Time flies when you're having fun.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Boomer!
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| Looking cute on the way out of town |
She was asleep about 5 minutes after this picture was taken. Notice the quasi-shiner. She fell off something at school on Friday.
We got there a little early so Jenn and I took Harper and Avery to the neighborhood elementary school to play on the playground. By the time we got back nearly everyone else had arrived. We hadn't seen most everyone since June, and all the kids have grown so much over the summer.
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| Cailyn, A, Jenn, Harper, and Jordan checking out the neighbor's puppy |
From left: Jordan (2), Declan (6 mo), A, Harper (18 mo), Cailyn (1), and Rearden (6 mo)
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| I think Harper was mad because someone took her water |
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| Cailyn is like, dude, what's your problem? |
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| Yep, Steve & Brandi went to OU despite Cailyn's lack of OU gear-hehe. Everyone was giving them a hard time. |
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| Jordan is a professional, never moving or changing expressions |
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| And that's a wrap, folks! |
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| A, Jordan, and Harper picking "flowers" |
Friday, September 16, 2011
Weelicious Granola Bars
I'm always looking for quick, easy, healthy breakfast ideas. Normally for Avery it's some combination of banana/yogurt/applesauce/berries/granola bar that we send to school for breakfast. I ran across the recipe for these Chocolate Chip Granola Bars on Weelicious and happened to have all the ingredients on hand.
These turned out really good. Even Rob, who never eats breakfast, has been taking them to work in the morning. I have been crumbling some on top of vanilla yogurt and eating it that way. I didn't use the baking sheet. I put them in a 9x13 pan and the end pieces got a little browner than the rest. Also, they weren't cool enough to cut after 10 minutes so I left them overnight and the next morning they were already set and pretty hard to cut. Next time I would like to try them with raisins. Very easy to make, not to mention really inexpensive!
These turned out really good. Even Rob, who never eats breakfast, has been taking them to work in the morning. I have been crumbling some on top of vanilla yogurt and eating it that way. I didn't use the baking sheet. I put them in a 9x13 pan and the end pieces got a little browner than the rest. Also, they weren't cool enough to cut after 10 minutes so I left them overnight and the next morning they were already set and pretty hard to cut. Next time I would like to try them with raisins. Very easy to make, not to mention really inexpensive!
Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (makes about 30 bars)
4 Cups Old Fashioned Oats
1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Chocolate Chips*
1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Chocolate Chips*
1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Honey
1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture and stir to combine.
5. Place granola mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a rectangle, about 13 x 9 x 1 inch thick.
6. Bake for 40 minutes.
7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then cut into 3 x 1 inch bars.**
8. Serve.
2. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture and stir to combine.
5. Place granola mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a rectangle, about 13 x 9 x 1 inch thick.
6. Bake for 40 minutes.
7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then cut into 3 x 1 inch bars.**
8. Serve.
* You can substitute raisins or other dried fruit for the chocolate chips.
** Individually wrapped, the bars will remain fresh for several weeks.
** Individually wrapped, the bars will remain fresh for several weeks.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Night Crawler
We have a night crawler. A creature of the night. She carries a stuffed monkey and a ratty blanket and looks something like this
Pretty scary.
Or at least startling when all you see is her silhouette in the doorway at 3 a.m. Or you get up and she's sleeping in your bedroom doorway. Or standing on your side of the bed peering at you while you sleep.
Mind you all these things happened to Rob, not me. I go right on sleeping. She could be making macaroni and cheese and watching Dora at 2 a.m. and I wouldn't wake up.
Almost every night this week she has gotten up in the middle of the night and roamed the house, spreading 5 million tiny hair bands around the house (she has done this countless times, why I do not put them somewhere she cannot get to is beyond even me) and smearing Vaseline all over the floor.
Yay.
Two evenings ago (about 7:00), she made a great escape. I went to the bathroom and Rob was in the office. She opened the door that goes to the garage (which was up), went outside, and (fortunately!) went to the front door and proceeded to rattle the handle. This is when and where Rob discovered her. This happened in about a 1 minute time span.
Rob immediately went out to buy some of these
So yeah. She's sneaky and quick. I'm not sure what to do about the nighttime wandering. Aside from installing a chime on her bedroom door, we can't be sure thatRob one of us will wake up every time she gets up. Our house is relatively safe but nonetheless there are still a million different things she could get into if unsupervised. Hopefully it's just a phase, and at least now we know she definitely can't get outside!
Pretty scary.
Or at least startling when all you see is her silhouette in the doorway at 3 a.m. Or you get up and she's sleeping in your bedroom doorway. Or standing on your side of the bed peering at you while you sleep.
Mind you all these things happened to Rob, not me. I go right on sleeping. She could be making macaroni and cheese and watching Dora at 2 a.m. and I wouldn't wake up.
Almost every night this week she has gotten up in the middle of the night and roamed the house, spreading 5 million tiny hair bands around the house (she has done this countless times, why I do not put them somewhere she cannot get to is beyond even me) and smearing Vaseline all over the floor.
Yay.
Two evenings ago (about 7:00), she made a great escape. I went to the bathroom and Rob was in the office. She opened the door that goes to the garage (which was up), went outside, and (fortunately!) went to the front door and proceeded to rattle the handle. This is when and where Rob discovered her. This happened in about a 1 minute time span.
Rob immediately went out to buy some of these
So yeah. She's sneaky and quick. I'm not sure what to do about the nighttime wandering. Aside from installing a chime on her bedroom door, we can't be sure that
Monday, September 12, 2011
School Open House
Last Thursday Avery's school hosted an open house. It was just for the parents, so Rob stayed home with Avery. We met the teachers several months ago when Avery moved to the 2 year old room, but it was nice to talk without any distractions (kids) and really hear about the curriculum, methods, approach, schedule, etc. Her teachers have nearly 50 years of experience in child care between the two of them and I believe both have degrees in Child Development. More importantly, they seem to genuinely love the kids and what they do.
We got to see many of the materials they use and received a schedule with the class themes for the next year. They will be going over everything from dinosaurs to apples to hygiene to seasons and holidays, and the list goes on. Mrs. Laura is a book collector and has over 5,000 books in her collection and brings books according to the theme of the week. They do lots and lots of crafts and worksheets and coloring sheets. Much to Avery's dismay, many of them have to go to the paper recycling bag. We could wallpaper our house with the amount of paper that comes home.
They switch activities about every 15 minutes due to the short attention spans of the kids. Pretty crazy! I can't imagine my workday being that sporadic.
Mrs. Laura said that Avery is quiet, sweet, always good, a great eater, and very meticulous about everything she does.
It was nice to get a little glimpse into what our girl does 9 hours every day! We trust that she's in a good environment and is flourishing in it.
We got to see many of the materials they use and received a schedule with the class themes for the next year. They will be going over everything from dinosaurs to apples to hygiene to seasons and holidays, and the list goes on. Mrs. Laura is a book collector and has over 5,000 books in her collection and brings books according to the theme of the week. They do lots and lots of crafts and worksheets and coloring sheets. Much to Avery's dismay, many of them have to go to the paper recycling bag. We could wallpaper our house with the amount of paper that comes home.
They switch activities about every 15 minutes due to the short attention spans of the kids. Pretty crazy! I can't imagine my workday being that sporadic.
Mrs. Laura said that Avery is quiet, sweet, always good, a great eater, and very meticulous about everything she does.
It was nice to get a little glimpse into what our girl does 9 hours every day! We trust that she's in a good environment and is flourishing in it.
Labor Day Weekend
I have a little catching up to do, it seems! We had little plans for Labor Day weekend other than to relax and enjoy the symbolic end to summer. Saturday morning I made pancakes and Rob, taken by the game day spirit, headed out to find a flag pole on which to hang the OU flag we bought a while ago. After going all over town he finally found one.
We bugged him to hurry up and install the flag pole so we could go to the pool and enjoy one last (hot) day there. The pool was closing two days later, on Labor Day, but the forecast was much cooler for Sunday and Monday so we figured this would probably be the last trip of the year. We had it all to ourselves which is always nice.
Later that afternoon we went to the Bradshaw's to watch the first OU game. But not before torturing Avery with 72 pictures of her in her cheerleader outfit.
We had good times and good food at the Bradshaw's until after half-time when we decided we better pack it up. Avery was extremely energetic for 9:30 pm but she needed to get to bed!
The weather turned much cooler Sunday morning and after breakfast we took Avery to a big park a couple of miles from home.
Sunday evening we went to Gigi & Pepaw's for dinner. Must have put our camera/phones down for a few hours because there are no pictures!
Monday morning Avery and I went to brunch with Shannon, Lynn, and Stephen and then to see Gina's beautiful new baby girl while Rob stayed home and smoked some meat. Later that afternoon Gigi & Pepaw came over for dinner and we enjoyed the beautiful, cooler weather.
We finished up the weekend with ice cream on the deck (Avery had ice cream, the rest of us watched). Overall, a wonderful weekend!
We bugged him to hurry up and install the flag pole so we could go to the pool and enjoy one last (hot) day there. The pool was closing two days later, on Labor Day, but the forecast was much cooler for Sunday and Monday so we figured this would probably be the last trip of the year. We had it all to ourselves which is always nice.
Later that afternoon we went to the Bradshaw's to watch the first OU game. But not before torturing Avery with 72 pictures of her in her cheerleader outfit.
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| This basically sums it up |
We had good times and good food at the Bradshaw's until after half-time when we decided we better pack it up. Avery was extremely energetic for 9:30 pm but she needed to get to bed!
The weather turned much cooler Sunday morning and after breakfast we took Avery to a big park a couple of miles from home.
Sunday evening we went to Gigi & Pepaw's for dinner. Must have put our camera/phones down for a few hours because there are no pictures!
Monday morning Avery and I went to brunch with Shannon, Lynn, and Stephen and then to see Gina's beautiful new baby girl while Rob stayed home and smoked some meat. Later that afternoon Gigi & Pepaw came over for dinner and we enjoyed the beautiful, cooler weather.
We finished up the weekend with ice cream on the deck (Avery had ice cream, the rest of us watched). Overall, a wonderful weekend!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Weekly Wrap-Up
This week started with a birthday party for my boss' daughter. I've mentioned before that several of my coworkers have kids around Avery's age. I can't believe they're all 2 now.
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| Birthday girl getting stickers from Rob |
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| Cupcakes |
The rest of the week hasn't been too eventful. Avery continues to entertain us by saying things like
okie dokie smokie
Oh my goodness!
Mimi got this book for me. What a nice Mimi!
I'm swinging my bottom around (video to follow)
A-V-E-R-Y! That spells ME.
Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone!
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