Aggie Growth Chart

Gene has mentioned a couple of times that he wants a growth chart so that we can measure little Katelynn's height periodically. For some reason it never occurred to me, so I am glad that Daddy thought about it. Yesterday I found the perfect on one Amazon - it is wooden and themed around Texas A&M football, with yard lines representing inches. When Gene saw it he said "Yes, get that one."

We will put it up in our laundry room and begin our measuring quest. Katelynn's two-year well checkup is in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to get a height prediction from the doc!

Black Friday at CVS!

I have been in love with the CVS bargain shopping experience for some time, but the Thanksgiving deals there were unbelievable. Their crazy ad actually began on Thanksgiving, so I was there at 8 am when the store opened for my own "Black Thursday." (By the way, I did not set foot in a store on Black Friday.)

I spent $25 out of pocket, and left the store with $15 in store credits for the future. And, here is what I got for that:

-4 rapid release tylenols (24 ct each)

-Covergirl powder makeup

-Covergirl liquid foundation

-L'oreal liquid foundation

-L'oreal lipgloss x 2

-Aussie hair products x 2

-Bic Soleil razors x 2

-24 rolls of Viva paper towels

-2 deodorants

-1 Phillips ear buds for my iphone

-2 whitening toothpastes

-2 big boxes of Whitman's chocolates

-1 box of tampons

-1 package of Garnier facial cleansing cloths

-1 Sally Hansen nail polish

-Hershey bar, king size

-3 Gatorades

-1 newspaper

-1 L'oreal hair color

WOW! I just couldn't resist bragging about an awesome morning of bargain shopping. There were three other gals doing the exact same thing as me... we coupon-o-holics were bonding at the CVS on Thanksgiving morning!

Growing Up

My little girl turned two last week, which is so hard for me to believe. The other day I thought about how fast the last two years have gone, and realized that I am going to blink and have a four year old before I know it!

Each day with my little one brings such a mixture of joy and frustration. My character is growing and growing as the virtues of patience, kindness, and gentleness are tested over and over with each Katelynn tantrum, mis-behavior, or "MOMMY NO!" Likewise, my heart overflows with love and happiness when we have a tickle-fest, when I am pushing a content little girl in a swing, or when she gives me a big bear hug.

Mommyhood has changed me in ways I never could have imagined. Did I really know love before this? Of course I love my husband, family and friends. But the love that one experiences as a parent is downright scary!

Turkey SUCCESS!

This year the Thanksgiving family events were in my home. I delegated many dishes to my family members, but retained responsibility for the bird and a few other things. In the past, I have been a coward and avoided the big bird, sticking to breasts. This year I decided to take advantage of my free turkey from Kroger and give it a whirl.

First I endured the preparation process of removing that disgusting neck from the turkey cavity. Gene told me that I needed to reach all the way in to feel for the giblets and I just about lost my lunch. We then discovered that the giblets were hidden in the butt. These things should come with instructions on the package!

I found a highly reviewed recipe on All Recipes and covered my turkey in a yummy herb mixture, listed below. I covered it up, left it in the oven, and didn't mess with it again until 3 hours later. And - it was perfectly done! The bird was so tender that it was falling apart when I lifted it onto a cutting board. I felt pretty proud of myself! And this herb baste will be my "go-to" recipe anytime I prepare turkey in the future.

I did leave the gravy making to my mom. Maybe next year I will pay more attention to how she did it so I can learn to do that as well!

Easy Herb Roasted Turkey
1 (12 pound) whole turkey
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups water


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Clean turkey (discard giblets and organs), and place in a roasting pan with a lid. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic powder, dried basil, ground sage, salt, and black pepper. Using a basting brush, apply the mixture to the outside of the uncooked turkey. Pour water into the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover. Bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh measures 180 degrees F. Remove bird from oven, and allow to stand for about 30 minutes before carving.

New Slow Cooker Staple

The hubby is generally not a fan of foods prepared in the slow cooker. I have been looking for recipes he might enjoy produced from this wonderful contraption that requires so little effort on my part! Recently I found a gem that will now be a "winter staple" in the Kim household - chicken tortilla soup! I got it from Allrecipes and made a few modifications to it. Here it is as I prepared it, in case you are interested!

1 pound raw chicken
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce (medium in spiciness)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 can of corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
tortilla chips, avocado, and cheese as desired for garnish

Mix all non-garnish items together in the slow cooker. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. Shred chicken about halfway through cooking then return to slow cooker.

Something Better than the Park?!

The only thing Katelynn seems to love more than the park is... being at the park with her best buddies, Bobby & Lindsay!

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice

Katelynn learned about hair rollers and bows when her friend Charissa came to visit her all the way from Michigan. They had a great time together. Thanks for driving all that way, Charissa! Next year maybe you can convince Katelynn that it is a good idea to wear dresses, too.

Listen And Obey

I definitely feel I'm getting my money's worth from KK's pre-school when she comes home shouting "OBEY!" I am pretty sure she has no idea what it really means yet... but it never hurts to start drilling the word into her head early!

Communication

Katelynn continues to amaze me each week with her leaps and bounds in vocabulary and ability to communicate. She suddenly knows how to speak in sentences - at least short ones. I overhear her singing nearly all the words to "Jesus Loves Me", "Jingle Bells", and the ABC song in the car or in her crib.

The other day, her sleeves were rolled up. She looked at me and said, very clearly: "Mommy, uncomfortable." Then last night she told me her pajamas were "cozy".

Having a little communicator is lots of fun!

Writer's Block

So, last week we had company the whole week. And since then I just seem to be out of material for some reason. So I figured I would post a few of the awesome pictures that my brother Griff took at the park a couple of weeks ago!

The Deal Seeking Mom

I took a break from couponing when I was very busy with work. Now that the busy-ness has died down, I am ready to start up again. Many of you know that I have long used a service called The Grocery Game , as evidenced in numerous posts including this first excited post. The Grocery Game is a pay service - very reasonably priced. But I have been curious about other sites that are out there, where coupon lovers just share information for free. (Thanks to friend Kristi for alerting me to this!)

As I have been perusing the many blogs and websites on saving money, I came across a gem that I have enjoyed very much called The Deal Seeking Mom. I like the clean and uncluttered posts that get straight to the point. Plus you can receive a daily email that provides you a quick-to-read summary of various great deals. They also give a very nice weekly summary of the best deals at CVS, and shopping at CVS is a must for the true deal seeker!

Diversions

The TV does nothing for Katelynn, and she is so over her toys. This girl wants to be constantly entertained with something new and exciting.

The other day she asked to get in the kitchen sink. The instinctive mommy response is "What? Get in the sink?! No way!" But then I thought about it... what could it really hurt? So into the kitchen sink KK went... with a trickle of running warm water and lots of measuring cups to fill.

She played happily on her own for an hour. I got so much done! I folded laundry, caught up on emails, emptied the dishwasher... all with a peacefully splashing, non-whining toddler within sight. Of course, I ended up with a big water mess to clean... but it was soooo worth it.

Baking with Mommy

Last week I wanted to make something fun for Halloween, but knew that Katelynn would follow me around the kitchen whining, holding onto my leg, and repeating "Up up, Hold you mommy" about 500 times in a row. Way too exhausting to be worth it.

But then I decided that maybe KK was old enough to "help" mommy. I pulled a chair over to the counter and she watched me measure and stir ingredients, all the while trying to excitedly stick her little fingers in the bowl. She was so fascinated that she even overcame her previous deep-seated fear of the beater. And, she was inducted to one of the best childhood rites of passage - the licking of the beater! (Note to Nanna: I know she should not have the raw egg. But how could I deny her this?!)

Pictures below show Katelynn enjoying her beater, and the resulting "Mummy Cupcakes." The decorating occurred during her nap!

Halloween and a Headstrong Toddler

I have the kid that wouldn't wear her Halloween costume! (No surprise - see previous post on iron will!) I had an adorable hand-me-down Elmo costume for her, but apparently her love affair with Elmo has ended. Every time she saw him, the beginning stages of a tantrum were evident.

So, KK went out trick-or-treating in her too-small velour pants and jacket - her latest clothing obsession. If I had enough foresight, I could have stuck a number on the front and back of her, given her a water bottle to carry, and she could have been a marathon runner! Oh well...

The lack of costume ultimately did not bother her at all. She got a huge kick out of going from door-to-door and having candy dumped into her pumpkin bag (which she called her "purse"). And next year I will let her pick her own costume at the store. No doubt it will be made of super soft fleece...

Iron Will

I knew my little one was headstrong. But she has become obsessed about controlling the clothing that goes on her body.

On Thursday, she had pictures at pre-school. I took three cute dresses out of the closet and told her to pick. She did not want any of them. These days, the girl will only wear something if it is made out of super-soft fleece. She only has a few items in her wardrobe that meet that criteria. Mom cannot afford to re-build her toddler wardrobe!

I picked the softest dress of the three and put it on her, thinking that she would get over it. We were running late. She was screaming and crying. I realized that the pre-school teachers were going to have to deal with 5 hours of screaming and crying. She did not want anything to do with this dress.

So I did what any strong mom would do... I gave up. I yanked a pink fleece outfit from the drawer and KK immediately turned to smiles. Gone are the days of dressing up my little girl...sniff...sniff.

New Hair-Do

For sometime, KK has had just enough hair to wear a little barrett or fashion a tiny ponytail. But she did not want anyone messing with her head. So she goes through life with her little crazy fly-away mop most of the time.

For some reason, she decided to let me try it recently. We immediately marched to the mirror and I had a long discussion about how beautiful she was. I think she got a lot of attention at pre-school too, because she has now started asking for the ponytail.

A small victory!

Make Me a Face

When my brother Griff and I were kids, we often asked my mom to make "face plates" for dinner. We would implore: "Mom, make me a face!" She would stick her tongue out and we would groan. Then she would make a creative dinner of some sort.

I don't think it ever occurred to my mom to take a picture of one of her creations. But in this crazy high tech world of blogging, it certainly occurred to me!


So (drum roll)....this is KK's first face plate. I should have done it on a white plate. The busy Noah's ark artwork is clouding up my artistic endeavors. But, you get the idea.