Life with a toddler

Elle is into all out fit pitching lately. I'm talking throws herself on the ground, kicks her legs and screams fit pitching. I'm not sure what she was mad about in this particular picture, but mostly I get this reaction from trying to regulate which shoes she wears out of the house. She normally picks the pink sparkly ballet slippers or the gold gladiator sandals. Yeah...not always practical! Oh, and don't try to take away her Barbie...that's another fit waiting to happen!! It's never dull with a 1 year old!

Lots of friends

This girl loves her "babies"!  She sat in the basket and yelled "More, more!  Ruff ruff, Quack, Baby, Ruff Ruff, Rabbit, Meow!  More, more!"  

A little trim

Scarlett was in desperate need of a haircut. I mean, check out that before pic in the salon chair. Gigi was nowhere in sight, so we had to resort to going to the salon. Now she's looking MUCH better!! Fit for lunch with the princesses in 2 weeks!

Happy Mardi Gras!!

We headed out with friends to the Metairie parades this morning.  The girls had a blast.  Scarlett was most concerned with catching stuff - really waving and screaming "Throw me something, Mister!"  Elle was a big fan of the bands - dancing away!  As usual, I didn't get many pictures while the parade was going, but here's a few before and after!

Ready for Spring

We are so ready for some pretty weather so we can break out these cute spring dresses!  It's been rainy and not quite warm enough for spring clothes yet...mostly in the 60's and 70's.  I took this cute picture of the girls all dressed up in some of their spring attire!

SPN Mardi Gras

Today was the last day of school before Mardi Gras break.  To end their Mardi Gras themed week, Scarlett made king cakes for snack (donuts + frosting), did more Mardi Gras art, then we went back for the school parade this afternoon.  I didn't get any pictures of the parade, but the girls had a blast.  All the PK4 kids decorate wagons as floats and then dress up and throw to the kids in the school.  

Here's the girls all dressed in their Mardi Gras shirts this morning

And the only picture I got before the parade...of Scarlett & her best friend Sophia. 

More Mardi Gras fun to come on Tuesday!

Valentine's Day

We celebrated Valentine's Day this weekend in Baton Rouge.  Saturday evening we exchanged presents then all went out to dinner at Ruffino's - a local Italian restaurant.  The food was great and a very nice place.  Somehow Elle & nice restaurants don't mix though.  Not sure if it's the dim lighting, the cloth tablecloths, or maybe the waiters in ties.  She was less than cooperative though.  We ordered Scarlett a Shirley Temple and once Elle saw, all she did was look at Scarlett's cup and scream "ME! ME! ME!."  So she got one too.  She had to sit in my lap to eat and lost her mind a couple more times.  At least the service was quick so we didn't interrupt too many romantic Valentine's dates (the place claimed to be kid friendly, but there weren't many kids there, even at 5pm).  

Here's Elle getting ready for dinner

Elle & Daddy

When Scarlett woke up, it was present time!  

Cameron got me this awesome new tote and some Godiva chocolates!

The girls and I made this for Cameron & got him some new clothes for spring.

Fast forward to today - actual Valentine's Day - and here was our delivery this morning!

My favorite!

Aww...what a cute balloon.  Good thing we got this great picture...

Because here's what happened about 3 minutes later.  She was taking it to her room, stood on the bottom step and just let go.  I asked her what she was thinking and she said "I didn't think it was that high."  Cue meltdown.  

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Recipe Share

When it's just me & the girls eating dinner, I always like to make something that I know they will eat without hesitation.  I am just not up for the fight!  This week has been a great dinner week for us.  No fussing, just eating!  Monday was spaghetti with meatsauce - always a winner.  Tuesday, I made ranch chicken nuggets.  These things are SO good!  It's a chicken nugget I can get on board with.  My girls aren't big on eating the processed ones, so anything that involves a real piece of chicken is a winner in their book.  And I even hoard some honey mustard sauce from Chickfila for Scarlett to dip in :o)  Here's one of my new favorite recipes:

Ranch Chicken Fingers (or nuggets if you choose to cut them small like me!)

2lbs chicken tenders / cut up breast pieces
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 cup bread crumbs
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

2 eggs - beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used EVOO)

In a bowl, combine the parm, bread crumbs and ranch.  In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs.  Dip chicken pieces in egg, then coat with breadcrumb mixture.  In a large skillet, heat oil to medium heat.  In heated oil, cook chicken for about 4 minutes on each side until golden brown.  Transfer to a baking dish and cook at 350 degrees about 30 minutes or until no longer pink (less time for nuggets).

* Just a note on this one...you'll use up more breading mixture if you choose to do nuggets instead of tenders so plan accordingly!


Last night we had chicken fried rice which they gobbled up while professing love for "rice with fire."  Scarlett complained at first when I told her that I was making it, saying she needed red beans and rice instead.  Well, guess what's for dinner tonight.  Yep, if it involves beans, they will eat it and love it.  Here's my crockpot red beans and rice recipe.  I've made this over and over again.  It's delicious and saves well, so we usually get 2 meals out of just half the recipe.

Crock pot Red Beans & Rice


1 lb bag of kidney beans
12-14 cups of water (I usually find that this is a little much, so I cut back a bit)
3 beef bouillon cubes (I use reduced sodium)
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp cajun seasoning (adjust to your preference)

1 lb smoked sausage
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup flour
1 onion - chopped
4 cloves garlic
4 cups of rice (cooked)

In a crockpot, add beans, water and seasonings.  Cook on high 6-8 hours or low 8-10 hours.  At least 1 hour prior to serving, cut up and add sausage to crock pot.  Saute 1/3 cup of oil with onion and garlic until onion turns clear.  Add 1/3 cup of flour to oil mixture and stir into a paste.  Add the paste to the beans and stir well.  Continue to cook for at least 1 hr.  Serve over rice.


Hope you enjoy as much as we do!

Small victories

So proud of my big girls this morning!  

Last night Scarlett woke me up in the middle of the night to go potty for the first time!  She's been 4 nights in panties.  So happy!  (knocking on wood right now that I don't have to change sheets in the middle of the night tonight!)

And then this morning, Elle drank all her milk out of a big girl cup for the first time!  She's been stuck on this baby cup since she turned 12 months and I took the bottle away.  It's tiny and she always drinks the milk, then hands it to me and says "more".  It was time for a bigger cup!  Let's hope she keeps it up. 

Bye bye baby cup (fingers crossed)

19 Months

Elle is 19 months old today.  She's getting so big!  She's conquered the playground - climbing, sliding (except when she decides it's too hot) and running with the big kids.  She talks all the time.  Her new favorite words / phrases are "Barbie", "I do it", "rabbit", and naming all the parts of your face.  She's so sweet, so girly, and extremely independent.  She loves her sister and her friends and will say "hi" and grin at ANYONE.  I'm talking random people in line at Walmart.  She adores her stuffed animals and Barbies and also loves to read (anything with animals right now!).  She's starting to lose her nickname "ruckus" as she is calming down just a little!  Thank goodness!  

Random updates

I know how I get in trouble with the family if I go too long without new pics, so here's a few from the past week :o)

Perfect perfect perfect smiles and pose.  Too bad my camera didn't focus!  Agh!  And would you believe this was the first take?  

"Hello???"

Sweet girl and her puppy (and a new rainbow dress)

My big girl going to bed tonight.  She loves those "rabbit" pajamas.