Little Miss O goes to preschool one day a week for 2 1/2 hours. Tuesday they learned about Dr. Suess. Their art project was gluing the colorful cracker snack 'goldfish' to a fish bowl shaped paper. The book they read with this was 1 fish, 2 fish, red fish, blue fish. She told me all about it, and how they aren't for eating, they are for art. This statement must have been repeated many times during art! She was so proud of her art, she carried it around with her almost all day. She even brought it to the dinner table!
At story time, I asked her to set the fish bowl on the table in the living room, so we could focus on the books. And she did. And it stayed there.
The next morning, I was heading towards the shower as she came out of her room. So I picked her up and kissed her good morning.
She said, "My goldfish are gone, I ate them."
I looked at her confused, she didn't take them to bed, so I looked to my left to see the piece of paper shaped goldfish bowl with just crumbs glued to it! I tried not to laugh to hard, but I couldn't help but giggle about it for a while. My silly girl snuck out of bed, I am not sure if it was just after she was put to bed, or if this was a midnight snack, and ate every single fish! I think this might mean we need to hold out on getting the girls a pet goldfish!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Slow Cooked
One of my favorite meals is one that can in turn be made into many meals. It just seems to make life easier. There are some delicious Pampered Chef recipes using chicken and ground beef that you divide, place in freezer bags, add a few ingredients and freeze. I like to make 3-5 of these for friends who just had a loved on pass away. I also like to make dinner for friends who had babies. It is kind of the only thing I feel like I can offer, I have kids of my own. Going to see someone who just had a baby with little germ covered preschoolers isn't always a great option. But dropping off dinner seems to be appriciated.
I have a good freind who is due next week and had placed a request for a 'trifecta' cornbread I made at the last BBQ she attended. At the time of the request I had a 10 pound pork butt in the slow cooker that had just come out of a salt water/ molasses brine. So I offered pulled pork sandwiches and cornbread, and she got excited!
I fed the family this delicious pulled pork last night. Big Girl J enjoyed it so much, she asked me if she could have more of the slimey chicken. As much as I was enjoying the pulled pork, I instantly became full. I just couldn't do it any more. I know it seems ridiculous, but to be fair, my plate was almost empty. I was not going to get seconds.
After dinner, I stood in the kitchen for a little bit, with two forks, shredding the left overs. I finished with about five, one pound baggies of pulled pork. Two of them got a health dose of BBQ sauce poured over top and three stayed plain. This makes a quick weekend meal of pulled pork sandwiches for us and the other bag for my friend. I will also be able to make pulled pork enchilladas, and other favorites! But I will not be cruel with all this food talk and not leave you with the trifecta corn bread recipe:
1 box of corn bread mix
1 can cream corn
1 can whole kernal corn
16 oz sour cream
1 small can green chilies
2 eggs
Mix, cook, enjoy!
I have a good freind who is due next week and had placed a request for a 'trifecta' cornbread I made at the last BBQ she attended. At the time of the request I had a 10 pound pork butt in the slow cooker that had just come out of a salt water/ molasses brine. So I offered pulled pork sandwiches and cornbread, and she got excited!
I fed the family this delicious pulled pork last night. Big Girl J enjoyed it so much, she asked me if she could have more of the slimey chicken. As much as I was enjoying the pulled pork, I instantly became full. I just couldn't do it any more. I know it seems ridiculous, but to be fair, my plate was almost empty. I was not going to get seconds.
After dinner, I stood in the kitchen for a little bit, with two forks, shredding the left overs. I finished with about five, one pound baggies of pulled pork. Two of them got a health dose of BBQ sauce poured over top and three stayed plain. This makes a quick weekend meal of pulled pork sandwiches for us and the other bag for my friend. I will also be able to make pulled pork enchilladas, and other favorites! But I will not be cruel with all this food talk and not leave you with the trifecta corn bread recipe:
1 box of corn bread mix
1 can cream corn
1 can whole kernal corn
16 oz sour cream
1 small can green chilies
2 eggs
Mix, cook, enjoy!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
The Cake that Went Bad
My followers, all two of you, probably remember the cake competition I attempted last year. I thought my cake was ok, not awesome, but I wasn't unhappy with how it turned out. I didn't win, but the main thing for me to remember is that what I saw in my head came out, and close resembled what I thought it should. Exclude the people on top opening presents.
Last night I turned in a cake to the same competition. I thought I should just use this opportunity to practice the idea I have for Big Girl J's 5th birthday (yeah, I know 5 year old!) Her theme is Superhero Training Camp, and the title of the my cake is 'the Superheros Save the Cake.' It think it may look more like the mud people working out to the oldies are dancing around the cake. Before I get to that....
I am glad I tried this cake now, before I am 8 months pregnant and getting flustered that it isn't going the way I want it to. And well, guess what, at 6 month pregnant, it didn't go the way I wanted it to! I just need to give up on trying to make people. It is something I am not good at, I am not an artist. I can cover a cake and decorate it with fondant cut outs, but to free hand?! No, not me.
I tried to start with rice crispy treats molded into human form. That didn't work out. I got some wire from the garage and bent it into human form, and those, I felt, were a great base. I made three in action superheros and one bad guy (who should be getting tossed into the cake.) Then I went back to the crispy treats, that still didn't work. Next, I tried to wrap the wire with fondant, it wouldn't stay and I started to get flustered, so I gave up on that idea. Last resort, I made modeling chocolate, my first time playing with the stuff, and dipped the wire people into the still liquidity chocolate.
That is when they started looking like people working out to the oldies. By the way, that is NOT a headband, it is an eye mask, there are holes!
So, it is time to turn in the cake, and I obviously don't give half a rat's anything at this point. My cake has not gone the way I wanted it to. I took it to Denver and started to assemble the pieces, that is when I realized I left the birthday candle at home that one of the superheros were supposed to be saving from falling off the cake. So now the guy on top, just looks like he is trying to do the worm or break dance on the cake. I wonder if I changed the title to 'mud people dancing on the cake' if there would be a chance of winning. But, there is not, the cakes I go up against, definitely are a step ahead. Is it sad, that I wish I could turn my cake into the high school age division so I would have a chance?
Yes, this picture is horrible. But trust me, it makes the cake look good. Maybe when we go down tomorrow for the award ceremony, I will try to snap a better picture. But I am about certain this is the best I can make this cake look.
Since my goal here was to practice my idea for Big Girl J's birthday, I must find what I learned from this. I learned, not to do this cake again. Find something else, something that doesn't require me to prove that I can't make people for cakes!
Last night I turned in a cake to the same competition. I thought I should just use this opportunity to practice the idea I have for Big Girl J's 5th birthday (yeah, I know 5 year old!) Her theme is Superhero Training Camp, and the title of the my cake is 'the Superheros Save the Cake.' It think it may look more like the mud people working out to the oldies are dancing around the cake. Before I get to that....
I am glad I tried this cake now, before I am 8 months pregnant and getting flustered that it isn't going the way I want it to. And well, guess what, at 6 month pregnant, it didn't go the way I wanted it to! I just need to give up on trying to make people. It is something I am not good at, I am not an artist. I can cover a cake and decorate it with fondant cut outs, but to free hand?! No, not me.
I tried to start with rice crispy treats molded into human form. That didn't work out. I got some wire from the garage and bent it into human form, and those, I felt, were a great base. I made three in action superheros and one bad guy (who should be getting tossed into the cake.) Then I went back to the crispy treats, that still didn't work. Next, I tried to wrap the wire with fondant, it wouldn't stay and I started to get flustered, so I gave up on that idea. Last resort, I made modeling chocolate, my first time playing with the stuff, and dipped the wire people into the still liquidity chocolate.
Right about now, I started thinking I should change the idea of my cake to 'attack of the mud people.' But no, I kept on trying my original idea. I molded the people, added some more chocolate in places. Then I thought, "With a cape, they will look cute." Or I tried to talk myself into believing that.
So, it is time to turn in the cake, and I obviously don't give half a rat's anything at this point. My cake has not gone the way I wanted it to. I took it to Denver and started to assemble the pieces, that is when I realized I left the birthday candle at home that one of the superheros were supposed to be saving from falling off the cake. So now the guy on top, just looks like he is trying to do the worm or break dance on the cake. I wonder if I changed the title to 'mud people dancing on the cake' if there would be a chance of winning. But, there is not, the cakes I go up against, definitely are a step ahead. Is it sad, that I wish I could turn my cake into the high school age division so I would have a chance?
Since my goal here was to practice my idea for Big Girl J's birthday, I must find what I learned from this. I learned, not to do this cake again. Find something else, something that doesn't require me to prove that I can't make people for cakes!
Monday, January 16, 2012
It is Official!
The habit has been kicked!!! Yeah, no more pacifier!!! I really started to feel like we would have to do it soon. If Baby K comes in May and is a pacifier baby and we tried to kick the habit too close to her arrival we might have a relapse. I think with her anticipated arrival being four months out, we are safe!
Big Girl J has been slightly obsessing about her birthday. It is three months away, well more like two and a half now. However, that doesn't stop her from asking daily how many more months till her birthday!
I had a theme idea back in the fall, possibly before Thanksgiving, and told her about it. She was so excited, and that excitement has not faded at all! I think that means I have picked a good theme. One that really fits her. We are going with a 'super hero' theme! I suggested to her that we could make capes for all of her friends. This was suggested before I realized that my sewing machine had been packed up and stored in the in-laws basement! This should be some very easy, simple stitching, however getting to the foot pedal and accessories will probably be the difficult part.
I will go into more details about the party plans as we get closer, but I am getting a bit excited myself!
As a rewind, side note, our house is currently on the market. We put it on the market just over three months ago, so the reference to 'packed up' was the de-cluttering of the house. I made multiple comments of how we needed to make sure certain things stayed reachable, but when multiple trips had been made, boxes that were once reachable, are no longer. I have already had to go digging three times, and now to get my sewing machine, four. Oh well, I guess we can consider this a lesson learned.
Big Girl J has been slightly obsessing about her birthday. It is three months away, well more like two and a half now. However, that doesn't stop her from asking daily how many more months till her birthday!
I had a theme idea back in the fall, possibly before Thanksgiving, and told her about it. She was so excited, and that excitement has not faded at all! I think that means I have picked a good theme. One that really fits her. We are going with a 'super hero' theme! I suggested to her that we could make capes for all of her friends. This was suggested before I realized that my sewing machine had been packed up and stored in the in-laws basement! This should be some very easy, simple stitching, however getting to the foot pedal and accessories will probably be the difficult part.
I will go into more details about the party plans as we get closer, but I am getting a bit excited myself!
As a rewind, side note, our house is currently on the market. We put it on the market just over three months ago, so the reference to 'packed up' was the de-cluttering of the house. I made multiple comments of how we needed to make sure certain things stayed reachable, but when multiple trips had been made, boxes that were once reachable, are no longer. I have already had to go digging three times, and now to get my sewing machine, four. Oh well, I guess we can consider this a lesson learned.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Bunny Diaries Day 2
I feel like the worst is yet to come. Could it seriously be going this smooth?!? I know she is old enough in comparison to others who have kicked the habit, but she is also only 2 1/2. She is still my baby!
Last night I didn't hear a peep from them, after they finally fell asleep, of course. But there was no crying, no whining, no temper tantrum. Just me at 3am, finding it difficult to fall back asleep after the dogs woke me up. Maybe I had just overly prepared myself for a rough night. And of course, when it feels like I finally fell asleep, Wonderful Husband's alarm goes off. I am sure I got more than a half hour of sleep, but it certainly felt that way.
Little Miss O even slept in. Came out of her room carrying the Bunny, but never mentioned the missing piece. Even for nap, she went to her room, without mention of the missing pacifier. After nap she did bring out Bunny and mentioned a few times that something had been cut off.
As the 'avoid the subject' type of person, when she lifted her Bunny and said something to me along with the scissor hand motion, I looked at her and said, "Is Bunny dirty, do we need to wash him?"
She would scowl at me then hold Bunny close and would mention something cut off the Bunny for at least a half hour.
Now we are on night 2. And I must say, WE ARE ROCKING THIS!
Of course I may have jinxed myself, but I think I am far enough in to this that I am not afraid. Yesterday I was afraid, today, I feel invincible. Well not really invincible, but I am loving that the Bunny theory that I had from the beginning worked.
Who has two thumbs and is happy? This momma!
Last night I didn't hear a peep from them, after they finally fell asleep, of course. But there was no crying, no whining, no temper tantrum. Just me at 3am, finding it difficult to fall back asleep after the dogs woke me up. Maybe I had just overly prepared myself for a rough night. And of course, when it feels like I finally fell asleep, Wonderful Husband's alarm goes off. I am sure I got more than a half hour of sleep, but it certainly felt that way.
Little Miss O even slept in. Came out of her room carrying the Bunny, but never mentioned the missing piece. Even for nap, she went to her room, without mention of the missing pacifier. After nap she did bring out Bunny and mentioned a few times that something had been cut off.
As the 'avoid the subject' type of person, when she lifted her Bunny and said something to me along with the scissor hand motion, I looked at her and said, "Is Bunny dirty, do we need to wash him?"
She would scowl at me then hold Bunny close and would mention something cut off the Bunny for at least a half hour.
Now we are on night 2. And I must say, WE ARE ROCKING THIS!
Of course I may have jinxed myself, but I think I am far enough in to this that I am not afraid. Yesterday I was afraid, today, I feel invincible. Well not really invincible, but I am loving that the Bunny theory that I had from the beginning worked.
Who has two thumbs and is happy? This momma!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The Bunny Diaries Day 1
As any other good mom, I occasionally like to find random, pointless ways to be mean to my children. Like today, I decided to sneak into Little Miss O's room and cut the pacifier off her bunny stuffed animal while she slept. Maybe I should back up just a little.
Before Little Miss O was born, I saw a display of soothie pacifiers attached to little stuffed animals. I thought 'what a fabulous idea!' but then I saw the price tag and changed my mind. Moving forward a few months, after Little Miss O was born I realized she would be a pacifier child. I have always been OK with pacifiers, it is perfectly fine and even healthy for a child to want to suck on a thumb or pacifier (or so I read in a book somewhere.) I remembered back to the display and got excited, then I remembered the $14.99 tag. Amazingly these particular pacifiers are some of the best out there and they only cost $5 for a 2 pack. Since Little Miss O is a second child, we were already stocked on stuffed animals. I dug through the giant pile and found a perfectly lightly stuffed bunny. I sewed a pacifier on the ears of the bunny and Little Miss O was hooked.
There were several benefits I saw to this. Early on she would loose the pacifier while sleeping, but with the stuffed animal attached it stayed right next to her mouth and was easily retrieved most nights without waking me up. A few months later, while out and about if she spit out the pacifier it would stay in the car seat, or would be easily caught before hitting a dirty ground, parking lot or unseen area. We added a monkey to her addiction after one night of searching for the bunny and found it behind the couch, where big sister had hidden it. I decided two would be handy for those times that might become more frequent, and they did.
Eventually the monkey packed up and left. We really don't know what happened to it. I realized it was missing a day that we never left the house, so I figured it had to be around here somewhere. But after a week we gave up hope, and figured it must have ran away the day before I realized it was gone.
After another night of searching for the bunny, I decided to add another pacifier to the collection. An elephant, given to her by Aunt Awesome (or at least I bet that is what they call her due to all the spoiling.)
We don't have silly names for our pacifiers, or stuffed animals for that matter. Little Miss O was attached to 'Bunny' and 'Elephant'. They both went through the washing machine on opposite weeks, sometimes they 'bathed' together. Little Miss O was usually upset with me for a half hour on those days.
Shortly after Little Miss O turned two, I found a hole in Elephant. Well that sounds weird. Basically she chewed through the pacifier and it became unsafe. So we cut off the pacifier and didn't replace it. Then we started letting her take elephant out of the house but Bunny (the one that still had a pacifier attached) had to stay home. This worked, surprisingly well, considering all the reasons I thought the attached stuffed animal idea would be good weren't supported by anyone I knew.
Around Christmas, like Christmas Eve, I washed Bunny. After that bath, the stitching started to come undone, and the pacifier was dangling. I reattached the pacifier that evening and then realized there was a small hole in it from her bottom teeth. Knowing that in the coming days would be a room change (we combined the girls into the same room) and there would be lots of family coming in and leaving, we decided to watch the hole. Then after things settled and became more routine, we would attempt to ditch the pacifier.
Today, Little Miss O handed me her Bunny while playing. I saw the hole was much larger and becoming a problem. We decided today was the day.
I asked Little Miss O if we could say goodbye to the pacifier and she promptly grabbed the bunny and wouldn't let go. So I decided to sneak in during nap and let the pacifier fairy make it go away. This way big sister wouldn't tell on me.
Little Miss O did not nap for more than a half hour after that. She came out of her room very sad and upset. She came straight to me telling me that 'Bunny doesn't work.' I just cuddled close to her, it broke my heart. I had bought a back up pack, so that if she substitutes her thumb for the missing pacifier we could remedy that problem, and quickly.
Knowing I had those and hearing her tell me that Bunny doesn't work, made me want to jump up and give her both from the pack. But with great restraint, I just cuddled with her. It took a good 45 minutes before the random whining and awesome cuddling stopped. She hoped down from my lap and started playing. With no regard to where the broken bunny was. She even allowed Big Girl J to play with it!
As we speak she has been put to bed with the broken bunny. Amazingly it has been her sister who has gotten out of bed too many times. Without getting myself in trouble, so far so good.
I do understand that at this age it only takes 3 days to make a habit, or I guess break a habit. I knew the first day would be rough, so I am prepared for a long night. But I will be happy if it that is not the case.
Before Little Miss O was born, I saw a display of soothie pacifiers attached to little stuffed animals. I thought 'what a fabulous idea!' but then I saw the price tag and changed my mind. Moving forward a few months, after Little Miss O was born I realized she would be a pacifier child. I have always been OK with pacifiers, it is perfectly fine and even healthy for a child to want to suck on a thumb or pacifier (or so I read in a book somewhere.) I remembered back to the display and got excited, then I remembered the $14.99 tag. Amazingly these particular pacifiers are some of the best out there and they only cost $5 for a 2 pack. Since Little Miss O is a second child, we were already stocked on stuffed animals. I dug through the giant pile and found a perfectly lightly stuffed bunny. I sewed a pacifier on the ears of the bunny and Little Miss O was hooked.
There were several benefits I saw to this. Early on she would loose the pacifier while sleeping, but with the stuffed animal attached it stayed right next to her mouth and was easily retrieved most nights without waking me up. A few months later, while out and about if she spit out the pacifier it would stay in the car seat, or would be easily caught before hitting a dirty ground, parking lot or unseen area. We added a monkey to her addiction after one night of searching for the bunny and found it behind the couch, where big sister had hidden it. I decided two would be handy for those times that might become more frequent, and they did.
Eventually the monkey packed up and left. We really don't know what happened to it. I realized it was missing a day that we never left the house, so I figured it had to be around here somewhere. But after a week we gave up hope, and figured it must have ran away the day before I realized it was gone.
After another night of searching for the bunny, I decided to add another pacifier to the collection. An elephant, given to her by Aunt Awesome (or at least I bet that is what they call her due to all the spoiling.)
We don't have silly names for our pacifiers, or stuffed animals for that matter. Little Miss O was attached to 'Bunny' and 'Elephant'. They both went through the washing machine on opposite weeks, sometimes they 'bathed' together. Little Miss O was usually upset with me for a half hour on those days.
Shortly after Little Miss O turned two, I found a hole in Elephant. Well that sounds weird. Basically she chewed through the pacifier and it became unsafe. So we cut off the pacifier and didn't replace it. Then we started letting her take elephant out of the house but Bunny (the one that still had a pacifier attached) had to stay home. This worked, surprisingly well, considering all the reasons I thought the attached stuffed animal idea would be good weren't supported by anyone I knew.
Around Christmas, like Christmas Eve, I washed Bunny. After that bath, the stitching started to come undone, and the pacifier was dangling. I reattached the pacifier that evening and then realized there was a small hole in it from her bottom teeth. Knowing that in the coming days would be a room change (we combined the girls into the same room) and there would be lots of family coming in and leaving, we decided to watch the hole. Then after things settled and became more routine, we would attempt to ditch the pacifier.
Today, Little Miss O handed me her Bunny while playing. I saw the hole was much larger and becoming a problem. We decided today was the day.
I asked Little Miss O if we could say goodbye to the pacifier and she promptly grabbed the bunny and wouldn't let go. So I decided to sneak in during nap and let the pacifier fairy make it go away. This way big sister wouldn't tell on me.
Little Miss O did not nap for more than a half hour after that. She came out of her room very sad and upset. She came straight to me telling me that 'Bunny doesn't work.' I just cuddled close to her, it broke my heart. I had bought a back up pack, so that if she substitutes her thumb for the missing pacifier we could remedy that problem, and quickly.
Knowing I had those and hearing her tell me that Bunny doesn't work, made me want to jump up and give her both from the pack. But with great restraint, I just cuddled with her. It took a good 45 minutes before the random whining and awesome cuddling stopped. She hoped down from my lap and started playing. With no regard to where the broken bunny was. She even allowed Big Girl J to play with it!
As we speak she has been put to bed with the broken bunny. Amazingly it has been her sister who has gotten out of bed too many times. Without getting myself in trouble, so far so good.
I do understand that at this age it only takes 3 days to make a habit, or I guess break a habit. I knew the first day would be rough, so I am prepared for a long night. But I will be happy if it that is not the case.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
A Halloween Surprise
I'm sure the cat has been let out of the bag... Of course I don't think it would be something I could hide much longer. We are expecting out family to grow in the spring!
I am 12 weeks along. I have made it through the first trimester, without telling my family. I can't believe it was my idea to tell everyone with our Halloween costumes. I was dying trying not to say anything, and wearing baggy shirts around my mom!
The best part was watching the Grandparents try to figure out my costume! The Grandma's only took a moment, however the Grandpas were in need of a hint! We told the girls about their future the day before Halloween, in hopes they would give the ultimate hint to the Grandparents. Maybe Big Girl J would say something like, "There is a baby in Mommy's tummy!" But no, she said trick or treat, got her candy and was ready to move on to the next house.
Little Miss O could care less about our big news. Big Girl J is very excited, as long as it's a girl. She even got Little Miss O on her side of wanting a sister, not a brother! Of course we keep telling her we won't know till Christmas, and she will have to deal with a baby brother, if that is the case.
The biggest problem I am having with Big Girl J being so curious about the baby and wanting to watch videos of how the baby is growing, is the big question. Not how did the baby get in there, but how does the baby get out? I often respond with, "Do you want a cookie?" or "Hey, what was that, let's go look!" Those responses last me a day or two, but I think I may have to tell her soon...
So back to happy thoughts. I didn't put a lot of effort into the girl's costumes this year. The t-shirts were purchased months ago, but the blue hair was a last minute effort. But I think they pulled it off. Also, Big Girl J, really wanted to be a bat for Halloween this year. So in order to tell the family in my fun way, I talked her into wearing a cape with her Thing 1 costume and going as Super Thing 1. And it worked. She also wears the cape on a regular basis since we got it. She loves it!
They had a blast trick or treating and I enjoy my job of candy inspector. This holiday is only evil if you are on a diet, and obviously I am off my diet for the next 6 months!
I am 12 weeks along. I have made it through the first trimester, without telling my family. I can't believe it was my idea to tell everyone with our Halloween costumes. I was dying trying not to say anything, and wearing baggy shirts around my mom!
Little Miss O could care less about our big news. Big Girl J is very excited, as long as it's a girl. She even got Little Miss O on her side of wanting a sister, not a brother! Of course we keep telling her we won't know till Christmas, and she will have to deal with a baby brother, if that is the case.
The biggest problem I am having with Big Girl J being so curious about the baby and wanting to watch videos of how the baby is growing, is the big question. Not how did the baby get in there, but how does the baby get out? I often respond with, "Do you want a cookie?" or "Hey, what was that, let's go look!" Those responses last me a day or two, but I think I may have to tell her soon...
So back to happy thoughts. I didn't put a lot of effort into the girl's costumes this year. The t-shirts were purchased months ago, but the blue hair was a last minute effort. But I think they pulled it off. Also, Big Girl J, really wanted to be a bat for Halloween this year. So in order to tell the family in my fun way, I talked her into wearing a cape with her Thing 1 costume and going as Super Thing 1. And it worked. She also wears the cape on a regular basis since we got it. She loves it!
They had a blast trick or treating and I enjoy my job of candy inspector. This holiday is only evil if you are on a diet, and obviously I am off my diet for the next 6 months!
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