Window Into Max's World

Every day Max sits in the office and looks out this window.
Recently with the weather change, the birds and squirrels have been enjoying the seeds we have put out for them.
And Max has been going CRAZY.
And we thought that was funny...

Until....

He broke 2, I repeat 2, of the windows in the front of the house.
He did this by JUMPING into the window from inside the house.

And now we look like rednecks living in the country with boarded up windows.

I Love a Rainy Night

It is a rainy spring day, one of my favorite types of days, and it reminded me of this song:

Samson is 1!

Are you going to the party?


I got this in an email today, but thought I would share!

We are going to be there - weather and illness permitting, you?

Wordless Wednesday - Outtakes

ALMOST!

Finally, someone posed nicely.

Happy St. Patty's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day Everyone!

I don't know about you but those Leprechaun's really made a mess at our house, they left footprints in the upstairs hallway, they left green sugar trails all through the kitchen along with knocking over the jelly bean jar (and biting into all the green jelly beans), the cookie jar, and some other items.

On top of that they dumped all the clothes out of the girls dresser drawers!

And if that wasn't enough they turned the milk GREEN!

I hope the Leprechaun's were less destructive at your house... or not if you get to see your kids as excited as ours were this morning!

It is great to see a little magic that doesn't involve presents and that the kids can have the same level of excitement (Aubrey was up before 6am wondering what those Leprechaun's had done!).

I did add an owl shirt picture to the previous post :)

The Owl Shirt

Molly and the Owl Shirt

My Nana made the girls lovely pink skirts for Christmas, and with each skirt she paired a shirt. Molly's shirt has an owl on it.

Molly wants to wear her owl shirt and pink skirt every single day. And she will not wear the skirt without the owl shirt. When I explain to Molly that the shirt is dirty, I have to wrestle it off of her and she will then run it upstairs, put it in the washing machine, slam the door shut and say, "Mommy push the buttons" with a very demanding face.

Doug thinks the owl shirt should be retired and framed at some point so we can present it to her on her 18th birthday.

Aubrey loves pink clothes but never had an attachment to ONE OUTFIT like this.

So if anyone sees the owl shirt in the store, please buy 4 of them for me, I am tired of washing that outfit 7 times a week.

Thanks.

Random Milestones

On Wednesday I took Aubrey to the clinic at Target after picking her up from school and seeing she had a fever and she mentioned her ear hurt. Sure enough, ear infection. We were given a big 'ole bottle of Amoxicillin and sent on our way. I was to give Aubrey 2tsps every 12 hours for the next 10 days.

If you have young children you can relate when I tell you I was not looking forward to this.

I gave Aubrey the first dose in the car, and she really didn't like it, but took it all.

The next morning as I was pouring out her dose, the unthinkable happened. She said, "is that the medicine I don't like". I said, "yes, honey, it is".

And she said, "OK, but I can do it myself". She took the syringe with the nasty orange liquid and took all of it by herself. No complaining, no gagging, just took it and said, "see, I can do it".

And she has, each time she asks if it is the stuff she doesn't like, but she takes it - by herself.

After over 4 years of fighting meds when needed, this is a milestone I didn't think about but am glad is here!

What other random milestones have surprised and delighted you?

Breakfast and Lunch

I feel like I am in a rut related to breakfast and lunch for the kids.

Aubrey needs her lunch packed 2 days a week, I am tired of the Peanut Butter sandwich but worried about any other type of food in case she feels picky that day, thoughts? Ideas? Do you think she would be more willing to try something with me not sitting there :)

Breakfast in our house ranges from toast, to eggs, to cereal, to bagels and although Doug tries to make us all sit down to eat before we leave the house, sometimes I do have the girls eat in the car.

I am going to make the following this weekend in a big batch to see if this helps get the girls eating a better/quicker breakfast:
Breakfast Burritos
12 eggs
Roll of Breakfast Sausage
Cheddar Cheese
Onion - chopped
Green Pepper - chopped
Flour Tortillas - small ones

Scramble eggs in large skilled
Cook and crumble sausage in another skillet

In large bowl, combine scrambled eggs, sausage, onion, pepper, and cheese.

Roll about 3 Tbs mixture into flour tortilla, if freezing, line side by side on pan. If you put them upside down they will freeze shut. Once frozen, place them in freezer bag, pull out what you need in the morning and pop in microwave for 40 seconds each

I got this off of this site: http://mealplanningmommies.blogspot.com/

How do you keep breakfast and packed lunches fun?

Free Labor

In our house our girls are expected to do the following things:

1) Set their place at the table- get their own plates, cups, bowls for snacks, meals, drinks
2) Put their dishes in the sink after dinner (we help Molly with hers to reduce mess)
3) Let Max out and in when asked
4) when they walk in the door put their coat and shoes in the foyer (slowly moving to actually putting them IN the shoe holder, but one step at a time)
5) Putting their dirty clothes in a hamper
6) Helping clean their rooms and their toys

There are extra things that they are asked to do that results in a reward (we try to make sure the reward is not used to get them to do it, but offered when they do as asked without fighting it or telling their sister to do it).

Do you have tips and tricks for developing good habits in your household?
Do you have other chores you have your kids do?
How do you reward?

Music In Me

I love music. I love to sing. My kids now love music and love to sing.

I had the opportunity to take Aubrey to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang earlier this year, and a few weeks after the show I caught her singing one of the songs at breakfast. I immediately went and downloaded the Broadway soundtrack and burned a CD for us to listen to in the car. Now both girls ask for it all the time and sing along. Aubrey remembers each song and will explain to Molly what happened in the show - a great way to practice sequencing!

At the library last week, I picked up the Cats Broadway soundtrack, and the girls again LOVE IT! I was looking for Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ SuperStar, so they ordered those for me so I can get those in the car sometime soon.

Annie is coming to the Hippodrome this year so I am going to try to get the girls to that.

----------------------------------------

In other news, the Maryland Zoo is opening this weekend! We will be there at 10am on Saturday morning - weather and illness depending. I love going to the zoo, we have been members for 4 years, and it is the perfect size outing for our family, and a great place for a picnic.

Tips and Tricks

After not blogging for a while I get caught up in "well, that isn't interesting enough to blog about" and then keep putting it off. Well, blah, I am going to blog anyway.

Here are some useful tips.

• Throw your car floor mats in the washing machine, you will be shocked how "like new" they will be!
• I put a couple chicken breasts in a crock pot yesterday morning, tossed in a packet of taco seasoning. When I got home I used a fork, and shredded it right there in the crock pot, put some taco shells in the oven for 5 minutes and DINNER! And the girls LOVED it.
• I recently put a basket on the wall of the kitchen that holds all of the girls hair ties, ribbons, barrettes, conditioner, and brushes. Makes it easier to get it done in the morning and not be looking everywhere
• I added socks to the shoe cabinet in the foyer downstairs to save time as well
• I have started carrying a small notebook around to write down lists or ideas of things I want to do with the kids or projects I find online and need supplies

Cute things the girls have said:
Aubrey with her Aunt Erica:

Aunt Erica was showing Aubrey the house of her dreams and told Aubrey that she wanted to buy it.
Aubrey says, "But Aunt Erica, how will you get it home"

Molly with me:

Last night while doing "Rock a Bye" with Molly - which she demands each evening, she asked, "Where Maxie go?".
I said, "Maybe he is in the bathtub".
She said, "Nope, mayyyybeeeee Maxie in my closet"
I said, "Maybe at the zoo"
She said, "Nope, maybe Maxie...."
And this went on for a good 15 minutes.
It was so fun to see her use her imagination and her words - without interruption!

The two of them have been such good friends lately! They play well, they enjoy wrestling with each other and they really do get along more than I could have ever hoped!

Was Snow, Now Ice

But we hit it while it was fun!

My family in the snowstorm of the decade.

That last part may be sarcasm.

Max and Molly got hit by a snowball!
The treacherous climb up the mountain, we are working on the ski lift.

I think Molly likes it.

Aubrey is a little more cautious but loved it!

The driveway is now covered in a solid inch of ice. Fun times people, fun times!

Weekend Sum Up

Isn't it intersting that the news is still saying there is a 20% chance of snow when it has been snowing for over an hour? Seriously, I want that job. Where you are standing IN THE SNOW saying there is a 20% chance of what you are standing in to actually happen, while it is happening.

But, had a great weekend. Friday night after the kids went down I made a couple of crab quiches to freeze for another time:

Crab Quiche Recipe - easy and soooo yummy!
2 beaten eggs
1/2 c mayo
1/2 c milk
2 TBLS flour
MIX
Fold In
1 cup Crab (I use the whole container)
2 c Shredded Swiss
1/2 cup chopped green onion
POUR into pie shell
Bake in 350 degree oven for 38 minutes or until set. This can be frozen after it is cooked and remember to defrost before you reheat

I also made some Crab Dip for a dinner Sunday, which we didn't end up going to so it is in the freezer as well.

Hot Crab Dip
1 lb lump crab meat
16 oz softened cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
1 TBL Worcestershire Sauce
1 TBL Old Bay (or more... shake in what you like!)
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Mix all ingredients except crab and cheese
Fold in Crab
Top With Cheddar
Bake 350 for 30 minutes, no cover
Serve with crackers, bread, pita chips, or carrotts and celery

On Saturday morning, Aubrey and I went to her swim class where she learned the breaststroke kick and then headed to my mom's for a Jewelry party (which was so fun). I learned someone was pregnant, saw another friend that is quite pregnant and got to see my 2 month old niece, babies, babies everywhere. PLUS I got to try on tons of fun jewelry.

After the party we headed to see Grandy who had knee replacement surgery a week ago and is doing great! Neither kid had napped so we were quite the train wreck but no one got hurt.

Sunday the girls and I did a couple of Valentine's Crafts.

We took brown paper bags and cut out hearts, then covered the hearts in glue and I cut up a bunch of tissue paper into small squares that they glued to their hearts. Very cute.

We also made heart shaped bird food for our birdie friends, 3/4 cup birdseed, 1 TBL flour, 2TBL water, mixed together, grease and place a heart shaped cookie cutter on a cookie sheet, fill, add a half of a straw to the top of the heart and leave in (this is where your ribbon will go to hang), then bake for one hour at 170 degrees.

After that I everyone had lunch and naps, and I woke up SICK, blah! The floor was moving, it was the strangest thing. Daddy took over and I slept the day away!

Also, 2 new blogs I am following that I really like:

1) http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/

2) http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/

Proud and Random

I don't know about you but the pride in America and the hope for the future is pouring out of me. But I don't have the words, just tears and big smiles!

And I have gone cold turkey on Twitter and Facebook, 2 days in and the shakes are getting much better.

So this is what is on my mind:

1) When you try to make red, white, and blue M&M pancakes for the inauguration dinner at home, don't, it doesn't work. Pancakes turn brown and M&M's lose their color in the batter. So while it tastes good, it is not pretty.
2) Being a good blogger apparently requires instructions when bragging about things you make :) Sorry about that! http://www.recipezaar.com/Home-Baked-Bagels-26168 This is the recipe I used and it was fairly easy and intuitive.
3) When you give up paper towels cold turkey, you really only miss them when you make bacon. Anyone have any tips on making bacon without paper towels to drain them? It has been 11 days in our house and no paper towels have been used! Pretty cool.
4) I really need to head to the client site for a meeting in 10 minutes, oops.
5) But I think it is sooooo cool when Barack grabbed the mic at the Neighborhood Ball and said, "Isn't my wife good looking".

Bagels

Aubrey and Daddy were off to swim lessons in -3 degree weather. Molly and I cleaned the house and then needed something fun to do, so I decided we should make bagels.

We had a blast and here is how they turned out!

In the oven!

Just out of the oven and ready to eat, and eat we did! They were delicious!

They are Fabulous!

This was a couple days after Christmas.



You gotta watch about 30-37 seconds in, hilarious!

And Molly wants to be just like her sister...

I Pledge Allegiance

In what I find a very timely lesson, Aubrey's class started learning the Pledge of Allegiance on Monday. Last night (Wednesday), after only her second day of practicing, here is what we have.

Pretty cool!

Wordless Wednesday - CHEESE

Daddy and Molly

Glimpse of My Mornings

5:45am Molly is yelling, "Mama I gotta go potty"
I JUMP out of bed, grab her and put her on the potty.
Molly toots and says, "I all done, I needed a toot".

6:00am Aubrey comes in and says, "When I grow bery bery bery big my dresses will be shirts".

MOMMY NEEDS COFFEE!

Wordless Wednesday - Fever

Which Do You Recognize?

I often step back from talking with the kids and laugh at how I could never imagine putting words together the way I need to sometimes.

Exhibit 1:
Please stop dunking Scooby in your milk, toys are not for dunking, just Oreos.

Exhibit 2:
Please stop licking your sister's hiney. Stop, licking her hiney, NOW!

Exhibit 3:
Yes, you are a pretty kitty cat but mommy doesn't like kitty cats or puppy dogs to lick her.

Exhibit 4:
Please don't put your carrott in your ear.

Exhibity 5:
Jumping up and down and singing, "She can sing and she can dance and she won't poop in her pants, YAY MOLLY".

Have any of these happened to you?

Mirror Mirror

I am doing a couple small things in Aubrey's room (like framing some of her art work). Santa brought a magnetic calendar that we hung up, and while I was at IKEA (for inexpensive white frames) I picked a mirror and then headed to Michaels for some "jewels".

With the girls this morning (hubby is at work), we started our masterpiece! And it was finished by 10am.

Up: Before

Down: Just getting started! Aubrey's area.

Finished! Once it is all dry we will clean it off and hang it!

Daddy's Girl

Molly has always been a daddy's girl. She demands that Daddy put her to bed, help her get dressed, put her plate on the table, get her milk (but not that CUP, THIS cup), and on and on.

I try not to let this hurt my feelings or start to make me feel like I am doing something wrong. But it is hard. And often my feelings do get hurt and I question if I am treating Molly fairly - am I doing and providing the way I did when I only had one daughter. And while I know I can't do it EXACTLY the same, I think I am doing OK.

Especially when, in the middle of the night, Molly yells out MOMMY first, when she is scared or sick, or just waking up, she yells, "MOMMY". When she doesn't think about it, her first instinct is to reach for me. Yes, often she stops and says, "I WANT MY DADDY" or "YOU DON'T".

But I hold on to that instinctual yell for me. It reaffirms that I am doing OK, or maybe even better than OK. She knows I am here for her - even if she chooses to ask for her daddy. Which I think has a lot to do with just proving to me she can... and get away with it. And that is OK too.

My New Lens OR Christmas Exploded OR Close Ups OR Paparazzi Has NOTHING on Me

So I got a new lens for my D40, it does close ups and it rocks. And I am enjoying it like you wouldn't believe.

I think to say the girls were excited is an understatement, instead I will say that the Pony was a critical component to Santa's Success this year.

Aubrey with her Hannah Montana wig, her Sharpay Doll, her new outfit, and the pony.

The cutest turtles EVER!

This kid is funny!

And can be unbelievably sweet.

Everybody is tired from a long couple of days!

Love of my life.

Christmas Pictures

Happy Holidays! I love creating new traditions that come out of the personalities and group dynamics of the family we have built. But I also love the traditions that come from who I was before I was a wife a mother, when I was just "daughter" and "sister". The history and the excitement are a gift from the traditions my family created and I want that same thing for my kids.


Part of these traditions is forcing my children to get pictures taken for Christmas Cards and a picture with Santa every year.

Seriously had alot more to say but have been fighting with trying to post these pictures since 8am this morning... so hopefully I feel like talking soon :)

The Halls are Decked

Saturday morning we got up early an started cleaning out the toy room/living room to make room for a new tree. We got boxes and boxes and boxes of decorations from the attic and we went to it! The train table is set up the mantle is beautiful. And the tree is up, lights on it, waiting to be decorated. And to make it a truly magical day, there is snow.

Here are some pictures!

Here we are, at the tree farm... just 4 houses down from us! The place was packed! Apparently Saturday was a great day for tree getting.

Grandy and Max joined us. It was very special.

My girls, too cold to cooperate with a picture :)

Daddy is showing Grandy and the girls the Gunpowder River at the bottom of the hill.

Could this be our tree?
Or how about this one?

Apparently this tree hugged Aubrey BACK so this is the one we took home.

And honestly, every tree there was a keeper.

In the front window in front of the globe is the tree, the lights are up, and in the bay window to the right is our train table all lit up.

It really was a fun day. And while the kids were napping I finished addressing our Christmas Cards, in front of the fire, and then started a knitting project.

And at 7:20 this morning, Doug is plowing and salting, kids are playing with the train, I am blogging and drinking coffee. Doug is taking Aubrey to see The Wizard of Oz in DC with 2 other Daddies and their 4 yos. Molly and I are going to bake cookies and candy. I love this time of year!

Tear to My Eye

Last night during bed time chaos, Aubrey asked if she could give her sister a hug and kiss and sing her to sleep.

Molly was throwing a fit, but when we walked in she stopped. Aubrey helped her into bed, put the covers to Molly's chin, leaned down and kissed her, hugged her, and then stood by her bed - while Molly laid without moving - and sand her a made up song (a combination HSM Gabriella song with a couple christmas lyrics thrown in).

It was wonderfully sweet.

For Baby Libby's Parents

Recipe 1 Crock Pot Chicken:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt
pepper
1 cup chicken broth
4-6 slices swiss cheese
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk
2 cups Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing
1/2 cup butter, Melted
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place chicken breasts in crock pot. Pour Chicken broth over breasts.
Put one slice of Swiss cheese on each breast. Combine both cans of soup and milk.
Cover chicken breasts with soup mixture. Sprinkle stuffing mix over all.
Drizzle melted butter on top.
Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3.

Simple Grilled Salmon - you can broil instead of grill.

1/4 teaspoon olive oil

1 (4-ounce) salmon fillet

Pinch of salt

Pinch of lemon pepper

Wedge of lemon
Preheat grill to medium heat. Rub olive oil over salmon, coating evenly. Sprinkle with salt and lemon pepper. Grill salmon over medium heat about 6 minutes on each side, or until it flakes easily when pierced with a fork (for ease in turning salmon, a grill basket coated with cooking spray or a wide metal spatula can be used). Remove any skin. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Catchin' Up Picture Style

Since Jessica is complaining that no one blogs anymore, even her, I thought I would post some pictures. I have been having issues with our home network in getting pictures from our shared drive to this blog, so I am doing this the "dirty" way - you know taking the actual memory card and connecting it RIGHT to my computer. Crazy, I know. So here are some extremely random shots of my girls.

Sunday, Aubrey is very sad because GTaw's Hammock is down for the season.

Saturday, Molly was reading a book.

Last weekend, in the leaves in our yard. Aubrey likes to pose.

This is what happens when you ask Molly to smile.

Seriously, Aubrey poses all the time. I don't like this pose.

Mama Said There'd be Days Like This

But seriously?
1) Baby girl still sick with fever, have to go to work for a few hours anyway.
2) Stop at gas station, wait in line, get to pump - NO FREAKING GAS!
3) Traffic backed up about oh you know 20 out of the 30 miles I drive.
4) Elevator is OUT at my building, in downtown Baltimore, with lots of stairs and my laptop I make it, only to find:
5) THERE IS NO DIET COKE!
And the biggest reason my morning isn't great:

I have 16 minutes stuck in my head from HSM3 (the way we play tonight, is what we leave behind, over and over and over and over and over again).

So let's talk about the good things:
1) Margartaville came on the radio
2) Hubby talked Comcast into lowering our bill by more than half - getting core channels only and ending up paying LESS than when we just had Internet.
3) Made everyone at work laugh.
This: