Separately, Little Miss has been having conversations with Husband and me. Husband asked if she would like see the New York Rangers again. She said yes. He said maybe next time they can bring Captain and me to the game. She said that it sounded like fun except I may be home with the baby.
Two days later, we were playing a word game but used names. (A is for April, B is for Bob, C is for Cortney...) We got to T and she named her future brother. For those interesting, his name will be Turtle. No lie. It is funny that this imaginary third baby is a boy when she so much wanted a sister last time.
I told her no more babies. She told me she knew plenty of people who had three (or more) kids. I told her that's fine, but we are not. She countered with "you don't know that."
I have no idea where this is coming from. In the meantime, I don't know where she thinks this imaginary baby will sleep.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Monday, March 21, 2016
The Terrible Twos
This will be the first of many Terrible Two posts, I'm sure. Captain has embraced the Terrible Twos like you wouldn't believe. He isn't an epic tantrum thrower, but he will fall to the floor and cry at the drop of a hat. He has a bit of a temper. He's branching out to hitting (more like swatting). We're trying to combat the bratty behavior in addition to teaching him manners. It's a work in progress. Below is video of what happened when we asked him to say "Please". (He has since said "Please" and "Thank you", but it's definitely far from automatic.)
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Shots!
For my sister's bachelorette party, I'm making jello shots and pretending I'm at least 10 years younger than I actually am!
I'm making these. I've made the lemon drop ones, and they were tasty if a bit tart (they are probably better with the lemon sugar, but I didn't do that). I have the cosmo and margarita ones in the fridge right now. I plan on making the bellini ones later tonight. If I have time, I'll make some more. I'll determine which ones based on a scientific process of taste testing.
They taste a bit more grown up than the artificially-flavored true jello shots. They're really just cocktails with a little unflavored gelatin. So, unless you don't like gelatin, I definitely recommend these!
(I liked the site up above, but here it is if you'd rather cut and paste - http://www.thekitchn.com/5-cocktail-inspired-jello-shots-228091.)
I'm making these. I've made the lemon drop ones, and they were tasty if a bit tart (they are probably better with the lemon sugar, but I didn't do that). I have the cosmo and margarita ones in the fridge right now. I plan on making the bellini ones later tonight. If I have time, I'll make some more. I'll determine which ones based on a scientific process of taste testing.
They taste a bit more grown up than the artificially-flavored true jello shots. They're really just cocktails with a little unflavored gelatin. So, unless you don't like gelatin, I definitely recommend these!
(I liked the site up above, but here it is if you'd rather cut and paste - http://www.thekitchn.com/5-cocktail-inspired-jello-shots-228091.)
Friday, March 11, 2016
Cupcakes!
I am making these for Sister's bridal shower. They are so moist and really delicious. I haven't had luck with the butter cream, but I'm hoping tonight is the night.
Bubbly Champagne Cupcakes
16-24 cupcakes, depending on size
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 °F and line muffin tin with cupcake liners. In an electric mixer, combine cake mix and champagne. Add oil, eggs, and almond extract. Beat on low for 30 seconds and then medium for 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly combined. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden on top (and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). For buttercream frosting, cream softened butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, incorporating after each addition. add champagne and beat for 2 minutes on medium, until light and fluffy. If you want a stiffer frosting, add more powdered sugar. If you want a looser frosting, add more champagne. Frost cooled cupcakes with buttercream and decorate with piped frosting bubbles and candy bubbles. Top with a shimmer of disco dust!
I am not making them with gumballs, but I have everything else. The cupcake are delicious. I am going to be better and wait until the butter completely softens to make a better butter cream.
Bubbly Champagne Cupcakes
16-24 cupcakes, depending on size
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 box white cake mix
- 3 large egg whites
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 cups champagne
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons champagne
- white sixlets
- white gumballs
- white pearl sugar sprinkles
- disco dust
Preheat oven to 350 °F and line muffin tin with cupcake liners. In an electric mixer, combine cake mix and champagne. Add oil, eggs, and almond extract. Beat on low for 30 seconds and then medium for 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly combined. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden on top (and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). For buttercream frosting, cream softened butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, incorporating after each addition. add champagne and beat for 2 minutes on medium, until light and fluffy. If you want a stiffer frosting, add more powdered sugar. If you want a looser frosting, add more champagne. Frost cooled cupcakes with buttercream and decorate with piped frosting bubbles and candy bubbles. Top with a shimmer of disco dust!
I am not making them with gumballs, but I have everything else. The cupcake are delicious. I am going to be better and wait until the butter completely softens to make a better butter cream.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Kid Update
I promise to be better at updating! Truthfully, it's more for me. I use this blog a lot to see what we did the year before.
Let's see, I'll update with Little Miss. Below is the photo I took of the three of us while watching the Oscars. Little Miss is doing great in school. We just came from her parent/teacher conference. She is being taught to her level which is well into the third grade. Her teachers love her. She's motivated, applying her lessons across the board, listens well, and is very social. She doesn't get caught up in classroom drama and loves to help other children learn.
Little Miss may not be a future hockey player, but she is loving the fact that she gets to play this year and wear pads. She's motivated enough to get up at 6AM. She's been doing well with her swimming, and I believe she'll be swimming by this summer. Plus, this is the most we've used our indoor pool since we've moved her a zillion years ago.
Captain is coming into his own. He adds new words to his vocabulary everyday (finally). He could still be a little clearer when he talks, but he's getting there. He loves singing and dancing. He has gotten way into Frozen and Little Einsteins and, as we found out last night, Bubble Guppies. He can climb up a step stool - but can't climb down. He is not a great sleeper, but he will. I think his rough phase is over at least.
He still has some issues with constipation, but we are careful with his diet. Plus, if needed, he gets a laxative with his juice. Otherwise, he's a great eater and has gotten really good at using utensils and feeding himself. He loves playing with big kids because he really only has big kids around him. He plays with the big nephew and some of Little Miss's friends. He spends most of his time trying to use the computer or our phones or a tablet. He's obsessed with electronics (only because he's not allowed to touch them), but he also loves Brown Bear, Brown Bear and cars and trains and music.
Let's see, I'll update with Little Miss. Below is the photo I took of the three of us while watching the Oscars. Little Miss is doing great in school. We just came from her parent/teacher conference. She is being taught to her level which is well into the third grade. Her teachers love her. She's motivated, applying her lessons across the board, listens well, and is very social. She doesn't get caught up in classroom drama and loves to help other children learn.
Little Miss may not be a future hockey player, but she is loving the fact that she gets to play this year and wear pads. She's motivated enough to get up at 6AM. She's been doing well with her swimming, and I believe she'll be swimming by this summer. Plus, this is the most we've used our indoor pool since we've moved her a zillion years ago.
Captain is coming into his own. He adds new words to his vocabulary everyday (finally). He could still be a little clearer when he talks, but he's getting there. He loves singing and dancing. He has gotten way into Frozen and Little Einsteins and, as we found out last night, Bubble Guppies. He can climb up a step stool - but can't climb down. He is not a great sleeper, but he will. I think his rough phase is over at least.
He still has some issues with constipation, but we are careful with his diet. Plus, if needed, he gets a laxative with his juice. Otherwise, he's a great eater and has gotten really good at using utensils and feeding himself. He loves playing with big kids because he really only has big kids around him. He plays with the big nephew and some of Little Miss's friends. He spends most of his time trying to use the computer or our phones or a tablet. He's obsessed with electronics (only because he's not allowed to touch them), but he also loves Brown Bear, Brown Bear and cars and trains and music.
Movies Watched in February 2016
In our last ditch effort to watch any of the Oscar movies excluding the annual Disney/Pixar movie, we rented Spotlight and Rent. They were both really well done though I do not recommend watching them back to back. At all. So much molestation and assault (though none directly on the camera). Both evoked a lot of feels.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Movies
I haven't gone to the movies lately or even seen any. That said, we do Family Movie Sunday. I've been busy so I haven't seen as many as the rest of the family, but we did see The Lion King last weekend. We have a list of movies we all created of movies Little Miss should see. We have movies like The Karate Kid, Back to the Future, The Incredible Journey, and many others.
If you have any suggestions, let me know!
If you have any suggestions, let me know!
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Books Read in February 2016
- Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (NOTE: This is part of the Love by the Numbers series. The order is Nine, Ten, and Eleven and her book list can be found here.)
- Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean (NOTE: This is part of the Love by the Numbers series. The order is Nine, Ten, and Eleven and her book list can be found here.)
- Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean (NOTE: This is part of the Love by the Numbers series. The order is Nine, Ten, and Eleven and her book list can be found here.)
- Brotherhood in Death by J.D. Robb (NOTE: This is part of the In Death series. You can find the order here.)
- A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean (NOTE: This is part of the Rule of Scoundrels series. The order starts with this book and contains the next two books. Her book list can be found here.)
- No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean (NOTE: This is part of the Rule of Scoundrels series. The order starts with this book and contains the next two books. Her book list can be found here.)
- One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean (NOTE: This is part of the Rule of Scoundrels series. The order starts with this book and contains the next two books. Her book list can be found here.)
- Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean (NOTE: This is part of the Rule of Scoundrels series. The order starts with this book and contains the next two books. Her book list can be found here.)
Friday, March 4, 2016
February 2016 Weekend Update
This year has been flying! The first weekend in Februray, Little Miss had hockey and swimming on Saturday and Sunday.
The second weekend, we went to my parents' mountain house. It was frigid cold. Sister, Brother-in-Law, and we went on a double date for Valentine's Day. It's our annual date night. The next day, we went ice skating and to the pool. I had not been ice skating in a very long time. It was evident the minute I got on the ice. We planned to stay until Monday, but a bad snow storm was coming so we all drove home after dinner on Sunday.
The third weekend, Little Miss had hockey and swimming again, but on Sunday, I met a friend for a Sangria and Paella-making class. It was a lot of fun and full of food and sangria. I had a lot of sangria. I was also so full that I didn't even eat dinner that night. I'm looking forward to trying to make some!
The last weekend in February, Little Miss had hockey which now starts at 7AM which is rough on us all (though I stayed home with Captain so it wasn't as bad for me). Then, we hosted a playdate in the afternoon. Little Miss had a lot of fun with her friend. We baked brownies for the boys and then went to the game room for some pool, ping pong, and Golden Tee. On Sunday, it was the Oscars and swimming. Little Miss got all ready so she could watch the pretty dresses and the first awards. (The selfie on this post is from when we all watched the Grammys. Captain slept through the Oscars so no family selfie for that). I had a gift card so we did take out instead of our usual "cook way too much food" for Oscar Sunday.
The second weekend, we went to my parents' mountain house. It was frigid cold. Sister, Brother-in-Law, and we went on a double date for Valentine's Day. It's our annual date night. The next day, we went ice skating and to the pool. I had not been ice skating in a very long time. It was evident the minute I got on the ice. We planned to stay until Monday, but a bad snow storm was coming so we all drove home after dinner on Sunday.
The third weekend, Little Miss had hockey and swimming again, but on Sunday, I met a friend for a Sangria and Paella-making class. It was a lot of fun and full of food and sangria. I had a lot of sangria. I was also so full that I didn't even eat dinner that night. I'm looking forward to trying to make some!
The last weekend in February, Little Miss had hockey which now starts at 7AM which is rough on us all (though I stayed home with Captain so it wasn't as bad for me). Then, we hosted a playdate in the afternoon. Little Miss had a lot of fun with her friend. We baked brownies for the boys and then went to the game room for some pool, ping pong, and Golden Tee. On Sunday, it was the Oscars and swimming. Little Miss got all ready so she could watch the pretty dresses and the first awards. (The selfie on this post is from when we all watched the Grammys. Captain slept through the Oscars so no family selfie for that). I had a gift card so we did take out instead of our usual "cook way too much food" for Oscar Sunday.
It was a super fast month. I hope one of these months this year doesn't fly by!
January 2016 Weekend Update
Let's see. I have to get better or I'll soon be doing seasonal weekend updates. Well, we actually went out for New Year's Eve while the kids were at the In-Laws' apartment. On New Year's Day, we had a family dinner with the In-Laws and Sister-in-Law, Brother-in-Law and the nephews to ring in the new year. It was a nice quiet intro to 2016.
The following weekend, Little Miss had hockey. The next day, the bridal party met for brunch to nail down details for the bridal shower and bachelorette party. It also helped us all be on the same page plus have some yummy food.
The third weekend, Husband was gone for his annual trip to Las Vegas. We had hockey on Saturday and then Little Miss started swimming class on Sunday. A co-worker of mine used to teach swimming so I asked if she would teach Little Miss. She's done amazing in such a short time. She really loves my co-worker and works hard to impress her. That weekend was a long weekend so, on Monday, we went to Sister's house to hang out, and then Husband came home!
The fourth weekend had a blizzard! I was let out of work early on Thursday and worked from home on Friday. Then, Saturday and Sunday were wild. The wind was crazy so Captain was very unhappy (as you can see below). Plus, the floor was wet, and he took a bad header. The next day, we took a walk around the neighborhood where it was already starting to clear, and he liked that. Little Miss wasn't feeling well so she stayed in bed. This worked out ok because they had no school the entire following week. All of her activities were obviously cancelled that weekend.
The last weekend in January, we had hockey and then we went out to dinner with the In-Laws to celebrate their birthdays. Brother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law, and the nephews also met us out. Captain was a big pain in the neck during dinner. All came back to our place after for some dessert. The next day, Little Miss had swimming, and I had lunch with book club at a super delicious Vietnamese restaurant.
The following weekend, Little Miss had hockey. The next day, the bridal party met for brunch to nail down details for the bridal shower and bachelorette party. It also helped us all be on the same page plus have some yummy food.
The third weekend, Husband was gone for his annual trip to Las Vegas. We had hockey on Saturday and then Little Miss started swimming class on Sunday. A co-worker of mine used to teach swimming so I asked if she would teach Little Miss. She's done amazing in such a short time. She really loves my co-worker and works hard to impress her. That weekend was a long weekend so, on Monday, we went to Sister's house to hang out, and then Husband came home!
The fourth weekend had a blizzard! I was let out of work early on Thursday and worked from home on Friday. Then, Saturday and Sunday were wild. The wind was crazy so Captain was very unhappy (as you can see below). Plus, the floor was wet, and he took a bad header. The next day, we took a walk around the neighborhood where it was already starting to clear, and he liked that. Little Miss wasn't feeling well so she stayed in bed. This worked out ok because they had no school the entire following week. All of her activities were obviously cancelled that weekend.
The last weekend in January, we had hockey and then we went out to dinner with the In-Laws to celebrate their birthdays. Brother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law, and the nephews also met us out. Captain was a big pain in the neck during dinner. All came back to our place after for some dessert. The next day, Little Miss had swimming, and I had lunch with book club at a super delicious Vietnamese restaurant.
Books Read in January 2016
- Stripped Down: A Blacktop Cowboys novella by Lorelei James (NOTE: This is part of the Blacktop Cowboys series. The order of which can be found here.)
- Angel by Victoria Dahl (NOTE: This isn't part of a series, but it's the prequel to Harlot.)
- The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
- Off the Clock by Roni Loren (NOTE: This is part of the Pleasure Principle series, the order of which can be found here.)
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