9 Months

Emily had her 9 month checkup last week! She’s grown 2 inches and 2 pounds since her 6 month checkup. And she only had to get 2 shots this time and cried just for a few seconds. So proud of my growing girl!


The latest Emily highlights:

• She can pull up and stand with help! When sitting, she rocks forward to an almost crawling position and will reach for nearby toys. On her belly, she will spin around and scoot backwards to get around.  She will crawl when she’s ready, which is completely fine with me considering the house is not baby proofed! 
•     She still loves eating everything and we’ve started trying new things like cheese, yogurt, bananas, turkey and cooked green beans. She likes it all but makes some of the most hilarious faces when trying new things. 
•  She’s still chatty. And pretty much all the time from the moment she’s awake until she falls asleep at night. She’s even started squealing which I recently learned she has squealing matches with her BFF at daycare.
•   She’s holding her own bottle now! She will even spin it in her hands, I guess to make sure she’s getting it all. 
•   She’s been a bit fussy and I know she’s cutting more teeth. She’ll soon have more to match the two she currently has on her bottom gum.  She also seems to like having her teeth brushed!

The only bad thing about 9 months is that she’s starting to cry when I drop her off at day care in the mornings. Like real, big tears crying. YAY separation anxiety. :( She stops within a minute or so (usually enough time for me to go to the restroom and come back by her classroom to peek in). But it's still heartbreaking. I tell myself that these tears are just an indication of how well adjusted she will be as a kindergartner. But it doesn't usually help! 

Here's hoping that things get a bit better for month 10!

*M

Super Duper Easy Quiche

Truth be told, I got a bit derailed on the Paleo thing. Ok, big time derailed. I'm not even on the train anymore! But I'm working on getting back. I really liked the food, I felt better, and I looked better. The problem was my busy work schedule (finding Paleo when I'm out of the office and have a few minutes to eat lunch is tough) and making dinner (preparing 3 different meals for each of us was becoming a bit time consuming). I'm easing back into it and cutting back on the snacking and processed carbs and eating more fruits and veggies.

On Saturday, I woke up a bit early and decided to cook breafast. I love some Jennie-O turkey bacon and fried up a few pieces. I started to scramble some eggs and thought to myself "quiche would be really good" which was interesting because 1) I don't remember the last time I had it and 2) I've never made it before. So I did a quick Google search, made some modifications of my own and was extremely pleased with the end result!

If you are up for a bit of experimenting with your weekend breafkast routine, gives this a whirl:

Super Duper Easy Quiche

1 cup of milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup (rounded) Bisquick
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used the last of  a Mexican blend)
2 tbsp soften butter
2 pieces cooked turkey bacon torn into smaller pieces
dash of chopped dried onion, salt and pepper

I just threw in what I had in the fridge, so you could add whatever you want. I added a bit more Bisquick because it looked kind of runny at one point and I don't think I used a complete 1/4 cup of cheese. It will look kind of lumpy so don't be alarmed.

I also didn't have a quiche dish but I saw online I could use a muffin tin! I sprayed a 6 muffin tin with Pam and poured in the mix. The muffin tin was the perfect size for a single serving.

Set the oven to 375 and cook for 20-30 minutes. I kept checking on it until it had firmed up and would lift out of pan and was brown and crispy on top.

I also juiced a whole pineapple and about 6-7 tangelos.  All around delish!

Bon appetite!
*M

Making Sense of Tragedy

Like everyone else across the country, I've been checking the TV and social media this week for the latest updates in the Boston marathon bombing. When the alert came across my phone that there had been an explosion at the marathon on Monday, I thought there had been some sort of accident. As new reports started coming in it was clear that this was no accident. This was intentional. This was planned. This was meant to hurt innocent people.

And like everyone else across the country, I found myself asking why. Why would someone do this? Why an event like a marathon with countless innocent people hurt and injured? Why? When the news broke of the capture and death of the first suspect, the country relaxed but only slightly. With his death knew that meant we were further from answering that question. Last night, the second and final suspect was apprehended alive and we all cheered and breathed a sigh of relief. Closure. And perhaps answers.

But maybe not. As much as we all desperately seek answers following tragedy, sometimes those answers are not to be found. Someone commits a horrible crime, confesses why they did it, and still we are left shaking our heads in disbelief. Some things are just not comprehensible. Some things will forever be unanswered and we have to continue to live our lives without those answers.

So how we do we carry on in the midst of or recovering from tragic events? At some point, we have to turn off the tv, the phones and tune out the minute by minute updates. More often than not, this information overload hurts us more than it helps.  Without the distraction of all the noise, it's a good time to take a look at our priorities. Do we spend more time working (or worrying about work) than we do enjoying moments with our family and friends? Do we give of our time and resources to help others? What's our relationship like with God and how much time do we spent praying and worshipping Him?

We can't always make sense of tragedy. But tragedy gives us an opportunity to make sense of our own lives. To check in and reorganize our priorities. To hug our kids and laugh with our significant other. To stress less about the little things and give thanks for our many blessings that we do have.  Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the many victims in Boston and our thanks to the men and women in uniform. We will never forget but we will heal and remember to make the most of our everyday lives.

*M