Peanut Butter Cookies My Way.

This is my go-to cookie recipe.

Easy and fast with ingredients you already have in the house.

I was going to take pictures but they were long gone by the time I grabbed my camera.

Oops.  

They are way too good to sit for long.

Peanut Butter Cookies My Way

1 cup of natural peanut butter, or half of the jar

1 cup of sugar

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1. Preheat over to 375.

2. Mix ingredients.

3. Use your hands to form golf sized balls.

4. Flatten with a fork.

5. Bake for 12 minutes.

6. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then cool on a baking rack.

*Cookies will firm as they cool.

Little Water Girl.

Liza took her first "real" bath today.

Yes.  She is almost 3 months old.

This was the first time she actually seemed dirty and needed more than a wipe down.

I'll spare you the details of her dirtiness....

A bit unsure:

Very unsure:

But, it turned out she loved having water poured all over her.

She really came alive once she was standing up to rinse her off:

Yeah.  She loved it:

I suppose it's time Little Water Girl starts getting frequent baths.

She l.o.v.e.d. it!

7-2.

Why do I wait until it is time to go home to take a family photo?

It is hard work being a Bulldog fan!

Raise your hand if you love Dirt Cheap.

Have I mentioned my love of Dirt Cheap lately?

I feel like it's been a while since I've sung it's praises.

I.

Love.

Dirt.

Cheap.

It's more than a store...

it's an activity.

An activity that I love.

I'm feeling especially praiseworthy

because it had been a while since I visited my most favorite store.

I'll never forget the last time I was standing in line at Dirt Cheap and

a woman asked me when I was due with baby #2.

"6 days ago."

I had been dying for someone to ask my due date and finally someone did.

She was appropriately shocked.

Too bad I didn't manage to go shopping on day 9 postdate...

The kids and I went to Dirt Cheap two days in a row this week.

It was every bit as good as I remembered.

I *might* have even purchased a few Christmas presents while we were there.

Henry knows he is guaranteed a prize at Dirt Cheap so he starts scouting out something he needs within minutes of entering the store.

He was pretty pumped up to find a Minnie Mouse keychain that I actually let him touch after a stern lecture about how he couldn't put Minnie in his mouth.

Liza didn't get the mouth lecture for her toy because it was actually brand new and

 still in the unopened packaging. 

Quite the miracle for Dirt Cheap.

Minnie got wet after playing outside and needed to dry off in a towel.

I would take a more flattering picture of her but she is clutched in Henry's sleeping little hands.

       

I've been looking online for an activity mat for Liza.

This one was significantly cheaper than the one I was looking at buying,

 I love the colors and it doesn't sing or have flashing lights.

Win.  Win.  Win.

Hen Hen's lunch.

Henry's lunch:

black beans 

snow peas and carrots from last night's fried rice

leftover chicken salad

apple

shredded unsweetened coconut

feta

peanut butter and jelly

His favorite?

"baba"

Duh.

He nibbled on everything but the chicken salad.

He only tried it the other night because I bribed him with crackers.

Boy's not dumb.

No crackers means no chicken salad.

A family emergency.

As Taylor phrased it, we had a "family emergency" today:

 A drinking glass fell on my foot.

I was convinced it was broken.

It hurt.

Bad.

There I was minding my own business, 

Henry's business and Liza's business.

Otherwise known as mothering.

I'm encouraging Henry to continue eating carrots without letting him grab the huge butcher knife,

grabbing Liza's pacifier without losing sight of Henry's little hand near the huge knife and

trying not to knock my camera off the table.

It didn't go so well.

A water glass landed squarely on top of my foot.

As I said,

it hurt.

Bad.

I drop to the floor with Liza in my arms.

These were my thoughts:

1.  As Taylor grabs Liza out of my hands, I am personally insulted that he obviously thought I would drop our sweet little daughter simply because I am injured.  I'm still a bit insulted, actually.

2. I think, "Thank God Taylor is home from work early because I think my foot is broken."

3. Then I think about that thought a little more.  Had Taylor not come home a bit early, would I have been doing the same thing?  Likely not.  Ergo, he was indirectly responsible for my injury.

4. My thoughts wonder to the glass.  I was very thankful it didn't break because that would have been a mess to clean up and I didn't have on shoes.

5. Then I remember the origin of that glass.  I found it hidden in a bush near City Bagel last winter with beer residue on the inside.  It appeared that the glass was stashed on the way to the bar and forgotten.  I was excited to say the least.

People speak of their life flashing before their eyes.

I wouldn't be so dramatic as to apply that phenomeon to my situation.

But I will say, I had many thoughts and they flashed quickly through my head.


Yes, my foot is feeling much better now.
Thank you for asking.
A little ice, a little elevation and a little sympathy is all I needed.

Why?

WHY.........?

.......does Henry wake up all night long?  We took away his sippy cup of water but he still wants his diaper changed multiple times during the night.

.......can't I be a good mother and change Liza's diaper in the middle of the night?  She has a persistent red spot and even though she isn't a super soaker anymore, her diaper is very very wet in the morning.  Every night I lay out a clean fitted diaper and every morning that fitted diaper is still sitting on her changing table.

.......are my kids so flipping cute that I don't mind waking up every.single.hour at night?r

.......does it feel like August outside?  I'm wearing a tanktop and a skirt and it is almost November.

.......is my electric bill not lower after choosing to sweat for the past 1.5 months rather than run the air conditioner?  Seriously.  Why?

.......does Henry always want to read the same book over and over?  We have at least 200 to choose from.

.......did I not listen to my instinct at Dirt Cheap yesterday?  I went back this morning and sure enough, everything I wanted to buy was gone.

.......did Henry just now decide he likes the baby swing on the front porch?  He has hated it for the past 18 months.

.......have I already resigned myself to the fact that Henry will not wear a costume to Pumpkinpalooza?  I should be trying harder rather than giving up.

.......can't my babies always stay little?

.......am I not napping while the house is quiet?

Yep.

She's pretty cute, huh?

Pride.

Henry was quite proud of himself for 

sharing cookies with Elmo and Cookie Monster.

Taylor was quite proud of himself for

taking a picture of this funny little sight.

I am proud of Hen for sharing and 

proud of Taylor for taking initiative with the camera.

The only thing I am not proud of is that

Henry was eating cookies for breakfast.....

pre-game naps.

These babies needed lots of rest before cheering for the Dogs!

Our bed.

Taylor and I laid in bed last night watching The Office on hulu.

Funny.  Funny.  Funny.

I literally rolled around on the bed in laughter.

Taylor and I never hang out on our bed.

I am so exhausted by the end of the day 

that I fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow.

So, last night was a bit of a special occasion.

Chilling on the bed at 7:30.

Hey Tay, it was fun!

Did you know Liza was born on our bed?

Right there on Taylor's side where his feet lay.

We have a huge old mirror attached to my dresser and

I watched Liza's birth on that mirror.

It hurt.

Like a mofo.

But, the moment she was born 

I felt like me again.

A not pregnant me.

Possibly the best kind of me.

Moral of this story:

I like our bed.

Hail Dear Ole State.

As usual, I was totally clueless about events for the football weekend.  So I was very glad when Hope called to tell me she was in our backyard with a crew of kids to walk to campus for the Homecoming Parade and pep rally.  We tagged right along and Taylor met us after work.  

Surely we had more kids in tow.....

it certainly sounded like more when they playing in our backyard!

"Mama, Mama, woo woo!"

A photo-op gone horribly wrong.

I ask for a kiss and he gives me his chin,

not to even mention Poor Liza down there.

I was glad Cat needed a baby fix so I could focus on Henry during the parade.

Henry tends to get overwhelmed and he was pretty stressed out during most of the parade.  Poor bug ended up standing on lap clapping and pointing but shaking the entire time.

Henry LOVED the MSU Rodeo Team!

I loved the pooper scoopers!

And, what is a parade without a shiny clean firetruck!

Did you know that firetruck belongs to Henry?

"Mine."

Standing away from the crowd for the pep rally.

He seemed satisfied clapping from afar.

Phelps loves her some Baby Henry.

Henry loves him some attention from a cute little girl.

Love our tailgate kid crew!!!

Taylor met us on campus for the pep rally and a kids event in the ampitheatre.

He was pretty proud to figure out he could
push the stroller and ride his bike at the same time.

Needless to say, I wasn't fast enough to keep up.

--------------------------

Both babies are napping and then we head out to campus to cheer for our dogs!

Go State!

I think...

It's time to

buckle up this girl !

He is a thinker.

No pockets?

Panic on his face.

Thank goodness for his

woo-woo boots.

Firetrucks really do save the day.

Now that his hat is just right,
this kid is ready to ride.

Da Bears.

Taylor is not ashamed of his true love...

the comics.

He likes Doonesbury, 

Cow and Dog and

 Apartment 3G.

Just kidding about Apartment 3G.

No one actually reads that or Cathy.

I like Arlo and Janis and

Peanuts.

We both love F Minus.

Pumpkin Patch by the Numbers.

6...........mamas
11.........kids
1...........pumpkin patch
14,573..kernels of corn in the 'corn hole'
15.........minute long hayride

23.........airplanes flying overhead
0...........fusses and arguments amongst the kids!
2...........very nice new strollers
45.........minutes away from Starkville

1...........mama named Laura who obsessively took pictures of the kids
4...........babies worn nonstop
5...........tractors -- the boys loved them!
1...........little stranger boy that was very rude
6...........worn out mamas
11.........worn out kids

First day.

Teaching 3rd grade is on my mind.

My first job was in the ghetto.

Literally, across the street from the housing projects.

"The projects".

3rd grade had moved that summer from the

Primary School

 to the 

Intermediate School.

The names of those schools

should have tipped me off...

I walked into my first classroom.

It was totally empty

except for a 

5 year desktop computer sitting in the corner.

Scrolling across that desktop?

"So fresh and so clean clean."

Yep.

It was the ghetto.

Quack.

I taught a 3rd grader

with the last name of 

Duck.

This little girl

got upset when the other kids called her

"Shaneqa Duck, Quack Quack".

I told her she needed to accept the humor and

embrace her last name.

It is funny after all.

He loves it.

It's a good thing Henry is miniature sized.

His two favorite things in life are:

sitting in Liza's bouncy seat with his lamb

and

sitting in Liza's swing and demanding I turn off the light 

so the room will be "dok".

This is a battle I am not going to win....

This one looks nice and ripe.

 We'll take one of these in size small.

Yes mam,

she fits just right in my little grocery buggy.

I like this one

but 

she looks a bit grumpy.

Oh, yes,

This is definitely the one I want to buy!

Menu Challenge

We ate everything 

but the pizza.

It's going back on the list this week....
I WILL conquer my fear of dough this week.

And, because I lose self-control

when I am hungry

and

it is payday --

we ate City Bagel last Thursday for dinner.

1. cabbage rolls, vegetable - this evolved into a one dish goulash.  Loved it.
2. homemade pizza with feta, artichokes, olive tapenade and spinach - maybe this week?
3. white bean alfredo  with spinach - I also added mushrooms.  Delish.
4. tabbouleh and fried cauliflower with tahini sauce - Loved the tabbouleh.  Too lazy for the cauliflower.
5. salmon cakes with wheat germ, vegetable - yummy salmon cakes with a mushy bell pepper and grated carrots.  Loved my invention of sauteed cabbage on the side.
6. stuffed peppers and spinach pancakes -  Stuffed peppers were awesome but flew solo that night.  Not a single spinach pancake this week.

Menu Challenge Week 3

1. Quinoa Tabbouleh
2. Pizza with artichokes, spinach and feta -- Heather, I am trying your crust!
3. Falafel with spinach pancakes
4. Cabbage Jambalaya with meat and cornbread -- you're welcome, Taylor.
5. Black beans and rice

I also searched up and down the cereal aisle for a bran cereal without high fructose corn syrup -- who knew that would be so difficult? --  for bran muffins that will hopefully satisfy my urge for sweet bready items.

I'm also planning on baking a quick bread with the butternut squash that has been rolling around the fridge for over a week.  Now, if I only I can make that happen before I eat the entire bag of chocolate chips...again.

Salmon Cakes and Sauteed Cabbage.

This meal was a bit of a 

throwtogether.

Definitely 2 thumbs up.

Taylor and I both had seconds

and

Henry even picked at the salmon cakes

but

he preferred

big leaves of raw cabbage!

Salmon Cakes My Way

pack of pink salmon

1 egg

whatever veggies or herbs you have

wheat germ

spices

1.Mix ingredients, adding enough wheat germ to make it cohesive.

2. Shape into patties.

3.Cook in hot olive oil over medium high heat until golden brown.
*I used a grated and chopped carrot and a very sad and limp green bell pepper.

*I topped mine with tahini sometimes I mix mayo and lemon juice.

-------------------------------------------

Sauteed Cabbage My Way

cabbage

olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Slice cabbage into ribbons.

2. Saute cabbage in hot olive oil.

3. Salt and pepper to taste.

4. Cover on low heat until cabbage is fork tender.