Toast 2 Mom

Football Baby!

Sydney's first word was "touchdown". We're pretty sure that it had something to do with the fact that she was born on a college football Saturday.

Sydney asks to hear the story about the day she was born quite a bit. If you ask her, she'll know that she was born on a sunny day. She'll know that when she was born that was the happiest Daddio has ever seen Mommy. And she'll know that the evening she was born, Daddio held her and they listened to the Nebraska/Baylor football game on the radio in the hospital room.

Over the weekend, we had a little special anniversary of sorts. For the Nebraska/Baylor game, the day Syd was born, Nebraska played at Baylor, in Waco, Texas. This past weekend, Nebraska played Baylor again, back in Waco, the first time Nebraska has been back... since that sunny day over four years ago.

Instead of listening to the game on the radio, this time we all went in person!

Here is a picture of Daddio and Syd football bonding - October 15, 2005 -

 
And here is a picture of Daddio and Syd football bonding - October 31, 2009 -

Domestic Finds

I feel like I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately....Lately as in every day. :) Honestly it's not as painful as it felt in the beginning when I had no idea how much time I would be spending in the kitchen every day as a stay home mom.

A lot of Mom web sites out there have found additional outlets to their Mommy writing and have also set up sites to discuss their domestic side. Since it is such a big part of the job, it makes total since for these Moms to test out products, write about them, etc. I like the idea, but I cannot even think about how I'd find the time to do that along with the other long list of projects I want to achieve that never seems to get completed.

Since I don't have time to create a site dedicated to great Mom products, I at least thought I wanted to do a post about the "must haves" in my kitchen. I'm also curious for any other Mom that happens to read this, what are some of your Kitchen/Mom Must Haves?

I pretty much have three items that come to mind. These are not secret items by any means - no, "where can I find one of those?" These are just simple, around the house products that I go through like crazy and cannot live without.

The first one is paper towels. I think I've mentioned enough times now my loathe for crumbs. I don't even know how many paper towels I go through in a day - but it's a lot. My husband would cringe at my lack of environmental conscience when it comes to the waste of these paper towels versus using a washrag to clean up the crumbs. Sorry, babe. When I fly through here at mock speed, wiping up the trail of constant crumbies, I want it to be as quick as possible. Paper towels save my day, every day!

My second must have item is the Ziploc sandwich baggy - yes, another environmental no-no. I do try to reuse them occasionally, but when the snacks I pack for all of our "on the run" moments gets smooshed - like sticky smooshed fig newtons - the bag gets tossed when done. I am constantly, constantly packing snacks for our many errands and outings. I loves to stock up on Ziplockies to help ease my day.

My last favorite kitchen item is the oh-so-wonderful Press'n Seal. Love this stuff! I cover everything with this easy-to-stick-but-not-too-sticky-wonder-invention. When my girls do not finish a meal - like ever - I wrap up the left-overs for the next time. When I cannot find the right lid to my tupperware container - like ever - Press'n Seal to the rescue. I wrap it over the top of unfinished milk. It also holds that remained two slices of pizza we don't finish. It's a great must-have.

So, as I mentioned, there is nothing on my must-have list that is out of this world creative. These are just basic kitchen items...but I cannot imagine my days, my all day long in the kitchen days, without them.

So, what can't you live without in your kitchen?

Swimming Transformation

Just a few months ago, I was explaining the importance of learning to swim to my eldest through the eyes of Ariel, the mermaid. My daughter didn't like getting her face wet, nor would she even dream of jumping in the water or (gasp) go down a slide. Now, our little swimmer is just ending a two-week swim camp...and what a champ. She is swimming face in the water, flipping over for breaths and races to the "big kid" slide to be the first one down after class is over.

I give a lot of the credit to my husband for working with her over summer in the pool. The irony is that he was never really fond of water growing up and never really learned how to swim. But give the man a challenge you think he can't do....and he's all in! Apparently so is his daughter....with a little bribery. :) I am so happy to see this enthusiam in her in the water. Sometimes she's a little too confident, but we're working on that too. Here are a few slide shots on the "big kid" slide. She wouldn't even accept being caught down the "little kid" slide a couple months ago. Now she wants to go completely under water after going down the big slide. Amazing!

 

 

Night at the Ballpark

We had Sunday family fun night last night. Since we moved down south, I'm so pleased with the amount of activities we've participated in and the areas of the new city we've explored. Last night Hubby scored some great tickets to the AAA ballpark. It was a 7:00 game, late for the kiddos....but as always, snacks to the rescue. And what better snacks to put the ballfans in a good mood, than ballpark food. We started off sucking down a fresh squeezed lemonade. Syd chowed her favorite - popcorn (and ate the whole box, minus a few crumbs on the bottom). Natty and I enjoyed nachos and a bit of corndog. Poor Daddio, got whatever was left.

Here are some photos from our late night out...

 

 

 

 

Flower Girl in Waiting

We leave today to head north for a family wedding. Our niece is getting married this weekend, and our big girl Syd is a flower girl. We have been talking about and talking up this role for months now!

There are endless cute stories detailing the discussions we've had leading up to this big event. The one story that stands out the most, though, is how after the big wedding, when the job is all done, Sydney gets to go to a party and eat cake and hit the dance floor with Daddio.

Sure she's shown excitement over the pretty dress she gets to wear, about the new shoes we bought, about the basket full of pretty flower petals that she'll get to drop for her beloved "Princess Bride Katie". All of those things have gotten a lot of mention, but none more than cake and dancing. This girl likes the party! (which scares me a little bit!)

So, my Mommy goal is to make sure that between now and Saturday, Sydney hits all of her bedtimes right on time and takes as many naps as possible. Or the flowers may get thrown, not delicately dropped...and there might be a photos documented forever of a little blond girl with a blood shot eyes, a wrinkly ivory dress and one shoe on, asleep on the dance floor with cake in her hair.

Hopefully happy pictures to follow...

The Hosers

Maybe I've mentioned this before, I don't do plants. I grew up in apartments. I didn't learn how to mow a lawn until I was an adult. My grandpa was a farmer, but I hacked my leg with a hoe trying to help my grandma in the garden. I like flowers. I like vegetables. I like the idea of growing these things. Plants are OK, I guess. But when it comes to me, being proactive, trying to grow and nurture all things that are green, it's just not my thing. I take care of furry kitties and fuzzy head kids.

So when it comes to watering the plants and watering the lawn, that's my Hubby's job... Welllll, he claims that he is the one watering the lawn. I have pictures to prove otherwise!

Here is a photo of my Syd at nineteen months, "assisting" Daddy with the hose.

And here is a picture of my Cheekers, just shy of eighteen months, demonstrating her hose skills.

Snack and a Show

Well it's actually my Sydney that asks me every day after her nap if I can get her a "snack and a show". However I couldn't resist this photo of the little father/daughter bonding between Cheekers and Daddio over sharing some veggie straws and watching a little cycling.