Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Lessons Every 8 month-old Should Know

Lately it seems like Toys R Us exploded in my living room thanks to the toy store our baby received for Christmas.  And though Little Pope has everything he could possibly want on the toy front, what he most desires is the attention of a busy adult.  So the Nutrition Nazi and I have had to come up with some inventive ways to entertain him, while working towards him being more self-sufficient.


Lesson:  Everyone pulls their own weight around this house, even you Little Pope.


Lesson:  Ripping Daddy's towel rack off the wall is frowned upon, even if it exposes poor workmanship on the part of our home builder.  This is Mama's less-than-thrilled face.


Lesson:  Just because you can't stand yet doesn't mean that you can't be valuable in kitchen clean-up.  Gotta love the diaper and socks look!


Lesson:  Learning to use the Mac correctly and being able to run Apple TV is a valuable skill in this household.  Now we can sit in the yard and annoy the neighbors with our outdoor speakers.  I mean who doesn't want to hear Party Rock Anthem as loud as our speakers will play it?


Now if only you could re-fill Mama's glass.


Lesson:  You are never too young to be the life of the party.


Lesson:  Class is priceless.  Clearly we have none!


Lesson:  Even though you have your first bobo, those eyes are going to take you far with the ladies.  Just ask your dad who has the same beautiful eyes.  On second thought just take Mama's word for it.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Riding the Team Leader like a horse is frowned upon

We will get to the riding the dog thing in a minute, but for now this your friendly reminder that Valentine's day is this coming Thursday, if you choose to celebrate the Hallmark Holiday, as the Nutrition Nazi affectionately refers to the day.  If not, lucky you! 

So I promised I was going to get back to posting recipes, and since I am not one to break promises here you go...Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips or Raisins depending on your preference.


This is a basic Oatmeal Raisin Cookie dough that can be found by clicking here, which will take you to the Quaker Oats website and a recipe called Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  I have used this recipe for 10 years or so and it remains one of my favorite go-to recipes. 


What's that you say?  You don't like raisins?  Have no fear I have a solution because raisins are not well-liked by the Nutrition Nazi either.  Simply separate the dough into 2 equal portions once you have mixed everything in, but the raisins.  Then add the desired amount of raisins to one of the batters (like I did for my father-in-law) and then add the desired amount of chocolate chips to the other batter (like I did for NN).  Killed two birds with one dough!


Speaking of occasionally difficult/needy... Little Pope always has to be part of the action even if he has no teeth and can't eat cookies yet!  At least he isn't screaming, though.


This past weekend we went to my parents' house for my dad's birthday, but the bigger reason was so that they could spoil our little one even more.  I am quite convinced the look on Little Pope's face was no accident.   My mom is holding him up so he can 'practice' walking and he is smiling because he owns her just like he owns all of his other grandparents.


One final picture I thought I would share...riding the Team Leader like a horse is very frowned upon in this establishment, but we need a break sometimes.  We had to give her chips to get this pic and even then she still is not very happy about it all.  He on the other hand could not be any happier!  The Team Leader definitely earned her keep on this particular day.

Have a great week and a happy Valentine's Day!