My Wrinkle in Time

Arielle at 2 years & 3 months

2012-02-23T09:51:00.000-05:00

Hi, my sweetie pie! It has been a while since I did an update on you and I don't want to forget all of the things you are doing at this stage.

You are a ball of energy. Still my toddler tornado, you dump out every bucket, basket and bin of toys possible and play with the contents for 4.2 seconds before moving onto the next. We are still working on the cleaning up part with you. You will sing the clean up song but think picking up 2 out of the 20 items is sufficient.

You are so affectionate. You snuggle and smooch me to death when you wake up. Speaking of waking up, you stand in your crib (still covered by the tent) and call my name until I come get you. I laid in my bed for a while once to see how long you would rhythmically chant for me....I got to 15 minutes before I was laughing so hard I had to come get you.

Your language skills are crazy! You remember words we read and use them in the right context. When I asked how your dinner was the other night, you replied, "Delectable"! (Thanks Fancy Nancy) You used to say "ama-als" for animals and just last night you progressed to saying "aminals". You are getting closer every day!

There are a few things you say that crack me up. "Nouth" (mouth), you can say bath but say "dafroom", you still say MY instead of I when talking about yourself, you call your brother Natey or Nath (no one ever calls him Nath so I think it is so cute).

You have this SUPER annoying habit of pooping in the tub. I even put you on the potty before you get in. You will sit there for 10 min, say you are done and then, like clockwork, say you have to toot and then poop. This has happened more times than I can count and is so disgusting!! Natey never did this. Please stop. K, thanks.

You are currently obsessed with: princesses, castles, brushing your teeth every time we walk in the bathroom, your shoes, 2 little people lift the flap books that we read e.v.e.r.y. night, snacks as soon as you wake up, your dress up princess 'heels', baby animals, and "scratching my back" (which really means you want to stand behind me in the computer chair and hang on me).

You have regressed a little on eating. You will still eat most of what we put in front of you, but you no longer want to use your utensils to feed yourself. You will happily eat if we poke the food for you to feed yourself, or if we feed it to you. You also are the slowest eater in our family. We are all done and staring at you and you are not 1/4 of the way through your meal. We should all follow your example because, half of the time, I don't think I even taste my food as it is gone so fast!

You have started taking your pjs and diaper off in your crib at night and then yelling that you are nakey. I think I will have to do what I did when Natey started doing this and sew the zipper on your footie jams to the fabric. A few times of doing that and Natey stopped disrobing. Hopefully it works for you too.

You know most of your colors. You sometimes mix up blue and green, but only when they are not obvious or when they are together on the same page. You can count to 3 and often tell me if you see 2 of something in a book or around the house.

You attempt to sing songs and they are so cute. You can get through whole songs if I sing a couple of words and then let you finish each line. You love to dance. I will have to post the "Shake, shake, shake, your booty" video I took last night. You and Natey love our family dance parties and will ask for specific songs.

You would take every stuffed animal in the house to bed if I let you. Currently we have a 6 "friend" rule in the bed. If not, you'd suffocate under all of them.

Some naughty things you've said lately, "dammit" (my fault) and "shush you nouth" (said to anyone who chooses to talk without your permission). When people say things they shouldn't you remind them "no potty talk".

You are growing and changing each day my beauty. I just love your sweet smile and infectious laugh. You keep me on my toes in new and differed ways than your brother did and I love that you have your own unique personality.

It always feels like...

2012-02-22T08:33:00.000-05:00

...somebody's watchin' me!

Pinterest Inspiration: Week 2

2012-02-20T15:36:00.000-05:00

Week 2 Project: "Toddler Busy Bag/Book"

AKA: Crap that can keep my 2 year old entertained for a 6 hour flight.

We went on a trip in January. It was the trip from H-E-double hockey sticks, but that is another post completely. My son is 4 1/2 and pretty well versed in technology. You could park him in front of of a TV or video game, or smart phone for that matter for hours on end. I don't allow this, but long flights are where I give up all rules and use whatever I can to retain my sanity. Needless to say, I wasn't worried about keeping him quiet on the flight. My daughter couldn't care less about TV. She will watch half an episode of Caillou and then wander off from lack of interest...or desire to upend something then walk away. I was most concerned about her on this trip.

A few of my friends had pinned "Busy Bag" ideas so I did more searching and found an Etsy store that makes "Quiet books". I started to work on the different pages with the grand plan of having it all neatly bound in a book by the time we left. These pages are time consuming! All made from felt and, while not difficult, just require a fair amount of time. Needless to say I didn't get them all into a book, but I did bring a clipboard with us and we played with one page at a time.

I got 6 pages done: 2 pages of counting beads, 1 textures page with all kinds of fun embellishments on it, a color wheel page where the pie pieces are attached with Velcro for matching, a tic-tac-toe page, and a lift the flap button counting page. (All inspiration pins are listed at the bottom of the post)

I also glued a ton of stuff to magnets and had a magnet board for her to play with. I used a small cookie sheet and a bunch of felt stickers, colored pom poms, some googly eyes and made a couple felt mouth options to make faces. This was also a big hit. Arielle loved playing with the "mag-a-nets" (as she called them) on the plane and while we were out West for the trip.

I made a few other things for the trip, but I will save them for another post. And let me just say, those busy books cost $70 on Etsy and are worth EVERY FREAKING PENNY! They take so much time to make that it justifies the amount they charge! Trust! Time is money people.

Number bead inspiration: Sweet Dreams Shop

Color Wheel, Tic-tac-toe page and lift the flap numbers inspiration: Sunset Blue Gifts

The textures page I thought of myself while wandering through the trim aisle at Jo-Ann fabric. I've always wanted a use for pom pom trim, and white fur!

Magnet board inspiration: Life: Styled

Menu Planning...now on Sunday

2012-02-19T12:35:00.002-05:00

I always like to include our Sunday meal in the weekly plan, so I think it makes more sense to post on Sunday. That way I can start the week with a more fun, rather than utilitarian post like what we're eating for dinner!

Sunday lunch: Mini corn dog muffins with grapes and Stonyfield tube yogurts on the side. I just had to include lunch since it was something new and fun...and delicious! I am totally making these again for a party!
Sunday dinner:Spinach stuffed shells and Caesar salad. I decided to do just a marinara instead of the turkey meat sauce since we'll be having turkey burgers later in the week.
Monday: Turkey burgers and baked zucchini fries.
Tuesday: Chicken taquitos with black beans and rice (my sil's recipe) and my guacamole.
Wednesday: Beef Stew. Hubby's recipe, he's making it. In the pressure cooker. It is delicious, but I will never get him to write down a recipe for me.
Thursday: Marinated broiled (can't wait until we can get grilling again!) lemon herb chicken breast and asparagus orzo salad.
Friday: Pizza movie night! I think we'll make our pizza this week. It will help me stay on track with my eating. I am going to make a fresh motz margarita pizza on wheat crust (from our local bakery) for the grown ups and some cheese and olive pizza for the kidlets.

Notes on last week's dinners:
The Mexican lasagna was a huge hit all around, so I will post a recipe this week with pictures.
The Hamburger buddy was devoured as well. Delicious, quick and sneaky with its shredded carrots and mushrooms mixed in.
The puffed pastry chicken was a flop. No one liked it...not even me. It's a shame because it looked so good.

When you don't

2012-02-17T15:19:00.000-05:00

Thank you, honey, for bringing in the garbage cans before I got home on Tuesday.

...because I usually notice when you don't.

Thank you, my sweet little girl, for giving me a full night's rest every day for the last week.

...because I often complain about it when you don't.

Thank you, my feisty boy, for getting ready this morning with a cheerful attitude.

...because I usually stress out when you don't.

Thank you heavy can of garbanzo beans, that fell out of the cupboard, for just missing cracking me in the head.

...because I always scream expletives when you don't.

Thank you, best friend, for knowing I need a night out and giving me something to look forward to after a crazy week.

...because I miss you when you don't.

Just a little reminder to myself to catalog the random, good things that happen to me and not just dwell on the bad. Hopefully, if I do it more, I can change my point of view just a little every day towards the positive.

Be my Valentine!

2012-02-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

I don't care how many times I have seen this on the Internet, I still love the idea of it! I took his picture, fancied it up in Photoshop and printed them at Walgreens. Easy and so cute. Of course, picture it with a lollipop in his hand. I tried to take a picture of it with the lollipop, but it blocked the words and, my procrastinating self waited until it got dark to try to get a pic of the completed card, so it looked like poo anyway. OK fine, it was bugging me not to put in the final...

Arielle is still going to a home daycare (For a couple more months...more on that later...sniff) so I attempted to make her caregiver a cute card. I was ill prepared since I got the idea to do more than just a Hallmark yesterday. I love the picture of Arielle though. She did that to herself because she wanted to be a princess. I think she looks every bit the part...long underwear jammies and all.

Arielle helped make the cards for the 3 kids she is with every day. She wanted to show me where each button and pom pom should go....except she kept trying to cover the holes I had punched for the lollipops. I think they turned out exactly how she wanted. ;)

Last but not least on this day filled with hearts, a little Valentine's Day breakfast...actually made on Sunday since I have zero desire to attempt this on a school day!

Menu Planning Monday

2012-02-13T09:00:00.003-05:00

Since I am jumping back on the blogging wagon, a few other things need attention too...like meal planning. I try to do it every week and then go to the market on Sundays. If that doesn't happen we end up with at least 3 nights of takeout. That isn't good for the wallet or the waistline. I am going to try to pick recipes all during the week so I don't have to do it all on Saturday or Sunday morning. If you want to put a link in the comments of a favorite recipe I would love you forever! I hate getting bored with dinner. I have been trying some recipes I find on Pinterest, so I will link to them if you want to try them out too!
I am adding Sunday even though I'm starting on Monday so I can remember what I made!

Sunday: Whole roasted chicken, *scalloped potatoes, and **beets.
Monday: Hamburger Buddy
Tuesday: Stuffed chicken breast wrapped in puffed pastry, roasted carrots and butternut squash.
Wednesday: Mexican lasagna (I got this recipe from a friend & will post it if we like it.)
Thursday: Farfalle pasta with chicken, asparagus, pine nuts, black olives and caramelized onion. (My own recipe. I will do a step by step of this one. It is delicious!)
Friday: Pizza movie night!
Saturday: Dinner at the in-laws

*The scalloped potatoes were DELICIOUS! OMG, I could eat them all day. I substituted 50% reduced fat cheese since you use a cup and a half of cheese. I also used Yukon gold potatoes and left the skin on.

**The beets...I thought they were delicious. My hubby thought they were ok. Then again, he likes them with just vinegar on them. He does this to his broccoli too, so I think I won't count his vote. Both kids ate them all up! Yes, my 2 and 4.5 year olds chowed down some beets. I call that a big win. The recipe called for something called Golden syrup. I couldn't find it at Whole Food or my regular market so I substituted equal parts honey and pure maple syrup.

Pinterest Inspiration: Week 1

2012-02-12T09:21:00.000-05:00

I love me some Pinterest. Before this lovely site, I would bookmark the crap out of things and they would get lost in the reaches of my favorites, never to be seen again. Now all of my inspiration is organized so neatly onto boards. I know a lot of people just sit and pin their time away, but I actually make many of the things I pin or at least use them for inspiration for something else I want to make. I thought it would be nice to do a weekly post of my completed projects or recipes that I found on Pinterest. I actually finished this one in time for the first week of January, but as my lack of posting shows, life just got in the way!
Necklace Organizer: pinned from here

I found a towel bar that I liked. I wanted one that didn't scream, "I'm a towel bar" and that went with the decor in our room. I also bought some double sided shower curtain hooks. I love the way that it turned out and now all of my necklaces are hanging neatly instead of being on top of my dresser or hanging from the side of my earring organizer in 2 big clumps!

Swap-a Roo!

2012-02-12T08:53:00.000-05:00

I am excited to be back! I have been swamped with work and life, but I feel like I am not whole without my blog. I am jumping back in with a swap. What better way to get back into the bloggy spirit than to send and recieve a box full of surprises in the mail!

Arielle waddles into 2!!

2011-12-12T16:16:00.000-05:00

Some beautious girl went and turned 2! I'm not sure what makes her think she can just keep growing when I clearly wish to freeze her in the uber cuteness that she is right at this moment. Oh well, that's what blogging is for, right??

Lil' Miss Arielle has a penchant for penguins, so I thought I'd take remove the Christmasy vibe and go with a cute purple, black and white theme for her party. I made the invites in Photoshop and then ran from there with the color scheme.

I wanted it to be cute without looking too grown up. She is only two, you know. I was thrilled with how everything came out. We decided to make it easy on ourselves and do catered sandwiches and picnic salads instead of trying to make food. This was the best idea ever. I can't tell you how many parties we have had at our house when people are arriving and I am still not even dressed because I am still cooking or putting things together. Shut up. I am not a procrastinator. Ok, maybe a little. Anyway, it was a life saver! I made cake pops, candy dipped pretzel sticks and had fresh fruit, dark chocolate kisses and oreos. My amazing Sister-in-law owns a bakery in Boston called Treats on Washington. Her bakery made Arielle's cake and it was amazing!

Without further ado, here are the pictures from the party!

It was an amazing 60 degrees on the day of her party, so all of the kids were running around outside...minus the time they were destroying my family room. For party favors, I got the super cute penguin boxes on Etsy and I made felt penguin masks for the kiddos and then gave them little sticker books. I made Arielle's party shirt and I'm glad I took a few pictures before she proceeded to ruin it with Oreos and all kinds of other mess! The penguin clip came from another Etsy shop. (I love supporting handmade when I can!) I made the table surround out of 2 pieces of fabric that I simply pinned together. The best part is, I can reuse the fabric...I see a purple dress in Arielle's future.

Overall, it has to be the most relaxed party I have thrown to date. We kept it small and I did as much as I could in advance. I had a couple other projects that I didn't get to, and I didn't let it bother me. This is big for me. Overachievers have a hard time admitting defeat!

It was a bittersweet moment watching my baby turn 2. She'll be the last and I don't want the baby to fade into childhood too quickly. Happy birthday Puddin Pie!

Arielle at 2 years!

2011-11-23T12:44:00.001-05:00

I have been the absolute worst at posting your monthly updates, but I will kick myself if I don't start back up again. You are saying and doing so many new things each day, i don't want these moments gone forever in the far reaches of my forgetful brain!

I took you for your 2 year appointment on your actual birthday. That was mean. I will never make you get shots and a finger stick on your birthday again. You weighed in at 29.5 pounds and 35.25 inches tall. You are finally coming down in the weight percentile a little but remain at the top for height.

You are talking up a storm, in full sentences. You sing and do a halfway decent job of getting the words right. The other day Natey was singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". After he finished you piped in, "Santa a list, checkin' a list, a find out, nice! Santa Claus es coming a town!". You were very proud of yourself after that.

You seem to think that "Christmas Songs" means one of 3 songs, the afore mentioned Santa song, "Tingle Bells" or "Frosty the Snowman". You will yell for Christmas songs in the car, but when I put on the station, you don't seem to understand that there are A LOT of different songs about Christmas.

You like to tell people that they are "Sows, sows" (so, so) pretty or handsome. Only girls can be pretty and boys are handsome. No one can tell you otherwise. You started this a couple of months ago, but I think it is so cute.

Every morning when you wake up you want "Nuggles" with mommy in our rocking chair before we can get you dressed. I will take your snuggles as long as you want to give them to me. I wish it could be forever.

When anyone is doing something you don't like you say they are teasing you. Your brother can just laugh at something and you will declare, "Natey teasin me!".

When I drop you off at daycare I started telling you, "See ya later alligator." You have turned this into "Later the gators".

You have a few funny names for things. You call the sun, "sunny day". Any group of trees is a jungle and there are "piders in dare". The stuffed animals that sleep in your bed are your "friends" and your blanky is a bank-a-let.

You are using the word "my" instead of I or me. I love it. The other day I pretended to be scared and you patted my head and said, "My a-tect (protect) you mommy". I almost died from the cuteness.

You can recognize the colors yellow, pink, purple and orange 100% of the time. We are still working on the other colors.

You count to 3 but then you just want me to do it, so you don't continue.

You continue to torture me by taking your socks and shoes off EVERY time we get in the car. This and the tornado-esk activity of upending everything can end any time now. Please. No, really. STOP!

You like to do "wimmin" (swimming) in the bath tub and insist on brushing your teeth every time we enter the bathroom.

Until next update, I love you puddin pie!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T22:20:00.000-04:00

As you can see our theme was Piggies and Power Rangers. Ok, so it's not really a theme, but how about cheap or free costumes? Yes, I like that theme much better. I found Natey's costume at the consignment sale I participate in for $12.50! I tried to find it online and it is a Disney costume, which was $50+ dollars if I had purchased it new (I never would). Arielle's costume I was going to buy, but that lovely trait of procrastination bit me again. I didn't know what I wanted her to be until I saw this get up. I found it online for $24 which isn't terrible, but since it was too close to Halloween, I would have had to pay $17 for shipping. That kinda defeats the purpose. I found someone at work who had it and was able to borrow it instead! I like free much better. Too bad it gets dark here so stinkin early because I didn't get good pictures, but they looked so cute and we had a great time. I will not have a great time wrestling with my a-hole will power when it comes to resisting the candy. Luckily my hubby has hidden it from ~~Nathan~~ me. I will pretend I don't care and not search for it. My thighs will thank me.

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!!

Birthday Snow and Tutus

2011-10-31T22:17:00.001-04:00

Never in my life has it snowed on my birthday. Part of this may have to do with the fact that I was a West coast girl until I was 26. The other part is, snow has no place in October. None. It is bad enough that it can exist November through March. That being said, I have no control over the weather. Surprising, I know.

I turned 33 Thursday. That's 396 months, as my lovely friend Liz pointed out. It snowed a bit on Thursday and then we got 3 inches of snow Saturday night. I still don't believe it. I am usually in the "Can't beat 'em, join 'em" camp, so this year I will stop fighting and embrace the snow...for my kids' sake only.

Nate was so excited to see the snow, so I dressed both kids up in their winter gear for the first time this year and we headed into the back yard. Nate mostly threw himself on the ground on purpose and Arielle spent her time falling after every 2 steps. Poor, uncoordinated child of mine.

As if snow wasn't bad enough to wake up to on Sunday, I had a 5k to run. Liz and I did the Monster Dash which ran through downtown Providence. It was freezing and, as you can see, we were wearing tutus. Most people dressed in costumes. It was hilarious to run up behind someone who was running in an ape costume with a fake bum hanging out. This was my 2nd 5k this month. The first one I finished in 28:44 (9 min 17 second pace) and I was thrilled for my first race. This time Liz and I ran together and in the freezing cold, with tutus on, we still finished in 30:09 (9 min 42 second pace). I am happy with that! We are going to train for a half marathon. I know I can do it, but it will be a long road to next August!

That was my weekend in a nutshell. Next I tackle Halloween and attempt to get a 23 month post in for Arielle before the poor girl turns 2!

The Crystal Ball

2011-10-24T15:26:00.000-04:00

I got the opportunity to attend a fundraising dinner on Saturday. My company is a co-sponsor of the Arthritis Foundation's gala, The Crystal Ball. Many of you know I am a scientist, but I don't think I have ever talked about what I work on. One of the drugs my company makes is Enbrel®, which is used to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Psoriasis and Ankylosing Spondylitis. Most of the drugs my company makes treat debilitating conditions. Basically, you don't want to need anything we make. A 20 year old girl spoke about how she is overcoming her diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis and leading a more normal life because of our drug. I often find I get caught up in the daily hustle and bustle of work and sometimes it takes hearing the story of someone who needs our drugs to remind me why my job is so important.

The gala wasn't all seriousness as we got to have a tarot card reading, a few drinks, a lovely dinner, a pretty Swarovski bracelet and of course our "prom" picture. The last time I attended this event was 2008. Same date, my friend Joelle, but we look much better this time around (see for yourself)! I am not usually a girlie girl, but I think deep down we all want to look and feel glamorous every once in a while.

Miss me?

2011-10-19T22:15:00.000-04:00

What's that sound? Oh, nothing much, just me dusting off the blog. There was a 2 1/2 month pile on here. Geeze. I wonder how many of you are still here? I could blah blah about why I've been gone, but instead I think I'll show you the sweet faces of my kidlets. You know you've missed them more than me anyway.

The last picture kills me. Where has my baby gone?? Someone has stolen her and replaced her with this gorgeous little girl. She'll be 2 in a month. I will cry giant crocodile tears.

I'm in the middle of a blog overhaul, so in about a week (in dog years) I should have a new pretty space all set up! Maybe it will inspire me to notch out more time to write....and read. I will get back into this. I miss you guys. Winter is coming and bringing the cold with it. I'm a bigger fan of my computer than I am of any winter sports. ;)

What I learned from a weekend in NYC...with the family

2011-08-08T13:59:00.001-04:00

Since we had not had a family vacation yet this year, we decided to get away for a few days and go visit my BIL in New York. Many of you already know the joys and perils of vacationing with small beings, but I thought I'd impart to you the things I gleaned from this little adventure.

1. When you take a road trip with 2 wee ones, no one thing will keep them both happy. While the DVD player acts like kryptonite to Nate's crazy, it does nothing for Arielle. Fortunately (unfortunately??) food works for her. I'm pretty sure she ate 11 boxes of raisins on our 4.5 hour journey.

2. When in the passenger seat, keep your ~~FREAKING~~ feet off of the window. The chance that traffic will come to an unexpected halt, causing your wife to slam on the brakes, is pretty high at some point in 4.5 hours. If said passenger has their foot on the window, and tenses up when said wife slams on the brakes, this can happen.....

3. If the family members you are visiting live in a studio apartment, odds are you will have to find somewhere else to stay. You could pay over $300 a night for a hotel in the city (NYC rates obviously)or you can be smart and check out VacationRentals.com. Hands down the best idea ever! I found this site a few years ago when we went to San Francisco for my other BIL's wedding. I, for one, have no desire to share one room with my kids. What am I supposed to do when they go to sleep at 7:30, just sit in the dark? The first time we used this site, we rented a house for 6 of us to share and this time we rented a 2 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn that had a full kitchen and separate living room. We stayed 3 nights in NY and the grand total was $405 bucks! You can't beat that!

4. No matter where you go on vacation, parks will always be an acceptable activity...even if it is a substitute for going to the zoo. With temps in the high 90s and humidity right up there too, I was not going to a stinky zoo with a million other tourists. The kids got to run around to expend some energy and apparently my 28 pound daughter can hold her chubby little self up on the rings. Who knew?

5. If your child is not sleeping well at home, she will not sleep well on vacation. This should have been a no-brainer but hey, a girl can hope. Also, a 4 yo sleeping in a new place will probably get scared and wake up in the night too and then all 4 of you will end up sleeping (being a relative term) in the same bed. A queen size bed.

6. I will always be included in exactly 1 picture. I will always have to ask someone to take this lone picture.

7. The stroller pictured above has been one of my best baby/toddler item purchased to date! I wanted a Phil and Ted's stroller when Arielle was born, but my husband vetoed it because it was so expensive. I fought the good fight for how much I NEEDED it, but in the end I lost. I was going to borrow my friend's stroller to go to NY and, for some random reason I decided to look on Craig's List and found one for $75!!! I snatched it up so fast and it is as awesome as I'd imagined. I now know why I saw so many women with these in NY. They are a must have if you have to do that much pushing a kid (or two) around.

8. The drawback of the stroller in NY??? Not every subway station has an elevator and we ended up having to carry the stroller up and down the stairs. While this was great for exercise sake, it would suck if you were by yourself.

9. Kids on a subway. Not fun. Do I even need to elaborate??

10. Another awesome discovery I made on this trip was Yelp! I downloaded the app to my phone and then was able to search for restaurants and things to do. Everything was rated and people gave detailed reviews. It was so helpful. We found the BEST tapas restaurant in Brooklyn by using it (El Mio Cid if you care). You can search for things surrounding your current location so it was so easy to find good stuff nearby.

11. Your husband may balk at your instructions to stop the car (so you can take a picture) when you see one of the Real Housewives of NY walking down the street with her family. No matter how loudly you yell. Or how much you pout.

12. The Ferris wheel inside the Toys'R Us in Times Square is not as fun to ride as it looks. Trust. Just ooohh and aww about it and save the $4.50 per person it costs to ride the dang thing. If you ignore my advice and chose to ride anyway, pay attention to the fact that kids 2 and under are free and don't buy a non-refundable ticket for your 20 mo old. You're welcome.

13. When you haven't been out for adult time (read alcoholic beverages) with other adults in a long time. You may be willing to pay a large sum of money for a nanny to babysit your kids for the evening. It will be worth every penny!

14. If you drive in NY, and you are not from there, you will probably get pulled over. Just sayin. The cop may have pity on you and let you go....if you look lost enough.

15. This is what Natey does if you tell him to "look excited".

16. You can survive a road trip with small children if you have enough snacks, books, toys, DVDs, crayons, coloring books, drink filled sippy cups, and advil.

**This post was in no way sponsored by any of the sites or bands I mentioned. These are all of my own opinions***

Arielle at 20 months

2011-07-26T13:30:00.017-04:00

Happy 20 months baby girl!

I should probably say little girl not baby, but since you still call yourself that, I'm going with it for a little longer.

I would say what have you been up to this month, but it is more like what have you NOT been up to!!!

You are still gross and eating things you find anywhere and everywhere and when I ask you what's in your mouth you will reply, "Nuttin" or "Idunno". You are too young to be using the I don't know excuse!

Everything is, "MINE" right now, no matter if it belongs to you or not.

Your hair is finally long enough for piggy tails. Too bad you leave them in for all of 10 minutes before you say, "Hurts" and try to rip them out. We need to toughen up your head! I think you went so long with no hair that you aren't used to accessories.

In the car you yell at Natey to hold his hand and then when he lets you you say, "Meet you, meet yooou". We assume this is nice to meet you, but have no idea where you picked it up.

I love to give you hugs and ask, "Who loves you?". You always reply, "Mommy!!"

You are a climber. I have mentioned this before, but now you have done the ultimate no-no and are climbing out of your crib. Luckily someone is giving us a crib tent because, while you are all "Mission Impossible" and stealthily climb out, I don't want you getting hurt. Also, I am so not ready to be putting you back in bed every 5 seconds, so no real bed in your immediate future.

You are sort of getting back to normal on the sleeping problem. While you don't sleep through the night every night, you are getting better and I will keep trying until you are back to your self.

Patience is not a virtue you possess quite yet. If you want something, you want it now and no amount of trying to explain that I'm working on your request helps.

Every morning when I get you out of your crib you snuggle up to me and we rock for a couple of minutes in your room. I love these precious moments I have with you.

You love the bath and get mad if it's not a bath night. Any time we walk in the bathroom you yell "bath" or "teeth". I'm glad you are so concerned with proper hygiene.

Some of the funny things you are saying right now are, "Leg-go" when I try to hold you down to change your diaper and "Oh God", which ~~might be~~ is totally my fault.

You aren't really interested in TV, which is fine with me. You will sit still for a few minutes for "Barneesh" (Barney) or Elmo, but you quickly lose interest and start looking for things to climb.

You can say Arielle but when I ask you your name you say "Baby". This is fine with me!

You are obsessed with putting things in the trash. You will pick things up and say, "Gahbich" and throw them away. I have only caught you putting one thing that wasn't trash in there, so that's good.

Until next month my sweet girl!!

Wordless Wednesday- Sneak peek!

2011-07-20T13:07:00.001-04:00

...a tiny taste of the awesomeness that was our family photo session with Lisa! I can't wait to get my hands on some more!

What do you do with a climber?

2011-07-19T13:23:00.000-04:00

Two and a half years. That was how long Natey slept in his crib until he got kicked out for his sister to move into it. He would have gladly stayed longer. He loved his "cribby". As crazy as my son was, not once did he ever climb out of it.

Arielle is a climber. I constantly find her scaling furniture and attempting to run along the TOP of my couch. I literally can't take my eyes off of her. These Evil Knievel-esk antics have not been without consequence. She has had 2 large goose eggs on her forehead from climbing and falling off of something. Still, she doesn't learn.

The other night, I was baking some delicious chocolate chip zucchini muffins, and playing a game of chicken with my I-don't-want-to-go-to-bed-so-I-will-scream-until-I-get-my-way toddler. I kept going in to check on her. I would lay her down and she would be quiet for 1 second before she realized that I wasn't going to pick her up. I would leave, she would start screaming again. This awesome fun went on for almost an hour. Finally the screaming stopped. I turned in the direction of her room to make sure I couldn't hear anything and there she was with her squinty red eyes and tear-stained face, standing in my kitchen. So there you have it folks. My 19 month old can climb out if her crib. She's done it 2 more times since last week. I don't want her getting hurt so I am forced to take some action.

I don't know what to do with such a young one in a bed, but I don't want to waste money on a crib tent if it is just going to tick her off even more and end in more screaming. What do I do? Bed or crib tent? Help me!

Arielle at 19 months

2011-06-23T22:00:00.039-04:00

My sweet, beautiful, funny and LOUD girl; oh how I love you. You are growing up before my very eyes!!

Speaking of eyes, you have the most sparkly blue eyes. I could get lost in them when I look at you. It amazes me just how much you look like your grandma. I wish she would have had the chance to meet you.

You are getting crazier by the day. You are loud and run around upending anything you can get your hands on. I am about to move the desk downstairs until you are old enough to stop opening the drawers and pulling EVERYTHING out!

Potty training is going well. I am still not sure if we should move to undies during the day or not. 9 times out of 10 you will tell me when you have to "poopy" (which still means either number 1 or 2), but there is that 1 time you won't and I don't have it in me to clean it up yet. I suppose I shouldn't worry considering you aren't even 2 yet!

You are getting so much hair now! It is nice to be able to put little piggy tails in your curls. Too bad you yank them out almost as fast as I can get them in.

Your sleeping is not as good as it used to be. You have been either waking up in the middle of the night and demanding, "song" or waking up at 5am. If I bring you in bed with us you will go right back to sleep but you need me to be practically spooning you! Please go back to normal soon. Mommy thought we were done with the newborn phase.

You are so stubborn. Did I mention that you are stubborn?? MAN ARE YOU STUBBORN! Once you get something in your mind, you dig your heels in and will scream, screech or cry until you have it. We are in deep doo doo come the teenage years.

You had your first real experience at the beach this year. When I took you near the water you protested and then proceed to shriek when I put your feet in the water. The second time we managed to get you in up to your knees. I'm sure it will grow on you, but I doubt you'll be charging head first into waves, like your brother does, any time soon!

You are learning words at lightning speed and have started using 2 to 3 word sentences. Your favorite one right now is, "Trina, she seepin". When you see the cat curled up all around the house.

You are a climber. I can't turn my back on you for a second. If i do, you will be standing ON the kitchen table. You have quite an assortment of bumps and bruises from all of your climbing escapades already.

Until next month baby girl!

Natey at 4 years old

2011-06-23T10:45:00.000-04:00

Natey you are 4!

You never miss a chance to tell people that too.

It is almost a part of your name now, "I'm Nathan. I'm 4 years old".

It is the cutest thing.

At your 4 year check-up you were 45 pounds and 42.5 inches tall! That puts you in the 95th and 92nd percentiles. You gained 5 pounds and 1.5 in 3 months! I knew you were going through a growth spurt when you kept telling me you were starving right after you ate!

You have come leaps and bounds in the last few months with your, ahem, cooperative spirit. I have seen such a change in your willingness to listen and help out. I am starting to give you more "responsibilities" and you are rising to the challenge.

You can get dressed almost all by yourself now. Socks are still a mommy job and you can get your pants on if they aren't too snug and a regular button is not involved. Shoes are hit or miss. I know you know how to put them on and you will do it sometimes, but often you give up and ask for help.

You are still an amazing eater. You are actually a better eater than I was at 25 years old! You eat a wide variety of foods and have an awesome attitude when it comes to trying new things. We have a motto and repeat it every time you are unsure. I say, "If you try it..." and you reply, "I might LIKE it!" and will always take at least a bite.

You are still a mini-me but are starting to look a lot more like daddy. You have now developed a dislike for eggs and regular milk. I swear I have NEVER told you I didn't like either of those. It seems I passed it directly through my DNA to you. ;)

You are inquisitive and ask so many questions. You always want to know about things, but your latest obsession is asking about what will happen when you are 100 years old. It shows me you still don't get the concept of time completely!

You are still a great sleeper. After going through a battle with early waking we bought you a clock that turns green when it is ok for you to get up and you rarely exit your room before that time! Best. Idea. Ever!

You would never wear clothes if we didn't make you. Any chance to strip down, you will take it. We went to our friend's property and, on our walk, came upon a perfect, serene lake. It was a matter of seconds before you ran in with no clothes. I will only let you get away with this until you're 5, so you'd better enjoy it now!

You also have no sense of when it might be an inappropriate time and/or place to pee. Just so you know, on the patio at our friend's cookout, in front of EVERYONE is not one of those times. They make toilets for a reason. Just because you CAN pee anywhere, doesn't mean you should! (SOOOOO embarrassing for me)

You are a sweet, sweet boy! You are also a little charmer and have been telling me (about every pretty girl you meet) that you are going to, "Marry her". You bat your long lashes and smile your one-dimpled smile and they just melt. All of the women love it and I'm sure the girls your age don't get it, so we're good. You never miss an opportunity to compliment someone. You told Auntie that she looked pretty in her dress. I could just smoosh you!

With the return of summer weather came the return of beach days. This is basically EVERY picture I take of you at the beach. You have zero desire to come out of the water. We literally have to drag you out and you think it is funny to turn around and sprint back to the water once we've got you back at the blanket. You want to learn to boogie board and then surf. I think we should start at square one and get you some real swimming lessons first.

Your language development continues to amaze me and everyone else. Lately everything is "Extremely" (good, bad, long, etc.). You like teaching your sister new words and then clapping for her when she gets them. The funniest thing You have tried to get her to say had been, "Ultimate Alien". I have no idea what that is or where you heard it, but it is hilarious.

You continue to be obsessed with all things super hero and when we play you like to tell daddy and I that we are whatever hero you are at the moment's brother and sister and we have to "Get the evildoers!"

You graduated from Pre-school and are starting Pre-K in the fall. You know how to write all of your letters and can count to 59 with no prompting. If I help you a little, you can get to 100. You still seem to have no interest in coloring or drawing pictures, but we will continue to work on that.

Your imagination is very active and you like to blame things on "Casper" when I asked you if you did something bad.

I think you are having bad dreams because of your crazy imagination so every night I have to make sure your closet door is closed and I do a "spell" to keep monsters away from you in the night.

Since we cut the cable we have been watching only Netflix. You have been loving some old school shows like He-man and Inspector Gadget. It is pretty funny. You are also watching Power Rangers and Barney with your sister (kill me now). My favorite thing is the lack of commercials and no more, "Can I have THAT for my birthday?".

I love to watch you grow. Thanks for being my sweet boy.

Wordless Wednesday: What's more fun?

2011-06-15T15:19:00.000-04:00

Brother's new toys...........................or the bag they came in??

You decide!

(The last pic would have been so awesome but it was blurry. Darn toddlers moving at light speed!)

Monster Party!!

2011-06-14T14:13:00.000-04:00

My boy turned 4 yesterday. {Insert sniffles here} After much debate we settled on Monsters as the theme for his birthday party. Being the over achiever that I am, I set out to make a ton of stuff for the party. We had 25 adults,18 kids and 2 babies at the party. Too bad we also had RAIN! I had grand plans of a beautiful tablescape set up under our tent outside, children running their energy out in the yard or jumping in the bouncy house, and 2 organized games being played by all but 5 minutes after guests started arriving it began to pour and everything had to be moved inside. So much for grand plans. The kids still had a blast ~~destroying~~ playing in Nate's room and the family room so that's all that matters, right?? Without further ado, pics from the party...

Natey's party shirt that I made (and Liz helped me finish. THANKS!!)

Meet melon monster. Don't get too close...you might lose a digit!

Juice box wrappers, candy dipped pretzels & wooden spoons and blueberry ice cream all made my me. Vanilla ice cream and rain soaked mini beach balls, not.

Kiddos decorated their own monster masks as they arrived.

Favor cones!

Monster hand puppets on parade!

Yes, I made them. Yes, I'm crazy. There, I saved you from asking.

The two games that didn't officially get played because of the lack of space in the house. Grrrr. At least the kids played the beanbag toss a little bit.

All in all, everyone had a great time. I got a little ambitious on my projects so I didn't finish a couple of things that I really wanted to do. I did love how everything came out though. Happiest 4th Birthday my big boy! I hope you enjoyed it 'cause next year this tired mama is having your party at ~~Germy~~ Chuck E. Cheese!

Since I always want to know where stuff came from, I will break it down for ya!

Invitation: Made and designed by me, Picture edited for maximum awesomeness by Lisa (Salt and Light Studio)

Nate's shirt: Made by me with simple felt which was sewn onto the shirt

Monster melon: Me, with inspiration from HERE

Juicebox wrappers, Pin the eye on the monster game made by me with monster images (also used on the invite) from: Babystar Design

Monster Puppets and favor cones: Made by me with the help of my hubby! Now's that's teamwork!

Cupcakes: Me. Sprinkles and candy eyes were from Michael's Craft store

Little paper cups and wooden spoons for ice cream and cupcake wrappers: Shop Sweet Lulu and inspiration for them: One Charming Party

Monster Beanbag toss game: Amazon.com

Masks, beach balls and monster suckers: Oriental Trading Company

Super cool monster stickers: Fishcakes by Voz Perkins

Inspiration for monster party ideas: J. at your service and Kara's Party Ideas

In a word...Awesome!

2011-05-27T10:49:00.000-04:00

I met Lisa through blogging. Her friendship is one of the many things I cherish about this whole blogosphere thingy! I admired the gorgeous photos she took of her children and wished I could have my own...photos, not her children. Sadly, she lives in Canada. How was I ever going to make that happen? Well, thanks to the impulsive nature of my hubby we took an impromptu road trip to Montreal when I was pregnant with Arielle and had the most gorgeous photos taken of my family and the bump that was my baby girl.

I loved her and her photos so much that I wanted to share them with my friends and I arranged for her to come to RI last May for photo shoots and, since I can't get enough of her, she is coming back for more! We are planning stylized photo sessions for the week of July 3rd-9th in RI. If you live in New England and miss the chance to sign up for this, you will be kicking yourself, I promise. If you don't live in this area but have friends that do, send this info to them, or they will kick you! OK, there will be no actual kicking, but seriously she is way too awesome to miss!

Visit her photography blog for all of the info. There is a tab at the top of her blog for the RI sessions. It mentions a deadline of May 31st, but we have not met the minimum number yet so we are extending it for just a couple more weeks.

Here are only a few photos of the amazing sessions we did last year and a couple more from her portfolio.

The post where I get all scientific on you...or not

2011-05-24T13:10:00.000-04:00

I'm a scientist. Yup, I have the whole white coat and everything. No, I don't have a pocket protector or the black framed glasses. Can we focus, please?? Thanks. My thought process is very analytical. This annoys my A.D.D. husband, as he would rather act than analyze, but that is neither her nor there. I tend to think of everyday things in terms of sciency (it's totally a word) things I already know. Take for instance, "The law of conservation of mass". Crap, I knew I'd lose some of you to boredom, but I promise there is an applicable point here. This law implies that mass (aka: the amount of matter in an object) can't be created or destroyed, only rearranged. This law also applies to energy. I'm thinking of introducing a new theory that this law also applies to sleep.

I've been talking to my friends, many of them moms and I have noticed a general pattern. When one of us gets a good night's sleep, someone else was up all night, or at least a few times. We all have children of different ages, so it isn't like we're all in newborn phase where lack of sleep should be expected. Just in a small circle of 3 of us this law seems pretty consistent. Even if I don't take my friends' sleep, or lack thereof, into account I have plenty of instances where the universe rearranges my sleep.

Case in point. Arielle has been sick. She realized that, when she was sick and cried, we came in right away and picked her up. She woke up 8 times and 5 times on 2 consecutive nights. The next couple of nights she woke once or super early in the morning so my sleep was still interrupted. Last night I begged the universe for my children to sleep past 6am. I didn't hold out much hope but, sure enough, Arielle didn't wake up in the night and slept until 6:25 this morning. So I slept right?? Nope. The universe just couldn't let that happen. Instead of waking up to the cries of my child I was woken up by the sound of the garbage truck at 4:40am. Then to add insult to injury my husband, who doesn't usually snore, was sawing logs and I never really went back to sleep.

Sleep. It cannot be created or destroyed, only rearranged. You heard it here first.

Arielle at 18 months

2011-05-23T13:55:00.001-04:00

Hello my darling 1 and a half year old!!!

It hurt me just to say, er, type that. *sniff*

While I wallow in the sadness that is my baby growing up, let's talk about what you've been doing this month.

You are finally getting some more hair!! Can we get a little parade in honor of this or something?? I thought it would never happen. It is also looking like you've got some curls too. Not as curly as Natey's hair, but I'll take it!

You are exploding in the word department and talking up a storm now. You have even used a few 2 word sentences recently. You have started asking "Peese" (please) when you want things. You won't tell me what it is that you want half the time, you just walk up and say please.

You are obsessed with going "Side" (outside) and will go get your shoes and stand by the door and repeat "Side peese" over and over until we either distract you or take you out.

Once you get outside, keeping track of you is another story. You are an escape artist and a climber extraordinaire! I can't turn my back on you for a minute or you will be climbing the stairs or trying to run behind the pool (don't worry it's an above ground pool, she can't fall in) or trying to get onto your brother's trike...backwards.

You are mommy's little helper. You like to pick up toys and throw them into their bins. This will come in handy since you are usually the one taking everything in sight out!

You have discovered the pouty face. Just look at it. If this is the drama I am getting at 18 months, I can only imagine what you have in store for me for the teen years.

We did it! We kicked the bottle completely! I didn't know if it was going to happen by 18 months, but when we go for your well visit on Thursday I can look the Dr. in the eye as I say you are bottle free! It wasn't even difficult. Sometimes I don't give you enough credit.

You are still my chubby baby! You had a sick visit last week and were 27 pounds, 15 ounces. We'll see what the height stats are this week. I think it is hilarious that you only weigh 7 more ounces now than you did at 1 year. I bought you a bunch of 2T clothes thinking you might not fit in 24 months.....I might have to fix the pants now so they stay up. Oops. (UPDATE 27 pounds 8 ounces (94th percentile) 34 inches tall (97th percentile))

Unlike your brother you will actually wear hats! This is good considering your uber pale skin. I will be slathering you with sunscreen this summer, be forewarned!

You have always been a good sleeper (except when you're sick) so i am wondering why you have been having some separation anxiety when we put you down to sleep the past week. Even if I just sit in the room with you, that seems to make you happy. This started after you were sick last week and I responded to every pep. Let's hope you get back on track soon.

You seem to be eating less these days. You will often turn your hands up and say "done" after only a few bites. I hope this isn't the start of some pickiness on your part. Last night you wouldn't eat the glazed carrots, but did keep asking for "Moy" (more) feta cheese. I guess it all balances out.

You are a tough cookie and it barely phases you when you get hurt. Even after falling and scraping your knee pretty bad, I didn't even realize you had hurt yourself until you sat down on a step for a minute. Now if your brother would just learn not to hug you so tight!

Just because...

2011-05-16T15:35:00.000-04:00

...I love these two!

Never underestimate your children

2011-05-12T13:47:00.000-04:00

I have been dreading getting rid of Arielle's nighttime bottle. She drinks milk, water and juice out of sippy cups during the day, but since she was weaned from me and has taken a bottle at night she has had one. 8 ounces. Every night. We recently went through a little phase of her waking in the night for a week or so but are finally back to normal sleeping. I thought that if I took away the bottle she would be hungry and wake up for sure. Nate weaned himself from a bottle at 1 and so I never really had to try. At her 15 month visit, when I sheepishly admitted that she was still taking the bottle, the doctor told me that we should try to be bottle free by 18 months. Her 18 month well visit is in 2 weeks and, being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until last night to try to ditch the bottle.

I expected some crying.

I expected her sweet voice to be asking for "mulk".

I didn't expect for it to not phase her in the least...which is what happened.

It went way too smoothly so then I expected her to wake in the night hungry and crying.

She had to be woken up at 7:15 this morning.

Never underestimate your kids. It just might be you who is more afraid of change than they are. It might be your subconscious last-ditch effort to hold on to something that keeps her a baby and not the toddler she has become.

Cinco de Mayo!

2011-05-05T08:52:00.000-04:00

Having grown up in Southern California I have an appreciation wonderful, authentic Mexican food. It has been rough living in New England where some people's idea of a taco is sloppy Joe in a tortilla. I miss walking through old town San Diego and getting a carne asada or shrimp taco in a homemade corn or flour tortilla from a truck parked on the street. My mouth is seriously watering just thinking about it. I have had to learn to make much of my own Mexican food and have found a couple of places in my area that can satisfy my cravings. I've decided to share a few links of recipes that I've tried out so you can create your own Mexican fiesta!

Tamales: My H.S. boyfriend's mom taught me how to make tamales. She would make them every Christmas. They are a lot of work, but are sooo worth it!

Guacamole: I have tried all kinds of guacamole. The store bought guac just doesn't do it for me, so I learned how to make my own and you can too. It is really easy and people love it!

Carne asada tacos: In the same post where I made the guac, I have a recipe for an awesome marinade for skirt steak that makes slammin carne asada tacos!

Taquitos: For those of you who have never heard of a taquito, you are missing out. People thought it was a drink when I asked them for some. Anywho. Taquitos are delicious with either shredded beef or chicken. Here is a recipe for chicken taquitos that are awesome!

Flour tortillas: Do yourself a favor and just once make flour tortillas from scratch. They are divine. Oh and try to ignore the fact that you have ot buy lard to make them....it doesn't matter....delicious!

Green Chile Enchiladas: I have my own version that is similar to this that I will have to post sometime soon, but for now these are good too!

So get into your kitchen and try making your own Mexican food. It isn't as hard as it seems and it is delicious. Now, if you live in Southern California, just go buy yourself food any one of the million places that is awesome...I just don't have that luxury these days!

Arielle at 17 months

2011-04-29T10:33:00.000-04:00

Apparently I am no good at posting on the actual day any more, but at least I am still getting the updates in!

Baby girl, next month you will be a year and a half old. Even though I am done having babies, I still wish you'd stay a baby. You are the most pleasant happy girl I have ever seen and I just want to freeze you in time right now.

The lashes, oh those beautiful long lashes! You can thank Daddy for those later in life, but for now just know that when you do your little blinking thing at me and bat those lashes, I just wanna scoop you up and give you a squeeze!

You are still as smiley as ever but are really starting to exert your will in situations. Your screech will become that of legend and I pray my eardrums survive!

You are obsessed with shoes. Putting them on, taking them off, my shoes, Daddy's shoes, the little girl at the parks Twinkle toe Sketchers, and pretty much any other shoes you see. It probably doesn't help that I have become obsessed with the cuteness of little girls shoes! Nate has 3 pairs of shoes, you have ~13. Some of them were hand-me-downs, but not many.

You are still a great eater and only object about eating a few things. They aren't consistent so I hesitate to call them dislikes just yet. If you don't like something you will spit it right out and promptly throw it on the floor.

Speaking of eating, these are the last pics you will take in the highchair. I got tired of cleaning the thing and having to move it in and out of the corner to clean under it. We borrowed a seat that straps onto our normal chairs and you are really apart of the family meals now!

You are still drinking a bottle at bedtime. I am really not sure how I am going to kick this one. You won't drink a substantial amount from a sippy cup and if you don't get enough food and milk in you before bed you wake at 4am starving!

You are like a magpie these days, repeating everything you hear. At Easter dinner all of the adults were talking and Nate wanted to say something so he said, "Time out!!" and everyone laughed when you repeated him and then kept saying it the rest of the day.

Your favorite word has become No, but when you say it, it is usually in a sing song voice and sounds something like now. We crack up when you say it and Natey will often ask you questions just to hear you repeat it over and over. The problem is, you will not say yes and you say no even when you really mean yes.

Some of the other words you say that are too cute are, "Moy" (more), "Burdee" (berry), "Up" (which means both up and down to you). You call tomatoes, "apples" and can say cado for avocado.

Your hair is juuuuust barely long enough in the front to clip to the side. Too bad you only leave the clip in for a minute before you are ripping it out. Same with headbands, which is really a travesty considering I have 15 of them for you!

Daddy likes putting a little pony tail in the back for you, but it looks quite silly since your hair is still so thin! The good news is, with all of the humidity we've been having, I've noticed your hair has started to curl!! I hope it gets more curly as the summer months get here.

You are doing something really amazing that you started doing a couple of weeks ago....You are pooping in the potty! It started because of a gross pooping in the tub incident, but now every time you have to go you say "poopie" and walk to the bathroom. My goal is to have you potty trained by the time you are 2! I look forward to getting rid of diapers!

Your canine teeth are finally half way in. I don't remember your other teeth taking that long to come through.

You have started using a fork and are really good at it. You can poke your food and even get it to your mouth with no problem!

You have an obsession with Elmo and hopefully we can take you and your brother to Sesame Place sometime this summer. I'm pretty sure you will try to kiss the Elmo character to death when you see him!

In a word

2011-04-22T12:05:00.000-04:00

There are many things that can invoke a memory. Sometimes all it takes is a smell, a familiar scene, or a song to bring a familiar memory rushing back to the forefront of your mind. You are instantly transported to that time and place. It isn't always a good memory. A smell might remind you of an ex boyfriend or hearing that particular song can take you to a sad time in your life, but most often for me the memories are happy ones.

I love it when, what sparks a memory, is something seemingly ordinary. One of those things for me is the word "interim".

I was in high school, probably a sophomore. I was hanging in my living room with my mom and we were discussing our plans for going to the beach. I wanted one of my friends to come and was waiting for her to call me back. I didn't want to make any decisions until I heard from her because, as a teenager, we all know our worlds hinged on our friends. My mom was still trying to move forward with the plans so she said, "In the interim, let's plan what we do know". I guess I hadn't heard that word before so I immediately started debating the validity of that word. "Interim, that is soooo not a word , mom!" Of course there was no checking Google to prove she was right so we embarked on a 20 minute search for the dictionary. In the end, as we all know, it was a word. We laughed about it and for years she didn't let me live down the fact that her smarty pants daughter (because I so ~~was~~ am) was wrong for once.

I just overheard that word as a co-worker was talking on the phone. I'd thank her for the happy memory she just sparked, but I'm pretty sure she'd look at me like I was nuts. So I will just sit and enjoy it with a few happy and sad tears welling up in my eyes. I miss her.

The price of beauty...

2011-04-21T14:08:00.000-04:00

I went to the RI Women's Expo with my friend last weekend. First I'd like to say that was slightly irritated and extremely underimpressed with the types of booths there were. Crappy jewelry, chotchies, and other items of questionable worth were rampant. Is this crap what we, as women, represent? I certainly hope not, but the people there were eating it up! Of course there were a few good booths, Zumba Fitness, some wineries (we all love wine) and a local dairy that delivers (score!).

Like any expo there were plenty of giveaways. I threw my name in the hat for a few of them, you know, the good ones. One was for all new windows for the house, a finished basement, and of course a $1600 "Grand Prize" for a national laser treatment center with local offices. What they hey, everyone needs a little beauty help, right? And free beauty help, well, what could be better than that?

So, I won. Yes, the "Grand Prize". Why do I keep using quotes for that, you ask? Well, I decided I'd bite. $1600 must buy a ton of beauty, right?? I had a consultation and it turns out that $1600 is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to beautifying one's self. There were a bunch of different treatments available. Botox, microderm abrasions, body contouring (whatever the heck that is), etc. Since I am a Microbiologist (by schooling) I am very anti injecting the world's deadliest poison into my face, no matter how safe they claim it to be. Besides, how will I get Nate to listen to me if I can't give him my sternest frowny face??

One treatment did strike my fancy. It's not surgical. It's not a laser treatment that hurts a lot or makes your face red for days. It's a subdermal treatment that supposedly stimulates your own cells to produce more collagen and elastin instead of injecting it into your face. It evens out skin tone, helps small scars and wrinkles (which I have quite a few of) and would help the hyperpigmentation I have from years of sun damage and the burn I got when I was pregnant with Nate. That sounds awesome, right?? So what's the hang up? Oh yeah, it costs $3,500...for 4 treatments. So do the math. $3500 minus my "Grand Prize" and it would still cost me $1900. Not so "Grand" if you ask me. I guess I will have to grow old gracefully if this is the cost of beauty.

Storm Chaser

2011-04-06T08:24:00.000-04:00

I am a storm chaser. No, not the kind you might be thinking of. I don't get into my pickup truck and crazily follow tornadoes across the plains. I chase a tornado of a different kind. This twister lives in my house, and is disguised in the form of a sweet 16 month old girl. Don't let her sunny disposition fool you. This little girl is the rootinest, tootinest, messiest being alive.

Wherever she goes she leaves a path of destruction in her wake. I can't turn my back for a second. A list of her recent crimes include:

Overturning a basket of folded clothes
Taking EVERY DVD out of the TV stand
Pulling all of the books off her book shelves
Climbing up on the dining room chair just to pull the table cloth off
Relocating all of the shoes that were neatly in a line by the door
Pulling items OUT of the garbage can
Attempting to drown Nate's Kung Zhu pet in the toilet
Tipping over the cat's food bowl

This list could go on and on. I fear we have entered a very busy and messy phase of toddlerhood around these parts. Let's hope the house...and my patience survive!

Arielle at 16 months...and, ahem 1 week

2011-03-30T15:05:00.000-04:00

My baby girl is starting to seem not so babyish to me these days. She is entering my favorite phase of baby/toddlerhood, the year and a half to 2 and a half range. Well, I'm not sure if that will be my favorite with her yet, but it sure was with Nate. I love seeing them start to figure things out. Their personalities become more defined and their language skills improve so much in that time frame. Ok, enough of what I'm looking forward to, let's talk about what I'm enjoying now!

This face! This cherub, sweet cupie doll face! I can't get enough of it. I want to smooch it all day and snuggle into your squishy cheeks and neck. You still smell like baby and, since I can't bottle it, I will enjoy it as long as I can!

You are becoming quite funny and will repeat something if you see it has solicited a laugh from someone, especially Natey. The down side to this is, Natey likes to laugh at the inappropriate things that I don't want to encourage, like hitting yourself in the head or spitting. But your awareness of cause and effect is definitely growing.

You have started babbling a lot and repeating words you are learning. You like to say "Mama" and will keep saying it until I say what...and even after I say what. It seems you are working your pronunciation or something since you change the inflection on the words as you repeat them.

Your new favorite words and phrases are "Mama", "Good girl", "More", "Show", but you have started repeating so many words and are picking them up very quickly.

You still drive me nuts and take your shoes and socks off EVERY time we get in the car. If it wasn't freezing out I'd just take you to the car barefoot and put them on when we arrive at our destination.

You do, however, have a fascination with everyone else's shoes and try mine and daddy's on all the time. It is hilarious to see you clomping around the breezeway in my red high heel or daddy's giant high top Nikes.

You are very into demanding "Up" and then getting down right away only to demand to come up again. You try to climb up on anything and everything and are starting to get quite good at it. I have to watch you every second or I will turn around and you will be standing on a chair or climbing the couch.

You are a baby tornado. You would be happy if every object in our house was located on the floor. You upend baskets of folded laundry, pull papers off of the desk, try to take things out of the trash can, and take all of the DVDs out of the cupboard under the TV. Once they are safely on the floor, you want nothing to do with them and go about your merry way. It is hard to clean when you follow behind me making a mess, so let's work on that!

You are down to 1 bottle a day! It is progress. I thought the morning bottle would be a hard one to break you of, but you seemed to give it up without an issue. You still get the one right before bed and that one will be phasing out to a sippy cup of some sort in the near future.

It is super difficult to brush your teeth. I don't remember it being this hard the first time around. I practically have to wrestle you and hold your head to do it. There must be an easier way, but I have yet to figure it out.

Daddy puts YouTube songs on for you in the mornings on his phone as you snuggle in our bed. Now, every morning, you pick up my phone and demand, "Show!" and "mulk" (milk) when you get into our room. You are definitely learning how to get your way.

Keep up your sweet ways my sweet girl and I look forward to the months to come!

It's what's for breakfast!

2011-03-28T15:53:00.001-04:00

UPDATED: And the winner is....

Lyr said...

I feel like Nutella is the new craze. I guess I have got to try this stuff

I will email you for your address so I can send you out your goodie bag!

I got the chance to host a "Mommy Party" sponsored by Nutella. Anyone can have a party at home, but I took my party with me to work. We had a lunch meeting in one of our conference rooms and I shared the goodies Nutella sent me with several of my awesome co-workers. I had heard people rave about this stuff before and I had tried it one time, but using it for breakfast items isn't something I thought of before. We toasted some English muffins and topped them with Nutella and banana slices and it was delicious! I also sliced up some apples for dipping in the Nutella...mmm. Let's just say, I had the rest of the jar in my cubicle for a couple days and finally had to take it home because I was tempted to dig into it with just a spoon!

I have one goodie bag left over from the party. It has a Nutella sample pack, tumbler mug, special spreader, coupon and breakfast tips in it! Leave me a comment telling me your favorite way to use Nutella and I will pick a random winner and send it out to you!

Flower cake pops & Brunch

2011-03-21T14:30:00.000-04:00

I feel as though I have fully embarked on my cake pop adventure now! This is the 5th time I've made them (for the other times see here, here and here) and I am just loving it. While this design is not in the Cake Pop Cookbook, I was having a brunch party at my house and wanted something springy without being Eastery (totally not a word but let's go with it) so I did some Googling and found this idea. Thankfully, since it is almost Easter, pastel candy corn was available. I used the candy corn for the pedals and a chewy sweet tart for the middle. The pop part was straightforward since I was just using white candy melts. I think they are cute and fun and they were a nice addition to the brunch....which I will talk about after the slew of cake pop pictures!

I never have events at my house with just friends any more. It seems that having kids puts a crimp in your partying, but I got some of my girls together on Saturday for a little brunch. We had mimosas and I made stuffed french toast, which was to die for. I got the recipe from Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen site and the only thing I did differently was I used Challa bread instead of French bread. You see, here in NE, french bread is a baguette. I have yet to find loaves in a bakery that aren't Italian bread. I also wanted to make frittatas which, for a girl who doesn't eat eggs, is rather gutsy. I have a couple of friends with dietary restrictions and I wanted them to be able to enjoy too so I decided to make individual frittatas in a muffin tin! I prepared sauteed mushrooms, asparagus, peppers, and zucchini along with bacon, ham and cheese. I numbered a piece of paper that corresponded to the muffin tin spaces and had people write their names next to a number. They put in the tin whatever ingredients they wanted and then I poured the raw scrambled egg into each tin and baked them at 375 degrees for ~17 minutes. Apparently they were delicious, or so everyone said. Next time I will spray the muffin tin with cooking spray before I add the ingredients but luckily the tin was non-stick so they came out OK.

It was fun to have people over and talk and enjoy the nice day. Of course I took 3 whole pictures since I was in a rush to get the food out when everyone was arriving. I swear I might form a procrastinators support group...eventually. It was a nice day with my girls and it makes me look forward to spring (and continuing my cake pop obsession) even more!

Just one of those days

2011-03-16T09:48:00.000-04:00

Do you ever have a day that just makes you feel like you suck at life? Yeah, that was yesterday. Nothing huge or terrible happened, but a series of little things just beat down my confidence and put me in a bit of a funk. I forgot to feed Nate breakfast before I dropped him off at school and had to call and ask them to give him part of his lunch to eat in the morning. I was so embarrassed having to call and tell them I forgot to feed my child. Who does that? I won't bore you with the rest of my crappy day but it ended at 11pm with me attempting to finish a nap mat for Nate and accidentally sewing the bias tape to the edge of the whole thing but forgetting to add the blanket. I cursed loudly as I began to rip 5 feet of seam apart and then heard Nate crying. I thought I had woken him up but, it turns out, I had forgotten to put the kid's diaper on before bed and he woke up because he had peed. He was so upset like it was his fault. I comforted him, changed his clothes and bedding, and snuggled him until he fell asleep. I gave up on the day at that point and just went to bed.

Do you ever feel like your tiny failures as a mother add up to epic disappointments? I know I do. I will try to make today a better day. I will try to keep my patience in check when I am feeling beat down. I will try not to be so hard on myself. I will be better. They deserve it.

The Blackberry: My Gateway drug to technology

2011-03-14T16:28:00.000-04:00

The hubbs and I were watching a show the other night and a Blackberry commercial came on. He glanced lovingly at his Droid X and snarked, "Aren't you glad we don't have those any more". I looked at my own smaller Droidlet phone (the Droid 2) and smiled. Oh how I love my technology. I didn't always have this love for all things convenient in the palm of my hand. I didn't even have a "smart" phone until I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Arielle. I switched from my good ole LG, all-it-can-do-is-call-and-send-texts model to the Blackberry Curve. I was instantly enamoured with the bbm function, instant access to my email and the ability to look at web pages, albeit slow loading and not the easiest to see at times. I was grateful for my new toy considering I didn't get within 30 yards of a computer in the first few weeks with the new baby. Heck, I was even able to tweet and FB the birth of my daughter almost as soon as she came out. This is where the honeymoon ended.

The BB started to freeze up ALL the time. If I didn't erase my emails my phone would freak out and I would have to take the battery out and reboot it. This happened daily. I got so irritated that I wanted a new phone, but I couldn't go back to my plain Jane phone. I NEEDED the email and twitter and all of the smartness of my smart phone. So we upgraded to the Droid family of phones. Now I fear I have too much technology at my fingertips. I have a Tweetdeck, words with friends, angry birds, Zoodles for Nate, a stopwatch app (you know we all need one of those), Facebook, ebay, Kayak, Pandora and who knows what else on my phone. I find myself walking around the house with my technological leash and have to ask myself how I got to this point?? When did the simple like of technology turn into this addiction? I blame it all on my Blackberry. It was my gateway drug. I don't even think they have a rehab for this kinda thing. Hmmm, maybe I'll ask Charlie. WINNING!!

Arielle at 15 months

2011-03-01T13:25:00.000-05:00

Hello sweet baby girl. You turned 15 months a week ago, but you were so sick I couldn't bear to torture you by trying to take pictures. Better late than never, so here goes...

You have made leaps and bounds in the language department. You know a lot of words but you don't often volunteer them, but will say them when I ask you what something is.

You do make exceptions to this and the words shoe, mama, daddy, Nathan and "baba" (bottle) are frequently uttered.

Speaking of the "baba", we need to start kicking that to the curb. It will be painful for us both, but it really needs to happen before you urn 18 months old. You have now been warned.

You are still as smiley as ever, but had a couple of weeks that you were just miserable. You got your first ear and sinus infections at the same time. You looked so sad, but are back to your chipper self now.

At your 15 month check up, they weighed you and I made them do it again just to be sure. You actually LOST weight from your 1 year appointment. You were 26.5 pounds (a whole pound less than 3 months ago) and are 33 inches tall. You have finally come down onto the chart for weight (woohoo!) in the 96th percentile and are in the 99th percentile for height.

Your hair is finally starting to come in but for now I have dubbed you "baby bad hair" because the front grows straight forward and, when it is on your forehead, looks like an old man. You are still cute, don't worry! As soon as the summer comes, I pray the humidity helps that hair start to curl.

You answer to Arielle, Ari-belle, puddin pie and "sisty" and when I point to you in the mirror and ask who it is you always say "baby".

When you are finished eating you put your hands out to the side, palms up, tilt your head to the side and shrug while you say "done".

There is nothing you have tried so far that you will not eat...including random objects from the floor.

You have been learning your animal noises and are starting to recognize animals in the book.

You are obsessed with books and will ask for one every chance you get.

You are wearing size 18-24 months in most clothes, unless they are really structured (like some jeans or khakis) and then you wear a 2T. You are in a 5.5 shoe.

You have a jealous streak that shows when Natey is on my lap or getting my cuddles. You will come over, screech and try to position yourself between us. It is hysterical.

You will turn off any light switch you can get your hands on. This is really fun when I am trying to brush your teeth.

Speaking of teeth you have all but the canines and 2nd molars. The bottom canines are on their way in and bugging you right now.

This is still the sign that you are tired. Thumb in the mouth and left hand on the ear.

I love you my sweet girl!

Menu Planning Monday

2011-02-28T08:43:00.002-05:00

Last week was a disaster! Both kids and I were sick. I didn't make it to the market the previous Sunday and I was left scrambling for dinners all week. This meant unhealthy takeout and not really balanced meals, which is what you really need when you are sick. Ugh! Now that we are on the upswing of the sickness, both kids are well into their antibiotics and finally sleeping through the night again (THANK GOD) I made sure I planned for this week. Here's what's on the table this week:

Sunday: Individual Shepherd's Pie (Also called Shepherd's Pie Pie by Natey)
Monday: Broiled Spiced Salmon, broccoli & cous cous
Tuesday: Chicken Pesto Pasta
Wednesday: Shrimp Fried rice
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Slow cooker beef stew
Saturday: Dinner at in-laws

The Shepherd's pie was a new recipe and it got a thumbs up from all at the table. I will be adding it to the recipe binder, which is in need of some serious updating! I'm doing a little experimenting with the shrimp fried rice and also the chicken pesto pasta so it doesn't involve cream (to much fat). If they come out well, I will post the recipes. If you have any awesome (and quick, ~45 min or less) recipes, post a link in my comments. I am getting tired of trolling through recipe blogs, not knowing if the food is any good!

Old Wives Tales

2011-02-24T08:49:00.001-05:00

I'm not a huge believer in many of the old wives tales floating around. I don't think that you can tell the sex of an unborn baby by the way you're carrying. I know for a fact that going outside with wet hair is NOT how you catch a cold. I am also pretty sure that chocolate doesn't give you acne or my face would look like a hormonal teenage boy's. That being said, when you are at the tail end of 2 weeks with no sleep because both of your children have been waking up multiple times a night, either coughing or because they couldn't breathe through their nose, you are willing to try anything to get some rest. Enter my MIL.

My hubby told his mom that the kids have been really sick and we are dying over here from lack of sleep. She gave some advice that I was sure had to be one of these old wives tales. She said, right before we put the kids to bed, we should rub Vicks VapoRub on the soles of their feet and put cotton socks on them. This is supposed to stop their coughing and let them sleep through the night. I admit I was skeptical but willing to try ANYTHING short of voodoo to get Nate to sleep. He was coughing as we were getting ready for bed and I didn't hold out much hope for this trick to work, but I did it anyway. Ten minutes after I put the Vicks on his feet he was out like a light and sleeping soundly. He did not wake up 1 time last night!!! I wish I could say the same thing for baby girl, but she wasn't waking up coughing. Her sinuses are so stuffed up that it is coming out of her tear ducts. Poor pitiful baby.

I have to say that I am a firm believer in this trick and will do it again tonight. I'm pretty sure Vicks doesn't endorse this application of their product, but I work for a pharmaceutical company and know that off-label applications of some products are often more successful than their originally intended use! Case in point, I have been rubbing the Vicks on his chest for days with no improvement in cough or sleep. It just goes to show you that not all old wives tales are bunk!

*Not a sponsored post. Do not use regular Vicks on children under 2 years old. Use Baby Vicks instead*

Cupcake Pops

2011-02-21T16:39:00.000-05:00

It is official, I'm obsessed. The first time I saw cake pops on someone's blog I knew I had to make them. I started off pretty simply with the regular, ball shaped pops and then it became my goal to make all different shapes!! The next thing I tried was skull cake pops for Natey's pirate themed 3rd birthday party. They turned out ok, but I couldn't quite get the candy coating right and I bought the wrong food markers. I made them in August for a dinner at the local Ronald McDonald House in the shape of suns, but an unfortunate occurrence with a super hot day resulted in pops melting right off the sticks. There is no need to look at the sad pictures of that one...

Then Bakerella came out with her cake pop cook book and I was sold!! I have decided that I am on a mission, Julie and Julia style, where I will systematically bake and make my way through her cook book! I am not giving myself a time limit since I have many other things keeping me busy, but I will make every last one (maybe not the Hanukkah ones...unless someone really needs me to, just ask!).

With that work-up I give you cake pop attempt number 4, the Cupcake Cake Pop, in all its cutesy glory!!

Shortcut Chicken Pot Pies

2011-02-17T21:04:00.004-05:00

I have a really awesome chicken pot pie recipe that requires cooking the chicken and making your own chicken stock, but honestly who has time for that? I made a few changes and think it tastes the same using a few shortcuts. I have been trying to incorporate leftovers into another weeknight meal to save time and money. On Sunday, when I had more time than a normal night, I roasted a chicken. We ate the roasted chicken with roasted root veggies and it was delicious. Then I turned the leftovers into chicken salad for some sandwiches and used the rest in this chicken pot pie recipe! I also made the filling on Sunday and had them ready in the refrigerator to just pop into the oven for a quick and easy weeknight meal. If you don't have time to roast your own chicken, grab a roticerie chicken from the market.

Chicken Pot Pie

Meat from a roasted or roticerie chicken
1 box of chicken stock (Stock NOT broth, very important)
6 tbs butter
1 large onion, diced
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 package (8oz) of mushrooms, quartered
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 bag of frozen peas and carrots
2 tbs minced fresh parsley
1 large pinch of kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 package or ready made pie crust (I like Pilsbury)
Egg wash- 1 egg whisked with 1 tbs water

Pull the meat from the roasted or roticerie chicken. I just use my hands to pull it apart. Set aside for later.

If you plan to cook the pot pies right after you make the filling then pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut up your celery, mushrooms and onions.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet or I use my dutch oven...for everything. Add the onions, mushrooms and celery and cook until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. (If you forgot to add the mushrooms at this step like I did, you can saute them in a seperate pan and throw them in...oops)

Add the flour and cook, stirring, for about one minute more.

Whisk in 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock.

Whisk in the milk.

Bring to a simmer and then decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring often.

Add the chicken meat, thyme, the frozen peas and carrots, parsley, salt and pepper and stir well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Divide the warm filling into six 10 oz ramekins. I have glass ones, but only 4 so I either use disposable aluminum ones or just pour the rest into a round baking dish. You could just as easily make one big one, but I prefer individual servings...with their own crust. Mmmmm. Cut the crust into 6 rounds, slightly larger than the circumfrence of the ramekins. Lay the dough round on each one and fold the excess dough under itself and use a fork to press the dough against the edge like so.

Now you have two choices..you can cover them with plastic wrap and put them on a baking sheet in the refrigerator to pop in the oven sometime during the week or you can cook them right away. I have even covered mine with plastic wrap and then tin foil and put them in the freezer, but then they take a while to bake when you take them out. If you choose to eat then in the now continue..

Cut a few little slits in the top of the pies for venting purposes. Use a pastry brush (I have a silicone one) and apply the egg wash to each pie.

Line a baking sheet with tin foil, place the pies on the sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving or it will be like eating lava. (I like to picture Dr.Evil when I say that word)

These are so good you'll think your grandma spent all day making them. Let me know if you try them out! Bon appetit!

Big Girls DO Cry

2011-02-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

Just about every pictrue of Arielle I have put on my blog is shiny and happy. It's not because of selective photo posting. She is the smiliest baby I have ever met....until she's not feeling well. I made an outfit for one of my friends to give as a gift and wanted to try it on Arielle to see how it looked. Let's just say one little cold and the normal smiley cooperation was completely absent.

The outfit was for a 2 year old so it was a little big on her. Maybe that's what she was ticked about...or maybe it was because mommy took away her stethescope to try to get some cute pictures. Oops.

Wordless Wednesday -When we met

2011-02-09T16:36:00.000-05:00

I'm postig this photo from back in the day because Monday was the 7 year anniversary of the day I met this wonderful man. You make me smile, always. I love you.

I love technology, but not as much as you, you see.

But I still love technology.

Always and Forever.

I Love Technology

If you don't get this, there is nothing I can do for you...you just don't know funny.

Today's top 10

2011-02-08T10:51:00.000-05:00

Top 10 indications that you need a vacation some where warm:

1. You look outside at the snow and contemplate taking a blowtorch to the stuff just so you can see your lawn again.

2. Your kids are so tired of their coats that the 3yo won't even let you zip it up anymore without a full blown meltdown.

3. You open the door and it's a balmy 42 degrees outside and you stand on your deck smiling like it is a hot summer day.

4. Instead of being happy that Punxatawney Phil didn't see his shadow you think that groundhogs are now purposely f*ing with you. This winter will never end.

5. You are jealous of your co-worker who is going on a 3 week vacation to Florida and smiled a little when he told you that it was supposed to rain the first day.

6. You have started planning your son's 4th birthday party...that's not till June...just so you can imagine being outside and warm.

7. You keep pulling out all of your daughter's summer clothes that you've already bought, praying they will still fit her by the time it is warm enough.

8. You browse the Beaches resort website weekly, checking rates, even though you know you aren't going anywhere any time soon.

9. You wear yellow and bright green short sleeve shirts to work trying to channel spring.

10. You spend an hour writing a list of all the reasons you really, really need to get out of this stinking cold and want to be warm so bad that you are contemplating turning the heat in your house up to 85 just for one day and lay around in your bathing suit.

Homemade Pancakes

2011-02-03T18:55:00.000-05:00

I used to use Bisquick for my pancakes before I realized how easy it is to make them yourself. I tried a few recipes online and ended up modifying and combining 2 of them to get the recipe I use now. Saturdays are usually pancakes day in our house and this recipe is a family favorite! The recipe below is for a full batch and I usually half it so I don't have a ton of batter left over. The half recipe makes ~6-7 pancakes using a 1/3 cup measuring cup to pour the batter on the griddle. I find it is perfect for us, but sometimes make the whole batch and freeze the left over pancakes to be popped in the toaster for a quick and easy breakfast.

Pancakes

2 cups All purpose flour

1 tbs baking powder

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 cups milk

1 tbs melted butter

2 eggs (separated)

Combine all of the dry ingredients and mix using a fork.

Add the milk and stir until combined. Add the melted butter and stir again.

Separate your eggs. There have to be a million "tips" for doing this. I find the easiest thing is to crack the egg and pour it into my hand. The white goes through, the yolk is in your hand, you toss it in the batter. Easy Peasy. Just make sure you have clean hands or ewww. After you add the yolks to the batter, stir to combine and get to work on your whites. If you want a little exercise, use your hand whisk. If you are smart, use your hand mixer with the whisk attachment. {Man my arm was tired} Whisk until you have soft peaks, then fold the whites into the batter.

See, only a couple more steps than if I made it from a box and I promise it literally takes 5 minutes. Let the batter stand for 10 minutes while you clean up and get your griddle ready. The whites and the baking powder help the pancakes to be light and fluffy so don't over mix. Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to pour the pancakes on the griddle. I usually heat the oven to 250 degrees and throw a baking rack in there to keep the pancakes warm while I make them all.

We add all kinds of things to our pancakes. Nate's favorite is blueberries and the hubby like bananas. I like vanilla in my pancakes, Aaron does not. If you do like it, add 1 tsp when you add the milk! On occasion I will toss in some chocolate chips, but if you've met my son, you know he doesn't need any extra help in the hyper department! I hope you enjoy the pancakes! Let me know if you give them a try!

I'm so tired...

2011-01-31T09:23:00.002-05:00

...that I hit the snooze button 3 times before I could even fathom opening one eye this morning.

...that I forgot to eat breakfast before I left the house.

...I had to put on makeup so I didn't look like the mugshot version of me at work.

...I put on white socks but am wearing black shoes.

...that I went to the wrong bank to deposit my hubby's business check and by the time I realized it, I was stuck in the drive thru teller line and had to wait for the person in front of me to finish so I could drive through.

...that when the announcer on the radio said, "The situation in Egypt", I thought he was talking about the loser from Jersey Shore.

...I may fall asleep in ~~all~~ one of my 5 meetings today.

UPDATED to add something I just discovered.....

....I put my underwear on inside out.

Kids who wake up 4 times on Sunday night proceeded by the craptastic day that Monday already is suck. Thankyouverymuch!

WTFriday?? - Fido tweets

2011-01-28T11:08:00.000-05:00

click on pic to read more about his nonsense

I'm all for social media, but seriously?? Do people really care to know when their dog takes a leak or is licking themselves?? I think not.

Random Ramblings

2011-01-27T15:49:00.000-05:00

photo from here

I've had it up to here with this snow. We have had more snow in the past month than the other 4 winters I've lived here combined. Ok I don't really know that for sure, but it feels like it. The only way I will consider stopping my whining is if someone can GUARANTEE we will have an awesome summer. Any psychics out there?

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In 3 days I will have my basement back. Back isn't exactly the right word since I have never really had it. When we bought our house 4 years ago the only way we could afford it was to rent out the in-law apartment in the basement to my, well, in-law. Brother in-law to be exact. It has worked out well over the last four years but he and his girlfriend have decided to move to NY and I'd be lying if I said I'm not ecstatic to have 900 more square feet of space! It's like moving, without all the hassle. Storage, oh the storage, a pantry and I am setting up and official craft room in the next couple of weeks. I promise pics will be coming soon!!

******************************

I am cancelling our ~~cable~~ Fios TV on Monday. I am very excited to save money and not have the boob tube around any more. We will still have Netflix and Hulu for the must sees, but TV watching out of boredom will cease! I don't watch a lot of TV anyway and I am glad to be saving $200 bucks every month! We'll see how I feel about it in a few months!

WTFriday??

2011-01-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

Yeahhhh right. I can totally see some guy wearing these. Let alone paying 3 grand for them! ha!

How to trick your toddler

2011-01-20T14:05:00.000-05:00

Natey at 7 weeks...

...3 months

...13 months

...20 months

...2 1/2 years

Does anyone notice a trend here?? Yep, the boy has had this green "bankalee" since he was born. I noticed he was becoming attached to it right around a year old. After I got over the hilarity that I, a blankie sucker in my childhood, had birthed a fellow blankie sucker, I realized what I had to do....run immediately to Target and buy more! I had one special blankie when I was growing up. My mom literally had to pry it out of my hands to wash the thing. When a kid sucks on a blanket, it doesn't end up with the freshest smell after 1 or 2 days. My blankie was in tatters by the time my mom finally made me throw it out. I knew if I could get a few of them, I could rotate them without issue. Then a problem arose.

I went to Target and they only had 2 left. One was exactly the same and the other looked the same but had a slightly different texture. I figured he wouldn't notice and bought them anyway. Yeah, he noticed. He completely turned his nose up at replacement bakalee number 3, but number 2 was happily added to the club. I figured we could get away with having 2. He could use one while I washed the other.

Fast forward to age 3 1/2 and we're at his cousin's house (whose mom bought him the first blankie) and she had tried the whole replacement blankie thing too, but her daughter didn't want anything to do with the newcomer. To my surprise it was exactly the same as the 2 blankets that he loves. I figured I could just bring it home and slip it into the rotation. No deal. We even tried to tell him that it was his bankalee that he had left at his cousins a while ago, but he was not having it. I washed it and tried to sneak it in. One sniff of the blanket and he started the protest. Apparently kids who suck on their blankets know their scent. Ewwww.

It was then that I hatched my master plan. I will assimilate this blankie into the rotation without him even realizing it. I started out by washing it several times with his other blankets just to get the other smell out. Then I took it a step further. I took one that was due to be washed and I rolled it up with the impostor blankie. I let it sit like that for a few hours. Then I washed them again. I did this a total of 4 different times. I'm nothing if not persistent. Then I washed all 3 of them together and gave him the new one. He took it like it was his own. Score one point for me!

I guess in a way a child is like a mother cat...you can trick it into loving an impostor if it has the right smell.

Arielle at 14 months

2011-01-15T21:46:00.000-05:00

Didn't I just do a 13 month update about you baby girl?

*sniff*

Well, you are 14 months old now and trucking right along...all except in the hair department. When are you going to get some real hair?? I can put the back into a ponytail, but then you'd look like Ben Franklin or something. Let's work on growing the top of your hair please. Thanks.

You have mastered the closed mouth smoochy kiss. The only problem now is you wanna make out...all.the.time. When you just wake up or I'm putting you to bed you want to practice your pucker by kissing me repeatedly. I crack up and try to offer my cheek for you to plant one (or 12) on but you grab my face and insist on smooching me on the lips. You also get irritated if I don't smooch back.

Your left bottom molar finally made it through. I'd check on the top but you are not all that cooperative with letting my finger or even a toothbrush in your mouth. I'm trying to brush your teeth a lot now but it is a slow going process.

New words this month are eye, eeeer (ear), bath, ba ba, nana (banana) and a few others.

You are into everything lately. I can't take my eyes off you for a minute. The desk in the breezeway is of particular interest to you. I can't baby proof the drawers and you will not stay out of them. You also emptied a box of tissues in 6 seconds flat. I now am locking the bathroom door lest I find you with your hands in the toilet. *shudder*

You can point to my eyes, ears, nose and mouth but will only point to your nose when I ask.

When you are tired and ready for a nap or bed, you will walk to the door of the family room, lay your head down on the step and tell us, "Ni Ni". I wonder if any other babies ask to go to bed.

You still take a bottle in the morning and right before bed. I am going to start the weaning process and try to get you to drink milk with your meals instead. I am not looking forward to this.

You are going to be pissed.

You totally know what phones are and how to use and "talk" on them. I love watching you carrying around our old phone (battery removed) and mommy's lunch box.

You love your brother something fierce! You want to be around him all of the time. I just have to make sure he doesn't "love" you too hard. His "hugs" aren't always the gentlest, but you are a tough cookie.

Your sparkly eyes and squishy faced smile melt me every day. Stay my sweet baby girl always!

Letters of Intent

2011-01-14T15:55:00.000-05:00

Dear Tyson,

I was innocently watching a show with my uber-impressionable 3 year old the other night when the new commercial, advertising your chicken nuggets, came on. As I watched each child tell me what they didn't like to eat, I waited for the positive message that I was sure HAD to be coming at the end. You know something along the lines of how we should eat our veggies or try new things. That would have been a good message to send to the kids. Instead the "Ah-ha" moment of your nice little commercial was, since your child doesn't like real, nutritious food, you should just feed them Tyson frozen chicken nuggets instead. I understand that some children are picky eaters. That doesn't mean that parents should give up and feed their kids meals from the freezer every night. Children's palates should be cultivated, not catered to. How are they supposed to learn to appreciate good food if we stop offering it to them?

Now, I know you claim your nuggets are "all natural" and everything, but I seriously have issue with the fact that in 1 serving of your nuggets (6 nuggets) there are 21 grams of fat. That is 32% of the RDA of fat based on a 2,000 calorie diet!! Since my child is 3 and should consume roughly 1,200 calories a day that would be ~53% of his recommended daily intake of fat. Just in case you didn't know, that is actually MORE fat (4 more grams) than there is in a 6 piece Chicken McNuggets from McDonalds, and yours are baked!!!

I'm actually very happy that my son is a wonderful eater and doesn't especially like your frozen nuggets. We eat dinner as a family almost every night and he eats what we eat. He is not allowed to simply look at a food and say he doesn't like it. We live by the 2 bite rule. He has to eat two bites of something before he can decide he doesn't want to eat it. This doesn't mean he won't have to try it again! The next time I serve it, the same 2 bite rule applies. I can count the number of food items on one hand that he doesn't like. If I had just thrown in the towel and offered him nuggets the first time he didn't like something, he may have turned into a picky eater. I'm glad I didn't. You shouldn't tell parents that they should either.

Sincerely,

The mom who will not be buying ANY more Tyson nuggets

If you have something you want to get off that chest, head on over to Julie's and share it with the group. It's like therapy, only cheaper.

If you can't beat it...

2011-01-13T16:18:00.001-05:00

Hi. You might remember me. I'm the owner of this sad blog. This poor neglected space that houses my thoughts and pictures. I could bore you with how busy I've been or the plague that recently ravaged my house, but who cares about my excuses. The important thing is I'm here now. Right? Ahem..I said right?? Ok then.

I'm a California girl. Granted I've lived in this ~~God forsaken~~ lovely state for 5 years now, but I will never be a New Englander. Why you ask? I hate snow. Ok, I don't completely hate it. I just hate driving in it, shoveling it, getting dressed in 800 layers just to go outside in it, getting my squirmy screaming 3yo dressed in 800 layers to play outside in it for 5 minutes, driving in it, the fact that it makes my nose, ears and any other extremity frozen while the rest of my body is sweating from the 800 layers of clothes that I have on, falling on my a$$ onto it, oh and did I mention driving in it?? Yeah, I really do hate it. We have been pummeled with 3 feet of snow since Christmas. I am perfectly content to stay inside in my jammies and watch it fall. I usually have no desire to go out into it intentionally. The inconvenient truth is, I have kids. These kids, being born ~~and hopefully not raised, I can't live in this cold the rest of my life~~ New Englanders are probably going to want to play in this cold white crap from time to time so I finally sucked it up and we took them sledding.

We went to our friend's house in South County. They have a small hill behind their house. It was a good start for this season.

Look at this poor ragamuffin child. I didn't even have the proper gear for her. Those boots belong to a 4 year old and had inserts. She could barely walk in them. She had cut off sweats on over her clothes. Luckily after a quick ride on the toboggan she rode in the baby sled they had and happily sat there the whole time.

Nate seemed to like it. He is a very lazy sledder. He must get this trait from me. He would get to the bottom and want to be pulled back up to the top.

He did, however, manage to stay out in the snow for 45 minutes. This is better than his previous 7 minute record. With the time and effort it takes to get this kid dressed I was pleased with the return on investment this time around.

He rode this thing up and down about 3 times, pushed and pulled by me. I then realized it was defeating the purpose of the sledding. I wanted to go to wear HIM out not me, so I told him no one rides for free and he had to walk back up. He could have stayed like this all day. (Sorry for the random edit thrown it. I am playing with CS5!!)

Does she ever stop smiling?? The answer, of course, is no. I love my chubby little punkin pie!

It was a nice day. Not too cold. Aaaand, I may even have had a little fun. I also may be stupid enough to try it again this weekend! God help me!

Arielle at 13 months

2010-12-23T09:11:00.001-05:00

Welcome to your first monthly update now that you are one. I am still calling you a baby even though I have been corrected by several people who want to call you a toddler. It's not happening. You are my last baby and will be staying one as long as I deem necessary!! This might last until you have your own kids, just so you know. Let's see what you've been up to this month...it's been a lot!

Your talking has taken off and you are learning new words every day. Some of the newest ones are kitty, "Whas dat?", "Nantan" (Nathan), book & "beeebee" (baby) and as you can see....Uh oh!.

You have also started learning animal noises. You can do kitty, elephant, lion and piggy. We will keep working on them because they are sooo cute!

You finally cut the right two molars all the way through but are still working on the left set. I notice that you chew mainly with the right side where you have your teeth.

On that note, you are a very good eater. You take small bites and chew things very well. You are doing really well with all table food now and I have put away the baby food making supplies!

You have mastered the step between the breezeway and the kitchen. I still have a gate up, but when I can watch you I leave it open and you sit and climb down. You freak me out sometimes as you run too close to the edge, but you haven't fallen...yet.

You can blow kisses and also give nice slobbery regular ones. Now we just have to work on you closing your mouth!

(not the awesomest picture of me but I had to get her blowing her kiss!)

You have been waking up again in the night. I don't know if this is due to your teeth or just the fact that you now realize that we are still there somewhere and will come if you scream. I let Nate cry a bit when he would wake, but you don't cry, you shriek. If I let you go you either wake Nate up or get so worked up that you won't go back to sleep. I pray this is a very short phase!

You are definitely a Mama's girl and are very very cuddly still. You are more than happy to come lay your head on me and snuggle for long periods of time. I love it....don't ever stop!

UPDATED to include pictures. Sorry that the quality stinks. Winter, inside, crappy lighting. I am sad....and need to figure out how to better use my camera!

Nathan at 3 1/2 years

2010-12-18T16:05:00.000-05:00

Natey, you have hit the 3 1/2 year mark. I stopped doing the monthly updates, but think that a few times a year will be good to remind you ~~when you're a moody teenager~~ someday what this crazy kid was like when he was a toddler.

You're an angel one second with this sweet grin and single dimple, but can change to a stinker in a flash. I'm amazed at how much of myself I see in you. My poor mother. Argh!

You are insanely smart and can remember how to do things after you see them done them once. This also has a down side as you uses this power to do things like unlocking our Android phones, going to the marketplace and downloading games...which aren't always free. I've had to change my "secret code" twice and have to make sure you don't see me do it.

One of your favorite phrases right now is "Told ya!" You use it for everything. Someone needs to tell you that statement is used when someone challenges what you say. I have no doubt you have to pee when you say so buddy.

You are finally at the point where you can brush your teeth all by yourself. Mommy doesn't always have to take a turn. I tricked you though by telling you to roar like a silent lion. Before that you wouldn't open your mouth long enough to get the back teeth.

Your hair is still curly, but is loosing the baby hair feel and is getting much thicker. We decided to keep it shorter until the summer when the humidity will help the curls. Also we hope by then you won't be so opposed to us wetting it to make the curl come out. I'm not holding out much hope for that though.

This year has been rough as you are exercising your independence yet still don't have the impulse control to know how to deal with things. You are getting better at not just throwing things and acting out aggressively but it is a slow going process.

You call Arielle "sisty". I think it is so cute. You are starting to love on her more than you push her down. Thanks for that. Keep up the good work. She looks at you like you hung the moon and I want you to be good friends are you get older.

You are still my champion eater. Last week we convinced you that beets would make you "pee red lasers" (your words not ours) so you gobbled up an entire helping. I can't really think of anything you have put your foot down about not eating. This is awesome and hopefully will help as your sister watches you. Well, we all have seen what she weighs so that should indicate what kind of eater she is already!

Speaking of weight, I measured and weighed you at Arielle's 1 year appointment and you were 41.5 inches tall and 41 pounds. You are still in the 90th percentiles for height and weight for your age. I have a feeling I birthed some tall kiddos! You are currently in a size 4T and are wearing size 10 shoes.

You are doing great with your letters. If I write them down you can copy almost all of them. I hope when you start pre-school in January that you use your sponge-like quality for learning and really take off.

You "wrote" (or shall I say dictated) your first letter to Santa this year. You were so cute and asked for "Criss cross, criss cross crash, the winner is the one who doesn't get smashed and violent kung zhu pets". Remind me not to let you watch any more commercials as they obviously are working like the advertisers want them to!

You crack me up when you come out of the blue with phrases like, "It's not SO bad".

You love rock and roll music and have been known to tell me to turn the radio "Upper" so you can rock out.

You just learned a trick to put on your coat and will take the coat on and off to show us how awesome your "move" is.

You are still the least shy kid I have ever met. Even if you are in a completely new place with people you don't know, you will run in and act like you've known them forever.

You are 2 parts sweetness and 98 parts sass, but we love you anyway!

Running on Empty

2010-12-06T14:05:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows what the little icon in this picture is, right? We are all familiar with the gas light. It comes on when you are running low on gas. Most car manufacturers know human nature and give you the courtesy of a few gallons left when you hit this point. So, I have a burning question. How is it possible, given the warning, to run out of gas? I am happy to say, I have never run out of gas. The closest I came was literally coasting into the gas station on fumes when I was lost and couldn't find a gas station AND I didn't even have a gas light in that car. My husband, however, has run out of gas SEVERAL times. His friends have also run out of gas. I can't recall any of my female friends telling me they have run out. They very well could have and were just too embarrassed to talk about it, but I don't know. I have this theory that the running out of gas gene resides on the Y chromosome and I'd like a little help in my "research". Take a second and answer my poll. Don't be embarrassed if you've done it, the poll is anonymous. I will only make fun of you in my head.

Swisscasino Web polls 7sultanscasino GALABINGO betway

My "Elf on the Shelf" Karma

2010-12-03T14:40:00.000-05:00

photo from here

Look at this guy. He's the Elf on the Shelf. He sits somewhere where he can see all of the goings on in your home. He watches your little ones and reports back to Santa if they have been bad or good. If they are bad the get no presents. What an ingenious idea, right?? What better way is there to get kids to behave than the threat of no presents? I bought into the hype, but it backfired on me. I realized this when the following statement was uttered from the lips of my 3yo.

Mommy, if you let me play a game on your phone, the Elf on the Shelf will tell Santa to give you presents!

I'm sorry, what?? Apparently he thinks I am under the jurisdiction of this Elf! Moreover, he thinks that mommy being good is giving him what he wants, even though he knows he is banned from using my phone (a liiiittle incident with downloading) because he can't listen. Hmmmm. I wonder if I can slip an extra line into the story when we read it next...

A line that excludes mommy and daddy from the knowing stare of the little nymph!! I guess that's what I get for trying to bribe my kid to be good.

Arielle at 1 year

2010-12-02T11:12:00.003-05:00

Some baby....

Is 1 year old!

...is starting to look less like a baby and more like a toddler every day.

...weighed in at a whopping 27 pounds 8 ounces and is 32 inches tall.

...will be switching from whole to 2% milk this week because of it!

...smiles non-stop and is such a delight to everyone.

...has moved from walking to running, although she looks like a drunken sailor while she does it.

...can sign the word "more" but will more often nod yes instead when you ask her.

...has the most ear piercing screech the world has ever heard.

...will do said screeching and then put her finger to her mouth and say "shhhh".

...probably thinks it is the game of screech and shush. Mommy does NOT like this game.

...has really started to protest when anyone takes something from her.

...is still putting everything in sight in her mouth.

...puts a toy in her mouth and walks around with it hanging out, like a puppy, until it's a slobbery mess.

...can point to her belly and your nose when asked where they are.

...points to items and says, "this" all of the time.

...will smack you in the face and when corrected will then pat you gently and say, "nysssssss" (nice).

...is eating almost all table food now.

...will hand something to you when asked.

...is still taking 2 naps and sleeping from 7pm to 7am every night.

...gives super slobbery, open mouth kisses.

...will always cuddle unless she is super tired.

...makes sure you know when that is by pushing away and leaning toward her crib.

...didn't have an official birthday party but was sung to by all 20 of us at Thanksgiving.

...looked so cute and had so much fun smashing her birthday cake!!!

Fantastic and fun photos taken by Danielle of Two Sisters Photography

Super cute headband by the amazing Bubbalou Bands

Fabulous cake made by my friend Ariana because some snotty bakery wouldn't make me one. So there snotty exclusive bakery!

Happy 1st Birthday Arielle!!

2010-11-23T23:00:00.000-05:00

Since you came into this world 5 days late and 9 and a half pounds of rolly polly sweetness I haven't been able to imagine my life without you. When I was pregnant with you I worried that I might not be able to love another child as much as I loved your brother but, like the Grinch, my heart grew 3 sizes that day. The day that you were born. One year ago today. Your laid back demeanor and sunny disposition make you the easiest baby. If I had a nickle for every time someone asked me if you "Are always this happy" I could buy you a pony by now.

I am so glad you got to meet your great grandma before she passed away. You thought she was the funniest thing ever. She thought you were pretty amazing yourself. Over the last year I have seen you come into your own sweet little personality. You adore your big brother (even when he knocks you down) and light up when you see me or Daddy. Thank you for making me a mommy for the second time and, even though it pains me to see you already blooming from a baby to a toddler, I look forward to watching you grow even more. You've come a long way baby and you have so far yet to go! Happy first birthday my sweet baby girl.

When timeouts just won't cut it

2010-11-22T13:07:00.000-05:00

My 3 year old is pushing the limits of my patience. Please tell me I am not alone. Ever since his baby sister was born he has been a little rough with her. Not so much when she was a tiny baby, but as soon as she could sit up (and be knocked over), I have not been able to leave them in a room together alone. He will tackle her, push her down, trip her, whack her with stuffed animals and I have had it. I would say a good 75% of his timeouts are because of this roughness with his sister. When he actually makes her cry I can tell he feels bad, but I can't seem to get across the seriousness of this behavior to him. Every single time he is rough with her it lands him in timeout. I am consistent to a fault, but I haven't noticed any change in the behavior. I have tried explaining to him calmly and now I'm at a loss of what to do. It is making me so frustrated and upset that I find myself yelling at him, which I am sure is the opposite of what I should do to convince him that loosing your temper and lashing out is not proper behavior. I have tried reinforcing good behavior but I need some advice. Have any of you dealt with older siblings being mean to their younger ones? Any tips or tricks or advice for this mom who is about to duct tape her 3yo's arms to his sides to keep him from using them inappropriately??

Today...

2010-11-18T21:53:00.000-05:00

Today holds a whole lot of emotions for me.

It has been 10 years since I lost my Papa Al.

It has also been 9 years since I lost my Mama.

Today was the day they told me would be my daughter's birthday, but in tribute to her grandma she was 5 days late.

My mom would have been proud. She was perpetually late. In her own words she was, "Always late but worth the wait". She was right.

I came home to a box of my grandmother's belongings that my uncle sent me.

I wept as I looked through its contents. Pictures, the family Bible and my Gram's collection of blown glass Christmas ornaments that I have adored since she got the first one.

I know this song is about a breakup, but truer words have never been spoken about how I feel today.

Alone and consumed by my loss.

Breakeven -The Script
I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing
Just prayed to a God that I don't believe in
'Cause I got time while she got freedom
'Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven

Her best days will be some of my worst
She finally met a man that's gonna put her first
While I'm wide awake she's no trouble sleeping
'Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven, even, no
What am I suppose to do
When the best part of me was always you and
What am I suppose to say
When I'm all choked up and you're okay

I'm falling to pieces, yeah
I'm falling to pieces

They say bad things happen for a reason
But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding
'Cause she's moved on while I'm still grieving
And when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven, even, no

That's what friends are for

2010-11-10T13:56:00.002-05:00

Now that song will be stuck in your head all day. You're welcome.

I know I already bragged about my girlie day and night out last week, but let me just reiterate how awesome it was to have a girls day with one of my best girls. I took a vacay day and drove up to Boston on Friday morning and picked up Darcy and her mom from the convention center and immediately went shopping! Darcy has the most amazing talent...I have never seen someone zip through racks like that. I simply watched in awe as she put together a bunch of outfits for me. I got a ton of stuff for cheap because we were shopping at Buffalo Exchange! I will definitely be going back. Not for a while though. Don't want the hubbs to freak about me doing any more shopping for a while. We did some touristy things like have lunch on Newbury Street, walk around Boston Common and Beacon Hill, which was fun since I have never done an official walk about Boston even though I have lived an hour away for 5 years.

Now don't laugh at the picture of us. My weird expression was due to the sunlight glaring directly into my eyes and the wind blowing my hair and shirt all around. Oh, and doesn't everyone take a picture of their new haircut in the mirror of a restaurant bathroom? Just me? Ok. I'm fine with that.

We went to dinner at the restaurant where my BIL is the Sous-chef and had a 9 course dinner. Well, we signed up for the 6 course Chef's tasting, but somehow they kept bringing us more food. I left there needing to unbutton my pants just to breathe. The food was way out of my normal comfort zone, but I was so proud of myself for trying everything (except the sea urchin which I have tried before and hated) that they brought out! If you've known me as long as Darcy has, you would understand what a great feat this was! We weebled ourselves back to the hotel, had a cocktail while getting ready and then went to the club in the basement of the hotel. Yes, I said a club. I can't even tell you how long it has been since the last time I've been to a club. I am way too old for this hoopla! After seeing some of the happenings in this place, it makes me extremely happy to be a married woman and not having to deal with that hot mess any more. We did have a great time though. We drank a considerable amount and danced until our sides hurt. We went back to our room and talked for another two hours...the way only great friends that have been friends for 17 years can. I'm pretty sure we didn't even end our conversation but rather fell asleep mid sentence.

After coming home Saturday morning and hanging out with the kiddies we were of to see Dane Cook. Oh good lawd, I love that boy. It was awesome and we had amazing seats.

If it weren't for that little thing called Daylight Saving time (and no, there is not supposed to be an s at the end of saving), the weekend would have been perfect. Although, it was kind of cool watching the clock turn from 1:59 am to 1:00am again. Yes, I was up...driving back from Boston! Darcy is back home and I miss her already! Life-long friends are simply awesome.

Menu Planning Monday...on Tuesday

2010-11-09T15:27:00.000-05:00

I planned Sunday and went shopping, but I was exhausted from my awesome weekend so I didn't get the post up. Better Late than never I always say....but I'm a procrastinator.

Sunday: Walnut crusted chicken cutlets with white bean mash & asparagus (This was a big hit! The only thing I will change for next time is I will either add a bit more chicken broth to the mash or I will puree half a can of the beans with some broth and mix it in.)

Monday: Turkey Burgers and sweet potato fries (I broke my own rule and bought ground turkey breast instead of just lean ground turkey. The burgers weren't as tasty and they were a bit drier than I like them. Next time I will follow my own advice!)

Tuesday: Roasted Salmon with Maple Glaze and broccoli (recipe to follow after I make it and, you know, take pictures!)

Wednesday: Braised Paprika Chicken with brown rice

Thursday: Shrimp, Spinach and Mushroom barley

Friday: Turkey meatball soup (from Deceptively Delicious. We'll see how delicious it really is.)

Random Ramblings

2010-11-04T13:18:00.000-04:00

The only time Thursday is better than Friday, is when it IS your Friday! Yay for 3 day weekends! I am actually stoked to be taking a whole vacation day just to myself tomorrow. I get to go to Boston and hang with one of my best friends and couldn't be more excited. I get to get a pedicure and go shopping in Boston with someone wayyyy more fashionable than me to help me find some clothes. She is really like my own little Stacy London! To top it off I get to have a grown up dinner, in a restaurant that doesn't serve chicken nuggets, go out on the town and stay the night before returning to my crazy home. Ahh, can you say sleeping in?? Yes! {Insert Happy Dance} But that's not all...wait for it...wait for it...Saturday night I get to go see Dane Cook! This weekend is shaping up just fabulously! I'm hoping the crappy rain lets up, because I just got my hair done and well, come on!!! For all of you wondering, I chickened out and didn't cut my hair off or even get bangs. I just cut about 4 inches and did some layers. I am no fun at all. Seriously. I need to stop worrying about what everyone else {cough, hubby, cough} wants me to do with my hair and just do what I want. It grows back right?? If you can't cut it or dye it, why have it? I have been working out again consistently for 3 weeks now. It feels so much better and I have a lot more energy. I am doing the c25K (couch to 5K) program. While I wasn't exactly at couch level to start with, it is helping me build my endurance running so I don't get discouraged. I have also been doing Zumba for the last 4 weeks and I love it! It is so much fun! I still have this far fetched goal of getting back into one certain pair of pants. I need to get back into those pants. I will get back into those pants. So let it be written, so let it be done. :o)

Here's the new hair. i still think i should have chopped it to where that first chunky layer is. Grrr....

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T10:12:00.000-04:00

I love them "To Infinity and Beyond"! Nate chose Toy Story as the theme for this Halloween and, since the baby is too young to have an opinion, they were a super cute matching pair as Buzz Lightyear and one of the little aliens!

Nate's costume was perfect as is. Unfortunately, Arielle's costume was ridiculous! It was supposed to be a 12-18 month size and, I know I have a little chubster on my hands, but she was quite literally busting out of the costume. Then there was the head piece that could fit an adult! I had to perform emergency surgery on it to make it somewhat fit! I took over an inch out of the back to make it smaller, folded the part above the eyes up so she could see and had to take an inch and a half out of the neck part where the velcro was. I don't think they even tried this costume on a real child before they mass produced it! Luckily I have mad sewing skillz (wouldn't have the same effect with an s, besides, I'm cool like that) or we may have had to scrap it all together.

I cut a rocket shape out of a silver Nordstrom box (Thanks again honey for my awesome new winter coat!) and stuck it on the stroller. Too bad it was so freezing out that She only made it a block before I decided it was too cold for her. The hubbs took her back to our friend's house and hung out while the rest of us continued on with the trick or treating!

Nate loves going with his cousin! Last year they went as Batman and Batgirl and it was too cute! The most difficult part of the evening was hearing my self yelling, "NO RUNNING!!!!!" eleventy billion times. Man this kid must be deaf or just have selective listening when it comes to my voice. He fell down one set of steps and two other times because he was rushing around. Luckily no major injuries happened and he made it back in one piece.

I will leave you with one last photo from a birthday party we went to on Saturday. We borrowed this costume for the baby and Nate wore a transformer one we bought for dress up last year because I didn't want Nate to ruin his white Buzz Lightyear one with cake and God knows what else. Oh I die she looked so stinkin cute!

Happy Halloween!!

Food for Thought- Killer Shrimp

2010-10-28T13:52:00.000-04:00

Let me start this recipe by saying you NEED to make these shrimp. They are so simple and delicious. Our whole family loves them, including Natey. I usually serve them with some grilled (or broiled in the fall and winter) asparagus and rice of some kind. You can cook them on the grill or in the oven. They are equally delicious either way!

Killer Shrimp
Shell on Shrimp (fresh or frozen) size U21-25 are good
1 lemon
2-3 sprigs of Rosemary
3 cloves of garlic
pinch of kosher salt
pepper
1/4 tsp. (or more depending on how spicy you want it) red pepper flakes
3 tbs olive oil

Rip off a huge piece of tin foil. If you have the heavy duty kind it is better. Decide how many shrimp you want per person. These are so good I always make 8-9 per person or 5 for Nate.

Put thawed or fresh shrimp in the middle of the tin foil.
Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice out of both sides onto the shrimp.
Cut a few pieces of the spent lemon (rind on) and toss them on top.
Break the rosemary sprigs in half and toss them in.
Take 3 whole cloves of garlic and give them a whack with the side of your chef knife to remove the peel and toss them in whole.

There seems to be a lot of tossing going on, but bear with me.

I use kosher salt. I keep it in a bowl next to the stove so I don't have an exact measurement for this, but take a pinch of salt and sprinkle it over the shrimp.
I also use a pepper grinder, so I just grind the pepper on until I see that it is even covering the shrimp.
Sprinkle 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes onto the shrimp. You could also put a whole hot pepper in if you want it spicy. I would LOVE to do this, but Nate needs to eat too!
Drizzle 2-3 tbs (depending on how much shrimp you used) of olive oil over contents.
Use your hands to combine all ingredients so that everything is equally coated.

To wrap the package up, bring the long sides together and roll or fold the two pieces so they stay together. Fold the ends like a present (I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of this part!) until you have a nice tight package. Take another piece of tin foil and put the packet, seam side down, onto the new piece of foil and repeat.

Put the packet in the oven at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, flipping the packet over half way through.
When you open it up it should look like this!

If you want to be a total copy cat, or just like asparagus, you can make this with it as well. Wash your asparagus and break the woody part of the stem off of the bottom. A good trick is to hold the end of the asparagus in one hand and midpoint in the other and bend. Where it snaps off is usually good. Put them in a pyrex baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, salt pepper and pepper flakes if you'd like and put them under a broiler on high for 6-8 minutes. Watch them every few minutes and you can shake them around in the dish so they cook evenly.

Make a box of Rice-a-Roni, because not everything needs to be homemade, and you have a meal!

Bon appetit!

32 and counting

2010-10-27T22:09:00.000-04:00

Today I turn 32. I'm not afraid to say it. What is with people and not wanting others to know how old you are? In honor of being alive for 32 years, I will share 32 random things about myself. Hold your applause until the end.

If I had to choose my last meal on Earth, I'd eat lobster and drink sangria until I passed out.
I never drank coffee until I moved to Rhode Island 5 years ago. Now I can't live without it.
I can never turn my brain off during a massage. I try to think of nothing but it doesn't work.
I like mint and love chocolate. I can't stand the combined taste.
If I were filthy rich, I would have my hair blown dry twice a week.
My favorite color is green and has been since I was 2 years old. Coincidentally it'sNate's favorite color as well.
When I was pregnant with Nate I wanted a girl so bad, but knew from the moment I found out I was pregnant that he was a boy.
I got kicked off of the volleyball team on my 16th birthday and 2 of the girls that got me kicked off had the nerve to show up at my party.
I want so bad to be fashionable, but can't figure it out. I would welcome a "What NOT to Wear" intervention.
I regret only 2 things I have done in my life.
I love high heels, but I only own 3 pair since I can't stand to be uncomfortable.
My first car was a 67 rag top VW bug. Powder blue and pretty. It broke down the day I got it.
I've been in 2 car accidents that could have killed me but I didn't get so much as a scratch.
I've only had 4 different jobs in my life. I've waited tables, worked at a ski resort, was a graduate teaching assistant and my current job at a biopharmaceutical company.
My favorite movie is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The original.
I am superstitious only when it comes to things involving the number 6.
I have hit 6 Royal Flushes in my life.
I lived in Las Vegas for 4 years while getting my Master's degree.
I lost my mother at 23 years old. I lost half of my heart that day.
My oldest friend and I have been friends for 19 years.
I hate socks. I would never wear them if my feet didn't get cold.
I love getting any mail that is not bills. A simple card makes my whole week.
I have 4 friends that I know, for sure, would bail me out of jail if I needed it. Make that 3, since at least one of them would probably be with me.
At my heaviest I weighed 1 pound less than my final pregnancy weight with Nate. I lost 50 pounds by running.
I used to jump rope in the hallway at school when I'd get writers block as I wrote my thesis. I'm so uncoordinated that I had to put all of my focus into keeping going and would forget I was about to pull my hair out.
My name has been written in the snow at the peak of a mountain.
I always see the clock when it is 10:27 (Duh, my birthday).
I always make a wish on 11:11 and honestly believe in it.
I have been to Dennis Rodman's house in New Port Beach. (No idea if he still lives there)
I get the desire to cut my hair off every time my life gets stressful.
I have always wanted to dye my hair blond, but probably never will.
My favorite place to go by myself is the beach, but I can't stand going with the kids. (Hopefully that change as they get older!)

There you have it! 32 bits of Kameron trivia. And now ya know.

Arielle at 11 months

2010-10-25T20:26:00.000-04:00

Some baby...

...is 11 months old.

...has changed by leaps and bounds this month.

...seems to grow daily.

...got weighed (fully clothed) when she got her flu shot and was 26 pounds.

...is going to make mommy cry by not fitting into her full summer wardrobe that I have already purchased in 18-24 mo size.

...is still the smiley-est baby on the planet.

...waves Hi and Bye consistently.

...has started to protest when we take something away that she wants.

...is starting to exhibit a bit of stranger anxiety and prefers mommy over anyone else.

...claps whenever she gets excited.

...is pointing at anything and everything.

...has figured out the "I throw it, you pick it up" game. Luckily her brother doesn't mind playing.

...is doing well with sleeping through the night, but poops herself awake almost every morning.

...can say "mama", "dada", ball, this, car, "nata" (Nathan, I swear!) and uh oh.

...finally got those 2 bottom lateral incisors she was cutting for a month.

...now has a grand total of 8 teeth!

Oh yeah, and there's this new trick........

I have another 10 month old walker. Good lawd, help me!

Menu Planning Monday

2010-10-18T12:02:00.000-04:00

It worked well for me last week to do my meal planning so here I am again to try it again! For more ideas visit the home of menu planning Monday!

Monday: Shrimp with rice and asparagus (I will post this recipe after we make it. It is easy and delicious!)
Tuesday: Spaghetti and meatballs
Wednesday: Fried chicken with corn on the cob and salad
Thursday: Pesto & cracker crusted Cod and stuffies with green beans
Friday: Chicken curry with rice (This is the first time I am trying this recipe. I will probably make changes to it and let you know how it comes out.)
Saturday: The kids will be eating leftovers and I will be having a grown up meal out with friends to celebrate my upcoming birthday! Woot!

Happy Monday!

Food For Thought - Turkey Burgers and Roasted Cauliflower

2010-10-16T23:52:00.001-04:00

A few people expressed interest in my meal planning this week so I thought I'd post one of the recipes. You know, in case you're hungry and in need of some inspiration.Turkey burgers and roasted cauliflower sounds nice and healthy, right? Well, leave it to me to Paula Dean the crud outta them. Regardless, (Oh and by the way it is regardless. Irregardless is NOT a word. It's a double negative. There is your vocabulary lesson for the day.You're welcome.) they are really good. Well, we think so anyway!

Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower (duh)
3 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, melt the butter (in the microwave) then add the oil and garlic powder. Stir until combined. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and, using a silicone brush (or anything you have handy), lightly coat the foil with the butter/oil. Cut the cauliflower into pieces and put the flat side down onto the foil.

Enlist your 3 year old to "paint the cheese". Side note. The first time I made this Natey saw me and asked if he could help "paint the cheese". I've told him 10 times it is cauliflower. He still calls it that. Dip the brush into the butter/oil and dab on each piece of cauliflower,

Put the baking sheet in the oven, on the middle rack, and bake for 30-40 minutes. You want the tops to be a golden brown color.

When you turn the pieces over they should be a dark, yummy and caramelized looking.

Sprinkle them with just a pinch of salt and let them rest for a few minutes before serving!

Turkey Burgers

One package of lean ground turkey (don't use turkey breast or they will be duh-ry!)

1 egg

1/4 c panko bread crumbs

1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/4 c flat leaf parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a big bowl. Use your hands, you have to get them dirty to form the patties anyway. It's the best way to get all of the ingredients combined. I use kosher salt so I just take a pinch from the bowl. I also use a pepper grinder, so i just grind until I think it seems like enough pepper. I counted 12 grinds this time. I am that OCD. Form the meat into patties. I made 3 big ones and then 2 "little Natey burgers" (hey, we call things what we need to so we can get kids to eat them, right?). This would probably make 4 good sized patties otherwise. I usually grill burgers, but turkey burgers are better pan fried. I put a tiny bit of oil, just to keep the patties from sticking. I usually cook them from 4-5 min per side on medium high heat.

Then to up the yum factor, I put a little bit of butter on the buns and grill them.

As if the butter on the buns and cauliflower isn't bad enough, we made impromptu onion stings per the hubby's request. I just cut up and onion lightly dusted them with flour and salt & pepper and fried them. I usually don't make those. Stupid no weight gaining husband. Grrrr.

And here ya have it, the final product!

Bon appetit!

Zumba!

2010-10-14T14:29:00.000-04:00

It's official. I finally found an exercise that I actually like doing! We have a gym at my work (spoiled, I know) and they offer group fitness classes like yoga, spin, boot camp and now Zumba! I have tried a few of the other classes but hadn't found anything that I really enjoyed. I know you're not supposed to "enjoy" exercise (unless you're Sara), but I have the attention span of a gnat so if I don't like something it is hard for me to stick with it. I saw that they were going to offer Zumba and I have heard so much about it that I was excited to try it out. I admit, I was a little hesitant to try a class that is basically dancing. I am W-H to the I-T-E. My rhythm is suspect and I feel like an idiot when I'm dancing...unless there are copious amounts of alcohol involved. Because it is counterproductive to drink before you workout (and I'm also pretty sure I would get fired) I braved this dancing thing stone sober. It was awesome. I quickly realized that no one was watching me as we were all staring at the instructor just to keep up with the moves. The music is so upbeat and fun and it makes you want to shake that booty...even if my booty kept shaking when I wanted it to stop. I think it is a good start to get me motivated again. I have been in a bit of a funk lately and this is just what I needed to get over myself and get my butt in gear!! If you ever have the opportunity to take a Zumba class, I highly recommend it! What other classes or specific exercises do you enjoy?

Menu Planning Monday

2010-10-11T08:19:00.001-04:00

I actually do my menu planning on Sunday, but I didn't have time to post. I really need to be more strict with the follow through of the planning. If the trip to the market doesn't happen on Sunday, we are playing catch up all week and that usually means take-out more than once. I may have to start doing Pea Pod grocery delivery. I am tired of going to the market! Anyway, without further blah blah blah, here is our menu for the week!

Sunday: Chicken Stir fry with rice
Monday: Roasted Chicken with glazed carrots
Tuesday: Beef Stew
Wednesday: Salmon, broccoli & couscous
Thursday: Turkey Burgers with roasted cauliflower
Friday: Uber-American Tacos (Seriously. Ground beef & taco seasoning pack: hubbs pick)

I may have to post a couple more of these recipes. Well, not the tacos. Bleh. At least the boys seem to like them. The roasted cauliflower is awesome and Nate even loves it. It must have something to do with the butter and garlic. Mmmmmm. butter. What are some of your week night staples?? I am in need of inspiration!