Tax Returns

Did you know...

...that when you have a baby good ole Uncle Sam gives you a pretty fat check to compensate for the costs of raising a child?!

I sure did not know that and was pleasantly surprised when we got our tax return this year. I guess Kahilis' 2 jobs and my job that I had up until 'Ihi was born contributed a little as well. But, man, it was such a relief to get that money back!

The months of May and June were rough because we were unemployed and unfortunately had to dig into our savings (thank goodness we had saved!) and use our credits cards for things like gas and food. With the tax return we just got, we will be able to restore that savings and pay off some of those debts. In fact, we were able to pay off 2 credit cards and cancel them so that we now each only have 1 which is necessary for building good credit so that some time in the future we can buy a house...or in the nearer future we can buy a car.

Having 'Ihi has been the biggest and best blessing we ever could have asked for and now I find out she has been making us some money during her short time here ;).

Yay for tax returns!

Mmmmm...

This is what we had for dinner tonight... it was delicious!

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Recipe adapted from: Baby Center

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
Salt and pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (could also use olive oil or canola oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)
4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.

Happy Half Birthday Little Girl!

I just can't believe we are already celebrating this girls' half birthday! Before we know it, we will be throwing her a 1st birthday party!

Stats:

17 lbs (66th percentile)

26 7/8 in (87th percentile)

She is a pretty long and skinny baby but don't underestimate her, this girl is strong!

*She is still in size 3 diapers and has been since the end of November.

*She wears 6-9 month clothes but is quickly growing out of those....yikes!

*She loves puffs, these little snacks that are Apple Strawberry flavored that dissolve quickly in your mouth (Her Daddy likes these also and I always catch him eating them when he's supposed to be feeding them to her!)

*As of February 5th, she has been getting up on all 4s but she hasn't quite gotten the idea of crawling yet. She just sits there looking around and occasionally scoots herself backward.

*Along those same lines, she "swims" around the floor to get her different toys. It's pretty funny.

*She grabs anything and everything in her line of sight and still puts it in her mouth. She especially loves my hair and I often find chunks of my hair clumped together with drool after holding her.

*She loves playing any variation of peek a boo.

*She likes music, weather it's us singing to her or playing it on the ipod.

*She likes animals! My aunt and uncle have a dog and a cat and she loves 'playing' with them (meaning they sit and stare at each other and 'Ihi giggles)

*She burrows her head in my chest when she is hungry and it is seriously the cutest thing!

*She still won't take a bottle but she loves biting on her sippy cup and playing with it.

*She sits up so well and even leans over and lifts herself back up. She is very strong.

That's all I can think of for now! Happy 6 months baby girl!

Not the best of dayS

The past couple of weeks have been rough on all of us.

Kahili has been working a ton. 'Ihi has been fussy and sick. And me. I've just been trying to keep up with all the housework, keep my family well fed, and trying to give my baby as much love as possible. These things are hard to do when you are trying to do them all at the same time.

We have not been sleeping. Well, I guess you can say we have been "sleeping", we just haven't been sleeping much. And for those of you who know me well, you know that I need my sleep. I can honestly say that I don't think I have gotten more than a 4 hour stretch of sleep in since we were in Hawaii. That was almost a month and a half ago and it's not like I got tons of sleep there either. I think the night before we left, we got 5 hours straight.

Anyways, I am not writing this to just complain about not sleeping. I just thought that would be good to note for journaling purposes. Now, the reasons why we haven't been getting sleep are numerous. 'Ihi cut a tooth (Yay! I knew she was teething despite people telling me she was 'too young'). 'Ihi cut another tooth. She went through a relationships phase where she cried every time I left the room (She is still working through this but it is getting better. She sometimes cries if I hand her off to another person now whereas before she would just go and be happy.). She got a cold. And last but not least, she got a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection).

I would like to document our experience so far having a little one with a UTI. It is not fun. I feel horrible that my baby is in so much pain. So about a week ago, Kahili and I both noticed that 'Ihi's pee was starting to smell really bad. We just thought it was from something that she or I ate. When I think back on it, she would be grunting a bunch like something hurt and then we would smell it. I never would have put 2 and 2 together. She would fall asleep in her crib and wake up almost every 1-2 hours (for 2 weeks or so) grunting and not wanting to go back to sleep. She started getting pretty congested on Friday but I again just thought she had a little cold so I used the sucker a lot and just tried to comfort her. Mind you, she has been extremely fussy through all of this.

Sunday, we went about our routine but after church I wasn't feeling well and I could tell 'Ihi wasn't either. At about midnight 'Ihi woke and wouldn't go back to sleep. I nursed her and she fell asleep then woke up 10 minutes later. I picked her up and as soon as we sat in the rocking chair, she vomited. Everywhere. Twice. Poor baby! I felt so bad. I cleaned her up, changed her and she was falling asleep so I put her down in her crib and patted her back for a little while. She slept just how she had been for a week now, not well, waking a lot and grunting. At about 6:30am, I nursed her again and she fell asleep. Just like the night before, she woke up about 10 minutes later and as I was standing with her, she vomited all over the both of us. Kahili was all ready to leave to work but luckily he was able to stay while 'Ihi and I showered so he could take her and get her dressed again. He put her to sleep again and then went to work. I was on the phone with a nurse when he left and she said I just just make sure she stays hydrated and get an appointment with my doctor ASAP. Our appointment was in the afternoon.

When the nurse came in, she looked at all the symptoms I had rambled off and just thought 'Ihi might have a combination of a cold and a stomach bug. I asked about the smelly urine and she said she that is a symptom of a UTI but doubted that was the case because she didn't have a fever. She insisted they insert a catheter to get a urine sample to test just in case. One nurse held down 'Ihi's body while the other stuck the catheter in and got the sample. I was holding her arms and trying to comfort her but the poor baby was screaming so hard. I started crying. It took forever for me to calm her down. The nurses left and the doctor came back really fast and said her urine sample showed she clearly has a UTI. :(

Anyways, 'Ihi is now on antibiotics and will be for another week. I got a prescription today for her to get a renal ultrasound which the require for any kid under the age of 4 who gets a UTI. This is to make sure the infection is not affecting their kidneys and also to make sure there are no anatomical issues that made her get the UTI. I am for sure going to make this appointment for a time when Kahili can come with me because I will probably cry again. I feel so upset with myself that I was annoyed with her getting up so much during the night and being so fussy! SHE WAS IN PAIN! :(

I will keep you all updated with info about our ultrasound experience.

Will you be my Valentine?

I am so lucky to have 2 Valentines this year! 'Ihi and I wanted to do something special for Kahili for Valentines Day because he has been working so hard for us. A friend in my ward is a photographer and I just thought it would be so cool to surprise Kahili with pictures of us. Plus, 'Ihi is 6 months on Valentines day and we havent had pictures taken of her since she was like 1 week old (besides the ones I take every other day haha) and I wanted some Mommy-Daughter pictures for memories sake. So last Thursday, we kinda lied to Kahili and told him we were going to a friends' house for a playdate. In reality, we met Madelyn downstairs in the parking garage and headed to the Riverwoods so she could snap a few pictures of us. I absolutely love them! Then on Saturday we went to Costco and I picked out a frame for $15! It was a steal! I gave him his surprise tonight because I couldn't wait any longer to show him the pictures. Keeping it a secret was very hard work. We just sat there and commented on how cute 'Ihi is haha. If anyone is looking for a photographer, Madelyn did a great job and was able to catch some great memories for our family.

My Valentine got me a new water bottle and a Nike+ so I can track my runs better. It logs how much distance I have covered and how many calories I am burning as well as other useful stuff. I can't wait to use it!

{Click here to see more pictures from our photoshoot}

Makeover

Get ready...this blog is getting a makeover! Well, as soon as I can figure out how...and have time to do it. I'm ready to update the background and side panels now that my baby is almost 6 months old. HA.

So, does anyone have any tips and tricks or know how to do this efficiently? How bout where to get a new background? I need some major help! :)

Recipes

Lots of people have been asking for the recipes I use to make our dinners. I have decided to post them here for the dinners we had this week. I will also try to go back and post the recipes for the previous weeks on those posts as well.

Monday: We ate leftover chili from the weekend Superbowl festivities

Tuesday: Beef Broccoli (I found this super easy recipe online a while back and we like it)

1 lb beef cut into thin slices

6 cups cut broccoli

Gravy: 2.5 cups water, 3 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/3 cup soy sauce

Marinade: 2 Tbsp cornstarch, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp ginger, 2 cloves garlic

1. Mix marinade and pour over beef. Let sit for 30 minutes before.

2. Heat Tbsp oil in pan. Stir fry meat for 1 min. Add broccoli and cook 3-4 mins. Add gravy and bring to a boil.

3. Cook for another 4-5 mins to thicken.

Wednesday: {Crock Pot} Honey Garlic Ginger Chicken

Thursday: {Crock Pot} No Peek Beef Stroganoff (*I substituted beef broth for the red wine*)

Friday: Dinner with friends for a birthday

Saturday: Pork Tenderloin

Well, I hope those links work for you! Let me know if you need anything else!