Eyeballs?

A little back story for you. Several months ago when AJ was learning the names for body parts I told her that eyes are called eyeballs and now she won't call them anything but "eyeballs." This drives D CRAZY! ;)

Today after she finished her lunch I was wiping off her hands and face and she was pointing at things on my face.

She said "Nose!" as she pointed at my nose.

She said "Mouth!" as she touched her own mouth.

She said "Eyeball!" as she tried to gouge my eye out with her little razor-sharp fingernail.

I asked her where AJ's eyeball was and she pointed at her own eye. We repeated this exchange a few times and then I decided to challenge her.

I asked her, "Does PupPup have eyeballs?" to which she responded, "Yes!"

I then asked "Does Daddy have eyeballs?" She thought about this one for a minute and then responded, "Yes!"

I decided to push her a little bit further so I asked her if Grandpa has eyeballs and she quickly and very seriously responded, "No."

Me: Does Mimi have eyeballs?
AJ: No.

Me: Does Obo have eyeballs?
AJ: No.

I asked her a few more times and asked her if she was sure and she told me she was, so I guess its official., AJ's grandparents are all, according to her, eyeball-less. So, so, sad. ;)

Friday Frenzy!

Random mish-mash of a post today. I have a lot of things going on & this is the best way to get them all out!

1. I planned AJ’s birthday party last night. I know I mentioned it before, but last night I sat down and found the decorations I’m going to order, made a list of the people we’re going to invite and wrote down the entire menu for the party. I ran it by husband and afterwards looked into his glazed-over eyes and asked if he thought that was good, to which he replied, “Sounds great, babe!” Check!

2. We’re heading to a brunch playgroup this morning so I decided to make donut muffins again. I made them a few weeks ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about them since then. The best part about them is that I typically have every. single. ingredient in my pantry already so I don’t have to go buy anything when I need want to make them last minute. I am posting the recipe on my food blog for you to enjoy!

3. I’m planning a bloggy BFF meet-up in a few weeks with my bloggy BFF, Moe, and I couldn’t be more excited! So far we have no actual plans other than we are going to meet up. We’re super on top of things! ;)

4. My neighbor across the street decided a few weeks ago that we (the wives and moms on our block) should have a Friday afternoon happy hour to celebrate surviving another week with our kids. Today is the first week its going to happen and I’m looking forward to that cocktail today.

5. I’m going to jump on the nerdy-tax-loving bandwagon and talk about how excited I am to file our taxes this year. We bought our house this year so our return should be beautiful. Now if only USAA would get on board and post our documents that I need to finish them, that would be great!

6. We have already started making lists of things we’re going to purchase with the tax return, once it comes. I’m not going to spoil the surprise now, so check back in a few weeks!

7. I briefly mentioned a few days ago that I am trying to cut back on caffeine a bit, so last week I bought Diet Caffeine-Free Dr. Pepper. Let me tell you, it tastes great, but I’m not fooling myself into thinking that its real Dr. Pepper. I can definitely notice the lack of energy I’m used to after downing a regular Dr. Pepper. I think I’d be faring better with the whole less-caffeine thing if AJ hadn’t decided to also use this week to change her wake-ups from 8:30 am to 5 am. Ugh.

8. Husband woke up with her at 5 am yesterday and got her back to sleep for another 2.5 hours. He’s my savior, by the way. I’m not sure if its me, or what, but he can get her to go back to sleep, but the second I walk into the room, its time to play, play, play and all hopes of sleeping go right out the window!

9. Is anyone else having issues uploading photos to Blogger in Firefox? For some reason they get all distorted and crazy looking, but if I use Safari it works perfectly. This is annoying and the reason for all the picture-less posts lately (I'm too lazy to go over to Safari just to upload pictures). I hate Safari. Sorry if you're a Safari-lover.

10. That’s all for today, folks. I’ve gotta get to mopping the kitchen floors now while I’ve still got time to read HP after I finish. I long for the days when AJ napped for 3+ hours. I got so much stuff done around the house!

TGIF!

Ham, Anyone?

Yesterday I was trying really hard to not feel bad for myself after AJ woke me up at 5:27 am and I left the dog sleeping in my bed. I mean, she has been a great sleeper up until now and its not really that big of a deal to wake up early when all you have to do is sit on the couch and drink coffee, making sure to keep the endless stream of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Yo Gabba Gabba playing, right?

Plus husband had to get up at O'dark Hundred for a 12 mile ruck march and had time to come home to shower and change before he had to be back at work, so I wasn't going to be the one to complain about being tired. I figured I'd leave the complaining to the dog.

I decided to make my day productive so I folded some laundry, ran a couple of loads through the wash and made homemade granola. I had the granola pans on the stove cooling and had just pulled the ham and kaiser rolls out of the freezer for dinner tonight when I decided to run to the grocery store real quickly. I had told husband earlier that I'd grab him some beer when AJ and I ran to the grocery store.

I pushed the granola pans back as far as they'd go on the counter so the dog couldn't get to them and made sure there were no glasses or cups within dog's reach before we left the house. About 30 minutes later we came back in and as I set the grocery sacks on the kitchen counter I noticed a piece of something on the carpet in the dining room. I walked over to get a closer look at what it was and I saw the ziploc bag that had the ham in it sitting on the dining room floor. Empty.

Yep, AbbyDog ate almost an entire Christmas ham while we were at the grocery store. I say almost because it was the ham we had for Christmas dinner, so there was about 3/4 of it left that I froze to use for ham & cheese sandwiches. I was really shocked that she was able to eat the whole thing, especially since it was several pounds and Abby only weighs about 35 pounds (more now). Then I remembered that she is a beagle and they have no self-control, or brains for that matter (as is evidenced by the time she ate an entire 1 pound bag of Hershey's kisses with the tinfoil wrappers still on them).

I decided at this point to let myself have a little pity party about the ham. I mean, come on. That was our dinner. Now what are we going to have?

I took AJ upstairs to put her down for her nap and I noticed something on her bed.

I kind of looked away, afraid that it was barf, but after closer inspection I realized that it was ham. It was the center part of the ham that was still very frozen and the dog apparently couldn't eat anymore of. In AJ's bed.

I really couldn't make this up if I tried. And thus continues my own personal struggle with ham.

Drinking The Kool-Aid

One of my unofficial resolutions for 2012 was to read more books and so far, January has started off swimmingly in that aspect! I've officially read 5 books so far and I'm just gaining momentum!

I'm pretty proud of myself, I finally got through The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and while I haven't started the next book yet, I have it and I'm going to read it, soon.

I can't read it right now, though, because I'm really busy reading something else. I started the Harry Potter series last week and I'm steadily making my way through it. I'm really enjoying it so far and I can see why everyone likes the series so much. I'm thoroughly entertained and with each book I read, I'm getting more into it and more excited to finish the series and see the movies at the end.

I decided that since I've never read any of the books nor seen any of the movies (yes, I have been living under a rock for the last 15 years (and yes, the first HP book came out 15 years ago, man that makes me feel old!)) that I'd read them all and then watch all the movies afterwards (probably somewhat consecutively while D is away at training).

I don't know about you, but I am a big fan of book series. Even if there aren't movies made (like the Twilight series, the Millennium series, Harry Potter, etc.) I really enjoy reading series. I think its because I tend to "miss" characters after books are over and with series, the story continues over lots of time.

Part of the reason I've been reading so much is because I finally joined the masses and got an e-reader! I bought myself a Kindle touch with some Christmas money and I'm liking the freedom it gives me to buy a book online and be able to start reading it immediately.

The Best Thing I've Made In A Long Time, Possibly Ever

If you are a loyal follower of the old blog here, then you may already know about my new favorite recipe site, SkinnyTaste.com. I tried a few new recipes from the site last week. I blogged about one already on my food blog (the Stuffed Cabbage Casserole, which was okay) but the one I made on Thursday was possibly the best dinner I've ever made.

I'll preface by saying that it wasn't the easiest dish I've ever made, but it was worth every step and this dish has easily earned a spot in our regular rotation.

***

Chicken with Mushrooms in a Garlic and White Wine Sauce

8 chicken tenderloins, 16 oz total
2 tsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 cup fat free chicken broth
salt and fresh pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 200°. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge in flour.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat; when hot add 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp olive oil. Add chicken to the skillet and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side, or until chicken is no longer pink. Set aside in a warm oven.

Add additional oil and butter to the skillet, then garlic and cook a few seconds; add mushrooms, salt and pepper stirring occasionally until golden, about 5 minutes.

Add wine, chicken broth, parsley; stir the pan with a wooden spoon breaking up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook a few more minutes or until the liquid reduces by half. Top the chicken with the mushroom sauce and serve.


***

You should also make this side dish to go with it. They really pair perfectly.

***

Baked Rice with Peas

1 cup uncooked long grain rice
14.5 oz can fat free chicken broth (vegetarians use vegetable broth)
1 tsp butter
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
5 oz (1/2 package) frozen peas

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all ingredients in a oven-safe baking dish with a lid. Place a piece of tin foil between the lid and the dish to ensure no steam escapes.
Bake 45 minutes (do not open, do not peek, do not stir to rice). When 45 minutes is up, remove from oven and let it sit for 10 more minutes to allow the steam to finish cooking the rice, (do not open, do not peek, do not stir to rice). After 10 minutes, remove lid and fluff with a fork.

***

There you go, friends. Make this, soon.

Lazy Weekend

We had a super lazy weekend. I think I left the house one time the entire weekend. It was glorious. I could have done without the super-early wake-up call from Miss AJ on Saturday morning (6 am!) but what can you do?

On Friday Hubby brought home a carpet cleaner than he borrowed from one of his co-workers so we could shampoo our carpets. We have a few high-traffic areas in the family room and front hallway that are super dirty and we figured if we only did those two rooms it would be worth it. I went out to Wally World Saturday morning to get the solution for the cleaner and a few other things like milk and eggs.

As soon as I got home we poured the solution into the canister and filled it with water and got to work. We decided to start with a small area by the door to the garage instead of starting in the middle of the room. I'm glad we decided to start there because the thing didn't work! There was a tiny bit of wetness on the carpet (like barely any) and the machine would not suck anything up at all! D called the guy he borrowed it from and he said that the last person who borrowed it said she had the same issue. Uh, duh! Haha! Why would you not tell us that beforehand? Needless to say, the carpets are still dingy. I did at least mop the kitchen floor, though! I had to because I had to get the water and cleaning solution from the machine cleaned up after it got everywhere when we were trying to fix the machine!

Sunday we just bummed around the house. AJ woke up around 7 and once we got downstairs she asked if she could watch "Buddies" which is the Space Buddies movie we recorded on the DVR. I jumped at the chance to put that on instead of Yo Gabba Gabba since it basically makes me want to claw my eyes out. We lounged around on the couch in jammies until 10 and then I got started on the mountain of laundry that is always beckoning to me. Ugh. To make matters even worse, I ran out of my good diaper detergent last time I washed diapers, so I'm using my back-up stash, which I don't like as much.

This afternoon D was digging through my junk drawer and found the squeakers that go to these shoes AJ has. He decided to put them back in and see what happened. You can read about what happened last time, here. Let me tell you, it was so funny! As she took her first step she froze, I was anticipating the absolute fear that she had last time and she started to whine a little, looking like she was going to cry. We both looked at her and said, "its okay!" and she took another step and then she was off! She went crazy! It was the funniest thing. She was stomping all around the house, jumping, running, dancing, doing the funny straight-leg walk that we call the Nazi-walk.

The only part of the weekend that I wish we could change is that AJ is back to the absolute temper-tantrums and meltdowns because she wants me to hold her while I make dinner. She gets so totally bent out of shape that we have to put her in timeout until she calms down enough to agree to do something else. Its awful. I wish there was something we could do to get her past it, but I have a feeling its just a stage and that we'll be done with it in time. Advice? Suggestions?

We don't have much going on this week, just the usual! We're watching a friend's daughter tomorrow afternoon while she goes for her last ultrasound before baby #2, a boy, is born. Should be fun for both girls!

I'd Blog, But All I Want To Do Is Whine and Complain

And no one wants to read that, right?

But seriously, I went to the grocery store this morning to get chicken breasts for dinner tonight and a few other things. I walked to the meat department and all I see are chicken thighs, drumsticks and wings. Seriously? Argh.

I kind of dislike the big frozen packages of chicken breasts, so I walked over to the meat guys (butchers?) and asked if they had any in the back. They informed me that they just got the truck in and were working through it, but that the chicken breasts are at the bottom and its going to be several hours before they get to them. Seriously? Argh.

You would think that they'd be trying to get the chicken breasts out as fast as possible, considering that this is a grocery store, and chicken is kind of popular and all. I mean, I would feel safe betting that beef for stew is not going to sell out before the end of the day (and obviously the chicken breasts were ALREADY SOLD OUT).

Whatever.

I have also noticed over the past few days that I'm not doing a very good job of dealing with things that may not go as I have planned. I've been feeling angry, hurt, upset, etc. and I'm not sure why, but I'm going to try and figure it out (soon). ;)

Part of it may be because I have been trying to cut down on the amount of caffeine I drink, but I don't contribute rage issues to that. If anything, consuming more caffeine hops me up and tends to have that effect, not cutting back, but who knows.

***

I wrote a post on my food blog yesterday about a recipe I made for dinner last night. I actually wrote it before we ate it, so I was hoping it would be good. I wrote it during naptime because that is when I did all the prep. I'm happy to report that it was delicious and I don't have to throw the second casserole dish of it out, but I can stick it in the freezer for sometime next month when D is gone at training*.

Oh, that too. D is going to some training next month and I'll be here alone with AJ for a while. Normally this would not bother me, it is par for the course, and all, but with all the anger and frustration I've been experiencing, I'm worried that I'll feel overwhelmed when he's gone. I mean, we'll both be fine; we'll get through it, but hopefully I can find some "me" time before then to decompress.

That's where I run into the real problem, I think. We're trying to be strict about our budget this year. We're trying to save a lot and pay off some debt. I'd rather have the money in savings than spend it on something else. So I guess my question for you is, what do you like to do for yourself to decompress? Do you have any low-cost, inexpensive or free things you suggest?

*I am using the term "training" very loosely. I'm not going to go into what it is he's doing or how long he's going to be gone, but just be comforted in the fact that he is not actually going to "training", but he will be gone for a while.