Friday, March 25, 2011

Recipe: Alfredo Casserole

I had this idea the other night, so I tossed together some ingredients and it turned into a delicious casserole!

Ingredients:
-16 oz. wide egg noodles
-1 or 2 jars alfredo sauce
-Parmesan Shake 'n' Bake
-1 can chunk chicken breast

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Boil the noodles for 7 minutes. Put the boiled noodles into a glass casserole dish. Then stir in alfredo sauce--use 1 jar or 2 depending on your preference. Shred chicken chunks with forks. Stir shredded chicken into noodles and sauce. Sprinkle one packet of Parmesan Shake 'n' Bake over casserole. Bake for 20-25 minutes and enjoy!

Yields 1 family-sized casserole (we have many, many leftovers, but only two of us had any.)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Oliver 2.5, the Latest Version

This boy grows so FAST! Every day he is doing something new and surprising us with it. Changes from the last month include:

  • Sleeping 10-11 hours each night. Sometimes he wakes up around 6:30 but a binky in his mouth usually puts him back to sleep for another hour or so.
  • Big boy bottles! Oliver graduated to the bigger bottles today because he needs about six ounces per meal now, instead of four
  • Talking--a LOT. He squeals and "goos" and is learning new sounds every day. One of his favorites is "mmmmmmah!" (which I'd love to say means he wants me, but it's probably just an easy sound to make.)
  • Laughing. He still doesn't do it much but he definitely does it. Things that make him laugh include many of our weirdest voices, when we blow raspberries for him, and when we tickle his tummy with our faces.
  • Sitting up. Of course he doesn't do this on his own, but it is his favorite position and if we are cradling him he usually tries to pull himself up to a sitting position.
  • Sleeping in the crib! Last night, we declared Oliver bouncy chair-free (at least for sleeping in) and he slept in his crib. It was a very proud night for all of us.
We definitely lucked out with this kid. He brings so much joy into our lives. Besides, who could ask for better than a baby who sleeps for 10+ hours each night?

In other news, the kind that's about the less-interesting members of the Shull Family, Joseph and I have just been keeping up with school and work. Joseph's birthday was last Friday. I made him a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and marshmallow fondant, and we went to Sizzler for lunch. The next day we took a trip to Boise and had a good time with my sister Krissi and cousin Amanda, going to Tucano's and looking at houses. We have our eyes on one particular development, the Coleman Homes. We are looking at our steps to getting a mortgage. We won't be moving to the Boise area until we have our AA/AS degrees, which should be next Spring, but we want to start early so we will be prepared when the time comes. We are very excited for Oliver to have more room to grow and learn and explore.

Today, a crazy little hand-fed (I'm assuming) squirrel jumped on Joseph's back. We had seen it earlier as we were leaving from the grocery store, and it had danced around our ankles. I had even freaked out about never being "so close to a squirrel in my life!" and I'm guessing that, by saying that, I jinxed us. Anyway, when we were heading back into the apartment with our small child and delicious-smelling groceries, the hungry, vicious (again, I'm assuming) squirrel showed up behind me out of nowhere. Joseph yelled, "It's behind you!" and I screamed. The squirrel then proceeded to dance around us some more, and in a flash ended up on Joseph's back. It scared Joseph so badly that he dropped his coffee and the groceries he was holding. I was screaming as I ran inside to get Oliver to safety. The entire time, our maintenance man was watching us and laughing. When I came back out, the squirrel had come off of Joseph's back, but was entirely ignoring Joseph's threats of coming at him. Joseph had to throw rocks for the squirrel, who thought they were food and chased after them. This trick saved us from rabies today, but I intend to get a can of mace for future trips to the car and back :P

This squirrel looks pretty similar to the one who wanted our groceries, only a bit less ferocious.

Besides wild animal attacks, this month has been a lot of fun. We have more than enough good times to keep us the happiest little family on the block (or at least in the rabid-squirrel-infested apartment complex). :)