Bouncy, bouncy chair

So many parents go on and on about how the bouncy chair is a life saver. Not for us. Kai did not like it and Cassia does not like it! Both of our kids cried when put in the bouncy chairs, but they love the swing!! Thanks Tiff. My niece had purchased the swing for us when Kai was born and we kept it because it was my life saver. Cassia loves sitting in it, now that she can see better she can actually enjoy the lights and moving fishes. The only downer is the size. It takes up a good part of our tiny living room. I wish that it was a little smaller so that I can put it in the kitchen while I cook.
Which made me shop around for something that would do just that. We purchased a walker for her and it came today, but because I was in the kitchen I didn't hear the UPS guy knock on the window. For a while our doorbell was not working so all the delivery people knew to knock on the window to get my attention...I guess I should put a sign up for them to ring the bell. Anyway, I'm rambling. We bought her a Combi walker that is a mint convertible. I know Kai will think it's his. He already got to play with it at the baby expo we went to a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully Cassia will love it just as much as Kai. The website we got it from is so cool, they don't charge for tax or shipping on orders over $50. If you're interested in baby gear check it out at www.chitchatbaby.com.

Kai is already playing with one of his Christmas gifts. We couldn't wait to give it to him. It allows us to be on the computer undisturbed. What is it you wonder? We got him a Leapster with three games. It's a handheld educational video game system. The recommended age is 4 and up, but I knew Kai could figure out how to play some of the games and he has. He uses the drawing and coloring game alot as well as his Finding Nemo game. It teaches him colors and numbers. He still plays with his Little Touches Leap Pad which is also being enjoyed by Cassia. Go Leap Frog. I really like their products because it is a ton of fun for the kids and it teaches them all sorts of things from animal sounds to reading.

We have our tree up with lights. The ornaments still need to go on display. I love the MacMillan family tradition of picking out new ornaments for the tree every year. The kids have theirs, but Jimmy and I still have to find ours.
Our ornaments also do not go on the tree anymore because the kids like to take them off and play with them. Kai has already pulled off the pom-poms to his and Nick's ornaments from last year. So last year I hung up string high on the living room wall and displayed Jimmy's ornaments. They are priceless because he made some of them when he was a kid and I want our kids to have a collection like his and continue this tradition.
Another one that I want to continue is collecting nutcrackers for each year. We have one and hopefully it will survive the season because it is played with by Kai everyday.

The day after turkey.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was yummy. Jimmy brought home little pies (apple and pumpkin) and I tried out Paula Deen's recipe for Pumpkin Pecan pie. It was yummy, a combo of my two favs, but I think I still prefer the classic pecan pie...I am a southern girl after all. I roasted a turkey breast stuffed with cranberry-apple stuffing. Made my praline sweet potatoes, Jimmy's A-B- Alls or abios (no one knows how to spell it, but it's mashed potatoes and rutabaga), and tried a new thing with the green beans. I like the green bean casserole with the canned mushroom soup, but it's too rich and Jimmy doesn't really care for it. So I made up a lighter green bean side. I kept the fried onions as a garnish but made it from scratch. It's basically green beans stir fried with bacon, a little sesame oil and a splash of apple balsamic vinegar...yummy and light.
I burned my first batch of cranberry sauce, I didn't know it was possible but I guess cooking at 5 in the morning is not something I can do. I went back to bed and woke up at my normal time and made the sauce again. It came out great. I portioned some for dinner and added maple syrup to the little sauce I had left for Kai's waffles. If you've never made fresh cranberry sauce, you should give it a try. There are so many ways to flavor it. My classic cranberry sauce is 1 bag of cranberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup of orange juice, zest of 1 orange, and half a vanilla bean. Put everything in a saucepan, turn on the heat, bring to a boil and then simmer on low until all berries pop. Then turn of the heat and let sauce cool before transferring it to serving dish.

Since I didn't make a whole turkey we don't have alot of leftovers to make new dishes with but I can give you a few ideas. Turkey gumbo was something we always made when we had leftover turkey. This year I thought of Turkey and stuffing balls (a take on chicken and dumplings). Chop up the leftover crudite vegetables and a small onion saute until soft, add chicken or turkey stock and shredded turkey, bring to a boil. Ball up leftover stuffing and add to soup....mmm, great for a cold night. If you made mashed sweet potatoes, make sweet potato pancakes the next morning.

Shopping.....nope did not wake up to join the crowd. Not only is my shopping almost done but I realized that the sales are not all that great. Besides, if you watch the sales flyers for your favorite stores you know that they have sales all the time. Sure you might not be able to grab those DVD's for $2.50, but really is that worth waking up at 4 am for? I say no and if I really wanted a movie I wouldn't mind paying the $10 non-holiday sale price.

• Thanksgiving cards for family. Done.
• Test cookie recipes....still testing.

Okay, so now I have to mail the cards. Hopefully that will get done tomorrow. I tested a new cookie recipe from a magazine and decided that it will not be one for giving this year or any other year. It just wasn't our type of cookie. It had cream cheese in it which made me want to try it, but once made it wasn't as good as I thought.

I made the famous MacMillan family shortbread the other day and the whole pan is almost gone. Primarily consumed by yours truly. I forgot how addicted to those cookies I am! This year I added vanilla extract in the mix, which is not in the original recipe, and it tasted like those packaged Walker's shortbread!!!
Hopefully, the family will like my addition to the shortbread. I thought about turning them into turtle bars by adding caramel, pecans,and chocolate but they are just fine the way they are. It would be too sweet with all the other toppings (I made a batch and it's almost all gone).

I wanted to go to Toys R' Us today because they are having a 2 day sale this weekend on toys, but I don't think I'll get to it. It is so hard taking Kai out in public now, he just wants to do what he wants to do. I rather not deal with a toddler tantrum in public. I just don't have the energy right now.

Jimmy came home sick after his cake contest yesterday so I didn't make the beef stew (that is tonight's dinner). Instead, I made him a pot of chicken soup with orzo. He is a little better today, but still feeling under the weather.
We always get sick when the temperature goes up and down like it has been doing lately.

Tomorrow, I plan on making vegetarian moussaka and Sunday is junk food day....I'm thinking mini-sausages in the crock pot with bar b que sauce and mac n' cheese. Then to continue testing recipes.

Menu week of 11-12

Hmm...I seem to have trouble getting my weekly menu posted these days. Yesterday was spent shopping for candy for the gingerbread houses that Jimmy is working on for the hotel. Today, I did a little shopping for Christmas items.
So here it is a plan for the next few meals.

Tuesday: Orange-Apricot glazed chicken with sweet potato and butternut squash (cooked in a crock pot)

Wednesday: Pantry Pasta (pasta tossed with whatever is in my pantry)

Thursday: Beef stew (another meal made in crock pot)

That's all I have for now. Have I mentioned that the crock pot is my new favorite appliance? I've never used one until we moved up here. There are actually seasons up here! It's nice, I like the cold. Anyway, the crock pot- great invention.

Helpful Tips for the Week

1. Separate your silverware by type when loading the dishwasher. This saves some time when you have to put away the clean dishes. This is something I picked up from working in restaurants.
   
2. If you have children and want to control what they drink, have portioned out approved beverages in the refrigerator. Every morning, I fill two sippy cups with milk, one with water, and one with fifty-fifty juice (diluted juice: half juice half water) for Kai. We do not have a lock on the fridge so Kai can help himself and decide what he wants to drink.
   
3. Portion out cereal into bowls and cover it with saran wrap the night before. This is useful if you have school age children. For me, I portion out cereal into snack size bags when I get home with a new box. I use the serving size on the box as my portion guide. Whenever Kai wants cereal he just grabs a bag or when we are on the go I grab a bag and throw it in my diaper bag for him to snack on later. I also portion out his snacks this way.

I hope these are helpful, I will try to give my little tips every week.


Update on Cassia Bella.
My little girl just turned three months!! She's getting so big. I am so lucky that she is not colicky. She only cries when she needs something. She opens her mouth every time she sees us eat. I think she wants real food or maybe ready to have a taste of daddy's treats. I'm starting to use baby signs with her; hoping that when she is coordinated enough she will be able to sign her needs. I used baby signs with Kai and it really helped him communicate and he was less frustrated. She is doing so well.