Well we have a new addition to the Lavoie household. Chris has been wanting a dog for awhile now. He wanted a little dog and I like big dogs. So of course we ended up getting this... it is in Affenpinscher. At least he didn't bring home the Chihuahua he has begging for! Sorry to anyone that has a Chihuahua, just not my kind of dog. One of the guys on Chris' crew has a wife who takes in strays and this happened to be one they were looking for a home for. She's not the most attractive dog (it has the nickname Monkey Dog) but she has a good personality. We haven't heard her bark nor has she had an "accident" since we got her yesterday evening. She is very timid and is a little afraid of Penelope. Mr. Rat the cat is eyeing her suspiciously and is probably a little upset there is a doggy in his territory. We were told she is about two years old but we don't know for sure if that's true. Tomorrow we plan on taking her to the vet to be looked at maybe they can tell us a little bit more. We named her Kiwi...
We went over to our friends, Josie and Robs house today to hang out. They have a daughter just a few months older then Penelope so while they played we made Sushi! It was so much fun. We made California Rolls and Crab Salad Rolls with Sriracha. We attempted to make "inside out rolls" or Uramaki but ran out of rice. Not bad huh? Next time gonna try doing some fancier rolls.
Found this site and thought I would start playing along. Every saturday there is a new photo theme and you are suppose to post a picture on your blog fitting the theme of the week. You can use a past photo or a new one but it has to be one that you have taken yourself. You leave a comment on the above site with a link to your post. That's it! Thought it sounded fun so here is my contribution to this weeks theme: cuddly.
Btw, my first Pampered Chef party was a success! :)
Btw, my first Pampered Chef party was a success! :)
Penelope had leftovers for lunch today. Half a Cheeseburger, Pasta Salad and some Carrot Sticks. I guess they were not really leftovers for her since she really didn't eat dinner last night. Chris had to bribe her with cheese for her to have just a few bites. She loves "cheeeeese". I really hope this not wanting to eat business ends soon I'm getting a little worried. Any readers out there with a toddler? I would love to hear about their eating habits. Thanks!
We are back from San Diego! We got back last night but I was so tired and SICK to post. Penelope and I both have a cold but I am so happy she was cold free for her birthday party! We had so much fun! Here is the birthday girl in her party dress. Here she is hitting her Pinata , she loved it! She had to get her Pinata hitting shoes on for this. ;p Look at her collecting all her goodies. This is the birthday cake her auntie Veronica bought her. Finally opening up presents. She got so many great things. Clothes from grandma, lots of toys from her cousins and aunties and uncles and Chris and I gave her her first bike. She was so excited when she saw dad walk in with it from the garage. She immediately jumped up and ran to it. She is still not tall enough to reach the peddles but she has been enjoying being pushed around on it by dad. We need to get her a helmet and us some earplugs, that horn is loud!
I finally made them and here are the photos I promised... First I seasoned them with salt and patted them dry. Then I fried them in Canola oil until browned. Frying is a must if you want them nice and crispy baking just doesn't cut it, trust me I've tried it. While the oil was draining off them I warmed up up some Franks Red Hot Sauce along with a little butter. Add as much butter as you like to lessen the heat. I made them pretty spicy. Here they are after I coated them in the sauce. Served with Blue Cheese, yum. Chris likes the little drumettes and I like the wings, see we were meant for each other. ;p These came out pretty good and I think I am going to experiment with different flavor sauces.
Here is Penelope's lunch for today. She had a Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Olives and Applesauce.
She went to her first Superbowl party yesterday. I am not a football fan but Chris says he is ;p so one of his friends from work invited us over. They had yummy greasy snack foods and I brought along some of my AMAZING guacamole. Apparently it has become a tradition and I have been appointed Superbowl Guacamole Maker from now on. I am thrilled... I was cheering for the colts because, I like horses. 8) Unfortunately I lost and now have to take my friend Josie out to lunch. I hear tomorrow is free Grand Slam Day at Denny's! They've also brought back the free Grand Slam on your birthday, Yippee!
She went to her first Superbowl party yesterday. I am not a football fan but Chris says he is ;p so one of his friends from work invited us over. They had yummy greasy snack foods and I brought along some of my AMAZING guacamole. Apparently it has become a tradition and I have been appointed Superbowl Guacamole Maker from now on. I am thrilled... I was cheering for the colts because, I like horses. 8) Unfortunately I lost and now have to take my friend Josie out to lunch. I hear tomorrow is free Grand Slam Day at Denny's! They've also brought back the free Grand Slam on your birthday, Yippee!
I just had to post these pictures, they are too funny. So I was trying to get Penelope to take her usual nap today but she was fighting it. I had to go into her room twice to tell her to get back in her bed as I could hear her playing. Finally it got really silent and I was sure she had fallen asleep in her bed so I went in to check on her...the bed was empty. At first glance I could not see her then I saw her cuddled up with the HUGE doll her Grandpa Rocky and Grandma Dolly gave her for Christmas. She was asleep in the corner behind her bed with her blanket over her. Looks like she just past out in the middle of playing. Of course I picked her up and put her in her bed but I bet she sure was comfy sleeping on her doll.
I decided to fill Penelope's bento today with some of her favorite things lately. This is all stuff I knew for sure she would gobble up without a fight. The top tier has Green and Black Olives and cubes of Cheddar and Jack Cheese. The bottom tier is Fruit Cocktail, Dried Cranberries and a Strawberry Nutri-Grain bar I sliced up. She calls them "nola" her way of saying granola bar. I was right about this lunch, she ate it all. She was very excited about her bunny food pick and used it to pick up everything in her box.
Penelope had her gym class yesterday. It was so much fun. She walked across a balance beam, jumped on a trampoline and even had a train ride. She really enjoys going and I hope Chris can skip out of work for a bit sometime and come watch her. She is so brave jumping up on all the equipment with no hesitation while I stand there cringing scared to death that she is gong to get hurt. I know, I need to stop worrying so much, can't help it.
She is getting more and more vocal each day it's great to hear her say a new word. She is so smart, she can look at a letter and tell you which one it is, she is reciting her ABC's with a little help and today when I was putting her to bed she counted the bars on her headboard all on her own out of nowhere, one through ten. Ok, so I am bragging a little bit here but I am so proud of this little girl. One thing I am not so proud of is her eating habits these days. I mentioned before about what a good eater she is but that lately, the last few weeks, she has been a little picky and not wanting to eat much. She sure does love her cheese though! Everything is "cheese, cheese!" She has had cottage cheese everyday and sometimes twice a day for the last week! It's a little frustrating for me at dinner time when she doesn't want to eat what I prepared for us. She will watch dad and I eat and just play with her food. I have had to bribe her a couple of times with of course cheese or fruit in order to get her to take a couple of bites. She has also suddenly become a vegetarian. :) She doesn't want to eat any meat, she thinks it's all chicken which she calls "pock pock"and she refuses to eat it. I really hope this is just a phase she is going through so I can go back to bragging about how good of an eater she is. ;p I will keep preparing her different foods and hope that she gets over it. Since it was just her and I tonight, Chris is away on a job, I decided I would make something quick and simple for dinner so I made this yummy fried rice. Here is Penelope's plate, untouched. It really was yummy though and easy to make. I fried up some chopped bacon and scrambled an egg then put some leftover brown rice in the pan and mixed everything together. Then I added some mixed frozen veggies and soy sauce and finally some chopped green onion. Very tasty!
Look at the pretty lilies Chris bought me for being the best wife in the whole wide world. ;p Pretty huh? Did I mention that my orchid plant is still alive? Yup, the flowers have long gone but the actual plant itself is thriving. I still have yet to transfer it to a prettier pot. I just know when I do it's going to die.
So yesterday was Chris' birthday and I made him his favorite dessert, lemon bars. I used the barefoot contessa mix my sister bought me. Those things took forever to make! With all the steps and cooling time I think they were ready in about 3 hours. Chris woke up singing something about making coffee to eat with his lemon bars so I started making them at like 8am but unfortunately for him he had to drink his coffee alone.
In case some of you were wondering how Penelope's potty training was going, well it's not. I forgot to mention that I decided to take a break on the whole thing. I was so excited because that second day in Penelope was doing so well. The following day was a nightmare though, messes everywhere. Also she would cry every time she sat on the potty and started to go and then try to get up and I would have to hold her down. I decided she wasn't quite ready yet and so I am going to try again in a couple of weeks after her birthday...
That's right she is turning the big 2 on the 16th. We are going to drive down to San Diego the weekend before her birthday so grandma can throw her a little party with all her cousins. I can't wait!