Birthday Fun

Did you think I had forgotten how to post a blog? Not at all. I was just trying to get caught up in life and then would update my friends and family on the exciting life and times of a Happy Mom. Alas, I have come to the realization that catching up is not in the cards for this gal. Instead, I just will keep playing along and do my best. From now on, my best will include blog posts. If for no other reason, I really enjoy it.

Despite how this first picture may look, Little Guy had a wonderful birthday. His actual birthday was on Thursday and a few close friends and family joined us on Saturday. I took both Thursday and Friday off from work...sorta, I rebelled and wore jeans to the office on Thursday morning and then picked up Little Guy early from school. Big Poppy, Little Guy and I had a relaxing afternoon and enjoyed homemade mac-n-cheese and a little cupcake for desert. When asked, Little Guy would proudly declare it his birthday and let us know he was TWO, just in case we had forgotten.

On Friday, Little Guy headed back to school and I focused on party prep. Mainly baking and frosting (more on this on a later date). A Mickey Mouse pound cake was baked and then some carrot cake cupcakes hit the oven. Lot's of frosting was whipped up, plenty of it sampled (I still have a tummy ache) and coloring added. All in all, I think my first venture into the world of cake decorating went rather well. Little Guy was very excited to see the Mickey cake. If nothing else, I got to see lots of smiles and more than one "MICKEY". 

Little Guy has a little friend in BabyMack. Although I'm not sure if BabyMack was all too thrilled to be hugged so tightly but my blue babe.

As per the norm, Little Guy was spoiled. Water toys are always a big hit with him. Dancing Mickey found his way back into our home - thanks GrandB - and his songs and dance are filling up my head.

No party is complete without ballons. You cannot imagine how much fun it is to take the weight off a helium ballon and watch it dance on the ceiling. Little Guy would "jump" to try to grab the ballon string, however this boy cannot jump to save his life - the 1/2 inch vertical just does not help you get things up high.

Little Guy had two of his favorite play mates to help him.

After everyone left, Little Guy proudly declared:

"It as a party for me!"

Yes it was.

Easter Eggs

On Tuesday night I boiled water - twice. It appears if you try to save time by putting water on the stove to boil while you eat supper, odds are a person is going to forget about the high flames and water evaporation when you leave to go to the dining room. Just about the time supper is over and you are thinking about clearing off the table, guess what, there is a smell you can't quite place and then the sprint to the kitchen stops everyone else in their tracks. The only harm, water evaporation and pride - apparently I can't boil water properly despite considering myself a pretty good cook. The next time I am going to save time, I will be sure to set a timer.

With the now hard boiled eggs we were ready to dye our Easter Eggs last night (here's Wikipedia's take on why we have Easter Eggs). At first Little Guy had some other ideas on what we should do. Can you see the marker on the floor, not the paper. Thank you Favorite Aunt, until now we used washable crayons, colored pencils and these things I can't recall the name of but the markers only color on special paper; you are lucky the markers on the floor washed up rather easily.

It didn't take long after Little Guy saw the white eggs turning different colors before he was ready to join in on the fun.

Having a not-quite-two put eggs into water gently is a bit of a feat. I did find it comical that soon he caught on. You just have to say "gently, gently" and Little Guy will start to whisper "gently, gently". Now we just need to work on what gently actually means. We may have a few cracked eggs from Little Guy, but the colored splashes are quite spectacular.

As I was looking at the Easter Eggs this morning, I wondered what I did differently when I was younger. It seems to me I had even colors on the Easter Eggs. Is this a product of lack of patience last night? Or perhaps my family was a little smarter than I was and purchased more than one dye kit to allow more water in the cup and allowing the eggs to be fully immersed in the color? (I think I am going that option next year.)

Now the wait for the Easter Egg Hunt!

Ice Cream

Ice Cream

You S'cream

Little Guy S'creams.

He is a big fan of ice cream.

Weekend Fun

Did you have this much fun?

Going to swim class.

Big Poppy and Little Guy are in the center.

Going to hockey with good friends.

Happy Mom and Little Guy are ready for hockey, however there were some in shorts, at a HOCKEY game.

Going to an apple orchard.

Low hanging fruit is tasty.

Happy to be on the great pumpkin hunt.

Little Guy was very happy to look for his perfect pumpkin.

Searching for the pumpkin that fits you just right.

Big Poppy and Little Guy search the pumpkin patch for the best one to bring home.

Not being afraid of walking for miles to find a pumpkin to bring home.

Little Guy kept on moving looking for a pumpkin that spoke to him. Does anyone else find it funny we went to an apple orchard to get a pumpkin? We did pick up some apples.

Finding the best pumpkin to bring home.

Little Guy tried to get a bigger pumpkin but really liked the ones he could pick up to show Big Poppy.

Did you have that much fun?

Hungry or Trouble

Silly Boy

Are you ever silly on a Sunday?

We are.

Good thing phones have built in cameras. How else could we capture such silly moments?

It's Your Birthday!

 It's your birthday Little Guy. You spend however you want.

If you want to eat all your pancakes before Mommy enters the kitchen. You can do that.

When asked how old you are you want to grin to show space in your upper two teeth and show us how big you are. You can do that.

While Big Poppy is helping make birthday cupcakes...

You want to attack the camera. You can do that.

If you want homemade mac-n-cheese. You can have that.

You can blow out your first candle.

You can take a first taste of frosting.

You can shove a cupcake in your face.

You can try to figure out how to have more frosting and less cupcake.

You can show Big Poppy and me how you are eating all the cupcake.

You smile big because it was so very tasting.

And, if on your birthday, you want to take one small little nap during the day and play all day long, fall asleep at 7 pm and not open presents on your birthday. You can do that too.

Happy First Birthday Little Guy! We love you! You are loved by so many, both near and far away.

Don't touch my food!

Happy Mom and I figured it was about time Little Guy try something new to eat, so I made him an avocado and cream cheese spread, at the recommendation of Happy Mom. If you're interested, the recipe is quick and easy.

Scrape the insides of a ripe avocado and mash with a fork in a bowl; add 1/3 cup of cream cheese and mix together; spread the mixture onto a slice of bread and enjoy! It is recommended to cut into pieces, after putting the spread on, if giving to a little one.

Little Guy accepted the challenge to feed himself. When I asked if he wanted my help, cause you know he's kinda missing his mouth, I got this look:

If you touch my food I'm gonna hurt you!

Okay, okay you do it yourself Little Guy:

Haha, I like how it feels on my skin. Who needs to pay for a facial when you can do it yourself? :)

                                                                      

Mean Mommy

Little Guy was recently introduced to these:

Click to link - no there is no money involved.

He is a big fan. There are lots "hmmm" and "yummm" and other sounds of happiness while Little Guy is enjoy some puffs. The other night Happy Mom went to put the food away. Little Guy started crying. He was very unhappy with Happy Mom's actions.

What does Happy Mom do when she realized what was causing Little Guy grief?

It became a game to her.

Show Little Guy the puffs, see a happy boy:

 

Take the puffs, see an unhappy boy and a giggling mommy.

Then repeat the above actions.

I love my wife but I need to put her in time-out. That's just mean to torture Little Guy and find it funny.

** Special Note by Happy Mom on Wednesday morning: The pictures taken above were done while I was out of the house. Who's the big meany now!?! **

Cryptic Codes, Strange Events and Truth or Fiction

I have a problem. According to a few friends, I like boy books. Now, through book club I have found another "boy" book series to read. On the down side, The Doomsday Key, written by James Rollins, is the sixth book in the Sigma Series. On the up side, this means there are five books I will need to figure out when I can read them (and what fake holiday I can make up to get others to gift these books to me - in hardcover, because sometimes I am a snob).

The Doomsday Key offers up cryptic codes. The historical is interwoven with an adventure to find the key, the antidote, to a long dormant strain of fungus. I enjoy seeing the historical symbols and the play on what these symbols may have meant and the clues it may lead your imagination. The way James Rollins brings together fact and fiction to develop the race between good and evil can make your heart pump.

I have struggled to tell you about this book. Partly out of guilt, I waited to read and did not finish before book club met but also because I do not want to do the book injustice. All I can say, if you enjoy Vince Flynn, Dan Brown or Robert Ludlum books, you will not be disappointed picking up something written by James Rollins.

There may be question or two regarding how my boyfriends Mitch Rapp and Edward Cullen are handling this new series. As of today, Mitch is still my number one and Edward number two (and thank goodness Big Poppy takes me serious enough to talk to me about my boyfriends). My favorite player in The Doomsday Key is Seichan, even though I am unsure if she's a good guy or bad guy...my guess good guy who uses means you do not expect from a good guy. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the misunderstood.

Poser?

I am begining to think Little Guy may be a poser. A camera poser that is.

Let me give you a recent example. Like any good mommy, I decided to branch out Little Guy's food selection. I made him peaches. Who doesn't like peaches? They are sweet. They are tasty. They are peaches. The first time Little Guy ate bananas we could not shovel them in fast enough (that is still the case).

Given how much Little Guy enjoys bananas, I thought peaches would be a slam dunk.

How wrong I was. Little Guy tried to prove me wrong.

I tried to give peaches Little Guy. He refused. A head turn to the right and mouth claped shut.

Big Poppy made faces to get Little Guy to laugh and allow me to sneak peaches into his mouth. Little Guy laughed until the spoon came near. Then the mouth flew shut and Little Guy gave me the stink-eye.

And then I remembered, the camera. Any time the camera comes out Little Guy strikes a pose and usually something fitting for the situation. This was no different.

There are no signs of Little Guy's refusal to eat peaches.

You would never guess any time the camera was put down this poser sealed his mouth tight.

I mean, Little Guy's mouth could not be wedged open for anything...except the camera of course.

How many pictures does it take to finish peaches for breakfast? 17.

The lesson we learned. Little Guy will do anything we want with a camera around. He is a great poser.

Side Note: Little Guy eats peaches just fine after this first taste day. No camera needed.

Side Note 2: On the same day of the tasty peaches, Little Guy had cauliflower for the first time. No camera needed and Little Guy wolfed them down. What kind of kid prefers the taste of cauliflower over peaches?

Having One of Those Weeks

You know those day's you wish you could just restart. I think the last seven days could be dramatically improved. After I gripe, I will share the wonderful things that have happened over the past week, but today, I gripe.

Day 1: Made it to Grandpa's. All is well. Big Poppy watched Little Guy while I met up with a dear old friend. All is still well. Little Guy decides sleeping through the night is a thing of the past while we are at Grandpa's. Did I forget to mention there were eight of sleeping in Grandpa's living room. I was amazed how soundly most of them slept but still felt bad for the ones that were awoken by Little Guy.

Day 2: Happy Thanksgiving! My darling goddaughter wanted to spend the day with the other side of the family and I am so blue. I make the trip mostly because of her and her family. I try to remind myself she is young but fail miserably and act a bit childish myself. Not a becoming attribute in your teens let alone in your thirties.

Day 3: After lunch with Grandpa, Big Poppy, Little Guy and I head off to Syd & SoyBoy's house. With a quick stop along the way to pick up SoyBoy, we arrive with no troubles. The day is moving along rather nicely and then night time falls. Big Poppy is ill. I mean, he is ILL. We were forewarned by an uncle that he and his kids had fallen ill and it turns out Grandpa and another uncle were sick earlier in the week.

Day 4: I eat lunch with Syd, SoyBoy and my aunt. Syd did a good job cooking. With the help of my family, we load up the car and put Big Poppy and Little Guy in the back for the trek home. When you are under the weather the best place to be is your bed. We make it home without incidence but shortly after we arrive, Big Poppy is ill again. I sleep on the couch.

Day 5: Happy Birthday! Well, really I forgot it was my birthday because I was trying to get everything cleaned up from our shortened trip. Little Guy was given banana's for the first time and LOVES them. Seems like a good day right? Then I get a call from the insurance adjuster reminding me I was rear ended on the previous Tuesday. Boo. Thankfully, no one was hurt and my rear bumber can easily be fixed.

Day 6: Back to work, or maybe not. By now most of my family has been knocked out and if I thought I was immune, I was wrong. I spend the day in bed and on the couch.

Day 7: Back to work. Really, I tried to go back to work. After getting grief for being back so soon and a few clarifications that food poisoning is not contagious I feel it is safe to get to work. Oh wait, my computer is not allowing me to access any files. Have I been fired but blocked the memory? Several co-workers assure me that is not the case. Around 3 o'clock I declare the computer the winner and go pick up Little Guy early.

And now I am here. Ready for my new week to begin in the middle of the week.

It's going to be a great week! I can feel it.

Stay tuned for the great things that happened during the same seven days.

www.don'tlikepeas.com

As a baby gift, we received a Beaba Babycook along with a Cooking for Baby cookbook. I cannot describe how excited I was with this gift for a couple reasons. 1) It had been my idea to make Little Guy’s baby food and 2) I never knew there were actual products out there to make the mashing easier. These can easily happen without a Beaba Babycook or a baby cookbook but I like knowing there are three lovely ladies who knew me well enough to think I would be interested in making Little Guy’s baby food (I had not shared this with anyone).

Recently I was able to try out the Beaba Babycook. The amount of time, effort and money involved in making your own baby food is nothing. If you are lucky like me, someone will help you with the “start-up” costs. If you are smart like some of my friends, it will dawn on you all the tools you need are probably in your kitchen already. After a few uses, I already love my Beaba Babycook but you can get the same results with a blender or magic bullet.

I love peas. I mean I LOVE peas. I could probably eat them every day and not tire of the taste. I do not eat them every day because Big Poppy says, “I eat them.” Little Guy is going to fall into “I love peas” side of the coin if I have anything to say about it.

The debate began with Big Poppy getting Little Guy. Do you notice what the bib says?

After Little Guy's first bite it appears he is enjoying his first taste of peas.

I might even say Little Guy loves peas.

Though I will be the first to admit he is not ready to feed himself yet.

Making the pea puree was super easy.

Steam the peas to retain more nutrients. Then blend/puree with nothing or a little water or formula, depending on the consistency desired. You can freeze in an ice cube tray and then transfer to a bag for up to three months or enjoy it all now. See how easy it is.

Puppy Love: Halloween Style

There once was a little puppy, a happy little puppy he was.

I mean, he was a really, happy, smiley little puppy.

The happy little puppy was getting bigger and bigger every day. The happy little puppy wanted to crawl like the happy big puppy.

The happy big puppy told the happy little puppy he would need to eat a lot of bones to become big enough to crawl around.

The happy little puppy wished for more breadstick bones to eat and eat in hopes he would grow up strong and learn to crawl like the happy big puppy. In swooped bat girl to save the day.

Carrot fingers and putrid punch were made, along with pizza mummies and breadstick bones and hotdog zombies.

The little happy puppy ate his breadstick bones and tried to crawl but it did not happen tonight. By the end of the evening the little happy puppy was dog tired.

Little Guy is not eating breadstick bones or drinking putrid punch yet. If you would like to give this a try check out Family Fun. Here a couple quick recipes in case you have difficulty finding the recipes.

Putrid Punch

1 13-oz. package lemon-lime Kool-Aid

1 cup sugar
8 cups water
1 can frozen orange juice concentrate
4 cups ginger ale
Worm cubes (ice cubes with gummy worms frozen inside)
3 scoops orange sherbert

Empty the Kool-Aid package into a punch bowl. Add the sugar, then the water and stir until dissolved. Stir in the orange juice. Just before serving, add the ginger ale and worm cubes and float the scoops of sherbert on top. Before long, the punch will be green and infested with worms.

Pizza Mummies
English muffins
Pepperoni
Pizza Sauce
Sliced Black Olives
Cheese Slices

Heat the oven to 350 F. Spread pizza sauce on each English muffin half. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, if desired. Place one or two pepperoni's on the bottom half of the English muffin. Set two sliced olives 1/3 of the way up on the English muffin (these are your eyes). Rip the cheese slices and lay the strips accross the muffing for the mummy wrappings. Bake for about 10 minutes (until the cheese melts).