I looove baking!

I love baking! I also have the worst sweet tooth EVER!
I scored some amazing orchard fresh apples last week.
I didn't want to make pie or anything traditional so I started roaming across the interwebs for some fun apple recipes.
Mainly I searched Pinterest lol

I found this awesome apple bread recipe. It is so yummy! I made 4 loaves and there is only 3/4 of one left lol 
I did send some to work with HB for his coworker Ernie but that only accounts for half a loaf lol
I made it with and without walnuts. Both were delicious!

Here is the amazeball recipe...

I used Cortland Apples but I don't think it matters what type you use.
Make sure you coat your pans really well or the apples that touch the pan will make it stick big time!
I used Market Pantry Butter Flavored Baking Spray. I <3 Target Brands :)

Makes 2 small loaves or 1 large (heavy!) loaf. This some dense bread

Ingredients...

• 1 tsp of Baking Soda
• 1 tsp of Salt
• 1 cup Chopped Walnuts (totally optional)
• 3 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apples
• 3 cups of All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup White Sugar
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 3 Eggs, beaten
• 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  
  

Instructions...

• Preheat Oven to 300 degrees F (150 C)
• Spray your pans down
• Mix Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Walnuts, and Apples in a Large bowl.
• Whisk Oil, Sugars, Eggs and Cinnamon together in a Smaller Bowl.
  Add to the Flour mixture and mix until just moistened.
  Evenly divide between your prepared pans
• Bake until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and it comes out clean.
  Should take about 90 minutes depending on your oven.
  
• Cool and Enjoy!
  HB says its amazing with Vanilla Ice Cream :)

Hey you need to pick up after yourself so... Chore Chart Maybe?

Kai has become just awful about picking up after herself lately. 
Half the time she just starts playing which I know is totally normal the rest of the time she just flat out ignores me until I yell. I feel like I've been yelling more than talking lately.

I've been trying to come up with some ideas on ways to motivate her to pick up her stuff. For a little while a song from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood worked but now she tells me to stop singing >.<

Occasionally she listens to HB but that's pretty hit or miss.
Before she turned 4 she was helpful without any issue.
Now I'm getting sick of fighting but I don't want her to be one of those lazy kids that expect their parents to take care of everything.

Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with Chore Charts etc?

Stay at Home Mom: The Art of the Adult Conversation

So I am a Stay at Home Mom. Have been one for about 3.5 years now.
At first I thought I was going to go insane from feeling so isolated.
I YEARNED for adult interaction.
On a good day the only adult interaction I got was with my Parents and HB.
90% of my time was spent with a 6 month old.
I thought I was going to lose my shit. Literally.

What was worse was when I actually got to go out shopping with my Bestie I had no idea what to talk about! Kai went with us because I was breastfeeding but at 6 months babies don't do a whole lot.
The Bestie would talk about her job, going to movies, going out on the weekends and I was over there like "Yeah if Kai sleeps too long I start leaking milk everywhere. Awkward!"
Thankfully the Bestie is awesome and wanted to hear all about it.
I felt like a very boring person there for a while lol
I'm very lucky in that my close knit group of friends at least faked excitement when I would text them pics and video clips of Kai's first even the guys managed.

It was a lot of adjustment for me not only being a New First time Mom but also as a New Stay at Home Mom.
I had worked from the time I was 16 till 23 when Kai was born.
I became a SAHM because I was outsourced for cheaper labor at my retail job.
We couldn't afford child care and made too much to qualify for any childcare help so we decided I would stay home since HB had the better paying job.

Kai was 9 months old when HB was a groomsmen in her God Fathers wedding. I found myself pulled from home and into this busy wedding/reception and found I had nothing to talk about but Kai and being a Mommy. (Not that it was a bad thing but I felt very out of place.)

I ended up sitting by myself while HB did his Groomsmen duties because everyone just looked at me weird when I had nothing to compare to traveling Up North or to Canada. Thankfully HB rescued me and introduced me to some other people that were there who had kids.

Even with Kai being older I find myself out of touch with the majority of the mainstream happenings.
I don't follow it. I would rather busy myself keeping track of 

1. What Kai is watching
2. Trying to get her to eat new foods
3. making sure her clothes still fit
4. seeing if I really need to do laundry or not
5. making sure Kai isn't hiding clothes on me
6. or snacks somewhere lol 
7. Discovering which foods she suddenly doesn't like anymore >.<

I've also discovered being a mom has effected not only what I talk about but also how I talk to people.
HB wasn't feeling so hot the other day. Here's our convo...

Me "Does your tummy hurt?"
HB "my STOMACH is fine"
(I don't pay any attention to this lol)
Me "Do you have to go potty?"
HB "Kai isn't here. She's in school, remember?"
Me ::blinks:: "Shit! I was talking to you!"
HB O.o "Why would you ask me that?"
Me "Habit! Ahahahaha I'm sorry Honey."
HB ::shaking his head chuckling:: "Honey you need to get out more"

That is just one example lol

Talking like a Sausage

"You're talking like a sausage! Make sense dammit!"

I grew up with that saying and so did my Dad.
An old German man that ran a Grocery store in my Dad's hometown used to say it around my Grandmother when she worked for him.
So she came home and introduced it to the household lol

Its basically a funny way of telling someone that they are making no sense whatsoever.

So its still a family saying in our household :) Though we usually drop the swearing lol
Its the greatest thing ever to say to Kai when she's making no sense.
Plus she knows when she is making no sense as she's giggling as she talking nonsense.

The other day Kai was running around before school with her lips all pouched up babbling nonsense that I could not follow.
I look at her "Kai what in the world are you doing?"
Kai lips still all puckered up "I'm talking like a Sausage Mommy!"

Bahahahaha omg I died right there and so did HB.


What is something funny your LO's have done lately?

Little Kids = super balls

Poor sweet pea cuddling with her Lola Bunny

Its crazy how fast little ones bounce back from being sick.
Yesterday afternoon Kai woke up from her nap happy and full of energy.
An hour later she was curled up in her bed whimpering in pain and crying for her Daddy.
I panicked and we immediately took her in. I had never seen her like that. Normally she'll tell me she has a tummy ache and I'll ask if she needs to/has pooped that day. The answer is always "No" and she runs to the bathroom and goes. (side note its very odd being so comfortable asking a tiny person if they've pooped lately O.o)

We took her in and as I stood there giving the receptionist all her info Kai covered both of us in vomit ((Gags)) It reeked to high heavens.
I thought the poor receptionist was going to barf just looking at us. Thankfully the poor woman kept it together and called a nurse who came to help me right away (HB was parking the car)
Luckily HB also had Lola Bunny so she was saved from the puke wave.
I was very impressed at how fast they took us back to a room and helped us wipe as much of the vomit as we could off.
The nurses were so sweet and Kai charmed them right away.
I felt so bad for Kai because she started apologizing for "spilling" on me. That's what she calls throwing up.

The Dr was very prompt and very thorough too. They gave her some Zofran right away and then took her for an X-Ray of her tummy just to make sure everything looked ok. They were kinda concerned about a portion of her colon collapsing into itself. (I guess that's common in little ones)

She only got sick the one time while we were there.
The X-Ray came back clear and they discharged us saying it must have been a virus.
I'm not sure I agree with them... I think it was something she ate but it doesn't matter now that she's feeling better. 

Here she is earlier today back to her spunky self lol 

She went to bed early last night and slept the whole night.
She woke up right as rain and like nothing happened!
Its insane how quickly little ones bounce back!

That wasn't too hard... Lets jump 2 levels... HOLY shit NO (Diablo 3 PS3)

So HB and I just beat Diablo 3 for the first time. We were both playing as Female Wizards (that was confusing for a bit) and we played at difficulty level... of Normal and Medium.
We were level 30 Wizards when we beat and were like
 "Wow that wasn't so hard! Lets go up 2 levels in difficulty!"
So we jumped up to Nightmare Master 1.
OMG did we get our asses kicked!!
 We died so much in the beginning we barely made it to The Ruins before we were like "Fuck this! Lets drop it down a level"
So we're now doing Nightmare Hard.
 We're died quite a bit at this level too but not as bad as before.
I was really surprised how much HB was dying because he's played this a ton on PC so I figured I would be the only one dying lol
He hasn't died as much as me but pretty close!
I'm still immensely enjoying this game

Cuddles and Blow Guns

There are some days when I want to just cuddle the bejeezus out of Kai and then there are other days when I want to take HB's blow gun and tranq her little butt. Go tribal on her tushy lol

Since she started school she's been going through some serious attitude issues.
Thankfully we found that its only at home that she's giving attitude at.
According to her teacher when she's at school she's a perfect angel.

At home she's mouthy, rude, and flat out refuses to listen. Whats worse is that she's began to whine and throw tantrums which she had never done before.
When she does that she loses privileges such as her leap pad, movies, TV and getting to go anywhere.
Its like a vicious cycle!

Its been a week and a half of this craziness!

I'm really hoping its just her adjusting to the stress of the schedule change and such.