Family photo Oct 2010

Family photo Oct 2010

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Rainy day

At the beginning of the week we had some freakishly warm weather.  Just a week ago it was snowing and blizzarding and then we had 3 or so days of weather in the 50's... so one of those days I took the opportunity and took the kids outside.  There were still some fairly big snow banks that they could play in and it was wet from rain and stuff, but they had a blast!  I know that they really like just getting out of the house, and I wouldn't mind at all taking them to play in the snow, but the wind and the weather was just to cold for that.  We played in the snow for a little bit and then we took a walk around the complex.  We ended up at the dino playground where they had a ton of fun playing.  Dude thought it was hilarious to go down the slide and make this huge splash in the slush at the bottom of the slide.  Lucy, of course, saw him do it so she wanted to also but she kinda biffed it at the end, which she wasn't so thrilled about it, but she got over it and continued to play and splash in puddles.  All was well until it started to actually rain so I thought it was best to go inside.  The kids did fantastic outside... they listened really well and when it was time to go in there wasn't any fit throwing :)

Checking out the texture of the snow

Realizing that it was a soft solid... they could sink in!

Dude was loving climbing this snow bank

Lucy, not so impressed.  Off doing her own thing and walking around and splashing in puddles

I'm king of the mountain!

She was fascinated by how the water would run under the snowbank and create a little snow lip 

She loves to splash in puddles even if the water is a bit chilly

Dude on the slide

Lucy's turn!

Puddles... and more puddles...


Also, once we got inside we made a make shift hammock out of a blanket and our kitchen table.  They had a lot of fun with that too.  We had a lot of fun during that morning but we were all ready for naps after that!  :)

Dude in the hammock


Lu got a turn too!
One of the things that I found the nicest about this day was that I actually felt like I could keep up with them and take them out.  Recently I had been feeling very tired and draggy, but I felt great today and was glad I could take them out :)  Made me feel good to play hard with them!

JVG

32 weeks

This was my last appointment with my PCP until after Norah is born!  We are now getting into the part of pregnancy where I got every other week, and soon (like a month) I will be going to the Dr's every week!  However, from here on out I will be going to my OB specialist for the rest of Norah's care and delivery.  Since my last visit (which was two weeks ago) I gained 4 lbs putting me at 34 total.  I thought it was going to be a little less because we all got sick and weren't eating a whole lot, but I guess regardless of what I am doing baby is going to take what she needs!  She had a strange heartbeat at 140 and even wasn't to wiggly to get good dop tones.  Gaetan and the kids got to be here for the appointment which was nice... I know how much he likes to hear her heart.  I also asked Dr Chamberlain where she was in my belly... whenever she has hiccups I feel her in one general area and I wondered if she was head down.  Turns out she is!  Where all the action is on my belly is definitely where he says her arms and legs are.. so it make sense.  I think that's the most fun part is watching her move around and trying to guess what body part it is. haha.



Nighttime is getting a bit rougher.  I have been feeling better since my little visit to the hospital.  I've had minimal contractions and no heart burn!  Whoo!  I think this 'heart burn' was just a symptom of whatever sickness was spreading through our house.  I do get tuckered out fairly easily though, but have been feeling more energetic than I had in the past few weeks.  I do get up to pee a lot during the night, but it's also kind of nice because that gives my legs a stretch.  I'm supposed to be sleeping on my left side but I feel like a rotisserie chicken at night since I'm always tossing from one side to the next... always rotating to get comfortable and give one of my sides a break!  But, it's all been good and I know it's preparing my body for the couple of hour increments it will only be getting in the very near future.

We also talked a bit about Norah's extraction.  Since we are pretty sure she will be a c-section, even though I would like to try a VBAC its probably not going to happen.  Lucy and Tristan's heads were so big that even if I had dilated properly and everything had gone the way it was supposed to, there was no way their heads would've fit!  But they are thinking that they would like to extract a week early, so we will see!  Getting excited to meet Miss Norah!  Dude likes to talk to my belly a lot more now and Lucy will say baby and point to my belly too.  They give her good night kisses now and pray for her at dinner time too... very endearing.

This was the kids sharing their puzzle pieces with Norah... just piling them all up on my belly haha


JVG

Norah's Afghan

I was looking for a new project to do since I last did the kid's dino hoodies... and I ran across one of the first blankets I tried knitting when I was little.  My Grandma bought me some HUGE knitting needles and some yarn and told me how to just do a basic blanket.  The only difference with this than what I was used to was that you used two different strands at the same time so that it was extra thick.  However, since I was young and new to this I dropped a lot of stitches... so there were a lot of holes in it.  It turned up at my parents house the other day so I took it home, ripped it all out and then I had this HUGE ball of yarn.  I thought I would knit another one with smaller needles and no mistakes :)  I finally finished the baby afghan and it's quite warm and cozy.  There aren't any fancy patterns or stitches to it, real straight forward, but I was pretty proud that it got finished before she was born and that there weren't any mistakes.  :)  Now, I'm on to a new project... maybe.



JVG

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I thought a nice warm soup would compliment the homemade bread very well, so I found this recipe and it sounded delicious.  I'm always a huge fan of broccoli cheddar, and this claimed that it tasted like Panera's, so I thought, why not.  Also, it didn't use velveeta (which I know there is a time and a place for that stuff, but I do try to avoid it as much as possible).  I thought it turned out very nice.  It was really warm and comforting (especially as I watched the snow blowing sideways past our window) and the kids really liked to dip the bread in it.  :)  I thought it was pretty tasty and definitely a nice substitute if you don't have to drive to a Panera and spend the money on theirs!

http://www.food.com/recipe/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup-150384



JVG

English Muffin Bread/Toast

I am always looking for a bread recipe that is quick and easy and I think I found the winner!  This is definitely better as toast, but it was so fast and easy I will definitely be making it again and again! The only draw-back I had to this was that I needed 4 bread loaf pans and only had one... but luckily my Mom had some I could borrow.  There is no kneading to this bread which was great for me since I don't have a lot of counter space.  While I was making it though I found out I didn't have enough flour... so my loving husband braved the blizzard and went to our neighbors and asked for some flour, which they luckily had!  So, one of the loaves I made went to them as gratitude for not having to drive to a store :)  Yum yum on this toast though!

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/moms-english-muffin-bread.html



JVG

Oven baked Fajitas

This recipe is really nice because its so fast.  It would be super fast if you had time to cut everything ahead of time so you could just throw it together later.  I thought it was really good... a little cumin heavy in my opinion, but other than that really liked it!  I didn't use tomatoes with chilies as I was thinking the kids were going to eat it and didn't want it to spicy, but pinterest was actually down when I was trying to make dinner so I couldn't!  But, the husband and I enjoyed it later and it went very nicely with some guacamole :)

http://realmomkitchen.com/9318/oven-baked-chicken-fajitas/

JVG

Monkey Bread

So, I think you'll find a lot of the things I make are a result of my cravings I have.  For some reason Monkey Bread was sounding really good to me... the idea of warm, cinnamony-sugar bread with the brown sugar glaze melted in between the pieces was just hitting all the right things for me.  So, I made it.  :)  I didn't put any of the extra stuff (raisins, nuts) in mine and it was great!  It was really strange because the kids wouldn't even try it... and who doesn't like monkey bread?!  But, my ever clever husband called it velociraptor bread and they loved that!  haha.  It was a delicious indulgence, and am looking forward to making more.  I think it would be a really good thing for Tristan to help with since he would easily be able to coat all the pieces with the cinnamon and sugar :)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/monkey-bread-i/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=monkey%20bread&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e13=A%3aSearch%20Results-List%28control%29&e7=Home%20Page

JVG

Lo Mein

I have been craving food court 'Chinese' food... and then I realized the thing that I actually wanted where the greasy lo mein noodles you can pick as a side.  So, I found this recipe that was really fast and easy to make!  :)  I couldn't find the noodles they suggested so I just got Japanese Udon Noodles instead, and I substituted carrots for cabbage, mainly because that's the vegetable that I had in the house!  I thought that they turned out really yummy.  They were healthier for you than the food court ones, and they were quite tasty.  The sauce didn't look like it was going to cover it all but it did quite nicely.  :)  The kids really liked it too!

http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2012/12/our-version-of-panda-express-chow-mein.html




JVG

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Norasaurus 31 weeks

I know I know that I'm always saying that she is our wiggly little Miss, but I finally got her on camera doing what she does best... especially when I'm trying to sleep.  Again, proceed with caution because this a video of my nakey belly, in all it's glory, but it's pretty cool (in my opinion.)



JVG

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Cabbage soup

I have to admit that I really like cabbage.  I like to eat it raw, and I like it in things.  I prefer to have my vegetables a bit al dente... not mushy at all.  My favorite cabbage soup that I've ever had (so far) is actually from Big Boy.  Strange, I know, but whatever.  It's delicious.  So, I was craving it because it was full of vegetables and it was going to definitely warm you up on a cold winters day!

This recipe makes a lot of soup.  I made corn bread to go with mine... and I followed the instructions to use V8 instead of water.  Mine had a bit of a kick to it, (I'm not actually sure where it came from... perhaps the black pepper) but it was good.  The kids mostly enjoyed the other vegetables in it, but they did like it.  It would be really easy to make after school or work sometime if all the veggies were pre-cut.  And the nice thing about this is you can add or subtract whatever veggies you want!  :)

http://www.successful-diet-cabbage-soup.com/cabbage-soup-diet-recipe.html

JVG

Soft boiled egg

I don't know about you, but I LOVE ME some yolky eggs.  There is something about the yolk... the richness, the flavor that it brings when its all over the place!  I remember watching this Chef Graham Elliot explain to somebody how an egg done right is sexy... and he's a large individual so I thought that he just liked food in general, but the man was speaking the truth.  I have been trying to find a way to make these sunny side eggs right without getting the white part runny too (because, there isn't anything sexy about that...) and this was the perfect fit.  :)

For this recipe I used english muffins instead of toast, but I'm sure that toast would be just as delightful. And, who doesn't like avocado?  This was a perfect breakfast that was fast to make.  In the time it took to make all the toast the eggs were finished and peeled and ready for consumption.  Lucy LOVED them and Gaetan was a big fan as well.  I'm thinking that this is probably going to be the way that I make eggs for those who love runny yolks.

http://www.hitherandthither.net/2013/01/perfectly-soft-cooked-eggs.html

The egg waiting so nicely on the avocado
The moment of truth... if the yolk was going to be delicious, and it was!  :)



JVG

Friday, January 25, 2013

Flu + Contractions

To continue the sickness story since Dude wasn't feeling so great I stayed up with him most of the night and tried to take care of Gaetan as best as I could.  But, because of it, I think I over did it.  For about a week now if I do to much I start having contractions (which are to early!) so I have to drink a ton of water, and lay on my left side for awhile.  It's kind of like being on bed rest... annoying.  Its hardest because the kids want to play still, but even if I get up and make dinner then that is really over doing it. Lame.

I realized that even though Dude is really good at writing his letters we never taught him numbers... I'd say he's got them down pretty good!

Working hard with his crayons

Goose getting in on the action too
Well, once the kids woke up I got up with them because I wanted Gaetan to rest as much as possible.  We did our normal routine, and they got in the tub.  They were doing pretty good but acted like they were going to cause some mischief, so I gave them the tub crayons Gaetan found for them.  They loved it!  :)  They went to town with them, while I tried to keep my contractions down to a minimum.  Which, wasn't happening.  :(  So I ended up calling a nurse to see what she wanted me to do and she thought I should come in.  So, I woke Gaetan up and told him that the kids were in the tub and almost ready to get out but that I was going to be heading into the hospital.

Our sweet Norasaurus's heart beat monitor
Usually Gaetan comes with me, but since he was feeling so poorly and we didn't really have a clue what to do with the kids, he stayed home with them and I drove myself to the hospital.  After I had been there for a couple of hours they determined that I should continue to keep it easy to keep the contractions at bay and they suggested that I could be having some pretty bad heartburn which was attributing to my not feeling so well and being in more pain.  I am happy to report that Norasaurus is doing well and that she is quite happy in there, so at least that was good!  I have to admit listening to her heartbeat for a couple of hours was very relaxing and exciting... so I'm sure that helped keep the contractions down.

Unfortunately while I was hanging at the hospital things at home weren't going so well.  Gaetan still felt terrible, but luckily Dude was feeling much better!  He was taking such good care of Lucy too.  After she woke up from her nap he checked on her, by getting down the gate, realizing that her pants needed changing, taking her into the bathroom, getting the wipes, starting the bath, making sure the bath water was a reasonable temperature, and even added bubble bath to it (because she likes the bubbles).  It was quite remarkable really.  It's amazing on what they pick up on, and their environment.  He knew that Gaetan wasn't feeling the greatest (it might've been due to the amount of Dinosaur Train that was watched) but he knew he had to help out as much as he could... which turns out is a lot!  I was very proud of him.  :)

Goose just wanted to curl up in your lap with her blanket
Also, after Lucy's nap time she had come down with a really nasty fever and all she wanted to do was snuggle.  And poor baby girl just wanted to be wrapped up in her blanket because she was so hot!  Once I got home we laid around, ate some crackers and watched Dinosaur Train until it was time for bed.  We put Lucy's bedding in our room too so we had a big sleep over in Momma and Papa's room.  Dude was pretty thrilled about that.

This is how awesome we were for the rest of the day...
It was very sweet.  The last things I heard before I fell asleep was Lucy chattering in her sleep and Dude whispering back to her.  I think that they probably do this every night :)  It seemed like they were starting to feel better towards the end of the night, but we all went to bed around 7.  Lu had a rougher night, as I think she was trying to break her fever, but the boys got about 13 hours of sleep, which I can't imagine hurt any.

The kids in much better spirits!  Dude was coloring with his Cool Guy Crayons and Lucy was doing Reader Rabbit Toddler on the computer, while I rested :)
Lu woke up in her chipper sassy self and her fever was gone!  Whoo!  Gaetan didn't get sick through the night so the crackers and gatorade stayed down, which was awesome as well.  It seems that things are on the mend, which is nice.  Now, I just have to get healthy and hope that I don't get contractions again too seriously.  What a crazy couple of days! Never a dull moment that is for sure.  We did finally get our washing machine fixed which was a blessing too... the kids were running out of clothes and unders!  I have never been so happy to do loads and loads of laundry haha

JVG

First puke

I would have to consider myself extremely lucky that after over 3.5 years of having small children this was my first experience with vomit.  Late Wednesday night Dude puked all over his bed, which made him very unhappy, as to be expected.  Poor Duder too!  It was EVERYWHERE.  So, as Gaetan got him cleaned up and changed I set to work on cleaning up his bed.  Now, remember Lucy shares a bunk bed with him, so I was trying to be as quiet as possible as to not wake her.  Unfortunately for me that happens to the hottest room in the house and my ultra sensitive preggo nose was having a hard time blocking the smells out... :(  But, I did get everything cleaned up and even his mattress was good to go. Lucy did end up waking up but she was such a sweet heart about everything.  She did get up and go potty but was so considered that Ba-Boo wasn't in his bed.  She went back to sleep fairly easy (yay!) and stayed there all night.  Lucky for her I did get the smell out of the room so she didn't have to breath that in all night.

Now, once Gaetan got Dude all cleaned up and brought downstairs Dude apparently puked in our bed too... awesome.  So, now we have his bedding, our bedding and no washing machine.  Oh, did I forget to mention that our washing machine stopped working Tuesday morning?  Awesome, right?  So, we got everything out that we could and just soaked it in laundry detergent, so hopefully the smell wouldn't set in.

Unfortunately for Gaetan, his stomach was upset to begin with, so having to deal with the sickness, he got sick himself... :(  And continued to get sick for the rest of the night.  I tried to give Dude some ginger ale to settle his stomach, but not minutes after he had a few sips he was throwing up again... so we decided that we should hold off.  We brought the toddler mattress downstairs and set him up in our room.  Gave him a small bowl by the bed incase he thought he was going to do it again, and that was that.  Unfortunately, the flu didn't stop at the one end, but came out the other... Poor guy.  He told me that he had puked in the back of his pants... which I thought was interesting and somewhat difficult to do until I realized what had happened.

He was such a trooper through it all too.  He was very sweet even in his sickness.  I felt really bad for him because he was just not understanding why it was happening, but he said that he was feeling better afterwards.  As for the rest of us... well, that's another post.

JVG

Room Leaders

The room leaders of Lucy's Sunday school are the greatest.  They are the first people that she stopped screaming for when I dropped her off... and I think that they have a special spot for Lucy because they adopted a little girl from China.  We always talk about the comparisons of how they are in public vs. private...  My favorite story was Lucy wanted to go push the strollers around in the hallway and one of the leaders, David, told her that they would as soon as she said his name.  And without hesitation, she said it!  They said their daughter, Kennedy, was just the same way.  Shy in public, but she really knew a whole lot but just chose not to share it... but at home is a chatter box and crazy girl!  :)

Lucy has actually outgrown their room, but if there is space I like to put her in that room, and they love having her.  I was really surprised when they got her a Christmas gift!  I thought that was extremely thoughtful... and I'm not sure if they got everybody in the room a gift, but this was unexpected.  During Christmas we didn't get a chance to see them because 1.) Lucy was potty training so we didn't want to drop that on them 2.) Then everybody got sick and we didn't want to share the wealth.

Well, when we got back we got the present and it was this awesome animal puzzle by Melissa and Doug.  And for those of you who don't have kids, or know about this company you should look them up!  They're wonderful!  This puzzle even makes the animal noises when you get the piece right... we have also discovered that the puzzle makes noises when you turn lights on and off too.  An extra surprise at night time haha.

Dude LOVED the present, and by default Lucy loved it too.  Thank you room leaders for all your thoughtfulness and time you pour into our sweet Goose.  It is so reassuring being able to leave her there and know she's in good hands.  :)

Goose getting a chance to play with it

She liked to imitate the sounds after she put the pieces in
Dude was thrilled with it

The present!


JVG

Bull

As you're all aware we visit my parents quite a bit.  They love it there!  But, I think I caught the best of Grandma and Don's on video... this was after church and I was getting our stuff together to head home and this is what I caught my Dad doing with the kids... play bull and matador with Lucy's blanket.  They played this game until my Dad was tired... it was pretty funny.  My Dad is such a goof, but this is probably why he kids love him.  :)



It was so nice on Saturday that they played soccer outside


Dude even got a few swings in!

Our Lucy Bull was tired after all the playing

Dude, not so much


JVG

Car dancing

We have made a mixed CD for the kids of their favorite songs for when we have to drive long places... and this is what we always see when we're driving.  Them dancing... and it's adorable.  I can't imagine how Lucy picked up her dance, but they crack me up!




JVG

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Kalamazoo Children's Museum

During Gaetan's busy week meeting with the researcher, I thought that it would be a fun thing to take the kids downtown to Kalamazoo's children's museum.  Their general museum is free, but the parking isn't.  Everything is either metered on the street or ramp parking... and with getting the kids in and out of the car and having to get the stroller ready, doing the ramp parking a block away is the best option.

Let me tell you... it. was. cold!  They liked it because we had to park all the way on top of the ramp and then the ride down on the elevator was all windows so they could see everything.  The actual museum itself isn't that exciting.  There happened to be a school there that day too, so it was a bit chaotic...

They have a small three room place that has some things for the kids to do in it, but the people who work in that part of the museum aren't that friendly.  In fact, it makes me wonder why they are in that part at all...it seems they don't really like kids!  The one lady that I've seen there before literally follows the kids around and picks toys up as soon as they look like they're done with it.  It's terrible.  I can understand wanting to have things in their general area, but Dude decorated this cake and wanted to show Lucy so he got up to get her attention and by the time he got back they had put everything away already.  He was so heartbroken!  :(

Needless to say we didn't stay that long.  Lucy didn't seem that interested in what they had to offer, so she was all over the place.  I'm sure that Dude could've entertained himself for a bit longer, but the toys they have there are pretty pedestrian as well.  I, of course, got some cute pictures of them playing.  I'm fairly certain that it will be one of the last times that we frequent that place though.


The cake that Dude decorated before they put it away

They had a 'jukebox' that Lucy liked to push buttons and this blur was her dancing

They have a mini puppet show area that they were having fun peek-a-booing from

Dude showing Lucy outer space

Lucy was driving the bus and Dude was helping her honk the horn
Dude was sharing his cookies with Lu

JVG

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Last night I got a craving for cookies... but I wasn't feeling the greatest, so I wasn't about to get up and make a batch.  However, that feeling was still ever present this afternoon, so while the kids where resting/napping I decided it was time to whip up a batch.  I was half paying attention and realized that I accidentally doubled one of the sugars, so to rectify it I had to double the batch.  Le sigh.  haha.  Best mistake ever!  Anyhoo, these cookies are delicious and I'm glad that I had to double it.  :)  Consider the craving satisfied.

http://lovintheoven.com/2008/12/day-5-white-chocolate-macadamia-nut-cookies.html

JVG

Sweet and spicy salmon kabobs

We just tried this recipe tonight and it was a BIG HIT.  The thing I liked about it is it could be marinaded ahead of time, and the actual cook time on it was less than 10 minutes.  :)  Something that is quick to whip up when you get home and are starving... or whatever the circumstances may be!  I however, cut the cayenne in half, because I didn't want to over spice my kids.  Even with it cut in half it still had a healthy kick to it, but the kids still loved it.  I served mine with rice and was full after two kabobs!  Healthy, fast, and easy.. what's not to love?

They looked so nice even before they went into the broiler.  :)


JVG

Monday, January 21, 2013

Children Museum Playdate

Ok, I know I love the GR Children's Museum, but they really seriously rock.  We took the kids there to meet up with their pals Kai and Sakura for the afternoon and they had a blast!  The kids are so funny because they're so excited at the idea of playing with the other kids, but in reality, they play around eachother... I'm not sure if it's the age or what, but they don't actually play together!  haha.  It was nice because the Schamper's got a year round pass so its not real expensive to go there all the time.  :)  We are trying to make it a weekly thing, as I'm sure the kids weren't be to heart broken about it.

I'm not sure what it is about the ratio but 4 adults with 4 kids is much easier then even 2 adults and 2 kids.  Maybe it's because both of our kids are getting used to the other adults so they are OK with going with the other one if one is busy, but it was really nice.  Especially if one of them ran off quickly (which, isn't something this Momma does anymore) then we knew that somebody was looking after them.  :)  They played for hours, we had a snack break in there, and Lucy did great with going potty there.  No accidents!  Looking forward to many more playdates there and cute photo ops haha.

When we first got there


They wanted to go grocery shopping

Goose was the 'cashier' as they loaded up all their goods!


Then we had to stop at the ATM to get more $$


Craft time with Tomo and Sakura... Lucy ended up just drawing on her hands


This bubble thing is ALWAYS A big hit


I love Michael's face in this picture




I love her little hands...

Papa and Dude making a maze




Kai really wanted to show Tristan something

And then Dude got distracted by one of his favorite books so he sat down and read it to Michael

Lucys favorite toy

Rare opportunity that all three kids were at the same place at the same time...
Kai checking out the downstairs through the bubble window in the fort

Sakura getting her musical percussion skills on

Lucy feeding this bunny

And now she's a pilot!


Gaetan getting chauffeured around by Dude

Sakura making a break for it while the light is red!

big time fishing guy

She was so afraid of this chicken, but she finally overcame her fear


Dude built this with Tomo!  I was impressed!

Peace!
His tangram puzzle success... I was really impressed with this one too!
Lucy sitting and twirling in this thing

They were using this wheel thing to get around... it was pretty funny

Lucy passed out pretty hard on the ride to my parents house


JVG