If my 2-year-old understood Halloween or at least the concept of dressing up for candy, I have no doubt she'd dress up as a princess or as Jesse from "Toy Story." But, she doesn't. So I selfishly decided that I wanted to make her a costume of my choosing!

It's been an emotion and stressful few weeks on the job front and I needed to get into the "crafty mom" mode as an escape. It just popped in my head one day, "cotton candy." The idea stuck, so that's what I made a cotton candy costume!

We'll s...
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Okay, I admit it. I LOVE to “sneak” healthy food into the meals I make for my family. I rejoice in the triumph of getting them to eat right when they don’t know it. I absolutely do cartwheels when what I have disguised can throw off its cloak and becomes a favorite food. 

One such triumph was spinach. I used to secretly add it to my homemade marinara and chopped it up beyond recognition for salad. Now everyone eats it without a fight... except for stewed tomatoes and spinach, but I think...
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Two weeks ago we bought a home! If you've been following our journey you know it's taken a lot longer than we thought with many twists we didn't expect, like living with my in-laws for almost a year. You'd think after everything we would have rushed right in and moved in, but that didn't happen.

I paused when standing in our new home holding the key in my hand for the first time. The house was our clean slate to make ours. I asked my dear husband for time to move in to make sure everything was...
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I slow cooked one 7lb pork loin and I've made Barbecue Pork sandwiches and Tamales. I have just enough pork left over to make the green chili for the tamales. Since my father-in-law is a vegetarian, I also make a vegetarian green chili.

Ingredients:
12 chopped roasted green chilies - the amount of seeds will create your level of heat OR 1lb can of whole green chilies
2 cups chopped tomatoes or roasted tomatoes
Half a finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbs flour
2 cups of water - separated
Sea...
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I love tamales and I enjoy making them even though it’s time consuming. I definitely haven’t mastered a technique, but it’s fun trying. I’ve only done this a handful of times and learn something new each time. Eventually, I’ll get it just right.

My father-in-law is a vegetarian so I’m making both pork tamales and green chili with cheese tamales. It’s my first try at the vegetarian tamales. 

What you need for tamales: corn husks, masa tamale dough, and meat or vegetarian filling.

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The meat:

Slow cook pulled pork 

The sauce:
20oz can all natural tomato puree or 1lb of your own stewed & pureed tomatoes
1/2 cup apple cider or red wine vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
1 medium finely chopped onion
1 small finely chopped green pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dry mustard
Cayenne pepper
Sea salt
Paprika
Chili powder
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 Ingredients:

1. Drizzle EVOO In a large sauce pan and heat on low 
2. Mash garlic cloves into bottom of pan and add chopped onions and green peppers
3. Saute until oni...

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Mojitos are one of my favorite drinks, especially on a hot summer day or on a holiday like today.

However, I don't like the sugar that is a part of the drink. Some mojitos are way too sweet for me. So I started making my own without sugar, but are just as tasty or even as sweet. For the first time I tried a flavored rum, mango to make mojitos. The mango flavoring made the drink even sweeter, almost dangerous to the point you can forget you're drinking rum!

Ingredients:
Rum - favorite white Rum, ...
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My best memories from my childhood are all my family get togethers over all the holidays. The 4th of July was always the best… bare feet… summer… Grandma's homemade ice cream… Grandpa's grilling… cousins… slip-n-slide… running through the sprinklers… and the grand finale of our own fireworks show!
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We're two weeks into the Montano Family Challenge and the only update I have is: I broke my funny bone.

No joke.

Well, okay I didn't actually break any bones. I have ulnar nerve damage from hitting my elbow a.k.a. my funny bone extremely hard on a corner of a desk at work a few weeks ago. Whatever injury I caused didn't heal and now the nerve is inflamed to the point that I have only tingly feelings in my pinky and ring fingers on my left hand. The pain radiates from my elbow through my...
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Summers for my boys, stepsons now going into 6th and 7th grade, always include books and lessons. School is not easy for either of them. Making them do lessons  during their summer break doesn’t always go over well. The procrastination and excuses get more creative, and frustrating, year after year.

Sometimes I wonder if we’re doing more harm than good. I don’t want to give them any more reasons to not like school. This year we were hit with screaming, angry, frustrating comments of...
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Well, I messed up with my website... as in I no longer own it. We got a new checking account and I apparently inputted my info wrong. So when auto renewal for the domain came around, it failed and I didn't realize it. The alert email ended up in spam folder. I was able to use the website for months without knowing anything was wrong. On Friday someone else bought/registered mistymontano.com. :-\ 

I just hope it's another Misty Montano who is going to use it and not someone who is going to do v...
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I love to cook but haven’t had the time. When I am off I often end up in the kitchen, and this time is no different. This Memorial Day weekend when most are thinking BBQ and sun I’m thinking soup, tamales and pulled pork.

First up, chicken tortilla cabbage soup. You read right - I’m making up my own soup combination to get both chicken tortilla and cabbage soups in the pot.

Ingredients:

2 large, bone-in, chicken breasts
1 10oz can all natural, low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp sea salt
1 sma...
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This contract lasted less than 10 days. I think this is much better than being less than a week from closing, which is where we were with house number two. At least we didn’t pay for another appraisal and the inspector gave us a discount.

I know how lucky and blessed we are to have been taken in by my in-laws while we go through this. I believe what everyone is telling us, “all this means is that there’s another better home waiting.”

Onto house number four we go...

We’re learning so...

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Our realtor is more optimistic than we are that we'll still get the house we're trying to buy. We just don't trust the seller to be reasonable at all so we're preparing to lose the house and starting the search over again for the 3rd time. In the meantime we're still lucky and THANKFUL to have been taken in by my in-laws. 

I've shared my thoughts about how it's been living in a multi-generational home, but don't take my word for it. Hear from my mother-in-law Carolina.

 

She takes care of us, cl...
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For a few weeks now we’ve been talking about a story Jace Larson is working. And for weeks I’ve sat silent with a slight smile while we talked about the story on adult children living with parents. I am an adult child living with parents, well with my in-laws. As you know from previous writings what was supposed to be a 4-week stay while we closed on a house, has turned into a 9-months and still going stay while we try to buy a house.

It’s been a blessing. It’s not always been easy. It...
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Finally tonight, over two months later, I’ve been able to bake! It’s a recipe I’ve been wanting to do since Thanksgiving. My colleague Anastasiya posted in November about an apple cheese pie, a Russian recipe passed to her from her grandmother. Not only did she share the recipe with me, but she also bought me the Farmers Cheese, a Russian cheese only found in Russian or Arabic stores here in Denver.


I tried to make the time to try this simple recipe, but after a couple of weeks I realiz...
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It’s the Thursday after Thanksgiving... so yes, a week after Thanksgiving and today is the day I finally got back on track with that healthy family affair I wrote about. Hey, a week is nothing compared to the weeks it’s been since I’ve made it to the gym!

In the last few weeks I’ve been sick, the family has been sick and my baby girl has been having nights like she did as an infant - up a lot. My gym time, as I wrote, is in the morning. My sleep has been decreased quite a bit so I’ve...
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Crying has always been a release from me. More accurately it's been an automatic release that's often left me wondering, "why am I crying?" It's something I've never completely understood. I know my emotions and hormones play a part.

I don't break out in sobs and fits all the time in front of those around me. No, it's mostly private tears that just come and go. My tears are saved for those closest to me… usually. There have been a few extremely uncomfortable moments when I cried in front of...
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Pregnancy changed my body. Birthing my baby girl changed my body. Breastfeeding changed my body. Stopping breastfeeding changed my body. Going back on birth control changed my body.

It's been almost two years since I found out I was going to have a baby. I don't think my body is done changing! Pregnancy, age and life in general have provided me with a reality check about my body, and in turn, my health.

I've been active on Twitter lately participating in #HeartHealth chats. Two chats have been...
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I had a blast cooking up this batch of chili for the Women's Bean Project Chili Cook Off.  I'm not one to really follow recipes.  I look at them.  I compare them to other recipes for the same dish.  I then close the book or turn off the computer and go to work making my own variation of the dish.

When it comes to chili I always think of Christmas Eve at my grandparent’s house.  Every Christmas Eve Grandma made a batch of chili and a pot of oyster soup.  For years I made my chili as clos...

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Make your own free digital greeting card

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She’s almost 18 weeks old.  Today she gets her 4-month shots.  Today I turn 33.  Saturday was my 10-year anniversary of full-time employment at the station.  It’s an over-said saying, “time flies”, but it’s an absolutely true statement as I seriously don’t know where the time has gone.

It felt like I had just gotten a handle on learning how to be mommy to my baby girl when all of a sudden it was time for me to go back to work.  BAM!  The patterns and adjustments I had made for m...

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Opening Christmas presents must have been too much excitement for Squeaks because she full of excitement and movement.  So much so that she rolled for the first time! (16 weeks old)





Oh my.  I have a mobile infant.  My house is a death trap that must be padded and made safe!

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She's 10 weeks old.  I can't believe how fast, and  yet how slow, the time has gone by.  I return to work in two weeks.  I know I'm not ready for it.  I try not to think about it, otherwise I breakdown into a gushing puddle of tears.  So I focus on Squeaks who is developing and amazing me every day.

We already talk.  She squeaks (hence the nickname) and coo's.  I talk or sing back to her.  She smiles.  I smile.

When upset she squeaks short bursts of "aah aah" with her mouth wide open, and in a ...
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I love fall for all the obvious reasons: colored leaves, crisp air, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, carved pumpkins, caramel apples, fall break, harvest of gardens and the smell of roasted chili peppers.  This year I didn’t garden because I was pregnant.  I admit a little sad that I’m not canning/roasting/freezing/drying anything.  (I could have stocked up at farmers markets to still do all of this, but learning to take care of an infant is taking all my energy!)

I feel like I missed summer a...
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I told my husband weeks ago that the moment an opportunity came up for Squeaks to be on TV that he'd jump all over it.  He fervently denied it.  I just nodded and smiled.

Of course, I was right!

Squeaks "told" the boys stories yesterday morning.  The video of this aired this morning.
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We call her Squeaks because she squeaks more than she cries.  So far only two things really make her cry, hunger and gas.  Otherwise she gets fussy, like when fighting sleep.  She crinkles up her face and lets out one or two loud squeaks until she’s comforted in some way.

Most of the time these fussy spells are calmed with various tricks. My husband discovered that she loves bouncing on the exercise ball. We hold her, sit on the ball and bounce.  Within seconds she’s happy again. (I knew t...
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Lyra Belacqua a.k.a. Lyra Silvertongue is the heroine in the trilogy His Dark Materials.  Our Lyra is our heroine as well!  We read, or rather listened to, the trilogy together and fell in love with the girl who saves the world.  This is rather fitting seeing as my husband's all time favorite trilogy is Star Wars, which as we all know, is based on the one who can bring balance to the force



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Too much, or too many details? See the abridged version!

“Please make it stop! PLEASE!”

I can feel how scrunched and tight my face is.  The plastic that used to be cool is now hot as I squeeze with a death grip that has turned my knuckles white.  I can’t control my rapid breaths.

I’m supposed to be breathing steady even breaths but that’s impossible.  I open my eyes to find my husband’s face and apologize, “I’m sorry!  I don’t mean to push!”

From somewhere in the room I hear �...
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A gush of water with the force of an uphill water coaster shot the Baby out into the doctor’s raised arms.  My body jolted with shock.  How did he catch the Baby?  His arms were raised over his left shoulder as if he’d gone long to catch a football.  I swear the Baby, coincidentally shaped like a football, had flown threw the air a few feet!

My eyes searched for my Baby... A VAGINA!!  I see a vagina!!!  I have a Baby Girl!

I turned my head to find my husband’s face.  Had he seen?  Was he ...
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My dear husband asked me a few months ago if I would take pregnant belly photos. I immediately thought of the artistic and nude pregnancy photos I’ve seen. While I really think those are beautiful shots, and generally the private areas aren’t shown, I wasn’t sure I could pose like that.

Over the next weeks I kept looking at various galleries from various artists. I admired the women, in different states of dress, who embraced their bodies and pregnancy. Truly beautiful.

I thought of t...
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27 weeks and 4 days pregnant... with an entire hot summer to go until due date of September 1st.

1. Maternity pants that didn't fit, now fit.  Last time I wore my maternity jean capris I continually had to pull them up because the safety pin I had been using to keep them in place broke.  This time they stayed in place just fine.  There's still plenty of room for me and Plurk to grow!  (This should make my doctor happy.  At 24 weeks I had only gained 8lbs the entire pregnancy.  I was encouraged to...

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I hope to move from our house soon and, if not soon, then in the next year.  If there is one thing I could keep as mine, it would be my flower garden.  It’s been a labor of love and frustration.  I decided to plant it years ago when I couldn’t keep grass alive due to the intense southern sun exposure.  The first year water restrictions went into place was the last year I saw grass in that area.  That was also my first summer at the house, so I had no idea what kind of watering that sectio...
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New Year's Eve and early January


I've now taken four pregnancy tests, two of them digital so there's no trick lines to play with me. All four positive. I am definitely pregnant; I think.

My stomach issues since early December when I was on antibiotics have only gotten worse and then out of nowhere actually getting out bed became very difficult. I figure this is morning sickness, maybe.

It's New Year's Eve. The boys were with their mother for the holiday this year. We've always celebrated big as...
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Dec. 24th

I'm wide awake again way earlier than normal. This time I forgo the internal argument and head straight to the bathroom to take test number two. This time I do it wide awake while never taking my eyes off the test. Sure enough the faint vertical line shows again making a positive sign, again.

I walk back into the bedroom holding the test and plop back down on the bed. "Well?" Shawn asks? "Positive. Again." I respond. I'm not as shocked yesterday but I still can't believe...
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Dec. 23… later in the day. (What happened earlier in the day.)

I’m walking in a haze.  My eyes aren’t truly focusing unless I’m concentrating on something.  The voices and sounds around me jumble all together.

An hour later I’m walking around like nothing in my world has changed.  There is no thought of pregnancy swishing around in my head.  I’m functioning as if that plus sign had never happened.

Thirty minutes later I‘m in a haze again.

Back and forth like that I go.

My mom c...

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I've written some blog entries since finding out I was pregnant, but haven't posted any until now. At first it was I simply couldn't post because we weren't telling anyone about baby until the end of the first trimester. Now I'm almost 15 weeks and everyone knows, but I've still been dealing with morning sickness, which has until recently been a 24-hour event for me. I've not had the brain power to post anything.  Then I had a medical issue (blog to come) and now currently a cold w/a...
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