11.23.2011

Hilarious things Ethan thinks about while eating

I am totally stealing this from a group of mine on facebook, but it really is too hilarious to not post. Here are some things we have decided babies must think whilst eating:


While eating macaroni:
"I want more macaroni!"
"How DARE you move the macaroni I already have into a pile!?"
"Ooo, macaroni."
 "Get this macaroni away from me NOW!"
"ooooh, I bet I can use macaroni as conditioner"  
"One for me, one for the dog, one for me, one for the dog--" 
‎"If I hide this macaroni under my leg, she won't see it, then when she takes my tray away, I have a snack!" 

‎"Uh oh! Macaroni fell out of my hand onto the floor. Accidentally, of course."


‎::throws macaroni emphatically on the ground:: "UH-OH!"


"You eat this, Mommy. NO! It's mine."



 "Let me chew it for a bit and then spit it out into my hand to look at and put it back in my mouth for consumption."  


"No, mom. I'm pretty sure the floor is hungry. NoDon'tPickThat----uhhhh. Sorry, floor. I got your back, buddy. Here's more."


"Don't wipe my face. Never wipe my face!"


"Bring me my sippy cup, woman!" **gulp gulp gulp ** "I tire of this sippy cup!" **throws forcefully to the floor** "Now, give it back to me!"


So true!    

11.21.2011

Thanksgiving Stuffing!

So my family has about the best Thanksgiving stuffing recipe out there ever. I may be a slight bit biased, but I have tried looking for it online- and I can't find it anywhere! I really should post pictures of it, but since we really only make it during Thanksgiving I can't justify making it without a turkey! Our recipe has always been verbal, so writing it down will just make it last longer in my opinion.  It truly is original.

Nila's Family Stuffing:

What you will need:
1 lb sausage (breakfast kind)
2 cans of unpitted olives (these can be hard to find, we use Graber olives here), drained
Seasoned cornbread dressing according to size of turkey
Celery according to dressing package, minced (leaves included)
Onions according to package, minced
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 carton of chicken broth
1-2 eggs

Instructions:
Cook sausage, set aside and leave the drippings in the pan. Saute the minced onions and celery in the drippings, then drain. In a large bowl, add cornbread according to the size of your turkey, the cooked minced onions and celery, cooked sausage, 1-2 eggs (start with one, if it is not enough to spread evenly, add another), butter. Mix together, then add drained olives. Lastly, add chicken broth- but only enough to lightly (very lightly) moisten the stuffing. Adding too much broth will make it gooey. This recipe gets better with experience- my first attempt at it made it way too gooey, I will know better next time. Stuff the turkey with the dressing, making sure NOT to pack it. Packed dressing doesn't cook thoroughly, increasing risk of Salmonella (YUCK).

If you have leftover stuffing, you can put it in a casserole dish and place the turkey neck on it; then cook to the directions on the back of the stuffing.

If you attempt this, let me know! I'm excited to see other's results.

11.15.2011

Everybody should have a kid...

When I say everybody, I mean some people. I really mean that having a kid changes you, and being a parent makes a huge difference in how you see the world. I really believe that if some people could experience life the way a parent sees it, they would improve their life for the better!

For example, my birthday was this last Saturday. I didn't care! I was trying to figure out what had changed so much in the last year, and the answer was quite obvious. Ethan has changed me, completely and for the better. I used to get sad, depressed, and angry on my birthday. I think the main reason for this is because we grow up with this sense of anticipation. When it's my birthday I am going to get this, when it's my birthday I'm going to get to do this...and so on and so on. How selfish it really was! I was being totally self-centered and throwing a fit every year because my birthday wasn't what I wanted it to be. Then I had Ethan, and everything changed.

It's really not about me anymore. It's about this tiny little toddling kid I love from the deepest part of me. It's about if he's happy, if he's healthy. I'm so glad that I have a child who is happy and healthy when many parents don't. So this really leads me to the title of my post, everyone should have a kid. They should have a child so that they can see the world through someone else's eyes, so that they can realize it's not "about me".

I know there are many parents out there who have a child, and still are self centered. I know having a child is not a solution to anything. I have a really hard time understanding how a parent could ignore, beat, or otherwise impair their kid like that. I can't even imagine what I would have to be feeling in order to hit Ethan. So here's just a thought for those children's parents. Look outward, not inward. See life through your child's eyes and enjoy it.

And now...for a lighter subject. Pickle in a puppy costume!


Of course he changed my life! Look at him!

11.04.2011

Ethan's First Birthday Pictures

So Ethan's birthday came and went, and it was quite the blur! It has been more than 2 weeks now, and I still can't believe I have a one year old!

I love how parks find the most grabable, delectable, substrate known to man. Here is a picture of him about to ingest some!




Mmmmm delicious substrate!


This is the funniest, most serious face I've ever seen him make!

Can't catch me!

This picture is perfect!

Ethan and Grandma D.

Trash+Park=Fun

Ethan and cousin Jackson. They are 3 months apart!

Why does Jackson get all the fun?!

Jackson is almost walking, soon they will be terrorizing the park together.

My mom would have yelled at me for doing this, haha. So I let him.

I want to be just like you when I growed up Patrick!

Smiley Jackson!

Jackson loves the swings, Ethan has yet to make up his mind.

There's a smile!

There's a frown!

Shanee got the cake made by her friend at Le Courdon Bleu. Although I was holding it on the way there, it managed to slip on the round and squish the FRONT. :'(

She made puppy pops, which I managed to break while putting them in the Styrofoam. I'm pretty sure I ruined Ethan's birthday.

Puppy Chow, the most easy, delicious, party mix ever,

Cute little puppy cupcakes! They turned out great.

They were red velvet and delicious!

Miles the Moose.
Great great Aunt Loranne, Great Aunt Diana, Great Grandma Caputo, Great Aunt Deena.

Rachael, Mady, Jillian, Ian, Me, Uncle Andrew, Gramma Ferguson, and Laurie.

Brendon being....Brendon.

When I see this picture I think of a dog, in car, ears flapping back in the wind. Don't ask.

The turnout.

Mikey is a special agent.
 All in all, we had a really great time. Ethan got some wonderful presents, and we are thankful to each and every one of our guests who gave him something! He loves everything he got!

11.03.2011

Teething will be the end of me..really!

Today has been a tough one. Ethan really wasn't his normal happy self and spent the entire day whining and crying. I feel really bad, the poor kid is teething so his mouth hurts like the dickens. Then, the teething makes him have some "loose" (that's putting it mildly) poops. Nobody wants to hear about my kids bowel movements so I will spare you the horrible details. Lets just say his poor behind looks like a skinned rabbit :( I have been coating it with abnormal amounts of butt paste, triple paste, whatever I can get my hands on! I know this isn't going to last forever, he will stop teething eventually. For now, I just wish both ends of him weren't in pain (and as a result, making my head be in pain also).


In other news, Ethan said Mama finally! It feels like it took forever, but these last few days he has really been spouting it out. He is so proud of himself, you can tell. When you ask him to say it, you can see him thinking about it; he will purse his lips together and try to remember how to make the "m" sound. I really am blessed to have such a adorable son!

Austine made me my business card finally, and I have to say it looks amazing! I have never had a business card before, being a nanny really doesn't require one. Having one suddenly makes me feel legit and professional, it is amazing what the little things can do to boost your self-esteem. I really cannot wait for my first party on the 19th, I have some really fun stuff planned and I have been working really hard on the information I give to my hostesses. The whole Scentsy thing is starting to feel real, and I am really enjoying it! I think I enjoy it the most because I get to network and talk to people I haven't seen in a really long time. I got to see on of my really good friends from highschool last night on Scentsy business and it was a total blast.

I'm feeling really guilty about not posting pictures of Ethan all that much, so I'm going to be trying a lot harder to include some every week! He is such a cutie, how can I not?! I would really love to work on my photography skills too, I know that my iPhone isn't perfect, and I see some other folks's pictures that put mine to shame (not surprisingly). I promise my next post will be Ethan's First Birthday pictures! I will get to it right now :D

11.01.2011

I'm thankful for...

My good friends at GlitzGM have started a trend on twitter: 24 days of gratitude. I have to say, this is an absolutely great idea, especially with Thanksgiving on the way (of course this was their inspiration). But really, I think everyone  complains a bit too much at times. We all get sucked up with the negative parts of life. I know I am certainly guilty. It seems like if ti's not one thing I'm worried about it's another. So this month, I am going along with the 24 days of gratitude and posting on my twitter something I am grateful for!  I encourage all of you to join me, all the way up till' Thanksgiving.