Need Your Help

So I don't have any pictures from this weekend because the kids were at my parents for half of it and the other half we spent relaxing. Or something like it. Relaxing is an activity that really goes away for a while when you have young kids. I remember thinking that when Nate was little. But I also remember that it returned when he got a little older, so thank goodness for that.

But I need your help today and I never ask for participation, so please please humor me. I cook dinner at least 5 nights a week. We go out for dinner probably once a week and the other night we fend for ourselves. Well Nate doesn't fend for himself, but you know what I mean.

Most of the time, I freeze meals ahead of time, or I cook in the crockpot. Especially with 2 kids, I don't have time to cook when we get home for the day.

So, I'm going to share some of my favorite recipes with you and I want you to do the same!! I will publish your contribution for all to see.

I'll start...

Cheesy Enchilada Soup (Paula Deen with my modifications)

1 lb ground beef or chuck
2 cans enchilada sauce
2 cans tomato sauce (small ones)
1 can corn, drained
1 can chili beans, drained
1 can Northen beans, drained (optional, I don't include these)
1 can Fire Roasted tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cumin
Dash of chili powder - to taste (optional)
1 1/2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese

I'm sure you could include onions too, but we don't eat those. I have done black beans instead of chili beans, that's good too.

Brown ground beef. Combine all but cheese in crock pot and cook on low for as long as you have time. About 10 minutes before serving, add cheese and stir. Serve with sour cream and more cheese on top. You can do easy in-the-box corn muffins or tortilla chips.

So yummy! Makes enough for our dinner, Scott's lunch the next day, and a large tupperware container to freeze.

Now it's your turn, please leave a recipe in the comments section or send it to me at abathaboyle@hotmail.com. Thank You!

Happy 3 months Lila!

From this...

To this...

in 3 short months :)

Lila is 3 months old! I can't believe it, really. But I can believe why people get addicted to babies. She is so sweet & cuddly and we all can't get enough.

Here are a few things Lila is up to these days...

• Lila probably weighs between 13-14 lbs and is most likely 23 inches long. I haven't gotten out the scale or the ruler.


• Lila is wearing 3 month and some 3-6 month clothes. In all honesty, the 3-6 month are a little big, but if it is one thing I can't stand, it is for babies & little kids clothes to be tight.


• Lila found her hands this month and the way she clasps them in front of her is so.darn.cute.


• She still has lots of nicknames: LiLi Bell, Lila Lulu Bell, and Sister Lou are sticking.


• Dare I jinx myself and say she is sleeping really well. Whatever we did to make it happen, I'm glad we did it. Although I'm pretty sure we didn't do anything :) Let's hope a 3 month growth spurt doesn't mess up her routine.


• Lila gave up her night swaddle this month. Well, we gave it up for her. She is now in a sleep sack and doing fabulous!


• Lila loves to "talk" and can get her voice going pretty loud at times. I love that she tries to "tell" you what's wrong before she has to cry about it.


• She smiles the biggest at Nate and tries to follow his voice whenever he is in the room. It is getting harder to feed her when he is around because she just wants to pay attention to him.


• Lila is still eating 6 oz bottles and has switched to medium flow. Nate never got off slow flow the.entire.first.year. My oh my how kids can be so different.


• Lila is trying to roll over from front to back, but hasn't quite gotten there yet.

We love love love our little girl so much! She has made the transition to a family of 4 easy in most ways. Nate still loves to see her in the morning and if he gets up before her, he begs us to get her up. I know everyone says this, but I believe I have the best kids! We are so thankful for Lila & Nate and how they enrich* our lives!

*I'll be thinking "enrich" when they are both whining/screaming while I'm making dinner tonight.

76 Degrees

Ahhhhhhh....sunshine and warm weather. Last week, it reached 76 degrees on Thursday. How awesome is that!!?

Well, we thought it was pretty awesome. Pay no attention to the yard. The snow had just melted about 24 hours before. We are going to have one heck of a clean-up when spring is here for real. I think I've convinced Scott to let me hire someone to come clean it up. Score one for me!

While Lila looked on...


Nate ran...

Climbed trees...

and looked for birds.

Shorts. Yes, shorts. Spring, I know you can do it! Come quick!

South Dakota Pooleys

Our bestest friends, the Pooleys, came to visit us from South Dakota this weekend. Can I just say how much we love them? In case you are new to my blog, we met the Pooleys in Nashville when Scott & Ryan were getting their Ph.D's at Vanderbilt. We already had so much in common when we met - just to name a few...Scott & Ryan's birthdays are one day apart and their mothers are named Mary. We were married on April 28th and they were married on July 28th and both Audra and my birthday are in June. But beyond the facts, our families just fit so well together! We are always so happy to get to see them.

Playing in the backyard - wouldn't this have been a good picture if Nate was in a cooperative mood. Oh I forgot, when would that be??

Sweet girls that were happy to pose for a picture...Quinn & Sullivan.

Mrs. Audra meeting the newest addition to our family. Lila will be able to keep up with the big kids next year. Sort of :)

Weather was gorgeous for most of the time they were here. So we of course headed to the Zoo on Friday afternoon. Riding the carousel with Mr. Ryan.

Lila was along for the ride this weekend. She did soooooooo good. Honestly, she is content most of the time. Not much to complain about when you are this cute!

I wish whatever was making the reflection on Scott's face wasn't there, but it was such a good picture I had to include it.

Listening to the Zoo keeper talking about leopard skin.

My boys!

The lovely ladies outside the giraffe exhibit.

On Saturday, we visited the brewery. Poor Nate was battling an ear infection. I think he has only had 3 ear infections in his whole life and not one in 3 years. Thankfully our doctor's office is open on Saturday.

Sweet Lila Lou's first visit to the brewery when she was awake! How many 3 month olds can say they have visited the brewery twice?? I could be embarrassed about that, but I'm not. :)

Another shot of cooperative Nate and sweet Quinn!

Another fabulous visit for the history books. We are so appreciative that the Pooleys made the long trip to come see us! I'm so glad the weather was good to give them a break from the winter. Hopefully the groundhog was right and Spring is right around the corner!!

Oh, and one to close the post. She really can't get any sweeter if I do say so myself.

Sweet Cheeks & Darth Vader

That's pretty much how we roll around here lately. Telling Lila how sweet she is and calling Nate, Darth Vader, instead of Nate. Which he doesn't like, but he does like dressing up like him. The boy does love a costume.

Recent Publications

We've had some recent publications in the Boyle household. First up, Scott got the cover of this journal. I have to admit when he emailed me and said he made the cover, I was surprised when I opened up the picture and saw this thing instead of him. When I told him about it, he said, "What? Did you think I was going to be standing there in my lab coat on the cover????" Well. Yes. I did. Does that make me science dumb? Okay, so I've never denied that! :)

I am so proud of him and his hard work that landed him on the cover. If you are interested in reading the article, just contact his publicist. That would be me.

And next up is the greatest invention ever. A company that turns your blog into a book. A real live book. I'm not great at scrapbooking (despite my friend Tasha's best efforts!) and I'm not really that great at ordering photo prints. But I do keep up my blog. Because it makes me take pictures, document happenings, and of course share with all of you. All 3 of you that read my blog!

Anyway, I went on to http://www.blog2print.com/ and clicked literally 10 times and wah-lah, this book arrived in the mail. I had to reach back to 2008 to get current, but from now on, I'll just do a book every year. I'm so thankful that we can record our lives and keep them forever! Nate and Lila will have to decide who wants to "keep" the books at their house. Oh the conversations about their crazy mother. Oh well, at least they'll have them!

A Quote From A Wise Lady

A wise lady enlightened me this week. Here's what she said.

"You know Abatha, it's true that you will be happier and live longer being married with children, but you sure can look good a hell of a lot longer without Botox when you are unmarried and kidless."

So true. So true wise lady.

Fun Boyle Facts

• Nate's tent has been setup in his room for over 2 weeks. And he's been sleeping in it. Every.night.
• Lila found her hand this week and it is so cute to see her rub her eyes when she's tired!
• Going outside without gloves is just one of life's simple pleasures.
• I never thought I would be so glad to see brown grass. Beats white snow.
• Kitty Paus has been letting Nate pet her lately. Not enough attention from me & Scott I guess. Only took her 5 years.
• There are so many things I've put off thinking about until it gets warm outside.
• I want to re-arrange the furniture in the living room, but there is just not another configuration that makes sense. Bummer.
• I finally finished decorating Lila's room this weekend. She'll be 3 months old in 11 days.
• Scott's laptop is, well, attached to his lap lately. This is good and bad.
• I successfully completed my first trip to Nashville this past week. I should say we successfully completed it. Because it definitely takes all of we.
• And to dovetail on that one, I have the best, THE BEST, co-workers in Nashville. Without their support, I'm not sure what I'd do. I don't deserve them. Yes, they are that good. Ladies - thank you, thank you, thank you for all that you bring to my life.

Spring Teaser

We definitely had a spring teaser this weekend. Have I said lately that I've lost my patience with winter? Well I have. The extended forecast actually looks pretty good and for that I am very thankful. My family can be thankful too because I seem to be in a much better mood when it is warmer outside. And have you noticed that your skin is not so dry when the temperature hits 40 degrees? Well I notice. Yes, I notice things like that.

Emily & Ben gave Nate this awesome craft for his birthday. It has all the pieces and parts to make great constellations. I had actually forgotten about it until Nate reminded me on Friday. He had loads of fun making creations. Oh, and when did he get old enough to use glue by himself? Must have been when I was cleaning the living room floor for the 1,845th time this winter.

Oh, and in case you want to buy a canoe, we have one for sale. Give us a call. We'll make you a good deal. I believe this is the first sunny day when we could get outside to take a picture of aforementioned canoe. We've had it at our house since November.

It was so nice today that we actually sat on the front porch. Lila's first time to be there when it wasn't going to or coming from the car.

My blue eyed beauty...

Nate & Scott went to the Zoo today. Lila & I stayed home and cleaned house. Scott said it was a mess at the Zoo with all the people, they hardly got to see anything. I figure all of the outside venues are going to be that way for a while. There's something about snow being on the ground for 3+ weeks that makes people a little crazy.

We are very excited about our week! Our best friends, the Pooleys, are coming to visit! And it looks like our order for great weather while they are here is going to get filled. They live in South Dakota, so anything above ZERO this time of year is a plus. Well, I think we are going to give them 60 degrees above ZERO. How 'bout that.

Nate Sledding

Doesn't this hill look enormous??!! Glad I wasn't there to watch in person!

Weekend Salvaged

We survived the weekend and it actually turned out way better than I anticipated considering we woke up to more inches of snow on Saturday morning and it was still snowing! Well when it quit snowing, the sun came out and everyone's mood improved. We even got some melt action!

Since it is tradition, Nate and I made Valentine cookies. It was great fun and they were a big hit with Nate & Scott. He has all the sudden turned into a giant. Growing out of pants right and left.

Entertaining Lila with the giraffe or LeBron as Aunt Amanda calls him. :)

I can't get enough! She really is a very sweet baby and just when I say her hair is getting darker, I look at a picture that doesn't show it. It is a little darker, but she is not losing any - her new hair is coming in loud and proud in the front.

Watching the Super Bowl. I can't get a picture that I like of the 2 of us. But I thought I would show our attempt. I need one for my office since it just Nate right now!

We hear that we might just break 50 degrees this weekend. Wouldn't that be something!? And the extended forecast shows us in the 40s next week. Could we really be moving past this horrendous winter???? I'd take 40s and no snow any day. At least until March. Then I expect more. Much more.

Lila's Reaction To Weather Other Than Snow

You say that it really doesn't snow all the time? Cause it's been snowing since I was born. No, Lila, there will be warm days again when we can go to the park, go to the pool, and even the Zoo and Grant's Farm.

Really??

Awesome. I'm all over that.

Dear Winter: You are Just TOO Much. Love, Ab

Well, it's been an interesting week to say the least. My first full week back at work, Lila's first week at the babysitter, Nate's first cavity fill at the dentist, Scott's first trip to a doctor in probably 15 years and lots and lots and lots of snow, sleet, and ice. Oh and the washing machine broke. Seriously.

My first full week back at work was pretty good. I got quite a few things done among the drama that was sure to come my way when I got back "online." Am I looking forward to next week? Um. Sort of.

Lila did great at the babysitter's house. We really like her and her family and are so thankful that we've found such a great place for Lila to be during the day. That was a bright spot to our week.

Nate had his first cavity filled. I.was.so.embarassed. that he had a cavity at such a young age. When the dentist found it about a month ago, he told me not to worry about it, that it was so tiny and not a big deal. Yesterday, Nate was so brave and did a great job in the dentist chair and the dentist even came out to assure me that it was more of a developmental cavity than a "you're not brushing the kid's teeth" cavity and that he sealed the whole tooth to prevent more. Sigh of relief.

We had to find a doctor for Scott this week, the dude never goes to the doctor. But thanks to my sweet friend, JE, he was able to make a good doctor connection.

I LOVE this picture! I wish she was looking more at the camera, but she was too fascinated by the little people on this quilt that a dear colleague made for Nate when he was born. I love the concentration on her face!

Nate does love his sister. Almost to the point of smothering sometimes!

Happy girl! Lila is smiling and cooing and kicking her feet more and more everyday. If we could just get her to stay awake a little more during the day. She does love her sleep! But it doesn't seem to affect her nighttime sleep, so I'm going with it for now.

This would have been a great picture if Lila's hair weren't so wild.

And with all the snow, ice, and sleet and more snow that we are getting today, we'll have to find some more things to do inside. Lovely. Just lovely. Dear Winter, are you kidding me?? Please go away. Please. I'll pay you.

Stay warm!

Unwanted Ice/Sleet Day

Quotes from our unwanted Ice/Sleet Day...at our house we didn't get much snow.

Nate in the living room saying "Bang Bang" over and over again at 7:00 AM.

Me: Nate? It's going to be a long day since we can't go outside. Can you please not say Bang Bang all day?

Nate: Bang Bang!

Me: Help me. Did I not just ask you not to say Bang Bang??

Nate: Yes, you did. But you said "all day" not "right now"

Oh my son, the king of technicalities.


Noticing that Nate does not have a shirt on, just his undershirt.

Me: Nate? Where is your shirt?

Nate: I wrote on it with permanent marker.

Me: Awesome. At least you are honest.


Around 10:30 AM. Both kids screaming, both parents trying to work. Scott looking at me in all seriousness.

Scott: You think the Post is open today?

In case you don't know, the Post is our local bar.


Here's wishing for Spring to come!