Mini Adventures

Addy and I had a full day today. We started the day by touring the preschool that Addy is going to attend soon. It has a huge gym with a foam pit and tumbling mats and a dance studio and a huge playground...oh, yeah and some classrooms. Addy didn't want to leave after she saw the gym so hopefully that is a good sign.

We also went to Supper Solutions to make some dinners for the next couple weeks. I have not been here in a very long time. It really is a neat place and makes late dinners so much easier. Addy was a great assistant. She was in charge of adding the spices and carrying the finished products to the prep rack. She stood right next to me on her stool for an hour helping out. It was a lot of fun. Recognize the apron Grandma?

Next door to Super Solutions we discovered a great new business called Cool Beans. It is a big indoor playground and cafe. The adults can get food, drinks, coffee and relax on sofas while the kids run around like little monkeys. It is a great place especially during the winter. There were a lot of kids there and Addy was a little overwhelmed for the first 15 minutes. I made her leave after an hour and she was not happy about it, she would have stayed all day. We will be back.

Cat nap

Home Improvement Season

The time of year between hunting season and boating season is our home improvement season. Our current project is Addison's new room. We moved her into the office and the office into her old room.

This is a before picture of the office. It is one of those multi-purpose rooms that also becomes a dumping ground for whatever doesn't fit in the rest of the house. We, I, am working on reigning that in a bit.

Addy's room is a lot bigger now with more room for her library and wild stuffed animal park.

Addy's room is the one room in the house I get a little crazy with. The color of the walls are currently tan so I decided to make her room look like a room inside a castle, Castle Hein.

I am painting a window, which Addy calls her tall bridge instead of a draw bridge,

"silk" banners and....a Dragon!

This is Cinder the Bubble Blowing Dragon. I am having a blast painting him. He will be blue with a pink tummy and purple spots, per Addy's specifications. Cinder is from one of our favorite books. I left him in pencil for a week to make sure Addy wasn't going to be afraid of him once he was up. So far she loves him, and who wouldn't?!

Cinder is about 5 feet tall

Addy came home from Grandpa's house the other day and critiqued my work thus far....

Addy (said with perfect 3 year old attitude) : "Why did you paint the bushes white?"

Daddy: "Those are clouds!"

Addy : "Why isn't my dragon pink?"

Mommy: "You said you wanted blue!!"

Addy: "Hmmm, okay, we'll see."

The Awesomeness of Daddy

Two peas in a pod, these two

Addy was sick about a week ago with a cold and she did not want anybody touching her but her daddy. She woke up in the middle of the night one night and started heading for my room. I intercepted her in the hall and offered to lay down with her for awhile. You should have seen the evil-eyed look I got in response.

NO!

But I want to cuddle with you.

NO!

Please? Come on lets go.

NO! I WANT MY DADDY!!!!!

Okay,okay he is all yours.

I got to thinking. I take Addy to dance class, crafting, toddler theater, storytelling in the park, travelling, shopping, zoo, princess movies..... Why am I chopped liver?

There is just no comparison for the awesomeness of DADDY and I am okay with that....

most of the time.

Once in a Blue Moon

Addy is not a big eater, never has been. I would describe her as more of a grazer but when she tries something she really likes she gobbles it up. She has interesting tastes for a little kid. When she first started eating solid food she preferred spicy over bland and her favorite for awhile was Kung Pao Chicken. Last week I tried out a new recipe...and Addy cleaned her plate! I did a happy dance and decided I needed to share the recipe. Here it is:

Mongolian Beef with Spinach Rice

1 pound flank steak, trimmed

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (I substituted flour)

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup less -sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon canola oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup sliced green onion

Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Combine steak and cornstarch in a bowl and toss until coated. Next, in a separate bowl, combine water, brown sugar, and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside for now. Now heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute for one minute. Add the steak and cook until browned. Next add the brown sugar mixture, and cook for four more minutes or until the sauce thickens. Serve over the below rice and sprinkle with green onions.

Spinach Rice

1 package of "instant" brown rice

olive oil cooking spray

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

Microwave the rice according to the packaging directions. While the rice is cooking saute the onion and garlic in a small skillet for about 3 minutes. In a bowl combine the spinach, rice and onion mixture. Fluff and serve.

These are both Weight Watchers recipes and I will be making them again soon!

Let's Get Crafty

I took a week off and stayed home with Addy while Grandpa Jim went on vacation. We filled our days crafting and napping. I love that Addy is old enough now to be crafty with me.

We made Valentine's....

that I forgot to mail.

Glue and Glitter

What's not to love?

Addy calls them her basigns

We also went pottery painting. We have not been to this shop for several months, since the infamous Addy "crap" fiasco. And of course after days of begging to come here she announced that the place sucked, then two seconds later decided it was awesome.

Addy painted Ariel and Flounder...

an easter egg...

and Peter Cottontail.

This is my little Bunny FooFoo

Check out the level of concentration going into the decoration of these cookies

Awesome