Quick update

I had a successful deer hunting opener and I shot my first deer, a small buck. Got the first deer of the year out of our group too. I shot it on evening of opening day. I didn't know if I would have to guts to actually go through with it but I did and had an EXCELLENT shot, might I add. Right through the heart and lungs so I was very proud of myself. It is nice to get the first one out of the way now so I can sit and wait for the BIG buck that I will get next time :)

Other than being a successful hunter this weekend, I have now caught Tanner's cold and am suffering through that. All while trying to pack up our house and deal with all that too. This week's project is to move Tanner's crib, clothes, and other necessities because we will be staying up north as of next week and coming back down to Danube in short trips to continue packing and finish some projects to get the house ready to put on the market. Tanner will be able to stay with my mom as we make the 3.5 hour trip back and forth. You know just a normal, crazy busy, day in the life :)

Gotta just keep on keepin on!!!

Weekend Plans- Deer Hunting Opener Up North

Yes, I hunt. I am a hippie who likes to go deer hunting- I am a very complex girl. Actually my whole family goes deer hunting including: my mom, dad, brother, grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins and husband. Every year my mom and dad host opener up at there place in Barnum. It is lots of fun family time, filled with spirited competition about who will get the first and biggest deer. I actually just went hunting myself for the first time last year, until then I had always just gone out and sat with my grandpa in his comfy shack where he sits in warm luxury while the other hunters freeze their hinnies off sitting 12 feet up in a tree. Now I am one of those stooges who are decked out in blaze orange with a frozen bum.

I have been prepping all week (by prepping I mean mainly sitting on my couch/playing with Tanner thinking about how much stuff I have to pack/cook). This morning, the van is ready to get packed (Paul's job since I do EVERYTHING else) and we are ready to hit the road with all the rest of the MN hunters. Wish me luck!! I hope I have good news to report on Monday when I get back!

What's for Supper?? Clean out my cupboard Mexican Chicken Hot-Dish

I am not really one to cook with recipes. More often than not I will throw something together that I roughly remember by heart or, like tonight, just simply throw something together with stuff I have in my cupboard. Since we are moving soon, I am on a mission to clean out my cupboards and start using the food I have stored in them. I just hate moving food and the less I have to move/toss out the better. I decided that I would blog about my "Cleaning out my cupboards" recipes...good and bad you'll get them all with my honest review of how it tastes.

Tonight: Clean out my cupboard Mexican Chicken Hotdish



Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts
1 package Spanish Rice side dish
1 2/3 cup water
1 can black beans
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can corn (I used corn from my freezer I froze this summer)
some shredded cheese
dash of cumin, coriander, garlic powder, salt and black pepper


Cube and cook chicken

Add rice and cook following directions on packet

In casserole dish mix- Chicken and rice, black beans ,3/4 can enchilada sauce, corn, and a hand full of shredded cheese.

Over the top of the mixture pour rest of enchilada sauce and then sprinkle another handful or two of cheese over the top.

Bake on 350 until cheese starts turning a bubbly golden brown.

Serve topped with sour cream or salsa if you happen to have some :)

ENJOY!!


Review: Both Paul and I thought it was DELICIOUS!!!!! So, 4 thumbs up!! I'll definately have to throw this together again in the future :)

Ch-Ch-Changes

It’s official- Paul, Tanner and I are packing up and moving.  Where you ask???  Roughly 200 miles N-NE of Danube-To Moose Lake/Barnum/Duluth area.  It is something we have been tossing around for a while and earlier this month decided to make the leap and just go for it.  We talked about if we could live anywhere else in the state where would we choose, and we both said Duluth.  We will be staying with my mom and dad until we sell our house in Danube and find a property of our own to buy.   Paul has been scoping out job prospects in the electrical field and is excited to be using his schooling and his full potential.  I am tossing around the idea of going back to school to get my teaching license so I will be certified to teach grades 5-12.  We are very excited about the changes we are making.

I am not going to sugar coat or lie about the reasons for our big move.  The main reason was that things were not working out in Danube.  We have made some great friends but were not being treated with love and respect from Paul’s father, who Paul has been farming with.  It is just too hard to thrive in a situation with so much negativity and is not an environment we want to have our children be around. We also want to be closer to a supportive network of family.  They say it takes a village and we are firm believers in this.  Right now the closest support we have is from Paul’s mom and Stepdad who are great but still an hour away.   My brother and sister and their families are 2.5 hours away and my parents at the moment are 3.5 hours away.  We are excited to be extremely close to family and are sure that the cabin and my parents new house in Barnum will be flooded with family visitors year round- enough to fill our family fix.

Along with the excitement also comes fear of the unknown, and an overwhelming amount of work it is going to take to pack up a house and move with a 7month old baby.  I must note that we are doing this all within the next month, so overwhelming may be an understatement to describe my feelings at the moment.  There is also the fact that we are going from having our own house and plenty of space for our family of 3 to living with my parents.  It will be an adjustment for sure.  I am just very fortunate to have parents who are so supportive and willing to help us out.  (I personally think my mom is looking forward to having the company and getting to spend so much time with Tanner)

  I don’t think it is an easy decision we have made, but in the long run will be a decision that is best for our family.  Paul and I have the view that we are good people and hard workers so things will just end up working out for us. We (ok MAINLY ME) are trying to maintain our normally laid back attitudes through this whole change and keep thinking about the positives. 

On to our next big adventure…

Tanner’s New Tricks

Everyday Tanner does something new that baffles me. 

Here are some pictures of the news stuff Tanner can do.

He can drink from a cup.  (Or at least he is learning)  WIC now endorses drinking out of a normal child's cup rather than a sippy cup to promote healthy speech and brain development.  I still have sippy cups for on the go, but with every meal he gets his cup of water and LOVES it!!

    

He eats baby snacks like they are going out of style.  He wasn’t too keen on feeding himself until recently.  Now he eats them and loves them.  His favorite are Baby Mum Mums.

 

  

He wakes up and plays in his crib.  He used to just lay there and wait for someone to come get him.  Now, he flips over and starts playing with his toys.  I often find him laughing and playing with his Tigger after he wakes up from nap time.

   

 

He is just becoming such a big boy and more and more independent.  It is so fun to watch him grow.

Fabulous 50!!

She's been celebrating all year folks but today, Candy turns the big 5-0!! Happy birthday Mom!!

This free photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

Recovering

This weekend hit me…..HARD.  Not only did I attempt to keep up/entertain my nieces but I also got broad-sided by a very icky stomach bug.  I will spare you all of the entirely gross details but lets just say i am slowly recovering and Gatorade is my best friend.  Thankfully the sickness really didn’t kick in until Sat night, AFTER my sister had arrived.  She was able to take over as mom of the house and even did my dishes for me :)  (Everyone knows how much I HATE dishes so doing my dishes for me is nicer than buying me a Tiffany and Co necklace…OK maybe that is a BIT of an exaggeration, but I do HATE doing dishes) 

Sadie and the girls left yesterday and Paul took over as Mr. Mom and had a full day of taking care of Tanner while i slept and tried to recharge my super powers.  Today I am back among the living (barely).  Here are some pics of the fun filled weekend we had.  We played, went to Nelson Farm in Litchfield, and carved all of our SPOOKY pumpkins.  My cousin Lindsey came to visit and help with this which was good since the girls were afraid of touching the pumpkin goo.  It was a great weekend full of fall fun!!

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Busy Morning

Jada and Saniya, my nieces, are staying with me for a few days since I have not really had much time to spend with them over the past couple months. They are so much fun have around and definitely help keep me busy.

Since 7:30 this morning: (Note-I am writing this @ 9:30)

got a 4 & 5 yr old up an dressed, got a 7 month old up and dressed, attempted to make waffles, failed, made pancakes, OJ and turkey bacon instead, fed girls and Tanner, dealt with argument over which movie to watch, started Scooby Doo for girls, put Tanner down for a nap, washed all my dishes, cleaned up waffle fiasco, swept and cleaned kitchen, swept and cleaned dining room..now time for me to eat and get dressed before we "start" our day....

a day in the life....

Better have some coffee :) I have a busy few days planned for us!

Oprah’s Book Club

As you may see to the left, I am currently reading an Oprah book club pick. I can’t wait to tune in and actually know what my girl Oprah is talking about this time. OK..so I have to admit that I am not the MOST loyal Oprah fan, although I do love her. My watching her mainly depends on if it fits into my schedule. I have always LOVED the book club idea. It is not very often where you actually get to see an author go into such depth about what their thought process and intention was while writing a book.

The book is called “Freedom” by Jonathan Franzen. It takes place in Minnesota and has (so far) really kept my attention. The writing is REALLY good. Being the literary snob I can sometimes be, I truly appreciate a good writer (even though “good” is completely a matter of subjectivity). I am also happy to announce that I am almost on pace to finish in time to be ready for the discussion with the author. I talk like I am somehow going to be part of this discussion when in actuality I will be watching it on my DVR and drinking a glass of wine while nodding in simple understanding rather than saying “wow, this book sounds good. I should read it,” like I normally do.

I am really getting into the Oprah book club idea (went to the Book club website and everything) and might have to participate in all the ones on Oprah’s final season. Who’s with me on this one????

Changing it up

Many who know me, know that I am not one to shy away from challenging endeavors in my life. I like to label these endeavors as “adventures.” I consider myself a very adventurous person and Paul, legally bound by marriage to me, has developed his own love of adventure. We actually make quite a great team and I feel that together we can do just about anything we wanted. (There was a legitimate conversation the other day about moving to a tropical destination after watching House Hunter’s international and see what houses go for in Belize) These are the kind of adventures we are talking about….OK..maybe a move to Central America is not in our immediate future but we may just need to change things up here soon.

I guess I’m not ready to talk about it yet, because honestly we don’t even know ourselves what may happen…BUT the idea of change is exciting. If you battle change and try to keep your life as static as possible, change can be terrifying. But if we embrace it and roll with the punches as we carve out our little space in the world, it can be the most exciting thing ever. It is consuming my mind and thoughts these past few days. Sorry there are not more specifics but I promise to share with my LOYAL blog followers (all 14 of them) as soon as I know myself. I guess the point of this blog post is to express my need to follow my heart and intuition knowing that if I am real, and generous with all I have to give (love, respect, time, kindness, empathy, etc), I can’t help but be happy right??

“There is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction” –Winston Churchill

PS. I am NOT pregnant for the 13,000th time. That may change in the near future too but is NOT the big change I am talking about :)

# 4,167,354th reason to LOVE Minnesota

The unpredictability of the weather really keeps you on your toes and causes you to keep clothes for all types of weather on hand…just in case. **4 and under can get away with the sans clothes option**

Last year on this day in Danube, MN it was 17 degrees and SNOWING!!!! Today it is 88 degrees and SUNNY!!! Feels like SPRINKLER WEATHER!!!!! Oscar and I had to cool off after our walk to the park. Tanner missed out on the fun because he was sawing logs in the stroller before we even got home.

Visitors and practicing for 2

Wednesday my mom came to visit us.  Well, I use the term “us” loosely because her main objective was to visit Tanner.  I realize that I am no longer the main event around here and have been replaced by a cuter and much cuddlier 6 month old.  That is totally alright with me :)  Along with my mom came a VERY welcomed surprise visitor…

My niece Saniya (Sah-Ni (N+eye)-ah) 

Her big sister Jada goes to school now so Saniya got some exclusive Nana time and was able to visit her favorite little cousin!  From what I hear, Jada was more than a little jealous but will have her own time down here with us soon.

While Mom and Saniya were down here we did lots of fun stuff including going to the park, playing outside, going to get pumpkins, and decorating my yard for Halloween.  The GORGEOUS Minnesota fall weather makes is so enjoyable to be outside!

Here are some pictures of Tanner getting pumpkins and swinging at the park(His first time in a real swing)

Tanner LOVES his Nana and cousin! 

Come back and visit soon!!!

 

Today, I am babysiting for Paul’s cousin. They have a 2 year old, Oscar.  (His birthday was just on Wednesday)  He is funny, full of life, and provides great entertainment for Tanner.  This morning we watched Barney, colored, played play doh, went for a walk, had a snack, watched Dora and went down for a nap.  (well, the boys did..hence my time to blog)

Here is Oscar making PlayDoh creations :)

***Side Note: the wound is from an earlier date and not on my watch so people CAN trust their children with me***

Tanner watched on with healthy enthusiasm plotting how he can be like Oscar in a few months.

It is a good experiment having a toddler AND and infant in my care….It sorta gives me a great idea to expand this “Quist Club” of ours :)

6 Month Stats

Tanner went to the doctor yesterday for his 6 month check up.  He got his shots (including a flu shot) and was feeling a little icky yesterday but is back to his normal self today.  He’s such a happy baby.  Here are his 6 month stats:

Height:  27 inches  75th%

Weight: 19 lbs 8 oz  80th%

Head Circumference: 45.5 cm 90th%

 

Happy and Healthy…Just how I like it!!

 

Also, a side note:  With our busy summer and my travels, I had gotten away from using cloth diapers.  Tanner grew out of the first size and I never ordered the next size up.  However, I am HAPPY to report that we got our shipment of medium (15-30lbs) diapers and Tanner is digging the cozy cloth once again.  Anyone interested in going cloth- I HIGHLY recommend Green Mountain Diapers for your diapering needs.  We do organic prefolds, with hemp and cotton doublers and cute waterproof covers.  I feel so much better that we are actually using cloth again.  I was really seeing the effect of disposables…both in our garbage can each week as well as our packet book.  This size should last the rest of his diapering years!!

Adventures in Baby Food

Today I am attempting to make Tanner some homemade baby food.  I really don’t mind buying the premade fruits and veggies for him but the protein or “meal” food just really grosses me out.  PLUS,  I’ve read that to help develop a well rounded eater and get them acquired to the taste of your cooking, you should feed them the same meals you make for yourself- only pureed.  So…Here is today’s adventure in baby food.  I am going to turn this: 

(My Yummy home made Chicken Noodle Soup)

Into a yummy homemade chicken noodle soup puree for my favorite little boy :)

How did I do it????  EASY-

1- Take left over chicken noodle soup out of the fridge (or spaghetti, steamed veggies, etc)

2- Fill up your Magic Bullet 

(I guess a blender would work but the bullet is so easy to use and clean when working with small portions…PLUS they make a mean daiquiri for “Mommy time”)

3-Puree (when you think you’ve pureed enough do a little more for safe measure)

4-Spoon mixture into baby food containers you have saved and freeze

**Gerber has AWESOME plastic baby food containers**

OR

 

Lightly spray a ice cube tray with Pam and spoon mixture and freeze then place frozen cubed food in freezer bag for storage.

5-Take out and thaw as needed for baby to enjoy:)

Bon Appetite Babies!!!

 

Can’t wait to make try and convert my other favorite fall dishes into Tanner-friendly food!!!

Home Sweet Harvest

I made it home! Tanner was an angel on the flight again and had the flight attendant wrapped around his chubby little finger. She couldn't get enough of him and OF COURSE he ate it right up-smiling, giggling and cooing at her. And I got 3 unsolicited comments about how he looks "just like his Mama." Paul picked us up from the airport and we went out to lunch. It was so nice being with my boys again! I had lots of fun in Florida and I know Bonny really appreciated my help but I did miss having my nice little family of 3 together.

As we drove from"the cities" (as I now call them) west toward home, there were combines busy in the fields and you feel the harvest buzz in the air. This is my favorite time of year. I hate that Paul has to work such long hours but I just love the energy that surrounds it. It is a rush against the weather and time to get the crops out. It is the crisp morning and evening air that require you to put on your favorite big comfy sweatshirt and slippers. It is the bright orange sun setting against miles and miles of slowing disappearing crops.

It's my Home Sweet Harvest time and I love it!