I heart soup

I am a soup person. Jordan is not. I think I'm getting close to converting him. Anytime I tell him I'm making soup for dinner, I have to remind him not to turn his nose up. (PS He loves all the recipes below ... he just has a strange aversion to the word soup, I guess.)

Zuppa Tuscana
I am obsessed with this soup. I got the recipe from my friend Lexy (who has since totally revamped the way she eats - her awesome blog is here), so I like to joke that she probably never makes this soup anymore. But put bacon in anything and I'm totally there. And I've made a few tweaks to lighten it up a bit. Which in no way shape or form means removing the bacon.
1 lb sausage (I use lean sausage)
6 slices bacon
1 medium onion, chopped (I probably use half)
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 quart chicken broth
2 medium potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices (with or without skins)
2 C shredded kale (this recipe began my love affair with kale)
1/8-1/4 t crushed red pepper
1/3 C heavy whipping cream (I use soy milk instead)
Brown sausage, drain fat, remove from pan. Fry bacon until crisp (really crisp), remove and drain all but 1 T bacon fat. Crumble the bacon. Add onions and cook until soft; add garlic and cook for one minute. Add chicken broth and potatoes. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes or till potatoes are tender. Return the cooked sausage and bacon to the pot. Add the kale and crushed red pepper and simmer for 4 minutes. Stir in the cream (or soy milk!) till heated through.
If you have extra kale, PLEASE do yourself a favor and bake it. Shred and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, till crispy. I love this as a side to pretty much anything, but it's especially great with soups of any kind, burgers or hot dogs (instead of chips) or tuna cakes.

Baked Potato Soup
I LOVE this soup. Thanks to my friend Sara Crawford for introducing it to me several years ago. It took me several times of making it to perfect my seasonings and the cut of my potatoes, but now it's seriously perfect. For those who know Charleston's baked potato soup, this is very similar.
3-4 potatoes, cubed (think bite size) with/without skins (I remove skins because Jordan has an aversion to those, too)
28 oz chicken broth
2 T minced onion (I used probably double)
1/4 t oregano
1/4 t parsley
1/2 t garlic (I mince 2-3 cloves of fresh instead)
1 t salt
1 t pepper
6 T butter or margarine
1/2 C flour
3 C milk (I use soy and it's still fabulous)
In large pot, bring chicken broth, minced onions (and garlic if using), oregano, parsley, salt, pepper and buetter to a boil. Add potatoes and boil for 10 minutes. In mixing bowl, slowing add milk to flour and whisk until smooth. Stir flour and milk mixture into pot. Cover and let simmer for 30 min over low heat, stirring occasionally. Check that potatoes are fork tender - if not, continue cooking and check in 3-5 minute increments.
*I at least double all the spices above and as noted use fresh garlic instead.
Garnish with cheddar cheese, bacon and chives.
I love this soup with broccoli (plain steamed or like this) and garlic cheddar biscuits.

My Dad's Chili
I love that my dad makes chili. And I love this chili.
1 lb ground beef, browned (ground turkey is great, too)
1 can pinto beans (I've been using the Grillin' Beans pinto beans with jalepenos here - highly recommend)
1 can rotel tomatoes
Diced onion (I used about a quarter to a half of a small onion)
Chili powder to taste
1 can tomato paste
Brown the meat and when almost done, throw in the onions and cook till tender. Add the pinto beans, rotel, tomato paste and chili powder. Simmer on low heat for 30-45 minutes.
I sometimes add sliced jalepeno sausage, too. You know, if you need a little more kick. I buy them at Sam's (they're already cooked), slice and add when I've got about 10-15 minutes left on the chili - just so they warm all the way through.
Jordan loves this chili with Fritos and diced red onion on top, I love with cornbread.

Taco Soup
I know, everyone makes this. And I love it. Had it for dinner tonight in fact. It's so easy and filling.
1 lb ground beef, browned (I actually prefer ground turkey in mine)
1 can pinto beans, undrained
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 can corn (or equivalent frozen)
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 package taco seasoning mix
Other than browning the beef, this is literally just opening cans and dumping everything into a pot. Makes me so happy. I usually simmer on low for about 30 minutes and serve with crushed tortilla chips, cilantro and avocado slices.

Two of my other go-to soups are from my friend Sara Crawford's blog - both are crockpot recipes with makes me very happy. Here is her blog with both the Chicken and Dumplings and Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice recipes.

What's for dinner?

OK, I have been terribly negligent about posting recipes lately ... you know, for all five of you who read this and the two of you who might care what I eat for dinner. So these are some of my favorite winter-time dinner recipes (separate soup blog coming up later ...)

Chicken Pot Pie
This is my ultimate comfort food - probably because it's my mom's recipe. Growing up, I often requested this for my birthday dinner. It's my go-to recipe when it's chilly out or I'm not feeling great. It's also one of my faves to take to friends with new babies or who have experienced a loss because it warms up easily in individual pieces and also freezes well. Eat your heart out.
2-3 chicken breasts, boiled 20-25 minutes and shredded or cut into bite-size pieces
2 deep dish frozen pie crusts, thawed for about 10 minutes
1 onion, chopped (I usually use about half of this)
4-6 mushrooms, chopped
1 can peas and carrots, drained
1/2 C milk (I use soy and it tastes just the same)
1/2 C chicken broth
2 T flour
Brown chopped onion and mushrooms in about 1 T butter or margarine (or soy substitute). When tender, add flour and mix well. Mixture will be gummy. Add the milk and broth, stirring constantly till mixture thickens - a few minutes. Add chicken, peas and carrots and salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into one pie shell and cover with the other shell - the steam will help pull it from the aluminum shell and then I use a fork to loosen further. Crimp the edges of the shells together with a fork and use the fork to place several holes in the top pie shell (If you're super cute like my mom, you make a heart or the initial of the person you're baking for :))/
Bake at 400 till brown - about 30 minutes.
Love to serve this with a spinach/strawberry salad or a fruit salad.

Fig and Prosciutto Pizza
This is adapted from one of our favorite pizza restaurants. And trust me, I never thought I'd like figs on pizza either. You will like it, even if your name is Jordan Page. This was a staple for me when I was breastfeeding and couldn't do dairy - non-dairy cheese is actually really, really good (Jordan even said better than the real stuff). So I felt like I could eat pizza even though the cheese was fake. :)
If you're feeling like you have an extra lot of time on your hands, here's my family's pizza dough recipe (I love this dough, but I'm more in love with saving time and buying pizza dough these days)
1 package dry yeast
2/3 C warm water
1 1/2 T olive oil
1/2 t sugar
1/8 t salt
1 1/3 C flour (I've used wheat flour and it's excellent)
Dissolve yeast in warm water and mix in other ingredients. It's sticky - coat your hands with flour for mixing and/or spreading onto cookie sheet or pizza stone. Brush the edges with olive oil (and I like to crimp the edges, too).
For the pizza, I spread the raw dough with olive oil and smashed or minced garlic. Poke several holes in the dough with a fork. Bake according to dough package directions for about 10 minutes, until a little brown around the edges (If you're using the homemade dough above, 400 degree oven).
Sprinkle on grated mozzerella cheese (about 2 cups), dried figs (remove stems and slice in half) and prosciutto to taste. Bake for another 5 minutes. Now here's the best part - serve slices topped with fresh arugula or spinach and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. I want to go make this pizza right now.

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Y'all ... this is the BEST thing I've made in a long time. It was a Pinterest WIN. Jordan says it's restaurant quality. I never knew how much love I could have for Brussels sprouts. I roasted my sprouts with basil and parmesan olive oil and used my mom's homemade pesto on the pasta (which I promise to get the recipe for and post soon). I've never had chicken sausage either, and it was fabulous. I've used both rotini and bowtie pasta. Here's the link: http://piarecipes.blogspot.com/2012/10/pesto-pasta-with-chicken-sausage.html.

Baked Ziti
Another Pinterest win. Very easy and great comfort food. I'm cutting and pasting the recipe because the link is kinda wonky:

Must try! 3/4 bag ziti noodles,1 lb of ground beef, 1 pkg taco seasoning, 1cup water, 1/2 pkg cream cheese, 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese -- boil pasta until just cooked, brown ground beef & drain, mix taco seasoning & 1 cup water w/ ground beef for 5 min, add cream cheese to beef mixture, stir until melted & remove from heat, put pasta in casserole dish, mix in 1 cup cheese, top pasta/cheese with beef mixture & gently mix, top w/ remaining cheese, bake at 350* uncovered for 30 min

 

I used penne pasta (because it was in my pantry already - and it was a 1 lb bag so I used it all), and I would decrease the taco seasoning to 1/2-3/4 of a package - a little salty for my taste.

 

Roasted Garlic Broccoli

We had the Ziti with roasted garlic broccoli (God bless my coworker Lori for rekindling my relationship with broccoli with this recipe), and here's a Pinterest recipe for it: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/03/roasted-broccoli-with-smashed-garlic.html#more. Even if you don't think you love broccoli, please make this. Jordan is not a broccoli person (to put it lightly) and he LOVES this. Very similar to the Brussels sprouts above in the pesto/chicken sausage recipe.

 

I'm also very into roasting asparagus lately - very little drizzle of olive oil (too much will make it slimy) and sprinkle of kosher salt. I roast at 350 for about 20 minutes. Yum.

Addison Mae - 17 months

Christmas with my girl was absolutely magical. Despite illness continuing into December, Addie did get to go back to school for a few days before Christmas break, where she made some very cute Christmas crafts. Probably my favorite pre-Christmas activity was a pizza and Christmas lights date with my two favorite people. Addie was enchanted by the Chesapeake lights, and pretty much anywhere we went that had any sort of Christmas lights. Her reaction was always a very enthusiastic, "LIGHTS!! LIGHTS!!! LIGHTS!!!!" She also loved that while parked watching a cool lights/music display in Mesta Park, her dad put her on his shoulders and let her watch out the sun roof. It's a miracle we got her to go to bed that night. We all went a little haywire for Christmas ... this sweet girl got more gifts than we know what to do with (don't tell her I've already given some away to a youth shelter in need of gifts for their kiddos!). She seriously loved everything she opened (though the wrapping and bows and boxes may still be the best part). She also loved the approximately one million cookies I made over the Christmas holiday. Guess she's got my sweet tooth after all. She enjoyed shrieking and playing with her sweet friend Daisy during Christmas Eve service (and had her first communion, and then asked for more ... that's gotta be a good thing, right???). Addie really loved playing with cousins Jackson and Audrey, Julia and Lila, and Averey and Landon over the holidays and talks about all of them pretty much every day. She was really excited to go back to school this week and had been asking about a few of her friends and especially her teachers for quite awhile. She is such a big girl, with lots of strong opinions about lots of things. She loves to say no (even when she means yes), loves music, loves watching either Elmo or football on TV, loves to laugh and play jokes, loves her dog and cat, loves the Ipad, loves making up games with her dad and me ... she just loves life.

Weight: 20 lbs 6 oz
Length: 29 1/2 inches

New things this month:

• Oh the talking! She's saying lots more multiple word phrases ... I love you, good girl (usually about the dog, sometimes herself :)), more milk please mama/dada, bless you (when anyone else sneezes, and especially when she sneezes), up please, thank you, no Addie (which means no, that's not yours, that's Addie's)
• And lots more precious words ... some of my favorites are happy (which she usually says happy, happy, happy, happy :)), gentle, tickle, pizza, apple, yellow, pancake, boobies (blueberries :)), truck, reindeer, play, snow, pillow, touchdown!!! (complete with arm motions), ride (insistently when she wants to go in the wagon or her Cozy Coupe), lots more animal names, rather than just their noises, which all suddenly end in -y ... mousey, ducky, horsey, kitty; the whole Sesame Street gang (her new favorites are Took, Cookie Monster, Ee-aww, Ernie, and Mousey, Abby). She can also name everyone in her immediate family ... all grandparents (my mom is officially mama), aunts/uncles, cousins.
• Singing. Her favorites songs to sing (in her words) are row, row, row; itty bitty (Itsy Bitsy Spider), ashes ashes (Ring Around the Rosey), wee wee wee (This Little Piggy), B-D-B-D (ABCs) 
• Slightly less of an obsession about the paci ... perhaps someday we'll be able to get rid of it.
• Gagging herself when she's super mad. What?! This often results in throwing up ... and she's totally doing it to get our attention when she's mad about being in time out, mad about going to bed, mad about not getting her way. She also gagged herself at the doctor and threw up all over him (that was kinda funny). Yes, she's a drama queen.
• Sleeping a little better at night. Which is totally because she's finally feeling better. And finally responding (sort of) to crying it out and putting herself to sleep again. Thank the Lord. It's been a rough two (or three?) months of not much sleep.

Likes:

• Christmas lights. If that wasn't obvious above.
• Receiving Christmas cards. Bless all of you who sent them. She's obsessed with getting the mail every day and the idea that there were fun cards with pictures of people was just over the top. Her favorites were those that she really recognized - like she was so surprised to see them in the mail. Tops were her Aunt Rebecca, Uncle Jeff and cousins Julia and Lila (the card is distorted from all the carrying around and kissing she's done to it), her sweet friend Stella (Hi Stella!) and our friends the Crawfords with 7 month old twins (babies!! babies!!).
• Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse (aka Mick)
• Her new kitchen. She is so into stirring and makes the most precious pouring, shaking and stirring noises while she's playing. She likes a big audience while she "cooks" - mommy, daddy, Izzy, Mia, Elmo and Ernie are required to be present for "tasting" and making appropriate tasting noises
• Her finally finished playroom. She says to us "Play! Play" and drags us by the hand to her playroom. Usually because she wants to play kitchen

• She's having a delightful time going from one new toy to the next. Loves her talking/signing Elmo; her Little People zoo, bus and car track; basketball goal; Cozy Coupe (and she prefers having a "phone," drink, blocks and/or stuffed animal in to ride with her), doctor kit (we get lots of check ups), Legos (which mostly she likes to dump everywhere) and on and on and on
• Her nesting and stacking blocks are one of her absolute favorite things right now. We do lots of nesting and stacking. In general, she likes to organize things in containers.
• Stickers and coloring. There is some slight hilarity that she calls stickers "dick dicks" 
• Making up games. She has several she calls "night night." One involves Jordan or me pretending to be asleep, one involves putting babies/stuffed animals to sleep (which actually has nothing to do with the babies, whom she flings about, but rather organizing their blankets) and one involves getting on our bed and getting tickled (her favorite)

Dislikes:

• Potatoes. Who doesn't like potatoes?
• Not getting her way. Time outs. Going to bed. Not being the center of attention (see the note about gagging above)

Addison Mae - 16 months

Man, I love this kid! She is so funny so smart and so cute. At her 15 month appointment, her doctor asked about  how many words she says and didn't quite believe me when I said in the realm of 50 or 60 (especially because in no way shape or form is she going to speak to him - he pokes and prods her and she doesn't care for it!). But, then he asked if she says two-word phrases, which she does, which apparently validates the breadth of her vocabulary. She's brilliant. She's ecstatic about the Christmas tree being up, and despite my best efforts to give her multiple trees of her own that she can do whatever she wants to, she's obsessed with pulling the ornaments off our big tree. But she also loves to lie under it (preferably with the cat) to look up at all the lights. Be still my heart. She loves her Christmas skaters, Little People nativity scene, Christmas books, Christmas music ... I think she already loves Christmas as much as I do. We had a really fun Thanksgiving at our house, with Addie predictably not so interested in the weird food we were giving her (I think she was saying, "what the heck is all this stuff covered in gravy? Where are my blueberries and squash?") The past month has also been full of Addie feeling pretty yucky. She started the month with an ear infection, which didn't respond well to ear drops or oral antibiotics. We saw her ENT and he gave us lots of good information about other options we'll start pursuing ... right now, we're basically waiting for her to get another ear infection so he can culture it and give his best recommendation. After the ear infection cleared up and starting on Thanksgiving came the fever that wouldn't end ... yesterday was the first day she hasn't had fever. We thought it was just teething, but then discovered she had a viral throat infection. After that came croup and a lower respiratory infection, and low and behold, an ear infection, which can't be cultured because of all the meds she's on for other things. Praise the Lord, she's finally acting like she feels better. I'm all for lots of snuggle time, but my poor girl's whimpers and pitiful little face when she's sick just break my heart. On a positive note, we did see Santa (which was not so positive for Addie) - we went to a really fun event where she got to make several crafts, have storytime with Mrs. Claus and then go meet Santa ... who she did not care for. Although she says a really cute, "ho, ho, ho" when you ask her what Santa says. I am so excited and thankful for the chance to spend Christmas with this precious baby girl. And trying really hard not to buy her every toy and article of clothing in the stores.

Weight: 20 lbs 6 oz
Length: 29 1/2 inches

New things this month:

• Saying "Izzy no" and "Mia no." Seems she has learned who she has a lot of power over in this house.
• Saying no a whole, whole, whole lot - even when we know she doesn't really mean it (because the answer to "do you want cheese" is never no). And occasionally yelling "Yes!!" which she learned from watching her dad watch football. She also nods her head yes and says uh-huh! when she wants something.
• Saying "I love you," which sounds nothing like I love you unless you're her mother :)
• Calling herself Addie Mae
• Have I mentioned that she's slightly OCD? Yeah, I don't know where that comes from ... for example, after school each day, she has to do the following, in the correct order, visit the Jesus statue and touch his head, review the Christmas trees/bows/lights, see the waterfall, push the elevator button and ride up, review the nativity scene.
• Saying her friends names ... Stella, Daisy, Jack and Kate are about as far as we've gotten so far.

Likes:

• Elmo. He is number one. Followed by Bi Bir (Big Bird) and Cook (Cookie Monster)
•  Stickers. She likes to put them everywhere. Everytime I'm out and about, I'm on the hunt for new stickers because there are never enough stickers in the world to satisfy this girl
• Dancing. Girl's got moves.
• Cheese.
• All animals and animal noises.
• Throwing Izzy's ball or toy for her.
• The Christmas tree. And removing any and all ornaments within her reach. And flinging them all about the house or giving them to the cat to play with.
• Speaking of flinging ... the girl loves to cover my entire house in Cheerios. I find them in my bed, in my closet, in the shower. There are too many for even Izzy to clean up.

Dislikes:

• Being away from momma. Especially when she doesn't feel well.
• Taking her medicine, which I can fully understand since she's been on so many lately.
• Chest x-rays or any other sort of medical personnel trying to do pretty much anything to her.

Addison Mae - 15 months

This baby girl has 78 times more energy than I do, on a good day. Wish I could bottle this stuff so I could keep up! She is so busy and the talking is constant. She loves to be outside. She drinks about a gallon of milk a day. She is now obsessed with her paci (we are in trouble). She loves to share her food with anyone in range (even tried with a sweet retail worker recently). She is a total daredevil and would have gone over the back of the couch numerous times if we hadn't been there to stop her. Her dancing is the cutest thing I have ever seen. She yells at the TV during football games (where on earth did she learn that??). She pulls the cat's tail and fur a lot ... and then goes to time out. She looks at us while we tell her "no" about something, keeps doing it and laughs. She stops her whirlwind of movement several times a day for snuggles and kisses. She loves to be read to - says "book" and then starts backing up to get in our laps. Her sweet smile and funny sense of humor are the highlights of my day. Nothing soothes my soul more than her sweet, heavy, sleepy head on my shoulder.

Weight: 19 lbs
Length: 28 1/2 inches

New things this month:

• An official Ipad obsession. She asks (insists in a very loud voice) for EIEIO or "Melmo," which means her apps on the Ipad.
• Along the same lines, an obsession with "Melmo." We were looking at a Target ad and she started obsessing about "Melmo" - we didn't even know she knew who Elmo was. Turns out they have an Elmo toy at school and watch Elmo music DVDs. So she's also brilliant. And Sesame Street is now a daily occurence at our house.
• Constant talking. My favorite words she says are "uh oh" and "turtle." She can literally say everything we say to her. She's also started saying "Addie" a lot more, which usually sounds like "Ahi" :)
•  Drawing/coloring. They have craft time at school fairly regularly, and I can tell that she's figuring out how to hold crayons and make pictures. Although the crayons still usually end up in her mouth for a quick taste.
• Houseshoes. Her obsession with shoes ("bees") continues, and she was completely thrilled when she got houseshoes for Halloween.
• Telling me which book she wants. "Mouse" applies to several that have mice in them, "Izzy" for one that has a button you push to make it bark, "Button" for one about buttons, "Wee wee wee" for nursey rhymes that include "This little piggy," "Mia" for one about cats, "Boo" for one about Halloween ...

Likes:

• Calling roll. She like to have all her people in one room at one time. And then she likes to name them all. (Still not saying Grammie - my mom is also named Mama)
• Regular attacks on the cat. Keeps her in line.
• Her teachers at school, whom she calls "Do" (Storm) and "Izzy" (Leigh)
• Hairbows, which she likes to ask for, talk about and then rip off of her head. And then ask for it to be put in again.
• Playing push-back, a very exciting game in my family which consists of the baby pushing on the adult until they fall over. She asks for "push, push."
• Her new playroom. I finally caved and let Jordan turn our guest room into a playroom. Excellent decision. And it also means there isn't a room in our house that isn't covered with toys.
• Buttons. Loves to push the elevator button at church. Asks to be lifted up to push the microwave buttons. I catch her in the pantry pushing the blender and crock pot buttons (which, don't worry, are not plugged in)
• Cheese. I think this is her favorite food of all time.

Dislikes:

• Sugar. Jordan tried to sneak a little piece of donut onto her tray for dinner, which she spit out and replaced with a piece of squash. Glad she eats better than I do.
• Her car seat. Can't wait until she weighs enough to turn her around. She's also thrown up in her car seat multiple times lately, I think just to remind us how much she hates being in it.
• Being away from mama. Or mama being distracted by anything, which results in her holding/moving my face until I'm paying full attention to her.

Please tell me we're all this crazy

When I became a mom, I also turned crazy. OK, maybe I was a little bit crazy before, but becoming a mom has exacerbated the crazy.

My entire life, people have credited me with being very organized. That used to be somewhat true. Now one look in my closet, car or purse will tell you the truth about that one.

For example, I was at Sam's the other day and was having a very difficult time finding my credit card (you know, when all my items have already been scanned and the people behing me are glaring at me with daggers in their eyes). I offered to pay with the excess of graham crackers in my purse. The checker didn't think I was very funny. (I did find my card and no one tried to knife me or anything). I have been to two doctor's appointments in the past week or so, and at both they, understandably, asked me what medications I'm on. There are three and I couldn't remember the names of any. At either appointment. You'd think the first one would have prepared me to check my meds for the second. I told one that I'd be happy to share every medication my daughter has ever taken, along with dosage, side effects, etc. I still don't know the names of any of my own meds. I tell my coworkers it's often a miracle I get to work with clothes on. I forget to pay bills. My plants are all dead or screaming for water. My refrigerator desperately needs to be cleaned.

How is it that one tiny person can take over your life so completely, so totally that you literally can't get anything else done? Or perhaps this is just me? Please tell me it's not. And I have had this idea all along that as soon as she got to six months, to a year that things would ease up a bit. And things definitely do change, but that hasn't meant I have any more time to myself or to get things done. And how exactly do you tell people ... yeah, sorry I couldn't get to that. See, I have a kid.

I have always been a bit of a perfectionist. And someone who loves to check things off lists. And someone who bases success in life on measurable accomplishments. Changing eight diapers, getting halfway through three loads of laundry and forgetting to feed the dog till 8 at night don't exactly feel like accomplishments.

There are a lot of moments that do feel like huge accomplishments, though. Like getting through a trip to the grocery store without a breakdown. Making a new recipe (unless it's terrible). Hearing my sweet girl say a new word. Watching her "sing" itsy bitsy spider and realizing she learned that from watching me sing it to her. Seeing her share with other babies. Getting her sweet hugs and kisses. Making her belly laugh.

But it can be hard to see those things as accomplishments. Especially because we usually leave the store without everything we need to ward of a breakdown. My making dinner usually involves her crying and pulling on my leg because I'm not paying enough attention to her. My house is never clean enough. We still have episodes of inconsolable crying that take me back to colic days. Naps are never quite long enough. And I'm used to a completely different kind of accomplishment - like ROI, an increase in awareness or a meaningful media story. And I'm used to people constantly telling me I'm doing a great job. While Addie's hugs and kisses and laughter mean a lot, she doesn't exactly every say to me, "hey mom, I know this is a tough gig sometimes, but you're doing a great job."

And speaking of work ... How in the world do you people with kids and full time jobs do it???? I'm never devoting enough time to work. I'm never devoting enough time to her. That push/pull is relentless and agonizing. It's been much tougher on me, emotionally and physically, than I anticipated.

I told my mom the other day that there are times I genuinely feel like I'm the only mom in the world who doesn't have it all together. She asked if it was possible that other people look at me and think I've got it all together. Well I'm here to tell you that I really don't. My house is a wreck. I should pray more. I should talk to my husband more. I can't remember if I brushed my kid's teeth before she went to bed. I should be working on work instead of blogging. I have at least three friends' voicemails I need to return. My stinky dog seriously needs a bath. I seriously need some yoga. And a nap. And I'm crazy.

Addison Mae - 14 months

I swear I get these posts written at her month markers ... and then just forget to post ... or am waiting on a really great picture ... promise I'll repost with some recent pics.

From walking to RUNNING. And climbing. And jumping (which is that cute way babies jump where their little knees are bending and legs are working, but their little feet don't actually leave the ground :)). I only thought this baby of mine was into everything before. And I only thought she was talking up a storm before. The talking is constant. Where on earth did she get that?? New words every day and constantly trying to repeat what we're saying (which means we should get some of our words in check now). She is the life of the party wherever she goes. We are constantly being stopped, at the grocery store, at church, wherever we are for people to tell us how undeniably cute she is, what pretty eyes she has, how much she talks and how friendly she is (the waving is also constant). Which, let me just tell you, never gets old. The moms of kids in her Starbright class and at her Gymboree class say their kids talk at home about their friend Addie. And we got a note from Starbright saying how much the boys already love her - they love to pat her head and play with her. That was not Jordan's favorite day. I love that she loves to share, be inclusive of everyone she plays with and always has a smile and a wave - those are the sweet qualities, that as her mom, I hope to help grow and strengthen in her.

Weight: 18 lbs, 9 oz
Length: 28 1/2 inches

New things this month:

• RUNNING. Everywhere. I look away for 2 seconds and she's across the house.
• Climbing. I put her on the living room floor, and then look back and she's on the couch, leaning waaaaay over the back to pet the cat. Panic attack. She also somehow knows how to climb the ladders at Gymboree.
• Talking. All. The. Time. I have no idea how many words she says, but it's a whole, whole lot. She has successfully learned "Pete" (as in Pistol) and "Rumble" (pronounced more like Bum Bum). She says no, except usually it's "no no" or "no no no" ... guess she hears that a lot. Other new words are all done when she's finished eating, wa-wa for water, play, up/down please, in/out please (usually in relation to the laundry basket ... why do I even buy this kid toys???), teeth, eye, ear, duck, deer, book, blue ...
• Waving her wheat. Be still my heart :)
• The animal sound obsession has continued. We took her to the zoo and it was crazy overload. She moo'd at the hippos, rhinos and bison, meow-ed at anything that looked like a cat, hissed at the snake, made fish-face at the fish, etc. etc.  
• Taking consistently longer naps. We waited what felt like a long time for this, but we're finally there. She takes one afternoon nap that's usually anywhere from one to two hours.

Likes:

• Playing with door handles. Perhaps we should keep our doors locked at all times.
• Climing up onto the hearth, from which she surveys her kingdom and subjects.
• Going to the park. The wagon ride is the best part, but she also likes climbing on the equipment, swinging and sliding.
• Waving. She's like the mini welcoming committee at church. I love watching people's faces light up at the grocery store when they see my little waver smiling at them.
• Mice. Not the real kind, at least I hope not. Have you ever noticed how many children's books have mice in them? We read Goodnight Moon every night, and the mouse is somewhere different on each page. She has several mouse-related books at Grammie and Pawpaw's too.
• Shoes, which she calls "bees" (and I find myself doing, too ... Jordan, have you seen my bees??). She is seriously obsessed with her own shoes, Jordan's, mine, whoever's shoes she can get her hands on. We took her to try on/buy shoes and she squealed and squealed. This could become a problem.
• Bubbles are still a very big deal. When I tell her we're going to Gymboree, she says, "bubble??" And there's no going out to the back yard at our house unless there is also bubble time.
• Pumpkins. The pumpkin patch was like heaven. She screamed "ball!!! ball!!!!" And then proceeded to lick every pumpkin we gave her. We bought a lot of pumpkins.
• Being read to. Especially if the books is about a mouse.
• Sharing her snacks with Izzy, or mom or dad. We have snack time about six times a day at our house.
• Playing with other babies.
• Telling you where your eyes, ears, mouth, nose, teeth and tongue are located. Very helpful. She tries to pin down Izzy and Mia to tell them, too.
• Looking out the cat door, which is in the utility room and goes out to the garage, and calling either for the cat or whichever parent isn't at home. She also sits there to wave and say bye-bye to her dad in the mornings.

Dislikes:

• Most vegetables. Our once awesome eater is going through what I hope is just a picky phase.
• Her Halloween costume, which is an elephant. She really likes to look at it but wearing it is currently a no-go.
• Teeth brushing.
• Anything less than five snacks a day.
• Being away from mama.