Buffalo Chicken Chili

As Rachel Ray would say... Yum O!  Yeah, I know, Cheesy :)

I made this Chili today for the first time for the fam and it was very tasty!  One adjustment I would pre warn you to make is the amount of hot sauce you add.  UNLESS you absolutely love hot hot hot food, do NOT dump 1/2 cup into the chili.  I didn't measure out the amount I used.  I added hot sauce straight from the bottle to the chili, tasted and kept adding until it had the perfect amount of 'heat' for me.

Here is the recipe:  http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/buffalo-chicken-chili/

Finished Chili in the pot

 

Blue Cheese Chips prior to going in the oven

Hockey and Chucky Cheese!

We had a fun day Sunday!  We took Chelsea and Tyler to watch cousin Alyssa's hockey game in Sartell Sunday afternoon and then to Chucky Cheese in St. Cloud with the family afterwards.  It was the first time we have taken Chelsea to Chucky Cheese and Tyler out somewhere besides another person's house or a random errand. 

It was, like always, great for Chelsea to get to see her cousins and run around the rink with them.  Tyler slept the entire time and I had to wake him up during the third period to feed and change him before we got into the car again. Alyssa's team won their game 6-1!

Alyssa took Chelsea around to play all the games that are chelsea friendly and they ended up winning 320 tickets!  I guess Chelsea is really good at hitting the ticket jackpots :)  Chelsea had such a big day running around and burned lots of energy.  It was great getting her out of the house to run.  We have been so couped up for the past few weeks.  Spring can't get here soon enough!

 

Chelsea at the ice rink!

 

Alayna, Chelsea and Ari!

 

Tyler missed out on the action!

 

 It was really cute, Ari kept shouting "go Alyssa" and chelsea copied her and yelled it as well.  Once we got home she started running around the living room shouting "go alyssa"!

 

My brother, Joel, is one of the coaches

 

Tyler is still missing out!

 

I had to take him out of the carseat in the third period so I could get him fed and  changed before we got back into the car.  He slept for a good three hours in the carseat!

 

Alyssa took Chelsea around to play the games at Chucky Cheese!

 

Jackpot!

 

Chelsea squirreled away her tickets in her pocket

 

Chelsea's loot after turning in her tickets.  

 

She was a very happy camper on the way home!



 

Tyler is 2 months!

How time flies!  Tyler is already 2 months old!  My precious little newborn is no longer a newborn :(

We took him to his 2 month appointment today.  The doc says he's very healthy and right on track.  Tyler is 23 1/4 inches (50-75%) and 13 pounds 1 ounce (50-75%).  He's growing like a week and has gained almost 5 pounds since birth!!  4-5 ounces per feeding is the norm for Tyler right now, so I expect him to keep growing fast!

The biggest 'accomplishment' this month is that Tyler has started sleeping through the night!  Knock on wood he keeps it up, but he has been sleeping for approximately 10 hour stretches through the night.  I did NOT expect this.  Chelsea didn't start sleeping through the night for another couple of weeks.  He has also put himself on a loose schedule.  He generally takes a short morning nap, a longer mid day  nap and then another short afternoon nap.  I am feeling very blessed that he has decided to do this for us.  I am big on not putting my kids on strict schedules and to let them to what their body needs.  I couldn't have asked Tyler to put himself on a better schedule!  Maybe he feels a little guilty about how fussy he was for the first 7 weeks :)

He is no longer a 'sack of potatoes'!  He is very alert, smiles at us, coo's and makes really cute 'cat sounding' sounds.  Tyler is more active on his playmat as well.  When I put him on his tummy for tummy time he holds his head up nice and strong and looks around.  I had him up on his elbows the other day and he accidentally 'fell' over onto his back.  It definitely wasn't a real roll over, but was really funny to see his reaction after he did it :)

Since Tyler is such a strong boy we have been putting him in the bumbo chair for short periods of time.  I love the bumbo chair for many reasons.  As long as it's used correctly (I know a lot of people are worried about them... in my opinion it's only human error that can make it dangerous!) it's such a great tool for helping him strengthen himself and learn to sit.  I also love it because i can put him in the chair while i'm cooking a meal and not worry about him having to be in my arms.  He can sit in the middle of my center island and be entertained watching me in the kitchen. 

I am feeling so blessed.  I have a wonderfully healthy and happy 2 year old daughter, a wonderfully healthy and happy 2 month old son and a wonderfully supportive husband.  AND I get to stay home with my kiddos and be part of their lives every single day.  Sometimes I get stressed and wonder if I have what it takes to be a stay at home mom to two very young kids but I wouldn't change my life for the world.  We are going a little stir cray but Once the weather gets a little warmer we'll be able to play outside, go on walks and I'll feel more comfortable bringing them both out of the house at the same time. 

Here are some 2 month pictures of my big boy! :)

Present Opening!

Chelsea opened her presents about an hour after her party ended.  She LOVED every second of it!  Thank you, again, to all of you who celebrated with us!  Chelsea is definitely one spoiled little girl :-)

 

 

winding down after a big day with Uncle Steve!

 

Sleepy!