Monday, November 30, 2009

A new kind of punishment

As I update my facebook and blog and think about getting a twitter account (well I have a twitter account but I think often about actually updating it), I wonder if there will be a day when my child can get online and see all that I have done. Will he be friends with me on facebook? Stories I tell on my blog will be available for him to read also. Hmmm, is that going to be wierd for us? I could care less but what about what his friends can see? Do you think all the guys at school will check each others moms blogs so they can tease their friends? They probably have better things to do.

This is when I wonder if there will be a new way to keep your kids in line. Is just the threat of injuring their social status enough to get them to clean their room?

Unload the dishwasher or I WILL post baby bathtub pictures of you on facebook... AND tag you.

For every minute you miss curfew I WILL tweet stories of your childhood to all the girls in your school... With Pictures!


I sure hope that works.

I got some good pictures to use for just that situation.

I think it's precious. It's probably not going to be his facebook profile pic though.
I hope this hairstyle doesn't come back in style. Was it ever in style? Don't know the answer to that.


I can't threaten with this pic though. Wouldn't do me any good. He would just say:
"Uh Mom, people would kill to have those eyes and eyelashes. That's not embarrassing."
Then I would say:
"Oh yeah, I'll bet I can find something that is! Don't push me boy!"


Thursday, November 26, 2009

Photos in the Park

A few weeks ago I went to the park for a Baylor get-together and they had a photographer there who was taking pictures. for $15 she would send you a CD of the shots. We got some cute ones of Cason. Some not-so-cute ones of me but just focus on the cute baby.



All he wanted to do was eat the leaves so he wasn't as happy as usual cause I told him he couldn't eat them.











The making of a Jelly Roll

Not the kind I have around my waist, the kind pictured in the bottom left corner of this magazine.

I want to be a domestic diva, I really do. I wanted to make this jelly roll because I wanted to see if I could. Not because we needed it for thanksgiving or because someone had requested it. No, because I needed a challenge, because if Martha can do it I want to also, because making a total mess in the kitchen if fun to me.

You have to excuse the excessive amount of pictures in this post. I got a new camera and was trying it out. I also don't want the difficulty of this dish to go unnoticed.

I don't think you're ready for this jelly.


First, spray a rimmed cooking sheet, put parchment paper down, then spray and flour. I can handle that.

To make the cake batter you have to chop almonds very fine. What better to accomplish that than a babyfood maker? Seriously though, who requires a recipe where you have to food process your almonds, can't you just throw some almond extract in there? I don't think I chopped my almonds fine enough but this was AFTER Cason went to bed so I didn't have tons of time here.


3 eggs and 2 egg yolks. Separating eggs is always messy in my kitchen.
Then you have to whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl while holding it over a pot of simmering water. Why I couldn't just mix them together I have no idea. If that wasn't enough then I had to mix them with a hand mixer until they were white and fluffy. 7 minutes. That sounds quick but when you are holding a hand mixer it feels like forever.




For the cranberry jelly you have to cook down fresh cranberries with sugar then puree the cranberries. Thank you baby food maker... again!



This is not nearly as messy as it got but I had some time while the cranberries cooked down.

Here's the cake inverted on a towel.
Here's where I get nervous.


I had to roll up the cake into the towel. I had visions of it crumbling. It only did in the center a little, but otherwise okay.


When it's cooled you unroll and spread with cranberry jelly and then with a cream cheese and sugar mixture.
Getting nervous again...
Then I have to roll it up. It rolled. Didn't look as pretty as Martha's but still not bad.
That's when I read the final instruction. Cover in fridge for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours. That's not exactly what I was hoping to see. We were not going to be eating this until after thanksgiving dinner so what exactly would happen if I left it in the fridge for more than 3 hours?
Well, we were going to have to find out because I'd spent too long working on it to toss it out now. I was sure it would be dry and gross by the time dinner rolled around. Too bad, they were eating it anyways.


It wasn't. It was actually really good and not dry. that's the picture of it ready to be served. Looks much better with the ends trimmed off.

And that's my big cooking adventure.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Eight Crazy Months


Can you believe he's 8 months old? I can't. It really doesn't seem like it's been that long. Christmas is about to smack me in the head and I still think it's summer. Maybe that's because my lantana is still 5' tall and blooming and my tomatoes have started making tomatoes again due to the warm weather. Someone should tell them it's actually fall and it's time to die.
It's been an amazing & overwhelming 8 months filled with laughter & tears, newfound confidence & incredible insecurity. Who knew such a small little person could bring all that?
What's he up to now?
- For some reason he has started to wrinkle his nose when he smiles (as seen in photos above). It's really funny but I hope he doesn't do it forever, it's kind of a scary smile instead of a happy one.
- Lots of smiles!! He loves smiling at people. Just today I was holding him at a restaurant and I see him smiling out of the corner of my eye. I look back and he's flirting with a group of waitresses behind me. He's already girl crazy! I know I will be completely gray by the time he's out of his teenage years.
- I haven't given him a food he doesn't like. As you know I've made everything and he can't get enough. Zucchini, peaches, apples, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, plums, cherries, green beans, peas, asparagus... there's more I can't think of. We have also tried puffs and he LOVES those. He's getting good at picking them up with his fingers and it's so fun to watch. It's also a great way to keep him occupied when you need to get something done.
- He can sit up without assistance and rarely falls over anymore. He can also stand holding on to something and only falls when he gets a little overconfident in his ability and starts moving too much. No crawling yet but lots of scooting backwards and rolling. I think his motto is "if I can get there rolling why learn to crawl?" I don't have an answer for him.
- Bathtime is his favorite time of day. He sits up in the tub now and loves splashing and playing with rubber ducky. He could spend all day grabbing my hands and pulling to a stand though. We do that over and over in the tub and he's so proud of himself.
- We have 2 bottom teeth and finally- a top tooth and a dot of a second one. Man, I thought those things would never come in!
- He likes playing with his toys but would prefer to play with ours. Remotes, cell phones and magazines are a few favorites. Many of my magazines now have chew marks on the corners... not from the dogs, from the baby.
He's amazing and I feel so blessed. Every day I'm in awe of how God could create these tiny wonderful people and how much I love him.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Vacation Photos- Finally!!!

Yes, I realize that we went on Vacation 2 months ago and these photos have been sitting on my computer since then but there's just been no time to post.

Here's a quick recap- we went to Gulf Shores AL for a week and rented a beach house. We drove and Cason cried the whole way there. Luckily, it was a pretty place and we were able to recover quickly from the drive.

These are totally out of order because on blogger you have to load your pictures backwards for them to be forwards (ever notice that?) and I didn't feel like messing with it.

Here's the TV room. It was on one side of the kitchen and the main living room was on the other. The kitchen had openings to see in both sides. This is pretty much where the guys stayed when they were not on the beach or golf course.

Cason wanted to make sure his stomach got tan. We got a little tent for him to hang out in on the beach. He loved it.
Lil C and Aunty Cay Cay. He thinks she is just great. I can't believe how much he's grown in 2 months!

He loved chewing on my sunglasses. My sunglasses were not too fond of being chewed on.


Lolli (AKA grandmother) and Lil C had a great time on the beach.




This is the view of the dining and the kitchen. This was on the third floor so we had great views of the golf and beach.




We loved these chair hammocks. Wanted to stay in there all day. It helped Cason get to sleep too.






Dining room and kitchen.






Caylin and Mike celebrating Lil C's 6 month birthday.







We had a cooking contest every night and Caylin and I were paired together and we won (of course). These are the salted caramel cupcakes. They took a few tries to get right but they were totally yummy. Caylin is the cupcake expert.









Happy half birthday C!










We took a ferry on the way home to save some time and get C an opportunity to get out of the car for awhile. So cool being able to drive on to a boat.












Caylin and dad worked this really hard puzzle and finished it. I think i contributed 2 pieces in the right spot. I loved the colorful fireplace.



Mike and C enjoying the water. Well, I guess Mike is enjoying playing in the water and C is enjoying looking at the water.




I usually wear C but he gets heavy so I told Mike he had to for this beach trip. I think they look great.
This is our house. If you ever want to go to the beach, you should stay here!
More fun times.


Looking down the boardwalk to the beach.


Lolli found this cool highchair at Target before we left. it folds up in a tiny pouch. We took it to restaurants and he sat in it at the house too.



A toast to a great time at the beach.



Thanks for doing the dishes dad!

Baby Crocs. Totally cute. Hope they still fit when he starts walking!


Get out of my Sun, Chris.
Nap time on the beach.



Starbucks is out, Yogurt is in!

Have you noticed all the frozen yogurt places popping up everywhere? If you haven't yet, you will soon. I think it was started over in California (where all the cool and not so cool stuff starts) with Pinkberry. I haven't been to Pinkberry but I'm dying to go. If Jennifer Love Hewitt says it's good, I'm all about it. They just opened one in Dallas too. Anyways, Mike and I started going to a new Yogurt place in NRH near Hometown. They have about 15 flavors of yogurt and a ton of toppings. You serve yourself and pay by the weight. It's a lot of fun and also very yummy. Since I love lots of toppings it's the perfect place for me.

Last week I decided to look up the nutritional information on my Starbucks addictions to see how I was doing. I was shocked at what I found out. The sandwich i had been getting, the small, flat, egg cheese and sausage sandwich that i had been getting a few times a week was more calories and fat than two big macs (I have not verified this information but since the numbers were so large i am quite certain it's true.) Holy cow. I can't believe I had been eating these things... AND had become addicted to them. After I finished crying, I decided it would be best to give them up if I ever wanted to get back in my old pants. I was able to adjust my drink to get it down to 2 WW points (thank you starbucks app for iphone). It doesn't taste as good but I pretend like it does and maybe someday it will.

Anyways, after this discovery we became much more frequent visitors to the yogurt patch. Their "tart and tangy" yogurt is only 70 calories for 4 ounces with no sugar or fat. Combine that with a few sugar free choc chips and a few yogurt chips and you have yourself a little low fat low cal bit of goodness. It's a family owned business and the owners are super nice so that helps too. Sorry Starbucks. I love you, I really do but you have let me down here. There should be a warning on those sandwiches. "highly addictive. consult doctor before consuming. you are quickly headed for a heart attack".

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Rookie Mistake

Saturday Cason and I had a little girls birthday party to go to in Southlake. I throw him in the car and the present and his diaper bag and head out. About 1/3 of the way there I notice his little hand reach over and grab the bag. How stupid am I? I put a wrapped present next to a child. I'm asking for it to get opened. I start praying that he won't discover the tissue paper. As if he's not going to see the mound of beautiful hot pink crinkly tissue inches from his hand. No such luck, hand grabs tissue paper. Is there any possibility he will just enjoy the crunchiness and not put it in his mouth and completely destroy it so my scant wrapping job becomes really scant? Nope, in the mouth it goes. Now I'm in a quandary. Do I pull over and remove the tissue? Since my brain left when C got here I had taken the wrong way to Southlake and was now on a 2 lane no shoulder road passing rich peoples houses with only their driveways to pull in to. Driveways that are monitored by a security system that would make your local bank look like an easy target. Didn't think that would be a good place to pull in to. So, I opted to just say in a kind voice "don't put that in your mouth sweet baby". I'm pretty sure he just grinned. If the carseat had been in the middle I could have reached him but it is behind the passenger seat right now and I have short arms. When I attempted to reach him the car started swerving. Then I began to wonder how long I could use the excuse:
"Sir, I just had a baby." when the officer pulled me over.
"Oh, how old is he?"
"8 months."
"Um, I wouldn't consider that JUST having a baby"
"Well, it FEELS like just yesterday and I haven't fully recovered yet."
Don't think that's going to work. I got nothin.

This is the scene I found when we arrived. You can't see it but there's pink tissue in his mouth. I fished out what I could, the rest I guess we will discover later.

Oh well, I just spread out the 1 tissue that was left to cover the present and took it to the party. There's no excuse for me.

Here are some pics of our post-party shopping. I think he likes Southlake!






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