I eat a hamburger about 2x a year, but when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. I love spicy food and it sounded delicious. Try it and let me know what you think.
3 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded (I only used 2 and it was quite spicy)
1 t. olive oil
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 pkg. (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. salt
1 t. lemon-pepper seasoning
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. paprika
2 lbs. ground beef
4 slices pepper Jack cheese (we used provolone b/c I already knew they'd be spicy)
4 hamburger buns
Lettuce, tomato, guacamole if wanted
1. Brush jalapenos with oil. Grill, covered, over medium heat 3-5 minutes or until tender, turning occasionally. (I used our George Foreman since they were little peppers and it only took about 2 minutes). When cool enough to handle, finely chop. In a small bowl, combine the bacon, cream cheese and jalapeno until blended.
2. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, salt, lemon-pepper, pepper and paprika. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 8 thin patties. Spoon bacon mixture onto center of four patties; top with remaining patties and press edges firmly to seal.
3. Grill burgers, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from heat for 6-7 minutes on each side until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees and juices run clear. Top with cheese. Cover and cook 1-2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
4. Grill buns, cut side down, over medium heat for 30-60 seconds or until toasted. Serve burgers on buns with lettuce, tomato and guacamole.
Yum!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Moving???
Jeff and I are toying with the idea of upgrading our home. Yes, moving to a new home. I do love our home (even though I prayed our bid wouldn't be accepted) as it has so many memories of us raising our kids here and being our first home together as a family and a couple. But, there are probably two major things that drive me crazy about it as well.
#1 - I can't stand our kitchen. It is tiny, tiny, tiny. I always get stressed out when we have company because there is absolutely no room for help in the kitchen and no where to put anything. Dishes pile up, people are practically standing on each other and every time you turn around someone is in your space. So, yes, I would love, love, love a bigger kitchen, more counter space and more storage space.
#2 - Siahna still wakes up during the night sometimes and having her in the basement is not a fun trek to make during the middle of the night. Often, it is a couple of trips during the night or early morning. I would love to have all of us on the same level and would just feel better knowing my babies are close and I could hear them if they called.
So, Jeff and I have started talking about moving. We kind of feel like if we make that major move, we should move in the next year before Case starts school so that he's not uprooted and has to start a new school and make new friends. This morning I asked him (Case) what he would think if we moved to a new house. He burst into tears and said, "But, I like my bunk bed. I don't want to leave it." I guess I should have done a better job of explaining what moving meant before I asked him. :)
The hardest part is trying to figure out where in the city we would want to live if we could move anywhere. You have to consider the school districts. Jeff's work. Aunt Dido. Having access to shopping, libraries, rec centers, bike trails, parks, etc. The city seems so huge when you start looking at all those things.
I would like for my readers to leave a comment on what you would look for in a new home. What's important to you? What's a must have in your next home?
#1 - I can't stand our kitchen. It is tiny, tiny, tiny. I always get stressed out when we have company because there is absolutely no room for help in the kitchen and no where to put anything. Dishes pile up, people are practically standing on each other and every time you turn around someone is in your space. So, yes, I would love, love, love a bigger kitchen, more counter space and more storage space.
#2 - Siahna still wakes up during the night sometimes and having her in the basement is not a fun trek to make during the middle of the night. Often, it is a couple of trips during the night or early morning. I would love to have all of us on the same level and would just feel better knowing my babies are close and I could hear them if they called.
So, Jeff and I have started talking about moving. We kind of feel like if we make that major move, we should move in the next year before Case starts school so that he's not uprooted and has to start a new school and make new friends. This morning I asked him (Case) what he would think if we moved to a new house. He burst into tears and said, "But, I like my bunk bed. I don't want to leave it." I guess I should have done a better job of explaining what moving meant before I asked him. :)
The hardest part is trying to figure out where in the city we would want to live if we could move anywhere. You have to consider the school districts. Jeff's work. Aunt Dido. Having access to shopping, libraries, rec centers, bike trails, parks, etc. The city seems so huge when you start looking at all those things.
I would like for my readers to leave a comment on what you would look for in a new home. What's important to you? What's a must have in your next home?
Friday, March 23, 2012
We Survived
I offered to host my brother's three kids this past week while the boys were on spring break. Every time I do this, I somehow forget how wild and crazy 5 kids can be in one little house! Sunday night, I headed back to CO from spending the weekend in NE with 5 little kids and one me. Thankfully, all of them are pretty good travelers and watched movies the whole way back. I will admit, though, that I am one person who is not cut out for more than two kids. Feeding them is probably the most challenging thing during the day. They all want to eat at the same time and complain about who got their plate first. I have Siahna climbing onto the oven while I'm making food, the boys walking around asking when lunch will be ready and Corinne asking for help to dress her baby.
Not only that, but we have a yard that they can't play in because we just reseeded it last fall so the grass is just starting to grow and it was pretty chilly all week so when they went outside it wasn't for long. On top of that, the two activities that I did take them to, cost almost $100 for 5 kids to do. Oh, and buckling them all into their carseats takes about 10 minutes so I had to always plan ahead when we had to be somewhere by a certain time. I seriously don't know how people with multiple children do it. I love those kids dearly, but I will admit that I did breathe a sign of relief last night when Katie's parents picked them up.
Shiloh took Monday off and went to Treehouse Discovery with us (indoor play area).
Corinne loves to play dress-up.
Day 2 we went to Monkey Bizness. This is the slide that the boys spent 2 hours playing on. Corinne would climb to the top, get scared to come down, bounce around at the top, push the boys down the slide and then come down on the ladder. She did this multiple times.
The jungle gym at Monkey Bizness.
Day 3 we went to the Littleton Museum (it's free!) and walked around the farm. The boys found this leftover hay maze from Halloween and had a blast playing on it.
Kyler is hard to see but he's right behind Corinne's head.
Not only that, but we have a yard that they can't play in because we just reseeded it last fall so the grass is just starting to grow and it was pretty chilly all week so when they went outside it wasn't for long. On top of that, the two activities that I did take them to, cost almost $100 for 5 kids to do. Oh, and buckling them all into their carseats takes about 10 minutes so I had to always plan ahead when we had to be somewhere by a certain time. I seriously don't know how people with multiple children do it. I love those kids dearly, but I will admit that I did breathe a sign of relief last night when Katie's parents picked them up.
Shiloh took Monday off and went to Treehouse Discovery with us (indoor play area).
Corinne loves to play dress-up.
Day 2 we went to Monkey Bizness. This is the slide that the boys spent 2 hours playing on. Corinne would climb to the top, get scared to come down, bounce around at the top, push the boys down the slide and then come down on the ladder. She did this multiple times.
The jungle gym at Monkey Bizness.
Day 3 we went to the Littleton Museum (it's free!) and walked around the farm. The boys found this leftover hay maze from Halloween and had a blast playing on it.
Kyler is hard to see but he's right behind Corinne's head. Friday, March 16, 2012
Minnesota
Jeff survived a three day weekend by himself with Siahna, while Case and I flew to Minneapolis to visit friends.
We landed around 10pm and Case was a trooper never complaining. He was super excited to see his friends Caeden & Avery (my friend Holly's kids).
The first day was spent with Caeden & Avery at the Mall Of America doing a little bit of shopping and a lot of riding rides in the amusement park.
Carousel
Ferris Wheel
Case had a blast on these rides and it was perfect for his age because he was able to do most rides by himself. 
Sunday, we met my old roommate Steph at a gears museum. The boys enjoyed running from one activity to the next exploring how toys work. It was quite fun.
Holly & I - we've been friends since high school. She's truly like a sister. Love her!
Exploring with lights.Unfortunately, I never got a picture with Steph but Case and I spent a night with her and had a relaxing time hanging out. There's nothing like spending quality time with friends from way back when who know you well.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Another Trip to Children's
Today was hopefully our last trip to Children's Hospital. I think we're done. We're spending lots of money on visits to neurology, genetics, specialists of this, specialists of that, only to hear that "we can't diagnosis her with anything but let's do some tests and see you back in for a check-up in 3-6 months." When your child starts crying as soon as you step into the room to weigh them, you know you've been there too many times.
Today, we met with a neurologist who specializes in movements. While the meeting was encouraging and another thing to check off our list, she again couldn't come up with any reasons for Siahna's delays. She did come up with 2 possibilities of things to test for (which require doing spinal taps) but said that there was probably only a 1-5% chance that these would be a diagnosis for Siahna. One of the possibilities would be a diet changing "fix" that is very structured and monitored by Children's. Although it helps with the symptoms it would never fix Siahna's delays. The other possibility would involve a pill that Siahna would take the rest of her life and would fix everything. She also suggested that we could try putting her on these drugs over a 6 week period, slowly increasing her dosage to a full level, and see if there was improvement or not. This would avoid a spinal tap and would be a clear sign on whether it worked or not and was the cause of her delays. While this sounds awesome, it also involves a lot of serious side effects while her body adjusts to the drugs.
Her last suggestion was to just wait and see, which is what we'll probably do. We feel that over the last 2 weeks our world has changed drastically as Siahna has started responding yes/no to questions and this new way of communicating has changed everything. We are realizing that her "vocabulary" is huge and that for some reason she can now respond to our questions or go get a specific toy when 2 weeks ago she would give a blank stare.
Honestly, I feel like Siahna has made us appreciate life so much more and take less and less for granted. I don't remember Case's first steps, where he was, how it happened (maybe I'm just a bad parent), but I know that Siahna's first steps will always be etched in my mind. Her first words and full on walking will earn her a celebration trip (place TBD) because these are things that we have to celebrate and rejoice in her accomplishments because they are huge.
As we left Children's today, Case asked Jeff is that doctor had ideas on how to get Siahna to walk and talk. Case said he couldn't wait to have her chase him around the back yard and be a super hero with him. It brought tears to our eyes because we can't wait for that day either and rejoice with each step along her journey because she is working so hard at each and every thing she is learning.
Today, we met with a neurologist who specializes in movements. While the meeting was encouraging and another thing to check off our list, she again couldn't come up with any reasons for Siahna's delays. She did come up with 2 possibilities of things to test for (which require doing spinal taps) but said that there was probably only a 1-5% chance that these would be a diagnosis for Siahna. One of the possibilities would be a diet changing "fix" that is very structured and monitored by Children's. Although it helps with the symptoms it would never fix Siahna's delays. The other possibility would involve a pill that Siahna would take the rest of her life and would fix everything. She also suggested that we could try putting her on these drugs over a 6 week period, slowly increasing her dosage to a full level, and see if there was improvement or not. This would avoid a spinal tap and would be a clear sign on whether it worked or not and was the cause of her delays. While this sounds awesome, it also involves a lot of serious side effects while her body adjusts to the drugs.
Her last suggestion was to just wait and see, which is what we'll probably do. We feel that over the last 2 weeks our world has changed drastically as Siahna has started responding yes/no to questions and this new way of communicating has changed everything. We are realizing that her "vocabulary" is huge and that for some reason she can now respond to our questions or go get a specific toy when 2 weeks ago she would give a blank stare.
Honestly, I feel like Siahna has made us appreciate life so much more and take less and less for granted. I don't remember Case's first steps, where he was, how it happened (maybe I'm just a bad parent), but I know that Siahna's first steps will always be etched in my mind. Her first words and full on walking will earn her a celebration trip (place TBD) because these are things that we have to celebrate and rejoice in her accomplishments because they are huge.
As we left Children's today, Case asked Jeff is that doctor had ideas on how to get Siahna to walk and talk. Case said he couldn't wait to have her chase him around the back yard and be a super hero with him. It brought tears to our eyes because we can't wait for that day either and rejoice with each step along her journey because she is working so hard at each and every thing she is learning.
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