Winter Sandbox

One of my friends pinned this on Pinterest and I thought it would be a fun project for Harlie and I to do, since it sounded so easy (see: I DON'T CRAFT).  Also, I knew that I had some alphabet macaroni leftover from a bag that mom gave Harlie in her Easter basket, and I had read in the blog comments that some readers had used pasta instead of rice. So then after some google searching I came across this recipe that had a smaller yield. Colored ABC macaroni would be fun, but I only had a little bit so I decided to try both rice and macaroni!  They both worked great, and it was so easy.  Harlie ended up playing for close to an hour with the final product. I thought it would be good to document some of these fun and successful crafts on here, so I can revisit them on a rainy day.

***Reminder to self:  Do not leave play rice outside unattended....birds can eat it and die. Also, not to be ingested by humans either, as this recipe uses hand sanitizer (oh yum!).

You'll need rice (or macaroni), food coloring, rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer (an alternative I picked up from a blog comment, since I don't have rubbing alcohol handy), plastic bags, and a trusty assistant.

The original recipe called for 1 cup of rice per color, but I only had a about a cup of macaroni so I cut the recipe in half so I could use all 4 colors (2 of rice and 2 of macaroni)

Add 4-5 drops of food coloring and 1/2 Tbs of hand sanitizer to a plastic bag and then seal and squoosh around to get it mixed.

Add 1/2 cup of rice and then seal again and more squooshing.

Spread on baking sheet and then let dry (alcohol will evaporate so this only takes 30 min to an hour).

Once dry, dump the rice into a baking dish or large plastic container and let your kid let loose with some spoons, cups and bowls (or sand toys would work too, but probably with more rice).

It looks really pretty laid out all neatly, but it's even more fun once the colors mingle.

Pretty pretty rainbow!!!

Randomness

Gonna let the captions do the talking, because I am just plain lazy.

Harlie woke up one morning super early because she had kicked all her covers off and she was COLD.  She asked for socks and her beloved scarf from grandma and papa and then fell back asleep.  This is a photo of her before I had to wake her up to get ready for preschool. I love kids.

Harlie's hair is getting so long and it's kinda freaking me out.  I guess I'm mourning her little toddler bob.

Oh they are just the cutest ever. One on one cousin outings are the best!

So are trips to Costco. Costco makes me happy.

In an effort to thwart bedtime shenanigans, we started a bedtime behavior chart for Harlie and it's worked pretty well so far.  Harlie gets to provide input on what reward she will earn.  Her first reward - a pink cup.

She earned her 2nd reward yesterday but couldn't cash it in until today when her tummy felt better.  Hmmm, a pink ice cream cone, I think there may be a theme going on here.

Aust was happy he got to reap the rewards of Harlie's good behavior too!

It was Horsey's birthday, so Harlie threw him a birthday party. Nana Bear and Elmo were invited.  Geez, Harlie's room is a MESS!

Harlie's 3 Year Well Child Visit

A couple weeks ago I brought Harlie in to see Dr. Wang for her 3 year check-up and a flu shot.  It was 5 days before Christmas and I was super anxious about bringing her in for 3 reasons:

1. The germ-fest awaiting us in the waiting room as Harlie gnawed and pawed on the community toys.
2. I was sure that Harlie would either come down with a mild case of the flu right after her shot, or because her body would be busy fighting the flu virus that was injected into her, I was sure she would succumb to a different bug.
3. Harlie's fear of Dr. Wang in infancy began with a shot and so in the past year because she had made numerous visits to his office shot free, her and the doc had developed a relationship of sorts, where she would actually look at him without crumpling into the fetal position and crying and stand on the (oh so scary monster) scale voluntarily for his assistant. I just KNEW that this flu shot was going to reverse all progress and I'd have to drag her in kicking and screaming the next time she had an appt.

Well hallelujah, the heavens opened up, and a Christmas miracle happened. After a few minutes that she and Dr. Wang chatted about gymnastics and her favorite color, I lifted her up onto the table and with one quick "Where's Nemo?!" from the doc, the shot was given and Harlie wasn't the wiser. No cry, no grunt, nothing! Oh I was so happy. Harlie left the office with a smile and two(!) lollipops.

She is 34 lbs and in the 76th percentile for weight. She's leaned out a little bit since she had been holding on at 35 lbs for several months. She is also 39 inches tall and in the 85th percentile for height. This is another indication that she's starting to lose her baby fat (sniff), because since she was about a year, her height and weight percentiles have been about the same.

Showing our Christmas Spirit and New Beginnings

For all of 2011, minus two weeks in January, Scott and I were co-workers for BOE. Both of us being customer service representatives, we didn't spend much time together at work aside from sharing a few breaks and commuting to and fro. It worked out for the most part, because we could commiserate about our jobs, save gas by carpooling and both pick up Harlie from daycare together.

The job of a CSR is very un-glamorous. To be perfectly honest it is painfully monotonous, and when we're busy, it can be exhausting and crazy making. Time off the phones is a precious commodity. Lucky for us, during this holiday season, our call center manager organized a decorating contest and gave each team 2 hours off the phones to decorate and then we could also use whatever time between calls to plan and decorate as well.  Everyone really dove into the challenge and had fun with it...Scott's team, "Whoville" ended up in 2nd place and my team, "Candyland" landed in 3rd.

Now it has come time for me to fly the nest and settle a little closer to home so that one of us can be closer to Harlie, scoop her up earlier from daycare and start dinner at a decent hour, hopefully keeping bedtime from continuing to be a constant rushed and frustrating ordeal. On Tuesday I start my new job as an Office Technician for the Bureau of Automotive Repair, just 7 minutes from home. Yippee! Since Friday was my last day, Scott and I both left work at noon and headed to Casa Ramos for lunch and margaritas. The margaritas were great, the food-not so much (other locations are delicious, not sure what their problem is). The highlight of the afternoon though was heading over to the ice rink for some dweeby shenanigans.  Boy, were we the most un-cool people there, but we had fun!

I love this photo of Scott. <3

This was me the whole time, hunched over just trying to keep from falling. Cute. ;-)

2011 Recap

My end of the year survey for 2010 can be found here.  Let's see how 2011 measured up.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

• Carpooled to work .
• Performed the same job at the same place of work with my husband.
• Took a typing test and passed!`
• Slipped and Slid as an adult.
• Rented a house.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?


• My resolutions last year were to be kinder to myself and those around me that deserve all the love I can give them. I failed miserably at this and am just now making efforts to improve my overall temperament and ways in which I cope with stress.  In the same way, I have not taken very good care of myself either...this is something that needs to change.
• Resolutions for 2012:
• Explore ways to cope with stress that are effective and healthy. Picking fights with your husband and losing patience with your children are not these ways.
• Find a way to include exercise into my week on a regular basis. This goal is more to improve overall health...I mean let's be real...I don't like to exercise, so anything I do isn't going to make my legs and butt stop jiggling, but if I can get my blood pumping faster and more often, that can only be good for me.
• Engage in more physical play with Harlie. 
• Read more books (aside from book club selections).
• Make more mix CD's.
• Find ways to spend more quality time with Scott. Romance on the cheap!  Any ideas?
• Bake with YEAST!
• Let go and let God.  Sounds cheesy...but dude do I need to loosen my grip and chill the eff out.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?


• Yes!  Autumn had a baby girl, Brandi in April. 
• Austin's Aunt Julie gave birth to a baby boy, Kyle in November.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?
None.


6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

• Dinner on the table by 6:00!
• More available sick time (I'm looking at you, Harlie!).
• A growing savings account.
• A vacation...a real one.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

• January 14th, the day Scott started at BOE.
• Harlie's 1st day at Jessica's in May.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?


• I can't really think of any any HUGE achievements.  Scoring high on the TTII test and being offered the OT job at BAR were things good things because it meant I had choices, which is something I haven't had much of these last 2 years.

9. What was your biggest failure?

• This is a repeat from last year, but the way I took my frustrations out on Scott and didn't work as hard as I could have to strengthen our marriage. 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

• Just a cold or two

11. What was the best thing you bought?

• My laptop.
• Daycare
• Harlie's gymnastics tuition

12. Where did most of your money go?

• Food
• Daycare
• Insurance

13. What did you get really excited about?

• Summertime (in our backyard and with friends and family)
• Scott's birthday over-nighter and our 2 night stay in Tahoe.
• Trips to Napa and Livermore, and birthday dinners with the girls.
• Our day trip to Tahoe with the fam.
• Christmas!!!

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?

• That Adele song about the guy she loves who's married now.  It would always play in the car on the ride to and from work. Scott is the only person on the planet I know that cannot stand that song, and so we would always fight about changing the radio station.  It will probably always remind me of the year we worked together.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– happier or sadder? About the same....once again after months filled with change, the end of the year brings a positive transition and sense of hopefulness
– thinner or fatter? About the same. Maybe a little fatter.
– richer or poorer? Richer, income wise. Poorer, debt wise.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?


Exercising, Smiling, Laughing, Creating, Cooking for fun, Playing with Scott

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?


• Micro-managing and trying to control everything around me.
• I wish I'd eaten less $3 mini meals.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

At home with Harlie and then up the hill at mom's with Austin and the fam. Christmas Eve was spent at Florence and John's.

19. What was your favorite TV program?
Biggest Loser

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

Firefly Lane, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels and The Help

21. What was your favorite music from this year?


Gosh I am so out of touch with the kind of music I like. Since Scott and I carpool, we only listen to 107.9. Bleh. I don't even know why we do.  But I really really loved Rolling in the Deep by Adele.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?

Bridesmaids, Catfish, Just Go with It

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 33. I know I worked that day and then I think we came home and had Papa Murphy's.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If we would have been able to buy a house.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

I have a fashion concept in my head and if I ever come across some discretionary cash, maybe it can materialize.

26. What kept you sane?

I don't know that anything really did. :-)  But maybe Harlie's daily log sheets from daycare and her sweet smile and hugs.  Having priorities helps organize the chaos.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.


Autumn was right. Just give it a little time and every change I face will eventually become the new 'normal'. Be less afraid, and have faith.

Peace Love Joy

A Visit with Mr and Mrs. Claus

Christmas in the Ranch

Egg Nog Pancakes

We've all been drunk on egg nog this week, and after drooling over Lenette's Facebook post about egg nog cookies, I decided to make some egg nog pancakes this morning by making some substitutions to my BHG cookbook's plain pancake recipe. Then I created an egg noggy syrup to go along with it. Scott loved it and said it needs to be our new Christmas morning breakfast, so I'm writing it down so I can remember what I did. I guess its time to be a grown-up and ditch the canned cinnamon rolls.

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens pancake recipe:


Pancakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water (or 1 beaten egg)
• 1 1/4 cups Egg Nog
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

Syrup/Glaze

• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup egg nog
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; set aside.

2. In another medium mixing bowl combine the flax/water (or egg), eggnog, and cooking oil. Add egg nog mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy).

3. For standard-size pancakes, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes on each side or till pancakes are golden brown, turning to second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Combine ingredients for syrup and serve warm with pancakes. Makes 8 to 10 standard-size pancakes.

On the Way Back From Tree Huntin'