No Canned Pumpkin...

Evidentally I have been living in a hole. My grocery list for this week included canned pumpkin. I was shopping at a very large store, it is no where near being Thanksgiving yet and the shelf was completely empty. I was bummed.
At the register the lady asked me if I found everything I needed alright. Usually I say, "yep." But last night I said, "no, where is all the canned pumpkin?"
She told me there was some kind of pumpkin shortage going on, but didn't really know much about it. My husband then remembered he had seen a story on the news about it.
I found several articles about it, here is one
Pumpkin Shortage Article

Anyway, now I am on the hunt for canned pumpkin and when I find it I am going to buy several cans and hide them. LOL

I know it is easy enough to make pumpkin puree, but I tried last year and couldn't get a knife through the hard pumpkin. Those little pumpkins are tough little guys! I don't want to mess with it if I can just buy a can.

Pumpkin Patch

We spent a cold morning at the pumpkin patch. Baby K had a lot of fun with her friends looking at pumpkins and petting zoo animals. We also had lunch at the consession stand they had at the patch. Yummy fri*to pie and a hotdog. Not healthy but Oh So Yummy. :)

Eating with a Spoon...

Baby K wanted to try and eat with a spoon yesterday. She also learned to walk yesterday but of course she would not let me capture that on video. So here is a video of her practicing to eat with a spoon. The video is a link, blogg*er was taking too long to load it. :) Enjoy!

Eating w/ Spoon Video

What's New...

Baby K and Mommy just got home from spending 4 days with family. We went to visit so we could celebrate my Great Aunt's 90th birthday! There were lots of people there and lots of food and some really yummy cake. :)
We were also able to visit Aunt Janie twice at the nursing home and not have to share her company with the large crowds so that was nice. Baby K enjoyed time with her Great Great Aunt and was very sweet; sitting on her lap, sitting with her on the bed, giving her a hug around the neck and even blowing kisses. I'm so thankful for a little girl who loves others well (praying it stays this way!).
On the drive home my grandma asked me if we remembered to get Baby K's highchair (her Chicco travel seat that clamps to the table) - NOPE! Totally left it at my Aunt & Unlce's house firmly clamped to their table. Shoot. Well, I was not about to add another hour or two to our already 5 hour drive so my family is mailing the "highchair" to us and in the mean time I had to find a way for her to eat.
I bought a booster seat several years ago at a garage sale to use when friends have their kids over. It's for big kids but my husband helped me turn it into a make shift highchair and it is working well.

Daddy Date Day

Baby K and her daddy had a Daddy Date Day last Saturday, while mommy enjoyed a much needed day by myself. Baby K's grandpa has some old tractors and was part of an antique tractor show. Daddy and Baby K had a fun day. Here are some pictures of their day. Daddy took all the pictures so he's not in any of them. opps. :)

Our Sweet Daughter

In my excitement of making this card I wrote "Womack's" rather than "Womacks" - oh well spelling/grammar have never been my strong points.
Enjoy the news and ignore the typos!
Love
the Womacks

We emailed this card to share with family and friends. Before sharing with anyone we wanted to tell our close family first. I sent a copy of this to be printed at the drugstore in the town where my grandma lives (since she doesn't use email) and she went to pick up a new picture of Baby K. When she got there they said they never received an order from me - WHAT?! They have it now but she won't have time to pick it up until 7:30pm TONIGHT! So she still doesn't know.
My husbands parents didn't get the news until late either because their internet was down.
Kind of a blow to our excitement that the people we were most excited to tell couldn't even get to see the announcement when we intended for them to. Good thing the news is still exciting. :)

Thanks for all of the well wishes we have already received. Our children will be 19months apart and I'm sure we are in for a real adventure!

12 month Update

Baby K had her 12mo doctors appointment on September 11th. Here's what we learned.
Weight: 20.5 lbs - 41%
Height: 29.25 inches - 53%

At birth her stats were:
Weight: 6 lbs 3oz - 7%
Height: 19.5 inches - 38%

Lookin' good kid! :)

At this time Baby K has the following skills:
Eating - she can almost out eat me! She LOVES bananas and I am so tired of the smell of bananas, but she loves them.
Cruising - she uses her push toy to walk everywhere, kind of like an elderly lady with a walker only much faster! hee hee - she walks around furniture, holding our hands, etc. We are confident she has what it takes to walk, she is steady on her feet and has great balance but she just isn't that into it right now. Fine by me, she can stay a baby a little longer.
Words & signs -
She signs "More" when she wants something (usually food or drink) and she does occasionally say "Ma" when she signs more...it kind of sounds like "more" w/o the r sound.
Mama & Dada she can say but rarely uses them to get our attention, unless she is desperately trying to refuse a nap & wants to be rescued from the crib.
Up - she says this a lot, and always sticks her bottom lip out at the end of the "p" sound.
Body Parts - When asked she can point to her eyes, ears, mouth and nose.
No Thank You - She shakes her head no, so cute! Usually she does this when we are telling her no, b/c of danger or b/c she wants to play in the dog water (yuck!), not really prime times to giggle at her cute no head shake. So I taught her to shake her head "no" when I ask her to say "No thank you". See learning manners already!
Animal sounds (you can ask her what the following animals say and she will tell you) -
Cow - Moo
Duck - Ack Ack Ack Ack she LOVES to walk around the neighborhood lake watching the ducks, waving to them and Quacking loudly. It makes her mad that she is not allowed to pet them.
Elephant - this is her favorite sound to make! Basically, she spits. :) She presses her lips together & then blows air, it is so cute!
Snake - sssssssss
Gorilla - she says "Ahhhhhh" while lightly beating her chest with her hands.
Dog - she doesn't do this one. Ironically, we have a dog that she loves, we have tried and tried to get her to make the sound but she just stares at us and smiles like we are so silly. Hmmm...well, we probably do look very silly.

Other Loves:
Being with people
Playing with other babies, toddlers, big kids. If you are under 4 ft tall - you're her favorite! LOL
Books - especially opening & closing them, over and over and over again.
Wagon rides - best birthday gift ever. It has a seat belt and she loves to cruise the neighborhood and loves it even more when a neighbor kid will ride in the wagon with her or Baby A. She is certainly a people person!
Kisses - if you ask for a kiss you may not get one, but if you say, "Baby K, I love you!" she will always give a kiss. I guess it's her way of saying, "I love you too." I'm guessing she learned this because mommy & daddy are always saying, I love you, and then kissing her.
Justice - our dog. She lights up when she sees her. She is gentle to pet her and loves feeding her cheerios and dog treats and the occasional table treat if we don't catch it first. She loves to crawl in the dog kennel (I've been washing the blankets in there often b/c I keep finding her tucked in there with the dog or w/o the dog. If our child smells like a dog kennel please let us know. LOL)
In & O*ut - not the burger place, the action. She loves toys that require you to put things in & take things out. She could do this for hours. She loves empty boxes and baskets, she loves helping move laundry from the washer to the dryer - she loves to put things in and take things out, over and over and over again. She does this with the dog kennel too - crawl in, crawl out, crawl in, crawl out.

She has many other loves but this list is long and probably less entertaining to you than it is to her parents. :)

We are grateful to God for a healthy, beautiful, inquisitive, sweet little girl. Thank you for this special blessing. We love her SO much!

It happened today...

Since I was pregnant with Baby K I have been praying that God would shape her into a kind and compassionate person. I pray often that she will also have a gentle spirit and a giving heart.
We met our baby girl a year ago and she has been nothing other than a people person. She loves people, especially children and babies. She loves to hug and when other babies or children are around she will bring them a toy and put it in their face, as if to say, "Do you want to play with this?" I love it!
Today was the first time I ever saw Baby K refuse to share a toy. What?! I couldn't believe my eyes. I knew this day would come but didn't know it would come today.
Baby A is here today, because she always comes to play with us on Tuesdays. Both of the girls were playing on the floor nicely together when Baby A went to play with our new cookie jar shape toy.
Baby K let out a yell as if to say, "HEY!!!! NO!! THATS MINE!" and quickly crawled over to her friend and swiped the shape toy right out of her hand. Then she crawled over and started playing with the toy herself. Anytime Baby A gets anywhere near her toys Baby K yells and steals. We've had a lot of crying and yelling this morning. (all from the babies, of course. Mommy is calm and collected. )
Where is my sweet, sharing, toy sacrificing daughter?
We are working hard to be kind to our friend today. For now there has been no hitting and I'm hoping after nap time that sharing will be appealing again.
Just another sign that Baby K is growing up, forming opinions and that babies are born with a sinful nature.
More parenting, discipling and disciplining are on the horizon.

What is a swing set?

We have been doing a little thinking about swing sets. I don't think we will have one anytime real soon, but we don't have a big tree or a deck to hang a swing from so for now we have to walk down to the park and wait our turn for the baby swing. My wonderful engineer husband would like to design and build the playset our children will play on and in the end I think this will save us some money and we will have the special memory that Daddy made it, not just put it together but actually made it (with the exception of the actual slide and swings that will be attached). I think that sounds like a lot of love and hopefully a lot of hours of family fun time and children using their imaginations and getting some exercise.
Today we decided to drop in a new playground equipment sales place. I will say their products are HIGH quality and better than the kit sets you find at the chain hardware stores. Adam was impressed with the quality as well so you don't have to just take my word for it.
The smallest set, that would actually also be the best fit for our family, is currently "on sale" for $1299, regular $1700. Adam thinks he can build an equivalent set for much less.
The price of their sets pretty much jumps from the simple one we are thinking of to $3000 for the next low end set. And when I say low end I mean LOW LOW LOW end.
Mind you these are advertised as "Residential Playsets"
So in the catalog we find this - the set that costs $48,099 but is currently on sale for $33,349 (I'm sure they didn't want to ask $33,350 because that number might scare people!LOL)It is 32 feet wide and 48 feet long and this particular set is, "the undisputed leader in unbelievable residential play structures."
Unbelievable is right! Check this out... It's kind of like the Noah's Ark of Swing sets; honestly, you could put several Large Animals in this thing!
Now if this seems a little steep for your taste or just flat out too big for your yard, then let's take a look at the step down. You can get this next bundle of fun for the sale price of $25,599 (again, good thing they didn't round that sale price up a dollar, talk about sticker shock!), this is a bargain from the regular price of $37,049.
And I forgot to point out that the install price for the above set is $4,760. The install price for the set I'm about to show you is $3,655. I'm telling you, these are REAL deals people!
Ok, so here's your step down set. It's only 20.5 feet wide and 36.5 feet long.Who needs 4 tube slides in their backyard?! This is nuts people!

Birthday Pictures!

Here are 26 pictures of some 200 plus pictures we have from the past 2 days of celebrating. I have not edited these pictures at all but I'm sure Baby K's cuteness will shine through nonetheless. :)

Saturday afternoon (the day before her actual birthday) we had a big party with friends and family. We had cupcakes and Baby K wore her party OUTFIT! A special thanks to Kendra at Sugarplum Orphans for making a very special hair bow that even had a "jewel" on it! Also a special thanks to Brandi who made the most PERFECT special birthday bracelet (that will get a lot of use b/c Baby K loves it!) and thanks to the Doll family for gifting Baby K with the bracelet; you really should take a look at it in the pictures, sterling sliver w/ a cupcake charm & a rhinestone dangle! TOO CUTE! I got the birthday shirt from the internet and made the skirt for the low price of $4.60! There are so many people to thank for making Baby K's day SO SO Special but for now I will finish the thank you's with a Thanks to Ginger for the great cupcake cake pan! Thanks for loving our little girl, we are blessed with wonderful friends!

So we had yummy cupcakes and opened gifts. The weather could not have been more perfect. After friends left we had dinner with family and spent several hours just playing with Baby K and her new toys. She was LOVING it! I have video of her eating her cake but I'm guessing it will be Wednesday or so before I will get it posted.

Sunday we went to my grandma's house (Baby K's Great Grandma) and had a fun afternoon and evening spending time with my family. We sang Happy Birthday again, since it is actually her birthday, and let her dig into her cake - the GIANT cupcake.

We are so grateful for the blessing of our sweet daughter. Thank you everyone for celebrating with us! Baby K says, "Thank you," and she loves you and would like to blow you a kiss! :)

Party Day

Today is Baby K's bday party. I am busy frosting cupcakes and getting food ready and if I'm lucky I'll get a shower before the big party. :) Pictures will be posted later this weekend.
I spent last night making the cake and cupcakes and used a family favorite chocolate cake recipe that my mom made for us often. She didn't really make it for birthdays but just for a special treat. I think it's kind of special that i'm using it for Baby K's birthday cake.

The other party today is the K-State Party. Wish I could be two places at once. Football season starts today, it's a home game & Bill is back! Oh how I wish I could drive up for the 2nd half, throw on my purple and yell "First Down!" and "Touch Down!" Another day.

Well, I'm off to do more party prep. :)

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! (it's really tomorrow but we will celebrate for days!)

Happy Mothers Car Seat

After reading and researching and asking moms and dads what they thought we finally decided on a convertible car seat. Originally, our thought was to get the Alph*a Ome*ga by safety 1s*t but our car has side impact air bags and we felt there wasn't enough on the seat to protect baby's head from the air bags should they go off.
Then we thought we would but the gra*co seat but learned it is only tested by US standards which is impacts up to 35mph. Everyone kept telling us to get a Br*itax. Listen people - those are expensive! We resisted. Then we learned that they are made in the US but they are made to the European standards tested to 55mph of impact. Humph.
After looking online we found a Bri*tax Roundabout for the same price as the other seats I mentioned previously. Nice! We ordered the seat online through Amaz*on from a company called Happy Mothers. The seat got here in a very timely manner and I opened it yesterday to find they sent the wrong color. Shoot.
Then we call the company, who says their hours are 10am to 6pm Eastern time (New Jersey). We call at what is 5:30 their time and get a recording that says they are closed, please call back during their regular hours. WHAT?! Hello, who decided to leave work 30 min early????? We have an issue!
Today my husband called in the morning. A very nice lady helped him and said they would send us a shipping label and send the shipping company to pick it up. We are to call Happy Mothers as soon as the seat is picked up and they will ship the correct color. When asked why no one answered the phone last night the lady said, "Really we close at 5pm but occasionally we are here until 6pm so that's why the recording says that."
In what world does that make sense? Sounds like they run on Island time or China time or something.
Results are still pending if this company is a place of their word. I will let you know if they make the black list or if they are reputable.

Oh becareful little eyes what you see...

Yesterday I was telling some friends that Baby K is so silly, she has started licking her plate after she finishes her meal. My friend says to me, "Oh no, how much time has she been spending around [my husband]?" I just laugh. Her husband has fed Baby K so many random things, chicken between her toes, lemon wedges, jalapenos, etc. She LOVES Mr. J and Mr. J loves her.
My friend goes on to say that her husband likes to teach kids two things, to lick their plate and to eat spray whip from the can. We laugh.
Just over 24 hours later while I was preparing a snack for my sweet baby and she was "cleaning the fridge" (she loves to empty the bottom shelf when the door is open), I set the snack on the table and came back to the fridge to find she had put the spray whip can in her mouth!
Just so you know, I don't think Mr. J taught her this. I think it just looked like a bottle to her. And also for your information she did not get any out of the can, it has been washed and placed on a higher shelf. And finally no, we will not be serving the spray whip to any guests.

Baby K Draws a Picture

Last night while I was writing some cards Baby K picked up a pen and started writing on a piece of paper. Smart girl! I remembered she has some cray*ons given to her from an art teacher. We gave Baby K a blank piece of paper and to start with just one cra*yon. She did pretty good and it was awhile before she started trying to eat her crayo*ns and we had to stop the creative process. :)
I hope you will enjoy these fun pictures of Baby K's 1st drawing. It is of course posted proudly on our refrigerator.

Playing Catch Up

My husband took all last week off, so we have been having lots of family time and now I'm playing catch up. I should have used the opportunity to have extra hands around the house to clean and do laundry and start the week off with a clean slate, but instead we had lots of quality time together and did a few chores that have been at the bottom of the list for a long time (cleaning out the laundry room storage! Thanks Husband!).

The 1st two days of vacation we spent in Omaha. We went to the Omaha Zoo, ate lots of food and tried to take in as much of Nebraska Furniture Mart as Baby K would tollerate.

I still have lots to do but I know there are some waiting to see pictures so here are a couple for ya until I have time to put up a proper post. :)

Picture and a Sneak Peek...

Here is a fun picture from last week and a sneak peek of my first attempt at Baby K's birthday invite. There are some changes I want to make and I will be adding a very recent never before seen picture to take up most of the space on the left. You will notice I put fake information on the invite as well since I am posting it here for all the world to see.
anyway...on with the pictures. :)

Stuck

I'm stuck. I've been thinking about what would be the best way to buy music and play music for my sweet baby.
Here is my struggle, small CD player or MP3 player & doc?
I'm not technical at all. I have a cell phone that is a year old. My computer is 8yrs old or more. I do not have an Ipo*d or anything like it. I had a blu*etooth for my old phone but my new phone won't pair up to it, so I don't use it anymore. Until I got married 2 1/2 years ago I didn't even have a digital camera. LOL

I want to have more music playing in our house for Baby K to enjoy. We do have 3 children's CDs for her and I play them in my computer sometimes (but it's old & running the CD makes it tired like 2 songs in so the fan kicks in and is SO loud you can't enjoy the music or hear it in the next room)

Baby K's birthday is coming up in like 6weeks. What should we get her?
Mp3 player? docking station - can we find good kids music to download? Where do you get yours? is it crazy to get a baby an Ip*od?
CD player? I'm for this b/c it's cheap! Well, kind of it's cheap, you have to buy CD's and then you have more junk laying around the house...

What are your thoughts?
What music do your kids listen to?
Any suggestions on music to buy for our sweet Baby K who I know would love to boogie if she just had some good tunes! ;)

Thanks for your thoughts!
This frugal non tech wife/mommy needs help.

Mommy, can I wear your shoes?

For weeks now Baby K keeps finding my shoes around the house and tries to put them on her feet. The funny part is she has only wore shoes a few times to church - like less than 5 times. She's a smart gal & knows these flip flops are for feet but is angry she can't get them on HER feet!
Watch this funny video.

Yummy Summer Dinner

I cannot take credit for this picture. It is from the blog Chaos in the Kitchen and there is a link to the recipe later in this post.

I've been trying some new things for dinner this summer. What I've learned about myself is that mexican food almost always sounds good to me in the summer and I have a new found addiction to cooking with Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce! I knew I liked those peppers but I am cooking with them every chance I get these days. The sweet, the smokey, the spice - glorious! :)

Last night I made Quesadilla Pie. Check out the recipe and know that you can fill it with whatever you would like. I used some leftover chicken we had, tomatoes, green onion & red onion, black beans, cheese, tomatoes & chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (because I'm in love with them! I'd marry them but Adam snagged me 1st! lol)

You can find the recipe and step-by-step pictures at
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/quesadilla_pie/



For dessert we had Quesadilla S'Mores.
http://chaosinthekitchen.com/2008/10/do-you-want-smore/
I found these through Foodgawker and have been wanting to try them. The recipe didn't list exact portions of ingredients and I WAY WAY WAAAAY over did it on the filling! Better luck next time I guess. So ours were kind of gross - Chocolate & Marshmallow oosing out the sides, all over my fingers in a sticky MESS!
HOWEVER, if made correctly (filled in moderation) I really believe these easy yummy treats are a great summer dessert and would be even better if served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Happy Eating!

Silly Baby...

Our daughter is funny! Here are some pictures of her and all her cuteness in the past few days.
Today Baby A is at our house and while she was playing in the exersaucer Baby K decided she wanted to play underneath it! Also today, Baby K pulled up all the way to her feet to stand under the table. She has done this once before but I missed it - today I caught it on film! And finally some pictures of her eating blueberries and yogurt but the best part is that she was sitting leaning back in her chair with her foot up all casual - then she started laughing when I started taking pics and laughing at her laid back approach to breakfast.

Yes, PLEASE!

I was looking up recipes for cookie bars tonight in hopes of finding something wonderful to get out of the rut of the recipes I've made dozens of times (hee hee pun intended!).
And I found this jewel.
At least I hope it's a jewel, the ingredients look more than promising! Check it out...
Sadly, there were no pictures.
Do I want to try these? Do I want these for my birthday (less than a month away now!)?
Yes, PLEASE! (although I'm thinkin' leave out the walnuts, what are they in there for?)

Coffee Bars
The rocky tops on these luscious bar cookies come from chocolate-covered coffee beans and crushed toffee bars.

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon Kahlúa or strong brewed coffee
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate-covered coffee beans, chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped English toffee-flavored candy bars

Beat 3/4 cup butter at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add brown sugar, beating well. Add egg yolk, beating well. Add flour, coffee granules, and salt, stirring just until blended. Using greased fingers, press dough into bottom of a lightly greased 13" x 9" x 2" pan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Set aside.

Combine sweetened condensed milk and 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, and stir in Kahlúa. Pour mixture over prepared crust. Sprinkle with walnuts.

Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with chopped coffee beans and toffee bars while still warm. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill until firm. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into bars.

Yield: 3 dozen

Our Big Girl!

Our Baby K is getting so BIG! Most of the time we feed her unless it's a finger food like bananas or cereal O's and lately she's been eating those things from the table. I had a place mat down for her to eat off of. I've been afraid to give her a plate because I envision it ending up on the floor - food and all! Last night I thought let's give it a shot because most of our food could be eaten with fingers. Catfish, baked beans and mac n cheese.
I almost cried! It was as if she has eaten from the table forever. She did a great job and never tried to pick up her plate! I will say she needs major supervision on her handfuls because she will try to put as much food in her mouth as possible so she needed some help with portion size but we'll get there. It was nice to eat without hearing her holler every time we take a bit because she wants to always be the one taking a bite.
Here's some pics of our Big Girl with her very own Big Girl plate! (excuse me while I go cry in my pillow a bit - she's growing up too fast!)

Cool Resource!

Check this out!
http://www.safetytat.com/

You know how kids LOVE the temporary tattoos?
Well these tats say, "If lost please call #"
or they have allergy alert tats, etc.

One of the little girls at church was wearing one. She is a quiet shy little girl and her mom said she puts them on the kids when they go to the zoo or a carnival or something like that in case they were to wonder off. This is great. I can't imagine this quiet little girl telling a stranger what her mommy's name is and she may or may not be old enough to remember a cell phone number.

Aside from safety they have several neat designs.

All parents should check these out. Most of all I pray that our children are NEVER lost and no one Ever needs to actually use these things.

GG's Birthday

My grandma, Baby K's Great Grandma, is GG. Saturday was GG's birthday so I dressed Baby K in her 4th of July outfit that GG had bought for her and we drove down to have lunch and homemade ice cream (so yummy!) and get some cuddle time in with our GG!
Here are some pictures I took of Baby K in GG's yard on a very hot and muggy day.
Also you will notice a bruise on Baby K's cheek - lear*ning to crawl is hard work and she did a faceplant the other day onto the bathroom scale and got her first offical "Owie". Poor baby! I just think it looks so sad, but she doesn't seem to mind it.


Has anyone noticed if you type certain words, ie "learning", that blogger allows some thing/one to make it a link to something totally unrelated to your post?! Grrr...anyway that's why I had to type lear*ning above. Anyone know how I can keep this from happening?

And...SHE'S OFF!

It's offical...July 1st, 2009 at approximately 2:00pm Baby K started crawling. She crawled across the kitchen floor, slapping her hand down one at a time like a stomping dinosaur! It was a hoot. I called daddy right away. She is getting faster every day.
One of these days I will take the time to learn how to post a video on here. Sorry I'm too lazy to try. :)
Here are some pictures from Sunday night July 5th. Baby K's last day of being 9 months old! By the time most of you read this she will be a whoppin' 10 months old - time flies when you're having fun.

See the post below this. I posted several pictures from our 4th of July weekend.

Our Sweet Spot...Baby K

Well, I have several pictures to post. Not tons, but several. Baby K just gets more and more fun every day, and even though she and I both had a cold this past week she was smiles most of the time and after a couple of sleepless nights we were back to normal for the most part.
The 4th was a great time with friends and of course I had fun dressing Baby K for the celebrations - including a mother/daughter matching pedicure!

Here are pics of her all dressed up - the sun was BRIGHT and she was ready for a nap. I will try and take pictures again when she is more up for it.

Some friends of ours have 2 boys and are expecting their 3rd child, A GIRL! The boys love Baby K and her friend Baby A and I know they are going to make amazing big brothers! Baby K LOVES these boys - thanks little guys for being so sweet to her!
And their mommy is great with Baby K too, she's holding her in the pic.

Does anyone have...

Does anyone have a Wilton 3D cupcake cake pan I can borrow or rent? They cost $30. YIKES! And I don't want to spend that much to only use it a few times. I looked on Eb*ay and although they have some for $17 by the time you pay outrageous shipping costs it is more than $30!
I looked at Am*azon and found the same problem as e*bay. Craig*slist did not have any listed for the area. I called the local cake supply store and they only rent discontinued pans.

If I do buy it does anyone want to "rent" it from me for $5.00? Perhaps I could give you a deal and make back some of the ridiculous cost of a cake pan I will have little use for after Baby K's 1st birthday party.

Thoughts?

Overheard...

My friend Tricia and I went to get shaved ice the other night. We happened to be there just before closing and it also happend that the daughter and grandkids of the owner came to visit their Grandpa.
The kids were very good kids, or so it seemed to me. The mom was very friendly as well.
After sitting at the picnic table enjoying our "snow cones" my friend and I found out the youngest grandson was a hoot! I'm tellin you he was funny and had some sweet things to say. He was like maybe 5 years old. He made up his own flavor of shaved ice too - Rootbeer & Sour Apple. No matter how cute he is, I will not be trying that anytime soon! LOL

I heard the mom talking to the grandpa and telling him a story about the youngest son and something he had said earlier in the week. I HAVE to share it. It keeps making me laugh.

They were at a fast food restaurant. The boy was insistent to his mother that he wanted to tell the cashier his order, all by himself! She told him that was fine and to go ahead and step up and tell the guy what he wanted. In a very Matter of Fact kind of voice, in all seriousness he ordered...
"I want a hamburger. No cheese on that. You can save that for the next guy."

And finally a side by side shot.
I had my hair color changed this week. I'm enjoying it. Here are some before and after shots.

Pictures of what we've been up to...

I thought you might enjoy some pictures of the last week.
There are a couple of slide shows
Father's Day we had a Fish Fry with my husband's family. It was a lot of fun, lots of food & Baby K had loads of fun with her cousins, Grandma & Grandpa, & uncles.
Swim Class with Daddy (last time you only saw pics of Baby K and Mommy at swim class), this was her last class and she was very tired! We had already been swimming earlier in the day and she had a 2.5 hour nap & dinner then we were at swim class - she was having fun but didn't show as many smiles as usual.
Finally some pics of Baby K peeking out the door while I watered plants & pictures of Baby K's new friend Baby C! We are so happy for the arrival of Baby C and had a great day celebrating her with several friends in Manhattan. Can't wait to spend time with them again.
Ok, now for the pictures because they are much more fun than reading my ramblings. :)

Money Saving Fabulous!

Coupon Savings made easy
Grocery List made easy
I'm trying this for a month and seeing how it works out but I THINK I may have just stumbled upon something truly fabulous!!

Shortcuts.com

found it thru Dillions.com links and at the site above you can register your grocery store costumer card number (many stores participate not just Kroger stores)
this site lets you choose coupons from their site, then you do not print them, they just are registered to your shoppers card! You don't have to remember to cut them, or bring them with you! You don't have to waste your printer ink!
You can even make your shopping list on their site including items they are not giving you a coupon for and if they have a coupon for something on your list they will let you know you missed it and ask if you want to add the coupon! Are you kidding me?! This is GREAT for a busy mom if I can just remember and find the time to type my list up on their site. Even if I forget as long as the coupons are on my card that is great for now.
Also their site tells you if you have a coupon about to expire so you can use it before you lose it.

WOW! I am amazed at technology! I only wish Wal-mart had a shoppers card so I could do this there as well!
Anyway, you have to check this out. I'll keep you posted on whether or not I like it.

Requested Sugar Cookie Recipe

I got the recipe from a blogger I found through foodgawker.com here is the link to the blog address for other fun ideas and below is also the recipes I used.

http://chiccookiekits.blogspot.com/2008/11/cookie-dough-and-frosting-recipes.html

Also a special note about the frosting - Wilton makes a product called "Icing Color" it comes in "White-White" it comes in a 2oz bottle, it is liquid and looks like white-out, not joke! The frosting will look cream or off white b/c of the vanilla extract - this product will turn your frosting WHITE WHITE, WHITE as clean snow in a blizzard! I LOVE IT! Here's a pic - you can buy it at Hob*by Lobby or Walm*art or other craft stores.


Also after chilling the dough I roll it out by using 2 dowel rods, one on each side of the dough, the rods are 1/4" thick and I just roll the dough until my rolling pin touches the rods and then I know my dough is exactly 1/4" thick.
There are special bands you can get that go on each end of your rolling pin that will serve the same purpose.

Sugar Cookies:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and blend well. Add extracts and blend. Mix flour and salt and gradually add. Chill dough for about 2 hours before rolling out and cutting. Bake cut out cookies on parchment lined baking trays at 375 for 12-14 minutes. (the cross cookies I only baked for 7 min using a silicone baking mat on my cookie sheet - got the mat at Wal-mart in the baking section)

Frosting:
Note: This frosting is similar to royal icing, but I add shortening and flavoring to make it taste delicious. Thus, it dries hard enough to handle and pack when left overnight, but not rock hard, like traditional royal icing. The consistency is NOT the runny kind used for flooding. It's stiffer. Take a spoonful, turn it over the bowl. The frosting should cling to the spoon and slowly fall into the bowl. That's the right consistency.

4 tblsp meringue powder (available at many supermarkets and in most craft stores)
1/2 cup water
6-7 cups confectioner's sugar (may need more or less, see the consistency advice above)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup Crisco

Whip the meringue powder and water on high speed for a looooong time, several minutes, until it's fluffy and peaks form. Gradually add the rest of the ingredients to desired consistency.
(**Note from me...I sometimes have to add water to get the right consistency, just depends on the day I guess)
Store at room temperature in a sealed container for up to a month.

Happy Father's Day!

I just love my wrinkly newborn resting in her Daddy's hand - so cute!

There are 82 pictures in this slide show so I understand if you don't want to watch the whole thing.
However, in honor of a Great Dad to a sweet little girl here are pictures of Baby K with her Daddy over the past 9months. It's been a lot of fun and Baby K sure has her daddy wrapped around her little finger!

Happy Father's Day Babe! I hope you feel really celebrated today!
We Love YOU!
Mommy & Baby K

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!