Olympic fever

I've got it. I stepped into Mom's shoes and started "ice skating." She said it reminded her more of Irish dancing the way I was stomping around. Either way, we're thinking about hitting the rink next weekend (me in my boots, Mom in her skates).

In honor of you Dad

We made some treats. Since we only had 1/4 C Karo syrup, it was a small batch, but it certainly did hit the spot. These PB chex bars were perfect for enjoying during Team Canada and Team USA hockey overtime. Did you make any yet?

No, I'm not eating those chocolate chips.




I don't know where the other 5 chips went Mom. I can't count, remember?

Trains, trains. I love trains.

Tooling around the neighborhood

I ventured outside and took my trike for a spin this afternoon.

Stream of conciousness from Nora's mom

I spent the better part of this laid back Saturday with Nora. If you've spent any amount of time with her, you know she's a verbal child. Even though she can hold up her end of the conversation, I still find myself with random thoughts bouncing around in my head at the end of the day.

We watched a cooking show on the Create channel before dinner. I was trying to put off serving dinner until 5:30 (still early, I know). This was the first cooking show we'd taken in together and we both enjoyed it. The subject was breakfast food. After demonstrating how to make pancakes and sticky buns, the chef revealed what she usually ate for breakfast. It included cooked greens, miso soup and mixed veggies. It looked yummy and she had a good point. Eating sugary things in the morning (my norm) leaves you feeling tired, but apparently eating veggies for breakfast leaves you feeling alert. I may have to try this.. yeah right. Who has time to make that in the morning? Aren't most people starving because they haven't eaten for 8-12 hours?

We went to the mall today but it was absolutely crawling with people so we left. I'm not really sure what I expected. It was a beautiful Feb. day outside, sunny and bright. Naturally, everyone inside, shopping at the crowded mall. So we headed to the library where Nora picked out an Elmo book, a Dora book and a pigeon book. If the 2nd career as a chef doesn't work out for me, I'm going to create a character appealing to kids. I'm going to create one that is furry, teaches you to count and speaks another language who sells movies, books, clothing and accessories. I'll call him ARON (nora spelled backwards). Note all cool kids characters have two syllables in their name. Watch out Hollywood.

In my quest to use up the food in the house, I took out frozen broccoli, fresh cauliflower, cheese, chicken broth, milk and spices and made soup. That was dinner, but we had leftovers and I didn't want leftovers.. so I put it in the freezer. I guess that about cancels out the frozen broccoli I took out in the first place.

I have a package of mushrooms to use up. I need inspiration.

I've been trying to figure out the logistics of nighttime potty training Nora. Door opened? (but the cats could get in) Closed? (could she open it in the dark?) When do I move her out the crib? See, I have nothing better to worry about. Anyway, I didn't take a picture, but Bob the cat let me know I am not in control of whether he is in or out of Nora's room. Twice this week he was in there after her bedtime and it took me a couple hours to figure it out. The second time he was sleeping IN the crib with her when I went to cover her up.

Well I'm off to watch TV (aka take a nap on the couch) and do my part to use up freezer things by making a coffee ice cream milkshake, which I think could be enhanced by Kahula.

I'll leave you with this final thought. Don't buy milk at the gas station. A 1/2 gallon costs as much there as a whole gallon does at the grocery store. I figured we needed milk though for that awesome bowl of cereal I am going to whip up tomorrow 40 seconds after we wake up. I'll save the miso soup for another time.

What we've been up to

We're trying to eat our way through the food in the house. I've had rice cakes for snack for 4 days in a row now. That's cool with me though because they are caramel flavored --pretty yummy actually. Mom also concocted a delicious smoothie out of strawberry yogurt (from the freezer), a banana (also frozen) and milk. It was LOUD, but yummy. I don't like loud things.

Mom said part of cleaning out the freezer is defrosting and tossing things you're never going to eat anyway (as in you knew when you put in the freezer it was never going to end up on the dinner table anyway). I'm talking about the Potato Leek Soup, Dad. I'm also referring to the Asian Pork that you stored in a PB container as well as that icky dip containing cream cheese, breakfast sausage and Rotel (although Cheeto WAS interested in that). Sometimes you just have to let it go. Cleaning out the freezer also means you may THINK you're having hot beef for dinner, but it really ends up being BBQ pork because it wasn't correctly labeled. Lessons learned, my friends. It's an adventure and apparently it's going to take us all year at this rate.










Mom went through my dresser, muttering things like, "How can one child go through so many clothes." While she was busy sorting, I tried things on to see if they still fit. I tried on hats and swim suits and snowpants all at the same time. I had four swimsuit bottoms on..at the same time. OH and one pair on my head. Cute huh?


















I considered going on a safari, dressed as a bee. What do you think? Is it too much?

















Some of us have been sleeping.













I've been busy with my babies. They require quite a bit of my attention these days. I don't need my diapers anymore, but I can't say as much for the babies (or Elmo or Mr. Tusks. They are going through a rough patch and have regressed). Wow Mr. Tusks - looking good in the Hawaiian dipe! Hey Dad, remember when you secured that one with binder clips? One of your finer ideas :)

Fashion show

Here I am modeling my UBC sweatshirt which Mom was wearing earlier today. Dad was the original owner. By the way, notice I am a big help unloading the dishwasher. Mom said she's looking forward to me being able to help YOU with that, Dad. She also mentioned other tasks including, but not limited to helping me brush my teeth, taking out the trash and eating breakfast with me.



I've been perfecting this mysterious look for awhile. Step 1) borrow Dad's duckie shirt. Step 2) zip up sweatshirt BY MYSELF Step 3) Shop for new pretties.

Here is a little scrap of fabric Mom cut out for me. Isn't that a happy kitty?

Here's the finished product from the scraps she didn't give me.

Mom was talking about acquiring more diapers. If you're curious about my opinion (I have lots of opinions) click below.

Mom almost had to cancel bathtime tonight because I wanted to sit on the potty for so long. That seemed a little drastic to me. Maybe you could talk to her Dad. I mean, I can't tell time, but I suspect that she's been moving bedtime up a little each night. Just a hunch.

Where in the world is Daddy?

Really? Daddy's in that tiny little green spot under your finger? Are you sure mom?

Big day

Modeling appropriate apparel for the garden show

Hanging out with the monkey named George

Working out at the gym



Help me down!



Where's the camera Mom? Oh, right there.

Little fishy scrubbing up in purple water

Psst.. Easter Bunny, I might needs some new tub tints soon (no yellow please)

Happy Valentine's Day Daddy!

from the girls (Take 1)

Let's try that again (Take 2) and keep your eyes open

and from the boys (Take 16)--Mom is starting to get worried

This is where it gets really interesting (Take 472)
and we're still working on keeping our eyes open

Games we play

I play pretend, but sometimes Dad doesn't realize it. I decided to take my worm out for a spin tonight.

Sometimes Cheeto plays soccer. Last night he played hide and seek. Currently Bob's favorite game to play with the little guy is "mirror image". Check facebook for that picture.

Wacky weekend photos

Covering Bob up for naptime



How to catproof the little dipper or
another use for black electrical tape

Ball practice. I NEED more practice

Oh hello!
I didn't see you there

I almost caught it

Baking with Grammie

Wonderful things are always coming out of Grammie's kitchen. Take a peek:

Psst...Dad, look what we made.

Oatmeal chocolate chip - your favorite!

Oh no, too loud! I'm getting outta here before we turn the mixer on.

Photo credits: Pa

Big red dog

I met Clifford the big red dog yesterday. There was a pseudo story time at a local store. It wasn't quite up to library standards, but they tried hard. Clifford looked great from a distance, but I didn't want to get too close. Grammie and Pa met us for coffee, although 3 out of the 4 didn't actually have coffee.

Clifford (in case you didn't recognize him)

Mom and me with the monkey named George

Snacktime, whoa-o snacktime

Dressing up

I'm getting ready for something special and packing baby's diaper bag so she can go too. These have been my favorite activities this week. I pretty much break down in tears if this game gets interrupted for any reason whatsoever.

Happy Belated Groundhog Day!

These happy yellow sunflowers were delivered to Mom at work on Groundhog Day. What a fun holiday. Way to go Dad! They're gorgeous. Jimmy the groundhog from Sun Prairie did not see his shadow, so Spring is right around the corner. I really wanted to go down to groundhog central, but since it was a school day, it was a no-go.

Oodles of noodles

We've been on a blogging hiatus. No, mom's not at Blissdom, like all the frugal mommy bloggers. We just had an interruption this week with a modem problem. I'm pretty sure nothing else can go wrong with the computer or internet connection now.

Flashback to last weekend. I was a big help in the kitchen. I helped Grandpa Swanson make noodles. Mom claims he hasn't made them since SHE was a kid, so it really has been quite awhile.

Check it out.

Apron on and I'm ready to help

Back and forth. Back and forth. Spread the dough, right Gpa?

Mom cuts the noodles while I find the truffles.

Superb!

Toss out those free noodles from the store Mom. This is all I'm eating from now on!