Fabulous Chicken Salad

I made this chicken salad recipe tonight. Daddy and Fischer ate it while I was tutoring. Afterward I asked Daddy if he liked it. He said "I'm afraid that YOU are not going to like it."
"Why?" I said.
"Because I Loved it!" said Daddy.

Hallelujah! It has been quite awhile since I made something that he went wild over! This recipe came from startcooking.com. it is my new favorite place. Kathy Maister has recipes and videos. Everything is step by step (which I really need!). I usually go to allrecipes.com because I like that you can see how the recipe was rated and use the comments to alter it for the better. However, this site is really great too! Thank you Kathy! You may just put faith back in my husband in regards to my cooking.

The other day he told me that he can eat my cooking when he is healthy, but when he is sick... he needs something GOOD!

Update: Andy puts this together as lettuce wraps instead of salad, yummy.

Ahhh, to be two!

Fischer is keenly observant to the world around him. He notices everything! He has now begun to comment on his findings, a step up from labeling. For example:

He sees a bird flying and the bird makes a sound - Fischer says "Bird! Say good morning Fischer!" How nice of the birds to acknowledge his presence!

He hears daddy make a noise - Fischer says "Daddy burp. Excuse me Daddy!"

Kaia (our dog) makes a noise - Fischer says "Kaia gas. Kaia poopin!'"

He hears a double beep - Fischer says "microwave done!" (Even if we are in a parking lot and the sound came from someone's car alarm.)

He hears continuous beeping - Fischer says "backing up" Then proceeds to guess what kind of truck it could be. "garbie f*ck, dum f*ck, fire f*ck..."

Now it is not all about hearing either. I am going to relay this embarrassing story, please do not think less of me for judging another. You can feel sorry for my low self-esteem instead! So... We were in a store when I happened to notice a woman across the way who looked EXACTLY like me. Well, actually I was hoping that it was my imagination and that I was delusional. Because she actually looked like the ME that I hope that I don't look like, but have a sneaking suspicion that I DO! I was trying to decide in my mind if she was at least heavier than me (I'm horrible - I know). She was plain like me, blond pony tail like me, heavy like me, glasses like me... It is the me that I look like everyday, but like to think I don't USUALLY look like that. You know, if I did my hair, makeup , had cute clothes, and a few less pounds - I'd look nothing like that. Anyway, there I am standing in line at the check-out when Fischer notices her too. Then says as loud as possible, while pointing at her, "MOMMY over there! Mommy over there!" then he proceeds to point at me and then over to her to continuously make this comparison! All the while I'm turning a red and hissing in his ear "don't compare Mommy to other people!". So, moral of the story... I look as exactly as I had hoped that I don't. AND I probably DESERVE to look like that, for being such a terrible person!

Book of the day

My Truck is Stuck!

Written by Kevin Lewis and Illustrated by Daniel Kirk

Maybe Fischer just has a thing for books with an exclamation point in the title! This is another one of his favorite daily reads. I discovered this morning that between the two of us, we could recite the entire story WITHOUT the book! Lots of repetition and most importantly, lots of vehicles! After the truck gets stuck in a hole, they call upon many other passersby to help pull them out. He loves it. I hadn't heard of this one before (and being an elementary teacher - I've heard of my share of books!). We received it from Brighter Vision Learning Adventures (I definitely recommend this company for toddler/preschool books and activities).

Too late for the birthday bash

I cannot believe that I found these FABULOUS cake pops the day AFTER Fischer's birthday. I have GOT to find a reason to make them! Maybe for Easter. Thank you to Bakerella for sharing your pictures and recipe. This lady has got SKILLS!

Book of the day

What! Cried Granny: An Almost Bedtime Story

Written by Kate Lum, Illustrated by Adrian Johnson

This is a current favorite at our house. I received it from my mother-in-law at my baby shower and now have to read it at least 3 times a day. It is it about a little boy named Patrick, who is having his first sleepover at his granny's house. She's not quite prepared for him, but this granny is going to do whatever it takes to get Patrick ready for bed. Fisch has it memorized and likes to interject words wherever he can. It has repetitive phrases, fun pictures, and a comical storyline. What are your favorite grandparent-related books?

A beautiful day for eating dirt

The past few days have been so beautiful and warm. It has been great to get outside to play and to ride bikes. Fischer and his doggies have been outside every chance they get. He could have played for hours just throwing rocks into a wheel barrow full of water! But... alas... he had a better idea. So that ended that, and we have come inside to be hosed down and to eat a real lunch.

It's my party, I can cry if I want to!

Fischer turned TWO today! He had a fabulous Thomas the Train -themed birthday party with 9 of his closest friends. There was cake and presents and inflatable bounce houses and slides AND...tears! I think maybe we'd hyped it up too much, and by the time we got there, he was just really overwhelmed. His friends had a great time, and he did too, just seemed a bit stressed. He loved the presents, and the frosting... but it was just a little too exciting for him.

Say Cheese!

I left my dear boy playing with toys for a split second. Then, I come in to find him sitting on the kitchen counter eating an enormous block of cheese! I'm expecting a "tummy hurts" any minute now.
The other day I made the mistake of going to the bathroom for a minute, only to find my kitchen floor the most distinct crayola colors of black and yellow!
This morning as I was switching the laundry, I turned around to find that he had unplugged a lamp and was proceeding to stick the plug-end of a set of headphones into the wall outlet!
Lesson for today? Get out the duct tape and tape the little angel to my leg!