The Owl

Having a three year old is quite an adventure.  We have our ups and downs here in the Becker house, good behavior and bad behavior.  Sometimes we listen and sometimes we don't.  But what we ALWAYS have is a very imaginative little girl.  These days it's all about the owl.

It all started a few months ago.  Aunt Telcia came over and watched the girls while we were at an OB appointment seeing our little baby in-utero.  When we got home Ila said "Aunt Telcia has a baby in her belly, and mommy has a baby in her belly an
d Ila has an owl in her belly."

An Owl?

"Yes, mommy, Ila has an owl in her belly."

We went with it because it was pretty cute.

A few weeks after that, Ila got up from a nap and wouldn't eat a snack and was moping around the house.  Fairly uncommon behavior for her.  I even tried to give her a cookie and she turned it down.  She laid on the kitchen floor and said " Mommy, my owls hootin'."  Trent, in all is wisdom deduced that Ila had a tummy ache.  Sure enough, within minutes she was in the bathroom barfing and pooping like crazy.

Over the next past weeks (about a month now) Ila has been saying with every little tummy pain (which usually comes right before a poop) "My owls hootin'!" Off she runs to the bathroom to go. It's become pretty funny to us, and we never discouraged or encouraged it, we just go with it.

Then the day came, the day for Aunt Telcia's baby to be born.  I waited several hours to tell Ila that Aunt Telcia was going to have a baby.  Here's how that conversation went:

Me: Ila, Aunt Telcia is going to have her baby today!
Ila: Aunt Telcia is going to have a baby?
Me: Yes, Aunt Telcia and Uncle Jon are going to have their baby today!
Ila: Aunt Telcia is going to have a baby and Uncle Jon is going to have a baby?
... conversation about how the baby will be Aunt Telcia's and Uncle Jon's...
Ila: Can they come over to my house and play?
Me: No, not today.  You can meet the baby in a few days.
Ila: Mommy, can Ila have a baby too?
Me::::pause::::  Ummm, yes, you can, but not yet.
Ila::::longer pause, looks to be really thinking something over::::  Ila needs to have her owl first?
Me::::  silence, unsure how to answer::::
Ila: Yep, Ila needs to have her owl first. Then she can have a baby!
Me::::silence continues, trying to think of SOMETHING to say:::
Ila:::runs off to the living room::: Chessidy!  Aunt Telcia is going to have her baby today! And I can have a baby too, but I have to have my owl first!

So, if you are ever around Ila, and she tells you her owl is hootin' please take her to the bathroom.  I'm not sure when the owl will be born, but I think at this point we're planning on giving her a toy owl when our new baby is born.  A couple more months of carrying around an imaginative owl in her belly can't hurt, right?!

Chessidy, walking

Everyone else is doing well here.  Trent started his new job a few weeks ago and it's going great. He's even had time to continue working with his dad some, and I know he loves that!  Chessidy is walking all over the place and I am doing my best to stay caught up on my household duties and chase after the kids and grow a baby.

The best homemade Fish Tacos you'll ever make/eat!

Nicole's Fish Tacos

Here is what you need:

heavy cream, half and half or fat free half and half

mayo, sour cream or plain greek yogurt

2 habenero peppers

4-6 cloves garlic

2 bunches cilantro

white fish (4 large pieces of tilapia was enough for the 3 of us)

corn tortillas

finely shredded cabbage (they sell packages of shredded cabbage at the store. the also have coleslaw packages, which would work, but I found the cabbage by itself.)

1/4-1/2 onion

2-3 limes

cumin

chili powder

dried oregano

dried dill

olive oil

Awesome sauce

-1 c. mayo, plain greek yogurt or sour cream

-1 c. heavy cream, half and half or fat free half and half

-4-6 cloves garlic (keep in mind that the garlic flavor will get stronger the longer it sits in the fridge, and you will have leftovers)

-1 bunch fresh cilantro

-2 habanero peppers, seeded *USE GLOVES WHEN YOU HANDLE THESE BABIES.  THE WILL BURN YOUR SKIN LIKE CRAZY IF YOU DON'T! (You can use 3 peppers if you REALLY want some kick, but beware that this sauce gets hotter the longer it sits in the fridge and you WILL have leftovers and you WILL want to eat it!)

-Salt to taste. I used approximately 1.5 tsp. sea salt
-One whole lime (the juice from the lime that is, squeeze every last drop out of it!)

Throw it all in a Cuisinart (or blender) until everything is finely chopped and well mixed. Refrigerate while you cook the rest of the meal so it can set-up.

*It WILL be runny if you choose NOT to use mayonnaise and heavy cream, but it will be just as tasty!

**This sauce IS spicy, but not dunk your tongue in milk spicy.  My toddler eats some on her tacos, but if you can't handle any heat, reduce the amount of habanero's.  I do not recommend leaving them out entirely though, as the flavor they give is important and good!

Fish

4 large tilapia fillets, or other white fish

Sprinkle on top of fish:

1.5 tsp cumin (or more!)

1 tsp chili powder (or more!)

some oregano

some dill

squeeze half a lime on fish

drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top.

Stir and cut up the fish while it's cooking (mine looks like the shredded/ground fish when it's done, which sounds terrible but tastes great!). Cook on stove top till done.

*You can fry your fish and/or keep it in big chunks if you'd like.  I just find this cooking method to be much healthier and quicker and just as tasty! I think my parents even used fish sticks one night and they had no complains.

How to dress them:

-Heat some corn tortillas up

-put a spoonful of sauce on each tortilla 

-add a little bit of tomato based salsa if you want, or pico de gallo, or not at all

-add raw diced onion

-fresh diced cilantro

-fish

-cabbage

-fresh lime wedge squeezed over it

ENJOY! We put extra (and I mean extra, I like every bite to be DRIPPING with sauce!) sauce on our plates for dipping.  I usually serve it with Mexican rice and beans. 

Just one more note, this makes a lot of sauce. We only used half of it. So if you make this for more then 2 people, double the fish and toppings, but not the sauce! It's also a yummy chip dip, chicken taco topping and enchilada topping!

Here we go again!

They say pictures are worth 1000 words, and I'd wager this one is worth even more!

We are pretty excited that our family is growing again.  My due date is a little complicated, so we can just say to expect another Becker kiddo in mid-to-late August.  The due date is complicated because my cycle was a little strange after my gallbladder surgery, and the two ultra sounds I've had (one today and one four weeks ago) measured with a week+ difference.  We are sticking with the due date from the first ultra sounds, but not taking it all too seriously.  With that being said, I will be 13(ish) weeks tomorrow. 

Baby looked great on the ultra sound today, nice strong heartbeat, lots of movement.

The only think that is going to be not so great is being pregnant and HUGE ALL SUMMER, but that little bundle will be well worth it in the end! 

Kids really do say the darndest things....

Tonight we had the pleasure of going to church for a mid-winter picnic.  We have a Missionary from Guinea in town this week and tonight was kids night.

After an awesome meal of hot-dogs, deviled eggs, chips and cupcakes all the kids sat up front to sing songs and listen to the Missionary speak. Ila sang along with the songs even though she didn't know them and did the actions and was a delight to watch.

When the Missionary got up to speak he asked the kids a few questions.  It went something like this:
Missionary: Raise your hand if you can tell me what missionaries do.
   all the other older kids raise their hands, so Ila does too.
Older girl: They tell people about Jesus.
Missionary: Yes, good.  What else do they do?
   He points to Ila
Missionary: Yes?  Can you tell me what missionaries do?
Ila: Ummm....snowmens.
Missionary: Uhhh...well...yes, I'm sure some missionaries build snowmen. Not really in Africa though, we don't get snow!

A few minutes later he pulls out a carved hippo.  All the kids were really excited about it.
Missionary: Okay, raise your hands if you can tell me what this is.
Ila shouts "A HIPPO!" While all the other kids sat nicely with their hands up.

A few minutes later he showed a picture of the kids in his village at school.  He asked the kids to tell him what they saw.
Kids praying, kids clapping, black kids were some of the answers.  Then Ila says "white teeth!"
She was right, the kids sure did have white teeth!  It was pretty great that she noticed THAT though!

Then, while the Missionary continued to talk, Chessidy made some noise from the back of the room.  Ila turned around in her chair and whispered loudly, "Chessidy, SHHHHHH!"

The missionary was great, and all the kids seemed to really love his sharing, as did the adults, but I walked away laughing at my own child.  She is hilarious!  Trent and I were both surprised that she said anything because she usually gets shy when strangers ask her questions.  Seems like she is growing out of that a bit. She was the youngest kid up there, so we weren't expecting her to participate, but I'm sure glad she did.

I probably need to teach her about raising her hand though...

Girly Girls by Nicole

Children change us.  Not just in the becoming selfless, giving your everything, fill every moment of the day way.  They hopefully bring about maturity, a whole new level of love, patience we never thought possible and  a very different perspective on God, and how He loves us.

But that's not what surprises me.  Oh no, none of the above has surprised me one little bit.  There is a change that has occurred in me that has floored me, taken me off guard and surprised my pants off (literally).  It's the pinkalicious, princess lovin', dress wearing, costume sharing, play jewelry,  barbie collecting, girly squirly, change that has surprised me.  

Maybe I should rephrase the first sentence of this blog to say "GIRLS" change us.  

Before I had kids I was certain that if I had girls, they would be tom-boys through ad through.  I requested minimal pink at my baby shower for Ila, and felt a strange twinge of disgust with myself as I opened up pink outfits and thought "that is SO CUTE!"  Purple has and always be an acceptable color for my girls, and we LOVE purple in this house, but for some reason, pink has an Elmo like quality with girls that can't be matched.  What is it about that color that makes the world turn round? 

As I look back at the last three and some years, I have to laugh at the change my girls have brought about. I say things I NEVER would have thought I would say, like calling purple milk "princess milk."  Telling my mom that a Princess Barbie would be a more appreciated gift than a stuffed animal cat.  Asking Trent to fashion an old dresser into a wardrobe for the girls dress up clothes (which he did, and it's awesome).  Watching Ariel, Rapunzel, Jasmine, and others again and again.  Asking Ila if she wants to wear pink or purple. Agreeing with Ila when she looks at herself in the mirror and says "I'm a princess too"  as she dances around in her pink velvet princess jammies. Taking Ila to see the princesses and getting almost as excited as she was to see them, hug them and talk to them!

I have become a mom who embraces pink, princesses, dress up clothes, barbies, and all things girly.  My two little girls are girls to the core, and I rejoice in it.  I gladly put them in dresses and tights almost every Sunday because dressing up nice and girly is FUN!

Perhaps it's easy to accept and have fun with because they still play with cars, they run around and get dirty, they love rough-housing, we eat pretend bugs, hold snakes and play with legos.  Or maybe it boils down to just enjoying what my girls enjoy, because it's so much better, healthier, and FUN than forcing them to be something they aren't, or to enjoy something they don't.  

I love my girly tom-boy girls and I'm glad they brought me around to loving what they love!  

My hilarious 3 year old by Nicole

Ila, is hilarious.  This week she's been on a roll with some pretty amazing sayings.  We've been writing them down in her baby book, but I figured you'd all like to hear her awesomeness as well.

We've been teaching Chessidy baby signs this past week.  We've been focusing on "more" and "all done."  The more sign is taking your fingertips and tapping them together.  All done, you put your hands up in the air.  We (Ila and I) had been going over and over "all done" and showing Chessidy the sign again and again.
Ila got up to the table to eat her lunch and all of a sudden said, "I got it mommy!  Put your hands short and stout!" and proceeded to show me the all done sign.  She was referring to Chessidy's arms, looking very short and stout, like the tea pot, when they are up in the air, because they are so short!  We had a good laugh about that one!

On Sunday, Ila and I went to lunch with some friends from church.  Our pastor, Jim, and his wife were with us and Ila requested a hug and kiss from them when they were leaving.  Jim came and gave her a hug and she grabbed his face and kissed his lips and then said "That was a GOOD kiss!"  To which Jim replied,  "Why thank you!!!"  The table erupted in laughter.

On Monday Ila was playing with her two barbies, Ariel and Rapunzel.  They were chatting away and this happened.
Ila: Oh, hi, Ariel.  Do you want to draw a picture?
Ariel (by Ila): NO! I CAN'T! MY HANDS ARE TOO SMALL!!!

Ila left Ariel alone for a few minutes to cool down and just played with Rapunzel.

I can't wait to hear what she comes up with next.  This is one hilarious 3 year old we've got!

What is being a big sister all about? by Nicole

As the baby of the family I obviously never got to experience being an older sibling.  Having only a brother I also never experienced childhood with a sister (thankfully I am experiencing adulthood with several sisters, they sure are great!).  This has lead me to wonder: what on earth is going on in Ila's head these days.

We've had a rough two weeks.  I know it's partly cabin fever, and missing school like crazy (she asks at least twice a day if she can go to school!) but the other reasons I have no idea where they are coming from.  She can morph from a sweet, helpful, respectful child into quite the opposite in a matter of  minutes.  She has all of a sudden become jealous of Chessidy and would prefer if everyone just ignored Chessidy and paid attention to HER!  She is being mean to Chessidy more often as well, and that is the hardest thing to figure out and deal with!

Today I've been a bit under the weather, and that lead to a situation where I asked Ila to play with Chessidy IN the play & pack.  I was sitting in the chair right next to the P&P, and I'm certainly glad I was.  There was pushing, toy steeling, screaming, and overall unkind behavior coming from Ila, directed at Chessidy.  After a few minutes of this "play" time was over and we all had snuggle time instead.  I sat there holding my two girls, in opposite arms and wondered how it feels to be asked to play with your little sister, when you have grand ideas for play time that DON'T involve said sister.

I don't want to make this sound terrible, 90% of the time Ila and Chessidy spend playing together it is a happy & fun time.  Ila is VERY helpful with Chessidy and Chessidy ADORES Ila, as all little sisters adore their big sister!  They laugh so much together and have so much fun.

I just wonder what goes on in Ila's head when I say "Ila, please got play with Chessidy." or "Ila, will you talk to Chessidy while mommy does _______ please?"  or "Oh, Ila, grab that from Chessidy, quick!" as Chessidy finds something dangerous and it's approaching her mouth and I'm on the other side of the room!  Ila is so quick to listen when I ask her these things, but I want to know WHAT and HOW she feels about it.  I'm guessing that the 90% of the time they get along when I ask Ila to help, Ila GENUINELY loves it!  She is a bit bossy and very independent  I'm sure it's nice to have permission and even have Mommy ASK for help with Chessidy.  I'm starting to think that the 10% of the time it doesn't go well is those times when Ila has bigger and better plans for her time.

That leads me to this thought:  I should stop the poor behavior when I see it and ASK Ila why she is making bad choices.  That does not necessarily mean she will get to go do whatever she wanted to do, but at least we'll be talking about it.  It's important that kids learn to obey and listen, even when they don't want too.  And it's important to teach them to think of others before themselves too!  I do however, need to be more mindful of what is going on in Ila's mind and help her to communicate that.

I'm hoping this will help the negative behavior I've seen more of these past few weeks.  Any big sisters out there have thoughts on the matter?