Tales from the Crib

Imagine the noise you would make if you got to lick a fully-loaded with frosting (or whatever) spatula, from end to end. Kind of like the pigeon about to devour the hot dog from Mo Williams The Pigeon Finds a Hot dog. http://www.pigeonpresents.com/book-info.aspx?bid=17

Aaaaaaahhhhhh

I was driving my two little kids back home from the mall. It was not a very nice day here... rainy, cold, and had been both for quite a while. So I was concentrating on driving because conditions were not the best when I heard my daughter make that noise "aaaaaahhhhhh" from her car seat and her little brother cracking up. I think he was around 11 months so it was really fun to hear him laughing those full belly laughs. Well, what do most kids do when someone finds something they are doing funny? They do it again. She would make the noise and he would laugh his little head off. I thought this interaction between the two of them was really charming and I am giggling away myself as I listen to them. I do have one of those little mirrors that lets you peer into the backseat to see what kind of hell is breaking loose, but I try not to spend too much time on it because, you know, I'm driving.
Well, the two of them had been at this for a good five minutes or so when we got to our exit where we had to stop for a red light. I turned around to see the game in real time. I nearly barfed right there in the car. SHE WAS LICKING THE BOTTOM OF HER SHOE. The shoe that had walked through the mall, played in the children's museum, took a trip to the potty and scampered through the little landscape areas as you make your way back to the car in the wet, grimy parking lot. You've looked down and seen a lot of detritus (fancy, shmancy word for "all kinds of nasty crap") which you don't want to step in. It's the reason I have a no shoe house.
My next thought is "how am I going to clean her mouth?" I can't really wipe antibacterial lotion on her tongue. And a baby wipe just seems inadequate. Ummm, normally I wouldn't condone the consumption of vodka by a toddler, but that stuff packs a punch and would probably kill anything she might have picked up, plus a few brain cells. I don't have any vodka, or mouthwash in the house, for that matter. By the time I got her home it would be too late anyway. Heck, it was too late already; she had been doing this for the entire car ride home and we were almost there. Well, how do you turn this into a positive? She building her immune system! I tried to think of something that would discourage her from doing that again. I came up with: "There are squished spiders on the ground. You don't eat spiders do you? Plus, there is all kinds of dirt and icky things Mommy doesn't want you to put in your mouth." I know she is not overly fond of spiders so I think that worked. She has asked me on a couple of occasions about the spider parts on the bottom of her shoe. Better on your shoe than in your mouth, honey.
When we got home I gave her a big glass of orange juice and a kiss.
On the top of her head.

Ryan's thank you cards from her birthday

This was based on a sketch challenge (SC169) splitcoast posted yesterday. I love this little set; it is called All in the Family with its Accessories and Family Phrases.

What's for dinner?

What does that question evoke in you? Some days it is the bane of my existence; others, not so much. I am never sure how many people I am cooking for. My family is made of up my dear (damn) husband (DH in text lingo), two teenage step-children: both teenagers, a girl (M) and a boy (J) , my two kids with my husband: a girl and a boy, and myself. I usually have to plan for as many as 6, but more likely it will be just the little kids and myself. There is a "shared parenting plan" on paper but that seems about it. Dad and J spend a lot of time at baseball-focused activities such as batting and conditioning which take place after school, regular practice and games. This growing boy has to be fed somewhere in between all his activities so the two of them often grab something at the store while on their way. M likes to hang with her friends so she will often eat out with them or have dinner with her mom, or a bowl of cereal while I am fixing dinner.

I don't mind left-overs - they make lunch really easy the next day and often I think the dish tastes even better. My husband? He hates left-overs, unless it is a ham. The teenagers aren't into them either. I will cook something new every night that I prepare dinner. So... I have to plan for 6, likely just feed 4 and try not to have too much in the way of left-overs as I hate to throw food away (my fridge can end up with a lot of left-overs). Or I end up with an odd number of uncooked items for the next night. If I am lucky, I can get my husband to take us out for dinner one night a week. It seems like a vacation to me.

Some days I don't even want to cook. Cereal makes a good dinner. So do PB&J sandwiches, but not for the baby because he has a peanut allergy. He is also allergic to egg whites which means no mayo - he is pretty much up spit creek as far as lunch goes. But I am talking about dinner.

Teenagers and toddlers are pretty much the same thing - their body size is about all that is different. They will look at food and decide they don't like it. They don't like green veggies. I am so proud of my little kids, though. They help themselves to bell peppers (red, orange and yellow) and munch on them like they are apples. The same with carrots ~ sometimes they are crunching away before I can even scrape them. So, we eat a lot of corn. And we all know what doesn't happen with corn the next day.

I try to make kid-friendly food. Kid-friendly food that I will eat. And I understand that my cooking is different from M & J's mom's cooking. But I haven't been able to win them over, except for a couple of dishes. I have noticed that they aren't always keen on what Dad cooks either so maybe it isn't my cooking, per se. So I leave most food in its basic form: steak, baked chicken, hamburgers (although I can gussy up those babies with grilled onions, bacon and cheese and they are still a hit), and hot dogs in the summer. I can branch out to tacos and paninis on the grill but that is pretty much the list of known eatables by all members of the family. No casseroles or crock pot creations. Even spaghetti is plagued by problems: my husband and I each like our own differing recipes, while M doesn't like red sauce but will eat the pasta with butter and garlic salt and J doesn't eat anchovies if he sees them go in his dad's recipe. They always go in the sauce, so you just have to time it right. I don't think you can taste them, the sauce just has good flavor. I like mine better because it is what my mom made for me.

My husband isn't too fond of pork ~ he thinks it is fattening. But when faced with the task of cooking he heads straight to chicken-fried steak. Go figure. Everybody likes that dish, even me.... I like it too much. He is also happy to eat Marie Callenders peach pies and ice cream. I guess it is selective fats that we shouldn't eat.

If you ask anyone around here "What would you like for dinner?" you are likely to get shrugs and "I don't cares" from the teenagers. My husband doesn't even want to think about it. He thinks I am nuts when I ask him in the morning before he goes to work if he has any wishes. I know it is morning but I will be headed to the grocery store before I see him again. And if my timing is right, I can get it done in the morning while the store is between meal rushes and my kids are well-rested. But I would love a suggestion here and there. Sometimes I want to be able to make something that I know he would like to eat. Or something that everyone will enjoy. Or so I don't have to think about it.

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.”
Oscar Wilde

Sure, until I am stuck with the kitchen clean-up too! :D
But that is another story.

What did you have for dinner? Got any good ideas?

Kristina's Color Challenge #3

Her colors were Orchid Opulence, Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Whisper White. This was my submission. Check out the gallery of submissions - there were some incredible cards created out of her inspiration.

Fishy gets new digs

Fishy, our betta, got a new home on Saturday. I no longer feel like a slum lord. He seems much happier now - swimming around and exploring his live plant and rock.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you! We (my kids and DH) went to my mom's house for a lovely dinner. She pulled all her four-forked recipes off Epicurious and dinner was fabulous. She made deviled eggs with wasabi! Yummy Yum Yum! I made these boxes for everyone at the table. Here is a link to Kristina's video tutorials - there is a lot of great information here: http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog/videos.html and she is as cute as a bug! Inside the boxes I made were a Cadbury Caramel Creme Egg (a favorite from my childhood) and a Lindt Chocolate Egg (a favorite from my second childhood). Cole, who is allergic to peanuts and egg whites got raisins. He is only 15 months anyway. The Easter Bunny was good to my kids. Thank goodness for grandparents and attentive aunt and uncles. I completely forgot to dye eggs with my kids this past week. I am sure the kits will be on sale today at the store! It will be fun no matter what day. :D

Hooray (for me!)

I recently uploaded a bunch of the cards I made to splitcoast. One of them was a card I made for my friend Kari who just moved. I love the style of a lady known as Kittie747 who makes fabulously detailed and complex cards - I think of them as landscapes, like full paintings. For Kari's cards I looked through Kittie's gallery and found some ideas but made up my own design for the card. Well, she - Kittie commented on my card and thought I did a nice job. I feel like the heavens above just shined a sunny light on me along with a glory chorus in the background.