Friday Five

I know it's been a little while, but it is Friday, so it's time for the Friday Five, my top 5 moments from the week. I've been sick this week, so it was not exactly a blast, but there have been some fun moments, so here they are, in no particular order:

1. Baby attempting to topple the fort at My Gym, and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it

2. My Mothers and More mixer this week

3. Finding a cool book on writing at the library

4. Finding a new kids consignment shop and some pretty good stuff in it

5. Baby figuring out that Mommy's feet are awfully ticklish

It hasn't been an awesome week, I certainly haven't felt great, but there have been some bright moments here and there. One of those moments certainly wasn't "American Idol." (Y1ikes, two hours of performances? It was just a bit much.)

Anyway, we're not having a good moment right now, so it's time to go before Baby has a meltdown (he's a bit stumped by his Fridge Farm).

Things I Love Thursdays: Kids consignment shops

We had a great day at a kids' consignment store today that we hadn't been to before. Baby Bottoms Consignment. They not only had a huge selection of clothes (which we weren't in the market for), but they had an impressive selection of children's toys, even toddler toys, which are hard to come by, it seems. We made out like bandits today, and got three toys that Baby really seems to dig, thus far:

Playskool Dusty the Talking Vacuum - retails on Amazon for $19.97, I paid $7.99
Infantino Jumbo Shape Sorter - retails on Amazon for $16.99, I paid $5.99
Leap Frog Fridge Farm - retails on Amazon for $15.99, I paid $7.99

So, all in all, I saved at least $31! Wow!

Now, you have to be patient with kids consignment shops. Sometimes I find nothing. Then, there are days like today that make up for the nothing days. They are definitely worth the time and effort, because you can get some serious steals, and not just on toys and clothes. Lots of consignment stores also carry baby gear, like bassinets, carseats, strollers, and the like.

Happy shopping!

**Update: In case you happen to live in Tampa, Baby Bottoms is on Ehrlich Rd, just west of Veterans Expressway.

Baby's got a thing for George Michael

This is funny...

Today, Baby was in a funk this afternoon after we ran some errands, so we turned on some music. Everything seems better when there's music. I plugged in my iPod, turned it to random, and George Michael's "Faith" came on. Baby absolutely loved it. We danced, we sang, and he loved every minute of it! He normally loves music a good bit, but this was a whole new level of adoration. He was laughing half the time, and grinning the whole time. He even seemed to be bopping a little bit. It was the cutest thing I've seen in a while. At least now I know he appreciates the 80's.

Wow, sometimes I amaze myself

I like to think that I am a decent cook. I'm pretty sure I am. Today, though, I totally butchered something VERY simple. Carrots. I was just trying to cook some carrots for Baby to try, since we're trying more and more to get away from the jarred baby foods (though he is resisting a bit). He liked carrots a lot as a jarred food, but I know raw carrots are just too hard for a one-year-old, so I read the package of the package of organic baby carrots that I had bought, and I thought I read to just put them in the microwave, covered, for 5-7 minutes, until "desired doneness." I assumed that Baby would need them softer, so I grabbed a few carrots, covered them with some Press n Seal, and set the micro to 7 minutes. About 5 minutes later, something starts to smell, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Then, when the microwave dings to tell me it's done, I open the microwave door and am horrified by what I find. Crusty, black carrots. Yuck. I missed one very important portion of the directions - the carrots should be submerged in water.

I must also say, though, that I am sick (thank you Baby), so perhaps I can blame this little incident on my foggy brain. Yikes.

Menu Plan Monday for March 9th

It's that time again, Menu Plan Monday for the week of March 9th!

Monday - Chicken Stir Fry with Hoisin-Sesame Sauce (a new recipe)
Tuesday - Waffles
Wednesday - Beef Teriyaki
Thursday - Homemade pan pizza
Friday - Grilled tilapia
Saturday - Apple pork tenderloin (a new recipe)
Sunday - Chicken cutlets and spaghetti

Two new recipes this week - that's pretty good. Stay tuned to hear how they go!

Last Week's New Recipes

Well, I didn't do a very good job sticking to the menu last week, in part because Husband wound up going away for work for several days, so I was a little lazy. I did, however, manage to make one new meal this week: beef stroganoff. I was not entirely thrilled with the recipe, though, so I think I may try another one next time I get around to beef stroganoff. I used to call beef stroganoff "noodles and mushrooms" when I was little, though my mother would fish out the mushrooms for me because I hated them. I skipped the mushrooms tonight, naturally, so maybe that was enough to change the taste of the sauce. I don't know. I also don't recall my mother adding wine to the sauce, like this recipe called for. Oh well, I'm not feeling so hot tonight anyway, so maybe that messed with my taste buds anyway.

Things I Hate Thursday

I always like to be balanced, so here's a little something to balance out what I love today...a little something I hate...or dislike intensely...

I do not like when Baby is sick. It is not fun. Not for him, not for me. He's so irritable when he doesn't feel good. He's like Dictator Baby. I take him away from something he's doing to wipe his incredibly runny nose and he gets very upset with me. Screams his head off...it's just not pretty. I can't wait until he starts feeling better. Significantly better. I think he's doing somewhat better than he was earlier this week, but he's still a bit of a mess. Still lots of snot dripping from his nose. Still coughing in the middle of the night. But no fever, so that's good. Here's hoping that we're on the downward swing of this cold!

Things I Love Thursday

It's Things I Love Thursday again! Baby has been sick all week, so today's thing I love is totally relating to that lovely experience. What do I love today? Baby cloth diapers!!

Baby cloth diapers are probably one of the most handy things I have purchased in terms of baby care. My sister-in-law recommended them, and I thought she was crazy...until Baby came. They were totally handy when it came to spit-up, drool, runny noses, pretty much anything dripping out of Baby in any way, shape, or form was totally mopped up by these cloth diapers. Super handy! And way cheaper than the cute printed burp cloths I saw at Babies R Us and even Target. Okay, so they aren't cute, but they are totally white so you can bleach them when they get dirty, unlike the cute ones. Sometimes handy trumps cute. Not always, but in this case, definitely! Here's a big thumbs up to cloth diapers for uses other than diapering. :)

Time for some time-honored list making...

Clearly, you've figured out that I am a Type A personality. I tend to be more focused on organization than the next person (though I can still make messes with the best of them!). And one of my favorite things to do is to make lists - grocery lists, to do list, project lists...I love them all!

Obviously, you've also figured out that I'm a writer. I love to write, have since I was a kid. I've got notebooks full of crazy stories and poems that I've written over the years, and now that I am blessed enough to stay home with Baby all day, I've decided that I need to start trying to make some money by writing. This blog is one of those ways. Not only do I get to share my crazy thoughts, but hopefully it will bring in a few bucks as I work to grow by blog. But, I also want to work on longer pieces of writing. Short stories, novellas, and maybe even novels. For whatever reason, I've decided I need a place for all this writing. Fortunately, we are a computer heavy family. Right now, we have two laptops (one for Husband and one for me), a computer in the living room (which now acts as our DVR), and a computer in our office that collects dust. It's my old computer, and I've decided it's time to revive it. It may need a little work - some RAM, a new install of Windows, that kind of thing, but it will be worth it. Husband bought a big (okay, big-ish - it's 32 inches, I think) LCD TV for the office a while back, so I can use that as a super big monitor, and sit on the couch in there to write. All I have to do now is put together a list of what has to happen in order for me to start doing this.

So here's what needs to happen:
1. Hook up old computer to LCD monitor.
2. Turn on old computer - does it start up? Does it need some RAM? What version of Windows is on it? Do we have another one I could put on it? Make sure it has a decent version of Word.
3. Find/purchase either a wicked long extension cord for the keyboard or a wireless keyboard. Must also find a wireless mouse.
4. Set a schedule - when do I write in there? I need to make sure, at the very least, to set an attainable goal so it becomes part of my usual routine.
5. Start using my new writing space!

UPDATE: Number one is complete! And number two is started...the computer does indeed start up!

Menu Plan Monday for March 2nd

Well, it's that time again - Menu Plan Monday for the week of March 2nd.

Sorry I've been MIA this last week, it's been a crazy around here between Baby getting sick (eek!), dealing with the mess that was my house after our company left and the birthday party was over, and feeling a little blue for some mysterious reason. But I'm back!

Husband is traveling Monday and Tuesday, so Baby and I will be on our own for dinner, but the rest of the week should be pretty normal.

Monday - Spaghetti with tomato sauce and garlic bread
Tuesday - Honey Dijon chicken sandwich with sweet potato home fries (an experiment - I'll let you know if it's good and share the recipe)
Wednesday - Meatloaf and baked potatoes
Thursday - French Toast
Friday - Burgers and fries
Saturday - French chicken in a pot (another new recipe!)
Sunday - Pork tenderloin (another new recipe!)

Wow, three new recipes in one week? Eek! I'm still deciding what to do with the pork tenderloin, but I'm leaning toward an apple cider marinade I found. The French chicken in a pot is an America's Test Kitchen recipe that sounds absolutely awesome. Stay tuned!