Off Topic 1

online mommy group random, totally went in a different diewction then originally planned, conversation.

Friend 1: holy shit....is there an easy way to roll out pizza dough? This sucks!!

*i skipped this post, as i had nothing to add to it. until:

Friend 1: all it's doing is mushing back into itself...doesn't matter if I use a rolling pin, my hands, use my hands with the dough in the air instead of the surface..doesn't matter. all I know is that this blows goat balls and I gave up and gave the kids PB&J because otherwise this is going to take me forever. horrible :( I now have a much greater respect for pizza makers.

Me: hahaha! LOL sorry. Best line ever: This blows goat balls! LOL

F2: Did you oil up your hands/rolling pin? That helps when DH makes pizza.

F1:it rolls back into itself and looks like a wrinkled nutsack. nice.

Me: lmao...thanks. i totally needed that visual!

F3: You should bake it anyways, and tell dh you made him a nutsack pizza

F1: LMAO!!! I actually managed to bake three of them (recipe said 6) and they smell and look delicious. In process? Notsomuch

F3: ‎"Honey, what's for dinner?" "Oh, just some nutsack pizza. Enjoy."

Me: hahaha, classic! (note: i had just watched The Hangover 2 the night before)

F1: LMFAO

Does he appreciate my artwork?

At 4 months postpartum, my shedding is rival to the dogs (FWIW, we are able to make an extra dog or two at any given time right now, with the extra hair floating around). If I don't manage to shower every day, I can make AWESOME hair art in the shower. I hate letting it go down the drain. it grosses me out. but I have no issues will pulling all those loose hairs, and seeing how I can get them to stick on the shower wall.
I don't think Brett appreciates that my hair on the shower wall artwork is for him. I know he must just LOVE waking up in the mornings and climbing into the shower having some abstract hair doll staring at him (the same way I know he loves it when we leave all of Eric's toys in the bathtub after we drain it, just in case he needs to play before he can get in the shower. He's started picking them up extra loud in the mornings, and i snicker when it wakes me up.).
He hasn't said anything about them, so he must smile when he sees them before he rinses them away...or throws them away. He's not one to let something that annoys him just slide....or is he? (now I am confused! LOL)

Possibly camping

Last year, we decided to go camping last minute with friends. This year, we made a plan to get our campsite reserved early. Ya, never happened! so once again we are panickly* hunting for somewhere to camp. My brother, us and the kids, and Brett's BFF and family (so, it will be 2 - 3year olds, a 1 year old, a 4 month old, and 4 large dogs...).
I talked to a family friend that has property an hour away, and we are hoping to possibly camp on her property in her river bottom (assuming it doesn't flood in the next week). last night, I was thinking how fun this is going to be! and now panic starts setting in. are we CRAZY?  I think yes, just based on the 4 dogs!!! then adding in 4 young kids, and boys (Brother, Hubs, and BFF) that are, well, boys when they get together. I am starting to think this is going to be insane!
What do we need to bring? when we went camping last year, we brought an INSANE amount of stuff we never used. but I can't even think of what we did or didn't use, except the Tums! LOL
***side story from last years camping adventure:
Eric got put in the camper for a "nap", and I went to check on him. I am not sure how much was originally in the bottle, but it was half empty by the time we figured out what he was doing. for what it's worth, that amount of tums is not harmful to a 2 year old. at least i haven't seen any lasting effects...yet.


*Apparently PANICKLY isn't a word, but i stayed up till 2am last night reading random blogs on the internet last night, so I can't think of any other word to use. Panickly it is!

And this just in: K&J should bring their cats! Cause it would be awesome to add to the craziness! Oh, and there's cows at this place we may be going camping. A lot of them (with awesome baby cows!). AND a cow you can RIDE!!! how cool is that? and why have I never thought to go camping there before? Brilliance comes in a sleep deprived haze!

This may be too much information...

There is a down side to big boobs. It creates a perfect target for spit up! I can't tell you how many times I have been puked on, that has gone RIGHT down my shirt. Luckily my sports bra is a perfect catch all (you wouldn't believe the things I find in there at the end of the night!). It's sometimes a good thing though, when my "lovely" husband stands there and laughs and takes his time to take the baby from me so I can go change. There has been more then one occasion when I haven't been wearing a sports bra, and the puke travels like hot lava!
The most annoying part? Yet again, Brody has managed to not get a speck of puke on him! That kid has impeccable aim!

Experimental cooking

There is a recipe that my husband loves that I make, but its a lot of finicky prep.( http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/foil-pack-taco-chicken-dinner-88772.aspx )
I decided to try it in the crockpot, we will see how it turns out. I cut up 6 potatoes, put that at the bottom of the crockpot, put in 6 chicken breasts, topped with a packet of taco seasoning and half a jar of salsa. After some research, I saw somewhere to leave the lid off for the last half hour to allow some moisture to evaporate. I will top with cheese in the last half hour. I'm cooking it for 4 hours on high. I hope it turns out...otherwise it might be pizza for supper! lol
I will update with results after supper! :)

*UPDATE: It turned out reasonably well. potatoes were perfect, flavor was awesome, but chicken was dry.

Eric's Riding Adventures

So, a few months ago I got a brilliant idea - start giving Eric riding lessons on my mom's horse, Kwest. Well, it's been a fun thing for Eric, my mom, and I to do together. Kwest is just the best trooper.
My mom has been really busy working at the race track, and dealing with getting ready for an annual horse show we work at, so Kwest has not had a lot of ride time. Every Thursday, he gets a good loose in the arena, and Eric cools him out/rides.
Last week, Eric figured out how to "play" with Kwest when he was loose. Today, he dove right in. I think Kwest thought that a little green monster was chasing him (Eric was wearing a green shirt). I tell you, this idea of Eric helping loose Kwest is the best idea EVER!!!  The arena is huge, especially for a 3 foot green monster! and horses run fast. green monsters fall a lot. I don't know how Eric was able to run as much as he did, but he put miles on in that arena today!
After Kwest had enough and we convinced Eric that Kwest was tired (and convinced Kwest that Eric was not a green monster), I threw on a saddle pad, surcingle, and Eric's stirrups. Trying to get Eric to  sit up straight, we decided that it must be really uncomfortable on his boy parts, and came to the conclusion that we should put the saddle on next time (sorry buddy!).
 After we were done riding, Mom and Eric gave Kwest a bath. All I heard for the next 10 minutes was "HEY!", apparently Eric's new way to say, "I wanna" (glad that stage is over, but still not cool). Oh, and Kwest (along with every other animal), is FUNNY! Yes, we get told a LOT that "he's funny!". How nice to be so easily amused.

June 23 - A Note To...

Note to self: When the recipe calls for 4 small mashed bananas, don't use 6 large ones.

Note to stupid driver in little car: you do not need to enter my lane to turn right! I promise the light standard won't jump out at you!

Note to self: Other people in the grocery store don't think your insane laugh is as funny as the 4 month old does.

Note to husband: the chicken post was fricken funny. don't end your read with a half hearted "haha". it deserves respect!

Cooking FAIL

So, I had read on line about steel cut oats in the crockpot over night. sounded awesome. so I bought some. Last night I was all excited, got my crockpot out, got all the ingredients in (as Brett gave me the sideways glance, asking questions).
When I was looking for recipes online, everyone kept boasting about apple cinnamon oatmeal. I LOVE apple cinnamon oatmeal. when I bought the steel cut oats, I also bought a cinnamon stick. I have NEVER used one before and asked 4 people on how to cook with it, do I break it, can I reuse it, etc. I am sure they were glad to see me leave! LOL
A particular comment had me hooked "I love waking up to the smell of this cinnamon apple oatmeal in the mornings!".
When I woke up this morning (for the second time), I didn't smell any cinnamon apple. I cautiously walked up to the crockpot, thinking to myself "did I forget to turn it on?". nope, I could see thru the lid it was cooked, and there was that cinnamon smell when I lifted the lid.
Well, my next task was to get the bowl I had cooked it in out of the crockpot (I read on one recipe where the girl hated having to clean the burnt oatmeal out of her crockpot, so she put the ingredients in a glass bowl, filled the crockpot with water and put the bowl in the cockpot in the water. Genius!)
well, the water was boiling hot, and the glass bowl was too. and I fill the water right to the rim of the bowl.....so how the HELL am I going to get the bowl out? two plastic spoons looked at me! I put one on each side and lifted....but I knew the instant I did that, it was a BAD idea! if the bowl slipped off the spoons, it was going to fall in the very hot water....BAD idea.
Well, I managed to get the bowl out of the crockpot without dropping it. So much work for this oatmeal. it smelled so good!
spoon some into my bowl, this is going to be so good! I took two bites and moved it away. it's NASTY! I can SMELL the cinnamon and the apple, but I sure can't taste it. and it's kinda sour...I don't get it. time to look up new uses for steel cut oats! (and I love how spell check doesn't like the word Crockpot...I LOVE that word! haha)

What I have been up to lately

Aside from my chaotic dealings of a three year old and an infant, I have been trying my hand at a few new things.

• I decided to switch Brody to cloth diapers.
• I am trying out couponing. Not too easy in Canada, but I have found some good deals.
• I am making Felt Food, and have sold 1 "package".
• I am cooking and baking a ton. I have never done much of either in the past.
• We are working on potty training Eric. It's been a long and frustrating journey, And I can't say that he's potty trained yet. I pray he doesn't start grade 1 in diapers still. He just doesn't care. Right now we are taking a break.
• Budgeting. This has been an especially hard one on us. It's not getting any harder....but not any easier either.

It's funnier at 2AM

Eric walked into his door last night. I think he kind of deserved it, waking us up at 2am.
I made Brett go put him back to bed, as I was busy nursing Brody. I heard a HUGE thump, and Brett snickering. Eric was not impressed by us laughing at him. I took me a while to fall back asleep after that, as I would have random fits of giggles just thinking about it.
It doesn't seem as funny today, as I am hounded by the ever changing emotions of a 3 year old. (whoever coined the "terrible twos", never obviously knew a three year old!).