The Week in Review: Sunday

Sunday was pretty laid back.  We decided to move the play date to our house for the day.  Despite my best intentions to be "camera ready" at all times while the kids were together, I only got one picture while they were playing at our house.  However, it is a freakin' cute one.  

Hey, quality not quantity, right?

The Week in Review: Saturday

Have you missed me?? 

 

Oh where to begin?  So, SO much was crammed into the very short week that my brother, Derek, and his family arrived in St. Louis.  

As I mentioned a couple of months ago, I would have liked an entire week to celebrate Halloween.  And on that same note, I need a good month for Christmas!

After a long night following Facebook status updates from both Derek and his wife, Amy, they arrived Saturday morning in St. Louis--15 hours after they had left the DC area.  They arrived with tons-o-baby gear, 2 not well-rested boys, and an insatiable desire for two things:  Wii and Steak-n-Shake (or maybe that was me?).

After letting them attempt to rest up during the day on Saturday, we headed over to GG and Papa's house to visit later in the evening.  I especially wanted to get my hands on Baby Jacob, as he is now 6 months old and this was our first meeting!  Jacob and Jason seemed to hit it off right away!

And they weren't the only ones!  Amelia and Andrew seemed to pick up right where they left off the last time they were together.  There is an 18 month gap between the two (Andrew just turned 4), but every time they are together, that gap seems to shrink a little more.  

Nope, there was definitely not any fun going on here!

And this?  Don't ask!  I will say that this picture was taken mere seconds before a scary fall resulting in a mild head injury!

Stay tuned for more about our week!

Fair Shares: Week Six

Week Six of Fair Shares

I will keep it short and sweet (this one is for you Michelle--I hear you feel the same way as Jason about these posts).

Here's the goods:

Blue Heron Orchard Gala Apples

Local Harvest White Bean Dip (okay, not my favorite)

River Hills Poultry Alliance Eggs

Sunny Ridge Farm Blackberries (Amelia's a fan!)

American Grassfed ground beef

Lee Farm Sweet Potatoes (made them mashed, was excellent)

Fromage LLC toffee peanut butter (OMG, where has this been all of my life??)

Companion Miller's 5 grain

San Luis Tortilla Chips

Lee/Hilty Roma Tomatoes

Salsa Choice

There you have it, no pictures, no long-winded update about what we've used and what we need to use.  

Tear Free Santa Visit

You may be wondering if we actually made it to officially see Santa this year.  Despite seeing him numerous times at the mall during the mornings we were there for Stroller Aerobics, we decided we should have an official visit with him.

Neither Jason or I were interested in waiting in long lines to see the man in red, so when Jason got off work early last Friday, we decided to venture over to Bass Pro to check out their winter wonderland.  

Now, granted, it wasn't exactly the blissful winter scene I would have picked for our Santa picture.  There was a deer or two in the photo (at least it wasn't a deer head!) and just to the left of Santa was a hunting game with rifles for kids to play while the waited for their turn.  But, I must say, the free 5x7 picture and a super kind Santa made the experience a good one!

Amelia watched as child after child in front of her freaked out and melted into a ball of tears as their turn with Santa grew nearer.  Each time, she asked why "that boy" or "that girl" was crying.  She seemed to be getting a little nervous when we were next in line, but then the "elf" gave her a candy cane and a Bass Pro tattoo and she couldn't have been happier!  

When it was our turn, Amelia kept a brave face but politely declined Santa's invitation to sit on his lap.  He talked to her a bit and guessed right on the money that she might like a baby doll.  He listed all kinds of possibilities (Barbies, Polly Pockets, Cabbage Patch Kids) and then talked to her a bit about Dora, Boots, and Swiper (also right up her alley!).  She was pretty taken aback that she could "help" Santa remember these characters names.  Quickly, she was at ease with him and clearly told him her desires for Christmas.  He told her she would like a new baby (doll, that is!), a baby stroller, and a Belle pillow.  These are same 3 things she has consistently been asking for since Thanksgiving!

I was very proud of her bravery, particularly after watching so many kids meltdown before her.  Unfortunately, I did not have the elves take a picture with our camera and I am too lazy to scan the one we got at my mom's house.

So, instead, I will leave you with the sole picture we took with our camera during the excursion.

I have a feeling that is what she is going to be asking for NEXT year!  

Gotta love Bass Pro!

Reindeer Games

Amelia's friend, Natalie, invited us over for some cookie decorating last week.  Natalie's mommy is super creative and had some adorable Rudolph cookies ready for us to assemble.

The girls loved sitting next to each other at the table and "making" their cookies.

Although, it was a bit of an unspoken competition between the two to see who could eat the most reindeer "pieces"  on the sly.   (Not that its really possible at all for two-year olds to succeed at sneakiness).

The finished product turned out so cute!

After the cookie making fun, the girls exchanged presents.  Natalie got Amelia a backpack full of goodies, including the Belle sweatshirt she insisted on immediately putting on!  Later, the girls played some Christmas tunes with Natalie's very talented mom.  Let me tell you, it was quite the trio!

Obligatory Christmas Tree Decorating Pictures

A couple of weeks ago (I'm VERY behind on posts), we headed out to our usual Christmas tree lot (Home Depot) to choose our evergreen for the season.  Since it was quite chilly, the process was a quick one and I found myself being very agreeable to any tree that Jason thought was worthy.  Turns out the one we picked is beautiful--one of the best we've ever had probably!  Isn't it great?

Amelia was very concerned about the tree being on our roof and kept saying, "Tree fall off, mommy?".  We rigged up the rope that was holding the tree on the car inside so that she could help us "hold" it in place.  She took the job VERY seriously and didn't let go of the rope one single time the whole way home!

I apologize for the poor picture quality--the iPhone is many things, but a great camera is not one of them.  

A few days later we did the decorating thing.  We played some Christmas music and tried to explain to Amelia the importance of each ornament.  As you can imagine, she quickly got bored with the explanations and just started chucking them up on the tree.  Surprisingly, she was pretty  patient finding just the right spot.  She did good too, we only had to "re-hang" a handful of hers!

To Grandmother's House We Go!

To Grandmother's house and Carol's house and Great-Grandmother's house actually.  

Jason's family has a great tradition every year around Christmastime to hold a Progressive Dinner.  We've done it differently through the years.  Sometimes every house has an assortment of food and some years it is done more traditionally where the first house has appetizers, the second house has soup/salad, the third house has an entree, and the fourth house has dessert.  Either way--we always have a great time visiting, eating yummy food, and admiring each other's houses decorated for the holidays.

In the past, we are usually one of the houses serving goodies, but opted out this year in favor of trying the Progressive Dinner with 3 instead of 4 stops.  As you can imagine, it is a lot of traveling and eating and usually by the last house people are stuffed before they even walk in the door.  Three houses seemed to work out really, really well this year.

I didn't actually whip my camera out until the last house (Jason's parents), but I still managed to get a few of Amelia hanging out with some of her favorite peeps.

Amelia with one of her favorite (second) cousins--Candace!

Candace and Amelia with matching side ponytails!

Amelia and Uncle Dave texting each other.  (Notice the jammies/snow boats look she's got going on).

Not sure what look Uncle Dave is giving here--perhaps the "put the camera away already, Jodi" look?

Standard Progressive Dinner tradition is to take a family picture in front of your tree.  Since our house wasn't part of the progression this year, we took a picture in front of Grandma and Grandpa's tree.  (Although, Jason basically blocks the entire thing!).

Practice Makes Perfect?

Like most kids her age, Amelia doesn't have much interest in sitting up on Santa's lap.  Sure, she wants the presents, but apparently talking to a big man in a red suit doesn't appeal to her much.

The other morning during breakfast when Jason and I were talking to Amelia about going to see Santa and Amelia was talking to Jason and I about how she wasn't going to sit on his lap, Jason decided to pretend he was Santa.  After a little coaxing, Amelia decided to sit on his lap and tell him what she wants for Christmas.  She also told "Santa", "Merry Christmas" and "I love you, Santa!".  And then, she begged to do it over and over again!  "Daddy, be Santa again!".

We'll see if this dress rehearsal actually makes any difference when its time for the real deal!

Silhouettes

I had grand plans this year of making many, many presents.  I think, initially, back in August when I was planning out all of the lovely gifts we would be handcrafting this fall and winter, I could have come up with a beautiful gift for everyone on our last.

Flash forward to reality, I think I have made  3, maybe 4 handmade gifts this year.  But, with that being said, this one has been my favorite!

I followed the instructions HERE almost exactly.  These two silhouettes were done for my good friend who has two daughters.  You may even recognize these little ladies if you happen to know my friend.

Let me just say, that this is one of the easiest projects I have ever done and I will be making one of Amelia just as soon as I have a spare minute (probably next July or so).  The hardest part is getting a good profile picture of your "subject".  Once you accomplish that, you are good to go!

O Christmas Tree

Yet another Friday where we spent the majority of our day in our jammies.  We started with a breakfast of Santa pancakes and then moved on to make some Christmas trees.  

You need:

sugar cones

white frosting

green food coloring

sprinkles

I frosted the cones for Amelia and then we put the sprinkles on the trees to decorate them.  They took hardly any time at all and turned out really cute. 

 

We are planning on going out to eat tonight and then looking at some Christmas lights afterwards. Hopefully we'll enjoy these upon our return home!

You Better Not Pout!

Nothing like starting out the morning with loads of sugar!  Ugh.  Its super cute, but I don't think we'll be doing it again because she went straight for the marshmallows and not much else.

Fair Shares: Week Five

Amelia was eying that apple from the time we placed it in the bag during pick up!

The fun continues....

This week, we got:

Herbs en Route Spearmint (haven't a clue how to use this)

Centennial Farms Apple Mix (3 kinds this week!)

Rutherford Farm Pea Shoots (have been great on my turkey sandwiches).

Biver Farms Acorn Squash

Private Label Herb & Spice Cheese Spread (so yummy!)

River Hills Poultry Eggs (we now have 18 eggs, so I think I will need to hard boil some)

Hinkebein Hills Ground Pork

Dogtown Frozen Pizza (YUM!)

Black Bear Bagels (not bad, pretty good with the cheese spread)

Kimker Hill Pancake Mix

Dry Dock Farms Applesauce

Ozark Forest Mushroom Box Meal

Jason informed me that my Fair Shares blogs are boring, so I'll keep this short.  I am really keeping this for my own reference to help decide what to do with items in the future and also I will look at all of these posts to figure out if we will continue with the program next year.

I am sorry to say that my indecisiveness on what to do with the mushrooms lasted longer than the mushrooms did themselves, so we had to throw them out.  I think we lost the Chervil battle too.  Still, these minor losses are SO MUCH BETTER than our normal grocery store track record.

But, we've been working through our collection of potatoes, peanut butter, cider, lettuce mix, eggs, breads, etc.  We used the first batch of pasta this week too.  We seem to be collecting quite a few squash, we now have one butternut and two acorn that we will need to use soon.  Interestingly, we STILL haven't used any meat yet.  Luckily, its all safe and sound in the freezer.

Jason was at a work dinner on Wednesday when Amelia and I picked up our goods, so when I got home I just threw in the frozen pizza for dinner.  I thought it was excellent for a frozen pizza!  The crust was just super!  

Gee, guess that wasn't too short after all.....

Help Yourself

Despite the fact that on last Friday I refused to get out of my pajamas until right before Jason came home, I had a fairly productive day.

One thing I really wanted to accomplish was creating some cabinet space for Amelia to keep her kitchen things.  She has taken to scooting her stool over to a high cabinet where her cups, plates, and bowls are kept.  Then, ever so carefully (or not), she was climbing up her stool on to the countertop where she would kneel and then open the cabinet door to remove the exact dishes she wanted to use for the meal we were having.  Often, she would change her mind a few times before she settled on something.

So, to help me keep my sanity and avoid a trip to the ER, I moved all of my cookie sheets and cake pans and switched them to the cabinet where Amelia's dishes were kept.  Amelia's items are now kept in easy reach for her safety in the lower cabinet.

After almost one week now, she has become surprisingly more decisive with her dish decisions.  It has actually made things much easier for me to put her in charge of her getting her things.  I will say, though, that the cabinet doesn't look quite as organized as it does in the picture--and it may never look that way again, in fact.

Now, if I could just get her to load the dishwasher....

ornamental ornaments

Since we already had the paint out and everything (and everyone) covered up, I thought we'd give THESE ornaments a try, too, on Friday.

I picked up some glass ornaments at Michael's on Thursday night, for $2.50 and we already had a stockpile of acrylic paint from when Jason painted some PICTURES for Amelia's playroom.  Amelia chose the colors that went into each ornament and then helped me squeeze a little of each color inside.  She also liked to shake and roll the ornament and watch the paint spread and mix in all the different directions.

They turned out great and we will be using 3 of them as gifts for some special family members (family members, in fact who read this blog--surprise!).  The 4th one we made will go on our Christmas tree!  

Oh, and I went to a craft fair on Saturday morning with my mom and I saw someone selling these same ornaments!  Seriously, people, my 2 year old just made the same thing!

Tag--you're it!

Amelia has been begging to paint daily for awhile now and I finally gave in on Friday.  I broke down and bought some new paint for her--paint that is washable AND not finger paint.  It was nice to see some vivid colors and I think she liked it too!

We started with just some free painting on heavy card stock. My original idea was to talk her into painting one page with just red and green and then cutting up her "abstract" art to make into gift tags.  But, when she picked up a "brush" that was actually a circular sponge on the end of a stick, I thought it might be cute to cut first and have her dot each piece.  

She like this and enjoyed mixing the red and green so that her dots contained both colors.  

Once they dried, I put "to" and "from" on each one and put them aside with our other wrapping supplies.  Should be a great addition on our gifts this year!

Time is on My Side

The time of day that is most difficult for me is that chunk between Amelia awaking from her nap and Jason getting home.  I'm usually pretty beat by this time and am trying to juggle an antsy dog, an energetic daughter, and a bunch of food that needs to be transformed into dinner.

The past couple of nights, I have come across two activities that keep Amelia occupied for a short amount of time to help make things a little easier. 

The first, bought me a good 15 minutes, but ended up with kind of a big mess of water.  Regardless, it was totally worth it!  I just put out two small bowls for Amelia, one filled with water.  Then, I showed her how to use a turkey baster to transfer the water from one bowl to the other.

The second, this puzzle activity, only bought me about 5 minutes, BUT she has asked to play with it again a couple of times, so I think it has potential.  I cut the front of the fruit snacks box off and made it into a simple puzzle.  It helped tremendously that the picture was of her beloved Belle.

Our Big News!

Have you heard the BIG news coming out of the Ward household?

I know some of you know already, but I thought I would officially announce it to the rest of the world.  Its certainly something we have been trying for for a very long time.  Something we thought would maybe never happen!  And I have to say that its still very early, so we are a little nervous. But, we are trying to stay positive that this is it!

So, without further ado.....

Drum roll please.........

AMELIA POOPED IN THE POTTY!! WOO!

Yep!  It happened last Friday (shortly after I left town if you can believe that, so Dad got all of the credit!).  It was the first time Amelia has EVER done ANYTHING on the potty.  Granted, she hasn't done it again since, but I feel like it was a breakthrough and we are moving in the right direction!  

Today, I set up a sticker chart for her (which has worked several times in the past for various behaviors we were trying to get her to do or not do).  I am keeping my fingers crossed that we are on our way to a diaper-free existence!

Advent Again

Yes, I know I have already mentioned one advent activity and how many do you really need, right?  But, I couldn't help posting about our other advent activity, as well.  One that I have been doing for the past, gulp, 29 years. 

My aunt Phyllis made this advent calendar for us when we were little and it's amazing how well it has held up.  My brother, Derek, and I used to take turns putting a new ornament on the tree each year.  It was always something I looked forward to as a child and I am lucky enough to be able to share it with Amelia now. 

We are now 5 ornaments in (the picture was taken a few days ago) and it is the first thing Amelia wants to do when she comes downstairs each morning.  The magic of the calendar is definitely still alive!

Fair Shares: Week Four

Before I get into week 4, I just want to mention that we finally used our pumpkin!  I was getting a little stressed about this (for some unknown reason), as we had planned on making it into pumpkin pie which didn't happen.

For whatever reason, I was feeling a bit ambitious today and decided to get up and put the pumpkin in the oven before Amelia got up.  While she ate her breakfast, I scooped out the soft insides and answered the question, "What you doing mommy?" about 75 times.  Then, she helped me puree the pumpkin and even requested a bite (which turned into three!).  

Later, while she napped, I prepared the rest of the ingredients to make pumpkin soup.  When Jason got home and saw the menu, he became inspired to use the rest of the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving to make some turkey salad and it was delicious!  After dinner I roasted the seeds.

The soup turned out okay, but after we ate our helpings, I went back and put what was left in the blender.  The carrots, celery, and onions were too chunky for me.  I blended it all down to more of a soup consistency (Jason called it pumpkin stew--I know, appetizing right?), added the rest of the half and half that the recipe called for (I have a horrible habit of ignoring recipes. Some people can get away with it, while I cannot), and gave it another try.  We both thought it tasted much better and I am already looking forward to some leftovers tomorrow!

In between the baking of the pumpkin and the making of the soup, Amelia and I ventured out in the nasty weather to pick up our Fair Shares goods for the week.  Here's what we got:

• Blue Heron Orchard Apple Cider
  
• Yellow Wood Farm Lettuce Mix
  
• Lee Farms Butternut Squash
  
• Mangia Whole Wheat Rigatoni
  
• Pilgrims' Acres Chicken
  
• Yellow Wood Russet Potatoes
  
• Companion Baguette
  
• Lee/Hilty Roma Tomatoes
  
• Bellews Creek Black Beans

The only thing we've tried so far is the bread and it is my favorite of the breads we've received, although all of our bread products have been delicious!  It will be perfect tomorrow with some of my pumpkin soup and maybe some of the cheese from last week. If I'm feeling crazy, I'll add a salad.

I was a little surprised by the chicken.  Silly me expected a chicken breast of some sort, but what I wound up with was an entire chicken.  I am easily intimidated, so I will be passing the job of coming up with something to do with it to Jason.  He, of course, is not the least bit concerned.

This was not the best week for using our Fair Shares items, but so far, no harm done.  I don't think we've officially wasted any food yet.  That is, with the exception of a few pea shoots we threw out.  Luckily, I made a burrito recipe last night that called for a jalapeno and the pumpkin soup recipe called for thyme.  Some of the sweet potatoes were made into a Thanksgiving dish.  Most of the things we haven't used yet have a long shelf life, like honey, PB, cheese.  But, then there are those mushrooms that aren't getting any younger..... And, we are getting quite a collection of potatoes--sweet, russet, and otherwise.

Seriously, I am staying focused for the rest of the week.  Expect to see progress next Wednesday.  Well, except maybe for that darn Chervil....

Don't Steal My Sunshine

I am already missing the sunshine, but not as much as my poor pup, Truman.  Here she is soaking up the only rays in the house.  Unfortunately for her, they were on the stairs. Now we know that she can, in fact, sleep anywhere.

The Book Collector

So I have been slowly hoarding children's books now for the last 8 months or so.  It all started one day when I was visiting my local Goodwill, looking for nothing in particular, and I came across a gold mine of children's books.  The paperbacks were marked at a mere 30 cents, while the hardback books were only 50 cents.  I immediately loaded my arms with as many books as I could carry to the counter.  Two huge bags of books for under $5.00!  I was in heaven.

Then, I went back many, many times.

As if that wasn't bad enough, garage sale season came upon me in early spring.  I am not a huge garage saler, but I do like my deals so I ventured out to a few and it was enough to wet my appetite.  I was able to score 12 books for $4.00 at a house down the street.  I was nearly in tears because that was all of the money I had on me and my ATM card was with Jason! I honestly considered coming home and robbing Amelia's piggy bank.

Then, to top it off, the school where I work offers the Scholastic book orders.  There are amazing deals in these little treasures and as you can tell, I have a very hard time turning down cheap books.

Some of the books I've given to Amelia and the rest of them have just piled up in my closet.  Some are holiday books (I'm set for Valentine's Day!) and some are classics like Corduroy and Polar Express. There is fiction and non-fiction.  I have Arthur, Elmo, Clifford, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and 101 Dalmations among others.  There are new favorites like No David! and Harold's Purple Crayon and some I've never heard of, but thought looked like nice books.

Until 2 weeks ago, I was unsure what I was going to do with all of these books.  I assumed if I wrapped up 40 books for Amelia on Christmas she would get sick of opening them after the first 7 or 8.  I knew I could space them out among various holidays, but most of them I am eager to share with her NOW.  While talking to a co-worker a couple of weeks ago, she passed on one of her family traditions to me.

She told me how every year she would wrap 24 books up for her children and place them in a big basket.  Some of the books were winter or Christmas themed and some were regular books.  Some were the children's own books and some were new.  Starting on December 1, the children would take turns opening one book each night.  Then, they would climb on the couch with their mom and read it together.  A literary advent calendar, if you will.

This. was. perfect.

So, Sunday night, I spent a couple of hours scouring the house for all of Amelia's winter/Christmas books.  I went through my stash and pulled out the winter and Christmas books from there too.  I also pulled out enough "other" books to get enough to open one of each day in December leading up to Christmas.  Some were new and some were not.  I wrapped them all up and placed them under our mini tree.

I love this idea so much!  But, I must say that Amelia was not too impressed with it the first night.  She opened the book (which happened to be an old one of hers about snowmen) and didn't even want to read it!  The second night, however, she immediately came home from GG's house and asked about opening a book.  I told her she had to wait until Jason got home, so she picked out a package and laid it on the couch.  Then, from the kitchen, I heard the tiniest ripping noise.  I asked what she was doing and she replied, "just getting it started, mommy".  The second Jason walked through the door, she had the book out of the wrapping paper!  She was pumped about her new Elmo book. The last book she will open (wrapped a little fancier than the others) is The Night Before Christmas, which will be read on, well, the night before Christmas.

I am also looking in to donating some of my stash, too.  So, really, this is just more motivation to make my bi-weekly trips to Goodwill to scout of the latest selection.  You know, so I'll be ready for next year and everything ;)

snow day!

We woke up on Sunday morning to an inch or so of snow on the ground.  We were able to get out in it before it started to melt.  Turns out, it was the perfect snow for building!  

We, of course, built a snowman.  (Just for the record, Amelia had mittens on and was having trouble putting the pieces on to the snowman so we briefly removed them). A couple of years ago, she received a snowman building kit with all of the pieces necessary to build a snowman:  hat, scarf, carrot nose, pipe, "coal" for eyes, mouth, and buttons.  We just had to add snow!

We also built a little tunnel for her to crawl through.

And, following a pretty intense snowball fight, we headed inside.

Before we left the outdoors though, Amelia formed a snowball and insisted on bringing it inside.  She sat on a towel near the door and ate the whole snowball!