We Came For Beans

I've always said that Target carries a $100 deductible. You come in for a few things. You leave with $100 worth of merchandise.

And with a baby, this has only worsened.

Nate wanted to make chicken burritos. We had no beans. 

Very easy solution to the problem: walk to Target to get some.

Yup. We came for beans, and left with this:

1) Sunscreen: for our upcoming Hawaii trip.
2) French Bread--because it is the only decent bread I have found that doesn't contain milk, egg, or soy.
3) Candy---because I literally LIVE on candy since no other baked goods on in the cards for me.
4) Extra bottles for my Mom and Dad who are watching Tillie while we are in Hawaii.
5) Girls socks. Because they were cute and I figure a baby in minneapolis can never have too many socks or hats.

Oh, and the beans.

So, a $1.08 purchase turned in to a $38.96 purchase. Not bad, Target. Not. Bad.
Good thing you employ my husband as it helps my guilty conscience for spending so much at your store.

15 Weeks

15 Weeks has come and gone, and our little Peanut keeps getting bigger and surprising us with firsts.

She survived her first cold the last few weeks. Snotty, congested, coughing cold. I didn't know a sneeze and cough could be so cute, but it was. 

Tillie had her first GIGGLE this week which was incredible. And who better to get the first giggle out of her than Grandma, who came up for a quick visit. Of course Nate is super jealous and even though he doesn't explicitly tell me, I can tell he is really working it to try to get a giggle out of her.

And another big first: Tillie rolled over!

I am not sure that it 'counts' officially, but it counts for me! 

She was under her activity mat on a small pillow, and kicked her little legs over (see below) and to her surprise and mine....

she flipped right over onto her tummy.

She is 'talking' more and more, and has a new sort of squeal/shriek that she is trying out. 

Personally, Nate and I would probably take a little less talking and a little bit more sleeping if we had to choose.

It's a good thing this girl is darn cute.

The Elusive Lincoln Lawyer

Two months.

That is how long we have had the Lincoln Lawyer rented from Blockbuster. Two. Months.

Nate kept pushing me to take it back, but I was firm. No. I wanted to watch the movie. It got great reviews and we will definitely be able to watch a movie again, right?

The answer is yes. But it will take you two months.

Well Friday night we snuggled the little Tillie bean into bed, and then we crept downstairs to enjoy our comfy couches and nice TV. NOTE: this is a very risky maneuver as it seems Matilda just knows when we go down there and wakes up immediately.

We had pre-popped popcorn so as to not wake her up.

We started the movie. And held our breaths (Okay,  I held my breath--Nate isn't' superstitious) as the minutes ticked by.

And as the closing credits started to roll up the screen, a single tear rolled down my cheek. SUCCESS! We did it. We watched a movie. In our house. Downstairs. Without the baby waking up. Boom.

Now, it may take us 2 more months to watch another one. Which of course means we have to be very selective in our viewing options. Any recommendations of must-see movies out on DVD?

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Matilda is one lucky lady. I mean we knew this already, but when Nate called and told me he got Matilda the BEST Christmas present ever, I couldn't help but bug him until he told me what it was.

(drum roll....)

Nate put Matilda's name on the Packers season ticket wait list.

I mean, look at this girl. You can tell she already loves the Packers, even though she was born in MN. Can't you just imagine her when she is 60 years old taking her kids to the game?

Magazine Cuisine: Episode 18

We are starting to fall into a groove that includes actually cooking dinner and trying new recipes again. The hardest part now is finding recipes that fit the dietary restrictions that I am on for Matilda's food allergies, which still remain a mystery.

As the weather turned cooler this past weekend, we were both craving a good soup so we turned to Cooking Light's: Chicken and Barley soup.

I felt uber-productive as I had dinner ready for Nate when he returned: a true 1950's moment in our house.

And Nate was over complimentary of the soup. Who wants to guess why? Was it:
1) Because the soup was actually delicious
2) Because he wanted to reinforce the behavior of having dinner ready when he got home
3) because it was the first time in about 3 months we haven't had a protein, starch, and veggie dinner.

Perhaps it was all 3, but either way it was nice to be cooking again, cooking something new again, and to have dinner done before he got home so we had more time to spend together.

Munchie

Because any other nickname just wouldn't do....

Munch...

Double Munch....

Thinking about it...

MUNCH!!!!

Abundance

In spite of the severe neglect mentioned earlier, we were blessed to have an abundant garden.

It kills me to not be able to eat all of these delicious, ripe and juicy tomatoes. But Nate took full advantage to make a HUGE batch (we are talking more than a gallon here) of salsa. AND, new this year we made a homemade pasta sauce that we froze so that hopefully I can enjoy it in about 5 months once we get Matilda squared away!

It was officially the year of the cucumber in the Hanson garden. Not sure how many cucumbers one family needs but we pick them by the dozen.....