Bring on the snow!

Blue House Mom mentioned this morning that there is the possibility of snow coming this weekend. Lilypad Princess has completely outgrown her boots, snowpants and jacket from last year so if we want to go play in the snow we needed something new. Lilypad Dad, LP and I hit the mall today to see what we could find.

We really lucked out today, not only is LP ready to play in the snow, but now I'm ready to go play with her. We found a 3-in-1 jacket and matching snowpants for LP at The Children's Place for $28 with my discount.

Then at Target we found a pair of boots that are a pretty good match, are easy to get on and off, and seem really comfortable (she didn't want to take them off) for $19.99. The fur is hidden by the snowpants.

While checking out the boots for LP, I found a pair for myself. They are very similar to the Land's End Trello that I posted about here. They are a little heavier (I was so surprised by how light the Trellos are!) but they are more waterproof and will be much easier to clean. They only came in white, but they also had the matching jacket, and the jacket and boots together were $25 less than just the jacket I was looking at from Land's End.
So Lilypad Princess and I are ready to build a snowman and go sledding, and I know Lilypad Dad is ready to try out his new snowblower, thanks to Nana and Pop Steve!

Excitement at the Lilypad

There was quite a bit of excitement here last night. Luckily Lilypad Dad was actually home last night, he had court yesterday so he did a day tour instead of his normal night shift. We had just gone to bed, he was asleep and I was about to fall asleep. I heard a bang, and our bedroom door (which is never fully closed for the cats) opened and closed like there was a draft. About 2 seconds later I heard our alarm going off.

I woke up Lilypad Dad, he grabbed his gun and went down stairs while calling 911. Someone had pulled the entire screen window out on our porch, and I guess the storm window was still open (we had some nice weather so we had opened it for the cats). The person then put their shoulder into the french doors from the porch into our dining room. I guess the alarm scared him off though, by the time Lilypad Dad got downstairs they were gone.

Lilypad Princess slept though everything, including the cops and the alarm. The cops where here last night, and someone came back this morning to do all the fingerprinting. I am SO glad that he was home last night, I would have freaked out if Lilypad Princess and I were in the house alone. And now I am glad we pay the monthly ADT fee, the alarm is definitely worth it.

Blurb.com

A friend of mine just told me about another site that will turn your blog into a book. This one is called Blurb.com. You can choose a hardcover or softcover book, up to 440 pages long (enough for thousands of blog posts). You download the software and it imports your text, images, links and comments. You can then edit and customize the pages as much or as little as your want.

I just played with it for a minute, but it seems like a great option to turn your blog into a physical memory. Thanks Michelle!

If anyone has used this site, please let me know what you thought of the process and the book, thanks!

Pictures

While I was working this past weekend, Lilypad Princess and her daddy had fun with the camera. I have quite a few pictures of the carpet, a few of the ceiling, one of the desk, and a couple of different parts of Lilypad Dad, but the only one of all of him is too blurry. LP needs some additional practice with the camera. (I was going to have her Nana get her one of her own for Christmas, but I think we're going to wait one more year for it).

But Lilypad Dad got a couple of cute pictures of LP for me. A little work with Photoshop to crop and reduce noise and they aren't too bad! She looks so old to me in each of these.

Bright White Teeth

It's the week of the teeth I guess. I just got another package from BzzAgent* today (go here for my last BzzAgent posting). This one is for Listerine Whitening Quick Dissolve Strips. They are advertised as whitening strip that dissolves completely in 10 minutes, leaving nothing on your teeth so they can be used anywhere. They also say that they are virtually unnoticeable, again so you can use them anywhere and no one will know, during your commute, at work, while shopping etc. I have four days worth to try myself, so I'll give you my initial review now and an update after using them all. I'll also be brave and post before and after pictures so you can see for yourself if they work.

My Initial Review

After some initial struggles opening the package (hint: open the foil packet on 3 sides, don't try to pull the strip out just through the top)it was pretty easy to get the strips on. I wasn't completely even on both sides though, so the next time I use them I'll have to remember to put it a little further over on the left side of my mouth so everything is even! Other than that, they are easy to fold over and feel just like a little bit of padding if you bite your front teeth together. I like that you don't need to do anything special to put them on, other strips I had used in the past made you have to completely dry your teeth or they wouldn't stick.

When the strips are on, they are a little sticky, and there is a slight tingling sensation as they dissolve, but I was able to talk normally with them, Lilypad Dad didn't even know I had them on when I was talking to him. They are pretty much invisible when you first put them on, but as they dissolve they form bubbles around your teeth. They have a slightly minty, slightly chlorine taste to them, not the nicest thing but not completely unpleasant either. It's almost like jumping into a pool after having just used mouthwash.

It has been about 15 or 20 minutes now and there are still spots that I can feel something sticky but the majority of the strip had dissolved in about 8-10 minutes. I am going to go brush my teeth to get rid of the taste since I'm home and can, but if I needed to use them and couldn't brush I could live with the taste. Actually, now that it's about 5 minutes later, everything has completely dissolved and my mouth feels and tastes like I just used mouthwash.

Here is the before picture (please don't mind the bad smile and picture, it's really hard to take a self-portrait of your teeth!)


*BzzAgent is an online word of mouth community. They give you the opportunity to try new products that interest you, then you pass along the bzzz about them to people you know that you think would be interested. I also have a bunch of samples of the Listerine Whitening Strips for anyone who is interested, just let me know and I'll get them to you.

Lilypad Likes

With the Christmas shopping starting, I'm sure this topic will appear more frequently for the next couple of weeks. I just came across a personalized book that I absolutely adore. It is called The First Adventures of an Incredible You and is sold by Custom Made for Kids. The fun, bright and colorful pictures will get the attention of every child no matter how young, and are perfect for a boy or girl.Not only is this book personalized with their name and birthday, but you include the names of family members, favorite sports teams, pets, friends, local parks, vacation spots etc.

For example, when personalized for LP, one page reads "There will be nothing more perfect than rain on a warm spring day, you nad Nana jumping in puddles and splashing away." Another part of the story reads, "Grandpa's sauce and meatballs will be such a treat!"

Kids always love personalization (I remember how sad it was to never find anything with my name spelled correctly!) and this is the ultimate in personalization and cherished memories. I believe the books are always the perfect gift, this just takes it one step better.

(Until 11/27 you can enter to win one by clicking on the 12 days of giveaways box on the right)

Lilypad Likes

I would love to wake up Christmas morning with this under the tree. My only question is would it actually be a gift for Lilypad Princess or for Lilypad Dad?

Lilypad Princess has never actually seen her dad in uniform except for in pictures, but she has started recognizing uniforms and cars and mentioning that her daddy works. So I think she's making the connection (although she has also made the connection with other types of uniforms as well, including train conductors. I guess we have to work on recognizing the differences in uniforms). I think LP would have fun pretending to be daddy at work. We already have the Hometown Heroes Police Car that would fit right in too.

My favorite part of the entire set is the little criminals dressed in stripes. They also have a really cute fire station as well.

police station from Pottery Barn Kids

Happy Thanksgiving

5 things I am thankful for:

1) Lilypad Dad who is my soulmate and the love of my life. I cannot imagine my life without him.
2) Lilypad Princess who changed my life the day she arrived, and it's only gotten better everyday since. I am so thankful that LP Dad is willing to do what we need to so that I can stay home with LP and be with her every step of the way through these early years.
3) My family, despite the distance we have all spread out, we are all closer than ever. The have completely embraced Lilypad Dad as a member of the family and we both know that they are there for us and Lilypad Princess at all times.
4) My friends, both old and new. I feel blessed to still be close to friends that I have known since birth, early childhood, through school and those early adult years when you try to find yourself. I hope that Lilypad Princess and her friends manage to keep such strong bonds as they grow up. I am also blessed to have met some wonderful new friends, found through our children, but friends on our own as well. I am happy that LP has brought them into my life.
5) Our neighbors, when we bought our house we didn't know how lucky we were. We have amazing neighbors who have become family as well. Lilypad Princess will grow up knowing how wonderful diversity can be, and never lacking in love or security.

Wishing all of our family and friends a very happy Thanksgiving. Safe travel to everyone who will be venturing out this weekend, and everyone enjoy your food and family and friends.

Love, Lilypad Mom, Lilypad Dad, and Lilypad Princess

Germs on my toothbrush

Did you know that your toothbrush is home to millions of bacteria and viruses and that bacteria can double in just 20 minutes? Yuck!

I got a new package in the mail today, and I can't believe that I am this excited about it. It is the new UV Sanitizer from Sonicare. Lilypad dad and I each have a Sonicare toothbrush and love them, you can really feel the difference from a regular toothbrush. Lilypad Dad couldn't believe it when his first dentist appointment after getting the Sonicare toothbrush was the first appointment he didn't have a cavity.

This new sanitizer uses UV light to kill 99% of the bacteria and viruses that can live and multiply on your toothbrush. The thought of all those things living on my toothbrush that goes back into my mouth each day makes me queasy. But now all we have to do is put the brush heads in, close the door and push the button. Ten minutes later I have a nice clean brush that stays clean in the sanitizer until I'm ready to use it again.

So far I really like it. There was no set up other than plugging it in. The magnets in the base hold the brush heads in place well, and it looks like it will be easy to clean. The only thing that I don't like, although it doesn't really matter now, is that it only holds 2 brush heads. If you want to store your brush in it to keep it clean in between brushings, you would have to have more than one of sanitizer if there are more than 2 people in your family. Right now that isn't a problem because Lilypad Princess is too young for a Sonicare, but as soon as she's old enough we are going to get her a Sonicare toothbrush as well. I'll post a follow-up report in a couple of weeks to let you know if I still like the UV Sanitizer after daily use.

I got the sanitizer through BzzAgent. BzzAgent is an online word of mouth community. They send you products to try out, then you pass along the bzzz about them to people you know that you think would be interested. They have also given me coupons (or maybe they are rebate forms, I don't have it in frontof me right now), so if anyone has a Sonicare (or is getting one which I highly recommend!) or certain Oral-B brushes and is interested in the sanitizer, let me know and I'll mail you a coupon for it!

Also, if anyone is interested in joining BzzAgent, just click here to sign up. It's free to join and they will give you options of campaigns to sign up for based on your preferences. So far I've gotten to try Take5 candybars, Royal Velvet towels, Pledge Multi-Use Wipes, the Sonicare toothbrush and now the sanitizer, among other things. It's fun to get to be among the first to get to try new things and tell your family and friends about them when you really like them.

Preschool Thanksgiving

Today Lilypad Princess and her friends celebrated Thanksgiving at preschool. After a short dress up session (fairy dresses for LP and Mac and a fur vest for Buby) they donned their pilgrim hats and sat down to a feast. I don't know how much was traditional Thanksgiving fare, but they enjoyed Banana Oatmeal Bread, Cornbread Muffins and Pumpkin Bread with butter made in class, fruit cups, macaroni and cheese, and chicken nugget strips. Then they celebrated Mackenzie's birthday with mini-cupcakes. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I'm hoping to get some pictures from Buby's mom to share with everyone.

After this big feast Lilypad Princess was ready for the traditional Thanksgiving nap, so swim class wasn't quite as much fun as usual. But she still did lots of kicking and paddling with her daddy. Then she came home and went down for a nap, she's still asleep 3 hours later!

Addition to the Pizza recipe

The dough recipe below is the one that I always use. Last night Lilypad Princess and I used sauce and shredded cheese for a regular pizza (plus some hidden veggie puree in the sauce) but I usually made it more like a margarita pizza. I usually use diced, Italian tomatoes (I adjust the seasoning in the tomatoes with a little more garlic and basil, plus a little red pepper) mostly drained and slightly crushed with a fork. Instead of shredded cheese I use fresh mozzarella cheese, then add whatever toppings we have in the house, or Lilypad Dad is in the mood for.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

By request of Blue House Mom, here is the recipe for the whole wheat dough that I used for LP's pizza.

1 teaspoon instant or rapid rise yeast
1.5 cups all-purpose or bread flour (plus more as needed for dusting work surface)
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt
1 to 1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil (I use a garlic flavored oil to give the dough more flavor)
1 teaspoon oil to grease bowl the dough will rise in

1)Combine yeast, flour and salt in food processor.
2)With food processor running, pour 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 cup of water through the feed tube.
3)Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water a little at a time, until the dough forms a slightly sticky ball.
4) Put dough ball into oiled bowl, cover with saran wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until the dough doubles in size (1-2 hours). This doesn't have to be exact though, you can cut the rising time short if you need it faster, or let it rise longer.

This dough can be frozen if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to a month, or refrigerated for up to 2 days. It is best to bring it to room temp before trying to roll it out.


recipe from How to Cook Everything, Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman

Yum, pizza!

Lilypad Princess and I made dinner together tonight, her first homemade pizza. LP was involved in every step of the process from rolling out the dough to spreading sauce and cheese to adding the pepperoni.



LP has seen a few pizzas being cooked by professionals apparently, when I walked out of the room to answer the door she decided that rolling the dough was not the right way to make pizza. I heard a thump, and walked in to find the dough sitting on the floor. She picked it up, threw it up in the air and again missed it (although I caught it this time). Luckily I had made enough dough to take off the outer layer so we didn't have to order out instead.

Have some Grandpa

Lilypad Princess sang happy birthday to Grandpa, but her little face lit up when she saw the cake with candles. She ran over and climbed up into his lap to help him blow out the candles. She had fun sticking her finger in the icing, but made Grandpa eat it, she still doesn't like icing.

Shoe Obsession

some of the girl styles

Lilypad Princess has had an obsession with shoes since her very first soft pair. I have never cared much about shoes, but even I have to admit that it can be easy to get caught up in all the cute little girl shoes out there. My very favorites have been her Caroline Pedipeds. I was so disapointed when she not only outgrew this pair, but outgrew Pediped sizing all together. So I was very excited to discover that Pediped is going to release a rubber-soled, toddler shoe in larger sizes this spring!


some of the boy styles

We're Back

Lilypad Princess and I just got back from visiting Grandpa for his birthday. We had a great weekend, a really nice dinner last night, a day of playing and relaxing today, singing and dancing, and lots of good food. LP even sang Happy Birthday to Grandpa tonight all by herself. I'll be back tomorrow with some pictures of LP helping Grandpa blow out the candles, but for now I'm off to bed.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy 60th birthday to a wonderful dad and grandpa. In honor of his 60 years, here's a short list of things about my dad, 1 for each decade.

1. You'll find him on the golf course any Saturday that there isn't a foot or more of snow, lightning, or... I can't think of anything else that will keep him off the course.
2. He was a great softball coach and taught me how not to catch like a girl.
3. He was willing to drive 6 hours a day to pick me up from college at the last minute just for the weekend.
4. He is a great cook, especially sauce and meatballs which you will find on the stove every Sunday afternoon from September through May.
5. He is responsible for my love of the Yankees.
6. He is the best Grandpa any little girl could as for, he loves Lilypad Princess with all of his heart and she loves to spend time with her Grandpa.

Thank You Cara at GreenBeanBoutique!

A couple of weeks ago, there was a big fall giveaway throughout alot of the blogs. I entered a few of the ones that sounded interesting and won a Waldorf inspired doll from Green Bean Boutique. She makes all of the dolls by hand, and sells them (along with some other great baby things) on Etsy.

I received ours this morning, and Lilypad Princess has been in love with it since the minute I opened the package. She insisted taking baby doll to our playdate this morning, and baby doll is currently napping in the crib with LP. These would be wonderful first dolls for little ones, they are so soft, simple, and easy to hold. I can't get a picture of our baby doll right now since it's naptime, but it looks just like the one in blue above.

Thank you so much Cara, this was such a wonderful thing for a giveaway, and it's going to receive lots of love in our house.

Cheers!

Lilypad Dad was home for dinner last night, so we all sat at the kitchen table and had a nice pre-Thanksgiving chicken dinner. It was a no-occassion special night, so Lilypad Princess got to use a special glass. We did lots of cheers throughout the meal. She is such a big girl now!

Through the Slush and Snow

The 44 degree weather today has made me face facts, winter is really coming. So now it's time to start a hunt for some boots and a coat that I will actually want to wear. I should live in a warmer climate, I hate winter outerwear. I will go as long as I possibly can before putting on a coat, and it isn't unusual to see me trying to hop over snowdrifts and slush in my sneakers.

But Lilypad Princess likes to meander in her own sweet time these days, no rushing from the house to the car. And I know she's going to want to play in the snowdrifts, so I need to find something to keep me warm too. The new Lands End catalog came today, and so far I like these two. The boots look easy to pull on and pretty comfortable, I think I'm going to have to take a trip to Sears to see if I can try them on.

Surprise Packages

Lilypad Princess received a surprise package in the mail today. She has already figured out that packages are usually for her. She helped me carry it into the house and immediately asked to open it. Of course it was for her, 2 new beautiful dresses from her Eka. Right away she had to "try on mommy!" so we put the flower and ladybug one on first, then traded it for the corduroy one. She is still wearing the corduroy jumper over her clothes while she naps.

November 14

November 14, 2005

November 14, 2007

Fall Leaves

Lilypad Princess and I spent time playing in the leaves in the backyard today while LP's daddy played with his new leafblower in the front yard. We took turns burying each other in the leaves (daddy came to join in for a little while), throwing them on each other and up in the air, and kicking the soccer ball through them. It was a beautiful day to be outside, a little cloudy but nice and warm. LP is now taking a nice long nap, she's been asleep for almost 3 hours now!

Cold Weather Safety Reminder

After my post about capes and carseats last night, I thought I would post a reminder about cold weather carseat safety. I know that we always want to keep our kids warm, but those nice, warm winter coats are really dangerous to use in carseats. A thin fleece jacket is ok if you can put them into the seat without having to loosen the harness. But if you need to loosen the harness to buckle it over a sweater, jacket or coat, then the clothes are too thick to be safe and may compress in an accident. Take the coat off, buckle your child in, then put the coat back on backwards, warm the car up for a few minutes if possible, or bring out a warm blanket from the house.

(The seat above is the one we have in my car, but the cover is the one I'd love to replace ours with.)

photo of Britax Boulevard in Shannon from Britax USA

Happy 1st Birthday!

Sending very happy birthday wishes to Emma on her 1st birthday. Lilypad Princess and family hope you have a wonderful day. And congratulations to Courtney and Mike on surviving the first year!


cake image from Pink Cake Box

The end of the beach season

a helping hand from Nana

I know I've been posting on the run the last few days, and I haven't taken any new photos recently, so I thought I'd share of few of my favorites from our last trip down to the beach. Lilypad Princess loves the beach, it doesn't matter whether it's warm or cold. She loved having the entire beach to herself, she and Nana spent most of the weekend there. Anyway, here are just a few of my favorite shots.

Brrr....

Despite the unseasonably warm fall, winter is coming. The cold weather has started moving in, now Lilypad Princess says Brrrr as soon as we walk out of the house. It's time to pull out the capes that Nana made for her last winter. The capes are a great way to keep her warm without compromising the safety of her carseat with a jacket, or the hassle of having to keep taking a jacket off everytime we get in the car. There are some really cute ones on Etsy as well, including the one pictured above.

Go mumps

Tonight while we were having dinner, Lilypad Princess saw me put some lime juice in my water and wanted some too. She proudly told me that she was having a go mumps drink, or a grown-up drink. I love toddler speak, and since she's starting to lose some of it for the real pronounciation of words, I want to start recording it so I don't forget. Here are some of my current favorites.

Go Mumps = grownups
Ray-A-Bow = rainbow
Fossa = Forster (already being lost to the correct pronounciation)
FuFies = butterflies
Fesh Fies = french fries
Gwampa = Grandpa
Happy Feet = penguin

When Mom's away...

...Daddy and LP will play. I had to work again this morning, so LP and her daddy were on their own again. First they went to check out a local fleamarket for a while. I don't think they came home with anything, but I'm sure they had fun. Then when daddy asked LP if she was hungry, she told him that she wanted "fesh fies" so daddy treated her to McDonalds. They even broke the house rules and brought them home to eat! Oh well, I guess an occassional treat isn't going to hurt and she loves the special time with Daddy.

Daddy Daughter Breakfast

I had to work today, so Lilypad Princess and her daddy were on their own for 4 hours this morning. They went out for breakfast together, which LP must have really enjoyed (despite not eating much according to daddy) because she was telling me about it all afternoon. When I got home they were both napping, apparently they had such a good time they wore each other out.

Clothes Envy

My new favorite site to drool over clothes that I will never be able to afford is Hanna Andersson. During my search for comfy, winter dresses I came across their site, and can't stop going back to look. I love the playdresses with the matching tights like the one above. I even found a sweater that I would love for myself. some of my favorites
sweater for me

Treats for Santa

Even though we still have Thanksgiving coming up, I've been trying to do some Christmas planning so I'm not rushing around at the last minute like last year. Flipping through the recent Chasing Fireflies catalog, I came upon these cute plates and mugs for special treats for Santa. Instead of buying one, I think I'm going to take Lilypad Princess to a local ceramic painting place and let her make a special plate that we can use every year for Santa's treats.