Sick Day

Liam is not feeling very well, so we're staying in today. I'm working on my online classes and he's watching Sesame Street and Dinosaur Train. I told him he could have whatever he wanted for breakfast, and he chose cereal with chocolate milk and whipped cream. And to drink, more chocolate milk. His temp is 100.5, so I'm not going to argue. And I foresee chocolate pudding for lunch (I actually found pudding with no corn syrup or corn starch, thank you whole foods movement!)

cereal with choc milk + whipped cream

Bella taking the day off as well

wanted a picture of his butterfly he got from St. Luke's

Jasper enjoys Dinosaur Train

Cat!

Guess which one is real?

"I'm going out of town on my wife's birthday when she could go into labor at any minute. Best husband ever!"

Friday was my 28th birthday (on the 28th, how saucy) and Jerad had to deliver a car 3 hours away for work. It was OK though. We had my birthday the day before with a visit to the Shangri-La Tea House and visiting some antique and thrift stores. Shangri-La is great by the way, the tea and the food are delicious and really light. I had mushroom miso soup and tea for pregnant ladies. Dessert was green tea ice cream with blackberries and mint. Yum!

birthday! muffin book + more silicone cups, green tea, earrings (even ones Jerad made!)

yay!

Cabin fever + wanting to go into labor = Random MK Nature Center and Park Visit

After doing math and cleaning all day, Liam and I needed an outings yesterday. We took advantage of the fact that it was (gasp!) not raining and went to the MK Nature Center. The center is awesome because it is free, along the river and the green belt, kid friendly, and in Municipal Park which has a huge playground. We were off, Liam likes the salmon in the waterfall and the ducks. Then we spent some time at the park, where Liam conversed with older girls on the swings and later skinned his knee. A Hot Wheels band-aid when we got home made it all better though.

taken by Liam

yoga by Nick Jr

At least my yoga ball is getting some use while I am pregnant.

Some Liam quotes from this week

"I am going to feed the baby bugs"

"Daddy I am allergic to dogs and cats. They make me sneeze" (He was listening in the Dr's office!)

"Do babies go in the bath tub? Do babies go in candles? Do babies go in fires?" (That one is a little disturbing)

Liam's robots are going to bed

The robots crossed the street, and then each one had an interview.

Liam: Robot what are you afraid of? (Robot voice) Snakes!! And robot, what are you scared of? (Robot voice) a scary octopus!!

After running from the scary octopus, the robots laid down to go to bed. Liam read them a story.

Allergy testing

Liam had his scratch tests today. Corn was negative, but dogs were positive. Liam was a trooper, he didn't cry or freak out. He was so good that afterward he got a slice of apple tart from the Boise Co-op and whipped cream.

Dinner, corn and gluten free!

Liam had some allergy testing done and might have a corn allergy. We will know more after his second round of tests. Until then we're avoiding corn for him and gluten for me. It really isn't too hard, I just substituted tapioca starch for corn starch in my flour mixture to make chicken strips. Dinner was great, and Liam cleaned his plate.

Allergy Free Chicken Strips:

(amounts depend on the chicken you have)

• skinless boneless chicken breast
• rice flour, seasoning mix (I used a savory garlic and parsley one), tapioca starch (to give it some crunch), kosher salt, and ground flax (adds flavor, texture, and is super healthy)
• Whole milk, used to dip the chicken in. 
• I fried the chicken in canola oil, it has a higher smoke point than olive and no flavor. Plus, its heart healthy.

Sides:

• asparagus cooked in a little olive oil and carmelized onions. Added kosher salt for flavor. 
• Dill potatoes, which I make fairly often. 
• Cheese sauce from my French cookbook. Can be a little tricky, but once mastered is pretty easy. it has egg yolk, butter, milk, cheese, and salt. 
• Plus a side salad with green olives.

Liam is cool.

He decided to dress like he was catching fish.

new monkey hat

Liam likes his new hat.

i made him pose by the tree, you can tell he wasn't too thrilled about a photo-op

the pets are helping

Bella and Jasper are always in the kitchen, ready to help with any scrap that falls.

Galena is always helpful especially when it involves a box, clean clothes, or anything she can get stuck in.

Liam gets a makeover, toddler style

We got Liam a bike about 2 weeks ago. It has rained or snowed everyday since. I promised a few days ago taht we would go ride his bike before it started raining, but when we got ready it started pouring outside. He took it well (Liam is a saint) and for some reason we ended up in the bathroom. Liam decided we needed some powder, and since it was almost out anyway I let him have it. He got some powder on his face...and on his new coat. 

He likes his new coat, he picked it out because "it has stripes and colors"

a night at Target ends with an axe in the bed. and monsters

We had some baby coupons for Target that expired last night, so we went on a random night shopping trip. Liam, who the day before crashed at 5:30pm and woke up at 10am  had plenty of rest and was wide awake at 9pm...so we figured why not. 

We were looking mainly for the baby's car seat, but I also wanted to grab her some Desitin and clothes. We separated (I was in the baby section, the boys looked at Legos). We decided to meet by the front of the store so I could print our registry. I was printing when Jerad called me.

Jerad: We're by the bathroom. Liam had an accident.

Molly: I'm on my way over.

I find them standing by the bathroom. 

Molly: What happened?

Jerad: He didn't quite make it to the potty in time.

Liam: I peed.

Molly: I guess I can run and grab him a pair of pants off clearance and get him cleaned up...?

Jerad: Yeah I think we're gonna have to.

Liam: (rocking back and forth) My boots make noises! 

Jerad: By the way, he peed in his rain boots.

(this explained why there was no puddle)

I managed to grab him a pair of sassy blue sweat pants off clearance and then take my son (splashing the entire way) into the bathroom. I had in the sink half naked, wearing just his coat and his Boise State hat when a Target employee came in. Liam waves. "Hi!" he yells.

I had to explain that the reason my child was partially naked in a sink in a public restroom getting a bath was that he had peed all over. "No problem" she said. 

We got Liam changed and paid for the baby stuff (and one monster shirt for Liam). Though Liam was somewhat unsatisfied. "

"I wanted blue pants with yellow hearts on them"

Well, at least he was dry for the drive home. 

We got home and he went to bed. In his bed he wanted 3 monsters and an axe. And he wore his new blue pants.

just thinking about the first time I laid eye on you

Liam found a single googly eye and insisted we glue it to his winter hat to make a monster hat. He was very insistent, I had to go buy glue (he held the glue the entire time in the grocery store and home). I finally got his eye ball on his hat, and he says he can't wear the hat because "that monster is too happy and too dangerous.".

Liam is his bug boots, snake shirt, "robot" sweater, and monster hat. All he needs are zombie mittens.

Good job, bud

Liam made this creature out of Legos. What is it?

Pikachu.

Liam likes robots.

Like, really really likes robots. (these were all taken by Liam, I had no idea until I uploaded the pics off my camera onto the computer)

cabin fever

Liam needs to go back to school. Or it needs to be warmer so he can go outside. His day consists of:

• jumping on our bed
• jumping on his bed
• running in circles through the kitchen
• putting objects around the cat's tail
• putting objects on the dog's head
• pouring full shampoo bottles of shampoo in the tub

I need to find an indoor play ground, fast

we were all surprised by Liam taking a nap

Especially Jasper, who sat outside Liam's door for about half an hour. He then gave up and laid down. Liam slept for 3 hours, probably due to horrible allergies and allergy medicine. We get his allergy test results tomorrow, hopefully after that he will feel much better. And Jasper will relax a bit.

Monster shirt makes mosnter faces

pic by Liam of Liam

he wanted a picture of us hugging

 

Liam makes up his own jokes:

Liam: what do monkeys eat?

Jerad: What?

Liam: I don't know

Lego motorcycle

Liam shows off one of his favorite toys, a Lego motorcycle he modified with a shark tooth for handle bars.

Where is Liam?

It was cold and the trees are all dead looking, but we really needed to play outside.

Some Liam quotes from this week

"Daddy I'm sorry....but it's time...to fight"
"Mama I WILL SMASH YOUR FACE INTO A JELLY!"

Liam poured a brand new (purchased hours before) very full bottle of shampoo into his bath.
Jerad: Liam did you do this?
Liam: I do this. 

Halal Lamb

I had never tried Halal before, so when I saw some lamb on sale I grabbed it. Halal is a lot like Kosher, but Muslim. The animals are treated humanely and contains no toxins or preservatives. I surprised Jerad with a lamb dinner and we all enjoyed it (even Bella and Japser, who got some scraps)

 Lamb is awesome and doesn't need much help to be super tasty. All I used was some olive oil, kosher salt, ground pepper, and onions. Lamb is also really good with rosemary, just ask anyone who loves Greek food. If you are going more Eastern some good side dishes are roast chickpeas, quinoa or coucous (couscous has gluten though), roast eggplant, and yogurt.

Another use for a bike

When it's too cold to ride your new bike, just flip it over and DJ on the training wheels. Liam calls this his radio station and I think it looks better with bed head.

Liam is a kitty

New Years Dinner

We had our dinner on the 1st since Jerad had to work all day on the 31st. I cooked (Jerad did Thanksgiving and Christmas, so its the least I could do). Menu was Island inspired, and main dish was a ham from a local farm in Twin Falls. 

• Ham glazed in dijon, brown sugar, and cranberry sauce
• Pineapple fried rice and gluten free soy sauce
• Sparkling apple cranberry juice
• Side salad with organic balsamic dressing
• Stuffed mushrooms  
• Fruit salad with apples, pineapples, and grapes (picked by Liam)
• And plenty of snacks; chips and nacho dip and spinach dip, veggie sticks, olives, Nutcracker fruit dip, and marinated mozzarella