Slow Cooker Asian Chicken

I got this recipe from my mommy friend, Lisa. It was delicious. This time, I served it with plain rice. Next time around, I think I'll stir fry some carrots and baby corns to serve with the rice.

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts2/3 c soy sauce1/4 c brown sugar1/4 c water2 cloves garlic, minced2 t ground ginger2 cans sliced water chestnuts1 bunch green onions, chopped

Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, garlic and ginger. Spread water chestnuts and green onions over chicken and pour soy sauce mixture over the top. Cook on low for approx. 5 hours.

Ginger-Lime Beef Stir Fry

This wasn't the best ever; however, it has potential because the sauce was good. Next time, I'll add a bunch of stir fry vegetables, triple the sauce, and serve over rice. Today, I served over rice noodles, which were good too.

1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
1 1/2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
12 ounces boneless sirloin steak, cut into thin strips

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk.

Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; drizzle evenly with ginger-lime mixture. Garnish with green onions and lime wedges, if desired.

Italian Chicken with Chickpeas

My mom would love this meal. It's got her favorite: chickpeas! I served it over rice.

1 pound chicken breast tenders
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/3 cups sliced onion
1 cup green bell pepper strips
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic, chickpeas, and tomatoes; cover and cook 8 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

My Brave Little Girl

Today was a good day for Syd. Grandma came over and watched Cole while I took Syd to swimming lessons and then to get her flu shot.

Syd did great at swimming lessons - what a difference a summer of swimming makes! She was able to do all the different exercises and activities at class, including jumping in, blowing bubbles, kicking and paddling, and holding her breath. The instructor even let Sydney practice "swimming" from her to me!

After swimming lessons, we headed to the pharmacy to get our flu shots. Right before we got there, Syd and I talked about the word brave and what it means. We decided that she would be very brave for her flu shot. First, I got my shot, and then she got hers - without even one tear or cry! She was so brave, she got to pick out a lollipop. What a brave little girl - way to go Syd!

Fancy!

Nothing says romance like a new TV! That's what my handsome and handy husband got me for our ninth anniversary.

Every morning, Tom watches the kids while I get about 30 minutes to myself to take a shower and get dressed. I recently told Tom that the only thing that could make it any better was to have a television in the bathroom so I could watch the news while getting ready. Voila! This weekend, he installed a new TV, and it is AWESOME! I can't wait to get ready tomorrow morning.

The Bergeman Kids Are Pretty Darn Cute

My kids are adorable... I know, I know, I'm biased. But - I bet I could find several people who agree with me. Anyway, here are some cute moments from this week.

Cole's recently started napping in his jumperoo. Twice this week, I've turned around to find him passed out. And, it's not a slow process. I swear he's jumping, jumping, jumping one minute and out cold the next. Then, he wakes up about 15 minutes later happy go-lucky and jumping again.


As for Syd, anyone who knows me knows that we do not do sugar that often. Sydney does not receive candy, cookies, ice cream, even juice on a regular basis. We usually save those treats for birthday celebrations only. Anyway, she got her hair cut today, and the stylist gave her a lollipop. Here's a picture of her (with nap hair) enjoying the moment!

Taco Rice Bowls

This recipe is very versatile. I actually won a chili cook off with this recipe several years ago (in the most unusual category). Anyway, tonight we ate it like a rice bowl with guacamole and salsa on the side. You could use it as burrito or taco filling, dip, nacho filling - there are plenty of possibilities.

1/2 lb ground beef
Taco seasoning
1 1/4 c cooked instant rice
1 can diced tomatoes with chilis, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn (the mini can), drained

Brown the ground beef and drain. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until warm.

If I were eating dairy right now, I'd definitely serve it with cheese and sour cream. However, tonight, like I said, we had it with guacamole and salsa. Sydney had two enormous helpings!

Preschool

It's been about a month since Sydney started preschool. So far, so good. She's been enjoying class and adjusting well to being without mommy. One of my favorite parts of school is when she brings home artwork, which happens just about every time she goes to school. Recently, I opened Sydney's backpack to find this sun picture. I said, "Oh wow, Sydney! God made the sun!" Sydney didn't miss a beat and said, "No, mommy - God didn't make that sun; I did!" She must feel pretty strongly about this particular picture because she said the same thing to almost anyone who asked her about it. Anyway, needless to say, we're really enjoying her mini masterpieces!

Avocado Dill Pasta

Right now, I'm not eating any dairy, and this pasta dish was awesome because it was oh so creamy!

8 ounces bow tie pasta or 8 ounces wagon wheel macaroni
2 medium avocados, halved,seeded,peeled and coarsely chopped
6 slices bacon, crisp cooked,drained and crumbled
2/3 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the avocados, bacon, dill, lemon juice,olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt. Add the hot pasta and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Sleep Training

When Sydney was born, I found myself really struggling to find some sort of schedule. I called my friend, Kate, who sent me a book called On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. I read the entire book in a couple hours and immediately started putting the principles to work. Anyway, long story short, I am a big believer in sleep training - teaching your children to put themselves to sleep. Everyone wakes up during their regular sleep schedule, but going back to sleep when you wake up is a skill that takes a while to learn - especially for children. Sleep training for babies is not easy! Mostly, it requires letting them "cry it out." The first night or two are usually the worst: they'll cry until they fall asleep. Then, the amount of time they cry significantly decreases until they're able to put themselves to sleep in a matter of minutes - most times without any tears at all! The entire process takes less than a week.

I wouldn't say that our week is totally finished (we started last Thursday night); however, we're very, very close. Cole is routinely going to sleep for naps and at night without crying. When he wakes up, he usually only cries for a couple minutes and then it's back to bed! Today was definitely a milestone: both kids took their naps in their own rooms and fell asleep on their own! I love this for several reasons: Cole is learning to be an independent sleeper - like Sydney - and Mommy will, eventually, be able to count on this time as child-free time to work, do chores, or prep dinner.

Hail sleep training - I'm a believer!

Pasta Stir Fry

This was a good one... will definitely add it to our regular rotation. I left out the scallions and used jarred ginger.

1 (16-ounce) package whole wheat linguine
Salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and diced
1/2 small eggplant, sliced into small chunks, about 2 cups
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 cup frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced
2 scallions, sliced, for garnish

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water.

While pasta is cooking, heat canola oil in a large saute pan or wok over high heat. Add onion, red pepper, ginger, eggplant and cook for about 1 minute. Add garlic, broccoli, tomatoes, and soy sauce and cook for another 2 minutes. Drain pasta. Add it and the chicken to the vegetable mixture, toss and cook for another minute.

Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with scallions.

Cole's Had a Rough Week

I was so good with Sydney - I never let her sleep with us and I taught her to self soothe and put herself to sleep when she was 8 weeks old. With Cole, it's been a completely different story. Mostly, Cole's been sick, so I couldn't do any sleep training. However, lately, we've had a pretty good bedtime ritual going, and Cole seemed to have a good night schedule - so I was beginning to think about starting sleep training. Then came Monday. Monday night, Cole didn't feel well, and I made the mistake of letting him sleep with us. Before I knew it, he didn't feel well again on Tuesday, and by Wednesday, he made it clear he was not going to sleep in his crib.

Well, crap.

Along with his new-found fondness for our bed, Cole all-the-sudden became very attached to me. That's nice and all, but Mommy needs a break. I knew things were bad when Jodi - who has a masters in putting babies to sleep - couldn't get Cole to go to sleep for his nap. In addition, Cole has been on a bottle boycott. Wow... things were spiraling out of control!

I decided we needed to make some changes - and make them quick! First, we enrolled him in bottle boot camp. Grandma B came over on Thursday and helped me get him to take a bottle: it only took over an hour and multiple renditions of the Mickey Mouse theme song and Old MacDonald. Oye. Then, Thursday night, I made him sleep in his own crib. That was painful! Although he went to sleep pretty easily, he did not go back to sleep after his midnight feeding. I think my ears are still bleeding.

The good news is that Cole's doing much better with the bottles and sleep today. It's been two and a half days now, and he's taken nine bottles and actually fell asleep on his own this morning after waking up at 4:00 am.

It's just a matter of time. At this point, I think we're past the hardest part of bottles and sleep. Hopefully, Cole will be taking bottles and sleeping without assistance soon.

Cole's Biopsy Results

Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that Baby Cole's biopsy results came back negative. The bad news is that his results came back negative. So - we can rule out some things, but we haven't uncovered the reason why Cole has stopped gaining weight. He has an x-ray scheduled for next week. That should tell us whether his intestines are properly placed in his belly. After that, I don't know what we're going to do. The boy needs to stop puking and start gaining some weight! We'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday Mustache Papa!

It was Mustache Papa's birthday, so we had - what else? - a mustache party! We had a mustache-shaped cake, and everyone got to try on their very own mustaches. Anyway, it was a load of fun - even Baby Cole enjoyed sporting his mustache. Happy Birthday Papa!