Feb 2012

Hurray! Our basement is almost finished! Over the last few weeks, we had it drywalled, painted it ourselves, got the carpet laid, and now Derrick has just finished hanging doors and is working on the trim and light fixtures! It's very exciting to know that our basement will soon be "liveable." I love how I can do laundry too and even with the door open down there, I can't hear it upstairs. Before, I couldn't do laundry while Mason napped because it was too loud! So I'm very happy about that lol!

Mason is growing and growing...he's 10 1/2 months and is already wearing a lot of 12 month clothing--especially pants and pajamas--the 6-12 month ones just are not long enough for him! He finally got his first tooth a couple of weeks ago too, right in the center on the bottom. I had his amber teething necklace on him the whole time and it seemed to help a bit, but he was still pretty miserable and woke up in the night quite a bit. I just ordered an amber and hazelwood necklace to see if that works better for next time. They say that hazelwood has a stonger effect, so I'm hoping it will help! The problem with hazelwood is that it doesn't last as long as amber, and is more expensive. But if it helps to keep me from having to give him Tylenol or Advil, then in my opinion, it's worth it! Every once in a while tylenol and that are all right and should definitely be used, but if I can use something natural first, before I try the other things, then I'd rather do that.

Mason had a babysitter for the first time on Valentines! Well, I should say a sitter that wasn't family. I was a little nervous and ended up leaving a huge list of instructions because we weren't going to be able to be reached for most of the time we were gone and Derrick's parents were out of town. But everything went great! I feel more confident now in leaving him now :)

Mason also has been surprising me with what he will and will not eat lately. For a few days he went crazy with absolutely refusing to eat food with texture--like mixing supper in a bowl, or cereal with fruit in it...I had to give him everything seperately...and then today and yesterday he has been gobbling everything down. He LOVES cheerios--as soon as I put some on his high chair tray he grabs at them with both fists and shoves them in his mouth as fast as he can chew them--at least he eats one or two at a time instead of trying to fit them all in his mouth and choking on them! Tonight for supper I made taco soup and really wasn't sure how it would go over with him (I had a backup plate of leftovers from last night) but he loved it! I wonder if that's because I ate it every couple of weeks while I was pregnant...it's a great meal, full of protein and fibre! And even better, you can make it on the stove or in the crockpot. Here's the recipe if anyone is interested. You can make it lots of different ways, and I think everyone does it differently. I know people who add a can of mushroom soup, a jar of salsa, a jar of jalapenos, or a can of green beans. Here's how I do it:

Taco Soup

Dump the following ingredients into a pot or slowcooker:

-Ground beef, seasoned with taco seasoning or seasoning salt (I like to make a big batch and freeze portions in ziplocs to use for this soup, for burritos, and for nachos. If using frozen, cooked beef, you do not need to defrost first)
-1 can corn, rinsed
-1 can beans with tomato sauce
-1 can (from beans) of water
-1 can kidney beans, rinsed
-1 small can tomato sauce or 1/2 medium can tomato sauce
-1/2 to 1 packet taco seasoning (I use bulk so just add some at the beginning and you can always add more later)
-beef boullion and more water to taste (you can add close to the end of cooking time if you want)

Let cook until boiling or until you're ready to eat! Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips (we like the whole grain ones!). This is also a great recipe to freeze--just add the toppings when you're ready to eat it. If Derrick would eat tomatoes that weren't pureed, I would add a large can of diced tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out!