Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas!

What an exciting month!

Nolan turns the big 5 tomorrow. Scott and I were talking, and we said that five just seems so big. He's now school-aged. Where did the time go!? We both got quite emotional as we looked back on videos, went through his monthly pictures, and talked about ways he has changed and stayed the same over time. 

The eyes stayed the same piercing gray, while the hair has turned darker and chins have disappeared. He thoroughly enjoys building through legos or constructing projects out of tape and random things around our house. He is easily amused, has big emotions, and needs things to work out the way he plans them in his head. We enjoy his spirit, attention to detail, and constant drive to get answers.  He still plays hockey, though these late nights/busy holiday season had him lying in the net most of last practice. I feel ya, bud.   He also is making big leaps in swimming! He enjoys swimming underwater and jumping in unassisted.  It has taken a while to get here, as he is a kid that does not take our word for his limits. 

He adores his little brother, but I think his little brother adores him exponentially more. While Nolan is at school, Isaac talks to his pictures on the wall, pictures on the computer, and eagerly awaits for him to come in to the car at pickup (he lets out a big coo every time Nolan enters). 

As Nolan turns five and Isaac is clearly on the upswing to one, I just want to formally request for time to slow down so we can savor these cheeks a little more and enjoy them being little. Isaac just got two teeth, and is thoroughly loving this big-kid life in the high chair (he'll scream at you if you even think about taking away his food before he is finished).  He fights sleep, and has a serious fear of missing out on something. He has mastered sitting independently, and gets so angry when Nolan finds the sweet spot of being just out of reach.  

I dread the constant running around/tasks of this month, but am looking forward to unplugging, unwinding, and just spending time together as a family during break.

So, if you've made it this far, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season! 

Love,

Life & Pregnancy

I suppose I should finally blog about pregnancy for the family members that only keep up with us through this site.  First, my apologies to my Facebook friends...  Apparently, since I didn't share my husband's announcement photo (below), half of you didn't see it.

Around the 16 week mark, we decided to announce our new little bundle of joy.  Since we had just moved, we started with mailing announcement cards. I still enjoy the traditional cards/letters in the mail, so I insisted on doing some type of moving update (I removed the address for this post).

Please note the baby shoes... 

If we learned anything, it's that our family and friends don't seem to enjoy subtlety. Most opened it and thought, "I didn't know people still did moving cards" and left it at that. After a few brief conversations discussing why we wouldn't be unpacked until December, the need for further clarification became clear. So, below I give you our Facebook announcement. In big, bold, capital letters.

Note: No cats flew away in the process. 

So, pregnancy.  First, to all you moms, kudos.  My first trimester was actually relatively easy. I know some women would kill me for saying that, and I know I'm lucky. Other than fatigue, life wasn't too different.  Likewise, the second trimester was nice.  There's something comforting about feeling the little kicks and flutters while watching your belly grow.  But, now I'm at the third trimester.  Wow.  No one tells you about this other than "You're almost there!"  There's a whole new level of exhaustion... and the added weight makes moving around and sleeping tough. Plus, let's not forget about pregnancy brain. Teaching with pregnancy brain is a whole different ball game.  I've used so many sticky notes to try remembering some basic things. But overall, it's true, we're getting close.  One part of me is so excited to become a mom.  Another part of me is scared to death.  First, the basics: Giving birth, breastfeeding, "Will my body ever go back?!", etc. Of course, then there's the life after.  What's our view on discipline? Should we visit all of our friends now since we're no longer going to have such flexibility? Can we survive on no sleep? Can we afford this? Can we, can we, can we...? These questions seem endless. But, I don't know, I wouldn't think we're ready if we didn't start to doubt all the big things in this huge change. That's life. And, I know (or hope) we'll get through it just like everyone else.

I realized last week that I haven't taken a single picture of this growing belly.  With our schedules, we rarely get home before dark... and we're just tired. With this beautiful weather and a relatively free Saturday, I dragged Scott outside with the camera (once again, taking advantage of the lovely fence behind our house). Here's the belly.

I'm Alive!

Wow! It's been so long since I last wrote an update. Clearly, there's a lot of updating to do.  But, I need to do some checking in so that my extended family and friends know that I'm still alive.  Hi Grandpa!  That said, expect this blog to be a lot of rambling.

This post in a single picture.

First, I'll admit it.  I failed at my New Year's goal.  It was too ambitious for this year with all the traveling.  I still try to cook, but I'm at the point where buying a weekend's worth of food for two people is about the same as eating out.  Any greens don't last until the next weekend and we certainly can't eat them all in one sitting.  I did make some grilled chicken, mashed 'taters and asparagus so that Scott could have decent non-frozen leftovers, but I think we waste a lot of food.  I think I've done a new recipe every month like my goal states, but I haven't documented it or put much creativity into it. It's just new to us.

The driving back and forth combined with sleeping in 2-3 different places is starting to get old.  Really old.  I used to appreciate the drives.  I'd catch up with the news on NPR, relax from a stressful day, and if I'm lucky, watch a sunset/sunrise.  Now, it's construction season! Ugh.  I don't think there's any possible thing that can make driving through construction multiple times per week exciting.  But, I'm listening to new podcasts and updating my iPod to accommodate the additional half hour or more of time.

More so than the construction, I feel like I'm literally going crazy sometimes.  For any frequent traveling female, I have no idea how you live out of bags.  I tend to wear the same wrinkly clothes over and over (I suppose that's just me being lazy) but lately I have been forgetting items.  Take today for example.  I woke up and realized I left pants at home.  Therefore, I had to dig through my closet at my parent's to find something suitable.  I ended up with an old skirt... thank goodness I haven't changed sizes much since early college.   Then, I was at school and noticed the beautiful weather outside.  Over the weekend, I saw it was going to be a nice week so I packed running clothes.  I spent a good chunk of time convincing myself I was going to run while at school (I don't particularly love or even like running).  I went home to go forth with my plans and guess what?! I only have dress shoes.  Since I haven't mastered running in tennis shoes, I'm certainly not going to upgrade to heels.  Alas, I'm stuck here blogging and trying to convince myself to do something like a workout DVD (boo!).  I don't think I've worked out in like 2 months.. (and I'm left wondering if that is or isn't an exaggeration.  Yikes!)

Overall, I'm finishing up my first year of teaching and Scott's in his last week of his second year of med school.  Don't celebrate yet, while I'm wrapping up school, he'll be in his intensive study period.  Then, it's the STEP 1 Board Exam.  The score, combined with some other things, help determine you're likelihood of getting where you want for residency.  So, it's pretty stressful.  About 8 weeks left until both of our first actual week long break.  We'll be moving to Kalamazoo during that short break, but I plan on enjoying every waking minute of it.  Then, it's right into the Kalamazoo hospitals for rotations and me into my summer jobs.

All in all, we're nearing the end stretch.  We found our place for next year (contract pending), and are excitedly awaiting living together both on the weekends and during the week.

Now, that I've updated you... stay tuned and I'll try to write a more enjoyable post.

January in Review

Phew! We made it through January.  Going into January, I was dreading the month: terrible weather, crazy schedule, getting back into the groove, etc.  First, let me say how relieved I am that we skipped the terrible weather.  I did have a treacherous longer than necessary drive, but overall it wasn't too bad.

Once my winter break was over, there were only three January weekends left.  Here are how those went for me:

First weekend - spent the weekend at the Devos Place/Amway Hotel to talk to Fair enthusiasts about the possibilities of using QR Codes in marketing.  Luckily, I was able to have Scott tag along with me to this conference.

Second weekend - I took around 42 middle schoolers to Shipshewana to a water park/hotel for the weekend. While this was fun, it was entirely exhausting.  I am happy to say that it went very successfully thanks to some great leaders and even more entertaining students.

Third weekend - I went to a Youth for Christ conference to get energized to spend more time with the kids that  I spend the second weekend with.

All were very refreshing, and fun weekends... but boy, it left me exhausted.  Needless to say, I failed at my New Years goal.  I guess I fall in that 92% of American's who fail at their New Year's Resolutions (statistic heard on the radio...).  However, I think the above clearly states why I wasn't making elaborate meals over the weekend.  Cooking was about the last thing on my to-do list.  I did try two meals this past weekend...ad I'm not joking, they were disgusting.  I was going to just post them for the sake of meeting my goal, but I figured it wasn't fair to you if I posted and convinced you to make something I found disgusting.

Anyway, I successfully made a delicious meal last night, and figured I'd share. :)

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu w/ Mashed Potatoes

Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients:
(I estimated most of my amounts, but I'll estimate for a serving of 4)

• Chicken Breast (however many people you're serving)
• Black Pepper
• Dash of Salt
• 1/4 cup of Swiss Cheese
• 2 tbsp. Reduced-Fat Cream Cheese
• 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), divided
• 1/2 cup chopped ham

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit 

1. Salt & Pepper Chicken Breasts on both sides

2. Combine Cream Cheese and Swiss cheese in bowl (mine came out like a thick paste)

3. Combine bread crumbs, about an 1/8 tsp. pepper, and 1 tsp. EVOO in another bowl
4.  Heat remaining 1 tsp. of EVOO in an ovenproof skillet

5. Place chicken in skillet and brown on both sides (about 2 minutes per side).  Once done, move chicken to the center of the skillet so that they are touching.

6. Spread cheese mixture on chicken (it was really thick... so I used my hands)

7.  Sprinkle ham and then top with breadcrumbs

8.  Bake in the oven until chicken temperature reaches 165 degrees (about 7 minutes). 

9.  Enjoy!  

Next, Delicious Parmesan Potatoes! :) Seriously, they are yummy.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of Yukon blend potatoes
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• You can add 1/3 cup chives, but I didn't have any
• Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Boil potatoes in salted water until you can break apart with a fork

2. Mix everything else in a bowl

3. Add potatoes and mix with a potato masher (I don't have one... so I just used a low speed with a blender)

Voila - you have a delicious meal.  :)  I paired it with steamed veggies and bread. If I made this again (which I will), breadsticks would have been a better bread pairing.   It was delicious (and we have plenty of leftovers!)

P.S.  I had a chocolate craving for brownies topped with 1/2 cup cream cheese,  1/2 cup powered sugar and strawberries.  I liked it. 

Let me know if you try it. 

In other news, Scott has been extra creative lately.  If you're a facebook fan, I now have a more creative timeline header. 

Now, on to make some homemade chicken wings for the Super Bowl (speaking of which, I'm not too excited about either team).

Feel free to pin the recipe above to pinterest:

Pin It

Love,

Surviving the Holidays & Resolutions

Well, today is the last day of our vacation.  I'm definitely sad to see the return come so quickly, but I'm somewhat ready to get back in the routine. I just am not looking forward to the drive that comes with that routine.

Our first holiday together went smoothly.  We have done the whole sharing holidays with multiple families for a few years now, so this one wasn't all that different.  Sadly, schedules forced us to miss one of the Christmas', but we were able to successfully get to four others.

In the middle, we did take a short vacation in Canada (thanks to Scott's family).  For some reason, I've married into a family that decides to travel north during the cold months rather than south. ;) It's okay, it's always a pleasant trip.

Some pictures from the trip:

Butterfly Conservatory

The Gorge

While the new year has just begun, I have already accomplished something on my bucket list:

We went skiing! Sorry, we didn't get any action shots.  Don't we look darling in our helmets?  :P

I suppose bucket lists makes a nice transition to New Years Resolutions. I just asked Scott his, and he replied, "I don't have one."  I don't know if I have some "new" resolutions, but I do like to keep goals throughout the year.  They're basically on-going and have been for a few years... things like trying something new (skiing), eating healthier, exercising more, becoming more organized in my classroom, etc.  However, after watching Wheel of Fortune, I think I'll copy Vanna White's resolution.  She said that she wants to make a new recipe every week.  I feel like I've done that numerous times over break, but I like this goal.  Unfortunately, I'm not home to cook much for the week, so I'm going to say that I'll create (well, copy), one amazing meal per month. Or, at least cook an entire meal that I hope to be amazing.  Don't worry, I'll share.

While this isn't my amazing meal of the month for January, I did make a new recipe tonight: Chicken Spinach Pasta Bake.  Here's a link if you want to try it.  It was an odd concoction, but good.  It should make for decent leftovers for Scott during the week.  Feel free to share your favorites.

Well, I have an early night planned, as school starts in the morning.  Happy New Year! :)

They picked the right resolution. 

Long time no see?

What an odd expression.  If you really think about it, why would anyone phrase something like that? Anyway...

I haven't written a blog in a while.  I'm sure you like to hear excuses, so here goes: Conference time.  For a teacher, that means absolutely no life. My school has 100% participation requirement... so you must meet with each parent, regardless of whether they want to meet (because of that last statement, you get a lot of no-shows). Thankfully, I'm nearly done.  I have one that I'm still waiting for, but we'll get it scheduled eventually.

Then, of course, Thanksgiving.  Being married certainly adds to the to-do list when it comes to Thanksgiving dinners.  However, it led to three delicious meals. :)  I also got to do some cooking/baking, which is always fun.  My favorite new addition to the recipe book is a delicious white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake.  Delicious... but extremely rich. We got to eat a lovely meal at Scott's grandparents', Thanksgiving at my mom's house with Grandpa and Aunt Rebecca (and Scott kicking butt in Scattergories!), and an additional meal at my Grandma's; where, once again, Scott and my team kicked butt in Guesstures. :) Have I mentioned my family loves board games?

Complete Topic Change...
A while back, we went to a Downhere concert with Scott's parents (and sister).  It was a really good concert, so I figured I'd share some potentially new music. First off, the lead singer, Marc Martel is becoming quite popular with his audition for the Queen Extravaganza.  He has quite the voice.

Go vote here! :) 

Don't worry, he's not famous for singing Queen.   They have many albums that could be featured, but I'll just showcase their well-known Christmas song, "How Many Kings":

I really could do a whole four-page blog with songs that I find worth listening to, but I'll let you explore here.  There's a button up at the top to listen to their music.  Do it.

While you're listening, here are some pictures from the concert!

Photo Credit goes to Scott

VIP Passes 

Let me know what you think! :)