We’ve taken some cute videos of Brooks lately- one of him FINALLY saying a few words. He has been slow to really talk- not because he can’t but because he is stubborn.
Because WordPress wants to charge me $60! for the privilege of uploading videos, and because I really don’t want to pay for something you can do for FREE all over the web, you can see these videos on my Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/christycecile
The “Words with Brooks” video is from this morning. He is playing in our room with some curlers I bought for our Halloween costume and while is occupied he is willing to say a few words with us for the camera. We are going to see our friends the Tietjen’s so we practiced saying their names.
We also tried practicing saying “Grammy” and “papa” which he TOTALLY said before we got the camera out but refused to say once we started recording…
So Brooks is going into hour three of his nap today- I just checked to be sure he is still breathing. he is.
In the unexpected free time here is a list of some favorite things:
1. a stocked freezer. In that stocked freezer is tonight’s dinner- BBQ pork loin.
2. recipe starters from Kroger- also in the stocked freezer. I don’t know why I didn’t know this before BUT I just discovered that they sell, onions, peppers, and all sorts of basic veggie variations all chopped and ready to go in the freezer section. I stocked up when Kroger had them on sale recently. Frozen chopped onions may not be quite as good as fresh, but they went into the slow cooker this afternoon in about 5 seconds- much quicker than cutting up an onion.
3. slow cooker liners- got these on sale too. It’s no secret that I love my crockpot and these just make using it EVEN BETTER. Washing a crock pot is a pain and these make clean-up as simple as stomping on the trash can pedal thingy and dropping in the mess.
4. my slow cooker. When you combine easy to use ingredients with easy clean up and a crockpot, well, it is almost like having a personal chef.
Of course, now that I’ve started writing- I hear the baby boy chirping….Oh well, my house is filled with the wonderful aroma of BBQ pork. Larry will be so happy.
I was inspired this week once again by the Bakerella. Brooks’ school is having a big yard/bake sale tomorrow and I decided I’d make some fairly simple cake pops to donate and sell.
Here is my recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Balls/Pops
1 yellow cake mix
1 can of pumpkin (NOT pie filling- just plain pumpkin)
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice or 1tsp each of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg
1 tsp of ground ginger
1 can of cream cheese frosting
1 bag of white chocolate candy melts (in the cake decorating section of hobby lobby, michaels or other big box store)
Mix the cake mix, pumpkin, eggs, oil, water and spices up just as you would a regular cake mix. Pour into a 9×13 inch pan and bake according to the directions on the box. The cake might take a bit longer to get done, just check it with a toothpick.
When the cake is done- take it out and let it cool completely.
This is where it gets fun…
dump the cooled cake into a large mixing bowl and crumble it all us with a fork. I like to use my hand mixer. Then dump the entire tub of frosting into the cake crumbles and mix it up really well. I use the hand mixer to make a smoother, truffle like filling, but you could mix it by hand if you like more cake-like texture.
Take the mixture by the tablespoonfuls and roll into ball shapes. Place the shapes onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment. Put the sheet of cake balls into the fridge to firm up.
Now you can do one of two things at this point- you can move forward with making a regular cake balls coated with white chocolate OR you can get really crazy and put them on a stick and make cake pops.
If you haven’t done so yet- you MUST check out the Bakerella’s site for TONS of fun ideas and recipes for these yummy and adorable little treats.
For Regular Cake Balls-
Melt the candy melts according to the package directions. Use a fork or candy dipper or whatever implement works for you to dip the balls into the melted candy and then place them back on the lined baking sheet.
Let them cool and firm back up and then enjoy!
OR you can make
Cake Pops-
Take a sucker stick (also available at your local cake decorating aisle) and dip it into the melted candy and then insert it into the cake ball. Let these cool ( only takes a minute or two). Then use the stick to dip the cake ball and coat with melted candy. A styrofoam brick works great as a stand for these little pops to cool. Decorate as creatively as you want. I used orange candy melts and made little pumpkins.
Here is my little Pumpkin Patch:
For LOTS of tips and helps with this- check out the Bakerella (really if you haven’t yet- do it now- so fun!)
here it is-
Adam posted a link to one of their videos on his facebook, but I actually discovered them by accident earlier today. Since I randomly encountered two of the improv troop’s videos in one day- I thought it warranted a post on the blog…
Very fun and sure to make you smile!
Brooks has been bitten by the Thomas bug. He LOVES trains of any kind and will sit and play for literally HOURS on end with tracks and little trains.
I picked up some Thomas stuff at a recent consignment sale that he is currently loving.
Video of this obsession is on Facebook.
You will notice in the pictures that he has on a onsie and shoes- pretty funny.
Every day when we get him up and dress him, he insists on putting on shoes. He has this funny thing for shoes. (He gets it honest;)). He doesn’t care which shoes, he just cries and reaches for his shoe baskets until we put some on him. So here you see him playing with trains half dressed, but with shoes.
Also funny is how he says the words “shoes” and “socks.” “Shoes” comes out really long and funny like “Shooooes.” “Socks” sounds something like “Shicks” which comes out sounding like there is a “t” on the end…you get the idea. It’s pretty funny and caused my friend and co-worker, Amy to get the giggles the other day.
It’s been raining here for DAYS going on WEEKS! We’ve been cooped up inside and I’ve been wracking my brain thinking up things to do with a toddler that are cheap/free and indoors.
I remembered this one this morning- the LIBRARY! Our public library has several different programs during the week for kids. This morning we went to story hour. There were lots of toddlers there and brooks loved singing songs and doing the finger plays and activities.
We heard stories and poems about dragons that were really funny and cute. Brooks colored a picture of a dragon and then we looked for new books to check out and read. The children’s area is very fun with blocks and other toys to play with and lots of cozy places to sit and read.
They have a couple of different story hours, a bedtime story time on some evenings, read to a pooch (a very friendly dog comes to the library and your child can read to the dog), toddler story hour and other special events.
Of course the sun FINALLY came out as we were leaving the library- but everything is still too wet outside to play.
We checked out some of our favorites: Eric Carle, Donald Crews and of course a Thomas DVD. But i need your help- I was looking for grown-up books and realized I am so out of the loop when it comes to good fiction. I need some suggestions- what are some of the better books/authors you’ve read lately? Any new authors I should know about?
I’m partial to historical fiction or stories set in the south- but really I just love to read, so any good read will do- even (in the words of Collin) ”mediocre christian fiction” 
.
If Larry leaves early, Brooks usually plays in his room while I shower and get ready in the mornings. I put up the baby gate and let him run wild- not really wild -more like moderately active.
I can usually hear him climbing on his climbing toy, playing with his musical instruments or some other noise making toy. This morning when I got out of the shower I heard nothing. We all know that when you hear nothing trouble is brewing so I quickly looked in on him and this is what I found:
Brooks loves books. He also loves to have books read to him. We have books everywhere in our house partly because it’s small and there are only so many places to put books and partly because we just have a lot of books. I put out his books on the shelves along with our because in true kid fashion he loves to pull things off the shelves and most days he’ll go for the brightest colored ones. The kids books save the grown-up $200 text books. Really, since I started putting his books along side ours on the shelves- he has stopped messing with the big people books and plays with his own.
For his first birthday EVERY present was books! Every single person gave him a book. Not one truck or leggo- Books abounded. I love that people know we value education and I love that my son loves books and will hopefully soon love to read as much as I do.
Brooks wears a necklace- an amber teething necklace. He has worn it since he was about three months old.
Without fail, everywhere we go people comment on this necklace. Most people just comment on the cool necklace Brooks is wearing, but I can tell they think it is a bit odd. I really don’t mind- mostly I find it funny that people always notice.
I learned about teething necklaces from my friend Amy of the Wilson 6. Her kids are varying ages and they all wear them. I wonder if she gets as many comments as I do?
So what is it? Amber- specifically Baltic Amber is an organic substance-fossilized tree sap or resin. The amber has anti-inflammatory properties which can be absorbed when it is worn against the skin. Teething necklaces soothe a child naturally when he or she suffers from teething pain. The child doesn’t chew it. Succinic acid- also known as “essence of amber,” is absorbed from the amber into the skin.
You can call it a bunch of bunk of you want- but I say they work. Brooks hasn’t had any real problems with teething – some drooling and chewing- but no disrupted sleep, fevers, or any of the other problems that can come with teething. I didn’t even know he was teething until the teeth started showing through his little gums.
Here are some other comments we’ve gotten- “can’t he choke on that thing?” Nope. Brooks’ necklace has a plastic fastener that would give way and break if somehow it got caught on something.
“What if it breaks, won’t beads go everywhere?” Nope. There are knots between each bead so if the necklace does break only one to two beads would come off.
Brooks loves his necklace and his is actually his comfort object. Some kids carry around a blanket or a stuffed animal. Some kids suck a thumb or a paci- my kid twirls his necklace. When we snuggle up to go to bed, Brooks will reach up and hold onto the necklace. I also find him doing this in new places with new people if he feels nervous or unsure.
Where do you buy one? I’d start with etsy or google “amber teething necklace”
We had this for dinner last night. it was quick, easy and Yummy. Brooks ate it up!
Quick Beef Stroganoff
1lb of beef (ground or cut of choice sliced up into small strips)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of beef stock/broth
1 cup water
1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
3 cups of rotini noodles, dry ( the spiral kind or whatever noodles you like)
1/2 cup sour cream
Brown the meat on medium high heat in a large skillet. Drain any excess fat, add the stock and the water and deglaze the pan, then add the soup and worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil- turn the heat up a little if needed. Add the dry noodles and turn the heat down to a medium simmer. Cover and let the noodles cook for about 15 minutes or until done. remove from heat, add the sour cream and stir until completely incorporated. Serve with a vegetable of choice.
You should check out my facebook for a really funny video of Brooks dancing.
Stupid wordpress won’t let me post a video without charging me $$$
