The Best Way To Remove Cactus Needles: A Mother’s Day Experience

May 14, 2013

ktschoger . Parenting . how to remove cactus needles, ouch

Long story short, we went on a Mother’s Day Mountain Adventure and Grant fell into a Prickly Pear cactus.

Yes, oOOOOOOoooouch.

This is one knee, they also covered half of his other knee, the entire left side of his abdomen, the inside of his elbow, and of course, both hands. It was lovely. Each one of those red marks represents anywhere from 1 to about 20 needles.

Especially considering Prickly Pear cacti are one of two types of cactus that have the gnarly glochid needles. Those tiny, flesh colored, BARBED, needles that embed into skin by the dozens and are a true test of pain, patience, and grit to remove.

Up close and personal with the glochid

Now imagine 400-500 of them, mixed in with those big, honking, needles (those squirt blood and leave bruises after removing, just so you know.)

It was a looooong day, and we were faaaaaar from home (2.5 hours-ish) and Grant was a champ. Such a champ. Ho.ly. smokes, the pain that kid endured throughout the entire day as we removed those little pricks.

He DESERVED that rootbeer at lunch, yes he did.

“Wait, did you just say you went to lunch after your kid fell into a cactus?”

Yes, we did…at the request of the one that fell into the cactus. He wanted a rootbeer, what can I say? (side note: he doesn’t drink soda so he could have been bitten by a snake and would still have requested that aforementioned, promised rootbeer.) (Side, Side note: we would have taken him to the hospital had he been bitten by a snake.) Seriously, he was fine, though.

Post-rootbeer (and lemonade) (and [gluten free] pizza)

Ok, so there was about a 10 minute FA-REEK out. Like, what I would imagine a broken-bone freak out would be like. Which is, you know, TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE if you have just fallen in a cactus.

But there also was a bit of squirting blood after pulling out all of the big needles, so that didn’t help much…..

DO YOU SEE HOW LONG THOSE BIG NEEDLES ARE?!?!

And did I mention they left bruises?!!?

Most importantly, we had to get those little ones out. Tweezers, yes….but I went to Pinterest (yes I did on our mountain adventure) and found there were probably three best ways to remove them. And I tried them all.

And I think all three of these methods could be used if you are dealing with a large, cactus needle and glochid removal.

White Glue Method – Apply white glue (Like Elmers) to affected area. Let dry. Peel off and the needles should come out with it. You might remember doing this in third grade. Perhaps you put markers in your glue to make it colored and then put it on your hand, watched it dry, and peeled it off? No, just me? Well, it was sort of like that (minus the marker-coloring part.)

Smiley faces make everything better

This was probably the most effective method removing about 90% of the needles the glue covered. I used tweezers to get the remaining needles out.

or if you are a masochist, you could do the duct tape method - apply duct tape and rip off.

Not recommended for children

Not surprising, when you are applying pressure to NEEDLES. That are IN YOUR SKIN, it hurts. like. hell! An adult could handle the pain, probably a bit much for little ones to handle.

However, this was very effective and probably removed half of them from his one knee. But boy, did he ever shriek….so we only did that once.

Tweezers: This is pretty obvious right? But here are a few tips. Have a wet wipe (or something similar) next to you and after every needle pluck, wipe off the tweezers. They really want to stick into something and I found a lot of them taking interest in my fingers.

This takes a loooooong time and is slow and painful, but they are good for detail work. I recommend new (or sharpened), slanted, tweezers (more surface area to grab multiple needles). These little guys are surprisingly harder to remove then you would think. (think: barbed)

After care: You can expect some swelling in the area, but it went down after about 12 hours. When I talked to the on-call doctor at The Children’s Hospital, she told me I should be most concerned about infection so make sure to clean the area with an antibacterial soap and cover with a medicated ointment (think Neosporin or Bacatracin or, for a non-petroleum based option, you could make your own Homemade Natural Healing Salve, which I plan on doing here soon.)

Yesterday, my little dude was fine. Other than the red poke-marks all over his body, it was all systems go and his traumatic cactus experience did not get in the way of some hardcore playing yesterday.

Although he has declared approximately 72 times since the incident that he does not like cactus’s.

Which is, you know, totally understandable.

A Homemade Non-Spiderman, Spiderman Birthday

April 30, 2013

ktschoger . birthdays, boys, kids . Spiderman Birthday Party

What?

I know, random. But here’s the thing…all of the gaudy branding and marketing of superheros, kind of makes me ill. I think it is the fact that they seem so dark, they just do not give me warm and fuzzies and I don’t really want my kids falling for mainstream marking.

I try my damnedest to keep it out of the house, there is no mention of superheros, I have never brought them up. Ok, so I may have purchased matching Superman t-shirts that were on sale at Old Navy…but that is IT! Because it’s Superman. Ok, so maybe I am a bit hypocritical…whatever.

I may have bought them matching t shirts…but you will never catch them wearing them at the same time

So, as I booked Grant’s 4th birthday party at the community rec center pool, they asked me “what theme would you like? Dinosaurs, Spiderma….”

They didn’t even get the full word out before Grant started getting all jazzed up.

“Spiderman! I want Spiderman! PLEASE!”

I say “no” to a lot of things when asked by this kid, but how can you turn down a birthday request?

“And how do you know what Spiderman is?!!?!?!?!” I asked.

Pre K….his friends….he learns this stuff when he is OUT OF MY SIGHT! (Good thing we pulled him from school until the fall.)

That being said, I didn’t even hesitate to agree to a Spiderman party (although, inwardly slowly dying.)

So I did what I do best and took to Pinterest to find out what other crafty mom’s have done for their son’s Spiderman party.

You can find my Spiderman board right here: “With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility”

spiderman splash art Source: Kapcer Kiec via Geektyrant

First up: invites!

I searched high and low, Etsy, Google, Pinterst. I wanted something homemade, simple, and inexpensive and so after not finding what I wanted, I decided to take my newly taught Adobe Illustrator skills and create something myself. It is pretty rudimentary, but it worked for me. And 15 invites only cost me $1.95 (I explain how down below.)

Spiderman image illegally lifted online…..yes

I decided to go with the older, more Marvel Comic-y font, you can find it here (from DaFont.com)

To print them out, I saved them as a jpeg, uploaded it to Costco Photo Center and printed off as many as I needed for only $0.13 a piece (in matte finish so it wouldn’t look too photo-y)

Decor was my next focus. Luckily we were having this at an off-site location so I didn’t feel I need to do a lot of decorating. I made a banner, hung some balloons, used the goodie bags to liven things up a bit.

After 4 birthday parties (3 for Grant and 1 for Brody) you kind of learn to keep it simple and easy…ish.

the one I took at the party is awful, but you get the idea…..

I used my Cricut, here are the cartridges and sizes that I used.

Background: ‘George and Basic Shapes’, 4 inch octogon and ‘Pumpkin Carving’, 3 1/2 inch spiderwebs

Letters: ‘Designer’s Calendar’ Script Shadow, white; Script, blue

I attached the letters with a little foam craft tape so it would stick out slightly from the background to give it a little depth….Matt’s idea.

My intention was to actually purchase some spiderman mylar balloons from the Dollar Store, but mine was very low on inventory. LUCKILY they did have generic mylar star balloons. I bought red, black, blue and yellow/gold… Spiderman colors. Worked perfectly.

Then I moved on to Goodie Bags. Again, I was going for “least market-y” as possible so forget the crap they sell on Amazon. I was inspired by this:

I bought red bags at Hobby Lobby, 3 for $1 (which is the best deal I found anywhere.)

I did some work in Illustrator and came up with the eyes, cut them out and glued them on.

again, another really shitty picture from the party, I must have been preoccupied or something….

I filled them with:

$1 store Spiderman tatoos

And from Amazon:

Spiderman Silly Bands
rubber spiders
Some of the more girlier girls got these Spiderman cupcake rings in leui of the rubber spiders (they also served their intended purpose and were the decor for the Gluten Free Chocolate cupcakes I made and for the gluten filled cake they provided.)
Sticky Spiderwebs
and LED finger lights (there were some younger kids there that I didn’t give sticky spiderwebs too, so I made sure to have something cool for them..and as always, these were a hit.)

I kind of get carried away with the goodie bags, I always do.

Although, turns out the balloons were the biggest hit. As always. Why do we even make the effort? It’s like the box that’s cooler than the toy. Whatever, it made me happy.

Please ignore the purple balloon back there. Apparently the Rec Center didn’t have the same “vision” I did and muddled up my color scheme with purple…how dare they.

I can’t believe my little Spiderman is four…. Happy Birthday, my little nugget

Spicy Quinoa Stuffed Avocados

April 28, 2013

ktschoger . From Scratch Cooking, gluten free . avocado, greek yogurt, healthy eating, quinoa, yum

Today’s post is courtesy of Kell Dos. She felt so strongly about these avacados that she typed up a post, sent it to me, and then sent me a text to inform me of this (apparently) incredible delicacy. If she felt this convicted about avocados, I felt it was my duty to post it for her.

So folks, I give you Kell Dos:

This week our neighbor was running down the stairs to catch one of her kids, in the process her foot landed in a plastic makeup bin that had been strategically placed by her 2.5yr old to slow her down. (Because aren’t all toys strategically placed by kids as getaway tactics?) As she fell, her foot stayed in the bin and she ended up with 2 broken bones in her foot.

As you know doing anything with kids let alone a 2.5 and 4 yr old, you need all of your body parts in working order.

And, as neighbors often do, a few of us signed up to bring meals to this (gluten and dairy free!) family. Knowing this, and how much they like quinoa, I signed up for the first day and went to my trusty Pinterest quinoa board.

Recently I pinned this amazingness. A recipe for Spicy Quinoa Stuffed Avocado:

I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make it, but once I looked at the recipe I realized it was a bit more complicated than I felt it needed to be so I improvised.

Original recipe found here at Bullfrogs & Bulldogs

Improvised Recipe here:

(I fed my family too so keep in mind this is enough for about 4-6 adults and 4 kids)

8 -10 Ripe Avocados
1 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa

1 Can of Black beans, rinsed and drained

1 – 1 1/4 of steamed sweet corn

half of a red onion, chopped

cilantro, chopped (to taste)

1 large red pepper, chopped

sea salt to taste

pinch of sugar

Chipolte seasoning, to taste (here is a pin for homemade chipolte seasoning from food.com)

Cumin, to taste

Directions:

Cook quinoa and let cool (or you can rinse it under cold water to speed up the process)
Cut avocados in half, hallow out a bit of the center to make more room to stuff. Set aside.
Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl.
Combine cooled quinoa with the bean and corn mixture.
Fill the center of avocados with mixture
Top with cheese, sour cream (we use Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream) if desired.
Chow down!

A big thanks to Kell Dos for taking the initiative and getting this delicious recipe out there! I think I may have to try it tonight.

Gluten Free Kids and The Birthday Party Issue

April 27, 2013

ktschoger . birthdays, gluten free, kids, Parenting

To all of you new parents out there…the ones with kids under four. Watch out.

As soon at they start going to preschool, there will be an onslaught of birthday parties coming your way.

Like every. single. weekend.

And then throw your own kid’s birthday in there…..

Well, let’s just say with a gluten-free child, it can get a bit overwhelming.

Because with a GF child (or children!!! I have TWO OF THEM!) when you go to someone else’s birthday party, it’s a lot of work.

Never will we have the ability to just run out the door and drop our kids off.

There are cake and snacks, and pizza, and candy, and all of the crap that your kid can’t eat and in order for them not to feel like the “odd man out” you do whatever you can to make it normal for them….and that can be time consuming as I have come to find out. But with six birthday parties under our belt since October, I am kind of figuring out how to make it easier on myself.

Up until this past weekend, whenever there was a birthday party I would make a few dozen cupcakes (with Bob’s Red Mill GF Baking flour) and send Grant and/or Brody along with one. Freezing the rest with the intention of pulling them out and using a frozen one whenever the next birthday party came up.

I did this twice and both times the cupcakes were boycotted. Weird texture? Too crumbly? Just kind of gross? Yeah, just not a time or cost effective plan so F that.

So this time I whipped up a batch of gluten free chocolate cupcakes, kind of combining two recipes……..and they were the best gluten free cupcakes I have ever made! I typically stay away from consuming mass quantities of baked goods (the sugar just kills my body) but I ate 6 of them. in one day. They were that good.

yum

I kind of used this recipe. But I did not use her flour mix which included xanthan gum so I had to adjust the recipe. I used this flour recipe (because I bulk ordered sorghum flour from Amazon because it tastes the most “normal” of the flours that I have used.)

With that being said, here is the recipe I came up with loosely based on this one from Sarah Bakes Gluten Free Treats

look at me, all fancy blogger and sh*t

So that’s great, but this makes about 18-24 cupcakes and I did not want to bake them all and freeze them like last time. Instead, I found three ways to freeze cupcake batter!

I opted for the “fill up the muffin tins with batter, stick in the freezer” option. After they froze, I popped the frozen batter muffin liners in a Ziploc bag and tossed them in the freezer again. NOW when I need a cupcake for a birthday party or some celebration, I can take one out of the freezer and bake it fresh (in my toaster oven, saves time and energy!) And also, they bake up just as well. You can not even tell they were frozen.

Next up, frosting options:

I have tried Cloud Frosting, a basic vanilla butter cream, and a glaze.

I beat the cloud frosting too long and it ended up falling apart. But it was tasty before it fell.

I made the basic vanilla butter cream (from Wipperberry) and used powdered sugar and it tasted very powered sugary. It was sweet and good and did the job, but I would use granulated or baking sugar next time.

The glaze was just powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond milk mixed until I got it to the consistency I wanted. It was good, but messy.

I have also sent along frosted cupcakes and naked cupcakes with a side of frosting so Grant could do it himself.

He liked doing it himself.

Or, if this sounds like waaaaay too much work, you could always make Rice Krispie treats (with gluten free Rice Krispies.)

Parties always have snacks or pizza too, what do you do?

Make your own pizza (for dinner the night before), bring a slice, heat it up at the party, and enjoy!

I have been making this recipe for pizza for the past month and it is requested at least twice a week now.

I am that tasty.

And crunchy! I could actually hold it up like a real pizza and it stayed strong! Anyone familar with Gluten Free pizza crust will tell you that it’s kind of like eating soggy bread sometimes.

Stay strong little pizza

And also, it passed the “gluten-eaters” test. My parents came out to visit last week (for a certain 4-year-olds birthday!) and they were willing to dive right into our gluten-hating world. They were impressed, I’m pretty sure they were not lying to me when they said they liked it. In fact, my step dad went back for seconds. And that in my book is a win.

I spend a lot of my spare time cooking or baking these days, you can tell in the fact that I am not posting much anymore. It’s fine, I know it is best for my kids and family. It gets daunting, I won’t lie to you.

But seeing the happiness on my child’s face when I pull out that cupcake (and subsequently, at least 1 other kids saying “Hey, why does Grant get a special cupcake?”) It ‘s totally worth every hour in the kitchen.

Homemade, Corn Syrup-Free Marshmallows

April 9, 2013

ktschoger . gluten free, Organic, yum . Homemade corn syrup free marshmallows

“It’s Spring, why are you talking about marshmallows?” you ask, as most of you look outside to sunshine and robins flying by. “We just finished up with marshmallow season. It doesn’t start again until the summer.”

Well, because, this: Oh Colorado spring, how you tease me so….

Now, I saw forecast this past weekend like a lot of folks did some prep work for the storm.

Some fun ideas for the house bound boys? check

hot cocoa materials? check

marshmallows for some hot cocoa? uh, no……{sigh} did you know that even marshmallows can not escape the evils of artificial food dyes? To make the marshmallows as white as they can, they add blue dye #1? Oh, and of course there is also the GMO corn syrup and also Tetrasodium Pyrophophate (a chemical which they try and play off as a “whipping agent”. Thanks Kraft, but I’ll use air as my whipping agent.)

So I went in search of a recipe that I could make at home with everyday ingredients and NO CORN SYRUP.

Most homemade marshmallow recipes call for corn syrup. (and most supermarket, store bought corn syrup is GMO, so no thanks. Although, here is a link to non-GMO, organic corn syrup called Wholesome Sweetners Organic Light Corn Syrup, but that surely is not a staple in my house either.)

I found recipes using brown rice syrup (which is not a staple in my house).

I found ones using honey, but I didn’t want honey flavored marshmallows.

I just wanted a fluffy, normal marshmallow made without corn syrup and nothing funky and really easy! Is that too much to ask?

And this person (from Soap Deli News) NAILED IT! (click for the recipe)

A corn syrup-free marshmallow recipe made with just sugar. And I have a huge 5 lbs bag of organic cane sugar from costco so look at that, I made (almost) organic marshmallows to boot!

{Side note, have you ever seen organic or natural marshmallows at the store? Typically they are rock hard and disgusting looking. So, no, I have never purchased a 10 oz. bag for $6.99}

But this recipe…..these are so incredible. SUPER, duper sweet but they taste exactly like the store bought, Jet Puffed crap that yes, I will admit are so tasty. I am only human, right?

I was texting with Kel Dos while making these and gave her a play-by-play, so I will share that with you because making marshmallows is pretty cool.

about 5 minutes into the 20 minute whipping process

about 15 minutes into the 20 minutes whipping process. Notice the fluffiness.

mouthfuls of marshmallows (GO TIGERS!)

PLATEFULS OF MARSHMALLOWS! (that I did graciously share with neighbors…mostly so I wouldn’t eat them all myself)

snow day hot chocolate (consumed out of my husband’s Pluto mug from when he was a boy, which I think is so cool.)

Hot cocoa mustache (and Go Spartans!)

And so there is one benefit of our Colorado Spring storms….we still get to drink hot cocoa with yummy, homemade marshmallows well into April (and maybe in May too!)

PS – Do you see that butternut squash in the background? I’ll share a secret with you. I have had that since November-ish (I think it’s still good, I’m not sure. But I can’t get rid of it for some reason…..)

Lots of Recipes (and They Are Healthy and Gluten Free To Boot!)

April 6, 2013

ktschoger . From Scratch Cooking, gluten free, yum

I have been doing a lot of cooking recently.

In fact, I cooked dinner 28 days during the month of March.

I know this because I did some menu planning at the beginning of the month and kept track of it.

I am kind of insane, yes.

However, the best part about this was that I was able to try out some new recipes that I found on Pinterest!

(click on the link to take you to the pin, click on the picture to take to you to the site and the recipe.)

Here we go….

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos: When asked what things from March’s menu should go on April’s menu, these were the first thing Matt mentioned. Grant seconded that thought. Very filling, really tasty, easy to make, great for Meatless Monday.

(Source: Cornerstone Cooking)

Gluten Free Shepard’s Pie: We had this for St. Patrick’s Day dinner. I substituted ground turkey for ground beef. It was super flavorful and really easy to make. Will definitely make it again.

(Source: Celebration Generation)

Quinoa Crusted Chicken: This looked good on paper, if you follow those instructions. I made this for some neighbors one night and didn’t cook the quinoa before I toasted it. (I read the recipe wrong…go figure) Needless to say, it was rather crunchy and very earthy tasting. My guests were kind enough to tell me they liked it. I did not. HOWEVER, if you do cook the quinoa and then toast it, perhaps it may taste better than mine. It looks good in the picture at least.

(Source: Taste and Tell Blog)

Another quick, easy, good-for-using-up-leftovers is this Better Than Takeout Chicken Fried Rice. A tip I learned about Chicken Fried Rice a few years back is to use rice that is a day old or else the dish turns out mushy. Also, if you use rotisserie chicken, you can make this dish in less than 10 minutes, easily.

(Source: Rachel Schultz)

This is a more popular pin that I always see on Pinterest, PB Oat Breakfast Bars. It goes to show you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. These are just ok in my opinion. I didn’t like the texture (kind of gummy) but they boys ate them. Sweetness, peanut butter, chocolate chips in a cookie-type form…why wouldn’t they? These could be a quick, protein-filled breakfast on the go, just not for me.

(Source: Watching What I Eat)

This prosciutto wrapped asparagus is super quick, easy and a great side dish (especially to bring to someone’s house for dinner). And BACON!

(Source: Eat Drink Paleo)

Easter dinner was a last minute thought this year. Like, “Hey, we have people coming over in 2 hours, what are we going to eat for dinner?”-type last minute. I had a ham, I wanted rolls. Do you know how long it has been since I have had a roll? Let alone a roll that tastes like regular bread. A ROLL THAT FOOLED EVEN THE BIGGEST LOVERS OF GLUTEN! They were devoured by all and I made them again, three days later with the ham and bean soup that I made from leftover ham.

For the love of everything that is gluten free, THESE ARE AMAZING! I followed the directions to a tee (even took the temperature of the milk to make sure it was between 110-115 degrees.) I used cornstarch for one batch and potato starch in another. The cornstarch muffins were fluffier, the potato starch ones were almost flakier. They reminded me of canned biscuits (which btw, I used to LOVE!) Flaky and buttery and light and fluffy. Takes about an hour and a half to make them start to finish (40 minutes of proofing) and it is so worth it. Anytime you need a gluten free dinner roll…make these!

nom, nom, nom, nom, nom (Source: Joy of Cooking)

and I will send this off with the most incredible recipe ever. It is so incredibly good that I made it twice in one week. One time for dinner. And this is really a breakfast thing.

hashbrown quiche! Give yourself about an hour for this one. BUT SO WORTH IT! SO, SO, SO, SO, SO worth it!

hash brown quiche, loaded with goodness

Ok, so really, this just gave me the idea to make one because I didn’t follow the recipe at all. I just figured out how to make the crust.

Here’s how to make the crust:

Get a small bag of shredded hash brown potatoes and dump into a pie dish.

Spread around, up the sides making a well in the middle. Season with salt and pepper

like so

Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes or until slightly golden.

Here’s how to make the filling:

Crack 7 eggs in a bowl, add a bunch of stuff (and when I say “bunch” I mean it. LOAD it up until it seems like too much) and mix it up really good.

Stuff you can add:

onions, mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes, ham, bacon, and sharp cheddar cheese (that was our first combination).
Green onions, shredded chicken, swiss cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes
Black beans, onions, tomatoes, mild chiles (or green chili sauce), cheddar cheese

Get creative! Just add some meat, some veggies (I saute mine first), and cheese pour the entire mixture into the pie crust.

Lower the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees and bake for another 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

The coolest part about this is that the egg mixture seeps throughout the hash browns making them this eggy, hash browney, mouth full of deliciousness. and it. is. so goooooooooood.

This would be great when having guest in town, for brunch, a holiday breakfast (Easter!), or just for a really quick and easy (and HEALTHY!) dinner.

And there you have it folks, a few recipe reviews for your liking (and gluten free to boot, what! what!) and it only took me 5 days to write. Seriously.

How To Get Your Toddler To…..

March 24, 2013

ktschoger . kids, Parenting

I’m sure anyone that is a parent has now heard of the book “Go the F*ck to Sleep” by Adam Mansbach. If not, here is an excerpt:

Just my type of book

We have an almost 4 year old and this was very pertinent. 45 minutes of “Please can I have some ice chips” and “Just one more hug and one more smooch, mommy” (who can pass that up?) and “I have to go potty again.” (x3)

And like most Pre-Schoolers he had also picked up some really nice potty talk at school, with an emphasis on “poop” and any derivative there of.

I think the straw was drawn when he called me a “Stinky Poophead” after one particularly long day. Which at the time was probably an accurate description of me.

But still. I knew something had to be done.

Like I said, I have almost 4 years under my belt with this one and I’m slowly learning about this boy of mine.

He loves a challenge and I used that to my advantage.

Here’s what I did.

Grant is very goal-oriented (wonder where he gets that from?) and so I searched for some reward/incentive charts knowing that if I set some rules on that chart and rewarded him for that good behavior that maybe we would be able to break his habits. (Because taking things away from him and Time Outs were not working.)

I mean hey, we flat out bribed him while potty training and that turned out well. So….

I found a two good sites on Pinterest for behavior/reward/incentive charts. These are the links leading to the two best sources (that I found) that allow you to search by gender, age, grade, type of chart etc. (here, here)

I will admit, I did customize them a little bit in Photoshop because I am sort of Type A. (But my Photoshop skills are beginner at best so it is nothing fancy.)

I set rules and cut and pasted in the rewards he would work towards. (Chosen by both him and me.)

This was important for him because he could now physically see what he was getting, it wasn’t a promise, it was a goal!

That second prize in there, that is a pirate periscope…’cause I know you were wondering

Let me tell you, this kid set the table, helped me unpack the groceries, and put things away for me upstairs…without me even asking. He started being very helpful with Brody, the potty talk is all but gone, the whining is at a minimum, and best of all 97% of the time he will not leave his room after we have tucked him in at night.

Boo-F’ing-YA!

It took him about a three weeks to get through each chart; some days earning up to 3 stickers, a few days earning none.

But finally this past Friday Grant’s hard work paid off and he placed his last sticker on his chart which earned us a MOVIE DATE!

{Quickly, about me and movies…we don’t mix. I fall asleep immediately. The last movie I went to in a movie theater was “Marley and Me” on 12/31/08 when I was 6 months pregnant with Grant. I bawled hysterically. And I had already read the book.}

But today I broke that streak and we went to see “Meet The Croods”

In 3D no less! (If you’re going to do something for the first time, do it big folks)

The movie was incredible; really funny, amazing graphics, great story. I recommend it to everyone!

And I didn’t even fall asleep.

A Life of Pinterest

I attempt to be funny while writing about stuff that I find on Pinterest