Internet, I'll miss you so!

Okay, so I keep starting to write something, then I get distracted for a few days and when I go back to it I decide it's not worth finishing, hence the long stretches in between posts.

I am also in a funk with time management and have not fully adjusted to Cade now being a once-a-day napper. Although it is really great for being able to do things outside of the house, it is more difficult to find uninterrupted blogging time.

Then throw in a heaping portion of getting ready to move and voila! no time to blog.

Add to that, the fact that I will be without internet until mid-July (gasp! shudder!).

Maybe one day soon (after mid-July) I'll actually finish and post some of my drafts or start (and finish) some of the posts I have in my head, like all the craft things I have gotten to get back out since Cade is getting older. Well, while I'm here I'll just show you a couple of them.

First, here is a grocery list I made for Kyle a couple of years ago that he and Cade are now both using. I searched for free printable food images on the web then printed, colored, and laminated them. I hole-punched and put them on a clasp ring and there you go!Second, I had fun coloring this pasta. All I did was get sandwich baggies and put in some dry pasta and a few drops of food coloring and a few drops of rubbing alcohol and shake it around until the pasta was all colored. Then I spread it out on wax paper until it was dry.

The options are limitless for these babies: sorting, counting, collages, etc. I get plastic eggs, measuring cups, and all different sizes of containers out with these noodles and it keeps the boys busy for half an hour at least.Please be thinking of me while I'm in the black hole without internet. I'm sure to come out on the other side stronger! (I'm only half-way joking.)

The Vickenstain Bears and an Unexpected Twist

Kyle authored and illustrated this book a couple of months ago.

It all begins nicely enough:

Big home for little baby tigers to rest in when their mothers are gone looking for food for them. Bike with Brother Bear on it.

The Vickenstain Bears and their new dog.
Their oldest dog.

The Vickenstain Bears have their newest dogs.
Papa Bear has a cake.

Now for the surprise ending:

The Dungeon-Maker Prison for people who try to destroy the Vickenstain Bears.

Have a nice day.

Pretty Woman

I was in Nashville recently and needed to do some shopping. Wait, where should this story logically begin? Okay, I blogged a while back about my fear of hurtling uncontrollably toward the earth in a plane flying and the decision we were making regarding flying or driving to a friend's wedding approximately 3 gazillion miles away. Although I was open to flying, for a variety of reasons we ended up driving.

In the days just before we left, we got a contract on our house (Yippee!) and my mind was all consumed with offers, counter-offers, searching for a new house, etc. When it came time to leave I still didn't have a dress for the wedding. I took a couple of dresses that would suffice if absolutely necessary, but really didn't feel like they fit the bill of semi-formal/summer classy (I think that's what the invite said). Anywho, I figured I would have some time to look once we got to our destination.

We stayed over in Nashville on our way and I thought it would surely hold a lot of promise for my shopping expedition. It turned out perfectly that the boys both fell asleep after we had been to the zoo so Mike happily agreed to stay in the van and play BrickBreaker on my phone while they slept and I shopped.

Let me back up at this point, to say that I was dressed for walking around the zoo comfortably. While we were at the zoo we got caught in a downpour. Without an umbrella. Suffice it to say I was not a pretty sight by the time I arrived at the mall. I was a makeover waiting to happen. When I was pushing a stroller around the zoo I didn't exactly feel confident in my appearance, but I didn't feel like my sloppiness was drawing attention. However, walking around a ritzy mall by myself I suddenly had no apparent excuse for looking as frightening as I felt. I can only imagine what the salespeople were thinking as I rushed around and in and out of stores, trying to shop as quickly as possible knowing the boys may wake up at any minute and this was my one opportunity to find a dress. It may have just been my self-consciousness, but I didn't sense that the salespeople were that excited to help me.

Eventually (after walking what seemed to be the entire perimeter of the mall five times), I managed to find a dress which also required a new bra and new shoes. As I walked through the mall with my Ann Taylor dress bag, Macy's, and Victoria's Secret bags, I thought this is so Pretty Woman-ish. I could walk back in those stores, hold my bags up and say, "You work on commission, right? Big Mistake. HUGE."

Of course I think Julia Roberts a.k.a. Vivienne spent a few thousand more than I did, but I think we felt about the same.

Make These If You Dare

A very clever friend of mine made these for a cookie exchange a couple of years ago and I am forever grateful. If you like Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies (and who doesn't?) then you will love these.

All you need are these:and these:And you end up with these delicious little beauties:Melt the Andes chips, dip the crackers, then set to dry on waxed paper. I just ate about 14 of them. I would be eating more if I weren't typing. They are seriously dangerous.

Seller's Remorse

We are planning to move (I say planning because you never know what can happen since we have 2 houses to "close" on, but anyway that's another post) to a house that already has a swing/playset. We have had one of those plastic playsets for smaller kids like you see at daycares, you know? Then, because I'm crazy we also have another playset inside our house.

Yesterday we sold the big outside climbing playset. Once I knew the arrival of the buyers was imminent I began to go through a series of thoughts with the main theme being, "What was I thinking? I have two little boys, why did I agree to sell this great, awesome, super-fantastic tunnel-having, telescope-looking, clubhouse-climbing playset???" I told Mike and he was quite unconcerned, apparently he's used to my crazy mind-changing shenanigans. He optimistically said, "Maybe they'll get here and decide it's not what they wanted." "Oh, they'll want it," I assured him, "it's like the best playset in the whole world." Sure enough, after much puzzle-like placement in their pick-up, the new owners drove off with our playset.

I don't know what the root of my little sickness is, but I know the side effect is that when my kiddos like something I get the urge to buy them seventy-two more. Take for example Fisher-Price Little People. Kyle received a small set for his first birthday. In the three-plus years since, I have gone crazy buying every Little People toy that I come across at garage sales and second-hand shops. His collection probably rivals the children of the makers of Little People.

I do the same thing with books: Touch and Feel collections, miniature book collections, puffy book collections, etc. Kyle liked this little Lego set we got him that you build a miniature car from, now he has four. Anyone know a name for this behavior?

It took a little self-convincing last night, but I think I finally believe that Cade will not grow up hopelessly deprived knowing that when he was a toddler he only had two playsets and not three.

Quick Funny

My little guys both love this lift-the-flap book and it cracks me up every time I read it. (Obviously, I'm easily amused.)

The name of the book is Daddy and Me, the first page reads: "I'm helping Daddy make something, first we saw the wood. Where is Daddy's saw?" Lift the flap and find the saw in the closet.
"Then we measure the wood. Where is Daddy's tape measure?" Lift the flap and...

Wait, stop, hold the press. First we saw the wood, then we measure it? I'm not very confident about the father's handy-man abilities.

Recipe Re-Cap and Review

My personality is to jump in with both feet when I get an idea or find something I like. So when I finally decided to try a recipe from the cookbook I had gotten two years earlier, Deceptively Delicious, I made almost every type of puree she described and have tried many of the recipes.

Here are my reviews of the recipes I've tried. I know several of you have said you have this cookbook too, I'd love to hear which recipes you've tried and how you liked them.

French Toast (with pumpkin) page 49 - The vote was unanimous: Yummy!

Scrambled Eggs (with cauliflower) page 53 - The vote was unanimous: Yummy!

Banana Bread (with cauliflower) page 54 - The vote was unanimous: Yummy!

Chicken Nuggets (with broccoli and beet) page 75 - The vote was unanimous: Yummy! They looked very strange and they were very difficult to fry without burning, but maybe that's my own personal handicap and not the recipe's fault.

Italian Meatloaf (with carrot) page 79 - The vote was unanimous: Yummy!

Pita Pizzas (with spinach) page 96 - Only one vote: Okay. I made this just for myself and found the spinach did not disappear either in presentation or taste, I don't think my kids would eat this, but it was edible to me.

Macaroni and Cheese 1 (with butternut squash and cauliflower) page 104 - The vote was unanimous: Just a'aight for me dog (sorry I just channeled Randy from Idol).

Burgers 2 (with mushrooms and zucchini) page 115 - The vote was unanimous: Yummy! I didn't read the directions correctly and used pureed zucchini rather than grated, but it was not a problem.

Spaghetti Pie (with broccoli and carrot) page 116 - The vote was unanimous: Yummy! I have made this twice, the first time I used seasoned spaghetti sauce and it was awesome; the next time I used plain tomato sauce like the recipe calls for and I didn't like it as well, but no one else complained.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (sweet potato or butternut squash) page 135 - After some tweaking, the vote was unanimous: Yummy! The first two times I made them with butternut squash, Cade, Mike and I loved them. Kyle hated them. The second time I added more cheese than called for, Kyle still wouldn't touch them. The third time I added more cheese still, Kyle still wouldn't touch them. The fourth time I used sweet potato (but only half of what it called for) and I probably doubled the cheese and Kyle ate it up. He was leery from the recent grilled cheese experiences and had warned me beforehand he does not like mushy cheese!!

Tortilla "Cigars" (with yellow squash and carrot) page 144 - no one liked these, except moi so I probably won't be making these again, although personally I thought they were really good.

Tacos (with sweet potato or carrot or butternut squash) page 148 - The vote was unanimous: Yummy!

Doughnuts (with pumpkin and sweet potato) page 160 - The vote was unanimous: Yummy!

Chocolate Cake (with beets) page 194 - The vote was unanimous: Just Edible. The cake was dry and I could definitely detect a "beety" flavor. It was okay with lots of frosting, but I don't think I'll make it again.

As you can see, it has been almost all success. I don't know what it is, but Kyle in particular (my pickiest eater by far) loves these recipes and almost always says, "Make this again, Momma!" or "I want this for lunch tomorrow."

I made a homemade pizza last night and to my ground turkey I added pureed carrot and pureed broccoli. There was only a 1/2 cup total of pureed veggies, but it was more than we would have had otherwise. I am beginning to think Kyle might not end up malnourished after all! Cade hasn't hit his picky stage yet so he has eaten it all up.