Curious George

On Bailey's Birthday we went to the Children's Museum to explore the Curious George exhibit with some friends. We had such a great time, there was sooooo much to explore! The best part was that Bailey kept telling me how much fun she was having...that made it all worth it :) So thank you to all our friends who came with us to celebrate!!!

Happy Birthday Bailey

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl!!! WOW, 3 years already...I can't believe how fast the time goes. What a blessing Bailey is to our family, she is so bubbly and full of life. Everything this little girl says is sooo sweet or too darn cute that you really can't help but not give her anything she wants.....even Mommy has a hard time with this one....lol. Her favorite things right now are: candy, GUM, babies, playing outside (barefoot, this is how I know she's got her Mama's country girl in her...she can run through the gravel driveway without shoes on...OUCH...lol) playing barbies, GUM, Hello Kitty, playing in the sand, riding her bike, bossing her brother around and more GUM...lol Can ya tell she has a thing for GUM? She will ask anybody and everybody what they have in their pocket's....just to see if they have any gum? I think it's time we have the stranger talk :)

Today we celebrate our sweet baby girl and all the smiles she brings us everyday :) Thank you Lord for blessing us with Bailey, she is such an amazing little girl with such a big heart and sweet personality.

TASTY TUESDAY

I've decided to start a Tasty Tuesday post for recipes. I often have people asking me for recipe's so I thought why not start posting them on the blog and make it a theme for all my bloggie friends. Each week we'll have a different theme, this week is desert's...so join in and post your favorite desert recipe on your blog :)

(The kid's love to go out and pick rhubarb, so we made this last week and it was sooo yummy...even if you don't really care for rhubarb)

Rhubarb Cake w/ Vanilla Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup margarine at room temp
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped rhubarb -- fresh or frozen
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
.
Vanilla Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 9x13x2-inch baking pan; dust with flour. In a medium-size bowl, cream the margarine and 1 cup of the sugar. Add the eggs; beat well. In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk and vanilla.

Into another bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add one third of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat well. Beat in half the buttermilk. Add another third of the flour, then the rest of the buttermilk, ending with the remaining flour. Stir in the rhubarb. Spread in the prepared baking pan. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle over the batter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cake tests done with a toothpick or cake tester. Serve with warm vanilla sauce.

Vanilla Sauce Directions
In a 1-quart saucepan, combine all sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil; simmer for about ten minutes. Serve warm with rhubarb cake.

My present to my MOMMY :)

I just was so happy how this turned out I had to share :)

You know your a Mother when.....

You know your a Mother when you hear yourself repeating something your own Mother told you when you were little!!! A few weeks ago the kid's were arguing over something and I had it with both of them, so I made them both give each other a hug and tell them they love one another. As they both did very loving and moved on, but I just sat there thinking about when I was forced to do that to my brother when we were being mean to each other...ugh, I HATED IT...lol Never in my life did I think I would be doing that with my own children, but here I am, I have become my own Mother.

It's funny how things change when your a little older and a Mother yourself. But I can look back now knowing that she was only doing her best at being my Mother. Today I'm thankful for all those things she MADE me do that I didn't think were fair at the time, because they were all stepping stones into the Mother I am today. So today I thank you Mom for EVERYTHING!!!

I love you and thank God for you everyday :)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!

123 MAGIC

So I heard about this class offered by our local Family Services on discipline called "1-2-3 Magic " by Dr. Thomas Phelan. A few of my cafemom friends were going to check it out and I thought why not? I'm not saying my kid's are bad, actually they are very well behaved (hahaha..most of the time) We are their parent's and we need to train them to obey....anything to help me is WELCOMED!!! The 123 counting method is effective for children 2-12 years of age for correcting minor, obnoxious behavior.
So last night was the class and today we implemented the program. First, I thought I would explain to them of course, so when I started counting they weren't totally confused as to what I'm doing and look dumbfounded...lol Here's the breakdown of the program and how it works: When your child is doing something they either know they shouldn't be doing or you have asked them to stop already, you stay calm and just look at them and hold up 1 finger and say, "That's 1", if they continue on "That's 2", and if they still continue "That's 3, Take 5 (min) (1min per year of age) you can add on min for more serious behavior's. Dr. Phelan says the 2 biggest mistakes in disciplining are: TOO MUCH TALKING and TOO MUCH EMOTION...I'm guilty of BOTH..lol Especially too much talking, I just realized this today, as I bit my tongue right before I put that hand up saying "That's 1". Oh how I wanted to sit there and debate with Quaid on why he couldn't have another mango for lunch because he had one for breakfast (a whole one) So I wasn't even going to start counting, I thought Ok, I'll offer him another fruit, then he starts again, "Nooooo, I want a mango again", this is the part where I would go back and forth and really get soo frustrated and totally accomplish nothing. At that moment, I said "That's 1", and he said Ok...I'll have an orange :) WOW...was it really MAGIC..lol??? I was stunned, however Quaid is almost 6 and is a little more mature than his little sister who didn't do so well with the discipline. And after the day with "123 Magic" with Bailey...I think we're gonna need a few weeks or months?? Bailey is our little muncher, she constantly wants something to eat. So this morning, after breakfast she comes in the kitchen and say's "I wanna snack Mommy", I tell her "no, we just had breakfast, we'll have a snack later". So she leaves and comes back within 2 minutes, I don't say anything to her after she asks me again for a snack, I just hold up my hand and say "That's 1" and you would have thought you had thrown this girl's "uh-oh" in the trash. Oh my word, she screamed and cried, so I said, "that's 2", then she still continued, so "that's 3, take 3 in your room" So off to her room she went crying and screaming. Now he says their time-out doesn't start till they stop the tantrum...ummm, well since I'm not really supposed to talk to her...do I tell her "Your time doesn't start until you stop crying or just let her stop on her own?" I do go in there after a few min of her crying and tell her her time-out doesn't start until she stops crying, wouldn't you know- she stopped immediately!! Crazy! She needs to learn that when I say No..it means NO...I've been so tired of repeating myself over and over again and really pray this really will help us. Like I said before my kid's really aren't bad, we just have some issues with whining, listening, a few tantrums and just being obnoxious....sometimes ;) Needless to say we had several crying trips for Bailey today. (she really is an emotional little girl-could it really be hormones this early??) Thankfully today Quaid was very good and immediately stopped what he was doing when I counted to 1 :) We'll see how long that lasts?

POLLEN

It's POLLEN Mom...just like in the "Bee Show", that's what they call the "Bee Movie". The kid's were so fascinated with the pollen that I had to try out my new camera and take a shot....so cool :) Enjoy the POLLEN...cause my allergies sure don't!

OFFICIALLY DIAPER FREE!!!!!!!!!!

YEAH...we are OFFICIALLY in panties all day!!! (minus naps and bedtime) Bailey has done such an Awesome job and really only took about 2 complete weeks until she was completly trained. I'm sooo relieved and very proud of her :) The only thing we didn't know was that she would go down a whole size when she started wearing panties. I guess those diaper's really were a real load in her pants...lol

New Do

Yes..."The Mohawk" is back!!!! This past week was Earth Week at Quaid's school, so they had different themed days. Well Tuesday was Wild/Crazy Hair Day, so he wanted his hair in a Mohawk and it's stuck ever since. Every morning Quaid goes in and gets his gel out and spikes it up as much as he can....then has me spray it with hairspray so it really stays...lol He definitely is becoming his own person and is coming into his own style as well. Actually that's a little hard for me to adjust to and let go of having things MY way, but I know as his Mother I need to let him express himself in his own way...it's just gonna take a little time to get used to. Although I do still set out his clothes every morning for him for school (on occasion though he has put a shirt back and snuck another one on instead...lol) It's just so hard seeing your little boy growing up so fast :(

CLEARLY....too young

Bailey went to a birthday party today and got a lil necklace with lip gloss in it...woo hoo :) She was so excited (because she's already on this crazy kick about makeup). So I let her put some on...whoa, I turned my back for a second and this is what I turned around to!!!

Adventures in Potty Training

So this week I decided to stay home and just concentrate on potty training Bailey.....WHAT WAS I THINKING?? Did I want to go insane?? During some moments....I really felt I may...but we have survived!!! YEAH!!!

Day 1: I hid the diapers and told Bailey they were all gone and all we had was panties now and she was a big girl now, so we had to learn how to use the potty. Well that didn't go over so well and all I got were ear piercing screaming and crying to wear a diaper. So I just walked out and took a break, then came back in and said "How about we get all your panties out and you can pick out which ones you want to wear", then I got a "Yeah" back from her. So she ended up calming down and putting some on after about a half hour of picking out which ones she wanted. After awhile of asking every 10 min if she had to go potty, all of a sudden she looked up at me and said "I went pee in my panties"...here we go. So I told her it was ok, and we'll just have to clean it up and get a new pair of panties. We did that and not even 5 min later ANOTHER accident..."OH my this is going to be a long week" After the second accident, she was screaming again, I believe it was because she hated the way it felt when she peed in her panties. Then I was thinking, maybe she really doesn't know when she has to go yet? So I consulted with Johnny and let her put a pullup on. She put the pullup on and we went down to get Quaid off the bus and he asked her if she was wearing her panties, she said no of course. Then when we got back upstairs she wanted to put panties back on....ok, so I let her wear them until her nap. No more accidents before naptime. Then after her nap we put panties on again and continued to ask her over and over again. Then I just had her sit in front of the tv and watch a movie (thinking maybe that would relax her)....YEAH...she finally went after sitting awhile :) I went crazy with the "potty song" and dancing around...you would have thought I won the lottery or something...lol Then she got a piece of candy and lots and lots of praise. Then we proceeded outside to play (less clean up outside...lol) Then she tells me she had to go potty, unfortunately she had already had an accident. So we changed and went on about our way and had one other success that night before bed :)

Day 2: As soon as Bailey woke up again, I asked her to take her pullup off and get her panties on for the day, just like Quaid does. Without hesitation she went, threw her pullup away and picked out her panties for the day. We had about half and half this day and I was starting to wonder again if she really was ready or not.

Day 3: Bailey woke up this morning with a slight fever and didn't look like she was feeling well. She still got her panties on right away for me (got me thinking maybe this will work...ah there's hope :) But she was laying around alot, didn't eat much breakfast and kept telling me she didn't have to go potty, but then out of the blue she said "I have to go potty" and went :) YEAH BAILEY!!!! Then back on the couch she went, with off and on crying fits :( So I put her down for a nap early and put a pullup on her. She slept for about 3 hrs and woke up with a 103 temp :( So off to the Doctor we went (she really has never had a fever that high before and she was HOT) The Dr comes in and her ears looked great and her mouth she said looked ok, but she was going to test her for strep just in case, along with a urine test just in case it was a uti (she had complained that her belly hurt) Then she goes on to explain that she really doesn't want to cath her because of her age and with her potty training...that wouldn't be a good situation. So she said we could try to get her to go potty here (they have a potty chair) or take a bag and cup home with us and bring it back. Oh my...she just started potty training...I really don't think she will go on the potty for her..especially on cue like that and feeling the way she was :( The Dr said we can take our time and the nurse would be in soon. So here comes the nurse and say's, "Who has to go potty", Bailey immediately responds, "I don't"...lol So she said, "let's just try, can we do that"...Bailey says, "NO...I'm not ready" Then she offered Bailey some apple juice if she sat on the potty. After a few min of crying and getting juice and a box of stickers to look through she finally sat down and drank her juice. Not even 5 min later, Bailey says, "I'm going"....and sure enough she did, she really did!!!!!!!! YEAH...wow I was schocked and soo proud of her :) So they got their samples and we went back home and waited for the results....it was STREP :( Thankfully though it's something we could get knocked out with antibiotics and she would be feeling better in a day or so! Off to bed she went early with some antibiotics and tylenol in her...in hopes she would be alot better in the morning!

Day 4: Still running a fever, but woke up early and was eager to get her panties on :) YEAH a good sign in that dept. But she was still feeling ill and I asked if she wanted to just go lay in Mommy's bed with me and watch tv, she said, "No I just wanna take a nap in my bed" So after being up for about an hour, off she went to take a nap...poor girl :( She slept for about 4 or 5 hours then woke up feeling sooo much better and in a great mood. So I asked if she had to go potty, she said "she's not ready"...lol Finally she was ready and said "I have to go potty"...YEAH!!! She ended up having one poopy accident...but that was it (I think the poopy part might take a lil while) But then we had to run to Walmart and I really didn't wanna confuse her and put a pullup on her (because those are only for naptime or bedtime) so I let her wear her panties. That's right my daughter wore panties the entire trip to Walmart and back...WOO HOO!!! (I was terrified believe me) She made it though and after we got home I was fixing dinner and kept asking her, NO, NO, NO. Alright....so after dinner she was getting a bath and I asked her before she was getting in if she had to go? "No" She get's in the bath and starts playing and says, "Mommy I have to go potty now"...YEAH!!! She got out and went :) I'm sooo proud!!!! No pee accidents all day and only 1 poopy accidents :)

Day 5: Yes still accident free today :) I'm such a proud Mommy and sooo relieved that this whole week has paid off!!! I guess it wasn't that bad...and I'm still SANE :)

Basketball Boy

So I've bragged on Bailey a bit...here's what Quaid has been up to this week...SPORTS!!! lol Now that it's finally been nice out, we got his basketball goal, bike and all the other balls out. When he get's home from school it's time to change into his basketball clothes and go out and practice ;) It's soo cute! Then when Daddy get's home...it's ALL SPORTS...basketball, baseball, football and golf. He is definitely going to be an athlete of some sport!!!

Finally Found the ONE

So my neighbor gave me her bread machine because she doesn't use it anymore and I was talking to her one day about starting to make my own bread to save money and make it healthier (because we all know those healthy breads are OUTRAGEOUS..unless you get them on sale) Anyway, I've had the machine for about 3 weeks now and LOVE it, I've tried several different recipes and have found many I like...but I needed a healthy everyday sandwich bread. I just found it....and it is sooo yummy :) So I thought I would post the recipe for everyone to enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup flax seed

1 cup milk

1 egg

2 tablespoons margarine or butter, cut up

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

4 teaspoon Wheat Gluten

3/4 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon active dry yeast or bread machine yeast

Directions:
Place the flax seed in a blender container. Cover and blend until ground.

Add the ingredients to a 1-1/2- or 2-pound bread machine according to the manufacturer's directions, adding the ground flax seed with the flour. If available, select the whole grain cycle, or select the basic white bread cycle. Select desired color setting.

***I also added a bit of honey...mmmmmm :)

Isn't she just a beauty??? lol

Absence

Busy, busy, busy we've been around here...whew! So now I am terribly behind on pics and the blog...so I'm going to try to update in one post here.

So we've survived this horrible winter we had here...with well over 100in of snow, yes that's alot of snow and too much for my liking. I love the snow, but we really had just too much of it and it was even too cold to go out and play most of the time. So Spring has finally arrived and we have come out of hibernation. This past weekend we spent the entire weekend outside, washing/waxing the cars (Johnny's a little anal about waxing the cars and takes GREAT pride in his vehicles...lol) playing soccer, baseball and BASKETBALL (Quaid has really takin to this sport...well any sport for that matter, but he spent most of his time dribbling, teaching Bailey how to dribble and shoot and challenging Mommy and Daddy to a game of PIG...lol) The kid's are growing up sooo fast and really getting to be so much fun to play with, not that they weren't before, but something about being able to actually sit down and have a logical and understanding conversation with them just truly blows me away sometimes...lol I have a feeling this is going to be one GREAT summer and I am so thankful I will be home to enjoy every minute of it :)

Now for a little update on each of the kid's...Quaid is doing great in school and is really learning ALOT, he's reading alot more, adding, subtracting and still bringing home crazy art projects to decorate our house...lol Oh and he's also been helping out more around the house and is GREAT at doing his chores, so we've slowly been adding in an allowance each week. Unfortunately he's taken after his Mommy and likes to spend his money...lol So we had a lil money session with him and he now has 3 jars (spend, save and give) and is doing quite well at separating his money and actually saving ALOT more...let's hope this keeps with him. I rewarded him one day with a quarter, because he just out of the blue cleaned up the entire living room for me, so now he will do things and look at me...like, well do I get another?? lol It's cute, but I told him not to expect everytime...it's only when I notice he has done something with out me asking and just helping out around the house. He's such a sweet, sweet boy :) He is looking forward to being a 1st grader and playing flag football in the fall, he has told us he doesn't want to play anything else right now because he wants to wait till football...lol Oh and we've redecorated his room in Buckeye's gear...he's becoming quite the Buckeye's fan, however has told us he will play for the Packer's...lol (his favorite team he says and he loves Brett Favre (unfortunately he has retired this year) Other than that, Quaid is growing like crazy and eating us out of the house...but he is doing well :)

Bailey on the other hand is getting ready for her 30th, oh I mean 3rd birthday...lol She told me the other day she wanted Dora earrings for her birthday, so I asked her if she wanted her ear's pierced and she said, "Yes and I want some makeup too"...crazy girl!!! We are working on potty training this week and well....that's a whole other blog (maybe at the end of the week...when I can actually say we both survived..lol) So yes her birthday is coming up and she wants a Hello Kitty birthday...it's so funny how they come up with these things. We took the kid's to see Alvin and the Chipmunks one night at our downtown Theatre, so we pull up in front of a store that was covered with Hello Kitty things, she was just amazed. Then a few days later we get a birthday party catalog in the mail (like they seriously think I'm going to spend oooodles of money on their stuff when I can go to the Factory Card Outlet...lol) But she was looking through there and saw Hello Kitty and has been obsessed since. Looks like we're having a Hello Kitty Birthday next month...ahhh, less than a month (guess I'd better get busy planning that one..lol) She is really growing into such a beautiful girl and so sweet (of course I'm bias, but still she really is the cutest ever...lol) I'm really enjoying our morning's together while Quaid is at school, and taking pics of her...so if you see tons of pics of her on Kodak...yeah I went a little crazy, but I've also been playing around with photo.net and editing alot of the pics...sooo fun :) I will try to have all those pics updated very soon :) I believe I have all the way back to Easter...whoa...time flies when your havin fun :)

Two Weeks of Toys

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