Art project

Every year, we have the students make Mother's Days gifts.  It's not cheap and often, we can't make enough of something 'good' because the price would just get out of hand. 
Last night, while given Baby Dubensky, his baby food, it hit me.  I could reuse the plastic Gerber containers!  I hope this works, so I'm going to have to try to make one but here is what I'm thinking.  If I take the container, clean it, of course, I could decorate it.  You know, bedazzle it!  It would make a great jewelry box.  Cheap-YES; Creative-Maybe.

Soapbox

First of all, I am sorry I have not blogged in a while.  We went on vacation for a few days (much needed break) and now we are getting ready for Baby to start Daycare and Mommy to go back to work.  It's going to be a challenge on us all.

I write today because of something that happened to a very dear friend of mine.  Let's call her K.  Well, she recently found out that her 3-year old was allowed to pay with water guns with some relatives.  K is very opposed to her child playing with any sort of guns -- NERF, water, etc...  This post isn't really about her situation, but more on my general opinion of parental rights.

As parents we try to limit exposure of certain things that our children see, hear, experience.  For my friend K, that is guns. For me it's SpongeBob.  Yes, you read that right! My child has NO business watching that show!  I could go on and on but the point is, no matter if you agree or disagree with what a parent allows or disallows, it's not your call to make.  If you choose to be in that child's life, then you will follow the directives of the parents. Period!

Update

First of all, I am sorry for not updating in the last week.  The last 2 weeks have been draining -- emotionally and physically.

June 28th--NKOTBSB concert. While I am not really a fan of BSB, I did know a very few amount of their songs, they are great entertainers.  My musical heart will always belong to NKOTB.  It was the best Meet and Greet, other than Hildalgo (which I doubt will ever be topped!). The show was pretty amazing I must day! I've seen them now 6 times in the last 2 1/2 years and this is the first time I've seen them perform 'Please Don't Go Girl' in it's entire form.  I mean, wow!  Greatest single performance I have EVER, EVER seen!  And 2nd row=awesome!!

June 30th-- (as blogged earlier) Baby Dubensky's Nana passed away. She battled Alzhemier's and Breast Cancer for several years.  We laid her to rest on July 5th.

July 7th --Baby Dubensky had 2 milestones!!!  According to Daddy, he rolled over on his own. (For the record, I personally did not observe this until today 7-13).  He also ate rice cereal for the first time.  On July 9 & 10 he even ate the entire bowl!!!

July 11th -- Baby Dubensky had his 4-month old well baby check and 2nd round of DTaP shots. His doctor said he's making great gains!  He is actually above average in length.  Considering he was in the 25 percentile when he was born, that is huge!! He's 25 1/4 inches, when Daddy was 1 year he was 29 1/2 inches -- there may be some hope for Baby after all!!!!

Today, July 13th is Baby Dubensky's Poppa's 61st birthday!! 

BBQ Pizza

During the summer, people often have a barbeque and/or cookout.  If you are like most, you over buy food and have tons of left overs.  Here is an idea for 'the day after'.


Ingredients:
1 to 2 cups Barbeque cut into bite sized pieces (whatever is left over: beef, chicken or pork)
1/2 to 2/3 cup BBQ sauce of your choice
1/4 to 1/2 of an onion, thinly sliced
1/3 to 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 to 1 1/2 cup baby spinach
1 to 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 canister of refrigerated pizza dough


Preheat the oven (we even use the toaster oven) to 400 degrees. Follow the directions on the pizza dough for a prebake.  Typically, this means 5 minutes in the oven.  In a dry skillet, saute the onions and mushrooms until the onions start to become tender.  Remove from heat.  Add a little water to the pan and add the meat, heat through.  Once the dough is par-cooked, spread on the sauce, add the onion/mushroom mixture, then the spinach, followed by the meat and lastly add the cheese.  Cook for another 5-6 minutes.

Loss

Today Baby Dubensky lost his Nana.  He never got a chance to meet his Nana, she was too sick to ever meet him.  But today she joined Heaven where she can dance again, laugh again, and enjoy herself again.  As sad as it is for those who loved her, we take comfort in that she is now a guardian angel to her two grandsons. 

Turkey Poblano Bowls (or Tacos)

1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, diced
2 poblano peppers, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 tomato, diced
1 14.5 oz can of diced (no salt added) tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 cup frozen (or fresh off the cob) corn
1 cup of Minute Brown Rice
Monterrey Jack cheese
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat a large skillet on medium.  Add the poblano peppers and saute for about 4 minutes.  Add the onions and garlic, if using. Saute another 4-5 minutes until onions are soft.  Transfer to a large bowl and add the diced (fresh) tomato.

Reheat the skillet and add a little olive oil.  Add the ground turkey, chili powder and salt/pepper to taste.  Cook until browned.  Add the tomato paste and cook 1 minute.  Add the can of diced tomatoes.  Use the can and fill half way with water, add to the mixture.  Reheat to a simmer then add this to the pepper/onion mixture.

Reheat the skillet. Add the corn and brown it a little. Add the rice, followed by the pepper/onion/turkey mixture that was set aside.

Bring back to a boil, put a lid on the skillet, reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve in a bowl w/ the cheese on top OR serve as a taco filling w/ the cheese, sour cream and other taco fixings.

He IS his mother's child

From the day he was born, Baby Dubensky has been loud.  I don't mean he cries a lot, he really doesn't unless he's hungry or very tired, he just grunt and 'talks' non-stop.  Even in his sleep, if he moves a little he makes a noise.  I've been told I did this as a baby, toddler, child and adult.  And the constant gibberish -- he must really think he's talking to us.  He looks at us like we should know what he's saying.  We act like we do, talk back to him, but we have no idea!  He might not crawl early and will probably walk around 13 months (like his mommy and daddy did) and that is okay, but I am waiting any day for him to start talking.  Let the fun begin!

Sharing is Caring

We recyle what we can.  We go as far as to post notes near the trash can at family gatherings to remind everyone to recycle their beer bottles and soda cans.  A lot of the toys that Baby Dubensky won't use very long are gently used and in very good condition from my BFF.  As we replace our furnishings, replace things, grow out of clothes, and remodel, we donate to various charities.  Yes, we could just 'write a check', but I see these donations as 2 fold: helping others AND helping reduce the amount of trash that ends up in the city dump.

3 great places to donate to are:
Arms of Hope (furniture -- since they pick it up)
Goodwill (clothing, houseware)
Habitat for Humanity (good condition home construction items)

Squash Vine Borer

This year I decided to grow a garden.  The peppers (banana, serrano, jalapenos, and bell) are doing well! The tomato plant is huge, but at press time we only have 1 small green tomato.  The eggplant and okra plants are doing great. And the cucumbers...OMG! HUGE and plentiful!  But then there was the zucchini plants.  They grew so big, so pretty.  Then one day they died.  After some research of found out they had been given the death sentence by squash vine borers.  I replanted but this time I sprinkle garlic powder on the soil.  Supposedly, SVB hate the smell of garlic.  We shall see...

Thankful Thursday

Baby Dubensky is 3 1/2 months old.  We are so thankful that he is happy and healthy. The time has flown by! Pretty soon he will be starting day care.  With as clingy as he's become to me, I'm not sure how this will go.  He loves his Daddy, but he reaches for me if he sees me and sometimes I'm the only one who can calm him down. I suppose it's normal and natural -- the mother child bond.

We finally had rain Tuesday night.  The lawn and flowers responded quickly and look beautiful.  Hopefully we will get some more soon.  (Except not on Tuesday, June 28th!)

Age appropriate toys

I do not claim to know a lot about infants.  I am learning as I go -- reading the books, asking the BFF and ped, searching on-line, and of course, calling Dr. Mom!  But I am, by profession, pretty darn comfortable with the 4 to 12 year old crowd. 
That said, I would like to share something that concerns me: kids and toys.

We all know that toys play an important part in the development of children.  One of the first toys our boy first 'noticed' was a giraffe given to him by his Aunt M.  That was the only toy that he would even try to focus on and for a long time, was the only toy he would try to interact with.  And it was, a developmental appropriate toy.

Leap Frog and Fisher Price (to a name just a couple) have a plethora of wonderful, developmentally appropriate toys.  I am a stickler for those toys that actually havve some educational value tied in too.  However, it is important that the person purchasing toys for a child look at the age appropriateness of the toy.  It's right there on the package.

If you are purchasing something for a child, even during the holidays, it is polite to consult with the parents first.  1. They may already have the toy, 2. the parents may not want that toy in their home for whatever reason, 3. You may think the toy is appropriate but it really isn't.  The child won't know what's going on and it's NOT like you are ruining the 'surprise'.  In fact, I would think it be better to ask if it's okay and be told 'no', than to see the toy taken away from the child and quickly donated or given away.

Recipe Idea

If you're looking for a quick and easy meal for the family, let me offer my Chicken Enchiladas.  I created this recipe quite by accident.

You'll need:
1 to 1 1/2 lb bonless, skinless chicken breasts
4 cans green enchilada sauce
1 large onion, finely diced
1 to 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (how much can you handle?)
2 dozen yellow or white corn tortillas
4 cups of Monterey Jack cheese, shredded PLUS 1 cup for the top
Olive Oil or Canola Oil
Water


In a large pot, poach the the chicken in the water until cooked.  Set aside to allow the cooked chicken to cool.  Once cool, use your hands or 2 forks and shred the chicken.

While the chicken is cooking and/or cooling:  put about a tablespoon of oil in a saute pan on medium-low head.  Add the diced onion and garlic and allow them to gently cook.  They will 'sweat' not brown.  Once they are tender, remove them from the pan and set aside to cool.

Open all 4 cans of the sauce and pour into the skillet (or if it won't all fit, pour as much as you can and add to it as you go).  Warm the sauce and one at a time, add a corn tortilla until it's pliable. Take the soaked tortilla to a plate, fill it with a little of each: chicken, onion mixture, and cheese.  Roll it up and place in a glass baking dish large enough to hold everything.  Repeat until all the filling is gone.  Pour any remaining sauce over the enchiladas and top with the final cup of cheese.

At this point, you can either store the enchiladas in the refrigerator or put them in either the microwave or oven long enough to melt the cheese on the top.


Optional: Serve w/ jalapenos, guacomole, and Light Sour Cream


Variations:
You can use other cuts of chicken.  You can even use a Rotisserie chicken and skip that portion of the cooking step.
If you want to spice it up a little, you can substitute Pepper Jack for some or all of the cheese.