Can any of you relate?

Halloween Cookies

Yesterday we went over to my parents house to decorate sugar cookies. I had made the dough the day before and thought that my mom had made them and we could just come by and decorate. Well, her day got kind of crazy so we went over and I had to try to cook them while Micah meandered around their house. I had never made sugar cookies before, so I didn't realize how much flour you needed to keep them from sticking. Woops, the first batch was all deformed, but after that I got the knack and the rest of them turned out great. The only problem I ran into (literally) was when I was taking the hot cookies out of the oven without knowing Micah had snuck up behind me. I pulled them out to the side and knocked him in the face. Not only did he get hurt, he got two little burns right between the eyes! Poor guy. I'm not sure if you can make it out in the picture, but today they are kind of brown and scabbed. He is already sick with a cold. Leave it to me to make things worse. Anyways, I got the cookies baked and then everyone came home to decorate.

Aunt Taura helped Micah make his own cookie.


He wanted to put on his own "red one's" sprinkles.


Grandpa was all too happy to help him eat that cookie. Later Ashley and Troy came by and Troy turned out to be our cookie artist. He even put blood on the fangs of his bat!

P.S. I think I might have over-reacted in the last blog. I know I am rounding, but maybe not as fast as I thought since my doctor said I haven't gained weight.

Well rounded

I'm almost 3 months now and I am already starting to round in the gut. It freaks me out a little bit because with Micah I didn't go through the chubby stage until I was into the fourth month. I didn't even look pregnant until I was five months pregnant. I had been told that you show much sooner with your second, but now I am starting to think that if I am already getting big, how big will I get? Scary thought! Did anyone else feel this way with their second? I've also been wondering what I am going to do to nest this time around. Last time I was a week away from delivering and I was up painting every surface of my room. I mean even the shutters, closet, everything. It turned out great though. I also was just checking the Chinese birthing chart and it predicts I will have a girl. That would be great since I have kind of thought that all along. Besides, my friend Kendal just made me seven of the cutests little headbands and I don't think they would look right on a boy!

Just a few thoughts...

Yesterday I was driving from my house to my mom's house to take Micah to the Pumpkin Patch. As I crossed over Crown Valley and reached the top of Cabot, I could see the flames on the mountain. It is creeping up the left side of the Saddleback range. I was going to try to get a picture, but I'm not talented enough to drive and take pictures at the same time. I wish I could have for all of my friends who are from the area, but have moved. You guys would be blown away. It is so surreal. It reminds me of the big fire season we had back when we were in elementary school and there were ashes falling and the sky was orange. It is like that all over again! There is soot all over the place and I actually found myself vacuuming my patio. I know it sounds weird, but I don't own a real broom, so that was my best option.

Anyways, Micah loved the Pumpkin Patch. My mom treated him and my neice Shelby to all of the fun rides that they had. Here are a couple of pictures. By the way, you can see some of the smoke from the Santiago fire in the tractor picture. It looks like a gloomy day, but it was supposed to be clear and it was HOT too!

This is one of those rides where you have a wheel to spin it. Shelby had it going so fast he was plastered against the side, but the faster she went, the more he giggled!

These are little power wheels that they had them ride in circles.

Probably his favorite ride, the 50 cent machine!

The pony ride, fun at first then turned into tears.

Shleby and Micah posing on the tractor.

This little piggy went to the Pumpkin Patch.

I think a fake pony is better for him at this age.

Torched!

As most of you know, 7 counties in southern California are on fire. We are lucky enough to be safe, but the air quality has definitely suffered. Just going out to the grocery store you could feel the soot burning your throat and eyes. It looks like there is a brownish fog outside and our cars are covered in a fine dust. There is a fire pretty close to us up next to Foothill Ranch, so it is pretty bad. I feel for all of the people that have lost their homes or have to evacuate not knowing if there home will be there when they return. So sad!


On a happier note, Chad had his last day off today so we got to spend some time together as a family. We would have gone out, but with the air being so bad, we decided to take a quick trip out. We stopped by Nalu's for shave ice. It brings me back to the time when Chad and I lived on the North Shore of Oahu right after we got married. We were dirt poor and had some rough times trying to make it. When we got stressed or felt like we needed a break, we would head over to Matsumoto's. That is the real deal. We would get an orange shave ice with vanilla ice cream on the bottom. (We were never brave enough to try the beans!) We kind of bonded over it in a funny way. There is nothing like real Hawaiian shave ice. And yes, it is shave ice, not shaved ice. It is light and fluffy and a snow cone can't hold a candle to it! Although there is no Matsumoto's out here, Nalu's does a pretty good job. They don't have orange, but their Blue Hawaii is great and Micah loves it too!

Potty training update

So, on Thursday morning when Micah woke up we put him on the potty right away and gave him a sippy cup full of milk. I sat with him for a good ten to fifteen minutes reading stories and singing songs, but he would not go. So we showered him and dressed him and started setting the timer for 20 minutes. At that time we would put him back on with a sippy cup of Gatorade to sing more songs and read. He would not go on the potty. Instead, he would wait until we had gotten him dressed to go back in his room and pee all over himself! After the fifth change of clothes in two hours, I was done. I am still dealing with morning sickness, so I was not feeling well enough to keep up with it! Micah only turned two in August though, so I know I am trying a little on the early side, especially for boys. I know he doesn't quite understand it, but I was just hoping to get lucky. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will show interest in it soon so that I won't have to be changing two sets of diapers when the new baby comes! I have about six months left to get it done. By the way, the Gatorade works great Jen. I wouldn't call it a pee inducer, but it is something he was happy to drink and I knew that it wouldn't give him the runs like large amounts of milk or apple juice would. I will definitely let you all know when we have successfully potty trained. Until then, we will just have to change diapers for a while longer!

Underpants!

Chad decided to take some vacation time off of work, so this Thursday, Friday and Monday he will have off. What do you think we are going to do? Disneyland? Maybe San Diego? Nope, we will be potty training Micah! I know, it doesn't sound like a fun vacation at all, but it needs to be done, so here we go. I dropped by Target today to get the necessary supplies, i.e. underwear and gatorade. These weren't just generic underwear though. We got Cars underwear since Micah is obsessed with the movie. I brought them home and pulled them out and he was so excited. He loved them and I started to explain that these were what you wear when you use the potty and that we wouldn't need to wear diapers anymore, etc. He grabbed the pair on top and what did he do? This:
That's right, he put them on his head! I don't know why, but I hope this isn't a bad sign!

A couple things...

OK, I have to start off with a little bit of a rant. I have so many friends that swear by their crock pot. They love being able to throw food in it in the morning and have a meal ready by dinner time. I have used my crock pot twice now and both times the meal has been a disaster! No joke, the first one I threw entirely away and the second one Chad nearly gagged! I think I am a pretty decent cook, so when I hear about how easy this thing is to use and how it saves time, etc., etc., it really burns me when I can't get the easiest cooking tool in the world to work for me! If any one can point me in the direction of some good crock pot recipes (not beef), let me know!

This weekend we went to my cousins son's 8th birthday party which they held in a gymnastics gym. Micah LOVED it! He was all over the place. He was jumping on the trampolines almost the entire time and was so sad when we had to leave. He was pretty exhausted after that and was falling asleep about an hour earlier than usual.



He is getting smarter all of the time. He spells his own name now and says things that crack us up all the time. Some of my favorites are "What the heck?", "Oh come on!" and "Why he do that?"

I had to share this recipe. Very easy and always a hit. Great for large parties because it is a filling meal. I try to substitute some of the ingredients for low fat or light ingredients to lighten it up a bit. It is also one of those foods that gets better with time, so it is a great leftover!

Gringo Enchiladas

12 flour tortillas
2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 small can sliced (or chopped) black olives
1/2 can green chilies
8 oz room temperature cream cheese

Mix above ingredients and roll up inside tortillas

2 cans cream of chicken soup (Campbells works great)
1 pint sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk

Mix above ingredients and put a small amount on the bottom of your cassarole dish (9x13 should work). Lay all of the filled tortillas on top. Pour the remainder over the top of the filled tortillas and reserve some of the cheddar cheese for the top. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serious concerns

So, I have been thinking about having this new baby and I am getting nervous. I was nervous to have Micah because I didn't know what to expect and now I am nervous for this new baby because I do know what to expect. I am really not looking forward to all the intensive care that an infant needs on top of taking care of Micah. I remember the sleepless nights, the nightmare of nursing, not knowing what to do most of the time to keep him happy, etc. I also have that fear of not loving the new one as much as I love Micah. Here I have this long standing bond with Micah and then I will have a new baby that will just need so much of my time and attention, but won't have much in the way of a response or interaction for a while. I know a couple of you have more than one kid, so if you have any advice or could share your experience with me, I would appreciate it!

P.S. That is Micah at about a week old. Time flies!

110% Trotter

So as Micah grows, I see more and more Trotter in him. Not the physical appearance so much as the personality. Let me explain, the Trotter guys have this way of being meticulous. Chad isn't like a neat freak or anything, but he has to have certain things a certain ways. His dad is the same way and his Uncle Jon, well you could eat your dinner off his garage floor. They are just the type of people that would make sure the saran wrap on your left overs was wrinkle-free. I think it is a healthy balance between particular and OCD! Anyways, I put Micah down for his nap today and he was really groggy. I took off his shoes and put them on the floor, left his socks on and put him down. He was out for a good three hours when I heard him talking again. I walked into his room and as I walked towards his bed, I looked down to see this:


Yes, at some point after I had put him down in a groggy haze, he had gotten up and took off his socks to put one sock inside each shoe. How many kids do you know that do that? He is such a funny kid. It makes being a mom a little more entertaining when you have a kid like this!

Mellow Weekend

Thank you Ghee and Papa! Almost every other weekend, Chad's parents take Micah from Friday evening to Saturday afternoon. It gives us a break and makes for a little bonding time for them. Well, they took him this weekend and actually kept him for most of the day Saturday. I have to admit that it is strange for me when he goes with them for two reasons. The first being that I am not used to so much time on my hands and the second being that I don't know what to do without him. When you have kids you understand that your lifestyle changes. Things like going out to dinner become more difficult and as they get older, you choose places where the food comes out faster because they have run out of patience for sitting in a high chair.

Anyways, we ended up going out to eat on Friday night with my parents and sister. I know, we live quite the crazy life! They do make for lively conversation though. I seem to remember the topic of wadding versus folding toilet paper. Anyways, we went to a place called Pomodoros in the Aliso Viejo Towne Center. The food was great, but what was really fun was the dessert. I had heard of panna cotta before, but never had it. I ordered it and it was so good! For those who don't know what it is, it is kind of a vanilla bean custard that they served with strawberries. It tasted just like ice cream, but wasn't frozen or even cold. They also had a chocolate souffle that was very good and very rich. Normally I would have leaned towards the chocolate, but it gives me pretty bad heartburn right now. Well, it was nice to get some time to dine without worrying if Micah was being too loud or if I had enough Cheerios, etc. I did miss him though and I was so glad to see his cute little face when he walked through the door the next day showing me his new little toy!

Play date!

Brooke Dunyon and I live in the same complex, so every once in a while (when one of us is up for it) we get our kids together and let them play. She sent me these pictures the other day of their last play date together. Emma came over today to play with Micah (thank goodness, I am too tired to play) and they had fun! It is so funny to watch them play together. Micah is pretty passive and Emma likes to boss him around. He will just kind of do what she says for a while and then run back to me every once in a while for a break. They are so funny because their ages are pretty close, so they are both developing conversational skills and forming full sentences. They ask each other if they heard that noise, or what is that, or did you see that. I think they understand each other even when I have no clue what they are saying! It always tires him out too. In fact, he took a four hour nap today. I know I am going to miss OUR naps in the future, so I am grateful for them now.

Getting cheap!

So I was feeling pretty good today. We got up early and got ready and headed out to the bank, got gas and hot chocolate and then went to Music makers. I will have to take pictures of it. The kids are so cute and they totally get into it. Anyways, Micah is getting more into the class and spent most of the time either dancing or running in circles around the room. I didn't bother to stop him since he was quiet and I was just happy he was getting involved. Anyways, after that we ran over to Costco to pick up some essentials and then headed home. As we were driving Micah said "Mama, I so tired." I was impressed that he would admit it, but it was still a little early, so when we got home I let him get a snack and drink. He seemed pretty sluggish so I asked him if he wanted to go take a nap and he went running into his room. I have never seen a child so happy to nap before.

After Chad got home today, I had to help him cut his hair, which is a basic number 4 all over. I thought while I was at it I would give Micah a good cut. I was kind of getting sick of paying 25 bucks every time I went to get his hair cut, so last time I went I paid very close attention to way the cut it. It is a number 3 on the bottom, 4 in the middle and 6 on the top. Micah hated the hair touching him as it fell, but he was a trooper and I think it turned out really well (if I do say so myself). Here are a couple pictures straight out of the shower. And yes, he was annoyed with me that I was taking his picture and interrupting car time!