In Kitty Disaster #1 you learned that we had to give our notice about moving off of campus. Before school started up again, we were determined to find another apartment. Not exactly an easy task in the middle of a semester, especially when you want to find a pet-friendly place.

For whatever reason, our town didn't seem to be pet-friendly... at least not to renters. While we found a few apartments that seemed reasonable and were close to campus, none of them wanted a pet-- not even a tiny feline.

Finally we found a place.

It wasn't small. And it definitely was over our price range. When I hashed out the budget as we started looking, I wrote down the most we could afford for a place-- at most. This place was $100 over that... but it was so perfect. And it was the only place that we could find.

Wouldn't you know, we rushed into it.

Another woman was showing up as we were finishing our "tour". I was nodding my head yes, Clark was giving me "the look", and I was ignoring him. There have been very few times I have received "the look". You know, the one your spouse gives you when he/she knows something's a bad idea, or you can't afford what you're about to buy, or you're doing something that's annoying them... that look. It tends to always be one in the same. Rarely have I ever received that look.

But I did that day. Clark can have the "I told you so" moment there.

Now, here's the catch.

The landlord didn't exactly want pets. What had happened was the guys that had lived there previously (a two bedroom house that had been a home to three or four male college students) had all graduated. Something had happened with their previous sublet and it had all gotten messed up. So, the landlord was allowing them to advertise the place as pet friendly because he felt bad for them because they were all paying rent on two properties at that point.

The landlord was fine with Coconut. Small, indoor cat. That wasn't a problem.

We gathered who we could to help us move, and started the process almost immediately. While the place was up a gravel road that had an odd turn, it wasn't nearly as bad as Homespun Hills (Our First Apartment). Not to mention, this place truly was a house. While it had a basement apartment, you couldn't get to it through our part of the house. Our downstairs neighbor basically kept to himself. I think we only saw him a few times, one of which was to figure out how to share cable/internet (yeah... bad us).

We had two bedrooms, a real kitchen (finally), a huge wrap-around porch, a living room, a laundry closet... it was perfect.

(We also got to paint the living room, which positively THRILLED me.)





We thought everything was going back to normal. We had a new place to live. Our kitty was settled in with us (we didn't have to get rid of him). I was starting class again. I still had my campus job. We had some money in savings to help us out. All that was needed was a job for Clark.

This is another time that it was completely clear God was in control. We were afraid we wouldn't find a house: done. We were afraid we weren't going to be able to afford food: done. We were afraid Clark wouldn't find a job: done. Things were lining up. But, just because God is providing doesn't mean there isn't a lesson in there somewhere. That's the part we always seemed to ignore.

"The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things...."

Since Michael was three months old, Clark and I have thought he was teething. Excessive drooling, a few fevers, some yuckier-than-normal diapers... but then we'd take a look at his gums and see nothing but the usual shape. No bulges, no white peaking through... nothing. So, we'd move on.

Well, the time is here.

Tuesday I was desperately trying to figure out what was wrong with Michael. Normally he only has 2, maybe 3, #2 diapers in a day. It was maybe one o'clock, and he had hit four. I just didn't understand. The day carried on, Clark took Michael for a while to give me a break, and then he brought him back and went to work.

Around dinner time, I noticed the teeth.
(I promise we weren't torturing him to get this pic!)

I read that it's most common for the bottom two front teeth to come in first, but as always Michael is breaking the trend and his top two are coming in.

It didn't seem to be that bad.

Wednesday we went on our scheduled date, although I must say I felt a little more protective/paranoid than normal. I trust our babysitter whole heartedly, but I know Michael. I just knew nothing she did was going to make him happy.

He didn't eat. He didn't want to do anything. Only watching Mickey Mouse Club on her iPhone seemed to calm him down. When we got home, it only took an hour before he went right to sleep.

For me, teething didn't seem that bad. Michael was just pooping a little more than normal, maybe not napping quite as well, but come bed time he'd just sleep on through.

Until last night.

Last night Michael was hot to touch. As in, I didn't want any covers because it felt like coals were cuddling up beside me. He had a little baby Motrin before going to bed, but in the wee hours of the morning he woke up with an awful cry.

Truly. Awful.

Poor Michael was in such pain and nothing would comfort him. No feeding, no pacifier, nothing.

On went the hallway light. Clark crawled out of bed and got Michael a little more Motrin, the thermometer, and a new diaper.

Fever: 101.

Diaper: #1 and #2

Motrin: Devoured (after a little coaxing)

He woke up again somewhere around 6:30am, but I knew he wasn't ready to get up because of the way he would keep putting his head down and closing his eyes, sitting up, and then repeating.

Fever: 100

Diaper: #1

Motrin: Not given

He finally feel back asleep and slept in until 9:45am. No joke. It felt like Saturday, or a holiday, or a day out of 1,000 that never happens. I can't remember the last time we, let alone I, slept past 8am.

So, now he's down for a nap and I'm saying a prayer that he takes a good one, because I think we'll only be able to have one good nap today, or an absolutely dreadful night (which we may have, anyway).

Might I just say, too, that two out of the four diapers he had today (that is, #2 diapers) have been the most disgusting things since his birth. He hasn't had diapers this runny since I don't know when. It's not exactly fair to compare, since in the beginning we weren't using Rumparooz, but cloth diapers with poop like this... it just isn't fun to clean.

Have any teething stories or helpful remedies? This mama is ALL ears!
(Picture from today.)

I was pleasantly surprised with how this turned out. Typically I'm very pick when it comes to my pasta. Only recently have I started to like cheesy sauces. I wouldn't necessarily call this sauce "cheesy", but it's definitely tasty and so worth making. Did I mention it's incredibly easy? Barely takes any time at all! I think that's one of the best parts about it.

Ingredients:

- Bundle of asparagus (fresh)
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- Sea Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- 1 box of penne (I believe it's 13 oz, I used whole wheat!)
- 1/4 C butter (margarine, smart balance, etc.)
- 1/3 C Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 C + 2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:

- Follow the directions on your box of pasta to prepare it as you like. Drain it, and move it to a larger (or return it to your initial) pan.
- Follow the instructions for your asparagus here. The only difference is cut up your asparagus into pieces, about one inch long.

- In a small pot, bring to boil your balsamic vinaigrette. Let it simmer until it's dwindled down to about three or four tablespoons.
- Add the brown sugar to the vinaigrette and remove from heat.
- In the large pot that you had your penne in, or a different pot, toss together your pasta, asparagus, butter, sauce, and cheese.
- Sprinkle with more parmesan (if desired) and serve immediately.


SO easy and SO delicious! There's really nothing to compare it to. I think if you wanted to alter it slightly, it's entirely possible to make it vegan!

Inspiration came from: Food & Wine.

Monday was picture day for us! I kept putting off blogging about my power-push because I wanted to share pictures, well here are some that turned out BEAUTIFULLY!

If you're in Western North Carolina or Eastern Tennessee, seriously look up Courtney Valentine. So gifted!

I tried to cut back on how many I was going to include in the post, but I just couldn't help sharing quite a few...

It is amazing to think that in just a month Michael will be a one year old.

Amazing and petrifying.

I can barely remember the last year. It's amazing how that happens. I, of course, look back on pictures and can barely believe how tiny he was when he was born. I can't remember a time when he didn't have his tuff of blonde hair on top of his head. I can't remember a time where it was hard for him to crawl... and here we are.

Unbelievable.

So, updates!

Michael is around 21 lbs, and we're guessing around 30 inches long.

He is pulling himself up with ease, cruising furniture, and practicing falling down on his bum. When we're on the bed he'll be courageous and practice standing, knowing he'll land on some cushioning, he'll stand without holding on to anything. He's definitely gearing up to stand. He has this look of determination when he's going to crawl on his hands and knees that he's now applying to whenever he gets reading to stand on his own. Whenever he lasts for longer than a second, he looks to us for praise-- and we gladly give in and clap and say, "YAY, Michael!"
(Michael's look of determination.)

He still loves the outdoors. As in, no napping until I get some sunshine, mama. Today, for example, I tried to lay him down twice to no avail. Never mind that he was rubbing his eyes, yawning, being clingy.... He wanted to go outside. So, outside we ventured for a good ten to twenty minutes.
(Look at that grumpy face.)

Now he's passed out on the bed and has surpassed the five minute mark, which means he'll sleep for at least thirty minutes. *Sigh of relief.*

Michael performs for the camera. Not always, mind you, but if we get out the video camera or the regular camera, be prepared for some "cheese". I don't know if he quite comprehends what we're doing, but he knows we love it when he starts giggling or grinning at us when we have those instruments in our hands.

Did I say instruments? That reminds me: everything is an instrument. Or rather, everything is a drum.

Pots. Pans. Trash cans. Tables. Toilets. Bathtubs. Chairs. Toys.

Need I go on?

Michael loves banging on everything. I like to say he gets it from his father (a percussionist), but I have a feeling it's just because he's a baby... maybe.

A new game is taking everything out. He hasn't quite discovered that everything needs to be put back, but he definitely has the taking-out part down. Whether it's from his little toy chest/basket/thing, or the wipes bin, or the basket in the living room that has odds and ends, or DVDs... he LOVES taking things out and making a total mess.

The best one was the other day when our air was still out (and not temporarily fixed like it is now) and he went for the wipes container. It was too hot to try to stop him... sadly I apparently thought it was too hot to take pictures, too. None the less, he took out at least a dozen wipes and then ripped them to shreds.

Let me tell you, that was TONS of fun to clean up. Can you imagine?

His sleeping habits are fluctuating. One day he'll take an amazing 2.5 hour nap (fingers crossed that today is one of those days), the next day he'll take two forty-five minute naps, the next he'll take a ten minute "nap", the next... I think you get the point. There really is not schedule to his sleeping, sadly. Every time I think we've got some sort of schedule done, he decides to switch it up. However, the cutest thing I walked in on was our second day with no air, after a day with no nap at all, and found him like this.
This was after an hour of sleeping. Apparently he had semi-woken up and moved (he initially was lying in between the pillows), but was too tired to full wake up and fell bake asleep. I did put another rearrange pillows to the best of my ability after this, but it was too adorable to not capture in a picture. He lasted for another 1.5 hours, so this was an excellent nap day.

Michael still "meows" for kitty and "aaaaahs" for a sheep (still no "b" sound). He also imitates Luna panting by sort of snorting, and every now and then he'll make a sound that is *sort of* like a woof, but someone else could just take it as a shriek if he wasn't doing it directly at a dog. He says "nu-nana" for banana and has started trying to say other things like he says, "dah" for "dog", and "at" or "dat" for "that". He's also starting to say "nuna" for "tuna". You can definitely tell the difference between that and his "nu-nana".

He's very vocal. Even if he's not trying to really say anything specific, he's making some kind of noise. I swear when he hits two or three (and four and five and six...) he's going to be talking everybody's ears off. God bless our future babysitter.

Last but not least, Michael is definitely fully aware of when dada is home and when he's not. Days that Clark is out ALL day for work, Michael's grumpy. Every now and then he'll reach for the door. We'll go outside, but he'll just sit and look around. One time he sat there and kept saying, "dada". I would shake my head no, because that's what he does, and he'd shake his head no, and then say it again, "Dada". We make sure, therefore, that Dada and Michael have excellent bonding time as often as possible.

These are incredibly delicious and super easy. Clark has told me that this is his new (easy) way for me to prepare chicken. So, if you're a fan of spicy and a fan of coconut, these should be right up your ally!

Ingredients:

- 1 lb chicken tenderloins
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 C flour
- 1/2 - 1 C coconut flakes
- 1/2 - 1 C Panko bread crumbs
- 1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt (or regular salt)
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
*If you don't want them with a "super" kick, then cut down on the curry and don't add the cayenne!*
- olive oil
Directions:

-Preheat your oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking oil.
- In one shallow bowl/dish, mix together the panko crumbs, coconut, and spices.
*Pictured is using 1 C of coconut and 1 C of bread crumbs, but I had A LOT left over, so I feel like 1/2 C may have been sufficient, in which case you may want to cut your spices down as well.*

- In another bowl, whisk your egg. In another, put your flour. Set up your "station".

- Dip a chicken tenderloin in the flour, then your egg, then roll it in your coconut mix. Place on your prepared baking sheet. Repeat with however many tenderloins you have/desire!

- Drizzle the top of the chicken tenders with olive oil if you want them a tad bit crispier.

- Bake for 12 to 20 minutes. I know, that's a rather big difference. My chicken tenders were small, so they were done I think around 13 minutes, but if yours are thicker/larger, they may need more time. They may even need 25 minutes! Just keep checking on them and you'll know when they're ready.

I was told these don't need any sort of sauce, but I think they'd go great with a sweet & sour sauce!

Inspiration for this recipe came from: Our Best Bites.

So sorry to go a few days without posting, and the beginning of the month no less!

July 31st we were blessed with a storm that made our power go out for four hours and involved thunder that shook the house.

But that isn't all.

Before the thunder made our house rattle and made Michael start crying (poor dear), part of our house was struck by lightning.

This, of course, was unknown to me.

Once the power kicked in and I realized that our air wasn't back on, I started to ponder. I walked outside and heard the fan going, so assumed, perhaps, it was just taking a while to regain its power.

Oooooh, no. That would have been convenient.

Come to find out (August 1st, once the repairman came) that part of our air unit/box/control/technical-termed-thing was fried by lightning. And the two parts that needed to be replaced are not parts he typically carries.

Figures.

So we are now on day three (and a half) of no air.

It's. Too. Hot.

I know, I shouldn't complain. We've had lots of rain and our heat doesn't begin to compare to others who do have highs in the 100s.

I still feel like complaining.

August 1st Michael and I did our best to keep cool. We played in his baby pool outside, laid around, drank cold water... good stuff.

Michael still thought it was too hot. He would barely nap and barely let me put him down. By the end of the day we were stinky and gross.

We finally gave in and went to buy a fan once the repairman said it could be ten days before a part came. He was so sweet. He came back trying to use old parts he had to give us a temporary fix, but it didn't work.

Why did we have to buy a fan, you ask? After all, our air conditioning broke last summer at our previous place. We should have fans, right?

Right. We do. But they're in Fayetteville. With Clark's family. We assumed our air conditioning wouldn't go out on us this year.

What's the chance of being struck by lightning? HA!

Yesterday we refused to endure the heat (or rather, Clark refused... never mind that Michael and I had to the day before). Out we went to do some payday shopping.

First we went to one "big city" to do some shopping. Clark needed clothes. Come to find out, the store in big city #1 didn't have what he wanted. So we went to big city #2.

On our way home from big city #2, it started to storm. It was storming so badly that we had to get a hotel room for the night because I refused to drive home in the pouring rain, thunder, and lightning on a curvy mountain road when it was getting dark outside. Absolutely refused.

No worries, our animals were safe and sound with food, water, and a fan going the entire time. Apparently it didn't storm that badly at our house, either.

We returned this morning to find everything in tact, including our broken air conditioning. I promise recipes soon... it's just too dang hot to run our oven and risk rising the temperature in our house.