Happy Easter!

The Schultz Family celebrated Easter today by cleaning out all the garbage in our garage, back yard, green house & shed (a whole truck full). We also mowed, raked and fertilized the lawn. Wohoo us!

Happy Easter everyone! :) 

Eh, it was a pretty busy day! Actually, all our days are pretty busy preparing for this move - it seems like I go from closet to closet and room to room just organizing and consolidating. I've made two trips to the Goodwill so far :) Anyway, here's a little Landon love to celebrate the day:

Meal Plan #8!

April 24th - 30th

Well well well... we find ourselves at week 8, week 8? Who thought I'd make it that far??? Not me! But I'm actually loving this meal planning thing, really. It's so nice to have a plan instead of wondering every morning what the heck I should take out, or accidentally forgetting to take something out and then 3pm rolls around and I find myself scrambling. That sucks. I know this is late again and to be honest I completely forgot yesterday, but in my defense, I've been packing some boxes for the move and most importantly organizing and getting rid of a lot of CRAP!

OK... On with it!

Actually, this week will only be through Wednesday because we're going camping Thur - Sun. And what week I am planning is going to consist of EASY PEASY stuff! Camping should be fun - we actually do have to plan food for that but I think for the most part it will consist of turkey burgers, hot dogs, cold sammies, and quick breakfasts. Fun stuff!

Sunday: Rotisserie Chicken <-- Adam's recipe... and it was BOMB! Happy Easter!

Monday: BBQ Chicken Pizza <-- Cause we have a load of chicken left over and I love me some pizza! My own recipe but I found another crust recipe here.

Tuesday: BBQ'd Steaks! <-- Cause it just sounds good!

Wednesday: Hamburger Helper :::blush::: <-- in my defense, we are trying to clear out our cupboards for the move and all the "boxed" foods, which we generally don't eat anymore, are either getting tossed or donated =/ 

Sorry about the crap week I guess?!?! And guess what my grocery list looks like...

The Grocery List:

:::crickets:::

That's right, notta daaaamn thing :)

Cheers peeps!

Moooovin' on up!

Or just moving! 
Yup, you heard me right - we've made the decision to finally - finally - get the heck out of Spokane! We'll be moving back over to somewhere in western Washington. I say somewhere because really we might be homeless for a little bit while we get settled back in the mix over there. Good thing my parents have a little studio apartment type guest house... riiiiight mom & dad??? :)

It wasn't an easy decision, it's still not. Pretty much everything came to a head these last few months and I mean everything - what else could have went wrong? **knock's on wood** 

Adam and I have had lots (and I mean LOTS) of talks about it, the last few weeks especially. We barely talk about anything else anymore =/ After college, Spokane became home for us. Our stable, good jobs were here. Our friends were here. Our house was here. We liked it here. We were happy here. 

And then, the market crashed - our house is worth next to nothing what it was when we bought it. We lost our good, stable jobs. We racked up debt. We had a baby - which racked up further debt (about triple what we anticipated having a baby would cost). While we have support from some of our friends here and we most definitely have as much family support as they can give from 300 miles away - it's hard having well, no one. No one to fall back on if we need a night out. Or if we have an appointment. Or if we need a free hour just to ourselves. We are it. And it's harder than I ever thought it would be.
In all those talks Adam and I have been having it always - always - comes back to one thought and reason...

It's best for Landon's future. 

Being a parent sure does change your perspective of things eh? 
  
I'm not going to lie or sugar coat it but no one talks about these things, so I'm going to.

• We're bankrupt - filed March 17th, 2011. 
• We're working with the bank to (hopefully) receive a loan modification and plan to rent our house out.
• We're moving - late-May 2011. 

I'm not ashamed - I'm relieved, and a huge weight feels like it's slowly lifting. Since I said I'm not going to lie - I do however have this overwhelming feeling like I'm being pushed overboard or something... I just need to find my life raft. Sink or swim right? 

What an exciting, scary, exhilarating and sad thing though - all in one! 

1 Year Checkup!

April 15th, Landon had his 1 year check up!

Little man... well, continues to be little! :) He's gained 2 pounds and 1 inch since his 9 month check up and Dr. C said - as he bounced around the exam room - that he's quite the curious little guy! We knew that. =/ 

Here's a little re-cap of the last year:

AGE	WEIGHT	HEIGHT	HEAD
Birth:	6lbs 14oz	18.5in	13.5in
9 Days:	7lbs 1oz	19.8in	13.8in
18 Days:	7lbs 7oz	20.5in	14in
1 Month 3 Weeks:	9lbs 4oz	22in
2 Months 2 Weeks		22in
4 Months 2 Weeks:	15lbs 1oz	25in	16.8in
5 Months 2 Weeks:	16lbs 8oz
6 Months 2 Weeks:	18lbs	27in	17.5in
9 Months 1 Week:	20lbs 1oz	28in	18in
11 Months	21lbs 5oz
11 Months 4 Weeks:	22lbs
1 Year:	22lbs 1oz	29in	18.3in

The only question I had for Dr. C was to see if you can over feed a 1 year old?! The kid eats... like NON-stop. Seriously. Last night, he ate more than I did at dinner?! Is that normal???? She said that as long as he's self feeding (like off his own tray, not from a jar or bottle) then he'll stop when he's done. Honestly, I haven't seen him stop yet?! He does the occasional hand over the edge to feed the dog, but then the next bite goes right in the mouth?! Crazy kid. But I guess we'll just continue on as we have been cause she said he's healthy and looks great!

He got 3 pricks in his thighs and one blood draw and we were done! Happy boy! Did you know though, when Dr. C was telling me about the Chicken Pox vaccine that we were about to get - after a child gets the vaccine, actual Chicken Pox can be passed through their dirty diapers for the next few days?!?! Good thing Adam and I have both had it! And also that Landon has a very very small chance of developing a very very mild case of it in the next week or so?! Ugh, the thought of that makes my skin itch... actually, it has been since she told me that. Yuck. I had the Chicken Pox twice... just FYI =/

And then I got to tell Dr. C that we were moving and this was probably the last time that we'll be in to see her ::insert sad face here:: I'm bummed! When you find a doctor that you love it's so hard to leave and even more dreadful to have to find someone new. 

Side note: I don't think I've mentioned moving before now... detailed blog post soon to come :) If you know me you probably know some details but eh, yeah, they're plentiful - the details that is. 

Meal Plan #7!

April 17th - 23rd

I realize it's the 18th already... I have no excuses - OOPS!

Last week was awesome! I did every single recipe on my list - not all on the correct days of course but that's the first week so far that I didn't totally go astray! :) Wohoo! Go me! Additionally, not one thing was bad! Every.Single.Day was oh so yummy! I have to share some pictures because it was all just that good!

Enjoy!

The Pizza - which I ended up making on Tue... then again on Sat! =/

The Aussie Chicken!

The Wet Burritos!

Oh, and the Orange Chicken (which I posted here)!

:::drools::: 

Ok, on to week 7!

Sunday: We didn't cook... anything =/

Monday: Stuffed Pork Chops <--- My own recipe!

Tuesday: Rotisserie Sirloin Tip (I think?!) Roast <--- This is Adam's deal... rotisserie anything is goooood though!

Wednesday: Crock Pot Chicken with Black Beans

Thursday: Broiled Tilapia with Garlic

Friday: Refraining from using the Pizza (again?!?!) It's so good! Ugh, K - Tator Tot Casserole

Saturday: TBD... as usual?!

The Grocery List:

Pork Loin Chops

Stuffing

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can black beans

1 can corn

Salsa

8oz cream cheese

3 Tilapia fillets

1 lemon

1lb ground beef

Cream of Mushroom soup

1 onion

1 bag tator tots

mushrooms

Swiss cheese

Broccoli (cause I like to use broccoli in the casserole rather than spinach)

Cheers!

Hairs!

Wow... it's been a long time coming!

We had a little incident at the coffee shop with the lady calling him "such a cute girl" and then then the other day the bank teller asked if "she's old enough to have a sucker" I thought it was time that he definitely needed a hair cut!!! :) I mean, those curls are cute but come on, really? a girl?

I was going to take him to this place in town that specializes in kids cuts but I didn't realize it was WAY up on the Northside of town and Adam wasn't having it so we went to this place called The Man Shop... lol, they specialize in men's cuts (obviously) - decked out with a pool table, xbox, TV's at every cutting station so they put on tunes for us, and of course... pretty girls wearing carpenter belts! ;) Landon did fairly well considering he badly needed a nap. I of course forgot my camera at home (duh!) and my cell phone takes crappy pictures unless he's holding really still so obviously I couldn't get a good pic of him in the chair but here's one of him in his carseat on the way home... 

OMG - where did my little man go????

 

Panda Express Orange Chicken

I don't think I've ever come across a copycat recipe that was as close to the original as this one... OMG it was almost better I think! And look how pretty this is!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken breast meat
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 cups vegetable oil to be used for frying
• 1 cup cornstarch

Orange Sauce

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 2 tablespoons chopped scallion

Directions:

1. Cut chicken breast into 1/2-inch cubes, set aside.
2. To make marinade – combine egg white, salt and sugar in a bowl and stir vigorously until ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Add chicken cubes to marinade and stir to coat well.
3. To make orange sauce – combine water, ketchup, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, 4 teaspoons cornstarch and sesame oil; stir and set aside. Place a pot over high heat. When pot is hot, add the 2tablespoons vegetable oil and heat. Add orange peel and scallion and stir for about 20 seconds, taking care not to burn the orange peel.
4. Pour combined sauce ingredients into the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened, about 12-15 minutes.
5. Preheat 4 cups oil to 350-375°F. Meanwhile, put marinated chicken in the plastic baggie drain well and set aside. Add fried chicken to pot with heated orange sauce, stir for about 30 seconds, and then serve immediately. containing the cornstarch. Shake chicken well for about 20 seconds or until chicken is covered with cornstarch. Shake off all excess cornstarch and fry chicken in hot oil until golden brown, approximately 2 1/2 minutes. Remove chicken from oil with a slotted spoon,
6. Serve with steamed rice.

It's a little bit of a time consuming recipe but it turned out excellent! The only thing I would change for next time is that I like mine a little more spicy so I think I'd throw in some red pepper flakes or something to give it a little kick - otherwise, it's absolutely perfect!

 

Kalua Pig

Have you ever been to the islands?

I've only been once but we went to an authentic luau where they roasted a pig in the ground and it was AH-mazing. Literally.

This recipe is the closest I've had to that since and it's literally the easiest thing ever to cook. Three ingredients?! I found it at Allrecipes.com. Wow. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 6lb Pork butt roast (also known as a shoulder roast - bone in or out)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke

Directions:

1. Pierce pork all over with a carving fork. Rub salt then liquid smoke over meat. Place roast in a slow cooker.
2. Cover, and cook on Low for 16 to 20 hours, turning once during cooking time.
3. Remove meat from slow cooker, and shred, adding drippings as needed to moisten.

I do make a few changes to the recipe - as usual! I usually slice a whole yellow onion and throw it in the bottom of the crock, along with some minced garlic.

Oh it's so yummy! My favorite is to have it over a sushi style white rice and a cole slaw on the side. PERFECT! Tonight we had it with a chardonnay, which seems to be my go to wine cause I almost always have it on hand :) My husband isn't a real fan of this style of food so he almost always throws it on a bun with the cole slaw and some BBQ sauce?! Still good I suppose!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Meal Plan #6! And then some :)

April 10th - 16th

Well, week 5 was a bust! Other than the French's Onion chicken the rest of the week just went to... well... shit. That chicken is always good and the tweaks I make were just mouth watering. Yum. The only other day I kind of followed the meal plan was Wednesday - word to the wise - don't follow that link or try the enchiladas. Bleck. After spending a pretty penny on that cut of meat, following the directions to a T and spending the better half of my afternoon in the kitchen prepping things... it wouldn't shred and was SO dry. I ended up thawing out a pound of ground venison real quick and frying that up for the filling. They were pretty good but dinner was over an hour later than I had anticipated. 

Thursday though we went to Northern Lights Brewery for dinner. Here's a little restaurant review for anyone who's thought about trying them out... DO IT! O.M.G - so good. 

I knew they had good beer cause we've been a few times but I'd never eaten dinner there. We started out with some drinks; Adam got the Solar Winds - it's a seasonal beer there and while it's pretty hoppy, boy was it good. 

We got the Sesame Seared Ahi and the Manila Clams for appetizers - I was a little skeptical of the Ahi cause I've never had sushi before but it was SO good and the little crusted cheese thing that comes with it was to die for :) The clams were really good too - they were in a buttery sauce that was FULL of whole cloves of roasted garlic, YUM!

We were all over the pallet for our entree's - from a burger to the Fish Taco's, a Reuben and the Cod Fish and Chips - everything was so good. I have to say... I make a mean fish taco, but this thing had the best peach mango salsa on top that my mouth is watering thinking about it! 

OK - so on to the meal plan...

Sunday: Kalua Pig

Monday: Panda Express Orange Chicken w/stir fried vegetables

Tuesday: Wet Burritos

Wednesday: Pasta Primavera with Smoked Gouda

Thursday: Aussie Chicken --> Have I done this? I feel like I have but it sounds so yummy!

Friday: Homemade Pizza (I'm listing my preferred toppings in the grocery list)

Saturday: TBD :)

The Grocery List:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Bacon

Mushrooms

Colby Jack Cheese

1lb ground beef

Onion

Diced green chilies

Refried beans

Chili w/out beans

Tomato soup

Enchilada Sauce

12 inch flour tortillas

Lettuce

Tomato

Mexican cheese blend shredded cheese

Green onion

Whole wheat penne pasta

Zucchini

Green Pepper

Carrots

Stewed Tomatoes

Parmesan Cheese

Smoked Gouda Cheese

Chicken Broth

Soy Sauce

Sesame Oil

Scallion

Frozen stir fried vegetables

Pork Butt :) 

Hawaiian sea salt

Liquid Smoke

Dry Active Yeast

Pepperoni

Italian Sausage

Black Olives

Aaaaaaand... For your viewing pleasure - we had our last session with Moxie Images right before Landon's birthday. Here's a few of my fav's!!!

Cheers!

We're 1 now!

I just realized that I never updated on how Landon was feeling after his little stomach bug last week :( Poor kid. 

After he got that Zofran at the urgent care clinic we didn't have anymore puke fests however we did spike a pretty good fever for the next 24 hours. 

It sucked.

But we made it through! The next morning since he still had a fever over 101f I called Dr. C's office; she was out, but the nurse said he should be fine as long as he's content and if Tylenol is keeping it down. He spent most of his birthday on Tuesday asleep in my arms. He was just exhausted and so lethargic! 

I was supposed to leave on Wednesday for western WA so I was little concerned if we'd be able to make it. I spent what little time he'd give me packing us up in hopes that we'd be able to leave.

The next morning he didn't have a fever and he kept some breakfast down so off we went! We had a fabulous 5 or so days over there with family and friends. We celebrated his 1st birthday and he got his very first 4-wheeler! He also enjoyed a little cupcake this time... kind of, before he dumped it frosting side down on the floor :) Such fun.

Weeeee!

Just a little messy :)

I also got to enjoy a little slice of heaven, just in case you don't know what I mean, by slice... I mean actual slice...

I had to make it BIG!

That's Cloverleaf people. I drive 5 hours just to eat it... I have no clue why it's so good!

Meal Plan #5!

April 5rd - 9th

Another short week - if you recall, I was out of town until the night of the 4th so this week our meal plan started on the 5th :) I know I'm posting this late too but I had it planned... I swear :) What an easy peasy week!!!

Tuesday: French's Onion Chicken (with a twist!) - I did a play on Chicken Cordon Bleu, I flattened out the breasts and rolled them up with Smoked Gouda Cheese and ham in the middle, then prepared as directed for the French's Chicken... Adam said it was the best chicken I've ever made! YUM! :)

Wednesday: Shredded Beef Enchilada's

Thursday: My auntie is going to be in town and wants to take us to dinner! Wohoo! Night out! :)

Friday: Macaroni & Cheese

Saturday: TBD

The Grocery List:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
French's Onions
2 slices ham
Gouda cheese
2-3lbs beef chuck roast
1 onion
corn tortillas
Montery Jack Cheese
Enchilada seasoning (can or packet)
1/2 lb Velveeta
Elbow macaroni
Cheddar cheese
Ritz crackers