The Things Kids Will Say

I am sick so just a quick funny post. Last weekend Aunt Cathy watched the girls for a few hours while my husband and I had a date. While we were gone Aunt Cathy was having a problem understanding something Princess G was saying. After a few attempts Princess A explained to her sister what was going on and why Auntie was asking "What did you say?" a few times.

Princess A, "Auntie is not that smart."

Auntie, (after a shocked pause and suppressing a laugh)
"That is not the right way to say that. Is there a better way to say that?"

After a pause, Princess A says "Auntie is not very smart."

Princess G is Signed up for Pre-K in the Fall

Princess G is going to Pre-K at the same school Princess A attended. They only had only 2 more spots for the morning class already! Princess A was glad she got to come so she could say "Hi" to some of her old teachers. Now whenever we drive by Princess G says "I am going to Sister's school now!" She will have to wait until Fall but we might stop by before then for her to play.

Stop & Shop

The top of the list for most New Year's Resolutions is a healthier lifestyle, either eating better, losing weight, and or exercising. Well Stop & Shop Supermarket is making healthier eating a little easier. Stop & Shop Supermarket is putting the Healthy Ideas logo (on the right) on over 3,000 items on their shelves. The Healthy Ideas logo indicates foods that have less fat, saturated fat and sodium. Besides the great new logo they have a website that has Healthy Ideas recipes, important food safety and allergen. They even have a number you can call about possible allergens in their foods, something like this would of been great when Princess G could not eat dairy, nuts or soy and neither could I.

Thank you Mom Central for the opportunity to share Stop & Shop Healthy Ideas with my readers.

Goofy Pirates Ears Hat Giveaway

I have a Goofy Pirates of the Caribbean Ears Hat to giveaway. This is very cute hat that has a great stretch so it can fit kids and adults. My girls and I each have one that fits very comfortably.
To enter you must leave a comment mentioning your favorite Disney character.
Ends 1/31/09 (Saturday) at midnight.

This is part of the Bloggy Carnival so head on over and enter to win more great prizes!!

Tooth Fairy Boxes

Yesterday I bought plain wooden boxes for the Princesses to paint for Tooth Fairy boxes.

I bought a pretty shade of pink and some foam brushes for the project.

Princess G also decorated a box for her 'loose' tooth. (If you are wondering about her hair she has one ponytail and one braid, that is what she wanted.)
You can almost see the loose tooth, bottom front left tooth. We did this project just in time as the tooth fell out soon after we were done.
It was Princess G's idea to paint the insides (and the bottom) of the boxes.

The girls covered the boxes in stickers as soon as they were dry. I had planned on having them decorate the boxes with some plastic jewels but as they are their boxes the sticker will stay. I also planned on making a small pillow for the tooth to rest on but never found the time.

My Baby Lost her First Tooth!!

Princess A lost her first tooth today!
It has been loose for a while. Today I gave a slight tug and out it came.
She said it didn't hurt at all.
The tooth fairy just made her delivery.
(Princess A rolled over, half sat up and then laid back down, all without opening her eyes!
The Tooth Fairy was sure she was caught!)

Hide-n-Seek

Playing hide-n-seek with Daddy!

Dinner at Our Favorite Resturant

We went to visit where we last lived and we had to visit our favorite restaurant. We have been going to this restaurant for over five years, since we moved to Washington.

Princess G got to sit with Mommy. We usually order the same thing (it is a special that includes an appetizer, salad or soup, an entree and dessert) and it is interesting to see how the portions and selection get a little smaller and the price a little higher. The food is fantastic so we will continue to visit.

Princess A always likes to dance in front of the mirror in the ladies room and this visit was no different.

Princess A Fell Asleep Outside Our Door

I heard Princess A outside our bedroom door about fifteen minutes after I put her to bed. I told her to get back in bed.Ten minutes later this what we found.
She is fast asleep on the landing with Pinky clutched in her arms.

Princess G was wide awake and when she heard me take a picture of her sister she wanted a picture taken too!

MedNotes on Drugs.com

Like most Moms I am the one who keeps track of every one's health and medicines. Drugs.com is a great site to find out about medications. It lists the almost anything you might what to know about a drug, what it is used for, generic name, what the pill looks like (to make sure you are taking what you are suppose too), list of drug interactions and much more. They also have a Pill Identifier in case you have a pill and don't know what it is (they suggest it for if you find something in your teenager's room, scary thought!)

Drugs.com has a great new feature MedNotes. From the site MedNotes:

Add your medications to instantly assemble relevant medical information in a simple, easy to read personalized format. Gain immediate access to in-depth consumer information, drug comparisons, historical news, FDA alerts, drug interactions, plus food, allergy and medical condition interactions.

Choose to be notified when new FDA alerts are issued and when any new drugs become available for any of your existing medical conditions. Use MedNotes to manage drugs and medications for any number of people.

You can keep track of multiple family members from your kids to your parents. MedNotes will also tell you of any possible interactions between drugs listed. What a wonderful way to keep track of not only your own health but also that of your family.

Brownie Sundaes

Princess G has been asking to make brownies for a while now but she always ask just as I am starting dinner. She did this time too but I said yes as I had to wait for a huge pot of water to boil.
Princess A dresses up fancy for dessert.
My Mom sent the girls some cute ice cream dishes for Christmas and we finally used two of them for brownie sundaes.

Here is Princess G's dish two minutes before it was shattered on the floor. At least the dish got to be used once. This is actually the first dish the girls have ever broken and the same day my Mom broke her butter dish. The next day my Mom broke another dish and she has not broken anything in a long time. Very strange (of course I did not tell my Mom what we broke!)

Home Sick

Princess A had a very sore throat on Thursday at school and came home a little early. She did like going to the Nurse's office, I hope she did not like it too much. Friday she said her throat still really hurt so we stayed home. You can see her in the background. They stayed in their PJs until after lunch.

Since they were under the weather we have been staying home all weekend. I think we are getting back to normal so hopefully we can do something fun tomorrow. My darling husband took tomorrow off so we should do something!

Making English Toffee

Last Thursday was National English Toffee Day. Skip to My Lou did a guest post on Tip Junkie with the instructions on how to make Alice Belle's World's Best English Toffee Recipe (her Grandmother.) I have never tried to make candy before but this looked so yummy we made it that day. Princess G is adding the sugar to the stick of butter

(we halved the recipe because I did not want too much candy!)

Here is the Recipe (Alice Belle’s World’s Best English Toffee) halved

1 stick of butter
2/3 cups white sugar
1 Tablespoons water plus 1 1/4 Teaspoon water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 to 3/4 Cup chocolate chips (milk chocolate is best but semi-sweet is good also)

First, prepare a pan lined with buttered aluminum foil.
Melt butter in a saucepan and add sugar and water and stir well.

Over medium high heat cook, stirring frequently, until it reaches 300degrees. If the candy appears to separate (with a layer of melted butter on top) stir vigorously to make it come back together again.Watch CLOSELY at 285 degrees, since it cooks quickly and will scorch at high temperatures.

At 300 degrees remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Carefully pour toffee into prepared pan smoothing to desired thickness and let set about a minute. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Wait about three minutes until chocolate chips are soft and melted from the heat of the toffee. Smooth chocolate across the top of the toffee.

Place in refrigerator until hard. Peel aluminum foil from back of toffee and break into pieces!

A little ballerina pose, very necessary when making candy.

I did the cooking as the syrup gets very hot. Once it reached the right temp I poured in the prepared pan. I let the girls pour the chocolate chips on top, they ate a handful too!

I forgot to take another picture when we took it out of the refrigerator but it was so yummy! (Skip to My Lou has great pictures along with the recipe so head on over there to see what it looks like when you are done.)

The girls forgot about the candy after a few days but we ate the last piece last night. Princess G wants to make some later today! I will have to see how they are feeling as they are home sick today.

Win a Zoobie

Princess A really wants either Ellema or Lecho Zoobie pet for her birthday. Enter to win your very own Zoobie Pet by going to Zoobie.com and picking out your favorite, then going to I Never Grew Up and leaving a comment telling them which animal you like the best! One winner will be chosen to receive the Zoobie of their choice.

Stay Organized with Cozi.com

Before Princess A started school it was pretty easy to keep track of our activities (thou I did forget sometimes.) Now we have too many things for me to keep the list in my head, at least if we want to actually want to be at the right places at the right time. Cozi is an online site that helps you organize your life. They help you keep track of appointments, schedules, lists, and lets you share memories and photos all in one place.

You can also get your lists (like grocery) and calendar on your cell phone using either text messages or their toll free number. You don't even have to download any software.

Also everyone who signs up for Cozi, a free service, by February 4th, 2009 will be entered to win a two-day home organization makeover with professional organizer, and incoming NAPO President (National Association of Professional Organizers), Laura Leist. In Laura's two-day visit, she will makeover either the kitchen or home office in one lucky winners' home; a service with a retail value of $5,000.

Laundry Basket Ride

Every time I do laundry the Princesses want to be pushed around in the laundry baskets.

I was a little to busy to push them this time so they pushed each other.

I should say Princess A got her sister to do almost all of the pushing.

As they were having lots of fun with many, many giggles I didn't say anything!

(Don't you love Princess G's hair, she wanted 'ponytail braids' so this is what I came up with!)

GameStop: Sharpen the Mind, Shape the Body

Most people have resolutions this time of year and most of those are for a healthier body and/or mind. One way to do that is video games, they have come a long way from Centipede (we had the game on our Commodore64.) Now you can get your body moving with the games like the Wii My Fitness Coach or exercise your mind with games like Brain Age for DS. GameStop is encouraging people to "Sharpen the Mind, Shape the Body." As a special incentive, all shoppers who spend $34.99 or more on designated products will receive a free 12-month trial subscription to their choice of Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Redbook, Good Housekeeping or Esquire.

I love playing my Brain Age2, I usually play it right before I go to sleep. As I have been playing I have noticed that my mind is a little sharper, the brain really is a muscle that needs exercise to stay in top shape. My whole family loves playing bowling on our Wii. The girls get up and move around and we all have lots of fun. I have been thinking of finding other games that get you moving for the next big snow storm in case we get stuck in the house again for a week. I also have a few games we don't play with anymore. Next week (if I can find the time) I will try and stop at GameStop to trade in some games and pick up some new ones.

I also get their newsletter and "Now through January 25, trade-in three Xbox 360, Wii, or PS3 games, and you'll receive an Extra $10 Trade-in Credit! For details on this and other great trade offers, visit our Trade-In Offers page"

Smiling Beauties

Truvia Review

I was sent a box of Truiva to try and review. It is a natural sweetener made from rebiana which is part of the leaf from the stevia plant. The strevia plant has been used to sweeten food and drink in parts of northeastern Paraguay for over 200 years. Truvia only uses rebiana which is one part of the leaf. I first tried the Truvia by itself, Truvia was just a little sweeter than sugar. I am not much for no calorie sweeteners but my husband's cousin, Aunt Cathy, uses them all of the time. When she was visiting we tried some Truvia in some hot tea. Aunt Cathy really liked it, she liked it so much she took most of the Truvia home with her. She has been using it in her coffee in the morning and tea in the evening. I really like that Truvia is made from natural materials instead of man-made chemicals. Most of my family is trying to gain weight so we don't need a zero-calorie sweetener but I will be keeping Truvia on hand for visitors who want a little sweetness in their coffee or tea without adding calories. For those of you who are interested in zero-calorie sweeteners Truvia is great.

Thank you Mom Central for the opportunity to review Truvia.

Our Puppet Show at the Library

We went to the library yesterday and the girls wanted to play in the 'puppet house.'
We always get lots of books at the library but this time I reached the limit. I had over 50 book checked out! I really had less than that but the stack we just returned were not checked in yet. I think I might return a few books tomorrow (the real total is 43 books).

Princess G's Helps Make Dinner

Princess G just loves mushrooms, garlic, onions and spinach sauteed together. Every time we go grocery shopping she asks me to get the ingredients. She also wanted to help make it this time. I was worried she would burn herself so as a compromise she tossed the food into the pan. I let her toss in the mushrooms first, and once they were almost done she started throwing in the spinach. She tossed pretty well, only one or two mushroom pieces missed the pan.

Visit to Aunt Cathy's

My husband's cousin, Aunt Cathy, stayed with this summer and got her own apartment in September. With school, colds, snow and Aunt Cathy working three jobs the girls and I had not seen her apartment yet.

The Princesses decided to wear the outfits Aunt Cathy got them for Christmas (it was Princess G's idea and Princess A agreed, as was the idea for matching french braids!)

As soon as we arrived Princess G took off her socks, she really does not like wearing socks if she doesn't have to.

The Princesses took a picture with Aunt Cathy after examining everything!
We actually got a family picture, since I am the one who takes most of the pictures I usually forget to be in the photographs.

The Princesses decide to 'camp' so Aunt Cathy made them a tent to sleep in.

They 'slept' and played in their tent for a long time. Soon it was way past time to leave but we all had a great time and hope to visit again soon.

(Maybe even next week, we might get to go to the movies while the Princesses play at Aunt Cathy's!!)

Princess A joined the Daisy Girl Scouts

This was our second meeting (the last one was cancelled for the snow and this meeting was almost cancelled because of the rain.) Princess A is loving the Daisy Girl Scouts so far, she even discovered that one of the girls attends her school in the other kindergarten class.
Princess A is proudly showing her craft she made and the two patches she earned (one was from the cancelled meeting.) Now I just have to iron them on, maybe I will get my husband to do that since he does the ironing around here.

Helping at School

I finally started volunteering in Princess A's class on Monday. As policy you can not bring younger siblings when helping in the classroom but as I have Princess G that meant I couldn't help. A few times they were so desperate for volunteers they let me bring Princess G. Princess G behaved so well the teacher said I could help each week and bring her.

Of course the first day I start helping my husband is sick and Princess G decided to stay home with him so I did not even have her.

I forgot to take pictures until the end of the day.
Here Princess A rolled the die for a six so she could draw the carrot nose.
I can't wait to help next week and neither can the Princesses.