Sunday, March 31, 2013

That Wascally Wabbit

On Saturday we went to an Easter egg hunt and of course I snapped a few (or 98) pictures of the boy all fixed up for the big day!

I had to snap one "pre-hunt" while the clothes were still somewhat clean!


With the Easter bunny...much better than Santa!


Not sure who was more excited about the petting zoo?


 "Sorry COW!" Oh, my city boy.



The best part of his morning, "running the bridge"!  Who is this 6-year old posing as my son?!  Seriously, he looks so grown up!




Once again, too busy eating egg contents to care about picking up more!  One and done!


Checking out his loot!  Cracks me up because he always acts so surprised!




Thursday, March 28, 2013

The "tripod of anger"

Continuing on the 2-year old theme this week, allow me to introduce you to the "tripod of anger":


There are two main positions that qualify, but both involve your forehead on the floor. You have seated (above) and standing where you can be seen throwing your fit from between your legs. You would think he would find our imitations of said tripod as humorous as we do but, alas, he does not.

Oh, tripod. The surest way to keep a smile on my face during a two-year-old tantrum! 



Monday, March 25, 2013

On being 2

A note from Cooper...


Dear Mommy and Daddy,

There are some things you clearly do not understand about being 2 years old. Let me educate you.

  1. Throwing is a perfectly acceptable outlet for your frustrations. Just be glad I'm not a biter. See exhibits A and B below.
  2. The rules of mine... If I want it, it's mine. If you pick it up, I want it so it's mine. If I used to want it, it's mine. If it looks like mine, it's mine. If it's broccoli, it's yours.
  3. Bunny gummi snacks always make me happy. Don't you want me to always be happy? And let's be real, Mom. I just saw you eat 2 bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and now you're lecturing me on sugar?
  4. The cat really does like it when I pull her tail. Really. I will continue to assure her of this with many tight squeezes.
  5. Last night I called a 3am meeting to discuss my deteriorating sock situation. Overall participant attitude? Terrible. Work on that.
  6. If we do something fun, there is no way you are going to get away with doing it 1 time. Or 5. Or 10. And tomorrow the count starts from 0.
  7. You can not wear me out. I am highly entertained by your attempts though. Silly parents.
  8. I really like to know what everything "says". You seem to be really good at what animals say but what I'm really interested in are things like "What the mac n' cheese say?" and "What the basketball say?" Brush up and get back to me!
  9. I'll do it myself.  In general, in life.  Whatever it is, I will do it myself. If I can not, please refer back to #1.
  10. It is never too cold to play with the water hose.

Exhibit A: 

This piece of junk iPad was playing Jake when all I really wanted was Super Why.  I threw it on the ground to show it who was boss.  Mom, you say this is coming out of my college fund.  Well, I say it's coming out of your shoe fund!


Exhibit B:

Not only does a thrown fork show you that I'm over these cold peas, it's a great way for me to show you I'm done eating all together.  No, I will not pick it up.


That's all for now!  We'd better start slowly anyway.  You have a long way to go!

Much love,

Cooper Boy

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

In full bloom

Spring has sprung and the boy activities are in full effect in my backyard!

Baseball!


The trampoline!



More baseball and the ever popular game of "Mommy get it!"



And then there are the aphids.  Oh, the aphids...Kyle's current fixation happens to be munching away on all of the little key limes he has worked so hard to grow! Not to worry, enter the organic gardener and his army of ladybugs!  Hopefully these little suckers are hungry because Mama is going to be READY for a key lime margarita by the time August rolls around!


Poor ladybugs.  He calls this move "death by squeeze-ation"...the surest way to a ladybug fatality!



Meanwhile, Kyle's driveway herb garden is in full bloom...



...And so am I!  A little over 3 months to go!



Sunday, March 17, 2013

What's in a name?

I am currently plagued by the name game! 


First, a little background... Kyle and I are inspired by the Jewish tradition of naming babies after loved ones. It is a way to honor relatives and to keep the memory alive of those who are deceased. While I am certainly not a Jewish naming expert, let me tell you how this has loosely been applied to my family. 

It is not appropriate to use the full name of a living relative so sometimes the first initial is used to honor a still living relative. For example, my Mom is Shari after her great-grandmother, Sarah. I came very close to being a Katie after my great-grandmother, Kate.  However, after her insistence that I have my own name, I was named Casey. Cooper's middle name is Harrison after Kyle's grandfather, Herbert.

We are about 90% zeroed in on a first name for the new little nugget, but are still thrown on the middle name! We would like her middle name to start with an "S" to honor my Mom but that's as far as we've gotten. There are the very trendy Sophie and Sophia, the recently dog-popular Sadie, or a good ol' screen door slammer like Sue.

If you have any "S" suggestions send them my way!


Friday, March 15, 2013

Bored with broccoli!

"What do you want with your [fish] [chicken] [pork] tonight, honey? Broccoli or salad?" This phrase is uttered in our house so often it's cringeworthy. We are both guilty of making the side dish and after thought, but week nights and cooking after work demand simple. Here are two recipes we've been using lately that will surely liven your week night fare!

1. Grilled artichokes 

My mom used to make the traditional streamed artichoke with mayo dip as an app so this one brings me back. I cook it with olive oil and all of the vitamins, antioxidants and fiber in this little treat make it worth your while to get peeling on those layers.



To prepare. Cut the top leaves and the bottom of the stem off. Trim the spiky tips off outer leaves and coat with lemon juice to prevent browning. Use a vegetable peeler to peel rough outside off the stem. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the hairs in the middle. (Mellon baller works great!) Steam for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/4 teaspoons salt and 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary in a glass dish in the microwave for 30 seconds. Let the oil sit and infuse while you steam. When the artichoke is steamed, use half of your oil to coat both sides of the artichoke and place cut side down on the grill or grill pan for 5 minutes until you get a nice grill mark. Peel and dip in your remaining oil table side!  (Note: one artichoke serves 2 people.)

2. Roasted brussel sprouts

Don't say it. You DON'T hate brussel sprouts, you just think you do! Roasted at at higher temp with balsamic makes these crispy and candy-like on the outside. No mush. No bitter taste.



To prepare. Simply cut 2-3 cups of brussel sprouts in half and toss in a ziplock bag with: 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 3 table spoons olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. (Don't be shy with salt, it adds to the crisp factor!) Roast at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

C'est une artiste.

Some people are born with creativity and artistic ability oozing from their pores. I am not one of those people. When God made me he had more calculators and excel spreadsheets in mind.  Never mind. I am proud to at least share a gene pool with a very talented Dallas artist, my cousin Suzie Brown. Check her out at the Swift Art Gallery to view her portfolio or purchase!

I'm now the proud owner of three of Suzie's creations and am excited to show off my most recent addition. I had an idea of what I wanted for over my fireplace but could never find anything that was quite right. Not to worry, a Pinterest board and a few emails to Suzie and we were on our way!

For this painting, Suzie used a lot of mediums, the list is long: crackle paint, calligraphy ink, pumice, acrylic gels, fluid acrylic paint, acrylic paint, textured paint, and a little bit of wine for stain. 




This is even more spectacular in person with all of the texture.



Anything Daddy does this boy has to attempt.  Here's Cooper "helping" Daddy hang the painting by "hammerin' the bick".  There may be a few new dents in my sheet rock too!






Sunday, March 10, 2013

The new shoe blues

New shoes are Cooper's Chinese water torture. I mean, we do like to store our hot coals and thumb tacks inside toddler Converse, but that's besides the point. Maybe he's taking a stand against his Mother's Internet shopping habits or to support shoeless kids everywhere? Either way, it's utterly ridiculous. Must watch!



For the record, I do not share the same sentiment!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Some notes from Mommyland

Mommy rant #1: The only thing that hurts worse than stepping on a Lego is stepping on a plastic animal. I have I particular disdain for the elephant and his pointy little trunk! Lately, Cooper has decided that his animals need to take a shower. He says "animals, you dirty!" and proceeds to take them in and out of the shower. While cute, someone always gets left behind, bah!


Mommy rant #2: We all know about my love of food dye, so it's safe to assume I can be a little "crunchy" from time to time! On that note, I would love to know...why are all kid's plates made of plastic?! I thought we were all out in the open about not microwaving plastic?! All was good when I could just plop things on Cooper's high chair tray straight from our normal plates, but, since he has graduated to the booster seat, the process of heating on one plate and serving on another has gotten a little old!

I went on the hunt for a solution to my crunchy, too many dirty dishes problem and found Brinware plates. They are glass with a protective silicone cover that is all safely heated! Warms my little hippie heart!




Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Toddler treat

Once a month I volunteer to bring the snack to Cooper's class and once a month I am racking my brain for what to bring and wondering why I volunteered!  The snack also has to be somewhat healthy and nut free...no pressure!  I usually bring cut up fruit and muffins, booooooring.  Yesterday, on a mission to be cool Mom that wasn't tisked tisked by other moms, I set out to find a cereal bar that wasn't held together with marshmallows! I found this little gem on www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/ and made it my own. It was a hit the the babes and Kyle and I, too!



YOGURT CEREAL BARS

2 cups cereal (I used a whole grain "Cinnamon Toast Crunch" substitute.)

3/4 flour + 2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup fruit yogurt (I used Chobani Greek in strawberry.)

1 egg slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350F
Combine cereal, butter (cut into small peices),  3/4 cup flour, sugar and cinnamon in a food processor.
Pulse until course crumbs are formed.
Press 1/2 the mixture firmly into the bottom of a greased square pan.
Mix yogurt, egg and 2 tablespoons flour in another small bowl.
Spread over cereal mixture in pan and then sprinkle the remaining cereal mixture on top
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown; cut into bars when cool.



Don't worry, I threw in some cut up berries to compensate for the butter and brown sugar!  Enjoy!