Toddler Activity: Pipe Cleaners in a Colander

The other day, Josie was having a "it's-one-hour-till-dinner-and-I-didn't-take-a-nap-again-today" meltdown, and I did what I had to do: I threw a pack of pipe cleaners and a colander at her and ran back to the kitchen. Jeremy was more appreciative than he could ever express (I assume).

(And yes, Jeremy was sitting in the background there with his hand on Genevieve's chest. She's not laying alone on the ottoman. No worries!)

I've been excited to use this activity and had been "saving it up" for a "moment." Josephine loved it just as much as I thought she would.

Obviously this is good for fine motor skills, and you should have seen how focused she was on the task at hand. She would also look at the colander and then at the pile of pipe cleaners and think about what color she "needed" next. "Yeah, another yellow one!" she'd say. So cute.

She was so proud of herself, and showed off her work to daddy.

Now that's a fine-looking colander.

My mother-in-law got Josie this colander to play with in the pool, but I have seen them in the dollar spot at Target. I got the two packs of pipe cleaners in the dollar section at Joann Fabrics. 

Here's a pro tip: Any time there are crafty materials in a dollar section of a store like Target, grab them, because if you go out specifically looking for them and have to pay 4 or 5 bucks for them and they're not in the dollar spot anymore, you're gonna be kicking yourself (Trust me, it happened with pom poms. Grrr.). Plus, craft supplies at Dollar Stores are not always just a dollar. I was shocked, too. Remember when the 99-cents store was ONLY items 99 cents and cheaper? Those were the days. Also Target always has tons of kitchen utensils in the dollar spot when kids go back to college, so if you see some, stock up. Kids love things like measuring cups and colanders (again, the measuring cups at our dollar store are like $3, so I would rather wait for stuff to come into season at Target and get it for a buck).

And there you have it, a classic toddler activity to heal a meltdown or give you fifteen minutes in the kitchen without a "helper" hanging on your leg.

Funny Stuff My Husband Says, Vol. XXIII: The Truth Will Out

Jeremy: I'd like to have a serious conversation with you. One in which you are completely open and honest and tell me the absolute truth about something.

Veronica: Ummm ... okay. Is everything alright?

Jeremy: Yeah, everything's fine. But I need to ask you a question, and I need you to promise you will be honest. Totally honest.

Veronica: Yes, yes, of course. What is it?

Jeremy: Okay. When you are taking a bite of broccoli, like when you're bringing it up to your mouth, are you actually thinking "Oh yeah, this is going to taste great. I really enjoy eating this broccoli"?

Veronica: What?

Jeremy: Like, do you really like it? When you take a bite, are you thinking, "Yup, delicious, just like I thought it would be"?

Veronica: You know I thought you were going to talk to me about something really serious, right? And that you had me all worried, right?

Jeremy: I just really need to know. Among friends here, and all. Do you really REALLY like broccoli? You're not just putting me on and pretending you like it because you want me to eat more foods that are good for me?

Veronica: Yes, I really like broccoli. I do.

Jeremy: I just can't buy it. When you're eating it, are you thinking "Oh yeah, this is way better than pizza."

Veronica: Well, I don't know if I'd say that, but I really really TRULY enjoy the taste of broccoli. It's one of my favorite vegetables.

Jeremy: AH-HA! It's one of your favorite VEGETABLES! But vegetables all taste like garbage, so it's just the best-tasting garbage! That doesn't make it GOOD, just because it's the best of the worst!

Veronica: *Leaves the room*

To see all volumes of Funny Stuff My Husband Says, click HERE

It's Sad How Little It Takes to Shock and Entertain Me These Days

I had my suspicions before, but this weekend it was confirmed: Some chick is using MY cell phone number as her fake number.

I first suspected that's what was going on when a random number sent me a text asking me if I was up for anything that night.

Let me just make an aside here to tell you that no, I cannot take a screenshot on my phone. I have followed the instructions in my manual and online about seventy-five thousand times, but it does not take a screenshot as promised. Frankly, I'm not shocked that I have no idea how to accomplish this simple task, and you shouldn't be either.

Anyway, I ignored it at first, and this gentleman became more insistent, peppering in phrases alluding to my "hot booty." That almost swayed me to believe that this was a person I did in fact know, because, come on. Have you seen my post-pregnancy butt? To die for, I assure you.

So, I texted this guy back and told him I thought he had the wrong number. He was insistent. "Is this XXX-XXX-XXXX?" Yep, that's the number, but I'm not your gal. 

He gave up, but then the next week I got another text from him: "I hope I got your number right this time. So glad I bumped into you again. Are you still planning on coming with me to that wedding this Saturday?"

Oh my god. This girl. He FOUND HER again, and she insisted she could be reached at this number. AND agreed to go to a wedding with him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get a hold of her to finalize the details. She is cruel. Or dumb. I mean, what was she going to do if she ran into him a third time?

I told the poor dude that he got me again, a boring mom who was not up for a wedding or club-hopping afterwards. He took a long time to respond and I felt horrible when he said "Wow. Sorry. I don't mean to keep bothering you. My bad!"

I had kind of forgotten it when this past Saturday I got a text from another strange number. This one said "Hey beautiful. What are you up to tonight? This is Jeffrey from the other night."

O. M. G.

While I am beautiful, and, in fact, had no plans that night other than nursing my baby, I believe this text was not meant for me.

I told him I was sorry, and he had the wrong number. He apologized and said he must have hit a wrong button, and he would double-check before he sent texts next time.

THEN ... poor Jeffrey ... I got ANOTHER text from the number, saying "Is this Courtney?" When I told him it was still me, not Courtney, he said, "That's so weird. I double-checked and this is the exact number she gave me."

Oh, you poor, poor, stupid thing. 

But now I know her name. It doesn't really help me all that much, because I don't think it would do any good to just text back "this is not Courtney" when I get one of these again. 

It WOULD be nice to get a courtesy text from this Courtney. I mean, how hard would it be to shoot out a simple "Sorry if you have weirdos texting you all the time. lol!" 

In the meantime, I guess I should just appreciate people saying nice things about my behind. It's been a while since strangers commented on her. Maybe one day I'll get her back in shape.*

*No, I probably won't

Simple & Spicy Chicken Soup

I confess: I just love soup. I could have it every single night. Luckily, Jeremy likes it too, so once the weather cools down, he knows we're having soup at least one night a week. Here's a new soup that I think will be playing pretty heavy in the rotation alongside Lasagna Soup and Slow-Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup.

I started out with this recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff, changed a few things, and then messed around with the ratio of ingredients. What I learned is this is a great combo of ingredients, and it comes out delicious no matter which way you increase or decrease the ingredients. You want more potatoes and less corn? Go ahead! You want lots and lots of carrots and only a few potatoes? Why not? As long as you add enough broth (or water) to cook the chicken and potatoes and enough spices to give it some zing, you're good to go.

The basic ingredients are:
Potatoes

Corn

Carrots

Onion

Chicken breasts

Chicken broth (or half broth/half water OR just water)

A jar of salsa

Garlic

Cumin

Chili powder

Salt

Cayenne pepper

Here's my favorite way to make it so far:

4 potatoes, cut into slightly smaller than 1-inch squares*

2 cups frozen corn

3 cups carrots, peeled and cut into circles**

1/2 sweet onion, diced

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups chicken broth 

2 cups water

1 jar of salsa

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

(This filled my crockpot up to the very tippy-top and made two dinners and a handful of lunches for two adults)

*The potatoes take the longest to cook, so smaller is better, unless you want everything else very overcooked by the time the potatoes are done (I learned that the hard way). Also, any potato should be fine. I have used baking potatoes and red potatoes so far.

**I cut the carrots a little thicker than I would for a non-crockpot soup because they cook so quickly. I think I cut mine about a half-inch thick (I don't keep a ruler in the kitchen, sorry).

Directions:

Toss all ingredients in your slow cooker except the chicken and broth and/or water. 

Give your ingredients a little stir. 

Place chicken on top of other ingredients. 

Pour broth and/or water on top, using enough so that the liquid covers most of the solid ingredients in your cooker. You can put liquid all the way to the top of ingredients to make it soupy or keep it a little lower to make it very chunky and without much broth. The version above makes the liquid come right to the top of the solid ingredients. Again, you can easily play around with this and can use this to make a lot of soup or a little, so put in your solids first and then decide how much liquid you want. 

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours (mine took about five until the potatoes were done).

Remove cooked chicken, shred, return to cooker, stir, and BAM! Spicy chicken soup! I hope you like it as much as I do!

Toddler Activity: Water "Painting"

We've been working under the assumption that "a busy toddler is a happy toddler" these days, and it has been getting harder and harder now that it is cold enough out that I refuse to take Genevieve out with Josie during the day (once Josie gets outside, she needs to be out there for two hours, MINIMUM, and no matter how much I bundle that baby, there is no way we are doing that. Sorry!)

The other problem we are having is ... I never thought I'd say this ... she loves reading too much. We could read ALL MORNING, and then when it's time for nap, she's not tired at all because she didn't do anything active or new or exciting. 

I know it sounds terrible, but I have been "saving" a few new activities for days when we REALLY need them, and I thought today, after a two-day nap strike and so many meltdowns that I can't even begin to count, was worthy of one I had been saving.

Behold! Water "painting" on construction paper!

She LOVED IT. (Sorry about the quality of the pictures ... I still haven't figured out how to get a good picture in front of our big picture window. I love having all the natural light, but my camera isn't handling it well, and I don't know anything about photography, so I can't fix it.)

That blob on the bottom is a cat. Is it just me, or can you totally see it?

And when she was done, she went over and got the pile of white paper and bucket of crayons and continued with her artwork. So, all in all, she spent quite a bit of time occupied with this activity.

After a while, she did start "painting" her face and dipping her hands in the cup, which I was totally fine with, but if you don't like water messes, you might want to toss down a garbage bag before starting this activity.

I had to add this in, too. After coloring for a while, she was about to try to "paint" on a plain white piece of paper with the water. I told her, "It won't work on that paper," and even though I had not explained it to her, she said, "Oh, only on the COLOR paper!" and went back to painting on the (colored) construction paper. :) Love my little genius. 

I was hoping this, combined with her normal play, AND the exercise play session we had (45 straight minutes of jumping, running, spinning, jumping jacks, and even sit-ups, without even stopping once), would make her tired enough for her nap after a two-day boycott. I also gave her a nice pep talk at lunch about how awesome naps were and told her after she woke up she could sing a special song about how rested she felt and do a special "after-nap" I-feel-great dance ... NO DICE.

We're taking it up a notch tomorrow, activity-wise. I'll keep you posted.