The plus side of this whole no nap business

In March, before Gabriel started school, I was afraid we were losing Gabriel's nap. After stomping my feet like a child and arguing with a 3-year old (futile, obviously, because the 3's are tricky business) for the last four months to force/coerce/trick/bribe him to nap, I've given it up. Put up the white flag. Thrown in the towel.

For a long time, I was able to convince him that I "needed help" putting Jonas to sleep in the afternoon to get him to lay down with me and then eventually fall asleep, but that just isn't working anymore. He gets bored and starts flicking Jonas or picking his nose and all the other weird things little boys do. The funny thing is that once he falls asleep, homeboy will sleep for 3-4 hours if I let him.

It's just not worth it, though. The fighting. It's a whole lot of energy that is much better spent on other things. Like doing a craft with him or running amuck or something. Not pressuring him to nap when he clearly has no desire to. I will say, though, it is extremely difficult to keep a 3.5 year old busy all day long. There's only so much coloring, painting, lego-ing and reading you can do while juggling a 6 month old and cleaning the house. [Suggestions for activities are always appreciated.] To be honest, boy 3pm, I wouldn't mind hiding in a closet just to get 3 seconds to think for myself without the constant chatter...not that I don't love my boy, but man, he can talk. Just add that to the list of things he gets from me...

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After I got done mourning the loss of my treasured alone time [especially around 2pm when Gabriel was playing 20-thousand-million-billion questions], it dawned on me...no nap equals early bed time. My lips curled into a devious grin. Cue the Dr. Evil laugh, mwuuuaaahahahaa. Obviously, he'll need some designated rest time so we don't go crazy, but I could definitely get used to an earlier sleep schedule...

You see, I had both children asleep last night by 7:30pm. My husband was gone. My sister moved out. Just me. No dinner dishes to clean up. It was heaven. I watched whatever I wanted to, ate my own dinner, stayed up late doing absolutely nothing.

So maybe this whole no napping business isn't so bad after all...

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Rigatoni with Basil Cream and Sausage

I had a whole Costco package of basil leftover and knew I wanted to make something with it instead of letting it all wilt away. I prefer creamy pasta sauces to tomato-based, but hate the fact that they come with the added fat. I just happened to have some Greek yogurt on hand and thought that it would make a great substitute to the traditional heavy cream. Luckily, it was a kitchen success instead of a massive failure!


This dish was beautiful. Delicious. Fragrant from the bright green basil. The right balance of salty goodness from the Italian sausage and tanginess from the Greek yogurt. It was so incredibly easy, I will definitely be making it again.

Ingredients
1 lb. rigatoni pasta
2 c. basil
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c. parmesan cheese (I used the flakey stuff, probably would be even better with fresh!)
1/2 c. Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper to taste
5 Italian sausage links
1 tomato

Boil water for pasta, salt well. Meanwhile, start the sausage on medium heat. In a food processor (or blender), add basil, olive oil, parmesan, Greek yogurt, salt and pepper. Blend together. Once pasta is finished boiling, drain and return to pot. Add basil mixture to pasta and stir. When sausage is finished, slice into smaller pieces and add to the pot as well. Slice or dice tomatoes for the top.

Serve warm with some crusty French bread and a side salad.

Six months old

BREAKING NEWS. THE EAGLE HAS LANDED. 

And by eagle, I mean Jonas' first tooth and by landed, I mean bursting through his bottom gums!

Just so you know, I blinked and then half of a year flew by. My little chubby boy is more and more expressive, joyous and humorous every day. I just want to take bites out of those michelin rolls on his legs and little apple cheeks. His sweet little dimples make me laugh and his dino screeches definitely get my attention!

Stats

Height: 28.75 in., 98th percentile

Weight: 23.11 lb, 99th percentile

Diaper size: Size 4-5

Clothing size: 18 months

Likes: Chilling in his new (to him) high chair, splashing around in the bathtub, rolling onto his tummy, screech, chew on anything he can get into his hands

Dislikes: Being left alone or on his tummy for too long, teething, green foods except for green beans, AVOCADO (he gags), 

Special notes: We now have a sitter. And a roller. And a really big boy who now takes baths in a big boy tub and is starting to push his upper body towards the sky in what appears to be some sort of baby yoga pose. He has now eaten Mum Mums, puffs (not a fan yet), yogurt puffs (again, not a fan), apples with cinnamon, pears, peaches, zucchini with potatoes, pear with blueberries, tastes of strawberries, grapes and watermelon, mango with banana, broccoli, green beans, squash, greek yogurt and...you get the hint. A lot of stuff. He has a tooth that wants to break through any. day. now. It started right before vacation and seemed to be really bothering him but of course now that we're home, he's totally fine. He's still sleeping through the nights and naps are becoming more regular and scheduled.

One month old.

Two months old.

Three months old.

Four months old.
Five months old.

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Funk

I feel like we're still in a funk over here after our long vacation. My house isn't back to normal and there are vacation clothes, laundry and beach toys strewn around the place.

At least the routine starts back up today, somewhat. Gabriel goes back school, Adrian (hopefully) goes back to work (he's been a nasty sort of sick since we've been home), and Jonas and I are heading to San Diego for his six month well-baby visit. He picked up the same cough that Gabriel had two weeks ago so we'll see what she has to say about that.


I got up early this morning, finally, after several months of sleeping through a good morning routine, and was joined by a little accomplice...a sitting up, rolling over, raspberry-blowing accomplice who turned 6 months old on Saturday. More on that later when I post his 6-month stats and pics!

In other news, I'll be doing another no sugar two week detox, my form of trying to make myself eat a bit healthier. In the last  no-sugar stint, I realized that one month is a long time. I'm just going with 2 weeks for now. If I get to 2 weeks and still want to keep going, I will. I got completely sidetracked while on vacation, though I will say I went for a back ride and tried to be active every single day. I'm starting that today since, hey, Monday's always a good day to start something fresh.

Alright, I guess I should start rallying the troops out of bed, otherwise, they'd sleep all day long!

Happy Monday!

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Sunday Social

Because...why not...Linking up with Ashley and Neely for the Sunday Social Linkup.

Favorite TV show of the past: Oh man...Sex and the City, Lost (the first few seasons, the last few just got weird), Boy Meets World...to name a few.

FAVE.
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Favorite TV show currently: I watch a lot of shows. Seriously. Let me just take a gander at my DVR...Weeds, Grey's Anatomy, Dexter, Desperate Housewives,The Bitch in Apartment 23, Storage Wars, Snookie and JWOWW, Teen Mom, American Idol, Biggest Loser, Chopped, The Next Food Network Star, Iron Chef, The Best Thing I Ever Made/Ate, anything on HGTV.

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Which Reality Show would you NEVER do? Definitely American Idol. No thank you.

Which Reality Show would you LOVE to do? Amazing Race or Wipeout. Both would be so fun!

TV personality/character that you feel is most like you? Well...I like to pretend that I look as gorgeous in the kitchen as Giada. In my college years, I felt that I related emotionally to Carrie from SITC.

TV character you'd want to date?

So Kid Rock-ish. And I love me some KR bad boy.
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Happy Sunday!

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