March 28, 2011
Meet Giorgio. Cole's partner in crime at daycare. He's a hefty guy... literally, he weighs double Cole. And as a side note, his mom looks EXACTLY like my cousin Missy. Her name is even Melissa! Seriously, they could pass as twins.
Anyway, every Monday Cole smiles and giggles with delight when we walk in to the daycare and see Giorgio. And Ms. Nora, of course. Those two are both mobile and love to chase each other around, dumping toys and books everywhere, climbing up on everything, and tormenting the babies who can't move yet. I think they get so excited to see each other after a long weekend, that they can't settle down to take naps. It amazes me that even at such a young age, babies recognize who their friends are.
Double trouble those two are. Double trouble.
March 27, 2011
Pearl is always very excited for the next holiday to roll around. And with this holiday being Easter, I am as excited, if not more, to get out the decorations. (We need more decorations by the way... way more... like as in someone give me $300 to Pottery Barn so I can buy more.) Pearl get especially excited to put up any window clings we have (thanks to our neighbors). This year, it was fun to tell her what letter came next because she could actually spell out the words "Happy Easter." Although, if you look closely you'll see we need to work on which direction the letters "P," "S," and "E" go.
March 26, 2011
It amazes me how one day Pearl could care less about a particular toy and the next she acts like it's the ONLY thing she's ever wanted to play with. Today, it was her princess dolls and these magnetic girls with a plethora of clothes and accessories. She played with them for hours and especially loved being told to keep them on the table out of reach of her little brother. The laundry basket that I had yet to put away served as the perfect place to hang their dresses. And while I got tired of changing their outfits every 37 seconds because they were having a pajama party then a dance then a wedding then going to school, it was well worth the free time to try my hand at baking homemade dinner rolls for the first time.
Jeff was happy (with the rolls). I was happy. Pearl was happy. And Cole? Well, let's just say he felt a little left out.
March 25, 2011
I am so grateful for modern medicine.
Grateful that my Heavenly Father has blessed individuals with the knowledge to develop medicines, vaccines, and medical technology.
Grateful for a pediatrician who gets us in for an appointment as soon as possible. Because every month we're in with an ear infection.
Grateful for a pharmacy that filled our prescription in just a few minutes so I didn't have to stand there looking any more ragged than I did, with a tired and miserable little boy.
Grateful for a full night's sleep last night because I'm fairly certain I couldn't have made it through the day without it.
Grateful that wonder drugs can help my little guy feel more like himself.
And, I'm even grateful for the toys, blocks, books, dishes, towels, laundry baskets, dust rags, boxes, cups, spoons, and cars strewn about the house because that means Cole is starting to feel better.
March 24, 2011
Bullous myringitis.
That's what Cole has.
For all us medically challenged out there, let me put it in terms we'll understand.
Blisters on his eardrums. A less common and very painful type of ear infection. Not the typical run-of-the-mill stuff. Our doctor was actually excited to see that huge blister. Said he hadn't had one of these in a long time. And that they are very, very painful.
I could have told him that. When your normally happy baby boy screams from 9 p.m. last night until 11 a.m. this morning, yeah something's wrong. Waking up every 45 minutes all night long because Cole's screaming in pain, yeah that was fun. Or listening to him whimper, cry, and scream himself to sleep and knowing there is NOTHING you can do to help and that you are so exhausted you can't move out of bed one more time, yeah that sucked. Ugh.
March 23, 2011
A friend at work had a baby shower today and I was in charge of dessert. What better way to satisfy the chocolate cravings of a room full of women (three of whom were pregnant) than to bake a Texas Cake. I forget that not everyone has had Texas cake. A couple of my coworkers raved about how good it was all day, even sneaking a few extra pieces! Apparently, they need to attend a Mormon funeral... it's one of the essential food items besides the ham, funeral potatoes, and jello salad.
Anyway, every time I make Texas cake I think of my Grandma Allen. She LOVES Texas cake. So much so, that anytime I make it for her, I have to make some extra frosting because my grandma drinks it. Seriously. She loves it that much. Grandma always inspects the cake to find where the low spot is and hence the most frosting. I admit though, I usually scout out the low spot too. And our sweet tooth has reached a third generation in Pearl. This morning she begged me to let her have cake and ice cream for a snack. I told her repeatedly that we don't eat sweets in the morning. To which Pearl responded, "But Mom, cake and ice cream are my favorite!"
She made me promise - at least seven times - that I would save her a piece of cake. And some "ass-cream" as she pronounces it. I made sure she got her sweet fix as soon as we got home. Yes, before dinner! Sort of makes up for being "a mean mom" and not letting her have cake for breakfast.
Texas Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (I add extra!)
Mix flour and sugar. In a small saucepan over medium heat add butter, cocoa, and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. While still hot pour over flour and sugar and mix well. Add buttermilk, soda, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into a floured jellyroll (cookie sheet) pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Texas Cake Frosting
1/2 cup butter
6 tsp evaporated milk
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar
Combine butter and cocoa in small saucepan over medium heat. Add evaporated milk and vanilla and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour liquid into mixing bowl and slowly add powdered sugar to taste. The frosting should be sweet and thick, yet still smooth enough to pour over cake. Frost while cake is still warm.
March 22, 2011
I love Easter. Love, love, love Easter.
So when I went to the store tonight and spied isles and isles of Easter goodies, candy, decorations, plates, etc, etc, etc, I had to remind myself my checking account couldn't afford what my eyes wanted to buy. It took all my energies to refrain from buying everything in sight. But I had to come home with something. And for $2.50 I figured I was pretty safe with a strand of Easter egg lights.
March 28, 2011
