A Recipe & Truvia Review

I wanted to pass on this fantastic recipe I found while reading my blogs...it's a crock pot recipe...my favorite...since I don't get home until around 6 every night! Anyway it turned out fantastic...next time I'll probably make a double batch and freeze half...and we were saying it would probably be really tasty with a little ground up lean Italian sausage in it too.

Pasta Fagoili
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/day-305.html

The only thing I did differently was I cooked a whole box of pasta on the side...I DID add the 1/2 cup dry pasta to the crock pot like it says...I think it helps thicken the soup...and the noodles did cook right up. We just like more noodles...so we put some in our bowls before adding the soup over top...it was good stuff!

TRUVIA...like Keri said a while back
http://owencroberts.blogspot.com/2008/12/letter-to-my-favorite-no-cal-sweetener.html

it's been talked about that Splenda isn't so great for you...yes, it's 0 calories and all, but the chemicals it's made of just aren't' that great for you.

SO! While I didn't get around to making any new years resolutions (we were pretty busy that day...with Chase's tonsil/adenoid-ectomy!) I have been trying to treat my body a bit better...whole wheat as much as possible, 5-minute oatmeal with skim milk and strawberries for breakfast, a daily multi-vitamin (I keep them at work so I remember to take them!)...and cutting back on the artificial stuff...so long crystal lite and Splenda! (weeps). SO! I have bought myself a box of TRUVIA packets to try it out. My thoughts? It's really sweet! 1 packet in my oatmeal in the AM is way sweeter than Splenda was...and it's too much to put in coffee/tea...I guess I could scale down and use a 1/2 a packet or something...but other than that...I'm a fan.

When life brings you lemons...

I know, I know....you are supposed to make lemonade!

We have been going through clementines all winter long, and Chase had the idea that he wanted to make lemonade the other morning...with Clementines. It was REALLY hard to de-program him from the whole lemonade thing, into saying that he was going to make orange juice...he was dead-set on lemonade!

EDITORS NOTES:

1) What, you don't wear zip-up Christmas footie jammies in February? Live a little!
2) The cabinet locks you see on everything...life-savers...we have the ones you push down on the insides of the cabinets, but of course both kids mastered them long ago...so we have double reinforcement. Also? The one on the fridge...the best idea ever, if I do say so myself...Chase is a male...therefore if we let him, he'd stand with the fridge door open, shooting cool-whip from the can in his mouth, scratching his butt, asking what's for dinner...I'm just not ready for 2 males in the house doing that ;o)
3) **Mommy bragging rights**...this was totally Chase's idea to use the pampered chef ice-tea pitcher with the press/mixer thing on it...you know, so he could squish his orange...I was really proud of him for thinking of that on his own!

Here he is getting water and ice...it of course shoots out EVERYWHERE but hey...

That orange has no idea what's coming!Take that you little section of orange!
All done...every chef must taste his creation...he has this stash of party cups...they are all different animals and the faces fold down to make favor cups or something? Anyway, he loves them.
Delish!

If you're SASSY and you know it...

Oh my...miss Addy is going to give us a run for our money...that is a guarantee. She is such a little diva BUT she is still the sweetest little thing, most of the time. ;o)

My little Punky Brewster...check out the getup! You can't see it very well but she is wearing my pony-tail holder as a bracelet (I keep one on my wrist at all times, so I guess she thinks it's stylish?) slid up to her elbow. She was kind enough to pull out her binky for the first photo...that's all she would give me





I carried her up in the little laundry basket with a pile of folded clothes...she was only 23 lbs, 7oz at her 2 YEAR CHECKUP last week! She has started stripping me of my jewelry when I come through the door at night...all of my necklaces are piled up on top of her dresser in her room...so since she's still sleeping when I leave for work, I've been accessory-less all week :o)
Here she's storming off crying b/c I wouldn't give her the camera...I think she looks so funny marching off with her hair all messed up and her tu-tu on. Life is seriously hard when you are 2...I've come to realize that ;o)

Last but not least this video was taken Valentines Day am...listen to that bratty little voice! She knows she's being rotten

Guess where I spent my morning?

OK, make that 2 mornings this week...the Pediatric Dentist...woo hoo!

Actually, the kids were fantastic...on Tuesday Chase was a super-star getting his cleaning done...he's grown up so much since the last time I took him! Last time, we had to bring him back and have him put under with IV sedation to fill 2 cavities (on his front teeth...BAD bottle!) and have his teeth cleaned. He is such a big-guy now! :O)

Addy on the other hand was just as full of piss and vinegar as she always is...she went in for her first exam (they didn't clean them...she gets that at 2.5 years old) and wasn't a "fan" per say...BUT! Aunt Carol came with me to play wing-man, so that was a huge help!

Poor miss-priss has to have her 'Frenulum Labii Superioris' (AKA the piece of tissue connecting your upper lip to your gums...you know, in between your two front teeth?) clipped back when she gets a bit older...like 3...apparently hers is connected all the way down to her gum-line above her front teeth...so we never see her upper front teeth (unless I'm doing tickle-monster or something...she has a cute gap between them)...I just thought that was how her lips were? Anyway, they need to clip it back b/c if she fell and tore it (say if she was drinking from her sippy cup, or had that pesky binky in her mouth) it would bleed like holy hell and be miserable to recover from. Also, we'll be able to see those pretty teeth of hers when she smiles...other than that she has good teeth...to problems to report for her so far! The DR says it's an easy fix...just a little topical antiseptic on it and once it's numb she just lasers it...medical technology is amazing to me. SO, that will be a fun day when the time comes!

I had to take my Chase-monster back this AM to have his upper 2-year molars worked on...he had 2 cavities (GAH! Thanks Bruce for the porous teeth!) so they cleaned them up and then sealed them to make them stronger and hopefully we'll avoid any more cavities back there!

I love our dentist...she is a sweetheart (who is 34 weeks preggo with her 3rd!), and all of her nurses, etc are super with the kids...I guess you have to be to work somewhere like that? So of course, Chase was in love with his nurse. Anyway, they let the kids check out all of the equipment, and then got him comfy in the chair, and popped in a DVD so he could watch Finding Nemo on the overhead flat-screen...so Chase was pretty much in heaven...AND??? he scored some nitrous oxide to make things a little bit smoother around the edges...

Check him out with his "airplane nose" on...as they called it.

PS: I had to sit on the leg part of the chair and hold his hand the entire time...I am going to remind him of that for as long as I live...my little boyfriend! ;o)

ALSO? We are in love with our FLEX spending account on our insurance...it makes life so much easier...we are able to just put all medical expenses right on there and we never feel the dent in our pocket...a set amount gets deducted from Bruce's paycheck, but the full amount is available at the beginning of the year. What a concept! :o)

Valentines Surprise...bowchickawowwow edition

The kids were put to bed...

The teeth had been brushed...

Bruce locked me out of the bedroom for a few minutes...

I heard him shuffling around behind the door...

He finally let me back in...

There were candles lit and rose petals scattered across the floor...very sweet

Bruce had been gone all week...ok, you see where this is going...

I locked the door behind me...

2 minutes later, no more...I hear the door-knob begin to turn, we freeze like deer in the headlights...the knob rattles back and forth...and then the knocking starts...

"It's me, Chasey Bilek, I E K" <---(He always says that, I think he hears us spelling out our last name alot...nobody seems to get it right over the phone)

I um, get myself together and go let him in..."Mommy, the door was locked!" he says in complete shock

He sees the rose petals on the floor and says, word for word, "Oh Daddy, good thinking, what a nice idea, those are great!" and then he proceeded to crawl into bed with us and pass out.

SERIOUSLY...it was the funniest thing that has ever happened, and I will NEVER forget it...way to make Valentines Day memorable, Chasey ;o)

Thank goodness for warm weather!

Like everyone else we took advantage of the awesome weather as much as possible over the weekend, walks, jeep rides (pow, pow, power wheels!) and many trips to the park.

It's amazing what a few months will do for...

CHASE: His social skills...my little buddy was running right up to the other kids asking if they wanted to play tag (as he calls it...tag you're it), saying hi and bye to everyone. Before he used to just play and not talk, and kept more to himself...now he calls everyone his best friend if they play with him. He even had a hot-babe with apple-bottom jeans and boots with the fur (literally...she was seven and her name is Sophie...she was really cute) take a spin with him in his jeep. :o)

ADDY: My little ladybug has no fear...she has that whole "can-do" attitude that makes her stubbornly independent (gee, I wonder where that comes from??? haha) and she thinks she can do everything Chase can...and she was determined to prove it! She was scrambling up the steps and flinging herself down the slides as fast as possible, and running around playing tag, right in the middle of things with all of the bigger kids. There was no way I could be in 2 places at once with her...you know, helping her up the steps (she didn't NEED any help, thank you very much) and then running around to make sure she didn't come shooting off the end of the slide (I think the static cling was her saving grace...it slowed her down a little...) that I just kind of danced around in between the 2 like an idiot :o)

Late yesterday afternoon, we headed over to the big park at Ida Lee to change things up...Addy, my SUPER-NAPPER??? Didn't take a nap all day (I tried 2 different times...she was just up there hanging out, having a party, singing songs and talking) until we got back at like 5...not ready for that! Here are some pictures of the kids racing down the double-slide together...Addy wasn't going to let brother have all the fun without her!