More kitchen adventures

If you've read my blog for any length of time now I'm sure you're wondering to yourself "Does she do anything other than talk about and post pictures of her kids and the latest thing she ate?" The answer, my friends, is no. I don't. I blog about what's important to me. My kids and tasty treats happen to be very near the top of the list. :) Now, without further ado, let's review my day shall we?

I started the day by surprising David with his Easter basket from Gramma. I know it isn't Easter yet, but he's 2. The calendar means nothing to him. Today was as good a day as any. Here he is unloading the loot:

He waved these in the air chanting "Sucker. Beans. Sucker. Beans." I didn't have the heart to tell him that those are sixlets not jelly beans. He had to check the bottom to make sure he got it all out...all the way to the bottom.

And then I gave him a piece of chocolate for breakfast just like Gramma would have done. :) From there we moved onto the normal and boring stuff (i.e. play time, run errands, lunch, clean up from lunch, etc.) but then...then it was nap time (a.k.a. Mommy's favorite time of the day). Today, I had my hopes set on relaxation with Friends and a chocolaty treat. Fox 17 foiled my TV plans by being stupid and running a Nascar race instead. I was not about to give up on my chocolate dreams though. This is what I came up with....

Yep, that's Dangerous Chocolate Cake, strawberries, cool whip and warm dark chocolate icing drizzled on top. Utterly tasty.

When I was done drowning in chocolate, I got up and started work on dinner. I had beef stew simmering away in the crock pot all day, but we wanted to feel fancy so I whipped up some bread bowls for us. Yummo.

I topped off the day by going to my last Bible study meeting at church. We just finished a study on Esther so tonight we decided to watch "One Night with the King" (a movie based on the book of Esther). Everyone brought a snack to share and we plopped ourselves in front of the big screen. I wanted something fun and different to share so I made some rice crispie treats with caramel/vanilla swirl marshmallows and drizzled dark chocolate on top. Once again I will say YUM! (no pictures though. sorry to disappoint)

A great time waster.

I love this website. If you need a good laugh or would like to waste a few minutes you should check it out.

www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com

Kitchen Adventures

I hate cooking. There, I said it. I just don't like it one bit. I can bake all the live long day, but please don't ask me to cook a meal! My lack of kitchen enthusiasim often leads to repeating the same few and boring meals over and over and over until I just can't stand to cook it anymore. Before you start to feel bad for my family though, I have to brag about my kitchen adventures this week.

I have made not one, but two - count 'em TWO - new meals this week. First came stromboli on Monday night. Armed with very little stromboli know-how and no recipe, I timidly entered the kitchen hoping that my efforts would just result in something edible. Much to our surprise, it was not only edible, but down right tasty too! I consider this one a victory. My next brave attempt was last night - and this one came with some pressure. There were going to be a few extra critics at the table...we were having company. Again, with no recipe I was feeling a little unsure, but this one I was pretty sure would turn out to be alright either way. You can't go wrong with pasta!! :) I grabbed a bowl and tossed in a little of this and some of that and POOF! We had ricotta, beef, spinach and mushroom stuffed shells in alfredo sauce. Yummo! I have to say I'm pretty proud of how this one turned out too.

I leave you now with my gorgeous golden brown stromboli. Do your best to ignore how gooey and smushed the layers look. This was taken right after it got out of the oven. It was prettier after it cooled a little bit.

Who doesn't like free things?

Just wanted to spread the word about a pretty awesome website out there. You can select your state then city to find restaurants in your area that offer free meals for kids. It is nice to know what's offered in your neighborhood, but this would also be a great resource to have when traveling!

www.mykidseatfree.com

Things I could not live without

In no particular order...

1. Sleep - I wish I was getting a bit more lately, but I'll take what I can get. Beggers can't be choosers.

2. SwaddleMe blankets - The hospital gave us one when we had Max and there hasn't been a day that's gone by yet that we haven't used it. I can't believe we didn't have one with David. They are awesome!

3. Coffee - this could have a lot to do with the lack of sleep outlined in point #1.

4. Chapstick - Man, are my lips dry! Wow.

5. Multi-grain Cheerios - They are just so dog-gone tasty. I just ran out too. I really don't know what I'll do for breakfast in the morning.

6. Friends - and I'm not talking about the people that I care about (though I love them too and probably wouldn't survive without them). I'm talking about the TV show. Fox 17 shows re-runs every day at 2pm. This is excellent timing as it happens to be naptime for David, Max and Taylor. I really look forward to this half hour to myself everyday.

7. Foaming hand soap - ok, I probably could live without this one, but I included it because it just makes me happy. :)

Sun Chip review

And I will now share with the world my official review of what I consider to be the single worst thought out idea in the history of all chip packaging ideas -the new Sun Chip bag. The front of the package proudly boasts that it is "the world's first 100% compostable chip package". The picture of those famous crispy chips couldn't look more tasty. It's all very eye appealing and tempting....and then you reach for the bag. Holy crinkley bag, Batman! It's so noisy it darn near creates a sonic boom when you pick it up! I'm pretty sure that they could hear me 4 aisles over in the store. I love that they are trying to save the earth one chip bag at a time. I love what this company stands for and what they are all about. But seriously???? They have created the single loudest food package on the planet. Isn't there a way that their genius bag making people could have made a quieter version for those of us who are worried about our hearing?

Next time you are in the chip aisle, grab one of these bags and check it out...but be warned, you may need ear plugs.

Dangerous chocolate cake

Someone passed this recipe along to me a while back and it's just too good to keep to myself! You have to try it!

In a coffee mug mix:
4 T. flour
4 T. sugar
2 T. cocoa

Add:
1 egg
a splash of vanilla
3 T. milk
3 T. oil

Mix well and cook in microwave on high for 3 minutes. Cake will raise over the top of the cup - don't be alarmed. Cool slightly and enjoy!

...But why is it dangerous you ask? Because you are now less than 5 minutes away from warm chocolate cake any time of the day or night! With common ingredients that are always in my pantry it's too easy and simple not to make!

A word to the wise

Do not buy YoBaby 3-in-1 meal yogurt for your poor child no matter how good your coupon is. They are only giving out buy one, get one free coupons to trick people into purchasing the stuff. I can't even begin to describe how nasty it is. David took one bite and said to me "Yucky....trash, Mama...please.". You can't say you weren't warned.

So stinkin' smart!

My kid is a genius. I'm just sayin'.

In the last 2 weeks David has learned how to say about 15-20 new words (though he can and will say just about anything you ask him to). My personal fave is "I love you, Mama". He can string about 3 words together to form a more complete thought and can recognize, say and point out the colors green, red, purple, blue and yellow. I'm always amazed at how fast he can pick these things up!

In the last week or two I've also discovered some physical changes going on. He's cut 2 molars and is working on 2 more, gone up 2 shoe sizes and is outgrowing size 2T clothing. He's moving into some 3T now. Wow. They aren't kidding about the "spurt" part of growth spurt!

His halo is bent and rusty and there's mud on his white robe, but underneath he's still an angel

Ever had one of those moments where you just sit back, zone out and think "I'm doing ok as a parent. He listens so well. We've had our battles, but we're getting through. He's such a well behaved kid." and then you look over just in time you see him clock his best friend in the face? I have.

We tried to be good and awesome friends tonight. We took dinner and dessert to our very pregnant and due-any-day-now friends. Apparently, little David did not get the niceness memo so all we did all evening was yell at him for clobbering their precious little daughter in the face. Nice. Just when I thought we'd gotten a handle on his horrible hitting habit and was feeling pretty good about my ability to discipline him he has to go and pull crap like that. Thanks kid.

Every time we leave home I just pray that he makes us look like good parents while we're gone. I always hold out hope that he can behave and make it through one evening, one dinner or just a few hours without a tantrum or meltdown. But then, when he flips out in the middle of the produce department because I won't let him hold the apples or throws his plate of spaghetti on our friends' brand new carpet, I remember that he's just 21 months old and sometimes that's asking too much of him. And really, I've never seen anyone (especially another parent) gasp in horror at any stunt he's ever pulled as if toddlers never act up or something. Everyone understands right? My kid isn't the only one who does this crap, right? It's only a phase, right?

Ok, good. I feel a teeny bit better. He is a good kid. He is a good kid. He is a good kid....

Back in the saddle

It's been 24 days since I had Max and life is going well. We are finally back to "normal". We (with the exception of Max) are finally 100% healthy and well. Max has a lingering cold and terrible little cough (that I'm assured by his doc is nothing...yeah right), but he's handling it like a trooper...with a name like Maximus would you expect anything less from him?

David is getting his lower 2 year molars. They have partially cut through now. It was quite the surprise to me. I didn't see it coming, but it does explain a lot about his cruddy behavior lately. With a little Tylenol and a long nap I'm sure we'll be fine.

I started back to "work" with Taylor today. She'll be here about 4 days a week again. She's 9 months now and starting to crawl...and she's also cutting teeth. She had her first little pearly white poke through yesterday. Again, nothing a little Tylenol and a long nap can't cure. She's playing well and adjusting to David just fine. I think they'll be best buds in no time. David is much more willing to be friends with her now that she's a little older and more fun to play with. She beats max by a long shot right now. Floppy newborns aren't so much fun. Kinda worthless to a big brother who wants to rough house. :)

I'm sure there's more I could share, but Friends is coming on and there is a box of fudgsicles in my freezer calling my name. Peace out.

My anthem for today

We sang this at church yesterday morning. It's been on my heart and stuck in my head ever since. GOD, YOU REIGN!!!

God, You Reign

by Lincoln Brewster

You paint the night

You count the stars and you know them by name

The skies proclaim

"God, You reign"

Your glory shines

You teach the sun when to bring a new day

Creation sings

"God, You reign"

God, You reign

God, you reign

Forever and ever

God, You reign

You part the seas

You move the mountains with the words that You say

My song remains

"God, You reign"

You hold my life

You know my heart and You call me by name

I live to say
"God, You reign"

Hallelujah, Hallelu

Um, February? Where are you?

Wow. Sooo....February's over. That was fast. It was a complete whirlwind for me. I'm sure you've all heard the rumors by now and yes, they are true. Max has arrived. We now have 2 very precious sons.

Maximus Lott was born on Feb 12th after 18 hours of labor (we'll get to that another time) weighing in at 9lbs 10oz and measuring 22 inches long. He's a great eater. It seems to take a couple of weeks to get things smoothed out with nursing, but everything is great now. I've also been blessed with a great sleeper with him. He usually does about 4 hour stretches at night for me and like any newborn sleeps all day too. You'd think with all that downtime I'd be getting sleep too, right? Let's not forget about my toddler at home too.

David has been adjusting well to Max - as well as I think someone who is 20 months and sick can adjust. He got sick right about the beginning of Feb and is just now getting over it. It's made him somewhat cranky, whiny and clingy, but seriously if you had a sinus infection for 4 weeks and a new kid was stealing your mommy's attention wouldn't you be all of those things too? Yeah, I thought so.

David and I are manging the leap to 2 kiddos very well I'd say. We had a rough start, but things are looking up now. I was very sick for a while. About a week after we brought Max home I got mastitis. Before that cleared up I got a really nasty cold and that ran into a bout with pink eye before clearing up. I think I am finally on the mend now. Along the way, I shared my cold with David. It took him down for a few days too. Luckily, I have an awesome mom and she was here at our beck and call helping us out and getting us back on our feet. Thanks, Mom! Couldn't have done it with out you!

I have loads of pictures and many more stories to share. Be on the lookout!