I Didn't Mention It On Purpose

I sort of skipped over the fact I've had yet another birthday on my blog because let's face it, it's just another day. I'm only mentioning it now because it has created a funny idea in Austen's mind. See, because Christmas comes and then the next month it's his birthday followed by my birthday the next month, he thinks opening presents is a frequent occurrence. I'm not quite sure how to help him understand that there aren't anymore presents to open.

I have considered just wrapping some of his toys and letting him open those. I'm not sure if that's just perpetuating the problem or eliminating some boredom. I'm still undecided.
So, back to my birthday. My super sweet man got me the best birthday gift. It was a really cute dress that I have been wanting for a while. He was apparently listening when I mentioned it in passing a while ago. I guess now I can't tell him he never listens.......
In other Austen news he has started saying uh-huh a lot which is really cute, but my favorite new thing he says is "Mom, ridiculous". It's too funny! Also, he's started getting into physical humor. He'll throw himself around and do silly things with his body to get a laugh. He is such a comedian.

The (un)Domestic Goddess

I have a new food obsession.....one that is actually healthy so I'm not ashamed to admit it. (Unlike like my constant craving for cookies and milk and Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream.)

I found these wraps that are so yummy. La Tortilla factory low carb wrap. They are high in fiber and protein which is nice because I'm not a huge meat person so I never get enough protein. (Yes, I know there are plenty of other sources.) Anyway, I put mustard, cheese, turkey, and every veggie I can find in my fridge on it. (Carrots, onion, red pepper, cucumber, avocado, tomato, and spinach usually.) It is so good that I eat it every day for lunch and the best part is that it keeps me full forever. You should try them!!!

See, doesn't that look good?

And that was a day that I didn't even put on that many veggies.

I have come a long way when it comes to cooking. Before I moved in with Brian, I rarely cooked because there's no point when it's just you. I jumped right in and started trying though. Most of the time I'm pretty successful, but every now and again I make something VERY gross!

I recently tried to make a corn chowder from a recipe that I had heard several people say was really good. It took FOR.EV.ER and made a giant mess!!! It didn't turn out like it was supposed to and ended up tasting like disgusting bacon flavored glue paste.

Brian requested little franks in sauce for the Superbowl which I had never even heard of let alone prepared by the way. I went to the internet for a recipe and I noticed most of the recipes called for grape jelly and chili sauce. So that's what I made. I dumped everything in the croc pot and let it cook. About an hour in, it started smelling really gross!!! I went back online to see if I had done something wrong. I found another recipe that clarified what kind of chili sauce to use and it wasn't found on the mexican food isle. I had to dump it all out, rinse off the little smokies and make another trip to the store for the right stuff. They turned out really good when I used the correct ingredients, but it took a little while for me to get there.

I've also made some really disgusting inedible beef fajitas, but what the one I'm most famous around here for is my meatloaf fiasco.

I had never eaten meatloaf in my entire life but Brian really wanted it, so I found a Paula Deen recipe and got going.

This is how it turned out.

Looks gross right?? I don't know what happened, but as soon as I dumped it out of the pan it just sort of exploded.
Sweet Brian said he didn't care what it looked like and dished some up to eat anyway.
About 3 or 4 bites in he found a big frozen chunk of raw hamburger.
He didn't want to eat anymore of it after that.

Luckily my Grandma gave me an easy and delicious recipe for meatloaf and I can safely say I have mastered it!

Mommy Mom

Mommy Mom is my new name. Apparently that gets my attention better than Mom or Mommy alone. Also, Austen's started saying "oh, what's that?" constantly. I thought I had a little while before the questioning started, but nope. I'm always saying he's curious after all, so I don't know what I expected.

On a side note, he thinks it's really funny to call Brian Brian instead of Dad.

Here he is posing with his beloved Buzz and Woody.
I'm expecting to wake up one morning to a missing Woody because Brian is convinced it's possessed.
(It talks all by itself when no one is even around.)

He likes to take all his toys for rides in our ottoman lid.

Then he gives me this innocent face.
How can you be mad at that?
I haven't figured it out yet!

More From The Children's Museum

Some more cute pics from the Children's Museum

You're supposed to plant the veggies and then harvest them, but he just climbed right on in there.

He even tried the rock climbing wall.
I'm sure these are skills he learned from his Grandpa!!!

Never Back Down

I'm pretty sure that's Austen's motto, or at least it was when I took him to the Children's Museum.
I took him on a Friday which is apparently field trip day.
The place was FULL of kids.....big kids.....like second graders.
Poor Austen.

He waited patiently to play on this cash register forever. Once he got up there, he wasn't letting anybody edge him out.
Not even an innocent little girl. He kept elbowing her until she left.
It was hilarious because he wouldn't take his hands of the register to push her, so he just used his elbows.

He was seriously fighting off kids twice his size.
It was actually pretty cute.

He loved pretending he worked at the grocery store and he kept saying
"need mommy's wallet".
I think he wanted some money to play with and a credit card.....makes it more realistic I guess.

He even stole this shopping cart from an unsuspecting 7 year old.
(They only have a few carts, so they are a pretty precious commodity.)

He pushed it around and had so much fun filling it up.

We Finally Got Out Of The House

It has been cold! I know I've mentioned this already, but I'm mentioning it again for emphasis. It's cold and there's not a lot to do when it's cold. Luckily the Aquarium is close and warm, so we go there often. I've already posted plenty of pictures of us there, so hopefully you're not sick of them yet because I'm posting more.

Posing on the boat in the "amazon".

Looking overboard.

Looking at the huge anaconda. He loves that and the penguins a lot!!!

He also loves to pet the sting rays and the horseshoe crabs.

Chinese Wooed

(That's how it sounds when Austen says it.)

Austen is a HUGE fan of Chinese food lately.
So when Brian came home from work the other night with some takeout Austen just dug right in.
He had already eaten dinner, but I guess there was still some room for rice and chicken.
At first he was happy to have Brian feeding him bites here and there, but after a few of those he started asking me for his "own fork".
He is so stinkin funny!

Still A Little......

....Shall I say curious???
I'm not quite sure what to call it because I don't think he's being naughty as
much as I think he's just a curious kid.

Or maybe that's just what I tell myself so I don't have to admit that he IS in fact
naughty and I am a horrible parent that has no idea how to discipline.

Either way, when he does stuff like this:

I can't help but laugh.


This is the best:

He LOVES to spill stuff just so he can clean it up.
The dog food is currently his favorite because he gets to use his broom and dust pan.
Water is another favorite of his.
If I clean it up before he can gather all his supplies, he seriously loses his mind!
Now if I could just teach him to do that when it comes to his toys.....

Who Ate All The Cookie Dough...

Is currently Austen's favorite book. He wants to read it over and over and over. I swear it's the cutest thing ever because he reads it to himself. You can't help but laugh when you hear it.....luckily we got it on video which I should learn to post so you can see it too. I'll work on that.

He gets his face really close to the book so he can ask all the different animals if they ate all the cookie dough.

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my favorite person in the whole entire world!!!!!

Happy LOVE Day

I get these two handsome boys for my Valentines!!!
How lucky am I???

Word Of The Week

Austen has been so funny lately with the stuff he's been saying.
He'll start to understand a new word and then he'll use it ALL the time.
Last week it was "now".
Examples:
"All done sleeping now."
(which he would yell out in the morning)
"Watch Woody now."
Etc. Etc.
You get the point.

Well this week his new word is "actually".
This was apparently one of my most used words when I was younger, so it's extra funny for my family to hear him say it.
(I guess I still say it quite frequently.)
We were coloring the other day when he held up a crayon and said "pen". I didn't argue since I've learned it's pointless with him.
Then he said "actually crayon".
I thought that was hilarious and adorable at the same time.
In fact I still laugh when I think about it.

He has also started memorizing books and then reading them word for word back to himself.
The first time I heard him do it, I was literally shocked especially because I had only read him that particular book a handful of times.
He is more into books right now than he ever has been and I'm loving every second of it.
Isn't reading to kids the best?!?!
I love it!
We've been visiting the library at least once a week even though he sent Brian's library card to live down the return air vent.
In fact as we were leaving the library today he yelled "bye people" as loud as possible.
Everyone turned to look.
He was so proud!!!

P.S. no pics today, I can't get them to load right now.
I figured a post with no pics is better than no post at all.

Is It STILL Winter??

Alright, I'm officially sick of the cold and wind and slushy gross snow!!! I handle the winter so much better when there is nice fluffy white snow outside. When it's like that, we can bundle up and go play out there, but this 18 degrees and windy is not working for me. I seriously don't even want to leave the house. So we don't, and then I'm stuck inside with a bored two year old. When he gets bored, he gets naughty, and then I get even more annoyed that it's freeeeezing outside. As you can see it's a bad cycle. So for now, I'll just think warm thoughts and mentally prepare myself for yet another afternoon shut in the house playing playdough.

Don't want to listen to my complaining??? Well I should tell you that it's bad for you too! I mean how many pictures do you really want to see of Austen playing inside with his toys??? Hopefully the answer was at least 3 more because that's what we've got today.

Here's the little man playing with his new garbage truck.
He gets really creative about the stuff he wants to put in the back!

His new saw that Daddy got him for his birthday.
This kid loves all things tools!

Can you tell he's a little excited about his new golf clubs?
Now only if it were warm enough to go outside and actually use them.....

Next time I promise to be in a better mood when I blog.....that is if I still have any readers after this rant.