Searching for Some Sanity

Taking care of a one year old day in and out is already taxing on my sanity, but now being pregnant and taking care of a one year old has me feeling crazy most days.  One of my biggest issues lately has been having K's toys strewn across the living room all the time.  We are in a small suite so half her toys live in her room and half of them are kept in a shelving unit in the living room; however, this means my living room floor is constantly covered in toys, no matter how often I clean them up.  We will be moving before baby #2 arrives into a bigger place where K can have a play room and her toys can stay out of my way.  Turns out, I couldn't wait that long....so today I rearranged her room and managed to fit ALL her toys in her room with the hope that most of the mess will live in there now. 

BEFORE

 

 

 

AFTER

The chair semi blocks the closet but this closet is mostly used
for storage and I only go in it once a week for a dress for K for church

Here is K all trapped and contained while I tried to sort everything out- she hates being trapped and contained.  Cleaning and organizing is super impossible with a toddler.  I don't get anything done during her naps anymore because I am also napping at that time (plus the thing I was organizing was in her sleeping space anyways). 

K showing off her newest trick.  She will fold her arms on command now.

The Mormon's Guide to Vegas

Cole and I took a vacation to the Vegas Strip in October.  K stayed at my parent's house- but mostly it was one of my sisters that took responsibility for her the whole time....including having her sleep in her bedroom at night.  Brave aunt.  At the end of the trip she said she had no idea what it took to take care of a child 24/7...none of us ever do!

Our trip was really nice- we were there for five nights at The Elara, a Hilton Grand Vacations Hotel attached to the Miracle Mile Mall situated mid strip. We got upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite.  I only have a few pictures of it because we were never in the room when the lighting was right and then by the time I remembered, our camera died a few minutes later.  But let's face it- Cole and I never take very many pictures anyways.

 

So what do you do when you have five days on the Vegas Strip and you don't drink, club or gamble? You see a lot of shows, bump up your restaurant budget, site-see, nap and revel in the fact that there are no diapers or screaming babies that need your attention. 

The Shows:

Our big budget shows were Ray Romano/Kevin James and Elton John.  We also saw two cheaper shows, V-The Ultimate Variety Show and Defending the Caveman.  All were excellent. 

We saw Romano/James the first night.  We booked our tickets ahead of time online, which I highly recommend if you know what shows you want to see and especially if they are headliners.  You won't find better deals then online early on.  We found out some people paid well over $200 for their tickets but we got away for $119 a ticket.  The opening act was (can't remember his name) a guy that played Doug's (Kevin James)...cousin I think on King of Queens.  He was pretty good.  Ray was the best (in our opinion)- his jokes were mostly based around family scenarios, which is where we are in our life right now so that resonated most with us.  Kevin did a lot of fat jokes like usual.  Still funny.  Then at the end they did a combo bit together and then a Q&A.  Even though we paid a lot for the tickets we felt we got quite a bit for our money. 
Side Note: They were a late show that started after the Terry Fator show, so we saw the Terry Fator audience come out and buy their souvenirs.  We heard everyone raving about that show, so also a good show for your money.

Elton John was the next night- he puts on an amazing show- and we're not even die hard Elton John fans, we had just heard the show was good.  Again, he's expensive, book ahead- cheapest you are probably going to get booking ahead is around a hundred a ticket.  Not really a bad seat in the house though.  Our favourite part was all the live instrument accompaniment.  It was quite a long set list, too.  I didn't feel jipped at the end. 

Ridiculous- Can you see the baby that is only 8 weeks
old in the womb? I sure can! 8 weeks- come on!

V-The Ultimate Variety Show was where all the old timers go when they have been bumped out by younger entertainers.  It was an awesome show though- very funny, lots of different acts and these guys are no slouches just cause most of them have hit 40.  These tickets are often given away with Timeshare Packages.  If you know you are not going to any promotional events, all your show tickets are cheaper online and if you know what you want to see on what night, you will save some money booking ahead.  We got ours through a Timeshare pitch.  Defending the Caveman was a comedy show about the differences between men and women in a marriage relationship.  Very funny- very pro marriage.  A little language if that bothers you.  Probably one of the only guys on the strip promoting monogamous marriages though.  When booking your shows ahead of time check sites like halfpriceshows.com- you can find some good deals there for the smaller shows and it's totally legit.  We did that for Caveman. 

The Food:

I did A LOT of research before we left since I knew we'd be overwhelmed when we got there.  I mean how else are you supposed to pick where to eat if you actually care about the quality of food when there are so many options.  We did a mix of less and more expensive meals.  But we did go prepared to spend some money since we were staying on the strip and everything is a little pricier there.  Here is a quick rundown of the places we went to:

Earl of Sandwich: In Miracle Mile Mall/Planet Hollywood- fresh made sandwiches under $7.  Always a long line but moves pretty fast.  Great for a breakfast sandwich, lunch or late night snack.

Table 10: In the Palazzo.  Probably the cheapest of Emeril Lagasses' restaurants on the strip.  I can tell you the gumbo and the Po' Boys are all great options for lunch that won't break the bank.  Flavour forward.

Cafe Ile St Louis: In Paris.  Our big dinner out.  Soo good and if you show up early enough you may be lucky like us and avoid the lines.  We considered this place affordable in the pricier options.  We had the cheese fondue, duck l'orange, filet mignion, and crème Brule.  All so delicious.  I also hear Mon Ami Gabi is excellent and we were going to go there but Cole wanted duck and they didn't have that.

Trattoria Reggiano: A tiny Italian cafe in the Venetian we happened to walk by the day before and thought the food looked amazing so we went back for lunch the next day.  The pizza and pasta we had was great and looking at other people's tables there didn't look like there was a bad order to be made.

KGB: Burger place in Harrah's.  We had to hit a gourmet burger place while in Vegas- we're burger people.  Excellent burger and fries.  Good way to cut down on a dinner bill one night. 

Pampas Churrascaria: Miracle Mile Mall- our only disappointment the whole trip when it came to dining.  But we pretty much got the meal for free through the Timeshare package.  It was supposed to be an upscale buffet- 5 star dining they say.  I'd give it 2.5 stars but the prices are steep so don't get pulled in by anyone saying this place is great.  If you love buffets and you want to pay $50/person for that experience then, yes, I'm sure you'll love it.

Canaletto: Fine Dining inside the Venetian.  We were seated outside the restaurant (still inside the Venetian) near the Canal and some opera performers.  Very pricey but the best pasta of my life.  We had the gnocchi and the ravioli for lunch.  The only thing that could have made this place better would have been a homemade focaccia on the table like Victoria's Pagliacci's instead of store bought bread and buns.  But the pasta was sensational.  Fresh made that day.  So elegant. 

California Pizza Kitchen: Inside the Mirage on the Casino floor.  Great pizza, good prices.  Thin crust was best. 

Serendipity's:  We only had dessert here but in case you haven't tried frozen hot chocolate..you should know about it.  So yummy.  We had the mint one.  Pretty pricey for a drink but share it and enjoy!

Site Seeing/Touristy Stuff:

We saw all the big casinos and resorts and the typical sites on the strip.  Paris and Venetian were probably our favourite.  We really wanted to ride the roller coaster at NYNY but pregnant people aren't allowed on roller coasters so that counted me out.  We got one of those caricature drawings of ourselves from the Miracle Mile Mall.  That was a great souvenir.  We spent one day at the pool- it happened to be the windiest day we were there but oh well.  It ensured we were the only ones in the pool.  Like serious wind storm- full deck lounge chairs blowing around. 

On Saturday (we didn't see it around any other day) we witnessed some street gambling.  That was super interesting.  People were set up along the streets in the day with card tables, a tiny red pompom ball and bottle caps and they did the where is the ball routine.  It was really interesting watching the routines and when they decided to con somebody and then would quickly leave while the person would scratch their head and the "security detail" would clean up the stuff before anyone could get violent.  Super interesting- but keep your money in your wallet.  Don't get sucked in.  Super high stakes and mostly they will trick you.  Awesome sociological observations though.

Fully dressed, completely drunk guy wading through the fountain for change

Bellagio fountain is a great free site to see.  Do it at night.  Do it more than once even.  The Fall of Atlantis show at Caesar's was no good.  I hear the Sirens show at the Pirate Ship is good but we never made it.  Volcano at Mirage is kind of cool.  Rainstorm in Miracle Mile was ok- probably way more interesting if you don't come from the North West Coast. 

Inside a Sports store in Caesar's Palace

Timeshares:

If you want people to stop bugging you about signing up for these you have a few options: ignore them, tell them you're already signed up, don't walk too close to your partner when you see them (they look for married couples), or sign up.  We tried it.  I would only recommend it if you are actually interested in finding out more or wanting to buy.  We went for the free stuff- wasn't worth it.  Waaay longer than I could have imagined and I was even expecting to be there for a while.  If you do go, and you know you don't want to buy- don't argue numbers with them- they don't really care if you can afford it or now, tell them you don't like the property and be adamant you don't like what they're showing you...even if you do.  But if you are interested in a Timeshare, the one we went to had some good options.  We were the only people from our group who didn't buy- so you can imagine how much they liked us. 

Our caricature drawing

It was so nice to get away before our family grows and to have some time away from K.  We had never done a vacation of this scale together so that was exciting all on its own.  K 's face when we picked her up was priceless.  She looked so relieved and surprised and almost devastated.  You could tell she didn't know we were ever coming back and was so glad we had.  It's hard when you leave your child that is old enough to understand you're gone but not old enough to explain you'll be back. 

How Far Will You Drive For a Babysitter??

Monday was a STAT so we took K down to Victoria to play with Grandpa all day.  Cole and I enjoyed a blissful day sans baby.  We had lunch at our favourite downtown restaurant: Pagliacci's.  I have yet to have a bad meal there.  So delicious and worth a trip just for their homemade focaccia.  We saw a matinee at the movie theatre, went shopping (new pair of boots for moi) and had dinner at the Japanese Village.  Also one of my favourites.

K did really well with Grandpa and was super excited to see us when we picked her up.  She came running down the hall to the elevator to see us.  The sound of her voice sounded slightly panicked and a little releaved.  I think our Vegas trip is still fresh in her mind and she may have been worried we were going to leave her for days again. 

I love K so much more after a day away from her. 

Hallowe'en

October 31, 2011: 7 weeks old

Last Hallowe'en K was just an infant- not even 2 months old.  We stayed home and handed out candy, watched a movie and hung out with our new baby.  I was just barely healed from my c-section and K was still doing the infant schedule- eat, sleep, eat, sleep, poop.  I can't believe how fast a year can go.  This Hallowe'en K is walking and trying to talk and so much the toddler.

The day started with the two of us attending the Strong Start program down the road at school and K got to participate in her first school Hallowe'en party filled with costumes and treats.  She was such a trooper in her costume and didn't even rip off the monkey head/hat. 

After Strong Start- right before nap time (hence the tears)

Cole got the night off work so he could come trick or treating with us and K had a ball.  The little monkey grabbed her pumpkin bucket and ran to the houses, jabbered at the people (obviously my 13 month old can't say trick or treat in english yet, but she said something to them in toddler talk), accepted the candy and waved good bye every time.  It took us an hour to go a few blocks up our street and come back down the other side.  Our street was great for trick or treating- lots of houses giving out candy and it was a high traffic zone- lots of kids and parents. 

 

 

 

I don't think I've ever had so much fun trick or treating- I'm not really a Hallowe'en person- but I loved seeing K all dressed up and feeling so proud of herself understanding the concept of the night. 

Here is a link to a video clip of her trick or treating: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJwewt_YQTU&feature=youtu.be

7 Cheap Meals to Satisfy Your Wallet and Your Palate

I love to cook and eat good food.  I am poor.  These two statements can live within the same household.  Even if you're not a part of a poor, student household, everyone can use a budget friendly grocery week.  Here are 7 of our family favourite meals that are easy to make, won't break the bank and most importantly, DELICIOUS!

1. Easy, Cheap, Fake-Out Korean Beef
-most of these ingredients probably already live in your house, the rest are super cheap
-lovely, bold flavours with inexpensive ingredients
-the whole dish can be completed while the rice cooks

2. Spaghetti in a Garlic Gravy
-my daughter's favourite meal
-can be made cheaper/faster by making a few adjustments: omit the chicken and add in extra vegetables (like roasted broccoli, our favourite)- or if you want to keep the chicken but you don't want to spend the whole time marinating, don't! It still tastes good if the marinating time is cut down
-another meal made in under 30 minutes start to finish

3. Easy Garlic Chicken
-this is the meal I turn to when I'm defrosting chicken, have no time or desire to go to the store and have a pretty much empty pantry- I bet you, like me, have all the ingredients already on hand
-beware, though, if you won't want to smell like garlic- this dish will have your house, neighbourhood and self smelling like garlic (but hey, I don't think that's a bad thing!)

4. Baked Mustard Lime Chicken
-another easy, flavour forward dish when you've got chicken to use up
-lots of bold flavour with super cheap ingredients, most of which you probably already have at home
-my favourite herb to use in this recipe turns out to be flat leaf parsley
-also a great quick go to recipe if you have people coming over to dinner and don't have much time- it's very impressive while being dead simple

5. Salmon Cakes
-great for when canned salmon goes on sale
-one recipe gets you like 8 patties, great for a big family or a small family with a big appetite or a love of leftovers
-updated note to recipe: I've started crusting the patties in panko bread crumbs before cooking them in the pan so that they stay together better and create a nice crispy crust

6. Noodle Box Fakeout
-our favourite stirfry recipe (tastes just like the Spicy Thai Peanut sauce from the Noodle Box)
-great for someone how has these ingredients on hand on a regular basis (soy sauce, coconut milk, fish sauce, sriracha)
-great recipe to tailor for your family's tastes: I do this one vegetarian all the time but you can use any protein or combo of protein you have on hand (our favourites are shrimp and chicken)
-great over noodle or rice stirfry

7. Chicken Palava (African Peanut Stew)
-fun, different dish to do with your chicken (you can use any form of chicken you have on hand or is on sale at the market)
-easy to make, looks impressive
-remember to not over cook your vegetables- nobody likes limp peppers

Salt and Pepper

I can't tell you how many times I've served someone food and they've asked me what the seasoning is and how many times the answer is salt and pepper.  Season your food people.  Salt and pepper can do wonders if you use them properly. 

If a novice cook can learn nothing else, learn these 2 things:

1. "Brown food tastes good" (Chef Anne Burrell).  Cook your food with the appropriate heat- the brown refers to the colour of properly cooked food, whether it's vegetables or meat.  Brown tastes good...grey does not, black does not.  Brown is your goal. 

2. Season your food while you cook.  Season at every step.  When you're done cooking, no one should be asking for salt or pepper.  I keep salt and pepper in canisters by the stove so that I can easily season throughout the cooking.  Taste your food before serving.

An example of these two skills being put to use is shown in our family's favourite side: roasted broccoli.  First, the broccoli is tossed with a little olive oil and salt/pepper.  Spread it out on a baking sheet.  Roasting should be done at temperatures above 375.  I usually use 400 for broccoli.  You want to develop the brown roasted colour, cook the broccoli through, but leave a little bite.  The result: broccoli that we can't get enough of.  Also- when you roast vegetables, you maintain all the nutrients in them instead of boiling them away.  Also, tastier than steaming. 

Happy Birthday Baby/My Wish For You

Sept 8, 2012- 1 year old

We spent Sept 8 with a couple of cute kids that we were babysitting for some friends of ours so that they'll do the same for K next month when we go away.  We kept it simple (since we had her party the week before) with birthday cake after lunch and 1 small present (a play set of keys that has buttons that make sounds like an actual set- it was a big hit amongst all 3 kids).  Cole and I celebrated with a steak dinner (the first birthday is a big deal to the parents, too).  Unfotunately, K had an awful night.  She slept from about 7:30pm till 10:30pm (so while we were awake) and then was up from 10:30pm till 5am.  I don't know if she's teething, or if it's because she caught the cold of the kids' we were watching, but whatever it was- we had a sleepless night.  Eventually she did pass out in bed with us- it was kind of nice to sleep with her again.  I can't believe a whole year has gone by- it's felt long and incredibly short.

At a year old, K is a spirited, brave, independent and kind little girl.  She loves walking, she loves pools and baths and waterparks, she loves dancing (to ANYTHING), she loves squealing, she loves to wave and say hi.  Her favourite meal to eat is my garlic spaghetti, her favourite dessert is probably icecream.  Her favourite TV show is Sid the Science Kid.  Even after a year of toys, her favourite comfort toy is still her Lamb Chop.

[To K] 
My beautiful daughter, on the off chance I never get to tell you these things myself, here are my wishes for you for your life:

1. I wish for you an education.  There are few things in this world that can never be stolen from you and never lose their value and an education is one them.  I wish for you to develop a love of learning and pursue any and all education you desire- you have already shown me your capacity for quick learning and I have always been able to see the light of intelligence in your eyes.  There may still be some people who will tell you an education is of no worth unless it can yield a big salary or it's of no value unless you plan to have a lifelong career.  Some may even still try to tell you because you are a woman there are certain paths you need to take.  My wish is for you to follow all the desires of your heart when it comes to education.  It doesn't matter how long, how short, how small or how adventurous your ambitions are- an education is never a waste of time.  A better educated society can only help not hinder.  Remember to maintain humility as you study and learn- to be learned is good as long as you remember where all knowledge comes from.  Beware of arrogance.  For a society full of arrogance will only lead to more problems.

2.  I wish for you to gain your own testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I wish for you to follow his precepts and to find peace and joy in all aspects of your life.  I wish for you to gain a testimony of His infinite atonement to be always able to feel of the love and forgiveness that is available to you.

3.  I wish for you to maintain that confidence you have now and to know you can have the life you want.  Pursue your dreams and don't live a life with regret.  But I do wish for you to find balance in your life as well.  I wish for you a family of your own.  I know of no greater calling or profession that provides you with such important opportunities to learn patience, compassion and love than that of wife and mother.  It will be hard to find that balance in your life, which will bring you the most happiness because it will probably involve some sacrifice- but follow your instincts and prioritize what is of the most value and you will lead a life of few regrets.

4.  My final wish for you is to be kind.  If you do nothing else in life but learn to be kind and leave judgments at the door, you will have lead a life of great worth.  This life can be hard, and cruel and scary, but it is your job to be kind.  You are strong and independent and I'm not worried about you losing that, so I wish for you to focus on developing kindness, compassion and not judging others.  Be willing to be vulnerable to others.  You can be strong and kind.  I have had a really hard time with this concept and it's one that I feel is crucial at this time in the world.  There is enough hate and meanness in this world without you having to contribute to it.  Be kind.  In your thoughts, in your words, in your actions.  Always.

I love you and I am so proud of you.  My wish for you is joy.