Another giveaway

Mosey in over here to I Should Be Folding Laundry to enter a giveaway for a gift certificate to Tiny Prints.

Breakfast with (a fake) Santa

The Mall in Hays sponsored a breakfast with Santa Saturday morning, so I took the girls out. While we were waiting in line, Santa entered the room. Ella took one look at him and announced, "That's a fake Santa!" I managed to quiet her down with the whole "Santa has many helpers" line, and by the time Santa made it around to our table, she had apparently gotten over her indignation enough to talk to him. On the car ride back to Grandma's house, I quizzed her about fake Santa versus real Santa.

"What made you think that Santa was a fake?" I asked, expecting her to point out that the mall Santa was a little on the thin side. She's used to the Jeremy Hazen, the Satanta football coach, as Santa, and he's a pretty burly guy.

"His voice was all wrong," she replied.

"What does Santa's voice sound like?"

"Not like that. Besides, his beard didn't meet his hair."

I hadn't noticed that. "So is the Santa you see in Satanta the real Santa?" I asked.

Moment for reflection. "Nope."

"Have you ever seen the real Santa?"

Silence again. "I don't think so."

"So how do you know this wasn't the real Santa?"

"Because, Mommy, his beard was all wrong."

"So do you think this Santa will be able to tell the real Santa what you want for Christmas?"

"Yes, he'll send the real Santa a letter."

Emilia had been having a very grouchy morning, so I was a little worried about taking her out in public, but she loved it. There was a big open area between the food line and the seating, so she ran around and danced to the Christmas music. She showed off and flirted with all kinds of people. She was curious about Santa, but I didn't even attempt to get her too close. Here you can see her watching Ella talk to Santa.



I really wasn't expecting quality food (after all, it was free), but the pancakes were yummy. Here's Ella attacking hers like a wild woman.

When you're one year old...

Who needs toys when you can play under a table?

Emilia's First Ponytail

Ava gave Emilia her first ponytail this weekend.

Lisa Leonard Giveaway

Tsh over at Simple Mom is giving away three $50 giftcards to Lisa Leonard Designs. Click on over here to enter the giveaway. Lisa's jewelry is simple and beautiful. If you're looking for a Christmas gift for someone special (like, for example, me), this necklace is especially nice. You should also check out Lisa's blog.

Little bakers

Helping bake Daddy's birthday cake is fun...

but the best part ....

is eating...

(and fighting over)....

the batter.

Sisterly Love

An easy little dish

Last night, I concocted a simple side dish to go along with my spaghetti. I combined about half a can of white cannellini beans (rinsed and drained) with a chopped up roasted red pepper from a jar, a few chopped marinated artichoke hearts (from a jar), and several chopped up Kalamata olives. I added a little basil and warmed it up in the microwave.

I ate it plain, but I think this would also be good over pasta; in a pita as a sandwich filling; as a dip with pita or bagel chips; or as a bruschetta topping. I think feta cheese would also go well with it, but I didn't have any feta on hand.

Nothing fancy, a little salty...just like I like it.

World Peace Cookies

(Image from www.foodlibrarian.blogspot.com)

I gave this recipe for World Peace Cookies a try today. I was intrigued by it because it combines two of my greatest loves, salt and chocolate, and I'd have to say it's a keeper. The cookies are deep and chocolatey, with the sea salt providing a bit of both surprise and crunch. They are incredibly easy to make; I dashed home at lunch to whip up the dough, and after school I sliced and baked the cookies with Emilia on my hip. (For this reason, my cookies aren't as perfectly symmetrical as the ones in the picture, but they still look pretty good. At least I think they do.) Now, do I think eating these cookies every day will lead to world peace? No. But they're a quick and easy chocolate treat that I'll probably make again.

Speaking of salt and chocolate, you should check out this blog, Salt and Chocolate. I have no idea who this person is, but I enjoy following her.

Snot-nosed baby

Poor Emilia has had a terribly snotty nose the past few days. This morning she seemed congested, so I used some saline drops to clear out her nose. It worked, as you can see from the picture.

Well, that's one way to keep them quiet

Hunter, Ashton, and Ella.

Silly Baby

Here are some funny things Emilia has done lately:

She had a great time dancing at Chris King's surprise birthday party. She also enjoyed trying to get into beer coolers and removing her shirt while dancing. The girl has some moves.

While we were in a children's clothing store, she discovered a mannequin that was about her size. She ran over to it, patted it on the head, and gave it a hug. She wanted to drag it around the store, but we wouldn't let her.

She loves to throw things away, like sippy cups, spoons, toothbrushes, medicine cups, and anything else she can get her hands on.

While I was getting dressed this morning, she ran out of the bedroom and into the bathroom where Ella was bathing, and before I could stop her, she threw Ella's panties in the toilet.

Oh, that baby. No wonder we can't keep the house clean!

Big girl pics

Trena took pictures of Ella tonight. You can go here to see them. My favorites are 6, 7,8,18, and 19. She looks so grown up!

Ella Has Contacts!

(Or, How I Spent Two and Half Hours at the Eye Doctor's Office and Nearly Killed My Daughter)

Ella had an appointment with the eye doctor this morning. As is her custom at such appointments, she asked, "When will I be old enough to get contacts?" This time, Dr. Bowling thought about it and said, "Well, you might be ready now." He explained that contacts would actually correct her vision better than her glasses, and if she was motivated, we could give it a try.

So off we went to the contacts room. They didn't have her exact prescription, but they had some that were close enough for her to try while the right ones come in. Now, I thought they would just have me take care of putting in and taking out the contacts, but no, Dr. Bowling wanted Ella to learn how to do that herself.

So Christine, the contacts technician, put the contacts in the first time (which caused some short-lived drama, but Ella soon recovered). Then Christine tried to get Ella to take the contacts out herself. Uh, no. Not happening. Ella just couldn't figure it out. I really think she just doesn't have the coordination for it yet.

Then Ella got frustrated. And when Ella gets frustrated, well, it's not pretty. It was a major-league meltdown, the type she usually reserves for the dentist's office. Crying, screaming, yelling. All the good stuff. Lots of fun.

Luckily Brandee's sister is also an optometrist in the practice we go to. She stepped in and was able to calm Ella down a little, but more importantly, get Dr. Bowling talked into to allowing me to put in and remove the contacts. Then we just had to get Ella convinced of that. We did...eventually. By the time Christine decided we knew what we doing enough to set us loose, we'd spent two and a half hours in the office.

On the one hand, I understand Ella's frustration. Learning to put in and remove contacts is tricky. It's a strange feeling to put something on your eye. And I really think that expecting a seven year old to learn how to do it herself before she even gets used to wearing contacts in unreasonable. (And if that's the expectation the doctor has, he shouldn't fit kids with contacts until they're older.)

On the other hand, Ella's behavior was way over the top. She became so emotional there was no way she could learn to do anything. We're talking drama of epic proportions--blaming everyone in the world for her difficulties, insisting that blankie be draped around her neck while she tried to remove the contacts, and closing her eyes and refusing to open them. If she would have just calmed down and let me talk to her and the doctor, we probably could have been done an hour earlier. (And saved me a heck of a lot of embarrassment.)

But we made it through. She's seems okay with me inserting and removing the lenses, and she did okay wearing them to school this afternoon. She's only supposed to wear them for a few hours at a time for the first few days and then slowly build up to wearing them all day. Hopefully she and I will both survive the experience.

Halloween

Ella had fun trick or treating. Emilia, not so much. She didn't really have a great day on Halloween, starting out with her photo shoot grouchiness. She had two short naps, but no long one, and when Emilia gets overly tired, she gets hyper. While we were trick or treating, she didn't really want me to hold her, but she didn't want to walk where I wanted her to. She kept sitting down in the middle of the street to play with rocks. Whenever I tried to carry her, she squirmed and wriggled and screamed bloody murder. I finally took her home early and sent Ella with the Howies and the Goods.

Emilia also didn't cooperate when we tried to have a babysitter watch her during our Halloween party. Emilia wouldn't have anything to do with the high school girl we hired to babysit, so poor Alex got to lug Emilia (all 26 pounds) around all night. We so owe Alex.