So far in the pinning, I have pinned quite a few crafts. Some of which I am hopeful Elizabeth can do with me, others are just for yours truly. Here are two crafts that Elizabeth and I did together.
Balloon Wreath: The one I saw on Pintrest didn't look as full as I would have liked, but I thought it was super-cute and festive. I don't remember how many packs of balloons I went through but it was a LOT more than was recommended in the instructions. I would have used more if I could have found more in those colors (and I searched. Frequently.) The Verdict: I like it. It's cute. It was a bit more expensive than what I thought going into it. Elizabeth was proud to help me with the project. Since I hung it on our inside door, it will keep for a few years (before the balloons dry-rot). Check out ours and judge for yourself!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
My Pintrest Project - Wreathes
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
My Pintrest Project
I love Pintrest! It's highly addicting...I've gotten a lot of great ideas from other pins -- too many to likely ever see them come to fruition. In an effort to Blog with more regularity again, I've decided to try to document my opinions on how each pin matched up after I have first-hand experience with them. Some things that I've already tried (recipes in particular) have been great, others, not so great. So, as I go through and make different things that I have pinned, I'm going to give it my own review.
This week, I've made two things that I have pinned, both recipes. The first yummy, the other, a big disappointment.
The good: Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad. Easy to make, especially since I used a pre-cooked whole chicken from Kroger. Lots of chopping, but prep time didn't take but maybe 30 minutes, tops -- and most of that was because I get really picky about the white part of the iceberg lettuce being in my salad (that is a no-no). I added a small can of sliced olives (just because I love olives, especially in salads!), but otherwise followed the recipe. For the Greek yogurt, I used fat-free. I didn't measure the taco seasoning or the ranch seasoning, but I'm sure I did more than the recipe called for -- and I think it could have used a wee bit more. The Verdict: Yumminess! Reid said it was the best salad I have ever made (and I love salads!) This is totally going in the dinner rotation!
The not-so-much: Tonight's dinner was a bummer! I'm always looking for something to make in the crockpot so I can throw it together on mornings that I go to Morgantown for work and come home to a good meal. The Italian Crockpot Chicken was just - eeh. Not terrible, Reid and I ate it...as did Kennedy (Cate dumped her entire plate overboard without trying a bite declaring "All done!"). Elizabeth ate a little bit of it, but when she didn't eat the cooked carrots, I knew we had a loser on our hands. The Verdict: Super easy to make, but don't waste your time. It was bland - really bland. And after it has cooked all day long, in seasoning, it shouldn't be. Don't know what would fix it and don't care enough to try. The chicken was crazy (in a good way) moist, but again, bland. There was a lot of unconsumed food (save for Kennedy's portion from Cate's splat mat) -- and what wasn't served went down the disposal.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Cate's Growing Language
I'm so long over-due for a post it's not even funny...and Cate's language has exploded since my last post. I'll try to list all of her words here, but I'm sure there are some I will forget. Ones with a * she also signs:
- Mommy
- Daddy
- Sissy
- Dog*
- Stop it (typically spoken to the dog, Kennedy)
- Cocoa
- Piggy (for the Piglet blanket that is the new addition to the growing list of items she likes to carry around)
- Sock
- Shoes*
- Jaket
- Shirt
- Pants
- Hat
- I no poop (sometimes "I poop!")
- No
- Yes (with a bit of a fist pump)
- Milk*
- Please*
- Spoon
- Eat
- Cookie
- Chip
- Chicken
- Copcorn (aka: popcorn)
- Ice cream
- Cake
- Want it
- Wawa*
- Tank You
- Done*
- All gone*
- More*
- Nana
- Papa
- Papi
- Aunt Anne
- Sean
- Rara
- Doug (sounds a lot like dog, but she says it when she sees pictures of Doug, so we get that she's not calling Doug a dog -- or so we hope!)
- Maggie
- CaCa (She's a bilingual genius! In addition to this being Aunt Cathy's nickname, she's also saying "shit" - how awesome is she I ask you?)
- Campbell
- Let's gooooo (and then I say "Mountaineers!")
- Bed
- Night night
- Baby*
- Blanket
- Up
- Sit
- Down
- Chair
- What's that?
- Bye-Bye*
- Hello
- Play
- Hair
- Body
- Fingers
- Toes
- Belly
- Mouth
- Ears
- Eyes
- Nose, nose, nose (typically while squeezing hers or mine)
- Mickey Mouse (sounds a lot like her mouth is full of marshmallows "Micka Mouse")
- Emo (Elmo)
- Cup
- Plate
- Funny*
- On
- Off
- Baketball (we're gearing up to cheer for the Toppers and Mountaineers for BASKETBALL season)
- Ball
- Put away (maybe one of my kids will know to put away toys...)
- READ
- Book
- Where's*
- BATH**** (It is more of a full body wiggle with crazy-enthusiastic signing -- so much so we have to spell the word if she isn't going to be on the receiving end of the B-A-T-H)
- Dirty*
- Dance*
- Yellow
- Who's that?
- Apple*
- Pig*
- Monkey* (followed by "ooh ooh aah aah")
- Horse
- Hay (those two typically come together)
- Seal (followed by clapping her feet together and saying "oh, oh, oh")
- Bunny
- Bird*
- Duck*
- Bock! Bock!* (some of you may call it a chicken -- she only refers to 'chicken' if she is going to consume it, but pictured in a book, it is a "Bock! Bock!")
- Color
- Paper
- Bug
- Block
- Mine
- Top (working on Toppers)
- Glasses
- WUV YOU!!! (Never softly spoken, always shouted...hopefully followed by blown kisses...)
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Cate's language acquisition is unbelievable. She's saying new words nearly every day. Here's the latest:
- Pweese (Please) in addition to the sign...she can get nearly anything she wants with this
- Tink You (Thank You) - amazing how good the manners are with our sweet 18-month-old
- Sissy (Sissy) - it sure beats trying to say "Elizabeth"
- MINE (MINE!!!) - as in if it is in my sight, has ever been in my sight, it's MINE!
- Hat (hat) - the girl loves hats...she'd love the Derby!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Cate's Jibber-Jabber
Cate is jabbering away these days...every time she says "something" (even the jabbering), Elizabeth will tell me, "Mommy, you need to add that to the list!"
Here are some of the latest:
- Wawa - water
- What'sthat -- (all one word wazztha) -- what is that -- we get this a lot
- Ammaw -- Grandma
- Papa -- Papa
- Nana -- Nana (come on folks, work with the near 18-month-old!)
- RaRa, Do -- Rikki/RaRa (when we pointed out pictures of Rikki & Doug -- sorry Doug, "Doug" and "Dog" are sounding a lot alike these days)
- Bubbles -- the girl LOVES bubbles!!!
At Alex's 5th birthday party (still need to Blog about that!), she became obsessed with playing with Aunt Jane's miniature tea set...too cute!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Cate Says...
For months now, Cate has been holding court with her own talk "speewka na wha za booka is ga na doota..." complete with hand gestures as if we are able to understand every syllable. With every new sound, we think it's all going to click in her head and that she will start talking in words that we can understand.
Cate tickling her belly button (April 2012) |
- Dada (her first word!)
- Mama (the one we hear most often...especially when she wants something of an evening)
- more (complete with signing -- typically regarding food that isn't a vegetable)
- down (she gets told this a lot -- some times she say 'down' but signs up when she is in the high chair and is attempting to wiggle/crawl out)
- no, no, no (head shake required - at least we don't (yet) get the finger wagging!)
- shoe (a girl's gotta love shoes!)
- ticka ticka ticka (while lifting her shirt high and digging at her belly button)
- nose nose nose (as she is squeezing her nose -- or mine)
- uh oh (when she deliberately drops something from the playroom side of the gate into the kitchen side...or when she is dropping food from her high chair to Kennedy, which she is NOT supposed to do!)
- baby (as she is looking at the pictures of herself on the wall -- which reminds me that I need to update some of the photos...)
- stop it (yes, she hears that a bit...along with 'down')
- doh (dog)
- milk
- eat
- please
Waving high after WLU won the Regional |
- Waves bye-bye (typically with the arm fully extended and waaay up in the air)
- Knee hugs (when she sees you, she will run over and hug you around the knees -- they are the best!)
- Blows kisses (who can resist a baby who blows kisses?)
- "Awwww" (that's the noise she makes when you pick her up and give her a hug -- so sweet!)
- Dances! (The girl has moves like Jagger -- she loves to dance, to just about anything...sometimes to the tune she hears in her head...or just doing the happy dance if she is eating something that she is truly enjoying, you'll see her wiggling her bum in her high chair)
Friday, May 4, 2012
Alex's 5th Birthday Party -- Uber Cool Invite
Alex's birthday is right around the corner...and he, too, is having a Star Wars party!
The invite looks pretty cool, if I do say so myself! Most importantly, the soon-to-be-five-year-old is happy!!!
I went from this picture (thanks to Anne, Sean, & super model, Alex):
Looking forward to what all we're going to be doing at his birthday party.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Baby Cate Update
At 15 months, Cate is built more like a Weeble Wobble and less like a toddler -- she's 30-1/2" tall (50th percentile) and weighs 23 lbs, 8 oz. (60th percentile). She has finally cut the fourth upper tooth, one on bottom (making it 3 in front) and 3 molars - 2 upper, 1 bottom. She's still cutting teeth, either that or we're not feeding her enough so she is constantly drooling and putting her hands in her mouth hoping they will turn to food.
She loves, loves, loves bananas -- probably her favorite food. Other favorite foods include applesauce, grapes, pears, strawberries (sometimes), bread (any flavor - wheat, garlic toast, banana bread...), Cheerios, yogurt, chicken, salmon, cheese, eggs (hard boiled and scrambled), hamburgers/meatloaf, stuffing (see bread reference)...she isn't too big on veggies yet, which is perplexing to me as Elizabeth gobbled them up as quickly as we could put them on the tray... She insists on feeding herself.
She has THE BEST belly laugh (doesn't hurt that she has the belly to accompany said laugh)! Practically anything Elizabeth does can bring on this laugh. Reid can get it out of her, too...as can Uncle Sean, and Chuck Scatterday... When she is really ticked with something she will wrinkle up her little nose -- it's too cute!
She loves the freedom of trotting around of the floor after West Lib games. John Wolosinczuk taught her how to give high 5. She loves to wave hi and bye-bye (mostly well after the fact...or on Skype). She can blow kisses (when she feels like it). She can identify her nose. She loves shoes (and sort-of says shoe as she walks around with them saying 'sh sh sh'.) She loves to "read" -- taking books and turning the pages. She can identify her belly button (will flash you her shirt like a co-ed at Mardi Gras collecting beads) -- sticks her finger in her belly button (it's quite the crevice) and says, "Ticka ticka ticka." That is super cute!!! She cannot stand to have her face or hands wiped. She loves bath time, especially with Elizabeth. She still cries a bit - especially when she is being wrestled down for Sleepy Time Down South (a familiar theme in this house, I know...) She's a climber (another theme around here)...and dancing. (If she is eating something that she loves, she also dances in her seat.) She also likes to pretend cook in the kitchen, get pulled in the wagon Santa brought her, and drop food from her tray for Kennedy. She would climb the stairs all day if we'd let her. She loves to blow the whistle on my key chain, and I swear she might be a better ref than a handful of the stripes West Lib has had this season! She still doesn't sleep through the night, much to my demise...
He hair is looking like it's going to curl, at least in the back. Like her big sister, she's a 'sweat head' - I can feel the heat rising from her head when she is tired...and when she goes to sleep, her hair gets soaking wet (along with my arm as I'm holding her.)
She brings us all so much joy (when she's not screaming...)
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Elizabeth's Cool School Project
Elizabeth had a cool school project: craft a plastic egg to look like a character from literature.
She loves crafts. She doesn't love books (yet, we hope). So, I wanted to make this really fun for her -- and to get her at least a little excited to read a bit more about her character. I wanted her to do the egg by herself (although the instructions said parents could help). So I only helped (aka: did) the background for her egg.
So, unlike every project that I have ever had to do that involved reading a fictional book -- I actually bought the book rather than having E pick up my bad, let's just watch the movie habits. The Lorax.
She did so well in working with the yellow fuzzy stuff I bought for making the eyebrows and mustache. She even did a nose and mouth out of her Play-Dough -- the mouth is especially difficult to see thanks to the fuzzy mustache, but it is there!
Here is the school's link to the Egg'Citing Fashion Show. As you will see, several of the eggs are awesomely cute, but I'm not sure what book (other than perhaps an NFL stat book) features Troy Polamalu as a character. E's egg is at the 1:15 mark of the video.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
It (should be fun to play hoop) at the YMCA
Yes, it should be fun to play hoop at the YMCA, but there is an annoying little ball hog on Elizabeth's team...and his dad is their "coach" (if you can call the guy who's only coaching tip all freaking season -- no exaggeration here -- came AFTER his son, who's actually a year older than all of the Kindergarteners, mind you, fouled one of his own teammates to take the ball so he could shoot it...the "coach" told his kid to move closer to shoot. Not, "Hey, son. Don't freaking foul your own teammate. Pass the ball every once in a while. You might want to learn how to dribble..." Nada.)
We endured 5 weeks of YMCA hoops. Would have enjoyed it much, much more if E didn't ask why the kid, who will remain nameless to protect his innocence, never had to come out of the game (when they had 9 players show up on more than one week), why the kid, who will remain nameless, never passed the ball -- especially when she wanted to be like the Toppers and pass to her teammates (I know, this will serve her well in the years to come! Makes her former point guard Mama proud!)... Yes, there were 6 weeks in the season. Yes, I was sooooo annoyed, I had no remorse in blowing off the last week of the YMCA Winter League to take Elizabeth to Charleston for the WVIAC Tournament - where she was fortunate enough to participate in the Youth Basketball Clinic that the coaches put on...and where she learned more in a 2-hour clinic than she did in 5 weeks of basketball at the Y.
She's becoming a rather proficient dribbler and a very good passer. Her shot has good form for a kid her age. Most importantly, she likes to play! :-)