Conversations with Maddy

Boy has she just been talking up a storm lately and it's cracking me up! She's been talking for so long, but it seems that overnight not too long ago her skills have dramatically improved.

Maddy and I have been having lots of fun ... that is, in between the awesome tantrums. We do lots of dancing, (Glen Beck is now streaming from his website, but still needs to leave space for ads. Space that conveniently for Maddy and I, he fills with lots of terrible instrumental music that is just too fun to not dance to.) lots of hide and seek, coloring, we tell jokes, and we have lots of conversations.

Here are some recent ones...

Tonight...
Maddy, "Me reads dis book"
Me, "That's 'Owly'"
Confused Maddy corrects me, "No OW-wwwuuuLlll."
Me,"Yeah, Owly the owl."
She laughs, "Yes...that's funny name."

~~~

Yesterday afternoon...
Maddy, "Kaity's homework."
I turn around, see a crayon in her hand and demand, "No, don't color Kaity's homework."
She has a smirk on her face, "Me color, just in case."
I was too late.

~~~

Wednesday...
Maddy, "Me dont like dis kind chips. Too spicy."
Me, "OK, I'll put them away."
Maddy, "No, me still eat them."

~~~

After seeing a commercial advertising a week of New Yo Gabba Gabbas. She gasps, "New one!? Mommy, cord dis?" And with her fingers continues, "two, fee dem?" Then saw a commercial for the Fresh Beats and asks, "Axsly, cord dis?"

~~~

My favorite is when she says nevermind or actually. I have to get it on tape it's too cute. I love her!!

March 29, 2011
Maddy came out of her room after being tucked in to let us know she peed and saw that El had something desirable.
"What you eadin, Daddy? Ice cream?"
"yea"
"Oh." She slowly in disappointment closed the door. I think she was expecting him to offer her some. It was so sad.
5 seconds later, the door swings wide open, "me can't sweep."

This could not have been more perfect!

Daisy needs to bath products and I can't easily get things up here so I have to order online.

I found this website The Natural Store (division of drugstore and beauty.com). They just so happened to be having a sale on the products I wanted. 20% off + an additional $2 off if you buy 2 Weleda Baby products ... they worked the best for Kaity's eczema.

But, before I could purchase online, I had to go to Ebates to see if I could earn cash back...my referral link, if you're not already a member. And there was a code, TWENTYTNS, to save $20 on your purchase of $50 or more. SWEET!! And it's 5% cash back. The code is good til Feb 28.

So I stocked up so I won't have to order online again for a little while. PERFECT! Oh and it was free shipping! I ended up saving more than I paid.

Amount Saved 43.17
Amount Paid 32.29

Deep Thoughts

Do you remember those from SNL?

“Laurie got offended that I used the word "puke." But to me, that's what her dinner tasted like.”

That one has been on my mind a lot lately. It cracks me up all the time. El would never tell me that, however, I'm sure he often thinks it. He's lucky I haven't forced him onto the vegetarian diet!

Anyway ...

El gets offended when I call the baby "Daisy," but to me, that's who she is becoming. He hates it & feels he needs to remind me that her name is, her first name. This from the guy who grew up and to this day is still called by his middle name by everyone but me.

I'm just trying to prepare her for school. Do you know how many times Isabella, Isabel, and Bella appear on the top 100 name list over the past few years? Isabella, has been in the top 10 since '04. Let's not forget the times it appears because people have to be "cool", and re-write traditional names. There's no way she'll be the only in her class, so let's call her something different rather than her nickname, which more than likely the other girls will also have, and so we'll avoid all confusion.

But that's just what I tell El aka Billy.

Here's 5 reasons why it's the PERFECT name for her

1. She was an oopsie daisy baby.
2. When we moved up here, one of the first songs Kaity learned was Daisy Belle and the girls sang it all the time. It was kinda like our theme song.
3. When we asked Maddy what we should name her, she said, "Flower."
4. When we came home from the hospital, I noticed that ALL the clothes we had just bought, had daisies on them.
5. And come on, how cute is the name "Daisy Row(e)"?

FYI, In the past 100 years, Daisy has never been in the top 100. It was closest to being there in 1910 when it was ranked 101.

Black Bean Burgers, Guacamole, and Mango Sauce .... YUMMY!,

Do you watch Cupcake Wars on the Food Network? It's fun! A few episodes back, there was a girl Chloe Coscarelli. She baked Vegan Cupcakes. huh? I knew she wouldn't make it past the first round. But she did and she won, the entire War! Then I saw her again on a show called something like the New Vegetarian, or ... I can't remember. I had to look this girl up. She has a blog with a few tempting recipes. Then, I saw these and couldn't wait to try them! Tonight I finally did.

I did alter the recipe a bit. And I hate when people review recipes on recipe sites. They give it a terrible rating and complain about how they much didn't like it, but then list all the changes they made and the recipe has become completely different. It irks me. But ... in my defense, I only made a few changes and darn it! This is MY blog, not a review site and I'm not giving it a bad rating. :)

here you can find her recipe, Mexicali Sliders, and my few alterations here:

I used a red onion instead of yellow because I like the flavor of them raw and I needed it for the guacamole. Because I can eat them raw, I wouldn't have to cook them in the oil, thus cutting out some fat.

I also replaced the 1/2c breadcrumbs and 1/2 cornmeal with 1c oats. I'm trying to stay away from too much bread.

1c of oats was too much so I ended up using another can of beans and I still had trouble keeping the patties from falling apart. So I need to mess with the recipe a little more. I think I just need to use less oats, but they were so good. I'm sure her recipe is fabulous.

Rather than frying them in oil, I took a paper towel and wiped a cast iron pan with olive oil, cutting out more fat.

The mangoes, I didn't change a thing.
The guacamole, I used the Betty Crocker recipe because I just like that one so much, without the peppers, but extra cilantro and lime juice.

I found these delicious honey wheat rolls from The Baker. They were great.

Recipes like this make becoming a vegetarian delicious! What are your favorite vegetarian dishes?

This is the way ...

The girls go to school in a different district, but have to take their district's school bus to school. So when our district doesn't have school, like today, we have to drive them in.

On our way Kaity told us she was going to show us a short cut, her bus route. As we approached the road to turn on she said, "This is where you turn."
I replied, "Oh, I know. This isn't a shortcut, it's the way to Dutchess Day."
"Yeah, and it also goes to Millbrook."
So I said, "Why don't we take the shortcut on the way home."
"Ok, I'll show you how."

We're just about to turn the onto the road toward her school when she says, "Here! You want to go this way and you'll see an old house." (this made me laugh, they're ALL old houses up here.)..."And you're going to turn. ... ... ... Actually, don't go that way. I don't want you to get lost because there's LIKE three ways you can go and I don't know which way to tell you."

Apani pipes in, "Yeah, because we're really not bus drivers."


Silly child!! What's going on in those little heads? What are they thinking, we're thinking? She is constantly making me laugh.

It's Valentine's Day, let's talk chocolate!

Not too far from here, is the CIA just short of 30 miles.
I recently found out that they offer classes. Look what I found ...
chocolate!!!!!

Anyone want to take a class with me? I was thinking in the summer. I would really like to go with someone. My mother is so excited she wants to do it next month, but Daisy is still getting most her nutrients by nursing, I wouldn't be able to leave her. So just putting it out there...just one more reason to come visit me up here :D

PERFECT Oatmeal Cookies

I've earned a reputation at the girls' school. After having the cookies the girls bought in for their birthday, the teachers ask me to do the baking for all class parties. I can understand why, I've tried some of the other mother's cookies and there is no comparison. Not to mention, I've inherited my mother's baking skills! Even the bakeries up here are nothing to rave about. Oooh, just got an idea, Mom and I should open one! We'd be so successful!!![dreaming]

El's been bugging me to make oatmeal raisin cookies. Really?? Of ALL the cookies out there, he wants those? I like to show of my skills and bake things like this, this, and this because I don't have time to bake! If I'm forced to, I want to be able to enjoy the fruits of my labors! I have to bake what I like. Oatmeal Raisins are boring. The same with Chocolate Chip. Oatmeal cookies need peanut butter and chocolate chunks, not raisins. But, I eventually had to give in. It occurred to me that they're getting so much junk at the party, I might as well provide a "healthy" cookie. So, I made some oatmeal cookies. They were just like I thought they would be ... boring. But even more disappointing was how crispy they were. Now, there are a lot of things that come to mind when I think of oatmeal raisins and crispy is not one of them!

So I set out to find the perfect recipe and here it is, just in time for Valentine's Day. They are plump, chewy and oh-sooo good! There's only one problem ... we ate too many! Now I have to bake more for the parties on Monday.

1 cup butter, softened
1 and 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 and 1/2 cup raisins (or cherries, which is what I used)
1 cup walnuts, chopped (Abby has an allergy in her class so I left them out)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes, taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

There you have it! Enjoy :)

What do you get when ...

you blend ...

1/2 cup almond milk
1 cup bluberries
1 cup strawberries
6 ounces spinach
5 Mejdool Dates~pitted
1 Tbsp ground flax
2 Tbsp coco powder

???

GREAT MUSTACHES!!






and a great breakfast smoothie.

Meet the Grammar Police

"Kaity, would you hand me the diaper cream?"

She couldn't find it...laying right there in front of her and I was having as much trouble trying to describe it. The word I was looking for was container.

"It's right there. The tube, no it's not a tube, the box, bowl ... the THING right there in front of you, by your feet."

Apani pipes in, "Mommy, that's a cylinder!"

She's always correcting me...

"It's not a dress, it's a skirt.
This is not a dress, it's a jumper.
It is not a brush, it's a comb.
That's a hairCLIP!
That's not Maddy, it's Isabella!
I'm not Kaity!"

...And you get the point.

It really aggravates me, I'm thinking to myself "You're only 4, well 5 now, stop correcting me!!" But sometimes, like this morning, it's pretty funny.

"Yes, Abby, you're right. It is a cylinder. Good job!"

Note to self

2 cups of breadcrumbs is too much!

We can read

So, who are YOU, again?

I still look at her and think, "Who are you?" Please tell me you struggled to know your child by name for a few ... maybe not 7 months, but at least a few weeks ... right?? Maybe because everyone has a dif name for her?? Bella, Izzy, Isabella, Daisy Doodle, Oopsy Daisy, Dotty (really, Grandpa??) Isabutton and ELla ... for obvious reasons. Most often, though, El and I are calling her Maddy. Whoever she is, she sure is a cutie and tough as she is, we love her madly.

She's growing too fast. She started saying No and is so proud of herself. Sometimes when I try to nurse her or when I'm empty, she'll tell me no. The silly little thing thinks she can communicate.



When she's in the mood, she allows me to put her on the floor and has a blast. She loves to play and gets around rather well. If I were to make a prediction, she'll may skip crawling like Abby and will walk before she's one.



We started solids this month...kinda. She doesn't really care for pureed foods, she's just not sure what to do with it. When it reaches the her throat, she gags. But she loves gnawing on things like celery stalks, apple cores, and anise.

Sadly, it's too easy to forget these tender moments of infancy. The only things I remember about Kaity, Abby, and Maddy are those recorded on video. My memories are flooded by days filled with chaos and I'm still existing on barely any sleep. Not to mention all the brain cells that were STOLEN as each baby sled through the birth canal. Things just aren't in my favor for keeping these memories fresh.

So here are some things I need to remember:

How precious and sweet she is. I LOVE when I'm holding her facing outward and she presses her head back against my chest. She lifts her tiny hand, presses her palm against my cheek, and cuddles her head into my neck.
She hugs everyone. Really. She gets so excited when she sees her sisters and stretches out her arms. When they get close, she pulls them in and doesn't let go. She has so much love for them.

She's sleeping on my lap as I type this. I glanced over at her. She's so peaceful, sleeping with her mouth ajar and her crazy hair. I couldn't help but laugh. In so doing, she smiled and it kept getting bigger. Oh how I adore my sweet, sweet child!

Here's another princess I absolutely adore. She just stole the show while I was trying to get Daisy to say, "No".