Food, of course

We really love food around here. I mean, more than just the love of eating, we love FLAVOR. So we cook a lot.  It's isn't always something exotic or grand, but it is always tasty. Lately we've been working on low and slow carb-ing it, so our quest for great taste has been particularly..desperate. I mean, determined! Yeah.

So in the interest of blogging about something that does not require me to fight with the camera card, here are a few of our latest favorite meals.

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Beef Bourguignon.

Just do it. This stew is SO amazingly rich and delicious in a way-too-good-to-be-allowed-on-the-diet sort of way. It is NOT gluten free, but it did fit a low carb high protein profile.

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Smashed cauliflower with coconut milk. A pinch of cinnamon and a tablespoon of crushed cashews seal the deal in this Surprised-the-heck-out-of-me dish .I HATE cauliflower.... except for this. Just so we're clear on the level of surprise.  My husband made me promise to make this at least once a week. Last week we had it twice.

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Meatloaf.  booooriiiinnnggg.Stuffed Peppers, BETTER! And if you jam pack lean meat with fresh chopped spinach, grated carrots, onion, garlic (duh), canned (but drained) tomatoes, and some seasoning then then it is transformed from YAWN to YUM in 30 minutes bake time. I used some no carb BBQ sauce in it, too. My kids LOVE this dish.

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Mussels. So cheap! Who knew? Around here they are about $4/lb. Steam in white wine and, garlic, red onion and chopped tomatoes. Or steam in red curry paste, red onion, and coconut milk. Serve on the side of pretty much anything. So far a hit for most. My only problem with these is that the broth just begs for some bread to sop it up. 

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Thai Pumpkin Soup. It gets even better the next day. 

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Have I bored you yet? I am getting hungry just typing it all out, so I'll stop here. Time to go defrost the chicken for tomorrow's Chicken Taco Chili!

Lucky? Me?

!!!!!I WON HALLIE'S GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

Please don't think I'm gloating; I really don't mean to. It's just that I feel the need to shout it from the rooftops because I hardly ever win anything, let alone anything this truly awesome. I am SO excited!!!!

Here's my problem, yall:

I have no idea what to pick!!!  Shabby Apple has so many darling, classy, delightful dresses that I simply don't know where to start! I sure could use some good advice, if anyone's up for it. Feel free to tell me your absolute favorite. I am truly hopeless in the fashion department. And when I say "hopeless" I mean I've seen my wardrobe on the before section of "what not to wear."

 Disclaimer, though: my shape could be described as "pear", but this "pear" has had 4 babies in 5 years, so maybe something more like a bunch of grapes. Anyone have advice?

Andrew Gabriel, 6 Months

Yikes!  I simply refuse to believe that my little teeny tiny newborn is... not such a newborn.  That whole "I blinked and he grew up" motherhood thing? Totally cliche, totally right.

So here's the synopsis, since I'm sure that's all the time I'll have while he's sleeping anyways.

The Stats: 14 lbs 4 ozs. That is pretty much the "Tramma Par" as my pediatrician calls it. He's tiny -so tiny we had an extra weight check just for fun.  The funny thing is that Bella was just a few ozs more at her 7 month weight check. I'd say that's genetics.

Sleep: say what? when?  Actually, although the past few nights have been rough, he does in fact sleep quite comfortably as long as he's within a 4 second access to the Milk Source. He's been sleeping in the cradle at the foot of the bed, but now that he pulls himself up that has to end. I'll crawl into bed and snuggle up with a good book or a good husband and the little head will pop over the top of the cradle and there's his sweet little elf face grinning at us. One day he woke up before we were in bed and we found him looking all around trying to figure out which way to face whilst he screamed.

Temperment: I actually am not quite sure. He is mostly happy, he's very playful, and very adventurous. That being said, he does get quite angry quite quickly when life is not as he thinks it should be. Volatile? geesh, just what we need around here. Raspberry blower often and thumb sucker sometimes.

Food: Sir Andrew, the Great Lover of Food!  That kid chews tiny bits of chicken like a champ, and he still doesn't have teeth. He's yet to meet a food/taste/texture he doesn't like. Particular excitement over cheerios and rice crispies.

Activity: My. Good. Heavens. The boy crawls like he's perpetually running a race. His arms and legs are moving before he touches the ground. All. The. Time.  He can get himself back to sitting, which is one of my favorite stages of babyhood. They are just so happy when the can make themselves comfy with a toy. But was he happy to stay at that stage? Nope. Darnit.

Life: We are all hopelessly head-over-heels in love with this little boy!  I say that and everyone smiles as "of course, duh" smile, but what I mean is that Andrew shines from the showers of attention. Bella makes him laugh, picks him up to bounce him, brings him age-appropriate toys (and then is shocked when he's more interested  in her pencil). Anastasia is always singing to him and making him laugh. She can make him grin in the middle of a screaming fit. Joey loves to fall down right in front of Andrew's face just to look at him and let Andrew grab at his nose. We are reveling in the joy and happiness that surrounds a baby who can't irritate them yet.

Andrew, it has been a fast 6 months with you around here. You are really good at being Baby #4 - always happiest when surrounded by activity and people! 

Quick Takes

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Sickness. Last week some nasty head cold invaded and conquered several members of the Casa di Tramma. Poor Joey, for having been a ROCKSTAR with normal sickness last year, is having the hardest time. This is the second time in just 2 months that he's been on nebulizers and steroids. The rest of those sicky munchkins are just whiny and sad, so MORE TV for EVERYONE! 

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Speaking of TV, now here is your public service announcement:  MR. ROGERS IS ON AMAZON PRIME INSTANT VIDEO!!!!  Happiness can be bought, at least in the kindergarten and under crowd.
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So often during the week I have a bouncing braincell inspire me to write, thinking what a great Quick Take, or blog post, or just memory for our own sake I have. Just bouncing around waiting to be immortalized. And then it disappears into thin air just as quickly. I spend a lot of my prayer time throughout the day just hoping and praying that my kinds end up remembering some of these fun things we do without the help of baby books for reference.

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I just recently rediscovered our bread machine, and what a lost gem!!! As I type this the delicious smells are filling the house with their promises of the perfect dance partner for tonight's soup. The bread machine is my idea of a perfect kitchen appliance. It increases my feelings of domesticity exponentially, while feeding my overall laziness by equal proportions.

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Apples, Apples everywhere and not a moment to process. We will... WILL! be making applesauce and apple butter. What century, though, I'm not sure.

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Best links I've read lately:

Why You Can't Read Twilight: a Letter to My Daughter
and
Books You Must Read to Your Daughter, (or How To Keep Your Daughter From Ending Up Like That Horrid Girl in Twilight

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Remember  my bragging about having the world's most perfect baby? Friends may remember how I joked that "it took me four tries to get one, though" and maybe have even been jealous of my washed and combed hair all in the same day? I recant. That darling Boy is screaming his face red while I hide upstairs leaving my husband to try to convince said Baby that said Baby DOES like to sleep for Daddy. Andrew has decided that what he really likes is to only fall asleep nursing and that he should try it again and again every hour and a half or so.

And on that note, I should go rescue him. The Daddy, of course!

Thanks for hosting even us late comers, Jen!

Well it seems I got all enthusiastic about the blogging bandwagon a little prematurely. My computer decided it was opposed to reading my SD camera card = no pictures. No pictures = no visual references for the goings-on around here. No visual reference = significant decrease in writing motivation. Because we all know that I'm just not that funny without a pictures of a naked toddler in cowboy boots.

 "Oh I could tell they were yours; they totally look related to you."

Wellll.... damn. I guess I have to stop pretending I don't know them when they're climbing backwards across the top of the playground equipment.  Last week we were at the park  (same routine, but different park!) and a lady was there with 5 LITTLES. Turns out they didn't look anything alike because she was a home-day-care lady, whose own are in school. We had a delightful friendly chat and not once did she glare at me for letting my children run and climb like feral cats. What a great day.

 Right up until we had to leave, except I was the one throwing the temper tantrum this time.  Andrew had a check-up  and shots at the pediatrician, and Daddy volunteered to take him so I could eat lunch. The real reason, though, was because the next appointment of the day was for ME at the DENTIST. It was okay, though. I used the nitrous and then self-medicated with Mudslides at home.


Meanwhile, back to today...

Within ten minutes of sitting down at the computer the older 3 had woken up from naps asking for and receiving a snack, the Baby nursed back to sleep, and fresh milk was poured and cleaned up. I really had intended to actually write a coherent, fluid post today. I wanted to write about the beautiful challenging life with Bella the  Attentive Kindergartener, Anastasia the Spritely Preschooler, Joey the Impish Toddler, and Andrew the Smiley Babe. But not today. Today I'm busy being mom, and haven't figured out a way to BE that and WRITE about it at the same time.