Stranger Danger?

Apparently reading the Berenstein Bear book about Strangers is not really doing the trick with Addison. Today it was such a beautiful day outside (hello! 78 degrees....in July....in Kansas) that we had a picnic lunch at a nearby park. Addison immediately ran over to the nearest parent helping her kid on the slide and said "Hi! I'm Addison!" Then she did it again to two more adults. It takes her a little bit longer with other kids, but she usually says hi and plays with them. Today some elementary aged girls were playing and one said hi to Addison. Addison said "Just a minute! I need to get something!" She sprinted over to the blanket where I was sitting with Ainsley and started digging through my purse. Out came an empty sandwich bag! She ran over to the little girl and said "We can play catch the bag!!!" Unfortunately "catch the bag" did not sound as delightful to Addison's new friend, and Addison's excitement was met with a blank stare Oh well. "A" for effort right?

In napping news (which makes for an oh so thrilling post) I am willing to put my intense need to get out of the house on a daily basis on the back burner for awhile if it means Ainsley can get the rest she needs. Plus I am enjoying the extra time I have to read books and play games with Addison. I enjoyed Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child very much. Thanks for the suggestion Carmen, Em and Erica! I wish I had read it when Addison was little. Oh well. She survived.

Nap City

I finally received my copy of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child from the library. As I was perusing through it, I saw the action plan for babies 5-12 months old. Apparently they are supposed to wake up at 7:00, nap at 9:00, nap at 1:00, possibly nap at 5:00, and go to bed at 7. That's all fine and good, but when the heck am I supposed to go to the grocery store or take Addison to play with her friends? Why does it all have to be so complicated? I do like the book a lot though. This guy knows his sleep stuff.

MMMMMMM

When we were in the Springs Keri made this really good dinner. I copied the recipe down and made it tonight. Since it's so easy, cheap and GOOD I thought I would share it with you.

Chicken Succotash from Rachael Ray (we'll just pretend it comes from someone less annoying who doesn't shorten the words to everything, and who doesn't name her own brand of dog food a dumb name like Nutrish)

2 T butter
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced separately
salt and pepper
one 10 ox box frozen corn
1 cup frozen lima beans, thawed
1 cup heavy cream
21/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (Keri and I poach chicken breasts in broth and it turns out very tasty)
1 tomato, chopped

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the scallion whites, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring for two minutes. Add the corn, lima beans and cream and bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, 4 to 5 min. Stir in the tomato and scallion greens just before serving.

I couldn't find lima beans at Hy-vee, so I just bought a bag of frozen veggies and thawed them in the microwave a little bit. They worked just fine.

We served them over biscuits. Keri made hers, but I bought the kind in a tube. Before I went to the store I thought I'd try to make them from scratch to save money. I got there and they were only $1.08. Heck yeah baby!!!

You know this dinner is good when Devin said "This is good!" while eating it (refer to this post: http://blessedimperfection.blogspot.com/2009/06/hellooooo-friday.html

Sharks are mean

Check out my friend Julia's blog.

Why didn't I think of this?

Patrick Largen posted this on facebook and I thought it was too priceless not to post on my blog. I guess there's always my vow renewals. Then again, can you really see Devin doing this? I'm gonna go with a big fat no!




This post is dedicated to Jules, who literally got bit by a shark and needs a pick me up. No one likes to dance as much as she does.

Picnic

Addison hosted a picnic for giraffe and her baby doll named Pablo, Tyrone, Riley or 2 (depending on the day). Here are some things I overheard during their picnic:

"Dear God, we love you. Thank you for our trip. Thank you for Uncle Eric's house and Aunt Caitlyn's house. Amen."

"Don't kick her! You're going in timeout!"

"You hit BJ and you hit kitty! You're going in timeout!"

"Do you need help eating your food?"

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" (when she spilled the plate)

Devin Riley, PE

Here are some pictures from Devin's PE (professional engineer license) ceremony in Topeka


































































My parents came as well, and they took us to Granite City for dinner afterward! Yum!