Favorite Finger Foods

Madison will be exactly 15 months in 4 days. She is a full blown toddler...ohhhhmigoodness!  She runs around the house like a total lunatic running into everything, literally CLIMBING the oven to get to the stove.  It's absolutely redonkulous.  I cannot take my eyes off of her for one second or else she'll be ears deep in dish soap or bubble bath or worse, ketchup that my husband has left out from dinner.  Oye!  And what do you ask gives this little tyke all her energy?  Well here you go...

1.  Sticky Rice Balls
Sticky rice can be absolutely tedious and annoying, but you can make a heck of a lot of it and keep it in the fridge for a week, so if you have multiple kids...this is a good one.  The only meat my daughter eats is beef, ground beef, steak anything red meat she'll eat it, but chicken?? oh heck no!  So what I do, like the sneaky mommy I am, is sneak it inside the sticky rice ball, and she is none the wiser! Maybe you can sneak something inside yours! 

2.   Meatballs (what's with the ball theme, yikes!)
Like I said before my daughter will only eat red meat, its crazy!  So what I do is I make something similar to a meatloaf mix.  Ground beef (or turkey sometimes) breadcrumbs, egg, seasoning etc.  Roll them into tiny 1 inch balls and either cook them in a pan or bake them in the oven.  I think baking it easier.  Then I freeze the whole bag and pull out 5 at a time and pop them in the microwave or back on the stove for a little warm up.  They are simple, protein rich bite size nuggets perfect for my little nugget!

3.  Bite size fruits
Watermelon for instance: It is in season and absolutely delicious.  Simply prepared just cubed and served.  She will eat a whole melon if I let her!  Berries: Strawberries cut into pieces, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries - cleaned mixed and ready to eat!  Apples:  She likes to gnaw on a piece of apple because it feels good on her teeth!  She also enjoys the freeze dried pieces of apple that almost melt in her mouth. 

These are probably her top favorite snacks aside from COOKIES, which daddy gives her when mommy isn't looking.  **shakin my head**  that's why daddy will always be her favorite!

"Favorite Photo" Challenge

Perusing through my blog list this morning and I came across a photo challenge.  Yay, what a great opportunity to show a cute pic of my little Maddie! :)

Maddie turned one on the 26th of March and her birthday party was on the 25th.  After the party was over she hadn't napped at all, she had puked up her birthday cake (I think there was a little too much butter for her in that butter cream icing!) on top of that she spilled juice all of her outfit and face for that matter - therefore no longer had her cute outfit on and her rainbow face paint smeared onto her cheek giving it a bruise type appearance.  fun stuff.   I purchased a balloon bouquet for the party and I did not want them to go to waste.  i wanted to capture some shots with her and the balloons before they deflated, but that morning was just too hectic and of course I was not going to be able to take a lot of pics during the party - hell I was running like a chicken with my head cut off for 6 straight hours.  Needless to say after the party I forced Maddie to take some pics even though she wasn't in the mood and she wasn't in her original birthday attire!   But man, when she got an opportunity to play with those balloons her face just lit up and I literally melt when she smiles and laughs like that.  What a sweet heart....so here it is for your viewing pleasure! :) 

The Paper Mama Photo Challenge

Rainbow Crazy

Madison will be 1 in less than a week.  In a matter of days my darling little bugaboo baby will no longer be just that...a baby. She will take that leap into toddler hood and mommy is just now in serious panic mode.  I've jumped head first into the planning of her birthday party and haven't had time to really think about her turning the big O-N-E.  Now that I'm sitting here for a second and taking some much needed time to write a little bloggy blog entry I've come to the realization that time will never in our entire lives stand still.  Occasionally I will soak up the moment and stare into her smiling eyes and realize when she is 18 and I give her a final hug and kiss before she departs for college I will picture that very moment of her when she was 11 months old giggling in my arms - I'm tearing up just thinking about it.  God help me!!

To avoid all emotional breakdowns I will again delve into the planning on this epic event!!  I have chosen a rainbow theme for her birthday party - so exciting!! I have completed a variety of fun pinterest inspired crafts and treats. 


Madison's Birthday Tutu which looks somewhat complicated, but is incredibly easy if you have ever made a tutu in the past you would know! :) I also made a matching "wand" and birthday hat how stinking cute is that?  I also purchased some adorable rainbow leg warmers , ahh i literally cannot wait to take her 1 year pictures in this effing adorable outfit!

Now These looks odd don't they.  The eventually end up being round lollipop looking marshmallow pops.  I got the recipe for the marshmallow fluff from Martha Stewarts website.  It's not regular marshmallow fluff, but the recipe she uses to make her version of peeps! I piped the fluff onto skewers which were set on top of rainbow colored sugar strips sprinkled on parchment paper.  You can obviously see that these suckers looked a little phallic which I was not pleased with in the slighest.  Rainbow covered penises was not really what I was going for when making these for my 1 year olds birthday party!  So I took them off the skewers rolled them and put them on sucker sticks, which they ended up being super cute.  I'll have to post another picture of the final product in the future.

The last picture that I have of the treats I made are these cake pops.  I was really happy with how they turned out considering it was my first attempt.  I use funfetti cake and frosting for a fun little visual treat when you bite into them.  I went through 2 boxes of cake and made about 50 pops, which the hubs immediately consumed a handful of them so let's say less than 50! :)

In addition to all of these fun things I also made chocolate covered & rainbow sprinkled pretzels rods and oreos.  Rainbow layered sugar cookies, which was a super involved process but they really turned out quite amazingly.  The "logs" of dough are in the freezer now in preparation for baking the day of the event to maintain super freshness!  I also purchased a home use cotton candy machine for everyone to use and some rainbow popcorn too!  I'm going a little overboard on this rainbow theme, but c'mon too stinkin' cute right? I'm also going to make Trix Treats (like rice crispie treats, but using Trix cereal instead).  

I have a lot of fun activities for the older kids and the babies too.  I ordered a bounce house for toddlers age1-4 so it's pretty small but something fun for the babies to enjoy too.  I have a face painter and balloonist coming.  I purchased some rolls of art paper to tape to the floor and have tons of crayons for the kids to draw and go crazy.  I purchased a ton of bubbles and bubble wands for outdoor bubble play! And I think that's it.  

Now that I've written this all down, I'm not sure if that's enough...ahh am I going crazy?!?!  WTH- I'm seriously a psycho mommy!!  Oh well, I accept that title and wear is proudly! I might have a button made for her bday party lol

Until next time....

 

My Niece Kaia's 2nd Birthday

First and foremost for whomever might keep up to date on my blog, I apologize for the lapse of time that has passed since my last posting.  My daughter was very sick after my last post we actually went to the emergency room for the first time and following that I got really sick as well and was going to the doctor fairly frequently for a couple of months.  However, things have settled down, everyone is healthy and we are rolling on into 2012!!! :)

I wanted blog some great pictures from my niece's 2nd birthday party.  My sister as I've mentioned before tends to go a little over the top on pretty much everything.  In the end it always turns out spectacularly and everyone really enjoys themselves.  Her youngest daughters 2nd birthday party did not let down in the slights.

My sister tends to look for unique locations in the valley to have these fun birthday parties and never wants to use the same location twice.  This year she found a little charms - Tolmachoff Farms on 75th Ave and Glendale in Glendale, AZ.  They have a large picnicking area in the rear of the farm that she turned into a fun ho-down for the lil' ones.

 Here is a great picture of the dessert and sweets table.  Her cowgirl 3 tiered chocolate cake was the centerpiece.  She had purple(vanilla) as well as chocolate fondant covered cupcakes to the sides.  Cotton candy and purple carmel corn on the edges.  The apothecary jars are filled with varieties of purple candies including grape licorice, purple iridescent gum balls, grape taffy, island punch jelly bellies, purple chocolates and faintly large purple swirly lollipops!  In front of the jars are the dessert pastries.  In the small mason jars at layered strawberry shortcakes and in front; pecan squares, fresh marshmallows, special made farm house sugar cookies, miniature apple pies and lemon tarts.

As mentioned above.  Here are the fondant covered cupcakes.  They were so cute with all the different animal faces for the kids to enjoy!  And the picnic tables were covered in burlap table clothes with purple satin runners.  Each child had their own little basket full of kiddie foods and their own bottles of milk!

This is my eldest niece Alarah.  She had her face painted by the face painter and animal balloon maker.  It was such a great touch to the party.  All the kids had their faces painted and had little animals and fun toys made from balloons.  One of the cutest ones I saw was butterfly wings for the little girls to wear, what a great idea!

The cowgirl of the hour!  My youngest niece Kaia.  She turned 2 and she sure was ready to celebrate.  She had so much fun running around, riding the farm's pony, their go-carts, enjoying the petting zoo and running around in their corn bin. I was able to pull her away for about 5 minutes to grab some quick birthday girl shots.  She is absolutely adorable!

The hostess with the mostess and the birthday girl making their want to the train ride - I love this shot.  

This was a great shot of the train ride for all the kids.  They had a blast while the 4 wheeler pulled and swirled around the farm land.  The overcast weather turned out to be quite a blessing because the sun wasn't too overpowering, but provided just enough warmth from the cool breeze blowing around.  

We had a great time and can't believe another year has passed.  The next big event is my own daughters 1st birthday in March.  We are contemplating having it at the Phoenix Zoo. <-- coming {somewhat} soon.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I thought I would take the opportunity to link up to another blog and spread the word. 

What I'm loving this Wednesday is the ability to come together via the web and pray, think and donate to an amazing family from my hometown in Illinois.

I hardly know them other than occasionally passing them in the halls in high school many years ago, but when I think about their hardship I begin to sob uncontrollably. 

I'm hoping that everyone who sees this will take the opportunity to pray for this family and/or donate, if they can, to help out during this tough, tough time. 

The Story (from what I can gather via her posts on facebook):

This story is about a woman I went to high school with, someone I wasn't directly friends with, but via facebook became acquaintances.  I read her blog, her carepage and all her posts on facebook and followed her "life" constantly thinking about her, her husband and her sweet little babes. 

Her daughter, who I want to say is about 4 years old now, was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was only 2 months old.  They went through a tough battle of surgeries and radiation and are currently still fighting/battling and surviving today.  She later had another daughter who I assume is about 2 or 3 years old now.  While being a mother to these 2 darling little girls she made the decision to go back to school and become a nurse.  While attending nursing school she announced their surprising pregnancy with their 3rd child. (This is the time that I started following her more closely because she was pregnant and the same time as I was).  Such a driven and determined mommy, she finished nursing school while having 2 little ones at home and one on the way.  She is just an inspiration to all mommy's out there.  Her son was born almost 8 months ago.

A couple of months after the birth of their son they found out the terrible news that her father has cancer as well, from what I can gather, liver cancer.  She works so hard to help her dad out and even holds a charity event for him to raise money to help his fight.  She is obviously a devoted and loving daughter in addition to being an amazing mom. 

The story does not end there.  Just a few short weeks ago they were blindsided by the news that their (at the time) 7 1/2 month old son also has brain cancer.  Heart drops. She is devastated.  I can only imagine the heartache, the sleepless nights, the pure anger and frustration with the situation.  My heart goes out to her and her babies.  One battling cancer and surviving, the other just starting his fight and she has to be strong for all of them when I'm sure all she wants to do is break down. She is truly an amazing individual. 

Prove to everyone that social networking isn't a waste.  It can be used for good things, to spread the word when help is needed. 

If you would like to donate you can do so here: https://www.wepay.com/donate/162561

If you are unable to donate, which is understandable, please pray for her.  Her name is Tara, her sons name is Maddox.  God can do miracles all you have to do is ask and pray. 

What I'm loving Wednesday:  God, the love and support of strangers, beautiful, strong, fighting babies. 

I have no clue what I'm doing...

So last night I posted that I was going to really put a concerted effort into looking my best every Sunday.  I really tried to get my sh*t together today in preparation for tomorrow's events.  I spent nearly 2 1/2 hours at the mall today.  Nordstrom had a huge shoe sale going on, did not buy any shoes...what?  ugh...don't even get my started my feet are like a full size larger and wider than they use to be.  Depressing! 

I proceeded to H&M because I assumed I could select a large number of pieces without breaking the bank.  You know what I walked out with?? 
A pair of skinny jeans --uhh I'm not skinny so I don't know what the hell I was thinking.
A long sleeve navy striped shirt -- very blegh and super casual no surprise there
2 long tank tops --which I will most likely add to my cycle of nursing wear

All in all a very unsuccessful adventure at the mall.  Tomorrow is most likely going to be a huge let down to whomever is ready this. 

On top of that I look like complete ass today and I was at one of the largest and most upscale malls in the country.  Of course I entered the Louis Vuitton store(to check out my sister's birthday present wish list idea), I'm sure they thought I was lost.  And earlier that day my sister said "You have to do something about your hair, I'm going to get you a Brazilian blow out" and I noticed later that my hair is nappy and has dreadlocks in the back.  I'm a total mess. 

To add to the typhoon clusterf*ckiness I am pretty sure I have not gotten REM sleep in nearly 8 months.  This cannot be healthy.  I might be going crazy...hence why this post makes like 2% sense. 

However, I will rise to the occasion tomorrow and attempt to put the best possible outfit I can find on to impress(or not) the readers of this here blog.

Until then I bid you adieu

Oh by the way I apologize for my profanity, my husband swears like its everyday language and over the course of the past 4 years it has rubbed off on me.  :)

 

In Need of Style

I am a blog surfer, I can admit to it.  There are a million blogs out there and about 1/2 of them are amazing and I love them instantaneously.  On top of that 99% of those 1/2 million blogs that are amazing end up being ridiculously well dressed people. 

You imagine most bloggers or what I consider "computer geeks" (because c'mon we all sit behind a computer screen writing blurbs in hopes of having other people read them) being, well, frumpy.  They never really have to face anyone if they don't want to, if their are professional bloggers they are able to just sit in their birthday suit if they feel like it and type away.  Personally I don't like my birthday suit, I prefer anything baggy.  :)

So you can imagine my surprise when I come across all these amazing bloggers who are so witty and funny and are able to grab my attention in a matter of seconds and on top of that they can seriously dress!  It's like hello?? Am I the only blogger out there that is a frumpy ol' mess!!?!  I mean I work in a clinic so I go to work in scrubs.  When I'm home with my daughter I'm normally wearing a nursing top of some sort and yoga pants/sweat pants or boxer shorts. I mean it doesn't get any worse does it?! Well, actually it does because when I go out to the grocery or pretty much anywhere (yes even the mall) I don't change!!  This is horrible. 

Is this a cry for help?! (shifty eyes)

I'm in need of some style.   I think I'm going to really try to at least once a week do my hair and make up, dress a little cleaner and better and post it on the blog.  I don't know what I'll call it.  Maybe, Seeking Style Sundays or something.  It'll give me a little motivation.  Then whoever might be reading this can critique my look and give me tips on how to look better!! :) I mean I'm a working mom, but that doesn't mean I should look like complete crap right??  I mean if you all can do it, so can I! :)

Here's looking forward to this Sunday, where I'm really going to put my best foot forward.  Shit, now I'm going to be thinking about what I'm wearing on Sunday for the next 36 hours.  o_O