Khloe has been in love with dancing! She has this book that makes music when she pushes the buttons, and she likes to push those buttons and then start to dance. She twirls and twirls! It's quite amusing to watch. I captured it on video ... it makes my heart melt to see how happy twirling makes her.
She is getting to be so big. Yesterday, she held her crotch and said, "Pee, pee! Pee, pee!" Then she walked into the bathroom, pointed to the toilet, and yelled, "POTTY!" I was surprised, because I didn't even know she knew those words, let alone what they meant. So, I pulled down her pants and set her on the toilet. She sat there for a few minutes. Nothing happened. I got her down and got her pants back on. She pointed to the toilet again, and she said, "Potty, potty!" I said, "Yes, that's the potty where you go pee, pee." She seemed pleased with that answer and left to go play. After dinner that night, she got down out of her chair, and she grabbed her buns and yelled (because that's really the only volume she has when she speaks ... high), "Poo-poo! Poo-poo!" I picked her up and asked her if she was poopy. She said, "Yeah." I took her into her room, and sure enough, she had a poopy diaper! It really amazes me. I am so not interested in potty training her ... but she sees me working with Colton, and maybe she's interested ... I don't know. The pediatrician asked me at her last appointment if I had started potty training her. I thought ... you moron, she's 1! But with her obsession with Colton's undies and her new found knowledge of potty and poo-poo, maybe she's at least ready to sit on the potty ... even if just to play. At least I know she can tell me, if she wants to. I'm in no hurry with her ... I am still trying to convince Colton that he won't fall into the toilet if he poops in it! Been potty trained for a year ... but won't poop in the potty, if he can help it. I really don't feel like potty training BOTH of them ... especially with how young she is ... but at the same time, I sure don't want to discourage her interest ... if that's even what it is. Who knows ... time will tell.
Colton has learned to climb trees. He hasn't been much of a climber most of his life ... but in the past few months, he has gotten more and more into it. I think he's really enjoying being a "big boy". He's definitely all boy! He asks Billy, "Daddy, can we go wrestle in the toy room?" He likes to "climb like a monkey" ... that's what he tells me. He climbs the trees out in the front of our house all by himself. He doesn't need any help. At the park, he loves to climb up the big ladders and makes me watch him to show me how he can do it all by himself. I love to see how brave he has gotten ... because this kid was the king of caution for a loooooong time! Not like Koki! Ha!
We went to the Florida State Fair a week ago with Mom and Dad H before they left. The kids have fun, and it's fun for us, too. Colton was so excited to ride some rides. He kept pointing to the big kid rides asking to go on them. We finally found the worm roller coaster he rode last year. I rode it with him this year, and he seemed to like it. He's always hesitant on the roller coaster rides, but when he gets off of them, he says, "That was PERFECT!"
On the roller coaster with my baby bud!
The kids got to see a lot of animals this year! Khloe was so excited to see the ducks ... the whole petting zoo really was very exciting for her. Every time she saw another animal, she would yell, "WHOA, DADDY!" She was really excited ... and she wanted to climb over the fences. She would get this "death grip" on the rails ... it was hard to get her to let go. I'm glad she had so much fun! Colton had fun, too. He said that the bunnies were the best part.
Some of the characters I saw at the fair ... there were some really strange ones out there! Welcome to FL! My favorite was a toss up between #1 and #2 ... equally funny.
Colton with some large mouth bass ...
Koki points to the goats ... "Whoa Daddy!"
Cole sees his look-alike at the fair ... careful, Buddy ... they peck! We don't know what idiot let the roosters wander around the petting zoo area ... it got one kid right in the face. To be fair, he got his face right down in the rooster's face first!
Cole petting the calf.
Colton saw this tractor, and he went running up to it yelling, "A JOHN DEERE!" Good boy, Cole ... Grandpa H is proud.
Valentine's Day has come and gone. We had a pretty relaxed Valentine's this year. We did get to go see a movie ... a few days before V-Day, because Mom and Dad H were still here to babysit! It was a REALLY GOOD movie. We saw Argo. I definitely recommend it! I learned a lot ... the movie was good, but it, also, made me interested to do some research about it on my own. I love movies where I learn something about history and get interested in the bigger story!
On Valentine's, we had a party at our MOMs Club President's house. She threw a great party! It was a lot of fun, and the kids really liked it! There were tons of friends and lots of tasty treats ... what more could a kid ask for? That night, Billy brought home take-out from Olive Garden. It's better at the restaurant, but with two kids ... it's much easier just to order in! It was still delicious, as always. We had originally planned to go to a movie on Valentine's (or the night before), but Mom and Dad H left earlier than we had hoped. We were going to see A Good Day to Die Hard, a movie about a cop who plays by his own rules, but instead, we rented a movie from Redbox ... Looper, a movie about a time traveler who plays by his own rules. (Billy thought of that clever line!)
The kids' Valentines bag ... they gathered lots of yummy goodness!
Some decorations around our house for Valentine's Day.
I made this for my MOMs Club party ... cheese petals with grapes in the middle. It was a hit! Thank you, Pinterest!
My Sweet, "Valemtime!"
The crew ... lots of fun kiddos!
Speed racer!
My other Valentine!
My Bud brought me a dozen roses ... I like flowers.
I, also, got a box of chocolates ... I like chocolate.
I baked him a homemade dark chocolate brownie with sea salt and powdered sugar on top ... I like brownies!
Me and my true Valentine!
Our tasty dinner ....
One of my gifts to him ... personalized initial mugs and a mug about where we got engaged ... ROME!
One of Grandpa and Grandma's last nights' here, Cole got to go with Daddy and Grandpa to a hockey game. He LOVES to go to hockey games. He had a great time ... even woke me up when he got home to share some of his treats with me and to tell me all about it. Billy sent me this picture! The kid has a knack!
While Grandpa and Grandma were here visiting, we spent a lot of time outside. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous! Koki could live outside. She ALWAYS wants to go out ... and NEVER wants to come back in. Here are a few pics from one of our evenings playing out in the front of the house.
She climbed up in this chair (all by herself), and she sat with Mommy and Grandma a little bit.
Meanwhile, Colton climbed a tree all by himself. He kept saying, "I'm a monkey!"
He got as high as he could go!
Here are a few random pictures I've collected over the past week or so.
Took the kids to Monkey Bizness ... Koki loves to climb! She was up this rock wall in an instant. I can't keep up with her!
Went to Wiregrass Wednesday last week ... kids got their balloon animals ... Koki got a puppy ... Cole got a polar bear. Fun times!
Cutie!
Danger is her middle name!
The panty bandit strikes again!
Looking cute in her crown at MOMs Club monthly meeting this week.
So, Khloe has been taking after me lately ... she is my sleep during lunch time girl. She has been waking a bit earlier than usual ... I'm afraid Colton is waking her up when he opens up his door in the morning ... he can't seem to master the quiet open. (Not to mention, she is STILL teething that very last tooth ... and I think that is really affecting her sleep.) Anyway, it makes her sleepy by lunch time, instead of just after. Here are a few shots of her asleep at lunch ... two different days. But there were more days than these two!
Last weekend was pretty chill. Besides church, about the only thing we did was go to a motorcycle stunt show called Nuclear Cowboyz at Tampa Bay Times Forum. There were a lot of motorcycles and four wheelers all doing lots and lots of flips! Colton liked it ... and Koki watched, too. We had to put earplugs in their ears ... it got really loud. But it was a fun time with all of our friends!
Cole got to sit on one of the bikes.
Me and Koki at the stunt show.
Looking cute at Sabbath School ... I taught this week, and she did pretty well looking after herself for most of the class. Thanks to a friend of mine, Lianro, for helping me out a bit! :)
With Daddy at church!
We had some park time today! The weather has been so delightful. We had a cold front over the weekend ... was 28 degrees when I went to the gym on Monday morning ... frost on all of the cars and grass when I left the gym that morning! VERY COLD for Florida! Anyway, it's been warming up a bit, but there has been no humidity. LOVING IT! Here are my cuties at the park today.
He loves to climb up the big ladders and climb, climb, climb.
My big girl can go up the mushroom steps on her own ... I think Cole was over 2 years-old before he did this. That is the difference between these two!
My big girl!
Both of my kids are here nor there about the swings, but the slide ... they both love it!
Colton-isms:
I was out with just Colton while Mom and Dad H were here. On the way to the store, Colton says, "Baby Koki is having a meltdown." I said, "Oh, really. Why is that?" He said, "Because she misses her Bubby!" (Bubby is what Koki calls Colton ... I guess it's easier than Colton.) Too cute!
I asked Colton one day if I could give him a kiss. He said, "Mommy, if there's one thing I like, it's a hug!"
On the way to Koki's 15 month doctor's appointment, Colton asked me if we could put a movie on in the car. I said, "No." Because our doctor's office is literally 2 minutes away from our house. He said, "Mommy, you're like a Nazi!" I said, "Where did you learn that word?" Again, he said, "You're a Nazi!" I asked again, "Who taught you the word Nazi?" He said, "Grandpa and Grandma (H) did!" I said, "What!?! They taught you Nazi?" He said, "Yeah ... Nazi, Nazi ... silly!" OH!!!!!! NUTSY! He was actually saying, "Mommy, you are like a nutsy!" Meaning ... I'm being silly. I said, "Oh, I'm NUTSY!" He said, "Yeah, nutsy, nutsy! You're so silly!" I was wondering what Grandpa and Grandma were teaching him! Ha, ha!
Today, I asked Colton to clean up all of the cars he had raced down his track, so we could go to the store. He reluctantly said, "Ok." After a few minutes, he came into the room where I was, and he said, "Cleaning up my cars is a hard thing, Mommy!"
So, some of you have asked me to share some of the recipes I have been posting on Facebook. I have tried all of them from Pinterest. I decided it was time to make what I have been pinning!
Here are some of the tasty dishes I have tried lately. I hope you all enjoy them as much as we did!
You can follow me on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/tashacolleen.
Crunchy Black Bean Tacos
Makes 8 tacos (serves 4).
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients: 2 C. black beans, cooked ½ C. red onion, minced 1 tsp. cumin 1 tsp. paprika 2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped 4-6 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 avocado, sliced Pinch of salt and pepper 8 corn tortillas Hot sauce Salsa Sour cream
Directions: 1) In a medium bowl, add beans along with red onion, cilantro, and spices. Add a pinch of salt and lightly mash all of the ingredients together. Grate your cheese and have it ready as well.
2) In a large, non-stick skillet or cast iron skillet, add a few tablespoons of oil and heat over medium-high heat.
3) Add one corn tortilla at a time and let each get hot in the oil for a few seconds. Then add about 1?4 cup of the bean filling to one half of the tortilla. Top with a sprinkle of grated cheese.
4) Using a spatula, carefully fold the tortilla over so it forms a shell. Press down lightly on the tortilla so it holds its shape.
5) As the first tortilla cooks, move it to the side and do a second one. Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to get 2 or 3 tacos at once. If you have a griddle you can do even more at once.
6) Cook each taco for about 3 minutes per side until they are nicely browned and crispy.
7) When flipping the taco to cook on the other side, use a spatula and flip the taco toward the fold so the filling doesn’t fall out.
8) Serve tacos with toppings like hot sauce, salsa, avocados, and sour cream.
Note: Corn tortillas are resilent to heat. Don’t worry about burning them. They are very flexible. Just be sure to cook them on each side long enough to get them really crispy.
This super-simple asparagus recipe is a go-to favorite in our home. It’s easy enough for a weeknight meal, but fancy enough for company.
Ingredients
1 lb asparagus
2 Tb olive oil
2 Tb balsamic vinegar
Black pepper
Kosher salt
Parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best)
Directions
Preheat over to 375 degrees.
Wash and trim asparagus. Arrange in a single layer in a shallow baking dish.
Drizzle oil and balsamic vinegar over asparagus. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees until tender and fragrant, approximately 15-20 minutes.
Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients: 10 whole Baby Bella Or Crimini Mushrooms 4 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, softened ¼ cups Grated Parmesan Or Mozzarella Cheese ¼ teaspoons Dried Basil ⅛ teaspoons Dried Oregano Garlic Salt And Pepper, To Taste 2 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Green Pepper 2 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Red Onion 2 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Black Olives
Directions: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray two mini iron skillets with non stick cooking spray and set aside. (A sheet tray will work just fine, too!) Wash mushrooms with a damp cloth and remove stems. (They should just pop out!) Set aside. In a small bowl, stir cream cheese, parmesan, basil, oregano, garlic salt and pepper together until combined. Stir in remaining ingredients, excluding the mushrooms. Spoon into prepared mushroom caps by the heaping teaspoonful. Place 5 in each skillet and bake 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, switch your oven from bake to broil and brown the tops of each mushroom. Remove and serve hot.
Blueberry Cream Pie
Pie Crust (from America’s Test Kitchen)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled 4-6 tablespoons ice water
1 large egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon water (for egg wash)
Filling 3 cups blueberries 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup all purpose flour 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Crumb Topping 2 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar 2 Tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon pinch ground nutmeg (about 1/16th teaspoon) 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup plus 2 1/2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
Instructions
Process flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined. Add chilled shortening and pulse until coarsely ground. Add chilled butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Transfer to large bowl.
Sprinkle 4 tablespoons water over flour mixture. Using rubber spatula, stir mixture until dough forms. If dough remains crumbly, add remaining 1 tablespoon water. Form dough into 4-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (Dough can be frozen, wrapped tightly in plastic and aluminum foil, for up to 2 months. Thaw completely at room temperature before using.)
Let chilled dough soften slightly at room temperature, about 10 minutes. Working on lightly floured work surface, roll dough into 12-inch circle. Transfer dough to pie plate. Trim, fold, and crimp edges. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
While crust is firming up, work on the filling. In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and flour. Add in the sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Take the pie out of the freezer and put the blueberries on the bottom of the crust. Pour the filling over the blueberries and spread it out.
Now make the crumb topping. Mix together the sugar, brown sugar, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Pour the melted unsalted butter into the bowl and mix everything together. Add in the flour and mix until the ingredients form a crumble topping. Crumble the crumb topping over the pie.
Mix together 1 large egg and a Tablespoon of water and brush over the edge of the crust. Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Let the pie cool before cutting into slices. Then enjoy!
4 Ingredient No-Bake Cheesecake
Ingredients-
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 8 ounce tub of cool whip
1/3 cup of lemon or lime juice
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese.
Most important part of this recipe, is to leave the cream cheese out for a couple hours at room temperature. The cream cheese will become soft and smooth. The importance of this is to create a smooth texture. Not doing so, will create horrible lumps of cream cheese that will ruin the flavor of this pie.
After your cream cheese is softened enough, I like to see if it will spread easily with a plastic spatula. In a mixing bowl, mix all before mentioned ingredients. Please note: the lemon/lime juice must come last. The reaction of the citrus juice will start to harden your mixture almost immediately.
On the low speed of you hand mixer, blend well. Around 2 minutes of so is plenty, just make sure all ingredients are incorporated. Immediately pour mixture into a waiting graham crust or for those of us that can't have the gluten, I opt for muffin cups. Refrigerate for an hour to and hour and a half and viola.
