Day 337

 

December 3rd, 2010

 

December 3rd, 2011

I got to sleep in this morning and it was WONDERFUL!!! It was so nice to wake up (on my own) and have a few minutes to myself. It's like the break that I haven't had in a week.

I went downstairs and had breakfast and we watched Mickey's Christmas Carol. 

After we watched that, we caught up on other shows and Gus played with his kitchen, his train table, and then his climber. He went down for a nap around noon and slept until 3:30.

When Gus got up, we had lunch and since we're trying to eat all the stuff in the fridge and freezer before we go, we enjoyed some ice cream after lunch. :-) Gus was quite pleased.

 

Gus likes to help with putting things into the garbage and recycling

 

He LOVES cheese!!!

 

Enjoying his vanilla ice cream with some caramel and Cool Whip on top!

We had a good day. Steve got to experience the highs and lows of Gus and couldn't help but laugh when the tiniest thing would set Gus off. Welcome to my week.

We watched football and were cheering for the UGA Bulldogs, but they lost to the LSU Tigers. BOO. I'm a UGA fan but I think Steve is a Georgia Tech fan... hmmmm.

I used the last of our chicken in our dinner tonight (Velveeta broccoli and cheese chicken skillet) and I think I've used all the beef too. I guess it's chicken nuggets, fish sticks, and pasta for dinner this week. LOL

It's weird that we just spent our last Saturday in this house. I made us eggs and bacon (had to use it up) with toast for breakfast. Steve changed all the lightbulbs out (we use CF and he put in the standard bulbs and took the CF ones out). He also took down a few things from the walls and fridge. He called DirecTv and got an appointment for our satellite to be installed on Monday the 12th, and then he got our internet set-up with AT&T U-Verse. They're also installing on the 12th.

I think we'll be without internet from Tuesday of this week through next Monday. We'll have our phones but no WiFi. Maybe I'll ask Wendy if we can mooch off her WiFi for a few days so that we can at least have that instead of relying on our poor signals.

Anywho... off to bed. See you tomorrow!

Day 336

 

December 2nd, 2010

 

December 2nd, 2011

WHAT

A
LONG
DAY

Thankfully, Steve came home tonight. I don't think I could have done another day of just me and Gus. Days like today make it all feel like work and it's exhausting. I was counting down to tub time all day long, simply because I knew if I could get the his bath time, he'd be going to bed immediately after.

Gus didn't get up in the middle of the night, but he was up by 7:15 this morning. We headed downstairs and had breakfast and then he watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I read email and checked Facebook.

 At 9:00 we headed out for our morning playdate. We had a good time this morning, but my goodness was Gus in a mood. He and Grace were both bitchy and fighting with each other. They were feeding off each other's negative energy. Grace went into timeout twice... he was miserable and wanted everything that she had, and she wanted everything that he had. Kristen and I just shook our heads and were perplexed about what to do with them.

At 11:45 it was time to head home- he was done and she was done and I was done. I stopped at Wendy's for lunch on the way home- I didn't feel like dealing with lunch today. I didn't do the kids' meal... I just got Gus some nuggets and me a crispy chicken sandwich ($0.99) and used one of my free Frosty coupons from Halloween. We got home, and Gus ate all five nuggets. I was shocked. He usually eats two, maybe three, but he ate all five.

He was super tired and immediately went down for his nap after lunch. He napped for about two hours today.

When he got up, we went down and I watched tv while he played. It was pretty uneventful. Then we watched the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol... such a great one-- Gus loved it. I couldn't believe that it was only 30 minutes-- for some reason I had it in my head that it was longer!!

Because of the teething... I gave Gus a freeze pop to enjoy and boy did he ever enjoy it!! 

We also watched part of Elf and then I started dinner. We had salsbury steak, mashed potatoes, and corn. It was yummy and Gus ate a lot of his dinner tonight! Prior to dinner, he decided to have another tantrum...

 

He ripped up a magazine out of frustration... 

 

Zombie Gus was back for dinner

I took a picture of him while he was having a fit and I added a mustache to it...

 

I took a picture of my dinner to send to Steve and make him jealous ;-)

Gus was in the tub for about thirty minutes and then it was time for bed. Steve just got home not too long ago and I'm done for the night. See you tomorrow!!!

 

Playing peek-a-boo with the shower curtain

The World's Greatest Green Bean Casserole (I Promise)

 

The World's Greatest Green Bean Casserole

I promise you, this is the greatest recipe for green bean casserole that you'll ever find. I've tasted all kinds of GBC in my days, and nothing compares to this one!!

What you'll need:

• Pack of frozen green beans (normal size- usually $1.00 or so)
• Large container of chicken broth
• Small can of mushroom stems and pieces (drained)
• French-Fried onions (small package is fine)
• Shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups)
• Cream of mushroom soup (you can get even fancier and get the special Campbell's cream of mushroom and garlic soup-- it makes it even more delicious)

Pre-Heat your oven to 350 degrees

 

Boil the green beans in the chicken broth for 8-10 minutes (If you make bacon in the morning before you are making this-- save and add a spoonful of the bacon grease to the broth- TRUST ME)

** If you're making mashed potatoes with this dish (and you should), save the broth to boil your potatoes in-- it's sooo delicious and flavorful**

 

You'll have to use a spoon to grab all the green beans from the broth-- do not dump down the sink!

 

In a separate bowl, combine the onions, soup, 1/2 cheese, and mushrooms

 

When the green beans are done being cooked, add to the mix and add the French-Fried onions

 

Add the mixture to a sprayed casserole dish, cover with foil and then bake for 20 minutes

 

Remove the foil, add the remaining 1/2 bag of cheese to the dish and then bake for an additional 8-10 minutes

Let it cool for 10 minutes before touching!

Recipes: Grandma Ghrist's Special Green Salad

 

Grandma Ghrist's Special  Green Salad

My Grandma Ghrist was a great cook-- everything she made (with the exception of liver and onions) I loved. All my favorite meals as a kid, were meals that my Grandma Ghrist made. Could it be that I just adored her so much that everything she made was amazing? Probably. Nothing tasted as good as her cooking.

One of the many things that she made that I loved growing up was what we called "Green Salad." Salad is green... duh! As a kid, if I said I wanted green salad, everyone knew I wasn't talking about the leafy, vegetable stuff... I was talking about the good stuff.

I had not made green salad in YEARS. Not since we lived in MI. So, for Thanksgiving this year, I decided to make it for us. We used to have green salad with EVERY holiday meal-- it was a staple. Here's the recipe for deliciousness:

 

You need:

Marichino cherries

Crushed pineapple (drained)

Cool Whip

Small box of Jell-O instant pudding: Pistachio

 

Combine the pudding and drained pineapple

 

Add in the entire container of Cool Whip

 

Mix well (I add a little of the cherry juice too-- but not too much or it won't set up right!!)

 

Add the cherries to the top (you can drain the juice so that it looks prettier than mine did)

Pour into a glass dish and cover. Put into the fridge to chill for at least an hour and don't remove until you're ready to eat it.

Enjoy!!

5QF: December 2nd, 2011

 

From the Friday 5 Website: Winter must be preparing to pounce upon us in the northern hemisphere, because it was a brisk-but-manageable 68 (F) yesterday morning here in Honolulu. Before we know it, overnight temperatures will dip into the high fifties and we’ll all be bundled up in jackets and long pants!

 

(1) What’s your favorite thing about cold weather?

NOTHING!! I HATE when it's cold!! I keep moving further and further south because I hate the cold so much! When I was a teacher, I loved the idea of possible snow days... then I moved to NC and taught at a year-round school and DREADED snow days because we had to make them up on a SATURDAY!!! Is there anything worse than school on a Saturday??? Yes my friends, multiple Saturdays to make up for multiple snow days!!

 

(2) Soups and hot beverages seem to be everyone’s favorite cold-weather culinary combatant, but what’s another food that seems to take the bite out of the cold?

In my opinion, NOTHING takes the bite out of cold! Maybe something from the crock-pot would work... I make a mean beef stew!

 

(3) When the weather is just starting to turn cold but is not yet in full frigidity, what do you add to your bed until it’s time to break out the heavy artillery? (I said what, not whom!)

Hmmm... We (thankfully) live in a mild climate, so our winter doesn't get SUPER cold... but it does get chilly. We have five cats and two dogs that we can add to our bed to generate some warmth (lol), but usually it's just adding the down comforter and putting the heating pad on the bed that make us extra toasty at night!

 

(4) What household chore seems especially unkind in these colder months?

Maybe taking out the garbage and recycling bins and bringing them back in... but Steve does that, so I can't complain. I do hate going grocery shopping in the cold months... having to load and unload the card with groceries and then go from a warm house to a cold car to get the items... I hate it.

 

(5) Among people you know, who seems most oblivious to cold weather?

My husband. He's ALWAYS in shorts, a t-shirt and sandals without socks. He's always hot and dresses like it's summer year-round. I'm always FREEZING (even in the summer) so the winter is especially rough on me. I just snuggle next to him to stay warm!!

Now I'm cold!!!