Ladder Bed

Ever seen this bed at Ikea? 

Mac loves to play on it.

As we have been having trouble getting him out of the crib (he'll climb back into it) and out of our room (still gets out of bed every now and then), I finally asked him if he'd like a super-cool bed he'd could climb super high and sleep on.

He couldn't stop talking about it.

The pricetag scared Mark away, but after looking closely at it, he said, "I could make that." 

So he did.

Naturally, Mac was a huge help.  (We quoted "Christmas Story" multiple times during this project.)

Any time I'd ask what they were doing, he'd reply "Nuffin."  Now garage-related work is officially named "nuffin".

There's several more things we're planning on doing to make it more fort-like, but the sleep-able-ness of it is all taken care of.

 Though his favorite thing to do on this bed is definitely jumping, he actually sleeps very well in it.  Not even the thud I hear every morning as he falls off the ladder getting down seems to deter him.  In fact, he thinks it's fun.

All these shenanigans allowed me to finally create a girl corner in that room.

And once again, Mac was all about helping.

"Fird and Bird!"

 I need to take another, less fuzzy picture ... but you get a sense of the adorableness, right?

Sister likes it.

But I don't think I'll let her in there for another month or two ... let's try to get everyone sleeping through the night first.

Quarter Century

Am I really that old?

I suppose I am a wife and mother of two these days, so hopefully I'm not an eighteen-year-old any more. 

Some days I feel like it.

Well, I was lucky enough to have a Monday birthday, which equaled a weekend full of celebrations. 

Friday I got to do a little shopping without my crazy two year old thanks to Lindy.  Saturday I blew $100 at Target's home decor sale thanks to my Madre.  Sunday I was made a delicious birthday fiesta of a meal by Jordan and Nate.  And Monday was spent with my favorite three: Mark, Mac, and Belle.  Crafting, shopping, napping, waffles and fruit, Papa Murphey's, massages, and finally ... a night out.  The kids tucked safely in bed, Jordan and Nate happily agreed to babysit our t.v. while we snuck out to watch Katniss kick some butt in "The Hunger Games".  First time the two of us have been out to a movie since ... well, since Mac was born at least.

Kinda feels ... Mediterranean, almost.  I like it.  But maybe not the squares by the mirror ... can't decide.

Thank you everyone for all the well-wishes and kind words!  A good day.

Obsessions

There's a few new ones at our house lately.

Mark & I:  Fixing up the house.  (Paint?  Floors?  Couches?  Blinds?)  Mark has become quite the handy man.

Belle: Grunting and "Popcorn Popping".  Gets a laugh 80% of the time.

Mac:  Baseball hats and marbles.

And yes ... he still crosses his fingers while eating.  Been doing it since he was maybe 10 months old.

Leprechauns

They made their first stop at our house this year.

And they actually didn't leave behind any mischeif.

But they did leave behind a huge "wainbow suh-pwise" Mac couldn't stop talking about.

We are in shock. 

Mark vetos corned beef and cabbage (my family's tradition), so here was my attempt at a green food meal.

I'm thinking we'll have to set traps with lucky charms next year. 

Maybe we'll catch one.

MackyCalister

My little Mac is now two and a half.  I believe that warrents an update on his little goings-on.

• Mac usually refers to himself in third person.  And his name is Macky.  Full name?  MackyCalister.
• Belen is usually "Stister".  Or "Beebee B'len".
• I'm "Mom" or "Mommees", and Mark is almost always "Daddoo".

• He will repeat himself over and over again until you say back what he just said to you, acknowledging that you correctly understood him.
• He often grabs your face if he's said something enough times and you haven't acknowledged it yet.
• After watching Uncle Adam play baseball, he now runs to a base (the couch) every time he hits it.  He also tries to throw it back to you "super fast, like Anum."
• His sports requests include "shoot it", "hit it", "soccer", "fumble" (a hilarious mini football game, where you toss it back and forth till one of you drops it, in which case you end up in a race/wrestling match to get the ball back), "goff", and "wun super fast". 
• His favorite movies are currently Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Super Why, and most recently: The Sandlot.  He loves the baseball, the fireworks, the pool, the throw up, the running, and the giant puppy.  And he loves the s'mores.  He begged us for some, and so Mark ran to the store and taught him how to roast a mallow.  No L-7 weanies here.

• He loves to go to the nickel arcade nearby.  I'm pretty sure he and Mark would spend all day there if Belle and I didn't go and get bored so quickly.

• He still gets out of bed, but not as regularly as he had been.  (THANK GOODNESS.)  We made a little bed for him on the floor, which he has slept on a few times, but Mark has woken up to him sneakily, silently sliding into bed next to him.  Oooo, Mac. 
• He loves kids.  Especially the ones that are just older than him ... but he's getting better with kids his age.  Cousins and visitors have become extra magical these days.  He leaps out of our closet as soon as there is a hint of light in the sky and immediately asks where his friends are.

• He still loves the beach.  I love to watch him.  When Mark's mom was up here last, she said:  "He is everything Spence would have wanted in a grandson."  Thank you Chris, that means a lot to us.  We think they must have had a real good time up there before Mac made his grand appearance.

This kid is just so very fun.

Motherhood: Not for the Faint of Heart.

If you hadn't noticed lately ... all my posts seem to be about my babies.  Or trips/visitors.

Hope you don't mind.

It's just that ... that's all I do these days.

My world has not yet become organized enough to add much else.  I'm getting there, however.

When Belen first arrived, all ticked that she had to leave Heaven (as Mark put it), my life became a constant battle between two settings:  fast forward, and pause.

Pause:  Belle needs you.  Hold her.  Rock her.  Talk to her.  Give her your finger.  Feed her again.  Bounce, bounce, bounce on that ball!  Then fast forward!  She's asleep!  Get those dishes put away, fold that laundry ... Mark's coming home and he's stressed and frustrated by this loooooong job search!  Now pause ... Mac's awake.  Play with him.  Kiss him.  Make a snack together.  Sing a song.  Hide and seek.  Build a fort.  Crap ... she's up again.  Fast!  Feed her, hold her, get dinner going!  Give Mac that ipod, keep him from knocking over that playpen or stealing her swing.  Now pause again ... Mark's home ... love on him.  Make sure the kids are as happy as possible, the home feels like somewhere you actually want to be ...

Pretty sure I could go on and on. 

There were several days I felt like I was teetering on the edge of insanity, but then I would generally get a little mad.  What kind of wimp am I?  Two kids?  I can't handle two kids?  Pull it together!  Even people who don't want kids have two kids.  Pssshh.

And so, I see myself becoming a little bit better.  Mostly.  Some days, I decide I am the laziest mom around.  But other days, I think, "Bring it on, world!  I will have happy kids, a happy husband, a clean(ish) house, and good food!  My family will be awesome." 

I like those days.

And they're happening more frequently.

Milestones Already?

We've hit a biggie:

She rolled.

It hasn't happened on purpose yet ... still shocks her every time.  She can't seem to decide if she loves it or is terrified by it. 

I'm feeling the same.

Gunns and Baseball

Boy do those Gunns love their baseball.

Particularly when it is played by this guy:

Who happens to be their little bitty baby brother Adam.

Almost half the family came to watch Adam lay on the heat against Cal State Fullerton, and he did not disapoint.  They lost, but ... only because Adam didn't play the whole game. 

According to me.

Besides the game, the family was able to come early enough to play a bit.  We had Adam all to ourselves for one whole night, and Mac was able to try his luck hitting against the amazing Uncle "Anum", and successfully blew his mind.

Katie and the girls got here in time for some hot tubbin.

And some good cousin lovin.

Belen got to experience the beach for the very first time.

And Mac couldn't stop smiling.

A great weekend.

Adam, I've decided you need to just come play at Cal State Fullerton.  We'll come to all your games, and I bet the rest of your siblings will happily make the trek.

Belen at 3 Months

She just gets more and more wonderful.

We're starting to move toward some kind of schedule, and she really seems to appreciate it.  The morning is still consisting of two forty-ish minute naps, but in the afternoon, she has finally decided to follow her brother's lead and take a two to three hour nap. 

Life is so good these days.

I think we've finally figured each other out.  I cry for many reasons I don't understand, but Belen cries for four reasons:

1. She's hungry (she likes to get real loud over this one).
2. She's tired.
3. She wants to be picked up.
4. She wants to be put down.

 This girl needs variety.  She wants to snuggle for a bit, and then sit back so she can see you and talk to you.  Luckily for her, a toddler in the home brings all sorts of variety.

She's really exploring with her voice these days.  I'm hearing all sorts of squeaks, squeals, grunts, sighs, coos, and even something like a shout.

Also, Grandma Gunn got her to finally do a real belly laugh.

We try to witness those as much as possible, but they're still a bit hard to come by.  Sometimes she will when Mark covers her with a blanket.  Or when Mac pushes her in the swing.

But she'll flash you those gummy gums all day long.  Providing she's fed and well-rested, naturally.  (Takes after her mom.)

Belle still seems so incredibly strong to me.  Especially when I compare her to Mac at this age.  She's my little fireball.

Yes, she is fully standing in that picture and I am just helping her balance.  Isn't that a little ridiculous?  She likes to stand when she's happy too, but she's really good at it when she's ticked.

She can do the superman forever, and still hasn't quite figured out that she can use her arms to hold her head up.
 

She is always sticking her tongue out at us.  Mac thinks it's hilarious.

She is constantly drooling.  It runs down my arm when I have her on my shoulder.  Add that to her old faithful-like spit up and blow outs, and we're doing a whole lot of laundry these days.  Mark is usually very surprised if he comes home and the three of us are all in the same outfits we started out in.  (And half the time we actually are in the same outfits, we really should have changed ... but I just became particularly indifferent to smelling like puke that day.)

I'm worried I'll have to just toss some of these clothes ... who wants hand-me-downs that look like this?

She's discovering her fingers, though she mostly just chews on them.  No sucking.  And still no binky.

She's beginning to figure out how to grab things.  The dangling octopus is her favorite.

By far her favorite soothing technique (besides eating, of course) is to just gaze into your eyes and coo away.  She can't get enough.

Sometimes, she'll even fall asleep that way.

And then I usually just want to kiss her face right off.

Thai Yellow Curry

Can't get enough of it.

It's a recipe my mom found and tweaked just to our liking.  Here's the final results:

Thomas Thai Yellow Curry

Yellow Curry Paste:

• 1 tsp cumin seeds or powder
• 1 tsp coriander seeds or powder
• 3 tsp yellow curry powder
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder (more if you like it super spicey)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• 1 small onion, peeled and quartered
• 4 large garlic cloves

Curry:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb.)
• 2 Tbl. canola oil
• 1 recipe yellow curry paste (above)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 4 medium potatoes
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 sliced onion
• handful fresh basil

Curry Paste:

1. Toast cumin and coriander on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Place toasted spices in a blender with all other paste ingredients.  Add 1-2 Tbl water.  Mix well.

Curry:

1. Cut chicken into 1" cubes.  Peel potatoes and cut into 1/2" cubes.  Cut peppers. 
2. In a large skillet, heat oil on high heat.  Add chicken, sprinkle with salt and saute until no pink remains.  Place in a bowl.
3. Reduce heat to medium and scrape in curry paste.  Cook until liquid evaporates, stirring constantly, till only a brown golden paste remains (about 3-4 minutes).
4. Pour in 1/2 can coconut milk, stir till the curry paste has dissolved.  Add potatoes, rest of coconut milk, and sugar.  Heat until it begins to bubble.  Reduce to medium low and simmer till potatoes are tender.  (10-15 mins.)
5. Add chicken (with any juices in the bowl) and red pepper.  Stir to coat with the sauce, then simmer for about 5 minutes.
6. Salt to taste.
7. Garnish with basil just before serving.
8. Serve with Jasmine rice.

And there you have it, your own little bit of heaven straight from Eileen.

LA Zoo

Yet another reason to love living in a big city.