Peanut Butter Granola Balls

I'm always looking for simple ways to make life more fun for both Grace and I. Here was a recipe that ended up being a hit. Easy for the kids to help you make, and are a yummy snack. I dare say they even made up part of Grace's lunch today- the rest she had at "snacky tables"(read: free samples at Sam's). Hey, I said I was looking for ways to make life more fun, and sometimes that means breaking the rules about three square meals! :)

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used 1 and it worked fine)

1 cup Rice Crispies

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)

1/4 cup dried fruit such as cherries, raisins or cranberries (or if Grace helps, more like 1/2 cup!)

1. In a small saucepan over medium, heat honey, peanut butter and butter. Stir until loosened and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. In a bowl, stir in cereal, oats, and dried fruit. Add peanut butter mixture and stir.

3. Drop mixture by the tablespoon into mini paper cupcake liners or a mini cupcake tin. Place in refrigerator until set. To store, refrigerate in tupperware for up to 1 week.

I'll leave you with a picture of Grace discovering the joy of licking the bowl when we made chocolate cake yesterday. Warning- once you let a kid lick the beaters or the bowl, don't ever think you can go back. Or get a tasty lick for yourself.

Three Months!

How can my little boy be three months old already? (And how can he weigh as much as a 7 month old??) Here are some pictures I took while attempting to be Professional Photographer Extraordinaire. P.S. No comments about his double chin. :)

Detox, day three

That is, Nana and Papa detox. My parents were here last week, which was great timing because Erik was still having to work quite a bit more than usual, so it gave Grace something more to entertain her than just Mommy. As always, a great time was had by all.

As Nana was telling Grace that they would be gone when she woke up the next morning (they left our house at 6am) Grace got really sad and said "But, I need you!" Ouch. Matthew found his Papa very hillarious.

After having to go through the three day Nana and Papa detox, today we were are also going through Daddy detox. The weekend was filled with Daddy time as Grace re-filled her "Daddy love tank". They took a bike ride to the grocery store and made a very impressive fort in the family room, spending quite a bit of time there. Apparently there was also some conference calls and snack breaks in there. I wouldn't know, Mommies weren't allowed. :) Last night as he put her to bed and told her that he would have to go to work in the morning, Grace's lower lip quivered and she said "But, I need you!" Double ouch.

Picture update Part 2

What a big help Grace is! She loves to read to Matthew. (Have you noticed by the plethora of pictures I have of them reading together?)

More babysitting by Grace. I don't force this by the way, she always volunteers. And child services need not come knocking- Mommy is always in the same room!

And more bird adventures! We were lucky enough to have another bird nest in our yard, also at eye level. This time all four birds hatched. We never saw the babies leave the first nest, so it was a real treat to discover this little guy by our backdoor one morning. He couldn't fly yet (did he fall out of the nest?) so Dixie was kept indoors so she didn't have bird for breakfast. Later that day, Grace and I went to go check on the other baby birds in the nest only to find it empty as well. However, upon further inspection we found one baby in each of our basement window wells. With a little help from a shovel, we were able to gently save each of the birds, upon which one silly guy decided to go under the fence into the watchful gaze of the Great Hunter, Dixie. Luckily I was able to stop her, along with some help from Mommy and Daddy Bird (they were diving at Dixie!).
Exhausted from her days of babysitting Matthew and rescuing baby birds, Grace didn't even bother to put her head on her pillow when she fell asleep for her nap. She truly just fell over from a sitting position. She did, apparently, have plenty of time to pull her covers up from the bottom of her bed.

Picture update Part 1

Matthew's 2 month chair picture (remember when Grace was this small??)

Daddy has a full lap!

Ugh

I feel for single parents. They must be perpetually exhausted. Even more perpetually exhausted than the rest of us. The last two weeks have been very busy for Erik at work. He worked 64 hours one week and 70 the other. So I feel like I have been single-parenting, even on the weekends. I think Erik must have realized how defeated I was feeling, not getting anything accomplished, and worse yet, having things pile up even more (quite literally, the kitchen table was nowhere to be found, nor was the sofa under all the unfolded laundry).

So on Saturday my dear husband let me take five hours to myself, even though he could/should have been working. I left the boy (well, both of them) with a bottle and got to run errands and take a card making class. I got to run those kind of errands that would take half an hour with two kids, but by myself clock in at under 5 minutes. Like running to Babies r Us to get replacement parts for my breast pump that apparently other people must also put down their garbage disposal accidentally. And getting the "Jonah" Veggie Tales DVD on clearance at the Christian bookstore. Grace later informed me that it was scary, and she determined that only from looking at the cover.


Here is some of my handy work from the stamp class (you make 13 cards, a real steal):

Funny, very funny

You know how it is with second children. You have to be purposeful sometimes with taking pictures and videos. You just don't sit around ogling them like you could with the first one. Well, that is what I was doing with Matthew tonight. Erik had taken Grace up for bath time so I pulled out the camera.

"Man, I am on fire tonight! He thinks I am hilarious!"

"Oh, right."

Whose toy is this, anyway?

The "Week of Fun"

Yes, I know. We are terribly creative when it comes to naming our vacations. But last week Erik took a week off from work to bond "with Newborn and Child." We declared it the "Week of Fun" and let caution fly to the wind. Out went the schedule. Out went regular naps and bedtimes. In came yummy, bad-for-you foods like chocolate croissants, hot dogs, Chik-fil-a, and Sonic drive thru. (I mentioned it was the week of fun, and nothing spells fun for this family like good food!)

Monday: We started the week off right and drove up to IKEA. For those who have never been, imagine a mall full of low-priced, quality everything and that sums up IKEA. They also serve yummy Swedish meatballs and fries on the cheap (did I mention how food factored into the week?). Because we were already up in Tim-Buck-Tu, we also hit Jungle Jim's, a Cincinnati institution of imported food and wacky decorations like full size animatronics.

Tuesday: A rainy day, so we headed to the Krohn Conservatory for their annual butterfly show. Unfortunately everyone else had the bright idea to also head inside (hence a few dead butterflies on the floor- maybe they should rethink letting a bunch of kids loose in a room full of butterflies). With Grace as wimpy as she is, we actually had more fun in the rest of the quieter conservatory, watching turtles and fish. She enjoyed the butterflies, but we couldn't catch one, and when a little boy tried to give her one, she shriveled back into her Daddy's legs. Don't think I'll ever catch my daughter eating bugs.

Note Grace's new "fake" smile she does for the camera. You can imagine how our family portraits turned out!

Wednesday: The office gave Grace a Build-a-Bear gift certificate after Matthew was born. There are a few advantages to driving to Pittsburg for a day of meetings 6 days after your wife has a baby! :) Her favorite part was finding fuzz on the floor of the store and then realizing that there was an entire machine full of fuzz (which they stuff the animal with). That's right, our daughter loves fuzz. She picked out some from a hole in one of her stuffed animals, and somehow it became very dear to her. One of the grandmothers tried to throw it away once and couldn't believe how devastating it was going to be. Grace can be heard at various times throughout the day "Where's my fuzz?". It sometimes even has to go up to bed with her. But I digress....

Here she is putting the heart inside her bear after it was filled with fuzz.

She named the bear "Gracie Bear" (so creative- just like her parents!) and picked out the dress. Erik tried to steer her towards the boy clothes but she would have none of it!

Thursday: Family picture day- need I say more? Somehow it took two hours, but with Grace's inability to smile normally, if at all, it really narrowed our choices down considerably. My favorite picture was probably the one of her kissing Matthew that we turned into black and white. I'll try to post some of those later.

Friday: We played in the pool in the backyard and attempted to go to story hour at the library, but my mommy brain somehow mixed up the dates. We still had fun picking out books though. Grace declared for the first time that it was "maybe too hot" to go outside.

Saturday: A much deserved jammie day at home, except for Erik who went running (how that fits into a week of fun, I'll never know!).

Paradise found

The sun is shining.

We are in our swim suits.

There is a breeze blowing.

The water is clear and glistening.

Strawberry daiquiris are delivered pool side.

There are afternoon chips and salsa.

Where are we?

In our backyard, of course!

Future theologian

Grace: "Mommy and Daddy love me."

"Yes, we do!"

Grace: "God loves me too."

"Yes, you are right."

Grace: "But, where is He?"

Ah, the deep ponderings of a 2 1/2 year old. I was wondering when the tough questions would start!

(P.S. Grace just assumes that those who love her most- Mommy, Daddy and grandparents come and dote on her. I'm sure she is wondering when God is going to show up and do her puzzle with her like everyone else!)

The little day

Future and Mr. Josaih Richard :)

The other night I told Grace to go to sleep because we had a big day tomorrow.

"What's a big day?" she asked.

"It's when you have a lot to do or a big place to go," I said.

"How about a little day instead?" was her answer.

Our Big Day started with a 6:00 feeding for Matthew, then shower for Mommy, breakfast for everyone, and then a 9:00 feeding for Matthew. (No wonder Grace is always asking if it is time for Matthew to eat or sleep. That's really all the kid does.)

Then we loaded up the last few items (I have learned to pre-load the car the night before, and have a list of anything else, like drinks, that need to be put in last minute) and headed off to the... ZOO! The plan was to meet up with two of our friends and their kids for a few hours. We have a zoo pass, so I wasn't too concerned if we didn't last long. You see, I had two things against me:

1. Matthew had only taken one bottle before, and was rather particular about which brand, so I didn't have high hopes that he would easily take his second try. And I haven't quite re-learned the knack to nursing in public yet.


2. We don't own a double stroller, so poor Grace was going to walk the entire time. I thought about putting Grace in the stroller and Matthew in the baby carrier, but it was hot and sunny and he doesn't have a hat (note to self- get one!) and I didn't want him to get sunburned. I also didn't think he would sleep in it since he hasn't been carried in it before and will not typically fall asleep in someone's arms.

So off we went. Bless that child's heart- both of them- Matthew took his bottle and Grace walked the entire zoo, never complaining and happy the whole time. And this is Cincinnati, so it is a hilly zoo! We ended the day with ice cream and the kids both promptly fell asleep in the car ride home.

Once home, I transferred Grace to her bed and fed Matthew again. Erik called to say he was stuck at work, and would be home late, as in late. At 6pm I woke Grace up from her nap (hey, she walked a whole zoo for crying out loud!). Turns out she had wet the bed, so we did the world's quickest bath because we were supposed to be at small group at 7:00 and I still had to feed both kids. Grace and I scarfed our mac n' cheese (I told you Erik was still at work so this was my dinner idea) because Matthew had just woken up to eat, again. He decides to take his time with this one, instead of being his characteristically quick nurser, and we arrive at small group at 7:20. Hey, we made it. Grace decides to cry going in with the other kids, and I have pity on the poor kid (hey, she walked a whole zoo for crying out loud!) so she does her sticker book and entertains herself with my purse while sitting with the adults.

At 9:20 Matthew decides he has had enough of his pacifier and would prefer the real thing, and lets the world know by screaming his head off. Grace and I hurry home, to find that Daddy is still MIA.

OK, what does a modern mom do with this dilemma of a tired child past bedtime and screaming infant? Give the toddler a cookie from small group, stick her in front of a 'Mister Rogers' that has been previously recorded on TV and let the baby eat. At 10, we finally head upstairs to get Grace to bed, although she thought watching Mister Rogers with a cookie was fine by her. At 10:15 I have a crying baby again who would also like to be in his bed, and a crying toddler who would like to stay up later and do who knows what. Maybe that cookie wasn't such a good idea.

Enter Daddy, who saves the day, er night, by getting home and taking care of the toddler. Baby goes to bed. Then, Mommy and Daddy get to eat a McDonalds flurry that Daddy picked up on the way home, courtesy of Towers Perrin. We fall into bed sometime around 11. I think I remember Erik talking about something but I was already in dream land.

Yes, Grace, how about a Little Day tomorrow?

The lone ranger

I have officially survived my first week by myself with two kiddos! I must say, for the most part we not only survived, but thrived. Grace has continued going on the potty with no direction from me, and is a huge help with Matthew (added to her vocabulary list is now "burp cloth" and "Boppy"). Although I can't take all the credit for the stellar week! We have had dear friends bring us meals (and a playmate came for Grace one morning), and I still had a few surprises left for Grace, thanks to family.

Yesterday I had my first outing with both kids (and really my first time driving as well). What deserved such a special occasion? Well, Target of course! :) As a baby, Grace hated Target. Something to do with the lights? (No girl wants to be caught in bad lighting!) Matthew didn't seem to mind, even when things were piled in around him in the cart. That part was so baffling that I ended up going to the grocery store that night by myself. Where exactly are you supposed to put stuff when shopping with two kids? Did I just join the ranks of the Night Shoppers?

Our big girl in her "pajama dress", perfect for twirling. She stayed in it the whole next day. I'm seeing a lot of pajama days in my near future, for both of us.

Thanks, Grandma, for the fun craft! (Note the "thinking tongue" which connotes how much brain power this is taking.)

Random pictures!

Ok, blog stalkers... here you go. :)

"Oooo...the ceiling fan is funny..." Where's Matthew? (Oh, and get that girl a hairbrush!)

Changing of the guard

My mom left this morning, after being here for 4 1/2 weeks and Erik's mom arrived last night. You might have thought someone would have been killed after all that time together with a pregnant lady, then a new baby, and always a toddler around. But my mom was a servant the whole time she was here, from cleaning, cooking, running errands (and running after Grace) and then basically taking care of three kids after Matthew was born because I was dead weight and could not do anything for myself. What a trouper! So it's a little early to be saluting my mom for Mother's Day, but I think I have got the best one around.

Coming home a family of four

Whew, what a relief to be out of the hospital! Last time I wanted to stay in the safety of the hospital for as long as possible because we had this new baby and had no idea how to care for it, and besides, people were bringing me food I didn't have to cook! :) This time we had a Gracie-girl waiting for us at home, plus the comforts of our own house to look forward to. My hospital bed was awful (but the food was good!). Erik had a more comfortable bed this time around, as they had us in a double room converted into a single, so he had a real bed to sleep in instead of the pull out chair. My dad and sister also came into town the day Matthew was born, so I knew we had a great team of helpers waiting for us. (My mom has been a helper here for weeks, so she goes without saying :))

Hospital Pictures

Checking out Matthew for the first time

Sara decides babies are pretty neat (and Grace does the poke test to make sure he's real).

This is exactly how he was sitting inside, only upside down. He would not undo his legs! We called him Froggy.

Loving that baby warmer!

Grace holding Matthew

Matthew Paul Johansson

Matthew Paul Johansson was born today via c-section! He weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Babies update

Well, for what seems to be the more important news, three of the baby birds hatched yesterday. We are still waiting for number 4, but I sadly don't think it will hatch. Erik is trying to get pictures of the babies without disturbing them. I'll keep you posted!

In other news, still no baby. I guess that's obvious. :) The hospital was booked for the 21st for a scheduled c-section, if it were to come to that, and the doctor (and my husband) were nervous to go past the weekend (which would be two weeks beyond my due date). So we have a scheduled c-section for Friday, the 18th at 8am. Unless the baby decides to make his entrance tomorrow, I guess we will be updating everyone then with baby news- FINALLY!

The watched pot that never boils

I'm feeling redundant, but here goes for you faithful watchers: still no baby. At this point with Grace, today was the day I was induced. I must admit the excitement has worn off. I feel like I will be pregnant for the rest of my life! We have the non-stress test and doctor appointment tomorrow. Will post another update then (unless, of course, I'm too busy! :)).