Turkey or Chicken Soup & Fun At The Park

We visited a fun park for the first time today.  Sunny even got to ride a train there. How fun. Fresh air was great for Olivia too.

Rodney wasn't able to join us because he went up with the elders in our ward to chop wood. We purchased a huge bundle from a guy so it's great to get more. We are burning wood daily now and it goes fast, but we love our new fireplace and the cozy, serene environment it creates.

Olivia slept the entire time at park. She is so precious. She is starting to smile now.

So after Thawnksgiving,  we had a lot of leftover turkey. I used it all up in several batches of this soup.  It is so good that I have made it with shredded chicken too.

It is my new favorite soup. I am making tons of soups lately. Split pea and beef and barley are next. Sitting at my table with a hot bowl of soup is my favorite.  Now if only a certain picky eater I know would try some. Wishful thinking.

I got my new table and it is so much better. The white is so crisp and refreshing in my kitchen. The last table I got didn't look good. This one just flows well  and I am really into white everything lately.

Turkey Or Chicken Soup

2 c. chopped or shredded turkey/chicken
2 T. butter or more
1 1/2 c. chopped carrots
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped mushrooms
1/4 c. corn
3 c. chicken stock
1 c. milk
1 tsp.onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder or less
Salt and pepper to taste

Sautee all veggies, excluding mushrooms and cooked corn, in butter. Once veggies are tender, add mushrooms and corn and saute a few more minutes.

Add meat and broth and seasonings.

Simmer about 10 minutes.

Add milk and stir.  Serve with favorite crusty bread. Top with sour cream for added richness.

Enjoy!

Sunny age 3.5

My last post, I wrote all about Olivia and her 2 month milestones.  I realized I didn't mention Sunny. So here we go.

Sunny loves to play in her room. Now that it's finally organized, she has more pride in it and actually wants to spend more time in there.

Sunny's room wasn't always organized. I finally had it one day and spent a good Saturday getting it done. I organized all toys and put them in cubes in the closet. Lego, blocks,  puzzles, misc. stuff, all has a place.

I consider myself a neat freak and Sunny knows I am not happy when her room gets messy.  It gets messy a lot
Today her room was a huge mess and after a week of that mess, I finally cleaned it myself .

Sunny has a huge imagination.  I will often hear her talking to herself in her room while she pretend cooks. She loves to pretend she is baking something and will ask me to try her soup or her cakes.

Sunny loves her stuffed animals and sleeps with about ten of them.  She feels more secure in her bed now and rarely gets out of bed in the night . Her bedtime routine is always in bed between 6-8 pm and always requests a few stories and songs and then prayer. She always makes sure to bless the missionaries. Dad usually does the bedtime routine pretty good.

Sunny has a little nook area I set up for her so she can quietly look at books. Because her room is so tiny, I had to be creative in setting it up just right.

Sunny loves having her own tree in her room. Makes a great night light too.

She is doing well in preschool . Getting her there on time has been my challenge. She is learning great social skills and academics as well.  I am so proud of her.

She loves going out with grandma. Today she went to see Moana with her and was so happy to get her own popcorn.  They also went to get a cupcake after and when I picked her up she kept asking me when she could do it again.

She makes a great sister and loves her baby so much . I do get a bit nervous when she kisses her too hard or tries to pick her up, but I am trying to relax about it more.

I love ya Sunny. You are growing up way to fast.

2 Months

How is Olivia already 2 months? These last two months have been pure joy. Of course there are challenges associated with having a new baby, but I would really like to focus on mostly the positives here.

Olivia is starting to sleep better at night and not so much during the day anymore. Actually, hardly long naps at all, mainly cat naps.  A nap is a nap and I'll take it.

She has acid reflux really bad. Ya, that's spit up right during the picture.

She spits up all the time where a bib is mandatory. Somedays it is so bad we go through several bibs and changes of cloathes. Acid reflux is common and she should outgrow it in a couple months, hopefully.  I have spit up on my carpet that I need a deep cleaning one day.

She takes formula in a bottle. I really love Enfamil Enspire the best, but it's very expensive.  She doesn't do well with other formulas. She nurses at night and a little during day. I have my problems with nursing and am so close to quitting. I just can't seem to do it.

She loves to be held. This can become a problem, I know. Everytime we put her down she fusses until she's held again.  Then she's happy.

She loves stroller walks. I stroll her around the gym track and it puts her to sleep.

She loves to be sang to. Part of the sleep training I am doing this time is putting her in her crib while she is awake, not nursing her to sleep.

She prefers to sleep while elevated, never flat.  She also loves tummy time and would prefer to sleep on tummy at night if it weren't forbidded.

She has hardly any hair. Most of it is in back.

She had her first cold at a month, caught from her sister, then I caught it too. That was rough.

She sleeps with a humidifier due to really bad stuffy nose in morning. She hates when we use the nasel aspirater on her. Can't blame her.

Vaccines are coming up. I always stagger her vaccines apart. It is a personal choice and I respect how others choose to do their child. My feelings on vaccines are quite controversial and I usually keep this to myself.  I am thankful for them but I do not believe in overloading an infants system with what doctors recommend.

Anyways, that's all for now. 3 months is sure to creep up soon. What a fun age.

Happy Two Months my love.

Olivia's Blessing

 Today was our little Olivia's blessing day. It was not perfect, but it did go well. Let me explain, but before I do, I will remind you that over 3 years ago, Sunny was blessed. Problem was, the microphone was broken and I did not hear a single thing Rodney said. So it didn't go as I wished, but I got over it.

This time around, I dreamed about everything going great. Not perfect, but great.  For 2 months I imagined what her special day would be like. I am super emotional during any blessing and I just wanted to make a very special memory of today.

We got to church at about 10:30 because we needed to sort out some last business stuff and get a good seat. Rodney's mom and brother came and we wanted to make sure they also got a seat.  I made sure my bag was packed and ready just in case Olivia needed a last minute change. I feared she would have a blow out since she has been having them lately.  As I walked into the chapel, I realized I forgot her wipes. I had her diapers, but no wipes. Darn.  I sat down and sure enough, she had one and I needed her wipes. I went and changed her really quick, without the wipes. Yuck!

I didn't see my mom. She never misses choir practice so I thought she was sick.  Sure enough she arrived.  We had a good seat, and everything was going as planned. I still had some fear that Sunny would start freaking out or Olivia would began crying during her blessing. but so far everything was good.  I asked Rodney if the blessing was done before or after the sacrament. I couldn't seem to remember the order and I wanted to double check. He assured me it was after the sacrament.

About 5 minutes into sacrament, Sunny started freaking out over her game not working. She started begging my mom to help her and my mom kept saying not now, not now, which only made Sunny act worse.  I started growing concern that Sunny would get more frustrated and began crying, and during the opening prayer she did.  Rodney was holding the baby and asked me to take her out and I refused to get up during the prayer. It just seems irreverent,  so I waited. Sunny started crying louder and louder making a scene. So I took her out. I figured I would have enough time to calm her meltdown and get back in time for the blessing. There was no way in hell I would miss my baby's blessing.
Once in the bathroom, Sunny would not stop with the drama. She only got worse.  Why was this happening? Why on this special day I waited for so long.  I almost began to cry.  That is when a sister came into the bathroom and told me my baby was being blessed. What!!!

She told me she would stay with Sunny out in the hall while she cried so I would see and hear my baby be blessed. I rushed inside only to walk in during the blessing.

Sure, It was not supposed to go that way. It was not how I envisioned it to go. But again, I got over it.  I am realizing more and more that life never goes as planned.  If it weren't for sister P coming into take over Sunny, I would of missed the entire blessing. I am not sure I would ever get over that.

I am so thankful for the observant members in my ward. Someone saw me walk out with Sunny and someone knew I had not returned. Someone knew and felt prompted to intervene and take over and just the right moment. I will forever be thankful for this sister who did just that.

We had a barbeque at our home after the blessing and swooned over baby Olivia. She is the sweetest and most angelic baby I have ever seen. The bond I have with her is indescribable.  I can not imagine life without her.

Life is never meant to be perfect. Believe me when I say I try to make sure events go perfect, but they never do. I can't forget when I packed my hospital bag for Olivia's arrival. I had everything I would need, only to have my water bottle spill over everything and not have one dry item of clothing for either of us.  What a wreck that was.  But the point of all this is not to focus on the negative aspects of what happens, but whether the positive.  Today did turn very positive and I am so grateful and thankful for the sweet life of my baby girl.