Playdoh and stuff

We made playdoh this afternoon.

Camdyn helped me make it.

Our first batch she wanted to be white, so she could make eggs she said.  Rowyn picked purple for the second batch.

While Rowyn played with the playdoh, I did some crafting.

There are many different recipes for homemade playdoh, but the one I use is:

Playdoh

1 cup flour

½ cup salt

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup water

1 tsp oil

food coloring

Mix all ingredients until smooth and solid color.  Pour into a pan and bring to boil over medium heat.  Stir until smooth and playdoh forms a ball.  Remove from pan, cool, and knead for a few minutes.  Store in an air tight container.

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I embellished a head band we had.  
The girls love how it turned out.
HGTV would say I "changed it out"...I hate that saying.

I asked for a smile and got the stink eye instead.

So I did what any good mother would do and promised her a brownie if she smiled.



We're still working on the potty training.  One day she's all about it and the next...no interest.

Yesterday, my mom was babysitting.  She asked Rowyn if she had to go to the potty.

Rowyn said no.

Then Rowyn peed on the floor.

My mom pretended to call the Easter Bunny from her cell phone.  She told the Easter Bunny to forget about chocolate for Rowyn, to just bring her diapers instead.

Without batting an eye, Rowyn started "dialing" her hand.  She pretended to use her "palm phone" to call the Easter Bunny back and proudly announced to my mom that the Easter Bunny was bringing her chocolates and candy...not diapers.

Smart little piss pot, isn't she?

Walking

Rowyn, Camdyn, Booth, and I went on a walk today, on the bike trail that surrounds our subdivision.  
It was a little chilly.  
I'm so ready for warmer weather.

There's our house off in the distance. 
There's our neighbors beach, dock, and pond.  
I'm jealous.  
Their landscaping is amazing. 

We talked about nature.
  
Even though the colors are drab, we still absorbed everything going on around us.


We saw creeks.

We listened to the water and to birds singing.

We talked about the trees turning green soon.  

And about this old boy that cracked and fell over.

We talked about animals...and then we realized we weren't alone.

A jungle cat was following us.
 

He proved to be a great guide.
 

Ferocious and fearless.
 

It's amazing everything going on around us.

The hustle and bustle of everyday life gets in the way.

It's nice to stop every now and then and see how great this earth is.

God is amazing. 

Rainbow Cookies

The weekend went by too quickly.  
It always does when I'm off.  The weekends I work...not so much.
I didn't feel well all weekend, so not much got accomplished.
I did manage to make the Thai wraps on Saturday night.  
Clyde and I liked them...the kids opted for cheese pizza.

Last night, I made rainbow cookies for dessert.
They're made with a cake mix.  Super easy. 

Rainbow Cookies

1 box cake mix (I had yellow on hand)
½ cup butter, softened
1 egg

Mix all ingredients together.  Form dough into 1 inch ball and roll in sugar crystals.  Bake at 350° oven for 10-13 minutes.  Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes, then move to wire rack.

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While I baked, Stevie Wonder Rapunzel and the Snow White Easter Bunny went on an egg hunt.  We filled the plastic eggs with Fruit Loops and Cooper hid them around the house.  

Booth joined in on the fun.  He thought the plastic egg was delicious enough, but the cereal inside was an added bonus.  When he finished with that, he ate the silicone skin for the Wii remote. 

Kindergarten round up tomorrow for a certain 5-year-old!  It's hard to believe I'll have three in school full time next year.

Food and Fighting

I'm think I'm going to try this this weekend.  I found it at Flipflops and Applesauce. Cute name, right?

Thai Chicken Wraps with Peanut Sauce:

The recipe from her site:


Peanut sauce:
In a small sauce pan combine:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp minced garlic
Heat on medium until sugar dissolves.

Wraps:
Ingredients:
8 {10"} flour tortillas
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
12 oz. chicken breast - cut into strips
1 Tbsp. oil
1 package {4 cups} broccoli slaw
1 medium red onion - cut into thin wedges
1 tsp. ginger - grated

In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil with garlic salt and pepper.
Add broccoli, onion, and ginger to skillet.
Cook and stir 3-4 minutes.

Serve with warm tortillas and peanut sauce.

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 Have you ever been to Allora Handmade?  Love her stuff. So many colors. Go on over and ooh and aah.
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Back to food.  I'm hungry.
Everybody knows Ree, the Pioneer Woman.  If you don't, crawl out from underneath that rock and check out her website.  
She's also an AMAZING photographer. 
So, delicious recipes combined with wickedly good pictures...and you simply can't resist.


Like this Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Panini

You can find the recipe HERE. 

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Print found here.

There has been incessant fighting at my house.

I'm so sick of it.

I know kids argue, but it's getting ridiculous.

It's so frustrating as a parent.

Sometimes I feel like my kids argue more than any other kids I know.


The name calling is the worst.

Hate and stupid are banned from our house.


Don't get me wrong, I love being a parent...but sometimes it's really hard.

print

 

If you know my husband, you know he's really LOUD.  

I think it's genetic.

I'm serious.  When he calls me from his cell phone, I have to hold it an arms length away.  He's that loud.

Rowyn has recently come into her Clyde voice.  That coupled with her new found mean streak, makes for some interesting conversations.  Hopefully it's over by summer, otherwise the neighbors will sure to be impressed.


I have a sore throat and a runny nose.  Just in time for the weekend.  Boo.  I'm sleeping in tomorrow and I can't wait.  It's the little things sometimes. 

 

Stitches and Wheaties

My parents always bring groceries with them when they stop by.
Sometimes it's fruit.  
Sometimes peanuts.  
But always something.  
My mom said my dad's parents were the same way.  So he enjoys it.

My dad loves a good deal.  So, when he found an outrageous deal on cereal, he brought us over 20 boxes.  There was a good mixture...Cocoa Puffs, Fruit Loops, Cheerios, Wheaties...but the kids wouldn't eat the Wheaties.  So, I had to find something else to do with them.

I found a recipe here. 

Wheaties Muffins

1 cup flour
¼ cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ cup shortening
1 egg
½ cup vanilla soy milk
2 cups Wheaties

Mix dry ingredients; add shortening, egg, and milk.  Mix well.  Fold in cereal.  Spray the muffin pan well.  Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

They were awesome right out of the oven.  The outside is a little crunchy and the inside moist.  Rowyn, Cooper, and I had one.  I didn't think they were as good the next day...so serve them for breakfast, fresh out of the oven. 

Booth stole two later on.  I'm not even lying.  It's true.  Our counter tops are not safe. I was at work, so I blame Clyde. 

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Rowyn had her first set of stitches Friday night.  She was standing on the seat in the shower, slipped, fell, and hit her chin off the seat on her way down.  I was trying to stay calm, but that adrenalin kicks in and chaos ensues.

We went to the ER and when we pulled up, she said, "I scared, Mommy."  Aww, poor baby.  Lots of hugs, kisses, and reassuring and she started to calm down.  Grammy met us there and that helped too.  Grammy brought suckers and her cell phone with that Tom Cat game on it.  Thank God for Grammy!

The nurse told Rowyn she was going to take her temperature.
Rowyn screamed.
The nurse told Rowyn she was going to weigh her.
Rowyn screamed.
The nurse asked to take off the bandaid, so she could see the cut.
Rowyn screamed.

The screaming drew a crowd...several more nurses came in to see if she needed help.  I'm sure they were surprised to see she hadn't even touched her yet at this point.

No shots were needed, they used a topical to numb her.  Awesome! 

Rowyn continued to be in rare form.  
She called Grammy a "big meanie!" and poor Tom Cat on the phone took a beating.

When the doctor finally came in, Rowyn pointed at him and announced, "I not like he!"  Which she continued to recite several more times.

They laid her on the table, four of us held her down, and the most amazing thing happened.  She didn't scream.  She didn't move.  She just lied there.  He put in five stitches and that was it.  I couldn't believe it.  I had myself all worked up for some big production, but it was over and done with in a matter of minutes.  They even gave her a Ty bear from the gift shop.


She fell asleep in the car on the way home.  A lot of excitement for a 2-year-old. 

Friday

I'm so happy it's warming up outside.
The girls played outside most of the day yesterday.
And nicely, I might add.

Beware of Rowyn's famous stink eye.

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Since Booth is getting bigger, I'm shopping for a new collar for him.  I think I have it narrowed down to these:

AllDogsAllowed

AddisonLogan

I made frozen pizza for lunch and he shredded the cardboard bottoms when I left the room.  He keeps that up and I'll buy him one of these to wear on it. ;)

 

Lucky

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I love Irish Blessings, they're usually full of wit and wisdom.  

A few of my favorites...

May those who love us, love us; and those who don't love us, may God turn their hearts; and if He doesn't turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles so we'll know them by their limping.

May you live as long as you want, 

and never want as long as you live.

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Yesterday, while I was at work, Grammy and the kids made a Leprechaun trap.  The kids couldn't wait to show me when I got home.  I love how it turned out.  Riley told me she is so lucky to have a Grammy that does fun stuff with them. 

This morning the coins were gone.  Tricky little Leprechaun. ;)

Clyde and I put the kids to bed and sat down to watch Criminal Minds.  Afterwards, we turned off the lights, locked the doors, and headed to bed.  We found Rowyn asleep in our doorway.  It must have been that tricky little Leprechaun that moved her there, because she would NEVER get out of bed after we tucked her in.  She would never get lotion all over my nightstand.  She would never smash chapstick on the bathroom counter.  Nope, she would never.  Had to be the leprechaun.

Puppy Kindergarten

Booth had his first day of school yesterday.  We took both our Huskies to it in the past.  It's great for socialization and working on basic commands.  Plus, it's pretty darn cute to see them all together.  Booth brought all his humans, except Rowyn, who stayed with Grammy and Papa instead.

Please let me go play!
 

Lots of butt sniffing.

That's Kaia, the English Mastiff.  She's going to be a BIG girl. 
 

Jesse, the Border Collie, meets Mara, the English Spaniel.

Mogli, the German Shepard introduces himself to Walter.  Haha, I think Walter peed himself shortly there after.

Booth says hello to Walter and his human.

Walter braves it alone!

There was also an Airedale Terrier, a Black Lab, and a Goldendoodle.  We worked on sit, down, and rollover...all of which Booth already knew, so he showed off to his new friends. We worked on calling our dogs back...Booth failed.  He had no interest in listening to me, he was much more interested in playing.  So, that's our homework this week.

Next week...obstacle course! 

Dixon

We visited with friends yesterday.  They just had their sixth baby.  A little boy, that I'm quite enamored with.

Greyson
 

His brother thought he needed bunny ears. :)
 

Big sister, Karis, showed me how she does the chicken dance.  I think she has the world's longest eyelashes.  Really.  They're gorgeous!

Ryanne is a snuggler...I loved every minute of it.  Poor little girl started feeling (and sounding) miserable around dinner time.  Leslie took her in to the doctor later that night and found out she has croup.  Oh how I hate hearing kids with croup...the gasping for air...just breaks my heart.  We hope she's feeling better today!

Proof it hasn't been that long since we had a wee one.  He might not admit it, but he misses it.

Such a cutie!
 

Just before we left, we got a picture of the gang...minus Ryanne.  When Leslie and I met the first time, Cooper was a year old.  It's hard to believe how much has changed, growing kids, adding kids, new houses...but one thing hasn't changed...our friendship. :)