Mommy, That Shot Hurt!!!

Friday, we took Haylen to the doctor for her two year well check up.  Two years!?!  Really???  Where in the world has time gone?  Seriously, my baby girl is growing so fast!  But more about that later.  Sorry, I digress.  Back to the story at hand.  CJ and I both took the day off.  I couldn’t have asked for a better Valentine’s present than having the day to spend with my two favorite people.  We had a leisurely morning, an early lunch at Chuy’s, went shopping at Toys R Us, and then headed to UPA for her appointment.  Apparently, our morning had worn her out because this is how she looked when we pulled into the parking lot.

I’m telling you, the girl did not flinch when I took her out of her seat.  She was OUT!  She didn’t wake up until I had to sit her on the scale.  At first, she stayed asleep, even with me trying to hold her up without affecting the scale.  She wobbled back and forth for a bit, but after leaning to far one way, she woke right up.  She was quite startled when she figured out where she was.  Talk about a rude awakening.  Let’s just say there were a few tears.  No worries.  She settled down and ended up having a great check-up.   

Here’s how she measured up for the day:
Weight:  29 lbs. 6 oz.  (88%)
Height:  3 ft (94%)
BMI:  15.9 (25%)
Head Circumference:  48  cm (72%)

Dr. Sullivan was very happy with her progress both physically and developmentally.  Can she say more than 10 words?  Check…Oh my…We passed 10 a LONG time ago.  Is she putting together 2 word sentences?  Check…and then some.  Is she jumping on two feet?  Check.  Dr. Sullivan even asked her how old she was going to be to which she quickly answered, “Two!”  Ears, eyes, nose, chest, tummy.  They all checked out great as well.   Now, the real fun of our appointment began after Dr. Sullivan was all done with her check-up.  And by fun, I mean way more tears and a shot.  The super cool Daffy Duck band-aid her nurse put on it afterwards did nothing to make her any happier.  She usually loves a “super cool band-aid…Nope!  She wasn’t having it!

This is her in the car as we were leaving the doctor’s office.  Check out that pitiful expression.  She’s pulling up her leggings to see where her poor little leg was stuck.  And from there came the quote of the day.  She looked at me and in a sad, yet very direct and very frank voice said, “Mommy. That. Shot. HURT!”  I wish I had videoed her saying it.  She expressed such indignation!  Not gonna lie, it cracked me up! 

Well, after the rude awakening, and shot to top it off, we thought a little treat might help take the edge off.  Frappuccinos make everything better, right?  Well, almost.  She still kept reminding us.  Every time she looked at her leg, every time she went potty and saw the band-aid, when she thought we might have forgotten how she felt about it, she let us know, “That. Shot. Hurt!!!”

Pin, Lose, or Draw #1: Peanut Butter Rice Krispies

Recently, my hubby has had a hankering for peanut butter rice krispies.  As you might have guessed, I headed right to Pinterest to find a recipe to quell his craving.  I actually pinned 3 (shocking, right!?!).  After showing him pictures and ingredients of each, we decided on this recipe, Peanut Butter Rice Krispies with Chocolate Frosting.

Now let’s begin!

The ingredients were quite simple: 

• 6 cups Rice Krispies
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1 cup Peanut Butter
• 12 oz. chocolate chips

You start by heating the sugar, corn syrup, and butter until it comes to a good boil.  Once it boils, take the mixture off of the heat and stir in the peanut butter.  After it is good and smooth, add in the Rice Krispies.


Next, transfer the mixture to a 13 x 9 pan.  Don’t forget to spray you pan with cooking spray first (I used original Pam).  Once everything was all settled in the pan, I began melting the chocolate for the frosting.  (A little helpful hint here…take the time and use a double boiler.  I didn’t the first time and ended up throwing away a big ol’ clump of chocolate.  I knew better.  Not my finest moment…)


Once your chocolate is safely melted, spread it on top of your rice krispie treats and let it sit.  Now, due to my chocolate melting debacle, I had about half the amount the recipe called for (thank goodness I had about half a bag of milk chocolate chips in the pantry); however, I think the amount of chocolate I ended up with on top was perfect.   The recipe recommended chilling your treats in the refrigerator, but I didn’t since my husband wasn’t crazy about the idea of cold rice krispies. 


This recipe was quick and easy to follow.  But most importantly, my husband enjoyed it!  They actually turned out much denser than I had thought they would.  I think I had the idea of regular rice krispie treats in my head (you know the ones made with ooey gooey marshmallows that you pull apart with your fingers).  Well, these definitely do not have the pull apart effect, but they taste really good. 

Verdict: 

Pin, Lose, or Draw

I, as I’m sure most of you, spend way more time on Pinterest than I care to admit.  Countless hours of numerous days spent pinning DIY projects, recipes, outfits, craft ideas, house plans of our dreams…Seriously, I’m gonna stop here, because let’s be honest, the list could on FOR-EV-ER.  Hey, I love pinning.  Sometimes I get a little pin happy (according to my profile, I have 1,717 pins).  But now let’s be real.  How many of those pins have I actually tried?  How many of your pins have you tried?  If you are anything like me, your “pin” to “I’ve actually tried this pin” ratio is a bit off.  So in an effort to actually make use of all…okay some…of my pins I decided to start somewhat of a series here on my blog called “Pin, Lose, or Draw.”

Here’s the plan.  Each week I am going to try a new pin.  It could be a recipe or a craft project.  Honestly, it could be anything, just as long as I have pinned it.  I’ll try the pin and then blog about the result.  If the pin was a success, I’ll say “pin it.”  If it’s a flop, or if it just didn’t work for me, I’ll tell you that I’m going to “lose” that particular pin.   And if I’m on the fence about it, maybe it wasn’t a homerun but it wasn’t bad either, I’ll call it a “draw.”  Easy enough, right? 

Now, I’m going to go ahead and let everyone know I am NOT the be all end all source of all things Pinterest.  These are just my opinions and experiences.  My “lose” may receive an overwhelming “pin it” from you, or something that was a “draw” for me may very well knock your socks off.  So just know, I’m not here to insult anyone or discredit any pins.  My goal is try some different pins and let you know how it worked for me. 

Now with that being said…Let’s get pinning!!!

Snow Delay

Watch out people!  It’s snowing in Texas!!!  Well…kinda.  An artic blast came our way Thursday night bringing ice, sleet, snow, and lots of road conditions us central Texans just aren’t used to.  So, in honor of this wonderful weather, school started 2 hours late!  WooHoo!!!  Happy Dance!  Happy Dance!!!  If you couldn’t tell, I might have been a little excited about that extra time off from work.  It meant extra time with my sweet little family AND our baby girl was able to see that white stuff she kept singing about all Christmas season long (Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow).

Waking up Friday morning was glorious, just knowing we didn’t have to get up and start getting ready right away was amazing.  I was able to leisurely sip my nice hot coffee and hang out in my pj’s, something I don’t get the luxury of doing on weekdays.  Let’s be honest here, I’m usually drinking my coffee as I’m trying to straighten my hair and put on my makeup all the while trying not to poke my eye out or burn myself.  Not exactly the most relaxing start to the day, but hey, it’s what I do.  So, needless to say, Friday was a real treat!  As we sat on the couch drinking our coffee, Haylen brings me my iPhone that she’s been playing with.  She had found and opened my new Starbucks app, showed me a picture of a latte, and said quite matter of factly, “I need Starbucks.”  She then proceeded to jump and prance around the living room chanting, “Caramel Spice!  Caramel Spice!”  OH. MY.  Our child can readily identify the Starbucks logo and tell you her specific drink of choice (Caramel Apple Spice).  How many 23 month olds do that!?!  Most kiddos can spot the golden arches a mile away..NOT our kid…she knows Starbucks!

Once the sun came up, we went back outside.  Yup, that’s right.  Back out.  We first went out while the coffee was brewing to check out the winter wonderland.  It was still super dark, so I just snapped a few iPhone pics.  Very winter wonderlandy, huh!?!


So, the second time we went out, I brought the good camera to document Haylen’s first snow!  She loved it!  It’s always amazing to see her experience something for the first time.  The wonder and amazement in her eyes was priceless.  It sure does make this mommy happy to see it! 

Haylen’s first snow!!!

       

Daddy’s lack of pooper scooping the backyard was bothering her.  “EWWWW! POOP!!!”  So, she decided to take matters into her own hands.  (just keeping it real, folks!)

Sweet little feet in the snow.

My sweet girls!  Two peas in a pod, or partners in crime…however, you choose to look at it!

    

Checking out the snow.

             


She had just seen Aunt D in this picture, who had come out to take snow pictures too.

Our very own winter wonderland.  Check out all the white stuff…

After all our picture taking fun and playing in the snow, I had to come back to reality and actually get ready to go to work.  Bummer!  But on the bright side, our day was 2 hours shorter, and I get a jeans day on Monday to make up for losing my conference time to the delay.  Jeans on Mondays make me happy.  It’s the little things, I guess!  And after school I took my sweet girl on a little Starbucks date to get that “Caramel Spice” she needed so early that morning.

 Hope everyone enjoyed your very own snow delay/day yesterday.  I know we did!!!

The Girl’s Got Wheels

Haylen got her first set of wheels for Christmas.  Her very own Minnie Car.  She absolutely loved it, not to mention she looked stinkin’ adorable driving it.  After a quick driving lesson from Daddy, she was off!

 

Look out world!  Here she comes!!!

Cookies for Santa

This Christmas has been by far the most exciting Christmas to get ready for.  Haylen really caught on to the magic of Christmas…Santa, reindeer, her elf of the shelf.  Seeing her face light up as she learned a little about each them.  Oh. My.  The excitement was quite contagious!  As she soaked it all in, I knew I wanted to make this holiday season special.  I wanted to start new traditions with our little family.  You know, the ones you look forward to each year.  She was ready, and so was I!
On the way back from our little trip to Dallas right before Thanksgiving, we stopped in Waco at the Heitmiller Steakhouse.  While we were waiting on our food, I took Haylen to walk around in the little shop they had at the front of the restaurant.  The poor kid needed to stretch her legs after being cooped up in her carseat for so long.  As we looked around, she was immediately drawn to the Christmas tree they had decorated in the far back corner.  “Mommy!  Mismas tree!  Mismas lights!!!”  While back there, she also noticed several pictures they had hung on the wall with the big man in red plastered all over them.  She pointed up to them with a quizzical look on her face. “Mommy, this?”  I then explained to her that that was Santa.  I then told her how he comes to visit on Christmas Eve and brings toys to sweet little girls and boys.  I asked her, “Is Santa going to come see you?”  With her hands stretched way above her head she jumps up shouting, “YES!!!”  I then told her Santa might be hungry when he comes.  “Should we leave him something to eat?  What should we leave him?”  To which our child quickly replied, with great enthusiasm I might add,  “Bock, Bock, and Rice!!!”  (Quick side note here, the kid LOVES bock, bock (chicken) and rice.  When you ask her what she wants to eat, 99.9% of the time, breakfast, lunch, or dinner, she replies, “bock, bock, and rice.”)  She was quite certain that if she loved chicken and rice, so did Santa!  After a quick fit of giggles on my part, I told her that while Santa might like that what he really liked was cookies.  Her reaction to this information was priceless.  Her eyes lit up, she began to giggle with one little hand covering her mouth like she was just let in on a secret, and very hilarious, joke and said, “Santa likes cookies!!!”  It was then and there I knew there I MUST bake cookies for Santa with my sweet little girl. 
Christmas Eve morning, she and I set to work making cream cheese sugar cookies (this might quite possibly be the best sugar cookie recipe ever)  for dear ol’ Santa.  He was sure to love them!  I sat her up on the counter and really let her help.  Before starting she had to try on all the cookie cutters.  Apparently, they double as bracelets.

As we began, I gave her the job of opening the butter and putting it into the mixer.  She may or may not have tried to take a huge bite of a stick of butter…
                   

She intently watched as it mixed…

And quickly learned that if she pulled the knob on the side she could send the mixer in to super warp speed and send flour flying every where!

She also had to try the dough, as any great pastry chef would.
   
Rolling out the dough was quite the adventure.  She proceeded to try the flour we were going to roll the dough out on.  Why?  Who knows!?!  Apparently it seemed like a really good idea to her at the time. 
         
She was such a great little helper!
          
          
By the time it was all said and done, the kitchen was a wreck but the smile on her face was well worth it.  The cookies turned out great and …

Santa LOVED them!!!