Hey, Y'all!

Actual Conversation

Setting:  Lying on "the big bed" with SUGAR after bathtime Thursday night.  DEAN stares dreamily into space.

SUGAR:  Whatcha thinking about, buddy?

DEAN:  (thinks) Daddy's birthday.

SUGAR:  OH! Daddy's birthday's in August.  What do you want to do to celebrate?

DEAN:  Bake cupcakes.  Chocklit cupcakes.

SUGAR:  Daddy would love that!  What should we get him as a gift?

DEAN:  A robot.  A fishing robot. Yes.

 

Dean and I have birthdays early in the year (he's January, I'm February), so he likely remembers that we've recently celebrated, but that his daddy hasn't.  I guess he wondered when we were going to get on that.  Marcus LOVES chocolate cupcakes.  Dean enjoys perusing the Bass Pro Shop catalogues that arrive in the mail what seems like every other day.  The other night, he and Marcus were looking at a page of GPS devices.  Dean asked, "Daddy, what's THOSE?"  Marcus explained that they were like robots that told you what the ground looked like under water and helped you find the fishies.  I guess Dean remembered them and thought one would make a nice gift for Marcus's birthday. 

I love seeing this consideration for others come out in him.  He's really getting good at sharing and is starting to think about how his action affect others. (This is mostly because I tend to freak out a bit every time he scratches me with his Fingernails of Doom, which, yes, I trim every three days.) It's hard for only children in some ways, I guess, since they aren't around other kids 24/7.  Going to Mother's Day Out has certainly helped him with his social skills and with learning to share. I think he should be in good shape to start "real" preschool in the fall. (OMG hold me)

Now if only the peer pressure to use the potty would kick in...

T-town

 
Thank you to everyone who sent messages asking if we made it through yesterday's storms ok.  We are better than fine. Many of our fellow Alabamans, particularly in the Tuscaloosa area, are not.  The block where Marcus and I spent countless hours during our grad school days has been reduced to a pile of rubble.  Thousands are without power, water and shelter.  Businesses are destroyed. People are missing and injured.  I heard a mother on the radio this morning begging for help finding her college-aged daughter who has been missing since the tornado hit yesterday afternoon.

Please keep our state and its people in your prayers.  That's what we need more than anything right now.

Easter

 Admit it.  It's my catchy titles that keep you coming back.

It's been a while since my little family of three had (more or less) an entire weekend with just the three of us.  We had originally planned to go out of town for Easter, but those plans fell through, so I got to work filling our Saturday and Sunday with fun activities to do as a famiy.

Saturday morning, we headed to our favorite park for our town's Easter Egg Hunt.  Dean had a great time hunting eggs, seeing the extremely creepy life-sized Easter Bunny and playing on the playground.

 

 
After the egg hunt, we stopped by Panera to grab a quick lunch.  Dean was in kids' meal Heaven. He ordered macaroni and cheese (which is GREAT there), a fruit cup and juice and they threw in a yogurt as part of his meal. He ate and ate and ate.  After lunch, we headed to the movies to see HOP. This was only Dean's second time at the movies and he did pretty well.

 
Our movie theatre provides these dreamy booster seats. Dean tolerated it during the previews while he was enjoying his gummi bears, then stood up (on my foot) the second the movie started. He only tried to escape once, which I counted as Success!  The movie was cute, but had a bit too much live action and not enough bunny rabbit for Dean's liking.

Saturday night, Marcus grilled some amazingly good ribs and we played outside until the sun went down.

Sunday morning, Dean woke up and we went down to check out his loot from the Easter Bunny.

 
Kid racked up!  Not all that is from the bunny, though.  Some of it was sent by his Nana and Pop Pop, some by his GG. He also got a pre-Easter basket from my mom and dad last weekend when we visited them.  (Forgive the clutter behind the table.  It's our old pack n play and a Huggies box full of baby stuff for a friend who's having a little boy next month.)

Dean LOVED everything in his basket, with the dinosaurs taking a slight edge for first place in his heart.  We read all the books, stuck stickers all over ourselves and sorted through the edible things.  Then this happened:

 
This child done decided he LOVES the chocolate bunnies.  In fact, he talked about this one (which he devoured before breakfast) so much that Marcus bought him another one on Tuesday.

The rest of Easter Sunday was spent around the house painting, playing outside and eating a tasty brunch.  That evening, we went out on the boat. This was Dean's first trip out and he had an absolute blast!  He grabbed the little emergency paddle that you use if your motor gives out, declared it his Diego paddle and proceeded to sing the "rescue pack" song from Go Diego Go. Then he let the paddle go in the water and that was pretty much the end of that.

 
Marcus caught a couple of small bass while we were out and, as usual, Dean was stoked. He held the fish and told them they were cute.

 

All was dandy until we had to let the fish go back to his watery home.

 
Tears. GIANT SAD TEARS.  Marcus tried to gently explain how the fish couldn't breathe if he was out of the water and that he probably needed to get home for dinner anyway or his fish mom would worry about him, but still. Tears.  We had to go home shortly after this picture was taken.

Once everyone got home and calmed down, we spread out on the hood of my car, looked at the stars and talked about our favorite things we'd done over the weekend.  If it wasn't a perfect weekend, it was pretty darn close.

 

Comfort Food Saturday: Coconut Cake

I could have sworn I posted this recipe before, but digging through my CFS archives, I cannot find it. I'm craving this cake today. It's one my mom whipped up last summer while we were visiting here and it is deeeelicious! My husband is not a fan of flaked coconut, so Dean and  I will be on our own if we make one this weekend.  Something tells me we won't need any help finishing it.

COCONUT CAKE

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 (14 oz.) can cream of coconut (I found mine in the section with the Bloody Mary mix)
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (16 oz.) container Cool Whip (thawed)
• 1 package (10 oz.) flaked coconut

Bake cake according to package directions and allow to cool completely.  In a bowl, combine cream of coconut and sweetened condensed milk.  Poke holes in your cake with toothpicks or a straw and pour creamy mixture over the cake.  Spread whipped topping over the entire cake, then sprinkle on flaked coconut.  Chill 20 minutes then serve.  Store in the fridge.

This would look beautiful on an Easter dinner table, don't you think?

 

Happy Easter, y'all!

Photo Courtesy of www.whatscookintew.blogspot.com

Underage Blogger Attack!

Hey, y'all.  Dean here.  We seriously need to ditch the "Deano the Bambino" label. I am a BIG BOY now. Anywho, I haven't written in a while, so I thought I'd share some pictures. 
This squirrel has taken a liking to our front deck. We call him Albert.  I wanted to name him Dean, as I name everything because it's the BEST name (duh), but Sugar said all the Deans were confusing her, to pick something else.

 
Here I am having a picnic in our living room.  Daddy bought a buncha these chairs for our deck, but I like to sit on them in the house.  Sugar is often very adaptable to my needs and lets me eat in unconventional places.  I applaud her flexibility.

(my vocabulary has advanced a lot since last I wrote, no?)

 
Sugar told me about the CheeseburgHer party you all have at your blog conferences. Now that sounds like my kind of party!

 
Here I am grilling up some burgers last weekend. I like springtime.

 
I don't like getting up ANY MORE. I often hide from Sugar and Daddy until they deliver my milk to my bed. 

 
That's what's up(side down) here!  Hope y'all have a happy Easter!

The Golden Girls

I went to Mississippi this weekend, Dean in tow, to see my parents perform in their church's Easter Passion Play.  It was a great show, complete with live animals! The donkey was a total pro--he's been doing these plays for years.  The little lamb was a bit spooked, though.  He Baaaaaa'd loudly and his handler told him it was ok. Then he licked the handler in the face.  There were rumors of live chickens in the marketplace scene, but, alas, they were cut.  My guess is someone remembered what chickens smell like and thought it better to leave them out.  My dad had 2 solos and did a great job.

Part of my job this weekend was wrangling the old ladies. My grandma's sister and their friend, Diane, came up for the play.  On Friday, Dean and I took my grandma out on a date to the Mexican restaurant where she and I were served the biggest portion of fajitas I've ever seen. We ate until we thought we'd pop, yet the platter looked like we hadn't touched it.  The next day, my great-aunt and Diane showed up.  They all spent the day shopping and such, then I picked them up at FOUR FIFTEEN for dinner.  I threatened to bring a rope for everyone to hold onto while we were out so no one would wander, but they all promised to behave.  We went to McAllister's Deli and had baked potatoes loaded with good stuff, then headed for the church.  We arrived at 5:20.  The play started at 7.  The doors opened at 6.  Around 5:35, an usher  took mercy on me said it would be ok if we went in and found a seat. My grandma can't see so well, so she HAD to be up close.  (As she announced many, many times in the lobby...hence the early seating.)  We enjoyed the play a lot. When we got in the car to go home, I heard my aunt exclaim from the backseat "Lord, I can't wait to get home and get these teeth out!"

Good times with the over-70 crowd.

Comfort Food Saturday: THE BEST Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are my all-time favorite.  I like them any way you make them and with anything in them, be it raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chips or just plain.  Dean and I made a batch this week from a new recipe I found and fooled with and they were by far the best I've ever baked.

THE BEST OATMEAL COOKIES

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspooon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 cups Quaker oats, uncooked
• 1 cup raisins, chocolate chips or craisins (I used chocolate chips)--optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.  Add vanilla and eggs and beat well.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Add to mixture and mix well. (I used my electric mixer on LOW speed.)  Stir in oats and raisins/chocolate chips/craisins and mix well.  Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls on to an ungreased cookie sheet (I line mine with parchment paper for easy removal and clean-up!).  Bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet, then transfer to wire rack or plate.  Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

**This recipe makes a TON of cookies.  I froze half my dough  so that I can bake another batch later!

 
Dude, my dishes are SO not virtually spotless!  Time to stop buying cheapo detergent...

On Our Table

I've shared my menu plans here before, but this week seems like a booming success of planning awesomeness, so I thought I'd let you know what we're eating up in here!  I generally do the bulk of my grocery shopping at Publix. They have great Buy-1-Get-1-Free deals, almost always including things I really need, like apple juice or pasta.  They also double coupons up to 50cents and have the best produce in town.  Their meat prices, however are H I G H, so I do my meat shopping at our smaller "local" stores, the Piggly Wiggly and Lucky's Foodland.  For less than $20 at the Pig, I bought a huge family pack of chicken breasts, a big pack of thick-cut pork chops and a 1.6 pound package of ground beef.  Combined with the rest of the stuff we bought at Publix (which included some non-food items, like parchment paper and Drano, plus some "Stock-up" items like salad dressing and soy sauce), we spent less than $100 at the grocery store this week.

Here's our menu plan:

Sunday:  Grilled teriyaki pork chops with rice and grilled asparagus.

Monday:  Grilled chicken Caesar salads (We are seeing a pattern with the grilled-ness, yes?)

Tuesday:  Pork fried rice (2 grilled (!) pork chops with veggies like bean sprouts, carrots, peas and leeks)  **I did the math (!) and this meal cost us $2.02 per serving.

Wednesday:  Grilled chicken breasts with baked potatoes and kale.

Thursday: Lasagna because MAN are we gonna be sick of pork and chicken! Also garlic bread. Possibly grilled.

Dean and I are heading to my mom and dad's for the weekend and Marcus has a crazy bunch of work commitments Friday through Sunday, so our grill will be neglected for a few days.

 

What are you eating this week?

 

Say What You Need To Say

Dean can talk. Like a real human, I mean. He just doesn't always choose to do so.  I've yet to figure out why three-year-olds think anything good will come of tantrums.  Yesterday, for example, Dean got up, had his milk (laced with Zyrtec) and sat down on the couch with me.  I asked if he wanted to watch a cartoon. "NO!" I asked if he'd like to eat breakfast. "Breakfast? Ok!" I offered every breakfast food we own, and each suggestion was met with a hearty refusal. My favorite?  "NO, SUGAR, NO WAFFLES ANYMOOOOOOORE!"  I asked if he wanted to go outside. "NO!" I asked if he wanted to play upstairs in his room. "NO!" I asked if he wanted to get out his dinosaurs. "NO DINOS ANYMOOOOOOOOOOORE!" (We have no idea where "anymore" came from.)   Once I hit the point of OMG CHILD, USE YOUR WORDS AND TELL ME WHAT YOU WAAAAAAAAAAAAAANT!, Marcus recommened we leave him as he was (flailing about in the hallway) and let him get himself together.  We came downstairs, had our coffee, and a minute later, Dean joined us, asking me to make him a Play-Doh Bugs Bunny. 

It's awesome that he CAN tell us what he wants or needs, but not so great when he WON'T tell us.

I shall now stop using all-caps. Apologies.

I read this weekend that three-year-olds understand more than 900 words, but typically only  say between 200-300 when they turn 3.  How frustrating to know that many words, but not quite be able to get them out.  We read a lot these days, as we always have, but now we're concentrating on things like hidden picture books (or High Five magazine, the little kid version of Highlights), longer story books and books that ask questions.  All these things seem to be helping Dean build his vocabulary more and more.  Our favorite thing to do during our bedtime reading extravaganza, which ranges from 3-8 books nightly,  is look for the mouse on each page of  Goodnight, Moon.  I'm ecstatic that he rarely has to be prompted to say "please" or "thank you."  Each day, we push and push for more words. Sometimes he uses them, sometimes he doesn't.

But three?  Is SO much fun!

 
 

Comfort Food Saturday: Hot Water Cornbread

Confession:  I didn't even LIKE cornbread on a regular basis until I was in college.  That's actually true of a lot of foods. Until I left the comfort of my mom's kitchen, I didn't know what I was missing.  Just the smell of cornbread reminded me of home.  There was a small restaurant in the town where I went to college called Sarah's Kitchen. It was literally Sarah's kitchen, in Sarah's house. She made fantastic soul food and the best hot water cornbread I've ever had.

The difference between hot water cornbread and regular is the texture. Hot water bread tends to me more moist on the inside, while still crispy on the outside. (Because it's FRIED!)  Regular cornbread is more dry on the inside.

My favorite way to eat hot water cornbread is in stick form, but you can do it any way you like. Most recipes call for the batter to be formed into balls or patties.

HOT WATER CORNBREAD

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1/2 oil

Bring water to a boil.  Mix hot water into cornmeal, salt, sugar and oil until moistened.  Add egg and stir in well.  (Mixture should be thick enough to form in to balls.)  Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown.