Not my mother's daughter

I like to think I was an easy child for my mother. I tell her often that I'd love to have a child that was as well behaved and listened as well as I did.

She usually hangs up the phone then. I'm sure its to grab my baby book and reminisce about the glory that came with raising me in her own private manner.

So on Saturday, when my mom said "Want go shoe shopping and out to lunch?" I looked at my 1 year old daughter and knew she'd be angelic. Just like I had been. Of course we'd go.

My mom said she'd be over around 11:30. So at 11:30 we were ready. And my precious daughter politely yelled for the door - she wanted outside. Fine. We stood in the driveway for 10 minutes while she hollared for her dad (who had gone to work for the afternoon). Its great how much she loves him.

We got in the car, drove 5 minutes downtown, and as we opened her door to let her out of the backseat she smiled, opened her mouth, and puked. My mother jumped back - HER daughter had NEVER done anything like this. I sighed. Time to fess up: I'm not raising my mother's daughter.

"What happened!?"
"She puked!"
"Now what? You want to go home?"
"No. She needs shoes and I want lunch. I'll change her outfit."
"Here!? In this parking lot?"
"Yes, hold her coat."

And I did it. Calmly, I cleaned the raisin filled puke, thankful she'd kept it mostly on her dress, and reached into her diaper bag for another outfit (I always have 1-2 on me - this isn't the first time I've changed her in a parking lot if you recall my Feb 2011 post). She dropped her binky on the ground and while the nipple didn't hit the ground, in true second child form I popped it into my head to "clean it", only to have to announce to my mother:

"This thing is covered in snot, gross."

My mother gagged. And we went into the store.

My daughter screamed the entire time we were in the store. Until finally, my mother asked her what she wanted. And thanks to that sign-language from her daycare she glared at her grandmother and signed "FOOD."

My mother looked at me and I calmly informed her that at OUR house, it would take more than a little vomit and ingested snot to get us to turn down the promised free lunch. We headed to the car, drove the restaurant, got out and felt my girl start to gag.

"Mom, back up - she's going again." Clearly - her VERY runny nose/cold was upsetting her tummy a bit. I leaned her over to save us from changing in ANOTHER parking lot, my mother stood in awe, and when she was done we headed in.

"That's it? She's just ok now?"
"It's puke mom. My kids are pukers. She's fine - but probably hungry"
"My girls were never pukers...I'm so glad."

I bet you were, mom. We made it in for lunch and it took my girl nearly an hour to eat 1 chicken finger and a handful of fries. She was too busy coloring, signing, chattering, and playing games with her grandma. She sweetly signed "please", and asked for "more food". She asked for a cup, then expressed she'd wanted "milk" and not water. Not with screaming but with her carefully executed signs and a couple rough babbles (she's only 15 months afterall!)

"Now THAT is cool. My girls never did that," my mom was pretty impressed with what she could do.

Definitely not raisng my mother's daughter, but that's not all bad either.

Getting serious for a minute

There are a lot of definitions surrounding forgiveness and the word forgive in general. At Easter time, the definition of "to forgive someone for (something wrong)" rings truer than ever. I would be lying to say I don't tend to think about this word around this time of the year. I know over the last 5 years I have grown much closer to God and his forgiveness for all my sins. I've definitely kept him on his toes ;)


But this Easter, the word hit home in a different way. I'm not dragging things out and airing my dirty laundry but I just want to say I was a really bad friend to someone who was trying to help me and be my friend 6 years ago (notice the coincidental time lines here). I said things no friend should ever say under any circumstance. Ever. And for the last 5 years I've felt sorry, guilty, remorseful, and embarrassed by what I did. I wanted to reach out but I couldn't imagine someone forgiving me and being willing to talk again. And, I was mortified for how I behaved and new that it would have to be addressed. Honestly, talking about that period of life depresses me to no end. I couldn't do it. Even though I wanted to and I missed my friend.


The day before Easter, I ran into my friend's mom and learned my friend, my 31 year old full of life friend, has been battling breast cancer and is facing a double mastectomy this week. I felt sick and scared and even worse that before. She was struggling and dealing with scary stuff and I couldn't swallow my pride to admit my wrong doing and ask for forgivness. I was selfish. And wrong. Again. And thanks to an ill-timed grocery store visit, on the day I NEVER go to the store, I had some serious decisions to make.


I reached out to her, scared that my good friend might be gone and I'd missed out on having her in my life - because I was embarrassed. And I learned a very true lesson in forgiveness. While she admits she doesn't understand, she forgives me. She's still my friend. And I honestly think that God and his lessons in forgivness and love that have been touching me for months led up to this moment.


When I met my friend, we were in 5th or 6th grade (I don't fully remember). We were partnered, as two girls that didn't know each other, to sing a Michael W. Smith song "Friends". I've been listening to it again lately and its hitting home.


Friends ARE friends forever, in the Lord's the Lord of them."


Say a prayer for my friend. She's strong, she's loving, she's forgiving, and I'm thankful to God for slowing rebuilding my life and my relationships through him.

Working momma dinner strikes again!

I am addicted to pinterest. The creativity and great time saving tips I've been able to find are just great. However, it is the recipes that keep getting me. My family thinks some sort of recipe renaissance has exploded in my head....but really, I've abandoned my Farmville crops and shifted my evening obsession to pinning things to make our lives better!


Sometimes though, some of these recipes are still a little more work than a full time working, full time student, mother of two has time for! So I have to make some tweaks, but still get some awesome results.


This recipe started through pinterest from the great blog Iowa Girl Eats (link here: http://iowagirleats.com/2012/01/30/super-bowl-recipe-week-mini-corn-dog-muffins/) my son saw them on the board (oh yeah, he checks out the pins too) and immediately wanted them. I looked at the recipe and realized "I can be lazy on these!" So I was.


LAZY Corn Dog Muffins

1 - package of hotdogs
2 - boxes of Jiffy Mix Corn muffin
shredded cheese, if you're into that (we are!)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees


Cut hotdogs into 1 inch chunks
Prepare Jiffy mix and pour into mini muffin tins, about 3/4 full
Push 1 section of hot dog into the middle of each dog
Bake for roughly 10 minutes, until the muffin is golden brown

*you can sprinkle with cheese before baking if you want or get it on thereright as it comes out of the oven.


The end result?




Delish. The kids were so excited I had to start plating right away, no time for fancy pictures - but here's one of the end result. And the pickiest six year old ate six of these!! The one year old packed away FOUR (don't ask me how she did it). It was a hit.


And for my husband who declared I was goin to need a lot more muffins, I made some grown up ones too. Same recipe but in a standad muffin tin, still filled 3/4 full but with TWO hot dog sections in it and then baked for about 10 minutes.


Daddy's plate:


Super easy. Super fast. And SUPER yummy. The reviews at home were great! Welcome to the recipe rotation little corn dogs. This would be a GREAT recipe to get your kid chef involved on too...mine was too busy playing outside to be troubled this day!

Its Hot and I'm getting there!

Guess what?


It was 80. In Michigan. In March. I had no time for computers - there were walks to take, swings to push, games to play, and rays to soak up.


I got a sunburn. I loved every painful minute of it.


I also found myself down a full pants size as part of "Operation Fit in My Pants"! Good news! I'm sure the extra outdoor time was a part of it and I'm thankful for it.


What else am I thankful for? The MyFitnessPal.com app I've got on my phone! This thing is full of diet plans, recipes, and nutritional information for thousands of foods! With one search I can find what I want, put in my serving size, and keep track of myself. And if I'm feeling far too lazy to type, the app has a barcode scanner as well. This thing gives me no room for my usual excuses for diets failing.


I love that I can put in my information and have it help me determine the right caloric intake for my body based on my goal, current weight and activity levels. It's working.


I have tried endless amounts of diets over the years and failed. I've got Atkins, SouthBeach, Yoga Booty Ballet, and a million other fads all over this house - but so far, MyFitnessPal is the only thing thats worked.


So I'm down a pant size. And I'd like to go down 1 more. Maybe 2 ;) Nothing drastic. And I'm making long term changes to how I eat and my habits, so once I'm there - I am not leaving skinny minny land for dumpy mom land ever again!


Looking for a similar goal? Go get this app! Get off your couch! And change your life!

Working momma rocking dinner :)

I work. A lot. I mostly manage to skip lunch hours and bring work home to do after the kids are in bed so I can spend time with them and not just be a myth in their childhoods (I'm tired, but I'll sleep when my nest is empty!). Most of the time, I think I balance it well. Sometimes I feel guilty but I think the guilt means I'm doing things right - it'd be a real problem if I didn't care, right?

But, no matter what. Seven days a week my family sits down at the table, at the same time, and we eat. And laugh, and talk, and sometimes argue (you DO have to eat the vegetables and keep your elbows off table!) but we have some good times.

I'm blessed - really blessed - that my husband is willing and able to step up and make the meals so we can do this a bit more efficiently during the week. Weekends are usually Momma's domain. Sometimes though, I throw them for a loop and make dinner when I get home from work. Leaving me pressed for time. And this recipe? We love it. And its easy. And a little outside of the box which makes me feel happy!

Goldfish chicken!

Honestly, no clue where I got this. I've been cooking it for about 6 years and never got a complaint! And when MY six year old will eat an entire meal without a whine? "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!"

Try it - you'll like it (kid cooks can help a bit too):

What you need:

2 cups goldfish crackers (we like flavor blast cheddar but we've played with them all and love them. The flavor blast ones were best)

1 1/2 cups ranch dressing

1 lb chicken tenders

Prepped baking dish (greased) - 9x13 should do it

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Smash those little fishes into itty bitty little bits and crumbs (kid chefs do good work!), then pour into a bowl

2. In separate bowl, pour ranch

3. dredge chickn through ranch

4. roll in the goldfish to coat

5. place in baking dish

Bake them for 20-30 minutes and SERVE!

(I forgot to take a picture. We were hungry! Just imagine them cooked and yummy and my kids smiling as they eat it!)

I know what we're going to do today...

Make a Perry the Platypus cake! Easy right!?

Actually. It is.

I almost fell over when my son declared he wanted a Perry the Platypus birthday cake. I'm sure you're all familiar with him (especially if you have a 6 year old) but in case you're not, here he is in all of his glory:

Yeah. No small task. I searched Pinterest, baking blogs, Disney blogs, and anywhere else I could think of and I found the GREATEST Perry tutorial ever. So easy, I could do.

Here is the link to the blog I worked from: http://dabbled.org/2010/06/perry-the-platypus-cake-tutorial-the-prep-work.html

This site was a life saver. I've never worked with fondant before really so it was good. There were a TON of great tips too - not just for this cake. Really, if you want to fondant - check her out!!!

I made a few changes from her post because I didn't have time to make fondant and I couldn't find the tootsie rolls she mentions. I also took her advice and made more of a grassy like base, instead of her cute jelly bean one.

Wilton Mashmallow Fondant is great. I know, I know - through my blog surfing I saw a lot of people who swear by making their own. And good for them, I'm sure they're cranking out an awesome recipe that is super yummy - but I am simply a far too busy mommy who wanted to wow her kid at his party.

I saw this stuff at Michael's for about $8 a box, $7.50 at JoAnn's (where I got mine) and then a few days after the party, I saw it at my Meijer grocery store for $6! You can guess where I will go next time.

This fondant was reall easy to wok with, color, and spread onto the cake. For a beginner, it was a lifesaver and really forgiving. So if you are trying this, or anything else, just remember "Wilton Fondant will save my novice butt and make me a superstar!"

Moving on, I baked the cakes like the blog said, the used rice krispie treats to create the shapes for his eyes, legs, beak (is that what it called?), and his tail. Different than the blog but it felt a little more stable and, being a clumsy newbie to this, my best bet.

I did a dry run to make sure the sizes were ok:

And I thought it looked good. I dirty iced it from there, wrapped the body in blue and the legs/beak/tail in an orange-yellow tone.

I decided the eyes would be better made of just fondant, so I rolled up some white for that. I reserved some fondant and colored it black for hair and pupils, and VOILA!

Perry the Platypus!

And he was definitely the star of the show at the party with some fun candles!

So don't be scared! Do some homework, think it out, and amaze them!

Birthdays are consuming my life

As a PSA to those looking to add another baby to the family, look at your calendar first. My children's birthdays are 17 days apart. I should have planned that a bit better. Right now, the minute Christmas is over, I go into birthday mode. And for the months of January and into February I am working on something for someone's birthday every moment of limited free time that I have.

Don't get me wrong, I love love love these kiddos so I'm WILLING to do it! I just wish I had a little space between. I'm a planner, this is why these birthdays consume me.

Moving on....my son turns 6 today (happy birthday big guy!). We needed a school treat yesterday to pass out to all of his classmates. And thanks to me being such a tech savvy mom - I have him hooked on pinterest too :) His pick? These INSANELY cute lego cookies (he loves him some legos!).



Here's the original link: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2250165/lego-cookies

So, I got to work for my boy! I didn't see a recipe for this but it seemed self explanatory and I am BEYOND happy with the results. I got out my handy Christmas Sugar Cookie and icing recipes and rolled the dough out (they're below if you're interested)

Using a pizza cutter, I just cut the size and shapes of rectangles and square that I wanted.

Baked, iced, and then I fliped M&M's upside down for the bumps. Someone in the original post said they used regular sized M&M's, but in the future if I did this again, I'd use the mini's and make smaller cookies.

The final result for us:




Packaged and ready to go:




The kids loved them, they were NOT hard to make, and I think they look pretty darn cute!!

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Sugar Cookie Recipe (about 24 "normal" cookies, #'s will vary based on your lego sizes/shapes):

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add baking powder and flour one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Dough will be stiff and should NOT be refrigerated. Roll dough out 1/8 inch thick. Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet on middle rack of oven for 8-12 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned.

Watch them close - 8-9 minutes is usually the best outcome in my oven

Icing Recipe:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring

Combine in bowl, mix to consistency desired, add food coloring and you're ready to go! Icing dries HARD!