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.

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!

Thank Goodness January is Almost Over

Aside from the fact that January is the most boring month, in my opinion, I am super glad it is almost over because of the decision I made in late December.  For some crazy reason I decided not to eat, nor make any desserts for a month.  And though I have cheated only twice on the eating dessert side, I have not made dessert since before Christmas.  It's depressing, I know.  So I promise that once this month is over we will get back to some awesome desserts, but for now you are stuck looking at more pics of Little Pope and our Saturday together.

"Mama do you wanna let me hold your camera, even though I am probably going to throw it on the ground or put my little finger prints on the lens?"

This was supposed to be his Halloween costume, but it just now fits.  I might be a little off on my judgement of his size.  I do know for a fact that he has gigantic feet.  They are like little mini-canoes to match his dad's full-size canoes.

Sitting still, which almost never happens if he is awake!

"No seriously just let me hold it."  'No touch' seems to be a prevailing theme in our house lately.

He was so happy to get out of the costume. 

One last smile before we put him on the floor to work on his crawling skills.

With Little Pope crawling really soon I am probably going to have to vacuum more!  Ugh!

Getting his attention is really difficult sometimes because of distractions in the house.

This is his latest distraction - his sissy!

The Team Leader usually keeps her distance after the hair-pulling incident, but lately her curiosity with Little Pope has grown. And just in case you were wondering those are in fact the Nutrition Nazi's super sexy feet in sandals AND socks.  And he wonders why I pick out his clothes!

After being dressed up and hanging out with his sister, Little Pope decided he would pretend he was a plumber while he played his piano!

Just Another Typical Sunday at Our Wildlife Sanctuary

In previous posts you may have heard me mention that I live in the country.  With the cows and the roosters that I can hear from neighboring properties, many would say that we do in fact live in the middle of nowhere.  Well today I am here to change that description of our homestead to wildlife sanctuary.  I will now state my case in pictures.

Almost a year ago I backed my car out and looked to my left to find this alligator.  HOLY CRAP I started hyperventilating.  No joke!  I still look both ways when I walk out the front door.

Then we had another alligator take up residence in the lake behind our house in May.  Great, just great.

On Sunday I opened the back door to let the Team Leader out and this is what I see.  Some of the other residents had been talking about seeing this, but honestly I thought they were smoking crack.  Now who's the one smoking crack?

The bald eagle was very majestic and HUGE.  It was sitting across the lake eating a fish, but by the time I got my camera and the correct lens it was flying away.

And then there is this rare blue bear in our house.

I am told it is very rare to be able to get this close.

Let alone capture a smile.

Ok maybe this one is a lot less harmful than the other animals roaming our wildlife refuge.

Have a great week!

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out, God Help Me

I wish someone would have told me that once you have a baby that time starts moving at ten times the speed it used to before you had children.  I have been thinking about posting pics from Christmas for a couple of weeks, but sometimes, ok most days, things go differently than planned.  Mom stop nodding your head at me.  Yes I have learned to appreciate you even more now!  Anyway I digress, so here are a few belated pics from our Christmas.

Little Pope started getting in the Christmas spirit early on!

This was a project I wished I had just left on my Pinterest board instead of actually spending several frustrating hours assembling them.   I think next year someone else can bring the creative aspect to the place cards.                                

                                                                                                                                                              

There were LOTS of cookies and other sweet treats!

Christmas at our house in the morning before grandparent chaos began was nice and subdued.  Afterwards not so much.  We are still cleaning up the toy explosion that belongs to BOTH children.  

Little Pope loved every one of the 15 stuffed animals that he received, but especially the big ones he got from Santa.

Shoes, really?  I tried pointing out that they were really cute, but he wasn't buying it.

Hanging with Grandad.  

Picking up ladies...just kidding.  Posing with his only girl cousin!

Awww!

K has been wanting to hold him for soooo long, and finally got his chance at Christmas!  He was so cute with his really tight grip on Little Pope. 

And the creme de la creme.  Formerly Soon-to-be Grandpa Pat, now known as Grandpa Pat decided Little Pope needed a Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air riffle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time.  This little gem has been safely put away for many years from now, like when he starts college.

Have a great week!

A Box Full of Red...or...White

I am not going to lie.  Most days are mass chaos at our house right now.  I wish I could say organized chaos, but that would be giving too much credit to the situation. 

A shinning example is this box.  Pretend it is still taped shut.  I came home one day recently to find this sitting in my kitchen.  Little Pope is adamant about being fed at the time so I go on and not worry about it because it is addressed to the Nutrition Nazi.  Oooh maybe he ordered Christmas or birthday presents!  He gets home a little later and I quiz him about the box, and then this is where the craziness of our life all comes to light.  He tells me that he does not remember ordering anything, and am I sure it is not for me.  Huh?  Then he tells me not to look at the box just in case he did order something for me.  Make up your mind, look at it or don't.

So finally I look at the box and tell him he may want to look at the top of the box where it says that the box contains alcohol, and also to not deliver to an intoxicated person.  Good to know.  After a short debate he finally opens up the box to reveal a case of wine that a very gracious friend had sent as a baby/Christmas present.

I was really tempted to make up my own version of the 12 Days of Christmas, but figure you get enough useless humor already from my wit!

Little Pope could not be more excited! 

And one more thing...

From our family to yours we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Her New Love Affair

It is a sad day in the Nutrition Nazi's life today.  In previous posts I have written about how the Team Leader and NN were in a love affair.  They really were inseparable, like two peas in a pod...until a few weeks ago.  The Team Leader has a new man in her life now, though.  In the beginning she wasn't sure what to make of this little man, but with each passing week she became more and more intrigued with his presence.

At first she was more of a protector, than friend.  She would make decisions that conveyed to us that she was there to right our questionable parenting decisions.  You see that is what sucks about having a dog smarter than you is that they point out your deficiencies as a person.

So a few days ago I look over to see this, much to NN's dismay.  My babies have finally crossed over from protector and protectee to best friends.  She actually has an interest in being around him just to be around him!

They look like two little girls gossiping at a sleepover!

I might be a little biased, but this melts my heart!  Little Pope actually reached over to touch her paw all on his own.  He has really started to get into touching her fur.  Hopefully she remains tolerant.

And before you go freaking out thinking I let the 60 lb Team Leader just freely play with 15ish lb Little Pope while I take pics, don't worry because NN is never too far!  

I am sure as time goes on this will be a regular occurrence at our house, but I don't think I will ever get tired of watching her new love affair infold.  And maybe now I can finally spend some time with NN!

Have a great week and get ready because Christmas will be here soon!