Seven months

Seven months old! You are getting so big. You almost kinda sorta but not quite got the hang of crawling this week. You went swimming in a real pool and loved it. Your napping is getting so much better and we are hoping to move you to a big boy crib soon. Daddy drew you some awesome dinosaurs for your room. I hope you will be a good enough sleeper to enjoy sleeping downstairs with us soon. I miss getting to wake up to both you and your sister's giggles. You are getting the hang of eating but still insist on shoving your little fist in your mouth with every bite. Your first two teeth finally appeared a couple of weeks ago but you have been a champ about it. We are just starting to really have fun. I know it will only get better and better. I love you little man.

NaBloPoMo

Here it is, August 1st. The first in a month's worth of posts. There is lots to look forward to this month, Gypsi and Derek's engagement party, The Peanut's baptism and of course the Weeble's Second Birthday. But for now, its time to go get some pancakes. YUM!

Blackout

It's been a semi-self imposed media blackout this past week. I know my dozens of loyal readers have been wondering just what on earth has happened to me. There's been a lot going on of late and most of it I am not yet inclined to discuss at length. The kids are doing great. We've been trying to get out of the same old routine and find some new things for them to explore. I've been trying to keep up with my favorite bloggers without falling into too much time on the interwebs. I'm joining up with NaBloPoMo in August so it is just as well to have taken a bit of a break before that whirlwind starts. For reals though, doesn't anybody want or know of a good home for a lively trained Husky? I don't know what else we can do to locate his owners and without a fence we just don't have the space for him to run like he needs to.

Dear Noggin

What the hell are you doing with your schedule? Are you not aware that children THRIVE on routine? What is up with these marathons of shows at odd times of the day. Every day the schedule is different. Don't you know that we eat breakfast during Franklin and lunch during Oswald. And if I have to watch the Fresh Beat Band, which was only a month ago the Jump Arounds, one more damn time I'm going to flip. They aren't any more talented or appealing than they were with the old name. Nope, still sucks. I want to kick that tall white guy in the teeth. I don't know who is in charge over there but please fix it. The next thing I know I'll be watching two straight days of Oobi.

Love,
me

PS. If you tinker with Wubbzy in the 5:30 time slot, we're through.

PPS. If anyone out there is feeling judgy about my kids watching TV during mealtime I respectfully tell you to suck it. I have to put my baby down for a nap while my toddler is eating and unless you have a better idea the best thing I've found for keeping her from covering my walls with mac and cheese is to let her zone out to "educational" telly. She's got real good interpersonal skills I tell ya...

Not @BlogHer

Since I have no new posts from the majority of blogs I read I have been left with nothing else to do during naptime except pack clean put away laundry shred blog myself.

I've spent both yesterday evening and this morning trying out new recipes for the little pre-baptism breakfast we are hosting at the church. So far I'm 0 for 3. Sigh. The first recipe I tried was Mini Lemon Blueberry Muffins. I realized as I was making it that it seemed like a very little amount of sugar and also quite a lot of salt. The batter tasted like lemon PlayDoh. Can I say PlayDoh? Where is my Blogger Ethics manual? Lost? Well that's no surprise around here.

The second recipe was for Sausage Balls. I've seen these a million places but never made them. Paula Deen's recipe called for 4 cups cheese, 3 cups Bisquick to 1 lb sausage. I have one hell of a time trying to get all that cheese and Bisquick incorporated and ultimately did not succeed very well. When I baked them they ended up with one flat side because I didn't think to flip them every so often. I think I'll try them again but with less Bisquick and probably less cheese and see what happens.

The third recipe I had high hopes for. It takes Crescent roll dough and adds a cream cheese/sugar/lemon mixture with a spoonful of cherry pie filling on top. I'm not sure where things went wrong with this recipe. But they were not nearly as pretty or tasty as I'd hoped.

So I'm back to the drawing board. It is sort of an awkward situation whenever there is a breakfast like this because of the Weebles' egg allergy. I'd rather do everything myself rather than delegate because then I know everything will be safe for her. I try really hard to not eat things in front of her she can't have. Anybody have any good breakfast finger food recipes?

Why I love living with a two year old

I have been thinking about what brings on the "terrible twos" and I think there is a point where a child goes from being a cute little bundle just along for the ride to being their own person. This, at least for us, is coinciding with the second birthday. Now my daughter knows what she wants and has the means to ask for it. She understands choices and desperately wants to be able to make them for herself. This has been really hard for me to come to grips with. But after giving it some thought while lying in bed for hours upon hours waiting for her hard head to go to sleep I can see why this change is (of course) necessary and also welcome. I'm glad to see her growing and learning. I'm glad to see her new found independence and hope that she learns to really appreciate and trust herself. It is a lot of responsibility on us as parents to make sure she gets the guidance she needs from us so that she learns how to cope with her bigger than life emotions and also how to make good decisions. Yipes. File this one under: Who thought us being parents was a good idea?

Wordless Wednesday