Monthly Archives: July 2012

So Many Things To Write About..Such Little Attention Span….SQUIRREL!

. kids, yum . ,

My conscious can’t let me go more than 30 days without writing. My goal initially was every other days. Pssshhhh, right. The realization I came to last night was this: I love this blog and I love Pinterest and I still have it set at my homepage, but if I were to rank it (this blog) in order of importance in my life, it falls right below “Dorthy”, our (third) Beta fish. Who was a lovely goodie bag gift at an Elmo birthday party. (One in which I STRONGLY suggested Dorthy as a goodie bag gift…..well didn’t that come right back and bite me in the ass?) And the only reason why Fishy takes precedence over my blog is because Fishy is LIFE and I am a somewhat compassionate human being. Somewhat.* But both are relatively LOW on the totem pole of my life, fishy is just about dead right now.

“Yo, clean my bowl, I can’t do it myself!”

Fishy the fish is actually Dorthy the Fish, the Second** (There was an original Dorthy, aka, Foggy.) And then it’s named changed strangely, when Foggy died and the replacement fish was brought in, in a covert operation, his name changed to Fishy.

Because I can tell you honestly that Foggy/Fishy/Dorthy the First, died because of my negligence. Yep, my fault. But SERIOUSLY, isn’t it enough that I keep alive a husband, two children, two dogs, and a cousin? I MEAN REALLY? A FISH? Good thing we have a Pet Smart discount in our family now.

Also, I am not sure where this blog is going, but I made these this week and they were a hit!

Meatloaf Muffins

Don’t laugh, you put anything in a muffin tin and a toddler will put it down! And I load my meatloaf up with veggies so I didn’t worry about how much they were actually consuming. (Because my 1 and 3 year olds can eat more than me!) This pin wasn’t so much about the recipe (because I used my own, which really isn’t my “own” but more so a bunch of stuff kind of tossed in willy nilly) but more so the concept. Really, you’re just scooping meat mixture into muffin tins and baking. Takes less time, the meat muffins (as Matt wanted to call them, ew) cook more even when they are distributed into muffin tins, and lastly it is SO MUCH MORE fun to eat them this way. Ask any kid (or me, or my family.) Plus, we had a TON left over for sandwiches the entire week. Meatloaf sandwich anyone? YUM!

annnnnd, that’s all I have time for today. Seems as if a certain, once angelic, perfect sleeper has gone all Big Boy on me and decided that naps are for the weak and that he shall have none of it. Well now, you want to take on that battle with me? This is one that I will not lose (but I may lose my mind battling it.) Wish  me luck….

*I am not compassionate about rabbits. I despise rabbits and when I hit one with my truck the other day, I did feel bad for a fleeting moment and then I thought…”Ha ha you little F-er, at least that’s one less rabbit that will eat my flowers or KILL MY LAWN!” This way of thinking typically goes against every fiber of my being.

**You might have noticed that I said it was our third Betta fish, but Dorthy the Second (or probably not…but….) We had a prior Betta fish named IZZE, back in 2011. You might be able to guess where she ended up.

Monkey Birthday For The Little Monkey

. baby, Cricut, i want to make this . , ,

The nickname started when he was born. As stated in my previous post, Brody was a furry baby when he came out; his cheeks, forehead, ears, arms, and back…and that head of hair. Brodes was 6 lbs 2 oz. and 21 inches long when he was born. That may not mean anything to most, but Grant was 21.5 inches and 8 lbs. 2 oz. In other words, Brody was a long, skinny, furry boy with a big head. He looked like a monkey.

And so it started with this:

and then Dangle Monkey was a gift from a friend:

Dangle MonkeyPlease note: wooden appendages

While Dangle Monkey is cute and organic and good for the planet and all, it is not advisable to give Dangle Monkey to a baby that barely has control of their own appendages. Those wooden hooks become wildly flailing projectile objects, likely to make contact with a forehead or nose.

Then for Christmas, my mom (aka Grammy) gave Brody Monkey Monkey:

also seen here. Also, whenever possible, his face can be found in Brody’s mouth

So it only seemed appropriate to have a monkey themed birthday party for the little guy, no? Or is that like rubbing salt in the wounds? (and for the record, said body fuzz has disappeared and has been displaced to the beautiful mop on the top of his head.)

First order of business, decor….A few weeks back I was at a one year old birthday party where they had a homemade banner made from pictures taken at monthly increments. I saw a Disney themed one, I decided to do something similar since I have been taking monthly pictures for his scrapbook (which btw, has not yet been started!)

A little Cricut magic, hot glue, and ribbon and voila:

The three pictures in the center were taken as his one year pictures a few days before his birthday. They were not easy, that boy can move.

Next up, a Happy Birthday banner, similar to the one I found on Pinterest, from esty that sells for $28! HOLY CRAP, would someone really pay that much for a custom paper banner? I made it myself in an hour.

Cricut, paper, and glue. BAM:

seems as if I forgot to take a picture of it at the party so here they both are on the floor

and lastly, cupcakes! I was shocked to find some really cute monkey cupcake liners at KING SOOPER (of all places!) and so I snatched them up quickly. And also the idea to make monkey faces out of ‘Nila Wafers! (By Ellie and Blair)

Again, no future competitor of Cupcake Wars should be concerned….

Pretty sure the reason my monkeys are light brown is because I used cocoa instead of melted chocolate in the frosting, but whatever, brown is brown and chocolate is chocolate in this case.

I made Martha Stewart banana cupcakes which were good and I would make again. But do not put them in the fridge, they get hard (because of the butter). But I had to put them in the fridge because I made chocolate, cream cheese frosting (From Slash Food) which started melting because Colorado has been enduring dry, crispy, HELL-LIKE conditions the past 4 weeks. No amount of air conditioning could help my melted monkey faces…but I tried.

I also made these monkey’s with my Cricut and hot glued them all around the cupcake stand

And lastly, I know this seems a bit over-the-top for a one year old birthday party, but we got the Bounce House that we used for Grant’s birthday party. IT WAS MONKEY THEMED OK? (AND FREE! Minus the cost of something “thank you” gifts.)

Pretty sure he had a good time, because he slept in an extra hour and a half the next morning. Which, in his entire year of existence has never, ever happened. Who knew one year olds could have birthday party “hangovers” too?

Happy Birthday Brodes! We love you little monkey!