It's a Wonder He Ever Learned to Speak Correctly

Being a parent is hard work.  It's also rewarding and fun.  Scott and I always knew that we would never talk 'baby talk' to the boy.  We never used baby voices and while out in public, we would point things out to him and tell him what they were.  He was a great communicator even before he could talk.  For instance, when he was thirsty, he would say, "Ninga ninga ninga."  Thirsty.  When he was hungry, he would say, "Ninga na, Ninga na."  I knew what he was trying to say.  Then, he started really talking and he hasn't shut up since.  :) 

One day, Scott decided that it would be oh, so fun to teach him the WRONG names for different food items.  Honey came in bear shaped bottles, so it became known as "bear poop."  The boy loved honey on his cheerios, so every time we would give him Cheerios (with milk) he would ask for bear poop.  Mmmm...appetizing. 

My dear sweet husband loves sugary cereal.  Cap'n Crunch is his favorite.  He would hold up the box and say, "want some turds?"  Good times.  The boy would sit in his high chair, point to the top of the refrigerator (where I kept the cereal) and say, "I want turds!  I want turds!"  Oh, this is just great!

Fast forward to the time my sister-in-law came to visit.  She came with her baby in tow.  I think the boy was 2 1/2 because I just started working at a daycare/preschool, so she offered to keep him at home with her.  When I got home, she looked at me and said, "Please tell me what the heck 'bear poop' is!  I pointed to everything in that kitchen and finally decided to 'poop' on his cereal with some raisins."  (great save, I may add!)

As a follow-up, our boy turned out fine.  He wasn't scarred for life and he still likes to call honey in bear shaped bottles 'bear poop.'  It's a family tradition that I'm sure he'll pass along to his kids one of these days.  He makes me so proud.  ;)  

My Accent Vlog!

Liz from This Full House posted a video blog, or vlog, with a list of words and questions to show her Jersey accent.  I decided to play along.  The following is my vlog and the list of words and questions follow...



aunt, route, wash, oil, theater, iron, salmon, caramel, fire, water, sure, data, ruin, crayon, toilet, New Orleans, pecan, both, again, probably, spitting image, Alabama, lawyer, coupon, mayonnaise, syrup, pajamas, caught (I added cool, school, pool)

• What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
• What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
• What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
• What do you call gym shoes?
• What do you say to address a group of people?
• What do youcall the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
• What do you call your grandparents?
• What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
• What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
• What is the thing you change the TV with?
• (the one I added) What are the things you put on your legs when wearing a dress?

This was fun and now that I have this vlogging thing figured out, look out...I'll be vlogging again soon!

Spring is coming...I think?

The other day, I was hungry for manicotti, so I stopped by our local grocery store for ricotta, mozzarella, manicotti noodles, and spaghetti sauce.  I came out of the store with those items as well as a bag of fun sized Reese's peanut butter eggs, a four pack of Cadbury cream eggs, and a container of Cadbury mini caramel eggs (my favorite...although I much prefer the full sized ones, my grocery store didn't have them.) 

Even though we're under a winter storm warning here in Farm Country, I have evidence that spring is right around the corner.  (I'm ignoring the fact that most holiday candy comes out months early...I prefer to live in denial.)

Our Boy is comin' home!

It's spring break time for our son.  Yes, it's the middle of winter, but his college is on quarters and he finished up his last final today, so he'll be home this weekend for a week!  (He has to work tomorrow and Friday.)  When I say he's 'coming home' I use that term loosely.  Anyone with a college aged child knows that coming home means stopping in for food and then taking off again.  ;)  In his defense, he has to do a teaching experience next week in a town that's 35 miles away from home, so he's going to stay with his cousin to save time and gas money.

I am planning on taking him and his cousin to dinner one night next week.  I'm really looking forward to it because those boys are such great kids.  His cousin is also in college, so having someone else pay for dinner is always a special treat for college students.

And next month?  I'm planning on going to see him at his school, take him to the store to buy him some quality snacks, tour his frat house (again, but this time I'll get to see his room), and then we'll go to a late lunch.  I'm really looking forward to that visit!

If you wouldn't mind, please send safe travel prayers/thoughts/vibes his way.  I'm praying for clear roads from Ohio to Farm Country, IL!

xoxo

Happy Valentine's Day!

Grab the one you love and hold on tight!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my family and friends.  

xoxo

A Visit with a Vampire

This past Tuesday was my good friend Cheryl's BIG birthday.  I won't tell you which one, though.  ;)  Our friend and co-worker, Lori, had a huge surprise for Cheryl when she got to work that day.  She loves Edward. 


If it weren't for my niece and her request for Twilight Barbies for Hanukkah, I would be in the dark about who Edward is.  I have the books loaded in my Kindle archives thanks to my sister, so I may have to read the saga to see what the hoopla is all about. 

I had to have my picture taken with Edward for Allison....this one's for you, Kid!  :)


Notice how he's glowing?  Cheryl and I noticed that he was glowing in all of the pictures we took.  I guess we're just lucky that we got a good picture of him because he is a vampire and I doubt that vampires usually show up in photos.  ;)

Happy Birthday, Cheryl!  Welcome to your "Twilight Years!" 
xoxo

Cheeseball Recipe

This is my family's favorite cheeseball.  My mom made a great cheeseball every year at Christmas and would give them away as gifts to the neighbors.  This isn't that cheeseball, though.  Even though I grew up eating my mom's cheeseball (and I love it), I don't make it because I'd eat the entire thing myself and then I'd be as big as a house. 

Scott grew up eating this cheeseball.  So, I asked my mother-in-law (aka other mother) for her recipe after we got married.  We all love the onion-y taste of this creamy concoction.  Heaven on a cracker.  Here's the recipe:

Two 8 oz packages of cream cheese
1 small onion, grated (use a flat grater or a microplane and put it over the bowl so that all of the juices and small bits get into the bowl)
1 heaping Tbs Miracle Whip
1 tsp regular mustard
1 jar dried beef (can be found in the meat aisle near the tuna)

Put everything except the beef into a large mixing bowl and beat until creamy.  Place the beef into the blender and grate it.  Dump the beef onto a piece of waxed paper.  Put the cheese mixture onto the beef and roll into a ball.  Put it onto a plate and cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve. 

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do! 

Game Day Treats

Unless you live under a rock, you know that the Super Bowl was last night.  And, if you've been reading my blog, you also know that we are huge Steelers fans in our house.  I've been a fan for as long as I can remember...from the days of the Dynasty back in the 70s, to the 'dark days' when they didn't do so well, up to today.  They didn't win last night, but I still love them.  I'd root for them even if they were ranked last in the NFL.

The last few times they were in the Super Bowl, I made special cookies for the big game.  Yesterday was no exception.  I started off with some sugar cookies made from the recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens (red and white checked) cookbook.  Great recipe!  Then, I rolled them out and used a large margarita glass to cut circles out of the dough and baked.

Then, I whipped up a batch of butter cream frosting...mmmm...look at that goodness....

Then, I gathered my decorating supplies and got to work.  (Warning...I am not an artist nor do I play one on tv.)

I spread plain white frosting over each cookie and then piped on 'Steelers'

Then I added the diamonds to complete the emblem. 

And now all of the cookies in their glory.  (and yes..they were delicious!)

Stay tuned for my mother-in-law's cheeseball recipe.  It's a favorite in our house!