Dim Sum

Another digital layout, of Lauren enjoying a custard bun at dim sum (Sept 2010).

template: one little bird flight plan no. 5
papers: two little pixels reflections

Potty Talk

Starting in late October, at 18M, Cole decided he no longer wanted to poop. Not sure why exactly, but he would try his hardest to hold it in. Occasionally, some would come out, but not if he could help it. He'd clench his legs together, make a crazy face, and hold onto something for support - a chair, a wall, someone's leg.... And he would make these horrible sounds, like he was in pain but he wasn't, which was somewhat embarrassing when we were out and about. Needless to say, this was very stressful for all.

Fast forward 3 months. Desperate for a solution, Stew decided to put Cole on the toilet during one of his episodes - figuring it would be hard to interrupt the flow with his legs spread across the seat. Success! There was a lot of crying and protesting during the process, but he mostly seemed ok with it. And for the last month or so, we have not changed one single poopy diaper! He's far from potty trained - he's only just started saying 'poo poo' when it's on its way (we normally can just tell) - but it certainly is nice to avoid the whole dirty diaper thing.


Bye-bye poo poo! Time for my bunny graham cracker :)

History Lesson

At school today, in honor of President's Day, Lauren made a coin rubbing of the penny and talked about Abe Lincoln. At dinner I asked her a few questions to see what she learned. Me: Do you know what number president he was? Lauren: 16. (Impressive, for I didn't know myself). Me: Was he tall or short? Lauren: Umm, tall I think. Lauren: Mommy, Ms. Bonnie said he had to go potty outside. Me: Hmm, probably true.

Resolutions

One of my goals for this year is to exercise, since I haven't done so in about 5 years.... Mid-January, we joined our local YMCA, and Stew and I have taking turns going a couple times a week after the kids are in bed. What I like is you can automatically log your workouts (data is sent directly from the machines), chart your stats, and even find out how many equivalent elephants you've lifted :) They also have a child watch center - which the kids really enjoy when we've visited on the weekends. And Lauren can't wait till she turns 4 - so she can climb the rock wall!

Happy Valentine's Day!

On Sunday we decorated chocolate covered pretzel rods as a Valentine treat (I learned that Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips don't contain milk - chocolate for Cole, yay!)


Lauren's approach was to put a little of every topping on each pretzel.


Cole's goal was to dump out the toppings, so we had to limit his topping amount. And all was well until I put the pretzels in the fridge to let the chocolate harden. He went ballistic, and was so upset that I took his pretzels away.... It took a lot to calm him down.


A glimpse at the final product. Very yummy.

Watch Me Grow

Got this little pooch (and two others) in my stocking for Christmas, and we followed the instructions to place it in a large container of water for about a week.


Voila! We might try the chihuahua next.....

Movin' Up

Here's my first digital layout, using a contemporary layered template from paislee press.

template: paislee press, press plate no.15
patterned papers: mscraps vintage christmas and biograffiti note to self
journaling: cole joins us at the table in his new booster seat! he's really excited about the transition from his high chair. his table manners are quite good - he says please and thank you, and manages to keep most of his food on his plate. he always wants his fork nearby but he still prefers to use his hands....

Going Digital

Last year I used my birthday money to buy Photoshop Elements 7.0, but up to now I've only used it mainly in 'guided' mode for some basic photo editing. Over the last week, I've been trying to learn a bit more about how to use all the features.


Ali Edwards at aliedwards.com has some excellent step-by-step tutorials. I tried out one of her 'brushes' (the 'capturing' image) in the photo above, which she made available for free on her web site. I also watched her tutorial on 'layered templates' and I think I may soon enter into the digitial scrabooking space. Turns out there are some great freebie templates out there that make creating layouts a breeze. Check back tomorrow for my first digital scrabook page :)

Lunch du Jour

Weekend lunch usually consists of a grilled cheese for Lauren (her recent fave), and jelly sandwich, chicken nuggets, or pasta for Cole (he's a little trickier b/c of his egg/dairy allergy). Add some fruit, and a wee bit of veggie (always a tough sell), and we're good to go. These kids don't really eat a whole lot....

Meatballs

Tried a new recipe for meatballs from Everyday Food. The recipe is not on the website, but I found it here. It is from a feature on sriracha chili sauce, but since we're not big fans of spicy, I just omitted it. I also omitted the egg whites (due to Cole's allergy), and added some extra bread crumbs instead. I thought the dish was really tasty - liked the combo of ground turkey and pork, and the addition of spinach. Kids weren't all that jazzed, but they're a tough crowd.... And besides forming the meatballs, it was a pretty quick dish - you just broil meatballs in the oven (rotating the pan once), then finish them off in the sauce on the stove.