Random pics to share

Here is the latest pic of the belly. I'm currently 35 weeks and delivered Adler at 38, so we'll see when baby Boy decides to join us!

Christmas pic Stephen took of Adler in his Christmas outfit
Seeing Bow Wow in the Houston airport on our way back to the ATL
Shopping in Old Towne Spring, pic by Aunt Rylie
Adler playing in the dog kennel at Grammi and Tom Tom's
Bearded daddy and Adler watching the Fox and the Hound
Adler and Grandpa in Old Towne Spring

Here is the manger scene Adler and I worked on for the month of December. I cut out pictures from a book and placed the pictures in an Advent Calendar. We built the final picture right before we left for Texas. 

The Big Boy Bed! It's official! He has been sleeping in his bed now for almost a week, naps included! He is still so excited when he wakes up in his room and says "Bedroom!"

2nd Night in a Big Boy Bed!!

I'm so pumped! Tonight is the second night in a row Adler is sleeping in his big boy room! This was his decision and he asked to sleep in his "big room" and he is doing great! Looks like great timing with baby boy on the way!

The Days of the Beard

lensbaby_7.jpg, originally uploaded by patrickhunton.

Have come to an end. For the visual "story board" of what went down yesterday...just click over to http://stevohunton.blogspot.com

A sad day. :)

Turkey Lasagna

I've never really cooked lasagna. Mostly out of fear it wouldn't turn out as good as my mom's. I've also had a quite a few frozen lasagnas at youth group functions, watery lasagnas at other functions, lasagnas delivered when Adler was born....seems I've never had the need to bake one. Mostly because I just never got the recipe from my mom, I decided to do some Food Network research on lasagnas. I tried this one tonight and it turned out great! Stephen said it was the best lasagna he's ever had! This will definitely go down in our family recipe book. I usually substitute stuff when following directions, but this time, I followed it to a T. (except I used dried basil, but I think fresh would have been best)

Turkey Lasagna by Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.

Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

Back in the ATL

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! 

We flew out to Texas on Tuesday, December 22nd. The days before that were busily spent on projects around the house. How to describe the week and a half in Texas? I'll try:

Arrival: Texas is hot, Stephen's beard is getting long, Candlelight Service, Silent Night, Random Visitor, Adler's Motorcycle, Christmas Lights Neighborhood, Setting up Adler's new train set for when he comes down stairs Christmas Eve, Thomas the Train, Rocket, Sweet gift from Rylie, My mom's stuffing, peppermint mocha coffee creamer (thanks PT), pecan pie, Fun gift exchanges, Watching Adler open "presents!", Adler sleeps to 8am, ridiculous attempt to meet sisters at a bar, Stephen's beard is getting out of control, Texas is cold, Christmas house party at Merrill's, going to the mall by myself, Old Towne Spring and Tomball shopping, manicure and pedicure, Mary Kay consult, pregnancy massage, Texans game, Texas is hot, trip to Crystal Beach, date night to movies, dinner at Brio w/ just Stephen, Adler no longer remembers who his parents are, Stephen looks European, New Years Eve Dinner at Well's, eating out for lunches, Neighborhood party at my parent's house, Adler now only asks for his grandparents, Stephen's mustache has it's own zip code, hanging out with my mom at the Huntons, Raynelle's banana pudding, stuffing suit cases, sad goodbyes, long trip home.

This morning at the Hunton house:

Stephen: "Adler, come here, you need a tissue."

Adler: "Oh! I know!!" (running over to couch and wiping snot nose on decorative pillow, followed by big proud smile)

Getting ready for baby!

So let the count down begin! I'm 31 1/2 weeks pregnant, official due date is Feb. 15th, but since Adler was born 2 weeks early, I'm expecting this one to hopefully to the same! So, with Christmas traveling taking up 2 weekends, we will have just about 4 weeks to get it together before this sweet baby boy gets here! I can't wait to meet him!

I can tell you already that he is following closely in his big brother's footsteps...he is measuring large and is extremely active! My stomach looks and feels like a waterbed. 

I had a wonderfully sweet shower Tuesday night, pics to come. Just wanted to say hello!

Mommy

Since we've been back from Texas, Adler has switched from calling me Mama to "Mommy".  A couple of my friends have mentioned this transition and it just makes me wonder what goes off in their heads to make them change the name. I guess the next transition will be from Mommy to Mom. I can kind of see why kids make this change since "Mommy" sounds like a name you say when you ARE a baby and "Mom" is a name for when you are a big kid. All kids want to be big kids. So, that makes sense to me. I wonder if the same is for Mama to Mommy? Hmmm....deep thoughts...but I sure do love the sound of "Mommy". I'm glad to be Adler's!

Time to play the lotto?

Here's how my luck has gone in the past two days:

• Yesterday found out Stephen was going to keep his job. (big news!)

• Then a few hours later got a phone call that I was the recipient of a sweepstakes I had randomly entered at my doctor's office to receive 18 years of free Cord Blood Banking for baby #2 plus a $1000 gift certificate from Babies R Us!!! I didn't believe it until I got it in writing today, but looks like it's for real! Cord Blood banking is a way to store your baby's stem cells (collected from the umbilical cord at birth) which has potential medical uses to treat life-threatening diseases (around 70 diseases as of today) for your child and any member that is a match. Siblings have an 80% chance of being match! The doctor that delivered Adler is actually a spokes person for this company, so I know it is legit! If you are expecting or know someone who is, complete the form here to enter for their final drawing in December. You never know!

• Then I got a confirmation email from Old Navy that my order was on it's way (outfit for my baby shower next week). For some reason, I went online to look at the clothes one more time that I had bought and found two of the items had gone on sale! Don't you hate when that happens? I called their customer service and they credited my account the $16 something without any hesitation. I love Old Navy. This was perfect because I was paying $17 for shipping to get it to the house in time, so it's like I got free shipping!

It seems in life, I'll get a string of "good luck" moments. And then a long dry spell. Three years ago, I won a $500 shopping spree to Bloomingdales (sadly, it didn't go very far there) and the next day, I won 2 flights on Delta to anywhere in the U.S. or Caribbean. I took my Bloomingdales gift certificate, bought Stephen a new swim suit and flip flops to surprise him with the Delta gift certificate. We went and saw Josh Rouse that night too...man, that was a fun night! I think we booked our flights to Aruba the next day. 

Well, it might be another three years for my "luck" to return, but so far, it's been worth the wait!

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. Proverbs 21:23

I was reminded today that I need to be mindful of the words I choose, not only in general, but especially around Adler. He's had a runny nose for the past several days. I looked at his face, snot running from nose to mouth, and said, "How can you stand that? Doesn't that drive you insane?" as I wiped his face. He looked at me with questioning eyes and said, "Insane?".

Hmph, probably not the best phrase to teach a two year old.

Lord knows there have been worse things to come from these lips, but a good "speed bump" to remind me to proceed with caution. These little ears have always been listening (scary to think), but now he is repeating!

I pray, with only Christ's help, to be a Proverbs 31 mother: "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."

"Thank you, DaDa, and thank you, MaMa"

Sweet words spoken by my 2 year old when we brought him into our bed over Thanksgiving after waking up in the middle of the night. 

Not sure what woke him up and we let him whine it out for a while, but eventually, no body was sleeping, so we brought him into our room. After he got settled and it was quiet, he said this little sentence. 

Exhaustion and frustration disappear. 

Love you too, Adler, sweet dreams!

Adler's first haircut

Before:


After:






Adler had his first haircut on Saturday! It was less traumatic (for me) than I had expected. We kept his hair long, and just cleaned up the front. It's actually much curlier now than it was before! He looks super cute and such a big boy! The hair place gave us a curl of his hair to take home and took the last picture of the 3 of us.

I think one of the pictures shows my 28 weeks bump! He will be here before we know it! We are leaving this week for Texas! We can't wait!

Big News at the Hunton house this morning...

We interrupt your Friday morning with this special report:
This just in....Adler went pee pee in the big potty! We are singing the pee pee victory song and dance!
And now back to your regular blogramming....

Night Night

At Peace, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

Mine, Yours, and Snilky

Mine [mahyn] –pronoun
1. a form of the possessive case of I which Adler enjoys explaining to me and anyone else that will listen: "The train is mine."

Yours [yoorz, yawrz, yohrz] –pronoun
1. a form of the possessive case of you used as a predicate adjective which Adler also like to explain to the same listeners as above, including his trains. "This is yours, Thomas!"

Snilky [sn-il-k-ie)- noun
1. a combination of the words "snack" and "milky" of which Adler affectionately calls his favorite beverage

Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry by Rachael Ray

Despite her smoker's voice, I decided to try this recipe by Rachael Ray. I love Thai food and especially Cashew Chicken. I have been looking for something that I could make at home that wouldn't be too much work. I added some sugar snap peas to this and it was really good! You can find this on Foodnetwork.com. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, 1/4 onion finely chopped, 3/4 thinly sliced
2 cups quick cooking brown rice
4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds chicken meat: tenders, boneless, skinless breasts or boneless, skinless thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning blend by McCormick)
2 to 3 tablespoons tamari dark soy sauce, eyeball it
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
10 to 12 water chestnuts, whole
1 cup frozen green peas
3 tablespoons chipotle in adobo (2 peppers and their sauce), available in cans on the international foods aisle or substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons ground chipotle powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin, a palm full
2 to 3 tablespoons honey, 2 healthy drizzles
1/4 to 1/3 cup real maple syrup, eyeball it
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley leaves, your preference
1 cup raw cashews
Directions
In a medium pot over medium heat combine 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter melts into oil, add in the chopped onion, cook 2 minutes, then add rice and cook 3 minutes more. Add stock and cover the pot. Raise heat to bring stock to a rapid boil. Once the stock boils, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, 17-18 minutes.

While rice cooks, make the chicken. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan, then the chicken. Season the chicken with grill seasoning. Brown the chicken on both sides, season with soy sauce then move off to one side of the pan. Add the remaining onions, garlic and peppers. Cook 2 to 3 minutes then add water chest nuts and green peas and mix vegetables and meat together. Add the chipotles and cumin. Toss to coat. Glaze the mixture with honey and maple syrup and turn off the heat. Add in the chopped cilantro or parsley and the cashew nuts.

Top rice with cashew chicken and serve.

Trick or Treat!

Some pics from Adler's first Trick-or-Treating experience.....my first as a parent! We had so much fun with our friends, the Huffs and Presleys. Even though Adler dressed as an engineer, he loved stealing Chris's "Florida Fan" mullet wig. 

Fall Festival at School

Here are some pictures from Adler's Fall Festival at school. Just look at that cute little room!

Adler's Birthday Party

Finally! Some pics to share from Adler's 2nd birthday party. I had all the kids decorate "engineer" hats when they first arrived, so they would have them for their "Thomas the Train" ride. The kids were so excited to see the Train and Adler was especially excited. He loved riding the in the red cart because it, to him, was "James". Afterwards, we had some great food, cake and presents....Adler was on a Thomas the Train high! Thanks to all who came! We had a great time!

A Mother's thoughts on 10-29-08

"How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the JOY we have in the presence of our God because of you?" - 1 Thessalonians 3:9

For as long as I can remember, my mother has shared a sweet gesture with her girls. Whether we are sitting in church, driving in the car, a waiting room, etc......she will lean in, pick up your hand, gently pat or rub your hand, and sweetly smile. No words are exchanged, you just smile back. It's a way she says "I love you.". It was the other day when I caught myself doing this very thing with Adler. My in-laws were in town and I was sitting in the back seat with him, sharing his world from his perspective. I picked up his little hand and rubbed it between mine. It was then I realized just exactly what my mom was really doing during all those sweet moments. She wasn't just saying "I love you". She was saying....

I remember when I first held this little hand...

when this little hand first held my finger....

when this little hand picked up it's first toy....

it's first bite of finger food.....

it's first crayon......

first back pack.....

I know she was thinking these things because that's what I was thinking as I looked at my now toddler of a baby. His hand is so big now, we can almost inter-lock fingers! (well at least the tips of mine) This of course all occurred in a matter of three seconds because that's how long you have until they are moving on to the next thing and hand holding wasn't on Adler's list. But it was just enough to remember how quickly this time I have with him is going by.

My sweet Adler turns 2 today and I am overflowing with gratefulness. He has brought SO much JOY to mine and Stephen's life. God brought 1 Thessalonians to me today, and there are no better words than "how can we thank God enough for you?". Adler, we love you so much! Happy Birthday!

Famous Uncle PT

So Adler's super cool uncle, PT, is officially famous. He is on the road playing bass for Christian musician and Canadian, Matt Brouwer. Check out Matt's site! They are currently in Canada and played at the Covenant Awards (like Dove Awards in U.S) where he was nominated for Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year for his song, "Beautiful Now", and for Male Vocalist of the Year! We will be missing Uncle PT tomorrow at Adler's birthday party! However, he did send Adler a very generous birthday gift....wooden Thomas the Train and James and DVD! It must be nice making the big bucks as a rock star now :) You can follow PT on his website. We miss you Uncle PT and will be cheering you on along the road!
xoxo

Just curious....

Anyone else stop and wonder if green colored M&Ms really give you special powers? I guess I am a product of 80s advertising. I specifically remember the ad where the kid was getting struck out at a baseball game, he ate a green M&M, then bam...he hit the ball out of the park. (and kids are obese why?) I secretly still think about this when eating M&Ms and I try to eat all the green ones if I am sharing with someone. Yeah, I'm green M&M hog. With the Halloween candy around, I guess I've been thinking about my green M&Ms and wondering if they can give me special powers to withstand the tantrum of a two year old, or maybe fold that pile of clothes that has been growing on my couch all week? I just bought a bag, so I'll let you know if I notice anything different around here!

Here's something that will brighten your day...

Getting a picture text from your bffs!

Benefits of antique shopping with a toddler

Well, my friends, there is only one I could come up with.....


Once the child wants out of the stroller (after 5 minutes of shopping in Adler's case), you don't have to carry around your new purchases!

Maylee Collection

Here are some pics of my "Maylee" collection. :) Stephen says we need a better name than "burp cloths". Any ideas? I've just been calling them burpies....

Happy Birthday, Stevo!

Happy Birthday, honey! Hope you had a great day and a fun surprise birthday dinner! We love you!
xoxo

"Stephen, how do you make mailing labels?".........(laughing) YEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!

Our community group is currently reading a book called "Bondage Breaker". I'm still undecided about the book, but after asking Stephen this question, I realized I had been released from a certain bondage in my life. One that has plagued me since graduating college in 2002. One I thought that a girl with a Marketing degree would never have to face, however, it seemed to follow me from one job to another. That would be the bondage of mailing label making.

In my first job, I was the freakin' Queen of Labels. I could merge you a labels list from Access in under 30 seconds.....with any kind of specifications you asked....alphabetized, by age, by gender, by city....oh, was I good. I made through 3 levels of Access classes. (ok, maybe this was to get out of the office, but that is besides the point) In my second job, they hired me pretty much because of my query building knowledge of Access. So, there I was again, crowned Queen of Labels again, teaching others my skill. In my last job, I wasn't using Access, but I was still the "go to" person in the office when it came to Labels.

Now, I have a toddler and a second baby on the way, and my 2 year anniversary of not driving in Monday morning traffic is coming up in a couple weeks! Stephen and I were sitting at the kitchen table...Stephen editing pictures, me working on Adler's two year birthday party invitations. That's when I asked the question. "Stephen, how do you make mailing labels?". That's when I started hysterically laughing with joy, fist in the air, praising "YES!"!!! I'm free!!! Stephen stared at me in wonder. The memory of label making has been erased from my mind! But let's be honest, it's probably been replaced with the words to the "Thomas the Train" song and the names of all the characters on Adler's favorite shows. Well, friends, I'd take Thomas any day!

Happy Monday!

Adler is the next Nadal