Snow Day

Well, it is true. It is snowing quite a bit in Wichita today. So much that Jeff and L have a snow day today. Hope they have fun playing outside!

Happy Birthday Dan!

The Loving's invited us to eat dinner at Red Robin tonight to celebrate his birthday. We never pass up on opportunities to R.R. and what a great day to celebrate. Dinner was yummy. Dan liked his remote control Royals gift. L had a blast with the boys.
We got onion rings and this one looks like Mickey Mouse! Currently, I feel like I'm in the calm before the storm. It's supposed to snow 10 inches overnight. I hope it snows some so I can get L playing in the snow pictures. And Jeff could have fun with L on a snow day!

Finally!

Melts My Heart

My two sweethearts spending a nice lunch with me. I love when they both smile nicely for the camera. L is soooo happy that daddy won her a toy in the claw machine. He really likes having the excuse to play the claw!

What a week!

This week has been a busy one and it went by quickly. Tuesday I joined a bunch of great ladies for book club. The conversation was great...it's so nice to talk about something other than child-related. Although I wasn't really fond of Atonement, it wasn't a horrible book either (Confederacy of Dunces still holds that record).

Wednesday we watched WSU lose to Northern Iowa. I really like Coach Marshall and I really hope he doesn't leave for South Carolina. He will make the team better next year (yes, I've pretty much given up this season). And tonight, L and I did marathon shopping. We went to see our friends at Scrapfunattic. I found a couple things that I didn't have at home (lol) and we shopped Target and Dillons out. Don't worry Maria, I won't share my list this week!

My house is pretty clean and I don't have anything pressing at the moment, and I must say, it's really nice to just sit. Maybe I should figure out what to spend my summer tax rebate on!

Sad and Senseless

I was sad today when I found out that Heath Ledger died. 28 years old, an up and coming actor found dead in his apartment today. I was so looking forward to seeing him as Joker in the new Batman movie and in future films. What a tragedy.

Jill, this one's for you.

Eye Catching

Last night we tried a new place called Ajuua. It's a mexican restaurant near Rock and Central. It's been there for awhile, but we tend to forget the out of way places. We were pleasantly surprised at how nice the place is and the food was delicious. We liked everything except the chile con queso. T's dish was the most eye catching. It was today's special...mol. The dish had beef, chicken and shrimp and was in this cool lava bowl and arrived sizzling. We'll definitely be revisiting Ajuua again.

My Target List

So you all know how much I LOVE Target. It truly is the happiest place on earth (but I've already blogged that). So I thought I'd share with you my list this week. I didn't spend as much as last but the receipt was still 12 inches long.

Fasteners, hooks, apples, lettuce, area rug, shake and bake, onions, broccoli, green beans, 2 wii games (we had gift cards), chicken drumsticks (our favorite), ground beef, bathtub colors, apple juice, canned green beans, canned corn, olive oil, tide, salsa, tomato paste, dog treats, soap, miracle whip, pjs, 2 books, dilbert pens and paper pads, cascade, waffles, tortillas, bagels, paper towels, socks, shredded cheese, egg beater, parchment paper, Betty Crocker 150 calorie cakes (hope they are yummy), mint fudge sugar free pudding, coffee creamer, milk, orange juice, dog food, dog treats (gotta make them happy), diet vanilla Pepsi, diet AW and a swimsuit for L.

I love that I can go to one place and find (almost) everything. And they have such cute clothes. I could have bought L some adorable spring stuff, but I restrained myself (and got myself new pjs).

My PSA

I love to walk and sometimes like to run, but I am a huge worry wart. I always make sure when I'm out I try to keep some type of id on me. Sometimes that's my driver's license, other times my cell phone. But it's a drag. I ran across this ad in a magazine and I have to share it with you.
This is Road ID. For $20 you can get an id bracelet or a shoe tag or ankle tag with your info on it. Mine includes my name, town I live in, my blood type, birthday and that I have asthma. It also includes two contact numbers. I know the picture isn't great and doesn't do the product justice, but you need to go out to www.roadid.com. Definitely worth your time. If you want to order one, ask me to email you a $1 off coupon.

Bear with me....

I know you're probably all tired of L pictures, but we had a good weekend. First, L is completely potty trained. She got presents...new panties. And she is excited! (so are we). Then we went to Pat and Linda's to celebrate Christmas (belated) and L received this beautiful puppy shawl and mittens. She looks adorable!
L had a great time there because Pat received a talking parrot for Christmas. She loved all the buttons to make him talk, squawk, and dance. The song is the same one they play on Dora so there was lots of repeats.
Okay..thanks for tuning in!

Silly Faces

L is a silly girl. And one thing that always makes us laugh is her silly faces. She's been practicing hard and has a decent list. And if you make a face that's not good enough, she'll let you know.

Fun with Kam

We had a fun evening last night (so fun I forgot to blog) with Kam, Kurt, Kasey and T. We ate, drank, and shared stories. Kam, of course, took center stage with his cooing and smiles. He's a great kid. L loves him. She wanted to hold him all night!

Surprise Dinner!

I got home from work late (after 6:30) and was prepared to fix a simple dinner, when Jeff and L said they wanted to take me out to Yen Cheng. We haven't been there in ages and it didn't disappoint. We really like this place. It's simple, good Chinese food.
L really likes the food too. She's really into crab rangoons. It's been a few weeks since we went out to dinner with her and she was very well behaved. There were no fits and she talked about all sorts of things and didn't constantly interrupt. It must be the pigtails.

Although, I must admit the camera does a good job of distracting her. She loves to have her picture taken and then look at all of them on the camera. Here's a nice cheesy smile with mom!

I am now ready to face Friday and the end of a long week (had to work all five days!)

Wild Wednesday

Today was a busy day at work. I knew it would be busy during the holiday, but I was hoping it would slow down by now. My main problem is I'm behind in my paperwork. The sad part is I get one area cleaned up and another part piles up. Oh well, someday I'll be caught up. I really need a snowstorm!

***
So one of the big stories in Wichita is Dr. Schneider was arrested and jailed for over-prescribing narcotics and he's responsible for 50 some deaths due to overdose. Now I don't know if he's innocent or guilty, but I do think it's possible that if a person went to see their doctor and was prescribed medicine (narcotics), one would think,"well if my doctor prescribed it, then it must be fine." I think lack of communication of how to use these meds may be a problem...but we'll see how the story unfolds.

***
So Reggie is peeing on my bedroom floor again!!! AHH!! I am about ready to lock her up. Sometime today, she peed on the floor and I scolded her. So her thanks was peeing in the same spot two hours later. At least L is potty trained. Thank goodness! I think we'll be seeing Chucky Cheese soon (that was her reward for being potty trained).

***
So we went to Target today and I spent too much money. Groceries are getting to be expensive. I understand why many people forgo eating healthy and eat lunch and supper at McDonald's and Taco Bell. The dollar menu is hard to pass up. It's too bad we don't have a food tax exemption like some other states. I think this should be mandatory.

***
Well, I think that's enough venting for a while. I need to get to bed early so I can jump on the treadmill in the morning.

Pigtails!

Finally!!! I've been waiting FOREVER to put L's hair in pigtails. The two main issues have been that L's hair isn't long enough and she can't leave hair things alone. A few weeks ago, I tried to put a barrette in and in less than five minutes, it was out. But last night, her hair was really shaggy so I tried and yes!! her hair is long enough. She was so excited this morning (when the picture was taken). She ran over to her best friend at daycare to show off her new "tails".

Nose Poop

So we are having difficulty with L picking her nose. First, Jeff kept asking her if there was gold in there (while she's picking). She'd say "no" so he'd tell her if there's no gold, then no picking. So now she tells me there's gold in there when she's picking her nose.

Creative Jeff says, "oohh, don't pick your nose...that's nose poop. You wouldn't pick your butt, so you don't pick your nose." And you know what....it works! She thinks, then decides a kleenex would be better.

Guitar Hero Addicts!

We are also addicted to Guitar Hero. The funny thing is, Jeff has had Guitar Hero for playstation 2 for a long time. And when we decided it was okay to play video games on our big screen tv, we've been experimenting with GH. I love it!!! I am not a big video game player and don't like to sit playing games for more than 20 minutes, but I could play GH for hours!
Even L likes GH!! She loves to play the guitar. She doesn't even care when she fails, in fact, she'll cheer!! Reggie doesn't care so much about GH, but she really likes sitting in Jeff's new game chair. I think he has to shoo her out of the chair an average of 5 times/ night.

Painting Time

L loves art. Stamping, cutting, painting, drawing...they are all her favorites. So this afternoon we spent some time painting on her new easel. She loved it!! She loves the smock and did a good job of painting different colors together. She didn't even mind the messy paint hands.
Look at me!

The Tongue Roll Up

L has been working hard on doing the hot dog bun tongue roll. Although I haven't been able to find it as a milestone on the Denver Developmental Test, it received a high 5 in our house. Both Jeff and I are able to do this. So after practicing for a few weeks, she was thrilled to have been successful.

The funniest thing is sometimes she'll just show up somewhere doing this, and you can't help but smile.

Football Frenzy

Currently, I'm watching KU play an impressive game against Virginia Tech . I loved the interception and the highstepping into the end zone. I don't care if he was penalized...it was great. I hope they keep this up and win.

Football always makes me think of buffalo wings. It must be all those Sundays at Victory eating wings with Dave and Jeff. So here's a delicious buffalo chicken casserole dish recipe.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

1/2 c. uncooked regular long grain white rice
1 c. water
1 T. olive oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
2 medium stalks celery, thinly sliced (1 cup)
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1/2 c. buffalo wing sauce
1/4 c. blue cheese dressing.

Cook rice in water 20 minutes as directed on package. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a 12 inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and celery; cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove from heat. Open can of tomatoes; cut up tomatoes in can. Stir tomatoes and wing sauce into chicken mixture.

Spray 8 inch square baking dish with Pam. Spoon cooked rice into dish. Spread chicken mixture over rice (do not stir).

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until hot in center. Drizzle dressing over top.

The best part of this dish is you can make it with any wing sauce so it could be spicy (or in my household, not). Enjoy!

Don't You Wish You Could be Doing This?

Instead, I got to go to work today. I love my job, but I LOVE time off. And Ditto looks so comfy in this picture. Today, I was surprisingly not too sore today (thank goodness). I think I may even go for a walk tomorrow.

A Frosty First Day

This year, one of my goals is to run 5 races to stay fit. So I started off this year by running the Frosty 5K. And boy, was it a chilly day. Jill's blog says it all. My time was 38 minutes, 7 seconds. Not great, but I've been to the gym once in 2 months. Tomorrow, my workout will consist of stretching (because I predict I will be very, very sore).

***

Today was a good start to the year. I cleaned up a few rooms and took the Christmas tree down. I love it, but after the hoopla is over, the tree just looks sad. We rearranged (again) to fit L's new toys. We capped off the night by watching WSU lose to Illinois State. I like Marshall, but man, this is going to be one long season.

***

Happy New Year!!!