oh neti pot

Here's a little ditty that I just came up with. Sing along with me, won't you?
(to the tune of O Christmas Tree)

Oh Neti Pot, O Neti Pot
To me, you feel like drowning
Oh Neti Pot, O Neti Pot
To me, you feel like drowning

You burn and sting and make me gag
Infected sinuses should be so bad

Oh Neti Pot, oh Neti Pot
To me, you feel like drowning

Ain't spring grand?

sewing bug

I have totally been bitten by the sewing bug. And Emerson has totally declared that she will not wear anything that I sew for her.

So I've decided to quit and move on to someone who will appreciate my efforts. Namely, me. I already made a dress (and by "made," I mean that I sewed 2 seams on already ready fabric. When I post a picture, you'll see what I mean.)

And this is my next project. Oh, Hobby Lobby I so wish you were open on Sundays. Sigh.

this is absolute genius

We were watching a show on CNBC called "One Nation, Overweight" tonight, and saw this. Doctor Levine from the Mayo Clinic was saying that humans are built to move, and the sedentary lifestyle created by most office jobs is literally killing us.

No kidding.

So, in an effort to combat the ill effects of sitting at a desk and pecking at a keyboard all day, he designed this simple, yet brilliant contraption.

It's a treadmill workstation, and is basically a desk over a treadmill. Several major companies, including Glaxo Smith Klein and Best Buy are trying them out already. Even walking slowing burns a ton of calories.

Bravo, Doctor Levine!

random thought for the day

Armpit Hair.


What is the deal with armpit hair? A person lives 12, 13 years or so and suffers no ill effects from having cold armpits. Then puberty hits, and BAM, hairy armpits.

Gonna have to ask God about that one some day. {I'll put it on the list.}

consiliary words from target OR "your kid will grow out of that. mine did."

We took a little trip to Target today. Some of the items on the list were new rain boots (sadly, the infamous frog boots that Emerson got for her 2nd birthday no longer work for her) and new jammies.

We have tried to teach (not that it has been difficult, mind you) Emerson to know her own mind and make her own decisions, when appropriate. So it was up to her to pick her new boots. Her choices were Hello Kitty, Fireman, black with multi-colored stars, polka-dots, or pink and green plaid. Any guesses?

Of course. Fireman. At least Pete can wear them in a few years.

Fast forward to the jammies. No to Tinkerbell. And Princesses. Ditto for Hello Kitty, Dora, and plain orange popsicles and cupcakes. And a belligerent NO to any type of nightgown. She doesn't do dresses. SOOOO we made our way to the boys' section, with the hopes of finding Mickey Mouse. When what catches her eye? Star Wars jammies with little Lego guys on them. Oh. My. Goodness. This would be my last choice on the entire planet.

At which point I made some remark like "This is IT, Emerson. No more boy's jammies for you after this."

"Ok Mama. Ok."

And then I heard snickering coming from a few rows over. A mom with older girls piped up with "My 8 year-old was exactly the same way at her age. LOVED Thomas. Would only wear Thomas underwear, which they don't make for girls. But once she went to an American Girl's Birthday party, she was hooked. Now, she's as girly as the rest of them. Your daughter will come around. Don't worry."

I felt relieved, at first. But then guilt set in. Should I feel relieved? Shouldn't I just be happy with the kid I have?

look what i made!

A while back, I mentioned that I was thinking of making a pillowcase dress for Emerson. I'd like to report that I have indeed purchased some fabric- and can we talk about this fabric for a minute? Em declared on the way to the store that she wanted brown and orange-attractive- and that she wouldn't wear the dress unless it was brown and orange. I did find some somewhat cute prints in brown and orange, but let's just say that it wouldn't have been my first choice. Or even my 14th. But I digress-

I was only missing one, albeit key, component to this sewing extravaganza. A sewing machine. I was planning on working at a friend's house and thinking of maybe someday getting a machine of my own. I mentioned this to my Mother-in-law, and came to find out that she has three sewing machines. She has generously loaned me one of hers, and even showed me how to wind the bobbin, which is a feat that pert near killed me in Junior High Home Ec. But I digress again.

Before jumping right in to the brown and orange dress {that Emerson has since declared that she'll never, not ever wear }I decided to start with a simple starter project. My uber-crafty friend Shanna gave me a pattern for a cute and oh-so-basic headband. Emerson could sew this. Seriously.

I have since made not one, not two, but three reversible headbands. Two for me, and one for Herself. Which she will also not wear. {Love the kid you have. Love the kid you have. Love the kid you have...}

Voila!

I couldn't get Em to wear hers at first, so I used my, ahem, other model. He was not amused.




I'd like to point out that my photographer is not yet 4 years old. Maybe she has a future behind the lens?Well, she's got it on, anyway. Anyone want a kid-sized reversible headband? I feel like it wouldn't be missed around here!

pete's first sentence?

Tonight, when I walked out of the room, Pete said "Mama go?" I think that counts as a sentence, don't you?

Smartest. Baby. Ever.

Pete with his Godmama, "Didi."

is it friday yet?

This weekend, we're heading to visit friends who have twin boys Emerson's age. We're planning a sleepover so that the kids can play and then we can play after they go to bed! Needless to say, all the Girlings are pumped (I'm just gonna speak for Pete and assume that he's looking forward to hanging with his Godparents.)

I told Em on Monday about our plans.

On Tuesday, while playing in her room, she sighed and said "I'm sad that it's not Friday yet."

On Wednesday, she packed her suitcases (!!) and set them by the door.

Today, she announced upon seeing me first thing this morning, "Only one more day until Friday!"

SO cute to see her excited to be with her friends. SO hoping that the weekend is all she hopes it'll be. Watch out Plos...the Girlings are coming!

Easter 2011

carbango bean cookies

It's been an interesting culinary week at our house. As I mentioned in an earlier post that Emerson has been, ahem, challenging me at the dinner table. I've resorted to making "kid food;" less-than-exotic tasting kid-friendly concoctions that require a bit of doctoring to get Jeff to eat them.

I pulled out my copy of Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. My aunt Linda gave it to me when Em was born, and for a blissful 2 year or so, I thought I'd never need it. But sadly, Emerson has decided that healthy food is the enemy, so I'm resorting to sneaking things in here and there. Not a great way to teaching healthy eating habits, but I digress.

In the last couple of weeks, I made the Aloha Chicken Kabobs (epic fail on my part), Italian Meatloaf (3 out of 4 Girlings devoured it. Guess who was the holdout?), Mini Pizzas (Pete CANNOT get enough of these. I don't love the pita crust, but it's ok if you add a bit of salt. Emerson wouldn't touch them.), Tortilla Cigars (Ditto the meatloaf. I have to say that these are even better the next day!), Mozzarella Sticks (gonna have to give this another go)and Buttered Noodles (these were, thankfully, a hit-as I mentioned in my earlier post). But the real kicker were the cookies we made yesterday- chocolate chip cookies with garbanzo beans. Whole, unhidden garbanzo beans. I was very skeptical, to say the least. Emerson, for her part, didn't seem remotely phased that we were putting beans into a cookie. I could probably put dandelions into cookies and she'd eat them.

But, are you ready? The "carbango" {as Emerson pronounces it" bean cookies are pretty darn good. Definitely a cakey consistency, but the beans totally lose their saltiness and blend right in. And they look like butterscotch chips, so if you're having a hard time, you can just tell yourself that they're chips. And guess who else thinks they're pretty neat?

Score!

God Bless our Troops!

Thank you to our military for a job well done! God Bless.