Wesley Says: Breaking Mama's Heart

Wesley and I were riding in the car the other day when he was being particularly repetitive (it blows me away how much toddlers can repeat themselves over and over again, even if I repetitively answer his question over and over again!) So this conversation followed:

Me: "Ok Wes, why don't we listen to some music?"

Wes: "Yes!"

If you know me, you know how much I love Elvis. But I must admit how ridiculous it is that I pay to have 100+ channels of XM Radio in my car and only listen to the Elvis Channel. (Totally worth it by the way) Anyways...

Me: "How about some Elvis music?" (as I turn on the radio)

Wes: "No! No like Elvis!!"

Me: "What!?!?" Yes you do, Mama loves Elvis, so you have to at least like him."

Wes: "No! Don't like Elvis Radio!" (verbatim, I swear!)

Me: "Oh buddy, you're breaking my heart. Do you want to listen to Psalty instead?"

Wes: "Yes!!"

Me: "Do you like Psalty or Elvis better?"

Wes: "Psalty!"

Well, since I should like Psalty better than Elvis too, I guess I can't argue with that. I can be sad about it, but I can't argue with it.

Pretend Fun

Well, I guess it was Real Fun at Pretend City. Auntie Chrissy offered us a free ticket to join her, Cody and Eva and Amanda and Tyler at Pretend City on August 15th, and we just couldn't pass that up! We had only been once before and it was more crowded last time, so it was fun to have more room to check out some the areas we didn't see last time.

Cody and Wes "picking" fruits and veggies.

Pumping Gas

Checking out the construction area

Fishing

Preparing food in the restaurant

Attempting to withdraw funds from a broken ATM (the best way to save money though!)

Of course, scooping "dirt"!

Having xrays taken at the dentist's office

This is the closest picture I could get of all three boys. Cody in the back, Wes in the middle and Tyler (well his head) in the front. Pretend City is really fun for the kids, but it's impossible for the mom's to socialize, you are constantly chasing your kid from one area to the next. Amanda and I got to talk for about three minutes in the play house at the toddler sized table while Tyler and Wes emptied out all the contents of the house's kitchen. That was a nice three minutes.

Wes and I headed over to the arts and crafts area where he made this collage. He loved using the glue to make all the different items stick to his paper.

His finished masterpiece. He kept telling everyone, "that's Wesy's art!" (he doesn't say the "l" in his name yet)

On our way out we stopped to play with all the fun movable parts on the Orange County mural. Then we all headed over to Del Taco for lunch, where no pictures were taken, because it was all we could do go get 3 tired boys and one tired little girl to eat lunch and not melt down. Thanks again for the ticket Auntie Chrissy, we had so much fun!

Kicking the Habit

The Problem: Finger Sucking

Wes has been a finger sucker (middle and ring finger) since birth, and probably before as the picture below can attest to. Wes is three days old here.

Though we didn't really recognize it as a habit until around this time, when Wes was about 4 months old.

But from there on out, it was all fingers all the time!

I have a sibling who was a thumb sucker and I can remember all my mom went through to get them to stop, so I was braced for a battle.

And at Wes' dentist appointment right before his second birthday, his dentist told us his teeth were definitely showing signs of finger sucking and that if we didn't get him to stop we were headed for early orthodontia treatments. So....

The Solution:

Wes' dentist recommended buying this stuff -Mavala Stop. We purchased it from his office, at a whopping $16 with the plan to sit him down first and have the "now that you're two, you are a big boy and big boys don't suck their fingers" discussion. We had that discussion which obviously fell on deaf/two year old ears. Up until he turned two, if I asked Wes to take his fingers out of his mouth he would. But the day he turned two, it was a whole different ball game. About a week or so after his birthday, and the discussion, we were coming home from church and Wes was being particularly ornery and defiant and Michael said "that's it, we're putting that stuff on his fingers." So at nap time, we slathered it on (it's like nail polish) and put him in bed for his nap. His fingers went immediately into his mouth and about a second later they came flying back out and the tears started flowing! Since his finger sucking was his self soothing method, the nap that day didn't happen. While we were listening to him cry on the monitor about how yucky it tasted, we thought, maybe we should have tried it ourselves before we made our two year old be the guinea pig!! So Michael put some on this thumb and gave it a good suck, then he proceeded to gag and almost dry heave! I just gave it the tiniest lick and needed to immediately go brush my teeth. But we had decided to stick with it and three days later, he was done sucking his fingers!!! We could see it was a struggle for him to keep his fingers out of his mouth especially at nap time and bed time and when he was tired. They would creep up to his mouth and then you could tell he would remember the awful taste and curl his fingers up under his chin. It was hard watching him go through it, but we knew it was the best thing for him, his teeth, and our pocket book. We kept the bottle in his bathroom and he would point to it when he was brushing his teeth and say "that tastes yucky!" And I would ask him what it reminded him not to do and he would reply "Don't suck the fingers!" I'm so thankful that kicking this habit was relatively easy and inexpensive, and while some of these pictures are cute, we are definitely glad it's over with!! We are so proud of you Wesley!

Wild Rivers!

On August 10th, we took Wesley for his first, and most likely only, trip to Wild Rivers. I had mentioned in this post back when Wes was about 9 months old that I hoped he'd be able to go just once before they closed, and since it's looks like this will actually be their last summer, we didn't want the opportunity to pass us by!

Mike and I loved reminiscing about all the memories we had here as kids. So funny how the smell of pungent chlorine takes you right back to junior high!

Auntie Jessica, Grandma Susie, Haley, Gia and Cash came along with us too.

It was kind of cool to hang out in the kiddie area since I've never actually spent any time over there. It was a little scary though because, while there are a few new things, I don't think a single piece of the original equipment has been updated!

Wes and Daddy in the Lazy River.

Here's Wes heading down the kiddie version of Congo River Rapids.

The first time he went down he was shouting "I need help!" which I know because, as Michael was walking back down to meet us, a lady stopped him and told him what Wes was saying and that he was cracking her up. He went down a couple more time, but I don't think it was his favorite.

A little video of Wes on the mini Rapids.

This one he did seem to like until....

...he got stuck in the middle and needed to be rescued by the lifeguard!

Daddy had to come to the rescue this time.

Auntie Jessica, Cash, and Gia playing on the pirate ship.

This splash pad area is, somewhat, new. Meaning it wasn't here when we were kids.

Watching some of the big slides. I felt kind of jipped being pregnant and not being able to go on anything (yet still having to pay the full ticket price!). It would have been fun to do a couple of these for old times sake!

Wes enjoyed these splash pad areas and it was something I could do too!

We brought our own lunch and had a nice little picnic in the outside picnic area.

I took a lot of pictures just for fun so we can remember what it looked like when it's gone.

Splashing with Grandma Susie and Gia.

I wasn't sure this old pink monkey could handle the pushes Daddy was giving Wes, but I think this might have been his favorite part of the day!

The volcano by the wave pool. Wes is still talking about the "bolcano" at Wild Rivers.

Daddy telling Wes how when he was a kid, he and his friends would bring their own boogie boards and fins and spend hours catching waves in the wave pool.

Our friends Adam and Chelsea joined us later in the day too. Here they are getting ready to brave the waves.

We got a pina colada smoothie as a treat, which was perfect since it turned out to be a hot day!

Wes and Chelsea waiting while their dads head to the top of Sweitzer Falls.

I missed Mike's entrance, but I'm sure it made him feel like a kid again. Wild River's - we'll miss you when you're gone, but thanks for all the memories, then and now!

Baking Frenzy

I've been on a baking kick recently. It's always been one of my favorite activities because the end results are the real prize. I have some fire department friends who bake lots of goodies and send them off with their husbands to the fire station to share with all the guys. What a waste of time!! (sorry guys) If I don't get to eat the fruits of my labor what's the point?? Here's what I've been baking recently:

Banana Nut Blueberry Muffins: (modified a little from the Joy of Cooking Cookbook - one of my all-time favorites, the amount of cooking knowledge in that book is ridiculous!)

Preheat oven to 375. Spray, grease or line 12-muffin pan (adding the blueberries made about 14)

Mix together:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (will use half all purpose, half whole wheat next time)

1/2 cup wheat bran

2 t baking powder

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t kosher salt

1/8 t nutmeg

Stir in:

2/3 c coarsely chopped walnuts

Wisk together:

1 egg

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2-3 mashed ripe bananas

3 T vegetable oil

3 T apple sauce

1 t vanilla

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with a few light strokes. Add 1 cup blueberries. Mix until just moistened, batter should be lumpy. Divide batter into muffin pan. Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean about 18 minutes. Let cool 2-3 minutes then remove from pan.

Waffles: This is a recipe from Alton Brown's Good Eats show. Mike and I saw it, and have been making this waffle recipe ever since. I had left over buttermilk (from a non-baking recipe) so I made these for Wes and myself THIS morning!! Oh my goodness, I'm blogging about something that actually happened today, this is a first!! I'm so proud of myself. Of course, this doesn't mean that I'm caught up though.

Traditional/Blueberry Waffles (can you tell blueberries have been on sale recently?)

1 c all purpose flour

1 c whole wheat flour

2 T sugar

1 t kosher salt

1/2 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

3 eggs

4 T melted butter

2 c room temp buttermilk (Alton says this is important, but I just try to take it out of the fridge when I start to get everything ready)

Mix dry ingredients together

Beat together eggs and melted butter, then add buttermilk and mix together (I just use a fork)

Add went ingredients to dry ingredients and fold with a spatula. (I usually add a couple handfulls of fresh or frozen blueberries here) Do not overmix! Let rest for 5 minutes

Spray waffle iron with Pam and fill with batter. Cook to desired crispness!

Chocolate Waffles: Alton also made these on the show and they are to die for! I usually cut this recipe in half, make them, and freeze them and then have them for dessert (that is, of course, if they don't get eaten during breakfast, which has happened more than once!)

3/4 c all purpose flour

3/4 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa (I think 1/3 c is enough)

1 t baking powder

1 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

3 eggs (I just use 1 if I'm halving the recipe)

4 T melted butter

2 c room temperature buttermilk

1 t vanilla

3/4 c chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients together. Beat together eggs and melted butter, then add buttermilk, and vanilla and beat together (again, I just use a fork)

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold with a spatula. Add chocolate chips and do not over mix! Let rest for 5 minutes.

Spray waffle iron with Pam and let cook to desired crispness.

For dessert these are awesome with chopped strawberries and whipped cream or they're pretty darn good with some sausage and real maple syrup :)

There are always lots of left over waffles from these recipes and they freeze great. I just defrost them a little and pop them in the toaster.

And recently we were at my mom's house and were discussing brownie recipes and Michael and I both agreed on our favorite all-time brownie recipe, so I just had to make them:

Martha Stewart's Double Chocolate Brownies

Vegetable Oil cooking Spray

6 T unsalted butter

6 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 all -purpose flour (I usually do 1/2 c all purpose 1/4 c whole wheat...healthy brownies!)

1/4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt (I usually use kosher)

2 eggs

1 c sugar (I usually use 3/4 c )

2 t vanilla

Preheat over to 350. Line 8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper leaving overhang all around. Coat with cooking spray and set aside.

Melt together butter, chocolate and cocoa in a double boiler. Remove from heat stir until smooth and let cool slightly.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Put eggs, sugar and vanilla into a bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat until pale about 4 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture. Add flour mixture, beat until just combined, scraping down sides as needed.

Transfer batter to prepared pan, smoothing top with spatula (I usually sprinkle chocolate chips on top). Bake 30-35 minutes, do not over bake. Let cool 15 minutes, transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

I love this recipe for a couple of reasons, you don't have to clean the brownie pan, love the parchment paper! Second, they are salty and chocolaty, one of my favorite combo's and third, an 8x8 pan doesn't make a ton of brownies, so it's perfect to have a couple, share a couple and then they're gone :) I can't wait to explain to my doctor why I've gained more than my allotted weight this month. Happy baking!

Dinner Crashers

A couple of weekends ago, we didn't have plans on Saturday night, so Mike called Uncle Kevin to see what they were up to. They were planning to go to the Bluffs for their community taco cart night and invited us to come along (of course I needed to call Auntie Chrissy to confirm that we weren't crashing or anything!). Since we weren't, we headed down to Dana Point for a beautiful evening of friends and mexican food.

The boys took the golf cart and the girls took the car.

Cody's Mimi and Poppy were there along with his cousins Madison and Ashlynn.

They were pointing out the whales, we probably saw four or five!

Can you see the delirium setting in after running around for a couple of hours?! Thanks for letting us crash Rausch family!