It's Christmas Time...

What a crazy, busy few days we've had. Jeff took last Thursday and Friday off and his office was closed Monday, so we had some time together and with our families.

Fred continued to do funny things each night. Here is one of the outrageous things he did:

A marshmallow fight with Buzz Lightyear.

We had 2 stops on Christmas Eve- Jeff's parents for the Radford Christmas and my aunt and uncle's for the Bailey Christmas.


KK and Uncle Billy gave Coopie a guitar...and drums. Yeah, you read that correctly- a 2 year old with drums.


Nana and Bob-O know that Coop loves to sweep, so he now has his own broom and dustpan.


And continuing with the musical Christmas- a keyboard from Nana and Bob-O. That was in addition to the harmonica and maracas he also received.


Jeff's cousin BC helped Coop get his band going.


Some of my family members waiting to open presents. Unfortunately once the present unwrapping started, Jeff and I were wrangling Cooper and keeping him from getting in my cousin Melissa's daughter's face too much!

Then it was time to go home and get Cooper to bed so Santa could visit.

Santa must have seen how much Coop loved riding his cousin Regina's Flying Turtle scooter, so he has his own. And good thing, too, because as of yet, he hasn't opened mine and Jeff's presents to him- the excitement of the Flying Turtle hasn't worn off.

After we saw what Santa brought, we headed to Pops and YaYa for presents before the family brunch.

Uncle Tada and Jeff opening some of their gifts.


My silly boy waiting on brunch.


Watching squirrels in the backyard with Mamaw.

And then I forgot our camera at my parents' house and don't have any pictures of our Christmas celebrations at Jeff's grandparents' or Mamaw's, but we had fun!

Last night, we decided to take Cooper to Zoo Lights.










For some reason, I had in my head that the animals would be out for guests to see. Of all the animals on display at the zoo, the only ones left out for Zoo Lights?


Yep, flamingos...who knew?

Hopefully you and your's have enjoyed the holidays and had some time for relaxation after the hecticness of Christmas!

Pinterest

I fought joining Pinterest for a long time. I'd heard about it and it seemed like another way for me to feel like a lazy mom. Jeff's mom told me about it and I refused to even look. Then two friends from work started talking about it and again, I bucked at the idea. One of them said it really made you feel like you could be crafty/creative/a good cook/whatever, then sent me an invite.

And now I'm hooked.

I'm pinning home ideas, holiday ideas, recipes, funny sayings, making boards, and acting like I'm going to follow through with all of it.

You can stop laughing because I've already made my first recipe. Peanut Butter Fudge- take a can of vanilla frosting, a jar of creamy peanut butter, melt them together in the microwave for a minute, stir together, and spread evenly onto a lightly greased foil or wax paper lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then cut into squares.

You can start laughing again because I do realize that is just about the epitome of "low class" cooking. I've already had one very failed attempt at making real fudge (as in 3 years later, I'm still finding remnants of it around the eyes of the stove), but I love it and this is about as foolproof as you can get.

I might have gotten inspired because I also made Peppermint Patty Brownies...and that recipe wasn't even from Pinterest! Make brownie mix normally, spread half of the mix into an 8x8 Pyrex dish, layer York Peppermint Patties on top of mix, spread the remaining mixture on top of the peppermint patties, and bake.

We'll see how long I keep up with it and how creative I become, but the recipes have been a hit, so I *might* be building some confidence.

Oh, the holidays...

I'm not sure when I made the switch from loving the holidays to them stressing me out, but it has happened. I am really working on getting myself together for Christmas, but thinking lots of wine will be needed. It's been a rough year.

Cooper and I have been home together this week. Anyone who has or has had a 2 year old knows these are some trying times. Like him spilling my coffee on the carpet in the den yesterday- that was very, very trying. I find that saying, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Meeeery Kissmas!" often helps make these times better. Jeff is off work until Tuesday, so we're taking turns wrangling and watching endless hours of Sesame Street and Willy Wonka. YouTube is a beautiful thing.

And did you hear? Uncle Tada graduated from Memphis this past Saturday!!

Anyone hiring hard-working, recent college grads?

It has been brought to my attention there are people out there who despise parents who have their Elf on the Shelf do funny things around the house, even creating a blogpost called, "People I Want to Punch in the Face..." Let me say this: while you are being super mom, incessantly posting pictures of your child on Facebook, making healthy lunches with shaped sandwiches, hand-crafting Halloween costumes, and planning the perfect birthday party, I'm in cahoots with Fred. Just let me have this. You can be the room mother who puts me to shame with your baking skills. You can be the mom who looks like a supermodel after giving birth and I'll compliment you, yet secretly be jealous. Let me have this one, somewhat creative-even-though-I-stole-the-really-creative-ideas aspect of parenthood.

With that, I bring you Fred's latest trick:

Please don't punch me in the face. And notice the mess on the counter.

Elf on the Shelf

Yesterday morning, Fred- our Elf on the Shelf- arrived and began causing mischief right off the bat. Just take a look at what he did:



Nothing like waking up to a TPed tree, floor, and reindeer- complete with a "scarf" around its neck and "hat" around its antlers. Thankfully, Fred just left a note this morning, saying how much fun he had making our house look snowy like the North Pole and was found sitting on the windowsill in the den.

We'll see what else Fred has in store for us, but Jeff and I are both having a lot of fun seeing Cooper look for him in the mornings.

The past few months...

As everyone pretty much knows, the past few months have been a little crazy for us, so I am behind on my blogging. Much has happened...Cooper turned 2, we battled rats, we got rid of rats, heard rat scuffling again, had a great Thanksgiving, are preparing for Christmas, and staying busy with Cooper, work, and life in general.

Cooper's 2nd birthday party was golf-themed and celebrated on October 8th:

Cooper and his friend Brody playing miniature golf.


Cupcakes


Highlight of the party- playing on the playground.

And then the rats struck fury on the house and we went through a lot of craziness. Five weeks of craziness to be exact. So much so that I *might* have pitched the smallest of fits and eventually, our kitchen looked like this:

Look closely and you will see 6 glue traps with peanut butter, 4 snap traps- some with peanut butter, and what you don't see is the abundance of poison in the attic, cabinets, and between the walls and refrigerator. And as of yet, we haven't caught anything that we know of. The house is supposedly sealed up (I say supposedly because we haven't had the best experience with our exterminator) and we are able to stay at home, but still hear noises occasionally.

Thankfully, our friends Andy and Leigh (Leigh of "Supermom" and now marathon runner fame!) invited us over for a cook-out and playdate for a break. It was so nice to just sit around and talk and their boys Runyan and Byler were so sweet to Cooper. Here are Cooper and Byler hanging out with their dog, Oscar:


Cooper has become very entertained by Sesame Street, with Cookie Monster being his favorite. It was only fitting that's who he went as for Halloween.

This is one of the only pictures we really got of Cooper in full costume. He would ask for the hat to be put on, then immediately say "Hat off!"

Cooper didn't stay still enough for me to get picture of him on Thanksgiving, but we had a great time. We really split up the holiday this year, celebrating with Jeff's mom's side of the family the Saturday before, both of my sides of the family on Thanksgiving, and Jeff's dad's side of the family on Friday. Jeff and Cooper went to the zoo Friday while I organized presents and got some things wrapped, then we took him to see The Muppets at the drive-in:

Enjoying a snack during the movie.

Cooper was happy to flip between the front and back seat and really could have cared less about the movies. Jeff and I enjoyed the movie, though!

The tree is up, some presents are wrapped, and we're really pushing the "Santa's watching!" way of improving our child's behavior. I'll give you 2 guesses as to whether or not it's working. The tree, as always, is a work in progress because I have this "IT HAS TO BE PERFECT!" mentality, but here's the first go-round:


We've already made the trek to see Santa and it wasn't a complete failure. Here are Cooper and Jeff talking with Santa:

We ended up with a family picture so Cooper stayed calm and our Santa was willing to hang out and talk for as long as we wanted. Success!

Now on to the craziness of the holildays, finishing up the semester, seeing Uncle Tada graduate from Memphis, and a million other things while chasing after Cooper and keeping up with his hilarious antics.

Pop Culture

I'm really far behind on a pop culture post and thought it would be a good time to update. Now that the summer movies are almost to DVD and the fall shows are on TV, I feel like I'm behind!

Movies
"The Help"- loved, loved, loved this movie! The book was amazing and the movie didn't disappoint. It really brought the book to life and I don't know that I have hated a movie character as much as I hated Hilly Holbrook. Bryce Dallas Howard did an amazing job! You truly feel like you have stepped back to the 60s in Jackson, MS.
"50/50"- again, fantastic movie! It was the perfect mix of laughter and heartbreak. It is very difficult to describe the emotions it brings up, but the best I can say is that it was the most raw and real depiction of cancer while at the same time having some of the funniest movie lines.

TV Shows
Jeff and I both watch quite a bit of TV, but we are behind on watching some of our shows. There are some that we've loved and kicked to the curb.
Our favorite new show definitely has to be "Up All Night." Maybe it's because we're relatively new parents ourselves and like to think we're cool, knowing we really aren't, but we cackle through each episode every week. Christine Applegate and Will Arnett are hilarious together and we all know someone like Maya Rudolph's character, Ava. Two thumbs up!
"Suburgatory" is a show about a daughter and her father who move to the Midwest from New York City and the adjustments they go through. The jury is still out, but the show is at least funny and relatable.
I've also picked up "Fashion Hunters" on Bravo. The show is about Second Time Around, a high-end consignment store in New York. It is crazy to see how much people will pay for clothes, especially re-sale, and the characters that come into the shop. It's my new guilty pleasure!
We gave "Whitney" a try for a few weeks and it's now off the DVR list. It was nowhere near as funny as we had hoped it would be and it seemed to be getting worse each week.
We also tried CBS's "Person of Interest" and gave up on it after 2 weeks. We tried and after the 1st episode, neither one of us were convinced. I tried the 2nd week and it just was not happening.
We've kept our favorites like "Community", "Parks and Recreation", "The Middle", "Modern Family", "Glee" and I'm still hooked on all the Real Housewives, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Tosh.0, and many others I'm forgetting.

Books
Honestly, I have not read that much lately. I just finished Tim Gunn's book Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work. I do not watch "Project Runway", but knew who Tim Gunn was. The book was good- a very easy read- so if you're looking to kill some time and not have to think too much about what you're reading- it would be a good choice. I have Edna Buchanan's The Ice Maiden and am about halfway through The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, so those will be the next ones to read on the list.

Restaurants
We haven't tried anywhere new lately to eat, but Jeff and I are both excited about Stone Soup, a new breakfast and lunch restaurant in Midtown. One of our favorite restaurants of all time was Buns on the Run. We'd go to breakfast there every Saturday morning before Cooper was born. They'd have pancakes the size of a dinner plate and Jeff even made up his own breakfast sandwich that's now called "The Big Rex", which is Texas toast, sausage, ham or bacon, eggs, and cheese. Buns on the Run closed...tear...but the chef went on to help open another great Midtown restaurant, Trolley Stop Market. We had breakfast there a few times before we started noticing the menu had changed. Turns out, the chef moved on to another restaurant and has now opened Stone Soup, right down the street from the original Buns on the Run. Old favorites like the pancakes and famous crepes are on the menu for breakfast, so I know it won't be long before we try it. Can't wait!

Music
I'm not the best judge of music because I tend to stay closer to the pop music side of things, but I'm loving Coldplay right now. I like any type of music that makes me feel like dancing and keeps me going through my workouts. That's never really changed!

Skinny Crock Pot Black Bean Chicken

In the midst of house hopping, we decided to give staying at home another shot and failed. I'd already put dinner for part of the week in the crock pot, so we allowed that to finish (and get about an hour's sleep) before picking up again and staying at Jeff's parents. Thank goodness for Nana and Bob-O.

The good news is the new recipe was a success and because it's from the Skinny Crock Pot's blog on Facebook, it's also healthy. I'm more critical of my cooking, so I always wonder if the meal could have been better, but Jeff liked it, so I'll fix it again.

*4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thawed
*1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
*1 container of salsa- your choice (I used roasted corn and black bean)
*Soft tortillas (we use whole wheat)
*Sour cream (optional)
*Shredded cheese (optional)

Throw chicken, black beans, and salsa in the crock pot and cook on high 6-8 hours (mine was closer to 8). Shred chicken and mix everything together well. Serve in tortillas with sour cream and cheese, if desired.
*Jeff used sour cream and cheese and I didn't. He liked his and I liked mine, so it's up to you to add what you like!