Sunday, March 28, 2010

Beach Bound

With three small children, "FOR-ever" is a gross under-estimate of the time it takes me to pack for a roadtrip.  And let's be honest, with at least one kid wearing diapers and using sippy cups and bottles, it doesn't matter if it's an overnighter to the grandparents or a month in a wildreness camp, kids need lots of stuff.

Adding to the choas and the need to take more things, is a transitional season beach trip when the day to day, sun up to sun down temperatures range from 52 to 92.  Not only do I need to pack everyone sunscreen, shorts, and bathing suits, but we will also need long sleeve tees and hoodies.

I despearately wish my nitpicking non-decisive self would take packing advice from my three year old (who actually sat in his car seat for two hours prior to departure).  He was SO ready to GO!

Surf board for self.... check.
Surf board for brother.... check.
Baby gate for sister.... check.
Buzz Lightyear wings.... check.
Toy Story sand bucket.... check.
Teddy.... check.



All packed and ready to leave for the beach!

And then once we got there...


All dressed and ready for a day on the beach!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Horsing Around

Big Sticky was invited to a "Dress Like a Cowboy and Ride a Horse" Birthday Party.  We didn't have any "cowboy" gear, so I Facebook'd and emailed several neighbor's that had boys. 

This is what we came up with.


Don't he and the birthday girl look so darn hootin' tootin' cute in their cowboy gear!  Aren't they just adorable?

And here he is with his "other" girl.  :-) 


Can you kind of tell he was tired of all the picture takin'?  I mean really, he just wanted to get on and ride!

And here he is on his Buckin' Bronco, Whiskey.


"They" (the clueless people at the horse farm) actually asked me to "lead" the horse. Seriously? You want me to lead? All I could think of was "What if I do something wrong and the horse goes from trot to gallop in less than 60 seconds taking my baby through the woods and off to the next county all the while dragging me behind still holding on to the lead?"

While Big looks a little brave here, I don't think he's quite ready for a bull ride.  Whiskey was quite the tame horse.  Although I did have a little trouble keeping him (the horse) away from the grass.  Apparently grass is like candy to a horse.  I had no idea.


I also had no idea that when a horse eats a lot of grass, it makes him poop.

And if you are ever by chance leading a horse and he stops, it might just mean he has to poop. And if he does, you might want to stand back a bit.

At first I thought "Why our horse?" Then I quickly realized, better our horse than the horse in front of us.

And if you are ever leading a horse that is following another horse and the horse he is following stops to "relieve" themself, you might just want to watch your step...

And don't he look just so grown up in this one?

And while I've got you looking at this last photo, don't you think the people that make horse ridin' helmets should make one that looks like a cowboy hat?  I mean he kind of looks like a kid that got dressed up in cowboy gear only to change his mind at the last minute and go skateboarding instead.  Still cute and all, but I'm just saying...

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Soooo 2010

I cannot tell you exactly what my brother and I may have done on a typical Saturday morning when we were 5 and 3. More than likely there was a conversation in front of the TV that went something like this.

"Mo-mmy! Da-ddy! There are fuzzy things on Bugs Bunny again! Can you fix the TV?"

I can tell you it did not look anything like below.






Yes. That is my 5 year old on an iTouch playing games and my 3 year old watching himself pretending to be Buzz Lightyear on the Flip Video.

Soooo 2010. I don't even want to think what my grandchildren may be doing in 2050. Dear Lord! I will be 80 then. I'll be lucky if I'm still breathing.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Reuben Casserole

I am 40 years old and not until today did I realize people made cabbage and corn beef to eat on St. Patricks day. I learned this from the most trusty sources... while talking to other moms on the playground after preschool and reading several Facebook posts today. And I thought I was good on March 17th by simply consuming a Green Beer and wearing a shamrock lapel pin because at the last minute I forgot I was supposed to don the earth friendly color. Oh well, I guess you learn something new every day!

So, in honor of this tradition I thought I would share a suuuuuper easy casserole with you.

Layer the following in a 9x13 baking dish:
:: 1 pound of shaved corn beef
:: 1 14 oz can of sauerkraut
:: 1 1/2 cups of Thousand Island Dressing
:: 2 cups shredded or 8 slices of Swiss Cheese
:: 6-8 slices of cubed and toasted rye bread

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until cheese melts.

This recipe is SO easy, that you CANNOT mess it up. In fact, you can easily change it to your liking with no fear of ruining the final product. If you like yours more or less meaty, add more or less meat. If you like it more or less tangy, add more or less kraut, if you like it more or less creamy, then add more or less dressing. Well, you get the idea. You really can't mess this one up.

Come to think of it, any other day of the year you can subsitute Pastrami for the Corn Beef. OR, you could even use Ham and maybe Gilled Onions and BBQ sauce with Cheddar Cheese and Texas Toast. Mmmm! Or how about Roast Beef with Peppers, Horseradish, Provolone, and Sourdough? Okay, okay, I'm getting a little off track, but hopefully that will give you a few ideas of some things you could do to switch up this super easy concoction.

I hope you enjoy the meal and all the time you will save!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Happy Birthday Blake!

My nephew turns eleven years old today!

He had a super fun Survivor Themed birthday party.

All the kids (ages 3-12) were divided into two teams for Survivor Challenges.

My boys gearing up for the Curling inspired Bocce ball contest.

The teams were evenly matched. The Yellow Team won the Bocce contest 3-0 while the Green Team filled their container from the water ballon toss in record time. In the end, the Green Team pulled out the overall victory by completing their "TRIBE" puzzle necklace relay ahead of the Yellow Team.


We ended the festivities with some super yummy cake!

(Seriously, the cake was quite yummy!)

I dug through my archives and found this picture of Blake

on one of his first attempts at fishing.

How cute is he??


Oh, they grow up SO fast!!
Happy, Happy Birthday Buddy!!!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Five on Friday :: A Week in Photos

These photos represent a somewhat typcial week for us.

1) Little Sticky attends a birthday party with classmates. Notice how he is hanging with the girls. Turns out he has at least 2 girlfriends. Hay-a-nah (Hannah) and Tay-wor (Taylor.)

2) Since Little has a summer birthday, we celebrated his "half" birthday with cupcakes at preschool.
3) Big Sticky in his Martial Arts attire. Watch out Ralph Macchio!!
4) Princess after her bath. She loves looking at "Flower Girl" in the mirror!
5) The boys caught me touching up my piggie polish. They decided they wanted their piggies painted too! (Don't tell their daddy!)

Friday, March 5, 2010

Five on Friday :: Night at the Oscars

Five on Friday. In honor of the upcoming Academy Awards, this list gives tribute to Mr. Oscar with a few of my own categories and nominees.

And the nominees are...

Best Director
:: Big Sticky in his role as Big Brother (aka The Boss)
:: Little Sticky in his role as the Middle Child (aka No, I'M The Boss)
:: Princess in her role as the Baby (aka The Real Boss)

Best Supporting Cast
:: Four Lambies



:: Lamby and Teddy



:: Bunny




Foreign Film (not the kind with subtitles, more like, something very foreign to reality)
:: Big Sticky for "Boy Who Goes to Bed Early and Can't Imagine A Thing"
:: Little Sticky for "Quiet One That Eats His Veggies"
:: Princess for "Girl That Wears Hairbows and Plays With Dolls"

Costume Design

:: Big Sticky --> Karate Kid Remake


:: Little Sticky --> Urban Cowboy Remake




:: Princess --> Pirates of the Carribean



Best Adaption
:: Little Sticky quoting Buzz Lightyear, "To Infinity and BE GONE."
:: Big Sticky saying the blessing at dinner, "And thank you for our DA-VID (daily bread)"
:: Princess of Sticky with "Hmmm bah wha" (your guess is as good as mine)


Make-Up






Sound Editing
:: Mommy for remembering not to say dirty words when driving in traffic
:: Mommy for realizing that the oldest will ask what I am saying when I try to spell a "code" word aloud.
:: Mommy and Daddy for remembering not to raise our voices when "discussing" important topics.

Picture of the Year











And just for the record, if I happened to be a member of the Academy, then all of these nominees would be winners!

Monday, March 1, 2010

The Final Rose... Are You Kidding Me?

"Hold on everybody. This is my friend Molly. She's home watching The Bachelor, The Final Rose. I need to take this."


"Hold on Molly.
They are singing that silly Happy Birthday song again!
It is SO loud in here.
Can you speak up?"


"So what's the deal. Who did he pick?"



"WHAT? He picked Vienna? Are you kidding me???"


"Ewww! She is just sooooo trampy.
I mean with the fake boobies
and the nudie calendar
and the ex-husband
and everything!!
What is he thinking??"

"I saw all the rumors that he was going to pick her,
but I just couldn't believe them!"



"And how could he do that to Tenley?
She dreams in cartoons and has rainbows in her diapers!!"
(according to Gia anyway)

"I mean really, how cool is that?"
"And OMG she even made his dad cry! CRY!
Are you kidding me??"
"I'm just in shock over this one!"


"I am SO not watching that show anymore!"