measurements

Whenever I watch shows about cooking, they always stress the importance of being strict with your measurements when it comes to baking. I've never been that strict. When it comes to teaspoons or tablespoons of things (like baking soda), I always eyeball it and just dash it in without using a spoon. I've never had trouble with things not turning out.

I also never really follow the directions as far as the order of adding things (like mixing the wet first, then adding the dry). Again, never had a problem. Last night, my casual attitude came back to bite me with an Angel Food mix I bought to make for my dad's b-day lunch. I ignored the specific instructions as to how fast and long to mix it. I ended up with a super dense cake that I had to throw out. I guess I learned my lesson.

I ended up getting a store bought cake and made what turned out to be a pretty good dessert. I layered the cake, coconut pudding, and cool whip in a trifle dish. It was quite tasty. My little helper enjoyed sampling the cake as he tore it into pieces.






We had a great time at my parents'. The kids got their Easter Baskets from my parents and Cam has been a big fan of his new glasses.

random pics...in no particular order

Here is Karen, one of my closest friends, whom I've only actually hung out with a few times our whole friendship. But we, along with my sister, email several times a week and she has been such a huge support for me in everything with Cameron. I visited her last spring and this was one of the funny shots we got.


Some friends and I did a walk for Breast Cancer back when my mom was first diagnosed. It was a great day.


This was one of Chris and my all time favorite vacations. Our friends invited us to stay in their suite at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. This was something we'll NEVER get to do again, so it was awesome to feel like one of the "wealthy" for a weekend. :)


Just took this yesterday. Pure cuteness.


This was taken the last time my sister's kids were together with mine. We are minus two here. They are coming home for several months next January. I'm BEYOND excited. Not only is my sister one of my best friends and I get to actually see her, but I'm elated at the thought of the cousins spending so much time together.


This was back when I was pregnant with Cameron. The staff at the high school I worked at threw me a shower. That was SUCH a great job and I still miss it.


A while back Chris took Cam to Panera Bread for their weekly breakfast. Cam was unsure about the bagel, since he had never had one. After telling him it was a "bagel donut", he chowed down. Who wouldn't love those cinnamon crunch bagels???

*Cam has spring break this week. Today we met my mom at the park to feed the ducks. We then headed over to Chick Filet for some playtime. Next, we walked over to a fountain so Cam could throw his little bucket of pennies.

*Chick Filet, to me, is like Trader Joes and In & Out. It really isn't THAT great, but it's become a fad and very trendy to be an addict. I know many will disagree with me on this. :)

*Kendall took a 2 hour nap this morning (9-11)! The only problem is that whenever she takes a "normal" nap like this, she will not nap the rest of the day. What a puzzle that girl is!

*We are going over to my parents' on Wednesday to celebrate a very belated birthday for my dad. My is-anything-but-overweight-silly-dad has requested a lite dessert. This severely limits my baking creativity. He tried to tell me to just make something like fruit and yogurt. I said, "We are NOT having yogurt as your dessert!". I have to draw the line somewhere!!

*Why do you have to wash lettuce when it constantly gets sprayed at the super market?

*Dr. Laura moved radio stations. Her new station gets fuzzy EVERY single time I go under any type of tunnel or phone line. So annoying!

*I'm supposed to have started sleep training with Kendall and I keep coming up with excuses not to. I have very little motivation because I get plenty of rest since she nurses so quick during the night. I know I need to do it as she is FAR too old to be feeding during the night. I was way more strict with Cam!

*It was almost hot today and it is actually supposed to snow Wednesday night. Weird!

weekend with family

My in-laws came to stay with us this weekend. While they wanted to see all of us, they specifically drove 4 hours just so they could see Cam play in his t-ball game yesterday. After getting Cam all geared up and driving down to the field, we were told the game was cancelled due to wind. We were pretty frustrated not only that the league waited until the parents got there to inform us, but that now Debbie and Wayne couldn't see him play.

Luckily Cam took it well, and it made it better that he got to have his own personal game with his grandparents in the backyard when we came home.



Later we met up with my brother and sister-in-law and their girls for dinner at Spaghetti Factory. Chris and I ventured out and ordered their new Garlic Mizzithra (same but with garlic and bacon). Um...let's just say one should never stray from the original. :) Here is a cute pic of Lauren and Kendall. Kendall was quite taken with her and gave some pretty good smiles.



And here are the four cousins. We couldn't get all of them to smile/look at once, but it's still cute.



Today we took Debbie and Wayne to Gourmet Pizza Shoppe. After a stop at the park, they took off for home and we are now back relaxing while Kendall naps. Great weekend.

2 unhealthy but fabulous recipes

Yesterday I tried two new recipes that were awesome! The first was sent to me by Jessica, thanks! They are called, Crunchy Caramel Reeses Cookie Bars. They taste like a homemade Snickers bar...really. I made some for my Tmoms table, so hopefully they'll agree with my conclusion that they are definitely worth making.



Last night I tried a recipe from my Taste of Home Magazine. It's called Meatball Sub Casserole. It isn't the healthiest recipe, however mine wasn't too bad since I used ground turkey and low fat mayo and cream cheese. It is kind of a fun dish and has a really unique and yummy flavor.



p.s. Kendall just started pulling herself up. Isn't she just so proud of herself?

My Dearest Kendall,
Ahhh, what words should be said after a night like last night? After letting your new habit of waking twice a night go for too long, I finally decided to do something about it. I know you aren't supposed to compare siblings, but I would like to mention that Cameron started sleeping 12 hours a night at 8 months...and never looked back. YOU, on the other hand, have been quite different.

Last night was rough. After an HOUR AND 20 MINUTES of crying, I finally gave in. You won. Mommy guilt wouldn't let me wait any longer. But Kendall, as you gaze at your pretty little face in that mirror...



...ask yourself this question: "Why do I make my mommy's nights so miserable?".

Your loving but sleep deprived mom,
Kelly

my special sunday morning

This morning we were a tad late to church because I just had to get a couple shots of my little flower...



But my baby being the cutest girl EVER isn't why my Sunday morning was special. It was special because of what I observed as Cam ran into his class. There was a teen boy helping in the class. After noticing he was holding a ball, Cam went up to him and said, "Hi! How's it going? Want to play catch?". I've said before that for most parents, this wouldn't be a big deal. But for us, this is HUGE. I actually teared up and luckily ran into my mom on my way out so I could gush to her. This is so big for my little guy--to ENGAGE another boy. I'm on cloud nine and will continue to be for the rest of the day. I'm in love with my Cam.

while the husband is away...

Chris left yesterday with a friend for Spring Training in Arizona. He won't get back until late Sunday night. Last night I figured I had two options to take advantage of my night by myself:

A) Get a sitter. Call a friend for dinner and a chick flick that Chris wouldn't want to see. Maybe even get some dessert afterward.

B) Watch about 20 minutes of a made for TV movie and turn out the lights for bed at 7:50.

Want to guess which option I went with?

ditch day

Today Cam played hooky from school and went to Disneyland with my parents. He had a great time, despite not getting to go on a ton of rides because it was so crowded. Thanks mom and dad!!



I also played hooky from mom duty and left Kendall with Chris while I drove out to meet Jen's new daughter, Amelia Joy. So precious. It was nice to relax and get the play by play of the birth. :)

muffin redo

It's always hard to come up with something other than a sandwich to send in Cam's lunch each day. I often send my veggie muffins (muffins with pureed veggies dumped in the dough), but I don't like that they don't have any protein. When I was looking through the different bags of frozen veggies at the store, I came across Black Eyed Peas. I was surprised to find that they have tons of protein! So Cam's latest batch of muffins also includes pureed Black Eyed Peas. He was none the wiser upon sampling and I felt better about including them as his main "entree" in his school lunch.

Kendall wanted a sample, but I think these are a little advanced for her. :)

Just for good measure, here is a pic I snapped the other day of my cute little family.

visitors

This weekend Noonie and Deb came to stay with us. They arrived just in time for Cam's t-ball game. They were quite the cheerleaders and I think Cam loved looking over and seeing his fan club of 1 expanded to 3 (Chris was out in the field with him). After the game, the kids and I came home and the three of them went to play golf. Later that afternoon, I took the kids to a birthday party. This was the first time Cam experienced a bounce house and he was in HEAVEN!!



That night Chris made his Baked Potato Skillet for dinner, which was super yummy. It was a nice, relaxing evening of good food and catching up.

This morning they went out for round two of golf and the kids and I went to church. Later, we went to Gourmet Pizza for lunch (Brando and Sausage were on the menu). I think Noonie and Deb are officially fans. :)



It was a fun weekend and Cam really enjoyed his over night guests. He kept thanking them for coming and I'm sure he will mention them again over the next few days.

p.s. I think we are getting closer to Kendall staying in the nursery. I've stayed in there the past two Sundays and I sensed I might have been able to sneak out today. Hopefully I can make that attempt next week. It will be so nice for Chris and I to start attending church TOGETHER again. :)

crawling

Kendall turned 10 months this past Monday and has yet to crawl. I'm excited for her to get there as I know she'll love it, plus I think it will help the cling factor a tad so that she can follow me from room to room, rather than cry when I leave. She has started her "army crawl", which is at least a start. Here she is in action...

red onion compote

Last night I made these burgers.. The burgers were ok, but the Red Onion Compote was delicious and I will definitely make it again. Basically you simmer a sliced red onion in water, beer, and brown sugar for an hour. It creates this delicious sweet onion topping that makes your burger awesome!

8 years

Today Chris and I celebrate 8 years of marriage. I know I've made lists before about things I love about him, so I'll just sum it up in one short sentence: Chris makes my life fun and is the most helpful, intuitive, funny, loving husband I could ever want. We often joke that we are literally with each other 24/7. Since he works from home, unless he is in his office, we generally do almost everything together. I can honestly say I love that aspect of our lives and I find myself missing him when he does have to be gone. So Happy Anniversary Chris! Thanks for being the best husband and father I could ever ask for!

shopping

Yesterday's paper was quite exciting for me. Anybody see the cover of the Target ad? Yep! My swimsuit went on sale. So off Kendall and I went this morning. The only problem was that they had my size in the top, but not the bottom. I figured I could still make it work, so I went ahead and bought the whole thing.

However this brings me to the point of my post, which is the difference in shopping with kids. I could have tried on the bottoms to see if they would fit. Kendall was quite content chewing on her little teething biscuit (and making quite a mess). But did I REALLY want to wheel my big cart into the dressing room, risk her not staying content, and rush through the mental process of, "Do I really like this? What did that other size look like in comparison? Blah, blah, blah."

Shopping is SO different now. I never thought I would purchase so many items without trying them on. Thank goodness for return policies. Especially when I have both kids with me, there is no way in heck I'm gong to take the time to try things on. I can't just try something on, take a quick glance and decide that I want or don't want it. I'm sure many girls are the same way, but I have to look at it from all angles. Analyze if I already have something similar. Is it worth it? Should I try a different size? Color? You know what I mean.

Anyway, all that to say shopping is no longer like it was in high school and college. Then we could spend as much time as we wanted (I say "we" because I rarely ever did it without friends!) in the dressing room, analyzing each other till our hearts content. :) Ahhh...the good ol' days!

GAME DAY!

Today was Cam's first t-ball game. We started out with pictures this morning in the FRIGID weather. Cam didn't seem to mind as he was bouncing around with excitement. Here he is before we headed out for our professional photography session. :)



Cam did GREAT at his game. Great for him means he had the time of his life, hit the ball, and ran to the bases like he was supposed to. The only trouble he had was in going after the ball. He would make a run for it as soon as it was hit, but when the other kids also came rushing toward it , he backed off. Hey, at least he made an attempt! :)




After his game we took him to a, "special baseball lunch" at Ruby's. We have never been huge Ruby's people, but Chris had gotten a gift card for Christmas from a client, and I had received a coupon from Cam's school as a thanks for helping out in his class. So off we went! Both kids did great (we got a pic, but it was too dark...darn) and it was the perfect ending to our little boy's first game day. I'm SOOO proud of him...I mean really, really proud of him. :)

p.s. Did I say I'm proud of my little guy?

today

*Chris took Cam to Disneyland today. After fighting traffic to get there, he realized he had grabbed my pass, instead of Cam's. Luckily they were super nice when he explained and he was able to get into both parks. They tried out Star Tours and Cam loved it! "Want to go on the big movie ride again!" :) Right now they are at his brother's house for dinner, before heading home.

*Kendall and I ran some errands this morning, including exchanging Cam's t-ball pants since tomorrow are his team pictures.

*This afternoon we headed to Target to see if my swimsuit was on sale. I've had my eye on this one for a while and keep going back to see if it has gone on sale. No luck today.

*Kendall has yet to crawl correctly, however just yesterday she started her "army crawl", where she scoots herself quite quickly on her tummy. Very cute, but I'm ready for her to crawl. I think it will help me a lot as she can then follow me from room to room, rather than cry whenever I leave the room (seriously, every time I'm out of her sight...sigh). :)

*I'm thinking of having some leftover orange chicken for dinner. We bought some super yummy frozen stuff from Costco. It's on par with a Chinese restaurant.
Mmmmm....

bucket list

I recently went to a get together with my small group from my Bible study. One of the questions we all were asked had to do with our bucket lists. Honestly I had never thought about mine nor made a list of things I HAVE to do before I die. I was able to come up with two that night.

1. Visit Atlantis: Ever since Chris and I first saw the hotel (just in pictures), we've told each other that one day we'll vacation there. For some reason it just seems like it must be the most relaxing, amazing, beautiful place to stay. I think having two little ones makes it seem all that more magical because it represents a week filled with absolutely no responsibility.



2. Starbucks: I've always wanted to work at Starbucks. When I was in high school, I worked at a bagel shop and loved it. I loved serving people, getting to know the regulars, etc. I think it would feel good to make people happy by making their oh so specific drink requests.



My bucket list really isn't that lofty nor impressive. I don't have grand ambitions of traveling the world nor jumping out of a plane. And while I don't know if either will every come to fruition, it's kind of fun to think about. :)

doc

Yesterday Chris took Cam to the doctor. He hadn't been complaining of any pain, but due to several days of him tugging at his ears, we figured we should take him in. All was well, but what we were the most excited about was how he did at the doctor. In the past, doctor's visits have been VERY traumatic for him. He would always cry very hard whenever they tried to examine him. No amount of playfulness on the doctor's part would help. I dreaded the visits.

However today we had a new little boy. Not only did he do great when she looked in his ears and took his temp (he just giggled as it seemed to tickle him), but he also topped it off by saying, "Nice to meet you!", as she left the room. Ahhh...what a difference. I think it definitely deserved a high five...