When the FBI Shows Up, Make Sure They are Toting Proper Identification. Don't Put it Past Shady Characters to Impersonate G-Men.

As a new parent, the first time your child sleeps through the night will elicit a range of emotions in you:  first, you will feel delightfully rested, your awakening for the day reminiscent of your pre-parenthood days where you would lay quietly and think about the day ahead, maybe stretch a little bit, think about what you plan on wearing ... this is quickly, quickly followed by:  panic.  Sheer, utter panic where terrible thoughts like, "Oh my God, it's 7:00 and I didn't get up with Jones at all in the night - is he still alive?!".  The panic leads to an adrenaline rush that will cause you to leap from your bed and take off to your child's room at a speed you would previously have thought yourself incapable of, where you will then peer down at your child closely to discern that he is, indeed, breathing deeply and sleeping peacefully.  Upon confirmation that your child is perfectly fine and is, in fact, better off than you are, seeing as how he is sleeping quite peacefully and has been for some time, relief will flow through you and then you will experience a feeling of pride, as if you yourself are responsible for this feat (although perhaps you are owed some credit for the perfect combination of play, solid food, bath, and cereal bottle the night before), and then you are back to feeling delightfully rested, and just delighted in general, because a milestone has been reached. 

This has been our experience the last three nights.  I do give myself credit for coming up with a good pre-bed routine.  We play from about 7:00 to 8:00, eat our last serving of solid food at 8:00, play for another 10 - 15 minutes, take a bath, followed by a massage with the Johnson's Bedtime Bath Lotion, and then it's time for the cereal bottle.  Jones usually falls asleep while taking the bottle, and is as limp as a dishrag when I deposit him in his crib which, in general, is right around 9:15.  And then we don't hear from him again 'til about 6:30 or 7:00 which, as any new parent will tell you, is glorious, and is akin to sleeping in until 10:00 back in your pre-parenthood days.

In my previous post I mentioned that I'm trying not to get into a cooking rut, and I have a recipe to share!  I can't decide if I made this up on my own, or if I heard about it somewhere and stored it away in my brain and remembered it later, but can't figure out where I heard it from (honestly, this is probably what happened, and I probably heard it on the Food Network).  Anyway, it's Mexican Lasagna, and I would have pictures of it, but we were so hungry by the time it was ready, we devoured it like wolves, so it was not pretty enough, in my opinion, to take a picture and post ... when I make it again, I'll definitely take a picture so you guys can judge for yourself.  Anyway, my recipe:

Mexican Lasagna

• In a large skillet, saute one bell pepper (any color) and one onion (or 1/2 of an onion, depending on the size) in a small amount of olive oil.  Add in a pound of ground meat (we used deer meat and loved it, but we love deer meat, so ...) and brown/cook through.  Add in about 1/2 a packet of taco seasoning (I used the low sodium version, which I think is a must).
• Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish with tortillas (I used the "large burrito" size).  Spread a generous layer of refried beans (I used fat-free refried beans, to make myself feel better about it).  Spread a layer of the meat/bell pepper/onion mixture.  Spread a layer of shredded "Mexican" cheese (I believe Kroger labels this as "fiesta blend").  Spread a layer of red enchilada sauce.  Repeat the layering process.
• Bake for 20 - 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Another great thing about this recipe is that you could split it into two 9 x 9 casseroles and freeze one - we did that the second time I made this recipe, and it worked out really well.  When you want to eat the second one, just let it thaw during the day and pop it into the oven when you're ready (it works better to cook it after thawing than to try to do it from the frozen state, we discovered).

Alan and I recently subscribed to the daily state paper, and Alan makes a very determined effort to read it every day and be aware of current events.  Right now, the current event that interests him most is the "Occupy Wall Street" situation.  It infuriates him.  And, although this is not a politically oriented blog and I certainly don't want to rant about things like that, I did tell him I would quote him on my blog, giving his opinion on the whole thing:  "What would happen if the wealthy people in America decided to stop making money?  Fewer companies, fewer jobs, fewer products, less tax revenue ... doesn't sound like that would help the middle class at all.  Yet these morons, most of whom, when you get down to it, are just unemployed hippies, are demonizing the "richest 1% of Americans" claiming that they just want things to be "fair", when really all they are is just a bunch of frustrated, unemployed (or unemployable) people begging for socialism."  It may come as no surprise to you that Alan and I also love Stephen Colbert, and that he is, in fact, our main source of world news (after the newspaper, of course).  We used to really love Jon Stewart, but he's gotten pretty liberal as his popularity has increased, and we get frustrated with him more frequently nowadays, although I do think that he does a pretty good job all-around on interviewing people and asking tough questions, for the most part (I think he kind of cuts Democrats a break/seems like he's sucking up to them while interviewing them).  I still do like it when he interviews people, though, because I feel like he is honest in his questioning.  I prefer Colbert's interviews, though, because even though he stays in character/persona throughout, there just seems to be some sort of sincerity, and I feel like that gets people to give more sincere answers; also, Colbert is so supportive of our military men and women, and whatever you may think about the war, you have to admire our military men and women and their families.  Anyway, I like them both, and they are my preferred news source (although I do like Diane Sawyer, and usually watch her  on World News Tonight if I'm home in time ... and this may or may not be due to the fact that her show is on the same channel as Wheel of Fortune, which I love ...).