"It Don't Want to Have Died"

We were playing around outside and Grandpa pointed out a dead mouse in the driveway. Kaylee of course reached right down to pick it up when Grandpa and I shouted "NO!!" at her.  The way Robin Williams and Bonnie Hunt did in Jumanji when Peter and Judy's parents said they were thinking of going on a ski trip.  I don't really want her to get in the habit of picking up dead animals.

I grabbed a pair of pliers, picked up the mouse by the tail and headed for the garbage.  Kaylee of course was there to meet me, blocking the trash can telling me I couldn't throw it away.  I explained to her yet again the mouse had died and we had to throw it away.  Her only response was, "It don't want to have died."



Kaylee, acting like Jordan's daughter and the 3 year old that she is, looked up at the sky and exclaimed, "AIRPLANE!" I turned around to see a contrail and used this as my opportunity to throw the mouse away.  She still hasn't asked me what happened to the mouse.

Chocolate Meringue Pie

My grandma has made Chocolate Meringue Pie for Thanksgiving  for as long as I can remember. This year I requested it but through all of the confusion it was forgotten.  So I decided top takes matters onto my own hands since I was still craving it on Monday.  So I found a recipe online and set to work. It's even called Grandma's Chocolate Meringue Pie.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
5 T baking cocoa
3 T cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 c. milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pie shell (9 inches), baked

MERINGUE:
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
6 T sugar

Directions:
In a saucepan, mix sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt; gradually add milk. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir about 1 cup of the hot filling into the egg yolks. Return to saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Pour hot filling into pie crust. For meringue, immediately beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until stiff and glossy. Spread evenly over hot filling, sealing meringue to pie crust. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Yield: 8 servings.

Side note: you need to use electric bearers for making the meringue unless you want your arm to fall off. And "peaks" means when you lift up the beaters they stand up stiff.

After it cooled a bit I sprinkled chocolate sprinkles on it just like my Grandma does. Later I found out Kaylee had been picking the sprinkles and eating the while it was cooling.  Needless to say it was wonderful, everything I had hoped it would be.

Lydia may have loved it the most...

Little Fix-it Girl

Grandpa Seating came over and worked on our Toyota the other day and Kaylee has begun to be our little fix-it Girl. She found a couple tools and went to work on her toy sroller. (Which by the way, I made the seat since she sat in the other one so many times it ripped off & was beyond worth trying to repair.)  Then it was her beds. She has also worked on our bed and the crib.

Christmas Gifts

Since Jordan and I are poor, we decided it would be best other were resourceful for Christmas this year.  Since this gift is for Lydia I can post pictures of it now without spoiling anyone's gift.  Well, anyone who cares.

When Lydia was born,since it was the middle of winter, I bought various kinds of fleece fabric and made several little receiving blankets that were warmer than the paper thin ones they sell in the store.  An added bonus was I could pick out patterns I liked.

Well, Lydia is now 9 months and she doesn't have much use for several warm blankets that cover half her body.  Enter resourcefulness!  I cut the blankets in to 9" squares and sewed them onto a large blanket!  I also didn't want to have to deal with raw edges (and I thought it would be cute) I clipped the edges.  So one side is neatly put together and the other is cute and fun!  Go saving money!

I have plans to post my other gifts after Christmas.

The Lion King

Kaylee loves riding the antique carousel in Story City with her cousin Evie. So it's only natural that she would want to ride the one at the mall. But if Kaylee were expecting me to fork out $2 every time we went to the mall, that would get expensive. So I opt to sit and watch the carousel turn while other parents dish out the money.

This week, however, watching wasn't enough for Kaylee. She saw the Lion King going around and around and around and she wanted a ride. Luckily, being the smart mommy I am (which will probably come back to nip me in the bum later)  I told her she could ask to sit on it and not ride.  The carousel worker, the extremely bored carousel worker agreed and she was able to sit in the Lion King. Happy Kaylee! And happy Lydia, who got to share with her sister.

If Kaylee had her way

Kaylee can be pretty stubborn.  For example, when I give Kaylee a direction or and she blows it off, I'll ask her, "What did I say?" to see if she was paying attention.  Sometimes she will tell me what I asked her to do and then does it.  But if it is something she wants like food, a game, to play outside, a show, or countless other things, when I ask her she replies with, "No!  What did I say?"  Her face gets all scrunched up as if she is a mean tyrant who hates being crossed.  Sometimes she'll give up pretty easy and other times she'll fight.  This is always followed by a discussion of Kaylee needs to obey Mommy and Daddy, not the other way around.

Recently, Kaylee has been trying to take over the decision of having more kids.  Kaylee absolutly adores Lydia and she's been having fun playing with her.  So when I ask Kaylee if she wants a brother another sister, she'll say, "No, only Lydia."  I'll try another angle and ask if she wants another baby or a baby in mommy's tummy.  She'll reply, "No, I say only Lydia."

So if Kaylee had her way, we'd be done having kids.  Of course she'd probably ask years down the road for another one.  But, Kaylee's not incharge.  More kids are in the future!  By the way, I'm not pregnant.  Just a clarification.

Silly Jordan!

Jordan had a couple hot dogs for lunch today.  He loaded them up with a slice of cheese in the middle then topped them with mustard, onion, and shoestring potato sticks.  He was especially excited about the potato sticks.  I asked him how long we've had them and he noticed the "Best if used by" date was sometime in 2009.  He proceeded layer them on the hot dogs and eat.  about half way through the second hot dog he said he wasn't sure if he just wasn't used to the onions, but something tasted weird.  I grabbed the potato sticks tub and smelled them.  They didn't smell pretty, it was like old cardboard.  He smelled them then continued to eat his hot dog.  I suggested he take them off.  He did and said that was way better.  I know Jordan isn't always good at math, but 2 and 2 is always duh!

Baby Food is for Babies

For lunch today Lydia got to try chicken and gravy!  She ate a few bites of it with a disgusted look on her face.  I think she was hoping each bite would be better than the last.  After thoroughly laughing at her silliness, I mixed it in with a jar of carrots which she does love.  She was hesitant to try more food, but she eventually ate a good portion of her lunch.

Kaylee has been eyeing Lydia's food since we first bought it.  Each time I try to get her to eat a bite she backs out and says, "That's Lydia's. I no want it."  But, DUM-DA-DA-DUM!!! Kaylee tried her food today!  It was even the carrot, chicken and gravy, and rice cereal mix!  What could've been better?!?!  I shoved a spoonful --granted it was a baby spoon -- into Kaylee's mouth.  She gagged, coughed, spit, and almost threw up!  She refused to put her tounge back in her mouth until I wiped it off with a napkin.  She then went back to her previous statement of, "That's Lydia's.  I no want it."  I don't think I'll catch her trying to steal any baby food in the future.

It's a Good Thing Jordan Loves Me!!!

Otherwise he'd never put up with me!  I was feeling a bit silly this morning.  Actually silly may be a bit of an understatement.  Jordan was taking a shower and I flushed the toilet.  Like I said in a previous post "Flushing" our shower gets scalding hot when the toilet is flushed.  If that weren't enough, I poured a cup of cold water on him.  Kaylee was watching me and thought it was hilarious and she wanted a turn.  Being the wonderful mother that I am (wife is a bit iffy at the moment!)  I let Kaylee have a go.  I filled her up a cup, all the while Jordan is telling us no.  Kaylee thoroughly enjoyed daddy's scream as she dumped her cup on him.  I put Kaylee down, because of course I had to lift her so she could do maximum damage, and she proceeded to cheer me on.  So I did it one more time, though Kaylee was telling me to do it 10 more times.  Through my laughter I told Jordan I loved him to which he replied, "uh-huh."

Don't worry! he has forgiven me!  I am sure I will be making another post describing his revenge.  This (luckily for Jordan) is not a common occurrence and it did bring back memories of when Rachael would do the same to me. So I do have empathy for Jordan and I'm sure I will relive it soon!

Common Sense, People!

How stupid can you be?  I was making a cake for a family gathering and I couldn't help but read the directions.  Check out the BAKE section.

Wait!?!?!  I shouldn't stick my finger in something that was in a hot oven for over half an hour?  My other question is who was the first person to do this, sue the company, and win?  Why else would they put it on the package?  Also I should note that this is the Best Choice brand and it almost makes sense to me that it's a cheap store brand that had this issue with a customer.  Although, I could see Jack doing this...  What do you say Rachael?

July is a busy month!!!

Lydia is growing up so fast!   She started her rice cereal.  At first she really didn't like it because I mixed with formula, but then the 3rd time I tried feeding her was with breastmilk and she couldn't get enough of it!  Now I have all this formula and if she won't take it I may be mailing it to Whitney!

Kaylee loves to dance, wearing dresses and skirts, and she loves princesses.  She has a brown skirt I bought for her from Goodwill for $1 that she calls her "Princess Dress" - it may be my best purchase. Ever. 

This is Kaylee's favorite skirt and she tries to wear it everyday.  Once she has the skirt on, she will dance like their is no tomorrow, that or sit and "watch for her little prince" on the porch.  Kaylee's other favorite dancing prop is her Cinderella doll.

 I LOVE PUZZLES!!!!  This was a fun puzzle I did in a couple hours.  It has different size pieces which made it interesting.  It was really fun!

 

 The last part of my post is Kaylee's birthday party!  We had a Snow White Pinata (sorry I don't know how to do the ~) to see how Kaylee would react when people started beating her princess.  She actually loved it!  We did tell her there was candy inside so she was all for beating Snow White.  There were other kids who did not like it so well, but everyone enjoyed the candy!

Mom and Rachael did a WONDERFUL job on her cake!  Kaylee had the best look on her face when she first saw it.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that.  Grant was really interested in it too.

 

So I think that is all that has happened so far in July!  And it's only the beginning!  Jordan had an interview in Nebraska City for a Middle School Band Teacher job.  Hopefully everything will work out and we will be able to make plans for this next school year!  Oh, to have a job and be real grown-ups!  What's that like?

"For the last time, it's not named for each individual man."

This morning at breakfast Kaylee says, "Mommy, you see my apple?"  She stretched out her neck and pat it.  We then told her that only boys have apples.  She responded with, "Awwww, I wanna apple!"  To cheer her up (and I think to show her she really doesn't want one) Jordan grabs her had and puts it to his throat and starts singing.  Kaylee can't seem to rip her had away fast enough!  But of course she follows him around and asks to feel his apple again.  Weirdo.  Which reminds me, a neighbor from my childhood had the BIGGEST Adam's Apple.  I could never look at him in the face when he talked, it was to distracting.

Flushing

I love that Kaylee is potty trained, but I'm pretty sure the only time she actually flushes the toilet is when I'm in the shower.  I enjoy taking hot showers, but not to the point where my skin is scalded!  Today Kaylee was very obedient in going potty when she needed.  Unfortunately she went 3 times while I was in the shower and flushed each time.  Now I don't believe I took a particularly long shower, she just needed to go.

Followers

So I'm feeling a little lame right now.  It says I have 3 followers, but I have no idea who they are.  They don' t show up on my blog either so I'm writing for myself! HELP!!  How do I get my followers on my blog?!?! I don't want to be a lame loser anymore!

2 Things Dealing With Dogs

1st Thing:

There is a lady in our neighborhood that "walks" her dogs in the middle of the street.  And by walk I mean the dogs run along side her power chair.  The 3 little chiuauas take turns riding in her lap.  I want to take a picture but that would be way too obvious.

2nd Thing:

We were getting ready to leave the house and I was putting Lydia in her carseat and Kaylee was already outside waiting.  Our neighbors have 2 dogs; a yellow lab and a yorkie terrier.  The lab (Echo) is very calm and well mannered.  The yorkie (Libby) is a little more high strung, granted she is still a bit of a puppy.  Anyway, Echo is laying on the lawn and Libby is tied up since she's a flight risk.  Ironically a 3 year old of another neighbor named Libby is also a flight risk.  While I'm finishing up with Lydia I hear, "MOMMY!!!  MOMMY!!!  HEEEELLLLLPPPPP!!!!!  LIBBY, NO!  I get outside and see Kaylee and Libby rolling around on the ground all tangled up in the rope.  Kaylee had sat down to pet Libby and she overpowered her with excitement.  Kaylee survived the incident and we even went over and pet Libby again.  Only Kaylee now knows to always stand around her.

Kaylee's Hat

I found this hat at Goodwill a couple months ago and Kaylee just loved it.  I had to keep her from wearing it until we could get home an sanitize it.  The hat itself was still in very good condition but it had this nasty yellow-used-to-be-white ribbon and flower on it.  Thank goodness Jordan works at Hobby Lobby!  I let Kaylee pick out her ribbon and I bought a couple floral stems.  I had to stitch on the ribbon, which is not my best skill, but it went on nicely.  I ripped the flower off the stem and hot glued it together and attached it to a hair clip.  That way I can switch flowers or bows on the hat without any fuss!

I was pretty darn proud of myself!  I've been making hair clips and I just upgraded!  We'll see what I have ambitions to try next...  Now Kaylee loves it even more because it has pink on it.  She loves to wear hats just like her daddy!