Life Lately

Another whirlwind week come and gone.  I seriously stopped in my tracks this morning at the realization that it was already the end of September.  Crazy! 

Our lives have been even more hectic than usual lately it seems. 
Last Monday: appointment with Audrey's ENT to have her tubes checked.  All is good.
Last Tuesday:  appointment with all 4 of the therapists that evaluated Audrey and the coordinator and discussion of the next steps.
Last Wednesday:  appointment with Audrey's pediatrician for her 9 month wellness visit (oops - she was 9 1/2 months+ for this appointment).  Both kids got flu shots and Audrey got another shot. 

Tim was out of town all weekend last weekend so it was just me and the kids.  Somehow we managed to stay busy the entire weekend though, between a haircut for Barrett, grocery shopping, making a few freezer meals (Chicken Chili and  Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili) and a lovely visit from my wonderful friend Jen.  It'll be Tim's turn this weekend when I have to work all weekend. 

This week Audrey came down with something and was home for two days from daycare so Tim and I each had to take a day off to stay home with her.  Poor little thing just looked so pitiful, glassy-eyed and hot and just wanted to be held all day.  Holding her was like holding a lightbulb, she was so hot.  Fortunately she is doing a lot better today, but still not her normal active and happy self.

Work has also been busy since I'm still interviewing applicants for an open position in my department.  It's been really hard to find qualified applicants, believe it or not.  Whomever the recession has been hitting either isn't in my field or in my area!

We had some good meals this week too so wanted to share the recipes.

Slow Cooker French dip -  so easy and delicious.  With only a few ingredients (beef, beef broth, french onion soup and beer) really can't be beat.  Tim claims it's near the top of his list of favorite meals now.

Carnitas - we poured this packaged sauce on a pork roast and simmered in the slow cooker all day.  I try to avoid packaged stuff for both the mystery ingredients and the cost, but it was very flavorful and easy.  We served on corn tortillas with sliced avocado and tomatoes.  This is probably the last of the garden's tomatoes, as it's turning really cold here some days!

One great development in the last few weeks is that now Audrey is eating table food with us!  It's so nice to be able to serve her what we make for ourselves and she's actually a much easier and less picky eater than someone else under 3 feet tall who shall not be named but has the ability to make some mealtimes a nightmare.  Some nights little Audrey devours her food and just eats and eats, even picking food off her bib after we've taken her tray off the chair.  It's so wonderful to see her eating so well and I can only hope the scale will show this when we weigh her again in a few weeks.