Lucky Charms - They're Magically Delicious!

For breakfast Eden usually eats Cheerios. I buy Cheerios (or the cheaper generic version) because they seem the most wholesome cereal out there besides bran flakes, etc. that I think Eden will eat. Eden has had Lucky Charms before at her Aunt Lacey's house, but I usually don't buy them. This weekend we went to Sam's club and Daniel wanted to buy cereal, it was a 3-pack with Lucky Charms, Trix, and Cocoa Puffs. I let him because usually I make him eat the aforementioned bran flakes, and I thought it would be fun to have a treat.

Anyways, back to breakfast. I pull out the Lucky Charms for Eden this morning and she claps her hands and says "Yea, Yea!!!" She hasn't had them for a long time, but apparently the memory is still fresh. So I poured her some on her high-chair tray and she proceeded to eat all the marshmallows out of the cereal and then ask for more. I wonder what they put in those marshmallows that makes them magically delicious?

Sweet turns Sassy

We have entered the world of sass. If Eden were in a Spongebob Squarepants episode she would be Spongebob Backsass pants. I can't remember what we were doing this morning when the "Sass" emerged, but I do remember her looking me directly in the eye, pointing AND shaking her finger at me and saying "NO, NO, NO!"

As cute as this may sound, I was not amused. So I guess Eden has discovered that she does not like being told no. Even if I am telling her "No! we do not play with knives! or No! Don't touch the stove it is hot!"

So the day was filled with how you do and do not talk to your mommy (and daddy) and that when mommy tells you no, it is for a good reason and not just some whim or fancy that amuses her at the moment. Although I am sure Eden suspects this.

Suffice it to say, I am tired. Reasoning with a toddler is tiring. I should get a Nobel peace prize, as should every mother who has tried to use logic and reason with their child.

The Chip Monster

Chips (and cookies), you better run and hide because Eden is on the loose!

The "Night, Night" Game

Sometimes during the bedtime routine we allow Eden onto our bed for a little family fun, which includes stories and usually Eden jumping on the bed while saying "jumpa jumpa!". Well, Eden has invented a new game called the "night, night" game that we play when we are all on the bed. Mommy and Daddy are laying on the bed with Eden in the middle and this is how it goes:

Eden looking at daddy: "Night, night"

Daddy: "night,night" and closes his eyes and pretends to be asleep

Eden looking at mommy: "Night, night"

Mommy: "night, night" and closes her eyes and pretends to be asleep

A few moments of silence and then Eden taps daddy on the arm.

Daddy: "AAAHHH, Eden you scared me"

Eden giggles and then taps mommy on the arm

Mommy: "AAAAHHHH, Eden you scared me, I was sleeping!"

More giggles and then Eden looks at Mommy and Daddy and says "Night, night" and the game starts again. The best thing about this game is that she created it almost entirely by herself and was very sure about "the rules of play".

I did try a variation the other day when Eden was on the couch. I told her "night, night" and told her to close her eyes. She closed one and left the other open just a crack. Then I tapped her and she said "AAAAAHHHHHHHH".

I about died laughing. She only did it the one time to appease mommy I suppose, and then it was back to the Eden version.

I'm still giggling to myself about that one eye being open...silly girl.

To Touch the Moon

A story told to me by Daddy:

Eden and Daddy went outside to get something out of the car this morning, and Daddy let Eden explore a little (of course). Eden looked up into the sky and found the moon (still visible as it was only 9am) and pointed up to it and said "Up! Up!" She wanted daddy to lift her up so she could touch the moon. Of course Daddy lifted her up to touch the moon and told her that he couldn't quite reach that high, but if she wanted, they could visit there someday.

Then as they were coming inside Eden kept looking back at the moon and waving and saying "bye, bye!"

Eden, if Daddy could, he would give you the moon, you sweet sweet girl.

All I can say is - AAAARRRGGGHHHHH!

When you are a mom you have good days and chaotic days. Today started off good. We ran errands this morning and Eden was a great little girl. She even picked out a cute ladybug halloween costume (more on that later). We got home, we had lunch, we both got a nap. Things started spiraling downhill after the nap. I was trying to help my mom with a computer problem over the phone when I look over my shoulder to see Eden dump a BIG water bottle (32 oz) on the floor. Of course it was open. So I tell my mom I'll call her back and I scoop up a slightly damp Eden and we head upstairs. I strip her of her wet clothes and put a dry diaper on her and stick her in her crib so I can go downstairs to clean up the mess and call my mom back.

Fast forward to me walking up the stairs to go rescue the girl from her crib. I walk in her room and find a naked girl. Yes, naked. The diaper had been thrown overboard and there is pee all over the carpet. Apparently you don't need "boy parts" to shoot it out between the crib slats and onto the carpet. Now comes the:
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

I take a deep breath and call her daddy. He says he is coming home to rescue me. So I put on the same diaper because of course THAT is completely dry and clean up yet another wet mess. Fortunately the daddy has just arrived and is taking the girl out for dinner so that mommy can have a little alone time and be able to laugh at all the events that took place today.

Now I can wonder...."Did she purposely see if she could pee on the carpet from her bed? I'm sure it was purely a scientific experiment."

Recovering

I know I haven't posted in a while...but we are recovering. From what, you might ask: an illness? A long road-trip?...nope....We have been recovering from Hurricane Ike. yup. A HURRICANE! I am still in a bit of a delirium...like it never happened, but life is slowly going back to normal. We were very blessed, and I mean VERY. We were one of the initial 5% of people to receive their power back on Sunday. This is a HUGE blessing. Of course our safety, including the safety of our home, was also a very HUGE blessing. We are ever grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who protected us through the storm. As the storm was raging I kept singing a Hymn to myself, "Master, the Tempest is Raging" here is the first verse and chorus:

1. Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness.
No shelter or help is nigh.Carest thou not that we perish?
How canst thou lie asleep
When each moment so madly is threat’ning
A grave in the angry deep?

[Chorus]
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will:Peace, be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons or men or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:Peace, be still; peace, be still.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:Peace, peace, be still.

This Hymn brought me so much comfort. I knew that no matter what happened I had a Father in Heaven that loved me and my family and He would make sure that we received exactly what we needed. And He has given us more than we asked for, and so we have tried to show our gratitude by helping our friends and neighbors. This has been a very humbling experience.

So, it may take a while more for us to recover. We still don't have phone or our own computer, so I am using Daniel's work laptop when I can. Oh, and in case you are wondering, the girl is great. She weathered the storm the best. I have more tales of her silliness and her sweetness, but those will have to wait until I have more battery juice, or my own computer back. Now I must go join the girl and her daddy for some dancing in the living room. :)

Button, button, who has a belly button?

Eden is fascinated with belly buttons. Every time I change her diaper she requests to see my "bu-bun" or sometimes she calls it "bum" (I know...trust me, I know). So I have to lift up my shirt and show her my "button" and then we have to find her "button". I've compared notes with Daniel and he says he has to fulfill the "button" request as well. She even points out belly buttons on characters in books. I'm sure someday she will try to find a belly button on one of the cats. I'm just hoping that she doesn't request "buttons" in public. That would be fun.

Fruit Snacks

Fruit Snacks happen to be Eden's favorite, and I mean FAVORITE food (if you can call it that) of all time. She frequently requests "snacks" and I usually give in. I try to limit it to two packages a day, but some days (like today) the total can get up to four. Her favorite (and mine) are the Welch's Fruit Punch Fruit Snacks. They smell sooooooooo good and taste good too. Eden usually likes to share her food with us, but not fruit snacks. I will ask her for one and she will move her hand toward mine like she is going to give me one and then she quickly pulls it back and shoves the fruit snack in her mouth. So I have learned that if I want fruit snacks I have to get my own package. Every once in a while I will get myself a package of fruit snacks when I get Eden one. She eyes my fruit snacks with a jealous glare as she eats . Once I dropped one of my fruit snacks, and before I could blink, Eden picked it up and shoved it in her mouth, a look of trimuph on her face. I chuckled quietly to myself because I would have done exactly the same thing. :)

What Eden gets in trouble for the most

Notice the cat food in the water dish. That is Eden's doing, along with the cat food on the floor next to the dish. Eden is really well behaved, but I can't seem to make her understand that we don't play with the cat's food. What makes it worse is that Ginny will "help" her out by eating the pieces of food that she throws out of the bowl while she is doing it. I guess that is what makes it fun. How do you punish a cat for being an accomplice?

Eden Performs!

Eden loves to make animal sounds, and she is very good at it (no, I'm not at all biased). Daddy just started teaching her the wolf sound, so we are still working on that one. My favorite is the snake. But what is most impressive about this performance is that she does it all with a pacifier (aka "bink bink") in her mouth. Now that's talent.

Conquering the giant zucchini

Yesterday I finally finished shredding the giant zucchini. I ended up with 44 cups of shredded zucchini in my freezer, plus a big gallon zip-loc bag full to give to one of my friends. I made chocolate zucchini cake last night in celebration. The recipe is below. I also mentioned that I received 7 or 8 large cucumbers from my mom.

Well, these are now bread and butter pickles.
Now that I don't have any vegetables to deal with, I wonder how I shall fill my time? I'm sure Eden will come up with something.


Here is the link for the

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/907

Can I borrow the keys, Dad?

This past Saturday, Daniel took Eden with him to run some errands. They hit the Gymboree play place, the mall, and of course Home Depot. I got the pleasure of grocery shopping by myself. I was home putting groceries away when I get a desperate phone call from Daniel. "Grab the other set of car keys and meet us at the Home Depot parking lot!"
"Daniel, is Eden in the car?"
"Yes."
"Is the car locked?"
"Yes."

Apparently, Daddy gave the girl his keys while he was putting her in the car and she hit the lock button before he could open his door. Now as I am on my way out the door, I am having a nice little laugh to myself. First of all, I know that my daughter is not in any danger, so please don't think me a bad mom for laughing at this scenario. Okay, so finally Daniel had messed up at something. I know that sounds horrible, but I always end up doing something stupid...and I have to get the "look" from Daniel (or the long sigh over the phone).

So, I am making my way to Home Depot and my cell phone rings: "Never mind, I got her to press the unlock button."

Daniel felt horrible when he got home, but I told him not to worry. Life happens at least we can laugh about it. He later told me he was using his "Jedi mind powers" to make sure she didn't press the PANIC button. Never underestimate the power of the force.

Oh, and if your kids ask to borrow the keys, make sure they are old enough to know NOT to lock themselves in the car :)

Rubber Ducky - You're the one

Tonight after Eden got ready for bed I was in the other room checking my email while she was playing in her room. It got quiet all of a sudden, the tell-tell sign that something is up, so I went to investigate. This is what I found...

She crawled in the tub in the dark bathroom (I turned the light on for the picture) all by herself. Just playing with her ducks (aka "quack quacks"). Apparently you don't need to have the water on to enjoy a good bath. I sure love that girl.

We have entered the "mine" phase

This morning, Eden and I were playing blocks when she decided to throw one at my head. I took it away from her and told her that we don't throw blocks at mommy's head or anyone's head because it is not nice, can cause "owies", etc. I asked her to tell me "sorry" (which she can) but instead she pointed to the block and said "MINE!". Great, the "mine" phase. But I'm still trying to figure out where she learned to say "mine", certainly not from me. :)

Giant Zucchini

I was home this past weekend visiting my family and attending my high school reunion. My mother has had an amazing garden this year (and I guess my dad has helped too :) ) and I asked her to save my a couple of zucchini to take back with me. Well she did and then she went out to the garden the day we left and this is what I ended up taking home...

I know...GIANT. And yes, they are real because I shredded two of them last night. I plan on shredding all of them and putting them in the freezer so I will have zucchini to make bread, throw in casseroles, you get the picture. Oh, and just in case you are curious as to the yield of 2 GIANT shredded zucchini's? It's 26 cups...no that's not a typo...its twenty-six.

Plus I still have about 8 rather larger cucumbers I need to cut up so I can make bread and butter pickles. So if anyone is in need of produce...I can hook you up...or rather my mom can...she gets stuff like this out of her garden every few days. Too bad I have a black thumb instead of a green thumb.

Special Delivery: Eden in a box!

Daddy spoils his little girl. Mommy wouldn't let her play in the box because of fear of ingesting the packing peanuts. Daddy just throws caution to the wind, but Eden didn't even try to eat the packing peanuts, much to mommy's relief.

The Naming of the Blog

Eden loves ice. I'm not sure how or when we discovered this, but she frequently requests it, especially when we are at restaurants. One night at dinner, Daniel and I thought it would be funny if we could get her to say "ice, ice baby". Of course, being the highly intelligent girl that she is, she figured it out right away. Fast forward a couple of nights later to dinner time. We ask Eden if she would like some ice to which she replies, "Ice, ice MORE baby!" Daniel and I are both practically rolling on the floor while, of course, trying to get Eden some ice. It is the funniest thing, to date, that she has said. I'm sure there is more to come, in fact I'm positive.