Trying Something New and a Shameless Plug for my Cute Husband

Warning: Introspective post with no pictures!!!

When we packed it all up and moved East we knew that there would be challenges to adjusting to the change when life had become pretty easy and predictable in Arizona. We wanted an adventure and thought in the long run it would be good for our family (plus I still had that Potomac fever, what can I say). I knew it would be difficult to adjust from a mostly SAHM to working full time and Cory anticipated that it would take several months for him to find a job and with only one income money would be tight.

Looking back after four months, it has been difficult but not how I thought. Cory got a 3 1/2 month job in a week or so and I really do ok with working full time generally speaking. However, even with two incomes, money is still an issue (go figure, it is THAT expensive to live out here) and we had no clue how difficult the childcare situation would be. We've been so blessed to have good friends that have helped us with childcare and have no doubt that Harrison spends each day in a loving home where he is nurtured and safe and has been able to grow a lot in terms of social skills, his verbal development, and adaptability to different circumstances. However, we also spend a large part of our week in traffic going from job to babysitter and home again...NOT FUN (not to mention the 11 hours cory and harrison spent getting home from work during the snowstorm this week....not the best day ever). In order to try to limit the commuting hours as much as possible Harrison is in three different places during the course of each week, his schedule changes frequently, and he just doesn't have the consistency that I think is so important for someone at his age (and of course this racks me with guilt...grrr...). We also don't get to spend much time together as a family. Often I only see Harrison for an hour before bedtime, if that, and I think that gives me a skewed view of what it is to be a "working" mother. Yes it is difficult to give up the care of your child to someone else for awhile, but it shouldn't have to involve such a sacrifice.....I don't think? I wish I could get insight into how people make it work with two working parents...I know it happens (it happened to me and I turned out fine) but I just haven't been able to find many people in the same situation. A big part of me wishes I could be at home but for now it's the right thing for me to be working. If anyone else deals with this stuff--I'd love advice!

The kicker is that Cory and I run ourselves ragged to try to hold it all together. We have had many conversations about whether moving out here was the wrong decision....was it hasty? did we not fully consider what would happen? but we continually come back to the same answer that it wasn't, we just didn't anticipate this much difficulty. However, struggle incites growth. and I think we've grown in a lot of ways already. Apparently I need to be forced sometimes :)

So, anyway, we've decided that it's time for another change. Cory's job is up on Tuesday and after that he will be staying home with Harrison. The plan is for Cory to be the SAHD until H's nap and then I'll take over after naptime, giving Cory time to work on freelance web design that will hopefully provide enough extra income for it to work out financially. Of course I'm also actively looking for closer childcare options in case he finds a great full time job (in VIRGINIA, not MARYLAND)....but they seem few and far between unless you got on the wait list pre-infancy or have millions of dollars, but fingers crossed.

That's where the shameless plug comes in--if anyone needs or know of someone who needs a web design/development work--PLEASE CONTACT CORY--he loves what he does and is pretty good at it despite constant criticism from his lawyer wife :). His website/online portfolio is www.1stdraftdesign.com and you obviously do NOT need to be in the DC area.

THANKS BUNCHES IF YOU SURVIVED THIS LONG POST! I just wanted to share what was up with us.

TWO BIRTHDAY!!!!

(the title was harrison's way of saying he was turning 2)

Last Saturday we were able to celebrate Harrison's birthday with a little shindig with some of our close friends. I made a very large "volcano" cake with frosting lava and dry ice that looked like smoke--it was pretty cool :) Harrison had a great time eating pizza and cake (and picking m and ms out of the trail mix), seeing how fast he could open his presents, and fraternizing with his current best buds alex, bekah, alesa, and sabrina. It snowed that morning but stopped just in time for everyone to get there and still be pretty outside :)

The birthday boy poses for mommy before people started showing up. I picked up some balloons that morning and harrison LOVED them (in fact, he gave two of them still hanging around our house a bath earlier tonight...)

Harrison checks out the volcano with alex in the background (he dressed like a cowboy in honor of woody since toy story is Harrison's favorite :))

whoa cool...what's all that green stuff at the bottom? (duh...grass...)

Bring on the sugar, I've got my fork!!!

Daddy helped Harrison blow out the 2 candle I stuck in the side of volcano mountain, not that he needed it!

Harrison, Alesa, and Bekah check out Harrison's awesome huge set of plastic food..he loves it! French fries and apples come in the bathtub regularly now

We also got Harrison an easel and of course it is more fun to climb in and color on the WRONG side :)

Harrison was wearing his hat sideway so of course I had to one up that and where TWO hats

I can't believe my baby is two but I just LOVE the stage he is at. Yes, he sometimes pushes and hits for no reasons or pulls toys away or gives me attitude and screams "No"...but he is also such a sweet wonderful spirited fun kid! I complain so much about having to drive across town in traffic but Harrison actually makes it fun, singing along to our pandora kids station (he picks out the song before I do! Cookie monster, big bird, little mermaid, lion king...genius, I tell you!) or laughing his head off as I tickle him or make silly noises! He is also talking up a STORM lately, and I LOVE IT!!! He sings to himself, loves to play with play dough and color with markers (who would give a two year old markers?? me..), tries to stand on his head, throws himself on the ground with some kind of empathy if someone else falls (or maybe he just hates the attention away from him??)...Here are some fun phrases we hear around our house:

"Mommy, Watch This!!" when he wants us to see him do something, like climb on the windowsil and jump on to the bed, for example...

"Bombs Away!" playing with the cannonball on his pirate ship

"Nice and Clean" in the tub, and of course "No nice and clean Harrison" just nice and clean dinasour, balloon, etc.

"Shannon, boo bus" Shannon is a girl harrison plays with on Mondays, she goes to preschool and they wait for the "school" bus together

"There it/he/she is!!!" I think this comes from "Are you my mother" a book we read ALL the time

"Cat in the Hat" Another favorite book

"Friend in Me!" yes, he can't just call it toy story but he has to associate it with the song from the movie

"Fly Buzz!!" again, from toy story

"No Heidi House!" (don't worry heidi he is always super excited as soon as he gets there :))

"Oh, ok"--this one comes out so funny and cute

"Mommy, Daddy", or the also popular "Daddy Mommy" or "Daddy Mommy Hold You!"

"No night night!!" followed by "Book!" "Water!" "Nanna" and lots of other things to avoid going to bed...manipulator already!

"One...Two...Three!" again, usually jumping off something, and sometimes it's "Two...Two...Two!!"

"Come on!"

"Hi Guys!!"

"Thank you, mommy" my favorite when it comes out of nowhere!

"Daddy, catch this!!"

"Birthday Party!!" "Birthday Cake!" (when we asked him what he wanted for lunch after church the next day...hahaha)

and lots lots more...just love this kid. HAPPY TWO BIRTHDAY HARRISON!!!

RECIPES!!!

I know you are all dying to see pictures of Christmas....or perhaps Harrison's birthday party last weekend with the awesome volcano cake, or maybe the audio file of Harrison and I singing jingle bells (too bad I don't know how to post an audio file..anyone?).

I'm sorry to disappoint, but I don't think that will be happening today. Since Cory's phone contains our best camera (sad, I know-mine was lost in the move somehow) I have to wait for him to download the pictures to snapfish so I can put them on the blog....and wait I do.......

Anyway, I've been meaning to post some recipes for awhile. I used to put recipes up all the time, and I hate for anyone to think that just because we both work full time jobs and typically are gone at least 12 hours a day that keeps me from cooking, OH NO! Actually we've been trying really really really REALLY hard to not eat out so much (I'm incredibly impressed with how well this has been going, we haven't spent more than $20 a week between both of us eating out since Christmas...for us this is a HUGE deal, knock on wood...) so lots of cooking happens in order that there are things around to bring for lunch that will keep me from going to chipotle or panera or one of the 8 million buffets or pho places in the close vicinity of my workplace everyday. (mmm...panera...how I miss you...how I resent you for wasting so much of my money needlessly with your onion soup and yummy panini sandwiches....).

Back to the recipes.

This Fall, I made this Apple Pie with this crust twice and it was heavenly.

I contributed these and these to the Thanksgiving celebration and was loved by all.

And of course the best stuffing ever for the AZ Christmas soiree (gotta love recipes with "awesome" in the title...).

This was a hit at my work Christmas party and was ridiculously easy, although I recommend freezing it and I used real whip cream because I'm anti cool-whip on principle.

And then there's the recent dinners, nothing amazing, but some recipes I can honestly be EATING in 30 minutes (because those Rachael Ray ones always take me at least an hour, I'm slow... and when you get home at 6:45 and your kid's bedtime is 7:45 you don't have an hour....).

Seriously Yum salmon with some carrots and rice.

Easy way to use a jar of tomato sauce.

This one is not exactly kid-friendly but it was good and a breeze to put together.

Fast and easy and you don't have to buy the pricey gruyere cheese. I was happy using parmasean and leftover frozen spinach.

This one felt like a quesadilla version of bbq chicken pizza, with pineapple...yummy.

I can't remember how long this took me, but it was really good.

And of course the party this weekend, I made this pizza and this pizza (and a lame boring one for the kids, what do you do?). They're both favorites and really don't take much if you make the dough beforehand or use a pre-made crust. PS do use the fontina in both of these, YUMMY.

Oh yeah, and who can forget the new years eve sugar cookie bars with buttercream frosting six adults devoured in one evening right before we all started our diets, right?

Happy eating!!!!