A Non-Traditional Thanksgiving

I have much many things for which to be thankful.  My husband, my kids, my family, my health, diet mountain dew...truly the list is endless.  Even though I consider myself a very thankful person, I dread holidays.  Why you ask?  Well, because there's always so much to do!  Remember the days of old when we just sat around and let our parents do everything?  Now we're the parents!  Dang it! So when it comes to holidays, I'm all about the easiest possible solution.  This Thanksgiving was with my family.  With a sister and brother living in Minnesota, it was easier for us to head up there.  Every time we get together with family, there's the problem of space.  With a million kids, no one seems to have enough room in their house.  So my mom had the brilliant idea of going to a hotel for the night.  Seriously, it's like we had never considered this thought before.  We're all on the cheap frugal side!  So there's a Holiday Inn right next to Cabela's in Owatonna, MN that has a waterpark.  Truly one of the best investments in the world.  So while many others in America were scrunched together in a small living room eating Aunt Thelma's green bean casserole and falling asleep enjoying all the anecdotes and general togetherness, we were swimming and having a great time.  Probably one of my favorite Thanksgivings to date.  That may make me a Thanksgiving hater but I look at it this way...I was with my family and isn't that what the day it all about?  I'm sure at some point during the day I told someone I was thankful for them.  It may have been the hotel staff guy who brought Noah's crib to the room but I made the effort to be a thankful person.  Here are some pictures from the hotel.  Enjoy and be jealous that my family is cool and yours is still suffering the effects of family drama and Aunt Gertrude's bean dip...

Noah is a little water baby.  He LOVES being in the pool!

Going up to the top of the slide

Hannah thrilled about something.  Probably being in the pool with her cousins

Joel was dipping Noah backwards into the water.  He loved it!

Just taking a stroll with daddy

At the bottom of the slide.  He went up and down that thing so many times!

Noah, Hannah, Natalie, and Jack decorating the train rice krispie treat.  

Hannah and Natalie's train (aka. the GIRL'S train!)

Jack decorating the boy's train.  Noah tried to help but ended up just eating the frosting instead.  

My Love Affair...

...with my Crane humidifier

Yes, it sounds completely ridiculous, I realize that.  However, this humidifier is wonderful!  In years past, we've had one humidifier or another that consisted of a bulky base, filter, and big fan with a vent on it.  Within days, the filter was gross and mildewy looking and the vent started to get dirty.  It's not like you can wash the vent (hello, motor attached!) and even if you wash the filter, it's still gross.  While filters aren't super pricey by themselves, if you have to buy one every few weeks, the cost adds up.

So, when we pulled out the old humidifier to put in Noah's room and noticed how gross it was, we decided it was time to investigate something new.  So we bought 2 of the Crane humidifiers for the kids' room.  Love them!

The thing I love the most about this particular humidifier is that there's no filter!  So no mildewy grossness!  That's awesome.  All you need to clean it is some warm water and vinegar.  It takes about 10 minutes to clean and you're done!  Because it's so easy I clean them every few days.  And you barely have to turn the thing on and it shoots mist out through the little nozzle.  If you turn it on full blast all night, the entire room will be wet by morning.  :)

So there you have it.  I love my humidifier.  My kids breathe easier so then I do too.

I have no title for this post because it's just pictures!

 Here are some new-ish pictures of my kiddos.  I'm going through my photo files and picking out pictures for the Christmas cards *gasp!*  Seriously, where did this year go??!!  Enjoy...

Noah playing hide-n-seek while eating chocolate cake.
For results: see below

HA!  

Going down the slide at a local park

Driving a "boat"

seriously?

So, Noah has a heart murmur.  Seriously?  What the heck??  I took him to his 18-month well baby check-up today.  He's had croup twice in the last month so as the doctor listened to Noah in different positions, I thought he was checking Noah's lungs.  Nope.  Apparently if a murmur is heard, changing positions will cause the murmur to either go away or stay.  Noah's stayed.  So that means it's worth checking into.  Really?  *sigh*  This was not on my radar.  Noah's never had a murmur before so the fact that he does now raised enough of a red flag for further testing.  

I had a heart murmur as a child.  I grew out of it.  The doctors did some tests on me but everything was fine.  I know heart murmurs aren't exactly rare.  I totally get that.  But this is my son.  He's my little bubba.   I can't even imagine the cardiologist saying there's something seriously wrong with him.  My brain can't comprehend it.  Somewhere in the shadows of my brain, I realize that our appointment with the cardiologist could be the worst day of my life.  I left the pediatricians office today thinking "hey, it's fine.  No big deal.  This is why there are pediatric cardiologists around."  I had to call Joel and give him the news.  He didn't take it quite as calmly.  So that started me freaking out a little. We see a pediatric cardiologist next Wednesday, 11/10.  It's some random doctor with a million letters in his name.  Noah will have his heart listened to for a longer period of time then an ultrasound will be done to visualize the chambers and valves.  Even though I'm an ultrasound tech, I'm not trained in cardiac ultrasound so I will have no clue what's on the screen.  I'm kinda hoping I know the tech (ultrasound is a small world) so I can terrorize ask nicely for results.

The boring and senseless...

I used to hate football.  I thought it was the most boring and senseless game in the entire world.  Why would men want to run around and tackle each other, all to get a little ball to their end zone?  Seriously?  What's the point?  Then I had a son.  Noah will run around, tackle his sister, giggle like a girl, the run around again...all for no other reason than he loves it!  It's amazing to watch.  I don't think that's the reason I now enjoy watching football.  I guess I just enjoy watching the strategy of a well-executed play, the iron will to push through a crowd to gain one yard.  I don't have a favorite team.  I usually just go for the underdog.  Or whoever has the saddest story.  I'm a shmuck for a sob story.

Friday night, we went to a Fall Carnival at a local church.  It was so much fun.  There were inflatables (aka. bouncy castles), hay bale mazes, face painting, games, and lots of snacks and drinks.  And it was all free!  Joel even won a $25 gift certificate to a really good seafood restaurant here in Ankeny.  The fire department brought a fire engine for a little while for the kids to look at.  Hannah thought that was the best thing in the entire world.  Why is that?  Because it's red and shiny?  She was fascinated.

I wish our church did something like that.  I'm torn.  Joel and I really like our church but the kids programs are somewhat lacking.  There are a ton of kids in our church.  Seriously, more than adults.  And most are pretty young.  Yet it seems like there are more programs for the older kids and adults than for the little kids.  Maybe I notice it more because my kids are so little and there's nothing to be offered to them.  Then there are other churches that have amazing kids' programs and do lots of community outreaches to show how great their kids' programs are but their pastor isn't as good as ours.  So what's more important?  Ugh.  It's too much for my brain to comprehend so I will just watch football on TV and Noah tackling Hannah in our living room. :)

Black Bean Soup

For all those who love black bean soup, here's my recipe.  I found this in an America's Test Kitchen Healthy Cookbook (I LOVE America's test kitchen stuff!)  I've made many black bean soups before but this is by far the best.  It tastes very similar to Panera's black bean soup, which I could eat all day/every day.  Enjoy...

Black Bean Soup
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 oz bacon (about 2 slices), minced (this needs to be raw.  I made the mistake of cooking it first so I had to start over...oops)
1 large onion, minced
3 celery ribs, chopped fine (my kids hate all things green so I minced these too)
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (or mince it if you have veggie-haters)
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (I like spicier soup so I was liberal with this measurement)
4 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tsp fresh lime juice (I didn't have a fresh lime so I used the canned stuff...couldn't tell the difference)
salt and pepper


1.  Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.  Add the bacon and cook until rendered and crisp, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the onions, celery, and carrot and cook until the vegetables are soft, 10-15 minutes. 
2.  Stir in the garlic, cumin, and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the beans and chicken broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until the beans are very tender and the broth is flavorful, about 30 minutes.  
3.  Puree 1 1/2 cups of the beans and 2 cups of the broth in a blender until smooth, then return it to the pot.  (I thought this was the weirdest thing to do but it really made a difference!  You'll get veggies in there too but it's fine)Stir in the lime juice, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.


To make ahead:
The soup can be cooled and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month.  Thaw (if frozen) and reheat over low heat (do not boil).

That's all, folks!

Hannah being a little cheeseball.   I had to add a picture of my kiddos even though this post has absolutely nothing to do with them :)

Seriously, cutest boy ever!

I ran my 4th and final 5K over the weekend.  I did the Des Moines Race for the Cure.  I pulled a muscle in my leg earlier in the week so it wasn't the best run but it wasn't terrible.  And at least I finished!  One thing I learned about downtown Des Moines...it's super hilly!  My word!  Even Joel and my sister said this was one of the hardest courses they've had to run.  In order to get to the finish line, you had to walk/run up a pretty steep hill.  Not cool.  Plus there were a lot of little enormous HUGE hills all throughout the course.

I really wanted this race to be my best in honor of my friend Aimee who died of breast cancer earlier this year.  Between the hills and the leg, it wasn't my best.  Still...it was better than I could have done 6 months ago!  I'll keep running through the winter and start running 5Ks again next year when it's warm again.  My sister and husband seem to think we can run the DSM Marathon relay next year.  It's always nice to dream...

Joel, me, and Salli post-race.  We didn't die!