Controlled Chaos... (if there is such a thing)

We are always trying to find new things to keep Aiden interested and engaged when we are home.

 Last time we were at the store D found some window crayons. They are basically these big washable crayons that let you color on any form of glass!

It was really fun for Aiden to get to draw on something he normally would have been in BIG trouble for! Crayons are not allowed anywhere but "on the paper".

P.S. Don't look at the dirty window! It is a double paned door and all of the grime is on the inside, therefor, un-Windex-able.  Believe me, I have tried numerous times.

A lot of big fun scribbles all over the window.

And a haircut needed in the back.

He ran out of room coloring right in front of him so he turned to old faithful, the Toy Story chair that he pulls up to EVERYTHING.

There was more unused space at the top that Aiden was not going to miss out on.

Carry the one . . .

Just kidding.

He is not to math just yet.

. . . adding some pizazz to this corner . . .

. . . cute chubby cheeks . . .

and, of course, taking the blue crayon and coloring a big strangulation looking mark right across the neck.

That would only be fitting . . .

Reminds me of when I was little and used to color in my sister's baby doll's ears.

They had ear infections.

Aiden, King of the Snacks...

Don't think my son won't hijack an entire box of graham crackers.

He will . . .

and he did . . .

I found him eating them leisurely in a lawn chair.

And they were glorious.

You would think we don't feed him or something!!

My Little Monkey...

Aiden has always been a wonderful eater. He will try anything we put in front of him!

Sometimes he goes through phases where he absolutely LOVES something and will eat it all the time.

Right now, he is really into Pop-tarts, he calls them "tart", and he really likes bananas. I can't decipher the way he says bananas on the keyboard so use your imagination!

During a recent trip to the grocery store, Aiden wanted a snack while we were shopping. But he didn't want any of the things that I had already packed for him. 

He wanted a banana.

Straight off the rack, not yet paid for banana! 

So we just told the lady at the check stand and she was very nice about it.

We get home and start unloading/ putting away/ throwing out old things of the groceries, only to find Aiden who was apparently STARVING munching away at yet another banana from the sack,

with the peel still on... 

It looks like this poor banana has suffered some traumatic and internal injuries.

I don't think he will make it.

The peel doesn't even taste good! He must have really wanted this banana.

At least his teeth marks are left behind for the forensics team to collect :)



Happy Valentine's Day...

From one chocolate lovin' family to another!

Paint by pudding...

Round Two of our little adventure to come up with things to keep Aiden entertained!

I thought it would be lots of fun to let Aiden paint. But with mostly carpet in our house, and Aiden inheriting his father's "not so graceful" gene, we decided on a safer approach until he gets a little older and has more developed fine motor skills.

The ol' finger paint with pudding trick!

I just got some regular vanilla pudding, and Aiden's favorite little dinosaur helpers.

divided up the pudding, with a little left for mom to snack on!

Add some food coloring.

Roll up the sleeves, and let the creativity flow!

I had little utensils he could use for paintbrushes but all he wanted was the dinosaurs.

I don't get it either.

He kept acting like he was feeding them, then he said they needed a "baff"

Dinosaur spa treatments.

neon green dinosaur foot soak...

Not NEARLY as messy as I thought, but that is partly because a movie came on during our art project so Aiden was a little distracted.

I guess dinosaurs really don't like pudding all that much.

Cake...

I have a cake monster for a son!

This kid LOVES cake.

Sometimes he will even get in the pantry like he is looking for something. if you ask what he is looking for he will say, "cake"! 

He even thinks things like my meatloaf are a type of cake (wink, wink)!

For dessert yesterday, I thought I would surprise Aiden and have a cake all baked and ready to go before he even had a chance to ask for "cake"!

We were doing the dishes and putting everything away from dinner and I was letting the cake cool on the stove top before the big reveal. (only in my head would it really be a big reveal)

Next thing I know, Aiden is running up to me with something in his mouth and he is obviously chewing it so I can see he is eating something!

Right in front of my face.

With a little smirk...

This guy had already sniffed out the cake and dug his grubby little fingers into it!

Don't mind if I do....

I will just pull my Toy Story chair up next to the cake and grab handfuls of it before mom notices. But i will run to her and chew it in her face.

Just ONE more bite....

Indoor Entertainment...

I saw a super cute idea online this morning to get dried beans and things to let kids play in. I put them in some different containers and threw in some toys/cups/farmers to move the beans around.

 Since we have yet another snow day, we decided to try this out.

It was a HUGE success!!

It kept Aiden entertained for 2, count them 2 HOURS!

Who knew Playskool farmers like kidney beans?

He had all sorts of cups and trucks he would fill up and move around!

After a few minutes (and the sound of thousands of peas hitting the floor) I would go in and pick up/refill bean containers! He just kept loading and reloading, filling and emptying.

Once he started throwing them all over the kitchen, it became lunch time and we had to pick them up! But the beans are being stored for after nap time so we can play again!

Another Storm, Another Soup...

When some see a can of Pumpkin puree, the only think of one thing,

Pumpkin Pie.

Not around our house!

 My husband used to be a little sicked out at the idea of pumpkin. He wasn't just a huge fan of pie and had never really had it in anything else. Then he married me!

I think we have used every winter squash known to man since then!

We have used pumpkin in lasagna, ravioli, risotto, and cakes/rolls/muffins alike.

But the all time reigning champion is Pumpkin Soup.

It is creamy, it has some heat to it, it is been a family favorite at showers and family gatherings for years.

Don't let the picture of the pie on the front confuse you. There are many GLORIOUS ways to use what's inside.

 Onions, Butter, Curry.

Yes, curry. It's delicious.

Pumpkin. It does look a little like spaghetti sauce because I didn't have time to fix the color :(

Cream.

Yummy.

Enjoy.

I know I did.

And I will again today for lunch!



Snow Day Soup...

When the snow starts, the pots and pans come out of their cabinets and delicious foods appear.

Are they foods I should eat? No. But they are still delightful!

Yummy, creamy, potatoey goodness!

The bacon on top doesn't hurt either.



Overkill...

While beautiful... I think enough is enough! This plant that is poking out at the bottom is usually up to my waist! The weather man said another 3" inches of snow today. Then another chance for more on Sunday and some more next week! Dang global warming!

Like snow through the hourglass....

I know I post a lot of pictures of Miss Penny, but she is so cute! She loves to have her picture taken, (or at least that's what she told me (; ) She always has a little pose to give me! She is seriously catching snowflakes on her tongue!! My dog is awesome!

See how she creates movement in her hair?

And she always finds the light with her face! I should call Tyra Banks. I just have to teach her how to be anorexic and "smile with her eyes" and she would be America's Next Top Model, Doggie Style.

Action Shot Penny, GO!! Faster than a speeding bullet!

Rozzie? You wanna go out with Penny?

Grumble....Snort.....Burp......Eye Roll..... No Way!

Aiden is loving being cooped up with Mama! He has an Oreo mustache at 11am and is still rockin his Santa jammies.  We're cozy like that!



It's a Blizzard...

Since the record breaking snowfall on Tuesday, we have had what I will refer to as cabin fever! About 14 inches of snow has come down in a 12 hour period. Usually in Oklahoma, it snows and then about two days later it looks like it never happened.

Not this time!

My husband walked to the hardware store up the street today so he could buy a snow shovel so he could start trying to uncover our cars! He shoveled for about 3 hours. Then he had to clear a little patch in the back for the dogs so they would stop looking at us like we were completely nuts for expecting them to go outside!

We have tried to go outside as much as we can to give Aiden his much needed play time. It was still snowing a little and not TOO cold yet Tuesday afternoon, so we bundled up and headed into the backyard. What you can't see is the three layers of clothes under the huge Puffy coat. This kid was as warm as can be! He likes for his dad to walk around holding his hands and swing him into the air...

...and let him land on his booty in the snow.

He thought it was pretty funny. Mimi got him some green frog rain boots for Christmas. With 4 pairs of socks stuffed into them, they doubled quite nicely as snow boots!! Now when he wants to go outside, he puts on his hat and asks where "fwog" is.

There was a huge snow drift on the side of our yard almost as tall as Aiden, I thought I would just take his picture by it so we could see how tall the snow was.

And then he went for it...

First just a little touch...

Then an entire hand and, what's this, maybe a little bite as well!

We have snow face!!

And a cold hand.

D put his gloves on Aiden and it looked pretty funny how his hands now appeared to be freakishly huge!

I was able to get in front of the camera a time or two, just for documentation that I do, in fact, exist.

Then we moved on to the slide portion of our backyard fun. He would slide down and say "weee"! He never does that! It was pretty funny!

Action shot Penny, Go!!

She is springing in to action to chase something. We never really know what she is after. But she sure is cute doing it!

We have to give Roz, the new dog an honorable mention for today. She has short hair, and she really wanted to be outside but she was shaking really bad after about 5 minutes do she was sent back in, where she chewed something up to let us know how she felt about it.