Appetite in Overdrive

We've had an interesting increase in food consumption around here, but not by myself or Dave. All of the sudden Daniel is ravenous at mealtimes. The other night Dave was out of town and my parents took me and the kids to Red Lobster and Daniel ate an entire kids dinner. He's never done that before. Wesley, whose diet has consisted of baby food, applesauce, crackers, muffins and french fries, started eating some green beans last week. Now he will eat anything we put in front of him. He's tried raisins, apple, carrot sticks, pb&j on bread, pasta & an entire banana. He even drank some juice yesterday, which he hated the last time he tried. We were worried we would have a picky eater on our hands, but the tide may have turned.

Tonight we went to CiCis (a pizza buffet- we see a lot of buffets in our future) and Daniel ate three slices of pizza, a huge bowl of black olives, and 2 brownies. Wesley ate cheese bread, carrot sticks, and a brownie. He grabbed a piece of apple crisp pizza out of my hand and ate that also. It could be that he has about 6 teeth coming in right now and all of this stuff feels good on his gums. Or it could be the start of eating us out of house and home. We're ready, bring it on.

Easter Weekend Pictures

Easter Weekend

And Go Big Red! WKU advances to the Sweet Sixteen, for the first time in 15 years. Their current coach was a player on that team (when I was a senior at WKU).

Need Things/ Make Things

WE NEED THINGS:
Have you ever noticed that you often need a lot of new things at once? We will go for awhile without needing a thing, then all of the sudden we need several things which require research and comparison shopping. Here's our current list:

1- iPod dock for the kitchen with an fm radio- I just ordered one this week, but I have been researching for a month.

2- Recycle bins for the garage that stack in a tower and have openings- I just one ordered this morning.

3- A new breadmaker (mine died and even though Dave got it working again, I don't really trust it). I also want a new grain mill so I can grind my own wheat, but I'm not quite ready to take the plunge on it yet).

4- A bigger igloo cooler- I have been looking for a Target clearance deal on this for over a year now, but I can never find one. Now I really need one for the summer.

5- A new front load washer- we're looking at this one- hoping it will save us energy costs also. Our old one is unbalanceable (is that a word?) and can only run one type of cycle right now.

6- This isn't new, but Dave is still looking at flat screen tvs, and will be for another six months or a year or until he feels he is paying a normal price for a decent size.

Except for 5 or 6, the rest of items are easily ordered online through Amazon once we make our choice. And our rewards from our Amazon visa pays for most of this kind of stuff. It makes it more fun to shop since it's free : )

WE MAKE THINGS:
Today we have a friend over because his parents are moving nearby. I decided it would be a good time to try some "peanut butter playdough". Thanks to "Jon & Kate" for the idea. There are recipes all over the internet but I had to work with what I had on hand so here's mine:

1 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup honey, 1 tbsp vanilla, and 1-1/4 cup powdered sugar blended in the mixer for 2 minutes. Served with cookie cutters, chocolate chips and m&ms to play with. Yummy.

Of course all of this had to wait until I could watch the final minutes of WKU vs. Drake- which went into overtime after WKU blew their 16 point lead, then WKU won at the very last second with a 3 point shot. What a nailbiter!

Our Anniversary

Well, I'm pleased to report that Dave came through last night (I knew he secretly reads this blog) for the 10th anniversary of our first date, March 13, 1998. He even arranged for babysitting (my mom can't resist helping with anything sentimental like an anniversary).

So we had dinner at the restaurant of our first date, The Capitol Grille. And while he didn't score tickets to the "Phantom of the Opera" like 10 years ago, we went to the Melting Pot for dessert and it was just as good. I would have fallen asleep during the theater anyway.

We both agreed it's been a fun 10 years and we should keep dating. I'm sure you all agree also.

Daniel's new favorite song

Sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"

Jesus is Alive
Jesus is Alive
Every letter makes a sound
Jesus is Alive

This mis-matched song is provided by Community Bible Study and "The Letter Factory" DVD by Leapfrog.

Random Pictures so far this Month

March Randoms

Things I would blog about if I had more time

This little purge is going to make me feel better, if I had time, I would write in detail on these topics:

• How much we love the "magic pills"- you put in water and cute little sponge shapes emerge. You can get them at Michael's.
• How boring our homeowner's meeting was and why I don't want to run for the association board even though are in apparent need of a financial person. The most entertaining part of the meeting was the silly questions from Isis (my coupon nemesis who works at Publix and lives down the street).
• My secret love of Hillary Clinton. I do support her run for president. I probably won't vote for her, but I love her campaign.
• Why I have grown to love Brunch, thanks to my Moms Together food job, and how I have an amazing collection of recipes when I didn't even have this category in my recipe box a few months ago.
• Next week March 13 is the 10 year anniversary of our first date. While I would love to re-create the date, I don't have the time or money but I would love to do something special. I just can't figure out what- any ideas??
• My invention idea for easy small stackable recycle bins that fit in the car, has "what to recycle" reference information on it, and stay magically clean.
• Easter baskets- I didn't get them growing up, and now I'm not sure whether or not to give them. It still feels very "commercial" to me. I'm on the fence again this year. Last year I compromised and made a cute bunny cake. Daniel just asked me if Easter is "carrot giving day". Maybe we'll try that?
• Some little things I can't find around here - it's driving me nuts, because I like to keep track of things: A cartridge for Daniel's leap pad, 2 "mater" tow trucks, our Star Wars IV movie. Daniel is starting to have "secret stash" piles of random toys, books and objects that I'm finding everywhere. Does every kid do this or just Daniel and his cousin Julia?
• Other random thoughts/blogs: my new best friend is the wet swiffer mop (with a sprayer), why all high chairs should be thrown away after the second child because they are just gross, I'd love to post a picture of my "free" tolietries stash and a picture of Daniel's closet with his future clothes- it's quite organized. Oh, for another day.... must go break up a fight.

Multi-tasking

We have reached the stage where Daniel usually doesn't nap and doesn't want to stay in his room for quiet time, so most days my real free time is 30 minutes or less than an hour. Wesley rarely naps more than 2 hours in the afternoon, so my time without his constant interruption is even more limited. I have accepted I rarely have time for any extracurricular activities these days. I could solve this problem by getting up earlier or staying up late, but I am still working off the sleep decifit of the past few years.

Wesley has rare moments of self- entertainment, like right now, so I am able to sneak in a few minutes of computer time here and there. Our doctor's appointment last week went well and we might try to re-introduce dairy at some point and see what happens. He is still refusing solids but loves to eat anything that is a cracker, bread, french fries or tater tots. When he eats something he really likes, he says "Mmmmmm".

Daniel has reached a wonderful conversation stage right now where he answers questions with funny answers and then says "he cracks himself up". He asks me "who made this?" or "who bought this?" about everything. He is starting to show some interest in money and buying things. He just learned how to play Candyland so he is really into competition right now. The other night before bed I asked him what makes him happy and he had two good answers: 1) building a race car at home depot (during the kids workshop we go to every month), and 2) when it snows (guess we should move up north).

Dave has been traveling and working late a lot and I am really struggling with being a single parent these past few weeks. I thank God for my one day of Mother's Day Out (next fall- two days!). Other than that, I am getting creative about getting things done around here. Some of my multi-tasking involves play and sorting at the same time. Cooking is the hardest when both kids want to be involved but I just need to get it done. Other things can just wait. Like the Christmas bowl in my kitchen that really needs to be put away. I must go change a diaper now.....