Enjoy the Rainbow

I just wasted about 20 minutes of my life in search of the most hideous and annoying blog background. And yes, I think I found it. Just shy of being vomit inducing worthy, this rainbow/floral wallpaper does give Chinese Water Torture a run for it's money. Seriously, aren't you repulsed by now? Don't you want to find a more pleasant looking blog to read? I even think one with miniature Justin Biebers all over the background wouldn't be as abominable as this blog. To all my followers out there (yes, I said "followerS", of which I only recognize one of them) I hope you enjoy the rainbow. I have no clue who you all are and am quite puzzled to why you would be reading the minute ramblings of my very volatile mind. If you came here for parenting advice, you have absolutely come to the WRONG place. If you came here to learn how to make crafts, or perhaps to read really important and sometimes uplifting thoughts on life, or maybe to look at amazing photography... still WRONG place. If you are just plain stalking me, well, comment me your address and I'll send you an autograph. Until I find out who you are, the rainbow stays. Toodles!

Shoes

Ava loves shoes. Whether it's plastic little dress up shoes, mommy's shoes, daddy's shoes or her big sisters' shoes, she is a shoe fetish type of girl. I guess that makes her a normal girl. She has even tried to take other babies' shoes off their feet so she could wear them. I guess that makes her a klepto. Note to self: do not take Ava to Payless or any other shoe store. Today she insisted on wearing these:

Don't you love how it matches her cute dress (which Brooklyn picked out). I guess we know whose fashion sense she inherited (Dad). Hmmm...we've got a little work to do.

Evidence

I would like to submit this photo as evidence of why I don't think my children really like me. Seriously, I had just sorted through boxes and boxes of baby clothes and little girl clothes and had reorganized them yesterday.

What's cookin'?

I decided as part of the whole New Year's Resolution thing, I was going to learn to make new foods. I really do enjoy cooking as long as the kids don't bug me and the dishes are clean. Though I am not the best cook and will never claim to be, I am pretty good at researching recipes. I not only read the recipes but also scan lots of comments of others who have made the recipe. I try to stick closely to the instructions. It really annoys me when others review a recipe and decide to change almost everything about it, only to then give it 1 star. Also, I only make 4+ star recipes and most of them come from the amazing website, Allrecipes.com.

This year, I have resolved to try at least one new recipe a week. To the ghost of Julia Child, I promise not to offend you. In fact, I promise not to use any of your recipes. Rest in peace.

This past month I have discovered a couple of really good recipes which I'd like to share. First, a shout out to Carolyn (whoever the heck you are--if you are dead, could you please say "hi" to Ms. Child for me) for her amazing Orange Rolls. They were sooooo (I don't think I can add too many "o's" here) good. I topped them with a Orange flavored frosting, which I'm sure most people would love though I can't give a fair review since I'm not a huge fan of cream cheese. But it was good. Seriously, anyone who reads this must try these.

Next, is the Zuppa Toscana. The title of this recipe says "Super-Delicious." I don't think I would agree completely. It was good but probably not worthy of my recipe book though.

The next meal I made was a pretty simple Mexican Casserole. Last Saturday, I realized I hadn't made anything new that week. So, I hurried to find something. The picture looked good and I had most of the ingredients, so I went for it. Yummy! I don't even really like black beans but this was good. Next time I will add onions to the chicken along with some green chilies and extra salsa. Mackenzie seriously loved it so I guess it proved itself as "kid-friendly" as it claims.

Tonight, I will be making BBQ Chicken Calzones. Not only is BBQ chicken pizza my favorite food, but I had this at a restaurant a while ago and really enjoyed it. So we shall see how it all turns out. As for the rest of the year, I hope I can keep this up. Will be trying all types of dishes from breakfast to dessert. I saw a Baked Alaska recipe the other day. Do I dare???

Lately...

I haven't been the best at updating this blog lately. Probably because I just assume that my life is way too boring to post anything about. Or perhaps I don't have time. Or perhaps I am too wiped out or too stressed out to sit down and just write. Whatever my excuse is (it changes daily), I need to do better. These are my memories and I need to record them. So here is a brief run down of what has been going on the last couple of months.

1. Thanksgiving in Winnemucca. It was cold.

2. Family Pictures

3. Happy 8th Anniversary to us! Best dinner ever, Wolfgang Puck's Postrio in the Venetian. Raspberry chocolate chip souffle to die for!

4. Ear Tube surgery for Brooklyn. She can hear now. Still snores and is still clumsy. I am surprised at how responsible she is with wearing her earplugs in the bathtub. I always forget but Brooklyn is always there to remind me.

5. Christmas at Home. Ava discovered the magic of wrapping paper and her big sister's new bicycle. Brooklyn put her in her place by shoving her off. Just a little drama which one should always expect on the most exciting morning of the year.

6. Mackenzie figured out how to ride her bike sans training wheels. Finally! As proof of what mean parents we are, we showed her youtube clips of 3 year olds riding 2 wheeler bikes to make her feel bad. It worked I guess.

7. Mackenzie finally discovered the difference between baby boys and baby girls. Abe's cousin (who has a little boy) was staying with us and Mackenzie said she didn't want a to ever have a baby brother if it looked like him. Trying to explain herself, she said, "Because he has a weird thing hanging down right there" (pointing to her private area).

8. Tax Season 2011. 3 days longer this year...Blah! April 18th, you can't come soon enough.

9. Night time potty training Brooklyn. So far, only one accident. She didn't exactly pee on her bed--she got up and sat on Mack's bed and let it go. Poor Mack.

10. Mackenzie's constant babble about Justin Bieber...or Justin Biever as she almost always calls him. If you buy a poster of him at Walmart, warning: Mackenzie has most likely kissed it.

11. Girl Scout Cookies! Their goal was to sale 36 boxes. Mackenzie (with the help of her wonderful mother, hardworking father and very popular dental school student Uncle Nate) sold a total of 254 boxes! That's over $1000 of cookies!

12. Brooklyn started her new school. No longer is she classified "special ed." It's a community based program where half the kids are normal and half are slightly delayed. A little more advanced to help prepare her for kindergarten down the road.

Honor Roll

I know it's only first grade and all but we are still very impressed. Congratulations to Mackenzie for making all A's on her report card. She really is the smartest kid I know (and I'm not saying that because I'm her mom.) She is reading at almost a 3rd grade level. She loves to read and learn. Today, Mack was walking around reading a cook book. Just wait until she discovers Encyclopedia.

Dear Santa...

After standing in line for an hour or more, (don't worry the kids did not have to stand there the whole time--Abe took them through the store to do fun crafts and see all the animals in Bass Pro and to the mermaid show at the aquarium--so they weren't tortured) this is the best we could do.

Seconds before this picture was taken, Brooklyn had been jumping around excited to see Santa. Here, she almost looks terrified. And Ava, well, I am just glad she didn't claw Santa or try to bite him. Although with how unhappy Mr. Claus looks, you would think that she had attacked him.

Better luck next year, I guess.