High Maintenace Doesn't Even Begin to Cover It

So first things first.  Little Pope recently hit the 9 month mark and of course that meant a trip to the doctor and a shot, and not the good kind!

We  learned out that our little one weighs 16 pounds 6 ounces and is 29 inches long.  He definitely got his body shaping from the Nutrition Nazi, which is great for him.  So why did I post a pic of my child on a scale at the vet?  Keep reading.

This is my other child, as you know.  We were at the river house less than an hour when the Team Leader cut one of her paw pads on an oyster shell swimming off the pier.  NN and I were putting the boat in the water to store in our slip and this is how she added to the situation.  Now it looks like we murdered something on the pier with all the bloody paw prints.

Several hundred dollars later and a hurried trip to the vet, it appears she is going to live, but they would like us to keep her calm.  I think we might win the lottery before that happens.

I actually took a few days off this past week to do fun things like take my really thin child to the park for the first time.

Then he went outdoor furniture and idea shopping with us at Restoration Hardware.

He has such good taste because he picked out the most expensive set that they had on display.  I know many of you think he learned this from me, but luckily for me this trait came from the Nutrition Nazi.  I used to think I had expensive taste until I met NN.

'But mama look how well behaved I am on this furniture.'  Well you can go to college or we can buy a $7,000 umbrella for the patio - your choice, Little Pope.

After walking him and his father off a cliff we took him to Pottery Barn Kids to look around.  He really liked the bunny rocker, but especially liked all the attention he got from random people telling him that he was sooo cute. 

I think I heard him ask me which font I liked best to monogram this little chair he wants.  How did I get so lucky to have 3 handfuls of crazy in my house? 

And so the sun sets on another crazy week at our house!

Out-parented by a 5 year-old

This past weekend we went to visit some of our good friends and see their beautiful new house.  It has been said that no matter how much time passes truly good friends can pick up where they left off with out noticing the time.  The only thing that seems to change each time we meet up is our age! 

This is their oldest, Carson, holding Little Pope.  I am going to apologize right now for all of the blurry pics, but trying to photograph children is like herding cats.

 He was so cute because he wanted to sit next to the baby.  There aren't too many non-relatives who want to take a chance sitting next to an almost 9 month-old.  Notice how he is eating a chip and patting Little Pope on the back.  Too cute!

When we got back Carson took a break from being the parent of the group to play with the Nutrition Nazi.  I tried my hardest to get a clear picture of the rowdiness, but to no avail. Little kids love to climb all over NN.

In case you missed it above, Carson's little brother, Bryce, and Little Pope are waiting in the wings for their turn at being picked up and spun around.

Then he went back to being the most-qualified of the group and found a suitable toy for the baby to play with AND spent quite a bit of time showing him how to work it.

Little Pope might be thinking about defecting to the Cody family for the energetic boys that keep him entertained for hours after our visit!  I can't say I blame him since it is not always fun and games at our house!

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!