see the past year and how much she has grown.

Happy 2nd birthday my sweet baby girl!