If you give your toddler a teaspoon...

he will ask you to make cupcakes.

After deciding the sad looking bunch of bananas on the kitchen counter would make perfectly good banana chocolate chip muffins ("cupcakes"), you will pull up a chair to the island.

Once the toddler is in his designated cooking chair, he will want to help pour.

And stir.

After he is done stirring and mixing, he will want to taste.  Even if it's just flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

After you pry the bowl away from him, you will distract him with chocolate chips and then give him his own little bowl of flour to play with while you finish the muffins.

When you turn back around, you will realize you probably gave him a little too much flour.

Then he will promptly need a bath and you will need to change your shirt (and clean up the kitchen).

Once he is out of the bath, he will want to dry his hair.

To encourage him to get dressed, you will remind him of the "cupcakes" that are ready to eat in the kitchen.

And once he's back in the kitchen, he will remember how fun it was to "help" you bake.

And will inevitably want to make more cupcakes, to which you will hastily reply, "All done!"

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Never a dull moment, and I love it.

The muffins came out delicious!  Recipe can be found here.  :)

WILW

Linking up for another WILW, hosted by Jamie!

I am loving that in two days R and I leave for Denver for a wedding.  R is the best man and we get to enjoy the whole weekend just the two of us!  Is it wrong for me to be excited about that?!?

I am loving that one of my friends just found out that she is expecting!  It almost makes me want to start trying for another.  But then I think of wine and sushi or I deal with my two year old's tantrums, and I'm okay waiting a little longer.  ;)

I am loving how excited G was when he opened the mail yesterday.  He had three letters addressed to him, all containing stickers!  We participated in a sticker chain letter thing, and these letters were the first batch to arrive.  I think we are set for a while in the sticker department.

I am loving crossfit even though it is totally kicking my a*%!  My dad is such a trooper and has been powering through the workouts right alongside me.  And my dainty girly hands are starting to get callused up.  I just ordered these shoes from Zappos to use during class.

Via

I am loving that we are officially paci free!  G cried the first couple of nights for a few minutes max, but he really has transitioned well.  Now it's time to work on getting him back to sleeping in his own room... dun dun dun.

What are you loving this week??

Life with a toddler

Some days, I feel like I have this mom thing down pat.  By the end of the night, I'm ready to give myself a big gold star for a job well done.  Most days, though, I have moments where I am worn out and am grateful that we all survived another day.

This parenting business is not easy, but luckily it's also pretty awesome.  This toddler business, however, leaves me scratching my head and wondering, "Do I really want another?"

The tantrums!  The drama!  The secret toddler language that I feel like they invent on purpose so we can't always understand them!  Kidding... mostly.

Lately I have been trying to always give him my undivided attention when we are together, but it's hard.  I also know that all of these precious moments will be gone in a blink of an eye, and I better make the most of this time while I have it.

**I realize as I'm writing this that some moms are probably thinking, "Psh.. you only have one kid.  Seriously?!?  Just wait!"  Please allow me to wallow in my ignorant state.

Gone country

Okay, not really, but we did go "camping" this weekend!  And by camping, I mean we did go visit my family at their campsite for several hours on Saturday... hehe.  My parents recently bought a new camper and have been itching to use it.  My big sis and her fam have one as well, so now camping is a the big family adventure.  R was gone for the weekend, so I decided to make the hour drive and let G explore the great outdoors with his cousins.

I left before his nap thinking he would sleep all the way there.  Wrong.  He feel asleep about fifteen minutes prior to our arrival.

At least he wasn't grumpy while we were there!  Again, I thought he for sure would sleep all the way home.  Nope, wrong again!

He loved wading in the water with my nieces!  I didn't anticipate this little "swim," so I didn't plan ahead and bring a swimsuit, hence the diaper.

I also didn't anticipate that he would take a huge poop right in the lake - doh!  Lesson learned: always keep the diaper on!  No pics of that (you're welcome).

Other things he enjoyed... playing with rocks (who doesn't love this?)...

He also enjoyed his first boat road, courtesy of Aunt Kim.  Anytime she had to slow down in the wake zones, he would say, "Go!"

 I thought it was going to be cooler and wore jeans and a black t-shirt... fail.  

Safe to say, I think he was a fan of our "camping" adventure.  I'm already looking forward to our next one!

Operation paci detox

Folks, we are officially on night one of operation paci detox, known as OPD in our house.  We had already limited the paci use to sleeping only this past week and felt that we were ready for the big step.

Two year old is asleep (in our bed) and no paci is in sight.  Fingers are crossed!!!

P.S. Only since I became a mom would I ever have thought of writing something like this.  Sigh.

WILW

I'm linking up with Jamie again for another installment of What I Love Wednesday!

I am loving all of the below from pinterest ... 

I am loving my new dress from The Blue Door Boutique!

Via

I am loving the new TOMS campus classics ... especially in the burnt orange, of course!

Via

I am loving this picture of the wedding party from my sister's wedding!

I am loving Parenthood.  That show always makes me tear up and next week's episode looks like a total tear jerker.  I can't believe they considered canceling it after last season, especially when there are new shows coming out like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.  Ugh!

I am loving this beautiful weather and getting some vitamin D play time with my favorite sidekick.

Who is this big boy who is all of a sudden climbing the playscape and going down the big twirly slide all by himself?!?

I am loving that I saw one of my former students today and he said hi to me very enthusiastically from across the cafeteria.  So sweet.  :)

And finally, I am loving that it's already Wednesday!

Seven good little things

1. We had rain all weekend.  There was a break on Saturday morning, so we were able to get away to the park and enjoy some fresh air.  We really need the rain though, and since we didn't have anywhere we had to be, it was nice to sit at home all cozy and enjoy it!  Also, rainy weekends call for pancake breakfasts, no?  Especially when it's pancake mix from Kerbey Lane.

(1) Yes, that's really a pancake and not a steak.  (2) All I needed was a side of Kerbey queso to make my life complete - YUM!

2. We were given our student pairings at work today (FYI, I'm a freshman algebra tutor part-time), and my students seem to be really sweet and promising math students.

3. I'm loving that my DVR is back to work again with the fall line-up.  Not that I need to watch TV or have much time for it, really, but I like to have things on my recorded list for when I do have the time.

4. I signed G up for a new gym class and we start tomorrow... I guess today, officially.  We went to a preview class last week with a friend and he loved it.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are my days at home with him, so I like to have one planned event on the agenda.

5. Somehow I failed to mention last week that G had his tear duct tubes removed.  It wasn't as painful (the process, not the actual removal) as I had anticipated.  He gets so incredibly anxious at the doctor these days and cries as soon as his name is called in the waiting room.  This particular eye doctor always has a crazy busy office, so I knew going in it was probably going to be an hour long wait (yuck!).  Plus, they call you back to ask you questions first and then send you back out to wait again before actually seeing the doc.  No bueno when you have a two year old who thinks that you are done after the first call back.  He handled everything as well as I could have hoped, and it only took two of us to hold him down (really, not as bad as I had anticipated) during the removal.  He gave the doctor a very loud goodbye on our way out (ha!), we celebrated his bravery (and my survival, of course) with Chick-Fil-A and a Hey Cupcake!, and his eyes have still looked fabulous since.  Yay!

6. This story from the high school football game this past Friday.  It was the best moment hands down and brought tears to my eyes.  I'll admit it... now that I'm a mom, I've grown more sentimental and can't tease my mom as much for crying at Hallmark commercials.  Maybe that's what happens after four kids???  But in all seriousness, it was pretty fabulous to witness.

7.  Fall!  It's starting to feel like it's finally here even though technically it's still not.  I found a list of fifty pumpkin recipes that looks amazing and am looking forward to using all of my organic canned pumpkin from the pantry.  Sidenote: R could not understand why I kept bringing home canned pumpkin last year from the grocery store, so I tried to explain that the closer it gets to the holidays, the harder it is to find when you really want it.  Anyone else feel me on that?

And those are my seven good little things for this week.  Oh, and this one too, just because I love them so...

Happy Tuesday!

Life lately ... and a winner!

First things first ... the winner of the Krama Wheel giveaway is ...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations, Meghan!  I'll be e-mailing you to get your scarf color preference and mailing address.  Thank you so much to everyone who participated.  I'm happy that you seem to love Krama Wheel as much as I do.  :)

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Is it just me, or do the weeks seem to be flying by?  This week we battled our first back-to-school fever (thanks daycare!), had a much needed big boy hair cut (no tears this time!), and enjoyed some Friday night lights (after all, this is Texas!).

I hadn't been back to see my high school alma mater play since freshman year of college.  It's crazy how so much seems to change while so much stays the same ... same cheerleader routines, same sheriff walking the bleachers, and the same school song.  

The weather feels heavenly and we are actually getting rain (!!!).

Is it sad when temperatures in the 80's feel like a dream?  I think so.  I even had to wear a jacket tonight to stay warm!

We have very few plans for the weekend, which is a nice break from the non-stop go!go!go!  I hope you and yours have a relaxing one as well.

WILW: A scarf giveaway!

**If you missed my post explaining Krama Wheel, please check it out here.**

For this week's What I Love Wednesday, I want to share my love of Krama Wheel with all of you and host my first ever giveaway!  This company is very near and dear to my heart.

Via

Realistically, I don't expect a huge turnout because let's face it, my blog following is small.  That means any of my seven faithful followers or any lurkers out there (hey guys!) has a pretty decent shot at winning one of these beautiful scarves for free.  Yes, free!  As in, at zero cost to you.

Via

You may be sitting at your computer and wondering, "What the heck is Krama Wheel?"  Please check out this awesome video...

My dear friend from middle school (yikes, that makes me feel old!) started this company with a dream to help a community and give children access to education.

One of my favorite things about Krama Wheel is that each scarf has a namesake.  How cool is that?!?  Every time I wear my orange paje, I will think about sweet Paje and his dreams of becoming a pilot.

Via
An example of a scarf and its namesake.

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My giveaway is very simple.  It starts today and ends on Friday at midnight.  There are four possible ways for you enter, and all you have to do is follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter below.  I'll announce the winner Sunday morning by 10:00 (CST), and that winner will get to choose the scarf of his/her choice!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


If you do not win, please consider purchasing a scarf anyway or simply spreading the message about Krama Wheel to your loved ones.  Christmas is around the corner and these scarves would make a wonderful present with an important story.

Good luck!

Little moments

We've been making lots of memories this past week.  These little moments always remind me of what Ms. Pam (one of G's favorite teachers from last year) says, "It's not the product but the process."  I love this!  I always try to keep this in mind when I'm re-thinking my best made plans for a two year old and things aren't going like I had envisioned in my head.  :)

We have been busy playing play doh (always a favorite at our house)...

We did an art project for someone special involving paint (eeeek!)...

We then went outside to paint the rocks with water because someone was upset that the painting project had come to an end...

We met up with friends at the mall to ride the carousel...

We've been reading lots of books and one of his favorites is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Recently, he hasn't wanted to read it, but instead, he flips through looking for his favorite page...  the one with all of the junk food that the very hungry caterpillar eats through on Saturday (he is soooo my child!).

He's in this stage right now where he likes to point to things on each page we are reading and have me say what it is.  So, we are talking about all of the (delicious) junk foods and he zeroes in on the cupcake.  He was verrrrry interested in the cupcake, so naturally, I asked, "Do you want a cupcake?"  What do you think his response was??

He's a natural!

Can you tell which ones he did himself?  :)

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't give in to his every whim, but we had never done baking before together and I knew we had a mix that was going to expire soon.  Also, I failed to document the ginormous tantrum that occurred right after I put the cupcakes in the oven.  Apparently, he didn't seem to understand that we actually have to bake the cupcakes and wasn't a fan of waiting.  At all.  He gets that from his daddy.  :)

Later that night, mommy treated herself to a cupcake (or two) after a certain two year old was asleep...

No, we didn't ice the cupcakes and the glass of wine was a nice accompaniment.  

I like to be extra classy and drink my wine out of a normal glass.  That way, it can go in the dishwasher and I have one less thing to hand wash.  Classy and practical, eh?

We also went to a cool story time that had a special petting zoo...

Bunnies... 

and tortoises...

and chicks, oh my!

We went to a birthday party for one of his little friends at the children's museum...

I promise G had fun!  He only cried when I made him sit with his two buddies to take a picture.  

Otherwise, we have spent our time doing two things: eating and being cute...

Oh!  And also throwing tantrums, but people say that's par for the two year old course, and I don't have pictures of those.  :)  We have also eliminated the paci except for at night and during nap (at home).  This may seem like baby steps, but this is a huge deal for us!  The next step is to get him back in his own bed once the window treatments are installed mañana and then we will work on getting rid of the paci altogether.  Whew!

Little moments with my little man...

Life is good.