March 7, 2011

Edit: Just going through my posts and realized I never published this one.  Oops!

Dear A,
Today is the first day for you to be in our home!  We were impatiently waiting for you to get here from your city, but once you arrived, the time flew by!  We played with your toys, picked up leaves in the backyard, made your favorite meal for dinner, went on a walk around the block, took a bath, played some more, read books, brushed teeth, and you're asleep now as I type.  We must have worn you out because you only cried for about 30 seconds before quieting down.

You are such a clever little boy!  You know how to get piggy-back rides by pushing Daddy onto his stomach.  Before climbing into your car seat, you checked it all out to make sure it was suitable for you.  Eating pizza for dinner was so exciting for you!  And you ate two pieces!

You are so much fun and such a blessing to us. 

We love you.

Delicious Lime Taco Recipe

There's something about the changing of seasons that makes me want to try new recipes... I think it's part of my search to find the go-to dish for that season.  Well, I think I did just that last week when I came across this recipe from allrecipes.com and decided to try it out.  Ever since I tried Pioneer Woman's pulled pork on a tortilla with lime juice on top, I've been hooked on experimenting with lime juice on anything and everything.  Lime juice on chicken tacos?  Yes, please!  I changed up the recipe a bit- thanks to some of the reviewers of the recipe but you can find the original here- and the tacos got two thumbs up from both D and me.  D (who isn't a fan of leftovers) took the remaining chicken the next day for lunch and loved it again!  So if you want a quick and easy meal with a twist, give it a try and let me know what you think!

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - 1-2 inch strips
• 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano cumin
• 10 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup shredded lettuce
• 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup salsa

Directions

1. Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 5-10 minutes. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano. Simmer for an extra 10 minutes.
2. Heat an iron skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan, warm, and turn over to heat the other side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese and salsa.

Thankful to be Exhausted

I'm worn out, so this post might not make sense. Or be coherent. Wait, that means the same thing. See? I'm already there.

• The past week or so since I last posted has been wonderful. We took A to meet my family on St. Patty's day. He had a blast meeting my parents, several aunts and uncles and of course, his cousins! That day also happens to mark the last time A has eaten baby food- he's eating 'big people' food now!
• Nick Jr. is a memorized channel at our house.  (Channel 320- in case you were wondering.)  We really try to keep TV time to a minimum, but on occasion, we just need a break!  And A is mesmerized by television- which is a huge reason we're trying to limit this... do not need a toddler addicted to the tube!  Speaking of TV, my favorite Nick Jr shows are Olivia and Franklin.  I really don't mind watching when these are on.  There are others that make me want to pull my hair out... I won't mention those.
• I've already a card-carrying member of the over-protective parent club.  I took A to see the Dr. today for sneezing and a runny/congested nose.  I was so worried that he might develop an ear infection and since, as foster parents we can't give A any medicine a doctor hasn't given us permission to give, I wanted to get him in to see one as soon as possible.  Now I have permission to give him medicine for a fever (if one should occur) as well as a saline nasal spray, chest rub, etc.  I don't think I would have to have permission for those last ones, but it never hurts!
• A is saying "Ma-Ma" and "Da-Da" regularly these days.  Amazing.
• A likes to eat!  Prime example- he woke up from his nap today pretty cranky.  I thought that maybe he had woken up before he was ready, so I went in and rubbed his back for a little while.  He started waking up in a better mood, so I went ahead and picked him up from the crib.  Then came diaper change time and he was grumpy!  After asking him what was wrong, I asked, "Are you hungry?"  Picture a face wrinkled with tears and red in color from wailing instantly transform to smiles and giggles.  And then proceed to inhale his snack while signing "more" all the while.  Oh, he makes me smile!

Just want to give a shout out to Foxy and Augusta who are both in the middle of IVF cycles!  Hoping and praying that April brings showers of BFPs for you two!

And Foxy, thank you again for the lovie for A.  He loves it and carries it around the house all. the. time.  And it's the perfect size- he doesn't get tripped up over it when walking with it.  Thank you for being such an encouraging bloggy friend and I can't wait to return the thoughtful gesture. 

There's nothing better than...

There's nothing better than good news in the blogosphere- like friends having healthy babies after facing obstacle after obstacle, friends starting their first IVF cycle, friends getting ready to adopt.  

There's nothing better than introducing A to grandparents and great-grandparents, aunts and uncles.

There's nothing better than seeing A's face light up when friends come to visit, when he's tickled, when it's time to eat.

There's nothing better than mocha frappuccino ice cream... served on top of crushed oreo cookies.

There's nothing better than spring weather that lends itself to open windows, fresh air making its way through the house.

There's nothing better than still enjoying Friday night cook-free dinners... just in a little different way!

There's nothing better than lazy afternoons, lazy mornings, lazy days.

There's nothing better than the here and now, the present, today.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Thankful

Sippy cups.  Snacks.

Diaper changes.  Naps.

Walks around the block.

Kickball in the backyard.

Peek-a-boo.  

Waving bye from his little tikes car.

Falls.  Bumps.  Bruises.  Tears.

Holding.  Comforting.  

Tickling.  Giggling.  

Playing, "Where's Daddy?" 

Bath time.  Brushing teeth.

Saying our good nights.  Tucking in. 

Loving life.  

So thankful.

He's here!

Just wanted to stop by and say that A arrived at our house around 3 this afternoon. 

Today has been wonderful. 

And when I wake up tomorrow morning, I get to do it all over again!

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow!  Tomorrow!  I love ya- tomorrow!  You're always a day a-way!

So placement didn't happen on Saturday- we found out Thursday afternoon that it was going to be postponed until Monday due to a conflict with the caseworker's schedule.  Which definitely stinks when I think about the fact that A could already be in our home right now... but it also gave us a few more days to get ready! 

And all the preparations being made as we readied ourselves for A kept us busy, which kept our minds off of how A could already be here... make sense?

In the past two days we:

• sold our glass-top coffee table
• moved the rug that was too small out of our living room (it wasn't very comfortable either)
• purchased a bigger, softer rug for all of us to enjoy
• took out the kitchen faucet that had become quite tricky to use
• purchased and installed a new faucet that actually turns
• installed the new car seat in my car
• donated things that we didn't need to make room for things we now need
• washed clothes
• completed our grocery shopping
• checked and re-checked our outlets to make sure they were all covered (also- meds locked up, cleaning supplies put up high, etc)

The hard part is going to be tomorrow morning as I wait for the caseworker to arrive with A.  Maybe I'll do some baking to keep myself busy while I wait...