I finally tried to make enchiladas...

Don't lose or forget this recipe!

from can of La Victoria's Enchilada Sauce:

4 corn tortillas
3 oz shredded mild cheddar cheese
3 oz shredded Montery Jack cheese
1/4 c. chopped yellow onion
1 T. oil (for frying - might be less)
1 can (10 oz) La Victoria Enchilada Sauce

Preheat oven to 350*. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Fry each tortilla 3 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels. Mix the two shredded cheeses together and set aside 2 oz cheese. Pour a small amount of enchilada sauce in a shallow pan. Coat both sides of the torilla in the enchilada sauce. Fill each tortilla with 1 oz of cheese, 1 T. onion and 1 T. sauce. Roll tortillas and place seam side down in casserole dish. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake at 350* for 15 min. Remove from oven and cool for 5 min before serving.
Serves 2-3

My notes: I used 6 tortillas (easier to split for 3 adults). Added cooked chicken to all tortillas, no cheese on two (for me!) My onion wasn't chopped small enough to some bites were more onion than chicken - ewwwww. Otherwise a very good and simple recipe. I had two enchiladas left over but were quickly eaten the next day. :)
BUT Nina got fussy two days after eating this. It may have been too spicy for her, or it was the pepperoni pizza we had the day before she became fussy. Hmmmm. Probably won't try this one again until we find the root of the fussiness.

Hi Renne'!

My good friend Renne' Gilliam is almost done with her year in South Africa, but she has FINALLY begun a blog! There is a link to her page on the sidebar. Check it out & you've got to see her pictures!!

7 Secrets of Calm Moms

This article was published in Parenting, September 2004. I've kept it around as a reminder.

1. Figure out what sets you off
2. Don't take it personally
3. Ask for what you really need
4. Don't leave your home without portable entertainment
5. Count to ten... and back again
6. Gain some perspective
7. Stop beating yourself up

Here is each point explained but in my own words

1. "A mom meltdown doesn't appear out of nowhere." I am impatient when: it's raining, I'm in a hurry, have a headache, or feel helpless. What can I do to prevent or alleviate these? A) carry an umbrella in the car, B) allow more time than I think I need, C) carry Extra-Strength Tylenol in my purse, D) ask God for help!

2. When a child is crying in the store or someone needs discipline I try to remember that other kids do this too. This time it's mine, next time it might be yours. When I see other kids act up or babies crying, I USUALLY don't judge the parent. And my friends (who have normal children too) are very gracious & understanding. I try to be that for them (or strangers.)

3. What can make me happy (or calm?) I can't ask Will to be perfect or to stop what he's doing. Both of those are completely foreign concepts to him. But I can redirect his focus; help him change activities. Worst case scenario I have to be honest with David and not an impatient, emotional mess. If I need time alone to process or pray or cry I need to say so.

4. The title seemed misleading the first time but it really is practical. Will is not entertained by finger puppets but he does like books, cars and baby's rattles.

5. For me, this is knowing when to freak out and when not to, very similar to number six.

6. Two ways to see this: 1) knowing the difference between inconvenience and catastrophe, and 2) knowing that these struggles will not last forever. Sharpie on my beautiful island, lotion puddles on the carpeted stairs, water spills. The Sharpie incident required discipline (he knows he's not supposed to open that drawer) but it could've been scissors. The lotion was an accident and luckily it didn't leave a stain. Water spills are inconvenient for sure, especially when I find them with my socks. But we have been blessed and protected from so many other accidents. My mom encourages me often with "he won't go to college like this." It reminds me that we are training him for the future but also that somethings will take time. The truth is that he won't go to college with his pacifier or not knowing how to take a nap. He won't go to college still wearing a diaper.

7. "Calm moms don't keep track of mistakes." So maybe he watched too much TV the other day, or I lost it & it upset him. Maybe my heart wasn't in the right place when I disciplined him. I have to move on. Fix or change the root of the problem (when it's mine!) and get ready for tomorrow.

Tiredness & Maturity

I was at the neighbor's house a few nights ago and Nina was fighting sleep. Very normal for her age. She was arching her back and crying, very obviously frustrated. Someone made a comment like "why do we have to be adults before we can admit that we're tired?" So true. My baby doesn't want to miss what's going on, she doesn't want to sleep, she is soooo tired but isn't mature enough to recognize it. Will is only a little further down that path. When he's overtired every little thing will set him off. I read several books on sleep habits and the most useful thing I gleaned is this: catch them BEFORE they're overtired. That's easy with Nina - she has the usual sleepy cues of rubbing her eyes or ears or just zoning. Will has NO cues. He goes from being a happy kid who is playing well to a tired little guy who isn't sure what to do with himself very quickly. Unfortunately it is a slippery slope at that point. He can very quickly disintegrate into an overtired fit. Right now it is 2 o'clock, a while past his old nap time (he used to go down at 1 pm.) We realized that scheduling nap times by the clock was part of our problem. Some days he got to play most of the morning and was tired at noon. Other days we went grocery shopping and he might not get tired until 2. My hope is that by this time next year we will be a little more scheduled. He will recognize numbers then. When he's good at that I want to put a digital clock in his room with other clocks nearby indicating when is a good time to get out of bed in the morning and quiet time. I really don't think he'll be taking naps much longer. They're hit & miss right now. He certainly needs the extra sleep!
Anyway, back to my point. It's so common for kids to resist naps and bedtimes. Even sweet, accomodating kids ask to stay up sometimes. Where is that magic moment of maturity? I'm trying to remember.... When did I become old enough to WANT to go to bed? When did I realize that when I stay up I still have to get up in the morning? Was it high school? Was it my first 5-day a week job? Was it when I had to be responsible - when others depended on me? Was it the kids? I can't remember.

Session Cooking?

As the school year is coming up I have been thinking about ways to save time. (Funny that this seems to be timed with the school year, though - almost nothing in my life and schedule will change the first week of September....) Anyway, I have been searching for some menu planning tools. I found software and charts and a lot of time-saving recipes. One plan was for a way to use 35 pounds of ground beef! Wow! If I had another freezer I would have room for this. But not now. I have probably about 8-10 pounds of frozen hamburger and a couple pork chops in there now. I'm just thinking out loud now, but maybe if Will was with Grandma for a whole day I would do this "session cooking" thing. But then where would I put it all?

Niks Piks 2

Just some good pictures taken during Tacoma's Tall Ships Festival....

And two cutie pies!

So many thoughts....

.... so little time! I have had some really good and serious questions that all deserve some attention, some time meditating and contemplating, some exploring, some writing and some prayer. But it has been so crazy lately! Sometime I will find a moment to do this. Until then, keep visiting my Xanga page.... http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=nickieroo