Pee Your Pants Funny! Happy Father's Day...

Oh my here are some really funny pics!
I found out about this today and it is hilarious! I had to share...
www.ManBabies.com

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

I think this one is my favorite. It is so well done and the manbaby looks so gay running across the water. I can't stop laughing at his little legs and his facial expression. FUNNY!

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

Oh I just found the "Most popular" tab on their website. Prepare your stomach muscles for the hilarity!

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

And the Winner is...

I forgot to choose a winner on Friday - sorry about that, distracted mom syndrome strikes again!
I used random.org to generate a winner, that was sure handy!
I assigned a number to each person according to the order you entered the giveaway.

And the Winner is...
JENNI

I couldn't believe it! She's going to have a baby any day (or week, hee hee) , I just got to see her and as of recently she is able to eat ice cream again for the first time in years! So Congrats friend - your prize is on the way!

Playgroup Pics - YUMMY!

Here are some pics of the kids making their cookies. There are some pretty tasty treats being created! ;)

Father's Day Cookies...

SPOILER ALERT!!
This post links to my facebook - I can't think of any dad's who will see this via facebook or here on the actual blog that will be getting these cookies so I think this is a safe post - sorry if I ruined it for any of you dads out there.

My friend Jess and I have been planning playgroup activities the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. Jess thought it would be fun to do a Father's day craft, I agreed and we got to planning. I am loving my new sugar cookie recipe so I thought what if we decorate necktie cookies for dads! Jess thought we should make cards too - now what to wrap the cookies in...hmmmm??? How about Tie Boxes! A local classy men's clothing store donated some very nice tie boxes for us to use, Jess picked them up for us - they were perfect!

Edible ties are WAY better than any 'ol tie that will hang in a closet for years collecting dust. And these were designed by some pretty talented kids with lots of love. The kids used store bought frosting, gummy bears, sugar decorations, sprinkles, mini m&m's, etc. to decorate theirs. They were something to behold, I'll tell you what! When Jess sends me the pics I will share them with you - Dad's be prepared to be loved with sugar, these kids went to town! (You might want to have some pepto handy!) Thank you brave daddies for eating them.

I was busy helping so I decorated Baby K's cookies for Daddy at home, using the cookie icing I love! Plus I made some cookies for the men's clothing store to take when I deliver their Thank you card. I'm no pro but these are pretty cute if you ask me.

Not much...

Not much to report these days.
See previous post if you haven't had a chance to enter the giveaway for a yummy summer treat!

Just finished an awesome yummy craft for daddies at our Wiggly Wednesday Playgroup. I'll post pics later after dads have had a chance to be surprised!

We have swim class tomorrow evening so I plan to take some pics of Baby K swimming with her Daddy.

We have tomatoes growing like crazy! I keep meaning to take a picture of them but the camera is downstairs and I keep forgetting to bring it up.

I think Baby K is going through a growth spurt. Yesterday she took a 3 hour nap, it would have been longer but I went and woke her up. She was kind of out of it for several minutes. That girl was sleepy! She has also been eating like crazy, she LOVES eating. And don't even think about eating in front of her, you will be asked to share! hee hee

Calling all cooks! AND Giveaway!

Giveaway requires an entry by Friday at noon.
Results to be announced Friday evening sometime.
Good Luck!

Ok peeps, I'm on a mission!
I want to make some fish tacos. Don't turn up your nose! I hear they are good and I got some yummy lightly breaded fish at Sam's that I think will be perfect.
So do you have any recipes for fish tacos? What do you put on them?

This got me thinking, fish tacos would be great with some kind of creamy avocado dressing on them, lettuce, tomato, a squeeze of a lime - problem...
I can't find any road tested creamy avocado dressing recipes.
Do you have one?
Do share you awesome cooks out there. Do share! :)
Thanks for the help if you have any.

Finally, What are you cooking for dinner this summer? Give me your best &/or favorite simple summer supper.
I will pick a winner and send you some kind of awesome summer treat gift card. (I'll decide where to when we have a winner, not everyone has a DQ or a Starbucks...but maybe they have something yummy like a Marble Slab or Coldstone or Freedy's...hmmm what will it be)
Winner will be chosen at random to keep things fair and to relieve some pressure to come up with the MOST fabulous dinner idea. ;)

So, what's cookin?

Water Baby...

Baby K is going to a Water Baby class. She is too young to actually learn how to swim but we wanted her to learn to be comfortable in the water and we wanted to get more comfortable being in the water with her.

Now, what you are about to see are really cute picture of a swimming baby and really scary pictures of her mommy in a swimsuit. The things I will do for my child - posting pics of me in a suit for all the world to see. :)

The pictures don't capture the many smiles we got this day - she LOVES the water and watching the other kids. We have had class twice now and she lets mommy and daddy put her underwater and she doesn't mind at all.

Here are a few pictures daddy got before he joined us in the pool. I will have to take some pictures next week of Daddy in the pool with her.

Help?

We are learning about Obedience in children's church this month.

I want to teach the kids the song O-B-E-Y but I will not be in every class and I'm sure the teachers don't want to sing a new song without a little help.
I want to find a CD or website that will let me download the song.
Does anyone have this?
I have Googled and Googled and I have only come up with a YouTu*be video.
This song has been around forever, why can't I find it?

If you have no idea what I am talking about here is the chorus I am talking about:
O-B-E-Y obey your mom and dad
O-B-E-Y makes them very glad
listen to the words they say
obey your parents everyday
O-B-E-Y obey your mom and dad.

So cute. I think the kids will like singing it (doing what it says is another story) but I can't find it! Argh!

Some slide shows

Our Friends Kyle and Erica tied the knot May 30th! What a great time with college friends! Many blessings to the Happy Happy Couple!


Baby K went swimming for the 1st time, not in a bathtub. She loved it. It was just mommy & Baby K so we didn't get any pictures in the water (safety 1st!) but here she is after swimming. She just about chugged that sippy cup of water. On Thursday she had her first swim class at the YMCA with Mommy and Daddy and we have some pictures of that we will share later, maybe...we'll see how much of mommy in her swimming suit made it into the pics - they may be not for sharing. LOL


Here are some fun pictures from Bath Time this week. Baby K was having so much fun we had to take some pictures. It sure is fun watching her grown and play!


And finally here are just a few pictures from our recent Zoo trip. The tiger exihibt is only a few weeks old so it was fun to walk through and see the beautiful habitat the zoo built for these amazing creatures. Baby K really liked the Otter pups and the tigers. The zoo keeper is holding the lamb that wanted to give her kisses and eat her toy. Silly lamb!

We have a season pass to the zoo and can get one guest in free anytime we go. We LOVE to go to the zoo so if you ever want to go and get in free let us know. I don't think I will ever get tired of going to the zoo. God's creativity is AMAZING

Snyderman Returns!

Ahh Yeah!
Put on your K-State Purple, grab the family and sit down for the next 7 wonderful min of your day! Your about to get pumped up for the 2009 KSU football season!
The coolest thing about this video is that it was done by a former K-State student, who goes to film school at KU because they have a film program. This was for his final project.

The Best Toy EVER!

A few weeks ago I went to some garage sales to look for some toys for Baby K.
I found a Jumperoo for $10 which I can't stop talking about how cheap it was! WooHoo!
I also got these stacking cups for 50 cents! Best 50 cents ever spent. Baby K has played with these for hours - 45min in one sitting and they are still a hit!
They stack inside themselves and take up very little room. Baby K loves to "yell" into them and listen to the loud echo (Daddy taught her that & she knows it makes us laugh). I stack them into a tower and she knocks them down. She also likes to bang them together.
The website says they are for 12mo and older but Baby K is only 9mo and her friend Baby A is only 6mo and they both love them, so I say if your baby can sit up on their own then they will really enjoy these.
You can buy them from Discovery Toys or hope you find them at a garage sale.

MEASURE UP!® Cups Item #1971

Toddlers love to dump and fill, stack and swat…and this natural play introduces important preschool concepts like size, sequence, volume and color. Later, they'll mold stamp and sort with these colorful cups that have animal shapes on each one. Uniquely designed cups are volumetrically correct, introducing and reinforcing math concepts. The contents of cups 3 and 4 really do fill cup 7! New scalloped edges aid scooping and sandbox play. Expanded Parent Guide included. Colors may vary. From approximately 2" x 2" to 4" x 3" (from 5cm x 5cm to 8cm x 6cm). Appropriate from 12 months - Primary School

Drooling...

Amanda was asking for beet recipes on her blog. Who cooks with beets? Ok, don't answer that. I'm sure it's like everyone but me.

I have never cooked a beet in my life and I think I have had beets like twice in my life. Oh, they are around at places I eat. They have never appealed to me, especially the beets that have been plopped out of a can and still have the ring marks from the tin can. The texture of Jello and my gag reflex do NOT get a long! Ok..well on to more appetizing things.

I thought, I will check out what Foodgawker has to share with us about beets and I found this amazing looking salad. We will be eating this at our house soon, I think I am literally drooling!
And you thought a post about drooling would surely be about Baby K. Nope, not this time. ;)Recipe: (as shared by Helen on her blog)
"[Peaches], these were supposed to be grilled. I forgot to light the BBQ, so I cooked them gently in a little butter and black pepper. I tossed them with the salad leaves, some walnut halves, roasted beets, crumbled gorgonzola - all drizzled with a dressing made by whisking olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. A little chopped mint is good too if you have it."
Source: Food Stories

Thought: I think the 1st time I make this I will leave the walnuts plain but I think some walnuts that are tossed lightly in butter and then in sugar with a hint of cayenne pepper and then toasted lightly in the oven would be even better!

Honey, I Shrunk the Sandwich!

I found a recipe years ago for a BIG Sandwich. Acutally it was called "Sandwich for 12" but after making it for a superbowl party friends started calling it the BIG Sandwich and the name stuck, as well as the requests to make it. What really makes it special is the bread, but the size draws you in to try it. :) I make the bread on a pizza pan and then assemble the sandwich whole and then cut it into squares as much as a circle can be cut into squares anyway. Wedges are just to big and the bread tends to crumble some so squares are best for maxium eating pleasure.

I have often wondered, and been asked, if the sandwich could be made into smaller serving size sandwiches. Two weeks ago I was asked to bring enough deli sandwiches to church for an event. AhHA! I thought...this is the time, I'm trying it!


Result: possible
Review: will probably do again someday, but nothing beats the BIG Sandwich. The bread just wasn't quite the same. Maybe I should have divided the dough into more sandwiches than I did and made them bigger in diameter and not as thick. Who knows.

For those wanting to know the recipe...that's gonna have to be another post.
The bread is made using a HotRoll mix, oats, minced onion, a touch of garlic salt & sesame seeds. It is piled with lettuce, red onion, tomato, turkey, ham, swiss cheese, and green peppers and dressed with a mixture of Mayo and a touch of mustard.
Yummy Yummy Yummy!!!!

Baby K and Daddy

The other day after work Daddy laid down to play with Kaiya in the floor. He was also kind of resting.
Baby K thought Daddy's ear was fun to play with. It was pretty funny to watch her, she would play with her toys for a bit and then Daddy's ear, then her toys, then Daddy's ear, then she would try to pull his hair and squeeze his nose, then her toys, then his ear. Cute. Daddy is so sweet with her. Praise God for really great Daddys!

Dog Biscuits?

Today I walked into the dinning area to find a big surprise...Baby K eating dog biscuits! Well, she was putting them in her mouth, not really eating them. Gross! Funny!
I needed to go to the bathroom and Baby K was in the mood to be held. Not gonna work. The dog was outside sitting on the top step of the stairs outside our sliding glass door. She LOVES the dog...I thought I will just sit her here by the door, she can look at the dog and the pretty outdoors and I will be back in a min. Less than 2min later I return to find this! (I happened to see the camera on the counter just before I took her tasty treats from her - I HAD to take a picture, it was too funny!)
It's official - This kid really will eat ANYTHING!

Tea for Two...

Baby K and her friend Baby A had a little Tea party in the sunshine today.
I kept having to move the blanket and the babies into the shade - the sun was moving fast this morning! After about 20min we called it quits and came inside.
It is fun to see the girls playing together and becoming sweet friends. We play every Tuesday all day (with some naps of course).

Some things I've been up to...

Life has been busy! Erin & her sweet daughter stopped in for a visit. Then we went to Missouri to visit family for Memorial Day weekend. We took Baby K to Silver Dollar City and she was such a good girl! She is still NOT crawling but is getting stronger & more curious every day.
Baby K is a very well loved little girl and she sure loves her family & friends right back!
Check out the jumperoo I got for $10 at a garage sale!
Here are some pictures.


The highchair we have clamps to the table and it is strongly advised to NOT put a chair underneath it - a rule we follow at home - but you will see in a couple of pictures that while we were sitting with her we did put a chair underneath her to get the chair out of the way. Please do not send me ugly comments about endangering my child - she was never left alone w/ the chair. Thank you. :)

Did you miss me?

Mommy finally loaded some new pictures of me and promises to post them later today or tomorrow.

This cute face is so easy to miss! I miss you too!
I was eating some yummy sweet potatoes & chicken in this picture...I LOVE to eat!

More pictures and adventures to come.

Love,
Baby K & Mommy

Giveaway!

Do you need a haircut? A color? An eyebrow wax?
Do you live in or near my city?
I had to find a new salon and after much worry and anxiety I let someone new touch my hair. (Abbe and Judy...no one will ever be you!)

So I hunted down a Redkin Salon, feeling they could be the most trusted with my head. Turns out, I was right. I like the gal who did my hair (cut & color), they offered me coffee, tea, water, soda...gave me a scalp massage and generally made me feel like a princess.

When I left she gave me three $10 gift certificates to share with friends. (she gave me a 4th to use as a discount on my cut/color)

So the first 3 people to leave a comment that they want it, it's yours!

$10 Gift Certificate (expiration date June 30th, 2009)
with Jessie
at
The Fringe Salon at the Waterfront

Wiggly Wednesday Dates

There are new Wiggly Wednesday Playdates scheduled...
check it out!

www.wiggly-wednesday.blogspot.com

Hello Sunshine!

Finally, sunshine!

See my "snaggle tooth?" - I have 3 teeth & 2 on the way!

Justice, my buddy, she lets me pet her sometimes. I LOVE her!

GOTTCHA!

I'm trying to learn to crawl...but I don't love it.
This is a rare shot of me smiling while giving it a try.

Come Play With Me...

Baby K says come play with me & my friend Bren...and lots of other fun kids! If you live in the area we would love for you to join us for Wiggly Wednesdays! It's not every Wednesday, but at least once a month (and if you're lucky, sometimes twice a month).
This Wed we will be at the T.East Mall play area - playing indoors because the rain won't go away and has already made a muddy mess out of the outdoor playground we had originally thought we would be playing at.
Leave me a comment with your email address if you want/need more info. My friend Jess and I will get back to ya!

Oh...Baby K wants me to tell you that she will change out of her PJ's and into her play clothes before Wednesday's Play Date. :) See ya There!

Bow Give AWAY...and sweet orphans who need some lovin'

If you have seen pictures of Baby K you know she usually has a bow on her head. And almost every bow you see on her head is a bow from
www.sugarplumorphans.com
All proceeds go to help orphans.

Sugarplum is having a give away and you only have until 7pm tonight(central time) to enter!
All you have to do is leave a comment - how easy is that?!
There are other ways you can get your name entered to win more than just once...
check it out!
(honestly, if it wasn't for the orphans I wouldn't have posted this...I want to WIN and don't want to stack the odds against me - LOL)
Here is a link to some of the bows and barrettes she has made.
http://picasaweb.google.com/kendraneill/OnlineStoreKindOf#

Thanks Kendra for sharing your talent with us and for doing it for such a good cause!
Even if I don't win, I need to order a 4th of July bow - Baby K has the cutest outfit and needs a firecracker of a bow to go with it! :)

Look what I did!

My silly girl. She was playing on the couch next to me this morning while I checked my email. She started wiggling around and tugging on her shirt and then...pop she pulled her arm out. Eight months old and she can already undress herself - LOL.
She thought she was pretty funny.

Postponed

Well, it's raining and has been for days. The park is going to be a mess!
We will postpone the playgroup for a week.
So
Eastbrough Park
on May 6th
at 10am

Hoping for warm sunshine next week so we can play!

Baby K Easter Pictures

Honestly, these pictures were not taken on Easter day because it was such a rainy dark yucky day. She did wear this dress on Easter, although she also wore a white sweater and white socks with pretty ruffles on them instead of sandals.







It was sunny but very windy when I took these pictures. Here is a slide show of Baby K's Marilyn Monroe photo shoot. :)

Memories

I learned something wonderful this weekend. Well...it's wonderful to me.
I'm not a scrapbook person, they are great, but I don't want to spend my time cutting and glueing and journaling...I still have photos in a box from years ago because I'm too lazy or too busy to put them in a photo ablum.
Anyway, I learned that a gal at church publishes her blog each year into a hard back book! What a great idea, it has pictures - their whole year of activities, family outings, first things her kids have done, etc.
She uses a site called blurb.com
here is a link to the specific page that will give you details on publishing your blog
http://www.blurb.com/create/book/blogbook

When you make your blogbook you can add more pictures or delete posts you don't want in your book. Change slide shows to just pictures - or pictures in place of videos you published.

I am going to do this. This is great for people like me who love to blog but don't want to spend the time scrapbooking or digital scrapbooking - I love the result of those things but don't have the desire to put the time into them.
Anyway, I thought you might enjoy knowing about this resource as well.
Finally, I promise to post some new pictures of Baby K. I'm really behind in doing that.

Easter Baking

I have spent the past week preparing for Easter Morning Children's Church. We had an egg hunt today, read the Easter Story (about Jesus not the Easter Bunny, of course) from a sweet children's book, decorated bags for the eggs, watched the Veggie Tale Easter Carol, etc. Last week I baked cross sugar cookies and then put each cookie in a clear plastic bag and tied them with a white ribbon and gave them to the children this morning. It was fun.

The other baking I did for Easter was bake Easter Bread. I found this recipe via Foodgawker and I am so glad I tried it. It will now become a family tradition for us! I wondered why it is called "Easter" bread, other than the fact that there is a dyed egg in the middle of it. Easter Bread is an Italian and Greek tradition because Bread means Life. Which we know because of the Bible and it's many references to bread and life. I read that there is an old peasant proverb "He who has bread has life" interesting since Jesus said the same thing when he was referring to Himself as the Bread of Life (John 6:48). Imagine what that phrase means to a peasant, how deeply they who have little long for the necessities of life.
I decided that the egg can represent the New Life Jesus offers us - Eternal life with Him! And the Easter bread is sweet - because love is sweet. Maybe that is getting too cheesy for you, but I love the symbolism.
So I made the bread, with Baby K on my hip as I scooped out flour and other ingredients. She likes to "cook" with me. I enjoyed waiting for the dough to rise, growth takes patience. Then you have to punch the dough down, sometimes life bumps you around & can knock you down. Then you separate the dough into 12 small balls (Hey, Jesus had 12 disciples!). Next you roll the balls out into long ropes. Twist two ropes together and bring ends together to make round "nests." Place on a baking sheet and let rise. So you wait, and wait and after being patient again they double in size - again growth and more beautiful than before. Now, brush them with egg wash, sprinkle with brightly colored sprinkles, and nestle an Easter egg in the middle (no need to boil the egg before dying it, the egg will cook w/ the bread!). Bake in the oven for a bit and you will have beautiful Easter Bread. And the best part, aside from eating it....the aroma!!! Our house smelled of the wonderful sweet bread for hours! The bread was finished by 1pm and after returning home from a birthday party at 8pm our home still smelled amazing!
Huh...the aroma of Christ, I hope our family is the aroma of Christ to others. See, more symbolism!

Anyway, I hope to some how type this up more concise and purposeful, like in an activity format, with Bible verses for the different symbols, for our family to pull out and do together each year.

We wrapped each bread up in clear cellophane and tied with ribbon and gave them to neighbors and friends the day before Easter. Next year I would love to attach a card with the verse "I am the Bread of Life." John 6:48 and invite them to Easter Sunday Church with us. What a great way to be reminded of the real reason we celebrate Easter.

Girl Time...no...Escape Time

I need some girl time. Make that Woman time.
No, what I really want is Escape Time.
I'm not looking for deep conversation. In fact, I would like to turn my brain OFF for a little while. No thinking,"What's for dinner?" or "Let's see I have 'X' amount of time until...baby needs food or nap or diaper change, etc." or "What can I learn from my Bible study today" or "What do I have to offer to this conversation?"

I'm realizing this because my husband is enjoying a weekend with the guys and I'm home caring for our sweet baby (who really has been sweet) and wondering when the last time was I had a really good laugh (that was not related to something my child was doing). Adam called last night to say good night and he and his buddy were cracking up - I'm jealous.

Anyway, I saw a trailer for a Movie coming out May 1st called Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, staring Matthew McConaugh*ey and Jennifer Gar*ner. Looks like a total chick flick and a great way to just eat junk food and turn my mind off for 2 hours. I know it's a month away, but seriously, anyone else want to make a date of it? Any other mommies want to check out for 2 hours and eat buttery popcorn with me? I'm totally serious!

Who's in?

While I wait for May 1st, I am calling to make an appt to get a massage next week. I have a gift certificate from Valentine's Day and I'm cashing it in! :)

Tiny Friends

Baby AJ came to play today. We are having lots of fun with her. Everyone is napping now so I thought I would share some pictures from our day.

Half way and frustrated...

I have been cleaning and organizing today. I use to be a very clean neat person...everyone told me this would be hard after having a baby, i didn't believe them. I mean, really, how do you take the neatness out of a neat freak?
I'm frustrated because I realized that I seem to only get things half done these days. For example, Baby K's nursery feels half done - still have two pictures and her name letters to hang on the wall - but they just sit there waiting for me. I finally cleaned the master shower the other day (after like a month) but never got around to cleaning the sinks or the counter top. I vacuumed about 2 weeks ago but never got to the dusting then I dusted a week later but will I ever be in a house that is both vacuumed and dusted on the same day and with bathrooms all shiny with the smell of lemon all at the same time? Will my sock drawer ever be organized again, or my pj drawer?
I started a Beth Moore Bible study this Spring. Our group took a week off for spring break - but I am so behind I am afraid to pick up my book and see how far behind I am...but I want to catch up before Wed or at least get close...see another 1/2 done project around here.
We bought new furniture for upstairs when we finished our basement. I need to accessorize and make the upstairs look "complete" and cozy again, instead it all looks one color and needs some personality - see 1/2 done. grrrr....
So this is my rant. Thanks to a snow day we have been staying in. My husband helped with the vacuumming and I have cleaned the bathroom, done dishes, put laundry away, started more laundry, feed and changed the baby I don't know how many times, and all I need to do is dust. Some day I may get to organize a few things but for now I'll take a clean house.

More new favorites!

Ok, LOVE our new highchair - it's great, it is washable, it takes up little space and we can easily take it to grandma's in a little bag that came with it - perfection.

I happened to actually pay attention to the links on Simple Mom's blog and found this great site for baby food info...LOVE IT!
NurtureBaby
it is a great resource and such a cute blog/website.

Finally, I SO SO SO Love a new bakery find - a friend suggested them to me for some cookies for a baby shower - while I was there I looked at cakes they had out on display - amazing cakes for birthdays, weddings, showers, etc. They make beautiful (and soft & Yummy) cookies and I wanted to know if their cakes taste good or just look amazing so I bought a cupcake (I had to take one for the team, right?)
Anyway, I got a chocolate cupcake with mint creamcheese frosting - AMAZING! I think it will be a little pricey but I really want them to make Baby K's 1st Birthday cake - we'll see.
Check out Cheri's Bakery and know that the pictures on their site don't even do justice to what I saw in their shop today. YUM!

Drool Dialed?

Did you get drool dialed? I never thought that Baby K would be able to hold the unlock key down long enough to get the phone active and then actually call people. Oppps - if you got a mysterious call from me yesterday you were drool dialed by the baby. :)

More on Coupons...

Ok - I have more to share about these coupons and organization, now that my baby is sleeping I have time to write a few more thoughts.

Back to the coupon lady on Dr. P - in addition to her extensive coupon collection she takes to the store she also takes a binder, what's in the binder you ask? Well, W-Mart will honor ads from other stores - so she 3-hole punches the ads and organizes them in this binder then in addition to using coupons at the register she also shows the cashier ads from other stores and has the prices adjusted to reflect the cheapest price. WHO HAS THIS KIND OF TIME! The time to organize it all - and then the time to stand in line (and drive those in line behind you CRAZY MAD!) while they change all your prices and ring up your coupons. I guess you try to go early in the morning on a weekday when the lines are short and the cashiers are excited to get workin'. :)

As for the organization tools I shared in my previous post, so the 1st picture, the one I called THE ULTIMATE - I guess you can't use that if you have a baby in the cart - the binder takes up the passenger seat of your cart. This means the money I save will be spent on a babysitter so I can go to the store in the wee hours of the morning so no one is waiting on me to hurry up and get through the line. Or, I can wait until my husband is home to watch the baby and go to the store at the end of the day when I am tired and everyone else at the store is too and we can all be annoyed at all the time I am hogging in the lane - but when I'm done I can shout to those behind me, "Hey Everybody! I just spent $14 on $75 worth of groceries! AWESOME!" Maybe they'll forgive me, maybe they'll be jealous, maybe they'll just want me to get my money saving butt out of the line!
LOL!!!

Ok, enough of my coupon posting - More baby pics to come...I know that's why you really read this (well and for recipes and chocolate stuff).

Can I do this?

I cut coupons. Then I usually end up forgetting them at home or I actually get them in my wallet only to forget using them at the register. What is wrong with me? A few weeks ago I watched an episode of Dr. Ph*l and he was giving $$ saving tips to some crazies. There was a lady who thought coupons were a waste of time (I did not agree with her). Phil sent her to the store with her usual weekly grocery list and a lady who is like a coupon queen. The bill was $75, the coupons saved them $50 some dollars and the total amount due was like $14 - AWESOME! Wouldn't my husband love to see a grocery bill like this? I would too!

I started thinking today I should look for a way to organize coupons, maybe this would motivate me. Here is what I found...

I WISH I was this lady...
The ULTIMATE COUPON ORGANIZER
This next one is pretty good - except if you look at the link the binder is white on the front w/ silly watermelon slices - what?
Pretty dang good organizer
I'm pretty sure this next one is who I am, at least for now.... it's a good place to start I guess.
Lazy Woman's Organizer

2 Teeth!

For over a month now I have been trying to take a picture of Baby K's first two teeth - she ALWAYS has her tongue out and I can never get the picture. This morning just before eating her breakfast I was being silly with her and she was laughing and showing off her teeth and as luck would have it the camera was right on the counter! So here ya go...Baby K's two bottom teeth!
Her 1st tooth came through on Feb. 6th and the 2nd tooth came through on Feb. 12th.



She is in bed for the night and these pictures are making me miss her already! I can't wait to see this smile in the morning.

New FAVORITE!

Just found this website
Nutrition Data Know What You Eat

If you are making your own baby food and want to know what nutrients you are feeding your kid, this is great!
If you have questions about your own eating habits or nutritional value of your own foods, again - this is great!

If you create a user login on this site (free) then you can compare foods. For example, tonight I wanted to know the difference in nutrition between an acorn squash and a butternut squash because out grocery store was out of butternut and I wanted to know what nutritional value the acorn squash would give Baby K. So I was able to choose both and compare on this site - it gave me graphs and everything! Then I discovered it would also compare w/ the values of Gerber baby foods! AWESOME!

You should check this out.

PS - I haven't gone totally green (although we do recycle a ton of stuff). No cloth diapers around here - I'm too lazy. I'm not a health nut either (I made a huge chocolate chip cookie in an iron skillet for dessert tonight, which we topped w/ ice cream - thanks G for the inspiration for this yumminess!) But yes, I do confess to being slightly obsessed with making nutritional foods for Baby K.

Baby Food...

I've been wanting to post this for several days but life has been busy. Baby K is a pro at eating baby food these days. She is learning how to use a sippy cup (although she is a long way from being able to do it all by herself, she tries). I have been hunting down baby food recipes and trying some things out.

I have a Baby's 1st Recipe Book that a friend made for me - Stac, it's wonderful!!! Thank you!
Also I have been looking at a few websites but my favorite so far is www.wholesomebabyfood.com (thanks to Ging & Stac for recommending it)

So far more than anything Baby K has had (even more than fruit!) she loves loves loves Avocado mixed with squash! I saw a recipe to mix the two together and it is a big hit! She will eat them separate from each other but you should see her go when they are mixed - it's so funny! (it's like baby crack! good thing it's healthy - lol)

This post is getting long and baby will be awake soon. She here is my tip for the day (not an original idea - so don't think I'm taking credit - just passing on the info)

I was worried the avocado would turn brown and look yucky and I didn't want to have to prepare it just in time to serve it to Baby K.
Best way - and they are still green when served - is to cut the avocado into slices - about 8. Put the slices in a water/lime juice bath (a drop or two of lime juice is plenty and won't hurt baby). Lay the slices on wax paper and freeze. When they are rock hard, remove from freezer, let stand for a min or two and remove from wax paper and place rock hard slices into a freezer storage bag. 2 slices is more than enough for Baby K to eat in one sitting - so one avocado can be 4 meals! I bought the small avocado for $1 and got 4 meals out of it - that is half the cost of 4 jars of baby food.
To serve I just take the number of slices I need and let rest for several min (maybe 10-15) on the counter while I cook dinner for the adults. They thaw out and I mash them and add a little breast milk or water (we have reverse osmosis water) to thin it out. You can also add rice cereal, apples, pears or squash.

I did make applesauce - not pictured. 2 apples cored and peeled, boiled and simmered in 2/3 cup water for 15min. then pureed and froze in ice cube trays. Yummy & not brown - no artificial sugars added.

Could it be...

Baby K may grow up to be ambidextrous. She seems to change almost weekly the hand she favors most. Last week her right hand seemed to grab more things and reach out for me...this week, the left hand. My mother-in-law is ambidextrous and my brother-in-law is left handed when he writes and does everything else right handed (eating, baseball bat, pitching, etc.).

I am always thinking about what Baby K will be like when she grows up. Things I know for sure are she will be well loved and cute! Possibly left handed or even ambidextrous. I can't wait to find out all the different ways God has made and will make our little girl special!

Beth...

Some day when you get married, please don't have this for your wedding cake!
Because of your childhood fondness for TMNT this made me think of you and I had to laugh. Man, you loved those turtles!


Many of you already enjoy the blog Cakewrecks, but if you haven't discovered it yet - it is a must for a weekly laugh. Where do people come up with these things? This particular cake is actually done well, it is just strange - other cakes are more of a "wreck"

Slide Show

Here is a new slide show. Pictures are from Feb 15th - March 1.

Doctor's Report

Baby K was again such a trooper for her shots. She had 2 shots today & a "drink" for immunizations.
At 6 months of age here are her stats:
Weight: 16 lbs Percentile: 52%
Height 26 1/2 inches Percentile: 78%
Head Circumference 16 1/2 inches Percentile: 35%

I forgot to mention in my last post that in addition to sitting up, Baby K also has 2 teeth now! Also, she loves to stick her tongue out. :p

It's time to get Baby K ready for bed...hopefully tonight before I go to bed I'll have time to post a recent picture of her - in a cute outfit, a hat, and sitting in her big girl stroller! It's a pic I took last week at the Zoo - while we waited on my father-in-law to tell us if my car was dead or not! Anyway, it's a hoot and I hope to share it with you soon!

P.S. due to questions - "Harry" was at Chester's Chophouse (home of the most amazing red wine reduction sauce I have ever savored in my mouth! YUMMY) - if he's in town it's most likely he is having his private jet worked on or just really misses us - other sightings have been at Cibolas, and N&J's and I'm sure many other places.

P.S.S. I think my new background is funny & kind of strange

What happened?

I want to post, I really do...but I have nothing to post about. So here are a few things going on with us...
In the morning Baby K will have her 6mo doctors appt. I'm not sure how that got here so fast, but we are having fun watching her grow. She can sit up for several min at a time now, all by herself. So Sweet!

Last night we had a wonderful dinner with friends to celebrate their engagement & also it just happened to be the 3yr anniversary of my husband & I's 1st date. It was a wonderful dinner, great time with friends and also Harrison Ford was sitting at the table right next to us! SO cool! We did not speak to him b/c hey, they guy's just trying to eat - but so far in life this is the best star sighting I've had - although having Bill Snyder literally bump into me at a store is still my favorite moment. Yep, Bill is cooler than Indiana Jones (i keep writing these things to see if he will ever want to meet me...HA)

My car broke down a week ago this Wed. I'm currently driving my in-laws mini van. THANK YOU!!! They have been so kind to let me borrow it. My brother-in-law is working on my car and hopefully it won't be too much longer until we are on the road again.

I am learning about making baby food. I really want to do this. I'm researching the best way to prepare the food and how I want to go about it. I figure I'll give it a try and if it becomes a pain then I'll buy it - but I really want to make it.

I entered a contest on Pioneer Woman's blog today, winner gets to go to her ranch & cook/bake with her and bakerella - Oh my goodness this would be AWESOME! But it's past 10:30pm and I still have no email saying I've won...so better luck next time I guess - dang it! Honestly I don't remember the last time I won anything. My husband won the iron we currently use - it's really nice and can disconnect from the cord and be used cordless!

Please Pray...

Our friends' little boy, I call him "Little T", is in the hospital for a virus and dr.'s are having a care conference for him today, where a group of doctors and his parents will talk about his care. He has been in the hospital for weeks now and is currently in PICU.
Be praying for T's health and for his mommy & daddy as they care for Little T & help the doctors care for him. They are all very tired and frustrated. Pray for healing, rest, wisdom, good communication with & between the doctors, and that they will be home soon.
We love you Little T!

Old People

I haven't blogged in awhile because I haven't had much to blog about. Today my sister sent me a facebook message telling me I should check out this blog about Clara, a 93 year old woman who cooks meals she ate during the depression. Clara is a gem! So sweet and she's funny too.
I am fond of older people and thought I just had to pass sweet Clara's blog on to you...
Clara's Blog
There are links there for her yout*be videos check 'em out.

Family Photos

We had family photos taken to celebrate my In-Laws 44th wedding anniversary. Congrats you two! The top photo is obviously our little family and below is everyone.
Mom, dad, 2 brothers, 1 sister, 2 spouses and 3 grand kids.

2 New Fav's

I have two new favorite things....

First Up...

Lay It On Thick body cream lotion from Bath and Bo.dy work.s as well as the shower cream!

I have dry skin and the winter is no friend of mine! I usually use Cur.el lotion for xtreme dry skin and it works ok - but for Christmas my brother in law gave me a gift certificate to the above named store and I came upon the Spa collection they have and these two products caught my eye. I'm tellin you I love them! I don't feel greasy but when I use the lotion I still have soft legs at the end of the day and rarely need to put the lotion on more than once a day - this is a miracle people! The shower cream is great but smells like Pina Coldas and makes me crave them! One of these days I hope my husband will bring me one to enjoy after my shower. (I'm sure it will never happen, but I can dream, right?) Ok, TMI I'm sure!

On to the next favorite thing...

You should know that I HATE oatmeal! Well, hot oatmeal that is. I don't care how you doctor the stuff up, I can't get past the texture to enjoy it - I gag every time. It's really sad because it's pretty affordable, easy, hot breakfast, good for you and it smells delightful - but alas - I gag. :(

While picking up a box of oatmeal for my hubby, I see this: Oatmeal To Go...looks like a cookie to me! I LOVE cookies and they don't make me gag - so I bought a box.

LOVE LOVE LOVE these things, even better they sell them at Sams for cheap and you get multiple flavors. One "cookie" is equal to one bowl of hot oatmeal - you can heat the "cookie" for a yum breakfast treat - no dishes involved and it has lots of vitamins. It has lots of calories (hello - it is replacing a hearty bowl of oatmeal!) so one is plenty and sticks with you until lunch time for sure, at least for me it does.

Be Mine?

Baby K's 1st Valentine....FROM A BOY!

Yesterday, Baby K got her 1st Valentine in the mail and it was not from mommy & daddy. It was from a boy. ;) Our friends have a little boy who is 2weeks younger than Baby K and he is a sweetheart. I am hoping one of these days we get to go see them. Baby K sent James a Christmas present because mommy found a cute sleeper that was too sweet to pass up. James sent the cutest bib ever to Baby K and it was made by his grandma. Very sweet. Thanks M&Em.

And for all of you who have been asking about the new furniture upstairs, I took some pics. The green wall is going to be painted another color soon, so just block that out. :) Also the flash made the color of the furniture look odd, so I took pics w/o the flash, so now they are a little out of focus.
Because things got moved around I need to find some accent pieces/colors to add upstairs now b/c it's a little monochromatic and blah, but it is restful and I really love our new chair.

Thanks Keely

Thanks Say family for the cute shirt - it finally fits and I think Baby K looks especially cute in it!
Miss you lots!

Basement pics!!!!

Well the walls need some personal touches, pictures and decoration, but as far as function - the basement is done!

A special thanks to our small group from church for helping move furniture around.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog address....
Same Blog - Same Sweet Stuff - Just a new address

I'm Bummed because for some reason my sidebar of Favorite Blogs is now empty and I will have to link to all of my favorites all over again! Dang it!

If I didn't link to your blog & you know I stalk you...please let me know via a comment and then I can find you - I don't have addresses memorized or saved anywhere else - what a mess, I look forward to keeping up with you when I have your blog address again. :)

Question...

I need to hire someone/company to steam clean our upstairs carpet.
The problem is how do you choose who to hire. I am NOT going to have 3-4 different companies to give me an estimate - I'll spend all my time waiting for cleaning guys to stop in my house.

I do plan on getting 2 estimates unless I just get overwhelming recommendations for a certain company.

I looked in the phone book and there are so many companies listed - argh!

Anyway - I need to have it steam cleaned - not shampoo - any suggestions? If you live in my area and have had a good experience with a company let me know.
Thanks

Old Bay Seasoning

In my last post I said I used Old Bay Spice in a recipe- it's actually called Old Bay Seasoning -opps. Here is their website: Old Bay Seasoning I'd never been there before today...

As for where you can get this stuff - well I found it on a little shelf back by the seafood counter in my local grocery store. Otherwise I would check in the spice aisle around other things to season fish with maybe near the cornmeal? If you ask someone at the seafood counter they should be able to help you find it.

As for what's in this stuff - here is what the label says: "Celery salt, spices (including mustard, red pepper, black pepper, bay leaves, cloves, allspice (pimento), ginger, mace, cardamom, cinnamon), and paprika." Seriously I never would have guessed half of this stuff is in here - anyway, it good and not spicy. Is it safe to eat something with mace in it? :)

Christy, if you can't find it I will mail you some - really I will!

Keely - No it is not with the deodorant, but I cracked up when I read that - witty! :)

Baby K Helps...& a new recipe

Above is what it looks like when Baby K helps mommy wash dishes - she sits next to me while I work and last week discovered she can reach the paper towels and if she pulls they just keep coming! She loves it - it's cute for now. ;)
Dinner:

So here is the salad I made for dinner the other night - YUMMY! and Healthy!!!
It is a bed of baby spinach topped with craisins, red onion, mushrooms, almonds, feta crumbles and salmon - the best part was the salmon! Oh and I used Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (from Kraft).

This is how I cooked the Salmon:
2/3 c apple juice
2 tsp Old Bay spice

in a non stick pan I brought the juice and spice to a simmer at med-high heat.
I placed the salmon (which I got in 4 oz servings vacuum sealed at Dillons) in the skillet and put the lid on the skillet for 4 min.

After 4 min I turned the salmon over meat down on the heat - skin side up facing the lid and cooked it for 3 more min.
It was beautifully caramelized! And SO flavorful and took less than 10 min!

I let the salmon rest then cut the skin off and cut fish into strips to place on the salad.

I will make the salmon this way again and think I may serve it with a side of salad and a potato rather than as a topping to the salad.
Enjoy!

Memories that Still make you laugh out loud

Don't you just love it when a memory from several years back can randomly come to mind and make you laugh out loud?! I do...
Today, while filling out the Facebook "25 random things about me" thing, I was reminded of a memory I share with my dear friend "Joy" and honestly I have laughed out loud several times this morning because of it.
We were out to eat one day at a local restaurant and on their menu they had an advertisement for an offer called "Make it a Platter!"
The offer was for $1.99 you could add two sides and a drink to any sandwich order.
J asked the waitress if she could "Just make it a platter" after explaining herself a few times, she had stumped the waitress. Yep, J wanted to order two sides and a drink for $1.99 no sandwich. I still laugh at the look on the waitresses face when she realized what J was asking - finally deciding she didn't know the answer and would have to ask her manager.
In the end the answer was no. No you can not JUST make it a platter!

Why this is so funny I'm not totally sure but I think it was the looks on everyones's faces, my face, J's face, the waitress and I can only imagine her manager's face.

So Funny! Honestly, usually when J tries to work something like this...it works. She gets great deals and sometimes even free stuff because of her boldness to ask. I love her (for many more reasons than just this).

Swimming..

Baby K LOVES the bathtub! I think she is ready to try swimming. I want to take her to the YMCA and try it out and then last night at Targ*t they had swimming suits! Here she is modeling...

Serving

My wonderful husband was helping me in the preschool children's church class a few Sunday's ago. We have a toy workbench and some toy tools down there and he found that our drill was broken - not only was it broken, someone must have stepped on it and we were worried that small pieces may fall out of it! After both agreeing the toy was now dangerous, I said we should throw it away - he thought he could fix it.
Ok, so my idea of "fixing" it would be take out the small electrical pieces inside, throw them away, glue the plastic thing back together again and call it good.
My husband's idea of fixing it...is seen below in the slide show - he got out the superglue, the special small screwdrivers, and the soldering iron & wire. Not only did he put it back together but he was able to repair the electrical part of the toy so it completely works again - and it is almost as loud as a real drill which I'm sure the kids will love - but the volunteers may not! HA!

The adventures of a 4month old...

Baby K is days away from being 5 months old. This past month she has had 3 more shots, started trying rice cereal and other baby foods, ROLLED OVER from tummy to back, taken a few naps (and I mean few), enjoys her excersaucer with the help of a blanket (she's so long and lean that the seat is too big w/o the blanket), watched history in the making yesterday although she won't remember it, oh and many things I'm sure I've forgotten at the moment.
We have been so busy - the basement is almost finished - all we need is carpet I can't believe it! Children's church is now planned for the next two months, my bow party is over, my house is clean w/ the exception of laundry and holiday decorations have been put away, OH And I finally mailed all 140 Happy New Year Cards yesterday - what in the world!
Here are some pictures of our sweet Baby K

Justice gets a hair cut...

So I take our dog to the same wonderful groomer every time, I always pick her up to find our cocker shaved down to look like some kind of lab puppy - that's how I ask them to cut her. Sometimes they give her a more traditional cocker shave and leave some curls on her ears but no matter how they cut her hair she always has a bandanna around her neck when I pick her up.
Today was different. Today she had no bandanna, she looked like a princess dog, she looked like this:

Kiss

My cousin, Beth, and I are good friends even though we live miles apart and are years apart in age. In a lot of ways Beth is my personality clone. We talk often on the phone. When my husband and i were dating Beth would call and he would see her name on the caller id, and then proceed to sing the Kiss song "Beth I hear you calling." When his birthday rolled around Beth and I ordered a kiss doll off the internet, then purchased a build-a-bear voice box, recorded the song and put it inside the doll. When you would push his belly he would sing. Later when it was Beth's birthday we rerecorded on the voice box, Happy birthday and had her mom put the doll in her locker to surprise her. So the plan was made...the doll must continue to be passed around as our little family inside joke...well...Beth keeps forgetting to give the doll up and it's been 2 years people! So I have decided that I will just keep pranking her until she passes the doll back.

I've put the craziest looking stuffed Troll doll in her duffel bag with a note, and twice now I have changed the header on her blog (girl needs to change her password) and this last one was pretty funny, I crack myself up! :) She posted some pictures of the troll doll on her blog several weeks back, check my favorite blogs for "Fingerprints" you can visit her there.
Here is the header I posted last night...

My favorite part is I put her photo on the screen of the cell phones, oh and the gross chest hair is pretty funny too. You'll have to see the header on her actual blog to see how well it blends in. What a hoot.

Baby K & Daddy...

This is Baby K at 4mo old...
The previous post (Guess Who) is her daddy at 5 1/2 months old...

I think they look similar only their noses are different and of course Baby K looks like a girl and not a boy. :)

Guess Who...

Look at this cute kid!

An EASY meal

Want to make something tasty, healthy, easy and beautiful?
Here's a delightful meal.
Main Dish: Honey Orange Glazed Chicken (quick prep but cooks 45 min in oven, make sure to allow for cooking time)
Sides: Fresh Spinach Salad, greenbeans, potatoes (boiled new potatoes red or white are wonderful!)

Fresh Spinach Salad:
prewashed baby spinach leaves
dried cranberries
drained light mandarin oranges
toasted almond slices
feta cheese crumbled
store bought Balsamic Vinegrette Dressing

Greenbeans:
Just from the can but if you have a little bacon fat (I know not the healthiest ingred but just use a tiny bit and it will go a long way to add flavor)
add a few toasted almond slices for easy added flare!

Ok the Chicken:
4 Chicken Breasts
1 Tb Olive Oil
4 green onions, chopped
1 Garlic clove, minced
3Tb honey
4 Tb Orange Juice
1 Orange peeled and segmented
2 Tb light soy sauce

Preheat oven to 375
place chicken in a shallow pan, I use a 9x9 pan the chicken should just fit and not touch each other.
Heat oil in a small saucepan. Fry onions & garlic until soft. Add honey, OJ, orange segments, and soy sauce. heat until honey is dissolved.
Pour sauce over chicken & bake uncovered for 45min.
Remove from oven and cover dish tightly with foil and let set for 5-10min. This will lock in the juices of the chicken. Plus it will be too hot to eat right away.
Serve with sauce.