Cheesy scalloped potatoes

Mmmm, nothing beats cheesy goodness. Mix that with potatoes and you've got heaven! This recipe requires no processed condensed soup cans or sour cream.

Ingredients:
3-4 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
1 tbls garlic
1 tbls butter or olive oil
S&P
1 tbls whole wheat flour
1 cup milk
1 cup white cheddar cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 6oz container Greek yogurt

In a saucepan or oven-proof saute pan, saute the onions and garlic until translucent. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in the flour and cook for a minute.  Slowly pour in cold milk, constantly stirring.  Cook for a minutes, careful not to boil over, just bring to a gentle simmer. 

Stir in the cheeses until melted.  Add the yogurt and keep stirring until well blended and simmering slightly . If sauce appears to thick, slowly add small amounts of milk until your desired thickness.

If using an oven-proof pan, add the potatoes and coat evenly.  If using a casserole dish, pour half the cheese mixture in the dish, stir in the potatoes and cover with remaining sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  Sprinkle the top with more cheese and cook for 10 more min or until potatoes are cooked.

18 months old already?

In T-minus 2 days Wes will be 18 months old - it is going by WAY to fast.  We have been so busy I have hardly had any time to update my blog and am SERIOUSLY kicking myself for this.

As I started writing this I realized I won't have too many photos to go along with this post since I lost about 300 pictures on my phone when it crashed... then it hit me.  All of Weston's video's of him learning to walk were on my phone!  Not my camera! I am truly heartbroken right now.  Not much I can do about it now, so I here is the rest of my update!

Shortly after Wes' first birthday, we spent 5 weeks at Detroit Lake.  Jake worked on the fish passage near Mill City.  We had so much fun and THAT is where Wes learned to walk!  Before his birthday he was walking along furniture and stuff.  It was about 2 weeks after his first birthday that he started talking his first steps in the campground.  The ground was pretty uneven, there were even some hills, but he learned to maneuver them pretty quickly.  NOW, he runs everywhere he goes :)

 Our friend Wyatt came to visit us at Detroit Lake!

 Kissy Kissy

 All my boys fishing!

It was colder then he thought it would be....

He is talking up a storm as well.  Some of his first words were mama, dada, duck, deer, dog, jack (our dog) - he was really good at his D's!  Now he is starting to put 2, 3 words together and within the last month has really begun to be able to communicate with me.  It is so wonderful to be able to talk to my little man.  He understands me, and I can understand what he wants.  It makes our lives so much easier!  I began teaching him sign language around 6 months.  Once we got home from Chicago this spring, I took a little break, mainly because we just got so busy.  It had been about 2 months since I had done any kind of sign and one day, Wes just randomly did the sign for "more" when asking for more food!  He had been paying attention the whole time!  Now he can do the sign for more, please and thank you.  I like that most of the time he says the word with the sign as well.

We had quit the busy summer.  Jake was home for the first part, and working in Washington for the last 2 months, able to come home on the weekends! Because it was summer and we had so much going on, it took us that long to get the trailer up to Washington finally!  Every weekend it seemed we had something going on.  We made a couple of trips - 1 to the beach with Uncle Beau, Aunt Vanessa, Madi and Marli:

And Wes and I visited Aunty Heather, Ryan and Colin in California!

 We rode the rides at Happy Hollow!

 And went to Santa Cruz!

We also picked berries, went to weddings and parties, and had a few play dates with some friends :)  A great summer, very busy and lots of changes.  Wes went from our little baby to our talking, walking toddler!

The best part of our summer though was the beginning.  We learned our family will be growing by one more and that Wes is going to have a little brother!  Let the fun begin :)

1st birthday party

While I realize this is ONLY 6 months late... My lil guys 1st birthday was SO much fun, I have to finally get this in here.  We have been just crazy busy since his birthday I have not had a chance to update our blog - there is so much to tell!  But I do want to start with just his birthday, since I can definitely make an entire blog on this very special day!

First of all, Jake and I hand made his invitations.  Due to his complete obsession with his plastic screw driver and hammer at the time, we decide to go with a construction theme.  We had it in Bampa Milo's shop - the perfect place for all the kiddo's to run wild!

"Good morning Birthday Boy!!!  You are officially 1 years old! Tomorrow is your special party!"

Now for the prep work - we had snacks for everyone, including these tool shaped, chocolate covered rice krispy treats I made.  I found tool cookie cutters on Amazon.  It was one messy, sticky project, but they turned out so yummy!

To keep the theme going, we had "dirt and worms" (crushed up oreo cookies with gummie worms) inside the dump of a tonka truck.

Rachael Ray inspired me to have a waffle bar!  After watching her "waffle week" and all the things you can do with a waffle maker, I made 3 different kinds of batter, red velvet cake, chocolate cake and regular waffle mix, with all kinds of goodies to put in it - berries, chocolate chips, you name it.  It was quit fun, and in the end looked like Lego's! (sort of - they did end up sticking a little bit so it wasn't quit the effect I was looking for).

my helpers making waffles!

And of course it's not a birthday without a cake!  Thanks to my dear friend June, she made this cake just for Wes.

And he loved it!

His cousin didn't think he was eating it fast enough...

One of the rare moments I actually got to hold my own son at his birthday party - there were so many people there trying to get their hands on him, AND we had so many fun activities, it was a crazy day!

The first activity we had for the kids was decorate their party hats!  I painted chalk board paint on the front of these plastic construction hats for the kids to write their names on, and had several stickers and fun things to put on them.  The kids really enjoyed decorating their own hats and actually wore them!

The second activity we had was a "field trip" down to the barn to see all the baby cows!

Then we played Pin the Nail on the Hammer! (yup, I made that!)

 After cake and a clothes change - we started opening presents.  Auntie Ashlie put a balloon on her card she got him, and who knew this would be the ONLY thing he cared about!  The toys didn't seem near as cool as this balloon was.

Our craft project for the party consisted of making and decorating these fun bird houses!  My parents had several pre-cut ready to make bird houses.  We painted the front with chalk board paint for the kids to decorate.  They all helped Grandpa Milo build them and decorated each one themselves.  They were a HUGE hit!

The final activity we had (well, it wasn't the final, it was there the whole time!) was a treasure hunt in the sand.  Since it was March in Oregon, we couldn't really use the swimming pool outside per-say  so we filled a kiddie pool with sand and I buried hidden treasure for the kids to dig up and find.  I bought just some dollar tree toys, filled Easter eggs with them (taped them shut...) and buried them in the sand!

 Yes, that is Wes EATING the sand, yum yum....

All in all I'd say he had a GREAT birthday party.  Everyone enjoyed themselves, adults and kids alike.  Most importantly Wes had the time of his life.  He played strong for a solid 8 hours and still had a hard time going to bed (his cousins sleeping over might have made it even harder for him...). I could not have pulled it off without some GREAT help from my dear friend Amy who helped with all the prep work and was at my beck and call throughout the whole party.  And of course my parents who made it all come together in their shop!  But what a blast we had!  If only he would remember...

My first Pinterest-spired dinner!

Sorry there is no photo... I inhaled it so fast I forgot to take a picture! To see the original picture and post, please check out this blog here.

Now, this is definitely a recipe that I did not measure... anything... so I am very sorry to say you are just going to have to trust your gut on this one and use ingredients to your own liking.  I read the original recipe and tried a pretty close version 2 nights ago... but didn't think it was just quit right so I made it again tonight and YUMMO!!!  It was prefect! (maybe next time I will take measurements - then again probably not :) )

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Spaghetti - as most of you know I only use whole wheat pasta for the extra fiber and nutrients.  You may use regular spaghetti or your favorite pasta as desired, I think ANY pasta with this sauce would be fantastic!
Butter
Parmesan Cheese (I happened to have the very yummy, yet very expensive parmesan reggiano, which is what I used.  I think it would be fine with regular parmesan as long as it is fresh, not from the plastic shaker jar...)
Minced Garlic
Cream
Parsley
S&P
Frozen Broccoli - my healthy addition to the original recipe, just to make me feel a little better about feeding it to my 1 year old, who by the way INHALED it...

First, boil a large pot of salted water.  Cook the pasta to al-dente.  do not over cook, you will be simmering over low heat to thicken the sauce later, so on the underside is OK.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to thicken up sauce later.

Drain and return pasta to pan.

Add a dollop of butter (I dunno... 1 tbls maybe? I guess it depends on how much spaghetti you used, I made a perfect portion for me and my little fella, and probably used a tad less then 1 tbls...)
A generous handful of cheese goes in, along with a couple swishes around the pot of cream (just enough to coat the pasta unless you want it really runny...)
About a 1/2 - 3/4 of a regular teaspoon (like cereal spoon) full of minced garlic (since we use SO much garlic in our house I finally got smart and started buying the large jar of pre-minced garlic... a lot cheaper and way easier!) I would say if you are using fresh 2 - 3 cloves.  Of course I am a garlic L-O-V-E-R, so tone this down if you do not want it to be overly garlicy (3 1/2 hours later, I'm still tasting garlic - just the way I like it!)
Sprinkle in, oh I'd say about 1 tsp or so of parsley, again you'll just have to eye-ball it to see what looks good to you.
And salt and pepper to taste.  (Because I was feeding this to little man, I did go light on the salt, and added a tiny bit of garlic salt to the top of my own... yes I know, more garlic!)
A handful of frozen broccoli (or any other vegetable you prefer!) - would be GREAT with chicken too!

Stir and simmer lightly over low heat until bubbling.  Stir in some of the reserved cooking liquid 1 tbls at a time until it reaches the right consistency you are looking for.  Cover and Simmer until frozen veggie's are cooked thru, and YUMMO!!!  easy, peasy, 1 pot-fashizy! super quick clean up, done in about 15 minutes, and tastes like heaven.  Thank you Pinterest! maybe I should I try some more of the 100 or so recipe's I have pinned, I feel like they are just going to waste out there in cyberspace!

How has it possibly been a year already...

As I'm sitting here planning Wes's first birthday I am somewhat taken aback by the realization that an entire year has passed like a snap of my fingers.  They aren't kidding when they say it goes by way to fast.  It seems like just yesterday I felt those first pangs of labor running through my body.  I realized a while ago I had written down the story of Wes's birth but never posted it here on my blog.  As we get closer to celebrating his first year of life I decided this would be a good time to add his wonderful story of his entrance to this bright new world.  As our first year count down begins, I realize more and more everyday how I can not possible imagine my life without him.  He has brought so much joy to our lives, every day Jake and I wake up and give thanks for this sweet little handsome guy that has blessed our family and our hearts.  So I hope you enjoy our story as I much as I enjoy telling it!

Monday, March 28th, 2011:

I went to the Dr. at 5:00 pm, to be examined around 5:45 pm.  Status: 0 dialation, 0% effaced.... Dr. told me 2-3 more weeks... BUMMER!!!

Tuesday, March 30th, 2011:

I went to work as usual, didn't feel any different.  Around mid-morning I noticed some cramping, but nothing even close to menstrual cramps.  Chalked it up to being examined the night before!  By afternoon, I noticed the cramping coming in waves, so decided to start tracking them (thank you Android App!  Daddy511 in case any of you expectant moms are looking for one!)  They were VERY sporadic, nothing regular at all.  I was chatting with my dear friend Heather online who had recently had a baby and she sent me a link for signs for false labor and figured thats what I was experiencing considering the ONLY symptom I had were a few light contractions.  They would come every 10 min, then 5 min, then 18 min, then back to 8 min.... they would be 30 secs to 2 minutes long.... Nothing to worry about right?  I left work, went home to get the carseat and our bags packed "just in case..."  While packing, I was still keeping track of the contractions, none of which were getting closer together.  Around 7pm however things changed, and rapidly.  They went from just cramping to some actual pain, and 2 minutes apart pretty consistantly.  None of this getting closer together until the are 5 min apart - it went straight to 2 minutes.  I was still convinced it was false labor, and they would go back to sporadic contractions or just stop all together.  I was making dinner with my dad around 8 when we decided it would be best to head to the hospital "just to get checked out" so I could tell Jake to come home if I really had started going into labor. (he was working up in Washington at the time... considering I still had 2 weeks to go!) The conversation went something like this, while prepping dinner "Dad, really I'm" - pause, grab the counter and shut my eyes - "fine. It's nothing and I'm damn hungry! Let's go after dinner" Dad - "well I've never seen anyone in labor, but I think we should go, what do you think honey (directed towards his wife Joy)" They both turn to me as I'm gripping the counter again trying not to pass out because I mistakenly started holding my breath.  Hmmmm.... maybe they were right haha! Dad - "dinner will be here when we get home if its nothing... lets go"  So needless to say I didn't get my dinner and was pretty bummed about it... you never withhold food from a 9 month pregnant chick, seriously!

The ride to the hospital was a whole different ball game!!!  By about 8:30 the contractions were pretty regular and pretty painfull.  By this time I was fairly certain I was gonig into labor.  However, I still figured the hospital would send me home since it was so early on.  AND considering I was dialated to a whole whopping NOTHING the night before.  We got to the hospital about 9:00, and I was dialated to a 3 and 60% effaced... WHOA! DADDY COME HOME!!!!  They said they would check me in an hour and if there was no change they would send me home... I asked for a 1/2 hr so I could tell jake for sure whether to hit the road or not.  1/2 hr later, a slight change... was still dialated to a 3 tho.  So daddy headed out and they admitted me.  By midnight, I was only dialted to a 4 - Perfect, plenty of time for daddy to get home right?????

By 1:00, dialated to a 6.... Where's DAD!?!?!?!?  4 1/2 hrs away still... thanks to the nasty weather that hit Blewitt and Snoquolimy pass... 1st actual break down :(

Luckily I had my dear friend (and "doula!") by my side.  She climbed into bed with me and held me tight while the tears started flowing.... until the next contraction hit.  The sobs turned to screams at this point haha!  Now if you have ever considered natural birth like I did, I would HIGHLY recommend hiring a doula or a mid-wife.  In our case, our insurance wouldn't cover a mid-wife and I was VERY lucky to have such a talented and wonderfully special friend that had taken duola training in the past, so I was able to use her.  Not only did she have doula training, she is also an amazing healer.  She brought her yoga meditation CD's which were AMAZINGLY soothing, she performed raiki which really helped me to relax and take control between contractions but most of all she was just there to hold my hand and talk me through it.  Without any medication at all I felt every single stabbing pain of labor (lucky it was short!) but with her by my side I felt like I could take on the world.  She guided me to go deep inside and connect with Wes during those contractions, bringing us closer together and guiding him into this world.  I cannot put into words the experience we had, but I know without a doubt through her guidance I was able to internally connect with my son before I was even able to look into his beautiful eyes.  THAT is what got me through those pains, and I will forever be grateful for that amazing once in a lifetime experience.  I'm not going to lie, it hurt... and it hurt bad... but being clear-headed and 100% aware of what was going on, I was able to go to a whole new level, somewhere I had never been before and truly reach in the depths of my being and that little baby inside me trying desperately to make his entrance into the world.

Contractions got worse, by 3:00 my water broke - still no daddy :(  At that point nothing was stopping this baby.  After my water broke I was in full on active labor.  Immediatly after I started feeling the urge to push.  Of course they told me I wasn't ready but my body kind of took over at that point.  They called my dr. at 3 when my water broke.  It was only about 20 min. later they had to bring in the on-call dr. and asked me start pushing.  Luckily of the 2 most important men to make it to the birth of my son, one actually did :)  Dr. Andrews walked in right as I was starting to crown and took over.  3 pushes and at 3:47 am Weston Michael Keller joined this world, perfect and healthy as could be!  5 lbs 14 oz and 18 in long, this perfect, amazing, and quit handsome young man has now made our perfect little family whole :)  He was immediately placed in my arms and I brought him directly to my bare chest.  For the 1st 1/2 hour of his beautiful life (while I was being stitched up if you want to know haha) I got to sit and stare into the most amazingly beautiful eyes I have ever seen in my life.  Wes was so awake and alert, he didn't go to sleep, just looked all around at his new world.  I was determined to breastfeed, and before I would let them take him to get cleaned up and weighed and everything, he latched on to both nipples.  Nothing at all like I had expected, yet it seemed that both of us knew exactly what to do.  Daddy got to meet him at 5:30 when he made it to the hospital and we have all 3 been doing VERY well.

Thank you all for your love and support and I can't wait for you all to meet him, he sure is something special!!!  You will know when you first look into his beautiful eyes.  He will forever touch your heart, just like he has mine and Jakes.

Homemade petialyte

Wow, what a week... On top of teething (at 11 months we are finally getting some teefers! Which also means I see 2 coming in at the same time, and the tops are going to follow close behind...) We also have a stomach bug going through the house... Yay. Teething baby + sick baby = cranky baby (and mommy!) For the cough I've been using the lemon water (see previous post) which seems to be helping for nighttime.  Naps are tough, I don't know if he's waking up because he has to cough or just restless, but he's only sleeping for about 20-30 min, and the rest of the time just wants to be held. So mommy is getting NOTHING done haha.

Luckily the bug hasn't induced vomiting, but it certainly has been coming out of the other end.  When I noticed the fewer potty's we've had this morning I knew I needed to do something.  Luckily just last night (perfect timing) I saw a recipe for homemade petialyte on Pinterest! So, we decided to try it this morning.  I can't tell if its working quit yet because we just gave it to him about an hour ago, and he's not really eating/drinking very much.  But little sips are better then nothing right?  So here's the recipe I used, I will report back later if it helps!

4 cups water (I used 1 cup of the lemon water I had already made and 3 cups water)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbls sugar (which I did not add since I already had sugar in the lemon water)

You can also add 1/2 packet of unsweetened kool-aid or something similar (jello gelatin....), or some clear juice for flavor.

So easy and sooo much cheaper then petialyte, plus I had all the ingredients on hand so I didn't need to waste my time driving to the store! score!  Thanks pinterest :)

**Update: YES it worked! he wasn't so fond of the taste, so we ended mixing some with a little juice (any kind of clear juice will work) and that helped.  I am happy to report a healthy happy baby with his first tooth!